swannyson7
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REEF SPOTLIGHT - December 2012
The Reef Aquarium of:
John Thai aka "Nuocmam"
You can also check out John's tank build here on R2R:
https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/member-tanks/87236-nuocmams-90-a.html
Introduction
Thank you so much for even considering my tank worthy of a Reef Spotlight. Big thanks to REV and Team R2R for creating such a fun, friendly, family oriented atmosphere here which makes R2R so awesome. People only see the good things in my tank but I can see the ugly too. It's been a little over 5 years since I got started in this hobby. I've had so many ups and downs, but maybe that's why I keep at it. Perhaps it's the challenge that I enjoy. It all started when a friend of mine was upgrading to larger tank and was looking to sell a 29G tank. Every time we were over his place, my wife and kids always ooh'd and aah'd over his tank. We had discussed it at length and I had always maintained that it was just too much work and I wasn't willing to add more to what we already had going. One day my friend called to say that he was parked in my driveway and to come outside. When I went outside he had his old 29G, the stand, and a few miscellaneous items in the back of his truck. He told me it was mine and asked me to help him carry it inside. With the wife and kids all excited, it was hard to tell him to drive it back home.
To be honest, I didn't want anything to do with it and told my wife and kids that it was going to be their responsibility. Every time I turned around, it seemed like she was dumping money into the darn thing. Our first coral was some clove polyps that I didn't know why they wouldn't sway back and forth like they did at the pet store. I called up my buddy and he asked if the powerhead he had given me was working properly. My first question to him was "What's a powerhead?" I realized that I knew nothing and it was then that my borderline OCD behavior kicked in and I took charge of the tank. We had that tank up for about about a 1 1/2 years until I found a deal on the 90G we have now through my local reef forum.
The guy who sold it to me tried his best to sell me some sps along with it, but I wanted nothing to do with the sticks, as I heard they were difficult to keep. He ended up giving me a couple frags of digitata and birdsnest anyways. I went to buy some softies and LPS from another local reefer that was breaking down his tank and he gave me a couple acros as well. After doing some internet research and seeing a few tanks packed full of them, I was hooked and wanted a new challenge. And boy has it been one... This tank has been up since January of 2009. Many people ask me when I'm going to upgrade, but I don't see the point unless I feel that I have, to some degree, mastered what I have now.
System Profile
Display tank: 90g Oceanic 48x18x24
Glass or Acrylic:Glass.
Stand: Custom stand made by previous owner.
Sump: My sump is an empty 30g long. No baffles.
Protein Skimmer: ATB 840 V2
Carbon/phosphate filtration: BRS high capacity GFO and whatever carbon I find a deal on. Sometimes I run it in a NextReef reactor and other times I run it in filter bags, depending on what I think the tank needs.
Return Pump: Eheim 1262
Water circulation: Two Vortech MP40W and one MP10W synced, in Reefcrest mode.
Lighting: ATI Power Module (6x54w) and two 24" blue ReefBrite strips.
Calcium/alkalinity/magnesium dosing: Dosing BRS 2-3 part via Profilux doser.
Auto top-off: Tunze Osmolator 5017.
RO/DI: Spectrapure MaxCap 90
Heating: 150w Ebo Jager and a 200w Marineland Stealth
Cooling: . No chiller used, just a couple fans across the back of the tank.
System control: Aqua Controller Jr.
Water Parameters
*Temp: 78F via AcJr temp probe.
*pH: 7.8-8.2 via AcJr pH probe. I've been running a CO2 scrubber for about a year to keep it within an acceptable range.
*Salinity: 35ppm.
*Ammonia: Don't test.
*Nitrate: Less than 5ppm via Elos. I run WM EcoBak pellets to keep it in check.
*Nitrite: Don't test.
*Phosphate: Undetectable. I used to own a Hanna Checker, but now I use the growth of nuisance algae and SPS coloration as a guage.
*Calcium: 420ppm via Salifert.
*Alkilinity: 8 dKH via Elos.
*Magnesium: 1400 via Elos.
Lighting Summary & Objectives
The 2 24" Blue ReefBrites are mounted to the front inside of my canopy. I'm currently using the following bulb combination:
ATI Blue+
Geismann Super Actinic
ATI Purple+
ATI Blue+
ATI Blue+
ATI Coral+
The Super Actinic lamp is sometimes swapped with a Blue+ when I get tired of seeing everything so blue.
Lighting Photoperiod
12:00 PM: ReefBrites ON
1:00 PM: (1) Blue+ & (1) Super Actinic ON
1:30 PM: (2) Blue+, (1) Coral+, & (1) Purple+ ON
7:00 PM: (2) Blue+, (1) Coral+, & (1) Purple+ OFF
10:00 PM: (1) Blue+ & (1) Super Actinic OFF
11:00 PM: ReefBrites OFF
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