KrazyKuch's & Michika's 180Gal Tank Build

[michika]

Alright so its Chiller Time! (I need some Hammer Time music here please) The tank held steady all day at 82, and around 8pm it started to climb and has hit 85.7 as of 8:30pm. I made Kevin crawl down into our creepy spider infested crawlspace to pull up my now undersized chiller. Something is better then nothing right?

I have never had to run a chiller before on a tank that has been on the main floor in any of our previous residences. I only have this chiller because I used to keep a 24g cube in my 12th floor apartment. That was the apartment where they kept the heat on year round.

So my new and temporary chiller is a 1/4HP Aqua Logic chiller with controller, and it smells like basement. I have to admit I wasn't 100% prepared to have to add a chiller, I've been fine for years with just fans near my lighting, and the occasional fan over the sump. While I was aware it could be a possibility, I just figured since we've had quite a few hot days already where we haven't hit 83 that we would be fine.

[fencer]

You might want a dehumidifier for your place. I bought one during our heatwave and was shocked how much I actually pulled out of the air.

[michika]

I have one of those, but its so noisy! There really isn't much of a need for it right now. Maybe once winter rolls around. You are right though, they do take out a lot of water from the air.

[michika]

I've gotten like 4 PMs in the last couple days about my lighting, so I thought I'd just re-post the response from a recent request.

MHs;
- bulbs are mogul base, one is an XM 15K, and the other is a AquaConnect 14K bulb. XM is on the left, and the AquaConnect is on the right.
- Both are run on M-79s bought from the wholesaler
- Both are run in Luminarc reflectors.

T5s
- 6 bulbs run on Workhorse 7 ballasts (bought from the wholesaler)
- In 24" Sunlight Supply Tek reflectors
- Each bulb is in its own reflector
- Each bulb set, 2 per set, includes a Giesemann Aquablue, and a Korallen-Zucht Fiji Purple
- The two sets of bulbs on both ends of the tank are angled inwards to try and limit the light pollution.

All the lights are run on timers, 10am-10pm T5s, and 12pm-8pm MHs.

[michika]

I stopped in a Red Coral this afternoon and went a little crazy. I barely had enough self control to stop myself from asking Kevin to empty out his SPS, and clam tanks for me. I am such an addict!

A few preliminary photos, which do no justice.
Stunning pink birdsnest.


A down on its luck mille, we're trying to nurse it into better health


One of the 3 crocea clams that followed me home


True to form all my fish want in any photos I try to take of clams & sps






I like seeing this

[Delphinus]

Wow that is awesome especially with that fish load!! Man I'd pay money for that reading. I don't even get zero on my zeo tank (although it's the lowest of the bunch, settling in at around 2ppm or so)

PS, I think that milli is actually a Pocillopora of some kind.

[michika]

I think you are right about the mille. It does look a lot like a poci. I'm hoping it will start to regain some of its colouring in the next week.

Have you ever kept Purple Anthias aka P. Tuka? I saw a very nice looking harem at the store and am on the fence about them after having done research on them this afternoon.

[Delphinus]

Me? No, sorry, I've always been shy of trying anthias due to the constant feeding requirements. I figure if you could train them onto dried foods that you could use an autofeeder that dumps in pellets or whatever several times per day. I wish there was an easy way to autofeed mysis. LOL - a public aquarium could do it ... with a product called a "summer student" or "co-op intern."

[michika]

Hahaha, yeah good products those Summer Students and Co-op interns!

Since I'm home all the time, the longest the house is ever empty is maybe 3 or 4 hours, its something I could do. I should have asked Kevin to specify what they were eating. I can't even express how sharp their colours were, if I had to compare they were as colourful as some of Greg's, Snappy's, SPS!

I think I've figured out how to keep my nitrates down now. The big thing was to stop feeding commercial frozen foods. It seemed to help quite a bit with both phosphates and nitrates. I don't feed a lot of pellet foods either, just lots of nori, and my homemade frozen food. Like everything though its different from tank to tank.

How big of a spread in nitrate levels do you get between your zeo system and your other tanks?

[Red Coral Aquariums]

Catherine.
Wow nice photos. It was great seeing you today and thanks for dropping off some fish food. Your medley gets most of the finicky eaters I get in to eat like champs. The Purple Anthias eat brine right now as I havn't had the chance to train them into mysis or flake or your food. The key is to get fish to eat something then you can train them to eat nearly anything by mixing it with food they eat.
Kevin