View Full Version : Project Bad-Boy
Right, well here it is finally, my Project Bad-Boy thread, pictures, write-up, the works :) for those that have been interested, thank you for the motivation and your patience. It's a true testament to this site that people I've never met are interested in my little slice of ocean, I hope it doesn't disappoint :o
SO....where do we begin?
It all started a couple of years ago when i bought a 6 foot set-up second hand off UltimateReef. It was a Seabray 6x30x24 with hood, stand and 5' sump. I managed to bribe a friend to come with me in the van telling him, it is smaller than it sounds and quite light too. We got to the chaps house, somehwere near Ipswich, and I set about reversing the van onto the driveway whilst my mate went in to take a look at the job in hand. Just as I'm applying the handbrake and turning off the engine, I see a very angry bearded face staring back at me in the door mirror. My mate was not impressed. Upon entering the house we both fixed our gazes on what was the biggest tank either of us had ever seen. It was nearly as tall as me and filled this chaps dining room. From that second it became obvious that this tank was never going to get up the stairs to my 3rd floor flat, let alone the van. Nearly 4 hours later and the 3 of us have managed to get it out of the back doors, over a little wall, down a 28" wide alleyway (you do the math) and into the back of the van. we all had shredded fingers, pulled muscles and pit stains like maps of Australia.
I'll never forget, as we pulled away waving good bye to the chap, my mate saying "where the f*** do you think we are going to take this?". I had to be honest, "We'll have to work it out when we get there". Luckily my parents were away and so we rather cheekily hid it in the back of their garage, like so:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/shrunknewtank1.JPG
We now had the problem of finding a house to fit the tank, an odd problem to most, but a common occurrence amongst reefers.
We got married in the september of that year and shortly afterwards moved into our new house:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/home01.JPG
We looked at 10 houses before putting an offer in on this one. yes some were bigger, some were in a better location, some were cheaper, but none of the others had that wide side alleyway to the rear garden. none had this large sliding door to the rear:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/loungedecoratingreardoor.JPG
and none had this 8'10" wide nook in the living room:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/loungedecoratingnook.JPG
I'm pretty certain that right about now, you know exactly where this is going ;)
So there we are in our new house, settling in, moving our stuff over from the flat when my parents, rightly or wrongly decide they want their garage back. It had ONLY been a year but there you go :p and so I bribed the same old mate, and a couple of others to help me shift it over to the new house.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/tankmovevanandtank.JPG
we weren't by any means ready to set it up but by now it was spring and there was plenty of room in the garden. so right outside the back door it went, which as I'm sure you'll all understand, impressed my bi-boobied one endlessly.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/tankmoveoutsidebackdoor001.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/tankmovemidgarden.JPG
I remember the day she came home to find a 6 foot tank set up in the garden, she said "oh scott well done, that makes a wonderful exterior feature that just craves for people to admire it whilst sitting in the hot summer sun"........actually, hang on no I've got that wrong, she said "what the **** were you thinking you dumb mother ******, why the hell would you think it ok to shove a hideous old tank in the middle of our garden with no idea when the house will be ready for it to come in". that's more like it, I'm easily confused, "calm down dear" I said "It's only for a couple of weeks, even shorter if the weather turns bad"...........
.......9 months later ;) ..........
............and we've decorated the house to our liking, bought new furniture, thrown out old furniture..basically the house is ready for the tank.
here's me and me dawg about to lay the wooden floor (which later got ripped up and relaid, then ripped up and tiled, now about to be ripped out and carpeted like it was to start with)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/loungedecoratingsofasogood.JPG
a couple of coats of paint and it's beginning to take shape. (please note like the floor, the colour has been changed 3 times since)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/endofdayfloor.JPG
"But Scoob" I hear you cry, "you just said that it's been 9 months since the tank and stand were put in your garden, surely even in god's own county it rains at least once in 9 months, what about the cabinet, hood and electrics????"
fear not avid reader, I naturally had a cunning plan............
;)
No you're right, I didn't, the whole thing turned to s*** :)
Now we have a new problem. we have a tank, a sump, somewhere to put them but nothing to put them on. hmmmmm, gonna have to look into having a cabinet made. a few calls and a few websites visited and once i've found where i spat my spleen I realise that things are about to get a whole lot pricier. The only reason I bought the 6 footer was because all it wanted was a lick of paint and it was good to go, and now I'm having cabinets custom made :eek:
I soon realise that the overall cost of the stand doesn't vary much once you go past a certain point........and if I have to have a stand made.......well just how much are new tanks?
a few emails to tank builders across the land and you know what, it doesn't cost all that much....well relatively, i mean let us not get carried away, like everything they have their price, but big tanks are certainly cheaper than i thought and seeing as I HAVE to have a stand made, i may as well consider going the whole hog. (N.B must just add that I did try and make a stand myself, cost me a fortune in wood and what i ended up with, even I wont post pictures of).
So I go's onto acaquatics website and print off their 'bare tank prices'. I take the sheet from the printer and approach the mrs.
this is what happened when I did CLICK ME (http://www.ultimatereef.net/forums/showthread.php?t=163377)
and so Project Bad-Boy was born :)
everything starts falling into place, I go out and get a couple of AP850 skimmers, I order my lights through a board sponsor, pick up some bits and pieces then BAM, just when you least expect it the Bi-boobied one announces to me that she is now the bi-boobied barer of child.
a quick consultation with a lady armed with a bottle of apple sauce and a bar code reader reveals that indeed, my mrs is correct.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/babypic.jpg
Project Bad-Boy, innevitably has to go into serious re-think mode.
well, if we make the tank a lot smaller, perhaps pick it up second hand, get rid of one of the skimmers, change the lights, we can still afford it all. we can make the stand smaller, perhaps move the tank to a different wall, put some cupboards in for push chairs, high chairs, electric chairs etc etc etc.
and so it is decided project bad-boy is going to be a far more conservative affair. i spend hours, trawling through the equipment sections, looking for bits and pieces, i sell one of the ap850's, sell my mce600 etc etc and finally find a tank, 5x2x2 with a 4 foot sump. awesome, we are good to go again only this time, Pavlo has very kindly offered to make the stand for me out of steel. he says we can incorporate a cupboard in the end, have it nice and high, do this do that, to be honest i don't really understand, all I know is a very nice bloke is offering to do something I can't do, that I desperately need and for free. To say I bit his hand off is an understatement, he was in hospital shortly afterwards being fitted for a prosthetic arm. So off I go again to pick up the 5 footer, angry bearded friend refused this trip, but that's ok as he was replaced with a happy bearded friend who goes by the name of Chris, or Maidstonemarine to his friends.
here we are on our way back with the tanks in the back of my mums people carrier. carrying tanks is made really easy with chris' un-naturally large fingers.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/chrispinky.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/chrispinky2.JPG
so where did it go? you've guessed it, right outside the back door, once again I am held aloft and praised for my ingenuity :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/chrispinky3.JPG
shortly after this picture was taken, it all goes a bit pete tong. the tank as had copper treatments in it, as has the sump, there is an issue with the lights i have ordered and a load of other stuff I wont go into which put me into a very dark place, i bounced off the walls for a couple of hours and I swear had a reefer been in the area at that exact moment in time, they would have been going home with every fish related item I have ever owned......thankfully tho my wife stepped in, she is a god send and the answer to all my dreams...."you know what, you've spent as much on second hand tat as you would have on new stuff, f*** it, go up online and order a brand new big tank will ya, I'm getting sick of this, do it now before I change my mind"!!!!!!
you don't have to tell me twice :)
I get on the phone to Chris, I get on the phone to Pavlo, E-mails are sent to STM and Windsor-Aquatics, wheels are put in motion....
....."hello keith, how much for an 8x2x2 with 2 overflows in the rear pane to be delivered daaaan saaaaaf"
......"Hi Paul, scrap the nancy push-chair cupboard ideas, I've got the go ahead for a monster..."
etc etc etc.
Chris instantly gets onto the design of the thing, putting the brace bars as high as possible, putting the weir boxes in the top corners. He knows I am using a series 3 triple 250w and even thinks to measure the unit in relation to the tank to ensure the brace bars don't clash, as a result if you look at the tank, the brace bars are an inch or so off centre so each halide gives the maximum amount of light. the design once tweaked is sent off to Keith Windsor and he assures us it will be no sweat. I then call back and ask if it can be done in black sillicone, "no problems" he says, "to save money tho i'll only do the front as you'll never see the back." Keith is my kind of fella. :)
Paul gets to work on the stand, It is 42" high so that the 2 foot depth of the tank is still above my eye line once sat on ply and poly. it will incorporate doors either end and a special treat in the middle (that's for a future update). It's all primed and ready to roll so we go about getting rid of one of our 3 seaters, no sooner has it gone but Paul arrives with the stand, assisted beautifully by his beautiful assistant Steve (hippolad). I am gobsmacked, both by their generosity and the sheer size of the thing, for a nanosecond i start to panic, since that nano second i've been giggling ever since :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/before.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/after.JPG
next was to paint the stand, paul and steve had primed it but suggested i give it a couple of coats of hammerite. this was done, marine ply was cut to measure and fixed into position. then Chris came round again and we went about mounting the halides, this seemed like a nice easy job, to be fair it was, still took a life time tho. at least we were happy by the end of it that the lights will sit 'exactly' where they are supposed to when the tank arrives. the stand is now ready for the tank.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/tankarrives 001.jpg
interesting fact, that tank which has now become my sump was once superblades display tank, this will be the first time he has seen it, surprise matey ;)
It's around this sort of time that Acropora House has an open day. news travels fast that they are going to be selling live rock from Mark's 18 foot display tank at £5 a kilo. Chris spots it first and texts me to tell me we are going to get some, I inform him that due to my car being off the road with a blown engine (remember that?) I am in no place to be buying live rock from t'other end of the country, a few seconds pass then Chris texts back and informs me that in actual fact we are going up there to collect it as he's just bought 150kilos and needs a hand fetching it, and by the way, he only wants 20 kilos, would I be interested in buying the other 130 kilos off of him at £5 a kilo at a later date. I've only known Chris a short while and inform him of this, I tell him i could leave the country or have a nasty accident or my tank might blow up, he doesn't seem to care, he doesn't want me to miss this opportunity for cheap live rock, Chris likes to live on the edge, I'd take up too much room there so prefer to be an observer, at that exact moment, Chris yanked me out onto the edge too, it felt uneasy but what generosity? I've got mates I still see that I've known since I was 3 years old and I can tell you, not one of them would dream of being this generous, let alone a bloke i've known for a year in maidstone who's exact reason for doing this was "well you gave me 30 gallons of R/O when i first started". Absolute nutter.... anyway, here is the rock we returned with, in a spare tank in his shed, curing. thanks to chris and acropora house for this little lot :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/shedrock.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/shedrock2.JPG
pm received: "Hi Scott, It's Keith, your tank is ready, I'll be down friday if that's ok".
"you bet your sweet ass it is Keith" :)
AND SO IT ARRIVED!!!!!
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/BIGTANK.JPG
looked big on the little trolley, looked even bigger on the stand.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/bigtank2.JPG
looked awesome, couldn't get over how nice it looked, even empty. I called my mrs to tell her it was all in and finished, she was crying, she'd just been mugged taking the bill money from one bank to the other, she'd lost hundreds. a bitter sweet day I shall never forget :) :(
I go about making some drawings for pipework, i want my returns to come up, over the top and then spray across the front, speaking to a few people it seems that they wish they had the returns behind the rock. sounds like a good idea, i order my pipework from coral-culture and get Chris round to help/show me how to do it, never needed pipe before so this was all new to me :)
Chris, probably saying something like, 'put that soddin camera down and take this will ya'
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/PBB 017.jpg
the returns are the middle 2 pipes, the overflows are the 2 outer pipes.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/PBB 012.jpg
took all day and ended up blinding chris, i told him not to use the solvent weld as mascara, you can't help some people.
anyway, i'm digressing, well done for sticking with me this far, assuming you have and have not just jumped from picture to picture without reading, if you have, shame on you, tho you'll never know it without reading this. oh it's a viscious cycle.......
.......the fill.......
Chris (think he's moved in with us) has an R/O MAN booster pump and brought it with him when we did the pipework, it was filling exactly 1cm per hour. my water depth is 23.5 inches so it took hardly any time at all to fill, as soon as it was and all fittings were found to be secure, i added the salt, all the reef crystals i could lay my chubby little hands on and once done went and collected the rock.
this was a very proud moment for me, the first piece of live rock going in.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/goingin.JPG
once all the rock was in, the water checked, all systems running it was left for a couple of days. all the rock was cured in maidstone or from my 4 footer. there was a nitrate trace the first night then nothing for 2 more. once the sand was added and stock brought over it looked a little something like this....
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/firstfinished.JPG
since then I have stuck to my stocking list and upped my skimmer to an ap902 (cheers Reece), all my equipment is moved over and everything is going to plan all apart from time. yesterday was my summer party which i had hoped would mean everything was done, donna being mugged and my bmw blowing up kind of put pay to that but alas there was at least 'something' to see for those that came, this is what they saw...
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/alll01.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all02.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all03.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all04.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all05.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all06.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all07.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/all08.JPG
as you can see there's still lots to be done but i'm loving every minute of it. the 'facing off' of the whole thing will be done shortly so watch this space for updates, thankyou to everyone that has helped me get this far with my tank, thank you to everyone that came to the party and thankyou to everyone on UltimateReef who has helped me over the years, thanks to this wonderful website I now have a tank i couldn't even dream of owning, I started here knowing diddly squat about wibbly wobble and now I have the makings of my dream tank...... ladies and gentlemen, thanks for reading this far, I hope project Bad-Boy lives up to all the hype
cheers,
Scott :)
dan-the-man
09-07-06, 19:41
Nice one Scott, but wheres my part in the story eh ?! :D
Looks really good mate, and will look stunning when its fully stocked and purpled up!
Cheers
Dan
Kudos Scoob, thats a real belter of a job, lurvly m8:D
MaidstoneMarine
09-07-06, 20:00
Looking good Mr Scoob! Excellent work so far - keep it up!
That sohal and regal angel are stunners - i'm green with envy! Looking forward to seeing this grow out.
Scoob looks excellent, I did read it all, what a story full of highs and lows. Its all highs from now watching this baby develop.
Stunning progress Stuart.
I'm still at the sand and "cloudy water" stage........
cracking tank, i'd like to see it in a years time, once it has matured a bit.
you need to give that fire coral a touch now and again:D .
jase
Looks fantastic, wish i could of made it to the party and seen it in up close and personal. Await future pics with envy.
Sid
Prometheus
09-07-06, 20:36
you story is inspiring scoob, and all too familiar :rolleyes:
Great tank dude :D
Reef bloke
09-07-06, 20:39
Nice one Scoob me old mate,at last youve have a large tank in house and stocked.Took you long enough lol.Its looking very good Scott,once its grown out its gonna be a cracker.
Tony
Johnymajors
09-07-06, 21:09
Been a long time coming, but well worth it.
Very nice indeed :D
Great looking tank there! :D
Fantastic tank you have there, and a great write up, really enjoyed it.
Your garden is abit like mine, i had a 4 fter in the garden for 2 years now in different places with grass growing round it, have had a 2fter in the greenhouse a couple of months and a 5fter including cabinet and sump, skimmer and t5s in the shed since may.
I also have two tanks running in the house, i swear my hobby isn't collecting tanks.
Again, a great tank
instantsquid
09-07-06, 21:48
Wow Scott - excellent job there! Can't believe you've got so far so quickly to be honest. I still have stuff to do on my tank and I started it before Christmas...
Everything looks really healthy in the tank. Should be nice to watch it all maturing.
Got any more pictures of your sump, etc? What's providing flow? How are you doing with the temperature? Questions! Questions!
Seriously - fab job matey, wish I could have seen it at the weekend, but as you know, it was just too soon after our daughter was born to consider making the journey. Maybe next year! :D
- Ian
It's been a long time coming but it was certainly worth the wait.
I'm happy I was able to play a small part in the development of what will be an absolute stunner.
Cheers
Paul
looks fantastic scoob and great write up.
one thing puzzles me though... why didnt you take the radiator out from behind the tank?
Looks a bit manky to me, you know, kind of small and dingy.
No, sorry, mistook it for the pics of mine :D looks very nice. Great write up as well, bit like a very heavy, imobile book that you just can't put down.
Cheers
Chris :)
nice scoob.
i assume u are gonna box in the cabinet, your baby will destroy everything when it's running around.
my lad was trying to put mega blocks into my sump today when i was installing my auto top up. lol
keep the updates coming.
Really enjoyed your write up Scott, and loved seeing the tank in the flesh. Didn't appreciate it had been such a convoluted journey to get here, but I'm sure its going to go from strength to strength now.
Regards,
Keith
petergillett
10-07-06, 09:37
Great job Scoob. Really glad it's all coming together for you now after soooooo long!
bristlebasher
10-07-06, 15:01
Thanx for taking the time to share your trials and tribulations with us.
Enjoyed the read - and the tank is looking good too.
Great stuff - wont be taking the mickey for "Project Bad Boy" no more - really is a bad boy.;)
Well done !!!
Stunning - great write up.
Ian
top tank in the making there mate!
:)
cant wait to see this one grown in!!!
:)
Nice job Scoob, mine is heading that way, just like yours. Well.............................................. ...
I do have one of those fans from B&Q:o :o :o
Lucky Eddie
10-07-06, 17:14
Well done Scoob, good to see you got there in the end.
By the way, I've got one of theose Seabray 6 x 24 x 30's on my front drive complete with black ash cabinet if you ever feel a need to expand !!!!!!!!
Hey Scoob, lovely looking tank you have - I'm gutted I did not make it :( but hey that's life.
Keep us posted, would love to see more pics!
EnglishReefer
10-07-06, 20:33
The thread I never thought I would see, well done!! :)
SuperBlades
10-07-06, 21:50
Superb Scott, something you really deserve m8 - Top man ;)
You do know I treated with Copper in that tank?
Would be funny tho ;)
MaidstoneMarine
10-07-06, 21:56
You do know I treated with Copper in that tank?
Would be funny tho ;)
Given everything else that has happened to scott along the way that would be just par for the course! Everything that could've gone wrong pretty much has!
Got to give him credit though for sticking with it all and coming out with an awesome tank!
Excellent write up scoob - laughed out loud in places - and great looking tank. Look forward to watching it progress. Good job so far though fella!
John
Great write up scott!
Tank looks great, I love the colour of the lights on the rocks!
Looking forward to seeing it in a few years time.
Kev
excellent job there,good write up too! its nice when ya get ya dream tank init
Wow Scott - excellent job there! Can't believe you've got so far so quickly to be honest. I still have stuff to do on my tank and I started it before Christmas...
Everything looks really healthy in the tank. Should be nice to watch it all maturing.
Got any more pictures of your sump, etc? What's providing flow? How are you doing with the temperature? Questions! Questions!
Seriously - fab job matey, wish I could have seen it at the weekend, but as you know, it was just too soon after our daughter was born to consider making the journey.
Maybe next year!
thanks Ian, i will try and get some pictures of the sump later, to be honest it's still a work in progress so not much to see.
as for flow, the retun from the sump is an OR6500 and an eheim 1060. these go to 25mm hard piping up over the back of the tank and tee off 3 inches from the bottom. these tees then have a 45 elbow on each end blasting detritus out from behind the rockwork. the rockwork is all sitting on egg crate boxes i made so the important side of the tank, the back, shoukld be crud free. i also have 3xrio 1700lph powerheads buried in the rock just to help, a tunze 6100 on the right and a tunze 6080 on the left. over the next couple of months i hope to get at least 2 more 6100's for flow and put them on a multi controller.
temperature at the moment does fluctuate but not by much. the heaters are yet to be turned on, hence just sitting at the front of the sump. the lowest it can get on its own is 25 degrees. it was hitting 30 before i added the other 3 fans. the fans are 2 speed. when the sun comes up in the morning i turn the rear 2 on to full pelt, as the halides come on, all 4 get fired up. will get habistats in the very near future but at the moment, a wife on maternity leave does just as well. my temperature fluctuates in a day from 26.5 to 27.1. not bad for manual interference.
looks fantastic scoob and great write up.
one thing puzzles me though... why didnt you take the radiator out from behind the tank?
cheers muzzy, when we first moved in i turned the rad off to check we wouldn't need it, it hasn't been on in 18 months. due to my house being new, all my radiators have drainage points, if necessary i can still get behind the tank to fiddle or when donna has de-sprogged she can have a barn dance back there. as it doesn't come on, i can still get to it and shouldn't need to i thought it best to leave it there rather than have to find a storage space in my already over stocked house. once or twice a year i shall crack it open, just to stop it from seizing or whatever rads might do.
nice scoob.
i assume u are gonna box in the cabinet, your baby will destroy everything when it's running around.
my lad was trying to put mega blocks into my sump today when i was installing my auto top up. lol
keep the updates coming.
cheers Rio, yeah, once finished it will look like a picture frame tank bar about 10 inches at the top which will be left open for ventilation, kind of like curtisi's tank on here. The bottom of the stand will be really quite clever and as far as i know, the only one of its kind, like i say tho, that's for a future update ;)
Thanx for taking the time to share your trials and tribulations with us.
Enjoyed the read - and the tank is looking good too.
great stuff - wont be taking the mickey for "Project Bad Boy" no more - really is a bad boy
aw bristlebasher, coming from you that's quite a compliment, you leave me alone, i'll leave you alone, now there's a deal ;)
Given everything else that has happened to scott along the way that would be just par for the course! Everything that could've gone wrong pretty much has!
Got to give him credit though for sticking with it all and coming out with an awesome tank!
don't you know it, Chris isn't joking the only element to all this that didn't incur problems was the stand, that came up trumps everything else nearly turned me grey. mind you, i had plenty of trouble with the original stand i was making so maybe it wasn't completely free of issues :D oh yeah, and due to the set back legs on this one i couldn't get superblades 18" wide tank through the end and it was too long to go in from the front. spent a fair chunk of an evening trying to work out how to get it in, called chris (as ever) and we had the stand on its back and slid the sump in on tracks made out of plywood. but still the stand is the most hindrance free part. :D
excellent job there,good write up too! its nice when ya get ya dream tank init
innit :D
Very nice Scoob, been a while hasnt it.
Seems it was well worth the wait, hope I can say the same fo rmine.
1) can post a few later when i get home, mind you, not much has changed LOL
2) bucket of salt episode??? i missed out a lot of episodes, thought it best for the good of the people, oh THE bucket of salt episode.......
so we're up at acropora house, we took a boot full of empty salt buckets and in the hustle and bustle manage to collar mark long enough to get some rock. marks on a step ladder chucking rock in a bucket on some scales, at 20kg the bucket is being taken from the scales by chris and put on the floor by me, i'm then trying to pack it as tight as possible into other buckets as the buckets are filled, mikew is putting lids on, what can i say? we had a system. anyways, once all are filled we have about 14 buckets iirc of rock, a bucket with my regal angel in and a couple of spare. we thank mark for his hospitality and say our good byes then start running it all up from mark's cellar to the car. A random stranger started helping too, not sure who he was but ta if you read this, i was the guy with the black estate and the magazines ;). so the 4 of us are running up and down, up and down when finally the car is full, can just about close the boot and fit mikew in the glove box, rear arches are sitting on the tyres, we're ready to go........hang-on.....something isn't right........do we have an extra bucket.......what's that one back there???? i begin to panic that mark is about to unleash his dog as we spot that somebody has inadvertantly picked up a brand new bucket of tmc pro reef as well and chucked it in the back of the car. "quick quick stick it back before he notices, he'll think we're knicking it".
thankfully, i don't think anybody noticed :D
have to get your priorities right, fish or you? fish or you? worst case scenario, you can get on a train :D
MaidstoneMarine
13-07-06, 09:15
come on scoob be fair - we were never going to put mike on the train home. we took enough rope with us to tie him to the roof bars in case there wasn't enough room for him in the car!
could have put him in the spare buckets ;)
*gobs coffee over monitor*
p'raps not eh mike?
MaidstoneMarine
13-07-06, 09:59
well edited scott! although that was a humorous situation!
benribbans
13-07-06, 13:20
Tank is massive, plain and simple!
Wish I had been able to make the get together although it may have spured me on to get a bigger tank......oh damn too late.....brain is in motion......;) .....now how to I get the sump into that cabinet etc etc etc....
I have to say if I had left a 4ft tank in the garden for 9 months my misses would have cut my nik naks off and made a nice display out of them....although she is all for a new larger tank which will hopefully go in the new house.....:)
Good job and look forward to watching this one pan out.
Ben
cheers Ben, shame you couldn't make it but from what it seems, there's always next year :D
a couple more for mike :)
fire coral from jacksok
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/firecoral.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/topdown.JPG
monti cap from reefbloke
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/redmonti.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/scoobsump.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/sohalboy.JPG
bunglehaze
13-07-06, 16:41
Ey up Scoob, thats not a bad affair after all m8... looking good
cheers
leigh:D
:) wow nice tank scoob,looking good,cant wait to see it,when it matures .
richard
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/foxfacemag.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/goodolangel.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/seritascooby.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/montiscooby.JPG
Reef bloke
13-07-06, 21:36
good stuff Scott,fishes looking healthy and good polyp extension on the sps.
looking good scott
can i ask why you have no partitions in your sump? do you not need them?
cheers
paul
i could do with them, if just to protect the return pumps but i'm currently making dividers and sections out of eggcrate. i have no problem with micro bubbles and my eggcrate frame, although not pretty, still provides me with a lot of protection for the pumps, heaters and algae spreading.
I'm mulling over the idea of putting another tank down there you see, a cube on the left of the stand which will be a refugium, if i do this my sump will become a high flow live rock tank like i originally planned and i would have to remove any baffles i silliconed in. egg crate is so much more easily removed.
instantsquid
14-07-06, 07:03
I was keen to see how your high flow live rock sump would work, so I'm glad it's still on the cards.
One thing did occur to me though - with the sump as it currently is, if you were to incorporate an auto top-up you'd need to lose quite a lot of water through evaporation before it would then trigger the top-up mechanism. With the return pump behind a baffle, evaporation is a lot more instantly visible and subsequently dealt with.
- Ian.
fire coral from jacksok
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/firecoral.JPG
Be sure to tell me what it feels like :D
The frags all look happy!
Keith
I was keen to see how your high flow live rock sump would work, so I'm glad it's still on the cards.
One thing did occur to me though - with the sump as it currently is, if you were to incorporate an auto top-up you'd need to lose quite a lot of water through evaporation before it would then trigger the top-up mechanism. With the return pump behind a baffle, evaporation is a lot more instantly visible and subsequently dealt with.
- Ian.
i do run an auto top-up and haven't found it to be a problem, it tops up about a quarter of a pint at a time and works really really well. the pumps i am just going to raise on egg crate boxes just to keep them high enough, i don't trust the suckers :D
yeah the high flow sump is still on the cards for 2 reasons, firstly i want a larger algae bed, the bigger the better, ideally much bigger mass than can grow in the 4 foot sump. my caulerpa is under 210watts of t5's to force it to grow as quickly as is possible, counter productive if i have to harvest every few days. Secondly because I feel I have too much rock in the display, there probably isn't but when i was aquascaping i hit a point where i thought 'damn that looks good like that' but i still had a couple of bucket fulls to put somewhere, i crammed it in which did change the look a little, it was a lot more open originally, still had to sling 10kg in the sump tho. :D
Keith, I nearly had a taker the other day, a friend came round and was standing next to the tank staring, i calmly said "you couldn't reach in and move that coral there over to the ledge on the left could you". my wifes sniggering gave away an ulterior motive :( next time gadget, next time :cool:
Looks great, a quick question re the move over, as I'm doing a tank swop sometime soon.
Did you use "brand new" water in the new tank or some water from your other tank?
Cheers,
Greg
i used about 40 gallons from my old set up and 250 gallons of new water. when the new water was settled i swopped a couple of jus between old set up and new set up. nothing scientific just if i was walking from the kitchen to the lounge i'd grab a jug. then when i moved stock across i did it bucket by bucket from the kitchen putting as much water across as possible without getting the stirred up water.
it was still way outweighed but i'm a firm believer that the most important part is that the rock is mature for a successful tank swop, old water can't do any harm but i'm not convinced it makes much difference, i mainly swopped water back and forth as a prolonged way of acclimatising my stock.
Wow! Fantastic Scoob. Well worth the trials and tribulations.
Would have loved to have seen it for real. Maybe next time.
Great write up - a riveting read. Keep the pictures coming so we can follow as it matures.
Tony
very nice, but arent you worried about old tank syndrome coming into effect soon due to the use of old live rock, big tanks like this are normally recommended to fresh up the live rock every 4-5 years normally with a change of it :D
a-ha just spotted this, yes jayz ;) that's a very good point and one i'm sure you know i'm interested in.
my live rock has been sourced from 3 different tanks, if you go down to the small bits then it's more like half a dozen tanks. as, I believe, I mentioned earlier in this thread i plan on having a high flow live rock sump, hopefully using the excess rock from my display, maybe a bit of stm grunge and about 20 kilos of reef bones i got off martin lakin. this will be unlit and will hopefully form a very large cryptic zone.
if in a couple of years time the dreaded old tank syndrome comes into effect i hope to start a rock swop type affair. say i have 40 kilos in my sump, i take 20 out and meet up with half a dozen reefers say who have also brought 20 kg, we then chuck it all in a large vat and mix it up, then take home 20 kg each of mixed jumbled rock.
if this still doesn't work, and lets face it, it might not. the reef bones in my sump will still be 'new' live rock, i'll swop this with rock from my display as i know this will still be very porous.
if this doesn't work, (i think you're getting the idea. )
i plan to either smash the old rock up, use some as grunge and the rest i'll forward on to people to seed new tanks, or i'll just sell it on and replace it with 'newer' stuff.
ofcourse anything could happen by then so for the minute i'm living for the day :D :D
very nice, but arent you worried about old tank syndrome coming into effect soon due to the use of old live rock, big tanks like this are normally recommended to fresh up the live rock every 4-5 years normally with a change of it :D
Never heard of that , I thought my rock would last forever :(
there's no evidence to suggest it wont, but educated guessers could summise that over the life of rock in a closed system, the pores could get clogged over time with calcium deposits which in turn bind things like phosphates and sulphates. if these pores get clogged the boreing denitrifying bacteria and critters lose more and more of the free surface of rock and so a 10kg piece of rock would be as useful as a 1kg piece of rock, then say you have a ph crash for whateer reason and these calcium plugged pores are then suddenly opened en mass as the calcium deposits dissolve what happens to the bound phosphates and nasties, mind you if you've just had a ph crash, will you really care.
old tanks past 5 years tend to not look their best despite their owners efforts, this is called (for ease) old tank syndrome, in truth nobody knows why it happens, aged live rock is only the tip of our guesstimations :)
Reef bloke
20-07-06, 20:06
Could give it a good ole cook Scoob.My reef bones and some of my old rock had a good cooking up in my shed for a month with large amounts of phosphate remover.The stuff came out beautifully clean,still contained pod life and was ready for some nitrate reducing action.Tested the tankage the other day and with a new salifert Nitrate kit it was showing 1ppm.Now if i can keep it there is another matter lol.
well it's been what? 4 and a half weeks???? and my clowns have laid there first batch of eggs in the new tank, things are looking gravy again :D
i hate you ;) .
my tomato clowns have been inthe tank 2 months and are only just starting to pair up:)
jase
I go about making some drawings for pipework, i want my returns to come up, over the top and then spray across the front, speaking to a few people it seems that they wish they had the returns behind the rock. sounds like a good idea, i order my pipework from coral-culture and get Chris round to help/show me how to do it, never needed pipe before so this was all new to me :)
Chris, probably saying something like, 'put that soddin camera down and take this will ya'
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/PBB%20017.jpg
the returns are the middle 2 pipes, the overflows are the 2 outer pipes.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/PBB%20012.jpg
Scoob excellent pics and write up
I am at the stage of designing my new tank and looking at your plumbing I would like to achieve something like this, but I noticed your returns was plumbed over the top of the tank rather than having holes drilld for the returns, now the tank is setup do you nitice any problems with this and do you wish you had drilled the returns ?
thanks wiggy,
no i'm glad i didn't drill the returns. drilled returns, imo, are only safe if part of a closed loop or behind a false weir. i have 2 small weir boxes and no top to bottom weir to give me maximum space along the base of the tank for aquascaping. drilling the sump returns would have caused me all kinds of problems that are easily remedied by simply putting the pipe over the top.
if the tank had been shorter, i probably would have been happy with pumps behind the rock work, i then would have had the returns along the top of the brace bars then only peeping into the tank in the corners to give flow at the front of the tank. as the rock wall is over 7 ft long tho, i don't trust my buried pumps to shift trapped detritus all the way along and out into the open, the sumpr returns do it for me :)
Is the a reason why you did not opt for closed loops ?
no not at all. closed loops are very safe, if the pump fails nothing happens as it's all part of the same system.
i already had a couple of streams and planned the returns the way they are. i could have had closed loops but these would still have had to have been behind the rockwork for me to be happy. it's quite common now to have closed loop retruns coming up through the base at the front of the tank, if you look at 'Tuan's Dream Tank' he has hidden them really well, i think this is because his tank is so deep front to back he can have them in rock piles and they don't look odd, because my tank is only 2 foot front to back, i didn't want to risk the look of the tank.
i think closed loops are great and if you already have a plan in your head, you should go with it i just think streams are perfectly fine and it's another thing that's easy to fix if it goes wrong. i like simplicity, my tank is extremely basic as i prefer ease of use over intelligent design, the simpler it all is, the more motivation i have in working on it. my 'next' tank will be a lot bigger than this one, i already have the plans :D and this will have closed loops.
there'll always be barbies wee man, don't you worry.
well the clowns laid eggs on the 22nd and again yesterday on the 31st. took some snaps and i'll post them later. 9 days between layings is odd ime but hey ho, they must be happy :)
EDIT: clown egg laying dates.....
1) 22/07/06 clear eggs eaten by clowns within 2 days
2) 31/07/06 9 days between, white eggs eaten by clowns within 5 days
3) 11/08/06 11 days between, cream eggs with nucleii.
******new streams added stop play********
4) 26/08/06 15 days due to disruption, white eggs.
urban_hippie
02-08-06, 22:38
Hope everythings coming on swimmingly!!
Thanks for the offer of the visit, sorry i couldn't make it, did you get my pm?
Maybe next time dude,
cheers
as promised:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/clowneggs01.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/clowneggs02.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/clowneggs03.JPG
Hope everythings coming on swimmingly!!
Thanks for the offer of the visit, sorry i couldn't make it, did you get my pm?
Maybe next time dude,
cheers
:D perfect timing. logged on to post these pics and reply to your pm :D
don't worry, was working yesterday anyway, offer stands tho' next time you're in the neighbourhood :)
Wow....That was a good read....I love you personal story behind everything. I feel so close now...I need a hug.
Really though, everything is coming together nicely for you!!!!
see, if only you'd flown over last month, i dunno :D :D
as for the hug, umm, errr if my mrs opened the door to an american after a scooby hug, i think she'd freak just a little, actually no, nothing surprises her these days :D :D
Maybe if you leave me an open invitation me and my Mrs, could come for a week some time... well, not to stay with you but to stop in for dinner. I'll pm you a pic of me and my wife. I enjoyed seeing a pic of you from your "project bad boy" post. I like know who I am reading/talking to. Again...fantastic set up!!! Of the topic...you guys ok after the crazy stuff that went doen this morning?? The first thing that I thought of when I found out this morning was how all my reef pals in the UK are. I hope all is well.
regards, mike
everything is fine here, well, provided you aren't going on your honeymoon, taking the kids on that chance in a lifetime trip to disneyworld, being re-united with lost family :(
i work for the railway here in england and the paranoid reports are coming in thick and fast, i feel sorry for our tanned friends trying to board trains with baggage, must be terrifying for them right now.
cheers for the pic, you're right, it is nice to see who you are talking to. one thing tho, you could have put some clothes on for the picture :D :D
in the general discussion area is a thread, several hundred pages long now, full of members pics, you ought to post in there :)
hey, if ever you are over and my end of the country, get in touch, plenty of others around here who i'm sure would like to meet up too. we could have a reefers night on the tiles :D
Excellent write up Scoob:D
Tank looks fab,well done for persevering through all your trials and tribulations.There again reefkeeping is full of them, I've just lost a mature,prized large SPS colony that was my pride and joy:( Makes you feel like giving up but then something inside just won't let go.We really need to be odsessed to stand any chance of succeeding :)
I look forward to the next episode......:D
rgds,
Anthony
I will take you up on that Scoob!!! I will also look into the general discussion area. I am happy to hear that you are well, what do you do for the railway??? I can't imagine being on eof the "tanned ones" right now. My Chef/Partner is from Jordan, Africa and has been getting bad looks from people. It really is too bad that on group of CRAZY individuals are ruining EVERYTHING for us.
Any updates / latest pics, Scoob?
dan-the-man
10-09-06, 18:47
Yeah I think its about update time Scoob. :)
I bet he's too busy travelling around Kent playing pool - quite the hussler he is :p
well wriiten account, i could only hope to have something of that capacity, an understanding long haired one helps as well, look forward to watching this project grow as time goes on, interesting the old tank syndrome, especially if as it seems live rock will be less and less available as time passes, perhaps the belin method will have to be re evaluated if there becomes a shortage of available live rock, unless some enterprising chaps want to make live rock en mass and seed the stuff in the tropics, though if or not that idea would work only time would tell
right just a quick pic update :)
taken 10 minutes ago, still a way off yet but getting there :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/shrunktank150906.JPG
I bet he's too busy travelling around Kent playing pool - quite the hussler he is :p
That was just cruel :D
That looks good Scoob.
Impressed, want a nem ? ? ? :D :D or 5....
Looking very nice indeed.
Nice to see you also get the central "Tunze Effect" to your sand !!!!
That's coming along very nicely, well done Sir :D
steven, i have given up pushing it back for the minute. let my streams do what they do best then will lower again in time to get equilibrium.
chris, i was hustling, i'm not that bad really :D :D
matty, i would love one but if you drift your eyes back up to that pic and take a look somehwere near 12 o clock.........
Reef bloke
15-09-06, 19:23
Looking really good Scoob!?Filling out beautifully!
lol to demonstrate.
8 weeks ago :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/8weeksago0907.JPG
now
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/8weekslater.JPG
That does look realy nice! Top job as we would expect :p
mysticwave
15-09-06, 20:03
What a brilliant thread Scoob! Dont know how I managed to miss it when it started. Tank is looking really great! So how many more fish that you plan on to stock?
Well done to you Scoob and all your reefer mates!
CC
lol to demonstrate....8 weeks ago :).....now
Wow, Scoob. That is fantastic development.
Tank's looking great. Well done mate.
Well worth it.
Just need to finish the doors now ;)
Tony
Looking really good now mate, going to be superb in time to come.
MaidstoneMarine
15-09-06, 21:35
Hmmm.... not bad. Suppose it'll do for a small tank! :p
lol to demonstrate.
8 weeks ago :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/8weeksago0907.JPG
now
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/8weekslater.JPG
And the YT hasnt moved in all that time :eek: :eek: sumfing fishy going on 'ere !!
That does look realy nice! Top job as we would expect :p
cheers mike, glad you like it, you'll have to come up soon and have a closer look. looks crap in person :D :D
What a brilliant thread Scoob! Dont know how I managed to miss it when it started. Tank is looking really great! So how many more fish that you plan on to stock?
cheers, this thread is most definately better than my last tank thread :D
fish stock wise, i am done. no more unless...you know.....i happen to be somewhere at the right time lol. I have religiously stuck to my stocking list all bar a couple of extras i didn't account for. my stocking list is
2 x oscellaris clowns.
2 x bangaii cardinals.
11 x squammapinni anthias
1 x hawaiian regal angel
1 x magnifica foxface
1 x yellow tang
1 x regal tang
1 x desjardinni sailfin tang
1 x convict tang
1 x purple emperor tang
1 x sohal tang
1 x powder blue tang
all of the above are exactly as planned bar the sailfin, bangaiis and purple tang. they have been housed to help out a mate kind of thing :) the powder blue and convict tangs were conditions of the tank. if i built a large tank i HAD to have a convict and a powder blue, don't get me wrong, i'm not complaining.
fish on my 'right place right time' list are black cap gramma, flame angel, reef safe addis butterfly, achilles tang, and a couple of others. if i come across one of these, maybe just maybe i'll do the math :D
i have stocked my fish, i'm now stocking un-necessary (non clean up crew) motile inverts like stars and erchins and then next month will be shrimps. my plan from the early days was to have a creepy crawlie haven. i have a couple of cleaner shrimps and a blood shrimp. i plan to have close to a dozen bloods when i'm finished and asternia willing, a pair of harlequins but they will only be in a couple of years IF my asternias become productive enough.
Wow, Scoob. That is fantastic development.
Tank's looking great. Well done mate.
Well worth it.
Just need to finish the doors now
no no no kind sir, as i mentioned back on page 2, the stand is yet to reveal its main purpose :D :D that will be a future update tho. worth the wait mind :)
Hmmm.... not bad. Suppose it'll do for a small tank! :p
ladies and gents please ignore the young lady with short tank syndrome, she can't help it :p
And the YT hasnt moved in all that time :eek: :eek: sumfing fishy going on 'ere !!
damn busted, ok i admit, the fish are transfers stuck on the front pane, the rock and coral is transferred on the back. when i'm not entertaining or taking pics, the tank is actually full of my true love, scampi flavoured nik-naks, you caught me!!!!!
mysticwave
16-09-06, 07:31
fish on my 'right place right time' list are black cap gramma, flame angel, reef safe addis butterfly, achilles tang, and a couple of others. if i come across one of these, maybe just maybe i'll do the math :D
Good choice of "just may be" list, but i thought addis butterflies are reef safe???
CC
the stand is yet to reveal its main purpose
Is it a fold out pool table ? :D
Johnymajors
16-09-06, 10:37
NAH! its gonna have a built in kiddie pen to keep the rug rat in while scoobs working on the tank :D
The tanks looking fantastic there fella
Just read this thread from the start Scoob. I like your sense of humour and writing style - made me chuckle :) !
Tank is looking great, keep up the good work !
Rich
Reefer Madness
16-09-06, 16:13
Nice one Scoob......nice to see just what the mentor is capable of :D
How did I miss this thread??!!!
It is both humourous and a cracking tank to boot!
Fantastic setup - lovely aquascaping - nice choice of stock. Just all round great. Future TOTM methinks. :)
Fantastic tank, I've just finnished the reading the bad boy biography and you are a credit to perseverance:) .
All that remains is to start showing the wife subliminal images of your tank in the hope of one day owning the dream:D.
Jim
C'mon, Scoob, time for some more pix!
liquidlogic
26-10-06, 11:08
scoob im very impressed if i had a tank of that size thats exactly how i wud of set it out . smashing
How long before the Gerbils go in???!!!!:D
Only kiddin scoob,, its credit to ya mate, it just goes to show that if ya know what ya doin, it certainly helps..
Would make a crackin SUMP ;)
:D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :D :) :D :) :D :) :D :) :D
Nice rock and coral layout there!!! looks very natural:) :cool:
Elliott
Sye Davies
04-11-06, 17:32
great thread and tank scoob.....handsome looking mutt too:D
one question for ya if i may be so bold.
i like the idea of the returns going behind the rockwork and would like this in my own tank..............
how have you prevented syphoning if the pump is switched off as the outleys are well underwater.
Nice one Scoob......nice to see just what the mentor is capable of :D
cheers peter, yours will whizz past mine in no time at all.
gorgeus setup
why thankyou very much :)
How did I miss this thread??!!!
It is both humourous and a cracking tank to boot!
Fantastic setup - lovely aquascaping - nice choice of stock. Just all round great. Future TOTM methinks. :)
thanks for the compliments, tho in all honesty, it will never be of TOTM standard i wouldn't have thought. too much going on in the tank for it to grow out properly in my opinion. it wont be set up for eternity, i'd be suprised if it's still running in 3 years time. we will have to move house at some point :)
Fantastic tank, I've just finnished the reading the bad boy biography and you are a credit to perseverance:) .
All that remains is to start showing the wife subliminal images of your tank in the hope of one day owning the dream:D.
if that doesn't work, try chloraform and a gold card, keep adding chloraform until the gold card is spanked and deliveries have been made, revive with smelling salts once tank is set up and full and show her the 3 empty bottles of vodka 'she' must have drunk as you've just come home and seen what 'she' has just set up. if she doesn't go for it, get your G.P involved and pack her off to rehab, using the 3 empty bottles as evidence.
C'mon, Scoob, time for some more pix!
probably is actually, i'm at work at the mo but should be off for a couple of days this coming week, must get the old camera out. doesn't look much different to me, well never does 'til you see the photos next to each other :D
scoob im very impressed if i had a tank of that size thats exactly how i wud of set it out . smashing
pleased to hear it. i'd like to lie and say that it was built in the garden first and drawn up on wonderful computer programmes but most of the jobs, that i did anyway, involved whacking it together and seeing if it worked :D
Would make a crackin SUMP ;)
it certainly WILL make a cracking sump one day. i already have it planned :D :D and you'll think i'm kidding.
Nice rock and coral layout there!!! looks very natural:) :cool:
cheers ell, hopefully it will grow out well, still looks bare to me.
great thread and tank scoob.....handsome looking mutt too:D
one question for ya if i may be so bold.
i like the idea of the returns going behind the rockwork and would like this in my own tank..............
how have you prevented syphoning if the pump is switched off as the outleys are well underwater.
no probs. where the pipes come over the top of the tank into the water and down. i drilled a hole in each pipe about 15mm below the waterline. when i switch my pumps off the water syphons down to these holes then the syphon is broken. during normal operation you'd never know the holes were there. once a month tho it is incredibly important to poke a cocktail stick in the holes and give it a wiggle. they always block to a degree even in that short space of time. i usually do this as i unblock the venturis on my skimmer, if i have a cocktail stick in my hand, i may as well make use of it :D :D
Sye Davies
05-11-06, 12:20
ahhh yes.....i often find myself with a cocktail stick in hand wondering what to do with it:rolleyes: :eek:
cheers scoob:)
fantastic tank scoob, very entertaining read!!
a thangya, a thangya very mush :)
Just wondering if you could post the dimensions of your tank and how many gallons, lighting, how many filters, sump, piping, cleaning crew, how often you do water changes, anything you can name.
blazesnake
20-11-06, 20:42
great thread and fantastic tank, well done
Just wondering if you could post the dimensions of your tank and how many gallons, lighting, how many filters, sump, piping, cleaning crew, how often you do water changes, anything you can name.
Try reading the thread from page 1 - should answer most of that!:rolleyes:
wow ive just read the whole thread, Scoob yer a funny sob love the write up mate, wish i had a way of words like you, a great thread and tank to boot
The best write up iv'e seen i feel like i know you a bit after all that reading......... superb!
The best write up iv'e seen i feel like i know you a bit after all that reading......... superb!
Think yourself lucky that you dont :p
top notch scoob!!
wheres the updated pics? :D
aw you don't mean that paul, your life is all the sweeter for meeting me :D
thanks sigster, glad it made you smile :)
Mark, my lounge is upside down at the moment, can't get close enough to the tank to get a pic but will do real soon.
stud, errm, what cajen said.
angelfishman
24-11-06, 13:21
looks really good mate,should be even better in a couple of months time keep the pictures coming.derek
Managed to get some top down shots tonight, and thought i'd post as a growth report.
fire coral from jacksok in july:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b9firecoral.JPG
and in november:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b6fire1.JPG
green monti digi from jacksok in july:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b9montidigi.JPG
and in november:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b7montidigi1.JPG
red monti from reef-bloke in july:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b9redmonti.JPG
and in november:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b2red1.JPG
only picture i have of green monti given to me by course-its-reef-safe in july:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b9green1.JPG
and in november:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b1green1.JPG
and lastly :)
the green bubble tip given to me by course-its-reef-safe in july:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b9nem1.JPG
and now in november:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b1nem4.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b1nem1.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b1nem2.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/b1nem3.JPG
Fantastic growth there Scott, it's looking really good
Reef bloke
29-11-06, 00:25
Blimey thats some growth!Superb mate!
not bad considering my calcium reactor is still in the under stairs cupboard :D :D
Fantastic! watching frags grow is a rewarding part of the hobby
Looking good Scoob. Have you managed to sting yourself on the fire coral yet? :)
PS That green Monti I gave you isn't a digi, its Montipora capitata
As above, thats some serious growth :D
Top work :D
Looking good Scoob. Have you managed to sting yourself on the fire coral yet? :)
PS That green Monti I gave you isn't a digi, its Montipora capitata
keith, not as yet. tho a friend of mine was round the other day and we were knocking up one of our most brutal chillies yet. he thought it a good idea to add extra zing by adding a lump of fire coral. i eventually talked him out of it and we left it be, obviously, as i'm still here typing :D :D
capitata, ohhhhh, that makes more sense. i must have misheard you at the time, its nothing like a digitata i have as well but figured thats what you said :D :D montipora capitata it is then :)
mysticwave
29-11-06, 09:16
:p Very nice....
I'm jealous.....
SuperBlades
29-11-06, 09:29
Nice one m8!
How about a updated full tank pic?
MaidstoneMarine
29-11-06, 11:12
mate that is some serious growth there. very impressed! i think I'm gonna have to pop up and see the whole thing!
dan-the-man
29-11-06, 11:14
Great growth there, must be doing something right for once! ;) :p
Love the green plating monti and the nem :) Can see your getting a bit better with the camera.... ;)
SuperBlades
29-11-06, 11:30
mate that is some serious growth there. very impressed! i think I'm gonna have to pop up and see the whole thing!
Sounds a good idea, perhaps a meet at Scott's isn't a bad idea, seeing as I couldn't get to the bbq!
C'mon Scott, invite us! ;)
Scott is cheating; he is adding steroids in large doses and growth hormones :D :p
Reef bloke
29-11-06, 12:29
He told me he was chucking Big tasties in there.
instantsquid
29-11-06, 12:33
He told me he was chucking Big tasties in there.
Who is Big Tasties? :confused:
Reef bloke
29-11-06, 12:37
I take it you dont frequent the fast food take away that is McDonalds Ian lol.100% prime beef,the corals luv em so he says.He wonders why his nitrates are so high Tsk!
Who is Big Tasties? :confused:
That's his test-ice-icles!:D :p
Lucky Eddie
29-11-06, 12:38
Thought you couldn't keep SPS !!!!! :eek:
Absolutely blinding.
You absolutely sure you dont want another nem ????????
Didn't read thru the whole thread again due to my dickslecksia and male pattern baldness, but is that a Sohal in there ???????
just a quick update, had all the furniture out to lay carpet so took the opportunity to stand well back for a FTS. please excuse the quality, no idea what went wrong :D :D oh and yes richard, a lovely cute soft as you like sohal :D :D yeah right :D
anyways, back in july it looked like this
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/23.JPG
and now, christmas eve 2006 it looks like this :) (from the two angles i always use for ease of comparison :D :D )
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206oo1.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206oo2.JPG
Reef bloke
24-12-06, 16:52
Most excellent growth Scoob!Those are amongst the most healthy fish i have ever seen.A really lovely tank!
it's really beginning to take shape nicely!
dan-the-man
24-12-06, 17:05
Looks excellent Scoob. Get us some shots of the corals now then! :p
That regal angel in particular looks ... er... well rounded? :D
That's one good job, Scoob - love that tank. Just shows you can't be that incompetent, can you? :D
Looks excellent Scoob. Get us some shots of the corals now then! :p
righty ho, how abouts a left to right in 2 foot increments. bare in mind this is only a couple of days after KABOOM so not at its best, i'm still happy tho :) :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206left.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206MIDLEFT.JPG
nee naw nee naw, count the tangs dammit :D :D :D
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206midright.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206right.JPG
and me urchin :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206a1urchin.JPG
Great again, Scoob - and those tangs look to be in wonderful nick. I've put the TP on alert, but they say they'll take no action this time as it's Christmas.....;)
Is the egg crate at the surface for frags?
Reef bloke
25-12-06, 01:29
Thats egg crate to stop the mandarin i gave him taking another trip into his sump.Two years i had him without a prob.Couple of weeks with Scoob and he decides to take a flume ride to the sump lol.
Looking good as ever scooby baby.
Reefer Madness
25-12-06, 09:23
Looking good mate:cool:
Sye Davies
25-12-06, 20:25
you still not put doors on that stand yet:D ;)
looks cracking scoob:cool:
Merry Christmas mate. If you don't mind me saying the rock work needs some adjusting. It's to conjested.
Tank is looking very healthy Scoob, with lots of growth :).
How did you train all the tangs to pose for the camera in photo 3 ?
Great looking tank Scoob.
Love the Tangs, especially the sailfin.
Dave
Prometheus
25-12-06, 23:38
someone does love there tangs dont they :p .
about time you started planning your next bar-b-q eh scoob :D
simon garratt
26-12-06, 10:26
looking superb there Scoob..Just to agree the fish look great and its nice to see 'fat' healthy Tangs (too many people underfeed them imo) Have you tried Ocean Nutrition herbivore Pellet...fantastic for boosting bulk..
I see you have a sixline tang...how is he getting on? £££ ?, i was considering a few of these for the new tank as they look superb in groups in the Maldives..? but was concerned about sociability in a confined space..?
regards
and Merry Christmas.
Si.:)
cheers for the comments guys, it's coming on quite well i'm certainly happy with it. the good thing is i have many ways of improving it for the future, to the untrained eye it just looks like i have made several oversights but these are deliberate so i always have a plan to put in action to keep my interest :D :D :D without something to look forward to i'd get bored very quickly :D :D seriously it could be run a lot better and over the course of the next year i will make all the alterations i need to.
you still not put doors on that stand yet:D ;)
as for the stand :D :D the observant amongst you will have noticed that the flooring has been changed 5 times since this thread began and the wall colour has been changed 4 times also. i keep putting off the tank surround all the time we may be decorating again :D 2 tins of paint for the walls cost £30, a whole new set of doors and handles would cost a couple of hundred :D
someone does love there tangs dont they :p .
about time you started planning your next bar-b-q eh scoob :D
i do love tangs, i love em to bits great movement and relatively easy to keep. i think the trick is introducing correct sizes in the correct order, that and a shed load of luck.
as for the next barbeque, watch this space ;)
I see you have a sixline tang...how is he getting on? £££ ?, i was considering a few of these for the new tank as they look superb in groups in the Maldives..? but was concerned about sociability in a confined space..?
ah my favourite little employee, the best if not the most colourful of all my tangs. the sixline/convict has the smallest caudal spur of all tangs and imo this is reflected in his demeanour. he never 'sizes' anybody up, keeps himself to himself and grazes like a nut case. i think i may have problems keeping him if it were not for the amount of rockwork i have. he grazes morning, noon and night. a very placid fish who i can see staying with me for a long old time. sociability i din't think would be a problem. If i had more space i certianly would like to keep a few, provided food was available, this is the only potential problem i could see, BUT, if i were at home long enough to keep the nori clips full, he'd probably be just fine. as for £ think i paid £28 from STM. didn't have to wait too long for him to come in either. jez had said to me on the phone that when he arrived he was having difficulty feeding and so advised i wait a week for collection. when i picked him up he was a little faded but fat enough and lively enough i was more than happy to bring him home. eaten from day one and done nothing but grewed.
simon garratt
27-12-06, 00:35
Cheers scoob..
Its just one of those fish that i think would look stunning as a group of say 4/5.....plus its a bit different to your average group of yellows etc.
From what ive seen of them in the Maldives (when relaxed) they have a stunning golden/yellow sheen to them with the cream belly so im wondering if it would be possible to get to this type of condition in captivity...Alot of the ones ive seen are predominantly just cream all over but also usually underfed, (unlike yours) so im wondering wether the colouration is more to do with that rather than an adult/juvanile thing..
mmmm. seems i might be in for a batch...I fancy a challenge..:D
regards
si.
Reef bloke
27-12-06, 01:51
From what ive seen of Scoobs in the flesh it did have a yellow/gold sheen from certain angles i think.It might have been just my eyesight though knowing me.Didnt stop grazing all the time i was there,busy little bee so it was.
i'll try and get some shots later if you like si, he is very yellow from his lateral line up and the colour goes through to his dorsal, his sides to pectorals are cream and his belly is a very blank white if you know what i mean. certainly not just a white and black fish. also i have noticed as he bulked up and grew happier his lines have more definative edging where as before they faded to grey then white. you'll see what i mean when i get pics later on, he's the easiest tang to photograph :D :D
hey scoob, looking very very nice, you've had some crazy growth!!! i have one question tho.... is it your streams thats moved your sand to either end of the tank i take it? or is there a plan behind that? :rolleyes: kinda get the same trouble in my tank...... love all your tangs there very pretty!
gud work man
:)
yup, to coin LTD that's be the tunze effect :D
I will in time add a few bags of coarser grade aragamax, sugarfine is just too light with 24,000 lph flow coming by in alternating directions every few seconds. sadly where i have the streams right now seems to be the optimum for all inhabitants. all sps gets strong deflected flow and the tangs get a strong current to swim against. if coarser grade sand doesn't sort it i'll get shot of it.
to be honest, when i finally get round to picture framing it i've half a mind to try and make the frame itself moveable. then if i can't keep sand in the middle, i'll adjust the frame to hide it. bare bottom is fine imo for tank keeping, it's just unsightly :)
thought that was the case, completly agree about the bare bottom (ooooo errr :o ) think i got a bit to much in mine but not enough to qualify for a dsb...... would remove some, but everythink has a tendency of going wrong...... i have that kinda luck.... i'll adjust a powerhead and my skimmer overflows :confused: :confused:
:)
as promised some convict pics, didn't come out too well, i'm holding nori in my left hand and the camera in my right :D :D :D
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aconvict01.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aconvict02.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aconvict03.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/apantsconvict02.JPG
simon garratt
27-12-06, 21:39
Cheers Scoob. youve made my mind up on that one...5 it is........:D
Regards
Si.:)
dan-the-man
27-12-06, 21:39
Very very nice indeed. Coming along great Scott :)
Bl**dy hell, that sailfin looks HUUUGE (and fat)!!
John
i really wish i could fit a big tank in my house those fish are stunning!
Reef bloke
27-01-07, 23:12
I was around scotts and took some pics,the fish are still in superb health and the tank looks very clean.The move was very hard on the corals as I'm sure Scoob will agree but onwards and upwards.
I think Scoob is going to have a drastic re aqua scape too as we didn't have time after the move,apparently its going too look very different!
Heres a few pics,hope you dont mind me posting a few pics scoob.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/tankaftermove.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/fishscoob.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/coral.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/purple tang.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/regal angel.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/sohal.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/urchin.jpg
Lovely tank, lovely fish, lovely pictures!
Just never seem to be able to get the colours to come out right on mine :(
I do love the Sohal, but then the Foxface really is magnificent!
Regards,
Keith
Wreckfish88
28-01-07, 00:04
They are some Awesome fish you got there Scoob, Love the Convict.
wow, i want that camera Tony. is there any chance you can send me that sohal in an e-mail, will make a great desktop :) totally square on, perfect profile, i'd like to say it was very lucky but you were frantically adjusting settings so chances are it was all planned :D thanks again for fixing the car too, about 6 hours of being a mechanic and then still the energy to take these snaps, you're a star.
tony did say he was going to be a bit complimentary with the camera, the tank isn;t looking half as good as the pictures make out but i'm not ashamed, I have big plans for this tank, all to be implemented soon. gonna look better than ever if i do say so myself :D :D :D
cheers wreckfish and keith, I do love my fish. you have no idea how relieved i was that they all moved across unscathed and settled instantly. it could have so easily gone the other way, a true testament to the talent of the guys that came down to assist me in the move. if i had employed my regular friends, that move would have been a costly mistake!!!
BUT, it wasn't a mistake, Project Bad-Boy is now firmly back on track and will look stunning come this years summer party, watch this space. ;)
this week :) i have a cunning plan!
nope! all me :D no offence to anyone but you have to do your own scaping and positioning of livestock to guarantee happiness. Besides, that's the fun bit :D :D :D
MaidstoneMarine
28-01-07, 20:20
You mean Chris has a cunning plan;) :rolleyes: :rolleyes:
:D :D
I've not had any involvement in this phase of project bad boy at all so I'm intrigued to see what happens from here on in!
The pics look very good tony. seems like a cracking birthday present you've got there!
Great pics - those are very healthy fish!
Watching with great anticipation for the result of your 'cunning plan' :D
I noticed your stand has an overhang at the front - how much overhang is there?
Also what size box section is the frame made from?
The overhang is there because the corner posts were set back about 3".
This was to allow for hanging the doors of the cabinet with standard kitchen cupboard hinges that are screwed to the end panel.
The whole stand was set out to accomodate standard kitchen doors.
The box section was 40 x 40 x 3mm mild steel.
hth
p.s. I made it
Was just reading through. and figured it was about time for for someone to ask for an update! Come on scoob we need some new photos! did you do the re-aquascape in the end?
:thanks:
:D ha ha, no update for you, not for another 3 weeks ;)
as for doing the scaping, i wrote some *******s above about always doing it yourself :D :D i invested the help of a friend, he came, had a glint in his eye, asked if he could carry on, i stood back and the effect, 4 days on and i'm still smiling. Totally transformed the tank!!!!
all will be revealed soon :)
Now thats just mean! I have read this thread about 6 times now and I thought its about time I post on here.
But come on Scoobs, post some new pics. I want to nick all your good ideas!
Tanks looks ace by the way! Cant wait to see it!
C'mon post some pics of the "new re-vamped" rock work :worship:
you ninnies! you're both seeing it in person in less than 3 weeks, away with ya!!!! :D
you ninnies! you're both seeing it in person in less than 3 weeks, away with ya!!!! :D
Owecay buddy, if dats how ya wana play, fine :rolleyes: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh:
you ninnies! you're both seeing it in person in less than 3 weeks, away with ya!!!! :D
And what about the non muppet bunch! we wont be able to see it that soon!
Yeah come on SCOOB lets see!!! :)
And what about the non muppet bunch! we wont be able to see it that soon!
Yeah scoobs, what about the poor ppl who live abroad somewhere other than kent and Essex!
Just had a thought - I'm not even going to be here in 3 weeks! DOH!! :doh: :doh: :doh: :o
That should teach me for being nosy :)
:doh: :doh: :doh: Oh I thought I was comming to yours too on my guided tour of Kent:o
Never mind I'll see it soon I'm sure. Would have like to have meet you though:(
MaidstoneMarine
15-03-07, 10:40
come on scoob... give us an update :D
come on scoob... give us an update :D
Yep, I 2nd that...
UPDATE!!!!!!!!!!:dance:
chris, stop stirring :D :D you update yours first mate, last year was the last update wasn't it??? :D
april, you are coming to mine and you will be meeting me. don't worry, you will be meeting a LOT of people that day and seeing a LOT of tanks. by the end of it you wont have a clue who was who and what tank was what, essentially, you'll be no better off than you are now :D
I said give me a "U" :dance:
gimmi a "P" :dance:
a "D" :dance:
a "A" :dance:
a "T" :dance:
an "E" :dance:
UPDATE UPDATE, We need to get our facts straight,:banana:
Go go Team muppet!:clap::clap::clap:
(Sorry I'm in a cheering mood today)
:D i really think this 'wait and see principle' has kind of gone over most people's heads :D
ok update time, well, where to begin? a lot has happened in this tank, mostly good, least i thinkso, but as ever a myriad of hiccups have befallen me making me sound like a 2 stroke lawnmower.
anyway, i'm pretty sure nobody gives a flying fig what i say anymore so i'll just get to the pics.
last year it arrived looking not dissimillar to this:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/bigtank2.JPG
then once full of rock, this:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/firstfinished.JPG
a few corals were added and before the move it looked a bit like this:
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q1/shrunktank150906.JPG
then christmas eve, 2 weeks before i stripped it all down to move it :D
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/241206oo2.JPG
the move took its toll on my coral stock, anything with growth was snapped anything not snapped was eaten by my yellowfin angel (satan). after a couple of weeks settling it looked like this, pretty much where it was left when the guys came to help me move it.
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/tankaftermove.jpg
and now, after a lot of work, a lot of swearing and a lot of sweat, i finally have a tank making me smile again :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaaleftfts.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaaaftsrhs.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaamidtank.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaabettergbta.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaabluebubble.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaamoon.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaapurplegrowth.JPG
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaamonsterinmetank.JPG
Did you move the actual tank or just the LR around?
the whole kit and caboodle, seemed a good idea since i didn't live in the other house anymore :)
Angelfish:wub:
I'd love one of these, whats she like?
looks great scoob, i like the rockwork, good stuff
Angelfish:wub:
I'd love one of these, whats she like?
which one, regal, flame or lemnpeel? the yellowfin speaks for itself, it gone :D
You've moved house?
don't spend much time on here huh :D :D
muzzy, jobr, cheers.
having seen the dutch tanks i fell in love with the open look. in total about 80 kilos were removed. i am now strictly keeping the back glass clean for a crisp look. i love it :)
MaidstoneMarine
26-03-07, 22:41
Looking very nice scott. Clean and crisp. Whatever that green one is and that bubble look stunning :D They've settled in well.
Any more pics of anything at all ;)
you mean this? ;)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aaaanaso.JPG
Anymore pics of your monster shrimp scott?
:D the blue spiney lobster? hang on i'll have a look
:D the blue spiney lobster? hang on i'll have a look
That's him :thumbsup:
this one isn't so clear but if you check out lucky eddies margate thread, mysticwave has posted a 20 second film clip of it :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aashrunklobby.JPG
tanks looking great, some seriously big angels! :wub: and a lemonpeel, i love them! your tanks frickin huge man!
marc
MaidstoneMarine
26-03-07, 23:03
thats the baby... very nice.
this one isn't so clear but if you check out lucky eddies margate thread, mysticwave has posted a 20 second film clip of it :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/aashrunklobby.JPG
Thats V cool :worship:
Your tank is looking really good, those fish are fatter than you!
MaidstoneMarine
26-03-07, 23:28
:d:d:d:d
Prometheus
27-03-07, 00:30
oh come on, nothing but a walrus could be that big:D :D
:laugh: :laugh: :laugh: :laugh: thats not nice, be chubby and be happy like me :p
Those fish are more than Chubby! you wanna watch it scoobs Tony Blair will be after you for some kind of obesity tax.
However I've now got to find some way of sqweezing a lobbo into my tank now.
I can take no credit for the following shots, the artist was ~Tony~. they were just so damned good I have had to nick them :)
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/kent_4904.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/kent_4905.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/kent_4912.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/kent_4913.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/kent_4918.jpg
http://www.ultimatereef.net/uploader/2006Q4/kent_4927.jpg
The Regal, sorry should of said:o
my regal is my favouritest fish in the world, drove 600 miles to get that puppy.
he's a hawaiian regal and i believe the only one in the country. when i added him he (overnight) obliterated a mass of pulsing xenia and a very large pussey coral. He then moved on to sponges and tunicates but i don't mind, i just don't add any of those corals anymore. feeds from my hand and thinks he's a tang, cruises up and down with them.
such a lovely lovely fish. likes to hide a fair bit in the mornings, many a panic has ensued when i haven't found him for 20 minutes or so but then he suddenly appears and i tick him off :D
love that fish to bits :)
Brought a nice smile to my face that Scoob, looks a beaut :)
simon garratt
27-03-07, 10:43
Its all looking rather good if i do say so myself..:worship:
Especially considering the complete ineptitude and accident succeptability of its keeper...:whistling:
regards
si.:)
PS: you do realise folks that he actually 'hires' someone to come in and look after it...dont you..:whistling:
yeah I hire your mumma :D :D
you are just jeallous Mr G. it doesn't matter how inept i am, i gots salty water. in the land of the blind, the one eyed man is king :D
simon garratt
27-03-07, 11:26
You keep your one eyed man to yourself thankyou very much..:whistling:
Si.
PS. are you saying my mum does it for money..? :laugh:
money? no. chips with a splash of vinegar, she's up to her elbows :D
simon garratt
27-03-07, 11:39
Ok, we wont go any further with this one. the thought of you olging my elderly mother as she bends over to work on your tank is an image thats just wrong, in sooooo many ways..:sick: :sick:
Si.
want a pic? :D :D
anyway, next on the agenda, boost the clean up crew, add a leopard wrasse and a pair of skunks, get the fascia finished off and i'm set :)
dan-the-man
27-03-07, 11:58
Looking good scott, really like the new aquascaping, much better than before ;)
I want that foxface!!! :(
That's an awesone tank. Love the Regal Angel and Powder Blue.
....was that white spot on the powder blue?
...hope not.
he has a couple left yes, don't worry it is clearing up, him and the focface are the last to get rid of it.
the lemon peel was originally an orangepeel that took a turn for the worst and went silver, i took it in to nurse it back to health and it gave everything white spot. the purple tang took it the worst and was completely white. kept my hands out and increased my already heavy feeding to stratospheric levels (it worked for me, don't take it as gospel) tis why it remained unscaped for so long. as soon as everything was best part clear i rescaped. just a couple of spots left on the powder blue and a couple on the foxface and i'm spot free. damn orange peel cured and coloured up again but has returned yellow :D wouldn't have taken it if i knew it was going to turn yellow :D :D
...increased feeding ?!?!
Anything else added to help resolve the problem.
yup, absolutely no interaction from me apart from feeding, no hands in, no adjustment to flow nothing. kept the tank as calm as possible. cost me a few more corals but it worked. i am very fortunate in that when they all came down with it, they were all super healthy and porky as hell. i kept my sand bed out of the tank for a bit longer in the hopes that the crypto irritans would have less media to populate to start with. fed sheet after sheet of nori to keep them fat and healthy and hoped it would burn itself out, which it did.
interestingly none of my smaller fish, clowns, cardinals, anthias were affected, nor my sohal :D he must be nails!!!
simon garratt
27-03-07, 12:56
Nice to see someone else with that mentality to be honest.. Unfortunately many keepers just dont realise 1. just how much food you can actually put into a fish (what a 'truly' healthy fish looks like). 2. the benifits of having a good reserve of energy stored in the fish through good feeding and its effects on disease/infection control..
Ive allways said that in a well run tank, with minimal disturbance and good feeding, WS should only be a minor annoyance, not a cause for major concern..
well done Scoob..
Regards
Si.
i think you have hit the nail on the head. it is the energy reserves i have most trust with. i think the healthier the fish is the better everything is. not just beating back parasites.
when i aquire a new fish (apart from the lemonpeel which was a favour) i always get it from STM or Heritage aquatics. Both of these places treat fish correctly, no expense spared. top water conditions, top filtration rooms and loads of effort goes into the feeding. if the fish is healthy and fat when i buy it, that's half the job done for me.
i'm of the opinion that a fish thinks one thing, food. all it cares about is where the next meal is coming from, it's why they splash the surface when i walk near by, it's why they get upset when a new fish enters their territory, the food source has been jeopordised and they have to defend it for fear they will starve to death.
as an example, all my fish are fat. people always comment when they come round. yesterday i purchased a very large and fat naso lipstick tang and added it to my sohal, convict, powder blue, sailfin, purple, yellow and regal tang. 7 very fat fish and 1 new pretty fat fish. i acclimated him in a bucket and when the time was right, netted him and plopped him in.
every other tang came up to have a look, no fin displays, no scalpels drawn, they all just came up had a look and swam past. the naso being so big wasn't bothered either, it was surreal. I like to think i am very lucky with tangs, my theories work for me but even this knocked me for six.
after 10 minutes the powder blue suddenly realised he is a powder blue and gave it some handbags, chasing the nasos tail. this lasted for about a further 10 minutes and then (and you wont believe this) my sailfin stepped in. the powder blue made a couple more charges but everytime he did the sailfin shot inbetween and opened up the fin.
whole thing lasted 20 minutes from netting to complete ambivolence. all fish then tucked into a sheet of nori together.
this might be luck, but i put it down to fat. a fat and healthy fish is a mentally stable fish. and a fat mentally stable fish doesn't frett when a new charge is entered into the pecking order. had the naso been thinner, had any of my tangs been slightly trimmer, i wouldn't have taken the risk yesterday, thankfully i stuck to my usual method and this morning i have 8 tangs, 1 fox face and 1 regal angel cruising up and down together :)
I like the philosophy, and the acceptance of your new tang does prove the point. All your fish looked content and happy together.
I also like to keep my fish well fed and they do seem happy together - though they are small fry compared to your sailfin.:eek:
I'd hoped to get a decent picture of its width, but failed. I think the camera finger was tiring by the time I got to yours.:p
Great tank, and I love the changes you have made to the aquascaping.
Tony
Scoob, as a rough guide, how many sheets of nori do you get through and how many tangs are getting through it in, say, a week?
a week, blimey :D well i have done a sheet this morning already* and will do at least one more tonight maybe two, i also feed a tub of new era herbivore a week and a cube of my home made frozen between 5 and 6 times a week. mainly for the lobster these days. plus i put in a bit of ocean nutrition formulas one and two mixed and new era marine flake as and when i walk past.
on average i would say my convict, powder blue, regal and yelow tangs would eat half a sheet a day on their own. the big boys, purple, sohal, and sailfin will eat a whole sheet a day if on their own. the sailfin can eat a whole sheet in a single sitting, if i rip it into 3, the others don't get a look in :D
the naso appears to have an appetite akin to the sailfin (they are roughly the same size) but i can't say for sure yet what he would consume on his own.
* some baite for mikew :D
~tony~ it is hard getting an end on shot of the sailfin. my tank only being 2 foot front to back doesn't help and if i walk to the end pane the buggers all crowd and bash into each other :D
a week, blimey :D well i have done a sheet this morning already* and will do at least one more tonight maybe two, i also feed a tub of new era herbivore a week and a cube of my home made frozen between 5 and 6 times a week. mainly for the lobster these days. plus i put in a bit of ocean nutrition formulas one and two mixed and new era marine flake as and when i walk past.
on average i would say my convict, powder blue, regal and yelow tangs would eat half a sheet a day on their own. the big boys, purple, sohal, and sailfin will eat a whole sheet a day if on their own. the sailfin can eat a whole sheet in a single sitting, if i rip it into 3, the others don't get a look in :D
the naso appears to have an appetite akin to the sailfin (they are roughly the same size) but i can't say for sure yet what he would consume on his own.
* some baite for mikew :D
love the fish.
wow!thats alot of food! your nitrates and phosphates must be real high. what are they?
nitrates have always been quite high, they were 70ppm 9 weeks ago, since then tho i have done 13 x 25% water changes, at least 25% a week. i will test again soon, when i can be bothered. til then tho i'll keep doing the 25+ a week as i am loving the effect of heavy water changes.
phosphates, again i am unsure but i have no DSB, i do run caulerpa, and again the massive water changes. one of these days i'll take a flask full to someone with a merck kit to find out for sure :) i am also using rowaphos again after a long period without. i have always used a hell of a lot of carbon.
i have some tricky sps with new growth, my colours are returning, everything appears to be on the up and up. numbers are great for telling you how your tank is doing, for telling you when to change this or start adding that. If you are already doing all you can, and there is no 'overdosing' possibility, i'm not too concerned for the numbers, what will they tell me. i can't physically up my maintenence and i don't want to relax it, i'm enjoying the effects too much :)
70! *****.
Man,thats alot of maintenence every week and alot of money in salt. jeeze!
Wicked fish though. :)
Well done on the water changes, you’re a testament to the hobby !! :thumbsup: :applause: :thumbsup:
70! *****.
Man,thats alot of maintenence every week and alot of money in salt. jeeze!
Wicked fish though. :)
i've never maintained a tank at less than 50ppm and never had a problem (again your mileage may vary) the highest i have had on this tank is over 100ppm. last check was 70ppm, it will probably be a lot lower now, i'd be surprised if it was over 50, maybe i should do another test this afternoon.
as for salt, i do a bucket of reef crystals every 3 weeks. it's not the cheapest way of keeping a tank but has to be one of the easiest. my calcium reactor still isn't online, doing these changes at these levels, everything looks sooo much better and more vibrant, i have to be keeping up with my limited demand and so it is worth every penny :)
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