Jump to content

A New Dawn


madweazl

Recommended Posts

On 9/21/2019 at 2:32 PM, madweazl said:

Heaters, GFO, carbon, and skimmer online. Ordered a powered switch panel so I can tidy up the wiring and I still have to order the controller. 

 

48770922807_1512ceb6a1_h.jpg

 

 

This looks amazing and so clean!  You've got so many ball valves!  Crazy how much money you end up dumping in plumbing when you do it right!  


Which two heaters did you decide to go with, and how are you controlling them?  Apex?  Running simultaneously or as backups?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • Replies 162
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Top Posters In This Topic

The cost of plumbing is ridiculous! Heaters are Jagers (200w). They'll be run off the GHL with their internal thermostats set a hair higher then the controllers shut off point. I cant remember why I switched to Jager (I typically use Visi-Therms). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

I have the Jagers too.  I think they're good for their dollar value as long as they're controlled externally.  I have a Cobalt NeoTherm for my QT tanks just bc I think the reliability is more important in that non-controlled tank.  I think the Jagers are amazingly energy efficient as well.  My Cobalt draws way more power than my Jager does according to Apex energy monitoring.  

 

I've been debating running two heaters simultaneously, or running one as a backup for the other.  Why did you decide to go with simultaneous?

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Just for redundancy; if one fails I have another that will continue to function. With a pair of smaller heaters, if one sticks in the on position, I have a longer timeline to correct the problem before the water hits a critical temperature. 

Edited by madweazl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Two down, one to go...

48796459161_e69bc5efac_h.jpg

 

Color of the wires still shows through because I didn't pull the PETG loom tight enough I guess :( 

48796104393_dd28368dd0_h.jpg

 

I'll pick up some white zip-ties tomorrow and clean it all up.

48796458201_ee938636a7_h.jpg

 

Testing one...

48796602497_3c6617950f_h.jpg

 

Testing two...

48796111038_0cdb9cc7d4_h.jpg

 

Testing three...

48796602102_e777263db7_h.jpg

 

All systems go!

48796457986_917d925e08_h.jpg

 

I used old T5s for the testing; one of those Blue+ will be another AquaBlue Special but close enough :)

 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Man!  That's awesome.  I'm totally going to hit you up for help with a retrofit at some point!  Congrats on getting that done!

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(edited)

Our blue gudgeon jumped into the overflow and made its way down to the sump. On the plus side, the purple fire fish we havent seen since they all went in the tank popped right out. Guess he was getting bullied so the gudgeon will remain in the sump (pretty fish but reclusive). 

Edited by madweazl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Forgot to add that coralline algae has started taking off like crazy in the tank! It has littered all of the rock work now and I imagine will fully cover everything in the next month; considerably quicker than I imagined it would (especially so since Kessils cant grow coralline...). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

After some procrastination, I mounted the T5s today and installed the screen at the rear of the tank. The lights came out pretty clean and I couldnt be much happier (I'll measure PAR in the next couple days). The color combination is perfect for my preference (4 x Blue+, 2 x Aquablue Special, and 1 x Purple+). The shimmer from the Kessils is seriously muted but looks fantastic (they're only at 40% intensity right now so I can get more pronounced). It's a good thing I mounted the fans in the canopy, those suckers produce some heat! 

 

48849335891_acf5653a1b_h.jpg

48849335526_06aa19405a_h.jpg

 

The controller is on but not doing anything at the moment, well, it's reading the temperature but I haven't calibrated the rest of the probes. I might get to that tomorrow but I'm hoping to go race my new radio controlled car (MBX8 Eco for any other RC nerds out there). 

 

We also added four female lyretail anthias to the tank today but our blue gudgeon that made its way down to the sump, somehow made it's way into the return pump (it didn't skip a beat but the fish had a bad day...). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Lost one of the anthias to what looks like a bacterial infection (one was more reclusive at the LFS but I didn't inspect it well); the other option would be uronema but it didn't look like it to me. Hopefully the other three remain in good health. Two of them have really paired up and never leave each other while the other is slightly nomadic spending half the time in the group and the other half wandering about. I'd like to snag two more sooner than later. 

 

I'm still amazed by how fast the coralline is growing in this tank and because of this, I'll probably frag a number of the acropora in the 75g and bring them over this week. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

(edited)

Thank you :)

 

 

48893554492_5e3346ca7a_h.jpg

48892839368_67c674c63b.jpg

 

Notes:

1) Standard 150g 60x24x24

2) Kessils manually set to 50% color

3) Three A360WEs and one A360X (far left)

4) ATI T5s (front to back) Blue+, AquaBlue Special, Purple+, AquaBlue Special, Blue+, Blue+

5) Measurements taken with Seneye

6) Kessils mounted 8" above water line

7) T5s mounted 8.5" above water line

Edited by madweazl
Link to comment
Share on other sites

Added 12 frags yesterday:

 

2 GARF bansai

Unknown pink/white

SCA orange passion

WWC Yellow tip austera

Unknown blue/green 

Strawberry shortcake

2 Tyree's pink lemonade

ORA Hawkin's blue echinata

Cali tort

Vivid rainbow delight 

 

I have space for about three or four more and would like to add some peach/orange. I was a little more selective on placement with this tank; purple is next to yellow and pinks are next to greens to provide more contrast. I'm going to remove the turbinaria and the rock with the green mushrooms that I used to seed the tank. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

Not much to see when we're talking about frags :)

 

So far, I've lost the pink lemonades (both), the unknown pink/white, and the blue echinata. The pink lemonades RTN'd over night and the blue echinata died off over the course of a week (I'm pretty sure that one was getting too much light). I think everything else is still doing alright, though the cali tort is loosing a lot of color. I need to get the lights hooked up to the controller so I can get them close to the program running on the 75g tank but I've been fighting some illness the past week that I just cant seem to shake (no energy and constantly hot). 

 

The tank gobbled up .5 dKh in eight days and while the frags arent doing anything, the coralline is likely responsible for all of that. With some manual dosing, I was able to determine that total water volume is as close as I can measure to 150g on the button. 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 3 weeks later...

Gonna need bigger heaters. Think I'll give the BRS/Shego heaters a try.

49041984503_76017838eb_h.jpg

 

On another note, most of the acroporas have died. I've been playing with the lights trying to get something close to the 75g in regard to intensity and I'm pretty that was the largest factor (other than being a young tank). I help mitigate the difference, I changed the slope of the Kessils in the 75g; they were originally on a constant ramp but not sit at peak intensity for three hours (adding an hour today). This actually created a positive response and alkalinity consumption has gone up quite a bit so that is cool. I'll give it another week and frag some more.

 

We also added a diamond goby, hi-fin goby/tiger pistol pair, and a fire shrimp. Oh, a pair of turbo snails were added too (little bit of fuzz on the rocks I want them to take care of). 

Link to comment
Share on other sites

  • 2 weeks later...

I took a pretty big leap of faith today and moved most of the corals from the 75g into the 150g. I fragged a few but for many of them, the parent was moved. I also replaced quite a bit of the rock that was in the 150g with pieces from the 75g. I moved three acroporas over last week as test mules and they still looked great (eight days of observation). I also moved the fish out of the 75g and dropped them in the 150g (all except the six line wrasse). That brings the fish count up to 15 for the time being. The tank is still fairly cloudy but I snapped a quick picture. Over the course of the next month, I'll get rid the corals that remain in the 75g and shut it down. I'm still trying to decide if I want to put an in-wall behind the space the 75g currently occupies in my office or just focus on a single tank.

 

49503182682_acee78a26d_h.jpg

Link to comment
Share on other sites

Create an account or sign in to comment

You need to be a member in order to leave a comment

Create an account

Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!

Register a new account

Sign in

Already have an account? Sign in here.

Sign In Now

×
×
  • Create New...