ADA

El Dorado Hills. Let me know if you ever want to swap anything.

Do you still have your bc14 up as well? I've always loved that tank (this one is better though!)

Thank you aj. I tried running both at the same time, but I've only got enough love for ONE.

Can anyone tell me if the BLUE RUBBERMAID containers are reef safe? Need to drill some holes in my AGA 10G, so I need a temporary sump.

I honestly don't know, but you could ask CowboyRWN, he works with plastics and knows a lot about them.
If you don't get a quick enough response from him, try giving the Rubbermaid a bath in White Vinegar and water, I've heard that can help.

Tank looks fantastic, I'm glad too see it is still doing well. You've gotten some great growth all over the place.

Installed an RKL1 and rigged up a temporary sump out of a rubbermaid container. Drilled a 1.25" hole for the nano chiller probe. Mounted a wall fan for secondary cooling power only when needed.

ReefKeeper Lite: There were technical issues with the firmware, so it took a good while with Digital Aquatics' support staff to work out the bugs. DA has top-notch support by the way. You can get someone on the phone every time. Highly knowledgeable and excited about their own product. It's only been programmed for 30mins now, so let's see how it handles my temp swings in this high heat. So far I'm diggin it BIG TIME. I think I'll have to order the add-on for monitoring pH.


Tech meets science, meets biology. Reefkeeping has never interested me more.





*Digital therm shows 78.5, but that was prior to activating the RK1.

Looks ghetto, I know. My next project will be to integrate a custom 20G sump / frag tank, plumed into the same system. This rubbermaid sump is growing on me though. I could easily plumb another one right beside it to grow frags.

Good to see this tank is still going.

Thanks Lalani. I recently found renewed loved for it.

Would anyone be able to recommend the best way to plumb together 2 rubbermaid containers (shown above)? i.e. bulkhead sizes? pumps? I'm thinking about using the second one as a frag bin. Thanks in advance for the advice.

Okay. So, I just spent the last 2 (!!!) nights reading this entire thread, and all I can say is...

WOW. <insert jaw drop here>

Excellent job man, I'm in awe. This is easily one of the most beautiful nano tanks I've ever seen. Keep up the good work!

Wow this tank is amazing.


nice temp sump i should have gone that route.


Keep up the good work.

So pencil urchins eat the red stuff? SWEET!

Thanks! I do miss the way this tank once looked. Trying to get it back, but this time with a dramatically different look - using MONTIS . It should be a slow/gradual transformation, but I'll continue to post pics as things evolve.

Thanks Adolfo.



So that's what they're called. and YES THEY DO. However, it turns away from the slower growing red macro - which I am okay with. That wiry red stuff has become its main food source! Need to get one more.

PROGRESS:
I'm back to a regular feeding regimen:

Morning: alternate Oyster Eggs and PhytoFeast
Daytime: alternate Rotis and Mysis
Night: Oyster Eggs, 1 drop of Elos Amino Acid & ProSkimmer

*I turn off the sump for 30mins while feeding, but I keep my skimmer running 24/7.
**The growth and color intensity from my new light is insane. It's been only a couple of weeks so far and there is noticeable florescence in my old (dull) pink chalice and sunset monti. My idaho grape is starting to look purple again.
***The RKL1 has only been in operation for several days, but I now have tighter control on the temp. No more damn temp swings. Keeps within 1.25 degrees above 79 and never below. I read that Digital Aquatics is developing a salinity add-on for this unit. It would be nice to replenish fresh water using a level sensor PLUS a salinity reader. Right now, my JBJ auto-top off does the trick to maintain water level, but it does not have the capability to add even more water if ever the salinity level is too high.

The sunset hasn't looked this happy since I bought it. Polyps are turning green and it's beginning to orange up nicely. Something must be going right in the tank. Cut back the idaho grape, since it was blocking the monti's light. Hope the polyps turn a deeper green and I start to see a little more orange glow.

Nice sunset monti.

I just got a piece at our local frag swap. Need to move it into my display right now its in a mini frag tank.

LATEST FTS

It's getting there. Acros, montis, wanted...

New addition: Blue Milli, mounted onto my dearly departed Coco Worm


New addition: ORA Blue Green Rosco


New addition: Rose Milli


Oldie but goodie. Turning hot pink again.


The everchanging FTS...

i love your purple shrooms, and that pink open brain is intense.

Nice.

Thanks Pablo. Rogers, that pink brain was a wee baby when I first got it. Almost 2yrs ago. Was getting too big too fast, so I stopped feeding it mysis. Seems to be healthy without. lol.

Here's a better shot of my Rosco, where you can see the green and blue highlights. Love this coral. Notice the urchin spikes and the little Coco worm re-growing one of its heads. It shed its head the day after I bought it. Stressed at the time, no doubt. Now happier than before, I hope.


I had to put my softies somewhere. To the back they went. lol


I've been staring at the tank from this perspective lately.


See that my urchin has some work to catch up on. He's been napping in the caves, while red macro continues to grow. The zoa patch on the left should be bright pink. Hoping it becomes that once again.

Nice comeback Purp!

Awesome once again!

Ha, thanks. I wouldn't say awesome just yet. Definitely needs GROWTH. Colors seem to be steadily enhancing as the days go by...

Rigged up a simple solution to complement my 250 halide with some CF actinics. Very anxious to see what it looks like tomorrow with both lights on.

You and me both bro!!!

I'm somewhat concerned about this idaho grape. It's darkened up a bit, since the introduction of the new bulb. But it hasn't been light purple for about a year now. Tougher to acclimate this one, because it's encrusted at the highest point in the tank. No doubt it's gone through a bit of transformation with the new lighting, but on the other hand its polyps are clearly extended, where they could hardly be seen before the bulb change.

The light is now about 13" from the water surface and I may not bring it more than 2" lower due to the intense heat. The new SPS pieces are reacting very well to the lighting, since they were accustomed to multiple 400W LFS lamps. And the sunset monti can use even more light intensity.



I wonder if it needs to turn brown before it will become bright purple OR if only the new growth will show brilliance OR if it will ever improve at all? This closeup shows some silky texture about its surface. Not sure how to interpret that. Hmmm...

Hey it looks like the tank has undergone a fantastic recovery!

A couple of top downs of some brilliant frags!

Slimers


Bought this one a couple of weeks back for $15. It's brightened up immensely and is establishing a good base. They call it an "Ultimate Blue."

The tank is really coming back to life....was and continues to be one of my favorites around here. Glad to see that it is turning the corner and things are growing for you again.

Although Slimers are pretty common, the green is so vibrant and they are such fast growers. That Ultimate Blue looks like it's going to be a beauty...and for $15 that was a steal.

I look forward to seeing this tank come back to its full glory...

Looks amazing!

Been losing sleep over this ORA Frag. LOL. "Joe the Coral," (not Roscoe's Green/Blue as it was sold to me. Still one of my favorites despite the mistaken identity). Its polyps weren't fully extending when I had it located at the top of the tank. Figured it did not need light acclimation since it came from the LFS, where they use dual 400W halides. So yesterday, I moved it 5" down and away from higher flow. Better polyp extension, but it still appeared to struggle. 2 hours after the light was on this morning, still no major improvement. Then, decided to shut off all pumps and sprinkle some cylopeez on it. BAM! Now it's singing feed me more.

OM NOM NOM!!!

Looks great bro!

Ha, Thanks David. Looks like it's acclimating nicely to my tank now.

Picked up a good sized Undata Frag yesterday. Judging by the enhanced color of my other SPS, I would hope this will brighten up within a week or two.

Very nice Purp! This is also on my "want" list.

Good luck with it.

There have been some very cool transformations happening in this tank. It all started with this chalice, which has turned from brownish/red to a fluorescent hot pink. This coral has inspired me to save up for a Bazooka Joe and Tyree Alien Eye Pink Watermelon.


The sunset has continues to turn a deeper orange. Hopefully its green polyps turn deeper green, like the tyree sunsets I've seen. The frag plug mounted next to it is there to, well, collect a frag sample.


I used epoxy to build a ramp down to the branch rock. It'll be an eye sore for about a month or two before it's covered.


Even the tubs are starting to look like blue tubs! At one time I thought these were dark purple zoas. Fraggin these guys too.


Nuclears love Rotifeast.


Undataturned out to be a nice find. Its edges are showing a nice pinkish purple, with green fluorescence on the inner surface.


ORA's "Joe the Coral" has full polyp extension. Lost some sleep over this one bc it took so long to find it the right spot in the tank.


BTW: I ordered a 2nd RC-4 (another 4-outlets) for my ReefKeeper Lite, a second nano-chiller, 4 heavy duty bulkheads, and all of necessary piping to plumb a second 14G rubbermaid sump. New frag system to be lit by a 150W HQI Phoenix 14k.

Temp exceeded 82 degrees yesterday. Halide alarm shut down the light @ 4pm. Looks like ONE nano-chiller and a fan can't handle this extreme heat. 4 bulkheads are arriving from MarineDepot on Monday to plump a 2nd 14G sump/frag-tank, with a SECOND nano-chiller and fan. The extra water volume should also help a bit to battle this heat. I'll snap picks of all the piping/plumbing used to tie the 2nd bin into the system. I'll be using the water-outflow from the spray-injection skimmer to push water to the 2nd rubbermaid container.

Oh, and I'll be ordering TWO Vortech MP10s to create some serious wave motion in the display and the new frag area. Watched some video on the water movement caused by these pumps. Next best thing to the ocean. Also, the frag setup will be lit by a 150W Phoenix 14k. Hope that'll be enough to grow some brilliant coral.

AT LAST, I CAN PERMANENTLY DO AWAY WITH MY TUBE SURFACE SKIMMER.

I've been using a Tom Aquatics Overflow with Aqua Lifter for the past 2yrs. It doesn't skim the surface at all (like it claims to do) - so I've always had to run a fluval tube skimmer to keep the top of the water from getting murky.

Last night, I was checking out the design of the CPR Aquatic overflow (which appears to have the water flow over the top of a grate), when I realized the Tom can do the same thing with a simple mod. All I did was insert some clear acrylic plastic to block the grated vents, so the water now must flow OVER the box instead of through it. Crazy how that took me two years to figure that out. As an added bonus, the water level now remains the same in the display. No more salinity fluctuations either.

I know most reefers would prefer to drill a hole through the back of their tank, but ADA's unfortunately cannot be drilled. If anyone wants more specifics of how I was able to make this work, just ask.

Forgot to mention that my 2nd frag sump is now up and running on a reverse light cycle. Should calm my pH swings a bit at night, considering how much extra coral I have down there. This is definitely the most drastic change I've made to my setup since I first put water in it.

Hey Purple, i've been following your thread, and i must say that its quite inspirational. Could you post a current fts? thanks

Thanks Reefbox! I'm in the process of moving "old" coral to my frag area in order to make necessary room for some new SPS, chalices, and acans. I dare to say that the redbugs are officially extinguished. It has been OVER ONE YEAR since I've seen any. Time for more acros.

My aquascape has seen some better days, but I can honestly say that this is the happiest I've ever been with my setup and water conditions.

In short, FTS in 2-3 weeks

So what did you think of that whole Seachem Aquavitro line of products that you were so excited about a while back?

Congrats on being redbug free

Can't wait to see what new Acros you end up getting.

Yeah, I remember. I was mostly excited bc I sampled it for free, but after buying a few bottles I figured the extra cost wasn't worth it. Plus I had 4 liters of the regular Seachem alk/cal that I didn't want to waste. Now that I'm done with that, I'm thinking about trying out B-Ionic 2 part. Recently, stopped using SeaChem Mag and switched to Kent Mag. Still looking for the stuff that works best I guess.





Funny you mention that, div. Later this morning, I saw a dark bug running across "Joe the Coral." It seemed larger than the red bugs I remember, but it freaked me out just the same. Didn't see anything else crawling about the acro all day, but I'll be watching closely to make sure I'm not in for another infestation.

What else could it have been?

Yet another shipment arrived from MarineDepot today.

• Damn, ordered the incorrect size of loc-line piping! 3/4" instead of 1/2".
• Made the switch to B-Ionic 2-Part. I think I'm gonna dose this stuff manually for a while.
• Replacing my 150W frag bulb w/ a Phoenix 14k. Already fired it up. So that's the Phoenix blue everybody loves!

Cleaned my protein skimmer air intake for the first time in over 1 year. Frenzy of bubbles now and I'm having trouble setting it.

My Udata has grown about 25% in size with nice brilliance. And a once COMPLETELY bleached out Poker Star Monti has surprisingly come back to life - looking like new in only 3 weeks. I suppose the added water volume, greater light intensity, and tighter temp management with the RK lite, have all contributed to healthier corals.

Growth of red macro and turf algae has slowed big time, since I changed my RO/DI filters and resins. However, the urchin doesn't eat enough of it. I think I'm gonna have to keep plucking it with tweezers until coral eventually covers it.

Lawnmower Goby died suddenly during a salinity spike, while I was away in Disneyland.

Nothin but boring notes today.

1 MONTH AGO - 05/09/2009


TODAY




04/27/2009


TODAY

Lookin good Purple!

FTS

*As always, it's a work in progress. Moved a bunch of coral to the plumbed frag tank below, in order to make room for more interesting stuff. I long for an SLR. This cheap camera does not capture the bluish white light.



THANKS, UHURU!

This has been a fantastic recovery PurpleUP! Very nice!

Cool tank!

I APPRECIATE THE KIND WORDS. This tank has gone through a serious overhaul, costing me about $700 in a new controller, cooling units, parts, plumbing, NOT TO MENTION THE TIME to reconfigure it all. As a result, I've got VERY STABLE temp and salinity now and almost 100% more water volume, est @ 34 gallons. Crazy insane how the coral has reacted so quickly to the improvements. Now all I need is $14 to invest in a 2nd pencil urchin, and I think I might be able to beat this red turf algae!

BTW, here's the view from my desk.

I keep a tall plant to cover the outlets at the lower-left, but I removed it so you can see some of the behind the scenes action. lol