acropoorer

Some triggers eat corals and most get big -- probably pushing it for a 48 gal. A six line wrasse is a good fish to have with coral and might be good for a first fish. Also, clowns are nice for smaller tanks and are fairly easy to keep.

I had a yellow tang and a sailfin that got along great. I added a copper banded and the two of them ganged up on him constantly for a few days then eventually left him alone. Sometimes it's luck.

Thought you would qualify as an expert Clint. I have a question for you on 3 part dosing and trace elements. Mainly what trace elements do you add, where do you get them and roughly what do they run per month for you tank size. Dale

Robb, I am not convinced that AGE uses anything other than silicone. I poked around their tanks and if there is something other than silicone in the pvc/glass joint it is well hidden -- saw/felt rubber on both sides. I did get a quote from AGE, but they didn't quote exactly what I asked for. Based upon their quote, my guess is that to get what I wanted (close to what i built) would have been in the $9K range with tax and drop shipping included. AGE and their dealers will never tell you how they do it, but they will make it sound complicated and technical. That makes them exclusive and they can charge more for their product. Not to say that they don't have a great product because they do. Love the pvc bottom. I have about $2800 in the tank and expect to have an additional $1000 in the stand and hood (lighting excluded of course). I could have saved $400 on the tank if I would have been willing to meet glass cages delivery truck in San Antonio, but decided to have it delivered to my house and part with the cash. The biggest expense on the stand is the Oak for the moldings ($300) and 8 raised panel solid oak doors ($400). Dale

This is a long answer and a secret of those that know. So, I will say that I used silicone and 1" pvc plus a secret ingredient. The pvc is thick for a reason other than it is needed to carry the weight -- think of a channel in a channel -- vertical and horizontal. I used the channel in a channel concept and I am convinced AGE does as well. I already purchased my glass and pvc when I happened to meet the owner of saphire aquatics in Houston and was talking to him about the tank I was building and he shared the other key adhesion secret with me and I don't think he would want me to publish it on the web. So if someone is seriously interested on building a glass to pvc tank I would share the secret off line so that they could have a successful build -- just don't want to publish it. There are also some secrets to avoiding bubbles in the seal that I can share that I couldn't use on my tank (My seams didn't come out as pretty as I'd have liked) I don't believe the brand of silicone is critcal, but I bought mine from glass cages and the brand is Dow Corning 732 multi purpose sealant.

You know I have offered to help you and I've already started thinking about how we would do it. Think about how great those chalices will look through starphire.

Whats a build thread Mike? If you help me I'll do it.

I recommend 3 little fishs from Marine Depot, the have a red color that doesn't stand out to much. It sets up faster than the sticks from home depot and the color blends.

Mike, The film is cut back 1/2" around the overflow and caulked with black caulk. The silicon to plastic is the concern -- there are tricks for that.

Don't believe everything you read. I will have under $3800 in the tank, stand and hood (including hardwood and 8 solid oak doors -- I do 1st quality cabinet work). I have $600 in a used 1HP chiller/heater and panworld chiller pump (hooking this in closed loop). Sumps can be cheap if you don't get fancy, I'm using a 110gal livestock tub that I picked up for $50 and my 50 gal oceanic sump from my original setup. I admit the rock was a little pricey (3.50 lb with shipping from bulk reef supply}. Most everything else is reuse from my old tank except for the t12 bulbs and 2 icecaps to drive the extra lights (~$450). Oh yea, I expect to have about $100 in the overhead pulley system for the hood and another $100-$200 in plumbing and maybe $150 in cooling fans. Remember, this is DIY. No way my wife would let me spend $12K on a tank.

By the way, I meant silicone not silicon. My bad.

I'm building a new 360 gal tank to replace my 180. Thought I would post some pictures of my progress and a description of what I'm building for people that may find interest. The tank is 42"X72"X30", 3/4" glass, Starphire on three sides with a 1" pvc bottom, rimless (had to be rimless after suffering 4 years with the oceanic center brace). Two waterfall exteral overflows (Soon to be done cleaning overflow slots of algae). The stand is laminated 3/4" plywood and will be oak covered with euro style cabinetry. The hood is 3/4" oak plywood and will house 3 luminarc reflectors with 400 watt MH, 6-6' t12 vho actinic and 4-2' t12 vho actinic. The glass came from Glass Cages and the pvc & acrylic from Regal Plastics. Special thanks to Don Duncan and Micheal Davis for helping me Glue up the glass. The base without the final top sheet of plywood. Note the glue lam structure in pic two - use strips of plywood screwed and glued. This was used instead of solid lumber as it is stronger, lighter and more stable. View of corner glue lams Base with routed pvc bottom and box overflows. Note that the overflow boxes are angled as the tank backs up to a curved wall. The waterfall overflow cuts in back glass. About 15" X 1" each. Drill holes at each end and two saw cuts. Set in place and taped for silicon -- dry run before glueing Glued up. Note the two nylon ropes to "clamp" glass. These need to be tight (used double loop for leverage). Note the masking tape which is used for fingered silicon seal which leaves uniform edge -- remove while wet. Silicon on the overflows. Note that black film was applied first and the boxes are glued in two spots - a joint around the overflow slot and to the pvc bottom. Looking in from the front only the black film is visible -- totally clean look! The hood, 3/4" plywood with an angle to reduce the bulk The tank after 48hr water check with hood in place to check fit (still needs to be cut to size). The Pukani dry rock on 38"x68" piece of plywood (240 lbs). Very light weight rock, almost to much for the tank. All for now. Still a lot of work to do, months...

You mean the new chalice isn't the one in the picture. By the way Cliff, I have your old sps. Think this is one of them.

Derry, Sand placement may be ok for florida's but not for Yuma's. The Yuma doesn't split, it moves slowly across a rock or hard surface and leaves stringers of it's foot that morph into babies. I've attached a pic of a pink yuma with a baby. The baby is the small green crescent spot right of the mama. It has since grown and turned pink. Florida's split, but mine are all attached to rocks and split fine on rock. If you are in a hurry and brave you can cut them into pieces, but in general they are all slow at growing and reproducing. I've heard of people cutting both types into quarters with a razor for fast reproduction (keep part of the mouth on each cut). They generally like a fair amount of light. Not sure which type you have but sounds like a florida

Looks like a blue/green tenius (aka rosco).

Would like one or more of the tri colors. Do you still have some left?

I'll be there, sorry for the late notice. -Acropoorer