Lots of pictures of the display (60g) and refugium (20L).

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Khemul

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Oct 14, 2010
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The finger/tree leather seems to be happy. It went through a little growth spurt. Then shed a little. Then had to be retrieved from the sand because apparently it detached from the piece of rock I had epoxied down. :swear: But it put on enough growth that I was able to stick it into a hole in the rock so when it expanded again it basically locked right in and appears to be content to stay there.


Not sure if it was a temperature change (tanked dropped down to 70 a week or so ago during one of the cold snaps) or if I had something spike with water quality but we lost the other condy. It started looking stressed (walking around more then usual) then rapidly over the course of a few days fell apart and died (maybe it had already died and the falling apart was rotting?). Nothing else seems bother by the short temperature change. Probably won't try anemones again for a while since I'm not entirely sure we have the right setup for them just yet. Maybe once the upgrade gets done and running stable.


Decided to take a chance at retrying an old failure in the tank. One of the local stores had Sea Hares (the Dolabella-type) for rather cheap. We tried on in the past and it died overnight. But now that I see this new one I think the previous one we had was lost before it even went in the tank. The earlier once felt like a ball of goo, sort of like an anemone. It immediately went into hiding when it went into the tank. The new one is is the complete opposite. Feels solid all around. It immediately went to the rocks and started eating. The only bad side is it has already overtaken the urchins for "biggest poo-er in the tank". :rofl:

Now in hindsight I think the problem with the first Sea Hare was that it was either starved or had expelled its organs (or both). The new one seems to be doing very nicely and has already made itself at home in the tank.



And so ends much in the way of updates for this thread. We have decided on the upgrade plan. The plan evolved quite a bit...150g drilled on craigslist...120XH on craigslist...120XH at Petsmart... but basically came down to the fiancee wasn't happy with a used tank or a PVC overflow (the urchins eat the paint and make it look horrible) so we'll be expanding the budget for the project and ordering a new 125g drilled tank (either AGA or Perfecto, not entirely sure yet but leaning towards Perfecto for the black silicone) and starting a build on it. Figure the setup itself is still 2-3 weeks away since we use natural sea water and the right tide for harvesting is coming up too soon to set up the tank without rushing it. But that just gives me more time to get the stand right.
 
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greech

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Wow, congrats on the pending upgrade! That is exactly what I want. Either a 6' 125 or a 5' 120.

Sea hares are eating machines!
 

RNeiswander

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Nov 27, 2010
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The black silicone sounds like a good idea, my 60 and 46 have it, and I'm thinking about resealing my 100 like that too. Looking forward to the upgrade!
 

Fishfriend1

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I can't wait to see the upgrade! Sucks that you lost the other condy... but nice pick up with the sea hare. I wish the urchins luck in the "who can poop the most" contest :)
 

Khemul

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Oct 14, 2010
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Okay, those of you with 40B saltwater tanks (and I know from the build threads that there are plenty of you :laugh:), how happy are you with the height of the tank?


Basically I've been trying to trim the budget on the upgrade (got a wedding to pay for end of the year :nilly:). I can spend over $500 :)nilly:) on the RR Perfecto 125g + setup or I can spend over $300 on a RR Deep Blue 80g Frag Tank + setup. Footprint wise they aren't drastically different (a bit over 10% advantage to the 125g) but height is a big difference. The 125g is 72" x 18" x 24". The 80g is 48" x 24" x 16". As far as I'm concerned anything over 20" is unused space (if only I could find a store capable of ordering a 100g 72" x 18" x 20" :irked:). So seeing as how this is basically the same height as a 40B...how happy are you 40B owners with the height?

I love shallow tanks for freshwater tanks. Just not sure how well they work for saltwater.
May have to consider getting a 40B for the new refugium (again, only about a bit over 10% advantage footprint wise to the 60g) also since it may look weird having a 5' moderate height tank under a 4' short tank. But even with the cost of buying one it'll still be much cheaper. I could always save some and steal the fiancee's 30B baby turtle tank and give her the 60 instead :evil_lol:.

I've got a few more stores to harass about the elusive 100g but for now these are the options.



And what would a post be without at least one picture...


Who says giant slugs can't be acrobatic (yes I know the glass needs cleaning...badly)?
 

greech

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How about a 125G?

http://www.aqueonproducts.com/products/standard-aquariums.htm

Personally, I want the 120! Big fan of 24" depth versus 18".

As for 40B dimensions, I can tell you now that if you are anywhere close to 6' tall you will want to build your stand to at least 33" (up to 36" might even be better).

Pros..
Easy to light
Easy to work in and clean
Dimensions allow aquascaping flexibility

Cons...
A bit too short to view comfortably while standing in front of the tank.
Not a lot of room up top which can be kind of a pain get the flow in the tank right.
 

Khemul

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Yeah, the AGA 125 is on the list, but it is only $50 less then the Perfecto and doesn't include the plumbing kits or black silicone so I'm pretty sure we'll order the Perfecto 125 if we go that route. I like the 120 but, strangely enough, drilled it is nearly a $100 more then the 125 :huh:.

I know one of the stores around here has a DB 80 in stock so guess I'll go this week to take a look at one in person.
The stand will end up being 30" or taller either way. If we go with the 125 it'll have to be 30" to fit the 60 w/ clearance to work with underneath. If we go with the 80 I'll definitely build it slightly higher, and maybe put the new refugium on a platform of its own to raise it up a bit.

It is next to the couch in the living room so viewing would be mostly from the side, but I do understand what you mean about the height thing (I'm just a tiny bit over 6' :laugh:). Powerhead placement is a small concern with the tank height, since it seems like the circulation pumps (at least the MJ Pro's) create a vortex if they get within a few inches of the surface.
 

greech

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Powerhead placement is a small concern with the tank height, since it seems like the circulation pumps (at least the MJ Pro's) create a vortex if they get within a few inches of the surface.
^That and there isn't much room for taller corals above the rock line where the flow can beat them up a bit too much. I am struggling to figure out what coral to put in the upper right corner of my tank where the tunze is. I had an acro there but once the coral grew up over the rock line the flow literally tore the flesh off the tips. It's not a crazy amount of flow either and I have a rock positioned to kind of deflect the flow. I may have to fit together some smaller rocks to deflect it a bit more.
 

Khemul

Sea Bunny
Oct 14, 2010
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Rock line height won't be a big concern. I'm planning to keep most the rock low this time and move a lot to the fuge.

But the Acro thing is exactly the type of experience I was looking for when I asked. I'm not planning on going SPS, but Euphyllia's can be just as bad (if not worse) in that regard when it comes to flow. Guess I could take out a MJ and test it out in the freshwater setup (40B). Just have to tell the silly FW fish "stay away!" (which will probably encourage them to investigate closer).


I definitely would be looking at Glass Cages, but I don't want to drive to Tampa to pick up my tank. :rofl:


Course right now it is all still hypothetical since the idea hasn't been passed around the house yet. Fiancee might still veto it.
 
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