Pickupman66's 180 GC build

Dowtish · Jul 10, 2013

Excellent update! and even more excellent pics!

I believe the coral you have from Captain's Corals is an ATL Blue Vermiculata. I got one and it didnt make it. So I'll be hitting you up in about 6-8 months.

pickupman66 · Jul 10, 2013

Dowtish said:
I believe the coral you have from Captain's Corals is an ATL Blue Vermiculata. I got one and it didnt make it. So I'll be hitting you up in about 6-8 months.

YEA< thats it! thanks..... hopefully I can remember it. it has been slow growing and is just barely encrusted. while it looks good, it really needs to hit a growth spurt. I have noticed this happens with all my acros, at different times, they hit spurts and will put on massive amounts at once, then go dormant for a month or two. that green table does it alot. if you look at it now, it is all green with no white tips. when it grows, the tips are a whitish purple.

ToXIc · Jul 10, 2013

nice stuff man....

pickupman66 · Jul 10, 2013

I hate how Photobucket and this site neuters the high res photos. so Fair warning, this was a 4mb upload. images is 3500+pixels wide.
https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/62284246/DSC_5773.JPG

H@rry · Jul 11, 2013

Excellent pics of the fish!

NeveSSL · Aug 4, 2013

Man, love your tank, Lindsey. Especially the Atlantic blue tang. After diving in the Keys and seeing a ton of those, I've wanted one for a tank!

How has having your sump in the garage been? I'm planning on doing this same thing, but I'm a little bit worried about it as I will also be doing wood working out there and various other things, not to mention temp control. Is there anything special you have to do on really hot or really cold days? Or is there anything special you have to do for other things?

Brandon

pickupman66 · Aug 4, 2013

Brandon,

I dont do alot of woodwork in the garage, but I do some from time to time. when I do, I make alot of dust for sure. I try to leave the garage door open but most times I dont unless its cold. My garage is insulated but not climate controlled. I have a 550 cfm blower that comes on at 10pm and off at 7 am to pull in cooler night air and help with humidity. when we are home, the garage door is usually open. I have had some rust issues on my drill press and a few cheapo pliers but nothing else has had an issue. as for the rest of the heat control, I have a 1/4hp chiller controlled by my Reefkeeper. I run LED so it will drop it about 1 degree every 30 minutes. typically the cycle on it has it run for about 10 minutes or so to drop 1/2 a degree. in the winter I have a pair of 500 watt heaters that keep the tank warm.

Having the sump in the garage has been WONDERFUL and I wouldnt change it a bit. I do wish I had plumbed in some future expansion drains and supplies to put a frag tank or clam tank inside.. but I think I have the solved... like I could ever get permission to... LOL.

NeveSSL · Aug 4, 2013

Haha! Thanks for the reply, Lindsey. I think my garage should be good for all except my garage door isn't insulated. That's easy enough to do, though. I'd be a little concerned about my table saw rusting, but I've got it waxed pretty good (cast iron top).

How is your blower setup? How did you install it? Do you have it run during the day in winter?

Do you find your chiller running a lot during the summer?

Many thanks for your insight! I can't help but think a sump in the garage would be amazing if I can make it work.

I'm trying to minimize the electricity bill, though, so if I can get by without running a chiller and maybe not running heaters too often, that would be ideal.

Brandon

pickupman66 · Aug 4, 2013

tell you what, let me put the chiller on a graph and ill let you see what it does this week. it should be pretty warm this week..

the blower is one of the ones we use on our stoves. it is screwed to a cheap piece of board and then I screwed it into the garage window sill. its on a timer. I do not use it in the winter. garage stays in the 50's naturally. the Last two winters I made some custom cut Foam covers for the sump. they are made from the house siding foam pieces. 1" thick. This cuts my evap down 80% at least and keeps the warmth in. since I got a new skimmer this summer, I will have to re-do it.

NeveSSL · Aug 4, 2013

Awesome. Thank you for the answers! I'm interested to see how your graph turns out.

Brandon

pickupman66 · Aug 7, 2013

growth updates...

well sorta. lets see what we can do here.

Lets start with a FTS.
July 5th 2013

July1 2012

July 1 2011

This is one of the very first frags put into this tank. it is a Pink Pocilipora and I believe it is a frag from my old 75. when I got it, it was TINY!!

NOvember 2010

June 2011

July 2012

2013

pickupman66 · Aug 7, 2013

Pink Acro. No clue what it is.
June 2011

jan 2012

July 2013

Rescued brown acro. we had no clue at the time.
July 2011

Looking like something nice in December 11

WOW. we think it may be a Cerealis but not sure. its about 4-5" left to right.

July 2013 - Notice how on the bottom edge it is encroaching on my pink lemonade? it is not battling it though, it has plated and is growing over it. about a polyp distance seperates them. Evil.

Isnt this one simple. Some sort of stag I got in jan of 2011.
6-2011

present

Its between the tang and Butterfly.

H@rry · Aug 7, 2013

Wow, good growth Lindsey! You're absolutely doing something right! In the 2011 FTS pic, is that your Atlantic Blue Tang at bottom center? I like them but I have probably bought 5 or 6 juveniles but I could never get them to live.

pickupman66 · Aug 7, 2013

Yes harry. Same fish. Mike collected him.

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skinz78 · Aug 7, 2013

Great looking shots!

schooleyosis · Aug 8, 2013

Awesome growth Lindsey! What is your secret to success? LOL Kalk? Calcium reactor? Both????

pickupman66 · Aug 8, 2013

I have a calcium reactor. If I can keep my nitrates under control better, I'd have better ggrowth. Seems like once I get one thing in the good, something else needs adjusting

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