720 Gallon Project Update Part Four

[blane perun]

720 Gallon Project Update Part Four

This is part of a series covering the trials and tribulations of the home coral farm.

Not many things happened over the Holidays, time constraints, bills J

This is an update of changes that had to be made to the Zoanthus System that
I covered last time. Some of the changes are minor but provide some new
Ideas.



On of the first problems I encountered was with the way I mounted the lights. I
Did use standard PVC to extend the cable outward to suspend the fixture more
Towards the middle of the tank. Pressure held the PVC section against the wall.
On a few occasions it fell and the PVC tubs fell in the tank hitting the fixture
On the way down. I purchased PVC end caps and screwed them into the wall,
And mounted the PVC tube into the end cap.



Next area of concern was the lighting itself. Above you can see I had to lower
The lights considerably from the first post. Originally since I have incorporated
Natural light I felt any artificial light needed would be minimum. After attempting
A power quad above the Zoanthus I was still not able to get the colors I obtained
Under MH’s with no natural light.



I moved to a VHO hood with four 4 foot bulbs.
Two actinic, and two daylight. I had started the fixture about 14 inches above the
Tank with a photo period of 8 hours, the change made a very minimal impact in the
Coloration. I then (pictured above) lowered the fixture to 7 inches above the water
Surface, raised the shelf two inches and increased the photo period to 12 hours.
While I am seeing a positive progression of more intense colors the fixture is
Now so low it has really become cumbersome to work around and I have decided
To sell it and purchase two PFO 250 watt pendants



Another area of concern is current. I have seen a few farms operate on air lifts
Constructed of PVC and air pumps to generate current and on my visit the corals
Seemed healthy so it appeared to be enough. Originally I connected a 360 Ocean
Current rotating head to a Mag 7 via PVC and connected that right to the side of
The tank.



With the density of the zoos and heavy feeding I am coming up with
Problematic algae. I’m sure I will have to increase the current in the tank
Considerably. I think if the vessel were smaller the Ocean Currents Head would
Be fine, but it is undersized for this installation, and adding more will interfere
With working around the corals.



The last modification is the shelving. I had the shelves for the zoos drilled
With holes at O.D. about 2 inches apart. This turned out to be a large mistake
Because I was just not able to get enough in the tank. I had previously grown
In small 40 gallon break out systems and was getting more with the old
Rack which were one inch apart. I had some new shelves made and hope to
Use the ones I have no elsewhere. In addition to the spacing another area I
Changed was the rack itself. From the original post and the photo below
You can see I made a rack to keep the two shelves next to each other at
An equal height. I did the exact same thing in my previous tanks and it
Worked fine. With this round tub however, since there is no turn over
It seemed to add to poor circulation so I rebuilt the rack to make the
Shelves at two different heights.

[scubadude]

Originally posted by blane perun
Not many things happened over the Holidays, time constraints, bills

BILLS?!? Dont fret the small stuff! Seriously though I can totally understand.....Its coming along quite nicely there Blane! Thanx for the update

[blane perun]

SCUBA:

It is really tanking a long time. I guess partly since I am
Not doing this for a living it is not top priority. It’s sort
Of a catch 22. If I had to pay the bills with it I would
Spend the cash and work on it 24/7. Since I don’t it
Just goes slower than I want. Well I don’t know if that
Is an actual catch 22, but you know what I mean.