Reef nutrition

100g TruVu, SPS, LPS

Lateralus

Lateralus

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After months of waiting I have finally found the time get back into the aquarium hobby. I still consider myself very new to the hobby, only being 5 years since I started my first saltwater aquarium. I have been fascinated with aquariums since my first freshwater 10 gallon in 1996. Since then I have gradually graduated in tank size and difficulty. After getting my scuba diving certification at 13 I had my eye on the prize, my new found passion, having a saltwater reef tank. I have some success with leather corals, mushrooms, polyps, sponges but I have never had the opportunity to keep SPS, mostly because of financial reasons. Thanks to Tuberider, I quickly started to pick up on the science of reef keeping. Unfortunately because of a series of events I had to breakdown the tank and put everything on hold. Finally after a long time I have been given the opportunity to start again, and this time I have decided to start a true reef tank with LPS and SPS. This is what I am working with now...

Tank: 100 gallon TruVu
Sump: 50 gallon
Refugium: 10 gallon CPR
Protein Skimmer: RS80
Live Rock: 150lbs
Lights: pending but It looks like I found a deal on 2 used Hamilton 400 watt MH along with some T5s
Water quality: Cycling (Note: I just moved to the Santa Cruz mountains and I have not yet found out about our water source.)
Salinity: 1.025
Temp: 73 degrees

I was recently laid off from my job, so I decided to go back to school full time and have part time work so money is very tight. I will be attaching so photos of the tank later today to give you guys a better picture....literally. This hobby has taught me so much, and I am hoping to learn so much more more. I would like to thank everyone, you guys are the reason why I still geek out and never give up on this.
-Robert
 
Welcome! sounds like you are off to a good start.
If you know Jeremy then you have a leg up on a lot of reefers. :bigsmile:
 
Thanks for the welcome, unfortunately my camera is unable to take any clear shots of the tank so photos will be pending. The lights ended up falling through, but the upside is that I have made the decision to go green. Power up here in the mountains is not cheap, and after some careful calculations from my last bill I decided that in the long run it would be cheaper to go with Aqua Illumination SOL LED fixtures, not sure yet whether or not to go with the Super Blue's or just the White Sol fixtures. I do have some time to think about it because most places wont have them available until around April, till then I am just supplementing my tank with some old lights in the mean time, lucky for me there's nothing in it besides LR and sand.

So my question is with an 18'' deep tank which ones should I go with to get the best spectrum, the Super Blue's or just the White? I have also seen people custom them with different blue/white ratio.
 
Lateralus said:
So my question is with an 18'' deep tank which ones should I go with to get the best spectrum, the Super Blue's or just the White? I have also seen people custom them with different blue/white ratio.
Click to expand...

Unfortunately, you are asking a question that is really about your personal preference.
Do you like the 10K look, or a more blue 20K look?

You can adjust the color, regardless of which you get, but that is done by turning down the LEDs you
don't like, so a big waste of money.

Tank is shallow, so that means you can probably get by with a slightly smaller fixture.
But then, that needs to be a function of the types of coral you plan to keep.
 
Go with the super blue ones Robert, I've worked with both and the white really overpowers the blues, the blues have a real deep color. If your tank was deeper I'd say go with the whites, but with a tank that shallow you're better off with the blues IMO.
 
Good call, I have found a place that has a good deal on the lights (free shipping and no taxes), reefgeek.com. Looks like I am going to start off with 3 Super Blues, (empty the bank) and when I can add two more. Hopefully the order will come in around April.

BigMac, I up the temp to and my tank flux from 75 - 73.7.
 
For people like me who love the science of reef keeping. An excerpt from Aquarium Corals: Selection, Husbandry, and Natural History by Eric H Borneman

" Energy Budgets:
The energy budgets for symbiotic corals can be summarized by the equation:
C+PS = (Pz + Pa) + (Rz + Ra) + F + U + G
Where:
C = consumption, or food intake;
PS = photosynthesis from the zooxanthellae;
P = production, as growth, of zooxanthellae (Pz) and animal (Pa);
R = respiration, as metabolic use, of zooxanthellae (Rz) and animal (Ra);
F = Energy lost in feces;
U = Energy lost as other excretion; and
G = Energy used in gonad output "

Using this formula we are able to track the flow of energy through a coral life's span. Hopefully I will be able to show you guys some real time numbers once all my stuff comes in, all in the pursuit to get the most efficient source of food, light and mineral intake using this formula.
 
Looks like you polished the scratches out, nice.

Watch that filter sock, as it gets impacted the weight on the plumbing could put undo stress on the bulkhead and cause a little leak.
 
lattehiatus: I am still at the infancy stages of understanding cellular energy, as well as the process of energy flow but this is were i can start. The interesting part of this experiment is the fact not only will I have to put into account for cellular respiration but for photosynthesis because of the mutualistic relationship between the coral and zooxanthellae. As time goes on and my understanding of these complex processes continues I hope to change this experiment and allow for more accurate results.

What can I control?
Calories available in food sources: I can create my own blend of coral foods allowing for a more accurate account of calories input in the system
Light Production: Once my lights are installed I will be able to formulate a good estimate of Solar Energy available for photosynthesis.
Temp: This will account for the corals metabolism
Water quality: the highest quality will give the most accurate measurements of success, bad water = dying or poor quality corals
Accurate Growth rate: measuring the growth rate of corals will be an indication of cellular production of energy

Here are some formulas:

Photosynthesis:
6 CO2+ 6 H2O à sunlight à C6H12O6 + 6 O2

Cellular Respiration:
C6H12O2 -------- 6 CO2 + 6 H2O

Production of calories from ATP:
ATP + H2O → ADP + Pi ΔG˚ = −30.5 kJ/mol (−7.3 kcal/mol)
ATP + H2O → AMP + PPi ΔG˚ = −45.6 kJ/mol (−10.9 kcal/mol)

@TubeRider: Yah the sock is a temporary thing, Im more using it as a way to eliminate some splashing and noise, I did not extend the pipe far enough down into the sump. I will be extending the pipe later this week.
 
This looks like it's going to be a really nice setup and it sounds like you have the patience to really enjoy the whole process. Keep the pictures coming (even if they are just of bare sand and rock).
 
Nice start! Have you considered extending the drain tube further down in the sump? That would prevent the waterfall effect and reduce splashing.
 
Yah, I was planing on taking care of that this weekend, at first I thought that it would impair GPH but my new understanding is that it does but not enough to notice significant changes.
 
Tested the water today, tank only took 3 weeks to cycle. I am using a API testing kit, I know there not the best but I have nothing but a few fish in the tank and no corals. I will buy better kits once my lights come in and I start putting in corals.

Ammonia : 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Calcium: 560ppm
KH Hardness: 11dKH or 196.9
Salinity: 1.024
Magnesium: ? (no test kit yet), but I'm assuming its around 1350 considering the Ca levels

I think that the calcium levels are really high, but I'm not sure. I know that only the coraline algae is utilizing it right now. What do you guys think; should I just let the system use it up a little bit or keep the Ca and KH at those levels?
 
Thanks to some BAR members I was able to get some lights for the tank; two 250w 20k HQI. They also through in a desperately needed protein skimmer, so I'm now running a RS100 (new one) and a RS80, which should get the job done with a heavy bio load in the future. Today my friend and I just build this canopy; its not stained yet but eventually I am going to get it to match the custom stand, as well as having someone paint an underwater reef theme mural on the side rails.

Now that I have finally set up all the equipment I need its time to get some corals... Hopefully I will have time to drop in at Neptune Aquatics and find something I like.

Thanks again to kc for everything you guys did.... The journey has finally started for this tank.

Attached files /attachments/sites/default/files/DSC01852.JPG /attachments/sites/default/files/DSC01853.JPG /attachments/sites/default/files/DSC01856_0.JPG
 
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