Zagreus
Active Member
Tank is a JBJ 45 – Mixed Reef LPS & SPS, wet date February 1, 2017. Progress not perfection and learning from my mistakes. Grateful for all the help I have received on this forum.
Lights – I started with 1 AI 26 HD and then added 2 – 24 inch T5 Retro Kit Aruba Sun Ballasts. Now I am running the AI 26HD and 4 T5 24 inch bulbs ATI = 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue Special & 1 Coral plus.
Skimmer – Started with an HOB Aqua-C Remora and upgraded to a Aquamaxx HOB-ConeS….I like the Aquamaxx, as it has a real cone skimmer that sits in an HOB Water Box that acts almost like a sump. This skimmer is rated for larger tanks than mine.
Return Pumps – Started with 2 cheep knock-offs of the Cobalt 1200 and upgraded to a single Tunze 1073.5 DC with adjustable flow….I love the Tunze Pump and worth every penny.
Flow – I started with a single MP10 and Upgraded by adding a second MP10 Quite Drive….great flow pumps connected to reef link and excellent EcoTech customer service.
Media Baskets = Started with 2 stock JBJ baskets, one for each intake and upgraded to 2 InTank 45 Media baskets. At first I resisted as they were expensive and tried to use egg crate light diffuser to make a carbon and filter floss compartment….fail. The InTank Media Baskets are expensive but worth every penny. They fit tight and have 3 compartments and if you hang a bag of carbon and or GFO in the middle compartment, it almost acts like a gravity fed reactor.
Biological Filtration – I added a bio brick that I used a tile saw to cut up into 4 square pieces and dropped into the sump. It is now a Pod breeding ground.
ATO – Started ouring water in myself then purchased a Tunze Osmolator 3155
Dosing Pump – 4 head Jabeao
Heater – Cobalt Neotherm 150 submersible
RODI Water Station – 5 stage BRS
Par Meter – Seneye also good for Ammonia and PH readings
Salinity – 1.024 – 1.025 – refractometer
Feeding Innovative Marine Gourmet Defroster – worth every penny, feeds out food slowly deep into the water column giving time for the fish to eat without having to shut the return pump off.
Food – Hikari Mysis, PE Calanus, Spectrum Pellets, Reef Roids, Reef Chilli, Oyster
Aminos etc – Red Sea Reef Energy A & B
Rock – close to 30 pounds Marco Reef Saver dry rock
Sand – Carib Sea Pink
Nitrates range from 5-10ppm – Red Sea Test Kit
Phosphates range from less than or equal to .16 – Red Sea Test Kit
CA – 450 – 500 – Red Sea Test Kit
KH – 8.0 – 9.8 ppm trying to keep between 8 and 9 – Red Sea Test Kit
MG – always 1480 – 1500, stopped dosing trying to get down – think red Sea test kits run high
PH – 8.0 – 8.5 – API and Seneye Test
10% water changes weekly using Red Sea blue bucket salt
Balling method dosing using Red Sea CA,KH, MG, NOPOX
NoPox cut to 1ml daily from 3ml
BRS Carbon at ½ dose GFO cutting back
Backup Pumps – 2 Cobalt 1200 I also use for new saltwater mixing and pumping
QT – 10 gallon standard running a Aqua Remora C HOB skimmer with filter sponge intake and cobalt heater
The world famous Conrad Von Conrad Aquascaper. Scape built within measured chalk lines using Marco Reef Saver Rock, epoxy, parking rods and an artist with a very short attention span easily distracted by Lizards
Tank washed up ready to accept water, rock and sand for a 1 month cycle
Marine pure bio brick for the sump chopped into 4 pieces using a tile saw
Water, Sand and Rock in the tank 2/1/17
The coast is clear, patience is hard. this is a good time to read on the forums for about a solid month.
Cycled tank but lights 100% for 8-10 hours = heavy algae blooms. Should have read more on the forums. Picture taken 3/1/17
Red Sea test kits and supplements
Testing 1,2,3
Water change = to much, to soon = tank recycle
Always checking KH
End of March Tank Shots - umm should have read more on the forums instead of buying that good deal unplanned Milli from my LFS.
Little more tank seasoning and upgraded Skimmer Aquamaxx ConeS HOB. May 4, 2017
Live Sale...perfect excuse to jump in heads first. Well not really.8/3/17
First round of SPS Coral in the tank
Lets buy and build a custom hood T5 Retrofit with 4 ATI bulbs in 2 Aruba Sun fixtures 8/30/17
Tank shot with the new lighting fixture in and some new frags from Cherry Corals last livesale
Tank Scaped and all corals in, found out my tank was too sterile. Cut back NoPox from 3 ml to 1 ml and took out 1/2 my GFO and have not refilled since. Allowed my Nitrates to climb to the 5-10ppm line
Here is whats under the hood. Clutter, Dosing pump and containers, ato & pump control panel and most of my food, salt, supplements, testing kits etc
Jason Fox Live Sale added some new corals and another MP10 quite drive 8/26/17
Couple of full tank shots 10/1/17
Sometime in October using the Seneye to dial in the lighting more
Lights – I started with 1 AI 26 HD and then added 2 – 24 inch T5 Retro Kit Aruba Sun Ballasts. Now I am running the AI 26HD and 4 T5 24 inch bulbs ATI = 2 Blue Plus, 1 Aquablue Special & 1 Coral plus.
Skimmer – Started with an HOB Aqua-C Remora and upgraded to a Aquamaxx HOB-ConeS….I like the Aquamaxx, as it has a real cone skimmer that sits in an HOB Water Box that acts almost like a sump. This skimmer is rated for larger tanks than mine.
Return Pumps – Started with 2 cheep knock-offs of the Cobalt 1200 and upgraded to a single Tunze 1073.5 DC with adjustable flow….I love the Tunze Pump and worth every penny.
Flow – I started with a single MP10 and Upgraded by adding a second MP10 Quite Drive….great flow pumps connected to reef link and excellent EcoTech customer service.
Media Baskets = Started with 2 stock JBJ baskets, one for each intake and upgraded to 2 InTank 45 Media baskets. At first I resisted as they were expensive and tried to use egg crate light diffuser to make a carbon and filter floss compartment….fail. The InTank Media Baskets are expensive but worth every penny. They fit tight and have 3 compartments and if you hang a bag of carbon and or GFO in the middle compartment, it almost acts like a gravity fed reactor.
Biological Filtration – I added a bio brick that I used a tile saw to cut up into 4 square pieces and dropped into the sump. It is now a Pod breeding ground.
ATO – Started ouring water in myself then purchased a Tunze Osmolator 3155
Dosing Pump – 4 head Jabeao
Heater – Cobalt Neotherm 150 submersible
RODI Water Station – 5 stage BRS
Par Meter – Seneye also good for Ammonia and PH readings
Salinity – 1.024 – 1.025 – refractometer
Feeding Innovative Marine Gourmet Defroster – worth every penny, feeds out food slowly deep into the water column giving time for the fish to eat without having to shut the return pump off.
Food – Hikari Mysis, PE Calanus, Spectrum Pellets, Reef Roids, Reef Chilli, Oyster
Aminos etc – Red Sea Reef Energy A & B
Rock – close to 30 pounds Marco Reef Saver dry rock
Sand – Carib Sea Pink
Nitrates range from 5-10ppm – Red Sea Test Kit
Phosphates range from less than or equal to .16 – Red Sea Test Kit
CA – 450 – 500 – Red Sea Test Kit
KH – 8.0 – 9.8 ppm trying to keep between 8 and 9 – Red Sea Test Kit
MG – always 1480 – 1500, stopped dosing trying to get down – think red Sea test kits run high
PH – 8.0 – 8.5 – API and Seneye Test
10% water changes weekly using Red Sea blue bucket salt
Balling method dosing using Red Sea CA,KH, MG, NOPOX
NoPox cut to 1ml daily from 3ml
BRS Carbon at ½ dose GFO cutting back
Backup Pumps – 2 Cobalt 1200 I also use for new saltwater mixing and pumping
QT – 10 gallon standard running a Aqua Remora C HOB skimmer with filter sponge intake and cobalt heater
The world famous Conrad Von Conrad Aquascaper. Scape built within measured chalk lines using Marco Reef Saver Rock, epoxy, parking rods and an artist with a very short attention span easily distracted by Lizards
Tank washed up ready to accept water, rock and sand for a 1 month cycle
Marine pure bio brick for the sump chopped into 4 pieces using a tile saw
Water, Sand and Rock in the tank 2/1/17
The coast is clear, patience is hard. this is a good time to read on the forums for about a solid month.
Cycled tank but lights 100% for 8-10 hours = heavy algae blooms. Should have read more on the forums. Picture taken 3/1/17
Red Sea test kits and supplements
Testing 1,2,3
Water change = to much, to soon = tank recycle
Always checking KH
End of March Tank Shots - umm should have read more on the forums instead of buying that good deal unplanned Milli from my LFS.
Little more tank seasoning and upgraded Skimmer Aquamaxx ConeS HOB. May 4, 2017
Live Sale...perfect excuse to jump in heads first. Well not really.8/3/17
First round of SPS Coral in the tank
Lets buy and build a custom hood T5 Retrofit with 4 ATI bulbs in 2 Aruba Sun fixtures 8/30/17
Tank shot with the new lighting fixture in and some new frags from Cherry Corals last livesale
Tank Scaped and all corals in, found out my tank was too sterile. Cut back NoPox from 3 ml to 1 ml and took out 1/2 my GFO and have not refilled since. Allowed my Nitrates to climb to the 5-10ppm line
Here is whats under the hood. Clutter, Dosing pump and containers, ato & pump control panel and most of my food, salt, supplements, testing kits etc
Jason Fox Live Sale added some new corals and another MP10 quite drive 8/26/17
Couple of full tank shots 10/1/17
Sometime in October using the Seneye to dial in the lighting more
