Kyle's Reef
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Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Always check the expiration date on your Hanna checker reagents. Last batch from the LFS that I've been using for about four months.. expiry was 2018! Ugh.. new batch expiry 2021, and PO4 is reading .184ppm tonight, was previously pulling a 11-12 on the checker (tonight, 60 / 62 in back to back tests).
Might explain some things...
Might explain some things...
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Probably the shortest update: I love these little gyres, they are what I should have bought when the frag tank went live. Even the trachy seems to love them, super inflated since their addition.
And contrary to a PM inquiry, no, I do not work for, nor am I being paid by CoralVue to hype their products
And contrary to a PM inquiry, no, I do not work for, nor am I being paid by CoralVue to hype their products
JoshH
Tank Status: Wet...ish, growing things....
And contrary to a PM inquiry, no, I do not work for, nor am I being paid by CoralVue to hype their products
Lol!!! Glad the 1Ks are working for you I'll have to keep them in mind for my frag section as well. Things are looking pretty darn good!
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
They're being discontinued, and only Hussain's Aquariumdepot had them up here for us, since those Glamorca brand used to have this market. Glad I went this way, the 2k's minimum gph flow would have been much too high.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
This Eheim auto feeder is almost perfect. I can't believe that I once paid $100 for something that performed worse, was loud as hell and had a funky way of removing the food vessel that could make spills a thing. Now to model a bracket to slide into the T-slot channel of this AL fixture.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Done, works like a charm. Using it with Vitalis Marine Pellets XS, which the fish have been loving. Out of black PETG or PLA right now so using the default Prusa PLA silver.
eheim_feeder_bracket_done by Kyl, on Flickr
In action, drops just above the small vortex the gyre creates.
eheim_feeder_bracket_done by Kyl, on Flickr
In action, drops just above the small vortex the gyre creates.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
When life hands you lemons, we get another tank built.
Still planning, but close to finalized, rather quickly thanks to some valuable feed back from a couple R2R people, and local guys / the builder himself. I had to move on this rather unexpectedly over the past weekend, but rather pleased how quickly it has coalesced.
72 x 22 x 13, going to plumb into the DT sump and overall it will only require another gyre to be 110% functional. Very tight on space, so it has to go in a specific spot, but will serve purpose for a few things going forward. Most notably in re-homing some fish that I took great care to get fully quarantined and happy together, and don't want to just dump on a LFS or someone else.
I started the hobby with a 12W" x 13H" Innovative Marine fusion 10 five years ago, and at that time wondered what it would be like to have a huge tank this shallow. Well now we'll see how six of them look stuck together, should give the tang some room to run and some interesting ideas. It will be bare bottom, thankfully no sand sleepers to re-home, but I am thinking of keeping half of it as frag realestate, and using some marco rock I've had in storage since the DT upgrade to make a shallow lagoon scape for the other half, easily observed by looking overhead as well..
frag_tank1 by Kyl, on Flickr
frag_tank2 by Kyl, on Flickr
At times I think it was destined for this hobby to have entered my life, it's certainly made the last five years kindle a huge passion that I hope lasts another 50.
Still planning, but close to finalized, rather quickly thanks to some valuable feed back from a couple R2R people, and local guys / the builder himself. I had to move on this rather unexpectedly over the past weekend, but rather pleased how quickly it has coalesced.
72 x 22 x 13, going to plumb into the DT sump and overall it will only require another gyre to be 110% functional. Very tight on space, so it has to go in a specific spot, but will serve purpose for a few things going forward. Most notably in re-homing some fish that I took great care to get fully quarantined and happy together, and don't want to just dump on a LFS or someone else.
I started the hobby with a 12W" x 13H" Innovative Marine fusion 10 five years ago, and at that time wondered what it would be like to have a huge tank this shallow. Well now we'll see how six of them look stuck together, should give the tang some room to run and some interesting ideas. It will be bare bottom, thankfully no sand sleepers to re-home, but I am thinking of keeping half of it as frag realestate, and using some marco rock I've had in storage since the DT upgrade to make a shallow lagoon scape for the other half, easily observed by looking overhead as well..
frag_tank1 by Kyl, on Flickr
frag_tank2 by Kyl, on Flickr
At times I think it was destined for this hobby to have entered my life, it's certainly made the last five years kindle a huge passion that I hope lasts another 50.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
You can say it's getting a bit packed, too, with a crappy blue-d to heck phone picture.
Night_shot by Kyl, on Flickr
Night_shot by Kyl, on Flickr
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
T5's add a bit of balance to the phone shots at least. This is now the anemone kingdom, four splits, the largest being around 8" wide disc, and that's after recently splitting. They still haven't killed off the pink lemonade acro in the top left, but there is a clump of algae hanging around, Vibrant has killed off most of the bubble algae though ;Punch. Can also spot the anemone shrimp hanging out in the not so happy, middle of shedding tyree toadstool. At night he sneaks into one of the anemones while the clowns are tucked into theirs.
anemone_kingdom by Kyl, on Flickr
anemone_kingdom by Kyl, on Flickr
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Builder will be Concept Aquariums out of Calgary, AB Canada. Been asked by a couple in PM's, same builder as my current tanks. Happy with what I heard, and the price they're looking for. Turn around should be about 4-5 weeks, so right around the beginning of March there should be some good updates coming. Going to break out the box of marco rock I have left over and see if there are any interesting small little islands I can construct to help the lagoon look for part of the tank. Might pick up a couple of the flat cut pieces since it's going to be bare-bottom for a bit more stability.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Bio load moving over to this new ~85g tank:
1x Misbar Ocellaris Clownfish - Amphiprion ocellaris
1x Tomini Tang - Ctenochaetus tominiensis
1x Blueside Fairy Wrasse - Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura
1x Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse - Labroides dimidiatus
1x Firefish - Nemateleotris magnifica
1x Starry Blenny - Salarias ramosus
Those have been together for about 3 years now
1x Misbar Ocellaris Clownfish - Amphiprion ocellaris
1x Tomini Tang - Ctenochaetus tominiensis
1x Blueside Fairy Wrasse - Cirrhilabrus cyanopleura
1x Bluestreak Cleaner Wrasse - Labroides dimidiatus
1x Firefish - Nemateleotris magnifica
1x Starry Blenny - Salarias ramosus
Those have been together for about 3 years now
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Ordered:
72 x 22 x 13, 3 side starphire, external overflow, laminated smoke glass to rear panel, black silicone, full polish, 72 x 22 x 38 on 1-1/2" metal stand.
72 x 22 x 13, 3 side starphire, external overflow, laminated smoke glass to rear panel, black silicone, full polish, 72 x 22 x 38 on 1-1/2" metal stand.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
So I have to get the fish to be re-homed out of their current tank asap. Nothing I have right now will be good for that size wise, so I'm picking up a 40 breeder for the mean time and going to run one of my mothballed aquaclears on it. Tank is realistically going to be about 6 weeks at this point, will grab some 2x4's and get a temp stand made, can always make use of it later. Then once the tank is here, I'm going to use the 40b as a ghetto sump while the funk of the system gets out, so it doesn't impact the DT. I figure slowly a change over to the DT sump can take place when I'm happy that things are nice and stable, rather than rushing from the start with new glass into the "complete" system. I know when my frag sump arrived there was some instability from it, possibly due to that new tank manufacturing "funk", for lack of a better word.
Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
Everyone is re-homed, and I guess happy. In hindsight I should have put some dry sand in the tank, and black viny'd off the rear and one side. The cyanopleura is going nuts at the glass reflection the past day or so, but they're all healthy and eating. I've actually found the cyanopleura flashing at my exquisit that's about 8" away from the glass in the DT, quite funny.
I'm guessing the new tank should be here some time early March, getting some overflow covers for my existing tanks made since it's an option now for the new one too. Already picked up a 4k gyre with the dual icecap controller in anticipation, I plan on using the controller with my 1k gyres, and a wave engine to run the XF150 from the shut down tank and a 4k icecap for the new one along with my current XF230's in the DT. I had thought about replacing the SW-4's with octo-pulse 2's, but can't justify the cost outlay right now, at least until they die too. I have two spares from the frag tank waiting though, so that probably won't ever be happening.
Other than that, things are pretty much status quo. The aneome city split again, and I found #6 wandering around the opposite end of the tank on the glass, so put him in my acclimation box for now. Once I get the temporary tank up to 1.026 sg and perform a few water changes, using the DT water, I'll move it over and see if the female misbar ocellaris from the shut down tank will be hosted. Currently it's at 1.021 since when I pulled them they were in 1.020sg, along with some hermits and snails at that salinity
,and a bunch of blue sympodium that grew all over about 10" of egg crate racking)
I'm guessing the new tank should be here some time early March, getting some overflow covers for my existing tanks made since it's an option now for the new one too. Already picked up a 4k gyre with the dual icecap controller in anticipation, I plan on using the controller with my 1k gyres, and a wave engine to run the XF150 from the shut down tank and a 4k icecap for the new one along with my current XF230's in the DT. I had thought about replacing the SW-4's with octo-pulse 2's, but can't justify the cost outlay right now, at least until they die too. I have two spares from the frag tank waiting though, so that probably won't ever be happening.
Other than that, things are pretty much status quo. The aneome city split again, and I found #6 wandering around the opposite end of the tank on the glass, so put him in my acclimation box for now. Once I get the temporary tank up to 1.026 sg and perform a few water changes, using the DT water, I'll move it over and see if the female misbar ocellaris from the shut down tank will be hosted. Currently it's at 1.021 since when I pulled them they were in 1.020sg, along with some hermits and snails at that salinity
,and a bunch of blue sympodium that grew all over about 10" of egg crate racking)Kyl
And how does it feel like, to wake up in the sun
The old tank at my parents is fully removed now, there's a good 40 lbs of three year old marco rock that's unfortunately full of algae. I've got it in a brute can with the water from that tank and a heater / MJ1200 in there right now. Not sure if I should just light starve all that algae out, or give it a muratic acid bath and lose three years of maturation. I definitely won't put it in any of my tanks as-is, don't want that hair algae all over the place. Might just run it dark for a few months and do water changes using my DT water to keep some nutrients for the rock dwellers.
Ordered a carbide hacksaw rod to cut some of the dry marco rock flat, tried with a 24t metal blade and it just didn't work all that well. A few smaller pieces I'm going to try just grading on some rough concrete as one person suggested since I don't have access to a pedestal grinder.
Last equipment update is I used the last of my xmas / hobby money to order a wave engine and the adapter cords to run four gyres. The two XF230 on my DT, the XF150 from my parents tank and the Icecap 4K gyre that came with the icecap controller, which I'm using on my 1K gyres. Also going to run the SW-4's off of the 0-10v port it comes with, potentially use the two of them from the frag system in the new tank as well. We'll see..
Ordered a carbide hacksaw rod to cut some of the dry marco rock flat, tried with a 24t metal blade and it just didn't work all that well. A few smaller pieces I'm going to try just grading on some rough concrete as one person suggested since I don't have access to a pedestal grinder.
Last equipment update is I used the last of my xmas / hobby money to order a wave engine and the adapter cords to run four gyres. The two XF230 on my DT, the XF150 from my parents tank and the Icecap 4K gyre that came with the icecap controller, which I'm using on my 1K gyres. Also going to run the SW-4's off of the 0-10v port it comes with, potentially use the two of them from the frag system in the new tank as well. We'll see..
