• Why not take a moment to introduce yourself to our members?

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
This month was extra check month and I said wth and picked up a 65 gallon and switched the contents of my 45 in to it. It was a huge pain in the a$$ only because I wanted the tank in the same spot and since it was just a 45 I needed to make a ton of water for the switch.

I had been running a wavepoint 4x39w t5 with a regular 2x21 t5 for dawn dusk. I ditched the reg output and picked up a sloarmax 2x39w for $100 that also includes 6 blue led moonlights. It is not a high end fixture but they did the best they could for the price point they targeted. Its a single reflector but its contoured and has individual switches for each bulb (and vho style end caps). Despite lacking individual reflectors and fans, the 6x39w t5's produce a ton of light, and with good bulbs Im convinced they will do what I need them to.

Two things I didnt want to skimp out on were flow and bulbs. I have two koralia 2's and two koralia 425 gph nanos aimed strategically to create a random flow pattern that the corals are already responding to. I ordered a bunch of different bulbs but Im probably gonna go with three blue+'s, one power chrome true actinic, one uvl actinic white, and a 6500k ge starcoat. Until I get them (hopefully tuesday) I'm using the wave point bulbs.

The tank is just a day old and a little cloudy but here it is

img_0847.jpg


img_0852.jpg


some night shots

img_0859.jpg


img_0867.jpg


I should probably also mention my stock list and some specs
Fish: coral beauty, two black false percs, two neon gobies, sixline wrasse, strawberry dottyback
corals: pectina, bali slimer, tri color, pink birdsnest, purple mille, green tabletop, orange and green monti caps, misc zoos and shrooms, cactus gorg.
inverts: peppermint shrimp, skunk cleaner, emerald crabs, porcelain crabs, blue legs red legs and zebras, trochus astrea cerith and nassarius snails

several types of macro algae (halimeda, chaeto, calurpa, dragons breath, sea lettuce)

tank: 65 gallon deep blue professional series
skimmer: remora with 1200 pump
powerheads: two koralia 2's (750 gph ea.), two koralia nanos (425 gph ea.)
lights: wavepoint 4x39w t5, solarmax 2x39w t5 (will be using a combo of ati, uvl, and ge bulbs)
sump: none
media: 1 pura pad rolled up and placed in return chamber of skimmer

levels: specific gravity 1.025, calcium 440, dkh 10, ph 8.2, magnesium 1300, nitrates <5 , phosphates 0

additives: ultimate coral food (once weekly), kent three part expert series phytomax chromamax zoomax (phyto and chroma once a week, zoo 3 times a week) , b ionic, brightwell magnesium, brightwell bio fuel (vodka dosing)

Ill post some new shots when the bulbs come and the water clears.
 

jaa1456

MR's Greatest Member
Rating - 100%
50   0   0
Haha, I know the big pain in the a$$ you went through, I just did the dame thing last month. But mine was a JBJ 28 that was in the same spot as where I was putting my 65. Looking good though
 

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
heheh it just occured to me, I should have made my screen name "sexy fishtank chick" or "coral girl". LOL It would be nice to get someone to actually check out my posts once and a while... anyway, came home to a couple corals in the sand bed. Took my time replacing them back in the rock work, hopefully they stay. I will say that its way easier to work on this tank then the 45
 

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
well I came home to my bridsnest in the sand so I epoxy'd it in but it still looks a little sketchy. I am not a fan of epoxy, I think i should prolly use it in conjuction with superglue cus it never wants to hold for me.

Picked up another acro colony and a wavemaker today. Its not like a wave a box its just a power strip with a dial on it, the first two outlets alternate and you can adjust it from 20 seconds to three minutes. I am having some issues with microbubbles but other than that its pretty cool and the corals seem to be responding to it (especially my table top, Ive never seen it look so good.) Its called natural wave or nature wave for $60 I figured it was worth a shot.

Ill post some picks tom.
 

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
nah theyre def microbubbles, i think its the result of the powerheads constantly starting and stopping... its better today I moved the koralias a little lower into the tank and it seems to have fixed it. I was gonna post some pics, but my new bulbs should arrive tommorrow and I figured id wait till theyre in... I got a couple new corals so stay tuned it should be looking pretty cool tommorrow. Picked up some mb7 today too, most of the live rock is from my old tank and theres alot of old water too but with the new sand bed and a few new pieces of rock a little shot of bacteria wont hurt.
 

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
How do you like the Solarmax fixture? I have read mixed reviews, particularly when it comes to the wiring and switching between the daylights and the LEDs.


its $100 fixture bro, it does exactly what I expected for that kind of money. It's a little nicer than the chinese ones on ebay and probably the nicest one than you could find at that price . I personally have had no problems with it (for the two weeks I've had it) the switches betwen the leds and daylights arent an issue cus the leds are always on.

If you need a light for dawn/dusk it does the job and you get the nighlights so I think its a decent product.

I got my bulbs today Ill post some pics when I figure out the combo Im gonna go with... right now its (front to back)

ati actinic 03 \ Dawn/dusk
ati blue plus /

ati aquablue special
ati blue plus
uvl actinic white
ati blue plus

I kinda want to ditch the aquablue plus for a ge starcoat 6500k, but I've heard mixed things. Im gonna try it cus wth, I got the bulbs and I feel like the aquablue is washing out the tank a little bit.
 
Last edited:

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Well tried the 6500k.... I know i didnt give it much of a shot but im not a fan. I switched back to the 3 blue+s, 1 actinic white, 1 aquablue spezial, and 1 super actinic. Its a nice 20k ish light , little harsh but the actinic white (which says 12000k but is pretty pink) and the ati super actinc 03 warm it up a little... gotta give the bulbs some time to burn in i guess. Picking up some new frags this weekend and I couldnt be more excited theyre coming from the sickest sps tank i have EVER seen.
 

adamt

Advanced Reefer
Location
westchester ny
Rating - 100%
4   0   0
Well I had the awesome opportunity to check out reefbum's tank and pick up a few frags from him today. First off let me just say, reefbum is a class act, he could not be a cooler guy if he tried. Secondly his tank is absolutely #$%@#$^ crazy. The pictures he was kind enough to post DO NOT do the aquarium justice. It really goes to show what a little hard work and 1500 watts of light can accomplish.

Ill post pics tommorrow but I picked up a green stylopora, an awesome pearl berry frag, a blue stag, and subsequently picked up a nice lemon-lime acro that I swapped for a small pearlberry frag originally intended for a friend of mine ( Fret not, Im gonna give my friend a frag of green slimer, so he still gets something, not pearl berry, but something).
 

Sponsor Reefs

We're a FREE website, and we exist because of hobbyists like YOU who help us run this community.

Click here to sponsor $10:


Top