Nstocks Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 I love your DIY work, awesome!!! Thank you. Hopefully a lot more to come Link to comment
MrNanoReef Posted July 15, 2015 Share Posted July 15, 2015 Once the live stocks are in and grown out, this will be TOTM Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 15, 2015 Author Share Posted July 15, 2015 Hopefully in a year or so! Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 I'm happy to report that Mr. Mandy is finally eating! I bought some Lobster eggs and put some in a shot glass. Within minutes he was popping his head in and out, really cute Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 17, 2015 Author Share Posted July 17, 2015 I noticed a couple of white patches on my Acropora and one branch has hair algae (?). Cal: 450 Mag: 1500 Alk: 7.7 Link to comment
4x5 Posted July 18, 2015 Share Posted July 18, 2015 The hair algae is growing on some dead patches most likely, I wouldn't stress it. You could clip off that piece of the acro if you wish. As for the overflow, I don't think your current one looks bad, seems really neat. I guess it all depends on what look you're going for, clear is great if you have a nice bright room but is more high maintenance IMO. Black gives it a nice low key look which I like as well - once the coralline takes over you wont notice anyways. Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 20, 2015 Author Share Posted July 20, 2015 My monticap began turning white on one side, from the base within a week of adding it to my tank. Now, almost a month later the bleaching has spread. Tests are all very close to Red sea coral pro salt. Nitrate is around 2 and phosphates are undetectable. I have one powerhead (4,000 l/ph) and the cap is place on the sand bed, although I doubt it is a flow issue. Could it just be a poor coral? The other side is perfectly fine... I also have a birdsnest frag that has at least 15 new branch stubs growing and another acropora that is doing well too. Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 21, 2015 Author Share Posted July 21, 2015 My attempt at creating a sleeker version of the MAME didn't work. The drain required a pump and the pump just doesn't work very well at moving the water over the initial curve of the lily pipe It's really annoying because this should have worked. If the glassware wasn't so thin that I could drill a hole to make a venturi, it would work without a pump but I don't want to risk it. MAME is now ordered and will be here next week Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 23, 2015 Author Share Posted July 23, 2015 So I fragged the Monti. It was getting worse as each day passed. Apparently there isn't much knowledge or understanding why some corals are prone to stripping. On the plus side, I now have two monticaps Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 27, 2015 Author Share Posted July 27, 2015 I haven't vacuumed the substrate for a few days and I now have the start of Dino's. I've just checked my protein skimmer cup after emptying it 2 days ago and found mould! The diatoms (now Dino's) have been present for months and unless I stir the sanded at least once a day, they reappear rapidly. I'm assuming much of this mess if from over feeding the tank to try and get the Mandarin to put on weight. I've learnt to feed smaller amounts more often now. I'm going to do a 48 hour blackout. This could also be the explanation for a death of a turbo snail Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 MAME is here! For anyone that has one, is it normal for it to take a very long time (and a lot of noise) before it balances out? I've checked the instructions (in japanese) and everything looks right, but it's not balancing out for some reason Link to comment
brad908 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 MAME is here! For anyone that has one, is it normal for it to take a very long time (and a lot of noise) before it balances out? I've checked the instructions (in japanese) and everything looks right, but it's not balancing out for some reason Put water in the U bend in the drain section. Do this every time you take it apart to clean it too. It will start the flow right up Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 30, 2015 Author Share Posted July 30, 2015 Put water in the U bend in the drain section. Do this every time you take it apart to clean it too. It will start the flow right up That's what I missed when I first tuned it on, but even with water in the U bend, the noise is insane and the siphon fails to start. Link to comment
Justind823 Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 That's what I missed when I first tuned it on, but even with water in the U bend, the noise is insane and the siphon fails to start. What's the GPH rating of your return pump? Did you get the silencer cap with the MAME? Link to comment
Kylebeano Posted July 30, 2015 Share Posted July 30, 2015 Tank and stand look really awesome, great dimensions, nice DIY I really liked the stand when you had the controllers displayed and the cables/power supplies in a partition. Deltec skimmers are the best, top notch, great choice. As far as removing the overflow and background, you could just put towers of corals where the pipes would show. A big enough euphilla or tonga branch of zoanthids would hide them. As for the SPS, could be alk swings causeing burn, or pests. Have you dipped the corals, or noticed any nudis at night? Link to comment
Nstocks Posted July 31, 2015 Author Share Posted July 31, 2015 What's the GPH rating of your return pump? Did you get the silencer cap with the MAME? I'm trying to find the answer to that. I have the JECOD 4000 and have it on setting 4 at the minute. Silencer cap is worthwhile for the tricking noise. Tank and stand look really awesome, great dimensions, nice DIY I really liked the stand when you had the controllers displayed and the cables/power supplies in a partition. Deltec skimmers are the best, top notch, great choice. As far as removing the overflow and background, you could just put towers of corals where the pipes would show. A big enough euphilla or tonga branch of zoanthids would hide them. As for the SPS, could be alk swings causeing burn, or pests. Have you dipped the corals, or noticed any nudis at night? Too late hahaha. Overflow box is gone. Looks so much better, dramatically changed the tank. It's was a lot of work though. I've dipped all the corals twice and only found a few small critters, nothing major. I think the torch coral has pineapple worms on them but again, nothing to worry about. Alk swing could have been the reason the monti stripped. I'm going to keep testing. Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 1, 2015 Author Share Posted August 1, 2015 Re-build complete. Almost everything has settled in well, but my Monti isn't looking very well and I'm pretty sure one of my Acro has stripped. I did a 3 day blackout for dino's but this is fairly common and SPS should be fine with it. With the Monti that was ill from the store and this arco not looking too well, I'm thinking a LPS dominated tank from here. Alkalinty history with Salifert: August 1st: 8.3 July 17th: 7.7 Jun 27th: 10.5 Also, is it normal to have to completely drain the MAME and re-start the siphon after putting in hand in tank and raising the water level? My initial problems were cause by super flexible tubing bought directly from MAME and caused restriction in the drain line. Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 4, 2015 Author Share Posted August 4, 2015 I'm overhauling parts of this thread and to make it even better and I'm considering a DSLR. Can anybody recommend a DSLR for very little money?). It's been 5 years since I last ventured into photography with my Pentax K10D, so I'm not fully aware of the technologies nowadays, other than larger sensors and live view - my iPhone 5s is great, just not for aquarium photos Link to comment
brad908 Posted August 4, 2015 Share Posted August 4, 2015 Just find a used canon rebel or the nikon equivalent with the kit lens, then get a macro lens in the 90-100mm range. A tripod will help with the macro. Just read more about white balance and editing, and you'll be able to get some good pics. How much are you looking to spend? Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 5, 2015 Author Share Posted August 5, 2015 The editing works to some degree, it's the general quality of photos due to the lighting... Noise, strange highlight colours, not great detail. I'm only looking to spend around £150 which isn't a realistic budget I don't think. It's not a huge priority right now, it would just be nice to have high quality images of my livestock Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Clownfish has jumped out I added 3 green chromis a few days ago and both clownfish were swimming with them as if they were their own, hopefully the jumper wasn't bullied. Do I keep the survivor alone or try and get another to see if they will bond? Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 SYTEM AND LIVESSTOCK UPDATES I've had the MAME overflow installed for almost a week now and although it has some drawbacks, it's completely changed the look of my tank to a open, fresher environment. (FTS coming soon) Here it is next to the weir box I was able to remove in one piece. I put my first online order in yesterday (APC the livestock courier in the UK had previously halted all fish deliveries over welfare concerns). I think this Acro has almost had it . Any tips on what I could do to save it? Loads of frags? Link to comment
brad908 Posted August 6, 2015 Share Posted August 6, 2015 What are the drawbacks of the MAME besides cleaning? Looks like you need the silencer cap too. Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 It's still quite tricky to get right in terms of noise. I have the silencer cap, just not installed in that picture. The cap make a HUGE difference in noise. I think because I'm trying to get a high water level, it's taking in some air too. Other than that, it's far more attractive than a weir box... Until it becomes green which I've heard make it a pain to clean. Link to comment
Nstocks Posted August 6, 2015 Author Share Posted August 6, 2015 Here's a short video of the overflow. Link to comment
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