Ziggy953's 150 Build errrr....120 Build

[Ziggy953]

If your house ever gets robbed and all thats missing is frags and corals you should definitely not follow the trail of drip marks... they will certainly not lead back to me.....

Great pictures. tank is really starting to look nice again.

Hmmm.....I may have to invest in a Frag Security Device. I'll have to think on that a bit.

 

[intimatecple]

I'm going to have to post something in the classified section soon. I've been working on the frag tank and making more frags. It will be time to clean house soon!

Or you could goto the frag swap on NOV 1st. Long drive I am sure!!!

PLEASE,PLEASE,PLEASE!!!!!!!

 

[Ziggy953]

I would love to but...

 

[intimatecple]

I could always turn my house into a Bed and Breakfast as I am only 1 hour away from the swap !!!!! LOL !!!!!! The wives and kids could go shopping at the King of Prussia (read expensive) Mall!! ROFLMAO!!

 

[Ziggy953]

i could always turn my house into a bed and breakfast as i am only 1 hour away from the swap !!!!! Lol !!!!!! The wives and kids could go shopping at the king of prussia (read expensive) mall!! Roflmao!!

lol

 

[Ziggy953]

Well I braved the rains yesterday and went to a couple of LFSs in the area. I stopped by BRK but didn't pick anything up there. They were having a 2 for 1 sale but I just didn't see anything that I had to have.

So...I pressed on in the rain and traffic and found my way to Fins & Feathers in Ashburn. They are in the middle of a complete rebuild for their SW and FW systems. The new SW system is going to be pretty impressive and should be complete in about a month. They are going to have 2 coral flats 8'x3' with a lot of fish tanks.

I managed to pick up a few corals. I'll try and get some pics of them posted soon.

Oh. Pat tell your brother I got some of those Zoas he picked up off of ebay. A cluster of 15 polyps for $5. They are awesome!

 

[LoogieLV]

Just wanted to chime in. I read this entire thread. From page 1. Many of your posts, i reread.

I appreciate someone like you who takes the time to document every aspect of a project, even one that goes terribly wrong several different ways.

I'm planning a FW plywood aquarium in the 150+ gallon range, and you're my motivation to make sure I get exactly what i want, and get it done the right way.

Never done anything with SW and i feel it's out of my league currently, but your tank is severe motivation and I'll definitely use your pics to coax my wife into jumping on board. Or else she can move out ty for the info, pics, lessons and humility. It was a fun read and informative doesn't even BEGIN to explain. I'll stay posted for months to come, i'm sure.

 

[Ziggy953]

Just wanted to chime in. I read this entire thread. From page 1. Many of your posts, i reread.

I appreciate someone like you who takes the time to document every aspect of a project, even one that goes terribly wrong several different ways.

I'm planning a FW plywood aquarium in the 150+ gallon range, and you're my motivation to make sure I get exactly what i want, and get it done the right way.

Never done anything with SW and i feel it's out of my league currently, but your tank is severe motivation and I'll definitely use your pics to coax my wife into jumping on board. Or else she can move out ty for the info, pics, lessons and humility. It was a fun read and informative doesn't even BEGIN to explain. I'll stay posted for months to come, i'm sure.

Thank you for taking the time to read through my thread. It was with folks like you in mind that I decided to document every step of the way. I wanted to share my experiences, both good and bad, so people could learn from my mistakes and improve on my triumphs.

I'm in the middle of a little crisis unrelated to the aquarium but being handled via the aquarium so my updates will be few right now. Things will settle down and I'll be back in force.

I have a lot of things to work on in the tank as well as some serious cleaning of my sumps. I plan to take pictures of that process so people can see what that is all about. I need to take my skimmer apart and clean the pump as well. Performance is lacking a bit right now.

Again thanks for taking the time and I'm glad you were able to learn something.

 

[Ziggy953]

First I want to say thank you to everyone that bought corals from me and everyone who offered prayers and kind words. We have managed to get through the crisis and I was able to keep my tank. I ended up selling off most of my larger colonies as well as all of the ORA corals I had, except the Hawkins.

I just got finished working in the tank and getting all the remaining frags placed. My Zoa rock is looking good and when they grow in and together it will be awesome!

I have a ton of small SPS frags all over the tank now and I'm looking forward to seeing how things grow. The only large colony I was able to keep was the Pink Pocillipora. Nobody seemed to want it. Oh well that is fine with me as it is a nice looking coral.

I'm going to get some pics of the tank as it is now but I'm going to wait until tomorrow. Right now the water is a little cloudy as I stired the sand up in a couple of areas cleaning the glass. I'm pretty pleased with the way things look right now but time will tell on what I have to move.

Again thank you for all the support and kind words. You guys are great and I appreciate you!

 

[Fluff]

That's awesome Ziggy. Shame you had to go through this but corals can be replaced. At least you were able to keep the tank. I'm sure it won't be long before you get it back to it's original splendor.

 

[Ziggy953]

That's awesome Ziggy. Shame you had to go through this but corals can be replaced. At least you were able to keep the tank. I'm sure it won't be long before you get it back to it's original splendor.

Everyone that purchased corals from me that I didn't have frags for have offered to give me frags back from the colonies I sold them. The one coral that hurt the most to sell was the Chips Acro. I bought it for my wife. Eventually I'll get another one.

Right now I'm going to be focusing on maintaining the tank and not adding anything. Maybe 6 months down the road I'll start adding corals again.

 

[intimatecple]

Ziggy I just caught up with your Problems and I am so sorry. I have not been checking the classifieds because of the money problems that everyone seems to be feeling. I am really sorry it has hit so hard. I am so glad you were able to keep that beautiful tank of yours and I wish you and your family the best!!

Blessed Be

Barry and Family

 

[neilanh]

Tough spot to be in Allen, but I'm glad you were able to work it all out. As hard as I'm sure it was, like I told you before Kudos for doing the right thing and having your priorities straight.

 

[Ziggy953]

Thanks!

I think through adversity you learn what you are willing to sacrifice for your family.

 

[ryshark]

I'm glad things worked out for you and your family. I'm also happy to hear you were able to keep your tank. A tankless Ziggy just didnt sound right.

 

[Copepod]

Ziggys Build Error

I was able to show my husband what this is all about...the long build was a fascinating saga...was trying to get it back up to see something the other day.

So glad you kept your tank...it is truely lovely and I know you will have it the same soon.

Curly

 

[Ziggy953]

Ok update....

Well over the weekend I finally took the canopy off the tank so I could do some work. I moved a few corals around and got all of my frags that I had on the little shelf placed. There are 1" frags all over the rock work now. I also got all the Zoas I wanted in the tank on my "Zoa-Rock". I'm planning to let them just grow together and see what happens. It should be pretty interesting as I have a nice mix of colors.

I've been dosing the tank with a 2 part system to keep the Alk and Ca/Mg up. I'm driving the growth of the corals. The drain on the CA from the display and the frag tank are starting to take their toll on my bi-weekly PWCs. I can't complain as the growth is/has been pretty steady now that the tank has stableized again.

It's also time for new MH bulbs but they will have to wait. I'm considering trying something new so suggestions would be great. I'm running XMs right now. I'm considering going back to Radiums. Haven't decided. Input!!

I've taken a few pics but haven't looked at them on the computer as yet. I want to get some good pics of the corals as they are now so I can document the growth over the coming months. I'll try and get through them over the next couple of days and get them posted.

That's about all for now....

 

[ccCapt]

Ok update....
It's also time for new MH bulbs but they will have to wait. I'm considering trying something new so suggestions would be great. I'm running XMs right now. I'm considering going back to Radiums. Haven't decided. Input!

How often are you changing bulbs? Like every month? You said you just changed out your Ebay bulbs in July. Since then you used XM and Radium?
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f11/anyone-buy-mh-lamps-from-ebay-105626.html

Until very recently (4 weeks ago) used the Ebay bulbs and most of you know what kind of growth I got from my tank. I know lighting is only one of many factors in growth but...

If you don't believe the ebay bulbs can work on your system reference my thread and have a look at some of the corals and the growth.

Stick with what works for you.

 

[Ziggy953]

How often are you changing bulbs? Like every month? You said you just changed out your Ebay bulbs in July. Since then you used XM and Radium?
http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f11/anyone-buy-mh-lamps-from-ebay-105626.html

Stick with what works for you.

Over the last 3 or 4 months I have changed my bulbs a couple of times. The Radiums I had as well as the XMs. I bought the radiums used (about a month or so use so I was told) I have no idea as I'd never used them before. I ran them before I used the XMs. The XMs were brand new never used got a great deal on them so I picked them up. One of them blew out on me and I had to switch back to the Ebay bulbs. I was not really happy with either of them. Either way I slice it I'm going to need some new bulbs. You are right though it hasn't been as long since I changed them as I thought, it just seems like it. I like to replace my MHs or at least have them ready for replacement every 6 months.

I have to replace the bulbs on the frag tank for sure. I have no idea how old those are as they came with the fixture I bought.

I really need to get back to keeping my spreadsheet log on everything I do to the tank. Things got a little crazy with work, moving form one building to another, and family as well so I couldn't remember for sure when I had changed them out.

Thanks for keeping me on my toes. I will probably order some bulbs in the next few weeks.

 

[neilanh]

Allen I have a pair of Hamilton 10000K that are supposedly ~2 months used that you're welcome to if you want them. I got a set of reeflux that I'm planning to use, and the hamiltons came with the used retro set that I bought.