New setup

[Gamepro_inc]

In the process of setting up a bigger tank 65g with a T5 lighting (still need a fixture) This time I will have a whole zoe mountian, or zoe-tropolis, zoe-ville, zoe-mecha, zoe-island...I digress, anyway I think it will be appreciated by you guys here so hopefully I will have pics to come soon.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Sounds great GP. Any chance of sharing the guts with us?

All the best.

Mucho

 

[explor3r]

Zoantastic!!!!!!!!!!!, waiting for the pics:dance:

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Here is the sump design its a baffeless sump with live rock in the middle. water will flow into the basket on the left where it will be skimmed by the HOB Aqua C remora, after passing by the live rock it will go through the bio-pellet reactor then to the main tank. I will have 2 islands one for zoes only the other will be for everything else. I think I will have a Koralia 3 on one side for powerhead and a koralia 1 on the other for lower flow side. I will have 6 ATI T5 bulbs
2 Aquablue specials
3 blue plus
1 Purple

(let me know what you think of the bulb combo b/c this will be my first ever T5 lighting, always had MH...I like a 14K look)

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Return pump?

Will your heater be in sump?

Sump light?

Why baffleless?

Not questioning you, just asking, you know meee.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

No problem I don't mind the questions. I don't however have all the answers yet.

Return pump will be a Rio 3100 until I get something better.

lighting is yet to be decided but I have my eye on something

might put a LED work light from lowes under the stand too

heater will be in sump but I still use the marineland stealth heaters (yes I know they have been recalled)

I went baffeless because I dont really see the point in them everyone I know that has baffels say it doesn't really help with bubbles and liverock can serve the same function I have a friend with a baffeless sump and he has no bubbles in his tank. We shall see.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Is this a DIY project?

 

[Gamepro_inc]

No not really I kinda DIY'd the sump design but other than that most of the tank is stock equipment.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Wanna share the Bio-pellet reactor with us in detail, type, size, reason/purpose etc?

 

[Gamepro_inc]

The bio-pellet is a long story...I have been having issues with my other system (34 Solana) with nitrates, PO4, and heat. The bio-pellet reactor was hopefully the fix for the Nitrates and PO4 the heat is summer with a halide. Also having trouble with low PH at a constant 7.8 so all these things seem to lead to a decline in my SPS have had 2 large colonies RTN. So I ordered the bio-pellet reactor but then my wife suprised me on my birthday (aug-26) with the new tank 65g. So by the time the reactor got here I just added it to the new system.

It is a Phosban reactor with plastic mesh plates to prevent clogging. For those that don't know bio-pellets are a form of solid vodka dosing

Theory is: The biopellets feed/grow a beneficial bacteria that in turn reduces nitrate and PO4 (feed off it) and also end up feeding your corals because they(corals) feed on the bacteria. You do need a good skimmer to skim out the bacteria becasue too much can cause a die off, plus you need well oxagenated water.

Thats my understanding but then again its all new to me and it will be hard for me to judge results since its a new system with lots of different variables from the old system. I do hope the large tank volume helps with it all though b/c I dont want to lose any more corals. I also went T5 to deal with the heat. I am trying to put alot more thought and planning into this one though rather than trying to fix it down the road. Now that I am done typing a book ...submit

 

[Gamepro_inc]

I think my PH was due to summer and keeping the house closed up causing an increase in CO2. Not much I can do about that other than run an airline from outside but that would just be ugly.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

Hey GP, have you received any feedback on the net of others who have utilized the bio-pellets with zoanthids and playthoas and their results/opinions?

LOL, man stop that, lol, you weren't writing a book at all, you were sharing valuable info and I'm sure many others are glued to this thread also to learn from it. So thanks :wavehand:

Mucho Reef

 

[Gamepro_inc]

I cant say where I read it since I read so many threads but yes there are people who benefit from bio-pellet with zoes/palys however I cant say I have seen a zoe dominated tank with one. It benefits SPS more however I can feed the zoes as well if needed its kinda trial and error I don't tend to like tanks that are just SPS or just LPS or just zoes. I like a mix tank like one might find in nature. If I find any post I will link to them.

 

[MUCHO REEF]

I will be looking for those links, thanks.

BTW, I run that same skimmer periodically. Excellent skimmer for the money.

Mucho Reef

 

[Gamepro_inc]

So I guess this is past due now. I can finally sit down and make a build thread. So as the old tank (34 Solana) got more full with corals it became very obvious that I needed a new tank. I loved this tank but with my increased work schedule I didn't have as much time to maintain it. My chemical levels were fluctuating too much my flow was becoming decreased (too many corals) and summer heat was also taking its toll. So out with the old

And in with the new

Well stand at least I got the tank from a fellow reef member but the light oak stand just wasn't gonna work with the room which has all dark cherry or black furniture. So we ordered a stand from LFS and went with the taller one since my wife and I are both tall.

So after the stand finally got here I was able to pick the tank up. It needed some cleaning at first but otherwise was in good shape.

Next I filled it with 60 lbs of Fiji pink live sand, of course the sand storm needed time to settle down but deserved a picture none the less.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Then rock placement began this was the one thing I wanted to be different from all other tanks I have had before. In previous tanks the rock structure looked good but allowed for so much detritus collection that I had to blow them out with a powerhead and hose after a while. I wanted this tank to have lots of flow around and onto and even underneath the rocks. So I went to lowes again and found some PVC fittings that I then used to lift the rocks off the sand bed ever so slightly that you wouldn't notice it but flow could get under there and maybe even some cleaners could get under it and help keep things cleaned up. It worked perfectly.

I waited for things to cycle and then began moving and building the rock structure. This is where my wife comes in handy, she has an eye for how things fit together and has aquascaped every tank we have ever had (this is the 4th) so I figure why should this one be any different. Here are some pics of her handy work.

 

[Gamepro_inc]

Then came the most daunting task...coral placement. The idea behind the 2 islands was to have the larger side for higher flow corals like the SPS and the smaller island for Zoes and LPS in the lower flow areas. I then would fill in any areas on the SPS side with zoes that I knew would not get out of control. So here are some pictures of the before, its hard to believe all these corals were in a 34 gallon Solana.

So after finally finishing the coral placement here is how it looks now. I picked up a new long tentacle anenome last night from the LFS since the other one didn't make it. I had to put some rubble around him just to help him stay put long enough to attach to something, but once he does that I can remove the rubble from that corner.

And of course you sump shot as always, but first the biopellet reactor. There is a mess of cords and tubing right now but I will clean this up soon.