Hercules

Ooh yeah, looking great! Is that an Apex module i see in the sump? Also, did you use some bacteria seed or just the live rock to help cycle your tank.

Lookin good, i like that deep purple look.

Im using a 300w viparspectra light frm amazon currently set at 75% on the blue channel and 55% on the white channel. I started out at 40% evenly and have been slowly creeping it up over the past 5 months. And ya ive totally over stocked it with the lil acros in this closed system, gotta have somethin to suck up those nitrates lol.

I went to both Obsessions and Woodys today, both are very nice shops and very friendly people. I didnt see any sps i didnt already have at Obsessions but did purchase a nice set of long hemostat clamps from a gentleman named Patrick. At Woodys i found a nice purple/blue stylo from which i acquired a very nice frag. Thank you guys!

TThats a super nice set up and very nice yet solid stand. I too have that same identical tank and lovin it! Im going to follow this thread to watch your build, this is great and i could use the tips. I put water in this tank exactly one year ago.

Thank you so much, im going to check them out this weekend, im always looking for that one off acro and am a bit hesitant to order something from a website. ty for the lead

Hey all, im always looking for another great place to find new acros locally here in the portland metro area. Ive been to All things Aquariums, Upscales and Cuttlefish n Corals. All of which are within a few miles of my home and are first rate shops in my opinion. Are there any other shops around? Im pretty sure im missing a few hotspots.

Wow, its nice to see so many people getting back into the hobby. I have never thought i would get into forum or club or anything as such. Im not sure one even existed 8 to 10 years ago when i took a break. Much has changed and im lovin it. My current build is a 65H glass tank for my daughters birthday, fish only tank turned reef....shhhh (she thinks its hers). I put a hang on the back skimmer and filter on it as well as a 300w chinese led box light. Well from there ive added a doser and 3 wave makers. My old 140gal is still out in the garage and im seriously thinking about bringing it back to life. Anyhow, im glad to see such a large community of local reefers. Peace.

Thats funny you say that fpd4308, im in the boat. I shut my big tank down about the same time due to heat problems running 3 400 watt halides and 4 96 watt power compacts(no chiller at the time). Ive been back at it for around 10 months using viraspectra leds on my smaller 65 gal tank. My initial goal was to set up a fish only system for my kid, however as you can see it triggered my addiction to sps lol. All the corals in my tank are less than 8 months old and started as 1" to 2" frags. Coral growth has been excellent.

Ah, very nice, i run my 300watt leds at about the same percentages with great success. I personally believe your stylo will be just fine. I do notice when the lights are turned down to about 50 percent the colors are much deeper and richer in color compared to running them at 65 percent. At 65 percent (over a two week period) they become mucher brighter and have more floresence so to speak. For example, my orange setosa will turn bright pink or the polyps in my rainbow monti will go from red to green.

It all depends on your bioload, 1.3 kh drop per day sounds normal to me for a moderately stocked tank. Mine will drop roughly 2 points per day without dosing.

If those are the 165 watt chinese box lights you are probably already in the right ballpark, i would try an acro frag in the middle of the water column. The coral will tell you