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Tim Eischen

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  • Location
    Central Austin
  • Tank Size
    120g & 96g

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  1. Is the large finger leather still available? I would like to purchase if so. Tim
  2. I've also just found out that I've made a rookie mistake on the plumbing for one my ghost overflow drains on the new Reef Savvy Tank. I used a brass gate valve to control the main drain and a simple PVC ball valve to control the secondary. John from Capital Aquariums informed me that this brass gate valve will release copper into the tank over time and KILL most all corals.... Thankfully, I have not introduced any corals to this system yet - outside of one frag that broke off from my other established tank (this coral appears to be doing fine for now). I'm also thankful that the copper will not negatively impact the two fish I have in this tank right now - a Chevron Tang, and Desjardini Tang. BUT, here is the BAD NEWS - I have to drain almost all the water out of the tank and move it away from its current position against the wall to be able adequately access the brass gate valve for repair. This is a bummer and I'm not looking forward to this project but it has to be done before I can establish sustainable water quality environment for all the corals I would like to put it in there... Just thought I would share in case anyone is thinking of making the same stupid mistake. Word to the wise - stay away from brass fittings and try to make your plumbing accessible for repairs without needing to drain your tank and figure out a way to safely move a couple thousand pounds inside your house for what would otherwise be a simple repair... Onward, Tim
  3. Good thinking Bobcat. I had actually spent some time thinking about remodeling the drawers to make a cabinet space like you say for the ATO container but figured it would just be more work for a little more trouble to take out the container, refill and put back in. I decided to go with the 10 gallon ATO container by trigger systems for both my tanks. They look clean enough to sit next to each tank and outside the cabinet. I find this to be even more helpful for a couple of reasons: It is easy for myself or others who may be taking care of my tank while I'm away to see when the ATO container needs to be refilled. It is very easy to refill. The only drawback is the sound of the pump when it cycles on and off. I would imagine you wouldn't hear it at all under the cabinet but you can hear it when it is standing alone next to the tanks.
  4. I've got one A360WE tuna blue on my gonis in. I've got a real soft spot for them as well! But I think those actinic bars have got my lights beat. I may need to look into those aquatic life T5 hybrid lighting fixtures to try to incorporate some actinic bulbs along with the other tuna blues on my new tank... I like that blue! Really brings the color out of those corals. I was reading that most of those corals actually grow better with more blue light due to the fact that some of those corals are actually growning deep enough to filter out most of the reds (and other colors of light) in a natural setting - while blue penetrates deeper. Found that to be interesting and supportive of my desire to have more blue lights
  5. Love the gonis! They are my favorite! Please let me know if you know where I can get some similar to those
  6. Hello everyone, I've enjoyed reading about y'alls awesome tank builds so I thought that I would start a thread of my own on the topic considering that I'm currently in the process of building out my second reef tank and almost ready to introduce corals. I'm somewhat new to the reef keeping hobby so I welcome feedback on this build as it will not be my last. I see much larger reef builds in my future and using these experiences to help inform the next design - so any and all feedback will be helpful. Thanks! I will begin with the stand: As I was considering purchasing a new stand to go with my new reef savvy tank, I started looking at this old (but nice) credenza in my living room an entirely different way. Unfortunately, it wasn't wide enough to take on the dimensions of the new tank (60x24x20') and the cabinet space was too small to house the sump. So I decided to do a little "credenza remodeling" to accommodate. I cut out the back of the cabinet space and added constructed a small addition to the back of the credenza so that the tank would fit on top and the sump would fit in the cabinet space: It worked out very well. After securing the addition to the back of the credenza, building out an extension to the base of the cabinet, and painting everything - the sump fit and everything looked pretty clean: Then it was time to put everything to the test: Everything worked! Or so I thought... It turned out that I had two very small leaks from the threaded fittings to bulkheads in the back of the tank. Fortunately I was able to access and repair these without too much trouble. Outside of that small setback, everything is still working great. I have since added a 10 gallon auto top off system and two tangs in the tank to get things ready for corals soon. Everything has been running for about 4 months now. I'm very excited to add a cleanup crew, some more fish, and lots of coral sometime soon I'm looking forward to adding to this thread very soon with some updated photos to share with you guys. Anyhow, let me know what y'all think. Tim
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