ReefTECK's 75 Gallon Update

yea I think I'll get me one or two when I get my taxes. will I need two mp40s to make a wave in my 90? or do you think I could get by with a mp40 and a mp20? are you running yours at full speed?
 
don't be a pansy bill! get the 2 mp40s. besides, you'd have issues with synchronizing the 40 and the 20 if im not mistaken.
 
yea I think I'll get me one or two when I get my taxes. will I need two mp40s to make a wave in my 90? or do you think I could get by with a mp40 and a mp20? are you running yours at full speed?

Yeah I'm running mine at full speed....well...95% once I get my millie out of the direct path of flow, I'll be cranking it. Everything seems to love it, nothing seems over stressed, the patterns are definately random and keep detritus suspended.

don't be a pansy bill! get the 2 mp40s. besides, you'd have issues with synchronizing the 40 and the 20
.

Nope actually all gen2 vortecs sync without a hitch. But seriously Bill don't be a pansy! lol
 
Yes but when attempting to crank them up the 20 can only go so fast. Just seems like it be like driving on different size rims and nobody likes being that guy!
 
Yes but when attempting to crank them up the 20 can only go so fast. Just seems like it be like driving on different size rims and nobody likes being that guy!

Yeah it could definitely have its short comings when driving them in short pulse mode trying to throw a wave. Lol Love the analogy, I think all those guys live in North Liberty don't they?

I have so much crap I'm trying to do simultaneously right now it's madness. I didn't get half of the stuff done on winter break that I had planned! I didn't go see my mom, or hang with half the people that I wanted to, been working alot. To add to all the madness with the aquarium I also scored like 18 cubic feet of 3/8" Plexiglass G acrylic that I am going to construct a frag tank with. I gotta get it cut soon so I can get it out of my living room before my wife kills me, nah shes pretty kewl about it, only because shes makes a mess throughout the house too. Thanks again for the truck there Jeffy, couldn't do it without you.

That night Skinny T scored a 60 cube, we gotta see that build thread, you should get some pix up and start generating some interest in it. Maybe it will actually motivate you to get it set up!

Along with the sandbed removal, replacement, exterminating the mushrooms, re aquascaping, zeo modding my system, I'm also going to start culturing rotifers and phyto again to get ready for a group of dwarf seahorses in my 8 gallon. Going to order them the first warm week this spring from SeahorseSource.com.

I gotta mention one of the domestic products I'm using to replace one of the zeovit feeding products is Kent's Chromaplex concentrated phyto/zoo plankton and after a few weeks of feeding this stuff I can really see some great results my SPS are loving it, and colors are really looking better. Between that and Oyster Eggs every other day at night things really look great! I highly recommend the stuff, and it is so concentrated I'm only using two or three DROPS of it every other..other night. That is I feed every other night, alternating between oyster eggs and chromaplex.

I keep promising pictures, I'll seriously get some up soon, I'm ordering a kalk rxr next week, and replacing my old ATO beneath my 8 gallon with that and putting my ca rxr down there too, I'll be able to get some good pix of the sump, and the intricate pvc work I've done beneath the tank utilizing just that one Little Giant external pump feeding the UV, fuge, chiller, display, etc. and all the drain lines with the system, pretty nice clean job.

Oh yeah that's another thing to add to this whole insanity, I got a jaco solenoid that I'm wiring into my ATO directly from my RO system, I'm using some programmable features on my RK2 to provide an additional failsafe. The solenoid is 24vdc power unit and it's been a ***** finding anything locally for it. So I've got it on order from Allied electronics, although I ordered the solenoid from McMasters online. MM has alot of great pieces for all sorts of applications. This solenoid is food grade quality and resists upto 80psi, they have others upwards to 200psi for all sorts of various engineering projects.

I'm thinking about also ordering a bench top spectrometer form Hanna Instruments to get accurate color analysis on tests, especially the Sailfert LR PO4 kit (ya heard?) The master spectrometer does everything! 45 tests, the only one its really missing is ORP and TDS but those of course involve conductivity. That's next tax season though probably. Thought I'd mention it for all you nerds out there.

Okay that's it for me tonight! Peace!
 
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Man Andy, you are a NERD! And I love it. I may do a build thread for JJs old cursed 60. Plus I've got some ideas I want to run by you and see if they make sense.

Hey btw, how about some pictures?? Reading is only fun for you, the rest of us retards like looking at pictures!! You get that monster piece of acrylic cut yet?
 
Hell yeah I got it cut things are taking shape, I got the day off tomorrow. Well, the evening anyways. I'll get the new aquascape pix up, and the cut acrylic and a new scroll coral that I got.

Got the left side done, right side I still gotta get out all the sand, and reaquascape, but it will pretty much bring the same. I'm going to bring the damicornis colony down about 6 inches, put a tier up beside it someplace for some more corals to be placed. Got alot of rocks in the wet/dry filter now. And I'm running filter floss.
 
Phosphates and nitrates staying pretty much in check during the transition..?

So far so good! I have a fresh batch of GFO in my Phosban rxr and a new Sailfert PO4 test to keep my eye on things. I heard my buddy Tony & Eric came up and bought your RedSea MAX tangers, I didn't realize they took that trip otherwise I would have come to see ya.

I just got a refractometer too, come to realize my hydrometer was wayyyyyy off. Good thing I've been under the impression that things have been hypo salinic in my tank for the last couple of years, I've been running at 1.022 (according to the hydrometer) turns out this is actually 1.025. :)

I've been trying to dial in my CA Rxr to keep my dkh a little lower than had been previously, aiming for right around 8dkh. And I got a kalk rxr on the way, should be in later this week, I'll get it hooked up this weekend.

Once all parameters are pretty much stable (which they pretty well are (pH is a little anemic)) I'll begin my vodka/zeo dosing (if aquacave ever sends me the rest of my freaking order!).

As for now, the sandbed has been completely removed and replaced, and my re-aquascaping endeavors have come to completion. I had to remove the brittle star that I've had for the last three years, he's a monster:

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And I got an opportunity to take a look at some of my coral specimens up close and see how much progress these little frags have made since I first obtained them. This guy was only one branch and two inches long a couple of years ago:

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The scape on took on some minor changes, but in the process I displaced about 20lbs of rock into the sump, and vanquished another 15lbs. There is alot more terracing for coral placement, area for fish to swim and corals to grow into, and a nice new bed of sand.

As promised (and a day late) here you are, your moment of zenith:
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Well everybody ttyl,
Andy
 
Andy,
Just got rid of my monster brittle star too - and so did Tony! If you would have come with us to get that red sea max, we would have had to strap you to the roof. The tank sat in the front and I sat in the back along with most of the stand... one could say we were packed in pretty tight. Note to self - taking a little lexus to buy a 34 gallon tank, not bright.
~Eric
 
Tanks lookin good. Definitely would have been nice for you to come along with them, but as Eric said, they were lucky they got it all in, we had to take the stand apart! You guys are all welcome up here anytime you want though!
 
looks great Andy! love the new scape. thats the stag you got from me right? one of my moded maxi jets quit working and i didn't nitice for a few days and mine started to stn from the base. so i fraged it. it was getting to big anyway i have a pic of it i'll post sometime. In the pic i was holding it up to my face and it was bigger than my head, and you know how big my head is lol. Anyway got me 2 mp40s so won't have to worry about that crap anymore. also got me two lumen bright pendents with 250w 14000k hamelton bulbs and galaxy ballist. and im ordering a octo extrene 200 and a ac3 next week. I love tax returns:celeb1::celeb3:! I herd you got my old cup coral from shaun good thing it was going down hill quick in his tank, it will color up nicely in your tank. I had it for 2 years and it dobled in size.
-Bill
 
Just got rid of my monster brittle star too - and so did Tony! If you would have come with us to get that red sea max, we would have had to strap you to the roof. The tank sat in the front and I sat in the back along with most of the stand... one could say we were packed in pretty tight. Note to self - taking a little lexus to buy a 34 gallon tank, not bright.
~Eric

That is entirely hillarious! and the strangely coincidential with the starfish! You have any pictures posted of your cube tank? I haven't even seen it (yeah it's been that long!). I'll try to take a trip on the Jeff train sometime and come see ya there in bo-dur.

thats the stag you got from me right? In the pic i was holding it up to my face and it was bigger than my head, and you know how big my head is lol.

Hell yeah man, and **** I wasn't going to say anything but goddamn that's huge, you a big dude! I think the only larger colony than that I've seen was JJ's.

Anyway got me 2 mp40s so won't have to worry about that crap anymore. also got me two lumen bright pendents with 250w 14000k hamelton bulbs and galaxy ballist. and im ordering a octo extrene 200 and a ac3 next week. I love tax returns:celeb1::celeb3:!

DAYUM (jealous) I knew you weren't a pansy! lol Choice selection of new equipment your getting there! Jeff and Adam both got those Octo skimmers and they're real beasts!

I just ordered a mod kit for my Mag 9.5 to feed my Kent skimmer, hopefully get a little more life out of it.

I herd you got my old cup coral from shaun good thing it was going down hill quick in his tank, it will color up nicely in your tank. I had it for 2 years and it dobled in size.
-Bill

Yeah I do! He's doing GREAT, color is getting better, polyp extension looks nice, he had a rough first day Shauns water was 1.019! I got a little hasty and gave him a 30 minute acclimation into 1.025 and said screw it, sink or swim. Just four days out and he's looking great!

Also I got a 9 head of duncan last night, they're super awesome! Some macro pictures to follow. Thanks to everybody for all the comments, I'm really excited and happy with how things are looking as well!

Cya guys!
Andy
 
I got to work wiring in my solenoid to my ATO feeding directly from my RO/DI. I was worried about it's reliability, at first I couldn't get the thing to shut off with all the pressure built up behind it, it's rated at 80psi. Then I figured out it has a directional affinity, switched the input and output side and it's solid. I still am thinking about adding a failsafe. It's plugged directly into my RK2 which is on a channel set to shut off at pH 8.2 or higher. As long as there are no mechanical malfunctions, unrelated system problems shouldn't affect it's reliability.

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Here's my new kalkwasser rxr from Gray Seas Aquatics. It was pretty good to go out of the box, there are a couple of design flaws. But it was a good price and drilling a quick hole to break a bubble in the overflow elbow that was preventing water from flowing from the top of the rxr into the tank. It's not a pressurized rxr, although I think I'm going to put a rubber gasket in the top of the lid.

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Here is the stand where it all sits. Sittin pretty. Now I'll be waging a full blown battle against hassles, headaches, and my calcium reactor providing me with a chronically low pH. Those days are gone, I can't wait to watch things flourish...even more
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Jeffy and I worked on his cube today and put in a support for the back of the stand to remove the back wall for additional sump access. Turned out great, can't wait to see him get that thing up and running!

until later,
Andy
 
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