Texas 3.5G Pico

[chippwalters]

Well, the sump/fuge has been up for over a week now and there's a remarkable difference in my corals and the overall water quality so far.

 

Here are some pics:

 

Trimmed back my encrusted gorg as it was taking over. I've been trading 1"x1" frags + 6 Nassarius snails for 5 gallons saltwater at my LFS. Is that good for me or them? I do notice they never have encrusted gorg or gsp, and whenever I bring some in it's gone the next time I show up. Advice on this is welcome

 

Acans looking healthy

 

Sponge, torch and zoas. The zoas seemed to be getting munched on. My sexys mabye?

 

And finally, after several months of on/off health, my ric has settled down in it's own cave.

 

Candy canes still doing well, but there's too much hair algae on their stems and I'm not sure how best to get rid of it. Any ideas?

 

The acro has been moved yet again as it was too close to the surface, but I'm not sure it has enough flow. I'll give it a few weeks and see if it continues to grow.

 

FTS

 

[chippwalters]

I did find two very small snails pictured below. I believe they are either Sundial snails or Collonista snails, can anyone identify? If Sundial, they are known to eat zoas. They're about 1/8" across. Thanks for any help

 

 

[chippwalters]

What is this? I have a small video of it and a bunch more like it coming out of the rocks to feed. Is this a fireworm?

 

Here's the video. I count 4 different 'tentacles' (look upper left at end of video). I thought starfish or fireworm(s). Is this something to worry about?

 

 

[castiel]

Bristle/fire worm, nothing to worry about, good cuc ... watch your hands in the tank though!

 

[edit]looks like 2-3 actually!

[chippwalters]

Bristle/fire worm, nothing to worry about, good cuc ... watch your hands in the tank though!

 

[edit]looks like 2-3 actually!

 

Thanks, Pete. I'll keep my fingers off of the rock!

[ONEOFFCUSTOM]

How does the siphon work on your sump. Do you just draw a breath through the tube attached at your refugiumand it flows down then up to refugium.

[chippwalters]

How does the siphon work on your sump. Do you just draw a breath through the tube attached at your refugiumand it flows down then up to refugium.

 

It works great. Zero problems so far. I have a dedicated Aqualifter attached at the check valve at the top of the siphon. The check valve works in the event the Aqualifter quits working. The Aqualifter sucks the water (and air) from the siphon priming it and continues running the whole time. The water from the Aqualifter travels through it and exits in the sump.

 

I decided, for piece of mind, to not use the "draw a breath" on the check valve and rather opted for the Aqualifter pump-- it was cheap and is virtually silent. In the event the pump quits and for some reason the siphon is broken, the fuge pump will continue pumping water until it's inlet is above the water line. There is enough head room in my tank to handle this amount of excess.

 

Hope that helps.

[chippwalters]

A quick note on the status of the sump/fuge. It's coming along GREAT! Everything seems to be thriving. Even though this is not permanent, I am learning a lot about what works and doesn't work. My Acro hasn't seemed to be doing anything lately (though it was on a run earlier) and tonight I was playing around with my Ecoxotic Panorama Pro and dual Blue Stunners and LO AND BEHOLD two of the LED's on the PanPro were burned out! And of course they were directly over the Acro.

 

I bought it in September and think it should last longer than that. I've a support ticket into Ecoxotic and we'll see what they say. I'm thinking it's defective and hope they will replace it. If not, it's an expensive fixture for only a few months!

 

Here are some of my poor iPhone shots:

 

 

 

 

My next move is a bigger and better sump. I think I'll probably build it myself as it will probably be a 10 gallon one and I don't know of any decently priced 10 gal sumps (anyone?)

 

I have an ADA 60-F on order and it should be here this week. I'll need to drill it (fingers crossed and *carefully!*) and I believe I'll hook both it and this tank up to the sump. This way I can share the total water volume among all tanks ~21 gal.

 

Here's a video of the tank. And yes, that IS a couple of small Damsels in there. I'll soon have the bigger tank which they can graduate to. Not exactly sure how I feel about the little buggers-- changes the whole 'feeling' of the tank having fishies in it...

 

[chippwalters]

Hey guys,

 

I'm closing this one down. I've got a new ADA 60-f:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=299627

 

and will use this one as a LR sump for the next month, then I'll tear it down, drill it, and hopefully put together a macro algae display fuge. At least that's todays plan!

 

Please check out my new build:

 

[Builder Anthony]

Well you are hooked lol i see three tanks now.Its fun though isnt it?

[chippwalters]

Yup. It is addictive-- and the most fun is the learning! I especially like the community spirit, both locally and on the web. Great stuff!

[metrokat]

I did find two very small snails pictured below. I believe they are either Sundial snails or Collonista snails, can anyone identify? If Sundial, they are known to eat zoas. They're about 1/8" across. Thanks for any help

 

 

Could be collonista but the coloration suggests Nerite.

 

 

Hey guys,

 

I'm closing this one down. I've got a new ADA 60-f:

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=299627

 

and will use this one as a LR sump for the next month, then I'll tear it down, drill it, and hopefully put together a macro algae display fuge. At least that's todays plan!

 

Please check out my new build:

 

 

AWW!

[Builder Anthony]

I dont think there nerites but i could be wrong.I think they are one of those mini snails.The mini snails also come in a pinkish stripe color as well.I know i have the pink ones and im not sure if i have the brown ones but i think i do.

[iDerek]

I took a trip down to Austin aquafarms and to aquatek today (came home with a two headed dendro too!). I saw a 15 gallon version of your aqua h20 tank and considered buying it as a stepping stone in between my next build since I already have all the equipment to get it up and running over night.

 

How is it holding up? I can't find reviews anywhere for it aside from a cracking issue after water changes from 4 years back (sudden temp change with heat treated glass causing fractures) but for the price and design, it seems too good to not jump on.

[chippwalters]

I took a trip down to Austin aquafarms and to aquatek today (came home with a two headed dendro too!). I saw a 15 gallon version of your aqua h20 tank and considered buying it as a stepping stone in between my next build since I already have all the equipment to get it up and running over night.

 

How is it holding up? I can't find reviews anywhere for it aside from a cracking issue after water changes from 4 years back (sudden temp change with heat treated glass causing fractures) but for the price and design, it seems too good to not jump on.

Hi Derek,

 

Congratulations on the new dendro!

 

My tank has held up exceedingly well. In fact last week I even drilled out the back so that I can put a 1 inch bulkhead in. so, it's definitely not tempered glass.