New England Reef Part 2..... The Reefer Strikes Back

[NewEnglandReef]

I thought it was only proper to start another thread, I'm starting all over, with my trusty 130d.....slightly modified, All the usual suspects.....stock skimmer.....bah bye....In it's place in tank media rack,tunze,and in tank collection cup. I also had some small ecoexotic leds in my hood so those are going to stay (for now) a major light mod is in the works for me this time..... Not sure which direction I will take... There are so many options, thinking led? Not sure yet.
like last time I started with LR that was very well cured, the tank has been marinating for a week or so, and I am seeing tons of life already, small starfish at night, as well as tube worms all over the rock. I added a bit of mysis to the tank yesterday.... I figured there was so much life in there I probably should start putting a little food in.... All my parameters are spot on.... pics will be coming soon.

 

[Wrangy]

Awesome mate! I'll definitely be tagging along for the ride on part 2

Also on the lighting subject if you're happy to wait a week or two I'll have a full write up of StevesLEDS retrofit kit with every bit of info I can think of (hopefully try and get a par meter under them too) but I'd say LEDs are the way to go to get awesome strength lighting within a neat little hood or you can remove the hood and do MH but this a bit more work lol

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Awesome mate! I'll definitely be tagging along for the ride on part 2

Also on the lighting subject if you're happy to wait a week or two I'll have a full write up of StevesLEDS retrofit kit with every bit of info I can think of (hopefully try and get a par meter under them too) but I'd say LEDs are the way to go to get awesome strength lighting within a neat little hood or you can remove the hood and do MH but this a bit more work lol

Oh.... I got time, and I will be watching...

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Side View....
The cloudiness is clear now, but these are from my phone... I will break out the good camera and take some better shots soon.

 

[McClain75]

I like that arch! How fine is the substrate you are using?

 

[goma]

Arches are always cool!! Nice job!

 

[NewEnglandReef]

thank you, the substrate is pretty dense.... i made the mistake last time and used a finer substrate, and for like 5 months i had dust devils in my tank.... this go round i used a blend and it seams to be doing the trick.... no dust devils. i have more Lr coming, this is just a starting point for me..... but im pretty sure the arch is staying....;-)

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Clearer now... crappy phone pic... but once things start rolling ill break out the real cam.

 

[ReefApprentice]

Coolly arranged rock work.

 

[NewEnglandReef]

 

[NewEnglandReef]

thank you all for the great comments... i made lots of caves and pass throughs... I cant wait to get more rock in to finish it up, this is 25#'s.... another 25 on the way. That should do it... I used 40#'s of sand for a nice deep bed. My Goby should love it.

 

[NewEnglandReef]

So, being who I am I could not leave things alone, so I did some aqua scapeing...... and I am pretty confident that the tank is ready for it's first occupants, besides the snails and starfish currently..... Thinking a pair of small clowns, LFS just got a shipment in and we are going to take a gander.... will take pics of the new scape tonight.....

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Pair of Saddleback Clowns.... Tiny little guy's. Here is one.


New Rock Scape
Just got them in and they appear to be happy... a little timid, but they have only been in for 10 minutes.... gonna feed them.

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Well, they look very happy..... They took care of the food I put in there for them... am very happy I was able to get a pair so small more pics to come.

 

[goma]

Looks good! Looks like your powerheads could use a good soaking in vinegar.

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Thanks, yeah I tried to get what I could off... They were from an old set up.... I already pulled the trigger on a mp10.... Gonna take the large one out,and move the little one to the other side,low like it is, and let the vortech do the rest of the work.

 

[goma]

You can soak it overnight in non diluted vinegar and it should clean right up. Good deal on the Vortech, they are awesome.

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Wow.... I did not know that about the vinegar.... Cool, I will try that when I clean them up after the swap..... I just went to the hardware store and picked up all the parts for a custom overflow and some plexe to convert a spare 20 gal into a sump/refuge I'm gonna be busy if I can get some time off from work. Great top though, thank you again....
Fish update.... Both clowns appear to be very happy and have ferocious appetites....

 

[NewEnglandReef]

Ok, after doing a little measuring and figuring, I can't use the tank I had in mind, so it looks like ill be back to the hardware store tomorrow for more plexe, I'm gonna build it custom, to fit in the RSM stand., I have read alot and got a plan to move forward.... Does anybody think my Tunze will be enough of a skimmer for a little while...... Or should I invest in a larger one right off? I am hoping it will be good, I will only be adding about 20 gal of volume. Just wondering how I'm gonna sell that one to the wife if I need to drop another 300 for that...... Start planning ahead.

 

[goma]

Tunze 9002 is rated up to 52 gallons. My take - go for it and see how it does. If you are having algae and PO4 issues in 6 months, then maybe look at a bigger skimmer.