Jason's new(er) 180

[jd474]

So I am finally deciding to do a (post-) build thread. There are some things I am planning on changing to the system, but time isn't permitting at the moment. No pics yet, but will post some as soon as I get some free time. I think it's been running for 4 months now.
Specs are:

Tanks
180 G AGA display
100 G rubbermaid sump
30L G frag tank (coming soon)

Lighting
6 x 60" T5 w/2 Ice Cap 660, w/Ice Cap individual reflectors (may experiment w/bulb config.)
front
ATI Blue +
ATI AquaBlue Special
KZ Fiji Purp
GE 6500 K
ATI Blue +
ATI Blue + or AquaBlue Special
(I'm open to suggestions)

250 W 14K Hamilton MH over frag tank on Ice Cap elec. ballast

water movement
Sequence Reeflo Barracuda ~ 4500 GPH
2 x 5 Gal. Carlson Surge Devices (one on each end)

Filtration
Euro-Reef RC 250 w/Eheim 1262 Needle Wheel recirc. pump
DIY Calcium Reactor (holds 20 - 25 lbs. media), w/Mag 5 circ. pump
DIY Carbon Reactor
TLF PhosBan 150 PO4 reactor (all reactors fed off manifold from main pump)
2 x 250 W Ebo Jager heaters
AC jr. runs the show
Pinpoint pH monitor (because I had an extra one)

some modifications had to be made to the tank: drilling for CSD's, also extra 1.5" drains drilled into the overflow boxes, and all teeth removed from the overflows, replaced w/vexar, to handle the added surges and increased flow.

Current Inhabitants

Fish
Convict Tang (Acanthurus triostegus)
Blue-lined Rabbitfish (Siganus virgatus)
Target Mandarin (Synchriopus picturatus)
Lawnmower Blenny (Salarias fasciatus)
Candy Cane Hogfish (Bodianus sepiacaudus)
Sixline Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
Mystery Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus ocellatus)
Randall's Goby (Amblyeleotris randalli)
Harlequin Tuskfish (Coerodon fasciatus)

Inverts
LPS Corals
Acanthastrea echinata
A. hillae
Blastomussa merletti
Catalaphyllia jardeneii
Caulastrea furcata
Cycloceris sp.
Duncanopsammia axifuga
Echinopora lamellosa
Echinophyllia sp.
Euphyllia ancora
E. glabrascens
E. paradivisa
Favites pentagona (tyree war coral, blue war coral)
Favites sp.
Fungia sp.
Hydnophora excessa
Lobophyllia sp.
Merulina ampliata
Oxypora lacera
Pectinia paeonia

SPS Corals
Acropora formosa (3 color morphs)
A. millepora (2 color morphs)
A. nana
A. tenuis
A. tortuosa (ORA)
A. valida (ORA)
A. youngeii (ORA)
various other Acropora sp.
Cyphastrea japonica (Tyree)
C. ocellina (Tyree meteor shower)
Montipora capricornis (8 color morphs)
M. digitata (5 color morphs)
M. faveolata (Tyree sunset)
M. setosa (Tyree)
M. spongodes (ORA)
M. stellata
M. venosa (Tyree sand dollar)
M. undata
various other Montipora sp.
Pocillopora sp.
Porites cylindrica
Seriatopora guttatus (ORA green)
S. hystrix (ORA pink)
Seriatopora sp. (ORA bird of paradise)
Turbinaria peltata
T. reinformis

Soft Corals
Ricordea florida
various zoanthid/palythoa sp.

Other Inverts
Astrea sp. snails
2 x Lysmata wurdemanni
Tridacna crocea
T. maxima
T. squamosa

Params
Salinity: 35 ppt
Temp.: 77 - 81 (depending on season)
pH: 8.05 - 8.30 (A.M. - P.M., depending on day)
NH3: 0 ppm
NO2: .0033 - .0066 ppm
NO3: .44 - .88 ppm
Ca: 440
Alk: 153 - 170 ppm
PO4 - .02 - .04 (depending how old PhosBan is)

I am switching over to vodka dosing to save on some $$ because PhosBan is too expensive. I also plan on dosing ZeoVit Amino Acids, and Pohl's Coral Vitalizer at least once to test it out. Only issue I've had are with the live rock having been kept in the dark for the last 3 years, and going through the algal succession, so not a lot of coraline algae as of yet. Also, a ton of colony feather dusters. Strongly considering a copperband butterfly to take care of them.

Only other musts on my list are a Red Sea Regal Angel, and probably a couple fairy wrasses, like a flame pair as I've always wanted them.

 

[bohlke]

Just kidding Cant wait to see some pics of the tank. On my frag tank and before on my 65 I had/have this light combo which I really like. Its a little on the blue side but not as blue as my display right now.


FRONT
ATI Blueplus
ATI Aquablue Special
GE 6500K
ATI Blueplus
ATI Aquablue Special
ATI Blueplus

 

[huskerreef]

Aww Man, I saw a build thread from Jason and thought, he finally put up some pics so we can finally see all these SPS we've heard so much about. Your such a tease! From the specs it looks like an awesome set up can't wait to see pics though. I am curious about the vodka dosing I've read some about it, but not enough to try myself.

 

[hankclaussen]

That's a lot of coral, 'Coral Man'. What do you think of the fiji purple bulb? Looks like a good combo to me otherwise, but I tend to be like Bohlke with the blues. I have Giesemanns right now but will be switching back to ATI probably this next time. I do 8 bulb setups and am considering 12 for the 120, because I want to try one of the 'pink' bulbs and maybe a couple others.

My 8 bulb setup typically goes: (brand type name not withstanding)
460nm
460nm
11k
460nm
11k
11k
460nm
460nm

I think the 12 bulb would go: (because there will actually be two 660 and a TEK 4 bulb for 4 total ballasts and a major rewire job)
460nm
420nm or 460nm
460nm
11k
fiji purple or UV 75.25 or something else... or yeah, another 460nm
460nm
"pink"
11k
460nm
420nm or 460nm
460nm
11k

I also REQUIRE pictures sir, I still have not done anything with the 120 and am trying to decide if I want to mess with CSDs or not... I really should but can't find the motivation to totally mod the tank.

 

[bohlke]

water movement
Sequence Reeflo Barracuda ~ 4500 GPH
2 x 5 Gal. Carlson Surge Devices (one on each end)

Wow I missed that on the first pass. How loud are the CSDs? Any microbubble problems?

 

[jd474]

I am curious about the vodka dosing I've read some about it, but not enough to try myself.

Vodka dosing has been around for a lot longer than people realize, it's just now recently getting some popularity (esp. w/hobbyists). It is pretty simple if you have the right set-up (good skimmer mainly), and effective as long as you can test accurately, and don't over dose.

That's a lot of coral, 'Coral Man'. What do you think of the fiji purple bulb?

Love it. Not sure why more people aren't using it. Be careful with the pink bulbs, I listened to people who said the ProColor was good, and I freakin' hated it. It just looked like a regular 6500K bulb that was past it's prime and burning pink, and really seemed to overpower the other bulbs' colors (see strawberry patch monti pic below).

It is a lot of coral, but most of them aren't really big, yet. Besides, I need to fill a 500 when we move in a couple of years....

Wow I missed that on the first pass. How loud are the CSDs? Any microbubble problems?

Not loud at all. The tank is in-wall and insulated, with doors for front access (still working on all the wood work). There are always going to be microbubbles with any type of surge device, but for me anyway, the positives outweigh them (increased coral growth, overall "coolness"). Also, I can turn them on and off, and adjust their dumping frequency if I want.

These are the only other pics I have on the computer at the moment that I didn't post on Linoma (and they're not very good), so it'll have to suffice.

 

[jd474]

my dislike for taking pics is also why i don't do build threads! (that, and my tank looks like a word that would get me banned if i said it)

 

[bohlke]

How do you handle ATO with a surge device in the system?

 

[jd474]

How do you handle ATO with a surge device in the system?

I don't . I refuse to stoop to the laziness of an ATO, or better yet, just don't want to spend the money (old school aquarists already make fun of me because I use a controller, i.e. "that's not how we did it in my day...."). I don't know if it would be a problem or not, I think it would just keep the float switch submerged by an inch after they dump, but don't know enough people using CSDs to ask. Honestly, if I didn't HAVE to add water daily, I probably wouldn't even look at my tank on a day to day basis. Also, manually topping it off gives me something to do while my food thaws at night.

 

[bohlke]

I stagger my ATO with my Kalk to prevent a Kalk overdose, and because I like to live on the edge my float switch is at the water level that fills the sump on power failures. So I am assuming that when the CSD would fill that the sump level would drop which would trigger the ATO. If I were to do a CSD I guess I could have 3 stages and only run the ATO when the CSD is off. Do you run your CSD 24x7?

 

[hankclaussen]

my dislike for taking pics is also why i don't do build threads! (that, and my tank looks like a word that would get me banned if i said it)

Ditto, maybe I'll quit being a ninny though here sometime.


I too would just put the float switch lower for ATO, I gave it a lot of thought when you almost talked me into doing one a year ago.

 

[lvpd186]

my dislike for taking pics is also why i don't do build threads! (that, and my tank looks like a word that would get me banned if i said it)

Like taking them or not I'd like to see some of the CSDs . I've always wanted to try making some but I never got around to it.

 

[alanmorehead]

Tagging along...

My T5 combo is similar to Jon's, except I have a Pro Color instead of two AB specials. I haven't tried the KZ Fiji Purples yet, but I plan on replacing the PC with one on the next lamp replacement. After that change I'm basically where you're at now.

I am in the "thinking about CSD" club too. Watched a few videos and did some research on them when I first started planning my rebuild. Biggest issue is keeping the skimmer's water level steady with the in-sump RS250. Might be something to reconsider when everything else is in place.

 

[jd474]

Do you run your CSD 24x7?

Not at the moment, I need to get some 6" glass pieces cut to catch some of the salt spray. Right now, it's just whenever I turn them on, but I plan on running them 24/7 in the future.

I am in the "thinking about CSD" club too. Watched a few videos and did some research on them when I first started planning my rebuild. Biggest issue is keeping the skimmer's water level steady with the in-sump RS250. Might be something to reconsider when everything else is in place.

The main reason I decided to do it was that I have an external skimmer, so I'm still getting great skimmate (that, and it's basically an $8 pair of Vortechs).

 

[bohlke]

Not at the moment, I need to get some 6" glass pieces cut to catch some of the salt spray. Right now, it's just whenever I turn them on, but I plan on running them 24/7 in the future.



The main reason I decided to do it was that I have an external skimmer, so I'm still getting great skimmate (that, and it's basically an $8 pair of Vortechs).

How high do you have your lights off the tank?

 

[jd474]

How high do you have your lights off the tank?

As close as I can, which is about 2". Between the salt spray and micro bubbles, thats why 99% of people don't like these kinds of things. But since I like to have things a little different, it appeals to me.

 

[bohlke]

As close as I can, which is about 2". Between the salt spray and micro bubbles, thats why 99% of people don't like these kinds of things. But since I like to have things a little different, it appeals to me.

Same here which is another reason I am thinking about trying this. Right now my lights are about 6" off of the water so maybe the lights wont get sprayed as much. I might try it in my prop tank first but the HOB overflow probably would not be able to keep up. I would have to do the math and lower it a bit to handle the surge I guess. Slowly talking myself into it

 

[elderfo]

... I also REQUIRE pictures sir, I still have not done anything with the 120 and am trying to decide if I want to mess with CSDs or not... I really should but can't find the motivation to totally mod the tank.

Jason's CSDs are awesome. He was nice enough to turn them on when he showed me his tank a while back. I really want to do something like that on my frag tank, whenever i get around to finishing it.

PS. tagging along.

 

[jd474]

Jason's CSDs are awesome. He was nice enough to turn them on when he showed me his tank a while back.

AKA there was beer involved

 

[bohlke]

So are your CSDs plumbed at an angle or do the drop straight down into the tank?