danccy Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Was in this hobby for the last few years. Started with a normal open top tank ( left over from keeping gold fishes) with an external Ehiem filter and airstone skimmer and overhanging T5 lamp. The results were not too bad for about 2 years than had a sudden cyno-bac bloom and crashed the tank. Than moved house and bought a red sea 130D, thought an all in one system will be ideal but it needs more maintenance than I thought and every 6 months or so there will be an algae bloom. I was later told that for that system, there is a need to change 10% of water every week and wash the sponges frequently as everything is in the tank. For both tanks, I was using tap water to mix the salt in , later realize that was a bad move as it contributed to all the Cyno-bac and algae bloom plus over feeding and bad maintenance. Recently about 3 months back I invested in a proper tank with a overflow box and chiller. Costs me a bomb but figure this will be the last shot at giving this hobby a try. Hopefully with my previous experience and all the advice I got from this forum the stability of the tank will last for many years to come Specs: - 15mm Glass open top with cabinet ( 3ft x 2ft x 2 ft) - Sump tank with Bio tower filled with Bacteria King medium - Schuran Jetskim 150 Skimmer - Ehiem 1264 Main Pump - Arctica DBA-200 Chiller and Accessories - Ehiem 1260 Chiller Pump Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 Finally got the lights up and running after 3 weeks. I Bought an AI Sol for the tank after reading quite good reviews of it but worried that the false ceiling may not be able to take the weight and was contemplating if I should get a tank mount instead but could not find a decent one within my budget or met all my criteria of ht above the tank the length of the light etc. So decided to just take a chance with the hanging kit and surprisingly the false ceiling is very stable and solid. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 This is about 6 weeks into the cycling process have added some corals and fishes. Staring to have hair algae and diatoms growing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 This is about 8 weeks into the new tank. The algae has cleared and added more corals and fishes. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 About 10 weeks on I added 4 anthias, bubble coral and elegance coral Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyReef Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Admire ur determination in this hobby, will follow ur update. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 26, 2012 Author Share Posted October 26, 2012 This is what the tank looks like now. Still missing some SPS and an Archilles Tang to complete the look but these are the hard core ones which I am taking my time to look for the perfect specimen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Admiraltian Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Very detailed and neat setup. Quote Display Tank : 36" x 20" x 20" Herbie overflow box design, Sump : 36" x 21" x 17", Frag Tank : 16” x 20” x 16”, custom built by Tank Culture. Lightings : Ecotech Radion XR15 Pro x 2 for Main Display Tank, Inled R80 x 1 for Frag Tank. Chiller : Dalkin 1hp compressor with build-in drop coil. Skimmer : Skimz Octa SC205i Protein Skimmer. FR : H2Ocean FMR75 Fluidised Media Reactor with Hailea HX-2500 (Feeder Pump) running Rowaphos. CR : Skimz Monzter E Series CM122 Calcium Reactor. BPR: Marine Source Biopellet Reactor with Continuum Reef Biopellet Fuel. Main Return Pump : SICCE Syncra ADV 9.0 & Jebao ACQ-10000 Water Pump. Wavemaker : Jebao MOW-9 x2 for Main Display Tank & Jebao SLW-20M Sine Wave Pump for Frag Tank. Water Top Up: AutoAqua Smart ATO Lite. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kakani Posted October 26, 2012 Share Posted October 26, 2012 Is it recommand to keep AT in 3ft tank? Because they need bigger place to swim. Very nice tank and neat. Like your scaping. Alot of people give up this hobby due to tank crashing, alway start right is very important in this hobby. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member inwear Posted October 26, 2012 SRC Member Share Posted October 26, 2012 What lighting u using ? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 I am using the Aqua Illumination Sol series. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 27, 2012 Author Share Posted October 27, 2012 I am looking for a small AT about 2-3 inches (really hard to find) . After about a year I may upgrade to a larger if this tank goes well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishyfishyfishy Posted October 27, 2012 Share Posted October 27, 2012 hey bro dont mind pm where you got your AI sols from and its' price ! thanks in advance Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SRC Member inwear Posted October 27, 2012 SRC Member Share Posted October 27, 2012 I am using the Aqua Illumination Sol series. can pm me the lfs and price. Great set Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Anchorman Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 I am looking for a small AT about 2-3 inches (really hard to find) . After about a year I may upgrade to a larger if this tank goes well Nice tank bro, i saw one small AT arou 3" at LCK last friday. Cheers, 1 Quote My tank setting: Size : 48" x 24" x 24" Return pump: 1 x Vectra S2, 1 x Eheim 1264 Skimmer: Skimz DC skimmer SV203 Lighting : Maxspect Razor R420R 160W Chiller : 1hp drop coil compressor Wave maker : 2 x Nero 5 , 1 x Tunze 6055 Top up : Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HappyReef Posted October 29, 2012 Share Posted October 29, 2012 Yah, AT still at LCK today noon:) Nice tank bro, i saw one small AT arou 3" at LCK last friday. Cheers, Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 29, 2012 Author Share Posted October 29, 2012 thanx guys! will go check it out these few days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted October 30, 2012 Author Share Posted October 30, 2012 The AT was sold when I called this morning .. wow it really fly off the shelves. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent Posted November 3, 2012 Share Posted November 3, 2012 Hey Bro, Please PM me where you bought the AI SOL and how much you paid. Do you find the coverage enough for 3ft? Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted November 3, 2012 Author Share Posted November 3, 2012 Hi I have been getting a few request for the details of the lighting. It was bought a few months ago in June from www.saltysupply.com During that time there was a promotion whereby the light + hanging rail + controller was on sale for USD500. With shipping its about SGD780. So far the corals seems quite happy and open up nice and big during the day. At night the royal blue really makes the colours on the corels pop. The controller is really cool as it has a built in timer, moon phases and a lightening function. Each individual LED colour can be controlled. Mine is only at 60% intensity and its already super bright. For full specs you can visit www.aquaillumination.com/sol/ Hope this is helpful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted February 10, 2013 Author Share Posted February 10, 2013 Happy Year of the Water Snake to all fellow reefer Did a clean up of my tank to prepare for the new year, added some SPS but the colours are not great yet after 1 month. Any ideas what can be done to improve the colors? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 What are your phosphate and nitrate levels? Are you running GFO? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 what is GFO? I have am running a bio-reactor with bio-pallets. Nitrate = 0ppm ( API and Red sea same readings) Phosphate - 0.08ppm (using the red sea test kit not sure how accurate it is) Calcium = 400ppm PH :8.0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
brent Posted February 11, 2013 Share Posted February 11, 2013 GFO = Granular Ferric Oxide (most popular brand is Rowaphos) -- removes phosphates, use a media reactor like Phosban In order to avoid brown outs, when keeping SPS it is recommended that you keep your phosphates at 0.03 or below. Unless you have a massive tank, it seems like everyone who keeps nice SPS with fish needs to use GFO to maintain a low level of phosphates. I'm just a beginner but that's what I've learned talking to the more experienced reefers. High phosphates also inhibit growth and cause a greater incidence of STN. If you are feeding a lot, that should also be reduced. If you decide to get media reactor, try not to overdo it by bringing the phosphate down too quickly. As they say, "Only bad things happen quickly in a reef tank." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danccy Posted February 11, 2013 Author Share Posted February 11, 2013 Oh I see.. I do run a bag of Rowaphos under my skimmer outlet (not in a reactor). Is it better to be in a reactor? Afraid may not have enough space to have so many reactors as my sump area is not very big. This is a picture of my tank in the daytime. The one above is taken at night under blue lighting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.