72G to 180G upgrade
 

I have finally decided to document the rebuild of my 72 gallon display.
First a little back tracking.
About a year ago things where going great, tank looked good, fish and corals happy and healthy.
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...y/DSC_4151.jpg
I was using Zeo, and things rolled right along. Then I got sick, really sick. 2 weeks of no dosing of any kind. Then it all went downhill from there. Colours started to change from bright to brown. For the life of me I couldnt get things to turn around. Then it really started to fall apart, tissue loss on some corals, complete colonies dead over night, I just didnt know what to do.

I was on the verge of a complete teardown and wanted to give the entire hobby up, but my good buddy milliporamaniac talked me out of it.....thanks buddy:lol:

So a rebuild was in order.
I wanted to try something different this time, so I got rid of my MH setup and went with T5's, I got rid of the sand in the tank, and reduced my live rock by approx. 80lbs. I felt that there just wasnt enough room for the fish to swim around with all the large colonies and large rock pile.

So in june it all came down, and the rebuild was on. I really wanted to do something unique with the rockwork, leaving room for corals and swimming room for the fish. I also wanted to go bare bottom. This was my lighting line up to start with

Current 10k
Current 10k
Giesemann Actinic+
Giesemann Aquablue+
Giesemann Actinic+
Current 10k
Current 10k
This is what I came up with
July 09
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...y/DSC_2101.jpg
Then September 09
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k...y/DSC_4176.jpg

So as of today I would have to say that I am VERY satisfied with my T5 lighting, growth is incredible and the colours are really starting to pop.
I removed 1 of the current 10k's and added another actinic+, I also removed the aquablue+ and replaced it with a KZ fiji purple.
Here are some top down shots from sept 25(first bulb configuration), and top downs from oct28(new configuration). The growth is insane for just 1 month( I think...LOL)
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_b3906.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_b4314.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_d3921.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_d4280.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_h3965.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_h4312.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_a3895.jpg
http://i280.photobucket.com/albums/k.../DSC_a4323.jpg

Nice rebuild... prefer the look of the tank in July compared to Sept tho, I find the coralline really overpowers the aesthetics of the tank, and makes it difficult to see the coral properly. I think it would make your corals "pop" better if it was scraped. :wink:

All in all though it looks good, I like the tower aquascaping.

Thanks

I agree with the no coraline view, thats why I built the rock towers rather than the rock face. Problem is...I cant get my scraper in there without smacking corals.
The backing is also removable( held on with velcro), I made it like this so I could get the mag float in there, but my arm doesnt reach far enough around the back to get the entire area. So if anyone has any ideas, I would love to hear them. Also, what can I do about the coraline on the overflow, its even tougher to scrape than the glass.

Looks good, cant wait to see it when it gets back to its glory days. Lots of growth though. Good work.:razz:

I liked the second picture better myself, the first looks to sterile. The Fiji Purple really makes the colors pop I'm going to have to buy one or two of those! The SPS are really doing great!:biggrin: I see you went bare bottom this time, are you going to keep it like this and how do you like it?

Yeah I really like the fiji purple as well, its so bright:idea:

I went bare bottom this time and really dig it...all the detritus collects under the wavebox and once a week I syphon it out.
I do have a deep sandbed in my refugium.

You've got some really sweet lookin sps there.....very nice.

i really love the colours in the second pictures, they really come out. i visited dawen and his tank is lit with t5's and i think i might be so on them when i decide to upgrade my tank years down the road. very nice cant wait to see it back to the way it once was.

I think it looks great can't wait to come over and see the fiji purple action for myself! Any close-ups of that Secale that I gave ya?:mrgreen: