Sinistard's 68.8 Acrylic Tank Journal [Photo Intense]
- Thread starter Sinistard
- Start date
Sinistard
New member
Well its been a long time since I posted here.
My tank is still kicking. I have not really neglected the tank but it could probably look a bit better with more attention.
The biggest thing I have neglected has been the sun coral. I just don't make enough time to feed it what it needs to thrive and it has been slowly fading away
Even though I love the look of the coral I probably would not get one again since It takes so much attention to keep up.
Other then that I have lost a few fish, one of my cardinals got an infection or parasite on one of its eyes and lost the eye but survived. The female unexpectedly died and the other male passes away not long ago.
The corals have been hit and miss, some have done well some not as much.
I am trying to spend more time on the tank to maybe help it along a bit.
Anyways here is a picture from today, ill try to post more later.
My tank is still kicking. I have not really neglected the tank but it could probably look a bit better with more attention.
The biggest thing I have neglected has been the sun coral. I just don't make enough time to feed it what it needs to thrive and it has been slowly fading away
Even though I love the look of the coral I probably would not get one again since It takes so much attention to keep up.Other then that I have lost a few fish, one of my cardinals got an infection or parasite on one of its eyes and lost the eye but survived. The female unexpectedly died and the other male passes away not long ago.
The corals have been hit and miss, some have done well some not as much.
I am trying to spend more time on the tank to maybe help it along a bit.
Anyways here is a picture from today, ill try to post more later.
melev
Well-known member
That's one good-looking tank considering it has been neglected. 
I've seen tanks that people focus on that look worse. :lol:
You could still feed that suncoral at night when it is open with some Mini Mysis. I had one in pretty bad shape that only had 8 polyps left, and I've been feeding it daily over the past 9+ months.
Aug 07
Apr 08 - same coral, dead center
I've seen tanks that people focus on that look worse. :lol:You could still feed that suncoral at night when it is open with some Mini Mysis. I had one in pretty bad shape that only had 8 polyps left, and I've been feeding it daily over the past 9+ months.
Aug 07
Apr 08 - same coral, dead center
Sinistard
New member
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=12574633#post12574633 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
That's one good-looking tank considering it has been neglected.
You could still feed that suncoral at night when it is open with some Mini Mysis. I had one in pretty bad shape that only had 8 polyps left, and I've been feeding it daily over the past 9+ months.
It's not that I have neglected it
, but I definitely could have spent more time on it.Yeah, I'm still feeding it, but it's been more like 2 times a week. I plan on bumping that up to at least 4 times. I hope it helps.
Sinistard
New member
Update
Well I finally got around to adding the frag tank that I built almost 2 years ago to my system. And since I was going to need a light for it I took the opportunity to upgrade the reflectors over my main tank.
I got 2 Lumen Max 3 reflectors to replace the Ocean light stock reflectors over my main tank then moved one of the Ocean light pendants downstairs to the frag tank. I rewired the Lunen Max reflectors with the existing cords since the plugs did not fit into the Aqua Medic ballasts. Plus the plugs on the Lumen Max cord are huge and would not fit down the hole I have in my wall which is important since my ballasts are in the basement. The new reflectors are the perfect size, any taller and they would stick out the bottom of my "hood". I was able to install them the same way I did the Ocean Lights using a piece of aluminum (you can see the installation towards the beginning of the tread). Scraping the tank is a bit harder now since the new reflectors are a lot wider and deeper, I have already burnt myself a few times
The Lumen Max reflectors definitely look brighter and have a better light spread then the old reflectors.
For the light over the Frag tank I ended up getting a Bluewave 3 ballast on clearance for a pretty good price. My original plan was to just keep an eye out for a used on but figured this way I know what I'm getting into and maybe down the road I can get a second and replace the 2 Aqua Medic ballast powering the lights over my main tank and use one of them on the frag tank. It's a little hard to compare the output difference from the ballasts since they are in different rooms and have different reflectors but from what I can see the light looks a bit brighter and whiter out of the Bluewave ballast
For flow to my frag tank I installed a 1" schedule 80 bulk head in my sump below the water line and plumbed the Iwaki pump I was originally going to use as my main supply pump before I upgraded it to a Pan World since the Iwaki was too small. I used hose clamps and clear hose for all the connections so I would not have to mess around with PVC glue. For the drain I simply used a 1.5" bulkhead with a 90 and strainer in it and a Dorso type stand pipe. I did have to throttle back the Iwaki a bit for the 1.5" drain to keep up with it. I think I'm getting a few micro bubbles from this set up but its not too bad.
Anywho that what I have for now. Any questions on how or what I did feel free to ask.
Here are a few pictures of the frag tank build. I basically followed the directions laid out on melev's site.
I got the bottom piece from a local supplier and I was lucky to have a fellow reefer close that happens to work with acrylic and I was able to buy some scraps he had and he was kind enough to cut them to size for me. (Thanks Geo)
Some photos of the build.
And the final product in place.
Well I finally got around to adding the frag tank that I built almost 2 years ago to my system. And since I was going to need a light for it I took the opportunity to upgrade the reflectors over my main tank.
I got 2 Lumen Max 3 reflectors to replace the Ocean light stock reflectors over my main tank then moved one of the Ocean light pendants downstairs to the frag tank. I rewired the Lunen Max reflectors with the existing cords since the plugs did not fit into the Aqua Medic ballasts. Plus the plugs on the Lumen Max cord are huge and would not fit down the hole I have in my wall which is important since my ballasts are in the basement. The new reflectors are the perfect size, any taller and they would stick out the bottom of my "hood". I was able to install them the same way I did the Ocean Lights using a piece of aluminum (you can see the installation towards the beginning of the tread). Scraping the tank is a bit harder now since the new reflectors are a lot wider and deeper, I have already burnt myself a few times
The Lumen Max reflectors definitely look brighter and have a better light spread then the old reflectors.
For the light over the Frag tank I ended up getting a Bluewave 3 ballast on clearance for a pretty good price. My original plan was to just keep an eye out for a used on but figured this way I know what I'm getting into and maybe down the road I can get a second and replace the 2 Aqua Medic ballast powering the lights over my main tank and use one of them on the frag tank. It's a little hard to compare the output difference from the ballasts since they are in different rooms and have different reflectors but from what I can see the light looks a bit brighter and whiter out of the Bluewave ballast
For flow to my frag tank I installed a 1" schedule 80 bulk head in my sump below the water line and plumbed the Iwaki pump I was originally going to use as my main supply pump before I upgraded it to a Pan World since the Iwaki was too small. I used hose clamps and clear hose for all the connections so I would not have to mess around with PVC glue. For the drain I simply used a 1.5" bulkhead with a 90 and strainer in it and a Dorso type stand pipe. I did have to throttle back the Iwaki a bit for the 1.5" drain to keep up with it. I think I'm getting a few micro bubbles from this set up but its not too bad.
Anywho that what I have for now. Any questions on how or what I did feel free to ask.
Here are a few pictures of the frag tank build. I basically followed the directions laid out on melev's site.
I got the bottom piece from a local supplier and I was lucky to have a fellow reefer close that happens to work with acrylic and I was able to buy some scraps he had and he was kind enough to cut them to size for me. (Thanks Geo)
Some photos of the build.
And the final product in place.
Great work on the display and frag tank. Everything is looking good. I have a question about the kalk reactor you built a while back. Are you still using that on your system? If so, have you been pleased with the performance? I'm thinking about "trying" to build one according to the specs you gave. Anything you would have done different?
Sinistard
New member
Well I have been considering a calcium reactor for my tank but after doing some reading I am thinking about doing a dosing pump and dosing 2 part additives insteed.
I currently does B-Ionic manually and am pretty happy with the results. I do occasionally miss a day so I'm sure I could get even better results from a dosing pump.
Form the looks of it I could get a nice dosing set up for less then I could get a calcium reactor set and from reading you can get pretty good results going this route.
The 2 set ups I have looked at are the Aqua medic system and the litermeter 3 set up. The Aqua medic system is quite a bit cheaper but I'm not sure if it's worth it to skimp. Does anyone have experience with both that could let me know if it's worth the extra 200 bucks of so to get the litermeter?
Do you all think I would be making a good decision going with a dosing system over a calcium reactor?
Thanks for any input.
I currently does B-Ionic manually and am pretty happy with the results. I do occasionally miss a day so I'm sure I could get even better results from a dosing pump.
Form the looks of it I could get a nice dosing set up for less then I could get a calcium reactor set and from reading you can get pretty good results going this route.
The 2 set ups I have looked at are the Aqua medic system and the litermeter 3 set up. The Aqua medic system is quite a bit cheaper but I'm not sure if it's worth it to skimp. Does anyone have experience with both that could let me know if it's worth the extra 200 bucks of so to get the litermeter?
Do you all think I would be making a good decision going with a dosing system over a calcium reactor?
Thanks for any input.
I have never used a calcium reactor, personally. However, I can highly recommend the litermeter 3. I picked one up a few months ago and love it! It's a cheaper solution than a reactor. Can't go wrong either way, but if you go with a doser, the litermeter 3 is the way to go...IMO.
Reef or Die
New member
Congratulations on an excellent build. The tank looks awesome!!!
I am really impressed with your filtration set up the way it runs thru the sump and then to the 100 gallon rubbermaid tub. Sort of double filtration set up.
I am looking to add mangroves to my sump also. Have heard good things about them exporting phosphates and nitrates.
The frag tank looks great too.
I am really impressed with your filtration set up the way it runs thru the sump and then to the 100 gallon rubbermaid tub. Sort of double filtration set up.
I am looking to add mangroves to my sump also. Have heard good things about them exporting phosphates and nitrates.
The frag tank looks great too.
Sinistard
New member
Thanks.
My mangroves actually did not make it, I don't think they ever got enough light
I may try them again at some point.Thanks for the info soccerbag. I actually picked up an aquamedic reefdoser but returned it and am waiting on a liter meter III. I ran the reefdoser overnight to calibrate it and the housings that holds the rollers actually cracked. It still worked but I think one roller was a bit slower the the other. I decided that for the money I would rather go up to the liter meter since everything I have read about it says its a much better piece of equipment. I have been told the aqua medic works pretty well for the money but I did not have faith in it's build quality. Maybe I just got unlucky with the one I got. Unfortunately no one has liter meters in stock right now so I have to wait a few weeks to get one.
Other then that we are doing some remodeling in our house right now and I have been having to cover my tank during the day to avoid dust and debris from getting in the tank. The tank has been getting a bit hot during the day since the AC is ineffective with all the traffic going in and out of our house and its been in the high 80s low 90s here over the last few days. I have been running the lights over night when its cooler in the house and I don't have to have the tank covered. A few of my corals are definitely not happy about the changes. Most of my sps has started to lose some color. My rics and other softies actually look a little better now. I have not noticed any die off which is good but the sooner I can get them back on a normal schedule the better.
Some time next week we are getting our electric service upgraded from 100 - 200amps and the power will more then likely be off for 6-8 hours while they do it. The electrician said he could put an outlet on the line outside that I could run my tank off of so hopefully I will not have any adverse effects from this.
I hope everything makes it though and bounces back after all the work is done, Everything seemed very happy before the work started and it all definitely seems a bit stressed now.
Sinistard
New member
Well I finally got a litermeter dosing pump. I returned the aqua-medic one a few days after I tested it out but unfortunately the litermeters were on back order and basically no one had them for almost a month.
The build quality seems to be a lot better then the aqua medic pump and set up requires a lot less work. I am breaking it in now and getting ready to calibrate it so I can start dosing.
On another subject my tank seems to have made it though the roughest part of our house remodel without to many problems. Unfortunately one of my SPS corals, a blue milli, has not faired too well. First it started to lose color and turn brown, probably due to the sporadic light schedule. Since then it has started to die off at the tips, there is still some polyp extension on the parts that have not died off but not nearly as much as a milli should have.
I think there were a few days where the tank temp probably got up around 84-85 degrees which may have hurt the milli. I had to keep it covered upstairs and downstairs to keep debris from falling into the tank and there were a few days where it was pretty hot outside and the AC could not keep up with all the traffic going in and out of the house.
Kind of sucks, I was getting very nice growth out of it before the construction started and it was a very nice blue color. So far its really the only coral to show signs of trouble. I have a couple acros and several montis that are doing fine. My softies and LPS actually look as good if not better then when the construction started. I'm not sure what to do with the milli, the die off seems to have slowed but its looking pretty bad.
Anyways I'm really looking forward to this construction project to be done so I can get the tank back on a normal schedule.
The build quality seems to be a lot better then the aqua medic pump and set up requires a lot less work. I am breaking it in now and getting ready to calibrate it so I can start dosing.
On another subject my tank seems to have made it though the roughest part of our house remodel without to many problems. Unfortunately one of my SPS corals, a blue milli, has not faired too well. First it started to lose color and turn brown, probably due to the sporadic light schedule. Since then it has started to die off at the tips, there is still some polyp extension on the parts that have not died off but not nearly as much as a milli should have.
I think there were a few days where the tank temp probably got up around 84-85 degrees which may have hurt the milli. I had to keep it covered upstairs and downstairs to keep debris from falling into the tank and there were a few days where it was pretty hot outside and the AC could not keep up with all the traffic going in and out of the house.
Kind of sucks, I was getting very nice growth out of it before the construction started and it was a very nice blue color. So far its really the only coral to show signs of trouble. I have a couple acros and several montis that are doing fine. My softies and LPS actually look as good if not better then when the construction started. I'm not sure what to do with the milli, the die off seems to have slowed but its looking pretty bad.
Anyways I'm really looking forward to this construction project to be done so I can get the tank back on a normal schedule.
