140 Gallon DSA Build

[T Diddy]

update

update

Within the last week, I've had some pretty cool viewings in the DT and the rubbermaid tub. When I originally got the berghia, some went in the rubbermaid (along with two strands of eggs), and some in the DT. The ones in the DT disappeared overnight. The ones in the rubbermaid, I placed on a rock that was full of aiptasia. I am pleased to announce that those guys have cleaned that rock and moved on to another.

As for the DT, I didn't see them at all...not for several days. The wrasse finally trapped herself. I had given up on feeding the trap. She could see the food in the bottle trap, and tried many times to peck at it through the bottle, but wouldn't venture into it (I'd have caught the tang on every attempt:celeb1. A few days later I looked at the tank and she was just chiilin' in the bottle. I jumped up and ultimately decided to banish her to the sump for a while.

Since then, I've seen a few berghia in the DT. They are certainly bigger and fatter than when I got them. The biggest one here is almost an inch...

 

[T Diddy]

A rogue aiptasia managed to set himself right in the middle of one of my zoa colonies recently. Tonight I found this going on!! Glad to know they can do this without damaging the zoanthids...I have a few more in another colony.

 

[T Diddy]

more berghia pics

more berghia pics

Here are a few pics from behind the wall. The first one is a weird exposure that just looked cool.

These two shots give you an idea how much they've grown...they were maybe a 1/4" when I got them...

 

[T Diddy]

NICE!!!! I just spotted my first two baby berghias in the tank!! I hope they make it :bounce1::bounce2:

 

[T Diddy]

Help!!!

Help!!!

Another zoa colony has been overrun by aiptasia. they migrated from the heavily infested rock on the left. I want to remove the rock, but the zoas have begun growing onto it. How can I remove the rock without hurting the zoas?

 

[zigzag1]

Wow, looks like a nasty bunch of aptasia to me, hope those berghia can clean that up.. They cleaned my tank up years ago, but I only had a few small ones. You have an army of monsters. GL!

 

[T Diddy]

Zigzag1, there are more than a handful of monsters in there, but the berghia seem to be slowly getting the job done. There are several areas where aiptasia are no longer present. There used to be a few large ones where these guys are finishing a meal...

here:

and here:

Also, I have added a 5 gallon gravity fed ATO that is working like a champ. Now I'll have to top off the RO once a week rather than once a day.

I'll try to get some pics loaded tomorrow.

 

[T Diddy]

I woke up this morning and went into the fish room to check on the ATO (working great) and saw my red serpent star!! I haven't seen that thing but once or twice since i put him in there...thatt's been months.

Sorry for the blurry pic, he is fast and I only had seconds to get the pic:

I'll be sure to post up more info and pics of the ATO later.

 

[ohm786]

You have an amazing tank. I haven't seen a foam/rock wall formation as well through out as the one you have done. Great work!

 

[T Diddy]

You have an amazing tank. I haven't seen a foam/rock wall formation as well through out as the one you have done. Great work!

Thanks ohm

I came home today to find my acro colony had crashed. Luckily, nothing broke, but it did land on top of another coral...hope they are both OK. Now I have to figure out how to remount without breaking it..

 

[T Diddy]

The berghias are doing a nice job, but the ystill have their work cut out. I also added another black ocellaris. It is a good bit larger, and I suppose it is possible that the original still had not sexed. So far they are getting along OK.

Also, I haven't been epdating on the acan. It seems to be dropping a baby. I may have accidentally fractured the bone without damaging the flesh at some point. over the past couple of months it has really looked more and more like abstract art :artist:

In the last couple of weeks it has gone from this:

...to this:

 

[T Diddy]

...still no pics of the ATO. There has been too much going on, but i am building another to have for a separate tank, so I'll take pics of the process.
On another note, I think I have decided to go all LED. I'll have 72 total 3w CREEs. The (2) 10x19 heatsinks will consist of whites and blues in a 1:1:1:3 CW:WW:BB:3RB ratio, or a 2:1 blues to whites for anyone keeping count. Both fixtures will be identical, with the LEDs oriented as follows:

Can't wait to get this project started!! :hammer:

 

[T Diddy]

here are a couple of recent shots of the new ATO. So far it works like a charm.In this shot you can see that I have placed the siphon tube inside of the air tube. The clear airline tubing designates the water height in the sump. Oh yeah, disregard the blue tubing in the background...it belongs to the RO unit

As you can see in this shot, the blue siphon tube is the only tube actually in the reservoir. The other end of the blue tube is all the way in the bottom of the sump.

 

[T Diddy]

update

update

I had to go out of town recently. While away, my sailfin jumped and hit the floor, my frogspawn got knocked over, and I lost another sea hare to the maxijet circulation pump.:sad2: Now the display is down to (2) black misbar clowns and a green chromis that just won't die. The firefish managed to find his way into the refugium a while back.

As for the lights, I've placed the order for the additional LEDs needed for my next creation. The layout will look like this, but the warms are replaced by neutral whites:

The heatsinks showed up already. They are 10" x 19", and will be home to 36 LEDs each...

...marked for placement of LEDs:

 

[Jack04]

Great build Mr. Diddy!

Question regarding the bond fiberglass resin used, do you have any pictures of what you used, and is it available at lows or home depot?

Thanks!

 

[T Diddy]

Great build Mr. Diddy!

Question regarding the bond fiberglass resin used, do you have any pictures of what you used, and is it available at lows or home depot?

Thanks!

Thanks Jack04 :bounce1:,

I can't remember exactly, but it was probably this stuff...

It can be found at the box stores, but you'll need some hardener to go with it. If you choose to go this route, I'd suggest using the much sturdier black egg crate than the thin white light diffuser that most have used. I had so much weight from the rock that the structure flexed a lot in certain places when picking up, moving, installing the wall. The fiberglass resin does not...so there are several places where the resin broke away and separated from the wall. Also, prior to applying the resin, I'd suggest taking a wire brush or a pair of pliers or something and roughing up the surface of the foam to ensure a more thorough bond between the resin and the foam.

HTH

 

[Jack04]

Wow, thanks a bunch, I was hoping for a response in a few days, love this forum!!!!

How's the hair algae issue you were having? Do you think the foam and fiberglass resin are suspect?

How long has your tank been up and running, more than a year?

Right now my tank is on it's back, I have silicones 25 1/2 inch end caps to the back and have glued 2" PVC pegs into the end caps to act as anchors for the foam wall.

This morning I have cut holes in my egg crate to allow the pve to pass through, my plan is to spray the underside (between the egg crate and glass) first and proceed to doing the foam wall covered with rock salt to provide a jagged surface. Had planned on using pond foam and not coating but I think the resin and crushed coral/ sand will probably work better.

I have been trying to get some hard information regarding the 3m fiberglass polyester resin sold at lows and home depot and haven't fond anything assuring.

Some people claim once fully cured it is okay which I am okay with, others claim it will absorb water, I am not really educated on fiberglass or epoxies so still wrestling this idea.


By the way, thanks again for the quick reply!

 

[T Diddy]

Wow, thanks a bunch, I was hoping for a response in a few days, love this forum!!!!

How's the hair algae issue you were having? Do you think the foam and fiberglass resin are suspect?

How long has your tank been up and running, more than a year?

Right now my tank is on it's back, I have silicones 25 1/2 inch end caps to the back and have glued 2" PVC pegs into the end caps to act as anchors for the foam wall.

This morning I have cut holes in my egg crate to allow the pve to pass through, my plan is to spray the underside (between the egg crate and glass) first and proceed to doing the foam wall covered with rock salt to provide a jagged surface. Had planned on using pond foam and not coating but I think the resin and crushed coral/ sand will probably work better.

I have been trying to get some hard information regarding the 3m fiberglass polyester resin sold at lows and home depot and haven't fond anything assuring.

Some people claim once fully cured it is okay which I am okay with, others claim it will absorb water, I am not really educated on fiberglass or epoxies so still wrestling this idea.


By the way, thanks again for the quick reply!

The hair algae is no longer an issue. I don't think it had anything to do with the foam/resin. It sort of appeared and exploded in growth after the addition of a particular rock. Took a while to get rid of it, but it's gone. My tank has been running for a little over a year without any major issues.

...interesting idea with the anchors.

 

[T Diddy]

a few recent pics...

a few recent pics...

The acan frag finally severed on its own, and I glued it to a rock. It seems to be doing just fine at the moment.

Mother colony is doing good as well:

Here are a few others while I'm at it. All shots are just before lights out...

frogspawn:

pagoda cup:

purple goni:

pocillopora:

clam and favia:

 

[andrew9]

nice looking tank, love those deep sea tanks