Getting back in the game with a 40b build

[lpsouth1978]

Well, I LOVE the Primes, but they will only be on the tank for a few more days. I was able to get a pair of Hydra HD's for a great price, so I will be replacing the Primes with these. I will update with new pictures and thoughts next week after I get the new lights mounted.

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

What’s the plan with the Primes? 😏

[lpsouth1978]

18 minutes ago, Nano Nano Boo Boo said:

What’s the plan with the Primes? 😏

I honestly have not decided yet. Part of me wants to hold on to them "just in case I set up another tank", which isn't likely to happen anytime soon. Another part wants to sell them to recoup some of the money I have spent on lights in the last week. They are such great lights I just don't want to part with them so soon. 

 

Oh... the dilemas we must face.

[Nano Nano Boo Boo]

11 minutes ago, lpsouth1978 said:

I honestly have not decided yet. Part of me wants to hold on to them "just in case I set up another tank", which isn't likely to happen anytime soon. Another part wants to sell them to recoup some of the money I have spent on lights in the last week. They are such great lights I just don't want to part with them so soon. 

 

Oh... the dilemas we must face.

Let me know if you let them go. 

[lpsouth1978]

Will do.

[lpsouth1978]

A couple of updates on the tank. 

 

First off, I decided to stop in and check out a LFS I had never been to this weekend. So far it is my favorite store in my area. While there I spotted a really good looking green Haddoni Carpet anemone for $45, so I decided to get it. I have had one in the past and LOVED it. I got it in the tank and my black occelaris decided to check it out. Things did not go her way! as soon as she touched it, the nem latched on and tried to eat her. Luckily, I was there and quickly rescued her from the ravenous beast. lol

 

The good news is that she is just fine and acts as though nothing happened, though she keeps her distance from the nem now.

 

Second... In preparation of getting the Hydra 26HD's (that were supposed to be here Thursday)  I removed the Primes and shipped them to their new owner. Due to some delivery issues with UPS 😞 I am still waiting for the new lights, so I currently have a pair of PAR38 bulbs over the tank. They are doing a decent job and things seem to be content for now. I place a bulb directly over each nem to ensure they get as much light as possible,

 

Here is a short video of the tank with the PAR38 bulbs over it. Hopefully I will have the new lights soon!

 

40 breeder 08-20-2018 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

[lpsouth1978]

I finally got the Hydra 26 HD's yesterday and got everything set up on the tank last night. The shipping was a bit of a mess, and the packaging of everything was a joke. The guy I bought them from put the lights in the original boxes, but then just threw everything else in a box. When I opened it, there was a rats nest of wires, power supplies, and mounting hardware. It took me about 20 minutes to get it all untangled and out of the box.

Anyway, the lights are in great condition and work well. first thing I did was complete the diffusers for them. I already had the acrylic cut and the stand-offs ready to go, I just needed to know where to drill the holes. So far I am pretty happy with the lights, but I do have a couple of complaints and there is definitely some room for improvement on AI's part. 

First, the mounting system is a serious pain in the @$$! My biggest problem is that they did nothing to make it compatible with rimmed tanks. I ended up having to cut small discs of PVC pipe to use as spacers inside and outside the tank to keep the lights from falling. It looks totally ghetto on an otherwise clean system.

Second, the WIFI on these lights is TERRIBLE!!!! I have only one cable outlet in my home where I can locate my modem and router. It works great for EVERYTHING else in the house, but I cold not connect to the Hydra's with it. I ended up having to connect a 50 foot coax cable to my modem and stringing it halfway across my house. It is now working, most of the time, but I have cable running across the house and a modem and router sitting in the middle of the floor. Now I need to try and find a good range extender to use.

Anyway, here are a couple of pics of the lights, with diffusers, and the tank. Let me know what you think.

20180822_214610 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

20180822_214459 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr 

 

__________________

[lpsouth1978]

Things are going very well with the system. I have moved a few things around, mostly for tier protection, but also in preparation of receiving a number of new additions that I ordered from AquaSD during the Labor day sale. I picked up an Aussie Blasto, Acan Lord, Zoas, Favia, Galaxea, and an Aussie Macromussa. I also git a John Deere Leptastrea in their Ebay auctions this week. I got all 7 corals for less than $130 shipped.

 

In addition to these, I stopped into the LFS yesterday and found a beautiful Aussie Elegance and couldn't pass it up. I have been wanting and looking for an elegance for a while, but everything I found was just outrageously priced, I got it home, drip acclimated it, and put it in the tank. Within about an hour, it had opened up pretty well. By this morning it was double the size it was in the store and looks amazing. Next to my Indo gold tip torch, this is my favorite coral in the tank right now.

 

Here is a FTS from this morning

 

20180901_092443 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

 

And the Elegance coral (under my normal lighting)

 

20180901_081746 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

 

Elegance coral (under UV, Violet, and RB)

 

20180901_081619 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

 

A short video of the tank this morning (sorry about the music, I was cleaning the house and has it playing in the background).

 

Tank video Sept 1 2018 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

[paneubert]

Looking great!

[lpsouth1978]

Not a lot of change to report. Things are mostly doing very well. Both nems are eating and seem to be quite happy still and the carpet has yet to eat any of my fish. The only issue I am having right now is keeping the Chaeto alive. I had to remove the last of it during my weekly water change yesterday. Despite having 15ppm Nitrates, it just keeps melting away. I have tried several different lights, including an Astra 120 plant light, and nothing will keep it alive. It is pretty frustrating since it started out so strong and grew to the size of a volleyball before I trimmed it back. Since the trimming it just went downhill.

 

On another note, it looks like I will be starting some dosing in the near future. I did my weekly water tests yesterday (before water change) and found that my Alk has dropped a decent amount. It went from ~7.5 to 6 in the last week. My new test kits will be delivered this week and I will test again over the next week or 2 and then will start a dosing regimen based on my findings. 

[lpsouth1978]

The tank has taken a disappointing turn. I have not added anything new to the tank in more than 2 months and things were going very well. Everything was happy, growing, and seemed healthy. Then about a week ago I noticed a bunch of white dots on my little male Clown. Two days later he was dead, along with his mate, the royal gramma, and a pajama cardinal. ALL of the remaining fish look terrible and I expect to find most/all dead by the time I get home tonight. I don't know where or how it got in the system, but it seems that I got velvet. I have now gone from 8 fish to 4 and likely 0 by the end of the day. I do not have any meds on hand, but they should be delivered Friday. Unfortunately that is too late for the fish in there now, but I will have it on hand to treat any new fish before going into the tank (after a long fallow period).

[lpsouth1978]

Valentines day update:

 

The tank is doing well. I ended up building a new system and moved everything to it at the new house (virtually identical but only 1 return). My melanurus Wrasse survived the velvet outbreak, but is still the only fish in the tank due to the velvet. He has never shown any signs of illness, but ALL the other fish died from it. Other than that everything is doing VERY well. The corals and anemones are all growing nicely, some faster than others. 

 

20190214_190640(0) by Lyle Southard, on Flickr

[Txoutlaw]

looks good,do you have a update on it?

[lpsouth1978]

Wow, Its been a while since I last updated here. The tank is doing well with only a few minor changes. The biggest it that my RBTA has shrunk WAY down. I thought it was a goner, but it seems to be improving a bit. I think it is a lack of light, so I am in the process of working that out. My other nems (both haddoni) are doing well. Some corals are growing slowly, others not at all, but the coraline algae is growing everywhere. I also added a pair of Spotcinclus clowns. Unfortunately, I think they are both female, but they seem to get along most of the time. The dominant one has taken to the carpet anemones, leaving the RBTA to the other. unfortunately the RBTA is only about the size of a silver dollar coin.

 

2019-06-03_12-29-50 by Lyle Southard, on Flickr