# Neven's 33G Reef Tank



## neven (May 15, 2010)

now a 33 G Display again, new pics to come...
33 G Display tank, March 2013








20 G Display tank, Feb 2012








20 G Display tank, Nov 2012








20 G Display tank, Oct 2012









33 G Sump, Deep Sand bed w/ live rock rack








approx total water volume: 55-58 G

*Lighting:*
DiY Homemade fixture, GU10 bulbs custom manufactured
21 bulbs 3x2W LEDs each (blend of Blue/Pure White/Cool LEDs)

*Equipment:*
Maxijet pro 400 (circulation sump)
Coralife CP 750 (circulation display tank)
Rio 1400+ (return pump)
Prizm Pro 300G HoB Skimmer (on sump)
150W heater (in sump)

*Plumping:*
1x 3/4" full siphon w/ valve
2x 3/4" Open channel
1x 1/2" lockline return

*Fish:*
Ocellaris clown
clown goby
purple firefish
tailspot blenny
neon blue goby
lyretail anthias
six line wrasse

*Corals:*
Neon Green Leather
Orange Rhodactis Mushroom
Orange Ricordia
Green Stripe Mushroom
Green and Blue Caribbean Bullseye Mushroom
green star polyps
white button polyps
Brown button polyps
a couple unknown Zoanthids
Candy Cane
torch coral
Anthelia
Soft Finger Leather (not doing well atm)
favia
frogspawn

*macro algae:*
Halimeda
Red Gracilaria

*Inverts:*
Hawaiian Feather Duster
Blue Legged Hermits
Red Legged Hermits
Cerinth Snails
stomatella Snails

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On to the journal:
I have 3 33G tanks so i allotted 2 of them for my latest endeavor into salt. Right now i have The tanks being water tested after being resealed, so im in the design phases of my Sump, since i can make many components while the tanks are sitting filled in the garage.

here is revision one on the design, prior to having a couple experts with the specific set up give their opinions:









The dimensions are not dead set, but i do intend to box in my intake section like that so i can keep it accessible without taking up too much room (ie not full width baffles to close together to get anything done), it still needs to go through 2 baffles prior to getting to the DSB

The goal in the sump is to maintain a high flow rate (35x to 40x) to keep detritus suspended as much as possible so Processing can be shared with the Display tank, LR in the sump, and the DSB.
The Egg crate will be on stand offs, i plan on having the Egg crate in 2 sections taking up 2/3s of the space but standoffs available to shift them over for maintenance.

The DSB will be 5 Inches deep and take up as much surface area as i can spare.

I have no issues Water changing, so i will be running skimmer-less, as for a refugium, i will add one if nitrates become an issue, but for now i want no light in my sump (well maybe a couple of Red LED bulbs (3x1W) mounted high up in the stand to view the activity of the bed)

worst case scenerio, i can add a refugium area with the return side within egg crate


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

I'd stay away from powerheads in your sump, you'll so a better alternative to lr in the sump is a bioreactor.


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## spit.fire (Jan 3, 2011)

Also you might want to lower water level in the sump by lowering your baffles as the sump has to be able to handle all the runoff from the display in the event of a power outage or pump failure


What I'm running:
Basically it's a baffle less 75g with the water lvl at 10", ATo to maintain water level, 3 bio reactors (taking into account my system is over 300g), skimmer, lr rubble for my eel, 2 300w heaters and a phosphate reactor

Also a 20g cube refugium with mushrooms, a damsel and 9 mangroves

Dsb is always a good thing IMO but as far as I know it's better to avoid too much flow ie: powerheads, if you don't mind a lot of maintenance you can always throw on a filter sock to remove suspended particles but make sure you wash it in a regular basis


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

I would recommend having 6" of sand in a rubbermaid container in your sump, that way you can remove it later if you find it is not working properly. If the sand sitting in the sump, it will be a PITA to siphon out in case you change your mind.

6" I think is the recommended depth.

I would also skip the powerhead in the sump and have the live rock lower or you'll have no excess capacity for water draining from your display in case of power outage as spitfire explained.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

The reason for going 5inches is because i read that the depth should be propeortiknal to the tank size. reading into dsbs i found that the recommended is 4 to 6 inches. Going deeper is often employed by those going for a remote dsb which is based on a different concept. so since im pyshing it with surface area still being low, deeper will not help increase fauna.

The rack i showed higher on the model but i plan on having it much closr to the dsb. The baffles will be lower for sure to handle a powr failure for sure

As for the powerhead, the reason they recommend dsbs located in the display tank is becauae they require a high flow. My sump without a powerhead will be too low flow and lijely become a nitratw sink.

Now for the containers, i cand find one in the dimensions i need. To piece together several containers creates more areas for detritus to get trapped


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## charles (Apr 21, 2010)

Your water level is high. Depends on how big the display tank is and how big the sump is, adjust the high of the water level from there. Normally, no more than 1/2 full in a sump in case of water going back deal to power outage both from intake and outflow.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

The sukp is complete with only minimal adjustments. The intake has been modied to only take up a corner of the tank and the baffle heights are not all the way to the top eithr about three quarters. Since the sump is the same size of the display tank and il be going almost coast to coast bean animal atyle.overflow i dont think theres much worry over power outtage

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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I've been a bit lazy with my projects ever since i scrapped my 29 gallon tank stand, so i figured i'd post an update on this tanks progress and i figured i'd spare you the horrible fat finger tapatalk mistypes. So as i said, the sump was complete, well it almost was, all that was left was to install the racking as mentioned prior. For those who dont read everything because their whole exisistence is based on TLR, THE BAFFLE HEIGHT ISN'T PERMANENT! Once i figure out how much water the returns and overflow will fill the sump in an outtage, i will cut the baffle down with my trusty dremel tool . SO now on to the pictures.

This is the intake corner i modified from the initial design, it was a hell of a lot easier to install than a box would have been. It was my first time using a rotary tool, so that is where that big line off the square is from, me rushing things...









and return side, its small i know, but i have no plans for a skimmer since i would much rather water change than dose a half dozen different suppliments.









and the egg crate shelves. My wife loved stepping on those plastic pieces throughout the living room and bedroom (i got bored of the tv and moved to the PC while making them)









The supports for the racks. yes i could have just simple did 2 risers on each side of the tank, and used a strip of egg crate, but i found too much movement that way, this way locks in each shelf.









The shelving side shot  the height should give sufficient space between sand bed and rack for optimal flow, without risking being too high if i adjust the water level of the compartment. Not only could this house the live rock rubble for filter feeders, i could use this racking for frags.









full sump shot from above, as said in a previous post, i can use both my return area and the overflow in the Display tank to house macro algae if my parameters show a refugium is needed.









Im attempting to use a old water bottle that started to leak from the tap spout as an ATO. it will be like the Ice tea jar style ATos, gravity fed, when the water level is at the height of a smaller air line (from the top of the ATO), it will stop the flow of the bigger tube, like a thumb on a straw. I just don't know if the container is rigid enough to work









So for now what am i doing? Tank stand! becuase this tank and sump are the same dimensions i am forced to oversize the top portion. THis initially got me wanting to use plywood only (3/4 inch). Plywood without any other wood to brace, can be plenty strong enough to hold capacities far larger than my set up, if the joints are done properly. I was really excited to finally do a decent wood working job, since i haven't really. Looked up relentlessly for the best joints to use, settled on a layout, priced the material etc.

Then the wife says, 'you are doing the stand how i liked right?' she likes the vertical slates skinned around the tank, so using 3/4" plywood, and then skinning with further panelling seemed overkill and more costly, so a rocket style tank stand it is! bring on the 2x4s. I look at the Rocket Template and start fine tuning the design, since its overkill and i know how to make a square cut. I have to add more length and depth to fit the sump underneath (2x4s are wide, why i wanted to stick with plywood). added depth isn't to bad imo, but the length would be annoying, to solve this, i am replacing the 4 of the 2x4s with 1x3s, since his write up says they hold minimal weight and are there for bracing and backing for skinning mostly. Doesn't seem like much, but reducing 1.5 inches around the tank to 3/4 inches means its much easier for me to frame in the tank trim without it being so bulky.

The plus side to going with a rocket build is i have 2x4s, 2x6s and 2x2s in the garage. Enought for just about one tank stand. I wont be using the 2x6s, but i will be using 2x2s pieces in place of the green studs, since its for keeping the structure square, and a full stuf length makes me need even more stand length. So most of the tank stand pieces are cut in the garage, and tomorrow i make another trip to rona for some lumber. On a side note, i cant believe the screws cost me more than all the lumber i need.

A lot of pieces i needed for the project i didn't have, so it really added to the cost, but they are tools in the end, so i wont "count it" in my budget  (dremel bits, countersink, table saw blade, etc)

One thing i dont know about is what am i going to use for a sealer, i dont want to spend much on it, since i will be skinning the stand anyways colour isn't a big deal, prefer a cheap black if available but clear would suffice.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

so no suggestions on a sealant for the tank stand?


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## Diztrbd1 (Apr 21, 2010)

When you refer to sealant, are you referring to something to apply to the unskinned portion of the tank as in the whole inside( and outside under the skin) of the stand? Or a sealant for seams/joints as in resealing a tank? I presume you meat the first reference.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Yes meant the frame, inside and otside under the sknning. Ill just siicone the seams inside the stand (and make.sure i allow for breathing so moisture can escape)

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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I had to put a lot on hold because work slowed down for a bit but now im getting back on track. The stands are made, just not skinned yet. The sump has been operational for some time now and is doing great. It is full of feather dusters, peanut worms and brittle starts on the live rock rack, and the sand bed, whilst not build up much yet, is filled with activity.









to get the sump started i cleared out my old sump and the 10 gallon tanks sand to add with the sand i bought so far, so atleast the depth was good enough to start. To reduce evapouration i used egg crate covered with a thick plastic material, its not the best, but it was easy to work with 










I wired the plugs temporarily where they are now because to have them more accessible means my 5 yo will reprogram my lights :/ Also the receptacles are still x10, and so i will need to replace them with standard receptacles as x10 fails at switching. The plumbing is just the same i had on the 10 gallon's sump set up, rather than cut new lengths, i just pulled it off and use it. atleast this way i can still water change at ease.

Now my 10 gallon tank, its only running to maintain the sump and keep my live stock going, but i got tired of the bryopsis, so i nuked that with h2o2, which killed most of it, then i removed the background. completely. Since then there is no bryopsis on my LR, the hermits keep the Rock fairly clean. So because the background was removed, theres large streaks of silicone everywhere, but since its temporary i can live with it:










You'll notice the big hole on one side and the strip on the other, that is for airflow beneath the tank, it will fit a large computer fan

Now for the new tank, it is based off a bean animal overflow system, so to reduce the size of the overflow, i decided to go external with a narrow long coast to coast overflow to skim the top efficiently. because i wanted a black overflow, the glass place had no scrap acryllic or dark glass so i opted for clear thick acrylic so i can atleast get some krylon fusion. To connect to the external overflow box, i drilled two 1 1/2" holes. i'll be leaving them just as holes, no bulkheads because the box will be glass siliconed directly to the tank.

heres the drilled back:









and the plan, the glass has already been cut and i'll be picking it up monday morning









So thats a bean animal system. 1 full syphon, 1 open channel with an airline out the top, and one emergency open channel.
the open channel will handle about 1% of the flow normally, if the full syphon (which handles 99%) gets blocked, the water level rises in the overflow box and seals off the air line end, that traps the air and the open channel becomes a second full syphon and the emergency then will handle whatever little excess if the second syphon isn't enough. Its a fail safe system that achieves silence by greatly reducing the amount of air sucked into the intakes. I'll be likely using the extra space in the overflow box as a refugium.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

well i finished the overflow box, siliconed it on, painted the back and also the internal overflow. plumbed it, filled and transfered livestock. 12 hours later the tank the glass cracked from top of the overflow box edge to the side at around 6 inch (due to glass being prevented from bowing without proper bracing). A while back i inquired about the amount of bowing the tank did but i guess i heard what i wanted to hear rather than go with my gut and brace it. Sucks after putting all that work and excitement into it, even my fish hating wife is disappointed that we never got to get this tank going fully.

So lesson learnt!

For now i have a 20 gallon sitting empty, my old sump for the 10 reef with no baffles, this will be the temporary home for the stock as i sit on this near catastrophe (im home fridays luckily). I'll still drill this tank, despite it being temporary since i got all the equipment in the new sump.

so down the road i'll be getting a new tank i guess, might even euro brace it, Was just a 33G standard size, (36x12 footprint), so might look for something with a bit less height so my wife has an easier time cleaning the glass.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Mixing acrylic with glass is also touchy as acrylic will expand and contract more than glass.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

oh the acrylic was only inside as the internal overflow, i left over an eight of an inch to take into account exansion, it was glass to glass where it broke. So far i have the 20 gallon drilled (3 holes) for a bean animal overflow, but it wont actually have an overflow box at all since its 'temporary.' Its also sitting in the garage drying from the background paint. I'll be using 2 up facing 90s for my two open channels, this way the water line will still be above the black rim bottom, and my siphon will be down facing of course. i will figure something out to prevent the siphon from sucking in livestock. Out of habit i try to make temporary solutions atleast look decent, since i easily procastinate


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Temporary tank done and set up! I must say i am impressed with the Bean Animal overflow system, even with the first open channel facing up, its completely silent once the siphon is tuned! The only thing i needed to do was place a #8 self tapper hole just above the sumps water level to help start the siphon quicker. Without it, it still works, but it takes a lot longer for the start up to kick in the siphon, so the emergency open channel is then used a bit, with the hole in the siphon tube the emergency is not used at all  I think when it comes down to replacing the tank with one better fit for the tank stand, i will do the exact set up, without the overflow box outside or coast to coast internal. It looks very clean with the black background and the water line is perfect.

So the fishies are happy, the corals are recovering (found a penny in the sump, which explains why they were crashing), and the skimmer seems to be skimming nothing despite it almost running full speed (any faster it will just be removing mostly water). Just need more liverock, more sand (barebottom right now) and more fishies and i will be happy 

i also found the wife browsing jlaquatics.com for stuff.... i think she is finally realizing how little i spend on the hobby compared to what i could be spending  She's demanding better tank cleaning products..

I'll get a pick up when the water clears up a bit more 

edit: lastly, anyone know how to catch a rogue blue neon goby who got in my sump (transfered rock and he was in a hole...) Everytime i try he hides between the baffles and causes me to want to smash the tank in frustration. he's limited to the last compartment, i managed to get him to jump the last baffle so he's atleast easy to find


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Here is a picture of the tank a from a few days ago, not long after i set it up. The inhabitants are much happier now, especially with the skimmer working for a while now and the penny no longer in the sump. Oh and i finally got the blue neon out of the sump.









This is how the intakes look from both sides. I only used a valve on the siphon intake because it is all thats needed.

















here is the 33G's overflow box after i assembled it. the one partially the reason for the 33 Cracking.









And a clown photo since they seem to be the craze


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Ah....here it is 
Very nice new project.
Going the way of the salties


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## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Thanks for the update Neven. And yes, clown pics are the craze:bigsmile:

Glad you caught out your neon goby. I've also had the terrible urge to tear down a tank to catch a fish or two that I needed out of there.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

yea i almost ripped out a baffle to get to the damn fish  my wife even tried for over an hour to catch him. I ended up draining the section almost dry and using egg crate between the baffles to box him in.4 Now i need more live rock, a couple more fishies and of course more colourful corals that don't have an insulting price tag to them  Any recommendations on fish? i plan on getting a couple more green chromis since i love their colours and activity, but would be nice to get something else in there too.

Current stock:
Ocellaris clown
Blue neon goby
Green Chromis
Water volume = atleast 45 Gallons


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

At the start of my weekend i bought a 20 lb bag of sand to atleast get rid of that barebottom. After placing it in the tank my wife noticed a best before date on the bag dated to mid october.... I wasn't to pleased with that because i atleast thought a store who atleast cares enough to be a sponsor on this site would atleast make sure the product they sell maintains the manufacturers guranauntee. But i guess i put too much faith into such things. Was even more peeved because the sand costs $45 a bag and the only one they carry. price i pay for convenienience i guess. Anyways, my tank is luckily cycled so there was no impact from the bacteria die off atleast, just some diatoms showed up later.

So with the sand added, came a rescape. My goal was to build my scape up a bit and leave half the tank free for future rock, and so is the results: (oh and its fun to scape for two view points)

















And now for the few corals i have








these zoas were brown and only looked someone nice with the moonlights, but recently, with the tank switch and the lighting being higher from it now, they kept a white inside (with a slight bluish tinge) with a very very yellow green rim









When i saw this frag at j&L i had to grab it, once again with the light shift, they went solid green, and lost the darker blue inside.









picked these up cause i had none  In the background is green star polyps that took a beatin in the tank transfer









i loved this mushroom and couldn't pass it up. the xenia is finally gettin comfortable as well. I had xenia before, but it did great then the crabs wouldn't leave it alone.









Don't know what this is

I also have green leather that never did well, but its perking up lately and green once more, just its a bit small still and not picture worthy


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

No one can pipe in to id the unknown coral?


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Hey Rob: I thought I told you.

Orange Rhodactis Mushroom. I did not know they worth that much though 

Mushroom Corals : Aquatic Connection Live

Need more blue to make it shine


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

you did tell me but i easily forget such names  my god its pricey for a mushroom, lol


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Changed first post around for a better format

20 G Display tank
33 G Sump, Deep Sand bed w/ live rock rack
approx total water volume: 45-48 G

*Equipment:*
Maxijet pro 400 (circulation sump)
Koralia Nano (circulation display time)
Quiet One Pro 1200 (return pump) **Needs upgrading**
Prizm Pro 300G HoB Skimmer (on sump)
150W heater (in sump)

*Plumping:*
1x 3/4" full siphon w/ valve
2x 3/4" Open channel
1x 1/2" return

*Fish:*
Ocellaris clown
Blue neon goby
Green Chromis

*Corals:*
Neon Green Leather
Xenia
Orange Rhodactis Mushroom
Green Stripe Mushroom
Green and Blue Caribbean Bullseye Mushroom (hidden atm)
Bright Red Mushroom (hidden atm)
Brown button polyps
Blue and Gold Zoanthid (might be wrong on name)
unknown Zoanthid (green fringe, middle orange under moonlights)

*macro algae:*
Halimeda
Red Gracilaria


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

went to J&L and of course spent too much

5 lbs of marco rock
40 lbs of sand for the deep sand bed
bucket of salt
marine land blue accent light (LED)
3 scarlet hermit crabs
1 candy cane frag
Proscaper cleaning tool (my wife wanted it)
V-Colla epoxy

went in just for salt and the sand 
when the water clears up from the sand being added i will snap a photo or two


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Found a bunch of these hanging out on my skimmer's carbon basket, have no idea what they are or if they are a bad Hitchhiker:









Xenia is doing a ton better









And my new candy cane frag









Heres the side view of the new rockwork, i did what i could to make a large cave within it.









and the full tank shot


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## Momobobo (Sep 28, 2010)

The critter is an Amphipod...generally harmless from what I've read. Some very large ones like to snack on corals apparently.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

So the skimmer is a royal pain to adjust, i went through a good 15-20G of diluted skimmate this week trying to figure it out. In the end i removed the drain from the floor drain and plugged the end so i can atleast empty into a bucket when i want. To deal with the possible overflow i drilled out a small hole and shoved a 5/16 air line into it, this is my oh crap my kids turned the skimmer knob fail safe, surprised they dont build in path to the outflow for this on hob models. The Tape roll is the adjustment knobs, out of site out of mind for the kids generally









and the full sump shot. the skimmer is too turbulent for a dsb, so i have a piece of acrylic, on my egg crate rack and it does the job. I also moved the skimmer over as far as i could to the left because of the air bubbles it introduces. I think down the road i will need a different HOB model that allows me to at least plumb it for less turbulence


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Lots of people try to kick too much skimmate out. Crank the air wide open and adjust the flow down so only foam collects. I hung mine up, in 5 seconds, it runs like a charm. I am actually surprised how well it works. I like have yours back any time


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

well part of the issue was having no skimmer before, so it took some time to catch up


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Added stock:
Tiger gorgonian
Orange Ricordia
Soft Finger Leather
Anthelia
Some sort of zoa

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## neven (May 15, 2010)

the tank has had some changes, primarily documented here:
http://www.bcaquaria.com/forum/diy-...ht-build-gu10-explained-update-dec-9-a-33989/

So im on new lighting, LED Bulbs of a mix between cool blues, cool whites and pure whites, ratio works out to 3:2:1. The fixture is too powerful for my tank atm so i have had to play with my light timings. I have my blue accent strip on for a couple hours in the morning, then it turns off when my blue heavy bank of lights goes on, that stays on for 6 hours, but midway the other banks of lights (white heavy) turns on for its 6 hr cycle, then once all lights are off, the blue accent comes back on for a couple more hours. This gives me a 9 hr photo period throughout the day, with 4 hours of moonlights for extended viewing.

The corals have responded well to this new lighting, with an exception of course. My neon green zoas were too much in the light so i had to move them to a darker spot, they would do fine at the start of the light cycle but would remain closed for after all the lights were on than wouldn't open for the rest of the day. After i moved them they are extended for the majority of the day, but when they are closed they are reddish now and i dont know what that means. My neon green leather which has done nothing since i got it from gklaw has about tripled in size since the light change, still pitiful and hidden in my display, but its great. The gorgonian, when not pissed off by a crab is extended for the non peak hour photo period, i was tempted to move it but more extensions kept coming out than ever before so i left it the way it is, until a crab mowed it over. now its in the moping stage away.

Also got more frags, green monti and another zoa. Both are doing fine, despite my poor skills at epoxy.

And then there is today, i got a torch coral frag from j&l and some new livestock. A lawnmower blenny, tuxedo urchin, and 5 cerinth snails. So far i've had luck with j&L stock, the blenny eats mysis, and the neon goby i got when my tank was just 10 gallons also eats all foods i throw in (almost a year old in my tanks now). So now with Hermit crabs, Cerinth snails, the urchin and the lawn mower blenny should start to turn the tide with the algae. Its not a major problem but i tire of seeing half my liverock fuzzy, but atleast it wasn't like my bryopsis outbreak in the 10 gallon.

also finally picked up an elos nitrate test kit, so i can now say my nitrates are <1 ppm instead of <5 ppm


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

for some reason no matter how much i read "A Fish Out of Water" to my son, he still thinks a tank needs all the food in it. I was cleaning a mess the raccoons left us last night in the back, and come back inside to a nearly full jar of NLS flake swirling about. Im on my third bucket of salt water mixing already, with the skimmer going full tilt (skimming more thin), and constant basting and swirling to keep the food suspended and the tank is cloudy as hell and theres still food everywhere.


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## dabandit1 (Dec 6, 2010)

Sounds familliar lol when my kid did that I turned flow off and vaccumed it off the sand worked pretty good. looking good


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Well all fishes are dead. Every day I changed 5 gallons of water and a little prime but I was unable to keep up with more than that during the work week. Too much food got stuck in the crevices for the clean up crew to handle. As a result I tore down my freshwater, drilled it, cleaned its sand very well and swapped tanks. I threw out the sand from the display tank of my reef system.

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## effox (Apr 21, 2010)

Yikes. Sorry to hear that.


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## JTang (Apr 21, 2010)

My son had done that when he was 3. I was at work n my wife fell asleep on the sofa. She woke up n found that the kid was "helping" daddy out... Well it was only a FW tank so it wasn't as bad. Sorry for the loss!


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## dabandit1 (Dec 6, 2010)

So your old fresh is now salt?...specs?,pics?


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

The old fresh water was 33 g like the original tank I cracked for the salt water. I bought 3 tanks from spitfire all 33 gallon. 1 I made into a frshwater , the other two were my sump and display tank for salt. I moved the tetras from my old freshwater into a 9.8 gallon and the chain loaches lived in a rubber made for a week until the 20 gallon was free to reuse. Was a fun shuffle to do, the wife was really impressed with all the buckets everywhere. Good news is the water smells fine now and the critters that survived look healthy again. Some of the corals look like they never were put through all that. End of the week I'll test nitrates and phosphates before a water change see if the tank is ready for a fish 

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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Good news! Tax return = j&l spending spree . (ie bad news for wife). Anger was stemmed by the fact she broke her gaming keyboard AND her cell phone in the same week.

Bought a more powerful powerhead, Coralife CP 750. A bit more bulky than the hydor before, but heh, its the flow i need and to upgrade the hydor equivalent then it would be bigger i think. Thats not all i got though, I bought a Ocellaris clown (no getting out of it), royal gramma and a purple firefish. Oh and aiptasia-X, man did that stuff work wonders on an infested rock, killed 6 of them outright, and the seventh, the largest has only come back as a pitiful lil thing, think one more treatment and it'll be good. Besides that i bought some bulkheads for the other tank so i could fill it with more water. Then there was trip #2 to j&l was 13 lb of LR, a tail spot blenny, clown goby, and a six line wrasse. Also got more fittings, this time lock line and the pliers to assemble it. Before i used 90 elbows for the return but when i made my window screen cover, it was too tight to make it around the frame to a hole in the screen.

btw, does anyone know where to find a screen mesh that isnt as fine as a typical window screen. Looked at garden mesh at rona but it was horrible quality. As it is, too much light is cut out from the screen cover, around 50% i'd say, luckily i can just run all bulbs all day rather than just for a couple hours.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

updated tank specs in first post:

approx total water volume: 55-58 G

*Lighting:*
DiY Homemade fixture, GU10 bulbs custom manufactured
21 bulbs 3x2W LEDs each (blend of Blue/Pure White/Cool LEDs)

*Equipment:*
Maxijet pro 400 (circulation sump)
Coralife CP 750 (circulation display tank)
Rio 1400+ (return pump)
Prizm Pro 300G HoB Skimmer (on sump)
150W heater (in sump)

*Plumping:*
1x 3/4" full siphon w/ valve
2x 3/4" Open channel
1x 1/2" lockline return

*Fish:*
Ocellaris clown
clown goby
Royal gramma
purple firefish
tailspot blenny
six line wrasse

*Corals:*
Neon Green Leather
Orange Rhodactis Mushroom
Orange Ricordia
Green Stripe Mushroom
Green and Blue Caribbean Bullseye Mushroom
green star polyps
white button polyps
Brown button polyps
a couple unknown Zoanthids
Candy Cane
torch coral
Anthelia
Soft Finger Leather (not doing well atm)

*macro algae:*
Halimeda
Red Gracilaria


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## dabandit1 (Dec 6, 2010)

Pictures or it never happened lol Wow all I ever get come tax time is a massive bill


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

stay at home wife + two kids, transit passes every month helps a bit to get a return. Rather than get my employer to take less tax off, i let the government use my money for free (my old man hates that i do that) to act as a savings account, works out great for fish tank funds 

pics will come, dont worry, its nothing impressive though, just rock.

So far the Clown goby, six line and tail spot roam around the tank in the open, the clown goby comes out but dives for a hole at any moment. Royal gramma and purple firefish are almost non existent.

Oh i also started vodka dosing since my phosphates got a bit higher because i was feeding too frequently, not high enough to damage anything, but high enough that i started rowaphos again to help prevent it from climbing. Im trying to make the new fishies comfortable by coaxing them out with food, but i just dont want an algae breakout from it.


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## 77_Bus_Girl (Dec 30, 2012)

Mmmm. Vodka dosing....  

Seriously though, what's vodka dosing for? (I mean, other than taking the edge off) hah... 

Sent from my SGH-I727R using Tapatalk 2


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Vodka would be a source of carbon that bacteria can use to multiply. Normally the carbon available in a marine aquarium is too large a molecule for the bacteria to process efficiently so it becomes a limiting factor in reproduction. What does happen when its not as limited is it absorbs nitrates and phosphates in the water as it grows then the skimmer removes the bacteria. So vodka just becomes a cheap source of phosphate export that allows you to feed a bit more or just control excess phosphates. For people with a DSB the dosing can slowly strip the build up nitrates and phosphates that can happen over time if you fail to refresh the fauna of the sand bed, however it takes longer to see results from the dosing. It does have a few possible drawbacks but generally running carbon fixes them if they happen. A little research will show more results. I'm on my phone now so I can't link the bookmark

Sent from my SGH-I897 using Xparent Green Tapatalk 2


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Tank Precrash, pre tank swap, white balance is off a bit, but meh.









one of my new fishies, tail spot blenny peaking out a hole it has picked as its home









my Halimeda trimmed back









My Favia colony, bought this one damaged at j&L and where it had a gaping chip out of it has long since filled in









Candy Cane Frag, with one of my zoa frags in front of it being choked out by some turf algae, only outbreak of algae since the crash, so i keep it in the middle of substrate on its own, when i get an urchin again i'll be making sure i trap it with the frag for a while 









Side view









Left side from two different angles

















Right Side from two different angles

















Full tank shot









One of the reasons i've been so lazy with the pic updates is i set my SLR to Raw format without having the software to manipulate the photos. I was having a lot of issues with white balance and the cameras built in menus, so i switched over to RAW and said screw it, i'll fix it all later. Finally decided to install some software to manipulate the balance to match what i see with my eye easily. Luckily with the tank crash there was much i could just delete  one FTS was good enough for the old tank.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

im finding that the royal gramma, purple firefish and clown goby are still acting timid. Im hoping they get used to the mild foot traffic that passes the tank.


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## dabandit1 (Dec 6, 2010)

Watch that firefish there jumpers I've lost a few of them over the years. Love your tank,looking good that favia is dead sexy lol where on earth did you find that red macro? graci*** something or other right? I've been looking everywhere


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I got the Macro algae from another BCA member, they sold a few batches a while back. But now that you inquired, i feel guilty for throwing out about 3 times the amount thats present in my tank when i rescaped, lol.

I know about the jumpers, that's why while they were timid, i installed a screen cover asap. Was pretty easy to make with simple things from rona, a 4'x4' screen frame kit, some screen mesh and spline material, i didn't get a spliner because any rounded edge the thickness of the screen groove will work, like the top of fish tank tweezers  It cuts out a lot of light, but my lights are a little overpowered so it just meant me reprogramming my light timers to have both rows on most of the day, rather than just 3 hours.

and that favia was only $13 at j&l, couldn't believe it was still there for the size it was.

One thing i noticed through my tank journal and my fixture thread is i never posted the finished product, so here it is:










it isn't screwed into the wall at all, the aircraft cable is attached on the inside of the alcove, i installed a piece of 1x3 from the ground to ceiling in there to give me another lip to rest the fixture on. This allows me to drop the light fixture down to have better access to the tank if needed. When i finally settle on a height, i will drill a hole in the side of the fixture and put 1 screw in the wall sticking out an inch, it will act like a dowel, preventing the fixture from dropping down when im careless around it. For now i keep a sping clamp thingy on the right side to serve the same purpose.

i should also mention i lost the royal gramma, it was floating tonight at the top, its been in hiding since the rescape, so i may have clipped it with live rock during that and wedged it in place where the crabs couldn't reach. it explains why i've had nitrates show up on test, not enough to hurt any of my stock thankfully.


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## dabandit1 (Dec 6, 2010)

Very nice!!! I like the look of the black sand. Screen is cool too I've been meaning to make one for my tank so I can get a firefish too :lol:
Never thought of hanging a canopy like that what a great idea.

Next time your throwing away impossible to find macro algae let me know lol


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## yvr75 (May 21, 2010)

Did you introduce the 6 line wrasse into the tank before the Royal Gramma and Firefish? If so, these last 2 fish might not be coming out because they are being bullied by the 6 line. This fish is well known for harassing other more timid fish. 

I personally think that your tank has too many fish. Get rid of the 6 line wrasse and most likely the other 2 fish will feel safe to come out.


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## gklaw (May 31, 2010)

Looking good Rob. Just have to keep the boys out of there


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

the two fish were bought prior to the six line, i did my research on it atleast so i tried to make it my last fish to add. Unfortunately the gramma is dead so it wasn't meant to be the last fish. As for the wrasse being a douche, it hasn't really been aggressive to other fish yet, its still rather small as most of my stock is. Im already noticing the fish coming out more now, even the clown goby, so they were probably just shy from being introduced.

My wife came to j&l with me, she picked out a hawaiian feather duster, frogspawn/hammerhead coral (not sure which), a blue neon goby and a lyretail anthias. I know the anthias is pushing it but luckily its still small and i have no problem rehoming her if needed down the road. So far she has claimed her territory, been eating lots of pods who were unfortunate enough to swim by. its pretty much got half the tank to itself as the other fish chose homes in the right side of the tank, but now that the left is occupied with the frogspawn, feather duster and the anthias im finding all fishies out and roaming now, even the firefish 

btw, i've ran into many places that speak of single lyretails kept successfully as long as other fish are social with it, so we shall see, and and yes, i expect it to eat the clown goby down the road when its grown.


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

I've decided to remove my DSB in my sump, its not failed, but i dont want a crash creeping up on me after my son nuked the tank with food. it looks clean still, but its starting to leech some nitrates back in the water.

So the plan:
Remove much of the sand
add another partition to separate the skimmer from the rest of the sumps open area and keep this bare bottom
Add light under the stand for frags/macro algae. (atleast rack already installed)


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