si_sphinx

Video update http://youtu.be/W9IFYCxnBo0

Some photos taken today of a few of the corals. Progress is slow at the moment, haven't really had much spare time to spend on the tanks.

Thanks. You have been saying that for months Cam! :dno: Too much going on in life eh.

Its been a few months so a few update photos. first of the small tanks transferred over to the new system. First SPS under the T5s/MHs Fuge growing well Added some gravel Original tanks and metal shelving taken out, a lot more space to move now. The RODI unit now automatically fills up my RODI water drum when it becomes empty. Float switchs at the bottom and top of the barrel tell it when to turn on & off. Then gravity feeds freshwater to my sump to keep it topped up. Also removed a few multi power outlets + timers and installed my Profilux aquarium controller & dosing unit. Parameters and be checked from my computer of phone app. I can also use the app to turn any pumps or lights off. The chiller and dosing container stand outside the room. the dosing lines run through pvc pipes I sealed in the wall behind the stand. Next is to get a Co2 bottle and install the calcium reactor. But first I want to finish the 25L bucket of calcium chloride chip I have for the 2part liquid solution mix. Hopefully wont take too long to use up as the corals get bigger along with their calcium and alkalinity demand.

Update Tanks have cycled for a few weeks with live rock, a week with mollies then I added some fish and some more mature live rock. All tests are looking as I expected. When the tank adjusts to the bioload in a 4-6 weeks I will start to add a heap of zoas and acans.

It cost me around $2600 just to build the room. I haven't added the receipts up for the rest just yet. Update... Here is a render I did at the start of the project, it looks pretty close to what I have put together. Apart from the green pipes. and here is where I am at now... it has been running since last week, live rock went in tuesday, doesnt a few vials of prodibio bacteria to give the system a bit of a boost. And I will add a heap of mollies at some stage in the weekend.

Tanks are finally in :dnc1: Now I have to install all the plumbing and do a freshwater test next week if all goes well.

:cophot: Good to see there are other people in Nelson with nice marine tanks. You should set up the 250, much more growing space and room for more corals and fish

I have now joined the two tanks together with some temporary DIY overflows. The hang on skimmer is now on my rock cycling drum. This is a 280ltr drum filled to the top with coral rock. I have put in as much rock as I could fit. There is 4 powerheads in it for flow + a heater to keep it warm. It has been cycling for about 4 weeks so far with 20ltr weekly water changes with old water from my tanks. And I have the RODI and salt mixing drums in. They still have a slight smell of gherkins! but a lot less than they use to. I have also installed the drain line and now waiting for the new tanks to be built. 4x 1400x600x350(290)ltr frag tanks, 1x 1400x450x500 sump and 1x 1000x350x300 refugium.

Yep don't put a hermit in there. It will find the snails and eat them too easily. Just add some snails and a shrimp for CUC.

100% is waaay too high. I would run the lights at 50% max when you get corals for it. And if they show signs of not enough light then increase as needed. Start the light cycle at 10% at 6:30-7:00am increasing your lights by 10% every hour from the morning increasing to the 50% mark at 11:30am-12:00pm. Then from 3pm start going back down to moonlights @ around 7:30 - 8:00pm. I might be able to frag some zoas for you to test out whenever you are ready. Let me know.

These work good for growing all corals and are pretty slim line to fit above your tank. The 90 unit would work fine. http://www.fish-street.com/coralbox_m1_led_aquarium_lighting

One day I will have a real tank room :iag: We are only planning to live here for 5-10 years. By then hopefully I can afford to build my own house and then I can do this all again but better and properly. Then someone else can buy this house and use this room as their own grow room :lar:

Thanks Jasa, yes I used standard gib so I have done more than the required coats of paint, hoping moisture won't go through the gib. And I will be sealing the power points to the gib to stop anything getting in there but haven't done it yet. I have gone around the room and sealed all gaps and holes to stop any air leaks, except for the door. I have been very particular about this for the exact reason of there shouldn't be any heat getting out unless I want it to. I will also have a heat circulation fan and extractor fan for removal of heat and moisture. Also a dehumidifier will be used.

I have recently moved into a bigger house with a good sized garage and workshop. So my plan was to turn half the workshop into a fishroom. And one good thing is my partner is all for it because it gets my tanks out of the house :bggrn: It will mostly be marine tanks for growing out corals but I am thinking about putting a freshwater tank in there too. I miss having cichlids, might go for some tangs again. leleupi, brichardi, julies, and maybe some ikola, morilo or duboisi etc. So far I have done everything myself, moved into the house 12th September, started the room 14th September, and it has cost me exactly $2599.97 in materials 3 weeks later (kept all the receipts) The progress so far... I dug out under the house a little bit to get more room for a side room to the fishroom for water storage barrels...

I'm going to paint mine. Resene aquapoxy or similar.

I've had similar trouble lately. Finally got a package that was sent 3 months ago. Going from Dunedin to Nelson, ended up in Auckland somehow in a courier's van. Took a long time to find it. It was scanned in Dunedin then nothing. A grand worth of electrical equipment I wasn't giving up on and kept ringing them every week to make sure it was found. I didn't want to make a claim and be paid for the items lost, I wanted my package or someone else would have ended up with some free stuff!

Coral Box have proven growth on my sps over my tank. I have them at 65% intensity, 200mm above the water. Tank is 400mm deep and the light is still too bright for zoas on the bottom but fine for the sps. You can raise the lights up say 400-500mm to get a bigger light coverage but will need to increase the light intensity. So my opinion on the Coral box is they work great. But yes you might have to buy the bigger unit if you are wanting higher demanding corals if light coverage is is an issue. On a 1000mm long tank, a 600 light unit will be pushing it and you will get dark spots at the ends of the tank. And the mounting legs only extend 180mm each side.

And you need to account for rock, sand, filter media, pumps, heaters etc which all take up space and lower the total water volume. Local water around here is usually 1.028-1.029. I just add a splash of water and test it before adding it to the tank. I always seem to get it right without measuring. If you have a 20ltr container, I can fill it up with RODI water if you ever need any. Just let me know.

All my photobucket photos have been fixed. :happy1:

Thanks, I have also started using flickr but will look into Imgur. Sorry to everyone who wanted to see the images. PM me if you want anything.

OK not sure what happened to all my photos but my Photobucket has deleted a whole heap of my photos for no reason! Not happy because now most of my threads have no photos. Can anyone help with this or know if there is a way to fix it without re-uploading every photo?

http://www.jameshardie.co.nz/index.php/page/8/pi_brochureid/127

Hardieglaze is another wall lining product you could consider. It is a waterproof bathroom wall lining. Glue it to the framing and seal the joints and your done. Easy to clean and will last longer than plywood.