Calvin, this setup is SICK.

Almost as awesome as my Eclipse 12 f.w.....uhh...I mean...

No really, it's an inspiration. Wow do I love the internet for stuff like this.

yeah i bet once the water gets moving it would create such a nice wave. your corals would love it.

Thanks! (:



Same thoughts. haha

get some naked clowns

Kinky Travis

I finally got a pair of naked clowns for my tank. They are awesome.

Calvin: Your picasso clowns you want also look awesome, and will be a great addition to your fantastic tank.

Yeah, I know...



With those results I would say yes.



Well, you could always get the 40 so you don't have to make it work as hard.



Yeah, I for one am blown away at the power this thing has!



LOL! Thanks!



Yeah, the fish were all over the place it was great!!!



No, they look like little worms to me for some reason...



Thanks! I'm sure the naked clowns look better in person, but the pics just gross me out... Not sure what it is, but it just doesn't look right.

I dont know if this is a problem with the newer vortechs but I know that with the other ones, it got hot enough to craze and mess up the acrylic... I would hate to see that happen on this beautiful tank!

Thanks for the concern, but in all my research, this was a single instance, with a early model, on an under built older tank. I don't want to debate these points, I've seen all of these debates, but IMO these were the factors and if there was an issue with the product, we would be seeing a lot more of these kind of problems. Ecotech sells a lot of these pumps and I think if this were still an issue, we'd see a lot more problems.

more picture more pictures more pictures


please

I'll post more this weekend. The rest of the lights will be in tomorrow, along with my clean up crew.

nice, what are you getting for the cleanup crew

50 Nassarius Snails
25 Astrea Snails
25 Nerite Snails
2 Mexican Turbos
2 Emerald Crabs

thats it

No ceriths?

Yep that's it. Nope no ceriths...

Well my lights came, but they are having the endcaps drop shipped which means who knows when I can expect them! I ordered them Monday expecting to have them today. I'm so P!SSED! GRRRRRR

Exactly! What good are the bulbs if I can't connect them!?!?!?!?!?

But ceriths are so gosh darn cute!

that pisses me off also, or even worse it gets there and its broken and now you have to send it back and wait for a new one.

Go with the Powder Blue They are so beautiful, my absolute favorite tang. I wish I had a tank big enough for one.....

yeah i was looking at one for my new tank but i think it would get to big for it, considering your tank is very long it would love it, and i dont think it grows as big as some other tangs grow.

Amazing tank Calvin! Thanks for taking the time to share this with us.

i just sorta skimmed through the thread and your tank looks amazing!!! I hope you dont have any problems with the lighting!!!

I read the tang comment and thought I'd toss an idea out there for you. Genicanthus angels ever cross your mind? Trio of one of those species would be beautiful in this tank. I've got a female swallowtail and absolutely love her. Just a thought. If you should decide to get one or a few make sure to get more than one cleaner shrimp. My female now defends the cleaner shrimp like its an egg. To the point that I'm getting another one to prevent fighting. Very nuts. And it's difficult because the shrimp has no idea he's being horded so he will clean anything that goes by, including me, which inevitable just makes her very angry. Kewl to see but not kewl to catch the nose bump in the knuckle, LOL.


Bill

LOL! The snail is cute, or the shell structure?



Well the bulbs were fine, packaged very well, but the end caps are coming directly from IceCap so there was a day delay in the orders. It's out for delivery right now, I guess the driver is running behind, since it's already 4:15... Hopefully I'll have all the lights by tonight.



Yeah, it's probably my fav as well... We'll see what the future holds.



Yeah it stays smaller than some, but larger than others... Anything I get will be a baby to start.



Thanks!



Shouldn't have any issues, just need everything to arrive.



Thanks Bill, I've considered them for a while now, but I just feel they don't have the vibrant colors the other angels/tangs have... I bought a potters a few months ago and put him in the 225 until this one is ready, and absolutely love the look, but I don't think I'll be able to get him out... I would love to have a pair, but I guess I'm just hesitant on anything right now. I'm so used to being in plan mode, I'm having a hard time converting over to execute mode. LOL!



We'll see if I can get the tank covered with lights by tonight...

Man you are way more then just some diy!!!GOOD JOB!!

cool. PICS?

Thanks Sheik!

Sorry Boom, I'll post some more pics once I have a little more progress. UPS came tonight at 8:30pm with my endcaps and stand offs. Those poor guys! The roads here are covered in snow and it's about 10* F outside... They normally come around 4 so he was 4.5 hours behind schedule. Either way, I got started! To those who know wiring retro kits are a PITA, how's this for time? I finished wiring my last two sets of 4 bulbs (that's 8 bulbs two 660 ballast) including cutting the new wires measuring, and screwing in the standoffs and using those 12 wire connector bars in < 2 hours! HA HA! I still need to pick up a couple new bulbs to keep the color even across all 3 sets, but I have light! Get this, lights were on for about 10 minutes and I popped the American DJ Power Management breaker! LOL! Luckily I install 2 of them, so I moved the lights to their own unit. It's this, or I have to get 3 timers so each set of lights gets it's own switch. I'll take some pics soon, I want to get a sand sifter to help clean up some of these diatoms on the sand and a few starter corals in before I do though.

To Do:
Buy 1 4' ATI Actinic
Buy 1 3' Geismann 6500k
Chop the 4' reflectors I have down to 3' reflectors
Finish the canopy installing fans to exhaust the heat
Pick up a sand sifter
Score some nice starter corals to get started.

what kind of sand sifter are you thinking

Not sure Gerber, I don't have much of a selection to choose from, but I'm sure I'll find something.

Looks awesome, your making some great progress!

I'm a big fan of the Yellow Eye Kole Tang as well as the Achilles Tang. I like the orange/gold in the Achilles tang.

As far as a sand sifter.. how about a Yellow head sleeper goby or a diamond goby (or both).. If you get a goby/pistol shrimp pair, they REALLY keep the sand nice and given a good amount of time, they'll have a huge territory under the sand to keep it all sifted and moving. You could also consider a sand sifting star, I have one of them and they're fun to watch.

Awesome build man, just awesome! BTW, the corals I got from you are doing fantastic!! Thanks so much!

Calvin, ive being watching this thread with months, the only thread i check on almost daily. Just amazing and im sure your after putting the diy bug in alot of reefers. Just amazing and keep the pics coming

Thanks! Still a long way to go, but maybe in another year it will start to look cool.



I used to love the Kole but looking for just insane colors... I really won't have much room for stocking so I want every fish to make a statement. Considered the Achilles, but just doesn't do much for me. Thought about the sand sifting stars but I want a bunch of Harlequin's so stars are out, the Yellow head sleeper looks like a good choice, the dragon and orange diamond are way too common here... Thanks! for the thoughts and suggestions!



Thanks! DIY is really just a matter of patience and desire. Hopefully everyone finds they can do a lot more than they think, if they just try to do it.


Well every night this week is packed with something so I'm not sure when I'll have an update, but I'll let everyone know as soon as I do.

how do you plan to feed a large number of harlequin?

I may have some zoas to add to the cause. lmk

Probably with a bunch of stars. If you can get Harlequins that eat asterinas you can breed the stars in a separate tank. You can also get Chocolate Chip Starfish and cut the arms off to feed your stars. If you keep the water quality good and feed them properly they will regenerate the arms in no time. 4 stars are enough to cycle through and feed a pair of harlequins indefinitely. So get a big enough fuge for your stars and you'll have a endless supply.

gah i wasnt even thinking about keeping them in the fuge to regen the lost limbs. I would just worry the shrimp would have a hard time finding the stars if they didnt grab them right away or something

either way i think its a cool idea and ill continue my daily check of this thread

get a whole bunch of asterina stars, the little white starfish, and throw them in your tank now..they will start multiplying and then the harlequin's will have all they food they need. Diamond watchman sand sifter gobies are the most efficient and diligent worker when it comes to the sand bed, yellowheads are nice, but tend to throw sand everywhere. Diamonds just sift on the sand bed so no sand all over your corals! This has to be one of the coolest tanks I have had the pleasure to read about, can't wait to see it stocked.

Chocolate Chips.



I should be good, just waiting for everything to settle in.



They don't regenerate as fast as most think, but luckily they are cheap, so I should be okay to feed a team of them.



When they are on the hunt, put it in front of them. They can't miss it. Or if you are cutting legs, it won't matter the leg can't do any damage and the shrimp will eventually find it.



Asterinas can become a pest so I'll stick with something I can control.



So I still have the pendant to finish, but here's a shot with all the lights going. You can see how just 1 bulb not matching the others can give a completely different look. The end on the right is 2 ATI Blue+ 1 ATI AquaBlue Special and 1 Gmann 6500k, the middle is 2 ATI Blue+ and 2 ATI AquaBlue Special, the left end is 1 ATI Blue+ 1 ATI AquaBlue Special 1 Gmann 6500k, and 1 Gmann Pure Actinic. I'm torn between the middle or the right side color, the middle is more of a 20k, the right is more of a 12k but the left is a nasty 9k. That Gman pure actinic is worthless at throwing any blue, it fires up purple looking. Anyway, here's some shots, both with automatic settings and a shortened shutter speed.

B-E-A-Utiful.

I think you're right on the middle light set up or the right set up. Finally some new pics, I've been waiting all week.

i'll take 1 to go thanks, deliver to edmonton, canada. thanks again for setting this whole thing up for me by the way.

Awww ya! That looks great.

Gorgeous.

I bet those fish are loving the swimming room!

*clicked reply, then didn't know what to say*.....

WOW your tank brings a whole new meaning to Envy