Start of 29G SPS dominated tank

DarkXerox · #1 01/29/2006, 05:52 PM

Well I spent awhile researching and getting the equipment I needed but I ended up with this:

29G TruVu w/ internal overflow
10G Chambered sump (siliconed 4 glass panels)
4x 65w PC (I have my 1x 250w HQI 2x 55w PC fixture in the mail)
Rio 2100 return
Coralife 65 skimmer

will be getting 2x Seio 620s or 820s once I start adding SPS

Rock and sand has spent months in my tank at home's sump so it is all ready to go.

Here are the starting pictures as well as some taken after a month.

And lastly a recent photo of my baby perculas (less than an inch long) and their RBTA:

I plan on adding SPS in a few more weeks after I get more flow in the tank. It is at about 13x turnover now and I plan on getting up to about 30-50x turnover soon.

kabal2 · #2 01/29/2006, 08:06 PM

looking nice darkxeros, i have a 29g as well, of course right now i have a bit of problems with algae but im working on it, two seios 820s will be nice flow

Gabriel

fishes2889 · #3 01/29/2006, 08:41 PM

i am looking to follow this .........

peace

DarkXerox · #4 01/29/2006, 10:29 PM

Yeah I'm getting some brown algae or a diatom bloom right now. The astreas manage to take care of it at night, but it looks heavy before the lights go off.

The coralline on the rocks seems to be taking off already though. there were a few sparse patches before but they appear to be growing.

DarkXerox · #5 01/31/2006, 03:00 PM

Well I got my halide, but the ballast is no good, so I'll probably have to wait yet another week for the RMA to go through (if not more). Oh well, I can post pics of the fixture later today though. It is a 250w hamilton protostar, phoenix 14k with 2x55w actinic 03's. Should pump out some serious lighting, but I plan on keeping the plastic lid that the tank came with for evaporation purposes. The dorm has A/C so heat shouldn't be a problem.

Paladin · #6 01/31/2006, 03:12 PM

Will you be hanging your lighting fixture from the ceiling or in a canopy? I have my 250 MH in a canopy over my 29g, and it gets very hot under it. Be careful if you decide to keep that plastic lid over the tank. It may warp due to the heat under the MH.

chocolateblnt · #7 01/31/2006, 03:54 PM

Yo Xerox ... your gripe is my gripe

... my spa flex just perfectly went through the "heater hole" that the guy drilled through, when I mean perfect I mean it sits in there super snug right past the rib of the hosing. Then I ran into the problem of ... oh sh!t Seio Cord ... I took a small curved hobby file and actually filed away a small nook for the cable to hold in place snug ... it worked like a charm because it "finely" filed away at the tank which will keep it from cracking.

chocolateblnt · #8 01/31/2006, 04:01 PM

I just took a look at your setup ... lookin' very good! I love your clowns and the simplicity of your tank! Just a tid bit of advice ... I know your going to keep SPS and I think one Seio 820 is plenty

... I am running mine at low flow and I have zero deadspots and lots of motion! Oh and your lucky you have so much room in your stand ... use it to your advantage! The room will also help keep things cool

... Heat is starting to be a minor issue on my tank and I am going to have to have fans blowing across the MH and PC lights in the fuge. Heck! It's lookin' real good keep up the steady work!

charlesgage · #9 01/31/2006, 04:02 PM

So would that 820 run a 20 long just fine? or maybe 620? Loving the setup by the way.

chocolateblnt · #10 01/31/2006, 04:07 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by charlesgage
So would that 820 run a 20 long just fine? or maybe 620? Loving the setup by the way.

I think an 820 on full flow will do the trick no problem! Just point it at before the corner of the tank and the water just whirls

... 2 Seio's in a tank smaller than 45 gallons is overkill not to mention the Seio's are big and take up precious room in a nano tank!

kamla · #11 01/31/2006, 04:30 PM

Nice tank..
I followed the link from chocolateblntâ€™s threadâ€¦

I just Love your live rock.. what kind is it..

Also a thought why do you do a closed loop that why you will not have any PHâ€™s in the tank..

Keep us postedâ€¦

DarkXerox · #12 01/31/2006, 07:59 PM

Kamla: I think this rock is tonga branch rock. When I got it months ago it was beautiful with lots of coralline, but it spent months in a sump curing so it might take a bit to color back up.

Choco: I'm thinking two seios, the reason I didnt go closed loop was cause of my need to move this tank a few times a year, plus I just wasn't comfortable drilling into a tank like this. Most of the reefers around here tend to prefer using SEIOs, Tunzes, and regular returns.

I'm thinkin two 620's on opposite sides would provide plenty of movement. Plus as for the heat issue, the A/C will probably keep everything at a nice temp, my dad does the same with his tank that is practically the same as mine, but double everything (see sig).

Paladin: Well what I'm going to do is have 6 acrylic cubes hold up the light. Lemme post a pic from their website:

It's the 2' protostar on their site. I have the 3' over my dad's 55 and its a great setup. With the cubes, it is about 8 inches from the plastic and 9 from the water since it is an enclosed hood. So heat really isn't an issue.

chocolateblnt · #13 01/31/2006, 08:52 PM

I don't have a closed loop either brotha! I have a refugium where the water needs to pass a bit slower for better biological filtration ... if you're just using a sump filter than you should pass an uber amount of water ... uber meaning super

Anyway just wanted to put my $.o2 about the Seio's and I am gonna keep a look out for more progress

gfk · #14 01/31/2006, 09:27 PM

what site did you order that light from, got a link/

DarkXerox · #15 02/01/2006, 04:03 AM

Choco: Yeah I 'm going to set the light up when the bulb comes. I went to melev's site and he seemed to have a bulb that makes chaeto grow like crazy, so I'm going to try that (plus its only a 10 dollar bulb). I have a feeling that the filter sock will help keep down on detritus too.

Do you think I should go with 1 Seio 820 or the two 620s?

gfk: I ordered my light/bulbs from Greg at Reefgeek. They don't have it listed on their site, but he can order it from Hamilton. Just shoot them an email or call them, they are really helpful.http://www.reefgeek.com/

jlehrer · #16 02/01/2006, 09:07 AM

I've got a 29 gallon with two seio 620s, and my sps absolutely love it. Lots of growth, lots of polyp extension, and if one fails for whatever reason, the tank flow doesnt die completely.

I've actually wondered if I shouldnt have gone with two 820s, but I'm definitely happy with two 620s. Remember, SPS love high flow!

DarkXerox · #17 02/01/2006, 06:27 PM

Yeah, well I guess I'll go with two then. I figure that I want to get some smaller "active swimmers" like the pair of bartletts I have at home, chromis, or maybe a fairy wrasse.

chocolateblnt · #18 02/01/2006, 08:02 PM

cool hope it works to your expectations

chocolateblnt · #19 02/05/2006, 08:09 PM

Oh dark ... I forgot to comment on one cool aspect of the return pipe into my main tank ... if you use ribbed spa flex to tightly fit into the hole you can set the return height along with the overflow boxes slits that way you won't have to worry about reverse siphons during power outages! I've positioned it so as soon as the water drops in the main tank the return pipe starts sucking in air and cuts off the siphon

here's a pic just in case!

Here's what I talked about before with filing a nook for the seio plugs

DarkXerox · #20 02/05/2006, 09:51 PM

Well actually I have holes drilled into my return nozzles at the waterline so they break siphon the second that water isn't coming into the tank

The problem with them is that they have those sort of locline fittings so it is easy to take the nozzle off from the diffuser to put it in/out of the tank, but popping it back on is really hard due to the angle and lack of leverage when my arm is in there.

I think that I'm gonna order some Seios on monday from Reefgeek since they seem to be cheaper than marine depot.

Oh I also go a pair of bartlett's too that are in my dad's 55g right now so I will bring them down to my tank when they are ready.

chocolateblnt · #21 02/05/2006, 09:56 PM

Oh alright ... you got it figured out :P ... Yea not having a pliable arm sucks ... I'm no contortionist but changing the flow rate on my return pump sure makes me feel like one!

DarkXerox · #22 02/05/2006, 10:13 PM

Yeah I totally hurt my arm putting them on the first time. Needless to say, that's why I haven't bought the SEIOs till now haha.

DarkXerox · #23 02/07/2006, 08:21 PM

Well a few photo updates:

The light:

I should get the ballast from home this weekend.

And my two new Bartlett's Anthias:

They're gonna love the flow once I get my Seios. They have been at the LFS for literally months now (since before december) and are totally healthy and are eating flake/formula 1/ pellets, and frozen.

With my experience in my dad's 55g, I've notice that they tend to stake out territory in about half his tank and barely venture over to the other side, so I figure theres enough room. He has the same 1 male 1 female grouping and there really isn't as much harassing as I would think. So I bet they will do great.

gfk · #24 02/07/2006, 09:02 PM

what size bulkhead for drain and return are you using?

DarkXerox · #25 02/07/2006, 09:47 PM

well the bulkhead fitting is a 1.5 inch one I believe (at least the hole in the fitting is that big). The return hosing is weird, like 5/8ths inch.