Nano sapiens Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 A nice Yuma I picked up from BuddytheLion: Said Yuma surrounded by the 'Old Timers': One of BuddytheLion's Zoas that came in as a single polyp and after only two weeks now has 2 additional polyps (sorry, couldn't get a sharper image tonight): Quote Link to comment
cdance Posted April 13, 2012 Share Posted April 13, 2012 A quick question about your ATO... Do you think this would work well if I was to mount the water bottle in my canopy and run rubber tubing down to the water line? Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted April 13, 2012 Author Share Posted April 13, 2012 A quick question about your ATO... Do you think this would work well if I was to mount the water bottle in my canopy and run rubber tubing down to the water line? If the tubing is large enough and the length kept as short as possible, it should work. Make sure that no air leaks into the bottle from the metal spout-rubber tubing connection. Quote Link to comment
buddythelion Posted April 16, 2012 Share Posted April 16, 2012 Glad to see all of the corals are doing well for you, especially the magician paly, already sprouting babies! That ATO idea is neat, I think I might have to try it... Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted April 17, 2012 Author Share Posted April 17, 2012 That ATO idea is neat, I think I might have to try it... Simple ATO, but works really well. Makes dosing easy and provides consistency, too. Quote Link to comment
buddythelion Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 For the ATO... is it I just put the hamster water feeder into the tank? That's it?! Quote Link to comment
Aqualara Posted May 6, 2012 Share Posted May 6, 2012 I love this tank! The rockwork, the colors, everything. Looks great :-) Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 For the ATO... is it I just put the hamster water feeder into the tank? That's it?! Pretty much. When set up, the top of the tip needs to be just barely submerged. As tank water evaporates, air sneaks into the bottle and water flows back out...until the tip is again submerged. Simple, non mechanical, self-regulating mechanism that requires no outside power input Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 7, 2012 Author Share Posted May 7, 2012 I love this tank! The rockwork, the colors, everything. Looks great :-) Thank you. Its been an interesting 4 years working with this little tank. Looks like you have some nice tanks coming along (the 2G has a lot of coraline algae!). Quote Link to comment
bear-hugs Posted May 9, 2012 Share Posted May 9, 2012 its so great to see this tank running for so long. good feelings, and i can only the amount of joy it has given to you for so long. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 9, 2012 Author Share Posted May 9, 2012 its so great to see this tank running for so long. good feelings, and i can only the amount of joy it has given to you for so long. It has been very interesting and enjoyable and even though I've been keeping reef tanks since the mid-80's there is always something more to pick up on. On this tank's 4 year anniversary in July I plan to run through some of the 'lessons learned' and 'things to watch out for'. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 (edited) moar pics Well, since you asked I've only seen one of these 'Madagascar Spotted Coral Croucher' (Caracanthus madagascariensis) before and I just couldn't pass this little guy up when I saw him this afternoon. I've never seen a fish settle into a tank so quickly. I took the pic about 1 hr ago and he's still in the same position watching me type. He even gives me a head-nod every so often as if to say "Yeah, I see you", but he's probably thinking "Where's the food". Just came back from a 2 week vacation and I left the tank on auto-pilot. I covered most of the tank top with plastic wrap to keep evap down and my ATO bottle even had a bit of water left when I came back. Edited May 31, 2012 by Nano sapiens Quote Link to comment
eddiecorrea Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Is your hamster ATO still functioning without issues? How long does the water typically last? Quote Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 ooooooweee, they venomous!!! careful. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 Is your hamster ATO still functioning without issues? How long does the water typically last? I have 2 bottles and they typically last from 5-7 days, depending on the weather. When I go on vacation I can stretch it to 2 weeks or more if I cover the top with saran wrap, leaving about a 1" gap to allow for gas exchange. Quote Link to comment
eddiecorrea Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 I have 2 bottles and they typically last from 5-7 days, depending on the weather. When I go on vacation I can stretch it to 2 weeks or more if I cover the top with saran wrap, leaving about a 1" gap to allow for gas exchange. So you run 2 bottles at once? I'm going on vacation for a week in the end of June so I'm trying to figure out a good ATO for my 8 gallon cad lights. I think I'll go pick up a bottle tomorrow and test it out for a few weeks before we leave. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 28, 2012 Author Share Posted May 28, 2012 IIX said: ooooooweee, they venomous!!! careful. Yeah, I've read up on that. I'm not convinced that they do have venomous dorsal spines. They belong to the Scorpaeniformes family, so I think that may be why they are assumed to be venomous. Fishbase.org makes no mention of venom and when I look at the dorsal fin its all soft ray, similar to a typical 'Gumdrop' type Goby. But, to be on the safe side, anyone keeping one of these should be careful. eddiecorrea said: So you run 2 bottles at once? I'm going on vacation for a week in the end of June so I'm trying to figure out a good ATO for my 8 gallon cad lights. I think I'll go pick up a bottle tomorrow and test it out for a few weeks before we leave. Yes, 2 bottles as you can see here: I've been using these for over 3 years without issue. Quote Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted May 28, 2012 Share Posted May 28, 2012 Well, good thing you haven't touched it yet!! It's a cool looking fish though, I see them on diver's all the time. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted May 31, 2012 Author Share Posted May 31, 2012 RIP little fella... Looked fine yesterday evening (even ate some Mysis) and this morning he's a goner. Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted June 4, 2012 Author Share Posted June 4, 2012 (edited) 4th year anniversary! Couple of ups and downs over the years, but all in all its been quite a resilient little system that is relatively easy on the pocketbook and doesn't require much work to maintain. I initially set up this tank with a 5 year goal in mind, so let's see if it'll keep on...keeping on Edited June 5, 2012 by Nano sapiens Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Wonderful. Great looking reef indeed .... Impressive I have to say Albert CADLights 12 gal. Nano tank. Most current FTS pic will be posted directly below: July, 2012 (4th Year Anniversary!) Feb, 2012 July 2nd, 2011 March 27th, 2011 June 29th, 2010 March 25th, 2010 January 24th, 2010 November 2009 SPECIFICATIONS (as of May 2012) TANK CADLights 12 gallon Nano tank LIGHTING CADLights Canopy: 16W T5s - (2) 8W bulbs w/individual reflectors, (1) CADLights Actinic, (1) Hagen Power-Glo + 12W LED - (2) Ecoxotic 10k/Actinic Stunner StripsMISC. CADLights stock pump (250 gph) Hydor oscillator (2) 50W submersible heaters (one set at lower temperature as a backup) (2) large 'Pet Bottle' ATO units MAINTENANCE Water Changes: (1) gallon/week (Microbe-Lift Reef Salt/RO) Evaporation Control: RO Alkalinity: Kalkwasser (added to ATOs) Calcium: Kalkwasser (added to ATOs) Iodine: Few drops/week Kent Iodine FEEDING: Mysis Shrimp/raw fish scraps/shrimp TESTING (Monthly) Alkalinity Calcium Ph Nitrate Magnesium Specific Gravity POWER USAGE (YEARLY) CADLights pump - (11.5W/hr. x 24 hrs. x 365 days = 100740W/yr.) = 100.74 Kwh/yr. T5/LED lighting - (28W/hr. x 8 hrs. x 365 days = 81760/yr.) = 81.76 Kwh/yr. 50W heater - (est. 50% usage/yr. = 219,000W/yr.) = 219 Kwh/yr. Total Kwh/yr. = 401.5Total cost/yr. (June 2009 baseline rates) = 401.5 Kwh @ 0.11531 = $46.29 Tank inhabitants: Corals: Assorted Montipora Species: Reefkoi LE 'Superhero' Monti (M. tuberculosa?)'Sunset Monti' (unknown species)Tyree LE True Undata (M. undata)Tyree LE Orange Setosa (M. setosa) Metallic Gold Pavona (P. maldivensis)Green Pavona (possibly P. decussata or P. cactus)Leptastrea sp. (standard)Leptastrea sp. ('Golden')Acanthastrea Assorted Ricordia Mushrooms (Ricordia yuma, Ricordia florida)Blue Striped Mushroom (Discosoma sp.)Discsoma calgreni MushroomVarious Zoanthids & Palys Fish: Madagascar Spotted Coral Croucher (Caracanthus madagascariensis) - RIP Inverts (CUC): Collonista snailsLimpetsBristle Worms Early pic of the tank at around 1 month (August 2008): July, 2009: Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted June 5, 2012 Share Posted June 5, 2012 Very nice and a joy to look at ... and I like your comment about what he/she is thinking Albert Well, since you asked I've only seen one of these 'Madagascar Spotted Coral Croucher' (Caracanthus madagascariensis) before and I just couldn't pass this little guy up when I saw him this afternoon. I've never seen a fish settle into a tank so quickly. I took the pic about 1 hr ago and he's still in the same position watching me type. He even gives me a head-nod every so often as if to say "Yeah, I see you", but he's probably thinking "Where's the food". Just came back from a 2 week vacation and I left the tank on auto-pilot. I covered most of the tank top with plastic wrap to keep evap down and my ATO bottle even had a bit of water left when I came back. Here is what Fishbase has to say about your fish but then you may already have looked it up Albert http://www.fishbase.us/summary/Caracanthus...scariensis.html Very nice and a joy to look at ... and I like your comment about what he/she is thinking Albert Quote Link to comment
Nano sapiens Posted June 5, 2012 Author Share Posted June 5, 2012 Wonderful. Great looking reef indeed .... Impressive I have to say Albert Thank you very much. Its still a work-in-progress as I am allowing the coral frags to gradually take over the space that they want to. Maybe in a couple of years it'll fill in completely Quote Link to comment
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