Kaserpick 90g SPS Reef

[kaserpick]

Since I've re-opened the 90g, I thought it would be a good idea to start a new thread.

So, here's the story. I originally opened this tank last year in the early summer. It was an upgrade from a standard 65g. I, later, shut it down due to AEFW's.

Now, my main reef resides in a 34g Neo-Nano. Soon, it'll be transfered to this system. Here's some pics to show the progress.

Lit with the Phoenix 250w Halide:

Top-down shot:

Lit only by LED's by Current USA: (I'll use these for dawn and dusk settings. They're not as bright as the picture shows.)

LED's shown on the slide bar:

 

[kaserpick]

Now for the tank specs!

Tank: Deep Sea Aquatics 90g custom (36"x36"x18"h)
Sump: Standard Aqueon 20L (30"x12"x12"h)
Main Lighting: 250w Phoenix in Lumenarc III pendant, driven by Coralvue dimmable e-ballast
Supp. Lighting: Current USA LED's (Powerbrite, I think.)
Flow: 3 MP40w Vortech's (Koralia's pictured. I'll be moving the MP40's over when I start to move the corals.)
Skimmer: Bubble King 180 mini
Dosing: 3 Litermeter III's (Ca+, Mg, and KH)

 

[nemmy]

Very nice!

What are the offshoots from the rocks? Rods holding the scape together?
I like the minimalistic look of it.

 

[kaserpick]

Very nice!

What are the offshoots from the rocks? Rods holding the scape together?
I like the minimalistic look of it.

Thank you! I'm glad you mentioned those; I had forgotten they were there. Yes, they are rods but not for holding the rockwork together. They're place holders for the spots I've drilled. I'll keep them there until I replace them with the actual corals...this way I don't lose the holes.

 

[chino402]

i think it would be much better to use 400w mh

 

[zaheda]

Good luck with your new tank, you must be excited. Happy reefkeeping.

 

[5h3rW1N]

wow good luck its a start show us more pix!

 

[kaserpick]

i think it would be much better to use 400w mh

I had thought about using a 400w (especially since the pendant can be adjusted), but there are a few reasons I decided against it. First, I had this pendant and ballast lying around already. Second, I've used two of these on my 65g (resulting in the use of a chiller), and even though the 65g was about 6" taller than this tank, I was still able to grow SPS on the bottom with no problems. Lastly, I love the look of halides, but I wanted this tank to be on the efficient side (both in heat and electricity); this is way I decided to go with the 250w. I may not get the even coverage of T5's, but the wattage is only 16w higher than a 6x39w and 62w lower than an 8x39w fixture. Also, I'm going for a more dramatic effect with shading on the outskirts of the rocks; this is another reason for not choosing the 400w. Thanks for the advice.

Good luck with your new tank, you must be excited. Happy reefkeeping.

Thank you very much! Yes, I am most definitely excited.

Future Plans/Work:

While the system is completely functional at this point in time, I am still planning to add the 18" and 12" cubes under the stand in the next week or two. The 18" cube will be used as a QT/frag tank, lit by an ATI 6x24w PM. The 12" cube is still a mystery, but it should give us some documented evidence on an idea that's not discussed as much as it should be. This is my way of trying to give back and help the reef keeping community. This'll make sense soon! :thumbsup:

 

[kaserpick]

wow good luck its a start show us more pix!

Thanks! I'll make sure to keep them coming.

 

[plyle02]

cool Kasey!!!
I really love it.... I think you will be fine with the pendant, I am going to start off with just my suspending aquanics fixture with SE radium 20k. I also have t5's for supplement. I have a simlair layout, worked fine for me... I will go back to my thread and update it as well, looking forward to a fresh start, I too had AEFW, I think I am good, but can afford to go with a qt setup, much better idea...lol..
I cannot wait to see this tank grow up, your previous tanks have been awesome
GL

 

[kaserpick]

cool Kasey!!!
I really love it.... I think you will be fine with the pendant, I am going to start off with just my suspending aquanics fixture with SE radium 20k. I also have t5's for supplement. I have a simlair layout, worked fine for me... I will go back to my thread and update it as well, looking forward to a fresh start, I too had AEFW, I think I am good, but can afford to go with a qt setup, much better idea...lol..
I cannot wait to see this tank grow up, your previous tanks have been awesome
GL

Thank you very much for the kind words Perry! It's encouragement like that, that helps us all get through the moves, QT periods, and other trials in this hobby. It can definitely be frustrating, but the fruits of our labor are very rewarding.

 

[TriNewbie24]

Looking good so far

 

[TXCrawdad]

Nice

 

[kaserpick]

Looking good so far

Nice

Thanks guys.

Update:

Just put 3 acropora frags in the tank to see how they fair. Even though I'm very confident about not having any pests, I dipped them in TM Pro Coral Cure for 15 minutes. They're a bit browned and stressed, but they're polyping out already. I figure if they can do well after a harsh dip and introduction to a new system, then that's a good sign. We'll see what tomorrow holds...

 

[snaza]

Looking forward to following this. Like your other tanks i'm sure it will be amazing. What happened to your 2 sunpowers?

 

[kaserpick]

Looking forward to following this. Like your other tanks i'm sure it will be amazing. What happened to your 2 sunpowers?

Thank you very much for the kind words, Snaza. When I first broke the tank down, I decided to sell the Sunpower's. I thought I would end up selling the tank. I'm glad I didn't!

Update:

Well, I checked on the frags the next day and found that one had bleached out. The others were fine, but they took a hit. I thought that maybe I dipped them too harshly (TMPCC for 15 mins). So, I placed a few other frags in the tank w/o dipping quite as long. They seem to be loving life! They've been in there for 2 days with great PE and coloration! The first two are bouncing back; I just wish I hadn't lost the one. I think the switch from 6.5 dKH to 8.5 dKH coupled with the long dip was too much. The others are soon to follow. The sad part is the Neo has never looked better, but already a few of the corals are just growing too close to each other. No more new ones this time, they'll have to fill in the tank.

 

[kaserpick]

Update:

On Thursday evening, I transfered over all of the corals in the Neo to the 90g. I left home on Friday morning; everything looked fine (a little browned). I came back into town last night, and when I woke up this morning, I checked to see how they were doing (since the lights were on). They're all doing very well!. Again, they've browned a little, but the PE is pretty great. The three new frags I placed in the tank are still colored very nicely, but all transfered corals lost a little bit of color. I'm thinking this is from the shock of the KH going from 6.5 dKH to 8.5 dKH. All clams have done well as well. I think switching to MH's might play a role as well, but I'm just going to make sure the system is stable and see what happens.

Pics are coming soon...within this day!

 

[silentscream]

this is not a zeovit tank? I thought I saw you around the other forum.

 

[kaserpick]

this is not a zeovit tank? I thought I saw you around the other forum.

Indeed, you did. It will be (I was running it in the Neo-Nano); I just haven't started it yet. Today is the day that all equipment moves to the tank: skimmer, vortech's, LMIII's, Vertex Rx for ZEOvit, etc.

 

[silentscream]

diggin' it. good luck with your transfer!