Rag Tag Nano

[EdKruzel]

Originally posted by traveller7
Ed,

I still don't see the fish in your avatar. Which tank are you keeping them in?

I have the heard in the sump.

[EdKruzel]

Here is a shot (although not a very good one) of the entire tank, especially for Agu.

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And I video as well; I've never attached a video, so I hope this works.

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[Agu]

Because the inside is too small to construct a Durso Pipe, I borrowed somewhat of that method on the rear of the tank. The piece attached to the bulkhead is a "T" instead of a 90 degree angle with a drilled (5/16th) hole) cap on top. This allows air to move freely instead of trapping bubbles and hearing that gulping sound so common to overflows.

Is there anything inside the overflow besides the bulkhead ? Are you using an elbow or a strainer ?

[EdKruzel]

Nothing inside, just the open bulkhead. It seems to be less constrictive allowing for more flow.

[EdKruzel]

A little update for a little tank; it seems there is a problem, my corals are growing too fast and with all the overtime I've been doing at work some of the corals being overgrown are suffering. I just don't have the time to prune back some of the growth. Therefore I have to let nature take its course and allow the dominant to flourish while the weaker fall.

I've continued the heavy feeding regime, but still don't have much production from my skimmer. I have to speculate that it isn't any one thing I'm doing, but a number of elements keeping the nutrients so low.

First is the coral growth rate and second I believe would be the two DSB's. The first is aragonite in the tank and a deeper bed of Grey Coast in the sump. The upper DSB has plenty of worms, Nassarius and Ceriths to keep it moving on a microscopic level. In the sump, the lower DSB is absolutely fascinating to watch. The sump is teeming with pods, mysis, flat worms, aptasia (great filter feeders) and so many other life forms that I can watch that longer than the tank itself.

Overall it is still doing so well that I guess I shouldn't feel as bad about the corals that will be taken over. It has been a fun project to observe. I had a rock given to me covered in red flat worms (Planeria) that I hoped to observe in the sump and discover a nice easy natural predator to erradicte the pest. I still have a few high on the glass but along the rubble and within the Cheato they are gone. I apologize to those that were waiting for my findings since I haven't discovered what the solution is; I haven't observed any of the larger white worms I've had in other fuges which are the only sure and safe predator against the red pest.

[EdKruzel]

Beginning of May Update:

Another set-back because of my poor choice in pumps. I had a new Quiet One 3000 as the main pump from the sump connected to a SCWD (the tanks only circulation). I didn't do the proper research on the Quiet One or I would have read how poor the performance of these pumps really are. I had to tweak it each time I turned the pump off and then attempted to restart it so I decided to replace it, unfortunately not before we had a power outage in the middle of the night. The tank was off (well just the main pump) for about 6hrs and the temperature dropped to about 70. I lost an emerald crab, Queen Conch and my Chalk Bass. The corals seem to be unaffected.

I replaced the Quiet One with a Via Aqua 4900. It seems like a good quality pump (at least it starts on its own without me banging it off the floor) but is a lot stronger and the circulation may be a bit much for this tiny tank. I'm going to let it run as is to see if the corals have any adverse reaction and if so than I'll just add a ball valve. I'm guessing I'll have to compensate my drip time for increased evaporation, it's just another item to watch.

Check back soon...

[traveller7]

Bummer to hear about the losses and the hassles Ed. Glad you are plowing through them.

[Von_Rahvin]

Hey Ed,
Glad you like my bosses handy work. It took him something like 10 hrs to make your avatar, It's a sweet looking shot.

Nice looking tank BTW.

[Jadams]

very cool tank and stand setup! I love the DIY overflow with the 6" pvc..VERY COOL INDEED!

PS, sorry to hear about your corals. But as you said, let nature take its corse and ..."may the best man win!"

Good luck!

[EdKruzel]

Thanks for the kind words, I think the new pump will enhance this little tank; I luckily dodged that bullet of disaster.

Von,
Please tell your boss I'm very impressed with his work. I do graphics work as well as a side job from time to time. I didn't take 10hrs making it my avatar, but I must admit it did take about 20mins. I received a copy of the original from the contest and because the file was so large and I wanted to keep as much detail as possible, I had to keep tweaking and adjusting to get such a small picture. I hope his entry won...

I'll post some tank pics this week.

[Von_Rahvin]

It was a piece of work. I do think he won that week if I remember it correctly. It's really funny whenever we see one of our graphics around. well more his than mine, but he has been at it longer. Any way i'll let him know you enjoy it.

[mwoneal]

Ed,

Awesome tank, the custom overflow design is capital. I've also got a 10 gallon that I drilled for two 3/4" drain bulkheads, but I've just got ugly PVC elbows to control flow and it really doesn't surface skim like I was hoping, wish I'd have thought of something like this. Guess I'll have to implement on the next tank!

Oh yeah, is your signature a reference to the USCG / Lockheed Deepwater scandal going on now?

[Str8baller]

That picture of the maroon clown is one of the coolest pictures I have ever seen, so crisp and the colors are perfect! Well done

[EdKruzel]

Today I cut a few mm's off the overflow to help lower the water level. With the new pump water has been splashing over the top of the rim.

I enjoy photographing the tank, however it's about 10% luck and 90% camera, my skills don't even factor a percent.

As to my signature, it's just a catchy phrase reworded from "Rock and a Hard Place".

[Str8baller]

What camera are using? (also if you happen to know, what lens)?

[EdKruzel]

Originally posted by Str8baller
What camera are using? (also if you happen to know, what lens)?

It's the Nikon D70, and the lens I use for the tank is the 28-70mm. Somewhere on my list of toys is a good macro lens.

[mwoneal]

Ok, now I feel like a nerd for watching to much C-Span. Anyway, great job on the tank.

[SHLove16]

Looks great!

[EdKruzel]

Sorry for the delay on the pictures but work has been maddening. I ran a "T" off of the main pump and directed it back into the first chamber of the sump. It has a ball valve on the return which is a great benefit. I can adjust the pressure going to the main tank without putting back pressure on the pump as well as opening the valve at feeding time so I can reduce circulation to almost nothing without turning off the pump. This added current in the first chamber also helps remove debris/detritus out into the fuge and in to the skimmer.

I also found my Queen Conch down in the fuge happily eating algae.

In this main pic you can see that I moved the frog spawn over to the left. It was stinging other corals, so it was moved across the tank instead of across town.

(Please excuse the pics, I haven't cleaned the glass in a week).

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This Hydronaphora has made a great comeback from the tank I received it from.

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The Blasto heads and the Millie were so small I had to place them in the crevices with tweezers and now there attached and growing out in plain view.

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More of those Blue Zoo's, these things can really turn into a plague in no time at all. I first purchased them as three, which became hundreds and then given to a friend. After I received some rock to start the this tank, they hitch hiked back. At least they're pretty.

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Here's Ms Piggy checking out the hundreds of baby Cerith snails I have popping up on the glass. She doesn't eat them (wish she would) as she's waiting for her daily ration of fish roe and mysids.

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[EdKruzel]

I spent the time typing my sump mod and forgot to post the pics (Duh), well it is getting late and I have to be up in a few hours to workout and get to work.

Quick two - This is the first chamber and the bottom of the PVC has numerous holes perforated all the way around it up to about three inches high.

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This one explains itself:

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[EdKruzel]

On the first page towards the bottom there is a pic of the A. millepora above the Frogspawn. It was stung and covered with nothing but a bleached skeleton remaining, so I pulled it out and noticed on the bottom a mm of tissue over this tiny polyp extension. That was the tiniest frag I have ever attempted, and by good fortune has developed back into the piece next to the Blastomussa heads.

[Sugar Magnolia]

The tank looks great Ed. I had the same problem with a Quiet One 4000 not restarting after a power outage. No problems so far with the new pump?

[EdKruzel]

So far so good with the Via Aqua, I really like it. I had a power outage last night and this morning when the power returned it started up just as smooth as silk. I probably should have purchased a smaller pump, but with the "T" line everything is working well. I dropped a few frags off and have to place them this evening.

[EdKruzel]

I ran by a friends place at lunch and he gave me a few frags and a small clone of the RBTA I gave him. I held the rock in the tank while he carefully peeled it away. It didn't look to be the smoothest or easiest removal and the RBTA shrunk to about the size of a quarter (just a little larger). I didn't have time to properly place it in the tank, I didn't even acclimate it. I literally dumped it in, turned down the flow and ran out the door being I had only minutes to get back to work. I thought about where it would be best in the tank and figured it may need a few days to heal and acclimate, so I decided to place it near some rubble in the sump and knew where I wanted it when ready. Well when I got home, it was exactly where I thought it would be best and it already has my Maroon hosting in it. Here is the way I found it.

I guess I'll go place the other frags now.

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[zma21]

Awesome!