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TigerLily's IM 30L - Happy Tankiversary!


TigerLily

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So... I got my tank and for the most part I'm very happy. It is a pretty tank and I can't wait to fill it up. One thing I'm not happy with is the screen top. While the tank is sleek and clean, the top is cheap, ill-fitting and badly made. The white plastic net is weird looking and isn't tight - it's wavy. The border is wide and the corners are really sloppy.

 

Really disappointing. So I decided to make my own. I got a screen kit from Home Depot and some black nylon tulle from the fabric store. Wish me luck! I'll post pictures when it's done.

 

In other news, I have distilled water sitting in the tank right now, doing my leak test. I filled the various chambers with different levels of water to make sure there was no seeping under the baffles or from front to back. It looks pretty good, but I definitely have some seepage between my left skimmer chamber and the return chamber. After a few hours I checked the tank and the water levels were even in those chambers. I ordered some aquarium safe silicon from amazon (HD didn't have any) and should have it tomorrow. I'm planning to shore up the silicon seal between those two chambers. My question to you AIO owners is... Is it really necessary? I figure that once water is actually flowing, 99% of the water is going to flow the way it is supposed to. Who cares whether some of the water gets back to the return chamber under the baffle instead of over it? There are no other leaks or seepage. What say you all? Thanks!

 

Some pics of the ugly top...

 

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Totally agree with you on the top, why put so much effort into creating such a nice tank and then top it with junk? I'm loving my 30L can't wait to see how yours turns out.

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So yesterday I went to the LFS and bought my rock. I got two nice, big, interesting pieces. I really like the piece on the left. I have half a mind to take a hammer to the piece on the right to knock the top of it off, but my husband is telling me not to do it. We'll see what I do tomorrow… :P

 

14744357879_09e319e150.jpgimage on Flickr

 

I even have a pissed off zoa hitchhiker...

 

14744401438_f6de1f03a3.jpgimage on Flickr

 

Now I'm so excited and impatient to get my light. Since the rock was established in my LFS' system, I'm not having a cycle - in fact I've dosed with Dr. Tim's ammonia each day and can't get any ammonia reading. It's probably a good thing that I have no light so I don't try to go too fast. I'm going to let it sit as is for at least the weekend. I'll just keep testing everyday and wait to see the nitrates to do my first water change and start adding the clean up guys.

 

At least I have pretty rock to look at for now!

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Patience is the key. You will be rewarded 100 fold if you take your time, research and enjoy each step in the process. It's very difficult as there are so many beautiful creatures to add in our aquariums. Looking forward to seeing your progress and good luck. We are all here to assist with any questions you might have.

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Patience is the key. You will be rewarded 100 fold if you take your time, research and enjoy each step in the process. It's very difficult as there are so many beautiful creatures to add in our aquariums. Looking forward to seeing your progress and good luck. We are all here to assist with any questions you might have.

 

Thanks! And yes, I totally agree. I am the Queen of Research. ;)

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I've rescaped. I took a hammer to that big rock on the right and am so much happier. The tank is much more interesting and I'll have better/more spots for corals once my light arrives. I like the rock I got from the LFS. It looks nice and I have a somewhat happy hitchhiker zoa, at least one stomatella and pods!

 

Speaking of things arriving… My parameters have been steady since the morning after I put the rock in my tank. Am=0, Nitrite=0, and as of Saturday, Nitrate=2 according to my Red Sea testing kits. So, I ordered my clean up guys from Reefcleaners.org and John sent me a TON of really cool guys. Water change yesterday in anticipation of their arrival. My favorite is the big zebra hermit. He'd better behave himself. He's so much bigger than the little blue legged guys! I also got some chaeto for the fuge and a red gracilaria for the display. It's in a bit of a dark corner right now, so it doesn't show in the pic.

 

Right now I have my fuge light sitting on top of my tank during the day just so I can see what is going on. I'll move it back to the fuge at night. Can't wait for the NanoBox to arrive!

 

Here it is….

 

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looks better this way to me.

 

Thanks! I think so too. I was a little bummed by that huge monolith on the right side of the tank. Felt good to smash it! :P

 

i see a rack of moose antlers, i dig it.

 

Thank you! Moose antlers! Lol! I love it! You realize I won't ever be able to look at the tank without thinking about moose antlers again.

 

Wow, awesome new scape! Looking forward to how you end up stocking it

 

Thank you! I can't wait to get my light and get started. My hitchhiker zoa needs some corally friends! ;)

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Are those empty snail and crab shells on the sand bed or is that your massive cleanup crew? The new configuration of your rockscape is very nice. Need to get some more corals to keep your one zoa company :)

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Are those empty snail and crab shells on the sand bed or is that your massive cleanup crew? The new configuration of your rockscape is very nice. Need to get some more corals to keep your one zoa company :)

 

Thank you! There are a few empty shells but most are crabs and snails. Lots and lots! But they have a lot of work to do right now. ;) The pic was just after I put them in. They've since skeddaddled to the rocks or buried themselves in the sand so it doesn't look so messy anymore.

 

The aquascape looks fantastic! That's really pretty rock too...nice purple color on it. Looking forward to seeing it lit with the nanobox :).

 

Thanks! Yes, the rock should color up nicely under the lights. I love purple!

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Just a quick update… my NanoBox will be shipped next week! omgomgomg I am so excited to see it and even more excited to start collecting coral.

 

In other tank news, I took my kids to the LFS on wednesday and let them each pick one fish. My boys both wanted a fang blennie. My older boy wanted the white/Smith's blennie and the younger wanted the striped. They were in the tank together at the LFS so I took a chance on both. The clerk at the LFS said they would be fine together ;) but I've read they can be aggressive toward those with similar body types. Keep your fingers crossed for no aggression between them. So far so good, but the boys understand that if they start to fight the bully has to go back to the store. I love the way they find little holes in the rock and tuck themselves in at night as soon as the lights go out. Too cute. :wub:

 

My daughter picked a beautiful carpenter's flasher wrasse which, true to type, immediately buried itself in the sand where it stayed for two days. She was such a good sport about not being able to see "Cinderella" until this afternoon. I fed cyclops this afternoon and all the fish were out and about snapping up the goodies. No pics - the fish are still too shy to let me get as close as I need to be for a clear picture with my phone. Hopefully I'll get some good pictures soon.

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Before...

 

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After! :P

 

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I did it! My DIY screen top is so much better than the stock top. The tulle makes a nice netting, to my eye it doesn't block light at all and it really disappears when you're looking at the tank from across the room. I'm sure that the NanoBox, which I really really hope is on the way, will negate any lost light with no problem.

 

It's not perfect, but… No gaps, no fingerprints on the corners and no awful white plastic mesh!

 

 

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the new top looks so good! i'm going to follow along with your progress. :)

Thank you! And welcome!

 

Looking great! Cant wait to see it with a Nanobox! :)

Thanks, me toooooo!!! It is so hard to be patient. I'm like a kid counting the days until Christmas.

 

great topper, i need to make one but have a couple wierd things about my topper I would have to do and well, it makes me procrastinate.

I can only imagine the cool things you could build into a tank top. Your whole set up is great. Get on it! ;)

 

Ok you need to tell me what material I need to go get!

I used black polyester tulle from the fabric shop for the netting. It was on sale so I got a yard for 75 cents, which was way more than I needed. I got a can of black krylon spray paint from amazon and a window screen kit from Home Depot. The kit included the aluminum edges, spline and the plastic corner pieces. I could find it only in white, which is why I got the paint. I also picked up a cheapo spline roller tool. You will need a small hacksaw to cut the aluminum border pieces, but otherwise, you just follow the instructions in the window screen kit. Really easy. You should do it! Your build is so clean I know you'd do a great job.
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