Tank of the Month - Mar 2002

Any new photos?

Any new photos?

Would love to see any new shots of this reef after it has matured now for a year :)
 
The more i look at this tank, the more i realize how difficult it must have been to put something like this together. Its truly a reefers masterpiece and a work of art!

So, in the last year or so...have you changed out/upgraded any pieces of equipment? Have any of your ampmaster pumps sprung a leak or seized yet? Have you replaced the MH lamps? Are you still running the same ballasts, etc?
 
Changes...yep, there has been a few:

1) Eliminated all powerheads and replaced them with a closed loop system utilizing (4) ampmaster 3000's. This brings my circulation up to 15,000 GPH....and more importantly, minimal or no maintenace.

2) replaced M59 PFO ballasts with Sunlight's pulse start ballasts...this seems to have increased the light intensity about 20%.

3) now running (4) 400watt 10K plus (4) 400watt 20K and (6) 165watt actinic VHO.

4) I've gotten really good at replacing ampmaster seals..but, never on the same pump twice.

That's about it for changes......other than I add no additives and all four of my gonioporas are still going strong as they approach the two year mark.
 
Such a great reef. I really love the depth of view. The blue carpet gives me chills - I am an anemone nut. Time to start fragging some of your corals :)

BTW - are your clownfish spawning?
 
Thanks steve for inspiring me to build my tank! I saw your tank on RR in march and i was like "I want to build a tank like that!" So I cut a hole in the wall and in june it was done.

Thanks for the inspriation
Dan
 
I do not rely on a DSB for nitrate reduction...I rely on live rock and protein skimming; therefore, the sand bed is only 1-3 inches deep which I vacuum and turn frequently. I also keep the sand bed depth at the front panel as low as possible to ease the cleaning of the front panel.
 
BEAUTIFUL!

BEAUTIFUL!

I see you keep a solorensis boxfish from your fish list! I LOVE them. And I'm looking for one -- did you get yours online or at an LFS? Has it gone after anything it's not supposed to???

FABULOUS TANK! All those rose anemones are gorgeous....
 
Thanks for the kind words. The boxfish is doing well; however, I keep him in the refugium now...I'm afraid my blue carpet aneome might get him. He came from a LFS.
 
Ok

Its a reasnobly OK Tank.

Spot the mistruth above. Beautifull Steve ( Not u the tank :D )

Question: Do the Anemonoes wander at all ?



Thanks


Brian
 
Brian, the blue carpet never moves; but, the Rose aneomes move whenever they split. I have to watch them carefully and usually remove them when they split to keep their numbers to 6 or 8 in the tank at any one time.
 
Steve,

I love your tank and I pray for you to get a bigger back room ;)

I have one question. What kind of fish is this? I realyl want one of these in my 55! It's gorgeous.

Peppermint-Hogfish.jpg
 
I don't know if I can help you with the ID. It's certainly in the wrasse family...and my guess would be a Peppermint Hog. It's a great looking fish.
 
steveweast said:
Changes...yep, there has been a few:

1) Eliminated all powerheads and replaced them with a closed loop system utilizing (4) ampmaster 3000's. This brings my circulation up to 15,000 GPH....and more importantly, minimal or no maintenace.
Click to expand...

Hi Steve ... awesome tank ! ... quick question/suggestion ... you said you did away with the powerhead towers and replaced with closed loop ... did you have to replumb or do you have pictures of how you did it ?

I have a 8L x 2 W x 3 T ( about 300 gallons ) built into the wall and am struggling with figuring out how to get proper circulation ...

when I first read the write up on your tank I thought the powerhead tower would be cool and then I tried using one of my Mag18's that I use for my dual Beckett skimmer and make a tower with (4) 1/2" outputs to provide circulation ...

it worked but the noise from the Mag18 was driving me nuts so I took it out ( I currently only hear a slight gurgle from my overflow so my tank is pretty quiet but the only circulation right now is the return from my sump via a LG 5MDQXSC about midway in the tank opposite the overflow ) all pumps are behind the wall

Any suggestions ( I hope ) ?

Cheers

Steve
 
Rasta: I completely understand when you say that noise abatement is a priority....mags are noisy pumps that also have high heat transfer rates. I switched to a closed loop for reduced maintenance reasons.....the Tunze powerheads that I were using were quiet..but still required regular cleaning. My closed loop requires no such cleaning. I don't have any pics...but, it's pretty simple and it required no drilling or even stopping the main pump to accomplish it. Here's a quick breakdown:

1) The closed loop external pump (in my case) is located behind the tank.
2) The pvc pipes (1 1/2") going into/from the tank go over the rim of the tank.
3) I built a cage (about 6" X 4" and about 24" tall) out of 1/2" pvc and eggcrate.
4) The intake and out flow pipes go into this cage. The intake just terminates a few inches inside of the cage. The out flow continues to the bottom and is manifolded using 3/4' nipples that stick out of the cage wall.
5) I lowered the cage assembly along the back of the tank and connected flexible hose to those nipples sticking out of the cage and distributed them throughout the rockwork.My aquascaping has rocks that break the surface and completely hide the two pvc pipes that enter/leave the tank.
6) You will have to prime the pipes before turning on the pump.This is done by having a "T" in the intake pipe just before it enters the water with a removable plug in it. You can fill both of the pipes through this access.
7)Turn on the pump...you should never have to prime the pump again even in a power failure as long both pipe ends stay below your lowest water level in your tank (ie below your over flow grille or the lowest point when you do a water change).Remember to have ball valves and unions right by the pump in case you need to remove the pump for maintenance.

The cage in my system acts as a screen to keep from sucking up creatures without having something to clean ..like a sponge.
 
Thanks for the reply Steve ... that sounds like you have all the circulation you will ever need ( in that tank anyway ;) )

I tried your suggestion using my Mag18 outside and that made a HUGE difference ( almost undetectable ) ... trick now is to find the right pump for the job ... Thanks for your help

Cheers

Steve
 
Steve,
Are you happy with the way the Ampmaster 3000s run your skimmers? I hear that they are not pressure rated and are better left to running circulation loops. The reason i ask is because I'm in the market for a pump to run a dual beckett injector type skimmer. i have the iwaki 100 in mind but would love to use something a little quieter like the am3K or maybe even a higher rated dolphin pump. What are your recommendations? Its for a new 600 gallon partial sps tank that I'm setting up.

Thanks again,
Mark
 
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