A Reef in the Sky

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Awwww now if she goes and tells all the others misses then we'll get the "why don't you buy me flowers anymore" questions. you've let the boys down buddy.........

Congrats on the pass too!!!

lol...cheers

realy like the dining table cover , an nice and original gift

greetinegzz tntneon

me too... it is only used when I do maintenance on the tank or when we have fish for dinner :fun5:

Andrew,

Your gonna love that sand!

How did you settle on such a low Start3 dose. 0.25ml 2x's/day?

Isn't it supposed to be 0.1 ml / 100 liters/25 US gallons 2 x daily?

It certainly looks good. Hoping it wont blown around too much. Glad I didn't get the small grain size.

John, just trial and error. Anything more than 0.6ml per day (total) causes small bubbles on the rocks and an increase of algae film on the glass. I know it seems low but works.

Also, I purchased a new bottle of Start2 just before Start3 was released so I'm looking forward to trying it out. Heard good things about it.

Im using the same sand....Its great stuff!

Looking forward to it too. I will be putting one bag in at a time, mainly because I don't have enough space and buckets to soak all the sand at once :hmm2:

 

[Vir.se]

Andrew, I'm quite interested in your winch system. Could you let me know where you got it?

Thanks!

PS. Awesome tank you've got and I think the new sand will make it even more awesome.

Robin

 

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Andrew, I'm quite interested in your winch system. Could you let me know where you got it?

Thanks!

PS. Awesome tank you've got and I think the new sand will make it even more awesome.

Robin

Hi Robin, PM sent.


Crab

Since April last year I noticed a large crab that appeared at night and every effort was made to try to catch it, but just couldn't. I never had an opportunity to determine whether it was a good or bad crab and just hoped everything would be fine.

Anyhow, last night before the lights went out, I noticed this a large crab out on the bare bottom of the tank away from any rock work. I managed to catch it and remove it from the tank. :dance:

Any idea what type of crab it is? Good/Bad?

 

[gofor100]

Looks like a crab that would put some stress on a sand-dwelling goby... that thing looks MEAN. Put it in your sump in the meantime. Feed it good for a couple of months, then eat those huge claws

Can't wait for the next pic update.

-Chad

 

[shaggss]

yep deep fry that little Focker......

 

[Vir.se]

Are you sure thats the crab and not just a molt? It looks pretty hollow to me.

It sure looks quite nasty, but if he hasn't given you any problems for a year now, why chase him?

 

[Scej12]

Hey Andy - I've been subscribed to this thread and following quietly for months now. Excellent work Dude!! Very clean and inspiring build. As someone with an architectural past I have to say that your planning and rendering was off the chain!

The crab is a mithrax crab (do an image search on google) - basically the same family as an emerald crab. They come in green; light brown; black; and who knows what other colour. I've seen many black mithrax in several tanks that I work on. They are generally grazers, but as a crab, people are hesitant to trust them due to their opportunistic nature. If you look at the claws, you will see that they are flat at the tips, this is common for many algae eating crabs.

Just so you know, people have reported mithrax picking at coral polyps, in reality they are likely picking at algae on surrounding rock; or even zooxanthelae from the lps mouth... However in one reef that I have probably 10-12 different varieties of these guys, I have caught the black ones picking at montipora capricornis from time to time... however, the montis grow so fast that any white faded areas (stolen polyps) quickly recover back to green once the crab goes somewhere else after about a week or so. BTW - it seems to be only the green monti, and not my red that is being targeted occasionally... other than that I've never seen any of my dozen or so eat anything else. If he's still alive, throw him in your refugium and forget about him... he'll be as happy as a crab can be!:inlove:

 

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Looks like a crab that would put some stress on a sand-dwelling goby... that thing looks MEAN. Put it in your sump in the meantime. Feed it good for a couple of months, then eat those huge claws

Can't wait for the next pic update.

-Chad

lol... Thanks Chad... it was rather large but was nearly dead when I caught it for some reason.

yep deep fry that little Focker......

Wouldn't feed much

Are you sure thats the crab and not just a molt? It looks pretty hollow to me.

It sure looks quite nasty, but if he hasn't given you any problems for a year now, why chase him?

It does look nasty doesn't it. I personally don't like crabs expect for the ones that live in corals. I am glad to remove this bad looking guy.

Hey Andy - I've been subscribed to this thread and following quietly for months now. Excellent work Dude!! Very clean and inspiring build. As someone with an architectural past I have to say that your planning and rendering was off the chain!

The crab is a mithrax crab (do an image search on google) - basically the same family as an emerald crab. They come in green; light brown; black; and who knows what other colour. I've seen many black mithrax in several tanks that I work on. They are generally grazers, but as a crab, people are hesitant to trust them due to their opportunistic nature. If you look at the claws, you will see that they are flat at the tips, this is common for many algae eating crabs.

Just so you know, people have reported mithrax picking at coral polyps, in reality they are likely picking at algae on surrounding rock; or even zooxanthelae from the lps mouth... However in one reef that I have probably 10-12 different varieties of these guys, I have caught the black ones picking at montipora capricornis from time to time... however, the montis grow so fast that any white faded areas (stolen polyps) quickly recover back to green once the crab goes somewhere else after about a week or so. BTW - it seems to be only the green monti, and not my red that is being targeted occasionally... other than that I've never seen any of my dozen or so eat anything else. If he's still alive, throw him in your refugium and forget about him... he'll be as happy as a crab can be!:inlove:

Thanks very much for the kind words. I wanted to be an architect before pursuing my current profession so I still have a strong interest in it.

Thanks for the info on the crab. I googled it and I agree. As mentioned above, I personally do not like the look of them. Not really sure if it did do any damage to any of my corals but I feel much better that it is out now. He was nearly dead when I discovered and removed him... not sure why though?



Another Pest?... ID?

I first noticed around a month ago that one of the millies polyps were not extending in the center as much as they used to. At closer inspection I noticed what was a white looking 'crab' but was not 100% sure. Soon after I noticed what looked like to be bite marks (white areas) and no polyp extension. Something was wrong!!

I made an attempt last week to try to remove it with tweezers but it just moved around the coral. Very frustrating!! Today I elected to remove the whole coral (I hate doing so as it was glued onto the island) and get rid of this sucker.

Spent sometime researching on the internet but couldn't find anything that resembled it. Here are some pictures although they are not the best, hopefully someone can ID?

It will be interesting to see if the coral recovers now

 

[shaggss]

snapping shrimp???

BOO

Boo Boo

 

[SPSpirate]

Hi Robin, PM sent.


Crab

Since April last year I noticed a large crab that appeared at night and every effort was made to try to catch it, but just couldn't. I never had an opportunity to determine whether it was a good or bad crab and just hoped everything would be fine.

Anyhow, last night before the lights went out, I noticed this a large crab out on the bare bottom of the tank away from any rock work. I managed to catch it and remove it from the tank. :dance:

Any idea what type of crab it is? Good/Bad?:eek1:

O crap! I had one of these guys in my first reef tank..hitch hiker......he broke branches off of corals plucked my green chromisis out of the corals at night and pinched the $h!t out of me when I tried to catch him one night! Super fast crab!

 

[oscarslr]

Sweet tank! what mode/% are you running the mp40

 

[stpatrick]

It is definitely fast and quiet... a pleasant surprise. Here are some more pictures that I have so far. I'll provide more info once it is installed.

It's an electric winch that comes in various lengths. This one pictured is 160cm (63") long and has a lifting capability of up to 60kg (~130lbs)

The wires from the ATI unit can be attached to the winch itself

The white box is designed to house the unit and the whole thing will be attached to the concrete ceiling.

Control switch which can be located anywhere. A remote control also comes with it too.

The sliders are a Japanese brand 'Sugatsune' http://www.sugatsune.co.jp/english/products/tecf/

I purchased them from here and they are available in partial, full or over travel extension. Great discount offered too :thumbsup:
http://www.alema.com/products/drawer-slides?limit=40

Hope that helps

Where do I get the items to build this? Mainly the winch

 

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snapping shrimp???

BOO

Boo Boo

Thanks boss... I believe it is Coralliocaris graminea.

O crap! I had one of these guys in my first reef tank..hitch hiker......he broke branches off of corals plucked my green chromisis out of the corals at night and pinched the $h!t out of me when I tried to catch him one night! Super fast crab!

lol... well unfortunately this is not the crab I thought. I recently saw two others the other day. More on that soon.

Sweet tank! what mode/% are you running the mp40

Thanks man... I am still trying out various positions and settings on the island side so I don't have one particular one yet.

Where do I get the items to build this? Mainly the winch

From Hong Kong

 

[tonino147]

Hello. I´m from Spain and i like your reef. Your installation is really amazing!!

My English isn´t very good.

I have a question for you. Now, I´m working in a new reef and i´d like to know more about your plumbing installation. How do you make the durso-pipe to don´t have micro bubbles in the sump?

Thanks,

Antonio

 

[dallasg]

really cool, this has inspired my build thread on my local forums, when its posted would love your feed back...

 

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Hello. I´m from Spain and i like your reef. Your installation is really amazing!!

My English isn´t very good.

I have a question for you. Now, I´m working in a new reef and i´d like to know more about your plumbing installation. How do you make the durso-pipe to don´t have micro bubbles in the sump?

Thanks,

Antonio

Thank you...

The flow rate through the drains is really important. I use x2 1.5" drains which reduce in size after the bulkhead to 1". I adjust the flow so there is no gurgling noise/sound. This reduces the flow rate but also stops any bubbles entering the sump. This is why I chose to have two drains instead of just one. The True Union Ball Valve (TUBV's) are used to control the flow. I would strongly suggest that you use gate valves to control the flow as it allows more precision.

The reason why I use TUBV's is that they have union connections which allow me to disconnect the plumbing easily when rolling out the sump. I want to put x2 Gate valves below the TUBV's but there is not enough room.

Out of interest, I also have the drain pipe under the water level in the sump as it is much quieter. Filter socks can also help with the reduction in bubbles.

Below are two links to articles I read when I designed my tank. Very interesting.

Myth of the One-Inch Beast

Aquarium Bulkhead Tests

Hope that helps

really cool, this has inspired my build thread on my local forums, when its posted would love your feed back...

Thanks... let me know the link once it's posted.



Update

There has been a few developments...


Sand

One bag of sand has now been introduced after soaking it for 1 week in RODI water changed every 2nd day. Luckily I didn't open all the bags as I only really needed one bag.

Since the sand is so fine, there was some issues with flow and sand storms but after trial and error and adjusting the intensity of the pumps... all is well. With that being said, I am still trialling the MP40W in various positions and settings.


More Crabs

Unfortunately, the crab in the previous post was not the one I thought. Last week I noticed x2 larger crabs on the tank bottom behind the rock work. These two are certainly what I want to catch. This is the only clear picture I could get showing one of the crabs.

New Light Bulbs
It has been 8 months since new bulbs were installed so it was time to go shopping. I had been researching KZ and elected to go with them. I ended getting the following....

After a lengthy discussed with my Zeovit retailer, I realised that I need to clean my ATI PM perspex cover more often than I am doing. Easier said than done, but I will try.


Rock Slide

There was a rock slide in front of the overflow and as a result... everything when tumbling :mad2: I decided to leave it for a few days as a new prized fish had just been introduced and I didn't want to stress it or the others out. I eventually re-adjusted the rock work and everything appears fine.


New Fish

Now to the really exciting news... I picked a new fishy!! A female Flame Fairy Wrasse from Hawaii. Settled in well and eating perfectly fine. Hoping to document it's change from Female to Male over time!!

Now I'm off to get me DLSR camera repaired since it fell from my wardrobe the other day and the lens filter broke and can't be unscrewed from my 18-135 lens :furious:

 

[eniram78]

Andrew, read about your crab catching escapade, one method that we used in Singapore is to use parwn meat placed in a glass jar (we use brands of essence chicken glass) hope this will help in catching the crabs w/o tearing the rockscape

 

[ti-christ]

[/QUOTE]

Now I'm off to get me DLSR camera repaired since it fell from my wardrobe the other day and the lens filter broke and can't be unscrewed from my 18-135 lens :furious:[/QUOTE]

I also broke my 1600$US Nikon Professionel lens almost like that!!!:hmm4::sad2:

 

[tntneon]

Beautifull fairy wrasse you've got there ,v1 :eek1:
Only sad to hear about the camera / gravitation problem you had :rolleye1: .

greetingzz tntneon

 

[gofor100]

Beautiful fish Andrew! Anymore FTS?

About the crab, I agree with the glass jar idea... put some bait in there (any fresh seafood should do the trick), then place the jar in the sand or rockwork tilted with the opening angled upwards resting on a rock or something... so the crab can get in, but can't get out.

You might also try doing this right when the lights go out so none of the other inhabitants try to take the bait.

Good luck! If its not one thing, its another...

-Chad