ZM's 200g build

[mypepper]

Well the stand is probably one of the better builds I have ever seen/had (excluding those made of fine wood). Materials seem very good right down to premium hinges on the door. Definitely no particle board and I believe they use birch plywood. The top has two heavy cross supports and at it looks like everything built for support is at least two layers of 3/4 plywood. I got mine with a PVC stand liner and not sure what the floor looks like w/o one. It sits in the stand on floor providing a few extra inches of inside height. I also like that the tanks lower trim is hidden because the top of the stand frame is raised. My only real nit pick would be the finish. If I was doing it again I probably would not do black again. It just damages too easy especially around the door edges. As far as the tank the only thing I would say is the top trim is kind of cheap and looks to be hand cut and assembled rather than a one piece molded assembly for structural support. Even the two tank cross bars just appear to be glued in place. I guess the glass is thick enough by itself because that frame does not do much other than allow for glass tops or laying lights across the top. The overflow is good but it was a bit of a pain to plumb because the 3 drains and 2 returns are so close together.

Good morning zoomaster,

Thanks so much for your thorough feedback on your Deep Sea Aquatics stand and tank, which now gives me more reinsurance to purchase the DSA tank and stand.

Since I have my 90 gallon acrylic tank right now, I was thinking with going with the 135 or 190 pro model. Anything larger, the wife would throw a fit, since it is going to take more floor space in the dinning room area.

As for current equipment, I could use all of my existing equipment from my current system for the larger tank, except I would need one more LED light fixture, which I have all the components from my Vega color to Hydra 52 upgrade, which I'm currently looking for a heatsink that closely matches the AI heatsink. Heck, to spend $60.00 dollars to purchase a heatsink and use all my parts from my Vega color unit, I think that is a win win for me. I tired asking AI if I could purchase a new heatsink from them and they said no way.

Once I'm closer to purchasing my new DSA tank and stand, I let you know. We have a local vendor in the Bay Area that has a large inventory of DSA tanks and stands and there prices are within my range to spend. As we all know in this amazing hobby, it's a very expensive hobby for the upfront equipment cost to setup a reef system.

Thanks again,
Randy

 

[zoomonster]

Good morning zoomaster,

Thanks so much for your thorough feedback on your Deep Sea Aquatics stand and tank, which now gives me more reinsurance to purchase the DSA tank and stand.

Since I have my 90 gallon acrylic tank right now, I was thinking with going with the 135 or 190 pro model. Anything larger, the wife would throw a fit, since it is going to take more floor space in the dinning room area.

As for current equipment, I could use all of my existing equipment from my current system for the larger tank, except I would need one more LED light fixture, which I have all the components from my Vega color to Hydra 52 upgrade, which I'm currently looking for a heatsink that closely matches the AI heatsink. Heck, to spend $60.00 dollars to purchase a heatsink and use all my parts from my Vega color unit, I think that is a win win for me. I tired asking AI if I could purchase a new heatsink from them and they said no way.

Once I'm closer to purchasing my new DSA tank and stand, I let you know. We have a local vendor in the Bay Area that has a large inventory of DSA tanks and stands and there prices are within my range to spend. As we all know in this amazing hobby, it's a very expensive hobby for the upfront equipment cost to setup a reef system.

Thanks again,
Randy

LOL the one thing I didn't mention was that the ONLY way I would ever buy another DSA is if someone physically had it in stock ready to go. Don't know how much of my thread you read but just getting my tank from DSA was, to put it mildly, a pain in the ***. Sounds like you have it covered with a local dealer having stock.

 

[zoomonster]

Looks like my Nerite snails have been getting busy... literally overnight I see 25+ egg sacks laid on the back glass. It's been a long time since I had any Nerite's and forgot they tend to go to top of tank. The wife, to her displeasure, already found one half way across the room :lol:

 

[zoomonster]

Actually looks like a couple of the cerith's have been busy too. There's at least two of these zigzag egg trails I can see. You can also see a couple of the sesame seed Nerite (Caribbean) eggs below it.

 

[mypepper]

LOL the one thing I didn't mention was that the ONLY way I would ever buy another DSA is if someone physically had it in stock ready to go. Don't know how much of my thread you read but just getting my tank from DSA was, to put it mildly, a pain in the ***. Sounds like you have it covered with a local dealer having stock.

Thanks for the forewarning about purchasing the DSA tank and stand directly from them.

The local vendor that I'll be purchasing the tank and stand from, is located in the Milpitas / Fremont area and they are very reputable and stand behind what they sell.

Since they only have store pickup, that's a great time to inspect the tank and stand before I load it into my vehicle. I'll just need some muscle power to get the tank into the house. I'm thinking of paying professional movers for that job that has insurance. At 400 to 500 pounds, I don't want to risk damaging the tank while moving it from the van, then through the backyard, then walk across the deck into the master bedroom and then into the dinning room. The way our front door is setup and narrow entrance way, the tank would not maneuver around the tight entrance way. I could have the front living room window removed, but that would cost more than the movers.

Thanks again,
Randy

 

[zoomonster]

Thanks for the forewarning about purchasing the DSA tank and stand directly from them.

The local vendor that I'll be purchasing the tank and stand from, is located in the Milpitas / Fremont area and they are very reputable and stand behind what they sell.

Since they only have store pickup, that's a great time to inspect the tank and stand before I load it into my vehicle. I'll just need some muscle power to get the tank into the house. I'm thinking of paying professional movers for that job that has insurance. At 400 to 500 pounds, I don't want to risk damaging the tank while moving it from the van, then through the backyard, then walk across the deck into the master bedroom and then into the dinning room. The way our front door is setup and narrow entrance way, the tank would not maneuver around the tight entrance way. I could have the front living room window removed, but that would cost more than the movers.

Thanks again,
Randy

Don't remember the breakout but the whole thing, stand, tank and plywood packing came to 850 pounds. Four people carried the 200g tank by hand but just barely and it was an easy in the front door delivery. The guy I ordered it through has a tank service business and brought 5 people total. If you can get it delivered in house do yourself a favor and do it. A tank service company, if the seller won't deliver, is probably more experienced than movers and a better bet.

 

[dcmartinpc]

Don't remember the breakout but the whole thing, stand, tank and plywood packing came to 850 pounds. Four people carried the 200g tank by hand but just barely and it was an easy in the front door delivery. The guy I ordered it through has a tank service business and brought 5 people total. If you can get it delivered in house do yourself a favor and do it. A tank service company, if the seller won't deliver, is probably more experienced than movers and a better bet.

With the cost of investment for a new tank, 4 of these go a LONG way in helping to move a large tank if you don't want to hire someone to do it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EE2GCM/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 6 of them and they make large tank moves MUCH easier. We moved my eurobraced Miracles 225 (5x3x2) out of a basement with stairs barely wide enough for the tank and it pretty much went right up. Having a handle changes how you hold and bear the weight. No more worrying about your hand slipping off the edge... $120 seems cheap compared to the alternative Even better if you can get a couple other local guys to go in on them if other people in your local club have large tank moves too...

In other news... Your build is looking awesome zoomonster! My tank should be going on the stand either this weekend or next!!! I really need to update my build thread

Don

 

[zoomonster]

With the cost of investment for a new tank, 4 of these go a LONG way in helping to move a large tank if you don't want to hire someone to do it.

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B005EE2GCM/ref=oh_details_o03_s00_i00?ie=UTF8&psc=1

I have 6 of them and they make large tank moves MUCH easier. We moved my eurobraced Miracles 225 (5x3x2) out of a basement with stairs barely wide enough for the tank and it pretty much went right up. Having a handle changes how you hold and bear the weight. No more worrying about your hand slipping off the edge... $120 seems cheap compared to the alternative Even better if you can get a couple other local guys to go in on them if other people in your local club have large tank moves too...

In other news... Your build is looking awesome zoomonster! My tank should be going on the stand either this weekend or next!!! I really need to update my build thread

Don

Yeah those are great and I was a little surprised the people that delivered didn't have them but they managed (barely). At least in my case I was not too concerned because the people that delivered was the company I bought it from.

A few kinks left to work out on tank but its doing great. Just need to spend about a bezillion dollars more to finish filling it up :uhoh3:

 

[zoomonster]

I seem to be falling right back into my old habits... I do have at least 4 SPS frags (and probably more to come) so its still a mixed tank :thumbsup:. But soft seems to be reigning so far with FL Ricordia, Ricordia Yuma, Sinularia, assorted Rhodactis and I have 3 rocks of zoanthids coming tomorrow two of which are the gigantus variety. I'm sure I'll also get to LPS shortly. When I find some nice pieces I will also at least have ultra red and blue actinodiscus mushrooms.

As a side note I have, in the past, had a mild experience with paly toxin and I don't expect to really keep any paly's. Then again not so sure how adept places (or myself) are at differentiating between Palythoa and Zoanthus Gigantus. I noticed LA/DD does not specifically sell any paly's but rather just zoanthids and gigantus. I have to wonder if they are now covering their rear legally and not selling them. Well actually one of the rocks I got has a couple big green Paly's on it which I may get rid of. Another side effect of the frag scourge is that 3-5" rocks now qualify as large rocks :lol: With the exception of the zoanthus sp rock most appear to be PE's (people eaters). The whole gigantus thing is relatively new to me as most gigantus was still being called palythoa when I departed the hobby. Not quite clear if all gigantus are actually PE's. I do know that I have seen a number of places still calling gigantus paly's.

Purple Fission Zoanthus gigantus and a couple Green Tea Cup Palythoa. Also has some interesting sky blue morphs of the purple fission.

Herman Red and Cosmic Queen Zoanthus.

Badge of Honor, Goblin Fire, Laffy Taffy, and Kryptonite Zoanthus gigantus. Pretty much a mix rock and probably has some other morphs.

Just for reference I'll post the pics of the items I got next since it will probably be a while before I can get any good pics. I always save off pics and description of stuff I get from DD since they immediately delete the item.

 

[zoomonster]

 

[zoomonster]

Here's a pic since I finally moved some rock around. Not there yet but working on it. I kind of like the left side but the right needs some work. Ultimately I may leave the center open like that. Everyone but the purple pseudo is out in the pic.

Those two airlines top center of overflow were required to stop the mind numbing whistle from the durso drains. The whistle is gone but the overflow is still quite noisy and have not figured a solution to that. Does not bother me so much as it does my wife.

Coralline is just really starting to pop up. Other than regrowing a tank full of rock once I have never started a tank with mostly dead rock and a little impatient to get some coralline colors happening. I got something of a cycle when I added the dead rock and live sand and more of a real cycle when I added those 4 large pieces (50#) of so called live rock. With the help of Bacter Gen M having the tank ready for stock was fairly quick and painless. Nothing like the months it took with my very first tank (55g) cycled with a bunch of sacrificial damsels.

I just got an email that my replacement light shipped today so should get that together next week and FINALLY get the wiring cleaned up the way I want it.

 

[zoomonster]

Enough already

Enough already

Well Live Aquaria/Divers Den was one of the few places left I thought were trustworthy with general stock and WYSIWYG. The cleanup crew was just ok, the fish excellent, the sps frags ok and the Rose BTA excellent. The WYSIWYG zoanthids came first thing this morning from DD and they are open enough to say what a disappointment. I don't pay that much attention to names because they are pretty much meaningless and vary these days but rather to pictures. The pics go well beyond just oversaturation to obvious color manipulation.

Purple Fission Zoanthus gigantus and a couple Green Tea Cup Palythoa. Also has some interesting sky blue morphs of the purple fission.
This photo is obviously oversaturated and color manipulated. The pale blue morphs are actually pale green. In reality the fission is just pale pink. The only remotely accurate depiction is the green Paly's. Decent sized rock.

Herman Red and Cosmic Queen Zoanthus.
This piece was one of the most expensive and NOTHING LIKE THE PICTURE. Talk about blatant manipulation The blues are a very pale green and the so called reds are nothing more than orange. Smallest rock and huge disappointment. Had I seen this piece in a fish store I would have skipped right over it.

Badge of Honor, Goblin Fire, Laffy Taffy, and Kryptonite Zoanthus gigantus. Pretty much a mix rock and probably has some other morphs.
Not to much to say on this decent sized rock. I see some goblin fire and some fairly bright pinks open so far.

The only plus is I see large green mouths appearing so what was supposed to be gigantus/PE is. I'm thinking these rocks were worth maybe half of what I paid for them but if seen in person I would not have bought any of them. Regardless I will stick with what I can find locally and see in person before I buy. I've come to the conclusion that when it comes to corals there is no one online that can be trusted. I'm waiting to see what LA/DD is going to do about it.

A few pics untouched other than resized.

 

[zoomonster]

The one thing DD was so kind to provide on one of those rocks was two nice medium sized Aiptasia. Just nuked them with Aiptasia-X. Thought I had seen at least one in that online picture. What was not comforting was I called LA at 5 to check if anyone was going to respond to the email I sent this morning. They were nice but I was told sorry only one person handles order problems and in the order received. There's more than 100 ahead of you :hmm2:

I was out earlier and got some more super glue. I switched from Loctite to Gorilla. Seems to work well and a much better deal at 20g. Plus clear bottle is easier to work with than those stupid Loctite squeeze dispensers with maybe a couple grams for about the same price.

So glue in hand I created a couple more Ricordia Florida rocks tonight. So I have a total of 5 now. Of primary colors (many are rainbows) one green, two orange mix, two blue mix.

 

[zoomonster]

After some run around and a canned response email I called LA/DD just now and finally a rep went to a supervisor and they made good on the order with a 50% credit back to my CC. Funny thing is I never asked for anything and the supervisor I asked to speak to just responded back through the rep with an offer of a 50% refund. I really would not have expected anything less but to the end they adamantly denied those photos were manipulated in any way. Not terribly impressed with customer service but the matter is resolved and now I'm going out for a fish store (where what you see is the only true WYSIWYG) joy ride

 

[dave.m]

I hope this experience has shown you the value of supporting your LFS.

Dave.M

 

[zoomonster]

I hope this experience has shown you the value of supporting your LFS.

Dave.M

Oh I always try to but there's always stuff you can't find anywhere but online. I'm up to 10 fish and all but two were local and many of the corals I have are from local shops. Like I said before there's only one true WYSIWYG (local shops) and at this point I don't think there is any online shop that is even remotely trustworthy when it comes to portraying colors of corals. Whether its deliberate or ineptitude at taking realistic pics its hard to say but probably a little of both. Its not just colors either but sizes of pieces also. You see the story again and again... pictures of online corals seldom meet expectations when received.

 

[zoomonster]

Well my outing was pretty short and bought some stuff from Ocean Blue in Winter Park. I did stop by Stormborn Reef in Debary on my way home to get an idea of what they had for the one year anniversary sale tomorrow. Not to bad and I may pick up a few things but no real hint at what specials they may have and pretty much nothing priced. Someone did hint the Acan frags were probably going to be 2 for $30 and they have some pretty nice ones. They also have some decent zoo frags including some gold mauls. Tomorrow will tell but I'll probably get a few things.

As far as Ocean Blue a few good deals. I have been looking around but not really seen any blood shrimp. I'll still get them but I couldn't pass up these cleaners. He did have one nice small red Yuma but I decided to pass for now at $150.

2 x X Large cleaner shrimp
1 x Purple Yuma with florescent green highlights. The Yuma is nice but its on a baseball sized rock with some really incredible red wine coralline colors.
1 softball sized pink birdsnest. Very nice piece he offered to sell from one of his show tanks.

The color is so much better in my tank under halides than it was under LED's. This photo is untouched.

 

[zoomonster]

I really did not have time to hang around for the festivities but I did hit storm reef and got a few deals.

Branch rock with 7+ small bright orange actinodiscus for $20. It also had a couple non descript Rhodactis. I really like these shrooms and the piece was a steal. Divers den and Extreme corals have had some I seriously considered. Both are charging ~90 for a small rock with maybe 2-3. I believe EC is calling them "ULTRA COLORED VERY HARD TO GET IRON MAN DISCOSOMA SHOWPIECE MUSHROOMS. DD says they are from Indonesia so I'll call them actinodiscus rather than discosoma. Up until the time I left the hobby I had never seen/had these before and I had quite a shroom collection.

Large mounted chunk of white pom pom pulsing xenia for $22. very nice piece

3 Acan frags buy two get one total $60. I got two rainbows and one bright red/pink/green pattern. The rainbows are 3+ polyps each and the other 6+.

And lastly a bottle of tigger pods. I like these as they look a lot more like Cyclops and when they populate the fish will likely go ape ****. I did add a mixed bag from reef cleaners a while back but you could have fooled me if there was anything in the bag. I want my Mandarins and Anthias as soon as I can get the tank more "established".

 

[zoomonster]

Well I had my first near disaster today due to my own stupidity. I still run topoff manually and forgot it was on. I usually set a timer but got distracted and forgot that too. I have a few water supply issues to overcome before my ATO is online. What really bothers me is the Apex leak detector did not work and I have to figure out why. What saved me was the stands PVC liner that caught all the water from the overflowed sump. It was enough water to make a mess but not go anywhere near causing critical salinity issues. No damage to any thing other than a cooked $10 air pump and a dead CFL bulb. Just a bit of a mess and I had to dump some tank water and slightly adjust salinity.

 

[zoomonster]

The new fixture showed up this morning along with the replacement ballasts. I'm going to swap out the fixture either tonight or in the next few days. I did go ahead and swap out the Hamilton M58's for the Lumatek's they sent. All I can say is wow. The lights are SOOO much brighter, more white/less blue than the M58's or the Hamilton blue electronic ballasts. Originally 2/3 of the electronics had failed and they sent me the M58's to replace them (since they had no more eballasts). I might even have to put a blinder on one end of the fixture. The end of the tank sits ~14ft directly left/above of where I sit in my office and the light is bothering me its so bright in the corner of my eye. These ballasts rock... dead silent and so much cooler than either of the previous. I had thought these were going to be the select-a-watt variety and while they are dimmable they are not switchable to 400. Once I replace the fixture and get the second bank of T5 back online the light should be rockin.