[ddiomede]

Ha, thanks. There are some things I like to play jazz with, like plant selections and layouts, but for big mechanical projects I definitely like to have everything fully planned out before I start cutting and glueing!

It's all really over the top, I think, but as I get older, I'm accepting more and more that I'm just an over the top kind of guy.

It's really a good way to be with anything mechanical. One thing I always like asking myself is "what if this breaks. How hard would it be to replace it".

My last reef tank's plumbing was designed to be able to remove anything from the system by just turning valves and removing unions. I designed it with needing to take the whole tank down in the event I moved.

It worked almost exactly intended when almost 10 years after it being set up I moved. The only issue I had was the bulkhead nuts seized into place and turning the nut with a wrench just made the whole bulkhead spin because I couldn't get into the overflow and hold it in any way that helped. I had to use a Dremel to cut the nuts off the return and drain lines. Aside from that everything came apart super easy lol. I remember selling off my calcium reactor two years before the move. I turned some valves, removed the reactor, then cut the pipes and installed caps. This was with the system running.

The only way to plan something like that is to draw it out. I'm having a blast following this thread because this is basically how I'd tackle something like this too.

 

[ddiomede]

Unions unions unions. I really should have used more for the tank plumbing. I had a hard time with some of the angles. I definitely used a lot here! 8 regulars and four true union ball valves plus one true union check valve. They make everything so much easier from fitting to servicing.

Glad you're enjoying following along!

A great thing to do whenever doing plumbing is buy a bunch of 90's, 45's, and the street versions of them and just return what you don't use after you're done. Makes any plumbing job that much easier.

 

[ddiomede]

I am interested too! At the end of the day, I decided I just wasn't willing to accept the risk of more water weirdness outside of my control after having investing so much in the hobby. It also helps that it was a fun project and that it made water changes easier.

You absolutely made the right choice. Tap is a variable outside of our control. When I first set up a nano reef, I didn't want to make RODI water, or invest in an RODI system, or mix salt for that matter so I bought premixed salt water from an LFS. I noticed that my corals didn't seem to be happy so I bought a Milwaukee salinity testing unit and they were adding way too much salt. When I asked how they tested their water he pulled out one of those old school salinity testing units that you fill up with water and wait for the needle to settle to read you the SG. The problem with those is they get dirty and if effects the reading. I went home and got my Milwaukee unit and brought it over to show him how far off his water was. I then just started buying RODI and mixing the salt myself. I started fighting algae and bought a TDS meter and the water was showing higher than expected TDS. It should read 0 TDS when you use DI. So I bought an RODI system. But starting with a blank slate and tailoring it to the GH and KH you want is honestly the best way to go. With saltwater it's a little easier because the manufacturer does all the mineral mixing themselves and you just need to mix in enough salt to hit your salinity/SG.

I'm sure I'll go in this direction as well once I start running into issues that I can't figure out. Once I do I'm sure I'll be hitting you up for your remineralization recipe

 

[ddiomede]

I just love your tank! Tanks that are very natural looking really grab my attention.

 

[ddiomede]

I was really into photography at one time and miss it. I think one of the best pano shots I ever created was when my dad took me out on his boat on Lake Michigan and I took several overlapping shots of the skyline and came up with this

The full fledged version of photoshop has become too expensive so I've been looking for a decent macOS software. Affinity Photo seems to have all the tools, but I haven't really spent much time behind my DSLR.

 

[ddiomede]

Nice! Followed.

I use the subscription version of photoshop these days. It's $10/mo, cancel whenever. They're putting out so much functionality so often, I feel like it's actually a good deal. But, that really depends on your use case.

Thanks! Oh wow, I didn't know it was that inexpensive. I'll need to check it out once I get back into it again. Unfortunately a new camera is pretty far down the list right now but hopefully over the next couple months that will change. My camera is at least 11-12 years old (XSI) so with full frame sensors becoming more common and less expensive, I'll likely go in the full frame direction even though I technically make a couple of my lenses unusable, which is fine since I wasn't in love with them.

 

[ddiomede]

Tank is looking great, seems like it's humming along nicely.

 

[ddiomede]

Thanks. Yeah, I make little tweaks here and there, but nothing major going on. I almost changed out the plants and then... didn't. I almost sucked out the sand and replaced it with a natural rock mix and then... didn't. Maybe this winter I'll muster the energy to change things up a bit, but then maybe not. It's probably a good exercise for me to just be with this tank and not change it just for the sake of change.

That's really the hardest part is leaving it be. I'm still going through growing pains on mine and having been considering replacing many of the Rotala stems because half of them aren't doing very well. But then I start thinking about the amount of work it'll take to plant new plants and let them get used to my water, ferts, lighting, etc. and I lose the motivation.

 

[ddiomede]

I love how that whole left side looks. It really blends well into the tank and look very natural.

My monstera that I had in my tank were transplanted into pots recently so I'm looking forward to them getting big, but seeing yours gives me an idea of how they'll get, which I'm looking forward to.

 

[ddiomede]

It's a 12-24mm. Crazy how wide lenses can go these days. I remember lusting over a 20mm back in the 90s thinking it was exotic!



Yep, a Flemish Giant. He's a good pet, though he does chew on things. He's completely litter trained, and his box doesn't smell like a cat box does. We've had him for 9 months now.

We're gonna need a pic of the rabbit lol.

ETA: I'd love to get a rabbit but I'm not quite sure how my Aussie would do with it. I'm almost positive he'll murder cats and squirrels if given the chance, and he sort of has the same reactions when he sees some of the wild rabbits around here. I'm just not sure if he wants to herd them, or murder them lol.