My 150 Build

[serpentman]

Also, thanks again to Joe and Jeff for the frags. Joe, I owe you one.

Pics are lousy with my camera but here are a few.

 

[serpentman]

pH issues and hitchhikers, ahh another day in the life...

Given our weather pattern, the A/C has ran for a few days, a few days off and so on. Consequently, my pH plummets from 8.3 to 7.8 every time we close up the house. Basically, nothing is happy and all my new SPS additions are pretty stressed. I am concerned about winter so am working on a solution that doesn't involve a $1K air exchanger. If anyone has any ideas, I am all ears. I am considering running the skimmer intake from the outside. However, I will have to draw air from 75' away so this will be a challenge without starving the skimmer.

Also, this morning when the lights came on, I found this guy chilling on one of my frags eatin' away. After disassembling my rockwork, I finally got him.

 

[t11t5]

Serpantman, the filter floss you use at the end of your drains can be bought at McMaster Carr in rolls on page 655. I did this and it saved me lots of money. Good luck with your set up and it looks good.

 

[jefft321]

"Polyester Air Filter Rolls" - is this the one? Dry or the Tacky? I have been looking for some of this stuff cheap.

 

[serpentman]

Thanks for the heads up. I will look into it.

In the meantime, I bought some polyester felt from the Wal and put together a few. They seem to work ok for now.

 

[t11t5]

I bought a wet/dry a long time ago and it came with a piece of the tacky. The tacky will have one side that is blue. The non tacky is all white.

 

[serpentman]

Just picked this 75g up from Willie. I was pleasantly surprised for $25 as its in great shape. One of the side panels looks defective from the factory. However, resealed it this evening so we'll see. Could this be a winter project in the making....

 

[vivek]

nice pickup serpentman. i am in the hunt for a 75gallon setup myself. as my second tank for LPS.

Vivek

 

[serpentman]

Not my best resealing job. It started skinning over before I was done so its pretty rough. However, so far its holding water....

I am toying with the idea of making a second system for softies and LPS. Not sure yet.

 

[serpentman]

Switched lighting from 400Ws to 250s. With the LB reflectors, the lighting was pretty intense directly under. Plus, hopefully I won't bake in my office!

400Ws

250Ws

 

[Paul_PSU]

Definitely a nicer look with moving to the 250's. Were the 400's the 20k bulbs you mentioned earlier? What are the 250's?

 

[serpentman]

These are a side by side comparison of XM 20Ks

 

[DiscoReefRover]

that looks really nice jeff!!!

 

[serpentman]

Thanks dude. Its amazing how much cooler the room is. Plus I think my corals will be happier as I had some spots the 400s cooked.

 

[Paul_PSU]

I was never a fan of 20k's but I like the look of those. Not too blue.

 

[serpentman]

Some updated shots:

Tank (left side):

Tank (Middle):

Tank (right side):

 

[serpentman]

A much happier RBTA

Some updated coral shots:

 

[serpentman]

 

[serpentman]

 

[Jeff Trout]

found a spot for the hynophra! looks good.