shane 1111
Premium Member
that tank looks very nice.
Randy's 180G Reef-Photo Journal
- Thread starter rdmpe
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craftytony
OT Godfather
wow! very nice!
rdmpe
New member
Thanks Shane and Tony.
Tony. Dude. Your web site was cracking me up. Very nice. The blast of music at the beginning scared the sh!t out of me :lol: I wasn't expecting that and it's all quiet here... Cool artwork and looks like a great group of friends. Reminds me of some old days and how I met my wife (watch out, you never know...) Playing pool, dancing to house music all night long... Next thing I know... Married hehe Seriously, I finally just found one so good I said damn I gotta hang on to her!
Tony. Dude. Your web site was cracking me up. Very nice. The blast of music at the beginning scared the sh!t out of me :lol: I wasn't expecting that and it's all quiet here... Cool artwork and looks like a great group of friends. Reminds me of some old days and how I met my wife (watch out, you never know...) Playing pool, dancing to house music all night long... Next thing I know... Married hehe Seriously, I finally just found one so good I said damn I gotta hang on to her!
rdmpe
New member
Well, I have some updated tank shots. Also - I finally got my test kits (except nitrate and phosphate are backordered). These are all Salifert kits. So any feedback people have on using them would be appreciated. Salt mix is Tropic Marin. So my water parameters test...
Water Parameters:
Salinity ~ 1.026 (Pinpoint monitor freshly calibrated)
Temperature ~ 80.5
PH ~ 8.4 (Milwaukee SPS122, see calibration issue below)
Ammonia ~0
Nitrite ~ 0.10
Nitrate ~ backordered
Calcium ~ 450
Alkalinity ~ 8.3 dKH
Magnesium ~ 1275
Phosphate ~ backordered
I'm glad to finally have the test kits and I think my water params look pretty good :thumbsup:
As for the PH meter - I got ut used here at RC. I didn't have any calibration fluid. I finally got some 7.0 and 10.0 fluid along with my test kits and stuff. I could not get the PH monitor to calibrate properly. The best I could do was to get the 7.0 fluid to read 7.3 and the 10.0 fluid to read 9.7. So I figure the 8.4 should be fairly close, possibly an actual value of 8.3. I think I probably need to replace the probe.
Before calibrating, the meter was reading 7.6 and I was worried that my water was really messed up somehow. But now I feel better
So on to some pictures !!!
I want to do three rock islands with plenty of sand and swimming space between. So far I have one of the rock structures done, except for one spot that I think needs something. Now the water is still a little cloudy AND I'm going to replace the black 1" pvc with somethig really short and locline coming up out of the sand. So ignore the pvc return pipes and remember this is my first round!!!
Here's the first shot. This is looking into the "front" side of the tank.
Now that I'm looking at these pictures, I think I am knocking the quality down too much before posting. The picture quality is looking pretty bad. I'll post some better ones in a few days though. Too late to take new pics now.
So the next picture... This is looking into the "end" of the tank. Remember - ignore those black pipes
You can also see the closed loop intake screen. I have been playing with some different screens. I think I'm going to stick with this one or something about the same size.
Next is a picture from the "back" side. From this angle you can see the part that I think needs another rock placed into it. There is a long vertical rise along the left edge from this angle. I think I need to put something in there to fill it out. I never noticed it until I took these pictures, so I thought that was interesting. Just an angle I never really looked at it from. There is a patch of Xenia out there on that rock point on the right. The clownfish has decided to live there, poor little guy.
And finally, a full tank shot from the back side, sort of from the corner... The other rock piles are not really started yet. There are just some rocks sitting around. I think I need another 100 to 150 lb of LR.
You can also see the closed loop outlet on the bottom in the first picture. It has a white tip on it. I will be painting those black and will also be trimming that particular outlet back so you will not notice it easily after I'm done. There is another outlet in that rock pile at the top that you can't see at all.
The lowest rocks are resting on some PVC pieces that I cut just for that purpose. Then the other rocks are sitting on the ones below and are attached to the central PVC closed loop "riser" with zip ties. I read that these will get covered with coraline and will be invisible eventually.
You can also see that I used about half dead rock that I had along with the LR that I bought from another reefer. The deadrock I have is some amazing shapes with tons of embeded shells, tubeworm shells, and all kinds of cool stuff. Very irregular jagged shapes with holes and such.
Well that's it for tonight
Water Parameters:
Salinity ~ 1.026 (Pinpoint monitor freshly calibrated)
Temperature ~ 80.5
PH ~ 8.4 (Milwaukee SPS122, see calibration issue below)
Ammonia ~0
Nitrite ~ 0.10
Nitrate ~ backordered
Calcium ~ 450
Alkalinity ~ 8.3 dKH
Magnesium ~ 1275
Phosphate ~ backordered
I'm glad to finally have the test kits and I think my water params look pretty good :thumbsup:
As for the PH meter - I got ut used here at RC. I didn't have any calibration fluid. I finally got some 7.0 and 10.0 fluid along with my test kits and stuff. I could not get the PH monitor to calibrate properly. The best I could do was to get the 7.0 fluid to read 7.3 and the 10.0 fluid to read 9.7. So I figure the 8.4 should be fairly close, possibly an actual value of 8.3. I think I probably need to replace the probe.
Before calibrating, the meter was reading 7.6 and I was worried that my water was really messed up somehow. But now I feel better
So on to some pictures !!!
I want to do three rock islands with plenty of sand and swimming space between. So far I have one of the rock structures done, except for one spot that I think needs something. Now the water is still a little cloudy AND I'm going to replace the black 1" pvc with somethig really short and locline coming up out of the sand. So ignore the pvc return pipes and remember this is my first round!!!
Here's the first shot. This is looking into the "front" side of the tank.
Now that I'm looking at these pictures, I think I am knocking the quality down too much before posting. The picture quality is looking pretty bad. I'll post some better ones in a few days though. Too late to take new pics now.
So the next picture... This is looking into the "end" of the tank. Remember - ignore those black pipes
You can also see the closed loop intake screen. I have been playing with some different screens. I think I'm going to stick with this one or something about the same size.
Next is a picture from the "back" side. From this angle you can see the part that I think needs another rock placed into it. There is a long vertical rise along the left edge from this angle. I think I need to put something in there to fill it out. I never noticed it until I took these pictures, so I thought that was interesting. Just an angle I never really looked at it from. There is a patch of Xenia out there on that rock point on the right. The clownfish has decided to live there, poor little guy.
And finally, a full tank shot from the back side, sort of from the corner... The other rock piles are not really started yet. There are just some rocks sitting around. I think I need another 100 to 150 lb of LR.
You can also see the closed loop outlet on the bottom in the first picture. It has a white tip on it. I will be painting those black and will also be trimming that particular outlet back so you will not notice it easily after I'm done. There is another outlet in that rock pile at the top that you can't see at all.
The lowest rocks are resting on some PVC pieces that I cut just for that purpose. Then the other rocks are sitting on the ones below and are attached to the central PVC closed loop "riser" with zip ties. I read that these will get covered with coraline and will be invisible eventually.
You can also see that I used about half dead rock that I had along with the LR that I bought from another reefer. The deadrock I have is some amazing shapes with tons of embeded shells, tubeworm shells, and all kinds of cool stuff. Very irregular jagged shapes with holes and such.
Well that's it for tonight
tgunn
Active member
Hey Randy,
Looking good!
Looks like the cycle is under way if your ammonia is at 0 and the nitrites are > 0.. Good to know the cycle is underway!
I like the rock piles you've got going there. That's a really cool structure. I think it's going to look awesome when all the pillars are done. Lots of nice open sand space in the tank like that! I like it!
Tyler
Looking good!
Looks like the cycle is under way if your ammonia is at 0 and the nitrites are > 0.. Good to know the cycle is underway!
I like the rock piles you've got going there. That's a really cool structure. I think it's going to look awesome when all the pillars are done. Lots of nice open sand space in the tank like that! I like it!
Tyler
rdmpe
New member
Thanks Tyler, I'm pretty excited to finally have it coming together somewhat. I am going to have to remove some of the sand I put in the tank. It's just a little deeper than I want. I couldn't see a thing when I was adding it originally, so I figured I'd rather suck some out later than have to add a couple of bags once it is cleared up.
I think I'll post on the local forum to see if anyone wants it. It could barely be considered live sand in such a new tank, but there will probably be some pods and stuff sucked up with it.
I have tons of pods in my refugium. I can sit there and watch them running around all over the place. I'll probably post some more photos later. I'm home for lunch right now (I work close to the house) and the water is so clear I can see through the long direction of the tank now. Time to move some sand!
I think I'll post on the local forum to see if anyone wants it. It could barely be considered live sand in such a new tank, but there will probably be some pods and stuff sucked up with it.
I have tons of pods in my refugium. I can sit there and watch them running around all over the place. I'll probably post some more photos later. I'm home for lunch right now (I work close to the house) and the water is so clear I can see through the long direction of the tank now. Time to move some sand!
rdmpe
New member
Also - I'm going to haul my light out and sit it on 2x4's across the tank and start a really short photoperiod. It's been nearly two weeks with only ambient light at best. With the milk there were actually long periods of very dark conditions I'm sure. The lights should reallly perk things up I think. Also finding new life on the rocks as the water clears... Found a little yellow sponge, a mushroom coral (I think - have to post an id request...) and some other stuff. I think once the lights get started, it will make a big difference. I wonder if I'll have a big algae outbreak... Hopefully my nitrate and phos test kits will get here soon so I can check those params.
tgunn
Active member
You did a great job of hiding the one closed loop tower in one of those rock piles. I really like how that turned out.. I think when I do my next tank I'll have to go with a closed loop setup like that.
I have a feeling you'll probably get an algae outbreak. My cooked rock was for all intents of purposes was "cycled" (just not seeded with life), and my new live rock was precured. I didn't get much of a cycle, but I sure did get the diatoms and algae. Seems it's just part of a new tank.
I've definitely gotta get a 'fuge going; I don't have a huge amount of 'pods quite yet and I think it'd be nice to get the population going..
Tyler
I have a feeling you'll probably get an algae outbreak. My cooked rock was for all intents of purposes was "cycled" (just not seeded with life), and my new live rock was precured. I didn't get much of a cycle, but I sure did get the diatoms and algae. Seems it's just part of a new tank.
I've definitely gotta get a 'fuge going; I don't have a huge amount of 'pods quite yet and I think it'd be nice to get the population going..
Tyler
rdmpe
New member
I still don't have any lights over my tank. Gonna rig a temporary setup this weekend. But I was looking around with a flashlight last night and WOW :eek1: there was so much life it was amazing. I have little bugs (pods?) zipping in and out of the holes in the LR all over the place. It's really incredible.
I have tons of little tiny bright red things. I think they may be feather dusters. They are only about 2 mm across right now, can't get a decent picture. But I've seen them pull in and almost completely disappear when a pod runs over them.
I have a yellow sponge about the size of a dime and a white one about the size of a quarter, and probably more that I haven't seen.
Some rocks had some very thin things waving out of the holes that looked like little worms? They were about 1 cm long, dozens of them. They were not in groups but seemed to be single separate creatures. Very cool.
My bristle star is just hanging out under the rock pile with his arms sticking out all around it...
My biggest concern is the clownfish "Hobbes" as the kids have named him. The xenia he is hosting is on it's way out due to his constant attention. I think I should donate him to the lfs and get some fish that is a free swimmer and can handle a new tank. My cycle seems to be very mild although I can't test nitrates yet. With Ammonia = 0 and Nitrites - 0.10, seems mild to me. But I am going to be adding more LR as good stuff becomes available locally for good prices or as I find certain must-have pieces at the lfs. So there will be continued (hopefully mild) adjustments to the nitrogen processing balance in the tank.
The fuge is absolutely teeming with pods. They are running around everywhere I look. The macro seems to be doing OK although I think I may loose some of it due to the coating of white powder from the southdown. It seems to be sticking to the macro leaves pretty well. I can't get it completely off.
So do you think that picture above is a mushroom? I guess it must be. I have never seen a picture of a mushroom from the side like that so I didn't realize how much tissue is below the "face" of an open mushroom. I thought they had more of a slender stem. And I also didn't realize that they might be able to move? This one seems to be able to move itself back under the rocks sometimes... May be my imagination though
EDIT:
Thanks Rock- just saw your post on the previous page. Now I know what a very fat mushroom looks like :lol: :thumbsup:
I have tons of little tiny bright red things. I think they may be feather dusters. They are only about 2 mm across right now, can't get a decent picture. But I've seen them pull in and almost completely disappear when a pod runs over them.
I have a yellow sponge about the size of a dime and a white one about the size of a quarter, and probably more that I haven't seen.
Some rocks had some very thin things waving out of the holes that looked like little worms? They were about 1 cm long, dozens of them. They were not in groups but seemed to be single separate creatures. Very cool.
My bristle star is just hanging out under the rock pile with his arms sticking out all around it...
My biggest concern is the clownfish "Hobbes" as the kids have named him. The xenia he is hosting is on it's way out due to his constant attention. I think I should donate him to the lfs and get some fish that is a free swimmer and can handle a new tank. My cycle seems to be very mild although I can't test nitrates yet. With Ammonia = 0 and Nitrites - 0.10, seems mild to me. But I am going to be adding more LR as good stuff becomes available locally for good prices or as I find certain must-have pieces at the lfs. So there will be continued (hopefully mild) adjustments to the nitrogen processing balance in the tank.
The fuge is absolutely teeming with pods. They are running around everywhere I look. The macro seems to be doing OK although I think I may loose some of it due to the coating of white powder from the southdown. It seems to be sticking to the macro leaves pretty well. I can't get it completely off.
So do you think that picture above is a mushroom? I guess it must be. I have never seen a picture of a mushroom from the side like that so I didn't realize how much tissue is below the "face" of an open mushroom. I thought they had more of a slender stem. And I also didn't realize that they might be able to move? This one seems to be able to move itself back under the rocks sometimes... May be my imagination though
EDIT:
Thanks Rock- just saw your post on the previous page. Now I know what a very fat mushroom looks like :lol: :thumbsup:
rock455
New member
There are many different varieties -- some have slender stems and others -- well you have one -- the red things are little feather dusters -- nothing bad about them -- the macro will do just fine -- it does need light however -- I would suggest that you get a light on the fuge asap == the little stringey things that are comming out of the rock are worms -- that is how they feed -- it is like a long fishing line that catshes suspended things in the water to eat.
The clown and the Xenia will do fine together -- I would expect that the sooner the xenia gets some light the better off it will be -- Everything is probabbly wondering what happened to the sun!
You might have a slight die off but I wouldn't expect it to be too terrible -- I would get some filter feeding food for the pods and other critters so they will have something to eat. There are many products that you can buy -- I'm sure you lfs will have something -
- I prefer marine snow
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=TL3111
and kents phytoplankton
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=KM3573
-- but that is just me.
The clown and the Xenia will do fine together -- I would expect that the sooner the xenia gets some light the better off it will be -- Everything is probabbly wondering what happened to the sun!
You might have a slight die off but I wouldn't expect it to be too terrible -- I would get some filter feeding food for the pods and other critters so they will have something to eat. There are many products that you can buy -- I'm sure you lfs will have something -
- I prefer marine snow
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=TL3111
and kents phytoplankton
http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=KM3573
-- but that is just me.
rdmpe
New member
Thanks Rock, I should also mention I'm very happy with this rock and stuff that I bought from you. It is all really nice. A great purchase for me, seems to be the perfect start for the tank - thanks!
And I appreciate you checking in on my thread and clueing me in on some of the stuff living in it. I'm very excited to have all of this live stuff in my tank after having the tank here since July! It has been a long process just to get to this point!
I have had light on the fuge for almost the whole time - so that part should be OK. I'll get some decent light on the tank starting tomorrow. I do have a 300w halogen torche lamp right next to the tank providing some decent ambient lighting, although nothing anywhere near the 250w MH that will start tomorrow...
I sure hope I can contend with the heat. That may be the limiting factor on my photo period for a while...
Yesterday the room got a little bit warm, not sure exactly what temp, but the tank was up to 81.5 with no lights on the display. Just running a Dart closed loop, a Tarpon return, a Mag 9.5 on skimmer, and a 23W coil bulb w/clip on reflector lighting the fuge (not much heat from that bulb).
And I appreciate you checking in on my thread and clueing me in on some of the stuff living in it. I'm very excited to have all of this live stuff in my tank after having the tank here since July! It has been a long process just to get to this point!
I have had light on the fuge for almost the whole time - so that part should be OK. I'll get some decent light on the tank starting tomorrow. I do have a 300w halogen torche lamp right next to the tank providing some decent ambient lighting, although nothing anywhere near the 250w MH that will start tomorrow...
I sure hope I can contend with the heat. That may be the limiting factor on my photo period for a while...
Yesterday the room got a little bit warm, not sure exactly what temp, but the tank was up to 81.5 with no lights on the display. Just running a Dart closed loop, a Tarpon return, a Mag 9.5 on skimmer, and a 23W coil bulb w/clip on reflector lighting the fuge (not much heat from that bulb).
rock455
New member
The amount of heat you have in your tank is amazing -- You saw my 110 setup -- it has 2 250w MH with 2 110 VHOs running a PanWorld 50PX for the return and a PanWorld 200PS for my skimmer -- I also have a CR that adds heat to the tank and a UV light running constantaly -- My temp is around 79 when the lights are on and 77 when the lights are off.
I still think your pumps are exporting a ton of heat into the tank -- do you have much resitance from ball valves on the pumps? That will cause them to generate more heat.
I still think your pumps are exporting a ton of heat into the tank -- do you have much resitance from ball valves on the pumps? That will cause them to generate more heat.
rdmpe
New member
I agree - the heat is too much. I don't have any closed ball valves or any other significant plumbing restrictions on the pumps. They are pretty much running wide open. I'm getting approx. 3000 gph through the dart and 1000 or so through the Tarpon. So it seems that I'm going to be dealing with at least 4 degrees above ambient just due to the pumps. I'm not sure how much cooling I can expect from having fans on the sump/fuge.
With ONLY the Dart running on the closed loop, temps were stable at about 3 deg above ambient. (no lights)
With the Dart, Tarpon and Mag 9.5 running, I think it would hit maybe 5 deg above ambient. (no lights)
I have not run the system with the closed loop turned off, but I plan on doing that for a day or so to see what the temperature does. 3000 gph is a lot of flow, but I still thought that the Dart would not impact my temperatures as much as it seems to be doing.
With ONLY the Dart running on the closed loop, temps were stable at about 3 deg above ambient. (no lights)
With the Dart, Tarpon and Mag 9.5 running, I think it would hit maybe 5 deg above ambient. (no lights)
I have not run the system with the closed loop turned off, but I plan on doing that for a day or so to see what the temperature does. 3000 gph is a lot of flow, but I still thought that the Dart would not impact my temperatures as much as it seems to be doing.
tgunn
Active member
I'm still amazed that the dart is adding so much heat to your system. I can totally see a Mag drive pump like a mag, iwasaki, or a gen-x adding that much heat. But certainly not the dart...
When I ran my C/L dart (Dart in basement on shelf) it didn't seem to impact my water temp at all.
How warm does the dart's housing get for you? When I had mine it didn't get hot, but it was definitely warm My Seq 1000 is lukewarm to touch; it generates almost no heat at all.
I wonder if perhaps the fan's own ventilation is causing problems.. The fan pushes air across the cooling fins towards the volute; perhaps this warm air is heating up the volute or plumbing attached to it unnecessarily? Perhaps you could try directing a fan on the pump to cool it down a bit?
Tyler
BrianPlankis
Premium Member
I thought darts were supposed to be no more than warm to the touch. If that sucker is under warranty I definitely would be calling them.
B.
B.
rdmpe
New member
I called sequence and they thought that the motor would normally run about that hot such that you could touch it but it might not be comfortable to keep your hand on it for a long time. That's a pretty accurate description of it I think.
Since it isn't making any noise or getting so hot that it shuts itself down, I am thinking that it is operating within spec..
Unfortunately it's so hard for people to compare temperatures since so many things can affect it, especially the air temp in the room/fish room, etc.
Since it isn't making any noise or getting so hot that it shuts itself down, I am thinking that it is operating within spec..
Unfortunately it's so hard for people to compare temperatures since so many things can affect it, especially the air temp in the room/fish room, etc.
tgunn
Active member
Yeah, temperature is pretty subjective. I think that sounds about right though. My dart did get warm; nowhere near what my PCX-70s do, but still warm.
My dart didn't really generate a lot of air flow from the fan.. Does the volute feel any warmer on the side facing the fan than the front? Just curious if the air from the fan is warming it up at all.
I'd try a fan blowing ont he pump to see if that helps....
Tyler
My dart didn't really generate a lot of air flow from the fan.. Does the volute feel any warmer on the side facing the fan than the front? Just curious if the air from the fan is warming it up at all.
I'd try a fan blowing ont he pump to see if that helps....
Tyler
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