Leonardo's Formosa Forest 2

Thanks for the reactions! :) It's nice to recieve such kind words. Will shoot some photo's when things look a bit better.

Leonardo
 
I'm sad to hear about the crash, it's really really sucks big time

I'm also pleased like everyone else to hear that you stayed in the hobby. Your tanks were and still are a big inspiration and it would have been a big lost for the hobby if you would have quit.

Looking foward for updates :)
 
Thanks for the reactions! :) It's nice to recieve such kind words. Will shoot some photo's when things look a bit better.

Leonardo

Hang in there Leo. This hobby can be so cruel and so rewarding at the same time :beer:
 
After having been away from the boards for a while, it's sad to come back and have to hear such bad news - but I can tell from what you are writing that you won't be giving up any time soon. That's great! What would we do without your expertise.
 
Thanks Mark, we both had our share this year. But like you said, it's a part of reefkeeping.

Glad to see you're back Tom, I really liked how you've raised the bar for setting up a reeftank.
I won't give up because I only have peace in my mind when I can sit back and enjoy the reef I've created :) Without it my life just isn't complete (sounds a bit scary actually :D).

Because a small update is better then no update; this week I totally cleaned my cabinet and the sump, equipment etc. I also made a board with all electricity clean and organized (finally).

Next thing will be the display. Doing a 25% waterchange with RB Salt, cleaning all panes and bottom (BB tank), removing the remaining corals, rescape and place corals back after some treatment with a small Revive Dip (since they're out of the tank anyway). Will have a busy week ahead!

Some photo's of the finished stand/cabinet:

Sump15Sep.jpg


Left the sump with the Supermarine 250, behind some LiveRock. Next to that two 8 Gallon Jerrycans with two-part solutions. Dosage by Grotech TEC-III on top.
Behind the Jerrycans the Grotech Kalkwasser-Reactor, fed with RO water in the Jerrycan on the right. On the right all the electricity, timers and controllers.

SumpClose15Sep.jpg


SuperMarine15Sep.jpg

SuperMarine 250 skimming wet

Leonardo
 
Thanks for the update, looks neat and clean, as always.
Can't wait to see the display!
Are you gonna use more rocks to scape it this time?
 
Looking good down under! Are there any fish in the tank currently? Also what methods do you use for temp control? I'm guessing fans sense I see no chiller... Do you just let the temp fluctuate, if so by how much? Setting up my new tank; and I'm trying to steal a few space saving methods from other reefkeepers.
 
I'm happy to see you are back in it. I hope the future goes a little more smoother that the past months. Best of luck!

-Carlos
 
Thanks guys! :)

Piotr; I will use a very small amount of LR again... I don't know, I just don't like to work with large rock structures.

Brian; since I use T5 only I don't have to cool the tank anymore, not with a cooler or with fans. The tanks is heated using a Temp controller and two 300 Watt Titanium heaters. Max fluctuation is about 1 F. In summer with higher temperatures I sometimes use a large room fan to cool the tank.
BTW, I think small (1-2 F) temp. fluctuations isn't that much of a problem. The corals that I have in the tank now survived a two weeks 90 F treatment ;) Although I lost a lot of colonies, some survived. Most corals can handle quite a lot when in good condition (although 90 F for a few weeks is a bit too much). Of course it is better to keep things in range, but I don't want to end up with weak coral colonies that stress out with minor changes.

Kevin, I use two Streams 6101, alternating pulse 20%-80% with multicontroller. And one 6201 pulsing 20% -100% using a single controller. The timing is different from the other two streams, to create a different flow pattern all the time.

----------------
Just made a large tank of new seawater using RBS, and found out I have one of the bad batches. Ca 500, ALK 12. Didn't even bother to test MG anymore. I won't use it.
I think I'll but some TM Bio-Actif salt this weekend. Any suggestions for a good NSW parameter salt?

Leonardo
 
Lots of people are saying good things about the new esv b-ionic salt. It's a 4 part mix 2 liquids, 2 salts so a little more mixing is required but it doesn't take long. I'm trying it out on a 250gal mixed reef and so far so good.
 
Thanks for the input Brian! I've read positive things about this new salt also. Unfortunately ESV isn't distributed here in the EU so it would be expensive to ship :(

Leonardo
 
I'm sure one of the other multi part salts will work just as well, like the new tropic marin. I haven't tried it yet as it's a bit rich for my tastes at the rate I change water. Maybe its better priced over there or possibly worth the cost. I add so much stuff to my water as it is, it seems more important for the water to just have the proper levels and mix clean.
 
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