Tswifty's Custom 40g Rimless Build Thread

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by kudora
wow you cant see any green on the BoP

Yeah... Boo that coral.

Originally posted by 2farNorth
The whole name thing can be good and bad.... good as in, you can find some good deals on 'no-name' corals that look great, but the bad thing is reselling price.... you get stuck with a huge mother, and a bunch of frags that no one wants cuz it doesn't have a name ..... I usually buy a coral for it's color and shape, before the name.....

I have one that reminds be alot of the 2nd one..... turns kinda rainbow looking under the right light.....

The guy who gave the first piece to me also gave me a piece of the Tyree Soli, and we had that discussion. I'm the same way. If a coral looks nice, I will add it... if not, I don't.

Some of that "branded" stuff sure is purdy though.

The second acro was the "white acro" I picked up a while ago. It started to morph to a blue/green under my 20k's, so I'm hoping under the 14k's that it transition back closer to the color it was when I picked it up.

Originally posted by IridescentLily
Wow, the first chalice pic looks like it'll be very nice looking. And that's a nice red chalice in the other pic, it's got loads of color.
Those clownfish's markings are so nice!

Cheers.

Thanks... it may just take YEARS to grow to the size of the frag plug.

I'm not sure about how many more "1 eyed" chalice frags I'm going to purchase. Even though growth rates can vary quite a bit... 1 eye is just so darn small to start out with regardless.

The clowns are growing on me. I have been looking for them for about a year, and really started going on an aggressive hunt for them over the past 4 - 6 months. While they aren't "perfect" I can't wait to see what they look like in a year or so once the black begins to fill in.

[OwNeD162]

Hey man, love the new clowns !
How are they holding up? They eating like they should?
All the other additions look really good too !

Also, you know how you said the white one started to go blue/green under the 20k... and your hoping the 14k will bring it back to the white it was... Does that mean if i run 14k it will lighten all the acro's i pick up?

Cheers,
Mitchell !

[2frosty4u]

Those are some awsome additions to your livestock collection Tj. WTG. I really like the markings on your new Clowns. At the rate you're acquiring new corals you'll have to upgrade to a larger tank in the next month or two just to give them room to grow and flourish....lol

[HumanIMDB]

Originally posted by Tswifty
The new guys

What kind of clowns are those? They look really neat!

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by OwNeD162
Hey man, love the new clowns !
How are they holding up? They eating like they should?
All the other additions look really good too !

Also, you know how you said the white one started to go blue/green under the 20k... and your hoping the 14k will bring it back to the white it was... Does that mean if i run 14k it will lighten all the acro's i pick up?

Cheers,
Mitchell !

Thanks... They are eating Spirulina Brine and Mysis Shrimp so far.

As far as the lighting goes... I can't really say that a coral will necessarily be "lighter" under a lower K spectrum vs. a higher K spectrum. However, the colors are known to change from spectrum to spectrum over time. 20k seems to be the spectrum that most people run to get the neon bright look to their corals... but there are a lot of other variables that effect the corals coloration as well... such as light intensity, water flow, nutrient levels, etc... (and that is just a few of the variables).

I borrowed a luxmeter and am going to try and do some PAR testing over the next few days with various pendant heights as well as the 20k bulb vs the 14k bulb.

Originally posted by 2frosty4u
Those are some awsome additions to your livestock collection Tj. WTG. I really like the markings on your new Clowns. At the rate you're acquiring new corals you'll have to upgrade to a larger tank in the next month or two just to give them room to grow and flourish....lol

Thanks. Yeah I have a lot of "filler" in there right now just to take up space. As I start to get a better representation of the corals color and growth pattern. I intend to swap some of my less appealing corals out for nicer ones.

Originally posted by HumanIMDB
What kind of clowns are those? They look really neat!

Thanks. They are ORA Grade A Picasso Clownfish.

[Tswifty]

Found some manual settings on the camera today, and started trying some things out:

[Tswifty]

[OwNeD162]

Originally posted by Tswifty
20k seems to be the spectrum that most people run to get the neon bright look to their corals...

Damn!
That's what I was going for too, that nice neon pop!
My light comes standard with DE 14K, so I might have to try it out, see how I like it, and when the time comes to replace the bulb just switch it out for a 20K...

[Tswifty]

Yeah I'm going back to 20k very soon.

[IridescentLily]

Originally posted by Tswifty

Thanks... it may just take YEARS to grow to the size of the frag plug.

I'm not sure about how many more "1 eyed" chalice frags I'm going to purchase. Even though growth rates can vary quite a bit... 1 eye is just so darn small to start out with regardless.

I forget how small they are initially. What is that green eyed one, about 1/4"? I love the eye color on that one. The other all red chalice frag looks massive comparatively. Can you imagine that red chalice grown out on the rock and the light hitting it? The color will be mind blowing.
Your new lfs looks great.
I look forward to the upcoming par measurements you posted about doing and I also look forward to the 20k bulb change and what that par will offer your corals.

[psteeleb]

wow Tj - you've picked up some nice stuff

[Padrino]

Originally posted by Tswifty

Tank looks great TJ!

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by IridescentLily
I forget how small they are initially. What is that green eyed one, about 1/4"? I love the eye color on that one. The other all red chalice frag looks massive comparatively. Can you imagine that red chalice grown out on the rock and the light hitting it? The color will be mind blowing.
Your new lfs looks great.
I look forward to the upcoming par measurements you posted about doing and I also look forward to the 20k bulb change and what that par will offer your corals.

Thanks, the one you are asking about is the Tubs Alien Eye. It's almost 1" in diameter now. While it's not growing at breakneck pace. It's definitely posted noticeable growth since purchase.

The red chalice came in a chalice frag pack that I picked up from www.thecaptivereef.com Each piece was well over 1"x1" with multiple eyes.

The lighting change is coming VERY soon. I'm fed up with the 14k, and the colors I'm getting out of the corals. The only reason I still have it on there, is so I can test the par later this week. I'm pretty sure I'm frying my corals at this point, and am going to need to elevate the light some more regardless of the spectrum.

Originally posted by psteeleb
wow Tj - you've picked up some nice stuff

Thanks Pete. Now I just need to get it all to color up and GROW!

The nice thing is that the Green Millepora Colony that I picked up from the Diver's Den still looks great. I did have a small bout with STN on a few corals, and lost a few... but luckily none of my new pieces were affected.

Originally posted by Padrino
Tank looks great TJ!

Thanks.

[Tswifty]

Time to get my spreadsheet started... a bit overdue... but better late than never.

[kudora]

are you thinking of replacing the cleaner shrimp then swift?
i know they can be a pain with lps but i see mine cleaning the tangs all the time, if it wasnt for that i would have settled for some neon gobies.

[melev]

All caught up. Took me about 20 pages to get the full update...

The blue chalice is awesome. Never seen one before, and love it.

Your calcium reactor - glad my page helped. Did you get the solenoid problem fixed?

The cover - you made one, but most of your pictures don't include it. Are you taking it off for us, or did you abandon it? That being said, your tank is looking great.

Sorry about the losses - you've had quite a few new arrivals die.

I like your light hanger, but I would trim the excess too. The plastic clips are probably fine, buuut I would use metal ones because you don't want that pendant falling.

The new switch holder is nice. Are you going to attach it to the sump with Super Glue?

Picasso Clowns - I almost always don't like the ones I see, but your pair look pretty and healthy.

Did you get all of that flatworm out of your system?

The basement sink -

[OwNeD162]

When you run 20K TJ, you still run actinic don't you?
What wavelength actinic's do you run?

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by kudora
are you thinking of replacing the cleaner shrimp then swift?
i know they can be a pain with lps but i see mine cleaning the tangs all the time, if it wasnt for that i would have settled for some neon gobies.

I was going to, but since I decided to go the route of Acans... I'm not going to be adding them. The ones I had in my 90g were terrible when it came to spot feeding. They would even reach into my Open Brain coral's mouth and steal food.

I have some SWEET acans coming soon.

Originally posted by melev
All caught up. Took me about 20 pages to get the full update...

Glad to see you're still around Marc. I'm guessing your recovery has been going well?

Also, I hate to guesstimate again... but it looks like I could be in Texas in a few weeks, now that the tank is up, running, and seems to be stabilizing.

Originally posted by melev
The blue chalice is awesome. Never seen one before, and love it.

Thanks. I accidentally fragged the heck out of it the other day when I was working in the tank though. It's extremely brittle... probably even more so than a Monti Cap, so I always need to use caution around it. However, the sucker grows like a weed. So I'll be interested to see how long it takes to grow back the portion I knocked off.

Originally posted by melev
Your calcium reactor - glad my page helped. Did you get the solenoid problem fixed?

Yeah that page helped out a lot.

As far as the solenoid goes... not yet, I talked to Reef Fanatic a few times, and they've been very helpful. I just need to shut down the reactor, and pull apart the solenoid to see what the problem is. My guess is that the port has been damaged somehow, and not allowing the solenoid to seal properly.

Originally posted by melev
The cover - you made one, but most of your pictures don't include it. Are you taking it off for us, or did you abandon it? That being said, your tank is looking great.

I don't have a cover yet. Keith and I are still talking through a few designs. I do have a temporary fix decided on, but need to figure out how to get it to my residence. I need to get something though, because I found a Bartlett in my overflow box the other day. Jumped after the lights went out... luckily the overflow box cover isn't on yet either, or it probably wouldn't have ended so nicely.

Originally posted by melev
Sorry about the losses - you've had quite a few new arrivals die.

Yeah, the LiveAquaria order was a total loss. Not sure if it was something with that shipment or not, but the Anthias have been doing well.

Also, I guess the small swing in Alk when I was getting the Ca Reactor stabilized was enough to RTN/STN some of the corals. Even though it didn't swing far... I guess 24hrs time was too fast. Luckily I only lost a few of my smaller pieces. My ORA Hawkins Echinata was the loss I was most upset about.

Originally posted by melev
I like your light hanger, but I would trim the excess too. The plastic clips are probably fine, buuut I would use metal ones because you don't want that pendant falling.

Thanks. I used metal conduit clamps for the Pendant, and new hardware to mount it. The plastic clamps merely hold it to the back of the stand. They really are just keeping it in place, since the rack touches the ground behind the stand.

Originally posted by melev
The new switch holder is nice. Are you going to attach it to the sump with Super Glue?

I'm planning on using magnets and super glue. I was originally planning on permanently mounting it with some weld-on... but think magnets would be smarter and give me ultimate flexibility if the water level in the sump ever needs to be adjusted.

Originally posted by melev
Picasso Clowns - I almost always don't like the ones I see, but your pair look pretty and healthy.

Yeah, I'm excited that I was able to get my hands on a pair. I'm very critical of them as well. While I'm not 150% satisfied with these guys... I definitely am happy with the pair I got, and can't wait to see how they fill in as they mature.

I was hoping for "perfect" Picasso's, but for the price I paid... I really can't complain.

Originally posted by melev
Did you get all of that flatworm out of your system?

The ex-frag system still has them in it, but I haven't seen any in the display yet. So I'm keeping my fingers crossed that the pre-transfer dips did the job.

Originally posted by melev
The basement sink -

Yeah, the rents came through big on that one. It's so nice having my own workspace where everything is continuously hooked up, and out of the way. My project while I'm home is to hopefully eventually fix up that area for my father, so that when I move out it will be a nice workshop area for him.

Originally posted by OwNeD162
When you run 20K TJ, you still run actinic don't you?
What wavelength actinic's do you run?

I would like to, but in my situation I'm stuck with just the MH bulb. I could potentially purchase a new pendant fixture, and really like the Geisemann Infinity fixtures which utilize 4 - T5's... but can't justify the cost at this point.

I'm currently focused on Laura's stand right now, but once I finish that I'm going to take a crack at building a floating canopy that can house either some T5's or VHO's as well as my MH pendant.

[melev]

I was asking about the huge flatworm that you said you tore in half. You need to find the rest of that thing and extract it.

[ser_renely]

Man, those clowns are awesome looking, grats

Always love the pictures

[pcannone]

Great pics TJ. Everything looks great.

One question, I saw you got your own space in the basement for your RO/DI water and you have a line coming out of the cold water pipe. Is their a benefit to using only cold water when making your RO/DI water instead of room temperture water (both hot and cold)?

btw... love the clowns.

[melev]

The water in your water heater is significantly dirtier, with metals that have been heated. Shale and more is in there. You don't want any of that going into your RO system. You should always use cold water, even though your production rate will slow down in the winter.

If the water reaches 110F, it only takes minutes to ruin the membrane. Just an FYI. Always use cold water. It tends to be fresher too, since we are always using cold water throughout the day, from washing our hands to flushing toilets, doing laundry, washing dishes, getting water to cook, etc. The water in the water heater sits far longer, until we need to use some.

[pcannone]

Thanks Marc.

That is what I was told a few years ago when I started making RO/DI water (new to saltwater reef), but I never knew why.....but that makes sense.

[Tswifty]

A lighting change is in the works... but before I can do anything, a floating canopy needs to be built.

Man I LOVE the pocket hole jig!









The canopy's dimensions are meant to mirror the display tank. As will it's skin and trim.

[Tswifty]

Originally posted by melev
I was asking about the huge flatworm that you said you tore in half. You need to find the rest of that thing and extract it.

I haven't hunted it down yet, but will do before that rock gets transferred into Laura's setup.

Originally posted by ser_renely
Man, those clowns are awesome looking, grats

Always love the pictures

Thank you.

Originally posted by pcannone
Great pics TJ. Everything looks great.

One question, I saw you got your own space in the basement for your RO/DI water and you have a line coming out of the cold water pipe. Is their a benefit to using only cold water when making your RO/DI water instead of room temperture water (both hot and cold)?

btw... love the clowns.

Thanks... Marc's got me covered on the cold water question.