K9s 20g Reef - Warning: Image Intense!

[jcopp24]

now onto my lights...

now onto my lights...

I retro'd a old florescent light with a SunPaq Retro kit. It is a remote balast and the two lights on the inside are 1. Sunpaq Dual Actinic 32w 420nm and 460nm in the same side 2. Sunpaq Dual Daylight 32w 10000K Daylight and 6700K daylight. Sound good for the tank?
Then I guess the lobster will stay in the predator tank where he belongs.
Thanks agian,
Jay

 

[MalawianDude]

Wow! my eyes hurt for a 2nd on them purple pics, coming along great what kind of skimmer running on that system?

 

[K9]

I retro'd a old florescent light with a SunPaq Retro kit. It is a remote balast and the two lights on the inside are 1. Sunpaq Dual Actinic 32w 420nm and 460nm in the same side 2. Sunpaq Dual Daylight 32w 10000K Daylight and 6700K daylight. Sound good for the tank?

64w isn't much for a 20g tank. You could probably keep some softies like shrooms or leathers in there though.

Wow! my eyes hurt for a 2nd on them purple pics, coming along great what kind of skimmer running on that system?

Thanks for the compliments . To answer your question, as of right now, this is a skimmerless tank. I'm pondering buying a Coralife Super Skimmer, but not sure yet. I do 2g water changes every weekend and things are running pretty smoothly so far. I've also been thinking of adding a CPR Aquafuge as well, but haven't made a concrete decision yet.

 

[K9]

UPDATE: September 25, 2005

UPDATE: September 25, 2005

It's picture time! Here's 4 new pictures I just took. I was able to work on my stand and canopy some more this weekend after yet another trip to Home Depot. I put panels on the stand and started the corner molding on the canopy. After I finish the corner molding this week, I'm getting an electric sander from a buddy, sanding everything down, and painting it a nice glossy black. Then I'll be applying a clear-coat to protect everything. Instead of having double doors like most stands, I went for a single, completely-removeable panel. The panel is attached to the stand via 4 heavy-duty magnets. I went this route so that anytime I need to get under the tank, I just pull the door down and/or completely remove it and set it aside. This makes it much easier to access the space in the stand. I also posted a new full-tank shot and a picture of my Toadstool Leather I just picked up recently. This thing is growing like a weed under my VHOs and has increased in size from 3 to a full 5 inches across in less than two weeks! It's clearly visible on the right-hand side of the full-tank shot.

For those of you who are eagerly waiting for me to cram this thing full of corals, just be patient! I'm going coral shopping tomorrow afternoon after I hit Home Depot again and I'll pick up at least one new goodie .

I've been going back-and-forth all last week about whether or not I should buy a skimmer. I know it can't hurt, but I just tested nitrates today and I'm now at 0-5ppm (hard to exactly tell the colors apart on the card) before my weekly water change. I'm not surprised by the results (my old 30g was skimmerless for 10 months and nitrates never above 10ppm), but just very pleased at how well this tank is coming along. I'm sure the fact that I don't have any fish right now and don't feed the tank have something to do with it.

Thanks for following along, now enjoy the pictures!

 

[jcopp24]

skimmerless... ?

skimmerless... ?

Is the main use for the skimmer to get rid of fish waste? and overfeeding waste? I would like to not have a skimmer on my tank, and if that means no fish so be it... I am doing 10-15% water changes weekly.
You said that the light might not be enough for the tank... if I added another set of the same lights would 128 watts be enough to grow whatever I want? ( within reason )

 

[vest0830]

nice tank. looks very good.
what did you set your g5 on to take those pics?

also, are you adding any additives to the tank, or just letting it do its thing?

-frank

 

[K9]

Re: skimmerless... ?

Re: skimmerless... ?

Is the main use for the skimmer to get rid of fish waste? and overfeeding waste? I would like to not have a skimmer on my tank, and if that means no fish so be it... I am doing 10-15% water changes weekly.
You said that the light might not be enough for the tank... if I added another set of the same lights would 128 watts be enough to grow whatever I want? ( within reason )

A skimmer pulls out any wastes before they can break down into ammonia and eventually become nitrates. Some people believe that a skimmer on a nano-reef isn't needed because you remove so much waste and lower nitrates each week when you perform a water change. My tank is skimmerless and I never have excessive nitrates. They were up to 10ppm when I started this tank, but as of this past weekend, have dropped to 0-5ppm. I do a 2g water change each weekend. Since my tank is actually less than 20g (liverock and sand take up some space), I'm probably changing about 15% of the volume each week. I just would rather spend the $100-150 on something else for my tank other than a skimmer since I feel that I don't really need one. On anything larger than 30g though, I'd definitely buy a skimmer.

nice tank. looks very good.
what did you set your g5 on to take those pics?

also, are you adding any additives to the tank, or just letting it do its thing?

-frank

Thanks Frank. The four pictures above were taken with my girlfriend's Sony Cybershot 4.1MP camera. I just used the automatic settings and turned the flash off. When I use my G5 from work, I turn it to manual, set the white balace to "flourescent", turn off the flash, and use a tripod and the camera's 2-second timer to get perfectly still shots.

To answer your other question, I'm adding Kent Marine Kalkwasser in my top-off water and Kent Marine pH buffer as needed. My calcium is at 420ppm, dKH at 9, and pH at 8.1, so I'm happy with my levels as of right now. Thanks again .

 

[K9]

UPDATE: September 26, 2005 - MONSTER SPS!

UPDATE: September 26, 2005 - MONSTER SPS!

I broke down today at the LFS and "rescued" a huge stylophora that was fading fast. They originally wanted $100 for it, but after working the manager, he saw things my way. I explained to him that no one in their right mind was going to pay a Benjamin for a Cat's Paw that was in this poor condition, so I'd "do him a favor" and take it off his hands . Well, $50 later, it's in my tank. Maybe I got taken, maybe I didn't. Either way, I felt it was a good purchase and I love this coral. The toadstool I bought from the same LFS was lying on the sand, and was only 3 inches across with hardly any polyps extended. Two weeks later now, it's about 5 inches across and doing very well. I can only hope the stylophora does just as well.

My stylo is about the size of a canteloupe. This thing looks MONSTROUS in my 20L nano, but I feel it has so much potential. It's hard to tell from the pictures (didn't have my good camera from work), but it's about 1/4 to 1/3 bleached. At the LFS, the "paws" that were still pink had VERY neon green polyps and gave the coral a cool two-tone look. Anyways, it only took a few hours in my tank for the polyps to start coming back out, and it seems happier already. As an added bonus, it came with an acro crab and two small snails as hitchhikers. Well enough jibba jabba, here's the photos. BTW, it's under 150w VHOs. Any comments are welcome and invited!

 

[levon15]

once it recovers (if it recovers), move it somewhere else, it looks crazy big sitting on top oif evereything in the middle. I am sure it there for best flow and light right now.

good luck with it and the tank looks great

I actually think that coral looks really outa place anywhere in a newer tank. It being bigger than anything else in the tank.

 

[K9]

once it recovers (if it recovers), move it somewhere else, it looks crazy big sitting on top oif evereything in the middle. I am sure it there for best flow and light right now.

good luck with it and the tank looks great

I actually think that coral looks really outa place anywhere in a newer tank. It being bigger than anything else in the tank.

You are correct, it's where it is now for the best light and highest flow, but it does look incredibly huge in my tank, that's for sure. However, there is a method to my madness . When it recovers (which it will ), I plan to frag it out and exchange the frags for other corals. This way, I can pretty much completely stock my tank with corals for a mere $50. Anyone would be happy with that deal. :thumbsup: Thanks a lot for the compliments.

 

[Malla]

Your tank looks great! In fact, you inspired me to make the switch from pc to VHO. I followed your link and bought the same setup from Hellolights. I highly recommend them to anyone needing lights they are extremely fast, and I got the kit the next day. Though we are both in California, I placed the order at around 2:30pm and had the tracking numbers that night. One problem I had though on a test run, the lights did not seem as bright as my power compacts. I guess since your tank is lower it seems brighter on your pics. Well, I'm an alarmist and I might have acted too quicly, but I ordered another kit to have 300watts of VHO over my 20g. We'll see how it turns out, at least I'll be able to have a dawn and dusk effect from having two ballasts.

E

 

[K9]

Sounds great! Definitely post a picture when you get all 4 bulbs running. I'd like to see how they look. Also, what colors of bulbs did you buy? I have one actinic and one 50/50, but was considering swapping the 50/50 with a 10000k or 6500k. The URI 50/50s look awfully pink to my eyes. I'd prefer a bluer look to the tank. Thanks so much for the compliments .

 

[Malla]

I ordered one URI actinic, and one 10,000 aquasun. The actinic bulb really made the greens pop out like my pc bulbs never did, but the aquasun was a little of a let down. I wanted to order a 150watt MH, but then I didnt want any heat problems, and then I would have had to order another actinic bulb anyways.

I'll try to post pics later to compare both setups. I still have to build a canopy for the reflector.

 

[pimp2daizzo]

hmm i'm thinking about adding a stylo to my 5.5 do u think 79 watts of light is good?

 

[K9]

hmm i'm thinking about adding a stylo to my 5.5 do u think 79 watts of light is good?

I don't know if SPS are doable in a 2.5g. The flow you'd need to keep it happy would cause a sandstorm in that small of a tank.

 

[K9]

I ordered one URI actinic, and one 10,000 aquasun. The actinic bulb really made the greens pop out like my pc bulbs never did, but the aquasun was a little of a let down. I wanted to order a 150watt MH, but then I didnt want any heat problems, and then I would have had to order another actinic bulb anyways.

I'll try to post pics later to compare both setups. I still have to build a canopy for the reflector.

I thought about the AquaSun too, but heard that it was too yellow, which I definitely don't want. I am looking forward to seeing your photos of the setup though. Keep me posted. :thumbsup:

 

[K9]

UPDATE: September 27, 2005

UPDATE: September 27, 2005

More Photos!

Brought home the good camera tonight from work. Enjoy the pics gang!

 

[nonamesright]

I think you made a good gamble with the cats paw. If you can heal it you can get a good 20-30 frags off it so that means 20-30 more corals, or in worse case scenario, your out 50 bux. I like those odds.

 

[K9]

I think you made a good gamble with the cats paw. If you can heal it you can get a good 20-30 frags off it so that means 20-30 more corals, or in worse case scenario, your out 50 bux. I like those odds.

Well, if EVERY branch heals up, I would get about 15-20 nice sized frags. Yeah, for only $50, I like the odds of the possible big payoff too . I can frag this thing and COMPLETELY stock my 20L from trades. I wouldn't have to buy a single coral again! Heck, I can even sell them off and upgrade my equipment and/or tank. I purposely made my stand 36" long and 15" deep so that I could fit a 30g (36x12x16) on there in the future if I wanted to. :thumbsup:

 

[JustFin]

nice new pictures! good luck with that cats paw

just curious- was it intentional or just coincidence that the SPS, leather and zoos are all shades of red/pink?