Tswifty's Custom 40g Rimless Build Thread

[kudora]

Originally Posted by Tswifty

Tank crash. Bad stuff.

I'll update later this week or next when I know what makes it through the week alive. Right now it looks like I'll probably lose at least 50% of my coral. Thankfully I got a lot of my rare stuff out a few weeks ago, but bad news is that I probably will end up losing most (if not all) of my SPS colonies.

ugh my worst nightmare, glad you were able to get some things out in time.

[Tswifty]

Originally Posted by stixkeeper

that blows bro.... what was root cause? and i see you are still batteling valonia? sorry to hear it man... time to regroup and attack from a diff avenue huh!?

More of the same 'ol same 'ol. My corals were getting close to the point of no return, my float switch failed last week which threw my SG all over the place and I think that coupled with the skimmer failire (again) and already nutrient laden water was the final straw.

All the rock is going into a bleach bath after I move home this weekend, and I'll probably empty the tank and move it to my place at some point. The acrylic is going to need some touching up, and everything could use a good cleaning. So I'll regroup over the summer, and hopefully be back in the fall.

Originally Posted by maroun.c

Glad to hear that you'll be able to go back and set the tank.
Sorry to hear about the crash. Are you even at home to correct whatever caused it?

I'm not in town this week, but stopped home briefly on Sunday... which was when I noticed everything was dying. I spent that entire night (till 4am) removing all my livestock and coral and loaded everything into coolers and buckets to transfer to a friend's tank.

However, I wasn't able to get the coral to my friends house until late Monday evening, and I think by that point most everything that had been dying was dead. The following morning he called me with the damage report, and a lot of stuff was dead already, and many others sounded like they were on their way out. I talked to him again today and stuff is still dropping, so I'm pretty much assuming all the SPS will be gone when all is said and done.

The only positive is that my 3 clams seem to be doing well, and most of my rare stuff is recovering over at Keith's. So at least I won't be starting from scratch when I get going again.

Originally Posted by kudora

ugh my worst nightmare, glad you were able to get some things out in time.

Yeah it was absolutely brutal to watch this slowly happen without being able to do anything about it. Someone told me the other day, when life hits... it hits hard... and it couldn't be a truer statement, as this is just one of more than a few negative events I have been involved in over the past month.

However, I landed my new job and start on Tuesday. So I'm just focusing on the positive things now and looking forward to the rest of the summer.

[kudora]

thats a great additude to take congrats on the job too!!
I have one local reef buddy(small city not many sps tanks) and we are trying to double everything up just incase one of us has a tank crash.

[Tswifty]

Thanks, Yeah I have frags of most of my corals in a lot of my friend's tanks. Banking corals is definitely a smart thing to do. It just stinks that I'll be back to square 1 with frags instead of my colonies.

[kudora]

Originally Posted by Tswifty

Thanks, Yeah I have frags of most of my corals in a lot of my friend's tanks. Banking corals is definitely a smart thing to do. It just stinks that I'll be back to square 1 with frags instead of my colonies.

yeah your right, looking at a stick is very different then looking at a colony.

[Taqpol]

So sorry to hear about this!

I can completely understand how you feel about having to go back to frags after watching those corals grow into true colonies after only a year. It sucks. That being said, having a frag of a special coral is better then losing the whole thing, right?

[Tswifty]

Yeah I am happy I didn't take a 100% loss. Some of the nicer corals just grow painfully slow though. Also, some of my pieces were the last remaining as the person I purchased frags from lost their original colonies. So those ones are gone and forgotten now.

I think my reefing resume is about 100% complete now, as I don't think there is much I haven't experienced in this hobby now.

[10millCheetah]

Shot in the dark but I've tried to find what wattage you metal halide was over the 40 gallon. I built a similar conduit mount and my 40 breeder isn't nearly as bright. I'm running a 250 watt Hamilton hqi with a 14k phoenix. At 10 inches above the water level. If your still around, what was the fixture bulb temp and wattage over the 40 cube? Thanks

[Tswifty]

I ran 2 x 250 watt Phoenix 14k DE bulbs, Lumen Max Elite reflectors and 2 x 250 watt PFO HQI ballasts. Early on I ran the same bulbs with the standard PFO reflectors. Tried 1 at first, added a second, then eventually upgraded and settled on the 2 Lumen Max Elite reflectors.

Each set up had its pros and cons.

[Misled]

Hey T, how's it hangin???? Where are you now???

[10millCheetah]

Originally Posted by Tswifty

I ran 2 x 250 watt Phoenix 14k DE bulbs, Lumen Max Elite reflectors and 2 x 250 watt PFO HQI ballasts. Early on I ran the same bulbs with the standard PFO reflectors. Tried 1 at first, added a second, then eventually upgraded and settled on the 2 Lumen Max Elite reflectors.

Each set up had its pros and cons.

Awesome thank you. I have dual Hamilton reefs star pendants hqi 250 watt Phoenix 14k. Started with one but I think I need another. Thank you for the reply! I built a similar hanger to yours. Does your hood have both bulbs in it on the conduit hanger?

[Tswifty]

Originally Posted by Misled

Hey T, how's it hangin???? Where are you now???

Hey Jesse. Things are going well. I moved into the city a while back, and have been working out in Cranberry for a few years now. Unfortunately I haven't had the time for a tank since I started out there. I'll be back, just not sure when.

How've you been?

[Tswifty]

Originally Posted by 10millCheetah

Awesome thank you. I have dual Hamilton reefs star pendants hqi 250 watt Phoenix 14k. Started with one but I think I need another. Thank you for the reply! I built a similar hanger to yours. Does your hood have both bulbs in it on the conduit hanger?

It all depends what look you're after, and what you're trying to keep. I actually liked the look of my tank a little better with only 1 pedant, and got some amazing colors out of my LPS and palys, but since I was an SPS addict, there just wasn't enough coverage throughout the entire tank to for what I planned to do.

As far as the light rack goes... I built a couple different ones for the tank. I did build a hood when I was considering adding VHO's, but never ended up using it, or the VHO's. I stuck with the conduit concept, and just built a sturdier version which connected on both sides and supported the weight of both pendants better.

[Misled]

Things are good. Thinking about a change for the tank. I guess four years is long enough. Some things are beginning to get a little out of hand. My leathers have been dropping offspring for the past couple years and they are beginning to take up too much room. My nem is getting too big, but hasn't split so the combination makes it annoying. The sps are alot easier to thin, so I just may go full sps and be done with it. Let me know when you get back into it. I'll put some stuff together for you.

[petenick]

About a year ago I bought TJ's setup before he moved to North Carolina, and will be starting it pretty soon. This has been a long read but a good reference for the tank's history and possibilities! I know that I don't want to do MH lighting... I want to try LEDs. Any suggestions on a single fixture which would cover this tank's footprint well?