aviator300 Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 After about 10 months of moving around the country, I've finally settled down in Ogden Utah and thought it would be a good time to start a new tank but first, I want to give a short history of my reefing history. I started back in December 2013 in Scottsdale AZ. I had several tanks over the next year but none of them were very successful and I got discouraged easily with each problem that arose. You could say I was a "tank jumper", letting one tank get the best of me and starting another one while always hoping the next would be the real winner. I learned a lot about the hobby and had a working knowledge of most of the principles of reefkeeping but just couldn't transfer that knowledge to keeping a successful (long term) tank. in December of 2014 I underwent a double total knee replacement which made it more difficult than ever to keep a tank running well but I kept plugging along. In about Feb 2015, I started what was my most successful tank to date (Nuvo 8 AIO). I moved to Oregon in August 2015 and took this tank (fish, coral, and all) with me in my van. The move was successful and the tank flourished for about 4 more months but another move caused me to have to sell it to Righttirefire who is a member on this forum. That's the last tank I've had till now. In retrospect, I think a lot of my problem with not following through with tanks has to do with the fact that even though I started a build thread on all of them, I never kept the threads updated enough and just posted the bare facts before moving on. Because of the lack of my posting, I never had anyone say things like "don't give up it looks great" or giving me ideas on how to overcome problems. I want to be one of those folks that you miss when you don't see a post from them every few days.. Anyway, enough of whining and I probably should pay for this therapy session. I want this tank to be a long term project so enough of this and here are the specs. TANK CAD lights ZEN 5 7 SAND Tropic Marin Reef Flakes ROCK Gulf Live Rock (Premium Deco uncured 5lbs) SALT Red Sea Coral Pro FILTRATION AC 50 AC 70 with intank media basket. FLOW Ecotech MP 10 MEDIA Chemi- Pure Blue + Seachem Denitrate + floss LIGHT Nano Box MINI TIDE DUO HEATER Archaea Mini 50w ATO Auto Aqua Smart Micro LIVESTOCK Mixed coral tank 2 Green Banded Gobies CUC Pom pom crab CORAL Zoas LPS SPS MARCH 2016 APRIL 2016 MAY 2016 JUNE 2016 AUGUST 2016 I have the tank, sand, heater and filter now. Light is coming tomorrow and Live rock the middle of next week. I expect the tank to be wet next Thurs or as soon as the rock comes. I got the idea for the Archaea heater from Rocksmom who used to be on the forum. I haven't seen too many folks using it but it seems to be the standard among the planted tank people. It is very small and has the controller in the power cord and out of the water. I will do a review on it later on. I'm posting a couple pics today but this has been the downfall of my tanks. All I have is my cheap cell phone cam (which takes pretty poor pics) and this hobby seems to be built around DSLRs and the like with expensive lenses. Heck, if I had that kind of money, I'd buy a bigger, better tank and expensive controlers. Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 Hi there! I was wondering what happened once you went west. You know, I take better pics w/ my Samsung 3 than w/ my old DSLR from 2007!. I'm curious to see your rock because that's who I want to buy from this time. Last 2 times it was KPAquatics but this time I wanted to try Gulf Live Rock, well too cuz they made a change in the qty they'll sell uncured at KPA and I don't need 60lbs. But also, I've been debating between Reef Flakes and crushed coral that I have in Gertie's tank. I'll be watching. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 I'll take pics of the rock when it gets here wed or thurs. I'll do closeups and general pics to help you decide..Thanks for the interest. Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 12, 2016 Share Posted March 12, 2016 According to other people's pictures when you type Gulf Live Rock in search function, you should have a nice sprinkling of live items. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 12, 2016 Author Share Posted March 12, 2016 I'm going to do a soft cycle so I have lots of salt available for water changes and Seachem Prime. I'm always excited to see what kind of life I can preserve on the rocks. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 My Tide came yesterday. I didn't even know that FedEx delivered on Saturdays. I haven't decided when to fill the tank yet yet; Should I fill it now with just the sand in it and let it circulate for a few days and then add the live rock when it gets here Wed or Thurs, or wait till the rock is here and then fill it with the rock in place..What does everyone think? Pros and cons of each way. After looking at pics of the light, you might be thinking "where's the Bluefish Mini?" I have a storm controller coming from Ben at Coralux because both my wife and I telecommute for our different employers who both require a hard wired system (no wifi ) so Bluefish Mini wouldn't work (I don't think). I'm getting more and more excited to start this tank up. Yes, I'm aware it's just a little 5 gal but it will be the only tank I have for awhile and I am determined to make it the best it can be. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 LAWN. 63,195 replies. AVIATOR 5 replies. Look out Lawn, I'm on my way. Hahah. Link to comment
righttirefire Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Hey! Look what I have... about the only thing you'll recognize is that awesome monti and birdsnest. Best of luck. I dig the new build. Careful with thatthat nanobox. I burnt up my 20 with one. And the nuvo is running about 45% everything but whites about 23% Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 13, 2016 Share Posted March 13, 2016 Dave sent me an email asking for my address so I'll be shortly on my way as well. Excited!!! Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 13, 2016 Author Share Posted March 13, 2016 Hey! Look what I have... about the only thing you'll recognize is that awesome monti and birdsnest. Best of luck. I dig the new build. Careful with thatthat nanobox. I burnt up my 20 with one. And the nuvo is running about 45% everything but whites about 23% I know about NanoBox's. In fact that Nuvo 8 of yours grew up with a Tide over it. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 Will fill it today and let it circulate till the rock arrives Thursday. I'll get pics of the Gulf live rock before I add it. Boy, I hope it comes with lots of life but we shall see. Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 I decided to order 30 lbs of Tropic Eden mesoflakes and 20 lbs reef flakes. I'm a little too low in the 10g, I'm sure I'll have a little extra. The pics I've seen of the Gulf Live Rock is superb from people on this website. Sooo awesome!!! Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 15, 2016 Author Share Posted March 15, 2016 I decided to order 30 lbs of Tropic Eden mesoflakes and 20 lbs reef flakes. I'm a little too low in the 10g, I'm sure I'll have a little extra. The pics I've seen of the Gulf Live Rock is superb from people on this website. Sooo awesome!!! I really like the "Tropic Eden" stuff. It seems very consistent with very little powder and I also like the look of the coarser grain size. It makes a really natural look VS Oolite and fine stuff like that. I did a lot of diving when younger and I never saw anything on the bottom of the ocean like Oolite Following along! Thanks very much and I love the music on your videos with the driving beat. Link to comment
Sharbuckle Posted March 15, 2016 Share Posted March 15, 2016 Thanks man! What kind of lps do you plan on putting in there? Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 Thanks man! What kind of lps do you plan on putting in there? Possibly a Torch and/or a green hammer and Acans for sure. Link to comment
HuyHa114 Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Love pico tanks! Following along. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 17, 2016 Author Share Posted March 17, 2016 The live rock came yesterday (a day early) so I stayed up late sorting it out and getting it into water. Below are some photos of the rock. I wish you could see all the reds and purples but my cell cam doesn't reflect the true color. I'll organize the tank and post some FTSs later in the day. Link to comment
righttirefire Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 What rock was this? Lots of life? I'm thinking about something like that for me next build.. Link to comment
Sharbuckle Posted March 17, 2016 Share Posted March 17, 2016 Love the look of that rock Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 What rock was this? Lots of life? I'm thinking about something like that for me next build.. Gulf Live Rock. http://www.gulfliverock.com/ Dan is really great to work with. His Nano pack is 60.00 and includes 10 lbs of Premium deco rock includes shipping. Mine came in 2 days via usps priority. If you want to ensure all life remains alive, he will ship Fed Ex overnight. Link to comment
righttirefire Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 How's is yourl doing? Still early... but initially? Link to comment
FlowerMama Posted March 18, 2016 Share Posted March 18, 2016 Yes, definitely will go with this rock. It clinched it having seen previous pics of other NR members and yours. Nice life! Any critters? Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 3 imbedded clams. small, one about an inch and another 3/4 inch. Both these have already opened and close when I get close. The 3rd one maybe dead. We shall see. Pics of the wet tank to come soon. Link to comment
aviator300 Posted March 18, 2016 Author Share Posted March 18, 2016 The tank is finally wet. You would think it would be easy to pile a bunch of rocks on top of each other. It may be that way for most of you but I'm not that coordinated. Anyway, I was concerned about keeping the live rock out of water too long so I kind of visualized the scape in my mind. I then laid the base layer and built up from there. I used some epoxy putty between the base and upper layers just to stabilize the rocks and here's what I ended up with. Link to comment
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