The Illuminata Conspiracy, a rimless build

Coral pics

A couple of coral close-ups:

peacefavia.jpg


bowerbanki.jpg


pectinia.jpg
 
Clowns!!!

Just got these oddball clowns from Kris at Alphacorals a few days ago. Very impressed! Thanks Kris! They arrived healthy and swim like they are on a caffeine drip. Give them a few more days and I'm sure they will be fat and lazy like the rest of my fish. :)

snowonyxclown.jpg

Extreme Snow Onyx- will become the male

snowflakeclown.jpg

Fancy Snowflake- larger, will become the female

Initially I wanted two extreme's, but the wifey liked the one with spots. :)
 
Nice tank... love those clowns!
 
WOW, it really shows when someone puts in the extra effort instead of going the easy route. I see that all to often in this hobby. Nice work, this should be considered art.
 
WOW, it really shows when someone puts in the extra effort instead of going the easy route. I see that all to often in this hobby. Nice work, this should be considered art.

Thanks a lot, man! The sad part is I actually think the scape looked better before I added corals! lol

That is one of the last illuminatas you will ever see. Great snag.

Why, are the no longer being produced? Our LFS has been getting them lately.
 
Very nice. I notice you have an even amount of Blues to Whites on your LED, does the blue ever get washed out or do you like the balance?
 
Just got these oddball clowns from Kris at Alphacorals a few days ago. Very impressed! Thanks Kris! They arrived healthy and swim like they are on a caffeine drip. Give them a few more days and I'm sure they will be fat and lazy like the rest of my fish. :)

snowonyxclown.jpg

Extreme Snow Onyx- will become the male

snowflakeclown.jpg

Fancy Snowflake- larger, will become the female

Initially I wanted two extreme's, but the wifey liked the one with spots. :)

The oddball pairings are my favorite. You don't even know how many people have asked and continue to ask about that Fancy Snow. Thats one popular clownfish! And a perfect compliment to one of the nicest setups I have seen in a long time. Just love that rockwork and enjoyed reading your 'learning lessons'. Can't wait to see how this tank matures and how those clowns mature. One completely stunning setup! Thank you for sharing and keeping us posted.
 
What's the first favia. I have a Hugh colony and don't know the name

Tank looks nice
Who made the frag tank?
Thank you, the favia is raptors peace I think. The frag tank is from an ebay seller who is not a sponsor here. PM me for details.

Very nice. I notice you have an even amount of Blues to Whites on your LED, does the blue ever get washed out or do you like the balance?
The 50/50 ratio is somewhat too white/yellow for my taste by itself. The ati bulbs: 2x blueplus, 1x purpleplus, and 1x actinic even out the spectrum nicely. I would have just gone all t5, but you cant beat the shimmer of the xpg's and the intense blue of the rb's by themselves.

This looks SICK, makes me miss my illuminata. Nice job on the scape! :)
Thanks a lot. I'd been looking forward to getting one of these for a long time.

The oddball pairings are my favorite. You don't even know how many people have asked and continue to ask about that Fancy Snow. Thats one popular clownfish! And a perfect compliment to one of the nicest setups I have seen in a long time. Just love that rockwork and enjoyed reading your 'learning lessons'. Can't wait to see how this tank matures and how those clowns mature. One completely stunning setup! Thank you for sharing and keeping us posted.
Thanks! Fish are usually an afterthought in my reef tanks, but this time I wanted a little extra zing and this clown pair definitely provide that. For my first high-end fish purchase I could not have been happier with the health of shipping practices of Alphacorals.

wow beautiful aquascape beautiful tank
Thank you very much!

I just spent eight hours plumbing my frag tank and now it just needs lighting. Im super excited that it actually worked. The tank is mounted on a drawer that pulls out of the cabinet adjacent to my display tank. That way I can push it in, keep it locked up and out of my curious 12 month old's reach. I've never really seen anyone attempt this, but the engineering seemed simple enough so I went for it. Pictures coming soon!
 
Glad to see you sticking around Travis. Ive always loved the Illuminata's. Nice work everything looks great. You'll love your waterblaster pump, they're awesome. I would have done the same with the drains, up and over with the returns is always a good solution. I also like that you painted the back black, much better look. How many gallons and what are the dimensions.
 
Brett,

Thanks for the compliments. The waterblaster appears to be a perfect fit, though I was a little worried that it doesnt have the tried and true reputation of an eheim. I didnt realize you had one.

Here are the dimensions:
Display: 18x20x36, approx 53.5 gallons adjusted for glass thickness and water height
Sump: 18x18x24, approx 20 gallons adjusted for water height
Frag tank: 18x18x6, approx 7.5 gallons adjusted for acrylic thickness and water height
Total: 81 gallons
 
Full setup shot 11/30

fts1201.jpg


Updates:
Frag tank/cabinet complete, vortech battery backup installed, water level raised by 1/2" (for aesthetics), supplies cleaned up and filed away (wife's happy). I'm also having to shade corals (not pictured) because of light shock.

Future projects:
Controller fail safes, water mixing and ro station
 
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IF YOU HAD TO TAKE A REEFING EXAM, WOULD YOU PASS?

  • Yes!

    Votes: 32 45.7%
  • Not yet, but I have one that I want to buy in mind!

    Votes: 9 12.9%
  • No.

    Votes: 26 37.1%
  • Other (please explain).

    Votes: 3 4.3%
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