I'm not sure on the spray bar, if your feeling adventurous try both out! I would like to see the results! Its gonna cost ya what? an extra 50 cents for the pvc? lol

tagging along... this looks like it will be a very cool tank.

Fish suggestions!!
If I had a 125 gallon tank I would get....
A powder blue tang
a pair of BW clowns
a harem of flasher wrasses
a school of banggai cardinals

and a partridge in a pear tree

So I yahooed Flasher wrasses to see what they look like. And Yahoo asked me if I want to remove my adult content filter. I got a kick out of that.

They look neat. The Hippo tang is a guarantee.

I'm on the hunt for a show stopper fish. I like the look of the Imperator, or Scribbled Angel fish but I am worried about its tendency to eat soft corals.

Fish are on the low priortiy for this tank right now. I want to get some corals plugged in before I expand my fish list, with exception of the Hippo tang. I just love the look of it.

With that said anyone who has suggestions for future fish, inverts post them up. I'll look at them and see what I like.

Cheers,

Good news. Some of my Rock has arrived. I have 120lbs of dead rock. and 120 lbs of carib sea special grade reef sand. I bet UPS hated me dragging all 6 boxes to the door on our ICED over drive way that is 100 feet long.


Tomorrow's game plan is to get my AP 24 running as a rock curing station. I'll need to create a seeding environment and slowly add established rock to the 125. It's going to take a while to get it all together. I have to do it this way because I will already have the contents of my 42 hex moved into the 125 once I get the sump setup.

Unlike Calvins's 12 footer tank I have been stock piling RO/DI water for the past 2+ weeks. I have around 50 gallons so far. I've been pulling a couple gallons a day and storing them in cleaned milk jugs and rubber maid bins with lids.

Down side, my basement is slowly falling in temperature as I choose not to heat it. It's around 52F now. With almost a 30F temperature difference in the tank I think I will be needing 2 300w visi-therm heaters. They fit the bill size wise the jagers are just way too long. Plus I've had a 100w stealth and a 200w deluxe (glass) with no problems. The titanium heaters around 500 + watts are expensive, and the reviews of the ones I was able to find are not promising. If anyone has links to places I could order titanium heaters please post them up.

LIGHTING:

I have decided to go with (3) 10k 150w bulbs on the 72'' Outer orbit. with 384w actinic 03 supplementation. I want maximum growth. This is a big tank and I want the corals to grow out quickly. Any recommendations on 10K bulbs? I was thinking Ushio's

SUMP:

The final leak test was delayed today due to power outage and I got a call for a computer office network setup. (Big money!) My girlfriends Asian and her friends all work at home health agency's. networked 6 computers to a single connection and setup their home health software with a networked printer. I always joke with her about equal opportunity employment. I am the only white guy they ever see.

Crap got off topic. Anyways the sump is done baffles are good I might drill a few holes on the skimmer baffle to allow some under tow flow effect. I want the water to come up below the Chaeto and flow through it. I quickly realized that I will have to slide the 125 back a bit to slip the sump permanently underneath. This has me worried a bit if the sump every develops a problem, oh well can't win on everything.

RANDOM THOUGHTS:

Just as I was coming home today to go take a nap after a horrible day I see that UPS delivered. I got to carry 240 lbs down 15 stairs into the basement. YAY!

Cheers Nano-reef.com,

LOL I'm sure the UPS guy hates you with a passion. Did you test your ideas on that spray bar yet?

I have the 3/4''- 1/2'' spraybar built. I have to cut the all 3/4'' one still and I have to drill the holes. Was thinking 8'' spacing on the holes with a 1/4'' drill bit or 3/16'' still debating that too.

All plans that I just typed earlier are on hold until Monday. I was notified that it IS Christmas and I HAVE parties to attend....

Light bulbs I hope to order after christmas I have decided on (4) 96w actinic 03 PC.
I am still deciding either 20k ushio, 14k phoenix, or 10k Ushio. I want fast coral growth so I don't have to get a billion frags to fill the tank. Any help here would be hot.

Cheers,
Rocket

I am gonna run 10k Ushio's in my 2x150w, from what I have read they have the most superior coral growth, and the 10k makes them really take off.

I have been researching as well and I will most likely do the same.

Today I started up my AP24 again. I bought a used but upgrade 64watts of PC hood for the tank since the Sunpod is currently powering my hexagon. I added about 90 lbs of dead rock into it with 15 gallons of water. Got the stock pump and heater working. Waiting for my LR to cure. Tomorrow I'll be taking a chunk of LR from the Hex and putting it in the AP24 for a day. Need to seed the tank.

No pictures for a while I have setup a tripod with my digital camera for a FTS shot. Every day until it is cured I will take a photo. I want to create a time lapse photo reel so I can see what curing looks like. I will also create and post a thread here with the photos for everyone to see. This is going to take a while.

The sump test was not performed today. I decided to euro brace the sump a bit. Waiting for that to cure also. Spray bars are built. They will be tested the day I transfer the 42 hex to its new home.

Starting to look at how I want to enclose the stand. I may just leave it open for a while till everything checks out.

To do list:

1. order replacement bulbs for outer orbit 72''
2. test sump
3. finish the union for the last bit of piping in the sump
4. find mass quantities of adhesives to bond LR to LR.
5. Wait
6. Wait
7. Wait
8. Wait
9. Wait
10. ....Wait
11. finally move the rocks over and AQUASCAPE!
12. add sand.
13. Wait
14. water change
15. Transfer day!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!


hm... maybe i'll snap a few pictures anyway. I have a 5 MP point and shoot that I hate. Don't expect quality photos for a while.

For your aquascaping, instead of the putty to bond the LR, you could drill holes and use plastic dowels to keep them from moving.

I agree, The putty will eventually come loose and your rocks will tumble (In a nano it would not make any difference you would just super glue it or re-bond it, but with a larger tank you have larger rocks and then you would need even more putty and your rock structure would have to be taken apart and redone). But the dowels would be perfect (Link below)

http://www.tapplastics.com/shop/product.php?pid=147&

I found a good example of using PVC as support for live rock pillars.

http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2007-10/totm/index.php

Its about half way down the page and it shows how the live rock was drilled and then stacked using a PVC support.


-Acro

Today is day 11 of Dead Rock turn to LR in AP24.

Noticed a few patches of diatoms starting off. Still on 12 hour lighting schedule. The rock is starting to get some color. Before it was all chalk white. Still taking 1 photo per day to create a time lapse. Readings are off the charts on all cycle tests.

No wc planned until cycle is complete.

Tank is stable at 77.7F with 90 (ish) pounds of rock jammed in there.

Tomorrows goal is to super clean the 125 and prep it for adding 120 lbs of sand.

Just need to order the heaters and the lights and I am good to go.

Patiently waiting,
Rocket

Updates?

Sure. Nothing really to report that's why I have not posted. Everything is a go for operation tank swap except for the LR. It is still reading nitrites but at least the levels are decreasing. I am shooting for January 31 to move my tank over to the 125.

I still need to purchase the replacement bulbs for the outer orbit. I am dreading that purchase. At least I won't have to drop that much cash but once a year.

***On a side note***
My emerald crab has killed its second victim 2 days ago. I lost my amazing Lawnmower blenny. I like my crab but this is unacceptable. I do hope the much bigger tank will allow this crab to mellow out.

My True Perc has decided on hosting my Condy anemone. Pretty neat to see it a clown host.

Update:

I've almost got enough water saved up for the switch. Ordering light bulbs and heaters tomorrow. I can't wait.

I've also come to the realization that this cannot be accomplished in 1 day. I need to let the sand settle. 5 gallon buck of salt to mix totally. and bring the water temp up from 55F to 78F. That last part is going to take a while. I might start the transfer on Friday night and by Sunday evening be finishing the transfer from the 42 hex to the 125. IF all parameters check out.

Tomorrow I'll be writing myself a check list and what order to do it in. Oh boy, its crunch time.

Cheers,
Rocket.


P.S. LR pictures in next post. I snapped 1 picture a day for the past um 35 ish days to track the progress of the curing cycle.

Can't wait! What bulbs did you decide on? My coral love those 10k Ushios but it is a little to yellow for my taste.

Actinic 03's (4) 96w PC. and the 10k Ushios.

I'm in love with my 20k 150w ushio I currently have. I realize this might be a big mistake but from the research I have read and gathered, the 10k's promote the fastest growth.

Well the LR is done curing. The photos don't show much, a little disapointing. I tried seeding Coralline algae but most of the rock is blocked off from the light. Here is 4 photos showing beginning middle and end product. I have since turned the lights out. Had some algae growth on the top rocks but that is decreasing daily. did a 20% water change and will do another one tomorrow.

What is interesting to see is half way through this experiment I added a small clump of chaeto,

Well Friday night was eventful. Got the tank running on RO/DI water and sand in. Water temp is currently 63.6F waiting for it to increase to 78 before I add my cured rocks in. Pictures tomorrow.

things still to do:

aquascape
mix 5 gallons of salt that should look cool.
transfer the 42hex (very time consuming, catching all the critters)
setup the vortech
quiet the 1000gph overflow
decide if I want more sand

Well today I'm trying to keep my temperature steady. Was at 79 then dropped to 73 over night. Never had the lights on though. Added some salt to watch the water flow in my sump. Interesting the water turns counter clock wise. Unfortunately where I had placed my heaters the water current did not mix well. Moved heaters to where water overflows to return bump bay, that way the coldest water will hit the sensors on the heaters.

Here's pictures of progress so far. Waiting for water to clear up and temps to stabilize before moving hex.

Salt for setup and 6-8 month supply


Sliding sump in hope I never have to take sump out!


Spray bar, every 6 inches 9/64 hole for 5'8'' on 3/4ths and 1/2 pvc pipe



Return pump 9.5 mag drive with union and 3/4th pvc


100 lbs of Special Grade Reef Sand


My reserve RO/DI water supply. need to get a 30 gallon sealed container, like calvin415 has. I call this my milk jug fleet


FILLED!!!


Bad photo, didn't let the MH lights warm up before I took the shot. Shows current aquascape 120 lbs Lace rock. Center will have 30 lbs of Lalo Tonga rock from the hex.


Waiting for the water to stabilize............ hurry it up!!!

Couple of vids

This is the sump in action. you can really see the couter-clockwise flow I was talking about. Also I point out the maximum height of water that flows into the sump when a power outage occurs.
Sump flow

This is the spray bar. It sounds neat when you first turn on the return pump. I did this so you can see the water flow. No actual bubbles/microbubles shoot into the tank when in normal operation.
Spray Bar start up

P.S. Anyone know how to post vids better? I'd like a photo link but I can't seem to figure it out.

You could just put it on youtube, and then put the embeded code in your reply.

Tanks lookin awesome man! Aren't 6ft tanks so cool? Me and you are some of the only few with them on NR

yeah should be fun rocking the 6ft length.... except for that other dude with the 12 footer....

Eh Youtube I do not use. Don't have an account with it or anything. Besides flickr is free for me.

Looks good. I cant wait to see it in a few months.

following along

Look what I did!!! Opinions on LR setup and should I get more?

Today was fun. Cleaing up the 42 hex was a pain. I HATE OOLITIC SAND!!!

To cheer myself up I picked up my first addition today. Been wanting something blue in the tank for a long time.

Blue Mushrooms!








Side note. Noticed a small amount of diatoms on a few of the rocks today. Not worried about a cycle but just in case I have skimmer on very wet and carbon and phosphate running.

Fed the Condy anemone. It ate the food but still has not expanded to its huge size.

Clownfish have discovered the jets from the spray bar. They have been swimming through it and blasted to the bottom, only to swim up to the top and do it again.

Equipment wise. Still trying to find a balance on my temps, varying from 80 during day and 78 at night. i don't like too much of a swing and I want SPS soon. Vortech pump is on reefcrest mode cranked as high as it will go (3,200 GPH)

Cheers,
Rocket

Very cool! How do you like the spray bar so far? Are you gonna put locline on the end so you can direct the flow?

I love the spray bar. The mag 9.5 is perfect for it too. Did not have to valve it at all. No locline. I simply drew a straight light down the 6 foot bar and drilled 9/64th holes every 6 inches. I did not permanently attach the bar to the return line. It is simply connected.

I played with aiming the jets with a low sump level so I could see microbubbles shooting out. I have them aimed at the mid section of my LR. The flow from the bar is so much that when the vortech is not running the whole tank spins horizontally. Imagine a 6 foot cylinder rolling on the ground.

With the vortech going I have cross current flow. Amazing. I have areas for SPS LPS and softies. I think I am set.

Took some night shots last night. Camera : Sony mavica 4mp mini CD format.

Enjoy! Huge coral shipment coming Tuesday Wednesday and Thursday. Can't wait 20 + frags and colony's

Actinics only (384 PC true 420nm)







Moonlight LEDs White with Camera flash only.

I love the blue 'shrooms!!

My 11pack of Ricordia's from coral morphologic arrived today. Here they are!!! I was excited to get this. As I wanted to start a Ricordia garden.



























I love my photos need a modern DSLR soon though. Cannon isxish thing been looking at.

What are you using to stick the coral to the rock?

Super glue that contains CYANOACRYLATE.

1. flip ricordia over
2. add glob of super glue
3. dip ricordia upside down in a bowl of tank water
4. quickly place in tank on rock
5. press gently to seal the glue

Step 3 is vital. You dip it out of tank to skim the super glue over. This step can leave a residue floating on top of the water if you do not dip fast enough. Also why you dip the coral upside down. Once skimmed you have a about 30 seconds to find a spot on the rock and press the ricordia down. This breaks the skim seal and glues your coral to the rock.

Learned this trick on this website. No need to take the rock out of water.

Alright alright last photo update until the other corals arrive. 2 minutes before lights out my monster came out of his cave.

This is my fully grown mythrax emerald crab. It's body is about 1.75'' and has a claw to claw length of over 4.5''

Here is a great shot representing its size.



SWIM AWAY SWIM AWAY!!!

LMAO your clown looks like he is about to sh!t his pants in that last picture!!

haha hes def scared!

I still see hair algae Rocket- also I will take a frag of the blue/purple ric. Tanks looking good.

LOL dude about time you joined these here forums. Hair algae has been going away. Slowly though. Need to increase CUC. Running skimmer, phosban, Increased Mg levels, and just hooked up a UV light. Thought I could give it a try.

Oh and its not hair algae its bryosis.

Nice pack from Colin man.

lol Rocket, thats kinda why I havent updated my tank thread. I got a serious hair algae problem, and I'm sure its phosphates(I dont have a test), but all my other tank params are good. I got two huge emerald crabs for it, but its still growing like crazy even after I turned my lighting to only 5 hours a day.

OMG i love your ric rock! its amazing and its going to be even more amazing when it fully grows!

Thanks lady's and gent's for the comments.

I've added a UV sterilizer couple days ago and I must say the results of clear water and a lot less algae growth on the glass has been a major plus.

I'm in the process of choosing a aquarium controller. As it stands I have to unplug 1 heater during the day to maintain a stable 78F temp.

With that said my last coral shipment arrived this morning. What arrived is my 3 different Australian Lord Acans and a very bright green Duncan. I'll post up pictures tonight.

I love Ric Island. I put a rock in my 90 gallon just for a ric island. But your crab kinda creeps me out!

Where do you put your media?

Edit: Where did you get your rock? It looks just like mine. I ordered from Marco rock. It's really porous so it's going to be great for gluing frags. Tons of holes!

Yeah my crab scares me too. I always check if its near where I am working in the tank.

I am only running phosban right now. As I just unloaded a huge coral package(s) this entire week. After March 1st schedule water change I will most likely not run any media. My filtration is skimmer, LR, Chaeto, and now UV sterilizer. I normally don't run any disposable media if I don't have to.

This rock was a steal. Premium Aquatics 40lb dry box for 60 bucks. I ordered 3 boxes. For a total of 120lbs dead rock. The middle section of my tank will be my prize collection section. That rock is the now impossible to find Tonga round rock. I so love its relative flat texture. Oh and thats 30lbs of Lalo Tonga.

I was just at my LFS and had a new shipment of tangs in. Saw one for 1000. Did look beautiful but Now I can't remember its name. I'm looking at my next purchase of Live stock to be a tang and a dozen trochus snails. That's a few weeks off though, need to refill the tank funds and controller is going to be expensive.

Whoa!! that is a steal on your rock!! I'm not even going to tell you what I spent on mine! But significantly less that what I spent on my RSM. Bought totally cured rock from the LFS at premium price. But, I had no cycle either. Never had ammonia....ever. Right now I'm at 1.0 ammonia and 0.5 nitrites. so it's gonna be awhile!

Whats up with the rock thing? First it's Marshall rock and now Tonga? Guess us hobbyists are taking too much....

Thanks for helping me on my tank thread (or was it a thread I posted??) either way, I'm going to need help from you experienced Large tank reefers!

nice ric garden, i hope to start one to on my tank.

I had a bryopsis problem and picked up a longspine urchin. It took him a couple days to settle down and start munching but he cleaned up 90% of the algae, there is still a bit lingering around but hopefully with a bit more maintenance and care it won't be much of an issue.

What kind of tangs are you looking at? If it was me I'd pick up 2-3 yellow tangs and/or a powder blue tang and call it a day.

The tank is looking good man, can't wait to see it stocked up. Would you mind if I asked how much the ricordea's came out costing? For some reason I sometimes find simple ricordeas for sale for a ton of money, yet I can pick them up at the LFS for $10 per colony. Some colonies are 1 eye, some are 3+ eyes.

I want at least 1 powder blue tang, Saw some but the price was 120 for a 5 inch one. The yellow tangs look ugly to me. Was loking at a sailfin and other varieties though. I'll most likely have 3 tangs.

The rics where from a sponsor on the site. Paid $99 for an 11 pack so that's $9 each but $35 dollar fedex overnight premium. They arrived perfectly. Most of the colonies where single head, but 3 had multiples.

I'm going right now to shoot some good macros of the 4 Australian Lord Acans I picked up last Friday.

Pictures in a few hours. Dinner needs to be made!

Here is the latest and greatest shot of Ric Island.
I seen growth in size difference from the original day 1 picture. This is 2 weeks latter.