Jonny's Elos System 70

jonnybravo22 · 09/12/2010, 11:55 AM

Hello all!

This thread is devoted to my system 70. The tank is for my 2 rod's onyx clownfish and blue gigantea anemone. I also added a burgess butterfly a few months ago, and recently have ventured into caring for SPS corals.

FTS:

And yesterday my clowns started spawning!

Xsjadolateralus · 09/12/2010, 12:01 PM

Very beautiful. I love the simplicity and absence of clutter. The tang is gorgeous and fits the tank so well. Congrats on the stunning reef.

jonnybravo22 · 09/12/2010, 12:42 PM

A few more of the clowns:

and the butterfly:

The corals:

jonnybravo22 · 09/12/2010, 12:43 PM

ORA red planet --

ORA Joe the Coral

ORA Plum Crazy

ORA Borealis

and FTS including lights:

jonnybravo22 · 09/12/2010, 12:54 PM

For those interested --- the above pics of the corals are when they were first introduced to the tank (about a month ago). Those are not "successful SPS with LED" pics.

They've now been in the tank about a month and some have lost a lot of color. The red planet is pretty much pink now, and I'm working on changing the lighting intensity / color temp to try to get the color back to what it was in those pics. Just FYI.

RotaryGeek · 09/12/2010, 01:12 PM

So are you satisfied with your LED's? If you could go back and do it again with a 250w MH pendant and known that you could keep great color no problem, would you still have gone with LED's? But its still a great tank, love the simplicity of it. What does the sump look like?

jonnybravo22 · 09/12/2010, 02:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Xsjadolateralus

Very beautiful. I love the simplicity and absence of clutter. The tang is gorgeous and fits the tank so well. Congrats on the stunning reef.

thanks!

Quote:

Originally Posted by RotaryGeek

So are you satisfied with your LED's? If you could go back and do it again with a 250w MH pendant and known that you could keep great color no problem, would you still have gone with LED's? But its still a great tank, love the simplicity of it. What does the sump look like?

hmm, good question. I wanted to know for myself what LEDs were like so I probably had to try it no matter what. If I accidentally dropped these lights and they were broken and I had to buy something new, for example, I probably would not buy the AI LEDs again. I would probably go with a Geissman (sp?) fixture with both MH and T5s.

the great thing about the LEDs is the control you have. If i can figure out how to get better color out of the corals iwth this light I will be very happy with the LEDs. I just bought a par meter, i think that will help when i gets here. it may be that i have had the light too intense and just need to bring it down.

I'll get a picture of the sump and post.

jonnybravo22 · 09/13/2010, 05:26 PM

Sump:

pretty simple. Vertex In-80 skimmer, might upgrade soon. The new grindwheel skimmer looks interesting. ATO in the clear cylinder, 25 micron filter sock.

firebirdude · 09/15/2010, 06:30 AM

Very cool. What kind of glue did you use to epoxy down your frags? It looks very thin and liquidy, but yet durable and strong like epoxy...

Swimwiththefish · 09/15/2010, 09:29 AM

nice setup, keeps us update with the LED's

Rickyrooz1 · 09/15/2010, 01:38 PM

Following along, have the corals lost any color under the LED's?

discus510 · 09/15/2010, 02:10 PM

nice tank but r u worry about the 25 micron sock cloggin and water flooding over the side and onto ur stand and floor??

jonnybravo22 · 09/15/2010, 06:52 PM

So I added corals to the tank at the end of July. I took pictures when I first added them and I just took some new pictures last night. My general impression is that the LED lights have NOT DONE VERY WELL under the settings I've used so far. Perhaps I've used too much light or not quite the right color combination, maybe I just need to wait another month or two... but so far I've been disappointed by the loss of colors, and general fading. Blue tips still shining bright though :/ Mainly though I think the corals have faded due to the LED light and I'm worried that if they continue on that path they won't look good.

ORA Red Planet:
New

After 1 Month under AI LEDs

ORA Borealis:
New

After 1 Month under AI LEDs

ORA Joe the Coral:
New

After 1 Month under AI LEDs

ORA Plum Crazy:
New

After 1 Month under AI LEDs

Perhaps you can tell from the pictures, but basically the red planet has gone from a deep red to a pale pink, the joe the coral has lost the green glow it used to have, and the Plum Crazy has lost it's deep purple and turned to a pale almost translucent brownish color with purplish / blue tint.

the borealis seems to have held its color pretty well, if anything it has gotten a bit of a brown tinge to it but not much change.

the joe, the borealis and the plum all have blue tips that come out pretty sharply and that has not faded. I kind of feel like the plum crazy is turning translucent blue and losing it's purple altogether.

jonnybravo22 · 09/15/2010, 07:32 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Rickyrooz1

Following along, have the corals lost any color under the LED's?

I posted some progress shots above for ya.

Quote:

Originally Posted by discus510

nice tank but r u worry about the 25 micron sock cloggin and water flooding over the side and onto ur stand and floor??

The sock is very large. I'm not worried about it clogging. I've left it alone for weeks and come back and it was not flooding. I also position it so that if it were to overflow it would flow back into the sump (i hope

)

firebirdude · 09/15/2010, 07:44 PM

What kind of glue??!

Damn man..... coming from a fellow LED user.... not what I want to hear.

I've been running mine about 7-8 months now. I can't say I've noticed any color loss that has jumped out at me. But I wouldn't describe my coral growth as explosive either. Have some candy cane trumpets that have really taken off.... and although my SPS has grown, nothing crazy by any means. Two white XR-Es in the sump for the cheato, it's been doing very well.

jonnybravo22 · 09/15/2010, 07:55 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by firebirdude

What kind of glue??!

Damn man..... coming from a fellow LED user.... not what I want to hear.

I've been running mine about 7-8 months now. I can't say I've noticed any color loss that has jumped out at me. But I wouldn't describe my coral growth as explosive either. Have some candy cane trumpets that have really taken off.... and although my SPS has grown, nothing crazy by any means. Two white XR-Es in the sump for the cheato, it's been doing very well.

hey man. sorry i missed responding.

What SPS do you have? my growth has been fine, I just dont like the direction that the colors are going. Maybe the lights have been too high though.

The glue on most of the corals is CorAffix by Two Little Fishes

The Plum Crazy needed some extra support in the position i put it so I wrapped a layer of HoldFast Epoxy by Marineland.

Rickyrooz1 · 09/15/2010, 08:05 PM

Are you sure the fading isn't due to the tank being pretty new? It seems the rocks are still going through some diatom blooms. When I first started my tank I had my first SPS corals colors fade.

jonnybravo22 · 09/15/2010, 08:11 PM

ehhh. could be. i dont think so but who knows.

This tank has been up since april / may but it was a transfer from a tank that cracked so the rocks have been in tanks for a year prior to that.

I'm fighting a little algae which resulted from a long vacation and i've been slowly cleaning it up each weekend i do a water change.

does any of the above info make your suggestion less likely? (asking b/c i'd like to know what you think)... i'm open to anything being the cause if it makes sense. i reaaaally would love to find a solution with these lights so if there's a way anybody knows, please let me know.

holdyourlight · 09/15/2010, 09:01 PM

Very jealous of your Rod's

How old are they?

Mine just turned 2. The female looks like a true perc. no black on the dorsal and no black between bar 2 and 3. The male has black dorsal and black between 2 and 3 but no third stripe!

I am hoping they will still get more black but i think they are getting too old maybe

great tank by the way, hope you figure out the lighting i know how frustrating it can be. i've bought SO many T5 bulbs that are collecting dust because they didnt make the cut for the final combination

jonnybravo22 · 09/16/2010, 06:20 AM

The female is about 2 years old. The male is a little over 1 year old.

The colors on my clowns really picked up when I got them a gigantea anemone (and started feeding them rod's fish eggs at the same time, but i think it was the anemone that did it) dont know if you have an anemone but that might help.

I added the anemone in February and they started being hosted about a month later. within a couple of weeks of being hosted the colors massively improved. i'll look through for old pics and try to show the progression.

The female looked very much like a regular perc before this.

epleeds · 09/16/2010, 02:20 PM

have you checked you alk/calicum levels. might have something to do with your SPS losing its coloration.

jonnybravo22 · 09/16/2010, 06:13 PM

tank parameters:

NH4: 0
NO2: 0
NO3: 0
P04: 0
Alk: 9 - 9.5
CA: 450
MG: 1250 - 1300

Elos test kits

jonnybravo22 · 09/20/2010, 07:49 PM

Just got in my new Apogee MQ-200 PAR meter. My measurements were pretty variable with any movement at all, but i kept water movement as it is normally to see what the corals would get in reality. Numbers are an approximation of where the meter settled or approximate midpoint of oscillating values.

I did see very high PAR under 100% scenarios. In the last week or so I have turned down the intensity to 40% W 60% B and reduced my light cycle. I have seen some improvement in color in the last week so I'm going to continue with the lowering and monitoring.

100% W / 100% B

40% W / 60% B

So the bottom picture is the way i've had the tank for about a week now. i'll keep monitoring, but the corals seem to be responding to this setup. It's only been a week though, so hard to say just yet.

firebirdude · 09/20/2010, 08:03 PM

OMG! I'm almost scared to see what my PAR numbers are. Im running twice the numbers of LEDs at about 12" closer. That meter have a 5-digit display??

jonnybravo22 · 10/08/2010, 08:36 PM

just a few updates

In this first pic, check out how the anemone sticks to the glass to keep itself outstretched during the day. interesting. i think the purple "bumps" or verrucae are actually the sticky parts, but haven't confirmed.seems like it sticks at tiny points though, i've noticed this on several occasions.

I fed the anemone and took a pic of her eating. (think i have identified it as a female)

09/12/2010, 11:55 AM	#1
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	Jonny's Elos System 70 Hello all! This thread is devoted to my system 70. The tank is for my 2 rod's onyx clownfish and blue gigantea anemone. I also added a burgess butterfly a few months ago, and recently have ventured into caring for SPS corals. FTS: And yesterday my clowns started spawning!

09/12/2010, 12:42 PM	#3
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	A few more of the clowns: and the butterfly: The corals: Last edited by jonnybravo22; 09/12/2010 at 12:48 PM.

09/15/2010, 01:38 PM	#11
Rickyrooz1 Acropora Nut Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newtown, PA Posts: 2,453	Following along, have the corals lost any color under the LED's? __________________ 120 Gallon Acropora dominated tank, barebottom, APEX Controller, ATI Sunpower 8x54w, Skimz SM163, Jebao DCT 6000 return pump & two Jebao OW-40. Current Tank Info: SPS Dominated

09/15/2010, 08:05 PM	#17
Rickyrooz1 Acropora Nut Join Date: Jul 2006 Location: Newtown, PA Posts: 2,453	Are you sure the fading isn't due to the tank being pretty new? It seems the rocks are still going through some diatom blooms. When I first started my tank I had my first SPS corals colors fade. __________________ 120 Gallon Acropora dominated tank, barebottom, APEX Controller, ATI Sunpower 8x54w, Skimz SM163, Jebao DCT 6000 return pump & two Jebao OW-40. Current Tank Info: SPS Dominated

09/20/2010, 07:49 PM	#23
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	Just got in my new Apogee MQ-200 PAR meter. My measurements were pretty variable with any movement at all, but i kept water movement as it is normally to see what the corals would get in reality. Numbers are an approximation of where the meter settled or approximate midpoint of oscillating values. I did see very high PAR under 100% scenarios. In the last week or so I have turned down the intensity to 40% W 60% B and reduced my light cycle. I have seen some improvement in color in the last week so I'm going to continue with the lowering and monitoring. 100% W / 100% B 40% W / 60% B So the bottom picture is the way i've had the tank for about a week now. i'll keep monitoring, but the corals seem to be responding to this setup. It's only been a week though, so hard to say just yet. Last edited by jonnybravo22; 09/20/2010 at 07:54 PM.

09/12/2010, 12:01 PM	#2
Xsjadolateralus Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Posts: 205	Very beautiful. I love the simplicity and absence of clutter. The tang is gorgeous and fits the tank so well. Congrats on the stunning reef.

09/12/2010, 12:43 PM	#4
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	ORA red planet -- ORA Joe the Coral ORA Plum Crazy ORA Borealis and FTS including lights:

09/12/2010, 12:54 PM	#5
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	For those interested --- the above pics of the corals are when they were first introduced to the tank (about a month ago). Those are not "successful SPS with LED" pics. They've now been in the tank about a month and some have lost a lot of color. The red planet is pretty much pink now, and I'm working on changing the lighting intensity / color temp to try to get the color back to what it was in those pics. Just FYI.

09/12/2010, 01:12 PM	#6
RotaryGeek Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Central Texas Posts: 713	So are you satisfied with your LED's? If you could go back and do it again with a 250w MH pendant and known that you could keep great color no problem, would you still have gone with LED's? But its still a great tank, love the simplicity of it. What does the sump look like?

09/13/2010, 05:26 PM	#8
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	Sump: pretty simple. Vertex In-80 skimmer, might upgrade soon. The new grindwheel skimmer looks interesting. ATO in the clear cylinder, 25 micron filter sock.

09/15/2010, 06:30 AM	#9
firebirdude User and Abuser Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,836	Very cool. What kind of glue did you use to epoxy down your frags? It looks very thin and liquidy, but yet durable and strong like epoxy...

09/15/2010, 09:29 AM	#10
Swimwiththefish Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2009 Posts: 128	nice setup, keeps us update with the LED's

09/15/2010, 02:10 PM	#12
discus510 Moved On Join Date: Sep 2009 Location: San Jose, California Posts: 803	nice tank but r u worry about the 25 micron sock cloggin and water flooding over the side and onto ur stand and floor??

09/15/2010, 06:52 PM	#13
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	So I added corals to the tank at the end of July. I took pictures when I first added them and I just took some new pictures last night. My general impression is that the LED lights have NOT DONE VERY WELL under the settings I've used so far. Perhaps I've used too much light or not quite the right color combination, maybe I just need to wait another month or two... but so far I've been disappointed by the loss of colors, and general fading. Blue tips still shining bright though :/ Mainly though I think the corals have faded due to the LED light and I'm worried that if they continue on that path they won't look good. ORA Red Planet: New After 1 Month under AI LEDs ORA Borealis: New After 1 Month under AI LEDs ORA Joe the Coral: New After 1 Month under AI LEDs ORA Plum Crazy: New After 1 Month under AI LEDs Perhaps you can tell from the pictures, but basically the red planet has gone from a deep red to a pale pink, the joe the coral has lost the green glow it used to have, and the Plum Crazy has lost it's deep purple and turned to a pale almost translucent brownish color with purplish / blue tint. the borealis seems to have held its color pretty well, if anything it has gotten a bit of a brown tinge to it but not much change. the joe, the borealis and the plum all have blue tips that come out pretty sharply and that has not faded. I kind of feel like the plum crazy is turning translucent blue and losing it's purple altogether.

09/15/2010, 07:44 PM	#15
firebirdude User and Abuser Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,836	What kind of glue??! Damn man..... coming from a fellow LED user.... not what I want to hear. I've been running mine about 7-8 months now. I can't say I've noticed any color loss that has jumped out at me. But I wouldn't describe my coral growth as explosive either. Have some candy cane trumpets that have really taken off.... and although my SPS has grown, nothing crazy by any means. Two white XR-Es in the sump for the cheato, it's been doing very well.

09/15/2010, 08:11 PM	#18
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	ehhh. could be. i dont think so but who knows. This tank has been up since april / may but it was a transfer from a tank that cracked so the rocks have been in tanks for a year prior to that. I'm fighting a little algae which resulted from a long vacation and i've been slowly cleaning it up each weekend i do a water change. does any of the above info make your suggestion less likely? (asking b/c i'd like to know what you think)... i'm open to anything being the cause if it makes sense. i reaaaally would love to find a solution with these lights so if there's a way anybody knows, please let me know.

09/15/2010, 09:01 PM	#19
holdyourlight Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2007 Location: Knoxville, Tennessee Posts: 984	Very jealous of your Rod's How old are they? Mine just turned 2. The female looks like a true perc. no black on the dorsal and no black between bar 2 and 3. The male has black dorsal and black between 2 and 3 but no third stripe! I am hoping they will still get more black but i think they are getting too old maybe great tank by the way, hope you figure out the lighting i know how frustrating it can be. i've bought SO many T5 bulbs that are collecting dust because they didnt make the cut for the final combination

09/16/2010, 06:20 AM	#20
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	The female is about 2 years old. The male is a little over 1 year old. The colors on my clowns really picked up when I got them a gigantea anemone (and started feeding them rod's fish eggs at the same time, but i think it was the anemone that did it) dont know if you have an anemone but that might help. I added the anemone in February and they started being hosted about a month later. within a couple of weeks of being hosted the colors massively improved. i'll look through for old pics and try to show the progression. The female looked very much like a regular perc before this.

09/16/2010, 02:20 PM	#21
epleeds Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2009 Location: virginia Posts: 346	have you checked you alk/calicum levels. might have something to do with your SPS losing its coloration.

09/16/2010, 06:13 PM	#22
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	tank parameters: NH4: 0 NO2: 0 NO3: 0 P04: 0 Alk: 9 - 9.5 CA: 450 MG: 1250 - 1300 Elos test kits

09/20/2010, 08:03 PM	#24
firebirdude User and Abuser Join Date: Aug 2008 Location: Oklahoma Posts: 1,836	OMG! I'm almost scared to see what my PAR numbers are. Im running twice the numbers of LEDs at about 12" closer. That meter have a 5-digit display??

10/08/2010, 08:36 PM	#25
jonnybravo22 Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2008 Posts: 1,128	just a few updates In this first pic, check out how the anemone sticks to the glass to keep itself outstretched during the day. interesting. i think the purple "bumps" or verrucae are actually the sticky parts, but haven't confirmed.seems like it sticks at tiny points though, i've noticed this on several occasions. I fed the anemone and took a pic of her eating. (think i have identified it as a female) Last edited by jonnybravo22; 10/08/2010 at 08:41 PM.