Druluv's Reef Odyssey

[druluv]

After about a year of operation of my 125Gallon Mixed Reef, I feel I owe it to fellow reefers, newbies and oldies, to try and document much of the work I did to set-up my reef, for others to learn, and for others to add creative criticism. I have learned so much from other reefer that I want to also contributed to the collective knowledge on this forum.

Here is my Equipment List:

Custom Tank 125 Gallon 48 X 24 X24
Reefugium Sump 48L X 24W

Filtration:
Aqua-C Protein Skimmer
Sea Chem Purigen, Rowaphos, Carbon Reactors
Live Rock- Fuji, Marshall, Tonga Branch

Water Flow:
Wave2k ? Wave Box
Tunze ? Wave Box
Tunze ? (2) 6000 Streams
Tunze ? 7095 Wave Maker Controller
OM Squirt - Four Way
I just love flow.

Water Cooling:
Pacific Coasts ? hp chiller (Reef Saver :knockedou )


Lighting:

48 PFO Metal Halide Hood w/ 400 Watt Pulse Start Ballast
(2) - 10k Ushio 400 Watt bulbs
(2) ? Corallife Actinic Bulbs VHO
48" - AquaTrader HO Fixture

I use 10k for growth and blue light supplementation to bring out coral pigments. I was surprised to see how bright the tank look when I fired these bulbs. Sps seem to like this set-up too!!!

I?ll have pics of the tank later.

 

[nanoreefer22]

Looking forward to the pics
<----Pic Junkie
-Kris

 

[druluv]

I'm Starting to put together my ocean Motions 4 way Super Squirt (OM). I still have some dead spots around the tank, and I wanted to replace my 3 maxi-jets. I'm using a 1200 GHP External Pump to drive the OM Drum. I also have 2 OM products called "revolutions".

From OM Product Description:

"revolutions" are revolutionary devices in more ways than one. This unit was designed with patented technology to make fuller use of the operation of the 8-way and to enable a completely new concept in water moving technology with the 4-way.


Each time water is diverted to the unit it lowers itself downward into the tank by 1/2 inch and indexes 45 degrees, returning upwards when the water pressure is reduced.

It rotates in this manner and gives superior coverage to many areas of the tank.

 

[druluv]

Here are some pics of my tank with Atinics on.

Photo 2 shows the wave 2k box. I just ordered the upgrade replacement pulley wheels that drive the wave box. This replacement is suppose to make the the box run quieter and more dependable. I have broken to many belts trying to adjust this box. I haven't been that impress by this product. The problem is that concept is a good one, however, the execution hasn't come through. When the wave box is working the flow pattern beats any other wave maker on the market. This box makes the most realistic wave I' ve seen.

Photo 3 Tunze box location

 

[druluv]

Here are some more pics of the tank with full lights

 

[druluv]

my open brain

 

[druluv]

Just finished installing OM super squirt. It took 4 hours to complete. I ran two ports underneath the sandbed through the two 45 degree angle pvc connection that leads to the front of the tank, and the other two on opposite sides of the tank. I hope the flow is enough to replace the three maxi-jets I have there now.

 

[druluv]

Here is a pic of the super squirt and one the revolutions. I ran out PVC parts to connect the last one.

 

[druluv]

also have home work, I bought some reef plugs and reef disk. While cutting back some of my coral growth, I'll be able to glue some of the frags and share with other reefers; when I'm set up I you can pass by and trade corals. I'm building up my stock now. Here's a pic of a frag tank I bought for 50 dollars from my LFS. Its 24X23X24.

I also got a new book, Now I will know all the things I have been doing wrong.

I have other tasks to do. I swap out all my refugium lights. 1 10K 65 watt PC, 2 18 Watt NO BUlbs. I picked blue moon actinics to replace the NO bulbs. I got the idea from "Garf". Should help with coraline growth

I have to add a float switch for my salt water container. I bought a 32 gallon trash can(plastic of couse) to do my water changes with. I think it would be a good idea to buy wheels for these trash cans, to make moving around easier.

 

[marrone]

druluv

The tank looks good, like to see more close up pictures of the corals. I have a question on the lighting, I was running the same bulbs but 175watts instead of 400 watts and got great grow and the corals where open really big but the tank looked very yellow. Do you have this problem?

Michael

 

[druluv]

Please note: IMO Please don't invest in the scwd, it is a piece of crap. The one I replaced seems like it got clog. Being clog is cool, not being able to clean it is not! This wanna be wave maker, body housing is sealed making impossible to clear out anything jamming it. It is a waste.

 

[druluv]

I finally retro-fitted my saltmixer trash can with a float value.
Replaced my display actinics with Vho Actinics.
Added the Tunze wave controller. I tried adding the wave box to the 7095 controller, but it kept making bubbles. So I put it back on the regular controller it came with. Today I'm so tired of seeing bubbles.

I now have to add my PA lighthouse aquarium controller. This controller will control light, ph, orp(I'm planning on using ozone), and temp. This controller make graphs and everything.

here are some specs:
Affordable and highly accurate.

Controls up to three independent lighting zones.

PH monitoring and control with ?0.02 pH accuracy.

ORP monitoring and control with ?2 mV accuracy.

RESEARCH GRADE temperature controller.

Controls Chillers up to 1/3 HP.

Controls Heaters up to 1000 Watts.

Direct-connect AC Power Strip Included (no X-10).

No PC or special software needed- fully programmable from front panel buttons.

Ultra-bright OLED (Organic LED Technology) display.

Data Logging Output- Maintain historical data or customize web pages.

10-BaseT Ethernet- Plugs into any network.

Everything's Included- Just add your own PH and ORP Probes.

This will allow me to at least have some piece of mind with stablity.

Here are the graphs look like.

The other pic is my food collection.


I'm trying a new food called Azoo ?-Glucan Marine Fish Flake Food

here is a little about it.
Immunity: ?-Glucan which is extracted from Ganoderma lucidum is added. It reinforces diverse immunity and builds up the resistance to diseases.

 

[druluv]

Well I finished what I set out to do. Add more flow to the tank, and added a controller to moniter orp, ph, temp. I'll be adding ozone by next week so the controller will be handling that.

I will also start doing weekly 10% water changes to my tank. this should add a good mix of macro and trace elements back into my tank. The skimmer some times do to good of a job. I 'm trying to develop a nice way to boost my new saltwater that I'm adding. Maybe by adding mg, or a two part alk and ca supplement. I can go crazy and add both. RO/DI strips some of the good stuff out of my water, so I need to boost the product water. ( I got this idea from GARF)

I decided to use ocean nutrition gel cubes for my primary frozen meal. The cubes tend to make less of a mess than other frozen food.

The first pic is the controller in action!

 

[druluv]

some more Pics

 

[druluv]

Feedback Analysis - on Premium Aquatics Lighthouse Aquarium Controller
I have using this controller for three days. The controller is very easy to use and to set up. The controller monitors PH, ORP, and Temperature. It also turn your reef lighting off and on. The controller has three controllable lighting zones. It has Daylight, Actinic, Refugium lighting. The lighting names are arbitrary; they should of called it timer outlets. These three outlets can run anything you want on a timer. Another good feature is the "Daylight Cutoff" feature, it allows you to set a temperature that will turn off the Daylight. In addition to this, you can view min/max values over 24 hours (PH, ORP, Temp). This is a good feature because you can see how stable your tank is operating. This controller has the capability to access data through the internet. Using proper networking equipment, you can check the conditions of your aquarium from anywhere in the world.
This controller doesn?t use x-10 modules. Some aquarium controllers provide lighting/heating control by using X-10 modules. Some people don't like the X-10 modules because they are affected by electrical noise generated from electronic ballasts and are unreliable long-term. The bottom line is that sometimes do not turn on or off when they should. They are also sensitive to computers, televisions, and most other electronic equipment, especially when plugged into the same breaker circuit.

Even though this is a solid product, I was disappointed because you can only control ORP or PH and not both. If you decide to control ORP or PH, you also lose one of your lighting zones. I am using a dual ballast and a VHO ballast so I?m using all three lighting zone. Now that I want to add ozone to my tank, I lose one of the lighting outlets, the PH/ORP controller outlet is share with one of the lighting outlets. So I still have to use those bulky timers for my other lights.

In addition, You can only control a heater or a chiller and not both. The controller can only handle up to a 1/3 HP chiller. A bummer if you have a large reef.

Final word-

This controller is rock solid. Very easy to use. I would not recommend this controller for large tanks though. If you are a real reef-tech, you probably would go for this controller either because of the minimum features. But this controller is good for smaller tanks where the core features are enough to handle the tanks issues.


Next Review Tunze Wave Box

 

[druluv]

Feedback Analysis ? on Tunze Wave Box 6212 price $504.35

Introduction
Tunze Wavebox 6212 is a wave generator for aquariums from 52 to 317 US Gal. It is especially suitable for reef biotopes as it generates an oscilating current. The current corresponds exactly to the wave structure and water movement in reef top zones.

The top of the Wavebox is above the water's surface. The Stream's only job is to empty the box. When it cycles off...the box re-fills. So basically it creates the wave by the displacement of the water.( real simplistic explanation)

Pros
I have been using the Wavebox for about 6 months. It is an excellent product. Waves that are created are so realistic that you could get seas sick by looking at the movement that are being created. The corals sway in the current and fish love fighting the current. You have to set the frequency on the controller by turning the dial on it this is how you get the wave. You have find your tanks sweet spot. The controller that comes with the wave box allows you to add another pump or Wavebox extension; more waves for your tank!!!!

Cons
The wave box is huge and can be an eye sore. It bocks the side of the tank the Wavebox is on. So Cleaning the glass around the Wavebox is a pain. Next Time I would place the Wavebox behind the rock work, this should not hamper the performance. If you are planning on buying this product I recommend you buy it first, so you can properly place the Wavebox in the and make your rock work with the waves that are created.

In addition the wave box creates sway wave but no turbulence current. You may have to add additional pumps to create turbulence current.

Waves created by the box may stress the seams in old tanks.

Final: It is a good buy

 

[druluv]

Feedback Analysis ? on OM Squirt(4-way) price $125.00 + prewired cord (6ft) $10

Introduction
The OM Squirt is a magnetically driven unit with no seals, the drum has 4 magnets sealed inside it and is driven by 4 other magnets housed in the motor drive assembly separated by a delrin spacer. The drum spins slowly while one port is open and the other three is closed. When the port opens, water flows through that opening.

Pros
The OM Squirt is a wicked replacement for the scwd. Even though scwd is cheaper, the scwd cannot be open for cleaning, but the Squirt can be opened. The flow through the squirt is incredible and the flow is alternated between the four different ports. Using the Squirt allows you to hide your pipes through out the aquarium. So if you don?t like the look of bulky power heads, the squirt is a good solution.

Cons
The OM Squirt requires a lot of piping to install. You will need a least 5 union pvc connectors to be able to take the squirt off for servicing. I wish I could see the drum turn to know what port is opening.

Final
Very Good Buy, Highly recommended. If your tank is not drilled look up Melv?s website on closed loop instillation on tanks that are not drilled.

 

[druluv]

Well I hooked up my O3 unit, I used a dolphin air pump with an air dryer, and I'm using an aqua medic O3 unit. My output is sent to my protein skimmer. The O3 smells funny when its on. I have it set for 1/2 hour on a low setting. I plan to slowly up the amount of O3 as time goes on. I would like a mv value of 350.

Good news on the Wave2k. I spoke to the owner and he is sending me a new box personally calibrated. I'll give him another chance.

Here are some pics

My Monti Cap - Reef Exotics

Blue Mili Frag - Altantis

Long Xenia - 1000Aquariums

 

[druluv]

Real Hairy Milli

Garf Bonsai

?

Blue Monti

 

[druluv]

Some Zoos