The BobbyV Build - 150 Rimless Starphire with Shadow Overflow 60x24x24

BryanS4 said:
Hey man, good to see you getting back into the swing of things. I took a few years off myself and just restarted my SCA 150 about three weeks ago as well.

I like the approach to take it nice and slow. I'm blacking mine out for three months before adding a few fish very slowly.

Look forward to seeing your progress and we'll trade some frags again.

1tQLsxy.jpg
Click to expand...

Would you mine sharing why you are going through such measures?

Are you curing old live rock?

Looking good.

I forgot how expensive this hobby was. Very expensive!

For those who bought all my dry goods and equipment when I was having a fire sale out of frustration - congrats to you.

I wish I kept 50% of it.
 
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I'm doing the 30 day blackout then 60 days with no lights on...You can see my build thread in my signature....
 

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BobbyV said:
Would you mine sharing why you are going through such measures?

Are you curing old live rock?

Looking good.

I forgot how expensive this hobby was. Very expensive!

For those who bought all my dry goods and equipment when I was having a fire sale our of frustration - congrats to you.

I wish I kept 50% of it.
Click to expand...

Yeah its old Caribsea Life Rock. Pressure washed it from the break down and let it dry out for about two weeks. I had algae issues in the initial build, so maybe a little overboard this go around. I never had any issues in the past and it really made me mad!

I'm glad I kept my ATI and Mp40's, but I sold everything else and had to buy everything again as well!

Figured I'd go all in and I got the SCA 50 back up and running as well 5 months back or so and got an IM 25 with 4 bulb ATI that I just set up last week as a frag tank. Blacking that out for a month or so before adding some zoas and see how they do.
 
All these 150's I am getting jealous. Once I get my backroom system set up. I might have to join the club, going OG style with home built stand an ATI's.


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It appears there is a current theme going around.

SCA 150
Pair of MP40's
ATI's

The SCA 150 not too big but not too small. Makes you feel a bit roomier than the 120' at 48 x 24 by having the extra 12' at 60 x 24.

Loved my Oceanic 120 back in the day but always wished I had just a little more room to work with for coral growth and for a prized Tang or two.
 
Welp . . . this was a good way to spend $100.

Mixes clear instantly!! Impressed by the quality.



Love the idea of creating an electronics cubby under the frag tank and out of the way. Yes the cords are a rat's nest. But guess what. As long as the power supplies and controllers are hung and safe/dry/secure I do not care.

I literately have zero reason to go into this area unless to replace a piece of equipment and as long as the cords are not tangled which they are not and organized chaos, I am good. I just close the door and no longer see it. Everything is set and forget and controlled on my Neptune App.

Notice the bottom right I have two EchoTech Driver Mount Holsters. They are for the L2 Return Pump buying during the Thanks Giving Holiday sale and if I can find a nice used MP10 QD for the frag tank eventually. But frags will not be available for at least another year so I am sure I will find something.



Also see my break out box. It is after market but comes with a cool couple of buttons as an added bonus. I am going to set up the RED trigger as a feed button to start the Neptune Auto Feeder at will and the toggle will be the water change button to shut down the return, heaters, fans, ATO, Skimmer and power heads.

 
Putting the finishing touches on a few redundant safety float switches to control the skimmer to turn off at a high sump water level just in case the return pump fails. I spent the extra bucks and picked up the Madison brand. VERY RELIABLE so I hear.

https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B00909404Y/ref=ppx_od_dt_b_asin_title_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

Also putting a float switch in the 55 Gallon ATO container to sound an alarm just in case I forget about it when filling it up to prevent overflows.

Also added two 6 inch Lasko dual speed desk clip fans to control temperature swings. I bought two 150 watt heaters and two fans for redundancy. They are cheap insurance to be plugged in so both working in tandum just in case one randomly fails.

I have had great success with these cheaper Chinese Refugium Grow Lights in the past, they are becoming a little more sophisticated now if you have not noticed. I was impressed with the blend or spectrum they put out now as oppose to 6 to 9 simple single color LEDS when they first came out.

For 30 bucks this light grows Chaeto.

I modded the clip and neck extender kit it came with a bit to make a perfect fit and rewired the cord it came with.

Found here on Amazon 100 Watt:https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07WJC2GJ7/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o06_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1



 
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No I intend to be in the house while filling up the RO Rank. Thought of this already. Do not want to drill the 55 glass gallon Tank. Thank you for the post.
 
chgries said:
Looking good


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Click to expand...

Thanks buddy -

Developed a little ingenuity this morning.

Picked up a couple of 2.5 gallon containers on Amazon.

For less than $30 I was able to fabricate large volume, semi space saving, easy to view self measuring and easy to refill 2 part dosing containers.

Figure this would have saved me about $150 if I had custom acrylic units made. Plus they are easier for me to handle in all reality. I can unscrew the jug, refill it and bring it back.

Yes the acrylic custom made units are awesome . . . but there are certain aspects of this hobby I get a little frugal about. Plus . . . they are dosing containers. (dosing containers)

I made RED the Alkalinity side and BLUE for Calcium. Why Red?

Red sticks out to me more as a cautionary color. Suitable for KH. It reminds me that if you overdoes your KH it will sky rocket your PH. Causing a crash killing your fish.

Also the two separate colors help me easily differentiate the two separate applicators if both are unscrewed for any reason to prevent cross contamination of liquids.



 
Well I got Two Fish today. . . I went to three local stores. Would have been more but there are not too many options to shop on a Sunday.

These two have been in an established tank for a year at a local fish store. In a seperate isolated water column than from the new fish coming in.

My two favorites below:

The Purple Tang and Sohal Tang.

I know they both can be aggressive so if they get along by adding them at the same time, great. Not really into getting too many other fish.

For the money I spent, tangs are very personable and I regard them as a traditional family pet sort of similar to the family dog in some ways.
 
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Yes I watch a lot of YouTube. Your can learn a lot about new products and get some great ideas.


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Just attempted to feed PE Mysis, New Life Spectrum Thera A+ Pellets and Nori.

They eat all above and I saw them eat flake at the store.

Thank you fish gods!

These were not cheap fish. Always a concern if they will eat.

I just ordered a Neptune AFS auto feeder so I can keep these specimens fat and happy.

The AFS really is a great device. Lucky to find one in stock. Some online vendors were sold out. From past experience, I know they can be hit or miss at times.

Maybe alot of folks cashing in those tax refund checks :spin2:
 
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