Hiatus Concluded

In July 2013, I sold the entire setup and moved to Oklahoma. I'll be moving every year with my job, but I can't let go of the reef hobby. I've been toying with ideas for a smaller, portable setup and finally landed at a 18" cube 25 gallon. I built a demo 2x4 frame and really liked the way it turned out, but need a few adjustments before it's perfect. I'm moving to California in a few weeks and will make the mods there. Stay tuned for a new setup and an exciting new adventure in Cali.

March Update

I've been busy with tons of projects, so here's an update of everything going on lately. Three months ago, I built a 2x4 stand and 2x2 canopy for the new 125gal tank. For the past few weeks, I've spent the evenings working on building the cabinetry veneer to cover it all. The cabot wood stain sucked, but everything else has gone well. Should be finished soon.

I've been having some trouble with aiptasia. Here's a pic of one in a specimen container. I've ordered some peppermint shrimp which will hopefully take care of the problem.

Strombus Grazer snail eggs. 

My reverse osmosis (RO) system has undertaken an overhaul. For each gallon of RO water made, it wastes about 6gal. Through evaporation and water changes, I use about 30gal RO per week. That's 180gal/week or 720gal/month usually dumped down the drain. I thought this was ridiculous so I collect the waste (brine) water in a 50gal trash can. This brine water is at most 20% more salty than the incoming tap water, so not "brine" in the sense of high salt, just higher than the tap. I use the brine water by pumping it right beside into my washing machine. I never had any clue how much water one load of clothes takes until I emptied about 40gal. I also fill up a bucket with this water to clean my protein skimmer almost every day. All in all, the brine water usage balances out quite well. To automate the system I installed Spectrapure's multi tank liquid level controller. I put the solenoid float sensor in the brine tank to shut the system down when that tank gets full. I have one 15gal RO storage for water changes and another downstairs for top off from the Tunze Osmolator, both with float valves closing an ASO valve. The solenoid is on a manual timer to add another layer of safeguard.
I've added a few new fish, including 4 baby Bartlett anthias. Everyone seems to be doing pretty good. Pics to come soon.

Radion LED Lighting

New led lighting for the 125. Three Ecotech Radions. About 8" above the water. Natural mode, 12' depth offset, 30% power. Will ramp up the power over time. The fans are what I consider loud. Hopefully it won't be a problem once I put the cabinet paneling on the canopy frame. Weird green color in natural mode at sunrise and sunset. Will switch to artificial mode soon.
Update Mar 2012: Artificial mode, 100% 20k spectrum during afternoon.

New tank!

On my usual perusing of Craigslist, I found this whopper. 125gal, brand new, reef ready (pre-drilled), All-Glass aquarium. I got such a good deal, my first intention was to resell it. Then I was thinking about how I could still use it as a sump in the basement as long as the water wasn't over the overflow. When my fiance got home, I told her that she could pick. Having been wanting a tang to complete our Nemo collection, she decides we need a new display tank in the living room. Knowing how much work was going to be involved, I wasn't thrilled. The next day, James and I build a stand with 2x4s and 3/4" plywood top. It's 37" tall and doesn't even wiggle with the tank filled. Unfortunately the pre drilled drains are only 1" so I do get some siphoning even after 1 1/4" Durso standpipe and 1 1/2" pipe the rest of the way to the sump in the basement. Don't use silicone on the bulkhead fittings as I had read online. Just cleaned the glass really well, pipe it all together, then tighten the nut down. I've got the shallow sand bed, coral, and a clown fish moved over. The Xenia isn't doing so hot, which I suspect is from the tank being too clean. I've left the tank fallow for the last month and got a new Reef Octopus Extreme 200 protein skimmer. The canopy is a work in progress, and the new lights will be here on Monday.

Gammaridean Amphipods (Scuds)

Nobody ever told me about these guys before I started into saltwater. Just as much fun to watch as the fish.
Just for a little update: I plumbed the overflow to the basement where I have a 30gal refugium and 55gal rubbermaid for the sump. Prince got all the fish sick with Velvet. Down to just Jill who is in quarantine while the display tank goes fallow for a month.

more pics

Pics