idreamInblue’s build that’s held together with love and a little bit of floss

idreaminblue

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Yes you read that right. Floss. It’s what keeps my T5s hanging, but more on that later.

This is my build thread for my JBJ 45 mix reef tank, with a heavy focus on SPS. I started reefing out of my college dorm room which, despite not allowing rice cookers, was totally fine with a 20 gallon long salt water tank for some reason. I think the room inspectors didn’t *technically* have any guidelines against it, so they allowed it.
This later was joined by a 20g sump when I moved into my first apartment while still in college, and then promptly followed by a complete tank crash due to a breaker being flipped while I was away for about week.
That gave me a good excuse to upgrade to a JBJ45 as I left college.

Here’s my equipment list:
Light: Radion XR30 gen 3 + two Amazon T5 fixtures
Flow: MP10 + Jebao OW10
Doser: Kalkwasser with a BRS 1.1mls per min doser and a Jebao 4 head doser for 2 part
Tank: JBJ45
ATO: Tunze Nano
Return pump: Sicce Syncra Nano
Skimmer: AquaMaxx HOB
Alk Checker: KHG Alkalinity monitor

Here’s the Tank when I first set it up:
IMG_3711.jpg

And here is the most recent FTS. (I don’t take many FTS, I like my macros. I’ll try and get a better one later)

IMG_5023.JPG


My tank levels:

KH: 8.5
Calcium: 450
MG: 1450
Phos: 0.1 (but I try to keep it a bit lower)
Nitrate: 10
 
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idreaminblue

idreaminblue

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Notable SPS:
Matt V Rainbow Envy. A local was kindly able to give me a very generous sized frag of this for a pretty good price.
IMG_5178.JPG


Walt Disney. Starting to get a little bit of nice pinks towards the base
IMG_5174.JPG


Copps King Tutt. This is a beautiful Tabling Acropora.
IMG_5179.JPG
 
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idreaminblue

idreaminblue

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A little bit of history on the T5s:

I wanted some T5s after watching Coral Euphoria's youtube video on lights for SPS. I considered picking up the BRS Retrofit T5s or an Aquatic life, but then stumbled across a video by Tidal Gardens, where he was using cheap amazon t5 ballasts with great success. That got me thinking: is there really a difference between the 300 dollar Aquatic Life fixture, and a 40 dollar T5 HO set on amazon? Sure the Aquatic Life fixture looks nicer, and doesn’t have to be held together by floss, and is more likely to not burn down my entire apartment complex, but for the 260 dollar price difference, I was willing to take the risk.
And now here is that monstrosity:
IMG_5019.JPG


Originally the floss was supposed to be fishing line or something, but I didn’t have that on hand, so floss it was. Also this is HIGH quality floss for all those concerned, cocofloss. Not sure how durable it is, but it feels nice on your gums and has a pleasant taste.

The quality of the two T5 reflectors/ballasts are actually really nice, considering they were 20 dollars. I put one Coral Plus, and one Blue Plus in. They give out a nice even par of about 50-80, and has really helped the light spread of my tank.

Also I feel the AB+ setting on my radion is a bit too blue, and the coral plus bulb really helps add a bit of white.

Feel free to ask me any questions or critique my questionable reefing methods.
 
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Specific Ocean

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A little bit of history on the T5s:

I wanted some T5s after watching Coral Euphoria's youtube video on lights for SPS. I considered picking up the BRS Retrofit T5s or an Aquatic life, but then stumbled across a video by Tidal Gardens, where he was using cheap amazon t5 ballasts with great success. That got me thinking: is there really a difference between the 300 dollar Aquatic Life fixture, and a 40 dollar T5 HO set on amazon? Sure the Aquatic Life fixture looks nicer, and doesn’t have to be held together by floss, and is more likely to not burn down my entire apartment complex, but for the 260 dollar price difference, I was willing to take the risk.
And now here is that monstrosity:
IMG_5019.JPG


Originally the floss was supposed to be fishing line or something, but I didn’t have that on hand, so floss it was. Also this is HIGH quality floss for all those concerned, cocofloss. Not sure how durable it is, but it feels nice on your gums and has a pleasant taste.

The quality of the two T5 reflectors/ballasts are actually really nice, considering they were 20 dollars. I put one Coral Plus, and one Blue Plus in. They give out a nice even par of about 50-80, and has really helped the light spread of my tank.

Also I feel the AB+ setting on my radion is a bit too blue, and the coral plus bulb really helps add a bit of white.

Feel free to ask me any questions or critique my questionable reefing methods.
You’ll eventually would want to find an alternative to that floss lol

Can’t knock you on the ingenuity though
 
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idreaminblue

idreaminblue

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A little update on my tank: My Alkalinity Controller Experience with the KHG
Because I live in a one bedroom apartment with my girlfriend and dog while also working from home, I really struggle with keeping my ph up in the tank. In order to try and fix that, I've switched over to dosing just kalkwasser. I currently have a 20g long filled with it, which I dose out of a 1.9ml per min BRS doser. I'm almost up to 1000mls of kalk per day.
The low ph is bad for a second reason as well. Whenever I would leave my apartment for more than 2 days, the co2 levels would drop, and in turn the ph would rise. With higher ph, the acros would consume more alkalinity than I was dosing and the alkalinity would drop. From what I calculated it would be about a 1 dkh drop every 2 days. When I would come back, co2 levels would rise again and the alk would shoot back up.
This was too much of a swing, so I decided to look into picking up an alkalinity monitor. My first thoughts were either the Alkaltronic or KHDirector. I wanted to get an Alkatronic, but that thing came at the steep price point of 900 dollars. The KHDirector was about the same, 500 for the unit plus the doser which was an extra 300.
Then I came across the KHGuardian. The price point was a much more manageable price of about 500 dollars. After a little bit more research I found that all alk monitors basically do the same thing to measure alkalinity: A ph titration
So I took the dive and decided to pick one up:
IMG_5654.JPG

I've had it for about a month now and here are my thoughts on it:
The good:
Low price point for having a doser built in
Super consistent and accurate after you get it set up
10/10 customer service. They'll get back to you legit in less than 5 mins every time
Waste waster can just go straight back into the tank
The bad:
Reagent cost is quite high, considering it's just a cheap acidic solution. Very easy to DIY, and would cost pennies to do so, but apparently they add some sort of dye to their reagents, so the unit will brick itself if you use your own reagent. A real tesla/john deer vibe.
A bit hard to set up. They're a Chinese company, and thank god I can understand Chinese because the only setup video I could find was completely in Chinese. The paper instructions are in english, but a bit hard to follow. Also port forwarding is a bit tricky to deal with.

But honestly the customer service for me really sold this unit. I'm not even joking when I say they get back to you in under 5 mins every single time, and they always know what the fix is. If you can shell out 900 dollars like it's nothing for an alkatronic, I'd say go for it. But if you're OK with spending a bit more time in the setup process, I'd absolutely recommend the KHG.
 
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idreaminblue

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Here are some updated coral picts. I picked recently picked up a RRC Orange Passion, to compare to my SSC Orange Passion.
IMG_5627.JPG


Here's a pretty good blue pict of my Walt Disney

IMG_5644.JPG


Here's a short gif I made of my Matt V Rainbow Envy. Great growth so far for only being in my tank for under a month.


My green torch is becoming massive. It sends out stingers over 7 inches long. I had to move it out of fear of it stinging my acros.
IMG_5650.PNG
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 64 36.8%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 59 33.9%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 14.4%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 26 14.9%
  • Other.

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