2Sunny's 240 Coral Garden Cube

OP
OP
2Sunny

2Sunny

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
456
Reaction score
745
Location
Pound Ridge, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looking fantastic!!
Thanks!
Mr. Peck, I have major tank envy. I noticed in your video on ReefBum's channel that your sand is very unique looking. It appears as though it's a solid mass as opposed to a bunch of individual sand crystals. How did you get it so compact? It looks like you can blast it with flow almost like a bare bottom and not blow the sand everywhere. Do you have a special technique for this? Please explain your method!
Hi Reef :)

No tricks really except my flow is not as high as others. I also find that when I initially put in new sand it will blow around slightly until it develops a bio-film on the top layer and then it stops moving. I do spend a higher than average amount of money and time siphoning the top layer and replacing it about once per month when the sand begins to build small diatoms. I have been watching my nano with great interest though because it is over 1 year old now and I have never once cleaned the sand bed and it looks as clean as it did the day I put it in. I do have a fighting conch that "works" the sand bed constantly, and I'm sure he is part of the reason. Another consideration is that my main display uses Fiji Pink sand which is a medium grain sand and my nano has the old school oolitic sand.

One other item - I have gone back and forth on the placement of my Tunzes. In the video above they are in the back corners, but recently one very old Tunze died so I had to use a model that was not adjustable and it had too much flow to be placed in the back so I have returned to placing one Tunze in front on a SeaSweep. I recently tried a modern Gyre and I just felt it wasn't as good as a Tunze on a Sweep. A Gyre had variability in the amoung of flow, but the direction was too laminar for my liking. I realize 99% of all reefs have mostly laminar flow as well, but I simply prefer the variability I get from a SeaSweep so I'm willing to accept the ugly look of having one placed in the front of my tank.

Anyways, bet you're sorry you asked now :D

Joe

 
OP
OP
2Sunny

2Sunny

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
456
Reaction score
745
Location
Pound Ridge, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Let's try that again:



Those with sharp eyes may notice that I actually have 3 clowns living together in the anemone. It took 19 months, but the dominant pair finally accepted the 3rd clown that had been living separately in another anemone nearby into their home. The colony in front left is a Walt Disney and the Torch is a Holy Grail. Time to frag :D
 

Daniel@R2R

Living the Reef Life
View Badges
Joined
Nov 18, 2012
Messages
37,364
Reaction score
63,260
Location
Fontana, California
Rating - 100%
1   0   0
Let's try that again:



Those with sharp eyes may notice that I actually have 3 clowns living together in the anemone. It took 19 months, but the dominant pair finally accepted the 3rd clown that had been living separately in another anemone nearby into their home. The colony in front left is a Walt Disney and the Torch is a Holy Grail. Time to frag :D

Beautiful!! Thanks so much for sharing it with us!!
 

MichaelP

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Sep 16, 2021
Messages
80
Reaction score
44
Location
Killingworth CT
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Beautiful tank! As someone who also has been reefing for 10+ years it’s great to see the changes and perseverance to keep it looking so great. That’s not easy

I may have missed it but are you still running the 150w +T5/led combo or have you changed to all LED?
 
OP
OP
2Sunny

2Sunny

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
456
Reaction score
745
Location
Pound Ridge, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Beautiful tank! As someone who also has been reefing for 10+ years it’s great to see the changes and perseverance to keep it looking so great. That’s not easy

I may have missed it but are you still running the 150w +T5/led combo or have you changed to all LED?
Thanks! I switched to ATI Power Modules about 5 years ago. I love the dawn/dusk effect, and I don't think anything, even MH, can beat the colors you get from T5s in a shallow tank. Wouldn't use them over a deeper tank, but on my 24 incher they are perfect.
 

Abood

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 8, 2017
Messages
32
Reaction score
79
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
very nice , could you please share the T5 bulb combo ?
 

Chrisv.

2500 Club Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 17, 2012
Messages
3,202
Reaction score
3,810
Location
United States
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks!

I have been running a 50/50 combo for about 3 years now. I use 8 - ATI Blue Plus and 8 - ATI True Actinic.
I saw this giant square tank and thought...geez that reminds me of a tank from ages ago run buy a guy named Joe. Then clicked the YouTube link and saw it is that very tank! Looks good man!
 

Acropora52

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Jul 19, 2011
Messages
390
Reaction score
222
Location
Springfield, Va
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Can't believe it took me so long to find this thread! Always great to see another tank with a large ritteri. I've always used the pedestal trick as well and it's served me well.

Fantastic looking tank as always!
 
OP
OP
2Sunny

2Sunny

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
456
Reaction score
745
Location
Pound Ridge, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Still here believe it or not. Can't wrap my head around the changes in lighting as in no one is pushing T5s anymore. I see some believe the EU ban will result in their demise, but I don't believe it and still think nothing beats T5s for growth and color (except maybe a Radium) :D



reef.8.23.jpg
 
OP
OP
2Sunny

2Sunny

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
456
Reaction score
745
Location
Pound Ridge, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Also posted in the lighting forum as I have interesting news. I installed new T5s on April 18th, 2021 and just yesterday changed all 16 lamps so the growth and colors shown in the photo above grew under 2 year old T5s just fine. Interesting . . .
 

Yanir34

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Messages
575
Reaction score
586
Location
Israel
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Also posted in the lighting forum as I have interesting news. I installed new T5s on April 18th, 2021 and just yesterday changed all 16 lamps so the growth and colors shown in the photo above grew under 2 year old T5s just fine. Interesting . . .

Hey Joe, it took me some to read this entire thread...your tank is amazing!
I'm have some issues with my ATI 10×54w power module.
my reef is 1.3 years old , and right now the fixture is hanged 11 inches above the water.
most reefers said it's too high for T5 fixture, and recommended to hang it about 7 inches above water surface.
well, I have tried that and almost fried all of my SPS.
Also, the growth of the corals is very slow.
that dimensions are 140 cm long 55 cm high 70 cm wide
I'm dosing Red Sea 3 parts (Alk ,Cal Mag) trace elements of red sea , 4 ml of bacto balance daily.
also I have 4 MP40's that runs on 100% in different programs through the day.
The corals seem to be grow horizontal instead grow up , hope you understand what I mean.
what should I do in this case ?
Bulbs combination is :
7 blue plus
1 aqua blue special
2 coral plus
20230901_190539.jpg
 

Gumbies R Us

Another Fish in the Sea
View Badges
Joined
Nov 10, 2022
Messages
9,590
Reaction score
18,406
Location
North Georgia
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Still here believe it or not. Can't wrap my head around the changes in lighting as in no one is pushing T5s anymore. I see some believe the EU ban will result in their demise, but I don't believe it and still think nothing beats T5s for growth and color (except maybe a Radium) :D



reef.8.23.jpg
Your tank is still looking incredible as ever!
 
OP
OP
2Sunny

2Sunny

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 24, 2010
Messages
456
Reaction score
745
Location
Pound Ridge, NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hey Joe, it took me some to read this entire thread...your tank is amazing!
I'm have some issues with my ATI 10×54w power module.
my reef is 1.3 years old , and right now the fixture is hanged 11 inches above the water.
most reefers said it's too high for T5 fixture, and recommended to hang it about 7 inches above water surface.
well, I have tried that and almost fried all of my SPS.
Also, the growth of the corals is very slow.
that dimensions are 140 cm long 55 cm high 70 cm wide
I'm dosing Red Sea 3 parts (Alk ,Cal Mag) trace elements of red sea , 4 ml of bacto balance daily.
also I have 4 MP40's that runs on 100% in different programs through the day.
The corals seem to be grow horizontal instead grow up , hope you understand what I mean.
what should I do in this case ?
Bulbs combination is :
7 blue plus
1 aqua blue special
2 coral plus
Hi Yanir!

Great to see an international crowd on R2R.

You didn't mention, but what intensity do you run your LEDs? My only thought is maybe some of the corals are getting too much LED light. My Powermodules sit about 10 inches (25 cm or so :) )above the water so pretty much same as your setup.

Hopefully the picture shows enough. I only run 2 blue LEDs and only at about 50% power. I think the other LEDs may be too much with the T5 light added, and I only run the T5s for 8 hours. It sounds like you are doing everything right and actually most of your corals look super nice!

IMG_2548.JPG
 

Yanir34

Well-Known Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 14, 2019
Messages
575
Reaction score
586
Location
Israel
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi Yanir!

Great to see an international crowd on R2R.

You didn't mention, but what intensity do you run your LEDs? My only thought is maybe some of the corals are getting too much LED light. My Powermodules sit about 10 inches (25 cm or so :) )above the water so pretty much same as your setup.

Hopefully the picture shows enough. I only run 2 blue LEDs and only at about 50% power. I think the other LEDs may be too much with the T5 light added, and I only run the T5s for 8 hours. It sounds like you are doing everything right and actually most of your corals look super nice!

IMG_2548.JPG

Thank you for your quick reply ! my ATI fixture is 10×54w bulbs , no LED in this fixture...
I think ots maybe related to 4 MP40's that runs on 100%
 

Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

  • Ball valves.

    Votes: 66 51.6%
  • Gate valves.

    Votes: 67 52.3%
  • Check valves.

    Votes: 32 25.0%
  • None.

    Votes: 29 22.7%
  • Other.

    Votes: 9 7.0%
Back
Top