ccapasso's office Mantis Tank!

[ccapasso]

Update:

 

Came in this morning and there is a diatom outbreak! Diatoms everywhere!

 

I'll test the water parameters at lunch (trying to keep it consistent when I test).

 

Now, I'm in need of some advice please:

 

I'll soon need to add media to my media rack. It has 3 shelves. Here is my thought:

 

1st shelf - filter floss pad

2nd shelf - chaeto

3rd shelf - purigen or chemi pure elite or both?

 

Should I go with Purigen or use chemi pure elite? Or should I use both?

 

How much purigen or chemi pure would I need to use being the tank is 7.5 total with the display being about 5.5?

[ccapasso]

I need to quit getting my hopes up....diatoms do not = no ammonia

 

Water test results:

[.Newman.]

did you order corals from me at some point? if you did then expect them to arrive today or tomorrow because i shipped them last saturday

[ccapasso]

did you order corals from me at some point? if you did then expect them to arrive today or tomorrow because i shipped them last saturday

 

 

Yes indeed .

 

According to the tracking number you provided, they should be here today. Was hoping to put them in this tank, but based on the test results, I'll have to put them in my 55g for now. Will let you know when they arrive. Thanks again

[.Newman.]

yes, let me know, thanks

[ccapasso]

Here are some pics of the corals Newman shipped:

 

Boxed very well (heat pack was still warm) and the water inside the bags was warm too.

 

 

 

 

I am curious though, what are the black specs in with the water Newman?

 

 

I'm about to put these in the 55g until the pico is done cycling..

[.Newman.]

looks like corals made it in decent shape! I am relieved to see them alive. once acclimated, they should open up well within a day.

 

the black granules are active carbon. helps absorb some toxins while the corals are in the bags. or so i expect.

[ccapasso]

Ok....Random thought here...

 

I am seriously looking into shallow tanks, but I want to keep this one too. What if I turned this into a display sump/fuge? I believe that should be possible right?

 

What size shallow (long) would I be able to go to if I were to use this as my sump/fuge (this is 7.5 total water volume) ?

 

The thought would be to have this be below my shallow and still run all media in it. Does that make sense?

[ccapasso]

Water Test Results:

 

Ammonia - .25

Nitrite - 0

Nitrate - 0

pH - 8.0

 

 

The diatoms are getting a bit out of control. Any chance I can add a CUC yet ? lol.

 

I am very surprised the Ammonia hasn't dropped. It has been steady at the same reading for over a week now, which if you look at the pictures, appears to be about .25ppm.

 

Nitrates have never gone up either

[.Newman.]

ammonia might not be .25 it might be 0. base the test off what you see with your eyes not what the photo shows. there may be enough difference to tell you that its 0. your other results indicate that ammonia should be 0. now try a small CUC and see if anything changes. diatoms should be in your tank by now or soon.

[SnakPak]

I posted a reply to your inquiry in my thread. Love this tank!

 

The only issue I see if you wanted to turn it into a display fuge is how you are going to return the water back to the main display tank. With that very small partition, you won't be fitting any return pumps back there large enough to pump back up to a display. Just something to think about.

 

With sumps, the bigger the better. The reasons I used my 7.5gal for a sump were because it was just sitting unused in my house, and my cabinet isn't large enough to fit even a standard 10gal tank. So my 7.5 gal cube made the most sense. I don't see any issue using this tank as a sump/fuge though. You'll have somewhere between 4-5 gallons of water using it in that manner.

[ccapasso]

I posted a reply to your inquiry in my thread. Love this tank!

 

The only issue I see if you wanted to turn it into a display fuge is how you are going to return the water back to the main display tank. With that very small partition, you won't be fitting any return pumps back there large enough to pump back up to a display. Just something to think about.

 

With sumps, the bigger the better. The reasons I used my 7.5gal for a sump were because it was just sitting unused in my house, and my cabinet isn't large enough to fit even a standard 10gal tank. So my 7.5 gal cube made the most sense. I don't see any issue using this tank as a sump/fuge though. You'll have somewhere between 4-5 gallons of water using it in that manner.

 

 

Thanks! I saw your setup (thanks for posting pictures).

 

What if I did this:

 

Have the new shallow tank drain into the display area of this one. The water would then overflow like normal and go through the media rack. I have two return pumps now (Hydor Evolution Pico 400 )that are both set on low. What if I took tubing to both of them and brought it into a T connector then then took one line back up to the new display tank as my return? Would that work?

 

ammonia might not be .25 it might be 0. base the test off what you see with your eyes not what the photo shows. there may be enough difference to tell you that its 0. your other results indicate that ammonia should be 0. now try a small CUC and see if anything changes. diatoms should be in your tank by now or soon.

 

 

Not sure what you mean by basing off what I see vs what the photo shows?

 

I can tell you that my rock and sand are covered in diatoms right now and my Nitrates and Nitrites are (and have been) holding at 0.

 

I compared my Ammonia Test to that of pure RO/DI water that I have and there is a difference in them.

[ccapasso]

I ordered my CUC from reefcleaners today. It should be here next week.

 

In addition, I purchased 2 small blue legged hermits and a some strange looking fish (pajama cardinal) from a LFS by my office. I'm pretty sure the fish will end up being a tasty treat for the Mantis, but we'll see.

 

On a side note, any thoughts on my ideas above about turning this into a sump/fuge?

[ccapasso]

Came in today and found all livestock still alive. Tested the parameters just now and I got the same as I've been getting for about 2 weeks now.

 

CUC is due to ship out tomorrow so I'll likely have it Wednesday.

 

Still looking for thoughts/suggestions on turning this into a sump/fuge. Take a look at my previous posts which explain more details.

[asting]

display fuge for a mantis?

Cool stuff.

What would the new display be?

[ccapasso]

display fuge for a mantis?

Cool stuff.

What would the new display be?

 

 

My thought would be to have the new display be a shallow tank.

 

I like the look of the long shallows and have been talking to Micro-reefs about using their 8 gallon shallow.

 

That or I may ask Mike to build a custom size for me. I really want more than 8 gallons.

 

I was thinking maybe something like:

 

36x10x10

or

36x12x12

or

48x10x10

 

Still not quite sure.

[asting]

I'd go for 36*12*12 or better yet 14*14.

While shallow tanks are nice, the 10" is really shallow unless you're going BB. Even then it feels like there's not much space vertically. Plus, i imagine any fish would be happier in a slightly deeper tank and less likely to jump.

[ccapasso]

Well, USPS came and no CUC. I guess that means they'll be here tomorrow.

 

I'm working on a sketchup of how I would use this as a sump and will upload when done. Will be looking for advice/feedback

[ccapasso]

Guess what arrived today..............!!!!!!!!!

 

 

My 5.5g quick crew from reefcleaners.org!!!!!!

 

Took a quick peek and all I can say is WOW!!! Impressive!

 

About to go into a meeting, but will take and post pictures afterwards.

[ccapasso]

Ok...out of the meeting.

 

I ordered the 5.5 quick crew from reefcleaners.org. It contains the following:

 

• 5 Dwarf Ceriths
  
• 2 Nassarius
  
• 4 Florida Ceriths
  
• 3 Small Nerites
  

 

Here are pictures of what I got

 

Entire Order

 

5 Dwarf Ceriths

 

 

I couldn't be happier. Getting them acclimated now. Thanks John @ reefcleaners.org for everything!

[ccapasso]

Time for an Update!!!

 

Friday of last week I added the following to my media rack:

 

• Filter Floss
  
• Purigen
  
• Chaeto
  

 

Yesterday I did my first water change (50%), as it looked like the cycle was good to go.

 

Today, I decided it was time to check my levels again, being as I haven't checked in a while.

 

Finally, everything was at 0!!!

 

I added a few corals from my 55g, 2 of which weren't doing so good (browned out and not so healthy looking). The 2 not so good looking ones are SPS, which I guess doesn't surprise me that I probably screwed something up with them.

 

Two others I added are piece I got from Newman. One was a Zoa the other was Birdsnest.

 

Both were in my 55g and the Birdsnest was doing fine. Unfortunantly the Zoa frag never opened up in there, so I figured I would give it a try here. Still nothing.

 

Anyways, here is a pic of the birdsnet:

 

 

I have a shipment of coral coming in on Thursday from Mr. Coral and will be sure to take pictures and document everything . I am very much looking forward to it.

[ccapasso]

So I came in to work Monday (forgot to write about this sorry), and noticed the fish I put in there was MIA.

 

I thought maybe it was hiding, but nope. Then I thought maybe it jumped ship, so I searched my office. I keep my door closed when I'm not there so there is no way it left my office over the weekend. Nothing was found in my search.

 

When I did my water change, I moved the rockscape to see if he was under it - Nope. I also checked the media rack - Nope.

 

While doing the water change, I did notice some scales and bones that I pulled out of the tank.

 

The only conclusion I can think of is that the hermits ate the fish. Not sure how...but that is all I've got.

 

Lastly, my order from Mr. Coral is due in tomorrow. I was planning on putting the clam (Crocea) in my 55g. However, I did a nitrate test tonight and my levels are way off in it. As such, I'll likely just put him in this one.

 

Looking at Newman's pico, I'm thinking it should be ok, but would love some reassurance/input/advice/etc.

 

Thanks all

[.Newman.]

i would be leery of putting a crocea into a young tank, however if you think the levels are ok, and you are confident in your pico, then I'm sure it can work out.

[ccapasso]

i would be leery of putting a crocea into a young tank, however if you think the levels are ok, and you are confident in your pico, then I'm sure it can work out.

 

 

Yeah, that is my biggest concern that it is new still.

 

However, I know the levels are good as I just checked them and I am running Floss, Purigen and Chaeto which should help keep everything in balance.

 

My thought it to keep it in here until I get the nitrates down in my 55g and then move it over there. That should be OK right?

[ccapasso]

My Mr. Coral order arrived!!!

 

Package:

 

Shipped and opened Right Side Up:

 

Bag put in Upside Down:

 

 

Some water leaked out:

 

Water in the outside double bag:

 

 

Free Clam!!!!

 

Corals:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Corals off the Plug:

 

 

Acclimating and Coral Rx Pro Dip:

 

Clam Drip Acclimating:

 

Corals in Pico:

 

 

 

Clam in Pico:

 

FTS: