Ft. Lauderdale Beach, Florida

This trip was a very last minute decision. A friend had some Jet Blue vouchers up for grabs so we jumped at the chance for a free trip. Unfortunately the combination of available destinations & the fact that my wife hadn’t updated her passport after we were married severely limited our options.  I was initially unimpressed with the idea of going to Ft. Lauderdale but the West Coast (for now) and certainly the Midwest were out of the question for this vacation.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised at how beautiful the town and it’s beaches are.  The image I had of the area was one of Spring Break mayhem and heavy commercialism. Instead we found Ft. Lauderdale to be a prestine, subtle, seaside community. Not surprisingly the boardwalk was jumping in the evenings and there were lots of great restaurants and shops to occupy our nights.  There were also the typical ocean related distractions (parasailing,  jet skis, etc.), boat charters & some excursions including a trip to the Everglades that will have to wait until our next visit.

What I was excited about however was the fact that Ft. Lauderdale has some natural (though very modest) reefs of it’s coast that can be snorkeled so I jumped at the chance. I’ve snorkeled man-made reefs in the past but this was my first natural reef.  The pics that I got are not fantastic but very rough seas (from a potential hurricane that thankfully just nicked us really) and poor visibility made it difficult for me to get the best shots.

Hope you enjoy them and the video!

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New 65 Gallon RR w/ Sump

I finally have my new 65 gallon RR system setup to the point that it’s worth introducing.  I recently moved into my 1st home and took the opportunity to upgrade from my standard 55 gallon reef to a much more advanced system.

This is my 1st “Reef-Ready” system with sump and it includes a lot of improvements over the former.  The display is an All-Glass 65 gallon measuring 25″ H X 18″ D X 36″ L. It has a 300 GPH weir that empties into a MegaFlow 3 Sump. While the intake hose is still stock I converted the return to rigid PVC that includes a “T” with ball valve that allows me to divert enough of  the MAG7′s 700 GPH return flow to the Remora Skimmer that sits in the 3rd chamber. This allowed me to remove a pump and thus some heat and electricity.

The 1st chamber holds live rock and water flows down into it from the display and through a carbon pad. The 2nd chamber is home to a giant ball of chaeto macroalgae, my 300w Azoo heaters, a small pump for the BRS P04 Reactor and one more small powerhead for flow. A 75W 6700k bulb provides light to the macro on a reverse light cycle. The 3rd and last chamber holds the return pump, skimmer, temp & ph probes.

I’m now sold on the notion that the benefits of a sump far outweigh any extra labor or risks. I’m adding more water volume to the system, providing better aeration, helping to stabilize my PH & export nutrients w/ macroalgae and hiding lots of equipment to name just a few.  It’s also MUCH easier to perform water changes from the sump….no more lifting buckets of water over my head!  I attached some hose to a powerhead that I simply place in the sump to drain directly into a waste bucket, then reverse it to pump the fresh saltwater back into the sump. Top-off is still manual but I’ve begun designing an auto top-off system.

In another big push to really make this a serious system I purchased Neptune System’s new Apex Aquacontroller. Though a little challenging to setup at first this thing is too cool! With it I’m now monitoring temperature and PH with lab grade probes & can now control up to 8 pieces of equipment. It also has it’s own built-in web server and I’m now able to access the system from anywhere in the world (including my BlackBerry!) to monitor AND control equipment remotely. I  have it setup to email me when certain parameters fall out of range, when there’s power loss, water on the floor and much more. There’s so much this thing can do (and it should considering the price) that I’ll leave the rest for an article dedicated to the Apex.

I have plans to add a conductivity probe that will let me monitor salinity, dosing pumps or a calcium reactor to allow me to maintain calc & alk, and will incorporate an auto top-off system’s float valves with the I/O breakout box that I picked up along with the main unit. Someday I’ll likely need to pickup another 8 outlet energy bar and will incorporate a “wavemaking” system perhaps with Vortech’s if they ever come down in price. Below is an example of the graphing that can be done.

More details to come on the new reef ……..enjoy the video & pics!

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