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rishu_pepper
02-03-2015, 04:17 PM
Once upon a time, a guy fell in love with a certain marine creature called the Peacock Mantis Shrimp. It drove him to buy a used 30g tank to house the big girl. She (yes it was a gal) gave us months and months of joy, anxiety (during the molt), excitement, and sadness (RIP Matsuri the mantis shrimp, who only passed away last week :cry:).

What she also brought, though, was a deep unending interest in the marine world, first to me, and then to my wife (she opines reluctantly). Every time we observe these creatures we are amazed at God's awesome creations. We even bought annual passes to the Vancouver Aquarium..! As we got into the game of corals, we stepped up to a 75g tank from an ex-reefer. We added some livestock along the way, lost some due to jumping, not eating, but others continued to thrive. But it could not truly satisfy me.

We were even ready to plan our spring break vacation to Hawaii to swim with the actual fish, but we realized this hobby had taken a toll on us, mentally and financially. We then arrived at a difficult crossroad: spend the money on the vacation of a few days, or upgrade to something that we can start from the beginning and nurture it to a cornucopia of joy and excellence that we can enjoy for years to come. Since this thread is being made, you ought to come to the conclusion that we have chosen the latter.

It isn't a decision made without sacrifices. To cover the expenses, we are putting up my wife's car (anyone want a '08 Yaris? :wink:) for sale, and I'm selling one of my most prized possessions, a custom hunting rifle that has been my pride and joy for many years. But I believe the sacrifices will be worth it.

Okay, enough talk, onto the good stuff.

The tank itself will be a 96"x20"x20" peninsula tank, approximately 165 gallons, minus the overflow. Yes, I have heard many suggest that 20" depth will be too narrow but our flat itself is small enough as it is, and the boss (wife) says it'll be the maximum depth we can afford to have without the place being too cramped. Denny at Concept will be the chosen one to build this tank from the ground up. Anthony, seahorse_fanatic, will have the honour of building the stand. Both guys have been extremely helpful during the initial planning stages of the build and Anthony has offered up so much help, don't know what to do without the guy! :biggrin:

It will be a mixed reef, with an assortment of LPS, SPS, softies, mushrooms, my big sebae anemone (and hopefully more), clams, and many a fish (tangs, wrasses, anthias, clowns, etc.). My dream fish, the Achilles tang, will finally be making an appearance here.

Tank details:

herbie overflow
eurobraced
float glass 12mm
single return line on the overflow wall

Equipment are still in the process of being procured at the moment, but a rough idea as follows (nothing is confirmed at the moment)

2x RW-20 for flow
Enough Reefbreeder/OceanRevive/ReefRadiance/etc. (haven't decided yet) to cover the whole tank
Jebao DC12000 (enough? overkill?)
Tunze Osmolator ATO
SRO XP2000 skimmer (this may be underpowered, will probably upgrade in the future)
2x Eheim Jager 250W
Some kind of reactor for RowaPhos (currently running a TLF in the 75g)
Jebao dosing pump for Calc, Alk, Mg

*will carry over from 75g tank: Vertex biopellet reactor, modded with bigger pump for better flow

If budget allows, a Neptune Apex or Profilux would do wonders to keep everything in order.

I'll be looking at a 1" sandbed, with at least enough rocks to achieve a 1lb to 1g ratio (excluding sump volume, yet to be determined). Just picked up 20lb of Tonga branches from WarDog (thanks Warren!), plus some other live rocks I'll be migrating from the 75g and some other reefers. There will be a refugium in the sump. RO/DI water is supplied from the Aquasafe 7-stage filtration system.

Please feel free to critique my build/equipment choices, or if you have anything you like to sell me let me know :lol:

The order is being put in today for the tank, so assuming a month's turnover rate, I hope to have the tank here in early March. That had been the plan all along, since as a school teacher, I'll have a two-week spring break from March 7 to 22 to put everything together. When I have the exact day, I will offer up beer/pizza for help moving the tank/stand :biggrin::biggrin:, no reefers excluded, provisions first come first served lol (don't need 100 people moving a tank :mrgreen:).

Keep you guys updated every step of the way. My wife has put together a small scale model of the aquascape of which I will post pictures later. Thanks for reading, and I'll see you guys at the frag swap soon! :biggrin:

TimT
02-03-2015, 06:25 PM
Sounds good.

If I may add a suggestion? Skip the Rowaphos and reactor and just add Foz Down into the ATO reservoir. You will find the Rowaphos and reactor is a more expensive and time consuming method of controlling the Phosphate in the long run.

Cheers,
Tim

WarDog
02-03-2015, 07:20 PM
Nice to meet you guys, I'm happy you will be able to put the branch to good use! LMK when you need help moving the tank, I'm down!

Delphinus
02-03-2015, 08:02 PM
Sounds great, neat choice on the dimensions! Sorry if I missed it but whatcha planning on for lighting?

Skimmin
02-03-2015, 08:21 PM
Ur gonna need more then 2 rw 20s. Ive got two rw 20s plus a gyre. All three running at 100% constant on my 6ft 300 gal.

Roskoreef
02-03-2015, 09:06 PM
I have almost the exact same tank w/2 gyres at 40% and 1 rw 15 at 50% and my softies are holding on for life around the outside.. i have a rw20 that im not even using..

SeaHorse_Fanatic
02-03-2015, 10:21 PM
Since it's only 165g, 2 x RW20s should be plenty of flow for the tank. I haven't used the Gyre but that looks like a very interesting option as well. Being a peninsula tank, placement of wavemakers will be very limited.

Ron99
02-03-2015, 10:26 PM
I would skip the Tunze Osmolator. They are expensive and unreliable. I've had a simple setup from attotopoff.com that I've used for years without problem.

mikellini
02-04-2015, 03:11 AM
I would skip the Tunze Osmolator. They are expensive and unreliable. I've had a simple setup from attotopoff.com that I've used for years without problem.

First I've heard of being unreliable. Especially when compared to cheap float switches. I've had both, and had far more issues with the ATO.com kit. Required more maintenance too, always taking them apart to clean them, tube snails suck!

reefwars
02-04-2015, 03:25 AM
My osmolator is still chugging along years later , original pump and still doesn't miss a beat ......looks like crap as I've super glued it , siliconed it and taped it into different places lol but still works fine for me I have a couple running on different tanks between here and work and they all have worked fine:) like anything electronic though stuff happens.

Nice build btw!! :pp

Ranchu50
02-04-2015, 03:49 AM
Being that Rishu lives 5 minutes from my house, i am very interested in your tank build!
Amazing dedication Rishu!
Excited for you!

Treebeard
02-04-2015, 04:17 AM
I would pass on the mushrooms. I would gladly give you all of mine if I could do it without smashing my live rock to smithereens! :sad:

Ron99
02-04-2015, 05:05 AM
Hmmm, must have had a bad osmolator because the one I used was nothing but trouble. The pump wouldn't trigger on, the controller just showed an error. But could trigger it manually. but I'm pretty sure I've read about others having issues. On the flip side, my ATO.com unit has been flawless. So YMMV. :)

rishu_pepper
02-04-2015, 07:05 AM
Let's try to reply to everyone! :biggrin:

Tim: I have not heard of the Foz Down product. If indeed it does what it advertises, then I'm all in for it! I guess I can always try a bottle and see. I agree that I do not enjoy changing out the RowaPhos stuff all the time.

Warren: Thanks for the branches, they are lovely! I'll let you know of the delivery date, we definitely need all hands on deck for this one!

Delphinus: Yeah it's a bit narrow, but we'll work with it. For lighting, I am still scouring/researching the mid-tier LEDs such as Reefbreeders, Reef Radiance, etc. My current Hydra 52s would work wonders but I cannot afford another $1500 for another two fixtures, so I'm selling my Hydras to fund these ones.

Skimmin: Considering my tank will only have just half of your DT size in terms of gallonage, I think I will be okay for now with 2 RW-20s. Time will tell.

Roskoreef: I saw yours and it looks very similar to mine! It looks awesome and makes me so excited about mine too!

Anthony: Hopefully the RW-20s will be well-situated and enough flow.

Ron/Mikellini/Denny: Perhaps Ron you got a lemon? I have had my Tunze Nano ATO for a while now and it's been extremely reliable, and most people's experience from what I've read online has been very positive. ATO = makes jobs easier. :)

Patrick: Haha one day you'll need to visit again when the tank is up! I should come visit you too with your new RSM!

Treebeard: I have heard of instances where mushrooms grow out of control, but both the wife and I enjoy these corals so I think they'll have their place.

rishu_pepper
02-04-2015, 07:14 AM
Here's the 3D model the wife constructed, with some coral placements. None of these are permanent decisions, rather just having fun with what it could look like:

Side view, dining room
http://i.imgur.com/IAfe34xl.jpg

Side view, living room
http://i.imgur.com/lJzDAb7l.jpg

Front view
http://i.imgur.com/dq4pHkMl.jpg

Top view, dining room side
http://i.imgur.com/rDarry3l.jpg

Top view, living room side
http://i.imgur.com/b43eJ6vl.jpg

Bird's eye view
http://i.imgur.com/p4X7dKcl.jpg

albert_dao
02-04-2015, 08:13 AM
LOL ---> Love the labels! ♥♥♥

rishu_pepper
02-04-2015, 08:18 AM
-

.bubbles
02-04-2015, 08:21 AM
*side note: green stickies represent stuff we already have, pink is to be purchased. The only exception is the 'clams', that one should be pink

Off topic on the tank build, but since the husband has started blogging about our reefing adventures I want to add that I am so blown away by everyone we've met so far and their generosity, kindness and passion! As beginners, it has been invaluable to have the forum advice and encouragement. And every time we meet other reefers, it is pretty cool to be able to instantly connect and share about our respective experience and tanks.

Anyway, looking forward to meeting more fellow reef nerds, and thanks for all the help we've received and will continue to need :smile:


( I'm rishu's wife :wave: )

SeaHorse_Fanatic
02-04-2015, 08:59 AM
Hi .bubbles:biggrin:

You should rethink the "suncoral" and eventually get another dendro or maybe some photosynthetic gorgonians. Suncorals are notoriously hard to keep alive long term compared to Dendros because each head needs to be individually fed. Suncorals also tend to open up at night or when detecting food. My dendros are open 80+% of the time, in contrast.

Acans also tend to be lower light corals, so placement high up on the rockwork may not be ideal.

Since this is a LPS-heavy system, 2 of the RW20s should be plenty of flow. My main display (165g) only has a WP60 and a WP25. Not enough for an SPS tank but just right for an LPS system.

Love the 3-D models. I never really go that far. I usually aquascape free style and go from there.

Glad to see you are both so into this addiction. My wife would probably divorce me before giving up her car to fund my next tank. Seriously.

Cheers,

Anthony

rishu_pepper
02-04-2015, 07:46 PM
LOL ---> Love the labels! ♥♥♥

LOL thanks for the love :lol:

Hi .bubbles:biggrin:

You should rethink the "suncoral" and eventually get another dendro or maybe some photosynthetic gorgonians. Suncorals are notoriously hard to keep alive long term compared to Dendros because each head needs to be individually fed. Suncorals also tend to open up at night or when detecting food. My dendros are open 80+% of the time, in contrast.

Acans also tend to be lower light corals, so placement high up on the rockwork may not be ideal.

Since this is a LPS-heavy system, 2 of the RW20s should be plenty of flow. My main display (165g) only has a WP60 and a WP25. Not enough for an SPS tank but just right for an LPS system.

Love the 3-D models. I never really go that far. I usually aquascape free style and go from there.

Glad to see you are both so into this addiction. My wife would probably divorce me before giving up her car to fund my next tank. Seriously.

Cheers,

Anthony

Thank you for the note on sun corals. If it's too hard to keep, we'll find some alternatives probably. The reasoning behind choosing sun corals was we wanted the bright attention grabbing colours at the entrance/tip of the penny so it makes a nice impression. What other red/yellow/orange corals are out there?

The acans can definitely move. Should have a bunch of room on the mid-arch/low-arch to place them.

I find that the 3D modelling, even with just a bunch of scrap paper glued together, gave us a good understanding of the rockwork/coral placement/lighting/etc., it's been a good starting point.

Selling a car, or a big awesome tank? :wink:

Sharkbait-huhaha
02-04-2015, 08:02 PM
+1

Love the plan!!

Following along for the ride !

FishingGoalie
02-04-2015, 10:25 PM
LOL thanks for the love :lol:



Thank you for the note on sun corals. If it's too hard to keep, we'll find some alternatives probably. The reasoning behind choosing sun corals was we wanted the bright attention grabbing colours at the entrance/tip of the penny so it makes a nice impression. What other red/yellow/orange corals are out there?

:wink:

If your looking for something similar dendros look pretty much identical. The only real difference that i notice is the base where sun corals are more of a solid base with little arms that is all living and dendros being more like a torch or hammer coral.
I hope you understand what i mean.

rishu_pepper
02-04-2015, 10:27 PM
If your looking for something similar dendros look pretty much identical. The only real difference that i notice is the base where sun corals are more of a solid base with little arms that is all living and dendros being more like a torch or hammer coral.
I hope you understand what i mean.

Yup I do have dendros and understand what you mean, saw some sun corals at JL before.

Don't think I can afford a dozen heads of dendros easily though lol...

What's red/yellow and flow-y?

lastlight
02-04-2015, 10:45 PM
lol great idea for the rough layout! i suspect someone's into crafting over there :lol:

it's now going to drive you partially nuts hunting for specific rocks to full-fill your paper dreams.

regarding the osmolator... i'd never hesitate to recommend one. i've owned 4 different units and three were bought used. they've never failed on me once and one i even dropped the controller unit into water and dried it out (was ro/di mind you). I try to topoff onto the sensor so it sorta keeps it clean(ish) automatically.

.bubbles
02-04-2015, 10:58 PM
@Anthony: That's too bad about the sun corals....We love our dendros, they're so interesting to watch and ours have been having tremendous growth. But they're supposedly pricey hence why we were thinking of doing sun corals, especially since they come in some pretty bright colours.

I also just free styled the aquascaping..up until now. It'll likely end up looking different from the model, but I wanted to go in with more of a plan this time because of the size of the tank. In the past I've upset the corals (and thus Brian as well) by constantly moving stuff about. I'm hoping having a plan to go from will help me get it right the first time and refrain from fiddling too much with the aquascape after. Plus it is my little way of contributing to the build since I know nothing about the technical/chemical stuff.

Lol I'm totally fine with selling the car because I'll have a chauffeur instead :wink: Though I'm not entirely convinced that it is a good thing that we're both into the hobby. One of us ought to be sensible. :lol:


@Sharkbait-huhaha: +1 for your username!

@Lastlight: you suspect correctly, I'm a designer by day. Also, I am working towards acceptance of the fact that our tank will be unlikely to resemble the model. But one can dream :T

lastlight
02-04-2015, 11:11 PM
I'm not entirely convinced that it is a good thing that we're both into the hobby

i've often thought it'd be cool if my wife was into the hobby. reading your post about moving corals around has filled me with a calming sense of satisfaction regarding my current life situation! cool that you guys have found a way to enjoy it together though. My wife would have her own tank lol!

SeaHorse_Fanatic
02-05-2015, 01:54 AM
To be honest, my wife would have me fill the tank with a single type of coral and just have her porcupine puffer as the only fish. Either that or she would make me get rid of all the big fish and fill with only one species of small fish in a big school. Yes, its would look cool, but I would be so bored with a single species tank very quickly. Collecting is my favourite OCD activity:redface::biggrin:

Myka
02-05-2015, 02:34 PM
You should rethink the "suncoral" and eventually get another dendro or maybe some photosynthetic gorgonians. Suncorals are notoriously hard to keep alive long term compared to Dendros because each head needs to be individually fed. Suncorals also tend to open up at night or when detecting food. My dendros are open 80+% of the time, in contrast.

Yeah yeah! Dendros are the bomb in comparison to Sun Corals.

CM125
02-05-2015, 04:08 PM
IN FOR UPDATES!

.bubbles
02-07-2015, 11:26 PM
Update:

On Tuesday we picked up a RSM 130 from a fellow reefer in Coquitlam. It didn't fit into our car (oops!) and he ended up delivering it over to us. (Yay for kind reefers!) We had originally planned to use it as a temporary home to our current livestock but after setting it up and seeing how nice it was, we've decided to keep it as a secondary tank to house 'aggro' fish that would not be safe to keep in the main tank. (Possible candidates atm: small eel, puffer, baby box fish, another mantis...any suggestions?)

On Wednesday we tore down our current tank and moved everyone over to the RSM. It went relatively smooth but still took the two of us about 5 hours to get it done. There were a few moments when I was accessing the state of our living room: endless buckets of water, equipment strewn all over the floor, a pungent smell of wetdog - I questioned whether it was really worth all this trouble. It is :)

Currently everyone seems to be adjusting to th RSM well...it is a little bit of a tight fit but only for a month, then they'll move into a much more spacious penny tank :D Curiously I've developed a rash on the back of my hands..I think it is from handling our 10" sebae anem...she was stinging me like mad when I was coaxing her out. Anyone experienced this before?

rishu_pepper
02-09-2015, 06:14 AM
Procured some equipment, a Tunze Osmolator ATO and three Radion G2s. I'm thinking we will need another one but may roll with just the three for the beginning.

Someone has offered me a Reef Keeper Elite package with all the goodies that could possibly be included, at the price of a new set of Apex. Should I go with the RKE? I know everyone raves about the Apex (with good reason) but I haven't heard much from users of the RKE. Anybody with experience that can chime in?

hunggi74
02-09-2015, 05:41 PM
Procured some equipment, a Tunze Osmolator ATO and three Radion G2s. I'm thinking we will need another one but may roll with just the three for the beginning.

Someone has offered me a Reef Keeper Elite package with all the goodies that could possibly be included, at the price of a new set of Apex. Should I go with the RKE? I know everyone raves about the Apex (with good reason) but I haven't heard much from users of the RKE. Anybody with experience that can chime in?

Buy the Apex. The ability to monitor and control your tank's components via your mobile device is something you will never be able to do with RKE. Most new electronics products coming out have or will have Apex connectivity, not so with RKE. The reason you don't see many RKE peeps chiming in is because there isn't one reason to buy an RKE over an Apex besides price. I speak from experience. I have an RK and I want to switch over to an Apex. I chose to go the cheaper route and have regretted it since. HTH.

rishu_pepper
02-09-2015, 05:46 PM
Buy the Apex. The ability to monitor and control your tank's components via your mobile device is something you will never be able to do with RKE. Most new electronics products coming out have or will have Apex connectivity, not so with RKE. The reason you don't see many RKE peeps chiming in is because there isn't one reason to buy an RKE over an Apex besides price. I speak from experience. I have an RK and I want to switch over to an Apex. I chose to go the cheaper route and have regretted it since. HTH.

Ha, the guy sold it anyway, so I guess I don't have to make the decision anymore :lol:

Saving up for an Apex then.

rishu_pepper
03-04-2015, 07:27 PM
A bit of a set back with the fish. Diagnosed the hippo tang with ich (rapid breathing, white dots on and off), which means the whole RSM 130 is infected.

What I plan to do is to move all the LR and corals from the RSM to the big tank once it's up and leave it fallow for 72 days. At the same time, I will do TTM with the fish to eradicate the ich, then once they are healed, they will stay in the QT and enter the system after 72 days.

It's a little frustrating, especially I wanted the fish to enjoy the big tank soon, but the silver lining is, we can get rid of this problem now rather than killing all fish, new and old, one day in the future. This will also give tons of time for the tank to cycle and stabilize for them.

What do you think of this strategy?

.bubbles
03-04-2015, 07:38 PM
You forgot to mention another perk: I can now aquascape to my heart's content for 72 days without having to worry about squishing any fish :biggrin:

spit.fire
03-05-2015, 09:30 AM
There's a chance that if you move the corals and rock over it may contaminate the new tank with ich, not 100% sure on that tho

reefwars
03-05-2015, 01:19 PM
Yes but going fallow will fix that :)


Ps ....a little birdie told me your tank may be built ;pppp

rishu_pepper
03-05-2015, 01:50 PM
Yes but going fallow will fix that :)

Ps ....a little birdie told me your tank may be built ;pppp

Can't wait, thanks little birdie! :biggrin:

That gives me an idea actually. Is it possible to do TTM FOR the rocks and corals?

.bubbles
03-05-2015, 03:37 PM
Er...I don't think it's a good idea to TTM rocks & coral...corals will be SUPER stressed and I'm not moving 200lbs of live rock with you every 3 days x 3 :faint2:

rishu_pepper
03-05-2015, 04:07 PM
Never mind, just found out on RC that TTM won't kill ich on rocks. 72 days fallow it is.

At least we get to look at our shrimps and snails :lol:

rishu_pepper
03-06-2015, 05:21 AM
Is it okay to use just a couple of big rubbermaid rectangular tubs for TTM? Or do I need actual aquarium tanks to do it?

daplatapus
03-06-2015, 01:26 PM
Yup, anything that'll hold water and is easy to disinfect between runs.

kien
03-06-2015, 02:23 PM
I love ridiculous reefs. Especially really ridiculous pens! :biggrin:

rishu_pepper
03-08-2015, 01:23 AM
I love ridiculous reefs. Especially really ridiculous pens! :biggrin:

Ridiculous tank in progress! :biggrin:

Will arrive later this upcoming week. Pizza and beer party for the move-in crew straight from COQ-mpton! :lol:

*black trim on top to be removed

http://i.imgur.com/Z84zfjEl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/OizOVgMl.jpg

rishu_pepper
03-16-2015, 03:03 AM
Daniel (target) delivered the stand today. With the help of a dolly, the two of us got it inside the house relatively easily. My worries were unfounded.

The stand looks absolutely amazing, great handiwork and feels extremely sturdy.

http://i.imgur.com/ddk0LrDl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/tbU4unql.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/jvG9PXFl.jpg

The doors have yet to be installed yet due to time constraints but that works out well since tomorrow is the big setup day and I don't need any doors getting in the way at the moment.

And here's the "living" room. :lol:

http://i.imgur.com/QVc2mZxl.jpg

(several unpictured tubs for more saltwater ready for tomorrow)

WarDog
03-16-2015, 06:04 AM
Nice! You going to be able to sleep tonight? :biggrin:

daplatapus
03-16-2015, 02:18 PM
Looking good. I've always been partial to white stands :)

rishu_pepper
03-16-2015, 04:08 PM
Looking good. I've always been partial to white stands :)

Thank you sir, it does look very good.

Also looking good is today's weather, thank God for the sunshine, would hate to do the move in with raincouver weather, could have been dangerous.

Rented suction cups this morning, just waiting for the call now, any minute. :biggrin:

rishu_pepper
03-16-2015, 10:04 PM
So... this morning, a bit of an adventure.

In the morning I went to grab some tools and rented a couple of the large 8" suction cups (I would have rented four but they only had 3 so..).

Joe (Wretch) arrived at about 10am and we chatted for a bit, before the truck driver showed up. I called up Andrew (Piscez) who also dragged his son Matthew out for the move.

Unfortunately, the freight company miscalculated the length of the crate slightly, its tailgate was NOT 8' at all, so it ended up like this:

http://i.imgur.com/8D8O36yl.jpg

The tank was literally hanging off into the air for a while when he lowered the tailgate. The driver was nice enough to use his jack to "deliver" it close to my patio entrance, up until a gravel section. We uncrated it there, used the suction cups, and carried it all the way in. The cups really helped with the lifting itself, with four of us guys (me being the weak one), we had no trouble moving the tank onto the stand.

Andrew and his son had to leave afterwards, so they couldn't enjoy the pizza party: :redface: Thanks so much for coming to help, you guys really made my life easier!

http://i.imgur.com/HCbGR1vl.jpg

(boxed up pizza was Hawaiian. Eew pineapples, amiright?)

After we got the tank up onto the stand, however, we realized the sump could not be fitted in "normally" and had to be slipped in from the open end of the stand, which was already flushed against the wall. With that in mind, we (Joe, Joanne, and I) had to lift the tank off onto the floor, move the stand, move the sump in, and lift the tank back onto the stand. Not cool. :twised:

The end result, though, was a worthy sight to behold. See Happy the Octopus invading our tank and drinking a Steamworks pilsner.

http://i.imgur.com/3QKyVW8l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/idrgz9yl.jpg

So now the tank is getting wet for the leak test. Plumbing will be done tomorrow. I'm going to install the lights later today.

Thank you so much to Joe. The guy even helped me throw away all the garbage (smashing the pallet was sorta fun) and ate many of my pizza and beer :wink: Thank you to Andrew and Matthew for your grunt work too. There was absolutely no way I could have done this without help.

And now, onto the rest of the work.

target
03-17-2015, 12:22 AM
Looks really good Brian! Sorry I couldn't be there to help load the tank into place, but had a painting job to do. Can't wait to see it filled up.

Wretch
03-17-2015, 12:35 AM
Brian pleasure to meet you and Joanne. Thanks for the pizza and beer. Gad I could help. Enjoy the new tank. Looks real nice.

Howie
03-17-2015, 01:24 AM
Looks great, I really like the stand that was made for it.

Sharkbait-huhaha
03-17-2015, 01:38 AM
Time to get the tank wet!! :multi: :multi:

rishu_pepper
03-17-2015, 03:00 AM
Time to get the tank wet!! :multi: :multi:

Tank is 3/4 full, unplumbed. Doing aquascape at the moment. Will post pics/update later.

Tomorrow it will be plumbed. :biggrin:

rishu_pepper
03-17-2015, 03:31 AM
Question: what can I use to hold down cable wires flush on top of the eurobrace? The Radions need somewhere to go to, and running along the brace seems to be the best option I have (do not want to run the wires on the ceiling), considering all things like length of wire, outlet location, aesthetics.

Piscez
03-17-2015, 04:31 AM
Hey Brian, great to meet you and Joanne, Joe too! Glad my son and I were able to help you out, that was a heavy beast, but great looking, can't wait to see it up and running, guess I should get my act together and start publishing my build too! Glad everything worked out well, even the weather, have fun!

SeaHorse_Fanatic
03-18-2015, 06:59 AM
Sorry I've been so busy trying to catch up with work after taking off for 5 days last week to spend time with family in Leavenworth, WA. Awesome vacation but now I'm crazy busy all week. Glad it went well.

Anthony

rishu_pepper
03-19-2015, 04:29 PM
Thanks to Ryan (neoh), my plumbing has been completed! Well, it was 90% completed on Tuesday, but I had to go grab an extra tee to finish the job yesterday. He came all the way from the other side of town and didn't ask for anything in return. Faith in humanity restored! :biggrin:

The plumbing is very straightforward: herbie style 1.5" drains, with a gate valve on the main line and the emergency is in the front of the picture. The return is 1" which tees off to another gate valve into the refugium (with the loc-lines for adjustment), powered by a Jebao DCT12000.

http://i.imgur.com/5OX4lvOl.jpg

As you can see, the skimmer is still over foaming like a rabid dog. I expect it to break in within the next few days, it should be fine after I start feeding when the corals go in. It's a Bubble Magus Curve 9 that we bareeeely fit into the skimmer chamber. :redface: Had to ask for Joanne's small hands and magic touch to re-attach the skimmer body.

The other side of the stand:

http://i.imgur.com/yrXeRq7l.jpg

Currently housing two empty 10g tanks. I'll be using them for TTM. Eventually these tanks will make way for a permanent QT and an ATO bucket/tank. Originally I had thoughts of running the electronics board on this end, but after deliberation I have switched gears and will be running the wires in a cabinet (yet to be bought) outside the stand. Safer and more convenient, and don't have to worry about wire management inside the stand.

FTS:

http://i.imgur.com/1Uf0rxKl.jpg

Tank has been wet since Monday night and a few inverts have been in since then, and have been doing fine (couple of hermit crabs, a turbo snail, a featherduster, and some spag worms/brittle stars). Even the zoas that are attached on the LR have been opening up quite nicely.

Sand should be going in today and if time allows, Joanne will finish the aquascaping tonight and I can put up the lights afterwards (didn't want to install lights yet as it would hinder aquascaping, moving rocks and such).

That also means corals will be able to go in (depending on water params, will test tonight) soon, and the 72 days fallow period will begin. The fish in the RSM will go through their TTM period and afterwards will go back to the RSM until the 72, at which time they will be able to enjoy the big tank, finally! :biggrin:

mseepman
03-19-2015, 07:37 PM
Following along...it's looking good. Sump visually looks small for that tank...how big is it?

rishu_pepper
03-19-2015, 07:42 PM
Following along...it's looking good. Sump visually looks small for that tank...how big is it?

Thanks for the compliment. :biggrin:

The picture may be deceiving, the sump is a 4 footer (minus the four dosing chambers) with similar footprint as a standard 55g, so I'd estimate the actual volume around 45g.

Wretch
03-19-2015, 08:32 PM
Brian now that I see the tank up and running and the sump full what happens when the power goes out? will the sump be able to hold all the water that drains from the main tank? Looks good by the way. Cant wait to see the lights up.

rishu_pepper
03-19-2015, 08:41 PM
Brian now that I see the tank up and running and the sump full what happens when the power goes out? will the sump be able to hold all the water that drains from the main tank? Looks good by the way. Cant wait to see the lights up.

Joe, I ran a couple of tests by turning off the return pump. The sump has abundant volume to hold excess back-siphon water, which is not a lot since the check valve stops much of it anyway. At the moment I'd venture to say there is about 1/3 of the sump being empty. Still figuring out where to draw the line as far as max/min water level is for my ATO.

Piscez
03-20-2015, 01:04 AM
Looking good Brian keep up the good work! Funny I stopped by Ryan's to grab corals on Tuesday the day after we moved your tank and he said he was heading over there, another coincidence but when I got out of the game 5 years back it was Ryan who bought my 120gal system, so he gave me a great deal on his corals.. "what goes around comes around" :biggrin:

reefwars
03-20-2015, 02:02 AM
Thanks for the compliment. :biggrin:

The picture may be deceiving, the sump is a 4 footer (minus the four dosing chambers) with similar footprint as a standard 55g, so I'd estimate the actual volume around 45g.

Haha yeah it's a deceiving pic , we're all seeing the Refugium from our view , behind that the compartments have a lot more room to them :)

Looks great Brian I told ya the plumbing was a piece of cake :)

Cheers buddy

Denny

rishu_pepper
03-20-2015, 02:18 AM
Haha yeah it's a deceiving pic , we're all seeing the Refugium from our view , behind that the compartments have a lot more room to them :)

Looks great Brian I told ya the plumbing was a piece of cake :)

Cheers buddy

Denny

It was a piece of cake because I had help :wink:

Sand is in, after 2.5 hours of laborious rinsing (thank God for Netflix to keep me company!). Tank is rather cloudy at the moment so waiting for that to pass. I do like the look of the Natural Ocean's Samoa pink sand. Hopefully my critters will like it too.

rishu_pepper
03-20-2015, 02:19 AM
Looking good Brian keep up the good work! Funny I stopped by Ryan's to grab corals on Tuesday the day after we moved your tank and he said he was heading over there, another coincidence but when I got out of the game 5 years back it was Ryan who bought my 120gal system, so he gave me a great deal on his corals.. "what goes around comes around" :biggrin:

Wow small world, eh? As he told me, you picked up some nice pieces for a steal of a deal. Lucky you! :biggrin:

freeze
03-20-2015, 03:37 AM
In regards to your curve 9 foaming, it looks like it's in 11-12 inches of water.recommended water depth is 9-11' but I have yet to have a skimmer work well in deep water. I would have it between 8-9 inches. That's what my 9 will be in. Might need to build a stand.

WarDog
03-20-2015, 04:51 AM
Might need to build a stand.

Yikes!

Nice to see you and Jo tonight Brian! Good start on the tank... love the length!

Wretch
03-20-2015, 11:37 PM
So where are the pictures of the lights?

gregzz4
03-20-2015, 11:51 PM
So where are the pictures of the lights?
Ya :boink:

rishu_pepper
03-21-2015, 12:55 AM
Lights will be coming up after aquascaping. It's still happening at the moment, and also coral migration. :biggrin:

rishu_pepper
03-22-2015, 06:15 AM
Lights up, corals in:

http://i.imgur.com/qv1b7w4l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/rwG36lUl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oMuFrzpl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/cCFxI0ml.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/qP2p4OEl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4C1t5b2l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/0Exlturl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CV16MFSl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/y5Xl1E7l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/268AvQtl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/oA5ItTdl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/HLC7vQjl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/wkMY9VRl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/9nqiucNl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/4rfe4wol.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Zt0dOucl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/3lW767Bl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/S7HKszdl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/xVroGpyl.jpg

hondas3000
03-22-2015, 06:21 AM
so nice, guess new always is better. That long shape sure have lots of floor space for you to add coral.

Wretch
03-22-2015, 06:47 AM
Beautiful

.bubbles
03-22-2015, 10:03 AM
Random stuff about our aquascaping/pics posted/corals :blabla::

For anyone that's been following along, clearly you'll notice that my original aquascape model went out the window. I knew it was :crazy: from the beginning but it was something to do while we waited for the tank.

Even though the rock work is very different, the model was helpful for wrapping our heads around coral placement. We had so many cool rocks to use, but they're so unpredictable in how they fit together and how stable (or not) they are, we had to wing-it. For the first hour I experimented with fiji crete...and then I gave up.

I'm sure I did something wrong...but the fiji crete didn't work for me at all. We couldn't assemble the rocks out of water for fear of die-off. But as soon as the crete touched water it dissolved. From our google searches it seemed that other reefers found that it worked fine even in water. But no matter what consistency I mixed it to or how many minutes I waited, it would hit water and start dissolving and make a cloudy mess. We got one piece to halfway stick but whilst fitting the structures together, it got knocked loose. Soooo yeah fiji crete did not want to be my friend :sad:

Anyway.

Aquascape plan was roughly to fulfill these points:
- rule of thirds
- negative space to balance out rockwork
- have varying height and make sure the entrance corals/rocks allow for background corals to peek through
- set foundation bearing in mind corals will fill in space
- lots of hidey-holes for fish
- prepare specific sections with corals in mind (a shaded area for brains, easy to reach/feed area for dendro colonies, area with porous rock for zoa frags etc.)

I found it to be quite a challenge aquascaping a penny tank. Every little section I have to climb up and down the stepladder and go to each side to check. Brian tried holding up a front facing camera and a mirror for me - both options were useless.

It was about a 3-day process to get the tank to look how it does now. Day 1, Throw the plan out the window. Sort through the rock and improvise the foundation. Day 2, fill with sand and wait for it to settle. Fit in the corals we have in our care. Day 3, add in corals kind reefers have been taking care of for us and fit those in.

The white tonga branches look a little jarring at the moment, but they're great pieces...just have to have patience while it colours up. I don't know if I am entirely satisfied with the aquascaping at the moment...I guess it is one of those things that is a constant work in progress - until we stop buying coral :laugh: (yeah right). Does anyone have any notes or tips they think I could improve on our current aquascape?


We picked up a bright 5" RBTA for our entrance side 'show piece'. But the darn bugger keeps moving around because we don't have enough flow reaching that end of the tank. (We're looking into getting a gyre to solve the issue. It isn't ideal to have a powerhead at the front...but at least the gyre is a bit more discreet than the traditional.) Hopefully it'll eventually settle down. As you see in the pics posted by Brian, it is currently hosting a porcelain crab. I'm hoping once the tank is ready for fish, we can find a pair of black clowns. It would make quite a dramatic contrast against the RBTA.

Our euphyllia looks a little sad in the pics. Haven't fully extended yet, still adjusting I suppose. But even so, the wall hammer is looking pretty darn good :biggrin:

I'm pretty excited about our little zoa garden..can't wait for them to start growing off their plugs and cover the LR :razz:

As we don't have any fish in the tank we've been observing our inverts explore the new tank and it's quite interesting actually. We have the standard hermit crab and snail clean up crew. We also have a cleaner shrimp, 3 peppermints, a fire shrimp, aforementioned porcelain crab, 3 tiger stripped serpent sea stars, a crap ton of brittle stars hiding in the rocks everywhere, 1 anemone shrimp and 1 pistol shrimp. Our anemone shrimp is really strange...despite having 3 anemones in the tank, it has taken to swimming laps around the tank rather than hang out with any of the anems. We've had it for a little under 6 months and it has never been interested in anems for some reason. The pistol shrimp also did something strange tonight, it was also doing laps around the tank. It has been very shy for the entire 3 months we've had it and everything I've read about them says that they tend to stay safely around their burrow. I guess ours decided to be a rebel.

In general, I'm the more rational/practical one and I do the nagging to keep us in check. But I think I'm losing my grip and may need an intervention as it is 3am now and I am posting about our tank.

oi vey.

:sleeping:

canadianbudz604
03-22-2015, 05:25 PM
Looking really good.

rishu_pepper
03-22-2015, 06:44 PM
Looking really good.

Thanks Jesse, especially for the macro and xenia! Let me know when you're in the area and I'll share you some of the mushrooms. :biggrin:

albert_dao
03-22-2015, 07:42 PM
This is off to a great start you two :)

jason604
03-22-2015, 09:26 PM
Very nice clean look. Mybe get 1 more radion?

rishu_pepper
03-23-2015, 04:26 AM
Things to note:

- right now the skimmer is OFF due to the lack of bioload (goes wild and overflows after a few hours), think it'll be okay to run it skimmerless for 72 days, with just regular WCs?
- waiting to buy a Gyre for the other end of the tank, will be scouring the B&S for now, not in a hurry
- refugium is filled with LR and some chaeto/red macro
- still need to set up the Apex/ATO, thinking of DIYing a cabinet for the electronics next weekend
- for now, will hold off on a doser until at least after 72, and probably wait for next frag swap which is our next milestone date for adding SPS
- need to DIY a mesh top eventually for jumpers
- RBTA is walking like stupid far lol. It's hosting a porcelain crab we got at OC yesterday
- had to remove a hermit crab because it was attacking snails and rampaging over the zoas
- moved down the torch and it seems much happier
- happy with the aquascape/coral placement, just need the tonga branches to colour up and it'll look good

This is off to a great start you two :)

Thanks bud, especially thank you for holding our corals. The wall hammer is an amazing piece.

Very nice clean look. Mybe get 1 more radion?

Have them about 12" AWL and no shadowing atm, so will probably be fine.

Ranchu50
03-24-2015, 06:26 AM
Your tank is looking amazing!

Soo much thought put into each detail.
Love it!

Piscez
03-24-2015, 02:22 PM
Hey Brian looking awesome, think it's time for a visit!

rishu_pepper
03-31-2015, 02:14 AM
Stand doors put in, things are coming to place:

http://i.imgur.com/YGWJDdal.jpg

Corals have been looking pretty good lately also.

Volleyball sized mutant hammer (frags soon if anyone is interested):

http://i.imgur.com/kAz1ZXIl.jpg

Recently acquired RBTA has been adjusting well, turning into its dinner plate size, occupied by a porcelain crab. Donut coral from Nicole pictured below, nice and plump:

http://i.imgur.com/2TwgFz0l.jpg

Rainbow brain, courtesy Daryl:

http://i.imgur.com/G9hHy1dl.jpg

Orange crush acans from Mike and branching hammers from Anthony:

http://i.imgur.com/PXKMhqbl.jpg

Candy canes from Nicole and more branching hammers, forgot who I bought it from..:

http://i.imgur.com/TY1Dzsol.jpg

Absolutely gorgeous wall hammer from Albert, torch from Daryl, and bubble coral from Anthony:

http://i.imgur.com/ncsjWHvl.jpg

Our showpiece sebae anemone from previous 75g's tank owner Jin, will host Mindy's two Onyx clowns after fallow period:

http://i.imgur.com/N8hXOmTl.jpg

Wife's zoa garden (not completely pictured):

http://i.imgur.com/uZ2tLUgl.jpg

Sharkbait-huhaha
03-31-2015, 02:45 AM
Wow. That anemone is gorgeous!

Piscez
03-31-2015, 03:19 AM
fantastic corals!!! Count me in for Hammer frags! :biggrin:

rishu_pepper
03-31-2015, 03:33 AM
Sounds like there are some initial interested parties on the mutant hammer. Once I get fragging I will post an ad on the buy/sell section. :biggrin:

I'm a sucker for LPS, especially of the euphyllia variety. Coral-wise I think this is the direction we'll go, heavy on LPS and maybe with a smidgen of SPS once things get more settled in.

Thank you Andrew and Peter for the compliments. The RBTA was a real smashing deal, $70 including the RBTA (about 8"-10" across fully expanded), a very nice looking piece of LR that it was attached to, and a maroon clown the owner insisted on selling. We want to go to a different direction with the clowns in this one eventually (maybe orange skunks, black dominos, or black ocellaris) so the maroon is in the holding tank atm, with no interested party it will likely go back to JL for store credit soon.

Myka
03-31-2015, 02:02 PM
Our showpiece sebae anemone from previous 75g's tank owner Jin, will host Mindy's two Onyx clowns after fallow period

Awesome! I think they will like the anemone!

rishu_pepper
03-31-2015, 03:33 PM
Awesome! I think they will like the anemone!

In fact they DO love it, they have been hosted by the sebae for months before we had to separate them due to the fallow period. The countdown is on and they'll be back in June.

On an related note, do you think IF we placed the Onyx's in near the RBTA that they will switch homes or will they eventually find their way back to the sebae (the two anems are about as far as they can be in the tank, with sight lines separated also)? The reason I ask is we discussed if it would look nicer when the first thing one sees is the RBTA/Onyx, since the RBTA is at the tip of the tank. If not, then it's no big deal.

Got any nice black coloured clowns you're breeding, Mindy? :wink:

Myka
04-01-2015, 03:18 AM
In fact they DO love it, they have been hosted by the sebae for months before we had to separate them due to the fallow period. The countdown is on and they'll be back in June.

On an related note, do you think IF we placed the Onyx's in near the RBTA that they will switch homes or will they eventually find their way back to the sebae (the two anems are about as far as they can be in the tank, with sight lines separated also)? The reason I ask is we discussed if it would look nicer when the first thing one sees is the RBTA/Onyx, since the RBTA is at the tip of the tank. If not, then it's no big deal.

Got any nice black coloured clowns you're breeding, Mindy? :wink:

If you have the lights out when you put them in and the anemone is still open, and you release them from your hand right into the anemone, you probably have a 50/50 chance they will stay put in that anemone.

If it was me, I would remove the Sebae to a holding tank, introduce the new Darwin (black) Clowns to the Sebae there. Then the Onyx should develop a good bond with the BTA, and in a few weeks put the Sebae back, make sure it's all puffed up (might take a couple days), and then put the Darwins right into the Sebae.

OR, introduce the Darwins and Onyx on the same day and let them figure who gets which anemone. :lol:

I actually DO have a beautiful jet black breeding pair of Darwins for sale right now. I'm getting out of breeding and focusing on the aquarium maintenance part of my business. You and I have the same taste - Onyx and Darwins are my two favs too. :D

rishu_pepper
04-01-2015, 10:02 PM
If you have the lights out when you put them in and the anemone is still open, and you release them from your hand right into the anemone, you probably have a 50/50 chance they will stay put in that anemone.

If it was me, I would remove the Sebae to a holding tank, introduce the new Darwin (black) Clowns to the Sebae there. Then the Onyx should develop a good bond with the BTA, and in a few weeks put the Sebae back, make sure it's all puffed up (might take a couple days), and then put the Darwins right into the Sebae.

OR, introduce the Darwins and Onyx on the same day and let them figure who gets which anemone. :lol:

I actually DO have a beautiful jet black breeding pair of Darwins for sale right now. I'm getting out of breeding and focusing on the aquarium maintenance part of my business. You and I have the same taste - Onyx and Darwins are my two favs too. :D

Ooh send me some pictures of the Darwins! :biggrin: Could be interested.

gobytron
04-01-2015, 10:15 PM
I dig the aquascape origami..

rishu_pepper
04-02-2015, 05:33 PM
I dig the aquascape origami..

Haha thanks. Except the plan didn't really turn out like the model. Oh well, we like it as it is right now.

Just sucks that there's no fish, but gotta do the fallow, for the long term health of the fish. In the meantime, looking at inverts has become pretty interesting, actually.

Invert list:

RBTA
sebae anem
porcelain crab (hosted by RBTA)
3x serpent sea stars (man, these guys are EFFICIENT and fast when leftover mysis is on the sandbed!)
2x peppermint shrimp
cleaner shrimp (this guy molts pretty often)
blood red fire shrimp
many snails of various kinds
red legged hermit crab (had another big one but it went ballistic on the snails so was taken out)
blue legged hermit crab
stomatella (speedy!)

Thinking of picking up a pompom crab. No urchins for me, thank you.

Any other suggested inverts to add?

.bubbles
04-22-2015, 07:25 PM
So husband is away for a few days and I've been left with the company of our aquariums. He also left me this lovely note...

http://i.imgur.com/AN9hCvyl.jpg (http://imgur.com/AN9hCvy)
Thanks for the vote of confidence dear :suspicious:


Anyway, nothing better to do, so here's a photo dump of current coral conditions:

http://i.imgur.com/xQtMJRVl.jpg (http://imgur.com/xQtMJRV)
Our RBTA was really extended yesterday..approx. 11"

http://i.imgur.com/6n3cdByl.jpg (http://imgur.com/6n3cdBy)
http://i.imgur.com/xlBRggol.jpg (http://imgur.com/xlBRggo)
mutant hammer night view - spot the snail?

http://i.imgur.com/m8yKbphl.jpg (http://imgur.com/m8yKbph)
reg. hammer

http://i.imgur.com/qca2EMml.jpg (http://imgur.com/qca2EMm)
c'monnnn little zoas...growwwwww

http://i.imgur.com/J1vg1dtl.jpg (http://imgur.com/J1vg1dt)
bubble

http://i.imgur.com/MyRewMml.jpg (http://imgur.com/MyRewMm)
Brian's fav.

http://i.imgur.com/cBquXdml.jpg (http://imgur.com/cBquXdm)
patiently waiting for my mushroom garden to develop...

Ron99
04-22-2015, 09:31 PM
In my experience you'll have a mushroom forest eventually. I won't have them in my tank again :-/

.bubbles
04-22-2015, 10:24 PM
In my experience you'll have a mushroom forest eventually. I won't have them in my tank again :-/

That's what people keep saying! But our mushrooms don't really seem to want to do much to change status quo. Meh I guess time will tell. Ideally I would prefer a zoa forest :biggrin: and only a small mushroom garden.

rishu_pepper
04-25-2015, 07:04 AM
Update on water flow situation:

I have concluded that the two RW-15s on the overflow end does not carry adequate flow for the tank, but MP40s at the other end were an extreme eyesore, so I have procured two Gyre 150s. One is in place at the overflow end already, currently set at a 1 sec pulse at about 60/70% intensity. Corals seem to like it so far and it doesn't create gullies in the sand like the RW-15s did. It did not come with the new silent mount and by gosh it's loud :twised: Going to order a silent mount from IA. The second incoming one does have it, it will be placed at the other end of the tank.

Here's hoping Maxspect gets their act together and implement Apex compatibility soon.

Speaking of Apex, anyone has experience with the Apex auto feeder? Thinking of picking one up soon as we sometimes go out of town or just want more frequent feeding especially for anthias and it's practically impossible to feed multiple times with work schedule.

rishu_pepper
04-27-2015, 06:58 AM
BIG update in the works, stay tuned. :wink:

rishu_pepper
04-29-2015, 05:37 PM
Fish list:

2x Snowflake clownfish - Tofu and Sesame
2x Onyx clownfish (in timeout in QT) - Bo and Quessie
2x blue chromis - Henrik and Daniel
Orange shoulder tang (juv.) - Shire
Mimic tang - Chairman
Hippo blue tang - Blue Rain
Yellow tang - Officer Pecko
Starry blenny - Cup Noodle
Lyretail anthias - Yaki
Melanurus wrasse - Melon Pan
Yellowtail damsel - Stick Shift
Coral beauty - Siri

Picture update incoming very soon! :biggrin:

Future potential additions:

Red sided jawfish (already put on hold)
Yellowheaded jawfish
Tonozukai wrasse
Assorted gobies/firefish/anthias?
Fowleri tang

That's about it. At the current list, is it considered a heavy bioload already (200g total water volume)?

rishu_pepper
05-01-2015, 05:16 AM
Long awaited update:

It's been almost two months since the tank is up. I've had some trouble with the skimmer and redid the plumbing (pipe was blocking) to raise the skimmer's water level. Now the BM Curve 9 is producing like it's supposed to, not overflow like a rabid coyote.

As for flow, I had been using two RW-15s and also tried two MP40s on the other side, but it didn't achieve what was needed, so I procured two Gyre 150s, one of each end. Still playing with the flow rate to see what the corals like the most and also pushing the maximum waste into the overflow on one side.

Besides the fish that I used to have, I picked up 3 more fishes from Albert last week (and 3 more in QT now, a jawfish and a pair of gobies).

So far so good. I'm going to order a Jebao doser soon and will start my dosing regiment when it gets here.

Bo and Quessie, Onyx clownfish from Mindy (Myka). I put them in timeout QT when Bo, the male, was mixing it up with the snowflake female Tofu. Just released them back into the DT near the RBTA, now they're being hosted, and all is well. (I had to shoo Tofu numerous times back into her own anemone using my stern finger wagging... I can't believe it worked lol.
http://i.imgur.com/rqXDDB9l.jpg

Here are Tofu (female on the left) and Sesame, comfortably in their sebae anemone.
http://i.imgur.com/7SOOFc9l.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hyvTQ8Ll.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/QgfhFAcl.jpg

Siri, the coral beauty. I think it got bullied as you can see the discolouration on her body and the chip in the fin. I haven't seen the aggressor since I've been at work most of the days, hopefully they'll work things out. She's extremely beautiful, I have never seen one with such great orange colour.
http://i.imgur.com/Bqw5usIl.jpg

Shire the orange shoulder tang. Still a juvie. I love this guy! Looking forward to seeing his colour transformation
http://i.imgur.com/EOVbBEll.jpg

The old favourite, Blue Rain the hippo tang. He's ich free and much happier now, swims like a spaz.
http://i.imgur.com/MjvAEHql.jpg

Chairman, the lemon peel mimic tang. A very gentle fish.
http://i.imgur.com/MfCImGhl.jpg

End shot. Hope to add some SPS on the rock if the RBTA allows :wink:
http://i.imgur.com/VD48oqyl.jpg

FTS: (please excuse the ghetto screen top, they are unfinished aesthetically, wife is in Europe and I don't trust my DIY skills :lol: they do function though).

http://i.imgur.com/ie0v1ZKl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/hm8KElbl.jpg

Aquattro
05-02-2015, 05:48 AM
Got any pics of Warren's plumbing job?? Bet it's amazing, you're lucky to have him around to do it for you!!

Bblinks
05-02-2015, 06:29 AM
For sure, heard it's pretty nice!

rishu_pepper
05-02-2015, 06:38 AM
No comments on the tank and fish, everybody asks for pics of the plumbing :lol:

Haha I kid. Warren did an exceptional job despite the extremely limited room in the stand/sump. I'll upload a pic later.

A bit worried at the moment as I haven't been able to find the male snowflake clown since I got home. Looked around everywhere for almost an hour, around the tank, on the ground, overflow box, sump, no sighting... :cry:

WarDog
05-02-2015, 06:44 AM
Tank looks great in person, and the fish looked super happy!

But yeah... let's see some hardware pics, maybe the Gyre's too!

gregzz4
05-02-2015, 06:55 AM
Warren helped you out with your plumbing ?
Way to go Warren !

So, as per the unspoken forum rules ...

No pics - it didn't happen :smile:

Wretch
05-02-2015, 06:57 AM
Tank has a nice clean look to it. Great photos.

rishu_pepper
05-02-2015, 01:56 PM
Thanks for the compliments, guys. Y'all are welcome to come look in person.

Good news, the male snowflake clown is alive and well. It was swimming in between the gap of a rock and the overflow, and I didn't notice it because it was such a small area.

Will take some hardware pics later :)

daplatapus
05-02-2015, 02:35 PM
That tank is looking super awesome, well done.

reefwars
05-02-2015, 04:03 PM
Looks awesome Brian , told ya it would all work out in the end you and your wife seem very happy with thprogress as well the system looks like its well on the way to a home run :)

Are you going to clean up the wires for the radions ? A piece of some sort of channel be it aluminum or plastic or even a pie of PVC painted black ran cross the top of the lights to your wall and down would hide your cables and get rid of the sag :)

Only thing missing now is.......zoas lol


Cheers buddy looks awesome :)

Denny

gmann
05-03-2015, 02:16 AM
amazing looking tank

rishu_pepper
05-04-2015, 05:44 AM
That tank is looking super awesome, well done.

amazing looking tank

Thank you for the compliments. Still lots of room for improvement.

Looks awesome Brian , told ya it would all work out in the end you and your wife seem very happy with thprogress as well the system looks like its well on the way to a home run :)

Are you going to clean up the wires for the radions ? A piece of some sort of channel be it aluminum or plastic or even a pie of PVC painted black ran cross the top of the lights to your wall and down would hide your cables and get rid of the sag :)

Only thing missing now is.......zoas lol

Cheers buddy looks awesome :)

Denny

Good idea about cleaning up those Radion wires. I'll leave the DIY stuff for when my wife comes back from Europe.

There's a good amount of zoas, but nothing mindblowing yet. I'm waiting to win the next Concept tank journal contest so I can use the store credit to buy them from you ;)

On the advice of Myka, I took the female snowflake out of the tank and into the QT, it was being a huge bully to the other two clowns and I was fearing for their safety. They all love the sebae and think the RBTA is invisible...

Speaking of the RBTA, does anyone's RBTA shrink up every night like mine does? When the Radions ramp down, the RBTA would become much smaller and hide in the shadows of its rock every night. Not sure if that's normal or not.

gregzz4
05-04-2015, 07:51 AM
Yup, my RBTA pretty much vanishes each night

daplatapus
05-04-2015, 02:28 PM
Yup, ditto. Mine too

rishu_pepper
05-04-2015, 03:07 PM
Oh okay, good to know mine is not the only crazy RBTA out there. The sebae never closes up.

The stupid melanurus wrasse (at least I think it's him? I saw it pecking a flipped over hermit) has been flipping over the snails/hermits for the last couple days. No casualties yet since I feed regularly, but I'd hate to see the inverts kick the bucket :twised:

rishu_pepper
05-12-2015, 02:39 AM
After removing the male black snowflake clownfish last week from relentless bullying, I am sad to report that he has passed on and is now residing in fish heaven. :cry: RIP Sesame. Your mate Tofu will be a bit lonelier now without you.

canadianbudz604
05-12-2015, 03:08 AM
Man ur tank looks awesome all stocked up now.

Wretch
05-14-2015, 06:53 AM
So where are the pictures of this awesome plumbing job? I need to see if I have to have Warren come over and plumb my tank as well.

Myka
05-14-2015, 08:51 AM
Poor Sesame. I wonder what happened to him.

I love your fish names!! They are hilarious! Tank looks great too!!

rishu_pepper
05-29-2015, 04:16 PM
Our first time fragging. It turned out very well, everything very healthy and looking good!

Mutant hammer frags:

http://i.imgur.com/YfyjXwfl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/CVebeQBl.jpg

The mother colony:

http://i.imgur.com/kwJq04sl.jpg

.bubbles
05-29-2015, 06:59 PM
As Brian had mentioned earlier, yay we fragged corals (on purpose) for the first time! It went smoothly, everyone came out alive. On the same day I also fixed the mesh top so it is less ghetto-looking now. Every time after a FTS has been posted I've moved things around, today I'm planning on going out to get more corals, sooo more rescaping.

I am sure it has been mentioned already but I really love zoas, what they lack in size, they make up for in such interesting patterns and colours. I only have 6 varieties at the moment, but I'm always on the look out for more if anyone out there are are looking to get rid of theirs :wink:

On my wish list is also a maze coral, but those seem to be few and far inbetween..will continue waiting on forum.

And finally, here are some long awaited sump pics for y'all: (pssst Warren I think you're gonna be getting quite a few calls from reefers in the near future :lol:)

http://i.imgur.com/V6uBASsl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/p5GJKMLl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/zEEsM3ul.jpg

WarDog
05-30-2015, 07:50 PM
As And finally, here are some long awaited sump pics for y'all: (pssst Warren I think you're gonna be getting quite a few calls from reefers in the near future :lol:)

Luckily, no one is beating down the door, lol.

Everything looks good with the tank, and I'm happy to help. The important thing is that you are able to access your sump better, and there are no leaks... there are no leaks right?

rishu_pepper
05-30-2015, 08:36 PM
Luckily, no one is beating down the door, lol.

Everything looks good with the tank, and I'm happy to help. The important thing is that you are able to access your sump better, and there are no leaks... there are no leaks right?

No leaks indeed. Very happy about that. :biggrin:

Need to get rid of some more live rock though, that refugium is packed lol. Lemme know when you wanna come grab some.

Still need to set up the doser, have been really lax about it. LPS has seen some growth but really want to get the params all perfect to get SPS in there.

Wretch
05-30-2015, 08:58 PM
No leaks indeed. Very happy about that. :biggrin:

Need to get rid of some more live rock though, that refugium is packed lol. Lemme know when you wanna come grab some.

Still need to set up the doser, have been really lax about it. LPS has seen some growth but really want to get the params all perfect to get SPS in there.

Don't be afraid the sticks dont bite. Go see Ryan in white rock and get some of his sps. Nice stuff great prices.

rishu_pepper
06-01-2015, 05:02 PM
Don't be afraid the sticks dont bite. Go see Ryan in white rock and get some of his sps. Nice stuff great prices.

Joe I did sorta follow your advice; I got a free frag of red digi from Snailpuffer (from purchasing Sunny Ds from her yesterday), I'll see how it does in the tank. At the moment it's in low/mid-tank with good flow, PE is meh but the colour is there.

I really hoped to start dosing soon but last month of school I have a lot on my plate so that might be on hold until July. Just did a 20% WC yesterday so things are doing fine for now.

Slowly my hammer frags are leaving my tank, hooray for profit :lol: Still several left, trade me stuff, guys!

SeaHorse_Fanatic
09-01-2015, 07:23 AM
Haven't looked in on this thread in a while. The new tank looks awesome. Very beautiful & healthy. Great job you two.

Anthony

rishu_pepper
09-01-2015, 04:52 PM
Haven't looked in on this thread in a while. The new tank looks awesome. Very beautiful & healthy. Great job you two.

Anthony

Thanks for the kind words, Anthony. Haven't seen you in a while! If you are in the area, gimme a shout if you wanna drop by and see the tank.

I completely forgot about updating the thread. It's been up and down these past few months. I battled a bad breakout of cyano for a couple months, but now it's getting under control with the combination of A-Balance and CyanoClean ($$$ combo, but can't argue with results). Unfortunately, a combination of things (July heat wave, unexplained alk drop, cyano, X-files stuff, etc.) had taken quite a few of my prized corals. The last couple months I've probably lost a couple hundred dollar worth of corals, while some others continue to thrive and grow, so who knows what's going on.

For the longest time I hadn't added fish until the last two weeks, where 3 PJ cardinals (easiest fish to accommodate, they just stick to their little area in the back), a male squareback anthias (amazing colours on this guy, I'd like to eventually add a couple more females for it, currently eating well), and a copperband butterfly (a big guy 4"-5" straight from the importer, eating frozen blood worm and frozen mussel, after a week of cave seclusion it is now happily exploring and hunting out all the time, though the smaller yellow tang sometimes chases it around for no reason other than being a jerk). Pictures to follow.

Plans for new fish are inbound. A Marine betta, yellowhead jawfish, and bluethroat trigger(s) are on the wish list at the moment.

SeaHorse_Fanatic
09-01-2015, 06:51 PM
How are those dendro heads doing that you picked up from me at the frag swap? Hope they're doing well for you. I love dendros but nobody local seems to have any available, so may be ordering in some. Need some for my main tank now. :redface:

Anthony

rishu_pepper
09-01-2015, 10:39 PM
How are those dendro heads doing that you picked up from me at the frag swap? Hope they're doing well for you. I love dendros but nobody local seems to have any available, so may be ordering in some. Need some for my main tank now. :redface:

Anthony

Since we've been trying to battle cyano, we fed pretty sparingly, especially for corals, so they haven't seen much growth, but hopefully with this cyano problem now all but gone, we'll be able to feed a bit more often.

Dendros are lovely corals, super easy and striking appearance. Always in high demand, as they should be.

rishu_pepper
09-23-2015, 07:08 PM
Sadly, the squareback has passed a couple weeks ago. It stopped eating and just withered away. Devastating, because it was such a beautiful fish. Not sure if we want to try one again but not in the next couple months anyway.

We did add a couple of bluethroat triggers about 10 days ago. Initially the pair (male and female, about 3", female slightly bigger) would always be in their hidey holes at the overflow end of the tank. Lately they've been venturing out but as soon as they see human on the side of the tank they dart back to the rocks lol, so we have to feed pellets on the other end, let them float to their end and they will eat happily. Such funny looking fish, hoping they will come out more as they get comfortable. First day in the yellow tang bullied the male a bit and hurt his fins but now they just mind their own business.

WarDog
09-23-2015, 07:29 PM
I need to come by and check it out, maybe pick up some hammer frags while I'm there.

P.S. Happy Birthday!

rishu_pepper
09-23-2015, 07:48 PM
I need to come by and check it out, maybe pick up some hammer frags while I'm there.

P.S. Happy Birthday!

You're welcome any time, my friend. Maybe the triggers will like your handsome mug and come out to greet you :biggrin:

And thank you for the birthday wishes. I don't ask for much, just a Blue Jays world series win maybe :wink:

WarDog
09-23-2015, 09:23 PM
Toronto fan? Sorry... I can't come over now. Lol.

rishu_pepper
09-29-2015, 06:16 PM
Toronto fan? Sorry... I can't come over now. Lol.

Jays looking better each day :wink:

My fish collection is basically complete. These fish went into the DT last week. Excuse the crappy phone pics.

Pyramid Butterfly, "Picasso"
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/IMAG0160_zpslcpkp7sm.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/rishu_pepper/media/IMAG0160_zpslcpkp7sm.jpg.html)

Marine Betta, "Dot.com"
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/IMAG0156_zps055aod1w.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/rishu_pepper/media/IMAG0156_zps055aod1w.jpg.html)

Fowleri Tang, "Crayola"
http://i132.photobucket.com/albums/q7/rishu_pepper/IMAG0163_zps3hqehqcz.jpg (http://s132.photobucket.com/user/rishu_pepper/media/IMAG0163_zps3hqehqcz.jpg.html)

(unpictured, yellowheaded jawfish, "Corn", still shy to come out)

All fish are quite healthy and eating well. The picture of the fowleri does not do it justice, it is an absolute stunner and I can't wait for its gradual change of colours as it matures. The marine betta is such a fun fish and the pyramid is very active.

We are about capped out on fish. Barring addition of a mandy maybe next year, we should be about done. Maybe a pair of fairy wrasses and/or try squarebacks again, but definitely reaching the upper limit now.

shiftline
09-29-2015, 08:28 PM
Beautiful tank!

Roskoreef
09-29-2015, 11:16 PM
nice looking fish! "corn" best fish name ever! haha

rishu_pepper
09-30-2015, 04:21 AM
Beautiful tank!

Thank you. The cyano seems to be making a comeback which cheeses me off, but the fish are really enjoying themselves.

nice looking fish! "corn" best fish name ever! haha

Corn is nowhere to be found (again, this is the 3rd night). I assume he is just really afraid because of the rowdy DT's high fish population. I hope the triggers/comet didn't make a meal out of it. :wink: The tank is fully covered so there's no way he could have jumped.

rishu_pepper
10-04-2015, 11:28 PM
The pyramid butterfly didn't make it. A decent eater initially in the DT, it stopped gradually and didn't eat for the last few days and seemed to just wither away... a sad day indeed. :sad::sad:

neoh
10-30-2015, 03:21 AM
how's the plumbing holding up? :lol:

rishu_pepper
10-30-2015, 08:19 PM
how's the plumbing holding up? :lol:

We had to do a bit of restructure with the plumbing, now it is very well functioning, even though the stand/sump area is still pretty cramped. That's something that I will keep in mind for my next tank design.

Still trying to lower the nitrate that's a bit high for my liking. Been doing some more frequent WC lately. Vinegar dosing hasn't made much of a difference yet (had it up before and stopped for a month or two, now back up for almost a month). How long until I should see a difference?

rishu_pepper
12-07-2015, 03:29 PM
It's been a while since the last update. Some highs and lows during the whole thing, and I won't bother you with the details, but now we've finally gotten the tank to a point where we can be pretty happy and proud to show people. Still lots of work to be done.

http://i.imgur.com/zL9e2WIl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Chcdhobl.jpg

Here's a video tour of the tank:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfoEfX_1DOQ

Roskoreef
12-07-2015, 03:39 PM
It's been a while since the last update. Some highs and lows during the whole thing, and I won't bother you with the details, but now we've finally gotten the tank to a point where we can be pretty happy and proud to show people. Still lots of work to be done.

http://i.imgur.com/zL9e2WIl.jpg

http://i.imgur.com/Chcdhobl.jpg

Here's a video tour of the tank:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZfoEfX_1DOQ

Looks great! Always loved your rockscape

shiftline
12-07-2015, 03:49 PM
Your tank looks beautiful

shiftline
12-07-2015, 03:51 PM
Do you have any Bowing in your glass? In looking at doing something similar in a 6'er and noticed you were only using 12mm glass. I was thinking I should be using 15mm

rishu_pepper
12-07-2015, 04:52 PM
Looks great! Always loved your rockscape

Thank you, that's the wife's handiwork. :biggrin:

Generally we group the corals together in categories, like zoas, euphyllia, mushrooms. It seems to work though with LEDs the growth is probably slower than MH, but without a canopy it looks nicer in the home decor.

Your tank looks beautiful

Thank you for the compliment.

Do you have any Bowing in your glass? In looking at doing something similar in a 6'er and noticed you were only using 12mm glass. I was thinking I should be using 15mm

No there isn't as far as I can tell. There's a 3" eurobrace on top all around so structural integrity isn't an issue.

Myka
12-07-2015, 07:29 PM
I love this tank!

Sent from my SM-G870W using Tapatalk

rishu_pepper
12-07-2015, 07:51 PM
I love this tank!

Thanks Mindy! Your Onyx clowns have been here for a year now. The bigger one pretty much gained all the black, while the smaller (assumed male) still has a ways to go! Really hoping to see babies, if they spawn we'll set up a breeding tank.

They've worked things out with the lone skunk clown, who usually stays in the big hammer in the morning and the toadstool during lights out.

I love clowns but due to the Onyx's being so aggressive I'm hesitant to add any more.

Craigdillman
12-07-2015, 08:55 PM
Love this tank, the 3 sided view and love the aquascape definitely my next tank will be similar to this

Keep er going

rishu_pepper
12-08-2015, 01:47 AM
Love this tank, the 3 sided view and love the aquascape definitely my next tank will be similar to this

Keep er going

Thank you. Peninsula is the only way to go, IMO. With two long side viewings, you're basically getting two tanks! :wink::lol:

rishu_pepper
01-05-2016, 07:58 PM
Have been considering this for a while but we are set on converting this tank to a mostly FOWLR/mushrooms/softie tank, and setting up a separate zoa nano tank for Joanne's zoas (see B&S for the massive LPS sale :lol:).

Definitely want a juvenile emperor angel and see it slowly transform into adulthood.

What other non-reef safe (coral eating lol) would one recommend? I like anything that's less commonly kept. Nothing too aggressive of course.

kien
01-05-2016, 08:03 PM
Clown trigger! Harlequin Tuskfish! Queen Angelfish!

rishu_pepper
01-05-2016, 08:21 PM
Clown trigger! Harlequin Tuskfish! Queen Angelfish!

All 3 are good suggestions and fish that I have definitely thought about, but I am slightly wary of their supposed aggressive natures..? (maybe not so much the HT)

SeaHorse_Fanatic
01-05-2016, 08:45 PM
Clown triggers are generally extremely aggressive. Queen Angels are not so much. Harlequin Tuskfish look mean but are not aggressive to other fish IME. I had the yellow morph of a Queen Angel long time ago and it was a real beauty.