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

[david00061]

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looking great

 

[danfeig]

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I have a feeling we are going to see some nice fish purdy soon lol.

Six Odontanthias borbonius? Six? Yea I am no longer worthy.

That's one for every section of your tank!! Sweet!!!

You'll love em Dan, they act like puppies

Wow, nice buy and great addition. Great news on the Sohals.

Congrats on the Borbonius. I only have a pair but they adjusted quickly into my tank and eat everything I put in the tank.

Only issue I have is I like small fish and these guys are growing quickly.

Best of luck with them. They are very cool.

Dave B

Thanks guys!

All 6 Borbonius are doing great! They are wonderful eaters and all of them are staying real close to one another at all time.

 

[danfeig]

Wow, you have a beautiful tank.

Thanks Mikesville510! I really enjoy looking at it too!

 

[danfeig]

Really nice looking colonies you got there Dan.

THANKS BRETT!

Awesome colonies, the polyp extension is great! The anthias will look amazing in the display as well, good luck!

Thanks! I am excited to put them in the main display. I am just not in any hurry. They are too precious of fish for me to put in so soon. A few more weeks in QT.

Dan, sweet SPS colonies buddy!! Well done.

Dave, your colonies are smokin' :smokin:

:smokin::smokin::smokin: Those are some pimp SPS colonies there.

Leroy, are you tellin' me that i'm pippin???

Those colonies look great. Thanks for the pics

Thank you! I am anxiously awaiting an update on your tank!

 

[danfeig]

Hi Dan - those pictures are great. We can't wait se to how the Sohals will act in DT with all the other tangs. nice looking Borbonius. good luck with them. by the way, do you know what type of camera and lens were used to take your pictures? thanks Byron

Thanks RIGUY314!

I appreciate the compliments. I have no clue about the camera that Griffin used. He does check the thread and so hopefully he'll respond. If not, I will ask for you.

Sohals. Well, the larger one is in "timeout" right now. A couple of nights ago, it was going after the smaller one pretty aggressively. Damn those Sohals are quick, even in a 75 gallon. Not sure what ****ed her off. The smaller one was previously the more aggressive. Anyways, I put the egg-crate back in the tank to separate them. Both were swimming around and going after one another through the egg-crate. No marks or anything on the smaller one.

Tonight I took the egg-crate out for a few hours and put it back on before the lights went out. The larger one was still chasing the smaller, although, when the larger one would turn her back and start to swim the other way, the smaller one would go after her.

I checked on them before I went to bed and somehow the larger one squeezed through the side or underneath the egg-crate. I left them like that for 30 minutes or so and they both seemed to be doing fine. I separated them again though and did a better job of securing things.

I'm not too worried about the aggression. The hard part about the QT is that other than a piece of pvc, there is no place to hide. In the main display, I have tons of rock, caves and towers.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

Leroy, are you tellin' me that i'm pippin???

That's pimpin and yes you are sir with those SPS colonies.

 

[david00061]

LED lighting can grow SPS

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

You have proven that a long time ago sir.

LED lighting can grow SPS

 

[danfeig]

Dan, have you ever considered running a webcam on your tank (or on a quarentine tank)? I am not sure if you have a feasable place to set one up but it would be fun to watch!

I have a webcam running on my tank. Its great to just check in and see the tank while I am at work and even better for when I am out of town.

~Nathan

Hey Renton777.

I do have a webcam but the quality is absolutely terrible. The issue isn't the quality of the camera, it's my bandwidth. Where I live, we don't have cable or DSL because of the remoteness of my house and all of the rock around here. My internet is basically "beamed" to me. If I have the camera on, yu can't even surf the internet in the house.

 

[maddmaxx]

Hey Renton777.

I do have a webcam but the quality is absolutely terrible. The issue isn't the quality of the camera, it's my bandwidth. Where I live, we don't have cable or DSL because of the remoteness of my house and all of the rock around here. My internet is basically "beamed" to me. If I have the camera on, yu can't even surf the internet in the house.

lmao, I thought I was a lone reefer, guess not. where im at in the mountains, internet is provided by DSL. and the lowest DSL available at that. any time any post a vid I get sour cause I cant even watch it. takes to long to upload lol....

 

[MarineGirl411]

You have a beautiful tank. =)

 

[danfeig]

It would be neat if you let the public view by Skype access with a live feed.

I am going to talk to my Internet provider and see if something can be done. I get too many requests to not pursue it further.

 

[danfeig]

Just amazing. Finally got thru all 79 pages. Just an incredible tank. I am pretty inspired to get my next build goin. Of course it's only going to be a 40 breeder with a 20 sump. Lol. Keep it up Dan I love reading about it.

Aaeolien,

Thanks for the nice words! Don't laugh about the size of your tank! You can do some amazing things with a 40 gallon breeder!

Let me know if I can help in any way.

 

[danfeig]

danfeig,

looking at you sps', i noticed a unicorn tang. iirc you do pairs of tangs? 2 unicorns, 2 sohals, 2 clowns, 2 orangesholders, 2 etc. etc. etc....do you worry in a year or two you will have to remove some? i realize your breaking new ground here, but those are some huge fish.

Good question. I have a pair of Lopezi Tangs and a pair of Vlamingii Tangs that are getting big. The answer is "we'll see!". If they get too big, there are a few larger aquariums here and in Phoenix that I will be able to give them to. Or you never know...perhaps I will have to build a much larger display tank.:fun4:

 

[CHSUB]

Good question. I have a pair of Lopezi Tangs and a pair of Vlamingii Tangs that are getting big. The answer is "we'll see!". If they get too big, there are a few larger aquariums here and in Phoenix that I will be able to give them to. Or you never know...perhaps I will have to build a much larger display tank.:fun4:

wow, can't wait to see the upgrade :eek2:...i wonder whos upgrade build will see water first, you or Newbie Aquarist? :spin3:

 

[RJT]

Finally!!! It took days but I finished reading the entire thread. This is the best thread I have ever read. To me the best part is that your family is part of the odyssey, especially the basketball/Vegas trip which was like a great side story you allowed us to join. The trip to FL where everyone found something they liked was great as well.

Amazing family and tank!

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

wow, can't wait to see the upgrade :eek2:...i wonder whos upgrade build will see water first, you or Newbie Aquarist? :spin3:

Wow dude really putting the pressure on huh?

 

[nanoohio]

Good question. I have a pair of Lopezi Tangs and a pair of Vlamingii Tangs that are getting big. The answer is "we'll see!". If they get too big, there are a few larger aquariums here and in Phoenix that I will be able to give them to. Or you never know...perhaps I will have to build a much larger display tank.:fun4:

I def saw this comin! Mayby double up to a 2800 gallon total volume? Now that you have such a large system could you ever downgrade to somethin small again? Like a 120 or anything 4'?

 

[Crazy_Beaver]

Or you never know...perhaps I will have to build a much larger display tank.:fun4:

I bet SWMBO inst around huh?:lol2::debi:

 

[danfeig]

I have a question, and I haven't seen it explained anywhere...on the lock line returns coming through the bottom of the tank, how do you keep the whole tank from draining in case of a power outage, are there check valves involved? I'm hoping to take on a large custom build soon and want to incorporate a similar return into my build. Any info/advice would be great!

Great question cgonser! Sorry for the delay in getting back to you, but, fortunately, my friends got things correct with their responses to your post.

I'm not sure how Dan has his setup but making sure you do not have a setup that will create as siphon is IMPORTANT. So let me address a few of them.

1) If you have PVC lines going up, over and down into the tank you can drill a small hole just below the water line. If you lose power this will siphon a little water and then break the siphon once the hole is exposed.

2) Watch pumps. If you lose power water can go in either direction thru the pump so they can turn into a siphon.

3) Closed loops should NOT be a problem. The Closed loops don't take any water out of the tank.

In most cases the display tank will be above the sump. So when power fails some water will drain from the display back into the sump. You will need to ensure your sump will handle it. In Dan's case he has almost 21 gallons per inch in his tank. He has to make sure of 2" will drain his sump must be able to handle 42 gallons.

If your sump can not handle it, bad things happen......The wife will not be a happy camper and fish funds become harder to get. :spin1:

Joe

Thanks Joe!

Small correction



3) Closed loops should not be a problem.

This is because, hense the name closed, they never drain into one area or another. They are truly closed until you crack the valve when doing maintenance.

Thanks for giving him the help Worm!