The Return of Hans - A 150 Gallon SCA Mixed Reef Build - Page 5

FlyingFishSKYw · 10/24/2020, 11:13 AM

Great job, Hans!

I've got the same SCA 150 on the way- should be shipping my way soon. Steel stand is being welded up this week as well. My guy will be powder coating mine, but I like the look of yours!

How did you support your plumbing? Drill into the steel stand, plywood, or what?
I thing you mentioned wood stringers under the plywood for that task...

Great job on the plumbing. Inspirational for me. I will most likely go the same route as you with dual return pumps.
What size returns are you using?

I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get building mine...

Keep up the good work!

hhaase · 10/26/2020, 03:03 PM

I made some 3D printed hangers that hang the plumbing off that back crossbar I had welded into the stand.

For the return lines I used 3/4" PVC.

-Hans

hhaase · 11/15/2020, 10:43 AM

More livestock added. Nothing spectacular, a lawnmower blenny and some turbo snails.

Still struggling with color on the montipora, and I think one half of the frag is now dead. I can't see any polyps at all on it. Growth appears to have stopped as well. The other half is still kicking, and I still see polyp extension. But these don't seem to have ever recovered from the extreme bleaching. I'm not going to go crazy trying to save a single frag while the rest of the corals in the tank seem to be doing well. The Favia, acuta, and sarcophyton are all keeping their color and health. I'll have to do some fresh photos to compare growth on the stony pieces.

The little kenya tree still isn't growing, but nor is it shrinking or showing other signs of stress. I'm going to try relocating it and seeing if I can get it to thrive like the rest. I'm thinking it may just have too much water flow in its current location.

And still no coraline growth anywhere in the tank. That part is odd, you'd think I'd see something after about 6 months.

hhaase · 12/16/2020, 08:06 PM

I need to get some pictures again soon, a pair of Bangai cardinals went in yesterday. Starting to finally have what I'm looking for in livestock, I'd say about 50% capacity now for fish. I'm starting to see some bright green in my Kenya tree too, and it's definitely bigger than it was last week, so maybe I'm finally going to see some real growth in the inverts?

Bad news though is I've got a driver module going bad in one of my lights, and these aren't exactly available. Not completely out, but flickering constantly. I'm going to have to start figuring out either a way to fix this driver, find a way to upgrade the drivers, or maybe consider replacing the lights at some point. Bad timing to be honest.

I'll see what I can figure out.

-Hans

hhaase · 12/18/2020, 01:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by hhaase

Bad news though is I've got a driver module going bad in one of my lights....

I'll see what I can figure out.

-Hans

Good news, kinda, after tearing the control module apart. It's fairly easy to swap in meanwell APC LED driver modules. Even better news, the blue LED's that I swapped are capable of running up to 1000ma. From memory, I believe these LED's originally ran 350mah drivers.

So I've got a pair of 350mah drivers on the way, plus a pair of 500mah drivers too. This way I know I have a solution to keep things running but I also have a potential option for increasing the PAR from these fixtures. I also have a few alternate LED's on the way to mix into the white half of the fixtures. I'm just not completely happy with the color I'm seeing so I need to make a few slight changes.

Looks like another round of tearing apart the lights is in order. Except this time I'm excited about it. If this all works it means I have a long-term solution to both maintain and upgrade these fixtures indefinitely.

-Hans

hhaase · 01/17/2021, 05:53 PM

Should have some fun updates in a couple weeks on some lighting stuff. Assuming what I'm about to try actually works.

In the meantime, I really need to figure out how to get good photos of things in the tank under the regular lighting. My Acuta has completely changed in the past few weeks since I had to fix my lighting issues. It's taken on a nice pink color, with bright green polyps. Very nice colors to it now. Looking back at reference photos it's thickened considerably. Seems like it's about to start growing out.

The sarcophyton has also been doing very well, looks healthier anyway, and a nice bright pink instead of a drab brown. Size hasn't seemed to change much though.

All the fish are doing well. I never see the Banggai cardinals actually eat when I feed, but they're obviously not starving and look healthy. I did figure out I have to be careful with the algae pellets, as the lawmower blenny will absolutely gorge himself on the things, and he's actually getting FAT.

-Hans

10/24/2020, 11:13 AM	#101
FlyingFishSKYw Registered Member Join Date: May 2004 Location: Wasilla, AK Posts: 183	Great job, Hans! I've got the same SCA 150 on the way- should be shipping my way soon. Steel stand is being welded up this week as well. My guy will be powder coating mine, but I like the look of yours! How did you support your plumbing? Drill into the steel stand, plywood, or what? I thing you mentioned wood stringers under the plywood for that task... Great job on the plumbing. Inspirational for me. I will most likely go the same route as you with dual return pumps. What size returns are you using? I'm sure I'll have more questions as I get building mine... Keep up the good work! __________________ -Chris Current Tank Info: 75 Gal, H2Overflow, LifeReef VS3-24 Skimmer, 2x Hydra 26, 30 gal diy sump, Apex

10/26/2020, 03:03 PM	#102
hhaase Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 368	I made some 3D printed hangers that hang the plumbing off that back crossbar I had welded into the stand. For the return lines I used 3/4" PVC. -Hans __________________ This hobby would be easier if my local stores had more fish. https://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2701233 Current Tank Info: Slowly stocking up 150 gallons, only a little livestock right now.

11/15/2020, 10:43 AM	#103
hhaase Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 368	More livestock added. Nothing spectacular, a lawnmower blenny and some turbo snails. Still struggling with color on the montipora, and I think one half of the frag is now dead. I can't see any polyps at all on it. Growth appears to have stopped as well. The other half is still kicking, and I still see polyp extension. But these don't seem to have ever recovered from the extreme bleaching. I'm not going to go crazy trying to save a single frag while the rest of the corals in the tank seem to be doing well. The Favia, acuta, and sarcophyton are all keeping their color and health. I'll have to do some fresh photos to compare growth on the stony pieces. The little kenya tree still isn't growing, but nor is it shrinking or showing other signs of stress. I'm going to try relocating it and seeing if I can get it to thrive like the rest. I'm thinking it may just have too much water flow in its current location. And still no coraline growth anywhere in the tank. That part is odd, you'd think I'd see something after about 6 months. __________________ This hobby would be easier if my local stores had more fish. https://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2701233 Current Tank Info: Slowly stocking up 150 gallons, only a little livestock right now.

12/16/2020, 08:06 PM	#104
hhaase Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 368	I need to get some pictures again soon, a pair of Bangai cardinals went in yesterday. Starting to finally have what I'm looking for in livestock, I'd say about 50% capacity now for fish. I'm starting to see some bright green in my Kenya tree too, and it's definitely bigger than it was last week, so maybe I'm finally going to see some real growth in the inverts? Bad news though is I've got a driver module going bad in one of my lights, and these aren't exactly available. Not completely out, but flickering constantly. I'm going to have to start figuring out either a way to fix this driver, find a way to upgrade the drivers, or maybe consider replacing the lights at some point. Bad timing to be honest. I'll see what I can figure out. -Hans __________________ This hobby would be easier if my local stores had more fish. https://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2701233 Current Tank Info: Slowly stocking up 150 gallons, only a little livestock right now.

01/17/2021, 05:53 PM	#106
hhaase Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: South Dakota Posts: 368	Should have some fun updates in a couple weeks on some lighting stuff. Assuming what I'm about to try actually works. In the meantime, I really need to figure out how to get good photos of things in the tank under the regular lighting. My Acuta has completely changed in the past few weeks since I had to fix my lighting issues. It's taken on a nice pink color, with bright green polyps. Very nice colors to it now. Looking back at reference photos it's thickened considerably. Seems like it's about to start growing out. The sarcophyton has also been doing very well, looks healthier anyway, and a nice bright pink instead of a drab brown. Size hasn't seemed to change much though. All the fish are doing well. I never see the Banggai cardinals actually eat when I feed, but they're obviously not starving and look healthy. I did figure out I have to be careful with the algae pellets, as the lawmower blenny will absolutely gorge himself on the things, and he's actually getting FAT. -Hans __________________ This hobby would be easier if my local stores had more fish. https://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2701233 Current Tank Info: Slowly stocking up 150 gallons, only a little livestock right now. Last edited by hhaase; 01/17/2021 at 06:48 PM.