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DS's Jebo R338 9G (RETIRED)


DurocShark

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RETIRED 6/14/2015:

Contents were moved to the 70g and this tank will serve as quarantine (as was its original intention). The lights will be moved either to the refugium or to my 5.5. Haven't decided yet.

 

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OK, I got tired of waiting for the insurance company to decide what they're gonna do about the floor in the kitchen and living room after a pipe burst in the kitchen. Can't set up the 70G until that's all settled.

 

So last week I started setting up the Jebo R338. A bowfront 9 gallon glass tank. It was given to me 3 years ago and I kept a betta and a couple of frogs in it in my MIL's house. Too much crap in the air in their house, so they didn't last long and the tank got stored.

 

I was using a small Marineland Bio-Wheel filter then. When I started the 70 build, I had intended this to be a QT tank. And it still is/will be. But it's gonna address my need for a tank while I wait for the 70. ;)

 

I ripped out the two tiny fluorescent lights and retrofitted an Ecoxotic Panorama Pro 16w 12,000k / 420nm strip. The screws that came with it were a joke, They wouldn't cut into butter, the threads are so flattened. So I replaced them with Wall Dogs. ;) Overkill, but they were the only stainless steel screws I had handy. I still used the rubber standoffs.

 

y6uha5O.jpg

 

I'm running a Hydor Slim Nano skimmer, a Hydor Koralia 850 powerhead, and an Eheim heater. I had sized these for a 20 gallon, so they're all a little big. I'll eventually replace that skimmer with a Mame or something of similar size (but that Mame is downright sexy).

 

Note: I'm using my Nokia Icon to take these photos. I don't understand how a camera can have such horrible pincushion distortion. So don't be too surprised by this shot. And it's why I don't have any other pics. Too disgusted... I'll spend a few minutes today with my DSLR for better pics and the first inhabitants.

 

wFCijA5.jpg

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OK, moved the cured rock in, and added a firefish, blue legged hermit crab, a pipe organ coral, and Green Star Polyps.

 

 

The pipe organ opened up immediately. And, of course, the butthead crab thinks that coral is his personal playground. He keeps knocking it around.

 

The GSP just started opening. Woot!

 

Later I'll glue them down so that crab can't do any more redecorating.


_________

 

I'll get better shots later. The skimmer is microbubbling like mad. I'm closing the valve on the venturi at night, so everything gets a break from the the bubbles for a few hours.

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Everything's pissed off right now because I rearranged a little and glued down the pipe organ. Thanks to that stupid crab redecorating. ;)

 

Plus I need to find a lower flow powerhead. My lowest one is an 800gph. I have it pointed where the skimmer and glass meet to slow it down, but the fish keeps getting bashed against the rocks. :(

 

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skyscraper2290

Ya I have had my big turbo snails reek havock on stuff just in my sand bed until I got everything mounted. Maybe look into a Koralia nano 240 for flow in the tank, it's pretty cheap on amazon and could also be used for mixing saltwater.

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I'm kinda torn on this skimmer too. It's huge, and doesn't really fit a rimmed tank (unless I want the water level unacceptably low), and it's started to buzz.

 

I really want a Mame, but they're out of stock. Any other suggestions? Preferably very quiet since this is in my bedroom. Hanging on the back is ok, but I don't use a sump.

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skyscraper2290

Check out the PicO Skim 2.0, it would be perfect for your tank. I run one on my PicO III and it might be pushing it a bit with that size of tank but still pulls out a lot of gunk. Definitely more aesthetically appealing than a lot of skimmers and is somewhat similar to the mame and you can pick your own air pump so you can look for something a little more quiet.

 

http://www.picoaquariums.com/pico-5g/141-pico-skim-20.html

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Oh, dammit.

 

Firefish died. I think he just got tired of fighting the current and getting bashed against the rocks.

 

Down side is, several hours later, the hermit died too. :( I did a test and my nitrates were off the Red Sea chart. (No ammonia, but I'm sure it spiked shortly after that fish died.) Nitrates were barely detectable in the Red Sea kit a few days ago. Sigh.

 

Did a big water change this morning, will do another tomorrow. Get those nitrates back down. I have a small pump arriving today to get rid of that 800gph pump.

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FTS:

 

MxXvjpE.jpg

 

I yanked out the powerhead and stuck a small canister filter on there. $40 and I get to do some mechanical filtration to clean up the water. You can see the bubbles from the new canister. The plumbing is ugly. I'll clean it up tomorrow when I do a water change.

 

The corals haven't recovered yet. I won't be surprised if it takes them a little while.

 

I have a Marineland HOT canister, but that would be insane for this tank. I didn't want to run a canister full time, just water polishing and to run media if I need to. But at 90gph, it's got just the right flow for this tank.

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Woot! My new powerhead came. Jebao RW-4 with the wave controller. I really like it. It's quiet, and I can adjust the flow rate. Right now it's in wave mode 1 at around 1/3 power. Getting good water movement, and the corals are stretching nicely.

 

That canister really wasn't providing enough, and the polyps weren't really stretching out like I wanted them to.

 

Nitrate is down to barely detectible levels after the second water change today. I'll watch and see if it increases. If not (I don't expect it to) then I can go back to stocking.

 

Edit: Just switched to wave mode 2. Ramps up and down in a sine wave pattern instead of the sudden off then sudden on square wave of W1. Even quieter!!!

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Another bunch of GSP. Longer polyps in this variety. Got some trumpets (candy cane? What's the real friggin name????) You can see them in the pipe organ photo above.

 

Gs4utA9.jpg

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So I'm about to redecorate. I'm yanking that skimmer out and rearranging the rocks. The tank will have to run on Purigen and carbon for a few days while I get the DIY skimmer set up.

 

Here's what it looks like today:

Oiz7iA9.jpg

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Here's the after pic. The corals aren't quiet happy yet.

 

But see if you can tell me, which was taken with my Nokia Icon phone, and which was taken with my Nikon D80:

 

rPoCRbm.jpg

 

M5PdDes.jpg

 

Disregard focal length and angle differences. Just go by color, exposure, etc.


So I removed the Hydor SlimSkim Nano and the Jebao powerhead. The Finnex canister filter was converted into HOTB mode, and it has a sponge, Sea Chem Purigen, carbon, and a piece of Poly Filter. I've never used Poly Filter before, but I figured I'd give it a shot. Since I'm skimmerless at the moment, I need all the help I can get.

 

I removed the powerhead because even at its lowest setting it was too much for the poor fish. I lost two fish because of flow being too hard in a small tank without any good hiding places (even the rock wasn't enough shelter). The canister filter has enough flow to keep the corals gently waving, and the cards are happy without being bashed against the rocks. ;)

 

That scape is in anticipation of putting sand in. I don't like the bare bottom as much as I thought I would. I have some aragonite I'll put in next water change time.

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skyscraper2290

Really like the new scape, looks really good. I would say the bottom picture was taken with the d80

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Really like the new scape, looks really good. I would say the bottom picture was taken with the d80

 

 

Yep. :)

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haha yes, did you end up ordering the PicO skim?

 

 

No, I'm going to try DIY. I'm still trying to find the acrylic tubing in the sizes I want. Haven't looked very hard (no Lowe's or Home Depot yet).

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