Bignose's 95G reef

[bignose]

Hi everyone. This will be my first attempt on a tank with a sump. I decided to start a thread so everyone could witness the good and the bad. Please ask some questions and make comments. Some of the stuff you might see on this thread will make you snicker but I did this all myself with almost no help. But you can still laugh if you like:smile:

I've been in the salt water hobby for about a year now so I'm still learning as I go. My fisrt tank is a 10G nano reef. I started with something small to see if I could handle a SW tank. Once I got a hang of everything it was time to convince my girlfriend for a bigger tank. Slowly I found equipment locally mostly here on Canreef. It took about 6 months but here I am now.

My setup consists of:
95G eurobraced tank with center overflow 1" returns 1.5" drain and emergency drain.
Big als stand that I reinforced.
48" 6x54 Tek5
Euro-Reef RS135 skimmer
Quiet one 5000 return pump
2-Koralia 4 powerheads
2 jager heaters
approx. 85-90 pnds LR
100 pnds LS

Here are some pictures

Tank
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/tankonside.jpg
Just turn your head sideways and ignore the other tank and light.

Overflow
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/overflow.jpg

Reinforced stand I made deeper and boxed in the back
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/reinforcedstand.jpghttp://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/boxin.jpg

I'll update more soon.

[mark]

Looks good to me. Using uni-seals on the side on the overflow for your returns?

Assuming Herbie, if you have a short stub on the primary, cuts down on the noise from the water dropping into the chamber (less drop)

[mseepman]

Looking good. Glad to see another reefer jumping in with both feet.

Have you considered what you are going to keep in the tank? In looking at your equipment right now, your only flow is the return plumbing.

If you get the Teklight, have you thought about your bulb mix? There are some great people on here for asking about how to get the most out of your T5HO fixture so I would be looking for their help.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

I agree with Mark that if your doing a herbie, go with some kind of pipe on the main drain. It will keep the noise down and also if fish get into your overflow, they don't get sucked down the drain really fast and hard. I did mine about half way up the overflow so that less water drains to the sump when the return pump goes off. Just something to think about. Looks good so far though!

[bignose]

The seals on the return are the ones that it came with. The bulkheads I had some trouble with because I ended up buying the wrong type. I also had to use a ball valve instead of a gate valve for the return line. I'm regretting this now because it's very hard to get the level in the overflow where I want it. I hope the valve loosens over time becuase it's hard to fine tune.

Other than that for my first plumbing job I'm very pleased.

Here is a picture of the sump area.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sump.jpg
I hope I plumbed right considering there is almost zero room in there.

[bignose]

Oops I for got to list that I have 2 Koralia 4 powerheads so I updated.

[mark]

Don't have siphon breaks myself (room in the sump) but wondering if you're running them?

[Tangman]

Two things that I noticed from the pics. and from Mark said, as there is no check valve in the return plumbing, I would suggest a siphon break, a drilled hole just above or right at the water line in the main tank on the return line and i would relocate the electrical power bar away from the top of your skimmer, because if your skimmer were to over flow ( and they do ) it looks like the power bar would get very wet.

[bignose]

I was thinking about drilling the return but I haven't yet. I going to eventually I hope the power dosen't go out:smile: What size holes would you drill?

[mark]

Will your sump flood if the power goes off (draining back from the tank), if it does, you need to do something. If your sump has the volume, no worries.

[bignose]

Quite a bit actually. I'm going to drill the holes today.

[Tangman]

Then I would address the power bar issue as well

[bignose]

I got about 40pnds of LR for free from a local reefer which was frozen... Yes frozen. There's a first for everything. He left his tank to a friend to take care of it while he was out of town and he ended up crashing the tank. He put the rock outside because it stunk and I was the lucky one who got it for free.

Here is the rock when I was cleaning it and cooking it.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/rubbermaid.jpghttp://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/LR.jpg
Talk about a stink! I had to do this in my apartment. My girlfriend was ****ed!:razz:

I also bought about 37pnds of rock from other local reefers in the city. I paid about $5/pnd which is alot better than store prices.

A couple of months later the rock was cleaned and ready to go into the tank.
I also added about 7pnds of rock from my established tank

Here is a pic of the rock in the tank
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/LRadded.jpg

At this point I was starting to get excited. All the searching for equipment and rock was starting to pay off.

[michika]

Looks good so far!

I was going to suggest some foam under your tank, but seeing as it full, and with so much rock (free rock is extra awesome rock by the way), I'm hoping you'll be fine as you are.

So what is your plan for this tank? Fish only? Reef?

[Skimmerking]

Thats looks good man , love the tank. but the stand looks like its bowing in themiddle and there is no styro foam either.... just plywood

[bignose]

I thought about using foam under the tank but I never did. What is the advantages of foam? I'm planning a mixed reef. Most likely will be softies and lps but I hope I can have some sps near the top of the tank. I'm going to transfer my fish from my nano tank but I haven't done much research on fish yet. I want some tangs for sure.
The stand is ok if you look at the top of the pic it looks like the tank is bowing up. Maybe my camera?

[BlueAbyss]

The assumed 'bowing' in the picture is the fish-eye effect from your camera's lens. No biggie, but the lack of some sort of cushion under the tank is a little scary... foam is generally used to cushion the bottom of the tank against any sort of imperfections in the surface that the tank is sitting on, so that there is no localized stress on any one part of the bottom panel of the tank. This reduces the risk of cracking over the long term.

That said, you seem to be off to a good start!

[bignose]

I added 100 pnds of sand into the tank. I used 60pnds of sugar sand on top of 40pnds of crushed coral.

In goes the sand
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sandadded.jpg
Time to drink some beer and wait:mrgreen:

The skimmer started doing its magic right away.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/skimming.jpg
The cup filled about 3 times with cloudy water.

Hours later the tank started to clear up
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/clearwater.jpg
I'm not sure if this is too much sand but I like the look of it

[bignose]

I added a couple more rocks to the tank to make a nice looking cave on the left side. I still have about 5-6pnds of rock left to transfer when I shut down my nano. I think it's enough rock but it could use some more to cover the overflow.

Here is the most recent picture I took of the tank.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/moreLR.jpg
The light is temporary for now. Looks dull with only the center lit up.

Here is the cave from the left side.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/cave.jpg

[Rbacchiega]

looking good!

Dig the over hang...that's a great ledge for an sps colony LOL

[michika]

I like the head on shot, its nice!

BlueAbyss is right on about the foam.

[bignose]

Thanks for the compliments. The tank is 20" deep so there should be good par. I'm going to experiment with a small frag of sps down the road.

I wish I knew what the foam was for when I set the tank up. I thought it was for noise reduction in the tank. Guess I should have started this journal before I set everything up lol.

There are diatoms in the sand so I think the cycle has started.

[Rbacchiega]

hurah!!!

[bignose]

This is kinda off topic but I popped the big question today. I'm getting married woo!!

[Rbacchiega]

congrats there Bignose...*salute*

[Boomboy]

CONGRADs!!!!!!!!!:D:D:D

[Lance]

Congratulations!

[mark]

If the stand was true and sturdy to start, can relax about not having the foam.

[bignose]

Thanks everyone. To be honest with you I didn't check the stand. I hope nothing bad happens to the tank. When I reinforced the stand the wood seemed nice and flat and I drove the screws in deeper than the surface of the wood.

Any suggestions on fish? Something not too advanced. I want some tangs for sure I just don't know which ones yet. There will also be my 2 perc clowns a allans damsil and a chromi that will go in from my nano. I want to get rid of the damsil but my girlfriend er.. fiance is attached.

[bignose]

Well I've been doing some quick research for the fish I'm interested in.
This is very hard because there are alot to choose from and picking suitable fish is confusing.

Here are the fish I want to choose from:

Yellow Tang
Kole Tang
Purple Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Regal Tang
Racoon Butterfly
Coral Banded Butterfly
2xPurple Firefish (and/or) 2xOrange Firefish
Yellowhead Jawfish or Bluespot Jawfish
Pygmy Flameback Angel
4xchromis
2 Perc. clowns

- This list seems long to me. I'm trying to find the inch/gallon ratio but I'm finding mixed answers. Can all these fish survive with the inch/gallon ratio?
- Will all these fish get along together relatively?

[Lance]

Well I've been doing some quick research for the fish I'm interested in.
This is very hard because there are alot to choose from and picking suitable fish is confusing.

Here are the fish I want to choose from:

Yellow Tang
Kole Tang
Purple Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Regal Tang
Racoon Butterfly
Coral Banded Butterfly
2xPurple Firefish (and/or) 2xOrange Firefish
Yellowhead Jawfish or Bluespot Jawfish
Pygmy Flameback Angel
4xchromis
2 Perc. clowns

- This list seems long to me. I'm trying to find the inch/gallon ratio but I'm finding mixed answers. Can all these fish survive with the inch/gallon ratio?
- Will all these fish get along together relatively?


That's a lot of tangs for a 95 gal. There will probably be a lot of aggression. Also Powder Blues are difficult to keep. I would let the tank mature quite a bit before introducing the Butterflies. The remainder of your list seems fine. Good Luck.

[bignose]

Here is a update on my tank.

Water test results:
Amonia - 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate - 5-7ppm
Sal - 1.026

A pictures as of today. Jan 24, 2009
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP0134.jpg
This light is totally wrong:sad:

[Skimmerking]

[Here are the fish I want to choose from:

Yellow Tang
Kole Tang
2xPurple Firefish (and/or) 2xOrange Firefish jumpers
Yellowhead Jawfish or Bluespot Jawfish jumpers
flame angel, BI color for color
3 x chromis
3 anthias
star fish assorted colors
leopard wrasses x 2

that is what i would put in there

[bignose]

Today I went out and bought the rest of the CUC. I got 12 snails and 5 more hermit crabs, 6 empty snail shells and a fire shrimp. I also wanted to get a cleaner shrimp but they didn't have any. I forgot to mention that I added 8 hermit crabs on week two.

I bought everything from Aquarium Illusions. They had some very nice fish in stock. I especially liked the fairy wrasses and purple tangs.

[bignose]

Thought I would update my tank. It's been established a month today.

Here are the results of my water tests. I'm still making sense of some of this so if there is something out of whack please inform me.

NH3 - 0
NO2 - 0
NO3 - 10-15 Doing my first water change tommorrow. Currently mixing water.
pH - 8.2
Ca - got to 600 and stopped. :question:what the heck? old test kit?:question:
PO4 - 0.25
KH - 80
Sal - 1.024

I'm using a API Master test kit. I don't trust these results myself. What brand would some people recommend?

[Trabby]

And............ your tank is going to be great!

This is kinda off topic but I popped the big question today. I'm getting married woo!!

[bignose]

I finally bought the light for my tank locally from a fellow canreefer. It's a Tek-5 54Wx6 4" fixture.

The way everything is now is exactly what my goal was in the beginning of this build, a basic but complete system for a beginner. I've decided to post the approximate cost of my system. The components are ~50/50 new/used. This will not include the cost of salt and the LR from my nano.


What I found at canreef and kijiji locally.
95G Tank - $200
30G sump - free
Tek-5 T5HO - $280
RS-135 - $180
LR ~40pnds - free
LR ~40pnds - $200
Refractometer - $60

I also found some of my receipts and here is what I found.
2 Koralia 4's - $100
250W jager heater - $35
Quietone 5000 - $169
100 pnds sand - $93
plumbing and wood and stand - $280
bulkheads - $28

Grand total ~$1625

Overall I'm happy with the cost of this system and the equipment I found. I never calculated the cost of a completely new system but I'm sure it would be alot more.

Six months of ad surfing and research, and little bit of saving paid off in the end. Now for the livestock! What am I thinking? it never ends:wink:

[bignose]

Here is a picture of the tank.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP0169.jpg
FTS
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoocave.jpghttp://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/beach.jpg
Sorry about the picture quality. I have never been able to take clear pictures.

[bignose]

I addressed the power bar issue and moved the Skimmer to the other side of my sump. Not only did it make it safer but it also made it easier to remove the collection cup.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP0192.jpg
I was barely able to get the skimmer into the other side. Took some time and effort but I got it in.

[bignose]

I got bored so I took pictures of some of my coral. Some of you may recognize these coral.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/candycane.jpg
Candy cane and some kind of Leather

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/clove.jpg
Pipe organ

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/elephant.jpg
Elephant ear - gone through hell and on its way back

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoo1.jpg
zoos - nice purple blue color

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoo2.jpg
zooos - bright orange in person

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoo3.jpg
zoooos

[bignose]

I flipped over the fixture and checked what bulbs were installed. I've been researching about growing SPS and it seems alot of people do it. Here are the bulbs installed.

switch 1:
Atinic +
Midday 6000K

switch 2:
Fiji purple
atinic +
pure atinic + (not lighting up)
Fiji purple

I need some help from people who are growing sps with T5's. What are the best bulbs to use and the best mix?

[digital-audiophile]

I have the same fixture.

I run back to front, or front to back, it is the same either way :p


Aquascience Blue
KZ Fiji Purple
KZ New Generation
KZ New Generation
KZ Fiji Purple
Aquascience Blue

I like it, nice a blue but not too blue.

As far as Par, it would be nice to measure it.

[bignose]

what's KZ?

[digital-audiophile]

KZ is Korallen Zucht. They are the guys that do the zeovit system.

http://www.zeovitusa.com/home.php?cat=254

[bignose]

Do you have a picture of your tank so I can see what your light looks like?

[digital-audiophile]

I am horrible at taking pictures because 1. I cannot get the pictures to not come out blurry, 2. I cannot get the white balance right.

That being said this is pretty close to what it looks like in person, a little more white when you are standing infront of it.

http://i179.photobucket.com/albums/w319/digital-audiophile/004-1.jpg

Up until I crashed the tank a couple months back I was growing SPS just fine with good colours with the same lamp configuration. I'm in rebuilding mode ;)

.. aslo as you can see I have a few clams at the bottom that are just peachy under T5's ... and my giant BTA :)

[bignose]

Very nice. We have similar tanks. I just picked up a clam so I'm happy to see that yours are doing good.

[Rbacchiega]

Giant is right Greg!!

From personally seeing Greg's tank, I'd say his bulb configuration is spot on. Not too blue of a light but the colours on his corals and fish are intense. I don't see why the same bulb config wouldn't give you the same results

[bignose]

I was looking at the anemone earlier. If thats a 4' tank that should be a big anemone. I think I'll go with KZ bulbs next time. I think I found a store that sells them in Edmonton.

[bignose]

I fixed the micro bubble problem in my tank. It instantly cleared up my tank and what a difference!

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP0231resize.jpg
I guess I should have cleaned the glass before the picture. Next time:wink:

[Rbacchiega]

lookin' good! Get some corals in there already...sheesh

[digital-audiophile]

Our tanks are very similar indeed :) I have the dual return on the sides of my overflow as well but after a while I just took off the lockline and nozzles becuase they got in the way more than anything.

[bignose]

Ok here are some more pictures.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/CandyCane-1.jpg
Candy Canes left one is orange/green and right one should eventually be pink.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/leather.jpg
Leathers don't know the ID of these yet.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/ClamandCandyCane.jpg
Orange/green Candy Cane and Crocea Clam I think (girlfriends but I paid for it:wink:)

I'm starting to figure out Adobe Photoshop. I'm adjusting my pictures now and they are starting to look better. It's funny how reefing is starting to improve my picture skills. Never seen this coming.

Now I need to find some SPS.

[fishytime]

Nice coral scores. Looks good. To soon for a clam tho imho.

[bignose]

Thanks for the compliment. I asked before I bought the clam if it would be ok and he said yes. I'm not going to name the store but it is a reputable store. I'll hope for the best because it was expensive.
On a different note this is where the hobby started for me. Here is a couple pictures of my 10 gallon nano.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/Sept608.jpg
This is when I had this tank in its prime. You can see in the back it was skimmerless

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMG_0080.jpg
When I moved the tank crashed and it never recovered I lost almost all my coral.:cry:

So I thought to myself start a NEW TANK!!:mrgreen: It all started with a thought to upgrade to a 30 then a 55 then a 75. One day a 95 showed up on Canreef.

[bignose]

I made the drain pipe for my herbie overflow but when I installed it it made a loud sucking sound. I put a piece of tubing down the hole and it got rid of the sound but it goes through my valve. How would I get rid of this sound?

Without it I have the water level close to the top of the overflow with no sound.

[mark]

what's wrong with the level near the top of the overflow as long as the secondary is dry? Up high there's less noise from the water spilling into the chamber.

[bignose]

I only wanted it so there was less water draining into the sump if the power went out. I've tested for power outs and I have no sump overflow problems so I scrapped the idea.

[Rbacchiega]

huh. Most people use Herbie's to quiet down their systems, especially if they are in living rooms or bedrooms. I have one tank that isn't set up as a Herbie and although it isn't THAT noisy, it's still noisier than my other tanks...and it's a little annoying LOL

[digital-audiophile]

I've actually got to bring up my emergency drain as I get too much water drop and some spalshing, the only problem is I did an anti syphon loop in the return so I need to deconstruct a little bit.. and as you know with your tank its a PITA!

While researching what to do yesterday I did find my missing baby regal tang.. he is sitting DOA at the bottom of the overfglow with no way to really get the corpse out.. I guys I just need to let the family of brisyle worms in the overflow do their work.

[bignose]

Sorry to hear about your tang. Do you think it jumped in the overflow? I'm thinking of buying a screen for my drain because I don't want anything going down it.

My overflow is very quiet but my skimmer is a different story. It's a constant hum sound which I've got used to.

I dipped into the idea of a anti-syphon loop in a previous tank plan. But I thought it was kind of bulky. I know you said it was a PITA but how are your experiences with it? good/bad?

[digital-audiophile]

The Tang must have jumped over, I do have teeth going up to the top of the tank rim so I am surprised it got in there, I had looked in the overflow after it went missing but did not see anything, it wasn't until the weekend when I turned off the pump and let the overflow/tank drain to the sump and removed the lights to get a good look in there.

Regarding the anti syphon it seemed like a good idea when I had the tank built because I wanted the returns on both sides and used lockline with difusers on the end, I just found these to be too big in actual use so I scrapped them and just had the return flowing out both sides. The Anti syphon sort of works but in the end it does not really stop that much water from going to the sump with the pump off, and my sump has enough volume to handle the extra water anyway. The other problem as I mentioned is that I want the emegency drain to go up higher, closer to the surface so I dont get as much as a splash and with the mess of 90 elbows in the middle as the ant-syphon I just cannot do it.

One of the these days when I have some time and ambition I think I will put a plug on one return side and change the return just to one 90 out one side so I can extend my emergcy line up and put a strainer on it.

In hindsight I would have built the tank with an external overflow so I would have more realestate inside the tank and a smaller overflow box on the back to pull out any debris. As it stands right now I need to getmyself one of those FW gravel vacuums so I can clean out the overflow on a regular basis. As I extended my main drain up about 6 inches with a strainer just so I could get at it if a snail or something plugged it, there seems to be a lot of debris (excess food, sand etc.) that is sitting at the bottom of the overflow box.

[BlueAbyss]

Looks awesome! :biggrin: Regal tangs are great fish.

[bignose]

BlueAbyss thanks for the compliment. My Regal tang looks really cool under pure atinics. It's a nice deep blue color which really stands out.

digital-audiophile I also have the same problem with buildup in my overflow. I'm also going with an external overflow next time. Also I want to go with starfire or the other kind of extremely clear glass.

I just setup my new tank and I'm already planning again! Do they have SW tank addiction interventions?!:biggrin:

[bignose]

Well I was at the fish store today and my girlfriend seen some pom poms and a scallop. She had to have them so we got them. I hope they aren't doomed with the tank being so young. I guess only time will tell.

[digital-audiophile]

Pom poms are great, I have a couple in my tank but I am lucky if I see them once a year, they just get lost in the rock work.

I would suggest doing a bit of reading on the scallop. I've never tried them myself but if I recall they are not the easiet creatures to keep.

[Rbacchiega]

If its a flame scallop (which I'm assuming it is) You'll need to direct feed it. Usually they last for around 3-4 months, then starve to death...

[bignose]

Well thats a kick in the nards.:sad: Good thing is was only $15.

[bignose]

Thought I'd update my thread so here are some pictures.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/PurpleFirefishsmall.jpg
Finally got a picture of them together.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/PipeOrganSplittingsmall.jpg
My pipe organ coral is splitting quite rapidly.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/SupermanMontismall.jpg
Here is Superman Monti I picked up today.

I also picked up some zoos but they haven't opened completely yet.

[Rbacchiega]

LOVE the Monti. Good pickup

[Leah]

Wow. Very nice. Glad your fiancee likes fish, and congrats on that too.
I have a 72 bow and a 95 wave neither have anything under them had
the 72 for a couple of years the 95 is fairly new. Touch wood have had
no problems. Keep the photos coming, I love them. Maybe one day I will
actually learn how to use mine. lol

[bignose]

Thanks everyone.

My fiancee is a VERY patient person when it comes to my hobby. I kind of jumped into fish tanks head first with my wallet wide open.
Since I went SW she really likes it. It seems like she's the one stocking the tank sometimes. I always hear "your only allowed the SW tank and the small FW tank, that's it!":wink:

I really like the Superman Monti I chose. Karen had so many coral to choose from I had a hard time picking one. So I chose the one with bright colors and or course the flashy name.
I'll post a picture of the zoos I also got when the lights have been on for awhile.

Big thanks to Karen for the coral. Your tank is beautiful.

[bignose]

So I went to the fish store and bought some fish. I bought a yellow watchman goby, tiger pistol shrimp and a red scooter blenny. I really need to learn to research first because the yellow watchman gody is dead the pistol shrimp killed one of my purple firefish and random crabs here and there. I was hoping the shrimp and the goby would pair up but no luck. Funny thing is I found out I shouldn't have bought the blenny until my tank was mature but the it's still alive. I hope it stays that way!! I also told my fiancee that I'm not going to anymore fish stores because I can't control my urge to buy.

I'll post a picture FTS tommorrow when the lights are on.

[Leah]

Ouch, that's to bad about the fish. Where are the pictures?????

[bignose]

I really think the tank looks bare. I can't wait until the tank is 6 months old then I will add more coral(sps). For now it's only the superman monti, pipe organ, zoos and mushrooms.

Here are pictures taken March 1, 2009
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/95gmar109.jpg
Not much change just some cyano which is finally starting to go away.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/pinkzoos.jpg
Pink zoos I was supposed to post with the monti a while back.

[bignose]

I finally found the charger for my camera.

My yellow watchman goby is alive after all. It just hid for a couple of days.

I currently have diatoms on my sand. They have been there for a month and refuse to dissapear. I will check my parameter to see if somethings wrong.

I bought some more LR and placed one on top of my rocks in the middle of the tank and two smaller pieces in the sand.

I also picked up a Tiger Goby (haven't got a pic yet) and a cleaner shrimp since I last posted.

Here are some updated pics:
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/fts033109.jpg
FTS

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/1sps033109.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/2sps033109.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/3sps033109.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/4sps033109.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/5sps033109.jpg
I have no idea what they are I just know they are sps! :)

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/mushroomandshrimp.jpg
New orange mushroom and cleaner shrimp.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoos033109.jpg
I placed all my zoos on this piece of LR I got so they can spread out.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/newzoo033109.jpg
A nice small frag of colorful zoos I picked up.

[bignose]

I picked up some more LR for my tank. I think I have around 110 pnds in my tank now. I finally learned how to merge my photos so here is a panorama of my tank.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/Panorama1copy.jpg
I lika a lot

[bignose]

I picked up a Midas Blenny and some zoas today.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/midasblenny2.jpg
I could tell this guy had problems as soon as I put it in my tank because it's already hitting the pipe!:lol:

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/midasblenny1.jpg
Seen this kind of fish in the store before and I really liked it. When I went back next time it was gone. So when they had one in this time I took the opportunity to buy it. When I seen it inside the tube I attach nori to I couldn't help but laugh.

When the zoas open up I'll get a picture of them.

[Rbacchiega]

SPS #1 could be a rainbow stylo...hard to tell from the lighting, but I would definately go with a stylophora of some form or another.

#2 looks like it's also a Stylo...orange and green by the looks of it.
#3 & 4 I think are acropora species
and #5 looks to be a millie of some sort.


I think :D

[bignose]

Here are updated pictures of my tank.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/FTS_June2009.jpg
FTS
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/leftmay2009.jpghttp://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/rightmay2009.jpg
Right and Left sides


Cayano has finally gone away. Must have been a long cycle?
I have been getting into the zoanthids and it seems I can't get enough. I'm starting a zoo garden on the left side and I'm going to try the same to the right side.

I broke a handle off a ball valve on my drain about 3 weeks ago. I'm going to have to shut down my sump while I fix it but I'm not sure how I'm going to go about it. Not cool at all is all I can say about that.

I'm happy how the tank has come along since January.

If someone can help with this problem:

I have a 2 rocks with about 7-8 heads of hairy mushroom each. How if possible can I transfer the coral from one rock to another?

[bignose]

Pictures of the frags I received from Red Coral in Calgary.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoanthids1.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoanthids2.jpg

[bignose]

I took this picture using a blue led of a green paly I bought from Madico.
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/glowingpaly.jpg
Wow!:biggrin:

[Leah]

Nice picture

[BlueAbyss]

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/zoanthids2.jpg

Nice, I have those exact frags from Red Coral also :mrgreen:

[fishytime]

We are slowly infiltrating tanks all over western Canada.:twised:

[bignose]

These corals are growing very nicely and burning my clowns very nicely!

The green palys are going to the frag meet today. They aren't doing well in my tank.

[bignose]

Some quick updates:

-I've been vodka dosing for a month now with some positive results. Red Slime is all gone and my sps are coloring up nicely. Even some sps that were bleached out and I thought were going to die are recovering.

-Replaced 3 T5 bulbs with 2 ATI aquablues and 1 KZ fiji purple. In a couple of weeks I'm going to buy the exact same 3 and replace the remaining old bulbs.

-I also added a K3 for more circulation. Starting to move towards a sps and zoo dominated tank.

Thats all I can think of right now.

[bignose]

Hi everyone. It's my tanks 9th month mark. I'm really happy with what I acheived in my tank so here are some pictures of the coral in my tank.

SPS
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-02sps.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-03sps.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-04sps.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-12sps.jpg

Candy Candy and Trumpet
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-07candy.jpg

Zoanthids
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-05zoo.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-06zoo.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-08zoo.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-10zoo.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-11zoo.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-01zoo.jpg
My zoa garden (clown fish burn zone:lol:)

Paly
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/sept09-09paly.jpg

Yeah I know the quality is horrible. But what do you do when you spend all your money on coral.:wink:

[bignose]

I was going to put this picture in the contest this month but I seen the other entries and I knew I had no chance!!
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/midasblennyshrooms.jpg

[bignose]

Coral master made me a happy person when I got these amazing frags.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/acroporaconvexa.jpg
Acropora Convexa

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/bluepolypbirdsnest.jpg
Blue Polyp Birdsnest

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/bluetipgreenslimmer.jpg
Blue tip Green Slimmer. I can't wait for this frag to color up!

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/yellowacroporaausterawithpurplepoly.jpg
Yellow Acropora Austera with Purple polyps. I can't wait for this frag to color up!

[bignose]

I ordered a Vertex PuraTek 100 GPD RO/DI Unit with a booster pump and I can't wait to get it. I'm used to a 24 gpd coralife filter.:lol:

[bignose]

I got a nice gold maxima clam. It's a small 3" clam so I have to feed it but I couldn't resist.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/goldmaxima.jpg

[bignose]

I got some new sps frags today. I felt like a child with a new toy that couldn't wait to get home.

Here they are after one hour in my tank:

This one I bought local - Thanks Noirspynx
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/PurplepolypBirdsnest.jpg
Purple Polyp Birdsnest

These 8 came from Calgary - Thanks Lobsterboy
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/BluetipPurpleStag.jpg
Blue Tip Purple Stag

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/CrayolaTable.jpg
Crayola Table

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/GreenMilli.jpg
Green Milli

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/LemonLimeMilli.jpg
Lemon Lime Milli

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/NeongreenSlimmer.jpg
Neon Green Slimmer

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/RedyellowMilli.jpg
Red and Yellow Milli

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/Stagunknowncolor.jpg
Bonus Stag (color unknown)

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/SunsetMilli.jpg
Sunset Milli

[noirsphynx]

The frags all look great Jason. I'll definitely have to buy a frag of that red mille from you once it's grown, very nice!

[fishytime]

Nice scores man....Johnnybye does have some killer stuff

[bignose]

It's a treat when you come across nice frags.

[bignose]

It's been awhile since I've posted any updates. Since I last posted I have purchased a new house and I'm going to build a new setup.

I will be using the same display so I'm going to keep using this journal.
I finished a walk through with the contractor so now I have a good idea of how I'm going to build. When they finish the basement there will be a storage room opposite the tank so I'm going to use the room for storage and for a sump room.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1195.jpg
I had a custom build sump built at Aquagiant. It is 50 gallons and the dimensions are 48"x16"x15" deep.

[bignose]

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1197.jpg
I leak tested the new sump and everything is good

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1201.jpg
http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1202.jpg
This rubbermaid container held my corals while I transferred the LR.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1203.jpg
I used some canadian tire special syrofoam coolers and rubbermaid containers to transfer the livestock.

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1204.jpg
Once everything was removed this is what the tank looked like.. damn it stuck!!

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1205.jpg
Oh yeah putting the gf and baby to work!:lol:

http://i379.photobucket.com/albums/oo233/jasoncompton1/IMGP1207.jpg
The tank is now ready to be moved thank heavens.

All in all I would have to say the move was absolutely horrible and way too much work. It reeked like hell and I never want to do it again.:lol:
Now it's time to build a new setup and start cycling.

More to come in the near future.

[mark]

congrads on the new house

[bignose]

Thanks Mark. I get my keys on Monday.

I've checked on my livestock yesterday and it's not looking so good so far. I've lost a couple of sps colonies and the rest of the corals aren't so happy. The fish are still alive though which makes me happy. I'm just going to take this in stride and try not to stress out over it. If I have to I'll start over with coral again.