Matts JBJ 45 build

[Whisnantrider]

Gorgeous tank! Love the rock work and how clean the tank looks. I just picked up a JBJ 45 and will be following this thread. Do you mind me asking how you made the back cover?

Thanks!! And congrats in the new tank!

I cut it out of a price of plexi-glass I got at the hardware store BUT the edges curled up on me within a few days I thing the moisture build up on it and causes it.

They did not have the 1/4" acrylic I was looking for so I tried this but unfortunately it's not the answer. I have something else in mind as well but I'll have to see how it works out.

 

[Whisnantrider]

Figured I'd post a few pics. These corals were all basically dead in the 90 setup I had but the few short months in this tank have been great for them and everything is just looking great in this tank.

Meteor shower

Favia

Red planet, there was NO flesh visible in this when I moved it over

Setosa has nearly encrusted the mounting spot

I can't remember what this is called but this is encrusting on the rock finally.

Monti cap I thought was a goner

Jason fox outer space psammacora

Rainbow acan coming out

 

[Whisnantrider]

Sorry my pics suck... can't figure out how to get good pics with my iPhone like others can.

Here's my plate loaded with baby's

And a really cool blasto I found at one of the LFS, never seen this green/gold color combo before.

 

[Fishninja]

You could try to turn down the blue and turn up the whites, and there is also an app called snap seed that allows you to change the warmth and etc.

 

[Fishninja]

Just did this with the app

 

[Whisnantrider]

I tried the lights and they still come out blurry. I can't seem to get it to focus well. But then sometimes it does like with the pic of the setosa, it came out decent. I'll have to check out the app. Even my wife can walk up, snap a pic and it looks great 90% of the time. I think I just need to go back to android lol.

 

[HeulittSalmi]

So from what I have heard, you could buy some orange filters online ranging from $1-$30 that block out the blue. Obviously the more expensive the better the quality, to a certain extent. I have yet to fool around with photography, but everyone that I know that takes cell phone pictures, minimize the flow, find the perfect white vs blue balance, and then use the orange glass filters. They make the filters that are clear on one side then slowly turn orange so you can find the sweet spot for the photos.

And dang those corals are looking good. I am really jealous of that meteor shower because every frag I have had of it does amazing for the first few weeks then starts taking a turn for the worst.

 

[Whisnantrider]

The InTank media basket arrived today. Gotta say I can see what the fuss is all about now that I have one in hand. There is NO comparison between the stock baskets and this thing. I had my two stock baskets filled with pond matrix in the middle and lower section on each basket and ran floss on top. I dumped all of the matrix into the lower chamber of the InTank and it didn't even fill it..... I still have room there, an entire middle chamber and more than enough room for several different types of filter pads up top and the construction is definitely quality.

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[HeulittSalmi]

The InTank media basket arrived today. Gotta say I can see what the fuss is all about now that I have one in hand. There is NO comparison between the stock baskets and this thing. I had my two stock baskets filled with pond matrix in the middle and lower section on each basket and ran floss on top. I dumped all of the matrix into the lower chamber of the InTank and it didn't even fill it..... I still have room there, an entire middle chamber and more than enough room for several different types of filter pads up top and the construction is definitely quality.

[emoji106][emoji106][emoji106]

I currently have mine shipping. I had some on an old tank too and the difference is absolutely incredible.

 

[Whisnantrider]

Yeah, now I have to decide if I want to add more pond matrix or a different type of media.

 

[HeulittSalmi]

Yeah, now I have to decide if I want to add more pond matrix or a different type of media.

It couldn't hurt to add more, or at least I dont think it could haha. What else would you think about adding?

 

[Whisnantrider]

Didn't get home in time to catch all the lights on but figured I'd post an updated FTS, things had already started closing but maybe tomorrow I can get one with all the lights and everything I'm full bloom.

 

[Zerogz]

Hi. Awesome looking tank. I have the JBJ 45 with a Hydra 26. What are your current light settings? I have a mix of a few softies and LPS. Thx

 

[Whisnantrider]

Hi. Awesome looking tank. I have the JBJ 45 with a Hydra 26. What are your current light settings? I have a mix of a few softies and LPS. Thx

Here is how it looks, I can try to email it to you but this has been working really well for me. I tried to combine a mix of what I saw others having success with, some Radion Coral Lab and my own personal tastes and it's working well for me.

 

[Zerogz]

Awesome. Thanks. Will definitely try it out!

 

[Reab]

Do you see a difference between having the peaks and just a flat high through the day?

 

[HeulittSalmi]

Do you see a difference between having the peaks and just a flat high through the day?

I cant speak for @Whisnantrider but I have a similar set up with, while at peak, the %'s going up and down over and over. The reason i do it is because to me it mimics a more natural day. I did it when thinking about how clouds can pass over the sky and whatnot. I dont think there is any benefit or fall to it.

 

[Whisnantrider]

Same here I saw a lot of talk about people doing it because of a "respiration period" for the corals BUT the Ecotech Marine coral lab has nothing remotely close to that so eehhhh take it how you wanna. I do like things being a little different each time and like HeulittSalmi stated it gave someone more like a variation that you would see naturally without having to dive into the cloud settings and all that.

The program is working for me and I'm happy with it.

Zerogz I got your message and I will try to email it when I get home, unless I can figure out how to do it from my phone

 

[HeulittSalmi]

This is what I run, I took what my LFS had and made a few adjustments. I like more of the blues than anything else plus red and greens arent all that important. Now it is a 14 ish hour light cycle, but I ramp up for 4+ hours and ramp down for another 4+. And I agree, I like looking at the tank throughout the day and having it be a tad different. The different lighting makes different corals pop throughout the day and setting up the cloud cover % is a pain. I run this on my AI Prime HD and adjusted percentages for my Radion XR 15 Gen 4. I think my radion is set to 60% of the AI values at about 55-60% intensity, however, I am on the first few weeks of an acclimation.

 

[EriksOasis]

Just a quick question. Any issues with water levels with the skimmer considering that chamber stays a constant level and the only one that drains is the middle one. And do you run an auto top of and if so what one?