kgoldy

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I've been lurking on manhattanreefs.com for a while, and since I started in the nano world with a biocube, I kept my tank threads over there on Nano-reefs... But for a while I've been getting bigger and bigger, and I traded my bio-cube to a M-R member to focus on my "frankensystem".

Well, it's time to start the thread. Not sure about house rules, so I won't post a link to my original build threads... But if you're interested, go over to Nano-reef and search for my threads. I go by kgoldy over there too, so it shouldn't be too hard to find.



I'm going to skip most of the build (because it's 19 pages full of pics on the original thread) and try to keep this thread updated from now (October 2011).



The goal behind this tank is a focus on diversity, and keeping it "nano themed", as in, every specimen that goes inside this tank is a nano-friendly species. No big fish or inverts, just stuff that could potentially live in a bio-cube.

The second theme, and maybe most important, is self sustainability. I want to add food and top-off water, and occasionally do some trimming. No water changes, no dosing (other than kalkwasser in the ATO). So far, so good. I've done one water change since setting up this tank, and am maintaining clams and SPS successfully... so far-so good.





FTS- 2011 November 14

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FTS/Video- 2011 September 09

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FTS- 2011 March 09

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Equipment-
Display - 90 Gallon Reef Ready by Deep Blue Professional
Sump- 40 Breeder custom display sump. See build thread here
Skimmer- Bubble Magus 150 Pro
Lighting- 2x BoostLED's 135 Watt Mu Series fixtures (Boost claims the PAR rating is ~ 250 Watt Metal Halides)
Tunze 3155 Osmolator Universal (Auto Top Off)
ATO Reservoir- 20 High Aqueon
ReefKeeper NET Internet Module - Digital Aquatics
ReefKeeper Lite L3 PLUS - Digital Aquatics
2 x BRS GFO and Carbon Reactors
Eheim 1262 Universal Aquarium Pump 900GPH


Rock
(Display) BRS Pukani Dry Eco Aquarium Live Rock 75lbs
(Fuge) Rock wall made with "Great Stuff" with the green label, made for ponds- fish safe. ~15 lbs of dry and live rock in the wall.
Dry Live Rock Rubble - 7 lbs not added yet


Substrate
(Display)
60 lbs Aragamax Oolite
20 lbs Nature's Ocean Samoa Pink Sand #0
20 lbs Nature's Ocean Samoa Pink Gravel #2
(15 lbs crushed coral/shells on standby- small amount may be added for Pistol Shrimp and burrowing gobies)
(May add another 30-50 lbs of fine grain sand for true Deep Sand Bed)

(Bottom Fuge)
2 gallons Refugium Mineral Mud
20 lbs Carribsea Black Aragonite "live sand"

(Mangrove Fuge)
16 gallon HOB style DIY acrylic with "waterfall" into display
30 lbs of Aragamax
1 Bucket Figi Mud
1 Bottle Miracle Mud
10 lbs mixed substrate from a trade
Chaeto
20 or so Red Mangroves from ReefCleaners.org


Supporting Equipment
SpectraPure 90 GPD RO/DI Maxcap with BRS Auto-shut off kit and membrane flush kit
2 x Rubbermade 45 Gallon buckets (RO/DI water reservoirs)
 
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kgoldy

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Here's one of my two fuges. A remote Deep Sand Bed/Mangrove fuge. I don't test my water, but my assumption is that every bit of nitrate and phosphate in my system gets absorbed in this thing. It's like an Algae Turf Scrubber on steroids.


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Here it is being built-

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kgoldy

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@jerl77- This rock was all seeded with coraline from the rocks I gave you with the biocube. That purple stuff is CRAZY in how fast it grows. Everything you see in this tank now was dry pukani rock from Bulk Reef Supply.
 

kgoldy

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Alright- camera noob is playing with settings on camera, and downloading all sorts of crap... and... this is what happens...


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Finally learned to take pics that look like accurate colors!! Woohoooooo!

When I say I "learned"... I really mean I have no idea how I did what I did. But I have a better idea of where to start, I suppose...
 
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Very nice build. I knew when you first came in to Mutts to buy the HQI Biocube it wasn't going to last long lol. You were asking all the right questions and had obviously done some research. Looks like it paid off, very cool tank. I'm sure this tank is only going to get better.
 

kgoldy

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beautiful tank and beautiful dogs!

That'd be a pretty badass fuge to do above any tank :x :wheels spinning:

Thanks. I'd recommend anyone with the space behind their tanks to build a fuge like this. It's going to be sick when the mangroves really start growing out. They only started getting leaves a few weeks ago when I finally stopped being lazy and started misting them with fresh water... Now they're really taking off. I imagine in about a year, when all my frags grow out and my tank has a higher bio-load, the mangroves will really help me with the zero-water-change thing.
 

kgoldy

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So- Jerl77 hooked me the hell up with a ton of frags in exchange for my Biocube29HQI. Thanks a ton dude, my tank is going to be sick when all these frags grow out.


Again, still learning to use camera, so go easy on me for the pics sucking. No tripod, and no adjustments made before uploading. The first few pics of are of Jeremy's tank, some he took (the better ones) while coaching me on how to use my G10 Canon.



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This is Jerl77's frag tank that he has plumbed into his system... And I got just about every single thing in it. :D He gave me some acans that were giving him trouble (you'll see them in later pics) and hopefully I can get them to make a comeback.

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And here we gooooo- Three hours of having my hands in the tank. Lots of work. Good way to spend my rainy/snowy night on Saturday.

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kgoldy

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I only had my white LEDs on when I took these pictures, so they're robbed of the real fluorescence that they'll be showing in the next round of pics. Just wish I didn't agree to work tomorrow all day (wrote this post Saturday night, I had to work Sunday)... I won't even get to see these things again until Monday night right before the lights go out. :(

Jeremy noted on the bags what had to be high lighting, what needed low, and if certain frags of the same coral should be placed at different light intensities to draw out different colors.

Really excited about the rainbow monti. Woohoo! Put it on top of my (currently uninhabited) Jawfish home... I think rainbow barnacles should look pretty sweet in about a year.

Also- hit up Aqua Hut on my way home with the frags. Place was gigantic, heavily stocked compared to the stores I'm used to. Maxi minis were $19, any color. So... I got a yellow maxi- I think it'll be in one of the last pics.

Got a maxi from the trade too... unfortunately it's on a big rock with it's foot deep inside a hole, so I'm hoping it wanders so I can ditch the rock... I stuck it at the top of the tank, but not with too much light exposure... going to blast it with water if it doesn't move in a few days.

I tried to avoid any pictures with the frags I already had in the shots so you can really see just the new stuff. I can't believe how crowded my tank is now... Going to have to figure out where to put all those acans...



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Jer had this coral encrusting all over his overflow... I'm hoping to be a copy-cat.

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