starting a new tank :)

[Flexin5]

thought i'd toss up some progress pics of a new tank that i'm doing.

my current tank is ok, but to be honest, it's too high, and a pain to work on. having to stand on a stool and be up to my armpit to move a frag on the sandbed is getting old, and because of that, i've been neglecting the tank a bit. i'll wait for 4 frags to be out of place before fixing them lol. also having a non-eurobraced rimless tank can get messy fast.

current tank for reference: (sorry new camera colors are a bit exaggerated)

anyways, came across this tank for an amazing price so i had to jump on it.

36x30x18 euro braced miracles tank. works out to be about 85 gallons.

only thing is that it's not drilled for the return. i don't really mind it since it's just the return.

i'll be transfering all of the equipment from my current tank aswell:

lighting: 2 or 3 AI sol super blues....or hydras. i have 3 of each unit, but i've had better success with the super blues. still undecided on which to use for this tank.

water movement: jebao dc-3000, and an eheim 1262 as a back up. the 1262 was a little loud and the TV is next to the tank.

skimmer: bubble magnus curve 7

control: reef keeper lite.

picked up the return pump, and some dry rock

got a 40 breeder for a sump. i'll be making my own, first attempt at this

started on the rock work. i'm putting alot of focus on this so it may take some time, but it's coming along well.

^i'm hoping a shrimp makes a home in there.

and picked up my sump glass today.

got the corners cut for a nice fit.

and that's where i'm at now, going to of course go full sps, and things a little different than the last time. cleaner plumbing with a manifold instead of like 6 maxijets around the place, no frags on the sand bed etc.

thanks for looking

 

[Flexin5]

here's a little bit of an update for anyone who's interested

first time building my own sump:

got my plumbing on

filling....

cycling

 

[Flexin5]

i decided to change my lighting setup. after trying everything under the sun with straight LED's, i decided to supplement them with something that's proven. two units of 2bulb 54w T5's with brand new ATI blue + blubs. the two hydras are in the middle of the units, but those will be replaced with the sol super blues because i've had better results with them. they are just ontop of the tank for now, i'll be hanging the entire thing soon.

so i gave it a few weeks for things to settle, i didn't even see a cycle when i moved over two big rocks that were in the previous tank since it started. everything was doing great so i added my first round of frags.

also picked up a strawberry shortcake frag and a blue tort and that's about where i'm at now

 

[offdahooklikeoj]

Tank looks great! Looking forward to updates. For your first time building a sump it came out excellent. I run 3 AI Hydras on my 80 gallon, I was also thinking of adding two T5's. What made you add the T5's?

 

[sh8g8delik]

Yea nice work on the sump! And awesome selection of tangs! Do you have any problems with them bickering? Tanks looking nice.

 

[ThorEffex]

Looking good, seems like you have lots of potential all over the rocks. Is that jebao dc3000 going to run all those applications and the return? Do you think you will have a nutrient problem with that fish list.

 

[sahin]

Love the dimensions on the new tank! The Hydra 52's are are very good lights. My buddy has them over his 500G tank and they are colouring up SPS very well. His LPS are doing well too.

I like the addition of the T5's I think they definitely help reduce shadowing etc.

Will be following the progress of this tank. Be sure to updated regularly. :beer:

 

[Ink]

I think Hydras and T5 can hardly live together at the same distance above water.

I well know T5 and Hydras PAR distribution and Hydras need to stay at least 35cm above water to use them full power without burning corals. Otherwise You will need to significantly reduce their power.

A friend has 3 hydras 52 on a 155x75x55cm tank, 35cm above water and has the same PAR He had with 12x80w ATI T5 fixture.

Luca

 

[sh8g8delik]

I just finished reading your old peninsula tank, too bad you shut it down. Glad you're still in the hobby and your new tank is looking good. So i guess i stumbled across this thread twice. Judging by your old tank this should look awesome in no time. Gonna follow along for sure.

 

[jroovers]

Looks great Jason. You've obviously been putting in a lot of work getting this new system up and running! I think you can't go wrong with T5s and ATI Blue +'s. Once it is up and running and when I'm in the area, I'll definitely pay you a visit. Hope all is well with you and your family

 

[Flexin5]

Tank looks great! Looking forward to updates. For your first time building a sump it came out excellent. I run 3 AI Hydras on my 80 gallon, I was also thinking of adding two T5's. What made you add the T5's?

thanks! the sump was a challenge but i think it came out ok. i used 1/8th thick glass, and the big one on the right that makes the refugium section blew up, i guess it was too thin to hold back all that water. i since then had to replace it with thicker glass, but siliconing that in with the sump under the cabinet was a huge pain lol.

i added the T5's because i was unhappy with the colors that i was getting with just the straight LED's. T5's with ATI bulbs have had the best success with sps from the tons of tanks i've seen that are sps dominated. figured that i couldn't really go wrong.

Yea nice work on the sump! And awesome selection of tangs! Do you have any problems with them bickering? Tanks looking nice.

thankyou i actually have no problems with them. they are all nice and fat, healthy, no ich, and get along great. you may rarely see one raise a fin but aside from that no problems at all.

Looking good, seems like you have lots of potential all over the rocks. Is that jebao dc3000 going to run all those applications and the return? Do you think you will have a nutrient problem with that fish list.

thanks again, i need alot more frags lol to be honest, i think i over did it with that manifold. so far i'm only using 1 valve to run carbon and gfo and that's only turned 1/4 way; so the pump is keeping up now, but it won't if all are open. nutrients seem to be ok, i have a strict feeding schedule so that fish are well fed and i can balance the system, but i'm hoping that i won't have a problem.

Love the dimensions on the new tank! The Hydra 52's are are very good lights. My buddy has them over his 500G tank and they are colouring up SPS very well. His LPS are doing well too.

I like the addition of the T5's I think they definitely help reduce shadowing etc.



Will be following the progress of this tank. Be sure to updated regularly. :beer:

me too! lol i'm loving the dimentions because it's so easy to work on the tank now. i've heard great things about the 52's, i was thinking about upgrading to them but i just got the T5's instead.

I think Hydras and T5 can hardly live together at the same distance above water.

I well know T5 and Hydras PAR distribution and Hydras need to stay at least 35cm above water to use them full power without burning corals. Otherwise You will need to significantly reduce their power.

A friend has 3 hydras 52 on a 155x75x55cm tank, 35cm above water and has the same PAR He had with 12x80w ATI T5 fixture.

Luca

you're right Luca, and right now i have them turned way down, after this weekend when the old tank is moved and gone, i'm going to get to work on hanging the T5's and hydras higher.

I just finished reading your old peninsula tank, too bad you shut it down. Glad you're still in the hobby and your new tank is looking good. So i guess i stumbled across this thread twice. Judging by your old tank this should look awesome in no time. Gonna follow along for sure.

thankyou! i'm very much a hobbiest, first cars, then photography, now reefing, but i like this one the most.

Looks great Jason. You've obviously been putting in a lot of work getting this new system up and running! I think you can't go wrong with T5s and ATI Blue +'s. Once it is up and running and when I'm in the area, I'll definitely pay you a visit. Hope all is well with you and your family

Thanks Jordan! ya if you're ever in the area definatly give me a shout! hope all is well with your family too and the little one (probably not so little anymore haha) is doing well!

 

[Flexin5]

little update: kinda went frag crazy lately haha

just snapped some craptastic pics really quickly before I head off to work:

 

[jdm1114]

Those tangs look cramped, why did you go to a smaller tank?

 

[Flexin5]

Those tangs look cramped, why did you go to a smaller tank?

it's only about 20ish gallons smaller. a little easier to maintain and the dimentions of the tank make it much easier to work on, and I wanted a tank that had a bit more depth.

well he's a much overdue update. long story short, I had a temp swing because I forgot to turn on the ATO and no heated water was making it back up to the display; mag dropped low too. I lost a lot of fish, only left with 3 now, my blue tang, a melanrus wrasse and the clown tang. I worked hard, did a few big water changes, and didn't add anything to the tank until I 1)got params back into proper ranges and 2) left the thing alone so that it can stabilize really.

once things were looking better and were steady, I started to replace some of the pieces that I lost slowly. everything is doing better than I could ask for, I'm getting great PE, and great color in my opinion atleast.

anyways here's something to look at lol

 

[jroovers]

Good to hear things are on the rebound, that stinks about your fish SPS look good though. Third pic down, is that Tyree PL?

 

[Flexin5]

^thanks Jordan! umm, to tell you the truth, that frag has been through hell and back. i don't even remember what it was to be honest, some kind of lemonaide/limeade/icetea/diet coke something or other lol

 

[Flexin5]

haven't updated this in a bit, but the tank is doing well. i've added two 2 bulb T5's into the mix with ATI blue plus's that have been giving great color and growth. i also picked up a few reef raft sps that i hope will grow out nicely, some of them the pics didn't come out good.

unknown green with purple polyp acro

RR pretty in pink

RR golden Buddha (it's very yellow, blue light makes it look green)

sunset milli

 

[Flexin5]

RR candy apple milli

unknown (id?)

pink lemonade and other unknown

:spin1:

 

[Sps_Reef]

I like the build.

 

[Reef or Die]

very nice upgrade!! can you tell me your experience with the powder blue tang.. it is my favorite fish but I am scared to get one because of their well known it magnet status? interested to hear tips from people who have been able to keep them long term successfully?