Monkey's Reef - A photo journal [img heavy]

[King-Kong]

Small update:

The tank is filled w/ fresh RO and salt (mixing) to 1.026.

Faux Sand has been inserted.. looks awesome.

Seio 1100's are running along w/ the Mag7. I used the tunze mounting mod for the seios and it's perfect. Took all of 2 seconds to do.

Yesterday I ordered 1/2 the lights: http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104334.html

Tomorrow I will begin building my column! (I've got a bunch of underwater epoxy from home depot).

I will probably not upload another picture until i've completed the column. Wish me luck with it.

 

[JustOneMoreTank]

Good luck. I am looking forward to seeing the Faux Sand bed and the column pictures.

 

[King-Kong]

dissapointment strikes:

I decided to move my two 5 gallon buckets filled w/ liverock over to the tank (water had reached 1.026sg).

These buckets had mostly base rock I had been curing and "feeding" for about 3 months now.

Another bucket had fully cured and coraline covered live rock from my main tank.

During the time they spent in the buckets, i had a powerhead fail (that was feeding it) and overheat. Temp got up to 106 f. I didnt want to disturb the rock so I just lowered the temp quickly and put a new form of circulation in.

Just now, upon placing the rock into the tank, my once glorious rock is now starch white. I literally cooked it, so now instead of having about 1/2 base rock, i've got 3/4.

O well, it all turns pink eventually

 

[xtrstangx]

How difficult would it be to change your rock formation later on? Is the epoxy permanent or will it release if you pull hard enough?

I'd be concerned with having to remove the pillar for whatever reason (Ich... )

 

[King-Kong]

from what I understand the epoxy holds well, but is not permanent and can be removed.

Tonight is a big night -- we'll see if I can create this thing w/ the rock and tools that I have.

 

[Tabeaubi]

Tank looks great. I love that Sump.

I'll be watching this thread.

Very Cool!

 

[Electrobes]

Good luck man I just spent 12 hours on my tank yesterday.. I can barely feel my way around the house now :lol: The good news is that I redid everything and it looks freakin' great! Remember we want pics!!

 

[King-Kong]

well then let's see yours -- all that work had to paid off!


(dont worry, ill snap plenty)

 

[Electrobes]

haha I already updated the website AND put it in a thread

 

[melev]

haha I already updated the website AND put it in a thread

The pesky algae you removed is actually quite a pretty one that lots of people like. It usually doesn't last long in our tanks though. It is called Neomeris annulata.

 

[King-Kong]

Small update (no pics)

- The column has been created. Now I know why I wanted a 120g . It is close to the back wall, but not actually touching it -- it is fully free-standing. but I wish i had another 1-2 inches of clearance so fish could swim faster behind it, but that would cause the front to be too close to the glass for my taste. That said, I kind of ran out of rock (wow) and would have liked to add another 3-4" worth of height to it, but once corals are planted and grow, that will allow space for the fish to swim above both rock and corals, I suppose. The secondary island will be created when I move the fellers from the 20g over. Photos will arrive when my lights do and I can shine some light on the situation. (Both hood and lights are en route)

-ASM G-2 has been ordered. Thanks www.asmskimmer.com for the cheapest shipped price I could find.

-I am going to order my VHO's in the next 24 hours, and am leaning on this kit: anyone have any objections/comments on it? http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=18827&cat=598&page=1

 

[Electrobes]

melev - I used to think it was pretty and so did my friend who owns those corals. The problem is that they grow very rapidly and are quick to choke or prevent futher growth on corals. Also when they mature they get a hairy appearance, it sorta looks like hair algae.

 

[melev]

I am going to order my VHO's in the next 24 hours, and am leaning on this kit: anyone have any objections/comments on it? http://www.championlighting.com/product.php?productid=18827&cat=598&page=1

Well, if you can squeeze in 48" bulbs, that is better because it won't be difficult to find the bulbs nor will they be more expensive. The 46.5" bulbs run more, afaik. The price isn't bad, but I've always used IceCap ballasts. With that ballast, I could run Home Depot Normal Output Fluorescent bulbs (6500K) for about $5 a bulb. Since I needed two daylight and two actinic, it cost me $10 in 6500K bulbs every 6 months, and about $50 for actinics. I didn't mind saving money that way, and ran my lights that way for 2 years.

 

[King-Kong]

I dont know if I will have 48" of clearance inside the hood :-\

 

[melev]

You'll need something like 48.5" including the endcaps, because the bulbs are actually 47" long. For standard bulbs, that is.

 

[King-Kong]

medium update:

My light arrived (http://www.reefgeek.com/products/categories/lighting/104334.html), and my god it is beautiful. Considering I have about 45 watts of flourescent lighting now over my 20g, this beast is insane. The light reflecting off the base rock actually caused me to squint my eyes, and in doing so, I think I shed a tear of joy.

Also, my Perfecto Sedona Hood arrived (http://www.bigalsonline.com/kernel/...y4=-100_l_EN;key5=-100_l___bigals;key6=-100_l). Sadly, no description or photo I found of it allowed me to realize the fact that the top half has two holes in it (23"x18"). The glass that came with it, to cover that portion, was shattered (http://www.d3f.org/misc/fish/90g/15-canopy.jpg) and the hood was in the wrong color. Nice work bigalsoneline.com. They are sending me new glass covers (which I wont be using) and will be calling me back to see if they can refund my shipping cost because ITS THE WRONG COLOR. They offered 1/2 of my shipping cost, but I told them it was a disaster what they did, and I should not have to pay handling.

With that said, I'm currently thinking at how I can create two hinged doors for the top of the canopy now, to fill in these 2 large rectangle gaps in the top.

My ASM G-2 skimmer arrives tomorrow, and I am very excited as I have never owned a skimmer.

My rock has been sitting in the new tank for the past week. Once I figure out how this hood is getting laid out, I will be ordering the VHO lighting.

Once my lighting is done, I will take photos to show off the column, faux sand bed, and everything else.

 

[King-Kong]

woohoo! it's here!

ASM G-2. To say that it fit "snug" in my compartment would be an understatement. I am glad i didnt splurge on the ASM G-3.

Next couple days I'll be trying to fix the hood and then I'll be able to install the MH and then order my VHOs once the layout is complete.

In the mean time.. the cycle continues!

 

[EmergencyDpt]

Great thread. Love the refugium. I'm green with envy. I was lucky and found a used stand on craigslist (thanks Craig). I almost bought the sedona from big als online also. Glad I didn't because having the big holes in the top sucks. I'm using mine for a room divider so I knew I would have to build out the back. Anyway it's done now and I'm looking for some lights. Do you really like the blue lines that you got? Whew, that's expensive. I want two so it's going to be over 6bills. I also have the 90 gal tank. Please keep up the good work. Your posts are great.

 

[King-Kong]

Emed-Dept: yeah, I splurged on the lights because I only needed one side, so I wanted to have the best, or close to it (since its hard to tell these days what the best actually is). Also, thank you for the compliments on the photo journal, I'm glad you're finding it useful.


The canopy is mostly done -- just needs to be stained+painted and retrofitted w/ the lights. I'd like to say I was served lemons, and made some lemonade, but we'll see.

let me add: I added the two thin trips so my VHO end caps had something to screw into. I am planning on having 2 48" URI actinics and then 2 24" 50/50s or 20ks over the left section.

The hole on the right is where the metal hallide will sit above (and out) of the canopy (for obvious heat reasons).

 

[Knyght]

Starting to look like lemonade to me :thumbsup:

Are you able to just place the new plywood on top? I see you have it hinged. Reason I am asking is that over time, and it may not take long, that metal will rust.

:beachbum: