320g build/journey/experiment :-)

[sarahh]

is tank envy a verifiable condition? i reckon i may have mentioned it before, but dang, those pictures are insane!!
btw, lol at the audio on the rock build

[StripesTheEel]

Howdy,

Have just begun reading your journal and have noticed you mentioned you are going to have 126 fish in the tank. This seems a little excessive and will no doubt lead to some water chemistry problems.

What fish are in this 126 and what will you be doing to reduce the problems that will be associated with this?

Wouldn't be too much of a problem if say there were 126 Apogon Leptacanthus but I'm sure it won't be stocked with 126 of them.

I will continue reading and may answer my questions by then.

I only ask because I have just over 40 fish in my tank and is a 700 gallon system.

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by leoslizards

At least he found a place to sleep.
How big (gallons) is your refug?

The couch is quite comfortable... or it was when it had the cushions..
The refuge is 110 I believe.

Originally Posted by sarahh

is tank envy a verifiable condition? i reckon i may have mentioned it before, but dang, those pictures are insane!!
btw, lol at the audio on the rock build

I'm glad you like it and I will try to update pictures frequently.

Originally Posted by StripesTheEel

Howdy,
Have just begun reading your journal and have noticed you mentioned you are going to have 126 fish in the tank. This seems a little excessive and will no doubt lead to some water chemistry problems.

What fish are in this 126 and what will you be doing to reduce the problems that will be associated with this?

Wouldn't be too much of a problem if say there were 126 Apogon Leptacanthus but I'm sure it won't be stocked with 126 of them.

I will continue reading and may answer my questions by then.

I only ask because I have just over 40 fish in my tank and is a 700 gallon system.

Welcome aboard, I'm glad to have you tagging along and it would be nice to have input from someone with a larger system then me who has experience.
As I stated this is an experiment and I will be adding fish slowly and stop/remove some if I find the chemistry is getting out of balance.
My biggest reducer is going to be macro/micro algae and bacteria.
It's funny you say that fish because I plan on having 10 of those... a nice size that will hopefully stick together... most of my fish will be small and schooling/shoaling... that's they style of tank I'm looking for anyways...
As for overcrowding witch you didn't ask about. I went tall so I could have 3 separate zones in my tank, the top of the reef, the cliff hangers, and the bottom dwellers.
The first thing I am adding is cardinals followed by Anthias followed by Chromis.
I hope that answers your questions... if you have more I'm only about 5min -50 hours away

[StripesTheEel]

In my experience, not having owned them but knowing a few reefers locally who have leptacanthus, the bigger the tank, the less chance of that "Schooling/Shoaling" effect. I have witness 10 in a 4x2x2 that stay quite tight knit. Also a 8x3x2 that has 12 of the little suckers and they have separated.

So the bigger the tank, the larger group needed IMO.

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by StripesTheEel

In my experience, not having owned them but knowing a few reefers locally who have leptacanthus, the bigger the tank, the less chance of that "Schooling/Shoaling" effect. I have witness 10 in a 4x2x2 that stay quite tight knit. Also a 8x3x2 that has 12 of the little suckers and they have separated.

So the bigger the tank, the larger group needed IMO.

Thanks... The person with the 8x3x2 did they add all 12 at once from the same batch or did they take more then one day to add them?

[StripesTheEel]

All from the same batch mate.

[Greenmaster]

Well one more major step along the way... Plumbing is 90% complete... I just have to wait for the nozzles to show up for final completion. But in my mind the plumbing is done... and if I had to I could do run it without the nozzles. Now less than 2 weeks till I can start my cycle ... and if the parameters are right I will add fish on September 6th.

Anyways an update isn't an update without pics...
Looking at it from the outside.


Looking at it from the inside


A slightly closer look at the refuge.

[Apollo1K9]

Woohoo! Looks awesome! Although, the design of your sump seems odd to me. Did I miss something along the way that said if it/why it wouldn't be like a traditional sump?

[Greenmaster]

opps... sorry I should call it a refuge... *edit hehe.

[Deep Seven]

Looks very nice, whats supporting the pipes? They're gonna get heavier full of water.

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by Deep Seven

Looks very nice, whats supporting the pipes? They're gonna get heavier full of water.

I have several lines of 40lb test fishing line... the minimal stretch kind. The best part of using an almost see through line is it doesn't make the whole thing look bad

[StripesTheEel]

So, finished the journal and unsure if I missed it.

No skimmer?

[Greenmaster]

I have heard of successes without one so I am going to try without one first.

[StripesTheEel]

You a brave man

[Smitty]

Because of the glare from the window it is hard to see, do you have all 3 of the exit holes going into that one down pipe? Also, why is is angled like that instead of just going straight down?

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by Smitty

Because of the glare from the window it is hard to see, do you have all 3 of the exit holes going into that one down pipe? Also, why is is angled like that instead of just going straight down?

I have 2 exit holes going down the 3" pipe and one going down the 1 1/2" pipe. The exit lines go down at an angle to prevent bubbles and to minimize noise. (I don't need a water fall in my house.) Each exit hole has a valve so if I want to I can shut off the exit holes. Both 1" return lines go strait.

[Greenmaster]

Some updates on my LED's

This is me feeding the wires through and my daughter grabbing them and pulling them tight.


All the LED's soldered to the drivers an almost ready to go.


The test of 3 of the LED's.

[capj64]

OH...I see

[Hinds04]

What does the skimmer actually do. I'm doing a 75 gallon reef with a 30 gallon sump and I am dreading buying one.

[Greenmaster]

Originally Posted by Hinds04

What does the skimmer actually do. I'm doing a 75 gallon reef with a 30 gallon sump and I am dreading buying one.

A skimmer takes proteins and some floating debris out of the tank. Problems that you can get from no skimmer are, foul smelling tank, high levels of nitrates, and cloudy water, to name a few. Harder to make operate with only a sump... you really would want a refuge where you could grow lots of macro algae to help to consume some of the nitrates. Also you may not be able to have as many fish without one.