Pife's One fifty glass box build

[Pife]

Smoothdog has same dimensions and one 250 MH and some led blues mixed in and his coral growth and color are very nice. As for MH technology, it isn't as available as five years ago but the basics aren't going anywhere for many years.

I agree it isn't going anywhere soon. I have almost all the parts to fix any ballast at work. I have an old 400w blue wave and a pfo 400w and 250w. I have half my frag tank on T5 and the other half on a 250watt radium.

 

[Nanook]

I agree it isn't going anywhere soon. I have almost all the parts to fix any ballast at work. I have an old 400w blue wave and a pfo 400w and 250w. I have half my frag tank on T5 and the other half on a 250watt radium.

I do favor the color of the sticks with the mix of T5 bulbs over MH, but MH creates better growth patterns, IME. My cube tank will be four 250 SE Radiums and 4 110 watt VHO for now, which was proven in my past stick tank. If I get less than perfect results, I'd go with 2 8 bulb 60" ATI fixtures.$$$ though and 16 bulbs to replace annually versus the much cheaper four MH every 15-16 months.

 

[owenspackman]

Wow, the trim on that new stand it really beautiful! Great work.

Where did you get the trim from? I don't suppose you know the part numbers?

 

[Pife]

I do favor the color of the sticks with the mix of T5 bulbs over MH, but MH creates better growth patterns, IME. My cube tank will be four 250 SE Radiums and 4 110 watt VHO for now, which was proven in my past stick tank. If I get less than perfect results, I'd go with 2 8 bulb 60" ATI fixtures.$$$ though and 16 bulbs to replace annually versus the much cheaper four MH every 15-16 months.

I think I'll go with T5 and some blue LEd strips. If I don't get the growth I want in going to dial up the radiums.

 

[Pife]

Wow, the trim on that new stand it really beautiful! Great work.

Where did you get the trim from? I don't suppose you know the part numbers?

Thank you. I still need to finish it up when I get the tank in its final resting place. I'm drilling the stand tonight and then I need to pick up some spa flex to see where I need to go through the wall and floor. Once I get the stand drilled I can install the last bit of trim.

I don't have any of the part numbers but you can buy it at any big box home improvement store.

 

[Pife]

I moved around the outputs of my dosing pumps to try and help the white sludge that builds up on my siporax. I was dosing vinegar right above it and I suspect it wasn't high enough flow. I blew off all the sludge with a baster. I how it doesn't return as I think it stops the siporax from working.

 

[Pife]

So I got my holes cut for the bulkheads. I'm taking tomorrow off work. To work on getting this up and running. I'm still unsure of how I'm going to adapt the tank to the system. I'm worried about ammonia. I don't want to harm any of my current inhabitants. How big of a cycle will I have if I tie it in and just let the water barely flow through the system for a couple weeks? Do I need to just cycle it like a normal tank? Any insight will be quite helpful.

<a href="http://s837.photobucket.com/user/PfeifferBrandon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170517_175729_zpsst1cy0xt.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/PfeifferBrandon/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170517_175729_zpsst1cy0xt.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170517_175729_zpsst1cy0xt.jpg"></a>

 

[reefmutt]

well.. what's going into the new tank?
maybe there'll be no cycle at all.

 

[Pife]

New Rock structure and 100 pounds of new sand give or take.

 

[reefmutt]

is it live rock?
i don't think you'll have any cycling from new dry sand or dry rock.
certainly if you put it on a slow circulation with your current system, I don't see any issues..
If the rock structure is live rock and it is cured, then still i don't see an issue..

 

[Pife]

He is in my structure it and the sand is definitely dead dry rock.

I thought for sure it would spike some ammonia.

 

[reefmutt]

That is one wicked piece of rockwork!!
Love it!
I don't see any ammonia spike from that..

 

[kegogut]

I think you have enough bacteria and live rock in your tank now that if you fill up the DT with sand/rock/water youll be fine and shouldnt have a cycle.

 

[bhofosho]

He is in my structure it and the sand is definitely dead dry rock.



I thought for sure it would spike some ammonia.

So nice!
I added a 45gal frag to a double 40b system and just dosed microbacter 7 and put in a couple newly soaked marinepure blocks and had no cycle.


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[Pife]

That is one wicked piece of rockwork!!
Love it!
I don't see any ammonia spike from that..

Thanks. I'm excited to see some coral growing on it.

I'm still leary of a cycle but I'll incorporate the tank slowly.

I think you have enough bacteria and live rock in your tank now that if you fill up the DT with sand/rock/water youll be fine and shouldnt have a cycle.

I sure hope it will go fine. I'm thinking I'll let it run slowly into the tank for a couple weeks.

So nice!
I added a 45gal frag to a double 40b system and just dosed microbacter 7 and put in a couple newly soaked marinepure blocks and had no cycle.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thank you!

That's good to know. I have a bottle that I plan on dosing to the new tank and I need to get some pods to stock it with too.

 

[Pife]

Well I had to finally turn my calcium reactor back on. After a several weeks of may dosing alk. Everything is balanced back out. There are growth tips on almost every coral and this will only help. Color is also coming back too!

 

[Nanook]

Pics!

 

[Pife]

Pics!

Well I suppose bad pictures are better than no pictures.



I almost forgot what growth tips looked like.

<a href="http://s837.photobucket.com/user/PfeifferBrandon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_213144_zpscjiewriv.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/PfeifferBrandon/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_213144_zpscjiewriv.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170523_213144_zpscjiewriv.jpg"></a>


Here are some new pieces and recovering one's. The new ones are doing great and coloring ul better than when I brought them in. Couple of aussie pieces in there too. Come to think of it all of my last 2 trips to the Lfs have only yielded aussie stuff.

<a href="http://s837.photobucket.com/user/PfeifferBrandon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_212122_zps87dario6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/PfeifferBrandon/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_212122_zps87dario6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170523_212122_zps87dario6.jpg"></a>


This guy was completely brown a month ago.

<a href="http://s837.photobucket.com/user/PfeifferBrandon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_212026_zpstuugwiy6.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/PfeifferBrandon/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_212026_zpstuugwiy6.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170523_212026_zpstuugwiy6.jpg"></a>

I'm just trying to be like Matt with these next two. What do you call these shots "artzy fartzy"?

<a href="http://s837.photobucket.com/user/PfeifferBrandon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_211948_zpsc86gst55.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/PfeifferBrandon/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_211948_zpsc86gst55.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170523_211948_zpsc86gst55.jpg"></a>

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And a closing frag tank Fts....

<a href="http://s837.photobucket.com/user/PfeifferBrandon/media/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_212158_zpsg6kakpf2.jpg.html" target="_blank"><img src="http://i837.photobucket.com/albums/zz298/PfeifferBrandon/Mobile%20Uploads/2017-05/20170523_212158_zpsg6kakpf2.jpg" border="0" alt=" photo 20170523_212158_zpsg6kakpf2.jpg"></a>

 

[Nanook]

Stuff looks great, Brandon!

 

[Pife]

Stuff looks great, Brandon!

Thanks. It's nothing like what you have going though. I need to get back out there sometime, I'm sure you're tank is exploding with growth.
I have some pictures of the ugly for tomorrow. I just didn't have time to get them in order.

To get those pictures I took at least 50 shots. Does everyone else do that or am I just that bad of a photographer.

I'm ready to be able to sit on my couch and take pictures and have my computer right there for editing. I'm thinking of getting a WiFi camera even though I have a WiFi card in mine. It's a pain to sync up to my computer.