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D Z's garage frag tank(formerly CAD 34G Mini)


D Z

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ARGH, so I just got an email from the place I ordered the skimmer from. Turns out it is not in stock and they just refunded me. This was the only place I was able to find that listed it for sale. Guess its back to the drawing board.....just cant catch a break.....

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Man, I know I have been venting a lot in here lately, but I just cannot catch a break. I still have not been able to figure out anything with the skimmer. I have been making calls to different retailers/distributors and either no one has it and it will take them 2-3 months to possibly get one or doesn't want to deal with JNS anymore for some reason. My last resort, I have an email out to Aquamaxx(JNS's main distributor) to see if they might have something up their sleeve, but I'm not holding my breath. On a better note, the PLS-50 has been doing better with the addition of the air valve on the muffler, so I can deal with it for now. I really just want something better before I add any more fish.

 

So yesterday, I realized that one of the new zoa frags that I got over the weekend(really cool purple that I have never seen) fell from where I had placed it. I guess the glue just didn't hold. Well, no big deal except for it fell down into a hole in the live rock and when I when to try and very carefully grab it with my tweezers, it fell even further into the hole to the point where I can no longer even see it. :angry: So its pretty much a goner at this point. I guess I;ll look for another frag of it next time I am at Living Reef.

 

Oh and I was going to take some new pics last night, but completely lost interest after loosing the purple zoas....maybe tonight.

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Damn man... That's some shit. Why not just look into a Aquamaxx or a Bubble Magus or a Reef Octopus ? I know it does feel crappy when you want a specific thing and can't find it or get it...

 

That also sucks about the Zoa's.. It wasn't the ones with the white skirts and purple centers was it ? You should look into the Rainbow ones too,they are wicked.

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Have you tried emailing JNS directly? Maybe they could give you a retailer to purchase one from or they might even be willing to sell you one.

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Damn man... That's some shit. Why not just look into a Aquamaxx or a Bubble Magus or a Reef Octopus ? I know it does feel crappy when you want a specific thing and can't find it or get it...

 

That also sucks about the Zoa's.. It wasn't the ones with the white skirts and purple centers was it ? You should look into the Rainbow ones too,they are wicked.

I have looked at everything Aquamaxx, Bubble Magus, and Reef Octopus has available and nothing with really fit and/or work properly with the way the rear chamber of the CAD 34 Mini is set up. I basically have a 8" x 4" footprint available, with 6" of water height to work with. All of the available skimmers are either a little to big of a footprint, want 9-10" of water height, and/or have reviews that lead me to believe it won't work any better than the PLS-50 elite. I did find one retailer that has the JNS FS-1, which is slightly different and is meant to be used as an external skimmer. Do anyone think I could use this internally?

Here is the WS-1, which is the one I am having trouble finding.

WS1.jpg

 

Here is the FS-1. I would have to take off the elbow on the bottom left where it bring water in, and then somehow remove the pvc on the top right, otherwise I dont think it will fit into the rear chamber. The only thing is, I don't know if the water height will affect its performance, and I dont know how much noise the water coming out the front and falling down to the water surface will make.

FS1.jpg

 

the zoas will probably still survive if light can get in there. when you take the tank down one day for cleaning or something, you may have a whole colony of them down there =P.

Yeah, that is kinda what I was thinking. I actually can kinda see them from another hole on the bottom side of the rock. If I were to lift the right hand rock tower out of the water, I could probably grab them from underneath. Unfortunately, I am not willing to move it right now, though, as that is the same rock all my SPS is attached to. With the blue maricultured colony still showing some TN, I'm not willing to do anything to stress it out any more.

 

Have you tried emailing JNS directly? Maybe they could give you a retailer to purchase one from or they might even be willing to sell you one.

I have, actually, and they referred me to Aquamaxx. The closest I have gotten so far was BigAls said they could get me one, but it would take 2-3 months before they would have their next shipment from JNS. OR, Chris at Salty Supply said he could look into ordering one for me, but the shipping would be roughly $80-$100, which I am not willing to pay right now. I am hoping Aquamaxx might have one laying around....

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Damn... That's crummy. Too bad the SCA skimmers wouldn't work. I'm sure you'll be able to find something man. Or get ahold of someone the same tank,maybe Tron or someone. I think he's using the PLS-50 as well. And had kinda had the same problems.

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Damn... That's crummy. Too bad the SCA skimmers wouldn't work. I'm sure you'll be able to find something man. Or get ahold of someone the same tank,maybe Tron or someone. I think he's using the PLS-50 as well. And had kinda had the same problems.

I talked to Tron. He didn't like the original PLS-50 that much, but seems to love his elite. Don't get me wrong, the elite is working now, just not as good as I want my skimmer to work. Everyone else on here with this tank is either using the ple-50 elite or a tunze 9004. I looked into the tunze, but I just hear a lot of conflicting things about it, which to me is not much better than the pls-50 so what would be the point?

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Ok one last update on my search for the perfect skimmer, lol. I heard back from AquaMaxx. They do not currently have any of these skimmers. They are, however, already planning on starting to sell these under the AquaMaxx name. My guess is they will rebrand them to AquaMaxx in the same manner that they did with the JNS VS-1/AquaMaxx HOB-1. Their estimate is that they will be available by the begining of April. So, I guess that means that I will be holding off until then to replace the PLS-50. I will probably go ahead and move forward, slowly, with adding fish and just monitor my nutrient levels.

 

As for the PLS-50 elite, I have been experimenting a lot with it and have found a way to make it work a little better, at least for me. If you are using the PLS-50 elite and are having problems tunning it, see my other comment http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/354327-cadlights-pls50-elite-review/?p=4941978 for an explanation of what I did to get it to perform somewhat better.

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Have you thought about a gnome skimmer or a mame or even a custom Pico skimmer. Pretty much an air stone skimmer but works well. I'm sure with an adjustable air pump you could be able to dial it in in minimal water height in the rear.

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Have you thought about a gnome skimmer or a mame or even a custom Pico skimmer. Pretty much an air stone skimmer but works well. I'm sure with an adjustable air pump you could be able to dial it in in minimal water height in the rear.

I have looked into those. While they would work for the small space and short water height, they are not really rated for this size of tank. I would like to find something that is overrated for this tank, so I can add LOTS of fish!LOL. In all seriousness, I got the PLS-50 dialed in pretty well for now. I think it should be fine for the next couple months until AquaMaxx brings out their version of the JNS WS-1.

 

Speaking of the PLS-50, here is what my skimmer cup looked like last night. Not bad...

https://flic.kr/p/qYaLL2'>16388192785_aeba74dc18_b.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/qYaLL2'>20150128_010116 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

What are your nitrate levels?

Actually, I just did some testing last night:

 

Nitrate: appx 4-5(a little higher than usual, but I think it was due to me being lazy with my FF. Changed it last night and will retest today)

Caclium: 400(Dosed 10ml last night to bring this up)

Alk: 11dKh(Still very high, hopefully it will start dropping soon. I have, though, noticed a bit of a die off of the bryopsis!)

Mag: 1600+(off the chart for the Red Sea Kit)

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Got a couple pics in last night before everything closed up. A couple pieces were starting to close, but it is what it is. Nitrates are still up a bit around 3-4, but that should go down with the next water change.

 

Of course, just as I was saying that I was starting to get the PLS-50 dialed in, it randomly started shooting microbubbles out yesterday. I came home from work to find the tank full of microbubbles. :furious: I haven't touched it so I really dont understand why it would just randomly start. I have a piece of FF catching the majority of them for now...

 

Photo dump!

New FTS.

16207332077_ac1e7c2829_b.jpgDSCN4505 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Left Side - Still need some more coral, but coming along.

16391486261_bd9623a28a_b.jpgDSCN4516 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Right Side - Getting pretty filled in. Now it just needs to grow, grow, grow...

16367244866_c5bc35e736_b.jpgDSCN4511 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Crabby Pic

16392302592_38306879c8_b.jpgDSCN4523 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Ant an unfortunate pic of the TN on the blue maricultured piece.

16367239826_5e6e01a7a6_b.jpgDSCN4532 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

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As I've said before, nice Ric rock. :) Also your torch looks happy. Might just be polyp extension, but it looks bigger already.

Thanks! Actually, it has been extending soo much more than usual. It has grown some as well, but the PE on that torch has just been impressive lately.

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I took some more last night. Water change tonight when I get home from work.

 

16402694691_6d3eb3742e_b.jpgDSCN4550 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16402694891_477acc09ed_b.jpgDSCN4552 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16403528872_b1ed3d4f61_b.jpgDSCN4583 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16402694421_dd14a7106d_b.jpgDSCN4582 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

15784400753_da7ba5b671_b.jpgDSCN4558 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16216809508_0753c2aa04_b.jpgDSCN4561 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16403529432_c3f0494817_b.jpgDSCN4563 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16378472246_8be7a2dd26_b.jpgDSCN4565 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

16218534597_bdbf17cbbe_b.jpgDSCN4570 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

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Great shots. Everything is looking good.

Thanks Matty!

 

That tort or Tenuis whatever it is,looks purple lol. Like Marty said,everything is looking great Randy !!

LOL, it is just browned out a bit and I can never get colors to look right on every piece for a FTS.

 

great pics and FTS. every time i cross this tank off my upgrade list cuz of the round corners, i look at your tank and it's back on my list....

Thanks Ninja! Never cross this tank off your list! I know what you mean about rounded corners. I personally don't like them either, but for some reason it just looks good on this tank. The dimensions must just lend well to it I guess. What else are you considering?

 

 

Small update: Things are going pretty well in the reef. I stopped dosing Tech M as it was just wreaking havoc on my salinity and Alk. To finish off the bryopsis, I have been dosing 1ml of hydrogen peroxide directly into the problem area every night. So far it seems to be working and I have not noticed any ill effects, so hopefully that trend continues. Other than that, I am just letting the Alk and mag slowly fall back down into normal range. Once things stabilize again, I will start thinking about adding more coral.

 

One other thing. I started feeding a little less to keep nitrates under control. I have noticed the days after I do not feed frozen, all of the coral looks so much more open and happy. Do you think this is because they are all hungry or something else? It might just be a coincidence, just wondering if anyone else has noticed anything similar.

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One other thing. I started feeding a little less to keep nitrates under control. I have noticed the days after I do not feed frozen, all of the coral looks so much more open and happy. Do you think this is because they are all hungry or something else? It might just be a coincidence, just wondering if anyone else has noticed anything similar.

My LPS do this usually 2days after feeding they get super fat and puffed up (probably just digesting). My zoas and gsp almost never close so I don't notice anything change with those. My SPS always keep good polyp extension as well except for my table acro which has never really shown much.

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My LPS do this usually 2days after feeding they get super fat and puffed up (probably just digesting). My zoas and gsp almost never close so I don't notice anything change with those. My SPS always keep good polyp extension as well except for my table acro which has never really shown much.

I guess I should have been more specific. I was referring to my LPS for the most part. So maybe when I am feeding frozen everyday they are just constantly digesting and not getting all puffy....who knows. I think I will continue with just feeding frozen every other day. Its better for my nitrates and the coral seem happy.

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I guess I should have been more specific. I was referring to my LPS for the most part. So maybe when I am feeding frozen everyday they are just constantly digesting and not getting all puffy....who knows. I think I will continue with just feeding frozen every other day. Its better for my nitrates and the coral seem happy.

 

I stick with feeding every 3 days or so only because I read once that it can take 24 hours or more for LPS corals to digest food and that you can kill some LPS with over feeding if you do not give them time to fully expel their waste. And it helps keep nitrates low with my messy lobster who likes to throw sand everywhere (he cleans detritus out of his two caves almost nightly).
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Thanks Ninja! Never cross this tank off your list! I know what you mean about rounded corners. I personally don't like them either, but for some reason it just looks good on this tank. The dimensions must just lend well to it I guess. What else are you considering?

 

My list ranked so far:

  1. CADLights 45g shallow but Lawnman complains about their plumbing alot
  2. Deep Blue 30g shallow but I read the glass quality is meh compared to low iron glass
  3. Fluval M90 34g AIO but glass is not low iron and the stock equipments are meh
  4. CADLights 34g AIO but round corners =P
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I stick with feeding every 3 days or so only because I read once that it can take 24 hours or more for LPS corals to digest food and that you can kill some LPS with over feeding if you do not give them time to fully expel their waste. And it helps keep nitrates low with my messy lobster who likes to throw sand everywhere (he cleans detritus out of his two caves almost nightly).

Now are you talking about direct spot feeding or broadcast feeding? I was referring to broadcast feeding.

 

 

 

My list ranked so far:

  1. CADLights 45g shallow but Lawnman complains about their plumbing alot
  2. Deep Blue 30g shallow but I read the glass quality is meh compared to low iron glass
  3. Fluval M90 34g AIO but glass is not low iron and the stock equipments are meh
  4. CADLights 34g AIO but round corners =P

 

Nice! I would agree and put the 45G on the top of the list. I have heard the same about the plumbing. Alex B redid all the plumbing to standard US sized plumbing when he set his up. You could talk to him regarding that. I personally wouldn't even put the deep blue or fluval in the same list. If it were me, I would consider the 2 cadlights tanks and other than that, it would be a custom built tank, but that's just me.

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