150g reef tank build

[OneReef]

Well, I have decided to go back to my 150w Hamilton Reefstar pendants. I did get more growth with the 250w bulbs and LumenArc reflectors, but the negatives were not worth it to me. I have a short canopy and short tank, so the 250w's were really heating up the water, even with fans blowing in and air blowing out into the attic. I ended up staggering my lighting to keep the water cooled down, and that was even with the A/C running at 72* in that room. I did not like my lighting being staggering on/off, and my tank getting up towards 82*. With the 150w's, I could keep the tank around 79*, without having to keep the ambient room temp cooled down. Plus the LumenArcs took up so much room in the canopy, there was no room for VHOs to run before and after my halides were on. So I basically had light in my tank for 6-8 hours, then it was dark the rest of the day. With the 150's, I could run then for 8+ hours and have supplemental lighting to let me see the tank when the halides were off. All in all, the cons outweighed the pros of my experiment going the higher lighting for my SPS tank. I did well with 150w MH before, so there should be no problem now. My tank is only 18" deep so there is no need for blasting light. I can lower my pendants closer to the water if I want a little more par, as I have them on a chain system as shown below in my old 75g tank.

 

[Lyfey]

very nice!

Too bad abou the 250's. Ever think about building or retrofitting your canopy to make it a few inches taller?

-Chris

 

[OneReef]

very nice!

Too bad abou the 250's. Ever think about building or retrofitting your canopy to make it a few inches taller?

-Chris

I thought about raising the canopy, but heat would still be an issue. Since I already had all the old equipment, I just decided to go back. At an 18" deep tank, my 150s will suffice

 

[dzones]

I thought about raising the canopy, but heat would still be an issue.

main reason I went with an open top with 3x 250 pendants. The tank is in a 74 degree room with no fans or chiller on the system whatsoever and it maintains 78 degrees easily.

 

[OneReef]

My lighting:

Here is a picture of my old lighting reinstalled. With the chains I was able to drop them down about 4-6" closer to the water for more par now.

 

[OneReef]

Acan beats Monti Cap:
(sorry for all the blue, forgot to take the picture in RAW format to filter out the blue)

 

[OneReef]

Zoster (Pyramid) Butterfly added to my reef yesterday:

(hard to get a good pic, the guy is fast)

 

[OneReef]

Coral can be resilient:




A few weeks ago when an SPS frag fell on my scoly:

He is now bigger and fuller than ever:

 

[cateyes]

Acan beats Monti Cap:
(sorry for all the blue, forgot to take the picture in RAW format to filter out the blue)

i still think that you should get rid of the acan... i can keep it for you!!!!

 

[cateyes]

Coral can be resilient:




A few weeks ago when an SPS frag fell on my scoly:

He is now bigger and fuller than ever:

oh yeah,, this guy too!!!!

 

[OneReef]

One more lighting change experiment....lol

Since I already have the 250w ballasts and Radium bulbs, I am going to stick in some spider type mogul socket reflectors that I already have to see if I can get better airflow through the canopy. My tank looks so dim now with the 150w, and I was just noticing some nice new growth on some coral from the 250w's from the past few weeks. I will swap them back out and see what the temps do with regular reflectors and not the huge LumenArcs that block all airflow.

 

[OneReef]

As noted in the above post, I am trying my 250w's again since I already have all the equipment and liked the growth under them. To solve the heat and airflow issues, the spider type reflectors open things up a bit, and the bulbs aren't as close to the water as when in the Lumenarcs. I also added a big fan to the sump that moves alot of air. I have read that the best way to mount retro halide reflectors is perpendicular to the front glass, but I mounted them parallel to get more airflow down along through them. My tank is 2' front to back, so I doubt it matters on my dimensions anyways.


Lights as is now: (Radium 250w SE, in Reef Optix 2 reflectors)

The new fan:

Newest Front Tank Shot:

 

[shawnaus17]

Looks Awesome!

 

[OneReef]

Upgrading Biopellet Reactor:


I have been running the Ecoback Biopellets for about two months now. It has been able to keep my phosphates about where they were when I ran GFO, but now dropped it down any less. With the GFO, I was at .03-.04, and that is where I am at now on the Hanna meter. The directions on the biopellets say for a tank my size, I need 750ml or more. I have about 180g total water volume, and it states 250ml per 50g. I started with 500ml as not to overdo it, but have realized if I want to drop my phophates even further, I will need to bump up to the recommended dosing. With that being said, I was running the pellets in a Phosban 150 reactor, and it would not hold another 250ml and still be able to tumble. So I got a NextReef SMR1, made specifically for biopellets. It is nice. It has blue clear acrylic to keep algae and coralline from growing in it from light exposure. It also has 5/8" tubing and fittings for more flow to better tumble the pellets. No sponges to get clogged, already equipped with plastic mesh plates to keep the pellets in. I hooked it up lasts night and it seems to work great. Will check back in a few weeks and see what my PO4 is after the bacteria has had time to develop from the new media being added.

 

[Lyfey]

Is the maxijet strong enough? I am having problems with my dual BRS reactor with the MJ1200 after a few weeks, the carbon side gets clogged so it loses flow, wondering if a bigger pump will stop that. I might have to change to a larger carbon media.

-Chris

 

[OneReef]

Is the maxijet strong enough? I am having problems with my dual BRS reactor with the MJ1200 after a few weeks, the carbon side gets clogged so it loses flow, wondering if a bigger pump will stop that. I might have to change to a larger carbon media.

-Chris

The MJ1200 is way plenty to tumble my 750ml of pellets. They are really churning around.

 

[OneReef]

Fish change:

One large green reef chromis out
One female Lyretail Anthias out

Ventralis Anthias trio added (hope the delicate things survive the first night)

 

[OneReef]

A very short video of my SMR1 Biopellet reactor running:


<object width="640" height="385"><param name="movie" value="http://www.youtube.com/v/cX4NkB0nR94?fs=1&hl=en_US"></param><param name="allowFullScreen" value="true"></param><param name="allowscriptaccess" value="always"></param><embed src="http://www.youtube.com/v/cX4NkB0nR94?fs=1&hl=en_US" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowscriptaccess="always" allowfullscreen="true" width="640" height="385"></embed></object>

 

[OneReef]

By adding 250ml more of EcoBak pellets, my total is now 750ml on my 150g. Phosphates are now at all time low on the Hanna meter, at .02. I'll see how low I can take them with the pellets.

 

[OneReef]

Skimmer Action:


My skimmer has been working well lately. It is pulling out more junk since the addition of the biopellets. It is the Vertex Alpha Cone 170, Red Dragon 1000 pump.