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The Don's Mr. Aqua 22L w/ OceanBox!


thedon986

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Hi N-R,

 

I have been a long time member but have never created an aquarium thread to document my progress. My first set up was a BC29 which was a big learning experience for me. I had a lot of problems with that set up and also learned a lot. My current set up is my third saltwater aquarium and am very happy with Mr. Aqua aquariums.

Current Setup Specs:

- Mr. Aqua 22L

- OceanBox Custom AIO Insert (amazing product)

- 2x AI Prime

- MP10wQD

- MP10es

- Reeflink

- Tunze Osmolator

- MAME Skimmer

- BRS Reef Saver rock

- Fiji Pink sand

 

Livestock:

- Wide range mix of zoas, LPS and a few SPS

- Ocellaris Clown pair

- Tailspot Blenny

- Yellow Watchman Goby & Tiger Pistol Shrimp

- Possibly a Sixline Wrasse in the future? Or a similar open-water swimmer/cruiser

 

My two past setups:

 

 

THEDON986%20-%20IMG_0689.jpg

 

20151213_203731481_iOS.jpg

 

 

Current Setup Pics:

20160125_235926512_iOS.jpg

 

20160205_010412240_iOS.jpg

 

New frags from local club meeting yesterday:

20160220_204135148_iOS.jpg

 

Left side:

20160221_195520026_iOS.jpg

 

Right side:

20160221_195526629_iOS.jpg

 

I welcome any feedback about the rockscape and coral placement. I am not 100% happy with how everything looks. I should probably lay off new frags for a while a find places for everything, but that's easier said than done. :D

  • Like 8
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Getting a little more organized and getting coral off the sand. Still have a few pieces to move. Getting some cyano on the sand right now so bumping up the MP10 some. I'm not getting good tank-wide flow with the MP10. The Eheim return from the AIO is so focused it leaves a lot of dead spots on the right side. Looking into another MP10 and reeflink for some real control. The MAME Skimmer is doing a decent job, it never did much in my last setup but the volume made it much easier to keep pristine water quality. Pretty happy with what it's pulling out in the setup but will still rely on 4-6g water changes a week for keeping the water quality up.

 

Took some top down shots last week during a water change. Best part of shallow tanks.

20160225_010745264_iOS.jpg

 

20160225_010752235_iOS.jpg

 

20160225_010801307_iOS.jpg

  • Like 1
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  • 2 weeks later...

Thank guys! Still getting some diatoms on the sand bed. Did a short black out but that didn't help, so I'm just gonna let it do its thing for a while. I have a tiny quarter sized rbta in there that I've been feeding a few times a week. It's really starting to grow quickly. Definitley love the size of this tank and the Oceanbox AIO is great.

 

I had some problems with my MP10 ramping up and down and changing the water level in the return and triggering the ATO. Have a couple of overflow incidents so I switched to a Tunze 3155 and it has worked much better.

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Thanks! Very happy with how this tank is progressing. I recently picked up a Reeflink and then a second MP10w, so I put the RF module in my QD and programmed it on EcoSmart Live. Loving the ability to really program the pump. I have it running Reefcrest in the morning, Tidal Swell mid-day, Reefcrest and the NTM in the evening. I may adjust in the future but am excited to be able to change the modes throughout the day. I have the second MP10 on the right hand side running at the lowest setting on Reefcrest. Overkill? For sure, but no more dead spots in there that's for sure.


Looking good, TLowrider! Sometimes I wish I had a sump on this one but the storage space below the tank is sorely needed. Do you have a picture that shows the drain/return a little better?

  • Like 1
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Here it is, I have an eshopps sump/nano refugium, which I have 3 different kinds of macro algae, tunze protein skimmer

Eshopps overflow box. Huge difference in water clarity when I set up the sump. what are you running your AI Primes at ?

post-73220-0-51186200-1457874833_thumb.jpeg

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Here it is, I have an eshopps sump/nano refugium, which I have 3 different kinds of macro algae, tunze protein skimmer

Eshopps overflow box. Huge difference in water clarity when I set up the sump. what are you running your AI Primes at ?

 

That sump looks good, that is one I am considering for the future. I have the blues, UV, and violet peaking at 75% and the rest at 25% at 4pm. It's a little blue for my taste but haven't gotten around to adjusting it. Lights on at 11am and out at 10pm. I can email you my settings if you want to take a peek, just shoot me your email.

 

Spare no expense I say. Great job. Love the Mame skimmer, are you pleased with the results it delivers?

 

Thanks! When I set up the BC29 I was on a college budget so not having to cut corners now has been really nice.

 

I have been very pleased with the results from the MAME. I probably wouldn't use it on a tank any bigger though. I pulls a dark tea skimmate that I used to get when I had an AquaticLife 115 on my BC29.

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Updated FTS from today and some other pics. I'm going to try to use a DSLR from here on out. Starting to learn how to use it better now.

FTS_03132016.jpg

 

Torch_03132016.jpg

 

GobyampShrimp_03132016.jpg

 

Length2_03132016.jpg

 

Rastas_03132016.jpg

  • Like 3
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  • 4 weeks later...

It's been a while since my last update. I have been having some of the usual new tank growing pains. I have some cyano that refuses to go away. It's not very bad but bad enough to be annoying. I have been keeping up with water changes and siphoning it out. Don't let the new FTS fool you, this was after the blackout and some sand vacuuming. It looks like I'm about to be bare bottom on the right half of the tank. I also had some RTN on my forest fire digi after a blackout for three days. Don't know what caused it? I broke it up into pieces and tossed the parts where flesh was falling away and it seems to have saved it. The caulerpa is really starting to take off so that's really cool. Love how it is growing in.

 

New FTS

04032016%20-%20FTS.jpg

  • Like 6
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Nice setup. I like the zoas!

 

 

Good looking tank!

 

Thanks! The middle rock has some pretty invasive and fast growing palys on it. In person they look like seafoam. That's most of what you see on the middle rock. They don't seem to be choking out my other zoas but they are definitely gobbling up the free real estate quickly.

 

I am starting to get some territorial clashes from the corals in there which is frustrating but that's part of everything growing in. The green cap in the middle has turned out to be more encrusting than plating and has almost smothered my Sunny D palys and is slowly killing my Sunset Monti. On the right, the Bird of Paradise is battling the green Stylo. I'm just going to let things play out and see who wins.

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rickztahone

Following. I have this exact same tank and been wanting to get ideas. I've never had a SW tank and am doing as much research as possible to combat the cyano/algae issues that many seem to face. From my research I have found that many say to wait for a mature tank to add different kinds of corals, especially nems. How do you bypass this?

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I transferred what I have now from a tank that was a little over a year old, so I didn't have that issue. If you start with very good live rock your tank may mature much faster. I started with dry rock and it took forever for coraline to start growing and the tank prior to this one didn't settle in to autopilot till about 8 months.

 

What I would say for a quickly maturing tank:

- Good live rock

- Good skimmer

- Good maintenance

 

After that your tank should mature very quickly. Maybe after 6 months start looking to add more difficult corals.

 

Cyano can be a real pain to get rid of. I'm close to ordering some Chemiclean but going to give it another week or so.

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