new 57g Illuminata build

[jgalvin]

Hi, this is my second saltwater tank (been in the hobby for one year), just upgraded last weekend from my 34g solana to a 57g ocenaic illuminata. I loved my solana, but i'm really really loving this illuminata (more room for my corals)

Tank: reef ready 57g oceanic illuminata
Stand: customer made stand by Don, stained with espresso
Light: 23 inch ecoxotic with three stunners
Return: Tunze silence
Skimmer: SWC 150 BMK
Sump 30X16X10 with built in ATO

Let me know if any questions and thanks for looking!

 

[Slate]

Very nice setup!! I love the aquascape

 

[dailydriven911]

Awesome, I love these tanks!

 

[jmp21677]

I'm picking mine up today. Where did you get your light. Looks great

 

[Krish]

Really nice setup! Came together nicely!

 

[wjguy]

Nice, I like that light. The stand looks really nice to.

 

[jgalvin]

I'm picking mine up today. Where did you get your light. Looks great

thanks for looking, i bought it lightly used from a fellow reefer for around $520. It included the tank mount and extra stunners. I really like the light so far, LED so lower power and lights last a really long time. The fixture can be pivoted up with a arm so makes getting in the tank very easy. Let me know if any question on it. Being able to add the various stunner lights to it are very addictive.

 

[jgalvin]

Very nice setup!! I love the aquascape

Thanks for looking, i bought 20 lbs of tonga branch from a fellow reefer a while back and already had 40-50lbs of what i think is fiji rock. So what i tried for is to put the larger fiji rock in center and right with the bridge on the far right, and then on the left I tried for a reef "forest" with the tonga branches looking like trees. You can see this best in the third picture down which is a picture taken just of the left side.

 

[Luckedout]

looks awesome! Are you keeping the Solana? Also is that a macro in the front? What's it called and where can I get some because I love it!

 

[jgalvin]

looks awesome! Are you keeping the Solana? Also is that a macro in the front? What's it called and where can I get some because I love it!

Thanks! Is macro, macro algae (the red thing)? If so, I picked that up at the frag swap the other month. I forgot the name of it but it is really beautiful and has already doubled in size. I could probably cut some soon for you. There is a fellow reefer on there (Caitlen), do a search on her name, the macro was in her tank at the frag swap, but she was sharing the tank with the person i bought it from. I'm sure she would know the name.

I will probably sell the Solana, i wanted to hold on to it for a while in case this tank is too much work. Here's a picture of it a couple weeks ago.

 

[jgalvin]

I'm having an issue tonight with my new skimmer and microbubbles, i've had the tank set up two weeks now (brand new skimmer - SWC 150 BMK). Today, i shut off my pumps and skimmer, cleaned the skimmer cup, fed my fish, and turned everything back on, and now the skimmer is shooting a flood of microbubbles in my tank!?!?! I did not do anything (nothing added) but simply clean the cup and feed the fish, any ideas on what is causing this? Skimmer has been working great for first two weeks, pulling out lots of gunk and no microbubbles, but now it just streaming the bubbles in my tank. I know its my skimmer cause i shut if off and the bubbles immediately stop. any ideas?

 

[jgalvin]

just an update, the microbubbles from skimmer only lasted a few hours, the SWC skimmer is working fantastic.

Having moved from a Solana with a top to a rimless i had known and accepted that fish might jump. well after 3 weeks, my sixline wrasse jumped the tank yesterday, not sure how long he was on the carpet, but i tossed him in the tank and after a few hours where i thought he was a gonner, he's back to normal, I'm hoping he learned his lesson and won't jump out any more. everything is growning very fast in the new tank with the LED lighting. I'm going to be putting some corals for trade or sale soon.

 

[Billgax]

Beautiful tank! May very well end up upgrading my Solana in a similar manner... down the road. Good to see another tonga branch fan! Good work...

 

[jmp21677]

Try putting a screen top over the tank. Especially until known jumpers get comfortable.

 

[Krish]

The FTS looks great!! That's some crazy coralline growth on the backwall as well which means good water quality and chemistry.

 

[jgalvin]

love the look of the tonga branch, was looking for a while for it before i found someone selling, not as easy for coral placement though.

 

[jgalvin]

sad night tonight, my tailspot blenny (bubba fet) jumped the tank and died. My sixline always chased him, so thinking he was chased out of the tank :-(

 

[cadillactattoo]

rip bubba

 

[Luckedout]

sixline's can be little s%&$# sometimes. sry to hear about your loss.

 

[jgalvin]

It's now been 9 months since i've set up my 57g oceanic tank and thought I'd update the thread. My tank is heavily stocked tank and I have been battling nitrates/phosphates (20-40ppm), so recently started dosing 5ml of vinegar a day to see if that improves things a bit since i had a couple pieces of SPS bleach out recently.

live stock - wrasses, gobies, blenny, bicolor, cleaner shrimp, tiger shimp, serpent seastar, 3 maxi-mini anenomes, couple clams

Corals - 3 types of flogspawn, leather, favia brain coral, tongue coral, fungia coral, rics, dendros, duncas, xenia, etc....

Pease let me know comments or questions.

James