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TJ_Burton Returns - last pics...


TJ_Burton

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I need a frag of that verrucosa. Great looking corals.

 

Thanks :)

If you were in my area, I would tell you to come by for a frag!

 

I am actually quite surprised with the success I am having in this tank. Between the coloring of the acros, to the burst growth of that anthelia, and my zoas. It's quite a lot of motivation to get the 40 up and running. Just need some more time to do it!

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Nice photo skills. Let's see some pics of your lighting install.

 

I take some shots once I have it all done, I still need to install the VHO actinics.

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are you still not done with your tank setup?!

whats taking so long? take it off the back burner and put it up front!

i need more ideas for 40's, im getting short on ideas now

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Alright, been messing around with the cam on auto.

 

DIY Mag Racks:

MagRack3.jpg

MagRack2.jpg

MagRack1.jpg

 

Blue Anthelia:

 

Jan 22nd-

BlueAntheliaRecover.jpg

 

Today-

BlueAntheliaFeb1108.jpg

 

Some random shots:

FullTankFlash.jpg

MPalaMacro.jpg

Acros.jpg

Acan.jpg

MacroFlashMspecies2.jpg

MacroFlashMspecies.jpg

 

 

Tricolor Progress:

Jan 22nd-

Acro5.jpg

Today-

Tricolor.jpg

 

Great pics! I think they need to be on this page of your thread as well. :)

 

Clever DIY mag racks! I'm going to remember that idea.

 

Nice progress shots. And how do you keep a tank that full so clean looking? :D

 

--Diane

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are you still not done with your tank setup?!

whats taking so long? take it off the back burner and put it up front!

i need more ideas for 40's, im getting short on ideas now

 

I promise as soon as I get back from Cuba there will be a flurry of updates on the tank. I really want to get it running already, and if the first one didn't crack, I am sure it would have at least been cycling by now. I have been very busy at work due to one of the other supervisors/techs having a baby... Since he has been MIA, I have been filling in for him... TONS of overtime!!!

 

Great pics! I think they need to be on this page of your thread as well. :)

 

Clever DIY mag racks! I'm going to remember that idea.

 

Nice progress shots. And how do you keep a tank that full so clean looking? :D

 

--Diane

 

lol... thanks! Glad you like the racks too! They are holding up incredibly well, I will post a quick series of "how to" step by step pics! (Not that I think anyone will actually need them).

 

As far as keeping the tank clean, there are only 2 fish, a pair of clowns, since i decided the wrasse was too large for the tank and took him back to the lfs. I also have a pretty decent clean up crew. My clean up crew is as follows:

 

Three Turbo Snails

Three Nassarius Snails

One Emerald Crab

One Serpent Star

One Pink/Black Cucumber

 

So my substrate is well looked after since the cucumber constantly ingests it and poops it back out completely white. There isn't ever any leftover food with that cuc, and the snails do a decent job on the rock. The emerald has a thing for the dark hair algae that pops up in weird places.

 

That and I constantly look at the tank and clean the glass (since that thin layer of green/brown algae that accumulates on glass comes back every day with my lighting).

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Three Turbo Snails

Three Nassarius Snails

One Emerald Crab

One Serpent Star

One Pink/Black Cucumber

 

Man I wonder if I overdid my clean up personnel. If so, perhaps the ones that don't survive due to a lack of food will be eaten by the ones that do survive, thereby having them adjust to the right CUC count without a crazy ammonia spike. What do you think? Would you mind taking a look at my new CUC additions and let me know if you think I should transfer some of those folks to my BC14?

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Man I wonder if I overdid my clean up personnel. If so, perhaps the ones that don't survive due to a lack of food will be eaten by the ones that do survive, thereby having them adjust to the right CUC count without a crazy ammonia spike. What do you think? Would you mind taking a look at my new CUC additions and let me know if you think I should transfer some of those folks to my BC14?

 

If you think you did, just feed your tank a little more, may mean more water changes but it isn't too bad. You have a pretty killer CUC for that size tank. I personally even feel that mine is overdone due to the lack of fish and waste being produced in my system. Sand crabs look killer btw!

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If you think you did, just feed your tank a little more, may mean more water changes but it isn't too bad. You have a pretty killer CUC for that size tank. I personally even feel that mine is overdone due to the lack of fish and waste being produced in my system. Sand crabs look killer btw!

 

Thanks for the input. I'll move a few snails out, since my other tank needs it more anyhow. Lookin forward to seeing those lights in action! Rig it up!

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Thanks for the input. I'll move a few snails out, since my other tank needs it more anyhow. Lookin forward to seeing those lights in action! Rig it up!

 

So am I, so am I... lol

 

Got some new additions!!!

-Green Acro (sorta looks like slimer actually)

-Blue Acro (not sure what sp.)

-Pink w/ metallic green polyps Stylophora/Pocillapora (Haven't looked close enough yet to really ID the thing).

-New frags of some very interesting Palys/Zoas

- MINI CARPET ANEMONIES!!! (got them for FREE from my favorite lfs).

 

And some frags of:

-Blue (supposedly) Digitata

-Green Stylo, Purple/Pink Stylo

-Wicked green Cap.

 

Pics will follow hopefully before I leave!

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My last update before I head to CUBA!

 

Ok, Here is a FTS of the 20L before I got the new corals and without a white balance (which I was playing around with today)

Before.jpg

 

With new corals and white balance.

After.jpg

 

FTTopShot2.jpg

 

RCTopShot.jpg

 

Now the new pieces:

GreenStag.jpg

GreenStagMacro.jpg

GreenStagMacro2.jpg

 

PinkGreenStylo.jpg

PinkGreenStyloMacro.jpg

 

SuperBlueAcro2.jpg

SuperBlueAcro.jpg

 

MiniCarpet.jpg

MiniCarpetZoas.jpg

Mussle.jpg

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WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA! Your tank was fully stocked even before you set it up!@#! You're not even gonna have to go through a cycle. Unorthodox approach but I see it's gonna work out well for you. Have a great time in Cuba.

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!!!! That is an amazing collection for a 20L!!!! I am always amazed at how much coral everyone on NR gets in such small space ;) Looks great!

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lol... thanks! Glad you like the racks too! They are holding up incredibly well, I will post a quick series of "how to" step by step pics! (Not that I think anyone will actually need them).

 

I, for one, would love to see them.

 

 

- MINI CARPET ANEMONIES!!! (got them for FREE from my favorite lfs).

 

Man, what a score! Lucky you!

 

Hope you're having a great time in Cuba!

 

--Diane

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WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA WHOA! Your tank was fully stocked even before you set it up!@#! You're not even gonna have to go through a cycle. Unorthodox approach but I see it's gonna work out well for you. Have a great time in Cuba.

 

I may have to let the 40b cycle once it is up and running since I plan on using a fair amount of new rock.

 

!!!! That is an amazing collection for a 20L!!!! I am always amazed at how much coral everyone on NR gets in such small space ;) Looks great!

 

Thanks a ton! I still feel like the tank is somewhat naked. Mind you, the acros I currently have are fairly large branching species which don't grow in thick, so I see lot's of bare rock around them. This will be easier to hide in the 40br with ground cover or bush type sps in the foreground. I have some pretty neat ideas for aquascaping that I will be very proud to show off once it is all set up! I may do a penciled out mock up of how I would like the aquascaping to work out for me.

 

I, for one, would love to see them.

 

Just for you I will take pictures of the very simple step by step to my DIY mag-racks. lol. I need to make another one tonight so I may have them ready for tomorrow.

 

Man, what a score! Lucky you!

 

Hope you're having a great time in Cuba!

 

--Diane

I was lucky to score those mini carpets. I found them by accident. They were hidden on a rock of palys and looked like mushrooms at first glance, and I picked up the rock to look at the palys. I was quite suprised when one of the mushrooms ( there were 2) grabbed my fingertip and held on hard enough to hold the whole rock up (was a small rock). At that moment I realized what they were and my lfs guy told me to crab a chisel and take them home since he paid for the rock of polyps and not the little anemones. Quite nice of him actually. I go there often so If I am lucky, I will spot some more the next time he gets a shipment!

 

Well I am back from Cuba and I did have a wonderful time! :) I took some photos of the reef but they were done with a disposable, so I will have to scan the pictures (if the even turn out).

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F R E E C O R A L S.......

 

I just dumped big bucks on some live stock and it didn't even make a dent on my reef. :angry:

 

I am just luckily friends with some lfs owners. If you ever take a trip up here and are comfortable taking corals back over the border I would be very happy to send you back with some zoa/sps frags!

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TJ's DIY MAG-RACKS

made with old mag floats!

 

Now, this is a very simple and easy DIY project in which we turn old/spare/unwanted mag floats into wonderfully useful Mag-Racks!

( Special thanks to Sushi for the inspiration - for the record, Sushi's Mag-Racks are much nicer, and far better built than my substitutes. Keep in mind you have to spend money on mag floats if you do not already have them lying around, and in that case it is probably more practical to purchase a tried-tested & true Mag-Rack from www.mag-racks.com . My DIY version is comparable in size to his Small model)

 

Preparation:

Gather all your materials - For this project you will need the following:

-Egg Crate

-Super Glue Gel (normal super glue can be used as well - just easier with gel)

-Cutters (Anything that can cut through the plastic easily - scissors do not work well for this)

-Mag Float (this build uses the small model, but the medium model could be used to make a larger one)

MagRackStepMats.jpg

 

 

Step one:

Cutting the egg crate to size.

 

First lay out the egg crate to plan the cut.

MagRackStepPlancut.jpg

 

For a small size mag float, I recommend having the egg crate cut so that it will be 7 squares x 4 squares in size. The red line indicates the finished size, and the blue lines indicate the required cuts to make to insure the end result is 7x4 squares. (You may disregard these lines if you are using a larger mag float, however I do not recommend making the depth any more then 4 squares regardless of what mag float you are using).

MagRackStepCutlines.jpg

 

Next, cut the egg crate out so that you leave little waste on the sheet of egg crate, and long prongs on the piece to be used for your mag float. These will be trimmed after. This just helps to make your next project requiring egg crate less time consuming and messy. (I do not suggest cutting against a table like the following picture shows. I did this simply to take the photo as I do not have enough hands to hold it up to cut it and take the photo).

MagRackStepfirstcuts.jpg

 

When the first cuts are completed, your piece of egg crate should look like this:

MagRackStepfirstcutscomplete.jpg

 

Next, trim off the excess pieces of egg crate (the prongs around the edges).

MagRackStepCutExcess.jpg

 

The end result should look like this:

MagRackStepdonecuts.jpg

 

 

Step two:

Adhering the rack to the mag.

 

First, lay the internal half of the mag float (the half that sits in the tank) on top of the egg crate with the cleaning (abrasive) end facing away from the crate. This will allow you to line up the egg crate and the mag float to insure your gluing surfaces will meet as expected.

MagRackStepgluedsit.jpg

MagRackStepcheckfit.jpg

 

Next, remove the mag float and get ready to glue. The lines I used to adhere all of my mag-racks are as follows:

MagRackStepplanglue.jpg

 

Apply a moderate bead of glue along the egg crate where it will be meeting the mag float.

MagRackStepapplyglue.jpg

 

The amount of glue should look similar to this:

MagRackStepcheckglue.jpg

 

Next, press it onto the mag float. Be sure to line it up correctly before making contact, and press down with moderate force, then hold the two pieces in place for 60 seconds. Then run a toothpick along the insides and outsides of all the squares making contact with the glue and the mag float. This will pull the excess glue up onto the walls of the egg crate making a more sturdy bond.

 

The end result should look like this:

MagRackStepshowglue.jpg

 

I then suggest leaving the mag float/egg crate to sit (mag float on top) for 15min to insure the bond is secure before entering it into the aquarium.

MagRackStepcheckfit2.jpg

 

After you are done and ready to place the mag-rack into the aquarium, insure to hold the rack portion of the mag-rack against the inner wall of your aquarium, then gently place the external part of the mag float against the outer glass of your tank until they meet. Never allow the mag-rack's magnets to slam into one another on, or off your aquarium as it could damage the mag-rack, or the aquarium itself.

 

CONGRATULATIONS!

You have just completed your DIY Mag-Rack!

RCTopShot.jpg

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Wow, TJ, what a super tutorial!!

 

Thank you so much! This is such a great trick to know, and I really appreciate the detail you gave to each step, as I've never been familiar enough with either eggcrate or superglue gel to be comfortable I'm doing it the "right" way.

 

This is definitely going into the special keepers file!

 

If you ever think of more simple tutorials to offer, let me know. :D

 

[Just one question--what if we can't find clippers, glue, & magfloats that are color-coordinated? (J/K--see first pic. :) ) ]

 

Wow! :D

 

--Diane

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Wow, TJ, what a super tutorial!!

 

Thank you so much! This is such a great trick to know, and I really appreciate the detail you gave to each step, as I've never been familiar enough with either eggcrate or superglue gel to be comfortable I'm doing it the "right" way.

 

This is definitely going into the special keepers file!

 

If you ever think of more simple tutorials to offer, let me know. :D

 

[Just one question--what if we can't find clippers, glue, & magfloats that are color-coordinated? (J/K--see first pic. :) ) ]

 

Wow! :D

 

--Diane

 

I'm gald you like it and find it usefull! As far as color coordination... uh, it was unplanned but made for good tutorial pics! They don't have to be though, the mag-rack will still work ;)

 

 

NICE JOB! I love the frag rack! I'll definitely be using that!

 

They do come in handy! I tried to get some from Sushi, but I couldn't get a large enough order together for him to ship to Canada :( so this was my only other option really.

 

Nice write up.

 

I'm coming to Canada to do a little fishing, and pick up some corals.

 

No sweat, let me know when you will be down here and I will have them ready for you. I actually mades some small frags of 2 of my sps last night.

 

Wish I had room for a mag rack. You should patent that invention :)

 

I think Sushi should get the patent ;)

But my idea is kind of cool too lol...

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