400 gallon project

Parker · #1 06-04-2008, 11:12 PM

I've lost count of how many times i have read through this thread. Your hard work is paying off in a big way!

untamed · #2 06-06-2008, 08:24 PM

Spec of the water change system has now been included on pg. 3 of this build thread.

JDigital · #3 06-07-2008, 02:18 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by untamed

Spec of the water change system has now been included on pg. 3 of this build thread.

SLICK!! haha... that is soo sweet!

untamed · #4 06-30-2008, 12:03 AM

I got bored, so I took some updated pictures of the fish. They grow and you don't really notice unless you take some pictures from time to time.

Someone crashed into the large green digitata again last night and broke off a good 8" piece. The purple digitata has also lost a few inches. Digis are so fragile and the fish are getting pretty large...

untamed · #5 07-08-2008, 06:17 PM

Last summer, I ran into some concerning high temperature problems. Normally, the tank warms during the day from the MH lights, then cools overnight in a daily cycle. While I was away, no one was home to open a window at night and the house got very warm. The tank wasn't cooling down at night and each day it increased in temperature..at one point hitting over 86 degrees.

So this year, I had a heat pump installed on the house. As we have had a very hot week, it was the first test of whether this would keep the house (and therefore, the tank) under control. It works perfectly.

The tank has a daily temperature cycle of between 78 and 82 degrees. While that isn't perfect, it seems good enough.

untamed · #6 07-08-2008, 06:28 PM

When I had my hair algae problems, I built a refugium into the system.

For details on this, refer to pg. 34 of this thread.
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/sho...=28436&page=34

Anyway, this is what the "refugium" has turned into. It has become a lot more like an "algae filter" than a refugium. As near as I can see, there is nothing living in the refugium at all except for hair algae and cyano. It is truly disgusting. If I didn't scoop frothy cyano off the surface every week or two, the entire surface would be covered.

There is still a lump of chaeto in there, but it is completely engulfed by cyano and hair algae.

There is no cyano or hair algae in the display tank, so it would seem that this system is working perfectly. Using the best testing methods I am aware of, I cannot measure any nitrate or phosphates in my system.

untamed · #7 07-21-2008, 10:08 PM

"Jeckyl" (the bicolour angel) had a run-in with somebody last night. He probably deserved it...he tends to behave like he is larger than he really is.

Meanwhile, these two just get bigger and fatter. I think that "Freckles" (vlamingi) is beginning to get his hump-nose!