My New 39 gallon & 10 gallon sump!

[paul87]

So I've moved and have my new tank setup. I'm not positive but its either a 38 or 39 gallon. I swapped tanks from my old 36 gallon hex front because the top frame didn't allow much light through. I built the stand and sump myself for the first time. I used the herbie method and drilled and plumbed it. I used my aquac remora hang on skimmer ib the sump. Thats why the first chamber is real high. Its a tight fit! So here's some pics questions and comments welcome.

 

[Wendy8184]

Looks good! You're on your way...

 

[paul87]

Lost a couple corals in the new tank. I think it was stress from a qick temp drop and rise during the tank swap. My green red eye pineapple brain died, my Hollywood stunner died and some of my flowerpot coral died. I thought the flowerpot wasva gonner but its looking alot better now. I also had my salinity higher than it was in my old tank but its good now. Everything else is doing good. Got a few more snails and an emerald crab for the sump.

 

[paul87]

New lights came in today. LEDS! Its a 120w xen-lux light. Pretty bright too. Figured I'd give it a shot for the price the stats look good.

 

[paul87]

Got the lights mounted nicely with cables and S-clip hooks for height adjustments. Looks better accept for the pencil mark in my ceiling. I hot glued two 3 led lunar truelumen lights to knock down some wattage during night. They run under a Watt a piece and I've only got six. The new xen-lux led fixture is definitely brighter than my t5 ho's. All seems good with it so far. I put my submersible marineland hidden led light in the stand to be my fuge light instead of the CFL. Turns out they are not really submersible. Its only 6700k I think. I only used it for lunars. Here's some pics of what I have done. Comments and questions welcome.

 

[paul87]

Picked up a decent sized favia coral today for $20. The coral was almost all white when they got it and most if its color has returned while they had it. So I guess I got a good deal hope it does well. Here's some pics of it.

 

[paul87]

Dosed my tank for the second time with Fuel. Just recently picked this up. The Guy I deal with at the LFS suggested it 10-20 mind before feeding for immediate polyp extension. It worked good on the new favia coral. Saw the tentacles come out for the first time and eat. Zoas finally starting to open up. My Duncan still hasn't opened but its looking better. Did a water test and all is perfect. Calcium was a little low so I added some purple up.

 

[Beengirl]

Picked up a decent sized favia coral today for $20. The coral was almost all white when they got it and most if its color has returned while they had it. So I guess I got a good deal hope it does well. Here's some pics of it.

That's a really good deal!!

 

[paul87]

Yea o thought so its feeding good too. I traded my old 35 gallon and stand for a green brain coral. I got my first brain! LOL. Here it is it was marked at $50 which was a good deal anyways from what I've seen around here.

 

[Beengirl]

Yea o thought so its feeding good too. I traded my old 35 gallon and stand for a green brain coral. I got my first brain! LOL. Here it is it was marked at $50 which was a good deal anyways from what I've seen around here.

Nice! I used to have one similar, but the angel picked at it a lot and it never recovered. Nice color, though.

 

[paul87]

Yea. They have a pink one with highlights of lime green at my usual LFS for $200. Its is the nicest looking one I've seen in person. Outta my price range though. I almost got a Pygmy angel til I heard about them and corals. I picked corals over fish! But they are really awesome fish to watch. Very characteristic. I just have 2 fish. My wrasse is the boss he swims around like he owns the place, which he does. My little clown just wonders around aimlessly. Here's my new corals under actinics. Cell phone pic just don't pic up the color.

 

[paul87]

Got a new sump today. Not sure what size but had to move the full tank today to take back panels of stand and cut 1/4" out for it to slide in. Ill post pics up soon. Plumbing it back now. My Skimmer stopped working too for some reason gotta figure it out. Post pics and update soon!

 

[paul87]

New sump addition. Its a tight fit and set up differently than the one I made. Not sure on the size but it bigger and it says Pro Series on it and its all acrylic. Got it all running today. I used my aquac remora hang on Skimmer actually in the water to make it fit and to keep pump submerged. Its on the pour over baffle.

 

[Beengirl]

I like the addition of the small bone yard under the skimmer with the live rock!! Haha

 

[paul87]

Yea.LOL its alot roomier. I plan to put some more LR chunks in there. That's where the bad crabs get banished too.

 

[mr funktastic]

just out of curiosity, how long is your tank? and do you notice any of your corals "reaching" for the light since it is so small in relation to the tank? i was thinking about upgrading the lighting on my 30 gal tank to the same led unit. but it is 36" long and i worry that the fixture wont project enough light to the outside of the tank. looks excellent by the way.

 

[paul87]

My tank is 36" long. The leds spread really well. Haven't noticed any stretching polyps or anything. I actually had to raise the light because it didn't have a dimmer and I didn't want my corals to get 'cooked'. I used to have a dual 36" t5 ho light on it.

 

[paul87]

This light is excellent for a 36" tank. My only problem with this particular unit is that it doesn't have a dimmer and both blue and white use the same power cord. Bur the price was right and the product seems to be of pretty good quality.

 

[mr funktastic]

how long have u been using the led fixture? have you noticed any difference in growth? i am currently running a quad t5 HO. 156 watt. and i was looking at a dimmable 120 led fixture. i may just do it now seeing it on yours.

 

[paul87]

The leds seem to be alot more crisp plus you never have to buy bulbs. Most of them claim to last 5+ years. The one I got by xen-lux says 10+ years. I really can't say which is better though. T5 ho lighting is pretty good especially if you have a quad. You should be OK with the led fixture. Which one was you looking at?