Neal's Barebottom SPS & ZOA System...

[Pallobi]

Bulb Configuration change up...

Bulb Configuration change up...

ok, so I have been going with this since upgrading to the (8) bulb 48" fixture, featuring ATI bulbs...

front to back...

blue plus
true actinic
aquablue special
blue plus
blue plus
aquablue special
true actinic
blue plus

and will be changing it to the following, keep in mind the outer 2 spots on both sides are on one power supply, and the middle 4 are on the other... the 2 outer most on each side are the first on and last off, making them the "blue light" slots...

blue plus
blue plus
aquablue special
aquablue special
aquablue special
aquablue special
blue plus
blue plus

or I will alternate them, but probably not...

i want to add the 2 aquablue specials to the existing 2 to add to the lower kelvin rating to help with growth, but i will keep the 4 blue plus to keep the good color "pop", and "actinic" period... but who knows, ill have 2 extra true actinics and one purple plus (which i dont care for at all) once the 2 new aquablue specials get here, so i may change it a bit further, but i jus wana try the 4 and 4 combo above and see how the growth does with the lower overall kelvin rating... as I am still learning about good bulb mix...

also i realize i will lose some of that "pop" to the naked eye when the daylights are on, but if it helps the corals growth, it will be worth it... this is where i think if i alternate bulbs from front to back that it will help with this a bit... I am sure i will change it up a bit perhaps, but agan, we will see what happens... if i dont experiment with different looks, i wont learn...

 

[Pallobi]

Very, very nice! Some great growth too.

thanks friend! i get some seriously mixed reviews, but I really like the choices I have made with my method of display... it works well for me... and different is what i was goin for from the start of the idea

different... yes... but with substance :beer:

 

[Pallobi]

Upgrade & Improvement ideas...

Upgrade & Improvement ideas...

So, i have been thinking about some things with my system also... first off, i want to get a bigger pump for my return to my fuge... i would like to be able to plumb the fuge return and the reactor feed pump together to utilize only one pump for the both of them, jus tee'd off with some gate valves to regualte flow if needed, particularly to the reactors... maybe another 9.5 would work well for this...

also, I am getting my first Rose Bubble Tipped anenome this friday... and it will be housed in my 65g "fuge" which is really jus a second tank... and due to this, i am gonna need a new, or at least new to me light fixture for it if I am gonna sustain him longer than a month or two... and i will get another light soon for it... i am thinking a (4) bulb 36" teklight would be great for this tank so i can start to keep a couple anenome's and start collecting some nize LPS as well... which i will have to manually feed i think since my system is very low nutrient... so yea, a new "fuge" light is upcoming very soon...

also I am in the process of relocating my reactors to a much more convenient location on the outer side of the stand on the left... making maintenance on them and changing them out MUCH easier should be done in a day or two, depending if i feel like running to lowe's tomorrow or not lol...

also since i added some very large peices of rock a month or so ago, and it should now be well inhabited with bacteria for now, i am gonna remove some of the smaller peices now taking up space in my sump, and find someone who will have a good use and need for them... so ill be losing a bit of rock too... but it doesnt concern me at this point really in the least... my bio-load is pretty light as is as far as fish go...

as far as upgrading the display to the 120g tank i have sitting around, i am gonna hold off on that for a while until i really need to... i dont want to disturb my system, particularly the display, again for a while...

and i would like to change out my sump from the 40g breeder it is now, to a 65g breeder, if i can find one used... if not, im sure i could work something out with a standard 75g as well, but that would be a bit higher than i would like...

oh, and of course the change in bulb configuration listed above

 

[ziyaadb]

Bandwidth exceeded cant see the pics

 

[ziyaadb]

your photobucket message

 

[Pallobi]

OH! thanks... ill fix that now.. sorry guys!

 

[Falcao]

Neal, great setup, but hold do you deal with alge. any problem with hair alge?
thanks
Rui

 

[Pallobi]

ok, upgraded to pro, and its still not showing, even deleted a bunch of unnecessary pics... hmmmm interesting

 

[Pallobi]

Neal, great setup, but hold do you deal with alge. any problem with hair alge?
thanks
Rui

hey bud, first thank you for the compliment... in my display i have the high flow and 17 turbo snails... so far i dont see much... i do have a tiny bit of algae on a few plugs (from other tanks) but its not an issue at all, at least not now... i'm gonna be adding a few emerald crabs to the display to pick around the base of some of the corals as that where it seem the turbo snails don't get as well... but up to now, i have had no issues at all, knock on wood... i do have very low nutrients, but that doesnt mean a whole lot i dont think... but again, so far so good

 

[Pallobi]

try this one more time...

FTS...

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[Falcao]

thanks for the reply, I was wondering how the crads would of gotten on top of the towers, but as long as the turbos are doing their job you should be fine with the low nutrients. keep up with the good work
Rui

 

[Pallobi]

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[allsps40]

Hey thats not my tank. LOL JK my name is Neal also. Nice corals. Whats up with the tile towers though??

 

[Pallobi]

Hey thats not my tank. LOL JK my name is Neal also. Nice corals. Whats up with the tile towers though??

hey! your name resembles class LOL... I have been doin sps for 11 months now myself, and i have been following your threads and posts in the sps keepers board for some time now... particulary the one concerning colors and your system thread...

the tiles are my own thing... an idea thought of through wanting to display my corals and only the beauty of the corals themselves and emphasizing that above all else... as well as create a good enviroment for them to thrive along with barebottom and awesome flow (which i believe far too many do not have enough of, or understand how truely important it is)... I also do not like my corals contaminating my rock and/or growing on it, which is why i keep it in my fuge and sump... and i REALLY dont like seeing corals that have their growth inhibited by being cramped up against another colony... its my way of seperating my setup from what EVERYONE else in the world of reefing does... I am not a coral farmer as some have accused me of... however, like most everyone else, i do frag a bit here and there, but clearly if you look at my corals, i am no chop shop, for the most part they are completely left alone... i jus choose to make a display case style out of my setup... when it reaches the point of a couple years down the road, i hope to have a large, shallow tank with nothing but a spread of beautiful corals visually enhanced by altering, but pleasing to the eye heights along with the need of each colony first and foremost... right now i am thinking a 6' x 3' x 18" tall, lit with a (10) bulb, 60" t5 fixture... filled with hopefully 100 or more or so of my favorite sps and zoas/palys w/ a few select favorite fish of mine to add to it's beauty and presentation...

the tiles are not everyone's "cup of tea" as i have been trashed a little here and there about my approach... but there are many more who think its awesome and truely unique, which was my goal... unique, and different, but yet something of substance...

also the tiles allow me to adjust the light they get, the flow, and height of the corals placement in the water column... so i can really create a custom station for each and every colony... i will say, a standard 75g isnt the best tank to do this with, but for now its what i have... i do have a standard 120 in wait, but i dont think i am gonna use it for my corals at this point, if i use it at all... i prefer 18" or shorter for height, and even the 21" of my 75g now is too high for my liking... the tiles also make for an amazing place for pods to find safety and nest between... i cant even tell you how many pods of various sizes are in my system... thousands upon thousands... you really see them when you look in when the lights first come on in the morning...

so again, the tiles get different reviews, but its more about the beauty of the corals, the growth patterns I get with the heavy flow (dense and thick) and their overall health... so far, knock on wood, i have had some very good luck, even with all the mistakes i have made in the first year, which will not happen in my second year... of course barring anything stupid happening by chance...

personally, i love my approach, and aside from perhaps plumbing in a nano style small volume tank into my system so i can show off my aquascaping skills, i will never change my style of setup... I am the first i have seen in 5 years of reefing to do this, and I am very proud of it...

thanks for the interest in my system bud, and anyone else who jus appreciates the corals and can get past their particular dislike of my presentation and style

 

[jmccoya]

As always:thumbsup:

 

[Pallobi]

As always:thumbsup:

as always, thanks friend... :bounce3:

 

[Pallobi]

the last of the 3 posts that didnt work out cuz of my bandwidth photobucket issue

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[Pallobi]

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[Pallobi]

65g system addition...

65g system addition...

thought i would put up a newest pic of my newest addition... i believe I have a pic of when it was fist done, but i removed a few rocks and slid the tower over too a bit, and i am happy with how it looks now... hopefully picking up a nice t5 light for it this week so i can start keeping lps, zoas/palys, and perhaps some anenomes... i did try one nem' this week, but unfortunately it was so damaged upon removable of the previous system, that it started to slime up badly shortly after being in my care, and had to be removed... but I think a nice lps and nem' display would be a sweet addition to my overall system and its look :dance:

also, there are a few more fish i would like to add too, but in time...

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[Pallobi]

also, jus to add i ordered myself a couple treats this weekend... an aussie strawberry shortcake acro, and an ATL limeade acro... sort of excited... jus a little bit lol... :bounce3: