Bubba's SPS Journey

[bubbaque]

What's that sand doing in there??!! Love the rockwork!

You have no idea how much I went back and forth about the sand and bare bottom!

I ended up with sand because I can’t scrape my BB due to the pvc board having a texture. I do not like the pink bottom and would need to scrape it often, which I would do if my bottom was just plain glass. Also without sand I can’t have the wrasses I like unless I do the sand in a bowl like I did last time but when they dig into the sand they always knocked the sand out.

 

[JCOLE]

Figured I’d throw in a pic of the tank with where I am with it so far.

I love that aquascape!

 

[fuelman]

that rock work looks sweeeeet. that's gonna be amazing all covered in acro's

 

[Maxx]

Am I the only one getting excited for a restart on the Bubbaque acro photo paradise?? ;Woot

What?
No.
Nobody else cares.




At all.


We're all too busy growing Purple Monster frags and Oregon Tort frags like weeds...

I run AC pumps too (Iwaki) and I have ball valves before and after the pump for servicing as well. I think you only get cavitation when you start restricting the inflow with a ball valve, as you’re only supposed to adjust flow from the outlet side.

On my previous set up, I upsized the plumbing by 1/4 inch (after checking to verify) and bought 1.25 inch diameter Tru Union ball valves & unions and reduced them to 1inch in order to match the rest of the return plumbing. I didnt reduce the flow from the pump other than head loss. The valves and the unions were strictly for maintenance, not flow control.

 

[Maxx]

That aquascape looks great Bubba...gonna an awesome looking tank!

 

[Sean1986]

You might of answered it, but if you are worried about heat have you thought about no canopy? Love the aquascaping!

 

[tripdad]

Love the negative space in the scape, especially at the sand bed. Going to look great all grown in!

 

[bubbaque]

You might of answered it, but if you are worried about heat have you thought about no canopy? Love the aquascaping!

No I like the look of a canopy too much to not have one.

Ever have someone over and one of the first things they ask is “What is that sticking on the side of the tank?” or stare up at the lights like it’s UFO. To us reefers I think we get use to seeing the powerheads, lights and all the cords hanging above the tank but when people come over who are not in the hobby it sticks out like a sore thumb. It also hides the water line, which makes it look more like if you were diving instead of water in a tank. A canopy let’s you hide most of the distracting stuff so people can enjoy the tank more.

On a plus, I ran the tank the past two days with all the lights on and temp hasn’t gone over 80.4.

 

[SeaDweller]

No I like the look of a canopy too much to not have one.

Ever have someone over and one of the first things they ask is “What is that sticking on the side of the tank?” or stare up at the lights like it’s UFO. To us reefers I think we get use to seeing the powerheads, lights and all the cords hanging above the tank but when people come over who are not in the hobby it sticks out like a sore thumb. It also hides the water line, which makes it look more like if you were diving instead of water in a tank. A canopy let’s you hide most of the distracting stuff so people can enjoy the tank more.

On a plus, I ran the tank the past two days with all the lights on and temp hasn’t gone over 80.4.

Bubba often forgets his Cabernet up in the canopy too, then knocks it into the tank on accident and just thinks of it as carbon dosing.

 

[Dugless]

I too just added sand to my tank this week. Since the move I've had it up and running for two months. I really tried to convince myself on the bare bottom, but the coralline just starts to look dreadful.

 

[bubbaque]

I think I’m cycled! I added that new product from brightwell and seemed to work great.

zero ammonia and 2.5 ppm nitrate

 

[Shaka_Reefer]

LOVE the rockwork and glad you added sand!!! Anything else you plan on doing differently this time?

 

[bubbaque]

LOVE the rockwork and glad you added sand!!! Anything else you plan on doing differently this time?

May I dare say the return of the sulfur denitrator?!?

 

[Charlie’s Frags]

What’s the over

May I dare say the return of the sulfur denitrator?!?

@FarmerTy and I think that’s a great idea!!!

 

[Camaro Show Corals]

May I dare say the return of the sulfur denitrator?!?

 

[Maxx]

Are you using a filter roller or socks in your sump?

And I agree about the canopy for aesthetics, but it's nice being able to get directly into the tank for maintenance.

 

[SeaDweller]

May I dare say the return of the sulfur denitrator?!?

Dear Acro god,

PLEASE PLEASE PLEASE this time around don’t let the SDN be a “problem“ for @bubbaque ”again” because my inbox can not handle the influx of hate PMs again. I beg you, just let his tank thrive with GSP, feather dusters, brown protopalys, sinularia... you know stuff he’s REALLY good at....

Acro-men.

 

[bubbaque]

What’s the over

@FarmerTy and I think that’s a great idea!!!

May I dare say Farmerty is thinking about using his again also!

I didn’t give it a fair chance. I removed my sand the same exact time I started using the denitrator, which was a recipe for disaster. I know several people who use one and it works great. I’m going to use it from the get go and see how it does.

Are you using a filter roller or socks in your sump?

And I agree about the canopy for aesthetics, but it's nice being able to get directly into the tank for maintenance.

No I don’t. I have used socks before but having to wash them all the time is a pain.

I have thought about the filter roller but it says 600 gph max flow through it and that’s not enough for me.

 

[Maxx]

I've been using a small Bubble Magus filter roller for about 4 months now and I'm honestly pretty impressed with it. The Clarisea 5k has a substantially higher flow rate than 600 gph (1320 to be exact) and there is another vendor who sells refills cheaper than OEM rolls.

Might look into it as less waste in the water means less NO3 & PO4 to worry about.

Really looking forward to your new set up.

 

[Potatohead]

You have no idea how much I went back and forth about the sand and bare bottom!

I ended up with sand because I can’t scrape my BB due to the pvc board having a texture. I do not like the pink bottom and would need to scrape it often, which I would do if my bottom was just plain glass. Also without sand I can’t have the wrasses I like unless I do the sand in a bowl like I did last time but when they dig into the sand they always knocked the sand out.