So.Cal. Out of the Ashes 340 build

[acesq]

Very nice looking build! Very well planned and executed!

Thanks! I've enjoyed building it.

I'll try to update soon. Lots of new stuff, including a new light rack with new lights and more corals and fish.

 

[slightlyjugular]

Hello art,

An absolute pleasure reading through your thread. A great build and some nice ideas.

Good equipment choice aswell. Made a good decision getting a dastaco
I was going to run one before I went triton.

Can't wait to see this develop. Gutted the less didn't stay.

I did have 400watt radiums 20k on mine in large luminarcs as I found the 250 didn't give enough punch.

I got good results. But missed the controllerabilty of the LEDs and the different colours through out the day.

Any fish in yet or any updates mate

TTFN
Your friend from across the pond
Kings

 

[usingthejohn]

Ok. This is a dream setup. Well done!!!

 

[moondoggy4]

Love this setup, I was hoping to see Cerameco at the RAP shows again but I only seen them once.

 

[NeverlosT]

Great build thus far, a pleasure to see a well-built and thought out system. I am running T5 and LED at the moment, but let me tell you, I do often long for my good old MH lighting.

How is the flow in the tank? Perhaps you could drop some food in and show us how it blows around in a video?

Looks good so far. I noticed that you mentioned fans vs. a chiller. To be honest, I'd do both. Let the fans run until 82 and then kick on the chiller until the tank hits 79 again. Chillers in SoCal are a pricey but super useful peace of mind in my book. Either way, I hope it works out!

I too tried all LED last year, but I just had too much trouble tuning them to the point that my SPS were happy.

 

[jamroz37]

wow beautiful tank!! i was going to save for another car but this makes me want to change my mind haha

 

[slief]

I need to come pay you a visit and check out your tank. You really did a very nice job with your setup and install. Very well planned and great execution.

Now you just need to post some update pictures of the tank!

 

[acesq]

Hello art,

An absolute pleasure reading through your thread. A great build and some nice ideas.

Good equipment choice aswell. Made a good decision getting a dastaco
I was going to run one before I went triton.

Can't wait to see this develop. Gutted the less didn't stay.

I did have 400watt radiums 20k on mine in large luminarcs as I found the 250 didn't give enough punch.

I got good results. But missed the controllerabilty of the LEDs and the different colours through out the day.

Any fish in yet or any updates mate

TTFN
Your friend from across the pond
Kings

Hi Kings, thanks for stopping by. I am due for an update, hopefully will get to one soon. I am still unhappy with my lighting, or perhaps I'm just not acclimating the coral to it slowly enough, but I have lost a few to bleaching while others are doing well. My most recent guinea pig is a very hairy green milli. I bought it at RAP (a show here in So Cal held in September). I dipped it and put it in my frag tank for three or four weeks under T5s. It looked awesome with extreme PE. I moved it to the DT near the top of the reef and withing days it had little to no PE. I first suspected the fish were bothering it so after a few days I moved it back to the frag tank. It continued to look bad for a couple of weeks but then turned around and began looking better than ever. After adjusting the photoperiod of the MH down a little and reducing the intensity of the LED actinic strips, I decided to give it another shot in the DT. Instantly it retracted its polyps. This time instead of moving back to the frag tank I moved it to the bottom of the DT on the sand. I returned from a trip yesterday and lo and behold he's got PE! Even I can see that the light at the top of the reef if simply too intense for some corals. Sooooo, I have to decide whether to change the lights once again this time to T5s, or to continually change around my corals until I can find ones that are happy with the high intensities. Or am I missing something???

On the fish front, I recently added two female Ventralis Anthias to the DT in the hopes that they will hang out with the male I have had for a year or so. I started with five females in QT but they are quite finicky and only two made it through the 5 week process. So far they are a bit shy, but the male does love to have a couple of hot girls to show off to every once in a while. They make quite a trio.

Unfortunately, I have to head to the office for some don't be a jerk... (How'd I do??)

Ok. This is a dream setup. Well done!!!

Thanks!

Love this setup, I was hoping to see Cerameco at the RAP shows again but I only seen them once.

I was looking for them as well since they have not come through with the promised MP60 cover. Not sure what's up with the company.

Great build thus far, a pleasure to see a well-built and thought out system. I am running T5 and LED at the moment, but let me tell you, I do often long for my good old MH lighting.

How is the flow in the tank? Perhaps you could drop some food in and show us how it blows around in a video?

Looks good so far. I noticed that you mentioned fans vs. a chiller. To be honest, I'd do both. Let the fans run until 82 and then kick on the chiller until the tank hits 79 again. Chillers in SoCal are a pricey but super useful peace of mind in my book. Either way, I hope it works out!

I too tried all LED last year, but I just had too much trouble tuning them to the point that my SPS were happy.

As I explained above, I may join you with the T5/LED setup. That might also help with the chiller situation. I did go with 1/3 horse Chiller only since the fan was kicking up so much salt spray my exhaust fan could not keep up and rust was starting to form on all of the metal surfaces. The chiller worked fine in the hot late summer months keeping the temp below 80.

The flow is great. I'll try to post a video soon. I only have the pumps ramping between 35% to 70%. Any more and the sand starts blowing around. As my SPS starts growing in (god willing!!) I anticipate changing the nozzle directions and/or increasing the output.

wow beautiful tank!! i was going to save for another car but this makes me want to change my mind haha

Skimp on the car and put your money in the tank!! :dance:

I need to come pay you a visit and check out your tank. You really did a very nice job with your setup and install. Very well planned and great execution.

Now you just need to post some update pictures of the tank!

Check your PM Scott, your welcome anytime. I can repay you for the tour you gave me of your amazing system.

Pictures soon!

 

[slightlyjugular]

ello my one another!!


Lighting is so hard I have pretty much tried everything.

I did have really good results with my halides luminarcs.
I too ran radium 20k the best all round bulb by far.

I ran them on electronic ballests. they were 400 watt too.

The type of coral you are explaining sounds like one of the less intense light sps.

I had a couple of corals bleach a little but let them keeping an eye on them and eventually their colour came back and I got amazing growth and coloration.

With the 20k radiums they do tend to pack less of a punch than say a 14k blv or similar so most corals can suffer being higher up.


I also know of a few people who used orphans and had mixed results.

I love leds always have even when they couldn't really do the job!!

I thought for such a long time about what to go for as I liked some of the canons.

I watched mike paletta led video and started to lean toward the radion pros.

I then visited a very long serving reefer who is a genius and a good friend.


he was like me running halides.

he had changed to radion pro so I went to see how he was getting on.

I left got up the next day and ordered mine.

he has had a nem for 17 years and a female clown for 19!!
he knows his stuff!!
his tank is stunning
Like he said to me he has noticed hardly any difference in his corals only slightly better colour.

my tank has just got better and better and think these are the best leds.

software is great too.

I do like t5 as their results speak for them selves. great growth even light distribution and amazing coral pigmentation but I am not a fan of the colour they give of it is too flat and to still without shimmer.

finding the right colour combination and the bulb changing is a PITA!!

as for the anthias you have picked pretty but harder to keep ones.
I always go for normal wreck fish (squamipinnis anthias)
or barletts anthias.

but who Im I to split up the trio!! he is a lucky male!!

If I don't see you through week i'll see you through window!!

TTFN
kings

 

[acesq]

Thanks for the info Kings. I think my reflectors concentrate the light too much add to that the fact that I have four set end to end with barely an inch between them and I'm just getting too much intensity for all but the most light hungry SPS. Another option would be to get three larger reflectors -- like your luminarcs (discontinued?) or the Hamilton cozumel sun-- but I'm not sure I have the headroom above the tank to place them as high off the water as they need. On the other hand, I had great success with T5's on my last tank and am tempted to go back since I have had so much trouble with lighting so far. To be continued.....

As for my anthias, yes, they are perhaps the most difficult, but I think also the most beautiful. I had decent success over the years with them and they prove very hardy once you get them eating. The trio are now hanging together very closely and look great in the big tank. Perhaps another two females is in order to create a mini shoal!

Art

 

[blfuller123]

Amazing build, I guess you are using the apex to control the CL pumps. I love this idea!

 

[acesq]

Amazing build, I guess you are using the apex to control the CL pumps. I love this idea!

Thanks! Yes, I am using the Apex to control the CL pumps. I'm trying to create a "surging gyre". Not sure I have, but I do know there's alot of flow! Its fun to see the fish surf in the CL outputs.

 

[Ericd000]

Very nice build!

I have a question for you. I'm in the process of designing the lift mechanism for a light rack over my 300 gallon that I'm setting up. I've already got the Firgelli track actuator on order.

Can you post some detail of how you have your pulleys configured? Also what pulleys are you using? From the looks of them, they are normal zinc coated, which I'm concerned about rust/corrosion issues being over the tank.

I've been looking at options and while 316 stainless is the best choice, it's also looking like $25+ per pulley, of which I'm estimating 10 to get to all corners without using too much angle for the long runs...

 

[acesq]

I am using the normal zinc coated pulleys, but the are protected from salt spray by the lights and the humidity in the hood is kept low by an exhaust fan. So far they still look as new, no rust spots. Here are some pics of how I have them configured. I use a total of 8 with 4 attachment points on the frame.

 

[Ericd000]

I am using the normal zinc coated pulleys, but the are protected from salt spray by the lights and the humidity in the hood is kept low by an exhaust fan. So far they still look as new, no rust spots. Here are some pics of how I have them configured. I use a total of 8 with 4 attachment points on the frame.

Interesting. My pulleys and actuator will be mounted nearly 4' above my tank, so I may be good there. I also plan on installing a humidity control fan in the room to keep that down. Yours have been up for over a year now right?

 

[acesq]

Since November 2013. I wouldn't worry about the zinc pulleys, especially at that height.

 

[Ericd000]

Cool. Last questions for now, what are the specs on your exhaust fan? Is it always on, or humidity sensing? If it is humidity sensing, what are your thoughts on the noise from the fan?

 

[acesq]

The fan is humidity and motion sensing. Its a Panasonic, if I recall correctly its the FV-08VQC5 80 cfm and very quiet. I cant hear it over the sound of the DC closed loop pumps, which are pretty quiet themselves. That pulls plenty of air to vent the canopy area. I installed the same one in my sump room but ended up replacing it with a 110 cfm model because it could not keep up.

 

[Ericd000]

Cool, what's the volume of the 110 CFM like?

 

[acesq]

The 80 CFM is rated at .3 sones and the 110 is rated at .5 sones. So you get a bunch more volume without much more noise. I would definitely go with the larger one even if it was a bit overkill.