I'm Baaack :d

[Otter]

Ok I AM back it was hectic over there in the sandy wastes of bombing and rocket propelled foolishness (you can probably guess where I was) but I AM BACK.... and alive no less.. and I am going back again mid July and hope to be back for good in late August

but I decided to start this thread because... I have begun work on the 180 gallon of my ...dreams
step one involved drilling throught the floor to find out the carpet had been put directly over CERAMIC TILES.. among the dead one rather good drill bit!
after attacking the ceramic tiles onward to the subfloor and the discovery of something called sleepers( these are little boards put under the floor making 2 layers of plywood subflooring to dampen the sound!
AND FINALLY THE SUBFLOOR!
into the sub basement...
now in the sub basement lives the AQUA-C injector skimmer (loud bastard that he is) the biorocker( I hate it but the kiddies love the swish swish motion) the UV (in case $HI%!) and my favorite part of all the AUTO TOPOFF RO/DI (YUP you guys convinced me.)

Currently there is only sand in the tank).
no lights...
no decent return pump...
no algal filter (yes I am putting one in like they have at my alma mater (PENN STATE) )
AND NO SALT!

on the wish list...
a 100rlt iwaki...( I had to... the head including the 6 90 degree elbows comes to around 23 feet giving me barely enough for 1440 target GPH)
a 1/3 hp chiller...
3 400W MH's (maybe I'll just go with 14K but then again PC actinics would be a nice touch)
a wavemaker I spotted at the marinedepot.. it does this flushy thingie in and out breathing thing (I forget its name but it looks like a cereal box)
TONS AND TONS OF LR ( hopefully tonga branch and marshall island select stuff)
maybe some sea swirls for the output on the pump

Any suggestions and dream ideas lemme have it! The director of my company is "keeping my baby at his place and I get to visit it pretty much whenever (I almost live there when I am in Chicago) and HE GETS TO PAY FOR IT ALL the goal is damn near self maintaining tank and now with the drilling into the basement.. LOADS AND LOADS OF ROOM and no worries about ruining the noise in his entertainment center!

then by the time I get back it should be all cycled and WOOO HOOO GIMME GIMME GIMME in the coral and clam department.
pictures by the weekend hopefully!

added Aqua-C (it has a Mag 7 on it)

[mkpaulson]

Welcome home!and thank you for your service to our country glad to hear that you made a home safe, and good luck with your new project keep us posted with some pics

[bonerfortuna]

Forget about reefing for a minute, Thanks for serving this wonderful country and welcome home.

[Travis]

Glad to see you back, I'm with bonerfortuna on this one.

Welcome home!

Travis

[wooddood]

first off welcome home. and a big thanks for serving our great country we appreciate it more then you know. i have a few friends that were just deployed overseas and my thoughts are with them and all the service men and women serving this great country our hats off to all of them. again welcome home and good luck on the new project.




dave.

[Witfull]

im glad your home from the sandbox and safe and sound...i gotta jet ro work but read about your project when i come home....welcome home and thanks.

[Curtswearing]

Welcome home and thanks for your service. I'm looking forward to seeing the tank.

[Otter]

FORGET ABOUT REEFING are you guys NUTS?!?!? That saltwater blue is great to dream about when you are stuck in the sand! Drove my buddies nuts... oh there seems to be a bit of a mix up I am a CIVILIAN but I do work over there for the Hospitals of Iraq... along those lines... Can you believe we had an INDONESIAN come into the ER after being injured? We couldn't find him an interpreter! all the doctor could say was WHAT IN THE HELL ARE YOU DOING IN BAGHDAD?!?! Go back to where you came from! LOL
My being diabetic stopped the whole service part for me so I figured I'd help win hearts and minds another way
anyhoo... Anybody know anything about that wave2K wavemaker?
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_...2k.asp?CartId=
I figure it would be really neat in the middle of the tank. I was hoping to put in a bunch of plastic chopping board to keep the rock stable and the sand away from the blast zone as the water gets shot off of the rocks.

That... and... what about salt? I have heard oceanic is as bad as the great IO debate on batch errors. I am completely worried because now I have a system where I mix up 50 gallons at a time for 20 gallon water changes over the week. This tank is gonna have clams and sps and lps OH MY!

I have missed out on sooo much info and need an update in the cliff notes version.

[Craig Manoukian]

Originally posted by Otter
oh there seems to be a bit of a mix up I am a CIVILIAN but I do work over there for the Hospitals of Iraq... so I figured I'd help win hearts and minds another way

Uh don't minmize your cotribution! Thsnk you all the same!

[EdgeKrusher]

I just switched to Oceanic. I'm actually very pleased with the consitency I've received. I do a weekly water change, and have done 5 of them using the Oceanic salt. This is JMODFO.
Glad to have you back in one peice!

[JeepersReefers]

Originally posted by Otter

anyhoo... Anybody know anything about that wave2K wavemaker?
http://www.marinedepot.com/aquarium_...2k.asp?CartId=
I figure it would be really neat in the middle of the tank.

Welcome back from the giant cat litter box.

That was what i thought too... I ordered one and it was nothing like it looked in the picture. It is powered off a hang on a back motor driven by a drive belt. The belt needs to have the tension just right or the thing is extremely noise. I never cluld use it because my tank has too big of a lip around the top, therefore i could not stick to the back with the supplied suction cups. Its a good idea but it needs some desigin improvements before i would buy one again.

[Otter]

Karma to ya Jeepers and Edge ! So I guess it's gonna end up being sea swirls and tuberelles...hmmm with a T or wye connector it is gonna make a LOT of water friction!.

[Maxx]

ver thought about one of these?
Or maybe the new tunze streams?
Here is a link to their new products for 2004. Its a PDF file, but check out the wave box....very interesting, and I've heard nothing but great things about the streams.
HTH,
Nick

[Otter]

Karma Maxx whaja think of the tunze wavebox? is that thing wild or WHAT?!?!

[Maxx]

Yeah, the wave box is pretty hip, I just worry about the rocking water possibly adding stress to the seams of the tank. Might be neglible and I could be paranoid...but my first thought was to wonder if Tunze was willing to fix the damage caused by a tank seam giving way after a couple of years of using the wavebox. I actually bought the OM 4 way unit. I just havent had a chance to get it plumbed up yet. When I do, expect a full report on it.
Nick