Reefcowboy’s 150 gal SPS System

[Reefcowboy]

So Ive had two Orphek OR "sky blue" bars supplementing my Spectra MH fixture.

It is very bright and definitely gives corals a nice pop. The sky blue had a combo of blues(not sure what Nm) and a cyan colored led which wasn't my favorite. I felt it brought a green look to the tank. I was happy with them though, however one of them went dead right at the one year mark. Very dissapointng



I'm sure I could attempt to fix it but I think I was ready to try something else. I've had the Reefbrites and really liked the XHO fixtures.
I ordered a pair and was excited to install them once they arrived

 

[Reefcowboy]

Another thing I disliked about the orphek unit was that the LEDs were extremely bright and blinding as the bar facing the front of the tank bothered a bit when I observed the tank while sitting on the couch.
I guess the lenses on the fixture really helped their spread,but because of how they were attached to my Spectra, it worked against me

 

[Reefcowboy]

Luckily thanks to Reefbrites' internal angled reflectors, the blinding issue doesnt occur, and it is much more pleasant to observe the tank now.
The pop of the reefbrites is very accentuated with a darker blue compared to the Orpheks.
Here is a one next to the other.
I'm sure the orphek is brighter, but I really dont need extra par in my tank as the gieseman provides more than I need with MHs and T5s!



Overall very happy with the recent changes to the tank.

I can definitely notice the darker blues in the overall look of the corals and tank. Very cool pop and it complements the MH extremely well

 

[Reefcowboy]

Here is a pic of the refugium. The Prime Fuge is awesome and doing its job!

 

[najer]

Here is a pic of the refugium. The Prime Fuge is awesome and doing its job!

Very nice, are you going to try different macros?

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Wow, great build thread. Just read from the beginning. Love the fact that everything has it's place. I too am using Marco rocks and hopefully this week, I'll be pulling them from my tank to re-evaluate my overall structures, So sorry to learn of the crash, it definitely is disheartening. Glad to see that things are on the mend. Following along for sure.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Very nice, are you going to try different macros?

Im planning on it. I'm ordering some small glass jars which I will fill with Fiji mud and will plant some small Mangroves, probably three at most.
Maybe also get some red ogo and sea lettuce for variation and more color as well.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Wow, great build thread. Just read from the beginning. Love the fact that everything has it's place. I too am using Marco rocks and hopefully this week, I'll be pulling them from my tank to re-evaluate my overall structures, So sorry to learn of the crash, it definitely is disheartening. Glad to see that things are on the mend. Following along for sure.

Thanks! Yeah funny how this hobby is. When something big goes wrong like a crash, we can consider giving up, but soon after that the passion for rebuilding and improving the tank reignites making us buy equipment, corals and try new things! Why are you pulling your rocks out?

 

[marco fish]

Great build Carlos, I just read through the entire thread. Glad that you have stuck with it and have taken things in stride, so kudos to you! Awesome looking system and really enjoyed seeing how meticulous you are with your sump, plumbing, lighting and your aquascape, it shows in the results. Just curious because you don’t mention it, what 3 part are you dosing? Thanks for sharing with us your Reefing endeavors
Sincerely Marco

 

[Reefcowboy]

Great build Carlos, I just read through the entire thread. Glad that you have stuck with it and have taken things in stride, so kudos to you! Awesome looking system and really enjoyed seeing how meticulous you are with your sump, plumbing, lighting and your aquascape, it shows in the results. Just curious because you don’t mention it, what 3 part are you dosing? Thanks for sharing with us your Reefing endeavors
Sincerely Marco

Hi Marco thank you for reading my thread!
I've been using ESV B-Ionic for three part.
I like dosing as it is extremely simple and easy to control. A Calcium reactor can be tempting but for my size tank I dont feel the need for one and high maintenance can be a reality for some brands according to what I read.

 

[marco fish]

Indeed Carlos, I have friends that run ESV and are very successful as you are with it. I have ran Aquaforest for the past year and half, before hurricane Irma came across Key West and took my reef out, and before too. This is what I was curious about and asked you what you were dosing. A CaRX is great but for tanks that are bigger than what we have, even though they are coming out with smaller versions of them, and can be a great investment. I will tell you that I am a natural approach type of guy as well and had a custom Bashsea sump made for my tank. The first chamber is for the fuge and cannot be any happier, it’s 15”L x 20”W x 15”T ran by a Kessil H80 and a Zetlight 200.

A quick picture for your enjoyment and I don’t want to side track your thread. I know that my sump area is not as clean looking as yours nor the plumbing is as beautiful as what you did. So I tell you awesome work on your build and keep the great success that you have going on!

 

[Reefcowboy]

Indeed Carlos, I have friends that run ESV and are very successful as you are with it. I have ran Aquaforest for the past year and half, before hurricane Irma came across Key West and took my reef out, and before too. This is what I was curious about and asked you what you were dosing. A CaRX is great but for tanks that are bigger than what we have, even though they are coming out with smaller versions of them, and can be a great investment. I will tell you that I am a natural approach type of guy as well and had a custom Bashsea sump made for my tank. The first chamber is for the fuge and cannot be any happier, it’s 15”L x 20”W x 15”T ran by a Kessil H80 and a Zetlight 200.

A quick picture for your enjoyment and I don’t want to side track your thread. I know that my sump area is not as clean looking as yours nor the plumbing is as beautiful as what you did. So I tell you awesome work on your build and keep the great success that you have going on!

Wow really liked the sump and equipment. You seem to have organized everything with great thought.
No need to worry about side tracking! Please post pics and details of your system if you dont mind!
I lived in Miami before I came to NY, I sell heavy machinery for a living and used to travel to the Keys ever Wednesday(mostly down to Marathon) to visit some customers. I'm sure you had to keep lots of reefing supplies at hand while living away from any LFS! Terrible to learn the hurricane took your reef out. Must be disheartening to watch everything die without electricity!

 

[BiGGiePauls33]

Thanks! Yeah funny how this hobby is. When something big goes wrong like a crash, we can consider giving up, but soon after that the passion for rebuilding and improving the tank reignites making us buy equipment, corals and try new things! Why are you pulling your rocks out?

Lol, I had back surgery on the 23rd of July and wanted it wet prior, so I rushed it. Running a 40b penninsula stlye and much like yourself I enjoy sticks. It's just too bulky looking. Have some e-marco 400 coming and now I can take my time with it.

 

[marco fish]

Wow really liked the sump and equipment. You seem to have organized everything with great thought.
No need to worry about side tracking! Please post pics and details of your system if you dont mind!
I lived in Miami before I came to NY, I sell heavy machinery for a living and used to travel to the Keys ever Wednesday(mostly down to Marathon) to visit some customers. I'm sure you had to keep lots of reefing supplies at hand while living away from any LFS! Terrible to learn the hurricane took your reef out. Must be disheartening to watch everything die without electricity!

We left Key West with a pit in my stomach thinking that I am going to lose it all, including my almost 15 year old maroon clown, and could not get back here till 13 days after the storm! Mind you that I Fish yellowtail snapper for a living and had to leave the boat tide up as well as we could, with no turning back! I currently have a 100 gallon cad-lights aquarium with a 30 gallon JBJ frag system that I plumbed to it, and have 160 gallons of total water volume. The main display is ran by Octo Varios 6 on max, 2 maxspect gyre xf230 running 100% for 1 minutes in each direction plus 3 sicce 1,500’s running 100% in different parts of my bare-bottom tank. Lighting is 2 maxspect razors 300 watt and 2 T5’s retro fit with coral plus bulbs. 90% blues and 20% whites. Besides the fuge there’s a Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, that’s it. I currently dose 180 mls of Aquaforest 123 on a 5 Kore doser. I couldn’t stand the look of frag racks on the DT anymore and a month ago I ran into a retired reefer and I got a sweet deal including the JBJ with AI prime light for it. Ok I think that I got it all in there lol. If you come back down south, hit me up and we can have a beer and some fresh fish!

 

[marco fish]

We left Key West with a pit in my stomach thinking that I am going to lose it all, including my almost 15 year old maroon clown, and could not get back here till 13 days after the storm! Mind you that I Fish yellowtail snapper for a living and had to leave the boat tide up as well as we could, with no turning back! I currently have a 100 gallon cad-lights aquarium with a 30 gallon JBJ frag system that I plumbed to it, and have 160 gallons of total water volume. The main display is ran by Octo Varios 6 on max, 2 maxspect gyre xf230 running 100% for 1 minutes in each direction plus 3 sicce 1,500’s running 100% in different parts of my bare-bottom tank. Lighting is 2 maxspect razors 300 watt and 2 T5’s retro fit with coral plus bulbs. 90% blues and 20% whites. Besides the fuge there’s a Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, that’s it. I currently dose 180 mls of Aquaforest 123 on a 5 Kore doser. I couldn’t stand the look of frag racks on the DT anymore and a month ago I ran into a retired reefer and I got a sweet deal including the JBJ with AI prime light for it. Ok I think that I got it all in there lol. If you come back down south, hit me up and we can have a beer and some fresh fish!

 

[Nattydread]

Perfect build!

 

[marco fish]

Perfect build!

Carlos does have a perfect build, it’s awesome and my hats off to him...

 

[Reefcowboy]

Lol, I had back surgery on the 23rd of July and wanted it wet prior, so I rushed it. Running a 40b penninsula stlye and much like yourself I enjoy sticks. It's just too bulky looking. Have some e-marco 400 coming and now I can take my time with it.

There are so many cool looking aquascapes with marco rocks, def recommend you taking a peek at gcarrols 200 gal thread here on R2R.
They will inspire you for sure!

 

[Reefcowboy]

We left Key West with a pit in my stomach thinking that I am going to lose it all, including my almost 15 year old maroon clown, and could not get back here till 13 days after the storm! Mind you that I Fish yellowtail snapper for a living and had to leave the boat tide up as well as we could, with no turning back! I currently have a 100 gallon cad-lights aquarium with a 30 gallon JBJ frag system that I plumbed to it, and have 160 gallons of total water volume. The main display is ran by Octo Varios 6 on max, 2 maxspect gyre xf230 running 100% for 1 minutes in each direction plus 3 sicce 1,500’s running 100% in different parts of my bare-bottom tank. Lighting is 2 maxspect razors 300 watt and 2 T5’s retro fit with coral plus bulbs. 90% blues and 20% whites. Besides the fuge there’s a Vertex Omega 150 skimmer, that’s it. I currently dose 180 mls of Aquaforest 123 on a 5 Kore doser. I couldn’t stand the look of frag racks on the DT anymore and a month ago I ran into a retired reefer and I got a sweet deal including the JBJ with AI prime light for it. Ok I think that I got it all in there lol. If you come back down south, hit me up and we can have a beer and some fresh fish!

Man! I cant immagine leaving everything behind...what a gut wrenching feeling for sure! Ive caught a few hurricanes myself while at Miami, before Katrina, we had Wilma come through and it was VERY scary to say the least! I lived on the 17th floor of a building in north miami beach and woke up with the building swaying with the wind...

Luckily I didnt have a tank then, but we had no power for 2 weeks. I remember eating canned food with candle lights for days

Wow really nice tank, very clean and awesome frag system. Do you have a build thread? Your tank looks bigger than 100 gals, the scape is awesome with the rock nooks and cool structures. Lots of fish and cool selection...

The way you set up the frag tank is very sharp loking as well. Would love to see more of it.
If I came down there would def hit ya for a beer, but I remember going to the Keys and when I came back home would feel depressed as life is just so chilled and beautiful there! Just another reality!

 

[Reefcowboy]

Carlos does have a perfect build, it’s awesome and my hats off to him...

Thanks guys, Very much appreciated