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Rosseau
11/12/2007, 09:32 AM
I thought it was just about time to share a bit of the tank which is taking up oh so much of my time these days.
---------------

This summer I was living in a remote field camp for several months and had to leave my former nano in the care of another.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_8365.jpg

Generally, we know our own tanks better than anyone else and as such it was not waiting for me upon my return. Major crash only a few days after I had left...

I was on the verge, do I cut my losses and get out while I can? OR, Do I rebuild?

I chose the latter, here she is!

----

I thought I would give black sand a shot. Some days I'm glad I did and others not so much.


http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1185.jpg

I had been cycling the rocks since August
Tank set up in early September
First inhabitants mid-late September

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 09:32 AM
Progression to date...

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1216.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/181007FTS.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107FTS_1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107FTS_2.jpg

As you can see, I have not really been happy with my rock structure. I think I’ve almost got it, yet the tank still needs a great amount of work in my opinion. I got fed up at one point, bought base rocks, drilled and secured them. I’m very pleased with that.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107Drillrock.jpg

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 09:34 AM
Specs:

Standard 15G AGA Long (12” x 12” x 24”)
10G Sump
DIY false wall, chambers, overflow and drilled/bulkheads

2 x 70W 14,000 K halide
48W 10,000K + Actinic T5 HO

Tunze 9002 Skimmer
DIY ATO (2x float switches)
Current USA 1/15HP Chiller
Flow -> MJ 1200, MJ 400 (soon to be 600, likely)
MJ400 on the Chiller, Quietone 800 return from sump
Random old heater (Hagen brand)

For those of you who are interested, as of today…

NH4, NO3, NO4 = 0 ppm
Phosphate = Undetectable (API Tests)
Ca = 480 ppm
Alk = 11 dKH
Temp = 78-80 F


I built the back wall to hide all of the equipment, I would like to have as little showing as possible.

Also, should I move the tank and remove the sump I am able to keep it contained as an “all-in-one” style unit. I can even grow macroalgae in the back.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1409.jpg


I should note that this is take two, I had my tank crack in half on me about 2 weeks ago. I did not have it supported evenly… My house is 110+ years old. Level floors are extremely hard to come by.

Fortunately, I was in my room when this happened. I was able to save just about everything, though I know it was tough on many of the animals.

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 09:38 AM
Is this a good time to mention the blue tang? Sure! This fish was a little larger than a quarter when I bought it. It has been eating like a pig and is quite healthy in my opinion. I realized however these are large fish, not nano fish. It is truly a beautiful creature and I don¡¦t feel right having this one in particular in a tank which it will quickly outgrow. Don¡¦t worry ƒº


http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107Tang.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107BT.jpg

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 09:51 AM
I’ll shut up now.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107Snail.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107TubeAnemone.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107sps.jpg


http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107orangebrain_1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107Acro1.jpg

OARrocks
11/12/2007, 02:38 PM
nice tank i really like the way it looks in the pics. it looks a whole lot bigger than 15g's.......then you see the giant ricordea.

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 04:27 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11167413#post11167413 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OARrocks
nice tank i really like the way it looks in the pics. it looks a whole lot bigger than 15g's.......then you see the giant ricordea.

Thanks.

I think it looks bigger by having breaks in the rock. I'm not sure if I can call them "pillars", however that was sort of what I was going for.

The long tanks always seem to feel bigger to me also.




Comments, questions and honest opinions are all welcome.

Slice of Ocean
11/12/2007, 06:06 PM
Your tank looks great. I love the black sand.

3fins
11/12/2007, 06:49 PM
dude, thats a wicked tank. I realy like it.

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 09:05 PM
3fins, Roxy, thanks for the comments.


Does anybody know what these might be? They're pretty neat actually.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107unknown.jpg

OARrocks
11/12/2007, 09:21 PM
eek may be colonial hydroids. very unwanted

Rosseau
11/12/2007, 11:10 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11170310#post11170310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OARrocks
eek may be colonial hydroids. very unwanted


That would be a shame, I like them.

cp3823
11/12/2007, 11:34 PM
what are the dimmensions of your tank? and your blue tank looks amazing!

zack85
11/13/2007, 12:22 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11170310#post11170310 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by OARrocks
eek may be colonial hydroids. very unwanted

yeah, possibly digitate hydroids - if they are (and not some type of polyp) youll want to manually remove them as they sting and kill corals & reproduce quickly...

Rosseau
11/13/2007, 10:29 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11171445#post11171445 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cp3823
what are the dimmensions of your tank? and your blue tank looks amazing!


12" x 12" x 24" Long.

I like the 24" long part because I'm able to use standard T5 bulbs. This was my main reason for moving up from a 10G.



I do lose a bit of depth in the tank thanks to my rear chambers. I made them just deep enough to fit my skimmer and maxi-jets without problems.




http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107hermit.jpg

I like this hermit also. He took over an old conch shell.

reefman13
11/13/2007, 10:38 AM
Great looking tank!!!

nietzsche
11/13/2007, 01:14 PM
those are really great pictures of your tank, which looks good. what kind of camera is that?

how did you secure your rocks? did you use acrylics rods in the holes you drilled?

Rosseau
11/13/2007, 02:25 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11174219#post11174219 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by nietzsche
those are really great pictures of your tank, which looks good. what kind of camera is that?

how did you secure your rocks? did you use acrylics rods in the holes you drilled?

Thanks.

I just used good old zip ties. It certainly would be more secure with acrylic rods. If I had more time I would do something like that.

Only the centre grouping of rocks is drilled and attached. The one on the right is a single piece of LR - it's a pretty nice one I think.

I still don't love some of the rock and will likely move it around some more - especially the stuff on the left hand side.





My camera is a Canon Rebel XTi. I don't have a true macro lense, however use Kenko extension tubes with my 70-300mm f4 IS to get close ups. I desperately need a tripod...

Please note the sketchy home made monopod. I have more than enough hockey sticks laying around, I might as well put them to use.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/131107macrogear.jpg


Also, this stick model happens to be named the "XTI" so surely it's a good fit for my XTi.

Rosseau
11/13/2007, 02:29 PM
More comments means some more pics...

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107RedBrain.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107brainzoa.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107Clam.jpg


http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107GSP_1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/141007Clam.jpg

Illuminati
11/13/2007, 04:32 PM
Nice tank, don't be a wuss, enter it in the nTOTM thread :)

Rosseau
11/13/2007, 05:47 PM
Heh, thanks colinadam.... For now I'm going to be a huge wuss.

Once I see some growth and fill it out a little more I'll think about entering, maybe shoot for February!? I'll be able to lose with some dignity then :)


If I can find a way to get my zoa frags to take off I'll be laughing. You can't really see them in the FTS, but I have about 10 different zoa types ready to go in there.

Strangely I haven't seen a spec of coralline yet....

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107WatermelonZoas.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107zoa1.jpg

Rosseau
11/16/2007, 06:41 PM
Well yesterday was a sad day...

When I went to feed my fish in the morning only two of them showed up to eat.

One of my clowns and my royal gramma were missing. Strangely, both fish had made their way into a back chamber in the same night.

I'm not sure what happened exactly and whether or not the fact that it was two of them was just a coincidence.

Well, I have one lonely clown now. He's lost his mate - they were still working out the pairing.... I'll be sure to replace the clown before my single one grows too old.

I may consider adding a grate to my overflow.



To console myself I picked up this little guy - very cute. Already eating well as this is apparently a problem with some of them.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/clowngoby.jpg

After a brief stint in some zoas the goby settled on a patch of SPS.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/161107CGoby2.jpg

Alaska_Phil
11/16/2007, 07:17 PM
Awsome looking tank! Looking forward to see how it grows out.

How do you like the Tunze 9002? I got mine about 2 weeks ago, so it's still pretty inconsistent and generating micro bubbles.

Phil

Rosseau
11/16/2007, 07:55 PM
Thanks Phil.

The Tunze works pretty well though I've never really loved the thing. Certainly it's getting skimmate and removing material from the water. It's never really been super thick however.

Fortunately mine is in the sump right now and so I don't worry about bubbles. It does give some off however in my opinion is a pretty small amount.

How's life at the North Pole ?! Haha.. I was around 80 degrees North this year and will be back again in the near future.

Alaska_Phil
11/16/2007, 08:13 PM
Thanks, I'm still fiddling with mine. It does seem to produce very fine dry foam, but then then what collects in the cup is watery. Mine will be going in the sump when I get it built.

80 degrees North! Wow! I saw those Bou and was going to ask if you were on Ellesmere (sp?) Island. I'm actually in the town of North Pole Alaska, only 64 degrees, 45 min.

Phil

Rosseau
11/17/2007, 07:30 AM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11198230#post11198230 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Alaska_Phil
Thanks, I'm still fiddling with mine. It does seem to produce very fine dry foam, but then then what collects in the cup is watery. Mine will be going in the sump when I get it built.


Mine does the same. If not cleaned out, the inside of the collection tube (where the foam collects before overflowing) becomes thickly covered in gunk.


I was on Melville Island in the western Arctic. Though, I would love to get to Ellesmere.

64 degrees, that's still way more north than most people ever get :)

Rosseau
11/17/2007, 03:03 PM
Growing up in school we were always told to feed our brains. Eat breakfast, eat yogurt, don't study on an empty stomach!
Now that my bad puns are out of the way...

I tried my best to turn a bad situation for my clown into a good situation for my brain corals. Follow along through these pictures with me if you will.


http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107mouthbrain4.jpg

It's amazing how they know when something tasty is in the water. This picture screams "feed me!"...

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107Braineat.jpg

I place the clown into the brain and it immediately begins to enclose itself (IME this process can take up to 1/2 hour). The cleaner came along to get a piece. I didn't mind because the cleaner was only picking away and not stealing the whole meal.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107Hermitclown.jpg
Next, however, my large blue leg showed up and wrestled the fish out of the brain.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107Hermitclowncleaner.jpg
The shrimp didn't want to let this one get away...

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107eatclwon.jpg
The brain hasn't given up yet either...

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107Hermitclowncleanerbraintang.jpg
Not being one to miss out on a good party the blue tang shows up. Maybe he was just saying goodbye to an old friend?

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107yellclown.jpg
The seemingly wise beyond his years yellow clown goby watches from his SPS perch...

Rosseau
11/17/2007, 03:04 PM
http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107Gbrain.jpg
From across the tank my other brain groans to be fed.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107topdown.jpg
I give in to the impressive display, steal the fish from hungry claws and place it into the green brain.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107mouthbrain.jpg
Here you can see the mouth parts of the brain opening around the clown.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107mouthbrain5.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107hermitgreen.jpg
Look who is back.

After a hefty tug of war the green brain wins out.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/171107mouthbrain2.jpg
I ended up feeding some brine shrimp to my red brain, I think it is earned.


Thanks for reading along.

Comments are appreciated.

Alaska_Phil
11/17/2007, 08:06 PM
Cool sequence of photo's there. I had a similar experience with my brain. Found one of my smaller hermit crabs almost totally engulfed. I'm guessing he simply wandered across the brain and it went into feeding monster mode. I rescued him since I was afraid he'd damage the coral trying to dig his own way out.

Phil

Rosseau
11/17/2007, 10:04 PM
Yeah, they seem pretty indiscriminate about what they will eat.

A few weeks ago I had a small clam die (I still maintain that my cleaner killed it) and my brain took it in, right out of the clam shell.

After a few hours of digestion I guess the brain decided it was no good and spit it out.

I posted the pictures here but I think it got 0 replies. Somebody must be reading... ? :confused:

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/181007Death2.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/181007Death1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/201007BrainEatingCrocea.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/DeadCroceaScale.jpg:confused:

Rosseau
11/17/2007, 10:16 PM
Phil,

Here's the kind of stuff my skimmer is pulling out.

Somewhat tea-coloured in the collection cup. Yet the funnel piece has thick thick material on its sides.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1869.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1872.jpg

Rosseau
11/18/2007, 06:45 PM
I'm going to keep posting away on here. It's a prime procrastination device for me. I have more than enough things to be procrastinating from....

While somewhat working on a lab I glanced at my tank to see a little white acro crab living amongst the SPS. I was pretty excited!

This is an awful picture.. I'll put building a top-down photobox onto my list of things to build for this tank...

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1887.jpg

I believe it is the same crab as seen below...
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/11/aquarium_album/AcroCRab_1.jpg/variant/medium
(http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/11/aquarium_album/AcroCRab_1.jpg/variant/medium)




I'm currently building a new half open canopy so that I can look down into the tank. Top-down is definitely my favourite view... colours come out that you can't see from the sides. I.e. look at my clam from the top here (bad picture, you can see on pg 1 how long my lense is... not easy to steady from above).

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/IMG_1888.jpg

reefman13
11/18/2007, 06:53 PM
Awesome pics!

Sorry to hear about the clown though.......

Alaska_Phil
11/18/2007, 07:57 PM
Cool little hitch hiker crabs there. That skimmer photo definitely looks familiar. ;)

Phil

Rosseau
11/19/2007, 06:01 PM
I had a minute today to run some water tests. Thankfully everything seems to be doing well. I'm potentially in need of a water change - I'm coming up on 2 weeks.


Everything has stayed pretty constant except for a declining alkalinity. This is good, something in the tank must be using it :)

pH 8.3
Nitrate 0
Phosphate 0
Nitrite 0
Ammonia 0
Calcium 460
Alkalinity 8


The tank is chalk full of copepods and amphipods. My chaeto is growing well. I've found a few cool little starfish too.


The next few projects include....

-rigging up my ATO
-installing new canopy
-removing ugly black AGA trim (top only)
-installing second 70W MH.. I've been waiting over a month for parts from the states. I think the strong Canadian dollar has lead to rampant internet spending and as such the postal service/customs is a little behind schedule.

Rosseau
11/19/2007, 06:10 PM
Here is where at least some of my calcium carbonate is going.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/111107Acro1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/141107acro3weeks.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/191107acrogrow_1.jpg

You can see the frag growing at the base. This is over about a month (with an exploding tank somewhere in the middle of it all).

pnguye3
11/20/2007, 02:28 PM
Wow, I like the way you set up this tank. keep up the good work

Rosseau
11/22/2007, 11:03 AM
pnguye3 - thanks!




Everything is going well with the tank. I've been very very busy with school and life in general these days so it could use some love, however it is getting by.

My upcoming concern is the christmas holidays.

When I'm not at school I live 3-4 hours away from my student house. This means that my reef either comes with me or fights it out alone through the holidays.

My 15G and sump etc. isn't exactly portable, nor do I want to attempt to transport it for the 3 weeks I'll be away.





I'll also be out of the country for most of the holidays so there aren't many opportunities to check up on her.




Does anyone have any good tips for leaving a tank for this long?

mikellini
11/22/2007, 01:26 PM
buy an automatic feeder, and put some sinking pellets and cyclopeeze in it. and reduce the photoperiod to about half, that should cut down on evaporation and won't kill the corals. Other than that, drive back once a week to check on it

Rosseau
11/22/2007, 01:43 PM
Fortunately I've got an ATO unit and my evap is pretty minimal thanks in park to my chiller (no fans).

I had a death-fest with my overflow the past few weeks so I'm down to 2 fish. I think I'll use this is an opportunity to take the tang out of my tank.

If I remove all the fish I may be able to avoid having to feed over the break. The hermits may not like this, nor will the filter feeders.

Rosseau
11/23/2007, 12:32 PM
More hitch hikers are showing up...


This nudibranch, eggs (left stalk white dots) and a potentially a younger one are all seen in this picture.

I worry that they feed on cnidarians and am looking around for and ID.

Any help would be appreciated :)

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/palynudibig.jpg

Alaska_Phil
11/23/2007, 02:41 PM
Can't give you an ID, but just the fact that it's laying eggs on your Zoas is disturbing enough. I guess I'd take the safe route and vacuum him out of of there.

Phil

Rosseau
11/23/2007, 03:56 PM
Thanks. I've found a few pictures to ID and am certain this guy isn't good. You can see a younger one and several clutches of eggs in this picture.... I'm scraping them off, FW dipping and hopefulling getting my hands on a sixline wrasse.

Rosseau
11/23/2007, 05:46 PM
I went to the LFS to get myself a sixline (I had already planned on getting one) but for the first time ever they didn't have any in stock. They did however have T5 lighting over their "coral" tanks -- this is a huge step up for them. I've never bought any of their "coral" as it's generally ugly and under some old tube lighting (T8's maybe?). I'm told that the reason for the upgrade was because the old ones "sorta caught fire". Maybe I'll be able to buy some corals locally now....

Anyways, they had clams under these HO T5's! So, naturally I picked up this little guy.

Here's a quick shot during acclimation.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/231107_2.jpg




So, nudibranchs may be on the verge or taking over my tank, however the rest of the equipment for my second MH lamp finally arrived. I spent a few minutes tonight rigging them into my temporary canopy.

I can't believe how bright this bulb is... wow, I'm really blown away. I'll need to upgrade the other one now.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/231107_1.jpg

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/231107.jpg

ASU-Reefing
12/03/2007, 08:51 PM
Very nice pictures!

erichatesmice
12/03/2007, 11:52 PM
Your pictures are amazing. My D40 has a crappy stock lens.

conorwynne
12/04/2007, 04:56 PM
I love the way you post the pictures, and comments all the way through.

Gonna tag along to this one.
I won't mention the tang, as all else is just wonderful.

Regards
Conor.

Rosseau
12/05/2007, 10:29 AM
Thanks for the comments everyone.


I am heading home for christmas after my exams and will have a new home for the tang by then. It truly is a beautiful fish... I'm saddened to see it go. Though I know it can't stay for much longer.


It's an interesting debate to get into.... by my math...

-for every 2" of tang in my tank I have 24" of horizontal swimming space (24/2=12)
-A 12" tang in a 6' tank has less room as a function of body size... (72"/12" = 6)

I know that this isn't exactly how things work and isn't an argument with a great deal of legs, yet is interesting to think about.

pbukow
12/05/2007, 07:16 PM
Very nice so far, Congrats on all of your success. My grandpa has the same camera as you and he let me play around with while he was in town. Man it is awesome. I naturally snuck a few (around 60 ;) ) pics of my own reef while he wasn't lookin. Very good camera.

Can't wait to see some new pics, is that clam above another crocea or is it a maxima? Again, awesome setup

pbukow
12/05/2007, 07:18 PM
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11240862#post11240862 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rosseau
Thanks. I've found a few pictures to ID and am certain this guy isn't good. You can see a younger one and several clutches of eggs in this picture.... I'm scraping them off, FW dipping and hopefulling getting my hands on a sixline wrasse.

I had the same problem with zoa-eaters a while back, I used Lugol's Iodine to make an Iodine bath for them and it seemed to work pretty. Let us know what happens.

Rosseau
12/19/2007, 07:34 AM
pbukow,

Thanks for the comments. I hope you've thrown a new camera onto your christmas list, it's pretty fun!

I see you're from Las Vegas, I'll actually be down there at some point in the next few weeks. Is there any interesting reef-related places I should check out, like a large aquarium etc?

As for my zoa colonies... They seem to be opening up more now and I have not seen any more nudibranchs or eggs around. I FW dipped and used tweezers to remove what I could. I also had a sixline wrasse in my tank for about a month and I hope this made at least some difference.

I really need to upgrade my QT procedures, this tank is hosting lost of unwated animals... nudibranchs, hydroids, flatworms and potentially a few pyramid snails. Everything seems healthy and is continuing to grow.

Rosseau
12/19/2007, 07:35 AM
Well I have figured that it is about time for an update even if it is a pretty modest one.

I'm almost officially on my christmas vacation - I have a paper to finish up and them I'm free. I have already left my house at school and had am expected to be gone until January 7th. I'll be out of the country and far from my tank for most of this time. Hopefully I can check on it at least once.

This means I had to do a few things:

-Finally set up my ATO with lots of reserve water
-Make sure everything else is automated and set in properly!
-remove animals with feeding requirements.
-make sure my water quality can remain high for the duration

My ATO may look a little sketchy for the moment yet it should work. I have about 15G of RO/DI water on a reservoir and don't expect that even half of this will be used. It's pretty dry and cold this time of year here.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/19120712vrelay.jpg

I removed my blue tang and in a few hours will be taking this guy to a his new home. I've said it before but I'll repeat how pretty I think this fish is.... upgrade some day :)


----

If you've been watching and laughing at my varied outbreak of pests you may enjoy this update picture of my unwanted colonial hydroids. I would say the colony has increased 5 fold.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/131207hydroidgrowth.jpg


This is what the inside of a ricordea looks like.

http://i146.photobucket.com/albums/r265/rosseau52/131207ricinside.jpg

mahalamata
12/19/2007, 09:45 AM
I love your work man!good stuff!.
I live in the UK but travel back home to Greece on various occasions,so I have been thinking about how to keep track of my tank while I'm away.Apart from the various automations(feeding,to-off etc),I thought that setting up a IP web cam might be an idea...or to be more exact integrating a few of them on my LAN(a full tank view,a sump view,++) and then building a web browser to connect remotely to them.
Having said this I have a few reservations over the project...

a)will I be able to enjoy my holidays(or work for you)if I'm frantically looking for wi-fi hot spots all the time,or just constantly on the home computer checking up on things
b)If something goes wrong will my folks see a grown man cry 'cos I'm
2000 miles from doing anything;
c)Or is this a great idea giving me the opportunity to contact a friend/girlfriend(or the janitor) or someone in a position to act and avoid a catastrophe;

Just some food for thought there.Great work again!keep it up and keep us posted!

scottydo
12/19/2007, 09:50 AM
Nice looking pics

Rosseau
12/19/2007, 09:56 AM
mahalamata,

I like your ideas and I certainly considered doing something like that.

I didn't get my act together in time however it would be great to at least have a camera to look for water levels, pumps, lights and maybe even to see a thermometer read out. I think it is probably fairly easy to do and I know webcams are used by RC users.

If you've got a reef controller, depending on the model, you can set these up to display their status on the net.

Maybe though you're right that it is best not to know. That way, when you do get home to the disaster you can cry in the comfort of your own home !

mahalamata
12/19/2007, 10:41 AM
Ive seen the controllers you mention but at the moment setting something like that up would cost more than my nano reef has cost me LOL.They say that a picture is worth a 1000 words so I would much rather look at my reef and see what going on!Off course getting all you tank readings in an SMS can be also useful lol.Having said this being the network geek that I am,my tank stand is already wired for a network enabled controller hehehe.
best of luck with your tank,I am sure everything will be OK when you get back.Its always a treat to be gone for a while and come back to find all the new developments(good ones off course) in ones tank!

I hope you all enjoy the coming holidays!Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year!

mahalamata
12/19/2007, 10:43 AM
oh and I totally agree with you!lamenting the loss of your favorite coral/fish/whatever is always best done in private!Non-reefers just don't get it do they?it scares them LOL

pbukow
12/19/2007, 02:28 PM
There are actually a lot of different aquariums around the city. The first and most famous is the Shark Reef aquarium in Mandalay Bay, no reefs but a massive sunken ship type exhibit (+500,000gallon tank) thats pretty cool. The Ceasar's Palace has one in the Forum Shops, Bass Pro Shop on Blue Diamond rd has a large fish only tank that they sometimes dive in and feed regularly in front of the public, they also have 2 jellyfish tanks in the bar next to the aquarium. The Mirage has a 10,000 gallon fish tank behind their check-in desk and also have dolphins in the Secret Gardens exhibit. I think thats about most of em, there might be more just can't remember ;) What time do you think you'll be visiting Sin City?