Megabite's 180 Reef - Round 2

[MegabiteOG]

incredible setup... you spared no expense to outfit that tank.

Thanks! I love the setting up a little too much I think.

 

[MegabiteOG]

Update: Day 43 of new tank

Organized sump some more, added a Trident, a Copper Band Butterfly, a Coris wrasse (replacing the one that jumped out), and a Midas Blenny. Also picked up few corals that need to take pics of. I also adjusted my Meridians bringing them forward a bit and angling the edge bars. Everything is really doing well and getting great growth now that I'm not playing musical tanks.

Reef Breeders Adjustment (Looks cleaner without the mount tips sticking out).

Sump organizing. It's challenging cramming equipment in a cabinet and staying somewhat neat and organized.

 

[MegabiteOG]

Coral is doing very well as this tank matures. I finally have great polyp extension and growth.

Current parameters:
PO4 - .11 (Hanna)
NO3 - 12.5 (Hanna)
dkh - 8.48 (Trident), 8.2 (Hanna)
CAL - 461 (Trident), 450 (Salifert)
Mag - 1376 (Trident), 1350 (Salifert)

Dosing 3 part with trace and doing 1.7 gallon AWC daily.

Here's a good example of coral growth. Although it's a fast and easy grower, I'm impressed that this coral has been in 4 tanks in 5 months and still doing very well.

July 2025

Late October 2025

 

[MegabiteOG]

A few Sunday photos. Broke out the DSLR and tried to get some better pics. No photoshop just using a Tiffen 85B filter on camera. Still need to get a hang of the camera again but here are a few that came out okay.

 

[MegabiteOG]

Cannon EOS 7D
Polarized filter with Tiffen 85B

65 mm
F/5
1/15 sec
ISO 125
EXO 0
No flash, compulsory

 

[skey44]

Everything looking great!

 

[MegabiteOG]

Everything looking great!

Thanks man. I'm really happy with the progress. Looking forward to it growing out like yours has.

 

[skey44]

Update: Day 43 of new tank

Organized sump some more, added a Trident, a Copper Band Butterfly, a Coris wrasse (replacing the one that jumped out), and a Midas Blenny. Also picked up few corals that need to take pics of. I also adjusted my Meridians bringing them forward a bit and angling the edge bars. Everything is really doing well and getting great growth now that I'm not playing musical tanks.

Reef Breeders Adjustment (Looks cleaner without the mount tips sticking out).

Sump organizing. It's challenging cramming equipment in a cabinet and staying somewhat neat and organized.

Are you running your meridians at 14”? Which optics are you using? Wide or narrow.

 

[MegabiteOG]

Running them right at 14" to the water with the standard optics. Encompass I think.

 

[skey44]

Running them right at 14" to the water with the standard optics. Encompass I think.

I need to do more research. I thought the encompass was the wider option. Too many choices on these things haha
Good and bad.

 

[MegabiteOG]

I need to do more research. I thought the encompass was the wider option. Too many choices on these things haha
Good and bad.

You are right. I have the standard (balance). Great spread at 14".

From Reefbreeders:

Ocular Holo Matrix (OHM) Optics:​

Meridian OHM Optics are simple to swap and have 3 models, each suited to meet the needs of different aquarium styles.

• Balance: This is the default lens included with the Meridians. It is designed to suit aquariums from 18-36" (45-90cm) top to bottom.
• Focus: Focus lenses provide a more concentrated light for aquariums over 36" (90cm) top to bottom.
• Encompass: Wider spread designed for shallow tanks under 18" (45cm) top to bottom. Ideal for frag tanks, or covering a larger area for lower light corals in deeper tanks.

 

[MegabiteOG]

If I have time tomorrow. I will do a par reading all over the tank with all channels around 80% and share to provide some more info. I'm currently running SpSDrew's lighting schedule at 75% of what he's running it at and will start bringing it up 5% at a time. The other difference is I run it from 9 - 9 and have my whites go to 10% rather than 0%. Corals have reacted very well to this schedule. Thanks @SpSDrew !

​

 

[TJ42]

Beautiful!

You have a very cute helper in one of those pics too. lol

 

[MegabiteOG]

Beautiful!

You have a very cute helper in one of those pics too. lol

Haha! Our new saint. His buddy "Fred" is usually hanging around as well. Here he is eyeing the Sailfin on the old tank. I can't keep the cabinet doors open any amount of time because they take everything.

 

[Red_Beard]

Beautiful tank man, and some awesome shots! You should check out the photo of the month contests!

 

[MegabiteOG]

Beautiful tank man, and some awesome shots! You should check out the photo of the month contests!

Thanks. Quite the compliment.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

A few Sunday photos. Broke out the DSLR and tried to get some better pics. No photoshop just using a Tiffen 85B filter on camera. Still need to get a hang of the camera again but here are a few that came out okay.

Incredible photos! Thanks for sharing!

 

[MegabiteOG]

Incredible photos! Thanks for sharing!

Thank you and you're welcome. I love photos hence the amount of photos I have of everything.

 

[Red_Beard]

Thank you and you're welcome. I love photos hence the amount of photos I have of everything.

For real though, you need to enter some of your pics in the monthly contests. This month the theme is utility fish

POTM Nov 2025 POTM: Utility fish

Welcome to the Reef2Reef Nov 2025 POTM Contest - Photo of the Month Sponsored by Avast Marine! This month's subject - Utility Fish Deadline to Enter: Nov 25, 2025 at 11:59 pm (EST) This month's picture is Utility fish by utility fish we mean any fish that serves some cleaning purpose in a...

www.reef2reef.com

But there is a new contest each month and the winner gets an avast 'porthole' for taking underwater pics.

 

[MegabiteOG]

For real though, you need to enter some of your pics in the monthly contests. This month the theme is utility fish

POTM Nov 2025 POTM: Utility fish

Welcome to the Reef2Reef Nov 2025 POTM Contest - Photo of the Month Sponsored by Avast Marine! This month's subject - Utility Fish Deadline to Enter: Nov 25, 2025 at 11:59 pm (EST) This month's picture is Utility fish by utility fish we mean any fish that serves some cleaning purpose in a...

www.reef2reef.com

But there is a new contest each month and the winner gets an avast 'porthole' for taking underwater pics.

That's cool. Taking fish pics is pretty tricky. They just don't sit still.

Here are a few more pics I took today. Goni garden, some softies, and an SPS. Also an attempt at a couple of fish.