33g Greenleaf Rimless Build

[DaytonaJoe]

Originally Posted by one4gatr

Joe... good to hear things are coming along. Your water issue puzzles me as well. Have you tested your RODI water prior to mixing? Also are you running the RODI filter about 15 minutes prior to using the water? I know the issue I had was caused by not "bleeding" water through the filter prior to using it. I ended up with an acrylic tank from Advance Acrylics as I couldnt get GLA to respond to me regarding when the new batch of 33g's were coming in... and I am the inpatient sort lol....

Hey again. I haven't tried testing the water prior to mixing but I'll be sure to. I wouldn't say I run the ro/di for 15 minutes, but I do let it go until my dual tds meter reads 0 in / 0 out (of the DI filter). So I don't think that's the issue, or is it for a reason that wouldn't show up in the TDS?

I'm also usually impatient. This project has been really testing me as I'm holding everything to a much higher standard than usual. Good luck with the acrylic!! I've always been scared of scratching. The clarity looks sweet though

[one4gatr]

I would definately check the RO water prior to mixing. I had an issue with silicates in mine. Not sure why but my R/O filter recommends flushing the filter 15 minutes prior to using the water on a system that isnt HARD plumbed. I guess if yours is HARD plumbed you might be ok but it wouldnt hurt to be sure. Good luck!

[gnashty]

sweet build dude

[DaytonaJoe]

Update time. LEDs are done.

[DaytonaJoe]

FTS. They are way brighter in person.

[WWiley]

Nice, still not sure how I'm going to light mine.

[InsaneClownFish]

Very nice on the DIY lighting and mini canopy.

[DaytonaJoe]

Originally Posted by WWiley

Nice, still not sure how I'm going to light mine.

Originally Posted by InsaneClownFish

Very nice on the DIY lighting and mini canopy.

Appreciate it. WWiley, LEDs are looking pretty awesome so far! I can't vouch for long term use though, obviously.

Update!

[DaytonaJoe]

Two more

[firereef]

This is a sweet little set up. I love the rimless look. Good job!

[DaytonaJoe]

Thanks Firereef.

Anyone have any idea what type of flatworm this is? It has little "wings" on the sides, I've never seen one like it.

[DaytonaJoe]

Bump. anyone?

[2Addicted]

wow what a cool tank! I love the led's.

[DaytonaJoe]

Here are some new pics from my tank. There are two fish now: a lawnmower blenny and a yellow banded possum wrasse, both of which have really cool personalities!

Not everything is kosher with the tank, though. There has been a decline in the coloration of most SPS. Some of them are still growing pretty well, but with definite color loss. I'll post some pics and maybe you guys can help me figure out what the problem is. Edit: having trouble loading pics other than this one, will try again later

Tank parameters all look fine, although I don't test for phosphates as our kits don't tell us much.

calcium:420ppm
alkalinity:8dkh
nitrates:0ppm
magnesium:1420ppm
salinity:1.027 (bringing it back down to .025, was a little off on my water change a few days ago)

[DaytonaJoe]

New possum wrasse and a halloween hermit crab

[DaytonaJoe]

My favorite coral, the aequituberculata, showing some serious color loss. Also, my "green" birdsnest that isn't so green anymore... great polyp extension though. Is the light too strong? Both of these corals were near the top of the tank. I've moved the aequituberculata to the sand bed to see what happens

[MattyJatz]

Daytona Joe -

Great looking tank btw. I'm in the process of buying either a Greenleaf or ADA. Still deciding on which one to purchase. Obviously you had success with drilling the tank, but weren't you a little nervous drilling it? It appears the majority of rimless hobbyist's do overflows or lily pipes. Did you take it somewhere to have it drilled?

[jcolletteiii]

Corals look great under the LED's! What mix of white:blue emitters did you use? Sorry if I missed it. Also, LED's are notoriously difficult to photograph under, but you're getting some pretty good shots - good job!

[DaytonaJoe]

Matty- Thanks! While I don't have experience with ADA, I've heard that the build quality is very similar. I'd just go with whoever has the best price (don't forget to get a shipping quote too!).

I was really nervous before I began drilling, but I soon realized that it's actually very easy. Use the plumber's putty + water technique and go slowly, replacing the water often. Drilling the three holes took me an hour and a half or two hours, but would have gone faster if I had been quicker to figure out how much fresh water improves drilling speed. Just do it yourself, it really isn't that tough.

Jcollettiii - Thanks for the kind words. Some of them obviously aren't looking that great lately, but I am 90% sure it's because I didn't acclimate them to the intense lighting properly. The aequituberculata is slowly recovering its color.

With both whites and blues on, LEDs arent any more difficult to photograph than anything else. Blues only are basically impossible, for me. I used a 50/50 mix btw. It's a little on the white side when both are at 100% so I'd recommend more like a 60/40 blue to white ratio.

[DaytonaJoe]

A couple weeks after the aequituberculata color loss. Before and after pics. Also, a new friend

[Nerd1717]

Looks good so far, do you have any newer shots of the whole setup?

[DaytonaJoe]

Grrr RC has some pretty ridiculous restrictions on attached jpgs. I had to reformat all of the photos I've posted on other forums to get them below 100kbs. So the quality isn't going to be that good. How do you guys do it?

Anyway here's the latest update. I've slightly reaquascaped to tighten things up and keep rocks away from glass. I dialed down the white LEDs a bit as I wasn't satisfied with the color. I'm still not, but a 3w violet LED is about to be released so I'll be experimenting with those in the near future.

The aequituberculata has completely recovered and growing faster than any of the other corals.

[SammyJ916]

nice clean look

[drifterstudios]

Rimless and LED = love.