|
|
|
|
#101
04/27/2007, 08:17 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
The scientific name is Calcinus tubularis, to me one of the most beautiful hermit crabs. Regards Vitor Pestana |
|
#102
04/27/2007, 09:05 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Did some testes with my camera and telescope, the moon is easy, very bright, but the moonlight is very complicated, my camera is a sony DSC-P93A not a very good one for this kind of job in almost complet darkness, never the last i live you with what is possible: This is the moon Today, has you can see is not completely full, a pic with my telescope:  Moonlight over the tank, this pic is very pour, i don´t have enough light yet:  Monday ou Tuesday i'll try to improve the pics, maybe with another camera. All the best Vitor Pestana |
|
#103
04/28/2007, 07:42 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Well I hope it works out. Your tank is amazing by day, and ive seen some beautiful things at night, so im crossing my fingers that your photo's turn out, It will be amazing, if not just give us a discription, we'll believe you.
|
|
#104
04/29/2007, 06:10 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hi Vitor,
Did you notest yet any coral growth improvement comparing with metal halide ligthing?
__________________
"The natural world is, and probably always will be, complicated far beyond human understanding." J.E.N. Veron |
|
#105
04/29/2007, 05:14 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Yes, big changes, i've use metal halide and T5, neither can match the natural light, all corals grow faster. The greater change was in colour, the coral have a diferent colour after a few days in natural light, maybe the natural UV is the secret. I letf you some pics so you can see the diferences: Two week ago:  Today  One month ago  Today  1 week ago  Today 
|
|
#106
04/29/2007, 06:00 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Wow, the sunlight makes a hell of a difference.
Where I live, the winter is to cold to have a tank outside, but a few good skylights would nearly be as good. You'll have to keep posting pics like that, its great to see the difference in such a short period of time, cant wait to see them in 6 months  Hint hint
|
|
#107
04/30/2007, 09:46 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
I have just read this entire thread and am completely amazed. These are some of the best tanks I have ever seen. I love the fact that you are using natural sun and moonlight to supply your animals with thier essential requirements. I'm getting the hell out of Minnesota to somewhere warmer so I can bury my tank in the ground too. Awesome work Victor! Tank of the month material for sure!!!!!!
|
|
#109
04/30/2007, 02:06 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hi guys.
Beaner3, thank you for your kind words, i'm not doing anything special, nature is. I still have tons of work to do, and time is always short. Chris, today is a cloudy day, i don't think that the moon will show up today, maybe tomorrow. I letf you guys some pics of the work today: Hell of a day, it rained a lot:    I Finally manage to instal and sicronize the Limewater Reactor with the Calcim Reactor, now the pH is more stable:  
|
|
#110
04/30/2007, 02:07 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Vitor, I like to see the difference real sunlight makes! I don't know if I could install light tubes in my home or whether they would work as well, but it may be worth looking into. I live in a very sunny climate as well, but not warm enough for outdoor tropical reef tanks.
__________________
Charter member of the Trial and Error Club, when that doesn't work ask the stupid question here on RC to get an intelligent answer. |
|
#111
04/30/2007, 02:07 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Talking about my sump, someone ask me a few days what did i have in it, nothing special, just the ordenary equipment used on every reef tanks:
Calcium Reactor + Skimmer DELTEC APF600:  A 5 stage Osmose:  A 300Watts heater + phosfate filter remover:  And Finaly my O3 generator:  And Finally the new acquisition:  Next time will try to clean up the wires...  Hope you enjoy the pics Best Regards Vitor Pestana |
|
#112
04/30/2007, 02:31 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Vitor, what are your thoughts on ozone? I keep hearing the plus and minus of ozone sterilization. By the way I really enjoy the photos, someday I hope to be able to post pictures of your quality. Thanks Dave
__________________
Charter member of the Trial and Error Club, when that doesn't work ask the stupid question here on RC to get an intelligent answer. |
|
#113
04/30/2007, 02:33 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
You can always use this setup, the hearth mantains the temp for a long time after the water stays warm. If the cold night is a problem, you can use a blue roofmate cover just like you see in my sump pics, i lost about 1ºC during the night in this time of the year and my heater is turn off. If the weather turns bad and cold like 0ºC, there's another way to solve the problem, you can low the water level down so that a fine layer of air stays betwen the glass and the water, this way you get a green house effect. If you decide to see the tank, you just have to raise the water level... it's very easy and practice. All the Best Vitor Pestana |
|
#114
04/30/2007, 02:38 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Good point about the green house effect! I built an outdoor tank in Minnesota many years ago, but it was for cold freshwater fish. This may be possible in our area, the Winter weather rarely gets below -10 C. I think I must first get my new 270 gal reef completed before any further projects. Although, my wife might prefer the next one outside!
__________________
Charter member of the Trial and Error Club, when that doesn't work ask the stupid question here on RC to get an intelligent answer. |
|
#115
04/30/2007, 03:41 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
My opinion about O3 is the better, the water turns cristal clear... very nice and clean, aldow you must be very carefull, i advice the use of a ORP controller just in case. Other problem is the residual O3, if you'll connect the O3 generator to the skimmer, the residual O3 will scape through the air exit holes of the skimmer, you must install a hose to a activaded carbon filter or connect it direct to the outdoor through a window or similar. Remember, O3 is very dangerous in high amounts Quote:
All the best Vitor Pestana |
|
#116
05/02/2007, 06:24 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Vitor- that is an amazing tank. Your creativity is very inspiring. Please keep us posted as your tank progresses!
Abrigado (Is that "Thank you"? My Portugese is very limited )
__________________
Luck is probability taken personally. -C. Denman The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'. Support Intelligunt Desine! I want to get a bunch of Hermit crabs and force them to live with each other. |
|
#117
05/02/2007, 07:36 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Quote:
Thank you for your kind words, "Obrigado"!!! As soon i have developments i let you guys know. By the way, Havaii have a better climate then Portugal for these kind of tank. Best Regards Vitor Pestana |
|
#118
05/02/2007, 09:28 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Ah, yes, that's it: Obrigado!
I just had a crazy idea...  The bottom 1/4 of this picture, the area under the fence covered with stones. Would it be possible to dig this away? If this area were .5-1 meter lower, you could put low chairs there, and the tank area would be at table-height. Just an idea, might not be possible or desirable. But once again, great tank!!
__________________
Luck is probability taken personally. -C. Denman The plural of 'anecdote' is not 'data'. Support Intelligunt Desine! I want to get a bunch of Hermit crabs and force them to live with each other. |
|
#119
05/02/2007, 11:48 AM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Very cool tank Vitor. I love this concept. I'll definitely be tagging along on this thread.
|
|
#120
05/02/2007, 04:48 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hi guys!
fishresponse, thank you for your encouragement words. Tang Salad, that was not a crazy idea, i thought about that to in the beginning of the project, but i realize that i would have a significative temperature loss in winter time, and decide for the upper view, this way i only have one side of the tank in contacting the air. Regards Vitor Pestana |
|
#121
05/05/2007, 03:04 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hi guys!
New update. The Summer time and the intense heat is comming, there for and thinking ahead i've install a shadow cover for the months of July and August, my chiller could handle it but this way i can save some money on the electric bill, see close in the pics, the shadow only is only about 50% of the total sunlight:  Look close were the fabric is join together, as you can see this fabric stops only about 50% of the total sunlight:  Some corals pics, note the natural colors of the natural sunlight... there is no actinic lights here:      
Last edited by vitor pestana; 05/05/2007 at 03:11 PM. |
|
#122
05/05/2007, 03:05 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
The Morning was over, after lunch i decide to colect some natural water to for a change tomorrow, about 45 gallons:
With a help of a friend and his worderfull pump, we wore able to gether about 60 gallons in about 50 minits in a depth of 22 feet:       That´s all folks. All the best Vitor Pestana |
|
#123
05/05/2007, 04:27 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Nice pics and amazing colours!
Could you tell us more about temperature in your system? What are the max and min temperatures daily? Where are you collecting NSW? Thank you for the invitation, someday I'll make you a visit.
__________________
"The natural world is, and probably always will be, complicated far beyond human understanding." J.E.N. Veron |
|
#124
05/05/2007, 05:01 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
Hi Ricardo.
Very easy, i have a temperature controller with a 1ºC diferential, so the temperature never goes beyond 25ºC or above 27ºC.  For exemple, the heat of day is acumulated and release during the night with a diferential of 2ºC: 07h00 AM - 25ºC 15h00 PM - 27ºC Using the same concept of natural resources, the electrical costs are minimal due to the termic materials wich i build the tank. Sunlight - Free Temperature - Almost free Remember, i have only a 300W heater for about 260 gallons, only lose heat throw the top cover glass. Regards Vitor Pestana |
|
#125
05/05/2007, 08:28 PM
|
|||
|
|||
|
G'day vitor,
Your tanks looking as amazing as ever. Neat idea with the shade cloth to. Just wondering if you got the chance to take some photos at night?. Looking foward to seeing more pics of your marvalous tank. Chris. |
|
|
Linear Mode
