180 Gallon Reef Tank build!

[Itaysworld]

I Can Fly!

I Can Fly!

Snapped a quick shot of my yellow tang... "I Can Fly"

 

[Goodwin9]

How are things with the tank? Were you able to get the algae problem under control?

 

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15344854#post15344854 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Goodwin9
How are things with the tank? Were you able to get the algae problem under control?

Hi Chuck - how are you? How is your treatment going?

Thanks for asking about the algae.

As of Memorial Day weekend the algae was pretty much all gone. I am very happy with with how things are in the tank currently.

I was able to overcome the algae using 'natural' methods - GFO 24/7, high dKH, sea hare and cut down drastically in feeding encouraging grazing by everyone.

I had some losses in the process which began back in December of 2008. Mostly SPS corals and 1 LPS. Amazingly a favia brain coral and montipora digitata that I had pretty much given up on are making a pretty remarkable recovery.

All the other corals are growing nicely.

Fish are doing well, and I have gone back and forth on the faith of the foxface rabbitfish. He continues to bully the other fish and because of him I haven't introduced new fish. I think I have finally made up my mind on sending him back t the LFS and continue on with my livestock plans.

Here is a FTS from today:

Best,

 

[Itaysworld]

In other news, my birthday was a few days ago and I was out on a business trip. Upon my return my wife surprised me with the BEST birthday present EVER:

Canon EOS 50D !!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've been drooling over this camera for as long as it has been out.

Anyway, I'm still getting used to it and figuring out all the new and exciting features. Its a huge leap from my previous Canon 300D - the original Digital Rebel.


Here are some shots I took over this weekend. Mostly with MH and actinics on.
I will be playing more with just the actinics on.

I'll dial it in more with more time and practice, but here it goes:

 

[Itaysworld]

... continued

Regards,

 

[ReefEnabler]

Looks great Itay I like what you're doing with the new camera already.

 

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15350211#post15350211 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ReefEnabler
Looks great Itay I like what you're doing with the new camera already.

Thanks Ryan! I haven't had as much time as I'd hoped to take photos with it yet. Hopefully I will soon.

I have to check your thread to get the latest on your tank and Evie - I hope they're both doing great!

--

A few minutes ago I did my nightly inspection of the tank after lights out, and found that there are about 4 worms that live inside my Xenia coral heads. I hadn't noticed them until tonight.

They retract when lit and seem to stretch quite a bit. I'm not sure what they are eating... hopefully not my corals!!

I didn't have my Canon 50D and macro lens handy, so here's the best I could do with my point&shoot.


Would appreciate if anyone knows what these are - and if they are reef friendly

Thanks!

 

[nvdiz]

hey i just saw your thread now, and i gotta say, it looks really nice!

btw I have similar worms in my tank. They retract pretty fast with light right? Anyways, at first I thought they were some kind of Eunice worm... but I just think its a type of bristle worm.

 

[FAMOUSX1]

Are Bristle worms bad for the tank?
I just spotted sone type of worm and i think shirmp in my tank and im freaking out.

 

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15363732#post15363732 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nvdiz
hey i just saw your thread now, and i gotta say, it looks really nice!

btw I have similar worms in my tank. They retract pretty fast with light right? Anyways, at first I thought they were some kind of Eunice worm... but I just think its a type of bristle worm.

Thank you nvdiz!

It definitely looks like a kind of bristle work, but so far the only bristle worms I had seen in my tank were pink/purple in color and didn't seem to extend and contract like these do. In any case, I don't think they are causing any harm.

The only thing that really surprised me is the choice of living inside the xenia coral. That must be a certain kind of worm that makes its home in that coral.

Best,

 

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15370944#post15370944 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by FAMOUSX1
Are Bristle worms bad for the tank?
I just spotted sone type of worm and i think shirmp in my tank and im freaking out.

Hey FAMOUSX1 -

To my knowledge bristle worms are a normal part of the inverts that live in pretty much everyone's system. There really isn't any problem keeping these worms, but every once in a while you'll hear stories about some worm that grew to 4 or 5 feet and is either eating things or disrupting and toppling over rockwork and corals.

Someone, I believe in The Netherlands had a giant bristle worm that he removed and posted here on Reef Central.

I've also heard about bigger bristle worms biting snails and stunning them. But I've never experienced this myself.


As far as shrimp goes, I don't know what you are referring to - but I'm guessing its amphipods - which are good for your tank.

Here are a couple of picturs from Marc Levenson's website:

http://www.melevsreef.com/pics/0404/amphipod.jpg

http://www.melevsreef.com/id/amphipod.html

Is that what you are seeing?

Regards,

 

[zef004]

Tank is looking good. Envy

 

[FAMOUSX1]

Yes Itay, thats what it looks like, guess it is a amphipod. I thought it might have been a mantis shrimp, I heard were bad to have. Thanks for the info.

 

[F&Fmgr]

where the heck are you? email me man....been trying to call you for like 2 months now

 

[Wolfmann81]

Itay, I have enjoyed reading through your postings from the beginning of your 180. I also have a 180, so it is neat to see what you have dreamed up!

I have had bristle worms also, but they didn't look much like that (other than they were worms, and that's about it!). People are on the fence with whether or not bristle worms are bad for the tank. They are ugly and I would rather not have them - but they come up occasionally. They come in with direct correlation with excess nutrients - or so I have read. I read the same post about the 5 foot Netherlands bristle worm, one that lived inside of the PVC closed loop they guy had plumbed in his tank. If I remember right, he had to break down his 300+ gallon tank to get the thing out. He laid it on his driveway, which the worm was the length of his car (ugh).

Bristle worms are not a disaster, as long as they are not 5 feet long!

Great looking corals, keep at the good postings. And congrats on the new camera!

 

[MarineGirl411]

Did you get rid of the closed loop? I notice you have 2 vortechs now. I am setting up a 180 and I am stuck on whether to go with my closed loop or vortechs.

 

[Itaysworld]

Did you get rid of the closed loop? I notice you have 2 vortechs now. I am setting up a 180 and I am stuck on whether to go with my closed loop or vortechs.

Hello MarineGirl - thanks for checking out my reefcam and thread.

The short answer is yes. It's a long story.

Plumbing the closed loop wasn't a huge ordeal and I had help, so that wasn't necessarily the problem. I will say off the bat, that having the tank custom drilled and with an extra 8 holes proved to be a bit of a challenge. To this day, I regularly have to tighten the bulkheads because they loosen a little bit and water and salt creep make an appearance.

The main reasons I abandoned the closed loop were:

• maintenance: the ocean's motions device is great, but sand and calcification were regularly clogging it.
• pump: Noise/Failure: the dart pump was very loud and went down a couple of times. Once for a broken volute, once for a mechanism problem (rattling) - it ended up being more of a nightmare than anything. It's plumbed behind the sump, and while I have true union valves and can be isolated and removed, the fact of the matter is that it's a real PITA.
• water flow: I have a feeling that my aquarium had too much of it. Now, I know opinions and conditions vary depending on what is in your tank, but since I have shut down the closed loop and introduced the vortechs my corals have gone on an amazing growth spurt.

One last factor, and probably the most important one is that my wife and I had our first baby earlier this year. When that happened, I practically eliminated tank maintenance time, except for the bare necessities: Feeding, cleaning, dosing.
The corals seem to be doing fantastic. The only one who isn't very happy is my RBTA who has spent the last few months migrating around the tank after almost a year of being stationary. I hope it finds it's new home soon.

Hope this was helpful.

Oh - one more thing. I found that because I had the tank drilled they way I did, and because of the intake risers and eductors I found that I was a bit limited in my aquascaping options, though I don't consider this to be a major issue. I'm happy with my aquascaping - but now I wish I could eliminate those pieces I'm not using...

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Hey Itay, long time!

I came to the exact same end with my closed loop. Ripped it out and replaced it with Tunzes and Vortechs.

I had my closed loop turned off for a couple weeks before I drained the tank, removed the plumbing and plugged the holes. I was AMAZED at how bad the plumbing smelled when I took it out. You really can't leave any water stagnate. Death will accumulate.

If I were you, I'd tear down my tank, plug the holes and start over. See if your friend at that fish store will hold on to your live stock for you. It'd give you a chance to remove all the extra plumbing you aren't using and re-aquascape the way you really want. Without restrictions from closed loop pipes and nozzles. Having all that stagnate water just sitting there in your tank can't be good.


P.S.
Congrats on your first born!!

 

[Itaysworld]

Hey Chad! Long time indeed. I had to use your dog as a reference, since you changed your nickname!

Life kept me away from ReefCentral. I missed it! How are you, how are your tanks?

You bring up an excellent point. I never thought of the stagnant water in the extra plumbing, but I can't even imagine the work involved to rip it up and remove.... YIKES~!

Any thoughts on doing it in a reverse sequence, without ever draining the tank? Something like:

1. Seal off the plumbing inside the tank. (risers and eductors)
2. Drain the stagnant water out the bottom of the tank
3. Once that is done cut down the plumbing under the tank as close to the bulkheads as possible
4. Seal off those pipes as well
5. Cut down the PVC as low as I can inside the tank

I don't have the time or the energy to tear down and drain the tank, seal up re fill re-aquascape, etc...

Have you heard of anyone who did something similar?

 

[Mr. Brooks]

Haha whoops! sorry about that, forgot about the name change.

I'm great! My 225 is doing great! Lots of SPS growing everywhere. I never set up the 180.. ended up selling it.

If you could seal off the plumbing from the inside you'd be set! Didn't know that was an option.

I only had two holes in the back of the tank to plug so all I had to was drain the water to the holes, take everything apart and plug it up. took a full day but was totally worth it. It allowed me to recoup some funds from the Dart and OM 4-way. Plus everything looks an lot cleaner. I was able to push my tank up against the wall. I can't believe I used to have it sticking out a full 12".