Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 FTS Jan. 19, 2014 FTS Dec. 11, 2013 FTS Dec. 8, 2013 FTS Nov. 24, 2013 FTS Nov. 15, 2013 ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Allure > Enchantment > Spell > Hex > Hexagon For the past couple weeks I've been debating downsizing my tank. I got into a bit more than I could handle with the 40b, due to the cost of maintaining it I was slacking pretty hard and some livestock paid the price. Most notably, I let the nitrates get far too high and I lost some coral. Money is tight and buying WC water has been difficult. ...So this is what happened... A few days ago the hex was a brackish tank. Traded the fish for a couple mexican turbo snails. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Breaking down the 40 Into the hex. -------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------- ~Parts~ 10 gallon hexagon tank Cash register counter stand (even with handy dandy slide out keyboard tray) LEDTRIC par38 full spectrum OCReef par38 full spectrum DIY 1 1/4" pvc overflow Taam Rio Plus 1400 return pump Aquatop 150w heater DIY 15 gallon sump with refugium 30-40lbs of live rock total between DT an fuge CFL floodlight for refugium light a.k.a. caulerpa growing beast Koralia 240 3/4" return line ~Fishes~ Diadema dottyback (in the fuge) --no longer with us-- Triple misbar Ocellaris Picasso Percula Green Chromis (going to be rehoused) Citron clown goby ~Inverts~ Two baby emerald crabs Pompom crab Assorted red and blue leg hermits Nerite snails Nassarius snails Two zebra snails, one in DT, one in fuge Astraea snails Cerith snails Dwarf cerith snails Asterina star Two rock flower anemones Green BTA Sebae anemone ~Coral~ Assorted zoas Assorted paly Red pimply lobo Blue/green smooth lobo Unknown SPS Blasto Colt leather Cabbage leather Trumpet Chalice Yuma mushrooms Generic red mushrooms Green star polyps Blue clove polyps Chili coral Anthelia (fuge) ~Macros~ Bryothamnion sp.(DT) Caulerpa sp. (fuge) Cotton candy (fuge) LOTS OF GHA (fuge) ~Wishlist for the tank~ SCA-301 skimmer Kessil A360W Bigger sump Just so you know, scaping a hex is DIFFICULT! Especially when all of your larger rocks are encrusted! Oh and the overflow isn't that loud. My phone greatly amplifies it. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Thanks! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Now I feel like I have an actual reef tank again instead of a big box with a few rocks and fish in it. I love how up close and personal smaller tanks are. Just feels right. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Thanks! I'm very pleased with how it turned out. Now I feel like I have an actual reef tank again instead of a big box with a few rocks and fish in it. I love how up close and personal smaller tanks are. Just feels right. Looks so much fuller too! I would downgrade if I didn't have like 100 fish. Link to comment
Mr. Mustache Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 You might have just made me a believer in the hex! Looks great! Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Ha yeah. Technically I'm horribly overstocked now but I'll be making some cuts. The engineer didn't go in this tank and if I can ever catch it the chromis is coming out. I was planning on putting at least one of the fish in the fuge during the move. Just so happened that the dottyback was hiding in a rock I put down there so it made the decision for me. I kinda wanted that one in the DT. You might have just made me a believer in the hex! Looks great! Thanks! I've always liked the hex tank. I bought it for a specific purpose but the entire time I've had it I've wanted to set up a reef or display fuge in it. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 I love my hex. Space saving and different from the every day cubes. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 I love my hex. Space saving and different from the every day cubes. Yep. I was a bit shocked at how difficult it was to scape the thing. I had a vision in my head before I started but apparently my spatial recognition is BAD and things just didn't fit like I thought they would. I think if I ever do upgrade again it'll be another hex. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Scape looks great, hides the pipe mostly and I see a ton of caves for the fish. I would be tempted to add a pygmy wrasse with all those caves if you already weren't over your limit in fish. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 With my fuge I could handle another small fish no problem. I have plenty of biological filtration, but it would definitely need to be something that requires very little swimming space. That's why I need to lose the chromis, it just isn't fair keeping that kind of fish in this kind of tank, even though the chromis is only an inch. The clowns and citron sure, those fish basically find a spot and sit there. You should have seen the clowns when I put them in. Swam right down to the bottom and got in the corner, same thing they did in the 40. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 I'm hoping to have some more growth now. My lighting seems to have visually covered the 40b, but I had practically no growth out of a lot of coral. I'm thinking even though it looked covered the actual PAR just wasn't there. We'll see. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 With my fuge I could handle another small fish no problem. I have plenty of biological filtration, but it would definitely need to be something that requires very little swimming space. That's why I need to lose the chromis, it just isn't fair keeping that kind of fish in this kind of tank, even though the chromis is only an inch. The clowns and citron sure, those fish basically find a spot and sit there. You should have seen the clowns when I put them in. Swam right down to the bottom and got in the corner, same thing they did in the 40. Oh, I forgot about the fuge. Derp. Get a pygmy wrasse I have been lucky. I have 3 clowns, one I have had for 4? years now and they swim all over. I have never seen the sit in one spot behavior a lot of people talk about. I'm hoping to have some more growth now. My lighting seems to have visually covered the 40b, but I had practically no growth out of a lot of coral. I'm thinking even though it looked covered the actual PAR just wasn't there. We'll see. I was actually thinking the par/lighting prob went up. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 That Hex looks AWESOME!!! Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Oh, I forgot about the fuge. Derp. Get a pygmy wrasse I have been lucky. I have 3 clowns, one I have had for 4? years now and they swim all over. I have never seen the sit in one spot behavior a lot of people talk about. I was actually thinking the par/lighting prob went up. The wrasse will be something to look at in the future. Need a new job before I can do anything like that. I ran the bulbs with no optics over the 40b, have them on now so they're focused straight down the tank. I may end up having to raise them if anything starts bleaching. Either that or just run one bulb. That Hex looks AWESOME!!! Thanks! I'll get a bunch more pics tomorrow and probably a new video as well. Link to comment
zeke2020 Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Nice twist on the hex! Btw did you ever figure out what those alien eggs were? Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 15, 2013 Author Share Posted November 15, 2013 Nice twist on the hex! Btw did you ever figure out what those alien eggs were? Nope. I linked it in Albert's thread, haven't checked it yet though. Link to comment
Reefer Addict Posted November 15, 2013 Share Posted November 15, 2013 Bare bottom. Nice. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 Really sorry about it being so shaky, I don't exactly have steady hands these days lol. I wish I could get a true color pic or video for you guys. It really isn't as dark and blue as the pics make it out to be. It's actually pretty bright and much whiter than what you see. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 This is preeeetty close to how it actually looks. Not quite as blown out at the higher parts, but close. Link to comment
Tamberav Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 How do I take perrrdy pics like that!? Link to comment
zeke2020 Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 "In your face!" I love it! Not going to lose anything in that lil guy! Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 How do I take perrrdy pics like that!? HTC Vivid phone flashed with a custom 4.0.4 rom and flashed with a custom higher quality camera. That and tweak the settings a little to compensate for the leds. Saturation, sharpness and exposure down one notch, white balance on cloudy. That last pic is the only one I've edited. Just adjusted the level and some saturation in Photoshop. "In your face!" I love it! Not going to lose anything in that lil guy! Yep! That's what I love about small tanks. I've missed it. Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 One minute of GBTA goodness. Link to comment
Snow_Phoenix Posted November 16, 2013 Share Posted November 16, 2013 One minute of GBTA goodness. Me likey! Link to comment
Chew_Magna Posted November 16, 2013 Author Share Posted November 16, 2013 Have another fabulous windows movie maker video uploading right now. Link to comment
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