Blennymower's 75g Reef

[blennymower]

Im making this thread to show my 75g tank to my fellow reefers here in RC

I'm a college student so progress on the tank was very slow:uzi: And I've spent most of the time I've had this tank saving up for equipment!:hammer:

Any ways, some pics of how I had my tank:

So far I've had the Octopus extreme 200 series skimmer and found it didn't fit in its area. So I sold it and got this one:

I sold this one also. I thought external would be better, but I prefer a system where the risks of water spilling are minimal.
So I bought an Octopus 160 Skimmer which will go in the first section
of the sump:

The bubble trap is filled with shells I pick up from the beach. Great to reduce bubbles and much more natural than bio balls.

The sump:

 

[blennymower]

I sold the MH fixture I had. This 692 watt fixture caused my room to get uncomfortably hot, and was making my tank temperature sky rocket.

Now I'm waiting for a new TEK T5 (6x54watt) fixture to arrive. In the meanwhile I'm using an odyssea power compact fixture which is an eyesore! :hammer:

It looks like someone urinated in my tank with these lights

A Reefkeeper light which also makes maintenance a lot easier:

 

[blennymower]

The neck on this thing is fat! Fits in perfectly.

 

[blennymower]

Here's approximately two days worth of skimmate:

And here's the new fixture; A TEK T5 (6 Lamps), goes perfect with the 75.

 

[blennymower]

For Comparison



The oddysea power compact fixture:

The TEK T5 (6 lamps):

 

[blennymower]

Alright, I can't take credit for this. I was reading a lot on the TEK's and their flaw with regards to active cooling and decided that it was beneficial to add some built in fans.

Fellow reefer linked me to his thread:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1572514

So I did the same thing to my TEK, instead of using three fans I decided to go with four. Here are the pics:

Holes were cut with a jig saw with the help of my uncle

Put on the grills

Fans installed

And this is the fan controller.It allows me to control the the speed of each fan. It's connected to my Reefkeeper, so it turns on with the lights.

 

[blennymower]

Got some new Corals :bigeyes:


This one was under the name "Gold Maxima"

Green toadstool, I love this coral

There were two identical clams. However, I chose this one because it had a cool hitchhiker

 

[blennymower]

FTS

 

[blennymower]

I had Blue Jaw Trigger that wasn't eating, so I decided to take it back to the LFS before it died of starvation in my tank and got this guy:

These two pictures are after the treatment

After buying this fish, he came down with various infections. He had a serious looking bacterial infection in one eye (it was white/cloudy) and had what looked like transparent flatworms crawling on him. Also he had what looked like fin rot on the right pectoral fin.

I thought he was a goner but I felt really bad just letting him die without doing anything. I set up an unused sump as a hospital tank and treated with copper sulfate, Furan-2, and Metronidazole. In a week and a half he was good as new and has since been very healthy in the tank. His ferocious appetite helped.

I thought this was funny. My Lawnmower Blenny was perched on the veggie clip, hanging out like it's all good. Surprisingly he let me take the pictures.

 

[TomDe]

GREAT job on the fans. I may put 2 in my new Tek fixture.

 

[mnml]

Very nice looking set up you've got there. What bulb combo are you running for the TEK fixture?

 

[blennymower]

Very nice looking set up you've got there. What bulb combo are you running for the TEK fixture?

Im using 4 blue plus, 1 aquablue special, and 1 that I'm not sure of the name but its pinkish.

 

[Reeftanks6]

Looking really good

 

[iwishtofish]

Super nice, blennymower! Are you using an acrylic splash shield with your modified Tek fixture? Do your fans blow air from the top down, or suck air up from the bottom?

I'm wondering about the splash shield because using one might allow you to make sure your fans draw air in at the ends of the bulb (specifically the end with the writing) for optimal cooling.

 

[blennymower]

Super nice, blennymower! Are you using an acrylic splash shield with your modified Tek fixture? Do your fans blow air from the top down, or suck air up from the bottom?

I'm wondering about the splash shield because using one might allow you to make sure your fans draw air in at the ends of the bulb (specifically the end with the writing) for optimal cooling.

I have the fans blowing into the TEK. The air movement is really good, My hand can feel the air moving from the top, side, and end slots. I can even feel air moving out from the gap where the shield rests on the TEK. The entire fixture is cool to the touch. I can even leave my hand on the shield, the shield is hot, but not enough to make you want to take the hand off.

 

[iwishtofish]

Sounds great, and I really like your aquascaping, as well. Your tank will serve as an inspiration for the 75g build that I have assembled (just need stand and live rock).

I'll also be using a non-cooled Tek fixture, only it is a 36" 6-bulb, so we'll see how that works out. Maybe I'll figure out how to mod it for a couple fans, also! Since my fixture is a bit short, let me ask you this: Do you find the center brace of your tank blocks much light and casts a shadow?

 

[blennymower]

How come you're going with a 36" and not a 48"? (assuming you have a standard dimensions tank)

 

[SWINGRRRR]

Info on the fans and controller?

 

[iwishtofish]

How come you're going with a 36" and not a 48"? (assuming you have a standard dimensions tank)

Well...er...bought the 36" for a 40 breeder, then decided I wanted to go a little bigger on the tank!

We'll see how it goes. I can always keep lower light corals at the ends for now. I'm just a little worried about the center brace blocking my valuable light!

 

[Kayo2289]

hey man nice setup imma post pics of my 90g real soon you should check them out.

and since i live in Miami too i probably frequent the same stores u do... what part of 305 r u at?