DaveJ's 300G Build

[DaveJ]

I do get excited about new corals, those of you who know me know that with each coral I put into the tank there is a bit of excitement that goes along with it. One of the primary reasons this is true is that I do not put just anything into my tank(s). I don't put anything that I don't like or don't think about before hand. I consider where it will go, what to place it next to to best display its colors and attributes etc.

I don't just put coral in the tank to have coral in other words

Well, my wish list is short and very hard to find (these days) corals. I am happy to introduce to you the one chalice that I have actually had to wait 4-5 months to obtain.

I give you the Prism Chalice via Juicy....

My single eye frag arrived this morning and I was so excited I needed to get on here and post it. This is one of the most unique and colorful chalices around at this time. There is some debate on if its a chalice or not, it may be a type of favia but one thing for certain, to quote Billy Crystal...."It's simply marvelous........."

Next on the list.... those should round out the 'collector' corals that were planned to go into this tank. If you happen to have frags of either of these, drop me a PM.

Aquarium City Selago
Upscales A.Microlados
ORA German Green Acro with Purple Polyps
Afterburner Chalice

 

[DaveJ]

Got some really nice zoanthids and palys from Bill (Neptunes Cove - Plano TX) yesterday... here are a few quick shots, nothing fancy and yes that white stuff is white Dead coraline will do that when its been sitting in the garage for a week then re-installed. These are actually in the frag tank for now. I'll find proper homes for them in the 300G once they settle in.

There are a few others on the big rock with those cream colored palys that I need to frag off which were the reason I bought the rock to begin with. They were closed when I took these shots, but are really a very cool zoanthid, with multi-colors of red, lavender, yellow and orange. Kind of a calidoscope of colors with some interesting patterns.

Bill uses some names that he is used to, and I'll attach the Zoaid names as much as possible on these.

Organism Palys

These are Star Wars Palys, due to the silver mouth. Those were Ultimate Frags name for it, though they are similar to the Darth Mauls, but at this size they don't have the thicker red spokes yet.

Xmen Paly's per Bill's and I concur, also known in some circles as Lunar Eclipses. There was a lot of debate on the Xmen vs Lunar and most of the folks agree that they are the same morph, just different lighting conditions make the faint spots/dashes appear. I'll probably cut this in two and keep one high and one low to demonstrate or encourage the color changes at a later date.

Forgot what Bill called these... but they are very colorful.

Raspberry Cremes

Forget the name on these as well

 

[gsxunv04]

you could daisy chain your gfo and carbon reactors. very nice setup however.

 

[BigJay]

Good stuff Dave, I still want to see it in person sometime.

 

[Sisterlimonpot]

Coming along nicely, you have some beautiful frags!!

 

[DaveJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15167892#post15167892 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gsxunv04
you could daisy chain your gfo and carbon reactors. very nice setup however.

Thanks, I appreciate that.

Yep, they can be chained but my experience has been the carbon ends up getting clogged up a bit more than the GFO, so I end up changing it more often and having it separate is a little easier. I also use different flow rates on both so having them independent works better for me in that regard since adjusting them one at a time is easier.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15168379#post15168379 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by BigJay
Good stuff Dave, I still want to see it in person sometime.

Welcome anytime or make the tank tour at the end of the month!!

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15169613#post15169613 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Sisterlimonpot
Coming along nicely, you have some beautiful frags!!

Thank you, I'm looking forward to seeing them grow up and fill in the open areas Figure another 6 months and it will look much better.

 

[rEd86]

I just had the opportunity to see Dave's tank first-hand yesterday. It was great to see his setup and the incredible selection of corals he has.

I look forward to seeing how you skin your tank/hood and how everything comes together.

--Ed

 

[rort]

[/B]

wow...

 

[DaveJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15170397#post15170397 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rEd86
I just had the opportunity to see Dave's tank first-hand yesterday. It was great to see his setup and the incredible selection of corals he has.

I look forward to seeing how you skin your tank/hood and how everything comes together.

--Ed

Thanks, it was nice having you over. To be honest, I can't wait for the skinning either. The wood we selected for the vaneer and the ledge that will go around the base of the tank itself is absolutely stunning, I just hope I can capture the grain detail in the photos.

 

[Lightsluvr]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14983500#post14983500 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by DaveJ
Next, I borrowed (stole) a design I found here on RC for the light rack/fixture.

Currently there is a 1/4" sag in the rack which doesn't seem to be effecting the lighting at all. Since I was able to use a single run of the aluminum tubing on both sides, I am comfortable with the stability and strength at this time but it was a little worrisome until it was up.

Likewise, I borrowed a design I saw here on RC. My light rack is under construction in my build thread. I noticed your comment about a 1/4" sag, and that doesn't seem like much over that long a spread...

What size and wall thickness tubing did you use?

How is the light rack working out for you now?

I would appreciate your comments on my version of the design...

LL

 

[Hungriee]

this is one real nice build. I'll be following along.

Is the tank's overflow a special request? I've seen the 300g marineland tanks but w/ corner flows only. what do you use to power your flow aside from the return pump?

 

[Hungriee]

i just read it again .. it says on first post, ill wait on more updates

 

[DaveJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15179858#post15179858 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Lightsluvr
Likewise, I borrowed a design I saw here on RC. My light rack is under construction in my build thread. I noticed your comment about a 1/4" sag, and that doesn't seem like much over that long a spread...

What size and wall thickness tubing did you use?

How is the light rack working out for you now?

I would appreciate your comments on my version of the design...

LL

The sag doesn't bother me too much because I know its secure. The rack itself has been reinforced and there are single tube runs along the perimeter so I am sure it won't collapse. However, if it was done differently, there would be some concerns. The tubes themselves are not the problem, its the connectors. As I mentioned previously, the only thing I would change if I did another rack would be to use the steel core connectors instead of the 100% composite. That would fix everything. So far the rack works just perfectly... I am very happy with it.

I don't know the thickness of the tubing, but here is where I got it from.

http://eztube.com/index.html

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15180874#post15180874 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hungriee
this is one real nice build. I'll be following along.

Is the tank's overflow a special request? I've seen the 300g marineland tanks but w/ corner flows only. what do you use to power your flow aside from the return pump?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15180890#post15180890 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hungriee
i just read it again .. it says on first post, ill wait on more updates

Thank you, I appreciate that.

 

[DaveJ]

I was over helping a friend do some re-aquascaping of his tank after a crash due to power outage. We had to pick up some saltwater from a LFS, True Percula today... well I ended up with a couple of new corals.

First up is a sick Echinata.... Purple/Blue base, bright neon Orange eyes with a bit of yellow and red in them, along with a very unusual green rim. This is referred to as a Rainbow Watermelon Echinata and is a cross between a Echinata and Chalice in its growth pattern.

Last up is a very lovely Favia colony. This colony is very similar to the Peace Coral, but a different species probably Minuta. The eyes are a lavender pink/purple with a green/lime skirt/border.

 

[Dave's Reef]

Nice set up and tank Dave, I like your light rack too!

It'll be interesting to see the tank mature. By the way I'm curious, how does your blue throat trigger do with your coral and small crustaceans? I'm contemplating a Saragassum trigger or a blue throat so, I'd like to here your experience.

Thanks

 

[DaveJ]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=15235378#post15235378 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave's Reef
Nice set up and tank Dave, I like your light rack too!

It'll be interesting to see the tank mature. By the way I'm curious, how does your blue throat trigger do with your coral and small crustaceans? I'm contemplating a Saragassum trigger or a blue throat so, I'd like to here your experience.

Thanks

Thanks for the compliments, I appreciate it. The BT doesn't bother anything up to this point. He was a little aggressive with the anthias, but didn't hurt any of them. He just charged at a couple of them. So far as I can tell, he hasn't bothered any snails. I have some peps in the tank, but rarely see them so I don't know if he has eaten them or not. I've had several BT's previously (lost when they jumped twice) and they never did anything to the cleaners that were with them.