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Kimberbee's First Tank - RETIRED!


kimberbee

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Re-boot 5 months: 1/27/16

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Re-boot, 2 months: 10/14/15

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Re-boot day 1: 8/26/2015

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Months 1-12

 

 

FTS: July 19th - Day One
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First Day by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

FTS: August, 20th - One Month
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One Month by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: September 20th - Two Months
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IMG_4747 by kimothy182, on Flickr

October 17th - Three Months
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IMG_5008 by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: November 20th - Four Months
15813724506_b460c30633_z.jpgIMG_5434 by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: December 18th - Five Months
15867663417_73b6a038ae_z.jpgIMG_5629 by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: January 21st - Six Months
15715843454_7e821be2fa_z.jpgIMG_5790 by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: February 19th - Seven Months and DIRTYYY!
16401138419_9dd743d153_z.jpgWP_20150219_002 by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: March 22nd - Eight Months
16713565678_039a18c00f_z.jpgWP_20150322_010 by kimothy182, on Flickr

FTS: April 12th - Almost 9 Months
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May 20th - 10 months
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FTS: June 10th - Almost 11 months
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FTS: July 22nd - One Year Old!!

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Original Post


I got an Oceanic BioCube 29 and here's a rundown of the first 10 days:

July 19th: I was able to find an Oceanic BioCube 29 for $100. This included the tank, stand, rocks, water, and sand. There was a Red Spot Goby and Pistol Shrimp, which were put into my BFs tank. Also included were two finger leather corals and a Toadstool Mushroom. I picked this up on a Saturday evening. Take down was relatively easy, and set up once home was minimal, as the water was extremely cloudy and it was getting late. I discovered that one CFL ballast is out (maybe the bulb too, but definitely the ballast) but I plan to upgrade to LED eventually anyways. For now, its not worth the price to replace it.

July 20th: I discovered an Urchin while re-scaping and placing the rocks. I got a few nice pieces from my BF as well. I have no idea how much rock; I just went with what looked best. Theres also a Green Star Polyps and I counted 4 snails and 3 hermit crabs (dark red, blue, white). The top fell off of the Toadstool Mushroom, but Im hopeful that it will start to re-grow.

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Urchin Hat by kimothy182, on Flickr

July 21st: I did the first water change today roughly 8 gallons. BF made sure to siphon out the compartments in the back very well, as well as scrub the algae off the sides of the tank. He tested the water and all parameters were within standard limits. I cleaned and installed the in tank thermometer. Weve preemptively decided to leave the rear compartment door open/up to make sure the tank doesnt overheat.

July 23rd: BF took out the CFL lights and replaced them with two Panorama Pros (12inch, white/blue). He set up a timer so that the whites and some blues are on 3pm-10pm, and the blues are on the rest of the day. The stock pump and circulation pump have been hardwired into the lid of the tank. There are two small toggles on the left and right sides of the lid to power them off and on. The 4 built in switches are now used to control 1. 2. 3. 4.

July 24th: I started doing water top offs today. A Green Plate Coral and a couple small heads of an Australian Hammer were added. The Toadstool Mushroom has fallen apart, so it was removed.

July 28th: 3 more corals added today an Orange Sun Coral with only 3 small polyps, and two random SPS (one a light purple-ish-red, and the other neon green w/ dark polyps). Tank temperatures are holding between 77.5 and 80.5.

July 29th: The first fishes were added today 2 black & white Ocellaris Clowns. They darted around the top of the tank along the glass for a few hours before settling down in the top right corner. Hopefully they will decide to explore the rest of the tank soon. I also discovered a Brittle Star hiding in the rocks, as well as a tiny brine shrimp darting around and 5 tiny feather dusters.

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Lenny & Squiggy by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

 

 

The Tank:
Oceanic BioCube 29 w/ stand
20lbs ReefCleaners rock
20lbs Fiji Pink sand
Stock Pump (S-1000, rated at 265 GPH)
RW-4
Stock Blue LED Strips
2 Ecoxotic Panorama Pro 12K White/445nm Blue
Eshopps Nano Skimmer
1 PC fan for cooling
InTank Media Basket w/ filter floss
Mesh bag with PhosLock and carbon

Current Stock:

CORALS:
Neon Green Sinularia Finger Leather
Thick Finger Leather
Green Australian Hammer (6 heads)
Dark Blue Mushrooms (x5)
Zooanthid Rock (4 kinds mixed together)
Green/purple frogspawn (1 head)
Mr. Setosa
Purple Gorgonian
Pink/Purple Zoas
Red Colt Coral
Duncan (6 heads)

Zia Zoas x2

Orange Plate

Red Macro Algae

Black Sun Coral (10 heads)

INVERTS:
Urchin
1 hermit crab
Various snails
Various brittle stars
Skunk cleaner shrimp (Rickety Cricket)

FISH:
2 Black & White Ocellaris Clownfish - Lenny (male) and Squiggy (female)
Purple Firefish - Grumpleupagus

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Nothing new to report, but I did do a 5 gallon water change today. My Hammer seemed a little wilted, so perhaps this will help perk things up a bit! This picture was taken immediately after I added the new saltwater, so all the corals are shrunk down a bit anyway.

 

New picture when I can catch it in some good lighting!

 

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During dinner time tonight I got a really good look at my plate coral. This guy is awesome! I had been giving him little pieces of shrimp while feeding my clowns, but tonight I took some time to actually WATCH. SO COOL!

 

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Added a handful of hermits and some dark blue/green mushrooms. The mushrooms are all closed up from getting placed, so I'll try to get a better picture tomorrow if they open up.

 

Here is a picture of my favorite crab. He got special treatment while I was feeding Lenny and Squiggy - I gave him two little shrimps to chow down on. Looks happy to me!

 

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Really like the arch built into the rockscape. Beautiful torch is right! Is it a gold one?

 

The guy called it a "gold tri-color" torch. It's really purple towards the center but then pinker towards the tips, which are indeed gold. Looks awesome at night under my blue LEDs!

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Nothing really to report...

 

I did a water change this weekend and while doing so discovered another feather duster (total count now 6) and a second brittle star (do these guys ever come out of the rocks??).

 

I'm holding out for a tail spot blenny as a third fish. I haven't decided what, if anything, I would get as a possible 4th fish.

 

Oh, I did add an Eshopps nano skimmer on Friday - it's still breaking in but it's nice and quiet so far. I'm still thinking about adding a media basket, I just have to make sure both basket and skimmer would fit into the second chamber.

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Nitrates were high, so I did a water change earlier than planned.

 

A zooanthid covered rock was added, and they opened up within minutes.

 

Definitely visible growth on ALL my corals - other than the hammer, which seems to have decided to split?

 

Herbie the Hermit came out to play while I was cleaning, and decided to return the favor by trying to clean my fingers. :wub:

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Additions in the last few weeks include dark blue mushrooms and a rock covered in 5 types of zoanthids. The zoa’s opened up within minutes of being placed.

 

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Mushrooms by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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5 Zoas by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

I enjoy trying to get awesome close-ups of everything in my tank. Check it out:

 

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Sun Coral by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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Teeny Feather Duster by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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Green Plate by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

I also added the Eshopps nano skimmer that came with a piece of crap magnet. It doesn’t hold tight to the glass no matter when my water level is – it always slowly sinks until it rests on the bottom of the chamber. Other than that, it seems to be working great. It just becomes a daily annoyance that I have to adjust it to make sure it’s getting the correct flow and at the right level in the water.

I’m still thinking I want to add another fish in the next week or two. I’m also on the hunt for some corals that like lower flow to put near the back wall. Everything so far has ended up towards the front and bottom of my tank, so I need to add some to the top of my arch to balance it out.

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So far the only coral not happy is the hammer. I’ve tested all parameters and everything is good. Nitrates were a little high, but I did water changes more often for a couple weeks to level them out.

 

After a few days in my tank the hammer started to shrink and shrivel. I added a dimmer to the lights and turned them down some. It’s been in the tank for four weeks, so I feel that if it was truly unhappy or something was wrong with it, it would be dead by now. I honestly can’t tell if it’s splitting or not, and I wish I had paid more attention to how many heads there were when I first got it. The current count is 5 heads, and it is very possible that one head has already split into two. At this point, all I can do is wait and see.

 

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Hammer Week One by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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Hammer Pooping by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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Hammer One Month by kimothy182, on Flickr

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I got a little Tailspot Blenny over the weekend... Finally!

 

The poor little guy kept getting all upset, though and kept getting these white spots.

 

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Tailspot by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

One he was in the tank and calmed down, his pretty color came back. Every time I tried stalking him with the camera, he's get all "embarrassed" and spotty. I'll try to leave him alone a few days to get used to things. Hopefully he'll let me get better pictures soon!

 

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Tailspot 2 by kimothy182, on Flickr

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All last week my little tailspot was sleeping in a crevice in one of the rocks. Well, over the weekend I noticed he found a new bed... Up in the corner where my clownfish sleep!!

 

They host the pump nozzle thingy and now my tailspot has decided to join them there after lights out. It's really pretty adorable... I'm so glad they all like each other!!

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My tank temperatures had been steadily between 78 and 80 until I added the skimmer which bumped my temperatures to 79-81. My solution has been to add a small computer fan to the rear compartment.

 

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IMG_4580 by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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IMG_4581 by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

Leaving it on all the time drops temps to 76, so I have it on a timer (2 hours on 2 hours off) which keeps it in the 77-79 range. The fan isn't being held in by anything but tension. It's just the right size to fit snug and secure. This means that when I need to lift the lid, I can take the fan out and pop is back in when I'm done. It’s not the prettiest, but it works!

 

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IMG_4582 by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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IMG_4584 by kimothy182, on Flickr

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I decided to try to move my hammer around to see if that helps it feel better and fill out. I was also going to move some other corals as long as my hands were in the tank, but overall, I’m happy with the way things look. In the end, the hammer is the only one with a new spot (top middle) and it does seem to be helping. I still need to make some adjustments, as the pieces I have aren’t very secure right now. My worry is that my urchin will knock them over (which he has done in the past, as well as carry hermit around on his back for a few hours). I will give it another few days to make sure the hammer is happy before securing them in better.

 

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IMG_4548 by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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IMG_4557 by kimothy182, on Flickr

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As if my day wasn't going bad enough...

 

I just came home to a 90 degree tank!

 

I left early this afternoon with a used-but-new-to-me heater set at 77. I took the fan out a couple days ago since we've gotten some chilly weather, but was worried the tank temp would continue to dip overnight. I had the heater in the tank for an hour when I left and the tank seemed to be ok and holding at 78. I guess that just wasn't long enough to make sure everything was set.

 

When I saw that the temperature was reading 90, I yanked the heater out immediately (knowing there's potential consequences to the heater being out of the water) and the knob had raised itself to 85. Right in the trash.

 

I topped off with a cup of room temp ro/di water (yeah, I know that won't do much) and put two small fans blowing across the rear chamber. I've been at my BF's apartment for the past half hour, because otherwise I'd sit and stare and worry about my tank. Everything looked ok and just tucked in for the night. HOPEFULLY all will survive.

 

Heading back home now for a wellness check...

 

*UPDATE EDIT*

 

One hour with two small fans lowered the temperature to 85. I turned the more powerful fan off, and set the smaller to be on for another 4 hours before it will shut off. I'm confident that this will help get the tank to around 80, if not lower.

 

Time to go to bed and hope alls well in the morning...

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Oh no! I hope everything turned out OK! Keep us posted!

 

Phew! Thanks for your concern!

 

I checked this morning and the temp had (as predicted) gone down to 77. So the fan is now off and the lids are all closed. Should hold steady at 77ish over the next few days based on current weather predictions.

 

Everything still looks good, but the lights don't come on for another 2 hours. I'll check back again this afternoon. BF said he would get me a more reliable heater at work tomorrow.

 

What a relief!

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Since the first night I had him, my Tailspot had been sleeping in a little crevice in the rocks at night. He would curl up, get all spotty (I’m assuming for camouflage), and hang out in his spot all night. Well, last Sunday night I noticed he was not there. It took me a couple minutes of looking, but I finally found him… sleeping near the return nozzle with my clownfish. It is incredibly adorable how he curls his tail over the nozzle and hangs there all night:

 

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WP_20140910_003 by kimothy182, on Flickr

The Three Amigos!

 

How cute. They are all BFF’s! I feel bad that they don’t have a “bed” to sleep in and all just sort of hover in that area. I had been thinking of putting a frogspawn in that corner as an option for the clownfish to host (knowing that they may not host it, but it’s there if they want). However, since the three amigos like to hang out together, I don’t want my silly blenny to try sleeping in the frogspawn and get himself stung. Now I’m thinking a nice big toadstool mushroom for them to possibly bunk in. I’m know it’s not necessary, but it would be super cute if they decided to sleep in a coral together!

 

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IMG_4500 by kimothy182, on Flickr

Tailspot being cute and "embarrassed" that I'm getting too up close and personal.

 

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IMG_4507 by kimothy182, on Flickr

He really is a cutie!

 

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IMG_4509 by kimothy182, on Flickr

"Oh, hello!"

 

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IMG_4512 by kimothy182, on Flickr

 

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IMG_4525 by kimothy182, on Flickr

Bonus: Lenny and Squiggy. Squiggy is the female (I think), who is slightly bigger and has a blacker face. She does boss around Lenny sometimes.

 

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IMG_4524 by kimothy182, on Flickr

Oddly, Lenny (smaller, male?) is the one who attacks me when I clean the tank. Nips me right on the back of my hand, freaks me out!

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Excellent tank! I had a Tailspot before he jumped out of my tank :( they're amazing! So smart quirky... May I ask what temperature you plan on keeping your tank at? I keep mine at 76*F. Just wondering!

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