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  #26  
Old 11/28/2007, 09:17 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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So, plan ahead and get it right the first time? when has that ever worked in a reef tank?
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  #27  
Old 11/28/2007, 10:42 AM
Jester Jester is offline
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even when I plan ahead, I still need more stuff or better equipment.. or more frags... heheheee... its like an addiction..
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  #28  
Old 11/29/2007, 09:38 PM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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When I shopped around to buy my current tank (actually the 29 AGA that this current tank replaced), I searched high and low for a stock stand set with a canopy that was tall enough to house halides (i.e.12 inches tall). I don't know if there is a source for these besides the exorbitant though high quality, custom builders, but I didn't find one.

So I built my own. I went for solid 1x12 red oak, and chose a minwax wood finish that would give my canopy a color that was a close match to my stand.

Putting the finish on the canopy doors:


That was a couple of days ago; today I put on the first coat of helmsman spar varnish to protect the wood. Its used for outdoor furniture and the like, so it should protect well. Two more coats of varnish, then I have to attach the doors and the top from my existing (stock) canopy. The reason for the new canopy, obviously is to add a halide to the setup. I have a 250w retrofit with an Icecap MH ballast, and I believe a 20K radium bulb. I also have an Icecap 660 VHO ballast that I'll use for two 24 inch VHO bulbs. Currently, I'm running a URI actinic white in the front, and URI actinic in back. I like the color, so I think I will keep this configuration on the new canopy. So that brings it up to 400 W total for about 12 watts per gallon. Still thinking about the photoperiod, maybe 10-12 h with the VHOs and 4-6 h with the halide later in the day so they will be on when I get home from work.
  #29  
Old 12/03/2007, 01:02 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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Finally finished my new canopy today. I'd forgotten how much I love the look of halides!

I used the top from my existing canopy and screwed that to the top of the new one after staining and 3 coats of spar varnish. I'm using a 250w halide and two 24" 75w VHOs on here, both off of icecap ballasts. Since the ballasts don't run very hot, I felt safe screwing them directly to the canopy. I'll watch for any overheating, but I expect it will be fine.



Finally, I attached the doors and plugged everything in. Here you can see how I attached a small vertical block to one of the doors so that the canopy matches the stand but I still retain full access to the front of the canopy.



I've had all the bulbs running for about 5 hours now, and all of the livestock is noticeably more fully expanded than yesterday. I'll be on the lookout for heating issues, and I still have to decide on the photoperiod for the bulbs, but it looks like the canopy switch was a success.
  #30  
Old 12/06/2007, 11:00 PM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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It's been a long week, but I got around to taking some pics. I have an acro that was given to me as a tricolor that went brown when it was shaded in a friend's tank. I've noticed that it really seems to color up at the growth tips, and gets more colorful under high light. Duh. Pretty standard, but I wanted to document growth and color change from the 250w 20K halide that I just added. We'll call this the "before picture"
Left: VHOs only (actinic + actinic/white), Right: VHOs plus halide



Hopefully in a month I will be able to look back and sactually, these aren't that small) ee some significant growth and color...

Also note the wash of bubbles in the second picture, a symptom of my overflow/sump troubles. I've been thinking and researching the new overflow and sump design. Nothing concluded yet, but I'll try to post my thoughts on that soon. Do bubbles/microbubbles cause any harm to the inhabitants, or are they just annoying and unsightly? Any dangers if I let the problem go awhile?
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  #31  
Old 12/07/2007, 12:47 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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Dosing!

After spending too much on dry supplements over the years, I recently switched over to a DIY two-part very similar to one Randy Holmes-Farley recommends in his article, An Improved Two-Part, Do-It-Yourelf Calcium and Alkalinity System. I based mine off of recipe 1 (which uses sodium carbonate instead of sodium bicarbonate for the alkalinity part to bolster pH) and part 3A for the magnesium supplement. Since I have access to lab-grade chemicals, I used these to make my solutions. Also, in science we work in moles, not parts per million, so I modified the recipes given in the article by scaling them to easy molarities:

part 1: 1 Molar calcium chloride (CaCl2) + 0.037M potassium chlroide (KCl)
part 2: 2 M sodium carbonate (Na2CO3)
part 3A (5x concentration): 0.633 M magnesium sulfate (MgSO4) + 1.04M magnesium chloride (MgCl2)



I generally try to add 5ml per day of parts 1 and 2, so that means 1ml per day of part 3A. I usually forget for a few days, so I just add about 15, 15, and 3ml whenever I remember. I've had better results with the DIY 3 part, mostly because making it forced me to research reef chemistry and come to a better understanding of calcification chemistry.

One slight problem I've encountered, which I've noticed is worst when I've waited a long time between dosing, is that when I add the sodium carbonate, I get precipitation immediately of what is probably calcium carbonate:



Never seems to harm any inhabitants, even when it accumulates on top of corals. The precipitate forms soft, snow flakes which dissipate after a couple of minutes. They must look and feel like food particles, because my fish hunt them as voraciously as they do frozen mysis. My hairy mushrooms get fooled as well, and usually one or more of them will close up as if capturing food. Pretty funny, but so far no ill effects.
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  #32  
Old 12/08/2007, 06:08 PM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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$5 in-tank refugium/chaeto farm

I took a subway ride to my nearest decent fish store today. I saw that they had some nice macroalgae cheap. I grabbed one of those small floating breeder traps for livebearers (cost $4.99) and some algae, including chaeto, a couple caulerpa species, maybe some others. Stuck the algae in and pushed the trap to the back and voila, refugium and algae chamber installed.







You can see the hair algae that is already starting to grow on my PVC return in the 2nd pic. Definitely one of the big reasons for algae is to compete with hair algae for nutrients and hopefully starve it away. Also, I'm going out of town for over two weeks soon, so the pods this supplies should augment freeze dried/flake from the autofeeder.

Also, did quick Ca/Alk tests (AP test kits, colormetric so not the greatest): 380-400ppm Ca, 11dKH. Seems fine, I might up the ratio of Ca for a few days to push it up. I know 400+ is the goal for Ca, what about KH?
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  #33  
Old 12/09/2007, 01:32 AM
martinphillip03 martinphillip03 is offline
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Re: Dosing!

Maybe you are adding to much at once. Try breaking it down. One dose an hour for 3 hours, instead of three all at once. . Also do you know how quickly your reef uses these supplements?

Marty


I generally try to add 5ml per day of parts 1 and 2, so that means 1ml per day of part 3A. I usually forget for a few days, so I just add about 15, 15, and 3ml whenever I remember. I've had better results with the DIY 3 part, mostly because making it forced me to research reef chemistry and come to a better understanding of calcification chemistry.

One slight problem I've encountered, which I've noticed is worst when I've waited a long time between dosing, is that when I add the sodium carbonate, I get precipitation immediately of what is probably calcium carbonate:



Never seems to harm any inhabitants, even when it accumulates on top of corals. The precipitate forms soft, snow flakes which dissipate after a couple of minutes. They must look and feel like food particles, because my fish hunt them as voraciously as they do frozen mysis. My hairy mushrooms get fooled as well, and usually one or more of them will close up as if capturing food. Pretty funny, but so far no ill effects. [/B][/QUOTE]
  #34  
Old 12/09/2007, 01:43 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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I have a feeling you're right about the dosage amounts on the precipitation issue, though I still seem to get some precipitation even with 5ml doses. I have no idea yet how much calcification actually consumes in the tank. Is is possible to figure this out without very accurate test kits? I'm currently using the AP calcium kit which has a resolution of 20ppm and the AP Alk kit that has a resolution of 1 dKH.
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  #35  
Old 12/09/2007, 01:46 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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I was thinking about the floating pod farm I just set up: there were a bunch of the small, red bristleworms in the macro that I picked up since it was sitting on the substrate. What do these guys eat? I thought I remember that they are detritivores, but will they start to consume 'pods if confined in a small space with no substrate and little detritus to eat? Am I just setting up a bristleworm culture here?
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  #36  
Old 12/10/2007, 02:03 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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In preparation for my two week trip starting next weekend, I put together a quick auto top-off so that the tank won't run dry. It was fairly quick and easy using the float valve that I got with my RODI a couple years ago. (This hobby teaches you to never throw anything away.) I used a piece of 1/8" plex, attached a leg so that it can't move and stick the float valve to the side of my sump (bucket) and attached the float valve and supply hose. The other end goes to a 4 gal plastic container.



As an added bonus, the divider in the sump has drastically reduced the amount of bubbles returned to the tank. Stay tuned, new corals tomorrow 9-10 frags, $5 each. Even though I'm out of town for a couple weeks soon, I couldn't pass up those prices. Mostly zoas and montiporas. Hopefully pics tomorrow
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  #37  
Old 12/17/2007, 12:48 PM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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Fingers crossed

Well, I'm on vacation and the tank is on it's own for 2 weeks. I never got a chance to take pics of my new frags, but I snagged some nice zoanthids (pink, lime green, dark green palythoas, some others), idaho grape monti cap and a german blue polyps digi. All were looking good when I left, except the orange zoanthids had not opened up.

While I'm away in seattle, I'll be designing a sump and cutting acrylic for it and my new overflow. I also am on the market for a skimmer, since I will have room for it in the new sump. The sump dimensions will be 15L x 11W x 14-15 high, so around 10 gallons full. Its the largest sump I can fit inside the stand while also being able to store buckets on the other side of the stand. I want to have a section for the drain from the tank that has space for my skimmer, an algae filter section in the middle and then the return pump will be on the opposite side from the drain/skimmer section. I need some suggestions for how to baffle the sump so that I won't get microbubbles in the tank. post Pics of your own sump setup and tell me how it has worked.

I haven't bought or used a skimmer in years, and I have no idea which to choose. The choices seem to have exploded in number in the past 5 years. I've seen the Odyssea PL75 skimmer mentioned in a couple of other nano build threads. What have experiences with this guy been like? The stock pump that comes with it seems pretty weak, like it might need a needle-wheel modded maxijet or it's own needle wheel mod to be effective. Anyone have experience with this guy?
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  #38  
Old 12/21/2007, 12:22 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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I searched for some info on the Odyssea skimmers to see what kind of feedback they were getting, and I found this monster thread that includes at least a few people's experience setting them up and getting them to work: Cheap skimmers thread

It's long, and I'm only a few pages in, but I think it will definitely help me pick an inexpensive skimmer that works for nano tanks. Check it out, looks good
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  #39  
Old 12/26/2007, 01:00 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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So my GF headed home before I did, and we placed an order at saltwaterfish.com before we left for delivery this saturday. Critters I can look forward to when I return include: tiny (>3/4 inch) hippo tang, occelaris clown (aquacultured), cleaner shrimp, a generic feather duster, blueleg hermits, orange linkia and a free rusty clown goby.

My girlfriend will have to receive the order, and I walked her through drip acclimation so that she will be able to take care of that when the order arrives. Should be cool to start filling the tank up, its pretty sparse on movement at the moment
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  #40  
Old 01/03/2008, 12:53 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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Impulse buy!

I arrived home to find a tiny hippo tang and an occelaris clown waiting for me. The blue tang is the size and shape of a quarter, but it eats voraciously: frozen mysis, freeze dried plankton, crumbled spirulina flakes. I have been trying to feed at least twice a day, and today I think I pushed 4 feedings. The tang is a bit thinner than I would like, so I ordered some brine shrimp eggs and selcon to enrich the newly hatched brine so that I can get some really high quality nutrition in him. I also ordered some formula two flakes to include a good amount of vegetable matter (since it is a surgeon, after all). Check out the size of this guy!


The blue tang and clown seem to be making friends, though the tang seems to be getting along just as well with its own reflection...
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  #41  
Old 01/03/2008, 06:45 AM
unda_da_see unda_da_see is offline
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the blue looks emaciated, bad.
  #42  
Old 01/03/2008, 09:25 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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yeah, that was my assessment too. I've been pumping him full of as many small feedings as I can, though I can really only feed from about 5PM until 1AM since I work all day. Luckily, the fish is taking all manner of frozen and prepared foods, and I have some new foods on the way. Newly hatched brine plus selcon and formula two flakes is what I came up with for rehabilitation foods. Any suggestions for how to feed all day while I am out? I was thinking maybe a breeding trap with live brine or other foods in it so that they would slowly leak out all day and give the fish something to pick at. I could use some expert advice!
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  #43  
Old 01/03/2008, 10:22 AM
mathias999us mathias999us is offline
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Just found this thread, and read through it.

HAHA, I was busting up reading through your problems with the overflow. Sorry to take pleasure in your pain, but that type of a situation is all too familiar to me from my first tank. Thanks for sharing.

Great job on the custom canopy too. The only thing I don't like about it is that you have so much ambient light leaking out of the doors, and out the top. But, the craftsmanship and design looks great, and it matched the original stand well.

I agree, that tang is riding a razor's edge right now... hope it works out.

Looks like things are shaping up and your bad luck is turning around - good job. Post some more pics!
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Hofstadter's Law -
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  #44  
Old 01/03/2008, 10:50 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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No apologies necessary, I'll be laughing along with you...as soon as I get the overflow problems fixed. I have 3/8th acrylic cut to size and routed for both the new sump and a new overflow box, this time 6 x 3.5 and 8 inches tall and attached to the outside back of the tank. I also brought my dremel back with me from my parent's house so I will be able to slot up the back wall for this new overflow. I just need to get some free time in order to take care of these projects.

I agree with you about the tang. I feel that if I can get him to hang on until saturday, he will have a better chance since by then I should be able to hatch some brine and pump them full of selcon. I'm crossing my fingers, because the tang is already showing a good personality: out in the open, interacting with me and other fish and eating well. So we'll see. As for pics, I need to finish scraping algae and then take some to show the nice growth I got while I was away for 2 weeks. The corals are responding very well to the new lighting. Stay tuned
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  #45  
Old 01/03/2008, 11:20 PM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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Brine shrimp hatchery

My marinedepot shipment including brine shrimp eggs and loc-line arrives tomorrow, so I put together a quick DIY hatchery. It cost nothing and took about 10 minutes to make:
Cut up to 1L bottles, drill the cap and attach the hose. The hose even loops through a hole in the top to prevent backflow.



Tang update: I've been feeding every hour or so since I got home from work, just a tiny amount of minced plankton or frozen mysis. The tang eats his fill each time, and seems more active today. Dorsal fin is still frayed, as it was upon arrival, but is not getting worse. I'm usually against naming fish on the principle that they cannot be petted and are therefore not pets, but I have dubbed the blue tang "Chubs"
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  #46  
Old 01/04/2008, 09:13 AM
mathias999us mathias999us is offline
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Hehe, hopefully he'll live up to his name. Is he bulking up at all?
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Hofstadter's Law -
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  #47  
Old 01/04/2008, 10:04 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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Might be too soon to tell, but I noticed a bit more of a rounded belly, at least during feeding time last night. I think I will continue to feed every 1-2 hours whenever I am around and the lights are on. He was noticeably less lethargic yesterday, so that's positive.
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  #48  
Old 01/04/2008, 02:44 PM
unda_da_see unda_da_see is offline
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when i first got my six line, his belly expanded big time, which i thought was weird but he was just piggin out. i hope the blue makes it. don't overfeed your tank though!!!!! give a hoot ..... don't pollute.
  #49  
Old 01/05/2008, 03:33 AM
thrillreefer thrillreefer is offline
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My shipment arrived today, so I set up a batch of brine shrimp eggs for hatching. IN the meantime, I fed Selcon-enriched Formula II flakes about 4-5 times in 1-1.5 hour intervals. I'm not adding much food at a time, but I may be overfeeding the tank as unda_da_see mentioned. Right now though, my primary concern is nursing Chubs back to health and it seems to be working. I notice a definite plumping of the belly region, and he looks less distended after a feeding now. Loc-line arrived as well, so that should be replacing the hideous pvc claws this weekend.
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  #50  
Old 01/05/2008, 09:18 AM
mathias999us mathias999us is offline
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Cool, glad to hear chubs seems to be improving. Send some pics of the locline when it's installed.
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Hofstadter's Law -
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