Reefcowboy’s 150 gal SPS System

[Mark]

@Reefcowboy , nice tank mate - I have the same one with the 20'' Synergy external over flow box and and going to be running 3 1.5inch drains all the way down to my sump that Elite Aquatics is building me.
I will be floating my canopy along with my Aqua Illumination Hydra HD LED''s. I was wondering what size is that stand do you have in lenght? ! I got my stand from SCA and its super nice 60'' in lenght but I would love to have the door on the side that opens like you have. Instead of all Apex gear I will be running all GHL gear, there new P4, 2.1 doser and there MaxiSA for my AWC's.

My SCA Rimless 150

My Elite Aquatics sump will look similar to this RS40 incl 3 1.5'' Drains .

Where did you get that rock piece in the tank? Looks nice!

 

[rickster]

How did you get all the orange plastic mesh for the scrubber & did you paint the lights orange?
Thanks for the info for Expressions ltd, they have a nice ATS kit on their site...

 

[Reefcowboy]

How did you get all the orange plastic mesh for the scrubber & did you paint the lights orange?
Thanks for the info for Expressions ltd, they have a nice ATS kit on their site...

The orange plastic mesh is found online and local craft stores as well.

I painted the led lights being they are behind the splash guard and will never be in contact with water, although they are waterproof.

Yes Expressions is such an odd website, selling concrete related producs...and a reef tank algae scrubber, lol

 

[nyjumper]

I grew up in hauppauge, my old man still lives there. I’m currently in deer park.

Nice build so far

 

[Reefcowboy]

Aquascape!!

Ive been looking around for a long time trying to decide what aquascape I would go for on this SPS build. On previous tanks Ive tried and liked many, but this time I wanted to shoot for something that would mainly allow plenty of room for them to grow over time.

I notice lots of tanks have great appealing aquascapes when first set up, but over time can become a hassle as corals grow and run out of space, requiring a redesign when things are doing their best...

So I went for a flatter look, with plenty of room for frags and colonies, one that would allow for high flow, with little room for dead spots. I plan on vacuuming the substrate when I feel it is due, and want hand access between the back glass and rocks, where normally debris settle the most.

As far as substrate, I got coarse aragonite, as I had great results with them throughout the years. I know many differ opinion to sand particle size, but I often witness outstanding mature friends’ sps tanks with crushed coral, and even calcium reactor media covering the bottom of their tanks...

Bare bottom ideally is the best route, but personally cant overcome their look. I feel substrate has its down points, but give tank the look I expect from the natural environment we see in the oceans.

With the amount of random flow I plan to hit the rocks and corals with, no other type sand would stay in place, and would require constant maintenance.

Tank scapes like these helped me decide what direction to go...

 

[Reefcowboy]

So looking for rocks I found Marco Rocks to have the look I wanted.

I ordered 70 lbs of flat Keys dry rock.

Here are some pics of the development of the scape as I stacked these rocks to my taste.

 

[Reefcowboy]

Hung the Spectra, filled with water, fired up the Apex and I think its coming along

The Radium bulbs are very blue, make it so difficult to get pics. The tank looks much different in person.
I set up a little temporar hang on filter to help get the cloud down from the initial fill.

Amazingly things are going as planned!

 

[CDavmd]

awesomeness! Loving your build.

 

[rickster]

Hung the Spectra, filled with water, fired up the Apex and I think its coming along

The Radium bulbs are very blue, make it so difficult to get pics. The tank looks much different in person.
I set up a little temporar hang on filter to help get the cloud down from the initial fill.

Amazingly things are going as planned!

Looks like you definitely have learned alot from previous tanks, Great idea with the flat rock scape and course substrate. this is shaping up to be one amazing tank that I'm sure you will be very proud of.

 

[MoKan Reefer]

Love the rock scape! Looks great. Can't wait to see how it progresses

 

[Reefcowboy]

Waiting for Reefapalooza NY this saturday!! Hopefully I'll be able to grab a few nice coral frags there to start my madness.

For now will probably look for some zoanthid polyps, high end gonioporas(must have for me) and maybe a chalice frag or two

For this tank I will only get frags, start everything small and fresh...

The tank has been running for a few days now, I added Dr Tims One and Only to start a cycle(have used it successfully in my past tanks), and added a pair of Thunder maroon clowns.
Love these little guys.

I watch them swim across the tank getting tossed around every direction which tells me flow is exactly the way I want it for my sps.

Tested ammnia today after almost a week of adding the fish and got zero reading. Tank seems to be on the right track.

 

[Reefcowboy]

So havent updated this build in a while. Have been busy with work but have been checking on the tank constantly and every parameter has been on point. I ended up adding some sps frags from members here on Long Island and got many pieces that look promising. There are too many and Im not good with the names they go for these days, ;Bookworm.

It will be fun to watch these frags grow to full size colonies. Im now adding fish, unsure what species I’ll choose, but got a little chocolate tang today. More to come. This Ipad camera is horrible, soon Ill take better pics as the frags adapt to my water and color up under the halides. I had to take these pics with the halides off, the Radiums make the pics way too blue. I also changed the T5’s to Aquablue Special, Coral Plus, Blue plus and aquablue special respectivelly. I will retrofit some Kessils A80’s into the fixture for dusk/dawn and a bit of blue pop.

I added many frags today and they arent happy with moving arond, dipping and so on. Soon theyll look good again.

As far as other coral types, will get some zoas, and a few chalices for the lower rocks on the aquascape. The top shelfs are stricly for sticks!

 

[rickster]

Loving your set up. Those sps will like great once they start growing..

 

[Reefcowboy]

Loving your set up. Those sps will like great once they start growing..

Thanks rickster!

Im getting a few chalices and zoas for the bottom rocks. Ill take pics of the progress.

 

[chefjpaul]

Fantastic build!!

 

[najer]

I love when I discover new builds, great work, love the scape and the attention to detail.
How are the algae scrubbers working?

 

[Reefcowboy]

I love when I discover new builds, great work, love the scape and the attention to detail.
How are the algae scrubbers working?

Thank you Najer,

Im a bit OCD so a disorganized sump with wires hanging among salt creep would make me go nuts, LOL.

I think the hobby evolved to extending the beauty of tanks from the actual system and animals to the sump area and equipment as well.
I apreciate a clean organized system as it is safer and easier for maintenance, allowing the hobbyist to enjoy more while keeping up with the chores of the tank.

As far as the scrubber, I started slow with lights on for only 6 hours on and didnt see any growth. I also only started building my bioload now with the addition of a small tang and a pair of clowns. I decided to run the Scrubber leds 24x7 until I get some growth and then Ill tapper it down as required.

I read even algae needs time with lights off, so at least 6 hours off and maybe 18 hours on will be the definite schedule.

I started to see algae growth on the screen but very little this far.
Ill take a pic later and post it. A good thing was to build a reactor with a clear acrylic enclosure so I can follow growth without having to take the cover off.

 

[Bpb]

Absolutely love that aquascape

 

[fishybizzness]

Still following along! I'm still in the research stages of setting up the same tank, though I know it will never look as good as yours but at least I have something to strive for!! Lol

 

[NY_Caveman]

Im a bit OCD.... LOL

You said it, not me. LOL. Since you did I will say, looking at your aquascape and frag placement plan, I was thinking about the relationship between OCD and successful SPS reefing. The potential is obvious and it seems to be growing as I watch the image. Great job!