Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[melev]

Agu, do you mean the plastic ruler FAF sells? I've got that but rarely use it.

Jamesurq, do you have a picture of that thing? I'm curious - maybe interested.

Ehydo, yes that makes sense and I thought about swapping tanks just to see if the guage will come back to life. But I also figured I might as well let the last of it burn off and not waste any. It isn't like I've been spending a ton of money already.

[danellis06460]

For once I am glad we didnt get pictures this time

Originally posted by melev
Because the tank is 30" tall, my arm is submerged to my armpit, so I decided to do the job topless! What do you expect from a Professional Stripper?

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by melev
<Jamesurq, do you have a picture of that thing? I'm curious - maybe interested.

[Jamesurq]

I'm just kidding - a hemocytomter is essentially a thick piece of pyrex with a microscopic grid etched into the surface - you put it under a microscope with a drop of phyto on it and you count the number of cells in each square in the grid to get your exact density.

Maybe not exact - but much more accurate than the measuring stick.

[melev]

danellis06460, hey, what's that supposed to mean?

Jamesurq, thanks, I can visualize that better. One day I might buy a nice microscope for the occasional close up tour of the tinier inhabitants of my tank.

[Jamesurq]

Originally posted by melev
Jamesurq, thanks, I can visualize that better. One day I might buy a nice microscope for the occasional close up tour of the tinier inhabitants of my tank.

Probably the best investment in reefing I've ever made - it's truely facinating when you put a seemingly lifeless drop of sand and water from your refugium under the scope.

If you've never done that - you're really missing out.

[rjwilson37]

Ok Marc, where are the pictures of your latest changes as well as a full tank shot.

[electric130]

Originally posted by Gramalkin
Marc, if you want anything bigger than the 55 gal drums, you should check out this eBay store - http://stores.ebay.com/TANKS-MORE_W0...enameZl2QQtZkm

He's got large water containers with feet, vertical storage containers, and a slew of connectors too. Wal-mart containers are significantly cheaper, but you could potentially have enough water stored to entirely replace the contents of your big tank.

www.usplastic.com sells similar tanks for much cheaper. for example, that ebay store wanted $70 for a 25 gallon vertical tank plus $25 to ship it. US Plastic is only $57 for the tank and $7 for shipping. That's $31 less. I have purchased several of the 40 gallon vertical tanks from them and they're $70 to my door. I use them for RO storage since they're sealed and won't let air/dirt in. They come preinstalled with a bulkhead at the bottom of the tank.

[rsman]

WOW

totally amazed

I go offline for a while (ok a few months) and you go and put in a monster tank in no time flat, and it still looks awesome.

and this monster thread I had to start making notes to keep track!!!

so lets see how good my notes were

too bad your not building the L tank, but you really got yourself a nice tank again!!!

was that the same maxima that passed away that you bought, even though some ppl were saying you had to have MH lights??? boy you sure proved them wrong over and over !!! (hoping i wasnt one of them myself !!!)

the tank side pressure guage on CO2 doesnt work, depending on your usage you could go another month before being out of CO2, or another 5 minutes.

on a tank that size id recomend turning up the evaporation so that you can replace more evap water with kalk itll help offset the low pH. as you know itll help cool the tank also which means lower E bills, and higher Ca availibility.

the mandarins will do fine, paired or not, getting a pair is easy it just takes time. as I recall you had the ones from your 28/55 eating pellets thatll help while your pod population is lower, though a pod kit would be a good addon if you can get one, after the new sump/refugium.

if your feeling worrysome one day about floods a pond liner tacked up 4" from the floor along with a drain will catch water, and redirect the overflow to a place outside your home. with proper trim and preperation it can be done to look good also

the light rack is awesome looking!!!


once again WOW

[danellis06460]

Hmmm. pods kit, where could I get something like that from ? Anyone have links ?

TIA

Originally posted by rsman
the mandarins will do fine, paired or not, getting a pair is easy it just takes time. as I recall you had the ones from your 28/55 eating pellets thatll help while your pod population is lower, though a pod kit would be a good addon if you can get one, after the new sump/refugium.

[delta]

try here great place
http://www.inverts.com/Merchant2/mer...Code=Live_Food

[melev]

electric, thanks for the alternative. I've got one of their catalogs here, so I'll look through it. In the meantime, I do have 110g capacity with the two drums I bought. I'm not sure how I'll use them yet, but somehow they'll come in handy. Maybe I'll make 55g worth of kalkwasser at a time. I'll be the guy rolling the drum down my street to mix it thoroughly. (440 lbs!)

rsman, where have you been? Thanks for all the good comments. I'm evaporating about 3g a day right now, and the tank has yet to hit 82 F. I could add a fan to increase evaporation, or maybe leave that a/c unit on the dehumidify setting 24/7. I'm dripping kalk each day, but the pH still isn't as high as I'd like it. That being said, the Pinpoint Meter and the newly repaired Aqua Controller II don't match, with a diffence of .15 between the two units. I calibrated them both with the same solution, put both probes in the same spot. I even traded probes and still one will say 8.02 while the other says 8.17 I suppose I could just go with the higher number since it makes me feel better.

The mandarins are doing fine so far. The female Blue Mandarin will chase either or both Target Mandarins. The male and the female target get along, but lately their doing their chase again (with the female always running away). I'm continuing to feed newly hatched baby brine shrimp every other day, so I know all the mandarins are getting some food for sure that way. The larger fish don't know what to do with the tiny jittery food. They are voracious eaters though, and the pellets don't sit on the substrate for any amount of time - thus the mandarins rarely get the opportunity to eat any of those anymore.

The pond liner is a good idea actually. I've been thinking about painting the floor in the fish room (assuming the fumes aren't insane), and then putting up the baseboards and siliconing everything like Joseph suggested earlier in the thread. The only problem with the liner idea is that I have a doorway leading out of the room into the garage and the threshold is only about 1" high. Stepping over a liner won't work, and cutting it shorter would only cause the water to seep out the door. I'll probably cut a mouse hole with a flap. If water ever does fill the room, it can flow out the hole.

Yes, that was the same Blue Tridacna Maxima I had in my 29g under 165w of PC lighting for 23 months. Ironic, now that it was under the MH I was told it needed, it died.

I'll post a new picture of the tank from yesterday. I'm seeing coralline spots on the back walls already, and it has barely been 4 weeks since the livestock went in.

I finally took down the 29g today. The end of an era - man it was hard to turn it off. The cool refugium/sump with the bubble tower, the non-drilled-tank closed loop with a SCWD, the PC lighting, my food timer, the auto top-off and more... all dissembled and cleaned up, or is soaking as we speak. The living room has been rearranged now that the tank, stand, & canopy is no longer there. I did find my Xanthid (Mud digger) crab in the refugium, and tossed it in the new refugium because I like the little guy. He's on my ID page, standing proudly on some cheatomorpha if you want to see him. I'm also no longer dosing B-Ionic like I did for so long.

This new tank is such a change from what I did in the past, and I'm not even sure how to arrange my website now because the smaller tanks were appreciated by so many people. It gave them hope; something they too could attain with their equal-sized tanks. When people come over now, they are amazed by the sheer size of the tank, and they are overwhelmed by the equipment as well as the fact that I have a fish room rather than tucking all the equipment under the tank like most people do.

[melev]

Here is a picture that I took of the tank using a flash. I normally don't like using it because it tends to wash out the colors or make things appear differently from what the reef really looks like.



And here is another shot using the flash. Much to my surprise, it came out really nice, so I'm including it. This is an Ocellaris (False Percula) clownfish in one of the 5 little BTAs. The Longnosed Hawkfish is to the left.



Can you find me hiding in plain sight?



This is my Acropora yongei, or Bali Green Slimer. For some reason, the tangs continue to eat at this poor coral and so I'm not sure what it will do or how it will survive. Maybe the green looks like algae? They tend to focus on the longer slender branches that are extended and haven't touched the core of the coral.



This is the Acropora humilis that RTN'd over two day's time.



And this is just a cool coral, a Favite (moon coral). It was given to me because it was half dead after being under PC lighting. In my 55g it healed up under the 175w MH + VHO actinics, and continues to do well in the 280g reef.

[melev]

Here is my baby Maxima, who seems to be quite content on the substrate. I'm not target feeding it any phytoplankton, and no fish are nipping at it. (This makes me wonder if my Electric Blue Maxima actually was being nipped at all!)



Now should be able to visualize just how large the Devil's Hand coral has grown. My Longnosed Hawkfish posed long enough to help you grasp its size.



One last picture taken with the flash, of my Percula in her Ritteri anemone. The anemone was partially stuck through two teeth of the overflow, but I got it back out without injury. A few hours later it was about to do it again, so I made a couple of acrylic brackets that fit over the grid to avoid the suction from pulling the tentacles into the gridwork any longer. They are easily adjusted or removed depending on what the anemone is doing at any given time. An baby ocellaris is peeking from behind some tentacles.

[Konadog]

Tank is looking great Marc!

This picture is awsome.

[melev]

Thanks Ken.

Btw, do y'all remember how I extended the locline tubing so that I could drill antisiphon holes in them so the display wouldn't drain too much water out via gravity? While feeding some nori to the tank today, I noticed how those holes blow some strong current straight down behind the rockwork (the nori blasted downward suddenly).

Another nice benefit from that very necessary modification.

[danellis06460]

Nice one, looks like I might have to take a road trip!

Originally posted by delta
try here great place
http://www.inverts.com/Merchant2/mer...Code=Live_Food

[rehren]

It gave them hope; something they too could attain with their equal-sized tanks.

very true statement, your non-drilled 29g gave me a lot of ideas with my 20gallon, but after seeing so many 150+ gallon tanks it grew a bit tiresome always wanting to make it just like a "real" tank...

your 280 is really turning out nice.

[vapovick]

Marc, the tank it looking great !!!! keep up the good work !!

[dmiannay]

Marc,

Those are some great shots! I'm looking forward to our little photo tutorial session with Travis when I come out there in October. I certainly hope you're not planning any out-of-town excursions that month

Your tank looks incredible and all accomplished in such a short time! I can't wait to see it up close and personal!

[melev]

Rejren, Vaporick, & Doug, thank you very much.

I talked to Travis today and told him you were interested in a session with him in October, and he said that would be fine. We need to be sure to set a specific time up with him in advance, because he's coming from the N. Dallas area.

[dmiannay]

Not a problem. I'll have an approved agenda for the conference in a couple weeks. Hopefully that'll be enough advance warning for him.

Can't wait!

[rjwilson37]

That full tank shot is a good shot with all the fish swimming around, you definatley have a couple fish in there which I think is great.

[delta]

danellis06460

Well worth the trip dont forget your cooler, they have a nice selection of livestock

[SOMEthinsFISHY]

very awesome photos marc !