Mike and Terry's 300g Reef

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Mike&Terry

Mike&Terry

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As if we haven't already had more than our fair share of drama...

Our 4 year old custom 300g Marineland tank sprung a leak approx 1/2" above the eurobracing on the left rear side of the tank. Terry heard water dripping Thursday night (5/14) and went to investigate. After stepping into a small puddle of water on the floor and seeing water pooling on top of the counter, she grabbed a couple of towels to soak up the water and went to find me upstairs. In a calm voice, she said "You need to pull the 180g stock vat out from under the deck, clean it up and set it up in the garage". What?!? She then proceeded to tell me we have a leak. What?!? You're Joking?!? I didn't want to believe it. Our worst nightmare, ROUND 2! It took a few minutes, but I found the tiny pinhole leak and my heart sank.

We immediately setup the 180g stock vat that we keep for emergencies and added 100 gallons of fresh saltwater that was on hand, along with a heater and pump to circulate the water. Since the leak was tiny and it was late, we placed towels on the counter to wick up water and decided to wait until morning to start tearing down the display. The pinhole leak grew to a small water fountain overnight.



A huge thank you to our friends Sean Seal, Trisha and George Reiber, and Chuck and Milissa Barrick for their help and support! With their help, we were able to get all of our corals, fish and inverts into temporary housing without any losses.

Our system design allows us to keep our 2 sumps and frag tank online and water circulating without the display. Our corals have been spread out between the sumps, 4'x 2' frag tank, a stand alone 75g tank and the 180g stock vat.

Our wrasses and a pair of clownfish were placed in our 4'x2' frag tank and are handling the small quarters well. We also added several containers of sand for the leopards to sleep in.

Our Regal Angelfish, Spotted Bristletooth, Kaudern's Cardinalfish, and several Chromis are hanging out in our stand alone 75g tank of misfits.

Our 12 year old Dejardini, Stinker the Tinker's butterfly, the male Semifasciatus and his (2) females and our Blue Streak Cleaner Wrasse are in the 180g stock vat to give them more room. Chester Aquaria (LFS) was kind enough to lend us an SRO 3000 which is running on the 180g stock vat.




17512341279_a63dc73dd9_c.jpg






4'x2' frag tank:


Stand alone 75g










rescuing conchs:


Tiki Coral (LFS) is graciously loaning us a 200DD tank to use as long as we need it. This will allow us to connect into our existing sumps and frag tank which will help immensely with stability. The stand for the tank has been built and we're applying a 2nd coat of poly. Mike is picking up the tank this evening and we'll place it on the stand sometime tomorrow evening.

Once we get the 200DD plumbed in and rock and livestock moved, we'll be in a better position to take the time to make the necessary decisions and plan accordingly.

Stand for the 200dd:
 
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Mike&Terry

Mike&Terry

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What camera are you using to take you pics. What are the settings as well.
I upgraded from a Nikon D300s to a D810 in late December. I shoot in manual mode and settings vary depending on lighting and depth of field I want. You can click on a pic which will link to flickr where you can see camera settings for that shot.
 
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Mike&Terry

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So I went to the beginning of the thread and this only lasted for three years!?

It lasted 4 years. The tank was originally setup in April 2011. 2 weeks after install, the center overflow box peeled away from the back glass. We ended up having to place livestock and rock in temp housing for a week for the silicon repair. Now this. smh.
 

hybridazn

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Oh wow that's terrible. Hopefully everything goes ok. What is your plan going forward? Repairing the 300 or going with a new glass box?
 
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Mike&Terry

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Oh wow that's terrible. Hopefully everything goes ok. What is your plan going forward? Repairing the 300 or going with a new glass box?

Thank you! We have got so much work to do to get the 200dd up and running to move rock and livestock over. Once that's done, we can focus on the long term plan.
 

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Wow I almost can't believe this is happening again to you guys. Wish I was there to be able to help. I have my sump and skimmer I can loan you if you need it. Just say the word it's all cleaned up and ready to go ellie is at the house all day long mostly. Skimmer is a atb1050 looks like you have a temp but I figured I would make the offer at the very least. I will be home this weekend if you need any heavy lifting help. Again very sorry to hear this is happening to you again.
 

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You guys had such a beautiful tank this really blows...I'm about to upgrade to a 300DD and hearing things like this get me so nervous...do you blame the tank manufacture or do you think it's bad luck?!...I got a quote from miracles aquarium and glasscages...I hear so many bad things about marineland...what are your thoughts ?
 
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Mike&Terry

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Wow I almost can't believe this is happening again to you guys. Wish I was there to be able to help. I have my sump and skimmer I can loan you if you need it. Just say the word it's all cleaned up and ready to go ellie is at the house all day long mostly. Skimmer is a atb1050 looks like you have a temp but I figured I would make the offer at the very least. I will be home this weekend if you need any heavy lifting help. Again very sorry to hear this is happening to you again.

Thanks for the kind words & offer of help - very much appreciated! We are good right now with equipment, but may need some help this weekend with getting the 200dd up and running.
 

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Just sent you my number don't hesitate to call I am right around the corner.
 

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So sorry M&T. If I was closer you could count me in on help. I hope all goes as well as it can for yall.
 

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OH MY! So sorry to hear about this! If we were closer and we didn't have to take the doors apart to get it out of the house I would loan you our 300. It really kind of makes me second guess the purchase we just made. I hope you get everything sorted out soon. Again so sorry to hear this.
 
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Mike&Terry

Mike&Terry

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You guys had such a beautiful tank this really blows...I'm about to upgrade to a 300DD and hearing things like this get me so nervous...do you blame the tank manufacture or do you think it's bad luck?!...I got a quote from miracles aquarium and glasscages...I hear so many bad things about marineland...what are your thoughts ?
Our tank is not a stock 300g DD. It was custom built by Perfecto (Marineland) and there is no question that the seal rupture is due to a defect in this case. As for luck, I'd say we're feeling fairly unlucky at the moment.

Wow! Sorry to hear about ur guys terrible luck!
Thank You for the kind words!

So sorry M&T. If I was closer you could count me in on help. I hope all goes as well as it can for yall.
Thanks Brad, we appreciate the support!

OH MY! So sorry to hear about this! If we were closer and we didn't have to take the doors apart to get it out of the house I would loan you our 300. It really kind of makes me second guess the purchase we just made. I hope you get everything sorted out soon. Again so sorry to hear this.
Thank You so much for the kind words and support. We hope all goes well for you guys with your upgrade. I have to admit we're not feeling too comfortable using the 200dd as a temporary solution, let alone the thought of another 300dd.
 

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I think I would have to go through a different manufacturer. That is what our plans are, too many Marineland failures 1 was enough for us. We are leaning towards reef savvy.

Did you get my pm with my phone number. Please don't hesitate to call.
 
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Mike&Terry

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I think I would have to go through a different manufacturer. That is what our plans are, too many Marineland failures 1 was enough for us. We are leaning towards reef savvy.

Did you get my pm with my phone number. Please don't hesitate to call.

Our feelings exactly and yes, just saw the PM. Thanks so much for the offer of help!
 

TJ's Reef

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You two have certainly been over a few major hurdles on this journey, so sad to see but also know that you''ll make another spectacular recovery. Good to have some friends in the hobby when something goes this far South and looks like you had some good help on hand. I was also fortunate to have some good and close by friends lend a hand for my last disaster. Like I said on FB wish I could have been there and able to help.... just 3500 little miles separating us unfortunately.

Cheers, Todd
 
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Mike&Terry

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You two have certainly been over a few major hurdles on this journey, so sad to see but also know that you''ll make another spectacular recovery. Good to have some friends in the hobby when something goes this far South and looks like you had some good help on hand. I was also fortunate to have some good and close by friends lend a hand for my last disaster. Like I said on FB wish I could have been there and able to help.... just 3500 little miles separating us unfortunately.

Cheers, Todd

Thanks TJ! We appreciate the kind words and support - even if it is 3500 miles away!
 

When to mix up fish meal: When was the last time you tried a different brand of food for your reef?

  • I regularly change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 24 29.6%
  • I occasionally change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 30 37.0%
  • I rarely change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 21 25.9%
  • I never change the food that I feed to the tank.

    Votes: 5 6.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 1 1.2%
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