Ludnix's tropical 120!

[ludnix]

Thanks for the compliments!

You could probably see the terra cotta pot in one the previous pictures. I have it lightly puttied in so the clowns can lay eggs on it, and then have it removed for hatching. I'm waiting for phyto and rotifyer cultures to get here before I can start, but they are laying on the broken pot so that's at least one milestone reached.

 

[ludnix]

We ordered some new things for the tank that arrived today. It's been about a year we've been using the two Visitherm Stealth heaters in the sump but we figured it was about time to replace them, especially since we plan on going on vacation for a few weeks in December. We ordered a Titanium heater with external controller to replace them. This should be a much more reliable setup and it provides a nice temperature monitor that is easy to read and even has an alarm if it gets out of a specified range.



The heater tube came in a really fancy old-fashioned box. The controller came is a regular off the shelf box.



It looks like only one of the stealths was ever getting turned on since it's so clean. They were both set to 79F but I guess one was set slightly higher than the other.



The controller is mounted on the overflow side of the stand next to the ballasts. It's nice and easy to read, I didn't test the alarm, but hopefully I'll never have to hear it. I set it to trigger the alarm if the tank is less than 75F and more than 90F.

We also ordered what is essentially a 2part kit with kalkwasser from bulkreefsupply.com



I have previously been just using kalkwasser in the auto top off and dosing sodium bicarbonate to keep the alkalinity up, this no longer seems to be keeping up with the SPS though so I'm going to start manually dosing to keep the calcium up.

 

[lordofthereef]

That is an extremely cleverly "skinned" stand. That reed you used is nice to look at yet much less expensive than a furniture grade wood. I might do something like this on a stand I need to build inside of a room (too big to get through door already built), knowing that we will be moving in 4 years or so, this way I don't drop a ton of cash on something I can't take with me.

 

[whamphyry]

I finally reached the "today" post Nice tank and nice read. Thanks for sharing!

 

[iwishtofish]

The heater tube came in a really fancy old-fashioned box. The controller came is a regular off the shelf box.

I think the controller box is kinda old-fashioned looking, too!

Just the one heater? I guess titanium doesn't likely break or breach, and it's the in-tank thermostats that usually fail?

I'm eager to follow your efforts with the clown eggs.

 

[ludnix]

That is an extremely cleverly "skinned" stand. That reed you used is nice to look at yet much less expensive than a furniture grade wood. I might do something like this on a stand I need to build inside of a room (too big to get through door already built), knowing that we will be moving in 4 years or so, this way I don't drop a ton of cash on something I can't take with me.

It could definitely help reduce costs, a lot of matting can be had for really cheap. I think there are few other builds in here that use the skinning approach too. I think one of my favorites was when someone made a metal stand and used magnets inside wood panels to skin the stand. That way it hides the fact that it's a metal stand, and you can remove each panel to work on the sump.

I finally reached the "today" post Nice tank and nice read. Thanks for sharing!

Thanks for reading!

I think the controller box is kinda old-fashioned looking, too!

Just the one heater? I guess titanium doesn't likely break or breach, and it's the in-tank thermostats that usually fail?

I'm eager to follow your efforts with the clown eggs.

We looked at a Finnex titanium heater setup that came with 2 titanium heaters, but for some reason the controller it came didn't look as nice, it had no digital read out and you set it using a dial, also it had no alarm.

http://www.aquacave.com/finnex-800w-deluxe-brtitanium-heating-tube-1924.html#

I'm sure the titanium heater will never break it's tube, but I imagine a breach at one of the ends may be possible. I guess we'll just have to hope for the best with it. The heater has a thermometer built into the tube the way the stealth ones did, but it's not used to turn it on, it's only used to tell when it's getting too hot (like when it's out of water) and shut itself off. The actual temperature probe is separate from the heater so you can more accurately control the temperature of the tank.

I think that theoretically if the heater breached or leaked the controller would shut it off, but hopefully that GFCI will also be taking care of that.

 

[justinmcleod]

Just wanted to say, I love your tank! I really like the rockwork and coral placement, very nice. I am waiting for my clowns to spawn right now, so I will return and see how your luck goes with raising the fry, hopefully well!

 

[ludnix]

Just wanted to say, I love your tank! I really like the rockwork and coral placement, very nice. I am waiting for my clowns to spawn right now, so I will return and see how your luck goes with raising the fry, hopefully well!

I've just finished the next set with the clownfish setup in that I started culturing phytoplankton. I started the culture on wednesday so it's looking pretty good for less than a week.



Once it's going regularly I'll start my rotifers and then can start working with the clownfish larva!

 

[Frogmanx82]

Arm and Hammer baking soda from the grocery store is 99.9% pure, I wouldn't get baking soda online.

 

[drimo]

Just wanted to say you have built an absolutely stunning tank and the stand is amazing! It fits the room very well. The pillar of zoanthids is also very neat. Nice work!

 

[moze229]

Good work. These are the types of threads where people can really learn what's involved with setting up a reef tank. Thanks for sharing!

Matt

 

[salali]

I really love your tank good job hope my new 90gal looks like it after I am done

 

[ludnix]

Arm and Hammer baking soda from the grocery store is 99.9% pure, I wouldn't get baking soda online.

I wan't concerned with purity for the baking soda, I've been using baked arm and hammer for raising the alkalinity for the past few months with no issue, but the sodium bicarbonate came with the others are part of a kit and seemed pretty cheap.

I did notice that when I dosed the BRS sodium bicarbonate the water didn't turn cloudy white like when I use baking soda. I'm not sure why it doesn't happen with BRS, but either way seems to get the job done.

Just wanted to say you have built an absolutely stunning tank and the stand is amazing! It fits the room very well. The pillar of zoanthids is also very neat. Nice work!

Thanks, for a while it was getting pretty barren of Zoanthids when we first bought it, but it definitely started taking off once the water parameters were fixed and now it's completely covered.

Good work. These are the types of threads where people can really learn what's involved with setting up a reef tank. Thanks for sharing!

Matt

Thanks, I know I learned a lot from build threads here on RC so I thought the least I could do was return the favor.

I really love your tank good job hope my new 90gal looks like it after I am done

I'm glad you like it! I hope you post pictures of your 90g when you get it where you want it.

 

[salali]

Yes, I will but I have few questions for you.

Is that a Marineland with corner over flow?

Is this a starphire glass?

I wonder if your tank is expressive or not? because I might change my mind and get 120gal

 

[ludnix]

Yes, I will but I have few questions for you.

Is that a Marineland with corner over flow?

Is this a starphire glass?

I wonder if your tank is expressive or not? because I might change my mind and get 120gal

We purchased the tank from our LFS which ordered it through Oceanic I believe. It's not a corner overflow, but actually 2 of the standard mega-flow overflow boxes just all on one side.

There's no starphire glass, it's just a standard 120g with the overflows pushed to one side. I'm not sure how expensive it was, but I think they are about $100 more than a 90g based on petco's prices. If I had to buy this aquarium again I wouldn't get the overflows installed though. I would instead install my own coast-to-coast overflow in the same position but have the bulkheads on the side of the glass, not the bottom. This way when I change bulkheads it would be much easier and less likely to leak.

If you can do a 120g instead of a 90g I think you'd really be happy with it, but you'll have to see about prices in your area. I've been really happy with the 24" width though.

 

[sharkboy11]

Wow, you have an awesome tank. I am getting ready to purchase a 120g and this thread has already given me alot of ideas. Did you follow a plan to build the stand?

 

[ludnix]

Wow, you have an awesome tank. I am getting ready to purchase a 120g and this thread has already given me alot of ideas. Did you follow a plan to build the stand?

Thanks for the compliments!

I followed this thread for how to build my stand:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1169964

I followed the picture exactly except that I added some bottom supports because I was planning on putting the 40g breeder in it. I can tell you that design provides more than enough support for the 120, it's easily the sturdiest thing I've ever made from wood.

 

[ludnix]

Here's an update of the tank!







The SPS corals are continuing to do well! I have to regularly frag them to keep them from hitting each other.


Red lobo:


I went to Reef-a-palooza a few weeks ago and picked up a few new corals:
This favia is supposed to have bright green edges where it's growing. You can see a little on the right.


I replaced a brown acro with this blue milli. The brown acro grew very fast and was neat, but I think this blue milli is a lot cooler.


My favorite coral that I got was this wesophyllia:


And some general shots:
Foxface peeking around the coral.


Camelback shrimp, these guys are supposed to be questionable when it comes to being reef safe, but so far he's been good and never attacked any coral.

 

[ludnix]

We started with about 10 polyps of these red zoos. I didn't anticipate them to grow so rapidly.


and finally the frag tank, you can see the big brown acro I replaced with the blue milli. I'm still battling some of the bryopsis in the frag tank as I don't have anything to eat it in there. I'm trying to raise my magnesium to kill it, but so far it's not doing much.


Thanks for looking!

 

[ludnix]

Here's a cool picture of some of the zoos on top of one of the pillars.