Angry Ang Mo's 125 Gallons of Pure Reefing Pleasure

[brent]

Here are some more updates regarding my build out:

Temperature Control

I’m using the same 1/5hp Artica that I bought for my last tank. I know, I know. I should have listened to the helpful advice from others and upsized to a 1/4hp in the beginning.

While I initially thought it would be underpowered, it seems to be doing fine. I have a 1/10hp Artica for my reserve chiller that woefully underpowered. CRA constructed an external chiller box that matches my cabinet. For now I have the reserve chiller in there, but it would make more sense to put my primary in the external chiller box and my reserve in the main cabinet so that heat from my primary chiller doesn’t output into the cabinet and heat the water in the sump.

My plan is to configure the Apex to automatically turn on the reserve chiller if the tank temperature goes above 28.5C since I normally set the main chiller to 26.3C.

At my request, the CRA guys installed two 120mm computer fans in rear of the cabinet to help with air flow. There are also ventilation slots in the front of the cabinet on the side where the chiller in positioned.

In order to help save some energy, I bought a cooling fan that blows air across my sump to help cool it off. It seems like after I installed the fan the chiller doesn’t turn on as often. I definitely noticed a difference in the amount of freshwater evaporation. When running this fan, my 4G ATO reservoir needs to be topped up twice a week instead of once every two weeks. While I like the idea of the fan, it runs at 220V and to be honest I’m not so comfortable running 220V AC in my cabinet over water. So, for now I have removed this fan and I will replace it with DC fans running 12V. Most likely I will use the same model of 120mm 12V computer fans that I currently use to ventilate my cabinet. I would also like to set up a float valve so that the fans only run if the ATO reservoir is at least half full.

Filtration

Skimmer - I’m still running the Reef Octopus SRO 1000 LSS that I bought for my previous tank. I added an automatic neck cleaner which is in on a timer to run 10 minutes 3X per day. While I like the neck cleaner, it takes a lot more space and so I have to remove the egg crate box I was using to elevate the skimmer. This has resulted in the skimmer being positioned towards the lower end of the recommended range. I just built a shorter egg crate box to see if I can at least hit the middle of the range.

(My very crowded cabinet with the skimmer & neck cleaner)

I would also like to install a drain tube and container for the skimmer output. I’ve been waiting to get the float valves hooked up to the Apex since I would want it to automatically stop the skimmer if it starts overflowing. I was thinking of installing two valves: 1. The 1^st float valve would be about half way up the waste container and it would send an email to me so I know that it is time to empty the container. The 2^nd float valve would automatically shut off the skimmer to prevent the overflowing the container.

Filter wool - I occasionally use filter wool for a couple of days before it gets clogged up and starts slowing the flow between the chambers of the sump. In retrospect, I would have installed a filter sock on the main overflow since there is so much redundancy with the Bean overflow.

Biopellets - I have been running NP Biopellets with a biopellet reactor. Seems to work fine and so far I like having to not worry about tweaking my vinegar dosing. I just bought some Reef Octopus Biospheres and I will give them a try next. In order to enhance their effectiveness, I also occasionally dose MB7. My nitrates never seem to go past 1 PPM and in most cases they are completely undetectable. This is the same as when I dosed vinegar and vodka.

GFO - My standard setup includes Rowaphos since it’s the only way I can manage to keep my phosphates under control without daily water changes or starving my fish. Before I started running Rowaphos, it was very difficult for me to get decent SPS growth or coloration. Personally I think it is the most underutilized technique when beginners transition to SPS. The Rowaphos is run in a Phosban reactor and replace it when my phosphates start creeping up. To test phosphates, I use the Hanna UL checker. None of the other test kits seemed to go low enough. I try to keep my phosphates below .03 PPM or 30 PPB. Ideally they are between 10 and 20 PPB.

Fuge

I used chaeto in my sump on my last tank and it seemed to grow quite well. Unfortunately, it died when I was switching tanks. I recently managed to get some replacement chaeto plus green grapes. Hopefully, they will also thrive.

Live Rock

According to most guidelines, I am supposed to be using somewhere between 65 to 130 KG of live rock in my 150G tank & sump. There is no way I have anywhere close to this much live rock. I would guess that I use approximately 35 kgs. For this tank, I tried out using Sea Chem Matrix (the biomedia. Not the carbon) since I don’t have enough live rock. It seems to be working since I never really saw a significant nutrient spike as part of the tank cycle.

[Mellow]

Thanks all for the support.<br /> <br />

<br /> <br />I'm really happy with the C2C bean overflow. I understand from the perspective of the tankmaker it can be difficult and time consuming to build something new. One thing I really like about CRA is that every time I proposed something different or complicated, they embraced it as a challenge.<br /> <br />On a side note, the overflow comb isn't glued to the tank. It actually fits into a slot. This is ideal for maintenance or replacement. I also requested this arrangement because I've heard that using a flat combless overflow provides much better surface skimming than using the comb. This gives me the flexibility for swapping out the comb for a piece of flat acrylic. It also allows me to adjust the height of the water level by 1-2 inches. I haven't tried this yet since I still need to devise a solution to ensure my fish don't end up in taking a ride down into the sump and end up as skimmer chop<br /> <br /><br /> <br />Thanks bro. I'm liking the two island look but the small island needs a bit of tweaking. I would like some additional color on the small island that helps balance the large island. It also needs some additional depth. So far I'm satisfied with it but aquascaping is a never ending process.<br />

<br /><br />I love your aquascaping bro. Very very nice. Been always my favourite kind of scape. Agree with u that it is never ending process with different colour combi, shapes and sizes of both rocks and corals to play with. Keep the pics and information coming!

[brent]

Thanks bros.

Here are a couple of photos by the moonlights....

The first one is a rainbow chalice I just got from a fellow reefer today. Very nice color under the violet LEDs

[brent]

New FTS plus a couple of close ups

The undisputed boss of the tank: purple

[Evolutionz]

beautiful sps!!

[peacemaker]

Some of your photos are razor sharp, while others are a little blur-ish, esp the macro shots... what camera do you use?

[brent]

Some of your photos are razor sharp, while others are a little blur-ish, esp the macro shots... what camera do you use?

I'm using a EOS 550D. The shots on June 8th were under moonlights and so the shutter speeds were slow and ISO was very high. Are there any other shots that are blurry? I should be using a tripod and turning off the pumps but I get a bit lazy....

[tropic]

Any dosing done? Or using like 2part?

Sent from my Android using Tapatalk2

[brent]

Any dosing done? Or using like 2part?

I'm dosing 2 part using the Bubble Magus doser. I'm at about 130ml per day of bulk chemicals using Randy's two part recipe. However, usage seems to be increasing now that the tank is stabilising.

[marine reefer]

Very beautiful tank u have there bro??? Where u get your frags from bro????

[brent]

Very beautiful tank u have there bro??? Where u get your frags from bro????

Thanks bro. Most of my frags are from Cedric and other local reefers

[marine reefer]

Oic...okok

[brent]

It's been forever since I've posted and so I thought I would highlight some relatively new additions. Thanks to bro kaijuworld for picking up the first two for me!

Kit Kat

Sorry neither of the next two are good photos... my photo skills are very rusty

Desalwii (Pearlberry)

SSC (not new but coloring up)

I have some other corals that I wanted to highlight but the photos are so blurry that I decided to wait until I get decent shots.

Everything else seems to be going fine except I've been thinking about upgrading my skimmer. Unfortunately, a skimmer upgrade means a sump upgrade which would be a major project. Right now I'm looking at the JNS skimmers.

I'm also debating whether or not I want to stop dosing two part and buy a calcium reactor.

Happy Reefing

[CalebNg]

Bravo . Beautiful beautiful tank . Amazing colours . My favourite is your purple valida . i bought one from iwarna a few weeks ago , broke my heart when it died .

[hanafi_weeseng]

Bro your kit kat is very nice.

[Gideon]

thank you very much for the sharing. Wow.. i have learn lot of things from this post.

[youdontnowm]

Bro, what pump are you feeding your chiller? Thanks

[yikai]

My first FTS:

It's definitely not finished but it's getting there. I also need to work on my photography technique...

beautiful rock work. i love simple coral bommies like this instead of a tank full of rocks.

great usage of 5:3 aquascaping ratio.

[say1606]

Wow, very beautiful, I want one just same

[PordingPrime]

My first FTS:

It's definitely not finished but it's getting there. I also need to work on my photography technique...

nice shot, how did you capture the luminous effect? macro lens? any special setup/settings to capture good looking corals at blue light?

[brent]

Bravo . Beautiful beautiful tank . Amazing colours . My favourite is your purple valida . i bought one from iwarna a few weeks ago , broke my heart when it died .

Bro your kit kat is very nice.

thank you very much for the sharing. Wow.. i have learn lot of things from this post.

Wow, very beautiful, I want one just same

beautiful rock work. i love simple coral bommies like this instead of a tank full of rocks.

great usage of 5:3 aquascaping ratio.

Thank you everyone for your positive feedback. I'm just getting started but I'm happy to share in the journey.

I tried my best to use the golden ratio in my aquascaping but recently I've strayed a bit since I'm running out of space.

Bro, what pump are you feeding your chiller? Thanks

I use a Water Blaster HY10000 that feeds a manifold, which powers my return, chiller, biopellets, etc.

nice shot, how did you capture the luminous effect? macro lens? any special setup/settings to capture good looking corals at blue light?

I use a 60mm macro lens and take photos using the RAW format. In terms of compensating for the blue light, I just select something that I know is either white or grey and use the color cast adjustment feature in iPhoto.

[PordingPrime]

The full tank photo is also 60mm? hmmmm. maybe need to include camera and lens for these hobby to keep good photo. ..

[brent]

The full tank photo is also 60mm? hmmmm. maybe need to include camera and lens for these hobby to keep good photo. ..

That's right. It's a Canon EF-S 60mm macro lens.

[brent]

I've been battling with excessive ALK and CA consumption. In order to help combat it, I decided to give up the Bare Bottom and adopt a Shallow Sand Bed. I'm hoping that this will help on a couple of fronts. Since the sand I bought is made from aragonite, it should be able to help buffer the pH and replace some of the CA & ALK. Also, I believe one reason for the excessive ALK & CA consumption was that both the back and bottom of the tank are completely covered in coralline algae. While I like coralline, it seemed to be growing so quickly that it was using up a lot of CA & ALK. Hopefully, by covering the bottom with sand and stopping the growth, it will leave more minerals for the corals.

If this doesn't work, then I'll definitely need to invest in a Calcium reactor.

Regarding the sand, I learned my lesson from last time and didn't buy sugar fine sand. This time I bought Caribsea Special Grade Reef Sand and I have to say that I really like it. Since it's larger and heavier, even with a lot of flow in my tank the sand remains relatively stationary. I also like the glitter lines from the LEDs and the brighter look of the tank with sand.

I haven't had a chance to take a good FTS but here are couple of other photos. The first one is a new piece that I picked up at Pinnacle. The other one is an older frags that recently started coloring up.

[bobkemejan]

Wow

Beautiful tank & a very detailed write up

Thumbs up to u bro

Tink I need to change my spectacle after seeing those amazing photos of ur sps

Hehehe