# imisky's 44g custom SW tank



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

Lol....heres another for everyone to enjoy. This was the reason why i disappeared from BCAquaria and freshwater for so long. Since I'm back on here, why not share it for everyone to enjoy.

The setup currently is:
Display Tank: 36x13x13
Sump: 24x12.5x12.5
Lighting: 4x sunblaster T5 w/ nanotech reflector + 5x PAR38 XP-G LED
Drains: Corner herbie style drain
Skimmer: SWC 160 cone
Powerheads: 2x Vortech MP40W ES
Live Rocks: ~ 10lbs
Temp Control: 1/15th HP chiller
3x Dosing pumps for alk, ca, vodka

Parameters:
Salinity: 1.025 to 1.026
Temp: 78-79F
Calcium: 440
Alk: 8.5-9
Mg: 1350

Heres the FTS, just recently added the T5s (friday) havent had time to clean up the 2 wires on the end lol....will get to that eventually. The tank is recovering from me moving things around as i ripped all the corals off the rocks and re-glued them. Some corals didnt like that at all and turned all brown haha....it'll take a few weeks to color them back up but meanwhile I only have this to show


----------



## noisetherapy (Jul 25, 2011)

very nice! i love the colours. close ups please!


----------



## DR1V3N (Apr 22, 2010)

imisky said:


> ... 3x Dosing pumps for alk, ca, vodka...


Heheh.. one for me, one for you 

Was actually reading a thread on vodka dosing a couple days ago. Might actually try it to help with my nitrates. Gotta pick up something that will measure out small enough doses for a 14G though.

Very nicely done. Very much liking the clean look you seem to use in all your tanks.

X2 on closeups once the corals bounce back!


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

noisetherapy said:


> very nice! i love the colours. close ups please!


I'll get on the close ups once things color up a bit, nothing to see when the corals are all brown 



martialid10t said:


> Heheh.. one for me, one for you
> 
> Was actually reading a thread on vodka dosing a couple days ago. Might actually try it to help with my nitrates. Gotta pick up something that will measure out small enough doses for a 14G though.
> 
> ...


Vodka dosing isnt hard, quite easy, a simple pipette will do the trick  anything from test kits that can measure 1ml. I have all my SW parameters automated to keep things stable and simplify the tasks i need to do.

As for keeping all my tanks clean and simple, I appreciate the compliment  i find that tanks thats more minimalistic (not over simplified in scape) is actually more pleasing. Not forgetting that its also less work as well which I'll take anyday.

Pictures of the closeups will be coming soon  Give it a week or 2 for the colors to come back and I'll update this thread with them.


----------



## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

looks great bro! 

I just started and 18 gallon mixed reef about 4 weeks ago. 

keep us updated


----------



## scherzo (Apr 24, 2010)

Mice work Eugene!


----------



## DR1V3N (Apr 22, 2010)

imisky said:


> ...i find that tanks thats more minimalistic (not over simplified in scape) is actually more pleasing. Not forgetting that its also less work as well which I'll take anyday.


100% agreed. Your awesome selection of plants in your FW tanks really tie the scape together. Looking forward to seeing your coral selections up close in a few weeks 

Speaking of minimalism, thought you might find this interesting. If you're ever out at Rogers Aquatics, check out the lil 8G JBJ nano reef near the counter. It's entirely stock, beautifully scaped (mostly shrooms) corals from top to bottom and with more fish than anyone would consider putting into 8G. The kicker is that he gutted the wet/dry filter entirely. No filter media + 10% WC weekly. Adds only Prime to straight tap water and that's his reef maintenance regimen.

Hate that guy sometimes. He tells me I read too much. =p

P.s. What brand vodka do you recommend? All i'm thinking is anything distilled and good-tasting.. =)


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

Algae Beater said:


> looks great bro!
> 
> I just started and 18 gallon mixed reef about 4 weeks ago.
> 
> keep us updated


Hopefully that mixed reef does well for you, with only 4 weeks in I assume your still going through your cycling stage?



scherzo said:


> Mice work Eugene!


 Thanks man


martialid10t said:


> 100% agreed. Your awesome selection of plants in your FW tanks really tie the scape together. Looking forward to seeing your coral selections up close in a few weeks
> 
> Speaking of minimalism, thought you might find this interesting. If you're ever out at Rogers Aquatics, check out the lil 8G JBJ nano reef near the counter. It's entirely stock, beautifully scaped (mostly shrooms) corals from top to bottom and with more fish than anyone would consider putting into 8G. The kicker is that he gutted the wet/dry filter entirely. No filter media + 10% WC weekly. Adds only Prime to straight tap water and that's his reef maintenance regimen.
> 
> ...


I have been to rogers and though that little nano reef is good for the amount of work he puts in, i always found a little odd. Alot of people who tend to go nano/pico sizes always add on a sump/refug that is equal if not bigger than the actually tank haha. The scape does look pretty nice and thats just to show that you do not need to spend hundreds of dollars on expensive corals for the tank to look nice.

As for vodka, any brand works as long as it doesnt have any additives or tanning in them. Just grab the cheapest tripple distilled one you can find and your good to go.

Oh and I do have 1 picture that was taken 2 days ago with the FTS. Its an ORA borealis (tenuis sp.) and its one of the pieces that didnt turn brown, mainly cuz it wasnt mounted on a live rock so it was a simple move for that guy.


----------



## SeaHorse_Fanatic (Apr 22, 2010)

Beautiful tank as always.


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

SeaHorse_Fanatic said:


> Beautiful tank as always.


thanks Anthony, how are yours coming along, havent chatted with you in a while.


----------



## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

What's the Vodka for? for drinking or for something else?


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

Captured Moments said:


> What's the Vodka for? for drinking or for something else?


vodka has been used to increase bacteria population (any carbon source works doesnt have to be vodka), but you require a powerful enough skimmer to pull all that bacteria out as a source of nutrient exportation


----------



## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

I see thanks. So Do you think Flourish Excel or Metricide 14 would work in this case? Isn't Chaeto the same concept with growing them in refugium for nutrient Nitrate and Phosphate export?


----------



## Algae Beater (Apr 21, 2010)

nah my tank is fully cycled as im using a full blown Zeo Vit system


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

Captured Moments said:


> I see thanks. So Do you think Flourish Excel or Metricide 14 would work in this case? Isn't Chaeto the same concept with growing them in refugium for nutrient Nitrate and Phosphate export?


I am not quite sure if excel of metricide 14 would work as i do not know how pure in terms of carbon they are or if the bacteria for sw tanks are able to intake that particular carbon source. Also another thing that makes me think that metricide and excel wont work is that they are a disinfectant so dosing that might end up killing the bacteria but this is a guess on my side. Chaeto is the same base concept, in that you let it grow and trim to to remove the nutrients in which the algae has absorbed in order to grow.



Algae Beater said:


> nah my tank is fully cycled as im using a full blown Zeo Vit system


Let me know how the zeo system works for you. I'd heard everyone that went on that system loved the results but hates the work that goes into dosing it everyday.


----------



## BCAquaria (Apr 24, 2010)

Wow....

you always keep such amazing tanks!


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

BCAquaria said:


> Wow....
> 
> you always keep such amazing tanks!


Thanks! everyones tank is amazing in there own ways


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

got a little treat for everyone, over the course of the weekend I decided that I should take my hard university training (design and media) and produce something out of it. Here's a short 3 min video for anyone interested and I hope you guys enjoy it.

The video


----------



## 2wheelsx2 (Apr 21, 2010)

That's a very cool vid and the tank looks great. You should do a vid of your planted tanks too.


----------



## Ebonbolt (Aug 12, 2011)

Awesome tank! What species of damsel is that?


----------



## imisky (Mar 30, 2011)

2wheelsx2 said:


> That's a very cool vid and the tank looks great. You should do a vid of your planted tanks too.


Working on that, Have to wait til things become a little bit more interesting before taking on some footage. Be assured eventually there will be one lol



BelieveInBlue said:


> Awesome tank! What species of damsel is that?


thanks those are talbot damsels one of the most mellow damsels I know to date with stunning colors as well and not just your average green and blue.


----------

