Jhudson616
New member
Beautiful tank! I love the organization. Are you happy with your Vortechs?
Phuzzykins' 300 gallon AGE Build Extravaganza
- Thread starter phuzzykins
- Start date
phuzzykins
New member
I'm happy with them overall, but I still wish I could control the speed (or trigger night mode and feeding mode) from my AquaController.
I run the 3 pumps in lagoon random mode, and don't sync them to each other. The left pump is placed low, and runs at about 40% intensity. This is the general area where I intend to keep mushrooms, zoas, and softies that prefer low light and flow, and is visible on the "short" side of the tank.
The center pump is placed high in the tank, and runs at about 80%. It produces lots of surface water movement, which gives me a nice shimmer from the halides.
The right pump is placed low, and runs at about 60%.
There are also five return lines in the tank: One in the center rear of the tank, pointed forwards, for the chiller. One in each front corner, pointed at a 45 degree angle inwards. Finally, one on the center of each side pane, pointed straight across the tank.
KCMO Reefer
New member
Great aquascaping. Love the tank.
phuzzykins
New member
FedEx just arrived with the snails, corals, and clam from LiveAquaria, and bags are floating in the sump... so begins the acclimation.
The water temperature on arrival was 66 degrees on my infrared thermometer, which seems to be about average for shipped livestock.
The water temperature on arrival was 66 degrees on my infrared thermometer, which seems to be about average for shipped livestock.
Rickyrooz1
Acropora Nut
Nice video!
phuzzykins
New member
Everything is drip acclimating now.
Coral bags floating in the sump
Clam (big bag) and snails in the sump
Snails drip acclimating
Corals drip acclimating - the birdsnest detached from its frag plug in transit, so I had to glue it back down.
The clam, which you can barely see, drip acclimating. It's already extending its mantle a bit in the bag.
And finally, the whole acclimation setup. My drip lines are in one of the overflow boxes. A 6ml syringe makes it a lot more pleasant to start the siphons.
Coral bags floating in the sump
Clam (big bag) and snails in the sump
Snails drip acclimating
Corals drip acclimating - the birdsnest detached from its frag plug in transit, so I had to glue it back down.
The clam, which you can barely see, drip acclimating. It's already extending its mantle a bit in the bag.
And finally, the whole acclimation setup. My drip lines are in one of the overflow boxes. A 6ml syringe makes it a lot more pleasant to start the siphons.
phuzzykins
New member
Thank you! One of my roommates just got a high def camcorder, so I borrowed it for a bit.
fatboyt123
New member
That has got to be the best aquascape I have ever seen. I give you a gold metal
phuzzykins
New member
New critter day!
My front actinics are down (Current USA bulbs suck... I've had two fail in ~ 2 weeks of operation) so these are just the 10k halides.
Derasa clam
Thick branch birdsnest
Amethyst porites
Green monti cap
Green turbinaria
A herd of ceriths
My front actinics are down (Current USA bulbs suck... I've had two fail in ~ 2 weeks of operation) so these are just the 10k halides.
Derasa clam
Thick branch birdsnest
Amethyst porites
Green monti cap
Green turbinaria
A herd of ceriths
phuzzykins
New member
Thank you! It's not as dramatic as many of the 'scapes I've seen around here, but I do believe it's a bit more naturalistic. I like both styles, but I'm just too lazy to spend a week gluing rocks together to form dramatic rockscapes.
maxxII
Super Housemonkey!
Love the aquascape...its good, seriously.
If you're still experiancing bryopsis blooming, increase your mag levels to over 1500, (1550 or higher) and keep them there for several weeks. I havent been pointed to the exact reasons why it kills off the bryopsis, but I've been told it interferes with photosynthethis with bryopsis. I can state that it worked in my tank with no issues to acros, montis, various LPS, and anemones.
How did the cost of your AGE tank compare to the Marineland DD? I'm assuming it was more expensive, but was it significantly more expensive, or just moderately? What length of time does AGE provide with their tanks and stands? Was the shipping a significant portion of your total cost of the tank?
I was aware that AGE did glass with PVC bottoms on their tanks, but the top rim of your tank is acrylic? Interesting.....Why is that?
I will be following along with your build here in the future.
Nick
If you're still experiancing bryopsis blooming, increase your mag levels to over 1500, (1550 or higher) and keep them there for several weeks. I havent been pointed to the exact reasons why it kills off the bryopsis, but I've been told it interferes with photosynthethis with bryopsis. I can state that it worked in my tank with no issues to acros, montis, various LPS, and anemones.
How did the cost of your AGE tank compare to the Marineland DD? I'm assuming it was more expensive, but was it significantly more expensive, or just moderately? What length of time does AGE provide with their tanks and stands? Was the shipping a significant portion of your total cost of the tank?
I was aware that AGE did glass with PVC bottoms on their tanks, but the top rim of your tank is acrylic? Interesting.....Why is that?
I will be following along with your build here in the future.
Nick
phuzzykins
New member
Thank you! My bryopsis is under control; it's just an early colonizer. I really only have a dusting of diatoms right now. A couple of rocks have some hair algae and a brown macroalgae of some sort, which I'm leaving in place as a snack for herbivores.
I did have a much more severe bryopsis problem on my Solana, and raised the magnesium to combat that.
The AGE tank was significantly more expensive than Marineland. Probably close to double. If you want exact prices, PM me and I'll share them. Keep in mind that prices for both Marineland and AGE tanks will vary (perhaps considerably) depending on where you order them.
Shipping was about $850, including the crating fee. The warranty is 3 years if you have AGE build the stand as well as the tank; 1 year for any other professionally built stand. If you build your own stand, there's no warranty at all.
I'm not 100% sure why the tank was built with an acrylic eurobrace, but I appreciate the fact that it has nicely rounded and eased edges when I'm laying across it. It's one solid piece, where glass eurobracing would have been four.
Cheers,
-Matt
phuzzykins
New member
I just got a package from Blue Zoo Aquatics with my Randall's goby, starry rabbitfish, and blue jaw trigger... so I may as well show my acclimation and quarantine procedures.
First... the box gets unpacked in my fishroom. In the dark. The bags are clamped to crossbars in the sump, and floated for 15-20 minutes. I keep my QT tank and main system within a degree or so of each other, and this is just easier than trying to float bags in the QT tank.
While they're floating, I add 30ml of Stress Coat to the 29 gallon quarantine tank. This helps repair the fishes' slime coats, and also detoxifies ammonia.
My QT tank does have some live rock for biological filtration, but with the varied stocking level, a mini-cycle is always possible. I check ammonia every day for the first few days of QT.
First... the box gets unpacked in my fishroom. In the dark. The bags are clamped to crossbars in the sump, and floated for 15-20 minutes. I keep my QT tank and main system within a degree or so of each other, and this is just easier than trying to float bags in the QT tank.
While they're floating, I add 30ml of Stress Coat to the 29 gallon quarantine tank. This helps repair the fishes' slime coats, and also detoxifies ammonia.
My QT tank does have some live rock for biological filtration, but with the varied stocking level, a mini-cycle is always possible. I check ammonia every day for the first few days of QT.
phuzzykins
New member
Once temperature acclimated, the fish are transferred from their shipping bags into a 5-gallon bucket, where I add another squirt of Stress Coat. Here I eyeballed 1.5 gallons of water, so I added 1.5 ml of Stress Coat.
My drip acclimation rig is pretty standard - rigid airline, flexible airline, a valve, and a 6ml syringe. The syringe is a nice and easy way to start the siphon without any chance of getting aquarium water in your mouth.
Drip acclimation will take an hour and a half to two hours. Every time the water in the bucket doubles, discard half. Top up the QT tank with freshly made salt water (and a proportional amount of Stress Coat) as needed to replace the water lost to QT.
The room and QT tank lights stay out until the fish have been in the QT tank for an hour or two, to minimize stress.
My drip acclimation rig is pretty standard - rigid airline, flexible airline, a valve, and a 6ml syringe. The syringe is a nice and easy way to start the siphon without any chance of getting aquarium water in your mouth.
Drip acclimation will take an hour and a half to two hours. Every time the water in the bucket doubles, discard half. Top up the QT tank with freshly made salt water (and a proportional amount of Stress Coat) as needed to replace the water lost to QT.
The room and QT tank lights stay out until the fish have been in the QT tank for an hour or two, to minimize stress.
phuzzykins
New member
The fish have been transferred to the quarantine tank - they are GORGEOUS. Photos later on once the lights are on and they've settled in a bit.
Later today, I'll offer up a variety of foods and see what they like. I have mysis, spirulina brine shrimp, krill, clams, nori, seaveggies, spectrum pellets, blue zoo mix, table shrimp, and frozen herbivore cubes. I'm sure they can each find something.
Later today, I'll offer up a variety of foods and see what they like. I have mysis, spirulina brine shrimp, krill, clams, nori, seaveggies, spectrum pellets, blue zoo mix, table shrimp, and frozen herbivore cubes. I'm sure they can each find something.
phuzzykins
New member
Only the goby would hold still and stay out in the open long enough for a decent photo under the weak QT tank lights.
Amblyeleotris Randalli
Siganus Punctatus
And the incredibly fast swimming...
Xanthichthys Auromarginatus
Amblyeleotris Randalli
Siganus Punctatus
And the incredibly fast swimming...
Xanthichthys Auromarginatus
phuzzykins
New member
I mounted my T5's using the IceCap waterproof endcaps. The endcaps are attached to blocks of plastic (which I cut and drilled) with stainless steel bolts. The plastic blocks are then attached to square aluminum tubes (EZ Tube, the same material as the rest of the light rack) with more bolts. The ends of the EZ Tube rest on the side rails of the light rack, and the plastic blocks sit snugly in between the rails. They slide forwards and backwards a bit, can be easily removed to change bulbs, and the front one can be flipped upside down to provide more access to the tank.
If that isn't clear, let me know and I can post a video for you.
The reflectors don't block the halides at all. Every inch of the canopy space is used, but nothing is obscured.
phuzzykins
New member
The new arrivals are still very shy... especially the trigger. He's in a corner with the dorsal spines deployed if he sees me. The rabbitfish is easily startled, and displays a pale coloration on its head for a minute or two when I'm around. The goby is just making aggressive postures towards its own reflection. :crazy1:
The rabbit ate every food I offered, except the nori... mysis, clams, squid, krill... not much of an herbivore, though I did see it pick at some macro algae growing on a rock.
I've only seen the goby grab a few mysis. This species is known to not eat for a few days after introduction to a tank, so I'm not surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for food.
The trigger definitely loves his mysis, but also grabbed a couple of small chunks of squid.
On Sunday, I'll do a water change and start a 5-day Prazi-Pro treatment for worms and flukes.
The rabbit ate every food I offered, except the nori... mysis, clams, squid, krill... not much of an herbivore, though I did see it pick at some macro algae growing on a rock.
I've only seen the goby grab a few mysis. This species is known to not eat for a few days after introduction to a tank, so I'm not surprised at the lack of enthusiasm for food.
The trigger definitely loves his mysis, but also grabbed a couple of small chunks of squid.
On Sunday, I'll do a water change and start a 5-day Prazi-Pro treatment for worms and flukes.
stumpovrtyme
Reef Junkie
Tanx lookin sweet!
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