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El Fab's Pico Reef: 2007–2010


el fabuloso

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Thanks everyone! The original footage was kinda plain and boring so I figured a little fun narration could spice it up! lol Next time I'll have to get a better footage of the sexies doing their little dance.

 

I like Fox Corals, but wouldn't they be a little large for this tank?

Red Goni's are MUCH hardier than green ones, but also more expensive. BibleSue has a REALLY cool one that's definitely the centerpiece of her tank and quite healthy.

Candycane and B. Merletti would probably both work well.

 

I think you need to fill in the back left corner of your tank a little more.

 

Cool new mushies, I've got some of those too.

I wasn't sure how big fox corals get though I have heard of them doubling in size when fully expanded. The ones I've seen are fairly small but if they really do get big then I guess I can't have them. Right now I'm leaning strongly towards B. marleti so we'll see.

 

I'm currently working on a HOB fuge which will take out the heater and chaeto out of the main tank and should free up some room in those two areas.

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Wow your tank looks awesome. I love the sexy shrimp, I'm planning on getting one of those in the future! They are really small so I'll probably get 2 or 3 not sure yet. But great looking tank so far!

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Thanks everyone! The original footage was kinda plain and boring so I figured a little fun narration could spice it up! lol Next time I'll have to get a better footage of the sexies doing their little dance.

 

Loved it!! (But I kept expecting something fearsome to emerge from the "inky depths..." :D)

 

 

Right now I'm leaning strongly towards B. marleti so we'll see.

 

Ooh, that would be my first choice! A really nice sized polyp for your tank, and IME they're very hardy. They do not like to touch softies, tho...my rics strayed over to my merleti and before I moved them they'd killed 3 merleti polyps.

 

I'm currently working on a HOB fuge which will take out the heater and chaeto out of the main tank and should free up some room in those two areas.

 

That sounds like a fun project. Looking forward to seeing what you come up with.

 

--Diane

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My Ghetto Humble DIY Refugium

 

CIMG4021.jpg

 

I finally got my little fuge up and running. Like most people, I modded an AquaClear 70 HOB filter but with a slight variation. I wanted to create dedicated chambers for the filter media (mechanical and chemical), heater and a large area for my chaeto for optimum nutrient export. I also decided to be resourceful and used only the materials that came with the filter.

 

I broke the filter basket into three pieces. I glued the bottom piece using silicone adhesive for the overflow screen which also serves to support the main baffle. I made parallel notches for the baffle piece to slide into:

 

CIMG3941.jpg

 

CIMG3966.jpg

 

With the handle piece trimmed off, I used one side of the filter basket as my main baffle and is supported by the overflow screen. This way I can still go back and resize the compartments if need be. Surprisingly the main baffle piece held up firmly despite the slight bowing in the back of the filter.

 

CIMG3949.jpg

 

I used the other side piece as a second baffle and by placing it diagonally in the smaller compartment, I was able to create two small diagonal chambers. I kept the handle to hold the heater. Here's the dry run:

 

CIMG4008.jpg

 

So my chambers are as follows: chemical filter media in the intake chamber, filter floss and pads in the first diagonal chamber, heater in the second diagonal chamber, and chaeto in the large chamber. During my dry run I noticed that having the filter run full blast created too much turbulence in the tank causing sand to get blown all over the place. But when I turned the intake tube to the right to minimize the flow, turbulence was just right. An added benefit to this is that the impeller can also draw more water directly from the intake chamber where I plan to put my chemical filter media. It's also worth noting that I didn't shave off my impeller or downgrade to a smaller one as most people do with this type of filter. For lighting I use the stock 9w Picotope lamp.

 

Top view:

CIMG4016.jpg

 

I switched my chemical filter media from Purigen to Chemi-Pure Elite and have seen a drastic change in water quality. The water literally sparkles and shimmers!

 

Left view:

CIMG4014.jpg

 

Right view:

CIMG4011.jpg

 

It seems that the consensus is against using live rock rubble so I decided to go without it and filled the large chamber with only chaeto. Tilting the lamp away from the tank keeps the fuge light from bleeding into the display tank allowing me to run a reverse photoperiod over the fuge.

 

CIMG4012.jpg

 

The fuge has freed up a lot of room in my display tank by taking the heater and the chaeto out of it and by phasing out the the Rio 50 powerhead. The diagonal baffle in the fuge makes it easy for me to change out the filter floss and pads while keeping the heater in place away from the chaeto and away from any of the filter media. Using all the materials that came with filter helped cut down on extra costs making this mod fairly cheap and easy to do.

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nice work on the fuge. i tried once but i found the aquaclear just too loud, or maybe i got a bad one. keep up the good work.

Thanks! It's definitely audible but I don't know if I'd call it too loud. I'm probably just so use to the sound of filters humming and splashing in the night, it's like music to my ears. :lol:

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constantocean
Thanks! It's definitely audible but I don't know if I'd call it too loud. I'm probably just so use to the sound of filters humming and splashing in the night, it's like music to my ears. :lol:

 

i cant sleep without that sound!

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i cant sleep without that sound!

Right?! Seriously though, it was only noisy the first couple of days when there were still bubbles and whatnot. It runs pretty smoothly now.

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constantocean
Gracias! The light does not come with a sexy fan to draw out the heat. With 36 watts of PC it doesn't really get that hot at all. ;)

 

I got a new sexy. I'm back in the club!

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Awesome! Welcome back! :D

 

My shrimps are doing really well, they're molting a lot and growing so I guess that's a good thing. The aiptasias in my tank are getting bigger and are starting to scare me so I'm thinking of adding a peppermint shrimp and hopefully it'll take care of them for me.

 

Some new sexy shots:

CIMG4111.jpg

 

CIMG4050.jpg

 

CIMG4107.jpg

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TOTALLY AWESOME SHOTS, I love them!!!!!!

Be careful about adding a Peppermint Shrimp.

I had one munch on my Torch coral and several other people have had similar experiences lately.

I could always send you my Berghia Nudi once he finishes eating my aiptasia!

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Wow, I loved the fuge story! What a great, clear write-up, ditto for the supporting pics, and what ingenious mods!

 

I'm thoroughly inspired! If only I needed a fuge... :lol:

 

Well, I'm sure you'll inspire many others as well. Great job! Kudos!

 

--Diane

 

PS: love the shrimp pix too!

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As always, thank you for the kind words! :happy:

 

Weetie—I've heard about peppermints and their unpredictability. I've also heard that their effectiveness at eradicating aiptasia is hit or mess. With that, I am a little wary about introducing one in my tank which is why I'm still tossing the idea around. However this Berghia nudi you speak of intrigues me. I know very little about them but sounds like they're a sure bet without risking anything. Plus it would be something different and probably more interesting so I may go that route. Definitely let me know when you're done with yours!

 

Diane—glad you like the fuge! Not nearly as amazing as the one Weetie built but effective and resourceful nonetheless. I was determined to put that thing together with as little external pieces as possible. If I could only build one with a Dixie cup and a paper clip but c'mon—even McGyver can't be that clever. ;)

 

 

 

I'm still looking for a nice Blasto but with no luck. I found one at a LFS I infrequently visit with maybe 10–12 polyps but they want $100 for it. :blink: Seems like the best prices I've seen are online but I've yet to order corals online so the idea is a little daunting to me.

 

I might get some xenias this weekend though to place in the back of the tank. Diane recently posted on her thread some side shots of her tank that shows the underside of her xenias and they gave me an idea. I'm thinking of letting xenias grow on the back wall of my tank so as to have this cool looking wall of pulsing polyps in the background. It might turn out nice.

 

On a side note, a friend of mine—intrigued and envious of my tank—has asked me to set up a tank for her. She wants a small tank to sit on her kitchen bar between the kitchen and the dining room so she wants one that's viewable from three different sides. We've decided to go with the Finnex M Tank 9 which is the perfect size and shape for her kitchen bar.

 

Photo

MT9er.jpg

 

The tank is on its way and I can't wait play with it! This tank is essentially mine since I'll be the one to set up and maintain it. :lol:

 

I'll definitely start a new tank thread once I get the project going. Stay tuned!

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I got a new sexy. I'm back in the club!

 

 

I want in the SEXY club! I'm going to be setting up a tom 3 inspired by Fabuloso and Constantocean's picos.

 

My wife wants a sexy so I told her I would need to setup a Pico :haha:

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I want in the SEXY club! I'm going to be setting up a tom 3 inspired by Fabuloso and Constantocean's picos.

 

My wife wants a sexy so I told her I would need to setup a Pico :haha:

You should definitely join the sexy club! That sounds like a great excuse to start a pico. Seriously though, I think a pico is the best way to appreciate them... makes them look bigger than they really are.

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I'm still looking for a nice Blasto but with no luck. I found one at a LFS I infrequently visit with maybe 10–12 polyps but they want $100 for it. :blink: Seems like the best prices I've seen are online but I've yet to order corals online so the idea is a little daunting to me.

 

Bummer. It's always that way when you have something specific in mind! I haven't had good luck ordering online (have only done it twice). Things come in too big for my tank...Much better to see what you're getting. My blasto started as a little 3 polyp frag I found on the substrate in a dealer's big tank. They may have wanted $15/polyp, if I remember right, but it was worth it. It's now a nice mound of about 30 polyps or so.

 

I might get some xenias this weekend though to place in the back of the tank. Diane recently posted on her thread some side shots of her tank that shows the underside of her xenias and they gave me an idea. I'm thinking of letting xenias grow on the back wall of my tank so as to have this cool looking wall of pulsing polyps in the background. It might turn out nice.

 

Wish you were closer! I've got Xenia out the wazoo. :D

 

On a side note, a friend of mine—intrigued and envious of my tank—has asked me to set up a tank for her. She wants a small tank to sit on her kitchen bar between the kitchen and the dining room so she wants one that's viewable from three different sides. We've decided to go with the Finnex M Tank 9 which is the perfect size and shape for her kitchen bar.

 

Photo

MT9er.jpg

 

The tank is on its way and I can't wait play with it! This tank is essentially mine since I'll be the one to set up and maintain it. :lol:

 

I'll definitely start a new tank thread once I get the project going. Stay tuned!

 

What fun!!! Be sure to put a link to the new thread in this one!

 

--Diane

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