A wolgers 180gal tank upgrade

[wetWolger]

So some updates....first for comparison here is what the tank looked like last weekend:

Since then I have moved all the corals and fish from the old tank to the new one (except one coral I forgot, and hope is still alive when I go back). It has been 24 hours since it all made the splash. So far nothing is looking bad or like it might die. In fact none of the fish or corals really seem stressed out at all.

Here is the current fish list (since they all are camera shy):
2 scopus tangs (I got them about 6 to 9 months ago from a guy who just had too small of tank for them...it is really cool seeing two of them together)
2 tank raised clowns
1 foxface
and 2 yellow watchmen gobies.

And whats even better than that? Ammonia 0ppm, Nitires 0ppm, and Nitrates 0ppm (not even joking, fast cycle, and just in time).

I also got my second Vortech pump now, and having the two pumps has helped my flow tons. It is working great.

As for the aquascape, it has been a work in progress. I am decently happy with how it looks now. It looks better now than it ever has before (IMO). But there are a couple areas that still don't look great, and I will just have to tink with those over time as I add corals (and as other corals grow). If you guys have any suggestions about this (or anything!) I always love to hear it.

My plans from here are:
Wait for the tank to get a bit more established. And then in another 4 or 5 weeks I hope to get a bunch more corals (have more space now). As well as a mandarin if the pod population is looking good by then.

The only fish I plan to add is one small yellow clown goby. And a mandarin, other than that I just want corals and more corals.

Okay, enough stalling, here is what the tank is looking like now:

Let me know what you think!!

 

[Engine8ff]

Man your tank is looking great.

 

[majikmike9999]

great looking tank about to put one together myself thanks so much for sharing the build gives me lots of ideas and inspiration

 

[reefkeeper16]

show us the plumbing

 

[strout]

You have some really nice pieces of LR in the tank. Tank is starting to come together nicely.

 

[wetWolger]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15734860#post15734860 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by reefkeeper16
show us the plumbing

Well, it's not very interesting....but sure

First here is the intakes to the three pumps

The one that extends far is the intake of the skimmer....it sucks close to the output from the overflows. The skimmer is external....after the pump goes to the skimmer, the skimmer overflows back into the fuge. (just left of the frame for the photo)

The yellow panworld pump that feeds the skimmer is eventually going to be replaced with a velocity pump like the others (quest for silence). You may notice that the outputs of all the pumps feeds into plastic tubing. This is vinyl tubing that is reinforced (the fabric stuff), that way to keep it open as maximum as possible and make sure it wont kink. I choose tubing instead of completing it with PVC in an attempt to allow maximum flow. It is not nearly as clean looking (and maybe that is why I am embarrassed to show it all). But the thought was that the gradual bends in the tubbing will not reduce the flow as much as a bunch of 90deg bends.

You may notice that the pumps are mounted above the water level. This was a bit of a mistake to be honest, and eventually I think I will probably lower the pumps (when I replace the last one I imagine). What I have done is you will notice all the vinyl tubing dips down bellow water line, this is done to ensure that the pumps maintain the prime.

If you have any specific questions about the plumbing feel free to ask. I can also provide more photos if you want to see the skimmer output, etc.

When it is all said and done, the plumbing setup seems to be working just fine so far....and on top of all that, the flow in the tank is perfect IMO.

 

[wetWolger]

sadly my two clown fish seemed to die last night. And when it rain's, it pours. I found two other fish today have signs of ich (or what looks like ich, but with yellow spots). I was able to easily remove the infected fish and put them in QT with copper.

I have no idea why BOTH clown fish died last night. Inspecting the still fresh bodies shows no signs of fighting or disease.

Really bummed about losing my clowns, I had one of them for at least 3 years.

On a plus note, my moon lights came in today. They are a ton bighter than I expected, but that can be managed with.

 

[shaneh]

read your build and i love all the info I am setting up a 180 bowfront here is my build so far....still collecting equiptment for the most part.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1628271

how did the back black paint turn out? I was thinking of getting a thin peice of black acrylic cut to fit the back but still be able to see in the overflows.

Also i have been looking for the best pump (s) for the 180 too. I want quite, low watage and low heat, with a good quality pump. I plan to use two as well. good idea incase your pump dies at 3am. What do you think of the Gen x 40 pumps?

good luck I'll keep reading....also just a guess it sounds like your cycle may not have been totally done....that is all i can think of for your fish that sucks! good luck with it

 

[wetWolger]

The black paint looks great. I too can still see into the overflows because as you can see in my pictures, I taped them so that they would not get covered with paint. The idea of black acrylic sounds pretty good. The black definitely made my tank darker, but look much cleaner. Maybe the black acrylic would reflect more light?

Based on what I have heard, the gen X 40 pumps will do everything you want, except be quiet. Really you want everything from the sounds of it, and there just are not any pumps I am aware of that are in particular quiet, and also low heat. You ether get a fan to reduce the heat, or you get the the heat from no fan. Personally I choose to deal with the heat, and have the much MUCH quieter pumps. I have no regrets in my decision, and the heat has not been an issue (even without a chiller).

I don't think your right about the cycle. Yes, I definetly pushed things fast because of my situation with the old tank. But I have continuly watched my Ammonia, Nitrites, and Nitrates....they have all been zero for weeks now, and have never shown any signs of going beyond zero. Thanks for the idea, but I just don't think the cycle was the issue.

I have been thinking though. I did feed a batch of baby brine that I had just hatched the day before both clowns died. I wonder if the batch was infected, or possibly enough hatched eggs got mixed in that caused them to have internal bleeding? It is purely speculation, it just seems weird that both clowns would die after looking so healthy, and after having them so long. And of course this still does not explain the yellow spots on my two clown goby's....

Thanks for the input, and I love any other ideas of things I should check for.

 

[shaneh]

sounds good, I'll look more into black acrylic and let you know if it reflects more. If not i may paint it too. If you find the perfect pump let me know! haha What about Quite one pumps? I have one on my 55 and it is quite. They jsut don't look as solid build as the metal exteral ones. I subscrived to your thread so keep it going!

 

[wetWolger]

Added about 8 frags today. Mostly very beutiful blue, purples, and pink forms of acros. I have never had a lot of acros, so I decided it was definitely time. I want to shift a lot of what kind of corals I am keeping compared to my previous tanks. I also have some new zoa's, both in a very bright green, and a very nice looking red/purple.

I tried taking pictures of the frags, but my phone camera just can't do it. So instead I will just show the best picture (can't have a post without pictures ~.^). This is one of the two pistol shrimps that I added today. I also added a purple firefish. I have not seen the second pistol shrimp I added this morning since I added him. I hope he is just being shy, but this one seems to be very busy. One of the yellow watchmens has already started hanging around in this very large hole he has made. It has about 5 different openings between the rocks. Also the firefish seems to be hiding in there with the shrimp and the yellow watchmen. Quiet a sight to be seen.

 

[strout]

My puter must not be working, I can't see the pics of the 8 frags, lol. How about some FTS of your tank for us.

 

[wetWolger]

I took photos of the frags, but my camera phone just can't cut it (so miss having a camera). Sadly I wont even wast your bandwidth with the photos. I will post photos of the frags as soon as I can borrow a friends camera. I plan to buy a new canon 7D, but it wont be for a while as I have other priorities. And I would rather wait to get the camera I want, than to get something quick and only use it for a couple months.

As soon as I can take good pics, believe me I will post them.

 

[wetWolger]

Been a little while since I have updated....mostly because nothing huge has happened. Been full of up's and downs, but nothing too extreme.

Ups:
* I got lots of new corals, and things are starting to settle in. Among those are mostly arco's and other sps corals. I also got a new clam
* The auto top of is setup and working

Downs:
* The VHO ballast has blown and needs to be replaced.
* I had a tang get a little fungal infection in his eye. Unfortunately he could not be removed and I treated the entire tank with supposedly reef safe meds
* The meds ended up killing both my clown fish. The leather corals were looking bad too but have since returned since I have skimmed most of it out of the water.

But whats even better is that I got a new canon 50D that arrived today. I have barely had my paws on it, but I went ahead and took 20 pictures of the aquarium, and thought I would post them here (no tripod or anything fancy, just making sure it can take photos)

 

[LuvMyBizz]

Looks good so far. I would probably add more rock if it was me. I am going to be putting up the same tank here soon, same gallon size anyways don't know about dimensions. I will follow your thread!

 

[wetWolger]

I definitely don't think I need more rock....even considered taking more of what is already in there and putting it in the fuge....I may however redo some of the rock on the left side, I just can't decide on how. Ideas and suggestions are always welcome!

 

[want2reef]

Nice setup.

Makes me want a bigger tank.

 

[wetWolger]

Still trying to figure out the new camera. The unfortunate part is that the lens I have needs to be stopped down to get any sort of sharpness. So in these photos I tried having the aperture small, and turned the pumps off in hopes to get long exposures. It did not work so well but I thought I would update with some more coral pics (if nothing else to document the sizes).

I can't wait till I can get my 100mm macro (or maybe 150mm, have not decided yet which one I want)

 

[wetWolger]

Few more pics I took with a canon 100mm USM lens i am renting:

Otherwise no updates, just letting things grow in, and trying to keep things stable

 

[shaneh]

what sand did you use i like the color and size?