[BLKBRDTA]

Hey everyone,

I have been a member here at ReefBuilders.com for a few months now, and love every minute of it. This site provides much needed advice, input and assistance to aquarists of all experience levels. In my past of searching through many forums for answers to certain questions, I found this forum the easiest to navigate as well as the most interactive amongst all the members.

I have been caring for FW tanks since the age of 8, gradually progressing to larger FW tanks over the years, then finally joining my father in his hobby of caring for SW tanks. I had a 150g Reef in my previous home, but since we had to temporarily move to a very small apartment while the new house was being built, I had to leave my precious system and all the equipment back at home. Since the house has been built, the 50g Bow has sat empty for 4+ years until the basement was finally finished. Now that the basement is complete, we decided to start another reef setup (quite smaller of course.) Since having found this wonderful forum, I decided to start a new thread of all the upgrades, problems, processes and additions I/we will go through while enjoying this Reefing experience.

The pictures I will post are from Day 1 of setting up on through the present day and so forth into the future. I know things may look somewhat bare now, but we do plan on adding quite a bit of stock to this tank. So having said that, I hope you enjoy what you see/will see, and stay tuned regularly for build updates.

Here we go:

Day One of initial setup (Cycling)

55lbs LR, 40lbs LS, Stock CF Light, Original Aquascape


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Display and Sump/Refugium in corner behind bar (Yes those are Bio-Balls lol)


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More pictures to come very soon, stay tuned!

[BLKBRDTA]

16 Lunar LEDs (460nm)

[BLKBRDTA]

Coral Skeleton (Not sure what type)

[guamboy]

hey where did you get your refiugum light at

[BLKBRDTA]

Catalina Aquariums - Catalina Aquarium Lighting

Plenty of options for you to choose from.

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by BLKBRDTA

Coral Skeleton (Not sure what type)

Monestrea...brain coral

[BLKBRDTA]

Really? Wow, I never knew it was a brain! I flipped that piece of LR over and found it.. Been puzzled ever since. Thanks for checking out the thread Jim!

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by BLKBRDTA

Coral Skeleton (Not sure what type)

Updated Coraline growth

[BLKBRDTA]

Before Coraline growth (First week of cycling)



After Coraline growth (Six months)

[BLKBRDTA]

Update

A few new additions to the tank:

Red Scooter Dragonet


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Algae Blenny


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2 Purple Feather Dusters

[SECRETREEF]

nice setup. I like your feather dusters and coraline color.

[WhatReef]

Kool your tank is looking good and coming along, lol but i think you should go to the tennis cort and bring those bio balls with ya lol j/k :P as long as you clean them often im sure there fine but once your reef is mature you may want to start thinking about a DSB in there which you have one now butt maybe added another inch of bed should do it, also do you plan on adding a skimmer?

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by SECRETREEF

nice setup. I like your feather dusters and coraline color.

Thank you Secret, it is coming along slowly but surely.

Originally Posted by WhatReef

Kool your tank is looking good and coming along, lol but i think you should go to the tennis cort and bring those bio balls with ya lol j/k :P as long as you clean them often im sure there fine but once your reef is mature you may want to start thinking about a DSB in there which you have one now butt maybe added another inch of bed should do it, also do you plan on adding a skimmer?

Hahahaha hey Garrett, yea I know the Bio-Balls can be a hassle, thats even why I criticized myself in the picture lol. I do plan on taking them out eventually, they aren't dirty at all because I have filter socks on both the Bulkhead and drain line to catch all the crap floating around. I added another 10lbs of LS to my display to aid in the Nitrates, bringing the total to 50lbs LS and 55lbs LR. I will surely consider adding more fine grain sand to the fuge as well, you can never have enough sand. And yes, a skimmer is planned to be in place, i'm just holding off on it right now because a friend of mine has a huge tank in his warehouse that he only wants a couple hundred for.. He still has to give me exact dimensions on it, but he has estimated it to be over 7 feet long so I know its 200g+. Once I snag that steal, then I will resume dropping money into the 50g. I also found a guy close by who has 8 39W T5's for $150.. The setup is a few months old and he paid $400 for them.. Yet another steal lol

Here is an updated picture with the newly added sand on the bottom (and only one Feather Duster):

50lbs LS....55lbs LR

[WhatReef]

what happened to your other duster? You should be dosing your tank with Photoplankton and Micro vert for them to thrive, incase you didn't know : P

[BLKBRDTA]

Yea I dose with Kent Phytoplankton, 2ml twice a day, I will check into the Micro vert too. And the picture was taken before the second duster was added, thats why there is only one in there. Although i'm pretty confused because one of them has been hiding in its tube for a day now and hasn't come out. I don't think he is stressed or he would be popping out and trying to relocate. He is just not coming out at all. Any experience?

[Number_86]

NIce set up. I like the progressive photography. Happy reefing!

[BLKBRDTA]

Originally Posted by Number_86

NIce set up. I like the progressive photography. Happy reefing!

Thanks 86, more progressive pictures to come as soon as the LEDs(or T5HO's/MH) are set up. Stay tuned!

[WhatReef]

well as long as they have decent flow thats all they need but maybe check your water parameters sometimes nitrate spikes can cause them to go into a coma and die so just make sure things are it check thats all i can think to do. As for the cleaner shrimp yes they have cleaned my hand quite a bit in the past i don't have one now just my coral banded which im trying to sell so i can get a couple cleaner shrimp to keep the tangs clean

[BLKBRDTA]

The parameters are normal, the only thing that would pose a threat is the Nitrates, but they are only 10 ppm. Ends up the tube folded over at the top so I guess he thought there was something above him. I reached in and unfolded it a little, then he slowly started coming out again, false alarm I guess. Thanks though.

[WhatReef]

lol yes watch you dont have to much current cause you will find that happens alot but sounds like everything is under control.

[BLKBRDTA]

Lighting Update

I finally gave in to the lighting controversy. I decided to go with the 6 x 39W T5HO Nova Extreme Pro with ICR's. Yes I know, the whole MH vs T5 battle is ever raging, but I needed to take heat into consideration because the canopy is only 2 feet from the ceiling. It was a very tough decision for me as well as the many others helping me out, as you can see in this thread and poll (http://www.reefbuilders.com/forums/e...d-you-get.html) However, I will say that we will be going with Metal Halides for the 300g build down the road, but for now I am content with T5HO's.

I just ordered the unit a few hours ago so hopefully it ships out Monday morning and is on its way from Pennsylvania. Now i'm crossing my fingers (XIX) and hoping that FedEx is kind and pays attention to the "Fragile" stickers posted all over it. I know that many people who received them aren't very lucky and find broken bulbs and fried sockets..

Pictures and comparisons coming soon, stay tuned!

[BLKBRDTA]

T5HO lighting arrived!

So it came in yesterday, the long (not too long though) painful wait is over! I was nervous that the ballast and/or bulbs would be damaged, but was pleased to find that the packaging was superior and that they had bubble wrapped even the bubble wrap, boxed the box, and wrapped every single bulb (took me about 20 minuets to unwrap everything.)

Some shipping box shots





Finally unwrapped and fully assembled



Comparison next post, the results are drastically astounding!

[BLKBRDTA]

Drumroll.......

Before vs After!






Do not worry, the cables behind the display are not electrical, they are coaxial cables. I had to tear into the top part of the canopy in order to fit the lighting unit with its legs, and the cables were attached to the frame so they are hanging for now. It looks a bit messy now but will be much cleaner once the new canopy is in.

Bulb Arrangement



Complete Dawn to Dusk effect!

[WhatReef]

looks pretty awesome, that light made a huge difference with your tank, good buy!
as for me i have just be workong on my basement and just recent lost a leather coral, it was one of my first corals so it was kinda sad, it just like started decaying for some odd reason i have never see that before perhaps it had something to do with my low PH

[jimw369]

Originally Posted by BLKBRDTA

Drumroll.......

Before vs After!






Do not worry, the cables behind the display are not electrical, they are coaxial cables. I had to tear into the top part of the canopy in order to fit the lighting unit with its legs, and the cables were attached to the frame so they are hanging for now. It looks a bit messy now but will be much cleaner once the new canopy is in.

Bulb Arrangement



Complete Dawn to Dusk effect!

I like how the Blue Chromis are now Blue!