Oldude's new 400 gal tank build

[mrkalel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14269711#post14269711 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by delphinus
Tx? Do you mean Ab? (to be fair, most Albertans fancy themselves as the Texans of Canada, so it's a common mistake). :lol: Last time I flew from Calgary to Houston (couple weeks ago) there were no fewer than 6 Stetsons on the plane. Howdy Y'all ... eh?

(sorry for the interjection BTW). Just so this post isn't a complete waste of text, I hear ya on the "will work for frags" part. There is some sweeeeet candy growing in that tank I tell ya!

LOL...sorry guys for the mistake... I was thinking of Melev's tank...

 

[Oldude]

Interesting development, I have several fish that were in my old tank that were very well behaved and now in the larger tank are way more aggressive. For example my coral beauty killed a flame angel (he had lived with a flame angel for around a year before the move although it was a different one) and my purple tang has become a real jerk. I wonder if all the extra room has turned them more "wild"? Even my cleaner wrasse killed a firefish goby but is awesome with everything else and my mystery wrasse killed my fairy wrasses as well. My tank has turned into the wild kingdom.

 

[moonyguy]

Sorry to hear about the losses. Could it be that they are trying to reestablish their territories?

 

[Oldude]

fish list.

fish list.

Here is my updated list of fish presently living in the 400 gallon:
purple tang
sailfin tang
regal tangs x2
chevron tang
yellow tang (if it lives from the purple tang attacks)
marine beta
blue stripe pipe fish
borbon anthias x2
anthias x6 (plain janes)
chromis x10
blue spot jawfish
watchman gobies x2
royal gramma
red lip blenny
meredithi angel
coral beauty angel
mandarin
mystery wrasse
cleaner wrasse
hawkfish
firefish goby
clown goby
black/white ocilaris clowns x2
bangai cardinal (need to get him a mate)
foxface
-----misc----------
fire shrimp x1
skunk cleaners x2
peppermints x3
maxima clams x2
derrasa x1
crocea x1
pink serpent star
black brittle star
yellow mesh star
hermits x100 or so
snails x ???
----------------------------
130 gallon softy tank:
regal angel
flame angel
potters angel
niger trigger
yellow tang
blue devil damsel
yellow tail damsel
"mean" anthias x2 (too poorly behaved to be in with the general population in the 400)
large blue lankia star
sea hare

------------------------
Frag tank:
rabbit fish
true purcula
yellow tang (small)
sea cucumber
sea hare

I think that's it?

 

[Oldude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14279540#post14279540 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by moonyguy
Sorry to hear about the losses. Could it be that they are trying to reestablish their territories?

Could be, it's interesting that when they were more crowded they were better behaved. That coral beauty has been with me for 4.5 years and never a problem until now. I think they see the extra space and are gettin greedy.

 

[melev]

Yeah, it has to be territorial, because they have to find new homes and are still sorting out their territories. Sorry to hear about that. When I set up the 280g, I transferred in fish from the 29g, the 55g, and a trash can full of fish that came with the tank. The only aggression I saw was between the many clownfish I had, but I scooped out the ring leader and peace was established instantly.

I hope things settle down before you have more losses.

 

[Oldude]

Re: fish list.

Re: fish list.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14279696#post14279696 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Oldude
Here is my updated list of fish presently living in the 400 gallon:
purple tang
sailfin tang
regal tangs x2
chevron tang
yellow tang (if it lives from the purple tang attacks)
marine beta
blue stripe pipe fish
borbon anthias x2
anthias x6 (plain janes)
chromis x10
blue spot jawfish
watchman gobies x2
royal gramma
red lip blenny
meredithi angel
coral beauty angel
mandarin
mystery wrasse
cleaner wrasse
hawkfish
firefish goby
clown goby
black/white ocilaris clowns x2
bangai cardinal (need to get him a mate)
foxface
-----misc----------
fire shrimp x1
skunk cleaners x2
peppermints x3
maxima clams x2
derrasa x1
crocea x1
pink serpent star
black brittle star
yellow mesh star
hermits x100 or so
snails x ???
----------------------------
130 gallon softy tank:
regal angel
flame angel
potters angel
niger trigger
yellow tang
false purcula x2
blue devil damsel
yellow tail damsel
"mean" anthias x2 (too poorly behaved to be in with the general population in the 400)
large blue lankia star
sea hare

------------------------
Frag tank:
rabbit fish
true purcula
yellow tang (small)
sea cucumber
sea hare

I think that's it?

Whoops......
I forgot about the false percula pair in the 130 gal.

 

[Oldude]

fish aggression fix

fish aggression fix

I rigged up a mirror to the side glass today to see if it would help distract the purple tang and difuse the aggression towards the yellow tang. It has helped some but it has been hilarious seeing how so many other fish got so excited by it. The anthia males have now just today changed colour and formed the red spot on the dorsel fin and there is one who is obviously the dominant male who has now got the females herded while the other male attacks his reflection. The change in the anthias was amazing, it was like a switch got turned on and the change was almost instantanious. The fish that attacked their reflections the most were the marine beta, mandarin, sailfin tang, clown goby, hawkfish, purple tang & mystery wrasse. It has been very entertaining as the mirror actually changed the dynamics of the tank. I plan to leave it up for another day or two and hopefully the yellow tang will make it.

 

[Chihuahua6]

My fish did the same thing when I moved them from a 75 to a 280. The Purple Tang became an a-h-le.

I also did the mirror thing. I only had a hand mirror and the Flame Angel and Purple Tang both enjoy attacking themselves now. It has helped the Tang a bit. He only has a problem with the Pyramid Butterflies. I don't know why he hates them so much. Maybe it's because they're so docile.

I added a Regal Angel after the fact and I was worried the Tang and Flame Angel might have a problem with him but he holds his own. He actually chases the Flame Angel away from his area and doesn't move out of the Tang's way at all.

How big is your mirror? I was thinking of getting one to cover the one side. This way they would see themselves more often.

 

[Dave's Reef]

New tank for me and water/animals???

New tank for me and water/animals???

Hey Greg,

LOVE your build.. just amazing!

I have a question for you though regarding my own new tank I'll be setting up. The new tank will be replacing the old one and will be going in the "same spot" as the old. So, this presents a couple of challenges for me that I'd like to get some feed back from you on.

Obviously, I'll have to break down the "old tank" and set up the new one in it's place before hand. I suppose I'll have to figure out some where to temporarily keep everything until the transfer is complete. I have such a spot but I'm curious about transfer time and such.

I read on page 16 of this thread where you say you mixed old water with new, presumably to avoid a "new" cycle all over, for 3 weeks? I'm wondering, was this based on the volume of water that you were dealing with or do you recommend this time and procedure for any set up?

To give some background for my situation, I'll be upgrading from my 60 gallon tank to a new 120 gallon tank. It will be a full Zeo tank if that matters....

So then, I'm wondering what a sufficient time frame to mix old with new water will be and cycling advice and such. I will be using my old/existing rock and getting some new as well, cured rock.

Sorry to bombard you but you seem like someone who would have the knowledge and advice I need. You've certainly done such an amazing job with your set up I couldn't help but ask!

Thanks

btw you can PM me and I can get you a phone number if this will help avoid excessive typing, LOL!

 

[Oldude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14285472#post14285472 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Chihuahua6
My fish did the same thing when I moved them from a 75 to a 280. The Purple Tang became an a-h-le.

I also did the mirror thing. I only had a hand mirror and the Flame Angel and Purple Tang both enjoy attacking themselves now. It has helped the Tang a bit. He only has a problem with the Pyramid Butterflies. I don't know why he hates them so much. Maybe it's because they're so docile.

I added a Regal Angel after the fact and I was worried the Tang and Flame Angel might have a problem with him but he holds his own. He actually chases the Flame Angel away from his area and doesn't move out of the Tang's way at all.

How big is your mirror? I was thinking of getting one to cover the one side. This way they would see themselves more often.

I had a full length mirror and just clamped it to the side. I took it down today. It looks as though the yellow tang is starting to fight back and is scratching up the purple tang a bit in the rear where they have been doing some blade trading.

 

[Oldude]

Re: New tank for me and water/animals???

Re: New tank for me and water/animals???

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14287039#post14287039 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Dave's Reef
Hey Greg,

LOVE your build.. just amazing!

I have a question for you though regarding my own new tank I'll be setting up. The new tank will be replacing the old one and will be going in the "same spot" as the old. So, this presents a couple of challenges for me that I'd like to get some feed back from you on.

Obviously, I'll have to break down the "old tank" and set up the new one in it's place before hand. I suppose I'll have to figure out some where to temporarily keep everything until the transfer is complete. I have such a spot but I'm curious about transfer time and such.

I read on page 16 of this thread where you say you mixed old water with new, presumably to avoid a "new" cycle all over, for 3 weeks? I'm wondering, was this based on the volume of water that you were dealing with or do you recommend this time and procedure for any set up?

To give some background for my situation, I'll be upgrading from my 60 gallon tank to a new 120 gallon tank. It will be a full Zeo tank if that matters....

So then, I'm wondering what a sufficient time frame to mix old with new water will be and cycling advice and such. I will be using my old/existing rock and getting some new as well, cured rock.

Sorry to bombard you but you seem like someone who would have the knowledge and advice I need. You've certainly done such an amazing job with your set up I couldn't help but ask!

Thanks

btw you can PM me and I can get you a phone number if this will help avoid excessive typing, LOL!

Thanks Dave. Having your tanks needing the same location creates a bit of a problem unless you move things very quickly. I am not sure of your logistics and how you can do it but I'm sure you are creative. For my tank I cycled through about 10% a day for 3 days then waited a day and kept repeating this process for about 3 weeks. If you want to send me your ph# by PM we can talk about it in more detail.
Good luck.

 

[hidnReefAquatic]

awesome tank im so envious

 

[Oldude]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14293532#post14293532 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by hidnReefAquatic
awesome tank im so envious

Thank you for the compliment.

 

[Oldude]

Got busy again this weekend and got the 130 & frag tanks plumbed to the sump so now the system is running all together. Ran the pipes inside the studs for the upcoming wall so they will be out of the way. Here's some progress shots of the work completed yesterday. The chiller is plumbed in through a direct feed under the stand as shown previously in the thread and the other tanks are being fed by an "Ocean Runner 6500" pump located in the sump.

I even swept the floor afterwards.:lol:

Here is the upcoming "fish/equipment" room. Soon the eletrical, plumbing, workbench & shelves will be done so all the temp wires and mess will be cleaned up. Drywall, oak panels, ceiling tiles & the door will fiinsh off the project with many planned access areas so I am looking forward to getting this finished so I can relax a bit and start enjoying it.

 

[melev]

That's quite a large fish room. I like it! :inlove:

Do figure out a way to mark the walls where the plumbing is to avoid accidentally putting a screw into your PVC one day, even if it is just a Post It with the "DMZ" area marked in inches as a reminder.

 

[mrkalel]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=14301921#post14301921 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
That's quite a large fish room. I like it! :inlove:

Do figure out a way to mark the walls where the plumbing is to avoid accidentally putting a screw into your PVC one day, even if it is just a Post It with the "DMZ" area marked in inches as a reminder.

Sounds like that advice comes from experience... :rollface:

 

[delphinus]

I'd look into some steel plating to cover the pipes maybe, before drywalling. Sticky notes or memory can fail ..

I guess it's no worse than a bathroom pipe in a wall stud but I totally see that as an accident waiting to happen. .. Just make it so that it can't happen no-matter-what and then there's no worries..

 

[melev]

Fortunately, nothing too dramatic. :lol:

Years ago, I used to do custom trimwork in new homes, running baseboard, hanging doors, installing attic stairs, window sills, crown molding... In one home, I was shooting on the baseboard in the hallway, and suddenly water came out from under the baseboard. Since I'd already checked the other side of the wall (which was bedroom closet), I knew there wasn't any plumbing in the wall. Apparently when the concrete slab was poured, some plumbing was stabbed up in the wrong spot, and simply capped off. It is required by the plumbers that they nail steel plate strips over any areas where copper pipe pokes up in the base plate, and they didn't do so in that spot.

My boss got yelled at, and I think had to pay for the repair even though it was completely unfair and not our fault.

So yes, I'm more aware of it even all these years later.

Maybe he could paint a horizontal band along that wall where the PVC is, stating that it is merely decor, but secretly to avoid ever screwing anything the the wall in that area.

 

[mrkalel]

yup.. that's a great suggestion...