My 300 Gallon Nightmare!!!

[Unlikely_Hero]

Such a beautiful tank. And plumbing that blows my mind! It'll be years before I can go that big.

I'd love to tell you that I can take the lion, eel, and flame angel off your hands, but I don't move into my house for another month and even then I still have months (at least) of construction on it before I can even consider my next tank upgrades.

 

[melev]

Unlikely_Hero, Richard is based in Florida... pretty far away to get livestock avaialble here in the metroplex. Do you know about dfwmas? We've got a great club here that you may want to be a part of.

 

[Aussiestar]

nice setup man, and i love that telly, wish i could have one that big

 

[rberrie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190987#post7190987 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Can you be a bit more specific. That site is just a link farm or so it seems....

Sorry for the error in the link:

Here it is:http://www.ameritoolmfg.com/

 

[NexDog]

Thanks for that. I need ssomething like this but not exactly sure what yet.

 

[rberrie]

Laurence:
I am the one who is in awe of your setup. You built your whole house around your tank! In Japan no less! I love your thread and your amazing tank!

 

[Typhon]

Great looking setup!!!

 

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7192292#post7192292 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rberrie
Laurence:
I am the one who is in awe of your setup. You built your whole house around your tank! In Japan no less! I love your thread and your amazing tank!

Thanks for the kind words Richard.

 

[J4Life]

Nexdog and rberrie you both have incredible setups.

Thanks for sharing them with everyone.

-Bill

 

[Unlikely_Hero]

Melev: It was just a passing thought. Those three fit the schematics of my future plans, so I just thought I'd mention it. Better to get livestock from a reputable owner than an unknown dealer, right?

I'd very much like to be a part of it, but at the moment, my only tank is 3 1/2 hours away (parent's house), and between school, summer jobs, fixing a house, and attempting to establish a career in film, needless to say, time is short! I'll definitely keep that in mind for the future though. Thanks!

 

[rberrie]

Tank Update

Tank Update

Ok...It's been five days since my last photo update and a lot has happened since then. Take a look at the photos and see for yourself!

I know, I know...too much too soon! Well shoot me, I couldn't wait! By the way, most of my sps corals and many of my more rare fish came from Dr. Foster's & Smith. They came in beautiful and colored up within minutes!!! Better than advertised and with a 14-30 day guarantee!!!

I will only buy from them from now on. Their customer support is by far the best in the country! No matter what industry or business I have dealt with, they are head and shoulders above the rest!!

I have tested twice a day for ammonia and nitrite and saw some levels rise a little higher than I would like. But what can you expect with such a high load in a very short time. I have done two water changes of 30 gallons and 50 gallons. The levels have stayed within reaonable boundaries.

The fish are eating by and large and look very healthy except for my Blonde Naso. He has got a few spots of crypto. He also hasn't been eating hardly at all. He picks but doesn't really eat. Over a week now.

One other serious concern is persisitent microbubbles. My skimmer is releasing a lot of bubbles and my sump is a little small. I need to tweek it to try to get those under control. Otherwise all is outstanding!

Fish:
Grey Angel
Moorish Idol
Gold Stripe Maroone pair
Hippo Tangs pair
Yellow tang
Purple Tang
Naso Tang
Niger Trigger
Copperband Butterfly
Scott's Fairy Wrasse
Labouti's Fairy Wrasse
Carpenter's Fairy Wrasse
Red Velvet Wrasse pair
Chromis 16
Resplendant Anthias male and 3 Females
Helfrichi Firefish
Diamond Watchman Goby
Royal Gramma
Neon Pseudochromis

That's 40 fish!!!

 

[ruiny]

I love lots of fish.
To me that is the main point to a tank.
I hope they all do well
Also, though it is hard on the bio filters to add so much at once, I actually find that it is better in the long run. This fish tend to get along better togther and have less teritory fights.
Looking good

 

[GregM779]

That's a lot of fish way too fast and to add all of that SPS with them this early in the game may not be the best choice.
We knew that you were going to have microbubbles and I would keep an eye on things as constant microbubbles can have adverse effects on the entire aquarium not to mention the constant stress to the fish.
I'm glad to see that you are upgrading the return pump as that is definitely needed and keep an eye on the calcium reactor with the coral load changing so abruptly.
What happened to the copperband?

 

[Cutiewitbooty]

Wow your tank is looking awesome. You probally did add things a little to fast, but hey as long as you can keep everything in check and healthy, you go man If i could afford it i would have probally done the same thing lol

 

[melev]

Give it time. I have a feeling the microbubbles will wane in another week or so.

If you see microbubbles in the return section, you may need to do more to stop them from ever getting there.

 

[rberrie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7222037#post7222037 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ruiny
I love lots of fish.
To me that is the main point to a tank.
I hope they all do well
Also, though it is hard on the bio filters to add so much at once, I actually find that it is better in the long run. This fish tend to get along better togther and have less teritory fights.
Looking good

Your point is very well taken. I believe that adding all the fish at once definitely creates a more harmonious tank than allowing individual fish to stake out territories and bully other fish. Well said. Now having said that, I still know that I am taking a big risk adding all those fish in less than ten days.

The factors that gave me some hope that I could manage the ammonia spikes and nitrite levels are the following:

1. 400 pounds of live sand
2. 350 pounds of live cured rock
3. Semi-automatic water changing system
4. Stubbornness, impulsivity & impatience
5. True diligence, ie. I test the water at least twice a day. Check the condition of the fish and corals, inverts all the time and look for signs of stress.

I do not recommend this plan for anyone, however, I am an optimist and I feel the above factors give me a fighting chance to succeed.

Certainly, you can follow along and see if my follie succeeded or failed.

Thanks for following along and for your excellent comments.

 

[rberrie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7222595#post7222595 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GregM779
That's a lot of fish way too fast and to add all of that SPS with them this early in the game may not be the best choice.
We knew that you were going to have microbubbles and I would keep an eye on things as constant microbubbles can have adverse effects on the entire aquarium not to mention the constant stress to the fish.
I'm glad to see that you are upgrading the return pump as that is definitely needed and keep an eye on the calcium reactor with the coral load changing so abruptly.
What happened to the copperband?

Greg,
Nice to see that you are still following along. I agree that the microbubbles have had a negative effect on all of the inhabitiants, however I have dialed in the skimmer and added bubble blocker foam inbetween the baffles and have all but eliminated the bubbles. I was on the verge of replumbing my sump by eliminating the refugium and placing the return section in that area. But with a little patience, good advice and some tweeking, I have so far combated the dreaded microbubbles.

In doing so, I had to dial back the Circulation pump (100RLT) a little bit and the 70RLT on the skikmmer quite a bit. As time progresses, I will be able to open them up a bit more.

The Copperband is still alive and well. So far I haven't noticed him eating the corals or anything else for that matter. He is a little guy and I hope he starts to eat soon. I am restricting feeding the tank until the tank finishes cycling. The problem with that is that the fish start to look elsewhere for food...ie. the corals! So I am just feeding once a day rather than twice and I am feeding very lightly.

Greg, you are always welcome to come over and see the aquarium. I appreciate your excellent advice.

 

[rberrie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7222641#post7222641 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cutiewitbooty
Wow your tank is looking awesome. You probally did add things a little to fast, but hey as long as you can keep everything in check and healthy, you go man If i could afford it i would have probally done the same thing lol

Cutie,
Thanks! You have been terrific in your support. I always look forward to reading your thoughtful comments and wonderful exuberance! Stay tuned...keep your fingers crossed. If this works, it will be awesome!!!

 

[rberrie]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7222645#post7222645 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Give it time. I have a feeling the microbubbles will wane in another week or so.

If you see microbubbles in the return section, you may need to do more to stop them from ever getting there.

Marc,
You hit the nail on the head! I read your comments after making some adjustments and adding the black bubble blocker foam. The bubbles have so far been reduced greatly or disappeared all together. The reason I can't be more specific, is that there is a lot of microscopic debris swirling around in the tank from all the flow. I need to lower the flow so that some of that stuff will settle and clear up the water column.

 

[rberrie]

Latest photos!

Latest photos!