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

[Brando457]

I am just waiting on my reefrocks order from Oct 7th and I will be copying some of your livstock soon. Thanks again for the advice! Here is a sneak peek for you.

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/1iaKd/embed"></iframe>

 

[nightOwl]

I am just waiting on my reefrocks order from Oct 7th and I will be copying some of your livstock soon. Thanks again for the advice! Here is a sneak peek for you.

<iframe class="imgur-album" width="100%" height="550" frameborder="0" src="http://imgur.com/a/1iaKd/embed"></iframe>

Brando457,
Looks like are coming along nicely· If you are talking about the wrasses take a look at a Orange Backed Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis). I saw one this week and it will be my next fish after the holidays pending no compatibility issues.

Is that a receiver in third picture? If so what type? I picked up one on Black Friday but still looking for speakers.

 

[Brando457]

Third picture it is a panasoic xr (forget model #) receiver. Behind the grills I have my front speakers and you can obviously see the center channel.

DENON AVR-591 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver is what will be replacing my panasonic.

I recommend accessories4less to order, they have factory refurbs for dirt cheap!

I had a trio of orange backed fairy wrasse in my 75g tank, but the person who sold them to me sold me sick fish :/. Lost around $220 for the trio, but I agree they are gorgeous.

 

[nightOwl]

Third picture it is a panasoic xr (forget model #) receiver. Behind the grills I have my front speakers and you can obviously see the center channel.

DENON AVR-591 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver is what will be replacing my panasonic.

I recommend accessories4less to order, they have factory refurbs for dirt cheap!

I had a trio of orange backed fairy wrasse in my 75g tank, but the person who sold them to me sold me sick fish :/. Lost around $220 for the trio, but I agree they are gorgeous.

Brando457,
Thanks for the info. I am going to check out the site you listed, hopefully I can save some money. Speakers as I am finding out can be very expensive!

For the trio you lost was it two females and one male?

General Update - Almost of all of Black Friday has arrived

I am a little behind on updating so here are a few updates. I received two of my Radiums and all 6 of my new T5's from Aquarium Speciality on 12/10. On 12/14 my new CoralVue 660 Ballast arrived (drop-shipped from CoralVue). I was out of town a few days but was able to finish my wiring last night for the frag tank and install the light fixture. The three T5's will replace the single 250 MH I had over the frag tank that was not giving me good coverage and producing too much heat. The T5's are all 14K so I am shooting to get some decent coral growth. I still have the 10K's I ordered a while back. I will be able to put the lights closer to the water surface without the heat that I had from my MH. Also my last Radium arrived last night so I was able to replace my Radiums last night. I am still waiting on my VHO's which are being drop-shipped from UV Lighting. It has almost been a month since I placed the order so I starting to get a little annoyed but Kelly and the staff over at Aquarium Specialty has been great to work with.

For anyone that has used Radiums in the past when they fall off they really fall off in terms of output. I now have 3 back up bulbs from when I did my Pre-Black Friday sale. I will start testing the Radiums monthly as I believe they may not be good for more than 6 months without a substantial fall off.

Order Summary

UV Lighting 36" 39w 75.25 T5 Lamp - 75.25
Ordered: 3
Shipped: 3

Coral Vue 660 Ballast CV-VHO660
Ordered: 1
Shipped: 1

Radium 400 Watt Mogul Base 20,000 K Lamp
Ordered: 3
Shipped: 3

UV Lighting 36" 39w 75.25 T5 Lamp With Reflector 75.25
Ordered: 3
Shipped: 3

UV Lighting 36" Super Actinic VHO Internal Reflector
Ordered: 2

UV Lighting 72" Super Actinic VHO Internal Reflector
Ordered: 4

Tunze Nanostream 6045
Ordered: 2
Shipped: 2​

CoralVue 660

Updated Frag Tank Fixture

Two of my last Radiums...

 

[SPotter]

how much do you charge for tanning sessions under that fixture??????

 

[nightOwl]

how much do you charge for tanning sessions under that fixture??????

Steve,
I am hoping this will make the coals happier...lol. I plan to take some before and after pictures in the coming days and weeks. I have only been running the VHO's on the tank for some time now and everything is brown. Hopefully in a few weeks color will start to come back.

 

[nightOwl]

how much do you charge for tanning sessions under that fixture??????

Steve,
I am hoping this will make the corals happier...lol. I plan to take some before and after pictures in the coming days and weeks. I have only been running the VHO's on the tank for some time now and everything is brown. Hopefully in a few weeks color will start to come back.

 

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Frag Tank Lights

I finally have the lights over the frag tank and wanted to capture a before and /during/after picture. This is what the frag tank looks like as of 12/22. Every thing is pretty much drab and some even bleached out. I am not sure how long it will take for things to color back up but I can see the even lighting over the tank now.

​

General Updates - Black Friday Sales

There is not much to report on this front. Kelly over at Aquarium Specialty updated the notes on my order on Dec 19 that she spoke with Jeff at UV lighting and the super actinics were supposed to be back in stock on Friday 12/21. It has now been over a month on this part of my order but there is still hope...LOL. Hopefully I will get the bulbs before the second week in January. I actually need them at this point as I can see the VHO spectrum changing. I will give them a call today and see if there is any progress.
​

General Updates - Mini Starfish Spawn - 12/22

Over break I decided to do a large water change after noticing my phosphates were a little elevated. I performed a 35 gallon water change and some of the water was not heated (about 20 gals) to the proper temperature. I am thinking this may have triggered the event. When I first noticed what was going on I thought my starfish in my sump were starting to die. I started to see them try to get to the surface one by one. Before long my chetto in my sump was covered with starfish. For a while I did not think any were in the refugium part of my sump since I never see them. It was at that point I realized what was happening and ran to get my camera. The wrasses seemed to love it especially the Red Velvet Wrasse and the skimmer went crazy for a bit as well but after an hour or so the tank cleared back up.

About 20 mins into the event


FTS -This is what the tank looked like about 30 mins into the event.

​

 

[nightOwl]

Well it is a new year and Reef Central seems slower than ever. Other than that its time for updates!!!

General Updates - New Fish on 1/2/2013

Before I went on vacation I had my eye on an Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis) and my LFS still had it in stock so I picked it up yesterday. It is pretty shy but the colors are amazing. I was able to catch a few snaps of it and the details in the fins are amazing.

​

General Updates - New Water Reservoir

My water reservoir has been leaking on me for over two months and I finally got around to replacing it. For the past 2 weeks I have been using my water changing tub as a water reservoir when not doing a water change. Before that I was just using a 7 gallon bucket. I decided to just buy a glass tank and use it. It will allow me to hold more water which means I will not have have to fill up my reservoir as often. Petco had a sale on their 29 gallon tanks which it made it cheaper than the 20 gallon high I originally wanted.

​

General Updates - Fish Pictures

Was able to snap a few shots of the fish yesterday as well. My wrasses are still coloring up nicely.

​

 

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Coral Growth Pictures

08/13/2011

01/02/2013 - On the right from the picture above

09/21/2011

01/02/2013

01/02/2013 - I think this one is on its way out. I am not too worried as I have another mini colony doing fine in another location.

05/18/2012
<img src="http://i1210.photobucket.com/albums/cc413/hcoleman2/Basement%20Remodel/IMG_0652_zpsa3cd4874.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket"/>

01/02/2013

05/30/2012

01/02/2013

​

 

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Coral Growth Pictures - Continued

09/21/2011

01/02/2013

​

 

[SPotter]

Henry.....you make it look so easy to grow corals!!!!!! Also, I think your tank is too small for that orange back so let me take it off of your hands for you and put it in mine :spin3:

Seriously though.....all I can say is WOW!!!! Great job!

 

[nightOwl]

Henry.....you make it look so easy to grow corals!!!!!! Also, I think your tank is too small for that orange back so let me take it off of your hands for you and put it in mine :spin3:

Seriously though.....all I can say is WOW!!!! Great job!

Thanks Steve - I wonder if you would say that if I started posting the ones I lost this past year...LOL. I was looking back through some pictures and was crap I lost a lot of corals...LOL. I like looking back at the growth shots though. I will probably post some more soon. I have some colonies that have really grown! I plan on picking up some new ones in the next couple of weeks.

 

[nightOwl]

Steve - I forgot to mention you can not have the wrasse...LOL. Remember nothing new for you for 3 months . I am off to check out a LFS that usually gets some pretty wrasses in I may have a new one by the end of day .

 

[Brando457]

I have 2 33g brute containers, Im thinking of swapping out for 2 x 29g tanks instead, what you think?

 

[nightOwl]

I have 2 33g brute containers, Im thinking of swapping out for 2 x 29g tanks instead, what you think?

Brando457,
Are these for two separate tanks or just using two containers for more volume? So far I am liking the 29 tank. It sticks out a little bit more than I would like but is working well. I am just worried since it is glass and right at the door entrance. I am thinking of putting a plexiglass side on it or some styrofoam to protect it.

 

[Brando457]

One tank would be for strictly RO storage, the other for when I do my water changes to mix my salt.

 

[nightOwl]

One tank would be for strictly RO storage, the other for when I do my water changes to mix my salt.

Brando457 - I Looked back at my post and realized I put water reservoir instead of top-off water reservoir. That is what my 29 gallon tank is replacing. The one I made kept leaking after I dropped a weight on it. I still have a 33 gallon brute trash can for my main reservoir and an 18 gallon Sterlite container for my water mixing. I like the flexibility of the Sterlite container since I move my water mixing station around from time to time I am not sure glass would be the best option for me. I also try to clean it every other salt change. Instant Ocean sometimes makes a brown film on the container for some reason. You might be on to something with the main water storage container though since I never move it. I will have to do some measuring to see if another tank would fit under my frag stand.

 

[Brando457]

I actually was able to make 2 brutes work fine

Here is a pic of my tank w/ the rock and cycling.

I guess I will start a tank thread soon.

http://imgur.com/a/4DOPC

 

[Brando457]

I actually was able to make 2 brutes work fine

Here is a pic of my tank w/ the rock and cycling.

I guess I will start a tank thread soon.

http://imgur.com/a/4DOPC