Serpentman's 300g upgrade

SOOOOO NICE!!!!! i love the tank and what you have done with it, iam starting out and i have a 180 that i jsut got instead of a 500 i just sold. that was a monster tank. iam looking forward to seeing what you are doing next with the new 300 gallon. Best of luck.
PS pics are sweet.
 
Here's an update on the side project. I'll post some updates of the main reef soon as well. So far things are humming along (knock on wood). The lights at the end of the tunne of my 300g FOWLl. Work's been crazy so I haven't had much time to work on things. However, yesterday and this morning I was able to paint the back of the tank and stand interior as well as trim things up so all it needs is doors and a paint job Hopefully will get the rest of the interior and exterior painted in the next week and can start on the fun stuff like plumbing and get this bad boy filled.

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Excellent work man,voted. can’t wait to see what u gona do with the new 300g.

Btw I saw u have pair of orchid shrimps. Do they eat anything other than star fish? I mean did u try to feed them anything else? I got couple 2 days back and don’t really like the idea of feeding them with live starfish. How often u feed those guys?
 
osi said:
Excellent work man,voted. can't wait to see what u gona do with the new 300g.

Btw I saw u have pair of orchid shrimps. Do they eat anything other than star fish? I mean did u try to feed them anything else? I got couple 2 days back and don't really like the idea of feeding them with live starfish. How often u feed those guys?
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Thanks. Things should be up and running on the new system in the next couple of weeks.

Referencing the shrimps, unfortunately they have adapted to only eating the tube feet of starfish. I am not aware of anyone successfully switching them. The good news is starfish easily reproduce by bisection so cutting a leg to offer as food is no problem as the starfish will regrow. Simply keep a few such as chocolate chip stars in your sump.
 
Serpentman this is coming from someone that keeps Large angels just not as many as CCampbell I also keep Triggers. Stay away from Clowns they will go Mental Patient and kill their Tankmates also huma Humas have that tendancy. Best Bet would be a Niger Trigger Nice royal blue with Red Teeth. Or a Bluejaw Trigger would look Sharp in that tank. Now for Angels a Queen Passer Emperor Rock beauty Koran and the Blueface are all Beauties and in a 300 you can keep 3 safely.

Heck I have an Emperor Koran and Rock Beauty in my 150 right now. Just remember they require Sponge in their Diet along with Alage to avoid getting HLLE. Hikari and San Francisco make a decent Angel Formula. Also in one that big think about a large Wrasse.
 
ironeagle2006 said:
Serpentman this is coming from someone that keeps Large angels just not as many as CCampbell I also keep Triggers. Stay away from Clowns they will go Mental Patient and kill their Tankmates also huma Humas have that tendancy. Best Bet would be a Niger Trigger Nice royal blue with Red Teeth. Or a Bluejaw Trigger would look Sharp in that tank. Now for Angels a Queen Passer Emperor Rock beauty Koran and the Blueface are all Beauties and in a 300 you can keep 3 safely.

Heck I have an Emperor Koran and Rock Beauty in my 150 right now. Just remember they require Sponge in their Diet along with Alage to avoid getting HLLE. Hikari and San Francisco make a decent Angel Formula. Also in one that big think about a large Wrasse.
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One thing I've learned in this hobby is to heed the advice of those that have traveled the road before you. Everything I've read corroborates this so I will likely go with a Niger. As far as angels, I am looking at an Emperor and an Annularis Angel. How do you think they'd get along?
 
Here's a little update. Lighting is in. Salt and sand have been purchased. All I have to do is plumb. I'm also gonna do a little acrylic work to reinforce the seams as I'm a little nervous about the wall thickness.

DSCF3067.jpg


The rock and fish are ready to go:
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DSCF3071.jpg
 
Your Angel Combo should Be fine. Bluelines aka Annularis are pretty peaceful Introduce that one first then get your Emporer. That way your Annularis can have its territory staked out and is not trying to take over any from an Emporer which can be pretty Hard. Also I have found to keep the peace keep them Stuffed with food helps bigtime. A real good Pelletized food is get this made by Instant Ocean and also by Ocean Nutrition is what I feed a mix of in Dry. Plus alot of Rods and other frozen foods. In all the time I have had Large Marine Angels I have never had a case of HLLE in any of them or my tangs. So I must be doing something right.
 
WOW... it took a little while, but I FINALLY finished reading the thread.

I have a few comments/questions...

1) First of all, kudos on the wife... not only does she put up with all of your fish crap, but she also looks stunning!!!
2) Did you ever get the starry blenny out? I have one right now, and he is a good reef citizen. Although, I have a little macroalgae growth in the tank and feed Formula 2 flakes (among other things) twice daily. Since they don't eat coral polyps in the wild, it might just be a lack of vegetable matter in his/her diet. Just a thought...
3) So, if you could do things over, you would probably go about 96" long and 48" deep... interestingly, I'm planning something very similarly sized (the end result dimensions depends on the new house, but believe you me, I'll be taking a measuring tape along with me to open houses to make sure I can get at least 84"L X 36"W tank). Are there any other things that you would "re-do"?

Great looking tank and great looking thread!

-Chad
 
gofor100 said:
WOW... it took a little while, but I FINALLY finished reading the thread.

I have a few comments/questions...

1) First of all, kudos on the wife... not only does she put up with all of your fish crap, but she also looks stunning!!!
2) Did you ever get the starry blenny out? I have one right now, and he is a good reef citizen. Although, I have a little macroalgae growth in the tank and feed Formula 2 flakes (among other things) twice daily. Since they don't eat coral polyps in the wild, it might just be a lack of vegetable matter in his/her diet. Just a thought...
3) So, if you could do things over, you would probably go about 96" long and 48" deep... interestingly, I'm planning something very similarly sized (the end result dimensions depends on the new house, but believe you me, I'll be taking a measuring tape along with me to open houses to make sure I can get at least 84"L X 36"W tank). Are there any other things that you would "re-do"?

Great looking tank and great looking thread!

-Chad
Click to expand...

Thanks!

1.) I'll be sure to pass along the compliment. I truly am blessed.
2.) I still haven't been able to catch him. It could be due to a lack of available macro. Unfortunately, nori doesn't last long in the tank. In fact, one of the reasons I am setting up the new tank is to remove the cow aka vlamingi. He'll eat a whole sheet of nori before the other tangs even have a chance.
3.) Other than the tank dimensions themselves, I would say if I could have done it over, I would have probably given myself a few extra feet on the fishroom. Also, I would have gone with an external coast-to-coast system. Even in a tank this size, the overflows take up too much valuable real estate.
 
The new tank is filled and is running. I had a slight emergency yesterday as the seal on my dart return pump went. To say it leaked would be an understatement. Thanks to Salty Critter, they shipped me one yesterday. So today its up and running and currently mixing. Once everything settles it'll be time to aquascape!
 
nice built... love your reef tank and this fowlr tank will be sure will be a blast...

will you share some pictures of your new tank especially your rockscaping at your phase...
 
just a thought on your venting/humidity reduction problem. if you/your wife are concerned about the looks of the vents or size of holes etc, another reefcentral member in the large tank forum in Alabama has a few posts about how he bought outdoor paint and dusting/sand material to blend the dryer vent into the brick right by his front door. It really did disappear and was certainly not a big white or offwhite eyesore. depending on your homes construction or siding in the non leechbed areas, you may be able to color and grit or grain match your vent so that it is well disguised.

a different approach that works decently here in virginia is to plant a hardy shrub that requires minimal care for your area in front of the vent. the trick is to find the sightline from where your wife doesnt want it seen, then plant the shrub within that angle. if you fill the top inch or so with some river rock around the outer perimeter of the house along with a few similar shrubs in the corners or on the edges you should be able to do the important modifications you need without aggravating the wife. 85% humidity is so high I am concerned you may have mold or rot issues in the basement ceiling or into the support beams after running that tank so long. (though i read through your thread and you certainly did your homework on the greenboard /frp a beautiful install overall as well.)

hopefully i am wrong on any mold or mildew issues, but its best to get that on the budget sooner rather then later, especially with another 300+ gallons of tank adding to the humidity. I am not an hvac guy, but moving all that humidity to the rest of your house by tapping into existing ducting etc might be a bad plan with the way you have described your homes poor ventilation in areas to the outside.

hth and apologies for the long winded post. marital bliss is a hard thing to keep and i hope i helped some. your wife is a keeper for sure.
 
No problem at all. Any feedback is much appreciated. There is a switch on the vent that can close the room from the rest of the HVAC. The primary ventilation does go to the outside. However, in winter months when the ambient humidity in the rest of the house is ~20%, I open the vent to disperse moisture like a humidifier.
 
The tank just hit its 2-yr anniversary so I put together a small clip summarizing the last 2 years. LMK what you think...

<embed width="600" height="361" type="application/x-shockwave-flash" allowFullscreen="true" allowNetworking="all" wmode="transparent" src="http://static.photobucket.com/player.swf" flashvars="file=http%3A%2F%2Fvid73.photobucket.com%2Falbums%2Fi223%2Fserpentman2000%2F300Reefmontage-3.mp4">

Also some random pics:

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My 45g cube

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