JP's 240. A decade of work. - Page 6

Plato · 07/15/2011, 01:20 AM

+1 on the MTC reactor. Spectacular tank as well. Great job and keep inspiring the rest of us.

marc49127 · 07/15/2011, 11:46 AM

Sweet tank! All the sps and the fish look great!

Drakis · 07/15/2011, 01:43 PM

That has to be one of the best tanks I have ever seen.

jcw · 07/15/2011, 02:17 PM

Is that your sump? WoW!

How many gallons?

What else do you have in the room?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JPMagyar

JPMagyar · 07/25/2011, 09:04 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by jcw

Is that your sump? WoW!

How many gallons?

What else do you have in the room?

Yes, that's the sump and it's 300 gallons. The room house's my frag tank, sump, and filtration trays. The skimmer is in the room next door.

This summer has been as difficult as ever because I'm gone almost all of July and August, but I can never find help for the level of work that I need since my LFS is away on vacation as well. PLUS my anemone moved about 6 inches down and is stinging my favorite coral . . . AHHHHHH . . . I'm always asking whether I should get out or not. The stress right now is huge because I don't know how to solve all my problems.

Joe

Haplochromine · 07/25/2011, 11:28 PM

Very beautiful aquarium. I really like the depth that this aquarium has that is lacking in so many of our long and narrow standard aquaria.

namesean · 07/26/2011, 12:18 AM

VERY NICE. Also, awesome picture taking skills. Camera? Let me guess, nikon?

namesean · 07/26/2011, 12:44 AM

Thanks for the camera info. WOW. Just WOW, so nice.

Still, I am saying WOW

and the basement. Well.... you guessed it WOW.

Junz · 08/23/2011, 02:01 PM

any updates on this wonderful tank ?

ravenmore · 08/23/2011, 03:06 PM

Awesome tank - I'm jealous of your sump.

Trying to figure out a way to make that work in my tiny little house.

JPMagyar · 08/27/2011, 09:26 PM

The summer has been incredibly hard. I just got home after being gone for most of the last 8 weeks and the tank is full of hair algae and red slime. I promise to take a picture tomorrow just to show that life is not always perfect in Eden. Anyways, thanks for keeping the thread alive

paraletho · 08/27/2011, 10:07 PM

First of all I am humbled by the beauty of your tank and your apparent expertise in creating it. Thank you also for admitting your misfortunes, not that I wish them on anyone, but it is good to know we aren't alone. Stuff happens and we keep on reefing.

JPMagyar · 09/01/2011, 07:01 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by paraletho

First of all I am humbled by the beauty of your tank and your apparent expertise in creating it. Thank you also for admitting your misfortunes, not that I wish them on anyone, but it is good to know we aren't alone. Stuff happens and we keep on reefing.

Thanks for the kind words!

But, here's a positive aspect from my experience . . .

The eye of Hurricane Irene passed a few miles from my house. My family and I were trapped in our house because multiple trees were down on both exits from our development, but because I invested in a generator years ago we "weathered" the storm with lights, water, dvds, and a gas stove AND the tank came through untroubled.

I really need to take a picture now at the end of summer 'cuz this is almost always the low point for me in reefkeeping. By October everything should be looking pristine, but right now I'm staring at red slime and hair algae . . . ahh

On a whole other note, I tested my Coralife salt water batches for a water change a couple times now with the calcium and alkalinity being out of balance. Calcium has been high relative to alk. Wonder if this isn't contributing to the trouble I'm having keeping my alk up . . . hmmm.

Joe

TheFishTeen · 09/01/2011, 07:18 PM

TOTM Vote!

JPMagyar · 09/01/2011, 08:02 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TheFishTeen

TOTM Vote!

Thanks dude!

JPMagyar · 09/14/2011, 07:02 PM

So . . .

After a summer of being gone I approached my tank 2 days ago to see where I was. Sadly I lost my 30,000 Leagues colony. Happily I have a frag in the basement. What it brought to mind was whether or not to stay in this hobby. Honestly, this is not the first time, but looking at a tank with glass covered in algea I just felt disheartened, and the problems just kept piling up: first the Tunze multicontroller was malfunctioning. Next the sand was covered in slime. The RO/DI was producing barely anything. Calcium was 350 but alk was 10. Both Tunzes were barely producing any flow, and m calcium reactor is nearly out of media. I spent the last 3 days working 3 hours a day correcting these items one by one. Yesterday I pulled out whole colonies from the tank. Tenuis . . . gone. Bird's Nest . . . gone. Gemmifera . . . gone. But then tonight I looked at what's left, after spending hours and hours cleaning, and it looks spectacular so I'm hooked again. What I realize is that keeping an open architecture is key to my success. When corals grow too tight and the Tunzes slow down bad stuff happens. All of that says to me I'd like to try one more time creating a new architecture with a bigger tank footprint, but actually fewer corals all in the name of making it cheaper. If everything is placed better I think I can downgrade to lower lighting and that would be a huge savings. I've also noticed that having what I have is NOT cheap

Anyways, just a few random musings for the night . . .

Joe

110galreef · 09/15/2011, 07:14 AM

Sounds like you really just need to be able to find some one to peek in once a week, make sure everything is fine and just wipe down the glass for the 2 months you are gone. Get the tank back up and running. Maybe find a local neighbor that you like & slowly teach him over the winter.

Most tanks this size should be ok, with a CAL, & ALK & MG check every 1-2 weeks, slight asjustment, 3-4 WC's over that 2 mos. Get everything as self sufficient as possible. SOme of which you can do if your back in sometime over that span.

Aside from feeding, right now my tank can go 10 days w/o any human interaction and everything will be spot on.
CA, ALK & Mg will only swing a tad but not outside and acceptable level. (390-440) (8.5-10.0) (1290-1350) This is why I really love 2 part dosing. Very consistent and steady, and if I am gone and something needs adjusted, about anyone could do it.
ATO handles all the water, I have a storage bin of RO/DI that holds 30g of water(10days worth, and I have to manually fill it) Container does have a float valve for a backup incase i forget the water is running. 2 flaot switches for the ATO, plus it is timmed via APEX and can't add more than 4gals a day (~3 gal/day evap) Worst case sump can handle the 30g if all failsafes went wrong. Salinity wouldn't drop really bad either on 300+g volume.

I do 3 week 10% WC. works great for me & they way I am running the sysytem.

Lights auto as usual.

With setups this big and complex we really need to automate as much, failsafe everything, and have a good reliable FREIND when we are gone or in need! Your setup is to nice to just toss after a little loss. Plus most of the loss is from anemonee moving. only 3 casualties on your tank is nithing, granted sucks but keep on keeping on!

Take the winter to look at each issue you could encounter and solve it!

JPMagyar · 09/15/2011, 03:54 PM

Thanks so much for the support!

Honestly, I think I was a little overwhelmed when I looked at all that had to be done, but now that I've chipped away at it over several days I don't feel so bad. I definitely like your idea of training someone to take care of the tank next summer. I actually did that last February when we went away for a week and it worked out great. Unfortunately, my buddy who owns an LFS and helps out every other week just doesn't have the free time needed to upkeep the tank the way I would. Anyways as I promised here's a photo showing the algae and the dead coral areas after a massive trim job. Hopefully by December I'll have it all back clean and pristine again. We'll see

but thanks again!

On a slightly different note, I was thinking today about coral color. This summer several of my corals lost color, but obviously my lighting didn't change so this makes me think that flow, cleanliness, and stable chemistry are all just as important as lighting.

Joe

Tracey2 · 09/15/2011, 04:58 PM

Hard to see the algae for the beauty.

110galreef · 09/15/2011, 06:38 PM

yeah, tank still looks great overall. few little hicupps. But will be pristine again.

JPMagyar · 09/15/2011, 07:26 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by 110galreef

yeah, tank still looks great overall. few little hicupps. But will be pristine again.

Hey, do you have any updated photos from your tank? I'd love to hear about how you handled your faded colors and whether or not you got any improvement!

JPMagyar · 09/15/2011, 07:28 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Tracey2

Hard to see the algae for the beauty.

Thank-you Tracy. Means the "World" to me to hear comments like that! Let me know if you need a frag or two

Joe

MilkWeed18 · 09/16/2011, 01:02 AM

Your tank is amazing. I hope mine looks as beautiful as yours as i gain more experience. Your anemone is my favorite.

dknydiep · 09/16/2011, 01:05 AM

Now that's what I call a sump!

marrstarr · 09/16/2011, 01:34 AM

awesome

07/15/2011, 01:20 AM	#126
Plato Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: NC Posts: 638	+1 on the MTC reactor. Spectacular tank as well. Great job and keep inspiring the rest of us. __________________ Genesis 2:28 God blessed them and said to them,"Rule over the fish of the sea and the birds of the air and over every living creature that moves on the ground." Current Tank Info: 275 starphire, 3 x 400 watt MH + 4 x 80 watt T5's, 2 x MP 60 + 2 x MP 40, Orca 250 skimmer, CADS filter head (SeaVisions), ProCal Ca reactor, GHL controlled.

07/25/2011, 11:28 PM	#131
Haplochromine Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2010 Location: Vancouver, Canada Posts: 205	Very beautiful aquarium. I really like the depth that this aquarium has that is lacking in so many of our long and narrow standard aquaria. __________________ 20G Frag Tank - Koralia 750, Sunlight Supply New Wave 4x24W T5HO, 50W Eheim Jager Heater. 20G Frag Tank - Koralia 550, 70W Metal Halide 20K Ushio, 50W Eheim Jager Heater 10G Rimless Display - Koralia 425, 70W Metal Halide 20K Ushio, 50W Eheim Jager Heater 15G Empty

08/23/2011, 03:06 PM	#135
ravenmore Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2000 Location: Austin TX Posts: 1,590	Awesome tank - I'm jealous of your sump. Trying to figure out a way to make that work in my tiny little house. __________________ Mean people are like slinkys. They're really not worth much but still are entertaining to watch tumble down the stairs. Current Tank Info: 75 gallon reef tank in progress

08/27/2011, 10:07 PM	#137
paraletho Premium Member Join Date: Jul 2008 Location: Sabine Pass TX Posts: 433	First of all I am humbled by the beauty of your tank and your apparent expertise in creating it. Thank you also for admitting your misfortunes, not that I wish them on anyone, but it is good to know we aren't alone. Stuff happens and we keep on reefing. __________________ There is no better feeling in the world than waking up in the morning and knowing you're doing what you were born to do. It's your life just do it Current Tank Info: 32month old 58 gallon (GBTA,Mushrooms,Dendros,Ricordea,Red Planet,Lobo, Open Brain,10" Torch,Hammer/Frogspawn Xbreed, Mated Pair Ocellaris, Powder Blue ,CB shrimp, assorted cleanup crew) mag 9, 6x39 T5 ATI; 21 mth old 125 gal SPS 50 gal sump/refugium

09/14/2011, 07:02 PM	#141
JPMagyar Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NY,NY Posts: 2,072	The real story . . . So . . . After a summer of being gone I approached my tank 2 days ago to see where I was. Sadly I lost my 30,000 Leagues colony. Happily I have a frag in the basement. What it brought to mind was whether or not to stay in this hobby. Honestly, this is not the first time, but looking at a tank with glass covered in algea I just felt disheartened, and the problems just kept piling up: first the Tunze multicontroller was malfunctioning. Next the sand was covered in slime. The RO/DI was producing barely anything. Calcium was 350 but alk was 10. Both Tunzes were barely producing any flow, and m calcium reactor is nearly out of media. I spent the last 3 days working 3 hours a day correcting these items one by one. Yesterday I pulled out whole colonies from the tank. Tenuis . . . gone. Bird's Nest . . . gone. Gemmifera . . . gone. But then tonight I looked at what's left, after spending hours and hours cleaning, and it looks spectacular so I'm hooked again. What I realize is that keeping an open architecture is key to my success. When corals grow too tight and the Tunzes slow down bad stuff happens. All of that says to me I'd like to try one more time creating a new architecture with a bigger tank footprint, but actually fewer corals all in the name of making it cheaper. If everything is placed better I think I can downgrade to lower lighting and that would be a huge savings. I've also noticed that having what I have is NOT cheap Anyways, just a few random musings for the night . . . Joe

07/15/2011, 11:46 AM	#127
marc49127 Registered Member Join Date: May 2010 Location: Baroda, Michigan Posts: 100	Sweet tank! All the sps and the fish look great!

07/15/2011, 01:43 PM	#128
Drakis Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: Vancouver, WA (the Couve) Posts: 241	That has to be one of the best tanks I have ever seen.

07/26/2011, 12:18 AM	#132
namesean Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 8	VERY NICE. Also, awesome picture taking skills. Camera? Let me guess, nikon?

07/26/2011, 12:44 AM	#133
namesean Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 8	Thanks for the camera info. WOW. Just WOW, so nice. Still, I am saying WOW and the basement. Well.... you guessed it WOW.

08/23/2011, 02:01 PM	#134
Junz Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2009 Location: South Africa Posts: 61	any updates on this wonderful tank ?

08/27/2011, 09:26 PM	#136
JPMagyar Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NY,NY Posts: 2,072	The summer has been incredibly hard. I just got home after being gone for most of the last 8 weeks and the tank is full of hair algae and red slime. I promise to take a picture tomorrow just to show that life is not always perfect in Eden. Anyways, thanks for keeping the thread alive

09/01/2011, 07:18 PM	#139
TheFishTeen Registered Member. Join Date: Apr 2011 Location: Los Angeles, CA Posts: 1,677	TOTM Vote!

09/15/2011, 07:14 AM	#142
110galreef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toledo OH Posts: 2,466	Sounds like you really just need to be able to find some one to peek in once a week, make sure everything is fine and just wipe down the glass for the 2 months you are gone. Get the tank back up and running. Maybe find a local neighbor that you like & slowly teach him over the winter. Most tanks this size should be ok, with a CAL, & ALK & MG check every 1-2 weeks, slight asjustment, 3-4 WC's over that 2 mos. Get everything as self sufficient as possible. SOme of which you can do if your back in sometime over that span. Aside from feeding, right now my tank can go 10 days w/o any human interaction and everything will be spot on. CA, ALK & Mg will only swing a tad but not outside and acceptable level. (390-440) (8.5-10.0) (1290-1350) This is why I really love 2 part dosing. Very consistent and steady, and if I am gone and something needs adjusted, about anyone could do it. ATO handles all the water, I have a storage bin of RO/DI that holds 30g of water(10days worth, and I have to manually fill it) Container does have a float valve for a backup incase i forget the water is running. 2 flaot switches for the ATO, plus it is timmed via APEX and can't add more than 4gals a day (~3 gal/day evap) Worst case sump can handle the 30g if all failsafes went wrong. Salinity wouldn't drop really bad either on 300+g volume. I do 3 week 10% WC. works great for me & they way I am running the sysytem. Lights auto as usual. With setups this big and complex we really need to automate as much, failsafe everything, and have a good reliable FREIND when we are gone or in need! Your setup is to nice to just toss after a little loss. Plus most of the loss is from anemonee moving. only 3 casualties on your tank is nithing, granted sucks but keep on keeping on! Take the winter to look at each issue you could encounter and solve it! __________________ Inwall Basement Setup w/ Growout Tank & Common Acrylic sump, SRO XP3000E, Neptune Apex, Bubble Magus Triple Doser, CLS- Super Dart Gold + OM 4way, 2-400w MH & 4-80w T-5, ROX .08 carbon...

09/15/2011, 03:54 PM	#143
JPMagyar Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2002 Location: NY,NY Posts: 2,072	Thanks so much for the support! Honestly, I think I was a little overwhelmed when I looked at all that had to be done, but now that I've chipped away at it over several days I don't feel so bad. I definitely like your idea of training someone to take care of the tank next summer. I actually did that last February when we went away for a week and it worked out great. Unfortunately, my buddy who owns an LFS and helps out every other week just doesn't have the free time needed to upkeep the tank the way I would. Anyways as I promised here's a photo showing the algae and the dead coral areas after a massive trim job. Hopefully by December I'll have it all back clean and pristine again. We'll see but thanks again! On a slightly different note, I was thinking today about coral color. This summer several of my corals lost color, but obviously my lighting didn't change so this makes me think that flow, cleanliness, and stable chemistry are all just as important as lighting. Joe

09/15/2011, 04:58 PM	#144
Tracey2 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2009 Location: Ontario Canada Posts: 860	Hard to see the algae for the beauty.

09/15/2011, 06:38 PM	#145
110galreef Registered Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Toledo OH Posts: 2,466	yeah, tank still looks great overall. few little hicupps. But will be pristine again. __________________ Inwall Basement Setup w/ Growout Tank & Common Acrylic sump, SRO XP3000E, Neptune Apex, Bubble Magus Triple Doser, CLS- Super Dart Gold + OM 4way, 2-400w MH & 4-80w T-5, ROX .08 carbon...

09/16/2011, 01:02 AM	#148
MilkWeed18 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: Orlando Posts: 135	Your tank is amazing. I hope mine looks as beautiful as yours as i gain more experience. Your anemone is my favorite. __________________ "If you wish to make an apple pie from scratch, you must first invent the universe." - Carl Sagan

09/16/2011, 01:05 AM	#149
dknydiep Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: San Jose Posts: 391	Now that's what I call a sump!

09/16/2011, 01:34 AM	#150
marrstarr Premium Member Join Date: Jun 2003 Posts: 69	awesome

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