Blog Comments

It sure is a lot, and I haven't even gotten started! I was born and raised in Forest, Va, moved to Blacksburg Va when I was 19, then moved around Blacksburg 4 times in 4 years. Moved to Brunswick, Oh in 2010, then to Hinckley, Oh in 2011, then in December we moved literally down the street (1/2 mile). We are here to stay!! At least until we build a home one day, maybe in 15 or 20 years. I also like to put down roots, and I'm not really a fan of moving. Glad that phase is over!

It's rather amazing when you consider what all you have done over time - in a recap it is more obvious than when you just move through the paces day to day. All that moving has to be a pain though; I hate moving and tend to put down roots for a long time.

Looking forward to reading about your newest setup.

Gotta love a nice waxed floor. Looks sharp! And I hear you on the "I wish the room was bigger..." - that was the case with my 280g. For the 400g, the rebuild of that room to a larger size worked out beautifully. I have enough room to move around in there and do what needs doing. It's a little bit shocking to me that I was able to park a 215g setup in the room when the 400g leaked, since the room wasn't built for an extra reef tank whatsoever. Fortunately, it all worked out and my livestock stayed safe during that period.

Yes, API test kits are cheap and fine for Ammonia and Nitrate measurements. 2006! Yes, that will need to be replaced. For Ca, Alk and Mg I'm using Elos kits now. I'll likely be selling those from my site soon.

I'll go check out your images again since I can't turn my Mac on its side.

Thanks guys!

My wife and I just moved into this house in December, and I won't lie, the basement is my favorite part of the house. On the other side of the wall I'm building a home theater, it's like a giant blank canvas. I still need to find room to store a lot of the stuff I displaced, but yeah, that's just a minor issue.

I'm glad the floor gets the professional stripper seal of approval! I'll probably VCT other areas of the basement as well.

Good to know on the sand, I'll probably just leave it and see what happens. I tested my liverock batches last night....my ammonia level is still the same as it was a week ago, which doesn't make sense. I checked my test kit date.....2006. I checked some RODI water....same reading. Do you think its even worth buying another ammonia kit or should I just let it sit a couple more weeks and call it good? I'll probably have to replace most of my test kits, so I'd rather put the money into Cal, Alk, Mg, etc. I guess I could pick up an API kit a Petsmart for a small price.

Thanks for the info on the pictures. I fixed the rotation, and I sharpened the final one of the floor with wax-- its really the only one that was worth tweaking. They all looked reasonable on my phone, they look a lot worse full screen! I won't bust the Nikon out until the tank is up and running.

Man, that is awesome! Great work!

I'm so jealous of your basement area. Talk about a nice perk, you were able to make a very nice fishroom in an area that was essentially unused other than storage.

The flooring came out really nice, good job. You did the right thing stripping and waxing it, but as you know saltwater is harsh stuff. Be good about mopping up spills so the wax will hold up long term.

Regarding dry sand and alkalinity, you can buffer it up with baked baking soda if necessary. I never noticed any strange numbers, but my tanks were running when I moved livestock in. Remember when I set up the 400g in 2011, I used 450lbs of dry sand. And this time when I set it up anew, I used the same sand, washed clean but it was in the tank with live rock for almost a month before I transferred the livestock.

Pictures - argh. I have the same thing happen from time to time. I don't know why it happens, and those images that are wrong have to be opened up in a photo editing program rotated to the right orientation (even if you do a 360°) and saved. That seems to solve the problem. Then I delete the first set of wrong images and upload the new ones. Total PITA.

I found this article very interesting, however it appears to be the first generation Radion. The 2nd and 3rd generations have LEDs running at much higher wattages than the 1st gen:

http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2012/3/aafeature

Thanks melev and NEReef.

I did think about DIYing LEDs, but in the end, I have no where near enough time available to make something like the Radions, and I would always be disappointed if the performance wasn't on PAR (heh...)

Marc, its no coincidence that a lot of my lighting is the same as yours! I have been following your reef for years (almost a decade?), and I always liked the look of your 280. Does the Radion have that same sparkle through the water like MH lighting does? That was one of the things I loved most about MH after switching over from fluorescent. I would hate to not have that.

I see that the Radion Gen 3s are out, and the standard Radion has the UV channel that the Gen 2s lacked, so that is certainly a plus. Looks like the PRO adds 2 Yellow, 2 Deep Blue, and upgrades to the Cree XP-G2 Cool White.

I really do love my other lighting set up, it's just not very well suited for this tank.

My answer is build your own LED! Simple pendant fixture cheap and easy. Plus if you run two cords you can control some blues on one timer so you get morning/evening.

Well, it's interesting that most of your previous lighting is the same as what I have over the 400g now. So I understand wanting to use one over the 60g, but like you said it's all or nothing - one color all day every day.

I have the Radion Gen2 over my 60g cube and think it's perfectly suited for the task. The only reason for the Pro is for increased PAR for taller tanks. You don't have that situation. I discussed my options with Ecotech Marine when I was about to set up the 60g, and was assured that the Gen2 was plenty. There are less LEDs on the Pro, and an additional UV spectrum not in the Gen2, but it didn't justify spending more.

So that's my answer.

If my example helps you avoid rushing, then I've done a good job. Waiting a few more days for it to be right is pretty much what I have been doing for a long time.

Thanks for the great response. The reef that you had in 2010 was incredibly impressive, but I have no doubt that this one will be even more incredible in a few short years, perhaps even sooner.

I'm not running my cube yet, I actually just placed the order last week! I couldn't wait to confess my return to the hobby. As you stated, I did go out quietly. I didn't want to post about my tank failure when it happened because I already felt enough guilt and I didn't want to make myself feel worse by talking about it. Looking back, I'm sure sharing probably would have made me feel a little better.

The LFS couldn't give me an exact date on my new tank's arrival, but said it should arrive within two weeks. I plan to post a blog about every choice I need to make during set up to get ideas from the group. I am going to try very hard to not let my habits screw things up, lol. I am usually incredibly impulsive and impatient, and I like to see results now. As we know, only bad things happen quickly in this hobby! I want to be sure I let my tank fully cycle, to avoid some of the algae issues I had last time, I am going to run a QT tank and be diligent about QTing and dipping new arrivals. Most of all I want my setup to be neat and detail oriented. I usually go BIG when I do anything, and I tend to loose attention to detail and instead put more effort into "just getting things running". I felt (am hoping) that the 60g would help me be a little more focused on the little things.

I'm really glad you chose to share your thoughts with us. We are a great group, quietly doing what we do best and sharing our experiences. I'm sure a few fellow bloggers are well-overdue to provide some updates about their tanks, but to think that you were following along all this time quietly - what we call lurking - is EXACTLY why this site is always available. Not everyone feels comfortable sharing, or feel that their 'bad luck' makes them look bad. We all struggle in various ways, including myself as you listed above. I'm finally getting on track after what feels like 3 years of wasted time. It's not really wasted, but what I took down in July 2010 was incredible and when I look back at those pictures, I have a hard time believing that I grew that full reef.

So here we go. I'm enjoying my twin tanks and you are running a cube that matches my anemone tank in size. Be sure to post up some pictures, and update us with new livestock purchases, equipment stuff, lighting stuff, water test results, etc. We all learn from each other.

The Radium bulb is in the center of my tank. At one point, I got a bunch of Radiums so I didn't need to by XM any longer. I still run 10000K bulbs on either end, and VHO actinics.

I have a Mini Wide which is quite a bit smaller than the Large, and are designed to be installed a little closer to the water for those canopies that aren't tall enough.

Thanks! That sounds great. I've got a few trips ahead of me over the next few months, but I don't think yours is on the list.

Good intro to MH!
So do you like the Radium you have now better than the XM you were running then?
Also do you have any experience with the LumenBright minis or mini wides? Is there a significant difference between these and the large?

Well hey let me know if you are ever near Cleveland again! (at least after this June when I move) You are more than welcome to stop by and see the tank (and consume beverages)

There are some really nice places in Ohio if you don't mind some road trips. I've been to three or four locations from Cleveland to Cincinnati, and Columbus too. Plus Savko is there, where you get some nice plumbing parts.

No, I didn't see the difference at all. Radiums have a nice blue hue to them. The only way to really compare would be a PAR meter or maybe a LUX / Lumen meter. Blue isn't really part of the spectrum a PAR meter measures, since they are calibrated to sunlight or electric light which usually is in the 4000K to 7000K range. A Radium bulb is 20,000K - way off the spectrum for such a meter so the readings may not be all that reliable.

I have an article talking about MH lighting here: http://www.melevsreef.com/mh_lighting.html