The new "reef"....

[MCHRKiller]

Well I finally got around to tearing down my 55G today...and let me tell you there was WAY WAY more rock in there than I ever thought. I always assumed I had about 70-80lbs, nope more like well over 100. So since I have became attached to my awesome coraline growth I couldnt bare to part with pretty much all of it. So I decided "hey that 50G is empty" so the reef will be going into the 50G instead of the 20G. I have spent the day wiring up plumbing...this thing is going to have mad circulation and avoid all the BS that was plaguing the 55G for the last 6 months. First off here is the specs:

2x39watt T5HO Current...Im actually going to see how this goes, I only have a few polyps and mushrooms left as I traded off most of the coral. As it was bought for FW I need to replace the pink bulb with an actinic but for a few days it should be fine.

1 Rio 6HF...running a rather interesting spraybar I have rigged up for the bottom of the tank.

2 Koralia 1s

1 Koralia Nano

1 AquaClear 110 "refugium" this will be ran reverse daylight

1 Fluval 206 Canister going to load it with long lasting chemical media and clean it once per month...will try a prefilter sponge to eliminate waste build up.

I added the contents of the cycling 20G to the 50 with some new water...will scape it tomorrow so I can get the rock out of various containers scattered all over my house. I even had to break down and use my favorite stock pot to hold rock because I ran out of places to put it:hmm3grin2orange:

[Cliff]

And here my wife tore me a new one when she found some driftwood in one of her pots :hmm3grin2orange:

I'm looking forward to the pics Jenn

Sounds like a great set-up

[Lady Hobbs]

Ahhhhhh.......anxiious to see this tank too. I know it's gonna be great.

[MCHRKiller]

lol, sometimes ya have to put stuff where ya can. I must also say that Magic Kleen stuff from Hydro does not remove all of coraline it just takes the first couple of layers off. I may opt for some larger koralias I have in storage which will be cleaner than these. Heck its bare bottom not like I have to worry about sand flying around :14:

I hope it is an improvement over the 55G, the narrowness of them makes it so difficult to get circulation...I also feel I had too much light on it for its width and lack of circulation. I also discovered when the SO and I hauled it out of the house the center brace was cracked pretty bad so good thing I got rid of it when I did.

[MCHRKiller]

Alas I wound up dumping a 20lb bag of tahitian moon sand in the tank...I couldnt get the rock to stack right...and I was afraid of scratching the tank bottom over time. It is a very very fine layer, just about 1/4", it is also easy to vacuum tahitian moon unlike sugar sized aragonite...so I dont expect as many problems. Plus the black looks pretty awesome :11:

[chrisfraser05]

I'm getting pretty excited about seeing this tank too :)

[MCHRKiller]

I also just ordered a replacement bulb for the Current fixture, went with an Azoo 420nm actinic...mainly because it was cheap. I also discovered when setting up the fixture they included the 12K lamp instead of the 10K so it should look better once it clears. I also picked up a Koralia 550 Evolution pump...it was on sale for under $18 on BigAls if anyone is interested.

Right now I have 2 Koralia 2s on each end facing the middle of the tank....I will have a Koralia 1 and the Koralia 550 on the back wall facing the front on either end of the AC110 return. I swear to any deity if there is a dead spot in this tank I will scream :hmm3grin2orange:

Edit:

Link to super cheap Koralia!

http://www.bigalsonline.com/fish/koralia-evolution-pump-550.html

[MCHRKiller]

I got the 'Fuge up and working...I am surprised at how much media space my section in the AC110 allows. I have a 250ML bag of Sea Gel, 100ML of Purigen, 2 AC50 bags of Carbon, and a PolyFilter cut in half and layered. I *may* not use the Fluval 206 I will see how nutrients are over the next month. I only have Chaeto in the Fuge section...not going to add rubble as it will only hold debris. The Fuge light is a 2.5G incandescent strip with a 6500K 10watt CFL. I simply placed it on top of the AC110 lid. The light is reverse daylight coming on 2 hours after the main tank light goes off and going off 2 hours before it comes back on. I may make it the full OFF period, but for now I am going to see how this works. Many people claim over time the algae will grow into the screen of the return forming somewhat of an algae scrubber. Time will also tell on that one.

All of the critters, corals and fish are back in the tank. The corals all opened, curly Q anemones are out, fish are well adjusted. So far so good. I did suffer one casualty during the move...and that was my female black clown who i found dried up behind the holding tank. I am down to only the 1 clown, 1 damsel, and 1 royal gramma. I will probably add 1 flame angel and call it stocked.

[MCHRKiller]

So far Im loving the new tank and scape :11:
http://i933.photobucket.com/albums/ad180/MCHRKiller/DSC_1927.jpg

[Cliff]

I'm lov'n the look with the black sand

Great job with the tank

[chrisfraser05]

that looks really really nice!

[Old Marine]

I Like it! Outstanding jobthumbs2:

[ScottishFish]

Looks great! thumbs2:

[Crispy]

Nice reef Jenn. I'm working on my first reef atm and really enjoying it. :18:

[MCHRKiller]

Thanks guys! Im getting a few more coral frags including a GSP, Blue mushroom, orange and green bay packer zoas. Guy should be shipping those on monday :11:

[hockeyhead019]

Really diggin the black sand, didn't think I'd like it honestly but it makes everything else pop a little more... cool set up Jenn!

[MCHRKiller]

Thanks! I think I like the black sand better than the typical aragonite. Im also really seeing the benefits of a reverse daylight fuge...I am only seeing minimal diatoms on the glass since the tank swap. My 2 turbos are easily keeping up with it.

[kaybee]

Great tank!

[sheamurai]

very nice!

(looking up Sea Gel)

[sheamurai]

Interesting.

In other posts you recommend/used Chemi-pure Elite. Do prefer the combo of purigen and Sea Gel over the Chemi-Pure?

[MCHRKiller]

I got the SeaGel to try it, Drs f&s was back-ordered on the size of chemi-pure elite i needed. The SeaGel is doing what it needs to with removing nitrates and phosphate. However I do prefer Chemi-Pure elite because it does so much more than just controlling nutrients. The CPE also improves ionic exchange, stabilizes pH, raises redox, and has nearly no impact on trace elements. It also lasts a little longer.

[sheamurai]

Oh, good, lol. I'm a fan of the Chemi-Pure myself, I think its doing a great job of keeping my water optimal.