Bubba's SPS Journey

[Renton777]

I have been super busy getting the tank going. I spent all holiday weekend plumbing and filling the tank and as of this morning the tank is fully running. I still need to add the lights and do some wire management but it’s moving right along. This weekend I will probably add a whole bunch of the bottled bacteria and the fish I had in frag tank that I shut down.

I figured you were busy with the plumbing......I just wanted to use that kid joke...

 

[bubbaque]

Man you must have a pretty great wife. If i tried to play with my tanks an entire holiday weekend my bags would be at the curb.

She is probably tired of that room looking like a tornado came through it and wants it back to normal. There is pvc, rock and boxes scattered all over next to the tank.

 

[hatfielj]

I have been super busy getting the tank going. I spent all holiday weekend plumbing and filling the tank and as of this morning the tank is fully running. I still need to add the lights and do some wire management but it’s moving right along. This weekend I will probably add a whole bunch of the bottled bacteria and the fish I had in frag tank that I shut down.

Pics or it didn't happen Did you start with any live rock or just dry?
Miraculously my wife is letting me set up a display in our living room (48x36x20). Should be delivered next week. I'm going to be going through the same process as you soon. Too bad I don't have much time off work for the next month though.

 

[homer1475]

Just read this entire thread! Yes all 187 pages!!!!

What a great build and the new tank looks even better. Your corals are absolutely amazing!

As I'm just starting out with SPS, I gotta know what the secret to PE is? The few I have are growing nice, and are colored up nicely, but I never see the polyps. When I bought them they had nice PE, but after being in my tank for a while, they never come out. I don't have anything to exotic, just some simple newbie SPS's like green slimer, purple stylo, and a couple from @Battlecorals I forget the name of.

 

[bubbaque]

Pics or it didn't happen Did you start with any live rock or just dry?
Miraculously my wife is letting me set up a display in our living room (48x36x20). Should be delivered next week. I'm going to be going through the same process as you soon. Too bad I don't have much time off work for the next month though.

Its not much to look at yet but here is a pic.

I started with 100% dry rock.

You will love that 36” depth! That’s my favorite thing about the new tank. If you decide to start a thread on your tank please tag me as I’d like to follow along.

Just read this entire thread! Yes all 187 pages!!!!

What a great build and the new tank looks even better. Your corals are absolutely amazing!

As I'm just starting out with SPS, I gotta know what the secret to PE is? The few I have are growing nice, and are colored up nicely, but I never see the polyps. When I bought them they had nice PE, but after being in my tank for a while, they never come out. I don't have anything to exotic, just some simple newbie SPS's like green slimer, purple stylo, and a couple from @Battlecorals I forget the name of.

I think you are becoming one of the only ones left who’s willing to read through all these pages, lol.

I wish I could tell you the secret to PE but in my experience as long as you feed well, have some fish and a little bit of po4 and no3 you should have some nice PE.

 

[homer1475]

Thanks for the reply.

Certainly have fish(6 in an 80G cube that just turned 3), and po4, and no3 are certainly detectable at .03, and 8 respectively. Like I said though, great color, great growth, just 0 PE. The secret to PE still eludes me. lol

And if you do start a new build thread, I will certainly follow along.

 

[bubbaque]

Thanks for the reply.

Certainly have fish(6 in an 80G cube that just turned 3), and po4, and no3 are certainly detectable at .03, and 8 respectively. Like I said though, great color, great growth, just 0 PE. The secret to PE still eludes me. lol

And if you do start a new build thread, I will certainly follow along.

Any angel fish?

 

[homer1475]

Yes actually. A flame back angel.

I know where your going to go with that question, and I have read about them nipping. But I have never seen it nip at any coral, although I suppose it is a possibility. I have considered it myself, and have been watching it like a hawk. No real concern as I do have great color and growth, but some SPS do not look the same without PE.

 

[homer1475]

Sorry for hijacking your thread. lol

But after seeing your corals, I just had to ask.

 

[Antics]

@bubbaque wheres the sump and inside the stand pictures? Who cares if the tank ever has water, fish or coral in it?! My reef has been coral free for over 2 years!

We're here for the build not the actual enjoyment of a tank.

 

[AngryMike2016]

That tank is large enough for me to hold pro-wrestling training class in!

 

[hatfielj]

Its not much to look at yet but here is a pic.

I started with 100% dry rock.

You will love that 36” depth! That’s my favorite thing about the new tank. If you decide to start a thread on your tank please tag me as I’d like to follow along.

I think you are becoming one of the only ones left who’s willing to read through all these pages, lol.

I wish I could tell you the secret to PE but in my experience as long as you feed well, have some fish and a little bit of po4 and no3 you should have some nice PE.

Looks great. Sorry if this has already been answered (I tried to find it), but how do you plan on lighting this 36" depth? I want to use Radions and T5's on mine, but I'm not sure how to properly cover it all yet.

 

[Antics]

Looks great. Sorry if this has already been answered (I tried to find it), but how do you plan on lighting this 36" depth? I want to use Radions and T5's on mine, but I'm not sure how to properly cover it all yet.

@bubbaque said he was going to continue using Radions and T5s on the new build but I'm not sure how many fixtures hes planning to run for 36" depth.

 

[bubbaque]

Yes actually. A flame back angel.

I know where your going to go with that question, and I have read about them nipping. But I have never seen it nip at any coral, although I suppose it is a possibility. I have considered it myself, and have been watching it like a hawk. No real concern as I do have great color and growth, but some SPS do not look the same without PE.

So many threads pop up asking the same question and 99% of the time they have an angel. They always say they don’t see it nipping but I bet it does. If you have an angel I’d just give up on the idea of having PE and enjoy the beauty of the fish.

@bubbaque wheres the sump and inside the stand pictures? Who cares if the tank ever has water, fish or coral in it?! My reef has been coral free for over 2 years!

We're here for the build not the actual enjoyment of a tank.

I will get there eventually, lol. Stuff is so messy right now it’s hard to take pics.

Looks great. Sorry if this has already been answered (I tried to find it), but how do you plan on lighting this 36" depth? I want to use Radions and T5's on mine, but I'm not sure how to properly cover it all yet.

I am going to use the aquaticlife fixture and 10 radion xr15’s. I’m not going to use the aquaticlife fixture as it’s meant to be though. I’m going to leave it separated and put two of the t5’s in the back of the tank and two and the front with two rows of radions down the middle.

Here is a master piece of a sketch on what I plan to do.

 

[hatfielj]

@bubbaque said he was going to continue using Radions and T5s on the new build but I'm not sure how many fixtures hes planning to run for 36" depth.

Yeah, I figured he'd stick to the LED/T5 model, but covering 36" is tricky. Gen 4 XR30 pros state that they have a recommended coverage of 24"x24" which would cover my tank side to side, but not quite be enough front to back.
I suppose the T5's could make up the difference at the edges, but there won't be much Radion coverage at the edges of the tank in that scenario.
Another option could be to use 4 XR15s and spread them out from front to back more. But even that might not be ideal. Just not sure yet. I'll probably copy whatever bubba does, lol!

 

[Antics]

I am going to use the aquaticlife fixture and 10 radion xr15’s. I’m not going to use the aquaticlife fixture as it’s meant to be though. I’m going to leave it separated and put two of the t5’s in the back of the tank and two and the front with two rows of radions down the middle.

This build is making my wallet cave in on itself in sympathy. LOL!

 

[bubbaque]

This build is making my wallet cave in on itself in sympathy. LOL!

I can hear my wallet crying at night.

 

[29bonsaireef]

How long will you let the tank run before introducing acros? Do you plan to transfer the live rock from your existing DT as well?

 

[bubbaque]

How long will you let the tank run before introducing acros? Do you plan to transfer the live rock from your existing DT as well?

I was actually going to try and experiment a bit with some of the cheaper acros. I am going to add a frag the same day I add fish and see how it goes. If it goes poorly I’ll probably add one each month and see at what point I can successfully grow coral.

Nope not going to transfer any rock. This will be strictly dry rock from day 1 with no other rock or tiles added.

 

[tripdad]

That will be interesting to see, how long it takes. A while ago there was some talk that it takes about a year for a dry ro k tank to get there with acro success. Are you using/seeding anything from existing tank? Your great success in other tanks makes me curious to see how it will go for you. Nice build BTW, really like the dimensions.