Sirjohn's 92 Gallon Corner

[yellowwatchmen]

Nice!

 

[zach0660]

thats a nice setup,
I like the idea of the 10gallon trash cans for the top-off

 

[Husky_1]

Hey Sirjohn,
Very nice aquascaping....Do you think that the rock all the way in the back is too high for corals? Or is this used to mask most of the overflow. I am starting my aquascaping tonight on my 92 and will be doing something similar in the back, but was going to keep it about 6" from the top of the water line.

 

[sirjohn]

Thanks all, I'm really happy on how the tank is turning out so far. Can't wait to start adding corals.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10734004#post10734004 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Husky_1
Hey Sirjohn,
Very nice aquascaping....Do you think that the rock all the way in the back is too high for corals? Or is this used to mask most of the overflow. I am starting my aquascaping tonight on my 92 and will be doing something similar in the back, but was going to keep it about 6" from the top of the water line.

Husky, I went that high mainly to cover the overflow. However, given that I'm using T5s and not MHs, it also seems like a good place to put some crocea or maxima clams. I'd love to have a clam attach near the top in the middle of the slope so it can be viewed from the front of the tank, but we'll see how that goes. There is also a flat area right near the top that you can't see from the pictures that would be a good place for a clam, although you would have to view those from the top to really appreciate them.

The pictures you see above is only with the 4 X 24watts T5s on, which equal to about 160 watts when overdriven with the Icecap 660. When the corals come in, I will start turning on the rest of the T5s, 4 X 39 watts (= ~240 watts overdriven), for a total of ~400 watts.

 

[Pacific Reefs]

i love your maroons....fantastic!

 

[seastar12]

Nice clowns

 

[rkelman]

I love your tank. Everything looks great. One thing I noticed in the sump you have suction cups holding the level sensor and something else I can't quite see in place. Suction cups scare me in saltwater... Again awesome tank I can't wait to see it loaded with corals.

 

[sirjohn]

Thanks for the comments on the Maroons. Can't wait to add an RBTA when the tank matures a bit more. I really hope it likes the place I picked out for it...

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10738240#post10738240 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rkelman
I love your tank. Everything looks great. One thing I noticed in the sump you have suction cups holding the level sensor and something else I can't quite see in place. Suction cups scare me in saltwater... Again awesome tank I can't wait to see it loaded with corals.

rkelman, the other thing you see is the rigid tubing outflow from the Litermeter III. I rigged a Maxijet 3-suction cup plastic holder to hold the rigid tubin in place, with the help of some plastic ties.

I don't like suction cups either, but it was the best thing I could think off to hold the sensor and rigid tubing in place. I'm not TOO worried about it since if the cups fail, the sensor and tubing should stay in place anyways (they are held to the underside of the stand with a plastic cable holder). In any event, the sensor is really just a redundant safety mechanism anyways, since I programmed the Litermeter III to only dispense about a gallon of fresh water a day for top-off and it won't go beyond that unless it malfunctions.

 

[Antman]

WOW that looks great -Makes my stand under my 54 look like a junk yard
What did ya use on the backround the blue looks great

 

[jenajet]

Very nice! I love the maroons, but I'm partial to them. I also have a male that is the dark variety. When I got him he was supposed to be a white stripe but when I put him with my maroon, not only did he turn to the gold stripe and get very dark, my white stripe turned female and tripled in size within a few months. They are a tight pair but not sure if they can reproduce being I ended up with two different species. But that's okay, they like one another. I love your rockwork too.

 

[sirjohn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10740281#post10740281 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Antman
WOW that looks great -Makes my stand under my 54 look like a junk yard
What did ya use on the backround the blue looks great

Thanks. I painted the back of the tank with a glossy dark blue spray paint I bought at Home Depot (it lightens significantly when it goes on the glass and the lights come on).

I was between the dark blue and the black, and finally chose the dark blue because it was really more representative of the color of the water that frames the coral reefs I see down in the keys when I dive. (See my avatar).

 

[sirjohn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10740793#post10740793 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jenajet
Very nice! I love the maroons, but I'm partial to them. I also have a male that is the dark variety. When I got him he was supposed to be a white stripe but when I put him with my maroon, not only did he turn to the gold stripe and get very dark, my white stripe turned female and tripled in size within a few months. They are a tight pair but not sure if they can reproduce being I ended up with two different species. But that's okay, they like one another. I love your rockwork too.

Thanks, maroons are by far my favorite species of clowns. The gold stripe really makes the clown colors stand out when it becomes pronounced.

I'm no expert on clowns, but I don't see why they wouldn't be able to reproduce... I'm pretty sure other clown species mix it up a bit, why not maroons? :lol:

Perhaps a clown expert can chime in...

 

[mhhauser321]

Very cool, I can't wait to see a completed clam mountain.

 

[Husky_1]

For my ATO sensors I use the Mold-a-holder from aquahub. It came as part of their package, but you can buy one separately.

 

[Pacific Reefs]

How is everything running now? I started to get some hair algae too...time for me to get some snails.

 

[sirjohn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10772577#post10772577 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Pacific Reefs
How is everything running now? I started to get some hair algae too...time for me to get some snails.

Hey Pacific. Fortunately, the diatoms and hair algae are on their way out. Bought a clean-up crew and one of my last pieces of equipment, a GFO reactor (I use phosban). Here's a pic:

Also, I got my last remote pump in, and so I finished the ATO and 2-part dosing system:

The Litermeter III and extra pumps were not cheap, but all-in-all it was still significantly cheaper than a calcium reactor system.

With the diatom and hair algae gone, phosphate levels down, and regular 2-part dosing, the coraline has really started to take off:

No other coral, fish or livestock yet other than the clowns and the clean-up crew, but now that the equipment is essentially done, I have nothing to spend money on BUT corals, fish, livestock, so expect pictures of new inhabitants soon.

 

[Husky_1]

Very very nice. Do you account your disappearance of hair algae to the phosban reactor and skimmer? This will basically be my 3rd setup in a year (1st was an inital setup, 2nd was a total rework for a CL), the first 2 did not get hair algae as an initial part of the process. I have a little red hair algae (not cyano) on my rocks, so I am hoping the new reactor/skimmer combo will take care of that.

As far as the doser, I too am not sure what I want to do. Before my switchover, I started chewing through Kalk. I have to wondering if a calcium reactor is inevitable, and doing the dosing route for me would be a stop gap? Either way, my next major purchase will be my controller, assuming no major surprises.

 

[sirjohn]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10774851#post10774851 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Husky_1
Very very nice. Do you account your disappearance of hair algae to the phosban reactor and skimmer?

Thanks Husky. It was a combination of the skimmer, reactor and clean-up crew. Those snails and crabs work relentlessly...

The biggest problem I see with calcium reactors in corner tanks, assuming price is no problem, is the lack of space. I doubt I could have fit a calcium reactor, decent-sized CO2 tank, PH controller, etc. in my stand along with a top-off water reservoir. For me everything had to fit in the stand and I needed to see and access my fuge easily. I definitely wouldn't have been able to see my fuge without taking something out and that was a deal-breaker for me.

There is a thread around here that compares the pros and cons of calcium reactors vs. automatic 2-part dosing systems; it's a good read.

Those controllers are so nice, which one are you looking at, one from Neptune?

 

[Husky_1]

Sirjohn, I really did not know how big a Calcium reactor is, but I did forget about the CO2 tank, so I think its probably not an option for me either (no room). 2 part will be probably end up being the way I have to go as well.

Right now the AC Jr (fully stocked) has everything I need in the price tag that I want to stay in.

 

[Pacific Reefs]

Sirjohn that coralline algae is looking nice...I need to borrow some Everything looks great!

Tom