220 Gallon Reef Build in the Caribbean...

[zoomonster]

Might be because some of them (Neptune) were in Orlando on Saturday and Sunday for Reefapalooza and took the day off.

 

[Wings6010]

Let me know if you need anything flown down to you I'm down there almost daily out of ft lauderdale

 

[CaptAndrew]

Looking good... glad to see all that stuff that came by slow boat from mainland arrived in one piece. Just curious with the Hydras... have you tried orienting them front to rear also? AI shows two orientations, your way and front to rear. Just curious which provides better coverage.

Thought about it, but haven't tried it. The rails I have will only work on the one orientation. Since the optics are symmetrical and the spacing on the optics isn't, I'm going to assume the throw isn't completely symmetrical. My guess is that I get more spread down the length of the tank than the width.

 

[CaptAndrew]

OK. Have the APEX running. Neptune got back to me and had it fixed in about 15 minutes through screen sharing. I'm pretty impressed with them. Everything is set. Have set alarms, calibrated probes, and set profiles for lights and vortechs. The big problem I'm having now is with intensities. I have no idea how to gauge the amount of flow from two MP60s. All I know is it looks like there is waaay too much. Similar situation with the Hydras. Wondering if anyone out there has any input on settings for MP60s on a 6ft tank or Hydras in a 30" deep tank. Currently I have profiles set up for sunrise, day, sunset, moonlight, clouds, and storms on the hydras and have profiles set for tidal swell, nutrient transport, and night on the MP60s. I have sand and rock in and we're cycling. Unfortunately I forgot to order ammonia tests so Salty Supply is FedExing them overnight!

Some pics for you all

Still mastering the camerawork with the glass and the refraction...

 

[CaptAndrew]

...and the rest...

 

[ntrlsur]

I really like your equipment layout. I can tell a lot of thought went in to it. As for the mp60s I would guess during the cycle you don't need to run them over 50%.

 

[CaptAndrew]

OK... just got an email from the guys at EcoTech. The guy who emailed me said he was also running two MP60s on a 300DD and never runs them beyond 40%. He suggested I dial back to 35% and try that so that's what I have done. I run Tidal Swell mode all day with Nutrient Transport running when my lights are displaying clouds or storms. At Night I currently run Tidal Swell at 15% One is antiSynced to the other. In theory the programs should deal with the intensity and all I have done is set the max... We'll see how this goes. Next step is to adjust my lighting. I have a few zoas and things that came on my rock which I'd love to keep alive, but I think it's most likely that it will die!

 

[Sonicboom]

I run hydras On a 180 and only have my whites at 35% And blues at 100% with aquascaping only about 12 inches high.

 

[CaptAndrew]

Dialed my lights back to the following settings for daylight based on advice from AI...

White 40%
Royal 70%
Red 15%
Green 20%
UV 15%
Violet 60%
Deep Blue 70%

 

[CaptAndrew]

Well... blew out my bottom seal last night. The fiancee is not impressed. I think I'm going to have to disassemble the whole tank and start from scratch. The GFCI tripped although nothing looks too wet, so we'll have to see if any electrics got damaged. What a waste.

 

[Sonicboom]

Oh man sorry to hear that! Was the tank not built correctly or the stand not level?

 

[CaptAndrew]

Not sure at this point really. It's an All-Glass tank and as I understand it they're supported at the corners (the stand they built doesn't offer much other structure. It seemed pretty level when I levelled it with a spirit level and when I filled the tank it was off by maybe 1/8" over 6 feet so I would assume that's within tolerance. When I got the tank it had a leaky front seal so I repaired the secondary. I think this leak started in the back but I really have no clue. Best bet right now is to remove the panes and rebuild I think.

 

[mypepper]

I feel extremely sorry for your setback and I went through a problem with my 125 gallon glass tank about 10 years ago. The front pane of the tank developed a hair-line crack and I had no recourse then to take the tank down within two hours.

With living in the Bay Area and the chance of having a major earthquake, I have backup Rubbermaid garbage cans a empty 50 gallon acrylic tank, which I have some type of insurance for my livestock, just in case we have a large quake. I also have 100 gallons of fresh saltwater in the garage ready to go at any time.

Since that day, which I will never forget, I went ahead a purchased acrylic tank. Sure, acrylic does scratch, regardless how careful you are, but it will not fail on you as glass possibly can.

Good luck on resealing your tank and starting all over again.

Randy

 

[Sonicboom]

Hang in there, i know theres no good time for this but better now than a year down the road when it's loaded with livestock.

 

[ntrlsur]

Sorry to hear about your setback. Hope you can rebuild quickly.

 

[CaptAndrew]

OK... I have made an emotional recovery from the loss of the tank. I will make a financial recovery, maybe, one day. In the meantime, I need a new tank! Hoping to keep my existing stand and hood. Lots of work went into there and the rest of my equipment is set up. Naturally an Aqueon tank seems like a good fit, the question is, is it a good choice. I'm looking for input on tank manufacturers. Really like the black silicone look. As it stands, I'm thinking the same Aqueon 210RR with black silicone. Starphire seems like a bit of a gimmick, but I have never had it. Thought about a coast-to-coast overflow, but that may get expensive. Money is getting tight as this is an unplanned setback and I still have to have it crated and get it here. Tell me your thoughts!

 

[CaptAndrew]

PS - Elected to replace rather than repair for two reasons. 1) I'm not sure I can get the bottom trim off and get the panels apart without doing more damage than good. 2) I need to have confidence in the tank not to leak again for a while... I'm not sure my (future) marriage can take it...

 

[zoomonster]

Sorry to hear about that tank... just terrible thing to happen. As far as aquariums other than DSA and Deep Blue (both in Dallas) there's some places in Miami area that might work good for your location like exotic aquariums. As far as starfire I never bothered either on any tank I had. Not as bad as acrylic but starfire scratches pretty easy and for the price not so sure its all that better than good quality glass.

And I was just going to say great job on squeezing all that stuff in stand. I'm pretty much in same boat needing to get most everything in stand. I know that was a lot of work to have to start over. Good luck...

P.S. I feel for you on the significant other friction... mine would have probably gone ape **** :uzi:

 

[Oldude]

Bummer about the leak - it just can never be easy can it?

 

[ntrlsur]

Sorry to hear you are starting over. As for the new tank. How about looking at Marineland? One of the stock sizes might work out nicely for you and depending on the size you might get lucky and someone in florida will have it in stock..