Yep - but the rock is still in the 46B so the pvc will have to wait to hang ornaments on it.

LMK whenever you want to come by. What are you looking for?



We are everywhere

sunset and rainbow monti, Monti digi like purple or another color. I think you have a branching cypastrea also, but prob not grown out yet.

yeah there are a decent amount of people around here, but it was same town! I'd love to buy frags from you sometime!

Some more crummy iPhone shots. The right side of my sump.






I have another Pam world pump that connects to the ball valve in the bottom left. It will be the return pump.

Thats alot in that sump

an old octopus skimmer and a life reef skimmer. A carbon chamber from life reef and another chamber that I am going to turn upside down and use it for GFO.

A heater, an ATO switch. The calcium reactor is in the back ground. I'll also add a Kali stirrera 10 gallon frag tank and a 15 gallon fuge. That should do it

I finally hung two of the lumenbrights. It has been so long I don't even remember what bulbs are in them. The right must be a 20k and the left must be a 10k. A friend has my third lb. I need to get it back.

The canopy will also go up 8 more inches yet.

Obligatory low def iPhone pic.

thats BIG.

I think I speak for everyone by saying holy b@%$s that is huge! Looks awesome! Can't wait to see this one evolve.

Kind of a childhood dream.


Thanks!! I hope it does bot disappoint. . Progress now is slow but steady.

Most of the locals I trade with now have 500 gallons in their systems so I am the little guy on the block

some updates. I added the third light with another used bulb.

iPhone camera had some strange strobe going on that was causing the dark bars. Not sure why only today.



It is really bright. The lights will still go up 10 inches but at about 10 inches into the water the par ratings are through the roof. Definitely sticking with 20k bulbs. Maybe I need to go down to 250w ones?


to help with heat I may light the bulbs one at a time from left to right.

The main skimmer pump is too loud, but it is only loud when it is connected to all of the skimmer plumbing. I need to resolve that before I keep going. Right now I is off.

And finally some life! A seed rock with an attached hermit.

the Xmas avatar is back!

I owe you a replacement package for Xmas!

No no no, I already told you I don't want replacements. Unless you charge me full price.

Looking good, hey does your rbta ever split? if it does again LMK.

I have 5. Come on by if you want one.

So you are running three lumenbright 400s over this tank? This tank is awesome.

I believe he is. I think he still needs to move them up the full 18".

Yes . And thank you!!

right now I have three 400w 20ks of various brands and ages. I have not taken par readings in the sand yet , but readings 1/3 of the way down into the tank are all over 1200 even with old bulbs. I am hoping when I get the LBs raise to their required height that the par drops to something corals can handle . I am also hoping the heat issues go away with the height and some fans.

House humidity will be a different issue

I also wired the 2 t5s. That is what in on in the pic. They will be on for the whole day and the MH will just run for a few hours at night. People running LBs get by with short photoperiod.




Yep. I need to raise them and add fans to the sides of the canopy.

Hopefully I will get the wood cut today. I won't do raised panels in the risers though. Hopefully it will look fine.

c'mon, you can do it. Break out dat router.

So, basically you are making a "filler" to raise the canopy to the required height?
If so, I agree it should look fine without them.

Then again, you can always add some fancy trim later if you are not happy with the look.

I finally found a use for orange cap.


Kind of like an SPS canary in a coal mine.

Def interested in one of the rbta's. Dont know when I can get by though.

I just took a par reading in the sand right at the front glass. It was 250. That reading may actually go up when I raise the lights.


Send me an email when you think you might have time.

Awesome. Just so you know even acros have photoinhibition at about 900 PAR. So that might be a useful bench mark for how high to hang your lights.

Hey Richie! It would take me an hour just to get all the other tools, screws, hardware, etc.. put away that are piled on my router table I have not used the table in a long while.

Yes, I have a 10 inch wide piece of solid red oak. I will cut it and attach it all the way around the existing canopy - just like risers on stairs. It will be super simple to put together and attach to the old one - all screws and scrap pieces of wood doing the joining inside the canopy - hinges for the front peice on the inside. I can go the raised panel look if I don't like it later and reuse the wood that I use now. I'll have to buy some oak plywood for that though.

I am trying to get all of the components of the system running first though

Todo list:
1) Swap return pump with main skimmer pump to see if "the resonant" vibration that I am getting on my main skimmer goes away. If not, I'll need a new skimmer pump
2) raise the canopy
3) hook up the ATO
4) fix an old kalk stirrer and put it inline with the ato
5) replace some fittings on the used CA reactot that leak and get it inline.
6) drill the 15 gallon fuge and plump it in
7) add a ten gallon frag between the fuge and the sump under the tank.
8) drill and arrange the rock as it moves from the 46 to the 210
9) move the ACIII over and reprogram
and on and on.... What a hobby

And the biggest task - figure out how to eventually transfer my 8 inch sailfin tang, my 6 inch hippo tang, my 6 inch achilles tang, my 5 inch yellow tang and my 5 inch purple tang to this tank all in one day without them killing each other or dying from an amonia spike

I am still pndering whether I can get away with all 5 in this thing. The sailfin, hippo and achilles all live together in harmony now.


Thanks Paleoreef! Yes, I am a little concerned. We will see what the PAR drops to when I raise the lights. I may have to get new ballasts and drop to 250s or get dimmable 400s.

My frag tank, which is the source for most of the future livestock runs at PAR ranges from 250 to 400 where all the SPS is. That seems fine for everything. Getting them used to even 800 would be a long slow acclimation period.

I'll run the LBs for 30 minutes a day at first.

Gotcha.

That's some list!

. Probably looks a lot like yours

automating these systems is a lot of work:)

Automating is still a bit down the road for me.

I need a bit more flow.
Waiting for my ballast to come back from Icecap so I can finish my canopy
Need to find or fabricate a reservoir for my ATO
Must gather funds for my reefkeeper
Hmm... it is starting to look like your list huh?

I must admit though, its enjoyable work.

Every reefer has a list just like it

Got a little done today.

Hooked up the ato to my ro di line.


the canister on the left will be my carbon reactor.

After some musical chairs with pumps on my system, I got the main skimmer on line. The loud pump is now on the basement system. I'll need to swap it out but I can look for a bargain now.



The second skimmeR is a small octopus. There is a bigger octopus for sale on a local forum. I may pick it up.



And the sacrificial red cap is fine after one day.

FTS with actinics and one LB.


living things in the tank now: Orange cap, metallic mushroom, 5 hermits, a few pieces of seed live rock.

I think I may add the bangais that were born in my 110 next along with my orange serpent star.

Either that or some new blue devils.


Return pump

Bioload!



why they hang out in the corne of a 210 gallon tank, who knows.

'scuse me, but those don't look like either Bangai's or Blue devils

Moving right along Brett!

True, but they were a heck of a lot easier to catch!!

I also added:

the leather coral that the clowns call home. I don't know if it will stay long term. But for now the clowns have it as a security blanket.

A tri color frag that won't get it's color back in my frag tank.

A piece of flower petal cap.

The red cap looks great. It has gained color and even grown a tad.

Items off the check list : ato working, carbon chamber runnig, AC III monitoring the new tank.

I added the orange brittle star too . Something needs to clean up the mess!

looking good bud...

Thanks Marvin! I added moved my flame angel, my copperband and some more live rock from my 46 into the 210 last night. It is getting there...

Once I get all the LR into the tank from the 46, I can build my remaining two "coral towers" . The goal is to leave a good bit of space for growth and the tangs.

I have 5 existing tangs to move into this tank some day: a sailfin, a yellow, a hippo, an achilles and a purple. I am still trying to figure out how/if I can get that done without them killing each other or dying of an amonia spike. I'd leave the sailfin where he is, but he needs the extra room the most.

I need to stop by R2R and check out your 110 thread. I bet there is even more sweet LPS in there now!

More lowdef shots

I finally have a diatom bloom after all these weeks.




and the new view from my favorte LR chair. I can't wait until it is full of coral too

Yes! We know it needs to get ugly before it gets real pretty.

and...

Looks like you have been busy fishin'

You are spot on on both counts.

The copper band was an easy catch. He knows the hand that feeds him.

the flame on the other hand required total 46B aquascape destruction. But he is always where I can see him now!

Nice!

Thanks Weetie! A local friend placed a wholesale order and had these as extra. The bigger one is turning into a male and is a little beat up from shipping. Hopefully he will be ok.

I have a third one in te 110 that is coming up to the 210.

I also picked up a clean up crew. I added about 50 hermits and 100 snails.

I added twice that too the 110 and 66 frag system since the snails were all but gone.

I hope to have the 46 shut down by Xmas which means tangs in the 210!

Happy holidays Richie! Glad ya likes

Still too lazy to get the real camera out so i'll continue with the phone shots.

Added some of the rest of the rock. A few random frags. And I am slowly adding bioload.

The skimmers are starting to pull out gunk. The diatom bloom is goin away.

I think adding the fuge in is next. And I guess I need to do my first water change soon.

Have not done a whole lot. I setup a feeding station in my 110 for the fish. Otherwise known as a trap. It is a one gallon clear rectangular container where I put all of the food now. They are learning to swim into it to eat. That is how I plain to catch the three tangs to get them moved up to the 210. Of course, the copper band who stays in the 110, swims in and out freely all of the time. I can catch him at will. I assume that the hippo tang will start swimming in soon. He will move first. And when he does, I will move more live rock from the 46 into the 210 to offset the bioload a little.

I moved a bunch of "frags" from my other tanks in. Some of these are a little big for frags now I have room in my frag tank for frags There are actually almost 40 corals in it already, and I have not even really started yet - Ithe aquascape is only 33% complete

Happy New Year. I finally got out a real camera and took some pics instead of using the phone some more. All pics are under the two T5 actinics only.

Check out my "Carpet Leather" anemone The clowns like it as much as the real thing














A Turaki


A Gomezi

nice photos.

Sorry such a late reply Brett * curses lack of email replies *

Great pics! Coming along nicely. Carpet leather is a beauty too.

I hope you and yours had a wonderful holiday season and all the best of health and happiness to all in the new year!

The leather is really cool to watch with the clowns. They look like they are sleeping in a comfy bed in it when its tentacles are way out Hard to believe a leather is so cool

Happy holidays Richie!

Looking good, that leather is awesome and the clowns seem to love it.

As far as plain old sacrophytonsgo, it is pretty cool. And the clowns absolutely LOVE it.

How are your tanks doing in the new digs?

Good, getting ready to upgrade the 5.5gal to a 20gal