Back in the game

[Benar]

Hi guys and gals, after a bit of a hiatus I've been allowed to get up and going again. This was originally going to be Fish Only which the wife thought she'd be happy about, however recently she asked me "are you going to add any corals?" You all know what that means!
This is the scape I came up with after collecting all the Tonga I could get my hands on;

And here we are today;

A few pieces of live rock I kept in a tub seeding the display, the rest is piled in the sump.
Now for the questions. I'm looking to add only a few pieces, 3 or 4 Monti caps and 2 or 3 staghorns. I'm aiming for simplicity, will kalkwasser keep up with the demands? I've never used it before.
I've only got my DIY LEDs and the RH side 250w radium going at the moment, it's getting too warm in NZ plus I have nothing on the LH side yet anyway.

 

[coral102]

Welcome back!!! :thumbsup:

 

[DaveRaz]

Can't wait to see your reef fill in. Nice setup.

 

[Tweaked]

Love this! Keep us updated

 

[oldbones]

Looks like a nice start! Did you build the tank? Size?

 

[Djturna4thakidz]

Yeah what type of tank is that?

 

[itz frank]

So you used a few pieces of livestock to seed the dead? What percentage and how long was your cycle? Did you cycle in the tank or tub?

 

[Benar]

Cheers guys, the tank is a custom. Not good with calculation I think 68" X 28"? Just over 600L anyway. The Tonga was dry, after going through a bit of an acid bath. The rest of the rock ~60% was from the tub in my shed. Simple transfer with no cycle.
My kalk reactor should be up and running next week, I'll pick up a couple of stag frags and then I'm away with work for four weeks. Should be interesting!

 

[biggles]

Good to see you back mate, the new display looks sweet :thumbsup:

.....bloody Kiwis......

 

[Benar]

Yeah mate, been mighty busy lately..

^Glad the wife approved though!

 

[Galaxyreef]

Best of luck sir

 

[sahin]

Good to see you back mate! :beer:

 

[Benar]

Almost time to head back home, the wife has done a pretty good job, managing to beat dinos whilst I've been away. All that remains is some green cyano which I can work on when I'm back. She's mentioned that a couple of coral have fallen off though

Looking a bit guilty?

More of that green cyano to beat.

Looking a bit patchy?

I've got this wee piece waiting for me back home,

 

[reefmutt]

Just found this thread... Nice scape. And that new coral is sweet!
Hope you beat the algea issues.
Looking forward to seeing this take shape.

 

[Benar]

Cheers all, the new piece is dipped and in. A bit browner than the original buy now pic but it has potential

Might have to use biggles manganese cure soon!

 

[Benar]

Might be time to do some modding to these lights!

 

[Benar]

Things so far

Not much to look at, just for me to keep reference of progress, the greens still there, but it's better than dinos so I can't complain. Been straight back to work and only had one day off since returning so haven't been able to spend much time on the tank.
I scored the four bulb fixture for free, walked in to price up a 6-8 bulb fixture, they were chucking that out in a warehouse clean up so out the door I walked with it. The heat in NZ is just too much with halides, and I like the T5 look. The only problem is bulb cost in this country. The reflectors are wide spread so I'll have to replace them, either add two more bulbs or just butcher my LED rig and run 3 strips in between the 4 bulbs.
Also ordered some KoralColor - cheers biggles!

 

[Benar]

Ended up going with 6 bulbs. No LEDs. This piece has really browned out since the change

Thinking of ditching one or both of the cool white tubes for ati coral plus or KZ new generation.

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[reefmutt]

Nice score on that fixture.
The loripes looks fine. They often brown out.. Patience is key with that one.
Looking pretty clean in there...

 

[Benar]

Yeah sorry Matt, the back glass is still in a bit of a state :-( work in progress!
Ever so slowly adding things, probably the slowest I've ever gone - two kids now and still working for the government...for the time being.

Off to Queenstown for a wedding for a couple of weeks, am I ever home!?!