An addicted reefer chic's 40 breeder build...

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Oh don't stress it , these are the things that make us reefers jump for joy!!I once almost cried when I got my auto top off lol I'm glad your booster pump has taken on the water mongers on the block lol

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

Well quite the update...had to redo the plumbing on the drain line b/c there was a leak @ the elbow where the pvc meets the bulkhead...apparently over priming (sp?) softened the pipe too much and caused it to shrink from what I'm being told and didn't form a good joint...having to disconnect the sump...shutting down the return pump to redo plumbing stressed my fish and noticed about 5 specks of ick on my male clown...so all fish went into a 30 minute dip and then into a quarantine tank for 12 weeks...temp @ 82 with meds and salinity dropped to 1.016 and will be gradually raised back to 1.026 over the 12 weeks...came home from work to find that my anemone split and the new one moved about 3" to the top/back of the rock that my old one has been on since I bought it in Jan...bought another elbow and bulkhead to redo the plumbing...to exhausted to redo it tonight so it will have to wait til after work tomorrow...have circulation in the sump and of course powerheads running in the DT...only happy news I have is that I finally got some dragons breath macro (some in DT and I put some in both picos and threw a few pieces of corals I fragged in the picos...have an adorable little green and purple mini maxi for the sexy shrimp pico...and that's about it.

 

[Awibrandy]

It never ends girl!! Sometimes I get so tired of the hobby, but I love having a little piece of the ocean so much that I just can't quit.
In other words; I feel your pain....:hug:

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

Oh and I forgot to add that I have a beautiful yellow female mantis in my sump...planning a display fuge w/ DSB plumbed into the DT/sump for her once reefing funds become available again. I've been dying to have a mantis for months and it seems that everyone either has zebra or peacock...so I had to jump all over this opportunity when I found her at Coral Theory. I know it's a she b/c they said that she was carrying a clutch of eggs on arrival in the shipment, but ate them.

She was only eating live food in the store, but she's been eating a good variety of frozen soaked in garlic and selcon for me, beautifully...I think that she may be my second favorite pet...My dog will always have 1st place in my heart though...lol.


Until her permanent home is ready she has 3" of sand, a huge clump of chaeto and a pvc cave covered in LR rubble and a ton of rubble to play in...

Rescaped the tank as well...still don't know if I like it or not...will post pics if I can ever get a decent one...

Without further ado...

It never ends girl!! Sometimes I get so tired of the hobby, but I love having a little piece of the ocean so much that I just can't quit.
In other words; I feel your pain....:hug:

If that isn't the truth I don't know what is...lol...I'll never give up on my tank...I'd give up on the man and the cat before my reef or my dog...:scratchch

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

So about a week ago I plumbed 2-standard 30g tanks that I had sitting around into my 40B to utilize as display fuges. Thinking about getting a couple of the d.i.y. dimmable aquastyles kits for the fuges. Need ideas/help on what would be the best color combos/led arrangement. Some say 4500k some say 6500 and should I add red into the mix? There is so much confusing info. floating around about d.i.y. leds. :headwallblue: Is anyone else running these over their fuge? :fun5:

This all started because I REALLY want to get my prized mantis out of my sump and up in a display fuge to show her off. From research that I've done she prefers more of a blue spectrum to prevent shell rot and well of course also need a happy medium spectrum wise for the macro's. Plus to justify this crazy idea of mine...I already had literally everything sitting around except for a ball valve and a few pvc elbows...well and b/c I dropped a screwdriver behind the tank and when I tried to reach it...broken return line...water everywhere...and since I had to redo return line plumbing...why not...lmao.

Going to be a while before any work/purchasing begins on the lighting...so I figure there's no time like the present to get everything planned out to a "T"

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

planning is the seed of success !!! plant it , water it with research and knowledge and you will see a reef tank grow before your very eyes, ....... best part about it is that you will have yourself to thank for it!!!!

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

planning is the seed of success !!! plant it , water it with research and knowledge and you will see a reef tank grow before your very eyes, ....... best part about it is that you will have yourself to thank for it!!!!

Blah...blah...blah...lol. The "reef" is coming along great...it's just that I wanted to improve my system utilizing what I already had to make what I want and accidentally brought on the opportunity by deciding to work on the tank at like 4A.M.

Btw...what ever happened to that 57? Pics? Does it exist? lol

 

[R and R Aquatics]

nice tank!

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

True fact is that my 57 does exist but I have not taken any new photos but because you asked , when I get home I will post some for you right here , how's that hammerhead??

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

nice tank!

Thank you!

True fact is that my 57 does exist but I have not taken any new photos but because you asked , when I get home I will post some for you right here , how's that hammerhead??

Lmao...ok...but no posting pics of another reefer's 57 and passing it as your own jerk face! Lls :joke: Can't wait to see pics...

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

A few pics of my project 57 rimless , see I told you its real lol rooster neck!! Think your the only one with reefing skills do ya?!?!

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

A few pics of my project 57 rimless , see I told you its real lol rooster neck!! Think your the only one with reefing skills do ya?!?!

Woah...duck lips, I never said anything about having "skills" anywhere near other people's...but it looks like your tank is coming along...nice to finally see that it actually exists...lol

Google "DSPS tank from Thailand (1000 gallon+)" ...that's one of my favorite tanks...ever...from the planning...to the build...equipment...end result...I love it! He has a freakin' live in tank caretaker!?!?! The only thing that could have improved the tank was growing out frags instead of stocking w/ full blown colonies to really show how much of a kick A$$ system he has and some of the livestock stocking choices...

 

[saltwaterinbrooklyn]

Yeah I gotta check it out , I personally believe in growing out frags, this is where the challenge of reefing Realy comes into play , anybody with ample cash can buy big colony stuff and jam a tank and make it look great without the headaches of growing it out and watching it carefully .

Over all my tank is a true work in progress but I'm not in a rush like my last tank , I'm gonna let it grow slowly and monitor it carefully and the growth is showing vey nicely now .

And with all insults aside ( but not totally gone) I think your doing a great job , your ability to go forward and not quit was a key turning point for you and your really showing your heart for this hobby !!!!!

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

Exactly...that really sucked though...all that time, effort, top of the line everything and it turned into an insta-reef. I love the challenge and accomplishment of growing stuff out myself. Regardless...I'm in love with his whole setup...he even has a softy/nps tank plumbed inline.

Lots of insults hurled your way, sausage biscuit! Lmao. Seriously...thanks buddy! I can't. Wait for my system to be exactly the way I want it...I'm more excited about these 2 display fuges than anything...

 

[lnevo]

I'm still working my way through this DSPS thread, and haven't gotten to where he adds coral...but did you see the size of the corals they get and the prices? I doubt they would even know what to do over there with the size stuff we get....

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

I'm still working my way through this DSPS thread, and haven't gotten to where he adds coral...but did you see the size of the corals they get and the prices? I doubt they would even know what to do over there with the size stuff we get....

Sorry...just seeing this response...it's definitely an interesting read through the DSPS thread...from what I Chingchai's gonna be @ MACNA '13...

I think that's why he doesn't add frags...he gets full colonies for the same price we get 1" frags for...

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

Pics...

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

My daughter is a hater of my algae blenny (she tells me how ugly he is every time she sees him), but I get to fall asleep every night to this adorable lil' face staring at me...

He's always watching me...lol

Kermie says "I'm watching you, too!" lol

Red Scooter takes cuteness to the next level...

The whole crew came to say GN...the A.B. is hiding somewhere in the rocks...

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

New nice green acro...

 

[MeanGreenEyes]

Major update...

Oh and my lighting upgrade is going down...already purchased the GHL Mitras lx6100 led with hyperviolets (silver fixture)...ships tomorrow...got my hands on the very last fixture available in the U.S. (from what I'm being told) The wait time for them is now 4-6 weeks b/c they're in such high demand. I would've preferred it in black since my setup is all black, but I just don't have the patience to wait up to 6 weeks for these.

I'm still in disbelief that I spoiled myself and my tank on this purchase, but I've been doing an insane amount of research and was unhappy with the results that people have had with AI's and Radions. I've noticed that there are always a lot of AI's for sale with people reverting back to T5's/other and same thing with the Radions. While I'm sure there are those that are still adamant about how great they each are as fixtures...I've heard too many people complain about how they're lacking in spectrum, the disco ball effect and all of the other complaints with them. I'm just not one that can "settle" putting out that amount of money for something that's not 100%. I've also looked into a few other LED options as well as D.I.Y. and decided not to chance it. So yes, I may be crazy for the initial investment but decided that as with everything in this hobby it's best to do it right the first time.

Feeling like a kid on Christmas eve...the anticipation is killing me...I wouldn't have made it 6 weeks...

I want to go SPS dominant in my 40...will be keeping a few favorite LPS and softies. Any others that I want to keep will be going into the top 30 display fuge mixed w/ softies/gorg's/NPS and the bottom 30 has some chaeto and display macro. The display fuges are still to be determined because I'm still researching keeping the gorg's/NPS. Still trying to soak in as much knowledge as possible b/c I don't like losing livestock. I'm in the planning stages of starting my own phyto/tisbe pod cultures as well to make sure I have a sustainable food source for the livestock that I want to keep. Will of course be culturing artemia for when the mandarins start spawning, but this is still a ways off. I don't want to take on too much at once until I get a routine down with phyto/pods.

Fish wise, yes I know...I've committed the ultimate sin with my baby yellow tang in my 40B, but he was planned as a temporary resident from the beginning. So the tang police can kiss my tang! So he will be replaced, when I find him a suitable home, with a pair of green mandarins because I'm dying to try my hand at breeding them. Green mandarin's are the entire reason that I switched from FW to salt. So they will be my "show fish" so to speak in my main DT. I've read a few articles from Wittenrich and a few others. I hate how many of these beautiful wild caught specimens die because it is so difficult to train them onto frozen/culture live foods for them. Not to mention the manner in which they're caught.

Anyway...will be posting pics once the new fixture arrives and will be doing monthly progression shots. (by a friend w/ photography skills obviously lol)