Our 450g reef, 360g predator tanks
- Thread starter tbittner
- Start date
Thanks Jeff. It's been a lot of trial and tribulation for sure. Not to mention a REAL test with patience!!! :lol:
I think I messed up BIG time though. We've been wanting to catch the one spot foxface in the predator tank and move it to the 450g reef. I already had one foxface in the reef. I've read that they are mostly seen in pairs in the wild so I made the assumption that they would be fine together in a 10 foot tank. I'm not so sure now though. We finally caught the one in the predator tank and added it to the reef. For the first 1/2 hour, it was REALLY impressive to see the two foxfaces swimming back and forth together, for the length of the tank. Then it started to look like the one that's been in the reef, started to get aggressive with the new one. Both of these are about 7" fish so they're about full size, which really made it impressive to watch them. Anyway, I turned the lights out and they both went to sleep so I'll have to see how they do in the morning. I'm NOT looking forward to trying to catch one of them in the big tank, that's for sure! So I really hope they reach an agreement and get along.
I think I messed up BIG time though. We've been wanting to catch the one spot foxface in the predator tank and move it to the 450g reef. I already had one foxface in the reef. I've read that they are mostly seen in pairs in the wild so I made the assumption that they would be fine together in a 10 foot tank. I'm not so sure now though. We finally caught the one in the predator tank and added it to the reef. For the first 1/2 hour, it was REALLY impressive to see the two foxfaces swimming back and forth together, for the length of the tank. Then it started to look like the one that's been in the reef, started to get aggressive with the new one. Both of these are about 7" fish so they're about full size, which really made it impressive to watch them. Anyway, I turned the lights out and they both went to sleep so I'll have to see how they do in the morning. I'm NOT looking forward to trying to catch one of them in the big tank, that's for sure! So I really hope they reach an agreement and get along.
Are you ok, neodama? :lol:
Geez, you're building a TWELVE foot tank so a ten footer should be boring to you. :lol:
Bax, you were 100% correct. They are really getting along this morning. Both of them were eating from the seaweed clip this morning, side by side. It is really a sight to see when these two go swimming by the front pane together. Very impressive.
Geez, you're building a TWELVE foot tank so a ten footer should be boring to you. :lol:
Bax, you were 100% correct. They are really getting along this morning. Both of them were eating from the seaweed clip this morning, side by side. It is really a sight to see when these two go swimming by the front pane together. Very impressive.
Bax
Premium Member
With 10' to play in they should get really confortable together.
So now I am getting excited about your big predator tank coming together. Do you have a pic of your current predator and what will you add to the bigger one? You must be happy you went with CG instead of AFY, ugh! That's a nasty situation!
So now I am getting excited about your big predator tank coming together. Do you have a pic of your current predator and what will you add to the bigger one? You must be happy you went with CG instead of AFY, ugh! That's a nasty situation!
The foxfaces are really playing nice together now. They're even sleeping within a couple of inches of each other. I'll have to get a video showing these two big fish swimming together for the length of the tank. It's really cool.
No doubt Bax! And it irritates me even more the way John at AFY kept calling and sending emails, trying his best to talk me into ordering a tank and sending a deposit. Even after he KNEW they were going under.
I'll get some pics of the 150g tall that the predators currently reside in. I knew I was going to have to get a bigger tank for these guys but I had NO idea they would need it sooner, rather than later. They're fast growers, especially the grouper. We got the grouper about 5 months ago and it was maybe 2 1/2". Now it's 9". I had read that groupers grow to full length in about 10 - 12 months. I kept thinking "Yeah, ok....". Well, they weren't lying! :lol:
No doubt Bax! And it irritates me even more the way John at AFY kept calling and sending emails, trying his best to talk me into ordering a tank and sending a deposit. Even after he KNEW they were going under.
I'll get some pics of the 150g tall that the predators currently reside in. I knew I was going to have to get a bigger tank for these guys but I had NO idea they would need it sooner, rather than later. They're fast growers, especially the grouper. We got the grouper about 5 months ago and it was maybe 2 1/2". Now it's 9". I had read that groupers grow to full length in about 10 - 12 months. I kept thinking "Yeah, ok....". Well, they weren't lying! :lol:
I'm considering adding one of these to my system:
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...s-UV_Sterilizers-Units-114_Watts~vendor~.html
It seems to be the most bang for the buck as far as kill ability and electric usage. Is this a good idea? Or is it a waste of money?
http://www.marinedepot.com/ps_ViewI...s-UV_Sterilizers-Units-114_Watts~vendor~.html
It seems to be the most bang for the buck as far as kill ability and electric usage. Is this a good idea? Or is it a waste of money?
FFrankie
New member
I am running the 25w one. That thing is a beast! I do not use mine for sterilization though. water clarity only. I run it 24/7. Mine did not come with a wiper. After running it for two years straight i recently opened the glass seal chamber to inspect it and the tube was clean. I think that tells me the wiper is over rated. Just another one of those marketing scams. 
I will say that i never had a water clarity issue from using uv 24/7. Check out this one Terry and see if you can save a few bucks.
http://www.emperoraquatics.com/aquasmartuv.php
I will say that i never had a water clarity issue from using uv 24/7. Check out this one Terry and see if you can save a few bucks. http://www.emperoraquatics.com/aquasmartuv.php
Actually, I may not do anything for now. I was considering it, but if it isn't broke....
I do have a UV built into my Teco 1/3 hp chiller and it runs 24/7. My water is nice and clear, but my powder blue and powder brown have three or four visible spots of Ich on them. My hippo had a spot or two also but she is completely free of it now and has been for about 4 days. I know it came in on the Powder Blue. Darn trouble fish... At least he is fattening up and eating like a pig, as is the powder brown.
So I'm just keeping a close eye on them for now. The move down from the 120 obviously really stressed them out but they all seem to have recovered nicely and are enjoying their new, larger home.
I DID make a HUGE mistake today though. My wife, daughter, and I went up to Fredrick, MD to get some router bits. I wanted to show them the overflowing coral display tanks that Mr. Coral has now. We walked out $550 poorer. Mr. Coral is a DANGEROUS place. :lol:
We bought this HUGE, heart shaped rock with about 25 different colored mushrooms on it. Beautiful, HUGE rock! We also picked up a brilliant, bright, florescent green gonipora. I've never seen one like it. It acclimated and fully extended within two hours too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. We also bought a really nice long tentacle plate coral with purple tips. Beautiful coral. Also keeping my fingers crossed. My wife LOVES Zoas so we bought a small frag of brilliant yellow zoas. First time I've seen that color. He had a TON of awesome zoas though so it was really hard to decide.
Even with my elevated nitrates, all the corals seem thrilled and are growing, and splitting like crazy. I swear, our candy cane has doubled the number of polyps in two weeks. The Florida Rics are splitting too. Our Duncans are HUGE but I haven't seen any new polyps on them yet, but they look like they're about to bust.
I also credit a lot of the growth to the Solaris'. My water temp doesn't vary more then 1 degree in a 24 hour period, even with the intense heat wave we have going on right now. It was 100.3 outside today and the water temp went from 77.8 to 78.5. It's back to 78.3 now.
I do have a UV built into my Teco 1/3 hp chiller and it runs 24/7. My water is nice and clear, but my powder blue and powder brown have three or four visible spots of Ich on them. My hippo had a spot or two also but she is completely free of it now and has been for about 4 days. I know it came in on the Powder Blue. Darn trouble fish... At least he is fattening up and eating like a pig, as is the powder brown.
So I'm just keeping a close eye on them for now. The move down from the 120 obviously really stressed them out but they all seem to have recovered nicely and are enjoying their new, larger home.
I DID make a HUGE mistake today though. My wife, daughter, and I went up to Fredrick, MD to get some router bits. I wanted to show them the overflowing coral display tanks that Mr. Coral has now. We walked out $550 poorer. Mr. Coral is a DANGEROUS place. :lol:
We bought this HUGE, heart shaped rock with about 25 different colored mushrooms on it. Beautiful, HUGE rock! We also picked up a brilliant, bright, florescent green gonipora. I've never seen one like it. It acclimated and fully extended within two hours too. I'm keeping my fingers crossed on that one. We also bought a really nice long tentacle plate coral with purple tips. Beautiful coral. Also keeping my fingers crossed. My wife LOVES Zoas so we bought a small frag of brilliant yellow zoas. First time I've seen that color. He had a TON of awesome zoas though so it was really hard to decide.
Even with my elevated nitrates, all the corals seem thrilled and are growing, and splitting like crazy. I swear, our candy cane has doubled the number of polyps in two weeks. The Florida Rics are splitting too. Our Duncans are HUGE but I haven't seen any new polyps on them yet, but they look like they're about to bust.
I also credit a lot of the growth to the Solaris'. My water temp doesn't vary more then 1 degree in a 24 hour period, even with the intense heat wave we have going on right now. It was 100.3 outside today and the water temp went from 77.8 to 78.5. It's back to 78.3 now.
OK! Here is what we have so far:
The legs are 4x4's, with the supporting piece sitting on top of the two legs. In the bottom of each leg, I fastened a piece of 1/4" steel, and I have a 1/2" bolt running up through the steel, into the leg. These are used for leveling everything to exactness. The bottom frame is 2x4's and they keep the legs firmly in an upright position. Tomorrow night, we'll level the legs and get them to the correct height so the top of the 360g stand exactly matches the height of the 450g stand. There will be a space between the corners that we're still considering ideas for filling in. We'll probably hang a curtain to seal the area between the two stands.
The top will be two layers. First layer will consist of two 2x10's and one 2x8, laying flat on the legs, glued, and tight against each other. Then I'll fasten the planks and legs together with steel angle braces. We'll then glue on a piece of 3/4" plywood that has a nice oak vaneer finish on top of the planks. The tank will sit on a piece of 3/4" stryofoam on top of the plywood.
There are two 1" holes in the bottom of the tank, on the right/bottom. All the other holes are in the left end panel for the drain to the sump and the returns from the sump. The 2" hole to feed the CL is in that end panel, along with two 1" return holes.
This is the view from the couch and love seat, looking at the corner where the two tanks will meet.
The legs are 4x4's, with the supporting piece sitting on top of the two legs. In the bottom of each leg, I fastened a piece of 1/4" steel, and I have a 1/2" bolt running up through the steel, into the leg. These are used for leveling everything to exactness. The bottom frame is 2x4's and they keep the legs firmly in an upright position. Tomorrow night, we'll level the legs and get them to the correct height so the top of the 360g stand exactly matches the height of the 450g stand. There will be a space between the corners that we're still considering ideas for filling in. We'll probably hang a curtain to seal the area between the two stands.
The top will be two layers. First layer will consist of two 2x10's and one 2x8, laying flat on the legs, glued, and tight against each other. Then I'll fasten the planks and legs together with steel angle braces. We'll then glue on a piece of 3/4" plywood that has a nice oak vaneer finish on top of the planks. The tank will sit on a piece of 3/4" stryofoam on top of the plywood.
There are two 1" holes in the bottom of the tank, on the right/bottom. All the other holes are in the left end panel for the drain to the sump and the returns from the sump. The 2" hole to feed the CL is in that end panel, along with two 1" return holes.
This is the view from the couch and love seat, looking at the corner where the two tanks will meet.
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