conix's 75G [Archive] - Canreef Aquatics Bulletin Board

conix67

09-04-2009, 06:43 AM

Hi Everyone,

I am a new member in this forum, just joined today. I'd like share my experience with my own 75G setup here. This setup was started off with a used complete setup from someone.

Equipment:

75G all-glass-aquarium /w megaflow
25G sump /w refugium
Tunze 9010 skimmer
Koralia 3
Tunze nano stream 6025
4x54W T5HO Tek retro
Two little fishes Phosban reactor /w activated carbon

The tank has been up and running for about 3 months, and most live stocks and rocks are from my previous 12G nano.

Fast forwarding all 3 months, this is how it looked just days ago

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_FTS_08_24.jpg

The rock scaping bothered me too much, so 2 days ago most of large pieces were removed from the middle. It now has a lot more open space for fishes..

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_FTS.jpg

lobsterboy

09-04-2009, 06:47 AM

welcome to canreef.

nice tank, wait till those SPS grow out, its going to be a nice coral scaped valley:razz:

conix67

09-04-2009, 07:12 AM

welcome to canreef.

nice tank, wait till those SPS grow out, its going to be a nice coral scaped valley:razz:

Thanks! I can't wait till the day those SPS grow out..

SeaHorse_Fanatic

09-04-2009, 08:16 AM

I like the open scape of the second pic much better. Welcome to Canreef btw.

Anthony

Skimmerking

09-04-2009, 12:57 PM

ya Me too love the second picture its like looking at 2 reef walls coming together...

WELCOME
TO CANREEF

conix67

09-04-2009, 09:34 PM

Thanks everyone! The reason I ended up with #1 is miscalculation on amount of rocks I needed for this setup. I had various LRs and base rocks, about over 100lbs, and I was determined to use them all, while building tunnels for fishes to hide and feed secure.

I wish I had done this sooner, and I like more open scape a lot better. Now it looks like it's ready to accept few more fishes (have a couple waiting in QT).

muck

09-04-2009, 09:48 PM

Welcome to Canreef conix67!!

Is that a Dendo I see?

conix67

09-04-2009, 10:32 PM

Welcome to Canreef conix67!!

Is that a Dendo I see?

Thanks! Yes, it is a Dendro frag, about a year old.

JDigital

09-04-2009, 10:56 PM

Very Nice 75 conix! Really like the new aquascape!

Welcome to Canreef!

subman

09-05-2009, 01:16 AM

WELCOME!!!

I just took out about 60lbs of rock as well. I thought the more the better but I couldn't get enough flow to keep it clean. Much better now! Love the new look.

conix67

09-07-2009, 02:15 AM

Thanks everyone for positive comments! I'm really enjoying this forum since I joined.

Update today -

Although I've been resisting temptation of getting more SPS frags, as the colonies look a lot better, I decided to try another batch, mostly very light colored ones, and easy to keep ones mostly (millies, montis).

New frags ready to be drip acclimatized..

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_MORE_FRAGS_SPS.jpg

after a few hours, all of them were glued in position in my 75G.. FTS update

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_FTS_SEP_6.jpg

side view, my RBTA split is almost brushing against other SPS frags.. this guy needs to find a new home soon!

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_VIEW_FROM_SIDE.jpg

These are the frags, photos taken after they are added to the 75G. Very bright colors! I sure wish I could keep them that way! Crossing my fingers...

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_FRAGS.jpg

Skimmerking

09-07-2009, 03:08 AM

conix67

09-07-2009, 05:05 AM

Now that's that way to have a reef tank growning them from frags. I hate when people will buy colonies and then post "look at my tank, look how much it has grown". When you gr9own from frags you see results and you see how much remand CAL and ALK and MAG you are using and you get use to dosing and measuring for your tank. When you have huge colonies you can say look how much they have grown , because mother nautre grew them for you.

any ways well done on the tank .loos great. love the color's just remember if you have some thing that is yellow and you put it under 12k,14,20 k your going to get another color like green. so it may not be you its just the light that you have in your tank.

Yeah I realized the lighting itself has a lot to do with actual coloration of SPS corals, not just how it looks under certain lighting. I sure hope my frags stay healthy and grow. Here's current readings of water condition in my tank -

PH - 8.0
Alkalinity - 6dkh
Calcium - 480ppm
Phosphate - 0
Magnesium - 1290ppm

For some reason Alkalinity is way too low. I just started dosing 2 part from bulk reef supply. I will use the online calculator now to adjust dosing amount.

conix67

09-11-2009, 03:58 AM

I've been wanting to add few more fishes, and purchased few and kept them in QT. Unfortunately the little 20G wasn't large enough to support 6 fishes in short time, so I gave up on QT and moved all fishes being QTed to DT.

Among them are a pair of Twinspot gobies, but these nasty guys are constantly stirring up sand and causing haze in my tank... however all corals and fishes don't seem to mind it, so I'm just going to let them be until they cause real problems.. hopefully not, as these cute little guys are a lot of fun to watch

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_TWINSPOT_STIRRING_SAND-1.jpg

So, the new fishes are - Power brown tang, Scopas tang, sixline wrasse, the pair of twinspot gobies

Here's current FTS..

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_FTS_SEP_10.jpg

Van-rookie

09-11-2009, 04:11 AM

nice setup

fishytime

09-11-2009, 12:23 PM

Nicely done....you will likely hate your gobies for the first two or three weeks while they sift through the fine stuff....dont worry the haze will eventually settle....

Leah

09-11-2009, 12:56 PM

Wow! Very nice :mrgreen:

conix67

09-12-2009, 01:21 PM

Thanks again.

you will likely hate your gobies for the first two or three weeks while they sift through the fine stuff....dont worry the haze will eventually settle....

That will be nice. As a matter of fact, the little guys dug a dungeon and they seem to have settled in there. At least while they are inside, they are not causing the sandstorm..

conix67

09-14-2009, 02:34 AM

FTS-less update today.

A picture of my hippo tang asleep, taken early in the morning under room lighting.. he likes to lie down flat while sleeping.. very cute

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_SLEEPING_DORY.jpg

My twinspot gobies won't stop. They are digging dungeons everywhere. I'm worried that some rocks that are not sitting on the eggcrate floor may tip over and cause rock slide! So far, that hasn't occurred, but these guys are very cute! Everyone loves them (most are fooled by the false eyes).

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_TWINSPOT.jpg

Now, I had to let go my RBTA split, as it was brushing against several acro frags and causing some damage. The anemone was already sold before I had a chance to place a for-sale ad. However, I had to keep it for few days, and had some issues with it moving over to unwanted place. Finally I decided to make the floating basket, similar to what's used by LFS to keep them in a place. Picked up $1 basket and attached styrofoams.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_BASKET.jpg

Attached to a string to let it float in the middle of water surface, RBTA settled in nicely and now I know how to get the bubbles back! Look at this picture, the tentacles are becoming nice and bubbly!

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_RBTA_IN_BASKET.jpg

That's all for now.. there were some minor rearrangements done in the tank, will post FTS soon.

conix67

09-20-2009, 11:54 PM

Although my tank's been doing fine so far, some SPS species some colors I liked. Out of many parameters, I decided to try upgrading the lighting system first, as I'm still running 4 T5HOs in this system. I've made a purchase from AP on used stuff, but were missing endcaps. Just days ago I obtained the endcaps via trade, and finally I had chance to complete the lighting system upgrade..

Old look -

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_LIGHT_BEFORE.jpg

First problem - can't fit 5 retro mounts on the lid, ended up with a small piece of aluminum plate to extend the mount.

2 pieces were prepared.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_AL_PART.jpg

Mounted with a screw.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_AL_INSTALLED.jpg

Endcap mount installed.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_AL_MOUNTING.jpg

Another view.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_AL_MOUNTING2.jpg

Wirings and others all complete. Took much longer than expected :(

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_COMPLETE.jpg

all lights on! Glad it worked at first try!

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_LIGHTS_ON.jpg

With reflectors. Notice missing a reflector, and a short one. Need to order some now...

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_LIGHT_REFLECTORS_ON.jpg

New FTS. Color level auto adjusted as there's stronger actinics and messes up camera's view. Looks like a little more pop to color due to 2xactinics+ added now.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_FTS_NEW_LIGHT.jpg

Boomboy

09-21-2009, 12:53 AM

wow man everything looks really great. nice job at fitting 2 more in there.

conix67

09-24-2009, 04:54 AM

Well, RKL finally arrived. This is actually a little exciting moment, as it could be the beginning of automation of this tank. For now, I'll be using it as temperature control and for some timer functions. Here's what came in the package

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_RKL.jpg

power module with 4 outlets (8A 3A 3A 8A), status lights
temperature probe (connects to the power module directly)
head unit (2 line backlit LCD display and 5 buttons)
USB module, cables for firmware upgrade
users guide, etc

Paid ~$95US (plus shipping, tax, etc) at bulk reef supply, and this is supposed to be very inexpensive considering what it offers - capability of a dual stage temperature controller, digital timer, wave maker, etc.

You can do things like controlling your main lights with temperature monitor such that it would shut off the light if temperature's too hight, etc. However, advanced programming is not possible.

I have it setup to control heaters, and skimmer/return pump in standby mode, which is really a neat feature and let you delay start skimmer/return pump while feeding the fishes/tank.

Here's the pic with the head unit visible (lower left corner) and actinics on.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_RKL_ACTINICS.jpg

It was very hot today, and I had my air conditioner turned off. I did not realize my tank's temperature shoot up to 84F !!! :eek: Fortunately, everything seemed to be ok.

I realized this only after RKL was installed. Good thing the temperature is now clearly visible all the time, and never thought the effortless temperature monitoring can bring this much relief!

Anyway, I'm very happy with RKL so far. I do plan to add at least PH monitoring in the near future, and possibly moon light control... and maybe replace all timers with another power module.. we'll see

conix67

09-29-2009, 07:02 AM

Update today - growth shots of some frags..

I've noticed substantial growth from my birdnest frag.. it is known to be a fast grower, but the growth rate is amazing regardless!

Original frag mounted on a plug.. it was a tiny piece, about an inch tall...

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_BIRD_NEST_FRAG_INITIAL.jpg

2 1/2 months later

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_GREEN_BIRDNEST.jpg

Notice the green frag on the left side, it's the frag of a frag (to save it from other parts suffering from some sort of tissue recession) grown from a tiny frag also.. definitely not as fast as the birdnest, but growth is visible

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_GREEN_SLIMER_THEN.jpg

and here's my purple millie colony

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_MILLIE_702.jpg

about 3 months after

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_MILLIE_928.jpg

Showing good growth, but the growth is not very even :confused:. You can see clearly the left edge shows substantial growth, but the rest isn't showing much of the growth at all. I wonder if this is related to flow...

Anyway, last update of today.. seeded few frags just days ago, will let them heal and grow for a while..

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_FRAGS-1.jpg

conix67

10-15-2009, 03:50 AM

I had a very difficult time last weekend. One of the major salt water aquarium store had a big sale, and had to resist temptation, very hard. However, still ended up with two more SPS corals. One I'm very happy with, another I'm not too sure...

Deep purple-blue Acro

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_BLUE_DEEP_PURPLE.jpg

Yellow-neon green body, purple tipped, brown polyp acro /w acro crab

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_SPS_CORAL2.jpg

Finally added two more 48" reflectors, so the lighting hardware is now complete @ 6 bulbs.

Some of my tiny frags aren't doing well, but SPS frags have been doing well. Multi color frags on a single frag plug.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_MULTI_DIGI_FRAG.jpg

Finally added ATO system, using a container outside. Looks ghetto but someone told me to do it this way :D

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_BUCKET_FULL_OF_WATER.jpg

Next up is a matching stand to house the 15G tall tank for ATO..

conix67

10-15-2009, 03:51 AM

As the "Reef Crystals" bucket doesn't really fit in my living room, I'd been looking into ways to build a small stand to hide it under. I was thinking of complete DIY stand with similar look and color as the tank stand.

I found something that comes very close to it, without much of DIY from Ikea and decided to use it instead.

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_STAND_HIDING_ATO.jpg

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_NEW_STAND_FOR_ATO.jpg

It's supposed to be black-brown, but looks quite brown under certain lighting condition. Anyway, it blends in well, and hides my ATO container.

With more hidden space available, next step is to add larger water container for ATO, 15G high will fit nicely inside, and I already have a glass lid for it. Also, a decent size containers (slim and tall) for 2-part solution would be needed.

Anyway, today I found a mystery creature on my green monti digi. looks like either a snail or nudibranch.. what could it be?? Crossing my fingers hoping it's not something bad..

http://i396.photobucket.com/albums/pp45/conix67/PB_MYSTERY_CREATURE.jpg

conix67

12-22-2009, 12:01 AM

Just got a pocket digital video camera. Tried it out on my 75G tank and it looked decent, so uploaded my first Youtube video. :D Take a look -

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1h8iC4diwzo

muck

12-22-2009, 01:25 AM

Great vid!! Thanks for sharing.

conix67

06-08-2010, 03:22 AM

It's been a while since last update. Not much have changed, which is a good thing I guess :D

Changed some bulbs for a change. I've got 6 T5HO retro fixture, two of the six have been replaced recently

old:
UVL 75/25
Giesemann Actinic+ (old)

new:
KZ FIJI purple
KZ superblue

Rest of the bulbs are the same. The effect is not obvious, but red/purple are enhanced without putting red cast on everything. Here's some random shots, taken with my D50/35mm lens, some taken with a magnifying glass in front (macro effect).

Hairy Acro

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxgdI11-7I/AAAAAAAAAw8/xyweMtfrRaE/s800/DSC_0007.JPG

Monti digi garden

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxgruji13I/AAAAAAAAAxA/3n-JNmPlGDw/s800/DSC_0014.JPG

Close up of Styropora

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxg7awNMMI/AAAAAAAAAxE/oxWr035BQbg/s800/DSC_0028.JPG

Close up of green Tongan mushroom

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxhCe8oZRI/AAAAAAAAAxI/pWtpUPmy8BM/s800/DSC_0031.JPG

Close up of orange rics

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxhMyHEa_I/AAAAAAAAAxM/E_XJil17kAc/s800/DSC_0041.JPG

Close up of pulsing Xenia

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxhRqHfIwI/AAAAAAAAAxQ/tYaFtxhWYDk/s800/DSC_0043.JPG

Close up of frogspawn

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxhWnWAKrI/AAAAAAAAAxU/hEkq5OVpqtM/s800/DSC_0046.JPG

What used to be long and stringly powder blue anthelia. What a transformation! These tiny polyps don't look anywhere near what it used to be like.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxhr4oAXhI/AAAAAAAAAxc/JWlU3ivNy1E/s800/DSC_0076.JPG

OK. Finally, FTS from an angle.

http://lh6.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TAxgJrafzyI/AAAAAAAAAw4/PU8YZTB4uzY/s800/DSC_0089.JPG

For those in GTA, I have monti cap/digis and birdnest frags from my tank for sale. The ad has been posted in gtaaquaria for local reefers, if interested let me know. I really need to clear out my frag rack..

cuz

06-08-2010, 03:47 AM

nice colors!!!

conix67

06-24-2010, 09:29 PM

Here's live cam of my tank

http://ustream.tv/channel/conix67

Not very high quality but it's realtime :D. Not sure how long this will be on but have a look!

Sunee

06-30-2010, 10:06 PM

Great tank, I love the colours!!!

conix67

07-22-2010, 12:39 AM

Thanks for the positive comment!

So today a new toy(?) arrived - SWC mini cone 160. It actually looks pretty good, just like all others other owners said. Here's the picture of mine

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TD_RVBl09gI/AAAAAAAAAzY/JRPeDw6Tsc4/s400/DSC_0004.JPG

Right after setting it up. Skimming already!

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TD_Rc7bZRVI/AAAAAAAAAzc/CgvQTEacx_M/s400/DSC_0007.JPG

I like being able to see the bubbles. There are some micro bubbles but my baffles are doing a good job.

It was not easy to get this thing in my sump. I got rid of mini wall that was keeping the drain hose outlet to minimize turbulence, because this new skimmer is much larger than Tunze 9010 it replaces. Even without the collection cup, it was a big challenge to get this thing inside the sump.

The water level is easily adjusted with outlet valve, and air intake amount can be fully adjusted. Tunze 9010 has ability to adjust air only.

I feel that the potential of skimming capacity is much greater than the Tunze 9010. The amount of bubbles this thing creates is many times greater. Also added filter sock, and I may keep it permanently. It also reduces bubbles and water turbulence, making the skimmer perform better.

Here's youtube video of it in action

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=cF56jNNvU5c

Finally, here's the video of my clown spawning. These guys are laying eggs almost every 2 weeks. Quite something to watch them spawn.. very cute..

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wePCkFj-0ns

conix67

07-22-2010, 12:41 AM

Also, I'm trying to get my tank cam broadcast live. Please take a look. Upgraded to higher resolution, sorry my upload speed is crappy.

75G mixed reef - tank cam (http://ustream.tv/channel/conix67)

globaldesigns

07-22-2010, 01:05 AM

Kudos to you, I must say one of the most vibrant tank for colors that I have seen in a long time.

saltynuts

07-22-2010, 03:54 AM

what type of return pump are you running. or did i miss that.

conix67

07-22-2010, 04:01 AM

It's a QuietOne 3000.

snow1

07-22-2010, 04:56 AM

Great looking tank. Looks like a lot of hard work went into that.

Sunee

07-22-2010, 02:31 PM

Hi I noticed you have Halimeda in the tank. I like the look and am considering having in my new tank. How do you find it? Is it easy to control and keep where you want it? Thanks. Still love the colours!!!

Greenmaster

07-25-2010, 06:25 AM

The colors in your tank look killer.

conix67

07-25-2010, 12:36 PM

Great looking tank. Looks like a lot of hard work went into that.

Thanks. I try to make sure tank stays healthy. Lately I'm having trouble as frags are all grown and they are attacking each other and I have no place to relocate them. Unfortunately it's time to give up one coral at a time.

Hi I noticed you have Halimeda in the tank. I like the look and am considering having in my new tank. How do you find it? Is it easy to control and keep where you want it? Thanks. Still love the colours!!!

The Halimeda is a hitchhiker, it doesn't spread all over the place but it still grows very quickly. I control it by trimming it time to time.

The colors in your tank look killer.

Thanks! It turned out to be pretty good overall. I would like to keep things more stable so that I could try more fancy acros :P

conix67

08-13-2010, 04:14 AM

A couple of days ago, finally received RKL SL1 module and BRS Ph probe. Had all modules/head unit firmware upgraded, hooked up Ph probe, calibrated and let it run.

My low Ph (before lights on) is 8.00 and high Ph is 8.4 (before lights out). I guess the levels are ok.

I did my monthly water test today. The results are

Nitrate : 0ppm
Phosphate: 0ppm
Ca : 220 mg/L !!!!!!!! :eek:
Alk: 12 dkh !!!!!!! :eek:

Turns out my 2 part container, the Ca part, was still full! It took me a while to figure out what went wrong, it was because the lid was shut and completely sealed the container, and the poor aqualifter pump could not suck the liquid out.

I took out a drill and made a small hole in the middle of lid on both containers..

Nothing really were obvious in the tank, but I noticed RBTA moved down a bit and found it strange for days..

I think I avoided (crossing my fingers) a near disaster

reefermadness

08-13-2010, 06:51 PM

Usuing an aqualifter as a doser is also asking for trouble IMO.

conix67

08-13-2010, 07:28 PM

Usuing an aqualifter as a doser is also asking for trouble IMO.

Why?

reefermadness

08-14-2010, 03:40 AM

because they are not precise at all. Also they are not meant to handle solids and any calcification or precipitation that develops will clog it. Other people have tried it and over time it has given them headaches. If all you needed to do is run a $20 pump to dose then people wouldn't be spending more to get quality dosing pumps....my experience and my opinion.

conix67

08-14-2010, 03:51 AM

While not as precise as dedicated dosing pumps, aqualifter is far more precise than any other pump, and precise enough for 2-part dosing based on my experience. Yes, it's cheap and it may not be as reliable as the true dosing pump, but it's far better than hand dosing.

I've been dosing using these pumps for about 10 months, and so far I haven't found issues with the pumps themselves. While I would also advise anyone considering dosing pumps to go out and get the true dosing pumps, these aqualifters do the job when coupled with controllers like RKL.

conix67

08-19-2010, 03:59 AM

Here's one of the corals I have no idea what it is. It's definitely some sort of montipora species, but can't find a reference of the same coral anywhere.

http://lh4.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TGymCNkj0SI/AAAAAAAAA1k/iQhyx29Hj6k/s800/DSC_0005.JPG

two of the same frags on the frag rack. One is growing more or less flat, but not plating.

http://lh3.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TGynrab5P_I/AAAAAAAAA1w/Cyf-Ve54a64/s800/DSC_0025.JPG

On the skimmer side, my new SWC 160 cone has been consistently pulling out more than 3x amount Tunze 9010 was pulling out, I'm definitely happy about that.

However, it's very sensitive to water level and condition, and if not adjusted correctly, it easily overflows. That's about the only downside so far.

Most SPS corals appear to have a better polyp extension. This acro frag looks better than before...

http://lh5.ggpht.com/_Btunu-TItyU/TGymimR-HpI/AAAAAAAAA1o/vK4jqIurE1E/s800/DSC_0022.JPG