ShootMe's 40 breeder log.

[ShootMe]

Well this is my upgrade from my 12 gallon Aquapod which has been set up for the better part of 2 ½ years. I started planning this upgrade back in March as a graduation gift to myself, woot. The original plan for the tank was to be a barebottom sps system, however my new job has me traveling every third week and sometimes every other week out of town. Therefore I do not believe I will be around enough to maintain a sps system and will probably set this tank up as a softy dominated system which is not affected by salinity, ph, alk, or calcium swings as much as the sps corals are.

I would love to try my hand at some sps but I can just picture something going wrong during one of the weeks I am out of town and losing all the corals. Maybe if I limit myself to some extremely easy to keep sps corals like birdsnest I would be able to pull if off. Other suggestions are greatly welcomed.

The specs so far:
Tank: 40 Breeder
Sump: 20 High
Light: 4 bulb 36�ATI powermoduler
Flow: Vortech mp40w
ATO: Double sump mount ato from autotopoff.com
Skimmer: DIY Randy’s Needle wheel skimmer
Return pump: Gen-X 2400
Heater: 150w Stealth heater
Rock: Ordered 50 pounds of rock from Reef Cleaners, will seed with a few pounds from the aquapod.

I want to add a controller, probably an aquacontroller junior or just an aqua logic temp controller and run the lights off timers.


The Pictures:






More to follow shortly.

[cpllongjk]

what made you go with the vortech? isnt that a bit much power for that tank? how much are you going to have to set it back?

[ShootMe]

I decided on the vortech because I did not want a closed loop, just too much plumbing for me and a chance it might just leak when I am not around and I did not want to see a whole powerhead in the display section with the power cords coming over the top of the tank. Second, I wanted a wavemaker that would provide a strong random current throughout the whole tank and there is little that can compare to the vortech for the amount of water it can move for its size and power consumption.

Once I get my rock I will see just how much I have to dial it down.

[saltyboy84]

i like it, is the bottom of the tank painted, and i think you should make a hood but up to you, lol but cant wait to see some corals/fish in there

[ShootMe]

The bottom of the tank is painted black but I have some dolphin gray starboard that I am going to use on the bottom.

[JeffReef]

Nice setup. I like the recessed stand you got there.

Have you checked how much flow you can get out of your overflow? It just appear a little too small in the picture.

[ShootMe]

Originally posted by JeffReef
Nice setup. I like the recessed stand you got there.

Have you checked how much flow you can get out of your overflow? It just appear a little too small in the picture.

Thank you.

The overflow appears to be handling the flow for now. I have the system set up with just water and salt for the moment while I wait for the rock. The Gen-x 2400 was a pump I just had lying around. I have 1� pvc pipe for the drain line and a ¾" vinyl line for the return. I might replace it with a less gph pump if it is indeed too much flow.

This is my first tank with an overflow box so should I be seeing the waterlevel in the overflow box being lower then the tank level or at the same level as the rest of the tank?

[oldreefer76]

Originally posted by cpllongjk
what made you go with the vortech? isnt that a bit much power for that tank? how much are you going to have to set it back?

The Vortech on that tank at about 40% and with the right pulse setting will create a nice wave affect similar to a Tunze wave box, plus he has the wireless controller and battery back up option

[thomasC]

Thants a nice light_ what kind is it?

[chase01]

Very clean looking. You might be able to get away with Monti caps- I find them to be quite hardy.

[El Camaron]

Nice looking set up. Dont be discouraged about what other tell you, you can definitely keep SPS and even clams under those lights, what you need to worry about ismaking sure you keep you parameters on point. Good luck.

[ShootMe]

The light is a 4 bulb 36� ATI powermoduler.

I’m not worried about the equipment being able to support sps corals, I’m worried about me being able to maintain them and having them thrive in the tank. My work scheduled for the foreseeable future looks something like this. Home for two weeks then a week in the field, then home then next two weeks and another week in the field, home for the following week then gone the next week, then home for a week and gone the next week ect ect…

We have a lot of projects in the pipeline so I do not expect that schedule to change very much, plus I like the fieldwork and just getting out of the office and sent to the coast every other week or so on the company dime is fun.

I will give it a shot with some Monti caps and birdsnet as they seem extremely hardy. I have no plans on adding any corals for at least 6-8 weeks after I put the rock in.

[ShootMe]

My rock order came in today. I ordered 50 pounds from Reefcleaners.org and am very happey with what I got. I will be able to get better pictures this weekend when I borrow the 9 megapixel camera form work and that will allow time for the water to clear up a bit. For now I hope these pictures give an idea as to the different shapes and insane number of holes and caves this rock provides. I have put about two pounds of rock from my established aquapod into the new tank along with a about a gallon of water from the aquapod. Anyone have any other suggestions on how best to seed this rock?

[ShootMe]

I was able to borrow the better camera from work today so I got some nice shots of my aquascaping attempt.

The small piece of rubble on top is from my aquapod and I am using it to seed the tank. Hard to believe its the only piece of rock in my tank that dose not have a piece of coral growing on it. The rock from Reef Cleaners is just amazing.

[AwkwardParrot]

can i see the picture of the overflow?

[1DeR9_3Hy]

Yeah i was just thinking the same thing, i wish i would have seen that style of overflow before i had drilled my tank for a tall, deep one.

So how 'bout it?

[ShootMe]

Sure thing.

The tank is drilled for a 1" pipe.

[AwkwardParrot]

how deep are the notches? i got a hole drilled in about the same location...

[ShootMe]

The notches are 1" deep and the overflow box itself is 5"x5"x5".

[James11]

Where did you get the stand, it looks awesome

[ShootMe]

Thank you,

The stand was made by a local cabinet maker/woodworker. A newly opened LFS had their display tank stands made by him and when compared to the standard unprimed stands they were selling, his work just looked so much better. I really wanted a quality showroom piece of furniture that I could use as the tank stand and afterward when I break the tank down, hopefully in many years and for a larger setup, that I can then use as a real piece of furniture around the apartment/house or wherever I am. Reasoning it is better to pay more for something now that I will be using for the rest of my life then for just your standard tank stand.

[ShootMe]

I put a piece of shrimp in the tank to get the cycle going. After 5 days of having the rock in and 2 days with the shrimp the readings are the following:

API test kits.
ammonia: .5
PH: 8.0-8.2
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 0
Salinity: 1.025

Looks like I've got several weeks to go.

[ZooZ]

what type of bulbs are you running on the fixture.

[ShootMe]

Grim recommended this combination of bulbs and that is what I went with:

ATI Blue Plus
UVL 75/25
UVL Aquasun
ATI Blue Plus

The light is white with a hint of blue. The photo in my first post with the light on is much closer to what it looks like then the other photos. The other photos have to much blue in them.

[ZooZ]

thats awesome. What type of corals are you planning to keep? I am going to run 150w MH with 2 x 24w T5HO supplementation but not sure which bulbs I should run on the T5's. Any recommendations? Thanks