New A.G.E. 40"x28"x22" rimless starphire tank
- Thread starter fishez4alivin
- Start date
fishez4alivin
Guest
LOL, the Emperor and the Foxface both started nipping my acans and scolys...I need a new tank....and on that note, I got something I will use on my new nano. I traded Lapsan my Schuran for his Profilux. Now I have two of these dosing pumps, and will use the one I got today, to do small daily water changes....That should keep that little nano in good levels for the first 6 months. Hopefully I can do it without dosing the tank...
So now that I've been dosing, for the past week and a half, and with me getting rid of the CaRx, It was time to make a stand to put everything in.
I had some black 3/4" cell cast laying around, so I ran over to tap to have them cut it to size. I wanted something that would contain the whole dosing setup. I drilled and tapped in a hose bulkhead on each jug top. I then ran a rigid tube around an 1" off the bottom of the jug.
Hear is a top down of the stand, showing the dosing pump's very user friendly screen.
Here is the backside, showing how I could mount the power supply under the stand.
And finally in the stand. I also made a tubing mount and glued it to the sump, this way I make sure I don't have a cluster of tubing, and I can control where the solution is dosed.
So now that I've been dosing, for the past week and a half, and with me getting rid of the CaRx, It was time to make a stand to put everything in.
I had some black 3/4" cell cast laying around, so I ran over to tap to have them cut it to size. I wanted something that would contain the whole dosing setup. I drilled and tapped in a hose bulkhead on each jug top. I then ran a rigid tube around an 1" off the bottom of the jug.
Hear is a top down of the stand, showing the dosing pump's very user friendly screen.
Here is the backside, showing how I could mount the power supply under the stand.
And finally in the stand. I also made a tubing mount and glued it to the sump, this way I make sure I don't have a cluster of tubing, and I can control where the solution is dosed.
fishez4alivin
Guest
It's been a longtime since I posted in this thread, and a lot has changed over the last several months. First off, my tank was neglected, and coupled with some equipment failure, I had quite a mess to contend with. These pictures are from a the 30th of July. And you will see that in a few weeks, I made a decent turn around. Here's part of my thread from NCRC.
I thought I would update my thread, since my tank went through some tough times because of neglect. And with a little work and a little time, I was able to turn it around relatively fast. It started off with my Montis looking poor. I checked the SG, which was fine, I then checked my alk, and found it to be like 5.5dkh....lol.....I looked under the stand, and found my Profilux not working. WTH? I took it apart and found a circuit board where the power leads to, corroded. I guess when my skimmer would get full the mist coming out of the breathe holes was enough condensation to create this problem....The repair was 30 dollars from GHL. Between contacting them, and ordering it, and them shipping, it was over 2 1/2 weeks. I tried manual dosing, which I havent done in a looooong time....And when I did it, I wasn't adding 200 ml of each.. I also didnt do my water changes like I used to, as well as not feeding small amounts many times daily. I give you the result....Lost a a green with red polyp tabling acro from ATL....Lost my Cali and Oregon Tort....lost my green based red polyp Aussie Mille, and another mille started to STN, and stopped, once I got it under control. I didnt cut the dead off, and some algae grew on it, now the coral is regenerating tissue over the dead areas....For the first time in 6 different reef tanks I've started, I had cyano...well have...what a mess, my sandbed is going to be removed, very soon, I just need to get epoxy to rescape my tank. anyway here is the carnage...lol
Doesn't look too bad...
Closer look
Look at all of that...lol
The problem with my tank is that in some areas the sand has almost cemented together, so its not really sand, its more like a slab of rock...this makes it hard to keep clean, and it cant be sifted or vacuumed anymore...Part of my problem is I dumped all my corals from my Aquasystems tank into this one...and with the coral pile up, the flow doesnt get around and keep things clean....
Look at all the purple bubbling goodness!
My plan of attack was to take control of my excessive nutrients....I had dosed vodka for awhile, and stopped in June. It was good if you can consistently dose it everyday, but taking days off from it isn't a good thing. I started using the BRS GFO, but hadn't changed it in a month or more, and I was sure that was a problem. I had 13 fish in my 110G tank, which was way out of control. I dosed vodka in order to keep those fish, but when I looked at the tank, it didn't look right to me, so I got rid of most of my fish. I got rid of my foxface, my Emperor Angel, my paired clowns, yellow coris, and blue face trigger. Just removing those fish made a huge difference in my excessive nutrients. So I changed out my GFO every week for a couple weeks and started to see a change for the better. I also removed my sandbed, going bare bottom. Now that I have been sandless for a couple weeks, I can't believe I had one in the first place. It's so easy to siphon out the crap which piles up in two distinct areas in my tank. Every couple of days, I siphon it into a filter sock, if I feel frisky, I will even siphon out 5 gallons and dump 5 fresh gallons in.
And finally, I decided to get rid of my 10x39W powermodule. The light served me well, and was a good unit, but I started to yearn for MH's. I ended up getting a Sfiligoi dual 400W, I know it's excessive, but I had an opportunity with a straight trade, and decided to go for it. I want to add Reef Brites and possibly mount them to the pendant, since there is ample surface to do so. I just need to figure out how I can make it work without the tacky look to it. Here are my thoughts. I would run my forward 400W XM 20K for 6 hours and run both for a max of two hours, simulating mid day lighting...I don't know, it may be too much, the single 400W 20K seems to be lighting my tank well on it's own.
I also went back to using a CaRx putting a GEO 618 on line.
So here it is, around 20 days later.
That is one 20K XM bulb...I must admit, I forgot how good the tank looks with metal halide. I even turned on the second bulb later on, and never heard my chiller go off. I'm probably going to eventually run this from 7pm until midnight, and from 8-10, I will run both 400W bulbs together.
I thought I would update my thread, since my tank went through some tough times because of neglect. And with a little work and a little time, I was able to turn it around relatively fast. It started off with my Montis looking poor. I checked the SG, which was fine, I then checked my alk, and found it to be like 5.5dkh....lol.....I looked under the stand, and found my Profilux not working. WTH? I took it apart and found a circuit board where the power leads to, corroded. I guess when my skimmer would get full the mist coming out of the breathe holes was enough condensation to create this problem....The repair was 30 dollars from GHL. Between contacting them, and ordering it, and them shipping, it was over 2 1/2 weeks. I tried manual dosing, which I havent done in a looooong time....And when I did it, I wasn't adding 200 ml of each.. I also didnt do my water changes like I used to, as well as not feeding small amounts many times daily. I give you the result....Lost a a green with red polyp tabling acro from ATL....Lost my Cali and Oregon Tort....lost my green based red polyp Aussie Mille, and another mille started to STN, and stopped, once I got it under control. I didnt cut the dead off, and some algae grew on it, now the coral is regenerating tissue over the dead areas....For the first time in 6 different reef tanks I've started, I had cyano...well have...what a mess, my sandbed is going to be removed, very soon, I just need to get epoxy to rescape my tank. anyway here is the carnage...lol
Doesn't look too bad...
Closer look
Look at all of that...lol
The problem with my tank is that in some areas the sand has almost cemented together, so its not really sand, its more like a slab of rock...this makes it hard to keep clean, and it cant be sifted or vacuumed anymore...Part of my problem is I dumped all my corals from my Aquasystems tank into this one...and with the coral pile up, the flow doesnt get around and keep things clean....
Look at all the purple bubbling goodness!
My plan of attack was to take control of my excessive nutrients....I had dosed vodka for awhile, and stopped in June. It was good if you can consistently dose it everyday, but taking days off from it isn't a good thing. I started using the BRS GFO, but hadn't changed it in a month or more, and I was sure that was a problem. I had 13 fish in my 110G tank, which was way out of control. I dosed vodka in order to keep those fish, but when I looked at the tank, it didn't look right to me, so I got rid of most of my fish. I got rid of my foxface, my Emperor Angel, my paired clowns, yellow coris, and blue face trigger. Just removing those fish made a huge difference in my excessive nutrients. So I changed out my GFO every week for a couple weeks and started to see a change for the better. I also removed my sandbed, going bare bottom. Now that I have been sandless for a couple weeks, I can't believe I had one in the first place. It's so easy to siphon out the crap which piles up in two distinct areas in my tank. Every couple of days, I siphon it into a filter sock, if I feel frisky, I will even siphon out 5 gallons and dump 5 fresh gallons in.
And finally, I decided to get rid of my 10x39W powermodule. The light served me well, and was a good unit, but I started to yearn for MH's. I ended up getting a Sfiligoi dual 400W, I know it's excessive, but I had an opportunity with a straight trade, and decided to go for it. I want to add Reef Brites and possibly mount them to the pendant, since there is ample surface to do so. I just need to figure out how I can make it work without the tacky look to it. Here are my thoughts. I would run my forward 400W XM 20K for 6 hours and run both for a max of two hours, simulating mid day lighting...I don't know, it may be too much, the single 400W 20K seems to be lighting my tank well on it's own.
I also went back to using a CaRx putting a GEO 618 on line.
So here it is, around 20 days later.
That is one 20K XM bulb...I must admit, I forgot how good the tank looks with metal halide. I even turned on the second bulb later on, and never heard my chiller go off. I'm probably going to eventually run this from 7pm until midnight, and from 8-10, I will run both 400W bulbs together.
fishez4alivin
Guest
Thanks guys, I do admit I looked at that tank for several days dreading cleaning it out.
Hey John, check out what I have been doing!
Hey John, check out what I have been doing!
G
GreshamH
Guest
There is a sportfishing thread in the OT zone, just gave you a plug in it 
http://www.bareefers.org/home/node/11245
http://www.bareefers.org/home/node/11245
fishez4alivin
Guest
Cool
fishez4alivin
Guest
Hey thanks guys....
I think the Starphire is great for the bigger tanks, it's as clear as Cell Cast, without the scratches...or at least my experience with acrylic. I never thought about getting anything other than three sides of starphire, so I don't know how much more it costs. I know the back panel is regular float glass? Green
Light with 12K Reeflux and 20K XM, might just do dual 20K XM's
With both bulbs fired the tank looks a little yellow, I'm going to have to play with the other bulbs I have
This Strawberry Shortcake sure is more impressive top down then from the side
I think the Starphire is great for the bigger tanks, it's as clear as Cell Cast, without the scratches...or at least my experience with acrylic. I never thought about getting anything other than three sides of starphire, so I don't know how much more it costs. I know the back panel is regular float glass? Green
Light with 12K Reeflux and 20K XM, might just do dual 20K XM's
With both bulbs fired the tank looks a little yellow, I'm going to have to play with the other bulbs I have
This Strawberry Shortcake sure is more impressive top down then from the side
sfboarders
Guest
Deep tanks rule! Nice setup!
fishez4alivin
Guest
I ordered it through a place in Texas, did all my correspondence with cbrenes@thefishgallery.com
fishez4alivin
Guest
Thanks guys...
I settled for dual XM 20K's for now
It's funny that I didn't really have to acclimate the tank to the new lights. I guess it's a statement that the Powermodule really is a powerful light. I will say that after the swap, I will never use all T5's again. MH definitely give a more natural look.
I settled for dual XM 20K's for now
It's funny that I didn't really have to acclimate the tank to the new lights. I guess it's a statement that the Powermodule really is a powerful light. I will say that after the swap, I will never use all T5's again. MH definitely give a more natural look.
fishez4alivin
Guest
300 to ship to the hub which was in Hayward. They can ship to a LFS if you want, or your house.
fishez4alivin
Guest
Been a long time since I been to this thread, because on Sept 8th, I came home from work to find this...
acro flesh was being pushed back and forth by my vortechs. It was an ugly sight, but a lot of stuff still looked salvageable. I broke coral off of rock, and took a bucket to Jim, to have him hold onto. I had to get another bucket but the damage was done.
check out the Pink Sandollar that turned black...I broke it and saw the black all the way through
Sucks to buy 1/2 acro frags, watch them slowly grow, and right as you see them begin to take off, your tank get nuked. My conclusion was that day, I came home to heavy, headache inducing smell of pesticides....it was a hot week, and all my windows were open, but what really did it, was my air line that goes outside and attaches to my skimmer. Boy was that thing overflowing.
I let the tank sit, after doing waterchanges every week, I also had some coral I didn't remove, I kept them in there to observe their improvement. A month or two later I went and got what few acros I had, and brought them home. Bad decision, they looked crappy, and that change, took them out. Basically I had my LPS, and my fish, and that was it.
Months of looking at my dead tank, feeling sorry, basically being a b1t..h about it before I took my head out of my you know what, and went to work. I literally tore everything down, gave everything a heavy vinegar bath, from tank, plumbing, all pumps, heaters and sump. My rock would get tossed and I would start from scratch. It was a major undertaking, but when it was all done, it looked like a brand new install.
Plans were to stay bare bottom, have fewer fish, keeping my load very manageable with my "new" tank. I've already seen big improvements early on, compared to when I first started this tank and had 13 fish and had to dose Prodibio and vodka from day one.
Kept my Purple tang, two flame wrasses, mandarin, and my step daughter's clownfish
Late that night that I tore everything down, I was able to toss the rock I had ready into the tank.
too tired to do anything with it, but eventually it has evolved to this over the last 2 1/2 months.
The rocks are touching at 15 spots and its wide open under all of that. It's kept clean with 3 MP40wES's
My first coral in the tank was a blue tort. As soon as I saw it encrusting and being happy, showing PE all day, and keeping the dark blue color, I started adding stuff. At first I got some Aussie mini colonies to make myself feel better about the tank...all 1/2"-1 inch frags would have been a reminder. Two of the corals I got were pretty brown, but today, in the month I've had them, they have really begun to color up.
This one kind of looks like a spathulata, but I'm not positive, it was brown, but it is coloring up nicely the last month
added a 24" reefbrite, and still waiting for my second, but it's nice dawn dusk effect
got this colony from Sustainable Reefs, it's doing great, and I've begun to move it up my rock to it's final spot.
I'm going to break it into three, keeping it in two different spots, and the third will get distributed locally
And finally, I got a PAR sensor today from Apogee, which I soldered the wires to some extra test leads...and am using my fluke multimeter
and some number under 2x400W Sfiligoi XR4. Back bulb is a 12K reeflux and the front bulb is a XM 20k, they are being run by a M59 ballast.
I just took measurements directly under the bulb, and to the far outside of the tank. The tank is 40" wide and the light is a 24" pendant...not too bad IMO
acro flesh was being pushed back and forth by my vortechs. It was an ugly sight, but a lot of stuff still looked salvageable. I broke coral off of rock, and took a bucket to Jim, to have him hold onto. I had to get another bucket but the damage was done.
check out the Pink Sandollar that turned black...I broke it and saw the black all the way through
Sucks to buy 1/2 acro frags, watch them slowly grow, and right as you see them begin to take off, your tank get nuked. My conclusion was that day, I came home to heavy, headache inducing smell of pesticides....it was a hot week, and all my windows were open, but what really did it, was my air line that goes outside and attaches to my skimmer. Boy was that thing overflowing.
I let the tank sit, after doing waterchanges every week, I also had some coral I didn't remove, I kept them in there to observe their improvement. A month or two later I went and got what few acros I had, and brought them home. Bad decision, they looked crappy, and that change, took them out. Basically I had my LPS, and my fish, and that was it.
Months of looking at my dead tank, feeling sorry, basically being a b1t..h about it before I took my head out of my you know what, and went to work. I literally tore everything down, gave everything a heavy vinegar bath, from tank, plumbing, all pumps, heaters and sump. My rock would get tossed and I would start from scratch. It was a major undertaking, but when it was all done, it looked like a brand new install.
Plans were to stay bare bottom, have fewer fish, keeping my load very manageable with my "new" tank. I've already seen big improvements early on, compared to when I first started this tank and had 13 fish and had to dose Prodibio and vodka from day one.
Kept my Purple tang, two flame wrasses, mandarin, and my step daughter's clownfish
Late that night that I tore everything down, I was able to toss the rock I had ready into the tank.
too tired to do anything with it, but eventually it has evolved to this over the last 2 1/2 months.
The rocks are touching at 15 spots and its wide open under all of that. It's kept clean with 3 MP40wES's
My first coral in the tank was a blue tort. As soon as I saw it encrusting and being happy, showing PE all day, and keeping the dark blue color, I started adding stuff. At first I got some Aussie mini colonies to make myself feel better about the tank...all 1/2"-1 inch frags would have been a reminder. Two of the corals I got were pretty brown, but today, in the month I've had them, they have really begun to color up.
This one kind of looks like a spathulata, but I'm not positive, it was brown, but it is coloring up nicely the last month
added a 24" reefbrite, and still waiting for my second, but it's nice dawn dusk effect
got this colony from Sustainable Reefs, it's doing great, and I've begun to move it up my rock to it's final spot.
I'm going to break it into three, keeping it in two different spots, and the third will get distributed locally
And finally, I got a PAR sensor today from Apogee, which I soldered the wires to some extra test leads...and am using my fluke multimeter
and some number under 2x400W Sfiligoi XR4. Back bulb is a 12K reeflux and the front bulb is a XM 20k, they are being run by a M59 ballast.