owenspackmans 180 Reef upgrade build.

[owenspackman]

My AI Director should arrive tonight. I'll be able to get full control of my Vegas via my laptop, iPhone and iPad.

Glad I can ditch the awful controller that they currently sell.

 

[Crazy_Beaver]

Nice frags!

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

WWC always got some nice stuff. Might pay a pretty penny but excellent selection.

 

[owenspackman]

WWC always got some nice stuff. Might pay a pretty penny but excellent selection.

You're right on the cost, they are higher than I'm used too, but theirs are the best looking corals in the tank!

 

[biecacka]

I am amazed at those corals. They look awesome! Can't wait to see the grow out

Corey

 

[h.cordero]

Super nice men!

 

[theReefKing]

Hey Owen!
I didn't know this was you until you said hi on my thread.
I had looked at your thread before, but it wasn't until i looked a little harder tonight that I recognized the tank and now I know it's you.

Reading the whole thread now.

 

[theReefKing]

I tested the sump/refugium today to test for silicone leaks and flow pattern. All went well.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8591020562/" title="DSC_0001 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8387/8591020562_689ee517e9.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="DSC_0001"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8591021064/" title="DSC_0008 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8225/8591021064_81d791c90b.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="DSC_0008"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8589920067/" title="DSC_0012 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8234/8589920067_9936eb8fb6.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="DSC_0012"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8589921511/" title="DSC_0016 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8589921511_b112e4e60e.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="DSC_0016"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8589922189/" title="DSC_0027 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8380/8589922189_cb6b20c9e3.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="DSC_0027"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8589919577/" title="DSC_0021 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8372/8589919577_be612f5cdd.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="DSC_0021"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8591022636/" title="DSC_0030 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8088/8591022636_ea7c4987f6.jpg" width="500" height="334" alt="DSC_0030"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8589923041/" title="DSC_0033 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8506/8589923041_3045a0e0b1.jpg" width="334" height="500" alt="DSC_0033"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8589923431/" title="DSC_0046 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8371/8589923431_de90f5b635.jpg" width="500" height="335" alt="DSC_0046"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/8591023846/" title="DSC_0048 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8250/8591023846_a033251cb5.jpg" width="335" height="500" alt="DSC_0048"></a>

This looks great! Love the downed returns with the spillover into the socks. On,y thing wrong with this beautiful creation is you are going to have to make another one when you upgrade that skimmer.

 

[theReefKing]

Thanks for helping me with my decision.

Wayne,
Had to pipe in here. I bought and now have sold (at an $800 total hit) 4 vega's I have always had decent SPS growth until I placed the 4 vega units over my old 180. It might have been something else that was going wrong with the tank, but by the time I sold the system we had pulled all SPS and almost all of our LPS out of the 180 because of the poor growth and coloration of the coral.

Again, it might not have been the vega's but we have good success in our other 10 systems, so that is what Dana and I blame it on. We will not go with an AI product again.

Others on here seem to disagree me but that is what I experienced and my .02 for what it is worth.

Side note. They sure do make the corals and color pop though!!!

 

[theReefKing]

Thanks for sharing all of that with us. Will be fun to watch your tank mature. Keep those WWC specials growing, cause we got some frag swapping to do once your ready!

Talk to you soon.

 

[Noamurmac]

I love the stand work it looks like it could hold a bull dozer! I am in the process of building one for my 90 now. You didn't feel like it needed supports through the middle?

 

[SPotter]

awesome set up Owen! Happy to find another SC reefer!

 

[owenspackman]

Hey Owen!
I didn't know this was you until you said hi on my thread.
I had looked at your thread before, but it wasn't until i looked a little harder tonight that I recognized the tank and now I know it's you.

Reading the whole thread now.

I didn't realize your thread (that I posted on!) was YOU until I looked a little harder! Now I need to go back for a more thorough read! I will be coming back out your way when I have the spare cash for more frags!

 

[owenspackman]

I love the stand work it looks like it could hold a bull dozer! I am in the process of building one for my 90 now. You didn't feel like it needed supports through the middle?

Hi and thanks. It actually does have support through the middle, two horizontal beams and two vertical at the front and back.

 

[owenspackman]

awesome set up Owen! Happy to find another SC reefer!

Same here! There really don't appear to be too many of us around here!

 

[owenspackman]

here is a photo update of the tank after her first 3 months.

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436757769/" title="DSC_0005 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2868/9436757769_9c03711a4c_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0005"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439539114/" title="DSC_0012 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7348/9439539114_6ffef0579c_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0012"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436757509/" title="DSC_0031 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7424/9436757509_c305fd2623_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0031"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436757399/" title="DSC_0034 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7334/9436757399_8ff37f828b_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0034"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436757265/" title="DSC_0042 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7327/9436757265_1ed3664cec_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0042"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436757119/" title="DSC_0045 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3715/9436757119_c8441d2a94_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0045"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436756901/" title="DSC_0047 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5329/9436756901_977ac9c57d_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0047"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436756917/" title="DSC_0075 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3757/9436756917_6a15291770_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0075"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436757841/" title="DSC_0001 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2892/9436757841_b57e02a4a8_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0001"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436756423/" title="DSC_0078 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7460/9436756423_a4cd9037f9_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0078"></a>

 

[owenspackman]

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439538434/" title="DSC_0081 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3713/9439538434_28a1987cb3_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0081"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436756251/" title="DSC_0095 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7349/9436756251_f5654a35e2_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0095"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439537216/" title="DSC_0096 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5526/9439537216_8bbc05bced_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0096"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9436755899/" title="DSC_0098 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2876/9436755899_6956c50b91_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0098"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439537316/" title="DSC_0099 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2886/9439537316_3b278ea2eb_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0099"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439537158/" title="DSC_0146 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3740/9439537158_c29e8a9057_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0146"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439536480/" title="DSC_0188 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm4.staticflickr.com/3834/9439536480_921e73ae87_c.jpg" width="800" height="500" alt="DSC_0188"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/29441159@N03/9439536332/" title="DSC_0190 by owenspackman, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm3.staticflickr.com/2869/9439536332_e35fb70ffb_c.jpg" width="500" height="800" alt="DSC_0190"></a>

 

[theReefKing]

Cool picture of the Incredible Hulk. Looks great!

 

[owenspackman]

Cool picture of the Incredible Hulk. Looks great!

It's really growing, I was surprised, a few pages back you can see it in its original fragged state, the day I got it from you. It's now encrusted down its side, over the plug and into the rock work. Did you spot other frags of yours on there, they're all doing well!

 

[Crazy_Beaver]

Tank looks great m8!