Gamma Reef ...Sps From Brazil

[Stuginski]

Hello my fellow reefers.

My name is Daniel Stuginski and i´m from Brazil.

My reef it isn´t a trully sps reef...but a mixed reef (80% sps and 20% LPS and softs). Sooner I hope to have a trully sps only reef.

This is my data sheet:


Name of the tank; Gamma Reef in honor to the metal band Gamma Ray (Metal rules!!!)
Age of the tank: 10 months
55 Gallons, mixture of LPS and SPS.
Lighting: DIY led fixture, 48 cree leds (24 xre cool white, 24 xre royal blue) with a dimmer system, 60 degrees optics!
Skimmer: Skimz SK 251
Powerhead: 01 Vortech mp40
Substrate: None. Is a bare bottom system, I just used a ultra thin layer of aragonite glued in the bottom.
Elements: I use Balling system
Salt: HW professional
To help denitrification...vodca!!! I dose 2ml per day.
GAC: 24/7 Hydrocarbon

Parameters:

salinity: 1025
temperature: 26.5 celcius degrees
Amoniun: 0 API test
Nitrite: 0 API test
Nitrate: 0 API test (...I don´t belive)
Phosphate: 0 API test ( I don´t belive)
Ca: 430 API test
Kh: 8

Fishes; 1- Yellow tang, 1-Hepatus tang (small) and 1-Flamehawk
I know that this is a small tank for a regal tang but I will provide a larger tank in less than a year.

Pictures time....I hope you enjoy...all comments and critisism are welcome:

Sorry for my bad english....


Hails from Brazil


D.

 

[droth335]

Very nice! Thank you for sharing!

 

[edsreef]

Looks great! Your corals all have great colors. Good job!

 

[Stylaster]

Excellent SPS system! Do you have any SPS you can collect locally?

 

[mark54321]

Beautiful setup.

 

[reefinder]

very nice

 

[claudio245]

Hi Daniel,

Beautiful tank, thank´s for sharing us.

claudio

 

[chrishayes]

You have an amazingly healthy reef! Looks fantastic! Coloration is pretty close to non led tanks as far as your pictures show. Speaking of, I know how hard it is to take pics of reefs in general not to mention one using LEDs! Nice work.

This should speak to all those that think LED cannont grow a nice sps tank! I would like to know if youve had any maintanence issues with your lighting? bulbs burning out? power supplies? Im an electrician and I am one that wont use LED as my main tank lighting because of all the issues I see at work. Although, a DIY fixture is still the only way id go just because it makes replacing items so easy.

Again, great looking tank! What do you plan to replace the LPS with?

 

[DaKineReef]

Beautiful some day I hope to accomplish the same.

Thanks for sharing.

Ike

 

[Sittichai]

How much does your lighting cost?

 

[Fsurocks99]

Awesome tank!!!

 

[Stuginski]

Hi fellows...

I´m happy to know that you like my reef!

droth, edsreef, mark, reefinder, Claudio, Fsrurocks and Dakine thanks alot!!!!

Stylaster, sadly we don´t have nice reef to collect animals in my region, I live in São Paulo (southeast of Brazil)...the brazilian corals occur only in the northeast of the country. Mostly some zoas and favites (none acro)...but nothing truly beautifull...maybe just a nice green scolly specie...but Brazil isn´t the best place for corals. All my corals are from other parts of the world. Thank you for your gentle words!

Sittichai, I imported a kit like this; http://www.rapidled.com/servlet/the-57/48-Ultra-Premium-LED/Detail (385U$)
But in my case...the leds are XREs....and bought a nice piece of heatsink here...
Here has a link with a movie of my light fixture...sorry but is in portuguese...but the images are in universal language...http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tWybaQhzD2g

All the aquarium products here in Brazil are very expensive! We have a import tax of 60% of all products...so the equivalent in Aquailumination (two modules of 24 leds) will cost me something like 3,200 R$ wich is almost 1,830 U$!!! If you will go to some reef store here you will have a heart attack...skimmers of 300-400 dollars cost to us more than 2,000 R$ (more than 1,100 U$). The price of the fishes are as abusive as the other products...a super tiny hippo tang cost something like 400R$ (almos 230 U$)...so it isn´t easy to be a reefer here...Thanks for your words.

Chris,
I´m using led light since the day one of this reef...my corals are growing very well...I never had any single problem with this light fixture...it´s a very simple project...but works. My PAR readings are nice too...I know that many people blame the led technology for the unsucess...but I don´t agree with that....There is no secrets behind this. If you have a nice espectrum and a nice PAR , why should not work?

Here in Brazil...the eletric energy is very expensive too...so if I can have a nice reef...with good colors using 120W....why should I change to 500w of halides and plus a chiller? I´m happy with my leds...they don´t increase my water temperature and save me some extra money that I can spend in more sps!!
To replace my LPS....more sps!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for your words.

More pics...and sorry for my terrible english

Thank you all!

Hails from Brasil

D.

 

[smokey30]

Beautiful tank I was wondering a little bit more about your lighting?
-How high do you have the lighting system above the tank?
-How many hours do you run all lights on?
-Are your lights on dimmers? If so how intense are the blues and whites?

Reason why I ask is I have the same set up as you and I am just did an led build and I am trying to get some ideas on how other people are running there led lights

thnx
anthony

 

[sponger0]

Wow....really nice.

 

[redliner]

The colours are jaw dropping!!

 

[Stuginski]

Thanks red and sponger!!! I´m glad that you liked!

Hi Smoke...thanks for your words..

The led fixture is fixed 20cm (8 inches) above the water line...but I will increase a little more...maybe 30 cm (12 inches).

The whites I run for 10 hours...and blues for 12 hours.

I have a dimmer...but i´m running both blues and white at full power!

I use 60 degrees optics in all leds and I have 3 computer fans above the heatsink to refrigerate the leds. My dimmer was constructed with a 9V regulated powersuply and a potenciometer of 10K...I will put my scheme here:

Best regards...

D.

 

[furfeet26]

wow.. i wish my sps looked like that..
=/

 

[furfeet26]

wow.. i wish my sps looked like that..
=/

 

[chrishayes]

no no, I wasnt saying anything negative about your reef, the opposite is true. It is gorgeous and stands as a testament to whether LEDs work or not for corals. Thats all I was saying. Its just the cost is so high currently and the bulbs havent been optimized yet for growing things. Plus most are led to beleive that theyll never have to replace anything for the rest of time...this is just not true and IME these replacements happen more often than most realize. Im glad youve had good luck with yours and I wish you continued success. Ill be taggin along to watch this thing grow! Its beautiful!

 

[steevareno2002]

Sweet tank! Didyou grow all those from frags?