Yet another tank project - 240 Peninsula

[seaguy7]

I get no vibration at all. I used spa flex PVC (the moderately flexible stuff) and have a shallow sand bed. Between the sand and the flexible tubing, I don't hear or see any vibration.

On another note, I found the limit of my available power. Without thinking I plugged in my shop vac and was cleaning up some of the mess around the tank when the lights went out! :rolleye1: The breaker tripped which isn't really bad news. I had all my lights on plus my closed loop pump (~300 watts), my aquacontroller, my two PCs and monitors all on the same circuit and my shop vac draws 7 amps! And it worked for a couple minutes before the breaker tripped. So if I move my power hungry CL pump to the other circuit which I had been planning to do anyway, I should have room for another 250 watt fixture (as long as I don't run the shop vac on that circuit). The other circuit is only running the heaters, the skimmer pumps, the return pump, and the sump light, so it is far from loaded.

-Greg

 

[seaguy7]

Here are some pics of my new additions.

MY Goldflake Angel turned out to be a bit bigger than expected. I requested a small one and the on-line vendor said he was 4". Turns out he is closer to 6" Definitely the goliath in the tank as I have been trying to buy small fish. Still, she is as already eating and out and about constantly and seems totally content. I do not have a QT tank setup so she is in my display tank.

 

[seaguy7]

Sailfin Desjardni Tang

Sailfin Desjardni Tang

Here is my new Desjardni Sailfin Tang

I was concerned how my Purple Tang might react since Zebrasoma apparently don't get along well and with the PT being the lone Tang for awhile he thinks he owns the place. Initially it was clear the PT was not happy. He took a few swipes at the Sailfin, but the sailfin is a bit bigger and just seemed to ignore the Purple Tang. After an hour or so they are swimming around and picking at the rocks together as if they are old friends. I think getting the larger tang second was the key. I am still hoping for a Sohal or Clown tang but will wait for awhile to make sure the existing livestock is healthy.

-Greg

 

[seaguy7]

Here is my new Birdsnest coral - Seriatopora hystrix, I think.

A few small frags broke off in shipping so I am hoping they will survive and give me some good trading material in a few weeks. I got this at MarineDepotLive and was very impressed when it arrived. They had a picture of a smaller one, but I requested larger for $10 more and this thing is almost 6" in diameter and a very cool color. The cost was about the same as some people are selling 2" frags.

I have a few more pics to post but these are the coolest I took and my favorite TV show, House, is on so I have to run.

-Greg

 

[NexDog]

That birdsnest is super schweet. I've been on the lookout for one here in Japan but no joy as of yet.

 

[seaguy7]

NexDog, I'd offer you a frag of the birdsnet, but I assume express shipping to Japan requires a careful inspection (and delay) at customs. Not to mention shipping costs. Have you ever had livestock shipped from the US?

-Greg

 

[NexDog]

The only livestock I've had shipped is pods. I don't think corals would survive in the standard shipping way even sent by priority which takes at least 72 hours and maybe a day more.

 

[tentacles]

What lighting set up do you have running in the pics you posted?

 

[seaguy7]

I think I just had my T5s on. I have three 48" actinic and three 48" aquablue plus (about 300W total). The Metal Halides go off well before dark.

-Greg

 

[seaguy7]

Serious suckiness in many ways

Serious suckiness in many ways

I came back from a mothers day event to find my week old Goldflake Angel sucked up against my overflow intake, dead. :mad2:

She was very active, eating a ton and not at all shy. She looked in excellent health in every way so I can only imagine she was nipping at the algae on the overflow and go too close and got sucked up against the intake, stuck. This is a picture of my intake.

This a standard 1.5" strainer. It is attached to the Sequence Barracuda. It never occurred to me that this was a big risk to the fish. What do other people do to cover their CL intakes?

She was the star of my tank, not to mention ridiculously expensive. Now I just want to figure out a less dangerous alternative for my closed loop before I have more victims.

Ideas?

-Greg

 

[Sullyman]

Greg, that sucks, sorry to hear you lost that beautiful fish. How much suction is there at the intake?

 

[NexDog]

I think the fish would have to be pretty weak already to die like that - but I'm not sure. I did have a few worries of that when I set my tank up so used the larger strainers from Aquatic Eco that seem to completely diffuse any suction:

http://www.aquaticeco.com/index.cfm/fuseaction/product.detail/iid/8566/cid/2098

 

[seaguy7]

I sold my 90 gal tank and the person came by this morning to pick it up. At that point the Angel looked fine. Swimming strongly and approaching us as if we were going to feed her. Maybe she was weak but I had no idea.

When I put my hand next to the intake, I can feel the suction but it doesn't feel that strong. If I put my hand half way around the intake (like I found the fish), I can definitely feel the suction and could imagine the fish could not escape. How it would get in that situation, I don't know. It would have had to be nipping algae from the intake itself or the overflow right next to the intake.

In any case, I am ordering a larger strainer like you have.

- Greg

 

[seaguy7]

Here are a couple of full tank images from this evening....

I've ordered a new strainer to avoid further fish disasters. My latest challenge is some bleaching of some of my new acroporas.

I'm not sure if it is shipping damage/shock or whether it is something more serious. The acros I moved from my old tank aren't showing any bleaching, but they don't seem to extending polyps as fully. I've been looking for red bugs or AEFW but haven't seen any evidence. I even woke up in the middle of the night last night and came out and took some flash pics to see if I could find any night stalkers. Nothing.

Here is an example of the bleaching.

My nitrates and phospates are not measurable. If anything, I may be low on nutrients. I still have very little algae and the chaeto in my fuge has actually shrunk. I don't think they could be so low as to start bleaching the corals in a week but I have started feeding a bit more (both phyto-feast and various fish foods). I typically feed my fish sparingly (like 1 cube of mysis or formula one and a couple pinches of flake daily). I only have 9 small to medium fish at this point.

Any thoughts on what the problem might be?

-Greg

 

[seaguy7]

Acro's recovering?

Acro's recovering?

Well my SPS troubles seem to have subsided. I cut off the RTN sections of the piece above piece and it is doing OK. Another Acro seems to be recovering. I only have a few months experience with SPS and have never had RTN so not sure what to expect. Here is a picture from a week ago and one from today of the same piece. It looks like it might be recovering. At least it is not spreading.

Last week:

Today:

I still don't know what caused the RTN but I'm hoping they are on the mend. Most of my corals are doing great, but I do have a Millepora that is browning out. I'm still not getting the polyp extension I would get in my 90 so I am guessing that despite the good test parameters and using existing water and rock, the tank still needs to age a bit more.

I am also almost finished building a QT/Frag tank. After the troubles with my recent additions (the Angel and the Acros), I've decided I really do need to QT things. I've built an acrylic sump before (thanks Melev for the great tips on your site) but never a full tank. It isn't professional quality but it looks OK and will work great. It is 35 gallons and I should be able to leak test by tonight. I'll post some pics later.

-Greg

 

[seaguy7]

I finished my frag/QT tank but havenââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢t plumbed it. I also finally hung my doors on my stand. Itââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s looking finished. Hereââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢s a pic. You can see my new home built tank on the right.

Here's a picture with all the doors open so the sump/calcium reactor are visible.

I am now trying to figure out how I can plumb my QT/frag tank so that I can isolate it for a QT tank but have it hooked into my display tank when using it strictly for frags. The larger water volume will make the smaller tank more stable and make it easier to maintain. But I am stumped as to how to do this. I posted a question on the equipment forum but no response yet. I am going to build a sump for the frag tank as well and want to plumb the display & sump and frag and smaller sump as one system. Since the smaller sump will have a lower water level, I don't know how to flow the water between the systems. Does anyone have any ideas for how I can plumb the two systems together?

-Greg

 

[alien9168]

:thumbsup: