Lightsluvr's 340G Upgrade

[Lytehouse]

Jumpers sounds most logical,
but when you see the very small angle to jump to hit that particular sump...
and the spectacular length to get over the eurobracing, outside overflow, monster skimmer before ever reaching the sump....
it seems a miracle even for a large tang

That said, having seen the tank today, I can't come up with a more logical reason. If they jump over the eurobracing into the outside overflow.... they both just happen to go down the correct durso to get to that sump and not the other sump.... or the skimmer and somehow got out of a filter soc

Either way... it's good for Ripley's

BTW George..... Tank looks great

 

[IBASSFSH]

I would bet they jumped over the euro bracing into the over flow and down the durso pipes.

 

[Lightsluvr]

+1 on Lucky Jumpers.
Maybe add some pannel to block the back of the tank before your (your fishs) luck runs out.

With my luck, the panel would block their flight and they would broil on the eurobracing...

One fish sounds like good fortune...two fish sounds like a planned escape... where's Steve McQueen and James Garner?

LL

 

[mcrist]

One fish sounds like good fortune...two fish sounds like a planned escape... where's Steve McQueen and James Garner?

LL

The Great Escape...Good movie.

 

[Lightsluvr]

The Great Escape...Good movie.

One of my all time favorites...

LL

 

[edandsandy]

Sounds like luck to me!

 

[Lightsluvr]

Sounds like luck to me!

I'll take it, Sandy!

I can understand the wrasse jumping - it was small at the time and might have been chased by the Coral Beauty. But that darn Goby had been in the DT for 10 months without any issue... he is huge! Nothing ever chased him. Suddenly becomes a jumper?

Next weekend, I'm going to remove 400# LR fro, that Rubbermaid, place it temporarily in a large barrel. Then I'll drain the water from the sump to do my weekly water change. I'll net the two fish and return them to the DT. I'll check the condition of the DSB in the sump and then return the LR.

Ah, me. I'll just call it annual maintenance... It will give me an opportunity to observe what kinds of life I've got in that sump.

LL

 

[aquainas]

Good to see the progression on your system George, and that you didn't lose your Goby after-all! It is quite puzzling how those fish could make it out the filter sock...Do you think they could have been "caught" in the sock and when you swap them out the fish swam out as you submerged the sock below the pvc? You change those every couple days don't you?

 

[Lightsluvr]

Yes, I change the socks every 2-3 days - when I see one overflowing the top, I change all (7). I have enough socks that I can wash all of the dirty ones on Saturday, when I do my water change.

Strangely, I don't think the wrasse or the goby came through the filter sock...while possible, I think it's very unlikely. The wrasse is 4" and the goby over 5" in length...

Every day is a new day... :strange:

LL

 

[jmpickett]

Absolutely amazing

Absolutely amazing

I finally made it through all 77 pages - only took a couple weeks of on and off reading. I am so appreciative of everything you shared in this thread. I bookmarked numerous pages so that I can go back and read them when I'm ready to begin my tank build. You have an amazing tank, and I can't wait to see it's continued progress.

 

[Lightsluvr]

Thanks for the comments... that's the way I researched here on RC when I was building the system. I received a lot of great advice from folks who went before me...

Stop back often. Let me know if you have any questions or suggestions.

LL

 

[jmpickett]

PM'd to get loging info on your tank cam's. Thanks!

 

[FirstContact]

Hi George!

Great thread! My systems pretty small compared, but I learn a lot from following your posts. I love the set pictures the best! I like the storage containers you have from Den Hartog Industries. Thinking about getting one too. My next step is to have a plumber install my RO filter inside the house to the water line with a shut off valve. I just finished setting up an upstream refugium above my DT. And I got rid off a Key Hole Dwarf Angel. He was killing my zoas, and chased my Black Cap Basslet into my overflow. The Basslet ended up down the pipe but didn't make it out of the sock. I didn't find him in time. My biggest challenge right now is understanding phosphate levels, keeping them low, and keeping them from fluctuating. I have had a couple of frags for a year but am just starting in earnest to seek to understand. I added two more frags this past weekend.

All the Best,
FirstContact

 

[Lightsluvr]

Jmpickett - I'll get the web cam info to you when I am back in Oklahoma - I have been in NYC the past week...

Firstcontact - not sure which storage units you refer to - Hartog? Please clarify. One storage unit is a Wal-Mart item and the other was given to us by a friend...

The tank is being fed by our housesitter (we have lots of cats) while filter socks and other maintenance is being performed by Tyler of Aquariums Tropical Fish & Supplies of Edmond, OK. We can sleep well at night knowing that everything is running smoothly.

I do check the Apex controller regularly.

LL

 

[FirstContact]

I was wondering where you got these storage tanks. They look like the vertical storage tanks Den Hartog sells online.

 

[Lightsluvr]

I don't know about Hartog, but I purchased mine from:

http://www.ntotank.com/65gaveta.html

They are Ace Roto-Mold tanks. You could probably locate other dealers by googling the manufacturer or model#.

LL

 

[Lightsluvr]

A milestone - time to start changing lights?

A milestone - time to start changing lights?

It's hard to believe the tank has been up and running for over a year... here is a post I made earlier today in the T5 Q&A Thread about when to start replacing old T5 bulbs with new...

My gratitude to The Grim Reefer for his input on lighting my 96x36x26 reef tank. The colors pop and my SPS and other coral are growing like weeds...

Here is the array of bulbs I am using:

Row # FRONT
1. ATI Blue Plus
2. UVL 75-25
3. ATI Blue Plus
4. GE 6500K
5. KZ Fiji Purple
6. ATI Blue Plus
6A. R2 Signature Series Moonlight
7. GE 6500K
8. ATI Blue Plus
9. UVL Actinic White
10. ATI Blue Plus
11. UVL 75-25
12. ATI Blue Plus
BACK

I am using 2x 48" bulbs in each row to light the 96" tank.

The tank went into service on July 3, 2009. I run the actinics in rows 1,6 and 12 - 12 hours a day. The "Midday lights" are rows 2,3,8,10 & 11 run 10 hours a day, and the "Peak lights" of rows 4,5,7 and 9 run 7.5 hours a day.

Based on expected service life of these bulbs, when should I start planning to replace them? Does Grim recommend replacing some of the selections with newer technology bulbs?

373 days x 12 hours = 4,476 hours
373 days x 10 hours = 3,730 hours
373 days x 7.5 =2,798 hours

Suggestions welcomed.

LL

Obviously I don't intend to replace all 24 bulbs at once. I will probably replace a row or two at a time, cleaning the reflectors when replacing bulbs.

What are other large tank folks doing when it comes to replacing T5s? When do they start to lose their effectiveness?

LL

 

[Lytehouse]

new bulbs.

new bulbs.

Missed you at the meeting, we had fun. Tons of new people.

interesting post about changing bulbs. I just changed the ones in the little frag tank. I suddenly starded growing algae on the glass and sandbed like crazy. I couldn't keep up with it. Changed the bulbs and it has stopped.

 

[Lightsluvr]

I had just gotten in from TX and was exhausted. Leaving for MO today. It never ends...

By replacing the bulbs one row at a time, I am hoping to avoid the dreaded algae outbreak as well as shock to the coral.

Hope to get time to take some full tank shots before I leave again...

LL

 

[Lytehouse]

I believe my algae was from the old bulbs. With new bulbs, it dissappeared.

Good luck with travels, mainly be safe.

I had just gotten in from TX and was exhausted. Leaving for MO today. It never ends...

By replacing the bulbs one row at a time, I am hoping to avoid the dreaded algae outbreak as well as shock to the coral.

Hope to get time to take some full tank shots before I leave again...

LL