Oldude's new 400 gal tank build

[Oldude]

CleveYank - I noticed old pic, Thinset mixed in a petland bucket. Nice touch.

Apparently they are good for something.:uzi::spin2:

melev - Don't hesitate to call me around that time so we can plan it out.

Sounds good Marc, I'll be in touch.

michika - Hey Greg!

Are you still following the same dosing regimen as you were with your old system?

Hi Catherine, no I'm not doing that with this tank.

ashish Your aquarium is incredible - It' show pure passion and dedication to reefkeeping. I just started keeping SPS and regardless of my experience I know in time you always learn the small things that make a hugh difference. I am still trying to figure out the best placement and flow. what is the best way to aquascape without using epoxy? You should be given TOTM already. unless you've won already...

Thanks for the compliments. Yes after some time you get to know a few of the ins & outs of sps but I am no expert and am still learning every day. In my opinion aquascapes will only last so long and then it turns into a "coralscape" so coral placement is important. You need to visualize what you hope it will become and set it up accordingly. I personally like intermittent stags through out the reef so it breaks it up and has personality. For my aquascaping I drilled the rocks and zip tied them together so I would not end up with a "house of cards" like my previous set up. Thanks for looking.

 

[Oldude]

I still can't get over the way this red acro is developing these blue patches & tips lately.:eek1: I like the contrast.

 

[Oldude]

point of interest

point of interest

I picked up a pair of fire fish gobies about 6 weeks ago and they disappeared within days so I was a bit bummed but just thought it was one of those things, maybe they upset an angel or other bigger fish since I never found any died up "jumper" evidence. Well the other night I found them both safe & happy living in my Sump refugium. I'm sure it was a wild ride for them to get there but my biggest question is what have they been eating for the past month & a half? Pods & critters I guess. Now I know where they are I'll throw them a few morsels of food on occasion and let them live there in peace and hope they might start spawning at some point.

Speaking of spawning last night my mandarins were going at it and then all of a sudden "poof" they seemed to explode out a bunch of stuff in unison and the chromis' school had a feast. It basically looked like a bunch of eggs & sperm, anyway very cool. It was very neat how they did their little dance and then they expelled there wares together in harmony.:love1:

 

[Lightsluvr]

Speaking of spawning last night my mandarins were going at it and then all of a sudden "poof" they seemed to explode out a bunch of stuff in unison and the chromis' school had a feast. It basically looked like a bunch of eggs & sperm, anyway very cool. It was very neat how they did their little dance and then they expelled there wares together in harmony.:love1:

That is so cool! Where was the video camera when you needed it??? :bounce1:

LL

 

[aquaph8]

any intentions of raising baby mandarins in the near future?

 

[Oldude]

That is so cool! Where was the video camera when you needed it??? :bounce1:

LL

Yeah it figures, I plan to charge it up and keep it handy to try and capture some future romance.

 

[Oldude]

any intentions of raising baby mandarins in the near future?

My tank is well stocked with fish that will likely eat the fry if there are any that even make it to that stage so I'm not planning to raise them but I would be very happy although very surprized if some lived.:smurf:

 

[michika]

What kind of media quantities do you go through with dosing 2-part?

 

[Oldude]

What kind of media quantities do you go through with dosing 2-part?

Hey catherine,
I've never figured it out exactly but let's see, Alk for example is dosed at half strength at a rate of 90 ML per hour X 24 = 2.160 liters per day.
So if a box of Arm & Hammer weighs 500 grams and is mixed at an approximate ratio of 1 box per 2 gallons or roughly 4 liters (for our American friends a liter is almost a quart) per gallon, that makes close to 3.7 gallons of 1/2 strength alk per week so that means that I go through just shy of 1 kilo of baking soda per week or almost 2boxes. Alk level maintained is about 8.5 - 9 DKH.
I would have to weigh the calcium choride to know for sure but I would guess it would weigh about 2/3 of what the BS weighs and in Randy's recipe it calls for 2.5 cups per gallon and I dose that at a rate of 60 ML per hour X 24 = 1.44 Liters per day to maintain a level of 460 - 480 ( with calcium I prefer to error on the high side)
So I would guess I go through around .66 kilos of calcium or approx 1.5 lbs per week.
Magnesium is dosed at 1/7 the rate of the calcium but is a much heavier mix per gallon and I don't know what those weight values would be but I mix magnesium Chloride & mag sulfate as recommended in the recipe. Mag levels are maintained at 1380-1400.
Math is not my forte' so if I screwed up on the equations don't hold it against me, especially since this was all done off the top of my head. (so to speak)
Anyway long story short...... I go through a fair bit of media.

 

[Oldude]

I like your signature question:

aquaph8 - If a fish farts does that effect ammonia levels?

I believe this is the reason that when you buy a fish at the store they pump air into the bag for GAS exchange.:lol:

 

[Oldude]

Misc coral cluster :rollface:

I don't often shoot from this view point inside the fish room looking from end to end.

 

[aquaph8]

I like your signature question:



I believe this is the reason that when you buy a fish at the store they pump air into the bag for GAS exchange.:lol:

Thanks LOL :lmao:

 

[Oldude]

To change things up a bit here's a few shots from my softy tank.

Toadstool macro

Green hairy shrooms next to the giant rhodactis stand.

Big A$$ rhodactis'

Yuma style pimple & wart shrooms

Green Bubble

Devil's Hand

Here is what was a non performing mille that I threw in the softy tank and it is starting to get a bit of colour under the 150 watt MH's. (interesting)

 

[popper231]

very awesome...a lot of patient and planning

 

[Oldude]

very awesome...a lot of patient and planning

Thank you. Yep but for some reason it still keeps me busy.:rollface:

 

[dmorel]

Every time I see photos of your tank and corals I am blown away... Spectacular.

 

[Western_reefer]

Beautiful corals/pictures!! My favorite of the bunch is the Devils hand. If you ever frag it. LMK I've been looking allover for them around here and can't find any frags.

 

[lastlight]

I saw this tank today and just BLOWN away. The pictures don't do the aquascaping justice at all. There are so many cool crevices and overhangs that I didn't want to LEAVE. The colours are as vivid...more so...than they appear in the pictures.

Not to mention Greg's one hell of a nice guy. I was there picking up an RO/DI unit he no longer uses...free of charge.

I'm through requesting pictures...I'm just going to beg until he opens his door to me again haha.

 

[elijaher]

Maybe you can run a video of your tank someday.

 

[Oldude]

dmorel Every time I see photos of your tank and corals I am blown away... Spectacular.

You're very kind, thank you.

Western_reefer Beautiful corals/pictures!! My favorite of the bunch is the Devils hand. If you ever frag it. LMK I've been looking allover for them around here and can't find any frags.

Man I wish I could send frags to the US but the cites laws have so much red tape it's almost impossible & would cost a fortune. I always thought those leathers were pretty common?