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jlanger's Reef Build: Episode II - The 120gal Strikes Back (1 Viewer)

Epic intro! Haha. Very interested to see what you think of the substrate. Really nice look.
 
Following along. I'd love to see pics of your machine for cutting the acrylic. Also, are you only using one light on your ATS?
 
Gary said:
Following along. I'd love to see pics of your machine for cutting the acrylic. Also, are you only using one light on your ATS?
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This is the updated model of my ATS, so this one has two LEDs.
Here's how I cut my acrylic, polycarbonate and wood products; AndersonAmerica CNC router, 5'x10' vacuum table and 8-tool carousel.

36715196_930241530496805_683338548153155584_n.jpg



Leicester56 said:
Also, you do realize that we expect Star Wars themed names for all your fish and at least one good chunk of Jedi Mind trick Monti!
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Well... we can count on there not being any names for the fish; I don't name them.
There's a very good chance of a Jedi Mind Trick monti, though.

RSnodgrass said:
Best thing with your rock... other then looking awesome... is the canyon. Visually cool but also highly functional. Have you ever put up temporary walls with egg crate for a day or two to separate late additions?
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The tall canyon disappeared when the "smaller" rock was flipped down, but there's still a gap running between the two rocks.
I've never used a divider to separate a new addition. When I added the pintail wrasses, they spent a few hours in an acclimation box before being released; more for my worries than residential aggression.
 
Jason

A pair of your angels were on LA

I want that flame wrasse, but don’t like that price
 
H2OHOH said:
Jason

A pair of your angels were on LA

I want that flame wrasse, but don’t like that price
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I saw those and the wrasse.
I'll just have to see if they still have a pair of the angelfish when it comes time for the open house.
This was the second or third flame wrasse that they've listed over the past few weeks. I also noticed the huge uptick in price since the events surrounding collection in Hawaii. And it looks like someone didn't have an issue with the price.
 
Looks great! What's on the fish list? I know you mentioned a few choice fish in the past.
 
OldNemo said:
Looks great! What's on the fish list? I know you mentioned a few choice fish in the past.
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Thanks!

The fish list really hasn't changed much lately;
  • Harlequin Tuskfish
  • Japanese Masked Swallowtail Angelfish (pair/trio)
If I decide to add more fish, it will depend on the need (a tang or rabbitfish for algae control) or impulse (fairy wrasse or something exciting).
I would really like to stay with the plan of just the few fish, but we all know that plans like that are going to be broken sooner or later.

If... if I added more fish, these fishes have been on a short list;
Lineatus Fairy Wrasse
Rose Banded Fairy Wrasse
Bella Gobies (pair)
 
Ready for your corals yet? :)
 
jlanger said:
Should be soon :D; and I'll take some algae if you've enough to harvest.
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I need to clean the screen this weekend, so I can save you some if you need it already, or I can get you some later.
 
Fross said:
What are you using for a feed pump for the Calc reactor?
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I have a Kamoer peristaltic dosing pump to use with the calcium reactor. It’s not the newest model, but the previous one so I’m contemplating on buying the newest one; I think the size of the unit will fit better with my other components.
 
I thought I got a killer deal getting a new reactor for $100. I did not realize I was going to have to pay another $650 for a pump to run the thing :(
 
Fross said:
I thought I got a killer deal getting a new reactor for $100. I did not realize I was going to have to pay another $650 for a pump to run the thing :(
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That’s how they get you.
The pump and the CO2 regulator are definitely an investment.
 
A quick update before this weekend.

Since adding the rock and substrate, the system has been purring along nicely for the past few of weeks. Shortly after the aquascape was installed, I added a bottle of Dr. Tim's One & Only bacteria and fed the system with the slurry left over from thawing out my frozen foods for the other tank. The weekend of the Fall Expo, I won one of the Reef Nutrition live foods packs, so I dumped the entire bottle of Tigger Pods into the display. I also picked up a small selection of snails and hermits for the first CUC . In addition to those inverts, I ended up buying three coral frags (and Nox donated a fourth) to test the water cycle. And with my experience, I purchased three montipora frags; undata, Nauti Spiral and spongodes. If I cannot keep those alive, the system isn't ready. So far, everything is going as expected.
And as expected, this week was the arrival of the diatoms. The light brown algae started showing up early this week and now it is in full bloom. And as expected, the trochus snails are not faring very well during the bloom.
In addition to the first livestock additions, I just picked up some algae to seed my ATS; thanks, Tim @zoolan70 . The skimmer has been running since the initial start up, but I left the ATS offline until now. There's not really much of anything for the ATS to consume, but since I anticipate adding a fish or two or three this weekend, I thought it was about time to implement the scrubber.

I have a few small projects left to complete before the system is "fully operational"; calcium reactor, ATO reservoir and cable/cord management. I also need to fix or replace my ReefLink for communicating with my Radion fixtures. It was working just fine when the old system was torn down but when re-installed, it's not doing anything. It won't update firmware. It won't factory reset. In fact, when hooked up to my computer, the serial number is all zeros and no communication is present. I've reached out to Ecotech without making any progress.

Hopefully I'm able to find "the fish that I'm looking for" this weekend.
 
jlanger said:
A quick update before this weekend.

Since adding the rock and substrate, the system has been purring along nicely for the past few of weeks. Shortly after the aquascape was installed, I added a bottle of Dr. Tim's One & Only bacteria and fed the system with the slurry left over from thawing out my frozen foods for the other tank. The weekend of the Fall Expo, I won one of the Reef Nutrition live foods packs, so I dumped the entire bottle of Tigger Pods into the display. I also picked up a small selection of snails and hermits for the first CUC . In addition to those inverts, I ended up buying three coral frags (and Nox donated a fourth) to test the water cycle. And with my experience, I purchased three montipora frags; undata, Nauti Spiral and spongodes. If I cannot keep those alive, the system isn't ready. So far, everything is going as expected.
And as expected, this week was the arrival of the diatoms. The light brown algae started showing up early this week and now it is in full bloom. And as expected, the trochus snails are not faring very well during the bloom.
In addition to the first livestock additions, I just picked up some algae to seed my ATS; thanks, Tim @zoolan70 . The skimmer has been running since the initial start up, but I left the ATS offline until now. There's not really much of anything for the ATS to consume, but since I anticipate adding a fish or two or three this weekend, I thought it was about time to implement the scrubber.

I have a few small projects left to complete before the system is "fully operational"; calcium reactor, ATO reservoir and cable/cord management. I also need to fix or replace my ReefLink for communicating with my Radion fixtures. It was working just fine when the old system was torn down but when re-installed, it's not doing anything. It won't update firmware. It won't factory reset. In fact, when hooked up to my computer, the serial number is all zeros and no communication is present. I've reached out to Ecotech without making any progress.

Hopefully I'm able to find "the fish that I'm looking for" this weekend.
Click to expand...
Double Rainbow Fairy Wrasse? Often confused as a possible triple rainbow (o;
 
jlanger said:
Hopefully I'm able to find "the fish that I'm looking for" this weekend.
Click to expand...

I saw harlequin tusks; too big.
I saw masked angels; already sold.
The 120gal stays status quo.
 
I tuned in today to see what you brought back. I admire your patience. I am sure I would have talked myself into something to bring home even if they didn’t have what I came for.
 
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