Pictures - 800 gallon reef - 7+ years in operation

[digitallinx]

wow! those 1000 watters are huge...did you do all the electrical work yourself....very impressive and a beautiful reef as well as the basement room...i'm sure you received many requests in moving in, if there is any room left i'll take it...don't worry i don't eat much, just throw me a biscuit once in a while.....

[RedEyeReef]

Thank you for sharing, you system is unbelievible.

[PSEUDOREEFER]

... There is a God



...
...
without words... wow

[scbauer]

nope... no god... PhotoBucket decided to take away the power of god... I can't see any of the pictures

(I'm sure they'll be back up after the bandwidth allocation is back)

-Scott

[steve68]

yep i dont see anything that sucks !!!!

[partagas]

I did see and their is a heaven. Now I just have to remember what they thought me in Sunday School.

[hcrk]

Sorry folks, I just realized that photobucket has suspended my account for the rest of this month (5 days left).

I checked my account info and found out that I have had about 25,000 hits in this last week and that, in just one week, I have apparently exceeded my "photobucket bandwidth allocation for the entire month of May.

Frankly, until a few minutes ago, I had no idea that bandwidth would be a problem.

I have written the hosting service (photobucket) to see whether the account can be activated immediately. I am waiting for an answer.

As I suspect that I will run into this same problem in the future, I am considering alternative/supplementary hosting services.

Suggestions greatly appreciated....

[gig]

you could always donate to them, maybe then they give you more leeway. check with them...

Otherwise, your ISP might give you some webspace you can use.

Of course you can always post them in your personal space here at reefcentral. That's what I do.

[slapshot]

Well at 25k hits you tell them to run ads on your pix and put them back up. Darn, I want to see those. Maybe they could cut you in on the ad fees.

[Oscar19]

Anyone knows when the pics are going to be up

[reeftechie]

Send me the Pics Ill host them for you until the end of the month, I have 10 GB a month of bandwidth.

thanks,
RT

[Jow13]

Once you get your photos back up and running. Could we see some close ups of the BAR?

Man do you have a lot of tangs, amazing.


Cheers

[LHHFMF]

You can right click the Photobucket banner, go to properties and copying the URL information into a new browser window and the pictures will come up.

[slapshot]

LHHF - You-the-man

[slapshot]

LHHF - You-the-man

[Carl_in_Florida]

Unless you plan to get a website or pay for more bandwidth, I would resize your photos. You could cut them in half and make them 72 dpi and you would save lots of bandwidth.

[gumbybc]

hcrk, what kind of flake food do you use?

[reeftechie]

Looks like a few Wyland’s? I have 7 of them, He is wonderful. If it’s not Wyland I would be surprised. He is such a talent, I met him a few years back and all I can say is I will never own enough of his work.



RT

[RedEyeReef]

Originally posted by gumbybc
hcrk, what kind of flake food do you use?

Yes, what type of Flake food?

[hcrk]

THANK-YOU LHHF !!
for the hint as to how to access the pictures while I deal with the issue of "Bandwidth allocation - (2 e'mails to photobucket so far and no-one has gotten back to me yet).

I have, also noticed that, if you follow LHHF's directions:
ie.
"You can right click the Photobucket banner, go to properties and copying the URL information"
but paste it into the SAME window that contains the ReefCentral post that you are looking at, then,

- hit return (to bring up the picture); and then,
- hit your "back button"

the picture then appears together with the relevant text in the original post.

[reeftechie]

hcrk are those Wylands?

[brad_dolick]

what an exceptional tank. i can see the pictures now whereas before i got a bandwidth message. u must have fixed it.

[Phantom Phish]

I see the pictures fine, and have been able to see them since they were first posted. Don't know why...

[hcrk]

.....
......

First of all, I should like to confirm that I was able to communicate with "photobucket" late yesterday evening and that my bandwidth has now apparently been reinstated.


......
......

and now to your questions....

Originally posted by Travis
Could you please describe this flake food more? It sounds intriguing. [/B]

I have been using a product called "Omega One" (both marine flakes and vegetable flakes) for quite some time now. The container indicates that it is produced in Sitska, Alaska and has a crude protein content of 45% (marine flakes).
Briefly put, I think that it is an excellent food. The fish respond to it well and it doesn't appear to pollute the water in the way that most foods do.

Originally posted by jdsabin1
I also have some questions if you could find the time to answer them it would be greatly appreciated!
1) I would also like to know what you are feeding your fish (frozen and the flake) and how often you are feeding them.
2) What is your light cycle currently?
3) How often and how much are your water changes?
Thanks!

I have tried various kinds of foods over the years including many frozen food preparations. My main food right now are the two kinds of flakes referred to above.
I also put provide the fish with:
- 2 stalks of romaine lettuce every second day;
- pieces of that brown seaweed (I believe it is called Nori and is used in the preparation of Sushi)which I buy very inexpensively at a Chinese grocer).
Finally, when a new fish is introduced, I will add a frozen brine shrimp (Hakiri) to the flake.

Lighting schedule - a total of 8 hours in Stages:
- 1st hour 1,400 watts,
- 2nd hour an additional 1,400 watts (2,800 total);
- 3rd to 6th hours - another 1,400 watts (4,200 total);
- 7th hour 2,800 watts;
- 8th hour 1,400 watts.

I don't follow any precise schedule of water changes. I would estimate that I change a maximum of 5% (or 50 gallons a month.
I know this goes against the grain of expert opinion....but that is the simple truth.
Now, what I do do is make sure that all of the top up water is RO and reasonably pure.
Again, I am certainly not suggesting that anyone follow my lead and curtail or reduce their water change schedule. You have to remember:
- that my reef aquarium is a 1,000 gallon system (800 in the main aquarium and 200 gallons in the sump);
- that I have 2,000 lbs of live rock; and
- 500 lbs of coral sand.
What I suspect is that the rock and sand serve to buffer the system by leaching certain necessary substances into this enclosed environment

Originally posted by biodegraded
I would also be interested in how you physically work on a tank that large for placing new livestock, pruning or moving pieces, and the likes. I presume you have various kinds of poles, pincers and gaffs in addition to arm-length gloves? Do you have a platform that mounts over the top for you to lie upon over the water surface? Etc.

I really have very little difficulty working in the tank. I attribute this to careful planning and the overall design.
I will post pictures that illustrate just how much access I have.

Originally posted by Gujustud
Waiting for the behind the scene (skimmer, sump, etc) pictures.
By the looks of it, you've got a side door that goes behind the tank. How much room is back there? In the one picture, it only looks like you've got about 1' or so, unless you broken that wall behind it down.
Great job again! [/B]

Originally posted by RedEyeReef
Very nice.... how much room is between the wall and the back of the tank. In the pic the tank looks to be against the back wall? Also where and what type of skimmer are you using. Lights, what about the lights?
INCREDIBLE!

I hope to post more pictures soon.
In terms of access. I actually have 2 side doors (one on each side of the aquarium). There is also lots more access via "windows" an 8' hatch (at the front) and an elevated walkway (at the back).
The pictures that I intend to take and post will illustrate what I mean when I refer to "design" and "planning".

No, the tank isn't against the back wall. There is actually about 18" of clearance. I installed a hinged elevated walkway in this rear space (at the level of the top of the stand). This allows me excellent access as when I am on the walkway, the tank appears to me to be at floor level and 18" is more than enough when you are essentially referring to "leg room"
Again the pictures will help explain this feature.

Originally posted by digitallinx
wow! those 1000 watters are huge...did you do all the electrical work yourself....very impressive and a beautiful reef as well as the basement room...i'm sure you received many requests in moving in, if there is any room left i'll take it...don't worry i don't eat much, just throw me a biscuit once in a while.....

No I had a qualified electrician install the electrical work. I also paid someone to actually assemble the glass that makes up both the aquarium and the sump.
I did not feel comfortable with these two technical tasks and felt it would make more sense to entrust them to skilled professionals.
However, I did most of the rest of the work and all of the ongoing care and maintenance.

Originally posted by gig
LOL!
BTW, that dude in the orange sweatshirt, is that a Fighting Illini sweatshirt? Is that you?

No that's not me...that's the guy that I hired to assemble the tank and sump. I'm afraid that I don't know what was on his sweatshirt...

Originally posted by reeftechie
hcrk are those Wylands?

No, although I very much like Wyland (and have some of his prints), the artwork that you see in the picture of my basement entrance hall is by two artists: David C. Miller and Christian Lassen. Both live in Hawaii which is where we purchased the pieces.

Originally posted by Jow13
Once you get your photos back up and running. Could we see some close ups of the BAR?
Man do you have a lot of tangs, amazing.
Cheers

Amazing amount of interest in the "bar".
and yeah, I'll take and post a picture of the "bar" set-up




Thanks again for all of your positive comments about my tank, basement and, of course, "the bar"

.

[BigDaddy]

All I can say is, "DROOL."