JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system

[Bax]

Hope all does well with your trip.

I allways dread leaving the tank that long.

 

[NexDog]

I'm a bit apprehensive but system should run okay for a week without intervention. Set the skimmer to skim pretty dry so it doesn't pull too much water out. I turned off teh return pump so the sump filled up then filled it to the brim with RODI so it won't overflow in teh event of power loss. Feeding is easy and I've tagged the plugs with red string that need to be ran on the genny in case of power failure (return pump and two Vortechs).

My memory card decided to format itself so no pics are forthcoming.

Nitrate is definitely down. Looks to be 10 or less.

 

[NexDog]

I dropped my reef to 25.9C last night which is 78.6F. Would some say this is just right or a bit cold?

 

[jnarowe]

Mine goes between 76.5 and 81.5F over the course of a 24hr period during the Summer.

 

[NexDog]

That's a pretty huge swing. I'm trying to get mine to not fluctuate more than a degree but my office is awful chilly old boy.

 

[jnarowe]

It is quite a swing but natural reefs do the same. This morning it is only down to 77.1.

 

[prance1520]

From what I read, the average temp of natural reefs is normally around 77 degree F. People keep tanks higher because it promotes faster growth. So your 78 isn't too low at all.

I try to keep mine at 77. I've had trouble with SPS getting RTN when I've kept the tank at 80+ degrees. At 77 I don't get as much possible growth, but I haven't lost any corals since I've lowered the temp.


BTW, great tank, its been fun following the thread!

 

[captbunzo]

I am sorry, but I gotta say a big baloney to those blaming coral problems and tank problems on temperature. I believe that temperature is just an easy thing to blame problems on as it is one of the only things that the average reefers budget can afford to measure constantly. So we see a temp of 80+ degrees and decide that must be the problem.

My tank at home stays up near 84-86 degrees during the summer. Crazy, right? But with summer heat, it is almost impossible to avoid. Are my SPS corals croaking? Nope - in fact I get pretty solid growth.

And "natural reefs" have temperatures that are ALL across the board. The statement that "77 degrees is normal" is bunk, no offense.

 

[scarletknight06]

well said captbunzo

 

[grallster]

I think you have to take into account different tank set ups and how they deal with higher temperatures that can contribute to lower oxygen levels. I think that some tanks can deal with higher temps by holding oxygen levels better than other tanks (ie larger surface area, more forceful skimming, higher water turnover). Just my opinion, however.

 

[captbunzo]

Perhaps that would mean the problem is not temperature levels, but rather oxygen levels. The point is that when using temperature as a scapegoat for problems, we miss the real issues at hand.

 

[NexDog]

And he's back.

Had a great break in Spain. So nice to catch up with old friends I haven't seen for almost a decade.

Wifey looked after the tank just great. One milli that was on the way out is half STN'd now but apart from that (and needing to clean the front pane) everything is fine.

Baby Regal Angel appears to be still MIA though.

 

[192clark]

NexDog, I am going to use a Closed loop and I am wondering if the manifold set up you use keeps you from using a DSB, or what effect the water movement under your rocks has on the sand?

 

[Bax]

Welcome back, glad all is pretty much OK!

Vacations always cause me great reef stress.

 

[NexDog]

Thanks Bax, and glad to see your office tank coming along in leaps and bounds.

192clark - just be careful to make a solid stone barrier between the manifold/rack and the sand and the flow should hit the sand at all. Way back at the start of this thread I posted some pics of some aragocrete I made for that purpose but didn't use it all so I have a few places where flow spurts out and causes a gap in the sand. But if you were more careful you could enclose the whole thing quite easily. Just build the 'crete an inch higher than the sand.

 

[192clark]

Thank you very much! I really liked the way you did that.

 

[1jared1]

wow!

 

[NexDog]

192clark - I'd be more happy if mine didn't produce microbubbles but my plumbing skills don't exist.

Thanks Jared.

 

[jnarowe]

your fish fart too much...try soaking their food in some Beano! :lol:

 

[55semireef]

Great looking pictures.