56 gallon column build (last chance)

[Nebthet]

Actually, if you use a fan system, I think the sundial would be perfect for you. It gives you all the light requirements without going overboard and it will allow you to keep a variety of of corals as well as look great in the tank.

The centre brace should not be much of an issue as long as you keep the light up high enough. about 8 inches or so.

Chitons are one of those hitchhikers that are good cleaners. They usually multiply in your tank on their own.

Actually, I find wetwebmedia one of the best websites for information regarding almost everything do with fish, corals and the inverts. You should check it out some time.
http://reefguide.org/chiton.html

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

Don't know really what to do at this point.....MH are starting to scare me away and am leaning more towards the T5's but the cost for a 6 bulb unit is outrageous unless I can find used. Found a guy in philly with a 4 bulb tech light unit but most are telling me that I need 6 bulbs for my tank.....still on the fence with lighting.

Tomorrow I am going to test my water parameters again to make sure I am ready for a CUC. John from reefcleaners.org gave me what seems like a good starting CUC. tell me what you think...

20 Dwarf Ceriths - small effective cleaners
2 Nassarius
6 Florida Ceriths
7 Large Nerite

started to see small traces of diatoms but since I am running no light at all it doesn't seem to be an issue.....

[Nebthet]

Don't be afraid to buy your lighting used, especially if you want to go with the T5 lights. There are many hobbiests right now getting out and selling there stuff on different sites.

But honestly, I don't think you will have a huge issue with MH lighting as long as you hang it at least 8 inches above your tank and have a small fan going across the bottom of the reflector to reduce the heat. So many people use this method without any huge issues. It is only 1 MH you would be using, and the problem normally happens when you start using two of them. Also the MH Par will penetrate to the sandbed, which will be good for any corals you want to keep there.


Yes, that is a good start for reef cleaners. He will probably throw some extras in there for you too.

Here are some links for you to people who are selling their t5 lighting.

This guys wants alot, but you may be able to talk him down a fair bit. But his comes with 6 new bulbs too and they are the ATI ones.. = good.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...0&highlight=t5

If you want to try retrofitting your own, you could get away with 24" 6 bulb for now.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...6&highlight=t5

Here is a 48" light. 8 bulb Tek fixture with free shipping. It doesn't say if it has sold yet.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...94&hl=t5+bulbs

another 24" fixture.. good shape.
http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/inde...70&hl=t5+bulbs


The few next ones are from a Canadian reef site. If you talk to the people and are willing to pay full shipping, I am sure they will work something out for you. Also the amount they want is in Can Dollars.

This person has a 4 bulb and 2 bulb fixture for $210 together.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=61077


http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=61077

http://www.jlaquatics.com/product/sl...C+6+x+39W.html

Then if cost is the concern, there are some cheaper versions of T5s that will work, if you get two units on some of them since they don't come with individual reflectors.

http://cgi.ebay.ca/36-T5-HO-Aquarium...item45f3562d61

http://cgi.ebay.ca/36-Wavepoint-T5-H...item19b96bd3d6

http://cgi.ebay.ca/35-T5-MOONLIGHT-L...item4cec479793

http://www.fishneedit.com/3ft4bulbs-with-l34.html

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

thanks for all of the info, looks like I will be busy for awhile....I have decided on sticking with T5 at this point. Looking for some used 6 bulb units...wife wants it to look good so I am going to have to stick with a 30" unit rather then 36" like I planned.

sorry for the slow progress up until this point. Planning to get my CUC this week and hope to have some pics....was thinking of a ATO DIY project along with way while I wait for lighting and livestock.

what do you guys think of autotopoff.com stuff?

[reeftanknewbie]

Ok so I know things slowed down a little on my end but I think I am getting ready for more builds. Today is day 32 since staring my tank.

Water parameters are:
Ammonia 0
nitrate0
nitrite 0
phosphate 0
temp 79
ph 7.8
salinity 1.025

found a local club and new LFS near me and have been busy making friends. Hoping to go out tomorrow for my CUC, father's day gift from the wife. I have found a Tek 36" unit locally for sale for 150 with bulbs used for 6 months. It's the 4 bulb unit. Plans will be for later on adding a additional two bulb unit as needed based on my life stock needs grow but at least for now it's a start. Will have pics for you guys soon to see my new toys.

[Nebthet]

Sweet. I am glad you found that you were looking for and that you are making friends locally. That always helps a lot.

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

I really appreciate all of your help especially in finding all of those lights for sale for me....I'll try to get some pics up soon.

[Nebthet]

Sweet. Can't wait to see some pictures.

[reeftanknewbie]

Ok so it's present time for me on father's day. My new Tek T5 lighting and CUC along with two chromis... Added a new piece of live rock to seed the tank with some coralline algae...Joe from Reef and Pond in Mt. Bethel really hooked me up today with some great stuff and even better prices...Thanks again Joe.

And to James for the great deal on the T5 lighting and great conversation...thanks...

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[Nebthet]

Very nice set up so far. Also good choice on the lights. At least you can work with some lower light corals in the beginning. Can't wait to see more pix as your tank progresses.

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

thanks man.....any suggestions on some good starter low lighting corals....was thinking of starting with some softies, Xenia,zooanthids at first.....Looking something to show movement with a variety of colors.....your thoughts on some nice looking pieces...

Here is a short clip of my tank the following day after adding livestock...fish are eating well and seem happy at the moment....I must admit that I have some anxiety about this as if everything dies then game over for me....

[Nebthet]

Well, right now for your tank, I would say you have low to moderate lighting. Moderate for the top half of the tank, and low for the bottom half.

Softies

- Zoas. Moderate to strong lighting. Mid to top placement. Moderate flow.
- Green Star Polyps. Moderate to High lighting. Mid to top placement. Moderate to strong flow.
- Clavularia and Xenia. Moderate light, moderate flow. Mid placement.
- Ricordia. Low to moderate light. Low flow. Bottom placement.


LPS

- Favites. Moderate Lighting. Mid tank placement. Moderate flow.
- Candycane and trumpet corals. Moderate Lighting. Placement All. Moderate flow.
- Bubble coral. Moderate light. Mid to low placement and flow.
- Fox Coral. Low light. Low flow. Mid to bottom placement.
- Acans. Moderat light. Low to Moderate Flow. Placement bottom to mid tank.
- Duncans. Low to moderate light and flow. Placement mid to bottom.
- Chalice. Low to moderate lighting. Moderate flow. Placement mid to bottom.
- Hammer/Torch/Frogspawn. Moderate light and flow. Mid to top placement.

SPS

- MontiCap. Mid to near top placement. Moderate flow.
- Monti Digitata. Mid to near top placement. Moderate flow.


This gives you a wide range of options for coral right now. When you get two more lights to add to your tank, in addition to the fixture you currently have, your lighting will get closer to the high end, so some of the corals you can shift lower in the tank to make room for others.

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

Man you always have great information for me....I really appreciate your time in posting to my thread....I have learned so much from you I can't thank you enough. I think until I get another 2 bulb T5 unit I am going to keep my PC lighting which is what you have seen on the take already. I am going to make some rods that hang over the tank similar to the ones that came with the light but longer to work on my stand. Here is the link that most have seen on how to do this. http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2009-04/diy/index.php

Can you recommend some good sites to do some reading up on this great list?

[reeftanknewbie]

Just for fun, tell me what you think?


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rrOjK...layer_embedded

[Nebthet]

Here is a list of Links I have saved on my computer that I go when researching.

http://www.liveaquaria.com/

http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2005-06/nftt/index.php

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2010...ew?searchterm=

http://www.aquarticles.com/articles/...phocystis.html

http://reefguide.org/index19.html

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/marine/index.htm

Then forums such as this one. I will go to the differenct sections and do searches on th corals or fish I am looking to get to see what other people have had issues with or success with. I am a major lurker in threads. LOL

[Nebthet]

As for your video.. it looks good so far.. you should be good with the two chromis for now. Give it another 2.5 weeks to a month then add some more.

Oh, what might also help, is if you go to walmart and buy a small journal.
What I did with mine, is a printed off some small pics of the fsh or corals I was researching and made a table in Microsoft Office. I would copy and paste the most relevant information required for that livestock, lighting, flow, placement, special tips etc for it. I would dedicate one to two pages per livestock so I could make some additional notes if I needed to.

Then I also made a small chart with date, time, salinity, ph, nitrate, nitrite, ammonia, calcium listed on there with room to fill in.

Having it all listed there, helped me to see trends in my tank between any changes I made and any changes in the parameters in the tank.

I also left room to actually write in updates on additions of livestock, how many, health . etc.. it has also been enjoyable little project instead of keeping it all online.

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

Saved all of those links and started looking through them...great library. I don't plan to move too fast at all...thinking of waiting a full month before adding new live stock. found someone who is giving me some frags for free to get started at the end of July and would like to focus my attention on proper water chemistry, flow, and lighting as I wait for the new arrivals. Started noticing a slight presents of Diatoms on the sand, rock, and glass today so I am making water as we speak for a 5-10 gallon water change to address the nutrients(silca) in the tank.

love the journal thing. I usually log in a notebook my maintenance but never thought about keeping my pics of live stock and equipment info. Plan to work on this ASAP before I get too far and forget. Tomorrow I will be checking my water parameters again while I prep the water change.

What salt do you use? I have been using Instant Ocean but was recommended to use reef crystals. your thoughts?

[Nebthet]

I have been using IO salt myself. Most people do without any issues.

[reeftanknewbie]

Nebthet,

That's what I heard as well. My LFS sells reef crystals for the same price as IO (44.00) and swears by it....

[reeftanknewbie]

Ok so today is day 37 since adding water to my build and the fourth day since adding my livestock.

Water Parameters:
Ammonia 0ppm
Nitrate 0ppm
nitrite 0ppm
Phosphate 0ppm
PH 7.8 at 7:45pm
Salinity 1.025
temp 79

Chromis are eating and doing well. CUC are doing their work on what seems like a mild diatom bloom. Working on purchasing a new pump for my skimmer, in the meanwhile I am using my backup prizm skimmer which is taking out tea colored stuff from the water column.

I was reading on Capn's log book about water flow and am thinking about moving my power heads around a little bit so that I reduce dead spots. Here is the quote from his page.

The best powerhead configuration in my opinion is to position one or two at the top of one end panel facing the opposing end where the overflow box is (hopefully). Then position one or two powerheads as close to the bottom as you can get without disturbing the sand too much, at the opposing end (below the overflow box). This will give you that barrel role or circular flow. It's about as close to a gyre or laminar flow that you can get with powerheads. Unlike a closed loop, powerheads must suck and blow from the same end so a true gyre is impossible. The benefit of having half of the powerheads at the surface is you get more ripples and subsequent shimmer effect with the lighting.

I have decided to hold off on the ATO unit for now as I want to go slow and get it right this time. I began making my journal per Nebthet suggestions, beginning with literature on the current livestock and some of my equipment. Will have a nice selection of softies, LPS, and SPS come the end of july thanks to a fellow reefer. While I wait I was thinking of putting together a viewing box out of acrylic that will fit my camera for top viewing pics in my tank. Found some stuff on usplastics.com and plan to make one soon. Was also thinking of buying a plastic cutting board at the dollar store and do a getto project since I haven't posted on that site yet and promised to do so with a getto project.

[reeftanknewbie]

Day 41:

calibrated my pinpoint monitor; Ph remains at 7.8. Added my chateo to my refugium (fist size to start). Will be trading the rest to a local reefer for a frag next week. Things have slowed down a bit as we get prepared for my wife to have our son at the beginning of August. Don't have time much tonight to post as we have all these gifts from our baby shower to set up or find a place for.

[raen]

Looks GREAT so far! Keep up the GREAT work! I have DREAMS of the same corals that you have listed. I love to look at all of these super thick tanks with tons of life and color. Can not wait to see yours doing the same.

[reeftanknewbie]

Raen,

thanks for joining in on my build and for your comments....Doing a trade tonight of my chateo trimmings for a piece of purple monti cap. hope to have some pics soon for everyone.

thanks everyone for voting on my poll. Seems like everyone liked the MH and T5 combo. Decided on keeping my PC for supplemental along with my new T5 unit. In time I will add another 2 bulb T5 unit with my 4 bulb and loose the PC...

[punchedup]

OP, I'm just curious how you secured all of your rock. I don't know if it was stated previously, but that's a pretty impressive pile of rock you have there!

[reeftanknewbie]

OP, I'm just curious how you secured all of your rock. I don't know if it was stated previously, but that's a pretty impressive pile of rock you have there!

puchedup,
thanks....believe it or not I didn't secure it with anything. everything fit together well and seems to lock into place...took me awhile to find the right fit... May have to glue my corals though because of the flow in the tank....