Hello from Colorado

[jjlamarca]

Thought I would post up some pics and explain a little bit about my system. (Please ignore my profile as I cannot for the life of me figure out how to change it). My name is jj and I am stationed in Colorado (army at Ft. Carson, CO). I am on the BOD for our local club (thescmas.com)? but I have been watching your guys club for quite sometime because
-I am originally from temple terrace
-you guys are next to the ocean and I am not (jealous)
-you guys have some amazing lfs' s and we have 2
-world wide corals is right around the corner from you (jealous again)
- no one does anything like florida

http://www.thescmas.com/forums/showthread.php?t=15877
My build thread if anyone is interested.

I have a 900 gallon system with a 240 gal. dd dt.

The dt is a polyp dominated mixed reef with a cl system that has 2 mp40's and 3 radion pro xr 30's. I built my canopy a little to short and cannot get them to spread as well as I like so I might be adding a 4th in the near future).

 

[jjlamarca]

Sorry for the crumby pics. They were all taken with my phone and some colored filters that I got from ebay.

 

[jjlamarca]

The rest of the system consists of a 90 gallon nem/urchin tank

2 x 30 gallon mangrove/angler tank

80 gallon rimless frag flat

2 x 55 gallon qt tanks

135 gallon reactor sump and a 180 gallon lr tank.

There is also a 100 gallon sw mix tank and a 55 gallon top off tank.

All of the filtration is linked together by a reeflo hammerhead gold coming from the fishroom (basement), controlled by the apex, and monitored by a rotating camera that is linked into the apex so that I can monitor everything during my deployments.

Mechanic help includes:
-2 x reef octopus skimmers
-cadlights gfo reactor
-? (Name) bio pellet reactor
-7 x 300 watt aqueon pro heaters
-3 radion pro xr 3p
-4 china fs dimmable leds
-jaebo 12k dc pump
-5 mp40 wes
-wp40
-6 stage brs rodi
-2 electronic solenoid (for the apex to automatically fill the sw mix tank and fresh top off tank
-9 float sensors (that shut off the tank specific pump or the skimmers depending on the sensor to avoid overflowing).

Natural help includes:
-Deep sand bed in dt, mangrove tank, and nem tank
-45 adolescent mangrove trees
-around 500 each of various snails and crabs
-7 urchins
-700 lbs. of live rock

Chemical help includes:
-acro power
-purple up


The system is now complet and up and running after 6 months of non stop planning and building. I have not cleaned my glass in any tank for 5 weeks (my guess is the live rock) and only lost 3 corals since the beginning (peppermint shrimp ate the center of a wilsoni and a 2 plate corals) (peppermint shrimp are no longer with us, (given away)).
Honestly I dont really care about fish to much but I have 30 or so throughout the system.

Thanks for your time and I hope I am representing the east coat well.

If you have any recommendations please feel free to comment.

Jj

 

[rogergolf66]

Welcome.... and u r jealous of us in Florida I am jealous of that setup. That amazing!!! Love everything about it. I have been thinking of adding a large nem tank and a large mangrove system to my setup for a while now. Love the skimmers too!!! Well done.

 

[sirrealism]

Very nice. Your jealous of FL. I am Jealous of having a basement to put all of that. Very well thought out system. Only thing missing is a camera so we can really see the corals.

 

[jjlamarca]

Lol. Glad to see that yoi guys dont sleep either. Macna was hosted in denver this year anout 3 weeks ago and they. Ow have a camer that sticks to the tank (via a suction cup). I have the link from the company somewhere around here. They said it was available in november. Let me find it

 

[rogergolf66]

Lol. Glad to see that yoi guys dont sleep either. Macna was hosted in denver this year anout 3 weeks ago and they. Ow have a camer that sticks to the tank (via a suction cup). I have the link from the company somewhere around here. They said it was available in november. Let me find it

Please lmk. The only reason I don't have a camera is no where to put it but I like the idea of attaching to the tank!!!

 

[CuzzA]

Please lmk. The only reason I don't have a camera is no where to put it but I like the idea of attaching to the tank!!!

I've thought about using a bullet style camera and just enclosing it in clear PVC pipe and mouting it toward the top of the water line yet still actually have the camera lens inside the tank.

 

[janes_mw]

Very nice. Your jealous of FL. I am Jealous of having a basement to put all of that. Very well thought out system. Only thing missing is a camera so we can really see the corals.

having just moved here from Michigan .......... OHHHHHHH to have my basement again!!! It is a reefers dream (especially now that i am in Florida and trying to include everything in my 3x12 space my wife has allocated me to!!!!!

 

[jjlamarca]

Lol. We. Ought the house because of the basement. The hard part was finding one unfinished. Pretty bad when you buy a house for your fish I guess.

 

[jjlamarca]

Please lmk. The only reason I don't have a camera is no where to put it but I like the idea of attaching to the tank!!!

Ill keep you updated and send a link. It will be 230 dollars and for another 150 you can get an auto feed timer so that yiu can watch allnof your fish eat and check their health while away.

I have the apex so I wont be buying the fish feeder but its cool none the less.

 

[tony727]

I'd like that set up, but you can keep the maintenance part.

 

[jjlamarca]

I'd like that set up, but you can keep the maintenance part.

Thank you but I must have left out a key part. My maintenance time is next to nothing. My system is running extremely clean right now, thanks to bio pellets, gfo, 700 lbs of live rock, mangroves, and wet skimming. I havent cleaned my glass on any tanks in 5 weeks. My maintenance schedule consists of filter socks, skimmer cups, and fish feeding, with the occasional turkey baster for blowing off sand and/or target feeding. All in all I have an hour a month, 5 min a week, 3 minutes for feeding a day.

Water changes are completely automated except for turning 2 ball valves (100 gallon water change takes 48 sec to get water out and 64 seconds to refill with fresh sw).

Swmix tank and ato tank automatically get filled every friday via the rodi solenoids that are controlled by the apex.

I had 3x more maintenance on my 317 gallon tank before the remodel

 

[CMcNeil]

Wow that's an impressive setup,I really like your stand and hood.

 

[MJNTWise]

I am SOOOO Jealous!!!!....

 

[mrssaltwater]

I just moved to Colorado a few months ago...it's really hard to find some decent stores here. I have been spoiled to the Phoenix area stores that go every week to Los Angeles and pick up new and exciting things. Your tank looks awesome! I am in love with a few of your zoanthids.

 

[jjlamarca]

I just moved to Colorado a few months ago...it's really hard to find some decent stores here. I have been spoiled to the Phoenix area stores that go every week to Los Angeles and pick up new and exciting things. Your tank looks awesome! I am in love with a few of your zoanthids.

Thank you. We have great local vendors and crappy stores. You just joined my local forum

 

[mark.red]

Nice set up man....and welcome

 

[jjlamarca]

Thank you

 

[C4DC]

Very impressive setup. I like the way you integrate and think things out.