New 150G Progress( with pictures)

[Michael_Lambert]

Well im picking up the New ( 2 me ) 150G tank..

So im starting off at the beginning needed to find a place to put it..

Well this is the first of many pictures that will come as i move along with this instalation!

As you can see i have a mess to deal with .. and need to get it all done by Friday morning.. i guess this is a good reason to finally start my "Spring" cleaning

im going to build the stand to fit beside the stairs there, where the 2x4s are located clearing out under the stairs and going to use that as a storage space for little things like the balast and so on..

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Before.jpg

[Dman]

toooloud, with all that space, why are you getting such a small tank :D
Dman
:spin:

[Red-Sea]

LOL, Derek.
Maybe you should donate him your tank since your not using it...ha ha ha:laugh: :laugh: :laugh:

[Dman]

Not using it? Jumpin' I haven't even got it yet.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

lol.. If i could afford bigger, i would get bigger.. lol

[Dman]

Toooloud,
I hear ya on that one.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Man.. im moving this crap around.. and i got no wheres to move it too.. lol !

[Dman]

Weekend's coming, sounds like garage sale time
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea But tank is comming tomorrow morning.. LOL.. and where i live.. they dont like to buy USED, " other peoples problems" they are stuck up! .. LOL..

I think i have made eough room for hte tank.. now i need to clean more to get a place to build.. lol l

[Michael_Lambert]

well got things kinda cleaned up..lol

Still need to find a place to put the darn stove.. and old computer equitment..

but its looking better..

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Before_cleaner_.jpg

[Dman]

alot better !
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

yea but ... Its whats behind me that SCARES ME... lol haha..

[Michael_Lambert]

lol, Hope i dont need clean cloths anytime soon.. lol

Looks great where im putting the tank.. but god the rest is horrible!

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Before_cleaner_Behind.jpg

[Michael_Lambert]

Well here is the stand.. the pictures do not do it justice on the size..

but again the tank size is 48 long, 30 deep and 24 high..

have not drilled the holes yet.. as im not 100% where the holes are .. so i will mark them and drill them out when i get the tank.

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Before_Stand_.jpg

[Michael_Lambert]

i will be adding more support.. 2 center pieces and then plywood around the out side for more stability.. Just needed to get the sump in first .. and then ran out of brackets.

[Sohal Tang]

Cmon Cmon!!
GET THE WATER IN ALREADY!!! hehehehe

:D

[Michael_Lambert]

Got to get it.. Becouse of the power issues i could not get down there to get it.. Could not get Gas to go.. So im leaving first thing this morning ( sunday ) to get it.. and some other things.. i hope.

[Sohal Tang]

Have fun! Sounds Exciting! Drive careful!

yeeee haaaaaaaaaa the BLAST of setting up a NEW REEF!

:D

[Michael_Lambert]

Well just needed to give a HUGE thanks to Mitchell.. Buddy amazing meeting you, And thanks soo much for the great Tank..

And Thank to Paul, Buddy with out you i would not have this baby! I know you broke your back for me.. So Thanks SOO much!

So we finally picked up the 150g today and Man oh man we had no idea what we where expecting.. just Paul and i to load the tank, and to carry it up from mitchs basement it is a 400 lbs tank and you have to understand its 30 inches wide.. So to get a nice grip was allmost impossible.. But we did it and its finally home on the stand.. I still need to put some cross bracing on the stand so i have not plumbed it yet!

And ofcourse Cant forget the shout out to SCOTT! .. Buddy you are the MAN! .. And i think i will need to start picking your brain a little bit more!

Guys thanks for the corals.. They are doing great so far.. put the mushrooms in a plastic container just untill i get some elastics.



But here is a shot of it so far.. you can see in the tank i put my Sump .

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Tank.jpg

[Sohal Tang]

Ok Ok...never mind the HARD TO FIND A GOOD GRIP
and the 30" wide stuff..WHERES THE WATER TOOLOUD??!!! HEHEHE

Man...what a GORRRRGEOUS size tank! Perfect dimensions
I must say! I sort of get tired of the rectangular look of
my standard 90 gallon....

I like the little towards the cube effect your tank has!
It will be excellent for aquascaping and getting the 3D effect!

Congratulations.
Tim:D

[Dman]

Deeper front to back is the way to go, 30*24 is perfect. Not too far to the back and just deep enough that you don't have to throw a 1000W over it.
My new tank is the exact same dims except one foot longer, I can't wait.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea Dman.. when is your tank comming.. lol And i hope you got that army to help you move it.. I mean me and paul moved this one out of the basement then had 2 others help us get it into my house.. and i know he is sore and i can hardly move!

Tim as for the water, We spent all day talking it up with Mitch and scott.. and raiding there tanks.. so we forgot all about the time and did not get to Oakville.. SO i need to run out today and get some bulkeads.. lol SO right now just got 3 holes in the bottom of the tank hard to put water in .. lol

[pbutkovich]

Some salt mix would be good also!

[Michael_Lambert]

LOL thanks for the reminder.. i need to add that to my list! .. :)

[Dman]

you need salt for these things? Stuff's like 3 bux a pound at Loblaws, this is gonna get expensive :D
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

lol! .. well i did poor budgeting on this tank so far.. lol So salt is out for a couple of weeks.. Got alll the plumbing supplies today so i will plumb it all in and atleast get it full of water.. to do some leak test.. :)

[Mitchell]

Leak test ???

Did I tell you it held water??

And REMEMBER if you go to paint the background...Its the side that the holes are on.

Sorry TIM...had to :roflmao:

[Sohal Tang]

maybe paint the front and back and view it from the sides...
wouldnt that be a DIFFERENT LOOK!! hehe

Tim

[Michael_Lambert]

Water.. Come one Mitch! .. I bought this bad boy off you to turn into a Home made Beer Keg! Got the 3 taps allready drilled in the bottom! .. Just need to hook up that Calcium reactor to get the COs Pumping through her! .. No one likes flat beer! :)

[Michael_Lambert]

Ok so working slowly on this.. Enjoying it ...

So the plumbing is started.. :) just need to do the under tank plumbing and need to install the Eurobrace got the glass here just need to get the silincone!

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/540/1169Tankplumbed_-1-_-med.jpg
http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/540/1169Tankplumbed_-2-_-med.jpg
http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/540/1169Tankplumbed_returns_-med.jpg
http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/540/1169Tankplumbed_overflowbox_-med.jpg

The inner diamiter of the plumbing is 1 1/2 drain and duel 3/4 inch returns !

[ajx22]

Wouldn't U want to put the returns located towards the BACK (closest to the wall) to somewhat hide them?

Just curious...

[Michael_Lambert]

Sorry aj.. not sure what you mean? But hte tank is backwards.. LOL easier to install everything.. When its all plumbed then i will be turning hte tank around if that is what you mean?

[ajx22]

Originally posted by Toooloud
Sorry aj.. not sure what you mean? But hte tank is backwards.. LOL easier to install everything.. When its all plumbed then i will be turning hte tank around if that is what you mean?

Exactly what I meant...

sorry for the confusion.

:)

[Michael_Lambert]

Cool yea.. Its soo much bigger than i thought.. So i was on a step ladder trying to work on it.. then climbed into it.. lol then just said.. Hey.. Why not just turn it around :)

[ajx22]

Makes sense - mine is a LITTLE toooo big to just turn around (over 900lbs empty) - so just wanted to clarify that PRIOR to you getting it full of water. ;)

[Michael_Lambert]

well im proud to say she held water :)

did a quick leak test.. but still need to finish the plumbing and the final bracing on the tank and stand..

only thing is where the overflow and retuns are i dont think i have room to intall the eurobrace? with the tank being made of 1/2 inch glass sides and front and 3/4 inch bottom .. would it matter if i put them on? the tank was run for 8 months before Mitch got it with no braces. ?

[Michael_Lambert]

Well i did the intank plumbing.. all looking good!

Had her fill up with water and test for leaks.. no leaks no Bowing!

So now im just adding some water and salt.. at the moment only have eough salt for about 70 Gallons.. so im going to put it in this should be eough for me to atleast house some of the live rock as i got soo much :)

[Michael_Lambert]

and this.. did not fill it up al the way as i dont have the under tank plumbing down.. so no sump hooked up yet.

[Michael_Lambert]

A True reefer, Is happy with what he has!!! YEAAAA RIGHT, Who ever said that is sniffing the Skimate! :)

But a true reefer will capitalize on with what he has, and will have to make due with what he can !

So this is what you get when you rush things, and dont think straight!

you end up blowing a months pay on a new aquarium, Wood to build the stand and canopy, Lights, Live rock some sand.. AND Totally forget that it needs SALT! :)

So i ditched the sand, only bought 1 50 pound bag when i need 6-8 of them.. and decided to put the rest of the money into a 50 Gallon bag of salt. So i get it home add the salt to the empty tank and start filling her up letting it mix then test SG, Add some more then test.. so on and on.. To find out WOW! this 50G bag made a whole 8 inches of water :)

So this is what the tank is looking like now. Ofcourse i cant afford more salt for a month !!! But who cares right atleast i can now say that my tank is being of some good use, Will be housing live rock as i have tons now i need to get in there so it will be feeding my sand bed the whole 1/8 of an inch worth :) but its doing somthing and was thinking i might even go grab a damsel just to keep things moving in the tank :)

So here we go with some shots! .. Now ofcourse i just added the sand and made a mess.. :bigeek:



http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Day1_8inches_-med.jpg

As you can see in this shot.. its a mess but its comming along..

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Day1_water-in_-med.jpg

And then here the mess.. Im currently only running a single 40 watt 6,500k Normal output. Will be for the first few months just running NOS till i can get some money saved and get VHO, for now im going to be running 2x 10ks and 2x actinics and its going to be Fish only with a DSB and Live rock about 100 Pounds of it and there will be some shrooms and polyps stuck to the rocks so i will be placeing them higher up.

http://www.reefaquariumguide.com/photos/data/500/1169Day1_Fullshot_-med.jpg

My long term goal.. By May of next year, im going to be running 4x 48 Inch VHO ( 3x Actinic 1x 10k) as well as running 2x 250watt 10k halides.. Will have a total of i hope 200 pounds in the tank of live rock, Will have my 55 gallon sump and 33 gallon Refugium plumbed in. again.. it took me 2 weeks just to get water in this thing.. I have my 30 gallon reef to love for now, While this one grows slowly this time around ..

Atleast so i say now !


Let me know what you all think.

Thanks
Mike.

[Sohal Tang]

Whats that song Mike? YAAAAA YAAAAA "ARE WE HAVIN FUN YET"


Thats you Mike..your havin a ball setting up this new tank
aren't you!! hehehe

One thing is for sure when you get it filled the salt
will have had lots of time to mix properly! hehe

thats alot of tank you are handlin there mate....
You will be fine...take your time and enjoy this stage...
Wont be long you will have it up and running and
full of life....

I think it is neat all the pics you take of the various stages
so you can look back and laugh when it is completed.

Have fun...enjoy it....

Every time I curse cleaning the glass of algae my wife
says, "aahhhh Tim thats your hobby you love it right?"

I reply, "uhhhh ohhhh oh ya...thats right thanks I damn near forgot!! hehehehehe" as I quickly smile and begin to ENJOY
cleaning the glass...NEVER could I know that I hate that job hehehehe with the bucks this hobby costs ya just GOTTA SMILE....

:laugh: :roflmao: :D

[Michael_Lambert]

well decided to ditch the brown sand.. and picked up a couple of bags of Southdown sand.

So as we all know i bought this tank and goodies.. and forgot about salt, So what i have done is used up the salt i could afford and decided to put the sand in as much water as i could afford and some lights so that i could add the rocks to the tank that i had bought So they are all in now!

So here we go the tank is up and running, got 4 Normal output lights on it for now, 2 40watt 65k bulbs and 2x30 watt ( 1 actinic 1 10k)

Got 100 pounds of southdown sand in there, will add more when i can afford to buy more. and got in about 70 Gallons of water and 60 pounds of rock, got more in my tanks just this is what was in the buckets kicking around!

So here we go :)

This is a shot of just the cloudy tank, with the sand bed!
http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Newtank_cloudy_sandbedshot.jpg

Here is a full shot of the tank. nice coloration.. if i dont say so myself :)
http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Newtank_Fullshot.jpg

Again cloudy so its hard to see, Will post more as it clears up but here is a shot from above the tank of the rocks , On these rocks are a couple of mushrooms and some Zoos.. hopefully should do well under the NOS for now.
http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Newtank_topshot.jpg

So for now, Im just going to leave it.. running the lights and running a small 60GPH powerhead for water circulation. untill i can afford the salt that i need and the plumbing for the under tank plumbing.. this should be no more than 6 months.. :bigeek: but for now.. im thinking about just adding some Damsels for a while :)

[Michael_Lambert]

Gotta love when you lay the plastic before adding water.. Saves you a weeks worth of cloudy water!

So here are some updates you can see the rock better.. and i took a above shot of some of my polyps.

http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Newtank_Fullshot_cleared.jpg

and here is the polyps..


http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Newtank_Polyps_topshot.jpg

[Michael_Lambert]

So here are some of the hitchhikers that came in on the live rock that i added to the tank..

Orange dot Zoos.
http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Orange_dot_zoos.jpg

and then here, the zoos and the shroom !

http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Shroomzoos.jpg

[Michael_Lambert]

So Finally i got the incentive to hurry up and get this baby plumbed in, As you all know i did not budget right so i did not have salt.. Well THANK YOU Dany "Redsea" for the bucket of salt fronted to me :)

So here we go some updated shots, Just got it finally filled 12 mins ago ;) and running! as you can see in the pictures the overflow needs to be adjusted as the waterline is alittle low and i installed the returns slightly higher so there is some splashing NO halides on it yet so its good its adding the airation to the tank as im not running a skimmer!

So here is shot one, Of the tank

http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/NewTank_FULL.jpg

here is ashot of the hight of the overflow and the returns! I will get better clearer shots posted on my site so they will be clearer!
http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/FULLTANK_OVerflowreturns.jpg

My temp Sump, As im goign to be installing a 40 gallon Refugium and a custom 125 Sump in due time!

http://extremereef.com/ExtremeAlbums/album04/Rubbermaid_sump.jpg

[Sohal Tang]

Mike I have some more salt here if you need any...
you can have it!

Just keep that thing runnin will ya! heheh

Tim
:)

[Michael_Lambert]

well now that she is up and running, She will stay that way! :)

Just looking for a copper banded Butterfly... Got 200 pounds of live rock coveredwith Aptaisa! .. and want it cleaned up! .. So i will give her some time to run here then start my hunt for the Butterfly?

[Sohal Tang]

I cannot stand aptasia! I had it once in my tank and I stabbed it all till it never came back...but it was a hassle and I would rather
just NOT HAVE IT...but....ya...those coppers apparently love the stuff....I have never kept a copper...they are an interesting fish...mmmmmmmmmmmmm do they eat anything else other then aptasia?

Tim
:D

[Michael_Lambert]

i had a Copperband in my old 90G.. then sold it.. I have so far in the last 20 mins.. Half way across the tank counted about 160 of htem! .. TOOOO many to be injecting! :( Going to need FISH power!

[Sohal Tang]

so what were the habits of your copperband?
What did he eat? How easy to keep? HOw long did you have it?

What did you have it in with?

Tim
:cool:

[Michael_Lambert]

I had,

Copper banded butterfly, 2 inch Hippo tang, 2 clowns and a SCotter blennie..

The copper band was doing well at first eatting aptaisa and all the little feather dusters ( the annoying ones ) and ate all my Brown zoos ( Sucked)

but after about 6 months i noiticed it was starting to look slim.. and found out that it was becouse he was only eatting the brine shirmp witch i found out had no nutriential value.. So he was eatting just not somthing good for him! .. So i sold him to another reefer who had a 200G tank covered with aptaisa

[Sohal Tang]

do they eat nothing else but aptasia?

[Michael_Lambert]

in the natural world (ocean ) they eat polyps.. so they will eat the aptaisa and pick at corals.. so they are not really recommended as reef safe.. did not know that when i had him.. so i had bought him a nice $60 dollar dinner ( brown zoos)

Now again i seen him eatting Brine thought that was good.. but i guess not good eough..

So again, Like most fish.. they eat what is natrual to them.. and anything eles like prepared foods its hit and miss.. i have seen one other that ate mysis.. but would not touch the aptaisa like it was intended to do..lol

[Sohal Tang]

ok..that must be why I have never kept one...
That one is out for me....
Thats ok...the Powder BLue is really the only larger fish I want in the tank anyways...If I was going with more fish I would have bought a bigger tank and first thing in would have been a


S O H A L T A N G !!!!

I love them best!

[Michael_Lambert]

Yea they are great fish .. they are great fish for fishonly tanks.. and its great.. so i will get one. put him in my large tank and move 90% of my rock into that tank and leave my corals in the 30g main tank this way he will clean the rocks.. then once they are all aptaisa clear! .. then i will give him to another hobbiest who is in need :)

[Red-Sea]

Toooloud, Tim will take the buterfly off you when your done & he may trade you with a scooter blenie...Ha Ha Ha...ROFLMAO:roflmao: :P :P :P

[Red-Sea]

Sorry forgot to say tank is looking good, keep up the good work & fill the baby up...:D

[Sohal Tang]

notta chance Red Sea..my scooter is eating EVERYTHING!! hahaha

Tim
hE EVEN took a bite of the crumbs from my toast this morning!
He does not like butter though...hehehe

:cheers: :roflmao:

[mgamelin]

I few peperment shrimp should take care of your aptaisia... I have personally had the honor of having to purchase a few over the years to do the same , and they worked every time..

Marc

[Michael_Lambert]

i have heard that, now in my 30G i have the same issue.. now these are BIG aptaisa... lol about 2 inches.. in size and i dumped in 8 shrimp.. and never seen them again..and i still see the aptasia multiplying :)

[afss]

Pepermint shrimp and other critters are typically only good for smaller aptasia.

Scott

[Dman]

Here's what I'm going to be doing regarding my aptasia.
All of my LR that is aptasia free is in one holding tank and it will go into my 187 first.
The rest of my LR, which is spread out all over my basement in different Rubbermaid containers, will be split into quarantine and holding tanks to be injected as required.
I figure the whole process should take me about 4 months. It’s a long time but it’s worth it to completely eradicate aptasia from my system.
Next will be the sump system. (Actually first) I have a 15, 40 and 50 gallon Rubbermaid containers setup as my sump system in the basement. They need to be emptied and sterilized with chlorine bleach before being brought back online.
Then there is the two 30’s and a 65 also running on the same pump (a 1/2HP Iwaki pressure pump that if it pumped any more water around my house it would be retarded) which also needs to be taken off line and sterilized.
The 30’s and 65 will probably go back online by themselves to reduce the possibility of transferring various diseases and infections between my main display tank and my broodstock (RIP).

Now for control procedures for those of us that don’t have the luxury of time and space there are positives and negatives that I have managed to glean for each one:

First the naturals:

Peppermint shrimp
Besides being an effective parasitic hunter, they usually only target the very smallest of the aptasia growths and if you’re really unlucky my move onto the fleshier LPS’s (personal experience resulting in the very first of many teardowns of my reef tank)

Copperbanded Butterflies (CBB’s)
Effective for control only of aptasia 90 percent of the time. Control only as they are unable to completely remove the entire aptasia stalk, leaving behind just enough for the little buggers to regenerate. I swear aptasia only needs a single cell to start reproducing again. (Personal anecdote as I have not run across any papers detailing the life and/or reproductive cycles of aptasia)
CBB’s also have a appetite for zooanthids such as button polyps and occasionally clam mantles

Foxface Butterflies
See CBB’s above

Now the user interdictions:

Note: User interdictions require direct access to the aptasia growths

Hyper-Kalkawasser and Vinegar injections
I haven’t tried Kalkawasser, as I don’t have any but have heard favourable reviews. Vinegar I have used with very good results and will continue to use this method, as it is very simple.
Both of these injection methods need to be closely monitored short term as overdoing either of these “medications” may upset the pH balance in your tanks’ water. And long term to ensure complete eradication of each individual aptasia stalk.

Boiling water and hypo-salinity
I remain skeptical of either method for the following reasons:
I don’t believe you can keep water hot enough, long enough to be truly effective
I think hypo-salinity does more harm to the other life on your live rock to be worth it. To me it’s like using a ¼ stick of dynamite to remove a small anthill out in the back yard.

HTH
Dman
:spin:

[afss]

Originally posted by Dman
To me it’s like using a ¼ stick of dynamite to remove a small anthill out in the back yard.

HTH
Dman
:spin:

Yeah, cause thats not something you would consider.. right? :D


I agree with what dman has said. The only thing i haven't personaly experienced is the shrimp attacking the lps. Having said that i have heard of others with similar experiences.

Personal experience is that vinegar by injection wors best. I have tried kalkwasser injections and they didn't seem to be as effective. JMO

Scott

[Dman]

Originally posted by afss


Yeah, cause thats not something you would consider.. right? :D


Scott

YA, us city folk, go figure.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

So here is a couple fo updates..

Nothing new just a above tank shot :)
http://aquariumpros.ca/photopost/data/500/246abovetank-med.jpg

[Michael_Lambert]

Forgot about the zoos :) im the tank are doing very very well!

will be fraggin them soon! .. so keep your eyes open for the post if you like them! :blob:

http://aquariumpros.ca/photopost/data/500/246Zoos-med.jpg

[Flatlander]

Just a note. I have never had an aptasia survive a kalk slurry injection.

[Dman]

Doug,
Thanks, Like I said, I've never tried, only 'casue I don't have any Kalk. Hopefully there will be more people out there to report their experiences.
Mike,
Nice zoo's, I love the orange buttons, very sweet.
Dman
:spin:

[Michael_Lambert]

Well here is a old canoy that i ran on my old 90g tank.. i cut off the back of it and stuck it on here..kinda gives it a better finished look.. atleast untill i get around to building a new one for it!

http://aquariumpros.ca/photopost/data/500/246canopy-med.jpg

[Michael_Lambert]

what no comments !

[Red-Sea]

Looks half decent now that has a hat.

[Michael_Lambert]

And working lights, thanks to the balast from DMAN :)

[Michael_Lambert]

Hate to say but this tank has been sold! .. due to issues i could not keep it running!