60 Gallon Acro Dominated Reef

[Perry]

Little update:
So far so good with CUC additions. They are hard at work, and seem to be mowing down algae. I am also experiencing a boom in coraline algae. Mangroves seem to be doing well, roots are growing, and looks like the lighting is doing ok for now. Really stoked to see the tank maturing, seeing all sorts of micro life, dusters, sponges, limpets, worms, pods, micro stars, etc. I have not tested for phosphate or nitrates in awhile, will have to do so this weekend. Corals, clam, and new inverts all settling in. My maxima is so darn pretty! Here we go, I love this pic, seeing the cardinals all around the sponge

 

[Maxx]

Glad to see you went in a different direction Perry!

This looks awesome and I cant wait to see it grow out.

 

[drawman]

Following!

 

[BeltedCoyote]

Following, very cool!

 

[Perry]

Glad to see you went in a different direction Perry!

This looks awesome and I cant wait to see it grow out.

Hey Maxx,
Thank you for the kind words
Sometimes it's better to stay in your lane, I am pretty certain my tank was not sps ready, so onward we march. I am enjoying reefing and that is what matters, despite the letdowns, my fish and other salty lives still need care and deserve it. I am sure it will continue to evolve, and probably some changes in lighting will be warranted, as the t5 unit is not going to be efficient, some sort of spotlight for mangroves and probably a Kessil to supplement left side for other corals on the reef ledge. I am happy with lagoon side lighting, so likely no changes there. Again, main emphasis is the mangroves, so I want to make sure of longterm success, so a dedicated 6500k white light lamp pendant will be the eventual direction. Using a Kessil to light underneath the white light spilled into the tank will still allow tuning to get blue light to corals without interference of mangroves lighting. Still need a bit more vertical growth from mangroves, so no hurry for now, just thinking down the road
Cheers

 

[Perry]

Following!

Tim,
Thanks for stopping by, I hope to create something completely different here
Thanks again for your support and interest!

 

[Perry]

Following, very cool!

Hello,
Thank you very much, hopefully I can create something different and enjoyable ,thanks for the interest and follow!

 

[Perry]

Moved t5 up to 13-14" above mangroves. Going to run all 6 bulbs, and see what happens. This still gives me the ability to raise the unit another 16" or so before getting too close to the ceiling. Left side will still be able to support any type coral, so we shall see. I don't want to fry the mangroves, but this should eliminate the need to make any upgrades in lighting, giving me more $ for livestock

 

[Perry]

Some pics

 

[Wrangy]

Oh boy I'm looking forward to watching this one grow out Perry!

 

[Perry]

Oh boy I'm looking forward to watching this one grow out Perry!

Ahhh,
Thanks Dom!!!
I have to catch up on your wb build, thanks for the kind words mate! Oh yeah, don't tell Andrew about this setup, lol
Cheers

 

[Wrangy]

Ahhh,
Thanks Dom!!!
I have to catch up on your wb build, thanks for the kind words mate! Oh yeah, don't tell Andrew about this setup, lol
Cheers

I promise not to tell him hahaha

 

[Perry]

I promise not to tell him hahaha

Thanks brother!!!
I mean RFA's, sponges, softies, clam pretty cool though

 

[Wrangy]

Thanks brother!!!
I mean RFA's, sponges, softies, clam pretty cool though

Oh for sure! I love the idea behind the tank so I can't wait! You had me at clams and mangroves though!

 

[ScubaEthan]

I love your tank! I almost went in a similar direction as this, but ended up getting a different size tank that I felt called for a different layout. But I'd still love to do a similar size tank with mangroves, clams, nems, sponges, macro algea, gorgonians... really reminds me of snorkeling at the reef/mangrove transition in the tropics.

Do you have any updates?

 

[Eric R.]

@Perry Love the mangroves as well as the stocking choices. I'm working on starting a similar setup right now. How's the tanking doing, any new FTS or shots of the mangroves?

 

[Perry]

Hi all,
I honestly forgot about my build thread, and things changed up and back to my original passion for acros.

The tank in its current state:

Not too worry though, kept 3 mangrove shoots in sump fuge, they are growing luke crazy

 

[Perry]

@Perry Love the mangroves as well as the stocking choices. I'm working on starting a similar setup right now. How's the tanking doing, any new FTS or shots of the mangroves?

Thread updated, lol. Thanks so much, but a buddy gave me a dozen acro frags back in August, and things took off, only keeping sps, mainly acros

 

[Perry]

I haven't been diligent with my build thread, so I will do my best to update with at least a FTS monthly to show progression. I have a journal of my details of failure to recent success(6 months), on SPS forum. Anyway, after a little rearranging of the scape, moving magnetic rock off the back to under overflow on left side, here is my Feb FTS update, a little late, lol.

As seen, a very young 95% acro dominated tank.
Cheers