90 Gal Corner Reef

[nyxx]

Hey guys,

I've looked at a lot of spectacular tanks of this forum and others and I've yet to post mine. It's nothing compared to some of the stuff I see around here. I'm hooked on SPS for sure. Anyway, I recently upgraded from a 55 gal (which was an upgrade from a Biocube :spin1 to this 90 Gal corner I found on Craigslist.

I've plumbed the sump to my garage with a water changing station. It's pretty awesome not having all that utility underneath my tank and in my house.

This is a mixed reef, but mostly SPS. I've only been in the hobby for about a year, so there's a ton yet to learn. So far things have been growing and the colors are coming along nicely. I sure have learned a lot having a few tanks now and this forum has been a huge help. To the images...

Most of the acro frags here are from Battlecorals (http://battlecorals.com) - definitely highly recommend, Adam is super cool and has some amazing SPS.

I'm a web developer out of Seattle and so for fun I built a web app that can control my pumps (Jabeo RW-20) and I can set any pattern I like. I used a Raspberry Pi to control it. If you're curious, here's a video of it in action: http://77f723a01e05a6569de8-9d5d12924c61ab7b490944677ea42be8.r64.cf5.rackcdn.com/reef/wave_1.mp4

 

[nyxx]

A few more...

Here's a quick photo in the garage.

Let me know if you see something wrong

 

[oldbones]

You must know one heck of a good plumber!!!

Tank is looking great Nick. I'm impressed with how fast the color has bounced back after the big move!

I'm liking that purple monti over on the left side. If it gets overgrown, let me know! Maybe by then I'll have something worth trading you.

 

[Wazzel]

Nice start. If you have even moderate success you are going to run out of room real quick. You got lots of stuff I there.

 

[RustNeverSleeps]

Looks great so far, thanks for sharing.

 

[ajcanale]

What camera and lens are you using? Top downs and FTS look great!

 

[nyxx]

What camera and lens are you using? Top downs and FTS look great!

Thanks! I'm using a Nikon D600 with a 50mm (cheap - $100). I would get a macro but I'm more into landscapes when it comes to photography.

I'm using a 24mm F/2.8 for the wider shots.

 

[markalot]

Very nice looking tank. What lighting are you using? Can you tell us about parameters you like to run at?

 

[sk8elenex92]

Great looking tank. Are you dosing anything?

 

[nyxx]

Thanks guys - here's a few details about the tank:

- I'm using the 36" ReefBreeders Photon series (nothing too fancy but I really like it so far)
- Vertex Skimmer with a Sedra pump, sounds weird but it works great.
- I've been dosing BRS two part, but since my salinity took a big dip while making the move from the other tank my ATO is saltwater so that's been keeping things well replenished. I also don't have mad coralline growth at the moment so things aren't being consumed super rapidly.
- I feed very heavily and keep a pretty stocked tank
- I harvest a lot of Chaeto from my sump every month

My target levels are pretty standard:
Calcium 400
Alk 7-8 dKh
Mag 1350
Nitrate 0-1 < -------|
Phosphate 0-0.8 <-- I don't test unless I see something off
1.025 SG
78-79 deg F

As what I hear all the time - I'm aiming mostly for stability and avoiding chasing numbers. Most pros I've read or talked to say simple is good - so that's what I'm after. I try and get as much flow as possible without sand storms. I'm now regretting having such fine sand in the tank, even though I love the look it means I have to tone things down or else everything is a white blur.

Really excited to see some of these acros grow! Most have encrusted the entire plug, so growth isn't too far away... (maybe a few years )

 

[Sw1tchG3ar]

Tank looks awesome!!! Well done.

 

[Wiskey]

Very nice!!

Whiskey

 

[markalot]

Thanks guys - here's a few details about the tank:

- I'm using the 36" ReefBreeders Photon series (nothing too fancy but I really like it so far)

Thanks for the info. I have a small photon over my smaller tank and I've had a time dialing it in. What do you run your blue/white channels at and what kind of schedule?

I'm a pain with the questions.

 

[Quiverfull]

I really like your aqua scape, especially the "cliff" I'm the left. I had a bow front at one time, awesome looking tank but I had too many dead spots with flow. I see you put the power head in the front. Good idea.

 

[sahin]

You've got a beautiful mixed reef there. :beer:

What is the fish stock?

Can you provide some details as to how much is your "heavy feeding"? Thanks.

Ps would love to see more pics.