Veng Posted January 22, 2013 Share Posted January 22, 2013 Looking great man! Nice to see old picos. Link to comment
friar1 Posted January 26, 2013 Author Share Posted January 26, 2013 So, I finally broke down and bought a refractometer. Maybe I didn't need to, but all along I have been using a floating Hydrometer, Like this one: You kind of have to eyeball it, when using the hydrometer, and I had just mixed a batch of saltwater with it. So using the new refractometer, I tested the water I had already mixed, and lo and behold! 1.025! Just where I want it! So at least now I know the water I was making has been good. The problem with the hydrometer is that it does not compensate for temp, while the refractometer does. Link to comment
friar1 Posted January 29, 2013 Author Share Posted January 29, 2013 Here is a pic of Crabby, trimming the shrubs! I just can't get over how these guys like Macro Algae so much. I would never think to look at them, that they would be leaning toward herbivores. They just look much predatory than that. haha Link to comment
friar1 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 Hmmm, My Superman mushroom, that had moved from the back to the front of the rock scape, has now moved to the back again! Strange... Must be a lighting issue. Or maybe Crabby has been bothering him. Oh well.. Link to comment
brandon429 Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 friar I know of no one using those hydros nice way to keep it old school. im using a swingarm thats a years old, never rinsed and has no more ink on the front other than a bare marking of .023 lol and its still accurate its the old beast Link to comment
x3thelast Posted January 30, 2013 Share Posted January 30, 2013 Nice emerald. Mine cleared my rocks up like crazy. And any new frags that maybe have any algae on them. Now he just bulldozes anything not attached to the rocks. Link to comment
friar1 Posted January 30, 2013 Author Share Posted January 30, 2013 thanks x3, I had a red mithrax a while ago and he did nothing but pick at my corals and move them around. He had to be banned! Brandon, I now am not using the hydrometer. because I just got the refractometer which is much easier and more convenient. But the hydrometer worked well while I had it Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 Here is a pic of Crabby, trimming the shrubs! I just can't get over how these guys like Macro Algae so much. I would never think to look at them, that they would be leaning toward herbivores. They just look much predatory than that. haha I might have to borrow this guy if he likes gelidium. Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 I don't know what gelidum is. But you see the red, thready macro he is with? That seems to be his least favorite, yet even that he is bulldozing away, I would say since I got him, and the two hermits, about 90% of my algae growth is now gone, and the rocks look cleaner and cleaner every day. Like I said before, i had another Mithrax last year or the year before, a red one, and all he did was pull up my zoas hehe Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 The red thready macro is probably gelidium, does it have fine runners, like does it creep on rocks and stuff? Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Yes! i hate it! It does not starve easily, and it seems to bore into the rock! But Crabby is taking it Down! just not as fast as the other stuff I had in there. Which is pretty much gone Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 i need to borrow that crab after he's done cleaning your tank. He's gonna be VIP, need to fly him first class. Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 Wellll...... No borrowing, if the tank gets sparkling, I might just let him move to new york, but it depends on if he really takes care of all the gelidium or just keeps it in check. We will see. It might take a while though, he does not have the help with the hermits that he did on the other algae, those hermits won't touch the red stuff. haha. And seriously, he's from california, I wonder how he would get along in New York, seeing as He is used to the boonies and all ... He might not be suited for that city life. Seriously, I have heard that if you get an emerald, get them small. Smaller the better. The young ones seem to do better on Algae. Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 1, 2013 Share Posted February 1, 2013 i have a small one, i purposely picked the littlest little hulk they had. That's his name BTW - hulk. I saw him eating a bit of caulerpa and I thought he was an angel but now he just hangs around doing nothing. As for him moving to NY, he better bring a coat, it's very cold here. Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 1, 2013 Author Share Posted February 1, 2013 California, Nice, 70's Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 Kat, I have been reading about that gelidium on here. It appears I have scored an unusual Emerald, in that people don't seem to have to much luck with them eating gelidium. Many are suggesting and urchin or a large Turbo. hmmmm. I feel good about crabby, last one I had was a coral hater. Link to comment
1reefluvr2 Posted February 3, 2013 Share Posted February 3, 2013 Thats a true score. If he lives here in Cali he wouldnt want to move to the east coast. Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 3, 2013 Author Share Posted February 3, 2013 So, I have decided to build something new for this tank, seeing as I am kind of a geek and all. I discovered a few months back the Arduino microcontroller. I have always wanted to be able to have an auto dimming effect on my LED's but I always felt the controllers too pricy, and the DIY controllers using Arduino or something similar usually only worked on PWM dimmable LED Drivers, although there were some builds that utilized the Arduino and dimmed the analog 0-10 volt drivers. I have Inventronics Drivers on mine, which are dimmable by an analog 0-10 volt signal. I have two of them, one for blue, one for the whites, and I control the color with a potentiometer on each driver's dim channel. But I want an auto fade up and fade down through out the day, also want to control the fade from a remote control. But I have been dragging my feet, because I just did not like having to control an analog dimmer from the arduino, not very elegant. and would require more parts.. Then.. I ran across the new Mean Well LDD drivers. Super small package, especially compared to the ELN type that many people have used on their builds. Plus, SUPER low price! about a third of the ELN series, as well as being super flexible. But now, I have to learn how to program. Although there are sketches out there for this kind of application I still have to figure out the IR Remote and such. But the cool thing is, I can replace the drivers I have for only a little bit of money, add a couple more colors to the light scheme, program a daylight and moonlight as well as adjust the color from my couch ( am kinda lazy that way) Now that I have posted this, do not hold your breath. I have very little time to work on a project like this, so it will be bits and pieces. Once I get a few more parts, I can begin to experiment with the code to get it right. I still need a 24 volt power supply, an RTC for the Arduino, about three leds to play with. So Onward! Link to comment
metrokat Posted February 4, 2013 Share Posted February 4, 2013 Kat, I have been reading about that gelidium on here. It appears I have scored an unusual Emerald, in that people don't seem to have to much luck with them eating gelidium. Many are suggesting and urchin or a large Turbo. hmmmm. I feel good about crabby, last one I had was a coral hater. I'll pay you double for the crab! I'll buy you another tank. Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 NOoooooooo!!!!!!!!! I am watching him right at this moment tearing into that horrible red algae. He has to work it back and forth to get a piece off! I can't part with a cleaner like him! It would be like giving up a Dyson Vac (If I had one). He is precious, MY Preeeeccciousssssss I keep calling to him to come to this side of the tank to DO HIS JOB!. Sometimes he actually listens ha Link to comment
friar1 Posted February 4, 2013 Author Share Posted February 4, 2013 Plus Kat, if I sent him to you, he would probably not be helpful in your tank, just saying... these emeralds seem rather temperamental. I bought two emeralds from back east and had them shipped here 2 day. Both were DOA. This one well..... Link to comment
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