Jackson's 115 Gallon Custom Cube 32x32x26

[dahenley]

earlier in the thread, you said something about you not thinking the t-5 lights on your fixture.
is that your thinking that they do not put out compared to other t-5 fixtures, or that the t-5s don't show up much under the 400w?

(i am getting ready to start my 36x24x29 tank…. and love my 400w lights on my big tank. so i am going with a single 400 and wanting to add LED actinics but also wanting to add a few t-5's but have never dealt with them….)
any suggestions?

 

[jackson6745]

I ran ATI T5 fixtures in the past and the output from them is much more than the T5's in the sfiligoi fixture. Could be the reflector or ballast, I'm not sure. The T5's in the fixture are sufficient in balancing the halide color and giving extra coverage though. It's not a big deal.

I always like a liner source of light over my tanks. I feel that I get better growth and coverage over the tank that a point source light can't match. I would definitely add high output T5's to your tank. The only problem that i see is that it might look silly if exposed. Are you planning on going with a halide/t5 fixture or retrofitting T5 in the mix?

 

[dahenley]

i am custom building my stand and canopy, and will probably retro everything. (I'm not worried about the look because it will be covered….)

plus i can arrange and cram things into places where i wouldn't be able to with a fixture.

heres my stand as I'm finishing it. (its made form Cherry)
and ill do the canopy the same way

 

[jackson6745]

Update

Update

The tank is just about at the 4 month mark. My cyano outbreak has cleared up and everything is doing very well. Growth has been fairly quick and I'm happy with most of the colors (there's always suborn corals though)

New Lineatus. I'm loving this fish

DSC_0015 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

Flame

DSC_0018 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

Growing!

IMG_8251 by rich.colombo, on Flickr


IMG_8250 by rich.colombo, on Flickr


IMG_8260 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

And here's my nitrate level :eek2: I got it down to 5ppm with a water change since this pic

IMG_8165 by rich.colombo, on Flickr

 

[jackson6745]

Here's a video from today. Be sure to watch in HD
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/oL68Yz8TMYs" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[cFloor]

Nice vid! Your tank is coming along really well. I LOVE you lineatus and flame!

 

[Arkayology]

Such an awesome tank! I really like the scape with all the SPS frags poking out everywhere! So many wrasses too!

 

[CRW Reefer]

Wow your sump is awesome!!!

 

[plyle02]

Amazing video, that is one well designed structure and placement of corals, brilliant!
Thanks for sharing...

 

[jackson6745]

Nice vid! Your tank is coming along really well. I LOVE you lineatus and flame!

Thanks! These fish have good personality

Such an awesome tank! I really like the scape with all the SPS frags poking out everywhere! So many wrasses too!

Thank you. That was the plan from the beginning. I had branch scape in a few other tank and it seems to utilize the space well.

Wow your sump is awesome!!!

Thanks. It was made by Custom king. I'm lucky to have this guy local to me so I am able to save on shipping. Everyone in my area uses him for acrylic work.

Amazing video, that is one well designed structure and placement of corals, brilliant!
Thanks for sharing...

Thank you vey much. I actually didn't design anything. That was my creative (drunken) genus at work LOL. I'm glad that you like it.

 

[echopiece]

Your tank is looking sweet Rich! Put me on the list for when you start fragging that Aussie acro!

 

[Fail_sh3d]

Jackson, things are looking good, my friend.

I hope to figure out this new fangled camera and take some pics that look half as good as your tank is looking.

 

[Bello]

Love this tank :thumbsup:

Do you have any wild/mari acros or are most of them, aquacultured?

 

[sahin]

You are a very skilled SPS Reefkeeper; this fact is reflected in how good this tank looks already. Well done man. :thumbsup:

PS the video was nice and high res. Can you tell me what you recorded with and did you edit the video before uploading to YT?

My bro recorded with his high end Canon camera and on our computer the video looks real good, but as soon as we upload to YT it looks crap.

Thanks.

 

[jackson6745]

Your tank is looking sweet Rich! Put me on the list for when you start fragging that Aussie acro!

Thanks Marty. Going to be a little while on that one but I won't forget you

Jackson, things are looking good, my friend.

I hope to figure out this new fangled camera and take some pics that look half as good as your tank is looking.

Thanks, Fail. I can't wait to see your new pics . You should be able to get super clear fish pics?

Love this tank :thumbsup:

Do you have any wild/mari acros or are most of them, aquacultured?

Thanks Bello. I would say 60% are tank raised corals, and the other 40% is wild aussie and Indo corals. There's so many cool aussie acros coming in to the shops by me, it's hard to pass up

You are a very skilled SPS Reefkeeper; this fact is reflected in how good this tank looks already. Well done man. :thumbsup:

PS the video was nice and high res. Can you tell me what you recorded with and did you edit the video before uploading to YT?

My bro recorded with his high end Canon camera and on our computer the video looks real good, but as soon as we upload to YT it looks crap.

Thanks.

Thanks sahin I've killed enough coral over the years to figure out how to keep them by now

The video was take with an iPhone5. No editing, just uploaded to youtube. The top down pics are also taken with the iphone5 in a look down box. The wrasse pics were taken with my trusty old nikon D40
Maybe try hosting the video on Flickr. I don't think they shrink it as much as youtube.

 

[tdb320reef]

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Awesome colors and fish selection. That quad colored frag/mini colony is sweet. What is the name of that coral? If I was to gauge with a yard stick that is much sweeter than the Jaw dropper. Well done system!

 

[SApicoreef]

what are you running for filtration and how many vortechs do you have? interested as I'm setting up a very similar tank (32x32x24 cube)

 

[jackson6745]

Awesome colors and fish selection. That quad colored frag/mini colony is sweet. What is the name of that coral? If I was to gauge with a yard stick that is much sweeter than the Jaw dropper. Well done system!

Thanks tdb, I appreciate the good words. I'm a fan of your reef, with the massive selection and color variety of SPS. Awesome kaleidoscope you have there.

I don't have a name for that coral. It was a 1" wild aussie frag that was solid blue when I got it. It looked similar to a tenuis. During the fist 6 weeks in this new tank I started to notice the color change to the coralites and polyps. I'm excited to see what it does as it grows.

what are you running for filtration and how many vortechs do you have? interested as I'm setting up a very similar tank (32x32x24 cube)

3xMP40's and 1xMP10. I tried 4x 40's but due to coral placement, the one powerhead was creating damaging flow to a few corals. Changing it to an MP10 fixed that problem. Flow is very strong in this reef when I run them 100%. Ive been running them 2 bars from full on the nutrient removal mode.

Filtration is basic. Micron filter sock, Skimz SM 203 skimmer, phosban reactors with carbon and rowaphos. I use kalkwasser, and 2 part on a dosing pump to keep up with calcification. 20 gallon water change done every 2 weeks and I dose Microbe-lift Special Blend Bacteria. If you start a tank thread send me a link. Tanks our size are not too common I would love to follow.

 

[SApicoreef]

Okay cool. Would love to ask you some questions on a whole range of things.

 

[Acronic]

Sweet tank Richard