Austin's Build

[stunreefer]

Thanks for the compliments, working on my photography skills so any pointers you may have in post processing would be great or any tips at all really from a photo winner like you :)

I truly appreciate the compliment but your pictures already kick the crap out of mine. I just get lucky, sometimes ;) Regards to post, just a bit of color correction here and there, it's all about white balance.

You've got all the great toys now!

 

[austinl]

I truly appreciate the compliment but your pictures already kick the crap out of mine. I just get lucky, sometimes ;) Regards to post, just a bit of color correction here and there, it's all about white balance.

You've got all the great toys now!

Thank you for the compliment, I can't wait to get the tank so I can start shooting actual fish and corals not just equipment :)

I took a lot of photos over the weekend practicing some stuff and then editing them in Lightroom so hopefully that should help a bit.


I think i know what you mean by getting lucky....i was taking photos at a kids party, they never stya still and even harder after they all had sugary cake lol

 

[austinl]

Hey All,


Little update while I wait for the tank...I took a stab at plumbing......then decided to wait as it wasn't going as I expected until I can get my buddy who is a plumber to look my ideas over.

So I decided to work on the inside of my stand and mount all of the nice equipment that has been getting delivered to declutter the house a bit. Tried to install everything as clean as possible, if I were to start over I think I would have made my stand bigger to accommodate more room under neath.


That being said I am curious, do any of you guys run into condensation issues with your equipment under neath? Looking at my pictures do you think I will have any issues? I will be installing two fans at the back pulling air out.

 

[austinl]

Another quick update, found some 5" AC fans for my cabinet so I will be installing those soon, as well I did some work in my fish room. For all you non plumbers take a look at Shark Bite they make slip on fittings that attach direct to your copper lines so I installed a T adapter to a compression fitting with a 3/8" hose adapter into my cold water line from the utility sink, no solder no leaks no mess was fantastic.


Here is a shot of the fish room.

Since I don't have the tank just yet I thought I would put some of my equipment to use and try to kick start my dry rocks (they have been in water at least 6 weeks) so I set my Hydra 52 above my Brute container to start getting some Coraline and help increase the bio diversity of my rocks.

I did add some live rock to my dry rock and got a lot of coraline scrapings from some local stores and reefers.

Can anyone tell me whats growing on this piece?

Stay Tuned more to come!!

Austin

 

[luxauterna]

looks great! I can't tell if those are small pieces of hair algae or what .

 

[austinl]

looks great! I can't tell if those are small pieces of hair algae or what .

Thanks Luxauterna, I was thinking hair algae as well just making sure cant recall seeing black hair algae.

 

[Genesis Corals]

Check out reefcleaners.com and they have an algae guide that is a great reference.

 

[austinl]

Check out reefcleaners.com and they have an algae guide that is a great reference.

I will check it out thanks Genesis.

That rock is all in my brute just working on getting a head start on coraline not algae though lol.....which brings up a good question....should I add any cleaners to my brute? ie snails

 

[nitro'sreef]

Nice build Austin. really clean

 

[austinl]

Nice build Austin. really clean

Thanks Nitro, still on the fence with my placement of the electronics, I have found some wire covers that I couldn't track down before but stumbled on them today, however I am more concerned about moisture affecting the stuff so I am not quite sure if I move them all to a separate cabinet/stand....I have some time to think on it though and will test the fans I got today too see how much air they move. Would be nice to have everything in one spot but rather be safe and not worry about having to replace anything that gets fried.

 

[luxauterna]

I have seen a lot of nice, clean setups with the controllers and other electronics inside the stand. I always felt hesitant towards putting the electronics that close to the sump with all the moisture too, but it seems to work for them. You could also build a second electrical cabinet to sit next to your stand, and inside the cabinet you can keep the electronics. You can put a plant or some type of house decor on top of the cabinet to help it look better. . A Reef Junkie Profile - YouTube

 

[austinl]

I have seen a lot of nice, clean setups with the controllers and other electronics inside the stand. I always felt hesitant towards putting the electronics that close to the sump with all the moisture too, but it seems to work for them. You could also build a second electrical cabinet to sit next to your stand, and inside the cabinet you can keep the electronics. You can put a plant or some type of house decor on top of the cabinet to help it look better. . A Reef Junkie Profile - YouTube

Thats exactly what I was thinking of doing...I actually have a cabinet already built to sit next to the stand but just wasn't sure which route I wanted to take, plus I am sure I would have to paint it to match the stand or it just wouldn't look right lol.

 

[revhtree]

Awesome build! The equipment set up is a work of art! LOL!

 

[luxauterna]

Thats exactly what I was thinking of doing...I actually have a cabinet already built to sit next to the stand but just wasn't sure which route I wanted to take, plus I am sure I would have to paint it to match the stand or it just wouldn't look right lol.

Yea and with your skills (from looking at the stand already) you will be able to make that cabinet look great. By the way ... If you want to come down to Wisconsin and put something nice together for me I'll let ya! lol

 

[austinl]

Awesome build! The equipment set up is a work of art! LOL!

Thanks Rev, might make some changes but we will see......hopefully I can get my plumbing just as good :)

 

[austinl]

Yea and with your skills (from looking at the stand already) you will be able to make that cabinet look great. By the way ... If you want to come down to Wisconsin and put something nice together for me I'll let ya! lol

You never know lol.......Might have to do a road trip to find Tropic Eden Reef Flakes, I haven't been able to find it North of the Border yet and shipping will be brutal.

 

[Mr. Microscope]

Beautiful build. Your equipment looks stellar!

I hate to say it, but that algae looks like the short beginning stems of briopsys.

 

[austinl]

Thanks for the compliment microscope.

I'm not sure I like sentences that start with "I hate to say it" lol


Off to google briopsys

 

[stunreefer]

If you already have the side stand ready I would probably move your major electrical components into that. Fans would be a great addition, and covers would help with splashing but not moisture accumulating IMO... better safe than sorry. A good friend of mine had his Apex mounted in the stand and the mother board 'fried', resulting in telling the heaters tank was ~20°F, which of course cooked his tank and wiped out most of his stock. Neptune told him it was due to excessive moisture (boggling to me - these things should be able to handle quite a bit of moisture). He won June '13 RC TOTM just prior to the incident.

My electrical components are mounted 'in my stand', but it's not enclosed.

I would consider adding an urchin, specifically tuxedo urchin (Mespilia globulus), to your rock bin. It will devour nuisance algae and not do much damage to your coraline. You can move him to your display with the rock down the line. They do a great job controlling algae IME compared to snails or hermits.

For all you non plumbers take a look at Shark Bite they make slip on fittings that attach direct to your copper lines so I installed a T adapter to a compression fitting with a 3/8" hose adapter into my cold water line from the utility sink, no solder no leaks no mess was fantastic.

Thanks for sharing this... I do a heck of a lot of plumbing and had never heard of Shark Bite brand. One of the downfalls of self-piercing valves is the hole created is tiny, resulting in less pressure to the RO membrane than could be achieved with a larger hole. I've become accustomed to using a "Wye" valve on sink spigots for RO/DI filter feeds, now these Shark Bite adapters could eliminate that :)

 

[austinl]

Thanks for all the comments guys, I think I will use the secondary cabinet but I might have to make a bigger one to fit it all :(.

I think I will keep just the doser underneath so I don't have long runs of tubing.

I would consider adding an urchin, specifically tuxedo urchin (Mespilia globulus), to your rock bin. It will devour nuisance algae and not do much damage to your coraline. You can move him to your display with the rock down the line. They do a great job controlling algae IME compared to snails or hermits./QUOTE]


I was debating adding some CUC creatures to my Brute containers, I need to do a water change first as my PO4 has gotten high.....still think I might have some leaching out of the rock but I am not sure.

Params below
Salinity 1.026
MG 1160
Cal 390
dkh 8.7


phos .40
nitrate 6
ammo 0
nitrite 0

In my rush I forgot to get something too dose MG with I have Kalkwasser and 2 part but somehow forgot about MG......I also didnt think I would see a drop from just trying to grow coraline so quickly



Would I have any issues with the Urchin and my proposed stocking list? Also what would be good partners if I went with an Urchin?


2 x Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish - Tank-Bred (Amphiprion ocellaris var.)
or
2 x Amphiprion Percula (True Percula Clownfish)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 x Paracheilinus carpenteri (Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse)
1 x Paracheilinus cyaneus (Blue Flasher Wrasse)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
1 x Pseudanthias bartlettorum (bartletts anthias)
1 x Pseudanthias rubrizontaus (Tricolor, redbelted anthias)
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Depending on available stock 1 of the below
1 x Ctenochaetus Flavicauda (White Tail Bristletooth Tang) — 1st Choice
or
1 x Ctenochaetus Strigosus (Yellow Eye Tang)
or
1 x Ctenochaetus Tominiensis (Bristletooth Tomini Tang)

Thanks for sharing this... I do a heck of a lot of plumbing and had never heard of Shark Bite brand. One of the downfalls of self-piercing valves is the hole created is tiny, resulting in less pressure to the RO membrane than could be achieved with a larger hole. I've become accustomed to using a "Wye" valve on sink spigots for RO/DI filter feeds, now these Shark Bite adapters could eliminate that :)

Whoever invented this is brilliant LOL, they are also re-useable so make sure you get the little Orange adapter that lets you remove them in case you make a mistake somewhere.