Vader
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Posts posted by Vader
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Those corals look great. Do you plan on adding more rock?
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You might want to consider a third 250 watt MH on the 6' tank.
+1
Yep, already thinking about that. I was even thinking of going with two more, a total of 4 MH over it. i'm going to get some pricing this weekend for the carpet down stairs. The wifey wants new carpet before the tank build starts. I'm also trying to talk her into letting me place tile down where the tank is going to sit. A lot to think about but I have time.
Thanks,
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My tank has been up and running for a year now and thought I would post some pics. I've have many successes and only a few failures thanks to clubs like WAMAS and many thanks to those that have helped me and supported my efforts.
My tank sits upstairs and I've had several......floods due to me forgetting to turn off water after doing a water changes. Well, the wife has put her foot down...(Ouch) and the tank is coming down stairs. But she knows that this will be a large undertaking. So she is letting me upgrade to a 180g. (6'x2'x2')
Isn't that sad, "she's letting me" but I can live with that since there is a 6'x6' hole in the kitchen ceiling from my last flood.I have also purchased 2 - 250w MH's (20K bulbs) with Lumen Max Elite reflectors using a Blue Wave ballast, MP40 and a Korallin Ca reactor. But with power issues upstairs, moving the tank downstairs will be a good move for several reasons. I ran the MH lighting for several hours and in 2 hours, my water temp increased by 2 deg, so again, moving the tank downstairs is a good move. I've also had the circuit breaker trip a couple times and this is only winter when the power grid usally pretty steady this time of year. But the lighting looks out of this world.
The sump will go into the garage and at this time, I'm planning to use a 75g, that may change. The plumbing from the tank to the sump will be below the house and insulated.
Anyway, here are a few pics and I hope you enjoy.
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it really depends on the application. A stirrer definately keeps a more constant level of kalk saturation, but you can't use most stirrers in pressurised applications (reactor can take pressure from a pump to send up to a tank). Most stirrers require a setup where the water drains into the sump. Conversly, most of the reactors that use pumps to stir the kalk can be used in a pressurized application as well as draining into the sump. I've used both and really haven't been able to tell the difference in performace parameter wise.
Thanks Steve, I haven't given that much thought, but you bring up a good point that I hadn't considered. I'm leaning towards the stirrer type, but will have to give this some thought in regards to how I'm going to set this up. Thanks for the tip.
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I've been looking at differant types of kalkreactors and i've seen two differant types, one type uses a stirring rod and the other type uses a small water pump. I'm looking for your opionions from your own experiences, as to which style performs the best, pro/cons of each style.
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That really blows. Whats your plan?
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I checked out the vid and I would remove the baffles and allow the water to run mid level in the sump, then the pipes running to the sump, have the ends under the water level to reduce the noise. I had baffles at first too, but it was a pain to keep clean, so I removed them and placed a plastic container inside the sump to hold my rock, sand and cheto. Water changes were much easier too, I did 15 gal. changes in 5 minutes.
Good luck and tagging along.
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That back wall came out nice. Can't wait to see some growth on it.
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Wow, the lighting change really brings out the color. Looking good.
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Yay! an update...
Tank's looking great man!
Very nice recent additions to the tank, if I may say. Seeing your new Sleeper Goby just reminded me that I need to get a sand stirrer of some kind for the Display.
Thanks Dan. yea, that sleeper has realy cleaned up my sand. Some of the sand gets on the rock and lower corals, but all I do is use a baster to blow it off every now and then. It's a trade off I can live with.
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I started out with a 3" sand bed and I never had an issue with NO3 in my tank. The last time I measured for it, it was less than .5 ppm. I have no idea why I don't and others do, but I'm not changing anything I'm doing.
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Thought it would be a good time to add another update. I've only had my RBTA for about 2 months and it has split already. Both clowns are hosting both RBTA's and sometime soon, I'm going to put up one of the RBTA's for sale. This weekend I visited EA and came home with a red/green chalice and a red/neon green favia plus I think it was last month, I added a coral banded shrimp. Ever since I've added the orange spotted sleeper goby, my flat worm problem has just about disappeared. YEA!!! This guy has completely cleaned up the sand bed and the worms. I would say that he was one of the best purchaces I've made.
It's going to be soon that I'm going to have to buy new bulbs for the fixture. I still want 2 - 250w HQI MH lights, but just don't have the cash for them. But it sure would be easier to get those MH fixtures if I stop buying corals.
Water levels are pretty good, other than I got a bit lazy latey and my ALK dropped to 5.6 dkh, but over the last several days, I've brought it up to 9.7 dkh. It's fun to see how over time with adding corals and the coral growing, how the water parameters get used up quicker.
Hope you enjoy the pics as much as I enjoy taking them.
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Great pics and the tank is really looking good.
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I don't think Bob is addicted to this hobby at all
Nice set up Bob.....I'm just jealous of all that room.
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wow...what happened to the hair....jk
Thats a good read, I like the thought on fish oil. Maybe I'll start feeding my fish, fish from the grocery store....I can just hear my wife now.....you're doing what? feeding your tank salmon. Thanks for the link Highland. -
Whoah.... I never meant to imply we are all doing terrible jobs b/c we have not recreated the ocean to 100% of its capacity b/c corals and fish are not spawning - and are therefore suffering under our care. I realize these are pets in a glass box of water and understand the challenges associated with trying to replicate a natural habitat - and some parts of the natural habitat (I'm thinking of predation here) you don't want since it would lead to stress; life in the wild is no picnic. And, honestly, comparing the needs of reptiles and domesticated mammals to that of a coral - well, I get stuck in that arguement here at work all too often... Please don't get me started on the idea of coral enrichment...
The original post was "How is the sea like our tank?" As I have said, ad nauseum, they aren't even a close resemblance, and I was using the reproductive biology of our inhabitants for support. And, as has already been pointed out.... most of us don't care. We have these b/c we like to watch the fish swim and the coral grow - and that is perfectly fine.
Paul - I appreciate that you go above and beyond what the average reefer does, and I'm sure your tank inhabitants are healthy. However, even with the extra effort put in (and I'm not saying it's bad or that you are doing wrong), it is still miles away from a natural reef. Given your diving experience and original post in this thread, that is very evident to me.
Where the heck are you located that you can go out and collect water, puffers, butterflies, pipefish and boxfish, etc...?
Cheers
Mike
Sorry Mike if I gave you the wrong impression, I wasn't implying anything by my post, other than what the thread started off with. I have spent a lot of time at sea and around the sea and I just did a poor job of communicating that.
We all try to recreate what nature provides us, whatever it is we are trying to recreate. I guess my badly stated point was, we can never really recreate what nature has created.
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yea water on the floor = sh!tty day for everyone. she already experience it once when i forgot to turn the RODI off and she went into the basement found running water, DOWL! it wasn't too bad though since most of it was confined to our laundry room which has a cement floor.
lol...yea, check this out, man was I in the dog house....plus I had to fix it....just what I wanted, more house work.
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So the toxins are not that bad when they die. My display has never looked better and I'm just paranoid!
Oh yes, they are bad, just take the right steps to protect your tank....take your time and don't rush it. Remeber, nothing good happens fast in this hobby.
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My tank is nothing like the sea.....and I'm thankful.......The animals I have are feed, they are healthy and I really enjoy watching my tank grow.
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So sad. So on the way to ocean city last week I stopped by Dr Mac
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I will certainly have the licensed electrician look into it when he comes to wire up my new breakers for my new set-up...
10-4, I would just hate to see something go really bad because something was over looked.
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I always wonder if thats what they really look like?? It would be nice if they would tell you what lighting was used while taking the picture.
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I've read they work and read they don't. But I have a sand bed in my display tank thats from 2" to 3" and a RDSB that 8"x8"x8". My nitrates are low, less than .2ppm but I don't know if thats from the RDSB or what, I just thought I would give it a try and see what happens. It's only been up and running since 7-19-09, so I would guess that the RDSB hasn't had a chance to really get going yet.
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Those pipes going from your tank to the sump. Are they 1" going into 1 1/4" elbows & Tees? If I was plumbing it, I would change those to 1"x 1-1/2" It just seems with that much water moving, better safe than sorry.
just my .02 but the build is coming along nicely.
agarg 210 tank upgrade
in Dedicated Tank (Build) Forum
Outstanding, can't wait to see how it looks and good luck with the fish.