The tank that robbed me!

[quy_nquyen]

this is now my 3rd tank. hopefully this one will be a keeper

 

the first tank was WAY too huge, the 2nd tank was WAY too small and the 3rd tank seems to be JUST RIGHT.

 

For the last 4-5 weeks ive been using a 6 gallon to cycle the sand and rocks. I checked water parameters yesterday and

 

Ammonium: 0 ppm

Nitrte: 0 ppm

Nitrate: 0 ppm

 

basicly i spend the night (11-1am) moving everything from the 6 gallon into the 12

 

 

if you look in the picture you can see that i have cut part of the black covering. I read "steelhealr" thread and decided that i would create a refugium, where i would keep my chaeto.

 

speaking of which does anyone around the los Angeles area have any they can spare or sell? i would really appreciate it.

 

here are few pictures of the back

 

 

 

when i bought the 12g AP it came with some filter media. i was wondering if anyone can tell me what they are, do and if i needed them. i took out the sponge and will not be using it. although i might cut a really thin layer to block the chaeto from breaking off and getting stuck in the pump.

 

 

i picked up two cleaner shrimps today as well as 5 snails for clean up(i have a BIG feeling that im going to need more )

 

 

 

i havent aquascaped at all. the water is sitll a bit milky but from the looks of it, it should be clear tomorrow, which is when i'll aquascape.

 

this is what it looks like right now.

 

[ufdent98]

keep up the reports with pictures!

steve

[soundman]

i took out the sponge and will not be using it. although i might cut a really thin layer to block the chaeto from breaking off and getting stuck in the pump.

I cut off a little piece of the sponge to do the same thing in my AP12. Looks like you're off to a pretty good start. The only thing I've seen that I'd be concerned about is that the edges of your AP12 seem to be hanging over the edge of your desk that it's sitting on (in your last picture). I think I'd cut a sturdy piece of wood slightly large than the tanks's footprint to go under it and support the whole thing eqaually. Just my $0.02.

[quy_nquyen]

ufdent98 - i sure will

 

soundman - i was thinking about putting a pirce of rock under it because it's basicly sticking out about a quarter inch in both side, but i thoughtit would be fine without a pirce of wood under it? but if you guys think it might cause my tank to crack then when i have a few freinds over i'll have them lift up the tank so i can insert a piece of wood underneith. Thanks for being observant

[soundman]

The Aquapods don't seem to have nearly the cracking problems that the Nano-Cubes did, but I wouldn't want to put any unnecessary stress on the glass. Maybe just a case of "better-safe-than-sorry", but I'd hate to be "sorry". Before you have someone lift the tank to slide something under it, I would deffinately siphon out as much water as I could first.

[Phixion]

Looks good so far! 2 cleaners might be much though, i have one in my AP12g.

 

As for the filter media, put all of it aside and use L/R rubble, and then the chaeto for the fuge and that's pretty much all you need really media wise. You can keep the sponge, but block off the lower intake grates to have the surface skimmer work more efficiently and better, and remember to wash out the sponge AT LEAST once a week as it'll be come a nitrate factory rather quickly if not maintained. Good luck!! Check out my AP12 about a page or two down in the member aquarium forum.

[quy_nquyen]

soundman - great thinking i was actaully going to remove the water and then have 2 friends lift up the tank while i slide in a piece of wood (the easy part ) i wouldnt want to be "sorry", because i cant afford another tank

 

Phixion - i got two of them because my girlfriend didnt want the shrimp to be "lonely" do you know what i can use to block off the water from entering the bottom?

 

 

i was wondering if it's normal for a shrimp to molt so soon? I just got it yesterday and this morning when i got up i saw the shell

 

sorry for the crappy picture, im still trying to learn how to use the camar

[Phixion]

Yeah it's normal. They can molt from stress, or maybe it was ready to anyways. Mine molted the first time for me a week after I got it.

 

Any flat thin piece of plastic (many use cassette tape holders for this) will work as long as it completely covers all the slat openings.

[quy_nquyen]

Yeah it's normal. They can molt from stress, or maybe it was ready to anyways. Mine molted the first time for me a week after I got it.

 

Any flat thin piece of plastic (many use cassette tape holders for this) will work as long as it completely covers all the slat openings.

 

 

but then there's water in the tank, so how would i attach anything to the opening?

[Phixion]

but then there's water in the tank, so how would i attach anything to the opening?

 

If you hold it up to the opening on the DISPLAY side of the grates, then the suction from the intake should hold it in place without needing adhiesives.

[ezcompany]

good looking tank shawn, lemme know if you want my fire shrimp, i'm trying to get rid of him

[Phixion]

EZcompany has top notch stuff that I've seen in person. You won't find a better priced fire shrimp around, and his is nice and healthy!

[quy_nquyen]

STUPID ME! i was adjusting the tubing which is attached to the pump WHILE it was on... as i was runing the black tube it angled out of the water and shot water at my laptop.... im going to leave the laptop off for a few days to let it dry and hopefully it'll still work. although scared and freaked out i am hopefull because this happened to my gf. she spilled a cup of water on her laptop and 3 days later it worked.

 

 

today i emptied out 80% of the water to insert a piece of wood under the tank, and thought "this would be a good time to cover the grates". i remembered last week i cleaned out my garage and found a bunch of CD cases and decided to cut one up. right now i have a small priece of the cd case wedge inside of the filter. I didnt have to use any form of adhiesives. As of right now it's blocking all water from entering the lower grates. Hopefully this will help clean the surface of the water much more efficient (i will post pics later) so come back or a ninja will kill you no joke

 

Jin - thanks for the offer but i already have one too many but do you know where i can get some EE zoo (for cheap) around the LA area? im just looking for a TINY frag of it.

[MiNiReFeRx]

thats sucks, tank looks good what kind of corals do you plan on keeping

[ezcompany]

i'll make you a $15 frag if you want of my EEs.

need to frag it anyways.

[quy_nquyen]

i'll make you a $15 frag if you want of my EEs.

need to frag it anyways.

 

 

that would be great!!! just let me know when you frag em

[quy_nquyen]

here's a piece of the cd case that i used to wedge in the filter to stop water from entering.

 

 

(this piece goes on the INSIDE of the filter)

 

sufface aggitation?

 

fts - tank should be clear by tomorrow. orginally i only had 6 lbs of rock. I added 6 more lbs of lr today. i need to rescape

[Phixion]

I've had that happen during water changes when I walk away from the tank without securing the tube from the pump in my fresh SW bucket, to the tank... But water on the carpet is nothing close to a laptop. Yeah, give it a few days and it should be alright hopefully...

 

Funny how I hand out advice and tips that I should be doing myself, lol... :-x

[quy_nquyen]

as of right now my laptop turns works for the most part. the keyboard doesnt seem to be working. but im glad that everything else SEEMS to be okay. i guess i can always get a keyboard for my laptop

 

 

today i picked up two coral. some fire and ice zoa at the fish store for 10. i need help taking better pictures. any tip for a canon sd630?

 

 

and i picked up some xenia from Matt(gotfish). GREAT FRAG. i was expecting a single head, but he gave me 3 heads. when i put them in my tank they began pumping right away!

 

 

and we cant forget about the fts. i rescaped, and put the xenia on the sand. couldnt find a good place on the rocks to put it because the xenia is on some rectangle block. by putting it on the sand i was able to use the sand and cover the block..

 

the temp of my tank was at 86 this afternoon next weekend when i have time im going to take the hood apart and install a fan to blow into the tank.

 

do anyone else with the 12g aquapod have this type of heat problem, and what have you done to solve the problem WITHOUT getting a chiller (too much money)

[quy_nquyen]

i checked temp this morning and it was 79. 7 degrees temp swing? how bad is this?

[Phixion]

i checked temp this morning and it was 79. 7 degrees temp swing? how bad is this?

 

Swings more than 3 degrees in a 24 hour period is BAD! I've had as much as a 9 degree swing (86 down to 77) in a 12 hour period once, and everything made it just fine. But if I remember right you're close to where I am? my tank when I first had it would hit 86 AT NIGHT with no lights on. I had to end up getting an ICA cooler ($90 from Nanocustoms.com) and now my tank is usually in the 81 bracket.

 

Some things to try though, cut the inner slats of the fan vents to improve air flow. Make the fans blow OUT to evacuate as much of the hot air from the hood as possible. Add a 2nd fan to the empty vent on the left side of the hood and have that one blow OUT as well. Also if you haven't yet, upgrade the pump to an MJ900 (MaxiJet 900). It has half the power consumption as the stock pump, so it'll run cooler. But living where you do, you probably may end up needing to get the ICA cooler unfortunately. Also check out www.aquatek-california.com They sell these cooling fans that you can attach externally to your tank. I bought one to sit over the left side vent (where my ICA is) to pull the excess heat from off the hood that the ICA creates to do it's cooling since I'm using the no longer available high powered power supply for the ICA. The fan works great to keep the temps down from that. I have it sucking the air and blowing it UP away from the hood. It sits about "1/8 of an inch above the fan vent. Tank as I type this is 80.8F One last thing for heat, you gotta run your A/C 24/7 pretty much. If you can keep the room the tank is in to around 77-78F at ALL times, that'll keep the heat down for sure as the tank will be easier to cool the lower the ambient room temp is. Good luck!

[quy_nquyen]

my tank when I first had it would hit 86 AT NIGHT with no lights on. I had to end up getting an ICA cooler

 

i thought chillers would be like 200+ but 100 after shipping is not a bad investment.

 

on the website they said that the chiller can lower the tank by 5-6 degrees. Phixion did you find this to be true?

 

im going to cut the innerslate later today. any tips on how to take the hood apart? and later this week i should be adding a fan to suck air into the tank to assist the orginal fan.

[Phixion]

i thought chillers would be like 200+ but 100 after shipping is not a bad investment.

 

on the website they said that the chiller can lower the tank by 5-6 degrees. Phixion did you find this to be true?

 

im going to cut the innerslate later today. any tips on how to take the hood apart? and later this week i should be adding a fan to suck air into the tank to assist the orginal fan.

 

Yes, definitely true in my situation! As for taking the hood apart, there's 10 screws that hold on the clear plastic splash guard. Then there's 6 screws (4 main and on per bulb holder clip) that hold the mirrored reflector on. Once you remove the bulbs and pull that off, you'll be inside the hood! pretty easy to take that all off.

 

For the ICA keep in mind that it's very reasonably priced, but it DOES require modding and cutting of the hood for it to fit and install. Email Chris at nanotuners for any questions on it and let him know that I refered you to them. =) I actually purchased the first ICA for the AP12g and I along with another member (DRoy) helped Chris sort of beta test the unit out and refine the installation proceedures and finding the best way for the unit to work and chill to it's best potential.

[quy_nquyen]

phixion thanks so much for the help. i will definitely put an order in for the chiller and let chris know you referred me. you've been such a help and i dont even know your name

[Phixion]

haha, it's Matt and no worries. That's the great thing about reefing. You get a little then in time you can give a little!