Mr. Fosi Posted June 27, 2008 Author Share Posted June 27, 2008 I think I got the temp issues under control for the moment but I have a project in the works that should fix it permanently. I got the plans from heatsink-guide.com. I only have the cermet and the MOSFET soldered up but I also attached a couple male-end prong connectors to the leads after this pic. I am hoping to have the thermistor and fans wired up and working before the end of Sunday. A guy I know at school gave me a couple 12V fans he had laying around so I didn't have to spend any $$ on those. The parts came to a little more than $5. I might try and get Ray's skimmer up and running this weekend as well. I also think it might be time to move off the air-powered ATO. It has too much overshoot on this system because it doesn't have to pump up so high. I was thinking about using an aqualifter but that won't work well once I switch back to topping off with kalk. I'm thinking I might do a standard powerhead setup. Livestock updates... The toadstool extended tentacles a couple days ago but since then has been closed up and the top of it looks shiny. Not sure what to do to make it happy. The kenya has atrophied and won't extend polyps either even though it isn't being blasted with the light or current. It looks really forlorn. The brown zoas have shrunk down and won't open but the rics seem to be doing just fine. The mystery corals that I thought might be mushrooms (see former tank thread) are looking happier and are starting to develop what looks like polyp nobs. I think they might be some kind of leather. Hopefully they'll continue to be happy and till start to extend and show their true shape. The Madracis is going great as always. It is the most bomb-proof coral I have ever seen. It is even doing better than the GSP. The brain coral has been gaping on and off and I am seeing some skeleton start to come near the tissue surface. It wouldn't eat tonight and if it doesn't eat tomorrow, I am going to put it back in the school's surge tank. I don't know what it's deal is... I wish it wasn't to picky. The red macro has turned brown and is starting to disintegrate but I thought that might happen under the more intense light. I am hoping it makes a comeback after it has had some down-time to adjust to the new spectrum and intensity. I'm holding off on bringing the frogspawn home from the lab tank until I get the system's bugs worked out. I took a couple moonlight pics for a guy on another thread so I figured I'd post them here too. These were taken at a 1.5 sec exposure. I tried to get a pic that accurately depicts the brightness of the tank. Looks really nice in a dark room but they get overpowered with any kind of real room illumination. Whites + blues. Just whites. Just blues. My clownfish looks midnight black with neon blue-white stripes in this light. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 1, 2008 Author Share Posted July 1, 2008 Update?! The heat issues are fixed for the moment but I haven't finished the fan controller. I realized that I need to work out how I am going to mount and place the fans before I solder up the thermistor and the fans. I have some scrap wood sitting around so I am thinking about sandwiching the fans between a couple strips of wood and somehow mounting them so they blow into and across the sump. I think blowing across the lager surface area of the display might be more effective but I don't know how to do that in a quick, non-ghetto way. In other news, the brain was really unhappy in the tank (wouldn't even eat and lost color) so I moved it back to the school's surge tank. The toadstool and the kenya haven't extended in some time and look really unhappy so I brought them into the lab tank this morning. Even the GSP looks unhappy but the Madracis is still extending nicely. I don't really know what the problem is... I've done water tests, water changes, etc. but I haven't been able to identify any chemistry problems. I wonder if it is cycling below the detection threshold of my tests... On the other hand, this could all be fallout from changing light intensity/duration/spectrum. I'll see how things do in the lab tank (probably just fine) and I'm gonna let this system run completely hands-off for the next couple weeks and see what happens. I am also starting to see some diatoms in the display but I am not seeing them in the sump... This surprises me because I am running the lights in the sump 24/7 and only 5 hours in the display (part of the light acclimation regime). It is only 30W of NO but it is full-spectrum and I thought the yellow/orange/red would encourage plenty of algae growth. Not sure what to think at this point... It seems that the tank is somehow unstable and my first instinct is to remove the things that are unhappy and let the rest ride. Link to comment
AdriftQuasar Posted July 1, 2008 Share Posted July 1, 2008 It's always frustrating to want to do something when the best thing you can do is wait and see what happens. Good luck on being patient. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Well, I've waited this long to have this system, I think I can wait a few days for things to pan out. One of the corals that loves the new light and the tank in general is this mystery coral. It never extended any polyps in the 20L but it has flattened out and started extending some here. I got it off some LR that they were going to let dry and I thought it might be a shroom of some sort but it obviously isn't. Any ideas? Maybe some kind of leather? With all the problems my home system is exhibiting, I thought I might focus on some positive areas while I wait for the dust to settle. So here are some updated pics of the lab tank. First, the lower end of the success. Here is the toad that was in the home tank. Pretty obvious that something made it unhappy in the home tank but it is recovering here. The kenya. It is also very unhappy, bordering on meltdown. I am hoping that it makes a turn for the better but it isn't looking so good right now. The frogspawn. Three heads extending like this makes me a happy man. I thought about fragging off a head and trying that in the home system once things calm down. Might be better than risking the whole thing given how happy it is in this tank. The ric nursery. You can see the big mother polyp and a bunch of babies hiding in the weeds. I prune back the algae every 2-3 weeks to keep them from being completely overgrown. The big colt and the kenya that is original to this tank. The kenya would like some more light but the colt doesn't seem to mind. I have a frag for yardboy tucked in next to the mother colony. You can also see the end starting to bulb out inside the LR. I don't have to worry about it breaking loose and galavanting around the tank anymore. Some of the Ulva I brought back from the coast. You can see a better view of it in the pic of the unhappy kenya. An FTS and a perspective shot for those of you who are seeing this tank for the first time. One of my other side projects: Daphnia magna. I use these guys in the labs I teach and rather than buying them from Carolina Biological every semester, I decided to save the dept. money and keep them going. The really neat thing is that there's a lot more than just Daphnia in there. I also have a robust population of Ostracods, Copepods and at least one big amphipod. Link to comment
bucknellreefer Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Awesome tanks Fosi, hope grad school is going well! Link to comment
121a Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 that mystery coral is a frag of cabbage leather. I forgot how high 20g are but for some reason your tank just looks so tall. like the tank, i also love the natural look of the lab tank too, very cool. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 School's going well enough I suppose. I only have two classes left before I have fulfilled my class requirement and the rest of the credits are research and dissertation prep. Once I am done with those classes, I'll never have to take another class in my life! Of course, classes have their place and I may want to take a couple in the future but they'll never be a requirement. I've finally got some data from one of my experimental setups that looks like it might actually lead to something dissertation-worthy. I've gotta powwow with one of my committee members this morning about it but I think I might finally be able to move forward with some actual research. Cabbage leather huh? Well, good to have Sinularia in the tank. The 20H's look tall until you compare them to a 15H. Those 15's always look like a skyscraper to me. I like the green of the lab tank. The gyre motion created by the single MJ1200 also helps to give it a dynamic look with the caulerpa thalli and the colt waving in the current. This tank is so low maintenance and low-tech but it have never had the problems of my home tank. I guess that is a lesson about the problems of over-meddling. Link to comment
bluebastion Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Hey Fosi... come visit this weekend. Maybe pick up a few frags from the fragubator. You can at least attempt to see if you can keep some sps under you new lighting. Or I could drop by instead? Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Your call. Takes less of your time if I come visit you but you get to see the system if you come visit me. 6 in one half dozen in the other. Do you get the holiday off (probably not)? Link to comment
bluebastion Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Your call. Takes less of your time if I come visit you but you get to see the system if you come visit me. 6 in one half dozen in the other. Do you get the holiday off (probably not)? My wife and I can come over tomorrow. I'd really *like* to come over since you've got a new tank set up. There's nothing at my place that's new, except for a lot of new frags in the fragubator (and an espresso machine ). I can bring a few frags over for you that have been in the fragubator for about 3 weeks now. How about some rose milli and an idaho grape? Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 You and the wife are very welcome to come over! Those sound great, especially the Idaho Grape monti since it is more hardy than many of the acroporas. Looks like I really need to get a skimmer going in this system. I know Mrs. Fosi will be happy for you to bring the wife. Plus, we will be free to BS for a bit since they will likely be busy with girl-type conversation. Link to comment
bluebastion Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 You and the wife are very welcome to come over! Those sound great, especially the Idaho Grape monti since it is more hardy than many of the acroporas. Looks like I really need to get a skimmer going in this system. I know Mrs. Fosi will be happy for you to bring the wife. Plus, we will be free to BS for a bit since they will likely be busy with girl-type conversation. How about around 1pm, early afternoon? Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Works great for us. The baby'll be asleep but we don't have to be quiet or anything. It's great; as he's gotten older he's started sleeping better and better. Link to comment
bluebastion Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Works great for us. The baby'll be asleep but we don't have to be quiet or anything. It's great; as he's gotten older he's started sleeping better and better. Cool 1pm it is. Question. Would you happen to have some spare Chaetomorpha? I need two clumps if possible. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Hell yes! Bout time there was something I could reciprocate with! Link to comment
AdriftQuasar Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Heh, I just noticed that you're from Columbia, SC. I spent a the Summer between my junior and senior year of high school at Ft. Jackson. Long story short, I'm not in the army anymore, but they do keep inviting me to come back. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Yeah, I'm not Army material... Columbia isn't too bad but I don't want to stay here after I'm done with my PhD work. Bluebastion loves it here and would like to make it his permanent home... Just check out his location below his av for confirmation. Link to comment
AdriftQuasar Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 lol, nice. I never really did like SC. I couldn't understand how an entire state could have nothing but sand for soil. I was there June-August of 2005. Fire ants, heat rash, poison oak, oh yeah, I had a great f***ing time. It was pretty though as far as sun sets and sun rises go. I just wish I lived closer to an ocean than what I am, Saint Louis, MO, whoo hoo.... Link to comment
bluebastion Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 Yeah, I'm not Army material... Columbia isn't too bad but I don't want to stay here after I'm done with my PhD work. Bluebastion loves it here and would like to make it his permanent home... Just check out his location below his av for confirmation. Yeah.. I love it so much here in South Carolina, just as much as I like driving acid laced nails into my reproductive member with a hammer,... and missing the head of the nail most of the time. I spent a the Summer between my junior and senior year of high school at Ft. Jackson. Long story short, I'm not in the army anymore, but they do keep inviting me to come back. Were you in actual boot camp? Or one of those trial runs they do for high schoolers? Or were you a MB (military brat)? I did 6 years in the National Guard (Air Force) as a firefighter. That's why I'm curious. BTW: Where's the best place to be when the world ends? South Carolina. Because everything happens 30 years later here. Link to comment
AdriftQuasar Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 LOL. Yeah, it was BCT for the Army Reserves, I was only in for about a year though. I have depression and drug addiction to thank for that. Things are much better now though. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 3, 2008 Author Share Posted July 3, 2008 Glad to hear things are better now. I guess you can't thank them for your escape from the Army though. Link to comment
AdriftQuasar Posted July 3, 2008 Share Posted July 3, 2008 All in all, I think I'm better off for it, I have learned a whole hell of a lot about how to live. If I could go back in time, I wouldn't change a thing. Oddly enough, I did a search for light acclimation, and your thread was #2 on the list. Link to comment
Mr. Fosi Posted July 5, 2008 Author Share Posted July 5, 2008 Partial update: I got a skimmer! When blue and Mrs. blue stopped over yesterday he brought a suprise: a Generation #1 Finnex skimmer! It was missing the pump but that was no big deal. I used a little junk hose to attach a Penguin 550 (145 gph) to it. The original pump was 300+ gph but as you can see, the 550 does just fine. I'm skimming a little wet at the moment just because I was impatient to see some skimmate. I may dial it back after I get used to the idea of having skimmate. Blue also brought a few other items with him when he stopped over but I can't do them justice until the MH fires up. Link to comment
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