Mike's 300 Double-D

[prop-frags]

I believe Terry took that pic right after we replaced all the bulbs with new Radiums. The center normally looks brighter partly due to less rock work (less shading) and also because the acrylic overflow box receives more light than the back glass.

We replaced the two Coralvue ballasts with Lumateks this past weekend. I'll get Terry to take a new FTS and post it tomorrow.

 

[dahenley]

Prop-frags (aka Mike&Terry)

can you tell a difference in the Coralvue and Lumateks ballasts?
do you have any par readings?
thanks!

 

[prop-frags]

Dave, I wish we had a way of checking par values. The Radiums are brighter and less blue w/the Lumatek ballasts and even more so when set on HQI.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6513831269/" title="nt 1838_1 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7163/6513831269_ae8f8953cf_b.jpg" width="1024" height="343" alt="nt 1838_1"></a>

We like the crispness of the Radiums, but they are a bit bluer than we like. The Ushios on the other hand are too yellow. We're hoping to find something in between. The other option could also be using the Ushio bulbs and supplementing w/actinics or LED stunner strips.

Changing the subject, we have two particular acan's that our Regal Angel just cannot resist. So after repeated attempts to re-introduce them, we decided to do a little experiment and placed one of the colonies in the midst of our Ocellaris clowns' territory and see if they would "defend" it with the same determination and gusto they display when defending their paly's.

Our clowns lounging in the paly's:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6510625603/" title="nt 1582 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7004/6510625603_0acff5ceb0_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1582"></a>

The irresistible acan:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6510521261/" title="nt 1841 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7146/6510521261_df4e8f3db8_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1841"></a>

3.5 days in and it appears to be working...

 

[aquaph8]

Beautiful pics, where are the angels always hiding in your FTS?

 

[dahenley]

the color of your corals looks amazing!!
(thanks for the reply on the ballasts. its a honest answer which is always the best)

 

[pookstreet]

Reefer's ingenuity at it's best I think I may have to get some clowns myself.

 

[Taqpol]

The thought of your clowns fending off a giant regal angelfish makes me laugh! That being said, I shouldn't be surprised considering the Occs I had in my 120 were successful in fending ME away from 'their' frogspawn.

 

[shaneh]

I skimmed your entire post and you are inspirations for all of us.

You must have unbelievable patients; I would have been done after the first tank broke.

Your tank is amazing; you must have the time and income to support such a beauty.

Keep up the excellent work. Have you been TOTM yet? You should be!

 

[prop-frags]

the color of your corals looks amazing!!
(thanks for the reply on the ballasts. its a honest answer which is always the best)

Thanks Dave. Our water parameters have stabilized quite a bit (particularly since we got the GEO calcium reactor), and that seems to have done more good for our corals than anything. Frequent water changes helps as well.

Beautiful pics, where are the angels always hiding in your FTS?

Hahah Brett that's very observant sir! They do love the caves in our 'scape. The bellus pair hang out in the left side and the regal likes to cruise in and out of the right side. It is usually a non-stop parade of many of the wrasses and angels going through/in/out....

Reefer's ingenuity at it's best I think I may have to get some clowns myself.

Do it Kenny! They seem to be holding their own against the hungry regal! Just another reason we love this hobby so much - watching the antics of these animals is very entertaining.

The thought of your clowns fending off a giant regal angelfish makes me laugh! That being said, I shouldn't be surprised considering the Occs I had in my 120 were successful in fending ME away from 'their' frogspawn.

We'll take some video, Alex. It's funny to watch.

I skimmed your entire post and you are inspirations for all of us. You must have unbelievable patients; I would have been done after the first tank broke. Your tank is amazing; you must have the time and income to support such a beauty. Keep up the excellent work. Have you been TOTM yet? You should be!

That is very kind of you to say. We don't think that our build is quite in TOTM shape yet... We just look at it and see more things that need to be done and improved. It truly is a labor of love. But we'll drink to staying on track towards that worthy goal! :beer:

 

[prop-frags]

Experiment update:
We moved the second acan into the DT on Saturday. 7 days into the experiment and so far so good. Here's a pic of acan #2:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6529280899/" title="nt 1847 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7159/6529280899_0cf91745d1_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 1847"></a>

This next pic is for Brett. It's not quite a full tank shot, just the right side and yes, we really do have some Angels in there, LOL! :lolspin:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/6535470801/" title="nt 1848 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7167/6535470801_73170c0819_b.jpg" width="1024" height="659" alt="nt 1848"></a>

 

[yoccm]

Wow guys - looking great! It helps me overcome my frequent bouts of impatience and frustration when I see folks like you getting it right and having such great success. Keep the updates coming!!!

 

[launchnukes]

The tank is looking great. That last pic just reminded me of something.....I have to get a clownfish. Lol.

 

[aquaph8]

That Regal's so pretty it should be in every shot

 

[Scej12]

Excellent Work Guys! Tank looks absolutely stunning. I try to make a living doing this stuff - but it just goes to show... the real pros are dedicated hobbyists such as yourselves... I'm constantly inspired by your presentation. Keep up the GREAT-GREAT-GREAT Work!!!

Regards,

Sheldon

 

[roni]

Mike,

Everything looks great! I'll have to try your trick with the clowns. That may end up allowing some polyps to survive in the reef.

 

[567234ta]

Thank you for posting of all these troubles, i have been researching a 300 gallon tank myself and i am leery of Marineland now after reading this thread.
No glass backing on the overflow? what the heck is that?

On the battery backup thing you made are those batteries completely sealed? They looked like regular vented batteries. There has to proper ventilation for them especially on a trickle charge, risk of explosion and that's the last thing you people need.

I would also put an inline fuse on the positive cable between the batteries and the inverter, while they do have an internal fuse in case of failure, i have personally witnessed an inverter hooked to 2 batteries go direct short and shoot a flame out about 4 feet and pouring smoke out until it melted the unit into scrap.

 

[prop-frags]

Wow guys - looking great! It helps me overcome my frequent bouts of impatience and frustration when I see folks like you getting it right and having such great success. Keep the updates coming!!!

Thanks Chris, we really appreciate that. You have an awesome setup and you'll get to where you want to be... We just got a couple of years head start.

The tank is looking great. That last pic just reminded me of something.....I have to get a clownfish. Lol.

Thanks LN! Every tank should have a pair of clowns, LOL... :rollface:

That Regal's so pretty it should be in every shot

Couldn't agree more Brett!

Excellent Work Guys! Tank looks absolutely stunning. I try to make a living doing this stuff - but it just goes to show... the real pros are dedicated hobbyists such as yourselves... I'm constantly inspired by your presentation. Keep up the GREAT-GREAT-GREAT Work!!!

Regards,

Sheldon

Sheldon, thanks so much for the kind words - we truly are appreciative!

Mike,

Everything looks great! I'll have to try your trick with the clowns. That may end up allowing some polyps to survive in the reef.

Thanks Roni! How's your build coming along?

Thank you for posting of all these troubles, i have been researching a 300 gallon tank myself and i am leery of Marineland now after reading this thread.
No glass backing on the overflow? what the heck is that?

On the battery backup thing you made are those batteries completely sealed? They looked like regular vented batteries. There has to proper ventilation for them especially on a trickle charge, risk of explosion and that's the last thing you people need.

I would also put an inline fuse on the positive cable between the batteries and the inverter, while they do have an internal fuse in case of failure, i have personally witnessed an inverter hooked to 2 batteries go direct short and shoot a flame out about 4 feet and pouring smoke out until it melted the unit into scrap.

Thanks for participating in our thread 567234ta - We appreciate the input! The batteries are absorbed glass mat (AGM) and yes, they are sealed, not vented. As for the in-line fuse, we did this with our prior battery backup. We had planned to do the same with the new setup, but we were told by the "resident expert" where we purchased the inverter that we did not need it. After your comments, it sounds like we need to revisit it.

 

[roni]

Slowly. The fiasco with Joe set me pretty far back in terms of getting everything up. Tank is in place and plumbing is pretty much done but lots of work to go. Work gets better in January so I'm hoping to make some progress then.

btw, how are you getting your sand to stay put? between the vortechs and tunzes, my sand (same seaflor special grade) keeps uncovering parts of the bottom.

 

[prop-frags]

Roni, The majority of our sand is a combination of Tropic Eden Reef Flakes and Mini Flakes. We like them much better than the CaribSea Special Grade.

 

[chefzif]

Great display 300g system! Love your aqua scape and great fish selection! How much does the Regal Angle nip on sps?