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GTi's CAD Lights 34G Mini-II


GTi

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Well, this will be my third tank in 2 1/2 years. First was the 29G Biocube, then my current sumped 55 gallon and now I am in the process of downsizing and simplifying to a 34 gallon all-in-one.

 

Things have been really busy and it has been hard to fit in tank maintenance. While I had been making time to do it, it had become a real chore and I was beginning to resent it. I still loved the tank but because it was making me feel stressed out instead of providing enjoyment, I decided to close it down and take a break from the hobby.

 

Then my family lobbied me and I am going to simplify and downsize a little to make maintenance easier so they can help a bit more but also to select corals and livestock to keep things a little simpler. My 55 had a wide variety of soft, LPS and SPS corals all of which have different water quality and lighting needs. While I was juggling them with some success, the softies ended up slightly bleached and the SPS was growing but not reaching its colour potential.

 

Initially I looked at a 10 gallon that would go on a side table. That would allow us to keep my son's Firefish. Then I was asked to keep our breeding True Perculas and if possible the 6 Line Wrasse and the Hi Fin Goby. So I started looking at 20+ gallon tanks.

 

I saw the JBJ RL 30G and liked a lot of it's features. I almost bought it but kept looking further. I wanted something all-in-one, rimless and preferably a bit longer and shallower. I like cubes but I feel very limited with the rockscaping possibilities. I love the proportions of a 40B and the fact the length allows two or three rock structures. I looked at IM, Pico and CAD.

 

The proportions (30x12x16" display, 4" wide all-in-one chambers) of the CAD lights 34G Mini-II caught my eye and the low iron glass, curved corners and glass lid sold me on it. I ordered the tank and the PLS-50 skimmer yesterday (Sat 1 March). Thanks to Tron for answering some questions I had on the tank and skimmer!

 

A week ago I ordered 30lb of dry rock from Reefcleaners and it arrived on Friday. I told John what I was looking to do and he sent a nice variety of small to medium pieces, some flat and others with interesting shapes. Definitely some cool rock - I'm not sure how I am going to scape this tank but it will contain plenty of open spaces and have some interesting rockwork features. I'm sure I'll be using some of my left over Marco Rocks mortar! Currently the rock is in a tub of RO with a heater and power head. Later in the week I will test for phosphates and hopefully they will be low or none and I can proceed to scaping!

 

I will be using Fiji Pink sand again. I like the grain size and colour. It is fine and can blow around a little but isn't usually too bad.

 

Livestock will be the Firefish, pair of Perculas, 6 Line and the Hi Fin (unless he was still in the anemone rock I just sold!). Orange Linckia and the snails will also make the transition but not the hermits. While they are fun to watch, too many snails were being killed even though there were spare shells available. I alos have a large green BTA in my frag tank that I traded with a local reefer earlier this week. The RBTA I ahd before would always split when it reached 3-4" diameter. This one is about 9" and should provide the Clowns with more space. It will also be a focal point at one end of the tank.

 

I have a few minor pests in my current tank that are more of an annoyance than a problem but I am taking the opportunity to start over. No live rock it making the transition from old to new tank without being rendered in to dry rock! Once corals are removed, I will be doing a bleach soak, rinse and Amquel soak to neutralise any remaining ammonia and then add as dry rock.

 

For corals, I was thinking softies and a couple of select slow growing SPS or LPS. I don't want to use Kalk or any form of dosing but I am ok with a 4-5 gallon water change each week. I'm now looking at the corals remaining from my big sell-off and I'm thinking more along the lines of SPS. There's a nice pink tabling acro, mystery tort, tricolour Valida, huge bicolour Hammer, Hawkins Echinata. I'm a bit concerned the large green nem and Hammer will be too much green as they are both quite large. I'll try to plan out some general rockwork ideas and see how the corals may fit in. I want to find space for a few nice zoas and my Miami Hurricane frag. Must be careful not to get in to the problem of conflicting water and lighting requirements, though. If anyone has any input on this I'd be interested to hear some opinions!

 

Which brings me on to hardware. I can reuse one or both of my MP10s and the same for my G2 Radions. I will see if one Radion gives enough coverage once my rocks are done. I am planning to reuse my 36" stand with a thick plywood top inside the edge trim and then top that with some cheap granite tiles so I don't have to match the cherry wood of the stand but it will still be something that looks nice.

 

No pictures yet as I am out of town and all I have is a bag of sand and a tub of rocks so far!

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SouthFlorida_Tron

Best of luck on the tank! Cant wait to see it wet!

 

Hope your buckling down the hatches with that hi-fin goby!!! If you are going to make your own top from BRS, let me know, I have plenty of Tulle left over, and its much safer to use vs BRS' netting... no fish can escape it!

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Best of luck on the tank! Cant wait to see it wet!

 

Hope your buckling down the hatches with that hi-fin goby!!! If you are going to make your own top from BRS, let me know, I have plenty of Tulle left over, and its much safer to use vs BRS' netting... no fish can escape it!

Thanks - appreciate all the information you have provided! I'm not sure if he was deep in the nem rock I sold on Thursday - I had a good look but didn't see him. The buyer said I could have him back if he showed up.

 

I like the idea of the glass top but I'm pretty sure condensation and salt will make me change my mind before too long. I may take you up on the offer of the tulle!

 

I excited again - looking forward to getting the new tank up. This is how it should be!

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Nano sapiens

Great, looks like you are off running with this new tank! I have found that it doesn't take many stony corals (SPS or LPS) that are growing to get to the point of having to dose cal and alk, so that's something to consider early on.

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SouthFlorida_Tron

Thanks - appreciate all the information you have provided! I'm not sure if he was deep in the nem rock I sold on Thursday - I had a good look but didn't see him. The buyer said I could have him back if he showed up.

 

I like the idea of the glass top but I'm pretty sure condensation and salt will make me change my mind before too long. I may take you up on the offer of the tulle!

 

I excited again - looking forward to getting the new tank up. This is how it should be!

Definitely not on glass top! You need proper gas exchange!!!

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Great, looks like you are off running with this new tank! I have found that it doesn't take many stony corals (SPS or LPS) that are growing to get to the point of having to dose cal and alk, so that's something to consider early on.

Ugh! That's what I suspected. I don't mind dosing the kalk except for the deposits on the heaters and in the pumps. That's a hassle to me. I had my ATO pumping kalk-enriched RO into the first sup chamber so it would be well mixed before returning to the tank. However, this gave the calcium a chance to deposit on the heaters and inside the pumps. Maybe I should have had it pump in to the final chamber instead to reduce the CA buildup on these components. I'll have to do some research on this topic.

 

Does 2 part behave the same way regarding deposits on equipment?

 

Thanks!

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Definitely not on glass top! You need proper gas exchange!!!

I have my skimmer intake coming from outside. Helps keep pH up. I think glass will have condensation issues and reduce light transmission, though.

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Nano sapiens

Ugh! That's what I suspected. I don't mind dosing the kalk except for the deposits on the heaters and in the pumps. That's a hassle to me. I had my ATO pumping kalk-enriched RO into the first sup chamber so it would be well mixed before returning to the tank. However, this gave the calcium a chance to deposit on the heaters and inside the pumps. Maybe I should have had it pump in to the final chamber instead to reduce the CA buildup on these components. I'll have to do some research on this topic.

 

Does 2 part behave the same way regarding deposits on equipment?

 

Thanks!

 

You can always prune the SPS and frag the LPS to keep them smaller.

 

Hmmm, I have almost no precipitate after years of kalkwasser use. I use only clear, saturated kalkwasser which is premixed with RO to a specific ratio before being added to the tank.

 

Sorry, I have never used 2-part, so can't comment from experience on that one.

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SouthFlorida_Tron

I've always used 2 part and have no experience with kalk but hear kalk assists in maintaining pH.

 

I think the deposits have more to do with an elevated level of Alk and mg with steady calcium, allowing for calcification... It seems to be normal for the most part isn't it?

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Hi everyone. Thanks for the information and support.

 

Around midnight (local time) my Apex started emailing me about low temperature. Unfortuantely where I am staying has poor cellular signal and intermittent internet. Long story short, I texted my wife and she checked the tank - the pumps were left off after feeding so no biggie!

I just ordered a display for my Apex - it's an older model which had the display as optional. AS this has happened before, I think the display/alarm will make it easier to programme a feeding mode and then alert the rest of my family if something major is amiss with the tank.



I've always used 2 part and have no experience with kalk but hear kalk assists in maintaining pH.

I think the deposits have more to do with an elevated level of Alk and mg with steady calcium, allowing for calcification... It seems to be normal for the most part isn't it?

I don't know. That makes sense but all that extra cleaning is a pain!



You can always prune the SPS and frag the LPS to keep them smaller.

 

Hmmm, I have almost no precipitate after years of kalkwasser use. I use only clear, saturated kalkwasser which is premixed with RO to a specific ratio before being added to the tank.

 

Sorry, I have never used 2-part, so can't comment from experience on that one.

I thought the same about fragging - as long as I can keep a nice shape of the coral.

 

I do my kalk the same way.

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The display had arrived by the time I got home yesterday:

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo_zpsf91cc63e.jpg.html'>photo_zpsf91cc63e.jpg

 

Now I'm working on rockscapes. Probably my least favorite part of the build. I'm looking for something interesting with open water and sanded. I like a lot of the 'bonsai' type rockscapes with the overhangs but the rock I have isn't lending itself to that look. I may end up taking the chisel to it or buying some more rock but here's what I managed so far. I need to place a colony of Hammer, a decent sized anemone and a couple of branching acros.

 

This was an attempt at 2 caves. It's ok but not really what I was looking for. Nem and Hammer, left. Acros right.

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo4_zpsb56118cb.jpg.html'>photo4_zpsb56118cb.jpg

 

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo3_zps1ae01d71.jpg.html'>photo3_zps1ae01d71.jpg

 

 

I just did this one which I think is better but I'm still not that happy with it. Nem on the right, hammer centre rear, across left.

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo2_zps1bd2fe02.jpg.html'>photo2_zps1bd2fe02.jpg

 

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo1_zps9b915a15.jpg.html'>photo1_zps9b915a15.jpg

 

Any comments or input welcome!

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Wow I really loved that first scape.

I think the first one looks pretty cool. The newest is my second favorite.

Thanks for the input! I think I'm going to keep trying some different layouts. Trouble is, once you do that, you can never recreate any of the earlier ones if you decide you like them more!

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This is going to be awesome!

Thanks, Tron!

 

I like that first one a lot too.

 

EDIT: You're aquascapes that is.

Thanks for the input!
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Not digging any of the rockscapes I'm coming up with. I have just placed an order with John for some larger pieces and hopefully with those and the current pieces I'll be able to come up with something inspirational (to me, anyway!).

 

Tank should be here this afternoon!

 

Oh, and saw the Hi Fin yesterday at feeding time so he wasn't stowing away in a rock I sold!

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Not digging any of the rockscapes I'm coming up with. I have just placed an order with John for some larger pieces and hopefully with those and the current pieces I'll be able to come up with something inspirational (to me, anyway!).

Really? That first one is soo good though.

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Really? That first one is soo good though.

Thanks! It's a bit too much rock for my liking. I kind of like it but I'm also concerned there would be too many dead spots with the coves and caves (even with 2 MP10s!).

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