Reef Pilot's Undersea Oasis

[Reef Pilot]

I replaced a bunch of T5 bulbs shortly after we moved in, and a year later was facing another $3 -350 to do it again. At that time, LEDs were really being hyped, especially the Radions. I didn't like the cost, but they sounded good with all the control, and success people were having with growing corals. So when J&L put them on sale on Boxing Day (2011), I jumped on the bandwagon and bought 3 of them for my tank.

But how do I fit them into my enclosed tank canopy, with only 9 inches of room between the ceiling and the top of the tank? I didn't like any of the hanging options that were for sale and wasn't getting a lot of good ideas with my internet searches. What I really wanted was some kind of sliding rail attachment. Then I found this at Home Depot. It was almost too perfect, and cheap, too. And in the electrical dept, of all places.
http://www.homedepot.ca/product/wire...l-ivory/911637



I cut them to size, drilled holes and mounted the rail sliders to the Radion fixtures (using the supplied eye bolts), and the channels to my canopy ceiling.






With the channel and railings, the fixtures can be adjusted fore and aft for lighting preference, and can be easily removed for cleaning.



So, that took care of that. I later added another tank downstairs and used the same lights and mounting system.

[Reef Pilot]

A couple of years ago, I bought a Coralife DC5800 Wavemaker pump set with controller. They are 2 pumps at 2900 gph each and all the pulse and wave making options with the controller.

And yes, it is the much hated Coralife brand. But they were less than 1/2 the price of one Ecotech MP40, and came with a lifetime warranty. They did come with suction cups instead of magnets, but interestingly the Koralia magnets fit them perfectly. And I just happened to have a couple from some older defunct Koralias, so that is what I used. Also you can buy the Koralia magnets cheap on the internet.

The Coralife pumps actually worked very well, much quieter than the MP40's, and no external pump and wires hanging outside your tank to get bumped or for kids to fiddle with.

I bought a second set of these Coralife pumps last year when I set up my downstairs tank..., again, because they were the best buy at the time and was happy with the performance of my first ones.

I do have to mention, though, that I had a problem with one of my first pumps, with some bushing wear. So this was going to be a test of their warranty and customer service. I emailed them, and after verifying my purchase info, they promptly sent out a brand new set of pumps right to my home, with no delivery or other cost. I didn't even have to send back the old ones. So I certainly have no problem with their customer service.

Then just this summer, I bought some Jebao WP40 pumps, and added 2 more of these to my upstairs tank. So with the Coralife and Jebao pumps, I now have about 12,000 gph flow using the turbulent modes in my 6 foot 100 gallon tank. I think my SPS really like it, though. The pump controllers all have light sensors, and at night, the flow is dialed down, so the fish and corals can get a rest.

I do like the Jebao pumps better, though, and not just because of the price. Because they are similar to the Tunze design, the flow direction can be more easily adjusted to better suit your rock design and coral placement.

[kien]

whoa, the tank looks awesome there! Great Full Room Shot ! I was waiting for that shot too haha.

[H2o2]

I have seen it in person and it is great and looks like getting greater

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, guys. But yeah, never would have planned to put a tank in a kitchen. And most wives would probably never allow it. However, this one fits in nicely there in front of the island counter. And gets a lot of attention where it is.

[Reef Pilot]

Once I got the upstairs tank nutrient problem under control, it was time to start thinking about SPS corals. I'd been drooling over many of the TOTM and FTS pics here on Canreef and RC for some time, and knew what I wanted. But first I had to rearrange some rocks and make room for new corals.

So I figured the easiest way to do that is set up another tank downstairs and move some of my old corals down there, as well as some of the fish. I also bought another 100 lbs of marco rock, which I let cycle for a couple months first. I spread these around in both tanks, mixing with the old live rock.



Home Depot had a clearance sale on a bunch of modular cabinets, and used those to build a stand as well as a little kitchenette with a sink right across from my sump room. Even used their laminate counters, so everything matched. And I have lots of storage space now for all my stuff.

The tank is an old 130 g Hagen that I picked up cheap. I got a couple holes drilled in the back, and built 2 overflows around them. The sump room is right behind the back, so it was easy to plumb it in.

Initially, the tank ran with its own sump and skimmer (my old beckett). I even used the old water from the upstairs tank with water changes, to save on salt costs. But I only had 1 chiller, so in the summer, I plumbed both tanks together using 1 sump, to cool them both. It also simplified maintenance. I did have to deal with higher phosphates for a while with the combined tanks, because previously only the upstairs tank was running with GFO. I still don't have my phosphates down to zero, and did have a bit of an algae outbreak in the upstairs tank. But things are getting under control again now, and corals are all good.

[Rice Reef]

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to see the sps tank grow out!

[The Guy]

Hey Walter great looking setup , would really like to drop by sometime to see it in person. I'm in Langley as well. cheers Laurie

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by Rice Reef

Thank you for sharing! Looking forward to see the sps tank grow out!

That's my goal, and thanks for looking.

Originally Posted by clown lover

Hey Walter great looking setup , would really like to drop by sometime to see it in person. I'm in Langley as well. cheers Laurie

Thanks, Laurie, and come by anytime...

[Reef Pilot]

Quarantine for new fish: After a few newbie hard lessons in the beginning, I set up a QT for new fish. Initially, this tank was connected as a refugium to my sump, and then disconnected when in use as a QT. I use the hyposalinity routine, and have had great success with acclimating new fish including some more finicky Butterfly fish such as Copperbands and Pearlscales. The entire QT process usually takes 2 or 3 months for me. Here is a good article on the benefits of hypo.
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2007/6/fish

Corals: I dip all new frags in either Revive or RPS. In some cases I also QT them for at least a week or two. This gives me a chance to ensure no eggs are transferred, and do more than one dip. And with RPS, it is necessary to QT with a carbon bag in your tank to absorb any remaining dip from the coral. I also break off the frag from the plug, except in a few cases where that may not be practical. Again, that is where the QT is important in case there are some eggs on the plug or rock/rubble.

Water changes: I do a 20% change every 3 weeks on average. I use Instant Ocean most of the time, but have used more expensive brands in the past. I do have a few buckets of Salinity sitting in my storage room that I may start using soon. I use a DIY ATO connected directly to my RO/DI output to keep my sump level constant.

Dosing: I auto dose Seachem Reef Buffer (for alk) and Seachem Calcium Advantage. I manually dose Magnesium as needed (only had to do it once so far). I manually dose Brightwell MB7 every 2 or 3 days, which prevents cyano outbreaks.

Bio pellets: I run a UF20 Vertex reactor using Vertex pro-bio pellets. That worked great and brought down my nitrates from a high of 100 ppm to zero. Once the nitrates were zero, the consumption of the bio pellets also really slowed, and have not had to add bio pellets for almost a full year now.

GFO and Carbon: I run these in my own DIY reactor as described earlier in this journal. I change GFO about every 2 months, and carbon every 4 months. I do stir them up at least once every month though. My phosphate testing tells me when the GFO has run out.

Testing: I use API for Ca, KH, and nitrates. I use Salifert for Mg, and a digital Hanna Checker for phosphates. Ca and dKH are tested every 2 - 4 days, and I adjust my auto doser (Apex controller) if necessary. Phosphates are tested about once a week, although less often when they are near zero. Tank salinity is tested after every water change with a refractometer.

Additives: Sponge Power. Some Kent products, incl Trace Elements, Phytoplankton, Coral Accent and Coral Vite. And occasionally some Purple Up.

Temperature: I run a chiller and a heater to keep my temps between 77.6 and 78.8.

Cleaning: Tank sides about every 3 or 4 days. I use a toothbrush and turkey baster on my rocks as required. Lately have been doing that about once a week in a few spots on my upstairs tank due to a little algae outbreak.

Skimmer: I have a Vertex In-280 and the neck and container need to be cleaned every 4 or 5 days. I have never cleaned the pump or bottom part of the skimmer (in use for almost 3 years now). It is powered by my Apex controller, which includes a delayed start up of 5 min after a power outage to prevent overflowing because of a high water level in the sump.

Feeding: I feed 3 or 4 times a day, if I am around. Pellets (2 kinds) and freeze dried mysis are the staples, with occasional treats of frozen PE Mysis and Pacifica Plankton. Also some nori sometimes for my Yellow Tang and Foxface. If I am away for a few days (very frequent in the summer), I don't feed my fish. If I am away for a week or more (about 3 or 4 times a year), I will set up my auto feeder to dispense a small amount of pellets in my upstairs tank. The bottom tank fish don't get anything. So far, the fish have all been happy (but hungry) when I returned. I don't trust anyone else to feed them (incl family). The longest stretch so far without food has been 3 weeks, and the fish were all fine. The Butterfly fish were a little thinner, but they soon fattened up again. And the Foxface was a real pig for food for a while.

Remote monitoring: I have my Apex set up on the internet to view and adjust parameters (incl dosing). I also have a Foscam IP camera set up on the internet to keep an eye on my fish when I am gone.

Logging: I keep a manual log of all my tank activities incl testing parameters, changes, and anything to do with the corals and fish.