14gal Nano Reef Build

[Discus-n00b]

I'm making this post the official journal of this tank and will update it as often as possible. This first post will expand as the tank grows and as I add livestock, it will also contain the most recent FTS of the tank so you won't have to scroll through the entire thread.

Outline:

Tank: PicO Aquariums 15x15" low iron cube
Filtration: CPR Aquafuge 2 Small
Heater: Cobalt Neotherm 50W (Will be put inside Aquaclear)
Water movement: Vortech MP10
ATO: Tunze Nano ATO
Lighting: Ecotech Radion XR15wPro
Skimmer:
Substrate: Barebottom
Live Rock: Yes
Fish: 2 Onyx Clownfish
Coral: SPS Dominated, to many to list for now.

Current FTS:
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8727/16217248194_5d495d684b_b.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8565/16217249374_d1d49f46bf_b.jpg

Extremely humble beginnings
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/nano10-14-13b_zpsedecad67.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/nano10-14-13_zps7eb665e2.jpg

Stay tuned for more!

[Trier20]

I was really hoping to see a sweet sea horse tank. Maybe because this is a future endevor I want to do lol! Good luck Matt!

[Second Hand Pat]

Matt, I had a nano reef. Would you like me to see if I can find a picture or two?

[matt56]

Potentially 75 watts+ of leds on a 6.5g nano tank=awesome fixture ;). Im interested to see your video on it, ive never soldered, only done the solderless so it will help me on future fixtures. Will you be using a pwm controller?

[Discus-n00b]

Sure Pat.

Matt, its all about the par, which i will have plenty of! lol. I'm not the best at soldering....but it gets done. I wanted to use a controller but honestly don't want to spend the extra money on it. The plug and play controllers run about $50+ and no idea how to program or anything. I'll be using Buckpucks for the LEDs since its so few per string and I'm familiar with the drivers. The only controller I know of that supports the buckpucks is the Typhon. So maybe down the road I can install one, but starting out no controller.

[Second Hand Pat]

http://i925.photobucket.com/albums/ad95/Second_Hand_Pat/Caribbean%20Aquarium/151.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Nice Pat!

Light supplies are ordered, few other things like filter/heater etc will be ordered tonight probably. Then next week (next pay check) I'll order the rest of the stuff. Trying to do this the responsible way for once, instead of saying oh....$600 sure, boom, drop it and be dead in the water for a while. Spread it out!

This is real now!!

[Second Hand Pat]

Cool Matt. You know where you are getting your rock etc?

[Discus-n00b]

Probably going to look locally first, see whats out there since I haven't been paying attention to stock/prices for the last few years....and because I only need a little bit. But I am open to ordering online if someone knows of a good place to get a small package.

[Second Hand Pat]

Matt, I have gotten rock from the gulf and the keys. I would look locally first also since you need 20 lbs or less.

[Discus-n00b]

Looks like this may be more slow developing then I originally thought. It will probably be late April/early May before the tank even sees water in it. My very last (finally!) Annual training for the Marines goes in April (2 weeks) and I figure it would be smart for me to wait until after that to start the tank so I can be there and not start it and leave for 2 weeks. I'm going to build the light as soon as I can though, the parts should come in this week and next week however I have drill next weekend and no idea when a day off will come to build it. So hang tight!

By the time the tank is ready to go I should have a good budget for some frags/livestock when that time comes.

[Discus-n00b]

I'd love to update everyone on this, but days off are a myth and don't really exist so I haven't done anything else so far. I think I need a new job.....

[Trier20]

I'd love to update everyone on this, but days off are a myth and don't really exist so I haven't done anything else so far. I think I need a new job.....

I will second that one. Hope you can find a little time to work on this.

[Discus-n00b]

Teaser, not finished but its just that....a teaser. :)
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/ledlight1_zps29b72b17.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

So I finally found some time to finish building the lights. I must say, LED fixtures can hurt your eyes they are so bright but this fixture is on another level. All of the colors are so crisp that it literally Hurts to look at it lol the blues and violets especially, going to make the tank look great. Unfortunately the video I wanted to make showing how didn't turn out the way I wanted so for now it's scrapped. The next thing on the to do list is to get a mat for the tank to sit on and build a way to hang the light without drilling the wall or the ceiling. I have some ideas but we shall see.

Also, been contemplating upgrading to a 15x15x15 tank which would double the gallons of this current tank. So that's a decision to come soon as well.

[CrazyAngels]

Way to go Matt, looking forward to seeing it all together.

[Rex82]

http://i1111.photobucket.com/albums/h477/TippyAbiBeth/21479F07-F09C-477A-BD6D-081D513CF9D1-1222-0000013C2011CDE1.jpg

This was my old nanocube. Keeping an eye on this thread :)

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks all. Rex, really nice tank. How many gallons was that and what were the dimensions? Looks a lot like the setup I want. Mixed reef from softies to SPS and a pair of clowns. (Hence me wanting t upgrade this build to a ~15gal lol)

[Discus-n00b]

Just wanted to update. Pulled the trigger on the 15x15x15 cube. Rimless and all sides low iron glass. It's being built right now, should have the tank in a matter of weeks/days. I've updated the first post to reflect the changes to the tank as far as equipment goes.

Going to stick with the light I built, don't think the 3" extra will cause me any problems. If it does I will just add more LEDs to the heat sink.

Pat, thanks lol. Bob was on another forum with me many moons ago, I'd like to think he was at least half joking that's how he is.

[Second Hand Pat]

LOL Matt, shall I undeleted it?...you can to if you wish :D

[Discus-n00b]

Here are some photos of where its going....at least until I get a PicO stand for it, which are currently in development.

Thinking about putting 5% window tint on the back of the tank, not full black but not going to show wires or the filter either. Its easily removable and won't leave any residue on the glass as well. Don't worry about the hand prints on the glass, will get those off before I fill it up! DIY full spectrum LED above it, bent conduit light hanger screwed to the stand. Still have to do some wire management but this is it so far. Got it sitting on some black neoprene cut to size ontop of the wood. Same stuff I used for my 100gal rimless from Miracles that you see part of in the photo.
http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5547/9249934487_4553a9401d_o.jpg
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7428/9249934313_f362cc7385_o.jpg

[Trevor W]

Looking great so far Matt! My advice on the substrate from personal experience with both vortech powerheads and caribsea substrates is to avoid the really fine sugar size and even the next size up although alot of people are attracted to the appearance it is a complete pain in the a** it will blow around and create craters and dunes exposing the bottom glass and it can be a losing battle. I personally went with the caribsea seaflor special grade and it is by far one of the best caribsea substrates its fine enough for sandsifting species of fish to be happy yet it wont blow arond or displace all that much, not to mention that it also imo looks really good. I would turn my mp40 on 100% on all modes and it would stay put. I also have had both the sugar size and the next size up and I dealt with the problems that I listed above constantly. Either way keep us posted, excited to see how it all comes together for ya.

[Discus-n00b]

Here is the tank wet and with life. Picked up a nice piece of live rock from a local shop that a local club cookout was held at, was a good size and shape for my tank. Came with some polyps and mushrooms attached and found 3 snails that snuck in. Using it to get my tank going, had the mindset that if everything lives great. So far everything is doing well even through tank startup/cycle. Snails are always out foraging, polyps opening up a bit, and mushrooms seem to be enjoying themselves.

I'm a bit behind on photos, this one was the day it was setup, the day of the cookout. Today I came home to a nice diatom bloom in my tank so its moving in the right direction. Sorry even I'm not the best taking pictures of LED lights. I'll practice.
http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7344/9315319537_e368f5eec6_o.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Set up my auto top off today. I'm so giddy about it. I've always had to top off the tank myself but for $100 I've now automated that process. And a 5gal bucket reservoir should last me quite a while. Perfect timing to because I'm headed to the beach on Sunday for a couple of days. This thing is awesome for a small tank like this where a little evaporation could cause trouble with the pumps, filters, powerheads, etc.

[Discus-n00b]

Just wanted to update this. My full clean up crew should be here either tomorrow or more likely Friday. Coming from Reef Cleaners. Had a big hair algae outbreak during the cycle but its dying down now....very quickly actually. Things are looking really good, water is clear, hitchhiking coral is open and doing well. I'm happy with it so far. I still want to add some more rock, and that will come soon as well.

I hate having expensive hobbies. So many things I want but can only get so many at one time. Do I want new wheels for the car or more reef/discus first??

[zchauvin]

Just wanted to update this. My full clean up crew should be here either tomorrow or more likely Friday. Coming from Reef Cleaners. Had a big hair algae outbreak during the cycle but its dying down now....very quickly actually. Things are looking really good, water is clear, hitchhiking coral is open and doing well. I'm happy with it so far. I still want to add some more rock, and that will come soon as well.

I hate having expensive hobbies. So many things I want but can only get so many at one time. Do I want new wheels for the car or more reef/discus first??

Reef and discus.... ;)


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk 2

[Discus-n00b]

Picked up a few more pieces of rock today. Found some more coral hitch hikers and a ruby mithrax crab. Heres what the tank looks like currently. All the coral you see cam attached to the rocks.

Only livestock right now is inverts. Snails, ruby mithrax crab, and what looked like a small urchin attached to one of the rocks....we'll see if that makes it. Not sure which rock it was under.

All white LEDs
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/tankwhite1_zpsf0602ae6.jpg

Whites + violet + Ocean Coral White LED
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/tankviolets1_zps68abd706.jpg

All of the above + Blues. Extremely hard to take pictures of blue LEDs. Looks whiter in person and not as purple like the picture shows.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/tankall1_zpsac02dc1d.jpg

[Trevor W]

Hows the nano coming along?
The fixture turned out great, and the colour temp looks to be very nice.
Looks as though you got some cool hitchhikers on your rock.

[Discus-n00b]

I probably should update this huh haha. Its going good. Bit of hair algae I need to get out but the water is crystal clear, everything is doing good. I did lose some Zoas for some weird reason, just melted away while others are going strong. Maybe to much flow on them or something. Surprisingly, my starter SPS frags are thriving compared to my softies like Zoas.

I got a really cool Urchin hitch hiker, did I mention that before? When I found it first it was the size of a dime or smaller, now its spines make it look like the size of a golf ball. I'll try and snap some pics of the inhabitants and tank tomorrow.

[Discus-n00b]

Heres my latest updated photos. Sorry they are so bad, its SO hard to take pictures under LEDs. You can see my Monti cap really doing well, I have a green slimer on the bottom that I will eventually move up. Acans are behind the slimer on the bottom against the rock. Zoas all over the rocks and 2 frags of purple death palys beside the slimer. I have a brain that hitch hiked on my rock that I nursed back to health on the smaller front rocks, doing VERY well. Also on that front rock is my GSP that is not open as this was just after a WC. Couple of mushrooms on the rock and you can see my urchin in those photos, probably the coolest part of my tank atm lol.

Still a lot of growing to do but doing well.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/nano10-14-13b_zpsedecad67.jpg
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/nano10-14-13_zps7eb665e2.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Totally disgusted right now. Really really perturbed. Bought what I thought was premixed saltwater from the LFS last Tuesday in anticipation of the holidays and for my water change the next monday (today). Well, turns out its actually freshwater and I didn't figure that out until it had been sitting in my tank for at least an hour. Decimated my pod and mysis shrimp populations, killed most of my snails and limpets, killed my urchin, and the corals are still pending. Mostly all acros and montis. Still have a bit of color but you can clearly see some hanging on by a thread at this point.

Had to run out to petsmart 10mins before they closed to pick up salt so I can mix it myself from now on. Did another WC with saltwater, but not sure whats going to survive at this point. Really really ticked off right now. I understand this might of been an honest mistake as simple as picking up the wrong hose with a boggled mind on a busy day, but when I go in and pay crazy money for salt and water and say twice all jugs saltwater I expect to get saltwater. And if there is a question, ask me to double check. These are living creatures and aquariums we are dealing with, not easy to just laugh off a mistake.

I have not been able to get in touch with them yet as its late at night, might go up there tomorrow. Mainly just want to inform them of the mix up hopefully so it won't happen to anyone else. I doubt they could do anything for me at this point a week later. I just needed to rant here because of all the time and money I put into this tank to do it right, keep it consistent, and get some amazing corals only to have it all but flushed down the drain at this point. Frustrated to say the least. Just got in some of the best Acros I've ever had....close to $400 in SPS on the brink of biting the dust.

I knew I didn't fully trust local shops for a reason. Give em some faith and a little bit of rope and its turned into a noose.....good news is now I have a giant bucket of Instant Ocean and access to an RO filter so no more LFS water for me. Beyond pissed.
:mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: :mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad::mad: :mad::mad::mad::mad:

Heres to hoping at least some of the coral pulls through.

[Second Hand Pat]

Aw Matt, really sorry. I started mixing my own as running to the LFS was a hassle. Really sad to have the tank came together and this happens :(

[Kal-El]

Wow... sorry to hear the bad news... I hope the store can at least give you store credit for the salt water you pay for that was fresh water.

[Discus-n00b]

At this point I've done everything I can to correct the tank and I will now label this a massive loss of life, near complete loss of life in this tank. I will be restarting saltwater after the holidays. Really really bummed atm.

Lessons cost money, good ones cost a lot. I just got a dang good lesson. Thankful to have my health and the ability to spend money on this hobby though when a lot of people are struggling out there. I'm now going to go enjoy Christmas with the family and deal with the tank at a later date. The tank can always be restarted. Merry Christmas all!

[Disgirl]

How sad Matt. I wonder if the lfs has an insurance policy to cover employee accidents like this? Worth asking about. You can't save the ones that died, but you may be able to recover some of their cost? Hope your family holiday goes well!
Barb

[Discus-n00b]

So this is still going. Finally building back up after a few months. Just got a coral order in to restock the tank with. Consists of:

1. Tyree Bali Tricolor
2. Sunrise Explosion Milli
3. Copps Hulk Milli (Lived through the crash)
4. ORA Red Planet
5. Crayola Plana
6. Cali Tort
7. Tyree Pink Lemonade
8. Leng Si Cap
9. Bonsai (Sorta live through the crash)
10. Bali Green Slimer

You can see on and in front of the rock to the right my LPS that took a hit that are slowly rebounding. My brain up top and acan below. Sorry about the purple hue, LEDs are a camera's worst enemy.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/numberedsps_zps972d95ed.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Just playing with some macro, trying to learn how to photography under blue LEDs lol
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7259/13368535335_9ed2997377_b.jpg

[Nick Klimkowski]

Great pic Matt, your photograph always blows me away. The clarity is outstanding.:D

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks! Took me a while to get the clarity seen above. Still toying with it. Just so tough to shoot under LEDs especially blue ones with no flash.

[Second Hand Pat]

Gorgeous Matt, you have me missing my reef tank.

[treemanone2003]

Great project you've got here !! I'm especially fond of the conduit idea for your lighting. Very ingenious for sure. Sorry to have read about the water issue and losses in the tank. Horrible situation. The photos you've captured are gorgeous. If you wouldn't mind sharing, what are you using to take such awesome shots ?

[Discus-n00b]

Gorgeous Matt, you have me missing my reef tank.

Thanks Pat. Its going well since I restarted, really love the little tank. I really want a bigger tank but its just not in the cards right now. Going to be moving it to its own stand soon I think, should be fun.


Great project you've got here !! I'm especially fond of the conduit idea for your lighting. Very ingenious for sure. Sorry to have read about the water issue and losses in the tank. Horrible situation. The photos you've captured are gorgeous. If you wouldn't mind sharing, what are you using to take such awesome shots ?

Thanks. I use a Canon 5D Mk II camera with either a 100mm macro lens or a 24-105mm lens.

[treemanone2003]

Thanks for sharing Matt. I've got a Nikon d5100 that I only started to play with last year. While in New Hampshire last Sept for the race I did (don't ask how) manage to get a few more like this. I guess the next rainy day it's time to practice on the stock I got from Kenny. http://img.tapatalk.com/d/14/03/24/8are8ypa.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Frags frags frags I'm addicted to frags!!!

https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7407/13907904486_6be4d1b151_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/13907903526_c4b250531e_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7005/13907906282_d67d39513d_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3818/13931024525_2305048a57_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Beautiful Frags Matt. I hadn't read this thread up until now. Sad that it happened to you but I'm glad this is back in the up and up. Sadly, I know you are having trouble with your wilds so it seems like a never-ending thing. I hope all gets settled soon.

Photography-wise, have you ever tried focus stacking with these tight macro shots? I remember doing a reverse macro shot with a 135 2.8 w/ a 50 1.4 and did a 25 capture stitch. I had to break down the shots by groups or else the computer would just crash on me. Do you use CS6?

[Nick Klimkowski]

Great pics as always Matt.:)

[trungnguyen]

very nice set up and frags. Any update?

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks. Rick, never done any focus stacking myself. I would however LOVE to get an MP-E 65mm on this tank to see what I can get, maybe I'll rent one soon.

I'll try and edit some new photos of the newest frags tonight and get them up. Participated in a live sale online the other day and snagged some good ones for good prices. Otherwise everything else is doing well, just kind of letting things grow.

[Discus-n00b]

Haven't gotten photos of the Sunny D or Utter People Eater palys yet or the branching lobo. Sorry for the blue/purple hue, tough under LEDs.

Pink Lemonade
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7036/14075493203_8187de38be_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7377/14052275042_46e9aefd3f_b.jpg


Oakland A's Paniculata
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5136/14055479615_57b995d2b7_b.jpg

Jedi Mind Trick
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5536/14055478885_2bda289ccf_b.jpg

Birds of Paradise
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7325/14055930044_1bc2807239_b.jpg

Rainbow Table
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7364/14055928264_2fda43f52c_b.jpg

And my prized jewel recently, Angels and Demons Millepora
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2940/14055479465_fa3d4aa6c7_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Very nice indeed. I'm assuming you are on a tripod with a remote shutter release and mirror lock up?

I went and checked out the MP-E65 you mentioned and it looks to be a cracking lens. In the Sony mount we have something somewhat similar, if you have time, check out this lens description page of it: Minolta AF 3x-1x 1.7-2.8 Macro (http://www.dyxum.com/lenses/Minolta-AF-3x-1x--1.7-2.8-Macro_lens199.html). It can stop waaay down and it is sold with its own light and knobs for focus stacking built in. You should definitely try a few focus stacked shots. You still get the narrow DOF feel, but with more DOF, lol. Best of both worlds.

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks Rick, I'm gonna have to look into focus stacking. Yeah I used a tripod and remote.

[Discus-n00b]

Been thinking about possibly sucking all of the sand out of this tank. Could then really crank up the flow for the mostly SPS stock. Anyone else gone BB before in a reef tank? The look doesn't bother me to much, remember I keep discus lol.

[Discus-n00b]

Gotta get some new pics but that will probably come after I move the tank. Moving it to a new stand in the next day or so. Everything doing well right now. Even found some baby Stomtella snails which is AWESOME. They are my favorite snail and I stocked the tank with 8-10 adults hoping they would reproduce at some point. Now I see small ones crawling all over each day. All of the coral is doing great and growing nicely.

[Discus-n00b]

Moved the tank, everything is doing great still.

Been trying to play with focus stacking but its really hard for me so far. Having to refocus a spot tends to move the camera enough to where it makes it a nightmare in post production. Also I miss some areas focusing. But I'm learning. Heres two stacked images from tonight. As you can see there are a few blurry spots.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3777/14084262619_83c86367ce_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3735/14084326398_db52839698_b.jpg

Bit larger
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3811/14270495624_f313e9aa53_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Oh yeah heres the latest FTS I have. Its almost 2 months old though so I will get a new one.

https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3684/13634872495_339c834e38_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

I like that macro shot on the last set. Great job! Focus stacking can be tricky. The trick is simply to get software that does it for you :p

Do you own Photoshop CS6?

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks. Its a learning curve. Yeah I'm using Photoshop and the auto align/auto blend tools but I've figured some stuff out. If I went to resize the image or do anything before I saved it the PSD file would turn into a mess showing all of the lines where the image was put together. Its much easier once you stack them, save as a JPEG and work with it as a JPEG the rest of the way. Not sure if thats the correct process but seems to work better. The main thing I need to do is make sure I'm getting every area with focus, I missed a few spots on those above.

[rickztahone]

A good way to do it is to work in batches. So, for instance, if you are doing a total of 9 shots (for simplicity here), then you would split it to 3 batches of 3. So, you would run the CS6 align algorithm on the first three, save and then do the other 2 batches. At the end of that workflow, you take THOSE three final photos and merge THEM together. Of course, most times when you are doing stacking, you never really deal with such small batch samples. I know a photographer who usually uses hundreds of shots, but to stack for the Brenizer Method (http://www.dyxum.com/dforum/a-couple-images-with-the-brenizer-method_topic92097.html). Now THAT is something else.

[Discus-n00b]

Believe me, I've stacked many many star shots together to get my star trail photos, I understand batch size hahaha. This is at least 50 shots stacked.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/startrails1.jpg

I just figured I could get away with smaller batches with the coral, looking back I need more to get all focus points correct. I also didn't touch my f stop value for these as it was basically like my trail run. I'm sure I could stop down more to help my depth. Heres my Cali Tort photo, same problems as the others but overall pretty good I'd say. If I were doing it again other than whats mentioned above I'd frame it better to start so the crop doesn't make it look like I took the top off when cropping. Other than a bit going up the main branch and a little on the right branch I think I nailed this one fairly good.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2902/14093273548_52b06cb2af_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14099477490_a975b6ff94_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3742/14099431359_fe897850b0_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3824/14099431109_0ec3238392_b.jpg

Wish I could capture how green this Green Slimer is.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3831/14099430719_334f33d2a3_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5274/14099430389_be3e5e65b3_b.jpg

Here is a before shot of the green slimer after I first got it. The red planet is #4 in this pic so you can see growth on that as well.
http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/numberedsps_zps972d95ed.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Well just pulled the trigger on some fish. A tailspot blenny and Tanaka's Pygmy wrasse are going to be on their way to me soon via Live Aquaria's Diver Den section. Will look at other fish at a later date.

[Crunchy]

incredible pics!

[Discus-n00b]

Well good news and bad news. Good news is the fish came, bad news is the Wrasse was DOA. Blenny is doing fine. I guess the wrasse just don't ship as well as others? At any rate, called up Live Aquaria and got a refund, easiest and best customer service I've experienced really took not even 5mins.

Guess this means I need to go fish shopping again.

[Discus-n00b]

To be honest, I feel more secure leaving my discus at home for NADA than this tank. Family is going to come feed it and stuff but it makes me nervous. Fingers crossed!

Heres another small update. First the reference picture to when I first got the frags. This time comparing frags #7 and 3.

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/numberedsps_zps972d95ed.jpg

Frag #7 is a Pink Lemonade, 3-4 months of growth, good encrusting and a bit of outward length.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2911/14261047018_08e829b090_b.jpg

Better view of the background here, this is my Copps Hulk Milli (from the man himself) and a baby frag of the same that broke off the day it arrived to its left. Getting some awesome green color on it. #3 in the first photo, hard to compare growth on this one but where its green is where it seems to be growing.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2927/14261219507_d07a8cab4f_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Heres another update. First my Blenny, love him!
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5473/14532183576_7db241a9b6_b.jpg

And here is I guess this is about 2 months of growth on some coral.
CC Oakland A's
Before
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5136/14055479615_57b995d2b7_b.jpg

After
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2940/14530763755_a1127d9fce_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3882/14530763675_898324b7fb_b.jpg

CC Angels and Demons
Before
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2940/14055479465_fa3d4aa6c7_b.jpg

After
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3838/14344160679_9fc14e60e0_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14344195128_d4102a94ed_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

To follow up the last post here is a short 20 sec video showing the polyp extension on the Angels and Demons. Short but watch in HD for best viewing! I'll have more videos later!

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zmvcEKLtk24

[Discus-n00b]

So I put some Berghia Nudis in not to long ago. Of course they disappeared in a day but I noticed a few of my larger Aptasia have magically disappeared so I'm hoping the Nudis are enjoying the feast and being fruitful in the rocks. I'm juicing a few of the aptasia myself, trying to keep them under control but leave the nudis something to eat. Trying to rid the rocks of them before I start gluing frags down. However I feel like its time to get some new coral....someone stop me

Heres another video (watch in HD of course). All of these really short videos are just workups to hopefully a longer more cinematic type video later on. I guess you can only watch polyp extension for so long, I'll include other stuff eventually lol.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FT0q05363lM&feature=youtu.be

New friends! Picked these up from the LFS today. C-Quest line Onyx Clownfish specially ordered from Sustainable Aquatics! Terrible Iphone photo. One is a bit larger so I hope they end up bonding.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3836/14498706460_71a4314fee_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Someone stop me, I have multiple new toys coming for this tank next week. My credit card hurts, please help!!!!!!!! Ouchhhhhhhhh. But i'm excited lol. You'll have to wait and see whats coming...;)

On another note, here are better pictures of my clowns.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14501232508_97f3b940da_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3837/14501232308_f732b20c8f_b.jpg
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2930/14664855196_7856aed306_b.jpg

[trungnguyen]

The dark side is always strong lol


Trung.

[Discus-n00b]

It really is, though I might be tempted to call it the light side haha. Don't get me wrong I like discus.......but they aren't interesting. At any given time I can look in my reef tank and see numerous critters and species going about their life foraging food, moving from place to place, interacting with each other. Its the whole ecosystem. It just is 10x more interesting than anything freshwater I've kept before. Also throw in the growing of coral, its the most amazing thing, so much cooler than just seeing a new leaf sprout off of your plant IMO.

[rickztahone]

I saw some crazy looking clownfish on YouTube the other day that were mindblowing! I followed some link from Joey (DIY King) and I thought I had bookmarked it. If I come across it I will link it later.

edit:

Found it, it is around the 5min mark, and now that I see it again, the clownfish look like yours!
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XtekO7RRRcA

How much do those run for? They look really nice.

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks. The ones in the video seem to be "Black Phantom" clowns. Same type, different color morph basically. Mine are Onyx. This pair ran me $150 for both special ordered from the LFS, so $75 each which I find to be a very good price for true C-Quest line Onyx clowns that are already colored up. Got them out of the original shipping bags from the wholesaler, never touched the LFS water. Not to mention I avoided a shipping charge.

I was looking at some of the crazier designer clowns but I just couldn't help but love the more classic look, and while I wrestled between Darwins (all black) and the normal, these popped up and I get best of both worlds. They really are striking in the tank.

[rickztahone]

That is awesome Matt. I honestly didn't know the had different morphs? Is this similar to discus having different strains?

Lastly, are clown fish difficult to raise? How would you compare them to FW? More like a goldfish----------angels----------discus? LOL

[Discus-n00b]

Heres just a sampling of some of them offered. Most all are Ocellaris variants. Bred for certain traits with the patterns, sometimes crossed with the blacks to add that in the lines. Its a whole other world that some people don't realize is out there. They don't pull all of these fancy whites out of the oceans!

http://www.seaandreef.com/marine-ornamental-fish/clownfish/

Not really experienced breeding and raising clowns. However IMO, growing them out from juvi stage, is the same or easier IMO (compared to discus). Though the same basics still apply. However breeding and fry stage seem to be a bit more difficult. Maybe not, but there seems to be a lot more people breeding their discus at home more than their clownfish.

[rickztahone]

Whoa, that is a whole lot of clownfish varients! I really liked the gold stripe maroon. I'll tell you right now though, I'm not even going to click the link to see more pics. The last thing is another hobby. I will live my clownfish liking via your thread ;)

[Discus-n00b]

Heres one of my new toys....the bigger stuff is coming Thursday.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/14780838112_cf1a6b5246_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

cool pump. Can you run fertz through this pump, do you know?

[Discus-n00b]

I would assume so. Should take any liquid. Best thing is, its all inclusive. Has its own controller built in to control dosing. Looking foward to plugging it up and testing it this week. This will be dosing Alk, Calcium, and probably my Amino Acids.

[rickztahone]

I would assume so. Should take any liquid. Best thing is, its all inclusive. Has its own controller built in to control dosing. Looking foward to plugging it up and testing it this week. This will be dosing Alk, Calcium, and probably my Amino Acids.

That is awesome. When I got out of the planted tank hobby, the pumps to run fertz was ridiculous. Maybe this may bring down some of the prices. I use to hate daily dosing.

[Discus-n00b]

This dosing pump runs about $120 (free shipping too). One of the cheapest on the market and fairly new, months old. Not to many reviews on this one yet but its hard to beat the price and its a very simple design so not to much can go wrong. A lot of people are waiting to see how they work, I guess i'm one of the guinea pigs lol. I just couldn't pay $300 for a proven one when this one is half that for the same type of design.

I hate it too because I would rather it be dripped through the day than to have me add X mL each night or something.

[rickztahone]

Let us know how it works for you. I'll pass on the info to our planted tank fellows on the other forums.

[Discus-n00b]

Some goodies showed up today. I had to use my Gift Certificate before it expired, and they updated the acros at the perfect time. I couldn't resist.

All of them together. Idaho Grape monti in the background, and the back right frag came unglued during shipping, figured I'd mount it horizontal to see how it grows.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5579/14789043934_417831d1e8_b.jpg
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2917/14788262251_cc1b2acf4f_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3872/14604764438_8a8dba7954_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3888/14604734569_7a04906545_b.jpg

Couple macros of the Purple Plasma
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3891/14791047522_8fdb405bb4_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5568/14791395985_21793682fe_b.jpg

And CC threw in a freebie! No skimpy frag either!
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5555/14604764958_9e3f240305_b.jpg


And heres an update on the Retina Blaster. This photo is from April.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7270/13907903526_c4b250531e_b.jpg
After today seems to be one of the fastest growing corals in my tank. It bubbles up on the ends and sprouts new growth from those, very strange.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3854/14791395765_9326d7cdc3_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3859/14788261521_bd05af923e_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Got a box from Marine Depot today....this ensued. All boxes of aquarium toys should glow like this.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5586/14798800615_e593d2e27d_b.jpg

New toys!
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5567/14796441604_0604f56546_b.jpg

So not to long ago I noticed my red planet was just not getting the red color like it does in high light, same with a few other acros. They were growing just showing signs of low light. Even with my DIY LED basically right on top of the water cranked to 100%. Also the DIY LED seemed to be flickering the past few weeks, no idea why. So I upgraded, might as well. Now I'm wondering why it took this long. Put this fixture up today, only problem was it seems to have a dead fan....I have a line open with Ecotech and hope to reach them tomorrow about this. No big deal, not worried I know Ecotech will come through. And I'm not blasting them to begin with so the fixture won't overheat. I have this fixture set 8" off the water with the standard lenses and running at 25-30% and its just as bright as my DIY fixture at 100%, wow. And the control this one has, I can control it from my iphone from my office......what?!?! Crazy. I see many threads about people having problems with the software and struggling to set these fixtures up but to be honest it took maybe 10mins for me? Super easy, no problems with the software and I actually find it quite easy to use. First impressions apart from the fan have me impressed. Now lets just see if the coral like it.

[Discus-n00b]

Heard back from Ecotech this morning. Fan is working as intended, it only kicks on in high heat so I have nothing to worry about with the light.

I already love these lights because of the schedule I can set. I can do it from my phone at work too! The lights are connected through my wifi at home so I can access and control them from anywhere I have a computer or cell service. Going to eventually tie in a webcam to be able to view it at work! But the slow ramp up throughout the day is really nice, means I can hit the peak in the middle of the day and slowly ramp it back down too. Right now my graph looks like a plateau, ramps up in the morning to my peak then stays steady at the peak for X hours then ramps back down at night. Using the 12k setting as my peak lighting, I find it the most pleasing and closest to my last light's spectrum. Time will tell if the corals like it or prefer something else. I will post graphs later on.

[Discus-n00b]

So far this light is AWESOME! My LPS are puffier and looking more lively, my SPS seems to be putting out growth spurts, and the control and having it on a schedule is just sooooo much better and easier for me. Love it so far.

Here it is June 28th
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14344195128_d4102a94ed_b.jpg

And here it is today Aug 5th, I tried white balancing to more daylight this time. I've got 3 new shoots popping up around the outer ring that look to go vertical in addition to the great encrusting going on the rack. Its about time to move this guy I think. Its been under Radion XR15w Pro for a couple of days now instead of my DIY LED.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3918/14837456561_56c0820613_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5580/14838232044_154e820ef3_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3872/14860460073_a34cbd8e06_b.jpg

Here is a shot of the left side of my frag rack. From top L to R: Copps Hulk Millix2 baby frag and small colony, Blue tenuis, Angels and Demons Milli, Pink Lemonade X2 (both look a bit different but were both sold to me as pink lemonades, kinda weird. The burn on the right one is from my rainbow table on the other side of the rack. Put it next to the other pink lemonade and it seems to be growing back slowly), Red dragon and Rommels Rainbow Milli.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5580/14817628716_a63e93c3f5_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

Cali Tort
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5570/14877598255_7bc03c8c58_b.jpg

Updated shot of my CC Oakland A's
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3856/14877598035_e5ddbdeb5a_b.jpg

Red Planet (still doesn't really look like Red Planet to me)
Before
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3777/14084262619_83c86367ce_b.jpg

Now (Polyps not really extended)
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3914/14690916410_6b8b28ed8d_b.jpg

Hawkins before
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3735/14084326398_db52839698_b.jpg

After
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5581/14690959769_ff45a0829a_b.jpg

[fishyj]

Your photo's are awesome. Love the nano tanks. I have a bc29 with mostly softies and zoa's. Keep the photos coming.

[Discus-n00b]

New FTS. Finally glued some frags onto the rocks after I cut a bunch of those overgrown palys off. Back wall is basically hands off. Thats the grazing area for snails and the blenny, just letting the coraline take over the green and its slowly coming along. Still have a lot of loose frags I need to glue if I have room.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5582/14798463039_a841f5b85d_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14798601297_69fcf54cbe_b.jpg

Some top down shots. The retina blaster got a few knicks while moving it around thats what the white spots are. CC Retina Blaster on left, Hawkins on right.
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14798485330_603fdf56a5_b.jpg

CC Okaland A's, Copps Hulk Milli x 2 on right, ORA purple Plasma on left, and CC Teal Tip Stag in middle
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3882/14982044941_3d2150515d_b.jpg

Copps Hulk Milli, love the colors on this one.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3840/14798601517_023b8c5242_b.jpg

Some sort of sunrise or sunset milli, forget really. Growing great.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3874/14798485850_554bc903b4_b.jpg

[Discus-n00b]

New pics! Keep in mind during this time I switched the light to an Ecotech XR15w Pro so the colors are a bit different and I had just recently scraped the glass for the photos so the corals aren't quite as happy. But you can see the growth. Most of these corals can be seen a few posts back, for comparison pics.
Last FTS for comparison taken 8/20:
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5582/14798463039_a841f5b85d_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5571/14798601297_69fcf54cbe_b.jpg

New FTS taken 9/24:
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2948/15363297806_941dc1b053_b.jpg
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3895/15199719228_dc3d3a1160_b.jpg

Hawkins
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3887/15199629200_1935b77013_b.jpg

CC Retina Blaster
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2945/15363296046_554fdca513_b.jpg

Purple Plasma
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2943/15199806657_6718f75074_b.jpg

My now ID'd Pink Lemonade frag, Tips turning yellow
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2946/15199559549_3e0e7b2159_b.jpg

Slimer
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3919/15199627340_4e46766898_b.jpg

CC Oakland A's starting to almost table, crazy growth.
https://farm3.staticflickr.com/2950/15199807417_a35da8b16a_b.jpg

Some sort of sunset/sunrise type of Milli I've had a while. Crazy growth pattern. It tends to like going horizontal rather than vertical.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3901/15199718458_b71c7bc398_b.jpg

[Disgirl]

Fabulous tank Matt! And great photography of course. I see that you need to learn a whole new language for a tank like this. Well done!
Barb

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks Barb, like any corner of the hobby there are tons of names and abbreviations for the coral and such. I just copy and past the post off the reef forum so it may not make total sense here haha.

[klannin]

Cool tank. I had a two gallon pico reef but after i had my first child I had to take it down.

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks! I've never had a big reef, always enjoyed the smaller ones more.

[Discus-n00b]

Some new ones here. Been through a number of issues lately. I slacked off on WCs, nutrients caught up with me and caused a huge algae issue. Then my alk and cal started playing games. Finally getting things stable again. Lost 1 frag through all of it but everything else seems to be responding fairly well. Finally seeing new growth after it was stalled. Took out most (working on all) of my substrate to keep nutrient issues down and cranked up the vortech. Cut back on the lights and feeding as well. Here are some shots from today, lemme know what you think. Colors are still coming back in the coral.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8619/15924777131_4cb13dd121_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7551/15739298088_35d67a46d5_b.jpg

[trungnguyen]

Very nice. I have had some issue with nitrate and phosphate too. Have been dosing the red sea phosphate reducer to control the algae too. Everything is good now.

Trung

[rickztahone]

I really love those clown fish! Those were some of my favorites from the link you posted last time. TFS

[discuspaul]

Matt, your strikingly awesome photos have made me start to seriously consider re-trying my hand at a nano reef tank.
It's been many years since I was into marine and I'll need to refresh my knowledge.
Any suggestions for a real good saltwater forum website ?

[Discus-n00b]

Matt, your strikingly awesome photos have made me start to seriously consider re-trying my hand at a nano reef tank.
It's been many years since I was into marine and I'll need to refresh my knowledge.
Any suggestions for a real good saltwater forum website ?

Thanks. I really like nano reefs. Its a good challenge. People say you can't be sucessful with a nano and SPS, i said hogwash and did it anyway. Love the look and love seeing those doubters come around in the end. I personally prefer Reef2Reef.com. Nice people and good info. Reefcentral is more advanced but the people are mehhh. Lots of snobbishness. I'd read both, I'd post on Reef2Reef. Nano-Reef is iffy IMO as well, I guess its ok/pretty good if you stay out of the Lounge.

[discuspaul]

Thanks for the info, Matt - much appreciated.

[Discus-n00b]

New FTS from tonight. Not a lot has changed, like I said I scraped a lot of the coraline especially off of the sides. Not tons of noticeable growth, you can see some on the retina blaster in the back left, Hawkins beside it, Cali tort upper right, and the Slimer in the middle. If you notice the dead area on the underside of the slimer are closing back up as well, good sign. I still have yet to mount any more frags, doing that soon I promise. I want to eliminate the white frag rack on the front. When I took out my sand it forced me to put it in to hold the frags that were on the sandbed. Have a few frags I'm probably going to trade locally for other stuff on my wishlist....or sell and thin the stock we'll see. I have duplicates of a few things up there on the racks. Anyway here are the pics.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8641/16240505081_b86775fc74_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7570/15619947344_227d689098_b.jpg

[zergling]

Nice tank and journal Matt! Someday I'll eventually give in to the "dark side" and set up a FOWLR tank and maybe some softies later on :)

Funny, I also have a 15" cube from pico aquariums haha! I'm planning to move my Pseudomugil 'red neon' and hastatus cories there....but now I'm starting to think of ideas again LOL

[Discus-n00b]

Energizer bunny......stillllllll going! Need to get some new pics of the tank and coral but I have to glue a few more pieces to the rock either today or tomorrow. Much to my dismay its getting closer to the time I frag the Green Slimer, the thing is a beast. We'll see might just let it go until I HAVE to do it. I added a HOB refugium instead of my HOB Aquaclear yesterday. Chaeto and some new CUC come tomorrow. It allowed me to clean up the display and move the ATO back there and get the skimmer tubes out of the tank, especially the locline return as it was blocking light at the back of the tank. Moved the heater back from the aquaclear to the refugium as well.

I did get a couple photos of the fish though.

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/16510836851_5fa824067d_b.jpg

And the ever elusive Tailspot. The tort behind him is washed out due to the flash, its really solid blue/purple.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7286/15890000434_e13aae7232_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

...

https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8584/16510836851_5fa824067d_b.jpg


Matt, this may be one of my favorite fish pics ever! The detail is so clean and crisp! Super sharp man. My only wish was that it was me that took it :)

That tailspot isn't bad either, but I was awed by the first one.

I thought of you 2 days back. I went in to the LFS looking for sump ideas and all the SW tanks were sumped but all the FW all had cheap HOB's. I was like, "what the heck man? FW needs some good filtration too!" lol.

[Discus-n00b]

Ricardo thanks! I've been saying for the past few days this may very well be the best photo I've ever taken....or favorite at least. I really really like it. Very happy with it. Didn't take much post processing at all, thats when you know its good. The white on the head is slightly blown out I feel like but Its really not enough to bother me with the rest being so good. I've been debating whether to print this one (canvas/aluminum) for the past 2 days.

Actually makes me want to get more photos of the clowns haha. Finally put the flash over them and played with it a while and that's the result.

[rickztahone]

You can try burning on PS with roughly 3-7% Opacity to try to correct the highlight area, but it doesn't bother me one bit. How much did you crop here? Would you be able to print a 8x10 or better yet, a 13x19 from it?

I don't know why but one of those metal sheen prints came to mind when I saw this one. It would be an absolute shame to not get this printed, it is simply a stunner.

Here's a few tips I can give you:

-if you are viewing your shot straight on (monitor), stand up, and look at your shot from above the monitor down. You will notice that you can see a lot more detail on the top section of the fish. When you print, this section will be a little more visible. However, you will also see a few bits of the area right above the fish that aren't completely black. I suggest you tidy up these sections so that if you print, it will be on straight black.

-You left in some minor distractions on the right side which can easily be cloned out.

-I'm not sure if you have noticed on many of my shots I will completely black out surroundings, especially on shots like these where the surrounding environment is already very dark and it seems to transition to pure black anyways.
What you can do is use the selective tool and select the fish completely out of the photo. However, I can already see some trouble spots on the bottom right Where that would be kind of difficult. There are a few ways you can deal with this, if you want me to go the hard route on PS and going back and forth with Bridge, I can, but if not, you can simply take the add on tool, which I believe is the lasso tool, and keep adding by holding the shift key. This will add to your selection. If you hold alt key, it will remove. This way you can select pricisely what you want and nothing else. You can feather your edge through "refine edge" tool and then keep a bit of the surrounding so long as it isn't a color that is contaminating. You can click decontaminate colors for this too though.

Sorry, I went off in a bit of a long winded step by step, but the shot is already spectacular, and a few things here and there can get you an awesome print on your wall.

[Discus-n00b]

Zero crop, just re-sized. And yeah I thought about a full black background as well. If its just for forum use and what not I'll usually just blur what I can background wise if its not terribly distracting. I never knew you could do it jumping to Bridge? Is the process easier than using the lasso tool? That's how I will usually do it tbh, hand trace the fish which is a PAIN. I should refine edge more, I haven't done enough with that.

[rickztahone]

Zero crop, just re-sized. And yeah I thought about a full black background as well. If its just for forum use and what not I'll usually just blur what I can background wise if its not terribly distracting. I never knew you could do it jumping to Bridge? Is the process easier than using the lasso tool? That's how I will usually do it tbh, hand trace the fish which is a PAIN. I should refine edge more, I haven't done enough with that.

yeah, typically I will refine the edge and put it up against a white background as opposed to default which I believe is transparent. With regards to the Bridge? It is a pain in the butt, lol. Basically what I do is I make the transition points much more easy to view typically by increasing exposure. This allows me to get a better view of my subject, but it looks horrible typically, lol. I then save it as a TIFF file so that it is lossless. I make my cut outs and then take that file and bring it back to bridge to bring it back to where it was originally, then refine if needed. It is a pain staking process though, and typically only do it with shots that I really, really like. It doesn't always work too, it has to be a specific type of shot, this would be one of them for me I believe, as far as that processing goes.

Hand selecting that whole thing may be a pain in the butt, but you can reduce exposure during your bridge work and send it to PS and darken the outer edges. This will possibly work, but the reason I don't like this processing too much is that you sometimes run the risk of feathering over the main subject and losing some of that oomph from the main subject.

Play around with it though, sure would be worth it for this shot IMHO.

[Discus-n00b]

Heres my try. I added another 2" of canvas below the fish, easier to center for printing and such. I feel like my lines aren't great especially around the fins but they were out of focus anyway so it was a bit hard. Scared if I blow it up to much those bad lines will be seen on print, see Original below.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8670/16347637109_560d706cd7_b.jpg

The original size (well resize of 3300 x 2800) can be found here https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8670/16347637109_2198da3ee2_o.jpg

[rickztahone]

I think that looks great! The somewhat feathering on the right side is a bit annoying (my type of annoying when I'm editing stuff that no one else will ever notice) but I fear that if you burn the right side, the subject might "bleed" in to the background too much so it is such a delicate thing. Can you try to make the transition a little less abrupt? More gradual edge but keeping the white outline? Lastly, does the eye fall on the top quadrant of the 1/3? Would you square print? I've never actually done a square print because I don't have any square format paper to print on. I typically only keep 4x6, 5x7, 8x10, 13x19 around. I really should get some of this format though, it would look pretty cool, almost like an old school film format shot.

Again, great going with this shot Matt. Single strobe?

[Discus-n00b]

I was thinking a slight blur to the tail area. Was thinking about an 11x14 type of print. And yes single strobe from straight above.

[Discus-n00b]

Updated the post with the new pic Ricardo, slightly blured the back edges.

[rickztahone]

You know what I'ma ask. Do you have a side by side? Lol

[Discus-n00b]

Sorry no side by side pre blur, I overwrote the original edit.

[Ed13]

WOW Matt, your pics are better than I remembered!

A couple of questions
Read the whole thread but did not see where are you getting the frags from, they are doing a great job with them. Are you also getting them from Live Aquaria?

You've referenced Copps few times, is that John? the angel "guru"?

That clownfish from C-quest, kinda cool his parents were bred here!!!

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks. Most of the frags have come from Cherry Corals, love those guys. Couple from captivated reef and Copps, yes John Copps himself! Sadly I lost most of the frags from him after the tank crash last year, will get more next time I see his for sale thread posted. I want to try Adam at Battlecorals heard to many good things about him, just frags haven't been in the budget lately and I need to get rid of a few before I order new ones.

[rickztahone]

Sorry no side by side pre blur, I overwrote the original edit.

for shame Matt! for shame! lol.

I actually really like this edit anyways now that I see it on the computer. Print that bad boy!

[Ed13]

Thanks. Most of the frags have come from Cherry Corals, love those guys. Couple from captivated reef and Copps, yes John Copps himself! Sadly I lost most of the frags from him after the tank crash last year, will get more next time I see his for sale thread posted. I want to try Adam at Battlecorals heard to many good things about him, just frags haven't been in the budget lately and I need to get rid of a few before I order new ones.
It's been a few years, but Cherry Corals wouldn't ship my way neither would Live Aquaria. If I get a chance to get back into it, I'll check those places out, it's going to be looong while unfortunately.:cry:

Is John shipping or did you get to pick up? I use to really enjoy his posts, very few people have that kind of passion, for anything really, and those angellllss!!!!! :shocked:

[Discus-n00b]

He shipped. I always check the Reef Central propagated corals for sale section for his sale threads, they don't happen often. I'm not sure who out there ships to PR

[Discus-n00b]

Not sure if I updated and mentioned I lost my Tailspot Blenny? He went carpet surfing the other night and was found crispy afterwards. Even with a screen top. So I'll either be getting another tailspot or looking for another option that maybe swims around and stays out front a bit more. Suggestions?

Also, I'm going to start dripping Kalk in this tank. I need a higher pH, pH keeps getting to low. Hopefully a higher pH will solve some algae issues as well. Its really frustrating. Stuff for that should come Monday or Tuesday. Luckily its getting warm enough here now that I can open a window and help with pH.

[rickztahone]

Did you figure out where it may have escaped from since your top is covered?

[Discus-n00b]

I believe so, problem is its one of those things I can't do to much about. Since I have equipment hanging on the back my screen top won't go all the way back so there will always be a few small gaps back there. Its a risk I run I guess. I don't want any fish to jump, but given the choice I'd rather it be the $20-25 blenny than one of the $80 Clownfish which aren't prone to jumping thankfully.

[Ed13]

:inquisitive:Would you mind if I beg for new pics?.........:drummer:

[Discus-n00b]

I won't mind at all....however given my algae its not very pretty atm so I'd like to get that under control first. I will take some quick pics soon though as I want to get a before photo hopefully to compare it to an algae free after photo a few months down the line.

[Discus-n00b]

Here are some pics for you!

New FTS, sorry I wish I could take better FTS, with the LEDs its tough. I've glued more frags to the rocks, free'd up a frag rack and got that out of the tank but I am quickly running out of real estate, sucks because I constantly want more frags. Need a new tank I guess LOL. I think I might swap out some on that rack for some on my wish list soon. Have another Copps Hulk Milli frag up there as well as another Pink Lemonade that I really have no use for since I have both on my rocks already. Need to get me a Pearlberry and Oregon Tort.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8565/16217249374_d1d49f46bf_b.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8727/16217248194_5d495d684b_b.jpg

Pink Lemonade tips and polyp extension, also one from above. Can see the yellow a bit more from above.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7603/16652230110_f5f370f24c_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7594/16217246624_a445913640_b.jpg

In that same area here is the green slimer from above, really getting bulky. Check out how fluffy it looks.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7607/16632284607_e29a63961c_b.jpg

Here is a needles in a haystack I think from CC? This might just be a random aussie deepwater something or other I can't remember. Its from CC though. Can see what looks to be dinos on it (BLEHHHHH), been fighting a mild outbreak of whatever it is in the tank, hasn't really exploded though or bothered the coral really so thats a good thing.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8729/16838467622_b846f5faf8_b.jpg

Perched above my Slimer is my Cali Tort and above that in the photo is my Purple Plasma. Also a crop of the tort.
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7610/16838533541_3627fa9cbe_b.jpg
https://farm8.staticflickr.com/7606/16652021348_b77b5d4160_b.jpg

Anyway that's the update! Its moving right along. Still happy with it other than the brown algae that is more a headache to me than anything else. Going to try and raise the pH a bit and see what that does. Its getting warm here so I can open the windows without issue. Let me know what you think!

[zergling]

Looks good Matt! I'm sure I'm not the only one getting tempted to try out reef tanks... :thumbsup::thumbsup:

[Ed13]

Awesome pics as always!! Seems you pretty much have all the SPS corals I want! What scares me of Nano tanks is that besides what you already have I would like a monti cap, red planet, Pink Pocillopora, and an Oregon Tort, plus 1 anemone and Tridacnas! Not to mention most of the fish I love are large!!:mad::mad:
Going get my fix through your tank for a while!:(

Anyway, is everything cultured in this tank? Seems so far you've managed to avoid pests!!

BTW, I still don't get why so many seem to put down Green Slimmers, I love that coral!!

[Ed13]

Looks good Matt! I'm sure I'm not the only one getting tempted to try out reef tanks... :thumbsup::thumbsup:

Get'er done!!!

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks! I actually have a red planet in there, on the rocks upper right side but it browned a bit recently and I'm currently coloring it back up. Oregon tort is on my wish list. And yes Green Slimers are really underrated!

Yes everything is aquacultured and I typically only but from 1-2 sources. All coral in this tank has come from 2 sources. I want to try a third soon, just no room atm! I limit these to those I trust and avoid any pests. Along with dipping and observing new arrivals.

[rickztahone]

Thanks! I actually have a red planet in there, on the rocks upper right side but it browned a bit recently and I'm currently coloring it back up. Oregon tort is on my wish list. And yes Green Slimers are really underrated!

Yes everything is aquacultured and I typically only but from 1-2 sources. All coral in this tank has come from 2 sources. I want to try a third soon, just no room atm! I limit these to those I trust and avoid any pests. Along with dipping and observing new arrivals.

do you QT corals the same way you QT discus?

[Discus-n00b]

Ideally yes. Me, no since I just have this one system. It would be a good idea. I would probably do it if I got my frags from somewhere I didn't fully trust. They can be chockfull of pests, however unlike discus a lot of times a good coral dip before it hits the tank can rid most if not all of the pests. Other steps can be taken too like popping the frag off its original frag plug (thats where pest eggs are laid rather than on the tissue. The tissue is food, the rock is its home.). So in a way its easier to clean them than discus. But yes a QT in any aquarium setup would be good but more so for fish.

[Discus-n00b]

Side note, I think I need to re-calibrate my monitors.....or my camera taking skills LOL the photos seem a bit dark.

[rickztahone]

Thanks for the explanation Matt. I've been curious about the dark side lately.

As far as the pics, they do look a bit dark, but then again, purple is always a rather tough color to bring up to look lively, especially in this type of setting.

[Discus-n00b]

Been thinking about upgrading to a larger tank lately, it was inevitable. Depending on what price the upgrade comes to. Anyone have any suggestions on Rimless tank builders? I want it to be a peninsula style tank so I'll probably have to get it custom built. Going to put in a quote request to Miracles and Reef Savvy but I fully expect both of them to be quite expensive. Don't think I can get away with cheap though for this part of it.

Thinking about a tank about 42"L x 18" W x 18" H. Would put me right around what, 59-60gal mark before sump.

I don't know that I will do this yet as I would have to buy a new light fixture, more powerheads, and everything its just something I am exploring at this point.

[rickztahone]

I've been cruising reefcentral so much lately that I'm starting to see some really amazing tanks. The most common tanks are almost squared shaped ones, is this something you would consider or are you set with the larger/wider footprint? Peninsula type overflow look to be really cool too. What kind of sump will you run?

Here's a couple of places I found that seem to make some quality tanks:
http://www.scaquariums.com/category-s/101.htm
These have starfire glass and look pretty sweet. all seem to be center overflow though :(


http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=index&cPath=61_74
Cadlight makes some really good tanks as well. I like their AIO tanks but don't know enough about AIO to really recommend them. Their Versa series are pretty sweet though. Again, not the dims you are looking for, but maybe they can work with you?
This 70g from them is pretty sweet though :)
http://www.cadlights.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=61_62&products_id=294


http://advancedacrylics.com/collections/frag-tanks/products/36x14x14-tank
This is a ~30g one, maybe AC's can do you one to your specs? They aren't that expensive.
None-peninsula again:
http://advancedacrylics.com/collections/frag-tanks/products/60x16x16-100-gallon-aquarium-w-black-back
I like that they have free shipping with their tanks. They do not have that refined look that the other companies have though and I just realized that the ones I linked you to for the AC's tanks are not rimless, but their website do show some.

Those are the only ones I've seen that I liked. Will find more options for you, and hopefully some closer to you :)

[Discus-n00b]

Ricardo, I have a cube currently as this tank is 15" all the way around basically. Thing is, it sits on the front edge of a roughly 44" long by 20" wide stand (I like having a bit of a buffer on all sides that's how I came up with tank dimensions) so I have a lot of space not being used by the tank itself. Was left over from my freshwater downsize and offered a good peninsula style setup to stick this cube out into the room a bit. I like the peninsula style because it will basically bump up to and run the full length of my L shaped desk. I guess what I need to do is to see how much room I have in that corner and maybe look at a more traditional setup as well, might save some money.

The reason behind the upgrade is really to add more stock, fish and coral. I don't NEED to, more of a want. I'd like more fish options and to be able to buy some more frags.

As for the sump I've tried once before and failed building it myself, kind of want to just go premade/custom route. Nothing crazy like a Synergy or anything, just something that works. What I need to look at is Acrylic tanks, need to research them. Never owned one but there are nice ones out there. I just don't know enough about them yet. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out!

[rickztahone]

Ricardo, I have a cube currently as this tank is 15" all the way around basically. Thing is, it sits on the front edge of a roughly 44" long by 20" wide stand (I like having a bit of a buffer on all sides that's how I came up with tank dimensions) so I have a lot of space not being used by the tank itself. Was left over from my freshwater downsize and offered a good peninsula style setup to stick this cube out into the room a bit. I like the peninsula style because it will basically bump up to and run the full length of my L shaped desk. I guess what I need to do is to see how much room I have in that corner and maybe look at a more traditional setup as well, might save some money.

The reason behind the upgrade is really to add more stock, fish and coral. I don't NEED to, more of a want. I'd like more fish options and to be able to buy some more frags.

As for the sump I've tried once before and failed building it myself, kind of want to just go premade/custom route. Nothing crazy like a Synergy or anything, just something that works. What I need to look at is Acrylic tanks, need to research them. Never owned one but there are nice ones out there. I just don't know enough about them yet. Thanks for the links, I'll check them out!

Do you mean you've never had an acylic sump or ANY acrylic tank ever? I have only recently (last year) got an acrylic tank and actually really liked it. It just seems like it is much more cleaner to view and looks nice with rounded corners, for the tank I had of course.

[Discus-n00b]

Never owned either, sump or tank in acrylic. I like the idea but hate the idea of scratches.

[rickztahone]

Never owned either, sump or tank in acrylic. I like the idea but hate the idea of scratches.

scratches on acrylic is overrated. I found that out first hand. When I had my 56g set up, I never got a scratch on the thing, and I would constantly be moving stuff around in there. It is just like anything else, if you take care of it, it will remain fine :). However, this is speaking as someone who didn't run a sand substrate in this tank. This may change the scratches concern you have. Personally, I don't think it would be a problem, I actually plan on running sand in my 75g acrylic, that is how little concern I have.

with all that being said and done, there is nothing like starfire glass. It is expensive, but it sure is a pleasure to view. If you go glass, at least do the front pane SF.

[Discus-n00b]

I wouldn't run any substrate on a reef tank anymore Ricardo lol. To interested in SPS and cranking up the flow to ever really want sand again. The acrylic I've seen tend to give me the same appearance of starphire/low iron glass, can you tell that much difference? I'd probably go 3 sides starphire if going glass, especially if I did a peninsula build. My Tropheus 100gal is 3 sides starphire.

[rickztahone]

The acylic is very clear man but to me, glass rimless still take the cake. The low iron ones are hard to beat imho

[Discus-n00b]

This is for you Ricardo. Here is a 1 year comparison. Dug up a FTS from May of last year and have one from May of this year. Image sizes are a bit different and the glass cleaning bottle is in my way below but just a quick shot. I went from an extremely "ugly" tank to a slightly less "ugly" tank in a year LOL

https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5592/14099477490_a975b6ff94_b.jpg
https://farm6.staticflickr.com/5448/17676093418_beee0886ca_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Nice, could have done without the bottle Matt! lol. The finger looking things in the middle is what I was referring to in the pm. Are these referred to as soft corals?

I went to a fish store today to look at some cubed tanks, they weren't that bad. A nice 80g (not rimmless unfortunately :() cube was only about $300 plus $120 for stand. Just like you though, I think a SW tanks NEEDS to be a nice rimless tank ;).

Keep the pics coming bud.

P.S. is that some form of ledge on the left tank wall you made?

[Discus-n00b]

I was actually shooting with the bottle, to post up on their forums....show what else I use their stuff for. Its really car detailing stuff and I love their product line haha. So I shot 3 shots, 2 lighting the bottle and 1 of the tank and stacked them. Just used one to show you all the tank. Soft corals in my tank are at the bottom on the glass, and really apart from the 2 Zoanthid frags the 2 brain coral are LPS. The rest in the tank are stony corals (SPS).

I bought it, its a frag rack I can get the specific name in a little bit. Basically the only kind I will buy now, extra strong magnets and really durable. Its for frags that are growing out or that I have no where to place at the moment.

[Discus-n00b]

Just got the quote back from Reef Savvy on a 40x20x20 peninsula tank......OUCH! And that is ouch BEFORE shipping. And that is just for a 70gal? Don't even want to know what my dream tank would be. Can't beat the quality, they are pretty much the bar in this market right now. Overflow would come fully installed, blacked out back, starphire glass of course, polished edges, neat silicone seams, and one of their "phantom" bottoms but I'm 100% shopping around, I don't even know If I'll upgrade yet but the cost right now is telling me no I won't.

Time to contact Miracles among others I find.

[rickztahone]

Just got the quote back from Reef Savvy on a 40x20x20 peninsula tank......OUCH! And that is ouch BEFORE shipping. And that is just for a 70gal? Don't even want to know what my dream tank would be. Can't beat the quality, they are pretty much the bar in this market right now. Overflow would come fully installed, blacked out back, starphire glass of course, polished edges, neat silicone seams, and one of their "phantom" bottoms but I'm 100% shopping around, I don't even know If I'll upgrade yet but the cost right now is telling me no I won't.

Time to contact Miracles among others I find.

Yeah, those Reef Savvy folks want very pretty pennies for their tanks, but they make some really high quality ones. I saw a nice 70g peninsula tank localy being sold and the brand was Lee-Mar. I actually almost pulled the trigger because it came with tank/stand/sump by synergy/skimmer/pump, all for $800. I swear I almost did it, but seeing as I currently have 3 empty tanks that I still need to manage, I figured it isn't a good time to tell the wife that I have another project in the works. However, I started checking their tanks out and they aren't bad. Check them out. I really like the Cadlight ones because they have everything you need, and they ship for free.

[Discus-n00b]

That setup sounded worth it Ricardo, that sump alone costs $500+ LOL

I've been looking at other options like a more traditional build, I just really like the custom tanks because I can get what I want on them and don't have to mod when I get it. I want to go Beananimal overflow, hard if not impossible to find those offered other than a custom build. Most of them are setup to run herbie style. Nothing wrong with it, I just like the Beananimal. Reef Savvy has what I'm looking for, just not at that price right now. If anyone is interested though you can get a 40x20x20 rimless 3 side starphire with 16" ghost overflow and phantom bottom for $1670 not including crate or shipping LOL. Make no mistake, they have a dang good quality product and I'd never speak ill of that....their prices are just a bit rich. Kind of makes you think twice now when you see these guys with big 300+ gal tanks from Reef Savvy, must be nice haha.

As soon as I can draw up a plan and know exactly where I want the overflow holes I'll put in a quote for Miracles. I fully expect them to come back out of my price range too but we shall see. Also going to be posting locally to see whats out there. I'm not trying to do this tomorrow anyway, I have some time to save and budget for this. Never say never. PicO Aquariums should be opening back up in the fall as well, could get a price from them on something. I really like the idea of a peninsula as I love being able to view 3 sides of my tank. For freshwater I wouldn't care as much but when you can get a different angle on coral or the reef it could change your viewing experience. Not to mention the amount of life you miss if you can't see more than 1 panel. Would love to be able to keep some sort of Anthias as well.

[rickztahone]

Matt, have you considered getting a non-reef ready tank and purchasing the $200 bean animal setup separately? I know a guy on ebay "modular..." (modular something, escapes me now) that many on RC have purchased from. It is easy to mount up with two BH's and 3 drain lines for a BA overflow setup. Had I not spent money on the acrylic and parts, I would have just bought it from this guy. He quoted me at $170 I believe, shipped for a 2000+GPH setup. Super clean looking too.

As far as that tank setup that was for sale? It still is :). It is playing in the back of my mind man. I really like the peninsula setup it has, but again, my wife would probably kill me, or make me sleep in the fish tank for the next few weeks :laugh:

Starting to get some of this SW jargon too. Quite a bit to take in all at once.

[Discus-n00b]

Thats the way I was going Ricardo, Reef Savvy will pre-install the beananimal overflow, what they call their "ghost overflow". Otherwise the tank I get would be drilled for such and I'll buy the box from Savvy or Synergy and install the overflow myself. It's mainly the holes I want to come on the tank. I don't trust myself drilling.

[rickztahone]

Thats the way I was going Ricardo, Reef Savvy will pre-install the beananimal overflow, what they call their "ghost overflow". Otherwise the tank I get would be drilled for such and I'll buy the box from Savvy or Synergy and install the overflow myself. It's mainly the holes I want to come on the tank. I don't trust myself drilling.

I would say it isn't so difficult but I am yet to drill my tank, lol. I've seen people do it though and it doesn't seem that difficult. So long as you have a good diamond bit for glass or regular hole saw for acrylic you are good.

[Discus-n00b]

If I was spending less on the tank maybe I'd try it as I would like to learn at some point but if I was buying a Miracles or Reef Savvy or something like that the added cost of them doing the holes is well worth it IMO lol. They'll polish up all of the edges and everything will be straight and under warranty haha.

[rickztahone]

If I was spending less on the tank maybe I'd try it as I would like to learn at some point but if I was buying a Miracles or Reef Savvy or something like that the added cost of them doing the holes is well worth it IMO lol. They'll polish up all of the edges and everything will be straight and under warranty haha.

Very true. If I were in your shoes, this is what I would do:

I would purchase the overflow first. Sorry but I forgot to link you to the overflow I told you about on ebay. That one gets great reviews everywhere and everyone knows that seller.
I would ask the seller to make a template for you. I know the seller does this as a few members mentioned it to me.
I would then send that off to whomever you are buying the tank from, and ask them to follow the template for you for the holes. This way, when you get it in, there are no surprises.

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah good call on that. Here is the Ghost Overflow. It's about $200 from Synergy and $235 from Reef Savvy. But its an excellent design and super thin, that's the selling point for me. Savvy's is a bit more expensive because I believe its a more updated version. Savvy owns the rights to it, Synergy can sell it but they can't really change or update it like Savvy can.

http://synergyreef.com/product/16-synergy-reef-overflow/
http://reefsavvy.com/the-reef-savvy-difference/

[rickztahone]

Yeah good call on that. Here is the Ghost Overflow. It's about $200 from Synergy and $235 from Reef Savvy. But its an excellent design and super thin, that's the selling point for me. Savvy's is a bit more expensive because I believe its a more updated version. Savvy owns the rights to it, Synergy can sell it but they can't really change or update it like Savvy can.

http://synergyreef.com/product/16-synergy-reef-overflow/
http://reefsavvy.com/the-reef-savvy-difference/

Here's the thing, there are 2 things with those designs that the members over RC hate, and I know because I've actually read ALL of Bean's thread, both of them! They hate these "knock offs" because they aren't coast to coast inner overflows. They also have "teeth". You get the best surface skimming with no teeth, and the larger the surface area, the more thin the water that goes over the inner overflow. This is the reason I chose to go the DIY route because I wanted to go full coast to coast, however, due to the way my bracing is set up, I can't pre-build the "L" shaped inner overflow to weld it to the inner tank. This would allow me a wider surface area as well as no teeth to not break up the tension in the water fall effect. Additionally, I would prefer 3x 1" holes on the back of my tank wall instead of the 2x 2" holes that come with these kits.

With all of this being said and done, I still may end up going with one of these (more than likely the ebay one because those come with no teeth and look super clean as well) because I am not sure if I am up to snuff to actually do the DIY overflows. I'm trying tomorrow though and I will let you know if I fail or not, lol.

[Discus-n00b]

A 16" overflow on a 20" side of an aquarium will almost be coast to coast lol (Only problem I see here is finding space for return holes without getting to close to the seams). I like the Coast to coast style and no teeth, I understand its better skimming but there is no protection from snails and other critters maybe even fish going over. It would be nice to not even have a box inside the tank though. If I'm custom building this tank I guess it makes sense to go coast to coast.

That being said I take stuff I read on RC with a grain of salt these days lol, site has been going downhill for a while. Still decent reading in searches and looking at previous posts but I prefer Reef2Reef myself.

Savvy calls theirs "Hybrid External"
http://www.reef2reef.com/attachments/hybrid-external-jpg.222070/

[rickztahone]

I agree with you, if you are going custom, you can have them do that U joint during production. It will look clean and it will get the overflow box outside only. I was thinking about actually trying that but with my bracing I thought twice and I'm glad I did. You raise a really good point though, you can customize to have less clutter inside. The one thing these "ghost overflows" have is that they are discreet.

And yes, 16" on a 20" side is almost coast to coast lol. You can have the returns drilled by them as well. 2" on each side is fine so long as you are looking at a 1" return and you can bush it down to a 3/4 to adapt a loc line

[Discus-n00b]

Well I finally did it. I just pulled the trigger on an Apex controller. I've been on the fence about it for so long but I figure I'd rather spend the money now as insurance so I won't lose more in livestock. Especially in a small tank like this where things can change so rapidly. Plus I can always use it if I upgrade, should be one of those pieces of equipment that last me a long time. I hate seeing the black eye to my bank account but I'm sure that will heal once I get it setup. Excited! I got the base unit package (lab grade probe) and the Vortech module. I will probably get the conductivity probe and the PM2 down the road but it's not something I need right now. I feel like the pH and Temp changing would be more likely.

Anyway, that's the latest update. I'm still toying with the upgrade idea....even to the point of playing in sketchup. This is only a test! Don't get to excited just yet. Tank is mocked up as a 40x24x20 with a steel stand. Rough renders too, I'm slowly teaching myself 3D rendering and this is my first go at it from Sketchup, still needs work and I need practice.
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8868/18421852550_95507b25f6_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/326/18609524075_102914eb36_b.jpg
https://farm9.staticflickr.com/8845/17986873994_62bafa62e1_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Looks great to me. Love the cut out with the tinted glass/acrylic. I should have thought of that for my heater controller. I didn't want to incorporate mine in to my stand because my son loves to fiddle with things, and a heater controller is something I know I do not want him messing with. I love the integrated skimmer cut out for the Bean Animal setup. Do you know the dims for the outside box yet? Will you be using T-Slots for the stand and what will you use as the skinning of the stand?

That Apex is no joke! I think it is well worth it in a SW tank. FW, not so much. If I were ever to do a SW setup, I know that will be one of the first investments. Synergy sump?

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks Ricardo, well like I said this is no where near materializing yet but if I had to choose everything then I would be using square channel steel. Along with this is me actually learning to weld, something I've wanted to do for a while. Have some machinist friends and such so I'd love to learn as I go about this. My goal anyway, add a skill to my collection. The square channel would be 1.5" and I believe .120" wall is the general standard used for this application. Skinning the stand will either be some type of acrylic or wood panels with magnets counter sunk into the back side, easy on easy off type of deal maybe some handles on the sides like grooves, not sure about that yet. The panel shown in the last render on the side probably will be off or modified as that would be the open sump side. I just wanted to show it skinned.

The skimmer will actually be in the sump. Plumbing will go down through the bottom of the overflow box through a hole in the stand to the sump, I need to render the back side and overflow box so you can see. Right now the overflow box is drawn up as 7" deep and 5" wide I believe. 1" drains.

Looking at a Trigger Systems sump actually, a bit cheaper than a Synergy but seems like enough space. Colors of the stand and stuff aren't finalized yet, leaning towards white skinning and something else on the stand (powder coat). Red seems kinda cool, Vertex type of color scheme. Just trying to think of something different than the usual white or black powder coat jobs. You'll also notice under the stand I have some L Channel steel acting as a shelf for my doser which will be easy access to dripping into the sump, and behind that is a red tinted acrylic shield to protect any wiring that will be in the front of the stand from splashes. I'll try and do a bit more work and render more views.

[rickztahone]

I meant skimming from the actual slot at the back of the tank, as in skimming the top of your water surface, not an actual skimmer. Any plans on which skimmer to go with? I checked out a few during my research and they get pricey real quick.

Have you considered going with Quick Frame for the stand?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2500266

My next build with be a stand like that with removable panels like you mention. Acrylic panels would be so awesome as well. I'd recommend some kind of frosted like acrylic where it blurrs the behind the scenes items, but doesn't completely block them out. Kind of make it like the pc towers with see through shells :).

I got what you are saying through your rendering with regards to the rear of the tank. Very similar to my 56g bowfront with the grommets right? I'm assuming you will have some kind of pvc support there? I did not add any to my overflow box and I am still scartching my head if I SHOULD. From my initial inspection it looks like it will be able to handle the weight, but I thought about adding some kind of supports by way of triangle shaped acrylic pieces, but with the weld on in place, it makes it impossible to get them in there square now. I may just support the PVC some other way now. Think about that when planning out your sketches. I would recommend it.

I'll check out those trigger sumps. I haven't seen them yet, but any sump you go with will be awesome if they custom build it for you. Although the one I ended up with is super simple, it is rather practical for my needs.

[Discus-n00b]

Oh! Haha yes, I see now. I tried to go pretty much coast to coast, I have 2 extra holes drilled into the overflow box in the drawing, thinking about just running return lines up through the same box and either straight into the back of the tank from the box or over the top of that edge with locline but not interrupting the flow. I looked at that quick frame Ricardo however it defeats the purpose of me learning how to weld haha. Which is why I was even looking at a steel stand in the first place tbh.

I thought about a window on the side that will be servicing the sump, like a PC tower. Panel will still be removable but I want to be able to see in quick and know if something is wrong or if water is going where its supposed to. With a nice light under the stand I think this could look pretty cool. I was leaning towards white acrylic panels because white would hide any salt deposit drips fairly well. And it has a bit of gloss to it.

Good call on the PVC support, I will look into that. It's pretty funny, this tank started out about 40x18x18, then went to 40x20x20, now its at 40x24x20 and only 8 inches short of my current glass rimless housing the Tropheus LOL. These things grow like fish tales.

[rickztahone]

Oh! Haha yes, I see now. I tried to go pretty much coast to coast, I have 2 extra holes drilled into the overflow box in the drawing, thinking about just running return lines up through the same box and either straight into the back of the tank from the box or over the top of that edge with locline but not interrupting the flow. I looked at that quick frame Ricardo however it defeats the purpose of me learning how to weld haha. Which is why I was even looking at a steel stand in the first place tbh.

I thought about a window on the side that will be servicing the sump, like a PC tower. Panel will still be removable but I want to be able to see in quick and know if something is wrong or if water is going where its supposed to. With a nice light under the stand I think this could look pretty cool. I was leaning towards white acrylic panels because white would hide any salt deposit drips fairly well. And it has a bit of gloss to it.

Good call on the PVC support, I will look into that. It's pretty funny, this tank started out about 40x18x18, then went to 40x20x20, now its at 40x24x20 and only 8 inches short of my current glass rimless housing the Tropheus LOL. These things grow like fish tales.

Yes they do, but when rendering them, it is much easier to adjust for things than when you have the physical object! lol.

As far as welding goes, it is pretty easy actually. Luckily for me, I know how to Tig and Mig weld since my brother and father in law restore cars, I learned early on. So long as you have the adequate tools, you are good. Cutting isn't all that difficult either with steel. I like the look of steel stands, but they have to be worked on well to be acceptable IMHO. That means a lot of grind hours on it for seamless look and powder coated. There is no denying the strength of a steel stand though. They are built like beasts!

Keep us updated man. I will currently live my SW fascination vicariously through you ;)

[Discus-n00b]

That's what I was aiming for lol Tig and Mig.

LOL thanks, could be a while but it's never to early to dream it.

[Discus-n00b]

Got the Apex setup today, wow was not as simple and as painless (plug and play) as I imagined it. Was actually a bit frustrating but it is just as cool as I imagined. More so frustrating if your internet router is downstairs away from the tank with no hardwire close. Then after getting firmware updated getting it online and connected via wireless. I don't know fully what I did but it's working now. The whole system is switched over to it, kind of a scary feeling. Good thing I'm tired or else I wouldn't sleep thinking about it lol. It will be fine, just a change is not something us fish keepers do well. I am excited to actually SEE what my pH and Temp are doing overnight via graphs. High tech world. I feel like i'm entering a new phase of the hobby, ready to step the game up.

[Discus-n00b]

New pics! First some FTS, took them with the peak lighting schedule on so they are a bit washed out. And don't mind the slick on the top of the water, gross.....took care of that with a WC afterwards.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/300/18915129126_11856e9997_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/498/18755182539_d219488961_b.jpg

CC Oakland A's, growing it on a magnetic disc. Side macro and full front shot.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/495/18941365905_58eabaa957_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/479/18318819294_ac515392da_b.jpg

Hawkins
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/538/18755181919_d63c2afdf7_b.jpg

Got to have some Slimer shots, few macros.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3705/18936051902_78941b9102_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/391/18320721663_3d8c87418c_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/538/18915124386_bc97310179_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/514/18936052542_159b1b1eac_b.jpg

Top of the Cali tort
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3940/18915122586_85d7b72a2f_b.jpg

Smoothskin type. I think this may be my CC Needles in a Haystack. I have 2 pretty similar so I may have them mixed up. Anyway one from the front and from above.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/368/18753718348_938ccfffbb_b.jpg
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/506/18936049842_8f3836276f_b.jpg

Crayola Plana right under the Needles in a Haystack.
https://farm4.staticflickr.com/3872/18944293361_b0137bba1f_b.jpg

And finally, one of the Onyx Clowns
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/331/18320723213_99648f444d_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Lets see an update my man!

[Discus-n00b]

You must be creepin or read my mind Ricardo because I have the camera on the tripod in front of the tank as we speak. Going to eat and after that snap some photos. Not to much has changed really, you might be able to see a little bit of growth. I've beaten the brown algae though!

[rickztahone]

I'm right outside your window! lol

[Discus-n00b]

Plot twist, changed my modem the other day so lost remote connection to my SW tank lights. Still run on schedule but I can't update or control them until I find a USB to USB cable. So in the middle of taking pictures my lights are on the downward slope to night mode and I can't change it. Might be a day or so before I can get the photos and get them up lol. I do plan on shooting some Tropheus FTS tonight though.

[Discus-n00b]

Only one I could manage before the lights started going. Tell you what though, I STRUGGLE taking good pics of Saltwater. MAN it's tough for me. I don't know if it's the spectrum of the blue LEDs or what but it's rough getting a FTS. And I don't exactly know how to post process them fully saltwater wise. My blue corals look totally washed out, can't capture greens correctly....ugh I need some work lol.
https://farm1.staticflickr.com/549/20237551712_93b7c9ca42_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

See, now don't call me old, or old fashion, but tell me you don't miss it when all you had to do was hit a switch for the lights to come off and on? lol. Love the Apex and all the bells and whistles, but I also like practicality.

With all that said, the one shot you managed to get is a very nice one. I know what you mean about the colors but keep in mind, the sensors of our cameras are no where near our human eyes. Some things are just meant to be appreciated personally :).

Good growth going on for sure though. Your frag rack looks way more full than before.

[Discus-n00b]

Well my lights are running on Ecotech's wireless Reeflink. Problem is I don't have a USB cord to hook it up to the computer to change the wireless connection it piggy backs off of lol. When I don't have to change modems because of AT&T's failure to provide the correct service it's excellent and at any time I can use my phone or a switch to do that! I can also log into ecotech's support site and go to any point in my program which is what I usually do to take pictures, the high noon effect usually. I need to practice more though SW wise. Gotta get the colors down. May have to stack for this.

Thanks. Yeah I need to clear the frag rack, I keep saying that but never do. I have 1-3 frags up there that I would have no problem selling or trading right this minute and then 6-7 others that I want to keep but really have no real space for on the rock at the moment lol so it's a tricky situation. I either need a tank upgrade or to limit my frags. I would like to lean towards the upgrade haha.

[rickztahone]

Well my lights are running on Ecotech's wireless Reeflink. Problem is I don't have a USB cord to hook it up to the computer to change the wireless connection it piggy backs off of lol. When I don't have to change modems because of AT&T's failure to provide the correct service it's excellent and at any time I can use my phone or a switch to do that! I can also log into ecotech's support site and go to any point in my program which is what I usually do to take pictures, the high noon effect usually. I need to practice more though SW wise. Gotta get the colors down. May have to stack for this.

Thanks. Yeah I need to clear the frag rack, I keep saying that but never do. I have 1-3 frags up there that I would have no problem selling or trading right this minute and then 6-7 others that I want to keep but really have no real space for on the rock at the moment lol so it's a tricky situation. I either need a tank upgrade or to limit my frags. I would like to lean towards the upgrade haha.

what?!? That is a real surprise! A person with a smaller tank wants to upgrade to a larger, more expensive tank?!? lol. Kidding aside, I tihnk you should keep the frags for when you do get the larger tank. You will have a great start up.

[Second Hand Pat]

Those frags are so addicting...just like every else wet. :)
Pat

[Discus-n00b]

Here is your update Ricardo! I hadn't done a WC for close to a month. Did one in October, then the SC flooding happened delaying my next one due to boil water advisories and such that I didn't want to risk, and I finally got around to it. Should start to see more growth now. First picture is blurry, I need to get a new one but you can get an idea. I glued a few more frags to the rocks but am running out of room to allow growing space. Shame, guess I need to hurry up and move and get a bigger tank!

It's getting to the point where I'm going to have to trim the green slimer, this thing is massive in a 15gal.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/754/22169513514_f1e3c530a8_b.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/629/22778743152_bdf64ef7bb_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5822/22373893547_4edf2b081b_b.jpg
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/729/22778742402_ce5301aa86_b.jpg

Retina Blaster, broken tip from the water change yesterday. Hawkins Blue to it's right, hard to capture the nice blue color of this one.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/771/22792252495_d334e24bd8_b.jpg

Top down of a nice growing Tenuis. Small idaho grape frag top left, strawberry something or other from CC bottem left, Needle in a Haystack from CC bottom, and a milli right above it.
https://c1.staticflickr.com/1/693/22766267006_fe6ab65e54_b.jpg

Top down shot of the right side. Love that Crayola Plana. Cali tort up top and a Purple Plasma directly to it's left. Some kind of deepwater aussie something or other like Needle in a hatstack top right, and a nice sunset/sunrise milli below.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5669/22803783451_2f42032b29_b.jpg

Here is a side shot of the Crayola Plana
https://c2.staticflickr.com/6/5730/22803456981_b4cd0e8fae_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Absolutely stunning. That purple plasma must be super nice in real life. The color seems hard to capture. In your first pic, what is the one at the bottom right on its own?

The green slimer really stands out here. These are SPS's?

[Second Hand Pat]

Matt, this little tank and the corals etc look actually fabulous. You have me yearning for a marine tank. :D
Pat

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks! :)

Ricardo, the blues and purples are always real tough to capture. These are all SPS except the polyps on the rocks and the stuff sitting on the bottom of the tank. The coral you are referring to is an LPS, i've been told it was a "branching Lobo" (Lobophyllia) a type of brain....but I'm honestly not 100% on it. I got if for $1 in an online live sale lol. Think it looks pretty good on the bottom. It's made consider getting a few other things for the bottom of the tank.

[rickztahone]

Thanks! :)

Ricardo, the blues and purples are always real tough to capture. These are all SPS except the polyps on the rocks and the stuff sitting on the bottom of the tank. The coral you are referring to is an LPS, i've been told it was a "branching Lobo" (Lobophyllia) a type of brain....but I'm honestly not 100% on it. I got if for $1 in an online live sale lol. Think it looks pretty good on the bottom. It's made consider getting a few other things for the bottom of the tank.

$1?!? that is crazy. I'd buy a few more at that price. What type of auction is it? Thanks for the clarification of the SPS vs LPS. I still have not gotten down what is what, but I am starting to learn some of the names of a few. Especially and Efflo, not that I could ever afford one, or even take care of one if someone gave it to me, lol. It is weird to think that I didn't find an appreciation for these type of tanks before actually researching them. It is quite the transition, and I can see how so many people spend so much time/money on them.

[Discus-n00b]

Oh you can get frags for less than Discus! ;)

A live sale. Its a new way for merchants to sell goods online. These coral retailers will be based on a forum much like our sponsors here, and then they will occasionally host a live sale running from like 1pm-1am or something crazy like that. Every 30mins or however often they feel like it during that time they post in the live sale thread a photo that links to a specific coral frag on their website. It's all WYSIWYG. If you are the first person to click it and complete checkout for that item you win it. Crazy good prices and its usually a lot of failed attempts due to the mad dash. At the end of the sale the merchant tallys up your purchases in their system and ships it as a whole to you. They usually sell a "shipping module" flat rate type of deal on their site after the live sale, so you just buy one of those and boom...all of your live sale purchases at once! It's a lot of fun. Very tiresome but crazy deals if you are fast enough with a mouse. I usually have my CC info saved or copied to make checkout faster ;) Most of these i've seen go on over at Reef2Reef.

The other green brain on the bottom of the tank came on a piece of live rock. I selected the piece specifically for the brain attached to it LOL. I think the LFS missed it....my gain for inspecting it!

[rickztahone]

Oh you can get frags for less than Discus! ;)

A live sale. Its a new way for merchants to sell goods online. These coral retailers will be based on a forum much like our sponsors here, and then they will occasionally host a live sale running from like 1pm-1am or something crazy like that. Every 30mins or however often they feel like it during that time they post in the live sale thread a photo that links to a specific coral frag on their website. It's all WYSIWYG. If you are the first person to click it and complete checkout for that item you win it. Crazy good prices and its usually a lot of failed attempts due to the mad dash. At the end of the sale the merchant tallys up your purchases in their system and ships it as a whole to you. They usually sell a "shipping module" flat rate type of deal on their site after the live sale, so you just buy one of those and boom...all of your live sale purchases at once! It's a lot of fun. Very tiresome but crazy deals if you are fast enough with a mouse. I usually have my CC info saved or copied to make checkout faster ;) Most of these i've seen go on over at Reef2Reef.

The other green brain on the bottom of the tank came on a piece of live rock. I selected the piece specifically for the brain attached to it LOL. I think the LFS missed it....my gain for inspecting it!

Good ol' LFS, lol. Good score. I saw the 22g Mr. Aqua come back on sale at Marine Depot. I can't pull the trigger because a whole bunch of expenses I currently have going on, but I wish I could get it.

[Discus-n00b]

Seems like I always have some bad luck on Christmas eve with this tank. First year I had it I crashed the entire tank on Christmas eve by doing a WC with freshwater unknowingly given to me by the LFS, my fault for not testing it. And from then on it seems like I've lost a coral every Christmas eve since lol. I think it's because the holidays get busy and I don't keep up on my water changes properly. The Crayola Plana above in the last two photos is starting to STN from the base. So I'll probably frag some tips off and see if I can save them. I just mixed water today so I might do a WC tonight but it might have to wait until tomorrow afternoon. This is the only coral in trouble it seems, sucks though it was a nice one.

Good news is there is a coral live sale going on the date of the 26th so I might pick up some new stuff to put in it's place! We'll see. Coral dying sucks but freeing up space is always amazing.

[Second Hand Pat]

Hope you can save the tips Matt.
Pat

[rickztahone]

Sucks Matt. I hope it pulls through for you. Live auctions can be a whole other problem lol

[Discus-n00b]

Well I fragged off the branches but it looks like it's to late they are starting to STN as well. Oh well, I tried. Some SPS are just real sensitive to changes and I think the Alk may have dipped a bit to much. Everything seems to be back and stable now after the WC and all of the other coral looks excellent. Like I said, it sucks but it also gives me space to add another or two to the rocks! I've been wanting to make an order from somewhere like Battlecorals so this may be the perfect opportunity. Still need to trade or sell a few on my rack that I don't plan to ever mount to the rocks.

[Discus-n00b]

Hopefully will be taking some photos today. Fragged a few things including a very nice stick of slimer. Had to remount a few things as the epoxy was failing and they haven't attached themselves to the rock yet so that made me accidently frag a bunch of stuff. Mainly the Hawkins and Slimer.

While you wait always remember to wear gloves!!! I was lazy yesterday during my WC and something got me. Not sure what but it and my skin did not mix. Soon after the WC this developed on my hand, seen it happen before. Rash with small blisters that itches like crazy, much like some sort of sting. I'm guessing I brushed the rock with the palythoa on it that or my 2 brains are the only thing in the tank with active stingers that would cause this. Since its concentrated in going to blame the palys. Wear gloves!!!!

http://i27.photobucket.com/albums/c172/clemmatt/BBAB6EB1-38EA-45B1-87FA-43F26269CA50_zpsno3xt4b1.jpg

[rickztahone]

Gloves is one thing that I rarely see reefers speak about. I think that either A) It is a given in their hobby and I am not attuned to it, or B) They are all dare devils :)

[Discus-n00b]

I don't usually wear them if I KNOW that all I'll be doing is holding the siphon hose during a WC. If I know I'll be fragging or moving rock I'll put on gloves...usually. Got lazy this time lol.

[rickztahone]

I don't usually wear them if I KNOW that all I'll be doing is holding the siphon hose during a WC. If I know I'll be fragging or moving rock I'll put on gloves...usually. Got lazy this time lol.

...and paid the price. BTW, you can't update this thread and not include a picture of the tank!

I think my tank build is about to stall. My wife and I decided to plan a Hawaii and Disney trip in the next 6 months and most of the funds will be going towards that now :(. I mean yay for travelling, but not so much for tank building, lol.

[Discus-n00b]

Haha pics will come, I got home late today and the lights are already going down.

Hey I'd trade Hawaii for starting a new tank any day of the week. Disney is a good time but much different than Hawaii would be haha....good for the kids at least.

[rickztahone]

Haha pics will come, I got home late today and the lights are already going down.

Hey I'd trade Hawaii for starting a new tank any day of the week. Disney is a good time but much different than Hawaii would be haha....good for the kids at least.

Yeah, it is for them that we are planning it. My son loves cars and my daughter loves Princess stuff, so win/win for them. It costs an insane amount of money to go to Disneyland now-a-days. Doesn't help that we will be staying at their hotel for 3-4 days

[Discus-n00b]

I took some pictures but it appears as if my focusing screen is scratched. Going to see what it looks like in post, some dust spots too further in. I'm going to order a new focusing screen from B&H tonight regardless, I just hope nothing else jumps in my cart.....I've been eyeing quite a few things. In June I will of had my 5DII for 6 years, that's pretty good for one body I'd say this day and age.

Off to the editing desk, might post tonight might post tomorrow if there are any worthy!

[rickztahone]

Will look forward to it Matt.

[Discus-n00b]

Here are a few
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1511/25134450631_d050030c82_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1579/24600841083_08e0612c82_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1663/25109395712_44ec98989b_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1532/24932038380_5fb8b58969_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1608/25134449511_cf08c8a169_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1707/24596995014_802e65cd25_b.jpg

[dghby]

Wow Matt. you have some nice looking sticks in there. gloves? yeah. I have heard of many reefers that use them, I don't myself, although I am sure the first issue will change my mind.

Beautiful pictures!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[rickztahone]

This is so NICE!

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1707/24596995014_802e65cd25_b.jpg

Those are some nice 'sticks' :)

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks! Yeah I knew you loved that one Ricardo. I actually got that for about $3 give or take through a Cherry Corals live sale on R2R. Forgot what they even called it, some weird type commercial name brain something or other. It's grown quite well, and I really like the colors on it. Not bad for a $3 almost freebie.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1556/25192010851_ca5907551c_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1623/24658357003_befb7c1572_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Freebie for sure! $3! Who charges that for a frag? Crazy. Looking really good. Is that a 1 strobe setup? Stack or stopped down?

[Discus-n00b]

Good eye. 1 strobe above. Single exposure. Used a polarizing filter as well.

[rickztahone]

Good eye. 1 strobe above. Single exposure. Used a polarizing filter as well.

tripod mounted then? Did you want to slow down the shutter?

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah tripod mounted with 100mm macro. I wanted a fast shutter to capture the polyps without blowing. I was mainly using the flash for an easier light to work with than the blue of SW LEDs. Much easier to correct and adjust a flash in post than blown out blue from the LEDs lol. Just wanted enough light on it to accomplish it and light it more naturally rather than fully illuminate it like I would a discus. To an untrained eye it might look as it it's just the tank lights on it.

[rickztahone]

Well you did an excellent job Matt :)

[Discus-n00b]

Some quick handheld shots from a little bit ago, not the best but someone on the reef forums asked for an update so I'll post them here as well!
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1604/26141429990_ee2b5e4bd2_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1470/26141429620_5678d7fa14_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1537/26414271085_e10d0d5034_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1475/25809430394_7c145c8e8d_b.jpg

And just for anyone who is lazy, and don't want to scroll back to find it lol here is the tank shot from Feb (top) next to today's (bottom). Can see growth on a good number of the corals.
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1511/25134450631_d050030c82_b.jpg
https://c2.staticflickr.com/2/1604/26141429990_ee2b5e4bd2_b.jpg

[rickztahone]

Very nice Matt. Looking good. Is that an MP10?

[Discus-n00b]

Thanks, yeah MP10 one of the older models. I'd love to upgrade it to the quiet drive model.

[rickztahone]

Thanks, yeah MP10 one of the older models. I'd love to upgrade it to the quiet drive model.

My understanding is that you can buy the piece separate and make it a QD? I bought an old MP20 for super cheap and plan on running that until I can afford a MP10QD. Luckily for me, I now know a guy ;)

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah it's an upgrade kit. I think it'd be around $95 as I'd get the wireless version. But still not to bad, I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

[rickztahone]

Yeah it's an upgrade kit. I think it'd be around $95 as I'd get the wireless version. But still not to bad, I just haven't pulled the trigger yet.

Take this with a grain of salt but I know someone that upgraded and said she didn't see a huge difference like she thought she would. She ended up selling that one and getting a straight up QD

[zchauvin]

Take this with a grain of salt but I know someone that upgraded and said she didn't see a huge difference like she thought she would. She ended up selling that one and getting a straight up QD

+1 to this. Put that thing on RC and then buy a QD. The difference is night and day.

[Discus-n00b]

Depends on how much i'd be able to get for a 3 year old MP10. It's really not that loud to me, I'm not sure the difference is worth the price for me atm. I'd rather use the money to upgrade my skimmer first especially since the lower pipe near the pump has started a small dripping leak. Need a higher quality skimmer that holds its foam head, the eshopps has been dropping it recently and I basically have to reprime it constantly.

[zchauvin]

Depends on how much is be able to get for a 3 year old MP10. It's really not that loud to me, I'm not sure the difference is worth the price for me arm. I'd rather use the money to upgrade my skimmer first especially since the lower pipe near the pump has started a small dripping leak. Need a higher quality skimmer that holds its foam head, the eshopps has been dropping it recently and I basically have to reprime it constantly.

Yeah, hang on back skimmers are terrible. Try to tunze 9004 if you can fit it or the 9001 I believe. Hang on backs are prone to leaking. I just do weekly waterchanges and do not use a skimmer.

[Discus-n00b]

Something I also need to consider is upgrading. I'd love to upgrade the tank so maybe I should just hang on to the money and wait it out lol. No use buying a new HOB skimmer if I'd have a sump on the next system. Would be nice to make the move by the end of the year but still TBD.

Side note, I haven't dosed this tank with anything in a month. Slower growth for sure but still looks great. I want to get back to it, just need to figure out numbers again as far as how much per day.

[zchauvin]

Something I also need to consider is upgrading. I'd love to upgrade the tank so maybe I should just hang on to the money and wait it out lol. No use buying a new HOB skimmer if I'd have a sump on the next system. Would be nice to make the move by the end of the year but still TBD.

Side note, I haven't dosed this tank with anything in a month. Slower growth for sure but still looks great. I want to get back to it, just need to figure out numbers again as far as how much per day.

Yeah I gotcha, be careful for RTN or STN in the Acropora of your calcium or kh gets to far out.

[Discus-n00b]

I'm feeling major regret not drilling my 100gal tank when I had it made. Would make such a nice reef tank, but it's not drilled and an HOB overflow just isn't as good. If it was drilled it would cost me less to turn that into a reef than get a new tank and upgrade almost from scratch. Might look into having to go traditional style rather than a new peninsula, will cost less but not sure yet....not sure it's what I want lol.

[zchauvin]

I'm feeling major regret not drilling my 100gal tank when I had it made. Would make such a nice reef tank, but it's not drilled and an HOB overflow just isn't as good. If it was drilled it would cost me less to turn that into a reef than get a new tank and upgrade almost from scratch. Might look into having to go traditional style rather than a new peninsula, will cost less but not sure yet....not sure it's what I want lol.

Why not drill yourself and put a ghost overflow?

[Discus-n00b]

Don't trust my drill work, especially on the 100gal that cost an arm and a leg. And moving it is a whole other process itself. Don't even know if I can drill the back.

I guess a new custom tank 70gal or under isn't THAT expensive all things considered but I wish I could avoid it haha, more money for stock and such. Originally, and currently, looking at a 36x20x20 type of tank with a ghost overflow/bean animal on a short side, but might look into 36x20x16-18 type. Got to check price difference, only about a 10gal difference I think.

[rickztahone]

Get someone to drill it for you. If you decide to drill yourself. Let me know. I'll shoot you a link for drill guide and bit as well as a few vids. It isn't so difficult. A friend helped me out and after seeing him do it I was like, "I could've done that!". Matter of fact, I'm drilling glass today :)

[Discus-n00b]

I'd have to turn it on it's side though right to keep it wet? That's the problem lol. That's at least a 3 man job, tank is incredibly heavy. And I'd need to move the tropheus out of course first.

Problems 2 and 3 are the glass is scratched and the starphire is on the wrong 3 sides....but that's not a big issue with that size tank I wouldn't care about peninsula. Scratches would be.

[rickztahone]

Actually, let me take that back. Cracked a huge pane of glass just now. I know 2 areas where I went wrong but still lost a good pane of glass lol.

Moral of the story, it is EASY if you do all the necessary steps

[Discus-n00b]

Question is would you be willing to risk a custom made low iron/starphire 100gal that costs over $1000 to do it? LOL That is why I am hesitant. While drilling it may save me money, it could also cost me a lot more money if it goes wrong which is easy to do. I think I'll leave it be for now and start looking into a totally new setup. Going to wait to see what the quotes come back as.

[rickztahone]

Question is would you be willing to risk a custom made low iron/starphire 100gal that costs over $1000 to do it? LOL That is why I am hesitant. While drilling it may save me money, it could also cost me a lot more money if it goes wrong which is easy to do. I think I'll leave it be for now and start looking into a totally new setup. Going to wait to see what the quotes come back as.

If you pay a pro to come do it they'd probably do it for a good amount but you'd still be able to save over a new tank

[Bala de Plata]

I drilled a $2k+ low iron 150g tank, three times as a matter fact.

Oh, I'm also Ric's friend.. Lol

It can be done very simply, just gotta plan it out to the T.

[Discus-n00b]

Been having nutrient/algae type issues. Not really issues, but algae seems to be springing up fairly quickly. More than my WCs seem to be taking care of it. Could be because my skimmer isn't running correctly 24/7, just keeps losing the prime it seems. I guess I need to bite the bullet and get a new skimmer. Was trying to wait for an upgrade but I think this may be one of those smart investments you need to make even before selling/trading your car. Thinking about putting an Algae scrubber into this setup as well just to have more passive nutrient export....or re-direction really. Any thoughts?

[rickztahone]

Been having nutrient/algae type issues. Not really issues, but algae seems to be springing up fairly quickly. More than my WCs seem to be taking care of it. Could be because my skimmer isn't running correctly 24/7, just keeps losing the prime it seems. I guess I need to bite the bullet and get a new skimmer. Was trying to wait for an upgrade but I think this may be one of those smart investments you need to make even before selling/trading your car. Thinking about putting an Algae scrubber into this setup as well just to have more passive nutrient export....or re-direction really. Any thoughts?

If you have plans for a future tank, make sure you get a skimmer that will cover the new tank dims and stocking nicely rather than getting one to fit your current tank. I like the idea of algae scrubbers. Joey (King of DIY) had a cool build thread on one that looked pretty useful. I also saw this one:


https://youtu.be/UOSI5WhlNAA

[Discus-n00b]

I would Ricardo but the problem is a new tank would be drilled and have a sump and a skimmer that lives there, for this tank I pretty much have to go HOB with whatever I do currently.

[rickztahone]

I would Ricardo but the problem is a new tank would be drilled and have a sump and a skimmer that lives there, for this tank I pretty much have to go HOB with whatever I do currently.

oh crud, I forgot you have to go HOB. Well, in that case I would shop used locally and hope for the best and try to get some back when selling which almost never happens. You may have to part it out and that way you can get close to what you paid for it.

[Discus-n00b]

If my thinking is correct, and knowing myself if I buy a new skimmer now it can come in handy when I do upgrade as I can just run it on the current tank as I intend to still have it running with a softie/RBTA type tank lol. Guess it can all work out. I suppose I can always look at the externals too and just plumb it in.

[rickztahone]

If my thinking is correct, and knowing myself if I buy a new skimmer now it can come in handy when I do upgrade as I can just run it on the current tank as I intend to still have it running with a softie/RBTA type tank lol. Guess it can all work out. I suppose I can always look at the externals too and just plumb it in.

No space what-so-ever to put a sump under your current tank?

[Discus-n00b]

I can make space, but how badly do I want to go through it? Then we start talking about drilling a tank again, housing livestock while that happens, etc. Ugh it'd be nice but not sure I want to go through the trouble on an established system. Much easier doing it on a fresh system.

[rickztahone]

I can make space, but how badly do I want to go through it? Then we start talking about drilling a tank again, housing livestock while that happens, etc. Ugh it'd be nice but not sure I want to go through the trouble on an established system. Much easier doing it on a fresh system.

I mean you already have a HOB skimmer, you can have a HOB U bend to get water down to your sump temporarily without drilling your tank. It isn't ideal, but it is an option.

[Bala de Plata]

Ever looked into a Mame overflow? No drilling required

https://reefbuilders.com/2014/01/20/mame-nano-overflow-review/

[ktm4us6]

I have a hang on back overflow on my 29g reef tank going to a 15g sump with no problems. Skimmer, heater are in the sump.

[Discus-n00b]

Now y'all are seriously making me think about drilling this tank. I can bear breaking this more than a 100gal if it comes to that. I just need to research and see if I can actually drill this tank, business went under not to long ago. Wheels are turning. Have a lot to decide.

[rickztahone]

Now y'all are seriously making me think about drilling this tank. I can bear breaking this more than a 100gal if it comes to that. I just need to research and see if I can actually drill this tank, business went under not to long ago. Wheels are turning. Have a lot to decide.

Sunglass and LED torch to find out if it is tempered. Hardly any manufacturer uses it for sides though.

[Discus-n00b]

Is Starphire/low iron glass tempered? Can it be either or? It's a starphire cube so I'm basically trusting the manufactuer/builder as to what the front/sides are by where he placed his sticker. That doesn't mean it's correct though. Basically the pane I'm using as my front now may not actually be the designed front of the tank being a cube.

I'm also adding up full upgrade costs. If I'm putting money into a sump, new skimmer, overflow, etc then how much of that would be in an entire new build. Might be worth it to spend a bit more and get a new tank at the same time. Back to the calculator.

Speaking of new tank, if you plan a 20" wide tank, then use a 18" ghost overflow, would you just run your returns locline over the top? Any other ideas since there won't be any room beside the overflow to run returns? Putting them any lower would risk suction correct?

[rickztahone]

Is Starphire/low iron glass tempered? Can it be either or? It's a starphire cube so I'm basically trusting the manufactuer/builder as to what the front/sides are by where he placed his sticker. That doesn't mean it's correct though. Basically the pane I'm using as my front now may not actually be the designed front of the tank being a cube.

I'm also adding up full upgrade costs. If I'm putting money into a sump, new skimmer, overflow, etc then how much of that would be in an entire new build. Might be worth it to spend a bit more and get a new tank at the same time. Back to the calculator.

Speaking of new tank, if you plan a 20" wide tank, then use a 18" ghost overflow, would you just run your returns locline over the top? Any other ideas since there won't be any room beside the overflow to run returns? Putting them any lower would risk suction correct?

Correct. If you are set on drilling the tank, then don't get an internal overflow. Simply silicone one in to place on your own. If you will have a black back, simply go get some black acrylic and silicone it to place. Then, you can do a return that goes through the back wall via BH's and then through the inner overflow. Had I more room than my 11.5" glass pane that is the approach I would have done on mine. To be honest, I only resort to loc line because I had to. However, in your situation, I would do as I said above, but when you are at the inner overflow, simply drill out a 3/4" bulkhead and use a low profile strainer. This would GREATLY reduce the intrusive look that I so desperately love in my tank designs. YMMV of course.

[Discus-n00b]

New FTS from today. Need to top it up but won't have RO water on hand until tomorrow. Still not dosing, simple WCs. Keep it simple right? More out of laziness currently I'd say though....still doing quite well though! Kind of a quick dirty shot, have my HOB on the tank on the left just to clear it up after a WC and stiring things up and still have the screen net on top...not very photogenic but it's about whats in the tank right?? Sometimes I still surprise myself how well a 15gal full of SPS is doing. So many people said it couldn't be done or would be incredibly tough.

https://c2.staticflickr.com/8/7535/27655158945_12101b9302_o.jpg

[rickztahone]

SPS is looking really great in there. I'm surprised you are not dosing considering you have an Apex! I plan on getting a Bubble Magus T11 and probably make some custom acrylic dosing containers since they will need to be special dims for me to fit them in the stand.

[Discus-n00b]

Well like I said, its more so out of pure laziness than anything lol. Meant to get back on it but just haven't. Found a sort of groove with WCs and haven't really cared to change it, though I'm sure I could push more growth out by dosing.

[rickztahone]

Well like I said, its more so out of pure laziness than anything lol. Meant to get back on it but just haven't. Found a sort of groove with WCs and haven't really cared to change it, though I'm sure I could push more growth out by dosing.

What would you dose prior? I am thinking of keeping it simple and go two-part and mag

[Discus-n00b]

I was doing two part and MG, then I did a little Kalk to keep my pH up a bit to hinder algae growth. Didn't do it long enough to really get a preference for either but kalk is so much cheaper.

[rickztahone]

I was doing two part and MG, then I did a little Kalk to keep my pH up a bit to hinder algae growth. Didn't do it long enough to really get a preference for either but kalk is so much cheaper.

Not sure if you remember the 400g tank I photographed? Well he doses kalk only. However, the more I research kalk, the more I fear overdosing. Did you have it set up with an ATO or stand alone?

[Discus-n00b]

Yeah it's a fear. I was stand alone dripping it with my Apex controlling on/off at certain pH levels. Seemed to work pretty good. Seems most people I read using it not in a dedicated reactor are using it in ATO.

[rickztahone]

Yeah it's a fear. I was stand alone dripping it with my Apex controlling on/off at certain pH levels. Seemed to work pretty good. Seems most people I read using it not in a dedicated reactor are using it in ATO.

I have read the same.

[Discus-n00b]

Update. Still chock full of algae, really just been on cruise control for a while. Kind of been neglected to an extent....still surprised at how well this tank is doing for my shoddy maintenance/care. Here are some quick bad photos of a filthy tank!

This tank is roughly right at 3 years old now, though I did have one crash a year in but ran the tank through it, so 3 total but 2 as it stands now.

https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/692/31443756230_1023c9b736_h.jpgfts Dec 2016 ('https://flic.kr/p/PUztf7') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr
https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/344/31778893086_d568aa5b68_h.jpgfts Dec 2016 ('https://flic.kr/p/Qqc8KL') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr
https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/754/31443754180_5954932588_h.jpgNeedles in a Haystack ('https://flic.kr/p/PUzsCL') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr
https://c7.staticflickr.com/1/260/31443752190_fa4300f1f9_h.jpgWarfare ('https://flic.kr/p/PUzs3s') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr
https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/430/31443758340_68185ade5a_h.jpgCali Tort ('https://flic.kr/p/PUztSu') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr
https://c5.staticflickr.com/6/5611/31778891836_eff37f1750_h.jpgGreen Slimer ('https://flic.kr/p/Qqc8od') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr

Be sure to check out the two little new growth sprouts on the left side, pretty cool.
https://c5.staticflickr.com/1/569/31443757620_91acf2c7be_h.jpgCoral Tops ('https://flic.kr/p/PUztE5') by Matt ('https://www.flickr.com/photos/scmatt/'), on Flickr

[rickztahone]

Very nice Matt. Looking really nice.