A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system

[danfeig]

Thats a beautiful cat Dan, I have yet to see a Mountain Lion in the wild but I have seen a few bobcats in the last couple years. The last one was walking right down Silverbell, you wont see any house cats wondering around in my neiborhood The desert looks beautiful behind your house.

Wow what a beast! They have one at the desert museum and I remember looking at it and thinking that I never want to see one in the wild.

Thanks guys! You both know what a beautiful place Tucson and our surrounding desert is.

 

[danfeig]

A guy near here once had a small zoo behind his house, including a cougar that had been bred and raised in captivity - totally tamed. One day while he was cleaning the cougar's cage, the cat was resting on its perch and nonchalantly reached out and took a playful swipe at his leg - tore the Achilles tendon clean off. The power of these cats is tremendous. They do not belong in zoos and they certainly shouldn't be treated like house pets like that fool of a (former) zoo keeper did.

Dave.M

No question! I leave my dogs outside for hours at a time and don't worry them in the slightest. A forest ranger told me when we first moved out here that as long as we see Deer in the neighborhood (their natural food), we shouldn't need to worry. I used to worry about our little Cocker Spaniel - but that was with the Owls picking her up!

 

[danfeig]

Rut Roh.... :uhoh2: Shouldn't have checked in on your thread just before bed. I'm gonna have nightmares of being eatin by those wild bores, cats, lizards and one eyed owl. :hmm6: Your own private Jurassic Park...

Great pics. You really are in the desert. They say living in Scottsdale is in the desert, but you definately top it there.

Excellent pics! Thx very much for those. I had no idea there were wild boars in your area.

Dave.M

And to think when the doctor told me after I got out of the hospital there would be two choices to live to accommodate my injury. One was Arizona, the other was Florida. Now I'm second guessing my choice. But after seeing the snakes, maybe not.

Thanks guys. There is no where else that I would rather live!

 

[coralreefdoc]

Bobcats, Javelinas and Gila Monsters, oh my ...

Bobcats, Javelinas and Gila Monsters, oh my ...

Not exactly my area of expertise, though I do have some quality background knowledge of a wide variety of different land based species as well (Biology, many years), but be careful w the dogs outdoors, Dan. Don't get too lax/trusting with that mix/diversity of skilled predators at your doorstep.

While the bobcats/mountain lions definitely pose a serious threat, especially if it wernt for the native deer population as you mentioned, they are naturally very weary of human activity/interaction ... But, with that said, the coyotes, assuming you have a population in your area, are the opportunistic/instinctive predators which could easily pick off your K9s, uninhibitedly ..

On a positive note, I remember recently reading you have a number of Danner Mag-Drives currently operational/in service... Find feasible replacements for those inefficient water heaters and you'll indubitably notice a significant decrease in peak water temperature(s) within your system ! If you'd like any recommendations or to run something by me for a 2nd, educated/knowledgable/experienced, opinion Id be glad to help. Feel free to PM me

 

[sfsuphysics]

I am really tickled with the results of the Sea Water. Even on my system, I saw immediate results after a 100 gallon water change. Everything seemed to open up nicely!

What were you using before? I assume salt mix with RO/DI water, but was your water coming from a well? city municipality?

It's odd though that water that's not from an area with reefs would be good for your tank, maybe it's got electrolytes in it!

 

[Anim8me2]

maybe it's got electrolytes in it!

It's what a reef tank needs!

 

[fazilosman]

I am really tickled with the results of the Sea Water. Even on my system, I saw immediate results after a 100 gallon water change. Everything seemed to open up nicely!

Hey Dan, long time no comment - been following along and your build is looking spectacular. To comment on the natural sea water, there is a guy on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQ0ydIHJpJGdjRzgFNgj9w called J Madden that saw the same results by switching. He has some really nice videos posted and his PE is out of this galaxy! I too believe that NSW is better than pre-mixed salt but dont know exactly why.

Cheers, keep the pics coming - also, I miss fun/delivery friday!

 

[reefervinny]

Hey Dan, long time no comment - been following along and your build is looking spectacular. To comment on the natural sea water, there is a guy on YouTube http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCPQ0ydIHJpJGdjRzgFNgj9w called J Madden that saw the same results by switching. He has some really nice videos posted and his PE is out of this galaxy! I too believe that NSW is better than pre-mixed salt but dont know exactly why.

Cheers, keep the pics coming - also, I miss fun/delivery friday!

I agree and look at it in the way of.... Is breast milk more healthy for a baby over formula? Naturally produced anything for the most part is better than artificial products.

 

[humaguy]

Oh jeez... I hate to disappoint you, but, I only have 5 acres of deeded land. Does it help though if I tell you our house backs up to the Coronado National Forest? It is a wildlife preserve/national forest run by the National Forest Service that includes an area of about 1.78 million acres spread throughout mountain ranges in southeastern Arizona and southwestern New Mexico.

We get lots of fun visitors that show up on our back yard wall or drinking out of our fountain. How about this pretty kitty?

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this thread is fascinating...thanks!

 

[Pdm2476]

tank is amazing!

 

[Crazy_Beaver]

So it looks like a reef was missing form the local wildlife and you my friend were up for the task!:bum:

 

[Reefocd]

The man eater cat just caught a view of your reef tank and see's opportuntty...... not good

 

[danfeig]

Rut Roh.... :uhoh2: Shouldn't have checked in on your thread just before bed. I'm gonna have nightmares of being eatin by those wild bores, cats, lizards and one eyed owl. :hmm6: Your own private Jurassic Park...

Great pics. You really are in the desert. They say living in Scottsdale is in the desert, but you definately top it there.

Excellent pics! Thx very much for those. I had no idea there were wild boars in your area.

Dave.M

And to think when the doctor told me after I got out of the hospital there would be two choices to live to accommodate my injury. One was Arizona, the other was Florida. Now I'm second guessing my choice. But after seeing the snakes, maybe not.

Thanks guys!

I love everything about living in the desert except the snakes! I definitely could live without them! It's only in the summer months that I see them, when it's nice and hot. They stay out of back yard, thank goodness, we just need to be careful walking around the house. Especially at night!

 

[danfeig]

The boar turned over the truck and the kitten had sushi for a snack while the snake provided the musical entertainment.

My daily threats are a 4 lb yorkie that can actually bite a finger or a huskie that will cover you in fur. I usually have to deal with both at once when I get home.

Joe

Its not the overgrown kittens you would have to worry about,its the pack of wild pigs that will tear you apart. lol

You guys crack me up!

 

[danfeig]

may I ask, what are some of the benefits of using natural salt water ?

mostly the Ionic balance ? or the bacteria and live foods ?

thank you for sharing your great coral reef tank with us

Allmost, thank you!

I am new to using it, however, I am real happy with it. After my first water change - polyps on all my corals, even my dendro's were extended! I put some in a clear baggie and you could see pods too!

The quality of the water was perfect! From PH to alk, ca, salinity. So far so good!

 

[danfeig]

Its not the overgrown kittens you would have to worry about,its the pack of wild pigs that will tear you apart. lol

They're not Boars, they are javelinas. Technically they aren't even pigs.

Looks like bacon to me.

They don't smell like bacon, haha

Had to look up "javelina". Correct correct name is "peccary". Another common term is "skunk pig".

Except at five o'clock, when it is known as a peccary daiquiri, doc.

Dave.M

Brett is the correct one here. Well, so is Dave.M but he cheated and looked it up.

The Javelina are nasty! They come in hoards around the house and will eat everything in site. They eat our Prickly Pear cactus and anything we place outside is fair game. If we put Pumpkins outside during Halloween, they are gone. I sometimes put blocks of birdseed out for the Quail and they get eaten if the Javelina come by that night.

They are dangerous too, especially when they have their little babies are near by. Their jaws are so powerful that they could snap your leg if they got a hold of you or your pet. They smell too! Awful!

 

[danfeig]

So what do we take away from all of this????

When you order 400 gallons of saltwater you end up with a kitten that skinks like a pig but tastes like a daiquiri when its 5 o'clock somewhere.

Cheers
Joe

Joe, I am worried about you man!

 

[danfeig]

I spent the past week going through this entire blog. This tank is unreal. Like my dream with even more! I actually ordered a bunch of new corals because of this! Thank you for re-inspiring me in the hobby. One day I would love to have something like this!

Sam

Thanks Sam!

I even showed my wife your post! To read that "I have inspired somebody" this early on a Sunday morning is a great way to start the day!

 

[danfeig]

Not exactly my area of expertise, though I do have some quality background knowledge of a wide variety of different land based species as well (Biology, many years), but be careful w the dogs outdoors, Dan. Don't get too lax/trusting with that mix/diversity of skilled predators at your doorstep.

While the bobcats/mountain lions definitely pose a serious threat, especially if it wernt for the native deer population as you mentioned, they are naturally very weary of human activity/interaction ... But, with that said, the coyotes, assuming you have a population in your area, are the opportunistic/instinctive predators which could easily pick off your K9s, uninhibitedly ..

On a positive note, I remember recently reading you have a number of Danner Mag-Drives currently operational/in service... Find feasible replacements for those inefficient water heaters and you'll indubitably notice a significant decrease in peak water temperature(s) within your system ! If you'd like any recommendations or to run something by me for a 2nd, educated/knowledgable/experienced, opinion Id be glad to help. Feel free to PM me

Thanks Doc! To be honest, I haven't spent any time working on replacing all the mag-drives yet. My wife was talking about taking the kids to kids to Disneyland and to visit their cousins in the next couple of weeks - that would be the best time for me to it. Not sure yet if I want to drill a new hole for another dart or how creative I want to be.

With regards to the dogs, I never take anything for granted. We've lived here nine years and have never had any issues. Knock-on-Wood

 

[jjk_reef00]

Have you considered waterblaster pumps, or any of the DC pumps?
They could be ran internal if you want to avoid drilling.