Shrimpchips's 100g (Live!)

[shrimpchips]

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/36x30x24-1.jpg

After about a year and a half in the SW side of the hobby, and progressing from a 10g to a 20g tall tank, I think I'm finally ready to upgrade tanks. That, and I need more space :)

The above model is what I'm hoping the tank will come out to look like.

The tank will go where my 20g reef is right now - to the left is the kitchen, and to the right is the 'living room' area. I wanted to do a 48 x 24 x 24 120g, but after taping off that space in our condo (~600 sqft), but it would be just too huge in the space, so I'm going for a slightly smaller tank.

Here's the plan: the display tank will be 36" x 30" x 24", and I will be ordering it from North American Fish Breeders. It will have a corner overflow like Lobsterboy's 125g (http://canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=47211&highlight=lobsterboy) in the back left corner - I think this design is great as it's much more hydrodynamic than a rectangular box or a round corner overflow. There will be two 1" drains (full siphon, emergency - a modified BeanAnimal overflow (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1310585)), and a single 3/4" return, which will terminate in 2x 3/4" locline returns into the tank.

Plumbing plan (after some consultation on RC (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1779445):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Plumbingplans-1.jpg
The reason I'm going for the siphon return is to minimize noise at night - at night I can hear the durso gurgling on my reef now, and with 400+ gallons going through the drain on this tank, it's going to be a lot louder. So the siphon return should be almost completely silent.

The gate valve is to control the rate of draining to match the return pump - at full siphon (no air, gravity flow) a 1" pipe should handle 900+gph. In the off chance that there is a clog, there will be an emergency drain, also 1".

The lighting will be a Sfiligoi Stealth 8x39w T5HO fixture (http://www.aquaticselite.com/Stealth_8x39w_p/st-t5-839.htm). Should be more than enough for a nice forest of SPS corals - and I'll finally have a strong light fixture, so I'm looking forward to more intense colours!
http://www.aquariumobsessed.com/mm5/graphics/00000001/SF-Stealth_top.jpg

The skimmer will be a Royal Exclusiv Bubble King Mini 180 (http://www.saltysupply.com/Bubble-King-Mini-180-p/bk2180.htm) - I bought this used from a friend last summer. This should easily handle the fishload I have in mind for the tank.
http://www.saltysupply.com/v/vspfiles/photos/BK2180-2.jpg

Flow will be supplied by a pair of EcoTech Vortech MP-40w (http://ecotechmarine.com/products/vortech-mp40w/). I already have a MP-20 and the upgrade kit, so I'll be grabbing another MP-40w soon.
http://ecotechmarine.com/wp-content/uploads/2009/02/mp40w-large.jpg

The other day I came across d2mini's build thread (http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1757436) on Reef Central, and I really liked his stand. My stand will look a lot like his. I'm not sure if the frame will be 2"x4" or metal. I've sent a drawing to a guy on my local forum to get a quote on the construction:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/tankstand.jpg

Other stuff that will be on the tank include my Profilux 4-channel SA doser, as well as my Profilux II Plus controller.

My sump design is still in progress, but without giving too much up, it'll be different.

Rocks will be what I have in my 20g, as well as rock in a 15g right now, and some dry rock I have, and possibly some more dry rock (Marco rocks) or LR if I can find some for a decent price locally - I probably need no more than another 50lbs for the scape I want - something like the 2-3 island grouping. I want to have lots of overhangs and spaces for fish, but at the same time leave lots of space for the SPS to grow out.

Fish in my20g will come over (Potter's Angel, sixline wrasses, 2x Pearly Jawfish). I'd eventually like to have:

5 - 7 Carberry anthias
3 - 4 Pearly Jawfish
1 - 2 Centropyge multifasicatus
1 - 2 Centropyge potteri
1 - 2 Synchiropus picturatus (Spotted green mandarinfish)
1 - 2 Corythoichthys haematopterus (Dragonface pipefish)
1 - Falco hawkfish

Plus assorted gobies and such to fill out the mix. I want to keep the fish all smaller - personally I'm not a fan of seeing big tangs and angelfish in anything but massive tanks. This tank will be a tang free zone.

Coral-wise, of course this tank will be SPS dominated, with a few clams. I'll have a ricordea garden, and maybe a few zoas here and there, and a rock covered in different xenids (if the Potter's lets me - they're currently his favourite snack).

As I progress with the build, I'll post updates :)

[kien]

[IMG]

Other stuff that will be on the tank include my Profilux 4-channel SA doser, as well as my Profilux II Plus controller.

Looks awesome! Something to keep in mind (in case you didn't already know).. GHL has a non standalone doser that hooks up and talks to the profilux controller. It is cheaper than the standalone doser. :-)

K.

[shrimpchips]

Thanks Kien - I'm hoping it all turns out as nice as I have in my head!

Yeah, I bought the SA doser, since I didn't have any intention of picking up a controller anytime soon. And then a week later a great deal on a Profilux set up popped up, so I got it....could of saved myself $200, but oh well :p

[Nebthet]

I have found that Kijiji for your area is a good place to look for cured live rock for decent prices. There are a few people selling it for between $3/lb to $4.50/lb.

[JDigital]

Wow... this sounds like it is going to be quite the tank!

Looking forward to it.

[Chase31]

drool

[Nebthet]

Droolz is right!!! I can't wait to see this puppy put together and all set up.
Your sps will be really nice and happy in this baby!

[shrimpchips]

I picked up my light today from Tim from Elite Aquatics - a Sfiligoi Stealth 8 x 39w T5HO fixture.

It came in an overly huge box:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_2274.jpg

The splash guard is made of two panes of low-iron glass:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_2275.jpg

All packed in:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_2277.jpg

Huzzah!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_2279.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_2280.jpg

There's two cords for the lighting and one for the fans (with adjustable voltage). Also there's an additional hole for the cord for the LED upgrade (which I didn't get), but it will be great as I eventually want to get a Profilux SIMU-LED stick. Also there's a gap in the reflectors in the middle for the LEDs, which I can use too.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_2284.jpg
There's 4 fans (2 for each bulb), and the top is a metal mesh for venting. The reflectors are super bright - definitely magnitudes more 'shiny' than my Current USA reflectors.

The fixture is built solid, and I can't wait to have the rest of the tank set up!

No bulbs yet - that's not in this month's budget :rolleyes:

This weekend I also placed an order for some of the plumbing (loc line fittings and a gate valve) - the rest of the plumbing I need to go to JJ Downs for (schedule 40 grey PVC pipe and fittings). I'm also getting a Vortech from a friend who is opting for a wavebox instead.

[phyto4life]

Nice

[Nebthet]

Very nice!! That is a huge light.. and should work well for your new tank!

[karazy]

hey shrimpchips, nice light. as you will notice once i put up my build thread, i am also doing a 36x30x24.
now i saw that you were posting on RC about the difference in the sfiligoi and ATI 8 bulb light, and that your friend is getting/got a 8 bulb ATI and that you would compare them PAR wise and report back.
do you think you could also post the differences in par here too?

[Stones]

Your plans look great. Nice light fixture by the way:biggrin:

[shrimpchips]

hey shrimpchips, nice light. as you will notice once i put up my build thread, i am also doing a 36x30x24.
now i saw that you were posting on RC about the difference in the sfiligoi and ATI 8 bulb light, and that your friend is getting/got a 8 bulb ATI and that you would compare them PAR wise and report back.
do you think you could also post the differences in par here too?

Nice - it's a great tank size. Actually that same friend has a 36 x 36 (I think) x 24 already set up.

Yeah, I'll be setting that up sometime on a future weekend when we can get together. I'll post the numbers here too :)

[karazy]

Nice - it's a great tank size. Actually that same friend has a 36 x 36 (I think) x 24 already set up.

Yeah, I'll be setting that up sometime on a future weekend when we can get together. I'll post the numbers here too :)

it is indeed an awesome size. we have one at the store i work at and i just love the size.
any details on the tank finishings? (polished glass, braced vs. non braced, background color, ect)

[shrimpchips]

Tank will be rimless ("trimless" if you will for you nitpicky folks) with beveled edges throughout, and most likely a black background, although I've been seeing some deep blue back grounds (almost black, but not quite) so I may try that out. One thing is that the back won't be drilled (bottom drilled) so I may be able to switch out backgrounds if I want.

Standard glass throughout - a lot of the other items on this build are pretty ballin' but I can't justify to myself the extra cost, especially since the difference once you're pumping so much blue light throughout the tank is visually imperceptable (to myself at least, and that's all that really matters :wink:).

The stand will be like d2mini's stand. I'm currently enamoured with it. Very simple and elegant. It will be stained black to match the coffee table and book case next to where the tank will be. The side panels will be hung magnetically, and the front will be on hinges. The back will be immovable (as it'll be against the wall :) ).

I'll be hanging the pendant, either from the ceiling or from hangars attached to the wall - more likely the latter at there's the oven vent ducting going right over where the tank is, so I don't think I'll be able to anchor into the ceiling there. eventually I'd like to install a DIY light winch to raise and lower the fixture via remote, but that's a project I'll save for another day.

[shrimpchips]

Got myself another MP-40w, and picked up 95% of my plumbing. I forgot one adapter (well, got it in grey, not white) and I also stupidly forgot that I needed a 1/2" hose barb for the TLF Phosban reactors.

Back I go to the plumbing store.

[Nebthet]

But at least you are making progress.. I can't wait to see more pix of your progress on setting this up.

[Leah]

Tagging along:wink:... this is exactly what I am planning... definetly still in my head... going around and around :lol:
My.... Ultimate dream tank!....can't wait to see your progress. PM coming your way soon....

[superduperwesman]

Wow! Looks like you're going to have a very nice system

[DCDN]

Can't wait to see it

[shrimpchips]

Well, it's been a long time (spoiler alert: nothing concrete has happened! lol), so I thought I'd give an update and get some opinions.

I've finalizd the dimensions and the tank is apparently done and ready to b delivered (I say apparently since I've been waiting on pics from Miracles for about a week now). The final specs for the tank is 42 x 24 x 24 (110g), with the front and two sides in 1/2" starphire glass. Bottom is 5/8" tempered with three holes, and a corner overflow with an angled front (Drawing from Miracles in Glass):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/42x24_w_angle_corner_overflow.jpg

I modelled my stand after D2mini's stand on RC. Here's what I think it'll look like when all done and together:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/complete.jpg

Here are the stand blueprints. Let me know what you guys think:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Skeletonframe.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/skinning1.jpg
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/skinning-level2finishing.jpg

I'll be losing the screwstrips in figure 3, instead opting for pocket screws to attach the uprights to the top and bottom frames. I'll probably also add gusseting to preventing racking. Also, the top frame will be 2 x 4, not 2 x 6, as many people agreed that it wouldn't be necessary.

Also, to attach the side panels, I'll be using recessed magnets, and for the front doors, I'll be using these nifty hinges:
http://www.leevalley.com/en/images/item/hardware/hinges/00h0201s6.jpg

Everything has to be held inside the stand (ATO reservoir, sump, dosing containers, etc:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/bottomplanning.jpg

I have changed the plumbing a bit to allow me to bypass the skimmer section and drain right into the return chamber, so that I can use the skimmer section for water changes.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Plumbingplans-2.jpg

Since the sump might have been a tight fit, I planned it all out too (that, and I like planning):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Sumpplanning.jpg

All that is left is to collect a few missing plumbing pieces, bild the stand and get the tank delivered! Hopefully all up and running by then end of October!

[Nebthet]

Nice.. I can't wait to see this tank come together. It has been a long time waiting..
The stand you are planning is really nice looking.

[purelife]

Very nice will be a nice tank to watch progress, looking forward to future progress!

[phyto4life]

Nice.

So far so good.

[sweet ride]

so far so good, any updates?

[shrimpchips]

Yep, I've made some decent progress. My acrylic things should arrive on Friday (a member of a local forum is making them for me), and I'm still waiting on plumbing from a local mail order store. Other than that, I'm just waiting on having a new 15A circuit installed behind the tank, and it's ready to go.

I built the stand in our living area (of a 600 sqft condo), so I had to cut everything at my parent's place and bring it over to assemble.

Here's the stand progression:
2x4 frame:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/02ed59ed.jpg

There's no screw strips for the uprights - instead they're pocket screwed into the base and top rails:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/f584793d.jpg

Everything was glued and screwed together:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/50335fba.jpg

I got it all skinned (1/2" ply for first layer, 3/4" for the finishing layer). The doors were just mocked up to see how it would look all together:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/457787b9.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/15b9193c.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/a81cf3b4.jpg

Now it's down in the garage - it just got two coats of Kliz (white) for the interior tonight, and I'll do a coat of black stain on the exterior before work tomorrow and after work to finish it off.

Tank got delivered today too :D
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/deaaeccf.jpg

Custom angled overflow:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/b7c13b2a.jpg

Sump tank (25g):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/c7fccebe.jpg

All nekked!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/124b4486.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/47e9378a.jpg

I was hoping to have it running by the end of the month, but I guess not. Hopefully I'll have it wet by the second or third week of November.

[kien]

I was hoping to have it running by the end of the month, but I guess not. Hopefully I'll have it wet by the second or third week of November.

You still have 3 days, including a weekend coming up! Get to it! :lol:

Great looking stand and tank! This one is going to be a beauty.

[reefermadness]

Wow ....cant believe I missed this. Looks great. Holy planning batman.

[shrimpchips]

Kien, I can only hopw that my tank will look half as nice as your tanks do. Your rockscapes always inspire :)

Darryl, nice to see you here. I don't post on "that other site" anymore, so updates are here or on RC :)

I made some more progress on the stand yesterday/today. I got the second coat of Kliz on last night, and it looks pretty good - makes it much brighter inside of the stand. My last stand was painted black inside, and it makes it very dark, even when lit inside. This time it should be a lot easier to see things when it's nice and bright in there:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/1f38dbbc.jpg

Here's the stand after the first coat of black stain:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/e0397f48.jpg

I'm going to do a second coat tonight, then it should be done. Just going to let it air out a few days in the parking garage, then bring it back upstairs.

[Rbacchiega]

tagging along. looks like it's going to be a great tank

[shrimpchips]

Had a local forum member make some acrylic goods for me which he dropped off today- 3 dosing boxes, a little stand for my doser, and my black baffles. Everything is top notch, and I'd recommend him to anyone looking or some custom acrylic fabrication in the GTA.

Here are the dosing boxes. Exactly as per my design, and they're amazing. I had the brief thought to turn one into a tank for my desk (....so I may have to place another order with Jamie soon!)
My original plans:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Dosingbox.jpg
Jamie noted that the 2" opening would be too small to get a hand in to clean (good eye!), so after consulting with me, we changed it to 4". The result is:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0096.jpg

You can see the little doser stand on top.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0098.jpg

Lid detail (it seals the box nice and tight - perfectly made!)
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0102.jpg

More close ups:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0100.jpg

Baffles were made in black to minimize the amount of light thrown around the sump, and prevent algae growth where it's unwanted:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0104.jpg

Mocked up in the sump (with return pump and skimmer, of course):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0109.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0106.jpg

[shrimpchips]

Now that I have the dosing solution boxes, sump baffles and my 10g top off reservoir (my former 10g tall reef tank :)), I put it all together under the stand. Thanks to the acrylics and the white interior, it looks really clean.

Dosing box fits perfectly with a few mm to spare:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0110.jpg

All together now!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0135.jpg

Frontal shot:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0127.jpg

Right (ATO reservoir) side:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0128.jpg

Left (Skimmer) side:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0133.jpg

Lots of room above the skimmer:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0118.jpg

Behind the sump there's about 1.5" to run electrical and hide anything else:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0123.jpg

And a nice little space for storing everything else, and maybe even a future frag tank/species tank of ~10g:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0121.jpg

Very excited to start seeing everything come together!!

[fishytime]

sweet dosing station.....looks very shiny.....and like it cost a pretty penny:wink:.....sorry if I missed it but is that the BK mini 180?

[shrimpchips]

sweet dosing station.....looks very shiny.....and like it cost a pretty penny:wink:.....sorry if I missed it but is that the BK mini 180?

It looks like it did, but not really :) Everything was made for $125, an amount I think is super reasonable, if not bordering on cheap!

And, yes, that is a BK180 Mini (gen 1 tho :p). I can't wait to see it in action!

[fishytime]

wow!.....that is a really good price!......your gonna be really happy with the BK......I know I am:wink:

[shrimpchips]

Since Miracles forgot to apply the black vinyl backing, I tried to apply the vinyl on the tank myself, but I suck. Bad. There's no way I can do it right and make it look decent. I'll probably have to paint the back tomorrow.

I made some progress today though. I cut out an area for the outlets, and expanded one of the holes I put in the back top corner of the stand since I forgot that the power cord for the fan for the light fixture has an adapter on it.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/492ec3dc.jpg

Also, I hung the light fixture. Got the bulbs in and, glass splash shields installed and put that baby up!

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/cd29a588.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/df1a10e0.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/a5901b2a.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/dbee900a.jpg

It makes me crazy that the fixture is held up by little bolts in the ceiling, but I suppose I should have faith in them - but I can't help but feeling like one day I'll come home to the fixture having gone for a swim....

Anyways, I'm pretty happy.

Next steps:
1. Make back of tank black somehow - try vinyl again? paint black with acrylic/latex?
2. Level stand - it's ever so slightly off.
3. Get tank on stand.
4. Glue down plumbing.
5. Silicone in sump baffles.
6. Arrange electrical components (power bars, controllers, battery back-up, cords, etc.).
7. Profit!!

Just kidding! Then starts the real fun!! Filling the tank!!! woooooo

[sweet ride]

looking good!

as per the vinyl issue, if I may provide some advice, if you have a clean spay bottle, fill it with some water, spray the section of the tank that you want the vinyl to stick to, slap the vinyl on, the water will give you the ability to move around the vinyl, when your happy with the location, grab a credit card wrap it in a terry cloth, then start from the middle outwards to remove the water. then your done!!!! oh I would recommend to pre-cut the vinyl before slapping it in the back of the tank.

[lastlight]

How the hell did I miss this? It's like hidden nose treasure to a kid it's THAT sweet. Love the stand so far and kudos on all the planning. What exactly are those hinges called and where did you get them? Those are bangin' man.

Miracles does some crazy nice work and I suppose they have a pretty easy ride in your area for high end builds now that AO closed shop.

Looking forward to more!

[lorenz0]

god I love those lights. this tank is going to look gorgous

[shrimpchips]

Thanks guy!

I tried the vinyl application again, but again, it was an epic fail. So I ended up painting the back yesterday.

Yeah, the light is super sexy. I really like it, and I'm glad I went with the Sfiligoi over a Powermodule.

Brett, the hinges are made by....Soss ( http://www.soss.com/ ). Haven't installed them yet though.

Last night I got the sump all done up. First I taped all where the silicone would go down:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/599fff99.jpg

After using generous amounts of silicone (GE silicone 1, without mildew guard), and using two plastic spoons to smooth out the seam, I removed the tape and now it's curing in the bathroom.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/1ab6c2ec.jpg


It looks nice, and the silicone is pretty neatly done. Hopefully it's strong enough to hold the water in each compartment

I've coerced a buddy out for dinner tonight - little does he know that he'll have to earn a beer by lifting a tank! I can smell the progress already!

[lastlight]

Yeah, the light is super sexy. I really like it, and I'm glad I went with the Sfiligoi over a Powermodule.

Dude that light runs laps around the power module in the sexy circuit. I'm glad they've got proper distribution and marketing now. More people need to get on board.

[shrimpchips]

Yeah, Tim is really great to work with. I'm lucky he lives pretty close to him. Any issues I've had he's sorted out right away, and always great to chat with.

Anyways....

Wooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo ooooooooooooooooooooooooooooo!

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/21fc897f.jpg

Plumbing, here I come!!

[shrimpchips]

In the last few days, I've hung the fixture, got all the plumbing done, and screwed in and placed all my electrical componenets. I also levelled the stand with shims, so now all thats left is to get her wet! :D

Bulkheads in place:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/d2612f8e.jpg

In tank plumbing (all grey schedule 40 PVC - for the sextra sexyness);
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/d9bd8910.jpg

Plumbing in the stand:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/80d74d2d.jpg
Not too worried about all the elbows on the manifold - my return pump should be able to overcome it just fine.

Electrical componenets:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/12081058.jpg

All together with dosing containers, sump, ATO reservoir and GFO/GAC reactors:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/4d539955.jpg

Some pics with the light going on - can you see the Starphire glass? I can't :D
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/65f4d124.jpg

Through 3.5' of Starphire glass:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/91fff3c8.jpg

I did a small test of the bulkheads - no leaks in the bulkheads, but there is a small leak through the threaded fitting of the emergency overflow pipe. No big deal though - it leaked ~5ml overnight into the sump.
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/b498c650.jpg

And a FTS:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/f3a4f2ea.jpg

Picking up 50' of RO/DI line this weekend to start filling the tank!

[lorenz0]

I don't know if this is appropriate, but I just got a boner looking at your set up.

[shrimpchips]

I don't know if this is appropriate, but I just got a boner looking at your set up.

lol....these pics don't even show any pu...........mps. I don't have the Profilux doser (4 chan) or Profilux controller placed yet either. Then it's hardcore :lol:

[paddyob]

The leak you have on the threaded drain.... get more teflon tape and re tape it.

It may only leak a little now but with more time it could get worse.

[paddyob]

Nicest set up I have seen in a long time. Everything is so neat and orderly underneath. Looks awesome!

[shrimpchips]

I should clarify - the threaded connection that is leaking is inside the tank - the emergency drain is plumbed to a slip x male thread fitting, which is screwed into the bulkhead. So the leak essentially is within the plumbing, which is by all means fine for now. If it does get worse, then I'll have to wrangle to pipe out, but for now I'll leave it be.

[globaldesigns]

I don't know if this is appropriate, but I just got a boner looking at your set up.

HEHE, I wouldn't say I went that far.... But I was thinking WHAT THE F---!

This is one of the cleanest, most organized setups. Great Work.

Now I am looking at mine and wondering.... do I need to clean things up?

[sweet ride]

that is really clean! great job!!!!

[lastlight]

I don't know if this is appropriate, but I just got a boner looking at your set up.

It's so appropriate and you know it.

Please attach the other hoses before firing up them TLF's. This thing's looking slick man! Oh and I'm going to overlook the white pvc in the stand.

[Marlin65]

Great looking tank top notch work.
Thanks so much for the Aquabee my skimmer works great again just what I needed thanks again for helping me out.

[shrimpchips]

that is really clean! great job!!!!

Thanks - hopefully it'll look good once I get life in the tank too.

It's so appropriate and you know it.

Please attach the other hoses before firing up them TLF's. This thing's looking slick man! Oh and I'm going to overlook the white pvc in the stand.

Actually I wanted white PVC in the stand to go with the white interior of the stand - would have been just as easy to do grey, but I wanted the white. Besides, it matches the skimmer. And really, how embarrassing is it when you're sporting grey plumbing with a white skimmer?

Great looking tank top notch work.
Thanks so much for the Aquabee my skimmer works great again just what I needed thanks again for helping me out.

Oh good the pump got to you! No problem - glad to hear it fixed your issues!

[lastlight]

I've now fully realized your vision =) Carry on!

[shrimpchips]

Thanks Brett. I can finally continue now that you approve :D

After a busy weekend, the tank started filling last night - I started at around 1 am, and it's now about half-way full (well, when I left for work this morning). Hopefully it'll be full by tomorrow morning.

So far no leaks :D

[lastlight]

Thanks Brett. I can finally continue now that you approve :D

You lippy sumbeatch :lol: Where's our live video feed of the water going in? I envy you guys getting new tanks wet. Mine's ancient now (I'm starting to grow coraline). Not sure what to do besides live vicariously thru you guys!

[shrimpchips]

Thanks to Brett's blessing, it's finally beginning. I filled it up, mixed up 130 gallons of salt water, and then tonight I plopped in my LR. Didn't take any pictures of the process, but I did anchor two of the rocks using a 3/4" masonry bit to drill through rock and 5/8" acrylic rod and just stacked things so I can remove them easily later if need be.

My inspiration was a reef bommie or island - the aquascape essentially looks like a big boulder where I'll try to arrange SPS and LPS colonies in an artful yet natural fashion.

I arranged all the rock (10 fairly big pieces, around 60 lbs), and added 2 bags (80lbs) of Caribsea Reef floor grade sand, which looks really nice. The bigger size will hopefully keep it down a bit better than oolithic sand.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/8a9e7300.jpg

Currently running a crap load of carbon (any residual chemicals in the water) and a phosban reactor stuffed with filter floss (for the dust). After it clears up, I'll keep the lights off for a while and run GFO to reduce and phosphates and keep the lights off. Waiting for the fog to clear....

[shrimpchips]

Front:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/6771a0ba.jpg

From the kitchen (left):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/929198fc.jpg

From the couch (right):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/b6806f1b.jpg

[Nebthet]

Woo Hoo!!!! Wet Water.. lol.

I really like the looks of this scape. I can't wait to see what it looks like when you trasfer your other tank over.
I see lots of room for acan and chalices, and lots of rockwork for your sps. Very nice. I am jealous. :)

[lorenz0]

awesome rock work. are you keeping it this way?

[Zoaelite]

Wow what a sleek looking tank, definitely following along on this one.

Not quite boner material yet, still in the hemi stage haha:lol:.

[shrimpchips]

Thanks Nebthet! I might keep a few things on the sand, but I've never been a fan of the cluttured sand look, so I'll keep it mostly on the rock. I've never had any acans (never really caught my eye), but I've seen some really crazy ones come into the local stores lately so I might get a colony or two for the edges of the rockwork. As for chalices? The only one I like is the watermelon chalice, so I might get a piece, but more likely than not. SPS all the way! :D

Yup, this is the arrangement I'll be keeping. Once I got something I liked, I just filled the sand around it.

[shrimpchips]

Aaaaaaaand what everyone's been waiting for....crappy pics!

Here's the awesome ricordea colony I picked up at BA last week - there's three distinct morphs on it:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/ricordea1.jpg

Frags and colonies that made the transfer are looking well.
Duncan coral:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/duncan1.jpg

Montipora undata:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/undata1.jpg

Montipora setosa:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Setosa1.jpg

The first pic is my ORA Red Planet frag under 2x24w T5HO:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/18db5f55.jpg

Here's another in the tank (on the sandbed):
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/redplanet1.jpg
It's actually much more intense, but I'm having a hard time with the white balance on it.

I picked up two colonies at NAFB, this is one of them:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/9989d06e.jpg

The other is an aqua/blue thich staghorn acro. Hopefully it grows as thick as the original branches it's growing out from.

Also, in QT right now I have three fish from Menagerie - a small sixline wrasse that I'll attempt to pair with my established sixline, a twinspot hogfish, and a beautiful purple tang.

Twinspot hogfish:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Twinspothogfish2.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/twinspothogfish1.jpg

The purple tang came with some damage to a first spine, and a cause of HLLE starting up, but after a week it cleared up completely!
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/purpletang1.jpg

Sorry for the dark fish pics - I didn't change the WB.

No FTS yet - nothing's been arranged yet, so no FTS :)

[shrimpchips]

Some iPohne (overexposed) pics of the tank. Nothing is glued down, and a few frags are just scattered here and there.

Right side:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/7f5c1015.jpg

Left side:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/ab718012.jpg

FTS:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/765de05c.jpg

[lastlight]

Are those fury balls duncans? They look pretty sweet! Mine only have 5 heads but are growing fast.

[kien]

Looking great!

Brett sure likes fuzzy orbs..

[lastlight]

Looking great!

Brett sure likes fuzzy orbs..

I don't think you should even be at your desk right now Tiger. Tsk Tsk!

[shrimpchips]

Are those fury balls duncans? They look pretty sweet! Mine only have 5 heads but are growing fast.

Yeah - it started as maybe 6 or 7 heads 2 years ago. I fragged a few, but now it's one massive ball. They haven't branched at all.

Looking great!

Brett sure likes fuzzy orbs..

Thanks! Brett knows what he likes. And I gots big ones!

[TheDogFather]

Looks great Eric!

:smile:

TDF

[shrimpchips]

Thanks TDF - I'll have to come by your place soon to see how your system is doing!

[Nebthet]

Your set up is coming along very nicely.

Can't wait to see more pix. Sucks you lost a lot of your sps in the switch over though.

[shrimpchips]

Thanks Sarah! Yeah, it's a shame that I lost all those wonderful SPS (enough to fill a 2g bucket completely).

But I've started to rebuild - this weekend I got a frag of cali tort, Coral Master's Selago, GARF bonsai, ORA Bird of Paradise, and two other sweet frags. Next week I'll be trading some frags for an Oregon tort and green palau nepthea (I'm super excited for this one....). Hopefully a friend of mine can make a frag of ORA Hawkins that he got from me a while ago.

Things are a growing. I can't wait for the next few weeks to see the growth things will get.

[Nebthet]

I Can imagine.. I have been making frags of the PT Digi and green digi I bought off of you over a year ago, and the green bottlebrush is really growing like crazy now.

If you want frags of those in the future again, let me know and I will try to arrange something to get them to you.. (Greyhound pulled the bus stop outta belleville, so no cheap trips up to Toronto for me any more :( ....)

[shrimpchips]

It’s been a bit, so a little update is due!

The three fish I had in QT are in the big tank now - purple tang, bimaculatus hogfish and another little sixline wrasse. Everyone's doing great, and everyone in the tank is used to each other now and settled in nicely.

Unfortunately the sixline I wanted to pair with this one jumped out a few weeks ago :( I now have netting over the tank to prevent further jumpers.

I finally got my act together last week and started to glue various frags and colonies I had scattered along the front of the tank to the rock. Used 4 tubes of superglue and most of a tube of epoxy getting everything onto the rock – made my skimmer go nuts for 3 days, but now the sandbed is looking a lot less cluttered, and it’s starting to look like a tank with a future :)

As for placement, I want to eventually have a nice mixture of growth forms and colours, so I’m trying not to place similar corals together too much, and keep colours and growth forms in mind when things get bigger.

Also, I was at Sea U Marine a week or so ago, and I really liked how Ken has a big A. hoeksmai in the middle of the tank, so I’ve placed my hoek in the middle of the tank – hopefully it grows into the centerpiece I’m envisioning for it!

This weekend I finally got around to hooking up my Profilux doser again. I mixed up 9 liters each of Ca, Alk and Mg (Cl and SO4), and added the trace elements from Fauna Marin. Hopefully the solutions last 3 months or more.

Parameter test after a few hours of dosing (and a lot of pump testing) was Ca 440, Alk 5. I’d like to get the Alk to about 7. Today after a day it was Ca 400 ppm, Alk 6 dKh and Mg.....750ppm!! No wonder stuff has stopped growing, and the monti caps look so pale! So now the next few days will be spent slowly bringing Mg back up to around 1200 ppm.

Also, last week I spotted tiny (~4mm) snails in the tank that didn’t look like collonista snails commonly found in reef tanks. They looked like tiny trochus sp. Snails, but I assumed that they had hitch hiked in on something, so didn’t think much of it. That was until yesterday when I spotted three of them on the opposite side of the tank. Going back, now I see them everywhere! Here’s a shot of two little guys – they’re both less than 5mm in diameter:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/babytrochus2-1.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/babytrochus1-1.jpg

Next up for the tank:
- Set up Profilux again (I accidentally flashed the OS, so I have to reload it. Right now it’s just running off of timers and powerbars :p)
- Mount Monti caps and digi, move ricordea rock, clear up clutter in left side of tank.
- Stain and put on door panels
- Figure out a clear acrylic solution to hold netting in place
- Get a black acrylic cover made for my overflow
- New fish?? Dunno – QT is currently sitting empty and ready!
- Keep collecting SPS!!

Also, after talking to Ken for a while about it, I may give a go with Zeovit – I really like the colours Ken (Sea U Marine) gets, and his program which deviates from the traditional zeovit regime. Or I might not, but either way, it’ll probably be a while before I try it if I do decide to do so.

And as required with any update, here’s a FTS:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/FTSMar102011-resized.jpg

[lastlight]

That's going to look really nice as it matures. The little overhang is a nice touch too.

Any reason your targets for alk and mg are lower than usual?

[Nebthet]

Very nice looking indeed... things are coming together very well.

[shrimpchips]

Update:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_4540.jpg

I can't white balance to save my life. Oh well.

Here's two more shots of corals that are doing pretty well:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_4543.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/DSC_4545.jpg

What's awesome about those two is that the picture is waaaay duller than they are in real life :)

Not much has gone on in the last few months besides some basic maintenance here and there, and some rearranging of colonies. A few weeks ago it got real hot and my tank got up to 84F, so I lost one or two colonies, but everything is really bounching back now.

I'm hoping to pick up some awesome frags from a friend of mine this weekend, and I have a little Potter's angelfish in QT right now - hopefully I can find another one or two to pair them and then put them into the main tank all at the same time. Aside from that, when the SPS get really thick, I'd love to put in a small school of smaller anthias or cardinalfish as the last "group" of fish in there.

Hopefully more pictures to come!

[reefermadness]

Nice......that setosa is killer. Super bright.

[fishytime]

agreed.....that setosa is killer!.....I have one the same color......hope it grows up as nice as yours:biggrin:

[shrimpchips]

Nice......that setosa is killer. Super bright.

agreed.....that setosa is killer!.....I have one the same color......hope it grows up as nice as yours:biggrin:

Thanks guys - it's definitely one of my favourite corals. Too bad it's a relatively slow grower!

Fishytime, give it low flow and it'll be gnarly - it doesn't appreciate high flow.

[shrimpchips]

Here's how the tank was looking last week (crappy iPhone pic :)). I need to organize a bit - too much stuff lying about here and there.

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/Sept2011.jpg

This weekend was an exciting one! It's been about 2 weeks now that I've had a multibar angelfish (paracentropyge) in QT, and it seems to be doing well - eating something (I don't know what) as it's belly is full, and it's getting less and less shy. It got a 15 min water bath before going in the tank (as centropyge are prone to flukes), in which time tons of them came off!

The difficulty with them is that they are known to not eat leading to death, or apparently be fine for weeks then die for no reason. Hopefully with it looking happy in qt, neither will happen.

Also, yesterday I went to Sea U Marine to pick up some stuff. I came home with 2 small (<2") orange fromia stars (hopefully they do well in my reef, as they were moving about a lot in the tank in the store), and another conch. I love watching their eye stalks and see them lumbering around the tank.

I also picked up a nice white/green base acro with deep purple tips. Hopefully low in the tank it stays this colour. Also got a sweet little something else - hoepfully it stays coloured and survives!

Also in the shopping basket: a VERY special fish. Can you guess why?
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/IMG_0047.jpg

[shrimpchips]

Been a while - I still haven't completely reorganized and mounted all my corals, but it's getting there. I have to move two or three colonies, but after that it's FTS time!

I had some time recently to take a few shots, so I thought I'd share some pictures.

ORA Red planet:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4050.jpg

Green/yellow with pink tips:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4051.jpg
This one's cool - the polyps near the tips are blue/purple!

Montipora malaympaya - it's a lot happier lower in the tank:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/acromontinepthea.jpg

Montipora setosa, undata, clams and some rics:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4053.jpg
The acro above the setosa is pretty nice - I really like the blue-grey polyps swaying in the current. Reminds me of a blizzard!

Some palys (PDs and NGs) I got from last week:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4064.jpg

Here's the cool (what I think is) acropora monticulosa I got the other day:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4045.jpg
Kind of drab, but hilariously shaped!

There was a post on Reef Builders yesterday about acropora speciosa. Here's a top down of mine:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/speciosa.jpg
It's doubled in size since I got it last year. Really a beautiful coral.

[Nebthet]

Wow, your tank has come along rather nicely. Can't wait to see more pics. :)

[reefermadness]

Looking good! Interesting Speciosa....

[Zoaelite]

Your SPS looks unreal! Interesting to see the difference in growth patterns and colors of red planet in other peoples tanks!

Sent from my HTC Desire HD using Tapatalk

[shrimpchips]

Wow, your tank has come along rather nicely. Can't wait to see more pics. :)

Thanks! It's been colouring up slowly since I started to pay more attention to it :D Hopefully it keeps getting brighter!

Looking good! Interesting Speciosa....

Thanks Darryl! Surprisingly, I got it from a Big Al's. Never know what you'll find there.

Your SPS looks unreal! Interesting to see the difference in growth patterns and colors of red planet in other peoples tanks!

Thanks :) I wished my RP had a bit of green on it, but I'm pretty happy with it being bright pink too. That colony was a single branch frag this time last year.

[shrimpchips]

It's been a while, mostly of downs in the tank (due to a fair bit of neglect), but I think we're back on track. Haven't rearranged like I want to, but tank is looking ok I think :)

Here's a quick FTS:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/FTS2012-02-10.jpg

[kien]

Looking awesome man. Can't tell that your tank was neglected. :-)

[shrimpchips]

it's been a while since I updated so I thought I'd throw up a fts:

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4757.jpg

Also got this a few weeks ago:
http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4743.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/CIMG4746.jpg

http://i290.photobucket.com/albums/ll255/ashikatani/Reef%20tank/Upgrade/33408E4F-E8A5-4B52-B9FA-73ACA1CAC8FA-4249-0000060F07B5140A.jpg

Sweet sweet lemons :p

[Stones]

Looking good as always man!

[lastlight]

lots of growth since the last FTS nice!

[kien]

that's an awesome 1 year progress FTS ! So what's your husbandry like these days ?

[shrimpchips]

Thanks guys! It's been a lot of ups and downs, but I think it's mostly back on track for now.

Husbandry these days has been a lot of just plain old maintenance - refill dosing chambers as needed, WCs here and there (sometimes once a week, sometimes a few times a week, all depends on how much time I have). I'm trying to clear out random frags and stuff like that to clean up the tank a bit. So far I've gotten rid of a whole bunch, so I'm pretty happy.

Now I;m just working on getting colours to be as bright as I know they can be. Takes hella time though, and seems like once I have one thing in check, another thing goes awry. Oh well, that's reefing.

[FishyFishy!]

Wow thats some impressive growth!