Tag, YOU'RE IT!! Everyone play along, will be fun!

[bfliflet]

I originally set this 300g up as an anemone tank and after some discussion with Jeff and Anne, I planned to incorporate zoas and some LPS in this 'dirty water' environment. Since then, the tank's focus has shifted to more SPS. Basing my system on an ATS has made this more challenging as advice is harder to come by. I am an avid DYIer (stand, LEDs, ATS, ATO, etc) and my setup wreaks of it. That said, I enjoy the hobby (aka obsession) and the people associated "” MARS and the surrounding clubs. On to the pictures...

FTS minus gigantea in QT

Green carpet in QT. Became stressed after an additive dosed. Clownfish kept picking at the gaping mouth and it receded. Looking much better now.

Some hitchiker orange monti I received from Kim's live rock has taken over"¦

An unknown to me tort(?) that yielded some frags for the swap
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My clowns sleeping in their BTA. The tentacles look black at night they're so dense with zooxanthellae.

An SPS (looks like surf n turf?) that's almost forest green in person.

The red goniopora I got from Jordan (pico1) when I first set up my tank. The bald spot in the red hornets went to two people at the swap

A yellow and green milli, superman monti, YR blue tenuis (from a MARS raffle) among others. Red dragon on the right. What's the green and purple/pink in the bottom middle?

Unknown tort(?) with a cool growth pattern. Keeps trespassing into BTA's space and pays for it. Hardy sucker"¦

Rastas (minus a patch for the swap) have become almost plaguelike. Photobomb by Jedi Mind Trick and a green slimer which never seem to grow well despite great polyp extension

 

[bfliflet]

(Previous post) Some green birdsnest that really glows. Common but nice to look at when polyps extend

Bad photo of some green stylo from tfp. Think it's supposed to have pink in there too"¦

And the 40g breeder filtering it all. Recently added a skimmer in lieu of increasing ATS size with what will become a refugium at some point.

Tank: 300g tall (96x24x30)
Sump: 40g breeder
Filter: Algal Turf Scrubber. 25w of LEDs (4:1 red:blue), (2) 17x5 screens.
Skimmer: Aquamaxx EM 300
Flow: Jebao wp60(x2) wp40(x2), Water Blaster 7000 in sump
Light: Custom DYI LEDs from 405nm - 660nm in clustered arrangement with LDDs and custom Arduino dimming code.
Dosing: BRS two part plus experimentation with Zeovit additives
Controller: Apex w/ two EB8s
Maintenance: Weekly 10-15% water change. Clean ATS screen. Test water.

Finally, I would like to tag palygirl (Anne). I haven't seen her zoa tank since her and Jeff graciously invited me to their house. Best Regards!

 

[79chopperdr]

Nice work Brandon. I love putting my own stuff together too.

The first unknown looks like Cali Tort to me.

 

[Saltwaternooby]

2nd that 1st tort is Cali Tort

Looking Good everyone, I know Anne just went out of town for a few days so probably no updates.

 

[robert s b.]

Looking good Brandon, awesome thread! Great to see everyone's tanks!

 

[jthao]

Wow brandon, very impressive set up! I didn't know you're an LED guru! I knw who I'll be calling now for LED help! those Rastas are insane dude.
Can you give more info on LED build please?
Thanks for sharing bro!

 

[bfliflet]

Each 8"x8" panel has the following LEDs:
1 - BXRC-40E2000-C-XX (Vero 13) 40W 4000k neutral white. high CRI
4 - Rebel Luxeon M Royal Blue 48W very efficient
4 - LGB Ocean Coral White (Red/Cyan/Cool Blue) 26W
4 - LGB 405nm hyperviolet 10W
12 - LGB 430nm ultraviolet 28W
for a total of about 150W peak power per panel or 600W total. Each panel has 7 LDDs so each channel on each panel can be independently controlled. There's a CPU fan on top of the heatsinks to keep them cool. The panels use 30deg optics to minimize spillover and penetrate my 30" tank plus the mounting height. Uncorrected PAR at water surface is around 1100 at 100% power. Dirty water plus turbulence reduces PAR to around 500 (uncorrected) mid-tank. Lately, I have been ramping up my intensity and have noticed deeper coloration. Currently at 80% power.

I posted some closeups of the LED on the MARS forum after the LED presentation in August:
http://www.marineaquarist.org/marsforum/viewtopic.php?f=3&t=4

 

[Tweakes182]

I think that Anne may be busy all week. I know she has a conference that she is going to, but I am not sure when she will be back

 

[bfliflet]

I think that Anne may be busy all week. I know she has a conference that she is going to, but I am not sure when she will be back

Alright Chris. I am calling you out! Hopefully, someone will tag Anne when she gets back. Would love to get an update on her (and eventually Jeff's) tank(s).

 

[palygirl]

Yep, I'm in Orange Co. for work all week... Glad you tagged Chris and Hannah!!

 

[hnnhflns]

Ok, this may take a while, so give me a little bit to get everything together and written....

Now I have to go clean off the coralline from the acrylic so I can take pictures... Fun...

 

[jthao]

Thanks Brandon for the info on the leds. Looks like an awesome set up, definitely looks like it's better than any unit available on the market. I guess that when you diy, you can actually choose exactly what you want and pick the best leds possible to make your fixtures. The consumer mass produced fixtures usually have one thing but missing another cuss they still have to cut down on costs to make a profit. Your set up looks like if it was from a known company, it'll be quite pricey! Nice job! And thanks again for sharing.

 

[Tweakes182]

I am so glad I got OT at work today because both of those tanks are covered in corraline algae right now.

:uhoh2: Sorry you have to clean it Hannah.

 

[hnnhflns]

I am so glad I got OT at work today because both of those tanks are covered in corraline algae right now.

:uhoh2: Sorry you have to clean it Hannah.

No you're not! You hate cleaning the tanks! You almost always leave it to me

The way the 120 is I can't get all of the algae off because that means taking the hood off and that is a two person job.
But I do have them clean enough for pictures now. So I can get to writing about them

 

[jthao]

No you're not! You hate cleaning the tanks! You almost always leave it to me

Too funny, reminds me of my dogs with the gf! Lol

 

[hnnhflns]

I should probably preface this with the note that we live in a 1 bedroom apartment with 462 sqft.

We have been in the apartment since April/May 2013. We have a total of 5 permanent tanks running: 120 Gallon SPS/LPS/Chalice tank, 300 Gallon Mixed Reef, 75 Gallon tank set up for our turtles, and a 10 Gallon Fresh Water Plant Tank.

The 120 Tank
Tank info: TruVu Acrylic 120 Gallon Peninsula (24 wide x 24 tall x 48 long) bare bottom

Sump: 40 Gallon Glass

Refugium: ~1/3 of the Sump. Deep Sand bed and TONS of Macro Algae
Skimmer: Reef Octopus
Flow: 2 Jebao WP-40 on the end next to the overflow and 1 MP-40 on the peninsula end
Lighting: 10-Bulb T5 for the display (only using 8), and 4 PAR 38 LED lights on the refugium
Dosing/caRx: No dosing yet, just an ATO
Controller if any: Reef Angel that controls light timing, Jebaos, ATO, Temperature, and we have it set up with a WiFi adapter so I can access it away from home. We have the Jebaos controlled using the dimming channels to keep the flow in a reef crest variation.

Maintenance info: Test Mg, Ca, and dKH every week. I very rarely clean the coralline...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 300 Tank
Tank info: TruVu Acrylic 300 Gallon (24” wide x 30” tall x 96” long) with a 4” sand bed

Sump: ~300 gallons with all chambers full. This sump is completely custom. We built it in place in the stand and there is no way to get it out of the stand without taking the tank off the top. There are two chambers on one side for quarantine and mixing water (will soon be ATO)
Refugium: 31” wide x 21” long x 21” water depth for Macro Growing with fine/med crushed coral.

24” wide x 24” long x 21” water depth for Frag Growing with large crushed coral

Skimmer: Warner Marine (the one that used to be in YR 600 Gallon tank) the 150S we think

Flow: 2 WP-60 in the Display, WP-25 in the frag tank, and some random pumps in the refugium. Running a Jebao DC9000 as the return. We are going to be running a dual pump system eventually.
Lighting: 2x4ft T5 hoods on the DT for now, and a combination of LED and T5 in the sump
Dosing/caRx: None
Controller if any: Reef Angel (thank you to Greenhead and Jessie!) that isn't set up yet
Maintenance info: testing every week, and cleaning whenever I feel like it
Anything else you want us to know: This tank is definitely not finished yet. There is a current thread build here on Reef Central. We have not updated in a long time but we will soon because we have a lot of new things in the works. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2408117


We nominate the other Hannah (Generaltoaster), but we have no way to tell her that we did so hopefully she reads the forums often or someone else can tell her...

 

[jthao]

How about a ft shot of the 300g
You guys are really some true hobbyists!!
Thanks for sharing

 

[hnnhflns]

Sorry. I meant to include the picture to begin with but I accidentally clicked submit instead of preview. So it's all fixed now.

Sad thing is that I can't stand far enough away from the tank to get a better picture than that.:facepalm:
At least all the fish behaved for the picture

 

[fishnerd]

Holy crap! I cannot imagine the humidity with 500+ gallons in 462 sq ft. That is over 1gallon per square feet Everyones tanks loks great!

Bryan

 

[robert s b.]

I should probably preface this with the note that we live in a 1 bedroom apartment with 462 sqft.

We have been in the apartment since April/May 2013. We have a total of 5 permanent tanks running: 120 Gallon SPS/LPS/Chalice tank, 300 Gallon Mixed Reef, 75 Gallon tank set up for our turtles, and a 10 Gallon Fresh Water Plant Tank.

The 120 Tank
Tank info: TruVu Acrylic 120 Gallon Peninsula (24 wide x 24 tall x 48 long) bare bottom

Sump: 40 Gallon Glass

Refugium: ~1/3 of the Sump. Deep Sand bed and TONS of Macro Algae
Skimmer: Reef Octopus
Flow: 2 Jebao WP-40 on the end next to the overflow and 1 MP-40 on the peninsula end
Lighting: 10-Bulb T5 for the display (only using 8), and 4 PAR 38 LED lights on the refugium
Dosing/caRx: No dosing yet, just an ATO
Controller if any: Reef Angel that controls light timing, Jebaos, ATO, Temperature, and we have it set up with a WiFi adapter so I can access it away from home. We have the Jebaos controlled using the dimming channels to keep the flow in a reef crest variation.

Maintenance info: Test Mg, Ca, and dKH every week. I very rarely clean the coralline...

------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

The 300 Tank
Tank info: TruVu Acrylic 300 Gallon (24" wide x 30" tall x 96" long) with a 4" sand bed

Sump: ~300 gallons with all chambers full. This sump is completely custom. We built it in place in the stand and there is no way to get it out of the stand without taking the tank off the top. There are two chambers on one side for quarantine and mixing water (will soon be ATO)
Refugium: 31" wide x 21" long x 21" water depth for Macro Growing with fine/med crushed coral.

24" wide x 24" long x 21" water depth for Frag Growing with large crushed coral

Skimmer: Warner Marine (the one that used to be in YR 600 Gallon tank) the 150S we think

Flow: 2 WP-60 in the Display, WP-25 in the frag tank, and some random pumps in the refugium. Running a Jebao DC9000 as the return. We are going to be running a dual pump system eventually.
Lighting: 2x4ft T5 hoods on the DT for now, and a combination of LED and T5 in the sump
Dosing/caRx: None
Controller if any: Reef Angel (thank you to Greenhead and Jessie!) that isn't set up yet
Maintenance info: testing every week, and cleaning whenever I feel like it
Anything else you want us to know: This tank is definitely not finished yet. There is a current thread build here on Reef Central. We have not updated in a long time but we will soon because we have a lot of new things in the works. http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2408117


We nominate the other Hannah (Generaltoaster), but we have no way to tell her that we did so hopefully she reads the forums often or someone else can tell her...

That's Awesome , you guys are really hardcore!