Barely made the club but time for my 180 upgrade (Warning: Progress may be slow)

[nightOwl]

I finally tested my generator. It is loud but looks like it will do what I need it to do in case of any bad weather. Hopefully my area will not be affected by the storm.

General Updates - Frag Tank Lighting

Well this evening I was able to finish the wiring for the new ballast with a few modifications to the aluminum frame. After all was set and done the lights did not come on. I took everything apart and checked for incorrect wiring and could not find any issues. After about 30 mins or so I think it was defective AquaticLife bulbs. I even rewired it to only two bulbs and still no light. I did not have a chance to prove it but I could hear something moving in the bulbs when I turned them upside down even right out the box. I am going to make a trip to Petco to buy a cheap bulb to test that it is not a ballast issue.

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Pre Black Friday sales

It has been a little while since the last update. There was a Halloween sale at Aquarium Specialty and I decided to pick up a few items. I was looking back and I took the picture below back on 11/1. I needed bulbs so I scooped these up along with two new Mag 5 pumps and some more Amino Acids. With the new pumps I can have one dedicated pump for my QT and one for my water changes. Previously when I had the QT tank set up water changes were done with a 2 gallon bucket.

General Updates - Top-down Pictures

A few more top-downs

[SPotter]

You know Henry....you keep telling me that you havent been paying attention to your tank and youve lost a little interest in it...well maybe I should do the same becauase your tank is the nicest "neglected" tank I've ever seen!!!!!

Looks great!!!!!

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by SPotter

You know Henry....you keep telling me that you havent been paying attention to your tank and youve lost a little interest in it...well maybe I should do the same because your tank is the nicest "neglected" tank I've ever seen!!!!!

Looks great!!!!!

Sent from my SCH-I510 using Tapatalk 2

Steve - I need to carry the camera down stairs and take some pictures so you can see the wires hanging over the frag tank. The algae growing on the front and side glass and the skimmer that I now clean every 3-4 days. Which is probably why my phosphates are up. I am trying to get back to the routine after Thanksgiving.

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Growth Shots

Took a few shots tonight of my red milli and decided to put together a growth shot collage. Its coming along pretty nicely for a frag that is not mounted in a stable location.

General Updates - Red and Green Crabs

I picked up four Emerald Mythrax Crabs - (Mithrax sculptus) to help keep the tank clean. I need to add some more scavengers to the tank and over the next few weeks plan to pick up some new critters. The color reminded me of Christmas.

[SPotter]

Nice pics Henry!!!! I love my emerald crabs. I put 6 or 8 of them in my tank when I noticed some bubble algae popping up in my DT. Since adding them, the BA is gone!!!!

[epicurus84]

Really beautifull crabs.

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by SPotter

Nice pics Henry!!!! I love my emerald crabs. I put 6 or 8 of them in my tank when I noticed some bubble algae popping up in my DT. Since adding them, the BA is gone!!!!

Steve,
So far I have seen them munching away at any small amount they find which is a good thing. My clean up crew has taken a little beating so I am going to stock back up this week.

Originally Posted by epicurus84

Really beautifull crabs.

epicurus84,
Thank you very much. I was hoping I would see the red ones a little more but I have only seen them twice since I put them in the tank. The green ones I have spotted a few times.


General Updates - Black Friday shipments on the way

As with many reefers Black Friday sales lured me in (again) so over the next week I should have some new updates on things I purchased.

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Part One Black Friday

Thursday I was happy to see two rather large boxes on my doorsteps when I arrived home after work. I was in need of a few things and took advantage of a few black friday sales. I was able to a buy new camera among other things and so far I am loving my new purchase. Bulk Reef Supply had a pretty good deal on their "Value Plus" RO/DI system. This thing is loaded with features from the automatic shut off valve, membrane flush kit, dual TDS meter, canister wrench, two adapters, and a pressure gauge. Best of all this thing is plug and play. I will get it installed today sometime between the football games.

Value Plus Unit








Replacement Filters


Three Two Part packages and two Magnesium


When I purchase my set up it came with a used JBJ auto top off kit. I really like how compact it is and the way it looks. The only issue was it only had one float switch. Lately the float switch has been sticking so I decided to replace the whole unit.

New Auto Top-off


GFO


6lbs of Pukani rock


Screws for T5 reflector on Frag tank - finally

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Part One Black Friday- Continued

I plan on installing one in my water reservoir so i can send an alarm when the water gets low. The other will be installed in my sump when the water gets too high.
Float switch

General Updates - General Pictures

I finally was able to capture a decent shot of my Spotted Tang (Ctenochaetus truncatus) with the new camera. The increased frames per second should help me get tons of new pictures of my fish now.

Spotted Tang


Feeding time

[SPotter]

Henry, everything looks amazing as always!!!! those frags on the rack look awesome!!!! Can you share with us what your water parameters are?

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by SPotter

Henry, everything looks amazing as always!!!! those frags on the rack look awesome!!!! Can you share with us what your water parameters are?

Thanks Steve...I will try to get the water tests this week. Three of the frags on the rack are the ones we talked about. Are you getting closer to accepting frags again?

[SPotter]

I am ready buddy!!!!

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by SPotter

I am ready buddy!!!!

Steve,
Sounds good I will frag the caps tonight or tomorrow and ship out to you next week. I picked up a box at lunch today but not sure its big enough.

[Ojos22]

Henry,

very nice updates. It has been a while since I checked in on your build. It appears that everything is doing great! How do you like the auto top off system? I am thinking about getting one since I am evaporating a couple of gallons a day. Except even if I would have one on the main tank I would still have to top off the frag tank which is is evaporating almost as much.

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by Ojos22

Henry,

very nice updates. It has been a while since I checked in on your build. It appears that everything is doing great! How do you like the auto top off system? I am thinking about getting one since I am evaporating a couple of gallons a day. Except even if I would have one on the main tank I would still have to top off the frag tank which is is evaporating almost as much.

Thanks Jon. Things are coming along pretty good. Most of my pictures are gone due to the recent Webshots shutdown.

I really like the auto top off system. Now that I have both float switches I can avoid running my maxi-jet dry which I have done recently when the old one got stuck. BRS had a geat deal on them during Black Friday weekend. I think they have a pretty competitive price even with no sale.

How is the Chevron Tang and tank doing?

[Ojos22]

Chevron is great, so is the tank. Everything is slowly growing and I have had no issues. I have been looking into auto top offs just to make things more consistant. Can you PM me some pictures once you have it set up or post them on your thread here?

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by Ojos22

Chevron is great, so is the tank. Everything is slowly growing and I have had no issues. I have been looking into auto top offs just to make things more consistant. Can you PM me some pictures once you have it set up or post them on your thread here?

Jon,
You are in luck. I took my new camera downstairs this morning in hopes of getting a new FTS and a feeding video this evening when I get home from work. I will getting some pictures posted tonight.

[nightOwl]

I could not get a good FTS today but did manage to get two side shots. I really need to clean the glass.

[nightOwl]

General Updates - Black Friday Partial Shipment

I picked these up during the Black Friday sales and they arrived earlier this week. I am still waiting on my bulbs and ballast as they are being drop-shipped from the manufactures. These are much smaller than I expected the boxes themselves look tiny but the flow is great . I have yet to decide on the placement which is another reason I did not get a FTS tonight.

[Brando457]

I am just waiting on my reefrocks order from Oct 7th and I will be copying some of your livstock soon. Thanks again for the advice! Here is a sneak peek for you.

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by Brando457

I am just waiting on my reefrocks order from Oct 7th and I will be copying some of your livstock soon. Thanks again for the advice! Here is a sneak peek for you.

Brando457,
Looks like are coming along nicely· If you are talking about the wrasses take a look at a Orange Backed Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus aurantidorsalis). I saw one this week and it will be my next fish after the holidays pending no compatibility issues.

Is that a receiver in third picture? If so what type? I picked up one on Black Friday but still looking for speakers.

[Brando457]

Third picture it is a panasoic xr (forget model #) receiver. Behind the grills I have my front speakers and you can obviously see the center channel.

DENON AVR-591 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver is what will be replacing my panasonic.

I recommend accessories4less to order, they have factory refurbs for dirt cheap!

I had a trio of orange backed fairy wrasse in my 75g tank, but the person who sold them to me sold me sick fish :/. Lost around $220 for the trio, but I agree they are gorgeous.

[nightOwl]

Originally Posted by Brando457

Third picture it is a panasoic xr (forget model #) receiver. Behind the grills I have my front speakers and you can obviously see the center channel.

DENON AVR-591 5.1 Channel Home Theater Receiver is what will be replacing my panasonic.

I recommend accessories4less to order, they have factory refurbs for dirt cheap!

I had a trio of orange backed fairy wrasse in my 75g tank, but the person who sold them to me sold me sick fish :/. Lost around $220 for the trio, but I agree they are gorgeous.

Brando457,
Thanks for the info. I am going to check out the site you listed, hopefully I can save some money. Speakers as I am finding out can be very expensive!

For the trio you lost was it two females and one male?

General Update - Almost of all of Black Friday has arrived

I am a little behind on updating so here are a few updates. I received two of my Radiums and all 6 of my new T5's from Aquarium Speciality on 12/10. On 12/14 my new CoralVue 660 Ballast arrived (drop-shipped from CoralVue). I was out of town a few days but was able to finish my wiring last night for the frag tank and install the light fixture. The three T5's will replace the single 250 MH I had over the frag tank that was not giving me good coverage and producing too much heat. The T5's are all 14K so I am shooting to get some decent coral growth. I still have the 10K's I ordered a while back. I will be able to put the lights closer to the water surface without the heat that I had from my MH. Also my last Radium arrived last night so I was able to replace my Radiums last night. I am still waiting on my VHO's which are being drop-shipped from UV Lighting. It has almost been a month since I placed the order so I starting to get a little annoyed but Kelly and the staff over at Aquarium Specialty has been great to work with.

For anyone that has used Radiums in the past when they fall off they really fall off in terms of output. I now have 3 back up bulbs from when I did my Pre-Black Friday sale. I will start testing the Radiums monthly as I believe they may not be good for more than 6 months without a substantial fall off.

Order Summary

UV Lighting 36" 39w 75.25 T5 Lamp - 75.25
Ordered: 3
Shipped: 3

Coral Vue 660 Ballast CV-VHO660
Ordered: 1
Shipped: 1

Radium 400 Watt Mogul Base 20,000 K Lamp
Ordered: 3
Shipped: 3

UV Lighting 36" 39w 75.25 T5 Lamp With Reflector 75.25
Ordered: 3
Shipped: 3

UV Lighting 36" Super Actinic VHO Internal Reflector
Ordered: 2

UV Lighting 72" Super Actinic VHO Internal Reflector
Ordered: 4

Tunze Nanostream 6045
Ordered: 2
Shipped: 2

CoralVue 660


Updated Frag Tank Fixture


Two of my last Radiums...

[SPotter]

how much do you charge for tanning sessions under that fixture??????