The Eagle Has Landed - My 48 x 28 x 30 Tank

[gedsta]

Hello all, decided to do a tank thread on here, so as to further my knowledge. I am based in the UK and have been keeping Marines on and off for about 20 years or so.

Until I have told the story, I will just copy and paste what I have added to Marine Forums in the UK and then carry on the story here.

So here we go......



I managed to buy a second hand tank today.

I was going to get a new one, but after thinking about it, its still the same size room, so a 5 or 6 foot tank would still struggle to fit in, therefore I have gone with a wider and deeper tank.

My current tank is 48x24x24 plus sump with a volume of approx 100 gallons (UK) / 452 litres excluding sump and displacement.

The new tank is 48x28x30 plus sump with a volume of approx 145 gallons (UK) / 660 litres excluding sump and displacement.


Stay tuned.

My old 4x2x2 Tank as at 04/07/2013

My old and new tank as at 12/07/2013

New tank as at 23/07/2013

New Tank as at 01/10/2013

New tank running with Radion Pros since 13/11/2013

Tank

48"x28"x30" 12mm glass with Metallic Black cabinet
Sump

Equipment

Deltec APF600 skimmer gravity fed
Jebao DC-6000 Return pump
Vortech MP40WES x 2
Eco Tech Radion Pros x 2
Korallin Calcium Reactor
Apex Computer system controlling, temp, Top up, pH etc
300w Titanium Heater
200w Titanium Heater (back up)
7" Filter sock x 4 (changed every 2 days or so)
Reefloat AWC30 Pro Unit
Reefloat Flow Stop with microprocessor for float bounce and audible alarm

Media / dosing / feeding / Water Changes etc

No carbon used
No Phosphate remover used
No water changes at all at the moment
RedSea NoPox dosing 6ml daily
RedSea Reef Energy A dosing 20ml daily
RedSea Reef Energy B dosing 20ml daily
DD Reef Paste every couple of days
DD Reef Sticks every couple of days
New Era Aegis / Marine flakes daily
Tesco Sushi (Nori) every couple of days

Cheato

4" DSB with cheato above lit 24 hours per day, using 2 x 7w LED bulbs

Fish

Perc Misbar Clowns 2
Yellow Tang 1
Purple Tang 1
Regal Tang 1
Orange Striped Kole Tang 1 - added 15/09/2013
Chalk Goby 1
Algae Blenny 1
Randalls Goby 1
Cleaner Wrasse 1
Possum Wrasse 1 - added 17/08/2013
Black Leopard Wrasse 1 - added 15/09/2013
Naoko's Fairy Wrasse 1 - added 05/10/2013
Fire Fish 1 - added 21/09/2013
Scooter Blenny 1 - added 21/09/2013
Blue Striped Pipefish 1 - added 21/09/2013
Common Clowns 2 - added 21/09/2013

Coral

Red Planet frag
Jedi Monti frag
Green Plate
Purple Plate
Red Plate
Pink Histerix
Pink Histerix with Purple Polyps
Green Histerix
Pavona
Bali Green Slimer
Green Milli
Blue Milli
Purple Milka frag
Red Digi
Orange Digi
Silver Digi
Purple Digi
Forest Fire Digi frag
Blue tipped stag
[STRIKETHROUGH]Silver / green metallic Calliendrum[/STRIKETHROUGH]
Green Calliendrum
Fire Coral frag
Brown Loripes colony
Rainbow Monti frag
Montipora Confusa frag
Hirsuta frag
Green Stag frag
Deep Water Acro - Green frag
Efflo - Green frag
Setosa frag


tbc

Purple Fungia
Orange Fungia
Green / Orange Fungia
Green Turbinaria Colony
Green Turbinaria frag
Scrolling Turbinaria frag
Candy Cane Colony
Bubble Coral
Fluorescent Green Australian Trachyphyllia
Duncan Colony (8 heads as at 22/09/2013)
Candy Cane frag (2 heads as at 22/09/2013)
Hammer (3 heads as at 22/09/2013)
Frogspawn (2 heads as at 22/09/2013)
Favia frag

Various zoas
Gorgonian frag
GSP Colony


CUC

Cleaner Shrimp 3
Fire Shrimp 2
Peppermint Shrimp 1
Pistol Shrimp 1
True Mexican Turbos 8
Nassarius Snails x 20
Cerith Sanils x 20
Assorted Snails 25
Algae Eating Hermits 10
Red Legged Hermits 7
Other Hermits 10
Tiger Tail Cucumber 1
Tuxedo Urchin 2
Conch 1

 

[gedsta]

Sump pictures

Routine wise,

Daily, 6ml of NoPox am - 15ml of Reef Energy A and B at night, skimmer off for 30 mins or so - Check sump / Calcium Reactor - feed fish flake am - Frozen (2 cubes) pm

Weekly - Test KH twice a week usually (maybe more) / Salinity / Topup RO tub etc etc

tbh I don't do that much to the tank, I do however spend hours looking at it and trying to improve it. I don't do water changes, and I aim to keep levels at;

SG - 35
KH - 12.2
Calcium - 450
Magnesium - 1440

I hardly ever test for Nitrates or Phosphates, as you can just tell if they have risen etc, maybe once a fortnight or so I will test them.

One thing my tank is is stable parameter wise, it hardly ever deviates.

Luckily I have an Apex controller which keeps my RO Topup, Temp, pH, Clacium Reactor, Lights etc all in sync, and I can check from work via my phone / iPad etc

I will get some more piccies up from the start as soon as I can.

 

[gedsta]

So once the tank was at mine, and moved into the room, I changed the weir plastic for some brand new laser cut acryllic.

 

[gedsta]

Scaped it

Then scaped it again lol

Added the Apex

Probe holders etc

Added a few cups of sand out of other reefers / LFS tanks, added some AF Bacteria and then sat back and tried those Ammonia and Nitrites kits (the ones you never use)

A week later, 2 misbar percs added and then the fun started, catching the fish out of my old tank.

 

[gedsta]

I added a fish per day, and also sold most of my old fish, as I knew the tank couldn't handle the bioload.

I also decided that I should start using NoPox and Reef Energy, and brought my Calcium Reactor online.

First coral (sorry for the crap photos)

Broke the old tank down, and found a piece of copper wire in the return section, ffs

New tank now taking shape

 

[gedsta]

So I transferred the fish that I wanted to keep

Set the CR up etc

In my old tank I couldn't keep plate or calliendrum alive more than 2 weeks, so I figured it best to use these 2 as testers

Finally got rid of the tank of doom

Nem went in

Treated Mr Randalls (had him since the start of my reefing career) to a companion, to this day they are still inseperable.

This is where I was at as at 30th July

 

[gedsta]

Added a few more frags

CHanged the 65w CFL bulb for 2 x 7w LED bulbs

Started to get plenty of green algae on the rocks so started dosing NoPox and Reef Energy A and B

Did some tests

Started the dose at 20ml of NoPox per day, and within a week Nitrates were below 2 and Phosphates were

Called around to another reefers house, this tank is stunning

And nicked a load more frags - at the end of August, my tank looked like this

 

[gedsta]

Here's a quick one for now. This is the picture of the red plate from earlier on in the thread.

This is what it looks like as at 18th October

 

[meshwheel]

Looking great so far! I am setting up a 65 gallon and want a similar aquascape as yours. I want to be able to use different par numbers for different corals. So I need height with the rock!
My tank is a 65 gallon. 36x18x24. I'm doing plumbing right now, and getting closer! What are you running for lights? I just purchased a Reefbreeders 240 watt Photon32 fixture. So far I love it!
Your tank looks excellent so far! I love it! Keep the pics coming!

 

[chefzif]

coming along very nice!

 

[gedsta]

Looking great so far! I am setting up a 65 gallon and want a similar aquascape as yours. I want to be able to use different par numbers for different corals. So I need height with the rock!
My tank is a 65 gallon. 36x18x24. I'm doing plumbing right now, and getting closer! What are you running for lights? I just purchased a Reefbreeders 240 watt Photon32 fixture. So far I love it!
Your tank looks excellent so far! I love it! Keep the pics coming!

Hi mate

Thanks for the comments!

I was using an ATI 8x54w Sunpower, but I swapped over to Radion Pros 2 weeks ago, finally acclimatised upto 60% full power now, and also controlling them with the Apex and their new FW

Sand is a couple of inches deep max, and rock probably about 18 inch or so.

 

[gedsta]

coming along very nice!

Thank you mate, I guess RC must have a thing in place where threads don't show until you hit x amount of posts, I finally decided to add some more pics today and bingo some readers lol

Plenty of piccies to come, as long as people don't get bored too easily. :wildone:

 

[gedsta]

Note: some of this may appear that I am talking to myself, I am just copying stuff so as to bring this thread bang upto date



I try to keep KH at 12 ish but I do have a calcium reactor controlled by the Apex.

It switches the solenoid on at 6.70 and then back off at 6.40 - It normally comes on once an hour or so, 24 hours per day.

Even so, I have still dosed manually 331g of Sodium Bicarbonate, 517g of Magnesium and 194g Calcium, since setup. (I keep a spreadsheet)

It will normally drop to about 11.2 if I don't dose it manually, but theres not a lot I can do to maintain apart from what I am doing at the moment.

Calcium and Magnesium are always the same now when I test, so I know the CR can handle that demand, just the KH is being eaten away every day. I may up the drip rate or change the media to see if that helps. Either way, to drop from 12 to 11.2 would normally take about 3 days or so, so not coral threatening imo

Here's another couple for you, just wish I had more time to add loads more of piccies to bring the thread upto date.

11th August 2013

19th October 2013

6th August 2013

19th October 2013

Sorry for the poor quality piccies, they are off my phone, as the charger is bust on the camera.

 

[gedsta]

September 2013

Added some LEDs that simulate Lunar Moon stuff for the Apex

Made a frame out of some uprights for shelving

Changed my old return pump for a Jebao DC-6000

Added some more frags lol

Notice the new rock added?

Created digi corner

Added this frag and comparison directly underneath it from recent

Phosphates have come right down

 

[gedsta]

Bought some coral off another reefer

Tank as at end of September 2013

 

[gedsta]

Some fairly recent piccies

 

[gedsta]

Continued

 

[gedsta]

And some more

 

[gedsta]

Bought some new toys

Now dosing,

NoPox - 15ml per day
Reef Energy A - 15ml per day
Reef Energy B - 15ml per day
Coral Colours A - 3ml per day
Coral Colours B - 3ml per day

 

[meshwheel]

Lovely! It's going to be looking great once those corals grow out!!!! Looks like the Radion Pros are coloring up your corals nicely!
So you have two Vortechs for circulation plus your return? Are you taking any PAR readings or just flyin by the seat of your pants for intensity?
Looking great!!! Should be alot of fun watching all those frags grow! That's my plan too!