gjuarez3's tank, sps very soon

[gjuarez3]

Hey guys, just wanted to start a thread of my 29g tank. It will be some type of journal to keep up with progression. So far, this is where I am at. Here are a few pics:

No actinic

WIth VHO actinic

Euro-Reef skimmer. Notice there is no water in the right side, which means its not plumbed to the main display. THe water in the sump is a fresh new batch and this skimmer is still foaming up real well. Euro-reef rocks.

Sps from reefermadness coming soon. WHat do you all think so far? ANy suggestions?
JErry

 

[Clownfish11790]

I love the rock strucure. I can't wait to see the SPS, are you going to keep it BB (Bare Bottom) or a thin layer of sand or araganite? Good Luck!

 

[Kreeger1]

tunze in a 29 brave man
half the tank no corals then the flow is that strong
Hope it works for ya
Erik

 

[gjuarez3]

I actually didnt think it was enough so I added a SEIO on the opposite site. Detritus was settling on the bottom where the tunze was, thats why I added the SEIO. I am getting the tunze magnet and the flow will be hitting off the glass. NO sps will be getting direct flow. The tank will remain bb. I couldnt have sand, too much flow.

 

[gjuarez3]

I currently have 250w of mh, still debating if I should go 175w instead. Heat is not a problem. THe only thing that worries me is bleaching the sps corals. What do you all think?

 

[aural]

i think you will be perfectly fine with the 250 watt - very nice start

 

[gjuarez3]

Thanks. Not too many replies, I guess I need to start posting more pictures.

 

[gjuarez3]

Sps frags from reefermadness will be coming soon. Just two more weeks to go. Flow is great now. Heat is not an issue but the fans I installed are super noisy. THey are 85cfm, pretty strong. What do you guys think of me adding a monti cap in the center as the showpiece? I was thinking of a purple cap.

 

[Amphiprionocellaris]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6844481#post6844481 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gjuarez3
I currently have 250w of mh, still debating if I should go 175w instead. Heat is not a problem. THe only thing that worries me is bleaching the sps corals. What do you all think?

Wow...and I have 2x 250s on a 34" deep tank, and everything's doing great (acropora, monitpora, pocillopora, and giant clams). I guess that says something about the adaptivity of our livestock, doesn't it?
The only thing that might maybe (emphasis on uncertainty) concern me is the potential for color change. Not bleaching, but changing of base colors as the corals' pigments adapt. Just don't go spending a lot of money on a certain color if you don't want that color to change! Not that that should be a problem with purples.

 

[gjuarez3]

Here is some more info on my tank. I copied and pasted from another thread.

29g tank
Pine Stand
Canopy by Off the Reef (Pete)

Methodology
A modern method of the berlin system. Its barebottom, using starboard to protect the glass from rockslides. Plenty of flow to keep detritus suspended to facilitate its removal by the skimmer. Agressive skimming in the attempt to remove nutrients immediately. The goal: To maintain a nutrient poor system to grow sps.

Filtration
A little over 50 pounds of live rock
Euro-Reef 5-2 / DIY Sump/Fuge
Carbon
Weekly water changes
Weekly siphoning of detritus

Lighting
250w PFO magnetic ballast OR 175w IceCap MH E Ballast
250w 10k Reeflux - for growth
IceCap 430
2- 75w URI actinic - 420nm for coloration
2- Radio Shack Fans

Flow
Tunze 6060
Maxijet 1200
Spraybar - Mag 7 return

Cal/Alk Demand
B-Ionic
Drip Kalk
Weekly water changes
Working on a kalk reactor

Top-off
Ultralife Float Switch, dont want to have salinity/gravity issues in such a small tank.

Problems I predict
-I am pretty sure I will have heat issues. That is a lot of light for such a small tank. I have 2 175w Icecap mh setups, I may consider using one of them instead of the 250w setup. I am also buying more fans. I am planning on getting a 1/10 hp chiller in the next couple of weeks. Also, drilled my 10g sump with my dremel to plumb the mag 7 externally.

-Salinity issues. A small change in a tank this size can be huge. I will be using an ultralife automatic top-off to prevent that. Also, I finally purchased a refractometer and its in the mail.

-Corals growing out of the tank. LOL This would be a nice problem to have. I have so much faith that this will be a successful system that even though I dont have corals yet, I already bought a frag cutter. Frags coming soon!

Comments, concerns, suggestions are welcomed

 

[Milleme]

Looks good. Thats some insane flow.

I think a purple cap would be sweet. you could also put an orange one next to it so they merge, but that night take up too much room.

 

[gjuarez3]

WOw, you read my mind. Those are actually the two caps that I want to keep. Being from Cedar Park, you probably know Tim Marvin. I bought one of his purple caps some time ago and I want to get another one. Are you a member of Maast?
JErry

 

[Milleme]

No im not a member yet, but i went to the frag swap a few weeks ago.

 

[gjuarez3]

ITs a pretty cool group. THe first meeting I ever went to was in cedar park at stephen's house.

I am getting the 12 frags for 150.00 deal from ultimatefrags.com. Stay tuned for pics.

 

[Giovanni]

Did you get the SPS in there?

 

[gjuarez3]

frags will be here on Thursday. I will post pics then. I will be getting one monti cap and 11 acros. Small frags though

 

[Cody Ray]

Very cool!

 

[gjuarez3]

The frags have been delayed for this weekend. Thanks for the comments guys. This tank should be looking good in a couple of months.

 

[Cody Ray]

That's too bad, I hate when things don't come when they are supposed to.

 

[lgoins]

I think 250watts at the right height will be perfect for the tank. However, if you try to keep it 5" off the surface you will probably bleach everything that's not at the bottom of the tank.