Travis and Jessica's 400G Build
- Thread starter A_CoupleClowns
- Start date
Well that was an awesome explanation! Got some good ideas there.
Chalices haven't been too difficult for me (acropora have been my unicorn which I have hopefully finally been able to get growing). Chalices don't seem to like a lot of light is best I can tell. I also haven't tried any expensive ones either.
Chalices haven't been too difficult for me (acropora have been my unicorn which I have hopefully finally been able to get growing). Chalices don't seem to like a lot of light is best I can tell. I also haven't tried any expensive ones either.
A_CoupleClowns
New member
Well no coral photos this week. We dropped 20 peppermint shrimp in our tanks to deal with some aiptasia problems about a month ago or so. Turns out corals taste better to them than aiptasia. I went down to take a look yesterday and the shrimp have been attacking our rainbow acans, hammers, Favias you name it they seem to eat it. Lost our day glo favia sadly. :hammer:
Just can't seem to catch a break latley. Something has got to give, this is just crazy. If the house wasn't seriously modified for a saltwater setup we would have probably started selling all of our equipment and stuff by now, this new setup and the temporary holding tanks have just been one problem after another.
Went bubba gump shrimping and caught 9 of the 20 peppermint a in a bottle trap last night. Praying that we pull up the other 11 tonight/tomorrow morning. BASTARDS :uzi:
Just can't seem to catch a break latley. Something has got to give, this is just crazy. If the house wasn't seriously modified for a saltwater setup we would have probably started selling all of our equipment and stuff by now, this new setup and the temporary holding tanks have just been one problem after another.
Went bubba gump shrimping and caught 9 of the 20 peppermint a in a bottle trap last night. Praying that we pull up the other 11 tonight/tomorrow morning. BASTARDS :uzi:
A_CoupleClowns
New member
Earlier tonight we helped a few friends set up a 75g. All new equipment, only thing we really transferred over was the return pump, live rock, 40g of water and a powerhead. The return was a 750gph so it was already over sized for the 55g.
It was a blast, its nights like tonight that we know exactly why we got into this hobby. Their fish really loved the jump up from a 55g to the 75g too. Kinda funny how setting up a smaller setup in one night can be so much fun.
It was a blast, its nights like tonight that we know exactly why we got into this hobby. Their fish really loved the jump up from a 55g to the 75g too. Kinda funny how setting up a smaller setup in one night can be so much fun.
A_CoupleClowns
New member
Thats always a great question with any large tank build. Yeah we had a guy come take a look for us, it's in a great spot floor wise, right on an outside wall so it's all foundation block holding the floor joists on the back edge of the tank. It has 6 or 7 joists under the tank with an 8ft header going length wise underneath about 2 ft out in front of the tank. I think the calculation we were given was around 12,000+ lbs could be supported safely in this spot.
We actually wanted to set the tank up in a different spot originally and had to change it to this location. There just wasn't any support in that first spot with the floor joist going the wrong direction and the tank in the middle of the home not located on an outside wall.
A_CoupleClowns
New member
I felt kinda bad about venting a few posts up after I noticed the coral attacks. I had just read through Oldudes TOTM article the day before and when he said something along the lines of; he couldn't really get out of the hobby because of the modifications made to their home, it pretty much hit the nail on the head about exactly how we have been feeling throughout our situation with this immediate tank failure. Then I noticed the corals looking terrible all the sudden, and it all spiraled down hill from there... Anyway sorry guys, I just want this thread to stay positive and for us to keep on keeping on, REEF ON! Its a new week and in light of that we are going to post some coral photos!
Oh by the way, found 3 of our chalices in the other 100g tank. For some reason I thought they were all in the 100g with the big chalice, but it turns out those 3 were in the other 100g. We will throw a few photos up of those too, just because we sure are happy to still have them. There are so many corals down there its hard to keep track in my head :spin2:
Oh by the way, found 3 of our chalices in the other 100g tank. For some reason I thought they were all in the 100g with the big chalice, but it turns out those 3 were in the other 100g. We will throw a few photos up of those too, just because we sure are happy to still have them. There are so many corals down there its hard to keep track in my head :spin2:
A_CoupleClowns
New member
Forgive me for the strange white balance issues on some of the photos, these were taken under 3 ATI blue+ and 1 ATI coral+ bulbs. The middle bank of 4 bulbs are all turned off. Some photos were basically directly under 2 blue+ on the one side side of the fixture and others were directly under 1 coral+ and 1 blue+ on the other side of the fixture. No actinics burning or anything, but it still gives you an idea at least. Some of the photos are a bit out of focus but I was really stretching and leaning in strange ways to get some of these shots. I was also pretty tired from a long work day, so just didn't feel like shooting all night to get some super clear photos. Lol.
Also try not to focus on that pesky algae in some of the photos, we are working on that. That return pump impeller jamming up really did a number on nutrient export. And to top it off all 3 of the large tangs are in one 100g, while the tank that had the return pump fail/algae issues only has one small 4" yellow eyed kole tang for algae clean up. He/she is trying but that little yellow eyed kole just can't manage all that space alone.
Also try not to focus on that pesky algae in some of the photos, we are working on that. That return pump impeller jamming up really did a number on nutrient export. And to top it off all 3 of the large tangs are in one 100g, while the tank that had the return pump fail/algae issues only has one small 4" yellow eyed kole tang for algae clean up. He/she is trying but that little yellow eyed kole just can't manage all that space alone.
A_CoupleClowns
New member
I'll take one of each!
Apologies aren't necessary. Its actually good sometimes to hear when things don't go right. Newer people like myself get really frustrated sometimes when a coral dies or certain ones don't want to grow then we look at someone's fantastic tank and just assume they never have any issues.
Everyone is entitled to throw a golf club or slam a stick occasionally.
Apologies aren't necessary. Its actually good sometimes to hear when things don't go right. Newer people like myself get really frustrated sometimes when a coral dies or certain ones don't want to grow then we look at someone's fantastic tank and just assume they never have any issues.
Everyone is entitled to throw a golf club or slam a stick occasionally.
A_CoupleClowns
New member
Wow very nice
Thanks!
Thanks!
That's a great point! Thank you for that, now I don't feel bad. I know exactly what you are talking about too. I have read through threads and thought, "wow they really have it down. Never any issues with their tank/setup, I wish we could get it figured out like that". But in reality we all run into issues, no doubt about it. Truthfully, I am sure I would have bent the club over my knee the other night haha... Here is a true story, I had a friend (haven't seen him in ages), that would literally throw, bend, or break his Taylormade golf clubs when his game was off. I couldn't even imagine what he spent buying the same clubs over and over again :lmao:
A_CoupleClowns
New member
:lol2::lmao::lolspin:
NeverlosT
A bit fishy
#1. I am terribly sorry to hear of your misfortune, but I want to echo what Ciwyn said, better now than when it is full of fragile critters, and thank goodness that it didn't fail catastrophically.
#2. That sounds like a terrible job by AGE. They should not be "learning" of issues on tanks that end up in customer homes. These designs should be engineered, the stresses analyzed, and then test tanks set up for significant amounts of time with worst case flow stresses to see if a failure would occur. If you tank is a total 1 off custom then I understand A LITTLE, but if this is a tank that they are offering for sale as anything other than a total no-guarantee custom job, then I'd be disappointed. Even if it is a custom unit, a stress analysis would expose the risks.
#3. Hang in there, you guys seem dedicated and supportive of each other, keep it up, it will work out! Also, when you get the new tank, if you don't want to paint it (I think that is an imperfect solution), go to autozone, buy some automotive window tint with low transmissivity, and apply that to your back glass. It will last forever, look just as good or better than paint, and can be removed or re-applied at will. Just a suggestion!
Keep it up!
#2. That sounds like a terrible job by AGE. They should not be "learning" of issues on tanks that end up in customer homes. These designs should be engineered, the stresses analyzed, and then test tanks set up for significant amounts of time with worst case flow stresses to see if a failure would occur. If you tank is a total 1 off custom then I understand A LITTLE, but if this is a tank that they are offering for sale as anything other than a total no-guarantee custom job, then I'd be disappointed. Even if it is a custom unit, a stress analysis would expose the risks.
#3. Hang in there, you guys seem dedicated and supportive of each other, keep it up, it will work out! Also, when you get the new tank, if you don't want to paint it (I think that is an imperfect solution), go to autozone, buy some automotive window tint with low transmissivity, and apply that to your back glass. It will last forever, look just as good or better than paint, and can be removed or re-applied at will. Just a suggestion!
Keep it up!
A_CoupleClowns
New member
Hi, thanks for stopping by our thread!
#1) Yes its a blessing that we hadn't started stocking the tank with corals or those fish down in the qt tanks. Also we are very lucky to have noticed the issue immediately the next morning, instead of finally noticing when we heard water hitting the floor or something crazy!!
#2) You are correct. This is a one off custom build, not an off the shelf tank they offer. AGE is at fault, they shouldn't have used thin glass or allowed a coast to coast external overflow that large, and personally I think gluing the overflow on top of the tint was another mistake. I was very disappointed when it first happened, but I realized we are all human and we all need some grace at one point or another. I have made some huge mistakes myself, it happens to the best of us. The way AGE is responding to the situation is what matters in the long run IMO. They are really going way above and beyond what we expected and that says a lot about the company. It sucks that it happened, the time we lost was our biggest concern, but in the long run we will have a way beefier tank that should be damn near bullet proof :lol:
#3) This new tank they are in the process of building has a coast to coast internal overflow. The divider for the overflow is made of black acrylic with glass behind it for structural support. So the whole back wall and the overflow teeth will be black acrylic. No need to paint or tint the back wall because its already "blacked out" being that its black acrylic. Pretty excited to see it in person, should be a pretty cool design.
nuxx
.Registered Member
A.G.E. was great to work with on our 150 gallon frag tank. Even nice in person when we picked it up. Showed us around, chatted, etc...
That being said we haven't filled the tank up yet
A_CoupleClowns
New member
A.G.E. was great to work with on our 150 gallon frag tank. Even nice in person when we picked it up. Showed us around, chatted, etc...
That being said we haven't filled the tank up yet
Yeah I have gotten to know Ian a little bit from talking over the phone and they seem great. Definitely easy to work with.
I can pretty much guarantee you have nothing to worry about with that frag tank! AGE makes very high quality tanks! Lets be honest every manufacturer is going to have a bad one pop up every once in awhile, but from what I have researched on AGE its not at all the norm for them to have failures. Actually the one and only failure I found was a member who actually posted in our thread a few pages back, blackmamoth is his name IIRC. I think I remember you mentioning that the 150g frag is 16" tall using 1/2" glass? That is pretty beefy in my book! :dance:
nuxx
.Registered Member
Ian was pretty cool when we were up there
Yeah was going to be 3/4" hahah
Glad it was 1/2"... we had to flip the tank to get it into the office in our house... not easy with even 4-5 people.
My wife got mad at me for not helping on that bit. I think I just freaked a bit and took a step back to make sure it wasn't going to get dropped. Doesn't really make sense to me now... just what happened...
