jlanger's 120gal Arts and Crafts Inspired Reef Build (1 Viewer)
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
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Absolutely!
I really, really like the lower profile the Vortechs have inside the tank.
The broad flow that the pumps produce creates a great undertow for keeping food and detritus from settling on the sand bed. And you don't really have to have the powerhead pointed at a specific location to eliminate dead spots.
And having the pumps wirelessly synched with the others is a great benefit.
If I want to change the strength of flow or mode of the pumps, I just have to use the master pump. A simple turn of a dial or push of a button.
The only reason I have the two MP10's on the 120gal system is because I already owned them. Why keep them in a box when I can use them?
BRS will have weekly specials, and sometimes it is the Bonus Rewards Points on randomly selected products.
The big sales usually coincide with the major national holidays.
I usually will save money and rewards points for Black Friday; their biggest sale of the year.
I even waited for Black Friday to get my second MP40; with the rebate from Ecotech. Still waiting for that...
Thanks, I think that might be the next thing I save up for these koralia a are driving me crazy, do you have to worry about the mp40s blowing around the sandbed? Is there a lot of tuning them in that you have to so or is it basicly put them in the spot on the side and let them do their thing
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Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
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Any pump creating flow can move the sand around.
I recommend starting the pumps on the Constant Speed Mode to find the maximum flow you want to have before sand starts to blow around.
Once you know the maximum flow you can handle, change the pump to which ever pre-set mode you prefer.
I notice that I do have bursts of flow that will move some of the top layers of sand.
But this is large part to the two pistol shrimps creating dunes of loose sand that need to be leveled out by the flow.
And I periodically change modes.
I like using the Nutrient Transport Mode for a couple of hours before I do a water change and sump maintenance.
My mode of choice is the Tidal Swell Mode.
I like your fish photo roster! Your torts are looking great.
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
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Thanks.
Here's a couple of pics showing the torts a little bit better.
I call this my rock my "SPS Slope" as most of the frags are mounted on the vertical plane.
The Miyagi Tort (on top) is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
I picked it up from LowersMyBP at the fall frag swap.
The colors are very bold and it is starting to grow multiple new branches.
The Blue Tort (in front of Miyagi) has the most amazing deep blue color with purple polyps.
This coral is a much slower grower, but it has begun to show improved growth the last month or so.
I should just take pics of the individual corals for a coral roster.
Here's a couple of pics showing the torts a little bit better.
I call this my rock my "SPS Slope" as most of the frags are mounted on the vertical plane.
The Miyagi Tort (on top) is quickly becoming a favorite of mine.
I picked it up from LowersMyBP at the fall frag swap.
The colors are very bold and it is starting to grow multiple new branches.
The Blue Tort (in front of Miyagi) has the most amazing deep blue color with purple polyps.
This coral is a much slower grower, but it has begun to show improved growth the last month or so.
I should just take pics of the individual corals for a coral roster.
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Looking great!
IIRC LowersMyBP picked up the Myiagi from me when I was shutting my tank down a couple years ago, and I agree....it is a really cool coral.
IIRC LowersMyBP picked up the Myiagi from me when I was shutting my tank down a couple years ago, and I agree....it is a really cool coral.
Bob1
Senior Member
Simply Wow, That is one great looking tank!
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
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A Huge Kick in the Nuts and a Huge Thanks
Wednesday night I was doing some daily maintenance on my system; simple things.
For a while now I have noticed that one of the Royal Blue Aux Modules on my Vertex LED fixture doesn't light up everyday.
Since I had an hour or so of free time I decided to fix the loose module. Should only take about 15 minutes to do.
WHAM!!!!
"Life" must have decided I had things too easy and kicked me square in the nuts!
As I was taking the fixture out of my canopy, the light hit the canopy and was knocked out of my hand.
SPLASH!! The fixture fell right into my tank.
I instantly grabbed the light and raised it out of the water and moved it away from the tank.
The fixture was full of water that must have entered from the cooling fans. A few of the modules had already stopped working and I could smell that aroma of cooking electrical parts.
Needless to say, a few choice words were expressed. Words I never say at home, but did get the attention of my daughter who came running downstairs to find out what had happened.
All I could say was "This is very bad. Very bad."
After the initial rush of anger, the sickening pit of despair began to set in.
"What do I do now?"
I "drained" the fixture of excess water and let it drip dry for a while before I wiped it down with towels, rags and Q-Tips.
The light fixture was a mess. There was nothing to do now, but wait for it to completely dry the next day.
And what was I going to do for lights?
I had basically flushed over $2K down the drain.
I hopped on Facebook to call out to anyone if they had any suggestions or could help out in any way.
I was defeated. I went to bed early hoping for wake up and this was all a dream.
The next day, I called the Vertex customer support and explained my case and asked what I could do.
All of the electrical components were cooked; useless. Nothing to salvage but the drivers and the fixture base (heat sink).
The quote to fix the light was more than what I originally paid for the light new. It was a complete loss.
This sucks. It really sucks.
I checked my Facebook page and a few people responded; good people.
One of those was TCMAS member, ChristopherKriens. He had a set of lights he just replaced from his system sitting in a shipping box ready to go back to EcoTech.
After a couple of PMs, texts and calls with Chris and Jon at EcoTech, I drove over to Chris' place Thursday night and picked up the lights.
Today I was able to install the new lights and get them working.
The fish and corals were appreciative of getting the lights back on; not so for the pistol shrimp. They liked the dark and really made a mess of things on the sand bed.
I spoke with Jon and Alex at EcoTech about the lights and the programming, just to confirm that I should be okay to leave for the weekend and the lights will be just fine.
Six hours later, everything appears to be in the clear.
I have said it many times over the last 24 hours, but I cannot express enough gratitude to Chris and EcoTech for coming through in my time of need.
"Thank you!"
And if we have a "Member of the Year Award", I nominate Christopher Kriens.
I now have a decision to make. What lights do I buy now?
I think the choice is obvious.
As for my tank...
The light fell onto the top rock of the left side of the reef causing it to fall over.
A couple of the plating montipora spp. "fragged" themselves, but not too much.
The other corals that were affected snapped off at the glue bond of the mount and the rock, so no real damage there.
The one larger purple stag lost its main growing branch, but I was debating on cutting it back myself as it was growing close to the side glass.
All of the fish and inverts are fine; just extremely spooked for the duration of the blackout.
I was able to set everything back into place with a few new changes, but it looks good.
I think I got real lucky in this respect.
Thanks "life"; lesson learned.
Nothing is easy. Stay focused.
Wednesday night I was doing some daily maintenance on my system; simple things.
For a while now I have noticed that one of the Royal Blue Aux Modules on my Vertex LED fixture doesn't light up everyday.
Since I had an hour or so of free time I decided to fix the loose module. Should only take about 15 minutes to do.
WHAM!!!!
"Life" must have decided I had things too easy and kicked me square in the nuts!
As I was taking the fixture out of my canopy, the light hit the canopy and was knocked out of my hand.
SPLASH!! The fixture fell right into my tank.
I instantly grabbed the light and raised it out of the water and moved it away from the tank.
The fixture was full of water that must have entered from the cooling fans. A few of the modules had already stopped working and I could smell that aroma of cooking electrical parts.
Needless to say, a few choice words were expressed. Words I never say at home, but did get the attention of my daughter who came running downstairs to find out what had happened.
All I could say was "This is very bad. Very bad."
After the initial rush of anger, the sickening pit of despair began to set in.
"What do I do now?"
I "drained" the fixture of excess water and let it drip dry for a while before I wiped it down with towels, rags and Q-Tips.
The light fixture was a mess. There was nothing to do now, but wait for it to completely dry the next day.
And what was I going to do for lights?
I had basically flushed over $2K down the drain.
I hopped on Facebook to call out to anyone if they had any suggestions or could help out in any way.
I was defeated. I went to bed early hoping for wake up and this was all a dream.
The next day, I called the Vertex customer support and explained my case and asked what I could do.
All of the electrical components were cooked; useless. Nothing to salvage but the drivers and the fixture base (heat sink).
The quote to fix the light was more than what I originally paid for the light new. It was a complete loss.
This sucks. It really sucks.
I checked my Facebook page and a few people responded; good people.
One of those was TCMAS member, ChristopherKriens. He had a set of lights he just replaced from his system sitting in a shipping box ready to go back to EcoTech.
After a couple of PMs, texts and calls with Chris and Jon at EcoTech, I drove over to Chris' place Thursday night and picked up the lights.
Today I was able to install the new lights and get them working.
The fish and corals were appreciative of getting the lights back on; not so for the pistol shrimp. They liked the dark and really made a mess of things on the sand bed.
I spoke with Jon and Alex at EcoTech about the lights and the programming, just to confirm that I should be okay to leave for the weekend and the lights will be just fine.
Six hours later, everything appears to be in the clear.
I have said it many times over the last 24 hours, but I cannot express enough gratitude to Chris and EcoTech for coming through in my time of need.
"Thank you!"
And if we have a "Member of the Year Award", I nominate Christopher Kriens.
I now have a decision to make. What lights do I buy now?
I think the choice is obvious.
As for my tank...
The light fell onto the top rock of the left side of the reef causing it to fall over.
A couple of the plating montipora spp. "fragged" themselves, but not too much.
The other corals that were affected snapped off at the glue bond of the mount and the rock, so no real damage there.
The one larger purple stag lost its main growing branch, but I was debating on cutting it back myself as it was growing close to the side glass.
All of the fish and inverts are fine; just extremely spooked for the duration of the blackout.
I was able to set everything back into place with a few new changes, but it looks good.
I think I got real lucky in this respect.
Thanks "life"; lesson learned.
Nothing is easy. Stay focused.
wow...that sucks...sorry to hear about your adventure. And I echo your statement about truly great people being in this club. There are always people to help others in a time of need
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
Lifetime Member
Event Committee
Meeting Host 2020
Meeting Host 2021
Meeting Host 2022
I have asked if Vertex has a recycling program; either credit towards a new fixture or just because. It would be a shame just to throw it out.
I would think I could sell the drivers easily enough. The heat sink; possibly for a real aggressive DIY.
Wow that is awful. Sorry to hear. Good thing Chris and the Ecotech guys pulled through for you. The picture you took on the 5th is amazing. I'm glad this tank continues to live on.
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jlanger
@thatfishcookieguy
Lifetime Member
Event Committee
Meeting Host 2020
Meeting Host 2021
Meeting Host 2022
It's been a week now since I dropped my lighting fixture into the tank. Ugh!!
For the most part, the only REAL damage was to the checkbook and ego.
The fish are all okay. Although I wonder if the Kole Tang suffers from PTSD since he's a tad bit more skittish than usual since the crash.
The corals are doing great. I am now running two EcoTech Radions over the tank. I have the lighting program set to run the acclimation schedule so I don't shock and bleach out any of the corals. The corals haven't really shown any signs of distress due to the change in lighting. This is good. Really good.
Here's a FTS shot of the 120gal under the two Radions.
Other than the slight shadowing in the center, the Radions colors look very similar to the Vertex I was running; even the graphs are eerily similar.
Here's a couple of more pics from today.
Another view (top down) of the reef slope.
I am so thankful that this section was not damaged by the crash.
I spent a little bit of time trimming the birds nest coral away from the Miyagi Tort; getting close to touching.
And I mounted the broken frag of purple stag into the middle of the mix.
Close up of the Blue Tort.
Close up of the Hawkins Echinata.
And I finally added a clam after I lost all of them from the GFO contamination.
I tried to get a pic (I did get some), but the female clown had to get her shot taken. And I liked it better.
What could have been a devastating blow to my passion for this hobby, turned into a lesson that I'll always have on my mind when doing maintenance.
STAY FOCUSED!!!
Now I can enjoy my trip over to Rhinelander and hopefully bring home some nice pieces to fill in some of the gaps. And maybe that one last fish that will be added... Blue Dot Jawfish or African Midas Blenny???
For the most part, the only REAL damage was to the checkbook and ego.
The fish are all okay. Although I wonder if the Kole Tang suffers from PTSD since he's a tad bit more skittish than usual since the crash.
The corals are doing great. I am now running two EcoTech Radions over the tank. I have the lighting program set to run the acclimation schedule so I don't shock and bleach out any of the corals. The corals haven't really shown any signs of distress due to the change in lighting. This is good. Really good.
Here's a FTS shot of the 120gal under the two Radions.
Other than the slight shadowing in the center, the Radions colors look very similar to the Vertex I was running; even the graphs are eerily similar.
Here's a couple of more pics from today.
Another view (top down) of the reef slope.
I am so thankful that this section was not damaged by the crash.
I spent a little bit of time trimming the birds nest coral away from the Miyagi Tort; getting close to touching.
And I mounted the broken frag of purple stag into the middle of the mix.
Close up of the Blue Tort.
Close up of the Hawkins Echinata.
And I finally added a clam after I lost all of them from the GFO contamination.
I tried to get a pic (I did get some), but the female clown had to get her shot taken. And I liked it better.
What could have been a devastating blow to my passion for this hobby, turned into a lesson that I'll always have on my mind when doing maintenance.
STAY FOCUSED!!!
Now I can enjoy my trip over to Rhinelander and hopefully bring home some nice pieces to fill in some of the gaps. And maybe that one last fish that will be added... Blue Dot Jawfish or African Midas Blenny???
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Kepler
Former: Koletang
That Hawkins looks great!
Reefer Sutherland
Too Muddy...
great loooiking tank!
Very jealous of your corals growth and color!
Hey Jason, sorry to hear about the lights; but after letting it dry completely have your tried powering it up again? I have two DIY (yup still have them) that have taken a dip and still light up. this is mostly low voltage stuff and usually emitters/modules are coated to be water proof. I noticed that usually its the solders that give out - get corroded or lose contact.
I also have a full apex and a PM1 module that got a splash/dip and had the distinct burn smell, didnt work for 2 weeks. I set it out in the sun followed by a jar of rice. both worked for more than 8 months until I took the tank down. the only thing that is erratic is one of the variable speed ports because the pins are corroded. I may have gotten lucky but doesnt hurt to try.
Tank is looking just as good as always! btw after seeing your woodworking pics, I'm picking up some (more) skills in that dept - thanks for adding one more to the list
I also have a full apex and a PM1 module that got a splash/dip and had the distinct burn smell, didnt work for 2 weeks. I set it out in the sun followed by a jar of rice. both worked for more than 8 months until I took the tank down. the only thing that is erratic is one of the variable speed ports because the pins are corroded. I may have gotten lucky but doesnt hurt to try.
Tank is looking just as good as always! btw after seeing your woodworking pics, I'm picking up some (more) skills in that dept - thanks for adding one more to the list
Looking great! I would vote for the Midas as I have always wanted to get one of those. Just a cautionary note, I recently added two lyretail anthias to my system and within a couple of hours both had been killed by my Starry Blenny..... needless to say next time I will try to remove this blenny before getting any other fish or at least use a acclimation box to get the rest of the fish used to their new tank mates...food for thought.