beefytang Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Very cool Dave...nice and clean, as usual. =) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Very nice. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefytang Posted July 6, 2008 Share Posted July 6, 2008 Very impressive. I think it's a really gutsy thing, keeping a big tank. So expensive and a lot of responsibility with all the livestock. Personally, I couldn't do it...no confidence and no money but I'm glad others like you and wife have the resolve because it's incredibly fascinating to read about. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted July 6, 2008 Author Share Posted July 6, 2008 Thanks beefytang. You are right if does take a certain level of responsibility and dedication. But the results are very rewarding. What really makes this great is the level of interest my wife Robin has as well. She spends more money than I do. She picks out the fish and I choose the corals. What a fantastic hobby. Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted July 19, 2008 Author Share Posted July 19, 2008 Some doubted but it really works! I needed to pump water from the RO/DI barrel to a salt mixing barrel in the living room. I was running a Mag 5 so I decided to replace it with a Mag 18 I had laying around. I ran 50+ feet of clear tubing; I think its ¾ inch, from the RO/DI barrel to the salt mixing barrel in the living room. I started up the pump and turned the ball valve to the on position. I ran from the garage to the living room (you know a whole 50 feet) and water was actually running into the barrel. OMG, I don’t have to make 4 trips from the garage to the living room carrying 5 gallon jugs full of water anymore. Then have to pour them in the barrel! It was a great work out but. . . . Once the mixing barrel reached the 45 gallon mark I sprinted to the garage and turned the ball valve to the off position and unplugged the pump. Robin put the end of the tubing in our top off container as I rolled the tubing up replacing the water in the top off container from the excess in the tubing. Don't want to waste good water. Rolling the tubing up is the only draw back but again it's better than carrying water by hand! The only problem I had was a leak where I spliced the tubing with a double ended barbed connector. Not a lot of water but enough to get the look. You know, we all get it, the look you get from your wife when you tell her it won’t leak. Two zip ties did the trick. And yes, Robin still loves me. . . I have no idea how long it took to pump 45 gallons of water or take any pictures because I was sooooooooo excited! Will post some next time we do a water change. Dave- Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+mcallahan Posted July 23, 2008 Share Posted July 23, 2008 your wife lets you have a salt mixing barrel in your living room? What a gal! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted July 26, 2008 Author Share Posted July 26, 2008 She's the best! We actually store the barrels in the shed and pull them out as needed. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted July 27, 2008 Author Share Posted July 27, 2008 New Mixing Set Up We had a decent salt mixing set up but it was a bit cumbersome and time consuming. We used 2-Aquaclear 50 power heads to mix the salt. We then would jam a piece of tubing onto the end of the power head and suck the mixed water out of the barrel into the tank. Like I said it was very cumbersome. We used the Mag 5 we had taken out of the RO/DI barrel and decided to design a better "mouse trap". I can add a heater and thermometer as needed. What do you think? The concept: The mixing pipe helps to steady the whole unit to the barrel The finished project: Putting it to the test: And checking for leaks: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
beefytang Posted July 29, 2008 Share Posted July 29, 2008 This is very clever! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted March 30, 2009 Author Share Posted March 30, 2009 We noticed it’s been months since our last update. This time we would like to feature some corals that have grown quite nicely. What do you think? Birdnets 1-22-08 Birdnest and Vivid Valida 4-6-08 Vivid Valda 3-18-09 Starwberry Chalice 4-6-08 Starwberry Chalice 3-18-09 Orange Cap 2-23-08 Orange Cap 4-6-08 Stay tuned, more to come . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted March 30, 2009 Share Posted March 30, 2009 Beautiful! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted March 31, 2009 Share Posted March 31, 2009 Nice shots....the strawberry chalice looks yummy I'm glad your updating your blog. Y'all have accomplished so much and your tank is maturing so beautifully. Keep it coming Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+ACampbell Posted April 1, 2009 Share Posted April 1, 2009 Great pics. You must be doing everything right! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 1, 2009 Author Share Posted April 1, 2009 I won't say everything. I mainly owe my sucess to this forum! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 Well we haven’t updated our blog in F-O-R-E-V-E-R! So we thought we would bring those who are interested up to date. We finally worked out the problem with our the lighting. It turned out to be a faulty capacitor in the ballast (thanks Robert for helping with this problem). Later we added two 54W URI Super Actinics powered by a Glo ballast. We set up a 10 gallon tank for auto top off. Now we only have to lug 5 gallons jugs every third day instead of every day. Next we will be adding a DYI calcium reactor and an Ocean Pulse-Quadra Wavemaker. I have added pics to show the progress of our adventure. Thanks to all those (and there are to many to mention) who have provide advice, cried with us, celebrated with us, and supported us during this journey. . . Comments are always welcomed. Tank 1-13-08 Tank 6-29-08 Tank 4-7-09 Left side now Center now Right side now More to come so stay tuned. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 S.O. J.E.A.L.O.U.S.! Your monti's are looking awesome! So does that Watermelon Chalice (I think that's it.) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishypets Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Nice growth shots. It's always fun to go back and look at the progress of your reef. Sometime I don't think mine's doing much but then I go back and look at photos from the beginning. Keep us tuned, you're doing great! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 S.O. J.E.A.L.O.U.S.! Your monti's are looking awesome! So does that Watermelon Chalice (I think that's it.) The chalice is actually a strawberry. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 8, 2009 Author Share Posted April 8, 2009 I agree. I know things were coming along. I was going through some old pics and found the pic of tank when we first set up so I decided to post comparisons. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brooks Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Strawberrrry... oops. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JamesL Posted April 8, 2009 Share Posted April 8, 2009 Wow ... just wow. Great growth shots! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
cmanning Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Pictures don't do justice to this tank. It's WOW!! when you see it in person and you can't take your eyes off it. Keep the pictures coming. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blindside Posted April 9, 2009 Share Posted April 9, 2009 Nice! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
+dapettit Posted April 9, 2009 Author Share Posted April 9, 2009 Thanks for all the nice words. We are pleased with the progrss but we are not done yet. We still would like to get some Oregon Tort,Cali Tort, Garf Purple Bonsai, and Red Planet just to name a few. But we are not quite ready for the responsibilty. Most learn more, need more input . . . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chark Posted April 10, 2009 Share Posted April 10, 2009 Looks like all your hard work is paying off. You have a wonderful tank. Thanks for sharing. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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