My son Christian's 45 gallon Tech Tank

newbie916 · 03/29/2011, 04:26 PM

Hi everyone,

I thought we should post a few pics of our new tank that we picked up in December for Christmas. I've posted on clay-boa and Christian has loved the positive feedback about his tank.

It's my 3 1/2 year old son Christian's tank who has been an avid reefer, since he could stand up. He got his first tank a few weeks before his 1st birthday after my wife twisted my arm because he'd spend hours looking at my father inlaws 50 gallon Fish only system. I was totally against it because I heard about the time required and how difficult it was. We started off with a 12 gallon Saltwater Eclipse and 5 months later we got our first 100 gallon

I've found this to be a great hobby that both of us enjoy. We pickout corals, frag, dose, feed, and work together on the hobby. It's teaching him responsibility, budgeting, chemistry, oceanography, and just quality time with his Dad. Christian even started crying when we went to look at tanks and I couldn't fit it in the car..lol Had to pay the worker $40 to follow us home..haha He asked me every day for 3 months, when his tank was going to be ready for his corals and fish.. God he takes after his Mom, but I love them both and his little brother Cam. Cameron's like Darla on Finding Nemo...lol

We cycled the tank for 3 months before transferring the corals from his 24 gallon Aquapod a few weeks ago.

Christian loves comments and any feedback on his tank. I read the posts to him every other night when I get home from work.

Here are the specs:

Tank: 45 gallon Oceanic Tech tank with Starfire glass

Lighting: Coralife 250 watt MH, 2x65 watt actinic PC's, and 2 LED moonlight fixture. Upgraded the bulb to a 14k Phoenix.

Filtration:

55lbs of Pukani and Fiji LR
40lbs of LS
Proflex Refugium with Chaeto and 10lbs of rock rubble. Dual filtration socks.
Phosban reactor: Running Chemipure Elite
SWC 120 Cone Skimmer
JBJ ATO

Flow:
2x MP10ES on Tidal swell mode at level 9

Livestock:

2 Percula clowns
3 Anthias

CUC:
Hermits, Emerald crabs, Astrea snails, and Nassarius snails.

Corals: Too many to list, but a combination of predominately sps and chalices and a few select zoas.

Thanks for looking and any comments would be appreciated. Happy reefing everyone..

Chris

Initial setup

Refugium

The day after we transferred the corals. Apologize, but some of the corals lost some color due to the move. They're coloring back up nicely

newbie916 · 03/29/2011, 04:32 PM

I'm going to definitely have to get some updated pics because the colors are much nicer, since the transfer two weeks ago. Anyways, hope you guys like it.

collie man · 03/29/2011, 04:37 PM

was that green with blue rimmed chalice growing against the glass in your previous set up? looks crazy seeing such a straight edge in a reef these days.

newbie916 · 03/29/2011, 04:38 PM

Mods..I just notice that Christian no longer has his 24 gallon AP, so I don't think the 45 gallon fits in the Nano category. Would you mind moving this thread to the right location.

Sorry guys..

collie man · 03/29/2011, 04:42 PM

the pictures took my attention away from you description up top and let me say i envy you. at the moment i am too young for my own child but one day i dream of having that sort of relationship with my children. you and your son obviously dont mess around when it comes to your reef tanks. tell christian he has one smokin' tank and one day i hope mine looks half as good! keep those pictures coming! im subscribed now so im dedicated.

GF3 · 03/29/2011, 05:20 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie916

Mods..I just notice that Christian no longer has his 24 gallon AP, so I don't think the 45 gallon fits in the Nano category. Would you mind moving this thread to the right location.

Sorry guys..

Can't we just call it a "double tall" nano, and let it slide?... ;-)

newbie916 · 03/29/2011, 05:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by collie man

the pictures took my attention away from you description up top and let me say i envy you. at the moment i am too young for my own child but one day i dream of having that sort of relationship with my children. you and your son obviously dont mess around when it comes to your reef tanks. tell christian he has one smokin' tank and one day i hope mine looks half as good! keep those pictures coming! im subscribed now so im dedicated.

Thanks Collie man,

Yeah, it's actually a Jedi Mind Trick colony that was starting to grow along the glass in the 24 gallon. This hobby is extremely fun doing this with Christian who loves his tank. I'd have to say Christian is a pretty mature 3 1/2 year old and he's very focused and attention to detail. Must get that from his Mom as well...lol We definitely like our corals and it's an addiction that we can't seem to kick...haha In the last two weeks we traded Christian 24 gallon setup for 7 ORA and ATL acro colonies and picked up a 15 eye Tyree Pink Watermelon colony.

We can't wait till all of the corals color backup and grow out. Downside is we should have went with a 60 gallon cube..haha Thanks again Collie man

newbie916 · 03/29/2011, 05:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by GF3

Can't we just call it a "double tall" nano, and let it slide?... ;-)

Sounds good to me.. It's actually only a little wider and longer than the 24 gallon AP. It's true that it's a tall Nano

duncantse · 03/29/2011, 05:58 PM

Whoa! So much corals.

Agu · 03/29/2011, 07:23 PM

Moved from nanos to reef discussion....

And I have to agree that's a lot of corals in that tank. Might be OK for now but once they start growing there will be some nasty warfare and deceased corals.

jmo,ime,

JasonBJones · 03/29/2011, 07:25 PM

Thank you very much for sharing this incredible tank and the wonderful story behind it. You are very lucky to have each other and to share a similar passion. I grew up building cars with my dad and I wouldn't trade those memories for the world now.

Back to the tank- You guys have really put together a great tank. The corals all look great in the picture, but I look forward to seeing an updated picture where the corals have even more color. That tank is going to look really great when the corals grow out and it seems like an upgrade might not be too far away again, as full as it is already.

Keep us updated and congratulations to you both.

Lynnmw1208 · 03/29/2011, 07:40 PM

beautiful!

newbie916 · 03/30/2011, 07:47 AM

Thanks everyone,

It's definitely full and we're planning to upgrade to a larger cube within the next few years because I could see issues of coral warfare in the future. So far the corals seem to be doing fine besides losing some of their color after the move. We'll also reaquascape and some of the colonies we plan on trading for smaller highend frags or sell them for upgrades.

This is actually our 5th tank and we have a 95 gallon wave and I have a 12 gallon in my office. I'm currently revamping the 95 gallon to eventually house some of these corals again. The 95 gallon lighting system and filtration wasn't enough to maintain the color of some of the larger colonies because the bioload was a little too much for the system to handle.

I'm thinking of adding a Dosing pump or a Calcium Reactor to reduce the amount of dosing we have to do. Do you guys have any recommendations? One of my buddies told me to get a Bubble Magus Dosing pump.

Thanks again

Sugar Magnolia · 03/30/2011, 07:57 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Agu

Moved from nanos to reef discussion....

And I have to agree that's a lot of corals in that tank. Might be OK for now but once they start growing there will be some nasty warfare and deceased corals.

jmo,ime,

Agreed. You'd be wise to take a good many of those out. I'd say thin by at least half to give them plenty of room to grow. Have a look through the Reefkeeping magazine's Tank of the Month threads to get a better idea about how large those corals can get.

newbie916 · 03/30/2011, 10:23 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Agreed. You'd be wise to take a good many of those out. I'd say thin by at least half to give them plenty of room to grow. Have a look through the Reefkeeping magazine's Tank of the Month threads to get a better idea about how large those corals can get.

Will do, we're actually donating pieces on clay-boa for a reefer's family who was killed in a car accident two weeks ago. A few of the colonies were given to a buddy of mine who has a 220 and another 300 gallons in frag tanks to grow out. Right now we're trying to select our favorite pieces to keep. We did pick up somemore corals over the last few weeks, but they're ones that will be replacing some of the more common ones.

How far apart should I keep the sps frags and colonies?

Sugar Magnolia · 03/30/2011, 11:15 AM

Give the SPS a good foot in diameter. Here's this month's Tank of the Month. http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month

All those little frags will become very large colonies given the right conditions. I'm glad you have places to rehome the one's you aren't keeping.

newbie916 · 03/30/2011, 12:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Sugar Magnolia

Give the SPS a good foot in diameter. Here's this month's Tank of the Month. http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month

All those little frags will become very large colonies given the right conditions. I'm glad you have places to rehome the one's you aren't keeping.

Yeah, the TOTM is sweet and I could see how there will be issues in the little 45 given a few years. It'll just look so bear, if there's a foot between each piece..lol Your right though because my Red Planet and Garf Bonsai encrusted the rocks they were on and I lost a few frags due to it. I'll go through the tank tonight with Christian and give some to my cousin as well who has a 125 and 28 gallon that he needs corals for

At least my wife will be happy because I'll have to stop spending so much money on corals..haha

Alysiak00 · 03/30/2011, 12:41 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie916

At least my wife will be happy because I'll have to stop spending so much money on corals..haha

Isn't that a problem that all of us on RC share lol

newbie916 · 03/30/2011, 01:19 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Alysiak00

Isn't that a problem that all of us on RC share lol

That's why we're here to talk to people who understand the addiction..lol

Now maybe I could actually buy my Bubble Magus Dosing pump instead of finding more corals to buy. I found myself justifying that it's not that much more work to dose by hand, when I could spend the money on a nice new chalice colony that I have no room for

MarkGP · 03/30/2011, 06:30 PM

That is sick! We have the same tank and it doesn't look anything like that! Awesome!

newbie916 · 03/30/2011, 11:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkGP

That is sick! We have the same tank and it doesn't look anything like that! Awesome!

Thanks Mark,

I don't see many of these tanks around. We got the last one in Sacramento, since they discontinued the tech series. Is there a tech tank thread?

newbie916 · 03/31/2011, 04:41 PM

My cousin swung by and picked up some of the larger acro colonies from me to put in his tanks. Moved a few pieces around and it still looks full..lol

We also got the Tyree Pink Watermelon colony in today and we gave one of our Bazooka Joe colonies to one of our reefing buddies to frag and sell. In it's place is the PW

Updated pics coming soon, but we want to wait until some of the corals color up somemore.

MarkGP · 03/31/2011, 05:52 PM

I see you are running a 250 watt halide. Any problems with heat? We have a 150 watt halide and can't keep it cool in the summer. Was actually thinking of changing over to LEDs.

newbie916 · 04/01/2011, 01:59 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by MarkGP

I see you are running a 250 watt halide. Any problems with heat? We have a 150 watt halide and can't keep it cool in the summer. Was actually thinking of changing over to LEDs.

We haven't run into any heat issues yet. We put a fan in the fuge and the temp stays between 79-80.4 degrees. I could see a problem during the summer though. I'll probably hook up my chiller soon to make sure.
Do LED's penetrate that deep? That would be nice and save a lot of energy and money.

newbie916 · 04/03/2011, 06:08 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by newbie916

We haven't run into any heat issues yet. We put a fan in the fuge and the temp stays between 79-80.4 degrees. I could see a problem during the summer though. I'll probably hook up my chiller soon to make sure.
Do LED's penetrate that deep? That would be nice and save a lot of energy and money.

Well ended up having to hook up my Oceanic 1/15 HP chiller on Friday. Came home and my tank was at 83.. Everything seems fine, just had to leave the fan on and gradually dropped the temp to 78 over the last 3 days.

03/29/2011, 04:26 PM	#1
newbie916 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 768	My son Christian's 45 gallon Tech Tank Hi everyone, I thought we should post a few pics of our new tank that we picked up in December for Christmas. I've posted on clay-boa and Christian has loved the positive feedback about his tank. It's my 3 1/2 year old son Christian's tank who has been an avid reefer, since he could stand up. He got his first tank a few weeks before his 1st birthday after my wife twisted my arm because he'd spend hours looking at my father inlaws 50 gallon Fish only system. I was totally against it because I heard about the time required and how difficult it was. We started off with a 12 gallon Saltwater Eclipse and 5 months later we got our first 100 gallon I've found this to be a great hobby that both of us enjoy. We pickout corals, frag, dose, feed, and work together on the hobby. It's teaching him responsibility, budgeting, chemistry, oceanography, and just quality time with his Dad. Christian even started crying when we went to look at tanks and I couldn't fit it in the car..lol Had to pay the worker $40 to follow us home..haha He asked me every day for 3 months, when his tank was going to be ready for his corals and fish.. God he takes after his Mom, but I love them both and his little brother Cam. Cameron's like Darla on Finding Nemo...lol We cycled the tank for 3 months before transferring the corals from his 24 gallon Aquapod a few weeks ago. Christian loves comments and any feedback on his tank. I read the posts to him every other night when I get home from work. Here are the specs: Tank: 45 gallon Oceanic Tech tank with Starfire glass Lighting: Coralife 250 watt MH, 2x65 watt actinic PC's, and 2 LED moonlight fixture. Upgraded the bulb to a 14k Phoenix. Filtration: 55lbs of Pukani and Fiji LR 40lbs of LS Proflex Refugium with Chaeto and 10lbs of rock rubble. Dual filtration socks. Phosban reactor: Running Chemipure Elite SWC 120 Cone Skimmer JBJ ATO Flow: 2x MP10ES on Tidal swell mode at level 9 Livestock: 2 Percula clowns 3 Anthias CUC: Hermits, Emerald crabs, Astrea snails, and Nassarius snails. Corals: Too many to list, but a combination of predominately sps and chalices and a few select zoas. Thanks for looking and any comments would be appreciated. Happy reefing everyone.. Chris Initial setup Refugium The day after we transferred the corals. Apologize, but some of the corals lost some color due to the move. They're coloring back up nicely

03/29/2011, 07:23 PM	#10
Agu Registered Member Join Date: Oct 1999 Location: Sarasota, Florida Posts: 30,279	Moved from nanos to reef discussion.... And I have to agree that's a lot of corals in that tank. Might be OK for now but once they start growing there will be some nasty warfare and deceased corals. jmo,ime, __________________ Less technology , more biology . Current Tank Info: 30 gallon half cube and 5.5, both reef tanks

03/29/2011, 07:40 PM	#12
Lynnmw1208 Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Location: Brunswick, Ohio Posts: 3,306	beautiful! __________________ equipment: Eshopps psk-200 skimmer, Mag 12 pump, 30gal sump, 2x 300w Finnex heaters, glass-holes 1500gph overflow kit with 3/4" return kits, 72" 8x36w t-5 AquaticLife light, 66lbs of LR, 150lbs of tropic eden reeflakes, 2 Koralia Evo 1400, JBJ ATO, BRS dual GFO/carbon reactors, Hydor smartwave Current Tank Info: 125gallon

03/30/2011, 11:15 AM	#16
Sugar Magnolia Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Northern VA Posts: 17,691	Give the SPS a good foot in diameter. Here's this month's Tank of the Month. http://reefkeeping.com/joomla/index....k-of-the-month All those little frags will become very large colonies given the right conditions. I'm glad you have places to rehome the one's you aren't keeping. __________________ Adrienne The only thing to fear is fear itself....and spiders.

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03/29/2011, 04:32 PM	#2
newbie916 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 768	I'm going to definitely have to get some updated pics because the colors are much nicer, since the transfer two weeks ago. Anyways, hope you guys like it.

03/29/2011, 04:37 PM	#3
collie man Stoney Reefer Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 548	was that green with blue rimmed chalice growing against the glass in your previous set up? looks crazy seeing such a straight edge in a reef these days.

03/29/2011, 04:38 PM	#4
newbie916 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 768	Mods..I just notice that Christian no longer has his 24 gallon AP, so I don't think the 45 gallon fits in the Nano category. Would you mind moving this thread to the right location. Sorry guys..

03/29/2011, 04:42 PM	#5
collie man Stoney Reefer Join Date: Feb 2010 Posts: 548	the pictures took my attention away from you description up top and let me say i envy you. at the moment i am too young for my own child but one day i dream of having that sort of relationship with my children. you and your son obviously dont mess around when it comes to your reef tanks. tell christian he has one smokin' tank and one day i hope mine looks half as good! keep those pictures coming! im subscribed now so im dedicated.

03/29/2011, 05:58 PM	#9
duncantse Fish Advisor Join Date: Feb 2011 Location: Vancouver, BC Posts: 1,604	Whoa! So much corals.

03/29/2011, 07:25 PM	#11
JasonBJones Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Dallas, TX Posts: 508	Thank you very much for sharing this incredible tank and the wonderful story behind it. You are very lucky to have each other and to share a similar passion. I grew up building cars with my dad and I wouldn't trade those memories for the world now. Back to the tank- You guys have really put together a great tank. The corals all look great in the picture, but I look forward to seeing an updated picture where the corals have even more color. That tank is going to look really great when the corals grow out and it seems like an upgrade might not be too far away again, as full as it is already. Keep us updated and congratulations to you both.

03/30/2011, 07:47 AM	#13
newbie916 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 768	Thanks everyone, It's definitely full and we're planning to upgrade to a larger cube within the next few years because I could see issues of coral warfare in the future. So far the corals seem to be doing fine besides losing some of their color after the move. We'll also reaquascape and some of the colonies we plan on trading for smaller highend frags or sell them for upgrades. This is actually our 5th tank and we have a 95 gallon wave and I have a 12 gallon in my office. I'm currently revamping the 95 gallon to eventually house some of these corals again. The 95 gallon lighting system and filtration wasn't enough to maintain the color of some of the larger colonies because the bioload was a little too much for the system to handle. I'm thinking of adding a Dosing pump or a Calcium Reactor to reduce the amount of dosing we have to do. Do you guys have any recommendations? One of my buddies told me to get a Bubble Magus Dosing pump. Thanks again

03/30/2011, 06:30 PM	#20
MarkGP Why do I do this? Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bristol, RI Posts: 1,015	That is sick! We have the same tank and it doesn't look anything like that! Awesome!

03/31/2011, 04:41 PM	#22
newbie916 Registered Member Join Date: Oct 2008 Posts: 768	My cousin swung by and picked up some of the larger acro colonies from me to put in his tanks. Moved a few pieces around and it still looks full..lol We also got the Tyree Pink Watermelon colony in today and we gave one of our Bazooka Joe colonies to one of our reefing buddies to frag and sell. In it's place is the PW Updated pics coming soon, but we want to wait until some of the corals color up somemore.

03/31/2011, 05:52 PM	#23
MarkGP Why do I do this? Join Date: Dec 2005 Location: Bristol, RI Posts: 1,015	I see you are running a 250 watt halide. Any problems with heat? We have a 150 watt halide and can't keep it cool in the summer. Was actually thinking of changing over to LEDs.