Degener8's BC29

[violinist]

Rubberband it.

[Degener8]

Gonna get the razor blades tomorrow and get it removed. Cant really rubber band it but i am going to use the fishing line method to hold it in place.. in a few weeks i will remove the line.

[Degener8]

OK so been a few days so its time for a little update and a couple pics.

 

I removed the frag plug from the Toad stool leather. I basically used a razor blade and cut straight down on every side of the toad and the frag plug broke right off. This left a little plug right under the stem to use the epoxy on to attach to the rock work.. Its happy and so am I.

 

 

Everything is currently going great in the tank.

The water parameters are doing extremely well (not measuring calcium or other traces since not heavily sps stocked or anything)

 

I am doing 2x 3 gal water changes a week as normal regiment running chem pure in the back and got some cheato in the center fuge section.

 

FTS

 

Little close up of candy cane/leather/some pallys and zoas/pink encrusting gorgonia ont he right.

The top head of the candy cane was damaged quite some time ago but lately it has been expanding and I think its starting to regain some size.Pretty happy to see that happening lately.

 

The 2 perc's in there are getting along pretty well. The darker orange on is turning more dominant so as long as it doesnt kill the lighter one I am sure it will be the female eventually. (the dark one is really not picking much on the smaller one so not worried about the chasing much at the moment.)

 

Future stocking plans:

Fish will likely be another diamond goby. Then no more fish in here.

 

Corals Zoas. I was hoping to have a decent selection of zoas in the tank before my wife leaves for basic training but currently I dont think that will happen. Money is required in other areas at the moment.

After I have a decent collection of Zoas I would like one or 2 different plate corals and a frogs Spawn or hammer coral. Then this tank will be on permanent grow out and trimming modes (I hope).

[Squeaky]

[Squeaky]

Grabbed a great shot of one of the clowns......

 

[nemmy]

Did the shark die? :-(

[Degener8]

One of the clowns ate the shark, Gave him indigestion and he died. But on to other news. Other than one of the clowns dieing the tank is doing great. Got in some new zoas from ednangel and will be sending out some $$ to moto tonight for some more as we had arranged. I plan to place one possibly 2 more zoa orders to get a nice assortment and a few more softies in there and then it will just start grow out mode for a while.

 

I will replace the clown but with something else *I think my dominant clown killed him) as well I will eventualoly get another diamond goby for the tank.

 

Updated pics tonight or tomorrow. Things are maturing a bit. : )

[nemmy]

One of the clowns ate the shark, Gave him indigestion and he died.

 

Clowns sure are fierce.

Looking forward to pictures.

[Degener8]

 

Sorry if the white is a bit high.. silly point and shoot camera I could not get it to balance right today.

 

I know its been a long while to update but here is the new FTS above.So this is whats happened and whats in the works.

 

Had to cut and move the Kenya since it was stinging the candycanes. (New kenya nub growing where i cut it from)

 

Encrusting gorgonias are all attaching to their rocks they are placed on or by.

The greem algae you see below the paly's to the left of the Kenya is Byropsis. I have started raising mag levels to rid this. Its just barely started to infest the tank. (treatment began right as soon as I could positively ID it.

 

I do have some nice red macro growing .. its a bit slow to grow but its coming along.

Both clownfish died. They were fine one day and the next they would not eat. Then they started twitching like mad and died. All tank parameters are in check so again no smoking gun. I am not planning to get any more perc clowns.

 

The sole fish in the tank is the trusty Firefish.

 

Future plans

Skimmer addition: Skimmer is on the way already

Cjerome was nice enough to send me a iceprobe chiller that has some issues so this will be a little side project for me to work on and see if I can get it working again. (summer is coming so hope to have it working by then.

Planning the purchase of some more zoanthids as soon as I can. Every time I save up some $ to make a purchse (want to get multiples to make the shipping worth it) something comes up (bryopsis, fishdeath, skimmer need etc)

 

so I will continue to plug along slow and steady. All and all things are looking healthy in the tank. Coraline is spreading about and I am pretty happy with how things look.

[Degener8]

Update:

I'm gonna throw out a few pics for updates.

While the bryopsis is still hanging around I have the MG high enough tis not growing. I am taking the dosing slow. I'll start increasing again this weekend if its not dieing by then.

 

On a good note the encrusting gorgonia is spreading onto the rock work there is a few new zoa heads growing and the cady cane coral (top head) has regrown. It was almost all the way dead now its almost 100% again so I am please at this point.

 

Skimmer should arrive early next week so that will be added then.

 

 

I love the neon green toadstool. pretty much my fav coral thus far.

 

I have a bunch of this red macro growing.. its very stiff so I believe its partially calcarious (i donno if thats spelled right but seems like it may need decent calcium to grow or its stalks are just really tough)

 

And a current FTS:

 

The next upgrade I have planned is to retro fit a t5/LED hybrid into the hood unless I switch to a different plan but so far i love the idea of fitting that under the hood to keep stalk looks. (wife will have it no other way)

[opy01]

I must have missed this build. Looks good so far. Sorry about the fish. Do you plan on using a skimmer anytime in the future? Thats how I get out of using chemipure or filter floss. Good luck and I am so sorry to hear about the poor shark. What a horrible way to go ...

[Degener8]

Tanks for the kind words Opy.

 

I am infact going to be running a skimmer very soon (its sitting on my shelf.. rated up to 100 gallons so it should do very well.)

 

I got the skimmer from a friend who is no longer running any tanks. It banged around in his closet for a few years before he shipped it to me. I had it installed and noticed after a couple days some salt build up on the inlet tube and a few drops of water on the floor behind the tank.

 

I disassembled and rinsed everything out. I will reseal the inlet tubing and get the skimmer back in use. Depending on performance I may upgrade the pump on the skimmer. The pump that came with it is a Ro RVT 600 i believe it said. on FULL throttle it barely keeps the water level in check in the skimmer.

 

Time will tell though I will give it a few weeks of use before i decide.

[Degener8]

Well I have finally added 2 more fish to the system.. Rainfordi Goby's.. cute little guys .. miniature sand sifters. They have fattened up a little in the day I have had em (YAY) they are still a bit shy so hopefully some pics once they get to moving about more. Hopefully more active feeding as time goes on as well. I would say they are about 1.25 in. at the moment.. supposed to get to be about 2.5 in. total. so far tho Liking em for a sand sifter that doesnt throw sand all over my plate coral.

 

Skimmer is in place and kicking out skim much sooner than I anticipated. The skim is coming out a green brown syrup type mixture. This weekend when i do my water change I will see just how thick it really is.

[Degener8]

Some images of my plate coral eating a Rainfordi Goby that died the other day. He only lasted 2 days in the tank I suspect he was sick from the start since the other one is doing very well in the tank.

 

 

 

 

 

Images leave a little to be desired but they are the best Macro images my POS camera will take.

 

Thanks for looking : )

[kamikaze_fish]

It actually looks in that 3rd pic like the plate is kind of smiling. lol Beautiful plate and thanks for pointing me to your thread. I like how your tank is coming along.

[Degener8]

Updates....

 

Got tracking information on my MH retro so its in the mail and should be here mid next week at the latest I think. (crossing fingers for early next week) Once it gets here I will start drawing out my retrofit of the BC 29 hood to incorporate the Se 175w MH.

 

I plan to move all ballasts to a remote location. Possibly a build box or some sort attached behind the stand. This is to be decided. This should remove a fair bit of heat from the hood. I want to keep it down as much as possible with adding the new light in there I know it will produce some heat.

 

I am currently debating if I should put a sump on this system. I have a HOB skimmer. I am going to likely need some active cooling or if I go with evaporative cooling I will need an ATO to keep things at the correct levels. These things all seem easier to deploy in a sump. I have an idea to create a sump using a 10g tank I have.. so we will see how this goes.

 

I have never drilled a tank before and would prefer to not drill the BC so if

anyone has siphon HOB style overflow they are not using PM Me if you would part with it

 

Lastly I have a clam coming its going to be here a bit in advance of the MH lighting but it should be ok for a couple days while I get the MH retro sorted out. I will post many pics and detail in the next week as I document the retro and the clam (thanks to a generous donor whom will get his accolades (sp?)) as things progress.

 

 

Thanks kami for the kind words.

and Ty everyone for reading

[Oceanus]

Can't wait for clam pics!

[Degener8]

 

Clam is HERE!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!! and I am at work.. so wife is acclimating it over the next hour and a half or so. I will get to check it out tonight when i get home from work. I will get some pics of it tomorrow and post once it has settled in some

Full update at that time..

 

[Degener8]

OK ok I can't wait til tomorrow. So wifey snapped this photo and I cropped it to the clam only to show case him a little.

 

 

Let me say YES this is the clam that Shan had up for sale. It is exactly as discribed. It does have 2 placed that the mantle differs from the rest of the clam. The clam is very responsive and there is no tearing or discoloration at all. The flesh in the ruffles areas looks exactly like the flesh on all the other areas there is no difference at all except it seems to not extend as far. I have done plenty of reading on clams so I am prepared to do a dip if necessary but pinched mantle from all my reading is 100% fatal and Shan has had this clam far to long for it to be that. I am going to inspect for anything else that may be causeing this is anything shows up I will deal with it. I knew what I was getting into when I PM'd him the very forst time about the clam so I really dont want any negativity in this thread about it.

 

Something positive:

Shan is an excellent guy. He was a pleasure to PM with (never got the opprotunity to speak with him directly. I Pm'd him what my situation was with lighting and other things going on in life atm etc.to see what we could arrange. Needless to say he was extremely generous and just an all around excellent guy. I would recommend dealing with him to ANYONE.

 

Edit for packaging: I forgot to add in the original writing about the packaging. The clam came in a Stro box inside a cardboard box as per most oders. The clam was quadruple bagged(1 bag, tougher thicker liner bag black, 3 more standard clear poly bags. Each sealed from the other, all packed inside bubble wrap on all sides, the clam had no chance to bounce around in this packaging). Excellent packaging absolutely no worries.

 

Lighting: The MH retro is still on its way via snail mail .. LOL I'll likely be installing it next week or rather next weekend. The clam should be just fine until then under the PC lighting and he will get acclimated to the MH I am installing along with everyone else. I am more concerned about my neon green toadstool than the clam for lighting. He is in the top 50% of the tank so he may not take wekk to the light as he is centered in the tank as well. Time will tell :

 

Thanks for reading again

[Degener8]

Hmm I know its only been a few hours but question is...

 

Crocea clam.. some sites say place on rock some say place in sand.. Whats your experience with em.

 

The clam seemed like he opened a little more when he was on the sand earlier. On the rock now just before lights out and he did not see as open. Still looked good jut not quite as relaxed looking..

 

so are they sand dwellers or rock dwellers?

[shan]

Hmm I know its only been a few hours but question is...

 

Crocea clam.. some sites say place on rock some say place in sand.. Whats your experience with em.

 

The clam seemed like he opened a little more when he was on the sand earlier. On the rock now just before lights out and he did not see as open. Still looked good jut not quite as relaxed looking..

 

so are they sand dwellers or rock dwellers?

I am so glad he made it to you fine!! He looks very happy in his new home! I always kept him on the sand. Croceas are rock borers in nature, But he will be fine whereever you put him. If he is on the sand and begins lifting his mantle towards the light, I would try moving him higher.

 

Enjoy him! And thanks!!

[Degener8]

Metal halide stuff came in today .. Plugged it all in works like a champ.

 

I was going to see if I could retro the BC29 hood and keep a stock look. There is no way this gerar is fitting in that hood unless I submerge the bilb..LOL

 

anyways looking into a DIY pendent build and will move the PC lights from the BC29 hood to the pendent build as well. (thats the plan as of right now atleast.)

 

On a note withthe clam. The couple of clamped areas on him did not change but I noticed a new place seem to develope over a few days. It coulda been shipping stress who knows. I play things safe so I did a FW dip just to be sure I was treating PM just on the off chance it was developing.

 

The clam looks much better now. I still have 2 pinched areas so I am going to do another dip this weekend while I am working on my DIY pendent..LOL

 

I'm hoping to chronicle the build as I do it and I hope the next FW dip is the last needed for the clam. He is definately acting normal clammy I am just being cautious (dips are nerve racking though..LOL

[Degener8]

OK so its been a bit since I ran an update by here but hey I been busy.. LOL

 

OK enough of that the MH fixture is done. I am pretty happy with the outcome for what I had to work with. Its not a total eye sore but I definately know what to refine and do differently when I do it again (which I will)

 

Pic of it up over the tank. My POS camera won't take good pics with the light on.

 

Sorry no pics in the process camera was not ready at the time and I was in build mode.

 

The DIY went as follows:

1) Buy the bare bones MH setup. (balast/socket/reflector/bulb)

2) pendant parts list,

1-10" wide roll of flashing like used on roofs in alleys etc

2- 1/2"w x 8' L steel metal strips (1/8 " thick)

self tapping sheet metal screws I used around 30 of em maybe

20' chain (rated to hold about 20#)

2- Ceiling hooks like what is used for haning plants etc except I used the studless fasteners

 

Step one -Bend the metal strips every 18" until it makes a square (cut off the excess 2 feet.

Step two -Start applying sheet metal to one of the squares. Take caution to not cut yoruself this stuff is sharp. Fasten the sheet metal to the fram every 6 " approximately. Once complete around the first frame (was about 73" total) Cut off the excess sheel metal length.

Step three - Repeat step 2 on the 2nd frame piece.

Once complete -Your ready for paint and mounting the light inside. My light only required 4 L brackets to be bent to fasten it in place.

 

The only bad part was this left me with an open top until I could get to the store (sent wife during day today) to get plexi glass to fashion a top out of.

I hate running open top on my tanks.

 

And here is why... My firefish whom i had for several months jumped. Wife came home to find him floppin on the floor.

She got in back in the tank ASAP but unfortunately the damage was done. The only fish in the tank atm is a Rainfordi Goby and the tank now has a plexi top.

 

Few images under the new lighting:

 

New torch I got a couple days ago. I love the MH effect on the tank but this bulb is a 12k that looks even lower than that.. very yellow looking. I am getting ready to place an order for a 14k phoenix or 20k Ushio bulb very soon. (just gotta find the best price)

[Degener8]

Luckily a recent change in my financial status has made it possible to finish up 90% of my tank how i wanted it to be. so here is the changes coming.

 

OK so counldn't take the light being so dang yellow. I ordered a 20k bulb last night. (should arrive by friday I believe)

 

Today I am working on an order from www.saltwaterfish.com. It should come later this week I hope if I can get the order in on time. Otherwise it will likely ship early next week.

 

I won a frag pack from Zepo. and ordered 2 Monti's from him as well. Those should be in later this week.

Purple hornet frag should be coming from www.nationalcoralregistry.com early next week. (set to ship on the 21st)

 

So loads of things changing. I'll post more updates as they happen.

 

After all this stuff arrives tank is in maintenance mode for grow out for a while after that. Only thing that may be added after this round will be occasional zoa frag and maybe another clam. The Crocea I got from shan (the one everyone argued about PM over) is doing great .. NO PM at all its looking awesome.. Thx again shan for the clam.

[Degener8]

Waiting for shipments is the worst,

 

Today the saltwaterfish.com order should arrive. Its actually on truck for delivery. So i know its in the area somewhere within 70 miles of here.. LOL

 

I'll post up some pics of overything once it all arrives and acclimates etc.