Well thank god for epoxy and PVC! Finished the aquascape (for now:biggrin:). All of it being fairly strong with one shelf piece being the exception. Im going to leave it for the time being as I would like to raise it another couple of inches or so. After i got it all in the tank I knew that I was going to need 20 some odd more lbs. But I will add that slowly down the road as I find the pieces that I think I need. Love to hear what every one thinks, and suggestions if there are any. First time aquascaping with LR, i found the driftwood to be easier heh.

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...92-0.jpg?rev=0
Left Side (Pretty happy with this side)
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...90-0.jpg?rev=0
Right Side (the shelf at the top is the one I would like to raise a bit)
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...91-0.jpg?rev=0
Other viewable Side View
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...93-0.jpg?rev=0

Sorry about the picture quality, the $70 camera just cant hold its own when it comes to glass, water... air. A half decent camera is on my list down the road. Im going to hopefully get the sand in tonight.

Look awesome. Lots of open area which will help with circulation and will be great for the fish to swim through. Tons of spots for corals. I look forward to seeing some livestock in there.:biggrin:

I really like that aquascape.. but I'm a sucker for swim throughs.. :mrgreen:

Look forward to see it with sand too! :wink:

looks friggen awesome!

Thanks, cant wait for something. I doubt I will ever be that excited about a snail ever again in my life!

Thanks Josh, I was lucky enough to see Dougs tank before I did this. I was able to get some ideas . I have the sand outside in bucket with the hose stuck down the middle, waters still pretty murky but hopefully not long.

Glad everyone thinks so, thanks a lot! I wasn't crazy about it while I was stacking it all up, but I just sat in front of the tank for 30 minutes or so and it grew on me. Ill hold my judgment until I get the sand in there :mrgreen:.

Tested some of the water perameters:

SG - 1.025
pH - 8.0
NO2 - < 0.3 PPM
NH3/4 - 0 PPM

I managed to get the aragonite in tonight, 50lbs of dry select with 10lbs of live sand. Still fairly cloudy but nothing close to what it was.
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...09-0.jpg?rev=0
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...12-0.jpg?rev=0
Much better.

I like it. I really like the overlap on the left hand side of the overflow, where there is a large piece of rock at the back, and one towards the front from the other island of rock overlapping it (and the sand rising towards the back). Gives it a feeling of depth... nicely done!

Really nice aquascaping!! I like how open it is. Now the wait starts for the live stock and cycles.

diggin the center rockwork...
looks great.

Looks great! You're a couple steps ahead of me! *grumble* :lol: Rockwork is awesome!

I also like the the aquascape open and not bunched up.

Thanks, and I'm only ahead for the time being. Dont you have a tank somewhere waiting to come to its new home :mrgreen:

Hehe, yes I will be ahead of you in a couple weeks here. :D My tank shouldn't cycle either, so technically once I get the rockwork done I will be ahead of you. :p It's like cheating when you move a tank.

The cycle works out great for me. It allows me some time to remember that I should be studying seeing I am a student. And the bank account could use a breather for a few weeks lol.

Oh I hear you on the bank account. I just started working again, I was off from Mar 12 to May 6th. :D

Yay work :cry:

And how exactly is moving all these things from BC to Sask cheating? I think you got cheated on your cheating!

Aw man!......you covered up all that beautiful eggcrate with rock!!! I thought your tank was gonna be something different:sad::mrgreen: All kidding asside...the scape looks wicked man.:thumb:

Gotta have more eggcreate.

Retested for Ammonia - 0.5 PPM

Love that increasing number. Here fishy fishy fishy.

I dont know if youve mentioned it or not but what are your plans for stocking?

One big tuna. I was going to try and make a list tonight. I really like the idea of keeping species that co-exist with others, like the clown with an anemone. Or some gobys with shrimp. Love triggers, tanks is to small though and I hear there not overly reef friendly (New tank:mrgreen:) That being said I am also very open to suggestions.Im going to throw a makeshift list on here so people can chime in with all their knowledge.

Percula Clown
Banggai Cardinal
Im so so on the dwarf angels, prefer the true angels but im pretty su re my tank size is too small
Raccoon or Copperband Butterflyfish (may be to small for a copperband)
Leopard Wrasse
Would love a surgeonfish (Its there any that will be suitable for a 90g Reef tank)
Regal Tang - Again Ive been told that my tank may be a bit small
Mandarin Dragonet
There are some nice Grammas as well
And some sort of Goby.

Like I said makeshift, I need to crack open a book I have on marine fish here tonight and do a little more homework.

Ive been keeping the lighting off for the time being. Blasting the LR with water every second day or so to remove the dying matter. The ammonia levels have been holding in the .25 to .50 PPM range. Im expecting more of a spike due to the die off from lack of light here in the next week or so. Ive read that the coralline algae takes off in the dark as everything else around it dies, that being said I have seen some new spots of it speraticly around the tank. Ive also seen some of the existing coralline turn from that dark reddish purple to white. I was going to siphon off the debris in the sand here today, no water change, just through a filter sock back into the sump. Definitely would like to pick up a couple more power heads to cover a few of the dead spots behind the rock work. What sort of time line should I start running for the lighting and when? I know I should start off with a few hours a day and slowly increase it over time until I reach the max. But what should I be looking for to start that out, after the Nitrate cycle? Also what levels of ammonium should I expect to see? I know this is dependent on how much die off there is, but Ive been reading that anything over 2 PPM and I should be doing a water change. Im a ways off of 2 PPM but knowing in advance cant hurt.

Thanks in advance.

Pics
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...43-0.jpg?rev=0
Left
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...47-0.jpg?rev=0
Right
http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...48-0.jpg?rev=0

Stocking list v2.0
Pair Percula Clowns
Banggai Cardinal
Yellow swallowtail Angel
Leopard Wrasse
Purple Tang
Strawberry Dotty

Hahaha!! Because I'm paying someone else to do it!!! :p

Where did you get your rock anyway? Great pieces.

Picked it up at Red Coral, was able to pick through 500+ lbs I would guess. I love that store :mrgreen:

Water Parameters:
Temp - 76F
SG - 1.025
pH - 8 (closer to 7.9)
NH3/4 - 0 PPM
NO2 - 0 PPM
NO3 - 5 PPM

Updated Water Parameters:
Temp 78F (Brought it up a wee bit)
SG - 1.025
NH3/4 - 0PPM
NO2 - 0PPM
NO3 - 4PPM
pH - 8.0

Im just waiting on my freshwater Tub, and the Aquacontroller Jr. I ordered. Maybe then a clean up crew:mrgreen:

Getting exciting!

Not sure if it was mentioned, but a Raccoon Butterfly would probably eat most of the coral you put in the tank. They generally are not Reef Safe.

Rock work looks great though... Look forward to see it fill up.

This is kind of what im going for as an end result. 90g Display with 45G Breeder as a sump (Those are in place and cycling). A 20G Poly tank for RO storage and an eventual 20G above. I will plumb the 20G to my sump and use it as a QT for starters. Then when all is said and done it will be turned into a seahorsey tank. The 20g Poly tank will only be used as a RO reservoir, it will have a drainage plug a little higher than half way up to allow for it to be drained into a 5g bucket. Ill still have to mix my SW in buckets, just not enough room.

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...ed-0.jpg?rev=0

rooooks maaavolous:biggrin:....man....did I ever just date myself with that comment:lol: by the looks of those parameters wont be too long before a smallish cuc could be added. Its Alive!!!!:twised:

ZOINKS, Like WOW man!!!!

HEHEHE, your not the only one dating themselves here. Tried to get the Daughter to watch that cartoon. Nope, nothin doin she said LOL

ruh-roh Raggy:mrgreen:

Such a good show. A friend of mines daughter loves it, so I shamelessly drop everything to watch it with her. On I side note I would love to be 4 years old again, the toys are so much better.

Anywho... Picked up my 20g Poly tank, which actually ended up being 25 US gallons. I don't know why I thought that a Canadian supplier would be giving anything other than empirical. (Also I guess I could have just done the math in the first place) Just waiting on some things to finish getting everything together, tunes auto top off, aquacontroller Jr. Then I think Im good to go.

The tank seems happy, all water parameters are holding pretty steady. The pH is starting to get closer to that 8.1 mark the longer the lights are left on. (Antics for about 6 hrs a day now). I noticed something today for the first time though, the pelethra of life. Bristleworms galore, from what I have been able to find online I should be good. Nothing too big and no sign of fireworms. Errant bristleworms are everywhere, just ripping around the rocks. Ive also been able to track down the translucent tentacles of the Terebellid, which I hear is quite hideous. I would love to take a picture but my camera has trouble picking up the textures of the rock, let alone the little critters roaming it. Oh well ill just have to wait for my Nikon D60.

Bit of a step forward, picked up my brand new Tunze ATO. First thing is first, who designed the mounting bracket. That may be the most idiotic way of more or less hanging something. Either way it works I guess. Set it all up, and started to fill the reservoir. Once I got to just over half way I plugged the Tunze in and away it went. Topped off the tank with ease, Me likey very much! No more daily bucketing of water, and more importantly no more watching RO water being made :mrgreen:. I am reluctant to show any pictures because of the mess of wiring going on right now. Im waiting on the Aquacontroller to finally rectify that, or I could just be lazy.

http://photoshare.shaw.ca/image/c/6/...95-0.jpg?rev=0


Note for next time I build a system, incorporate some sort of wire routing system... better yet a Fish room :mrgreen:

No livestock updates?

That seems like an odd question seeing you packed everything. I was going to leave it till there was more of something to update. But Doug wants it now, and what Doug wants, Doug gets! :lol:

Picked up a handful of cleaners yesterday at RC. Slim pickings, its seems a few people shop there hah. So now there a couple of turbo snails running around the tank, as well as a few hermits. I know one type of crab is the Halloween hermit, the other 4 I haven't been able to find out. Grayish black legs with white bands. Everything has disappeared into the rock work, except for the Halloween hermit who has so graciously stayed in view. I guess he feels sorry for me, watching the tank with nothing to watch.

I also seeded the tank with Tigger Pods, figure it would give the little guys some time to regroup without anything trying to eat them.

I am just going to slowly add the cleanup crew a few at a time, and hold off on fish and corals. At least until I am more certain of where I could be living come September. If I find I get to stay in Calgary then off to the races, If I have to move to Edmonton... well as a Calgarian I would be upset. Who wants to watch the Oilers toss away another season.

:drum:.:lol: There is doubt as to your where abouts?

Yes, with school. I may be a student at SAIT this upcoming Sept. And if not then I will be a student an NAIT. Either way... Im done thinking about it. Ill see how it falls together over the next 2 months.

Woke up this morning to find all 10 of the blue legged hermits had all made their way into the front corner of the tank. Seems strange... all 10! They are all alive, just dog piled... sorry Crab piled on top of each other. Strange little critters.