We got all the back panels vinyl'ed and the bottom panes are all taped and ready for silicone. Building the glass is one thing but plumbing is another story.

When will your Online store be updated?

KS

We are still working on getting our fish wall complete and our coral coloration is still not where we would like it to be so we expect it won't be for another 4 weeks.

Yeah I can't wait to see what you do with it. You've pulled out all the stops on your build I bet your new site will be just as incredible.

Fish Wall Update!
 

Update:

We finally got some progress on our fish system. The glass is built, the tanks are plumbed and we also received our custom 400g sump today. We need to cut/drill more aluminum to connect the filtration system but we should have this system wet in less than a week.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...8/_MG_3328.JPG

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...8/_MG_3329.JPG

Looking good!
Pro plumbing job!

Store goals update:

1. Look like we're based in Europe - Check.

The entire operation is clean, but not sterile. It's inviting to customers. As for setup and design.....Germans and Swiss would be proud. ;)

And about time too stores took a lead from Europe and the UK. I was shocked when I first came over here what I saw locally, half flooded floors, moldy walls, slobs behind the counters in shorts because the places had no humidity control. If a store was like that in the UK it would last a week and most suppliers would not supply them.

Another store recently opened up locally with the same euro/UK clean looks, good to see its catching on.

All I can say is wow, I never saw this thread before. I can imagine the emotional train this adventure must have been for you guys. Congrats good the see the fish system hooked up and running.

Wow. Thats an amazing place. I cant imagine all the work gone into that. I have trouble with starting up my new 50g. :lol:

Superb job.


and my clam is doing great and extremely beautiful...:D

I laughed when I read this, but I have to say I was a little weirded out going into CC. Just because it is so different then any other reef shop I've ever been to over the years. Still dropped a few hundred on some nice corals though :)

Very impressive set up, I'd be a kid in a candy store if I lived within reasonable driving distance. :thumb:

My first hour in there would probably be spent admiring the setup itself.

I wish I was still in the military just so I could get back to Ontario for a side trip to this shop. I am extremely impressed and will make a point of visiting if I get back that way.

Quick little update:

We decided to go backwards in technology and remove the GHL Mitras LED's from our SPS system and replace them with ReefBrite Hybrids instead. These are single ended fixtures using 400w 20K Radium bulbs. They are also supplemented with four 72" ReefBrite XHO led strips.

The power consumption is over double that from the GHL Mitras and heat is already an issue that we will need to deal with soon (chiller) but our SPS corals have never been more colorful. :mrgreen:

Note: The tanks are perfectly level. The Tunze wavebox makes the tank look un-level.

https://dl.dropboxusercontent.com/u/...als.com/mh.jpg

Very impressive set up, well done! I'll have to stop by for a visit next time I'm in the area.

Do it. ;)

That would be great! :biggrin:

Wow….that is an awesome set up. I love the new lighting system.

Way to go Dan. :biggrin:

I miss my Radiums. :( I was soooo reluctant to switch to LED but a year ago everyone was still in "full on switch to LED and GHL is the bestest of the bunch" mode. But a part of me worried that anything-not-Radium would be a step down.

But then came the challenge of replacing the Radiums. So I bought into the hype.

Man how things change.

Will you be selling the Radiums going forward? If they become easier to buy then I might consider switching back. Although the heat and power bill aren't something I'm hugely happy to go back to, I do have to admit that my tank just looked better with them than without.

Do the Halides give you the par you were looking for Xenon

I am not sure if we are going to offer these lights to our customers.

From our experience, LED is what everyone wants still.


I haven't measured PAR since they were installed. I borrowed one from a friend when I tested the Mitras. I am gonna have to just buy one myself.

With that said, the tank is MUCH brighter to the naked eye.

Q: How do you NOT spend money here?

A: You don't. You spend $ on very nice and healthy eye candy. I highly recommend it. It will make you feel much better. Trust me. :razz:

It's been awhile since I lasted visited. I used CanReef member: "2pts" as an excuse to drop by (not that I ever needed one) last week. ;) Mobile phone pics are the best I could do. ;)

2pts and I didn't walk away disappointed. Special thanks to the staff :mrgreen: Great service as usual.

Worthy notes:

- SPS have coloured up even more from previous pics.

- Fish system is up and running. Cycling now. http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/images/smilies/cool.gif

- Very attractive pricing on a lot of dry goods http://www.gtaaquaria.com/forum/imag...es/biggrin.gif Did I mention dry goods nirvana?

- Radio controlled flying clownfish. Who wouldn't want one?

http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps3472e624.jpg

http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps13a5094c.jpg

http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/a...psb53cf7b6.jpg

http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps47b022b0.jpg

http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps8ab006fc.jpg

http://i859.photobucket.com/albums/a...ps747ddd45.jpg

I think this is what love looks like.

That scoly makes your heart race, your palms sweat and your wallet cry:biggrin:beautiful!!!

WOW! Way to harness the power of the sun there! :-D Glad to hear the corals are responding favourably. Makes me want to try some radiums :-)

Everyone is doing it!!

400w 20K Radiums seem to be the gold standard for SPS coloration but it has lots of disadvantages compared to LED.

The heat produced from both the light and ballast is incredible. We are running a 1/3hp chiller but its not enough. More than twice the cost for power. The bulbs fire pretty white with electronic ballasts that are available on the market so they do still need actinic supplementation to make them look right. Evaporation has also increased.

I am patiently waiting for LED technology to catch up so that I can take these suckers down but something tells me that's not gonna happen for a very long time.

Yup, I am all too familiar with the disadvantages of halides. Luckily I live in winter so it's not as bad for me. When we do have summer heat waves I use central AC to cool down the house and the tank.

Any ETA when you guys are planning to have fish for sale?

Anytime we give a date range, we never deliver so at this point I just stopped saying when we will have fish. :lol:

We've never done fish yet and have so much to learn. We want to do everything correctly so our first few shipments will be small.

We want to ease into it nice and easy.

Fair enough. Exited for you guys though :D

Hopefully you can have some luck with some hard-to-find fish in the future.

This video is for you Xenon
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HfXuAQOC3R4

Yes it is!!!

Bluespot jawfish are my absolute favourite.

I have yet to discover a fish with more personality. :biggrin:

We finally updated the pictures on our about us page!

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01...sets/shop1.jpg

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01...sets/shop2.jpg

https://cdn.shopify.com/s/files/1/01...sets/shop3.jpg

WOW !

That is pretty excellent looking.

So nice! Have to make a stop if I ever do visit Ontario!

SPS are looking fantastic. Are you guys still using ZeoVit on them?