chimera Posted April 10, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 we drilled a 12mm hole through the middle of the plate rock then was going to find a perspex/plastic rod to put through the middle to keep it stable, problem is we could not find one. so, with a bit of kiwi inginuity, we cut a toothbrush end off and used the handle!!! :lol: choice bro! i have since pushed a heap of aquaknead it around the base to secure it. just for anyone else's interest, a "save yourself a few bucks on aquaknead it" tip from jetskisteve, if you buy it go to the warehouse - cost $12.50 for a tube. I went to placemakers just to compare, $19.50!!!! outrageous. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ira Posted April 10, 2005 Report Share Posted April 10, 2005 Hey, Chimera, how much to make one of those plate rock thingies for me? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 11, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 heheee, i bought all 3 of them like that. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TM Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 looking good Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
angelfish Posted April 11, 2005 Report Share Posted April 11, 2005 love the layered affect those rocks create, well done!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 cheers. finally, the capacitor arrived tonight and I installed in the OM. it's all hooked up and going. just need plumbing pieces to direct flow around the tank. the corals have certainly reacted already, softies are swaying around alot more, a couple of acro's toppled over! otherwise, it's all good. im adding a couple of seio powerheads in the next few weeks - no money for streams (just yet) and massive extension to house (doubling in size!) starting in about 6 weeks time. bank will only loan so much... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 It really frustrates me seeing a filter room like this. I would love to be able to do that below my house but I would have to dig a big hole. Fantastic work Chimera Have you put a beer fridge and lazyboy in it yet. Aaron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 13, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 not yet. might have to move the calcium reactor out to make room beer (kitchen) fridge is quite near the main tank. lazy boy,... well, that's me. i sit next to the fridge with view of tank. just LOVE it at night when only the blues are on and all house lights are off. way cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Control Posted April 13, 2005 Report Share Posted April 13, 2005 That's the best time to sit back and and admire the living invioroment that you have created. To me it's all about being able to create the perfect invioroment in the system for the creatures we keep as well as the visual effect of the tank. Aaron. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 I added a 'detritus catcher' to the last section in the sump today. It's basically a piece of egg-crate sitting on two pieces of perspec siliconed to the sides on an angle. This will hopefully stop anything large enough from getting sucked into the return pump. Excuse the poor picture, but you get the idea (the water level usually sits about half way up the eggcrate) Also, the following are being added/changed soon. Pic's as soon as the bits arrive and are installed. - 1" Sea Swirl to replace the 3/4" sea swirl (no more restriction, 1" from return pump straight into tank) - Loc-line plumbing in main tank to better control/direct flow from closed loops - Addition of 2 x Seio M1100 powerheads in main tank (on when lights come on) for more water movement! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
lduncan Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 So what's the verdict on the OM? I'm thinking of using one or two on my tank when I find the time to plan the upgrade. Layton Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 25, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 The thing i like about it (other than it being such a simple invention) is that you can change the drum inside it if you want to change the pattern of flow. At the moment, the drum im using is configured so water flows out 1 & 3 then changes to 2 & 4. This matches up to the same outlets on the tank if viewed from left to right (in other words, '1' on the left-side end, '2' left-side back, '3' right-side back and '4' right-side end). As the drum changes outlets, it starts creating water flow against water that was moving from a previous outlet which creates the turbulence. The sea-swirl interferes with the OM flow creating some randomness too. I'd rate it 10/10 and highly recommend it to anyone looking at a closed loop. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeBlog Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 I absolutely love my 4-way as well. Definite 10/10 not only for quality of product, but also amazingly good service. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted April 25, 2005 Report Share Posted April 25, 2005 Not sure about the hole positioning. I suspect that because the water travels through the smaller hole before getting larger (then smaller again) its probably as bad as having all the pluming small? Not sure? Pie IF you have a hole of one diameter, then a void of another, and then another reduction, the void will FILL, but the rate of flow surely would not be affected (ie the larger void would not increase the rate of flow). All that would be happening in that scenario is that the larger void (in this case piping) acts as storage of water. Thats my take at least and I may be wrong, but it seems logical. And as Im no plumber, i will be happy for anyone to correct me (so long as you do it nicely, ) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 My BTA split today - I'll take that as a sign my tank is running well. The second one has moved up near the top of the tank and both look very happy. When it splits again, I'll sell off number 3 Original BTA: Split BTA: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jetskisteve Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Sorry Chim but I read that anenome's split when stressed Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Aquatopia Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 CHIMERA I have just finished WADING through this post (started at the beginning of the weekend), and may I say it has been an inspiration to me at the stage where i most needed it. I cant wait to get on with the planning of my (much smaller) project. You have ended up with a real masterpiece. I know this hobby is an on-going project for us all, and i will follow the remainder of this thread with much enthusiasm, but to have got so far - you have achieved heaps. Now i guess all i can say is - more pics dude? Lol. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Sorry Chim but I read that anenome's split when stressed I have also read people quoting this - but also the opposite. Hard to know who's right and wrong? Perhaps it could be right - as he/she/it only ever split after the closed loop went in. The anemone moved from it's normal position that it had been in for about 6 months. About 4 weeks later (today) it split. Here it is when I first got it September last year: and a quote from reef from some time ago: Splitting Don’t have too much to offer on splitting except that a well fed BTA seems to split sooner or later. Splitting seems to come in batchs. A BTA may get very large then suddenly split several times. As with most asexual reproduction of Cnidarians, feeding aggressively seems to encourage splitting. This isn’t necessarily a good thing if you don’t have a tank with lots of room for things that move a lot and pack a good sting. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted April 26, 2005 Author Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 in addition, from an Anemone FAQ: What is the life cycle of anemones? Very little research has been done on tropical clown anemones in the wild. In fact, the only current biology manual covering anemones is out of print and copies are difficult to locate. Because of this, detailed information on anemone reproduction and life cycle is hard to come by. In general, clown anemones reproduce asexually (via cloning by splitting, budding or pedal laceration) or sexually. Only some clown anemones have been observed reproducing asexually, though it is believed that all may have this ability. All clown anemones can reproduce sexually. Splitting occurs when an anemone splits itself in half, creating two identical individuals, while budding occurs when a small piece of the parent anemone breaks off and becomes a separate individual. At least two species of clown anemone (E. quadricolor and H. magnifica) have been known to split in captivity. S. gigantea has been seen to split once – so it does occur. Budding is less common and has only been observed once or twice in S. gigantea and S. mertensii. Pedal laceration has never been observed with clown anemones (this form of reproduction is common in some other anemones such as Aptasia) though it may occur with large E. quadricolors. Anemones are sexual creatures, in that there are male and female individuals. They reproduce sexually by releasing eggs and sperm into the water column, where larval anemones mature and settle out to become juvenile anemones. The free-floating larval stage is apparently short (one week or less) and the juvenile anemones that settle out on to the substrate are already fully formed individuals with a host population of zooxanthellae. If one were able to induce spawning in captive anemone pairs, it might be possible to aquaculture large quantities of anemones in captivity. Unfortunately, there is little information on how/why anemones spawn in captivity, and though it does occur, it seems to happen infrequently (perhaps only annually). Anemones are long-lived in the wild, and their populations are kept in check by predation and low survivability of young. In captive systems absent of predators, some anemone colonies can spread out of control. There have been cases of E. quadricolor cloning from a single individual to a colony of dozens of individuals over several years. Additionally, some species of non-clown anemones are known as “pest†anemones because they reproduce so quickly that they can take over entire aquariums. In the wild, this does not occur. How do I get my BTA to split?There are a lot of different opinions about getting E. quadricolors (BTAs) to split. On one hand, people argue that if you provide a healthy environment and plenty of food, BTAs will split naturally. BTAs are also known to split when stressed, and the most successful way to get a BTA to split via stress is to feed it heavily for several weeks, then do a large water change in your tank (50% or so). Finally, there are people who proscribe to manual splitting, which involves cutting the anemone in half with a sharp knife, and letting the two halves heal into two individuals. Only attempt this last feat if you have done extra research and talked to people who have been successful doing it before. I have not overfed nor done a large water change recently for this to occur. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reef Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 Tank is looking very nice. got any full pics. Not bad for $1k Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted April 26, 2005 Report Share Posted April 26, 2005 sounds like the added flow might have triggered something Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 yeah, added 2 x seio's M1100's tonight. that's roughly another 9,000 lph of flow bringing it up to a little over 50x turnover. i couldnt afford streams (well, i can but the wife wont let me coz she thinks she should get her new bathroom first so for the money, the seio's are pretty damn good. the flow is nice and wide as opposed to a narrow 'jetted' stream. anyone with around 4 foot tanks i would highly recommend you contact jetskisteve and get a couple of M800's for around a couple hundred bucks (thats for BOTH of them) i'll chuck a pic up soon (although lights are out now so we'll see how it comes out!) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 5, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 5, 2005 Still playing around with where they will sit and the angle the flow will give. Here's the left and right M1100's... I just bought a couple floating magnet's off trademe too getting sick of having to move from one side to another! for the sake of $20 its gotta be good for ya. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chimera Posted May 20, 2005 Author Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 I put some loc-line (adjustable/modular plumbing) that I got from MD on the closed loop outlets, the stuff is AWESOME! so easy to direct flow around the tank now. i'm trialing 'Y' adaptors and 'nozzle' adaptors on the ends at the moment. however so far i've found that no end adaptor and just 3 sections of loc-line pointing in the right direction appears to work best. will put some pic's up later. also calibrated my new pinpoint ph meter and tested pH levels, came out to 8.15, all good! next job is to replace existing 3/4" sea-swirl with the new 1" model and test. spent about $30 on plumbing - that was only about 4 pieces of 1" plumbing too and at trade pricing, crazy what they charge. hooking this up tomorrow, more photo's then too oh. and need to get rid of damn brown hair algae growing on top of plate rock :evil: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brianemone Posted May 20, 2005 Report Share Posted May 20, 2005 are you keeping that 3/4 or is that the one youve sold already? you need to cover the plate rock with corals so there is no room for algae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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