First fish in "the Ark"
 

Thought I'd post a couple of pics of the first fish I've put in my new 75 gal. cube "the Ark" (going in two by two:lol:)

A pair of dwarf or falco hawkfish Cirrhitichthys falco

Picked these two up last week at Red Coral (thanks Kevin!) to add some movement to the tank. It's been up now for a couple of months and so far has served as a "hospital" tank for zoanthids and corals that the fish in my 120 have taken too much of a liking too:wink:

They're only about an inch long right now but have plenty of character.

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs/AQUA/hawk2.jpg

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs/AQUA/hawk1.jpg

Francis

Oh I love Falco hawks! Probably not the best choice as the first to inhabit the tank though, as most hawks are usually fairly aggressive, so should be added as one of the last fish to the community.

True! I did a bunch of research on them before picking them up and this was one of their cons. As they are still small and the other 4 fish for the ark will be going in soon, I bit the bullet and decided to risk it (not the wisest choice but I'm impulsive). Other bad points besides the aggression is that I won't be able to keep any shrimp in this tank or fish smaller than them either...but they are so darn cute!:biggrin:

I heard that to but my falco doesn't bug anyone in the tank including shrimp. They are very cool fish.

Your photo's are really beautiful I wish I could take some like that :mrgreen:
And the fish are really nice too.

I was wondering who got the hawkfish.....didnt realize they went as a pair. Glad you got them Francis. I was this far away from taking the third one home. Very cool fish indeed. Great shots of them too.

Interesting wibbly bits on top of the dorsal spines, is this meant as bait to attract prey? Cool looking fish.

Excellent Francis! Didn't realize it was you who took home the Falcos! They are a cute little pair!

I knew there was a reason I liked you....

Gorgeous fihs

and by "fihs" I meant fish...bah

:lol:

Are you still medicated Randi?:mrgreen:

nope....well....maybe. But my medication is of the beverage variety tonight...wow, hello sounding like an alcoholic....

That's good to here! I'm a little nervous how well they will play with others.

Thanks, only 2 good pics out of twenty:mrgreen:

Thanks Doug, you guys get some great stuff in. Watch out for the third one! I purposely did not take him....lots of attitude!

Not sure what the tufts are for but that is one of the ways they classify them as hawkfish.

Moving in stealth mode again, I usually sneak into the store about 5 minutes before closing, keeps Kevin on his toes:lol:

:redface: Oooh, your'e making me blush! I think I'll have a few meds of the liquid variety tonight after last night....see my next post:sad:

Francis

Well the hawkfish have a new temporary home....living in the sump!

Watching TV last night when I heard water running, rushed over to discover my new (used) cube cracked it's bottom between bulkheads:cry: Fortunately I was home when it happened and I plumb my tanks for emergencies like these. Hooked up the garden hose to the outlet I plumbed into the closed loop and sent some 70 gallons down the drain. I also have a rubber membrane under the stand so fortunately the hardwood floor was largely spared.

Any live rock with corals went into the 120 (much to my angelfish's delight...mmmm new snacks! :lol:), the rest went into the sump with the hawkfish.


Here's the offending piece:

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs/AQUA/busted.jpg

Really surprised this went since it had been fine for months, the stand is dead flat steel with foam on top, the bulkhead holes were rough and chipped so it may have been where the problems started? Glass was 1/2" thick which should be more than enough but I'm getting a piece of 3/4" cut this time just to be sure.

What an evening!...going to hit the pub tonight I think.

Francis

Holy Mother....
good thing you were home indeed, Francis.

Enjoy a few!

Nooooooo!....dude, Im sorry.

Whoa so sorry to hear Francis. UGH good thing you were home! What a headache!:cry:

Wow that sucks! Sorry man.

Yah it sucks, but if your in this hobby you have to expect to get wet once in a while:mrgreen:

I have a piece of 3/4" this time just to be sure. Should have all five bulkhead holes finished tonight and it siliconed back in. Man, drilling 3/4" is a lot of work! The hawks are doing fine in the sump and the other fish are happily exploring the extra rock in the 120. Once it's ready for water I think I will do a big change on the 120 and use it in the 75. My storage tank is only 35 gallon so I'll be busy making fresh for the next couple of days.

You've got just about the best attitude about this hobby of anyone I know.*salute*

Let me know how I can help.
Kevin

Holy!! Lotsa tanks breaking lately. Oi! Glad you're not too upset about it! Keep er goin! :D

You already have! Those diamond bits did the charm quite nicely. The bottom is in and plumbed, just have to wait for the silicone to set up..then it's leak test time! :biggrin: I'll post some "rebuild" pics soon.

I'd say... no anger at all. I would not be happy!...but the bottom blows out and the only response is cheery as can be :)

Can't let life get you down too much...especially with this recession! I've experienced this disaster before, about 20 years ago I had a plywood build let go (I didn't do the math right:redface:) and about 15 years ago a 33 gallon freshwater blew the front out while I was out of town for work. The missus at the time was not impressed! I kept the tank, but eventually gave up the wife:mrgreen:

Wow I just spit Pepsi all over my computer!! That line is hilarious!

No sense of adventure, I sometimes wonder what life would be like when, not all wet, he
he!

The building of "the ark"
 

Well since I pretty well had to rebuild the tank, turning this thread into the tank build. (mods could you move it to the correct forum?....please)

The tank is a used one that's made its way around a few times (thanks Ed and Kevin!). Dimensions are 24" wide by 23" tall by 31" depth making it 74 gal. But since guys like to exagerate I'll call it a 75:wink:

Finished drilling the new 3/4" bottom for three 1" closed loop returns, a 2" drain for the closed loop inlet and a 1" drain for the sump. I plumbed the closed loop with a 1.5" manifold to try to keep flow even between each of the four returns plus I have a garden hose connection for water changes or as I discovered, emergency drainage. Here's a pic of the new bottom all plumbed. Thanks to Josh (JDigital) for the inspiration on the closed loop.

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs...-plumbing1.jpg



Here's a view of the sump (a standard 20 gal) and the closed loop pump (Reeflo Dart). I used 2" conduit PVC for the inlet for less restriction than using a regular PVC 90. In the sump I have a Ocean Runner 2500 for the skimmer (Oddysea 160) and return to the display.

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs...-plumbing2.jpg

A view of the overflow showing the drains and one closed loop return:

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs...-plumbing3.jpg


For mechanical filtration I like using filter socks so I made this holder to fit onto the closed loop drain. It's made up of (from the bottom) a 2" x 4" ABS adapter, a length of 4" ABS and a 3" x 4" ABS adapter that holds a standard filter sock perfectly. I made it removable in case any fish decide to go "over the wall".

http://www3.telus.net/lucas-mustangs...-plumbing4.jpg


I'm happy to say "the Ark" is now full of water, live rock and the two hawkfish. No casualties from the disaster except some zoos that were eaten in the 120 and a couple of snails on some rock that got cold. More pics once the water clears up.

Francis

Hmm, your closed loop inlet is in your overflow... interesting! I've never seen that before.