JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system

[jnarowe]

I have 4 - 1" return lines, 1 - 1" reactor line, 1 - 1" DSB line, and I still need to redirect some flow back into the sump that feeds the pump. The Hammerhead will handle just about whatever you can throw at it IMO.

And my HH is on the floor, feeding a manifold that is above the tank water line.

 

[NexDog]

Okay, fantastic. Daily grind almost out the way, can start doing tank work.

 

[NexDog]

Just orderd 50kb of Live Rock - should be here on Saturday. :bum:

For this 4 bulkhead plumbing I can do it one of two ways. Like this:

|__|__|__|
........|

Or like this:

|__|__|__|_______

Second option gives less resistance but will the flow out the bulkheads be even? Trying to avoid hard flow out of one and less out the others. Top layout seems like it would give a more distributed flow but bottom one would have stronger overall throughput.

 

[jnarowe]

I use the the bottom one and have a gate valve on each leg. Don't forget to put a good quality valve on the end so you can expand if you need to.

 

[NexDog]

Cheers, will do. Yesterday I spent hours scraping out coraline from the inside of the bulkheads so I could insert a threaded cap. I had 90 degree threaded elbows on the outsidewhich needed to be changed to a nipple > check valve.

Think I might have to order more parts from Savko.

 

[jnarowe]

I love SAVKO! Nevermind all that scraping. Just soak parts in vinegar for a day and it will come right out.

 

[NexDog]

Couldn't easily remove the bulkhead to soak in vinegar.

But all done. The bulkheads are all Tee'd up but I'm going to wait on Savko as I only have 90 degree elbows left and I want to use 45 degree stuff. Will order this weekend and finish the plumbing when that comes. The CL intake to pump is all done.

Big weekend coming up. Live rock comes tomorrow. Have some plastic containers set up ready for that.

Also have 6 new fish coming. I'm concentrating on replacing losses first - namely a male Clarkii for my female. Couldn't find one in the crap shops here so ordered one in from the big city. The girl said it was unmistakably a male - around 2.5". My female is 4" so hopefully it will be a good match. Also have another Heniochus coming as I lost one of those (jumped too). When I had 2 before they were inseperable so hoping they will pair off.

My new rockwork will feature more sandy areas so I have 3 sand-sifting Gobies coming too. The 6th fish is a 2" Niger Trigger (mostly looking forward to this).

This year I'm going to try Regal Angels again. Failed twice so hopefully 3 times the charm. This time I'm going to get 2. Also plan on getting another Emperor (last one died of a swim bladder infection). The Emperor was probably the most disappointing loss as I had it since a juvi and saw it change colour. Was really awesome and would like to try again.

Will probably add another tang - a Naso maybe. Also intend to try the school of Royal Grammas again. Last time I got 10 and the QT went bad and they all died. Will just try 5 next time. The only other fish I really want is a Clown Tang.

 

[jnarowe]

coming back strong Laurence. Just take your time.

 

[Bax]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14799230#post14799230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
coming back strong Laurence. Just take your time.

Yeah, word, man! I am a fan, always have been, I know your are into hypo, but I've not had good luck with it, copper, prazi at the start (3 days or so), and time have been my best friends in QT with excruciatingly long acclimation when moving a fish anywhere.
And hold Qt'd fish and introduce in logical moves. There is a lota fish on that incoming list.

If your pics in Reef Fish were the actual individual niger, he is sweeet!

BTW, love the idea of a hoard of royal grammas!

For me it is orchid dottybacks ... I want like 7 to 10 of them in the 375!

 

[jnarowe]

got a neon dottyback in my tank (from Sherman) that apparently is a bada$$ to be alive after 2+ months. Amazing and sweet looking fish.

 

[NexDog]

I used to have a normal Dottyback - it was the first fish I bought back in 2005. It was this fish that got me hooked on marine fish when I saw one in the pet shop when I was 12. I couldn't believe a fish existed that could be half pink and half yellow. I used to ride down there on my bike to look at it (and it was a fair ride). But the Dottyback terrorised all the other fish (only had little fish then though) so I ended up taking him back. I would love 10 of them but I opted for the more passive Royal Gramma instead.

I'm going to go forward with the hypo. I know it can be brutal but I've never had disease in my main tank. I'm just going to be super careful about maintaining the water quality. The UV lamp is busted so I'll see if I can get a replacement (it really helps). Another thing you really need in hypo that people don't mention alot is a PH buffer. Low salt = low PH and that can kill some fish that are susceptible.

Okay, so got the rock and it's in 3 plastic containers. Received a few coral freebies just like last time though I have no idea what they are. One looks like a pink toadstool and the other one has a Maize type skeleton (not opening at all atm). Have them in the sump. No giant Squamosa this time and just as well as the last one is so massive now.

Got the hennie, trigger and clown. The trigger looks waaaaay different. Not electric blue at all but very dark blue. I hope it will change.

Also I don't think the Clarkii is a match. My female (and teh male if I recall) have a narror black dorsal. This one has same body colour but the dorsal fin is yellow. Looked online and can't really understand what I'm seeing. Seen references to a True Clarki and Tank Raised Clarki (latter being the one with a yellow dorsal fin).

My female might even be a "Sebae" Clownfish but I can't tell the difference between that and the Clarkii in some pictures. Anyone have a decent resource?

 

[NexDog]

Posted in the Clownfish forum and I think the are both Clarkis so hopefully will be okay.

All fish acclimatised well - all are eating - all are still alive.

Going to get the 3 Gobies in a minute then I'll start the drop into hypo.

The pink coral looks like a Pink Clove Polyp.

Pic of the brain that isn't opening yet:

 

[Bax]

I like the dynamic of a gang of grammas or dottybacks. They fill a nitch in alarger tank that is otherwise unoccupied in a large tank and add a ton of drama! I have had two pair of orchids at different times in my 120 and for such small fish , they really have an impact.

 

[jnarowe]

I am really impressed with the dottyback in my tank. To survive with such large fish, clowns, anemones is pretty amazing. I have seen him jet right through and by the largest GBTA many times. Very cool.

 

[Jflip2002]

I might have missed it, but did you select your Tunzes for the tank yet? If budgeting a little, and you are looking for 4 of them, I like the 6125s. You'll save over $400 total. They put out pretty much the same flow as the 6105s, they just are not controllable. On a tank that big, you'll probably want all 4 at 100% all the time anyways. If not budgeting, on a tank that big, the 6205s would be the prime choice to go with.

 

[NexDog]

I'm going to get 6125s but only 2 at first. They''ll go in the back corners facing front middle. I'll have the Hammerhead hooked up to the 4 bulkheads in the center. I don't intend to run the Dart that is pushing flow through the two bulkheads on the right though. So 2 Tunzes, the Hammerhead for now. If I decide to try SPS again I might add 2 more Tunzes.

So got the 3 6-Spot Gobies yesterday. Going to start the drop into hypo today. Dropping 0.03 every 12 hours will get me to 0.09 in 24 hours.

 

[Jflip2002]

Oh, with no SPS, two of the 6125s and a hammer head should be good. You could alwas add an OM to the CLS, and that'll switch things up a bit.

 

[NexDog]

I have 2 unused 4-Ways but I decided not to use them. If I could have put the 4-Way very near the bulkheads so I only needed to plumb the one line under the tank to the pump I would have used it but I'm definitely not plumbing 4 lines under the tank down to the pump. The 4-Way and valves ended up being jut to heavy to have suspended in teh air.

 

[NexDog]

Aw, 2 of the Gobies are dead this morning. The Clarki, Heniochus, Trigger and other Goby look fine. So I'm a bit nervous. The system is fine. Has some LR in there and 2 sponges and I left it running for the year I didn't QT anything. So it's fully cycled, no ammonia. Maybe Gobies are more sensitive to drops in salinity. They came in at 0.25sg and I dropped them to 0.21 when acclimatising. Then down to 0.15 over 24 hours so not particularly hardcore. Oh well, I can easily add more Gobies in the future.

 

[melev]

Hey Laurence, I'm glad to see your interest has returned. With that energy, you can get your tank back into shape and looking better each day. Try to resist the urge to fill it up with a lot of new stuff, or you may find yourself frustrated all over again.

Better to get it back up to par, watch your corals and fish improve in coloration, size and exhibit growth, and gradually add new fish/corals as the opportunity arises.

Just a little friendly advice.