A Whole New Dimension

[returnofsid]

Lightsluvr The water in the sump is higher than it will be at normal capacity. This was just a freshwater test. I filled it up with the garden hose, run from outside. By the time I got back outside to turn it off, it was a lil' more full than I planned...lol.

The Skimmer will normally be in about 10" - 11" of water. Wasn't worried about it's ability to skim freshwater...lol.

Yes, Madison is a sweetie, BUT she knows it!!! LOL

Thanks all for your comments!

 

[returnofsid]

Here's a few boring pics to look at....lol.

Here's about 1/3 of the rock I added today. That's a lid from the largest Rubbermaid tote I have. To give you an idea of size, the lid is about 3' long.

LOL Ceiling fan right above the camera, you can see the pull chain. Okay, this is all the rock I added today. There's still LOTS of room. I'm sure I'll re-aquascape several times before I get it all in.

Ran out of water, so I put a pump in to circulate water, and called it a night.

 

[Carlos Arouche]

Very good start !!!!

Good luck on that !

 

[returnofsid]

Tank has cleared up a lot!! Last night, it was still a lil murky, but I took some pics anyway. Then I just took a couple more pics. Here they are. Forgive the reflections...lol. Without lights on the tank, I can't take pics at night, with room lights out. Soooo, we get reflections.
Last night

Just a few minutes ago

Here, you can see a reflection of Angie's Nano.

Today, I will drill anti siphon holes in the outputs of the SeaSwirls. Last night, I tested the sump/fuge capacity, by unplugging the return pump. Before doing this, I bent the Locline Y up a bit, to get it closer to the surface. By the time everything drained, I still had room for about 8 1/5 gallons in the sump/fuge. While doing this, I'll also do away with the locline Ys and replace with a single locline flare on each SeaSwirl.

Might also get around to adding more live rock today.

Last night, I tested the water. The only thing that registered was a very slight reading of nitrates. That was before I put the skimmer online.

 

[der_wille_zur_macht]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15550558#post15550558 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by returnofsid

Here, you can see a reflection of Angie's Nano.

There's a ghost tank in your tank! :eek1:

 

[returnofsid]

Done for the day, and exhausted!! I got all the rock in the 200. Most of the corals are in, some are still in the 75 awaiting transfer. I just got too wore out...lol. All fish are still in the 75 and will be caught, bagged and acclimated tomorrow. There are a few fish in the the 75, that won't make it into the 200, for various reasons. I'll also add a Modded MJ1200. Well, here's some pics I just too...enjoy. There's some sand floating around, so they aren't the best of pics.

This is Actinics only.

This is all lights on, well, for now. Right now, there's only a 6 bulb, Tek5 fixture on the tank. I plan to add another 4 bulb Tek 5 fixture, as soon as possible.

From the end

Left side

Center

Right of center

Far right

Still not enough room!!!

Once the 75 is all tore down, I'll tackle the 46, some of which is also going into the 200.

 

[returnofsid]

Bye Bye Sweet 75. You've served your purpose well and will be greatly missed!!

Ewwww.

 

[returnofsid]

Guess it's time for some new pics!!

I'll start with the feeding frenzy. I apologize for the distractions floating in the water. When they first attack the algae, it releases a bunch of air bubbles. After that, there's specks of algae floating all over.

Check out those chompers!!

Most recent FTS, taken about a week ago. Actinics only. Meant to get a full light FTS the next day and didn't get around to it. Guess I'll try again today.

 

[mike660r]

Looking great man!

 

[strout]

Looks great, can't wait to see the pics with full lights. Good job

 

[jculver09]

Looking very good, do you have those modded maxjiets hooked up to a controller?

 

[returnofsid]

Thanks all!! Strout, it'll probably be a bit, before I get the 4 bulb unit, due to finances. I'm sure it'll make a world of difference, when it happens.

jculver09, No, the modded MJs get grumpy when you try to run them on a controller. I tried, got tired of the chatter, and unhooked the controller...lol.

 

[downhillbiker]

That looks awesome. I like the rockwork. It is completely different from mine, but its just as attractive in a different way. I like the single U shape in it, and it really looks nice since you arent starting with a bunch of frags....lol.

 

[lllosingit]

I ordered my Deep Dimension Starphire 250 60x36x27 a few days ago so the fun begins in two or three weeks.

I like your rock work, Any idea how many pounds you have in there?

 

[returnofsid]

Yeah, it was nice to be able to start out with established rock and established coral colonies!! Saved a lot of time and effort!!

Illosingit, glad to hear there's another Deep Dimension owner in the near future!! Make sure you read downhillbiker's 200DD thread, as well. His rock "ROCKS!" He also gave me some great advice, in the early stages of my build!!

As for how much I have, that's be hard to say. I never actually weighed any of it out. I have A BUNCH of live rock, probably close to 350 lbs. This rock was either in our 3 year old 75, or in a tote that I had maturing for about 6 months before purchasing the tank. I used what I wanted and then sold or gave away the rest.

I am considering making a couple slight changes to the aquascaping, which would involve the addition of a very large piece of Tonga that I'd be getting from a friend here in the area. I'm also going to be drilling some holes, in some of the existing rock, to allow for better coral placement.

The addition I'm really looking forward to is the second T5 fixture. Going from 6X54 T5HO to 10 bulbs will be quite a dramatic improvement.

Thank you all for your kind comments!!

 

[Dtronic]

Does the starphire make a difference? Does it take anything away from looking at it though the sides?

 

[lllosingit]

Starphire does make a huge difference on larger aquariums but you really won't get the "WOW!" effect unless you see one with and one without side by side.
Its very noticeable anytime but you just can't believe how green the glass looks when comparing regular glass and starphire.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15727788#post15727788 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dtronic
Does the starphire make a difference? Does it take anything away from looking at it though the sides?

 

[returnofsid]

I agree that it's not something you'll notice unless viewing 2 tanks, with and without, side by side. I have noticed a difference, not from viewing, but from photographing. I haven't really noticed a difference from the front pane, and the side panes, as far as viewing. The biggest difference I've noticed is photographing through the glass on this tank, and on other tanks. Even with my old 75, which was thinner glass, I didn't get as sharp of pictures, as I do through this glass.

 

[downhillbiker]

I didn't realize that you were running T5HO. How does that do with the deeper tank? Do you have as much troubles with reaching things inside of your tank as I do? Man this tank is deep!

 

[returnofsid]

The T5s are penetrating just fine!! I only have 6 bulbs above the tank, and it seems to be keeping everything happy, including corals on the bottom. However, I'll be placing 4 more bulbs up top anyway.

YES, I can't reach anything, even from a step ladder...lol. I've had to buy a couple different type of Grabbers, both fairly long. I also bought the Sea Squirt feeder, that extends pretty long, for target feeding some of the bottom corals.