Swannyson7's 180g mixed reef

[gar732]

Yeah the utter chaos where the ones I was referring to. They look different than mine did, they are officially gone now. I've got some look-a-likes that are doing well but they are not nearly as bright.

 

[swannyson7]

I'll frag a few for you when they grow out. THey seem to be growing pretty quick thus far. Do you have any CARs? My colony of about 30 polyps broke loose from the rock and now I can't find them. :cry:

 

[gar732]

I have a frag with some AOGs and CARs on it, it's yours if you want it. I don't know if I can separate them without damaging them.

 

[swannyson7]

I have a frag with some AOGs and CARs on it, it's yours if you want it. I don't know if I can separate them without damaging them.

Consider them sold! I've got a few frags set aside for you too bro

 

[Troylee]

wow man very nice!!!!!!! never saw your thread till today.... im gonna have to start from the beginning now haha..... just skimmed the last 5 pages awesome pics bro for sure....1smile1

 

[swannyson7]

Thanks Lee! There's some DIY type stuff mixed in that might be up your alley. Nowhere near the quality you can pull off, but I'm getting a bit better with acrylic work thanks to your threads!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Impressive tank bro! Very nice!

 

[swannyson7]

Thanks Rev :smile:

 

[swannyson7]

A couple quick pics from today...

Finally replaced my Melanarus after losing him last fall! Tough to find locally, but my LFS got a hold on one.

 

[swannyson7]

My sunset mille is finally starting to take off!

Couple new frags

 

[swannyson7]

Got the OK from the wife to set up a larger frag tank to replace of my little acrylic tank (what she doesn't realize is that it will be in addition to the small one, lol). I picked up a 40B when it was on sale and started building the stand this morning. I'll be including a slide out tray like I did on my DT seeing as it's come in so handy, but I plan to set a cutting board flush mounted into the drawer slide. Here's a couple cell phone pics from the work I accoplished this morning:

There will also be some baseboard molding on the bottom and if I can find some molding that I like, I'll use it to hide the tank's plastic trim. The front door will be held in place with magnets for easy removal due to space constraints and I'm making a DIY kalk reactor to help maintain calcium levels. This won't be plumbed into the DT, so I'll rely on weekly water changes and an AquaC Remora Pro that I have sitting in the shed. Not an ideal setup, but it keeps it cheap. The only other skimmer I have sitting around is rated for 200 gallons, so it's my only option without buying a new skimmer or plumbing it in to the display. I'm still undecided as to what I will do for lighting. I'm leaning toward either six 39w T5s retrofitted into a canopy or an Evo 20k LED fixture, but not sure which yet.

 

[swannyson7]

I also picked up a Lamarck's angel today, but he's still pretty shy so no pics for the time being. As soon as he becomes more social, I'll be sure to snap some pics and post them up!

 

[swannyson7]

Well the lamarck's angel didn't make it through the night. I guess that's what I get for buying a fish from the big box store...

But on a positive note, I got a ton of work done on the frag stand. I installed the slide out fragging table, but I still need to find a route out an area so that I can drop in a cutting board:

I also made a door for the front of the tank:

Due to space constraints, I planned to hold the door in place with magnets, but that would require a trip to the hardware store, so I just went this route where the back braces hold the door in place. To remove, it's just a matter of lifting and pulling outward:

Added the piece of baseboard and filled some holes with wood putty (still need to do some more sanding):

And with the tank on top:

All that's left is some sanding & paint and then the stand is done... Hopefully tomorrow I can start the canopy and/or the kalk reactor.

 

[milkman]

That's some nice carpentry work! Looks great.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

I wish I had your skills! LOL!

 

[swannyson7]

That's some nice carpentry work! Looks great.

I wish I had your skills! LOL!

Thanks guys!! Sorry for the cell phone pics, but once it's sanded down, I'll snap some pics with the DSLR to show the detail of the trim and whatnot.

 

[swannyson7]

I got the sanding done on the stand and now it's ready for paint. Here's a closeup of the trim to show the details:

The framing is done for the canopy, but I need to make a run to the Home Depot to grab some more plywood and hardware before I can skin it.

I also worked on my kalk reactor and all that's left is adding the mixing pump:

 

[skinz78]

Looking good Swanny!!! How did you make the DIY reactor? Also I am wondering if it might be a good idea to drill a few frag plug sized holes into the cutting board to hold them up right while the glue drys?

 

[swannyson7]

Looking good Swanny!!! How did you make the DIY reactor? Also I am wondering if it might be a good idea to drill a few frag plug sized holes into the cutting board to hold them up right while the glue drys?

The DIY reactor is just a piece of 4" PVC with a cap for the bottom and a threaded top so that I can add kalk. I cut out a window in the side of the PVC so that I can see how much kalk is left. Then I used a torch to bend the acrylic in place inside the pipe and held it in place with some Weldon 16. I used a tap & die set to thread holes in the top to fit john guest fittings for the supply and dosing lines. In the next couple days I will plumb a MJ600 in place to mix the kalk inside the reactor and I'll be using an aqualifter as a supply pump.

That's a great idea on the holes for frag plugs! I can't even count the number of times that I tried to balance a frag plug while the glue dried and wound up knocking the frag loose when the plug tipped over.

 

[Aquaph8]

Great DIY skills. I was admiring your pics^^^^^, outstanding colors and really nice mix of corals.