Electrobes' sumpless 40Br

[Electrobes]

I forgot to mention that I removed two rocks from the tank as I didn't want them (Or the corals on it) taking up that real estate. I will be replacing both with a single coral that I've been wanting for a dang long time... a brain coral. I am still trying to determine what kind.. either a maze brain (Forgot which specific one it's called) or a wesophilia (sp?). I am really excited about this as it will pretty much complete the tank.

Everything has been doing VERY well. Corals are growing like crazy, they haven't reacted poorly to the new LED fixture and here's hoping it stays that way. Thus far it's on 3hrs daylight and 5 hrs bluelight. Eventually it will be 5-6 daylight and 7-8 bluelight.

I only have one more mini project that I'd like to do sometime this week, that acrylic background/equipment hider. Aside from that the tank needs to be razored. I am truly happy with how the tank is doing. I'll post pics and a video once these last two things are done.

 

[jstuver]

I like the feeding station. Where did you get the black thing that you use to keep the food in one place?

 

[Electrobes]

That's the feeding station, I got it at my local fish store... here's a pic: Tom Aquatics Floating Feeding Station

 

[bmac16]

Nice tank....very clean and great ideas!

 

[Electrobes]

VERY nice 40 breeder!

Thanks!!

 

[Electrobes]

Nice tank....very clean and great ideas!

Thank you!

 

[Electrobes]

The background cover is done!

Well guys, I finally finished my New Year's resolution of Reef projects... that was fast!

Cutting from the scrap piece:

The cover is attached:

Without flash:

A little closer:

And while I was at it, here are some terrible photos of the tank:

Now I just need to find that last coral... I think.

 

[Electrobes]

A Reef Video and updates!

Here's an iPhone video of my tank: Reef on the Rocks Reef Movie 013112 - YouTube

I haven't done much lately with the tank, especially since I finished my reef projects. I tested the water today and my results:

Alk: 8dKh
Mag: 1380ppm
Calcium: 650ppm (I only dose Kalk for calcium via ATO!)

Overall the tank is doing phenomenal. It looks great (To me anyway) and the coral growth has been nothing short of spectacular. The only thing I've changed that was different from before is the dosage of Reef Pearls at night. Instead of once per week, I now do it every four days. The filtration can easily handle it and I think the corals appreciate it. I still feed pellets twice a day.. and now it's done with a feeder. I love how I can leave this tank solo for a month and have no worries!

As you can see I finally removed the two front rocks that were bothering me for a while. I like this look of a lot of sand being exposed but still having corals to show. I keep thinking about putting something below the right column but I just haven't found anything special enough to go there to make it worth the loss of sand real estate.

 

[MarvinsReef]

very awesome. so clean and grown out.

subscribed to your YouTube channel. 1smile1

 

[Electrobes]

Thanks Marvin! I just now started learning more how to use a camera and video camera, here's hoping I can put it to some use.

very awesome. so clean and grown out.

subscribed to your YouTube channel. 1smile1

 

[Electrobes]

Messed with Camera settings... lets see how we did.

Here's a FTS, taking photos in the daylight isn't easy as I have too many reflections to deal with:

Here are some photos with the flash on, that I didn't think were too terrible:

Some random shots:

Side views of the tank:

 

[MarvinsReef]

Reef on the Rocks is a very appropriate title for your tank. great job. 1smile1

 

[Electrobes]

lol Marvin, it's the name of my business! I made the tank a mascot for the business because it uses my rocks.

 

[MarvinsReef]

lol Marvin, it's the name of my business! I made the tank a mascot for the business because it uses my rocks.

:hammer:

 

[Electrobes]

I used an actual video camera!

Reef on the Rocks Reef Movie 020112 - YouTube

 

[Electrobes]

Today was a great day for the reef tank! I delivered a shipment of rock today to a LFS (55 miles is the closest LFS there is to me!). While I was looking around I saw something I've wanted a long time... a purple cap. It was pretty browned out, but healthy. The owner gave it to me, and I literally jumped the roof. You see I only had enough room for maybe two corals in the tank. I was deciding on maybe a brain coral to encrust the bare rock, or maybe an encrusting monti, etc. Not anymore! I decided to break the frag into three pieces, two of which went onto the middle rock, right below the other SPS frag on that rock, and the last frag piece went onto the bare portion of the right rock. I am hoping to create the same side to side cap gap like I did with the orange cap on the left. I think this will look spectacular, especially once the new frags start growing and getting that deep purple back.

I'll shoot pics tomorrow to show what I mean. So excited!

 

[Electrobes]

I razored the tank, it's still a little hazy. You can see three, of the same coral, monti frags I added in the middle and right side of the tank. I am really hoping they are, in fact, purple cap frags but I have my doubts. We'll see soon!:

I also made a couple tools too. One is a razor scraper for the tank (It worked alright). The other is a sand adder, and not pictured I made a sand removal tool... just a pvc pipe attached to some tubing:

From now on, when I do water changes, I'm going to remove parts of the sandbed, wash it out, and add it back to the tank. I really have the sand as decoration.. but man I bet it's full of funk!

 

[Electrobes]

Some minor updates:

1. So I had a feeder modded so it could be attached to the modded canopy. In addition to the feeder, I had a feeding station below it to force food underwater. My only problem was the two MP10's... for some odd reason, regardless of how I set the flow on both MP10's, the water generally runs clockwise. This meant the food would sink to one place only... where most of the fish weren't!

For now I took off the feeder and will change it's location in the canopy so that the food falls in a better and more spread out area of the tank. I like feeding the tank for now anyway as I've been adjusting flow in the tank and seeing the results.

2. Both of the MP10's are on short wave. I finally seem to have positioned them well and discovered the mode that gets all the corals the movement they like. It only took forever!

3. I have yet to try swapping sand out using the new tools, but I'm thinking it will be within the week. I am really looking forward to this.

4. I still have no idea whether the new caps are actually purple caps or not. I am really hoping they are as I don't feel like removing them otherwise. On the other hand, I would consider getting another wish list coral/clam on my list.

 

[Electrobes]

Minor updates and a product review!

Minor updates:

- I cleaned out the entire Aerofuge and the items that were inside it (Heater, temp probe, etc). I yanked the whole thing out, cleaned it piece by piece, including both Aerofuge pumps.

- I had to throw away the pH probe. Not only is it old, but man, it was completely encrusted with all sorts of lifeforms. I don't think it was inaccurate... but it just needed replacing.

- Doing the above basically results in a 2.25G waterchange... something my reef, or any reefs for that matter, appreciates!

- All the corals are doing very, very well! Growth is on the rise and color is, very slowly, returning to the sps frags I bleached the hell out of.

- I am starting to add a pouch of carbon. It's not an effective method by any means, but I just don't have room for a reactor anywhere, which sucks because I've got one and ROX carbon. Oh well.

- I still see a spot of bryopsis in the orange zoos, I guess I should have continued with the Tech M dosing. I'll wait a little bit and see what effect the carbon has first, especially since my tank hasn't been filtered by carbon in a long time!

Product Review: Aerofuge (medium size)

I have to admit, I am pleasantly surprised by this filter! I truly believe CPR did right by this piece of saltwater equipment.

Pros and cons:

- The skimmer disassembles from the rest of the "sump" area. This is huge in terms of maintenance. I can more thoroughly clean the skimmer, instead of hoping it got a good cleaning. Considering the skimmer is the heart of my system... this is important. Typically, cleaning something like this isn;t fun, and it's no different with the Aerofuge, but it makes up for this chore in being accessible and not annoying to handle.

- The skimmer is none other than the Aeroforce. While the additional feed pump is annoying, in terms of an extra plug and an eyesore in the tank, it's tiny and doesn't screw around. The bubble producing pump is very good at it's job as well, but has a single flaw. If it is slightly clogged, it will let you know. It won't stop producing the bubbles, skimming will be just fine, it's the noise it produces when it is partially clogged. Overall this skimmer is just awesome for it's filtering power.

- Removing and cleaning the pumps is very easy. I really like the way they have the bubble producing pump situated. It slides in and out of the skimmer body fairly easily, and the pump itself is easy to clean.

- The "front" of the Aerofuge is black, so if you did not paint your tank's back, you're still fine.

If you have any questions, please ask me and I'll be happy to answer.

 

[Electrobes]

Major changes in life, tank, but never liberty!

Hey everyone!

So I finally cleaned up the tank some and decided that it's been a while since I've updated my thread here at Reef2Reef. I've shot a video and you can see it here, along with specs of the tank in the description.

Now... onto some news!

- My family and I will be moving to Fort Myers FL! A major opportunity (Dream job) was presented to my wife and though it was a seriously tough decision, we've decided to go for it. It's a bit of a homecoming as both my wife and I are from the West Palm Beach area. I am REALLY excited to be back into a major reefing community as I've been without for a very long time. I've been reefing for near ten years, and it's no fun doing it alone!

- As some of you know, I created Reef on the Rocks, a micro business that makes man-made rocks (Same rocks you see in my tank). Not only do I run a one-man business, but I am also a full time house dad. As time went on, I've found it increasingly difficult to run both the business and a home. With my son currently 1.5 years old, I just don't want to take my time and energy away from him. I've decided to shut down the business for now, but I'll naturally never stop tinkering with rock making.

What does this mean? Well, several things.

- I'm going to be spending a lot more time on Reef Forums, especially Reef2Reef. If anything, I'm hoping to continue sharing my knowledge to others and get a lot more involved in the community, both online and IRL.

- My wife basically assumed that this means a major upgrade will be coming, and I'll probably take her up on it. I am in no hurry, mainly because 1) I've had a 40Br for almost my entire reefing time (10 yrs!) and still love it and 2) Like anything done right, it takes a lot of planning. I actually get a fish room (The new house has a nice place for a reef tank), but I will lose my Reef Nook that I love so dang much. Oh well. I'll just have to make something to house the electronics and ATO... and make it clean and pretty.

- I have to drive eleven hours with all the livestock. This is going to suck major skimmate. I've got the plan down pat, now I just wait till judgement day.

So here's looking toward the future, I know I am!