Max Ivers

wow that uploaded really strange, let me see if I can get it to be the correct resolution...

The order from left to right is: blue+ aquablue purple+ coral+ blue+

I assumed that phosphate was available to all of the algae, I'm just not sure why the chaeto and mangroves aren't outcompeting the bryopsis. I currently run 700ml of biopellets (a mix of warner marine ecobak and ATB HQ pellets). I run 2 cups of BRS carbon (the grade below ROX 0.8, I forget the name) in a filter bag between my baffles which is changed every 2 weeks. I do not run GFO at all. I harest the chaeto whenever the ball fills up my 20 long refugium. Usually every 2 weeks or so.

I will take a picture tonight of the blue+ coral+ and aqua blue special all next to each other. Hopefully this will help you out with the color question. I love the coral plus bulbs, they are great if you want good punch but a 20k look when combined with the blue+

Also remember that it really matters what order the bulbs are in, make sure to spread out the bulbs evenly while putting the bulbs that you want the overall color of the tank to appear closer to the front. I run a blue+ and coral+ at the front.

I also have like 10 old (~8 month old) bulbs sitting around if you want to test them out. But also rule out 2 purple+, it will give your tank a peptobismol tint to it which overpowers any other colors. Stick to just 1. I run a Sunlight Supply TEK 8 x 54w fixture hung 14" off of the water. My par out of the water at the surface is 1100 and right below the surface is ~700. I prefer to raise my fixture higher so I can run a longer photoperiod to enjoy my tank for more time each day. Those PAR numbers are with the flow ON. If I can find an old pic of my tank that I labelled with my PAR readings I will try and scan it in to show you.

Where would I be getting Sulfur from? I'm raising my Mg with 100ml per day dosed to a ~200 gallon system. So it's getting up there. Need to test for it this weekend. Odd thing is, the corals all look fine, both SPS and LPS, but then again I lost my most delicate SPS to a temp swing a few months ago.

I will try and take some pictures of it. The tank/FSB is at Ctenophore (Justin)'s house. We used my old sand (Tropic Eden Reef Flakes) and washed it out very thoroughly, then dried it very well by baking it on cookie sheets to drive off the water (a very important step in the process). So you would vacuum out the old sand and then use that to make your FSB. The whole point of the fake sand bed is to give the appearance of natural sand but you can turn the whole sheet upside down as a cool trick

Ryan if you are serious about wanting to make a faux sand bed shoot me a PM. I made a small test one as well as one for a 36" cube. 100% reef safe and it looks incredible. You cant even tell it is fake until you turn the 2 mp40's to full blast together and not one grain moves.

Try the coral plus bulbs by ATI, they're fantastic! I run 8x54 over a standard 120 gallon in this order from front to back: (all bulbs are ATI) front: Blue+ Coral+ Purple+ Blue+ Blue+ Coral+ Blue+ Blue+ back I would call this a 18-20K look, and I've measured the PAR and I get ~350 6" down underwater and 250 on the sandbed. If you want something a bit less blue, change the coral+ bulbs for aquablue specials.

Alright time for an update finally, but not a good one (at least right now)...I posted this in general discussion as well but figured I would put it here as well. So I recently took my ZeoVit reactor offline which clearly was helping to keep my nutrients under control. I took the reactor offline around 3 weeks ago, and since then have seen a massive bloom of bryopsis, cyano (red) and a black cyano-type algae which i think is a different species of cyano. My NO3 is 0 (absolutely clear on 3 different salifert kits with myself and 2 others verifying the color and doing the tests) and Phosphate is 5ppb phosphorus = .015ppm PO4. I run a TEK 8x54w fixture with the 4 actinic bulbs (3 blue+ 1 purp+) on from 12pm until 10pm and the 4 daylight bulbs (2 coral+, 2 blue+) run from 2pm until 8pm. All the bulbs were replaced on 2/12/12, so that can't be the issue. Also I've cut down my feeding to once a day with pellets and they are fed with a feeding cone (funnel) so that they dont get sucked down the overflow and rot. My cheato has been growing like crazy, but the Bryopsis is just unbearable, it's smothering zoa frags in my frag tank and beginning to take root in the display. I just placed an order from reefcleaners.com for nearly 200 snails which are long overdue as a replacement CUC. I probably have 40 not including nass. currently. I've been dosing brightwell hydrat-mg (just like Kent Tech-M) and raising my magnesium. Anyone else have ideas?

Hey everyone, So I recently took my ZeoVit reactor offline which clearly was helping to keep my nutrients under control. I took the reactor offline around 3 weeks ago, and since then have seen a massive bloom of bryopsis, cyano (red) and a black cyano-type algae which i think is a different species of cyano. My NO3 is 0 (absolutely clear on 3 different salifert kits with myself and 2 others verifying the color and doing the tests) and Phosphate is 5ppb phosphorus = .015ppm PO4. I run a TEK 8x54w fixture with the 4 actinic bulbs (3 blue+ 1 purp+) on from 12pm until 10pm and the 4 daylight bulbs (2 coral+, 2 blue+) run from 2pm until 8pm. All the bulbs were replaced on 2/12/12, so that can't be the issue. Also I've cut down my feeding to once a day with pellets and they are fed with a feeding cone (funnel) so that they dont get sucked down the overflow and rot. My cheato has been growing like crazy, but the Bryopsis is just unbearable, it's smothering zoa frags in my frag tank and beginning to take root in the display. I just placed an order from reefcleaners.com for nearly 200 snails which are long overdue as a replacement CUC. I probably have 40 not including nass. currently. I've been dosing brightwell hydrat-mg (just like Kent Tech-M) and raising my magnesium. Anyone else have ideas?

check out this Bubble Killer which you can make for a few bucks of PVC...I live in Bethesda if you want to come check them out for yourself in person. I have (2) 1" drain lines and I used a 3" cap and 3" PVC instead of 4" fittings and it works phenomenally. Ask CaptainRon about his reaction when he came over to see my setup and saw them in action. He was giddy.

Ok so I'm going to be out of town for the next two weeks so the full update will have to wait. But heres a mini blog writeup of my tank to tie everyone over. Special thanks to Nishal (Gizmoody) for taking the pics and posting them on his website. http://redseamaxreef.com/photo-shoot-of-maxs-110-reef-tank/ Enjoy!

It will absolutely be worth it haha. I'm broke yet happy. I ended up sparing very little expense...unlike my original plans ?

Sure! Totally thought this thread was dead. And since my tank turned out absolutely nothing like I had originally planned I didnt know if it was even worth it to post here. I'll make a video tonight or tomorrow of my whole setup. Stay tuned

which apps would you suggest?

Hi everybody, I just got an iPhone 4S and the camera is pretty nice (in comparison to my old cheap LG). Is there any way to change the white balance or something so that my photos that I take with the phone camera are less blue? Thanks!

what salt mix do you use? I've heard this occurs with salts that are made using dehydrated ocean water (D+D H2Ocean, Red Sea Coral Pro). I personally use D+D and I do notice a brown residue on my BRUTE container. To prevent any issue I run my new water through a 100 micron filter sock when I pump it into my tank for a WC.

I recognize those bottom two pieces glad the acro made it! I've always loved the polyps on that Tort.

Beautiful Rhomboids!

Oops, sorry about that. I cleared my inbox so try again

I have a 120 In-Wall in my basement with many other things tied in....come over and check it out whenever you'd like. Mine wraps around the wall, but the sump is underneath. It's a constantly expanding system. p.s. I run my whole system off of a Reeflo Dart with a (IMO) pretty well designed manifold.

That picture of the Bellina is incredible! Awesome job! Glad to see that things are making a comeback

They swim around at the surface and then dive down and rise back up. They make the distinct pulsing motion that jellyfish make. Is it bad if they are hydroids?