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Elos 120 (liter)

Got Sump!
Yesterday at about 11:30 am, I stopped in to Aquatic Gallery (since I was in the neighborhood) hoping to find out what time today I'd be picking up my sump, pumps, sand and LR. They said "how convenient, it's ready now, we're just unloading it from TruVu. Well, quick as a bunny I was on my way home smelling like a crab boat in the North Pacific.
Here's everything up and running a day early! (What the hell am I gonna do today, now that it's done!)

ATO works great, notice intergrated TO reservoir and very simple sump. The ATi BM skimmer is workin' it's butt off (too bad there are no organics for it to eat). There's even a little starter ball of Chaeto under a 5100K light.
Now to wait..............tick tick tick tock tick tock.


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There's more:
OK, I realize some of the LR is bare but cool. I built a little swim through with a "table mountain" above it. SPS heaven! Here's some close ups of the bare-old, boring, dead LR and the livestock that's going to start moving in a couple weeks.

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Very nice. :glasses:

Just add water and you're good to go. Congrats. :star:

Now you'll have something to keep you busy the rest of the weekend. :tired:

Have fun and keep us posted. ;)

RK
 
That's how clear it became just overnight. See top pic for water line. I filled it two days ago and added the rock and sand yesterday. The Elos glass is almost invisable. Of course, my eyes are a little older now.... I've already fished out a couple of those pesky little white star fish.

So the only sad part is that I've got absolutely nothing I can do for the tank for about 3 weeks except pretend it's a moonscape and look at it.
 
Might want to wait to add stuff till after the Oct 11th meeting and get tips on aquascaping. Hopefully I don't get motivated to change mine around a whole lot :D
 
I've been real bad...........
But hasn't it been about 3 weeks?

OK, Since I now know when my light fixture is going to arrive, AND.............since my ammonia, nitirite and nitrate remain at zero and my ph is stable at 8.2 and my temp is stable at 78 deg F and since the tanks get's SO much ambient light...............I've started to move some low bio impact livestock into the well lit (you thinking I'M well lit) areas of the tank including all zoas, palys and shrooms. So far, everyone is happy and open. If I sense any impending melt down, I'll just transfer them back to the little bitty tanks.........bad bad bad....(5 days after filling). In celebration, I had a hammerhead shark tattooed on my shoulder! Ha! That'll teach em! (Teach who?)



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I've been bad, AGAIN. I continue to move livestock into the Elos despite the fact my light fixture is still in transit. It started with zoa's (why is it pronounced "zoo's" when it look's like "zo-ah's"?) shrooms and now I've moved in the Duncan and two Blasto's. Everything opens at first light and inflates to wonderful proportions in the brighter daylight. It's a very sunny part of the house and I have skylights as well. So, under natural daylight, here's how the migration is looking:


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Looking Good.

I think it was Mae West that said " When I'm Good, I'm good, and when I'm Bad, I'm better."

I see you're getting some coralline algae going on you live rock too. What's up with the light system? I must have missed one of your posts.

Looks like you're having fun :)
 
Lighting is "on it's way, along with the T5's. The Mh are in my possession and just "waiting for a nice socket to plug into". hehe
The fixture came from Berlin and should be about ready for forwarding to me from Scott at Aquarium Specialties in SC. I purchased it along with Vortech pumps, battery back-ups for pumps, JBJ ATO, Teco chiller/heater all from A.S. Small company, good folks, very competitive and one of a handfull of suppliers that can provide the AquaPhoton Plus fixture. Scott helped me pick the bizarre combination of T5 lights to pop into my fixture. I'll give it a go...............(yes, I'm having WAY too much fun now!!)
 
So far, my friends, Jah smiles on me.
I've moved (don't ask why a little voice in my head said it would be alright) most of my polyps, zoa's, blastos, hammers, candy cane, frog spawn and numerous shrooms into the big tank with NO LIGHT FIXTURE. The ambient room light is way more than sufficient to get full inflation (look close) of everyone in the tank and all close up at night except the Dendro and the Duncans and Aussi Sun who now resides under a big flat rock in a swim through. The fuge is getting a little knarly but I had the light on for a very long time at first. Can I reuse that diatom bag? It's starting to look a bit nasty and the skimmer is actually skimming a little tan sludge.

Pics taken with my iphone in natural light at 4 pm.

The tank just turned one week old........


__________________

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My tank used to be in a position that it got sunlight in the morning through a window, man those corals looked great, however the tank got algae on that wall much faster and it was funny watching them be tipped over towards the sunlight :D
 
I always think back to the guy on RC who only used a solar tube to light his tank. It was really nice, and probably saved on electricity, I don't remember if he had other lights for when the sun went down.
 
I've been doing a rather non scientific study on nuisance algae growth. It seems that in my situation, even direct sun does not promote nuisance algae (much) as long as my water is in real good shape. I've been pouring afternoon sun directly on my Nanocube for months and it requires very little algae removal from the glass or back wall. The hair algae is holding steady in spots on the LR. Not worse and not better. I am able to stop it's spread, but have to mechanically remove what the AlgaeFix doesn't attack. Now, so far, I have not seen the expected brown algae except in the sump and the only hair algae has been a tiny bit left of the LR that I've moved into the Elos. My Chaeto is looking a little fluffier than when first placed in sump. The skimmer is actually getting some brown soup now as well. The ATi BM 160 is doing a great job in there!

With the first light of morning today, I saw that the Toadstool softie I placed in there yesterday decided to extend it's polyps and sluff off a nice slippery slime layer. In my world that's a good thing and it's getting "happy". Raised that puppy from a pinky sized frag that I found at Tropical Reef in S.F.

Thanks for the kudos regarding my non-conventional tank cycling approach.
 
Now what to put where. All LPS etc is in the tank (still under amibient light) and as of "today" the SPS is just waiting for the fixture to arrive DARN SOON!

Notice the quickie conversion I did today on the 20 dal tank! It's clearin' up real nice, I've kicked up the MP-10 to ultra-turbo Reef Crest Mode and moved all SPS much closer to the T5's. hehe They are really liken' it!
Also, I put some of the LR from the 20 in the sump as well as some on the swim through island that appears to be emerging as the semi-final aquascape.


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