Oceanic 215 with Solaris Build

Thanks for the kind words. The tank is coming along very nicely. I couldn't be happier (except the foxface). Some will nip corals. This guy was in another tank for about 1.5 years and never bothered a thing...and all of a sudden just starting picking at my LPS. He has two frags pretty much decimated. Last night I also saw him nipping at SPS tips, so he's gotta go! Not all of them are coral eaters, but can be.

Well, I imagine some of the new SPS I'll be adding will brown up a bit from the lighting, but then will color back up. I'm thinking Acropora Hyacinthus on the yellow one. They can be tough to get acclimated, but I've found that lower lighting in the beginning helps alot. This one seems to be settling in nicely and I don't see any bleaching or tissue loss so I think I"m good to go.

I have mostly frags in the tank, but thanks to my friend Carole I have the Plana and some of the other larger pieces I've had growing out from frags in anticipation of the large tank. I love wrasses, anthias and the reef safe angels, which are in the Genicanthus family. The male and female bellus are just amazing IMO. I also added a male McCoskers (waiting on a female) and am scouting for females for all the males I have. My last addition will probably be either a Hawaiian Flame wrasse pair or a pair of Rhomboid wrasses.
 
Marcye, looking great. I also like the Genicanthus angels. I have a G. bellus and G. melinospilus, both females. I've considered a G. watanabei male, but haven't decided yet.
 
Nice...I wanted a second pair, but the two I have are pretty dominent in that size tank so I'm finishing up with fairy wrasses. The Watanabei is certainly a nice addition!
 
Last edited:
awesome to hear that the solaris is working out for you. I can't wait to get mine fired up over my big tank. I'm just about to shot the 24" over a smaller tank but I'm still waiting for a new ballast.

are you using the G or the H series solaris? what's the deal with the new I series?

btw - I'm that guy who bought the 4 60" and the 24" H4's.



Glad everything is going well on your build, things are looking top notch. I wish you all the best.
 
Hi Tom, yes, I've been following your thread as well. I have the new I series. I think the H is great. Although I love the I series, I've got my whites down to about 40%, so I could have probably gotten away with the H. Thanks for the thumbs up! Marcye
 
Hi Marcye,

Yeah its been kind of frustrating that I can't get back get but hopefully things will shape up soon. How would you compare the H to the I as you have had both? The major difference is the ratio of blue to white LEDs correct? I'm more partial to the 20k part of the spectrum then the 10k personally. Can't wait to get back and get this thing started. Please keep us update on the response of your SPS colonies to the light and how deep you keep them in your tank. Thanks Marcye!

-Tom
 
Last edited:
The tank is doing awesome! I've got really incredible growth already on several acros, including the Plana tabletop, which is reallly starting to color up as well. I still have the whites down, I believe it's 35% and I get the blue color I like and the growth I want. No new progress on the cabinet. Hopefully this weekend:) I have a second Australian Lineatus wrasse on order. The first one is magnificent even though it's a juvenilel male. He's out and about constantly now. My McCoskers wrasse hides in the rock all the time. I've only seen him out twice, very briefly. I'm hoping once he settles in he'll be out more. I also have a female on order for him, so I'm hoping that might bring him out more as well. Will update pics again soon. Thanks all for the kind words and the interest.

Jade...no problem! Hope all is going well with your upgrade. Keep me informed!
 
Thanks!

I'm pretty amazed at the incredible growth I'm getting already on my acros. The Plana has close to an inch of new growth on the tips and is coloring up very nicely! The new yellow with blue tip table is also showing some growth on the tips in just the short time it's been in the tank. I'm very excited and will be adding more coral soon. I'm also still hunting for females for all my wrasses. They are doing very well together. I still need to remove the rabbit as he's nibbling on my LPS from time to time even though the tank is very well fed. I'm extremely pleased with the Rod's Food and think it has a lot to do with the growth in the tank. Hope to get pics up soon. Marcye
 
Thanks, Mike. I did have one of the power supplies fail, but PFO sent another out immediately. Should have it in a day or so. I'm very impressed by the Customer Service on all the Solaris products. I've been trying out the Galileo. It's good as far as lighting goes, but I'm certainly spoiled with the Solaris ability to adjust the lighting to more blue or white depending on color preference. The Galileo just isn't blue enough for me. Currently I have the white on 35% and the blue 100%. Still getting a lot of growth and also extremely good coloration on the SPS and other corals. The only one that doesn't look as good as when I got it is the Pink/Green pocillipora. The extreme blue is making it look more brown, so I'll probably more it out and get something with more color in its place. Blue and purple seem to show up best under the bluer lights, so I'm going to shoot for corals more along those lines. With the red/pink wrasses, I'm liking the contrast.
 
Marcye, what is the wattage of each individual LED? Sanjay had mentioned that the type of LED that we'd be interested in for actual lighting (not moon lighting) would be in the 1 to 3 watt range. Do you know what the wattage of your LEDs is?

I was impressed with the LED lighting you had in the shop after the conf. I bet the Solaris is really spectacular.
 
Hello Marcye,
I have a question about your staining, have you done it yet and if so how did everything go? I'm at the stage that I could stain first and then put everything together but then it's very hard to cover any marks. Any information on this would be greatly appreciated.

Hope all is going well with you!
 
Thanks for the thumbs up SuperR!

Hey BG...this is from their website:

I4 Series (400W 15k Equivalent)
Detail Specifications

LED

Each 12” section of hood has 25-Next Generation 4 Watt LEDs for a total of 100Watts per foot. The LEDs are mounted 5 LEDs per circuit board.

Reefartist:
Hopefully the staining will start this weekend. The doors will be stained ahead of time. The concern over being able to get everything uniform with touch up is why we're staining after it's all together. It's much easier with a free standing cabinet to stain ahead! Also, haven't forgotten you! We've been so busy lately that we haven't been able to sit and make up our minds. Marcye
 
Thanks Marcye for the info and I'll definitely put it together first. I figured the touch up wouldn't be easy so I'll do the same.

Not a problem and actually putting the stain on first and getting a feel for the room is best. I have a sample of my wood stain but I still can't make up my mind on colors or design. I've also been inundated with a few problems. My precious clown (Male) has come down with something. I had two other reefers look at him and not come up with an answer - except doesn't look like ICK. I then sent a photo to John (FAOIS) and he thinks possibly Oodium or ICK or both not really sure. I put him in QT with copper and within a day he looked fine - go figure. The thing is he had had it for about a week and just wasn't getting any better. I didn't want to take him out without knowing what I was treating. I feel if it was either it would have spread - he's been in QT for just about a week. Not really sure what I'm treating - maybe dust from the sand :). I've had the pair for about two years and I've never had saltwater ICK (freshwater - norm) in my tanks. I didn't QT my new Ventralis anthias being afraid it would be to stressful - yes I'm shooting myself now :(.
 
Yikes, Ventralis? Let me know how you make out with it. They like very dimly lit atmospheres and are pretty difficult to keep. Do make sure there is a very good live food source for them. They are deep water fish that do not like high light so make sure they have lots of deep caverns to stay in. I'd love to have a pair as they are my favorite anthias, but I've not found anyone who's had luck with them. Do you have a male or female?
 
You must log in or register to reply here.

Similar threads

Easygoing1
PFO Aquatics SOLARIS Rebuild And Questions
Replies
8
Views
417
oreo57
oreo57
Brian60077
Be patient, wait, and do not rush to add things ???
Replies
11
Views
329
Brian60077
Brian60077
C
Building a Sea Horse tank with sump from ground up
Replies
4
Views
410
Dustin07
D
T Diddy
Now or never…my 140 gallon DSA rebuild
4 5 6
Replies
111
Views
4K
griss
griss
GimpyFin
Waterbox Infinia 215 build
Replies
15
Views
1K
griss
griss
Back
Top