330g Acrylic

[Giovanni]

11/29/2012

I decide to move the LED pucks around in the units to make due and not trade out the whites. I put the pucks from the whites in the outer 4 spots with 70degree lenses and pucks from the blues in the inner 4 spots with 40degree lenses. I figure this will give a higher par for my deep tank and still provide some pop. May move swap the lenses or even half the lenses so between the blue and white.

Also temporarily setup my skimmer and it is pulling out the floaty stuff from the sand already.

 

[Giovanni]

12/02/2012

Picked up 230lbs of what was supposed to be live rock. Lady tore her tank down the day before said the rock was in bins in her driveway. i assumed it had water on it. So I Drove three hours and when I got there is was now dry. I still bought it as it did not smell to bad. Put half in my tank and the other half in the sump. This am got up and the house reeked worse that goat nuts and mu skimmer was in high gear.

 

[Giovanni]

12/03/2012

Got my tunze 6105 pumps in today. Removed the 6055s and placed two of the 6105s. Used the wide nozzles for now. Have them temporarily wired to the apex tor a trial run. Tons of flow! Very quiet but when cycling low/high, they do clunk some times if the low setting is off. Not able to get a wave going. Not sure if I need all 4 so I am waiting to open the second two. If both are on high, where the flow meets in the middle it makes 4-5 whirlpools!

 

[Giovanni]

12/10/2012

I have added the last two 6105s. On Saturday, two days ago my Ammonia tested 1.0, Nitrites 0.0 and Nitrates 0.0. I decided to add two bottles of Bio-Spira from Instant Ocean. I followed the instructions and turned off the skimmer. I also to the down time to give it a good cleaning. The bottles I added said they were good for up to 75g but I was hoping that I have some good bacteria left on the rock I purchased. Some aptasia have survived! On Sunday the Ammonia was 0.5, Nitrites from 0.0 to 0.5 and Nitrates 5.0. Today the Ammonia is 0.0 Nitrites 0.0 and nitrates 10. Yesterday I also dropped a frag of SPS in the tank and when I got home today it has good polyp extension. The frog spawn looks good also.


Here are some crappy iPhone photos and a video of the wave I am able to generate. The wave just does not turn me on like it does in a smaller tank.

[video]http://www.youtube.com/embed/3FXO5Z4aPtk[/video]

 

[Giovanni]

12/11/2012

Here are some updated photos with the stuff added from my Nano. Use my sony alpha 100 DSLR for these so no excuses. Ammonia and nitrites still at zero.

 

[Giovanni]

12/15/2012

Got the squamosa in the tank today. I put him where I want him but I bet in a day or so he will have moved all over the tank. I purchased him 5 years ago and he ended up in a friends tank for a couple of years. He is now back home! Also added a green/blue open brain (Trachyphyllia geoffroyi) which I think will color up under better conditions. Here are a few updated shots.

 

[Giovanni]

12/18/2012

I picked up a powder blue tang 3.5 inched and a Flame angel 2.25 inches today. I get my LFS to leave them in the bag till I have a chance to look at them. The flame is still a little shy but the powder felt at home as soon as I dropped him in.

 

[Giovanni]

12/23/2012

Not much going on this week with the tank so just a quick update. I have been researching honda generators as a backup incase of power failure. I have a large generator but I am afraid the power output is not clean enough for my AI sol lights and Tunze pumps. The honda's small generators are inverter type and come in 1000, 2000 and 3500 watt versions. Because they are inverter type, they are even good for TVs and computers. Looking at the power usage on my apex, when everything is on high including the heaters, I am pulling a max 12.25amps or 1470 watts. Looks like I will be getting the EU2000i which is the 2000watt version. It is rated for 1600watt continuous and 2000 surge. I can always run the lights at lower output and the tunze are never all on at the same time. The two big consumers are the lights at 3.6 amps and the heaters at 5.0 amps.

On another note, I converted a Deltec PF-501 Calcium reactor to a Biopellet reactor yesterday. In less than 24 hours the water was cloudy. My skimmer foam became very wet where it had been dry so I had to ramp up the water level to get any skimmate. I have decided not to build my sump stand until I have decided on all the equipment I will have out there. Sill not sure if I will dose, run kalk stir or a calcium reactor. I am tempted to just dose but it may be hard to keep up in later years when the sps grows out. Here is a short video of the biopellet reactor working.

[video]www.youtube.com/embed/SmpLmcHxDp0[/video]

 

[peterthegamer]

Ever thought about getting a nice rbta?
Also nice tank!

 

[Giovanni]

Good Idea, I have a small one.

12/31/2012

Been working on my sump stand the last couple days. Here are a couple photos of it so far.

 

[Giovanni]

01/6/2013

Just a quick update. My powder blue tang is eat up with ich. So today I setup a 29g QT tank. I will be removing all my fish and going fallow for 6-8 weeks. Will be treating the fish with hyposalinity. None of my fish had been QTed so I guess I am glad this came up now instead of later when I have a ton of fish in there.

 

[Giovanni]

1/12/2013

I finally got all my fish out last night. I have them in a 29g in my laundry room. I set up a drip acclimator draining water from the 29 into the sink next to it. I set up a 5 gallon bucket of RODI with and ATO to replace the water as it drains out. Will take 48 hours to get the sg down to 1.009. I think this will be the least stressful for the fish. The powder has been out of the display for several days now and looks very good.

 

[GuyWalker1219]

Great looking build! I also buffed out my big tank I don't think people understand the amount of work that goes into it.

 

[onefishy]

i know you said you used novus, but did you buff it out by hand - or did you use a buffer? if you used a buffer, what kind?

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

WOWwee glad to have your thread here at R2R! What a tank!

 

[Zack]

Love it, the scape is really nice

 

[Giovanni]

i know you said you used novus, but did you buff it out by hand - or did you use a buffer? if you used a buffer, what kind?

I have more scratches on the outside to get out so maybe later I will do a video of what worked for me if enough people are interested.

I used this with a microfiber bonnet in a cordless drill at about 1000rpm for the #3. YOU MUST KEEP IT MOVING OR YOU WILL MELT THE ACRYLIC!!! Let me say that again! YOU MUST KEEP IT MOVING OR YOU WILL MELT THE ACRYLIC!!! Don't ask how I know.

I used this with the type microfiber for the #2. It is very forgiving and in fact I don't think you can hurt the tank with it. With both the #3 and #2 I used a spray bottle of RODI to keep it wet. I keep it very wet until I am ready to wipe it off and I let it dry a bit. It saved me from having to constantly add more novus to keep it wet. I buffed the final stuff on by hand.

 

[ReefPops]

Looking good. Hope the ich situation is getting under control. Glad you caught it early. Those tangs get ya every time. Overall though, love the tank and the overall setup. Looks like a great place in the house.

 

[Squishie89]

Quickest build ever! Just kidding, I know you are moving posts from another forum. I love the tank! And the house! Remember to have the generator outside if you ever need to run it. Can't wait to see more.

 

[bluetrigger]

Being a member of the 98 percent and retired and on S.S. my problem would be having the cash. If I could I would do it