Smitty's Reef

[Smitty]

Thanks bro, I appreciate that. Just be patient and persistent, and it'll get there. Trust me. :)

 

[AmberSunrise]

Looking great Smitty I cant wait to fill in all the empty spaces in my rocks like yours. I love to look at before and after picks to see just how much the corals have grown and spread its really amazing and you have done a great job with your tank.

 

[Smitty]

Thank your so much Amber...it is amazing when you look back at old pics and compare them to your current tank.

 

[RockStacker]

The tank looks awesome Lionel.

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

It's almost time for a bigger tank. Tanks looking extremely good. How's your back?

 

[Smitty]

The tank looks awesome Lionel.

Thank you kindly. :)

 

[Smitty]

It's almost time for a bigger tank. Tanks looking extremely good. How's your back?

Hahaha...I'm good with this size, it looks full finally. And my back is doing much better now, thank you. :)

 

[lilmatty5dimes]

Good to hear. Hopefully in three years mine will look like that.

 

[diversdoitdeeper]

just like to say i just made a profile today while at work cause im starting a 100 gal and a 30 long and wanted some ideas for my rock layout but id like to say that i watched and read since like 5 something today and its now 10:19 and ive got all the way till you got your cube (i know that sounds creepy) but i had to post on how amazing your tank is and how far youve come from the broken 55 you had and your def an inspiration to me being new to the hobby and seeing what i could do wow man keep going

 

[GunNut1911]

Such an awesome tank man. Great great work. Its sexy.

 

[Smitty]

just like to say i just made a profile today while at work cause im starting a 100 gal and a 30 long and wanted some ideas for my rock layout but id like to say that i watched and read since like 5 something today and its now 10:19 and ive got all the way till you got your cube (i know that sounds creepy) but i had to post on how amazing your tank is and how far youve come from the broken 55 you had and your def an inspiration to me being new to the hobby and seeing what i could do wow man keep going

I'm just not seeing this post, and I want to say thank you very much. In due time, your tank will looks just as amazing.

 

[Smitty]

Such an awesome tank man. Great great work. Its sexy.

Hahahaha...thank you very much. That's the look (sexy) I was going for.

 

[cvcdrk]

Your FTS's look amazing Smitty!

I'm curious...what is the setup of the tank like? Do you have powerheads hidden behind the rock work? How is the flow on the bottom of the tank?

Flow is something I'm constantly adjusting because I'm just not happy with it. I just don't know exactly what I should do to fix it.

 

[Smitty]

Your FTS's look amazing Smitty!

I'm curious...what is the setup of the tank like? Do you have powerheads hidden behind the rock work? How is the flow on the bottom of the tank?

Flow is something I'm constantly adjusting because I'm just not happy with it. I just don't know exactly what I should do to fix it.

Thank you...I have 3 other powerheads hidden behind the rock work, 4 total. I have a koralia 3 in the rear on the bottom(left side) of the tank, a koralia 2 mid point(left side) in the tank behind the rocks, a maxi-jet mid(right side) point in the rear, behind the rocks on the other side of the koralias, and lastly, a koralia 1(right side) at the water surface. My protein skimmer is pumped by a marineland pump rated for 475gal/hr, and my return pump is rated for 2200gph(but it's turned down some). Since I have so much live rock, I really wanted a lot of flow behind them to keep all the crap suspended.

 

[cvcdrk]

Makes sense. How difficult is removing the poweheads for monthly (or so) maintenance?

I have a 750gph Hydor a quarter of the way down the left side of the tank angled up to keep the surface tension going. I use an aquac remora w/ maxijet 1200 which releases water through the bottom of an overflow box so thus creates a negligible flow into the tank and I have a 250gph powerhead that was positioned higher but I moved it down to behind the rocks yesterday to see if it would be better there.

While I haven't noticed any actual dead spots there is a big difference in water flow from one area to another for sure. I'm always worried that the flow won't be right. I may end up doing what you did and installing another ~425gph powerhead behind the rocks on the same side as the hydor but pointed downward into the rock work as well.

I love your updates because your tank is roughly the same size as mine and I admire it a lot. :-)

 

[Smitty]

To be honest, I've only done maintenance to 3 of the powerheads about a year ago, and the koralia 3(the one way at the bottom) doesn't get any attention. If it was to ever go out, it wouldn't be too much of a problem to remove a few rocks in that corner to access it. All reef tanks need plenty of flow, but all my flow is in the rear, and flowing outwards, instead of directly on the corals (which mine don't like). Plus, I hate seeing equipment and cords in the tank, so that was my intentions to hide them. :)

 

[Smitty]

Here's a pic of an unknown acro sps I picked up the other day...it has blue tips.

 

[Smitty]

Montipora sps

 

[Smitty]

And I can't forget the fts'

 

[Smitty]