240 Gallon Mixed Reef!

[djstud]

I am currently running two 4 foot Current USA Orbit Marine IC LOOP LED lights along with a 3 foot Orbit Marine and 6 other marine LED’s. I am also running four 420 T-5’s. The plan is to keep the T-5’s at the very front of the tank. This keeps the out of the way while I perform tank maintenance as this acrylic aquarium has a large lip around the top. I am going to remove the 3 foot Orbit Marine and the six other marine LED’s. I will keep the two 4 foot Orbit Marines and purchase two more of the 4 foot Orbit Marines. This will give me two 8 foot Orbit Marine’s and two 8 foot Blue T-5’s.





I built a wooden frame for my Orbit Marine lights. Eventually there will be a second set of the Orbit Marines on this framework. It sets directly on the top of the tank.



I am going to build a pulley system the will allow me to easily lift the lights out of my way for tank maintenance. I will be able to lift them high enough to allow easy access. They can then be lowered when I am done. I will post some photos when I get the pulley system installed.

 

[djstud]

Finished installing pulleys on my light rack. The East end took 2 single Pulleys and the West end took a single and a double pulley.

This is how it looks with the light rack down. I will be adding another 8 foot of the Current USA Orbit Marine IC LOOP LED lights. That will fill the front gap on the rack. I will remove the 3 foot light. I am leaving the T-5’s in the front and the Aquatic Life LED’s on the back. There are six of the 4 foot Aquatic Life lights.

This is how it looks with the light rack lifted with my pulley system. This is going to be really good when I am doing tank maintenance.

 

[djstud]

I have been working on makes some changes to my aquascape. I added a cove shape on the left end, an arch in the middle, and I have me sunken ship on the right hand end. I think that it turned out pretty good.

 

[djstud]

I received my fish order from liveaquaria a yesterday. I have added a juvenile Emperor Angelfish, a Convict Tang, and a group of three Carberryi Anthias.

 

[djstud]

I purchased two more 4 foot Current USA IC LOOP LED’s. This give me two full 8 foot lights on this tank. I have the new one, the one in the back, set to factory settings. The other one is at 10% White, 10% Green, 10% Red, and 100% Blue. Depending on what corals I buy I can always increase lighting. I wish I had a PAR Meter.

 

[djstud]

Added an Auto Feeder that feeds three times in a 24 hour period. With my new Emperor Angelfish I felt that I need it. I may pick up a second one.

 

[djstud]

I picked up some new corals from World Wide Coral on their live Reef2Reef sale.

 

[djstud]

New Corals!

 

[djstud]

I finally have a reef dosing system. I bought two Chihiros 4-Head Dosers, a Chihiros Magnetic Stirrer, a Chihiros Container Holder, 8 Chihiros 500ml Containers, and 2 Chihiros Dosing Tube Kits. They work very well and have a ton of features that are available through their App. The Magnetic Stirrers are very handy since I use the Red Sea powder mix for Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. It will keep the solution mixed so that it doesn’t plug up the lines.

I am dosing the following: (All Red Sea)
Calcium
Alkalinity
Magnesum
Algae Prevention
Iodine
Potassium
Iron
Bioactive Elements

I test everything every Sunday and adjust accordingly.

 

[djstud]

Adding a Filtration Room. I am in the planning stages of adding a filtration room to my reef tank. I will keep the display tank built into the basement living room wall as it is now. The aquarium is 8 feet long, 2 feet wide, and 2 feet high. You can view it from the front and the East end. The West wall of the new filtration wall will start at the East end of the aquarium. I will be able to view the end of the display tank from inside the filtration room. I will leave a 3 1/2 foot hallway from the living room to the shop. After building the South wall and the East one my filtration room will be 4 foot wide X 12 foot long. This should be plenty of room. All plumbing will be done with PVC.

 

[djstud]

It will be a while before I can start my Filtration Room project. My son and granddaughter are currently living in my basement. I will have to wait until the get moved into their own home. I am excited to start this project. I love projects like this. I am also tired of reaching under my DT every time I do maintenance. I am not a young man any more. I set up my first saltwater aquarium in 1983. That was 41 years ago.

 

[djstud]

I made a filtration change. I was running a Trigger Systems Crystal 36 Sump and a Wet/Dry filter . I have removed the Wet/Dry filter. I wanted to keep it running while the new sump became mature. Running one filter makes things easier.

 

[djstud]

A few photos of my 240 gallon reef.

 

[Reefer Brent]

I finally have a reef dosing system. I bought two Chihiros 4-Head Dosers, a Chihiros Magnetic Stirrer, a Chihiros Container Holder, 8 Chihiros 500ml Containers, and 2 Chihiros Dosing Tube Kits. They work very well and have a ton of features that are available through their App. The Magnetic Stirrers are very handy since I use the Red Sea powder mix for Calcium, Alkalinity, and Magnesium. It will keep the solution mixed so that it doesn’t plug up the lines.

I am dosing the following: (All Red Sea)
Calcium
Alkalinity
Magnesum
Algae Prevention
Iodine
Potassium
Iron
Bioactive Elements

I test everything every Sunday and adjust accordingly.

Are you still liking these dosers?

 

[djstud]

Are you still liking these dosers?

Yes I am still using them. I really like them and the app is easy to use. I also saved quite a bit of money compared to other dosing systems.

 

[djstud]

I added 3 new reactors to my filtration. I was using Two Little Fishies reactors which are prone to leaking. I have had them for quite a few years. I replace the rubber gasket yearly. I decided to go with the Bulk Reef Supply Dual reactor for GFO and Carbon. I really like these reactors. they are easy to use and have no leaks.

 

[djstud]

I purchased another reactor from Bulk Reef Supply for other media. I am currently running SeaChem De-Nitrate in this one. I have been fighting a Nitrate problem for a few weeks. I believe that I finally tracked the problem to my auto feeder. I have removed the auto feeder to see if this helps. I am also feeding less frozen food at one time. I was adding 2 cubes at a time which I have reduced to 1. Here is a photo of my third reactor.

 

[djstud]

My corals are not as impressive as others that I see online. I have lost a few but others are doing fine.

My photography needs work but her are a few pictures of what is doing well. Electric Daisy Stylocoeniella.

 

[djstud]

24K Gold Leptoseris.

 

[djstud]

Cabbage Leather Coral.