430gal., L-shaped display
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"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks, Catherine! No pain meds since 5 a.m. Woohoo!
No, they aren't glass. They have a very deep, lustrous glaze on a clay base, though. Mark almost finished those tiles on the inside of the shower today. Just 5-6 more of those tiles to go on the inside of the curve. The brick guys finished setting all of the inside brick. They still need to put in the mortar, though. And, the cabinet guy started setting up carcasses today! He says he'll still be a couple of months with all of the mouldings, hardware, etc., but it still feels like things are moving forward quickly again.
I'm sick of sitting around all day without actually being able to do anything.
I counted 8-9 bangaii babies still kicking around the tub this morning! I still have yet to add any live food for them and they are striking at stuff like Otohime B1 and the Dragonfeeds larval food. Very cute!
No, they aren't glass. They have a very deep, lustrous glaze on a clay base, though. Mark almost finished those tiles on the inside of the shower today. Just 5-6 more of those tiles to go on the inside of the curve. The brick guys finished setting all of the inside brick. They still need to put in the mortar, though. And, the cabinet guy started setting up carcasses today! He says he'll still be a couple of months with all of the mouldings, hardware, etc., but it still feels like things are moving forward quickly again.
I'm sick of sitting around all day without actually being able to do anything.
I counted 8-9 bangaii babies still kicking around the tub this morning! I still have yet to add any live food for them and they are striking at stuff like Otohime B1 and the Dragonfeeds larval food. Very cute!
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Well, my eye's working again and my nose is roughly human-sized so I took some photos today. http://65.102.221.68/remodel.html
The bad news: Stacey (the project supervisor) finally tied the aquarium installer down to a schedule. It looks like September. Sigh....
The bad news: Stacey (the project supervisor) finally tied the aquarium installer down to a schedule. It looks like September. Sigh....
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
More remodel photos. Stacey is still finding things for people to do despite the fact that they're all waiting on the aquarium builder. It sounds like they may start building the racks for the tanks in the fishroom next week, though!
http://65.102.221.68/remodel.html
http://65.102.221.68/remodel.html
new2sw776784
New member
Looking good
brett
brett
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks Brett!
This afternoon I was struck with a crazy desire to build a kreisel. I don't know what that's about, but I spent a good hour thinking and drawing ways to get mesh screens in and out and ways to modify water flow. Crazy....
This afternoon I was struck with a crazy desire to build a kreisel. I don't know what that's about, but I spent a good hour thinking and drawing ways to get mesh screens in and out and ways to modify water flow. Crazy....
new2sw776784
New member
crazy thing these fish tanks do to ya.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
:crazy1:
Thanks, Jflip!
Well, okay. I feel like I'm losing momentum on this thing as I'm pretty frustrated over the tank builder. So, maybe I should start asking some of the questions I've saved up to ask when we're closer.
How about let's start with stock list? I'm looking for a relatively peaceful tank.
Corals. I already know that there will be a lot of Euphyllia along the short leg of the L. I imagine there will also be at least one claw in the mix somewhere. I'm a fan of hard corals, whether large polyps or not, and not really interested in softies. I'd like to grow corals into fewer, larger colonies rather than a lot of different frags. My lovely bride is not a huge fan of M. capricornis, but I saw a TOTM (this month?) recently that had several individuals growing on top of each other that I rather liked. Suggestions?
Motile inverts. I'm assuming that I'll start off with DIBS snails, letting them reproduce to the size of my algae problems. The DIBS ceriths tend to do pretty well in my systems, but I'll try to get hold of a fair diversity. There's a person here in Colorado that has Nassarius snails with non-planktonic larvae that reproduce really well in tanks, so I'll certainly try to get hold of a breeding population of those. And I'll certainly try to get hold of some of the mini brittle stars, as I feel that they are a fantastic member of the cleanup crew. I feed a lot, so I need sand cleaners. And I need the rest of the tank population to pretty much leave the cleaners alone.
Oh, I love conchs. So, I'm going to leave a lot of sand open so they can travel the whole tank.
Some cleaner shrimp. I like them despite the fact that they try to eat everything's eggs.
Fish? Again, fairly peaceful. The whole point of the really long tank is that I've always wanted to keep tangs. But, I've never kept any before 'cause I thought my 4' 120 wasn't long enough, so I'd appreciate feedback. I like the look of the multiple yellow thing, but it's been done _so_ often. Still, it's fairly tempting. I like the looks of nasos (tank may not be wide enough for 'em), achilles, kole, purple, etc.
Other than the tangs, I have an eight-year-old so I'm sure I'll have a pair of occelaris. In fact, I have a nice pair of B&Ws that seem ready for a new home. Thoughts on more than one pair of clowns? Or, the pair of B&Ws and a small harem of another damsel? I've heard good things about some fairly passive damsels lately.
I'm pretty sure I'll wind up with a pair of Bangaii cardinals in the display. Love them and feel obligated to keep trying to breed them. (Still 9 left on the first batch with _no_ added live food! :rollface: Still living with their parents. :eek1: )
Anthias. I feed often and my anthias have always done well in the past. I'm thinking about trying a largish number of Bartletts and possibly another species to set them off. I had a trio of Pseudanthias pulcherrimus in the past that I really liked, although they're pretty hard to find. Suggestions?
Wrasses. I wound up with a trio of solarensis wrasses in the last tank and would like to try something similar again. Love the six-line's, too, despite the fact that they're pretty much jerks.
I would like to try a pair of ochid dottybacks.
What have I left out?
Anyway, I'd love to hear suggestions and then maybe we can talk about introduction order.
Thanks!
Thanks, Jflip!
Well, okay. I feel like I'm losing momentum on this thing as I'm pretty frustrated over the tank builder. So, maybe I should start asking some of the questions I've saved up to ask when we're closer.
How about let's start with stock list? I'm looking for a relatively peaceful tank.
Corals. I already know that there will be a lot of Euphyllia along the short leg of the L. I imagine there will also be at least one claw in the mix somewhere. I'm a fan of hard corals, whether large polyps or not, and not really interested in softies. I'd like to grow corals into fewer, larger colonies rather than a lot of different frags. My lovely bride is not a huge fan of M. capricornis, but I saw a TOTM (this month?) recently that had several individuals growing on top of each other that I rather liked. Suggestions?
Motile inverts. I'm assuming that I'll start off with DIBS snails, letting them reproduce to the size of my algae problems. The DIBS ceriths tend to do pretty well in my systems, but I'll try to get hold of a fair diversity. There's a person here in Colorado that has Nassarius snails with non-planktonic larvae that reproduce really well in tanks, so I'll certainly try to get hold of a breeding population of those. And I'll certainly try to get hold of some of the mini brittle stars, as I feel that they are a fantastic member of the cleanup crew. I feed a lot, so I need sand cleaners. And I need the rest of the tank population to pretty much leave the cleaners alone.
Oh, I love conchs. So, I'm going to leave a lot of sand open so they can travel the whole tank.
Some cleaner shrimp. I like them despite the fact that they try to eat everything's eggs.
Fish? Again, fairly peaceful. The whole point of the really long tank is that I've always wanted to keep tangs. But, I've never kept any before 'cause I thought my 4' 120 wasn't long enough, so I'd appreciate feedback. I like the look of the multiple yellow thing, but it's been done _so_ often. Still, it's fairly tempting. I like the looks of nasos (tank may not be wide enough for 'em), achilles, kole, purple, etc.
Other than the tangs, I have an eight-year-old so I'm sure I'll have a pair of occelaris. In fact, I have a nice pair of B&Ws that seem ready for a new home. Thoughts on more than one pair of clowns? Or, the pair of B&Ws and a small harem of another damsel? I've heard good things about some fairly passive damsels lately.
I'm pretty sure I'll wind up with a pair of Bangaii cardinals in the display. Love them and feel obligated to keep trying to breed them. (Still 9 left on the first batch with _no_ added live food! :rollface: Still living with their parents. :eek1: )
Anthias. I feed often and my anthias have always done well in the past. I'm thinking about trying a largish number of Bartletts and possibly another species to set them off. I had a trio of Pseudanthias pulcherrimus in the past that I really liked, although they're pretty hard to find. Suggestions?
Wrasses. I wound up with a trio of solarensis wrasses in the last tank and would like to try something similar again. Love the six-line's, too, despite the fact that they're pretty much jerks.
I would like to try a pair of ochid dottybacks.
What have I left out?
Anyway, I'd love to hear suggestions and then maybe we can talk about introduction order.
Thanks!
Last edited:
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
I'm also looking for controller recommendations as I'd like to automate a little more this time around. I just nixed the suggestion of the installer (only interfaces with PCs and I'm a Mac guy).
Thanks!
Thanks!
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Oh, I've always wanted a colony of pearly jawfish and never managed to fit them in.
Powder brown tang (japonicus).
BTW, I'm still at the point of dreaming of things without a lot of regard for compatibility. I'm assuming that part of this process will be striking animals off the list.
Powder brown tang (japonicus).
BTW, I'm still at the point of dreaming of things without a lot of regard for compatibility. I'm assuming that part of this process will be striking animals off the list.
Untamed12
New member
Well...I have the A japonicus, A. achilles and more than my share of assorted Nasos (elegans, vlamingi, unicornis). The Nasos are my favourite. They make themselves easy to like because they don't move around very fast. They may yet outgrow my 400, but I'll love 'em until they do!
I suppose one of the unique things you can get away with on a tank of that size is a collection of Acanthuras tangs. Aside from the Achilles and White Cheek, I also have an Atlantic Blue. They all get along just fine, which is uncommon among Acanthuras. It must be the tank size. Achilles needs a ton of open swimming space, so don't fill up with rock if you are thinking about that fish!
A pair of orange spotted gobies do a fabulous job of keeping my sand bed tossed, but they might frustrate many people by depositing sand on top of things from time to time.
FWIW, I have not enjoyed my experience with Blue Throat triggers. While reef safe, I don't think they are well suited to captivity. Mine have spent their entire captive lives trying to find a way OUT of the tank.
I suppose one of the unique things you can get away with on a tank of that size is a collection of Acanthuras tangs. Aside from the Achilles and White Cheek, I also have an Atlantic Blue. They all get along just fine, which is uncommon among Acanthuras. It must be the tank size. Achilles needs a ton of open swimming space, so don't fill up with rock if you are thinking about that fish!
A pair of orange spotted gobies do a fabulous job of keeping my sand bed tossed, but they might frustrate many people by depositing sand on top of things from time to time.
FWIW, I have not enjoyed my experience with Blue Throat triggers. While reef safe, I don't think they are well suited to captivity. Mine have spent their entire captive lives trying to find a way OUT of the tank.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks for the insights! Did you do all of the tang intros at once? Tangs last into the tank?
I'm trying to avoid having fish sand sifters (other than maybe the wrasses burying for the night) as I don't want too much predation on the small inverts there. I really feel like the little inverts are essential for making small detritus into bacteria-sized packets.
I like triggers, but I think they are a little too aggressive for the tank I'm envisioning.
I'm also contemplating adding centropyge angels later in the process after the corals have grown in a bit, hoping that the tank will be big enough that nipping events will be spread out with time to recover between them. I'd love to have a small group of flames. But, I haven't decided on that one yet.
Oh, and given that it'll be a big tank, I'd like to try to pair up a set of lawnmower blennies. I've recently seen pictures of a tank with a lawnmower eggball and I'd love to see that and try my hand.
I'm trying to avoid having fish sand sifters (other than maybe the wrasses burying for the night) as I don't want too much predation on the small inverts there. I really feel like the little inverts are essential for making small detritus into bacteria-sized packets.
I like triggers, but I think they are a little too aggressive for the tank I'm envisioning.
I'm also contemplating adding centropyge angels later in the process after the corals have grown in a bit, hoping that the tank will be big enough that nipping events will be spread out with time to recover between them. I'd love to have a small group of flames. But, I haven't decided on that one yet.
Oh, and given that it'll be a big tank, I'd like to try to pair up a set of lawnmower blennies. I've recently seen pictures of a tank with a lawnmower eggball and I'd love to see that and try my hand.
Untamed12
New member
First in was a Yellow Tang, and he figured the tank was his until the Achilles arrived. The yellow tang actual split the Achilles tail in half in the first few days, but in the end the Achilles is boss.
The Acanthuras Tangs were all added separately. Each time the new addition had a tough week. It just seems the tank is big enough to allow the newcomer some place to escape.
The Nasos were ignored by the other tangs, and they ignore each other.
My thoughts on centropyge are the same as yours. I also have a bicolour and a majestic. I've seen them both take a nip at a coral now and again...but there is so much coral, they don't seem to make any impact at all.
The Acanthuras Tangs were all added separately. Each time the new addition had a tough week. It just seems the tank is big enough to allow the newcomer some place to escape.
The Nasos were ignored by the other tangs, and they ignore each other.
My thoughts on centropyge are the same as yours. I also have a bicolour and a majestic. I've seen them both take a nip at a coral now and again...but there is so much coral, they don't seem to make any impact at all.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Thanks, Untamed! I will continue to pick your brain as soon as I can get a complete night's sleep. I'm now up to day 6 of insomnia and don't know if I'm making sense any longer.
More new house photos:
http://65.102.221.68/HB47/
Note the water actually coming out of the shower head!
Aquarium news: Apparently, the building has "almost completed" welding the stand. (Sigh.) As far as things that might actually come to pass sometime soon, the painter is going to seal the fishroom concrete floor tomorrow so it can cure over the weekend!
More new house photos:
http://65.102.221.68/HB47/
Note the water actually coming out of the shower head!
Aquarium news: Apparently, the building has "almost completed" welding the stand. (Sigh.) As far as things that might actually come to pass sometime soon, the painter is going to seal the fishroom concrete floor tomorrow so it can cure over the weekend!
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Pretty cool, huh? The cabinet guys just made the bookshelves in two sections and then used industrial door hinges to mount them. Very smooth operation. The one that opens is cut at an angle on the left side so the door would clear the wall next to it. But otherwise, lots of storage and a door to boot. We're going to also install metal dowel rails (like on shelves on board ships) to keep everything from sliding off every time she goes into her closet.
Note the all-important cat door at the bottom right.
The birds are precut shapes. I guess they laser-cut a whole bunch of them at once and then they are laid on a mesh with the mosaic. The tile guy had the bird section up in less than a day.
We're going to also install metal dowel rails (like on shelves on board ships) to keep everything from sliding off every time she goes into her closet.Note the all-important cat door at the bottom right.
The birds are precut shapes. I guess they laser-cut a whole bunch of them at once and then they are laid on a mesh with the mosaic. The tile guy had the bird section up in less than a day.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
More house photos: http://65.102.221.68/remodel.html
But, more importantly, the fishroom build has begun!!! So, I finally feel like I can post some photos here:
The sealed basement floor:
The first of the stands. On the left will be two stacked 90 gal. aquariums. On the right will be the 180 gal. sump.
In other news, the builder is working on the stand crossbracing and should be able to plop the stand in soon. And he's gotten the glass pieces back from the glass cutter and everything made it through the tempering process without losing it's straightness, so he should be ready to start moving that in soon, too.
I cannot express just how happy I am that this is finally starting. Thanks for bearing with me for so long.
I should mention, there will be crossbracing between the front and back 2 x 6s.
But, more importantly, the fishroom build has begun!!! So, I finally feel like I can post some photos here:
The sealed basement floor:
The first of the stands. On the left will be two stacked 90 gal. aquariums. On the right will be the 180 gal. sump.
In other news, the builder is working on the stand crossbracing and should be able to plop the stand in soon. And he's gotten the glass pieces back from the glass cutter and everything made it through the tempering process without losing it's straightness, so he should be ready to start moving that in soon, too.
I cannot express just how happy I am that this is finally starting. Thanks for bearing with me for so long.
I should mention, there will be crossbracing between the front and back 2 x 6s.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
Fishroom stand build, day 2. Almost done with the support tank racks.
This set of stands is built to hold 2 x 120 gals. on the left and then 4 more 90 gals. They just need to add one more 2 x 6 leg and the crossbraces.
Where the 90s overlap:
BTW, the structural engineer was over for a different reason last week and we showed him the stand design. He thought this was perfectly adequate for long-term use.
This set of stands is built to hold 2 x 120 gals. on the left and then 4 more 90 gals. They just need to add one more 2 x 6 leg and the crossbraces.
Where the 90s overlap:
BTW, the structural engineer was over for a different reason last week and we showed him the stand design. He thought this was perfectly adequate for long-term use.
"Umm fish?"
Premium Member
I was wondering if you all have advice on aquarium controllers? I know that I'm looking for one that can handle at least 2 pH inputs and at least 1 ORP.
I've done the aquariumcontrollers.com thing and am, frankly, just more confused.
I've done the aquariumcontrollers.com thing and am, frankly, just more confused.
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