240 Inwall Construction (Image Intense) - Page 5

DKreefkeepers · 10/07/2007, 08:50 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by weatherson
lvpd186: Thank you very much. Your brother has a CNC shop? Just think of all the precision made possibilities. A CNC machine is all I want for Christmas. Even if I had no front teeth.
Joseph.

Build your own, I am working on my second one right now. The first one I had almost completed and sold it and I regretted it so much that I bought new stuff 6 months later.

NewMariner · 10/07/2007, 09:38 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by melev
Tony, if you'll just go to Page 1 of this particular split of Weatherson's thread, you'll get the full recap that has been shared over the 165 pages. Joseph did a beautiful job bringing everyone up to speed.

And welcome back to the hobby.

I basically scrolled through all 165 pages and stopped when weatherson had posted a pic. I probably missed some of the questions but his pics and explanations are worth a 1000 words..

Ive been trying to satisfy my craving for salt with freshwater tanks and it just doesnt satisfy the need.

Weatherson,

Your tank is starting to get a little full...do you ever frag your stuff? Do you sell your frags? Im in the process of gathering the funds for my 300g tank(which is going to be acrylic as I probably will move in about 5 years and dont want to deal with moving glass

) But once I get my tank up and running Id love to get a few frags from ya if youd be willing to sell and ship them

DKreefkeepers · 10/07/2007, 10:06 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by NewMariner
I basically scrolled through all 165 pages and stopped when weatherson had posted a pic. I probably missed some of the questions but his pics and explanations are worth a 1000 words..

Ive been trying to satisfy my craving for salt with freshwater tanks and it just doesnt satisfy the need.

Weatherson,

Your tank is starting to get a little full...do you ever frag your stuff? Do you sell your frags? Im in the process of gathering the funds for my 300g tank(which is going to be acrylic as I probably will move in about 5 years and dont want to deal with moving glass ) But once I get my tank up and running Id love to get a few frags from ya if youd be willing to sell and ship them

Whats wrong with moving glass? I personally would NEVER own an acrylic display tank. Sumps, equipment, etc... that is a different story because once the cabinet door is closed you do not have to look at it. Acrylic scratches way too easily for my taste.

Chicago · 10/07/2007, 01:01 PM

reef... glass is the only way.. in 25 years i have had both.. you will scratch the acrylic.. no if and or buts about it.. glass is heavy but movable.. and with the starphire availablity now.. no question about it

jnarowe · 10/07/2007, 01:36 PM

All depends on where you live. having a glass tank in earthquake prones areas is not so smart. Glass tanks have a much higher probability of coming apart even without an earthquake.

Acrylic is MUCH stronger and has good thermal properties as well. It is not as easy or cut-and-dry as all that. I would prefer glass just from the maintenance aspect, but particularly in large tanks, glass can have some fairly high risk.

NewMariner · 10/07/2007, 01:57 PM

Quote:

Originally posted by DKreefkeepers
Whats wrong with moving glass? I personally would NEVER own an acrylic display tank. Sumps, equipment, etc... that is a different story because once the cabinet door is closed you do not have to look at it. Acrylic scratches way too easily for my taste.

Its rough on the back...thats whats wrong with it. I dont have anyone to help me move the thing. I had a 180g glass Oceanic that me and my brother could barely move. I have a 46g Bowfront that busted a seam on me...My wife wasnt to happy about having that much water on the floor. I took care of the tank and made sure it was level, and it still blew. The stand was an Oceanic stand as well. After experiencing this I dont think I want to try another Glass tank this large. And that is really the biggest concern/issue. Yea acrylic tanks can crack if you have your mh's right on top with no circulation...but for overall longevity, I dont think you can go wrong with Acrylic, if its built right. Which is why I will have James at Envision Acrylics build mine.

On top of that, We found out today that we are pregnant again. ..So we will have a new munchkin running around, and I dont the tank to crack if my child throws something and it hits the tank.(Can you tell Im a little paranoid now?)

weatherson · 10/07/2007, 09:41 PM

OK... now that we have discussed acrylic over glass and visa-versa, shall we now discuss which salt is better? If not that, then how about whether 20K's blue looks better than 10K's less blue?

marcusbigdady: First of all, thanks for the kind words. The sand looks different per photo based on what time of day the shot was taken. Utilizing the opposing, dual and alternating closed loop systems creates alternating currents that constantly but gently move the sand about from side to side.

The lighting cycle is set automatically to our local coordinates (Central Valley of California) so the tank light coincides with our actual daylight. This is achieved via the AquaController III Pro and Aquanotes.

I do 50-gallon water changes once every month.

Chris: Thanks.

sick1166: I was lucky enough to have a brother who works at a museum that loaned it to me but your best bet would probably be to check with your local tool rental shops.

DKreefkeepers: A DIY CNC to DIY acrylic projects? Now we're talking.

Have you any links to a site with more info?

NewMariner: I give frags away regularly but do so to locals only and the occasional regional frag swap donations. But this is the case only because I don't care to deal with shipping. Sorry... unless you'd like to travel and pick them up. It would give you a chance to see the tank in person if that appeals to you.

Oh, and congrats on the potential new frag of your own.

Joseph.

adddo · 10/08/2007, 05:03 AM

Quote:

Originally posted by weatherson
OK... now that we have discussed acrylic over glass and visa-versa, shall we now discuss which salt is better? If not that, then how about whether 20K's blue looks better than 10K's less blue?

I vote for discussing BB vs DSB!

mxett · 10/08/2007, 05:36 AM

Amazing, incredible, (wait, let me get the thesaurus). A lot of adjectives are required to describe the work you have done and results you have achieved. Well done!

michika · 10/08/2007, 05:29 PM

May I ask how you did the growth photos? Did you set up a tripod and just leave it set up in the same position over the course of the month?

weatherson · 10/09/2007, 12:22 PM

adddo: How could I have forgotten the DSB/BB debate?

mxett: Thank you very much.

michika: I made a cardboard template that was referenced to a couple small marks I made on the wall below the tank. This cardboard then had reference points marked on it where the tripod legs were positioned. The rest of the fine-adjustment alignment was done in Photoshop. I created layers from each photo which were finally resized and converted to GIF's. Then I used Easy GIF Animator to create the final animated GIF.

Very unfortunately, I regretfully have to announce that the blue carpet anemone, as was the case of the original years ago, did not survive. It appeared to have slowly weakened day by day, getting smaller and extruding its internals more and more. There was one night a few days back where I thought for sure it was gone but then the next day, it seemed to have made a recovery. But then it more quickly deteriorated from this point on. It's very bothersome for me to see this happen... again, but I will not attempt to keep one of these beautiful creatures again. With this experience and the previous, I now consider these anemones to be in the list of "creatures best left in the wild". May it rest in peace and I am very sorry to have participated in its demise. Definitely not a highlight in the adventure that is my reef keeping journey.

Joseph.

michika · 10/09/2007, 12:39 PM

Thank you for the explanation about the growth sequence shots, and I am sorry to hear about the death of your anemone.

jnarowe · 10/09/2007, 01:17 PM

Sorry to hear that Joseph. Not cool. I know many people that have kept them for very long periods, but there are so many issues to contend with, there is no way to really pinpoint a cause.

I thought I was going to lose my PLTA at one point, and I could not get it to eat. It would let go of any of the silversides etc. that I feed my GBTAs. It had shrunk considerably, lost all stickiness, and lost most of its color...I was quite distraught to be honest, and then I got recommendations on RC to feed it shrimp.

I would never have thought of this because I see shrimp going in and out of my anemones like theives in the night. But I was willing to try anything, and fed it small pieces of shrimp. Once it ate, it got its color back and stickiness. It now looks like it did when I got it. I also paired it up with a sebae clownfish which seems to be helping.

However, I have had a similar experience as you with your carpet when it comes to naso tangs. I have received two in what appear to be excellent health, only to have them turn "dumb" and die within a week. That is the only fish I have not been able to keep, and there seems to be no real reason.

I feel for your dude!

chris wright · 10/10/2007, 02:04 AM

Sorry to hear of your loss mate. If a reefer as diligent as yourself has not sucessfully kept these anemone's alive, Its a lesson to all to be very sure of their knowledge etc, if purchasing one.

Hows all the other inhabitants doing, no down turn from the distress of the dieing anemone?

Chris.

maxxII · 10/10/2007, 02:02 PM

Joseph,
Sorry to hear of your loss of the anemone. S.gigantea and H.magnifica anemones have a terribel track record in captivity because they ship so poorly and are susceptible to bacterial infections. One LFS nearby has a better than average record of success w/ tehse anemones because they dip the anemones in doxicyclene for several hours immediately after shipping. Joe Y...(Just Joe here, also main reef guy at Atlantis Marine World in NY) has reported a significant improvement in success at keeping H.magnifica anemones when dipping in doxicyclene...

Here is the thread where I first heard about it....

QT procedures for anemone's

Nick

jnarowe · 10/10/2007, 02:19 PM

Great link Nick. Thanks!

maxxII · 10/10/2007, 04:07 PM

Joseph's shared alot for the rest of us....I'm just returning the favor.

Nick

jnarowe · 10/10/2007, 04:12 PM

Yeah, he is one cool guy. A local reefer went out and ended up getting a behind the scenes of the behind the scenes tour from him. He spent about 1+ hours taking him around and talking reefs.

weatherson · 10/11/2007, 07:01 PM

Catherine: You are welcome and thanks for the kind words.

Jonathan: Thanks.

Chris: Thanks and the only issue now is that the RBTA split and the portion I kept is still in recovery. The other portion went to a fellow reefer here locally and is also recovering in his tank. Other than this, nothing else appears to have been affected in a negative way. Partly due to having removed the near death anemone before it was able to foul the tank to severely.

Nick: Thanks for the link and the useful information within. Hopefully others will benefit should they decide to attempt keeping one of these beauties.

Joseph.

chris wright · 10/12/2007, 04:05 AM

Well its good to hear that there was no negative's considering the loss of the beautiful anemone. Fingers crossed that your mate has better luck, and can help yourself out with a healthy tank raised specimen

Cheers

Chris

tcmfish · 10/27/2007, 10:39 AM

Hows everything doing any updated pics?

tcmfish · 10/27/2007, 10:40 AM

Hows everything doing any updated pics?

Todesengel · 10/27/2007, 11:17 AM

Your tank and plastic skills are incredible. I used to take plastics courses in college. I wish I still had access to their tools! Your tank my friend, is my vision! One of these years! If you dont mind me asking, how much $$ did you spend. A lot of your stuff is DIY so I am curious if you saved quite a considerable amount.

jnarowe · 10/27/2007, 01:14 PM

Todesengel: That's a little crass don't you think? Most of what Joseph builds is not to save money, but to create things that don't exist. And as any honest DIYer will tell you, it doesn't usually save money. It's just the personal growth and satisfaction that you can build it yourself, and in cases like Mr. Weatherson, build it a whole lot better.

Todesengel · 10/27/2007, 01:32 PM

I am only asking because I plan on doing a 240g in wall sometime within the next 2 years. I am already saving for it, it was an honest question. Most people DIY because IT DOES save money. And If I can get a 2year head start and building what I need, I can save money and time. I dont know about you, but my time is valuable. If I can buy a pre-made product, I will. But it really needs to be worth it to me, can I make a really nice skimmer in 20+ hours? Thats equivalent to $1500+ skimmer, you better bet I will give it an attempt. I am just curious if my school will let me use their shop now that I am no longer a student.

10/07/2007, 01:01 PM	#104
Chicago Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2000 Location: earth Posts: 3,218	reef... glass is the only way.. in 25 years i have had both.. you will scratch the acrylic.. no if and or buts about it.. glass is heavy but movable.. and with the starphire availablity now.. no question about it __________________ "If the thunder don't get you then the lightning will" ..famous poet.. Current Tank Info: 500 gal starphire, reef sps dominated, 40 plus fish, 300 gallon sump in basement below, reeftek calcium reactor, reeftek kalkwasser reactor, lifeguard fluidized filter for rowaphose, 4 400MH 10k xm, 2 160 vho super attinic, DYI 50 gallon denitrator

10/07/2007, 01:36 PM	#105
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	All depends on where you live. having a glass tank in earthquake prones areas is not so smart. Glass tanks have a much higher probability of coming apart even without an earthquake. Acrylic is MUCH stronger and has good thermal properties as well. It is not as easy or cut-and-dry as all that. I would prefer glass just from the maintenance aspect, but particularly in large tanks, glass can have some fairly high risk. __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

10/09/2007, 01:17 PM	#113
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Sorry to hear that Joseph. Not cool. I know many people that have kept them for very long periods, but there are so many issues to contend with, there is no way to really pinpoint a cause. I thought I was going to lose my PLTA at one point, and I could not get it to eat. It would let go of any of the silversides etc. that I feed my GBTAs. It had shrunk considerably, lost all stickiness, and lost most of its color...I was quite distraught to be honest, and then I got recommendations on RC to feed it shrimp. I would never have thought of this because I see shrimp going in and out of my anemones like theives in the night. But I was willing to try anything, and fed it small pieces of shrimp. Once it ate, it got its color back and stickiness. It now looks like it did when I got it. I also paired it up with a sebae clownfish which seems to be helping. However, I have had a similar experience as you with your carpet when it comes to naso tangs. I have received two in what appear to be excellent health, only to have them turn "dumb" and die within a week. That is the only fish I have not been able to keep, and there seems to be no real reason. I feel for your dude! __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

10/10/2007, 02:02 PM	#115
maxxII Super Housemonkey! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 4,442	Joseph, Sorry to hear of your loss of the anemone. S.gigantea and H.magnifica anemones have a terribel track record in captivity because they ship so poorly and are susceptible to bacterial infections. One LFS nearby has a better than average record of success w/ tehse anemones because they dip the anemones in doxicyclene for several hours immediately after shipping. Joe Y...(Just Joe here, also main reef guy at Atlantis Marine World in NY) has reported a significant improvement in success at keeping H.magnifica anemones when dipping in doxicyclene... Here is the thread where I first heard about it.... QT procedures for anemone's Nick __________________ A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun!"

10/10/2007, 02:19 PM	#116
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Great link Nick. Thanks! __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

10/07/2007, 09:41 PM	#107
weatherson Premium Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: California Posts: 2,022	OK... now that we have discussed acrylic over glass and visa-versa, shall we now discuss which salt is better? If not that, then how about whether 20K's blue looks better than 10K's less blue? marcusbigdady: First of all, thanks for the kind words. The sand looks different per photo based on what time of day the shot was taken. Utilizing the opposing, dual and alternating closed loop systems creates alternating currents that constantly but gently move the sand about from side to side. The lighting cycle is set automatically to our local coordinates (Central Valley of California) so the tank light coincides with our actual daylight. This is achieved via the AquaController III Pro and Aquanotes. I do 50-gallon water changes once every month. Chris: Thanks. sick1166: I was lucky enough to have a brother who works at a museum that loaned it to me but your best bet would probably be to check with your local tool rental shops. DKreefkeepers: A DIY CNC to DIY acrylic projects? Now we're talking. Have you any links to a site with more info? NewMariner: I give frags away regularly but do so to locals only and the occasional regional frag swap donations. But this is the case only because I don't care to deal with shipping. Sorry... unless you'd like to travel and pick them up. It would give you a chance to see the tank in person if that appeals to you. Oh, and congrats on the potential new frag of your own. Joseph.

10/08/2007, 05:36 AM	#109
mxett Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2007 Location: Melbourne Australia Posts: 384	Amazing, incredible, (wait, let me get the thesaurus). A lot of adjectives are required to describe the work you have done and results you have achieved. Well done!

10/08/2007, 05:29 PM	#110
michika red headed step child Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Land of Polar Bears & Poutine Posts: 1,994	May I ask how you did the growth photos? Did you set up a tripod and just leave it set up in the same position over the course of the month?

10/09/2007, 12:22 PM	#111
weatherson Premium Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: California Posts: 2,022	adddo: How could I have forgotten the DSB/BB debate? mxett: Thank you very much. michika: I made a cardboard template that was referenced to a couple small marks I made on the wall below the tank. This cardboard then had reference points marked on it where the tripod legs were positioned. The rest of the fine-adjustment alignment was done in Photoshop. I created layers from each photo which were finally resized and converted to GIF's. Then I used Easy GIF Animator to create the final animated GIF. Very unfortunately, I regretfully have to announce that the blue carpet anemone, as was the case of the original years ago, did not survive. It appeared to have slowly weakened day by day, getting smaller and extruding its internals more and more. There was one night a few days back where I thought for sure it was gone but then the next day, it seemed to have made a recovery. But then it more quickly deteriorated from this point on. It's very bothersome for me to see this happen... again, but I will not attempt to keep one of these beautiful creatures again. With this experience and the previous, I now consider these anemones to be in the list of "creatures best left in the wild". May it rest in peace and I am very sorry to have participated in its demise. Definitely not a highlight in the adventure that is my reef keeping journey. Joseph.

10/09/2007, 12:39 PM	#112
michika red headed step child Join Date: Oct 2004 Location: Land of Polar Bears & Poutine Posts: 1,994	Thank you for the explanation about the growth sequence shots, and I am sorry to hear about the death of your anemone.

10/10/2007, 02:04 AM	#114
chris wright Moved On Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Orange Australia Posts: 835	Sorry to hear of your loss mate. If a reefer as diligent as yourself has not sucessfully kept these anemone's alive, Its a lesson to all to be very sure of their knowledge etc, if purchasing one. Hows all the other inhabitants doing, no down turn from the distress of the dieing anemone? Chris.

10/10/2007, 04:07 PM	#117
maxxII Super Housemonkey! Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: St Louis Mo Posts: 4,442	Joseph's shared alot for the rest of us....I'm just returning the favor. Nick __________________ A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun!"

10/10/2007, 04:12 PM	#118
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Yeah, he is one cool guy. A local reefer went out and ended up getting a behind the scenes of the behind the scenes tour from him. He spent about 1+ hours taking him around and talking reefs. __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

10/11/2007, 07:01 PM	#119
weatherson Premium Member Join Date: May 2003 Location: California Posts: 2,022	Catherine: You are welcome and thanks for the kind words. Jonathan: Thanks. Chris: Thanks and the only issue now is that the RBTA split and the portion I kept is still in recovery. The other portion went to a fellow reefer here locally and is also recovering in his tank. Other than this, nothing else appears to have been affected in a negative way. Partly due to having removed the near death anemone before it was able to foul the tank to severely. Nick: Thanks for the link and the useful information within. Hopefully others will benefit should they decide to attempt keeping one of these beauties. Joseph.

10/12/2007, 04:05 AM	#120
chris wright Moved On Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: Orange Australia Posts: 835	Well its good to hear that there was no negative's considering the loss of the beautiful anemone. Fingers crossed that your mate has better luck, and can help yourself out with a healthy tank raised specimen Cheers Chris

10/27/2007, 10:39 AM	#121
tcmfish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,658	Hows everything doing any updated pics?

10/27/2007, 10:40 AM	#122
tcmfish Registered Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 3,658	Hows everything doing any updated pics?

10/27/2007, 11:17 AM	#123
Todesengel Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 96	Your tank and plastic skills are incredible. I used to take plastics courses in college. I wish I still had access to their tools! Your tank my friend, is my vision! One of these years! If you dont mind me asking, how much $$ did you spend. A lot of your stuff is DIY so I am curious if you saved quite a considerable amount.

10/27/2007, 01:14 PM	#124
jnarowe Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2005 Location: Poulsbo, WA Posts: 14,710	Todesengel: That's a little crass don't you think? Most of what Joseph builds is not to save money, but to create things that don't exist. And as any honest DIYer will tell you, it doesn't usually save money. It's just the personal growth and satisfaction that you can build it yourself, and in cases like Mr. Weatherson, build it a whole lot better. __________________ Jonathan--Recovering Tankaholic. Current Tank Info: 70g fresh planted

10/27/2007, 01:32 PM	#125
Todesengel Moved On Join Date: Aug 2007 Location: Phoenix, Arizona Posts: 96	I am only asking because I plan on doing a 240g in wall sometime within the next 2 years. I am already saving for it, it was an honest question. Most people DIY because IT DOES save money. And If I can get a 2year head start and building what I need, I can save money and time. I dont know about you, but my time is valuable. If I can buy a pre-made product, I will. But it really needs to be worth it to me, can I make a really nice skimmer in 20+ hours? Thats equivalent to $1500+ skimmer, you better bet I will give it an attempt. I am just curious if my school will let me use their shop now that I am no longer a student.