Chucktown BC 29 Mixed Reef

[divecj5]

Since I wasn't able to move my thread from the Member Tank section over to the All-In-One, here is the link to my thread http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=125328 Here is the last post from that thread to catch everyone up on the fun and excitement from yesterday's moving:

 

Just wanted to update everyone on how the tank move went yesterday. First off, it doesn't look like I lost anything in the move although I haven't been back over to my new condo to check on things yet. I am just planning on leaving the lights off for the day to let the stress level on things go down a bit. I'll have to turn them on to see what's cooking though

 

Let me tell you one thing....I have NO IDEA how people do this on a regular basis like I've read people going to college transport their tanks back and forth 2-3 times a year. It has to have been one of the more stressful things that I've had to do in a while. Let me map out the time line here:

 

5:30 -- Started my "attempts" at catching fish. Futile since they know now what the net looks like and me looming over the tank

 

I then decided to just go ahead and take the corals out so that I wouldn't knock anything over in the process. After putting them in separate small Rubbermaid containers (zoas in one, SPS in another, etc.) I drained out about 5 gallons of water.

 

I was then able to take out some of rock and instead of wrapping it up like I planned, I just decided to put it in the buckets that I was going to put the water in. This ended up working out a lot better since I was able to put all the rock in the water buckets with snails, fish, and shrimp. A heck of a lot easier than wrapping everything in paper towels.

 

Let me tell you guys one things about clown fish.....they are really territorial b*stards The first time that I went close to the corner of the tank where they hang out, the biggest one (b*tchy female) nipped the crap out of me So guess who the first fish I caught was

 

So needless to say I ended up being able to catch the clowns with little problem and I was also able to pretty easily catch one of the shrimp. The firefish and other shrimp are a different story.

 

I knew from the beginning that the firefish was going to be a 2-3 attempt thing before he would bury himself in the sand. I ended up taking out just about all of the rock because he/she always just hides back there where I can't get to it. With all the rock out (except for a few base pieces), I couldn't find it. After searching for about 15 minutes, I decided to just drain the tank and leave about 2 inches of water in there and figured since he was being a pain, he would enjoy the ride in the car sloshing around wherever he was.

 

In the end, we didn't end up using the plywood like I thought we were going to do because it was just too flimsy and the bottom of the tank is made like a brick house. We ended up just carrying the tank out and into the car with about 3-5 gallons still in there, sand, firefish, nassarius snails (in the sand), and a couple of pieces of rock.

 

Long story short, I ended up finally getting everything back in the tank and pumps running around 8:15. So after 2 long hours, I showered up, sat down with a brew and watching Bionic Woman

 

I still have to go over there this afternoon and get the timers set back up, ATO back to pumping, make sure enough water is in there, and set the lights back up and going. Shouldn't be too bad compared to yesterday.

 

So I'm really relieved that is over and I made sure to tell my fiance that I'm not interested in moving again for a while

 

I will post on this thread from now on

[nUgZ]

It's good to hear that everything went fairly smooth for you. It's not a fun task I know. I hope everything will be fine when you get there today.

[divecj5]

Thanks. I'm keeping my fingers crossed that everything is alright when I get there as well. I made sure to double check that the heater and pumps were all working and plugged in when I left.

 

We'll have to settle up with the frags once things settle in for a week or so.

[TUDIZZLE]

Congrats on your successful moves to the new condo and to the all-in-one forum. Did you redo your whole aquascaping? Can't wait to see pics in its new locale.

 

Now only if you could move all your stuff in 3 hrs!

[divecj5]

Thanks for the congrats. I didn't end up redoing the aquascaping but I'm sure I won't get it back to the way it was looking since there were too many small pieces. I might just rescape a few pieces when I go back over there today. I'll just have to see how things are looking then.

 

Yeah, I wish I could move EVERYTHING in only 3 hours. Luckily I have the keys to the place 6 days before we officially start renting so we've had a nice head start. It's always loads of fun to have to move in one day.

[diggman08]

nice work bud... i bet that ice cold beer tasted like heaven..lol

[divecj5]

Thanks Digg. I couldn't resist and ended up going over to the condo during my lunch and everything looks pretty happy in the tank. The clowns were still a little on the skittish side and I didn't see the purple firefish (understandable from his ordeal ). I see that a little red cyano thought it would shows itself from the lack of flow and different flow so I will be taking care of that with some more direct flow and more water changes.

 

My LFS finally got in the Koralia pumps and they are running a 30% off sale this weekend so I might get one or two Koralia 2 pumps for the tank to replace the Seio that's in there. Do you all think one would be enough or should I get to Koralia 1s and be done with it? I am always having a hard time making sure there aren't any dead spots.

 

Yeah, that beer sure did taste great last night.

[diggman08]

i have 1 koralia 1 wit the rio6hf return. and i think any more flow than what i have would be too much.. IMO.. than sand and surface gets agitaed perfect... no cyano, no dead spot, the reef is happy

[TUDIZZLE]

I agree with digg 1 koralia 1 and the rio6HF. Anyway it would be a good place to start and if you felt like you needed more you could add another K1. I have only seen a few tanks that have two koralias but all are still in the LR stage. I have a feeling they will be pulling one out when they begin adding corals, especially if they are putting any LPS's that won't fully extend w/ too much flow.

 

Now you can just put that money towards more corals!!

[divecj5]

Thanks for the suggestions guys. I think that I am definitely just go with one Koralia 1 for the time being and just see how it works out. I am planning on heading over there during lunch and grabbing it so that I can have something to mess around with while waiting for the Comcast guy to show up. Always lots of fun when they say they will be there between 2-5 I guess it's better than when they used to just give you a day and you had to wait around the whole time.

 

Everything is looking great in the tank and already some of the cyano is giving up the ghost after I directed more flow to those areas.

 

Where do you guys think I should try and put the Koralia in the tank? I currently have one of the output nozzles pointing a little toward the surface and the end with the Hydorflo pointing downward toward the right front. I was thinking about just putting it on the right glass in the back about 3/4 of the way up and having it point slightly downward and toward the left front corner. That might not have made any sense so let me know what you guys think. I'm sure it will require some tinkering to keep things happy.

 

Any of you guys/girls college football fans?

[spanko]

Hey Dive, good job bud. I have the Rio 6hf as the stock return with a Y locline and two flatten nozzles. One pointing high center one low left. The Koralia #1 I have is on the right side glass mid-height at the back wall pointing towards the left side. Good flow, no dead spots, and none of the LPS is getting too much. Don't really have anything pointing at the top of the water but the surface is still agitated. I think in the current configuration any larger Koralia may be too much.

However I am looking at a total change to my system and will be getting a #3 or possibly a #4. If you would like to check out what I am thinking about here is a link.

 

http://michiganreefers.com/forums/showthread.php?t=53701

[divecj5]

Thanks bud for the suggestions on the placement. Sounds like we have a little of the same type of flow placement going on although I have a little more surface agitation. I might end up moving a little more toward what you have since I am really just trying to get rid of any dead spots to prevent diatom and cyano blooms. I'm going to check out link now....Now that's a cool idea man....sounds like you have been doing quite a bit of thinking on this for a while. As a pretty avid diver who's been diving in the Keys numerous times, I think this would look awesome.

[spanko]

Yeah, I think it can be done. Just gonna be a small interpretation of a reef flat as the 29 only has a 19x19 footprint and I need to leave some room at the bottom for cleaning the glass. I want to make sure I can see through the tunnels in the rockwork at the bottom in case there is anything interesting going on down there. I think I'm going to invest in a nimble nano so that I can put the glass a little closer to the glass than a magfloat would let me go. Thanx for the encouragement.

[vabchreef]

Interesting thread everyone, thanks... I'm going to be having to move my BC29 in about 2 months... some good advice here...

 

Dive - huge college FB fan here!

[divecj5]

Interesting thread everyone, thanks... I'm going to be having to move my BC29 in about 2 months... some good advice here...

 

Dive - huge college FB fan here!

 

Glad to hear that you found the information on the move useful. In the end, it was just more of a pain than anything else. Overall, I only think I lost 2 snails in the process and that's probably because I just ended up dumping everything back in the tank and not temperature acclimating them again I was just too wore out to mess with that.

 

Well I ended up getting the Koralia 2 instead of the 1 on Friday during my lunch break. I went there with all intentions of getting the 1 but when I went there, they only had one 2,3, and 4 and no ones. I was waiting in line behind some guy, who had about 5 different types of food, fish, etc. and he had the Koralia 1 in his hand. The guy that works at the store walked up and was like, "those things are going fast." Of course the guy that had the Koralia 1 had really no idea what it was but said that he had been carrying it around the store for about an hour. If I had to guess, I bet he tried to put it in the rear chamber of his tank or stir his water with it So I ended up getting the 2 (for $35) and honestly, I have been loving it. It's a little larger than I would have liked but the flow is GREAT. I have no idea why I didn't get one earlier. As soon as I put it in there, the green birdnest has had the best polyp extension that I've had since getting it. Everything looks really really healthy and hopefully the cyano is loving the flow as well

 

I will try and get some pics tonight of the tank although I am supposed to finish cleaning my old apartment and start unpacking the 10,000 boxes I have at my new place. My fiance and I have some work ahead of us.

 

GO GAMECOCKS!!!

[TUDIZZLE]

Funny how sometimes fate intervenes for the better.

 

I bet your sps corals will be digging the extra flow for sure!

[divecj5]

Yeah, I was really worried that it was going to be too much flow and blow things around. Actually I think it's a lot more diffuse and the spread is wider than the Seio I had in there before. Hopefully this will help get rid of the cyano since I'm pretty sure it's a flow not a phosphate issue.

[nUgZ]

Sounds great. I'm sure everything will be happier now.

[divecj5]

I figured it was time to add a little more meat to this thread so I have about 13 pics to add below. Everything has been doing great in the tank. I think that I ended up losing one zoa frag in the move so the casualty list is at 2 snails and one 3 polyp frag. No huge loss since I didn't really like them to begin with Just kidding....You can see that I opened up the little horseshoe area in the middle so that I can put a open brain or some other frags there in the middle. I also moved my Moah "keeper of the reef" to the back since he was taking up some prime real estate.

 

Couple of Full and Partial Tank Shots

 

 

 

 

These rics keeping getting better and better....two are now splitting

 

Awesome new growth on monti....you can see its coming over the side of the plug

 

Not too much going on with this one though....might be time to move it up a bit and blast it with some more light.

 

These having been growing great and are some of my favorites...

 

The green birdsnest is super happy with the new flow. You can see in the second picture that it is now growing down the left side of the frag plug. I guess it's finally time to epoxy it down

 

 

Last but not least, does anyone know what kind of algae this is? I think that it might be Red Gracilaria which is supposed to be a good algae but I just want to make sure. If it's considered a pest, it's coming OUT.

 

Let me know what you guys think of the tank. I might be picking up a nice red or green open brain this weekend locally and possibly some blasto or GPE zoas. I will make sure to share once they grow out

[diggman08]

me like .... it looks great dive,, everything looks happy since the move.. looks like you did some rescaping.. looks great.....

[ge0]

Tank looks awsome. Cant wait to see pics as everything grows in more.

 

I agree, looks like the move was a success. Everything looks happy, and I really like the slight changes to the aquascaping, your old rock set-up looked great, but I hazard to say that this looks even better!

 

I know whenever I move even 1 rock, I agonize over how it used to look, and try to get it exactly the same way

[divecj5]

Thanks bud....yeah, I had to move things around a little bit. One thing that I know now is that you will never get things back to the same scaping after moving. I kind of like it more now though.

[TUDIZZLE]

Looks good. I like how you moved your "keeper' to the back. Its a little more subtle but his presence is still felt.

 

Your monti and birds nests are doing sweet, cool how they overgrow the plugs.

 

The tank is looking happy in it's new home. How are you enjoying the new crib? I'm sure you have everyhting unpacked and in order just like your tank

[divecj5]

Thanks Tudd.....I think the "keeper" looks better in the back as well. My fiance kept telling me to move it to the back but of course I held out....for only so long I like the way it looks though.

 

Yeah, the new place is nice. I went out the other night picked up a nice Weber gas grill for the porch. Sure beats the little Smokey Joe that I was using before!!! I have been grilling it up ever since. Now we are looking for a washer/dryer....I guess parents were right when they always told me the older you get, the more expensive less exciting the purchases are. Why can't I just spend my money on my tank

[nUgZ]

Everything looks great. Is the cyano under control now?? I bet the extra flow is helping. Have you figured out what you want to use for the hair on the statue??