A Whacked 40B Adventure

[Whacked]

Update time:

 

I placed a order in from John at reefcleaners.org

And typical of John, 5 star service and livestock.

Got a "few" more than I ordered

Good stuff! THANKS JOHN!

 

Then I ordered a pearly jawfish from a LFS. I picked him up yesterday 8/28

I wanted the jawfish to be the first fish in tank so it has a good chance of settling down with minimal stress.

 

So when I put him in my tank did he go to the cool, pre-made PVC home I made for him??? nooooooooo. He dug a hole in the back of the right side rock island. Sometime last nite he made a bigger home under the left island. he's still hiding out in there, all I can see is his eyeball.

 

But he made a mess and buried some dwarf ceriths. I rescued the snails this morning as I was picking some out for a friend.

 

Which now brings me to tankmates for my Jawfish. I've made a list of potential fish and would like some input.

 

Goby:

YWC or YCG (the YWG I had carpet surfed)

 

Firefish:

Purple or Helfrichi

I had a purple before and liked it. I really love the coloring of the Helfrichi

 

Wrasse:

Yellowfin Flasher

McCoskers Flasher

Red Tail Flasher

Carpenters Flasher

Labout's Fairy

Red Velvet

(Other suggestions under 4" ?)

 

I would prefer fish that are more peaceful temperment. I get enough aggression with my Cichlids.

 

So, input please

I am unfamiliar with any of the wrasses. I had a 6-line and he turned into a real mean SOB (killed my purple firefish)

[Whacked]

well I tore down the temp 15g I had. I was basically just boiling the LR in there as it was literally covered in GHA. I took the smaller rock from my 40b display and moved it to the sump/fuge and put the LR from the 15 into the display.

I had a few Zoa frags on a rack in the 15g, those were moved too.

They are Armor of God, Meteor Shower, Tubbs Blue, unknown purple, and 2 that are a bit sickly I forget what morph they are. Trying to nurse them back to health.

 

The biggest reason for tearing down the 15g and not keeping it for a QT/HT is time. Since i'm back in school I have to work my time management skills. I also only plan on getting fish/corals from a known/trusted source I don't feel the need for a QT.

 

Then I removed the 2 KN I had in the tank and added a K2. So now I have 2 K2's in display and put one of the KN in the 'fuge for more flow.

I also added a YCG. he is pretty dang cool the way he perches. He even perches on the glass? wierd.

Got a bag of chaeto from a fellow reefer, now theres pods everywhere lol.

 

Last friday I went to a fellow reefers house to score a free frag of Devil's hand.

Few hrs and several beers later he sent me home with not one free frag, but several!

gorgonia, blue waving hand/flower pot looking coral, GSP, monti green cap, blue mushroom, and a unknown zoo. the blue clove looking coral and GSP I glued to the back wall. Hopefully it will cover the wall entirely giving it a cool look.

 

I also picked up a nice frag of Green Bubble Coral.

 

My Yellowhead Jawfish has been MIA for almost a week. I know he is still around as the chunks of rock i've been dropping in has been slowly disappearing. This morning I caught a look at him briefly.

I didnt have any lights on so when I opened the 'fridge to get some milk I heard a splash. Kinda odd sound from my SW tank but typical from my cichlid so I looked. There he was chillin near the empty PVC home. Before he darted back into the LR I noticed that he appeared healthy, well at least he wasnt thin or pinched looking.

[SmittyCoco]

Honestly , this tank is great ! I am most intrigued by the thought process that went into it ! Great job. Do you really live in Stockton? Those pictures you posted look just like mf gf's apartment complex in Manteca. Shoot me a pm. What shops are good in Stockton?

[gabe3eb]

Honestly , this tank is great ! I am most intrigued by the thought process that went into it ! Great job. Do you really live in Stockton? Those pictures you posted look just like mf gf's apartment complex in Manteca. Shoot me a pm. What shops are good in Stockton?

No FTS after the new live stock? Common! Tank is looking great and you can tell you put a ton of thought and effort into setting it up. Keep it up.

[Whacked]

I'll take some shots this weekend.

My P&S camera works, sometimes, but think it has more life in it still.

[Whacked]

OK i'm pretty happy now.

My jawfish is in his 4th home now (still hasnt taken to the DIY home). When I first put him in he hid under the right island, then the left, then back to the right, now he is digging under my wall behind the left island. I didnt havethe wall go completely tothe bottom so he has just under 2" beneath the wall and almost 2" overhang.

 

Anyways, I saw hime come out of his home and do his rubble hunting last nite. He didnt dart back in when I got near the tank so guess he's getting used to me. I'm not sure if he's been eating (today is 2 weeks since I got him) so I dropped in a cube of mysis shimp. I didnt turn off the pump or powerheads but he did gobble up the shrimp as it floated by. he didnt look too thin or pinched so thats a good sign.

 

Just glad he was out yesterday and I actually did see him eat

[ajmckay]

Whacked, can you post more information on your overflow box? I am starting up a 40br and I'm in the process of designing the overflow and sump. I read HERE that you did a herbie style overflow through the back... That's pretty much what I'll be doing.

 

I posted some ideas on tigahboy's DIY overflow thread stickied in the DIY forum here (page 8).

 

I really like the idea of using a herbie, but I haven't seen any examples of having it through the back pane.

[Whacked]

ajmckay:

I dont think glass-holes makes their overflow box with the drains top/bottom in mind. Just food for thought, altho they will custom build a box for you.

I didn't use any elbows inside the tank. I would also make both drain the same diameter. You want to make sure the secondary can handle any additional flow should the main get clogged.

On the first page here, you can see a pic of how I drilled the holes. Also is the outline of the overflow box where it will be attached to the glass.

I went to Tap Plastics and had them cut the cell cast acrylic to my specs. I went 6"x4"x12". In hindsight I would either make the box go all the way to the bottom or go side to side as with my rock wall, it places 2" sand about 1" from the underside of the box & foam.

I used gate valves instead of ball valves. For one, much easier to turn and 2, soooooo much easier to control the flow. I think the gate valve was like $5 more than a ball valve. Very much worth the few extra dollars.

Here is a crappy pic of the back of the tank

you can see the bottom drain has a union and a gate valve, the top second drain is completely unrestricted.

I also used flex hose. it makes getting the hose out of the media box to change floss, etc. much easier. Otherwise I would have to take it apart at the union. too much a PITA.

Hope that helps you.

[ajmckay]

Hey thanks for the explanation....

 

I still have a ton to think about. I'm moving this weekend and taking next week off work to build a new setup... And unpack... but mostly to build a new setup. I'm set on using the herbie method, and I'm set on drilling the back pane. What I'm not set on is how I want to design the overflow. Of course I want it to be as minimally invasive as possible though, so I'm trying to make it as small as possible to maintain an un-cluttered look in the tank while maximizing flow.

 

Thanks for your help, I'll let you know how it turns out.

[Reefgeek]

Any pics of the mesh mod on the PS-75? I have one of those in the sump of my 40B and having issues tuning it. It's in about 7" of water and the best skimmate I can get is somewhat lipton iced tea colored. It's stock though, and I've been thinking about mesh modding it.

[Whacked]

no, no pics of the mod.

its pretty simple really. I tried fishing line, tiny zip ties but neither would work right for me. So I laid a line of superglue gel and its still holding just over a year now.

I get some dark nasty skimmate now.

[MGDMIRAGE]

Nice build can't wait to see more

[Whacked]

been awhile since I last updated this. lets see:

Fish:

nothing new really. I want to add more but taking my time to decide what to add next.

 

Inverts:

on 11/27 I picked up a 3.5" crocea clam from Twins Aquarium

on 11/30 I picked up a 6" or so black brittle star from Your Reef

 

Corals:

aside from what I already had listed elsewhere, I picked up several corals from a club member.

All are frags

a kryptonite zoa? havent fully ID'd it

Blue waving hand anthelia (attached to right side wall, starting to spread)

devil's hand leather (started to bleach but comming around slowly)

GSP (attached to left wall near jawfish home, spreading)

a gorgonia (aka the stick )

some sort of monti cap, forget the name but starting to spread on frag plug. pale green in color

 

recently I picked up a green bubble coral from Kalypso Aquatics

A kenya tree (the gift that keeps on giving. well it was free at least)

and today I picked up a 1.5" frag on Karl's Candle Light acro from Your Reef.

 

I want to make a run to H20 Exclusives and perhaps Jo Jo's and see what frags they have.

 

still battling the GHA (does it EVER end????) but at least it starting to brown out so i'm taking that as a sign that i'm winning. I'm starting to see some signs of caulerpa so I rip that out as soon as I see any.

 

I really really need to get a new camera to take some decent pics.

Homework and upcomming finals are on my mind so thats a priority.

[RyanR1212]

you got a nice tank going!! i wanna get some pics of the corals you got in there though..

 

but all together it looks great.. you did a great job making it with such little resources.. and i like the jawfish.. they are awesome

[Whacked]

Took a few pics today.

 

Found a hitchiking starfish early this morning. no lights so used the flash. its on my return pump power cord

 

Blue waving hand. the bulb is what I started with back in September

 

Assorted Frags. Zoa's, Devil's Hand Leather, Gorgonia, pissed Kenya Tree (cleaner shrimp just made his rounds), Green Bubble Coral (some reason the bubbles are shrinking, and not because my brittle star knocked it face down into the sand)

 

My Yellow Clown Goby (the PVC pipe in my rock/foam wall is 3/4")

 

My Crocea Clam. brittle star knocked him around a bit too, almost completely tearing its foot off

 

And my favorite (No, not the GSP), the Pearly Jawfish.

No Construction permit, No Grading Permit, No Mining Permit, No Geotechnical report, No Drainage plans, No engineering calcs. Hope the Building Dept City officials dont see this home

[ScottB]

And my favorite (No, not the GSP), the Pearly Jawfish.

No Construction permit, No Grading Permit, No Mining Permit, No Geotechnical report, No Drainage plans, No engineering calcs. Hope the Building Dept City officials dont see this home

 

Love the Jawfish. His redecorating looks a lot neater then the engineer goby that I inherited with my tanks. He made an absolute mess of my tank.

[Whacked]

Thanks

I love my jawfish. he's the reason why I haven't added any more fish. I want another fish but I want something mellow so not to freak him out. Still haven't decided yet

[cruzH20polo]

i just did a quick read through

looking good, going back to building my sump I would have set up the chambers like yours

Good work keep it up

[adam87]

any updates?

[Singlefin]

2 years later?