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

[Newbie Aquarist]

Wayne,

You laugh but there is a good chance I may be living near Tampa next year and setting up a large tank. Sooooooooooooooo I'll send everything to you and you get to cover for me.

Maybe that is what we need to setup a network of sending deliveries to someone else's place.

Joe

That will work out sweet. Especially if there are items I can use towards my build. :lmao::lmao::lmao:

 

[o2manyfish]

Okay its 9:45 PST.... The first boxes should be there.

I know what's in one of them, now let's see the 8 other boxes of toys you got.

Dave B

 

[Geraud]

Haha, Dan should actually give us the tracking numbers, seeing as everybody is always super excited about his shipments ;-)

 

[Made2Rock]

Haha, Dan should actually give us the tracking numbers, seeing as everybody is always super excited about his shipments ;-)

Now there is a good idea. It would be a whole lot easier to intercept them if he would just help us out.

Come on Dan

Actually this kinda like xmas since we don't know what were getting.:spin1::spin1:

 

[danfeig]

What a Day!

What a Day!

What a day! It is 11:04 PM and I am beat up!

My legs are tired, my hands are cut up, I have got bruises on my arms from bending over my tank. If I was so exhausted, a nice Bourbon might soothe my aching bones.

So...

A little taste of my morning deliveries. I hope I don't leave out any shipments.

UPS beat FedEx down the driveway. They did cross paths. Let me strike that. UPS Freight beat FedEx. UPS made a 2nd trip later in the day.

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FedEx came next with some new live stock.

UPS returned with another small one...

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A couple of my orders didn't arrive today and hopefully they will be here tomorrow.

 

[jjk_reef00]

Ok so what's inside the boxes, lol

 

[danfeig]

One of my new treasures...

One of my new treasures...

I have not had the time to open any of the boxes besides the livestock. I have a friend coming over this Sunday to snap a lot of pictures for me and I will post them all for viewing.

I do want to share one of my new favorites. An amazing Acanthastrea bowerbanki! The colony is an absolute beauty! It comes from Scott at Unique Corals. She is 10.5" long, over 6" wide. It's also tall. The pictures don't give it any justice. Wait a few more days until it gets acclimated.

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And one that shows it in relation to the left side of the tank.

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[danfeig]

Box #1 - FedEx Fri

Box #1 - FedEx Fri

I received a new shipment from Pik-Stik.

These things are awesome. They are made for aquariums and can hold a lot of weight!

I purchased a 2nd 48" tong. I needed both to put the new Acan in the tank. I also purchased a smaller, 26" set of tongs for my other tanks.

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[dave.m]

Agreed on the Pik-Stiks. They last a lot longer, and you always need two.

Dave.M

 

[danfeig]

Box #2 FedEx Friday

Box #2 FedEx Friday

Box #2 of my Home Network Shopping was an order from Marine Depot.

I needed some extra long cables for my Apex unit and ended up purchasing some API test kits, calibration solutions, a hydrometer to double check things, and an Aqua Lifter to use with the ATO on my QT tanks.

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[danfeig]

Box #3 FedEx Friday

Box #3 FedEx Friday

So I hope this one works well.

I feed my fish in the morning before I leave for work, usually a few sheets of Nori tied to rocks. Then again in the evening, 10-12 cubes.

I have been looking for something to assist with feeding them during the afternoons while I am away.

Enter the SuperFeeder.

I plan on connecting it to my Apex and having it come on at noon each day. If it works well, I will schedule it an additional time. I have it set up on my breakfast bar for now - having it feed/dose into a cup.

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[jjk_reef00]

Tank is looking great!
The superfeeder is great for large tanks. It works great for flake and medium to large pellets. I have two, one that feeds flake and one that feeds small pellets. The superfeeder feeds more small pellets than I like because they fall through the plastic feeding grates. You can test out how much will be fed by pressing the manual feed button on the side as a test. My favorite thing is that it is powered by an AC adaptor (no batteries), and it is very easy to use with a controller (such as your APEX). Also you can stack up a lot of food without moisture problems I've seen with other feeders.

 

[o2manyfish]

Dan,

I am looking forward to seeing how you mount your Superfeeder. Mine arrived about 10 days ago and I haven't had a chance to figure out to mount it above the tank so it's out of the way for tank maintenance.

I just gave my dad the larger version with the super hopper for his Koi Pond for his Birthday today, he was pretty tickled with it.

Also thanks for posting on the Pik Stik - I have one that is probably close to 12-14 years old. And I keep fearing that its going to break and I didn't know they were still around. I will be placing an order for a few spares tomorrow.

Dave B

 

[Made2Rock]

Dan,

I'm confused, If my memory serves me right you had built a feeder inside a frig or am I confusing you with someone else? My question becomes, if it was you, what was wrong with the feeder you built?

Joe

 

[danfeig]

Dan,

I'm confused, If my memory serves me right you had built a feeder inside a frig or am I confusing you with someone else? My question becomes, if it was you, what was wrong with the feeder you built?

Joe

Joe,

Don't be confused on my account. You aren't losing your memory. Yes, I have my refrigerator plumbed to my sump with a Bubble Magus Dosing pump inside. I was dosing three different Reef Nutrition products, but, I found them to be costly and their shelf life didn't last as long as I hoped. I am currently dosing a little Tigger Feast. I will primarily dose the Reef Nutrition products when I will be away for a few days. Your post serves as a reminder as I will be gone for 4 nights during the Thanksgiving holiday.

The Super Feeder is installed and is programmed to turn on at noon for a minute. I placed it on the back corner of my tank, velcro'd to my steel frame. I also have a few ties fastened to the feeder so that it can't fall into the tank. It sits just above one of my Vortecs.

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[jjk_reef00]

Dan, what pellets are you using in your superfeeder?
Are they small enough for little fish (small wrasses etc.), and are they large enough so they don't fall through the feeding grates on the superfeeder? TIA.

 

[dotcommer]

I just purchased the New Life International Spectrum Optima fish food for my automatic feeder.

Reef Monsters in Mesa AZ swears by this food. They say it really helps bring out the colors in the fish. Their website has some interesting videos about their product.

 

[danfeig]

What an awsome build you got there!!!

How did you deal with humidity during the monsoon season when it was hot and humid outside?

Im building a new house with a 300g in wall tank plus sumps and q tanks probably around 400g total volume, the fish room will 48 ft2 in size, still havent decided yet if I should install a mini-split to deal with heat & humidity or just install an exhaust fan and a chiller.

The fish room does have a small vent from the central AC but it isnt turned on all the day just during lunch on really hot days...

Any suggestions to deal with humidity here in the desert?

THX

Thank you KMU!

It was definitely hot and humid during the monsoon season this year. My mini split took care of most of the humidity but not all. The collection cup was being emptied hourly. I probable will install one of the Fantech units to help out. I've been leaving the window open and that helps. I have a dual fan system bringing fresh air in and taking stale air out. Now it is getting too cold at night so I have just been opening it in the daytime.

One plus about the mini split is that I have not needed to install a chiller. It keeps my tank and room temperature in check.

 

[danfeig]

My wife thinks i need help.. lol i told her i have a support group.. Its right here on reef central..

If you don't use credit cards for your tanks then are you a true reefer? LOL I know I use mine haha.

*Sent from my little corner of the reef. Nano nano!*

I went through a month of my wife seeing a credit statement with all the expenses for the fish tank and she went to Bloomingdales, sachs and Louis Vuitton to catch up. This unfortunately happened when I originally set up the tank, what a disaster. Now I have an entity called lighthouse real estate ventures, the bill goes to the office and they support the fish tank hobby. The things we have to do LOL
If you have kids, its even worse because she will go and spend equally as much for them !!!!

Thanks for the support guys!

All kidding aside. I am a very fortunate man. My wife knows how much I enjoy the hobby and she doesn't ask how much I spend or not. She know's that I never say "No" to her and that I wouldn't do anything if we couldn't afford it.

I have a wonderful wife!

 

[danfeig]

Box #4 FedEx Friday

Box #4 FedEx Friday

Box #4 was another delivery from Avast Marine.

I purchased another ATO to be used on my QT's that I could connect to my Apex. I will be using the Aqua Lifter that I purchased from Marine Depot earlier to fill the RO from a reservoir.

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