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GTi's CAD Lights 34G Mini-II


GTi

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The dead spots were also one of my original concerns with that particular aquascape.

 

Can't wait to see what you cook up with the new rock.

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The dead spots were also one of my original concerns with that particular aquascape.

 

Can't wait to see what you cook up with the new rock.

:) I think I outdid myself with my previous build (55 gallon) rockwork (which was partly by luck as well as by design) so now I am feeling the pressure to do something even cooler! I like the Bonsai / island look. The tank is good that it has 30" width but the 12" display portion is challenging. Unless I really build up high (or place corals on the top of the rocks) there will be a lot of open water at the top of the tank. Not sure if that's a good thing or not - mixed feelings.

 

Ha! Page 2 already and the tank isn't even here!

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don't be afraid to take a hammer and chisel to that rock and make some sweet shapes with some epoxy.

That's a definite possibility. I have some Marco Rocks mortar and some reef safe epoxy on standby! I'll be making a nice deep pocket in the rock where I want the anemone to stay; the last one I had stayed put exactly where I wanted him - hopefully this one will be the same.

 

Tank arrived mid-afternoon with no damage. First impressions are that the caulk is neater than my last tank although a little clean up will still be needed. The black adhesive plastic that covers the back panels has begun to peel off on both upper corners and the adhesive picked up dirt in transit so it won't stick back down - I'm going to email CAD about this to see if they have a solution.

 

Currently doing leak check. There was no leakage from the display to the rear chambers. So far no sign of leakage out of the tank either. Can't wait to get this cleaned up and cycling!

 

photo_zpse83a164d.jpg

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Following! We must have placed our orders for the tank at similar tanks. CAD emailed me and told me they over sold one unit so I am having to wait. However they are throwing in one of their nano reactors to make up for the delay! Hooray for 34 minis!

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The latest rockwork.

 

photo1_zpsdb0a3190.jpg

 

photo2_zps8c1efa64.jpg

 

I'm not sure I like any of them much but looking back, the first one definitely isn't what I'm looking for.

 

I like this one the best so far but I agree on needing some bigger pieces, even ask for odd shaped pieces, and make one higher than the other.

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It took me a full month of rearranging until I came up with what I wanted and then here & there lately I had to move some rocks on the left side because some rock flower nems moved into crevices, etc. But eventually you get it the way you like it and as you add corals to color it up and make it interesting it takes shape. No glue, just stood things up on their sides sometimes for different heights.

 

2307_zps09a52d6e.jpg

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How was the packaging for the tank? I'm itching to place my order for the tank, but didn't know they had already shipped out the 34G mini tanks.

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Following! We must have placed our orders for the tank at similar tanks. CAD emailed me and told me they over sold one unit so I am having to wait. However they are throwing in one of their nano reactors to make up for the delay! Hooray for 34 minis!

I ordered Saturday 1st March. Cool deal on the reactor! I ordered the skimmer with mine but held off on the reactor in case I don't need it - I'll try passive GFO first.

 

Nice...!

:)

 

good stuff, work some magic on that layout

I'll try. Should be more rock arriving early next week. I really want to do something fun and cool.

I like this one the best so far but I agree on needing some bigger pieces, even ask for odd shaped pieces, and make one higher than the other.

Thanks.

 

I agree with 1stimereefer. Most of the time one big and one small looks a lot better.

My last scape in the 55 was basically a few large pieces bonded with Marco Rocks mortar. It looked different!

 

It took me a full month of rearranging until I came up with what I wanted and then here & there lately I had to move some rocks on the left side because some rock flower nems moved into crevices, etc. But eventually you get it the way you like it and as you add corals to color it up and make it interesting it takes shape. No glue, just stood things up on their sides sometimes for different heights.

I was thinking about bonding some of the bottom pieces to make a stable foundation then keeping the upper ones loose so I can rearrange them and even remove them for fragging (much easier than in the tank as I discovered the hard way!)

 

How was the packaging for the tank? I'm itching to place my order for the tank, but didn't know they had already shipped out the 34G mini tanks.

Packaging worked - it arrived intact. The tank was in a corrugated cardboard box with a hardboard base and some thin styrofoam. This box was inside a more robust box and the voids all filled with packing peanuts. There was a couple of inches clearance between the boxes. The outer box had 'Glass' spray painted on it! I daresay if FedEx hadn't been reasonably careful, it could have broken in transit.

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It passed the leak test!

 

I found my anemone (in a holding tank) somehow got in to my power head (MJ1200) even though the intake was screened and the extension was on the outlet. Not sure how it managed that. It's in pretty bad shape but I put it in my frag tank to give it a chance. Then I had to clean up the nem soup in the holding tank. Ugh!

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dont you love how coral finds its way to power heads like that

I had a previous anemone that had a 'haircut' in my MP10 and apart from being annoyed for a couple of days it was fine. I still fail to see how this one got to the impeller - the openings on the strainer on the intake are 1/16" or so. It has attached it's foot in the frag tank but looks awful. We'll see.

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The anemone is looking a bit less like chopped liver and more anemone-like.

 

I cleaned up the 20 long holding tank and have some freshly mixed water and dry rock in there. Added some Dr Tim's One and Only and a few drops of ammonia. The One and Only is meant to be an instant cycler but I'm going to use it to jump start the cycle in that tank so I can break down the 55 and sump, make a top on the stand to hold the CAD and while it's all down, get new carpet put down in the room!

 

I'm planning on a fresh start with this tank. The fish are coming over as are the starfish and snails. I may keep a few types of zoas but I don't know about any of the either corals. I have a really bright green polyped toadstool and a few SPS that I may bring over. None of the rock is making the move until I have cleaned it up and bleached it.

 

I'm considering going high end on all the corals I put in to the tank but keeping the number of corals small and just growing them out more. I don't want anything too fast growing unless it is easy to prune/frag as that can become a hassle really fast! It would also mean dosing which I would really prefer to avoid.

 

Regarding dosing, the tank is labelled as a 34G but based on the dimensions, totally full it would be just shy of 30 gallons. With the rear chambers partly empty as needed for the skimmer etc, 28 gallons is probably closer. On the bright side, this means a 5 gallon water change is about 18% of the tank volume. This might be enough to maintain Ca, Alk and Mg depending on my stocking and colony sizes.

 

My current thoughts on stocking are:

 

Anemone (liking the look of the Acid Rain BTA)

Plate coral

Bonsai acro

Mille

Euphyllia - unsure whether wall, branching or open branching. Possibly 2 types to add some movement.

 

I'm getting ahead of myself - my second order of Reef Cleaners rock should arrive next week and I need to get a rockscape finalized.

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I decided to remove the adhesive vinyl that hides the rear panels and paint it instead. Here's a quick shot of what the rear chambers look like with the vinyl removed:

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo1_zpsd17dca0a.jpg.html'>photo1_zpsd17dca0a.jpg

 

Skimmer in middle chamber:

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo2_zps4c4b5ed0.jpg.html'>photo2_zps4c4b5ed0.jpg

 

The Reefcleaners rock arrived today. I requested some larger pieces and got just what I was looking for - thanks John! Now I just have to play around with it until I get a scape I like!

 

Over the weekend I picked up some plywood and granite floor tile to make a top for my existing stand.

 

The basement holding tank began cycling on Sunday and is showing the ammonia I add each day being processed but there are no measurable nitrites as of Tuesday evening.

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These size rocks feel like they are much easier to arrange in to interesting shapes. 60 seconds of hard work gave these:

 

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo3_zpsf88f862d.jpg.html'>photo3_zpsf88f862d.jpg

 

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo2_zps09305bf2.jpg.html'>photo2_zps09305bf2.jpg

 

http://s867.photobucket.com/user/markpr/media/Mobile%20Uploads/photo1_zps757787ef.jpg.html'>photo1_zps757787ef.jpg

 

I'll try something using these larger pieces as well as the original smaller ones. Lots of good raw material now so I don't have any excuses. I'm also going to take the rock from the existing tank and sterilize it so that will give even more options.

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SouthFlorida_Tron

Only use one sponge, just along the back of where the water drips down, the rest will be wasted and unused, just keep them clean for maintenance later on...

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Looking good. Looking forward to the final scape.

TY!

 

Only use one sponge, just along the back of where the water drips down, the rest will be wasted and unused, just keep them clean for maintenance later on...

I was going to make a cheesy egg crate media basket to tide me over until Stevie starts selling a proper one!

 

Can you explain how your skimmer is set up in chamber 2? Is it using the mounting bracket and hooked on to the divider or without the bracket suctioned to the bottom of the chamber? I know you said 6" from the bottom of the pump to the water line. Thanks!

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SouthFlorida_Tron

I use it on that extra baffle. It's meant to hold the skimmer with the bracket...

 

Figure out where your water height will be set via ato, then plug n play the skimmer, measure from there. The skimmer will slide up and down the bracket.

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I use it on that extra baffle. It's meant to hold the skimmer with the bracket...

 

Figure out where your water height will be set via ato, then plug n play the skimmer, measure from there. The skimmer will slide up and down the bracket.

Thanks! That'll save me a lot of messing around!

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