The Reef Central Corner Club Thread

[BackSpin]

It is a Teeth type overflow brand new no buildup I also belive that the restriction is at this point cause the pipes will flow once the water flows in to the drain area water level rises about 3/4 the way up to the teeth, If my math is right with head loss I shoul have no more then 650gph max wide open. Is it possible the comb area was made to small ? I am checking with tank builder right now to see what it should be rated at..I will post pictures soon..

[reefscape15]

WOW dudester! Solar panels are probably much more popular down there than they are in Upstate NY. We only get about 3 months of sun it seems like...Hahaha!!!! I'm glad to hear about others wanting to have as small an impact on the environment as possible. It makes me feel better that i'm not the only one who thinks like this. I don't know if anyone asked, but what are you planning on keeping? Mixed, SPS, LPS, Softy... Also what lighting/filtration are you going to run? As i said before, it looks like your all set for any kind of lighting you want with all the outlets in the ceiling. Thats an awesome idea!

[Prock1]

Thank you Michael
Esquare I got my ideas from your tank. Thanks

[Hookup]

Backspin, i'm more curious about the overall length of the overflow section... from one side of the overflow to the other... how long is it? Ideally it is VERY long... but in alot of cases they are only 5-10 inches... mine is about 7 or 8 inches "long" or wide however you want to look at it... I've had my flow up to 600 or 800gph... but not higher...
was ok with 1x1.25" down run.

[Esquare]

Originally posted by Prock1
Thank you Michael
Esquare I got my ideas from your tank. Thanks

Wow, I'm flattered.

[Dudester]

Originally posted by reefscape15
I don't know if anyone asked, but what are you planning on keeping? Mixed, SPS, LPS, Softy... Also what lighting/filtration are you going to run? As i said before, it looks like your all set for any kind of lighting you want with all the outlets in the ceiling. Thats an awesome idea!

I'm planning on an SPS-dominant but mixed reef, probably about 75% SPS, 20% LPS and 5% softies. For filtration I'll be using Zeovit and dual skimmers (Deltec AP701 and BK DeLuxe 300), along with LR of course and a SSB. For lights, I'm still on the fence. I'm leaning toward 3 400W MH with Lumenarc reflectors, supplemented with both T5's and VHO actinics. Although I may eliminate either the T5's or the VHO's, not sure yet. I can use all the help I can get on this aspect of the system, so feel free to offer suggestions. I haven't purchased any lighting equipment at all, so the slate is completely clean. The outlets on the ceiling are all on separate circuits - the room has 4 dedicated 20 amp circuits. I want the lights to be mounted on a rack that I can roll into the center of the room for bulb changes, so I'll probably use a sliding rail system for that. Additionally, I'll want to be able to raise the lights up to near the ceiling to facilitate working in the tank without burning my neck, but still providing light into the tank. I was going to try to use a linear actuator for that but it may be too complex and I might just go with a simple manual pulley rig instead. Again, I'm open to suggestions.

[reefscape15]

Sounds like you've got your work cut out for you! I'd just do a manual lifting pulley only because it's more time and money you can save for your tank. That is a great idea to have them slide back away from the tank for maintenance and being able to raise them for messing with your tank. I personally like T-5s over VHOs, but you'd need more of them to equal the output of VHOs. This does let you have more color options though! Are you running a fuge? And did i miss something or are you not using filtration other than skimmers? Again only my view, but i think they aren't a requirement for a reef tank, and usually end up as ditritus traps which produce nitrates.

[Michael]

his filteration is live rock, thats all he needs for a basic system, nice to have a fudge, ive kinda started 1 myself but its not essential, flow skimming and live rock, will do the job for now,like the idea of the zeovit, wouldnt mind hearing alittle more about it

[Hookup]

Dude, is it ok if I call you Dude? (hahahah)... anyhow,
What is the depth of the tank? The reason I am asking is I have a 24" deep tank with a 400w 20k Luminbright reflector for lighting and quite honestly it is too much light for a lot of my sps/corals. I've had to move some corals litteraly into caves to get them out of the light ...
If your 36" deep, then 400w for sure... if not, I'd suggest running 250w and I would also recommend the 14k phoenix bulbs... though I have not personally tried them, they are making quite the noise and I want to get my hands on one...

Alternately, with only 24" deep, I think it would be good to go all T5 lighting. The color combos are endless, and the new trend is all T5 lit tanks. The round-corner style that most of us are using does not lend itself well to that setup... even though I did manage to get 6 T5's into my tank...

I'm planning on migrating to a bigger tank (who isnt) and I am going to be using 100% T5's for the setup... Likely all 24" bulbs mounted "front-to-back" over the 5 or 6 foot length of the tank... giving me at least 10 bulbs... Should be lower on the electric bills and colors should improve...

Just a thought.. though I know most people are still die-hard MH lovers...

[reefscape15]

Michael i agree 100%! I only run a skimmer and hang on fuge. I have about 1800GPH at the moment, but am planning on a K-4 with Maxi Jet mod, and taking the K-4 impeller and putting it in my K-3. Should give me over 3500GPH. Also i was going to try pumping air into the venturi on my Red Sea Prism Skimmer. Has anyone done anything like this? I'm hoping it will work a little better because i feel my skimmer is undersized for my tank. It's rated for 90gal and my tank is only 54gal, but i'd like a bigger one

[Dudester]

Originally posted by reefscape15
I personally like T-5s over VHOs, but you'd need more of them to equal the output of VHOs. This does let you have more color options though! Are you running a fuge? And did i miss something or are you not using filtration other than skimmers? Again only my view, but i think they aren't a requirement for a reef tank, and usually end up as ditritus traps which produce nitrates.

Thanks for your input, although I'm going to have to disagree with you. I have a PAR meter and I've measured PAR from T5's as well as from VHO's, and T5's far outperform VHO's, it's not even close. The advantage I see to using VHO's is the pure actinic color they provide. There are many beautiful tanks out there that look amazing and run on MH + VHO, like the tanks of greenmako and Oldude to name a couple. On the other hand, others use MH+T5 with excellent results. So I just figured I'd combine all 3 and get the best of both worlds . As for the fuge, no, I will not use one. Since I'm using Zeovit, the tank will be too nutrient poor to sustain any macroalgae, at least that is the intent. I will have a frag tank with LR which will serve as a 'refuge' of sorts for pods and the like, but I won't be growing any chaeto or caulerpa. And finally, I think that running two quality skimmers is an excellent way to remove organics from the water. Any detritus swept down to the sump from the display tank will be removed by regular siphoning. I hope that addresses all of your points, and thanks again for your input.

Michael - Zeovit is fairly complicated, but let's just say that it's a probiotic system that also uses special media that pulls nitrates and phosphates actively out of the water column. I guess it's like having a nitrate reactor and a GFO reactor in one. I used it on my previous 200g rimless tank and was very pleased with the results. You can visit the Zeovit forum to learn more, or I can answer any specific questions you may have.

Hookup - Of course you can call me Dude, or The Dude, or His Dudeness, whatever! The tank is 30" tall, so I think 400W will be necessary. My previous 200g tank was 26" tall and it was run off a Powermodule (all T5's). Based on the PAR I was getting, I'm confident that if I supplement with T5's my tank will be a PAR monster! VHO's will add color but not a lot of what I would consider beneficial light to the corals.

[Hookup]

Michael, I am running the FaunaMarin version of Zeovit.. theirs is called Ultralith... It's done an amzaing job of droping all nutrient levels to 0ppm... there just gone... and just this week I started dosing the trace elements to boost colors... within 5min of dosing the poylup extension was better than I'd ever seen before on most of my SPS...

I'm told it takes about 4 weeks to see the colors start to boost and about 6 months before they hit that ... "you must have photoshoped those pictures..." level...

It's something that every SPS'r should have running... IMO...

I'm buying another 4-pump dosing pump and will be automating the dosing of the trace elements as well...

[Michael]

hi hook, im very interested in this and im going to browse the zeovit forum as suggested by Dudester,have you got any pics or more information for me to look at? ive heard about this before actually but didnt take too much notice, seems very interesting though

[Hookup]

Most of the TOTM here are running something like this.. there are about several (3?) different versions of the same thing... basically they all use rocks that have very specific porous structures which allow a specific size of bacteria and particle to be absorbed... kind of amazing really...

These rocks need to be changed on a regular basis, which is one part of the maintenance. The system that I use comes with a bacteria culture that you add to your system to start and maintain the culture. These specific rocks and their bacteria break down nutrients.

The end result in all of these systems is that you get to a 0-nutrient level... Nitrate and Phosphate become undetectible, just like ocean water.

From there, you add amino acids to feed your corals which helps them grow... there is also an additive that feeds the bacteria as well, which keeps the population high to keep the nutrients at 0 in your system.

So using these few products, you end up with super-clean water... and your SPS will love you.... Then, you have to simply dose trace-elements (at least in the faunamarin system) to get the corals to color up... My favorite TOTM is July 2008 (http://reefkeeping.com/issues/2008-07/totm/index.php).


So in a perfect world, if your LR and skimmers are getting rid of all of the Ammonia/Nitrite, and the Zeovit/Ultralith system is getting rid of all of the phosphate and Nitrate, you'd never have to do water changes again!!!!

WRONG

You still need Ca/Mg/ALk to be stable, (though you can dose those products) and to my knowledge these systems all have some bi-product that needs to be exported via water changes... for Ultralith its some hard-metal that I cannot remember... maybe it's not even a metal.. but it's something...

I think the people who want to run these systems are the ones trying to get MAX color and growth from their SPS and are willing to pay the $500/year costs... (that's a rough guess, i'm working on a cost-calculator for the Faunamarin products.. )

If you do go with Ultralith, I wrote a calculator for how to ramp-up the dosing on the basic system. The calculator has been circulated a lot lately, even now available thru cherry corals I believe... and has been proven successful for many tanks in my local area... Grab it cause it's a complicated dosing system with many variables.
(www.ottawainverts.com has it on their main page, I gave it to them as a store to help them out)


Photos.. by now, you guys know I fail in that category... Once again, I'll try to make some photos this weekend... I added 3 new SPS yesterday... they look cool as they are starting to color up... I also finished the canopy, the system is looking good.. and I added an Aurora Goby.. full 6-7" size on him/her...

IMO, if I cannot get colors out of my SPS like the ones in that TOTM thread above, I'd be out of the hobby completely.... I'm still new (this time around) into the reef setup... so my colors are coming.. I've been having unbelievable issues with skimmers... right from day one..... I'm not even skimming right now... it's broken again... but the mfg is taking VERY good care of me (Coralvue)...

[sdoggssf]

Dudester,

On my last tank i ran T5's with my 400w 20k MH and you could barely tell the T5's were even on. IMO, the 400w MH are way too bright to pare with the T5's. I've never ran the T5 or the VHO bulbs under a PAR meter, but the T5's don't compare to VHO's visually. I love the way T5's look by themselves, but with 400w MH's I think the VHO's are a much better choice (IMO). No matter what way you go that tank is going to be awesome.. Cant wait to see it done. Good Luck.

[Michael]

ok-thanks hook great post

[Dudester]

Great explanation of a complicated system Hookup, maybe I could convince you to write an article for RK Magazine!

sdoggssf - Very helpful information, I appreciate your insight.

[Hookup]

I would love to write an article! Email me directly tim(dot)stratton(at)koan-it(dot)com and we'll flush out an outline and I'll get started on it asap.

[reefscape15]

Oh i didn't realize that T-5s could keep up with the output of VHOs. I guess i'm glad i have T-5s then! I would imagine that they would be cooler running than VHOs, but it's just a guess. I think all 3 lighting forms would look pretty sweet too. Maybe you should add PCs and LEDs while your at it! hahaha... But Michael's LEDs are frickin sweet! I wish they were a little cheaper, but i might be investing in some down the road. I definately agree with sdogg, your tank is going to be sweet no matter how you light it!

[kickinmc]

Reefscape15, I sent you an email through RC detailing the info you inquired about. Did you get it?

[Reef-Ski]

Almost split time

[Reef-Ski]

I was wondering if anyone else has tried putting there powerheads with magnetic holders against the upper plastic corners in the front.

I found that by placing them there it made it easier when I needed to scrape the glass.

[reefscape15]

Reef ski - I never did try that but it's a wonderful idea! I've never thought about doing that, but it seems like you wouldn't be able to keep from blowing sand all over the place. I guess i'll have to try it sometime!

Kickinmc - No i didn't get anything that i know of. I didn't know you could email through RC i guess. Could you please resend just as a PM? I will deffinately know if i get it then! Thanks!

[Michael]

Originally posted by Reef-Ski
I was wondering if anyone else has tried putting there powerheads with magnetic holders against the upper plastic corners in the front.

I found that by placing them there it made it easier when I needed to scrape the glass.

no, i havent but i havent got the room i think, is the magnet that strong, do you mean the top area where the rim of the tank is

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...readid=1592474