Tank is finally up WOOT!!!...:)

[ShrimpFan]

Hey folks,
So here's my update as of getting my christmas gifts. Tank is up, drilled, filled, draining, pumping, water flowing, and light timing. Here are some pics.

Only issue I have so far is that I question the survival of the remaining anemone (lost one in transit of the LR) and the corals that all came with the Live Rock, as they got banged about pretty well during transit. Once the anemone gets to a spot where I can pry him off, I'm going to try to get him to the LFS as I don't believe I'm equipped to handle him just yet, and would prefer to see him survive than deal with my amateur methods.

I plan on getting a couple feeder fish today to see how well they do, as the water's all good on levels (ph, Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia), and temperature. Will update with how things go.

And of course, here are the pics of how it's looking so far. Sorry for the low quality, I'm using my phone camera at this point. Water's still a little cloudy from the sand as well, but settling fast.

Thanks,
Aaron

[Mrs. z28pwr]

Sorry about your corals:(

Your tank is looking great... what size is your tank?? Light system??

[cbianco]

Give us details on your equipment!

Christopher :)

[Mr Cob]

Looks nice. I especially LOVE the huge fuge!!! That's what I want! :)

[ShrimpFan]

The tank is a 60 gallon (I believe they refer to the deep style as breeder?) oceanic with 2 39w HOs (1 10k, 1 actinic). The lighting is the NOVA Extreme T5 HO 2x39 rig.

As far as gear, I'm using a RIO 2100 for the return (working beautifully), and a Koralia 4 for the Powerhead. I'm beginning to wonder if that isn't over doing the flow, but I want to have corals in here eventually, so my understanding is that this is the configuration I want.

The fuge is a 30 gallon fuge rated for up to a 225 gallon tank, so it's a bit overdone, but I plan on scoring a 200+ tank a few years down the road. I've been eyeing Bill's 215, but alas, my plans for that size are way too far away to spend that kind of coin right now (albeit a very good deal).

I need to get some chaetomorpha for the fuge though, so was going to be hitting up people in the "Wanted" section in a bit to see if I can score some of that. I hesitate to get caulerpa as I've heard it has some issues with sexing and then melting if not lit 24 hours. Which really I could light it for 24 hours, if that's all it took to keep it from doing that. As you might be able to tell I'm not decided on that one.

The overflow is a 1500 gph dual outlet from glass-holes.com. I think that's everything.

Aaron

[Mr Cob]

Aaron, thanks for the details, I don't think that is too much flow. If you plan to have SPS you'll want more even.

I can hook you up with macro... send me a PM and we can arrange a time for you to come by. I see you are in Texas...where though? You might want to update your location with your city.... I'm sure you'll be asked frequently when conducting trades or anything that requires meeting up with peeps.

[ShrimpFan]

Updated my info. I'm in Northeast SA. I'll hit you up via PM to get some of that macro from ya.

Thanks,
Aaron

[allan]

Aaron, nice tank and sorry about the anemone. I can get you some chaeto as well... in fact I think I got my original splice of macro from Rob when I got his skimmer. Between the two of us I'm sure we can get you several pounds of the stuff. Can also swing you some colt or pulsing zenias if you want to get some stuff in there.

[corruption]

Agreed that its not too much flow -- my only fear is the laminar flow a K4 puts out in a tank with these dimensions.. A pair of K3's might be more manageable. This will be fun to watch grow -- you're definitely off to a very strong start... Not often, unfortunately, that people put this much time, effort and commitment when getting into this wonderful hobby :)

Another note/question: you stated 2x39w for your lighting... Are you planning an upgrade before taking the coral plunge? While i'm about the biggest proponent of T5 lighting you could find, this isn't going to be enough light for upwards of 75% of the corals available commonly in the hobby.. If you're planning on adding a MH pendant or 2, the T5 will be great actinic supplement tho :)

-Justin

[ShrimpFan]

Doh,
Forgot one of the key items. I'm running an ebay (from filterdirect) RO\DI water filter to fill my tank with. Some people can't stand em, but mine is currently sitting at ~1ppm DI water with 23-25ppm RO water so is performing quite nicely now that I've run over 100 gallons through it. All in all, quite a nice piece of gear so far.

Aaron

[ShrimpFan]

Oh, trust me. I have no delusions about my lighting setup..:) I'm also quite positive that it's not good enough for any significant amount of coral. As such, I've been trying to figure out what to get to supplement. I don't much care for MHs simply because of the heat. I'd prefer a 4 bulb VHO balast of some sort, but wonder what I would have to get to make it sufficient for the corals\anemones that I want to have in it.

I was looking at more of the soft corals and zoas though as opposed to the stonies. I've also been researching brain corals to some extent as I love some of the high contrast ones. My eventual goal (quite a bit down the road I know) is to get a maxima clam. I'm certain that'll require some serious lighting, but on the plus side, it's a rock boring clam so I can put it closer to the light if I so choose (which I'm sure you already know). From what I'm reading there's a bit of disagreement on what is required to host a maxima. Some say nothing less than MHs, some say VHOs are adequate given enough bulbs. Any input on that?

As far as the K3's versus the single K4, I'll have to agree with you. It took some finagling to get the K4 aimed to where it didn't stir up the sand too much, but created a good amount of turbulent flow on one side of the rock structure, while providing a smooth flow on the back side. I found the sweet spot if you will. However, even given that, I'm thinking to take it back, get a PH that eventually can be hooked up to a wavemaker, and has just a bit less laminar flow. Thanks for all the input.

Aaron


Agreed that its not too much flow -- my only fear is the laminar flow a K4 puts out in a tank with these dimensions.. A pair of K3's might be more manageable. This will be fun to watch grow -- you're definitely off to a very strong start... Not often, unfortunately, that people put this much time, effort and commitment when getting into this wonderful hobby :)

Another note/question: you stated 2x39w for your lighting... Are you planning an upgrade before taking the coral plunge? While i'm about the biggest proponent of T5 lighting you could find, this isn't going to be enough light for upwards of 75% of the corals available commonly in the hobby.. If you're planning on adding a MH pendant or 2, the T5 will be great actinic supplement tho :)

-Justin

[GoneReefing]

Looks good. I can bring over some cheato for you when you let me use the bit to drill my 25 gallon :)

BTW I have a maxima in my current 25 gallon under 4 t5hos and its been doing great. It's rougly 4.5 inches and colored beautifuly. I do however have it up higher in my rock work, its roughly 6-8 inches from my lights.

[ShrimpFan]

Sounds good as well..:)


Looks good. I can bring over some cheato for you when you let me use the bit to drill my 25 gallon :)

[corruption]

6x39w T5 should be enough to grow anything in that tank, assuming you get a quality reflector (individual reflectors are best)... Clams and SPS included. The heat is pretty manageable on halides as well -- a small fan or 2 is all you usually need, if anything.. Your current lighting should be sufficient for some lower light softies to start with -- some mushrooms and zoas should do fine, xenia as well..

Personally, i'd stick with Koralias until you move to a wavemaker.. A Vortech MP20/MP40 or a Tunze wavebox is uncomparable to the old switching 'wave' devices.. With the Koralias as well, you don't have to deal with the ugly old grey box in the tank... They're MUCH more aesthetically pleasing than a good old powerhead..

-Justin