MVlk's Solana 34

[MVlk]

Welcome to my new build thread! I previously had a great 125 in-wall reef tank that was just over 9 months old. (125 Build Thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1597323) ) It had just gotten to the point of good stability and new SPS corals were coming along nicely. Then I was forced to pursue a new career when I was laid off. This in turn necessitated putting my current house on the market. The big tank was more then I wanted to deal with while selling and moving. So, I decided to down size to the Solana 34. I have always liked the thought of having a nano and the Solana 34 is a very nice size and design.

I started ordering various parts a few weeks ago and the tank/stand/light finally arrived this afternoon. I got lucky and did not have some of the shipping damage issues others have had. Mine was shipped via a freight service and arrived in one piece. I have not done a water test yet, but no visible cracks.

I just finished building the stand and getting the light in place. With luck ( ...and the cooperation of my sleeping children) I hope to clean the tank, configure the back area and get it wet tonight. Tomorrow I will transfer substrate and live rock from my 125.

I'll detail more of the build and future plans soon. I will be transforming the rear to a refugium with live rubble and some cheato. A short list of my equipment is:

- Sapphire Aquatics Skimmer
- Vortech MP10 (Will try to find a dry dock for it)
- Digital Aquatics ReefKeeper Elite ( SL2, PC4 x 2, MLC, NET )
- Nova Extreme Pro ( I had this on my old 125 and had great results)
- ... Other misc pieces including a nano refugium light

Initial Dry Setup: (Using a American DJ power strip inside till I get final RKE pieces shipped... need to frost the door also)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0278.jpg

Misc Pictures of Equipment:

Skimmer:
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_SapphireAquaticsSkimmer.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=SapphireAquaticsSkimmer.jpg)http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_SapphireAquaticsSkimmer-BreakingIn.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=SapphireAquaticsSkimmer-BreakingIn.jpg)

Mag-Rock:
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_Mag-RockFront.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=Mag-RockFront.jpg)http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_Mag-RockBack.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=Mag-RockBack.jpg)http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_Mag-RockTempInOldTank.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=Mag-RockTempInOldTank.jpg)

Vortech MP10: (Need to find a source for a dry dock)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_VortechMP10.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=VortechMP10.jpg)

... More to come soon hopefully

[want2reef]

Wow, you got everything together fast.

Good luck with your build.

[mixer911]

lookin good Michael. Get some water in it.

[demeyer2]

Looks great, I am getting my Solana 25 ready and am also looking for a Dry Dock for my MP10.

[SpankythePyro]

Nice! Skimmer cup in 2nd pic looks like its busted though

[Felix1021]

Nice toys you have there already.
Signed on to the build...
f.

[NeveSSL]

Wow! Nice, man. This is going to be an awesome tank. I love your selection of equipment. :)

Brandon

[MVlk]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15680650#post15680650 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SpankythePyro
Nice! Skimmer cup in 2nd pic looks like its busted though
Good eye on the collection cup. It came cracked due to shipping. I called Kyle at Sapphire Aquatics and he sent a new one right out. It has arrived and is in place now. Great customer service and good looking product!

From what I have read, they are great skimmers. I had the skimmer breaking in on my 125 and it starting pulling nice skim within 24 hours. Finally got the new tank wet and had to shut it off. It was producing too many bubbles and overflowing no matter how I had it set. Need to figure that out and get it running.

I just have the sand and the base rock structure in right now. I am playing with the water level and heater settings. Once I have those dialed in I will also be figuring out what I want in the middle/refugium section of the back.

Still a long list of things to do, but at least it is wet. I'll hopefully move over my two clowns and corals from the old system tomorrow. I'll hopefully post a photo tonight after the kids are asleep.

[SDB2224]

Nice build thread interested what it will look like with everything in it i like my solana very cool all in one tanks.

[MVlk]

I was a little too tired to do much work tonight, but did get some done and could not resist posting a picture on its born date.

I installed the Vortech temporarily on the left side till I can find/make a dry box. Got the heater installed an dialed in. Everything is on manual for now. Still need to wait for my new modules to crank up the RKE. My old RKL is still in use on the old 125 which still has my remaining live stock in it. I may transfer it over temporarily when I move stuff over in the next day or so.

I am possibly thinking of waiting till Monday to transfer the clowns and coral over. That way I have time to tinker and tweak without further upsetting things. Would be best, but the whole patience thing is so dang hard in this hobby.

Rock work is still in progress and detailed below. I am unsure of the amount of sand I put in at this time. Seems too much, but am not sure what type of Goby like fish I will add next and it may need the deeper base. I will leave it for now.

I am still getting used to the Nano size and rimless tank idea. When I cleaned the glass earlier, I must have sloshed water 4 or 5 times.

Here are my tank birth shots. It was so nice to actually be able to take a full tank shot so easily.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0281.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0282.jpg

Here are some closeups of the rock foundation. Was going for a V like base I will build on top off with my existing corals. the two ends hang out ~4" and have nearly that much height. Will put some lower light corals there like a Sun coral I have on hold with a friend.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0283.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0284.jpg

[mixer911]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15682497#post15682497 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MVlk
I am still getting used to the Nano size and rimless tank idea. When I cleaned the glass earlier, I must have sloshed water 4 or 5 times.




:lol: good luck, you will never get used to the water over the edge..... Its just one of the PITA's with rimless, but worth it for the look :D

[MVlk]

Not sure if I will stick with rimless or will buy the canopy top for it. I believe it has nicer glass top as the stock one is kind of a PITA.

---

Tested the water this morning and everything was still looking good. I am not expecting much of a cycle since this was a straight move from my old tank. If I have one, hopefully it will be small since I really needed to move everything over so I could break down the old one. We are in the final round of negotiations with a buyer for the house and they do not want the old tank. I need to break it down fully in the next few days so I can patch the wall. Fun!

Since the water looked good and I needed to rush things a bit, I transferred everything over this afternoon. Did a quick job on the aquascaping. I am sure I'll change a little and will be moving the tank to a new house on 10/15 if all goes well. I am pretty happy with how it looks. Main change needed is to move the Kenya tree to the other side as it is getting too much flow from the Vortech even with the reef crest mode turned down a bit. I have the Mag-Rock in place so it can grow some Coraline. May not place anything on it for a while as I intend to put a few SPS frags on it... that will be a while before that occurs.

Other progress includes firing up the skimmer. Spoke with Kyle at Saphirre Aquatics and instructed me to restrict the airflow a bit to tune it down. He said this is a common issue with Oceanic salt and with new tanks. I installed a air valve before the silencer and am dialing it in now. I also added some Purigen and cheato to the 2nd chamber. Not working to well right now as I really need to build something to hold it all in place. The Purigen bag just floats around with the cheato. I really wish I could find a media chamber to pop in. I may have to DIY something.

I also mounted the RKE to the right side of the stand. Currently it is hooked to nothing as I am still waiting on all my new modules. If I break down the old tank on Monday, I will put the existing PC4 on the RKE and get the basic going till my second PC4, SL2 and MLC modules arrive.

Also waiting on adding my new Helfrichi Firefish that my LFS is holding for me. Although it will be sooner than ideal, probably will do so early next week if my parameters hold. After that, the next fish will be some type of Goby in a few weeks. I am still debating on a Blue Spotted Jawfish or some Goby and Shrimp pair. I want to balance my choice between something that will do a good job cleaning up the sand and something really cool. I'll take all suggestions. :)

Day 2 Shots. Micro bubbles galore as work on the skimmer/2nd chamber.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-11-2009FTS.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-11-2009Close.jpg

[AdrianBryce]

Looking real good. I bet it is even more of a stunner in person.

[ZachB]

Looks nice dude. Congrats

[Felix1021]

lovn the clowns n' that hang rock on the false wall
f.

[ALH]

Nice set up so far! What is that on your pump outlet?

[MVlk]

Thanks all.

ALH: I took off the stock loc-lines and put on a Hydor flow deflector. Between that and the Vortech, I have plenty of nice and random flow. I've had to tune the Vortech down a ways at this point. May bump it up again when I add SPS, but the flow is really great.

[MVlk]

I think have temporarily solved my second chamber config issues. I put the stock blue sponge in the first tray, cheato under it and then a Marineland Rite-Size A cartridge holding the Purigen bag down. Seems to work well. I may add a bag of Chemi-Pure soon. This setup should work well until I can add a media rack to make it a little easier to do weekly (or biweekly) maintenance.

I am still seeing micro bubbles in the tank, but I think the skimmer just needs to run for a couple of days. As per my post in the Solana owners thread, if anyone has any advice to eliminate the, let me know.

[poolkeeper1]

Looks real nice, Clean lines and good design go a long way to make this a very desirable set up. I'm sure you will have it looking like a million bucks in no time. Great start and good luck with all your plans.
Bill

[MVlk]

Thanks Bill. Truly means a lot coming from you.

[Nataliek2270]

Very nice! I really like your clowns, I can't wait to see it fill out!

[MVlk]

Thanks Natalie.

--

I am really enjoying this new tank. I just cannot wait till my RKE orders arrive. The next order comes in on the 18th. Has what I need to at least get my ATO going. Unfortunately, it does not include the temp probe so I have to keep relying on the heater... which I hate. That is what I get for hasty planning. Will try calling DA and see if they can remove the Salinity probe from the last order and get it out the door ASAP.

[KevinYates]

did you get the Mag-rock from somewhere or did you make it?

[MVlk]

I got it from Aqua-Mags (http://www.aqua-mags.com/)

[MVlk]

Before anyone else says it, yes, I know I added this new fish in too soon. I had bought a Helfrichi's Firefish at my LFS a few weeks back when I thought my new tank would arrive earlier and had time to be up for longer. However I just had to bring it home today and not leave the poor thing in the LFS tank any longer. Also did not want to wear out my good will with the owner who has held him for a while.

Anyways, what is done is done. My water parameters are still looking good so it is in. My clowns have not bullied it and it seems to be doing fine.

Helfrichi's Firefish (Not yet named, maybe Ophelia?) Seems to be camera shy. Is fine when I am near, but moves from the camera.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-13-2009HelfrichisFirefish2.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-13-2009HelfrichisFirefish1.jpg

Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish from my previous 125 (Barack & Obama) Not camera shy!

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-13-2009BlackWhiteOcellarisClownf.jpg

[F.D.B]

Where did the mag rock come from that is hanging on the back wall? I like the Idea of it could be used for some cool things.

[F.D.B]

Also very nice so far cant wait to see how this goes for you.

[NeveSSL]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15698771#post15698771 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by F.D.B
Where did the mag rock come from that is hanging on the back wall? I like the Idea of it could be used for some cool things.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15695177#post15695177 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by MVlk
I got it from Aqua-Mags (http://www.aqua-mags.com/)

Couple of posts back. :)

Brandon

[g35mike]

looks good

[g35mike]

looks good

[murphreef]

nice setup keep us updated as you add more things

[MVlk]

Thank you all for the nice comments. Going to be an even slower build as I will not add anything more till it is moved to the new house ~10/15. I will resist!

Slower day yesterday and today as far as progress goes. Yesterday I spent most of my time doing the final breakdown of the old 125 and 150 Rubbermaid sump. I got all the water drained and remaining gravel and base rock removed. Almost time to patch the hole in the wall from it. Fun!

Yesterday I did do a little work on the Solana. Since the 125 is now completely down, I put my old RKL onto the Solana to at least control the heater and pumps to make standby available for feedings. I could not use the existing PC4 on the new RKE since the temp probe from the RKL will not work with the RKE. :( I really wanted to get better control of the heater since the tank has been running one or two degrees higher than I wanted.

While putting the RKL in place, I also labeled all the cords to make putting the RKE in easier. I also hooked up the start of my ATO. Simple 2.5 gallon container with a Aqua Lifter. Pump is manually operated for now. Once my float switches and second PC4 arrive on Monday, I will be able to automate it fully.

No real progress today. Looked at some new homes most of the day and the wife is out of town so the kids will keep me busy. I probably will be too lazy to do much once they are asleep.

Temporary Cabinet Setup (I am intending to do a lot of cleanup. Possibly mounting the RKE modules on some boards painted black. Also may use a different top off container. Will see...)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/TempSetupInCabinet.jpg

ReefKeeper Elite Mounted on Side (Will need to keep the unit in lock mode to prevent children from messing things up)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/ReefkeeperEliteMountedOnSide.jpg

[MVlk]

Been a week since my last post and have gotten a number of things done and have some updates.

Sadly, my Helfrichi's Firefish has disappeared. Not sure what happened to it. This happened about 6 days after I added it. The night before it was hanging on the bottom a bit more than I'd like to see. Next morning and since, no signs of it. I still had the glass top on but there are some small areas in the front corner it could have jumped out of. Cat could have cleaned up the body from there. May have also just died. I thought I saw some carcass looking thing floating on the bottom but it looked to small and cleaned up for the fish. I did not have crabs in at the time only a pep shrimp. Anyway, lesson learned. Too soon to have added it even though it looks like no cycle has/will occur.

All but the float switch kit arrived from Digital Aquatics. I have the SL2 hooked up. pH probe still needs to be calibrated. Temp probe took a little effort to get reading correctly as the calibration values on the SL2 where corrupted. Next day the temp started reading 150. I got in touch with DA and they shipped out a replacement probe 3 day air. I will be happy to have that working so I can get my heater back under RKE control. I'll tackle the salinity probe in a few days and will probably wait to setup the NET module till after I move.

2 Blue moonlight pods are attached the MLC module. For now, I set them to 100% intensity and not on Lunar cycle. Moon phase has not been conducive to good night time viewing. Once the tank is going for a while and I add more stuff, I may switch it back to the lunar cycle. The pods are mounted to the splash guard of my NEP light. They are so small, they are barely noticeable. I have the cords running over the light to insure they can not fall in the tank. Picture below of mounting. Will see if I can get a good shot tonight with them on. They really make some of the corals pop.

Today I tackled making the screen for the top. A fellow reefer in my club gave me some extra netting to make it. (Thanks Bill!) Bought some frame parts from Lowes. Only came in brown, but you can not really tell it is not black. I think it turned out nice and looks very clean. Pictures below.

All in all, the tank is doing very well. Everything minus the Helfrichi's Firefish is thriving. Already seeing some growth and Coraline is showing on the Mag-Rock. Also picked up a dozen Nassarius snails and an Emerald crab to round out the CUC. Got the Emerald because I noticed two small bubbles on one of my rocks. They have always done the trick previously.

09-23-2009 FTS
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-23-2009FTS.jpg

ReefKeeper Elite Mounted On Side Active
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/ReefkeeperEliteMountedOnSideActive.jpg

Tank Top Screen Out
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/TankTopScreenOut.jpg

Tank Top Screen In Place (You can just barely see the lunar lights on the main light... these things are small but bright!)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/TankTopScreenInPlace.jpg

[CHEMCHEF]

good luck with your tank. I just set up my Solana Last night.
The only issue I am having is finding a good light that is 20 "

[MVlk]

I really like the NEP. Low heat and power usage compared to a metal halide. I had the 72" version on my old tank and was having good growth and color with all my corals including SPS. Only thing I do not like about the smaller version is for now you are stuck with the stock bulbs. I'd love to see bulb manufactures other than Current-USA make them in this size.

[mhills16]

good looking tank mike!

[wastememphis]

Tank looks good Michael, I'm setting one up with similar equipment. Do you have a picture of your lunar lights under the T5's? Any problems with the lights touching? Any night shots?

[MVlk]

Thanks Neil, I'll take some additional shots and upload them tonight.

[Felix1021]

so you didn't drill it i see.
regardless, i like the way this tank is going.
nice job man!
f.

[MVlk]

Felix1021, Drill for what? Overflows? I have not done so. Keeping it simple for now.

Neil, I did a quick and simple mount with that douple sided tape you can easily pull away. Could come up with something fancier I suppose, but I wanted them on right away. Also, you can barely see the pods when looking at the tank from normal viewing angles, let alone the mounts.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/LunarPodInstallation.jpg

Pods are 100% intensity here.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/09-24-2009FTSwithLunarPods.jpg

[wastememphis]

So those are lights that are sold specially for the RKE system? Those look cool, suprisingly bright for just two bulbs!

[MVlk]

The are specific for the RKE or RKL controllers. There are two LED's per pod and I have the standard two that come with the Lunar module. They are very bright and make the corals fluoresce.

[MyMonkey]

Coming along very nicely. :) Considering one of these for myself.

[DaddyReefer12]

very nice set up, looks really good i like the way you set up the rock. good luck with your new set up

[MVlk]

Coming along very nicely. :) Considering one of these for myself.

Thanks. So far I have no reservations recommending them. It is a nice sized tank to work with.

[MVlk]

very nice set up, looks really good i like the way you set up the rock. good luck with your new set up

I am hoping the over hanging parts will provide nice shade for a sun coral I will add in about a month. The tank moves to my new house in about two weeks and I will see how the rock goes back together.

[Hoosier daddy]

How did you make the screen top for the tank?

[MVlk]

Screen is standard screen parts from Lowes made using regular screen building techniques. The actual netting is some stuff a fellow reefer (Shout out to Bill! :) )picked up for some folks in out club. It is nice coated ~1/4 inch stuff. Screen rests on the stock clips for the glass top.

[SpankythePyro]

thats the modern stand right not the modern espresso?

[MVlk]

It is Modern Black I believe. Their color choices are a bit confusing.

[MVlk]

Been quite a while since my last post. Finally sold my house and have moved into a new one. I am grateful for my downsize to the Solana 34. I can not imagine a move with a larger tank. Thanks to Andywe, the move was relatively stress free for me an the inhabitants.

Here is the current FTS

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0406.jpg

Did some regular maintenace today. Water change, Swaped in fresh Purigen/ChemiClean, mounted some new corals including the Metallic Green Frogspawn and other misc tasks.

Wide shot of the tank. I have moved the RKE head unit to the wall from the side of the tank. Much easier to work with it. Also, since the fish closet is right behind the tank, makes for easy wiring through the wall.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0391.jpg

Shot form the side. Shows the RKE again and also the two pass through holes in the wall to the fish closet. I have power cords in one hole and RKE probe and other lower voltage in the other.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0399.jpg

Fish closet shot. Still have a lot of organizing to do. Need to cleanup cables and mount the remaining RKE modules. At least the are off the ground and out of danger of spills!

Shot shows the gravity drip system I bought. Could have done a DIY cheaper, but sometimes I just want it quick and easy. I have fresh water in there with some pickling lime. I have it on a very slow drip and it takes care of most of my top off needs. Still doing supplimental top off manually for now even though I have the DA float switch kit setup. The float switches just trigger the alarm once or twice a day and I add a quarter to half a cup of water.

My next major project is likely to be a sump/refugium in here. It will sit where the drip system is now. Will feed it via a MJ600 or such from the 2nd chamber of the DT. Will gravity feed back with a 2nd return for backup. Will put a float switch in there for added protection. Not sure on how fancy I will make it. Would like at least to move the cheato and some rocks in there. Ideally would like a area for media to go. May just run a reactor from it though. Also thinking of doing miracle mud... will see.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0398.jpg

Sun Coral. (Thx again Andywe!) Was on the fence about these after I added them initially. I love them more and more every day. They are staying open more and more and have been pretty easy to feed. I bought one of those extend-able sea squirt feeders. The tip is two small for mysis shrimp as it comes, but with a little cutting and sand paper on the tip, the hole size is perfect for feedings. I makes target feeding very easy for these and other corals.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0405.jpg

Metallic Green Frogspawn. My LFS recently took two frags of this from the show tank. Is very stunning in person with beautiful color. I am glad I happened in shortly after they were made available.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0395.jpg

Some other misc thumbnails you can click on. One is of a frag of Tubbs Blues Zoas I picked up (Thx Brandon!). They are staying closed now since I added the frogspawn and re-aquascaped the other day. They seem to be opening more now and I am hoping I did not loose them.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0400.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0400.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0397.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0397.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0396.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0396.jpg)

[ronone10]

Michael, in the your picture with the wires coming through the wall, the black grommet or whatever it's call...where did you get? I have a 20L refugium gravity feed to my Solana from the garage. I have a 3/4 " pvc pipe coming out and into the top of the Solana. I want to clean up the hole and the black grommet would help a lot.

thanks... Ron

[MVlk]

The hole cover is a standard one from Home Depot or Lowes. They come in ~1" or ~2" sizes and are generally used for cleaning up holes made in desks/workstations for running cables. They are in the screw area and I have always seen them in the big sets of drawers with misc fasteners etc. They do a nice job of cleaning the look up. Be sure you have an appropriate size hole saw so they fit in the hole nicely.

[ronone10]

Thanks Michael...forgot to mention I like your landscape...

[MVlk]

Time for some updates. I have acquired some new inhabitants, moved things around a bit and continued the overall build. I'll probably do a couple of separate posts today.

First is I finally got around to finishing off the glass door on the stock Solana stand. Based on other owner's projects, I bought a piece of frosted drop ceiling panel plastic. It was cheap and since I bought a cracked piece, it cost under $3. I cut it to size and just inserted it behind the existing glass. Due to the fish closet behind, I have nothing really under the stand, but it gives it a nicer look I think.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0407.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0407.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0408.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0408.jpg)

Now for a recent FTS from 12/4/2009. Some new aquascaping done for new corals and add a couple of new pieces of live rock to fill it in. I probably still need 2-3 more pieces but will wait for new corals to do so.

Two new Candy canes added along with a very nice 4 head Duncan. One of the Candy Canes is a very nice Neon variety that I am coral sitting for some good friends. Hopefully it will grow enough to frag and stay.

Added a Yellow Watchman Goby and just the other day I brought home a Orange Pistol Shrimp to be her friend. So far they do not seem to be hooking up. I think the Pistol actually kicked the Goby out of her burrow. Time will see. Also added a nice Coral Beauty. So far after 3 weeks, it is a very good citizen. My Six Line likes to follow it around like a little brother.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0409.jpg

The bottom is getting a bit cluttered. Some corals are temporarily placed while the adjust and others like the hairy mushroom probably need to go.

Some misc closeups and other shots.

Ric Rock. Hope to add some additional rarer pieces soon.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0412.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0412.jpg)

My Tubb's Blues. Good growth with 5-6 new polyps in the past month.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0414.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0414.jpg)

Some purple zoas. They are actually a very nice lavender color but I can not get the color balance to show that.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0415.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0415.jpg)

Neon Candy Cane I am coral sitting... grow baby grow!
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0416.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0416.jpg)

Nice Duncan I bought. 4 nice heads showing good growth.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0417.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0417.jpg)

Unknown coral. SPS? There are 8 petals at each tip. They retract fully into the stony base.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0419.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0419.jpg)

A shot from the right side. This is approx what I see each night when watching TV.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0421.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0421.jpg)

A second followup post with several equipment changes and the start of my 10 gallon refugium build.

[MVlk]

Next update is on my ATO. For a while I have been just manually adding fresh water once or twice a day since I do not get much evaporation.

I have had the DA float switch kit for a some time now and hooked it up a couple of months ago. Initially I just had the switches set to an alarm and I would still manually top off.

Within the last two weeks I finally got of my butt and actually finished off the system. I am using a 5 gallon tank as a reservoir with an Aqua Lifter to pump. My RKE controls the system based on the switches installed in the third/return section of the display. The switches are in series with one reversed for a high level cutoff protection. I do not plan on adding a low switch in the reservoir as I am in the closet all the time and can easily see when I need to add to it. It also has more than enough for a while.

I am still also doing a slow drip of kalk from a Kent Aqua Doser. While it is a simple design, I am not happy. I have a hard time setting the drip slow enough to not exceed evaporation. I just checked and my level in the rear of the display is a little high. I'd like to get a cheap kalk stirrer to put in line after the Aqua Lifter. I need to find a cheap used one as I do not want to DIY something.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0423.jpg

[MVlk]

Now for the final update for today. While I love the AIO design of the Solana, the space is a bit confining and I wanted to move the refugium and chemical filtration out of the back of the display. Since I have a fish closet in back of the tank, I have been planning a refugium. I do not want to drill the DT or use an overflow kit. The solution I am planning is a refugium above the DT and in the closet.

Here is a rough in shot before I started to finalize the return plumbing.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0425.jpg

I decided on my plumbing arrangement for the return as seen below. The bulkhead is 3/4" which will be plenty for my planned 1/2" intake fed by a Maxi-Jet 600. The 3/4" tubing is a bit large and stiff to feed nicely back into the DT so I decided to split it into two 1/2" returns. The 1/2" tubing will feed under the rear compartment cover on the DT and under the screen I have made without modifications.

Here is a water test shot of the returns. Also did a leak test prior to this shot and everything ran well. The return kept up with the Maxi-Jet 600 without issue.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0429.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0429.jpg)

I am leaning towards adding some baffles inside for future flexibility. Will probably add two on the intakes side to leave an area for doing some chemical filtration. I will probably add three before the return for a traditional bubble trap.

I will speak to some of my MTRC club members on a estimated cost of making something custom from acrylic. Depending on cost, I may add a media basket like feature in the intake section to drop in some Purigen and ChemiPure I currently have in the bottom of the second chamber in the DT. While I have a nice BRS dual reactor sitting in my garage doing nothing, I think it is overkill for now.

Here are some other misc pictures of the build process.

I'd like to say the use of the 45 is for some technical design reason, it is only because that is all I had in my parts bin. Does look cool though!
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0427.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0427.jpg)

Closeup of the return split.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0428.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0428.jpg)

Tank back in closet reversed to plan out baffle positions. Even with a 2 and 3 standard config, I have 9"+ left for refugium space.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0430.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0430.jpg)

Lastly, a big thanks to Bill for helping to drill the tank. That was a nervous few minutes! Also thanks to Andy for swapping me the tank.

[wastememphis]

Looking good! Are you changing the skimmer or moving it with the new water volume?

[MVlk]

I'll keep the Sapphire as is for now. I think the 9" depth in the refugium will be too shallow. In the future I may but a small hang on skimmer and then sell the Sapphire.

I'd love to have it out for easier maintenance and then I could use that chamber, maybe even for the feed pump to the refugium. I have yet to finalize where the input pump and return lines will go.

[NeveSSL]

Wow! Its looking great, Michael!

Glad to see the Tub's are doing well for you. :)

Brandon

[MVlk]

Brandon, they are indeed. Thanks for them and the comments.

[VandyTime]

Mike, I like the "you know what" out of this setup! Gonna be hard to top that 125 build though. :)

[MVlk]

Thx Vandytime. I already like this build better than the 125. The in wall with huge fish room was nice, but was just too much and never seemed complete. Except for cleaning up the wiring in the closet, this one is already done and looking good. Everything I am doing now and will do is just gravy. :)

I really need to find a good wire management system to hide the cables in my closet. I was hoping to find some of the 3-4" stuff I have used in the past under computer desks etc. It is a U Channel with teeth on the sides. A cover than goes over the top to finish the look. I have yet to find this locally though.

[MVlk]

Actually, found what I was looking for in wire management... Gonna order something like this today. It will greatly improve the look of the closet.

http://cableorganizer.com/wire-duct/economical-wiring-duct.html

[nirvanaandtool]

Love the progress you've made. Tank looks great.
Nice work and good luck with the fuge setup!

[MVlk]

nirvanaandtool (http://reefcentral.com/forums/member.php?u=222829), Thx, I did a strees test on my shelf unit this afternnon with two 5 gallon jugs of water. The results were not encouraging. The shelf deflected too much for my tastes. While the silicone on my baffles are setting up, I am going to build a new wood shelf in place. This will also allow me to lower the height by a few inches and gain some room to work with the refugium.

As silly as it may seem, I am most excited about ordering the cable management track. This will really make the close look clean.

[MVlk]

Quick update. While gluing one of the baffles I applied too much pressure near the drilled hole while smoothing the silicone out. The tank cracked. :( My LFS drilled a new one for me and I hope to pick it up tomorrow to start again.

This did allow me time to get the new shelf for it installed. My cable management track came and I finished cleaning things up this morning. All the fish stuff is nice and clean now. Still a few misc wires for other things in the closet but I think it is a huge improvement.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0451.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0451.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0452.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0452.jpg) ... Old wiring mess :( http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0398.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0398.jpg)

... and the new :)

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0455.jpg

[MVlk]

Quick update. Picked up a new 10 gallon this morning after the first cracked. Almost done putting the baffles in place with silicone. For now I think I am going to just put two in after the intake before the refugium. The refugium will then drain back to the DT. I do not believe micro bubbles will be an issue if I put a skimmer in the first section. If they are, I can deal with them in another way or add them later.

I installed the raised baffle fist so I could get a good bead on both sides. The second baffle is secured only on one side except for the bottom which I pushed down into a bead. I used 1/2" PVC scraps to space the baffles out. I did not tape out the area or attempt to clean it up with a razor blade. I did not think it necissary since it is going in a closet and I used a thin enough bead as to not get to messy.


http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0481.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0481.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0482.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0482.jpg)

[powers2001]

Nice cave and 6er.

[MVlk]

powers2001 thx. The cave has worked out really well. My sun coral is very happy in it and the other critters hang out in it sometimes as well.

...

On a side note. Did a small scale leak test on the baffles and they seem to hold water. I added a second layer of silicone on the lowered baffle just for good measure. I'll let it cure till tomorrow evening and then run a full scale leak test like I did originally.

The worst part will be waiting. After the silicone has 2 days to cure I will not be able to get it functioning yet. Going out of town soon for a bit and it probably would be a bad idea to leave a new setup like this unattended so soon.

I am thinking of feeding this now via a reactor. Maybe feed something like a Phosban reactor with carbon and GFO from the DT and then into the intake area? Kill two birds with one stone.

[cherubfish pair]

Michael, do you feed your corals?

[MVlk]

I do feed some of my corals. I alternate every other day doing mysis shrimp and reef chili. I mainly hit the sun corals and duncans with the shrimp. Same with the reef chili but I tend to get a few of the others with that as well. I do not target feed the frogspawn as it seems to be doing great without. I have been thinking about doing some zoo or phyto regiments as well but have not bought a bottle yet. Everything seems to grow well with my current feedings.

[SawdustInTank]

MVlk,
I like the way you cleaned up the wires. Great job!

[MVlk]

SawdustInTank (http://reefcentral.com/forums/member.php?u=127761), Thx. It is in a closet, but still makes a big difference.

[RFD4]

Really nice set up - let's me know that I need to do alot more research before I set up my Solana

[cherubfish pair]

Is that gravelly looking stuff on the surface of the magnet metal? Or plastic?

[MVlk]

Sorry I am at a loss... what picture are you referring to?

[MVlk]

My new refugium is up and running! As previously mentioned this is a 10 gallon, above display refugium.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0519.jpg


I wanted an above tank refugium for two main reasons. First, it easier to pump water from the Solana than vice versa. Drilling it is not an option for me ( drilling the cheap 10 gallon tank was stressful enough! ) and overflows either will not work or would be less than ideal. With my fish closet behind the tank, this was also easy to make happen. Second, I have read that an above tank refugium is a little better as the pods can gracefully feed via gravity to the display rather than getting chopped up by a pump impeller. Technically this last reason is moot since I return into the rear and they still need to go thru a pump to get into the display area. But hey, it sound good though!

I returned from Chicago Sunday and was able to get back to this project. I first got 10 gallons of water mixed up and let it get good and mixed. This morning I finalized some plumbing design and got things going. I added 20 lbs of new live sand and filled the refugium up to the point it would start draining to the DT. To help clear things up a bit I tossed a bag of Chemi-Pure into the carbon section of my dual BRS reactor and pulled water from the refugium section back to the intake area. I will purchase some normal carbon and appropriate GFO for it soon. I tossed in my ball of cheato and let it run like this for about 30 minutes or so to let the water clear up.

For now I am pulling water from the second chamber via a Maxi-Jet 600 and returning to the same chamber. I am going to leave it like this temporarily for a bit until I have performed a normal water change and am happy with how it all works. If all works well, next week I will drill another access hole to the closet and place the return lines into the 3rd chamber. In theory this should reduce the chances of pods coming from the refugium from being sucked back into it. Since I will eventually place a skimmer in it with other filtration in the intake section, this would be undesirable.

So far I am pleased with how it works. Water levels are good and noise is minimal.

I still need to do the following:
- Move the pH and salinity probe to the refugium section. This will clean up some space in the third chamber and also make it a little easier to maintain them. I think I will leave the temp probe as is.
- Add some live rock to refugium. Need to find or pick some up.
- Thinking of getting a jar of the live copepods from my LFS. I have a few on the cheato ball now, but with the new environment I want to kick start a nice community.
- Add new skimmer to the intake area. My existing Sapphire Aquatics skimmer works well, but with the additional space I want to change to a more traditional skimmer. Though not popular with some, I am thinking a Coralife Supper Skimmer 65 will work well for this size tank. I am still not planning SPS for now. It should perform at least as well as a nano skimmer and the price is right. A year or so down the road I can always go more expensive.
- Maybe add a hang on filter sock holder and feed the intake into it. I would not run with a sock in it regularly, but would be nice to have a quick place to put one on an as needed basis. The display is still a bit cloudy and a sock would have cleared it pretty quickly.
- ? Replace cheapy clip on light with something else. This one may be too much light / heat.

- In the future I will try to add some additional macro algae. Possibly a mangrove or two?

Misc other thumbnails:

Initial fill.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0516.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0516.jpg)

Intake is simple design for now. I would replace this with the filter sock holder described above.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0517.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0517.jpg)

Two returns and intake all from the same hole for now.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0518.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0518.jpg)

Two return lines and pump out lines going into the second chamber. Will clean this up in a few days. As it is now, I can not place the rear cover and screen on all the way.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0520.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0520.jpg)

That is all I can think of for now. Let me know what you think. :p

[cherubfish pair]

Sorry I am at a loss... what picture are you referring to?

Okay I see, you click on the thumbnail of the picture.

I couldn't see what was in the thumbnail.

[MVlk]

Yep, I use thumbnails for some of the more boring pictures to decrease load time of the page.

---

Refugium update. I am sad to say I have had another failure. While trying to adjust the return plumbing in the refugium the glass cracked again. The slightest amount of pressure is too much for the thin walls of the stock 10 gallon tank.

For now, the water is still holding. I am going to call a local tank shop and see if I can rush a custom build for not too much $$$. I guess you get what you pay for.

[HulaDad]

Extremely nice setup you have, lot of creative ingenuity... I have to agree with you, I think a Super Skimmer 65 would kick butt on your tank....keep us posted with updates...

[kevantheman35]

i am in the middle of setting up my solana and deciding on a light. Do you feel you have enough light for sps/clams? i see most go with 150w mh or even 250

[MVlk]

I would not try SPS or clams with the NEP 20". The stock bulbs just are not good enough. If other brands were available in that size, I'd say yes. I had a 72" NEP on my old 125 and had good SPS growth.

When I find a job and pay off some bills, I will replace the NEP 20" with a better 6 bulb 24" light I can get bulbs for.

---

I ordered a custom 15 gallon long acrylic sump today to replace the 2nd cracked tank. Should be ready by Monday. For now I am risking it and keeping the cracked tank in use. I may break it down tomorrow though. Not sure how luck I feel.

[kevantheman35]

yea its a hard choice, i want it to look good and still have t5's atleast as a suplement but its hard with 20''

[MVlk]

Why not go for a 24" 6 bulb ATI SunPower fixture. I think that thing will rock on a 20" nano. With the right bulbs there should not be much limitations on what you can keep.

[cherubfish pair]

Refugium update. I am sad to say I have had another failure. While trying to adjust the return plumbing in the refugium the glass cracked again. The slightest amount of pressure is too much for the thin walls of the stock 10 gallon tank.

I highly recommend a 10 gallon acrylic tank. Glasscages is a good one. I know it is more expensive but you'll have it a long time and they are much stronger than glass.

If you've ever drilled glass and then drilled acrylic, you'll never go back to glass. I replaced everything with acrylic except the nanocube 6.

[MVlk]

cherubfish pair (http://reefcentral.com/forums/member.php?u=61488), you are preaching to a new member of the choir. ;) Classcages is making up my new 15 long now. I figured a few extra inches would be nice to have. Darn holiday means I have to wait for it. They are rushing it for me though. Monday will be fine.

[powers2001]

My next tank will be acrylic too.

[MVlk]

I doubt I will ever do an acrylic display tank, but the sump/refugium is a perfect candidate for it.

--

In theory my new sump will be ready for pick up today. I am guessing it will not be ready till tomorrow. I will see...

[MVlk]

Sadly my intuition was right on the new refugium. Called them this morning and it is too cold for their crews to work. TN is getting hit with 20 degree below average temps now. I can not blame them for not wanting to work in this weather since their shop is a simple steel structure that is probably pretty frigid right now. I'll hope for mid to late this week weather permitting.

[GeppettoCarlo]

Very nice Solona!
I dont htink I would go acrylic for a display also they just get scratched so easy.

[gavij012379]

Very nice set up. Looking good. I wish I had read your post about 20" NEP not being the best. I read everywhere that NEP is good but you are right everyone says there is no alternative for the 20" bulbs. I just recently ordered my 20" NEP though. Oh well hopefully some one will come up with bulbs for it. You are only using NEP for your lightning though right?

[MVlk]

Very nice Solona!


Thank you. It is getting there. With the refugium later this week it should be all setup hardware wise. I ordered the new skimmer to go in the intake area yesterday as well. That should complete it... minus better lighting that is.

Very nice set up. Looking good. I wish I had read your post about 20" NEP not being the best ... You are only using NEP for your lightning though right?

Yep, the fixture is actually very good. Bulb choice very bad. Not sure what you mean by only using it for lighting though?

[MVlk]

Yesterday was a good and bad day. I got a call mid morning from Glasscages asking when I was going to come and pick up my sump. Monday they had told me it was too cold and to call on Wednesday to see if they were able to work on it. Day early! Good.

It is only an hour plus drive from my house although they are pretty far back, especially following goofy MapQuest. When I arrived I was shown the sump. Looked good at first glance but then I took some measurements. I had specified 10" height on the lower baffles and then the upper ones 1" appropriately placed off the bottom. It seems the owner assumed this was a traditional sump and felt this would not allow any reserve for when the pump turned off. He had them make the lower baffles at 8" instead. While this could work, it really makes for a shallow refugium area. Bad

The owner was apparently having a bad day and simply said to the other person to refund my money without any discussion. Luckily the other person was much more helpful and discussed options. The best we could come up with was for them to cut some scraps to glue on and estend all four baffles. To ease my pain the gave me the Weld-On 16 and a bulkhead for free.

I glued on the extensions this morning. Worked pretty well as far as I can tell so far. Not a perfect job as the solvent is a bit messy to work with, but will be fine for in a closet. Tomorrow I will water test to make sure it holds.

All in all I am satisfied, just seems like these tanks and projects fight us too much sometimes. Hopefully the re-pluming of this replacement will go better. I am abandoning the 3/4" to 2 x 1/2" tubing on the return and going with a single clean 3/4" return. The space concern I had which made me do the split should really be no issue.

Here are some shots of the new refugium/sump after the baffle extensions were put in place.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0521.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0522.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0522.jpg)

[MVlk]

Refugium 3.0 is in place and running!

As per my previous posts, the first two attempts using a standard 10 gallon tank failed. On both, the glass cracked around the bulkhead when the slightest pressure was put on the plumbing. After the last crack, I decided to bite the bullet and order a custom 15 gallon acrylic tank from Glasscages. I picked it up Tuesday ( With minor issues, read previous posts ) and had it finally ready to put in place this morning.

Here is the FRS ( Full Refugium Shot )

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0527.jpg

I still have much tweaking to do:
- Skimmer is brand new and I am working on adjusting it and getting it broken in.
- Return flow. Getting some gurgling and a small amount of surging. I am playing around with a air line in the drain to kill this. I am using 1/4" line in the 3/4" drain as seen in the picture below. I think this may be to big. Seems to work, but cause the water level to go higher than desired.
- Lots of wiring clean up to do. New pumps and electrical routing done. Moved the pH and Salinity probes to the return of the refugium and need to clean those up.
- This is a small hall closet under my stairs and it has a small wire shelf near the top. While convenient for some things, it costs me a couple of inches in clearance for working on the skimmer. I may remove the shelf.
- Lots of other things I have probably not thought of. Add cleanup crew to refugium etc...

(Click on thumbnails for full image)

Feed pump to refugium is in first chamber. Return from the refugium is in the second.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0526.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0526.jpg)

Still dialing in the new skimmer which has been in place less than an hour as of this photo.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0528.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0528.jpg)

Playing with different drain configurations here. Small tube sticking out is to prevent gurgling.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0529.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0529.jpg)

Misc pictures of testing the refugium before installation. The baffle extensions turned out well. Only the slightest of leaks in one of the baffles. Probably less than a drop per minute came out. It will be negligible when in use.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0523.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0523.jpg)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0524.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0524.jpg)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0525.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0525.jpg)

[mixer911]

Is that a Rio pump on that skimmer? if so i would take it out quickly.

[MVlk]

It is a Rio800. I have no funds to replace it now. Maybe in a month or so. Plus I need to let the skimmer break in to see if I am even going to keep it.

If I did replace it, what would be a good candidate?

[mixer911]

I definately understand the funds issue. I just refuse to use one ever again. I had 2 fail and one of them took out my first reef tank. Not a pretty sight or smell. To me its just not worth the little $ you save with them. If you do replce it I would use a Tunze Nano Pump 0800.040. I have one of these in my sump now just to keep the detrius stirred up. Awesome little pumps.

[MVlk]

I wonder if the Sicce Micra would be enough to power the skimmer.

http://www.shop.sapphireaquatics.com/product.sc?productId=12&categoryId=9

or the Nova

http://www.shop.sapphireaquatics.com/product.sc?productId=10&categoryId=9

[mixer911]

Looks like is should. I am not sure of the specs of it though. you want at least 200 ghp.

[nirvanaandtool]

New refugium/sump looks good MK.
Nice work.

[RFD4]

Can I asked where you got the hanging arms for the light?

[MVlk]

They are the stock arms that came with the Solana package when I ordered it. I looked and do not see mention of the arms on Marine Depot anymore.

[RFD4]

thanks - for $85 I'll build my own lol

[MVlk]

I have seen some nice DIY arm threads from simple pipe. Mine came with the tank otherwise I propably would have done something else.

[cherubfish pair]

I love above display sump/fuges.

[lanespd200]

Great looking set up you got going on there!

[MVlk]

lanespd200...Thank you.

I did some more work today on the fuge/sump. I changed the return line form 3/4" to 1". This made a huge difference! No more gurgling and I was able to change back from a MaxiJet 400 to a 600. I left the bulkhead as 3/4" for now. The threaded adapter to connect the vinyl tubing only had a 1/16" difference on the internal diameter in changing from 3/4" to 1" so I figured it would not be an issue.

Only issue I see now is too much back pressure on the drain when I go into feed mode. The water level rises up in the back above the drain line. The resulting back pressure cause the fuge to fill to the point of possible overflow. I may just put the fuge feed pump on the same RKE channel as the Solana main pump. If I raise the return tube up it would cause to much noise as the water cascades down.

I would post some updated shots tonight but I finally have a job interview tomorrow! Gotta do some prep. :)

[lanespd200]

Good luck on the interview and looking forward to the pics........giving me ideas!

[MVlk]

Made it all the way to my job interview this morning and one of the managers called my cell and informed me there was a scheduling conflict. Kinda sucked but at least I got a dry run of the drive under my belt. Luckily it has been rescheduled for tomorrow.

On the plus side, it gave me time to finish some cleanup projects in the fish closet. I did a lot of wiring cleanup, labeling, etc. The closet also houses all my cable TV, digital phone and internet equipment. I got that all cleaned up and away from the fish stuff. Also added an 8 outlet American DJ power strip I had lying around for the non-controlled equipment.

Not as sexy as a tank shot, but for us equipment lovers here is some eye candy. As always click on the smaller thumbs for the full shots.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0530.jpg


Closeup of the wiring management with the American DJ strip added.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0532.jpg

Full shot of the refugium/sump. As per last posts, I changed the tubing to 1" from 3/4". This has been great and solved the noise/flow issues. MJ 600 is working perfectly as the feed pump now. (Just cleaned the skimmer so it is not foaming up again yet.)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0531.jpg

The intake area.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0533.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0533.jpg)

The return area. Still debating putting the probes back in the rear of the display. My salinity probe seemed to work better there.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0535.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0535.jpg)

Closeup of the refugium section. Added some Mangroves a good fish buddy gave me. (Thx poolkeeper1!) Used a small piece of eggcrate and rubber bands to support them. works very well.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0536.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0536.jpg)

Some shots of how the larger plumbing to the refugium/sump effects the look of the display. The black rear compartment cover still fits perfectly but the screen I made sits up a 1/2". I will fix that in the near future.

The 1" return tube just bends into the 2nd chamber. I did not use an elbow to further eliminate flow issues. To quiet the sound down further I put a small 1.5" x 1.5" piece of course foam between the tube end and the black horizontal chamber dividers. Should be coarse and small enough to not catch too many pods that may make it down. I'll check it periodically to see what gets caught.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0538.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0538.jpg)http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0540.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0540.jpg)

As always, comments or suggestions are welcome!

[TriggerHappyDude]

Wow, what a nice Solana build...love that closet...wished I had that kind of an area.
Color me jealous...

[MVlk]

Thx. Having a closet or room behind a tank is now a prerequisite for me having a tank. When we were looking for a new house, this closet was a big selling point for me. It is nice to have the room and not have to cram it in the stand. I have seen a lot of amazing builds that do it well, but I love the extra room.

[MentalNote]

Now that you have a sump, reactors, and a referendum have you considered drilling the tank and removing the back wall? Or replacing the tank with a standard cube?

See, I am considering taking my solana tank in the same direction as yours but if I did that then removing the back wall would be a sizable increase in real estate.

[MVlk]

I do not think I would ever drill or remove the backwall. Also, my Solana is one of the ones with a 1" dip in the glass in the back area so I'd have to keep the water level pretty low down if I removed the back wall.

I would probably for next tank go for a more conventional tank pre-drilled. I do really like the tank though. Now that it is setup I am looking forward to just keeping it going and adding coral.

--

I picked up 4 lbs of good live rock rubble from my clubs frag swap today. Also bought a nice rainbow acan frag with 4 eyes.

[cherubfish pair]

What modules are you using for your reefkeeper? Are you able to program it easily? I was having problems programming until I got on DA's forums. Saving up money for the ORP and pH probes.

[nirvanaandtool]

Wow. Much cleaner. That looks awesome.

Yea definitely am jealous of the fish closet too. That would be so helpful haha

[MVlk]

What modules are you using for your reefkeeper? Are you able to program it easily? I was having problems programming until I got on DA's forums. Saving up money for the ORP and pH probes.

I have the following modules. Not much of an issue with programming. Setting up the ATO with float switches took a bit of time though. Luckily, one of my good friends is a team DA member. :) No question the DA documentation is lacking and the forums are key.

- SL2 - My salinity probe is becoming very unreliable and dropping in its readings. I only use it as a gut check and use my refractometer regularly for precise readings. I need to increase the flow of where it is sitting. I have it in the return area of the sump as it is most convenient and will get minimal bubbles. However the flow is pretty low there and I think the water may not be representative of the tank. I am going to put a small MJ 400 in that area and output it back into the bubble trap before the fuge. Should be good for the probes and increase flow in the fuge. I am due to recalibrate my salinity and pH probes this week as well.

pH probe is great and essential in my opinion. Since I do not have a SL1, I do not have a ORP probe. Eventially I may try to pick up a used SL1 to get the additional 2 switch ports. If I do, I may get the ORP probe. Doing that is probably more complicated than I need.

- 2 x PC4 - Most everything is on them except the skimmer and reactor which are now on the DJ 8 strip. Would love to get a third one once I have extra cash.

- MLC - Love the moonlights. I have 2 blue pods. I may add a red pod once the next software update comes out. I would like the red for covert viewing. I believe the new 2.0 software will allow me to control the pods independently. Would use the blues for early evening after the actinics have gone off and then red for late night only. If I get more funds, would add a SW5 module and link the red pod to a simple switch for occasional use.

- NET - Probably like most, I really do not use this. Just too limited in usefulness. Hopefully the new 2.0 update will fix this at least somewhat. I do not have high hopes so anything should be a step in the right direction.

[MVlk]

Wow. Much cleaner. That looks awesome.

Yea definitely am jealous of the fish closet too. That would be so helpful haha

I have a undiagnosed medical condition in that I need my equipment and closet to look as pretty as my tank! :hmm4: I'd be basket case in this hobby without the closet. :)

[MVlk]

Had a great MTRC frag swap this past weekend. Being still unemployed I kept a tight budget. I picked up 4 lbs of nice live rock rubble to add to the refugium. Also picked up a 4 polyp frag of a very pretty rainbow acan. I'll post pictures of it soon.

[bruce922]

Nice set-up!. I really like your clowns.

Bruce

[MVlk]

bruce922, Thank you. I love the black clowns. One of my favorite fish.

[TriggerHappyDude]

Michael,

Do you have any documentation or can you help me setup my ATO with my RKE?
I have the SL1, RKE, same Tom Aqualifter, two autotopoff.com unpowered float switches.
I just don't now where to begin to set this up.

[MVlk]

I do not have anything specific doc. One of my friends is on Team DA so he helped me on the phone for the final sticking point I had. I have heard this Video (http://www.hightechreef.net/?p=169) is good. The DA forums also have lots of info on it. If you get stuck, I will email you my number and we can walk through the RKE screens and compare.

[TriggerHappyDude]

Yeah I saw that video. I guess I get confused with the whole programming thing.
I'll just sit down and play with it in depth, during this winter storm we're about to be snowed in with...maybe I can figure it out if I force myself.

That Tom pump works fine doesn't it, for the ATO?

[MVlk]

The Aqualifter pump is perfect for an ATO IMO. I like that it is a bit slow so that it does not overfill. I have Kalk dripped into my ATO tank now and the pump has had no issues even with that. I figure it will die within a year, but at $15 I can cheaply replace it. Be sure to put it on channel 1 or 4 of the PC4 though and call if you can not get it to work.

[TriggerHappyDude]

The Aqualifter pump is perfect for an ATO IMO. I like that it is a bit slow so that it does not overfill. I have Kalk dripped into my ATO tank now and the pump has had no issues even with that. I figure it will die within a year, but at $15 I can cheaply replace it. Be sure to put it on channel 1 or 4 of the PC4 though and call if you can not get it to work.

Explain to me why I want this on 1 or 4 of the PC4, and what I should/shouldn't have on 1 or 4 of the PC4 and what I should/shouldn't have on 2 and 3 of the PC4.

[MVlk]

The Aqua lifter pump is a low draw device. 2 and 3 on the PC4 do not work well with low draw devices and will likely cause the aqua lifter to not switch off correctly. General rule of thumb is to put high draw devices on 2 and 3 and low on 1 and 4. Has to do with the difference between mechanical switched outlets versus non mechanical.

[TriggerHappyDude]

The Aqua lifter pump is a low draw device. 2 and 3 on the PC4 do not work well with low draw devices and will likely cause the aqua lifter to not switch off correctly. General rule of thumb is to put high draw devices on 2 and 3 and low on 1 and 4. Has to do with the difference between mechanical switched outlets versus non mechanical.

Ok so what are examples of low draw devices and high draw?

Right now I have 2xPC4.
PC4 #1 has my ATI Powermodule plugged in, the main ac/dc converter unit is in 4 and the two light plugs are in 2 and 3, 1 is open.

PC4 #2 has my Skimmer, Return Pump, VorTech Powerhead, Heater; in that order I think.

Is there a certain way I should rearrange these?

[MVlk]

In general only the small pumps such as an aqua lifter and maxi jets have given me an issue on 2 and 3. If you put the aqua lifter on 1 of the first PC4 you should be fine.

[TriggerHappyDude]

In general only the small pumps such as an aqua lifter and maxi jets have given me an issue on 2 and 3. If you put the aqua lifter on 1 of the first PC4 you should be fine.

Ok, guess I'll post a list of my equipment and pose the question about how I should plug them into the PC4's, over on DA's forum. Someone there will give me a good diagram of how/where they should be plugged in.

Thanks for the info!

[MVlk]

Actually you current setup sounds perfect. As long as you are not seeing an issue with a port no responding correctly, no change needed.

[TriggerHappyDude]

Well, not really, right now all the pumps run 24/7, and the lights are set on a timer and come on/off fine. So guess I'm good. I have the one port open, 1 for this Tom pump...good then?

[andrik]

Any FTS update (pics) :D

[MVlk]

Well, not really, right now all the pumps run 24/7, and the lights are set on a timer and come on/off fine. So guess I'm good. I have the one port open, 1 for this Tom pump...good then?

Sounds perfect. Even if you control some of the other devices you should have no issues. I like putting my main pump and skimmer on the standbys for feeding.

[MVlk]

Any FTS update (pics) :D

Ya Ya. I am over due. :sad2: I have been waiting till I got rid of some corals I was holding for someone and till I was able to add something new. All of the money I really do not have has been going to finishing the sump/refugium. I will take a shot tonight and post it.

[MVlk]

I ignored the family for a bit tonight and finally got some updated shots. Here is the current FTS and side view FTS. Also a picture of my new Rainbow Acan frag. The picture is not great but then again it does not seem to happy so far. Far less color than I saw when I bought it. Maybe just needs time to adjust? More light? More flow? This picture is about 20 minutes after feeding the tank with Cyclopeze and Mysis Shrimp.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0542.jpg
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0543.jpg
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0546.jpg

[MentalNote]

Impressive. I bet that ric corner glows like crazy with blue moonlights.

[NeveSSL]

Everything looks great!

Did you get your rainbow from Chris at ReefKoi? Keep in mind how amazing those lights he had were! :)

To be honest, they don't seem ****ed to me. But I'm not a super acan guy, either. I didn't have any until the swap, actually. :) Their feeder tentacles aren't out obviously, but I wouldn't think they look ****ed.

Lovin' the tank, though, Michael!

Brandon

[MVlk]

Impressive. I bet that ric corner glows like crazy with blue moonlights.

The rics, candy canes and a few others really pop under the DA moonlights.

[MVlk]

Everything looks great!

Did you get your rainbow from Chris at ReefKoi? Keep in mind how amazing those lights he had were! :)

To be honest, they don't seem ****ed to me. But I'm not a super acan guy, either. I didn't have any until the swap, actually. :) Their feeder tentacles aren't out obviously, but I wouldn't think they look ****ed.

Lovin' the tank, though, Michael!

Brandon

I do not remember who I got them from. Was the first table on your left as you walked in. Dude had a chain necklace. Was very nice.

I assume your profile picture is your new acan? It looks awesome. Wish mine looked half as good. If you do not mind, how much did you pay for it? PM me if you do not want to post it. :)

[NeveSSL]

Yep! That was ReefKoi. I got all of mine from the guy next to him, Steel City Corals.

Great stuff! I got 6 very nice frags (one ultra rainbow [my avatar], 2 rainbows, a bright red, a cool mint and red, and some dumbos) for a good price.

They both had great corals and I'm really excited for them to come back next year!

Oh, and PM sent. :)

Brandon

[MVlk]

Well, I had a $75 gift certificate from Live Aquaria that was going to expire soon. Did not find any LPS or softies I really wanted so I decided to get my first SPS for this tank.

With some expert guidance from poolkeeper1 (Thx as always Bill! :) ), placed an order last night for a DFS Royal Tipped Tenuis coral. Got it from the Divers Den area so it is a little bigger frag. Unfortunately I did not grab the photo before I placed the order and I can not seem to recover it. Would have been nice to have it as a reference.

[MVlk]

DFS Customer support came through and sent me the picture of the new coral I ordered.

DFS Royal Tipped Tenuis (Acropora tenuis)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DFSRoyalTippedTenuis.jpg

[wastememphis]

Michael,

What are you using in the overflow chamber of the Solana?? (The white looking prefilters)

That Tenuis looks awesome!

[MVlk]

My LFS gave me some scrap pieces of filter material they use for pond installs. It is coarser than anything I have been able to find so it does not clog up quickly. I rinse it once a week and it is good to go.

I am looking forward to the Tenuis coming tomorrow. Just need to figure out where it is going to go. Somewhere on the top obviously. Probably on the right side as that is nearest my fish chair. :)

Once it is in, I will be even more anxious about Current releasing their new bulbs so I can get better lighting on it and the rest of the tank.

[tgunn]

First off, GREAT job on the Solana. I love how you've got everything set up, and I'm extremely envious of you having the ability to put the above tank sump/fuge in. I used to have a basement fishroom on my 140g tank and I wish I could some how get a basement sump hooked up to my own 34g Solana. Of course I don't want to drill the tank as I've had the SAME problems as you have with cracking thin glass with bulkheads. So I don't wanna risk breaking the Solana for sure.

Keep up the good work!

[MVlk]

tgunn, Thank you. I have said it many times ... I will not do any size fish tank without a fish room available for equipment. :) Makes all the difference in ease of setup / maint. :)

---

The Tenuis arrived yesterday. I did not realize on ordering that priority overnight is not standard so it did not arrive till mid afternoon. I did a check of the water and found it to be pretty cold. This is compared to my tank reading with the same probe of closer to 25 degrees.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0554.jpg

I took a long time to float it and drip acclimated it for almost two hours. When acclimation was done I added it to the tank to the new aquascaping I had done to get ready for it. It seemed to do fine and had polyps extended almost immediately.

These are shots a day later. Taken during the day so there is some glare from windows. I changed the aquascaping to clear the top for this and a few future SPS pieces. In order to do this I moved the Magrock that was top center to the left side of the tank. I do not view the tank from that side and the Vortech is there so it really works well. I think it looks pretty good.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0555.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0557.jpg

Veiw from the right side near my fish chair:
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0558.jpg

I may try to get a better non-glare picture tonight.

If I can get some funds I hope to add one or two more SPS in the next couple of weeks. Probably a nice birdsnest and an undecided coral. When I did a water test yesterday I found my Calcium to be a little low at 380-400. I have added some Purple Up to raise it temporarily (I know, I know) I will come up with a long term dosing strategy soon. I probably will get hold of some two part.

[nirvanaandtool]

I see what you mean about getting more rock. You have much more spots for coral due to your additional rock pieces. Like the way you hid the loc-line return too. Nice.
Tank looks great. Love the new acro.

For your next SPS, I'd definitely suggest a birdsnest coral. Definitely my favorite SPS.

[MVlk]

Thx nirvanaandtool.

More rock is great and a curse also. I wanted to lower the rocks in the back top a little so they did not make the SPS too high for water changes and growth. Re-Aquascaping begins! Oh what a joy. :(

Two hours later and I still do not like it. Had to just leave it for now before my kids drove my wife crazy and I went crazy trying to get it right. Generally I have found I never get a change right on the first attempt. If I leave it for a few days I normally figure out how to get it the way I want.

I will probably get rid of one or two of my zoa colonies as they just take up too much room. Like I said, I'll live with it a few days and see.

Had a great visit with poolkeeper1 today. Verified my Ca test kit was good so I could start dosing two part. He gave me a good amount of two part to get me by for a while till I buy a starter kit of my own from BRS. I did a water change this afternoon so I will test parameters tonight or tomorrow and begin the dosing.

Traded a few items to poolkeeper1 for two nice frags. One Pink Bridsnest with Purple Polyps and one other pretty green SPS. I forget what it was? I'll take new pictures in a few days once I finish the aquascaping to a better degree of satisfaction.

[mattkd5]

nice tank

[TriggerHappyDude]

Can you post some pics of your 15 gallon sump/fuge and ATO and ATO hoses and connections?

[nirvanaandtool]

Thx nirvanaandtool.

More rock is great and a curse also. I wanted to lower the rocks in the back top a little so they did not make the SPS too high for water changes and growth. Re-Aquascaping begins! Oh what a joy. :(

Two hours later and I still do not like it. Had to just leave it for now before my kids drove my wife crazy and I went crazy trying to get it right. Generally I have found I never get a change right on the first attempt. If I leave it for a few days I normally figure out how to get it the way I want.

I will probably get rid of one or two of my zoa colonies as they just take up too much room. Like I said, I'll live with it a few days and see.

Had a great visit with poolkeeper1 today. Verified my Ca test kit was good so I could start dosing two part. He gave me a good amount of two part to get me by for a while till I buy a starter kit of my own from BRS. I did a water change this afternoon so I will test parameters tonight or tomorrow and begin the dosing.

Traded a few items to poolkeeper1 for two nice frags. One Pink Bridsnest with Purple Polyps and one other pretty green SPS. I forget what it was? I'll take new pictures in a few days once I finish the aquascaping to a better degree of satisfaction.

True true.
Yea I know what you mean about aquascaping. I tend to do the same thing. Set it up and then check it out in a few days to see what needs to be moved.
Could always post a pic or two and have people here give suggestions to help you get ideas. Or aquascape with a buddy - I found that method easy when setting up an old 55g. I would move rocks while my brother would step back and eye up the tank from a few feet away.

Awesome. Gotta love a nice piece of birdsnest! Congrats on the other sps frags too. Cant wait to see the new pics once you finalize the new aquascape. :thumbsup:

[zef004]

Micheal it's comeing along great. I'm going need to come by. and see it in person.

[poolkeeper1]

The other one Is what I call Kryptonite Green Acro, As you have seen the mother colony and I think that describes It best. That Is one of those beauties that I came across and It was just labeled Green Acro. With a little research I could probably get a closer ID but It's a great specemin what ever It Is. When It's as big as a baseball you can give me a frag back hehe kinda like babysitting...
Bill

[MVlk]

Can you post some pics of your 15 gallon sump/fuge and ATO and ATO hoses and connections?

I got a ton of pictures a page or two back of both. The ATO is just a simple piece of hose hooked to and Aqua Lifter, no connections.

Let me know if there is something you would like to see a better picture of. You can also browse to my Photobucket pages to see them all together.

[MVlk]

Micheal it's comeing along great. I'm going need to come by. and see it in person.

Thank you ... You are welcome anytime! :)

[MVlk]

The other one Is what I call Kryptonite Green Acro, As you have seen the mother colony and I think that describes It best. That Is one of those beauties that I came across and It was just labeled Green Acro. With a little research I could probably get a closer ID but It's a great specemin what ever It Is. When It's as big as a baseball you can give me a frag back hehe kinda like babysitting...
Bill

Cool name. :) It is looking good so far. All pieces have good polyp extension. I of course will be happy to give back to you anytime. :beer:

[MVlk]

Been a bit since I updated some pics and today was over overcast so no ambient light to get in the way. Here are some dated shots of my inital three SPS frags in this tank. All seem to be doing fine and I think I have seen some growth in the 2-3 weeks they have been in. Coloring on the Birdsnest is marginal at this point.


DFS Royal Tipped Tenuis
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0565.jpg

Kryptonite Green Acro
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0561.jpg

Pink Birdsnest with Purple Polyps
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0564.jpg

[bruce922]

I like your setup.

[westcoastreef]

Nice tank, I line the coral choices!!!

[MVlk]

Thanks for the comments bruce922 and westcoastreef. Since my last picture post I am noticing some nice growth on the birdsnest and tenuis. Not much on the other acro. I am happy enough I will start figuring away to acquire more SPS.

Had a very good Sunday at the MTRC meeting. Good folks and good eats. Best of all I won the big door prize which was a 29 HQI BioCube! Still debating what to do with it. I just do not see room for it right now. What I really need are two dosing pumps and money to buy new bulbs for my NEP once they are released. I am gonna see what I can work out.

And now for my nominee for least interesting tank update photo! I finally got around to re-doing the electrical in my fish closet. It originally had a single outlet in it. For GFCI protection I have been using a plug in GFCI splitter and running everything off the one circuit. Today I finished adding a second circuit in a new dual gang box and also changed the original out to a GFCI outlet. Not sexy, but safe. :)

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0568.jpg

[cherubfish pair]

Are those wall outlets on the same or different circuit breakers?

I use two wall outlets and I'd like to wire them into separate breakers in the breaker box instead of using GFCIs.

[MVlk]

They are two different breakers on the the main panel. Each is by luck also on a different phase. Even though they are separate, A GFCI outlet is essential for each. A standard breaker will not trip fast enough in case of electrocution.

[dyer_maker]

I put GFCIs on both my tanks and they tripped while I was out of town once. Needless to say, the GFCIs went away.

[Crzyiroc]

For anyone that has the hanging dome pendant light and want to add LED moonlights follow this link I have done it and it has made a huge difference and not a hard Mod to do either.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1799079

[cherubfish pair]

Hey MVlk, do you use grounding probes? I read awhile back that they have to be used together to get anything out of one by themselves.

[MVlk]

I put GFCIs on both my tanks and they tripped while I was out of town once. Needless to say, the GFCIs went away.

A good GFCI outlet that is not overload will not trip on its own. It is not impossible, but highly unlikely. The trade off to protect against electrocution is worth it IMO. Just my opinion of course. :)

Hey MVlk, do you use grounding probes? I read awhile back that they have to be used together to get anything out of one by themselves.

I do not have a grounding probe yet. Is high on my list to get next. Of course my question is where to put it? In my sump or in the rear of my display or both? Ideally I think both. One will not cover it since the stream to/from the sump can not be counted on to be a continuous flow for conductivity.

A GFCI and a grounding probe work together as I understand... each provides a benefit on their own but offer maximum protection together.

Of course I have heard some convincing arguments against grounding probes as well. There is always someone with a good counterpoint to any opinion. :)

[MVlk]

For those using the NEP fixture... I had been running the light with one of the 10k bulbs replaced with a 4th actinic bulb. This really produced a more pleasing look. However, since I have been adding SPS, I wanted to up the par since the actinic bulbs are rated pretty low in par values. I switched the bulbs back two a 3 and 3 config as stock. Tank looks brighter, but I really miss the bluer look. Hopefully the new UVL bulbs will come out on time and are better than the stock bulbs.

[MVlk]

New coral was acquired yesterday. It is a ORA Bird of Paradise. Thx Bill! Here are a few shots.

03/05/2010 ORA Bird of Paradise - Just moved it to its final place for the shot. Polyps are not fully extended yet, but looking pretty good.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0569.jpg

03/05/2010 Pink Birdsnest with Purple Polyps - Still not pink, but it is growing like crazy. All the tips are splitting and new tips all over. Compare it to the shot a few posts back. :)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0571.jpg

Full shot of all my SPS so far. I want to add two more to this area.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0570.jpg

[dyer_maker]

A good GFCI outlet that is not overload will not trip on its own. It is not impossible, but highly unlikely. The trade off to protect against electrocution is worth it IMO. Just my opinion of course. :)

Still a mystery why they tripped on me. I think there may have been a storm or two while I was away regardless it changed my opinion on using them. Perhaps I should reconsider.

[cherubfish pair]

I do not have a grounding probe yet. Is high on my list to get next. Of course my question is where to put it? In my sump or in the rear of my display or both? Ideally I think both. One will not cover it since the stream to/from the sump can not be counted on to be a continuous flow for conductivity.
Like peeing on an electric fence. hehehehe (farm joke)

[pweissma]

Hey Michael,
Impressive tank and setup. Why did you use a Solana as the display? You have your sump and everything else in the room behind the tank so I don't see how the sump in the Solana does anything for you.

[MVlk]

pweissma (http://reefcentral.com/forums/member.php?u=230842), I needed to downsize when selling my house. I did not know what I would have available for space in the new house. Because of this I wanted a Nano/AIO. IMO the Solana was the nicest for the money.

The sump and other components grew only after the fish closet was made a possibility. In a couple of years I will likely go bigger and get a new tank. I am thinking something like 36x24x18.

---

Doser update. Picked up my two new BRS dosers Friday evening. I have them in place and did some calibration testing today. I have both setup on one channel of my RKE. I setup two timers to go for 10 minutes for calibration. Both dosers seems to be pumping evenly and put out my target dosage in 10 minutes. The timers where 10 minutes each and in the day so I could observe. I'll reconfigure them for 5 minutes each running at about 1 and 5 AM. This should help manage the nightly pH drop off. Just need to determine what containers I want to hold the part 1 and 2 in now.

[pweissma]

Thanks -- I'm looking forward to reading your review/recommendations for the UVL bulbs for the NEP 20" when they become available. BTW -- how are you suspending your light? Looks like the Current USA backets. If so do you like them? Are they flimsy at all?

[MVlk]

I am using the stock brackets. There are pretty decent. No real complaints on them.

I may pre-order the bulbs soon. Just not sure I wanted to be one of the first. I guess they are not likely to be worse than the stock bulbs.

[SawdustInTank]

MVlk,
Where are you mounting the output of the 1/4" tubing from the dosers. I am trying to think of a convenient way to locate and mount my tubing in the return section. Thanks.

[MVlk]

MVlk,
Where are you mounting the output of the 1/4" tubing from the dosers. I am trying to think of a convenient way to locate and mount my tubing in the return section. Thanks.

Sorry, I am placing the output in my sump and not in the Solana itself. I'll post pictures tonight. If I was going to the Solana, I'd probably just zip tie the two tubes to my ATO output which drips into chamber 2.

[pweissma]

I may pre-order the bulbs soon. Just not sure I wanted to be one of the first. I guess they are not likely to be worse than the stock bulbs.

Do you know which color bulbs you'll be getting? There's 5 different ones available. Nanotuners says mid April for availability. Bulbs are 30W which is a huge increase over the 18W Current-USA bulbs.

[MVlk]

Do you know which color bulbs you'll be getting? There's 5 different ones available. Nanotuners says mid April for availability. Bulbs are 30W which is a huge increase over the 18W Current-USA bulbs.

I do not know yet. Soon I hope to send them an email to confirm they will work for the NEP. If I get a yes, I will put together a pre order shortly there after.

I just started a new job and have been swamped working 10 hour days. Is quite a shock from not working at all for so long... a good shock though. :)

[MVlk]

I just sent NanoTuners a email asking if the bulbs will work. In composing the message I compared their 12K bulb to the Stock 10K Current bulb. Actually some big differences in the spec that make me wonder if they will work in the NEP or only in their retro kit. Hopefully they will get back to me. I'll post any response I receive here and in the NEP Owner thread.

[NeveSSL]

Are you thinking about getting the new EcoSmart driver for your MP10?

I'm thinking about ordering a new one with it tonight. :)

Brandon

[MVlk]

To be honest, allow though I have read the release info on them, I do not think I understand the benefits enough for a single unit system. Seems like a couple of cool new modes, but I am happy with the modes I use now. I'd love to add a second MP10 to get some cross current going and would then see a real benefit. No $$$ in the budget for that for now.

Be sure to post if you get one. :)

[cherubfish pair]

Are you thinking about getting the new EcoSmart driver for your MP10? I'm thinking about ordering a new one with it tonight. :)

Brandon
How much are they going for?

[MVlk]

From the Reef Builders blog:

MP40
Full price for the MP40w EcoSmart upgrade is $100
(This is discounted to $75 for all customers until April 30th)
MP20
You need to purchase a MP40 Power Supply $50
MP40w EcoSmart upgrade is $100
(remember the this is discounted to $75 until April 30th)
MP10
Full price for the MP10w (wireless) EcoSmart upgrade $85
Full Price for the MP10ES (non-wireless) upgrade $55
(no discount)

[MVlk]

I purged my dosers of the DI water I had been testing with a got them primed with 2 part. Tonight I will let them run on cycle but into measuring cups to do some final calibration verification. I have them set to run for 5 minutes at 1:00 AM and 6:00 AM. Should end up doing about 12.5 ml of each total. Too tired to take and post pictures tonight.

Tomorrow should be pretty great. Picking up some nice SPS frags from a good friend. With those SPS frags I should be good to go for a while.

[cherubfish pair]

Do you know where Reef Builders got their info?

[NeveSSL]

From EcoTech's website I believe.

I will let you know if I pick one up, Mike. :)

Brandon

[MVlk]

You can see pricing and more info in the EchoTech Website Parts Store here (http://ecotechmarine.com/parts-store/).

--

Checked the two part dosing measuring cups this morning and I have success. No surprise or or great accomplishment since the dosers are pretty simple to use. Tonight I'll let them drip directly into the tank and hopefully do some Ca and Alk level testing over the next few days. With my new job I have been a little neglectful of my tank. I skipped this weekends weekly water change and have not tested levels for two weeks. :sad2:

[MVlk]

Do you know which color bulbs you'll be getting? There's 5 different ones available. Nanotuners says mid April for availability. Bulbs are 30W which is a huge increase over the 18W Current-USA bulbs.

I just got the reply from Nano Tuners as below. Looks like we should be good to go! :dance: I'll post the reply in the NEP owner forum as well.

---

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mso-hansi-theme-font:minor-latin; mso-bidi-font-family:"Times New Roman"; mso-bidi-theme-font:minor-bidi;} </style> <![endif]-->Michael,
UVL has confirmed with us that they are making sure to design the bulbs to the proper length so that they will work with the NEP fixture without any problems.

Nick Driver
Nanotuners Customer Care
info@nanotuners.com

[pweissma]

I do not know yet. Soon I hope to send them an email to confirm they will work for the NEP. If I get a yes, I will put together a pre order shortly there after.

I just started a new job and have been swamped working 10 hour days. Is quite a shock from not working at all for so long... a good shock though. :)

Congratulations on the job! I spent over a year marginally working several years ago. Oddly I found it less stressful than actually working, probably why I let it go on so long.

[MVlk]

Congratulations on the job! I spent over a year marginally working several years ago. Oddly I found it less stressful than actually working, probably why I let it go on so long.

If I did not have to worry about the money aspect, I would agree. :)

[pweissma]

I just had a long conversation about the UVL bulbs with Nanotuners. I'm starting from a point of not knowing much about fluorescent lighting but here is what I got from the conversation. Yes the UVL bulbs will fit and are designed to work with Nova Extreme Pro 20". The bulbs have a max wattage of 30W while the NEP-20 has 3, 2x18W ballasts. Driving the UVL bulbs at 18W is fine, they are designed for it and they will even last longer. However, Nanotuners is also selling a a UVL 3x30W ballast for the bulbs that will make the bulbs brighter. Nanotuners couldn't yet confirm if the ballast would fit in the NEP 20" but I would think it would. This gives a lot of options for modifying the NEP-20. The only caveat is that the 30W ballast will overdrive a stock 18W current-USA bulb and cause it to expire fairly quickly.

[MVlk]

Good info. I'll probably leave my NEP stock and change bulbs only. I do not want to DIY my lighting although it would be cool. Likely I'll see if the UVL bulbs work for another year or so and then switch to a whole new fixture. Hopefully by that time there will be lots of good/proven/affordable LED solutions available.

Still not sure what bulbs to get. When I have time I may post something on the T5 forum and see if Grim can make a recommendation based on the limited info available. Bulb choices listed here for easy reference:

030w T5-R VHO - UVL 454 18"
030w T5-R VHO - UVL Actinic White 18"(12000K)
030w T5-R VHO - UVL Aquasun 18"
030w T5-R VHO - UVL Indigo Sun 18"
030w T5-R VHO - UVL Super Actinic 18"

[cherubfish pair]

Whoa....T5 VHO? How much more light than T5 HO? Any difference in heat?

[MVlk]

Probably not a huge heat difference because I will not be upping the ballast. As for how much light I have no idea. I expect some but not any miracles like going from a 150 MH to 250 MH. I plan on getting hold of a par meter for before and after values. If I get anything above a 10% increase with a more pleasant color balance, I will be thrilled.

--

If you look in the T5 Q&A thread I have posted a question regarding this switch and bulb selection. Hopefully Grim is able to give some guidance. I used his recommendations when I had the 72" NEP and was very happy.

[MVlk]

Just got a response from Grim on the T5 Q&A thread...

Front
454
Actinic white
454
Indigo Sun or current 10K
454
454

I would keep the fixture as close to the top of the tank as possible.

I will probably pre order the bulbs this weekend or sometime soon. Now hopefully they actually come out on time. I am extremely skeptical of release dates now a days.

EDIT: Order placed :)

[pweissma]

And I got my response from the Grim Reefer. I asked about just replacing 2 bulbs instead of all six, and, whether or not to replace an original 18W ballast with a 30W ballast.

I'd be worried about cooling if you changed out the ballast.

As far as the lamps add 2 454's in place of one Blue and 1 10 K.

[MVlk]

Seems like good advice. If I still want more PAR after the new bulbs go in, I'll get a whole new fixture before I need new bulbs again. By then there should be good data on mainstream LED fixtures. I do not think I need a whole lot as I was seeing good growth from the stock bulbs. Mainly wanted better color and if I get more PAR that is icing on the cake.

--

Got an update on my order from Nano Tuners: "Per UVL, bulb stock expected to ship mid-late April"

[MVlk]

Dosers have been setup for a couple of days and seem to be working as expected. I tested by Ca and Alk this morning and am about where I want to be, 460 and 8 respectively. I am over due for a water change so I will test again after.

Here are the pictures:

Under the sump. Dosers are under the sump on the left. The draw from containers on the lowest shelf. Again, both are setup on a single channel on my RKE.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0572.jpg

Dosers output here into the sump. I have them draining into the final bubble trap before the return section. Need to find an extra trim ring for the hole I drilled.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0573.jpg

[NeveSSL]

Just spoke with Zach today and wanted to say congrats on the new job! I know the feeling! ;)

Brandon

[MVlk]

Thx. First real payday in too long today. Woo hoo!

[MVlk]

I have been holding off updating actual tank shots as I wanted to finish some aquascaping. Something keeps coming up and I never get around to it. I just added 6 new SPS pieces and wanted to get a few shots in even if they are in temp locations. The new pieces are still adjusting of course. Also, the more I use my camera, the more I hate it. Bought it to take shots of the kids at school functions and of the tank. It sucks at both. (Nikon Coolpix L100)

Anyhow. Here are 5 of the new corals I have acquired over the last week or so. The 6th was a gift from a friend that was in poor shape. I do not recall at this time what it is, blue digi maybe? I still have hopes it will pull through.

1. Tangerine Digitatta
2. Montipora Hispada (Tyree)
3. Turaki/AWI Deepwater Acro Green W/Blue Tips
4. Acropora SP Champaine W/ Purple Tips
5. Acropora Unknown Emrald Green W/Brown Base
6. ???

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0588_edited.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0576_edited.jpg

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/DSCN0579_edited.jpg

Thumbnails of closeups and other shots best as my camera would allow. Click to view full size.

http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0580.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0580.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0581.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0581.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0583_edited.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0583_edited.jpg)http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0584_edited.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0584_edited.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0585.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0585.jpg) http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0587_edited.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0587_edited.jpg)

[SawdustInTank]

Hey Mike,
How are the dosing pumps coming along for you? I am currently programming and testing mine...

[MVlk]

They are working well. Since I added more SPS I upped the amount. Only prob I had was my fault. The output to the sump slipped and a days dosing went onto the shelf. Face palm!

[SawdustInTank]

Ahh I see. I will double check my connections on mine. I'm pretty happy with mine so far.

[MVlk]

Was not the connection at the doser... was were I had the tube dripping into the tank. Pure user error, the dosers seem to rock.

[biocube386]

Hey MVlk! Tank is looking great!

What is your input on what bulb combo to get when the new bulbs come out for the NEP 20" for the nice consistant bluish look?

[MVlk]

No word on the ship date for the new UVL bulbs from Nanotuners.com but I thought I'd post the bulbs I have ordered and their placement. This is directly based on the recommendation of Grim from the T5 Q&A Forum (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=16795510#post16795510). This is to give me a more blueish look but hopefully not sacrifice growth.

Front
454
Actinic White
454
Indigo Sun
454
454

[pweissma]

I spoke with Nanotuners last week regarding the UVL bulbs.
From my conversation with Nanotuners:
The original ship date was mid April but now obviously that won't/didn't happen. The delay is to allow UVL time to manufacture supply for some of the other retailers. Nanotuners will still be the first to market but places like MD should soon follow. Even though the delay is totally due to UVL, Nanotuners will be giving free shipping to pre-orders as an apology for the delay.

[MVlk]

Good info. Thx! I'd prefer to have the bulbs but saving $12 bucks will be nice. Hopefully the delay is not too long.

[pweissma]

Hi Michael,
I was wondering I could please get your view on the Hydor FLO Rotating Water Deflector. From your earliest pictures it looks like you have it directly attached to the return, replacing the lockline return hoses. Do you have a sense of your flow rate back into your tank?
Thanks. I value your opinion.

Bulbs -- Looks like we'll have them soon finally.

[MVlk]

I did not care for the deflector... at least the way I had it. When the flow rotated around to nearby corals, they were blasted far too strongly.

However, I think with better planning it may great. Heck, if I can find all the pieces, I may try it again now that I am almost all SPS. Next time I re-aquascape, I may give it a go.

Those darn bulbs better be here soon! Gonna go mid-evil on someone if they are not here soon. :)

[pweissma]

Thanks. I'm trying to figure out what to do for wavemaking in my Solana. I may try a hydor flo on just one of the return nozzles. Eventually I'll get a Vortech.

[MVlk]

The bulbs came in today! Yee haw! After the kiddies were put to bed I began the install.

The bulbs are indeed shorter than the Current USA bulbs by about 3/8". I could not find and instructions on Nano Tuners on how to mod the NEP fixture but decided it could not be that hard. Here are the basic steps I took along with some pictures. Click on the thumbnails to view full size.

1. Unplug and take down fixture.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0671.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0671.jpg)

2. Remove splash guard and old bulbs.
(Picture of old and new bulb with red cap)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0673.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0673.jpg)

3. Remove reflector. It is held in place by 4 small screws.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0674.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0674.jpg)

4. Remove two sets of two screws that hold the socket rail in place. They need to be removed completely to allow it to move.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0677.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0677.jpg)

5. Move rail in and install two new bulbs in the outer sockets to set proper length. Once in correct position, screw back in place.
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0678.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0678.jpg)

6. Install all bulbs and test all light up correctly.
(Looks way more blue in photo than in person)
http://i558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/th_DSCN0679.jpg (http://s558.photobucket.com/albums/ss23/reefwolf/Solana%2034/?action=view&current=DSCN0679.jpg)

7. Remove bulbs and reinstall the reflector. With the length shortened, it just barely fits back in. This is actually good since the screw holes are no longer usable. You could punch new ones, but the reflector is snug so I opted to skip screwing it down.

8. Put bulbs back in, replace splash guard and re-hang.

During the process I took the opportunity to give everything a good clean and blow out with a can of air.

Bulbs used Front to Back are:
454
Actinic White
454
Indigo Sun
454
454


The light looks really pleasing. Is more blue than the standard NEP bulb configuration. It has a slight pink/purple tint mixed in with the blue. The look is very crisp and I would say it looks somewhere between 14K and 20K.

Unfortunately I did not have access to a par meter so I can not measure before or after. Based on look of the new bulbs and 9+ months on the old, I can not imagine that the par has not gone up a good deal. I'll be raising the fixture up and lowering gradually.

Too late for any good FTS or other actual tank pictures. Will do those in a few days.

[rck]

Nice mod... crazy that in this day and age... we still have issues with lighting and what not on our smaller tanks.

No one can stay afloat... or stick with a basic design standard.

[MVlk]

Agreed. Seems ridiculous they messed up the bulb size. How hard is it to measure a Current USA bulb and make the new bulb the same length? Unless of course they did it on purpose to insure if you wanted to use one of their bulbs you would have to them for all. Seems shortsighted on their part.

Luckily I am happy with them so far and was desperate for any change.

[biocube386]

Thanks again for explaing how you modded yours! I will be doing mine tomorrow! Looks easy enough, i was in for a surpise when mine came and not knowing they were not going to fit, and they didnt know anything about modding them to fit yet and i didnt want to wait another 12 weeks for the new bulbs when i already waited 4 months for these!

[MVlk]

It is definitely easy enough. Hardest part for me was getting the fixture down. I noticed last night one bulb was not on. After install, I noticed a little flicker which is now gone with the one bulb out... may have gotten a bad one. Tonight I'll see if I have time to try re-seating it. If bad, I assume I'll get a new one shipped quickly... I hope so since I can not just put one of my old bulbs back in after the mod. :(

[biocube386]

Yeah your guide made it very easy! I did mine today and got what i wanted and that was more blue! The lights really make everything pop now! Yeah that is the bad part if one burns out we cant put the real 18" back in.. I assume they will discontinue these bulbs we just received when the new ones come in and then we will have to replace all 6 bulbs again.

[MVlk]

I think I'll replace my fixture before I need to do that. :) When I call to get a replacement for the burnt bulb... I'll have them ship me a extra spare or two so I do not get stuck.

[biocube386]

I think I'll replace my fixture before I need to do that. :) When I call to get a replacement for the burnt bulb... I'll have them ship me a extra spare or two so I do not get stuck.

Thats not a bad idea.. I might go ahead and order another indigo sun because then if a 454 goes i can replace with a little bit more white.

[MVlk]

I confirmed my 1 Actinic White bulb is dead tonight. Will call them tomorrow to have a replacement plus spare sent... hopefully they have at least one replacement.

I am loving the color though. Even with just two blues on for dusk lighting, the look is just so crisp. Corals look great under them also. I have a red digi that looks great now and all others seem more vivid.

[biocube386]

I confirmed my 1 Actinic White bulb is dead tonight. Will call them tomorrow to have a replacement plus spare sent... hopefully they have at least one replacement.

I am loving the color though. Even with just two blues on for dusk lighting, the look is just so crisp. Corals look great under them also. I have a red digi that looks great now and all others seem more vivid.

Thats a bummer! Us having to wait this long then they are too short then you have one burned out :(

Yeah the color is great i really went with more blue than i should of but i went with, 2 454's, 2 super attintic, and 2 indigo suns..

order of-

super attinic
454
indigo sun
454
super attinic
indigo sun

[MVlk]

The Indigo Sun seems too pink/purple for me. One does the trick for my liking. If I am able to get my hands on a spare White, I may try running two of those.

[MVlk]

Just got off the phone with Nick(?) from Nano Tuners. They are shipping a replacement out for the bad Actinic White bulb. Sounds like they have plenty in stock so I ordered a spare Actinic White and 454 just in case. I have been pretty happy with my dealings with them.

[pweissma]

Glad to hear that you like the new bulbs. I'm not doing a full bulb replacement so I have to hold off until they get the bulbs in the correct length.
Your tank is looking real nice.

[MVlk]

Thx... Nothing but old pics here unfortunately. Got a few new choice corals as well. Will wait to get new shots to the bad white bulb replacement gets here. Shots would probably be too blue without.

[rck]

Hey what do you have on the return? Looks like a half/ball thing?

I am wanting to get rid of the dual hoses for something a little more "clean"

rck

[MVlk]

rck,I currently have the stock Y lines on. One points to the back corner and one to the front. I just placed a small rock on top of it to minimize the appearance. I have tried the hydro-flo deflector but did not care for the flow it put out. Was too strong when it hit nearby corals.

[Dr. Fish]

I also have a NEP about to go over my new Solana. I'm dying to see pics of your tank with the new bulbs in.

[MVlk]

The new bulbs were a big improvement of the stock ones. I have however sold the Solana and moved on to a new one. Good luck with yours!

[duncantse]

I like that name..."Barrack & Obama"

[Dr. Fish]

Any pics with new bulbs installed to see the color difference between the stock Current USA bulbs?

[MVlk]

No pics, sold the tank as above before I got around to it. Been lazy as of late. Been over 3 months now and still have not gotten around to posting the NEP for sale. It is just sitting in my closet.

[orly20]

Hi Mike,

I just read through your whole thread and it was a bummer to me to read you sold the Solana:( I was looking forward to seeing how it was looking these days.

I was very interested on how you created the extra water volume with the refugium in the closet technique. I was wondering if you sold the Solana with the fuge?

Are you getting into anything else?

[NeveSSL]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

:)

Brandon

[WhiskeyCoffee]

Any update/changes to the sump? Found this thread through a Google image search and I really like your sump design and am going to use it when I make mine!

[NeveSSL]

Holy thread resurrection, Batman!

:)

Brandon