Phuzzykins' 300 gallon AGE Build Extravaganza
- Thread starter phuzzykins
- Start date
phuzzykins
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Phuz, do you run any sort of sponge filter or anything for oxygenation in your QT? That is how I've always been told to do it(not that Im inteligent enought to QT anything, thats why I pay extra at my favorite fish store)
Yep... I run a HOB power filter (which I usually turn off if I'm dosing medication, since the filter bags have carbon), a sponge filter, and also a mini-jet for circulation.
When I had my low-oxygen incident, both the sponge filter and the minijet were running, and couldn't keep up with the oxygen demand.
phuzzykins
New member
Finally bit the bullet and dosed copper into the quarantine tank today. The blond naso tang has some ich; I had been holding off treating for it because I didn't really want to run cupramine and pimafix at the same time. Unfortunately, the naso was starting to look the worse for wear, and I didn't think I could reasonably put it off anymore.
Kind of a bummer, because my quarantine tank had some volunteer zoanthids as well as a few snails. I removed everything I could find to avoid it fouling the water, and I plan to keep a very close eye on ammonia over the next couple of days.
The orangeshoulder tang and clown wrasse look fantastic, but will be riding out the next two weeks in QT anyway.
Kind of a bummer, because my quarantine tank had some volunteer zoanthids as well as a few snails. I removed everything I could find to avoid it fouling the water, and I plan to keep a very close eye on ammonia over the next couple of days.
The orangeshoulder tang and clown wrasse look fantastic, but will be riding out the next two weeks in QT anyway.
phuzzykins
New member
I finally started skinning out the stand and canopy. I'm using 1/4" Luan plywood behind the TexturePlus panels, and it's all held up by a few rare earth magnets. All of the field pieces are in place, but I haven't added the ledger pieces that will frame out the tank.
phuzzykins
New member
The biggest advantage to something like the panels I'm using is that I can have all of the skins off in about two minutes, by myself. I don't really lose any access for maintenance.
techreef
Premium Member
great looking tank phuz. the stone panels really make that installation look substantial! (as it the giant fish tank sitting there wasn't substantial! 
)
In looking for my new tank, the AGE tanks really do look beautiful, and while I avoided them as a noobie in this hobby, I think I've decided to go with an external overflow on my next tank. The look inside your tank is cavernous!
I'm off to rub my pennies together and dream of an AGE tank.
)In looking for my new tank, the AGE tanks really do look beautiful, and while I avoided them as a noobie in this hobby, I think I've decided to go with an external overflow on my next tank. The look inside your tank is cavernous!
I'm off to rub my pennies together and dream of an AGE tank.
phuzzykins
New member
There haven't been any positive changes worth taking pictures of, unfortunately. I have some algae issues and a couple of dying LPS that aren't very photogenic... my other corals are doing okay, but not significantly changed from the last pictures I posted.
I did finish up all the last of the cutting/fitting/gluing on the skins last night. Now I just need to paint the caulk and cut edges.
phuzzykins
New member
The skins are done!
phuzzykins
New member
I just went to feed the tank and found my rabbitfish dead behind the rocks. The fish was a terror to my zoas and softies, but it had a lot of personality. :/
Dante_JoseCuerv
New member
Sorry to hear that :-(. Love the tank though!
techreef
Premium Member
the skins look great! Wow.
now that you've had the AGE full of water for awhile, is there anything that you would have changed or requested of AGE when they were building it? As much as it pains me to devote so much of my budget to the tank, i feel myself leaning their way heavily. Sounds stupid to say, considering the tank holds all the other crp! :lol:
now that you've had the AGE full of water for awhile, is there anything that you would have changed or requested of AGE when they were building it? As much as it pains me to devote so much of my budget to the tank, i feel myself leaning their way heavily. Sounds stupid to say, considering the tank holds all the other crp! :lol:
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Sciencing Daily
Looking great phuzzy.
phuzzykins
New member
There are only two things I can think of.
First, I hate the black inserts in the overflows. They get algal growth between the glass and the insert, and they're extremely inconvenient to clean. In fact, I can't get to one of them without completely removing the light rack and return plumbing, and even then it sucks. I'd like to get the overflows blacked out some other way.
Secondly, I wish I'd had AGE build my sump too.
The overflow boxes take up a lot of real estate on the back wall, and sort of limited where I could place my vortechs, which in turn dictated the rockscape a bit. That's not AGE's fault, but I wish I had given it a little more thought before I approved the CAD drawings.
AGE tanks are beautiful, but they *are* expensive and you *will* have to wait a while to get one.
techreef
Premium Member
ha. the waiting won't bother me a bit, as the real estate market is so weak around me, we can't sell our apartment to buy the house we want, which will let me proceed with my 300G tank build thread! so I've got no problem with waiting! now if I could only Google an AGE coupon code and get 20% off...
my planned installation of the 300G tank is in-wall, with the back wall of the display tank concealed in my fish room, so if i understand your post correctly, I won't have the same problem that you do with your overflows messing with you.
would spraying black krylon paint on the glass area covered by the black inserts improve your situation?
my planned installation of the 300G tank is in-wall, with the back wall of the display tank concealed in my fish room, so if i understand your post correctly, I won't have the same problem that you do with your overflows messing with you.
would spraying black krylon paint on the glass area covered by the black inserts improve your situation?
phuzzykins
New member
I think the typical lead time for an AGE tank is in the range of 3 months. Tom does a fair number of commercial and institutional tanks, and they eat up a lot of his time.
If you have access to the back, you'll be very happy with the external overflows. My tank is against walls on the right side and the back, which makes it very difficult to get to the right side overflow. Krylon might have worked if I'd thought of it before the tank was installed. The best thing to do would be to just ask Tom at AGE what he'd suggest; I'm sure he'd come up with something.
If you have access to the back, you'll be very happy with the external overflows. My tank is against walls on the right side and the back, which makes it very difficult to get to the right side overflow. Krylon might have worked if I'd thought of it before the tank was installed.
The best thing to do would be to just ask Tom at AGE what he'd suggest; I'm sure he'd come up with something.
phuzzykins
New member
New critters!
Monti Digitata
Monti Cap
Acro
Yellow tang
2 of 3 firefish
Clowns
Not shown: longnose hawk, fighting conch, tigertail cucumber, banded serpent star
Monti Digitata
Monti Cap
Acro
Yellow tang
2 of 3 firefish
Clowns
Not shown: longnose hawk, fighting conch, tigertail cucumber, banded serpent star
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