~TJ'S 125g ~ Building of the Reef~

[TJ's Reef]

Thanks Jeff, and Joe they did come out but I was at that Special Plywood Lumber Store mentioned above helping Eric and Becca pick out some nice Walnut for their new stand/canopy build. Now the lights are out so will have to wait until tomorrow bud. Hopefully I can get a decent pic of the female Yellowfin Fairy Wrasse and have Hunter validate my ID.

Cheers, Todd

 

[prsnlty]

Hi Todd, how's the canopy going? Dying to see those led lit fans in action lol! Can't wait to see the wrasses too

 

[TJ's Reef]

Hi Todd, how's the canopy going? Dying to see those led lit fans in action lol! Can't wait to see the wrasses too

Hey Jackie, things have been pretty slow on the Reeftank lately as LIFE has gotten in the way a bit. 'Honey-Do's' always seem to take priority over play... lol. Have gotten a couple coats of Varnish on canopy top and figured out the mounting details though, but still need to rearrange some outlets on my EB8's to make room for fan's power supplies.
All the Coral affected by the food dumping and following Nitrate/Phosphate spike have mostly recovered and now are showing signs of rapid new growth. I ended up losing the Yellowfin Fairy Wrasse as never acclimated or ate, knew it was a risky purchase..... and seemed to have died from an internal injury or infection. The other C. cyanopleura female is slowly being accepted by her tank mates in the DT and the Wild Mixed Zoa rocks are lookin real good especially for costing only around $0.08 per polyp. A couple of crappy cell phone pics below.

Cheers, Todd

 

[prsnlty]

I know what you mean Todd. I tried to get Glenn on the "honey do" list but he was really exhausted having been out on the road 3 weeks and I felt bad to even ask with only 2 1/2 days break. Then there's school shopping this week as it started today so I'm broke for the tank needs/wants.

Those are some beautiful zoas! That's pretty inexpensive too. I didn't know that you can bring livestock or corals back from Hawaii. My soon to be son in law is stationed there. Wish I could get him to bring something back in December lol! I'm really sorry about the fairy wrasse too, it would've been nice to see it in your tank.

 

[mfinn]

Nice score Todd.

 

[TJ's Reef]

OK, quick update as I actually finally got around to finishing the canopy build. Three coats of Marine Spar Varnish applied and cured days ago so today purchased the needed stainless steel hardware to attach the BIG 200mm fans to plywood top and plywood to aluminum cleat using 1/2" nylon spacers to elevate it to allow proper airflow around heatsink array. Controlled by the Apex to come on at 8:50 am and off at 9:30 pm with a 80.5* override to ON. The power supplies I purchased for the fans have built in rheostats so I can adjust up/down for seasonal temps. And while I was running fan circuits finally hooked up the 80mm fan that I built into back base of cabinet to provide additional airflow cooling to the Pan World return pump and programmed the Apex to be ON if 79*.

Red LED's not overly noticeable in the room being blocked by the sides. They are extremely quiet running on 500ma and only 19db @ 1500ma.

​Cheers, Todd

 

[TJ's Reef]

Forgot to add a pics of the new C. cyanopleura female Wrasse, which is now getting along with the other female and the male Solar Wrasse. It shares a space beneath this Ricordia colony with the female Dispar Anthias.

Cheers, Todd

 

[prsnlty]

Wow Todd, your canopy came out beautiful!!! Lol, of course I didn't expect anything less of your skills I also like that there are no doors at the front. Wish I could get away with that. My tank set up is pretty tall. Might be able to fake it though.
That is a gorgeous wrasse! I'm so glad they're all getting along

 

[TJ's Reef]

Thanks Jackie, seems everyone is getting along now as 'Love is in the Air' My pair of Tailspot Blennies and Bangaii's have both spawned in past two days. Full Moon has also prompted some Astrea Snails which clouded up the tank overnight and possibly the Snakehead Cowrie's as all three were clustered up near an overflow box this morning. The new top has definitely closed off easy access to feeding now as found out this morning..... dang it, now have to lift the lid to feed.... oh well.... still an improvement overall.
With my water chemistry back to where it's suppose to be the Big Ol' Rose Milli is back to looking like a Sheep Dog with its abundant polyp extension.

Cheers, Todd

 

[skinz78]

Looking great Todd!

 

[TJ's Reef]

Thanks Chris, and WHOLE LOT BETTER then when you were here just a few weeks ago. Most everything is nearly fully recovered.

Cheers, Todd

 

[joekool]

Nice. I think I would have preferred the fans on the other side of the ply but you don't have room for them. Maybe you could make a rectangle out of some wood about an inch thick and stain it to match the top and place it over the fans so you can't see them from the side.

But hey if it doesn't bother you that's all that matters. Lol

Like your new top opon the tank though. Completes the package and blocks upward light from LEDs.

 

[TJ's Reef]

Wh-wh-wha-what J-J-Jo-Joe,,,, the the the R-R-R-Red li-li-lights d-d-d-don't b-b-b-bother me-me-me at-t-t allll. :loco: .......lol seriously though have been thinking the same if they become an eye sore or interfere with Tank/TV watching.

Cheers, Todd

 

[joekool]

Your so funny.

I so have to get a top on mine. I also want to get rid of my diadem dotty back so i can get some nice wrasse in my tank. Now it's fishy time.
I also sent Rick an email about those kits for the lights. I'll call if I don't hear back from him soon.

 

[Saltgator]

Hey Todd, do you have pics of your fuge setup (I might have missed it)?

 

[427HISS]

Me too, get them loaded bud !

 

[427HISS]

Forgot to add a pics of the new C. cyanopleura female Wrasse, which is now getting along with the other female and the male Solar Wrasse. It shares a space beneath this Ricordia colony with the female Dispar Anthias.



Cheers, Todd

You (well,...sometimes) and your tank never fails to impress me my friend !
One of the best I've ever seen !

 

[Saltgator]

You (well,...sometimes) and your tank never fails to impress me my friend !
One of the best I've ever seen !

100% agree!

 

[prsnlty]

Hey Todd, I just saw a post on FB that you won TOTM! Congratulations! !!! You and your beautiful tank deserve it! Kudos to you

Jackie

 

[TJ's Reef]

Thanks Kevin, Jackie and Brad. I know its been a long while and I'm getting around to an update soon.... I promise. After having to deal with a few issues of late because of my annual 'Salmon Fishing Season' N-E-G-L-E-C-T and a failure on the Frag Tank overflow box flooding the room with 35+ gallons of SW and creating havoc to a lot of Coral as sump stopped returning clean heated water. More details later and will try and get some pics taken even though not particularly happy with it at the moment, but hey Scott Fellman said to share our failures as to improve ones own success.... lol

Cheers, Todd