Dr. Felicia's Predator Paradise - Retired

[APLATN13]

Awesome! Can't wait to see what u do next

[Felicia]

SHES BACK! So.. where you been

 

 

Love this pic! Quite the DIY bad a@@ you are

Yep, I'm back! Long time no chat...wait no...we just talked like an hour ago

 

Thanks! Glad you appreciate my love of power tools.

 

Awesome! Can't wait to see what u do next

Thank you! I'll definitely keep you guys all in the loop as I make progress.

[Mirya]

Thanks! Glad you appreciate my love of power tools.

 

In my experience, a woman who loves power tools is quite a turn on for most men.

[BattleAthletics]

In my experience, a woman who loves power tools is quite a turn on for most men.

This

 

I dont know you very well, but I remember following your old tank. I love the pictures of the dive in monterrey. I wish I could start learning how to dive, the gulf of mexico has some interesting species in itself. Will be following and expect plenty of pictures!

[Zia]

In my experience, a woman who loves power tools is quite a turn on for most men.

 

 

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We were just talking about blastos! Came across these pic's today. Putting the cart before the horse, i know. But who doesn't love a little kandy inspiration at any stage. I didn't know they came in such wild color combo's I still regret not buying that insane colony of them we seen at Aquatic Collection that day Not to mention, he way under priced those too..

 

 

 

[gena]

Is it all plumbed yet????

[Felicia]

In my experience, a woman who loves power tools is quite a turn on for most men.

Ha! Probably true. I'm definitely into the DIY stuff, so I love when I get to use power tools. Too bad only Lily (the cat) gets to watch

 

This

 

I dont know you very well, but I remember following your old tank. I love the pictures of the dive in monterrey. I wish I could start learning how to dive, the gulf of mexico has some interesting species in itself. Will be following and expect plenty of pictures!

I remember chatting with you in my old thread. How've you been? I need to look up your tank thread. Trying to get caught up with everyone! I'm glad you enjoyed the dive photos. You should definitely learn how to dive. It is so beautiful and relaxing. Diving the Gulf of Mexico has to be great! Much warmer than out here anyways! I'll have a bunch more photos as soon as I get this build kicked into gear.

 

 

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

 

We were just talking about blastos! Came across these pic's today. Putting the cart before the horse, i know. But who doesn't love a little kandy inspiration at any stage. I didn't know they came in such wild color combo's I still regret not buying that insane colony of them we seen at Aquatic Collection that day Not to mention, he way under priced those too..

Yep. And you missed it Yeah, see I need a little island of blastos like that! I just may be broke after buying them. I'll have to keep stalking AC for new blastos. They've had some decent ones on their ebay auctions recently. Just need to wait until after the tank is ready. But yeah, I wish one of us had bought those crazy rainbow ones!

 

Is it all plumbed yet????

Ha! I wish! The stand arrives tomorrow morning (yay for awesome LFS delivery!). I'm attempting to wait for the next time Eddie is out here to do the plumbing and transfer. We'll see if I can be patient that long... he's considering coming out for Valentine's weekend, so that would be fun. New build marathon and then romantic dinner. Reefer girl's dream

[Felicia]

My stand got delivered today! My LFS was super awesome and delivered it for only $20, since it wouldn't fit in my car.

 

Here it is in the box out front of my apartment after being delivered.

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Here are some photos after unboxing and getting it inside my apartment.

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I can't get the sump into the stand with that top center brace in the stand. I'm going to have to remove that, place the sump in the stand, and then nail it back into place.

 

 

Also, I realized my sump design image wasn't displaying, so here it is:

[Chris!]

Looks like a good plan with the sump

 

Is there a back center support in the stand (I can't really tell in the pics..)? If not can you slide the sump in through the back?? Also you may want to go a little wider with the return pump area just incase you decide the one you have isn't powerful enough or decide to run a manifold down the line and need a bigger pump etc... Just a thought

[vlangel]

Nice sump design. Having all that 30" of length to work with is nice I'm sure. I could only fit a 10g sump in my 36g bowfront and I had to remove the back brace and put it on the outside of the stand instead of the inside to fit the 10. I could have used a 15 H but then the skimmer cup is too close to the bottom of the tank. Anyhow the 10 works.

[Felicia]

Looks like a good plan with the sump

 

Is there a back center support in the stand (I can't really tell in the pics..)? If not can you slide the sump in through the back?? Also you may want to go a little wider with the return pump area just incase you decide the one you have isn't powerful enough or decide to run a manifold down the line and need a bigger pump etc... Just a thought

Thanks! There is a back center support, so I can't slide the sump in from the back either. I tried going in diagonal and then tilting it, but its just a bit too long. Luckily that top support will come out super easy and its just held in place with some tiny nails, so I can put it back in place easily.

 

And yeah, I actually have a couple extra inches of length left over after I laid that design out with the minimum spacings. I'll probably make the return pump section an inch wider to be safe. 5" of width should be more than plenty for any pump I would want for this size tank. Bigger than that is going to be crazy overkill.

 

Nice sump design. Having all that 30" of length to work with is nice I'm sure. I could only fit a 10g sump in my 36g bowfront and I had to remove the back brace and put it on the outside of the stand instead of the inside to fit the 10. I could have used a 15 H but then the skimmer cup is too close to the bottom of the tank. Anyhow the 10 works.

Thanks! Yeah I am so excited to have more length to work with! I currently have a 5 gallon as a sump because my stand is too narrow for anything else, so I feel you there. Its just too crammed and I am so over it.

[Felicia]

Here are some really basic diagrams of the plumbing for you guys. No measurements or anything yet, but I figured a schematic of all the parts would help me make sure I have everything I need.

 

 

[Polarcollision]

Nice to see the progress! and the dive pics.

[gena]

Ha! I wish! The stand arrives tomorrow morning (yay for awesome LFS delivery!). I'm attempting to wait for the next time Eddie is out here to do the plumbing and transfer. We'll see if I can be patient that long... he's considering coming out for Valentine's weekend, so that would be fun. New build marathon and then romantic dinner. Reefer girl's dream

Felicia and Zia, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G . Seriously, you two . Sounds like your dream weekend!

 

The stand looks great!!!!!

[Felicia]

Felicia and Zia, sitting in a tree, K I S S I N G . Seriously, you two . Sounds like your dream weekend!

 

The stand looks great!!!!!

Eddie actually just figured out his flight and stuff, so the tank upgrade is definitely happening Valentine's weekend. I usually hate Valentine's day, but doing a tank upgrade is perfect!

 

Thanks! I'm really happy with the stand for the price. Considering I couldn't make my own, this wasn't a bad option.

Nice to see the progress! and the dive pics.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the dive photos They always make me want to start a coldwater tank, haha.

[Polarcollision]

Eddie actually just figured out his flight and stuff, so the tank upgrade is definitely happening Valentine's weekend. I usually hate Valentine's day, but doing a tank upgrade is perfect!

 

Thanks! I'm really happy with the stand for the price. Considering I couldn't make my own, this wasn't a bad option.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the dive photos They always make me want to start a coldwater tank, haha.

 

You two are super cute.

 

Now, I just ready that you're limiting yourself to ONE tank, miss. We'll have to live vicariously through others for our cold water impulses. I can't dive--so envious of that experience--but I just got accepted for Seattle's beach naturalist program that starts in March. Super excited!

[Chris!]

Plumbing looks to be pretty well thought out, I like the use of 45s over 90s as they are a bit less restrictive as well. Should work out good

 

Eddie actually just figured out his flight and stuff, so the tank upgrade is definitely happening Valentine's weekend. I usually hate Valentine's day, but doing a tank upgrade is perfect!

 

Valentines day is dumb, but upgrades make everything better

[Mr. Microscope]

Diagrams look solid. You might want to consider building a pipe with mulitple gate/ball valves connected to an overpowered return pump so you can run a lot of stuff off of just your return pump.

(....searching for pic..)

 

Also, I know you've already drilled, but have you looked in to a herbie return? It makes life easier and can be dead silent.

[Jay Wee]

 

Nice Chaeto. You might wanna trim it a little.

[Felicia]

 

You two are super cute.

 

Now, I just ready that you're limiting yourself to ONE tank, miss. We'll have to live vicariously through others for our cold water impulses. I can't dive--so envious of that experience--but I just got accepted for Seattle's beach naturalist program that starts in March. Super excited!

Ha! We try I'm going to tell Christopher Marks that he should start advertising Nano-reef as a dating site. Now everyone can enjoy the Felicia/Zia collaboration on my tank upgrade. He's been involved in all my planning so far, but of course I have final say because its my tank

 

Oh I know! Only one tank for me! Doesn't mean I can't pine after a coldwater tank. I just need to go diving more often. The beach naturalist program sounds so fun! I want to hear more about that once you start! I'd love to do something like that.

 

Plumbing looks to be pretty well thought out, I like the use of 45s over 90s as they are a bit less restrictive as well. Should work out good

 

 

Valentines day is dumb, but upgrades make everything better

Yeah I'm trying to limit the loss of pump power to head pressure. 45's should help with that hopefully. Really trying to think all this out and do it right. I want everything to be super convenient for maintenance and very foolproof.

 

Yeah, see I'm not the usual girl...its like keep your chocolates and help me with a tank upgrade!

 

Diagrams look solid. You might want to consider building a pipe with mulitple gate/ball valves connected to an overpowered return pump so you can run a lot of stuff off of just your return pump.

(....searching for pic..)

 

Also, I know you've already drilled, but have you looked in to a herbie return? It makes life easier and can be dead silent.

I did consider doing a manifold, but I just can't think of anything additional I would ever need to power on this tank. Skimmer pump is separate. Even if I switch to a dual reactor, they run in series with only one inlet/outlet. So I really can only think of the return and the reactor. What else were you thinking I might need down the line?

 

I honestly didn't look into different types of overflows and returns too much. This is my first time really doing plumbing, so I decided to just stick to what works for people. Almost every 40B thread I can find uses the Glass Holes 700 gph overflow kit and then they're return kit. Supposedly they're supposed to be pretty quiet, but we'll see. Luckily this tank is in my living room, so if it makes a bit of noise I won't be bothered at all. I just don't want it to be crazy loud! Fingers crossed!

 

 

Nice Chaeto. You might wanna trim it a little.

Haha, yeah I was having WAY too much fun with PPT. I find it super entertaining to make schematics in PPT

[HVani]

So excited to see an update!!

 

I love your dive photos. ♥

[Felicia]

So excited to see an update!!

 

I love your dive photos. ♥

More to come soon! I'm going to work on some stuff this weekend.

 

I was wondering why I wasn't seeing any updates from your thread. You have a new tank and new thread! Exciting...heading over there now Followed!

 

Glad you enjoyed my dive photos. I just love taking those.

[vlangel]

Eddie actually just figured out his flight and stuff, so the tank upgrade is definitely happening Valentine's weekend. I usually hate Valentine's day, but doing a tank upgrade is perfect!

 

Thanks! I'm really happy with the stand for the price. Considering I couldn't make my own, this wasn't a bad option.

Thanks! Glad you enjoyed the dive photos They always make me want to start a coldwater tank, haha.

And I was starting to think that nothing 'diy' was off limits to you. Just kidding, the stand is very nice. It looks like the AGA stand I had for my 90g.

[Felicia]

And I was starting to think that nothing 'diy' was off limits to you. Just kidding, the stand is very nice. It looks like the AGA stand I had for my 90g.

Well I would have loved to try building my own stand, but living in a 1 bedroom apartment would make that difficult. I don't have a garage or anything to work in, so no stand building for me. At somepoint when I have a house, I want to make a custom stand though!

 

I believe AGA and Aqueon are now one company, so that's why the stand probably looks the same.

[Felicia]

Got some updates for you guys!

 

1) My Jebao DC-3000 return pump arrived and looks very nice!

 

 

2) I know my skimmer is on the small side, so I was going to save up and upgrade it later. Then a member of my local forum posted a Reef Octopus 110INT for sale. I got it for only $75, so that worked out great! Its so much more legit than my current skimmer. Its rated for around 100 gallons, so it should be perfect for my new system. Definitely was perfect timing that he decided to sell it.

 

 

3) Progress is being made on the sump. I siliconed in the baffle for the ATO reservoir. I filled it up with water friday afternoon and have been letting it sit to make sure there are no leaks. All good on that front! Now its time to do the other baffles. Here's the sump with some of the equipment so you can get an idea of the space.

 

4) I have settled on my new fish for the new tank!

 

First thing is that the other day, my firefish just suddenly died. No sign of disease or trauma, so my theory is old age. All the other fish are fine and she was getting old. She was one of my first ever saltwater fish and I've had her since my 10 gallon. I'd had her for 3.5 years (who knows how old she was when I bought her) and I looked up the lifespan for firefish and its only supposed to be 3-4 years, so I guess she lived her full life. Poor thing.

 

Well that puts me down one fish, and then I decided that it was time to rehome the coris wrasse. He was just getting too big and a bit aggressive, so I figured he'd be better off in a larger tank. That frees up another space for some new fish.

 

So anyways, I had settled on dispar anthias (cause I love Eddie's!) as the new fish because they're colorful, they're open water, active swimmers, and they swim in groups/schools. I make this decision and then the next day one of my LFS posts on Facebook that they just got in a HUGE shipment of dispar anthias. I didn't want them to sell out of them by the time I did the upgrade, so I decided to catch the coris wrasse and head to the LFS. I turned in the coris wrasse from the main tank and the one from the seahorse tank (now taken down) for store credit and then was shopping for anthias. I was thinking 3 would make a nice mini school, but then after talking with several friends, everyone was saying 5 was the best number. The ones my LFS got in are tiny and 5 of them would bring my total fish count to 10, which I think is a perfect number for the 40B with the new beefed up filtration. Also, 5 makes such a nice school/group and looks so cool! Well I wasn't really wanting to bring home 5 fish and put them in the current tank, but I knew they'd sell out before I do the transfer in two weeks. Well anyways, the store offered to hold the fish for me for two weeks! I'll go pick them up a couple days after I do the tank transfer. Here they are in the tank at the LFS!

 

So anyways, the new fish list is:

1 - Yellow Watchman Goby

1 - Candy Stripe Hogfish

1 - Exquisite Wrasse

2 - Ocellaris Clowns

5 - Dispar Anthias

 

5) My main tank has sooo much algae since the partial crash and I want to get the rock cleaned up before the transfer. So I picked up a pretty tuxedo urchin from the LFS while I was there. I know my tank can't support him long term, so I'll let him clean up the algae for the next couple weeks and then when I go to pick up my anthias, I'll trade him back in for some store credit. He's so cool! He's already hard at work removing the algae and he's wearing a zoanthid colony as a hat, haha.

 

6) I went to see a friend of mine locally who does aquarium serving for a living and used to own an LFS. He now has about 1000 gallons of aquariums in his backyard in a shed. Anyways, he's the one who took my remaining seahorse, so I got to see how he was doing. He's grown a ton and is currently a nice pretty golden color. He lives in a ~60 gallon refugium with tons of nice live plant hitches and a copperband butterfly. He gets fed frozen mysis and also gets a ton of live food in the fuge. Horrible photo, but here he is hanging out!

 

7) Finally, my duncan colony is looking AMAZING right now. The tank is gross so I don't want to post FTS's, but I'll share a couple nice photos of my duncan colony.

 

 

Whew! I think that's everything for now