Soulpatch's build thread (ongoing)
- Thread starter soulpatch
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I have it so if you click on my name on RC and go to my homepage, it sends you to my build thread, so that makes tracking it easy. What I will do on my tank's 1 year anniversary (today!) is make a list of currently running equipment so it's in one easy-to-read place.
I have to say, I love the colors of all of your acans. There's a lot to be said for how nice some of the nice ones are. I think part of the reason I like SPS/acros is that you can get a $10-30 frag of something really nice and colorful and grow it out pretty quickly, and the frags are readily available. Most of the acans come as a colony, and so they tend to be those prices per polyp, so a bit more expensive. And that I don't know how to keep an LPS tank
soulpatch
New member
I have trouble with SPS to a degree. My stylo which was going strong has bleached out or been attacked by my crabs so I need that to come back.
Yes I am lucky in that my LFS will order in colonies and frag well. He also knows I like acans and will let me know what he has coming in. I did miss out on a blue and yellow one though which I am ****ed about. He had sent me pics and someone came in and offered him a price he couldnt refuse. I dont blame him but it was something I wanted to offset my reds and oranges.
Almost all of my acan frags cost me $40 or less. This is my first semi colony and thankfully I had items to trade in to offset the cost.
Now the gold torch....if that happens this week it will be another $100 coral in the tank...
Yes I am lucky in that my LFS will order in colonies and frag well. He also knows I like acans and will let me know what he has coming in. I did miss out on a blue and yellow one though which I am ****ed about. He had sent me pics and someone came in and offered him a price he couldnt refuse. I dont blame him but it was something I wanted to offset my reds and oranges.
Almost all of my acan frags cost me $40 or less. This is my first semi colony and thankfully I had items to trade in to offset the cost.
Now the gold torch....if that happens this week it will be another $100 coral in the tank...
Take pics! I'm curious as to the amount of "gold" that other torches were. They've always been mesmerizing, and I'm happy with mine, but I'm curious as to other specimens, particularly since mine has changed coloration as it's adapted to my own tank.
It's great that your LFS owner keeps you in mind. Always helpful, and especially with the less expensive fragged pieces.
I hope the stylo pulls through. It's usually a pretty forgiving coral (unless it's polyps are being ripped out). If it's movable, you could try lowering it in the tank? Maybe it isn't liking the light or something? That's always my go-to first fix for SPS having issues other than being brown. After that it's water parameter stability.
soulpatch
New member
I dont have much room to move it to. I have the new acan and the one hammer on my sand bed now and I cant put anything around my torch as it will lay into things.
it is what it is at this point. If it hangs on for a bit I can move my acan up to its place slowly then move it to the sand but we shall see. Such is life with limited room in a nano.
Though I guess I could buy a frag rack and put it on my front glass. It would ruin my viewing for a while but I could get some of these corals going again...
it is what it is at this point. If it hangs on for a bit I can move my acan up to its place slowly then move it to the sand but we shall see. Such is life with limited room in a nano.
Though I guess I could buy a frag rack and put it on my front glass. It would ruin my viewing for a while but I could get some of these corals going again...
soulpatch
New member
Bought a porcelin crab and a *** of the colony shown below. Almost walked out with a gold torch but I walked out instead. The 89 he wanted while beautiful is better served on the new tank right now.
On the new tank front it has been decided by my wife. I have been juggling SC tanks of 48x24x24, 60x24x24 and a custom 48x30x22. I tried to mess with the 84x30x24 at my LFS and there is no real way I would have full access to the rear of the tank without a stool and such. Not something I want to totally deal with though I was thinking about it when I got home still as all that room front to back woudl allow some cool rock work. I called the wife downstairs and mocked up the three sizes. She told me to get the 150. While it is 300 cheaper then the 48x30x22 it is also an additional 15-20 gallons. The 6 foot tank also opens up my tang and other fish possibilities.
That all said it looks like I will be ordering a tank tomorrow or this weekend and the build should be back on track before the end of the year. Hopefully I can still get in the type of hard wood I want for the stand...
But back to current tank here is the pic of the colony I got a frag of today:
On the new tank front it has been decided by my wife. I have been juggling SC tanks of 48x24x24, 60x24x24 and a custom 48x30x22. I tried to mess with the 84x30x24 at my LFS and there is no real way I would have full access to the rear of the tank without a stool and such. Not something I want to totally deal with though I was thinking about it when I got home still as all that room front to back woudl allow some cool rock work. I called the wife downstairs and mocked up the three sizes. She told me to get the 150. While it is 300 cheaper then the 48x30x22 it is also an additional 15-20 gallons. The 6 foot tank also opens up my tang and other fish possibilities.
That all said it looks like I will be ordering a tank tomorrow or this weekend and the build should be back on track before the end of the year. Hopefully I can still get in the type of hard wood I want for the stand...
But back to current tank here is the pic of the colony I got a frag of today:
Attachments
1. Pardon my ignorance/confusion, but is the 150g the 60x24x24? You also said 6ft, which is 72x24x24, which is a 180? I'm confused lol
2. Those acans look awesome. I really need to take another gander through your thread and check out all of the crazy acans you must have now. Maybe an updated large-size FTS?
Idk, still looks like a monti to me. The big indicators to me are that the polyps don't look like they each have extended corallites. Montis don't usually have corallites, they just kinda grow on the main body. And then the poylps themselves look flatter and wider than most acro polyps, which tend to be narrower and stick out further. They give a distinctive "sticking out" look versus a "fuzzy coral" look. Either way the color looks fantastic. It looks like how my Tubbs Montipora Stellata should look (or at least should photograph).
Weird, I don't know if I've seen a 5' tank before. I guess because SCA is metric/custom, they don't really care about tank feet. Whatever, it'll be fun though.
What LFS Guy says: "Yes, looks new and interesting, bring me a piece"
What LFS Guy thinks: Piece looks sweet, I'll grow some out and sell them locally because everyone will love the colors
I know you're buddies, so it's not a big deal. It's just funny.
What LFS Guy says: "Yes, looks new and interesting, bring me a piece"
What LFS Guy thinks: Piece looks sweet, I'll grow some out and sell them locally because everyone will love the colors
I know you're buddies, so it's not a big deal. It's just funny.
soulpatch
New member
You forgot the part:
Andy says: I will bring you in a piece to look at
Andy thinks: LFS has gold torch I walked away from and he seems interested in this monti so I can get torch for less and actually bring it home.
As for the tank dimensions yes most 150 are 72 inches long but they are also only 18 inch wide. I wanted a 30 inch wide till I tried to mess with the back of the tank and struggled some without his stool and long tools. I WILL go this deep in the next house when I can have a better laid out room/equipment center to deal with this. Most likely a 96x30x22 for the next tank.
Andy says: I will bring you in a piece to look at
Andy thinks: LFS has gold torch I walked away from and he seems interested in this monti so I can get torch for less and actually bring it home.
As for the tank dimensions yes most 150 are 72 inches long but they are also only 18 inch wide. I wanted a 30 inch wide till I tried to mess with the back of the tank and struggled some without his stool and long tools. I WILL go this deep in the next house when I can have a better laid out room/equipment center to deal with this. Most likely a 96x30x22 for the next tank.
soulpatch
New member
The next tank while a stepping a stone will probably be with me for the next 5+ years till I am totally ready to really do a new tank/fish room. I need to buy the next house and probably sink money into that first before I can build the fish room and plumb it all for a tank. I would need a REALLY nice bonus for that to happen in the near term...
Still not sure what I will get for the 150 stock wise. I think I am going to try to go for a bit of a minimalist rock scape potentially with 2 islands in the tank but who knows. I will cross that bridge once I see what rock I get in I guess.
I will of course need more corals....like a LOT to fill a 150 but they can be put in in chunks. The biocube will be turned into a frag tank only and I will throw the stock hood back on, remove most of the rock work, and put in a frag rack like the IM racks. The 6 line can stay in there as well to keep some waste in the water and pick at whatever goes in. I have a 10 gal as a QT tank but might also grab a 20 gal since I can now do larger fish.
My clowns and tail spot blenny will make the move. I WANT my mandarin though will wait a bit on him till I have enough pods and thankfully they dont need QT so I can add at any time. I would like to attempt a blue spotted puffer but I have 2 worries: 1 how quickly he eats through my cuc and 2 if he will touch my acans. I just LOVE puffers but it conflicts with my love for reefs.
I know I will put in some form of smaller tank like a kole or yellow. I just have no clue what else to put in that is active swimmer, gets along, and is COLORFUL. I will have to sit and really give this some thought. So much of my time has been spent thinking of the equipment and what darn tank to get that I have not thought much at all about inhabitants.
Still not sure what I will get for the 150 stock wise. I think I am going to try to go for a bit of a minimalist rock scape potentially with 2 islands in the tank but who knows. I will cross that bridge once I see what rock I get in I guess.
I will of course need more corals....like a LOT to fill a 150 but they can be put in in chunks. The biocube will be turned into a frag tank only and I will throw the stock hood back on, remove most of the rock work, and put in a frag rack like the IM racks. The 6 line can stay in there as well to keep some waste in the water and pick at whatever goes in. I have a 10 gal as a QT tank but might also grab a 20 gal since I can now do larger fish.
My clowns and tail spot blenny will make the move. I WANT my mandarin though will wait a bit on him till I have enough pods and thankfully they dont need QT so I can add at any time. I would like to attempt a blue spotted puffer but I have 2 worries: 1 how quickly he eats through my cuc and 2 if he will touch my acans. I just LOVE puffers but it conflicts with my love for reefs.
I know I will put in some form of smaller tank like a kole or yellow. I just have no clue what else to put in that is active swimmer, gets along, and is COLORFUL. I will have to sit and really give this some thought. So much of my time has been spent thinking of the equipment and what darn tank to get that I have not thought much at all about inhabitants.
soulpatch
New member
Well one more thing got easier as the wife wants me to buy the stand with the tank as opposed to building one. So getting the all wood stand with the tank in walnut. I did not want MDF or pressed wood and SC actually has all wood stands as well so going that route.
Can't say it is going to save me any money as it will be around 700 for the stand but me doing it myself was going to run 400 in wood alone so saving my time and ensuring it is right is worth a small premium I guess. I think the wife was just more or less wanting to forego a few weekends of me swearing in the basement and starting a drinking habit.
SO everything gets ordered tomorrow along with a third Kessil A360WE. Next up is ordering in plumbing and a return pump. No clue what I am going to go with in that regard yet as I want to run a manifold off of it and it needs to be submersible. I could spend a ton on the vectra or go with a regular pump and use gate valves to spool it back. Powerheads I think I am going to go cheap to start and run 2 RW8 with the JBWave. Wont have the money to upgrade to nicer pumps right now with everything else going on unless I get a nice bonus this year.
As for the biocube been fighting a small outbreak of red cyano. Turned up flow and had some water changes without eradicating it fully. So dosed some chemipure to finish it off. 48 hours tomorrow so will do another water change then most likely dose again to finish this all off. So a few water changes this week upcoming and then this weekend is skimmer and back chamber cleaning time as the skimmer needs vinegar bath (its performance drops as it gets nasty) and the back chambers need vaced fully of all the crud.
I will say the one thing that excites me the most about the next tank is having the skimer after my socks or pads so that it shouldnt need cleaned as frequently (not to mention also a MUCH better skimmer)...
Can't say it is going to save me any money as it will be around 700 for the stand but me doing it myself was going to run 400 in wood alone so saving my time and ensuring it is right is worth a small premium I guess. I think the wife was just more or less wanting to forego a few weekends of me swearing in the basement and starting a drinking habit.
SO everything gets ordered tomorrow along with a third Kessil A360WE. Next up is ordering in plumbing and a return pump. No clue what I am going to go with in that regard yet as I want to run a manifold off of it and it needs to be submersible. I could spend a ton on the vectra or go with a regular pump and use gate valves to spool it back. Powerheads I think I am going to go cheap to start and run 2 RW8 with the JBWave. Wont have the money to upgrade to nicer pumps right now with everything else going on unless I get a nice bonus this year.
As for the biocube been fighting a small outbreak of red cyano. Turned up flow and had some water changes without eradicating it fully. So dosed some chemipure to finish it off. 48 hours tomorrow so will do another water change then most likely dose again to finish this all off. So a few water changes this week upcoming and then this weekend is skimmer and back chamber cleaning time as the skimmer needs vinegar bath (its performance drops as it gets nasty) and the back chambers need vaced fully of all the crud.
I will say the one thing that excites me the most about the next tank is having the skimer after my socks or pads so that it shouldnt need cleaned as frequently (not to mention also a MUCH better skimmer)...
ian09
New member
Any thoughts on going with a fancy customized sump? If and when I ever get the money I'd like to have a custom sump from synergy reef. I'm sure you're super excited about upgrading and I'm actually excited to see how it will come along. Having just recently experiencing one of sc aquarium's setup I'm already hoping to go with them once I upgrade to a 150 or 200g setup after I extend my current home.
soulpatch
New member
Stop trying to spend my money HA HA
I have a trigger ruby elite sump sitting in my basement already for this build. I will probably upgrade to something more custom later when I get a better lay of the land and know what all I want to do. IE how many lines will I need coming in for dosers and such, external pumps, larger show refugium, plumbed frag tank, and more all need to be figured out before I order in next sump.
All that said there will probably be no real need for a sump upgrade on this tank until I go to the next beast that will be fully planned out with more money thrown to it. I kind of see no point to spend a ton of money on a show sump that sits in a stand. However when I have the fish room it will make more sense.
I am WAY over any semblance of a budget at this point though and I need to trim some costs from some areas hence the RW8 instead of WAV pumps I think unless I sell my gyre and replace that in the biocube with another rw4...though I like it in my biocube.
I had to add another Kessil to the line up so now running roughly 1000 in lighting when I was budgeted for 700...And honestly will be slightly more as I will also add a 160we for the biocube when I swap the 360 to the new tank...
Still need to set up a water change station as I will no longer be able to mix a 5 gal bucket at a time and be good for water changes. So another tub needs to be purchased like this one: http://www.plastic-mart.com/product/6522/55-gallon-horizontal-leg-tank-41873
Would probably get 2 of those tanks to have a more stable water change area and use one for RO and plumb that into the second one for salt mix with an additional bulkhead. I need to see if I can move the location of my mixing station to better accomondate the 2 barrels and my idea of auto water changer.
Speaking of that I also need money for the Pacific Sun Kole 5th doser as it can do auto water change and even handle my top offs on top of dosing. That is a birthday present to myself though I am sure. I also need to talk to them and see how far their pumps and system can send water and at what head pressures. I would like to have my tanks in a different spot and to do so I would need to run water roughly about 20 feet to the sump.
So much to actually mock up and plan. I need to get the tank in first and then recoup some of my cash and get parts. I dont see this tank operational before 2016 and probably not with fish in it until April. Though that gives me time to figure out stock...
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