Barely made the club but time for my 180 upgrade (Warning: Progress may be slow)

[nightOwl]

I finally tested my generator. It is loud but looks like it will do what I need it to do in case of any bad weather. Hopefully my area will not be affected by the storm.

General Updates - Frag Tank Lighting

Well this evening I was able to finish the wiring for the new ballast with a few modifications to the aluminum frame. After all was set and done the lights did not come on. I took everything apart and checked for incorrect wiring and could not find any issues. After about 30 mins or so I think it was defective AquaticLife bulbs. I even rewired it to only two bulbs and still no light. I did not have a chance to prove it but I could hear something moving in the bulbs when I turned them upside down even right out the box. I am going to make a trip to Petco to buy a cheap bulb to test that it is not a ballast issue.


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[nightOwl]

General Updates - Pre Black Friday sales

It has been a little while since the last update. There was a Halloween sale at Aquarium Specialty and I decided to pick up a few items. I was looking back and I took the picture below back on 11/1. I needed bulbs so I scooped these up along with two new Mag 5 pumps and some more Amino Acids. With the new pumps I can have one dedicated pump for my QT and one for my water changes. Previously when I had the QT tank set up water changes were done with a 2 gallon bucket.

General Updates - Top-down Pictures

A few more top-downs

 

[SPotter]

You know Henry....you keep telling me that you havent been paying attention to your tank and youve lost a little interest in it...well maybe I should do the same becauase your tank is the nicest "neglected" tank I've ever seen!!!!!

Looks great!!!!!

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

 

[nightOwl]

You know Henry....you keep telling me that you havent been paying attention to your tank and youve lost a little interest in it...well maybe I should do the same because your tank is the nicest "neglected" tank I've ever seen!!!!!

Looks great!!!!!

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

Steve - I need to carry the camera down stairs and take some pictures so you can see the wires hanging over the frag tank. The algae growing on the front and side glass and the skimmer that I now clean every 3-4 days. Which is probably why my phosphates are up. I am trying to get back to the routine after Thanksgiving.

 

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Growth Shots

Took a few shots tonight of my red milli and decided to put together a growth shot collage. Its coming along pretty nicely for a frag that is not mounted in a stable location.

General Updates - Red and Green Crabs

I picked up four Emerald Mythrax Crabs - (Mithrax sculptus) to help keep the tank clean. I need to add some more scavengers to the tank and over the next few weeks plan to pick up some new critters. The color reminded me of Christmas.

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[SPotter]

Nice pics Henry!!!! I love my emerald crabs. I put 6 or 8 of them in my tank when I noticed some bubble algae popping up in my DT. Since adding them, the BA is gone!!!!

 

[epicurus84]

Really beautifull crabs.

 

[nightOwl]

Nice pics Henry!!!! I love my emerald crabs. I put 6 or 8 of them in my tank when I noticed some bubble algae popping up in my DT. Since adding them, the BA is gone!!!!

Steve,
So far I have seen them munching away at any small amount they find which is a good thing. My clean up crew has taken a little beating so I am going to stock back up this week.

Really beautifull crabs.

epicurus84,
Thank you very much. I was hoping I would see the red ones a little more but I have only seen them twice since I put them in the tank. The green ones I have spotted a few times.


General Updates - Black Friday shipments on the way

As with many reefers Black Friday sales lured me in (again) so over the next week I should have some new updates on things I purchased.​

 

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Part One Black Friday

Thursday I was happy to see two rather large boxes on my doorsteps when I arrived home after work. I was in need of a few things and took advantage of a few black friday sales. I was able to a buy new camera among other things and so far I am loving my new purchase. Bulk Reef Supply had a pretty good deal on their "Value Plus" RO/DI system. This thing is loaded with features from the automatic shut off valve, membrane flush kit, dual TDS meter, canister wrench, two adapters, and a pressure gauge. Best of all this thing is plug and play. I will get it installed today sometime between the football games.

Value Plus Unit

Replacement Filters

Three Two Part packages and two Magnesium

When I purchase my set up it came with a used JBJ auto top off kit. I really like how compact it is and the way it looks. The only issue was it only had one float switch. Lately the float switch has been sticking so I decided to replace the whole unit.

New Auto Top-off

GFO

6lbs of Pukani rock

Screws for T5 reflector on Frag tank - finally

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[nightOwl]

General Updates - Part One Black Friday- Continued

I plan on installing one in my water reservoir so i can send an alarm when the water gets low. The other will be installed in my sump when the water gets too high.
Float switch

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General Updates - General Pictures

I finally was able to capture a decent shot of my Spotted Tang (Ctenochaetus truncatus) with the new camera. The increased frames per second should help me get tons of new pictures of my fish now.

Spotted Tang

Feeding time

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[SPotter]

Henry, everything looks amazing as always!!!! those frags on the rack look awesome!!!! Can you share with us what your water parameters are?

 

[nightOwl]

Henry, everything looks amazing as always!!!! those frags on the rack look awesome!!!! Can you share with us what your water parameters are?

Thanks Steve...I will try to get the water tests this week. Three of the frags on the rack are the ones we talked about. Are you getting closer to accepting frags again?

 

[SPotter]

I am ready buddy!!!!

 

[nightOwl]

I am ready buddy!!!!

Steve,
Sounds good I will frag the caps tonight or tomorrow and ship out to you next week. I picked up a box at lunch today but not sure its big enough.

 

[Ojos22]

Henry,

very nice updates. It has been a while since I checked in on your build. It appears that everything is doing great! How do you like the auto top off system? I am thinking about getting one since I am evaporating a couple of gallons a day. Except even if I would have one on the main tank I would still have to top off the frag tank which is is evaporating almost as much.

 

[nightOwl]

Henry,

very nice updates. It has been a while since I checked in on your build. It appears that everything is doing great! How do you like the auto top off system? I am thinking about getting one since I am evaporating a couple of gallons a day. Except even if I would have one on the main tank I would still have to top off the frag tank which is is evaporating almost as much.

Thanks Jon. Things are coming along pretty good. Most of my pictures are gone due to the recent Webshots shutdown.

I really like the auto top off system. Now that I have both float switches I can avoid running my maxi-jet dry which I have done recently when the old one got stuck. BRS had a geat deal on them during Black Friday weekend. I think they have a pretty competitive price even with no sale.

How is the Chevron Tang and tank doing?

 

[Ojos22]

Chevron is great, so is the tank. Everything is slowly growing and I have had no issues. I have been looking into auto top offs just to make things more consistant. Can you PM me some pictures once you have it set up or post them on your thread here?

 

[nightOwl]

Chevron is great, so is the tank. Everything is slowly growing and I have had no issues. I have been looking into auto top offs just to make things more consistant. Can you PM me some pictures once you have it set up or post them on your thread here?

Jon,
You are in luck. I took my new camera downstairs this morning in hopes of getting a new FTS and a feeding video this evening when I get home from work. I will getting some pictures posted tonight.

 

[nightOwl]

I could not get a good FTS today but did manage to get two side shots. I really need to clean the glass.

 

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Black Friday Partial Shipment

I picked these up during the Black Friday sales and they arrived earlier this week. I am still waiting on my bulbs and ballast as they are being drop-shipped from the manufactures. These are much smaller than I expected the boxes themselves look tiny but the flow is great . I have yet to decide on the placement which is another reason I did not get a FTS tonight.

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