Well here we go!I really thought when I got my 40b that would be enough for me. Well it wasn't. I hope this will be the last one (read as I don't have room for anything else). Ok so first thing, the tank. Its 48x30x18 on a steel stand. I purchased from a club member. There are things about it that make me think maybe it wasn't a professional but it seems to be someone who knew what they were doing. The seams look good, the silicone is still soft and the holes aren't a chipped up mess. The glass is all 1/2" all around. At this point that doesn't really matter.View attachment 1781 Planned equipment: Lights: 250w 20k Hamilton metal halides with Cozumel Sun reflectors and 60 RB LEDs.Return pump: DCT 8000Flow pumps: PP8 x4Sump: DIY using a 40b breederSkimmer: Reef Octopus 200 INTReactors: TLF 150's for carbon, I may not use GFO. Livestock: Live rock: ~40lbs of PukaniSand: Tropic Eden Reef Flakes, 80 lbs2 Clowns1 TBD Wrasse1 Yellow Tang1 TBD tang3-5 Anthias (TBD, but probably Bartlett's) Plumbing! All 1" with a manifold that I might never fully use but whatever at least I have options. View attachment 1783 View attachment 1776 Next up, curing the Pukani! I took it to the local car wash first and used their pressure washer to clean the rock. I only had a couple of people looking at me crazy.. View attachment 1773 Next into a barrel of salt water with some phosphate remover! Pretty sure I left it in there for like a month or maybe two. The Hanna Checker kept reading zeros. I also fed the barrel during the process to get that whole cycling thing started. View attachment 1774View attachment 1770 Went through 3 different aquascapes and finally found "the one." Not "the one"View attachment 1772 Not "the one"View attachment 1784 "The one"View attachment 1780 Next it was time to get some lights, got these from a member too! The wife and I drove to Waco to get them but for $100 for all of them with ballasts I couldn't pass that up. View attachment 1771And yes they're metal halides.......to which I added 60 Luxeon Royal Blue LEDs too because why not..View attachment 1785 I haven't found a lot about the Hamilton MH on the web. I was primarily looking for PAR numbers and just what the overall look was for the 20k 250w halides. I contacted Hamilton to help with the first part and Dave was kind enough to run some tests with my exact reflector. [Cozumel Sun[Hamilton] 250 Watt Electronic ballast[Hamilton] 250 Watt 20K MH bulb<u></u><u></u>][ 12” from bottom of reflector glass – directly underneath bulb: 398 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][ 24” from bottom of reflector glass – directly underneath bulb: 176 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][12” from bottom of reflector glass & 12” away from center: 192 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][24” from bottom of reflector glass & 12” away from center: 130 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][12” from bottom of reflector glass & 24” away from center: 68 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][24” from bottom of reflector glass & 24” away from center: 56 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][<u></u> <u></u>][<u></u> <u></u>][Cozumel Sun[Hamilton] 250 Watt Electronic ballast[Hamilton] 250 Watt 14K MH bulb<u></u><u></u>][ 12” from bottom of reflector glass – directly underneath bulb: 472 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][ 24” from bottom of reflector glass – directly underneath bulb: 216 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][12” from bottom of reflector glass & 12” away from center: 208 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][24” from bottom of reflector glass & 12” away from center: 149 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][12” from bottom of reflector glass & 24” away from center: 90 PPFD<u></u><u></u>][24” from bottom of reflector glass & 24” away from center: 78 PPFD] How about some sump and electrical work now.. I mean this seems safe right?View attachment 1787 This is my first tank with a fuge, thanks to Jose for hooking me up with some Chaeto! I'm going to add some dragon breath's too I think once I can find some.View attachment 1786 Also fixed the electrical nightmare shown earlier. Still a work in process though.View attachment 1789 And the sump all put together and runningView attachment 1788 Now for some random pictures of corals from the tank. View attachment 1792 Things are a little pale because I let the nitrate and phosphate drop to 0. The last test they were up to 3 and .008, respectively. Since I'm using food to increase it I'm sure I'm going to overshoot at this point. I am considering dosing nitrates and phosphates because I like the idea of being able to control things like that in a more precise way than "feed and see." Finally this is the tank as of today.View attachment 1797
Following along!