Our first reef, 10g Nano, (Verde-bay) in Charleston SC

[Toby Flenderson]

Not yet but it's about time. Maybe that will be tonights project.

[divecj5]

Hey man....just catching up on things since I wasn't able to surf the forum for a while. Looks like things have been going great with your tank and congrats on the cleanup crew....I bet you never thought that snails and crabs could be so exciting It looks like they've already started going to town on some of the glass and sand.

 

I saw your post on my thread and also another topic that you were asking about algae on rocks and your sand bed. This is a natural progression....although you may not see any more spikes in NH3 or NO2, there will be small algae blooms in your tank over the next couple of months. It usually starts off with with a brown diatomaceous bloom that will be brown and then you will start seeing some green algae.

 

Honestly, algae is one of those things that it is better not to have in this hobby but certain amounts aren't a bad thing. Just make sure to continue to do some reading on bad algae (caulerpa, etc.) to make sure that if you do see this type propping up, you can get a handle on it.

 

Looking forward to seeing this come along for you....tank looks great.

[airman_verde04]

Hey folks,

Ok, so I've been giving my tank some room to do its thing. give it its first water change last week, and this week I plan on giving it a 25% water change this week. No plans for any coral anytime soon other than the hitchhikers I have in the tank. I started feeding the lone zoo in my tank, hopefully he will start colonizing soon so I can frag him and move some of the zoos to a different part of the tank. anyways, I dont see any of that happening for a while, so just to the near future.

 

It should be fish time soon, about 2 more weeks and I'll be picking up some fish! more than likely it will be 2 clowns or a clown and a clown goby, I just want to some fish who will play together, and who are hardy, I've read that clown gobys are a bit of a picky eater, but my wife wants a yellow fish.. so we shall see. for now. here is a picture of my Cleaner Shrimp, she finaly came out to play! she likes hanging out upside down alot. anyhoo..

 

Heres Pinky hanging out!

[divecj5]

Looking good David and it sounds like you've got a nice plan for yourself laid out. It may seem like a long wait to start adding things now but it will come soon enough.

[Carolinapico]

Yeah waiting for the tank to get established can be kinda boring. Do it right do it once though! Looks like you are on your way to having a sucessful little reef, can't wait to see how it turns out.

[xxReidxx]

the aquascaping looks sweet

[PodRod]

Hey folks,

Ok, so I've been giving my tank some room to do its thing. give it its first water change last week, and this week I plan on giving it a 25% water change this week. No plans for any coral anytime soon other than the hitchhikers I have in the tank. I started feeding the lone zoo in my tank, hopefully he will start colonizing soon so I can frag him and move some of the zoos to a different part of the tank. anyways, I dont see any of that happening for a while, so just to the near future.

 

It should be fish time soon, about 2 more weeks and I'll be picking up some fish! more than likely it will be 2 clowns or a clown and a clown goby, I just want to some fish who will play together, and who are hardy, I've read that clown gobys are a bit of a picky eater, but my wife wants a yellow fish.. so we shall see. for now. here is a picture of my Cleaner Shrimp, she finaly came out to play! she likes hanging out upside down alot. anyhoo..

 

Heres Pinky hanging out!

 

 

I'm finally back in town and trying to catch up. Wow, your tank is really coming along. It looks like Pinky has her/his station ready for business!

 

Although the cycling process can be difficult due to the waiting, it is worth it and you will be thankful in the long run. I'm so happy to see that you are taking your time and doing it right. You have already bypassed one of the biggest mistakes in the hobby.

 

I always like to see clowns go in a tank first since they are very peaceful. Other fish can be a little more aggressive so adding the clowns first allows them to establish territory and to be the "first kids on the block". I hope you decide on a pair since a loner clown always looks so - well - alone. I have tried the clown gobies a couple of times with no success because they simply would not eat.

 

I can't wait to meet you and Melissa and to see your tank. We'll have to get together soon. I have a small zoa frag waiting for you when your tank is ready as a tank warming gift

 

From the pics you've posted, the tank is looking great and don't worry about the algae. It's part of the process and will go away with time.

 

Keep the updates coming!

[airman_verde04]

Hey everyone! just wanted to add some updates! I've been NOT-hard at work with the tank, now that it has cycled, it has been very stable! My Xiena are trying to take over the rock they live on, but I'm trying to keep them down for alittle bit till my one and only Zoa poylop grows a few more so I can frag them and move them else where (something I'm not educated on yet to do)

 

The only thing I'm working on is bringing up the calium level to where it needs to be.. Other than that! its almost fish time! so I have a QT set up, its a... 5g.................ok 3.. but they should only be in there for about 1 week, and the clowns are tank raised, they are so small!!! haha, anyways, yeah yeah yeah, I know I know.. thats really small for a pair of clowns.. but its just for a week at most 2 to make sure they aren't sick.. please dont send PETA or whatever those people who put animal abusers in jail..

 

ANYHOO!! so I wanted to make my tank a little less ghetto, so I did a little revamping to the lights, I took one set of the 3 LED's off the tank, took part my lighting system, drilled a few holes, cut some wire, added some tape, turned up the power to a full 12watts, and wahla! 3 LED's conseled by the casing of my nova extreme, it looks a thousand times better now! and the light show is still just as awesome at night, so thats all that really matters! anyways, here are a few pictures. ENJOY!

 

heres a picture of my QT Eclipse 3 (future office tank)

 

heres the new sleek non-ghetto light front shot!

BEFORE

AFTER!!!!

where the wiring for the LEDs come out of the light casing

LEDs new home!

[evilc66]

ANYHOO!! so I wanted to make my tank a little less ghetto, so I did a little revamping to the lights, I took one set of the 3 LED's off the tank, took part my lighting system, drilled a few holes, cut some wire, added some tape, turned up the power to a full 12watts, and wahla!

 

12W? Or do you mean 12V? If you meant volts, what where you running them at before?

[airman_verde04]

12W? Or do you mean 12V? If you meant volts, what where you running them at before?

 

haha.. yeah, 12v, it was running 6 LED's at 6v if i'm not mistaking, it was way way to much power with so many lights for such a small tank at 12v, so I turned down the power, but now with 3 lights its full blast and looks great!!

[divecj5]

Looks great man....love the DIY work on this tank. Considering I am always a little wary of doing this type of thing myself, great work. Looks loads better than the taped on look before

 

It's looking like this weekend isn't going to work out for meeting up. With Father's Day and other stuff, just no time for fun things.

 

Once your zoas get a little bigger, Karen and I will have to show you have to do some fragging. It's easier than you think, believe me. Just takes some knowledge on what steps to take and some practice.

[evilc66]

haha.. yeah, 12v, it was running 6 LED's at 6v if i'm not mistaking, it was way way to much power with so many lights for such a small tank at 12v, so I turned down the power, but now with 3 lights its full blast and looks great!!

 

So, you are running 3 lights at 6v or 12v? Your post was a little confusing. If they were running at 6v before and you are running them at 12v now, you are going to run into problems. You will burn out the LEDs very quickly. I would suggest turning it back to 6v. Unlike an incandescent bulb, you can just get more brightness out of an LED just by cranking up the voltage. You severely shorten the life of the LED. If you want more brightness from LEDs, you need brighter LEDs, or more of them.

[airman_verde04]

So, you are running 3 lights at 6v or 12v? Your post was a little confusing. If they were running at 6v before and you are running them at 12v now, you are going to run into problems. You will burn out the LEDs very quickly. I would suggest turning it back to 6v. Unlike an incandescent bulb, you can just get more brightness out of an LED just by cranking up the voltage. You severely shorten the life of the LED. If you want more brightness from LEDs, you need brighter LEDs, or more of them.

 

thanks for the info, but I was turning the power down before just due to the fact how bright the lights were, and I had six of them. but this LEDs are for use on a motorcycle, they were extras I didn't use on for my ground effects on my bike.. they are 12v LED's. I'm planning on putting them on a timer though so they aren't running 24/7 soon.

[Keanu Reefs]

I scanned through and didn't see any answers on using the fiberfill for filter floss. This is what I use and it costs like $3.00 for a big bag compared to $9.00 for a hand full from the LFS. You can get this at Wal-mart and probably Target etc.

 

If you don't go with this brand look for 2 things:

hypoallergenic and NON-flame retardent. you don't want the chemicals they use for making things flame retardent in your tank.

 

I just pull a hand full and stick it in my 1st chamber which has my inlet grate attached to it so it's the first thing the water filters through. i change mine every 4 days because it traps alot of crap in that amount of time. I have a 12g nano running a MaxiJet 900 and a Koralia Nano

 

[airman_verde04]

I scanned through and didn't see any answers on using the fiberfill for filter floss. This is what I use and it costs like $3.00 for a big bag compared to $9.00 for a hand full from the LFS. You can get this at Wal-mart and probably Target etc.

 

If you don't go with this brand look for 2 things:

hypoallergenic and NON-flame retardent. you don't want the chemicals they use for making things flame retardent in your tank.

 

I just pull a hand full and stick it in my 1st chamber which has my inlet grate attached to it so it's the first thing the water filters through. i change mine every 4 days because it traps alot of crap in that amount of time. I have a 12g nano running a MaxiJet 900 and a Koralia Nano

 

HAHA, thats so awesome!! Keauna Reefs! I get it!! anyhoo, thanks man, I'll take a mental note for next time! I picked up some filter floss on sale at the LFS for like 4 bucks for a pillow size bag..

[airman_verde04]

Hello everyone! well, my tank is one month old! one month of learning, one month of hitchhiker softies, one month of more water tests than I think most large tank reefers do in a year, and most importantly one month of no fish!! so I've had our QT tank up for about a week now! and all water levels match the main tanks. WE ARE SO EXCITED!!! so tomorrow, Melisa and I are off to the LFS for some fish adopting!! Did we mention they are on SALE!! haha, I love when the have coupons for sales with the fishies! anyhoo, we will post pictures as soon as they are in their new and temporary home. HAPPY ONE MONTH OLD VERDE BAY!

[divecj5]

Congrats on the one month anniversary of the tank....time flies by with these little tanks.

 

It's always exciting to get new fish for these tanks, just make sure that Chris or someone at Tideline (if that's where you're getting it) feed them before you decide which one to get. Also, make sure to spend a couple of minutes inspecting it, watching the interactions with other fish, etc.

 

Look forward to hearing what you guys get.

[airman_verde04]

OK Everyone!! So we opted not to QT the fish, They are tank raised and have been at the shop for about a month now. Not to mention they have a superb reputation, if they say the fish have had no signs of anything bad, I Trust them! anyhoo, so after about 2 hours of drip acclamation, anyhoo. here are the newest members of the family!! Lemon and Tiger! tank bred Ocallaris Clowns. Lemon is the smaller of the two, and Tiger is this larger of the pair, she also has a darker orange to her.. they are very cute!

 

For some reason they are staying in the back part of the tank, but we just figure they are still getting used to their new home

FTS with Lemon and Tiger

Lemon and Tiger looking at them selves! hehe, their so cute

our Xeina, they have grown alot since first putting the rock in the tank.

[PodRod]

Yeah - fish have arrived! Glad to see you opted for a pair. Tideline QT's all their fish (and corals for that matter) so you should have nothing to fear. Great looking pair btw!!!

[oldsun]

The tank is looking great and your clowns are awesome. Wish I lived near that LFS.

[divecj5]

Congrats on the fish....they look great. Definitely don't take them hanging out in the back of the tank as a bad thing....it will just take them a while to get used to the tank, stake out their territory, and get used to the rock, etc. Before too long, they will be swooping in and out of the middle rock that you have there.

 

I have found that clownfish tend to exhibit really strange behavior sometimes, hence the name. When I first put mine in the tank, they would swim up and down the front edge of the tank....maybe trying to figure out their glass boundaries. They also tend to sleep in the back corner sometimes upside down...crazy fish for sure

[airman_verde04]

Well just got home, it hasn't been 3 full days since we got our fish, don't think they are the cause of this, but looks like algae is wanting to grow on the sand bed, we're starting to get some good coralline growth on the center piece rock, it wasn't live rock, but its starting to turn to the dark side of the force, (or get some good growth in there to make it into an awesome piece of LR) anyhoo, tomorrow is water change day. We found a city RO system, spoke to a few of the local large tank reefers, and a few of the LFS workers. sounds like its a pure source, so we are going to start toping off with the RO water, I have 15 gallons, each in 5 gallon jugs, we added some prime, to get rid of any traces of chlorine added if any, just to play it safe, but 5 gallons will last us over a month just for topping off,

 

Starting to look at getting a ATO, I want to do a DIY, so I'll start looking into that soon, also! after our mini vacation at the first of July, We're going to start mixing our own salt water, I'm a little nervous, but I think it will be ok. Just need to go get a pump for mixing, and an extra heater. SO if any of you local folks are planning on ordering soon, since salt mix is $10 more at the LFS than online, I think this is one of the few things I wont get from them, and then mixing our own RO/salt will make less trips to the LFS, which means, less money spent of fishy things. anyhoo.. I'll keep everyone posted on the algae war

[divecj5]

Hey David. Karen is looking at a new salt mix and I might try it out if she gives it a go as well. I am all about putting in orders together and saving on shipping, although Drs. F&S are really cheap on shipping and go by the amount you spend, not weight. So you can order 100 pounds worth of salt and it still will probably be $10-20 shipping.

[airman_verde04]

AUTO TOP OFF TIME!

 

Hey everyone, well Its been, oh well 3 days since my last update, not a lot going on with the tank really, no coral planned, the Fish are doing great, other than some Xeina I want to frag here soon, no major changes will be going on probably for the rest of the summer.. well, I'll be moving my lonely zoa as soon as I learn how to do it.

 

anyways, too the point of this update, Vacation time is coming up soon, and after realizing how much daily work my tank is, well, not that much, but just the little things like, oh, adding water because of the heat and the laws of nature. I came to the realization that I would be doing alot more worrying than enjoying any vacation I might have anytime soon.. SOOOooo! since the closet vacation coming up really only over laps on one water change, one day of feeding, really all i need to someone to add some water to my tank... well... know one will be do so since I'll be in VA for 2 days, then off to South Caks Capital for the 4th.. anyhoo. I need some insurance, so I started looking into the market of some ATO stuff.. well, since if I buy it online, I will still need a water pump, and thats like over 100 bucks!! the wife wont like that, major expensive with the tank are over for a while now that we have the fish.. SOOoo I have started on a DIY (before the 2nd of July) ATO system. I'm going to be using the air pump pressure-float switch design.. so (yeah, this is alot of reading to get to the good stuff.. sorry people.. )

 

matirials

 

- one battery powered Air pump $12

- tubing $2

- Juice bottle in the recycling bin -free (well the juice cost like $2, so lets just say then, $2)

_ Aquarium sealant $3

_ float switch from www.floatswitch.net $13 shipped (should be here by Friday)

 

so here is the progress I have so far..

 

here is the pump and the air tubing

sealant

ATO resivor water holding compartment (AKA juice bottle)

and so the work begins

here the top with the tubing in place

Add some Sealant

 

Thats as far as I got Today, tomorrow I'll be testing the air tightness and the water pressure and what not.. It wont be completed till I get the switch float.. I now need to figure out how I'm tastefully going to mount it to the tank, the wife doesn't like clutter on or around the tank.. come to mention it, nor do I..

 

MORE TO COME!!

[divecj5]

Cool man....loving all of your DIY work. So I'm assuming that the air pump is going to pump air into the juice container, increase the pressure in there, and thus push the water out the other end? Just make sure that there is enough power for it push the water up and out of the bottle and up and over the top of your tank.