jz's 60 Gallon

[thewackyreefer]

Couple quick updates...

Really happy with the ecoBAK and how clean it's been keeping my tank. I no longer have any algae on the sand and other than a little bit of bubble algae on the rocks no algae there either. A couple days ago I switched the output of the reactor to point at the return pump rather than the skimmer input to see how the tank would react. Probably too early to tell but I'm definitely noticing more algae on the glass now than I was getting when the output was at the skimmer's input.

Also, finally starting to see some considerable coralline algae! I never really seeded the rock with anything except what came over on plugs or snails from the last tank so it's taken quite a while, can't wait for everything to have a nice purple coat!

 

[Mavjoy]

Thanks for the update and glad the pellets are working for you. One question, are you gonna leave the output in the return section of the sump? I'm considering moving mine but I got HA growing on different spots of the tank, rocks and back wall, right now. I'll be watching how your tank progress with the pellets.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Thanks for the update and glad the pellets are working for you. One question, are you gonna leave the output in the return section of the sump? I'm considering moving mine but I got HA growing on different spots of the tank, rocks and back wall, right now. I'll be watching how your tank progress with the pellets.

No, this weekend I plan on switching the output so it's pointed at the skimmer input. This is what is suggested by WM as well although I'm not sure of their exact reasoning.

 

[juicemonkey]

How is the LED fixture working for you? Can you send me the link to whom you purchased it from and price.

 

[thewackyreefer]

How is the LED fixture working for you? Can you send me the link to whom you purchased it from and price.

I love the fixtures, growth has been great and I'm impressed with the colors. They were purchased from reeffiltration (luke33 on here). If you check out his threads and site they're listed on there although I believe the current version is more powerful.

 

[ScottyMcReefer]

hahaha catchy song in the youtube vid man. Nice tank.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Well, my Mystery Wrasse went carpet surfing today. I guess that's what I get for having an open top tank and an aggressive clown...learned my lesson. :sad:

 

[thewackyreefer]

Messed with the scape a little yesterday and today, what do you guys think?

 

[skinz78]

I think it looks great, keep the pic's coming!

 

[NU2REEFIN]

Looks awesome, tons of room on the rock for animals.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Thanks guys, I think I finally have the scape where I want it. I'm sure that will change as things start to grow in a little more but for the time being I'm happy!

 

[PolandSpring]

yah, this scape is the best so far, i like it alot, you should DEFINITELY keep it!

 

[Hungriee]

the scape makes the tank look bigger. Great Job.

 

[thewackyreefer]

the scape makes the tank look bigger. Great Job.

Thanks, I agree it definitely makes the tank look bigger than it is. Now I just gotta find some fish to add!

 

[thewackyreefer]

Just had to brag that I'm about to go pick up some sexy acans from our favorite sexy sponsor.

 

[skinz78]

Take your camera and sneak some shots of the stuff that he's holding out on!!!!

 

[underwaterfirefighter]

Man that is looking really nice! Really like the new scape. Keep the pics coming.

 

[thewackyreefer]

Unfortunately, didn't get to check out the tanks tonight.

Thanks for the compliments on the tank. Unfortunately my RKE failed on me last week and my temp dropped so I lost a few of my SPS colonies. Nothing expensive or fancy but a loss is still a loss and it sucks.

For now I'm going to continue to focus on collecting acans and maybe pick up some blastos and a couple chalices. Next major purchase is gonna be a scoly for the sand bed!

 

[thewackyreefer]

Well guys, I haven't posted in a while because the tank's been in kind of a grow-out mode. I built a couple of racks for the coral while I took some time to decide which direction I'm going to take the tank and well, I'm pretty darn bored with looking at coral on racks. I've been getting some great growth on my acans and the few SPS I have so that's what I'm going with.

I do have a concern that my LED's are too bright for my acan's at the bottom of the tank even with only the outside panels on, unfortunately I don't know anyone close with a PAR meter so I'm just assuming at this point. I haven't been running the middle panel at all and the SPS up top have been doing well without it. Outside panels currently run 10 hours / day. Thinking I'm going to supplement with a ReefBrite LED strip if I don't decide to purchase an entirely new lighting system.

I've also taken the reactor with the WM ecoBAK offline as I felt as though the system was too clean for my acans and wasn't really benefiting my SPS as much as I expected. I've never had a true nitrate problem so I don't think it's totally necessary or right for my system as it stands today. Maybe if I lean more towards SPS I'll change my mind but for now we'll keep things a little more natural.

Got a big surprise coming for you guys later! I really hope you'll enjoy it as much as I do, stay tuned!

 

[thewackyreefer]

Well, here it is! An awesome pillar from the Alternative Reef.

These pics are before the texturing was completed and before firing. Hope to have it in a couple weeks! This should keep the sandbed really open for acans!