Samantha's 47 Gallon Macroalgae DT

Samantha's 47 Gallon Macroalgae DT

I started setting up my latest saltwater aquarium the first week of this past May. In other words, I started setting up this aquarium during Exam Week, which I can now say was a mistake. I had already set-up the stand and aquarium with saltwater and sand the week before, and it just happened that I found a guy selling LR on CL for a good price at the same time that it happened to be Exam Week. I'm typically a patient person (and it pays to be patient in this hobby), but I couldn't resist the LR deal. And, while I could have bought the LR and let it chill in some saltwater in my garage for a week until my exams were done, I couldn't help myself! I have to say though, despite a little bit of a nervous breakdown during exam week due to the stress of trying to set-up the aquarium (and dealing with LR avalanches) while trying to study for and pass my exams, things turned out pretty well!

My Aquarium:



After adding salt...



After adding the sand and some LR...
My dog's staring at me like I'm crazy. I'm pretty sure she's thinking, "Really? Another aquarium?!"



After it cleared up a bit...



Front shot...



With the rest of the LR wall complete...

Set-Up/Equipment:

The set-up is pretty basic. I have a 200W Aqueon Pro Submersible heater, a titanium grounding probe, and an ATO hidden behind the rockwork. I have two Koralia Nano 425's for flow. I also have a small Penguin HOB filter on the back hidden behind the LR. I'm not sure I'm keeping it on the back, but I may keep it to run carbon in and maybe filter padding. That's it, though. As far as saltwater aquariums go, this is a pretty atypical set-up. I don't have a sump or protein skimmer, nor a refugium. My plan (if things go as planned) is that the aquarium will basically be a giant refugium, and since the macroalgae should be using most of the excess waste and nutrients (nitrates, phosphates, etc.), a sump/protein skimmer/mechanical filtration really shouldn't be necessary. There is 80lbs of black sand and over 100lbs of LR that will serve as biological filtration, and in the future there will be lots of macroalgae! Hopefully, it all works out! Wish me luck!

To get things going, I threw this raw shrimp in the aquarium:



The shrimp is now completely gone! I tested my water, and guess what?! The cycle is done, and my aquarium is finally READY!!!!!

My lovely water tests to prove it:



The nitrates are high, so I'll have to do a WC before adding livestock. Other than that, though, we're good to go! Stay posted!

I did my first water change yesterday on the 47 gallon!

But wait! It gets better!!! My LED lights came in and I hung them yesterday!!!! I bought an Ecoray 60D LED fixture for the aquarium, and so far I'm very happy with it. Pics coming soon!!!

My NEW LIGHTS!!!!!!

Ecoray 60D LED Fixture:

More pics of the new lights!!!

Just the White LEDS:


Just the Blue LEDS:


All LEDS:

Now for how the LEDS look on the aquarium!



Daylight Setting:


Dawn/Dusk Setting:


Close-Up FTS:


From a Distance:

I recently became a member of the Tampa Bay Reef Club (TBRC), and I borrowed a PAR meter from them today to see how strong the new LEDS are. A complaint that I have seen about the Ecoray fixture is that the PAR readings are SO high that they bleach corals. Thanks to the TBRC, I can run my own test and find out just how strong these LEDS really are! I'll keep you all updated on what I find out!

The tank looks great, your LEDs really gave it a wonderful color. I can't wait until you put some livestock in it. I still think you should go for it and try so submersible saltwater horses in your tank. I think they're called seahorses.

Nicholas41 wrote:

The tank looks great, your LEDs really gave it a wonderful color.

Thanks! Diatoms are popping up now, though!

Nicholas41 wrote:

I can't wait until you put some livestock in it. I still think you should go for it and try so submersible saltwater horses in your tank. I think they're called seahorses.

Yes, I can't wait to add some macroalgae in there!! I think I'll pass on the seahorses, though. Btw, that was a BAD joke...

But the smiley suited it well!!!!!

I got my first macros this evening!!!

Actually, that's a lie. I brought a little piece of codium with me back from St. Augustine last weekend, and my awesome brother found me a little piece of what I think is red gracilaria back from the beach last week.

BUT! What I meant to say was, this evening I got my first macros that weren't stolen from a beach!

Anyway, I had placed an order last weekend with Reefcleaners.org, and it arrived this evening. A few of my macros are missing from the order, so I'm awaiting a response from Reefcleaners regarding that issue, and a few of the macros and one of the gorgonians that I bought are looking pretty weak, but hopefully they'll perk up soon!

I'll try to post some pics soon, and I'll also try to finally getting around to posting the PAR readings on the Ecoray 60D. I didn't forget , I've just been kinda swamped and I got a cold this past weekend which doesn't help at all...

Finally time for some macroalgae pics!!! Whoop!

Here's the codium from St. Augustine:


And, here's what I think might be red gracilaria:

And here's the Reefcleaners order...



Under the daylights:


Under the actinics:

Some individual shots of the macros:

Halimeda:


Short-Branching Codium:


Red Gracilaria:


Manatee Grass:


Flamingo Feather Algae:


Flame Algae:


Halimeda:


A piece of Flamingo Feather Algae that broke off in shipping:

I also bought some gorgonians and snails...

White Tolesto Gorgonian:


Gorgonian:


Some snails...

As I mentioned in a previous post, my order from Reefcleaners was missing 3 of the macros that I purchased. Reefcleaners refunded me $9; however, the macros that I was missing added up to a little over $13. I contacted Reefcleaners about this stating my confusion over the refund and missing macros and this was the response that I received:

"Sorry about the missing macros, it sounds like that was what the refund was for."

That's a pretty lame reply, IMO. I'm not going to quibble with them over a few bucks, but I can't say that I'm pleased with their customer service. Additionally, some of the macros didn't arrive in great shape, and the White Tolesto Gorgonian arrived looking pretty much dead and has remained that way. Not cool...

The codium and red glacilaria look super dooper in your tank!

Thanks! Unfortunately I think my leds might be bleaching some of the macros. It might just be shipping stress, though...

I'd give that screen a try, or maybe... double screen

I was thinking about using screen to block out some light, but the PAR readings I got for the 47 gallon weren't that high; the leds were comparable to metal halides. I have almost all of the macros on the sandbed where the PAR readings were around 150. That shouldn't be too much for them...

Yeah 150 isn't bad at all. Well keep us updated with photos so we can see the changes!

I placed an order with Live-Plants.com, and it arrived yesterday afternoon. I've got a bunch of new macros now and a new gorgonian! I am VERY pleased with Live-Plants.com. As I stated previously, I was pretty disappointed with my order from Reefcleaners.org. Live-Plants puts them to shame. While I payed double what I payed at Reefcleaners, the stuff from Live-Plants is 20x bigger, nicer, and healthier. Stay tuned for pics!!!

Woohoo!! Still would like to order from liveplants but everytime I'm down in Sarasota I forget to go.. :\



Always remeber:

Haha!
LOVE the pic!!

I'm swamped with stuff for the psych lab that I work in, and I've got an exam tomorrow. But, I'll try to post pics soon!!