SaraB's 183G Rimless AGE Downgrade

canyousee said:
You have a fine mix of fish and Gary sure shows then in their glory. Nice down grade. Do you have any pictures of your screen top? Mike
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DanW said:
Wow Sara, great progress and I love the new set up :inlove: Those P. flavoguttatus are sweet fish someday I'd love to add a pair to my system. We want new photos of that bad boy up and running :hammer:
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Thanks Guys, I'll post some pics on the screen top and tank tonight ... nothing too fancy since I'm the one holding the camera on these :beachbum:

Divers Den had some P. flavoguttatus in QT that I saw last month ... I'd love more, but would hate to upset the 2 I already have had for 1.5 years.
 
How long have you had the flavo's and how are they doing with the other fishies? I've never had long term luck with them and I must have gone through more than a dozen already. They just keep dying off one by one. If there is a next time, I might get a group and keep them in the QT by themselves for at least 6 months to fatten them up first. They are just too dang fragile. Beautiful fish though. That's one reason I would try again. And of course the challenge to keep them alive.
 
pookstreet said:
How long have you had the flavo's and how are they doing with the other fishies? I've never had long term luck with them and I must have gone through more than a dozen already. They just keep dying off one by one. If there is a next time, I might get a group and keep them in the QT by themselves for at least 6 months to fatten them up first. They are just too dang fragile. Beautiful fish though. That's one reason I would try again. And of course the challenge to keep them alive.
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I got them Labor Day of 2009, so I've had them a year and a half. I got a trio, but the one was really small and could have gone through my overflow teeth the first night. When I first got them I was feeding a few times daily, but now I just feed once a day. They are pretty shy and don't like bright lights. I'm seeing them now more than ever ... so they either really like the new tank or my lighting is so dim while I wait to get my new fixture in. They are living in the same rock they had in the 268G.


As I said earlier, Divers Den has a bunch in QT I saw at the end of last month, so watch the emails as they should be coming up for sale soon!
 
Hi Sara,

Looking great! Your new tank doesn't look TOO much different from the one I bought from you... Just a bit larger :) I must say that I love being able to walk around 3 sides of an aquarium. Subscribed!
 
TellyFish said:
Hi Sara,

Looking great! Your new tank doesn't look TOO much different from the one I bought from you... Just a bit larger :) I must say that I love being able to walk around 3 sides of an aquarium. Subscribed!
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Thanks! I just found your build thread today and subscribed. I was wondering when you were going to get that tank up and running. The new rimless is just a bit larger ... I was not expecting to take the big system down and replace, but it got to be too much to manage. Can't wait to see your system with water!
 
SaraB said:
I was not expecting to take the big system down and replace, but it got to be too much to manage. Can't wait to see your system with water!
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That is understandable. Sometimes it can be such a relief to simplify. You shouldn't be feeling too short of space with the new 183g. :inlove:
 
So the first pics are the way the tank looked running for the first few weeks. I didn't want to post those without some follow-up pics of it looking slightly less ghetto with wood clothes pins holding down my mesh top so the fish didn't jump out. I still have the temporary lighting as my T-5 fixture is shipping out of Toronto this week.

The aquascaping in the last 2 pics are what I can up with as of a week ago and the "lid with mesh" was completed on Thursday. Thanks to Ian for the design idea!

Ghetto1.jpg


Ghetto2.jpg


LessGhetto1.jpg


LessGhetto2.jpg



Here's the links to Ian's posts on making the mesh top:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...2&postcount=39

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh...5&postcount=44


I had my husband helping me with the lid, so he modified this a bit. We actually fiberglassed the pieces together on one plane and then used JB Weld on the edges and used a dremmel to sand the edges. I also did a few coats of the Krylon hammered black spray paint.
 
As one of the plumbers on this new project, I must say, you have excellent taste in plumbers. :lol:

All jokes aside, the tank is looking great and I am happy that I got to be a part of the build out. I can't wait to get by and check this thing out. :beer:
 
This look like a much more simpler setup. The other tank had just about too much plumbing and looked too complicated. I believe success in going simple and having the least amount if equipment. Good luck with you new tank.
 
raul leon said:
sara you are #1
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Thank you Raul! :love2:



zaheda said:
This look like a much more simpler setup. The other tank had just about too much plumbing and looked too complicated. I believe success in going simple and having the least amount if equipment. Good luck with you new tank.
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There is really something to be said about simplicity in this hobby. It is way too easy to get oneself caught up in the need for complexity and over the top with some things. In my travels I've seen many simplistic systems that worked and looked a whole lot better than mine, that's for sure!


Bello said:
The scape and dimensions are very nice!
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Thank you Bello!
 
ekrunch said:
As one of the plumbers on this new project, I must say, you have excellent taste in plumbers. :lol:

All jokes aside, the tank is looking great and I am happy that I got to be a part of the build out. I can't wait to get by and check this thing out. :beer:
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Thanks Ed, I do have great taste in plumbers and avoid those that display "plumbers crack" ... thanks for playing by my rules Ed :eek:

Thanks again Ed for plumbing this new tank and I'm loving the simplicity already!!! Get back from Canada and get on over to check it out ... the lights should be in route from Toronto ... dang, I should have had you pick them up ;)
 
Not too much progress going on other than moving in my acan collection into the display.

The light fixture was delayed shipping out of Italy, so it should be arriving in Canada this week and then reshipping down to me. My light holder is also taking longer than expected, so I'd have nothing to hang the T-5 fixture on anyhow if I did get it ...unless I could try and ghetto hang it from the heating duct or steel beam above the tank ;)

I did get in my T-5 bulbs last week as well. I was told this would be a comparable in color to my Radium 20K/VHO actinic look I've run in the past:

8 ATI Blue Plus
2 ATI Purple Plus
2 GE 6500K Daylights

I'm also getting some Sfiligoi bulbs in with the fixture to try out too.

I'll try and get some photos of the fishroom up this week.
 
Sounds like a great bulb combination. Reminds me of the one I used to have on my 275 except I was running the UVL 75/25's because I don't think the purple plus existed yet.

One thing to keep in mind, the order of the bulbs makes a lot of difference on the visual effect. Putting the 6500's in the middle with the blue's on the edges will give you more of a blue effect. I'm not sure how to lay these out optimally, but my best guess is this. Move the purples closer to the front/back to adjust the visible spectrum a little. If you find it's too dim, you could move the 6500's out one to increase the intensity a little.

(Front)
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
6500K
6500K
Blue Plus
Blue Plus
Purple Plus
Blue Plus
Blue Plus




As always, your mileage may vary... You might want to ask somebody who's actually had a tank and a nice T5 fixture in the past 18 months. :lol:
 
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