dsepp's 90g tank -- low tech and lot's of patience

D

dsepp

New member
My tank has been up for about 2 years now and I just recently did a big rearrange of the rocks and coral. Seems like as good a time as any to start a tank thread (since I didn't start one 2 years ago when the tank was new). So here is a pic of the tank, sorry about the reflections in the glass.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5196298924/" title="pic1_11202010_small by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm5.static.flickr.com/4089/5196298924_b98d820444.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="pic1_11202010_small" /></a>

Start out with the facts
Tank: 90 gal glass
Sump: ~10 gal acrylic with overflow
Return pump: Rio Aqua rated for about 650gph
Skimmer: none
Circulation: 1 Koralia and 1 Tunze each pushing about 1500gph
Lights: 4 110W VHO, 2 actinic, 2 white
ATO: 2 level switches (redundant) with MJ1200 pump
Rock: 120lb of live rock, ~15lb in sump
Sand: ~4" of fine sand in DT, ~6" of mud and sand in sump
Supplements: Kalk in ATO water

I know that's not much to start with, but the first step is always the toughest. I will add more pics by the end of the weekend. Also, I am a bit new at this, so let me know what sorts of things folks like to know and I will do my best.
 
You are MUCH further a long in 2 years then I was. I should dig up some old pics to show yo. Any favorite coral types yet?
 
I actually added a sump with a DSB (sand and mud combined) and macro at the same time I stopped using a skimmer so it is hard to know what changes were from which thing. Regardless, I am getting better coral extension and growth with the sump/no skimmer than I was with skimmer/no sump. I am guessing it has a lot to do with the added food sources that have room to grow without as much competition in the sump. May just be the tank maturing (I made the switch at around 1 year on the tank) too. In hindsight, it would have been interesting to make one change at a time so I could see what made more difference.

sgallant04 said:
Very Nice, interesting to find w/o skimmer. What changes if any do you notice w/o the skimmer?
Click to expand...
 
To round out the equipment discussion I started last week here are some pics of my sump.


<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251641154/" title="DSC_0016 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5209/5251641154_f00dec65b7.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0016" /></a>

With no skimmer and the sump I am getting pretty close to the Eco System Miracle Mud style of filtration. Some of the details are different (I don't use Miracle Mud) but the general system design is very similar. I put a bunch of rubble in the bubble chamber on the right with the bioballs that came with the system. The rock had some tube worms on it so I have a pretty dense growth of tube worms in there. I have a mass of chaeto and some smaller stands of a couple other macros in the refugium but none of that is really growing much anymore. Then there is a foam filter between the fuge and return sections.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251036173/" title="DSC_0017 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5123/5251036173_19a66d57cd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0017" /></a>

The bucket on the left is full of Kalk and has a MJ1200 in it with a tube that goes to the sump. The two white PVC slugs at the back of the sump hold redundant level switches. The turn the ATO pump on and off as needed. I have power going to the ATO system 3x per day for 1 min each time. This helps minimize the chance of dumping 3 gallons of kalk into the system if anything fails.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251036667/" title="DSC_0021 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5008/5251036667_8a00473def.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0021" /></a>

Here is the overflow. I got this whole system from the LFS and it came with the foam prefilters in the overflow. The issue I ran into right away was that it gurgled a lot when setup. One of the primary requirements for me to have this tank in the livingroom is that it stays quiet (that's why there is no skimmer too). I tried a couple complicated things like adding a short durso style drain to the overflow but I settled on getting some kids cups that fit over the foam and drilling a couple holes in the top. Same principle but a lot simpler. The whole thing has been running that way for a year now, nice and quiet.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251036839/" title="DSC_0022 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5123/5251036839_810e1e60dd.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0022" /></a>

I take about a handfull of hair and slime algae out of the corners of the overflow once a month. I think that is why the macro in the sump isn't growing; it is being out competed by the stuff in the overflow. Its my own little algae scrubber.

Next post will be pics of coral now that the technical details are out of the way. Oh, one last thing: I use an old RK2 controller to do the lights, temp, and timing controls.
 
I am still working on getting good coral pics. If anyone has some tips or a link to some it would be much appreciated. In the meantime, these are the best ones I have so far.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251054331/" title="DSC_0025 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5205/5251054331_04e612fac5.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0025" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251054497/" title="DSC_0024 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5050/5251054497_026b29c05e.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="DSC_0024" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251657456/" title="DSC_0018 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5127/5251657456_023c65c399.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0018" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251053295/" title="DSC_0016 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5161/5251053295_0627f97c2d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0016" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251657836/" title="DSC_0017 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5210/5251657836_dc172e3644.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0017" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251053991/" title="DSC_0010 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5204/5251053991_b88fc548f6.jpg" width="333" height="500" alt="DSC_0010" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251053799/" title="DSC_0020 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5121/5251053799_d4833a155d.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0020" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5251658024/" title="DSC_0019 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5162/5251658024_49efa3dfbe.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0019" /></a>

Enjoy!
 
sweet looking corals. Love the way that you have all of you equipment setup and automated with the kalk top off.
 
Looks like you’re off to a good start. It’s was surprising to me that you do not use a skimmer, but that is the beauty of this hobby; there is no right or wrong way. It looks like it been plenty successful for you. Do you just have the one fish? How long did it take you to grow out the (Seriatopora hystrix)? Keep up the good work!
 
Glad to hear folks like the tank. There are 6 fish in the tank: 3 Spotted Cardinals, a Clown Fish, a Yellow Eye Cole Tang, and a Coral Beuty Dwarf Angel. I am thinking about getting a strawberry pseudochromis next, we'll see.

seesick said:
Looks like you're off to a good start. It's was surprising to me that you do not use a skimmer, but that is the beauty of this hobby; there is no right or wrong way. It looks like it been plenty successful for you. Do you just have the one fish? How long did it take you to grow out the (Seriatopora hystrix)? Keep up the good work!
Click to expand...
 
I got a red/grey-ringed Acan Lord from Gomer about 3wks ago. The first day in my tank if seemed to fill out well and be pretty happy. Then I moved it to a more permanent place and used some 2 part epoxy to fix it in place. It was about 1/2 way down in the tank.

About a week and a half later it had receded significantly and was looking pretty bad. I finally decided I needed to do something so I removed it, dipped it in Revive, and replaced it in the sand in the lowest flow place I could find. There is a lobo in my tank that has slowly been fading for the last several months but other than that everything is thriving. I dipped it in the Revive at the same time as the Acan just in case there was something that only effected those two corals. I have also been trying a little direct feeding to nurse the Acan back. And finally, I added some carbon in a reactor just in case it was some coral chemical warfare or water quality.

Here is a pic of how it looks now. Pale shadow of how it started.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5288311925/" title="DSC_0003 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5288/5288311925_7c4f768203.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0003" /></a>

Fortunately, it looks like it is starting to recover. I have seen feeding tentacles out after lights out and it seems to be a little fuller during the day.

Anyone have any other suggestions for nursing an Acan back to life? Also, any ideas on why it might have happened would be appreciated. Could it be the epoxy so close to the Acan? Maybe just location? I would really like to avoid issues like this in the future so suggestions are welcome.
 
If you have tissue that's ok, you will be ok :-D

The epoxy could have done if it it got too close. When epoxy cures, it heats up. It is possible that is what happened. Now worries. Learning experiences are a good thing :-D

edit: also, LPS are usually the first to show signs of low Magnesium stress. If you supplement or do regular water changes, you are probably safe there. Do you have other LPS and are they ok?
 
Gomer, I do have a couple other LPS in there doing fine and I do regular water changes so I don't think it is the mag. I checked it once 4-5 months ago and it was in the 1400s somewhere. Fortunately, it does look like it is on its way back now. The epoxy is the only obvious thing that I could think of, but I figured it was chemicals leaching out during curing. Hadn't thought of the heat, good call.

Gomer said:
If you have tissue that's ok, you will be ok :-D

The epoxy could have done if it it got too close. When epoxy cures, it heats up. It is possible that is what happened. Now worries. Learning experiences are a good thing :-D

edit: also, LPS are usually the first to show signs of low Magnesium stress. If you supplement or do regular water changes, you are probably safe there. Do you have other LPS and are they ok?
Click to expand...
 
Aragocrete sucks!

Aragocrete sucks!

I picked up a new frag rack late last week so I could make some room for a few new corals. It seemed like such a good plan. Then I modified it a little so it would fit in the way I wanted and dropped a few aragocrete frag plugs in on Friday to see if the magnets were going to hold. This morning, one of the best corals in the tank was 80% bleached!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/39359774@N02/5582224595/" title="DSC_0014 by sallyepp, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.static.flickr.com/5108/5582224595_3c6e89eb3b.jpg" width="500" height="333" alt="DSC_0014"></a>

Just goes to show, I should have paid a bit more for the ceramic or acrylic frag plugs. Would have saved myself the trouble of a 20 gallon water change. On the other hand, I did want to make some room.
 
Last edited:
Dude that sucks. Sorry to hear about that. Could it be anything else that caused the bleaching? I do not have any experience with that type of frag plug.
 
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