Well after much stress due to having to take down my 7 gallon setup my lovely wife got me a new Aquapod 12. After a week or two of mods I finally got it set on the stand. I did all the usual stuff. Black silicone on the lower intake slits, cut out the fan slits, added a maxi jet 1200. One additional mod that I did is I added a 1/2 bulkhead to the false wall. This is for future mods if I need to do so. Its a place to add an additonal pump If I want to add more flow. Right now I have a 90 deg elbow hooked to the back of it and its pointed to the surface in the fuge area. Some surface film had accumulated there and it helped to break it up. I removed the bio media out of the back, used the mesh bag that the bioballs were in to hold my rock rubble.

Enough about the tank. My mom got my new rock and sand for the tank. I ordered it from Premium Aquatics. I cannot say enough about this company. Their shipping quality is second to none. Oh the rock isnt so bad itself. Its amazing. I ordered 6 lbs of Timpora, 3 lbs of Kaelini, and 3 lbs of Fiji. The Timpora was the only that I could get that was uncured. I am going to do a soft cycle on this tank. 1-2 gallon water change every 3 days.

So here are the pics.

Their box.






A little dead crab. I didnt kill him, he was in the lip on the styro box. I think it was a little emerald.


The rocks




The tank




So there it is. Now time to get the flashlight out and see what creepy crawleys are in the rocks.

Awesome scape, really dimentional

I hope you have used the wettest water you could find.

Looks nice Josh.


With all the acrylic work you do though I was sure you would build your own tank... Makes me kind of wary now, you scared of your own work???

Thanks. It was the wettest that I could get my hands on. It passed the pruny fingers tests

Ha ha. I question my work all the time. Just kidding. I thought about building one. Extreemly so when my wife was singing the NO NEW TANK song. I really wanted an all in one that was a very tight system. I am soon to have two little ones in the house. This tank is gonna be in my 14 month olds room so I wanted the peace of mind that the hood is totally covered.

Ah that makes sense. I was just giving you a hard time anyways. Can't wait to see it with some livestock

I knew you were just kicking the can at me. I am gonna take this one slower than I have ever with any other tank. I dont know what I want to put in it yet. Got any suggestions?

Well, if it were my tank, I would make it into a nice Zoanthid/Paly Garden, with Ricordea and Mushroom carpeting and some Acan Lords sprinkled in. That would look really nice since you aren't going to be upgrading the lighting any. Also maybe go with one tiny goby, like a Hi-Fin or Yasha Hashe, and an ARMY OF SEXY SHRIMPS. That is what I would personally do, but everyone is different

Thats what I was kinda thinking of doing. Well not so much the sexies, but deff a poss. I was just doing the late night peak a boo with the flashlight and found two hitchhiker corals. One is a mat of birdsnest, the other I dunno what. It sorta looks like an oblong polyp ".25 x .5" that can and will lay out flat. Its tan/green with small 1/16 wiskers all around it. If you touch it it will retract and look just lika a zoa. I havent the first clue what it is. I took some pics but my macro function on my little cannon stink. I'll post them tomorrow and see what you think.

looks good! i <3 premium aquatics.

I thought doing a soft cycle involved doing more frequent WC's than that?
At least I think that's how NRF did it with his uncured rock, and he had pretty good results.
I seem to remember him grumbling about doing twice daily WC's, in the beginning at least...

Hum well you could be right on the cycle thing. I have not found any definitive information that spells out the proper timing for a soft cycle. The boiled down version that I got was to try to keep your numbers as close to zero as long as one could do so. Then wait a few days longer than your scheduled water changes and test to see if they are still at zero. If so just like any other cycle it would be finished. But if you find any information about it let me know.

wha?? GRUMBLING?? ME??!!? NEVAH!!!

First, 'grats on the new tank Kid! Great to see you back in the game.

As for my little soft cycled tank, yes. I did WC's twice a day for a while until params stabilized then stretched them out to once a week. I was able to save most of the critters ( at least I think so lol ) that made the trip from FLA to NJ.

HTH and best of luck with your new toy.

Good to hear that right from the mouth of the master. Bad news I couldnt even think of doing two water changes a day. Heck they would be 6 hours apart if I did them in the morning b/f work and at night when I got home. What do you think about say a 3 gallon wc every other day?

Thanks

Oh heres the new critter that I cannot ID. yall got any ideas? It has now moved about .5" into a darker area of the rock.

The little alien!

I absolutely love that rockscaping. I am going to keep an eye on your tank because it's going to look amazing when it has bloomed.

Glad to see you up and running another tank.

Can you get a close-up of that thing?

Thanks. I am gonna have to epoxy the rock together. I am almost scared to touch it, but I am gonna have to move it a bit to get small balls of cement in there to secure it. Its gonna be a little while b/f anything is introduced, but I keep posting pics.

I wish I could get a better pic of it. Its on the side of the tank and my cannon elf wont take a good macro of it. I am kinda thinkin its a manjo. If so its a strange morph of it. If you save it you can zoom in on it and get a better look. Sorry but thats the best that I can do at the moment. It cowered into a small hole and wont come out.

I hear ya. I'd say let your test kits ( and your nose ) be your guide. they will tell you what you can get away with

I did the two -a- days because the whole "theme" of my little contest tank was to get the freshest rock I could, then try to save all the life I could.

Sorry I can't help on the ID there Josh....

NRF. I understand the militant regiment for the water changes now. I just have so much invested in the rock I want to get to keep it all. I am thinking the little alien's days are numbered. Better safe than sorry. The last thing I want is to find out later that its some wicked nudi that will eat everything in its path.

Ok so I have decided to do a 2gpd water change. If I am feeling froggy I may try to do it twice a day. If not its gonna get dumped all at once. This will also help me get rid of this awful bucket of Oceaninc salt that I have. The blasted stuff will clump up BAD over night. The bucket must have a bad gasket or a pin hole in it. I also believe that I am gonna have to down size my pump to a 900 rather than the 1200. I am first gonna try a Hydor Flo to see if that helps. Well thats enough for now. I'll test the water later and post the results.

can someone tell me the website for premium aquatics.

ty

www.premiumaquatics.com

Try looking here for your mystery animal:
http://www.chucksaddiction.com/Hitchsnails.html

Looks like a limpet to me.

Thanks for the link. I didnt see anything like I have. But thats not saying anything. I think I will pick it off the rock and put it into my pico that just has my snails and a few crabs in it. Just so I can watch it and have peace of mind as well.

Well I didnt get around to doing any water test today. Ha I have yet to be able to do any water change yet either. But I did find some new life. About 25% of the rocks have little feather dusters on them now. I have also noticed some spaghetti worms around the base of the rocks.

I called the Men in Black on the little alien. They are suppose to be here tomorrow to remove him and relocate him to a safer galactic local. Hopefully they can get a better macro shot when he is dislodged from his hole.

why did you sillicone off the lower slits and cut out the fan slits?

I siliconed the lower intakes to improve the surface skimming action of the tank. I removed the lower slits on the fan grate to allow a higher cfm with a lower noise level.

Well I have changed to a 1 gpd water change. No reason, beside my little one kept carying off one of my 1 gallon water jugs.....A small diatom bloom started today. Signs of good nasty stuff to come.

I have tested the water for the past two days. Maybe I am just exhausted or maybe my test kit is toast. But I am not satisfied with my results.

1-1-09 1-2-09
Ammonia .00 Ammonia .00
Nitrate 0 Nitrate 5
Nitrite no readable result Nitrite No readable result
PH 8.0 PH 8.0

Am I crazy or is this sounding okay?

Well today I got my new Hydor Flo. Lets just say crazy sand storm that critter caused. I guess I am gonna have to exchange the maxijet 1200 for a 900. Does anyone see any problems with droping back to a 900?

Also some of you are gonna be pleased. I am gonna keep the current aquascaping. I picked up some epoxy up today. Sadly it isnt the coraline colored stuff. But I have been told that you can mix in some purple food coloring into it and make it purple. Has anyone heard that?

No. I'm surprised you went with the MJ1200 to begin with. MJ900 will give you more flow than stock pump and run much cooler than a MJ1200.


No. I do not think I'd try it either. It'll cover naturally soon enough.

Scott the only reason that I put the 1200 in is due to just having it. It was on my skimmer and I figured that I would try it and see. No loss of funds that way. Thats the only reason I tried it.

I am like you I am not gonna try the food coloring to color up the glue. I was just curious about if any others had tried/heard that.

Got it. Under those circumstances, I would have tried to use it too. Actually, the Hydor Flo may be partially to blame. If you could keep the flow from hitting the sand with that much force it might be alright. I still think I'd go to a 900 just for the sake of heat issues. I have a 1200 in my 24.


I've heard of tile guys using dye to change the color of grout. Maybe it works along those lines. Maybe someone has heard of it and will chime in. Without knowing if it's reef safe, I just wouldn't risk it. I'm not one for additives but I know some people say "Purple Up" works well at increasing coralline growth. You'll need to monitor your calcium levels if you use it though. I usually get good coralline growth within a few months naturally.

I went today to pick up a 900 but they didnt have any in stock. I am gonna go to a different store tomorrow. If I am not using the Flo the sand stays put. But I really want to get that ugly locline out of the tank and add the random movement of the water. My temps are staying at 81. So I need to do all that I can to get that down. Temps in KY are a problem in the summer.

I am not to concerned with the color of the epoxy anymore. It was just a spur of the moment though. That passed quickly. Funny you say that about tile. I use to lay tile and have dyed grout many times to match old batches. I have never had any problem with getting coraline as well. I was just thinking that it would be easier to hide the glue but thats what we have corals for isnt it.

Perhaps a "y" and a couple duck bills on the outlet?

And I agree, the epoxy will color up and blend right in soon enough.

As my little one says. I already have duck ducks in the tank. They are just ugly. I hate having anything but water, rocks, and live things in the display area.

Well my plans for a full on soft cycle didnt turn out so well. I got extreemly sick 5 days ago and couldnt do any waterchanges. Needless to say during this time my tank started to grow a little bit of green hair algae. Today I did a water test and have decided that I need a new test kit. Any suggestions?

The results... Ammonia was not detectable, Nitrate less than 10, and nitrite turned purple not the red color that it was suppose to turn to. This change happened over the 20 mins the test is suppose to take. The only thing I can think is that my test kits have died.

So let me know what type of test kit you would buy.

Got a PetSmart nearby? The sell API Saltwater test kits. You can print out their online price and take it to the store. Go to the register with the test kit and tell them to price match the online price. It will save you money.

I sure do Scott. So the api is an okay test kit. I will do that with the prices. I use the online price matching with them all the time. I only wished they had a maxi jet 900. Everyone wants right at 30 bucks for one around me. grrr


ha ha I just found the api reefmaster test kit on amazon. The salt water master test kit is like 15 online.


http://www.amazon.com/API-Reef-Master-Test...ef=pd_rhf_p_t_2

Well I had to order my test kit. It has yet to show up. But I did get to my buddies lfs and get my water tested. The ammonia was 1, ph 8, and just a trace of nitrate or nitrite. I dont remember which one.

On monday I began to notice a little bit of Green hair algae. This has doubled in size since then. A small diatom bloom has dusted some of the rock as well as the sand. I am planning on letting the tank set for at least two more weeks b/f I think of adding any corals.

My questions.
1. would you do any more water changes?
2. When would you add the snails? I am probably gonna go crabless on this tank. I do have 3 that I could toss in and just remove them when I ready to add more snails.

Well as the test kits are reading I am nearing the cycle. As you can see from the pics I have a wonderful green hair algae farm. Aint she purddy! I added two crabs a the other day. They will be removed after a few weeks. I have decided to go crabless in this tank.

So far I love the look of the rock. For the critter population, ZIP-O. I have yet to see anything beside the unidentified critter. I mean not the first worm, pod, or starfish. I did see a few feather dusters, but they are gone. I am rather bummed about the lack of critters. Do you think that they have just not surfaced yet?

I have 3 nice rocks from my previous setup in a little 2.5 gallon that has what was left of my cuc in it. These rocks are covered with feather dusters, peanut worms, bristle worms, spaghettei worms, and pods. I have kicked around the thought of putting these into the tank. BUT the old tank had a bad bubble algae problem. I have not seen any on these rocks. But that scares me. I have only seen two little bubbles floating around the small tank.

What would you do? Wait, or put the rocks in and chance the bubble algae?

If you're really worried about transferring Bubble Algae, I would just wait and let the new rock come to "life", so to speak.

+1 Hard to say what is still hiding in those nooks and crannies. I was still seeing new life sprouting from my LR a year plus down the road. Even a very cool red macro that comes and goes.

Well I am gonna let the tank set for a week or so longer. Just last night I noticed alot of little pods fussin about the tank. I guess I was just figuring that with the soft cycle the critters would come out faster that normal. The algae is really getting on my nerves. I just want to get it all out. I have a huge adversion to algae.

Oh I also found a little aptasia. He is no more.

So I am gonna go crabless on this system. What type and how many snails do you fine folks recomend?

Update time!!!

Well the tank started to leak. I was heated to come home to find water running down the front of the tank. It looks as if current didnt put any silicone in the front corners of the top rim. So I had to drop the water level, dry and clean the corners and get some additional silicone in the corners to fix that problem.

Not much exciting going on. I did decide to add two pieces of clean live rock from my previous setup. This was just to add the spagette wroms, bristles, feathers, and the orange coraline. I as well added my CUC two weeks ago. Thanks John! As I previously said I went crabless. I had four in there and they have been removed and placed into a little pico until I can take them to a friends house.

The snails made real fast work of the GHA. All that is left if one tuft of gha and some really cool looking macro algae. It looks like foxtail grass. I am gonna try to chip it off of the rock and cementing it to a frag plug.

I am gonna start placing some corals into the tank. A friend of mine has nicely given me two little clowns for this tank. One false and one true. He has them in his tank at the moment. Dont worry they are buddies. I am a little fearful of two clowns in this tank. DO NOT FLAME ME! I dont want to hear you cannot put those into a 12. I know all about bad husbandry. I was thinking of one clown, 1-2 small neon gobies, or 1 yashi goby, or a fire fish. Dont know I still have all the time to figure that out.

I am in the process of working out a trade for corals with Weetabix. She has been nothing but a true doll to talk and work with. BUY YOUR CRITTERS FROM HER OR ELSE! But she threw a wrench in my plans. I mentioned wanting one of her little nems. With all my stress lately I forgot that those eat perching fish. So now I am thinkin Nem? or little Perching fish. Now the daddy in me kicks in. What would my little girl like more. The nem or the fish. Sounds like I need a pico Nem tank.

Needless to say I am on the verge of adding some color to this tank.

usually if there is no sign of bubble algae for some time, you are safe. Take that as it is

leak, what is up with that?! sounds like it was an easy fix

I think I am safe. I never found any on these two rocks. We will see.

I am gonna start on that newfangled fuge pod tomorrow. I'll keep you updated.

the leak was easy. Alot easier than fixin those Ford trucks. Man I am on my 4th clutch in 4 weeks.

I guess "Built Ford tough" doesn't mean crap! Nice looking tank so far!

Awww, you're a sweetie!
I just wanna make sure to find just the right stuff for your tank.

On the clowns, as long as they're occellaris and not big ones, I think you might be able to do the pair in the long run.
I know tashayar had a clown pair in her 10g and it was a pretty healthy Softie System.
In the short run, I'd keep a close eye on nutrient levels in the tank with adding both of them at once, and just be prepared to do more WC's if necessary for the first month or so.
If you kept the Clowns in there you wouldn't have to worry about a Mini Nem eating them!
Now I just gotta wait for the Momma Nem to spit out a new baby...

I cannot say much bad about my truck. 196k miles not the first prob. Then boom the engine blows. I put in a new cobra and now the clutches will not release. Its a bad situation with an even worse mechanic.

Weet your so nice. Thanks for looking out for me. I think I am gonna add the fish one at a time or maybe just one. They are Oc's. I am still so undecided about the fish that its not that big of a deal. You already know that I am going so slow that the snails are like "Come on man! Your slower than us." Now that you've said that about your momma nem she is gonna get bashfull on ya.

Yeah, she prolly will.
And hey, don't worry bout being slow, I'm prolly moving even slower than you on you-know-what.