RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Well I fixed my digital camera just in time.....
Meet the newest member of the family:
Still trying to decide on a name.
Meet the newest member of the family:
Still trying to decide on a name.
RocketEngineer's 75g/125g Setup
- Thread starter RocketEngineer
- Start date
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Pepper is settling in just fine. Other than a accident here and two at my parents house over Thanksgiving she seems to be figuring things out. The rest of the training seems to be going good as she has sit, down, stand, and (sort of) come under control. Now that my back is better I'm hoping to build her dog house so I can start leaving both of them outside during the day. If nothing else it would be less boring than watching the cat from inside her wire crate.
On the tank front I had a pleasant surprise tonight. Just before Veterans Day the anemone I've had for years decided to go for a wander. When I spotted it floating outside the hole it's been in since almost day 1 I grabbed my tongs and placed it into the rock work hoping it would find a place it liked without getting sucked into a power head. For three weeks I've been looking for the wreckage. While feeding the tank tonight I spotted this neon pink patch in the very top of the rocks. A quirt of food went into the crevice. Here's to it making a comeback.
On the tank front I had a pleasant surprise tonight. Just before Veterans Day the anemone I've had for years decided to go for a wander. When I spotted it floating outside the hole it's been in since almost day 1 I grabbed my tongs and placed it into the rock work hoping it would find a place it liked without getting sucked into a power head. For three weeks I've been looking for the wreckage. While feeding the tank tonight I spotted this neon pink patch in the very top of the rocks. A quirt of food went into the crevice. Here's to it making a comeback.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Ah, the quiet when the ATO runs. A Cyber Monday special one Avast Marine and I have a new peristaltic ATO pump that is A) QUIET and B) no longer back siphons when the check valve has cat hair in it. Ah, the simple things in life.
Lavoisier
Premium Member
It is a wonderful thing when pursuing excellence to have something fall into place. Enjoy the silence...
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Yeah, but man can it be expensive. This makes ATO pump #5.....
1) Aqualifter
2) BRS peristaltic
3) Original Avast peristaltic
4) Avast diaphram
5) Updated Avast peristaltic.
The first two died, #s 3 & 4 were just very noisy for being in the living room. Now I have to pay better attention to the ATO container as I can't hear when the pump is pulling air. Since I'm using the extra tank outside my stand for my ATO container, I'm hoping I can stay on top of it.
1) Aqualifter
2) BRS peristaltic
3) Original Avast peristaltic
4) Avast diaphram
5) Updated Avast peristaltic.
The first two died, #s 3 & 4 were just very noisy for being in the living room. Now I have to pay better attention to the ATO container as I can't hear when the pump is pulling air. Since I'm using the extra tank outside my stand for my ATO container, I'm hoping I can stay on top of it.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
The problem with that is I use a kalk reactor which has a 1/4" fitting in the top but it is almost impossible to find the fittings to step down from the 1/2" outlet on a maxijet to the airline tubing the reactor takes. And putting the kalk directly into my ATO container isn't an option as the cat can stick her paws in the tank I use for long vacations. So far I like the new peristaltic pump and plan to keep the others as backups or for use on future builds.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
New Year Update
New Year Update
With the new year comes reflections on the past. And in this case a reflection on how long ago I was at the same stage. Looking back through this thread I found that a little over four years ago was when I got my first coral as well as the rose bubble tip anemone. Today I have a larger tank, more advanced plumbing and powerheads, and T5/LED lighting. I've added a sand filter and GFO reactor. Most of the original rock has been changed out. And sadly I still have few fish and only a handful of corals.
While it is sad how much I have lost, I've learned a hell of a lot. The tank is better now than it has been in quite some time.
The lone survivor:
The acro has grown and the polyps now cover the entire plug:
The sand dwellers:
Some look to be doing better than others.
The Acan collection:
These have started to grow and all three have a row of new polyps under the originals.
January 2015 FTS:
My plans for 2015 are adding more of everything. I hope to get more fish, specifically a group of anthias which I will feed with an auto feeder. I would also like to get at least one other tang to knock down the hair algae but haven't settled on an specific type yet. With more fish also comes more corals. I enjoy the LPS more than the SPS so the plan is at least a couple more brain corals as well as several more Acans. I especially like growing them from small frags so don't expect any colonies to be showing up in my tank. Until I get much better at keeping reefs, its less expensive to loose small frags.
On the equipment side is something a little different, I plan on adding another tank. This one will go to my office at work and be fairly simple. My hope is to use mostly existing equipment as I have enough of just about everything. I will be adding an internal skimmer instead of using my HOB in order to ensure I don't have issues when I'm not there. For the most part it will house mushrooms, soft corals, and other durable livestock. For fish, a couple of clowns are about the extent of what I hope to keep. At the moment it is a matter of collecting the pieces as finances and time allows.
Happy New Year.
New Year Update
With the new year comes reflections on the past. And in this case a reflection on how long ago I was at the same stage. Looking back through this thread I found that a little over four years ago was when I got my first coral as well as the rose bubble tip anemone. Today I have a larger tank, more advanced plumbing and powerheads, and T5/LED lighting. I've added a sand filter and GFO reactor. Most of the original rock has been changed out. And sadly I still have few fish and only a handful of corals.
While it is sad how much I have lost, I've learned a hell of a lot. The tank is better now than it has been in quite some time.
The lone survivor:
The acro has grown and the polyps now cover the entire plug:
The sand dwellers:
Some look to be doing better than others.
The Acan collection:
These have started to grow and all three have a row of new polyps under the originals.
January 2015 FTS:
My plans for 2015 are adding more of everything. I hope to get more fish, specifically a group of anthias which I will feed with an auto feeder. I would also like to get at least one other tang to knock down the hair algae but haven't settled on an specific type yet. With more fish also comes more corals. I enjoy the LPS more than the SPS so the plan is at least a couple more brain corals as well as several more Acans. I especially like growing them from small frags so don't expect any colonies to be showing up in my tank. Until I get much better at keeping reefs, its less expensive to loose small frags.
On the equipment side is something a little different, I plan on adding another tank. This one will go to my office at work and be fairly simple. My hope is to use mostly existing equipment as I have enough of just about everything. I will be adding an internal skimmer instead of using my HOB in order to ensure I don't have issues when I'm not there. For the most part it will house mushrooms, soft corals, and other durable livestock. For fish, a couple of clowns are about the extent of what I hope to keep. At the moment it is a matter of collecting the pieces as finances and time allows.
Happy New Year.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
With things showing signs of growth, I have gone ahead and added 10 more corals to the tank, one Acro, two brains, and seven Acan Lord frags. For the moment all but the Acro are on the sand bed while they settle in. I was also able to pick up frozen foods including frozen cyclopeze CUBES :dance:. Pictures likely tomorrow as it is cloudy from stirring up the sand a little.
On a side note I took advantage of the $1/gallon sale at Petco and got my office 40B. I also picked up their stand as it would cost me more to make it than what it was selling for. Next step on that front will be the lights.
On a side note I took advantage of the $1/gallon sale at Petco and got my office 40B. I also picked up their stand as it would cost me more to make it than what it was selling for. Next step on that front will be the lights.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Surprisingly the tank cleared right up.
Acan Field:
Four of the seven new frags have two polyps while one has a third polyp started. Not bad for $15 each.
Mystery Brain:
Maze Brain:
Acro #2:
Acan Field:
Four of the seven new frags have two polyps while one has a third polyp started. Not bad for $15 each.
Mystery Brain:
Maze Brain:
Acro #2:
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
One trip to Tractor Supply for 16 gauge needles and a 6ml syringe.
One trip to the grocery store for a bag of Mrs. Wages pickling lime.
An hour with may arm in the tank and the apstasia have been injected/coated in kalk, and the colonial hydroids have been smothered.
Ah, the pleasure of knowing I've killed something annoying.
One trip to the grocery store for a bag of Mrs. Wages pickling lime.
An hour with may arm in the tank and the apstasia have been injected/coated in kalk, and the colonial hydroids have been smothered.
Ah, the pleasure of knowing I've killed something annoying.
PotteryMan
New member
I saw in another thread about the skewer coated in Mrs. Wages to kill aiptasia...did you try that or just go the syringe route? I have to go to war on some this week.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
I tried the skewer idea and it worked on some but not all. This time around I went the syringe route. I made the kalk really thick and injected it into the aiptasia. Most of the aiptasia died where I could catch the remains on the end of the needle and pull the carcass out of the tank. For the hydroids I used the open side of the needle to spread it around the stalks and left the powerheads off. We will see how that works.
LOVE THIS BUILD!!!! Quick question, are all the vertical supports 1x4's? Reason I'm asking is I have a 180 coming in and need to build a stand. I have about 20 nice 1x4x6's in the garage that need to be used. I plan doing 2x8's for horizontal beams. (your build thread) I was thinking worst case scenario I double up the 1x4's for legs. Also 1/4" birch skin all the way around. TIA
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
This stand is actually built with what are called 5/4X4 boards. A standard 1X4 end up at about 0.75" X 3.5". The 5/4" put it much closer to a 1" final dimension. In my case, they were somewhere between 1" and 1-1/16" which made some of the dimensions a little off in the end.
For specifics on your stand, post the question in the DIY Stand Template thread and I will answer your question there.
For specifics on your stand, post the question in the DIY Stand Template thread and I will answer your question there.
RocketEngineer
Space is big.
Now THAT is customer service
Now THAT is customer service
When I glued my kalk reactor kit together years ago there was a pin hole leak at the bottom seam. I didn't think much of it at the time but since then it has continued to leak and my two repair attempts have failed. With the tank now starting to come back I wanted to again use kalk in my ATO but with the leaking reactor I was reluctant. Instead I decided I wanted to replace the reactor body and this time I wanted one that didn't require a stand.
A couple weeks ago I emailed Avast Marine about getting a new body for my kalk reactor. I asked about getting a slightly taller body tube so that the outlet was above the rim of my sump. Dan at Avast Marine sent me an email a few days later saying that he had saved the last tube in a batch and since it was the extra plus what they would normally cut, I wouldn't get charged for the custom length. He also sent me a list of parts to order to be glued to the body tube when they assembled it for me. Sunday I order all the pieces in the email and today the completely assembled body showed up on my front step. Not only was it exactly the right size, but I got a longer stir rod to go with it free of charge:bounce3:.
I am so happy with the final result. I no longer have a leaking kalk reactor, the outlet is at the perfect height, and no more stand to fight with when I clean the reactor. The guys at Avast are amazing and go above and beyond.
Now THAT is customer service
When I glued my kalk reactor kit together years ago there was a pin hole leak at the bottom seam. I didn't think much of it at the time but since then it has continued to leak and my two repair attempts have failed. With the tank now starting to come back I wanted to again use kalk in my ATO but with the leaking reactor I was reluctant. Instead I decided I wanted to replace the reactor body and this time I wanted one that didn't require a stand.
A couple weeks ago I emailed Avast Marine about getting a new body for my kalk reactor. I asked about getting a slightly taller body tube so that the outlet was above the rim of my sump. Dan at Avast Marine sent me an email a few days later saying that he had saved the last tube in a batch and since it was the extra plus what they would normally cut, I wouldn't get charged for the custom length. He also sent me a list of parts to order to be glued to the body tube when they assembled it for me. Sunday I order all the pieces in the email and today the completely assembled body showed up on my front step. Not only was it exactly the right size, but I got a longer stir rod to go with it free of charge:bounce3:.
I am so happy with the final result. I no longer have a leaking kalk reactor, the outlet is at the perfect height, and no more stand to fight with when I clean the reactor. The guys at Avast are amazing and go above and beyond.
Swope2bc
New member
Well Rocket, you've met me on your 40b thread and I linked to here to explore your experiences. It's taken me this long to read through it all lol. You sure have been through the hoops haven't you! I've enjoyed the read and learned a bunch! I'm looking forward to watching the distinctions between the two tanks from here on!
