Ryshark's SPS Peninsula Tank

ryshark

ryshark

Active member
After a little over 2-year hiatus, I'm getting back in the hobby which I never forgot about. I ordered a custom tank about 6-weeks ago and started doing lots of reading on Reef Central, once again. One thing I found was that when I got out of the hobby Red Dragon frags were going for about $175 (now they are what? $65) and there were a reasonable amount of vendors naming/designer corals, which was manageable and I found very fun to collect... now it seems as every vendor is slapping a name onto sps and charging much more that the $175 per frag. It has gotten crazy, although I do understand why it's happening and I guarantee I will be joining in the craze as well. Once my tank is ready I will buy a "pack" as that seems to be the thing nowadays.

My previous tank was a standard 180-gallon tank 72"x24"x24". My passion was always keeping SPS, particularly acropora. I never really got into zoas, chalices and the main reason I had a hammer was for my clown pair to host.
All of my sps started from small 1" to 1.5" frags, as I found it fun to grow them and get the best color possible. Here are what some of my 1" frags turned into:






One thing I always was jealous of was tanks with a deeper front to back dimension, therefore I went 6" deeper this time. My new tank is a Leemar Starphire on 3-sides 38" x 30" x 24" Eurobraced Peninsula Tank. I will be using a canopy as my wife wants it to look like as much as a piece of furniture as possible. The tank will literally be the first thing people see when the walk through the front door of my house. It will be going behind this pony wall (the stand is the same height as the wall) and I'm very happy that both of the long sides of the tank will be for viewing this peninsula tank. I ordered the tank from Aaron at SPS Coral Store in La Canada and he has been very helpful. I got the email from him just today that my tank/stand and canopy are ready for pickup! I've got some help on Sunday, so I will have to wait to get it until then.
 
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Man, the top and bottom shots are amazing. Do you know what either is? Amazing looking pieces I would like to try and find. Good luck with the new tank, cool dimensions.
 
ViktorVaughn said:
Man, the top and bottom shots are amazing. Do you know what either is? Amazing looking pieces I would like to try and find. Good luck with the new tank, cool dimensions.
Click to expand...

The top and bottom are actually both the same colony. It is the Reeffarmers Rouge Mille and it was my favorite. The top picture is the last picture I took of that coral. It has better color in the bottom picture because it was healthier in that pic. I was having issues with my sps and I couldn't figure out what was going on, and that colony lost some of the deep pink color(as shown in the top pic). Later I found out that my solution for the refractometer was bad and my SG was way higher than I thought.... That was very upsetting.
Here is a picture of that coral when I bought it as a frag from Steve Tyree at reeffarmers.
 
Led???

Led???

Lighting
I thought for sure I would be going full LED for my new Peninsula Tank. But as I read, researched, looked at pictures of sps dominate tanks on RC, and asked around, I decided that I'm going to stick with what works 100% for sure with SPS....Metal Halide. I ordered the Hamilton Cebu Sun fixture with 2x 175w Single End bulbs / 4x 39watt T5HO and Select-a-watt Galaxy Ballasts. This order came in way before my tank, so I already have this fixture ready to go. I ordered it from Ali at amazing aquariums and reefs, he is another great guy for us located in So Cal. Unfortunately, I won't be able to run Raduims anymore in my new tank since there is no 175w SE option, but the Phoenix should be just fine accompanied by the T5s. Actually I could very easily change to 250w radiums with my ballasts, however, I think that would be overkill.
2x 175w halides and 4x ATI T5HO bulbs over a 38" x 30" footprint, should be more than enough light.
 
jackson6745 said:
Love that pink milli with the green polyps. Awesome!
Click to expand...

Me too! A lot of people in my area got frags from it. I really hope I can find someone who still has it. I'd love to buy a piece back when I'm ready. The person who bought the mother colony from me lost it in a tank crash.
 
Thanks Cugly, I'm looking forward to it.
Chromi- It took a couple years to grow them that big. I can get more accurate dates later.
 
That's funny, I just saw your tank sitting over at SPS Coral store; I was checking it out. Is Aaron doing your stand or Lee Mar? I'd like to see pics of the stand and canopy.
 
Jmason95 said:
That's funny, I just saw your tank sitting over at SPS Coral store; I was checking it out. Is Aaron doing your stand or Lee Mar? I'd like to see pics of the stand and canopy.
Click to expand...

Yep, it was all wrapped up in the middle of the store. I actually picked it up today. LeeMar did it, it is the Atlantis style. I will take pictures and put them on here tomorrow.
 
Here's my peninsula tank, 3-decent sized viewing sides. While I was picking up the tank I also got a Protein Skimmer and Return Pump. Now it's time to plumb this sucker. I'm thinking threaded bulkheads just in case I move again in the next couple years and maybe a manifold if I decide to run a gfo/carbon reactor. Inside my overflow I have 3-holes all for 1" bulkheads. Then on the sides of the overflow I have one hole on each side for the 3/4" Loclines to exit. I want to do the Herbie style overflow, but I'm not 100% sure how to branch off the return inside the overflow to exit in 2-places. I can't just put a Tee because it would hit the return standpipe on one side. Perhaps a Tee and then flexible PVC to go around the standpipe??? I don't have much experience with plumbing tanks or PVC, wish me luck. If you have a suggestion, let me know.




 
Nice. Thanks for posting the pics. I'm curious as to how much heat you'll get from the 175w bulbs and how well the fixture does at keeping everything cool - please let us know. I'm considering getting the same fixture, but I don't want to have to run a chiller with it. I'd also like to know how you like the Phoenix bulbs. I've run the 250w Phoenix bulbs and liked them, but I'm not sure if the 175w version will look the same.
 
Jmason95 said:
Nice. Thanks for posting the pics. I'm curious as to how much heat you'll get from the 175w bulbs and how well the fixture does at keeping everything cool - please let us know. I'm considering getting the same fixture, but I don't want to have to run a chiller with it. I'd also like to know how you like the Phoenix bulbs. I've run the 250w Phoenix bulbs and liked them, but I'm not sure if the 175w version will look the same.
Click to expand...

I had a canopy on my last tank with 2x 250watt halides and a small LED fixture. I had 2-fans built into the canopy and didn't have any heat issues. I also keep my AC on constant at 77-78 degrees though.
I don't want to have a chiller either. I think I will be fine with 2x 175watt halides and the 2x fans built into the fixture. If I do have heat problems, I will add a fan inside the canopy to help. I will keep you posted.
I saw the Phoenix 175w bulbs at Amazing Aquariums and the color looked nice. If they look too blue for me I will add more Coral+ T5s and if they look too white I will add more Blue+ or Actinic to the T5 part of the fixture.
I have also run the 250w Phoenix and Radiums in my last tank and I liked them both.
 
Pmrossetti- thanks, I'm glad you'll be following.

Flexin5- thank you. Yeah I think it's going to look pretty cool there. It is the first thing seen as you walk in the front door and easily seen from both the family room and kitchen. Let's hope I never have major algae issues!
 
tofucube said:
That's an awesome looking Rouge Milli. Great looking tank.
Click to expand...
Thank you tofucube.
I picked up all my plumbing today. I THINK I got everything I need, but it wouldn't surprise me if I end up making extra trips while I'm in the thick of putting this mess together.
 
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