Taqpol's 220 gallon custom Miracles tank!
- Thread starter Taqpol
- Start date
Taqpol
New member
Well, no problem with that! I took my camera into the water on my very first snorkel and it is now busted! The enclosure was perfectly water tight, but for whatever reason this time there was an uncharacteristic build up of condensation on the inside and halfway through the trip everything got weird. I think the camera can be fixed, and I might have got some pictures, but I won't know until I get to a computer where I can view RAW formats....
Thanks! Sorry that you won't be getting that pin back!Hey Alex the new tank is coming along great! That sump turned out pretty nicely... love the easter egg pinCongrats on the wedding also.
When do you get back in town?? I need to snag that weldon back from you soon so I can make a stand for my ipad
I am actually in Seattle right now, flying back into Durham tomorrow. I'll give you a call if I don't hear from you, but would you like me to drop the acrylic parts off on Sunday?
Taqpol
New member
Just thought I'd give a little update as to where I've been. I am now officially a married man and I haven't yet seen any adverse affects to my reefkeeping hobby. Its only been three weeks, though, so we'll see...
Our Honeymoon in Bora Bora was amazing. I have never seen water so clear, and while it was winter down there (which means "colder" weather and a nearly constant wind that can create some chop problems) the snorkeling was absolutely breathtaking. As I alluded to earlier, my camera appears to be busted by the extreme humidity inside the underwater enclosure, but I did get a few good pictures out before the inside of the enclosure fogged up too badly. I will try and post those all within the next few days. All in all, I saw some amazing things:
-I did a shark and ray feeding trip, in which I actually got to touch a 5 foot lemon shark.
-I saw thousands of the most beautiful clams I've ever seen, including a blue Squamosa. Seriously, there were clams EVERYWHERE!
-I fed a Regal Angel and a school of Auriga Butterflyfish from my hand.
-I got bit by a nasty damsel guarding a nest.
-My most memorable, and heart stopping, experience was rounding a corner of a big coral island and coming face to face with a mammoth Titan trigger. Seriously, I thought the damsel fish were scarier then the sharks, but this guy almost made me wet myself. He wasn't going to give up an inch, so I slowly backed away and he didn't pursue me.
Besides that, I don't really know what else to say. If anyone has some questions about anything in Bora Bora or French Polynesia in general, just ask and I'll be happy to tell you what I know/saw.
In fish tank related news, I got home and everything was working perfectly fine. I added four peppermint shrimp and two emerald crabs on Sunday to try and deal with some remnant bubble algae and aiptasia before I get fish and corals back in. I also made a stand and installed my skimmer today, so after it breaks in for a few days we'll see what its capable of.
Paolo Piccinell
insatiably curious
Congratulations for Your pretty wife and for the nice tank project.
I had mine three years ago in Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahiti and Rangiroa... did You see Mantas in Bora Bora?!?
Swimming among them was the best experience of my life (except for my daughter birth!!!).
I'll follow with sincere interest!
I had mine three years ago in Bora Bora, Moorea, Tahiti and Rangiroa... did You see Mantas in Bora Bora?!?
Swimming among them was the best experience of my life (except for my daughter birth!!!).
I'll follow with sincere interest!
prop-frags
SPS Slave
Great update, Alex!
I'm adding Bora Bora to my "bucket list" now!
I'm adding Bora Bora to my "bucket list" now!
legolas100
New member
really looking forward to this build dude, loved the last one too
reidcrandall
New member
Congratulations on the marriage! I hope Bora Bora was great. I hope to make it there one of these days. Looking forward to the pics.
Build looks awesome as well!
EliWhitney314
New member
Can't wait to see more photos.
Padrino
New member
Alex,
I remember reading the first page and a half when you first started this thread and i thought i had posted. I guess something messed up and in turn did not subscribe me. Anyways, great work on the stand, Tank looks great, i live within an hour of mracles aquariums. I only wish that will from aquarium obsessed was still in business as i live one street over from him.
Great work on the acrylic sump and the plumbing from the fishroom to the main display. I really like the trim rings you used there at the wall.
Congrats on the marriage, seems like there are a bunch of us in the same boat. You, reid, myself and others that were all new around the same time to this hobby, are all now married within the last year and now have our own new houses which mean new tanks. I am still working on some other things at the house prior to setting up the new one but ill send you guys the link when it happens. Awesome stuff and keep up the good work and updates.
Rob
I remember reading the first page and a half when you first started this thread and i thought i had posted. I guess something messed up and in turn did not subscribe me. Anyways, great work on the stand, Tank looks great, i live within an hour of mracles aquariums. I only wish that will from aquarium obsessed was still in business as i live one street over from him.
Great work on the acrylic sump and the plumbing from the fishroom to the main display. I really like the trim rings you used there at the wall.
Congrats on the marriage, seems like there are a bunch of us in the same boat. You, reid, myself and others that were all new around the same time to this hobby, are all now married within the last year and now have our own new houses which mean new tanks. I am still working on some other things at the house prior to setting up the new one but ill send you guys the link when it happens. Awesome stuff and keep up the good work and updates.
Rob
Taqpol
New member
On one of out tours we were supposed to swim with mantas, but they ended up not being where our tour guide thought they would be. Maybe he wasn't thinking straight on account of his hand getting sliced open by a gigantic sailfin tang. Im actually not joking about that last part, he had to get stitches.
We did have a pair of eagle rays swim around our bungalow one day. They made a few passes and I can honestly say I have never seen a more elgeant creature!
They're coming! I haven't been taking as many pics because I've actually been making some good progress! Although I have had a pretty major distraction, pics of that coming soon too...Ok the honey moon is over.... we need some progress pics
To everyone else, thank you! Here are the long awaited pictures, coming up!
Last edited:
Taqpol
New member
I'm only two weeks late, its time for Bora Bora pictures! My camera actually started working again once I got it back to the states, but it was still behaving very erratically so I had it sent off to Canon for them to take a look at it.
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night we had dancers come to our hotel. Definitely a sight to see!
We stayed at two different resorts, but in both of them we had overwater bungalows. The first one was the best for snorkeling, as you walked right off your own dock and into a pretty substantial natural reef area.
On the walkway to the main hotel area you could look over the edge and see fish and corals right next to the shore! I don't know what these fish are, but there sure were a lot of them clustered around both hotels. Also notice the fairly large Acropora.
Walking along the beach there were corals not even two feet from the beach. It was a lower flow area then the reef crest zones, so the coral colors a tiny bit more drab and it tends to be dominated by only a few species.
In the above picture the island in the background was owned by the first hotel we stayed at. If I were ever to go again I think I would try to stay on it because around the backside is a very large reef where I took all of my snorkeling pictures. And yes, the water was actually that blue!
Every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday night we had dancers come to our hotel. Definitely a sight to see!
We stayed at two different resorts, but in both of them we had overwater bungalows. The first one was the best for snorkeling, as you walked right off your own dock and into a pretty substantial natural reef area.
On the walkway to the main hotel area you could look over the edge and see fish and corals right next to the shore! I don't know what these fish are, but there sure were a lot of them clustered around both hotels. Also notice the fairly large Acropora.
Walking along the beach there were corals not even two feet from the beach. It was a lower flow area then the reef crest zones, so the coral colors a tiny bit more drab and it tends to be dominated by only a few species.
In the above picture the island in the background was owned by the first hotel we stayed at. If I were ever to go again I think I would try to stay on it because around the backside is a very large reef where I took all of my snorkeling pictures. And yes, the water was actually that blue!
Taqpol
New member
The longer I stayed under water the more my camera fogged up. Basically, most of the pictures near the end were pretty much useless, but on some of the really cool ones I doctored them heavily to try and show what I was seeing. I'll start with those first and save the best ones for last.
~five feet long Moray eel (bottom left):
School of baby Chromis living in the branches of an Acropora:
At our last place we had a pair of these Picasso triggers living under our bungalow. Really neat to watch them interact:
If anyone knows what the name of the wrasse in the bottom right hand corner is, please let me know! These guys were our favorites, they were completely fearless and would follow right behind you to pick out food from the sand we would stir up with our feet.
Clams EVERYWHERE!
Fun fact: One of the nasty damsels pictured here actually bit me when i got too close to its nest and didnt see it posturing.
Unfortunately, those are the only pictures from my camera worth posting. All of this was only a tiny fraction of all the cool stuff I saw, too. I'll take another look through the point and shoot pictures on land and see if there are any real keepers I might want to post up here.
~five feet long Moray eel (bottom left):
School of baby Chromis living in the branches of an Acropora:
At our last place we had a pair of these Picasso triggers living under our bungalow. Really neat to watch them interact:
If anyone knows what the name of the wrasse in the bottom right hand corner is, please let me know! These guys were our favorites, they were completely fearless and would follow right behind you to pick out food from the sand we would stir up with our feet.
Clams EVERYWHERE!
Fun fact: One of the nasty damsels pictured here actually bit me when i got too close to its nest and didnt see it posturing.
Unfortunately, those are the only pictures from my camera worth posting. All of this was only a tiny fraction of all the cool stuff I saw, too. I'll take another look through the point and shoot pictures on land and see if there are any real keepers I might want to post up here.
Rickyrooz1
Acropora Nut
Following along
Taqpol
New member
Point and shoot pictures from Bora Bora!
The second resort had a man made "Coral Garden":
Me hand feeding Auriga butterflyfish in the above mentioned coral garden:
On our last day we took a Jeep 4x4 tour of the island. Nothing like going almost vertical up a muddy path!
While there we got to look out at the reef we went swimming in (little islands in the distance):
And visit one of the islands WWII Naval Cannons:
The second resort had a man made "Coral Garden":
Me hand feeding Auriga butterflyfish in the above mentioned coral garden:
On our last day we took a Jeep 4x4 tour of the island. Nothing like going almost vertical up a muddy path!
While there we got to look out at the reef we went swimming in (little islands in the distance):
And visit one of the islands WWII Naval Cannons:
vincent201089
New member
nice tank and awesome pics
