My 120 Reef

[Forestal]

Hi all... havent been online for a while, back again and realized i havent posted my tank much...

if any with really good memories..my previous post of my 120 cube and 150 tank are down..they were up for a year , but being in the basement made them less viewed and enjoyed...

I "upgraded" toa 120 gallon dual corner overflows with actual cabinetry to go in the living room...had to pass the wife's approval.

all the livestock, liverock and 75%of the water was used to move and setup in 5 hours, giving me a negligle cycle and no loss of fish or corals...which i was happy about.

Details:
Lighting: PFO fixture: 2x 250watt 10K metal halides and 2x 96 watt actinic PC; Halides on 9-6/8:30-6:30 , PC actinics on 7am-9pm; then moonlighting with single LED

Sump: Tidepool filled with liverock, running coarse filtration and carbon

Live Rock: ~160 pounds in tank/sump

Substrate: 3-5" DSB seeded with Bill's Reef/IPSF and others every 4-5 months to keep diverse and powerful filter

Skimmer: MRC-1 (myreefcreations.com)

Water Flow: sepearte dual return pumps via 2 lockline tubing, 1 tunze turbelle pump

Salt: Instant Ocean, salinity at 1.025 Water: RO/DI by AquaFx unit; 15 gallon weekly water changes, 4 gallon per week of FW topoff (currently manually)

Parameters: Ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, phosphate at 0; Calcium 350-450, Alkalinity at 9mg/L - not using calcium addition yet as holds steady with water changes, watching closely tho; Temp: 74-78 (stable..see new Sprung/delbeek book)

Controller: Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper - controls lighting, prevents overheating of tank, and has a powerhead on a wave cycle and better lighting timer

Backup: DPC battery backup - runs one return pump for 3 hours if power fails, automatically, considering adding another in series

Indo Pacific Back reef is the goal...i just today parted the BTA's into their own species tank (felt guilty after reading Anthony Calfo's stuff )

Almost complete list:
Fish:
2 yellow Tangs - Zebrasoma flavescens

1 Purple Tang - Zebrasoma xanthurum

pair mandarin gobies Synchiropus splendidus - eating frozen

3 green clown gobies - Gobiodon atrangulatus

1 neon blue goby - Elacatinus oceanops - cleans his mates up well

2 lyretail anthias - Pseudanthias squamipinnis

1 Copperbanded Butterfly - Chelmon rostratus

2 ocellaris clowns - Amphiprion ocellaris

1 yellow watchman goby - Cryptocentrus cinctus

4 Blue Green Chromis - Chromis viridis

1 scooter blenny - Synchiropus ocellatus

Coral:
various acropora sp.

Montipora digitata - green, brown, and purple tipped

Montipora capricornis - green and orange

Various zoanthids: Pumpkin, Strawberry, Orange, Palythoas

Blastomusa sp.

blue green ricordea

blue/green/purple mushrooms - flat and hairy

stylophora - green

Leather

Xenia - pom pom

Clavularia

Green Gonipora

Tubastrea - sun polyps branching and encrusting

Gorgonians - plexuarella, unknown, diodogorgia

Merulinia ?

Candy canes, both neon green

others: Gold Maxima clam, snails, a few hermits, 2 sexy shrimp that host in my condylactis anemone
pics to follow

other tanks are the 36 gallon bowfront that is a green BTA species tank
and a 36 gallon corner hexagon that houses a lagoon/sandbed with 5 H.erectus seahorses

 

[Krish]

Sounds like a really nice setup...Are you going to post some pictures???

 

[Forestal]

Tank view last month (note no more BTA's )

Orange Montiphora capricornis:

Leather and purple mushrooms in background:

My neon blue and green clown gobies-love these little fish. lots of personality

Green stylo, pink acro and on left is a turbinaria peltata

Fungiid and mushrooms

Pumpkin zo's

 

[Krish]

Really Nice...Thanks for sharing. Is the new setup aquascaped similarily?

 

[Forestal]

Clavularia and on right i think merulina

 

[spongebob lover]

i just wanted to say that you got a kewl tank dood

 

[Forestal]

you are too quick

yep...will take a quick pic..but is just actinics

and just to show the bta's in their new home: just 6600K lighting 250w

 

[Forestal]

and i am on the aiptasia issue

 

[Elmo18]

Nice setups Forestal!

Best,
Ilham

 

[CarlaW]

Good job, welcome back!!!

 

[Forestal]

Thanks y'all

took my 2 maroon clowns that were getting pushy in the seahorse tank and moved them to the anemone tank.
one bta just split (again...gonna have to start giving these things away)
the torn one has healed completely...amazing really

 

[KimPossible]

Hi Forestal,
Very nic. What temp to you keep your 120 at? Our tank specs are identical, but you didn't post your temp. I do a consistant 81 while my lights are on.

Good to hear you still have your seahorse, gorg tank. I finally eneded up taking my Red Finger out after a year of beautiful healthy living. It's tissue stated to deteriorate, and I had to do it before it wreaked its havoc.

How long has the 120 been up?

 

[Forestal]

Hi Kim...i keep my temp 75-78 on the reef...the 120 has been up as is since late Aug. 05... live rock/corals/fish/water moved from my basement 150 which had been up for 10 months before.... so the rock/fish are older, the tank didnt cycle as such, but go through the occasional issue with sand cyano in spots... i am thinking of removing the sand, (i am a dsb fan, just mine is not as well maintained as should be), and some rock to letthe water flow better.
still not happy with water flow, have a tunze, a seio 1500, and the two returns, adding up the flow is a 5-6x tank volume turnover per hour, and don't have the room or means to setup a closed loop or a return manifold...may add another seio or tunze..

the seahorse tank i am unhappy with as the older it gets the more of a cyano battle i have...i have no skimming, no room for a sump, and use weekly 30% water changes as export, but since family has been sick and other stuff happening, have been 1-2 x /month...this has made a huge difference...horses are still having babies every 8 weeks tho