Tank of the Month - October 2007

[Skipper]

When I saw the picture of Arnie the cat on Paul's website, I just HAD to include it. I had a Siamese very similar for years and it brought back some nice memories.

 

[Rickyrooz1]

Thanks pwhitby, after seeing your tank lit by only T-5's it makes me want to redo my lighting. Awesome colors!

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Pellets. Interesting. I'll research that more. I understand the idea with garlic.. especially with all those tangs. Why don't you use the liquid garlic you usually see with additives? Perhaps you see it as an additive and you tend to avoid them.

Still... I know how many fish you have... so could you give us an idea of how much you feed (amount or timed feeding) and how OFTEN too please?

So for all the other sps, lps, softies, etc. you don't add anything else or use phytoplankton. They just filter the food particles from the fish food?? Interesting.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11028466#post11028466 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pwhitby
I feed theraA pellets mixed with garlic (crushed garlic from the store). I also make a blended food from shrimp/haddock/squid/clams/nori/garlic that I feed the fish with.

Other than a few shrimp now and again to the anemones and the trigger....thats all i do.

P.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Oh.. I wasn't sure if you were starting a new thing... "crabs and snails aren't necessary". No matter the intent you've basically proven that you don't need them.

Can I make my sump a QT tank?? Boy I don't have room for this stuff. I only have a 90 gal right now... but I'd like to have a refugium too. I don't want to bother you with a 1000 QT tank questions when I can research what the min. basics of that can be on my own. I can look up more info on Conch too. Thanks.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11028493#post11028493 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pwhitby
No snails because they can scratch acrylic. No crabs because they were eaten by the wrasses I think. In my other tank I have both crabs and snails. They do a great job.

Conchs eat stuff from the sand surface and generally keep it clean. They eat diatoms as well ( I think..?)

Tangs, like all fish relaly need a good quarantine tank. I have a tank with sand and rock like a reef for them. I set it up knowing I would be buying several over several months. Each is QT-d till it is eating the same food as the main tank eats. I havent had issues with diseases and the garlic TheraA pellets work wonders on ich.

P.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11028493#post11028493 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pwhitby
No snails because they can scratch acrylic. No crabs because they were eaten by the wrasses I think. In my other tank I have both crabs and snails. They do a great job.P.

Other thing I thought was funny was looking back at an old post long time ago.. when you were telling another guy your reasoning for using acrylic. In fact, there was several people trying to talk you out of it. Boy.. when you go to glass one day that's gonna be one big job. I had no idea snails could scratch it.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

You missed one question of mine. I'm really interested in your opinion on it too... thanks.

You talk highly about a Ca+ Reactor setup. I was reading the little articles at Drs.FS about the pros and cons. Boy, seems like more cons to me. I guess.. it really is that much harder to maintain Ca+ at optimum levels using additives? Seems a whole lot easier. I guess one could at least get a Ca+ monitor and use additives. I've been using additives for years and they always seem to be 450ppm but I don't see the sorta growth you experience. But it doesn't add up if my levels are normal.

 

[Reefski's]

just awesome!

how do you prevent chemical warfare from the leathers and zoanthids, carbon, ozone, frequent water changes. have you had problems that might have come from them?

how much time do you REALLY spend on the tank every week say. time spent doing all the chores and fragging etc?


Carl

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

I noticed in a few places.. you have monti plates that are actually hanging over other corals (lps, softies)... even some other sps's. Wouldn't this cause a problem with light reaching anything below? In some of your photos some areas actually do look like they are in big shadows from your monti's.

 

[pwhitby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11029348#post11029348 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SCIFI_3D_zoo
You missed one question of mine. I'm really interested in your opinion on it too... thanks.

You talk highly about a Ca+ Reactor setup. I was reading the little articles at Drs.FS about the pros and cons. Boy, seems like more cons to me. I guess.. it really is that much harder to maintain Ca+ at optimum levels using additives? Seems a whole lot easier. I guess one could at least get a Ca+ monitor and use additives. I've been using additives for years and they always seem to be 450ppm but I don't see the sorta growth you experience. But it doesn't add up if my levels are normal.

If a Ca reactor is set up corectly there should be no problems. It is essential that the pH is monitored in the reactor or of the effluent and that the flow is slow enough that it maintains Alk and Ca levels, not increases them.

It is all the other stuff that is in the media that helps the corals grow, not just Ca and Alk, but also Magnesium for example

I wouldnt run and SPS tank with out a Ca Reactor

 

[pwhitby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11029718#post11029718 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Reefski's
just awesome!

how do you prevent chemical warfare from the leathers and zoanthids, carbon, ozone, frequent water changes. have you had problems that might have come from them?

how much time do you REALLY spend on the tank every week say. time spent doing all the chores and fragging etc?


Carl

I spend around an hour a week doing a clean. I only frag when I need to or when I want a frag.

Water changes every few weeks to months.

I do, every morning, check everything over by eye, but that takes a few miutes at most.

i really dont spend that much time. Maybe 10 mins to feed each day.

Thats it.

 

[pwhitby]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11029769#post11029769 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SCIFI_3D_zoo
I noticed in a few places.. you have monti plates that are actually hanging over other corals (lps, softies)... even some other sps's. Wouldn't this cause a problem with light reaching anything below? In some of your photos some areas actually do look like they are in big shadows from your monti's.

Yes they are in shadow, the plates grow so much that they do that, and ultimately the coral beneath dies....unless they are zoos or other low light requiring corals.

P.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

I'm SOLD. Cha-ching. Yea.. I was reading about all the other minerals that are dissolved. Still gotta add IODINE though right? You do that right. I think you said you didn't add any additives.. but you do have clams.

I was looking at Drs.FS website and the Ca+ reactor setup they have. They have a Pinpoint PH controller.. but it needs a 9V battery. I assume that's just in case power goes out it remembers your settings.... but no, it says it is powered by the 9V. I didn't read that your Milwaukee used a battery though. I'm trying to investigate everything here. When I read that my first thought was.. great, another thing that I have to check. But what if power does go out. Hopefully the thing will stay off until you reset it. Do you think an ORP feature is not necessary?

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11029800#post11029800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pwhitby
If a Ca reactor is set up corectly there should be no problems. It is essential that the pH is monitored in the reactor or of the effluent and that the flow is slow enough that it maintains Alk and Ca levels, not increases them.

It is all the other stuff that is in the media that helps the corals grow, not just Ca and Alk, but also Magnesium for example

I wouldnt run and SPS tank with out a Ca Reactor

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11029811#post11029811 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by pwhitby
i really dont spend that much time. Maybe 10 mins to feed each day. Thats it.

That's answers one of my other questions about feeding. So you feed everyday... pellets. And once a week some frozen mix. Do you use a method like how much they can eat in 10 min. to gauge how much food to add? When I first read about your pellets I thought... great.. something that can be automated. But then I saw some pics from an old thread of yours... <a href=http://198.92.103.102/forums/showthread.php?postid=10199475 target=_blank>Pellet food mix</a> by pwhitby ] . THe Link has some crazy graphics issues for me but if you go about 3/4 the way down people can see your pics of the food. If it was dry one could possibly use an automatic feeder. You said you added juices to it?? Juice from the crushed garlic jar??

Sorry if I'm asking a lot of questions. Hopefully they're good and people will find your answers as useful as I am. Damn, I'm gonna have a hard time going to sleep tonight. I do a lot of work on my website SCIFI 3D and one thing I noticed there is the really good 3D CGI work done by some of the experts tends to motivate an army of others. I think people like you do the same thing here. I feel really motivated now to take my tank to another level. Yours is truly INSPIRATIONAL. :eek1:

 

[nrehman]

Excellent tank. Kudos.

 

[pwhitby]

AS I said, I dont any additives....so no iodine.

As for feeding, I throw a few spoons of pellets in. Thats about 30 seconds work. When i defrost my home blend food that takes about 10 mins.

I then just pour that in.

I dont think the pellets would work well in an automated feeder. Im not sure why you would want to do that anyways. Feeding time is an ideal time to observe your fish and how they look/behave. Im not a big fan of automation. The more something is automated the less time you take looking and doing. The net result is that something can be very wrong for a long time and by the time you realise....its just too late.

If you are getting a Ca Reactor, Geo make a very nice unit. I like mine, but its pretty large. The 618 or 624 models are very nice. I use the milwaukee SM122 controller. Again, a really nice unit and relatively inexpensive.

Regards,

Paul.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Hmm... I thought clams needed it on a regular basis and there was no other source for it in the tank. I thought shrimp needed it too for molting... stuff like that.

Ah... good point. That's one of the first things I notice when feeding... if they're actually eating, see how they are interacting with other fish, get a good look at them for ich, etc. I'm just always thinking about making things easy for me b/c of my time constraints. I've been reefing for about... 3 years. I guess what I need to do is take it to the next level. Reinvigorate my interest. I'm really busy.. so I've had diff. people come in and help me take care of it. As long as they get paid I don't think they care that much what it looks like. I noticed the other day my Ca+ is like 500 or more. So I just gotta start taking over more of this, make my own water, etc. I just can't trust anybody else. And I'm getting tired of never seeing anything grow other than some softies, and an LPS or two. Get sick of mushrooms after awhile. And SPS's are so kool looking. Stunning colors.

I just got a new light fixture and it's a couple HQI's and Actinics. I don't plan on changing that again for a long time so hopefully it'll look as good as your tank.

Only other thing I wanted to do was get a drilled tank... but I noticed a lot of the top tanks use overflow boxes. I need to redesign everything like you did. I'm gonna try to drill my rocks to pvs like you. I just don't want a bunch of tubes, overflow boxes, powerheads all over. And with a drilled tank you'll have that big box inside the tank. And this guy that wants to help says we should get about 6 powerheads... for a 90 gal. I'm not sure I want or need all of that. But I need to get some circulation all the way around to eliminate dead spots. He talked about running pvc to the back of the rocks too. Sorta like you did but you drilled holes back there.

What do you think about ORP on a PH controller?

 

[pwhitby]

A pH controller is essential for a Ca Reactor to work well....but I dont monitor the tank pH.

I dont have an orp controller, nor do I measure ORP.
P.

 

[SCIFI_3D_zoo]

Man, maybe I'm reading too much into it but now I'm getting intimidated again. American Marine Inc. has a nice info page on setup. SETUP . They go on about checking the pH meter once a month, calibrating it, taking everything apart and cleaning it, etc. And how if any little thing goes wrong you'll basically kill it all. But you make it sound so easy. Like you set it up and forget about it... at least until you need media (?), probe change (18 months), maybe some other stuff.

Also... I was reading about where the pH probe goes. If you have some older style reactor I guess it may not have a probe port. Then you need a small holding area in your sump for the effluent exiting the reactor and the probe. I wouldn't buy a reactor without it. But it says "As this collection cup fills, it will overflow into sump where it should be properly aerated to drive off the CO2 and return the pH back to normal seawater levels before it enters the aquarium. An airstone or aerating powerhead in the sump area can be beneficial." You don't aerate into a separate sump area or use airstones do you??

Another question... I thought I saw a dual-chamber once that said one of the advantages of that is to make sure no excess C02 escapes into the system too.

What type of media do you use?

I noticed the Pinpoint controller talks about how not many others have the ability to control pH up and down. Their model can increase pH too by using a regular air pump. Then they later talk about installing an aerating pump in your sump to drive out CO2. Sounds scarey dumping this from the reactor right into the sump if the pH isn't right. Maybe it's not that big of a deal b/c it's working on drops of effluent into your sump.

 

[funlap]

Paul congratulations on the honors......I am a fan of your reef and one day hope to have a tank as visually pleasing as yours. I hope you enjoy it also. Take it easy

 

[balmiesgirl]

BEAUTIFUL!!!!! Yours is the tank I aspire to have...someday.