mogurnda April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 I will be traveling a lot over the next few months, which exponentially increases the chances of a tank crash. May as well post some pics, and maybe the original build as I get time. Here is the tank as it looks right now (4/3/08). I won it in a WAMAS raffle almost 4 years ago, and it has been coming together in fits and starts ever since. Left end. Right end. Middle. The tanks is a 90 gallon reef-ready AGA tank, with a 20 gallon long D|IY sump. Equipment: Euro-Reef CS6-2 skimmer Pan-World 100 PXX on a closed loop with Oceans Motions SuperSquirt Two 250 watt metal halides (currently Ushio 10000K) on Reef Fanatic ballasts Two 54 watt T5 actinics Daveco (i.e., DIY) two chamber calcium reactor 16 gallon ATO tank and float valve Other stuff as I remember it For the livestock, I'll just post some pics: Scribbled (doliatus) rabbitfish Blue ridge (Heliopora), green encrusting monti Red pocillopora Purple-tipped Acro (really need to figure out names) More to come. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
scott711 April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 Nice Dave! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 I really like how you grew the Montis on the left. Very nice coral-scaping. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 3, 2008 Author Share April 3, 2008 I really like how you grew the Montis on the left. Very nice coral-scaping. I wish I could say that was my intention, but they did the work. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SteffiePoo April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 wow, looks awesome!!! great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveS April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 I love the scribbled rabbitfish. Do you know if he's eating bubble algae? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 3, 2008 Author Share April 3, 2008 I love the scribbled rabbitfish. Do you know if he's eating bubble algae? It's a great fish, and has taken care of all the red turf algae in the tank. I haven't got any bubble algae (knock wood), so I don't know whether the fish would eat it. I would doubt it, since the rabbit seems to like cropping at fuzzy stuff. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowardofNOVA April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 Tank is looking great Dave!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Highland Reefer April 3, 2008 Share April 3, 2008 Very beautiful tank Dave. If you run into problems while you are out of town, I will be glad to help out any way I can. I am in the Silver Spring Area quite often. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 4, 2008 Author Share April 4, 2008 Thanks for the nice words, guys. I am lucky enough to have a WAMAS member down the street, but I may very well take you up on your offer at some point, Cliff. More pix when Photobucket starts to behave again. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jamesbuf April 4, 2008 Share April 4, 2008 Very nice Dave. I love tanks where you have to look hard to see the liverock underneith. Too many corals in the way! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 5, 2008 Share April 5, 2008 Beautiful!!! I love that rabbitfish. I've added it to my prospective list of fish. Everything looks really healthy. Great job! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 8, 2008 Author Share April 8, 2008 Very nice Dave. I love tanks where you have to look hard to see the liverock underneith. Too many corals in the way! Thanks, James. I am too lazy to frag a lot of the time, so I now have a pretty good idea of what happens when different kinds of corals run into each other. Beautiful!!! I love that rabbitfish. I've added it to my prospective list of fish. Everything looks really healthy. Great job! Thanks! I am very fond of rabbitfish. They are pretty, hardy, and eat algae ravenously. A few more shots. An end shot At one point, most of my SPS went from growing like weeds to growing slowly or not at all. Colonies stopped growing, then started receding, and ultimately a few even died. My Ca and alkalinity were good, I could not find signs of parasites like red bugs, changed lights and flow several times. . Tried more carbon to reduce the possibility of chemical warfare. Then, in desperation, I tested strontium. The kit is an absolute PITA, but it showed very low levels, so I started dosing, little by little. Well, it worked. Over several weeks, all the SPS started growing quickly again. I was too embarrassed to take a before shot, but the growing tips on this birdsnest were almost nonexistent, and you can still see the coralline on the parts that had died. Now you can see plenty of new growth, and it has increased visibly even in the week or so since this photo was taken. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Grenier April 8, 2008 Share April 8, 2008 Very nice corals and from what I've seen of others, a nice rabbit fish. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium April 8, 2008 Share April 8, 2008 Then, in desperation, I tested strontium. The kit is an absolute PITA, but it showed very low levels, so I started dosing, little by little. Well, it worked. Over several weeks, all the SPS started growing quickly again. Now, that's something I wouldn't have though of. Thanks for sharing Dave. Great tank you have there, congrats. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 8, 2008 Author Share April 8, 2008 There was quite a bit of controversy about it several years ago. Sprung and Delbeek said it was the key to SPS growth in their first volume, then a famously cantankerous reefkeeping expert devoted a lot of energy to convincing people it was a poison. I was just running down the list of all possibilities I could think of, like a monkey at a typewriter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ctenophore April 9, 2008 Share April 9, 2008 That's very interesting re: strontium. How did you raise it, and what is your water change regimen and what salt brand do you use? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 9, 2008 Author Share April 9, 2008 That's very interesting re: strontium. How did you raise it, and what is your water change regimen and what salt brand do you use? I use IO, and change 10 gallons every few weeks. My dosing regimen consists of a few teaspoons of SeaChem dry SrCl every few weeks. I would do the usual dose, test, adjust dosage, repeat cycle, but the salifert Sr test takes so long and is so finicky that I don't have time. What confuses me is that the Ca reactor should be putting back as much Sr as the corals need, since the medium is made from coral skeletons. No idea why things got out of balance. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Boret April 9, 2008 Share April 9, 2008 I use IO, and change 10 gallons every few weeks. My dosing regimen consists of a few teaspoons of SeaChem dry SrCl every few weeks. I would do the usual dose, test, adjust dosage, repeat cycle, but the salifert Sr test takes so long and is so finicky that I don't have time. What confuses me is that the Ca reactor should be putting back as much Sr as the corals need, since the medium is made from coral skeletons. No idea why things got out of balance. Great tank!! Beautiful corals!!! I am also enjoying the thread and learning as I tag along. Very informative! Thanks for sharing Dave. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 11, 2008 Author Share April 11, 2008 I am starting to find some of the old photos of the build, so it's time for a trip down memory lane. I went to WAMAS Symposium I, saw some interesting talks, and somehow came home with a 90 gallon tank and a blueline 250 watt ballast. Not a bad day. Of course, that's like getting the keys to a car and having to buy the rest. Premium Aquatics got a lot of money from me that summer. Painting the back, leaving the overflow exposed. The tank, with stand painted brown and original canopy. My old 20 nano is in the corner. Filling the tank, adding sand, base rock and getting it cycling. Note the silica playsand. Extending the canopy for halides. Actinics on. Actinics plus 250 watt Iwasaki halides. More as I find them, and find time. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HowardofNOVA April 11, 2008 Share April 11, 2008 Excellent Tank Dave, especially in person!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
tbittner April 11, 2008 Share April 11, 2008 WHOA! Wait a minute. You used silica playsand and everything worked out great? hmmmmmm....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 12, 2008 Author Share April 12, 2008 Thanks, Howard. I still owe you a cold one when things settle down up here. WHOA! Wait a minute. You used silica playsand and everything worked out great? hmmmmmm....... I also mix leather corals with SPS, run with scissors and drove a Pinto in college. And people say I'm boring. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mogurnda April 14, 2008 Author Share April 14, 2008 The build continues. The sump. It's a 20 long, with the input split to the skimmer and fuge sections so that I could control flow separately. In place. It looks so clean! I have since replaced the floods on the fuge with a 65 watt LOA light. The ATO float valve. Cheap and trouble free. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JMsAquarium April 14, 2008 Share April 14, 2008 I also mix leather corals with SPS, run with scissors and drove a Pinto in college. And people say I'm boring. Hehe, that kinda puts a damper on that sand debate eh ? When I grow up (if I ever) I wanna be boring too Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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