Zibba's Reefs

[MioReefer]

Super awesome build man! Thanks for sharing.

 

[zibba]

Probably won't make DC, yeah the tank made it home ok. Hunter and Matt helped us get it loaded into a Prius it was pretty tight but it fit! Great looking fish glad they traveled well for you.

Bummer! Well, I hope there's another chance where we can all hang out. Glad you got the tank sorted out! Looking forward to seeing pictures of it

Super awesome build man! Thanks for sharing.

Happy to share the experience -- I'm sure there will be bumps along the road but that's part of the ride. Thanks for the compliment and following along.

 

[zibba]

Got some more aquascaping done last night. Here's a 10-second timelapse of the progress that was made. Still a lot of work ahead to get it how I want but getting the big piece in there without cracking the glass or falling into the aquarium was a success!

[video=youtube_share;_etZlQLvImw]http://youtu.be/_etZlQLvImw[/video]

 

[gettaReef]

Wooah, that's a very nice rock

 

[zibba]

Made a lot of progress over the weekend.


I think I mentioned it earlier but in the midst of all this, we've set up frag tank and are going to be setting up a QT system. We plumbed the frag tank and started cycling it the week before MACNA and added our first corals to it over the weekend. We swapped out the old bulbs in the T5 fixture and are now running 3xATI Blue + and 1xATI Coral Plus. More than anything, that's Kwoww's project and it's keeping her very entertained.


Still a little cloudy (guessing bacterial bloom) but here's a picture of it running:
Frag Tank by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


We also got in the second skimmer for the A.G.E. and the remaining lights and hanging kits so we had a lot to keep us busy. Here are some pictures of the new goods:


Lifereef SVS3-30 running off of a Waveline DC12000:
LifeReef Skimmer by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Starting to assemble the rails and organized the lights:
Assembling AI Rails by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Just about ready to go up over the tank:
Hydra 26 + 52 +26 by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Before we put the lights up, I installed the new skimmer:
LifeReef Skimmer by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Here's the existing ATB skimming away (very wet):
ATB Skimmer by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Snapped this picture of the UV to show how it's mounted because I couldn't remember if I had shown it or not:
UV by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


You can also see the cable management brackets behind the UV. I have 3 of those installed along the back portion of the stand, they work really well!


Here's another sloppy timelapse video of me putting the lights up and starting work on wire management:
[video=youtube_share;8NCsj-6mrJc]http://youtu.be/8NCsj-6mrJc[/video]


Here's a look at how the dry box came out -- still some tweaking to do, but it's mostly there so you can get an idea:
Electrical Panel by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Better look at how the tank sits today:
Lights over tank by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


There's still a lot of aquascaping and some more wire management ahead but I'm really relieved that the lights are up and the skimmer is installed.

 

[gettaReef]

I'm loving the rocks you are using, and of course the aquascape. Thanks for showing your electrical box; looks very promising. Can't wait to see this thing grow out!

 

[zibba]

Updated post #125 to add the timelapse video.

I'm loving the rocks you are using, and of course the aquascape. Thanks for showing your electrical box; looks very promising. Can't wait to see this thing grow out!

Thank you! I'm planning to shift the big rock on the right-side a little further to the right and prop the bridge up on another rock to extend the structure a bit more. Kris is in the process of building another archway that will go on the left-side. Once we have that done, I'll start breaking corals off their existing rock and remounting them.

I just ordered a small computer fan to place inside the "electrical box" to help keep things cool. I'll probably run it 24/7.

 

[jporter17]

Awesome video. Are you sure that's a time lapse video? I saw you moving like that while booth hopping at MACNA. JP

 

[zibba]

Awesome video. Are you sure that's a time lapse video? I saw you moving like that while booth hopping at MACNA. JP

I had to move quick to keep up with you and your fancy rascal scooter!

 

[Aquaph8]

Looks awesome man, giving me lots of ideas to steal for the next tank (yeah right, haha)

 

[prsnlty]

Wow, I really need a drybox like yours! I have a clean setup everywhere but there

Every thing looks great and I'm digging the frag tank too

 

[RobbReef]

Nice clean build

 

[zibba]

It has been awhile since I’ve updated this thread. I needed to take a little break after hanging all of the lights, spending a lot of time trying to organize wire, and getting the last of the rockwork in place. The tank has been running on auto-pilot for the last few months while I’ve been battling algae issues associated with adding all of the dry rock.

On top of that, I was burnt out after a bad experience with adding some new fish from a vendor that supposedly QT’d fish before sending them. I don’t want to place all of the blame on the vendor because I should have QT’d myself as well. I have the QT systems in place, but they aren’t plumbed yet. I need to get re-motivated. Anyway, the new fish died in my tank and took out my royal gramma, red-saddled anthias and randall’s anthias. The starki damsel and ember’s blenny looked grim for about a week. I ran the UV sterilizer 24/7 and things have been clear for the past two weeks. The damsel and blenny seem to have made a full recovery. I think it was Uronema marinum but I’m not 100% sure and, if it was, I think it will be in my tank forever. Could have been hemorrhagic septicema too. Haven’t gotten a positive ID. Hopefully with the UV and a good diet, the fish with thrive going forward. I’m going to be backing the UV off to run for 4-hrs in the morning only.

The tank has serious hair algae and some cyano trapped under the hair algae. It looks like a mess but I’ve been manually removing it with water changes and I’m trying to let the cycle run its course. My preference is to handle the algae issues with herbivores – adding tangs, crabs and snails – but if that doesn’t do the trick, I’ll add GFO temporarily. I have plenty on hand.

The reason I’m not jumping head-first into GFO at the moment is because the SPS are coloring up nicely and I’m going to be traveling. I’d prefer to add the GFO when I can personally observe the effects.

Last thing before I get to the pictures: I’m having issues with zoas/palys staying partially or fully closed and don’t know what the cause. I posted about it over here: https://www.reef2reef.com/forums/zo.../176559-need-help-zoas-palys.html#post2038457. So hopefully I’ll get some answers.

Enough text, here are some recent pictures, including some growth/comparison pictures:


Grapejuice Acro


Midnight Stag by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


RR USA Cherry Bomb by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

WWC Firefly by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Cherry Blossom by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Red Planet by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


RR USA Led Zeppelin by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Shroom by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

 

[zibba]

Blastos & Spitfire zoas by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Splatter hammer by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


SWA Branching Hammer by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


PROP Chiquitas by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Zoas by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Hornets by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


ATL Shades of Fall by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr


Miagi Tort by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

 

[zibba]

Some growth/comparison:

June 2014
Strawberry Shortcake by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Oct 2014
Strawberry Shortcake by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

New frags are coloring up and growing:

Sept 2


Oct. 13


Sept. 2

PC Rainbow by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Oct. 13

PC Rainbow acro (from WWC) by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Sept. 2

WWC *** by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Oct. 13

WWC WFT Acro by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Sept. 2

TCK Pikachu by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Oct. 13 [forgive the algae farm!]

TCK Pikachu by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

 

[zibba]

Sept. 2

RR USA Underwater Wonder by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Oct. 13

RR USA Underwater Wonder by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Here’s a 1-year progression on my favorite piece:
Oct. 2013

RR Led Zeppelin by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Jan. 2014

Reef Raft Led Zeppelin by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

June 2014

DSC_7713.jpg by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

Oct. 2014 (best color so far)

RR USA Led Zeppelin by ..:.. EZ ..:.., on Flickr

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

Any chance of a FTS? I love your pictures. Such vibrant colors and a great choice of stock.

 

[zibba]

Thanks!

This is the last FTS I took (Sept. 15)and I haven't taken one recently as I'm still working on getting corals off the old rock and onto the new:

 

[evolved]

Gimme Leppelin. Com'mon an branch!

I'm really impressed by how much growing some of those have done in just over a month.

And I think we're going to find the wt* and gonzo's are the same; your before picture looks soooo similar to what I have. Excited for that.

 

[ingtar_shinowa]

love it!