My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics
- Thread starter slief
- Start date
slief
RC Sponsor
Not sure what walls you are talking about. If you are talking about the walls under the tank where the equipment like the sumps and pumps are, those are not painted. Instead they covered with FRP (Fiberglass reinforced plastic) sheets to protect the underside of the tank and serve as a moisture barrier. It keeps things sanitary looking while also providing a wall covering that will last forever without degrading. Many years back, the walls below the tank were painted but paint and exposed drywall doesn't hold up in that smaller closed environment due to humidity and ends up looking horrible as a result. As such, i would never go back to painted finish below the tank. The FRP is the same kind of stuff that some fiberglass showers are made of and won't degrade over time like paint will. I put that in 6 years ago when I did my sump upgrade and it still looks perfect today. It's also easily cleaned with a wet rag which is nice from a maintenance standpoint. Not only that, but the white finish is also reflective so it maximizes what little light I use below the tank to illuminate things. I use the same material above the tank too in the light soffit as it's not only protective but it helps maximize the tank lighting by reflecting it. The walls on the outside of the tank are now painted a brown color to match the rest of the paint in the surrounding rooms.
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slief
RC Sponsor
Some more growth shots. It's very apparent that these corals love my Kessil 360WE's
This picture was taken 46 days ago when I got it.
This was taken about 36 days ago and you can see that there are a bunch of new tips growing on the almost all the tips of it. It's also coloring up nicely.
This was taken 26 days ago.
These were taken 17 days ago.
These were taken 9 days ago.
Taken today.
This picture was taken 46 days ago when I got it.
This was taken about 36 days ago and you can see that there are a bunch of new tips growing on the almost all the tips of it. It's also coloring up nicely.
This was taken 26 days ago.
These were taken 17 days ago.
These were taken 9 days ago.
Taken today.
slief
RC Sponsor
This is an LA Fish Guys video that was filmed a number of months back on my switch to the Royal Exclusiv RD3 230 pumps. These were just uploaded last week so I figured I would add them to my thread. There are 3 parts.
Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="https://www.youtube.com/embed/2xfhbT_rfzM" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>
Part 1
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Part 2
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Part 3
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slief
RC Sponsor
Pretty difficult to quantify with a relatively small change like that. With the closed loop and return pump swap and the current flow settings, I save about 100 constant watts of power over the two Dart Golds that were running before the RD3 swap in. This is due in large part to the way I run my closed loop in terms of power from day to night. For me, it's more about the big picture so to speak. Years back when I had several big pumps along with metal halides, VHO fluorescent bulbs, a chiller running 12 hours a day etc, I had an $1100 per month electric bill. With the changes I made to my system beginning 2010 (pump reductions/switch to power heads, switch to LED's, elimination of my decency on a chiller etc. brought my bill down to about $350 a month and my flow improved along with every other aspect to my system. I am always for reducing my power consumption as the combination of those changes in my house can have an exponential impact as I work my way into lower power pricing tiers. 100 watts here, 100 watts there tend to add up. Things like changing household lights to LED's, pump upgrades, appliances etc all help at this point.
biecacka
Active member
yeah i get that. i was just curious if you had any idea of the impact that the pumps had on the bill, thats all. either way they are a great addition to the tank. i really like the fact that they can put out that much water, when i move and upgrade tank or equipment these are on my list of dream items.
corey
corey
slief
RC Sponsor
The first two parts were done in May or June of last year. I think that was just before but I don't really remember. The last part of that series was done just about a month ago. The corals has grown back and we will be removing it again. Coraline grows insanely fast in my tank.
slief
RC Sponsor
Some updated growth shots.
This was taken Jan 16th.
These were taken today. It's grown about an inch in that time with several new tips.
Taken Jan 16th
Taken today. The birdsnest in the background has grown like crazy and the coral in the forground has grown well too.
Taken Jan 6th.
Taken today.
Jan 6th
Today.
This was taken Jan 16th.
These were taken today. It's grown about an inch in that time with several new tips.
Taken Jan 16th
Taken today. The birdsnest in the background has grown like crazy and the coral in the forground has grown well too.
Taken Jan 6th.
Taken today.
Jan 6th
Today.
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slief
RC Sponsor
This one is a bit slower growing due to it's location and living in the shadow of a giant hammer coral.
Jan 6th.
Today.
One of two Moni Caps. These things are growing stupid fast at well over an inch a moth.
Jan 6th
Today.
This is a green Monti cap. I guess I didn't track the growth of this one. It's an an odd place on the back wall of the tank and doesn't get as much light so it's growing much slower but it's starting to grow faster now.
This was taken Dec 12th.
Taken today.
Jan 6th.
Today.
One of two Moni Caps. These things are growing stupid fast at well over an inch a moth.
Jan 6th
Today.
This is a green Monti cap. I guess I didn't track the growth of this one. It's an an odd place on the back wall of the tank and doesn't get as much light so it's growing much slower but it's starting to grow faster now.
This was taken Dec 12th.
Taken today.
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slief
RC Sponsor
This picture puts some of the growth into perspective. This was taken exactly 3 months ago.
ago.
This was taken today. There are no new SPS additions in this picture since the above photo was taken. In fact, a couple pieces in the above picture were actually moved and not seen in the one below. This is all growth. You can see how the back wall of the tank is filling out from the growing SPS frags.
One more at a wider angle from that side of the tank.
ago.
This was taken today. There are no new SPS additions in this picture since the above photo was taken. In fact, a couple pieces in the above picture were actually moved and not seen in the one below. This is all growth. You can see how the back wall of the tank is filling out from the growing SPS frags.
One more at a wider angle from that side of the tank.
slief
RC Sponsor
Cleaned my Calclum reactor and filled it for the first time in 9 months.Also recalibrated my pH probe which apparently didn't need to be calibrated. Gotta love how maintenance free and stable a good Masterflex pump and a good regulator makes a calcium reactor. After 9 months, my 20 pound Co2 tank is still nearly 80% full.
Here is a graph from my Apex. The consistent flow and the consistent Co2 rate is all that's needed to keep my reactor pH pretty much flatline. My Apex never has to shut the solenoid off and only acts as a fail safe.
Setup is a Geo 818 Calcium Reactor
Carbon Doser regulator
Cale Parmer Masterflex 7523-80 Brushless Pump
24ml/min and 1 bubble every 4.5 seconds
Reborn Media in the main reactor and ARM in the second reactor
Reactor pH of about 6.7 pH.
Absolutely flatline without any Apex intervention. You can see when I serviced it and calibrated the probe by the one and only blip in the pH.
Here is a graph from my Apex. The consistent flow and the consistent Co2 rate is all that's needed to keep my reactor pH pretty much flatline. My Apex never has to shut the solenoid off and only acts as a fail safe.
Setup is a Geo 818 Calcium Reactor
Carbon Doser regulator
Cale Parmer Masterflex 7523-80 Brushless Pump
24ml/min and 1 bubble every 4.5 seconds
Reborn Media in the main reactor and ARM in the second reactor
Reactor pH of about 6.7 pH.
Absolutely flatline without any Apex intervention. You can see when I serviced it and calibrated the probe by the one and only blip in the pH.
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slief
RC Sponsor
Here is a video update that I took today. It's interesting comparing the video I shot in January as you can see how much all the SPS have filled out on the end of the tank.
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