finally beginning my 480g 5'x5'x30" SPS Reef Tank

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=10502191#post10502191 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by thirschmann
bart - did you request a goodwin AC for your chiller or did the unit come standard that way. Thanks
Click to expand...

thats what he had sent me, but i didn't request that. i am very happy with the unit. i guess you can give him a call to see. i have never bought grey flex sorry on thast one, but since i knew the guys at HD. i got the best deal at contractor wholesale prices on all my plumbing.
 
eric - funny how things like that happy, definetely a small world. I would have said that was my brother's red ferrari but I know he wasn't there. I would like to know who can afford the car and the reef tank, lucky guy.

And I'm looking forward to taking inventory of my equipment. I will only have time for that when I get back as I start Crummer business school 2 days after I get back.


bart - I'll drop Hal a line, seems like a really nice guy. I'm sure it will be the same quality unit but just to make sure.


Does anyone have opinions on putting a vlamingi on my fish list. Another great looking fish.
Would still like some opinions on greyspa flex suppliers from anyone who's got an answer for me.
 
carloskoi - I know, very cool though... hate to get a fish I have to get rid of at some point. Hmmm

ebolii - its the great white with the chloramine buster.



btw I finally opted to go with 2 barracudas over 1 hammerhead for my filtration to insure i have enough flow for all of my components. Should I hook them up to one manifold or two seperate manifolds?
 
I pondered a vlamingi for a long time, and too be frank, nearly got one, but the fact is, if you have ever seen a grown one, they get totally huge. I finally decided that my reef would look more realistic with smaller fish, and am still looking for a school of 40 - 50 fish that stay under 3".

As far as the pumps go, I power my entire return system with a Hammerhead but I don't subscribe to high flow sumps. Seperate manifolds seems to be smarter in that you would have the option of isolating them like when you take a pump offline. Hard to understand what you mean without a drawing though. :)
 
The vlamingi is a cool looking fish but that fact that it grows to 2' is a little daunting. I have never seen one in person so I can only imagine what a 2' fish looks like in a 5' tank, must be really depressing. I was wondering how fast they grow from their juvinel state, eventhough I hate to get rid of my fish once i have them so.... damn it.

Maybe you can get a really creepy school of 50 purple firefish :D

I am an equipment junky and think I need the flow from those pumps to run everything at peak efficiency. Seperate manifolds it is then, and thanks for busting my balls about the drawings. They will be coming along soon and there is nothing you can do to stop me.

As always, thanks for the advice.
 
no firefish for me dude...I have seen too many of them flopping on LFS' floors for my comfort level. Especially since I have the open Diamond reflectors with 1000W lamps! :lol:

I have seen a nearly full grown vlamingi in an 8' tank and while I admired the fish, I don't think it was having much fun.

As far as pumps go, I went for just the one for long-term electrical usage. I am not in the same tax bracket as most of these reef nuts so I wanted to be as efficient as possible, hence the three 1000W lamps on movers instead of 12 - 14 400W lamps. But you know, why don't you use two Hammerheads?
 
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I was joking about the firefish... though they would be nicely cooked on their flight path out of your tank.

Sounds to depressing to keep a vlamingi, maybe I'll get a baby and pass it on to seaworld when it reachs 8"

I was going to use two hammerheads but decided I didn't get enought flow :D . So I'm going to use a hammerhead for my main return and use the two barracudas for my manifolds, I can always tune them down if I have to or take one out if I have I seriously over estimated my flow needs. I am concerned about electrical use as well but I hope that I can save a few watts by going the solaris route. Only time will tell. Maybe I will go broke and then you all can buy up my equipment cheap.
 
I am first in line..hhahahahh Just kidding..Not really..Yes I am..Not really..PM me ..hahah

ANyway..Damm your gona have some nice flow..

30 to 50 schooling fish would be incredible. I am dieing to have a school of something. My wife isn't really impressed by green Chromis. I like them.. 30 anthias would add up big time. Maybe I will go broke before thirschmann.
 
we should take bets to see who will be cashing in their food stamps for fish food first. We can all line up on the 1st and 15th to keep our habit going.

Than we have to explain to the welfare office how we can have a $800 utility bill yet still need their help.

"Will work for frags"
 
Man this tank is going to be awsome.. You have some good fish choices. Even though your tank is large i doubt the clown tang will get along with a sohal tang if you do add one. I think you should give another emp a try. Its a risk with corals but if it works out for you would be a great addition!
 
and vlamingis look their best when they are small. When they get big, they get kind of ugly.

I am not sure I buy the whole Solaris thing. I have seen them twice in person now, and most recently at the NorthWestern Coral Farmers Market. They had a side-by-side display with halides (not sure how big) and PAR meters under each showing a much higher PAR for the Solaris. But really, the halide was brighter to my eye and others looking at it agreed. I know the two are not synonomous, but I still can't get by what my eyes tell me. I certainly wouldn't use it on a very deep tank.

You can forget a school of green chromis right now. It doesn't work. Check out this thread. I think they probably have a natural inclination to thin the herd in the wild too, to keep the bloodline strong.

There has been discussion regarding red spot cardinals and this thread has some of the scientific names. These are being kept in schools primarily in Japanese tanks as that is where they come from.

Here are some more links:

http://reeftuners.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=238&pid=3415&mode=threaded&start=#entry3415
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=525173&highlight=apogon

http://saltcorner.com/sections/zoo/fish/cardinalfishes/apogon/Aparvulus.htm
http://www.meerwasser-lexikon.de/eng/0/1552/Apogon/parvulus.htm
http://test.water-frame.com/index.htm?/ansicht-verhalten-15-rdi54157.htm
 
i know when i purchased a 2" vlamingi 1 month ago, now he's 4" and eats all the food before everyone gets a chance. i am just getting him ready for my next ocean build 1400gal :lol: . electric cost down here is very reasonable, hopefully it will stay this way if not i will be parting out all my equipment and getting out this hobby for good :smokin: . Tom its always better if you have sketches before posting anything up. you know your sketch skill will be a lot better then the pics you take :D
 
lol, I don't think you mens will be going broke. Don't put those vibes out there! When do we get to see some work done on this tank? ;-) If you all want to be nice though, if you are feeling giving, you could donate your old tanks to me when you upgrade! And your other various items =) Cause I know how it is....the tank can never be too big.

I'm saving for a 120 Tech! Nothing compared to yours! Can't wait to see it up and running. Eric your puppy is really cute! Is it a pit bull?
 
yobojdizz - Thanks for the kind comments. Good fish choices... well help me strive for great. Maybe there is room for an idol in my tank.... j/k, I don't consider my self experienced enough for that fish yet, don't know if I ever will be. I do love the way they look though. Congrats on your success.



jonathan - I know there is a lot of criticism surround the solaris fixture and I don't really understand how they work. In my limited experience with the fixture I would say that they produce a very satisfactory amount of light and I must say that when I first put them on my 120 I wasn't solidly impressed by the look of the light in the tank... but that lasted about 10 minutes and I have to say that I really really like the way it looks now and I don't think I would go back to MH unless some shocking weakness of these fixtures comes out. Only time will tell.

red cardinals aye.. they look very interesting. I strive to keep very colorful and unique fish, not that I have total achieved that at all, but a small school of these guys (10 or so) would hardly impact my bioload and would certainly add to the diversity of my tank. Seems like I might have yet another school of fish to add to my tank. I'm really looking forward to have 2 small schools of anthias, I have always had a soft spot for those guys and have been successful at keeping them.



bart - Well I'll let you give me the results on your vlamingi in a few months when its time to stock my tank. Looking forward to see how he gets along but it sounds like he grows like crazy. I am already considering a bigger tank, I must be crazy.

Whoever gets out of the hobby first should agree to notify the other, so at least one of us gets out on top. Don't hold your breath though, don't see that happening EVER.

More Sketchup stuff is coming, you know you want it. :D



marinegirl411 - I am hoping to be back in two weeks exactly, if all goes well. And I really really hope it does. I would be more then happy to donate some surplus supplies to you once I am done setting up my tank, and god knows I have plenty of left over equipment from my old tank. A lot of it is promised to friends but PM me and I will let you know what I have when I get this wrapped up.

My previous tank was a Oceanic 120 tech and it is a GREAT tank. I hope you get years of enjoyment out of it. I put 2 tunze 6101's in there and the flow was amazing. Let me know if I can help with anything.
 
Vlamingi's at Atlantis Marine World Long Island NY.

just wow. you just have to have the right size tank. 20,000 gallons make them look small.

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/reefski/AMW-vlamingis-3.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/reefski/AMW-many-fish-good-shot.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>

<a href="http://photobucket.com" target="_blank"><img src="http://i93.photobucket.com/albums/l58/reefski/AMW-vlamingis-3-1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photo Sharing and Video Hosting at Photobucket"></a>
 
That's what I'm planning for my next tank :D ... I wish. That's awesome

5.jpg


1.jpg


4.jpg


Forgot to tag the direction of waterflow in the line. The top line is output and the bottom line is input to chiller. The process is water flows into manifold, then UV, then main chiller, then backup chiller, and back to the main sump.
2.jpg



Enjoy and as always please critise to your hearts content.
 
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