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


D Z

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14798835423_e9a8d09332_o.png

 

Current FTS

22481900667_0707f8fa60_b.jpg20151106_155701 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

 

Photo Gallery

http://www.flickr.com/photos/89326890@N03/sets/72157646014829761/

 

 

Background

 

Well the time has finally come to go bigger. I have been looking into an upgrade for quite some time now. For those of you who do not know me, I currently have a Nuvo 8 that has been running since the middle of January 2014. I quickly out grew that tank, but it was a wonderful starting point and learning experience. After talking with some friends and researching a lot, I am happy to announce that I will be moving into a bigger CADLights 34G MiniII!!

 

I just finished ordering all of the new equipment. So lets get on to the details:

 

 

 

Hardware

Tank: CADLights 34G MiniII

Lighting: ATI Sunpower 6x24W(B+ - B+ - Actinic - C+ - Actinic - B+) Soon to be hybrid!

Skimmer: AquaMaxx WS-1

Flow: 2 x Jebao RW-4

Controller: RKL with Ph probe, Temp probe, and 2x PC4

Heater: Cobalt NEOTherm 75Watt

ATO: Avast Marine Works ATO w/diaphragm pump

Chemical Filtration: Two Little Fishes reactor with rowaphos(only used when needed)

 

 

My plan is to create a minimalistic style rock structure. I will be starting off with 10-15 lbs of dry rock that I ordered from Reef Cleaners, along with a 1" sandbed of Seaflor special grade aragonite. I will be seeding this with a combination of Korallen-Zucht ZEOBak and Brightwell Aquatics MB7 to give a strong, diverse amount of nitrifying bacteria.

 

 

Dosing/Feeding/Supplementing Plans

In the past, I have used numerous different products, including some of the Zeovit line. I currently have decided to just stick to the basics, though. Here is my current regimen:

 

Feeding

Morning: NLS Pellets

Mid-Day: Cyclops

Late afternoon: NLS pellets or spirulina tab

Night: LRS Reef frenzy

 

Dosing

I currently have no need for dosing, but will use a quality 2 part once the need arises.

 

Supplementing

The only thing that I supplement on a normal basis is live pods. I have a small culture of tisbe pods in my garage and add a strainer-full 1 to 2 times per week for my target mandarin.

All other supplementing is done on a random, sporatic basis and includes live phyto, acro power, reef chili, and/or nutricell.

Stocking Plans

 

 

I am planning to more or less move over everything that is in my current tank. It is a combination of softies and LPS along with 1 acro. The only plans I have to add to my coral collection is some more SPS. I am not looking to crowd this tank at all, as I do not want to be in the same situation that I am in another 6 months. I want to have a nice diverse and spread open reef.

 

As for fish, I currently have 1 clown. I want to add 1 more clown that will hopefully pair up with the current one. In addition to the clown pair, I plan to add 2-3 other fish. I am considering some kind of wrasse and blenny(possibly a bi-color blenny). Eventually, I may also add a mandarin as the 5th fish, if I can find one that eats prepared foods.

 

 

 

Fish/Inverts

Oscellaris Clown Pair(Nemo and Sharkbait)

Target Mandarin(OJ)

Baby Kole tang

 

Softies

Red Death Palys

Kryptonite Zoas

Rastas

Purple Hornets

Gatorade zoas

Utter Chaos palys

Eagle Eye Zoas

Assorted no-named Zoas/Palys

Assorted Ricordea Florida

Green/Gray Ricordea Yuma

 

LPS

Toxic Green Plate

Candy Acan

Rainbow Acan

Blue/Green Acan

Acan Echinata

Duncans

Purple Martian Chalice

Jason Fox Avatar Chalice

Meteor Shower Cyphastrea

Red Goni with purple mouths

Wellso

Splattered Hammer Coral

 

SPS

No Named Green Acro

No Named Green Acro

Pink Lemonade Acro

ORA Red Planet

Hawkins Echinata

Green Granulosa

Red Wine Acro

Tyree Undata Monti

 

 

 

My Inspiration

The Nano-Reef.com community has been amazing over the past couple of years(I have been a lurker for quite some time). I have to say thank you to everyone that has given me advice over the past 6 months. Most importantly, I have to thank Alex B for being somewhat of a mentor to me. His tanks are both inspirational for me. Also, I have to give a thank you to Tron as he has answered many questions regarding the CAD 34G Mini. Finally, I have to say thank you to NanoTopia as she is the master of everything Korallen-Zucht. I do not know where I would be at without the help of all of you.

 

Lastly, here are a couple of the tanks that I will be using as inspiration for this build:

 

Alex B's 70 gallon CAD - While this is SPS dominant, I just love the open space and clean lines.

14099920994_bac389beb1_c.jpgDSC_0606 by touchofklasse, on Flickr

 

Tron's 34G Mini - If I can get it to look half this good I will be happy!

 

14776613344_4c8391fb6f_z.jpgInspiration2 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

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Sounds like you have it all figured out and I will be following

 

H aha first .

 

Edit: oooh sorry I forgot looks good and would be my first choice for an upgrade.

 

Thanks man. A lot of thought has gone into this build so hopefully it goes smooth.

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Following! I've really enjoyed watching your 8 and admiring your photography. I really look forward to this new tank-venture!

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lilmatty5dimes

this is going to be epic. excellent equipment list and plans for this tank. following along to watch.

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Cameron6796

I'll be on vacation till aug 4 starting tmrw so hope all transfers go good if you do it between then and good luck

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Following! I've really enjoyed watching your 8 and admiring your photography. I really look forward to this new tank-venture!

Thanks Mirya! Glad to have you. Hopefully I will continue to improve with my camera skills to do the new tank justice! Maybe I'll even borrow a friend's DSLR and give that a shot.

 

I am sure it will be clean. I will be following! Good luck.

Great. Glad to have you following along.

 

this is going to be epic. excellent equipment list and plans for this tank. following along to watch.

EPIC you say? I haven't even shown a picture of the tank yet! Thank you for the kind words.

 

Nice!

TY TY.

 

I'll be on vacation till aug 4 starting tmrw so hope all transfers go good if you do it between then and good luck

You won't be missing much. The tank itself probably won't get here til the 5ht or 6th. I will be taking things slow to make sure nothing gets overlooked or rushed, also. I definitely learned from some of my impatient mistakes from my Nuvo 8 build. I also will not be using any of the live rock from the Nuvo as I want a fresh start. I plan to have a least a 2 week cycle even with seeding it with ZEOBak and MB7. Therefore, I probably won't start transferring anything over for at least 3 weeks at the bare minimum.

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nice upgrade!

Thanks Ninja. It was either this or the PicO 20G. The stand I am going to use for now is only 16" deep, though, so it was a no-brainer. Your PicO is looking very nice these days, btw.

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Considering adding a controller of some sort to the list of equipment. In the future, probably a bit far off, I am planning on adding a Bluefish and retrofitting the sunpower with a couple of Dave's NanoBox 13up boards. At that time, I will probably invest in a Bluefish to control the hybrid, as well as the eventual modules that they are working on.

 

In the mean time, though, I am considering a cheap $120 RKL from BRS. The only problem is I really want 6 outlets. Return pump, RW-4, ATO, and heater are a must, but I would also like to added the 2 plugs from the Sunpower. I really don't have much of a budget left at this point to invest in anything else so give me some suggestions. I am just sick of having to bend down and reach under my stand to unplug pumps when doing maintenance/feeding. Also, I am always scared I will forget to plug them back in and wake up in the morning to very unhappy inhabitants.....

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Looks like you're off to a good start!! Have you considered an American dj power strip? That could be a good temporary alternative for you until you can get the controller that you want. That's what I use on my big system and I have no plans to change it. I find that the more involved I have to be, the more involved (aka in tune) I am with the tank. It keeps me on my toes I guess you could say. The only thing that is automated on my system is the lights, they're on lamp timers. You can get them (the power strip) on amazon for $20-$30.

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Looks like you're off to a good start!! Have you considered an American dj power strip? That could be a good temporary alternative for you until you can get the controller that you want. That's what I use on my big system and I have no plans to change it. I find that the more involved I have to be, the more involved (aka in tune) I am with the tank. It keeps me on my toes I guess you could say. The only thing that is automated on my system is the lights, they're on lamp timers. You can get them (the power strip) on amazon for $20-$30.

Thanks Glen. Maybe I'll get around to finally using my coupon once this is all up and running. I hadn't considered the American DJ power bar. One big problem I have with it is I have no idea where I would mount it with the stand that I am using. But, your recommendation got me thinking in the right track and I think I have a solution, so thanks!

 

Here is what I think I am going to use:

 

I found this remote controlled power strip. This allows me to keep the power strip under the stand like I havei n the past but allows me to kill power to the return pump, ATO, heater, and RW-4 with the push of 1 button. I will just leave the remote out on the stand to remind myself to turn it all back on.

14784374761_93d091341e_z.jpgRemote controlled power strip by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

For the lights, I found this digital timer. The cool thing about this one is it has 2 outlets that can be set independently. I have used the analog ones in the past and they just take up so much room and are a PIA. This looks like it will work better for me. The only drawback is if I ever need to manually turn the lights on. If the need arises I will just have to bend down and reach under to manually override the timer......oh well, about $60 total....even cheaper than a used RKL(which would not have even fully solved my problem anyways)

14764524086_58a3e51e57_z.jpgDual Outlet Timer by cchsoracle, on Flickr

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Thanks Glen. Maybe I'll get around to finally using my coupon once this is all up and running. I hadn't considered the American DJ power bar. One big problem I have with it is I have no idea where I would mount it with the stand that I am using. But, your recommendation got me thinking in the right track and I think I have a solution, so thanks!

 

Here is what I think I am going to use:

 

I found this remote controlled power strip. This allows me to keep the power strip under the stand like I havei n the past but allows me to kill power to the return pump, ATO, heater, and RW-4 with the push of 1 button. I will just leave the remote out on the stand to remind myself to turn it all back on.

https://flic.kr/p/owrMx8'>14784374761_93d091341e_z.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/owrMx8'>Remote controlled power strip by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

For the lights, I found this digital timer. The cool thing about this one is it has 2 outlets that can be set independently. I have used the analog ones in the past and they just take up so much room and are a PIA. This looks like it will work better for me. The only drawback is if I ever need to manually turn the lights on. If the need arises I will just have to bend down and reach under to manually override the timer......oh well, about $60 total....even cheaper than a used RKL(which would not have even fully solved my problem anyways)

https://flic.kr/p/ouG3C7'>14764524086_58a3e51e57_z.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/ouG3C7'>Dual Outlet Timer by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Who makes that timer? I've been looking for one that has two outlets with independent time capabilities.

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You sir, are a gentleman!

Thanks man. Looking forward to following along in your build. Should be interesting to see how yours and mine progress since we are starting the same tank at pretty much the same time.

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I did a little basic drawing in paint(I know, it's quite crude) of what I am think the scape will somewhat look like and want some opinions.

This is basically what I am thinking. Most of the coral is kinda drawn out. I also have some zoas that will be spread throughout the scape, but did not draw them on.

https://flic.kr/p/ofXCch'>14609132758_ee576a2cea_z.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/ofXCch'>Mock Scape by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Also, this is a sketchup model of where the tank will eventually go. I will not be building this desk for quite a while, probably not until sometime in the middle of 2015, but this is the eventual plan. For now it will be in my bedroom as there really isn't anywhere else in the house for it. At least it is a pretty quiet tank, from what I have heard. I am looking forward to waking up and seeing my tank in the morning light, so that is a plus.

 

https://flic.kr/p/oxsamX'>14795764675_8796e4aaa4_b.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/oxsamX'>loft 2 by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Oh and the Sunpower is going to be mounted in the shelf, which will be at a height of appx 8 inches about the tank. I am going to be building the shelf to use it now in the bedroom and it will make the move to the desk when the times comes. The reason for the shelf is my wife does not like the look of a hanging light, but I am kinda excited to make something custom and different. I guess it is more of a floating canopy than a shelf. The plan is to create a hidden compartment in the shelf where the power supply and timer will be located so that I can easily manually control the light if need be.

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Got my rocks in yesterday from Reefcleaners. They look pretty nice, pretty much what you would expect for dry rock. I should have specified sizes as they are all around baseball size and it would have been nice to have 1 bigger piece, but I'm sure I can epoxy them and come up with something nice.

https://flic.kr/p/oxZRoP'>14801947815_58e456ce19_c.jpghttps://flic.kr/p/oxZRoP'>20140731_165046 by https://www.flickr.com/people//'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Oh, and someone give me some input on the scape idea I posted above!!

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Scape looks good. One work of advice. Might want to make the middle structure lower. You want room for sps to grow up! If not you will have tips poking in no time.

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Scape looks good. One work of advice. Might want to make the middle structure lower. You want room for sps to grow up! If not you will have tips poking in no time.

Thanks Alex. My crude drawing was not to scale and doesn't really show it well, but I plan to leave 6-8 inches of headroom for growth for the SPS up top.

 

On a side note, I got the tracking info for the light I bought. I got a 6x24W ATI Sunpower off a guy on RC for $240 shipped. It even comes with 8 bulbs(6 of them have 6 months of use and 2 are brand new) From what the guy said, the bulbs are as follows: 4 Ati blue plus, 2 Ati coral plus, 1 purple plus, and 1 kz new generation.

 

I am only going to run 4 bulbs at first. I might add a 5th later on if I decide it is needed, maybe an actinic bulb. I have never used T5 as the only tank I have ever had was the Nuvo and it has always been lit by LED, so input is greatly appreciated. I am thinking about doing the following:

 

F

1 - Empty

2 - Coral+

1 - Blue+

2 - Purple+ or KZ

1 - Blue+

1 - (Actinic)

B

 

To get the arrangement of the channels like that, I will have to do a little rewiring, but I doubt it will be that hard as I have a good amount of experience with electronics. How does the bulb arrangement look, though?

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