Leonardo's Apogon Reef

[Leonardo_]

I've been absent for a while, mainly because of moving to another apartment and starting a new job. Almost a year ago I started with a new idea. A reeftank with many Apogon species hiding in and between large Acropora Colonies. The whole year I spent collecting Acropora Colonies and Frags, aquascaping the tank, but I was never satisfied. I even thought of getting out of the hobby, it just didn't gave me satisfaction anymore and I could not be happy with the results I was getting.
But I kept trying and at last I have something now I'm (slightly) pleased with, although I'm far from where I want to be. From this moment I would like to share the progress of the tank with you guys and I would really like your input and ideas.

The new tank -Apogon Reef- will be Apogon dominated. That means +75 Apogons, several species.
Not too many, large Acropora will provide shelter for the very high flow (2x 6301)
The Apogons (and the corals indirectly) will be fed from dusk till dawn with many automated feedings in small amounts, to mimic their natural feeding pattern.
A BB tank allows me to use high flow, heavy feeding and direct nutrient control.

Some info about the tank and equipment:

The dimensions of the tank are: 43″ x 34″ x 22″ high. The tank alone, without sump, is 135 Gallon. There is an external overflow on the right side, so the tank can sit flush to the back wall.
All edges are polished.











Hardware:

10 x 39 Watt T5 using ATI Sunpower Pendants
LED Supplement (CREE XP-E Royal Blue and Blue)
2x Tunze 6301 on multicontroller
Eheim 1262 Return Pump
Grotech TEC III Controller for Balling+ Trace Elements
D&D Fluidized Reactor for GAC and GFO

I chose to use many T5's on the blue end of the spectrum because of the large amount of deep water Acropora tables. These seem to adapt better the light in the blue end of the spectrum:

5x ATI Blue+
2x ATI Purple Plus
2x Red Sea True Actinic
1x ATI AquaBlueSpecial

(Future) Livestock:

60 Apogon Leptacanthus
20 Apogon Margaritophorus
1 Pseudocheilinus Hexataenia
1 Salarias Fasciatus
1 Acanthurus Triostegus
3 Halichoeres Chrysus

Some other fish may be added later on. For example some Wrasse species.

Here are some pictures from almost a year ago, with the first water and aquascape:

[Leonardo_]

And the tank today. Let me know what you think!













Thanks, Leonardo

[glaukos]

for ten minutes i was trying to find my words.....!
thanks for sharing and putting some goals in my head!

[Chrisrush]

I have been waiting for this update for some time now. Looking great Leonardo. Glad to hear things are going well.

[eskymick]

Welcome back, Leonardo. Once again, you give meaning to the phrase "less is more". Awesome reef!!

[naterealbig]

Leonardo, the tank looks amazing. A stunning work of art now, and a future masterpiece.

[ChrisAnator03]

amazing tank one of the cleanest tanks i have seen

[Leonardo_]

Thank you for the reactions and compliments It's good to be back here.

Nathaniel; Thank you. I'm still striving for better growth and coloration, and a cleaner tank.

Leonardo

[naterealbig]

Leonardo, is your coral coloring the same in the photographs? What are doing to fine-tune the coral color?

[secrest]

Holy crap! Your tank is amazing!

[Guttungen]

Looking great. I really like your project of an apogon reef. That can be stunning. Keep up the good work

[Leonardo_]

Originally Posted by naterealbig

Leonardo, is your coral coloring the same in the photographs? What are doing to fine-tune the coral color?

Yes, I use the white-balance to create the most realistic representation of the aquarium and corals.

I try to fine-tune coral color by optimizing flow, increase feeding while maintaining low NO3, PO4 and organics and next to that it's just patience. Many corals, especially larger colonies need time to fully color up. Since I just completed this aquascape, many corals lost that extra bit of color they had after half a year without disturbance.
I'm also adding small amounts of trace-elements into my Balling-solutions (two-part) to see what the (long term) effects on color are.

Secrest, Guttungen; Thank you!

Leonardo

[pimp2daizzo]

are you running both tunzes?

[Leonardo_]

Originally Posted by pimp2daizzo

are you running both tunzes?

Yes, the Tunze 6301 are running 30-50% pulse now, and can be adjusted when colonies get bigger and the tank demands more flow.

Leonardo

[pimp2daizzo]

i have two mp40s on rc at 100% and a tunze nano modded and i still dont think its enough flow for my 90g.

how much effect does the flow play a roll in the coral color?

[cdrewferd]

Wow, that looks awesome.

[yano]

I also was waiting for this update of the project ... once again you have not disappointed!!!
You can get a picture of the sump? I'm surprised that you do not use any means of settlement for bacteria in view of the little live rock used .... not used either bacteria or add any carbon source?
Thanks

[letter2no]

really amazing scaping and corals leonardo.... love it...

[sweet ride]

nice setup will definitely tag along!!!!

[ksed]

Hi Leonardo

Nice to see you back. The tank looks amazing. Did you modify your scaping since those pictures taken above?
Are you still running the BK skimmer?

Kevin

[Pallobi]

I was in love with your past tank... Your current display is awesome as well... Love me some bare bottom...

[naterealbig]

Leonardo, the corals should come back nicely. What "trace elements" are you dosing, and in what amounts? Also, I did not see a skimmer in your hardware list. Are you currently running one?

[plyle02]

Congrats Leonardo! Long time my friend Simply Beautiful... Your tanks, all of them, have served as an inspiration to my style of reefing, particularily with sps, also a fan of Robertus too Good luck, always great having a chance to view your art...

[GSMguy]

Glad to see you back Leonardo. The new tank is stunning as always.
I only have 3 apagons right now but I am going to order more Soon.

Do you prefer the Red Sea actinic to the ATI actinic?

[yifan917]

Glad to see you back too Leonardo, your thread is one of the best ones to read!
The new tank looks awesome as always.
Look forward to more updates! (with pix of course )