50g SPS build

[cpllongjk]

Ive thought about venting the sump/frag room back into the house but do not want too much moisture/humidity in my room. Where my display sits will be my man cave and while there are 2 doors, one to the front and one to the back of the house, I can already feel some humidity even in the winter with no heater attached yet. My tank is sitting at a solid 70 degrees which is awesome since I keep my house set to 68-71 during the winter.

If I vent the room it must be up through the attic or through the wall, the easiest would be through the attic since power is already there.

 

[cpllongjk]

Like the rockwork or should I change anything? 2 islands look.

Please give comments/suggestions if you would improve on anything.

 

[Yedgy]

Great build so far! It may be a bit cliché, but I'd suggest using the rocks at the top of the right island to build an arch connecting the two islands. That way you get more vertical room for growth, and more total surface area for mounting corals.

Keep it up! :thumbsup:

 

[cpllongjk]

I've thought about building an arch too but I do not want to connect the two islands. I only ordered 30 lbs and this is pretty much it minus a few small pieces of rubble. My main goal was the 2 islands and to hide the overflow as much as possible.

I really wish I would have built a stand and tank that has the 36x24x18 footprint. I think my next build will have that footprint. The extra depth, front to back, will be loved.

 

[cpllongjk]

Top down view

 

[scar79]

Lookin good so far. I have a 57 Illuminata and also wish I had more room front to back. Next tank will probably be a deep dimension 150 or 250 depending on budget and space

 

[cpllongjk]

Got my sunpower in the mail tonight. Bulb combo is (front to back) blue+, blue+, coral+, purple+, blue+, blue+.

Do you all think I should mount this light into my floating canopy or just leave it hanging over my tank as is? It wouldn't be too hard mounting in the canopy but it would take a little bit of time. I would probably have to drill the ati sunpower is the only drawback.

 

[bobssecrtsn]

id prefer it like the way it is now, there stainless steel is super sleek and clean theres no need to hide it from anything,

 

[cpllongjk]

The boss told me tonight to put it in the canopy. So that's what ill be doing. Sometimes you have to listen to your wife! DARN!

I guess the canopy option will allow me to place a strip of reefbrites in there and give it a nice finished look as well.

 

[sahin]

The boss told me tonight to put it in the canopy. So that's what ill be doing. Sometimes you have to listen to your wife! DARN!

I guess the canopy option will allow me to place a strip of reefbrites in there and give it a nice finished look as well.

Oh well. You got to listen to the boss. But, yeah a strip of Reefbrite in there will really pop those corals. Works out quite well.

 

[cpllongjk]

Thanks. I'm gonna give the tank a good 4-6 weeks to completely cycle even though I could use the zeovit method of cycling the tank in 2 weeks I feel that a longer cycle is better for the longevity of the tank. I'm in no hurry to put corals in. Ill probably wait 4 weeks just to put a few fish in.

Gotta make sure that ammonia, nitrite, and nitrates are zero... Zero phosphates would be a + too.

 

[cpllongjk]

Update...

Everything is going good. I have some algae growing but the snails I got in Thursday are making quick work of it. I suspect it should all be gone in a week or two. Parameters are rock solid; dKH holding steady at 7.0-7.1, Ca at 400-420, Mg at 1335, Nitrate less than 0.2, and Phosphate 0.02-0.04.

I dipped the frags in Tropic Marin Pro Coral Cure for 10-15 minutes each and to my suprise there has been no browning. Polyps are extending well, and corals seem to be coloring up.

In the following photos I tried my very best to balance the colors so that you see what I am seeing in my tank. The Garf Bonsai, or "knock off Garf" not really sure, is much bluer than it was in the LFS where I got it. It seemed washed out and did have blue tips but since it has been in my tank it has gotten a lot bluer, as well as the polyps much more green.


GO ZEOVIT!

Digi

Red Planet

Miami Orchid

ORA Tricolor

Garf Bonsai (or fake, don't know)

 

[cpllongjk]

Starter frags I got for free just to see if the tank was stable enough for sps.

 

[sahin]

Been a month, how is the tank and the frags doing?

 

[Chrissypoo]

I really like the Vertex packaging...

 

[REEF SMAC]

Been a month, how is the tank and the frags doing?

+1

Nice job on the build.

 

[sahin]

Been 2 months lol how about an update?

 

[ashish]

Very nice & good choice in equipment.. thumbs up

Expensive hobby huh?

 

[sahin]

Buuuuuuummmmmmmp. Is this tank still running?

 

[cpllongjk]

Hey there, Im back.

I am very sorry for not posting sooner but I have been very busy the past year. My wife and I had our second child in April and with both kids being 2 and under I haven't had much time for much of anything.

However, I have finally pinned down a schedule to do my reefing and the kids are just now getting into the "fish" thing. In truth, I let things go over the past 9-10 months. I am going to clean everything up and eventually will go back to a bare bottom tank. I really miss my bare bottom tank and how easy it was to get rid of detritus compared to a tank with a sand bed. I will also redo the rockscape as I have always been unhappy with the current rockscape.

Next month I need to order a new set of t5 bulbs and when I do I was also thinking of picking up a reefbrite blue strip to add to my fixture for that royal blue pop. I was thinking about going back to metal halides and LEDs but I really like the color combinations and how t5s light the full tank. I also like how the corals looked under my t5s. Corals that look like little pastel sticks looks very sexy imo.

If you are still subscribed to this thread I really do apologize and stay tuned.

Jared