Who Doesn't Love Peninsulas? 40BR BB Mixed Reef - LED/T5 Hybrid

ChouDawg

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My past tank was 12" Mr. Aqua 8.5G AIO, with my recent move I decided to "upgrade" and finally take a dip into a full size reef complete with overflow, refugium and a big ol skimmer.

Lighting is provided by a 36" Teklight that I removed four of the six T5 bulbs from, one ballast and added in two tubular heatsinks w/ pressurized cooling fans. The LEDs consist of four Philips Luxeon M RB 12W LEDs, two Philips Luxeon M NW 12W LEDs and eight StevesLED HV 3W LEDs. These are paired with a set of LET Miro-4 reflectors with ATI Coral Plus bulbs. LEDs are driven by Meanwell ELN drivers and controlled by a FlamingSystems DIM4.

Start Date: 10/25/2013

Hardware
Aqueon "40G" Breeder
20L Sump w/ DIY Glass Baffles - Center return chamber w/ refugium
Herbie Style Overlow - Hang on rim, tri-outlet returns
SWC 160 Cone Skimmer
2x Eheim Jager 100W Heaters
American DJ Power Switch
Reefkeeper Lite w/ SL1 + ATO / pH
Tom's Aqualifter ATO Pump
DIY 2x4 Stand w/ pine skinning held on by magnets
DIY 3/4" Conduit Light Hanger
DIY Mesh Top With BRS 1/4" Clear Netting
Jebao DC-6000 Return Pump
BRS Deluxe Reactor w/ Carbon/GFO
Vortech MP10 Circulation Pump
Custom Tek 36" T5HO/LED Hybrid Light

Livestock
Pair of Hybrid Percula/Ocellaris Clownfish
Starry Blenny
McCosker Wrasse
Misc CUC

Corals
Rose Bubble Tip Anemone
Tricolor Birdsnest
Tricolor Stylophora
Tricolor Acropora
Light Blue Acropora
Green Tip Purple Polyp Birdsnest
Forest Fire Digitata
Neon Green Frogspawn
Neon Green Hammer
Mint Tip Torch
LA Laker Montipora
Jedi Mind Tricks Montipora
Cutie Montipora
Green Monitpora Capricornis
Bali Green Slimer
Various Acans
Various Zoas/Palys
Varios Ricordeas

03/15/2014
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Past FTS
02/01/2014
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01/17/2014
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01/04/2014
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Thanks for tagging along, tank is almost five months old and in its infancy. Can't wait for it to mature and fill out :bounce:
 
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ChouDawg

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gorgeous!

Awesome! Tank looks great.

Beautiful! You should be proud :)

So beautiful!

Thanks everyone, you're all too kind! I am still in the mindset that it's not quite perfect but I think I just need to sit back, stop messing with it and watch it grow. I do think even with 5G water changes weekly I'm going to need to start dosing, some inner parts of my big birdsnest colonies are bleeching out, not sure if its lack of light or nutrients. Any suggestions on how to dive into testing/dosing are welcomed. A calc reactor is probably not needed for a tank my size. And I really want to get my BP online to turn my fuge into a frag tank :p
 
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ChouDawg

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The tank is 170 days old today, almost half a year!

Equipment and livestock wise nothing has changed, with the exception of the Bluefish LED controller that I'm patiently waiting for ...I did try to get my DIY recirculating BP reactor online a few times but gave up with priming issues. I'll have to re-design it or swoop up a pre-made one if I find one for cheap.

So the past few weeks I have been noticing a slow decline in my LPS/SPS and I couldn't figure out why. SPS were losing PE, color was fading away and acan frags were melting. My LPS weren't as plump and seemed a bit bleached but the fish were happy, the zoas were doing great and the anemone was gigantic. I had been using a big 200 gallon bag of regular Red Sea salt and was down to my last 50 gallons or so. Even with weekly water changes, the corals that needed the big three from the water column just seemed to be crawling along and some falling behind.

I decided it was time for a change so I ordered a Red Sea Reef Foundation Test Kit and a bucket of Red Sea Coral Pro salt. My hunch was the levels of the big three were very low in my system even with regular water changes the corals were using it too quickly.

Against my good judgement and what most people would suggest...I decided to do a 5 gallon water change entirely with RCSP, my test kit didn't arrive until a few days later. I wanted to mix RCSP exactly as they describe on YouTube to see if it really worked and it did! Perfectly crystal clear water in just 6 minutes with room temperature RODI, fastest water change ever!

Anyways, the next day I instantly noticed better PE, colors and overall coral health! I decided to do another 5 gallon water change the next day with RCSP following the same process and again the corals continued to look better. Today I used my RC test kit and got the following numbers:

pH: 7.9
Calcium: 405
Alk [KH]: 4.6!?
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(I did this test twice, very little titrant was needed to see the color change)

Magnesium (Mg): 1240

For all you reef chemistry gurus out there, what should I do from here? I heard GFO has a tendency to lower pH/alk and not having any fresh air near the tank can cause low pH as well. I've been running GFO since the tank was started and I try to open my windows/doors whenever possible. The next 5 gallon water change I do with RCSP I will be testing the fresh made water to make sure the levels of my mix are per the label and to make sure I don't have a bad batch.

Left FTS
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ISO FTS
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Right FTS
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View From The End
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It's Lonely On Top

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Mint Chocolate Icecream Cone
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Unknown Zoas Make Another Appearance
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SPS Grow Faster!

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Magician Mini Colony

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Slippery Slope

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Thanks for visiting!
 

revhtree

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Awesome!
 

alan.reef

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crisp water and tank looking great.
can share what you using to take picture?
 
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ChouDawg

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Wow, those are some amazing photos!!!

Looking good!


Wow you have an awesome tank going.

Great looking reef!

just beautiful

crisp water and tank looking great.
can share what you using to take picture?

I have a Canon T3i and I alternate between my 50mm F1.8 and my Sigma 17-50mm F2.8. The FTS I try to replicate each time with a tripod. For the rest except the macros are hand held.

Thanks everyone for the support, I'm hoping once I get my parameters in check I can expect better growth, color and stability. If anyone has any tips on getting my parameters I measured a few days ago up top in check I'd greatly appreciate it!
 
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