Reef Pilot's Undersea Oasis

[Reef Pilot]

Originally Posted by wreck

Nice tank!! And great write up!!

Thanks. It's a fun hobby, with lots of learning, and happy to share.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

I've seen Walter's tanks and his corals & they are awesome. Will have to come by next time I visit Laurie to see what's new. Great writeup. I don't think I could go 3 weeks without feeding my fish.

[Reef Pilot]

Thanks, Anthony, and you will have to come by again for a visit, and bring Laurie.

[Reef Pilot]

I have acrylic lids for my upstairs tank, and lexan covers for the downstairs one. Lexan is better because it doesn't warp, and you can use thinner materials (1/16"). Also, it has very good light transmission, which is why they use it in commercial greenhouses.

I know there is some controversy about gas exchange with tank covers. I have no way of measuring this scientifically. I do have lots of flow in my tank and the return lines have flared nozzles at the surface, so lots of water movement at the surface. And of course a skimmer, and open sump. The covers are far from airtight, too, with openings for lines, feeding, etc.

I do have a pH probe with my Apex, but so far haven't hooked it up. I do expect pH to fall at night (as a result of more C02), but that happens in every tank from what I understand. What I should do is install my probe and look at my daily pH graphs (Apex monitor), both with the covers on and off, and see if there is a difference.

My fish and corals are all happy, so can't tell from that. I have used covers in the past in my FW days, and again, fish were not affected. I know of no other adverse effects. Only have to clean them every 2 or 3 months, and no salt creep.

The benefits of covers include fish not jumping out, tanks stay warmer longer if there is a power outage, no splashing of water causing salt creep, and less evaporation causing humidity problems. I have Radion LEDs in my tanks (for a couple years now), and they have worked flawlessly, and it may be in part to being more protected from the salt water.

Also, for your interest, here are a couple pics of a 7" sock hangar I made out of a scrap piece of lexan. I like working with lexan, as it is easy to cut and shape/form similar to a thin sheet of metal, but is incredibly strong. Bend a flange wherever you need rigidity. Works perfectly.

[gqlmao]

+1 on the lexan. Great stuff for many applications. Light weight, shatter resistant and even good in higher temperatures. You make me want to build a Lexan cover for my sump. But I always hit a road block every time I go to home depot... super expensive especially for larger sheets.

[Reef Pilot]

I was playing around with my new camera (Olympus TG-2) the other day, so thought I would post a few pics of my tank as it looks now. As you can see, I still have a lot to learn about photography, and all critique and tips are welcome. These were all taken outside the tank (camera can shoot underwater) without a tripod, and the pumps were not turned off. I wish I could de-highlight my coralline back glass at bit more, too. And please try to ignore all the algae. I am still fighting to get my phosphates back to zero.

The SPS are all (except the Purple Cross) less than one year old, grown from small frags.











That's my large Bristle Star saying hi...










Some serious warfare happening with these guys. But too tight to get in there to prune...












I recently sold this little gem.


Frag rack in the back corner is a little bare these days, but will be pruning more soon...

[Slyguy00]

Tank is lookin awesome walter. What is the yellow one called above bird of paradise? Id love a frag of that when you have one.