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

[SPotter]

What no pictures??????

 

[nightOwl]

SPotter,
Here a few updated pics .

I have a video but for some reason when I try to upload to my webshots account it has some type of hum in it. Really annoying.
Front Tank Shot

I attached my surge protector for the pump that sits in the trash can. You can see the surge protector on the left side of the stand. In the past I have filled the trashcan with 30 gallons of water and then used that water to refill my top off and make new salt water.
Frag Tank Stand

Three Outlet Groups -

 

[kayaking2]

Looking good.

 

[nightOwl]

Thanks kayaking2.

 

[nightOwl]

General- Update

I do not have too many big many updates to report. I added handles to my drawers that are under the tank stand. Did some more painting. Started returning extra plumbing parts that I did not need - I could open my own plumbing store.

I contacted Reeflo about the sound the pump was making and the news was not good . The sound I am hearing is the beginning of the bearings about to go. The good thing is they will replace bearings, clean the pump, and return it for a fee. This will extend the warranty on the pump. From speaking to them the customer service seems to be pretty good. I think I will just buy a new pump.

I plugged in the two heaters I have to check them and found out one is not working! The light comes on and it appears to be working but is not putting out any heat. Another thing that has to be purchased now .

Another thing I am working on is getting the Apex controller internet access. I have yet to configure this thing. I purchased a Linksys E2000 router and installed DD-WRT on it. I just need to configure it to be a repeater bridge . Then I do not have stand and tinker with the small screen of the Apex. I will be able to configure it from my computer upstairs. I already have the Ethernet cable in place I just hope it reaches all the way to the Apex.

One final small thing is I ADDED SALT !!! . So the tank is now running salt. I have added one full box of Reef Crystals. I will pick up more this weekend. I also plugged in the skimmer and the small bubbles are such a thing of beauty . I am still playing around with the flow in the tank but it seems to be pretty nice. I have not configured the Apex, but I am letting the pumps run on the variable speed port. The Tunze pumps move water and are silent! I am a fan. I will visit the grocery store for some shrimp and pantyhose this week. The pantyhose are to put the shrimp in as I hear they get pretty nasty once they start decomposing. The cycling process well be underway by next week. I also have a couple of bags of live sand I will be adding to help jump start the process.
​

 

[SPotter]

Very nice!!!! And thank you for the clarification on the panty hose

 

[Nwest]

wow...great build! I am a little late but jumping on the train and following this all the way.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Man you put a lot of time into this build..looks nice, but when do we get to see fish and corals? :fish1:

 

[BowieReefer84]

I am sooooo bored waiting for livestock lol. You should help cycle the tank with some MB7 or Prodibio Digest. Will go much faster...

Looking good.

 

[nightOwl]

Very nice!!!! And thank you for the clarification on the panty hose

SPotter -Man when I was previewing the draft of my first version looked and read it I immediately decided I needed to clarify .

wow...great build! I am a little late but jumping on the train and following this all the way.

Nwest - Welcome to the upgrade party…You are joining at the right time salt is in the tank!

Man you put a lot of time into this build...looks nice, but when do we get to see fish and corals? :fish1:

SaltwaterAdict – Welcome to the party. Thanks for the compliments. It has been a considerable amount of time, but I probably could have done it sooner if I really buckled down. Fish and corals will be coming. I am going to start my list of the corals I must have this weekend .

I am sooooo bored waiting for livestock lol. You should help cycle the tank with some MB7 or Prodibio Digest. Will go much faster...Looking good.

BowieReefer84 – I am right there with you! I have been spending the last few days just coming down the stairs and looking at the tank and envisioning how it is going to look once grown in.

General Updates – Skimmer

I just wanted to show a few pictures from Friday. Everything has been off since late Friday night since the pump sounds like death is knocking at its door. You will notice the blue cup in the picture. Even though the ball valves are off they are leaking a little. Not a lot but I may change them out for a better quality ball valve. Until them the cup will do . I put the skimmer in to start breaking it in and it is looking good. No shrimp had been added when the picture was taken.

Skimmer Breaking In

Skimmer Breaking In – Up Close

Skimmate - From only running the skimmer and return a total of 6-8 hours. No adjustments were made just out the box into the sump and plugged in. I am really liking the potential of this skimmer.

So I decided to skip the whole pantyhose thing! I was looking through my items and found a bag I had for some phosphate removal media. It has a velcro top to seal the shrimp in.

I made a trip to the grocery store on Friday and picked up a half a pound of shrimp. They have been in the tank since Friday. The only pumps on in the tank are the two Tunze pumps. Tomorrow I will turn the return and skimmer back on for a few hours.

​

General – Reeflo Snapper

I will order a new pump this week or next week so progress will be slower for the next two weeks or so then pick back up.
​

 

[nightOwl]

Below is a list of the current Corals in my tank give or take a few. Some of these will no longer be in my main display or will moved to my frag tank. There are few more I could not remember but I am too lazy to go downstairs and look in the tank.

• Miyagi Tort
• Baby Blue Snowflake Polyp
• Green Slimmer
• Ly Seng Cap
• Orange Cap
• Idaho Grape Cap
• Tyree Baby Blue Polyp Cap
• Neon Green Cap
• Superman Monti
• Sunset Monti
• Rainbow Monti
• Laker Monti
• Purple Monti with green Polyps Monti
• Crayola Plana
• ATL Purple Bonsai
• Garf Bonsai
• Teal Tipped Acro
• Neon Green Birds Nest
• Green Pocillopora
• Pink Cats Paw or Pocillopora
• Miami Orchard
• Watermelon Milli
• Tri Color Acro
• Blue Acro
• Blue tipped Acro
• Ice Blue Tipped Acro
• Candle Light Acro
• German Blue Digi
• Pink Digi
• Nuclear Greens
• Purple Deaths

Now its off to think of the list of corals I want.

 

[BowieReefer84]

Must haves -

1. Jedi Mindtrick Monti
2. Monti Setosa
3. The shaggy green milli from Graham

 

[nightOwl]

Must haves -

1. Jedi Mindtrick Monti
2. Monti Setosa
3. The shaggy green milli from Graham

BowieReefer84,
Do you know where I can find a good picture of the Jedi Mind Trick? I have searched but all I come up with is frag pics. The Setosa is a currently number 8 on my list . Is that shaggy green milli the neon green one or the regular green one?

 

[BowieReefer84]

BowieReefer84,
Do you know where I can find a good picture of the Jedi Mind Trick? I have searched but all I come up with is frag pics. The Setosa is a currently number 8 on my list . Is that shaggy green milli the neon green one or the regular green one?

Uhhh... well here is my frag under very natural lighting ->



As it has grown the rim is larger with color. Not sure what you are looking for, but hope this helps.

As far as the milli, it is neon green and shaggy. Very nice piece.

EDIT - Not sure how to downsize image. Here is another more recent


and the milli

 

[nightOwl]

BowieReefer84,
Thanks for the picture of the Jedi Mind Trick I am looking for a pretty good sized colony to see how the color is distributed as it get bigger. Is the "glowing" edge only on the growth edge? What is the base and polyp color for yours? The picture was a little blurry for me.

I think my milli was something like that one. For some reason milli's do not like my tank. The picture below is the one I had back in 2008. I tried to see if I had it in 2004 when I first started off with my 55.

 

[nightOwl]

I am really loving this skimmer. Today I came home and turned everything on and within 30 minutes of being on the skimmer was getting some good skimmate.

Three hours later it was even better.

I am going to let it run over night and see how much skimmate I have in the morning. The bag the shrimp are in has some type of fungus growth on it. Looks like a sponge of some sort but it moves with the flow of the pumps. I will try to snap a picture tomorrow.

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

Below is a list of the current Corals in my tank give or take a few. Some of these will no longer be in my main display or will moved to my frag tank. There are few more I could not remember but I am too lazy to go downstairs and look in the tank.

• Miyagi Tort
• Baby Blue Snowflake Polyp
• Green Slimmer
• Ly Seng Cap
• Orange Cap
• Idaho Grape Cap
• Tyree Baby Blue Polyp Cap
• Neon Green Cap
• Superman Monti
• Sunset Monti
• Rainbow Monti
• Laker Monti
• Purple Monti with green Polyps Monti
• Crayola Plana
• ATL Purple Bonsai
• Garf Bonsai
• Teal Tipped Acro
• Neon Green Birds Nest
• Green Pocillopora
• Pink Cats Paw or Pocillopora
• Miami Orchard
• Watermelon Milli
• Tri Color Acro
• Blue Acro
• Blue tipped Acro
• Ice Blue Tipped Acro
• Candle Light Acro
• German Blue Digi
• Pink Digi
• Nuclear Greens
• Purple Deaths

Now its off to think of the list of corals I want.

Wow, sounds like an awesome list! What tank are these corals currently residing in?

 

[SaltwaterAdict]

SaltwaterAdict "“ Welcome to the party. Thanks for the compliments. It has been a considerable amount of time, but I probably could have done it sooner if I really buckled down. Fish and corals will be coming. I am going to start my list of the corals I must have this weekend .

Sound like a plan, can't wait.

 

[nightOwl]

SaltwaterAdict,
The corals are in my neglected 90 gallon with the 20 gallon attached tank.

General Updates - Coral Wish List
I have come up with my first stab at corals I think will eventually go in the tank. I choose the corals below for a few reasons: growth pattern, color intensity, coralite pattern, photo potential, and finally because they look pretty . In no particular order here is the list I have so far. I have seen a few that I did not have a name per say but were very nice none the less. I may try my hand at some millis again. I love the way they sway with water movement in the tank.

• Pink Lemonade
• Oregon Tort or Cali Tort
• Raspberry Limeade
• Fire and Ice
• Orange Crush
• Setosa Monti
• Purple Plasma

 

[BowieReefer84]

SaltwaterAdict,
The corals are in my neglected 90 gallon with the 20 gallon attached tank.

General Updates - Coral Wish List
I have come up with my first stab at corals I think will eventually go in the tank. I choose the corals below for a few reasons: growth pattern, color intensity, coralite pattern, photo potential, and finally because they look pretty . In no particular order here is the list I have so far. I have seen a few that I did not have a name per say but were very nice none the less. I may try my hand at some millis again. I love the way they sway with water movement in the tank.

• Pink Lemonade
• Oregon Tort or Cali Tort
• Raspberry Limeade
• Fire and Ice
• Orange Crush
• Setosa Monti
• Purple Plasma

Orange Crush, as in Acan Enchinata Orange Crush, or an sps?