265 gallon project

[niloc16]

i have been studying and collecting components for this setup for about 4 months. and boy has it taught me patience. it is a 265 gallon 84"L X 24"W X 30"D. it has dual layer 1/2" glass laminated together. it weighs 1000 lbs dry. i'm using a 75 gal for sump. i paid movers to move it to my house from the store and the guys chipped the corner of the tank, most of the damage was the cosmetic plastic trim thank goodness but what a stressful day that was. so i fired them and didnt pay them a cent. i built a skid to mount the tank to and 5 of us moved the tank up 13 stairs. we had 2 guys at the top of the stairs with a roped wrapped around their waists and attached to the skid and the rest of us pushed it up the stairs. it moved fairly easily on the skid. that was fun hey marc! i'm not moving it again it will be sold with the house.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0613.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0618.jpg

in the sump i'm running 2 250w ebo jager heaters that maintain 78.5 degrees for skimmer i'm using an H&S A200-1260 that i had to modify the base to fit in the sump a little easier. i'm using a dart pump for the return as well it supplies the skimmer that also uses the eheim 1260 for recirculation. currently i'm using coarse and fine filter media in the sump to clean the water a bit since it has only been running for about 3 weeks.

left side of sump
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0654.jpg

middle
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0653.jpg

right side
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0652.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0616.jpg

[niloc16]

i'm using a barracuda pump for a CL with 2 outlets split into 2 each for a total for 4 locline outputs. 2 of them i direct behind the rock structures to keep it clean. i also used 2 vortech pumps for extra circulation but in the future i will be using them as my wave device once the controller comes out. i was sold on them for a wave device once i seen the movie from macna. i turn down the output of the dart return pump so there is only about 1500gph actually gettin into the display tank but in total i have approximately 11000 gph of flow in the tank.

i plumbed a 75gpd RO/DI unit the in the laundry room on the bottom floor and also hooked it up to a timer so that the water supply is only on for 9 hours a day. the RO output line is drilled through the floor and wall and goes directly to the sump with a float valve. i have a 30 gallon garbage can in the basement for mixing fresh SW it is also plumbed through the floor and to the sump so that i when i turn the switch on it pumps the fresh SW right to the sump, so no carrying buckets.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0512.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0679.jpg

[niloc16]

i used pvc structure for the rock work. 2 main structures actually. 90% of the rock was drilled and slides over the pvc tubing and then tyraps were used to secure the rock to the pvc. there is about 190 lbs of rock right now. i have about 25 lbs that i will transfer from my 55 gallon. i put 100 lbs of #2 grade crushed coral. sorry the pictures are dark but i dont have lighting yet. i'm still researching what to use. i would like to go with 3 400W MH and t5's with moonlighting mounted in the canopy.

left side
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0628.jpg

right side
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0627.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0626.jpg
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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0670.jpg

once the reactor is going the coralline will cover most the pvc and disguise it. i'm also planning on placing corals in the spots to hie it more.

[niloc16]

its not connected yet but i have a 2 stage calcium reactor with a 10lb CO2 bottle that i made brackets for to secure it in the stand for safety reasons. the tank has been going for 3 weeks now and the parameters were ideal so i added 8 chromis to load the tank a little before the big addition of the 55 gallon coral and fish. i dont have any pics of them or the vortechs but i'll try and get some. let me know what you think, advice, questions, good or bad.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0674.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0675.jpg

you'll have to excuse the wiring nightmare right now. i have purchased a profilux controller but it has not come in yet and once i get that the wiring will be all cleaned up and hopefully out of sight.

[thor32766]

great work so far, looks great

[glaspie69]

I love the rockwork......can't wait to see the progression

[niloc16]

i'm going to change out the barracuda with a dart because it is so noisy. the vibration travels along my laminate so much that it is hard to hear the tv in the room.

thanks for the compliments.

i'm reallly hoping that next week my light should be done so i can see what the tank really looks like. the ambient light doesnt do much justice right now.

[Craig Lambert]

Looking good! I really like the 84" length. The extra 12" makes it looks much larger than a 72" tank. How will you light it when working with 84" vs 72 or 96"?

[niloc16]

i was talking tonight with a friend of mine at the LFS and i am going to go with the new icecap 250w/400w pendants with 14k 400w aquaconnect bulbs and icecap 400w electronic ballasts. and 8 54w T5 actinics. the canopy top has been routered out about 50% of the surface for venting but we are also going to mount fans in the canopy to pull in cool air. hopefully i dont get alot of light reflection out the top but we'll see how it goes

[invincible569]

keep the pics coming!

[FishyBiz]

Very nice! Love the rockwork.

[niloc16]

wow, i'm way behing in updating this. lots has changed. i removed the barracuda and closed loop all together and went with 2 vortechs which i'm going to replace with tunze wavebox this week. it is taking too long for the wave controller for the vortechs to come out. i have installed 2 tunze 6100's which i installed on 2 wavyseas. i absolute love the current and flow that this achieves. i got the idea from fudge.

this is the mod i used to to mount the bracket from the tunze to the wavy sea. it is a standard 1" pvc cap.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0884.jpg

and here it is installed

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0885.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0886.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0888.jpg

[niloc16]

i also purchased the profilux II controller with WLAN. i have 2 ph probes (one for reactor), redox, conductivity, temp. this unit rocks, very easy to use and program. i've been having a bit of difficulty hooking up the WLAN but i'm inexperienced with wireless networking so that is my issue right now. it controls my tunzes on random circulation, my LED lunar lighting, halides, actinics, heaters well you guys know what it does. i designed and built a bracket to mount it in my stand, i dont have pictures of that yet because i'm still tidying the wiring, to me its too messy right now.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0908.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0909.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0913.jpg

[niloc16]

i finally got my canopy and modded it. my lighting i went with 3 lumen max 2 400w pedants 14k aquaconnect bulbs and 400w icecap electronic ballasts. the canopy has been modded that the top is cut out to mount the pendants on top of the canopy. the lighting is about 10" about the water give or take an inch or so. i had to build brackets to mount the pedants.. i bought a set of blue led lighting from ikea that comes with 4 light strips to use for lunar lighting. in addition i have 2 54 t5 actinics with GLO reflectors and GLO electronic ballasts. this ballast is dimmable and i want to hook it to my controller but have not got around to modding it. i had to mod the t5 reflectors as well to get them mounted.
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0983.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1053.jpg

[niloc16]

here is some tank shots for you. all this livestock was put in over about 2 months so dont think i just dumped them in last night.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0986.jpg

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[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_0997.jpg

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[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1003.jpg

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[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1030.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1048.jpg

[invincible569]

Love the picture with your kid in it. Brings the tank to perspective.

[Elliott]

ahh, great shot with your son, that's what this is all about...

[Paikuhan]

Very nice, love the Tunze mods.

[niloc16]

i had to throw the one in with my son, he loves the system as much as i do. my daughter who is only 7 months loves it as well. my son knows the names of all the fish and i slowly learning the corals now as well. whenever someone comes over he has to tell them all the names and how the cleaner wasse (he calls it, cant get the r in there) cleans the naso and all the fish.

[niloc16]

i picked up a really really nice copperband butterfly tonight. he is about 4" i guess and eats frozen food like crazy. i tested him for eating at the store and he went nuts, i put him in the tank and fed about 20 mins after and he picked at it a little but still a bit nervous in the tank. an hour or so later and he is already a part of the tank. the others leave him alone and he picks away at the rocks. i'll try and post some pictures tomorrow

[tentacles]

Does the profilux offer the same flow options for controlling the streams that a multicontroller does?

[niloc16]

i have never used the multicontroller before, but the profilux has alot of options, wave, ebb & flood, nightime decrease, i can remember the others right now, it also does a random generator.

[tentacles]

I'm looking at the profilux or the aquatronica, and if the profilux works well with the streams, well that's one less thing to buy:)

[niloc16]

the profilux also controls wave systems as well. i am getting the tunze wavebox soon so i'll let you know how, or if, it works well with the controller. i got some pics of the new additions. i got a 4" copperband butterfly 6" powder blue and a pinkish/purple green tip pink polyp acro colony (i'm hoping it will turn out to be a tricolor) and green colony. not sure on the family they are, if someone knows or thinks they may know please let me know. i spent alot of time today in front of the tank trying to get some good pictures. the acro's i'm finding really hard to take pics of because i cant the color to be true in the picture but i tried. but i'll let the pics talk for me.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1059.jpg

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[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1069.jpg

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[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1079.jpg

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[rhunt]

Sweet setup...very very nice!
Love the rock work!
And very neat setup. Mine isn't that neat with the wiring.

[zachtos]

So did you drill 3/4" holes in the liverock and slide the pvc into the holes, or did you just drill holes big enough to stick zipties through the holes?

[niloc16]

90% of the rock already had holes that allowed me to just slide the rock over the pvc, the ones that didnt i drilled holes and then slid it over the rock. once the rock was on the pvc i then drilled small holes in the rock (if there wasnt already holes) to put zip ties through then secured it the pvc. i did it this way so that the zip ties werent structural and only used for positioning support. once i built the pvc i drilled tons of holes in it to keep dead spots of water within the pvc and these are what i used to put the zip ties through. it went a thousand times easier then i anticipated. i did not glue the pvc and that way i was able to build the structure with rock in sections outside the tank on the floor which is way easier to work with and then install the finished product in sections into the tank and assemble it there.

[zachtos]

so where'd you find a drill bit long/big enough to do that?

it's very creative, i would like to emulate this in my 240 gallon system that I'm building. I was going to use combination artificial GARF style rock w/ fiji

[niloc16]

i didnt need a super long one, just average 3/4" masonry bit and if it wasnt long enough i turned the rock over and drilled from the other side, i chisled some rock with a screwdriver to make the holes bigger. the structure on the left i used 1/2 pvc and on the right i used 3/4" because the one on the right has a free standing archway so i needed the extra strength.

[niloc16]

i got my calcium reactor hooked up today. dual chamber marintech and i'm using an eheim 1262 pump for supply. for media i'm using a type of 'reef bone'. i've heard very good stuff about this media so i'm trying it. this is the first reactor i have ever hooked up and used so input on my adjustments would be great. i've started with 1 drip effluent to 4 bubbles co2 per min. i tested the tank prior to starting the unit and i'm going to keep a chart of reactions in the tank compared to adjustments on the reactor.

i finally got some pictures of the mounting of my controller. excuse the wiring for now. i started to clean it up and then they are going to replace the powerbars for the controller so i'm going to wait until i get the new bars

i also installed the 3 fan assembly i bought for the profilux controller. it is a variable speed fan controlled by the controller but i need to get a 'y' adapter to hook it up so for now i'm just turning it on with the lighting. prior to getting this fan my tank was hitting 85.1 and now it stabilizes at 83.8. big difference for such a small unit. i'm worried though when i increase my photoperiod that the tank temp will rise as well. if it does then i will install some fans in the canopy

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1095.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1100.jpg

[niloc16]

a few new additions that i absolutely could not turn down. i may have rushed this purchase but everyone does it, i couldnt help myself. let me know what you think

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1106.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1105.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1104.jpg

[BTTRFLYGRL]

OMG!! The rockwork is AWESOME!!

Although I wished I hadn't seen it...now I'm going to want to do somthing with the rock in my 240:(

Very nice tank!

[niloc16]

thanks bttrflygrl. the rock work was actually quite easy. alot easier then i expected. it only took me about 3 or 4 hours in total to assemble the rocks. building the pvc was about 2 hours but that is because i used a hacksaw to cut it all and then later learned that for $14 you can buy a pvc hand cutter that cuts through the pipe super easy and clean, it would have taken me a 1/4 the time if i had this tool first.

[orchidsnfish]

Very nice rockwork. I really like this tank. Making me inpatient about getting my 265 set up.

Angela

[invincible569]

Colin, where did you get the fan assembly from? thank you.

[niloc16]

i picked it up from hidden reef in abbotsford, bc. alot cheaper then i expected

[niloc16]

so i tried some top down pictures tonight. i also found my whipfin wrasse i lost, he is in my overflow. does anyone have a trick for getting a fish out of the over flow?

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1130.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1131.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1134.jpg



here is some new additions acclimating to the lighting

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1136.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1137.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1139.jpg

[niloc16]

some top down of the rock work. i'm still learning to use the camera so the color is not great

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1128.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1127.jpg


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1126.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1125.jpg

[niloc16]

i mounted a couple of my pieces yesterday and picked up a couple new ones. i'm a little nervous though because when these new pieces become acclimated i want to cut the base off and glue them to my rock but i have never fragged sps before and i dont know how brittle the pieces are. can the acro crumble when i cut it? i know it sounds like a stupid question but i have never done it before.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1180.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1174.jpg

[hatfielj]

Absolutely Awesome Setup Man. Thanks for all the pictures! I can't wait to see this one mature. By the way, I think I have the same kind of laminate flooring in my kitchen:)

[niloc16]

heres a couple end views as you walk down the hallway. i finally got my whipfin wrasse in a picture

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1183.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1182.jpg

[quy_nquyen]

colin that blue sps is AMAZING! i've never seen one that blue before

[niloc16]

it was my first attempt at removing the frags from the plugs today. it was bloody nerve racking thinking i was going to destroy the piece. not much has changed lately with the tank. the algae bloom has died down, it was good because it only lasted about a week. anyhow here is some pics of the pieces mounted in their new locations

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1216.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1215.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1211.jpg

[laomedon]

Colin does your Centropyge loricula nip on your SPS or not at all? Had to remove mine, what I hated to do as it was the most beautiful fish we had :-( Beautiful setup you got there and also very nice selection on corals.

[niloc16]

the flame angel leaves everything alone thank god. at first it was nipping a little at my motipora peltiformis but i think it was only algae he was after. i tried to catch him when this was happening but there was no chance i could get him. but i'm glad i left him because i love that fish and he is good right now with all the corals

[Bax]

nicol16

Just found this thread. Absolutely great work!

Really love the open look ... KEEP ON SHARING!

[niloc16]

i was so happy today to get finally get a hold of a bright pink seriatopora frag. it is about 1.5" to 2" piece. while at the store i also seen this pocillipora that is peach with neon green polyps and i could not leave it there. i'm hoping it will color up a little more. its hard to see the polyps in the picture but it looks so cool
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1220.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1219.jpg

[niloc16]

big jump today. i dumped my vortechs and installed a tunze wavebox. this unit is awesome. super easy to hook up. i almost had an overlfow by trying to max out my wave. i used 2 6200 magnets to mount it. they are rated for 3/4" glass and i have 7/8" but they hold very well. the fish seem much more calm with the wave and there is a couple sps that the PE has improved within an hour of the unit being on. these pieces did not usually extend well until night time so that is a major bonus.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1228.jpg


input on to the name of this piece would be awesome. i'm hoping it colors up because there is some purple/blue hues to it.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1225.jpg

new monti frag

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1223.jpg

[ruiny]

What made you chose the Profilux over the the other controllers?
I am looking for a controller and would love to hear your opinion.
Tank look great. And I really like your rock work.

[i2ik]

what is the reason for taking out the 2 vortech? why not keeping the vortech + the wavebox at the same time too with your tunzes powerhead? that would have been a lot of flow!

[niloc16]

ruiny - i had never used a controller before and when i was building this tank i decided it would be beneficial. i'm a sucker for new products and a friend of mine was the first to own in north america so i drilled him for information on the unit. a big thing for me was the quality of the unit and probes, very high end. i loved all the options it was capable of and what options will be available in the future. i'm not knocking the other units at all but from what research i did i found this unit to work for me. i found a really cool spreadsheet on controller comparison. but i dont know how to copy the file to this or i would show you.

i2ik - i had some issues with the vortechs. because of the thickness of my glass the units never stayed aligned and the rattling was so bloody annoying. after using them for a few months i was not impressed with the quality of the units either. they did produce good flow, but i just decided they werent for me. i'm thinking of making a bracket to mount on the overflow to mount another wavysea and tunze but still have not decided. with the 2 tunzes and wavebox there is awesome flow now.

[sschoelen]

Wow, I wish I had the space for a tank like that. Great work! I Love it!

[hawaiianwargod]

sschoelen
[welcome]

[niloc16]

i was pretty shocked this morning. i took some 1 month growth pictures of some of the acros and was pretty impressed. the purple cross does not actually have the white shown in the pictures.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1075.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1246.jpg



http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1107.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1248.jpg


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1104.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1243.jpg

[niloc16]

my tank has been hitting 83.5 degrees by the end of the day which isnt the end of the world but it did not leave me with much of a buffer zone. i already have a GHL 3 fan assy on my sump but today i bought a GHL 5 fan assy. i installed it near the end of the day and it brought the tank temp down 1 degree in about 2 hours. i love these setups. they are dead quiet too. i also had a wild colony on hold for the past week and went and picked it up. i also got another wild colony that i think has major potential. both pieces are hard to tell the colors in the pictures but in person they look pretty cool. there is also a small frag that i could not leave. i've never seen polyps extend as much as they do on this frag although they are not out in the pic. if you know the ID's of these pieces i'd love to hear it. i think both wild colonies may be plating acro possilby nana but i'm still a rookie when it comes to ID'ing
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1257.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1255.jpg


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1253.jpg


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1254.jpg

[douglaslindsey]

Your tank looks like it's comming along nice! One question though. Are you using a chiller at all? I have just fired up my new lights (3-250w MH, 4-96w 03's), and my tank has also increased about 1.5 deg's (78.9). I am using a 1/4hp chiller w/2 Ice Cap fans in my canopy. Thanks...

[niloc16]

no chiller. i seriously contemplated getting a teco chiller because my temp was hitting 83.5 at the end of the day. but i thought it was cheaper to try a fan assy then to spend $1000. and it has worked so far. tomorrow will be the test, i'll let you know how it goes

[ssbreef]

WOW! Very nice! I'm planning a tank upgrade in the near future and you gave me some GREAT ideas! I love your rockwork!! Looks great! Keep us updated.

[TandN]

love the rockwork tanks looks great

[reefkeeper2]

I think you will find that the fans will work well, but if you can angle them down just a bit to blow across the top of the water they will work even better. Its a small change but it makes a surprizingly big difference. Try it.

[niloc16]

the fans definitely did their job. the tank never went over 82.4 today. compared to 83.5 that it has been doing. so it was worth the money for sure

[mrpet]

great job looks great

[mrpet]

where did you get those fans? thanks

[niloc16]

hidden reef in abbotsford, bc, canada. they are cheap too

[mrpet]

web site?

[niloc16]

their website does not work right now but their phone number is 604-856-1433 and talk to mike. they do ship. they have some issues with their website right now so it is not up and running

[niloc16]

its been awhile with updates mostly because i was losing fish like crazy from a bacterial thing. in all i lost a copperband butterfly, male black clown, female oscellaris clown, powerblue tang. i hate losing fish and i'm not sure what brought it on. either way what ever it was is completely gone and the other fish are thrivng. the tank is coming along fairly good. little spots of algae that bug the hell out of me as the tank matures, but they are manageable. i got my first small school of anthias today. 3 females and 1 male. not really sure on the type, input would be great if you know what they are. the water looks a little dirty right now because i just fed cyclopeeze

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1366.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1364.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1362.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1361.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1360.jpg

[drummereef]

Wow, awesome tank and great job on the equipment. Like it's any surprise since you are an aircraft mechanic. lol. :thumbsup:

[niloc16]

few new additions today i could not refuse. all three are juveniles but the regal is only about 2". i got a powder brown, powder blue, and regal tang

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1373.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1372.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1370.jpg

[zachtos]

I ended up making a PVC skeleton just like you did, such an awesome idea, I have great flow because of it, check it out!!!

zachtos' 240 reef (http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1097194&perpage=&pagenumber=1)

[tcmfish]

that powder brown is actually a gold rim or white cheek the powder browns have red in their dorsal fin and are much hardier hopefully you can keep him they are cool fish

[mflamb]

Do you have a complete fish list?

[Kennyboy1984]

Question about the TUNZE Wavebox. In addition to moving the water inside the tank does it also undulate the surface of the water? Like in the real ocean? to move with a sinuous or wavelike motion; display a smooth rising-and-falling or side-to-side alternation of movement?

I'm talking about big surface and wave ripples. Heaving up and down. Not the tiny high frequency waves you get by pointing a powerhead towards the water surface.

[tcmfish]

From videos I have seen in other tanks it does create a wave action with the surface going up and down a few inches but I have also heard it shortens the life of glass tanks and is better used in acrylic.

[niloc16]

zachtos - the tank looks really cool. the rock work turned out really good. the pvc is pretty easy to work with hey

kennyboy - the wave box does create surface movement but the way i have it setup is with one wave. i believe if your tank is 6ft or over you can create 2 waves but i get better results in 1 long wave rather than 2 short ones. it was one of the best investments i've made on the tank. hope that answers your question

tcmfish - thanks for the clarification, after i posted on here i learned that it was not a powder brown but my bloody powder blue killed him. i'm still in the process of trying to catch the PB

fish list:

5 chromis
1 male 3 female lyretail anthias
black female ocellaris clown
2 ocellaris clowns (orange)
juvenile orange shoulder
juvenile convict tang
striatus tang (i think thats how you spell it)
blonde naso tang
mystery wrasse
flasher wrasse (i think thats what it is)
foxface
powder blue tang
juvenile regal tang
cleaner wrasse
flame angel

i think that is all of them. cant think of any others

[niloc16]

heres a few updated coral pictures, pieces are really starting to color up lately, finally

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_2085.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1962.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1960.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1958.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1956.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1955.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1954.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1953.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1952.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1951.jpg

[mflamb]

Those are some beautiful pics.

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1950.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1949.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1948.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1947.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1946.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1944.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1941.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1940.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1939.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1938.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1935.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1912.jpg

[niloc16]

updated ends shots


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1891.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1890.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_1889.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_2079.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff/100_2090.jpg

[jgs107]

looks awesome...i have heard that you cant keep a powder blue and brown in the same tank because they have the same exact body shape and will fight none stop.m sure some people can get away with it.just wanted to throw that out there

[flar92]

that is one awsome tank ! wish I had the room for one that size.

[honda2sk]

how much live rock do you have in there?

[niloc16]

thanks for the compliments guys. i have about 200lbs of rock in the display tank and about 20lbs in the sump. using the pvc structure you can use way less liverock which like you all know saves huge coin

[LoneStarSA]

Beautiful set-up!

Hows the controller been holding up? I'm seriously considering buying one down the road...

[niloc16]

the controller is awesome. initially there was some issues but they have resolved them now with firmware updates. you just set it and forget it. its so nice to have.

[niloc16]

the controller is awesome. initially there was some issues but they have resolved them now with firmware updates. you just set it and forget it. its so nice to have.

[NYCREEF69]

nice work

[niloc16]

some of you may have seen this post on CR but i thought i would update this journal as well it has been a long time

well the tank has had water in it for a year this month. lighting didnt go on until i think january but none the less the tank is a year old. things are going good, wish corals would grow quicker. in fact i wish the corals would grow enough to support me so i would not have to work but i guess that is just a dream. overall i'm pretty happy with everything. i finally got rid of my bloody powder blue tang. he was a bastard. killed any tang added after him (only lost 2 before i refused to try again) and then he started after a copperband butterfly and when he did him in he went after the regal tang that had been in the system longer then him. so i got a fish trap and got rid of him. i have kept the fish load pretty low, i think i'm around 21 fish mostly small the naso is the largest at around 6 - 7" i guess.

i'm really happy with the lighting the lumen max, icecap electronic ballast and aquaconnect bulb combo is giving me some amazing color and growth. color is so strong in some of the colors i cannot take pictures of them because they turn out as a blur. i am seriously contemplating going to a 4th 400w pendant. in the small spots of 'V' shadow if you want to call it between the lights now the corals darken a bit and i think by adding the 4th light i could get max exposure in the system. if i do add it i want to do it soon when i do the bulb changes.

anyway if you are like me i prefer to see pictures rather then read a story so here is a TON of pics top down i took today. hope you like

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2840.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2839.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2838.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2837.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2836.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2835.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2833.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2832.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2831.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2830.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2829.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2826.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2825.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2824.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2823.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2822.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2821.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2820.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2819.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2818.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2817.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2816.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2815.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2813.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2812.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2809.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2808.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2807.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2806.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2805.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2804.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2803.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2802.jpg
http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2800.jpg


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2799.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2798.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2797.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2796.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/100_2795.jpg

[Bax]

Nice pics!

[mfaustria]

Just tagging along your thread, oh yea how do like the profilux, I am thinking about getting one myself for my new 150g reef tank. How is it working for you, is it easy to program? Debating on what to get, Neprtune pro or Profilux II

[niloc16]

i love the profilux myself. once you learn the menus it is easy to program i still have no luck with the WLAN though.

[niloc16]

dont know what is happening lately, i have what i think is cyano but it is extremely dark brown almost black in color. and when you syphon it off it comes off in sheets. its a major pain in the butt. i have test everything i can and everything is good, flow is definitely not an issue i'm assuming its due for bulb changes. the bulbs are only 9 months old and i was planning on changing them at 10 months but i will do it early and hopefully it helps.

anyone have ideas what might cause the outbreak?

[pmjfuture]

one of the nicest tanks posted here. great sump. do you like the hammerhead return pump so far? Looking to get one my self.

[niloc16]

i use a dart for the return pump. i had a hammerhead pump for my closed loop system but i removed the closed loop after a month. it was too noisy and the benefits were not that great, so after i removed it i replaced it with 3 tunze 6100s mounted on wavyseas. now that i have done that i would never go back.

[SIMPLEPLEASURES]

Niloc

I have a 150 gal with good flow and have the same dark brown or black sheet growth. I run a SE 250w MH so I do not think it is related to the bulb. I believe mine came in on some live rock and is now spreading. I would love to hear if you find any info on it as I have not been able to.

Casey

[niloc16]

i still dont know what is causing it. its a pain though

[gary faulkner]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10912160#post10912160 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by niloc16
dont know what is happening lately, i have what i think is cyano but it is extremely dark brown almost black in color. and when you syphon it off it comes off in sheets. its a major pain in the butt. i have test everything i can and everything is good, flow is definitely not an issue i'm assuming its due for bulb changes. the bulbs are only 9 months old and i was planning on changing them at 10 months but i will do it early and hopefully it helps.

anyone have ideas what might cause the outbreak?

What did you test and what were the readings?
How much do you feed and how often?
What is your fish load?

This will help in figuring out what the problems are.

[niloc16]

nitrates unreadable.
ph 8
po4 .05 this has always read this amount
ca 1425
kh 10

i feed once a day varied stuff. one day 6 cubes frozen, another flakes, nori, etc. sometimes i feed twice a day once in am and one in pm.

i have 21 fish, 5 small to med tangs, rest are small to med fish like chromis, wrasse, anthias etc.

weekly water changed is IO, top with ro/di and it only starting to show maybe a month ago. it has been running for year

[niloc16]

i forgot mg is down to 1130 which i'm trying to bring up with zeomag in ca reactor.

[gary faulkner]

niloc16

I just did a search for Cynobacteria and the concensus is that it's caused by too high Nitrate and or Phosphate. Try a search yourself and see if anything sticks out at you.

When I asked for your params, I just knew you would come back with high nitrate or phosphate or that you were feeding too much. There must be a reason for low test and Cyno. Something isn't adding up.

Good luck and let us know how it turns out.

[niloc16]

thanks for the advice gary, much appreciated. but i figure po4 of .05 wasnt extremely high and by reading alot of other tank journals is quite average but maybe i'm wrong. nitrates were unreadable and i checked them again last night and same thing, nothing. i'll definitely let you guys know if i figure this bugger out

[niloc16]

well i think i may have finally kicked the dinos. dont know what 1 thing killed it but i tried alot of different things. heres a list

replaced ro/di filters twice
cleaned all pumps and redirected wavyseas
more water changes/ less water changes
replaced MH bulbs
cut feeding down to every 3 or 4th day
turned CA reactor off
tested any water associated with tank
ran lots of carbon
excessive sandbed syphoning and cleaning rocks
wet skimming
chemipure
the final draw was an 8 day blackout which killed it off finally. but the dino spread was so big that when it died off it completely polluted the tank and killed alot of corals and caused a big chain reaction of death.

but so far it has not returned. most of the corals really really browned out but now they are starting to color up again. all LPS but 2 frogspawns died. we'll see how it goes. i really hope it doesnt come back though

[Bax]

Yikes! That's a tough bout with dino. I've been there with serval nuisance algae, it's not a fun place to be but emerging from it can be very gratifying. Stay patient, good luck!

[niloc16]

i'm finally starting to enjoy looking at the tank again. i spent about 2 hours yesterday tweaking stuff and scraping coralline and what not and took some pics today. i kind of wish i had taken some pics when the dinos were rampant to compare but anyway here is a couple for ya. i know it is kind of drab right now but slowly the color is coming back

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/100_3237.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/100_3238.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/100_3239.jpg

[maxalmon]

Incredible aquascaping, stunning tank!

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

Niloc,

Super Tank. Of course, you know I've been following your thread since Day 1. You've provided great advice too. I am still taking things really, really slow (probably too slow) with my 265g. The only livestock I have are snails, (1) coral banded shrimp, (2) acropora frags, (1) galaxea & (1) frag of green star polyps I've had for almost 2 years in another tank. No fish. I did have 3 small green chromis & 1 Salfin Tang, but they died within 1 day. I don't know why, as my parameters were all great. Seems as if the acropora and others would've died. However, I have experienced an algae bloom. This came after the cyano cycle from a new tank. So, with this being said, I think you may be okay. I guess things just happens.

[niloc16]

nubiantanglover i tried many times to respond to your last pms but it kept getting denied because your mailbox was full so dont think i was ignoring you. feel free to ask away if you have more questions

[niloc16]

today was a good day, color is returning and tank is rocking and growth is going thru the roof. i took a ton of pics so you better sit down and relax. hope you like

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00563.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00562.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00561.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00558.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00557.jpg

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http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00552.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00551.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00550.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00549.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00548.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00547.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00545.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00544.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00543.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00542.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00541.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00540.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00537.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00536.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00534.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00532.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00531.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00530.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00527.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00525.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00524.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00523.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00522.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00521.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00520.jpg

[niloc16]

here is a couple of new additions over the past week or so. i love this mimic tang just gothim today. i got 3 red bar anthias and also a male and female blue throat but they are extremely camera shy. just me i have tried to get pics of them

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/DSC00587.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/DSC00588.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/DSC00589.jpg

[thor32766]

wow I love you aquascaping!!!

[Bax]

Your colors are great!

What lights are you running?

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11601564#post11601564 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by niloc16
nubiantanglover i tried many times to respond to your last pms but it kept getting denied because your mailbox was full so dont think i was ignoring you. feel free to ask away if you have more questions

Niloc,

Thanks so much for letting me know about my PM mailbox. I am erasing old PMs today. BTW: I have almost totally defeated the algae bloom I've had. I purchased a Phosphate Reactor by TLF. However, My sump is leaking at the bulkhead again. This time, I am going to totally replace that bulkhead and toss the silicone.

[niloc16]

i'm running 2 blueline 400w 10k on the ends and a ushio 14k 400w in the middle with 2 55w T5 actinics to supplement

[niloc16]

this is a video i took about 2 or 3 weeks ago. i was checking out of the video function worked on my new camera.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/th_MOV00344.jpg (http://s114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/?action=view&current=MOV00344.flv)

[niloc16]

heres a few update pics for ya guys. hope you like

few reflection shots


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00755.jpg[/IMG

[IMG]http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00753.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00752.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00746.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00740.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00737.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00735.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00734.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00739.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00731.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00726.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC00729.jpg

[FFrankie]

Your system is just wonderful Colin! Thanks for pointing me here. I am in awe over your acro's. I see you have a little addiction going there ;)
The pictures are wonderful also. Cheers!

[niloc16]

thanks frankie. a 'little' addiction! i completely hooked. my wife wont let me get rid of the remaining lps. she likes how they move.

[niloc16]

sorry to brag but i was totally stoked by this. hope this is ok to post. anyway check it out.

http://www.canreef.com/ftotm/mar08/

[FFrankie]

Congratulations! It looks like a great write up. I will check it all out after i finish this paper work :)

[gary faulkner]

niloc16

Congratulations, looks really nice.

[niloc16]

few new additions to show ya

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/close%20ups/DSC01283.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC01288.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC01284.jpg

[niloc16]

i had to recently change my ca media and i did not adjust my co2 for it and in a couple days it jumped my alk to 18dkh which bloomed cyano. so i have the alk back down and slowly the nasty cyano is pulling back but man it is nasty looking. having a boost in coral growth lately which i'm not complaining about. i have had to do a bunch of fragging. the small rack i made in the tank is busting from the seems with frags. i need to figure out someway of getting a frag tank in the stand so i can do some serious fragging. heres a few new top downs for ya guys

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01524.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01518.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01520.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01516.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01514.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01513.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01512.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01510.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01507.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01506.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01504.jpg

[Bax]

Looks nice!

I am having Alk issue too over a CO2 bottle running dry. I just can't seem to adjust it after a change. This is only the third CO2 tank I have used and it seems to happen with each new bottle???

Does your blue stripped rabbit eat zoos and shrooms? Mine is a finned trash can!

[niloc16]

i dont have zoos or mushrooms in the tank. i have one ricordia but he doesnt bug it.

[FFrankie]

Looks great! Thanks for the update!
What are you doing to take top down shots? I made a box out of acrylic scrapes and it seems to work well.

[niloc16]

i shut all the pumps off and let it sit for about 2 minutes and take the shots then. i'd like a camera box so i wouldnt have to do that everytime

[Tangwich]

I'm now officially tagging along. For the 100th time, great aquaspcaping and overall great tank. I have a couple of questions, how is the Powder Blue tang doing and how long did you take to add your fish? Did you quarantine them all first? Any ich outbreaks? Thanks

[Tangwich]

Oh and lastly, I read that you have two mandarins. Are both male or female or one of each? Asking because I have one and want to add the other type as well. Thanks

[niloc16]

hey tangwich. i got rid of the powder blue a few months ago. he was a bastard and will kill anything added into the tank. i'm not saying its good but i have not qt'd any fish and never had any ich issues. i have a green spotted and a psycedelic and i added a second psychedelic but the other killed it then the green spotted killed the original psychedelic. if that makes sense. i will not add another because of this.

[niloc16]

i lucked out on getting a hold of a few new pieces. they need to color up a bit but i think they are going to rock.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01656.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01653.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01652.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01650.jpg


http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01648.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01646.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01641.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01640.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01637.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01643.jpg

[FFrankie]

Looks great dude. Thanks for posting the new pictures. I get lost in all the subscriptions so please forgive the late post. Your tank is awesome!

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01782.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01781.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01779.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01775.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01774.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01773.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01771.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01770.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01769.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC01768.jpg

[FFrankie]

Saweet!

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01822.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01825.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01827.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01828.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01829.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01830.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01831.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01833.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01834.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01835.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01838.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01839.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01840.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01843.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01844.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01845.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01849.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01853.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01854.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01855.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01856.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01857.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01858.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01860.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01861.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01862.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01863.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/fish/DSC01864.jpg

[NUBIANTANGLOVER]

Colin,

These photos simply ROCK! I love the photos, especially those showing the fish being hand-fed. It's great to see your tank is coming along. I am sooooooo slow in adding to my tank. I finally added 3 more fish and some more corals. I guess I need to post major updates to my thread. Your fish seem to be doing well. Being a Tang fan, I was a little leary as to how many tangs I can add. However, being we have the same size tank, you have defintely provided the ground work. I was really worried when you added the Powder Blue as they are notoriously mean. Glad you took him out early on. Keep up the awesome work! I will continue to follow!

[Pike614]

WOW! I am working on a 265 set-up also...I am going more along the LPS and fish route., How many fish...and what species do you have in there at this point?

[Untamed12]

Ha..ha...(inside joke)

[Bax]

Beautiful corals!

And, a fantastic group of fish. A list would be great.

[niloc16]

you knew this was coming didnt you brad :)

first off if you guys are just starting your tanks dont load it up. go really slow and be picky with what you add. as far as fish load, i have more then i probably 'should' have in peoples opinions but i've been very picky with what goes in tank. alot of fish will stay fairly small. i have quite a few tangs but there is no aggression between any of them, they are very healthy, and my water quality is good. with having a bigger bioload means more maintenance.
i havent made a fish list yet, i scribbled one on a piece of paper the other day for untamed12 and i think i got 43 in total.

3 bartlett anthias
3 redbar anthias
3 lyretail anthias
5 chromis
2 bluethroat triggers
2 oscellaris clowns
3 scopa tangs
flame hawk
freckled hawk
saddleback clown
greenspotted mandarin
foxface rabbit
blueline rabbit
blonde naso
striatus tang
juve orange shoulder
chocolate tang
regal tang
vlamingi tang
pair of bellus angels
flame angel
juve emperor angel
mated pair of bengaii cardinals
mystery wrassse
fairy wrasse
cleaner wrasse

i think thats it

[niloc16]

i forgot sailfin tang
2 red firefish
sandsifting goby

[Pike614]

yes, I wouldn say that is quite the list. Can you post a full tank shot? What skimmer do you use? Thanks!

[niloc16]

i'm using a H&S1260-200. i need to do an updated FTS for sure but i have some new pics i took using a photo box. makes life alot easier using this rather than shutting all pumps and fans off and waiting for the water to go still

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC02141.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC02144.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC02146.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC02150.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/top%20downs/DSC02151.jpg

[gary faulkner]

Do you have a pic of the photo box? And how does it work?

TIA

[skey44]

i just ordered a 200-1260 could you post us a pic with some nog please... i bet it's amazing!

[niloc16]

here is an update FTS for ya

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02189.jpg

here is the skimmer for you

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02192.jpg

[FFrankie]

I love that tri-color acro! Great fts also :)

[Tangwich]

I am about to pay you the greatest compliment when I tell you that I'm very close to breaking down my entire 200+ lbs of LR in my 225g to set it up just like yours. Great job and great pics, thanks.

[niloc16]

thanks guys. tangwich that is a massive undertaking are you sure you want to do that?

[niloc16]

here's a few new goodies i grabbed yesterday.

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02194.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02195.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02196.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02197.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02198.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02199.jpg

[niloc16]

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02200.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02201.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02202.jpg

http://i114.photobucket.com/albums/n256/niloc16/aquariumstuff2/DSC02203.jpg

[Tangwich]

ok, probably not, but it sure is nice to fantasize..lol...
again, thanks for sharing those great pics.

[redtop03]

its been almost a year now,how is the tank doing,any updates
any new FTS