Jackson's 115 Gallon Custom Cube 32x32x26

[jackson6745]

T5s are my favorite too. Tank is looking great.

Thanks Your frags are ready. I'll contact you soon.

Looking great buddy! :beer: Would be interested in the PAR levels in your tank.

Thanks bud Par numbers coming soon. Just borrowed a meter from a friend.

I second that!

On the way

Also, can you comment on distance your fixture is
from waterline?

The halide bulb itself is 10"-11" from water surface. The fixture is 8" from water
surface.

How did I manage to miss seeing this thread before now? Nicely done!!

Thanks Greg. Glad you like it. I'm a big fan of your reef

 

[cFloor]

Excellent update, your tank is really looking good!

 

[mhucasey]

Ooooh par numbers, I'm very interested to see these!

 

[mhucasey]

Oh, and a borbonius anthias!!! So.very.jealous.

 

[biggles]

The display and acros are looking beautiful Richard, those borby things are about $250- each here which is the only reason i don't have one lol. Really cool looking fish :thumbsup:

What's that really fancy red wrasse mate, i need a red fish and there's no way i'm ever trying a stupid flame again........

 

[jackson6745]

Excellent update, your tank is really looking good!

Thanks:wave:

Oh, and a borbonius anthias!!! So.very.jealous.

The display and acros are looking beautiful Richard, those borby things are about $250- each here which is the only reason i don't have one lol. Really cool looking fish :thumbsup:

What's that really fancy red wrasse mate, i need a red fish and there's no way i'm ever trying a stupid flame again........

Thanks Biggles+mhucasey. The blotchy anthias are $99 each by me. Still expensive but affordable to what they used to be. The red wrasses is my male flame. There is yellow on it, but the camera settings made it come out a little dark. I actually get more realistic color from my iPhone than my dslr

 

[markalot]

What are the white bits in the sandbed? Sorry if I missed this explanation. Tank looks fantastic, can't wait to see the PAR numbers

 

[jackson6745]

What are the white bits in the sandbed? Sorry if I missed this explanation. Tank looks fantastic, can't wait to see the PAR numbers

I added two little fishes reborn (coarse calcium reactor media) to the high flow spots. Since adding in the gyre 130, the sand was blowing all over. This solved that problem. I've seen it in other tanks before It really looks cool when it become coraline covered. Par number coming this evening. With the AC halide + overdriven t5, I'm expecting 700+ in the center and 300 on the sandbed.... but we'll see later :lol:

 

[AD87]

Richard,

Your tank is very inspiring, well thought out. Makes me want to run halide again.

 

[glaukos]

Awesome pics rich:beer:
I really liked the fts!

Frag rack excused
I see you added some CC,why is that?

 

[jackson6745]

Richard,

Your tank is very inspiring, well thought out. Makes me want to run halide again.

Thanks bud I made the dimensions of this tank with a single halide in mind as the primary lighting source. Even though it's a 400w halide, it's relatively efficient when you consider the bright complete coverage and the 6 hr MH photoperiod. It does throw off heat though, which was welcomed this winter, but a burden this summer. To me, color and growth rate under this light is worth the heat and bulb changes

Awesome pics rich:beer:
I really liked the fts!

Frag rack excused
I see you added some CC,why is that?

LOL a good portion of that rack will be gone later . I hate having racks in the tank. Next upgrade will be to plumb in a 20g-30g frag tank. I have an extra light + vortech, only need the tank

The CC is to keep the sand down. It's like a whirlpool in there now with the gyre 130 in the mix. I like the flow on these pumps, but mine broke in only 3 weeks. One of the bushings in the impeller stripped but it came with a replacement part. Not sure if it's going to make the cut long term, we'll see.

 

[echopiece]

Looking great Rich! Can't wait to see those PAR numbers. IIRC, you don't run a chiller in the summer? How high does your water temp reach?

For some reason I don't have any burning desire to try the gyre pump. I wouldn't mind 2 new QD mp40's

 

[jackson6745]

Looking great Rich! Can't wait to see those PAR numbers. IIRC, you don't run a chiller in the summer? How high does your water temp reach?

For some reason I don't have any burning desire to try the gyre pump. I wouldn't mind 2 new QD mp40's

Hey Marty! I don't use a chiller on this tank. It is located in a small spare bedroom (tankroom ) and I keep the ambient room temp around 70 year-round. In the summer the tank will never break 80. I have a desk fan angled at the light and water surface that comes on when the temp breaks 78. The fan is very effective at keeping temp down.
The QD pumps look awesome, but Im not in a rush to sell what I have for less than half of what I paid, especially since the performance is good

 

[jackson6745]

I wasn't able to place numbers all over over the tank like some guys do but I tested par and it was pretty high.

In the center of the tank just below water surface was 820
A few inches down where frag rack is 700
Pearberry colony 530 (10" from water surface)
Sandbed 300

This is about 25% more par with the 14k AC halide than I was getting with the Radium.

pic for reference
DSC_0007 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

 

[fishresponse]

Richard - incredible tank. I'm sure you get sick of hearing that . I've been doing my own experiment with LEDs and T5s and have been thinking of going back to MH/T5 combo. Your tank is giving me more of a push especially with those incredible colors! Now to get the wife on board

 

[jackson6745]

Richard - incredible tank. I'm sure you get sick of hearing that . I've been doing my own experiment with LEDs and T5s and have been thinking of going back to MH/T5 combo. Your tank is giving me more of a push especially with those incredible colors! Now to get the wife on board

Don't get sick of hearing it LOL. Thank you :bdaysmile::wave:
If your tank dimensions can really utilize the entire spread of a halide, it can be very efficient. Tanks such as a 180 would need 3 halides, but the 24" width don't utilize the spread. A 200g DD would only need 2 halides etc.. Same goes for many other sizes.

 

[glaukos]

Cool to know that rack will be gone rich
Hate them too

Thanks for the reply about the CC

 

[jackson6745]

Cool to know that rack will be gone rich
Hate them too

Thanks for the reply about the CC

Yep the rack is gone. I shipped a bunch of those tenuis frags + other stuff the other day out and killed most of them. Apparently the boxes got too hot and cooked the frags. What a waste. Many months of growth :thumbdown
Good news is that a frag finally made it live and well to the west coast (Cali), and 2 are in Florida. Bad news is that I'm done shipping for a long time. I killed way too many frags.
Copps makes it look easy lol

 

[Wazzel]

Looking good Richard. Sorry to hear about your shipping disaster.

 

[afernandez]

This is why I tell you I can pick up!! Lol

Sorry to hear your shipping troubles . I recently had a frag not make it due to the heat pack NOT working ..