Latest photos of my 20
 

Hi all. Here is a newer photo after having switched to a 14k bulb and growing the corals out a bit:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat..._front-med.jpg

And here is a shot from the side:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...d_side-med.jpg

I hope you like!
Cheers,

- Chad

wow :eek: :eek: :eek: :eek:

Nice looking setup :cool:
How do you like the 14k for color?Was think of 2 14k 175wt for the main tank.

Thanks for the kind words guys.
I really love the color of this Hamilton 14K. My lighting consists of one 175W mh and two 24" VHO actinic. My last halide bulb was a xm10k and it yellowed out on me after only a few months. Just going from memory though, this 14K is lot better looking than the xm was even when it was at its best. My growth probably isn't as fast as it would have been with the 10k bulb, but hey, this is only 20gallons - I don't want things to grow too fast. :eek:

- Chad

Nice . . . dude :biggrin: Is that red slime algae tho'??? Mine JUST came back .... AGGHHH!! Anyhow . . . Nice Tank and oh. . . cute sun coral . . . so tiny!!

Looking really great Chad!! I love the look of 14K as well. :cool:

Nice zoo's :mrgreen:

Beautiful... :cool:

Nope, fortunately I don't have any nuisance algae in my tank. My sump has a ton of macro and it seems to prevent any blooms from happening. If what you are looking at is on the large rock on the right hand side of the tank, it is a type of zoo that spreads like a weed. I have had to mount different zoos around in in an effort to pen it in. :rolleyes:
Maybe slime algae woule be better :razz:

And thanks for the compliments.

- Chad

If anyone is unfamiliar with my system, here are some specs.

- Approx 20gal starfire with external overflow box and two 1" drains. Also, there is a 3/4" bulkhead in the back wall for closed loop. Glass is 3/8" thick.

- 20 gal sump underneath the tank with more live rock and macro algae. "big mombasa" (seriously its name) protein skimmer, extra maxijet 1200 for added circulation, fluorescent outdoor spotlight from walmart, iwaki md-20rxt as the sump return pump, blueline hd-20 on a closed loop.

Both tanks are now barebottom. Turnover in the main is approx 40X in the main and higher in the sump. Approx 50lbs of live rock in the system.

Livestock:

- zoanthids (approx 13 different colors)
- palythoa
- gsp
- toadstool
- assorted mushroom and ricordia
- pulsing xenia (2 colors)
- colt
- red open brain
- frogspawn
- candycane
- montipora digit. (green and purple)
- montipora cap. (green and orange and purple)

- three damsels (blue yellow-belly, three stripe, domino)
- large emerald crab (now lives in the sump because it kept knocking frags over)
- pistol shrimp (have only heard it, never seen it)

My cleanup crew: pepermint shrimp, hermits, brittle star have all been given away (or some moved to my nano at work) because I was getting annoyed with them rearanging frags. I have also found that with the macro in the sump, high circulation, and no sandbed, I do not need any cleanup crew other than the small bristle worms and stomatella snails. Oh, and some copepods and amphipods. Hope I didn't leave anything out.
Cheers,

- Chad

Whats the Dimensions. Beautiful tank also.

Thanks Ryan. The tank is 24x14x16 (lwh). It is acually 23gallons. I had Bow Valley build it similar to my original tank, a 20H, but a bit wider front to back.

- Chad

Looks great Chad :cool:

reply
 

Nice nano dude! What are your lights up top?

Thanks guys. For lights I have a 175w se Hamilton 14k on 8 hours a day and dual 24" URI VHO actinic on for 14 hours a day.

- Chad

SWEET!!!!!

Hard to belive thats a 20 gal.

Great job.

I have a hard time believing it too... it costs more like an 80 gal. :razz:
Thanks,

- Chad

and best of all almost no fish!!! Man i love your style!

Do you have more pictures of your complete setup so that we can see how you pull off such a beautiful display?, Such as your lights, stand, sump, etc...
Thanks and looks awesome!

Thanks bro - I had to throw the fish in because people that came over to visit
didn't understand how I could have a "fish tank" with no fish in it - couldn't wrap their heads around the concept :razz:
Looks like I still have a lot fewer fish-per-gallon than you though!
Cheers

You bet.

Here is a shot of the stand and canopy:

http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...16_003-med.jpg

The stand was a gift from my father-in-law who is a cabinet maker - he didn't intend for it to end up as a tank stand though...
The canopy and support arms were also built by "the General" from some specifications I gave him.



http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...16_004-med.jpg

The canopy rests ontop of the support arms and has a 4" cooling fan and the workhorse vho ballast on the back of it.

Unfortunately there is nothing pretty about the sump :redface:


http://www.canreef.com/photopost/dat...16_002-med.jpg

The pump of the left is the sump return, and the one on the right drives the closed loop. You can see the cheap spotlight I use for the chaeto. One maxijet drives the skimmer and another adds circulation. Also visible is my icecap mh ballast, timers, and ebo jager heater. (The sour cream containers are just some mushroom frags I'm trying to get to attach)

The kent aquadose drips kalk and fresh water topoff and is refilled every four days. Water changes used to be every two weeks but since I removed the sandbed I now change 5gal every three weeks with Tropic Marin salt. The kalk is the only suppliment I add.
Kinda ghetto down there...


- Chad

WOW awsome. I thought of one thing that could improve your closed loop if you wanted. SCWD i hear they work great i would like to try one.

Fantastic reply Chad. I love the simplisity of it all, I like the light overhang idea and open tank top. The biohazard symbol on the skimmer is priceless :) Keep up the good work and keep us up to date.

I looked at the scwd but decided against one due to the headloss - I guess I don't really need to worry about lack of flow.... but... with the two pumps, split into 4 returns I get pretty good random turbulence already. May revisit it again though.

- Chad

If it ain't broke don't fix it ........

Hey thanks man :cool: . Because of the open top I have no problem with heat at all. In fact the heater is necessary to maintian the tank at 78 degrees
otherwise it drops too low.
Ya, I think every simmer needs a biohazard sticker on it. I can score you one if you would like.

- Chad

Chad the hole for your overflow what size is it? Also is on the bottom of the tank or is it drilled on the side? If on the side how far down?

On the back of the tank is an external overfow box that measures:
10x4X8 (lwh). In the bottom of the box are two 1" bulkheads that lead straight down through the top of the stand into the sump via pvc pipe.

- Chad