RODSTAR's 125g FTS

[rodstar]

Ok, so I just introduced myself in the other forum and was asked for a FTS. So, seeing as I am in NJ and not near home, I managed to find a couple of pics on my work laptop (from this past week!). Here they are, along with an old pic of my 14g BioCube.

Hope you enjoy.

But, first, here are the details again.

I am a newbie for sure. I started with a 14g BioCube in December, 2006. It was a great tank and I never had any problems. However, the bug had bit me and in September, I upgraded to a 125g (72x24x18) AGA tank with dual overflows. I bought it used on eBay and basically started over. It had no coral and 300lbs of rock (front to back, top to bottom, all covered with hair algae), horrible flourescent lights, 2 wet/dry filters. It was a mess. I now have the tank in my living room. I have it plumbed to the basement with a separate 35g fuge and 30g sump. My return is a BlueLine HD70. I also have it plumbed into my house plumbing with a ball valve, so water changes take under 5 minutes. (Turn off the system, let sump fill up, turn valve, drain sump, close valve, pump in fresh saltwater and turn the system back on).

Equipment includes:
2 Vortechs on either side of main tank with wireless wave drivers
72" OuterOrbit Pro with 3x250w 14K Phoenix MH and 8x39w T5 actinics
AquaC EV-180 skimmer
2x 300w heaters
2x Phosban Reactors (one for carbon, one used for Phosban when necessary)
BlueLine HD70
1/15hp Artica Chiller (came from my BioCube and is doing the job right now, but a new chiller is in the future)

My new AquaC RX-1 calcium reactor, ph controller and CO2 regulator/solenoid, all arrived today and will go on the tank this weekend! I am psyched.

As far as livestock:
2 blue/green chromis
2 false perc clowns
1 coral beauty
1 yellow tail damsel
1 orange spotted rabbitfish
1 sohal tang (who is nasty and stressed 4 fish to their deaths in the last 3 weeks...arghh)
1 lawnmower blenny
1 yellow watchman goby

2 cleaner shrimp
1 peppermint shrimp
1 fire shrimp
3 fighting conches
1 starfish
various snails, hermits

Coral
Various SPS (about 12 frags)
1 28-head duncan
2x 12 headed trumpets
2x 6 headed branching hammers
1 ultra crocea clam
1 baby maxima
8-10 ricordea
various red and purple shrooms
1 kenya tree
1 leather
1 purple gorgonia
8 polyp armour of gods
6x unknown blue zoos
14x unknown pink zoos
20x nuclear green zoos
2x bubble-tip anemones
1 favia
4 favites
lots of xenia (weed!)
1 hot pink scoly
(can't remember if thats everything)

 

[rodstar]

FTS from a while back

FTS and others from this weekend (sorry for the glare)

 

[rodstar]

Oh, and for those of you who want to follow along, I have a blog (though I have not updated it in a few weeks) at http://ocrd.blogspot.com

And now for the old BioCube...
Click on the image for a slide show.

 

[JohnS_323]

Your tanks look great, Derek. I like that duncan colony (at least I think that's what it is) in the 125. As a single polyp they don't do much for me but as a colony they're really nice looking. I liked the slideshow too. The quality of the pics was good but I really liked the pace of it. Each pic came up long enough to get an appreciation for it and then on to the next one.

Very nice and welcome to NJRC. We'll have to see about getting our two groups together sometime for a huge blow out!

 

[rodstar]

Thanks!

That duncan colony is courtesy of Aquatic Obsessions! I love that place. When I bought it (just last month) it was 25 heads. Its been in my tank about a month and I have three new heads starting on the spots where it was fragged...

Hopefully, my 125g will look as nice as my BioCube someday.

I will try to post some pics of my plumbing set-up too.

 

[rodstar]

OK, so here are some older pics of my plumbing set-up. In the pictures, I have one drain line (1 1/2 inches) and one return line (also 1 1/2 inches). I realized quickly that this was severely limiting my flow downstairs. So, I used the 1 1/2 inch return as a second drain so each overflow has its own drain line and I also installed a 1 inch return line. The pictures, as mentioned, are from November, so the fuge is sparkling with barely any macroalgae. I ended up having a massive outbreak of hair algae for about 3 months and spent every Sunday picking it off just before water changes. I quickly overloaded my fuge with a ton of macroalgae (caluerpa and chaeto and red grape) and I am happy to report zero hair algae in the system!!!

The tank is not directly above the sump/fuge. It is actually 12 feet away. So, I used spaflex to run from the tank down under the subfloor, across the basement and then down to the sump/fuge. My basement is completely finished with a drywall ceiling, so it was a major challenge. (And, this was the first time I ever attempted any plumbing! I am quite happy with the results. I find it to be very satisfying to DIY. I think its a major part of why I love reefkeeping!

 

[JRWOHLER]

Great job with everything.  Keep us updated when you do your blog if you can.  I really like your tanks, I hope to follow in your footsteps with the second tank. I have kept the bug under control (actually just haven't been able to afford the tank I want haha) but want to do something similar to yours.  I would really like your plumbing solution sounds like an excellent solution.

 

[rodstar]

I just actually updated my blog. But, there isn't anything new on there that I haven't posted here today...

I also started a twitter (which is on the right side of my blog. Haven't really gotten into the flow yet, but I plan to use that for quick updates, especially on parameters, etc...

 

[playazballin21]

nice pics and thats a big uprgrade from 14 to 125.lol

good luck with your tank

 

[rodstar]

Just wanted to let everyone know that I am still alive. I have blogged a few more times since I was last here.

Some highlights include:

46 new pictures of my tank
5 new pictures of my ReefKeeper Elite (RKE) from Digital Aquatics! It just arrived, so I took some pics of it in and out of the box!

The blog is at http://ocrd.blogspot.com