40 Stretch Hex Upgrade

Thanks Maxvan1...I will be adding abou 15 pounds more, but they will be piled up a bit....should still look very "open" i agree the less is more for sure, but i also think its good to have a decent amount of rock. I will be keeping rock rubble in my HOB filter and in a fuge....for additional biological filtration.
 
Nice looking rocks! Those will be great for the foundation to build upwards a bit. If you turn the one on the left forward just a tad bit from the angle that's it's currently sitting (right side forward about 45 degrees) and pile the new LR on top of those two you'll have a nice open sand bed area in the front for some fungia, clams or brains.

I see you went with a really shallow sand bed - looks nice.

I've had my Phoenix running now for a few months and love it. I'm getting incredible growth from my SPS. Remember, when you get your bulb, it takes about 100 hours of burn time for it to settle into it's true color.
 
I too have an Oceanic 40 gal stretch hex. I've spent a lot of time looking for photos of other tanks to get ideas for aquascaping, equipment positioning, backgrounds, etc for the stretch hex without much luck but managed to assemble a decent, open structure with plenty of hiding spaces and room to blow the detritus out of the cracks. I found plenty of ideas for hex tanks. However, the stretch hex is a bit wider and allows for a different aquascape than a straight hex is limited to.<br> Below is a photo of the tank from couple of months ago when the tank was about 3 months old. Not much different now other than the Xenia has quadrupled in size and the the colt coral has shrunk 50%.<br><strong>Here is a quick breakdown of the current hardware setup:</strong><ol><li>Oceanic 40 gal stretch-hex with stand<li>17lbs Fiji live rock, 20lbs Tonga branch live rock.<li>Custom Sea Life Power Compact with moon light, 1 65w actinic and 1 65w 20K<li>2 Maxi-Jet 900 power heads<li>600gph siphon type overflow feeding the sump<li>30gal Top-Fin long glass sump which houses:<ul><li>Coralife Super Skimmer 125<li>Coralife 9w Turbo Twist UV sterilizer<li>Power head which returns about 350gph back to the tank<li>Heater<li>10gal refugium partitioned off within the 30gal sump with a 14w Coralife Aqualight, Cheato and live rock</li></ul><li>Four X10 Pro modules to control the tank lights and refugium light. Modules are controlled via home automation computer running Homeseer.</li></ol><strong>Projects under construction:</strong><ol><li>Closed loop: 3/4" PVC pipe, Mag 7 pump and 1/2" SCWD. Will probably paint the non-submersed portion of the PVC with textured flat black paint similar to the light hood to help disguise the plumbing. Will post the design once it is completed and tested. This system will eliminate the power heads from the tank and free up more space. The overflow takes up enough space already.</li><li>After seeing this post, painting the back or some other form of background</li>
</ol><p align=center><img src="http://www.sudulfamily.org/portal/Portals/2/453/PICT1134.JPG"></p>
 
As I just mentioned in the last post, after seeing how good it looks on your tank, I am now planning to so some sort of background. I am also inspired to rearrange my rock after seeing your two pillar look. I am planning to purchase some more rock this week and will probably drill some holes to pin the rock structure together before rearranging since there is not much room to go in any other direction except upwards. Please, keep posting more photos as your tank progresses. I am very excited to finally see photos of another 40gal stretch hex and can't wait to see how it looks after you add the rest of the rock.
 
I also have a 40 stretch hex, but it's still sitting in the garage. Has anyone seen a custom made canopy for this tank?
 
Sugar...thanks for your advice. I am going to be adding a bit more rock from my other tank...I will probbaly arrange that left side a little bit....

Msdul.... Your tank looks really nice too! The 40 Hex gives a lot of versatility. If you are looking for a backgrounds, there are some available called Oceansvisipons. Supposedly they work pretty well, especially once the tank is set up. Painting it is virtually out now...not worth the risk in my opinion.

Here is a link to info on that background:

http://www.aquaricare.org/generic.html;$sessionid$ML5IYRYAAAE3HTZENUFETIWPERWRJPX0?pid=4

You can purchase it at www.thatfishplace.com Under Backgrounds.
 
Here are some updated pics after I added another 13 pounds or so of live rock from my nano tank. These will also be the last set of pics before I add the 250 Metal Halides, Skimmer and fuge. I will also be able to hide the heater in my fuge....


114_1411.jpg


114_1412.jpg
 
Here's a quick pick w/ the some OLF MEgachrome 13.5 K's MH on. The bulb in the ballast are well over a year old. But I put in the pumps, the skimmer (not on yet), the fuge (not on yet) and powerheads connected to a Wavemaster Pro. I will most likely put the Phoenix 14 K's in tommorow....and maybe a few inverts and my clown from my nano....

114_1416.jpg
 
Hey Reewik,

Actually I would love to have a sump...I used to have one when I set up a 72 Gallon a few years back....there are soo many advantages to them.... I decided against a sump on this set up because I wanted to keep it pretty simple.....didn't want to drill or go for an overflow. The tank is located in my apartment which will be (hopefully) temporary and no more then 1-2 years. I will then set up a tank in my house....

Also, I have everything up and running, including the skimmer, fuge, and new Phoenix 14 K. Wow! I can't beleive how amazing this bulb is....soo far, I totally reccomentd it 100% just for the look....here's a quick snap I took after a long day transporting some items from my nano, including my clownfish (Milo).

114_1429.jpg
 
Ok, after a long weekend of moving my nano, I am finally all moved into the 40...fish, corals, inverts and all...well, minus a mantis shrimp that has been in my tank for 8 months...I will post pics soon...
 
Looks great! Amazing how so many corals in such a small tank look so tiny when placed in a larger set up.
 
Thanks Sugar and Coralover. I know the corals do look a lot smaller but I hope with the MH up, they will grow a ton. I already notice tons of growth in just a few days.

Coralover, I see you are setting up a 43 gallon, is that a custom tank?
 
Yeah it's a custom, I wanted to go as big as I could(I already have the stand) so I got the same dimnesions for the tank as the stand which is 36"L 18"W 19"T(the stand is not 19"), im really not sure if it's a 43g or more gallons. I did that tank volume calculation here at RC with the inside dimensions of the tank and that's what it said I think.
 
Im probably not going to have pics untill I set it up, which is untill I move. I don't want to set it up now since we are planning on moving ya know.

But I have most of the equipment, I just need to sell my T5's(that I bought and now I decided to go with MH), and buy a LA3 mini(250w).:)

I thought I was going to be happy with the T5's but I like MH better, gotta love the shimmer effects.:smokin:
 
Yeah MH has such a nice affect on the tank. I have the Phoenix 14K's and I relaly like them. What equipment are you going to use....skimmer? are you drilling a sump?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

C
Question Help Plz!!!!
Replies
9
Views
609
Timfish
Timfish
A
Plumbing question
Replies
1
Views
300
kharmaguru
kharmaguru
W
Cycling new Tank
Replies
2
Views
514
C.Eymann
C.Eymann
Brian60077
Great reasonably price light system
Replies
0
Views
154
Brian60077
Brian60077
P
DIY Hang on back Sump Tank
Replies
14
Views
704
kharmaguru
kharmaguru
Back
Top