Oceanic 175g Bowfront + 25g Frag Tank

[19Mateo83]

That 175g oceanic was the Cadillac of its day. Its nice to see someone on here rocking one. They are very well made tanks and the canopies were super lightweight and easy to get on and off. Is your stand the plywood one or the plastic one?

 

[bakbay]

That 175g oceanic was the Cadillac of its day. Its nice to see someone on here rocking one. They are very well made tanks and the canopies were super lightweight and easy to get on and off. Is your stand the plywood one or the plastic one?

Thanks - indeed, the bowfront makes things bigger than they really are; however, it tends to distort the view a little. I love the canopy -- super light but requires 2 people to take it off! The stand is plywood but wrapped in vinyl (?) so it's literally water-proof!

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Yup but those vinyl tubes last a lifetime tho! Also, those schedule 40 elbows, slip barbed fittings, etc have doubled in price post covid! Like everything else irl, our hobby went with the flow — real inflation isn’t sub 5 or 10%. It feels like 100%!!!

Yeah totally pre and post covid prices for sch40 pvc is ignorant. Also availability sucks. Cant find 3/4 glue barbs to save my life.

I agree about the vinyl, but I abhor when it gets hard & brittle and you need to remove it from something. Its a fight for your life unless you cut it (and hope you have enough to resecure it).

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

That 175g oceanic was the Cadillac of its day. Its nice to see someone on here rocking one. They are very well made tanks and the canopies were super lightweight and easy to get on and off. Is your stand the plywood one or the plastic one?

This. IIRC the Oceanic ones were ply.

 

[19Mateo83]

Thanks - indeed, the bowfront makes things bigger than they really are; however, it tends to distort the view a little. I love the canopy -- super light but requires 2 people to take it off! The stand is plywood but wrapped in vinyl (?) so it's literally water-proof!

That’s what it was, I remember it being very durable and easy to wipe clean.

 

[bakbay]

Knock on (ply) wood -- hope this tank doesn't leak. IF it does, I might order an acrylic tank with the same dimensions since I absolutely love the Oceanic stand & canopy!

 

[bakbay]

Never throw away pro audio gear! What do you think about this power strip?

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Never throw away pro audio gear! What do you think about this power strip?

Did something similar for years pre apex.

 

[bakbay]

Did something similar for years pre apex.

I’m still getting an Apex (and possibly a Trident) for this tank but need some power switches for “always-on” devices such as sump light, return for frag tank, CaRx recirculating pump, feed pump, etc.

 

[bakbay]

Skimmer: I have an old Bubble Magus C9 with a broken impeller. The replacement is $60 and the new SP4000 pump and of course, comes with the impeller, is $120. This is ridiculous -- 50% of the cost is in the impeller? Anyway, I'm contemplating to get this skimmer back in operation or run skimmer-less with this build. Considering I have a CaRx, pH will be a slight challenge. Thoughts?

 

[bakbay]

Kickstarted with soft corals and 2 fish! lol

Nitrate: 0.5 (yes, need to feed more)
Phosphate: 0.1

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

Kickstarted with soft corals and 2 fish! lol

Nitrate: 0.5 (yes, need to feed more)
Phosphate: 0.1

Nice. What's your local LFS? I just crossed back from the orange curtain, did a Tong's visit for consumables.

 

[bakbay]

Nice. What's your local LFS? I just crossed back from the orange curtain, did a Tong's visit for consumables.

If you're talking about fish, I don't shop at Tong's anymore. Seaside by Beach/PCH is better - they tend to quarantine better.

Corals - I usually “shop” at the other two tanks! Going to propagate some easy SPS frags next week since I have a surplus. This tank will be mostly anemone tho

 

[Lbrdsoxfan]

I wish I could say I had a good Seaside experience. I tried them a few different times, couldnt keep livestock alive from there during my current iteration of reefing (8 years now). Good customer service and the store is definately on the better looking end but everything from them dies in my tanks and they arent the cheapest (which is relative) either.

The majority of my current stock is via a local maintenance company/importer based in the South Bay. I have a few from Tongs in my current tanks and I agree they are hit & miss for livestock & the coral prices are now stupid expensive. They used to be better there as they were my go to the last go around with stocking an fowlr tank from 2008-13.

 

[bakbay]

I wish I could say I had a good Seaside experience. I tried them a few different times, couldnt keep livestock alive from there during my current iteration of reefing (8 years now). Good customer service and the store is definately on the better looking end but everything from them dies in my tanks and they arent the cheapest (which is relative) either.

The majority of my current stock is via a local maintenance company/importer based in the South Bay. I have a few from Tongs in my current tanks and I agree they are hit & miss for livestock & the coral prices are now stupid expensive. They used to be better there as they were my go to the last go around with stocking an fowlr tank from 2008-13.

Sorry to hear that — agree it’s a hit & miss with LFS in general. Honestly the best fish are the ones bought from local hobbyists’ tanks!!

Fortunately I have a few local sources for corals - either getting them from trusted hobbyists or Steve (Acropolis) in Costa Mesa. He has a great selection! However, his corals are grown outdoor so would take a long time to acclimate in our tanks.

At this juncture, I’m actually bored tbh. Tanks are on autopilot and I’m just watching “paint dry”. I might convert our pool into a koi pond to do something different. Our kids swam probably once or twice a year! I’m sure our pool guy has better things to do? Thinking out loud: it would be awesome to have a 25K+ koi pond!$&@ lol

 

[bakbay]

I love the look of branching GSP encrusting vertically. This is from the Red Sea 250. The plan is to do the same on the back glass with this tank - might take years though!

I have yet to find a blue or red Haddoni. That would be cool!

 

[bakbay]

Just got the Apex up and running for this tank! And no, if the bulk head leaks, it won’t (shouldn’t) fry the eb832. I need to go GFCI next week.

 

[bakbay]

Update - bought a new SP4000 impeller replacement for the BM Nac9 skimmer. I wasn’t planning on running a skimmer for this tank, but I already have it and need a pH boost since I will run a CaRx.

 

[bakbay]

Ugly stage started so I've reduced light down to 10%, got skimmer going, and UV light is now running at night! Added one giant snail from the other tank and he's going to town. I'll need 2 urchins to keep this tank clean. More importantly, I think I'll need more fish! I'm temped to catch the big tangs on the main tank but it's near impossible...

 

[bakbay]

Update on the ugly/nasty stage: I'm afraid to take pics -- skimmer is going crazy and one snail is not doing much. I need to get more snails/urchins this weekend. In the meantime, I've turned off the lights! A few test corals are now in the frag tank so we should be good. Softies (zoas & giant mushrooms) are doing well but don't think I'm ready for SPS frags yet.