6 feet of reef

[patback]

First batch of water is in. Making the next batch now. 

 

 

It's nice having a tank big enough to actually put a plate in. The sand is so much less kicked up

[patback]

The sunlight is beaming on this piece of shit. Probably should have cleaned it before putting it away 3 years ago. Off to grab my toothbrush. 

 

[WV Reefer]

1 hour ago, patback said:

The sunlight is beaming on this piece of shit. Probably should have cleaned it before putting it away 3 years ago. Off to grab my toothbrush. 

 

That made me lol. 
 

 

nice countertops. 

[spectra]

1 hour ago, WV Reefer said:

That made me lol. 
 

 

nice countertops. 

well not after that skimmer left a mess on them…..

[patback]

Whelp, this sucks. Everything cured almost double the time recomended on packaging of the epoxy. Lasted for 2 days in dry air without so much as a wobble even when I shook the rock scape around. Once it was wet, it lasted two hours and fell over. I tried saving it but most of it fell apart. It seems that there was a bad batch of epoxy I guess, as the pieces that WERE hardened and stiff seemingly re-absorbed the water and are now spongey and moldable again. Confusing, because it is a chemical reaction and not a drying thing. I left some in a baggy with the store owner and he called the manufacturer and I'll hear back I guess. 75ish dollars of epoxy and 3 days wasted. 

Picked up some Stix hydraulic cement mortar and am now sticking it all back together. Hopefully it comes out decent again, if not I'll end up doing a basic scape. 

[FISHnChix]

1 hour ago, patback said:

Whelp, this sucks. Everything cured almost double the time recomended on packaging of the epoxy. Lasted for 2 days in dry air without so much as a wobble even when I shook the rock scape around. Once it was wet, it lasted two hours and fell over. I tried saving it but most of it fell apart. It seems that there was a bad batch of epoxy I guess, as the pieces that WERE hardened and stiff seemingly re-absorbed the water and are now spongey and moldable again. Confusing, because it is a chemical reaction and not a drying thing. I left some in a baggy with the store owner and he called the manufacturer and I'll hear back I guess. 75ish dollars of epoxy and 3 days wasted. 

Picked up some Stix hydraulic cement mortar and am now sticking it all back together. Hopefully it comes out decent again, if not I'll end up doing a basic scape. 

Was worried about that with the crazy scape. Was super cool but was wondering how it would hold up a year or two down the line. I used jb water weld with super glue to hold it at first. Also used a brs spray that was like a super glue hardner.

 

 

Also used reef welder . Was super fun to work with but not the strongest . That jb weld was like cement shit wouldn't come apart even when I wanted it too..

[spectra]

29 minutes ago, FISHnChix said:

Was worried about that with the crazy scape. Was super cool but was wondering how it would hold up a year or two down the line. I used jb water weld with super glue to hold it at first. Also used a brs spray that was like a super glue hardner.

 

 

Also used reef welder . Was super fun to work with but not the strongest . That jb weld was like cement shit wouldn't come apart even when I wanted it too..

 

I have used the water weld its not bad........ best stuff I have used is the e marco stuff.......... 

[patback]

36 minutes ago, FISHnChix said:

Was worried about that with the crazy scape. Was super cool but was wondering how it would hold up a year or two down the line. I used jb water weld with super glue to hold it at first. Also used a brs spray that was like a super glue hardner.

 

 

Also used reef welder . Was super fun to work with but not the strongest . That jb weld was like cement shit wouldn't come apart even when I wanted it too..

I've used water weld in emergency fixes to hold back 75+ lbs of r410a at 450psi while waiting on a replacement coil to keep pharmaceuticals production rooms running. One lasted over 2 years when trane couldn't get us a custom coil made. This binary stuff works amazing. I have never seen it get soggy in water. Ever. I even used it to patch condensate trays in dehum units, and again, no issues. I had no worries on its abilities to hold everything strong as long as it cured strong, which it did. Why it went soggy again is mind boggling. I'll see what sea chem has to say. 

[seabass]

I've used this method:

https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/421303-🕘-reefin-9-to-5-office-nano-contest-🕔/?do=findComment&comment=6047102

 

It works great, and the bond quickly becomes basically as strong as the rock.  It's surprising how strong it is.  Just do it outside (the fumes are bad).  And wear gloves, otherwise (best case) you'll be walking around with sand glued to your hands, or (worse case) you'll glue your fingers together.

[patback]

Tired of this room being a mess. 

Display is now 100% full. New rockscape which I very strongly dislike. The last one didn't look great, but once filled in with corals as I envisioned it would have been very nice. I had a dozen or so specific types for each area through out the tank. This one all I know is that sps go on the arches. Blech. It's really hard to make a scape that is decent on two viewable sides. 

Anyway, need to fill the sump then turn this bitch on. 

[WV Reefer]

10 minutes ago, patback said:

Tired of this room being a mess. 

Display is now 100% full. New rockscape which I very strongly dislike. The last one didn't look great, but once filled in with corals as I envisioned it would have been very nice. I had a dozen or so specific types for each area through out the tank. This one all I know is that sps go on the arches. Blech. It's really hard to make a scape that is decent on two viewable sides. 

Anyway, need to fill the sump then turn this bitch on. 

I like it. 🤷🏻‍♀️
Sticks on top, flow-y shit on the bottom. Fish swim through. Done. 

[FISHnChix]

3 hours ago, patback said:

New rockscape which I very strongly dislike.

Yea i love the scape.. well minus the rock parts...😘

[patback]

Ended up needing to cut in an exhaust fan. Stand was getting way to hunid and I was worried about warping down the line. 

yes i am a messy worker. And yes, you've now seen I never finished trimming the sides of the stand. 

 

And yup. I am using chromis to cycle.  

 

im thinking more and more, once i start getting actual nice coral, I want to swap out the lights. The color is just not great with this light as 1 of the blue arrays has a bad circuit and the left side of the tank is too redish and not blue.  Anyone have experience with viparspectra?  I read a few threads in other forums but the price seems too good to be true. 

https://www.amazon.com/VIPARSPECTRA-Timer-165W-Aquarium-Dimmable/dp/B00UMXAR5S/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1518064915&sr=8-1&keywords=viparspectra+165w+reef+led&tag=reef2reef-20

 

Tank is currently in limp mode as I am waiting for the electrician to run a dedicated circuit. I basically have the essentials plugged in. 

[seabass]

3 hours ago, patback said:

Anyone have experience with viparspectra? 

Not that specific one, but a similar 165W black box.  It should work, but you probably won't love them.  I'm thinking you might need four (two for each 3' section).  You can control the intensity of each channel (blue or white) to basically allow you to change spectrums (but you can't adjust things like red).  The fans are pretty loud.  I considered changing out a few of the LEDs and upgrading the fans, but I'm not sure it's worth the effort.

 

I kind of need to replace my lights on my 4' tank too.  I'm not really sure with what yet.  I've considered AI Primes (or Hydra) or even Noopsyche.  It's hard for me to spend a lot of money on lights.  But I'll probably just replace my T5 bulbs and kick the can down the road a little while longer.

[mcarroll]

What happened to Ocean Revive?  Those were the best of these kind of "cheapie" lights, but don't seem to be available anymore.

 

Maybe time to consider buying used so you can target something more upscale, but in a more favorable price category?

[patback]

A yellow and blue polyped entrusting Monti that was meant for this tank ended up dying after a coral dip. Found nudibranchs on it. Oh well. 

Playing with the orphek lenses. Once healthy again the gold torch will be split between the two tanks. 

[patback]

4 hours ago, mcarroll said:

What happened to Ocean Revive?  Those were the best of these kind of "cheapie" lights, but don't seem to be available anymore.

 

Maybe time to consider buying used so you can target something more upscale, but in a more favorable price category?

What I'm seeing is that right now people are still wanting 7/8s of the new price for 3+year old equipment. I'd rather have new so that I know I won't have a funky corroded part like I do on this light( not that I can complain, this light was free)

[spectra]

I think OR is done............... 

 

I see used lights for a decent price locally on a forum we have. Plus I can get deals from a few people I know if something comes up for sale........... 

[patback]

I had the electrician run a dedicated circuit so everything is now plugged in and running. The tank is in an extreme ugly phase right now thanks to diatoms. 1 of the 5 chromis were killed off so 4 are left. 2 of 4 snails were sort of shit off the bat but the two left are mowing shit down and the scarlet hermit is living its life as well as two emerald crabs. I wanted to order from reefcleaners but they canceled all orders not paying overnight and I do not want to pay an extra 40 bucks for snails, so on the 26th my lfs is having a 20% off sale. Will probably get a one spot rabbit fish as I have always wanted one and a bunch of snails and stuff like that. 

 

Anyone have any insight on pros and cons of the fuge light being ran 24/7 rather than opposite the main display?  I'd like some possibly serial macros in there and from my understanding rubbing 24/7 can keep them from going reproducing. 

[WV Reefer]

2 hours ago, patback said:

 

rubbing 24/7 can keep them from reproducing. 

That’s my understanding as well. 
 

😂

[spectra]

What fuge light are you going to run ? 

[patback]

11 minutes ago, spectra said:

What fuge light are you going to run ? 

Ai hydra 32. Lol

[FISHnChix]

7 minutes ago, patback said:

Ai hydra 32. Lol

Lol . Got a never used nanobox flare if you want it . No controls has to go on a timer or run full time 

[spectra]

23 minutes ago, patback said:

Ai hydra 32. Lol

 

Take fishy up on it...............

 

I was running a tide on mine but to be honest if a fuge I would just run a purple grow light on it........... 

[patback]

2 hours ago, FISHnChix said:

Lol . Got a never used nanobox flare if you want it . No controls has to go on a timer or run full time 

I actually was originally gonna use my nanobox from my Pico but my router won't send out a dedicated 2.4 ghz signal. I went fiber and it is "smart" and supposed to automatically switch but the light won't recognize it.