uchiha's Via Aqua 18g

finally, i got the one tank that i've always wanted! i purchased from a fellow reefer who used this tank to win tank of the month a while back. i have big shoes to fill! jk

it was setup a while ago and has been cycling ever since. it's just about near the end of the cycle so i'm going to start transferring everything that i've accumulated from my nano-cube into this tank in a couple of days.

here's a list of equipment:

• 1x prism deluxe protein skimmer + surface skimmer
  
• 1x millennium 2000 filter (converted to fuge)
  
• 1x maxijet 1200
  
• 1x minijet 606 + Hydor Flow-Director *updated*
  
• 1x visitherm 50w heater
  
• 2x 36w lighting, *updated to 150w MH + 36w PC, read thread
  
• for more info & pix!!
  
• 25 lbs LR + 10 lbs LS
  

here's my "Hefty" clean-up crew + fish: (updated 11/18/04)

• 1x green lettuce nudibranch
  
• 6x dwarf blue leg hermit crabs
  
• 12x scarlet reef hermit crabs
  
• 2x emerald crabs
  
• 1x sally lightfoot crab
  
• 13x nassarius snails
  
• 8x astrea snails
  
• 5x margarita snails
  
• 12x cerith snails
  
• 4x bumble bee snails
  
• 2x florida fighting conchs
  
• 2x blood "fire" shrimp
  
• 1x bicolor blennie
  

and finally, a pic! took me a while to aquascape, cuz pieces were too big, but i like how it looks now, so i think i'll leave it

pic of the "mini-fuge" added a makeshift baffle so that flow doesn't get all crazy in there...got some red grape macro + chaeto, couple pieces of LR rubble with a 1.5'' sand bed. for now, it gets light from the main tank, but i'm gona find one of those 9w clip on things later...

Looking sweet ... can't wait to see the progess.

Dude, it looks great! I've always liked the via aqua 18 gal... good choice!

looking good dood

I see a spooky face in your rockwork!

real nice bro. hide the heater behind the rocks! i like the border of the picture :0

Very nice rockwork and a sharp looking tank. Agreed on the hide the heater post above. Maybe put it in the fuge if you can make room?

i've hid the heater in the empty area in the skimmer... tank has already finished cycling (about a week ago), and i'm starting to transfer stuff over from my nano-cube. i'm also upgrading the lighting to a 150w MH retrofit from LampDr. (highly recommended seller!!)

as for the fuge, i got no room for it. i'm just gona have to make do with the mini-fuge in the filter i'm getting lots of pods in the tank already so i'm happy w/that...

thanks for the replies. within a couple days i'll post some new pix of the tank & setup...

i'll update soon!!

Your mini-fuge is crazy! And I like the your aquascaping. I'm a big fan of clean looking rock work. Keep us updated!

OK!! time for an update with some progress!!!

LOTS OF PIX, 56k ppl be warned!!!

first, here's a shot of the retrofitted hood. i bought a 20k 150w DE HQI metal halide setup from LampDr, and mounted it inside the hood. first time i tested it, it cracked my UV protected glass... (i was too stupid not to buy tempered glass). anyways, i have a fan blowing on it now and it's MUCH cooler, no more cracked glass, and lower temps across the hood.

one day or another i'll jam in the extra 36w to see if it will fit, i'm really scared of overheating and the glass shattering so i'm going to leave it as it is for now... i am VERY satisfied with this retro, all that's left for me to do is buy some tempered glass

now here's a shot of my tank...

i know that tank is still young, and it seems stocked already... but i've become diligent enough to catch anything that might endanger water quality and the health of my inhabitants.

a closer shot of the tank

blue florida rics

my metallic green brain

some of my slow growing "golden" zoo's

my "electric blue" crocea clam... it used to be in my nano-cube (88w of PC...had it there for about 1.5 months), now it's under the 150w halide, and from what i can tell, it's as beautiful now as when i had it under PC's...

small frags of red & green monti caps, with some red sea "pulsing" xenia in the background...

a shot of the various zoanthid colonies i've managed to collect.

they keep getting tossed around since i suck w/epoxy... i'm hoping in a couple weeks the mats will cover surrounding rocks and it will naturally take hold onto the rock. hopefully by the end of the year these guys will be growing all over the place

my lovely true percula clown... she eats like a pig!

nice shot of my blood shrimp... i have a pair of them in the tank.

Some Tank Specs as of 9/27/04

Equipment:

1x150w HQI DE MH running 20k Ushio bulb

1xPrizm Deluxe Protein Skimmer

1xMillenium 2000 HOB filter

1xMinijet 606 with Hydor flow deflector

1xMaxijet 1200 wired to a "random" timer

Livestock:

5 scarlet hermits

6 nass. snails

6 cerith snails

1 "red" emerald crab

2 blood "fire" shrimp

1 true percula clown

1 "Electric Blue" Crocea Clam

Corals:

Metallic Green Brain

Various Zoanthids

Red & Green Monti Caps

Encrusting Monti

Red Sea Xenia

Actinodiscus (shrooms)

Orange & Yellow Tubastrea

Red & Orange Gorgonia

Blue Florida Ricordeas

Green Hammer

Green Star Polyps

Some sort of frogspawn

Small frag of branching digi

How many inches is your tank's height? Does your clam get enough lighting from just the 150w at the bottom?

distance between light & clam is about 18''

the clam shows good mantle extension, and colors are as vibrant as ever... to me, it seems very healthy, i have yet to see any loss of color or deterioration in the clam.

here's a pic of its mantle more "fully" expanded

Looks nice. How's the temperature holding with that 150W MH?

Cyber