temporarily anyway.

The wife and I are getting ready to move to a new home and so our home just went on the market.  For the last 3 months, we have been cleaning and organizing and throwing things out and more and more and more in preparation for putting our house on the market.  Well, as part of that, no one wants to see a fish room in the basement with 250g of open water running through pipes to the first floor tank.  Its just not pretty.  Sure, those who have a reef tank get it and love it.  Others think:  Meth Lab?, Mold?, Flood Damage?

So, the tank is gone.  No more fish, no more coral. 

But, I have a very good friend who lives just up the block who was kind enough to plumb a 75g into his main system and we have moved everybody (with a few fishy exceptions) up to his place while our house sells and our new place is built.

So, for now, this blog will be a bit dormant.  But, soon, it will be reborn.  Very soon.

I am in the planning stages for the new tank in the new house.  It will be in the basement and it will be an in-wall.  right now, my latest plan is a 12-foot tank, but I may drop it to a 10-footer.  We’ll see.

So, stay tuned.  The goal is to be in the new house by Christmas, which means the tank will be in too!

In the meantime, I have volunteered and committed to Ken Nedimyer from Coral Restoration that the DVRC will sponsor a patch of reef for him.  So, I am trying to raise $5,000 in the next 90 days.  And, the Delaware Valley Reef Club will match every dollar you donate with $0.50.  So head on over and donate for me please.  Well, not for me, but for the reef and for our children!

We are already 20% of the way there!

I know, I know.  I took way too long to get these posted.  But, here are some pictures and video of the Aqua Illumination SOL Blue on the tank.

This thing rocks!  My settings right now have the light running at about 50% intensity (W:45 B:54 RB:54) during its peak hours.  And my colors on my SPS are really starting to POP!

This is the thunderstorm simulation. Very cool, but not sure about its practicality.

These are some pictures of the tank at the one week point.

If you’ve been following along you know that I ordered the Aqua Illumination SOL Blue lights from Premium Aquatics on the Friday after Thanksgiving.  And, you also know that I have been pestering Luke over there every week since because the lights have been on back order.

Well, I’ve got good news for anyone who was also waiting on these lights from them!  Luke alerted me today that their back-ordered shipment arrived!  I should be getting mine Thursday or Friday and I will of course take many pictures.  In the meantime, here is a picture hot off the presses from the receiving dock at Premium Aquatics!

I am starting to wonder if there is something different in our RO/DI water over here.  How many people have accidentally raised baby clowns?  (By accidentally, I mean, it wasn’t in the plan, but nature did its thing and I raised the babies)  I can’t imagine its a lot.  How many people have accidentally raised baby bangaii cardinals?  Now, how many have done both?

ME!  ME!  ME!

Yep, that’s right!  First it was clowns having babies.  And now its bangaii cardinals.  Well, to be fair, they aren’t my babies.  They came from my neighbor’s tank.  But, they are growing up in my basement.  (I had the room and the experience)

I have been reading a lot on the babies.  They are in a 20g long, but only 1/2 to 2/3 filled with salt water.  They have some dead coral in there to act as a safe haven but have not taken advantage of it.  There is a sponge filter and heater int here and some airstones to provide slight circulation.

I am rearing them on both Cyclopeeze and live baby brine shrimp.  The goal is to have them eating frozen too so they don’t starve when they are older.

So, without further adieu, here are some pics and video of 24 baby cardinals!

This video was taken at day 7!

I spent a little over 3 months investigating, documenting, designing, and finally scrapping multiple designs for an LED lighting system for my tank.  But, I ultimately decided to purchase a pre-built system.

Why? For starters, my design goal was something modular and upgradable.  I plan to have a larger tank in the future and don’t want to have to re-buy.  I just want to add a module.  I was going to build my LED system that way.  AquaIllumination did it for me.

Next was the cost.  Now, there is no way around the cost difference if you simply compare dollars to dollars of the finished product.  But, think about how many times I would screw up building the unit.  And think about the cost of my time to build it.  And, think about the cost to rebuild my house if I burn it down which leads me to my final and deciding factor:  I am not an engineer or electrician and there are many factors to consider when you are building a light that has 144 LEDS and has 6 separate power supplies, etc.

So, with all of the Black Friday deals out there and the pressing need to replace the lights I do have, I broke down and bought the 72″ AquaIllumination SOL Blue from Premium Aquatics.  And, I am happy to say that I got a good deal.

But, guess what?  Its been almost three weeks and I have no light yet.  I am not complaining.  Premium Aquatics told me they were backordered.  But…. wait a minute….   I am complaining.  I am not happy that I have no lights.  I am 38 years old.  My generation is one of instant gratification.  When I buy a new car, I walk into the dealer and tell them “I want that one.  And, I will only pay X and I want Y for my car.  I will be back in two hours to sign the paperwork and take the car.  Go figure it out.”  Honestly, that is almost exactly how I buy a car.  And I typically do that on my way home from work on a whim.  So, needless to say, I am jonesing for these lights.

But, I am not blaming anyone.  AquaIllumination has built, as far as I can tell (and after months of research), the best LED system on the market, hands down.  And, Premium Aquatics has always treated me well.  And, so, its only natural that there is a backorder.

And, now I wait.  I thought it would be 2 weeks, maybe even less.  Premium Aquatics placed their order on 11/16 and my order will be fulfilled by that delivery.

So, all I can do is continue to Google “AquaIllumination” twice a day and annoy Jason and Luke at Premium Aquatics with “are they in yet?” emails.

I was one of the first to receive the ReefKeeper Elite when it debuted back in 2008.  I was excited!  It had so much promise!  In fact I blogged about it here:  http://www.reefdisorder.com/reef-blog/reefkeeper-elite-arrived-53 and I was ahead of the pack.  So much so, that Ryan over at Reefbuilders highlighted my unboxing! (Thanks Ryan):  http://reefbuilders.com/2008/07/11/reefkeeper-elite-unboxing-pictures/

Being an early adopter, I was willing to put up with some issues here and there.  But, this device had so much promise.  And, I had done a ton of research.  I mean a ton!  Thus, the obsessive compulsive title in my blog.  The ReefKeeper Elite from Digital Aquatics was to be the premier controller in the price range.  Things were not smooth out of the box, however:  http://reefbuilders.com/2008/09/23/reef-keeper-elite-users-are-want-money-back/ For though, I was able to muddle through and get my controller working (at least the basics) and I was content and chomping at the bit for the modules, software etc to come.  (The things I bought the thing for)

Jump forward from July 18, 2008 to today.  Let’s talk reality.

Digital Aquatics promises stuff for months.  They give you a release date and then miss it.  Not by a couple of weeks, but by up to a year or more!  It took forever (I thought at the time) to get the NET module.  But, that was nothing compared to the fact that the salinity probe that I bought (along with the SL2) which cost me almost $200 combined is completely useless.  Completely!  They expect to start issuing RMAs shortly according to an update TODAY.  Are you kidding me?

Oh, but the topper is the web software, MyReef!  It was supposed to be available within months of release.  It was the reason why I bought the damn thing to begin with.

It was previewed over a year after I bought it (October 2009) and DA actually posted about it on their forums:  http://www.forum.digitalaquatics.com/viewtopic.php?f=13&t=6881

Pictures started to really flow (November 2009).  I was getting excited!  Finally, after 18 months, I was getting my software:  http://reefbuilders.com/2009/11/12/digital-aquatics-myreef-elite-lite-coming-slowly/

Then, it was delayed again (December 2009) until April 2010:  http://reefbuilders.com/2009/12/10/digital-aquatics-myreef-software-delayed-april-2010/

April, 2010 arrives!  http://reefbuilders.com/2010/04/10/digital-aquatics-showcasing-firmware-20-myreef-20-alphas/

Then, nothing.

Well, Happy Thanksgiving!  http://reefbuilders.com/2010/11/22/digital-aquautics-myreef-20/ But, wait, did they say BETA?  WTF?

And that is just the software.  Their communication is horrible.  In order for me to know what is going on, I have to go to their site and pour through their forums to try to figure out what is happening.  Do I need a firmware upgrade?  How do I do it?  Wait, I have to send back this component to get it upgraded?  Again, WTF?

At this point, I have no idea what to do with my unit.  I know that things need to be upgraded, but I don’t know what and why.  I wanted to get the Remote Display too, but I have given up on Digital Aquatics.

Actually, I take it back.  I know exactly what to do with my unit.

My plan is to continue to use it exactly how I am today and NOT to add anything.

Then, when the new tank is ready in the new location ” Wait, what did he just say?” I am going to sell this POS controller and go to something better.

I bought the ReefKeeper Elite because they promised the best controller ever.  And they promised, and they promised, and they promised….

And, in the meantime, the other companies, who had less grandiose plans to begin with, have delivered all of the features and more.

Quick Summary:  DON’T BUY THE REEFKEEPER ELITE.

That title about sums it up.  I am on the fence but leaning towards going LED on my tank for a number of logical and illogical reasons. 

First off, my current light has seen better days.  I have the Current Outer Orbit Pro which is an all-in-one system.  It has 3x250w metal halide bulbs (Phoenix 14k) and 8x39w T5 bulbs (UVL Actinic and Super Actinic).  The unit has treated me well for 3 years now, but its time to buy lights again and I am not looking forward to a $320 bill just for some light bulbs!

Next, the unit sits on legs on the tank.  The legs are broken.  The light is so close to the top of the tank that its hard to get my hands in there and taking top down pictures is out of the question.  (So, is hanging any light for that matter).  And because it is 72″ long, its not easy to lift off by myself.  And, due to salt creep, I can’t get the lens cover off the back set of T5′s.  I don’t even know how I am going to do that.

So, I don’t like my light.  And I am going to spend $320 for new bulbs.  Seems like the right time to get a new light, eh?

My 2 choices as I see them right now:  DIY or the AquaIlluminations SOL.  Oooh, the SOL is beautiful.  But, its over $3000.  Yes, over $3000.  Seriously, yes.  Over $3000.  A DIY is about $1200, give or take.  Still very expensive.  But, the savings from bulb replacement and energy efficiency is huge!

The benefit of these systems (my DIY and the SOL) is that when I upgrade to a larger tank, I can still use these lights.  Not the case with my current set-up.  This is another factor to consider.  My plan is to be in a bigger tank in 18 months.  Should I just wait until I get to that tank and thus suck it up and buy the bulbs I need?  Or, should I go for it now and capitalize on the electricity savings!

By the way, here is some information I have gathered (PDF).  Honestly, most of it is way outdated at this point, but it will give you some insight into what I am thinking.

I am really open to others thoughts and opinions here.  What should I do?

NOTE:  t has now been 74 days since my last cigarette!!

For those of you who have followed this blog from the beginning, you know that some of the conversations have been about the dynamics of reefkeeping and family life and most specifically, my relationship with my wife.   You also know that intertwined with my wife, my reef tank and I was a nasty little habit…. smoking.  In fact, I have written about it several times:

Help! I am smoking my tank away…

I am in BIG Trouble

Well, I am happy to say that I am once again and forever more, a nonsmoker!  Yes, it has only been two weeks and I have quit for longer periods before.  But, this time has been quite different.  For one, I feel great and I don’t miss the cigarettes.  Every time before I still wanted to smoke.  I missed it.  I looked forward to smoking.  And every time before I had false goals in front of me.  I put them there.  My wife put them there.  Quit smoking and I’ll buy myself X.  Quit smoking and buy a new fish tank….  false goals…

This time, there were no quit dates, no false goals, nothing.  I just decided it was time and did it on my own.  Why?  Well, I am 38.  I am getting older.  My mother, who never smoked in her life has cancer in her lungs.  I have three beautiful children that I want to see graduate college, get married, and have kids so I can see them frustrate their parents!!!  I suddenly had a realization that I am getting older, that I am not invincible, that my body can not sustain the smoking forever.

And, so I filled a prescription for Chantix that has been sitting around for a year… and I just quit.  Chantix has been great!  But, I think its my frame of mind and my REAL goal (to live) that made the difference this time.

So, there is no big tank at the end of this journey.  (Well, that’s not entirely true, buts its not because of quitting smoking).  There is just fresh air and life.

Oh, and I now have a snowflake eel in my tank. 

Ok, this is not worthy of a CNN Breaking News Text, but I had an amazing experience that could have been a disaster!

A small bit of background first.  My tank has eggcrate on it to prevent accidental carpet surfing by my fish.  And, so far, that has saved many a fishy’s lives.

So, there I am feeding my tank.  To do this, I shift the middle piece of eggcrate off to the side so about an 8 inch strip of the tank from front to back is “open”, though my light blocks a lot of that space still.

It's ALIVE!!!

Anyway, I am feeding my tank and my green spotted puffer (GSP) is an active eater.  Actually everyone is an active eater because I only feed the tank 4 times per week.

Something I did, a quick hand movement or a shadow, caused my GSP to freak out and he launched himself out of the back of the tank at a perfect angle to make it through the 8 inches wide opening!  He hit the wall and fell between the tank stand and the wall.  There is about an inch and a half of clearance back there.  Luckily the back of the stand has openings and after a full minute of blindly grabbing around, I was able to extract my GSP.  (NOTE TO SELF:  Get a vacuum hose back there!)

The poor puffer was out of the water for at least a minute at this point.  Not only was he covered with dust bunnies, but the whole thing freaked the guy out and he puffed!  Worse, he puffed with AIR!  NOT GOOD!

I immediately put him back into the tank.  What do you think happened?  He floated upside down!  Ack!  Becuase he was so puffed with air, the poor thing was floating on the water, upside down and more than 60% of his body was out of the water.

I took him out and checked him out, realizing that he was completely immobile and that air is very bad for fish, I thought him a goner.  I called in the kids (2 and 4 yo) to see the puffer puffed and let them each hold him in their hands (gently) and say goodbye.  Its not often you get to hold a puffed puffer and I try to make the tank a learning experience for them.

I then took him back and was heading over to the freezer to freeze him, a humane way of killing a fish, just in case he hadn’t fully expired.  My wife came walking by and took a look and….. he moved his eye!

I ran back to the tank dropped him in and…  he floated upside down still.  But this time he had deflated a little.  I took him out again and held him.  I repeated the process twice more.  Now, besides basically being dipped briefly back in the tank, he had been out of the water for almost 5 whole minutes.  I know…. dead fish.

But, even still, I tried one last time.  I placed him in the tank.  Before my eyes, he deflated, flipped himself right side up, and disappeared into the rock work!

Are you kiddin me?

Still, expecting to lose him, I kept a close eye on the tank for three days.  No puffer.  He was a goner just like I suspected.

NOPE!  A few more days and there he was.  Back at the surface at feeding time.  He even bit my finger to say hi or to say “Don’t ever do that to me again, you rat bastard!”

Admittedly, this happened 3 weeks ago, but I never got time to write about it and still my GSP is alive and kicking!!!

I named him “Cat” for his nine lives!

About 8 weeks ago, I started a new regimen with my tank.  I followed the crowd like a lemming and ordered some biopellets through my reef club.  I got a liter of the EcoBak Biopellets.  In order to get the right flow I decided to also get a new reactor.  Bulk Reef Supply has a great set-up.  They use basic DI canisters and have created a custom input and output set-up.  So, I ordered 2 of these.  I added half of the pellets to one and then waited a couple of weeks and added the second reactor, also with pellets.

So, for at least 8 weeks I have had a full liter of EcoBak Biopellets running on my tank.  At the same time my neighbor up the street also added a liter of the same biopellets to his tank which is roughly the same size as mine.  He ran his for about 4 weeks and the cyano outbreak was fairly intense.  In addition, he noticed nothing to show him that the tank was performing better.  In fact, some of his pocillapora were starting to look worse.  So, needless to say, he discontinued his usage.

I was planning to do the same thing as my pocillapora are also losing their flesh and I had a major cyano outbreak too.  But, as you can see from the frequency of updates on this blog, I have become a bit lazy recently.  Actually, the opposite is true.  I have been very very busy and there comes a time when you have to start cutting a few things out.  This blog suffered.  But, I am back.

Because of that, I was lazy and just left the biopellets on.  And, I have to say that, the tank is starting to look better.  The water looks more clear.  The corals are growing and looking pretty good.

Its almost as if I was looking at the tank on a regular DVD and now I have a BluRay player!

The tank is really starting to look good again!  So good that I am taking pictures of it again.  I will start to upload those shortly!!!

In the meantime, you really need to check out these reactors from Bulk Reef Supply.  Very nice!  Very well built!