YouCubed
New Member
Hello Everyone,
I'm Mike and new to the site. Wanted to share my Reef Tank that I setup back in September. Still learning a lot but feel I have had some pretty good results so far. Hope you like it. Please feel free to comment. I am always open to suggestions as I continue to learn. I'm already looking forward to upgrading to a larger system as soon as space allows but this is a good starting point for me. My pic skills are not the best and I am kind of limited using an Droid Razr smart phone but this gives a good idea, although the lighting in the pics do not do justice to the actual tank in person. Thanks!
BioCube 29 & Stand
35 lbs mixed live rock
20 lbs live sand w/ 10 lbs crushed coral mixed (varies from 2" to 5" depth)
Parameters:
Temp: 79 - 80 degrees, Sal: 1.025, Ph: 8.2, Calcium: 440 - 450, Magnesium: 1350, KH: 11, Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate/Phosphate: All 0.
Weekly 10 percent water changes and topoff with RODI.
LED Lighting Modification mounted in stock hood:
30w TMC AquaBeam XG 1500 "Ocean Blue" (has 5 3w x 9,000K extremely high output Cree XG crisp-white LEDS and 5 3w Blue XP-E LEDS) Ran off of a TMC AquaRay Lighting Power Control with Storm Feature.
2 Channels (Actinic ran from 7 am to 8 pm on a 1 hour ramp up and down. Daylight ran from 8 am to 6 pm also in a 1 hour ramp up and down)
(2) 9w 12" Current USA Tru Lumen Pro LED Strips. 1 Marine Fusion and 1 Deepwater Blue. Ran on a timer from 10 am to 6 pm.
Stock fans were kept and wired to a DC adapter to keep air circulation under the hood. The change to LED from stock BioCube lighting resulted in approx. a 2 degree temperature drop during peak periods, as well as allowed a much bigger variety of corals etc... to be kept in the tank. After gutting the stock hood everything was able to be mounted above the stock splash guard.
Filtration Modifications:
Chamber# 1:
The tab was removed to allow more flow into chamber#2.
False floor was removed and a Hagen Fluval 100 Watt E-Series Electronic Heater was added.
JBJ C-Breeze Fan mounted behind the chamber with 3" cutout of the back door.
Chamber# 2:
Bioballs were removed along with basket and false floor.
InTank Media Basket added and running Fliter Floss, Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite.
Tunze 9002 Protein Skimmer w/ InTank modified skimmer cup and InTank Fish Saver.
Chamber# 3:
Stock pump removed and upgraded to a Marineland Maxi-Jet 1200 Pro. (Runs quieter and cooler while increasing to 295gph.
Other modifications:
The stock return nozzle was changed to a Hydor Rotating water deflector.
EcoTech Marine MP10 Vortech Propeller Pump was added and running off of a EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup in case of a power outage. Great increase in flow and wave rocking motion for the corals. Takes minimal room inside the tank and no increase in temp. compared to powerheads or circulation pumps. Controlled by an MP10 EcoSmart Driver in the stand.
Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper LITE System was added. This turns on the heater at any drop below 79 degrees and turns on the fan at any increase above 80.5 degrees. The system normally runs at 79 to 79.5 on its own, unless there is a substantial increase or decrease in the ambient room temp. The RKL helps to maintain additional temperature stability and serves as a safety backup if the heater's internal thermometer fails. The RKL also runs the pump and skimmer which allows easy switching into feed mode or shutoff without having to unplug anything.
All equipment except the Vortech MP10 are ran off of an APC Battery Backup / Surge Protector.
Clean Up Crew:
2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
2 Peppermint Shrimp
2 Turbo Snails
3 Nassarius Snails
5 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
10 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
2 Porcelain Crabs
ORA 1st Grade Blue Maxima Clam
Stocked with Copepods and Amphipods
Fish:
Blue Spot Jawfish (Drama)
ORA Blue Mandarin Dragonet (Flutter)
SA Fancy Clown Pair from Alpha Corals (Names pending)
Corals/Frags etc...:
Torch
Hammer
Pulsing Xenia
GSP
Pink Finger Leather
Green Striped Mushrooms
Brown Button Polyps
Orange Ricordea
Brain Coral - Favites Maroon
ORA Birdsnest - Ponape
ORA Red Planet Table
ORA Hawkins Blue Echinata
Zoanthids (Red Blue Eye and Green colony)
Some pics when the tank was first setup and progress:
Maxima Clam 2"
Mandarin
I'm Mike and new to the site. Wanted to share my Reef Tank that I setup back in September. Still learning a lot but feel I have had some pretty good results so far. Hope you like it. Please feel free to comment. I am always open to suggestions as I continue to learn. I'm already looking forward to upgrading to a larger system as soon as space allows but this is a good starting point for me. My pic skills are not the best and I am kind of limited using an Droid Razr smart phone but this gives a good idea, although the lighting in the pics do not do justice to the actual tank in person. Thanks!
BioCube 29 & Stand
35 lbs mixed live rock
20 lbs live sand w/ 10 lbs crushed coral mixed (varies from 2" to 5" depth)
Parameters:
Temp: 79 - 80 degrees, Sal: 1.025, Ph: 8.2, Calcium: 440 - 450, Magnesium: 1350, KH: 11, Ammonia/Nitrite/Nitrate/Phosphate: All 0.
Weekly 10 percent water changes and topoff with RODI.
LED Lighting Modification mounted in stock hood:
30w TMC AquaBeam XG 1500 "Ocean Blue" (has 5 3w x 9,000K extremely high output Cree XG crisp-white LEDS and 5 3w Blue XP-E LEDS) Ran off of a TMC AquaRay Lighting Power Control with Storm Feature.
2 Channels (Actinic ran from 7 am to 8 pm on a 1 hour ramp up and down. Daylight ran from 8 am to 6 pm also in a 1 hour ramp up and down)
(2) 9w 12" Current USA Tru Lumen Pro LED Strips. 1 Marine Fusion and 1 Deepwater Blue. Ran on a timer from 10 am to 6 pm.
Stock fans were kept and wired to a DC adapter to keep air circulation under the hood. The change to LED from stock BioCube lighting resulted in approx. a 2 degree temperature drop during peak periods, as well as allowed a much bigger variety of corals etc... to be kept in the tank. After gutting the stock hood everything was able to be mounted above the stock splash guard.
Filtration Modifications:
Chamber# 1:
The tab was removed to allow more flow into chamber#2.
False floor was removed and a Hagen Fluval 100 Watt E-Series Electronic Heater was added.
JBJ C-Breeze Fan mounted behind the chamber with 3" cutout of the back door.
Chamber# 2:
Bioballs were removed along with basket and false floor.
InTank Media Basket added and running Fliter Floss, Purigen and Chemi-Pure Elite.
Tunze 9002 Protein Skimmer w/ InTank modified skimmer cup and InTank Fish Saver.
Chamber# 3:
Stock pump removed and upgraded to a Marineland Maxi-Jet 1200 Pro. (Runs quieter and cooler while increasing to 295gph.
Other modifications:
The stock return nozzle was changed to a Hydor Rotating water deflector.
EcoTech Marine MP10 Vortech Propeller Pump was added and running off of a EcoTech Marine Vortech Battery Backup in case of a power outage. Great increase in flow and wave rocking motion for the corals. Takes minimal room inside the tank and no increase in temp. compared to powerheads or circulation pumps. Controlled by an MP10 EcoSmart Driver in the stand.
Digital Aquatics Reef Keeper LITE System was added. This turns on the heater at any drop below 79 degrees and turns on the fan at any increase above 80.5 degrees. The system normally runs at 79 to 79.5 on its own, unless there is a substantial increase or decrease in the ambient room temp. The RKL helps to maintain additional temperature stability and serves as a safety backup if the heater's internal thermometer fails. The RKL also runs the pump and skimmer which allows easy switching into feed mode or shutoff without having to unplug anything.
All equipment except the Vortech MP10 are ran off of an APC Battery Backup / Surge Protector.
Clean Up Crew:
2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
2 Peppermint Shrimp
2 Turbo Snails
3 Nassarius Snails
5 Red Leg Hermit Crabs
10 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
2 Porcelain Crabs
ORA 1st Grade Blue Maxima Clam
Stocked with Copepods and Amphipods
Fish:
Blue Spot Jawfish (Drama)
ORA Blue Mandarin Dragonet (Flutter)
SA Fancy Clown Pair from Alpha Corals (Names pending)
Corals/Frags etc...:
Torch
Hammer
Pulsing Xenia
GSP
Pink Finger Leather
Green Striped Mushrooms
Brown Button Polyps
Orange Ricordea
Brain Coral - Favites Maroon
ORA Birdsnest - Ponape
ORA Red Planet Table
ORA Hawkins Blue Echinata
Zoanthids (Red Blue Eye and Green colony)
Some pics when the tank was first setup and progress:
Maxima Clam 2"
Mandarin
