Rhodes19 180 Build

[Rhodes19]

nice! how long did it take for your diy rock to cure? Mine has been curing for like 2 weeks last year and I had to pull it out because of winter. Now its back in and the pH has been 8.4+ for the past week or two :/

Hi Spanky,

Thanks. I had mine curing for about 2 months. Our water here is high pH wise so it made it difficult to tell when it was done. If yours is staying at 8.4 for a while you should be good to go. I'd soak it in some salt water for a few weeks and see how it looks then before you put it into the tank. HTH

 

[SpankythePyro]

Alright. My water is around 7.4 here from the tap. It stays around 8.4-8.8, I want to get a digital pH monitor though.

I'll do a waterchange next week and drop some of that rock into the water

 

[Rhodes19]

Alright. My water is around 7.4 here from the tap. It stays around 8.4-8.8, I want to get a digital pH monitor though.

I'll do a waterchange next week and drop some of that rock into the water

Sounds good. I got a digital pH meter and I like it. Stick it in the water, push a button, and read. Much easier, quicker, and more accurate to read. I could never match the color in the tube to the color on the chart. It was one of those colors!!!

 

[Rhodes19]

It was a busy weekend but I was able to squeeze in some reefing time. Over the weekend I picked up some new corals and added them to the tank. Here are some pics.

Two frags of Idaho Grape montis

Green acro

Green monti (in the middle)

Acan

And a duncan my wife/enabler picked out.

I'll get more pictures of the duncan when it opens up.

 

[Rhodes19]

Frankie came by this weekend and noticed that some of my older montis are receding. When we looked at them we thought something may be eating them and we suspect the cerith snails. I've been seeing them on top of and attached to the bottom of the montis and thought they were cleaning them. I'll have to look more into it. Here are some of the pictures of the monti.

 

[SpankythePyro]

Thats wierd, I would not think cerith snails would cause a monti to receed like that

 

[Rhodes19]

Thats wierd, I would not think cerith snails would cause a monti to receed like that

I wouldn't think so either. I contacted the vendor and did more research and all the info I can find on ceriths point to them being herbivores. Its has to be something else. I've looked at them at night after the lights have gone off and haven't seen anything on them. I'll keep looking, something is bound to show up.

 

[Rhodes19]

Some updated pictures of the Duncan and green acro. The acan is doing well and was open last night and this morning but it was to dark to take a picture of it.

Duncan opening/opened

Duncan and acro

Green acro

Once I get the 250 MH up I'm sure my pictures will be better. Hopefully.

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, it happened again. My Finnex over heated the tank again. Apparently we lost power at home yesterday while I was at work and I didn't catch it. When I got up this morning, my tank was at 81 and the fuge was at 82. I opened up the front of the middle light for better air circulation and turned on the ceiling fan thats over the tank to help cool it down. As soon as I can get a replacement for my Marineland stealth 300w (that broke in the heat on position only after 4-5 months of use) I am going to pull the Finnex and replace it with a heater that does not reset to 82 deg when the power comes on. I really do need a controller. I'll have to see if I can contact Finnex and see if they have a fix for it or not.

 

[Rhodes19]

I got some time this weekend to work on a few projects. I replaced the grow light over the fuge with a 26 w CF flood light (90 w equivalent) and boy did that put out a lot more light. I think thats going to work a lot better. I also made 2 more screens with 1/2" mesh to place over the tank for better lighting and cooling. I started making some 2x2' boxes from scrap 1/8" plywood to mount the MH in. I got the wood cut and some of the corner supports glued in but ran out of small clamps. The intent is to make the 2x2" boxes so they fit nicely over each of the 3 openings on the tank (only making 2 boxes for now. Ran out of scrap) and easier to move around when necessary. The reflectors are 7" tall so I'm making the boxes 12" tall. I was planing on cutting a hole in the back for a computer fan but I'm thinking of just putting a support over the top to attach the reflector to and let the heat rise up and out. Haven't figured that one out yet. I'll post some pics once the boxes are quasi assembled.


New light in fuge and 2 new screen/jump guards.

 

[Rhodes19]

Ok, last night was not fun. I pulled one of my live rock out so I could remove the ric and keep the rock out of water for a few days to kill off the vermitid snail. The rock is begining to look like a porcupine! Well after using a new razor blade and massacring a ric I stopped. I was doing more harm than good. I may just pull the rock (and one or 2 more like it) and stick them back into a 10 tank.

 

[Rhodes19]

As the song says "Teach your children well"

My 26 year old daughter made this card for me for father's day and sent some money with it. YES, another enabler!!!

I laminated it and will attach it to a container for loose/spare change.

 

[Rhodes19]

I stopped off at a lfs on the way home yesterday and picked up a few clips for some heaters (ditching the Finnex), a digital thermometer for my wifes wf, some filter floss for the wet dry and a neon green candy cane coral. The main lights were off but the actinics were still on. I couldn't resist.

More fish and snails today I hope.

 

[Rhodes19]

Well, I had some time to play in the garage yesterday afternoon and it wasn't too hot (86 deg). I finished making and painting the boxes for the MH lights I'll be putting over the top of the tank. I still need to find one more reflector and then I'll make a 3rd box.


Here are the boxes with a hole in the back for mounting a 4 1/2" fan.

Side view.

Front view.

I painted the inside with white Kilz primer and the out side with Black rustolium (left over from one of my wife's projects).

Paint is still wet.

Eventually I'll replace these with a nice canopy, but for now, these will work.

 

[Rhodes19]

Oh, and my new fishy friend came out for a quick photo op.

Yes, I know. I need to clean the glass. LOL

 

[Rhodes19]

Ok, MH pic time. I mounted the reflector and a fan on the box (ops, forgot to take pictures of that) and placed it on the right side of the tank and all I can say is WOW. I only have one MH up (250w) at the moment but I'll get more up later when I can.

MH box on right side of tank.

Light just turning on.

Duncan under MH

Royal Gramma wanting to be in the pic.

Here is the 6" PC light that was on the tank. I had to take it of in order to put the MH box on and I moved the T5 boxes over.

When I moved one of the T5s, the light went out for some reason. I'll take it off when I get home tonight and see whats up. The MH bulb is a Radium 20k and it definitely gives off a different light than the T5s. That side of the tank is so much brighter.

 

[MarineGirl411]

That looks very nice! Do you have a refractometer or a hydrometer? I am wondering if your salinity may be higher than normal because of the monti. Your alk may be too high as well. Are you testing at all? I am thinking that the ceriths were eating algae that had accumulated on the monti's after the tissue receded. That has happened to me before in the past. I just picked up a refractometer (after years of using a hydrometer with a swing arm and a digital refractometer). My levels were up to 1.028 even though the other testers said 1.025. I cannot believe I waited so long to get one. It will save you some money on salt as well! =)

I would love to try Radiums, but I have DE fixtures. I am using Phoenix 14k bulbs. I really like the colors on them, but I'd like just a tad more green to come through.

Your tank is looking awesome! Your stand is still soooooo beautiful. Can't wait for more pictures.

 

[Rhodes19]

That looks very nice! Do you have a refractometer or a hydrometer? I am wondering if your salinity may be higher than normal because of the monti. Your alk may be too high as well. Are you testing at all? I am thinking that the ceriths were eating algae that had accumulated on the monti's after the tissue receded. That has happened to me before in the past. I just picked up a refractometer (after years of using a hydrometer with a swing arm and a digital refractometer). My levels were up to 1.028 even though the other testers said 1.025. I cannot believe I waited so long to get one. It will save you some money on salt as well! =)

I would love to try Radiums, but I have DE fixtures. I am using Phoenix 14k bulbs. I really like the colors on them, but I'd like just a tad more green to come through.

Your tank is looking awesome! Your stand is still soooooo beautiful. Can't wait for more pictures.

Hi MarineGirl,

Thanks, and its funny that you bring those subjects up. I have had several folks make similar comments about salinity, alk, and cerith snails. A friend of mine is going to let me borrow his refractometer until I get my own (using hydrometer). I've been trying to keep my salinity at 1.025 but if the hydrometer is off, I could have a higher SG. I'll be doing a water change this weekend and I think I will drop the SG down to 1.023 and see if that makes a difference. The alk is typically low and I have to raise it with a buffer and my Ca tends to be high (diy rocks made from crushed oyster shell I'm thinking). I was thinking the ceriths were eating the montis but I've been assured they are herbivores so they are probably just going after the algae on the dead tissue. There are a bunch of ceriths that have died off near the front of the tank so when I do the water change I'll suck them out. It will make the tank look better (besides, so many snails freaked my wife out )

I like the looks of the MH. I have a Coral life 12K bulb I want to put in and see how that looks. I've heard folks with radiums love them. I'm just happy with more/better light. I should be getting some more MH shortly and I'll but them in their own boxes for now. At some point I want to make a nice canopy to match the stand but just haven't had the time (and temp) to do it. Maybe this fall/winter. Sorry to hear about your fiancé's shoulder. Is he doing better after surgery? Yeah, I won't let my wife touch my table saw either, or any of my other power tools for that matter. Its a guy thing. She has however, been using my cordless drill lately. I'll have to get her one of her own so she'll leave mine alone.

 

[MarineGirl411]

The winter is a great time to get things done. =) I am sure your canopy will turn out great when you get it done.

My fiance is doing a little better with the shoulder. He will let me use his chop saw, circular saw, and saber saw. He almost cut his thumb off once with the table saw so he does not want me using it at all. =( Thank you for asking if he is doing okay. I cannot wait to see some more pictures! =)

Let me know what your SG is when you borrow the refractometer. I bought a Sybon from that fish place for 48.00. It's not that bad with all the money us reefers spend on corals and fish. =)

 

[Rhodes19]

Hi MarineGirl,

I gringe when I see my wife touching my tools. She does have her own little tool box with some of the basics but she still helps herself to mine.

Ok, here is a pic of the back side of the MH box. I forgot to take it earlier. I don't have the fan connected yet (need power supply). When I got home last night the tank temp was still 75 deg. Nice .