Funky's 60g Rimless SPS - (in progress)

[Funky_Fish14]

Hey Folks,

So I finally got my head out of my rear and decided to move on from my last embarrassing salt tank. It was basically a neglected ball of hair algae...

I’ve always had the SPS itch... I dont have a ton of time to do something crazy, but want to do something clean, manageable and colourful. I got a decent deal on a new semi-cube 60gal w/corner overflow, 3 holes drilled in bottom (sweet, perfect for herbie and return). Ordered a sump from concept aquariums in calgary (holy crud they are quick, and do great work!). Had been accumulating assorted gizmos over the last year so here is where its at to start with:

60gal trimless tank, (outside dims, 27 front to back, 30wide, 18 tall),
55g sump? (27x 33 wide x 15 tall?)
Apex Lite Controller
1x Vortech MP10w ES
Deltec APF600 Skimmer
Hamilton 250W halide fixture & 20K Reeflux bulb
NextReef MR1 w/bio pellets
Prodibio dosing system on order
Mag3 return pump


Because threads are useless without pics (and we all want to know what's what):

Tank is cloudy as I just did a glass scrub before taking pics










Current livestock list:

2x Cinnamon clownfish ("Boso" the clown is 8 years old, first SW fish I ever bought, and has been my avatar forever)
1x Threadfin cardinal
1x Orange Line Cardinal
1x Red Tailspot Cardinal
1x Starry Blenny
1x Bullet Goby “Gobiosoma macrodon”


















Inverts:

3x Berghia Nudibranch
2x Peppermint Shrimp
8-10 Hermit Crabs?
4x Nassarius Snail
1x Astrea snail
2x Margarita snail
1x Cerith snail
2x “Rock-boring Urchins”



These two were having a standoff while I was taking shots of the tank, haha.












Corals:

2x No-idea-what-kind Acros
1x Staghorn?
1 Colony Star Polyps
1 Tiny BTA

















There were a few aiptasia (10-15?) around the rocks when I first set it up, so I picked up some berghias and peppermints. (Peppermints for ‘long term management’... i’ve had previous success with them against aiptasia). There are only a couple aiptasia left now I think, in just over a week of having the berghias in there.

The softies just happened to be making in it the old tank, so they were moved to the new one. I added 3 random SPS to track the progress of colours and growth from the start. (I am so ‘out of the game’... have not kept up with all the names etc... forgotten some... all I know is the colours can be sexy, and I love fuzzy sticks!). I used D-D epoxy to secure the frags to the rocks. None of my rock-work is secured because I do plan to upgrade the tank to cover the whole stand, 30x36 footprint, at some point. (yeah I set this up and already have an upgrade planned... lol)



Equipment:


Vortech
The vortech is sexy. I love how the thing runs... the hum/winding up/down sound it makes is kind of annoying, and i hear it best from the TV room next to it, but not in the fish room? Anyways we all know vortechs are sexy... but a lone MP10 is not enough for the tank... I have no dead spots around the rock work... but I would like to push more water around the tank. I am not interested in the MP40... just because of it’s physical size, so will go with another MP10 and see how that goes.




Skimmer

My Deltec... i’ve had it for 3 years... the feed line from my bio-pellet reactor is aimed right at it... i have a gate valve on it... I clean it regularly... but feel I just dont get the skimming I should out of the darn thing. I dont feed a crazy amount, and only use dry foods... I used to have a fuge, and I still have 3 mangroves and cheato. Maybe these take some of the D.O. away, or maybe the skimmer is oversized? I’ve always had a low bioload... in fact i haven’t had 7 fish in a tank for like 5 years, nevermind this many inverts too. This is probably the heaviest i’ve stocked a tank. This may be my problem? (its too light stocking/feeeding for skimmer, or the skimmer is oversize, pretty sure thats it). Maybe I should ditch the mangroves and cheato? Anyways, starting prodibio might improve my production... but maybe I should just try another skimmer? There are a heck of a lot of neat skimmers out nowadays. Skims, BM, Vertex, Bubble king still of course. I don’t know... They all sound like they work great. Any input appreciated!


Lighting

Lighting... I got the hamilton dirt cheap... the reflux bulb was a quick solution for colour and getting away from the crappy hamilton bulb that came with fixture. The tank looks alright under this light... but I would like to get maybe a little more blue... and I would like to get more light over it. I DO want to keep the halide... With additional lighting switch it to a good 10K bulb. Now this may sound weird... is it dumb to do something like add an LED fixture, or LED spotlight type fixtures, over the tank as well? I like the look of lights being quite high off the tank, so horsepower is good. Any suggestions on fixtures? Should I just add T5’s instead? Another 250W halide? Basically... ‘what would you do?’. The board members here are pretty smart, and with all the good stuff on the market, I feel like I cant go wrong with board suggestions.



Apex Controller:



Fun toy... looking forward to using it remotely, but pretty much know nothing about networking... I use a mac, but the ‘house computer’ is a PC. Mac cannot access the apex controller from the http://apex address on the home network... so you need the IP. Its automatically a dynamic IP, so here I am worried about the Apex IP changing, so I tried to set a static IP and i did something wrong. PC pooped itself and apex became inaccessible, and then I got a little worried lol. Reset buttons are good, because that was about the extend of my networking understanding Anyways got onto it, running my lights off it and heater etc... its nice to see the temp graphs... (*edit - will attach graphs later). The amperage graph is neat to watch too.

Im looking forward to running my 2 FW tanks off the same controller.



Plans to expand the apex:
Enable remote access
Add webcam remote access
WXM controller to control Vortechs
Digital input expansion unit
Float switches for FW topoff, waterchanges, and topoff my FW tanks.
extra temp probes for freshwater tanks
EB8 powerbar
Salinity probe (to do auto waterchanges/monitor)
pH probe

(put it out right now - are you super awesome with networking etc...? $100 will be paid, looking for someone willing to come set-up remote access of my apex and webcams in a month or so. I just dont have hours to lookup how to do it, and dont want to screw it up haha).



Return Pump

The Mag-drive return pump... Its actually suprisingly quiet... my skimmer pump is obnoxious compared to it, but eventually i’ll replace it with something quieter/more efficient. (Eheim, red dragon, or one of the other million new brands of terrific pumps whos names I cant remember at all? hey anyone want to pick one? lol)



Prodibio:

I’ve ordered 2 “Biokit Reef” kits. Im looking forward to starting this sytem. As I am not home on any regular schedule, (well, my tank’s home at my parent’s place), the apex will make my life much easier and the prodibio’s low dosing frequency and ease of use will be a great advantage. I plan to off-line the bio-pellets eventually. Hopefully prodibio will help clear out the last little patches of hair algae remaining and pull out crazy colours on the corals.




I have ordered the calcireef+ as well for now... but I’ll probably end up going with the simplest looking dosing system, (well not that i’ve really checked any others out, but...), the profilux standalone doser? It seems like a solid system, pre-mix the bottles and it can dose for a good period of time.


Water
Water Source: The house is on well-water, and I use an Aquasafe R/O unit w/booster pump to filter all my aquarium water. The water starts out SO high (comes in variably, from 800-1200ppm TDS), so even out of my membranes i end up at about 20-40ppm. DI would get saturated too quickly at this rate, so I dont bother. (the incoming water is very cold too, the well is 180ft).

I’d like to chat with BWI about getting something a little higher volume/more efficent, as we use quite a bit of R/O water in the house as well (watering house plants, making coffee, sometimes drinking, boiling, etc...)

Salt: Im using Royal Nature salt. I was using D-D H2Ocean before (not that I really had corals who cared lol), but I figured i’d give the Royal Nature a try with this tank. We’ll see how it goes. Thanks to Snappy in Calgary for the salt.




So, things that I need to start/get/upgrade:

-Additional Lighting
-Vortech MP10
-Prodibio
-Return pump
-Apex accessories
-Skimmer (get new? cry over and live with this one?)
-Hanna Checkers (Phos/Alk) (didnt discuss these, but I need test kits for everything)
-Other test kits

Also - planning to add some waterchange and topoff bins under the staircase in the wall behind the tank. These will be where topoff water, excess electrical cords, and waterchange bins will be located.



Pictures were all taken with a “Cannon Powershot SX10is”. I have no idea what im doing with a camera, but I did use a Tripod (hurray for finally getting one... its much easier to get pictures that aren’t completely junk now lol). Anyways, my point and shoot will have to do till I get a DSLR someday.



I appreciate any and all input. If you have suggestions on equipment or techniques, please toss them in! If you think I suck at taking pictures, or have no idea what im doing, dont hesitate to poke fun at me! Haha.

Thanks for looking!

Cheers,

Chris

[phi delt reefer]

try setting the camera to fast action or sports mode. No flash and turn off all the room lights, just keep the tank light on. See how the pics turn out then?

Hows that starry blenny? Love how in that one pic it looks like the rock is giving you the finger

[reefermadness]

looking good so far....keep up the good progress.

[lastlight]

Nice clean look to that tank very nice. Your livestock choices are a little different too which is cool. Be hella careful cleaning the glass with 1mm of glass between water and disaster lol.

- check bwi forum for the latest on them (buyer beware)

[DCDN]

I like all the detail in the explanation. I'm looking forward to watching this tank

[kien]

[chef]

I have a similar situation with my mh. I wanted a more blue affect without compromising growth potential so I added a 12" vertex blue LED. I zip tied it between 2 mh's in a fixture and WOW, what a difference!

[Funky_Fish14]

Thank-you for all the comments!

Originally Posted by phi delt reefer

try setting the camera to fast action or sports mode. No flash and turn off all the room lights, just keep the tank light on. See how the pics turn out then?

Hows that starry blenny? Love how in that one pic it looks like the rock is giving you the finger

I'll have to try the sports mode, thanks! I had flash off for sure with all the pics. Room lights - They were actually all off! Haha. Problem is walkout basement with a ridiculous amount of windows. I tried covering a couple but... I'll do pics at night instead.

Starry blenny is really cool! He is very personable and active. He runs and hides when I first show up, but then comes right back out after a minute or two and hangs out waiting for food.

Lol that rock is a funny one. I think I might fiddle a bit with the aquascape. It did have little blue clove polyps on it before, but they receded in old tank.

Originally Posted by lastlight

Nice clean look to that tank very nice. Your livestock choices are a little different too which is cool. Be hella careful cleaning the glass with 1mm of glass between water and disaster lol.

- check bwi forum for the latest on them (buyer beware)

Thanks Brett.
Actually im starting to question my choice with the cardinals... im not sure they are going to enjoy the waterflow... they already get blown around quite a bit. Not sure why I bought the 3 different types... it was a bit of an impulse. If I did it again, i'd go with either the tailspot or threadfins only, but again, the current might pose an issue with these...

Haha, the front piece of glass is about 2mm lower than the sides, i've definitely splashed water over the front every time I dip my hands in! (part of the reason tank was cheap lol).

Thanks for info on BWI. Will look into it beforehand.

Originally Posted by chef

I have a similar situation with my mh. I wanted a more blue affect without compromising growth potential so I added a 12" vertex blue LED. I zip tied it between 2 mh's in a fixture and WOW, what a difference!

I'll look into those. Thank-you!

[Funky_Fish14]

Hey Folks,

So, i’ve got some updating to do...

I’ve been aware that I still need test kits.... I got started at Marine Aquaria this weekend where Harvey set me up with a Hanna Phosphate Checker (and I got a sweet little SPS frag too).





Ofcourse I check out how the tank is currently. Attempt #1 was an epic fail... I under-estimated my ability to cut open the powder reagent bag and get it all into the ‘cuvette’, with enough time to shake it before the unit turned off... so I had to scrap that one and restart. 
Attempt #2 and officially Test #1 (which I was ready for this time):




Ok.... so im not THAT awesome... surely I messed something up. Its not like I saw any change in the solution.... I read through the instructions again... troubleshooting. Nothing...

Test #2





Wtf??? Ok.... Theres probably something wrong with the kit...
I want to confirm with something that I know will have phophates, so I check my ExCichlasoma beani tank, a 75g fresh tank with a large cichlid and 3 silver dollars. This baby is gonna have phosphates for sure.

Sure enough... soon as I dump in and start to mix the reagent, the solution begins to turn blue as in any other phosphate test.




Wow ok.. (I’d say thats embarrassing, but I overfeed this fish and have slacked on waterchanges in the last month, having done 1, where I used to every 5 days. I am waiting for replacement R/O membranes so my production is way down to like 15gpd/cant use our well water).

Anyways, so now we know the kit works. About 8 hours later, I try test #3 on the saltwater tank...





So this is a whole lotta pictures of zeroes...
Im now thinking... is it possible my low bioload and use of biopellets/mangroves/cheato are paying off...

*I used a hagen phosphate test kit from someone else... and the tested my water twice with it, and it was totally clear, no colour.
( I also think its likely the phosphates are low cause the tank is 'newer' (although half the water was old and all the rock was old).




Harvey was very helpful in outlining some LED and skimmer brands... so I did some more research.

I am still interested in downsizing skimmers to something more correctly sized/rated, but not limiting. Im considering the skimz SM121. It will be sized appropriately to handle my current volume and future upgrade to the slightly larger semi-cube, and is a touch shorter than the 122. I will appreciate the reduced amount of fuss with the single pump as well. The SM120 is fitted with an aquabee pump. As I find this pump quite loud(same pump as on my deltec), I would like to avoid it.

I am now considering adding a full-blown LED fixture to complement the halide. I like the new Vertex Illumina 260... I really like the look... They are expandable for future changes and repairs seem quite easy to conduct if anything goes wrong... but the ability to control the fixture from an outside source(aquarium controller) is lacking.

Aqua Illumination’s SOL fixtures are also cool. I dont really like the look, but their ability to be controlled by something like a profilux is phenomenal. I also understand that they have been around for longer, and I have found more examples of successful tanks using them.

I considered the profilux route before getting my Apex... and am now considering going to profilux again. With the options available through profilux, ability to control vortech, everything the Apex can do, as well as the profilux dosing system I considered (getting a slave unit instead of a master will be cheaper), and control Aqua Illuminations fixtures to the max. Also, AI fixtures are about 60% the cost of the Vertex LED fixtures, and more capability when controlled by profilux.

So new things to “Do”:

Sell:

- Apex
- Deltec
Get:
- AI SOL Blue LED
- Get Profilux III pack & Vortech Expansion Module
- Skimz SM121
- Hanna Alk Colorimeter
- Elos Test Kits
- Second Vortech MP10w ES
- Profilux Doser eventually

Still waiting to receive my Prodibio. Very stoked to start the system... hopefully wipe out the two areas of hair algae remaining in the tank.
(apparently the some of the shipment was smashed, so i've got a delay of another couple weeks again.. looking at a month now)

I need to re-aquascape or something... im not happy with the shape of the rock work in terms of ability for coral placement, and kind of just threw it together when I was transferring the system.

Good news - I think there are only 2 aiptasia left in the tank. The largest seems to be gone now (I thought i was going to have to remove it). I guess the peppermints and (mostly) berghias are doing a great job.

Some of the items to buy may not happen right away... but im stoked for this to continue coming together.

Thanks for reading!

[Funky_Fish14]

That post was typed yesterday... So here's what I did today:

- ON ORDER is a the Skimz SM121
- Purchased Elos Nitrate Test kit:







The test kit seems pretty straight forward to use. I'll give it a go when I get back to the tank.

And again, any comments/critiques/experiences welcomed!

Thanks for reading,

Cheers,

Chris