Esta's 40B SPS & Zoa Reef

[estanoche]

I decided today I want to get in on all this cool bragging stuff we all do And I think my packed lil 40 is taking off pretty well after the 90 downsizing :badgrin:

Here's what I've got:
Tank:
40B

Lighting:
250 W SE MH - 18K XM lights, they seem to have warmed up to around 14K though after a few months of burning
3 LEDs for nightlights
No actinics

Skimmer & Fuge:
Aqua C Urchin - mesh modded, etc. Though it hardly every pulls out skimmat
HOB Medium size fuge full of chaet0 & and a DSB

Pumps for flow:
3 Koralia 3's + the MJs for the skimmer and the fuge

I dose calcium weekly and feed flakes and cyclopeeze every couple of days. Also dose mag, iodone, & stron/moly on occasion.

Inhabitants:
2 Clarkii clowns (mated pair)
1 Hector's goby
1 Squamosa Clam (yeah I know.... when I move and upgrade to a nice size tank again it will all be this guy's fault )
+ hermits, snails, corals, etc.

Full tank shot -

Zoa Mountain -

Montipora Castle -

SPS Forest -

 

[jake65]

very nice Joanne, I like the rockwork

 

[returnofsid]

LOL Love the cute lil' "Disney-like" names!! Tank's looking really good!!

 

[estanoche]

Ohh man - so I was naughty when I traveled to the westside....

Here's an updated video with some awesome top down shots of my new clam, now I've got two to worry about forcing me to get a bigger tank!!

The new stuff to watch for:
Maxima clam
Purple haze monti
Tubinara
Green maze
Red/yellow echino
and lots of new zoos, purple fission, tequilas, kedds reds, tubbs blues, peanut butter cups, and more!!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6KRxgcn4cRw

 

[estanoche]

So.... I've updated my skimmer, and now I'm running a Reef Octupus BH-300F. Thought I'd try something with bubble plates to see how they run. Its still breaking in but its out skimming the pants offa my sucky ol' urchin skimmer :lol:

Here's some pics of my latest coral additions d$mn barrier reef and blue sierra!

Maxima Clam

Green Maze Coral

Red Echino/Chalice

 

[returnofsid]

Love the new additions!!! I think I need to add a skimmer to our 40. LOL Gotta love Barrier Reef and Blue Sierra!! Mandatory stops when heading over the mountains!!

 

[estanoche]

Love the new additions!!! I think I need to add a skimmer to our 40. LOL Gotta love Barrier Reef and Blue Sierra!! Mandatory stops when heading over the mountains!!

Yeah the monster skimmer is a must Although it takes up about 1/3 of my HOB real estate. I added the skimmer, and also reduced my photo period to 8 hours... my tort is getting really dark and loving it, same with my green slimer...

Now I've gotta see if I can ever get my silly bonsai to look like a bonsai instead of a brown stick with green polyps and purple tips!

 

[brandyrb]

Ooh, I love the maze brain and chalice!!! Your 40 is looking good. I have two up and running now. I'll start a thread on them soon.

BTW: After hand plucking all of that wonderful grape caulerpa out of the 40 with that issue, the fox face finally went, oh maybe I should eat the rest of this stuff... He's getting too big for the tank though. Anyway, the tank barely has any caulerpa in it now, but aiptasia is popping up in different places, ughh.

I love how you mixed the monti caps together too. That'll be really cool as they grow out and around eachother!

 

[barrierreefcf]

Love the plating monti mix! Nice

 

[estanoche]

Love the plating monti mix! Nice

Me too - and If I run into enough digitata frags of different colors I'm thinking of doing a "digitata garden" also :badgrin:

 

[estanoche]

Vortech test

I picked up a Vortech MP40 for my 40 gallon the other day. My growth on my SPS has always been OK, but I used to see more in my 90, and I'm pretty sure its flow. All the new growth on my colonies since the move to the 40 are about 1/2 as thick as the old growth

And, since I have a tank thread, why not document the growth progress. I picked 4 colonies to use as test subjects to monitor (Green Slimer, Purple Tipped Tenius, Blue/Green Acro & Green/Yellow Milli).

When I first plugged the Vortech in the flow was too strong too soon, so I've been running it at 60% capacity this week. The plan is to turn it up 10% per week until we get to 100% (unless my corals think otherwise)

My fish really like having the extra swimming area, those Koralia's were taking up some room and shading some prime real estate!

Here's the benchmark - Day 0, minutes before Koralia removal.
FTS

Green Slimer

Green/Yellow Milli

Purple Tipped Tenius

Blue/Green acro

 

[Skimmy]

Skimmer & Fuge:
Aqua C Urchin - mesh modded, etc. Though it hardly every pulls out skimmat

you cant mesh mod a pump and put it on a remora and have it work properly unless you dremeled out the injector in the skimmer, and considering what a DIY nightmare that is, I'm doubting you did that.
you could put a mag 5 on your remora and raise the cup up, then you might get some decent skimmate, but i think you'd be better off just buying a decent skimmer at your soonest convenience.

 

[estanoche]

you cant mesh mod a pump and put it on a remora and have it work properly unless you dremeled out the injector in the skimmer, and considering what a DIY nightmare that is, I'm doubting you did that.
you could put a mag 5 on your remora and raise the cup up, then you might get some decent skimmate, but i think you'd be better off just buying a decent skimmer at your soonest convenience.

Hmm I should enter DIY nightmare land just for funzies and see if I can do it - do you just open the injector hole up larger to allow for the increased flow from the mod? How much?

I did upgrade to a Reef Octupus BH-300F - thought I'd see how bubble plates perform... Kicking the pants off the Aqua C, I'm sure even after I mod it right. Find any good mods for this one yet either?

 

[estanoche]

2 Weeks in on the Vortech test - Here's the changes - just a few small color changes so far. Now I'm running @ about 75% power, Reef Crest mode.

Forgot to take a FTS - maybe next time

Blue/Green Acro - Getting a lil more color

Green/Yellow Millie

Green Slimer - I've noticed a better green, less yellow on this colony's color

Purple Tipped Tenius - And we are starting to get some purple tips

 

[sandswhitson]

VORTECH!! I am jealous. I am going to be getting a pair of these hopefully sooner than later to use on my 75 and then will go in the 300 gallon semi-cube.

 

[estanoche]

Ok - bored today, so I played with the underwater cam - the 20K XMs make everything crazy cold blue. You can barely ID the blue acros with the color settings I was using (i.e. oregon tort, etc). Ha~!

I apologize, forgot to set the camera in HD, but you still get some color!

Here's the youtube link if ya wanna drool :razz:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tr6h46HNIoM

 

[fatboyt123]

wow that blue makes me wish i would have bought those instead of the radiums i just bought but i dont know what they will look like yet.

How come you never spoke up in my thread about the xm's you have and what you think of them?

Amazing tank by the way

 

[estanoche]

Thanks! I've only been using the XM for about 3 weeks - had to toss my old 20K bulb after 6 months cuz it looked like a 6K to me........ This one's been burning in OK, still holding some blue but moving to the white spectrum

Time will tell if I can keep it for the whole year!