20Long with T5's!(Lots o Pics)

[saltyVT]

So I decided to combine both my 8 gallon bio cube
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020431.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020430.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020428.jpg

And my 5.5
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020453.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020449.jpg



I put all of this into a 20 Long. I added a Tek t5 fixture, 2 aquablues, 1 actinic plus, and 1 true actinic. An AquaClear 50 with chaeto. future plans is a tunze 9002 skimmer, and either a AQ110 fuge or a separate fuge tank. Heres some pics of the first couple of hours and more recent........

[saltyVT]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020490.jpg
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[saltyVT]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020474.jpg
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[Rosseau]

Looks good. I'm glad everything seems to have survived the move.

Any plans for a canopy or antyhing to hide the lights? Maybe you could find a way to get 2 x MH and the T5's in there, that would be sweet.

[mahalamata]

nice tank man!i moved mine last year and it was a nightmare!glad your move went well!are two lights working ok for you?or are they temps?

[s0hcsleeper]

that cap rock looks amazing!

great switch into the 20

[Slice of Ocean]

Nice tank!

[saltyVT]

Thanks!! That photo of the two lights were the old lights from 8 and 5.5, I have since ditched them for the Tek. For right now going to leave it with out a canopy \, but who knows what time will bring!!

[mikellini]

Looks great! Are you going to leave the lights where they are, or move them closer to the water? Seems a little high to me, but that all depends on what you're keeping...

Man that tanks is gonna be packed when everything grows out!

[saltyVT]

The lights now are 6 inches from the top of the tank, the only problem I want to avoid if the salt splash on the light/reflectors. I might drop them down another couple inches and see how it goes.

[tcmfish]

could you explain how you have the lights supported please?

[saltyVT]

Yah............there was two options to put the light over the tank, One hang it from the ceiling or other structure, or come up with a way to place it over the tank. The tank legs that tek sells, IMO is way way over priced($58), and only fits standard sized tanks, mine being 30" is not standard. So I was looking and looking around the house for some way of mounting the lights. I came across some old wire folder slots in the garage. I ended up cutting them up and using them. Basically there are 5 "poles" on the inside of the light, and two, one one each end on the outside to hold the fixture on, then I bent the legs so that they hold the fixture in place with a small amount of pressure.If you want I could take closer pics. I figure it is a cheap quick fix till I find something that won't rust............

[saltyVT]

latest pic update....
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020498.jpg

[InLimbo87]

Tank looks nice. Both your tanks meshed well together :D

[reefman13]

Yeah, great looking tank! Is it just the perc in there (fish wise)?

[cherubfish pair]

How long is your t5 fixture?

[saltyVT]

Thanks!!!!

Only one(for now......)

24" Tek, guess I could have gone with the 36 but would have had hang over. so far so good though.

[saltyVT]

Well more moving and more pics!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020515.jpg
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[saltyVT]

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020507.jpg
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http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020501.jpg

[Capt_Cully]

VERY NICE! almost looks like a 180 with a 5lb clown in it!

[Toygrr]

can you show me how you got the fixture up with those black grates?

i wanna do the same thing for myself...Metal Halides are HOT.

[saltyVT]

So I have recently run out of my normal 2 part B-Ionic, and have decided to go a different street. I will start to use Kent Turbo Calc, and Seachem Reef Builder. I have heard lots of good things about these products, so now to find out the correct amounts of each to hold the levels I want!! Also added a new Orange turbo snail for added color!


Next time I take the lights off to clean the I will snap some pics
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020518.jpg

[cherubfish pair]

Are those yellow trumpet corals? Nice yellow color.

[saltyVT]

Yeah they seemed to have turned a mustard yellow over time, They started off brown and slowly yellowed up crazy?!??!?



So I am adding a Aquaclear 500 for a fuge in the next couple of days!

[pnguye3]

Awesome tank. I like the aquascaping a lot! It's nice and open...not just a rock wall

[saltyVT]

Update:

So I worked all weekend on making a hood and making a fuge out of the Aquaclear 110. So what I has able to cut up an old eclipse tank to make a divider. I ended up cutting little "teeth" in the bottom of the divider to alow some flow in the bottom of the filter to add some flow to the bottom area. the top was cut just under the top of the filter to allow for a spill over effect. I then used the bottom grate and cut it up and glued it to the out put so that the chaeto would have harder time trying to get out. I lastly added a small PC lamp to the side along with a timer to set it on a reverse light cycle. Heres the finished product.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020520.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020522.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020523.jpg

unfortunately I had everything in and ready to go, when I attempted to cut a small hole for the heater cord. Well I ended up making a 3 in crack down the side of the fuge. So I had to empty it and put some silicone on either side to patch it up, so I won't be able to fully start it up until tomorrow :angry: :angry:

I also made a hood to hide all the top "stuff", with a bunch of wood and molding I had laying around.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020524.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020529.jpg

I lastly added a bunch of left over LR rubble in to the Aquaclear 50.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020528.jpg

After a water change and a little moving around, heres the final product!!

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020525.jpg

[scaast]

Great looking tank...only thing I would change is the back...I would paint it or cover it so it's not a see through.

[saltyVT]

the back of what?:confused:

[saltyVT]

So the flow of the AQ500 was so great it blew all my sand around. I figured out the solution! I took off the black ring and it reduced the flow to the point were the flow was perfect. Also looking a purchasing a pair of u tubes returns and SCWD and add a closed loop, so I can remove the power head from the tank. update as they come!!

[NanoReefWanabe]

everything but your clam looks nice...clam looks heavily stressed..is it crocea? it should be on the rocks....it doesnt seem to be extending it mantle properly..

[saltyVT]

it was at first it has much better mantle extension. I thought when I first switched tanks it was going to die, It was very white and spitting out this white junk, but it has come back well, it seems to have attached its self to a large piece of shell.

[TammyLiz]

Nice. I'm liking these long tanks.

[Lpabsolute]

Beautiful looking Tank/Setup/Corals......Makes me miss mine!!!

[cp3823]

great tank!

[saltyVT]

Thanks All!!! Just bought a SCWD and two U-Tube returns. I plan on make a nice little closed loop. I have a Rio 2500 left over from a pervious tank, it runs at 796GPH so it should be perfect for this project, this will eliminate the power head from the tank, I need to condense my heaters to one, and that should remove everything from sight in the display tank!!!!

[saltyVT]

Update!

So heres a new FTS, plus some shot of my german blue/green. The camera is acting up, it washed out the FTS, and isn't showing the blue in the frag. Everything is doing well, I am having an out break of algae, partly due to the location in the room, near the window. I am going to invest in more CUC to take care of it. While cleaning the other day I accidently "fragged" my monti, so I attached it to another rock. The closed loop is doing well, creates a really good flow. I found a pair of nudibranch. They are brown in color, with little furry antenna. So Far I have watched them closely, they don't both with corals, they spend most their time on the glass cruzing around. Will oust them if I see any problems.

http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020560.jpg
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[rodri075]

Great tank layout! What is the plate-like coral on the left side of the tank? Is it attached with epoxy? Also like your Tridacna clam very much.

[saltyVT]

Thanks, that would be a monti cap. It was attached a long time ago, it has since attached its self to the rock. Clams are doing great, I might have to pick up another........

[OARrocks]

great job on not destroying the nudi.

i see too many people who find the most innocent hitchhikers and are immediately told to kill the poor thing

[gatordoc]

very nice tank...

[shawnkfl]

just an off topic note about drilling holes in those filters. put the drill in reverse and drill it. it will "melt" through and won't crack the plastic on you. works great on any plastic. a bit slower, but no cracking.

[racksteris]

nice tank..

[nybyrne]

Looks great!

[cherubfish pair]

saltyVT, could you show pics of the nudi's?

[saltyVT]

I have some bad pics of them, there hard to catch in a good view. Heres what I have, They have both since disappeared. I have a felling they couldn't find the food they ate:(
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020555.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020556.jpg
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020554.jpg

[TammyLiz]

Looks like a flatworm to me.

[saltyVT]

Not a flat worm, its over an inch long with fuzzy feelers on the top.

So I have been bringing my calcium down slowly, its now at 550, close to normal again. I picked up some GSP for cheap, and reserved a pair of black ORA clowns for after the holidays. FTS when I can pull myself off the couch. I am on Vacation and have no plans on leaving my couch other then to refresh my cocktail.........

[cherubfish pair]

With the fuzzy feelers it's definitely not flat worms.

[phenom5]

So I'm looking through this thread, and all I can think is...holy crap I've got to get myself a better camera.

Great looking tank, and nice pics.

[saltyVT]

Thanks!!

Got my Calcium almost under control, its at 480 now. Now I have a algae outbreak to controll, hooray:rolleyes:

[bsagecko]

i would up the lighting to MH even if you can only get like 1 SE 150W 10k? because of the clam

It wont survive unless it has MH or alot of T5's

You might even be able to do like a 70W SE 10k on like just one side and have the clam on that side directly under the light

[HKS]

Flush those brown guys. I recently lost a colony of Green Star Polyps to nudies that looked identical to yours. Oddly enough, my sixline refused to eat them or even acknowledge their presence--had to dispose of the nudies myself.

[saltyVT]

The clams are doing great, even better then when they were under a 70w mh. Both nudi's are gone, so problem solved!!

[cherubfish pair]

Did you get the black clowns yet?

[martinphillip03]

I believe the Tek T5 is sufficient. The tank, a 20L, 30 1/4 x 12 1/2 x 12 3/4. He has 96 watts of light with individual reflectors, and 13" high.

Marty

href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11480740#post11480740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bsagecko [/i]
i would up the lighting to MH even if you can only get like 1 SE 150W 10k? because of the clam

It wont survive unless it has MH or alot of T5's

You might even be able to do like a 70W SE 10k on like just one side and have the clam on that side directly under the light [/QUOTE]

[saltyVT]

Sure did!!!! Also got my Calcium under control, now at normal levels once again. Picked up a pair of ORA onyx perc's, and a rock full oif zoo's. Enjoy....
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020634.jpg
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[mathias999us]

Your tank is awesome! Glad to see the clams are doing well too. I recently set up a tank with T5's and was hoping to keep some clams, so you've fueled my hope!

[saltyVT]

Thanks!! Clams are doing great!!! T-5 work great for sps and clams!


Night shots of bright *** zoo's!!!
http://i13.photobucket.com/albums/a267/SuperchargedVR/P1020644.jpg
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