Dewey's 180+ gal reef build thread

[deweyhowell]

Nice.. keep the pix coming.. how you like the AP700s?

Couldn't be happier. They are very nice. I like the colors and can tune them however I'd like with flexible programming options.

 

[deweyhowell]

Wow only 50% max these must have some serious flow. I may only need to run 45-50 on my 150. I've read that Neptune recommends to have them on the back wall vs the "traditional" side mount that we are used to doing to get the bounce off the front pane to create a more erratic flow. Do you feel like it's more random flow this way? I may have missed it but whats your stocking plan for your tank.

Yeah, the flow is intense. I dropped to 20% today while everything is getting settled in. There still seems to be good random flow with the gorgs and anemones moving nicely. Probably not SPS intensity at this level, but I will continue to tune as I stock 'er up.

For stocking, I am not 100% yet, but probably a fairly "garden variety" mixed reef. Corals will be LPS and softies, probably won't go SPS at this point. For fish, I like small, rock dwellers, so will have plenty of those, but do plan to have some active swimmers (anthias, wrasses and a tang or two)

 

[deweyhowell]

Second TBS shipment

Second TBS shipment

I had a late, busy night. My second shipment arrived from TBS at 10:30 pm and I began aquascaping and acclimating everything.

The shipment was absolutely amazing. Aquacaping was awesome as every piece of rock was a winner, loaded with life - sponges, tunicates, barnacles, feature dusters. This rock can't be beat.

And the critters ... In addition to the snails, hermits, stars, cucumbers & shrimp that are included in the package, Richard threw in a slew of extras - 2x flame scallops, 4x Gorgs of different types, 2 sponges, 4 frilly deco crabs, 5 rock flower anemones, a clump of green zoas, and even a royal gramma! Amazing!

I kept the previous footprint of my aquascaping in the 180 and just built it up. There still are nice swimming lanes and plenty of rock for the rock dwelling crew. The 75 is chocked full of rock, but has nice depth and structure, not just a flat rock wall.

I took lots of shots, so I will let the pics tell the rest of the story.

 

[deweyhowell]

Floating the critters

Floating the critters

 

[saf1]

Nice job. Cool with regards to TBS also.

Side note - those flame scallops are super looking. I thought those are difficult to keep or not really possible? Not that it matters but those two you have there look heck of red/orange and fully open! Based on everything I've seen and read I'll be placing on order when I'm ready with my next tank.

 

[deweyhowell]

180 Gallon Display

180 Gallon Display

 

[deweyhowell]

75 gallon Refugium/Pest Tank

75 gallon Refugium/Pest Tank

 

[deweyhowell]

Lots of critters

Lots of critters

 

[deweyhowell]

And more critters

And more critters

 

[liverock]

Nice job!

Nice job!

Those are some very happy tanks....great job on aquascaping!

Richard TBS
www.tbsaltwater.com :spin3::spin3::spin3:

 

[rastafarian]

Also have my Nest Cam Video hooked into the media section (which wasn't straightforward to do)

Would you mind sharing how you accomplished this? Did you have to make the camera 'public' in Nest App? Thanks!

 

[deweyhowell]

Would you mind sharing how you accomplished this? Did you have to make the camera 'public' in Nest App? Thanks!

Sure. Yes, you have to make it public and you have to do the following:

1. make the camera public
2. go into Nest settings to get the public URL
3. load in a web browser
4. once it loads, view the page source
5. look for application/x-mpegURL in the page HTML, it will look something like this:

<source src="https://stream-delta.dropcam.com:443/nexus_aac/94d59f75678342dd934a4eef2c9c5572/playlist.m3u8" type="application/x-mpegURL">

6. in the apex media section use the src URL and choose MPEG-4 as the type

You only have to do this once, since the public URL doesn't change.

I've discovered I actually like viewing in the nest app better since I can zoom and move around the image in ways I can not with the embedded video in the apex app.

HTH,
Dewey

 

[natedogg]

Where did you buy the tank, stand, and sump?
Nice setup!

 

[deweyhowell]

Where did you buy the tank, stand, and sump?
Nice setup!

I worked with Barrier Reef Aquariums here in Seattle. They ordered the tank, stand and sump from Planet Aquariums. Very happy so far!

 

[deweyhowell]

Here are some updated shots

Here are some updated shots

So far (only 6 weeks in) things are thriving. Sponges all look healthy and in fact have shown growth. Corals - softies and LPS are looking good so far.

Main Display



Refugium/Pest



And some animals that call the tanks home:

 

[deweyhowell]

and some more ...

and some more ...

 

[deweyhowell]

a few more corals

a few more corals

 

[deweyhowell]

Live Feed

Live Feed

Here a live nest cam feed at the 4 month mark

https://video.nest.com/live/kxE1hi

 

[frankabagnale]

Sweet!