Flipside's 120g Reboot!

[FarmerTy]

That ORA Hawkins will grow like a weed once it settles in... Like birdsnest speed!

 

[Flipside]

That ORA Hawkins will grow like a weed once it settles in... Like birdsnest speed!

That's cool! I've always had a thing for them. Shhhh! Don't tell the misses... wait.... I'm single. ::womp, womp, woooomp:: LOL!

I need to get a good shot of the one's I got from you, Ty. They are infused now, and look out of this world! All of your corals do. We must have similar parameters.

Hey, was going to ask you... do you recommend any angels that won't nip at your reef? How do you make that happen, man?

 

[FarmerTy]

That's cool! I've always had a thing for them. Shhhh! Don't tell the misses... wait.... I'm single. ::womp, womp, woooomp:: LOL!

I need to get a good shot of the one's I got from you, Ty. They are infused now, and look out of this world! All of your corals do. We must have similar parameters.

Hey, was going to ask you... do you recommend any angels that won't nip at your reef? How do you make that happen, man?

You lucky dog! I got the next best thing, a wife that is oblivious!

Yeah, I'm interested to see how they all colored up for you. Let me know when you post pictures.

Is there such a thing as an angel that doesn't nip? [emoji17]

Emperor destroys zoas and fleshy LPS, Majestic loves acro tips, regal enjoys acro tips and mesenterial filaments, and I got lucky with my flame and potters as they don't nip anything.

 

[Flipside]

I will get a picture of it as soon as learn not to be overly critical of some of the pictures I take! (That may take awhile) I have lots of cell shots of it and the others.

You'd better hope your wife never catches on, brutha. ;) I should've clarified that I'm "divorced." LOL! Can't say that I blame her!

I guess I'll try a flame or potters here soon, then. I may do my little school of anthias first, though. Not sure. I really love angels but never really rolled the dice. I tried coral beauties and bicolor's in the past, but they became punks. I guess we'll see how it goes.

 

[FarmerTy]

I will get a picture of it as soon as learn not to be overly critical of some of the pictures I take! (That may take awhile) I have lots of cell shots of it and the others.

You'd better hope your wife never catches on, brutha. ;) I should've clarified that I'm "divorced." LOL! Can't say that I blame her!

I guess I'll try a flame or potters here soon, then. I may do my little school of anthias first, though. Not sure. I really love angels but never really rolled the dice. I tried coral beauties and bicolor's in the past, but they became punks. I guess we'll see how it goes.

I feel I must mention that though my flame and potters angels don't nip, they are punks. They attack any new fish additions whether they are angels or not.

 

[Flipside]

Yeah, my PBT just attacked my Kole because the Kole was finally introduced. I think that's standard with most of these territorial, punk fish. Gotta watch em all for that. It's like they're saying, "who's this newb?!" ::chomp::

 

[Flipside]

Ok. So, the Kole is safe. It was a rough month for him, but he's faster than the PBT. :)

I have new pics, but they're with my iPhone. Funny story... I'm typically a Droid guy. I loved the Note lineups, that Samsung produced. Well, anyone who's anyone knows the latest news about them... My last phone was a Samsung Note4 (still have it, actually), and I've had it for well over 2 years. I had to upgrade (moral imperative), and I'm actually super pleased with the new iPhone! Last time I owned one, it was the iPhone 4s, but I digress. Only thing that sucks about this new phone is that I need to work on my photography skills on it. I'm happy with everything else. :)

Here's some photos from it, and it pretty much sums up the tank right now. It's a bit bluer in the photos than in real life, but I couldn't figure out how to fix that. The new phone is a Apple iPhone 7 Plus 256g, silver w/white face. It's dope!

Here we go:

I got this from Ty. They were in two pieces when I got it. It fused nicely.

Here's my view of the same frag above, from the front of the tank. It's down low in the tank. About 150 PAR. It's very happy, but growing slowly (which I'm happy with).

And just a recap, this is what it looked like on May 14, 2016.

Not bad. ;)

Here's just a bunch of random shots...

This Sunny D colony was just 7 polyps when I got it from Tinman.

Also from Tin, these Tinkerbells were only 5 polyps strong when I got them. I believe it was back in May as well.

This particular Hawkins (yes, I have two because I'm gangsta' like that) has an interesting backstory to it. I got this one from Tinman as well and it was mostly an encrusted plug with a nubule protruding from the top. I was successful in knocking that nub off almost immediately when I placed it in my tank (doh!). So, I placed it up high in the tank, and look at this thing go! Goow-geeuz!

I tried to kill this Cali. It refused.

Get Irie, Zoas!

Sick encrusting going on with this one! It pops hard!

I've lost a lot of color to this one, but it's spreading rapidly. Not even worried about it.

I've never had trouble growing digi's. Actually, I only know of one guy that has a hard time growing them. I won't bust him out. ;)

Another rapid grower! Love it, as green corals go.

Tried to get some fishy shots.

My terrible attempt at a FTS. It looks so much better in real life.

 

[Bronc]

Looking good man!

 

[Flipside]

Looking good man!

Thanks Bronc! That iPhone did a pretty good job. [emoji4]

 

[Flipside]

 

[Flipside]

Here's some more photos from the other night.

The majority were taken under my actinics and stunners due to my being to lazy to get up there before the lights went out. LOL!

I'll be adding a calcium reactor soon because 2 part (using ESV B-Ionics right now) is starting run out. I'm looking forward to going back to it!

 

[Flipside]

Basically my tank's anniversary:



iPhone video.

More coming this weekend though. Finally plumbing the two systems together via one big sump and adding a calcium reactor.

I hope I can get my hands on all the plumbing I need. I have to go from flexible tubing to PVC on the returns and drains now. I tried trying to plot out how I want to design my manifold (for the accessories) but couldn't come up with a feasible way to do so without driving me nuts... So... back to hard plumbing. Nothing special, just regular SCH40 is the plan right now. I was going to do this last weekend, but I got some crazy flu that gave me the chills somethin' fierce!

 

[Bronc]

Wow!! Your tank is looking really good. Crazy growth!!

 

[reef heaven]

Just lovely

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Love this photos! Beautiful!

 

[Flipside]

Hey everyone! We had an awesome weekend here in Houston! I hope those reading this experienced the same! :)

On to the tank schtuff...

So, I stated before that I was going to add a calcium reactor and plumb both of my tanks together as one. I finally got that all done and was pleasantly surprised when I kicked everything back on and experienced "no leaks!" I usually have a semi-loose union, or bulkhead that's not tight enough... NOPE! I guess a squirrel gets a nut every now and then, after all!

That being said, here's a list of what I did. It may not seem like much, but it took me 2 days last week to complete (Wednesday and Thursday).

1. Plumb both tanks into one with hard PVC lines.
---This required 4 new 1" threaded/threaded bulkheads on the 120g and one new 3/4" threaded/threaded bulkhead on the 60g.

2. New return pump powers everything.
---I used a Jebao DCT-15000. I only needed half power on the controller to get the result I wanted.
---I added a 2" elbow on the intake of the pump's volute, so that water is being sucked in from the bottom of the sump's chamber that it's in. I've always done this as a precaution to running out of ATO water in the reservoir. It's saves me when I'm travelling, or when I simply forget to fill the ATO.

3. Removed custom 2-chamber sump under the 60g (built locally), and removed Trigger Systems Ruby 36 sump from under the 120g.

4. Added custom 48" x 24" x 16" sump for both systems.
---Removed all flex hose (vinyl tubing) and replumbed with hard lines.

5. Removed 2/3 part dosing and added MRC-CR2 calcium reactor.
---Ordered new pump for calcium reactor.
---Testing out new CO2 Art co2 regulator (purchased from our European brother's across the pond).
---Drilled and fit pH probe holder in primary chamber of calcium reactor.
---Current Alk/Ca/pH is 8/400/8.4

6. Built 4-way valved manifold system into return line.
---This removed 3 small pumps from my sump. (Carbon, GFO, UV).
---The 4th valve is for my calcium reactor feed.

7. Added gravity fed auto top off/up.
---My system was evaporating 2.5 gallons per day with the ceiling fan on.
---Turned ceiling fan off and it's now evaporating about 2 gallons per day.
---Going to build a cover for the sump to help out (more coming on that).
---Add a direct feed line from my Icecap RODI system, to the ATO tank.
---Added a float in the sump from the ATO tank, and a float in the ATO tank from the RODI unit (stepper drill bits are your friend).

8. Recessed my return lines in the tank.
---When I got this 120g, a few years ago, I knew there were knockouts built into the overflow boxes, where my Loc-Line could exit. I never used those because I (and most reefers) never put glass lids on top of reef tanks. However, I set my LED strips (supplements) on top of the tank, and those returns always got in the way. I cut the pipes down to size and was able to make it look more "clean" by doing so. No big deal, but definitely worth mentioning. I'll never "not" do that again. It looks that good, IMO.

9. Video diary created on YouTube via my channel.
---It's over 30 minutes long, and unedited. I don't recommend watching this if you are impatient. :) ;)
---After understanding disclaimer above, here's the link:

Problems I encountered...

1. The tank temperatures dropped to 73 degrees F! Some of my corals "dinged-out" on me, by I experienced no losses, thank God.
2. I did this job completely by myself. This was stupid! I should have called a buddy to help out. This would have alleviated down time tremendously. However, I'm a typical guy that likes to "go it alone," so to speak.
3. Never move a 8g nano without draining the water down a bit. (forehead slap)
4. It's better to over-purchase plumbing parts!!! I had to run to Lowe's 4-5 times during the build.
5. Don't forget to eat and drink water! My energy levels suffered because I lost track of time during the build.
6. Wear gloves when fitting pipe! I cut my hands up pretty good doing all of this.
7. Crack a window when using PVC cement/cleaner. I knew better, but I'm still flying high.
8. Did I mention that I didn't put a heater in the tank overnight? (duh)

Pearl of Wisdom: Use a miter saw to cut all your PVC. All PVC hand cutters, that I've EVER used, are terrible substitutes for clean cuts a miter can give you. Sure, you have to run outside all the time... but, it's well worth it for a strong gluing surface, IMO.

I only use the hand cutters on short, quick jobs.

Now, for some nicer observations...

1. My fish seem "happier!" They are swimming around more and not trying to hide from anyone entering the room. The stress just doesn't seem to be there anymore... what little they had, of course.

2. My parameters are easier to adjust. I am drip dosing the effluent from the calcium reactor. By drip dosing it, I am able to control the effluent's pH levels "easier." I'm sure I'll have to increase the drip rate of the effluent and the CO2 later, but right now, my drip rates are spot on (so far). Of course, "easier" is a relative term. What I find easy, you may find difficult.

3. My corals "colored-up" overnight! They love whatever it is that I did. :)

4. I went from having 2 complete systems to one. My total water volume is now at 230-240g. Also, I only need the one calcium reactor vs. 2 separate dosing setups (which I had, but didn't want to use, FWIW...).

5. The manifold that I setup is a God sent! My system is so "simple" now! I actually enjoy looking at the details now. I used-to dread going in there and seeing my GFO not tumbling right, or air pockets in my dosing lines! All a thing of the past, now...

I'm sure there's some things that I'm missing, but that's the overview.

Since I got all of this done before the weekend, I was able to spend some quality time relaxing most of the weekend. I'm grateful the weather was GORGEOUS!

I hope your weekends were just as nice!

I'll try to get some photos of the work I did, tonight. For those of you that don't want to waste time watching the video. ;)

 

[d2mini]

Nice work, man! Looking good.
Thanks for making me miss my fish room. :p
Curious how that reg works out for you. I looked them up and they area REALLY inexpensive for a dual stage reg.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Nice job!

 

[Flipside]

Nice work, man! Looking good.
Thanks for making me miss my fish room. :p
Curious how that reg works out for you. I looked them up and they area REALLY inexpensive for a dual stage reg.

Thanks! So far, the regulator is super sweet! Easy to dial in and easy to hook up. You know how it goes though... Time will tell. :)

Saw your jeep vid. Thanks for making me my offroad days! (see what I did there) :p

 

[Flipside]

Nice job!

Thanks rev! Twas a heckuva job that procrastination couldn't keep owning me on.

Now... to clean up! LOL