Lunker August 5, 2008 August 5, 2008 My wife and I began our quest for a SW RR tank about 3 yrs ago. Realizing the commitment that this would take we delayed it until the beginning of this year. We must have visited 8-10 LFS before deciding that BRK and Johnny was the place to take our business. We strongly felt that we could get the direction and advice needed. I strongly believe that we made the right choice. So here is what we are running. 120g RR display - T5 with 8 bulbs - currently 2 Tunze 6055 - Approx 110lbs LR - Live sand. 55g sump - Deltec APF600 - Reefflo Baracuda pump. The sump is located in the basement partically directly under the display tank. Future plans is for Kalkwasser stirrer, ACIII, and propably a couple more Tunzes and probably whatever Johnny can convince me of. Hopefully I've uploaded the photos properly. The tank began the cycling process on 2 Aug. Looking forward in adding the criters in a couple of weeks. The belly of my beast Thanks to John, Ozzie, & Pete at BRK and to my buddy Steve Outlaw for all the suport and encouragement. Ron (aka Lunker)
steveoutlaw August 8, 2008 August 8, 2008 Looking good Ron. That Deltec is already pulling some good gunk out......just wait until it gets broken in!
dtfleming August 8, 2008 August 8, 2008 Looks great and nice setup. I like the mix of rock with branch rock.
davelin315 August 8, 2008 August 8, 2008 Looks good, what are your future plans? Reason I ask is you might want to bail on those yellow polyps before the proliferate unless you're planning on softies.
Lunker August 8, 2008 Author August 8, 2008 Looks good, what are your future plans? Reason I ask is you might want to bail on those yellow polyps before the proliferate unless you're planning on softies. They may come out very soon as I have been made aware of their proliferation and I'm about ready to populate the tank. I don't have them touching any other rock at this time. I aquired those polyps with some recently purchased LR from another member. Appreciate you confirming this concern Dave. Future Plans: I love the corals. They attract both the wife and I more than the fish. Criters were added last evening as amonia, nitrite, nitrate and Ph were excellent. I did have a few aptasia polyps and treated them to a taste of Joe's Juice. My 11 yr old grandson is keeping a keen eye for these rascals. I think I have a potential reefer in the making. Hope to see you at my first WAMAS meeting on Saturday. Ron
jason the filter freak August 8, 2008 August 8, 2008 Look neat I like the additions of ball valves, planning ahead of time. The aqua scape looks neat.
Lunker August 8, 2008 Author August 8, 2008 Look neat I like the additions of ball valves, planning ahead of time. The aqua scape looks neat. The suggestion to install the additional valves came from John at BRK. I wonder he may have been thinking of future sales. Hmm, I'll have to think about it. My water condition is now excellent and with that I have now added about half the criters that I need. My oldest daughter has taken some additional pictures with her SLR camera and those pix should be available by the end of the weekend. Ron
Lunker August 13, 2008 Author August 13, 2008 I guess that I should add that the "diatom bloom" that I had over the weekend disappeared almost as fast as it first appeared once that I cut back the lighting time to 4.5 hrs. All of my substrate that was turning brown is back to the natural white color of the aragonite. Ron
ctenophore August 13, 2008 August 13, 2008 "future sales" or not, that was very smart of Johnny to recommend that setup. You will find those extra equipment feeds to be super handy down the road, and won't have to replumb and/or add auxiliary pumps. About the only suggestion I would make equipment wise is expect to add at least another pair of the 6055s down the road. Justin
Lunker August 13, 2008 Author August 13, 2008 "future sales" or not, that was very smart of Johnny to recommend that setup. You will find those extra equipment feeds to be super handy down the road, and won't have to replumb and/or add auxiliary pumps. About the only suggestion I would make equipment wise is expect to add at least another pair of the 6055s down the road. Justin Yes, I can easily see with this 48" x 24" x 24" tank will require another pair of 6055s both for the fish as well as the corals. I think that my next addition will be an ATO system. I won an ATO at the WAMAS summer meeting, but I believe that I will opt for the Tunze that has a backup feature and pump included. Thanks/Ron
ctenophore August 14, 2008 August 14, 2008 Tunze's Osmolator is probably the best topoff I have used. Very reliable and durable.
Lunker August 25, 2008 Author August 25, 2008 Well, this weekend was the start of adding my first fish. The yellow tang and the two clarkii clowns are a result of Steve Outlaw's rescue efforts as a friend of his wife was moving to Hawaii on short notice. Many thanks Steve. The Kole Tang was purchased from BRK. The photos are the handy work of my daughter Michele. Thanks Chele! Yellow Tang Kole Tang Clarkii Clowns I'm now looking forward to adding coral frags. I did pick up a Tunze Osmolator and a GSA 618 Kalkwasser Stirrer from BRK last week. Hopefully, I will get these installed soon. I have myself scheduled for a five day Labor Day weekend in order to get this accomplised.
Larry Grenier August 25, 2008 August 25, 2008 I'll bet the branching rock will look great with the corals growing on it.
Lunker August 31, 2008 Author August 31, 2008 Well it has been a month since the tank has been in operations. Here is what it looks like as of 29 Aug 08. My plans are to start putting in some frags over this next month. Still need to get my Osmolator and GSA Stirrer connected. Hopefully within the next couple of days. The colors on my LR are really starting to come out. The water quality are all what they should be.
MLazar September 21, 2008 September 21, 2008 Ron, I really like the rock work, tank is coming along nicely. You'll have to post new pictures soon with your new additions from AquaCo party. Maureen
steveoutlaw October 1, 2008 October 1, 2008 Looking great Ron. We're going to have to get you some more frags!!
Lunker October 10, 2008 Author October 10, 2008 Update! The tank continues to progress nicely. I made an even bigger plunge into the hobby today. I stopped by my favorite LFS (BRK) and picked up the Aqua 25w UV Sterilizer w/Wiper. If that wasn't enough, my wife gave me the ok to purchase the Neptune Aqua III controller with the accessories. God bless her little heart. Lots of work ahead of me as I can be IT challeged at times, but looking forward to it. Pictures will follow as the installation progresses.
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