JCPatella's 90g Reef Build

[jcpatella]

Originally posted by eran
This is Eran's wife. I am in no way trying to start an argument or ANYTHING, i'm just speaking my mind right now. jcpatella, I think it is AWESOME that your wife is so involved and supportive! So this doesn't reply to you. But it really bugs me when guys come on here and bash their wife by making rude comments about her. As a wife, I know I would be really hurt if I ran into a post from my husband that said something rude about me. And as a mother of 3 under the age of 3......I know for a fact that if I didnt have kids I would be more involved and into the reef keeping hobby. But my kids keep me running from sun up until sun down.....so I don't have the chance to get really involved in my husband's tank. Sometimes, for those who have children, the last thing that a wife and mother wants to think about at the end of the day is trying to take care of one more thing. Its not that I (or they) don't want to, I just literally don't have the energy to put into it like my husband does. Anyways, i'm done ranting. Sorry everyone! I just needed to get that off of my chest.

I'm glad you've enjoyed the thread. I understand how you'd get upset. I consider myself fortunate that my wife takes part in this hobby. She is also interested in painting and sowing. If she was part of a sowing forum, I'd be the jerk who wasn't involved, so I sympathize with those who may not be interested in their spouse's hobby. My wife and I don't have kids and we both are done with college. We have time right now and that's how we planned it. Part of my goal with this system is for it to be low maintenance (which is a relative term), because I know that in the coming years we'll have children and other events that will consume the better part of our lives. I hope my wife will continue to appreciate the beauty of this hobby, but I do know that when the time comes, I'd rather her be a dedicated mother than a reef-model. Maybe she'll be both! Either way, don't take the trivial comments to heart - sometimes it's easy for us guys to take our ladies for granted. We just need to be put back in our place sometimes.

Thanks for venting, and know that your husband chose an innocent (albeit expensive) hobby to stimulate his mind!

-JCPatella

[jcpatella]

Originally posted by SuperAWE
One thing, I noticed on page 7 you have a picture of your sump and rest of the guts under your stand. Your powerstrip is on the floor of the stand, if you haven't already, mount it somewhere above your sump water level and make some drip loops.

Keep up the great work and build pics!

Thanks! Actually, I moved the powerstrips upward that night. I still need to put a GFCI outlet on that wall, but the drip-loops are in place.

[jcpatella]

Originally posted by fantastic4
uh oh... fellow married reefers, word has leaked about Reefcentral and we are discovered.

So last night I asked the Mrs. to pose and do some work in front of the tank, she just laughed at me, but I was serious! Did not bribe her yet, so stay tuned men, picts coming soon.

WooHoo!!!! Part of why many spouses are uninterested in the hobby is because they feel left out. Even though it is goofy, she's got to feel proud that her husband wants to show her off (next to a fish tank....how offensive can that really be???)

Melev, no comments from you! J/K

[jcpatella]

Originally posted by cannarella
She would kill me for posting up a pic of her but it is cute. Those are her babies

That is a beautiful picture. She genuinely looks happy and your dogs look like they're ready to do some damage!

Man, you guys are making it really hard for me to keep my pics/posts ratio up!

[cannarella]

Adie just like to lay around and be lazy. My kind of dog. Jester on the other hand always has to be in your face or on top of you. It is funny to vacuum or sweep with him around. He goes crazy snapping at the vac or broom. We really think he is insane, he is not afraid of anything.

[eran]

Originally posted by jcpatella
I'm glad you've enjoyed the thread. I understand how you'd get upset. I consider myself fortunate that my wife takes part in this hobby. She is also interested in painting and sowing. If she was part of a sowing forum, I'd be the jerk who wasn't involved, so I sympathize with those who may not be interested in their spouse's hobby. My wife and I don't have kids and we both are done with college. We have time right now and that's how we planned it. Part of my goal with this system is for it to be low maintenance (which is a relative term), because I know that in the coming years we'll have children and other events that will consume the better part of our lives. I hope my wife will continue to appreciate the beauty of this hobby, but I do know that when the time comes, I'd rather her be a dedicated mother than a reef-model. Maybe she'll be both! Either way, don't take the trivial comments to heart - sometimes it's easy for us guys to take our ladies for granted. We just need to be put back in our place sometimes.

Thanks for venting, and know that your husband chose an innocent (albeit expensive) hobby to stimulate his mind!

-JCPatella

I hope i didn't offend anyone with my e-mail. I'm just having a bad week, and needed to let off some steam somewhere. I can understand how you guys need to also vent somewhere......so I know I need to not take things like that so personally like that.

I think you were right when you said that sometimes the wife just feels left out. My husbands tank is his baby.....he has put alot of work into it. But when it comes to helping him with it, he is very protective of his hobby. We built a 40 breeder together....and it was fun, but frustrating as well. Anytime I tried to help in some way with it, he would get upset because I wasn't doing it the exact way that he would do it. So we would end up just getting mad at each other 'cause I wanted to be involved, but he wanted it done his way, and no other way. But I understand, its his hobby. I'm a photographer and I don't like it when he gets involved in my hobby either. So its all good. Don't get me wrong though, my husband is an AMAZING husband, and a devoted father. He manages to divide his time really well with family, church, work and his hobby. And he helps me out soooo much, and I will always be grateful for that! I just need to learn how to not get so upset when he spends time (and money ) on the tank. haha! we are all a work in progress I guess.

[eran]

Originally posted by jcpatella
WooHoo!!!! Part of why many spouses are uninterested in the hobby is because they feel left out. Even though it is goofy, she's got to feel proud that her husband wants to show her off (next to a fish tank....how offensive can that really be???)

Melev, no comments from you! J/K

LOL, yeah, seriously! She should feel proud that you asked her to pose for you. I wish my husband would ask me to do that.....even though I probably wouldn't. LOL. But its the thought that would count

[cannarella]

Originally posted by eran
I hope i didn't offend anyone with my e-mail. I'm just having a bad week, and needed to let off some steam somewhere. I can understand how you guys need to also vent somewhere......so I know I need to not take things like that so personally like that.

I think you were right when you said that sometimes the wife just feels left out. My husbands tank is his baby.....he has put a lot of work into it. But when it comes to helping him with it, he is very protective of his hobby. We built a 40 breeder together....and it was fun, but frustrating as well. Anytime I tried to help in some way with it, he would get upset because I wasn't doing it the exact way that he would do it. So we would end up just getting mad at each other 'cause I wanted to be involved, but he wanted it done his way, and no other way. But I understand, its his hobby. I'm a photographer and I don't like it when he gets involved in my hobby either. So its all good. Don't get me wrong though, my husband is an AMAZING husband, and a devoted father. He manages to divide his time really well with family, church, work and his hobby. And he helps me out soooo much, and I will always be grateful for that! I just need to learn how to not get so upset when he spends time (and money ) on the tank. haha! we are all a work in progress I guess.

I know what you mean, I am kinda the same way with the things I do like your husband. I call it my OCD. My wife just gets frustrated really easily with small detailed tasks. That is what I thrive in. She likes to see the big picture. So it proves that opposites attract. I mean I am an ISTj and she is an INFP. Totally opposite. Her biggest complaint is that she doesn't like the serpent stars. I don't have the heart to tell her that I am going to be getting more...

Let's keep the money thing on the down low...

We all have our addictions. Mine are just pricey...

[Reeftanks6]

lol yea i no i just cant help it

[jcpatella]

I finally received my refractometer and thermometer from MarineDepot today! I originally had salt with this order, but I'm glad I cancelled it. I would have just begun the switchover!

Anyway, here is the refractometer. It's very simple to use. It isn't the most expensive one, but it gets the job done and it's better than the hydrometer I've been using!


I didn't realize that my hydrometer was off the first month I had it. I thought my SG was 1.024, but when I matched it with the LFS refractometer, it was -.003 off! I really had my SG at 1.027. I SLOWLY brought it down to 1.025. Since then, I've just added .003 to my hydrometer readings and the refractometer shows that it has been right on.

The thermometer is another decent item with a digital display. It has temperature alarms (when the temperature is too low or too high), which I've set between 76 and 82. Right now, my tank temperature is 77.4 and the room temp (above the canopy until I move it) is 75.8.


I walked by my tank earlier and noticed the cleaner shrimp at his station. I thought it'd make a cool picture, but of course the star of this thread thought it'd be cute to take away from the focal point! Oh, and don't mind that other thermometer, I can now take it out.


I thought this was a cute picture. Here's my wife's leopard gecko, getting a dip in his warm bath last night.

[NanoGurl]

I have the same refractometer.. it's worked well for us. Cute gecko

[chrismunn]

dont you just hate thoes people who start reading mid-thread and start asking questions that have already been answered like 10 times alread. question that they would know the answer to if they just read the first page, at least!!!
so how long has your tank been running now?

[melev]

I don't think that Gecko is reef-safe. It'll eat your shrimp for sure.

I use the same Big Alert thermometer.

[cannarella]

Beautiful Gecko.

[chevegan]

we let 2 huge leopard geckos loose in my buds house when he had a roach problem years ago. Well they ate every last one. Those suckers were SO mean! they ran loose in the house for about 6 months. Once we saw one scurrying on the ceiling in the kitchen. When the roaches ran out we caught 1 and couldn't find the other (found him dead in a closet later . )

BTW your rocks are beautiful man. What is your dosing schedule like?

[chevegan]

double post

[Reeftanks6]

wow he looks really cool jc

[hermitage]

hey...just so your aware. I have the same Big Digital Temp Alert (BDT), and also the same suction cup thermometer.

I would leave in the suction cup thermometer. I use it in mine to make sure the Digital thermometer is accurate.

I had a heat issue in my tank this fall (so I thought), which prompted me to buy an Aquacontroller Jr (manages temp and other stuff). Anyway, it turns out my BDT was giving me wrong temp. Over the past 3 months, it says the temp in my tank had gone from 79.5 to 84.5. Meanwhile, my ACJR stayed at 79.0, and the suction cup thermometer also read 79.

Luckily, I was able to catch the prob with my BDT. THe BDT still continues to rise. 2 weeks ago it was 84, now its 84.5.

Replaced batteries also.

Anyway, I would leave both digital and suction cup therm in there. You can check the 2 against each other.

[jcpatella]

Originally posted by chrismunn
so how long has your tank been running now?

This tank has only been running for a week. I've had the system (rocks, water, fish, corals) going for about 6 months now.

[jcpatella]

melev - it would make an interesting picture, though: watching the gecko swim around in the main display! (don't worry, activists, I won't do it!!!!)

cannerella - Thanks. When I purchased the 55g, the owner also wanted to get rid of the gecko. My wife was intrigued, so we took her in as our own.

hermitage - you have a good point. I guess it wouldn't hurt to keep the 'old' thermometer in the sump. There's just something trusty about a component that doesn't need electricity or batteries...

[jcpatella]

Originally posted by chevegan
we let 2 huge leopard geckos loose in my buds house when he had a roach problem years ago. Well they ate every last one. Those suckers were SO mean! they ran loose in the house for about 6 months. Once we saw one scurrying on the ceiling in the kitchen. When the roaches ran out we caught 1 and couldn't find the other (found him dead in a closet later . )

BTW your rocks are beautiful man. What is your dosing schedule like?

chevegan - hmmm..... I caught a king snake in our backyard last spring. We were taming him until one day he escaped his cage! We've never found him (in the house), but we also never see the occasional roach anymore!

Those rocks are very nice - thanks. They were quite expensive too. Unfortunately, rocks don't come as a bargain - as I'm sure you know! Most of them are around 10-12lbs each, but one of them is a 21 pounder.

I don't have many corals right now, so I have yet to dose anything. My calcium levels remain high so far. I use Red Sea Pro Coral salt, which is high in calc/alk. I'm good about regular water changes, but I need to learn more about dosing. I could bring my alkalinity up a little, but I've been hesitant to dose my tank until I fully understand how to do so (and if I actually need to).

[96vette]

Hey Josh, I have the same refractometer and I just discovered mine was also off by .003 from my hydrometer but in the other direction.

refracto reading 1.020
hydro reading 1.023

I calibrated my refractometer per the instructions using distilled water so I assume the reading is accurate. I plan on doing a 15% (10.8 gal) water change tomorrow but I wonder how much should I raise the SG on this water change in oder to start bringing the SG in the tank up to par? Greg

[jcpatella]

96vette - you have some nice corals! Also, I love the flame angel. I wish I didn't have to bring mine back to the store - he was definitely my favorite.

About your SG. You mentioned that you thought your SG was 1.023, so I'm assuming that's what you want to bring it up to. I wouldn't try to bring it up with one water change, though. I'm not a pro, so if anyone else has better advice, please mention it. This is how I would go about it.:

1) Do your 10g water change with new salt water SG 1.022. This will bring you up slightly, but it shouldn't be enough to shock anything.
2) Over the next few days, instead of topping off with freshwater, use half saltwater and half freshwater.
3) Continue doing this (slowly) until you reach 1.023 (or the desired SG).

Last week, I mixed all my new salt water for the 90g at a lower SG than I usually do. It ended up being 1.022 instead of the usual 1.024-1.025 that I keep it at. The next few days, I topped off with saltwater that had an equivalent SG as the tank water, so the SG would slowly rise as evaporation occurred. Now that I've made it to 1.024, I will top off with freshwater to maintain this SG.

I hope that wasn't too confusing!

[96vette]

Thanks, we love the tank, in fact, we just picked it up on Monday and it just might be the best $570 we ever spent.

-flame angel
-yellow tang
-pseudochromi
-Mandarinfish
-tomato clown
-cleaner shrimp
-2 peppermint shrimp
-coral shrimp
-2 brittle sea stars
-sand sifting star
-blue/red leg crabs
-cerith/astrea snails
-2 giant clams
-20+ corals
-75+ pounds of live rock


The only problem is we have a pretty good bit of algae growth which I hope to correct with ro/di water changes and clean up crew reinforcements. The previous owner was actually doing water changes with tap well water treated with Stress Coat.

I'm going to raise the SG very slowly over time.

[reefhead165]

Good choice with the 90g anything above 55g IMO is a good size tank. Question... what kind of lights do you have b/c i was looking to get some frogspawn but i was told i do not have enough watts