Sandeep Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 Yes for a stronger bond, I pull the rock out of the water place it on a tray. Attach super glue gel to frag/coral. Press and hold in place for about 30 seconds and place back in the tank. Given your rockwork, if you can physically do this I recommend this method over gluing undersea, but sometimes you don't have a choice. Are you pulling the rocks out of the tank when you are gluing the corals to the rocks? Link to comment
Sandeep Posted January 6, 2014 Author Share Posted January 6, 2014 I tried it for a few weeks, but I'm getting better results with the Kent Microvert. The Microvert is similar to the Reef Plus with the trace elements and amino acids, but in addition it has about 3% protein. With my weekly water changes a lot of the trace elements are being replenished anyway, but adding the extra protein food to the water column is the difference maker, especially for the zoas. On my 50 gallon tank where water changes are only done once a month, I'm using Seachem's Aquavitro Fuel which is just a re-branded Reef Plus as the depleted trace elements may not be replenished fast enough. you no longer use seachem reef plus? Link to comment
Fnard Posted January 6, 2014 Share Posted January 6, 2014 Wow! This tank is just phenomenal. Definitely will be keeping up with it and using it as a plan for my newly setup tank. Now you have me contemplating using my new HOB fuge housing some chaeto and chemipure. Not to mention wanting to add some sand now. Good luck with everything and keep up the good work. Link to comment
dsim Posted January 7, 2014 Share Posted January 7, 2014 hob with flow rate set to minimal, how slow? Link to comment
mascott Posted January 9, 2014 Share Posted January 9, 2014 Excellent tank! I remember your old 5.5 quite well, and when the fluval spec came out I thought that it seemed like a copy of your tank. I really enjoy the simplicity of this set up. I have been looking for a fixturefor a par38 from rapid led, I think I will have to copy you! Link to comment
Sandeep Posted January 22, 2014 Author Share Posted January 22, 2014 Nothing much new, just growing out. Some of the zoas have been closed up for awhile while others are open. I find zoas to be pretty temperamental. Carbon in the AC30 in addition to the sponge is working well. Working on the planning stages of a new 8g Reef Islands tank, (new tank, not replacing this one). Stay tuned and I will create a thread for it soon! dsim AC30 is being used at full throttle, plenty of water motion for the tank, no more needed. mascott, I'm glad that someone commercialized the pico tank concept that I came up with all those years ago. These new pico-tanks with built in chambers are great for the hobby. I prefer the staples lamp for my par bulb to the gooseneck fixture because when I want to clean or feed the tank, I just rotate the lamp to the side without affecting its precise alignment height over the tank. With a gooseneck you can't do this and have to readjust your alignment over the tank. Link to comment
dsim Posted January 25, 2014 Share Posted January 25, 2014 thanks for the update, so flow rate is full... looking forward to the 8g build.. Link to comment
Sandeep Posted January 31, 2014 Author Share Posted January 31, 2014 Just a couple of elegance tentacles and a sliver of skeleton glued to a rock base. Over time it will develop a mouth and a complete disk of tentacles like its micro-elegance brother behind it which is about 4 years old and the size of a silver dollar, one of the center pieces of this tank. Patience... Link to comment
jdavis28 Posted February 3, 2014 Share Posted February 3, 2014 anymore FTS? Also what heater are you using again? Tim Link to comment
Sandeep Posted February 4, 2014 Author Share Posted February 4, 2014 I really like how the cantilever stand that I built for my new 8g Reef Islands tank turned out so I'm building a similar stand for this tank as well. This is what the 8g stand looks like: The heater that I use is a 50W Ehiem Jager. By far the best and most reliable long term heater based on my experience. Link to comment
Sandeep Posted February 6, 2014 Author Share Posted February 6, 2014 Just finished building my cantilever stand for the tank to match the stand I built for the 8g Reef Islands tank. This is what the tank base looked like before, pretty ghetto: This is what the new stand looks like The large dendros at the front right is meant for the 8g Reef Islands tank and is just temporarily here while that tank cycles. Link to comment
jdavis28 Posted February 6, 2014 Share Posted February 6, 2014 Sweet Man. Great tank. Can you post a picture showing the location of your heater install? Also, where did the clown go? And why did you switch to Chemi pure since you were originally not going with any chemicals/additives. Water changes only? Just curious Tim btw, just started a 3 gal pico, (3rd tank) and will start posting pics within days.... Link to comment
thurrmac Posted February 7, 2014 Share Posted February 7, 2014 as always. amazing job once again... big fan here Link to comment
Sandeep Posted February 7, 2014 Author Share Posted February 7, 2014 The heater is in the back left corner of the tank Clown has been moved to my new 8g Reef Islands tank Just running a AC30 with foam & carbon, weekly water changes are the key Sweet Man. Great tank. Can you post a picture showing the location of your heater install? Also, where did the clown go? And why did you switch to Chemi pure since you were originally not going with any chemicals/additives. Water changes only? Just curious Tim btw, just started a 3 gal pico, (3rd tank) and will start posting pics within days.... Link to comment
Kane Posted February 9, 2014 Share Posted February 9, 2014 When you first setup this tank, did you begin running a sponge immediately? Also, can you elaborate on how much of a cycle you will see when using dry rock and sand in combination with established water? The tank looks fantastic! Link to comment
buddythelion Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Still chasing the holy grail acan. Hey if it were that easy to get it would not be called 'the holy grail'. Yes my original concept compartmentalized pico which has now been commercialized by a number of vendors does have narrow deep chambers which are hard to clean. No different colours with my Coral Compulsion Par 30 bulb. Since I'm using 120 degree optics it really diffuses the light very well, so no spotlight effects. Time for some new pics of the tank! One new acan added, just resting on the tank bottom for a couple of weeks before getting added to Acan Island Dendros & micro-Elegance want food, not their picture taken Finally FTS WOW is that acan amazing! I'd love to know where to get that. Amazing tank btw, I hope to have an amazing acan garden like yours soon! Link to comment
ALNN Posted February 10, 2014 Share Posted February 10, 2014 Where are you finding these acan!?? Lol im for a nice purple and green one to pair beside my rainbow one lol Link to comment
Sandeep Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 To answer questions: Setting up the new tank Yes I ran a sponge in the filter, just did not clean it for the two weeks. Cycle lasted about two weeks. The key has been to use Seachem Stability added every day for 7 days at the required dosage and adding a fish on day two It's not so much how much old water you add that contributes to the cycle ending quickly, but the establishment of bacteria in the gravel and rocks of your new tank. This is where the combo of Stability and the fish come in. After two weeks, I clean the sponge, scrape algea off the glass and do my regular water change Acans Lucky for us living in Toronto, there are a lot of local LFS which carry acans Just be patient and see what comes in any any given shipment or week at the LFS, don't try to buy everything at once Most or all of these are not classified as ultra (5 or more colours), so they are pretty cheap to boot, as you can see fewer colours in a acan can look just as beautiful. All of these came from Aquatic Kingdom and Big Show Frags, now I am getting a few from Canada Corals for the new 8g Reef Islands tank Link to comment
bpounds1991 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Wow man, I absolutely love your concept of this tank! I've been considering doing something like this with my new build coming up in the next few months and this just kinda put the nail in the coffin on the idea lol. Link to comment
Kane Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Interesting, so the fish is required for a proper cycle? When do you put in a clean up crew? I setup my tank on Sunday (the 9th) with water from the LR tank at the LFS and my water parameters were: pH was about 8, Ammonia between 0 - .25, Nitrite 0, Nitrate between 10 - 20, the salinity (from a Instant Ocean swingarm hydrometer) was about 1.026. I will be testing today to see if parameters have changed. I have been using PetSmart's TopFin Bacteria Supplement because it was way cheaper than the SC Stability but this may have been a bad idea... I am thinking of picking up a clown and a crab or a clown goby and a crab on Friday, would this be a good idea or a bad idea? Currently, I have nothing living in my tank. Link to comment
Sandeep Posted February 11, 2014 Author Share Posted February 11, 2014 Yes, the fish breathing, eating and pooping help the cycle along rapidly. The TopFin probably does the same thing. I would hold up on a cleanup crew for at least 8 weeks, you be the cleanup crew. Clown is OK, but crabs, shrimp or snails are not, they are very sensitive to water parameters and can die easily. In fact they are kind of like the canary in a coal mine and a early warning sign for reef tanks. Link to comment
tibbsy07 Posted February 11, 2014 Share Posted February 11, 2014 Yes, the fish breathing, eating and pooping help the cycle along rapidly. The TopFin probably does the same thing. I would hold up on a cleanup crew for at least 8 weeks, you be the cleanup crew. Clown is OK, but crabs, shrimp or snails are not, they are very sensitive to water parameters and can die easily. In fact they are kind of like the canary in a coal mine and a early warning sign for reef tanks. Good to know - I've been waiting on a CUC as I've only now put coral into my tank. I've got a diatom bloom it seems, but I'm hoping it goes away with a proper water change, etc. Link to comment
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