My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

Stopped by Vivid today and grabbed a few nice frags and a few snails For the frag tank. It's hard putting the frags in the frag tank when I could easily put them in the big tank.. I'll keep an eye on them in the frag tank for a little while and use them to judge my Mitra light settings. Also picked up a Mandarin Goby for the big tank. They had a nice Regal angel that I put on hold in their QT system so I can observe it there for the next week

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Around 10:30 this morning, I get a text from my Apex that there was a leak in my closet.. I immediately took off and headed home. Sure enough, I came home to a wet floor in the closet next to the tank. After inspection, I found that the gate valve that I added to my system to supply water to the new frag tank and a crack in it. I don't think I over tightened the threaded fitting going into but it's entirely possible that I did. That said, this was an old valve that I had sitting in my plumbing supply drawer so its also possible the crack was there before hand. Fortunately I had everything I needed to fix it. I shut the flow valve off as well as the drain valve to the frag tank and then swapped the valve out. A bit of PVC glue and some thread sealent and I was done. Like an idiot, I opened the flow valve and all was well.. Until.... I realized that the frag tank was overflowing. LOL.. Stupid me forgot to open the drain valve and it took nearly 5 gallons flowing out the back of the frag tank and down the holes in the desk for me to realize it. I quickly opened the drain valve and mopped up the mess then placed a fan nearby to dry everything out. Haste makes waste. No big deal. Fortunately my floors are all tiled so it was a simple mess to clean up and nothing was damaged in the process.

Since I was home early for the day I decided to mount up the 7" Fire Tablet that I've had for a while. It took the place of the Apex display that was flush mounted. I've been working on some surface and flush mounts for these Fire tablets for a while now and figured it was time to mount this thing up. I moved the Apex display to the shed and changed the pH probe display on it to reflect the calcium reactor in the shed.


Here is the cracked valve.. Fortunately it was a small crack and the leak was minimal. Also fortunate are the leak sensors placed strategically around the tank including in the closet. I need to add additional sensors below the new frag tank next.
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The replacement valve wasn't a 1" one like the one I replaced. All I had was a 1/2" gate valve but since the feed line is 1/2", this worked just fine and saved me a trip to the store.
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This is how the Apex display was mounted up until today before being moved to the shed..
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The 7" Fire tablet mounted in the new surface mount where the Apex display used to be. I figured I would surface mount it rather than flush mount it for the moment. That will allow me to use the fire tablet daily to make sure I like it here before making permanent changes to my wall. The surface mount screwed right to the wall through the opening where the Apex display was flush mounted.
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Key information shown on the display as well as quick access to my feed buttons.
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Here is the Apex display mounted in the shed giving me a quick view of the calcium reactor pH when I'm in there.
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The kindle looks great. I like the idea of having the fusion display to work with instead of the apex display. Im using my laptop atm but would much rather have a tablet I can access in the fish room.
 
I'd like to pre-order!

Check the site tomorrow. They should be listed by then. These do have the 3d print lines in them but they are actually really nice. If your're really anal, they could be sanded to a perfect finish. The tablet slips in the bottom of the flush mount one and there are tabs that hold it in the mount. There is an access slot on the side to connect the wire and access the power button if needed. There are holes inside the mount for screwing it to the wall.

Here are a few pictures of the surface mount one that I am currently using. This one is one of the first ones that were made and not as nice as the production version in terms of finish. It's also a bit dirty as I hit it with some sand paper and took these before cleaning it.
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Here is the access slot on the side. I suggest using a left angle power connection. They are low profile and can't be seen sticking out the side. You can get those on Amazon.
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The is the bottom side where you insert the Fire tablet. Those bumps hold the tablet in place inside the mount and allow for easy removal.
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Scott,
I was curious about using a kindle for a display. Will your have to turn on the kindle or will the screen stay on? Are you using the kindle web browser? Does it ever log out on you so you have to put in your password before you can use it?
Thanks,
Paul
 
Good catch on the leaks Scott (gotta love the Apex) and the Kindle looks really nice. Wish I had order a few when the we're $.33.

Reef keeping is life!
 
Scott,
I was curious about using a kindle for a display. Will your have to turn on the kindle or will the screen stay on? Are you using the kindle web browser? Does it ever log out on you so you have to put in your password before you can use it?
Thanks,
Paul

If you go into developer mode, you can set it to stay on as long as the charge cord is plugged in. I have mine plugged in so the display stays on. I am using the native Silk browser. I have the Fusion page up 24/7 and I don't need to log back in. If you close out Fusion, you may need to log back in.

Good catch on the leaks Scott (gotta love the Apex) and the Kindle looks really nice. Wish I had order a few when the we're $.33.

Reef keeping is life!

Thanks! The Apex has been a life saver on more than one occasion.
 
If you go into developer mode, you can set it to stay on as long as the charge cord is plugged in. I have mine plugged in so the display stays on. I am using the native Silk browser. I have the Fusion page up 24/7 and I don't need to log back in. If you close out Fusion, you may need to log back in.

Thanks for the info!!!
 
Sneak peak at some soon to be new additions. Two of these Goldflake Angels will be going into the main display soon. I am selling one of the 3. They are currently in my frag tank. This achilles is also in my frag tank and will be going into the main display once I catch my Atlantic Blue Tank. I've got to get him out as I am afraid he will beat up the Achilles.

These pictures do no justice to these fish.
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Frag tank filling up a bit. I am having a hard time not adding these new corals to the main display but I will likely need to remove some soft corals to give them adequate space. I have a ton of hairy mushrooms on one end of the tank that are on their own rocks which are easily removable. I will likely sell some of those rocks and get some new live rock and build a little rock pinnacle for some more SPS. I added a few pieces of live rock and some PVC to the frag tank for the angles and achilles to have some hiding places and something to pick at.
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Nice goldflakes. It was good to see you fellas finally finished that big cylinder tank, too. :thumbsup:

Dave.M
 
Nice goldflakes. It was good to see you fellas finally finished that big cylinder tank, too. :thumbsup:

Dave.M

Thanks! Yea, I am happy that install is done and the customer is happy! It's getting pretty full with corals in that cylinder tank. The customer is impatient and wants a living reef without the wait so Jim's obliged and been adding a ton of coral.
 
nice one on part9 of the cylinder tank. nice finished project. you think those leds arw capable of growing sps?


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