Lagoon-Backreef Setup

[KimPossible]

Yeah!!! I'm dealing with that too.... keeping them healthy.
Very Nice!
You had um before so you know what your up against.... good!
I had some cats named...frodo, bilbo...gandalf...but that was before the movie
Just the books

[forestal]

yeah, my swiftia went kaput, but was doing well, more from frequent moves, now that my tanks are more settled i may try again, i find them easier than the diodo's, although i had one growing until a tank crash

my kids named the horses, but i have always been a fan of the books

[Sharkbait]

Must say I like your set up(s).Are they all in line or seperate filtration for reef vs swim?

[forestal]

all in line, each tank is plumbed seperately in ghetto fashion to the sump with set of gate valve so if level gets too low, starts sucking air

thanks for positive comments

[Woodstock]

Looking good!!

Dan, what is that beautiful bright orange coral in the background of the horsey photo?

[forestal]

Doni,
thanks, the orange coral in my past seahorse tank(no longer) is swiftia exserta, nonphoto gorgonian

[Woodstock]

Were you successful keeping it alive? If so, how did you feed it?

[forestal]

i had it growing extremely slowly for about a year, fed it cyclopeeze, which it and the diodogorgia's seemed to love, plus in a well established tank lots of stuff floatin around

[jhnrb]

good pics. very nice projects. good luck on the ponies. I havent keep them since 1982. really miss em. fun project.

[forestal]

Hi all,
to update, tanksare doing well, without problems, corals are growing in, anemones continue to do well, fishes are happy. I got a copperbanded butterfly who eats flake and frozen mysis and he is doing well (i think he is starting to munch my aiptasia )

today we had a thunderstorm, big deal right, well, my street only went dead(must have zapped a line)
I figure, ok, i got my battery and inverter, and hooked up the pumps to keep water flowing in the tanks (ran out of juice in 4 hours ) luckily power back on in 6, and everyone looks well

anyway i am thinking of downsizing, because if disaster strikes it is a bigger disaster and i don't have the cash to buy a good generator ; and luckily i was home, i really don't have the cash to have an auto setup.
the good news is the tanks are in the basement, so even tho me and the family melted, the tanks temp were ok....the bad news, is the tank is in the basement (only place with room for big setup), so i don't spend as much time down there as i would like, especially since humidity is killer , and i am not enjoying the tank as much.

life is busy with work and young kids... I am thinking of getting a tank big enough to house most of my guysos, get rid of some rock, and the 2 big tanks, and put the new tank upstairs so i can sit and watch it for hours.

this won't be a sudden change, want to get a tank with setup/canopy and all to house the equipment i want (skimmer/sump) in a tank ideally <4 feet long, but with lots of depth... so i may see if i can fit my 120 cube upstairs..

after all the rambling, i guess just looking for ideas....i feel bad my guys aren't gettng the attention they need

[forestal]

I will be ordering a 150-180 from IAP, so it can go upstairs, but still be plenty of room and not much of a jump in size . right now the 120 cube is just sitting there, with seagrass and sand and rock and snails.

I will be using the same livestock (minuse the horses) so it will still be a indopacific back reef/laggon setup (all in one tank)

[forestal]

got a deal on a 120 with dual corner overflows and canopy from the LFS, moved the 150 contents into here, and i am so happy, i now can spend hours in front of the tank...all fish and corals did well with the move...i found a seafan i lost 6 months ago, and it is thriving, discovered my whitish bta the clowns are hosting in was a momma too.

let me just say my wife is the greatest, she has already admitted after 2 days of setup that she is addicted to the tank, and wants to buy anothr smaller tank for the seahorses so we can watch them too, rather than be downstairs...quite a wonderful lady
Lighting: pfo 2x250w MH 10K bulbs, 2x55 watt pc actinics; small pc over sump


Sump: dual overflows into a tidepool (bigger one) will be putting carbon into the trays; has macro algae and ~45#LR - sidenote- i should be getting the MRC sump 18x18x36 i am so psyched (it won't fit-this was my blunder of the project-i always have one), but will use it for frag or seahorse tank.

Liverock is ~150# from Fiji, 3" sand bed to be seeded next week from IPSF and Bill's reef, not from the 150 since i haven't maintained the sand bed as i should have

skimmer is a used MRC-1 working overtime, but producing little, which makes me happy

plan on adding phosban reactor and uv when i get the energy (prob. after MACNA)

plan for some sort of closed loop, pic of the manifold i had planned, but it won't work the way the lighting and canopy fit, so i will have to fiddle a bit with it and i am pooped from moving all the stuff.


did better on electrical this time too:

best shot of the setup so far from the back: skimmer will be hiding behind a plant -



arrows pointing to frags from Eric Borneman's tile saw demo at IMAC - foreground is a wafer, now covering the plug of stylophora or pocillopora; background is a faviid with feeding tentacles extended, all heads sliced through on fragging have healed, and it has grown down over the outer edges almost 2cm

[img][/img]

[Witfull]

looks great,,,,

if you begin to have any heat issues get a small fan and have it blow onto the ballast box,,,i know that model and they do get quite warm. and in the winter,,,keep an eye on temp also,,,,windows let more cold in than walls do,,,,but id love to sit there and watch the tank with snow falling in the background,,,what a contrast~~~

[forestal]

Thanks Witful, yeah, with the canopy top on , temp has gone up to 82, i prob will get a fan for underneath as well...

you know whats cool (i didn't plan this either), from outside on front step, you can see this just as crystal clear, so i have all 4 sides viewable, i am so happy with it....

[Witfull]

when i lived in the city, my 125 was across from a bay window, and you had a great view of the tank from the sidewalk, it took time to get used to having people stopped and looking inside at the tank, finally had to keep the shades closed all the time. upstairs i was breeding Madagascar Day Geckos (the geico gecko) as well as Jackson and Veiled chameleons. they police showed up,,,they thought i was growin marajuana~~~they came in,,,we put on a pot of coffee,,,they were there for almost an hour getting the full tour~ after that,,,when ever they busted someone and there was an exotic animal that needed a to be taken,,,(the local ASPCA only took real animals,,lol) i was the one to get it,,,i got snakes and lizards and even a Bat once!!

so what i guess im saying is you and your guests will be welcomed at the door by a warm and inviting view