I managed to plug the hole that I made on the 9002's body where I removed the magnet. I also attached the magnet to the side and put the skimmer in the tank. Only to realize that the skimmer cup won't even fit in chamber 1 of the Solana!

So, I've ordered a 9002 upgraded skimmer cup from inTank/StevieT.

The InTank cup works great!!

Awesome. I hope it arrives quickly.

there is one of these selling locally with 2 of stevies cups, cleaning kit, hanging kit and custom magnet kit from blackrockreef for $100. i am really wanting to snag it. the guy is also selling a remora pro with upgraded cup and mag 5 pump for $75. thats a steal.

Wait, is this a Solana for $100?

no the tunze 9002

Oh, well that's a deal. Cheapest I've seen the 9002 is $152. And that's what I paid. Got it from PremiumAquatics.

everyone i have seen that uses these say they love it.

I'm definitely excited to get it working. But I can't do that until StevieT's cup comes. So hopefully by the end of the week I'll be able to let you guys know how well the 9002 works.

On a side note I plan on shooting a new video tonight. This one will be in 720p!

Just shot an HD video. Check it out:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Adib0lsdpt8&hd=1

Chalk Bass has joined the party.

Some pictures I just took:

ZOMG 1,000 POSTS!!1!

how fast do your monti caps grow? i just picked up an orange chip and a rainbow monti frag on a trade.

also i am picking up that tunze 9002 that i told you about. he is gonna hold it for me till august when i get back off vacation.

Well some of them grow pretty quickly (the purple and the red). But others just don't seem to do anything. The green with red polyp monti I have doesn't seem to have grown at all since I got it.

In other news the Chalk Bass is eating. Yay!

Chalk Bass is getting chased around occasionally by Pygmy Angel. Hopefully it's just temporary. Two shots of the Chalk Bass:

Another video, because I was bored:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=P0vYmCABryk&hd=1

I love that Chalk Bass. I've been thinking about getting one myself.

It's a pretty cool little fish. It mostly hangs out in the top of the water column though. The Pygmy Angel is still my favorite.

In other news I'm lookin into getting a Crocea or Maxima clam from LiveAquaria. There are a couple of really nice ones in the Divers Den section that I have my eye on. I had looked into getting an RBTA. But I decided that I didn't want the potential trouble of a nem.

great shots of the chalk bass,
love the pigmy too

Thanks!

and get a clam!

Well... I was all prepared to order one from the Diver's Den. BUT, I just found out that I will probably be moving soon. Which means I have to move this tank. Ugh. Just the thought of moving it is depressing. I don't know how I'm going to pull it off.

i know the feelin
ive gotta move at the end of the month

So I finally got the Tunze 9002 skimmer up and running with inTank's upgraded skimmer cup. But the bubbles won't rise very fare up the column in the cup. At best they get about half way. And this is with the valve opened all the way to let the most air in. Does this thing just need to break in or is something wrong here?

Well the Tunze 9002 skimmer and inTank cup seem to be working fine now. Last time I checked it appeared to be pulling some nice skimmate already.

However, in other news, my worst nightmare has come true... There is about a 99% chance that I'm going to have to move this tank in a few weeks. The thought of it is overwhelming. I don't know what to do. On one hand I'm thinking about selling everything and starting over with a 40B. But I don't want to part with my clowns and the pygmy angel (I know I could find replacements but I like the ones I have). And I also really don't have the money to start a new system without first selling this setup. I just spent some time looking at the tank and thinking about how far it has come. And I think my biggest issue with having to move it is letting go of my current aquascape. It's really hard to know that I would probably not be able to replicate it if I move the tank. I have a 20L and a 10g in my basement that I could use somehow. Maybe I could sell the firefish and the chalk bass, downsize to the 20L and then work on eventually setting up a 40B. I don't know...

I will have to move this tank.

Hey, do your clown attacks the purple goby??

bummer

Moving does not sound like fun... Love the tank!

omg the word moving just killed me. good luck!

Nope. They leave him alone.

that sux man. this is suck a nice tank.

I just tested my water for the first time in a looong time. It looks like my dKH is either 5 or 6, which is low from what I understand. I've never really gotten into the whole dosing thing. But I may have to after I get this tank moved. I'm just not clear on the relationship between dKH/Alkalinity and Calcium. Is it that your dKH/Alkalinity determines the ability of your corals to absorb the calcium in the water? So you need to keep your dKH/Alkalinity up around what? 8? 10? My PH appeared to be 7.8, but it's so hard to tell with the API kit.

Cyano outbreak!

After siphoning most of it out:

Tank is still up and running fine.

However, after testing my water recently my parameters weren't that great. I think that one of the reasons for the cyano outbreak is my RO/DI water. I've had the Mighty Mite for nearly a year now and I think that it's time to change the filters. So I went ahead and ordered new filters which arrived the other day. Hopefully I'll get around to actually changing them this week.

I've decided to sell the Chalk Bass to a local reefer. While watching the tank the other day I witnessed it attempt to jump out twice. I've seen it get chased around by the Pygmy Angel a few times so I think that territory is the issue and the Chalk Bass hasn't been able to establish its own area.

Also, when I move this tank I'm thinking about taking some of the rock out. Some of the other Solana's I've seen here have that minimalist look going on and I'm starting to really like it. I think my tank looks crowded at the moment with so much rock. Or I may just take a hammer and chisel to the biggest pieces when I move the tank.

Any new updates? Pics?

Not much new to report. I put new filters in my RO/DI so hopefully that will fix the Cyano. If not, then I'll try a new bulb and see how that does.

I'll have to move this tank very soon. Probably within the next 2 weeks. So I'll try to get a bunch of pictures and video before the move because the tank won't be the same afterwards. I'll be forced to take all the rock out. And letting go of my current aquascape is the hardest part of moving. But to be honest, as much as I like the way I currently have the rock, I think it's time for a change. I may break up some of the rock to give me some more flexibility when creating the new aquascape. At least, I hope to do that. Who knows what will happen in the chaos of moving...

Latest FTS:

minus the cyano everything looks great!!

any ideas on the new scape post move

Yeah, I'm going to have to siphon the cyano out again.

As for a new scape I'd like to create some more open space on the sandbed. I may even take some of the rock out. But we'll see...

A few more pics, just kindly ignore the cyano

Trumpets, about 6 heads now. Started out as 2!


Duncans. Started out as just a few heads. Now I've lost track of how many it has. You can see the SOB cleaner shrimp stealing food from a head.


Massive Frogspawn. This thing started out has 3 heads and now has like 15!


Green rics


My GSP rock. It used to be isolated by itself, but the GSP made its way over to my main rock structure.


Another FTS, you can see how big my female clown has gotten. I've had her for over a year. She rules the tank!

Short video:

http://youtu.be/4IuE7g615jQ

TYour tank looks sweet!!! I like the video as well.

Thanks!

I just did a 4g water change and some major maintenance including siphoning out most of the cyanobacteria. It'll probably come back. But hopefully it will take awhile longer since most of it is gone. I also moved some stuff around. I'll take some pics when the water clears and everything opens back up.

Just ordered a ReefKeeper Lite and a 14k Phoenix bulb from PremiumAquatics!

it will be the best device you'll ever purchase and kick yourself in the rear for not getting the RKL sooner. Lol

I almost went with the RKL Plus, but decided that was a little more than I should spend. I think the RKL Basic will do what I basically need it do. Which is just to control my Sunpod.