Tiny 500L Mix Reef in a Tiny Island State

[Je®vis]

Hi guys

I have recently restarted 500L tank due to the following reasons:

1) To cut down on power consumption
2) To achieve a more sustainable tank (in terms of maintenance at least)
3) To be less stressful (my previous full tank of SPS gave me a lot of stress)
4) Simply getting a bit bored :o So a change in concept will rejuvenate the hobby

I have been trying very hard to cut my power consumption (aka carbon footprint) by 50%... well I am pretty close I guess.

Oh yeah, I am residing in a tiny island state of Singapore (south of Malaysia and Thailand) and the currency shown is in Singapore dollars 1 USD = 1.43 SGD

More pix to come... look forward to the support from this amazing forum :D

[Je®vis]

Here's my equipment list and power management table ;)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/190103.jpg

[Je®vis]

Here's my latest full tank shot (just added the clip-on 150W MH yesterday) :lol:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/190104.jpg

[Me No Nemo]

Looks great! Very nice aquascape!

[Je®vis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11635068#post11635068 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Me No Nemo
Looks great! Very nice aquascape!
Thanks!

Here's how I work on my rockscape... using artificial rocks (made of fibreglass)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/010102.jpg

I arranged them inside my dried tank and after I've gotten the right configuration, I glued the rocks outside the tank.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/010106.jpg

[Je®vis]

Found silicone to be the most suitable for the job (since I can cure them outside water for more than 24 hours).

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/010101.jpg

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/010108.jpg

Also applied the silicone elsewhere :lol: :lol: :lol:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/020101.jpg

[Je®vis]

And because there was no live rocks involved... I prepared my salt mix inside the tank (before adding the live sand)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/020107.jpg

Once the water reached the desired salinity... I added a couple of bags of Black Live Sand :rolleye1:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/030102.jpg

[Je®vis]

The tank cycled for a while... in total darkness (I wrapped the tank with cardboard)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/040103.jpg

Tank shown in temporary working lamp... as I finalize the lighting fixture/s.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/040104.jpg

[ReefingBuddha]

nice progress... I really like the way the rock work came out. Are you going to use live rock in the sump for biological filtration?

[thor32766]

love the aquascaping great job so far.

[boris MAC]

Nice work. Very interested at how thenk perofrm with artifical resin rocks?
You might have some info on this rocks? Or show us some tank with 100% resin rocks?

[zooloo]

i like the black sand really makes the stuff pop..

[itstheantitang]

You did a great job with the rocks...

In my own tank I have somewhat of an "arch" or "span" of rock as you do.

[Je®vis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11649740#post11649740 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thirschmann
nice progress... I really like the way the rock work came out. Are you going to use live rock in the sump for biological filtration?
Thanks! Actually I restarted the main tank while retaining the old sump... the sump has been running for 1+ years. As you can see from the pix below, I do not have any LR inside my sump... but I retained the 1 year old DSB (6" x 6" x 18").

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/220101.jpg

[Je®vis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11651426#post11651426 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by boris MAC
Nice work. Very interested at how thenk perofrm with artifical resin rocks?
You might have some info on this rocks? Or show us some tank with 100% resin rocks?
I do not have much info on this brand of artificial rock... the LFS has a very large tank using these rocks on their SPS display... looking gorgeous and been running for years... that's all it takes to convince me... I did buy a small piece to do various tests on it before committing.

[Je®vis]

I have been constantly monitoring the NO2 and NO3 levels... both at safe range... still waiting for NO2 to reach zero (colourless)... right now at a very minimal level of 0.05ppm

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/070102.jpg

Got my Arctica chiller serviced by the agent... before connecting the main tank to the sump :)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/070101.jpg

To avoid confusion, here's what I did in a nutshell:
1) Decom the main tank while still running the sump
2) Restarted and cycle the main tank (without affecting the sump, still running independently)
3) Once the cycling is over... connect them all!

[Je®vis]

I fired the Calcium Reactor about 1 1/2 weeks ago... I played with CR before... that helped tremendously in setting up this one... very smoothly ;)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/100103.jpg

[Je®vis]

Some gadgets for my CR :D

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/150106.jpg

[Je®vis]

Decided to give the Tunze Wavebox a try this time... very impressive :eek1:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/th_MOV07151.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/?action=view&current=MOV07151.flv)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/th_MOV07382.jpg (http://s271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/?action=view&current=MOV07382.flv)

Love the wave effect :D

[Je®vis]

For the return... I ordered a Wavysea from RC's sponsor, www.marinedepot.com :)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/220113.jpg

[Je®vis]

This little gadget is surprisingly easy to install... love it :rollface:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/220114.jpg

[Je®vis]

I have more-or-less finish featuring all my hardwares... now let's move on to fun stuff :lol:

Here's the middle section of my tank with my favourite Whiskers Coral (Duncan) in the foreground :)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/230104.jpg

A new Sea Fan added yesterday... already blooming... a good sign indeed :)

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/230105.jpg

Appreciate your views and suggestions :bounce1: :bounce3: :bounce2:

[invincible569]

Very cool build and great ideas.

[Je®vis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11669176#post11669176 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by invincible569
Very cool build and great ideas.
Thanks! Will post more pix later :rolleyes:

[Je®vis]

Found an intense LPS today... what's the scientific name for this specimen? Locally we call it Red Prata :p

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/240106.jpg

[aspinn]

nice setup bud, i love the black sand!, whats your total stock at? and how long has it been running? but well done layout is really nice =) and i have no idea what that last coral is, never seen it before haha looks cool =)

[Je®vis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11678932#post11678932 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by aspinn
nice setup bud, i love the black sand!, whats your total stock at? and how long has it been running? but well done layout is really nice =) and i have no idea what that last coral is, never seen it before haha looks cool =)
Thanks for the kind words... the display tank is slightly more than 1 month (restarted) but the sump tank has been running for more than 1 year.

Will share my fish list later.

Here's another shot of this red beast :mad2:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250105.jpg

[Je®vis]

My current fish list:
1 x Powder Blue Tang (from previous setup)
1 x Black Tang (from previous setup)
6 x Anthias
4 x Ocellaris Clownfish
1 x Algae Blenny
1 x Pipefish (from previous setup)
2 x Banggai Cardinal (from previous setup)

Here's a night shot with 1 x ATI Blue Plus + 1 x ATI True Actinic.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250110.jpg

[Je®vis]

Acquired this Red Bubble Tip Anemone from a fellow reefer here.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250101.jpg

Hopefully my 4 Ocellaris Clownfish will make it their home soon :(

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/220109.jpg

[Je®vis]

Some night shots... enjoy :p

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250112.jpg

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250111.jpg

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250113.jpg

[Je®vis]

Received a surprise from the US yesterday... I didn't know the parcel will travel via Anchorage :eek:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250106.jpg

Due to the long distance travel (which will take 2 full days)... I will only be able to order Zoas/Palys and Rics/Mushrooms as they can survive well.

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/250107.jpg

[makoJ]

Nice tank love the rock work!

[Je®vis]

I scratched my tank :eek: :eek: :eek:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/260101.jpg

Any idea how I can eliminate (or at least reduce the visual impact)? My tank is made of common float glass (12mm) Thanks!

[Je®vis]

Any suggestion? :(

[cbui2]

i don't believe that can be fix at all :(

[Je®vis]

How about a product like this?

http://www.glassscratchrepair.co.uk/how-use.htm

[cbui2]

i never use that before, my friend owned a glass company and said once it scratch its very hard to removed.

[Je®vis]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11706978#post11706978 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cbui2
i never use that before, my friend owned a glass company and said once it scratch its very hard to removed.
Yeah I'm sure it's gonna be quite a task... will source for something useful and try on a small piece of glass before attempting it on my tank :D Will update you guys :p

[Je®vis]

Here's the highlight from my US coral shipment... 2 pieces of red Rhodactis sanctithomae... almost impossible to find in LFS here :mad2:

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/290111.jpg

Both polyps been opening very well... love the bubbles :rolleyes:

[Je®vis]

After 5 days... my Red Bubble Tip Anemone decided to move around... and transformed into long sweeping tentacles... will continue to monitor it closely in the coming days :(

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/290101.jpg

[erics3000]

Sweet build...

[ipodhommie]

any updates

[pco1988]

Nice tank, love look of the rock work!

[saltycreefer]

Not sure you guys identified the red coral. Cynarina Deshayesiana, meat coral. IMO. Looks super nice by the way.

[saltycreefer]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11675225#post11675225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Je®vis
Found an intense LPS today... what's the scientific name for this specimen? Locally we call it Red Prata :p

http://i271.photobucket.com/albums/jj128/jervis2020/240106.jpg

Meant this one.