My 90g + 20g sump mixed reef

[sdivell]

I'm a pretty big fan of frog spawn and Blastomussa

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+321+519&pcatid=519

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+321+479&pcatid=479

[mikerobart]

Ahh blastomussa forgot about that one! Very nice indeed. I have always loved frogspawn and it is almost always available at a decent price, so I will definitely add a piece. Looks like I might be picking up an aussie duncan later as well, and will keep an eye out for cool blasto's.

[mikerobart]

Here you go guys... added a few small items, and one biggie.. my first piece of sps . Going to see if I can keep this think healthy and start watching ca/mag/alk a little more carefully!

[Hookup]

looks very, very nice...

[mikerobart]

Thanks Hookup... I have a very very very very long way to go to get to where I want though! I still feel it looks better in person though  .

When the coral load goes up I am going to have to start thinking about dosing a bit more. For now I have some 2 part I can use. Longer term I am considering something like tropic-marin bio-calcium by hand, or if I want to go more automated, two part via dosing pumps and maybe a third part (mag) by hand.

Also mulling over controllers. The GHL is not in my budget, I do like the RK's.. but the iphone app for the neptune is pretty wicked by the looks of it, and the internet set-up seems easy. Waiting to here more about the very new Neptune Apex. Looks like reviews are just starting to pop up, and reefgeek.com says they have stock now.. not sure about Canadian distributors though.

Other thing, while I really like the phoenix 14k, I still am not getting as much of the fluorescent/actinic pop I would like... the 24w pc's in this fixture just don't quite do it. I think 2 or 4 t5ho's in addition to the 2x250w hqi's could make some insannnee colour.

[mikerobart]

Wondering if I can squeeze in a 2x54w t5ho fixture in front (forward of) my halides. Anyone know of good 2x54w fixtures? Looking for something pretty compact. So far I have found:

1. Aquamedic Sunbeam 2x54w t5ho
2. Hagen GLO 2x54w t5ho

Obviously the aquamedic has better reflectors, but keep in mind this is for supplementation only.. and appearance is also an issue. Current fixture is black, and very sexy.. don't want to make it look too silly if I don't have too. 

[Hookup]

Thanks Hookup... I have a very very very very long way to go to get to where I want though! I still feel it looks better in person though  .

I find the same... I'm have yet to take a photo that captures the omg wow factor that I personally feel is in my tank...

Your list of future items is impressive... I've not heard of the neptune controller/iPhone app... sounds cool for sure...

The profilux is a great controller, but man, they could have done so much better with their software... its like trying to scratch your left ear with your left foot... sure it's possible, but it takes some doing... argh....  However, it's upgradeable, expandable, and just about unlimited in its flexability as a platform... so you have to take the good with the bad...

[mikerobart]

Yeah the aquanotes app works for both the acjr, ac3, and brand new apex I believe. Pretty cool imo. We will see how $$$ holds up when I am back in school  . One final semester... All depends on how good job opportunities are looking I guess. It's weird living on a lot of credit because money is not "real", and I have nothing but willpower to stop me from making outrageous purchases  .

[salvini55]

Any goinzons'?

[Hookup]

agreed, those last pics were tastey, but i'm hungry for more already..

[mikerobart]

Oh there will be more soon! Just have been really busy lately! One sad event though... my yellow tang, who survived being suctioned onto a powerhead (maxi-mod) .. I had thought his lack of appetite was just because of the ich spots but he stopped eating completely and died  . All the other fish seem very happy. The small regal tang had some ich spots as well but they are slowly dissapearing... none of the other fish seem to have any and all are eating very very well... even the mandarin dragonet!!!!! The mandarin cruises for pods all day and mostly comes out when the lights are low... so far I have not seen any fewer pods than usual on the glass. I have a 29 gallon still with no fish in it (did not tear down yet) that is teeming with pods and other critters is I see that there are not enough in the 90g I can seed more.

As it is though, I seeded with two packs of DT's as well as one pack of tigger pods.  The wrasse and mandarin are loving it!

I also re-aquascaped... I like it but I now have a lot of open glass space on the back wall and not sure I like that with no black background or significant coraline growth as of yet. I will need to get some advice on the 'scape when I get new pics up.

Also probably want to add some new coral and cuc in the next little while, and still mulling over adding 2x54w t5's and maybe thinking of a controller as well. Working a lot less now with my last semester of school starting wednesday so might have to be more budget conscious .

The critters as of now:

mated pair ocellaris clowns
fat ugly blue chromis
six line wrasse
royal gramma
regal tang
mandarin dragonet!
3x cleaner shrimp
asst. snails nassarius, cerith etc.
some blue and red leg hermits
emerald crab... no idea where he is

I think I might be getting close to the upper end of fish stocking but it still seems empty in terms of fish as only the regal, chromis, and wrasse really openly cruise the entire tank. Will not be adding any more fish until I do not see any ich spots left on the regal and may wait quite a while anyways after that...

any ideas LMK!

[salvini55]

Turn the 29 into a separate fuge! Sorry bout the tang... Shatty deal. Actinic suppliment, yes. You got a mandarin! Im jelouse 

[kole18]

nice tank and also very empressive how you set it up the landscape of LR. here's my currently tank 40g mix of sps & lps clams..etc
fishlist:
convic tang
pair of false perc ( as you see on my pic they just have lay eggs today every 3rd week )
mandarine
ruby fair wrasse (male)
yellow watchman w/ pistol shrimp
sailfin blenny (aka mr bully on my clams)
clams deresa, 2 squamosa, crocea
lot's variaty of sps
here's my photobuckets:
http://s611.photobucket.com/albums/tt198/pete1809/
http://s611.photobucket.com/albums/tt198/pete1809/

[Vincenzo.]

looking good man. and congratz on not having any algae.

[mikerobart]

Thanks guys  . I will post pics of the new scape in the next few days. Kole18 your tank looks awesome and jam packed with corals! Derasa and squamosa are both cool clams been thinking about adding a derasa myself... not sure if Pat has any left maybe... As for algae.. I do have a bunch in the fuge and some in my overflow area... not much in the display though. Hopefully it stays that way with Bubbles the yellow tang no longer with us.

In other news... found a great deal on an icecap 660. If I can find a way to mount some vho's or t5's (hang them off my lightbar and have it not look dumb without a fixture) I will be working on that in the next little while!

[mikerobart]

So I'll pick up the icecap 660 thursday. Comes with endcaps for 2 t12's, although it will run 4 vho t12's or overdrive 4 t5ho's.

I'm trying to figure out what configuration will be best, keeping in mind I don't want to do a canopy, and don't have a lot of room to work with. I assume if I just have two vho's hanging near the front, even with 180 degree internal reflectors they might spill quite a bit of light or at the least be hard to look at   ... Will have to rig something up that will work.

[mikerobart]

Got my ballast ! Killer deal  . Leaning towards running 2x 110w VHO actinics and 2x54w blue t5ho's overdriven... think it could be an insane dawn / dusk and also reduce the amount of time I will need to run my halides since it will add some pretty nice par on it's own... may help in stabilizing tank temperature as well.

Do you guys agree that t5ho actinics still are not meeting the crazy fluorescent glow you can get from the classic vho actinics ?

I already have the 2 sets of vho endcaps so I figure might as well use them. Options would be:

1. 2x vho + 2x t5ho (overdriven)
2. 2x vho
3. 4x t5ho (overdriven)
4. 4xvho (definitely not enough room.. don't like this option)

can't block out my mh either that would destroy the purpose!

[Hookup]

option 3 - but I'll admit I do not know much about VHO's... other then they are old skool, and some people are trying to get them to come back... possibly cause they are in fact better, but T5's + MH have produced just about every TOTM for the past 3 years... not a bad track record if you ask me.

[mikerobart]

You have a point there.. and it would take up much less space for sure, also could direct all light into tank with reflectors.

Hopefully I can make a little frame that works well and doesn't look stupid. Going to take awhile to make up my mind on this one though.

[Tyler.L]

whoa whoa tim.... theres also alot of totm that are vho and mh actually i think im gonna have to count how many in the last little while were vho vs t5...regardless they're awsome either way...