Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[melev]

Right, no fresh air at all. That is something I need to work on now that the weather is cooler. Twice a year I can open doors and windows to bring in fresh air all day and night, and the pH rises nicely.

[new2u]

congrats on making 200 pages, i belive

[melev]

Originally posted by new2u
congrats on making 200 pages, i belive

Or...

Only 27 more page until the next split.

[Lunchbucket]

geeze i can't even get one split

Lunchbucket

[Electrobes]

Lunch - you need to update your webite :P

Marc - speaking of websites, you're insanse for keeping up with so much webspace and info.. I have a hard enough time with mine!

[melev]

It isn't so bad. I just update the Hidden Treasure page and include new pages as they are created. From time to time I'll update a themed page like the BTA progress page or the Suncoral page to provide some growth or changes via news or pictures.

[shane 1111]

Marc are you and Electrobes related? it looks like a pic of you in Electrobes avatar.

[melev]

No, our hair is a tad different, as are our websites.

[shane 1111]

the only difference i can see is he looks younger. so you are not related. wow.

[Electrobes]

If that's true then that makes Marc one very gorgeous man!

As for our websites... I have a bit to go to even begin to compare to him...

[Lunchbucket]

yeah i guess i should update my web page more but my corals grow toooo slow

Lunchbucket

[GregM779]

Originally posted by melev
No, our hair is a tad different, as are our websites.

You guys look related to me!

[Micki]

LOL, that's funny! A little photoshop job going on there?

[rjwilson37]

Now that's funny!

[Cprowler]

You guys are killing me.

[GregM779]

3 people died acquiring this additional evidence but I think it was worth it, I mean who other than brothers wear the same shirt in the same picture??

[melev]

I just burned some... um.... *cough* *cough* whatever evidence you think you have, it isn't good enough....

Hey Greg, I just realized why your corals look so much better than mine. Naughty man.

[chimp]

On a different note, I think I've come up with an idea for the closed loop on the back of my tank. For over a year, I've looked at the two 1" bulkheads in the back wall of the tank. They each have a ballvalve with a tempting red handle, and everyone wants to know what they are for. In a nutshell, I don't trust the bulkheads and worry that one day my tank will be 50% empty.

I'm thinking about having a couple of glass boxes built to fit around those on the back side of the tank, that go up as high as the tank itself. That way I could drill the boxes for new bulkheads, and do a closed loop. My thinking is if anything ever went wrong with the original bulkheads, the water level couldn't drain out with the boxes on the outside. I could even put the new closed loop bulkheads up higher in the glass boxes, to decrease the risk.

So here's the thing:

* The box could just fall off one day and I'd have just as much leakage as if I'd never done it.

* I could just use what I have and hope for the best.

* I could keep ignoring them and not use them.

Another interesting option would be to use the newly mounted box on the back for something. Growing frags. Holding livestock temporarily. Fill it with macro. Insert the heaters. Or just use it at pure insurance.

To make this work, I'd need the proper thickness of glass. I'd have to scrape off the black paint (?) backing where the new boxes would go, and silicone it to the tank. Let it cure for a while, then finally open the valves and see what happens.

It could be one large box, or two separate ones. A large one would reduce plumbing needs, but it would have to be strong enough to hold the weight of that area.

So give me some of your feedback. I'd like to hear your thoughts.

[Lunchbucket]

i too never trust bulkhead...i frankly hate them and they scare me. if i had a drilled closed loop i would have mine quite high in the tank. then if needed i would put some PVC down inside the tank a little ways. so if needed i could service the bulkhead w/out draining the tank much

Lunchbucket

[Psyire]

I would just ask yourself how badly you need the additional flow?

[kwl1763]

The box is an interesting idea I've never thought of. You do have a ton of flow already though so unless your downgrading return pumps I would just let it be.

With the monster sump you already have a nice place for frags, refugium, etc. so you wouldn't gain a lot from the box IMO.

[Travis]

I think you are worrying too much. Have you honestly ever heard of someone's bulkhead leaking and draining the tank? You've seen how many bulkheads I have on my tank so you know where I stand on this issue.

[Randall_James]

Originally posted by Travis
I think you are worrying too much.

[Lunchbucket]

Travis - yeah i here you...just don't like those things though

Lunchbucket

[cduran02]

I agree with you totally. I have individual controllers for everything, but Im designing my own datalogger for monitoring ONLY.

Originally posted by jeffbrig
In my 250, I'm happy with individual timers and controllers for each piece of equipment. I keep my lights on individual intermatic in-wall timers (at least until their actuator fails), a ranco temp controller for the chiller, and run a separate pH meter. I find that's all the automation I need. If I want another feature like turning off the lights if the water gets too hot, I'll get another temp controller and wire some relays into the lighting circuit.

I write embedded software for a living, so I know how easy it is for someone to screw up a little bit of code. Unless you have a truly flawless design for handling crashes, missteps, and recoving gracefully, something WILL happen and make you fall flat on your face. I've spent well over ten grand on my tank, and I still can't justify the cost of these all-in-one controllers. They're just a problem waiting to happen,. And when something goes wrong, it can affect everything, not just one piece of equipment.

[angelfishlover]

Marc, thank you so much for putting the maxi-jet mods on your website. I did that to my two 1200's and its like the flow amount doubled.