Smee! Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 So after months and months of reading, planning, more reading, saving, more planning, and reading. I've finally got my tank up and cycling (yay). 12lbs LR 10lbs Arag-alive substrate One of the neat things about this gen of CAD tanks is that they finally blacked out the entire refugium, except for a small strip for your light, where I'll be mounting the velcro gang box DIY light. There's still a lot of sand storm in these pics, I'm gonna let it rest a while. I still need to get a mouth piece for my loc-line, get some rubble for the back chamber, and chaeto in about a week. Edit: On threat of a beating and vegetables for dinner, the gf did the rockscape. She's very proud. Edit2: I feel like the Koralia nano + the stock pump are not enough flow, or enough surface turbulence. Maybe I'm just paranoid. The pump does 900 l/h so I'm sure it's fine. Edit3: Staring at the rock work, I don't think it's going to work out. There's just not a lot of surface area that's horizontal for corals, mostly vertical, opinions? Link to comment
latteslave Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 Looks good! What are the plans for the filtration? Link to comment
PoopCola Posted April 25, 2009 Share Posted April 25, 2009 looks really good already! rock sacape is interesting I was so happy when I read this So after months and months of reading, planning, more reading, saving, more planning, and reading. I've finally got my tank up and cycling (yay). Link to comment
Smee! Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Looks good! What are the plans for the filtration? I'll think I'm going to try rubble with floss on top in chamber 1, chaeto in chamber 2, with light running opposite of daylights. rock sacape is interesting Yeah, it looks like it's going to fall down any minute, which scared the hell out of me when she did it, but I stomped, slammed the door, bumped and even moved the tank a little but it didn't avalanche. It was originally two pieces, I wanted to have a large overhang with one rock propping it. But my eyes were bigger than my tank when I was at the LFS, so I had to take the hammer/chisel to it. So I just let her scape it after that. Link to comment
mdavis203 Posted April 26, 2009 Share Posted April 26, 2009 Get some of that reef-safe epoxy putty from marine depot and attach your rocks to each other. That will give you some piece of mind. Link to comment
Smee! Posted April 26, 2009 Author Share Posted April 26, 2009 Update: Redid the rockscape. I'm much happier with this version, lots of variable height flat locations for corals, while keeping neat caves/nooks for things to crawl around in. I even created a little cave of wonders...whether Aladdin is hiding in there, or a mantis shrimp remains to be seen. Added a flare nozzle to my loc-line and curved it towards the surface. Water agitation is now at acceptable levels. Now all there is to do is....wait. Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 New update, 1 week in. Removed Live Rock from chamber 1, moved heater in, added chaeto to chamber 2 with DIY fuge light, chamber 3 now just has the pump. Included shots of how I broke the arm trying to figure out how to get it on the light, and gorilla glued. New FTS showing how all that neat coraline died off, but I'm sure it'll come back. Also included some shots of something odd I see growing, not real sure what it is, haven't had any luck looking it up. It just looks like tiny pink trees. Sorry for the photos, all I have is a canon sd1000 elph. And switched to imgur.com for my hosting, much better. Fuge light is a 15w CFL (65w normal?) 6500k. There is no heat transfer, i've been feeling the tank wall every 4 hours. Chambers 1 & 2 w/fuge DIY light: I don't run the fuge light at the same time as the tank lights, just for this shot. Broken arm that was glue'd: Mystery Pink Thing: FTS: Link to comment
latteslave Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 I think I liked the old aquascape - or maybe it just needs more rock. Looks a little low now. As far as the mystery pinky... I have about four of them in my tank as well. Not sure - will be checking back for anyone who might ID. I was thinking someone fragged something off of the rock and it is growing back. Looking forward to updates! Link to comment
westcoastreefer84 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Cad really makes some sweet tanks, I'd love a 39 signature pro series with all the goodies I believe your pink mystery growth is the becoming of a red grape caulerpa fasthold, looked just like that in my tank before it grew bubbles, most people disslike it and will tell you its bad, but everyones got an opinion, I've had it for years and works well in my fuge How do you like your koralia nano? I just bought a nano off ebay tonight for my ap12, I have a koralia 1 in my 29 gal and I love it Good luck with your caddy, I'll be watchin Link to comment
bps7772000 Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Wow! Total deja Vu! Our tanks are so similar we can be blood brothers . I got your PM and I'll keep an eye on your tank and you can keep an eye on mine. How did you get such beautiful purple C-algae on your rocks so soon? I liked your aqua-scaping both ways too. I get the feeling everyone has the "grass is greener" symptom when viewing others LR. Is that a wave-maker you have? I was wondering whether to add a second powerhead? Wierd too, I noticed the lack of strong flow right away. The stats calculated to ~20 times per hour water circulation but the surface looks smooth. Is the stock pump adjustable? I haven't looked. And you even like Canon-elph cameras too. It's like we are related . I love elphs. You said "I ONLY have an elph 1000" lol. That is a nice camera. I had a very good friend from Pheonix in college though we have lost touch nowadays and he lives in Hawaii now. Anyways take care and lets keep an eye on each others threads. Ben Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 I think I liked the old aquascape - or maybe it just needs more rock. Looks a little low now. Yeah, it's pretty dense stuff though, I've got 2 baseball sized rocks under the chaeto, but I don't think it'll be to much of an issue, i hope. How do you like your koralia nano? I just bought a nano off ebay tonight for my ap12, I have a koralia 1 in my 29 gal and I love it Good luck with your caddy, I'll be watchin I'm glad I got it, at first I tested it in a sink full of water, and it didn't even feel like it was pushing water. but once I got it in and running, it made a big difference. Wow! Total deja Vu! Our tanks are so similar we can be blood brothers . I got your PM and I'll keep an eye on your tank and you can keep an eye on mine. How did you get such beautiful purple C-algae on your rocks so soon? I liked your aqua-scaping both ways too. I get the feeling everyone has the "grass is greener" symptom when viewing others LR. Is that a wave-maker you have? I was wondering whether to add a second powerhead? Wierd too, I noticed the lack of strong flow right away. The stats calculated to ~20 times per hour water circulation but the surface looks smooth. Is the stock pump adjustable? I haven't looked. And you even like Canon-elph cameras too. It's like we are related . I love elphs. You said "I ONLY have an elph 1000" lol. That is a nice camera. I had a very good friend from Pheonix in college though we have lost touch nowadays and he lives in Hawaii now. Anyways take care and lets keep an eye on each others threads. Ben The owner of our LFS broke down his tank and was depositing all his rock at the store when I showed up, I was picking out solid purple rock that had been in a 10 year old tank, it was great, all the coraline has died off now though. I got the koralia nano because I didn't feel like the stock was enough, even though it claims to be x20+ turnover. I think it makes a perfect addition, now I point my loc-line up for some good surface turbulation. Yeah the rock lbs may be a little low, probably around 11-12 lbs even, but I can always add more. I'll definitely be watching yours as well. Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 3, 2009 Author Share Posted May 3, 2009 Added a gravity ATO modeled after Nano Sapiens, I used lexan instead of acrylic, and expoy'd the top of the bottle to it. (loc-tite). I'm very pleased with it. The tube is stainless steel, so I'll have to keep an eye on it. But the total project was only $10, so making another, maybe even switching the tube out for acrylic tubing might be a possibility. Link to comment
CL_ Posted May 3, 2009 Share Posted May 3, 2009 Nice ATO unit! I was just wondering how I was going to make mine. Thanks for the idea. I liked the old scape, but this one has potential, just add some more rocks to give it more height Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 6, 2009 Share Posted May 6, 2009 Added a gravity ATO modeled after Nano Sapiens, I used lexan instead of acrylic, and expoy'd the top of the bottle to it. (loc-tite). I'm very pleased with it. The tube is stainless steel, so I'll have to keep an eye on it. But the total project was only $10, so making another, maybe even switching the tube out for acrylic tubing might be a possibility. Just found your tank thread. Looking good! Cool to see you working with the 'Water Bottle' ATO idea. I think you'll find the stainless steel tube to be truly rust proof. I see you went to a more powerful pump. Out of curiosity, how quiet was the new CADLights stock pump? If its super quiet I may have to look into one... Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 6, 2009 Author Share Posted May 6, 2009 Just found your tank thread. Looking good! Cool to see you working with the 'Water Bottle' ATO idea. I think you'll find the stainless steel tube to be truly rust proof. I see you went to a more powerful pump. Out of curiosity, how quiet was the new CADLights stock pump? If its super quiet I may have to look into one... The new stock pump is totally quiet,it's 900l/h (237gph) So it's turning the tank over 20x an hour. In fact the only sound I ever hear is a buzzing from my 10k's, the actinics don't make a sound. I'm going to remake my ATO this weekend, use a thicker acrylic, it's sagging to much and letting the water level get lower than I'd like. I'll get some shots up of the new one. And if things go well, I may even be adding a CUC too. Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 9, 2009 Author Share Posted May 9, 2009 We are now two weeks in, I am seeing minimal algae growth, I'm curious if it has to do with using live sand, with a combination of live rock from a 9 year old tank. The rock was only out of the water about 10 minutes, so I would think minimal die off. I have updated the DIY top off to version 2.0. Now with 0 percent sag. Got my APC and Timer hooked up. Let's hope I never have to worry about battery backup. I tested my water for the first time today, didn't think it would be necessary in until the 2nd week in. It is an API test set, I heard these weren't terribly accurate, thoughts? I may just get it tested at my LFS, since it's free. I'm also seeing a large amount of evaporation, a gallon every 2.5 days. Is this high? pH 7.8-7.9 Amm - .0ppm Nitrite - .0ppm Nitrate - .0ppm pH is low, should I dose? I haven't done a water change as of yet. Tomorrow the plan is water change, add 3-4 CUC members, maybe a blue legged-hermit and 2-3 snails. 1/4" acrylic base. Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 We are now two weeks in, I am seeing minimal algae growth, I'm curious if it has to do with using live sand, with a combination of live rock from a 9 year old tank. I started off my 12g with around 30% live sand and 100% live rock from my 9 year old tank and was able to safely add organisms just a few weeks later. Since you are using material from an established tank the bacteria needed are already there. In a relatively short time the various bacteria species will stabilize their numbers to suit the new environment. That's why you are not seeing the spikes in Ammonia, Nitrites or Nitrates. The rock was only out of the water about 10 minutes, so I would think minimal die off. I have updated the DIY top off to version 2.0. Now with 0 percent sag. Got my APC and Timer hooked up. Let's hope I never have to worry about battery backup. I tested my water for the first time today, didn't think it would be necessary in until the 2nd week in. It is an API test set, I heard these weren't terribly accurate, thoughts? I may just get it tested at my LFS, since it's free. I'm also seeing a large amount of evaporation, a gallon every 2.5 days. Is this high? LR out of the water for 10 min. should not kill anything off. Many reefs in nature are exposed to the air for much, much longer periods during low tides and most organisms survive.. With my ATO I'm going through a bottle (about 1 quart?) every 3-4 days. My acrylic spans the entire sump area, so this helps minimize evaporation. pH 7.8-7.9 pH is low, should I dose? I haven't done a water change as of yet. Tomorrow the plan is water change, add 3-4 CUC members, maybe a blue legged-hermit and 2-3 snails. Not too worry at this point. A consistent water change regimen should keep PH stable at around 8.2. CUC crew sounds about right. I'd go with small snail species (Stomatella, Columbelid) since the big ones such as Trochus and Astrea will tend to bulldoze your specimens often in such a small tank. In time you may see good numbers of small cleaners that multiply in the tank (Limpets and tiny white snails). If you don't have fish then you'll probably have a good number of Pods that will help keep the tank clean, too. Link to comment
bps7772000 Posted May 9, 2009 Share Posted May 9, 2009 Nice work on the 1/4" acrylic. I know what you mean about the sagging before. I was looking at that stuff this morning at HD thinking I would need to triple layer it so it wouldn't sag. I didn't see 1/4" thick though, it was thinner. I also picked up aquamend and super glue gel for the future use. Are you going to add more live rock? Oh and I noticed about a gallon evap. in a weeks time. I don't have a top. Ben Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 12, 2009 Author Share Posted May 12, 2009 Nice work on the 1/4" acrylic. I know what you mean about the sagging before. I was looking at that stuff this morning at HD thinking I would need to triple layer it so it wouldn't sag. I didn't see 1/4" thick though, it was thinner. I also picked up aquamend and super glue gel for the future use. Are you going to add more live rock? Oh and I noticed about a gallon evap. in a weeks time. I don't have a top. Ben I don't think I'm going to add anymore rock right now, I like the layout. I did end up getting some CUC fellas this weekend, I wanted the smaller guys nano mentioned, but they didnt have any. So I went with 2 astreas, 2 ceriths, and the newest member of the tank... Jacques! Link to comment
bps7772000 Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 I went with 2 astreas, 2 ceriths, and the newest member of the tank... Jacques! Wow he is really really cool looking-hairy legs and cool colors!(is that a stock pic or actual?) How large is he and what type? Thats funny that you named him like a french name lol. Give us some more pics of CUC! In my news, I just added the first part of my cleaning crew.(my cycle owns u ) I will be posting the details soon. Everything is going well so far. Link to comment
Smee! Posted May 13, 2009 Author Share Posted May 13, 2009 Wow he is really really cool looking-hairy legs and cool colors!(is that a stock pic or actual?) How large is he and what type? Thats funny that you named him like a french name lol. Give us some more pics of CUC! In my news, I just added the first part of my cleaning crew.(my cycle owns u ) I will be posting the details soon. Everything is going well so far. haha, he's actually quite tiny, that's an actual shot. I never thought watching snails/crabs could be so much fun. he's a dwarf blue legged hermit. This weekend there's a huge frag sale with a local club, I'm hoping to pick up a lot of really good stuff. Link to comment
slashxBoard Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 looking good! im running a newly setup cad 39pro, their tanks are made sick, agreed? Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 ...So I went with 2 astreas... FYI - When the Astreas fall upside down (and they eventually will) you'll have to turn them over if they don't have anything solid to grab onto. If not, they'll stress, release chemicals and your hermits will finish them off. Trochus species are able to right themselves anywhere and generally live longer. Link to comment
reeftankguy Posted May 13, 2009 Share Posted May 13, 2009 Looking good SMEE! These CAD's have it going on! Link to comment
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