Come with me on my Custom 77 Gallon setup

[Stile2]

I feed every two or three days. I feed Ocean Plankton, shrimp, krill, mysis shrimp (all frozen and thawed). Each time just smaller than 1/4" cube. I feed the tank and when everyone else is busy I target target the RBTA.

Ammonia O ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm
Nitrate 0 ppm
PO4 test reads 0 ppm but I have bubble algae, so I must have some
Alk 8.0 dKh
Cal 420

Salinity 1.025 (refractometer)
Mag 1350

Temp 78-80.5 (more swing than I want, but I am waiting for the new set up to use the new heater. It is tough to get into my current sump.

I will read the article.

Thanks
Keith

[Stile2]

I guess I am going to try and feed the RBTA daily and see what happens with it.

Slight update.

Since I am going to eventually move the sump to the garage I am going to have more flow through the return pump, and that means bigger drain.

I got a 1 1/2" bulkhead but that meant that I had to drill a 2 1/2" hole through the glass overflow that already had a 1 1/2" hole.

I whipped out the rotozip and the water spray bottle. Part of my worries was that I had to use the rotozip upside down with water dripping on it, but it worked out.

First I put a pattern around the current hole.
http://zenmods.com/newtank2/pattern.jpg

Here's the piece I cut out.
http://zenmods.com/newtank2/cutout.jpg

The hole, kinda rough but I ground it out until it was smooth.
http://zenmods.com/newtank2/hole.jpg

New bulkhead, I need to get a 1 1/2" union to finish it all the way.
http://zenmods.com/newtank2/finished.jpg

Have fun.
Keith

[Stile2]

A little bad news. :(

After all my efforts to get rid of that gorilla crab. I took the rock out of the tank and poured seltzer through it. Well I hadn't seen the crab since then, until last night. :mad2: :mad2:

He must have jumped out of the original rock as I was pulling it out of the tank to pour the seltzer. :mad2:

I am going to try and trap him again. But worst case, when I change tanks to the new 77 gallon I will take out each rock very carefully and watch if he jumps ship. If he does that to every rock then he will be in an empty tank and easy to catch. If he doesn't jump then I will do the seltzer trick. We'll see how it goes.

Keith

[gkarshens]

I hope you get him. When do you anticipate the switch taking place?

[reefarchitect]

That is so frustrating!!!

A glass cup leaned up against a rock with some bait might work. It couldn't hurt.

The crab goes in for the bait, then cannot climb out because of the slipery surface of the glass.

Good luck

[Stile2]

Gabriel,
I hope so too. I am really pushing to do the switch during my spring break which is the first week of April, the week of the 3rd. It actually gives me 9 days at home. I will post a plan sometime later this month.

ReefArchitect,
I have a tall, 6", shot glass that I have tried. I need to put it in after the lights go out and my clown is asleep.

Thanks guys,
Keith

[xtrstangx]

Are you able to have both tanks running at the same time? If you do, I would put all the rock in the first day and monitor the levels... in 4 days start moving over the coral and fish making sure everything is still OK.

If you have to transfer everything in 1 day cause you can only have 1 tank going at a time, then you might run into problems.

[Stile2]

xtrstangx,
The new tank is going in the same location as the old one, so no to the running at the same time.

the very basic outline of the plan is:

1) get about 90 gallons of new saltwater is brute trash cans with heaters and powerheads.
2) move all rock without animals permenately attached to them into that water.
3) put the current tanks water into mid sized tupperware with all corals. It will have a 110 watss of PC light and hooked up to the chiller with heater.
4) move old tank out and new tank in
5) fill with new salt water, seed with sand from old tank, add rock (the ones without animals)
6) wait for several days while checking levels
7) transfer corals and fish.

The plan will grow into something more specific, but that's the basic outline.

So, in other words, I don't have to move everything from old to new in 1 day.

All we can do is hope for the best at that point.

Thanks
Keith

[gkarshens]

I did my switch over all in one day. You don't really have to worry about a cycle unless you have tons of sponge on your rocks. It basically ends up being a 100% water change. I followed the same basic outline you have but instead of waiting 4 days I did a 2 hour drip acclimation into the rubbermaid with all the livestock. I didn't lose anything. HTH.

[Stile2]

Gabriel,

Good to know. My main worry is getting rid of the gorilla crab.

Keith

[evilelvis]

Fantastic! I just ran out and got my tub and some of those tupperware things for the bubble baffle - excellent!

Bill

[Stile2]

Glad I couold help.

And Welcome to Reef Central.

Keith

[melev]

Keith, that's no way to welcome someone.

Bill,

[welcome]















:D

[Stile2]

I never could find that .gif , but I have it now so watch out!!

Keith

[melev]

Keith, just type in "[ welcome]" without the space between the bracket and the 'w'. That's just between us, right? :D

[Stile2]

LOL!

[Stile2]

So the freshwater has been running in the system for about a week. No leaks, no bubbles. :rollface: :D

This week I am trying to get the back room of my house done, as well as trying to get the canopy started. I am still shooting for a change over of tanks during the first week of April.

Keith

[reefarchitect]

Got pics?

I wish my move would move along as well as yours...

[Stile2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6954693#post6954693 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefarchitect
Got pics?

I wish my move would move along as well as yours...

Pics? The back room or the tank :D The tank pics are a page or two back, nothing more recent than that. Unfortunately the back room is not the tank room, it is just our office/dining room.

As for moving along as well as mine. I am ROFLMAO!! :lolspin: :lolspin:

I have been working on this silly thing since May '05!!:eek2:

Seems like years compared to Melev's 14 day turn around. :D

I will get pics of the canopy build.

Keith

[reefarchitect]

I can relate lol,

I have a fairly small dinning room/living room area and both tanks have been in there for months. Maybe not May of 05', but it sure feels like it.

I am nowhere near filling it water, seems like every step I take forward takes me 2 back.

[jbrown11352]

If you dont mind me asking, What did you pay for the squirt I'm interested in picking the same CL up?

Thanks,
Jason

[Stile2]

Jason,

I think it was $125 plus $5 for the plug cord. I must say the OM rocks. Absolutely no dead spots.

since I am here I'll fill you in with a small update. Pretty much nothing has happened with the tank:( I have been finishing up my kitchen remodel. This past weekend we (me, my wife, and my Dad) put in the new kitchen/dining room flooring. Pergo type. Man in an L shaped room that is not the easiest thing to do.

Yesterday I was in the crawl space wiring up the 220 v 50 amp plug for the new range. Today is all about the baseboards. This weekend is going to be tank time.


Keith

[jbrown11352]

Thanks Keith. Great thread, your work is awesome! I will definetely invest in the squirt.

[Stile2]

Thanks, I just wish it was going faster. Like I have said I shooting for running tank by April 9th.

Keith

[Stile2]

WOW! 10000 views :eek: :D

[Stile2]

Super small update. I got two Brute trash cans and am starting to bring water home. Yes, I get water for my LFS, I have tested it and it is good quality and consisent. I don't have the room and RO system to make 100 gallons quickly enough.

The transfer will happen next week. Today I start on the canopy.

will post pics along the way.

Keith

[Stile2]

Well, there is 80+ gallons of salt water in my living room in large brute trashcans. That plus the 29 gallons in the current tank should do it.

Tomorrow I build the canopy, and as soon as that is done move the tanks.

Good thing is that I am on vacation for the next 9 days. :D :D

I will definately post pics along the way.

I also want to ask for some help on a fish stock list. Remember the tank is only 3' long, so probably no Tangs. Maybe a baby one but I wouldn't be able to keep it. I do like the Basslets, maybe a Wrasse of some kind. All suggestions welcome. Would like to keep them all reef safe, as I am more into the corals.

Thanks
Keith

[Stile2]

Any suggestions on the fish list?

Keith

[Stile2]

I have posted a thread on stocking, hoping to get more replys.

Please reply on this link. (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=814831)

Thanks
Keith

[Stile2]

I started on the canopy today. Didn't get as far as I would have liked, but I shoud be able to finish the structure tomorrow and paint the inside with Kilz. Monday I will start to finish the outside. That will take a couple of days because of the Hard Oil Finish. It got to late to take pictures tonight but I'll get some tomorrow.

Hopefully the transfer will happen on Wednesday.

any fish suggestions?

Keith

[Cprowler]

Hey Keith,

Sounds like your making progress. I wish I had some fish suggestions but I haven't had many to know what's good or not.

I look forward to the pics.

[melev]

Tell me what corals you plan to keep and I'll think about some fish for your particular plan.

[Stile2]

Thanks guys,

Marc here is a partial list, at least so far. I wold like to add a torch, frogspawn, Open Brain, Gorgonia, and several more acropora.

Pink Pocillopora, Acanthastrea, Favia, Ricordia, Porities, Montipora caps, Pink Bird's Nest, Zoa's, A. Millepora, Tricolor Acropora, Montipora Foliosa, Candy Cane Coral, Calms, Xenia, RBTA.

How's that for a list?

Thanks again,
Keith

[Cprowler]

I think you forgot......oh, never mind there it is.:lol: :D

[Stile2]

LOL :D

I like the corals, but my wife says I need more things that move around, so I need to get some fish. Got to keep the wife happy. :) :fun1:

What is really funny is that list above is just waht I have in my 29 gallon. They are mostly all frags though.

Keith

[Cprowler]

Actuly I was thinking Acan then saw Acanthastrea.

I hear ya, it doesn't take long to accumulate them. I started with 1 last year and now I have around 30.

I'm with your wife on the fish, I think they are just as important as everything else, (maybe that's just the diver in me talking) and another reason I left so much open space in my tank.

Looking forward to seeing what people think about the fish list.

[Stile2]

I got a lot done on the canopy. By the end of tomorrow I should have the first coat of stain on it.

Here is a sideview, the long end goes over the plumbing.
http://reeftank.zenmods.com/Stand/sideview.jpg

Doors closed, two doors per side. Ends are closed.
http://reeftank.zenmods.com/Stand/doorsclosed.jpg

Three of the four doors open. The canopy is upside down.
http://reeftank.zenmods.com/Stand/doorsopen.jpg

I'll take more pictures tomorrow.

good night.
Keith

[Stile2]

I got a bit more done today. All the doors, 5 of them, are done, although I'm not that happy with how they turned out. I will rebuild the doors later, after the tank is up. The entire inside has two coats of Kilz and the outside has been preped for stain. Two or three coats of stain tomorrow and One coat of Hard Oil. I plan on tearing down the 29 tomorrow as well. Rocks will go in one tub of water and animals into another with a couple of circulatin pumps and 110 watts pc in about 10" of water.

While stain is drying tomorrow I will also mount the VHOs and MHs. and secure the wires into the hood.

I know I said pictures today, but definately tomorrow.

Keith

[xtrstangx]

Get a Sixline Wrasse. Awesome color, not a huge price tag. Mine isn't aggressive at all. And I think in 77g, you'd definately not have a problem, IMO.

I love my clowns too. Good old regular A. Ocellaris

[Stile2]

I got quite a bit done yesterday. The canopy is basically done, fully stained, and one coat of Hard Oil Finish. One more coat today and I'm good to go. Also got the MH and VHO fixtures installed.

Picture of the doors finished.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/doors.jpg

Picture of the canopy with fixtures, no doors on.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/fullcanopy.jpg

The last time I built furniture I had a full wood working shop. Unfortuately this time I have had to work around a very crowded garage. I am not that happy with how the canopy has turned out, but it will do for now. After the remodel to the house is done I will have my shop back and I plan to build another canopy.

So I am kind of dissappointed with the fish suggestions, only two or three people have opinions on fish? I can't believe that. Come on people throw some fish suggestions at me.

Thanks for coming along,
Keith

[melev]

Keith, don't get a clown goby or any dwarf angels.

I love True Perculas.
A mandarin would be nice, if you find a pretty one.
Green or Blue Chromis are nice, but don't seem to live long or school as promised.
I love Anthias, but tend to need to be fed 3 times a day. Currently, I have none, because I didn't feed enough apparently.
A basslet, like the Purple Cap (half purple, half black) would be nice, or a Royal Gramma. You can even have 3 or more Royal Grammas, as they'll sort of school together, but each will have their own spot and defend their territory.
The Six Line Wrasse might be okay, but it will be competition for the mandarin as it eats copepods. The next reefcast features that fish, and the shownotes will have an article you can review.
A longnosed Hawkfish is nice, reef safe, and will eat visible bristleworms.

[gkarshens]

I love Fairy wrasses. Mine is very active, has tons of color and is very peaceful. I also like my small school of firefish (3). They usually hang out together and I love there jerky swimming style.

[Stile2]

Thanks guys,

Can I have True Perculas in the same tank as my Maroon Clown?

Keith

[Stile2]

Well this is the second time I've typed this, I hate when I add too many images.:mad2:

The tank is in the house! :dance: :bounce3: :bounce1: :bounce2: :beer:

The finished canopy without the doors. The doors will be re-installed after it is on the tank.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/Canopywater.jpg

Here are the doors. As I said earlier, I'm not completely happy with how the canopy came out.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/doors.jpg

My empty 29 gallon. Good bye tank you have served me well. Although my wife suggested, half way through the move, that we should keep the 29 and set it up in the new Master Bedroom. Which will be right next to the new garage and I could tie it into the same sump system. Definately something to think about.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/empty29.jpg

TBC

[Stile2]

I installed a variable speed fan with thermostat in the back of the canopy. It will blow air across the lights.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/fan.jpg

I put the little animals into a tupperware with two small powerhead, probably 200 gph moving around, a heater, and the same light as was on the 29. Everyone seems to be fairly happy except the Scooter Blenny, who is really bummed there's no sand.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/livestock.jpg

I put rubber gasket material on the bottom of the steel stand to help not scratch my hard wood floors.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/rubber.jpg

TBC

[Stile2]

Finally three pictures of the new tank in place. I still need to build and install the skin around the bottom stand.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/tank1.jpg
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/tank2.jpg
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/tank3.jpg

I will be re-installing the plumbing and sump/fuge today. Adding sands, rocks, and water today. Hopefully I can put livestock back in tomorrow.

Keith

[Stile2]

If you guys and gals want to watch some really funny videos click here (http://www.zenmods.com/vids/) then click on a video. All of them are pretty short, but really funny.

Keith

[Cprowler]

Looks good Keith, I like the idea of keeping the 29 too.:D

Keep up the good work and keep the pics coming!

[melev]

You're almost to the fun part!

Great videos. Airport security was funny. I've seen Torn before, the Antennae one cracked me up.

[Stile2]

Maybe someone could answer a question.

In my 29 before I tore it down, I had one 3" tall Xenia whose main branch was about 1/2" in diameter. He was there at 1:30am the day before the move and when I went to drain the tank and move critters, it was gone????

Any ideas on what happened. I drained the entire tank and no sign of it anywhere.

:confused:

Keith

[melev]

It has to be attached to some of the rockwork.

[jbrown11352]

Looking good

[Stile2]

melev,

I have looked for the Xenia on every piece of rock. Two times going out of the 29 and now going into the 77, nothing. :confused: I have no idea where it could have gone.

Thanks Jbrown.

Well, there is water and rock and sand in the tank and the return pump is temporarily set up with a filter sock to clean some of the larger stuff out of the water.

Today I will aquascape, test the water and get parameters as close to the old tank water as possible. Do a 5-7 gallon water change, to get the old tank water into the new tank. I have used most of the old tank water except the water that the critters are in. Put on the CL, Canopy and put critters in.

On with the pictures already. :D

Starting with the bad news. Right before the move, I was moving the tank on a bench in the garage to clean it out. And I broke the CL input bulkhead, the plumbing sticks below the bottom of the tank and I pushed the tank too far down the bench. Ran to the LFS, got a new bulkhead and replumbed.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/brokenbulkhead.jpg

Some pics of teh cl pump and the returns. I am using clear PVC for the returns. I really don't want anything noticable in the tank. I am going to hang the CL pump by some cable today to relieve some stress on teh bulkheads.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/clpump.jpg
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/clreturns.jpg

BTC

[gkarshens]

Looking good!

[Stile2]

I put in about 1/2" of sand and crushed rock. Hopefully I won't get to much blow around from the CL.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/halfsand.jpg

I used the plastic bag technique to help minimize the sand storm. Worked pretty well, or at least it could have been a lot worse.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/waterfirst.jpg
I don't know if you guys remember the picture of my backroom, in the background, but it is almost done. Nothing like having two major projects going on at the same time.

The first of the rock to go in.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/rockfirst.jpg
I just put the rock in, today is aquascaping.

This morning after running with a temporary return setup and filter sock. Clear as a bell. :) :)
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/tankrock.jpg

I have about 10 extra gallons of water. How long will it last with a pump keeping it moving?

Thanks for tagging along. More pictures today as I move critters.

Keith

[melev]

With a pump, the water is good for a solid week. If it was sealed tight, more like a month. Still, test for temp, salinity, and pH before using it.

[Stile2]

cool thanks

[reef165]

ok first this is my first post on RC.
this is a cool project!! love to see the final pics with it up and running!!
my question is, that motorized thing on your return, whats it called and whare can i get one? ive only seen one other and it didnt say anything abought it.

[melev]

reef165,

[welcome]

That is an oceans motions device. Keith will tell you all about it and their website.

[Stile2]

reef165,
As Melev said it is called an Oceans Motions Squirt. What it does is take one input and direct the water to four outputs, and the beautiful part is it does is while changing the output continuously. Here is the website (http://www.oceansmotions.com/) and while I have not dealt with Paul directly, I hear that he is very helpful. The main purpose of the OM is to create more random and varying flows.

Oh and by the way the OM is not on my return, but rather on my Closed Loop.

Thanks for the compliments and I hopefully will have critter in the tank today. Right now I am working on the aquascaping. Which personally I find to be the hardest part.

Keith

[reef165]

cool thankyou!!
after reeding the thread i went down to lowes and got a tile cutting bit for my rottozip and tested it on a spair 20 gal i have with 3/16 in glass and it went smoothly!! and allot quicker than i thought it would! just turned the garden hose on and went for it.

[Stile2]

Just a couple of pictures. I got the critters in the tank about 9:45 last night. I'll get some pictures this afternoon.

Some bad news. I lost my peppermint shrimp, he was dead when I woke up this morning. And one of the frags is barely holding on.
It is the front one in this picture, I'll get a picture today. Most of his flesh is rotted away. He still has some polyps at the very top, so maybe he can recover.
http://zenmods.com/newfrags/purple1andyellow.jpg

The canopy went on, still not happy with the quality.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/canopyon.jpg

VHO and MH, I'' get some pics with them on today.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/lights.jpg

All but one door on, which went on this morning.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/doorson.jpg

Keith

[melev]

I hope the water quality is good. Losing a shrimp in a move is okay, but now a coral too?

[Stile2]

Actually the coral came out of the temporary tupperware tank that way.

I tested water before I moved critters.
amm = 0
Nitrite = 0
Nitrate = 10 (highest I've ever seen, but I used some of the old sand)

pH 8.1
Temp 79.7 degrees

All the same of old tank water, except for Nitrates.

the shrimp died in the new tank, though.

I will be keeping a close eye of water quality. I need to get the skimmer reworked and installed.

With the coral I think that it got to close to my bigger Acropora and lost. But now that he is in the new tank the PE is ok and getting better.

Thanks
Keith

[Stile2]

Some pictures of the frags and how they are doing in the new tank.
Here is the damaged one.http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/damage1.jpg
Like I said he came out of the temporary holding tank like this. I should have paid more attention to it, more flow, something?
I am hoping that he will recover.

Here is what he looked like when I first got him.
http://zenmods.com/newfrags/purple1andyellow.jpg

My biggest Acropora seems to be adjusting well.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/acropora1.jpg

As is the Acan.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/favia1.jpg

BTC

[Stile2]

The bird's Nest is doing well.
When I got him.
http://zenmods.com/newfrags/pink2.jpg

Now in the new tank.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/birdsnest1.jpg

More later, I'm going to be late for work.

Keith

[Stile2]

This morning when I turned on the actinics. I saw to my horror, the gorilla crab in a hole on of the rocks in the new tank.:mad2: :mad2: :mad2:

I quickly moved all the corals and the clam off the rock and moved the rock to the fuge. At least I know that he can't get out of there. I will now work on getting him out of the rock.

So bad news is he is still alive, good news is he isn't in the tank anymore.

[gkarshens]

At least you got him out!

[Stile2]

I am going to set up a trap tonight and hopefully get him. At least with him in the fuge, and it being new, there is nothing else in there.

Maybe if he gets hungry enough I'll get him.

Keith

[Stile2]

Still getting ajusted to the 15k MH for pictures.

But here is what I have so far.

http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/zoa1.jpg
I got these for $20 which included 50 polyps, urchin, and live rock.

http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/ricordia1.jpg

http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/pompom1.jpg

And the first attempt at a fish picture.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/clown1.jpg

I am going to try a full tank shot tonight, although I'm not completely happy with the aquascaping.

Keith

[Stile2]

Here are my first attempts at full tank shots. I am not completely happy with the aquascaping and I need to redo the return plumbing.

Left Side (kitchen/hallway view)
http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/leftside.jpg

End (View from the front door)
http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/end.jpg

Right Side (Living Room View)
http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/rightside.jpg

Have a good day everyone,
Keith

[Stile2]

What are people using to glue rocks together? I would like a more vertical mountain near the rear of the tank, but I won't be able to do that without some permenate gluing of the rocks.

Thanks

[got2lb]

Looks good so far!

I've heard of people drilling holes in the rocks and then cutting up plastic coat hangers to "pin" them together.

[melev]

Your corals look nice and happy.

Um... there's a lamp in your tank. What's up with that? Got a fish that loves to read? ;)

[Stile2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7163649#post7163649 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Your corals look nice and happy.

Um... there's a lamp in your tank. What's up with that? Got a fish that loves to read? ;)

LOL! :lol: If you look at the right side picture, you can see the toilet paper in my bathroom. I need to remember to shut off those lights.:D I'm not used to having a tank that I can see through.

Thanks keeping the corals happy is the prime concern. There are several things I want to work on, as always I think. I believe that it is part of this hobby that we are never really done with our tanks.

My list of things to do include.

redo return plumbing (so it not a big ugly white PVC)
modify my skimmer and get it running in the system. (I am changing the Ocean runner pump out in favor of a Sedra 9000)
Redo the aquascaping.

I am really trying not to go a buy a bunch of fish and new corals.
:D :D

[Stile2]

So I have a question for you guys who have put in PhosBan Reactors. I have the reactor and some Rowa Phos. The directions with the reactor said to put the adsorber between the foam pads, while the Rowa Phos has a net bag to put it in.

Which way is recommended? Does it matter?

Thanks

[melev]

I put it in loose between the pads. Then I hook it up to the tank in my sump, and point the output tubing in to a nearby bucket, and plug in the pump. Once the water coming out is clear, I divert the output tubing back into the sump, and throw away the water. It will be several gallons worth. Replace that with freshly mixed saltwater and you'll have a mini-water change done as well.

According to RowaPHOS, you should test the output solution for PO4. It should read zero, and it it doesn't, close the ballvalve to slow the flow and test again. It should trickle out slowly and read 0. Once the output is over zero, the media is used up and needs to be replaced again.

[Stile2]

Thanks Marc

Keith

[Stile2]

Some good news. My Scooter Blenny ate mysis shrimp last night. It is the first time I have ever seen him ate anything that I put in the tank.

:)

Everything in the tank seems to be adjusting well to the new environment. I am going to add my 110 w of PC lighting to the hood soon. I would like to run the following schedule of lights.

6:30 am actinics
8:00 am PC on
11:00 am MH on, PC off
7:00 PM MH off, PC on
9:00 pm PC off
10:00 pm actinics off

I may turn off the actinics during the MH photoperiod depending on how it looks.

What do you guys think?

Keith

[melev]

I think 12 hours worth of lighting is plenty. I use 11 hour's worth.

[Stile2]

Marc,

what is your lighting schedule? I would search your thread, but :D :D

Keith

[melev]

It is on my Aquacontroller page in the 280g section of Hidden Treasures. :)

[Stile2]

thanks

[Stile2]

Some pictures of my Frags and a couple of new additions. :)

I have a really hard time taking pictures of fish it seems. :confused: But here is my new Royal Gramma
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/basslet.jpg

Some new Zoas, the polyps on the top are overexposed, the lowest one is pretty representative of the color.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/newzoas.jpg

And some snails.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/newsnails.jpg
I know just snails, but I thought their shells are pretty cool.

[Stile2]

Some pictures of the older frags. Showing growth.

Here is the Pink Pocillopora when I got him.
http://zenmods.com/newfrags/Pink1.jpg

And now.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/pocillopora.jpg

My Candy Cane.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/candycane.jpg

My Little Blenny.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/blenny2.jpg

My Urchin.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/urchin.jpg

Hopefully adding the skimmer this weekend.
Keith

[Stile2]

I have posted a thread of pictures of the new tank. Some of you have already checked it out.

Here is a link.
link (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=824987)

[melev]

The cool snails are nerites. I love those little guys, but never buy 'em. Astreas are just so much cheaper. ;)

Nice zoos!

[Stile2]

Marc,

I have a question about the Pink Pocillopora. I have been adjusting the direction of my CL and yesterday he closed all of his polyps. How much flow do those guys like?

Thanks
Keith

[melev]

It is hard to say. I would tend to lean toward heavy flow, because they are built rather solidly. I've had two of them over the years, and they are super slow growers, or I never have the perfect water quality they demand.

Watch it for a few days, and if it doesn't open up, move it to an area of less flow.

[rdmpe]

Great pictures. Are you hand dosing two part and topoff water? I've been wondering if that would make it tougher for the sps. Maybe I'm being paranoid. But I like the corals and cool snails too.

[Stile2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190204#post7190204 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
Great pictures. Are you hand dosing two part and topoff water? I've been wondering if that would make it tougher for the sps. Maybe I'm being paranoid. But I like the corals and cool snails too.

I am doing water topoff and dosing Calcium and Alkalinity by hand right now and did in my 29 gallon as well. Marc said that the Pink Pocillopora was a slow grower, but I had pretty good growth. In the pictures above of the Pocillopora, the first one was on Feb 20th, and the last was the other day. So that growth happened in about 2 months.

The auto topoff and calc reactor will have to wait until I get the fishroom up and running.

Keith

[Stile2]

Well, some good news and some bad news and some in between, I think. :)

First the good news, the skimmer is reworked and in the sump.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/skimmerrework.jpg

I took off the Ocean Runner 2700, which was heating my rock tank water 9 degrees and replaced it with a Sedra 9000. I also made the exit plumbing bigger, to get more flow through.

http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/skimmerin.jpg

Now the bad news. I obviously do not understand hydrodynamics at all. This is the new drain I built to supply the skimmer.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/newdrain.jpg
Can anyone see the problem? since the spa-flex going to the skimmer is below the gate valve it is acting like a venturi and sucking water out of the skimmer instead of pushing water into the skimmer. Opps :confused: :D :eek2:
I will be redoing that after work today. Obviously the drain to the skimmer needs to go above the gate valve, duh!

And the in between. I have had a slight green hair algea outbreak.
http://www.zenmods.com/newtank3/greenalgea1.jpg

I am trying to get people in our local club to do a group buy from Keys Critters, but there aren't a lot of members, so we will see.

That's it for now. I plan on doing a full battery of tests this afternoon as well, will post results. Oh, and put in the PhosBan Reactor, too.

Keith

[gkarshens]

Keith, I made a post in my thread recently that you may have missed about Keys Critters. I would be careful ordering from them. I was in Key Largo a couple weeks ago and saw Keys Kritters. Thinking it was the same I went in. I found out they are suing the Keys critters we all know about online for stealing their name of 15 years. He also told me that they get angry calls all the time from people that paid for their order but never got it. Just a heads up.

[Stile2]

Gabriel,
I will keep that in mind about Key Critters. Maybe melev could chime in, I know that their club does quite a few group buys from them.

In other news, (and the fact that I forgot this morning), I got a Citron Goby. Cool fish, although he has been sitting in my Acro. He is not the normal coloring, he is green with red vertical stripes. He is pretty shy, I'll try and get a picture tonight (along with all the other things I need to do).

I can't believe no one is laughing at my drain screw up.

Keith

[reefarchitect]

Citron Goby, as in a small perching clown Goby?

If so, I have been told be several people that they occasionally nip at SPS polyps.

I have heard that reeftopia.com is a pretty reliable source for clean up critters.

Good luck

[Stile2]

Thanks for the info. I am having trouble getting a picture of him, but no nipping yet. We'll hope for the best.

I did get the skimmer working tonight. I am not sure about my drain setup. Makes it very hard to adjust the skimmer. I may have to redesign the whole drain setup.

Again we'll see.

Keith

[melev]

If there is a lawsuit going on, I'm unaware of it. Keyscritters.com has worked out well for us through multiple orders.

[Stile2]

I built the new drain last night.
http://www.zenmods.com/skimmer2/newdrain.jpg

Like I said above it makes it very hard to adjust the skimmer. I am going to rethink the whole drain set up. I like the two drains as it is very quiet, but I either need to feed the fuge differently or feed the skimmer differently.

I may even rethink the sump/fuge setup. For right now it is working, so I'm going to leave it be. I also have a ton of other projects to do and if I don't start getting some work done on those the wife is going to kill me.

Skimmer with foam.
http://www.zenmods.com/skimmer2/foamhead.jpg

Full Skimmer set up.
http://www.zenmods.com/skimmer2/skimmersetup.jpg


I also tried to make some melev like food last night.
I'll right a post on that after I get to work. :D

Keith

[Stile2]

My first try at a melev like food product.

Here is what I began with. Ocean Plankton (not enough I ran out), Krill, Squid, Rotifiers, Mysis, Formula One (Frozen) which I hate it won't thaw or chop, Liquid Life Cyclopleze, Garlic Extreme (a few drops) Formula One & Two Pellets
http://www.zenmods.com/Food/foodsupplies.jpg

I added some raw shrimp
http://www.zenmods.com/Food/shrimp.jpg

Added one clove of garlic, see all the stuff in the blender cup (and no I didn't add any NewCastle)
http://www.zenmods.com/Food/garlic.jpg

Here it is about half chopped. If all the pieces were chopped I would have stopped here, it is the textue I wanted.
http://www.zenmods.com/Food/halfmixed.jpg

Here it is fully mixed. Much thinner than I wanted, but I will add some thawed mysis and Ocean Plankton when I feed to get a few bigger meaty bits. Next time I am going to use the bigger food processor (wife said it was ok to use it as long I cleaned it :eek2: )
http://www.zenmods.com/Food/fullymixed.jpg

I feed a bit last night and the fish went nuts for it.:D :dance:

Have a good day everyone,
Keith

[melev]

Now that is some sludge! :D

[Cprowler]

looks good Keith, I'm going to try and make a batch one of these days.

[Stile2]

Thanks guys,
I would have liked if it had of had more meaty bits left, instead of completely chopped.

Well, I ran a whole battery of tests last night. Some of the tests don't seem right to me, and I remembered that I bought that test kit over a year ago. So I just got my order confirmation from Marine Depot for some new Salifert kits. Anyway, here are the results.

Date/Time 4/20/2006 6:40 pm

NH4 0.50 ppm (I am pretty sure the est kit is bad, corals look great and getting great growth)
NO3 0 ppm
NO2 0 ppm
pH 8.4 (again test kit made be bad)
Temp 81.7 degrees
Calcium 402 ppm
Alkalinity 8.27 dKh
PO4 0 ppm (but I have some algea growth, so there must be some in there, I will be adding the Phosban reactor this weekend)
Mg 1380
Salinity 1.026

I will redo the tests as soon as the new kits get here.

Keith

[Stile2]

I am pretty sure that one of my corals has red bugs, how do you get rid of them.
I will post picture soon.

Keith

[Stile2]

Here is a picture. Sorry not the greatest quality, haven't got the macro thing down.
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/redbugs.jpg

[Cprowler]

Interceptor - you get it from a vet.

[rdmpe]

Bummer on the red bugs - so far I don't have any corals :rolleyes:

So your fish eat that stuff? Looks like it came from a diaper :lol: Seriously, it looks like it is pretty fine. Are the particles big enough that the fish go after them? I've been thinking about making some DIY food as well. I was thinking of doing two batches, one mostly vegitarian and the other mostly meaty.

[Stile2]

My vet is at lunch until 1 pm (California time). So hopefully I can get some Interceptor today. If so I'll so the first treatment tomorrow. I guess I get to QT all future corals.

Randy,
So far all the fish I have (Maroon Clown, Royal Gramma, Scooter Blenny, Citrus Goby) love it except for the Goby (I haven't seen him eat anything). Even my Cleaner Shrimp loves it. Every other feed I throw in a little bit of either Mysis or Krill, just for some bigger meaty bits.

Making the food about made me puke!! next time I am going to try making smaller batch and in a bigger processor.

Keith

[Stile2]

Well, some vets are a pain. My vet doesn't carry Interceptor any more and won't order it for me. They will give me a perscription, but need to charge me for an appointment and I have to take my cat in. And while they said that they would give the script for 51-100 Dog, even though I take in a 10 lb cat, I was unsure. And NO other vet in my area would even think about selling it to me. One actually wanted me to bring the coral in and they said they would treat it. I told them that it didn't work that way.

VETS KNOW NOTHING ABOUT REEFS!!!:mad2:

Ok, at least the vets I called.

I called my Mom, who has been going to the same vet for 27 years, she has had Rottweilers that whole time. Her vet said, How much do you need, and we don't want to know what your using it for. So Mom is sending, UPS, the meds on Monday, I will do my first treatment on Saturday. It's the only time I have enough time to do the treatment and the water change. I am going to set up a 10 gallon Non-treatment tank for my shrimp and crabs.

I will post treatment procedures and results.

Keith

[Stile2]

some good news, for me. I got a new CAD program called Rhinoceros. 3D modeling for the teacher price (sweet :dance: http://www.zenmods.com/gifs/cheer.gif )

Here is my first attempt at drawing something in 3D

http://www.zenmods.com/Drawings/skimmer%20001.JPG

Just thought I would make myself feel better by posting something cool.
Keith

[colesy]

I just got done reading through this thread. I have picked up some great info. I am curious how your stand turns out after skinning it. I haven't decided on a wood or metal stand yet, and was thinking about how I could finish off a metal stand.

[Stile2]

Cloesy, Thanks. Unfortunately I have not gotten to skinning the lower part of the stand yet, (hmm, haven't gotten to the woodwork yet, remind you of anyone of RC? :D ) I am in the middle of a house remodel and other things are taking priority.

But I did have time last night for a Closed Loop Pump Modification. I was reading this thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=828812&perpage=25&pagenumber=1)

I had already removed the shroud yesterday, and while it was a bit quieter, man, was it hotter. They actually put the fan on there for a reason.

Here is the shroud off.
http://www.zenmods.com/CLpumpmod/shroudoff.jpg

Fan off
http://www.zenmods.com/CLpumpmod/fanoff.jpg

I got a fan/heatsink that came as a unit. Here is the heatsink end and some info.
http://www.zenmods.com/CLpumpmod/newfan.jpg

I took the heatsink off and drilled a hole, roughly half inch.
http://www.zenmods.com/CLpumpmod/hole.jpg

I put on some artic silver grease, that came with the fan and strapped the fan assembly to the pump with zip-ties.
http://www.zenmods.com/CLpumpmod/fanstrapped.jpg

I used an old transformer I had lying around. I didn't notice until I plugged it in that there were blue LEDs in the fan. High Tech, huh? :lol: :D
http://www.zenmods.com/CLpumpmod/fanrunning.jpg

The CL pump is now re-installed and running. I would say that it is about 1/4 to 1/3 the noise level as before the mod. More importantly is the pitch of the noise. The fan that came with the pump was very high pitch and that it gone.

Cheap, easy to do, great mod!

Keith

[Stile2]

Does anyone know if I need to take my Phosban reactor offline to treat with Interceptor?

Thanks
Keith

[melev]

What a fun modification. I've never seen anyone do something like that before. It wouldn't be cool without the blue LEDs though. ;)

Woodwork, schmoodwork. :D

[Stile2]

Thanks Marc,

I wish I was better at coming up with cool Mods. My temp is down at least 1 degree, and the noise is down by 50-60%

[enalB]

Hi all. I am planning a new reef similar to this and I must say that there is no better place to be to learn about reef keeping. Good job on the new tank and keep up the good work.

Peace and love,

Blane

[Stile2]

Thanks Blane,

There are many very cool and super well done reefs here on RC. this is where I learned pretty everything I know.

[welcome]

Keith

[Stile2]

Last night I did my first water change on the new system. I changed out 10 gallons. I put the ten gallons into an old ten gallon tank that I am going to use to treat my corals for red bug.

I found a guy that used a different method of treatment. I plan on the same system. I have set up a ten gallon system, 110 PC lighting, sponge filter (that sat in my sump for a while), heater, and powerhead. Move all corals to the ten gallon tonight, treat with medication tonight, treatment time will be twelve to fifteen hours. Do a series of water changes over Saturday and Sunday, until the water is cleared of any medication. Leave the corals in the ten gallon for 15 days. I guess the life cycle of the red bug is 15 days or slightly less. So the bugs in the main tank have nothing to feed on, and therefore end the life cycle. Move all corals back to display.

We will see how it goes.

Keith

[Cprowler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7264631#post7264631 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
I have set up a ten gallon system, 110 PC lighting, sponge filter (that sat in my sump for a while), heater, and powerhead. Move all corals to the ten gallon tonight, treat with medication tonight, treatment time will be twelve to fifteen hours. Do a series of water changes over Saturday and Sunday, until the water is cleared of any medication. Leave the corals in the ten gallon for 15 days. I guess the life cycle of the red bug is 15 days or slightly less. So the bugs in the main tank have nothing to feed on, and therefore end the life cycle. Move all corals back to display.

Sounds like a good way to go, good luck. :)

Kill those little SOB's! :uzi:

[Stile2]

In the name of keeping acurate records of the red bugs and other things about my tank. I am going to keep constant track of the events here.

Nice thing about working at a High School and being friends with a Chem Teacher is that I can borrow a very accurate scale. This scale is accurate to one thousandth of a gram.
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/scale.JPG

This is Interceptor for 51-100 lb dogs.
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/interceptor.jpg

One whole pill weighed 962 mg.
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/pill.jpg

All the threads I have read on Red Bugs calls for 25 mg per 10 gallons. Since I am doing the treatment in a 10 gallon tank, that would be 25 mg.
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/groundmed.jpg
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/weight.jpg

I measured three doses, in case I want to re-treat before the 15 days are up. (I only have the scale until Monday)
Dose #1 26 mg
Dose #2 27 mg
Dose #3 26 mg

I moved the corals in the hospital tank tonight and dosed with Dose #1 at 9:15 pm. I plan on doing a 25% water change tomorrow by 11:00 am.
http://www.zenmods.com/disease/hospitaltank.jpg

If you are wondering what the big rock is doing in there. Interceptor (or rather milbemycin oxime) is said to kill crustaceans, (crabs, Shrimp, copepods, etc) so I am hoping that it will kill the gorilla crab while curing the red bugs.

I will be postiing updates during the entire process.
Keith

[melev]

I'm very curious to see if that crab dies. And a little worried that rock may shift and hit your SPS.

[Stile2]

Well, it has been 15 hours since treatment and I am doing a 25% water change. I had one coral that had most if not all of the red bugs, there is now no sign of even a single one.

That's the good news, now the bad. The gorilla crab seems to be uneffected by the treatment. I just saw him in the rock and when I moved the rock he is definately alive. :(

I think I am going to try a more agressive approach to remove him. As in take the rock out and physically remove him.

Keith

[colesy]

Have you tried the shrimp in a tall shot glass trick? I have seen it work for others.

[Stile2]

I have had a tall shot glass with fresh shrimp every couple of days in the sump leaned against the rock since 4/11, so 18 days and nothing. Oh, well. At least he is not killing my snails and crabs in the display anymore.

[Stile2]

I removed the rock from the hospital tank (Marc, it almost fell over onto the SPS :eek: :eek2:, but I saved it.) I tried pouring fresh water into the rock to scare out the crab, nothing. I tried pouring vinegar into the rock, nothing. I pulled out a hammer and screwdriver and broke the rock into two pieces and there he was hiding in a corner. I grabbed a tupperware and pushed him in. It took a bit of force (you can see in the picture that his shell was cracked in the process). but I let him sit in there for 10 minutes and he was still alive.

But in the end NO MORE GORILLA CRAB! :bounce1: :bounce3: :bounce2: :dance: :beer:
:uzi: http://zenmods.com/Pictures2/gorillacrab1.jpg

[Stile2]

some new additions
Royal Gramma
http://www.zenmods.com/Fish/royalgramma.jpg

Basslet
http://www.zenmods.com/Fish/basslet.jpg

Bad Picture of a Citrus Goby (he hides a lot)
http://www.zenmods.com/Fish/citrusgoby.jpg

And a Kole Tang.
http://www.zenmods.com/Fish/koletang.jpg

Keith

[colesy]

Congrats on catching the crab... Nice additions as well!

[got2lb]

Good Job FINALLY catching that little sucker!

If you want to donate him to a good cause here's one! :lol:

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=749210

[Stile2]

I wish I had of known. The monster "toilet" got him.

[reefarchitect]

All flushes end in the sea...:lol:

I recently caught two in my tank and threw them in the fuge. Wife wouldn't let me flush em'

[Stile2]

Well, we are at day three of corals in the hospital tank and all is well. (Cross your fingers) I am doing another 2 gallon water change tomorrow. I do have a bio filter on the tank but I don't want anything (parameter wise) to sneak up on me, so I figure regular water changes will help out.

That's all for now.
Keith

[Avast Marine]

Just thought I would post a thank you card for helping me get the courage to do this.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/58279226@N00/137885744/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/50/137885744_9841197162_o.jpg" width="400" height="299" alt="slot" /></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/58279226@N00/137885743/" title="Photo Sharing"><img src="http://static.flickr.com/45/137885743_34ed4ba2a0_o.jpg" width="400" height="299" alt="slot2" /></a>

I didn't want to go the full length of the tank because it's a corner and wasn't sure if it would make it to weak, so it's somewhere inbetween your current tank and the 29.

I'm also glad to hear the Panword mod worked out for ya. I am actually in the process of upgrading that 50px to the 50px-x to push through a om squirt as well.

[Stile2]

Glad that worked out, dandy. And thanks for the pump mod.

We are at day 6 with the corals and everything looks good. No more red bugs, did the 2 gallon water change.

I am a little worried about my new Kole Tang. He found the biggest cave and doesn't come at very often. For the first couple of days he was swimming around and picking at the glass and rocks, eating any algea he could find. Strange he won't touch the Nori (although everyone else in the tank loves it).

I am keeping am eye on him, I'll let you guys know.

Keith

[Stile2]

Well, some bad news :(

The Kole Tang is dead. He was alive last night and I couldn't find him this morning before lights on. and I found him this afternoon dead on the sand. I will test Params tonight to try and figure out if there is anything wrong.
:confused:
I am really bummed.
:(

Keith

[JER-Z]

sorry to hear that...He didn't look to hot in that pic you posted. Is that how he looked when you got him?

[Stile2]

It wasn't a great picture, but if you thought he didn't look to good, why didn't you say anything? It was my first Tang and maybe I could have put he in a hospital tank and treated him.

Anyone else think he didn't look to hot?

[Cprowler]

Sorry to hear that Keith. :(

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7306907#post7306907 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
It wasn't a great picture, but if you thought he didn't look to good, why didn't you say anything? It was my first Tang and maybe I could have put he in a hospital tank and treated him.

Anyone else think he didn't look to hot?

Looking at this picture: http://www.zenmods.com/Fish/koletang.jpg

It did look a little thin and a little faded. However, that could have been due to the glass not being clean; the fish just being acclimated; stress of being in a new tank; etc.

Was it a big eater? You never know how these fish are caught, nor what they've been through before you ever get them. Was this a local purchase or mail order? Sorry it didn't work out, but that doesn't mean you'll never be able to keep a Tang.

It is best to quarantine new fish, and get them used to your food before introducing them into a tank full of competition.

[andiruleu]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7205942#post7205942 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
My first try at a melev like food product.



Added one clove of garlic, see all the stuff in the blender cup (and no I didn't add any NewCastle)
http://www.zenmods.com/Food/garlic.jpg






that is some good drink there :)

[Stile2]

It did look a little thin and a little faded. However, that could have been due to the glass not being clean; the fish just being acclimated; stress of being in a new tank; etc.

Was it a big eater? You never know how these fish are caught, nor what they've been through before you ever get them. Was this a local purchase or mail order? Sorry it didn't work out, but that doesn't mean you'll never be able to keep a Tang.

It is best to quarantine new fish, and get them used to your food before introducing them into a tank full of competition. [/B]

Thanks Marc,
I honestly don't know where the LFS gets thier fish and therefore don't know the catching technique or anything.

I thought I was safe, I had kept an eye on that Tang for a couple of weeks. he was eating in their tank, they feed Nori and mixed food every morning.

I did do a long acclimation, but did not QT. He was crusing the rocks and glass picking at everything, but would not touch the Nori and hid during regular feedings.

I am checking water quality today. I will wait a bit before getting anything else.

Keith

[Stile2]

So, I am at day 9 (full days), will be day 10 at 9 pm tonight, with the corals in QT. No sign of any red bugs in the display or on the corals. Some of the corals or losing a bit a color but look healthy. I am planning on moving the corals back into the display on Sunday the 13th.

I am having to go on a school trip for four days, 23rd through the 26th of May. So I am training my wife to look after the tank. Wish me luck.

[Stile2]

Well, I am at day 15 with corals in the hospital tank. They seem to be doing well except for some algae growth. Tomorrow I will transfer everything back into the main display.

I tested water last night at 5:00pm.

Salinity = 1.026
pH = 8.0
Temp = 81.3
NH4 <0.25
NO2 = 0 ppm
NO3 = 0.2 ppm
PO4 = 0 ppm (since have some algae growth so I wonder)
Mg = 1380
Calc = 392.16
Alk = 6.7 dKh (a little low, will be adding some buffer)

After the corals are back in the display I will take out the Citron Goby and treat him for ich.

I posted a thread in the fish disease forum about ich. I will be putting the little goby through a hyposalinity treatment (maybe in combo with a copper treatment, opinions on that?).

But one of my main questions over there was how to treat the display tank itself. Garlic has been recommended, so I have been adding garlic to the tank everynight and will continue until I don't know when (again opinions?)

Have a great weekend everyone,
Keith

[Cprowler]

Good Morning Keith, looks like your keeping on top of things. I wish I had some profound wisdom to pass on to you but I have not had to go through those situations yet.

Sound like your on top of it, hopefully you get the answers you need in the fish disease forum or someone chimes in here. Do you have a link?

[Stile2]

Thanks Cprowler

I'm really bummed that no one besides you has replied with any advice. I have what I see as a fairly serious issue and nothing.

Come on guys I know that people must be subscribed to this thread.

I need some advice from some people more experienced than me.

Keith

[Cprowler]

I know what you mean the forums seem to have died off since spring has sprung, or at least the threads I'm subscribed to. Some days I'll get 1 notification by email that someone has replied to a thread I'm subscribed to and I used to get 10 to 15 a day. In my thread I post 6 or 7 times in a row and no one chimes in with anything and I think why do I even bother, then someone chimes in like Max or you or Marc or Randy and I figure I'll keep the thread going a while longer. I wonder why no one chimes in just to say hi I'm following along or whatever, I know people are watching I think our threads have had tens of thousands of views.

Anyway, I feel better getting that off my chest.:D I hope you can find the answers you need in the fish disease forum.

[Cprowler]

Looks like your going to beat me to 1000 posts.:beer:

Unless I can crank off 44 before you get back online.;)

[gkarshens]

I am following along, but I don't know what to tell you. I am actually fighting the same battle myself with my new Powder Brown. He has a mild case of Ich. I feed Mysis soaked in garlic and have a UV running. Other than that I just hope he pulls through. He is eating like a pig so that is a good sign.

[Stile2]

thanks guys,

I have treating the tank with ten drops of Garlic Extreme everynight, plus garlic in the food. Someone mentioned that in the disease thread.

Here is a link to the disease thread I started.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=842372

Today is the day that the corals go back in the display. I will post some pics later.

I am also changing out 10 gallons of water today and making some changes to my skimmer, trying to get a bit better performance out of it.

Wish your Mom a Happy Mothers day :)

Keith:D

[Stile2]

Maybe I'll post 8 more random things just to make it to 1000 http://www.zenmods.com/gifs/cheer.gif

Or maybe just 7 more of these. http://www.zenmods.com/gifs/laugh.gif

[got2lb]

I'm watching both your threads! :D

Just didn't have anything productive to say is all!

[Avast Marine]

I am subscribed as well, I just couldn't offer any good suggestions other than the ones you've gotten.

[melev]

When treating a fish with hyposalinity, there is no reason to add copper as well. Just my humble opinion.

Garlic can be added to the food while you make it, or a few drops added each day when you thaw out the nightly portion.

[Stile2]

Thanks Marc and everyone for checking in.

[Stile2]

All the corals are back in the tank. I'll get some pictures tonight. Most of them seemed to do pretty well. My candy cane lost a little bit of flesh.

I'm cleaning out the hospital tank tonight and putting in the citron goby to start hypo treatment.

Keith

[xtrstangx]

Just do hypo.. Copper is tooo dangerous. Too much copper and it can kill the fish, too little copper and it won't kill the Ich.

[Stile2]

I agree, I'm am starting to drop salinity tomorrow night. I'll drop it to 1.009 and keep it there for four weeks.

Thanks
Keith

[goodblasson]

We need some pics of the corals in the display!!!! Wish I had some helpful advice but my battles against the ich army are always not in my favor! I personally dont think there is really a CURE for Ich. I think its all in the fishes ability to fight disease. In my opinion time is the only cure. Then again I am not a mainstream reefer. I do things differently.
By the way, your progress has really come along way.

[Cprowler]

Yes, pics. :)

[gkarshens]

Keith, the only problem with treating your one fish is that Ich is more than likely still present in your display. That means that after he comes out of hypo somewhat stressed and goes back into the display he will be exposed to it again. And now his immune system will be shocked from the hypo. The only way to avoid Ich is to hypo all fish before they go into the system.

[Stile2]

Gab,

That is one of my worries as well. I am treating the display with extra garlic, but I don't know if that will be effective. I haven't seem to come up with a good way to get rid of it in the display yet.

From what I have read in other threads QTing seems to kill as many fish as ich does by not QTing. I am very confused about the whole deal.

thanks for the kind words goodblasson

I'll get some pics of the corals as soon as they color up again.

Keith

[gkarshens]

I haven't either. That is why I quit QTing my new fish. It seemed harder on them than I wanted. So I have gone to feeding with garlic, UV, and lots of hope! So far I have only lost one fish to Ich.

[Stile2]

A couple of things have happened over the last few days.

The first one I am a bit embarassed about. I got a six line wrasse. A really beautiful fish. Now I know that I probably shouldn't have until I fixed the ich situation but I did anyway. (Flame suit on).

I got the citron goby and the royal gramma into the hospital tank and dropped the salinity to 1.020 today, and will continue to drop it over the next week.

And a small thing but I replaced my filters in the RO today.
I am going to set an alarm on my Outlook calendar to remind me to do it next time. I think it will be the only way I will remember.

Keith

[xtrstangx]

How are you dosing garlic to the tank? Are you directly adding it?

Did you find a source that directly states to add garlic straight to the tank or did you interpret "dosing garlic" that way?

I've heard of people doing it directly in the tank, but I've never seen an "expert" or an article recommend it. I've always just add garlic to the fish's food, that way they directly ingest the garlic.

[Stile2]

I doing both, direct dosing and soaking the food.

A person on the Fish Disease forum recommended it.

Keith

[xtrstangx]

Hmm, interesting. I'll have to try the direct dosing if I ever have an Ich problem.

[Stile2]

The hyposalinity treatment is going well. The hospital tank will be down to 1.009 today. then I start the 4 week count.

A page or so ago someone asked for some pic of my corals and things. Well here there are.

My first SPS from my 29 gallon. Acropora.
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/acropora.jpg

A small basslet
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/basslet.jpg

A bird's Nest and some Pink eyed Zoas (not a great pic)
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/birdsnest.jpg

My little Blenny
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/blenny.jpg

[Stile2]

I can't seem to get a good picture of my candy cane, it is so bright that it freaks out the camera.
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/candycane.jpg

My original Clam.
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/clam.jpg

My original Clown
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/clown.jpg

Favia
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/favia.jpg

[Stile2]

I don't know the name of this. Anyone?
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/greenthing.jpg

Hammerhead Coral
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/hammer.jpg

Montipora
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/monti1.jpg

Other Montipora
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/monti2.jpg

One of two peppermint shrimps
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/peppermint.jpg

[Stile2]

Pink Pocillopora
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/pink.jpg

Pink Zoas
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/pinkzoas.jpg

Purple Something?
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/purplegrape.jpg

Six-Line Wrasse
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/sixline.jpg

Unknown Name coral
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/unknown1.jpg

[Stile2]

This was the coral that was infested with red bugs, all of which are gone. I don't know the name
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/unknown2.jpg
It was a lot more purple before the treatment, it should color back up soon.

What is left of my Xenia.
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/xenia.jpg

And finally a full tank shot, just the one side for now.
http://www.zenmods.com/shotsmay/side1.jpg

Thanks for playing.

Keith

[gkarshens]

Looking great!

[Stile2]

Thanks Gabriel

[melev]

The unknown coral is probably a Psammacora, and the other one is possibly a Tri-Color Acropora, as in A. nana perhaps.

[Cprowler]

Looks good Keith, I like the slope of the LR and all the open space for the fish and corals to grow. Are you going to keep it that way?

Get any good full room shots?

[Stile2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7414547#post7414547 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cprowler
Looks good Keith, I like the slope of the LR and all the open space for the fish and corals to grow. Are you going to keep it that way?

Get any good full room shots?

Thanks, I may add a piece or two of LR to the right end. To make it into two mountains, one shorter than the other.

I'll try to get a full room shot tonight. Although I have to pack for a four day field trip with students :( (I really don't want to go)

Please understand before I even take the shot. I am following a long tradition of "not completing my woodwork" :D

Keith

[Cprowler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7415686#post7415686 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
Please understand before I even take the shot. I am following a long tradition of "not completing my woodwork" :D

Keith

Don't worry you got a year or so before I get on you. :lol: :D

Seriously the reason I preach it so much is it was the most satisfying part of my project.:)

[reefarchitect]

Pics look great.

The purple somthing looks like an Idaho Grape (purple monti)

[Stile2]

Well, I left the tank in the care of my wife for four days last week. I had to go on a tour of college campuses with 23 high school students. Tank survived nicely except for the Scooter Blenny who died. Causes unknown.:( I suspect that the basslet was harassing him, but I'm not sure if that was enough to do him in.

My Royal Gramma and my Citron Goby have been in the hospital tank at 1.009 for 8 days now. While I don't think they are happy, they are surviving and have no more white spots. 20 days to go!:D

I plan on getting 1 or 2 more fish and I think I'm done on the fish front. So I am going to leave the hospital tank setup and QT the last remaining fish. Obviously this will be after the two that are in there are back in the display.
I also did a 40% water change in the hospital tank last night.

I am continuing to feed extra garlic in the display and no other fish are showing signs of ich. So hopefully we have beat it into submission.

Keith

[Stile2]

Yesterday I had Jury Duty and got out early so I headed over to Frag Farmer.com, they happen to be just 30 min west of me. A tiny little place but they have some beautiful corals (a little on the expensive side though).

I got an Oregon Tort frag ($100 :eek2: :eek2: ) but WOW! is it beautiful!!

I also got a medium sized (around 4" with many branches) what could be a Apple Green Tenuis.

I'll clean the glass tonight and take some pictures.

Have Fun,
Keith

[melev]

You better!

[Stile2]

As promised (and threatened by Marc:D ) here are the pictures.

Please understand that my water is not crystal clear yet. When I get the garage fish room I will start working on that.

I think this is an Apple Green Tenuis.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/applegreentenuis.jpg

Fullshot of the Tenuis.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/fullshot1.jpg

And a partial shot.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/threequartershot.jpg

A couple of the Oregon Tort.
I think this is probably the most beautiful coral I have seen. I can't wait until it gets big. Right now it is about 1 1/4" tall.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/oregontort1.jpg
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/oregontort2.jpg
After it settles in I will take it off its base and place it in the rocks.

Finally my Tri-color, this is the one that had red bugs. It hasn't colored back up fully, but is looking pretty good.
http://www.zenmods.com/Frags/tricolor.jpg

Keith

[melev]

Very nice pieces!

[Stile2]

Thanks Marc,

Do you think that the big green piece is really a Tenuis?

Are Oregon Tort's as rare as it seems?

[melev]

Oregon Tortes are expensive, and I'd say relatively rare in that you can only get them at specific sources, rather than your local fish store.

I've not seen a Tenuis like that, but I won't pretend to say I know for sure. My Tenuis doesn't look like yours at all. Here's mine from a few months ago, shot from above.

http://melevsreef.com/id/a_tenuis.jpg

Yours reminds me more of a Scripps Acropora. Like this:

http://melevsreef.com/id/a_scripps.jpg

[Stile2]

Definately doesn't look like your Tenuis, and could be the Scripps Arco. The only thing I know for sure is that it is green. :D

There are so many different corals it would be impossible to know the names of all of them.

[Stile2]

the tank is doing well. I got a new open brain coral which is beautiful. I'll try and get pictures today. Everything seems to be growing like bandits.

I got a school of Banggai Cardinals, 5 total. They mostly hang out together, but they bring a lot more life to the tank.


The Citron Goby and Royal Gramma seem really stressed in the hospital tank. Water parameters are good, one more week. Hope they survive the treatment.

[melev]

Why are they stressed? Do they have hiding places and food to eat? What is the issue, from your point of view?

[rdmpe]

Beautiful corals! You mention taking them off the base - do you just get them off by prying with a knife or what? Do you use superglue gel to glue them to the rocks then?

I guess you don't quarentine your corals? I've been told by some other people that I should put new corals in a seperate tank for a couple of weeks to make sure I don't get anything like redbugs or whatever. What do you guys think?

[Stile2]

Marc,
I have checked water parameters and all are good. Amm <0.25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate 10, Salinity 1.009.

They have several pvc fittings to hide in, and food everyday.

If I had to guess, I would say it is the hyposalinity that is stressing them out, the gramma more so than the Citron.

Jeffbrig and Christy have also had some issues with the hypo qt.

Randy,
Thanks, I really like my collection, it is coming along nicely. I really will try and get some shots soon. It's finals week at work, with one day to grade and clean out my room for the summer. So next week I'll have lots of time on my hands.

It depends on the coral whether I take them off the base. Some corals are barely stuck to the base, so they come off pretty easy with just a twist. So far I have just found small cracks or holes to put them in. I don't want ot premenately mount anything until I know that I am happy with the aquascaping.
Other corals (encrusting ones) will probably never come off their bases as they have already grown over them, so I don't even try. Not worth killing some of the coral just to get it off.

so far I haven't QT corals, and yes I did get redbugs the one time and had to hospitalize all the corals. Right now I have the two fish in my QT tank and can't QT the corals. After they are done I probably will. I am not sure how long to QT corals though?

[Stile2]

Looking at Cprowler's pictures and Randy's and Gabriels and Marc's and don't get me started about weatherson's.

I REALLY NEED TO LEARN TO TAKE A DECENT PICTURE!!!

Ok I'll stop yelling at myself!

[rdmpe]

The secret to taking good pictures:
Take 72 pictures, use the three good ones, delete the rest :D

[melev]

And don't forget a picture can often be saved using Photoshop.

[Stile2]

I won't be able to take any pictures until Friday. Master's classes last night and tonight, graduation on Wednesday night. This week is crazy.

I changed out 2 gallons of water in the hospital tank, rising the salinity to 1.011. Both Gramma and Citron seem to be doing much better, no more heavy breathing and they are swimming around more.

So it could be that I reduced something in the water that I am not testing for or the slightly higher salinity have helped them. I am leaning toward the first thought. It doesn't make sense to me that that small of a change in salinity could have that much of an effect. Or maybe it was a slight drop in any ammonia even though it tested at <0.25 (Salifert).

I am going to change out another two gallons with fresh RODI and drop the salinity back down and see if they get stressed again. Now that I just typed that sentence, it seems cruel. Maybe I'll just leave them alone, they do have just six more days of hypo.

[Stile2]

the Royal Gramma and Citron Goby seem to be better in the hospital tank. Swimming around like they were on vacation.

I am still not sure whether it was the raise in Salinity or the drop in something else with a water change that helped but at least they are doing better.

I got seven frags from a fellow club member yesterday.
The club is Inland Reefs. http://www.inlandreefs.net/

Kenny was nice enough to label all of the frags for me. (Since I am terrible about remembering the names)
here is a list of what I got.
M. Spongodes
Orange M. Digitata
A. Tenuis
Orange M. Capricornis
A. Samoensis
A. Sarmentosa
Green Body with Orange M. Digitata

I have close to 30 species of corals in the tank so far, really starting to fill out and be interesting. Again Pictures on Friday.

I am thinking of ditching one of my fish.
This guy.
http://www.zenmods.com/Fish/basslet.jpg

He does nothing but chase and harass the other fish. He is way smaller than most. Yesterday morning when the lights came on he was harassing one of the Cardidals until it was dead. I have a feeling that it this fish that killed my Blenny and helped the Kole along that path as well. I really wanted a peaceful tank, so I think he has got to go.

[gkarshens]

I love this fish but I had read about there aggressiveness and that is why I didn't get one. After my YT started harassing everyone I decided no more aggressive fish. They are too hard to catch!

[Stile2]

I kept promising pictures, and here they are.

I think this is either an A. Samoensis, or A. Sarmentosa.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/asamoensis.jpg

Pretty sure this is an A. Scripps.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/ascripps.jpg

A brown with green polyps monti.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/browngreenmonti.jpg

My original clam. One of the first animals I got when I started a reef.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/clam.jpg

TBC

[Stile2]

One of my clown.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/clown.jpg

I have no idea what this guy this.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/greenfurunknown.jpg

A Green Body with Orange M. Digitata
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/greenorangemdigitata.jpg

Unknown with green polyps. He lost some skin when first put into my 29 but he has grown it all back.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/greenpolypsunknown.jpg

TBC

[Stile2]

Idaho Grape, growing like gang busters.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/idahogrape.jpg

Open Brain
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/openbrain.jpg

Oregon Tort
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/oregontort.jpg

Pink Pocillopora
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/pinkponci.jpg
TBC

[Stile2]

Red Monti
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/redmonti.jpg

Ricordia
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/ricordia.jpg

My original Acro was growing out of the top of my 29 so I fragged one piece. This is what it has grown into. Rather Rude if you ask me. :lol:
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/rudeacro.jpg

six line wrasse
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/sixlinewrasse.jpg

[Stile2]

Unknown Tan thing. It is one of the seven I got from a Local Reefer.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/tanunknown.jpg

Xenia. I had a huge xenia, but it disappeared the day before the upgrade. I have three of four very small clumps of xenia now. This is the biggest of them.
http://www.zenmods.com/Shotsjune/xenia.jpg

I caught and got rid of the super agressive fish. Tank is doing well so far. Everything seems to be growing and looks healthy.

Keith

[thor32766]

great looking tank you got there!

[melev]

The one coral looks like a Scripps to me as well, and the other unknown looks like Psammacora.

[Stile2]

Thanks thor

Thanks Marc

Now if I could just complete the woodwork.

Keith

[xtrstangx]

What kind of sand is that?

Caribsea Reef Grade Special?

[Avast Marine]

The Oregon tort is ruely beautiful! With all of your new additions I would love to see a full tank shot.

[Stile2]

xtrstangx,
I know it may not be the best "sand" to use, but I like the look of it in the tank. It is about half fine live sand, and half bigger crush coral type stuff. There is only about 1/2" on the bottom.

Dandy,
I will try a full tank shot tonight. There are quite a few windows in the living room, so getting the full tank during the day is hard.

Thanks for the compliments.

Keith

[Stile2]

Here are a couple of full tank shots, again I'm still learning the photography stuff.
Hallway side.
http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/tankside.jpg

The End.
http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/tankend.jpg

I didn't get the other side I still need to clean the glass on that side. :D

[Stile2]

Well, I guess my full tank shots aren't too impressive.

My OM Squirt has been sticking on one outlet for the past month or so. I ordered a new drum, 2 outlets at a time. problem fixed.:thumbsup:

[rdmpe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7590488#post7590488 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
Well, I guess my full tank shots aren't too impressive.....
What you need is to make an animation that spins around and makes'em dizzy! :lol:

Tank is looking good, but you need some fish swimming around in there ;)

[Stile2]

Thanks Randy,
I haven't had good luck with fish. I have the Royal Gramma and Citron Goby in the hospital tank and they will be back in in a few days. I lost my Scooter Blenny, a Kole Tang, and recently 5 Cardinals.

I'm a lot gun shy of more fish. Oddly corals are supposed to be harder to keep, but I have had great luck with the corals.
:confused:

Keith

[gkarshens]

I had a similar run with fish. I lost 2 Powder Blues, a Flasher Wrasse, and a Lavender Tang all in about a 2 month period. Since I have had a Powder Brown, an Orange Spot Goby and 2 Mandarins do just fine.

[Avast Marine]

I think it's better to give the corals a little breathing room before fishing up the tank anyhow. I really like the aquascaping thus far.

[JmLee]

i have XM 15000k Hqi's, I dont like them and i really dont recommend then. I would say either a 10000k with actinic sups, or 20,000ks alone. Nice tank!.

[JmLee]

Oop never mind, already have lights ey?. Anyways ur tank is sweet =).

[Stile2]

I had a similar run with fish. I lost 2 Powder Blues, a Flasher Wrasse, and a Lavender Tang all in about a 2 month period. Since I have had a Powder Brown, an Orange Spot Goby and 2 Mandarins do just fine.

Gab, Glad to know it is not just me. Did you ever figure out what was the cause or some sort of reason behind it?

I think it's better to give the corals a little breathing room before fishing up the tank anyhow. I really like the aquascaping thus far.

Dan, I agree, frankly corals are why I got into the hobby. Fish will dress up the tank, but corals are my focus. That being said, I want to get at least some fish just because they will make the tank more interesting.

Thanks for the comment on aquascaping. I want to build up the front, (or right side in the side view), a bit more. To form more like two mountains, one tall and one shorter. Less like a slope and more like two mountains.

i have XM 15000k Hqi's, I dont like them and i really dont recommend then. I would say either a 10000k with actinic sups, or 20,000ks alone. Nice tank!. Oop never mind, already have lights ey?. Anyways ur tank is sweet =).

JmLee, Yeah, I have had the lights for a while now. :D I have 500 W of 15K XM, and 190 w of VHO Actinic. And while I really like the look of the tank in person, taking pictures is a PITA. I turn off the actinics just to not get pure blue pictures.

I was thinking that when it comes time to replace the MH bulbs I would try the 10k and see how that looked. According to melev the corals grow faster under 10k than anything else.

Thanks for the compliments.
Keith

[gkarshens]

I think it was just a run of bad luck. All my parameters were fine and nothing has really changed since then. 2 of those were from a store I don't go to anymore. I think it makes a big difference to find a store that is trustworthy.

I just switched from XM 15k to Reeflux 10k. I am already noticing more growth in just 2 weeks. I need to get a new bulb for the center light though. I have a blue streak in the middle of my tank!

[Stile2]

Yeah, I was reading about the change to 10k on your thread. Do you like how it looks? How much supplemental actinic lighting do you have?

Just call the middle blue stripe a racing stripe.:lol: You'll be the coolest reefer around.

[gkarshens]

At first I thought it wasn't blue enough. But after a couple of days I actually like it better. I only have a couple of normal output actnic bulbs in there. One 4' in the center and an 18" on either side. The center 400w MH is a 20k bulb right now. If I had to do it all over again, and in a year or so I will, I would buy the Reeflux 12k bulbs. I hear the PAR is about the same and they are a little bluer.

[rdmpe]

My fixture came with 10K, Ushio I think but not sure. Anyway, I swapped them out for some pheonix 14K. It was more blue than I expected. Eventually I am going to put a 10K back on one end and then run it with a 14K on the other end and decide which way to go. I know when I first tried the 14K I was thinking that I liked the 10K better. When I have both temps running at once I'll take a bunch of pictures and post them. Maybe next week.

I haven't tried the 14K with the T5 actinics off. I guess I should try that and see if it makes much difference as well.

[Stile2]

I will keep an eye out on your thread for the pictures. It will be nicew to see before I invest in new bulbs.

[Stile2]

Well, melev would be proud. I finally cleaned my skimmer today. Here is a picture right before I cleaned it.
http://www.zenmods.com/Random/skimmate.jpg

[melev]

I'm very proud of you. Try to do it every other day, if possible. ;)

[H20ENG]

"Cleaning the skimmer every other day keeps Melev away" :lol:

[melev]

:D

[Avast Marine]

Muriatic acid or Liquid Plumber?
:eek1:

[Stile2]

For the minor jobs I just use Hot Water and a Scrub Brush:D

I finished up some new aquascaping but am up at my parents place for the 4th. I will post pictures when I get back.

If I could just finish the woodwork :lol: I would be really happy!

[rdmpe]

OOOH that's a tasty looking skimmer! How long since you cleaned it before that?

[Stile2]

I am kind of embarassed to admit it, but it has been a couple of months. My problem is that when I designed it I attached the cup with 20 bolts that have to come all the way out in order to clean the thing. A mistake that will not happen on Version 3 of the ZenAquatic Skimmer.:D

[Avast Marine]

Would it be possible to just keyhole the flange you already have? I know you enjoy building things but, maybe you need to focus on that woodwork! :)

[Stile2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7673318#post7673318 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dandy7200
Would it be possible to just keyhole the flange you already have? I know you enjoy building things but, maybe you need to focus on that woodwork! :)

Are you the new Cprowler to my melev?:lol: :D

Unfortunately the size of the flange is too small to cut key holes. I already have the new design done. And today I was at my Dad's shop learning the new CNC machine. So it is just a matter of time before the Version 3 comes along.

[Cprowler]

Don't get me started on you too. :D You've'e got at least a year till we get to that. :lol:

I just had some panels done up for my boat on a CNC machine, very cool. They were made out of ABS and Acrylic, I'll probably post the pics in my thread when I go through them. What brand machine is it?

[melev]

You have access to a CNC machine! That's it. I'm unsubscribing. :mad:



















j/k :D

[Cprowler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7677352#post7677352 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
You have access to a CNC machine! That's it. I'm unsubscribing. :mad:


Doesn't everyone? :p :D

[Stile2]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7677302#post7677302 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cprowler
Don't get me started on you too. :D You've'e got at least a year till we get to that. :lol:

I just had some panels done up for my boat on a CNC machine, very cool. They were made out of ABS and Acrylic, I'll probably post the pics in my thread when I go through them. What brand machine is it?

Seriously I am waiting until the new garage happens to do the woodwork! :D

The CNC machine is a retrofit knee mill with a ProtoTrak. It is not the biggest or fastest but it does get the job done. It is at my Dad's shop. Both of us are learning how to run it. I have got the Conversational Programming down, and am now learning about the CAM program I have.

I shocking new development about the tank. I had my hand in the sump adjusting some plumbing and acidently touched the fuge light with my elbow. Wow! 120V with whatever ampage is there sure hurts.

Well, I guess that means that something is letting stray electricity into the water. I am going to get my volt meter and put one prong into the water and ground the other. I will then unplug one thing at a time to see what is faulty.

I will update later today.

Keith

[Stile2]

Well, I found the problem. I am going to wait on telling what it was. I want people to guess!! What piece of equipment was sending 115 v through my tank?

Keith

[Cprowler]

Heater?

[Stile2]

Isn't it always!!!:lol: :lol: :lol: :lol:

Is there a decent heater out there? This was a Won Bros Titanium! Not the cheapest heater!

So I guess I need a new heater and a temp controller?

Any Recommendations?

Keith

[Cprowler]

Great :( , I'm using two of them.

[Stile2]

Bummer, sorry to have to deliver bad news. But if you reach in your tank and get shocked at least you'll know what it is! :)

[Avast Marine]

I'm quite happy with my Finnex Ti heaters. I set em at 80 and let the Neptune do the fine tuning, but they do have one with a controller.

[Cprowler]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7704706#post7704706 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Stile2
Bummer, sorry to have to deliver bad news. But if you reach in your tank and get shocked at least you'll know what it is! :)

;)

[melev]

Ebo Jager are heaters I like, but Hydor makes pretty tough ones now. Plus for $50, you can get a controller than can handle up to 500w.

[Stile2]

Good to know, I'll start looking tomorrow. Good thing that it is hitting 100 degrees during the day and getting all the way down to about 78 degrees in the house in the morning. Don't really need a heater right now.

BTW, my wife reminded me that my Won Bros heater had come out of the water (the non-wire end) and melted the plastic end cap a couple of months ago. When I peeled off the melted plastic it was sealed titanium, so I figured good to go. Well I guess I was wrong!

Keith

[gkarshens]

I have the Stealth hard plastic heater. The temp control on it sucks but I have it on my Reefkeeper 2 and I have no problems.

[xtrstangx]

I've had good luck with the Hydor Theo heaters, they are glass but they are fairly good about the temp control and don't seem to break easily (I dropped one on my driveway one time =x )

My new tank I'm using a Finnex titanium heater. I read a lot of reviews of heaters as there seems to be a story for every brand. I read a LOT about the Won Bros and only 1 or 2 about Finnex.

[Stile2]

Well, I bit the bullet. I just ordered a Reefkeeper 2, with the 8 outlets and Temp and pH probes.

Reefkeeper2 (http://www.digitalaquatics.com/)

And for a new heater I got the Finnex 500W (in case I ever go bigger) Titanium Heating Tube only. That way I can just plug it straight into the ReefKeeper.

Heater (http://www.reefsaltwateraquarium.com/p47/Aquarium_Supplies_Heaters_Finnex_500W_Deluxe_Titanium_Heating_Tube_only.html)

And just for an update pictures.
http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/FullLeft.jpg

As you can see I have done some re-aquascaping. It doesn't look as boring to me anymore.

http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/FullEnd.jpg

http://www.zenmods.com/Fulltank/FullRight.jpg

Still working on getting good pictures.

Keith

[melev]

Looks very nice. Plenty of room for growth.

[Stile2]

Thanks Melev.

It is starting to come together.

I am hosting my first IEMAS (Inland Empire Marine Aquarium Society) meeting tomorrow. We are talking about sumps and fuges. I have printed a bunch of examples from your site. Any other sources (online) that would help us out.

Thanks
Keith

[melev]

What? There are other sources? :D

[Avast Marine]

I like the new look. I think I just noticed that the large rock is leaning on the slotted panel of glass. I have been little weary about trying that, but I guess it's better than having it fall onto it.
Marc is the obvious source for designing sumps. These are some good articals on stocking them once they are built:

Part 1 (http://www.reefland.com/rho/1104/main.php)
and
part2 (http://www.reefland.com/rho/0105/main2.php)
HTH and good luck.

[Stile2]

thanks Dan