jenjen's upgrade to 180gal

[thebkramer]

Wow jenjen!! Absolutely beeuteefulll!!!
I'm jealous! I want a 180g!! Its gotta be alot of work though!
Thats too funny about the chromis! I hope he gets along with the others!

 

[Think_Reef]

Wow, I can't wait till i get to move in a year or so and upgrade... My current apartment barely has room for my 55 or I'd upgrade now. Hopefully i can convince my significant other that a 150 or 180 isn't a crazy thing to have just as you did

 

[jenjen]

thebkramer - thanks! Yes it is a fair bit of work. It actually caught me off guard at the start, just how much more was involved versus the 90g it replaced. But I have a system now, so it's manageable.

Think Reef - I think the biggest thing I've learned is to be content with the tank you have, and stock according to your current tank size. I've actually enjoyed the process of setting up my 55g more than either the 90g or 180g. Upgrades are great, but make sure to love what you have in the meantime!

BTW, so far so good for Flow.. he's swimming with the group a little, and eating like a champ. Fingers crossed.

 

[Think_Reef]

Oh I am happy with what I have, a great choice for a first tank! With that being said, I am also ready for a new challenge.

 

[mjwz06]

Such a beautiful tank!

 

[jenjen]

Think Reef - glad to hear you're enjoying your tank! I find so many people in this hobby are so focussed on the next tank or the bigger/brighter fish that they lose sight of the beautiful system they currently have & don't enjoy it as much as they could. I know I've done this - good to hear you're not one of us!!!

mjwz06 - thank you!!!


I checked the tank this morning and Flow is still going strong. He was actually hovering with the other three in their sleeping spot since the lights were still out. I'll take this as a good sign!

 

[jenjen]

Wow, 6 months since my last post in this thread... time flies! The tank has been through a lot, but is doing well.

We moved to a new house in August. We hired tank AMAZING tank movers, and every single fish & coral made the move, although my bi-colour blenny died two weeks after. They aquascaped the tank for me, and I actually haven't moved a single rock. I also took down my 55g and moved all the livestock into this tank. I had to re-home a pair of Clarkii clowns, but otherwise everyone is doing great.

Honestly I had lost my love of the hobby shortly before the move, and actually considered taking down the tank. I'm really glad I didn't. Ya it's lots of work, and ya it's frustrating some days, but it all makes up for itself when I can just sit and stare at it and watch all the livestock going about their business. My very first two fish are still in this tank (sixline wrasse & clownfish) and it makes me smile watching them do their thing.

Hopefully my return to RC and my renewed love of my tank will bring with it a slower pace and some extra patience to just go with the flow a little more & enjoy the journey.

Pics to follow in the next couple days.

 

[jenjen]

Well, I finally got a new camera... hopefully the last one for a while. So I'm able to take pics again, but once again I'm unfamiliar with the settings so the pics leave plenty of room for improvement.

Feather has been with me for nearly 3 years now, and was one of the first additions to my first SW tank. He's made it through an upgrade and a move, and many 'beginner mistakes' in water quality

This cardinal was out of the 55g that got taken down during the move. He's carried several broods but never made it past 10 days before enjoying a fine meal of his own babies. His lovely lady unfortunately died a while back and I haven't yet found a replacement for her, so he's a bachelor for now

Cocoa, the chocolate tang has been with me about a year and is the most recent addition to the tang club in my tank. So far she gets along well with the yellow & kole also in the tank

And finally, a terrible FTS but it's the best I could do for now

 

[sunnyday]

Hey jenjen, just stopping by to say hi. Tank looks great, glad everything survived your move. Camera is taking great pics, too!

Sunny

 

[jenjen]

Hey Sunny, thanks for stopping in! How's your system coming along???

 

[jenjen]

WHEW... made it back from 5 days in Whistler and all the fish & corals are doing fine.

I turned off the return pump & skimmer, and turned off 2 of the MH lights, so just the actinics and one MH came on during the days. This seems to have cut my usual evaporation in half, so the water didn't get too out of wack. Thank goodness for large water volume!

I also over fed for a few days leading up to the trip, and left plenty of nori in the tank when we left. While they were quite happy to see me when we returned, no one looked overly concerned about the lack of food for a few days.

Normally when we're away we get a tank sitter, but being in a new neighbourhood and it being Christmas we just couldn't find anyone. Glad to know the tank can last a few days on it's own this way. Now for a good size water change, then off to J&L to spend the Christmas gifts!

 

[jenjen]

Finally found the test kits yesterday, and decided to check the parameters this morning. I haven't done a proper water change since we moved (mid-August), so I wasn't sure what to expect. The corals & fish all seem happy, and there is no algae at all, so I was hopeful.

Ammonia 0
Nitrate <5
Calcium 480

WHEW! I'm not going to make a habit of skipping water changes, but it doesn't seem to have done any harm so far. :beer:

I got a couple new coral colonies last weekend. Here's a few pics.

A FTS from today:

And my camera shy Urchin:

 

[jenjen]

OMG...

I haven't done a proper water change since we moved in August, so yesterday was the day. I mixed up a super-batch of water and was ready to go. Got the big water change bucket out of storage and started emptying...

Then I hear water flowing, but don't give it much thought.

Then I have a wet foot. This concerns me more.

So the water change bucket has a hole. I put about 5gal of salt water onto my brand new wood floors.

After cleaning up, I finished the water change with a tiny little bucket and several trips to the sink to dump it. I ended up emptying more than I had planned (tough to measure precisely once it's dumped on the floor!), and had to mix up some extra water.

So my simple little water change turned into a full-day activity. Sigh... gotta love this hobby!

 

[aleonn]

Thanks for all the updates, it was fun reading through the progress of your tank. Sorry to hear of your wet floor recently, though. I'm looking forward to having a similarly sized tank in the near future! I also think it's cool how you're able to be away from the tank for so long without significant problems. May this new year bring further growth and happiness upon your tank, its inhabitants, and its owners

 

[sunnyday]

Hey jenjen,

Sorry for the delay since my last post. My system is doing fine, although I've lost a few jumping fish lately, including my beloved sixline. Water chemistry still looking good, corals looking great - even some stubborn corals that I've had for years are finally starting to color up. I've been doing this hobby for 17 years and still amazed at how much I still learn. The last two years, I've learned that (1) consistent maintenance is everything, (2) keep your sump sparkling clean, and (3) keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible.

Your latest FTS looks super! Feeling bad you got your wood floors wet - been there done that too, LOL!

I am tossing around the idea of starting a maintenance thread, since my 75g build is still not happening. It would at least be my way of documenting what I have done with this current tank.

Happy reefing,
Sunny

 

[jenjen]

Thanks for all the updates, it was fun reading through the progress of your tank. Sorry to hear of your wet floor recently, though. I'm looking forward to having a similarly sized tank in the near future! I also think it's cool how you're able to be away from the tank for so long without significant problems. May this new year bring further growth and happiness upon your tank, its inhabitants, and its owners

Thanks! I really appreciate the feedback, and it's nice to know someone periodically wanders in to my little log thread. :rollface:

 

[jenjen]

Hey jenjen,

Sorry for the delay since my last post. My system is doing fine, although I've lost a few jumping fish lately, including my beloved sixline. Water chemistry still looking good, corals looking great - even some stubborn corals that I've had for years are finally starting to color up. I've been doing this hobby for 17 years and still amazed at how much I still learn. The last two years, I've learned that (1) consistent maintenance is everything, (2) keep your sump sparkling clean, and (3) keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible.

Your latest FTS looks super! Feeling bad you got your wood floors wet - been there done that too, LOL!

I am tossing around the idea of starting a maintenance thread, since my 75g build is still not happening. It would at least be my way of documenting what I have done with this current tank.

Happy reefing,
Sunny

Ohh, I definitely think you should start a thread for your tank... if you do please make sure to post the link here so I can go check it out! Mature systems are my favorite. It's one thing to have an amazing tank for a while, but being able to sustain a system is something to be proud of.

Thanks for posting the great advice. I'm sure all the newbies here (me included) would do well to follow these simple rules!

 

[aleonn]

Hey jenjen,

(1) consistent maintenance is everything, (2) keep your sump sparkling clean, and (3) keep your hands out of the tank as much as possible.

I thought that was an old wives tale, keeping your hands out of the tank. It turns out my wife was right LOL.

 

[sunnyday]

Every once in a while wives actually are right, LOL!

 

[tmichael]

Beautiful tank pics. Love the close ups. keep up the good work.