47G SPS...Revamp

sahin said:
Many thanks guys. Glad you like the new scape. I am going to stick to only keeping around 25-30 SPS corals in the display...not going overboard with lots of frags this time.



The rocks were cycled in a vat for around six weeks before they went into the tank. I have been dosing the following bacteria: Microbe Lift Special Blend, Microbe Lift Nite-Out II and Zeovit Zebac every day.

Particularly with Zeovit, you can add corals after 14 days. But I have allowed far longer than that as I am not running Zeolites etc, just dosing bacteria to cycle the tank fast. The 3 corals I have added so far are fine. The Acro frag would have RTN'd by now if conditions werent decent in the tank.

But to be on the safe side with the rest of my corals, I am allowing another month for the tank to stabilise.

I would advise you add a few frags to test your system to get an idea if the tank is ready etc.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the help. I added a green slimmer and an ORA blue tort to check. Parameters have been stable for the last few weeks.
 
Pre-Drilled Rocks for Pegging SPS...

Pre-Drilled Rocks for Pegging SPS...

This is sort of old school style, and was hard work, but IMO well worth it. I decided to drill holes in the rock so that 5mm acylic tubes can be inserted into the rock to hold corals and can also be easily removed allowing me to move corals around, take them out etc etc with ease.

I laid out the rocks in exactly how they would be in the tank to work out where I would be attaching corals and then drilled holes on the rocks with coral placement in mind.
photo3_zps0b8d232a.jpg


photo4_zps05fd4cf9.jpg


To do this I knew if I used a masonry drill bit it would cause the rock plates and branch rocks to shatter and break apart...so I busted out my Bosch Metal Drill Bits and just like drilling glass, sprayed water here and there and painstakingly drilled over 35 holes on the rocks.
 
Looking really good Sahin! Getting rid of the old owerflow box was a good call. Can't wait to see this beauty getting filled up with Acroporas:bounce3:
 
Thank you for the compliments.

Pocci my sump is VERY simple; only has skimmer, some liverock and 1litre of Sera Siporax in the middle chamber, Phosban Reactor with a mixture of GAC and GFO, and the return pump. Pics were taken a while ago I think before the liverock went in, but otherwise it is the same currently.

photo2_zpsa382de4d.jpg

I would have the Fauna Marin Balling Lite dosing bottles for Ca+Alk+Mg on the left hand side, but currently not needed.

photo1_zps7c19d051.jpg
 
Love the new start mate :thumbsup: I recently removed two thirds of my LR and only have 10.5 kilos in the display now so i like your new minimal rock scape a lot :)
You're very highly regarded here Sahin, myself and many others are looking forward to watching you document your reefs progress my friend. :beer:

Sand............ :) I dunno about this hole drilling business, if i tried that the whole rock would shatter to pieces. What size are those holes and what do you stick on the acro's bum to poke in those holes. Your holes intrigue me and i want to know more about them Sahin...........:p
 
Ok sahin.... Biggles is 'intrigued' by the holes in your rock..


Do NOT, I mean DO NOT let him in your house!!! :)
 
biggles said:
Love the new start mate :thumbsup: I recently removed two thirds of my LR and only have 10.5 kilos in the display now so i like your new minimal rock scape a lot
You're very highly regarded here Sahin, myself and many others are looking forward to watching you document your reefs progress my friend.

Sand............ I dunno about this hole drilling business, if i tried that the whole rock would shatter to pieces. What size are those holes and what do you stick on the acro's bum to poke in those holes. Your holes intrigue me and i want to know more about them Sahin...........
Click to expand...

Hi Biggles!!!

Nice to see you on my thread mate, and thanks for the compliment...though the highly regarded bit...I am sure Kevin forced you to write that :facepalm:
-How is he these days???

Hopefully I will be able to document the tanks progress all the way through. At least thats my intention.

Sand...Yes...Whilst barebottom is great for EASY nutrient management...in terms of aesthetics it doesnt fit in with most peoples idea of a reef tank...and visitors; both reefers and non reefers always question the lack of sand...Also, I'd like to keep some LPS like a scoly etc, which look better on a sandbed IMO...So sandbed it is. ;)

The Holes...Pics make it easy to explain:

5mm Rods from Ebay:
DSC_5569_zps2dad04b9.jpg


Putty to Acro's Bum...2cm length will do...:uhoh2:
DSC_5571_zpsfa4ee559.jpg


Insert into hole...its a tight fit...No snail or hermit is pulling it out...
DSC_5570_zps434c9b58.jpg


As the coral grows, you can twist the coral in its position to control growth/encourage growth other side etc...Yes, some part of the coral will encrust, but because the putty isnt stuck to the rock, makes it much easier to remove and place in different position etc.

You can easily moves corals around too...remove for dipping (hope that never happens)...etc etc..

To be honest I got the idea from Dave, user 250G (TOTM May 2007) - had an absolutely phenomenal tank...probably the best out of all the the TOTM's out there. Dave's tank thread: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=991002 - Very long thread, but oh so nice to read on a rainy day...amazing photos of the nicest Acros..:inlove:

reefmutt said:
Ok sahin.... Biggles is 'intrigued' by the holes in your rock..


Do NOT, I mean DO NOT let him in your house!!!
Click to expand...

I'm more worried about Kevin getting ideas...and turning up at my place... :uhoh3: I heard he flies on airlines undetected...
 
Hi,

I've been lurking around for quite a while and I like your upgrade. My 50 gallon took a nose dive too with STN, RTN, and algae madness. Everything is doing better with alk and calcium consumption going through the roof now. Your acros should do well with those new rocks. It should make an ideal display.......................Jim
 
Jim Z. said:
Hi,

I've been lurking around for quite a while and I like your upgrade. My 50 gallon took a nose dive too with STN, RTN, and algae madness. Everything is doing better with alk and calcium consumption going through the roof now. Your acros should do well with those new rocks. It should make an ideal display.......................Jim
Click to expand...

Yeah, the single SPS frag that I put into the tank, has so far been doing just fine. Has great Polyp Extension (which isnt exactly a sign of health, but too often I've noticed reduced PE in my corals when they arent happy). In fact if you look at the photos I posted earlier today, the frag has nice PE even after I removed it from the rock and placed in on the sand to take the pic.

So I am hoping the STN issues have disappeared.

spsfreak1977 said:
Great tank
What's your bulb combo ?
Click to expand...

Thanks, using the following for a "complete" spectrum:

Front
ATI Blue+
ATI Actinic
ATI AquaBlueSpecial
ATI Coral+
---LED's---
ATI Blue+
ATI AquaBlueSpecial
ATI Actinic
ATI Blue+

Its pretty much a "14K" look. Years ago when I had what I consider the best colours that I ever had under T5's, I was using ATI ABS's...hence I am going to try them out again. Also, the "blue" look has worn off for me at the moment...:spin3:

I hope I am able to get back the colouration I got before.
 
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