Bpb

Yes one area of complaint and concern I’ve had with previous tanks is there WILL be splashes and spills. There will be tons of salt spray inside the stand and canopy. It is unavoidable. And every tank I’ve owned thus far has done a number on their stands and canopies. With bubbling MDF, de laminating plywood, flaking away paint from poor adhesion, and general rotting of wood. I put lots of extra attention into the sanding and application of many coats of primer and paint. Allowing for absolutely full and complete curing between coats. Hoping I can start applying polyurethane this week over the stained portions. There should not be a single bit of exposed bare wood on the entire unit except for the very bottom that rests on the floor. Plus bright white just makes things easier to see

Fortunately for me I’m still working lots of hours. No staying at home for me.

I still exist! Life being what it is and uncertainty of our home situation has made for slow progress on this build thread, but slow doesn’t mean stopped. Things I’ve done in the past year or so: complete the aqua scape. It took a while but I came up with something I’m very happy with that fits my criteria using zip ties, cement, and a mixture of Tonga shelf, pukani, Fiji, and caribsea shapes rock. I took a few pictures of the finished product. I built the scape on top of the stand so I could get an idea of how it would look at real time operating level. Pictures may be hard to make sense of, but I mainly am including them so I can recall them quickly and have build instructions for when the tank gets filled. They’ve been curing in the garage for some odd 6-8 months now. Plenty of flow room and open sand. Can easily clean behind the rocks as needed next comes the stand. I had every intention of recycling the old panels that it came with but the more I brainstormed the easier it would have been to just buy new boards and make them how I needed them immediately. I coated the frame with 3 coats of smooth sanded Kilz, and 3 coats of gloss white Krylon Fusion Front cabinet doors will open using soft close hinges, and side cabinet doors will open by sliding forward on the tongue and groove. Canopy doors will open via sliding in front and on sides. Insides of every panel were coated with the same 3 coats of kilz but rather than krylon fusion o used Rustoleum gloss white appliance epoxy enamel. Offers a nice hard plastic like finish that is easy to clean and very durable/water resistant. Outsides I was going to do a faux finish barn wood type look, but as that kind of began intimidating me as I’ve never done it before, I decided to keep it simple and do a dark espresso type stain and matte poly clear coat. it’s really been mostly the sanding that has taken the bulk of the time. I wanted absolute zero planer grooves. I spent an hour or two here and there as I could steal away over the last year or so just listening to music and sanding. Starting with 60 grit and working my way down to 220 grit every available step of the way. It’s got a smoother feel than even most of the commercially built stuff in the house. Very satisfied. After that it has been back and forth paint and stain touch ups as the paint and stain will bleed small imperfections onto the other sides. Just about finished and ready for clear coat. Then installation onto the frame of the stand and canopy the tank is still where I set it almost 2 years ago that is all for now

Bunp Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I've been super inactive on here the past year it appears. I'll update the thread for fun. It appears the last bit of conversation was in regards to calcium reactor feed. I kept on with using the masterflex for a time. I had been running it the entire time with ZERO grease on the tubing or roller wheels which I realize is probably not the best idea. What would happen with each tubing change, is the fresh tubing would resist the pinch just enough to cause a knocking sound which became wildly annoying and i had to kind of bunch up a wash cloth under the roller head assembly to torque it upward which would eliminate the knocking sound. Probably not an ideal solution but it worked. I found another long length of tubing which would last me probably 4 -5 tubing changes on it. Score. It had been lurking in a bucket of misc tank crap that Im sure we all have several of. So I kept using it, and the 60 hz hum I seem to have grown deaf to. Theyre such robust pumps I am not real worried about it dying on me any time soon, despite it being very old. I love how reliable they are. Enter the Ecotech Versa. The fact that it was rated as continuous duty made me chuckle a bit, how could a pump barely bigger than a deck of cards be rated for continuous duty at 200 mL/min? Well they say it is so I was curious of buying one, but some friends advised me against it. I'm glad they did, as the initial launch seems to have been a bit of a disaster. Id still like to pick up 1 or 2 to use as good utility dosing pumps in the future but not for at least a year when Mobius and the versa hardware issues have been sorted out. Its looking like the Gen5 radions are plagued with QC and shipping issues as well. I suppose this sort of thing is to be expected. I have no doubt the prototype units they produced in house, and even the initial units they tested out through their larger scale outsourced manufacturing places passed their scrupulous testing with flying colors....but manufacturing, assembling, packaging, and distributing hudnreds of thousands of units is another task entirely, and the plagues of large scale manufacture are rearing their head. I'm NOT in the market for a radion, though i do find it informative and interesting to follow such events as they unfold. At any rate. I decided for now against manifolding my return pump, or running an additional AC pump in the sump to feed the reactor. I actually found a fella on R2R that offered a trade for a 6 month old Kamoer FX-STP for a frag pack, pump to be mailed in, installed, and tested to verify itll work before I even sent frags, so I figured why the heck not. Even if it doesnt work out, I still have a masterflex. So far so good. The kamoer is about 1/4 the size, is completely and totally silent, and dripping a stable effluent. Ill run it into the ground and likely have a couple replacement options in place for redundancy whenever that comes to pass. Equipment wise, nothing new or exciting to report beyond that. I'm not a big gear guru. You all who have known me for years and read the thread know I tend to go cheap and reliable when and where I can. I still love my gyres. Theyre a nightmare to clean. I CANNOT get the star washers out and I've had to give up a couple times. talking with maxspect through email they actually recommended holding the pump body and striking the end of the propeller shaft with a block of wood until the star washer pops out. Seeing a couple youtube videos doing the same, I cannot see how that is a good idea. It looks like the pump would be destroyed in the process. Ill likely just do citric acid soaks to clean them from now on and stop disassembling them entirely. I had a friend 3d print me some of the xf300 series flow director/light shields to fit the xf200 series cages. Those are now collecting all the algae and filth and the cages still look clean after months of installation. Happy about how those are functioning. Plans for the future. I have been spending the last 4 months fragging my sps down to the rocks. It is a tedious process and I anticipated I would be done a month ago, but the tank basically looks like I havent fragged it. I've cut and shipped an estimated 250 or so frags since december, but the mother colonies are almost growing fast enough to keep pace. I'm soon going to have to start offering entire colonies, but those I cannot ship so Ill have to find someone who will agree to travel this far to pick up which will be a challenge. I'd like to keep a handful of frags from my favorite pieces local and recover them when the next tank is ready, but I cannot set the new tank up until I get these sps all gone. May take a while longer. Space is a big constraint as I dont have room for a frag tank and am limited to a couple frag racks for everything. I mail off 2-3 boxes every couple weeks, fill the racks again in a weekend, let them heal, repeat. Cant stay ahead of growth. Anyhow. Thats life.. Ill have to start taking pictures of the stand finishing process for the 150 gallon.

Has it really been almost a whole year since I’ve updated this? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Relax amigo, he’s one of THE reefers in the city Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Me first. And wow. That’s some serious diy Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It’s interesting you all mention this. I haven’t had a spec of visible cyano in nearly 8 years, and just recently I’m seeing spots pop up on the sand (it doesn’t bother me, just an observation). I use IO Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

As an Aggie I fully approve of this joke Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Well. Been a while since this happened! Fish death! This azure damsel was AT LEAST 13 years old. 8 years in my care. A friend had it 5 years prior to me. And seeing as he didn’t hatch it himself. It was likely older. Not sure what did it in. It was acting spunky and normal when I got home today. Had a big gash on his side. With some missing scales. Could have been post mort though from rock work. No condolences necessary for me. As I feel like a 13+ year old fish is a rare win in this hobby. They all gotta go eventually. I’ll replace it with a talbot damsel as I’ve always wanted one but they’re the same genus so I couldn’t have both. My daughter was especially torn up about it. I tried removing the remains as quick as I could but was struggling and she took notice. Water works majorly. Asked the hard questions a 4 year old can’t understand like why do we get old, what happens when we die ect. Such is life. Ecclesiastes 3:20 Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

3L of siporax added to the sump of the 90 gallon. I feel like I should get about double going. Can’t decide if I should get more siporax, pond matrix, a brightwell brick, or the maxspect balls. I imagine they’ll all be about the same effectiveness. Wanting to really Get a ton of bacteria built up since I’ll be eliminating the sandbed and the mud fuge from the equation Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Sorry man totally missed your reply. Must not have gotten that notification. Came from a Facebook seller. Random. Guy said he got it from an lfs and it had no name. I’m working on a name. It’s too pretty not to have one. Here’s a video from tonight. Just cleaned the gyres. Flow is rocking. Fish just ate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Been a long long time since this has had an update. I’m sure since I almost forgot about it, everyone else absolutely forgot about it. So I’ll be brutally honest. I’ve had this tank in my possession for a while now. The plan was always to wait and set it up when we move. Who knows when that’ll be. And I’m tired of it going to waste. But the move was mostly an excuse to wait. I’m mostly terrified of crashing the tank in a move. I know it’s possible to grow acros in a young tank. It’s just wildly difficult. But. I’ve decided to go ahead and attempt a switch. My biggest challenge is that I wish I could start with all brand new rock. My present rocks are loaded with liver sponges, discosoma shrooms, and aiptasia. I also know that the maturity those rocks possess may be the only key to success. My tentative plan is to start cycling the new display rock ASAP using an overdose of prodibio, as well as some ammonia and vodka to get them super loaded with bacteria. I’ll continue to dose those 3 as well as a cube of mysis every couple weeks to really get a heavy population of bacteria going. In the meantime be super aggressive at aiptasia and mushroom removal while completing some changes made to the stand. The stand Sean (@diesel3443) provided with the tank was workable but I wanted to change some things. Make it shorter, install some false sides to hold out facing electronics and wires to keep them totally out of sight and away from moisture. Work on the stand is coming along Still need to build a light canopy. Plan is to use starboard as a barebottom and maybe even set a layer on top of the stand as a waterproof buffer. Once the stand is complete I’ll sand the frame down and hit it with 4 coats of white appliance epoxy. I also need to finish work on the rock scape as I haven’t messed with it since my last post on it Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I think like people have mentioned, specific goals are important. Everyone has a different idea of what they want their tanks to be and become. That should drive much of the decision making Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Funny thing about Richard Ross is he is now on the “use gfo to reduce phosphate” wagon Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Well...I didn’t purchase it as an official lineage garf bonsai...but it sure looks like one. I just call it a purple bonsai when selling frags of it. I like how stable and reliable the color and growth is. It can absolutely handle most missteps without flinching Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

It overwhelms the camera sensors! I have to turn exposure way down. It glows bright enough to cast its own shadows as a light source under LEDs. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

I feel like the urchins have done 99.9% of the work here and the rest was just simplifying the workflow for the customer/maintenance person Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

ORA Baby Blue Stag WWC Nuclear Fission ASD Efflo $500 efflo Raspberry Cheesecake Tubbs Mystic Blue stag Sunset Millie BC raging bull Pink Lemonade ORA Hawkins BC old blue RP blueberry limeade nasuta Pikachu that never grows ORA Pearlberry WWC aqua delight Nicks Purple passion BC Acroberry WWC Kung Pao. Cannot get rid of these stupid hydroids that posted up right by it ASD dragon queen ORA Red planet Fox flame Paletta pink tip ASD rainbow Millie Working on a name ORA Laura’s purple polyp BC orange fury. Can’t seem to get color out of this, but Adams pictures all look pretty similar so it just may not be a real looker. Working on a fun name for this Millie. Because why not. Vivid rainbow delight BC reef ready grape juice ORA Cali tort BigR Walt Disney Some of them seem to not be growing and it is mainly because I keep fragging them. Some are just sluggish. I’ve gotten rid of the massive stylo colony to someone who can appreciate it more than me. It had become a nuisance. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Only question will be if my frags are sufficiently desirable enough for a reefer if such discerning tastes Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Go on....... Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Truthfully for the 150 I will likely be searching for a 3rd but that’s a ways away. The light cone on these is so tight I am not convinced 2 will be enough for a 60”x24” footprint Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

Thanks for the details. I swapped the final piece of roller tubing on my masterflex and now the easy load head has a loud rhythmic knocking sound. This thing has about driven me mad now. It sounds like a loud grandfather clock second hand ticking away day and night. I can get used to it kind of. But if we know anything about something mechanical, if it makes a noise, that means something isn’t aligned right or there is undesirable friction somewhere, and when those conditions are present, wear is happening. So even if I lived with it, that knocking sound is eventually going to spell failure. I’ve taken it apart to investigate and cannot find the source. I ordered 4 more of the fuel filters just so I can swap them on a schedule and keep them fresh and free of debris. I’ll soak them in acid and back flush them when I’m down to the last one so I can re use them. Everyone I’ve talked to has had nothing but good things to say about this method and I wonder why it isn’t more universally adopted. Most people report needing to increase the effluent every 4-6 months or so on the same filter so if I just swap it out every couple months I should achieve stable output theoretically. I’ve decided to pass on running a manifold and will just use a spare mj1200 I have laying around. Well contrary to the advice of some I decided to change my lighting arrangement again and have gone back to metal halide led combo lighting. I wasn’t UNhappy with my ati sunpower. It had a fantastic spread and uniform light coverage. I could take par readings at any point on the footprint of the tank and they would be basically identical or less than 5% difference at any point depending on depth. Problem is...my biggest deal Breaker for a tank is light pollution so a canopy is a must, and I need to have space to work. With how high my lights were mounted I was topping out at around 400 par at the surface, and most spots on the rocks were down at around 200 or so. That’s decent par I suppose but not quite enough to pull the kind of color on some stubborn pieces I am wanting. Most the sandbed was in the low 100’s and i have acros down that low. Jason Fox can pull colors at that intensity, but I’m not him. A good friend locally was kind enough to essentially give me a pair of lumenbright mini reflectors with basically new bulbs and ballasts, and an even trade of his 4 foot sb reef bars for my 5 foot ones. So I made the swap 2 weeks ago and have been very happy. The heat is no different from my t5’s and with only a modest increase in wattage, I don’t really feel the difference efficiency wise. The par readings were exactly the improvement I was looking for and everything has responded very very well to the switch. I really missed the shimmer. Hamilton bulbs are inexpensive enough that I can replace them on a 9 month schedule and still be spending less than I was on tubes so that’s a small victory as well. That’s all the updates for now. I’m at a 4.5 hour halide photoperiod and will gradually increase it to 6 hours over the coming weeks. Probably change the calcium reactor feed arrangement this week as well. Shouldn’t be too difficult of a switch to make Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro

What pump do you feed it with. No prefilter on the feed pump? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Pro