120G Rimless shallow peninsula tank

Janci · May 8, 2017

As the tank was started with new rodi water mixed with Tropic Marin salt, live rock, extra water from the holding tank where the live rock was kept for several months, and clean sand, I do not expect a big cycle. A cycle will always be there, but a spike is not expected.
The first fishes were added yesterday.
To rest more asure about the bacterial growth, I added some Dr.Tim's One&Only before adding the fish.

This also brings up the rest of the planned live stock.
In my previous tanks I had too much fish. Meaning that if the tank was laid out for 10 fish, I would have 12 or 13.
This system is 780L. When I deduct the glass thickness, rocks and sand, there remains 700L in total more or less. Glass thickness is a big factor in aquarium volume calculations.
With 700L (or 180 gallon) I could add (rule of thumb "½ an inch of fully grown fish per gallon of water") 90 inch of fully grown fish. That is 2.30 meter of fish and that is a lot.
So the idea is the following:
- 2 picasso clown fish (already in the tank) with their anemone
- tomini tang
- white tail bristletooth tang
- kole yellow eye tang
- 2-3 wrasse
- royal gramma basslet
- alge blenny (or similar)
- diamond watchman goby
- engineer goby

I like a shoal of fish and more in particular anthias. But i am not sure about the feeding. Most of them need several feedings a day and I am not at home that much to be able to keep an eye on them all day.
Please give your comments if any.

Janci · May 8, 2017

prsnlty said:
Yeah I thought that was going to be too much blue But, some people like that...
Can you get a hold of the Giesemann D-D Midday T5 or Power Chrome Tropic T5? I am pretty sure those are comparable to the ATI Coral+.

Will take a look in the lfs. I find T5 not to be readily available here and need to be requested for shipment.
The Red Sea Reef-Spec Blue/white (15.000K) bulb is available, but I do not have any review about that.
To be continued.

prsnlty · May 8, 2017

You could feed the anthias in the morning, when you get home and right before bed

Nice fish list! I have a 180g and have 4 tangs, coral beauty, 2 wrasses, 6 chromis, 2 osc clowns, 3 LG pj cardinals, 5 Bangaii cardinals, bi color blenny, orange spot goby... no more fish room for anthias

Mattres · May 8, 2017

prsnlty said:
Yeah I thought that was going to be too much blue But, some people like that...

Can you get a hold of the Giesemann D-D Midday T5 or Power Chrome Tropic T5? I am pretty sure those are comparable to the ATI Coral+.

I could be wrong but I'm 90% sure the Giesemann equivalent to Coral+ is the Giesemann "AquaBlue Coral"
And the D-D "Lagoon Blue"
I recently had a look into them as I had to decide which bulbs to get, it made my head spin.. lol

@Janci the scape looks great I think. Plenty of room for coral growth and negative space.
It might be a challenge to scape a peninsula tank but you are rewarded with two great views of the tank!

sebastiaan1985 · May 8, 2017

Janci said:
With the peninsula style you have to double the view options and that makes the scaping a little more tricky.
I am fine with it now as it gives good views from all angles and options for the future.

Nice scape! Will look good when corals start growing, and even now, it looks cool.
Keep those pictures coming

!

prsnlty · May 8, 2017

Mattres said:
I could be wrong but I'm 90% sure the Giesemann equivalent to Coral+ is the Giesemann "AquaBlue Coral"
And the D-D "Lagoon Blue"
I recently had a look into them as I had to decide which bulbs to get, it made my head spin.. lol

@Janci the scape looks great I think. Plenty of room for coral growth and negative space.
It might be a challenge to scape a peninsula tank but you are rewarded with two great views of the tank!

The ones I mentioned BRS suggested when I was looking for their daylight bulb comparable to coral+. (Coral+ is my favorite but wanted to test Giesemann) He said they stopped production on several of their bulbs so they have the most current ones. Although some vendors may still have the old bulbs.

Janci · May 8, 2017

Tested the parameters today:

PH is at 8.00

ethridge78 · May 8, 2017

Beautiful setup

Mattres · May 8, 2017

prsnlty said:
The ones I mentioned BRS suggested when I was looking for their daylight bulb comparable to coral+. (Coral+ is my favorite but wanted to test Giesemann) He said they stopped production on several of their bulbs so they have the most current ones. Although some vendors may still have the old bulbs.

Okay that's interesting. There's was a thread somewhere comparing the new Giesemanns to the ATI and they overlayed the spectral graph and the coral+ and Aquablue coral were almost identical. I wonder what BRS used as their info.

Janci said:
Tested the parameters today:

PH is at 8.00

The parameters look spot on!
Having the rock all cured and ready to go definitely paid off!

prsnlty · May 8, 2017

Mattres said:
Okay that's interesting. There's was a thread somewhere comparing the new Giesemanns to the ATI and they overlayed the spectral graph and the coral+ and Aquablue coral were almost identical. I wonder what BRS used as their info.

Oh??? Maybe someone told me wrong hmmm. I did think it was kind of odd at the time but upon checking the Giesemann site for something else a week or so later they had a page showing bulbs that were being discontinued that I assumed what I was told was accurate. They have sooooo many bulbs that after a bit I decided to stick with what I've been using. The ATI bulbs are terrific and it wasn't important to change at the time anyway.

Janci · May 8, 2017

prsnlty said:
Oh??? Maybe someone told me wrong hmmm. I did think it was kind of odd at the time but upon checking the Giesemann site for something else a week or so later they had a page showing bulbs that were being discontinued that I assumed what I was told was accurate. They have sooooo many bulbs that after a bit I decided to stick with what I've been using. The ATI bulbs are terrific and it wasn't important to change at the time anyway.

As far as I know there is very little difference between the ATI and Giesemann bulbs. Visually they are similar and they are all made in the same factory in Germany.
I guess now with LED more popular, the interest to run for the best bulb is not that high between companies.
In that ATI/Giesemann comparison thread they measure PAR levels and visual appearance.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WHuol0uRn2W7Jk-rxYWmtNgUF-lkY_VlUpAiNsMwME4/pub

Mattres · May 8, 2017

That's the thread I was thinking of.
I think at the end of the day you can be successful with lots of combinations and it's up to the personal preference of the user to decide the final look. Their naming sometimes just makes it hard to know which bulbs are similar between brands lol

I like your fish list @Janci
I feel the same way about having Anthias, would love a group but don't think I can provide enough feeds through the day.
I leave for work to early to feed leaving only late afternoon and night to get all their food.

prsnlty · May 9, 2017

Janci said:
As far as I know there is very little difference between the ATI and Giesemann bulbs. Visually they are similar and they are all made in the same factory in Germany.
I guess now with LED more popular, the interest to run for the best bulb is not that high between companies.
In that ATI/Giesemann comparison thread they measure PAR levels and visual appearance.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1WHuol0uRn2W7Jk-rxYWmtNgUF-lkY_VlUpAiNsMwME4/pub

True, even the KZ brand lol. And personally I feel like pur is just as important as par, possibly moreso. I was looking at the t5 replacement led. I find them interesting but I don't think I would put my trust in them just yet. Corals grow great under t5 without all the heat of MH or cost of LED.

Janci · May 9, 2017

@Mattres
@prsnlty
What schedule do you run your T5 fixture?
I run as below
Red = 2 Crystal Blue (20000K)
White = Pigment INT and Spectra+ (19000K)
Purple = UV and Actinic
Blue = 2 Crystal Blue

Total of about 12 hours with 8 hours all on 80%.
The Pigment INT and Spectra+ go for 5 hours on 100%.

Mattres · May 9, 2017

Janci said:
@Mattres
@prsnlty
What schedule do you run your T5 fixture?
I run as below
Red = 2 Crystal Blue (20000K)
White = Pigment INT and Spectra+ (19000K)
Purple = UV and Actinic
Blue = 2 Crystal Blue

Total of about 12 hours with 8 hours all on 80%.
The Pigment INT and Spectra+ go for 5 hours on 100%.

Despite all my T5 talk I've never actually used T5s! lol just reaserched a lot. So not sure I'm the best person to ask.
Saying that in my Giesemann Spectra I'll be running soon I plan to run two actinic bulbs for 12 hours and two aquablue coral for 10 hours.

prsnlty · May 9, 2017

This is probably the best explanation on photosynthesis and how much light and what type of light your corals need and for how long.

My layout 1st: I have a 180g (72x24x24) peninsula with my rock running down the center but a foot away from the glass at each end. Both my overflows are live rock as is 1 freestanding return column at the opposite end so even coverage is important to me. T5s 80w ATI and LEDS are Aquailluminations Sol Blue
Blue+
Coral+
Purple+
2x LED
Purple+
Coral+
Blue+

The leds mimick sun up/down, moon up/down and phases as well as clouds. This is not just for looks or growth. It's important for spawning but also to keep it as natural as possible. My powerheads go into night mode as The Moon Rises for example. The lighting schedule therefore is different altogether for the leds than the t5s but set in combination with them. They are white, blue and royal blue. Royal blue is on the longest then blue and whites at midday. Moon phases are in royal blue and total darkness at 3am to 6am. All light colors are on 1 hr ramp up/down from 0 to 65% except whites at 30% max until spring summer then max is 75% & 40%
Royal blue 6am - 8pm (winter) 10pm (summer)
Blue 7am - 7pm (w) 9pm (s)
White 10 am - 4pm (w) 5pm (s)

T5s:
2x blue+ 8am - 7pm (w) 8pm (s)
2x purple+ 9:30 am - 6pm (w) 7pm (s)
2x coral+ 10:30am - 4pm (w) 5pm (s)

1st pic is midday (All on), 2nd no whites or purple and ramping down, last pic with purple no white.

prsnlty · May 9, 2017

Mattres said:
Despite all my T5 talk I've never actually used T5s! lol just reaserched a lot. So not sure I'm the best person to ask.
Saying that in my Giesemann Spectra I'll be running soon I plan to run two actinic bulbs for 12 hours and two aquablue coral for 10 hours.

Blues are ok for 10- 12 hours ( especially if you can ramp them up and down) but daylight/whites more like 6-8 hrs. Give the video a look it is really informative on what your corals actually need for photosynthesis

Mattres · May 9, 2017

prsnlty said:
Blues are ok for 10- 12 hours ( especially if you can ramp them up and down) but daylight/whites more like 6-8 hrs. Give the video a look it is really informative on what your corals actually need for photosynthesis

Ok thanks I will!

Janci · May 10, 2017

prsnlty said:
This is probably the best explanation on photosynthesis and how much light and what type of light your corals need and for how long.

My layout 1st: I have a 180g (72x24x24) peninsula with my rock running down the center but a foot away from the glass at each end. Both my overflows are live rock as is 1 freestanding return column at the opposite end so even coverage is important to me. T5s 80w ATI and LEDS are Aquailluminations Sol Blue
Blue+
Coral+
Purple+
2x LED
Purple+
Coral+
Blue+

The leds mimick sun up/down, moon up/down and phases as well as clouds. This is not just for looks or growth. It's important for spawning but also to keep it as natural as possible. My powerheads go into night mode as The Moon Rises for example. The lighting schedule therefore is different altogether for the leds than the t5s but set in combination with them. They are white, blue and royal blue. Royal blue is on the longest then blue and whites at midday. Moon phases are in royal blue and total darkness at 3am to 6am. All light colors are on 1 hr ramp up/down from 0 to 65% except whites at 30% max until spring summer then max is 75% & 40%
Royal blue 6am - 8pm (winter) 10pm (summer)
Blue 7am - 7pm (w) 9pm (s)
White 10 am - 4pm (w) 5pm (s)

T5s:
2x blue+ 8am - 7pm (w) 8pm (s)
2x purple+ 9:30 am - 6pm (w) 7pm (s)
2x coral+ 10:30am - 4pm (w) 5pm (s)

This is a very well thought lighting schedule and thank you for sharing, Jackie.
I have to be honest and will go completely through your thread now. Lol... I have the habit of checking the first and last pages only to see the evolution but will go more in detail on yours.
The video confirmed what I was expecting that lots of light is not necessary. I experienced this in my previous tank where when I started with only 4 bulbs and later changed to 8. The coral growth was better in the first period. As I also changed some layout in the same moment I was not sure what caused the change in coral evolution. Good explanation.
I will take another look at my lighting schedule and flow. ALK is planned to be set around 8 dKH by the use of the calcium reactor.

... now some more fish to seed the bacteria and corals!!!