KrazyKuch's & Michika's 180Gal Tank Build

[michika]

I am officially done with Salifert's testkits. There is just no way to consistently get the same amount of fluid in the syringe to add solution #3. Sometimes I have a huge air bubble, and sometimes I don't. I think its screwing with my test results. I want a calcium monitor, and I am hoping DA will put one out soon, or I will pick one up from American Marine.

Speaking of the RKE we have found 2 bugs, but cannot locate the Firmware update on their website. Bug #1: if you don't touch the buttons or scroll through the screens fro an extended period of time, the buttons will forgot what they are supposed to do. E.g. you will push enter and the controller will take it to mean you are pushing up or down. Bug #2: it keeps randomly shutting off the skimmer for a few brief seconds before turning the pumps back online.

We need another PC4 to bring the lights under the control of the RKE, however I am in no rush. I would rather wait until I hear that the bugs have been worked out that are associated with MH ballasts.

[christyf5]

It doesn't matter how much fluid you have in there, as long as the "air pocket" is next to the plunger and not somewhere in the middle. I just pull the plunger back to 1ml and run the sample. At the end of the titration it doesn't matter how much solution #3 you have left its about how much you've used.

You could always suck up solution #3 with the yellow tip off and then put it on, shove some liquid through it to get rid of the air and then reload the syringe to the 1ml mark. Works for me :biggrin:

[michika]

I'm confused...I think I need to go to bed.

Anyways, when I fill the syringe up with #3 I am lining the bottom of the plunger up with the 1ml mark. Is this incorrect? Should I be lining up the liquid with the 1ml level?

It just seems like if I line it up with the plunger and I do the test 3 times I get three different numbers. While I may be using the same amount of fluid each time, the air bubble throws off where the plunger is, which if I read the instructions correctly, is the number you use to get your result. Yes? No?

[christyf5]

I'm confused...I think I need to go to bed.

Anyways, when I fill the syringe up with #3 I am lining the bottom of the plunger up with the 1ml mark. Is this incorrect? Should I be lining up the liquid with the 1ml level?

It just seems like if I line it up with the plunger and I do the test 3 times I get three different numbers. While I may be using the same amount of fluid each time, the air bubble throws off where the plunger is, which if I read the instructions correctly, is the number you use to get your result. Yes? No?

No no you're totally right the first time, you line up the plunger not the liquid and then you read where the plunger is. The air bubble shouldn't throw off where the plunger should be at all.

How different are your readings? I've never really done duplicate or triplicate readings on my tests. Hmm, I'm totally going to go check this!!

[Delphinus]

Weird, I've found Salifert to be one of the more consistent test kits. The air bubble doesn't really matter if it's consistent in size from one test to another, because it's unable to change in volume once inside the syringe (unless you have a blockage or restriction in the outlet), and like Christy said, it's about how much volume of the titrant you use up before getting a colour change..

[michika]

No no you're totally right the first time, you line up the plunger not the liquid and then you read where the plunger is. The air bubble shouldn't throw off where the plunger should be at all.

How different are your readings? I've never really done duplicate or triplicate readings on my tests. Hmm, I'm totally going to go check this!!

Tonight I got 340, 360, and 390. The bubbles each time were of different sizes. If your bubble is bigger one test then the next you have a different volume of solution in the syringe, right? Or am I crazy?

[christyf5]

Tonight I got 340, 360, and 390. The bubbles each time were of different sizes. If your bubble is bigger one test then the next you have a different volume of solution in the syringe, right? Or am I crazy?

Well yes you do have a different volume of solution in the syringe, but its about how much of that solution it takes to make the color go from pink to blue or purple or whatever.

I just did it 3 times and I got 390 three times. Whew!

You know, you could just yard off the yellow syringe tip. I didn't even get one with my new salifert ca test kit.

[michika]

Alright so without the tip I got a consistent 345 twice! So solution found!

[christyf5]

Alright so without the tip I got a consistent 345 twice! So solution found!

Yay!!!:mrgreen: Those tips are a PITA anyways. I just had one fall off while I was doing the tests and ended up having to redo it.

[michika]

Thank you for the tips!

Now if only I could get a replacement Magnesium test kit.

Well now I know that my Ca isn't crazy off I can finish tweaking my reactors!

[Lance]

I find with all the Salifert kits that if you draw the solution all the way to the top of the syringe and then plunge it all back into the bottle first. Then draw the solution up to the line as instructed. It works better this way for some reason. Don't know why but it works. I always get accurate readings this way.

[Delphinus]

How different are your readings? I get pretty consistent results when I do multiple tests, they're never bang on, but they are within 0.01ml on the syringe.

I would be more suspicious of the amount of other reagents. Are you doing the half-resolution-for-more-tests-per-kit thing? Because I find it's really hard to get exactly half a spoonful of the powdered reagent. For the cost of kits, I suggest not bothering with halfing the reagents because you're sure to get larger fluctuations with that.

[Delphinus]

Geez, you and Christy get about a dozen posts in, in the time I typed mine in. Uh .. glad you found the answer.

[Skimmerking]

I know what you Mean Tony, no not realy i can type time to take a typing course. lol Catherine and Christy i think make up posts just to have alots ...:lol::lol::lol:

But on another note when I was home , Doug was telling me to use the small tip for the sringe and i never did. so i guess that was my judgement call i never liked it or could understand it. may be couse Im a MALE!!!!!!!!!!!.. :mrgreen: i like the KISS rule actually. with the air bubbles all I do is put the sringe in the bottle and slowly suck it up and some times I get a bubble and if I do get one i just push it in and pull it out again.......

Wait that is starting to sound perverted isnt it . lol



other then that Catherine , i still see that you dont have more clams then me, or will you ever get more clams then me......... the game is on you have to at least meet me with the size of BIG BERTHA...... which you will never get..

P.S IM home in 6 Weeks and then i will get another clam ......................:mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:: mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen::mrgreen:

[michika]

Here I am in the double digits and I STILL can't catch up to you! I'll beat you soon, at some point I will have more clams then you!

[michika]

FTS from today, a pre-re-aquascape shot. I need to make more space for clams.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0269.jpg

I wish I knew how to stitch pictures together, but starting from the left and moving right.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0270.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0271.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0272.jpg

Clam close up
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0298.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0326.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0317.jpg

Some SPS photos
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0325.jpg

Fish are always in the way
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0309.jpg

Delicious skimmer!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0327.jpg

We produce about 2L every 2 days, plus what is in the collection cup. Since adding on the ozonizer, and the air pump that powers it, its made a huge difference in the skimmer's performance.

[andestang]

Looking very nice. Your Naso is a very nice specimen by the way. I'm trying to keep up with your comments on your RKE as I'm looking a controller soon. I've sent them an e-mail regarding the back order status and no response as of yet. And yes I like the nice shrub shaped acro :mrgreen:

[Lance]

A liter of skimmate per day! Pretty impressive. Tank is lookin' good. I also relly like that Naso.

[Marlin65]

Go to http://www.cs.ubc.ca/~mbrown/autostitch/autostitch.html and download their free program it's easy to use just add the pictures it will stitch the together for you then just crop out the black parts.

[michika]

So a quick update as this is probably the only chance I will get to do so for the next couple of weeks.
- both jawfish died, both were found together, dead. I suspect they were not non-cyanide caught as boasted by the store they came from. I = not impressed, since they were fine one hour, and BOTH dead together, less then an hour later.
- RKE bugs are fixed, we did an update to the firmware, and disconnected the head unit from everything else. No problems since.
- I am seeing some really awesome growth on one of the colonies, and the colors are REALLY starting to pop as of tonight. Or maybe I see more changes since I'm out of the house all the time now.
- I am debating the addition of a SMALL frag tank in the soon to be fish room, I'm thinking maybe 10" tall, 24" long and 18" deep. I want small, so it can be powered by a koralia, and run with maybe a very low wattage MH bulb.

I am going to try and do the photo stitch later this week.

[Phanman]

tank looks great cathrine :)

[michika]

Thank you!

We thought we had sorted out our RKE problem, but now we wonder if it even is an RKE problem at all. Our lights do not run the RKE. This morning when the T5s came on, at that same moment the skimmer pumps shut off, and turned on again. My first comment to Kevin was that we might be overdrawing the circuit when things start up. He gave me a big lecture about how power draw works, and my eyes glazed over.

At this point we/I do not know if the last time we heard the skimmer pumps if something else had just turned on. Maybe adding the RKE to the tank's circuit took it just too far, and is the cause of the skimmer pumps randomly turning off.

We are still seeing steady growth, and colour from all our SPS. Unfortunately I STILL can't get the white balance quite right. My photos have too much red in them. While this green piece shows reasonably well the green is a bit more of a neon green, and less yellow-green as shown in the photo. I'll keep working on getting it right.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0332.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0341.jpg

When we first got it
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0784.jpg

This one here actually is a cream colour, with bright royal blue tips. I just can't get my camera to capture the colours.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0342.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0351.jpg

And to show some growth, the photos below are from when we first got this colony
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0654.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0621.jpg

This one is actually a light purple
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0352.jpg

My purple monti from a previous order,
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0359.jpg

The 'bush' is coming along well. Either it came with an acro crab, or one already in the tank, but there is one there now,
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0360.jpg

The supervisor is not impressed at our lack of sump progress
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0330.jpg

[michika]

We cleaned the skimmer pumps today, and so far everything has been running smoothly. I'm thinking that the skimmer noises we were hearing earlier were because the pumps were quite filthy. The fact that when the T5s came online and we heard the pumps stop was just coincidence.

I picked up two more yellow head jawfish to replace the pair that died. However they didn't even make it home in their bags. They were packaged separately because the drive was over an hour from the store home. I called the store immediately, provided photos of the corpses per their request, and then have been told too bad, they left the store, so its my own fault. I am not impressed, I've spent A LOT of money in this store over the years. I think this is the epitome of bad service.

The raccoon butterfly did not come out today for nori, so I am worried it has perished, or been eaten by something in the tank we still haven't identified or seen. I saw the fish yesterday when I was getting ready for our awards ball last night, but nothing this morning. I am already thinking the worse.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

WOW. I can't believe the store was so dismissive. That's absolutely insane. Do you think they're cyanide caught or what?

[michika]

WOW. I can't believe the store was so dismissive. That's absolutely insane. Do you think they're cyanide caught or what?

I'm starting to think so. The butterfly was from the same store, so that is 5 fish now from this particular store that died very quickly. Both pairs of jawfish died at around the same time. Each pair was from a different batch per the LFS employee. I'm no longer going to be dealing with that particular store.

[Lance]

Unbelievable! I can't believe they treated you like that. That is a very poor attitude to take with any customer.
Catherine, do you happen to know the origin of the butterfly and jawfish. I read an article in last month's FAMA stating that cyanide fishing is on the rise in Indonesia, the Phillipines and Vietnam.

[michika]

Red Sea for the butterfly, and I don't remember where the jawfish came from.

[michika]

Alright so a quick update before I vanish again for a little while.

We've decided not to attend MACNA, and passed our tickets onto a couple of derby girls who are at Rollercon in Las Vegas this week. We are picking up our house hunt again as I am coming to the end of my tolerance of condo living.

The butterfly did no reappear, and no body was found. This is now two fish that died in the tank with no remains. I suspect there is something unwelcome in the the tank, and it is capable of attacking fish under 2" at night. I'm thinking a crab of sorts.

We haven't had any more RKE problems since we ran through the update. I will move our lighting onto the RKE mid-August when I know someone will be home to watch the system. I've already sent off my MLC certificate, so now its just a waiting game. Overall I'm really pleased with the controller, the price is great, the customer service is fantastic, its a great little unit!

There are some color changes I am starting to see again. Some of the pieces that aren't growing were changing colors, and now some are changing yet again. I am so thrilled to have SPS again. My 28g nano really made me question how much I loved this hobby, and how much I was willing to put into it.

The chiller is doing amazingly well. It doesn't run that much, and its cured my fears of the tank overheating while I am out. It also has not impacted the evaporation on the tank. I still go through about 5g every 3 or 4 days.

The Doctor tang is growing at a stunning pace. The crap this fish drops onto my clams is stupidly big. So far the other fish have plumped up, but not gotten much bigger. I am hoping that this fish starts to slow down a bit growth wise, because this fish looks different every other week.

Our goal is to get out of our condo for November 1st, so hopefully we will have more luck this time around with the house hunt. Cue round 3 in the Calgary house hunt!

[Red Coral Aquariums]

Catherine and Kevin Sorry to hear of your fish loses and your not so great experience at a LFS here in Calgary. I don't have many fish in stock right now due to our renovations but I would be more than willing to order something in for you. BTW the "BUSH" acro is doing incredible, I remember the day you got it "I said I am not sure what color it will be but the shape is spectacular", and you said "I want it and it will color up nice." Good eye. Good luck on the house hunting. If you wait till Dec. 1st you would most likely get a bargain. Just my opinion.
Kevin

[Delphinus]

FWIW, the jawfish is an Atlantic/Caribbean species. I think the range extends from the southern parts of the eastern seaboard down to South America.

[michika]

The store actually wasn't from in town here, I was out of town a few times recently, and purchased them then.

Thanks Tony!

[michika]

The enter button on the RKE doesn't work at all today. I've posted about it in the RKE bug thread, and we'll see what comes back from Digital Aquatics.

I am hoping that DA will eventually roll out support for an SG probe, Ca. prob, and dKH probe. Those three things would make my life so much simpler in terms of testing.

I've also noticed since running ozone, which is injected into the skimmer, that I can smell when my skimmer needs to be clean. The skimmer head needs to be cleaned every 2-3 days, and you can tell because the "tank smell" gets stronger. The downside to have to clean out the skimmer so frequently is that the smell is so foul, we have to keep the front door open for an hour after cleaning it. I don't know what we are going to do in the winter

[christyf5]

I've also noticed since running ozone, which is injected into the skimmer, that I can smell when my skimmer needs to be clean. The skimmer head needs to be cleaned every 2-3 days, and you can tell because the "tank smell" gets stronger. The downside to have to clean out the skimmer so frequently is that the smell is so foul, we have to keep the front door open for an hour after cleaning it. I don't know what we are going to do in the winter

Thats quite surprising, I found that my skimmate production decreased by about 3/4 when running ozone. Granted it did smell pretty bad when I had to change the cup. I found that I could go for almost a week and a half without cleaning the collection cup but I like to keep the skimmer neck clean so I clean it every 4-5 days anyways. One of the first things I noticed when I shut down my ozone was that skimmer production definitely increased and now I definitely have to clean the cup every 3-4 days.

[adidas]

looks like alot of cyano in those pics, is it still like that?

[michika]

Nope, its not nearly as bad anymore. There is one patch, in the front left corner, but that is about it.

[michika]

Since my holiday plans were cancelled I've been hanging out with my tank all weekend, and some very cool things have come around.

This morning my dKH is 9! I have hit my target level! My Calcium is a bit on the low side, but I'm super happy that I am almost at the point where I no longer have to fiddle with dosing!

Since we've added on the RKE almost everything in regards to my tank is automated, just the way I like it! I do a once a month day of maintenance; pump cleaning, reflector cleaning, probe calibration, etc. On a daily basis I clean the glass and feed the fish. A couple times a week the skimmer gets cleaned. My tank is now at the point where it is very hands free, and I get to spend a lot of time enjoying it, rather then working on it.

Now if I could only win the lotto so I could go buy more clams and corals.

[michika]

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0404.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0409.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0438-1.jpg

This is Friday, we fed double the Nori we normally due to cover for our absence over the next couple of days. However I ended up staying home....
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0421.jpg

The naso is getting wide!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0442-1.jpg

RKE is chugging along, aside from the fact that the enter button doesn't work.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0471-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0473.jpg

The mess of starting the tank is still around, but its slowly diminishing!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0489-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0485.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0491-1.jpg

[michika]

From Coral Master
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0492-1.jpg

From WickedFrags.com
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0496.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0497-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0494.jpg

From Red Coral
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0495.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0499-1.jpg

Random Zoas that survived the move & subsequent disaster from my move in November 2007. They are open, and seem to have come back from where they were in December. However, they aren't growing, but damn are they pretty! :cool:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0493-2.jpg

[Murminator]

Looking good :mrgreen:

[michika]

Thanks Murray!

So my RKE is having some more problems. The enter button stopped working recently, and Digital Aquatics just recently got back to me. They are sending me a new head unit. Thankfully *knock on wood* I haven't been one of those whose unit has shut everything off in the tank.

I am also baking in here today, its 27.4 degrees in our place. So lesson learned, no more places with less then one window that opens. I also desire AC in our new place...

Just to tide you all over SUMP PHOTOS!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0511.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0512-1.jpg

This is what I frequently see every time I sit down on the couch.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0513.jpg

[Delphinus]

Goodness, what a pout.. :lol:

[JDigital]

Ummm, how do you plan to get the sump INTO the bottom of the stand? Looks like a very tight fit, and when I say that, I mean impossible.. lol

[michika]

Hahaha...it will be done through the magic of photography! :D

Honestly though we will be moving the center brace out, sliding the sump in and replacing the brace. There is not a lot of stress/pressure on the brace because of how the stand was build.

[JDigital]

^^ Too simple.. :lol: I figured that brace was permanent.

[michika]

Nah! We thought ahead for once!

[Red Coral Aquariums]

Great job you two!!!!!!!!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0511.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0512-1.jpg


WOW Kevin Ain't You Sumpin!!!!!LOL

keep it up


Kevin

[Marlin65]

Nice choice to use the grey glass for part of the sump.
The tank looks great.

[michika]

Thanks everyone!

The sump is about 75% done...I'd post photos, but its too hot in here to move anymore.

[michika]

Alright so Kevin laid out the glass, cleaned it, and taped it all.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0533.jpg

Then he started to lay down the silicone, and I started to get silly from the fumes
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0542.jpg

A few side panes
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0545.jpg

Baffles included
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0546.jpg

Kevin started to drill probe holders, but the snapped it once he tried to cut the drilled glass.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0562.jpg

Now we are just waiting on either a 2" bulkhead to drill our own hole, and maybe to find the associated hole saw to borrow. This is all that is holding up the rest of the sump assembly.

On Friday we had someone over and my urchin started to spawn for the second time.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0529.jpg

Friday FTS
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0532.jpg

The green digi is becoming more of a mustard green. The purple cap close to it as well isn't looking as hot as it used to. I really don't care for the AquaConnect bulb. I just don't like the colours it brings out, they all seem very muted.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0567.jpg

Everything else on that side of the tank doesn't grow as quickly, but these look pretty nice so far. The dark purples are still dark, but they seem to be lacking the blue undertone that really makes purples pop.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0573.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0580.jpg

Shots from down the left side of the tank
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0586.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0587.jpg

[michika]

I'm hoping by the time we find a house and move I will be done with the cheap salt we bought to kick this tank off. We used Reef Crystals to start this system and its just driving me nuts. After a water change it takes me 2 weeks to get my levels back up to where I like them, and then its time for another WC and I have to start all over again.

Post water change I'm seeing;
dKH 5-6
Ca 340-350
Mag 1100 -1170.

Pre water change levels that I am barely hitting are:
dKH 7-8
Ca 380-420
Mag 1250-1300

I just get so close to my optimal levels, and you can see it in the tank too. The moment I hit the right numbers I can see the SPS take off, and I can see the colours start to change and brighten up in a few pieces. Then as soon as the levels drop again the brightening fades, and I stop seeing growth.

[xtreme]

What type of salt do you plan on using?

[michika]

My preference is to go back to my favorite; Red Sea Coral Pro. However, I am looking at trying out Aquamedic.

[sharuq1]

I recently tried out the Aquamedic salt. At first I wasn't happy with it because my tank was cloudy for a few days (new tank/new water/new salt--not setup) When it cleared I tested it, and I was very happy with the Ca and alk. They were right where I wanted them to be, and higher than any of the other salts I had tried (ocean pure, ocean pure pro, biosea). I haven't noticed any cloudiness in my wc water. Might just stick with the AM salt. :smile: I haven't tested wc water in a while but I think the test was something like 8dKH and 420-470 Ca (can't remember, lol)

[Snappy]

On Friday we had someone over and my urchin started to spawn for the second time. Something about this just sounds wrong. Who was over, a street urchin? :lol::razz::lol:

Interesting you are having problems with reef crystals. I have used RC almost exclusively for about 4 years and had no issues like that. Ironically I have been using "Reefers best salt" and was considering going back to RC because for some reason the RBS makes my skimmer too sensitive for my liking. There must have been a bad batch of RC I'm glad I missed out on.:wink:

[michika]

The last time I used RC, IO, or was probably when we first started the hobby. I've been using Red Sea, either the regular or the pro since 2005, and haven't had to look back until recently.

You make a very good point though. I haven't really tested any freshly mixed up RC beyond SG and temperature. Maybe I should do that this time around! Did you ever add to your salt before a water change?

[Snappy]

I usually don't worry about it since I dose about 500ml of both ca & alk every day and it only takes a short time to get back to snuff and I only do a 10% water change.

[michika]

How do you dose again? Is it the bailing method?


This is kind of what we are hoping to do for our big system. However ours will be in wall. The shape is about right though! Tank! (http://www.meerwasserforum.com/thread.php?threadid=41256&threadview=0&hilight=&hilightuser=0&page=1)

[JDigital]

The shape is about right though! Tank! (http://www.meerwasserforum.com/thread.php?threadid=41256&threadview=0&hilight=&hilightuser=0&page=1)


how am i suppose to read that!.. :lol:

[Midknight]

how am i suppose to read that!.. :lol:

Easy... look at all the pic and go ..oooooo....:lol:

[JDigital]

Easy... look at all the pic and go ..oooooo....:lol:

:mrgreen: HAHAHA... i did that.. but I want more info!

[christyf5]

You just need to run it through the Google Translator, then it comes out like this (http://translate.google.ca/translate?u=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.meerwasserforum.com%2 Fthread.php%3Fthreadid%3D41256%26threadview%3D0%26 hilight%3D%26hilightuser%3D0%26page%3D1&sl=de&tl=en&hl=en&ie=UTF-8) :biggrin:

That tank is gorgeous http://www.nvnews.net/vbulletin/images/smilies/luv.gif

[michika]

I think we just found the perfect house for our next big system!!

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I think we just found the perfect house for our next big system!!

Really? Where?

Side note, my balling method is SO ghetto compared to this guy and his Grotech dosing pumps, etc. *sigh*

[Canuckgod420]

high performance pump of bacon........
That is a line in the translation...lol

[michika]

mmmmmmm bacon!

The house is in woodbine, and its huge...but, I want to see a few more properties before we make an offer. I've also found someone who will jack up the floor in whichever basement we decide and pour a new floor for the tank.

[yeeg]

From Coral Master
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0492-1.jpg

From WickedFrags.com
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0496.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0497-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0494.jpg

From Red Coral
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0495.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0499-1.jpg


http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0493-2.jpg

I'm no rocket scientist but from what I can see, Red Coral has the best bang for your buck...Unless of course you were willing to pay $100 or more for each colony of sps...

[michika]

RC does have great prices, and a nice selection. I particularly love the wide variety of clams that Kevin frequently brings in. I'm very pleased with everything I've purchased from him.

So in regards to this very large house. We are trying to get some details about the winter heating costs. We've asked for 3 winter heating bills, and a few additional pieces of information. I am going to try and visit the house again and this time take photos.

[michika]

Well we've been outbid...again. We aren't having much luck finding any new replacement properties so far. Every time I look at my Vlamingi tang I feel guilty knowing that our disappointing search is pushing back it getting the large home it deserves.

In the mean time I'm trying to source out more SPS, and clams. I am also actively looking at bringing in more rock to seed. The plan is to add about 10-15 more lbs in the display in the form of shelf pillars, and hopefully about 30lbs into the new sump.

The sump is STILL sitting in our "entryway " (haha its so full of material its hard to enter), as we are still waiting on a 2" bulkhead. This is the second time I've been held up due to late or non-arriving plumbing parts.

Alright so now onto the good things;
- Lots of growth to be had in the SPS and the clams when my chemistry is in check
- Its starting to cool down here so the chiller is running less, yay for smaller utility bills!
- Fish are all happy, healthy and plump. I don't think I will be adding any more fish (save one that has already been decided on) until we set up our next system. I think the hierarchy is stable and good as it is, and I don't want to disrupt it.
- The RKE head unit's enter button started working again spontaneously. We are still checking it regularly and keeping our lighting off of it.
- There is no more cyano in the system

[slakker]

phew... I just got thru this thread... wow!!! Nice job!

[michika]

Thank you.

[danny zubot]

Hey Catherine, nice work on the tank. I can't wait until I get settled out here so that I can get a larger tank again. BTW, my house is still for sale in Calgary, I know its not what you are looking for but I thought I'd put it out there any way.:lol:

[michika]

Thanks Danny!

I hate not having any big tanks, so I know your pain.

[fishytime]

*soft inner type voice* "derassa avec sps"

[michika]

We are stopping by on Tuesday. I've been working the Tattoo Festival all weekend on skates. I'm dying to come get my clam...this is probably the longest I've ever gone without buying something for my tank.

[michika]

Tank is still kicking around, but I've been neglecting it this past month. I admit it, and it sucks. The SPS isn't growing, its just sitting there. My neglect, which is me not dosing every 3 or 4 days, has resulted in a bit of an alkalinity deficiency. While I haven't tested anything recently I can tell you just from looking that dKH is low, probably 5, Ca is low, probably about 340-380 (courtesy of the kalk. top off), and Magnesium is also probably a touch low. Its funny how in tune you become with your system when you are paying attention.

The fish are all still great. I had a week or two were I was so busy I kept forgetting to add daily nori, and frozen food. Eventually I was just tossing it a bit of pellet food when I could be bothered to remember. Most of the tangs are now aggressive grazers, constantly eating off the rocks, and not begging as often for food when you walk by. Yes, they do still come to the glass when you stand there, but they don't hound you when you walk by. While I feel guilty about only feeding pellet food, the lack of nori for those couple of weeks has had a positive impact on the tang's behavior.

I still need to find some time to head to RC to pick up my clam, and I hopefully will be able to start adding more SPS in the system again in late October, or early November. I am just so busy as of late that I have no time at all for anything that isn't work or sports.

[michika]

Alright so it is official, we are moving in 3 weeks as of today, and the tank will be moving in 3 weeks and 2 days (October 5th).

Everyone here has been so awesome about lending buckets, boxes, etc. its amazing. I love CanReef!

[fishytime]

Alright so it is official, we are moving in 3 weeks as of today, and the tank will be moving in 3 weeks and 2 days (October 5th).

Everyone here has been so awesome about lending buckets, boxes, etc. its amazing. I love CanReef!

Man I hate moving tanks. I dont envy you and your task ahead. I once moved 7 tanks and I cant express the stress that came with it. That was a couple years ago and since then all the freshwater tanks have either been shut down and sold or converted. And it sill stresses me out to move a tank. Probably to much reading of tank move disasters. Personally I have not experienced any losses with any of my freshwater moves and only a frag died when I moved the salty tank the last time. If you are prepared equipment wise and have a knowledgeable person or two helping you and get it done in a timely fashion ,all should be good. But yous two probably already know all this.

[michika]

The only loss I've ever experienced directly from moving tanks is a kole tang when I moved back to Calgary. Then again there was the whole 28g long nano tank of SPS death... We have a system when we move tanks, so I hope this won't be any different.

You are right though, it can be very stressful. We've dedicated a whole day for tank moving and re-set up, so it should be okay.

[michika]

I hit up RC today, and amazingly avoided coming home with more clams! I did come home with 3 SPS colonies, and ReVive coral dip to try out. I've been waiting for this product for a long time, and to have Kevin at RC bring it in for me is fantastic!

So as I was dipping the new colonies in ReVive I came to understand the reasoning for the "this is not a cleaning product" disclaimer on the package. It smells so strong! I'd forgotten how harsh some of the traditional cleaning products smelt!

Tonight we have some polyp extension, but not a lot. All these colonies had considerably better extension at the store. I am not sure how I feel about ReVive over TMPCC as my usual incoming dip of choice. The recovery time from the dip to have full polyp extension seems less with TMPCC, but who knows, this is only the first time I've used the product. The trade off between the two products though is that ReVive has some AEFW potential, and I think as a preventative its worth it. AEFWs scare the crap out of me.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0742.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0733.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0748-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0758.jpg

Anyways, so I've decided I do not care for the AquaConnect bulb, or whatever the other non-XM bulb I have on the tank is. Colours don't pop, and SPS beneath it just doesn't thrive. Clearly this is not the bulb for me, and I will, after we move, change it out to something else.

Its nice to see my clams are growing. This gigas is now just about 1/4" away from the glass, however when the mantle is extended, it does touch the glass. When you have bigger clams sometimes it hard to see that they really are growing.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0740.jpg

This was the Vlamingi just after I had my hand in the tank to place the new colonies.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0735.jpg

[Lance]

Lookin' Good! I really like that coral in the first pic. What is it?

[Delphinus]

Heh, I miss babysitting that gigas! ;)

[michika]

Not sure what it is. The other two colonies don't photograph well unfortunately.

The gigas probably misses all the other clam friends it made at your place!

[michika]

I just wanted to share this thread, Gone Solar. Its an awesome idea and I wish for our big tank something like would be possible.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1457056

[michika]

So a few reasons why you should keep up with your regular WCs and dosing. Apparently the kalk. reactor has been bypassed for the last week due to a stopped up check valve. I didn't know this until this morning.

Last water change was August 9th, so over a month ago, and it shows. Coupled with the lack of a kalk. reactor, and my numbers are looking pretty abysmal. Ca. 345, dKH 4!, Mg 1275, Nitrate 71, and phosphate 0.11. Water change is being prepped, and I will raise up the levels in the new water instead of just dosing the whole system as usual. Then I can come back and dose the tank. On the plus side my pH is great, and so is my temp!

Polyps are out on some of the new SPS. I also had Kevin rearrange some of the SPS in the tank. Hopefully the orange digitata, which isn't doing so well, will perk up and start to improve. It used to be on the right side of the tank at the bottom. Its counter part, a green digi, was just 3" above it and its doing better.

The sump is going to be completed today, and we've decided to drill the holes for the bulkhead after is assembled rather then wait for a bulkhead to drill it. This will give the silicone 2 weeks to dry, and if the sump doesn't get drilled before we move, then at least we can use it for water storage.

[michika]

Alright so 9 hours after dosing just a few tablespoons of baking soda to raise my super low dKH I am now seeing the usual crazy polyp extension I am used to seeing when my tank is healthy. I'm sure that getting a few other things adjusted will result in more polyp extension, but for now I can actually see the change that just a little bit of baking soda has made.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0768.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0769.jpg

This is one of the new colonies, it was the one previously pictured as being dipped.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0771.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0773.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0774.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0778.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0779.jpg

[michika]

All my frags from Wicked Frags are doing well.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0780.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0781.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0782.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0784-1.jpg

The lovely little colony that I bought which we all called the "bush coral"
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0783.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0785.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0787.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0790.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0796-1.jpg

[michika]

I was bored on Monday night and decided that I should upgrade my ghetto refugium. Originally I'd hacked the top of a pop bottle off and drilled various holes for some slow flow. Well it worked and a short time later the bottle was so full of cheato, that it was deforming the bottle slightly. There was also no more room to grow.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0803.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0804.jpg

My solution? Upgrade! The tank is now sporting, for just another 19 days, a ghetto fabulous modified milk jug! Things seem better, the cheato has relaxed a bit, and lost some of the pop bottle shape it was holding.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0801.jpg

I also forgot to take an after shot of the final product. My bad, I will post one later.

[fishytime]

Cool idea for a ghetto grow-op. Did Kevin tell you about the tangs we got in last week(and probably clams today....shhhhh).

[michika]

I just read that PM, now I am super excited!

The ghetto grow-op container is now full, hopefully it can last a couple of weeks then it can have its own sump space.

[michika]

I would just like to proclaim that thanks to Red Coral I am now Queen of the Clams. I bumped my clam count up by 4, and can now boast 14 clams; gigas, maxima, crocea, derasa, and squamosas. I still want more...

I also came home with a couple of fish I'd put on hold. I also realized when I got home that I'd forgotten a fish, a mimic tang, that I'd put on hold last week. Anyways new fish are a powder blue, and a orange shoulder tang. Total tang count is now 8. The powder blue ate nori from the feeding stick less then 5 minutes after being introduced into the tank!

I also took a few photos of some of the tanks at the store. I want this super cool Stonefish, but don't think I have the time or cash to give it the life it deserves.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0823.jpg

These are top down shots of the clam tank. Some with the tank lights on and some with them off.

I of course took the two in the middle here, I couldn't resist.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0810.jpg

Close up!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0814.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0811.jpg

Took this home too!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0813.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0817.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0819.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0821.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0822.jpg

One of the seahorses Kevin had ordered in for another client
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0816.jpg

A couple of little frags that had just come in. I, for once in my life, used will power and didn't buy them!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0827.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0828.jpg

[Lance]

WOW 14 clams! You are indeed Queen of the clams. That blue one has incredible colour. Nice score.

[michika]

So the ghetto milk jug refugium is doing well, its full already
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0806.jpg

The sump is finished, the tape is off, and its just waiting to be drilled. We will drill and install it after we move.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0805.jpg

Here is the powder blue, and the orange shoulder tang
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0847.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0851.jpg

Feeding time
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0841.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0870.jpg

This is when Kevin put his hand in the tank to put my clams in
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0883.jpg

The green clam
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0859.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0884.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0885.jpg

Its hard to see in this poor photo, but its got blue dots all over the mantle
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0886.jpg

A previously purchased clam that looked good today.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0890.jpg

I can tell I have low dKH again, I have cyano on the sand. We replaced the plugged check valve on the kalk. reactor so its up and running again. Kevin also played around with the calcium reactor when we got home, and we'll be putting it back online tonight.

[michika]

I just got home from practice, and my doctor tang had jumped out of the tank, and right into an empty 5g bucket. This tang was top of the food chain, and wasn't getting grief from anyone, not even the new additions. I'm furious, this tank seems to lend itself to jumpers, first my original Vlamingi and now my prized doctorfish. I am so upset over this.

[Lance]

I feel so bad for you. It sucks to lose a fish.
Maybe it's time to come up with some kind of cover, if possible.

[JDigital]

Yea, I would definitely look into some type of cover... Sorry to hear about your loss :cry:

[michika]

While we do have a cover, it wasn't on at this moment. However no cover that lets in enough light is going to be able to hold in a 6" fish that is charging at the surface. It sucks, and it is what it is I guess.

[fishytime]

Sorry Catherine (and Kev):sad:. If there is an up side, it is that now you have more room (like you were going to need it) to add say a sohal?

[michika]

You guys are bad, tempting me with beautiful fish.

I think the Blond Naso taught the Doctor tang the bad behavior that lead to its death. The corpse was found with nori stuck to it. I was puzzled yesterday about it, and today it makes sense. I fed pellets this morning and the naso decided to make a pre-emptive charge at the incoming food and came half out of the water in its attempt. The naso and the doctor tang schooled and often were seen doing the same behaviors. I am thinking that the doctor was aiming for nori either on the surface and just jumped out in its excitement.

[michika]

Sohol need a new home?

[fishytime]

Still sucks to lose a showpiece fish like that.Sohal needs a home big enough for him. Hope it ends up in a tank worthy of it.

[michika]

Are we talking the one that was in the back, or the one that was in the 180g up high with the lavender tang?

[fishytime]

The one at the back is sold. The one with the lavender is presently awaiting adoption.

[michika]

I'll discuss it with Sleeping Beauty when he gets up! I hear Sohol's can develop some serious attitudes. We'll have to see though.

[SeaSerpant]

Looks great. I haven't been on this forum in a while and i need some inspiration for when i get my 10g (really i will this time ;)) So from the bottom of my heart i ask you if i could get a full tank shot?:puppydog:

[Red Coral Aquariums]

I hear Sohol's can develop some serious attitudes.

Christine you need to take the "can" out of that statement.!!!
Kevin

[Skimmerking]

ok ok ok ok enough is enough CAtherine. I go offline for 3 months and look at the clams you have i love it they look great kido. how many is that

[michika]

Your FTS from tonight. I was a bit hasty in my side shot, the gas was just cleaned, so it looks a bit hazy.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0893.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0897.jpg

[michika]

ok ok ok ok enough is enough CAtherine. I go offline for 3 months and look at the clams you have i love it they look great kido. how many is that

Just 14!

[SeaSerpant]

Thanks so much. I very much appreciate you doing that for me :) I see you like your clams ;)

Thanks again
SeaSerpant

[michika]

You are welcome!

Yes, I have a clam addiction! Just a little one.

So I will be adopting the Mata tang that was looking for a new home yesterday. Hoping to bring it home after we move, so maybe the 7th, or the 14th of October. I think this is going to be an awesome addition to the tank.

[michika]

I am so exhausted that I just though that my purple tang in the photo above wasn't mine. I was convinced that I didn't have such an awesome fish and that someone had secretly sneaked it into my tank. So yeah, I think its time to go home now.

[my2rotties]

Catherine your tank is beautiful!!! I sense I am going to have a serious clam addiction in the future. I think I love almost as much as you do...

[michika]

Yes! Another one to the dark side!

[michika]

There is something very wrong with my gigas clam. It started on Sunday, and now the problem is much worse. On Sunday the clam had grown to the point that its shell was touching the glass. Just before it was moved you could see on its right side that the mantle had actually come away from the shell on the inside. Its almost like pieces of the shell attached to the mantle flaked off leaving the mantle free from the rest oft he shell.

The clam isn't gaping per say but it is lopsided. Yesterday it wasn't extending its mantle as it has been in the past. I'm not sure what is happening because this is undoubtably nothing like anything I've seen before. I will post a photo or two of this tonight when I get home.

[michika]

Alright so some cool things about the clam

1) the problem isn't getting worse, I just though it was
2) The mantle still retracts and responds to light.
3) My clam is too big to close its shell anymore and has been for at least 3 years.

So close up
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0037-1.jpg

side shot
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0038-3.jpg

mantle retracted
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0040-3.jpg

mantle extended
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0042-2.jpg

I am in a rush, but as soon as I get to Edmonton I am going to to post this up on Clams Direct as well.

[andestang]

That just doesn't look right, but hard to see the inlet siphon on how stretched it is. I would try loosely tying it up to a more natural opening for awhile. Maybe a weak adductor muscle? I did this on a Crocea a few years back and it made a recovery. Just a thought :)

[Chowder]

You can try posting on reefaquariumforum.com which use to be clams direct forum. There should be someone there familiar with what is going on with your clam.


Chris

[michika]

Its up on RAF.com, and reef central, but I'm still waiting for responses.

[michika]

That just doesn't look right, but hard to see the inlet siphon on how stretched it is.

I wish I could get you a better photo, but its not actually stretched, its just limp. I had to move the clam (after this started) and its in an area of a little less flow.

Aside from the one gaping hole on that one side, it looks reasonably fine.

[Delphinus]

Hmmm, good luck! Maybe it's an injury? If you don't mind, please post the links to the threads on raf.com and rc.com, I'd like to follow them to see what gets recommended.

I've heard good things about the suggestion to tie them closed or not-as-open. Apparently the weight of the shells can pull the clams open, but if they need to heal then they need to have the weight of the shells taken off them and that's where the tieing them comes in. I guess even if closed all the way it's not like they suffocate because the shells don't create a perfect seal anyhow. Or so I've heard anyhow - haven't tried this myself.

[michika]

Alright so the threads;
RAF
http://www.reefaquariumforum.com/gigas-mantle-separating-from-the-shell-t3354.html

RC - My build thread - this is the specific page with the
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1357808&perpage=25&pagenumber=34

RC - Clam specific thread
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1481696

I am afraid to tie the clam up because the shell doesn't move. I don't think it can move anymore. How would I go about tying it up?

[andestang]

It doesn't try to close itself shut when you disturb it ? If it doesn't then that does sound like a problem. When I did mine I just gently pulled it to just under the normal width that it would of normally had. I wouldn't close it too much or all the way, don't want to deprive it of getting light/starve.

[michika]

The mantle retracts when you try to disturb it. The clam is just so big at this point that for a few years now it hasn't been able to close is shell. It still has regular clam type responses to stuff falling on its mantle, passing your hand over the mantle, etc. it just can't close its shell. Make sense?

[Parker]

I know nothing about clams but I hope yours recovers!

[michika]

Your short bus icon cracks me up!

Well the RAF suggestions were to treat with eurythromycin as a preventative. I am not comfortable treating anything in my system, so I have to set up QT equipment. I JUST packed everything related to QT stuff.

So far this is looking like something nobody, that has seen my posts, have ever seen before. We do however have a red flag; the growth of my clam isn't as fast as other gigas being kept by others.

Running suggestions;
- tie it up - how?
- scrub the shell - need to find a brush
- treat with euro. - where to find this product?

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I think I have some Erythromycin....I can check.

Is Tina doing okay? And the crocea/acros? How about a new FTS? :)

[michika]

Tina is so awesome! I took some photos today, but they aren't so flattering. She is getting along perfectly and eating like a pig. I love her to bits. I have to say, I am attached. She was out about, and social from the moment she was in the tank. You raised an awesome fish. The sixline is also doing well too, but is still nameless.

Clam looks beautiful and all the SPS have their polyps out. The rest of the tangs had a field day with the rock the clam was one. They just had a little feeding frenzy.

I'll post you some nice classy photos (e.g. where I've cleaned the glass) tomorrow!

[Marlin65]

The mantle retracts when you try to disturb it. The clam is just so big at this point that for a few years now it hasn't been able to close is shell. It still has regular clam type responses to stuff falling on its mantle, passing your hand over the mantle, etc. it just can't close its shell. Make sense?
In the wild they probably get overgrown around them so they don't have to hold their shells when the get bigger.
Just a thought don't know that for sure.:wink:
Hope you figure out what is wrong with it.

[michika]

You make a very interesting point here. Hmmm.

So time for some very awesome positive news.
1) We are moving in 2 days, and the tank in 4 days!
2) I adopted some more fish, a nameless little sixline, and a very sweet and sociable regal tang named Tina.
3) I got another clam who boasts some beautiful colors and patterns, and I got more SPS too, little colonies, an awesome green cap, and some hitchiker hairy mushrooms.

Thanks Drew for #2 and #3!

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Yeah!! Go, Tina! I love that little gimp. *sigh*

Glad to hear everything's doing well.

[michika]

So the move is about half done, and I am so thankful I will not be moving again. At most we will be moving across the room.

I left on Friday for a charity Roller Derby game in Red Deer and came back yesterday around noon. On Friday Kevin told me that my powderblue didn't make it. I am not going to try to keep this type of fish again unless it is coming from another established home.

Yesterday at noon we started dismantling the tank and transporting it from our condo to our new house. We put all the fish, clams, and corals into the sump, and they have spent the evening there. Today, around noonish, we'll be moving everyone back into the 180g. The logistics of this move were quite the pain. We transported water to the house and put it into garbage cans and the sump. I really hope this works.

The SPS will have been without MH or T5 lighting for about 24 hours, and I do expect some brownout. I'm just antsy to get everything back up and running. The gigas clam is still looking the same. I was really worried when I pulled it out of the 180g at the condo that it would smell like dying flesh. It didn't, and it still looks exactly the same.

The basement is a bit of a disaster. We just kept placing all the fish related equipment on the floor, and its overrun the room. I have some photos to share, but I need to find the proper cord for the camera first.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

I hated moving my aquarium six feet to the left....I can't imagine how difficult it would be to move it to another completely separate location!

Good luck. Sorry about the PBT :(

[michika]

The basement reeks like tank unfortunately. I can't wait for the water to be flowing properly again. With the next big system we will definitely be venting the room separately. I hate the smell of tanks, but love how they look. I just don't think I can handle the smell from a big tank.

Tina looked good this morning, happy, if not a little cramped. The naso, vlamingi, and sailfin, all jumped into a different sump compartment together.

[Lance]

I hope the Powder Blue will be the only casualty. Good luck with the move.

[michika]

Today I really hate this hobby.

On Tuesdays I make a round trip to Edmonton. I left at 2:30pm and everything looked fine. The fish are still in a holding tank at this point. I arrived back at about 12:30am and went downstairs to check on the fish. The water was 65! Two of the heaters in that tank crapped out at the same time. A third heater was tossed in and as of this morning at 6am it was back up to 72.

I saw most of the fish this morning swimming around. I think the clams had a spawning event as well because the water is cloudy this morning. I am really hoping that is all it is. I was really wanting to stay home to deal with it, but my job is on the line, these are the last few days on my current project and they will decide if I go elsewhere, or stay in my current position.

I have come to the point where I almost want to toss in the towel. I thought I was doing the right thing by keeping two heaters in the tank. I was always worried that one would be stuck on and it would bake my system. Clearly switching to two heaters is not the best of options either. Looks like I will be going to 3 heaters now.

[Parker]

Wow, now I know where my bad luck went. Sorry to have passed it on to you. :cry:

[Delphinus]

Yikes, that's horrendous. Good luck sorting it out. If you have a new heater in there, it may just be better to let it be and warm up slowly anyhow, I'm not sure what more you can do in the meantime. A quick temp swing back upwards may be just as bad overall as the temperature dip. If there is a silver lining, "too cold" usually is less deadly than "too hot." :neutral:

Good luck. :( Man I feel so terrible for you..

[christyf5]

Wow thats brutal. I always thought the two heaters thing was bulletproof, I guess that theory is down the tubes.

I'm of a mind that 65 is better than 95, I'm sure everyone will come out of it okay :biggrin:

[michika]

Well at about 3:30 I should know how it all went down today. Kevin gets home 2 hours before I do, and he is going to start transfering everything back into the display, provided everything looks okay.

I'm looking at nice photos, ToTM, the Show Me Your _____ ones, and a few others to keep me positive.

You are right though, colder seems to be better then hotter. The only fish I didn't see this morning were the chromii, the purple tang and the scopas tang. I saw everyone else briefly. I am holding out a lot of hope for my clams and corals. Starting over last time was devistating enough, I'm not sure if I can deal with doing it again.

In the very least when everything goes back into the 180g there will be more water volume, and better flow. We ended up having to cut off the bulkheads from the overflow to get it down our stairs in the new house.

Any tank we build will definitely have to be build on site!

[michika]

Alright so everything is back in the 180g, there have been 3 casualties. They were the pocci colony, the neon green one ( :( ), and a frag from Snappy/Coral Master. All the fish made it, and I attribute it to the temp going down, not up.

The fish also seem to have lost some of their mass, so I am kind of pleased I overfeed, because everyone is looking quite a bit skinnier now.

There has been, what I can guess, is browning out of the SPS. It was expected, and I am now taking steps to slowly acclimate everything back to my usual lighting regimen.

Two clams don't look super fantastic, one being the gigas. The gigas however did not smell at all when I pulled it out of the holding tank. I am now in a better position to get better photos. The second clam that doesn't look so great is placed a bit funny. It used to be placed straight up, and now its at more of an angle. I will fix it tomorrow morning and see if that helps things out.

So overall it was very stressful, especially the part with the heaters. We figured out that one of the heaters just stopped working, failed in the off position. The second one failed with the light on, but the heating element not working at all.

[fishytime]

Oh no! Guys Im sorry. Dieing for an update. How is everything doing?

[michika]

More casualties this morning I hear. I didn't have time to look myself, not that I really want to see any death & destruction. Per Kevin my favorite deliciate cream colony with blue/purple tips is gone.

Once the tank stabilizes out I will put up a post to see who got duplicates from Red Coral. I really want frags of all of these back.

Tonight there will be a big WC, and we'll pick up more carbon, and continue to run that 24/7. I think its the temperature that has done in the SPS. I also worry that the temperature may have also done in some of my biological filter. Tomorrow I will pick up a couple of pieces of LR to put in the tank just in case.

When I had die off in my little 28g long it was because the biological filter got killed off or maimed in some way that it couldn't come back.

So the plan;
1) WC
2) Run more carbon
3) Add more live rock to system
4) Get new plumbing to replace the stuff that had to be torn off
5) Overskim like crazy
6) Fatten up the fish
7) Don't panic

[christyf5]

Aww sucks to hear that. I had hoped you would escape unscathed :neutral:

I think you should move #7 to #1 :wink:

[Delphinus]

Good luck. Sorry to hear about the corals but hopefully you can find pieces of them, or others that are as nice (or nicer) down the road when things stabilize. Hopefully things can start bouncing back up from here on.

If you're concerned about your biofilter I might consider looking into a bacterial supplement. I know Zeovit for example has a bacterial product (not the regular probiotic treatment) for this sort of thing. I'll see if I can find an URL for what I'm talking about.

[Delphinus]

Can't find what I'm looking for. At one point it was on J&L's site but isn't anymore. I had spied it at Wai's about 6 months ago too. A clear plastic bottle made by KZ and was some kind of bacterial infusion for cycle-starting a new tank sort of thing. Was nothing to do with the typical Zeovit daily additions stuff.

Anyhow thought this might be a more direct approach than just a new rock but since I can't find it anymore maybe it's not worth the goose chase. Although there are other similar products from other brands out there..

Whatever you decide is best though, good luck, hope things come back quickly..

[Skimmerking]

if you want some good stuff its called HAGEN CYCLE it has worked great for me ................. I would use about 2x 500ml bottles to over load the tank with bactical and you can't over dose..

[Delphinus]

I've used that stuff too before. Seems to work ...

[michika]

I have very limited time tonight, but I will see if I can't send Kevin out on an additional errand. All the SPS that secumbed or had any problems were light coloured pieces, just an observation, but interesting none the less.

I have moved #7 to #1. There is no point in freaking out about anything because really I'm doing all I can do right now, and its a waiting game at this point.

I dug out another heater from my box of misc. supplies. I was really hoping to put that heater in my 10g project, but the 180g has a more pressing need. I also took the two 'bad' heaters and had some time in the alley with them, they got to know the sole of my shoe really well. Cathartic release is good....

[michika]

This tank is a total write-off, most everything is dead or dying. Fish, clams, SPS, everything. I now need to decide what to do here. This is the third time I will have gone though a total loss, and I can't handle this.

Kevin and I are going to sit down and make some choices.

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Catherine, can I hold anything for you?

[Alberta-newb]

I am so sorry to here the news:sad:

[Chaloupa]

Oh no! I've been following along hoping for ya.....so sorry.:cry:

[Delphinus]

I am so sorry to hear this ....

[fencer]

Sorry to hear that Catherine


Wayne

[JDigital]

Oh no!! Horrible news.. Sorry to hear of the losses. :cry:

[fishytime]

I too can offer up my babysitting services. I have the display and a 33g QT sitting empty right now.

[Carmen]

:cry:I am so sad to read this.

[michika]

Thank you everyone. When I get home tonight I will again try to figure out what to do. Most everything in my tank is gone, and looking at an empty tank is really hard. I removed 2 out of the 4 questionable clams yesterday. I left all of the SPS in the system, there only seems to be two typs of SPS right now; dead, and not so dead Mostly it will be clams and fish that need temporary homes if we go that route. A few pieces of SPS as well.

The skimmer pulled out over 3 liters of crap between 5 pm and 8 pm last night. It was pulling throughout the day, but it had to be dialed back significantly since nobody was home to watch it.

I do have photos, and I think I will post them.

[Delphinus]

Cath - you know you can count on me to help house things too. In fact I have a mostly empty 110g right now (ritteri went to a new home, but can't take down the tank yet), so I have a fair amount of space. Let me know, ok? It's no burden, don't hesitate to call on your Canreef friends if it can make the difference for you.

[michika]

I definitely won't hesitate. We will be making the call on keeping things in the tank or moving them tonight. So there may be a flurry of PMs tonight, but there may not be.

I am sad to hear the ritteri is gone, but change can be good. I really loved that tank, it was really cool because it was like the ultimate minimalist tank. I loved the rabbitfish, clam, anemone combination, it just worked so well for that system.

I will be making a run tomorrow to pick up more carbon. I also think I will be buying a 5g bucket in bulk just to have around. I've gone through probably 1g of the stuff already, maybe more.

[Snappy]

Kevin & Catherine, sorry you're having such rotten luck. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

[michika]

Kevin & Catherine, sorry you're having such rotten luck. Let me know if there is anything I can do.

Thank you for your support! Once things are back up and running I'll definitely be at your door for frags.


Things are looking stable now. The death toll stands at 6 clams, most of my SPS, and most of my fish too. I am most distressed over the fish and clams. Almost all my favorite SPS have died. Some still have flesh on them and I am leaving them in the tank, just in case.

I am heading out to buy some new heaters, more carbon, and probably live rock. I am also looking to pick up some of the bacteria we were talking about earlier. I need to do some clean up in terms of aquascaping, and then I will post up a few photos. I also need to pick up some green painter's tape so we can start marking out the potential dimensions of our new tank.

[michika]

So a quick update just to keep this going. We suffered another crash earlier this week (http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=45772 and it was messy, horrible, and tragic.

We are still going to keep going with this, I am bound and determined to have a beautiful tank again to watch and enjoy.

I just wanted to update this thread to reflect what is happening with the tank as of today.

[Lance]

Glad to hear you guys are going to keep at it. After such terrible luck many would call it quits. Good for you! And GOOD LUCK!

[BlueAbyss]

if you want some good stuff its called HAGEN CYCLE it has worked great for me ................. I would use about 2x 500ml bottles to over load the tank with bactical and you can't over dose..

I've used Hagen CYCLE on my freshwater tanks for years (though the label says you can use it on fresh or saltwater tanks), it is a great product and seems to reduce the time required for a new tank cycle by almost half. That is just my experience though.

[BlueAbyss]

Unfortunately I STILL can't get the white balance quite right. My photos have too much red in them.

The blue light from your actinic and 13, 14 K bulbs is affecting your camera. It is nearly impossible to get good colour rendition under these conditions... unless you choose to use Photoshop or some other image editing program that can alter the colour cast created by these lamps.

[BlueAbyss]

I just wanted to share this thread, Gone Solar. Its an awesome idea and I wish for our big tank something like would be possible.

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1457056
I read this thoroughly and think it to be a wonderful idea as a retrofit in a home! Natural sunlight has GOT to be the way to go... sunlight is free (unless you have to install sunpipes to get it) if unpredictable, you can't replace a good set of lights.

This is, of course, assuming that at that time I will be living somewhere that has some sunshine in winter. Not sure that something like this would work on the coast where it tends to be cloudy and/or rainy and/or foggy.

And since this is a REALLY old thread your tank is awesome and I hope one day to be able to have the success that you guys have had. Your tank is beautiful and an inspiration to people like myself who are just starting out in this hobby:D

[BlueAbyss]

Hey, just a thought, but could some of your fish deaths have been caused by parasites or some sort of internal worm or something?

[michika]

Awe! Thank you.

Things should be well underway to getting back this weekend. I keep promising to do a photodump of some of the disaster, but I keep forgetting.

I'm also going to be making food tonight & tomorrow, so I'll have some photos of that process to share as well.

[fishytime]

Really good to hear you guys are going to stick with it. I felt nauseous reading your thread this past week. I cant imagine actually going through a crash(never mind two) you guys are troopers. On to bigger and better things huh?

[michika]

Yes, bigger and better things.

Because I said I would, I am offering up photos of the first crash, when the two heaters in the holding tank (our new glass sump) failed.

Looking down on the holding tank
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0091-2.jpg

Everything in the 180g again. Disgusting water
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0097-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0098.jpg

Left side of the tank
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0099.jpg

Middle
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0101-1.jpg

Right side
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0102.jpg

I'll post photos of the result of the second crash, the pump failure later, once the lights come on.

So these are a couple of area photos I took at some point since October 3rd of the basement.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0104.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0092-1.jpg

Even though the gigas clam died in the second crash, I wanted to post up what was happening to it. One side had actually separated from its shell, and it was in the process of building up a new shell. I think baring the pump failure, the clam would have survived and we could have eventually seen where its transformation was going.

[Skimmerking]

Catherine I'm so srry that you had this crash , but remember Big ger is better the 3rd time around AND I DO HAVE MORE CLAMS THEN YOU

[michika]

Hahah, I had 15 before the crash, and I think 8 total now. I miss not being able to watch my clams.

Bigger and better for 2008/2009 means getting the 180g back up and running again. I'll stock it with fish for the large tank at the same time. We will also start work on the big tank as soon as we get a few house-related things out of the way; e.g. new hot water tank, finishing unpacking, etc.

Your in-wall tank its looking super sweet! I love the look, and I think that is what we may try to go for with the big system.

[fishytime]

Well you guys do know a finishing carpenter that may be willing to trade services with you, if you figure you need help with the finer details.:wink:

[michika]

Probably will need your services! Thank you.

[mike31154]

Off topic, but you mentioned replacing your hot water tank. You might consider getting a 'tankless' hot water heater. Initial cost is more, but big savings in the long run and a never ending supply of hot water for filling that hot tub.

[michika]

We are definitely looking at that option. However, we have been reading about some drawbacks that make us a bit wary. The initial price as well is something to consider.

[LeeR]

poor clams.

[Phanman]

Hey Cathrine,

Sorry to hear about the crashes lately. Glad to hear that your keeping your head up with all that is going on. If you need a hot water tank, plus installation let me know. My friends a plumber and is around south alot.

[michika]

The one that came with our house is 23 years old and well out of its life expectancy. I'd rather replace it now, then come home to yet ANOTHER flood in the basement.

The crappy thing is that we have a water meter on this house, and I am fully expecting this first bill to be up there. I'm sure we've gone through at least 350g since the 3rd of October for the tank alone. Never mind everything else in the house.

I'm also looking for ways to "green" up the 180g and the large system to keep the costs down long term. Living is expensive, and so is this hobby, which doesn't always make for the best combination.

[Phanman]

Yikes! thats going to be quite the water bill. We just replaced a hot water tank for another friends house that was leaking so it only took a total of 1hr or so. Dont know much about going "green" for water tanks but if you just want a reg one, my friend can probably save you abit of cash so you can restock your tank when the time comes.

[mike31154]

Tankless hot water systems have come a long way in the last few years. Yes, there are drawbacks including high initial cost, but if going green is the goal..... My hot water tank is having some issues and I'm certain that when the time comes, I'll be going tankless. My parents installed one last year and are quite happy with it. Their gas usage has dropped noticeably.

Newer tankless HW systems have the option of installing controls with digital readouts for each location, kitchen, bath etc., allowing you to precisely control the water temperature delivered, not just a knob with "Hot, Warm, Vacation" as on conventional HW tanks. No pilot light to worry about either, electronic ignition. You can also prioritize which location gets the hot water when multiple taps are used. The biggest thing you need to do is figure out how much flow you're likely to use for your family and ensure you buy a large enough unit so the person taking a shower doesn't get a surprise when you run the hot water in the kitchen... Starting to sound a lot like the issues we have with our fish tanks, no??

[michika]

[QUOTE=mike31154;353616]The biggest thing you need to do is figure out how much flow you're likely to use for your family and ensure you buy a large enough unit so the person taking a shower doesn't get a surprise when you run the hot water in the kitchen... QUOTE]

And that would be hitting the nail on the head right there! How do I figure out how much we use? We are a "family" of 2 plus 2 water-guzzling dogs. Is there a calculator for this?

[mike31154]

Yes, there are calculators available to determine the appropriate size. Just Google tankless hot water systems and I'm sure you'll find some guidelines. My parents have a small unit manufactured by Rinnai. I would likely get a slightly larger one just to be on the safe side. Because these heaters heat the water through a coil/heat exchanger while it is flowing, if you have too many hot taps open at once, it won't be able to keep up. It also depends heavily on the temperature of the incoming water, which will be colder in the winter. For a family of 2 like yourselves, it shouldn't be a big issue, just takes a little coordination. Generally you wouldn't run bath water, a shower, the dishwasher at the same time. As for the water guzzling dogs... that's cold water and wouldn't affect the demand for hot water?

Here's a link with a quick rundown...

http://www.greenerbuilding.org/buying_advice.php?cid=56

[michika]

Well we are still sitting on the hot water tank issue. I think I want to go with a tankless system, but balk at the cost. Its still first on the list before anything else, and it will get done sooner rather then later.

I tested the tank this afternoon/evening and we are at the tail end of the cycle. I guess the tank wasn't strong enough to recover without a full cycle. I still plan to add more live rock in the next couple of weeks, just in case.

Right now the tank is running without kalk. or Ca. reactors, mostly because we are afraid of overloading the circuit in the basement. The lighting is solely T5s, as there is no point in running the MHs. I am also only running a seio and koralia 1 power head, again because of fears of overloading the circuit.

pH: 8.02
SG: 1.025
ORP: 268 (low)
PO4: 0.13
Ammonia: 0.50
Nitrate: Less then 0.5 via Elos test kit
Nitrite:0

We've also drawn out the first of a few options for our big system. If we go with a cube shape, the best we can do is looking like 5ftx5ft, which is less then 500g. I can't say I'm happy with that size. I think the next step is to probably look at an L-shape system. The problem we are having is balancing the space the tank would need vs. the living space required to actually use our basement.

I've lost my camera USB cord, so I can't share all the photos I have with you.

[Zylumn]

Tankless water heaters

The tankless hot water heater activates as water demand is initialized, however, hot water output is limited by production capacity. A consideration with a tankless water heater is how many degrees of temperature the water heater can raise the water passing through it. Considering a winter climate where city water during the cold season reaches the home at 55°F, a tankless water heater must be able to heat that water to 120°F (an increase of 65°).

This is true.
What I have seen is you end up here in Calgary with a very low hot water output using a TLess WH. (Calgary water 55.3 f)Forget about having a long hot shower or how about 1 hour later to fill the bathtub. What I have seen is tankless HWheaters run in conjunction with large regular water heaters turned on low. Small 6 gallon water set up for small usage. So cold water runs into a 60 g WH (set to hold water temp at about 80 f) from there it goes to a TLess WH set to bring it up to shower temp; from there it goes to a 6 gal water heater designed to be used for washing hands, face, filling up a sink.
So ie: scenario
You turn on a tap to wash hands water goes from main to 60g WH to TLess WH to 6 g WH and you get immediate hot water.
This is an effective way to get the best usage of a stong need for Hot water and the least amount of water used.
(it takes about 3+ g of water run through a Tless wh before it is hot)

Just my 2 cents worth.

[michika]

Well I think we are going to go the tankless route if we can. Although I am now just going over our tankless options and the costs associated with one. As long as I have enough water to shower with, and maybe for someone else to wash their hands it will be fine.

I figure its probably appropriate to make a tank related update as well. Last time I tested the tank, which I think might have been Tuesday or Wednesday, I had slightly elevated Ammonia, along with some nitrates, and phosphates. The tank also has some beautiful stringly green hair algae with complements the brown diatomes nicely. The tank needs a water change this week, and then, provided all my levels are still good this coming weekend, I'll slowly start restocking it. I figure by the end of the month, assuming everything continues to go well, I will have my livestock back in my system and things can hopefully continue on as they were.

[michika]

Well let me preface this with at least my house doesn't stink like clam die off anymore.

What we pulled out of the tank following the flood;
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0139.jpg

The tank on October 19th
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0141.jpg

The skimmer overflowed after getting things back up and running again. This was in a period of less the 10 hours.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0143.jpg

The tank on the 26th
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0150.jpg

This is the surface flow now
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0159.jpg

I found a creature to live in my tank for a few days
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0161.jpg

Tank yesterday : (
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0181-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0183.jpg

The temporary return is a hairball now
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0188-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0185-1.jpg

So while the tank's chemistry reads fine, it obviously isn't fine. I will not put livestock in the tank as is right now. I will have to figure out what I want to do.

The basement
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0152.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0155-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0154-2.jpg

[Skimmerking]

Catherine its looking great kido , i see tha the hair algae is back again there must be something wrong with something there. I have never seen some one having that much problem with their set up starting out with your experience.

good on you to have the patience. I couldn't

OH YA what a great time to start dosing Vodka you wont burn anything

[michika]

Well the tank is at the point where all you can do is laugh about it.

The Dart return pump was seized again this morning when I woke up. I would also like to point out that I am getting extremely fed up with the tank.

So I am proposing that sell off the 180g tank itself, and build a sweet cube in its place.

[michika]

So I took the opportunity to do some water tests and at least I can be happy because for once my dKH isn't low! Yay!

Temp: 81.9 (I fear we have another heater disaster pending, I'm watching this)
pH: 8.12
SG: 1.026
ORP: 329
dKH: 7
Nitrate: 0.02 (Elos)
Nitrate: 0
Nitrite: 0
Phosphates: 0.11

I figure the phosphates are leaching from the rock and feeding the GHA. I think of the 0.11 number more so as what is leeching out of the rocks, but not being used by the GHA. I was thinking of participating in Red Coral's Rent a Seahare program starting this afternoon. I also found that with some EXTREME force you can blow off the techni-colour algae. It doesn't seem like all is lost anymore.

[Chaloupa]

So I took the opportunity to do some water tests and at least I can be happy because for once my dKH isn't low! Yay!

At least you can find something good in all the tragedy you have had with this tank!

[michika]

So I got a few quotes today from Bow Valley, were we got the glass for the 180g, for the big tank.

for 13x3x2 = $3K glass only, not low-iron, including holes & eurobrace
for 11x3x2 = $2K glass only, not low-iron, including holes & eurobrace.

We'd need to assemble it obviously, but they would deliver and help us get it into the basement.

Now I just need to make a cardboard or plywood dummy pane for the long side panels to make sure we can get this length of glass into the basement. LIke I mentioned earlier we would probably cover the glass and keep it away while we finalize reno decisions for the basement.

[JDigital]

Did you consider the 11ft configuration as 11x4x2? I think that would be a great size, and I'd asumme similar price to the 13ftr. :smile: (just an idea. :wink: )

[michika]

I think 11ft is small, but it will probably be what we go with if we can't fit the 13ft panes in the house. I like the lucky number 13!

[fencer]

What?????....going bigger....looking forward for that thread.

[michika]

What?????....going bigger....looking forward for that thread.

Trying, but there is a lot of work involved.

[mark]

Is you big tank going to be all glass or plywood/glass?

[michika]

The prices above are for all glass. We haven't yet priced out plywood. I think it will come down to a cost vs. time deal. Originally we wanted plywood/fiberglass to help save on the cost of the big tank, but with the option of glass being so affordable, we may not even need to look at fiberglass.

[fencer]

GARF.org will give you the plywood calcs

[untamed]

Ha..ha..what fun! For me, I like the 11' x 4' suggestion instead of the 13' x 3'. But of course, something like 13' x 6' would be even better! I would trade depth for length anytime until you get to a square tank.

Obviously, I went acrylic...have you considered that? Check with James at Envision and see what he could do. Things might jump sharply in price with panels over 10 feet (I can't remember...) James would build you a tank that won't fail, that's for sure.

[JDigital]

Ha..ha..what fun! For me, I like the 11' x 4' suggestion instead of the 13' x 3'. But of course, something like 13' x 6' would be even better! I would trade depth for length anytime until you get to a square tank.

13x6... that would be a monster... :mrgreen:

[michika]

I like the idea of 4ft but I worry it will take away too much from the room. The tank's foot print will actually be 5.5ft from the back wall to the front of the tank, this accounts for the 2ft walkway behind the tank, and possibly a 0.5ft coast to coast overflow, plus the tank's 3ft depth.

So before I pull the trigger on this puppy and do something that can't be undone. I want to hear opinions on what I'm proposing;

- 13Lx3Dx2H tank eurobraced
- All glass tank? Probably
- Stainless steel stand build in 3? sections
- Clam & SPS dominated
- Busy with a variety of fish
- Returns & water movement done via various Ocean Motions 4 ways; 4 on each end, 12 on the back panel, 8 on the bottom
- Lighted with T5 & MHs
- Dosed with kalk. & Ca. reactors
- We'll skim, but with what, we don't know
- I'll run a 'fug, and will probably use the 180g as a sump.
- I also want to do a frag grow out tank that can be run inline, or offline
- Back up power provided by a generator
- Back up flow provided by 3-4? close surface mounted vortechs to oxygenate the water

Am I missing anything?

[Der_Iron_Chef]

Are you planning to plumb an auto top-off system directly from your ro/di? Remember how Oregon Reef's ATO fudged his whole system while he was away? Might put some careful thought into that :)

[michika]

Nope, the plan is to make RO/DI & Salt water elsewhere and then pump it in to the tank. No direct plumbing between the RO/DI system and the tank. Yeah I definitely don't want to have my system suffer that sort of disaster.

[Matt]

Are you planning to plumb an auto top-off system directly from your ro/di? Remember how Oregon Reef's ATO fudged his whole system while he was away? Might put some careful thought into that :)
That was a tragedy, but it was caused by his skimmer pumping out the water, and the ATO refilling it, not by the ATO malfunctioning. Sadly, he's shut that entire system down, and dismantled the tank and removed all the equipment. He still has his coldwater tanks, and says he'll be back, bigger and badder eventually.

[michika]

I was crushed to read that he'd shut down his system. I loved it and have taken some of his ideas to put into my next system. My favorite feature was the trench and all the little regal tangs swimming about.

[Parker]

I might be worried that the the tank would look a little squashed with the lengh vs. hight?

I might be inclined to go 30" tall. But I like tall tanks so I am biased :mrgreen:

[Delphinus]

13' seems extraordinarily long to me - my worry would be that it will make the the 3' depth feel narrow. Although you should be able to get some neat wave effects in a tank that long. I'm curious - what kind of glass thickness are we talking about here for 13' long? I'm guessing they've stepped it up because otherwise $1000 more for 2 more feet seems a bit disproportional.

11' or 13' - let's face it, either way would be spectacular though!

[michika]

I can barely reach the bottom at 24", any higher and I'll have a problem. Although Kevin does have long arms.....hmm

So are we saying that 4ft deep would be a better choice room constraints aside?

[Delphinus]

If cost and any other issues aside, I would try for 4, yes. But I recognize that when reality kicks in sometimes we have to tailor our expectations, but it doesn't hurt to explore the possibilities in the meantime. Like maybe you could try for 4', then if you found out that was a no-go, but then if maybe you could find out that 3.5' was workable.. why not. 6" is 6" and the more depth you have the more 'scaping possibilities you get.

I'm sort of with you on the 24" length. I like the look of 30" tall tanks but it's a pain to reach in. With my 280 I already have a problem and I even built a catwalk to help in the matter. Oh, the sacrifices we make.. :lol: I guess I can live with wet armpit shirts.

You can always make the stand a little higher if the tank seems shallow at 24".

[steve fedyk]

Tunze for water movement is great oppsion. Ocean mosions is good too if you don't have to drill holes in the tank. I would probly buy a second pump for back up, just in case.
What is your plan for lighting.

[michika]

We expect we will go with MHs and T5s, however we are actively look into other options; all T5s, LEDs, solar lighting, etc.

[BlueAbyss]

Since you are renovating anyhow, it makes sense that you consider solar lighting... I can't remember what the thread was called, but I read somewhere about a project using 'sun-pipes' that may work well, though here in Canada I would think you would still need MH or a number of T5s for winter lighting.

P.S. Can't wait to see the build thread on this! Honestly, even 11' long is monstrous compared to just about anything I've seen, at least in someone's home. Xcaret in Mexico doesn't count :lol:

P.P.S. Thinking about lighting a tank of this size, LEDs might be an excellent choice as well for the power savings alone on something of this size could potentially outweigh the initial cost. Efficiency would be paramount if I had a tank of this size... Eheim pumps come to mind also.

[michika]

Sadly solar tubes probably aren't going to be a realistic option. This tank is in our basement, and there is no logical way to put solar tubes there without giving up my kitchen, which obviously is not an option.

We think LEDs would be a good option, however the initial buy in, especially if you are making the entire fixtures yourselves, is quite high. To buy from the wholesaler its looking to be about $5 per white LED. We'll keep looking into it though and see what happens.

[Pan]

Wow....leave the seen for a few months and look what happens :)

[Parker]

I can barely reach the bottom at 24", any higher and I'll have a problem. Although Kevin does have long arms.....hmm

Wet armpits aren't so bad once you get used to them. I deal with wet arm pits now, with the new tank I'll have to deal with a wet upper body! :mrgreen:

So are we saying that 4ft deep would be a better choice room constraints aside?


I vote for more depth, If I could go wider I would in a heart beat.

[michika]

Alright well I finally have amassed enough cardboard to do some trial runs. Sunday, provided I do not get injured in my game on Saturday, I will do a cardboard mock-up of the proposed length and height (13x3) and we'll see how it goes. I'll also mark off what 11ft would be for comparison.

In regards to the 180g its still looking iffy, but its coming back. The cyano is still around, it never really left, even after 3 days of no lights. This cyano can't be beat by depleating the light. It seems the clean up crew did more for combating the cyano then turning off the lights did. Although turning the lights off was definitely worth the attempt.

I was over at Tony's on Tuesday and we saw all my pretty fish and clams. I am so excited to bring everything home again. I need to do some aquascaping sooner rather then later!

[Parker]

I'm sure you've seen this before, a tank that's just shy of 11 feet from RC

Here is the build thread also:
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1065257&perpage=25&pagenumber=1

http://i23.photobucket.com/albums/b370/clownj1988/IM000203.jpg

[michika]

Nice find, I'll take a look at the build thread when I have a minute or three. I like it, now if we did that it'd be in wall, but that is the idea.

[michika]

Quickie update:

- The seahare has been found, its alive, and still feels like a wet marshmallow. Its going back to RC this weekend.
- GHA is 90% gone thanks to the Urchin. That leaves the score at Urchin 1, Seahare -1 (for hiding)
- I added a masked rabbit fish to the tank, sweet, but shy little guy. I always wanted a pretty rabbit fish!
- I added two tester SPS, green polyp birds nest, and a piece of red cap on Saturday. So far, so good
- Added in a few more clean up crew members, hermits
- We're still waiting to hear about my job. Although they have been pilling me up with a lot of work lately, so here is hoping I'm here long term. I'm itching to start on the big tank.

[JDigital]

Things are sounding good... Hope that your job pulls thru for you.

[fishytime]

Good to hear the rabbit is doing well. Hopfully he isnt a wascally wabbit.:question:

[michika]

He still seems scared. I'm excited to add more fish to the system, maybe it will help him loosen up a bit.

[fishytime]

He was a fraidy cat at the store too.

[michika]

Now he's a chicken in a bigger tank. :D He looks lonely too. I think once he gets some friends that he'll start to warm up.

[Delphinus]

Ooh, any pictures of said wascawy wabbit forthcoming? :)

(Some buddies may indeed help..)

[JDigital]

I guess now that this tank is up and going, you'd be ready for that frag of Pagoda Cup I have for you???? :mrgreen:

[michika]

Alright so a few photos;

The only in-tank survivors;
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0217-1.jpg

Tester SPS;
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0222.jpg

Masked Rabbitfish;
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0234-2.jpg

Clean Up Crew enjoying Rabbitfish's meal;
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0236.jpg

[michika]

Tony takes such awesome photos!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/clams1.jpg

[ElGuappo]

good to see it is up and running again. keep up the good work .

[michika]

I have been slowly adding more live stock:

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0279.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0280.jpg

Bulbs need a cleaning...
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0297.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0289.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0288.jpg

Two weeks of skimmate, bleh!
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0298-1.jpg

The tank is coming back together now, MHs are now running again regularly, Ca Reactor is online, and the Kalk. reactor is clean and ready to put to work. I'm just working on getting everything dialed in again and things should be returning to normal again.

[fishytime]

Im happy things are looking up for you guys with your tank. The new clams are incredible.:wink:

[michika]

A few more things are coming along right now with the 180g.

I've added in two fish today, another Doctor tang, and a bristletooth tang, I believe its a Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus. I'm hoping my other fish and clams can come home soon. We're having scheduling difficulties right now.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0338.jpg

Our plumbing came in from Bulk Reef Supply. This means we can take the Ca Reactor off a feed pump. It also means we can make a few more changes with the return. We'll (we being the royal we here) be changing the return from one point to three. Kevin has a few other changes in mind that he would like to implement.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0342-1.jpg

I finally picked up more cheato to add into the refugium. I put most of the dead skeletons from the second crash in as one giant pod pile.

This is how Matia "helps". She is ALWAYS in the way.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0351-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0353.jpg

Calgary received its first real snowfall today. Its heavy and wet snow, so we are expecting power outtages in the near future. The first thing we did when we got up this morning was to adjust how the UPS would be running the tank in the event of an outtage. I really wish I had the extra cash right now for a generator. Common contract renewal!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0334.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0336.jpg

[Lance]

Our little Beagle also likes to help (get in the way). That's a pretty good dump of snow you got. I guess my grandaughter is out playing in it. (She is a newly transplanted Calgarian). We out here on the coast have not even had frost yet.:mrgreen:

[Delphinus]

Yeah if you didn't know any better you'd think it was the May long weekend.

[Pan]

A few more things are coming along right now with the 180g.

I've added in two fish today, another Doctor tang, and a bristletooth tang, I believe its a Ctenochaetus cyanocheilus. I'm hoping my other fish and clams can come home soon. We're having scheduling difficulties right now.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0338.jpg

Our plumbing came in from Bulk Reef Supply. This means we can take the Ca Reactor off a feed pump. It also means we can make a few more changes with the return. We'll (we being the royal we here) be changing the return from one point to three. Kevin has a few other changes in mind that he would like to implement.

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0342-1.jpg

I finally picked up more cheato to add into the refugium. I put most of the dead skeletons from the second crash in as one giant pod pile.

This is how Matia "helps". She is ALWAYS in the way.
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0351-1.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0353.jpg

Calgary received its first real snowfall today. Its heavy and wet snow, so we are expecting power outtages in the near future. The first thing we did when we got up this morning was to adjust how the UPS would be running the tank in the event of an outtage. I really wish I had the extra cash right now for a generator. Common contract renewal!

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0334.jpg

http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0336.jpg
Like I said tang wh**e :)

[michika]

Like I said tang wh**e :)

And proud of it! :lol:

[Pan]

And proud of it! :lol:
Would make an interesting license plate :)

[fishytime]

Like I said tang wh**e :)

Would make an interesting license plate :)

Most people would think you did favors for orange drink crystals.:razz:

[Lance]

Most people would think you did favors for orange drink crystals.:razz:


Hah!:wink:

[michika]

Well most of my remaining fish are home, along with all my clams. I now have a total of 12 clams in my tank. We left the two chromis with Delphinius, Tony, because they are too fast to bother catching at this time. Thanks again Tony for watching everything!

Recently someone has asked me to assemble and share all my clam propagation resources I've been slowly amassing. Voila, here are some of the online publications with links.

Hey,

I was asked to post up more of my research sources. I'll post again once I've sorted through some more of my sources.

Papers:

Center for Tropical and Subtropical Aquaculture (CTSA)
http://www.ctsa.org/PublicationList.aspx

CTSA #143. Ellis, S. 2000. Nursery and Growout Techniques for Giant Clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). 99 pp.
(http://www.ctsa.org/publicationDetail.aspx?pID=1018)

CTSA #139. Ellis, S. 1999. Lagoon Farming of Giant Clams (Bivalvia: Tridacnidae). 6 pp.
(http://www.ctsa.org/publicationDetail.aspx?pID=1022)

CTSA #130. Ellis, S. 1998. Spawning and Early Larval Rearing of Giant Clams. 52 pp. (with companion video while supplies last).
(http://www.ctsa.org/publicationDetail.aspx?pID=1031)

CTSA #114. Leung, P.S., Y.C. Shang, K. Wanitprapha and X. Tian. 1993. Production Economics of Giant Clam Tridacna species Culture Systems in the U.S. Affiliated Pacific Islands. 30 & A-14 pp.
(http://www.ctsa.org/upload/publication/CTSA_114631681200866637652.pdf)

FAO:
Hatchery operation: culture of larvae basic methodology, feeding and nutrition, factors influencing growth and survival, and settlement and metamorphosis.
(ftp://ftp.fao.org/docrep/fao/007/y5720e/y5720e04.pdf)

Artificial propagation of bivalves: Techniques and methods
UNDP/FAO REGIONAL SEAFARMING DEVELOPMENT AND
DEMONSTRATION PROJECT (RAS/90/002)
(http://www.fao.org/docrep/field/003/AB739E/AB739E00.htm#TOC)

Books:
- Giant Clams (1996) Daniel Knop
- Coral Propagation (2007?) Anthony Calfo

[fishytime]

I repeat..... clam godess.:biggrin:

[Parker]

HEY! Leave some clams for the rest of us! :lol:

[Skimmerking]

I would have more then her, but BUT BUT YOU evil Clam person... :lol:
I don't like you any more Cathrine

[Delphinus]

It was nice being temporarily TheOneWithTheMostestClams(tm), even if the numbers were artificially inflated. :lol: What was it .. I think it was 18? So now I'm down to 11 or so. CRAP! I better go get some more!! (Don't worry I know I can't steal the title.. :p It is yours.)

[michika]

What can I say I'm an addict! I'm hoping in 2009 to have over 20 clams. Although that only works if places keep bringing in beauties, or if other hobbiests re-home theirs.

[Delphinus]

It's good to have goals. :lol:

[X-Treme]

Alright so a few photos;


Clean Up Crew enjoying Rabbitfish's meal;
http://i21.photobucket.com/albums/b286/michika/DSC_0236.jpg


These are the coolest looking nassarius snails I have EVER seen. Mind if I ask what kind they are and where a guy might get em?

[fishytime]

These are the coolest looking nassarius snails I have EVER seen. Mind if I ask what kind they are and where a guy might get em?

I can answer that. They are sometime called fancy or decorated nassarius. And Red Coral has them in.

Glad to here you got all of your friends back. How is the tank doing after the gang got back from their vacation?