120 peninsula build

Jackcarp · Aug 30, 2016

That's a great list. I will need to refer back to it when I start to stock my tank. Where do you get your fish?

fragit · Aug 30, 2016

Jackcarp said:
That's a great list. I will need to refer back to it when I start to stock my tank. Where do you get your fish?

In the past I had purchased from various LFSs which have since closed doors. I have also used Live Aquaria but that was with my last tank. When I was taking a break with my last tank a new store opened and is doing really well. They have a pretty good selection of fish which seem to be healthy. They have decent disease prevention protocols in place, and seem like responsible stewards. They are all hobbyists so they actually care, and have a lot of knowledge. I feel fortunate that they are close by, as there are really only 2 marine hobby stores that I know of currently in Maine. So to answer your question, I will do as much ordering from my LFS as I can, and then perhaps reputable online vendors. As a nurse my work hours are not very flexible so waiting for a next day delivery may prove to be problematic for me. So as local as I can shop! I have even considered going to my local PetCo stores and asking for deep discounts on diseased fish and trying to bring them back to health. We will see if I do that or not, my dogs vet did say that she would write me a script for CP so that will be my primary go to disease prevention, along with prazi pro most likely.

fragit · Sep 5, 2016

Just ordered a new heater, and stuff from Amazon to make a DIY temperature controller. Also ordered 2 more felt filter sox and the screen for my screen tops. Tank water is crystal clear, and I'm 1 week into dosing BioS. I should be all set to start adding live stock next week. I wanted to hit the LFS today but they are closed for the holiday. Notice the window through the tank, it's like 12' away!

fragit · Sep 5, 2016

Here is my fish list with images. What do you all think? Too many, not enough variety of colors, too many hard to care for fish?

3 x Chalk Bass

3 x Randall's Anthias

$lg-80507_Randall\'s-Anthias.jpg$

1 x Lamarck's Angelfish

1 x Copperband Butterflyfish

2 x Firefish

1 x Red Mandarin

1 x Two Spot Goby

1 x Yellow Tang

2 x Leopard Wrasse

1 x McCosker's Flasher Wrasse

1 x Filamented Flasher Wrasse

1 x Orchid Dottyback (Wife wants one)

2 x Designer Clowns (not sure which ones yet)

Fudsey · Sep 5, 2016

Tank looks great ! !

Fish choices look good to me but for the mandarin, you should buy some pods and make a pod feeder to keep the mandarin from starving.

I'm sure you've thought of that

fragit · Sep 5, 2016

Fudsey said:
Tank looks great ! !

Fish choices look good to me but for the mandarin, you should buy some pods and make a pod feeder to keep the mandarin from starving.

I'm sure you've thought of that

Yes I have, another reason for the 40 gal refugium. I will be ordering a bunch of pods soon. The mandarin will most likely be one of the last fish to be added so the pod population can grow.

tj w · Sep 6, 2016

I just read through this entire thread and what a great build. I'm really digging those lights and that looks like a nice fish list as well. Great job

fragit · Sep 6, 2016

tj w said:
I just read through this entire thread and what a great build. I'm really digging those lights and that looks like a nice fish list as well. Great job

Thank you very much for the awesome compliment! Nice to have you along for the ride. Can't wait to get some life in this tank!

ReeferMadness80G · Sep 6, 2016

Ditto! ^^^^ looks great! Can't wait! Just hopped on this train

fragit · Sep 6, 2016

ReeferMadness80G said:
Ditto! ^^^^ looks great! Can't wait! Just hopped on this train

Awesome! Thanks for joining! Thanks for the compliment.

fragit · Sep 10, 2016

Went to the LFS today to get some snails. Well they didn't have much of a selection. I walked out with 4 tiny trochus snails, a couple cerith, and some nerites. Also got a bottle of tisbe and a bag of tigre pods. They had a couple copper band butterflies that looked really healthy one came right up to the glass and looked at me. Not quite ready to take that plunge yet, but soon!

Jackcarp · Sep 10, 2016

I got some nerites in a shipment that I got online. Since my tank is rimless my kids go on a snail hunt every morning. They have found them as far as 10 ft from the tank. They do a great job cleaning tho.

fragit · Sep 10, 2016

Jackcarp said:
I got some nerites in a shipment that I got online. Since my tank is rimless my kids go on a snail hunt every morning. They have found them as far as 10 ft from the tank. They do a great job cleaning tho.

Oops I miss spoke I meant nassarius snails. I used to get nerites but had the same problem. I would find them everywhere but in the tank. I won't get them ever again.

fragit · Sep 11, 2016

Built a temp controller today. Very easy to do, and cheap! Here is the link that I used, the author made the directions bey easy to follow.
http://spec-tanks.com/how-to-make-an-aquarium-temperature-controller/
The only problem I ran into is that the connection for the power broke. It didn't seem to be very well soddered. I had to take the unit apart and I re-soddered all the wiring connections to the control board. One plug runs a heater the other can run a fan if needed. Alot of beer brewers use these I guess. And it works!

Fudsey · Sep 11, 2016

Sweet ! ! Where did you get the box?

fragit · Sep 11, 2016

It all came from Amazon except for the outlet and cover plate which I got at HD. Total cost I think was less that $40.

Jackcarp · Sep 11, 2016

That's such a cool project. I love finding nice technical diy projects like this. I did something similar for my auto top off on my old tank. There's just something very satisfying about making it yourself. Maybe it's the geeking out part of it. Let's face it-we are all a little geeky in this hobby.

fragit · Sep 11, 2016

Jackcarp said:
That's such a cool project. I love finding nice technical diy projects like this. I did something similar for my auto top off on my old tank. There's just something very satisfying about making it yourself. Maybe it's the geeking out part of it. Let's face it-we are all a little geeky in this hobby.

I think half the fun is all the building, putting things together, and learning how to do new things. I love DIY projects!! I also really enjoy testing water chemistry and all the science and ecology in reef keeping. Adding livestock and watching it grow and thrive is just gravy.

Ahgee · Sep 11, 2016

fragit said:
Here is my fish list with images. What do you all think? Too many, not enough variety of colors, too many hard to care for fish?

3 x Chalk Bass

3 x Randall's Anthias

$lg-80507_Randall\'s-Anthias.jpg$

1 x Lamarck's Angelfish

1 x Copperband Butterflyfish

2 x Firefish

1 x Red Mandarin

1 x Two Spot Goby

1 x Yellow Tang

2 x Leopard Wrasse

1 x McCosker's Flasher Wrasse

1 x Filamented Flasher Wrasse

1 x Orchid Dottyback (Wife wants one)

2 x Designer Clowns (not sure which ones yet)

Bass and leopard are two of my favorites! Don't do the purple dotty! I just had a heck of a time getting one out of my tank... They are a holes! Almost tore down my tank to get it...