Help with a rebuild!

[rlablan]

We bought 2 24 inch units, the pics I took were just after we had set up 1... they are both up now but not hanging. We are hoping that after hanging the two 24s will be enough and be able to cover the tank. If we need another, I suppose we will have to get another.
The T5s don't wash out the LEDs but I will say they help to equalize out the "digital" look of them. I have several issues with LEDs, one issue being that they look/feel a little unnatural.
We have not programmed the lights yet, so I will probably just turn them down to 50% and call it good, for now. The tank previously had 2 250 watt MH and T5HOs on it. They are pretty used to high light. I will have to look into lighting acclimation.

 

[rlablan]

So Cory was kind of unhappy with the way that the 24inch units looked on our 72in tank. There was a rather dark spot in the middle of the tank and also on the edges.
I must admit that I thought that I did not care for the fixtures as much as I wanted to because they were LEDs... But I think I was just unhappy with the look of the 24inch fixtures too.
We upgraded to the 36in fixtures. Now there is no gap and no issues with narrow spread.
It looks a ton better.
We want to the LFS and bought some things
Here are some pictures of everything.
Here are the new units all hung and they are on about 45% power in the photo.
Purchased a red linkia star for the 150. It is pretty.
So I have decided to go NPS with the 60. I purchased some things tonight to start.
tree sponge
60 from the left side

purple gorgonian. The color on this thing is unreal. It's not "fluffy" right now and it's still pretty.
Another tree sponge
I also purchased a large midas blenny. She (princess peach) is living with Chompie in the 60. I figure once chompie decided that Peach is a meal, I will move her over and she can live in the 150.
Any advice or suggestions about going NPS would be cool. I know a fair amount about it and I am mentally preparing myself for the water changes and the frequent feedings. I am excited to try something new. I just hope I don't kill everything.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Well, killing everything when your learning something is sometimes an inevitability. But, go slow and condition the tank to more feedings over time. Use some phosban to cut down on phosphates as much as you can, and if you have a sump, I highly recommend a fuge for an NPS tank. A lot of people who have NPS tanks also have large chillers as well as oversized skimmers to cut down on the waste. ... I wish you the best of luck!

 

[rlablan]

Thank you.
I think for now I will not be running a skimmer. I am going to build an algae scrubber this weekend. That idea seems like a better use of organics in the tank. And I think it will serve to keep all the NPS guys better fed.
We will see how this works. The algae scrubbers have always intrigued me and I am sick of the micro bubbles with skimmers. If this does work well, I will probably build on for the 150 as well.
I am also looking into automatic feeders. I am just not sure about that. I was not thinking that I would be feeding every hour. If there is food in the water, do I really need to be feeding every hour? Can it be more like every 3? Also another question I have: Do the feedings need to be on a specific schedule? Like does it have to be every 3 hours on the dot or can it be more sporadic as long as the tank is not starving?

 

[siptang]

Rae - I have eheim auto feeder and it feeds 3x a day and its great for high demanding fish like flasher wrasses and anthias.
Scrubber is great and all but to me macro algae is easier to keep. Do you have any chaeto in your sump?

 

[novahobbies]

Hey Rae, you know that gorg you have looks VERY much like one of the Atlantic photosynthetic species. I keep one in my horse tank. You sure it's NPS?? I'm not so sure.....

 

[rlablan]

It's a purple plum. I IDed it today. You are correct, it is Photosynthetic, it's not NPS.
It's in the 150 reef and it looks great. It's already coming out in full force and is nice and fluffy.
Thanks for lookin' out buddy

I appreciate you.

 

[rlablan]

I never have high enough nitrates to sustain chaeto. It always just wilts and dies.
I think a scrubber will work for me because it won't strain into the tank like chaeto or caulerpa. I have tried in the past and it just is not something that will work for me (at this time). Maybe someday?
How much was your eheim feeder? I was thinking of making one but I want one to feed liquid, cold food. Does yours do that?

 

[acrylic51]

A fuge for phos not necessarily nitrates....

 

[rlablan]

Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/392624/help-with-a-rebuild/400#post_3518706
Well, killing everything when your learning something is sometimes an inevitability. But, go slow and condition the tank to more feedings over time. Use some phosban to cut down on phosphates as much as you can, and if you have a sump, I highly recommend a fuge for an NPS tank. A lot of people who have NPS tanks also have large chillers as well as oversized skimmers to cut down on the waste. ... I wish you the best of luck!
I am going to try hard not to kill anything. lol That is the goal. Here is to hoping.
I dont think I will need a chiller. This tank gets so cold because of it's location in my house that without any lighting, the tank is now at around 70 degrees. What I did when I was running reef in it was run a heater in it while the 150 MH light was off. I hope that I don't need a chiller. The heat sink on the large LED I am using to run the scrubber should add some atmospheric heat.

 

[rlablan]

Scrubber is finished! Woohoo!
It was a little tedious but it was really cheap.
I chose to drive the scrubber using a 5000k 14000 Lumen 23watt LED.
Its a par 38 daylight bulb and it's the equivalent of a 120w Comp. florescent bulb. This bulb was really expensive but It's worth it to me. Less heat, less energy cost, it's a little "greener". If I would not have bought a 38 dollar bulb, this thing would have probably cost less than 20 bucks to make.
IT'S 1000 TIMES QUIETER THAN MY FILTER SOCK THAT CAME WITH THE TANK. I AM AMAZED!!!!
Here are some shots of the Gorg in the 150. It seems to be pretty happy. I love how grape it is!

Here is my algae scrubber! I hope it works but it seems great for now!

Some better shots of the new star fish. It finally moved down the glass a little. It's color is great!!


Here is the new purple tube anemone. It finally decided to bury it's foot and stand up a little bit. With a good diet, the great mouth at the center should become more vibrant.

 

[rlablan]

I just realized that this is a very picture heavy thread.
I hope that no one has slow internet or an old computer.
But on the bright side I have yet to see a meme asking for more pictures

 

[snakeblitz33]

The light isn't close enough to the screen to be effective.
Silicone also works great for sealing the sockets to prevent moisture from seeping into it.

 

[rlablan]

Mkay. I will move it closer

 

[rlablan]

So there is officially a lot of algae on my screen!!!
It seems to be working as the one fish who lives in that tank has not died from spikes or over nutrient/organic rich waters.
He is a happy guy.
I only have 3 orange sponges, the 2 tree sponges and an orange ball sponge living in there for now. I plan to get something else within the next few weeks, I dunno what yet though.
Since I only have the 3 sponges, I have been releasing small doses of Kent Microvert into the water column like twice a day. I want the tank to slowly get used to having lots of food in the system so it does not crash. Every once in a while (like weekly) I release some coral frenzy. Nightly, all the tanks are fed with my reef food which has tons of micro stuff as well as mysis and PE mysis. The NPS tank gets a little of this stuff for the fish who lives there (the tiny Porky). And yes, his name is porky.
Nothing in the tank seems to be having issues. The midas blenny that was living with Porky was not doing well so I moved him to the 150. At first he fought with my starry blenny or rather my starry blenny was attacking him but they worked it out and are fine now.
This midas blenny spends 90% of his day free swimming at the surface of the water. Is this normal? He didn't do this in the 60 or at the store...

 

[siptang]

what? no pics!?! lol jk jk.
Have a good weekend Rae. I'm glad to hear that everything in your tank is well.

 

[rlablan]

And just as I say everything going well... LOOKS LIKE WE HAVE AN ILLNESS!
I am sitting here trying to relax and then I see this. This is why I keep the camera handy.
With my gimpy hand I managed to snap these pictures of my female clown.
The male seems to be fine, both clowns and all other fish are active and seem fine. They are all eating well.
What do we think?
Could it be stings from the anemone? She has just started hosting again after the move from the 60...
I feel like MAYBE it could just be ich but it does not look that way to me. This stuff is fluffy looking... kinda translucent. Any ich I have ever dealt with is usually more white than clear like this stuff.

 

[siptang]

I forgot the name of this.... clown fish disease... gosh... I used fresh water dip and if that doesn't work you need to use anti bacterial medication.
Ask Rick, he would be more good with names.

 

[rlablan]

Is it that brookenella or whatever?

 

[rlablan]

Do I have to catch them? That is gonna be nearly impossible. Ugh... I don't want to deal with another disease... Why couldn't She have this disease while she was in the 60 and was easy to treat/catch. ugh.