Ryan's 150g Marineland Deep Dimension!

[Jan]

I very rarely read this thread. You got my attention, John. All great advice, Ryan.

 

I would love for you to step outside your shoes and spend a day reading your thread. See if your reaction is similar to one you may have had while surfing the web for other build threads.

 

In all seriousness, you obviously spend several hours online admiring other people's tanks, reading product reviews, learning new methodologies, etc. Just develop a plan for your tank! You obviously have the passion and the equipment to turn your tank into something special, but you constantly change your plan and your tank goes nowhere.

 

Find a mentor, a vendor, a system that you want to emulate and stick with that methodology and see if it works for you...only change as needed.

[Ryan S]

Here are some close up shots of my coral that I took today.

 

[epleeds]

Ryan,

 

That is a ton of frags....I didnt realize that you had that much coral in there. Everything is encrusting nicely. The first picture that you posted has 14 frags really close to each other on that main rock. Not sure if you thought about it but when they grow out are you worried about them growing into each other and killing one or the other in the process? With that amount of money you have invested, is there room to spread them out more through out the tank to kind of prevent the war fare while they are still small frags.

Edited November 10, 2012 by epleeds

[Ryan S]

It is a lot Eric, and I have thought about that. The plan is to let them all encrust and turn into large frags/mini colonies, (as big as they can get before touching each other), then leave the brightest colors and trade/sell away the extras because I simply won't have room for everything. I have a couple of frag racks I can setup once they get to that point.

[Ryan S]

Let me add, one reason why I was considering the 10 bulb T5 unit that would provide better coverage of the tank; or the lumen max reflector for the same reason - is because I would gain additional real estate for SPS pieces around the tank. (back left and back right on the pillar). another option, if i wanted to have more sps pieces (after they have grown out), might be too add some more brs pukani rock and change up the rockscape... not something i've really put much thought into though.

[Ryan S]

here is a horrible drawing of how I imagine the sps growing upward and filling the tank space in. i want the brightest sps colonies, and different colors, so the tank looks bright and colorful.

 

[CaptainRon]

here is a horrible drawing of how I imagine the sps growing upward and filling the tank space in. i want the brightest sps colonies, and different colors, so the tank looks bright and colorful.

 

 

 

Nice! Love the red. Let me know when you frag them.

[Der ABT]

did one of your fiance's students draw that???

 

Might have to use that as your signature

 

o man i needed a good laugh hahahahahahah

 

did the cream colored one fall or

Edited November 10, 2012 by Der ABT

[zygote2k]

This amazing dedicated tank thread has now hit 28,000+ views and 1200+ replies.

 

Furthermore, if you search on google with the following search strings, this thread pops up very high in the results:

"150g DD" - #1

"150g marineland DD" - #1

"150g marineland deep dimension" - #3

"150g deep dimension" - #4

 

Awesome.

This is the more realistic claim to fame for your tank. Keep it going. Maybe you'll be the number one most popular 150DD in the world.

 

 

Ryan,

 

That is a ton of frags....I didnt realize that you had that much coral in there. Everything is encrusting nicely. The first picture that you posted has 14 frags really close to each other on that main rock. Not sure if you thought about it but when they grow out are you worried about them growing into each other and killing one or the other in the process? With that amount of money you have invested, is there room to spread them out more through out the tank to kind of prevent the war fare while they are still small frags.

If you look at really nice TOTM tanks, they are well thought out in advance. You need to remember that you are an underwater gardener and corals, like plants, need to be placed in proximity to others for color and growth. Ex: Millies need to be placed with other millies, smooth skinned acros together, zoas are 'ground cover' like grasses, all of the orange corals behind a contrasting blue coral, etc.

Maybe instead of reading RC and other similar ssites, you should read books like "Nature Aquarium World" by Takashi Amano or "The Zen Gardener" ?

Your rock full of frags needs to be 'weeded out' and then the frags can be grouped together for color/form/growth.

[surf&turf]

Ryan I think your colors are looking great. I love your scape, but it kind of limits you on space. Adding some more rock is a great idea.

[Ryan S]

My clown pair like to stay on the sand bed, at the front right corner of my tank. They act like they're hosting that corner. I'd like to get them something to actually host and place it there. I'd rather not get an anemome, because I don't want it to move or kill any of my SPS. I'd also rather avoid hammer/torch LPS corals because I don't want them to sting nearby SPS, plus I used to have a torch that the clowns avoided anyway. What other options are there for these guys? Ideally something smaller, in the 3-4" range, that's stationary?

[MBVette]

they would probably host a ric garden

[Origami]

28,880 views, Ryan....

[trockafella]

Go with a sebae anemone (ritteri sp?). They are bottom dwellers and tend not to move as much.. Once upon a time I had a tank with nice sized toadstools in it and they would host in there, especially if you get a nice long polyp toadstool, but they do get kinda large. Possibly even a nice sized mushroom, like the ones Eric had for sale. The clowns will be fine without having something to host.

[Ryan S]

Go with a sebae anemone (ritteri sp?). They are bottom dwellers and tend not to move as much.. Once upon a time I had a tank with nice sized toadstools in it and they would host in there, especially if you get a nice long polyp toadstool, but they do get kinda large. Possibly even a nice sized mushroom, like the ones Eric had for sale. The clowns will be fine without having something to host.

I know they'll be fine w/o something to host, they just look stupid hosting the sand lol. I was thinking a large mushroom might be good, or one of those maxi mini carpets maybe?

[trockafella]

im suprised they are hosting one of the 317 frags..

 

Doubtful on the Maxi's. And they do like to move IME, so I would avoid those. Look into sebae anems, might be a good choice for your tank.

[Der ABT]

zoanthid garden, mushroom, ricordia garden, Green star polyps so many choices.

 

i know the one clown i have left in my main tank hosts my ORA Spongeodes colony which i find funny

 

you could always just pile a little bit of rock and throw a mushroom or some zoa's on it to make it look like the have a home

[Ryan S]

On another note. Some other "on-going" issues/things on my mind, need to be addressed in the near future. I am seeking helpful and constructive advice and opinions.

 

1) Sand. The 2 vortechs in the back are set at like 75%, and they still blow the sand around a bit. (Reason being twofold; 1) I got very small grain sand (0.5-1.5mm); and 2) 2 MP40s blowing together against the glass on the opposite side, that's only 36" away, creates a lot of flow turned downward against the sand. I want to turn the vortechs up to 100% to create the maximum amount of flow in the tank. To achieve this I am down to 2 options. 1) Replace all of my sand with a larger grain sand, such as Seaflor Special Grade Reef Sand (1.0-2.0mm); 2) Mix-in the larger grain version of the sand I currently have (Nature's Ocean Pink Samoa Sand #0), which is called Nature's Ocean Pink Samoa Gravel #2 (1.5-2.0mm). Does anyone have a suggestion here? Perhaps someone that has done this before? Is it better to replace everything, or to mix in a larger grain? (I would obviously add or remove sand slowly.)

 

2) I found another person with the same tank, 150g DD, that was heavy SPS and looked really nice. He had a single MH reflector over the top. (The $99 lumen max I was considering switching to in fact). Here are 2 photos of his tank. I don't have any FTS's after this one, but it basically grew in and looked really awesome:

 

and

 

Here is my rockwork:

and most recent fts:

Because I am not happy with the light coverage over my tank, I am considering redoing the aquascape. (For the first time since the tank has been setup, for those of you who think I changes things regularly). I would change it to be more like the photo above from the other guy's tank, IE, the rock would be more in the center of the tank, in an approx 2'x'2 square shape. This would leave a 6" space around all 4 sides of the tank, for fish to swim, for softies/LPS/rics perhaps, and for good flow around the sides. I do like my current rockscape, I think it has nice flow, and paths for fish to swim, and that draw the viewer into the tank at various angles. However, with that said, I am convinced that I would need a very large 36" T5 reflector to adequately light the entire 36"x36" area of the tank. Since I want to stick with a single 400w MH, I don't see any other option besides redoing the aquascape. Again, I am seeking helpful advice here. Should I rearrange it? Do you agree that the SPS would grow better in the middle, than on the edges of the light's penetration as it is now?

 

2.5) Reflector. I have the Lumen Bright Large reflector. I've been reading this very long thread on RC with extremely positive reviews for the reflector because it's brighter than lumenarcs and can penetrate deeper in water as a result. With that said, I am unsure if I should buy the same reflector the guy above was using (on sale at BRS right now for $88) - or keep using the lumenbright I have now. I am thinking the $88 lumen max will cover the 3'x3' area better, but won't have as good a PAR at the sand bed level, as the lumen bright would. If I move the rockwork towards the center, I am thinking I should stick with the lumen bright I have. If I leave the rockwork as it is, I think I should get the $88 lumen max. Advice/Thoughts here?

 

I am imagining over Thanksgiving weekend a tank tear-down. Replacing the entire sand bed, doing a large water change, redoing the rockwork, and hanging a new reflector above. But maybe I won't need to do all of that. So hit me with your advice and opinions. And let them be constructive please.

Edited November 16, 2012 by Ryan S

[Incredible Corals]

Most of those SPS colonies in the picture from the tank you like look like they are new maricultured peices and simply placed on the rock work. You can see the dome base that they are grown on in the pic and they are the same size they come in at from the inlands. You can get the same effect with your tank with a dozen maricultered colonies and a few wild colonies. Instant SPS tank

[Origami]

I like the idea of centering the rocks a little more just to give you some space for coral growth between the rock and the pane, but the idea that you have right now is pretty good. How about moving the arch structure on the left just a little bit to the right and pulling the piece toward the back right and making it part of the back left structure? The front left is a bit of an island, too. You'll want to move that as well.

 

For lighting, select something and stick with it a while. MH are tried and true. They also consume a lot of power and generate a lot of heat. In the wintertime, that heat is not a problem and you can get good use out of it. However, in the summertime, you'll pay more to cool the place.

 

Now, regarding the sand. In part 1, you said, "I would obviously add or remove sand slowly." But, in your closing paragraph you say, "I am imagining over Thanksgiving weekend a tank tear-down. Replacing the entire sand bed, ..." - that doesn't sound like you're taking your time. Be mindful that you don't kick off another cycle by moving too quickly.

[GraffitiSpotCorals]

I bet if you leave everything alone your corals will tell you what needs to happen. I think that 400 will grow thoes frags just fine if you let them sit for a few months. Sorry if I missed it but why would you mess with the sandbed?

[zygote2k]

Anyone ever watch "Wheel of Fortune"? someone should make a "Wheel of Ryan" and put stuff on the wheel like, Run LEDs, Run T5's, Run Mh's, Don't touch it, Bare Bottom, Re-arrange rockwork, Add Sand, Ask Steve Outlaw, Add Frags, Add Fish, etc.

[SunWyrm]

Your aquascape looks much better IMO. One of my favorites. STAHP changing stuff for awhile! Go build a frag tank or start another tank to fuss over, something...

[tpallas]

I am imagining over Thanksgiving weekend a tank tear-down. Replacing the entire sand bed, doing a large water change, redoing the rockwork, and hanging a new reflector above. But maybe I won't need to do all of that. So hit me with your advice and opinions. And let them be constructive please.

 

You really run a risk on a mini-cycle by doing this....

[Ryan S]

Anyone ever watch "Wheel of Fortune"? someone should make a "Wheel of Ryan" and put stuff on the wheel like, Run LEDs, Run T5's, Run Mh's, Don't touch it, Bare Bottom, Re-arrange rockwork, Add Sand, Ask Steve Outlaw, Add Frags, Add Fish, etc.

An example of NOT constructive. :P