Melev's new 280g Starfire tank thread

[melev]

Fortunately, only a few of you actually read this thread, so I don't have to worry about annoying too many people.

In other news...

I've been using Blogger.com to create my Reef Log entries for about three years. Last night when I wanted to make a new entry, the Blogger site had a new version to use. Of course fearing the worst, I tried not to use it. However, it didn't post the newest entry even when I tried twice. So I heaved a big sigh and updated to the newer beta.blogger.com version. Now my post updated, but my archives were broken. They are all still on my site, but the page can't find them (in the /archives/ folder). Maybe the template needs to be modified.

In the meantime, I enabled a pretty neat feature that I'm really glad exists. It creates individual files for every entry, and I've got a total of 366 entries now. So when a person uses the Search engine on my site, it won't pull up a match and force you to wade through a month's worth of entries (which could be 4 to 9 entries) trying to find what you were looking for. Now it only displays the one, right on topic. That's pretty nice. My search engine doesn't state what you'll find with each matching link unfortunately, but the list will contain every page on my site including those entries. So for "mandarin" there were 33 hits, and probably 20 of them were Log entries.

That doesn't solve my archives problem, though. I hope I'll be able to get that fixed. If you are a blogger person and know what I need to do, let me know. I'm using the re-publish feature, but keep encountering "421" errors. According to FileZilla (my FTP program) that means there are more than 50 people on my site at that time and thus a connection can't be made.

I called ipowerweb.com because they are my hosting provider, and waited on hold for 16 minutes until a guy named Eric answered in tech support. He looked up my site and tried to help me figure out what was going on, and it turns out he's got a saltwater tank himself. He's had a Naso tang in his care for 15 years! How cool is that?! He hadn't heard of ReefCentral before, but now that he's found my site, I'm sure it won't be long until he joins us here. He's got lots of experience because he grew up working in a LFS, and they would dive for the livestock they sold. Lots of practical hands-on knowledge, to be sure.

mahalamata - I can't blame you for being cross eyed after reading roughly 300 pages of this saga. I do hope this narrative will help you with your new 20g in-wall project. If you have questions, you know how to find me. Be sure to link me to your diary thread.

[sukie80]

Hey mark!
Very nice pics - thumbs up!

[Snakebyt]

this summer i am defenatly going to have to make a trip and come see your tank in person

[Lordhelmet]

marc. your maze brain doesn't look ok. how is it doing.

[theroon]

I was wondering what type of crab this is? And if it is Reef Safe which i bet it is not by looking at the nasty looking claws.

i recently saw a couple claws (molted) under some rock and they look identical to this crab. I have never seen it and will be trying to catch it using the jar method.

You may have described this in your thread, but it is very long!!

Thanks for your reply..

[melev]

The maze brain isn't doing well. Good eye. What had happened was my Copperband Butterfly was nipping holes into it. What I expected was that the coral would heal since the Copperband had died while I was in Switzerland. That hasn't been the case though, and I'm not sure why.

The crab is most likely a Xanthid, and not one I would trust. I saw the little guy the night before hanging out against the front glass. I have a feeling I interrupted its molting moment, because the next day I saw that exoskeleton and the blue hermits nearby. I think the crab used to live in the Milli, and had blue eyes and was a tad hairy. Since I couldn't get to it, I ignored it. I have a feeling it lives near some Pavona, but again it isn't exactly accessible.

[dcombs44]

OT: Melev need your help.

I've plumbed quite a few things for my tank, but this past week i've been plumbing an over the top overflow using a method similar to yours. I have never had a leak until today. I have a drip in the intake section of the plumbing. What is the best way to seal the leak with the smallest mess. Please help!

[dcombs44]

I've fixed my problem. You asked me to keep you updated on my closed loop using your over the top method. I subbed the SQWD with an Ocean's Motion and did some under the sand plumbing. Everyone please let me know your thoughts.

[melev]

It looks nice. I'm sure you'll like the random flow. Did you by any chance drill anti siphon holes in the pipes going down under the sand? You would drill a couple of holes in each pipe about 1" below the water's surface.

That way if something goes wrong, it can only siphon 1" of water from the tank, instead of all teh way down to the sand.

Black pipe would have been preferable, but I think you have to order that online.

[dcombs44]

Good advice on the holes. I didn't think about needing them because of it being a closed loop, but i guess if the pump would happen to leak it would just keep pulling water, but wouldn't the pump have to also be off for that to matter. If it leaks while still running it would still pump water all over the floor. The only way the anti-siphon holes would matter is if the pump died and leaked at the same time. If the power would simply die now, the water has nowhere to go.

I would've loved to have black pipe, but it's definitely impossible to find locally.

I've got it up and running and all seems well so far. I left the two returns in the front unglued so I could ajust them. Do you have any suggestion on which direction to face them.

[melev]

I'm sure you'll figure out the perfect position. Point them so the sand stays put, flow is good in your coral colonies, and tissue looks healthy.

[dcombs44]

I guess it'll be a thing where I'll have to adjust as I add corals. All i have now are a few stray mushrooms from some rock from my old tank. I just hope I'm doing the right things to have a successful tank! Thanks for all the input.

[melev]

Umm... stray mushrooms + successful tank are typically not put in the same sentence.

Still, like everyone else, you gotta start somewhere. I'd rather you have ricordia in your tank rather than mushrooms, if that is an option.

[dcombs44]

What I've got are what I believe to be a watermelon shroom that has split twice, a couple blues, and 3 reds with white stripes. I'm not sure of the scientific name on any of these. I had some ricordia in my last tank, but someone decided to munch on them. I've pulled out a gorilla crab and a mantis so it was possibly one of them. I had mushrooms everywhere in my first tank. Why would it be bad to have mushrooms other than ricordia? Is that just because they can take over so easily?

[melev]

You know what? I just realized I never asked you what you plan to keep in your new tank. Perhaps mushrooms aren't a factor. What corals do you plan to keep?

[dcombs44]

Well all I kept in my last tank were some shrooms a beautiful brain lps (which my lfs killed while babysitting during my new setup), an anvil (also killed at lfs), some button polyps, green star polyps.

I would like to get into an sps, lps dominated tank, but I just want to make sure i have the proper environment to house them. I currently have dual 250 watt 14k hamiltons, a euroreef cs 80 skimmer and the circulation you have seen. I use esv 2 part ( i think that's my downfall). As far as water: I have a 4 stage purelyh2o RO/DI unit and I use Instant Ocean Salt. I know you know your stuff, so any tips would be great.

[dcombs44]

Here's my brain: I miss him

[melev]

If you plan to run a tank that is SPS/LPS dominated, then I strongly encourage you to remove/trade off/sell your mushrooms. Mushrooms carry a very powerful sting. Now is the time to get them out of your tank while it is still easy.

I've lost plenty of corals and frags to mushroom warfare, and the mushrooms always win. Matter of fact, anything that grows quickly is usually not wanted in an SPS tank. That would include:

Xenia
Green Star Polyps
Button Polyps
Mushrooms

Typically all the cheap and easy to care for stuff is not wanted. Instead, zoanthids & ricordia can look nice but not grow to invasive levels typically.

Your LPS will grow quite large, faster than the SPS corals. Everything needs space around themselves to avoid chemical warfare.

[dcombs44]

Good advice. I guess I have some decisions to make. The one things that's holding me back is that with my job I'm away from home sometimes for 2 or 3 days at a time. I'm afraid that may be dangerous if I'm keeping sps/lps rather than the easy stuff.

[melev]

If you set it up right, and have someone to at least check in on the tank for a minute or two each day, that would be better.

Keeping a simple system is your other option.

[dcombs44]

Sorry to continually bother......but when I find a source of information, I like to dig for as much as I can get.

If you were me, with my system and my situation, what would you consider housing. I love LPS, but I also love shrooms, zoas, etc. I just love flowing color. So any suggestions of a good mix for my situation would be terrific. I also have a tomato clown that needs a host and I would love to keep a clam or 2 successfully.

[kendog261]

Hey Mark,

I was thinking of buying a Banded Coral shrimp and wanted your opinion of them in a reef tank. Also what do you add to your tank for your shrimp?

[melev]

Originally posted by dcombs44
Sorry to continually bother......but when I find a source of information, I like to dig for as much as I can get.

If you were me, with my system and my situation, what would you consider housing. I love LPS, but I also love shrooms, zoas, etc. I just love flowing color. So any suggestions of a good mix for my situation would be terrific. I also have a tomato clown that needs a host and I would love to keep a clam or 2 successfully.

I believe it would be possible to set up a nice mixed reef tank as long as you skip the SPS entirely. LPS are relatively tough, especially since their core/stem/branches are calcified. The mushrooms can touch this and not affect them.

Clams need good lighting, filterfeed from the water, and can be relatively maintenance free.

I think your primary goal is to set up a tank that is self-sufficient. It should have everything planned out so it can sustain itself for three days unattended. That would mean multiple sources of flow, battery back up, timers, auto feeders, auto top off, and possibly computer controlled (such as "tank too hot --> Shut off lights"). If you can get the environment relatively well planned, any livestock you add should be safe. Separate circuit breakers to split the load helps to assure some stuff runs if a single breaker trips.

I have left my tank unattended for virtually 10 days in a row, back in September. I still had someone stop by daily to check that all equipment functioned and to feed. I did lose one fish in that time, but everything else survived without my interaction.

[melev]

Originally posted by kendog261
Hey Mark,

I was thinking of buying a Banded Coral shrimp and wanted your opinion of them in a reef tank. Also what do you add to your tank for your shrimp?

I had one in the past in my 29g. I love them and think they look neat, plus they can freak out your guests which is nice.

They tend to be nocturnal, and I've observed mine eating peppermint shrimp and finally my cleaner shrimp, so it isn't 100% reef safe. If the tank is large enough, it should be okay.

[melev]

Today I was at the LFS and picked up some hitchhikers. I liked these little crabs, even though I doubt they are really reef safe. I have a couple of these in the tank already, and I thought I'd put these in some Acropora sp. colonies to keep them clean and AEFW/Red Bug-free. I might be dreaming, but they were there and I decided to give them a home. Both are small, and are perching on the edge of a brine shrimp net for a few pictures.