A Reef Tank in the Desert - +/- 1,400 gallon system
- Thread starter danfeig
- Start date
jjk_reef00
New member
Everything looks great, you need sand for those leopard wrasses. Get a Tupperware container fill it with sand and they will find it at night. I wouldn't worry too much if they don't show up for a couple of days, and if you are treating with copper I would ramp up over the course of a week with those wrasses. That is awesome that you got a pair!
danfeig
.Registered Member
tschuss, FLAMAANGEL...
Thank you both for the compliments. I can finally say that it is coming along nicely for me!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Alright guys. I have done what you suggested. I added a tupperware dish with a couple of inches of fine sand in it.
I believe one of the leopards may have taken the plunge inside the dish.
Both have been doing well...eating a ton and have been swimming around together in the QT.
danfeig
.Registered Member
Those are actually blue star leopard wrasses if I am not mistaken! nice find
You are correct! Thanks!!!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Thanks for the link dotcommer!
It's a very interesting thread. I certainly hope that I have success with these two. So far, so good but time will tell.
I have been enjoying your build thread. It is coming along nicely!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Wayne,
I am definitely going to do a large frag rack, but just over half of the tank. You have to remember it is close to 6' long.
I just haven't decided about the other half of the tank.
danfeig
.Registered Member
Beautiful fish. I love Scorpions and Frogfish.
My family much rather me spend less time in the fish room. If I was to load the tank with beautiful fish or seahorses, I would want want to be observing them more...
danfeig
.Registered Member
When I use the term "hospital" - it would not be a tank that I medicate. I would be putting fish in there that need to bulk up or that haven't fully adjusted to my system yet.
I have given thought to using it as a breeding tank too.
danfeig
.Registered Member
Hey Dan,
Here's my creative idea for the rock tank. Put a couple of inches of large substrate on the bottom. Leave the rock in it. Start collecting macro algaes. And start collecting varieties of pods. Get some live mysis and some live salt water ghost shrimp. Add a dosing pump for phyto to this tank and put it on a very slow feed from the system.
In about 3-6 months you should have a gorgeous overgrown refugium with an exponentially growing pod population. At this point start collecting some of the Brazilian (Orange/Red) seahorses and get a pair of mandarins and increase the flow from your system.
Now you end up with a great sea horse tank, that is constantly live feeding your thriving reef tank.
Pretty soon the the Seahorses may start spawing, and you have your own little saltwater livebearing aquarium.
Just an idea
Dave B
Dave, you have given me a lot to think about. You always give me a lot to think about!
You'll recall, I dumped a few thousand pods into the tank when I first put in the 300 lbs. of live rock. I have small filter socks on the sump underneath that are constantly filled with pods.
I love the idea of a seahorse and pipefish tank! I'd actually have to move the rock to the other side so the tank gets more exposure. So I get the large substrate, ton's of macro algae, decent lighting, phyto dosing... Actually, I have been considering purchasing a phyto reactor. There was an awesome one at MACNA.
The concerns or issues I have deal with flow to and from the system. How much flow do I need to be of benefit to my main tank? There is already plenty of internal flow and cycling on the 150 gallon rock tank. I have a Reeflo Dart turning things over.
The pump I purchased to connect the tank to my system is rated for 1,300+ gallons per hour. I don't think a slow drizzle would benefit my system. I would think that I would need to be dumping in and out a minimum of 600 GPH. I want the system to benefit from the 300+ lbs of live rock.
Then there is the temperature issue. Right now I have not had the need to run a chiller. For seahorses, they recommend having the temperature of the tank run at approximately 74 degrees. My system varies throughout the year stays between 77 - 78 degrees. If I was to run a chiller on the "seahorse/frag/filtration tank" to bring the temperature down, I think I would have difficulties keeping it cooler if I was flowing in and out 600-900 GPH...
Am I making any sense???
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That could be a good excuse to break that second wall and put a smaller tank in there! :lol2: "Ok you guys, I am caving in to your desires, that way you will see me more often!"
danfeig
.Registered Member
I want to stay away from the DSB. I have a decent sized sand bed filled with Miracle Mudd in my sump and a DSB in my other refugium. If the mangroves were nicer looking.. I might consider planting some in pots on my back porch outside of the Fish room window... I like the idea of garden eels though.
o2manyfish
o2manyfish
Dan,
Seahorses and Pipes make a fun refugium tank. I don't have any experience with chilling the water for horses. When I had a seahorse tank setup I had long term success with the red brazilian and kept the dwarfs for almost 2 years. It was a 24g refugium tank that was plumbed to my 300g FO tank.
I think if you adjust the internal flow so it's not blasting everywhere you will be ok. I have kept the pipefish and horses in my reef tank which has 30K gph flow in it, plus the surge tank. The pipes and the seahorses will wait for the surge to cycle and then ride it across the tank. So as long as you have areas that are low flow they should be okay.
The dwarfs need minimal water movement, they are adorable, but to be enjoyed in a 150 you would probably need 100_ of them.
As for the turnover rate from the system. If you are pushing more than 300gph you are turning over that entire tank 2x an hour. That should be more than ample for your filtration benefits.
The dart pumps can be stopped/started without damage. Perhaps adjust the output of the dart to blow off the the bottom of the tank. And then have the Apex cycle it a couple of times a day to stir up the tank (and the pods) so they overflow into the system.
You also might look at the Waveline DC pump for the cycling pump between the system and tank. Its a variable speed pump. You could increase the flow rate when the dart is on to flow more water through the refugium to gather more pods.
Just some ideas, spending your money is fun !!!
Dave B
Seahorses and Pipes make a fun refugium tank. I don't have any experience with chilling the water for horses. When I had a seahorse tank setup I had long term success with the red brazilian and kept the dwarfs for almost 2 years. It was a 24g refugium tank that was plumbed to my 300g FO tank.
I think if you adjust the internal flow so it's not blasting everywhere you will be ok. I have kept the pipefish and horses in my reef tank which has 30K gph flow in it, plus the surge tank. The pipes and the seahorses will wait for the surge to cycle and then ride it across the tank. So as long as you have areas that are low flow they should be okay.
The dwarfs need minimal water movement, they are adorable, but to be enjoyed in a 150 you would probably need 100_ of them.
As for the turnover rate from the system. If you are pushing more than 300gph you are turning over that entire tank 2x an hour. That should be more than ample for your filtration benefits.
The dart pumps can be stopped/started without damage. Perhaps adjust the output of the dart to blow off the the bottom of the tank. And then have the Apex cycle it a couple of times a day to stir up the tank (and the pods) so they overflow into the system.
You also might look at the Waveline DC pump for the cycling pump between the system and tank. Its a variable speed pump. You could increase the flow rate when the dart is on to flow more water through the refugium to gather more pods.
Just some ideas, spending your money is fun !!!
Dave B
danfeig
.Registered Member
My kids would disown me if I had another display tank in the house. But it is a nice thought.
We had my office party at the house this evening. My partners, employees and spouses saw the tank for the first time.
It was a lot of fun sharing the system with everyone!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Dave, you crack me up!
You are spending more of my money than my wife is! Although I am getting great enjoyment out of it.
I drilled two holes in the bottom of the tank and installed a 5' section of 1" pvc down the middle with lots (many) holes in it. My dart's intake is from the overflow and flows into the tank at the bottom, underneath the rocks. I have lock line that is connected to a mag-drive in my sump.
I can position the lock line so that the flow is over the frag side of the tank or can use an inline ball valve on any seahorse or pipefish side.
In any event, I don't think the Dart is going to cause too much flow for seahorses and the mag-drive can be turned down or I can use a smaller mag-drive. Over the frag section, I probably will use some sort of powerhead or MP-10/40.
If I am only dropping in 300-600 GPH, that water can also be diffused so that if is causing very little flow.
Depending on how anal I want to be about the temperature, I can have the intake water run through the skimmer and the outflow could go through an inline heater. I don't know if it will be necessary though. I'd only worry about the temperature during the summer months.
I am starting the plumbing tomorrow.
Lot's to think about!
danfeig
.Registered Member
Is there such a thing as a "Quiet Reefer Weekend?"
Is there such a thing as a "Quiet Reefer Weekend?"
Honestly, I was thinking that this weekend, I wouldn't stick my hands in the tank other than to feed. I did some work on the tank on Friday, but figured I could use a break.
Friday night, I said to myself, "Dan, why don't you spend a nice quiet weekend with the family. Maybe take in a movie, take the wife out to lunch, play some basketball with Bradley, take the girls Hanukah shopping and kick-back in the living room and enjoy watching the fruits of your labor." Well, I didn't say those words exactly, but, I did plan on not hanging out in the fish room and planned on relaxing/having fun with the family.
So what happened???
Well this morning Cynthia get's out of bed and proceeds to tell me that she is spending the day volunteering for the Spondylitis Association wrapping holiday presents at one of our local shopping malls. "Okay, I thought... I will spend the day with the kids." A short time later my youngest daughter asks if I would drive her to a friends so that she can finish a video project that they have been working on for A/P World History. "Sure, no problem." I come back home only to find my oldest daughter walking out the door, she didn't even ask for gas money, telling me that she is on her way to her boyfriends house. "Have a nice day, sweetie." Then I am thinking, great, I will have a nice father/son day with my 13 year old. That is until he comes out of his room and asks if I would drive him to his friends house so they can go to the mall. Oh, and can I please give him $40?
So I played chauffeur and came back to the house. I decided to feed the fish and what came next????
Let's see. I plumbed my old 150 gallon rock/frag/filtration tank into my system. I first drained the tank and replace it with fresh SW. I ran 3/4" pvc up from my sump 10', across two walls and then down into my 150. I removed the sump and protein skimmer from underneath as it would now be tied to my main system. It is so nice having that extra storage space! I ran 1 1/2" pvc and flex-pvc from the 150 gallon tank and let it gravity feed into my 90 gallon rock tank. I really had to turn down the pump. It was pushing close to 1,000 gph through the tank and into my 90 gallon. It was a serious flood waiting to happen.
Next, I did a 120 gallon water change and decided to move a few corals around and to add a couple of nice pieces of live rock that I saw in the rock tank. I was placing this nice piece of rock in the display tank when my grip on my tongs gave way and I dropped this huge piece of rock. I immediately expected the worse but was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the rock lodged itself between two other rock structures. It was a "SIGN." It made a perfect shelve for a nice piece of coral. What did I do? I ran out to one of my LFS and bought myself a beautiful Goniopora (flowerpot) coral that I had seen a few days earlier.
While acclimating my new coral, I began installing the new float switches I purchased on both my 150 gallon and 90 gallon tanks. I have to run to the hardware store in the morning to purchase more wire to connect them to my Apex unit. My plan for both tanks is that if either float switch is triggered, the pump feeding my 150 gallon tank will be shut down.
So what was supposed to be a quiet "Reef-free" day ended up being very productive!
I just found out that my wife is volunteering again tomorrow from 11:00 - 3:00 so it looks like I will have another guilt-free day to get some work/fun done.
Is there such a thing as a "Quiet Reefer Weekend?"
Honestly, I was thinking that this weekend, I wouldn't stick my hands in the tank other than to feed. I did some work on the tank on Friday, but figured I could use a break.
Friday night, I said to myself, "Dan, why don't you spend a nice quiet weekend with the family. Maybe take in a movie, take the wife out to lunch, play some basketball with Bradley, take the girls Hanukah shopping and kick-back in the living room and enjoy watching the fruits of your labor." Well, I didn't say those words exactly, but, I did plan on not hanging out in the fish room and planned on relaxing/having fun with the family.
So what happened???
Well this morning Cynthia get's out of bed and proceeds to tell me that she is spending the day volunteering for the Spondylitis Association wrapping holiday presents at one of our local shopping malls. "Okay, I thought... I will spend the day with the kids." A short time later my youngest daughter asks if I would drive her to a friends so that she can finish a video project that they have been working on for A/P World History. "Sure, no problem." I come back home only to find my oldest daughter walking out the door, she didn't even ask for gas money, telling me that she is on her way to her boyfriends house. "Have a nice day, sweetie." Then I am thinking, great, I will have a nice father/son day with my 13 year old. That is until he comes out of his room and asks if I would drive him to his friends house so they can go to the mall. Oh, and can I please give him $40?
So I played chauffeur and came back to the house. I decided to feed the fish and what came next????
Let's see. I plumbed my old 150 gallon rock/frag/filtration tank into my system. I first drained the tank and replace it with fresh SW. I ran 3/4" pvc up from my sump 10', across two walls and then down into my 150. I removed the sump and protein skimmer from underneath as it would now be tied to my main system. It is so nice having that extra storage space! I ran 1 1/2" pvc and flex-pvc from the 150 gallon tank and let it gravity feed into my 90 gallon rock tank. I really had to turn down the pump. It was pushing close to 1,000 gph through the tank and into my 90 gallon. It was a serious flood waiting to happen.
Next, I did a 120 gallon water change and decided to move a few corals around and to add a couple of nice pieces of live rock that I saw in the rock tank. I was placing this nice piece of rock in the display tank when my grip on my tongs gave way and I dropped this huge piece of rock. I immediately expected the worse but was pleasantly surprised when I saw that the rock lodged itself between two other rock structures. It was a "SIGN." It made a perfect shelve for a nice piece of coral. What did I do? I ran out to one of my LFS and bought myself a beautiful Goniopora (flowerpot) coral that I had seen a few days earlier.
While acclimating my new coral, I began installing the new float switches I purchased on both my 150 gallon and 90 gallon tanks. I have to run to the hardware store in the morning to purchase more wire to connect them to my Apex unit. My plan for both tanks is that if either float switch is triggered, the pump feeding my 150 gallon tank will be shut down.
So what was supposed to be a quiet "Reef-free" day ended up being very productive!
I just found out that my wife is volunteering again tomorrow from 11:00 - 3:00 so it looks like I will have another guilt-free day to get some work/fun done.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
You will always have family time sooner or later. Its all about timing and planning. Just like reefing.
danfeig
.Registered Member
you had good intentions and in the end you had a guilt free day with the fish
No question. And I am glad that I was able to finish the plumbing on the 150 gallon. I didn't have too much time to spend on the tank today as we had a bunch of dinner guests coming to the house.
I mostly just cleaned the fish room and wiped off the glass of the tank.
I was able to install two of the floats today on my 150 and 90 gallon rock tank. Programming them to my Apex was surprisingly easy. If either tank gets full, the pump flowing into the 150 gets killed.
