salsipuedes
New member
well i was going to post a video but the tank looked like hell :furious:
I'll post a new updated vid soon as things return back to normal.
I'll post a new updated vid soon as things return back to normal.
The Reef Central Corner Club Thread
- Thread starter Michael
- Start date
reefscape15
New member
salsipuedes and SimonSKL - the tanks are looking very good!
Jbird - Sorry to hear about her job! I guess nothing is too certain in this economy anymore. Just last year I was in the second lowest paid position at my job (2nd year apprentice in the Electricians Union), and I was layed off for 3 months. Out of a local of only 240 members, there were over 90 layed off at one point last winter.
Anyways, I may be able to put all my stuff in a friends tank for the small price of helping him build a 30x30x16 shallow cube. Once we get that built and my 54 broken down, I'll be setting up my old 20gal sometime. This time I'm going to drill it and run a sump. Probably just LPS and Softies with a few gobies. Something easy.
Jbird - Sorry to hear about her job! I guess nothing is too certain in this economy anymore. Just last year I was in the second lowest paid position at my job (2nd year apprentice in the Electricians Union), and I was layed off for 3 months. Out of a local of only 240 members, there were over 90 layed off at one point last winter.
Anyways, I may be able to put all my stuff in a friends tank for the small price of helping him build a 30x30x16 shallow cube. Once we get that built and my 54 broken down, I'll be setting up my old 20gal sometime. This time I'm going to drill it and run a sump. Probably just LPS and Softies with a few gobies. Something easy.
Sorry to hear about the troubles jbird.
I think that would be way too much for a softie tank. That's a 60 times turnover rate. For sps that would be ok, but for softies, you'll be blowing them out of the water. Maybe 2 ph, one on each side at 1400 gph, then add something like a sea swirl on your return from your sump to alternate the flow.
Hi everybody!!!!!
I think that would be way too much for a softie tank. That's a 60 times turnover rate. For sps that would be ok, but for softies, you'll be blowing them out of the water. Maybe 2 ph, one on each side at 1400 gph, then add something like a sea swirl on your return from your sump to alternate the flow.
Hi everybody!!!!!
Thanks. Thats what I was thinking, but figured I would ask. Maybe somewhere down the road I will try a DIY one if I get bored.
I was thinking/hoping it would be enough. I have had it on a low stocked 110 for the past 8 months and am very happy with its performance. The bioload on the 92 should be very low, but if I end up needing to upgrade skimmers I am not married to it.
Ok, Thats helpful, thanks.
reefscape15
New member
Well as long as the skimmer works for what you have it'll be fine, but it's not a really strong skimmer if you start getting into heavy bio-load. Also have to agree that the flow you described would be too much for softies. You could go with 3 of the new Korallia Evolution pumps. They can be ran on a timer now and they're just about the same price as the older style. I'd try to get 3 that have maybe around 800gph. Just a suggestion, but with the correct placement you could get nice strong flow without blowing the corals all over.
salsipuedes
New member
question for you guys....
on the 92 the lighting consists of 1 175 watt mh iwasaki 14k on a magnetic ballast. The 14k iwasaki apparently has better par then alot of 250watt mh bulbs (I'm sure most of u already know that)
also, I have 2 24 watt t5 bulbs and 2 39 watt t5 bulbs overdriven on an icecap 660 to 40 watts each and 60 watts each. add it all up and I have 375 watts over 92 gallons.... for a grand total of 4 watts a gallon...
now I know for a mixed reef this tends to eb towards the lower end BUT the t5 bulbs are over driven and have reefgeek individual reflectors. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments concerning the current lighting to perhaps increase it? By the way I have 2 fans blowing in, 1 flan blowing out, 2 fans inside to keep the t5s cool and 1 to blow across the MH bulb. Temp ranges daily from 79 to 80 (approx 1.3 of change max in the day) and I dont want to run a chiller.
Since any corner is a pain to light, any suggestions from anyone? Its not that my corals aren't growing, cause they definitely are... I just want them to flourish!!! all my water parameters are good... very low nitrates, phosphates, 440 calc, 10.5 alk, 1140 mag, still bringing it up a little higher, was around 800 :eek1: when i first started testing... i was wondering why my corraline algae stopped growing!!!
on the 92 the lighting consists of 1 175 watt mh iwasaki 14k on a magnetic ballast. The 14k iwasaki apparently has better par then alot of 250watt mh bulbs (I'm sure most of u already know that)
also, I have 2 24 watt t5 bulbs and 2 39 watt t5 bulbs overdriven on an icecap 660 to 40 watts each and 60 watts each. add it all up and I have 375 watts over 92 gallons.... for a grand total of 4 watts a gallon...
now I know for a mixed reef this tends to eb towards the lower end BUT the t5 bulbs are over driven and have reefgeek individual reflectors. Does anyone have any suggestions or comments concerning the current lighting to perhaps increase it? By the way I have 2 fans blowing in, 1 flan blowing out, 2 fans inside to keep the t5s cool and 1 to blow across the MH bulb. Temp ranges daily from 79 to 80 (approx 1.3 of change max in the day) and I dont want to run a chiller.
Since any corner is a pain to light, any suggestions from anyone? Its not that my corals aren't growing, cause they definitely are... I just want them to flourish!!! all my water parameters are good... very low nitrates, phosphates, 440 calc, 10.5 alk, 1140 mag, still bringing it up a little higher, was around 800 :eek1: when i first started testing... i was wondering why my corraline algae stopped growing!!!
reefscape15
New member
with a 175mh you will not be able to penetrate all the way to the bottom, but with a mixed reef usually set with SPS higher up, and LPS/Softies lower in the tank, you should be fine. Also, the reflector will make a world of difference.
175watt MH will start loosing tons of PAR after a depth of 14-16"
250watt will start loosing after 20-22"
400watt will keep good numbers up to almost 30"
Also, as you go higher in K rating above 10k, the less PAR will be available. That's to say that a 10K bulb will have better PAR than a 20k bulb of the same brand.
Depth of the corals that need the MH light is really the main concern when choosing between different wattages of MH lighting. The K rating will make a difference, but not as much as different wattages. I went with a 250 watt on my 54g so that I'd be able to run a 20K bulb and still have plenty of available light almost all the way to the bottom of my tank. I could probably get just as good of growth from lighting if I were to use a 175 watt 10k. All my SPS are only about 4" under the surface of the water so they get pretty blasted by the light.
175watt MH will start loosing tons of PAR after a depth of 14-16"
250watt will start loosing after 20-22"
400watt will keep good numbers up to almost 30"
Also, as you go higher in K rating above 10k, the less PAR will be available. That's to say that a 10K bulb will have better PAR than a 20k bulb of the same brand.
Depth of the corals that need the MH light is really the main concern when choosing between different wattages of MH lighting. The K rating will make a difference, but not as much as different wattages. I went with a 250 watt on my 54g so that I'd be able to run a 20K bulb and still have plenty of available light almost all the way to the bottom of my tank. I could probably get just as good of growth from lighting if I were to use a 175 watt 10k. All my SPS are only about 4" under the surface of the water so they get pretty blasted by the light.
tangers
New member
I currently have 2x250w mh and 4x24w t5's, and my corals (especially all my sps are loving them!)
salsipuedes
New member
the iwasaki 14k 175 mh is the one freak of the bulbs though that has as much if not more light output then many 250 watt mh. No clue how (witchcraft) but with the iwasaki, should i be alright with clams on the bottom of the tank? I mean with the 2 40 watt actinic t5s overdriven on an icecap 660 to 40 watts each... thats gotta account for something, right? or do the old rules of watts per gallon still apply?
reefscape15
New member
I think a clam would be fine anywhere that its not shaded by corals or rock or anything
reefscape15
New member
and the watts/gallon is an old rule that most people disregard. When you start getting your frags in the tank, start them all towards the bottom and move them up to where you want them over the course of a few weeks. You'll be able to tell if the position in the tank is making your corals happy. With softies and LPS, they tend to shrivel up with too much light, and with not enough light they start to sprawl out to try to gain as much light as possible. It's kind of something that you'll have to play with, but it doesn't take long to figure out what works.
chrissu
Member
92 Corner
92 Corner
I'm working on a canopy, have an ATS, custom sump, just ordered a Super Reef Octopus XP-2000 Cone Skimmer from Mike at Reefspecialty.com. Looking for lighting and canopy suggestions. Anyone ever try a big solar tube with a corner tank?
92 Corner
I'm working on a canopy, have an ATS, custom sump, just ordered a Super Reef Octopus XP-2000 Cone Skimmer from Mike at Reefspecialty.com. Looking for lighting and canopy suggestions. Anyone ever try a big solar tube with a corner tank?
Attachments
What cleaning tools do you guys use for your corner tank? Ive been using a metal scraper for a while now and it works good. However, since my corals have grown over the years i can barely fit my arm in to clean the glass. I know because of the curved glass magnets don't work to well; or maybe i just used the wrong one. Can anybody give me some imput on what works well for them?
salsipuedes
New member
<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf?file=http://vid1021.photobucket.com/albums/af340/allure306/IMG_0321.flv">
as promised, an updated vid of the tank. Yes my hands are shaky (sorry)
and I even give u a glimpse of the t5 lighting and the mh inside the canopy as well as the fans. You'll notice in the vid ontop of the overlfow is a seio pump that killed my sea slug. Just haven't gotten around to taking the top off to do so.
Oh, the caulerpa went sexual inside the tank and died
and yes, I need a bigger refugium as you can see the swc 160 BARELY fits in the sump. That's about 1 days worth of skimmate, and I'm very happy with the skimmer so far.
And if you look real close, u can see the size difference of the red montipora cap.
as promised, an updated vid of the tank. Yes my hands are shaky (sorry)
and I even give u a glimpse of the t5 lighting and the mh inside the canopy as well as the fans. You'll notice in the vid ontop of the overlfow is a seio pump that killed my sea slug. Just haven't gotten around to taking the top off to do so.
Oh, the caulerpa went sexual inside the tank and died
and yes, I need a bigger refugium as you can see the swc 160 BARELY fits in the sump. That's about 1 days worth of skimmate, and I'm very happy with the skimmer so far.
And if you look real close, u can see the size difference of the red montipora cap.
salsipuedes
New member
I always use the metal scraper from kent, but I do have a magfloat with a bit of filter felt attached to make better contact with the glass.
the usual turbo snails also help out a bit... but as far as the sides of the glass... yikes, its a pain in the you know what to get to it. if u figure out a good way of keeping it clean, you let me know.
reefscape15
New member
I use the smaller Magfloat that's about 1"x4". If you use it so that its sitting top to bottom the long way, it works just fine. It takes a few extra passes over the glass to get everything, but much easier than scraping with anything..........and Sdogg.........I'm heading in your direction with my future tank build. I'm breaking down my 54 now and setting it up drilled for a 40 breeder sump. Also going to do closed loop that's all drilled thru the sides. Coast-to-coast overflow on one side with Bean Animal style drains. 400watt 20k, hopefully 6 24" t-5's (2 ATI Blue Plus, 2 Fiji Purple, and 2 UVL 460nm Actinics), and a bunch of 12volt automotive LED's in blue and purple. I'm shooting for 4000-5000gph in tank flow and going almost all SPS, with a few nicer LPS that I'm going to be saving from my current setup. Your tank has been a real inspiration, and I'm hoping to start the new build fairly soon. I'll post on here and make a build thread.
reefscape15
New member
I'll be taking pics of everything! It probably won't be for a month or so before I get started. Still need to find a place to live and all that crap, but once I'm settled, I'll have a LOT of time to myself. I'm going to use it for something productive.................or so is the plan 
