45g skimmerless/sumpless build

[dabandit]

Never done a build thread on rc before and this type of build are few and far between so I figured I'd share for anyone who might be interested.

Specs so far;
-45g bow front 24''deep
-koralia 550 gph I have a 1200gph I'll throw on down the road when its time for sps
-fluval 305 canister filter currentlly filled with LR rubble media to be changed upon tank demand
-30lbs aragonite sand
-currentlly 30lbs dry rock
-72w cree xpg r4 fixture with 60 and 90 degree optics

Tank has been cycling for a few months,been changing water 20% every 2 weeks since diatoms started appearing,test kits will be here this week I'll give full parameters then.

Heres some reef porn from one of my old tanks to hold your attention while I get something to look at toghether from the new tank. My old skimmerless 10g

 

[dabandit]

Ok here we go.
Bought my light on ebay for 160$!!! seller says its made in china with american chips as per his specs,one of the few I found that was dimmable.
I dont know jack about led but I know these are solid....(bulbs?) diodes or whatever they are lol surprise surprise arrived looking like this.

Half hour later with goggles and pliers it now looks like this,supplier is sending me a new piece of glass from u.s.a

And in action at 10%

 

[richib86]

if you're not running a skimmer, why not run the surface skimmer adapter for the fluval. i ran it on my 305 on my 36 gallon bow front and the water surface was always crystal clear

 

[dabandit]

if you're not running a skimmer, why not run the surface skimmer adapter for the fluval. i ran it on my 305 on my 36 gallon bow front and the water surface was always crystal clear

Great idea,thanks I didn't know such a thing existed i'll definetlly look into it.

 

[dabandit]

Ok update,about 3 weeks ago my params all stabilized so I added a few hardy corals and a fish.
replaced the 550gph powerhead with a 1250gph I had from an old tank also started running 2 tbsp of GFO and 1/4 cup carbon in my filter,removed all the ceramic things from filter.
Had a nitrate spike up to 160!!!! but down to 1 now

Basic params are;
-nitrate 0-1
-calcium 440
-ph 8
-salinity 1.024
Nitrates have been dropping this past week from 160 around 15-20 a day as I'm starting to see bubbles coming from the LR as the denitirfying bacteria are starting to do their thing during this week HA came and went it hasnt regrown yet and likelly wont due to the lack of nutrients. And finally coraline algae is starting to appear EVERYWHERE seeded by the snails leading me to believe its time for some sps :spin3:

Time for some growth shots...3 weeks in my tank
Armor of god before

and now 4 new heads

Purple monster (i think) before

and now 5 new heads

and the rest;acan...fully healed where it was fragged eating like crazy,pink zoas 5-7 new heads,ninja turtle/mixed zoas at least 8 new heads and finally a kenya tree

FTS

 

[dabandit]

Forgot to mention,added the bigger powerhead to cause more disturbance on the waters surface a scum was developing now I have 1'' waves with around 1400gph total lol also with the lack of a skimmer I was concerned about lack of aeration in my 24'' deep tank.

As far as maintainance goes no water changes yet just the two gallons I replace in my filter when I clean it once a week and a little under 1/2 gallon a day top off.:thumbsup:

 

[dabandit]

I guess this thread is for my own purposes,I think I saw a tumbleweed blow through a few posts back lol.Not very entertaining when your not knocking walls down or buying thousanda in equipment lol. Placed a small order for a few sps and a couple ricordea from the most hated Canadian coral vendor online....I was banned on another forum for talking about him so I wont say who lol. Anyway coral gets here tommorow yay

A few more pics from some Ive the tanks I had in the past to keep it interesting;

 

[dabandit]

Well the fedex guy came yesterday. Drip acclimated for about 30-40 min a dip and into the dt they go since my tank is empty I'm not worried about quarantining them,ya ya I know. Just a small order to test the water not only in my tank but with the vendor. List was;
Purple tip granulosa
blue tip milli
purple hairy acro
red aussie prostrata
yuma x2

Anyway what I think was either the aussie or hairy acro got a little bashed up on the tip and was fresh cut,it rtn'd last night about 40% I put it out of its misery this morning. Everything else is happy and healthy.
Im not sure about the hairy acro it doesnt look like any I've seen kind of looks like some species of monti? any help on I.D would be apreciated.

Pics
Purple tip granulosa?

Blue tip Milli

Supposed to be hairy acro,dont think so? it has blue polyps

 

[dabandit]

Ugly tank of the month shot candidate here lol
Haven't vaccumed my sand in a week you can see the last of the dying diatoms and whats left of my algae on my rocks,pics are crap but theres no HA present and no diatoms or algae are growing back.
Look in the right corner of the tank you'll see black specs EVERYWHERE thats a couple hundred baby what look to be nassarius snails,hence the reason I havent vaccumed up the last of the diatoms those bad boys are like 2$ a pop in my neck of the woods if your lucky enough to find them lol. I started with 8

I'll try to get better pics if any body expresses any interest in seeing them.

FTS