240 Inwall Construction (Image Intense)

[weatherson]

My Serpent Star made a dash across the tank tonight from the left rock structure to the right. I was able to get a shot of him and all his glory during this rare occurrence. He's beginning to scare even me.

 

[armygreen11]

You didn't hapen to measure him when he was doing that did you? Judging by the zoa and frogspawn colonies, he looks like he's about 2ft across. Beautiful.

 

[weatherson]

armygreen11: Yes, he's two feet in diameter.

 

[Hef]

That's wild. What are the odds, first of all just seeing him do that, and then having a camera ready.
I've had a star in my tank like that for over 4 years. I've never seen him come out. Two years ago I switched tanks, found him under a rock and moved him to the new tank. Every once in a while I see a leg or two come out at night, yes it's scary, very scary. I would estimate mine to be close to 20" across with legs extended, although I've never seen him eat.
Just curious, do you think he could survive without a Sand Bottom?

 

[jarhed]

:eek2: :eek2:

Seriously though, I'd be afraid of that SEA MONSTER climbing out of the tank, crawling down the hall, and into BED with me in the middle of the night!!!

:eek1:

 

[melev]

Jarhed, are you watching "Surface" on NBC perhaps? :lol:

Joseph, are you feeding that starfish anything to keep your fish population intact? Excellent picture.

 

[jarhed]

How'd you guess Melev?

 

[weatherson]

Hef: I always have my camera ready. I learned my lesson there after missing oportunities in the past. I keep him fat and happy so I feel he would do fine without a sand bed. Of course, his move across the tank is telling me he's wanting a tasty treat.

jarhed: I hear you. And... thanks for the visual for tonight.

Marc: Thanks and yes, I keep him, as well as the other, fed regularly so he hasn't a desire for my fish. So far, so good.

Joseph

 

[McGinnis]

Joseph,
Again you amaze me with how great a photograph you can create. You can humbly claim that all you talent is a result of your equipment, but that image is simply stunning!

I was wondering if you have a frag grow-out tank linked into this system? I just now noticed that your refugium is off to the side of your fish room, but did you add a grow-out tank in there somewhere?

 

[weatherson]

Mathew: Thank you. The refugium was originally my grow-out tank and the sump my refugium but it made sense to reverse them. The flow through the sump is considerably more than what I got in the current refugium. And with the height of the current refugium, there was too much wasted space when it was the grow-out tank. Anyway... here's a shot of the center section of the sump that is designated for frag growing. That's an Iwasaki 150-watt 6500K MH lighting it for optimum growth rates at the expense of coral coloration.

Joseph

 

[McGinnis]

Joseph,
Thank you for the information, and the accompanying photo. I can see where the advantage of the flow and it's direct link to the skimmer would be much advantageous for growing frags.

What size refugium did you end up using on this system? What are your thoughts on the size of the refugium for nitrate/phophate removal in a tank of your size? I have read Melev's thread about how he always likes to keep a large refugium on his sumps, and I hope to do the same with mine; have you found this true for your system also?

 

[selgado]

Joseph, what did you use to join the sides of that egg-crate stand? That is neat.

 

[melev]

I was wondering what type of clean up crew you've added to the frag tank to keep it algae free.

 

[bheron]

Joseph - great shot of the starfish! downright scary

Question: how happy are you with your sandbed. I know its not a DSB but it looks like more than a thin layer - maybe 2-3"? Are you glad you did it? I'm planning on a least a thin layer of sand b/c I love the look so much. And it looks so great in your tank so thats inspiration for going that way.

 

[NexDog]

Mathew: Thank you. The refugium was originally my grow-out tank and the sump my refugium but it made sense to reverse them. The flow through the sump is considerably more than what I got in the current refugium. And with the height of the current refugium, there was too much wasted space when it was the grow-out tank. Anyway... here's a shot of the center section of the sump that is designated for frag growing. That's an Iwasaki 150-watt 6500K MH lighting it for optimum growth rates at the expense of coral coloration.

Joseph

Joseph, I'm trying to figure out the lighting on my frag tank (or frag area of sump). I hear the Iwasaki 6500k is the best PAR rated bulb so does that mean that coral grows fastest under this bulb? If so, I'm looking at something like this:

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lighting_metal_halide_hamilton_reefsun_bell_pendants.asp?CartId=

And running it on an HQI ballast.

If I was to go 10,000K I think I'd go with a PFO MiniPendant with double ended bulbs like:

http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_lighting_metal_halide_pfo_hqi_mini_pendant.asp?CartId=

Water is 18" deep so would 150w be enough?

So the dilema is 150w 6500K Iwasaki or 250w 10,000K double ended Aqualine or XM. What would give fastest growth in 18" of water?

 

[jwedehase]

I'm not Weatherson, but I'd vote for the 150w 6500. My gut feeling is that growth will be better, but even if it's not, the cost of running the bulb will be less. We're only talking a couple of bucks per month, but it all adds up.

 

[weatherson]

McGinnis: You are welcome. My refugium is 20-gallons. If you plan to keep an SPS dominant tank, I wouldn't suggest any smaller a refugium for a main tank of this size. I've been very pleased with my refugium's performance and have no issues of any nuisance algae and no detectable nitrite, nitrate or phosphate. Of course there are many other factors that help to contribute to this such as a good sized and efficient skimmer with ozone, plenty of flow, carbon/Phosban use and regular, persistent maintenance.

selgado: Zip ties and the triangulated inside corner braces seen in the photo.

melev: Actually, there's only a couple snails and crabs each in there. The only real algae growth in there is when a small piece of Chaeto gets through from the refugium and sets up home. Those get relocated back into the refugium. Other than this, it stays algae free. I've been thinking of and will probably add a Tiger Tail for the sand bed but will need to add an egg crate barrier on the left to prevent any possible cucumber puree. :eek1:

bheron: I'm very pleased with my sand bed and yes, it's only 3" deep on average. Aesthetically, I couldn't do without it. Enough said.

NexDog: Growth rate? I feel that would be a toss-up. PAR is probably pretty close between those so it comes down to if you want to throw a little more money at it to have slightly better coloration (10K over 6.5K) in your frags. My priority is to achieve the best growth at the expense of coral coloration as cheaply as possible. I use enough electricity elsewhere and it isn't exactly cheap here in California. Another factor is how large a grow-out system you plan to keep. The 150 isn't going to allow for anything much larger than the size of mine for SPS corals.

Joseph

 

[beachroadbum]

amazing thread...an amazing tank...!!!

 

[McGinnis]

Jospeh,
Thanks for the advice. In my designs down the road I will incorporate a refugium of that size into the system. What sort of lighting do you use over the fuge? Is this another metal halide?

Thanks again

 

[weatherson]

jaredt: Thanks and thanks.

McGinnis: You are welcome. Yes, it's an Iwasaki 150-watt, SE 6500K driven by an IceCap electronic ballast. In addition, it's on a reverse cycle from the main tank.

Joseph