Rimless Reef 3.0

[SunnyX]

Hey Sunny, what corals did you start with?

Hello,

Just some Zoas, rics, montis and easier to care for sps. The first "real" sps was added yesterday, A Garf Purple Bonsai.

 

[SunnyX]

It's good to see things moving along nicely, hope it continues. Maybe Adam@Battlecorals can help you with a new Deltec choice. Just for reference I have a skimmer, not a Deltec, rated up to 150gal on my 65 gal and it pulls a ton of junk out.

Yes, I'll be in touch with Adam soon. I need to get a coral order along with looking at a Deltec for this small reef.

From what I've seen over the years, on average, most skimmers skim out the same amount of waste. You pay more for the higher end skimmers for the build quality, support, and ease of use. In the 11 years that I've owned the Deltec I have never had an issue or needed to replace a part. The skimmer has always been "set and forget" so I need something similar. I don't want to constantly be adjusting water levels or air intake.

Simplicity, in this hobby and my life, is key. Adam@Battlecorals is a joy to deal with and would be a big selling point for me to get another Deltec. I know that Doug is now back running Deltec USA and he also is a great person to deal with.

At this point it's coming down to the Deltec 1350/51 and Atb Nano One. I looked at the Atb 840 ver 2.0 but that is likely much too large for my system.

 

[AD87]

Any updates?

 

[SunnyX]

Any updates?

Hello,

I should have some new pictures and updates this coming week. I have quite a few new corals coming in. It feels like my children are coming home with the PC Superman and PC Rainbow finally coming back home.

Ill post up pictures of the corals the day I receive them. The tank itself is doing great. I'm gonna let the Radium MH run for another month or so and then decide on what I plan to do with the lighting. More than likely I will swap the MH for T5 simply for the increased growth and color that they produce. The shimmer on the MH is nice but with frags I would much prefer increased growth and color.

This thread should really start to pickup in the next few months once the corals have started to fill out. I'm eagerly awaiting to dust off the camera.

 

[cpllongjk]

Good to have you back. I use radium with reefbrite led strips as supplementation. I really like it when all the bulbs are on but would prefer a mh/t5 combo. The only fixtures that look half appealing are the giesemann spectra and the hamilton cebu sun. The hamilton is a better value but the giesemann looks better over the tank. I'm sure they would both do the same thing.

I've been dealing with the same issue with skimming on my new setup. I've been going for 2-2.5 months now. I'm using a lifereef skimmer and its oversized for my build. The foam head collapses but my biggest problem is microbubbles in the display and how noisy the venturi is. I went through Adam at BattleCorals and ordered a deltec sc 1351. I expect it in sometime next week and will let you know how it works out. I have some hair algae still, dying though, and every day I have to clean the glass 2-3 times (a day) thats how much algae gets on the glass. I know there is junk in the water but my skimmer isnt getting it. So I know exactly what you mean.

 

[CoralClark]

Good to hear your back! Looking forward to seeing some pics soon. I'll have to come by and check out the setup when u have time!

 

[SunnyX]

Good to have you back. I use radium with reefbrite led strips as supplementation. I really like it when all the bulbs are on but would prefer a mh/t5 combo. The only fixtures that look half appealing are the giesemann spectra and the hamilton cebu sun. The hamilton is a better value but the giesemann looks better over the tank. I'm sure they would both do the same thing.

I've been dealing with the same issue with skimming on my new setup. I've been going for 2-2.5 months now. I'm using a lifereef skimmer and its oversized for my build. The foam head collapses but my biggest problem is microbubbles in the display and how noisy the venturi is. I went through Adam at BattleCorals and ordered a deltec sc 1351. I expect it in sometime next week and will let you know how it works out. I have some hair algae still, dying though, and every day I have to clean the glass 2-3 times (a day) thats how much algae gets on the glass. I know there is junk in the water but my skimmer isnt getting it. So I know exactly what you mean.

Hello and thank you. Yes, apparently you can have a skimmer that is too large. I have always run Deltec skimmers on my systems and absolutely love them. The external recirculating models I have used are truly "plug and play". In all the years that they have been running I have never had to adjust them or mess with the settings. I simply turned on the pump and let them skim.

I really like the color that the Radium gives off. Its one of the few MH bulbs that looks pleasing to the eye without the need for supplements. The bulb does a good job but I know from experience that unless youre running an XM10K then 100% T5 is hard to beat.

I have thought about running an XM10K bulb with a couple T5 Blue+ but with the reflector being so large I wouldn't have any room to place supplemental lighting. I have some Lumenarc mini's in storage and could use one of them but I really like the coverage of the Lumenarc 3. Right now one reflector is covering almost the entire tank. While nothing beats the XM10K for growth it really needs blue supplements.

For now the Radium will remain over the tank until I decide what the next step is.

Good to hear your back! Looking forward to seeing some pics soon. I'll have to come by and check out the setup when u have time!

Great to hear from you. As always, youre welcome to stop by anytime. Just give my tank a few months to grow into something respectable.

 

[cpllongjk]

You could always run the xm10k for a month or two then switch the the radium for color. Alternate for growth and color. I would love the ability to modify my color more by using t5s but not at the added cost of a new fixture. Maybe down the line as my tank progresses I will switch to a giesemann or cebu sun but right now I am happy with the look of my current fixture.

I had a 6x24w sunpower with reefbrite added on for color and pop and while I loved the look I didn't like how my eyes were getting blasted every time I looked at the tank. I also cannot live without the MH shimmer. I went a long time with t5s and missed the shimmer.

 

[revhtree]

Cant wait for updates!

 

[SunnyX]

So, this came in today. Another great order from @Battlecorals!

 

[ECreefer]

Nice to see you got some of your old pieces back!! Look forward to seeing them in the tank

 

[hybridazn]

Awesome! Can't wait to see this thing start to fill in

 

[revhtree]

Oh yea!

 

[tripdad]

Very nice! Coral order receiving days are the best. Looks like it's also old friends week for you in that box.

 

[SunnyX]

Well, I decided to replace the 250W MH with an ATI Sunpower 6x39w I had collecting dust. I have new fans and bulbs coming for it in a few days. The bulbs I will be using are:

1x ATI Aquablue Special
2x ATI Coral+
3x ATI Blue+

Over the years I have found that a combo of 50/50 white bulbs to blue the best for overall SPS color and growth. I also find this blend most pleasing to MY eyes. I prefer my lighting to be as close to a "lagoon look" as possible. The LED blues and 20K look just isn't appealing to me.

 

[blesk]

Any updates and tank shots please sunny

 

[Elder1945]

Well, it’s finally time for a new setup! As some of you know, I had to take a long break from reefing due to health issues. I am now happy to be back and look forward to watching this reef grow. I eventually plan on building a larger in-wall setup, but at this time it would be too large of a project for me to handle.

While this tank is “small” it will not be lacking in color or in design. I plan to stock it with SPS, Clams, Zoas, and a small selection of LPS. I like Digitata’s and plan to have green, orange, and purple ones in the reef, along with a small selection of SPS. I will also have an assortment of Zoa's, Acans, and other LPS.

For livestock I am thinking of one dwarf Angel, perhaps a Potters, along with a few clownfish and some other “nano” fish. A couple cleaner shrimp, blood, and some Halloween hermits will do nicely.

I thought about the lighting I would use and came to the decision that I would use Metal Halide on this reef. I mainly chose Metal Halide as I already had 20+ new Metal Halide bulbs in storage. I do have a 6x36w Ati Sunpower that I could have used over this setup, but it requires new bulbs, fans, and a hanging kit. I figured i'd save a couple hundred dollars and run Metal Halide. I chose to use a 250w Radium bulb in a Lumenarc III reflector. I’ve used Radiums in the past and they simply cant be beat. I may at some point hang the T5 unit over this tank. Time will tell.

I will say that I did look into LED lighting but in the end I wasn’t impressed. While the energy savings are nice, they offer no other advantage over Metal Halide or T5. There’s simply no reason to dump a tried and true technology. Even if all things were equal it wouldn't make sense for ME to use LED's when I already have MH and T5 fixtures.

The skimmer being employed is my trusty Deltec AP851. It has been in use now for almost 12 years and is still going strong. Given the small size of the system I have thought about alternate filtration systems such as refugiums and even "Miracle Mud". But, a skimmer appears to be the easiest form of filtration so I will stick with it for the time being.

You won’t find any fancy plumbing, controllers, or other tech in this setup. I’ve always run simple setups and this one won’t be any different. The sump is a simple 20gl long with no baffles or compartments. It simply houses the return pump and provides water for the skimmer to draw from. The less complicated the system, the less issues I’ll have to deal with. So, you won’t see equipment or build pictures. This thread will simply feature the display itself, along with pictures of the corals and livestock.

The rock used in the tank is completely dead and clean Pukani rock from Bulk Reef Supply. The rocks has been cleaned and allowed to bake in the sun. I kickstarted the reef with Dr Tim "One and Only" along with the ammonia solution. The tank cycled within 7-9 days. I am very worried about introducing any nuisance algae or pests, and was able to find a decent piece of rubble rock to seed the tank with coralline Algae. I plan on purchasing pods online to add some biodiversity to the system. While it may be impossible to avoid all forms of algae and pests, I would like to avoid some of the most virulent forms such as turf and bubble algae.


Display Tank
36x18x18.5″ Rimless
Ghost overflow with 1.5″ drain

Sump
20 gallon AGA tank

Water Movement
Ehiem 1262 for Return pump
Vortech MP40W

Lighting
250w Radium Metal Halide in a Lumenarc III reflector

Skimmer
Deltec AP851

Calcium and Alk Addition
Kalkwasser (dosed through top off)

Substrate
CaribSea Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand

Filtration and supplements
Carbon in a Phosban reactor
Lugol's Solution
Reef Crystals Salt
MicroBacter7

Below you will find pictures of my setups over the years:

Some of the nicest tanks I have seen in a while.... Amazing and natural looking! Thank you for sharing! please keep updating. Puts my reef history to shame.

 

[SunnyX]

Any updates and tank shots please sunny

Hello,

Thus far the tank is doing well. I had a bit of Dino's but have since eradicated them. I am keeping my PH at about 8.3 and dosing Zeo Coral Snow nightly in order to keep it at bay. My corals did lose some color due to the five day lights out period but they all but down some decent bases in that time.

I now have an ATI Sunpower over the reef, running the following bulbs:

1x ATI Aquablue Special
2x ATI Coral+
3x ATI Blue+

I find this combo to be perfect. The color may appear too white for some but I find that corals exhibit the best colors natural colors under whiter lighting.

I will get some shots up in the next few days.

 

[kevantheman35]

Can't wait to see more pics as this tank progresses!

 

[revhtree]

Hello,

Thus far the tank is doing well. I had a bit of Dino's but have since eradicated them. I am keeping my PH at about 8.3 and dosing Zeo Coral Snow nightly in order to keep it at bay. My corals did lose some color due to the five day lights out period but they all but down some decent bases in that time.

I now have an ATI Sunpower over the reef, running the following bulbs:

1x ATI Aquablue Special
2x ATI Coral+
3x ATI Blue+

I find this combo to be perfect. The color may appear too white for some but I find that corals exhibit the best colors natural colors under whiter lighting.

I will get some shots up in the next few days.

Yay can't wait!