Taqpol's 220 gallon custom Miracles tank!

[Taqpol]

I was trying so hard to push this thread to the next page and spread out all the pictures I took (for photobucket bandwidth reasons). Now that we're on page 17 I can finally dump everything!

Corals!

NEW Birds of Paradise

NEW Favia

Pagoda cup coral macro

Ricordea macro

Plating Monti rock, with my tailspot blennies favorite perch:

A little urchin I picked up and ReefSMART. I love urchins.

 

[Taqpol]

And of course, the fishies.

NEW ORA spotted Mandarin

Pipefish

Singapore Angel

Randalli goby

Randalli baby

Yellow Tangs

Christmas Wrasse

Naso Tang

 

[crvz]

Great pictures, Alex.

 

[Padrino]

Alex,
Finally got a chance to check all the updates on your thread. The fish room video was pretty awesome and I really like the water level gauge, that is a great idea. You just used clear flexible tubing for that right? Also your pictures look sweet too.

How do you guys deal with humidity right now? I saw the dehumidifier but do you use anything else? I have an LG unit as well not the same look but it seems to sound like a small war like yours,

oh by the way, Are you planning on going to Macna this year?
Rob

 

[CMM23]

That a nice tank

 

[salali]

Nice updates and I like the videos.

How so you change water in your tank? is it from the small tank that you have in room?

 

[Atom0023]

Wow, Nice updates. I am subscribed I love the tank. Thanks for sharing.

 

[Taqpol]

Great pictures, Alex.

That a nice tank

Wow, Nice updates. I am subscribed I love the tank. Thanks for sharing.

Thanks!

Alex,
Finally got a chance to check all the updates on your thread. The fish room video was pretty awesome and I really like the water level gauge, that is a great idea. You just used clear flexible tubing for that right? Also your pictures look sweet too.

How do you guys deal with humidity right now? I saw the dehumidifier but do you use anything else? I have an LG unit as well not the same look but it seems to sound like a small war like yours,

oh by the way, Are you planning on going to Macna this year?
Rob

Yep, the water level guage is just clear flexible tube between PVC fittings and nylon hose barbs.

The LG Unit is a portable air conditioner, not a straight dehumidifier. Of course, as such it also dehumidifies the air in the fish room when I run it, but besides a ceiling fan thats always on in the computer/fish room I don't do anything specific for humidity. Yes, it is quite loud but I can always close or partially close the fish room door and that helps a lot.

Iowa is decently far away from me, and since I just started my thesis lab this year I probably need to work my butt off this whole summer. I will make it to a MACNA some time in my life, I just doubt it will be this year...

Nice updates and I like the videos.

How so you change water in your tank? is it from the small tank that you have in room?

Yep, the small acrylic tank under the "Brute" RO/DI storage tank is for water changes. I pump tank water from my sump into freshly made saltwater in the reservoir, and then the mixed water overflows through two 1" pipes straight back into my sump. Since the tank holds about 30 gallons, counting for dilution factors it is roughly a 10% water change every time I run it.

 

[Dejavu]

Tank looks good Alex!

 

[Padrino]

Alex,
I am looking for a good company to build my tank, I live around the corner from will (formerly Aquarium Obsessed) but he was in a major bike accident and no longer can make tanks. What are your thoughts on the tank that miracles made for you? Any issues or concerns? They are about an hour away from me.
Thanks
Rob

 

[maik1]

I would buy from Miracles again no question.

Maik1

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1942560

 

[tegee]

Alex,
I am looking for a good company to build my tank, I live around the corner from will (formerly Aquarium Obsessed) but he was in a major bike accident and no longer can make tanks. What are your thoughts on the tank that miracles made for you? Any issues or concerns? They are about an hour away from me.
Thanks
Rob

Rob.....

I do not want to speak for Alex....but I LOVE my Miracles tank and Derek & Nathan were AWESOME to deal with. Once Derek and designed the tank I was in contact with the tank builder direct (Nathan) every step of the way. I would not hesitate one bit about getting a custom tank from Miracles.

Only mistake (I made) was not getting a tank with enough depth from front to back. I really wish I had the room to get at least a 36" depth tank. Love the 60" wide and the 29" tall, but depth is what draws the eye into the tank imho.

Anyway...two thumbs up!

HTH

 

[Hookup]

Theses guys, Miracles, are pro's. They built my tank, see in my build thread, and worked through the mysterious 12 vs 13 hole issue... Which, all the time, they were complete professionals.

Anyone can build something or sell something... but it's a rare and special team that gives you customer service beyond the point of sale. This trade has a few well known names for this kind of service, and I think Miracles is one!

Also wish I could have rebuild my house to accommodate a much wider tank... 25.75" is way too small... 48" would be awesome.

 

[Taqpol]

Three good answers for you Rob, and I would have to agree with all of them. Their customer service was fantastic and the prices are super reasonable for what you get. I did have one tiny bubble in my starphire glass that is noticeable when the tank is clean, and one bubble in a silicone seam that I think is only noticeable because I got black silicone.

The real questions for me were, is this extra price worth it over a standard 180 gallon and was the shipping worth it. If I were to get a tank with the standard dimensions I would have just bought an AGA tank, but the extra 6" for the 30" wide tank makes a big difference, and I didn't have to drill any holes or make an overflow. In your case, you shouldn't even have to pay for shipping.

 

[Barebucta]

Your tank looks amazing!

 

[d3hree]

Color correction is important to me. Is it like Photoshop where you have a white balance and tint slider, or is it just various color filters?

I'll take a look into it.

After effects is pretty much like photoshop with a timeline, whatever you can do in photoshop you can do in AE and set keyframes to animate the properties over time along the video. Both are adobe products so work well together too.

 

[fshaqrmman]

Absolutely!

Reef Keeper's Aquarium has the most amazing selection of fish I've ever seen, and I honestly do believe that his fish are healthier then other peoples as he only buys straight from the collectors. That being said, you pay for the increase in quality.

Down Under Saltwater is a very well rounded store that focuses a lot on captive breeding.

The Fish Room is a good store that stocks a wide variety of corals and has very good prices on LPS.

If you end up heading closer to Greensboro Dubey's Pet World is a really cool store that has amazing prices on quality corals, and fun exotic pets to look at as well.

Thanks for the info! I stopped by Reef Keeper's...and let's just say I didn't need to go any further. Billy was a big help, and I purchased 10+ corals from him. Thanks again!

 

[prop-frags]

wow Alex love the macro shots! Post more of that beautiful angel!!

 

[Taqpol]

Your tank looks amazing!

Thanks!

After effects is pretty much like photoshop with a timeline, whatever you can do in photoshop you can do in AE and set keyframes to animate the properties over time along the video. Both are adobe products so work well together too.

Cool, I'll absolutely look into that.

Thanks for the info! I stopped by Reef Keeper's...and let's just say I didn't need to go any further. Billy was a big help, and I purchased 10+ corals from him. Thanks again!

Ten corals, that must have been a small fortune! At least from him all the corals are full sized colonies and you know you are buying quality!

wow Alex love the macro shots! Post more of that beautiful angel!!

Don't have anymore right now, but next time I break out the camera I'll focus some more on the Angel.

 

[psteeleb]

awesome pictures Alex - looking great