Pickupman66's 180 GC build

[gimmito]

OH no.. nothing hard will be pruned till January...

I meant those zoas that are really close to the sps frag. :neutral:

 

[pickupman66]

OH.. yea. got me some new goodies this past weekend. hopefully I can get the camera out in a day or two.

 

[geaux xman]

it was 10 hours away. I loaded up and got it by myself.

you could probably body double for the incredible hulk! i have enough trouble carrying a 40g breeder.

btw, nice build thread!

 

[pickupman66]

UPDATE!!!! so I have been battling some cyano and burnt tip issues. that said, some corals are doing spectacular. Here are some growth shots.

Grape Sherbert Acro

JUly 1st

Sept 1st

Tinkerbell
July 1st

Sept 1st

Green table Acro
July 1st

Sept 1st

Pickupman Pink Poci
July 1

Sept 1

Tri-Color of some sort
Aug 1

now

Mystery acro
Aug 1

Now

And some other pink acro
July 1

Sept 1

 

[pickupman66]

and now some new additions

Milli: I think this is a Red Meredex but was told it is a blue milli.

Aquadelight.

Confusious.

 

[pickupman66]

OH yea.. Cant forget the obligatory Zoa shot.

 

[pickupman66]

Picked up a pair of Firefish gobies and a single Bi-color anthia (all they had). all ate frozen but havent taken flakes yet. photos to follow in a few days once they settle.

 

[pickupman66]

So, today I took a Big step on the tank. I have decided to pull my EcoBak pellets. after running them since December, I am not 100% sold on teh product. since april, I have had a cyano issue that has come and gone. I have dosed chemiclean once with success, but it came back. I siphon it out only to have it back to the same levels within a week's time. My nitrates are undetectable, my phosphate is at .03ppm per hannah, and I just cannot put my finger on it. Bulbs are less than 8 months old. I ahve been running my old trusty coil denitrator for the last few weeks to seed it so it will take over the nitrate duties. the phosphate duties will be managed thru GFO for the being.

as for the bacterial imbalance, as some say, I have been dosing MB7 for the last month and have seen ZERO change.

 

[pickupman66]

So I been thinking. I need a better pellet reactor. the BRS one just isnt cutting it. at all. period.

it was barely even moving the pellets let alone tumbling them. this may have led to the fact that I was unable to process the phosphates.

So I bought one. $55 from Avast Marine. you get all the pieces machined and ready to go.

video

 

[pickupman66]

Hey yall, Watch this!!!!!

well at least just look at it. October 1st photo of the tank. Its so neat to see how they evolve. yes, there is something rather large missing. Boss. He was moved to a friend's 8' long frag tank.
%

 

[pickupman66]

%

 

[skinz78]

Ha, you'd think that Cleaner shrimp would get tired of just hanging upside down but they don't!

 

[ReefMP]

Nice tank. can't wait to see it when all those frags grow out.

 

[ReefMP]

How do you like the 180 with the dual overflows on the back wall? I'm looking to upgrade to a 180 but I was looking for one with overflows in the back corners. Since my trank will be in-wall, I'm also considering buying a tank without overflows and drilling one of the sides to add an overflow (3/4 glass baffle w/ black acrylic insert) but I'm not sure the baffle would handle the pressure...still need to do some research but I think this would give a nice clean look, I might even expose the front and one side of the tank.

 

[pickupman66]

I HATE THEM. they are way too big. a buddy of mine has a 180 without center braces that has the corner overflows. I like that much better in that tank. if you are doing inwall, why not get a coast to coast type or something that is off the back that way you dont intrude into the tank dimensions. I cannot wait for the frags to grow in. shoudl make for a nice tank by this time next year.

 

[Dave3112]

Tanks is looking great, Lindsey!

 

[orthokardia]

Sweet...got to get by soon

 

[pickupman66]

you and the family are welcome by anytime

 

[ReefMP]

I HATE THEM. they are way too big. a buddy of mine has a 180 without center braces that has the corner overflows. I like that much better in that tank. if you are doing inwall, why not get a coast to coast type or something that is off the back that way you dont intrude into the tank dimensions. I cannot wait for the frags to grow in. shoudl make for a nice tank by this time next year.

Yea, I don't like the internal overflows for the same reasons. A custom tank would be great but since my tank is inwall, I can't justify the cost. I might end up getting a standard 180 without overflows and modify it myself.

 

[pickupman66]

so we skipped photos in November. just too busy lately. Here are a few coral photos. noting too exciting but all show some growth in the colony. As stated in previous posts, it has been a rough month or two. Losing 4 fish, a few corals here and there and battling Cyano everywhere (at .05ppm PO4 or less) and some bryopsis and hair algae to boot. That said, I did make some MAJOR changes. here and there.


1. new Ecobak Reactor. Purchased unassembled from Avast. I LOVE THIS THING. Super easy to assemble and get running. I am 100% satisified with it.

2. reworked the simmer. well, i removed the bit it sat in (it was partially submerged and instead it is now fully out of the water with the drain just above the water's surface. I get alot more adjustablility out of it this way and really like it. that coupled with the new reactor referenced above have really made the pellets work as they are supposed to. now to tackle why I keep testing phosphates. GRRR....


So here are a few corals for growth. these are teh best looking ones at the time and I really didnt take much time to shoot photos.


Mystery Acro

Tinkerbell

another acro

Poci (yes this is still the original coral I got when I re-setup this tank. it was a clipping from my 75)

and Robin's Egg