Jump to content
Cultivated Reef

Chyendra's 45 Gallon Cube


Chyendra

Recommended Posts

Cant wait to see new pics! Id say the ones you posted look good but its still too early, my eyes are blurry! Gettin old.

 

How is the mp10 working out? Gettin any queter? Hope youre not like me and expect a dramatic decrease. If so, youll never be happy with it! Trust me if my deaf wife complains about it, its too loud! lol

 

I am super sensitive to sound so It drives me nuts, however its easy to get around that by only running noisy modes during the day when fans or other noises drown it out. when mine was new I would setup night mode at like 6:30pm so I didnt have ot hear it in a quiet house. still though, short pulse is completely out of the question!

 

Hell I must be a gluton for pain as I just ordered a mp40 to replace my 10 and mj! God, I wish the dang things didnt work so I could jump on the "get rid of those noisy vortechs" bandwagon! But I cant...

 

Hope all is well and look forward to seeing the new additions!

Link to comment
  • Replies 237
  • Created
  • Last Reply

Thanks for the comments, I really do appreciate them :)

 

I love the 24" of depth in this tank, makes for more interesting aquascaping than other style tanks of this size.

 

Chris, the vortech is still loud, but it's liveable. I can turn it down to 50% while we're home on reef crest and i don't notice the pump over the fans and skimmer. During the night and while we're gone, I put it on 100% at the longest short pulse, which is obnoxious sounding, but I think the corals like it.

Link to comment

Finally here are some pics of the new plumbing. This is a Herbie style design using the top drain as the main drain at full siphon with a gate valve, and the bottom drain as a back up. As a note for anyone trying this, the bottom drain has a 90 elbow in the overflow box pointed up, with a pvc extension piece that makes it taller than the main drain. It will only work as a back up if it's taller than the main.

DSC_0010Small.jpg

 

Here you can see the main drain with a gate valve entering the sump and the back up drain next to it. This set-up is soo awesome! It's nearly silent, and there's almost no bubbles entering the sump. I wish I would have set it up this way long ago. I couldn't have done it on my own though, as this tank's overflow is extremely difficult to work in. A good friend of mine did most of the work, and I'm very thankful to him.

DSC_0011sm.jpg

 

This is rough diagram of the set-up, but the bulkhead roles are flip flopped, so that the main drain with the gate valve is actually the top bulkhead and the back up is the bottom. I make a pipe for the back up drain inside the overflow box as tall as I could so that I could raise the water level in the overflow box by adjusting the gate valve. This way, the water flows almost silently over the overflow box.

Overflowback.jpg

Tankoverflow.jpg

 

This is how I recommend plumbing this tank for the most fail safe and silent system. BUT I warn that it is was very difficult to get this to work and I thought we were going to break something along the way. I do not recommend the reef ready version of this tank.

Link to comment

Boy do I agree with you! When I saw it in the store, I rolled my eyes and actually chuckled out loud when the salesman told me how awesome it was...id have to say R&D could have used a few more meetings on this one!

 

Oh well, seems you have it done the best way possible so who cares. Also, because of you documenting your struggles with this RR version, a lot of others will benefit from it by not going this route. Hopefully there are enough complaints and low sales that Marineland might change the design and hey, while theyre at it, maybe theyll give QC a talkin to as well and introduce them to this amazing invention called a square! Cant believe how unsquare mine is and how poorly the glass panes meet one another! That and the trim is just junk. It accentuates the unsquare glass along with not being sealed properly to where if water splashes up in the canopy recess it drips down the glass in the corners where the bevels arent sealed right.

 

Overall, I would rate this tank as a 5 on a 10 scale for qaulity. If theyd bump the price up $20-$40 and provide a quality finish, I know I wouldve been happy to pay it but I guess it aint too bad for the price point. I sure miss mid-90's Oceanic tanks!

 

Your tank is lookin really good Chy! Quite impressive! Can you give a current rundown of your maintenece schedule, additives, dosing and equipment? I can see youve made a few changes and they seem to be for the better!

Link to comment

The biggest changes have been stopping the vodka dosing, feeding more and using more GFO. So, the idea is that my corals were too light with the lack of nitrates, so I'm trying to boast the nutrients and nitrates a little, while keeping my phosphate in check.

 

The second biggest change is finally getting my alk stable, which I think is making a huge difference for my SPS. I bought a Hanna alk meter, which I love, and with saturated kalk dosing my alk is staying between 9.0-9.3 over the course of a week. I have to dose almost a gallon of kalk per day to make it happen... it's incredible how much carbonate and calcium such a small tank uses.

 

I updated my first post with my current equipment. Maintenance is as follows:

  • Twice daily - feed corals and fish (I use a mix of Rod's reef, Oyster Feast, Reef Chilli, cyclopeeze, flake and spectrum pellets, depends what I feel like feeding)
  • check ph & temp w/ reef keeper
  • Every other day - feed silver side pieces to the anemone and starfish
  • Test alk with Hanna (I'm still tweeking the dosing so this will become less frequent)
  • Clean glass with magnent
  • Dose Brightwells amino acids (i'm not sure this does much)
  • Once weekly - Refill ATO bucket with RO and Refill Kalk bucket with saturated kalk.
  • empty skimmer cup
  • clean foam guard on Vortech
  • Dose 1 drop lugols iodine, 2cc homemade iron supplement for my macros, strontium supplement. I definetly think the lugols helps with blues in my SPS and zoas, but I think I lost my fish iodine overdose in spring when I was dosing 1 drop a day.
  • Every two-three weeks - siphon sand and 15gallon water change with Red Sea Coral Pro salt
  • change Rox carbon (in a bag in the sump)
  • change GFO (i'm over feeding right now since my corals and anemone have been so pale so I expect that the frequency of GFO changing will go down.)
  • Once a month - test Ca, Mg, Nitrate. I don't measure phosphates because they never show up on my salifert kit. I hope to get a Hanna phosphate meter soon.

Link to comment

Hey, thanks for posting that! Its nice to see how someone with the same tank does things. Funny, i just started dosing vodka again. I vowed to do it right this time, or as right as ive learned it to be...Ive been through a few extremes with dosing too much, too little along with the balancing act of feeding frequency, size, and type plus adding or not adding bacteria in conjunction! Its a see saw ride wtih a twist for sure but I still feel it is a great addition to a system with sps and more than a few fish. Im trying to take a less methodical approach this time, using my corals more than testing to adjust doses. Ive also found "my bacterial journey" thread over at RC to be an invaluable resource when it comes to judging what to do and when based on observation.

 

Ive also noticed that like people who use biopellets that gearing a system around carbon dosing is essential. It usually ends poorly for those that try to fix problems with carbon dosing or just up and start adding it without preparing their system for it. Not saying youre one of them, but after using the tunze 9002 in my old tank to the swc I have now, I can say I didnt have a big enough skimmer to cabon dose in my NC. Your remora falls closer to the undersized. Plus you didnt build bacterial levels prior to starting vodka did you? Like mb7 or zeobak? Thats made more differece I feel than the carbon in my new tank. That stuff just consumed the little cyano I had in my fuge during the cycle within a few days and continues to impress me with how little detritus I have in all areas of the tank! Plus I went from around 20ppm of nitrate to 0 within a week of the loading phase. Not bad for a 13$ investment!

 

ANyhow, not trying to say anything about your tank in particular, just rambling. Have you looked into DIY'ing a kalk reactor? If I were still using it I would make one to keep it out of my topoff tank. That just gets old quick! Thats why I stopped using it. Just got tired of vinegar bathing the whole system multiple times a month. BRS 2 part does the trick on dosing pumps much better but I still suffer from the low PH you and I have dealt with. I thought for sure my issue was the covered NC i had but I still have the issue in the new tank. I just gave up and let it ride.

 

Think you could get some coral closeups and post a growth sequence? I think those are cool to help you realize all your hard work paying off as seeing them everyday we dont notice how far they come! Id love to see it! Keep up the great work, I for one, can tell how nice your tank is doing!

Link to comment

Oh, I should mention that I also still get crazy growth in the fuge while bacteria/carbon dosing so ive learned to use that as the judge of whether im feeding enough or dosing too much vodka. Cheato has never done well for me but ive found a caulerpa type and ulva that is really growing out of control!

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

I finally updated my lighting a bit!

 

I switched my old phoenix 14k out for a Giesemann 14.5K. The Giesemann is supposed to be a very high PAR bulb... I hope so, because it doesn't have much going for it color wise so far! It's truely a white/yellow with no hint of blue at all.

 

Knowing that I'd be losing some blue giving up the Phoenix, I also retro-fitted two 24w T5HO ATI Blue Plus blubs into the hood. WOW! I forgot how much I missed having an actinic supplement. ATI Blue Plus are supposed to be one of the highest PAR actinic blubs. I installed them with Tek reflectors which are supposed to be the best for reflectivity.

 

The two new lights together are a similar color to the Phoenix by itself, slightly less blue, but clearly A LOT brighter! I'm shading the tank with some window screen at the moment, but I'll try to get some pics up once I've taken the screen away.

 

I think this is just what my SPS needed to finally get them to really show their stuff.

Link to comment
Pics of the new additions as promised!

 

Carpenter Flasher Wrasse

DSC_0047sm.jpg

09-23-11sm.jpg

 

 

Purple Firefish Goby

DSC_0071sm.jpg

DSC_0026sm.jpg

 

 

and a growth pic...

 

12-02-11

12-02-10sm.jpg

 

09-13-11

09-13-11sm.jpg

 

I'll tell you this, I want ya acan lol and also will take ya wrasse hahahahaa

 

 

What a beautiful additions. Always love looking at ya tank

Link to comment
  • 1 month later...

Time to celebrate! I'm finally done studying for/ taking my veterinary boards exam! I'm taking a much needed break and getting my life back together, including giving my tank some much needed attention.

 

I left for a 2 week externship and the tank looked like this

center12-04-11sm.jpg

 

 

I came back and it looked like this!!!

Center01-09-12sm.jpg

 

Yikes! ha ha.. I'm not worried though... I've been in this hobby long enough not to be discouraged by a little hair algae, bryopsis, bubble algae fiesta :) I haven't met algae I can't handle :)

Problem: Hair algae - Plan: beef uf my use of GFO, 20% WC once weekly for one month focusing on siphoning the sand bed and scrubbing rocks, Add 2-3 more hermits +/_ a turbo snail.

Problem: Bryopsis - Plan remove large clumps, purchse gallon jug of Kent Tech M Magnesium supplement, raise magnesium to 1600-1650, watch bryopsis melt away... hahahah!

Problem:bubble algae - Plan - add second emerald crab.. Yawn.. maybe siphon a bubble or two out during WCs... yawn

 

On a more fun note, I'm LOVING the extra T5 bulbs I recently added.

Yay! Actinic Disco party!! Woot Woot!

Actinicsm.jpg

actinicsm-1.jpg

 

My SPS are LOVING the extra par from the ATI Blue plus bulbs and Giesmann MH. This week the finally screen is coming off so It won't be too much longer before I'll have some sweet pics to share.

 

Thanks for stopping in! Leave a message, I'll be around more than usual the next couple weeks.

Link to comment
Problem:bubble algae - Plan - add second emerald crab.. Yawn.. maybe siphon a bubble or two out during WCs... yawn

Congrats on the exam! Also, don't sleep on bubble algae. That stuff is the only type of algae I've had real problems with. Good luck on getting the tank back in line!

Link to comment

Congrats on your accomplishment!!!!!

 

You may have algae issues but the corals sure look happy and colorful. They have clearly grown too :)

 

Document your algae battle if you can. I'm fighting bryopsis and hair algae as well.

Link to comment

Thanks everyone! I'm still waiting for my test results, but I'm thrilled to be done studying for the moment.

 

Despite the algae, all my corals and fish are super happy. My SPS are finally coloring up, I love it!

 

I promise I won't ignore the bubble algae. I shouldn't be so cocky because it is a nasty algea, but it doesn't seem to take over as fast as other types. Steady removal during WC's and 1-2 more emerald crabs will help.

Link to comment
  • 2 weeks later...

Well... it's official! I passed my national veterinary boards exam!! I'm so relieved you can't even imagine! :)

Anyone hiring? :)

 

 

The tank is doing really well too :) Bryopsis is nearly eliminated so the next pest to target is the hair algea, but I'm focusing on acclimating my corals to the new light still. Man this bulb combo has tons more PAR than my previous bulb choices. pics to come maybe this weekend :)

Link to comment

OK I know someone asked for documentation of killing Bryopsis with Kent Tech M. I'm sorry I didn't take more pics but here's two anyway.

The first one is maybe 1-2 days after I added the Magnesium - you can see that the bryopsis is still there, but it's turning pale/white and is more translucent.

Bryopsisdieing.jpg

In picture two, it's completely died off and you can see a bit of hair algea that remains. I did NOT scrub this rock. You can see that it completely dies away on it's own.

bryopsisdead.jpg

 

Here's my post bryopsis outbreak FTS!! Note you can still see area's of hair algea that I'm working on still. But definitely an improvement. My SPS are loving the new lighting!

Center01_24_12small.jpg

Link to comment
Right now I have a large animal surgery exam to study for :(

 

Still in vet school? Must be the final stretch if you took boards. What's next, practice or internship?

Link to comment

That's right, I'll be done with vet school in May. I'm just starting to look for jobs, which is kind of a daunting task. The internship life just isn't for me, and I need to start working off my out-of-state tuition debt.

 

I'm hopeful I can find a small animal clinic that will be a good fit me.

Link to comment

I thought this tank looked familiar! I'm Blue2Fyr3 on the MARS forum :)

 

Everything looks amazing, I wish I had space for a tank this size. It's just perfect.

 

See ya at the swap!

Link to comment

Archived

This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.

  • Recommended Discussions


×
×
  • Create New...