Mr. Microscope's Cube 2.1

[kveekx]

I have a question on your light, how big is your heat sink? I really like your fixture and if I don't like the MH I have for the Solana I will probably make a fixture like yours but with the addition of cyan. Also if upgrade tanks soon I want to be first in line if you sell the light!

[eitallent]

Hello All,

Here’s the culprit:

 

He loves the tank too!

 

That's all for now. Thanks for checking out my tank!

Sorry about the huge delay. As you can imagine I've been a little preoccupied with the new baby human. He's been crawling around for a while now and is almost walking. Yikes! Hopefully, I'll have time for a regular monthly update in December.

Wow, what a great update. Thank you. I just found you when you posted on Albert's thread and I am so glad I did! I subscribed so I do not miss any more updates! Your pictures are outstanding and I like the growth progression shots too.

However, IMO, your greatest achievement is Theo. What a handsome fellow. Congratulations! I think you are both lucky fellows; you have him and he has you!

[Mr. Microscope]

I have a question on your light, how big is your heat sink? I really like your fixture and if I don't like the MH I have for the Solana I will probably make a fixture like yours but with the addition of cyan. Also if upgrade tanks soon I want to be first in line if you sell the light!

Hello kveekx! Sorry for the delayed responds. My heat sink is 10" x 10" which is overkill for the amount of space I'm using on it, but I bought it that big figuring I might add some LED's down the road or use it on a bigger tank. I could easily double the amount of LED's I have on it now. I've been considering adding some cyan (or OCW's) like you said. I've also been meaning to add a few RB/RB/NW 3-up chips. I have two unused channels on my controller. When the funds come in, I plan on upgrading. The amount of light I have now, however is ample. If I add more LED's, it'll just be for color and I'll be turning down all the channels to compensate.

Thanks for the compliment!

 

Wow, what a great update. Thank you. I just found you when you posted on Albert's thread and I am so glad I did! I subscribed so I do not miss any more updates! Your pictures are outstanding and I like the growth progression shots too.

However, IMO, your greatest achievement is Theo. What a handsome fellow. Congratulations! I think you are both lucky fellows; you have him and he has you!

Thanks for the sub eitallent! I'm planning to post another update in a minute here (if Theo stays napping long enough ). Thanks for your kind words about my son. He's really a treat and I can't wait to share the hobby with him when he gets older. Though, he's starting to walk now and is getting into everything. I have most of my cords concealed, but of course he wants to get at the one or two that aren't. It's a good thing I have a lock on my stand.

[Mr. Microscope]

Update 2012.12.18

 

Against the better advice of some members here, I decided to try a three day black out to help combat my GHA and a small breakout of cyano. I thought I had the cyano licked, but it showed its dirty face again after a day or so. So, I'll be treating that with some Chemi Clean as soon as I can get my hands on it.

 

A couple notes about the black out:

I wrapped the tank with aluminum foil. Being completely covered resulted in very little evaporation, but it also made the tank heat up. It went from it's normal 73 to 80 over the course of a day and a half. I unplugged the heaters and it went down to 79, and returned to normal after I removed the foil. I think the heat change caused a tiny bit of bleaching in my SPS because they turned just a little whiter than they were before the blackout. I don't think this was a result of lack of light. The colors, however are almost back to normal already. All other corals seemed unaffected.

 

On the good side though, I actually did make a considerable dent in the GHA and have the least amount of I've seen in a long time. So, I'll continue to do the following:

WAY lighter feedings; pellets first to the clowns and tailspot, and then a limited amount of frozen for the spoiled bangaii cardinal who won't take anything but.

Target-feed LPS only once/week

Change out filter floss every two or three days

Frequent small water changes

Treatment with H2O2 with the rocks that aren't attached to the main pillar

Manual removal of patches with tweezers and toothbrush

 

The snooty, only-frozen-food-fish:

 

I'm also planning to stop using Chemi-Pure Elite, switch to Purigen, and maybe DIY a little reactor to use Phosban.

 

The black out wasn't without it's hijinks however. My tailspot blenny somehow managed to jump into my overflow within the centimeter of space between the mesh cover and the overflow teeth. After unwrapping the foil from around the tank for the mid black out feeding, I didn't see him anywhere. Finally, I thought to check in the overflow and sure enough. He was in there picking at the sides of the glass. I tried to get him out, but unfortunately it's too tight to reach my hand all the way in and there's no way I was going to net him in there. After the black out was over I didn't see him in there anymore and assumed the worst. He was no where to be found in the overflow or in the display. I checked the sump wondering if he somehow made it down there, but no luck. On the plus side, I didn't smell anything dead and I figured not finding him at all is better than finding him dead.

 

A week later, I was doing some maintenance in the sump and saw something moving in the reflection of the glass. To my amazement, my tailspot was swimming around in one of the baffles of my sump! He somehow made it though the overflow pipe, past the gate valve, around the filterfloss that was completely covering the output of the overflow pipe, and into the sump. I was so excited! I took some pictures and told him that I was going to share them with the community as punishment for being such a trouble maker. Here he is looking a bit sheepish and embarrassed next to the skimmer:

 

I cleared everything out of sump and carefully captured him in a cup before putting him back into the display.

 

 

 

I'd heard tailspots have a lot of character, but I had no idea what I was in for with this curious little guy. I love this fish. I think his colors are awesome too.

 

In other news, I took got an even better pic of my cryptic sea urchin. He was hanging out one morning under my monti cap that is very close to the glass. I was able to get very close with the camera. Here you can even see the podia (tube feet) quite well.

 

As a part of combating GHA, I placed an order with reefcleaners for some hermit crabs.

I got a variety and they seem to be helping. I also got a few chitons, but after a few days they all died. Not sure why, but oh well.

 

I've also discovered a new hitchhiker in my tank which is odd since I haven't added any coral. It's a ball anemone and I've since discovered one more on the opposite side of the tank.

After doing some research I believe it is a Caribbean variety (open at night, closed during the day). I think my hermits probably came from the Caribbean as well. So, they must have come in on one of them. LOL! They are very tiny right now. Some people say they are good citizens, others say that they are a threat to fish and inverts when they get larger. Also, they supposedly split quite fast. I don't care either way. I actually fed this guy a pellet the other day. I think they're really cool. If they get out of hand I can always wipe them out. Though, I'd love to set up a pest-nem biotope pico for in the future.

 

Okay, enough text. Here's some more fun pics I took of my acans yesterday. They're popping out babies like crazy. So, I thought I'd focus in on them (taken with blue LED's):

 

 

 

I recently got some BBEB's. These guys really need lower light. So, they're not doing very well yet, but are showing signs of improvement:

 

Finally, here's a Satosa pic for ####s&giggles:

 

That's it for now. New FTS later.

Mr. M out!

[jedimasterben]

If you take out the CPE, you'll definitely need something to remove phosphate in its place, that's why the cyano keeps coming back. I'd recommend not using Chemiclean until you try starving it out with Phosguard or GFO. The pansy little amount of GFO in CPE won't keep cyano away for crap.

[Mr. Microscope]

If you take out the CPE, you'll definitely need something to remove phosphate in its place, that's why the cyano keeps coming back. I'd recommend not using Chemiclean until you try starving it out with Phosguard or GFO. The pansy little amount of GFO in CPE won't keep cyano away for crap.

Why not Chemi Clean? Why Phosguard and not Phosban? I've read Phosban is better (don't remember why).

[Mr. Microscope]

I also just added my old pico evo pump into the overflow area. This has already helped to clear it up from some detritus that was hanging around at the bottom. I'd recommend it for any tank.

[Mr. Microscope]

Just placed a big order with Big Al's Online:

 

Gonna lick this algae issue once and for all. Plus, I figure the hardware can transfer over to another tank.

[jedimasterben]

Why not Chemi Clean? Why Phosguard and not Phosban? I've read Phosban is better (don't remember why).

I'd rather not use any kind of chemicals. I have no idea how it works, but it is only a band-aid and never 'solves' the problem of cyano. Even the manufacturer says they recommend continued use, which tells the story right there.

 

Use hydrogen peroxide on what you see, let it sit, and suck it out. Use a phosphate remover (whichever is cheaper or fits your application better, Phosguard is what I use as it doesn't clump up and is easily used in media bags) and you will watch what is left simply starve to death because it has no phosphate to feed on.

 

Just placed a big order with Big Al's Online:

 

Gonna lick this algae issue once and for all. Plus, I figure the hardware can transfer over to another tank.

Purigen is good to use, but it won't lower nitrate or phosphate directly, will just remove some general organic wastes. Works well in conjunction with carbon (but not a replacement for it).

[rO.oster]

Great progress! Its been nice seeing the ups and down.

 

Chemiclean worked like a charm for me, follow the instructions closely and run a big bubble wand during treatment. Try to calculate your total water volume minus the displacement caused by rocks, etc.

 

GL!

[Mr. Microscope]

Purigen is good to use, but it won't lower nitrate or phosphate directly, will just remove some general organic wastes. Works well in conjunction with carbon (but not a replacement for it).

Thanks for the advice Ben! I got some Chemi Clean, but only plan to use it as a last resort.

I was actually thinking about replacing carbon use with the purigen as I've read it works better, but you say it covers a different spectrum than carbon? Please elaborate.

 

Great progress! Its been nice seeing the ups and down.

 

Chemiclean worked like a charm for me, follow the instructions closely and run a big bubble wand during treatment. Try to calculate your total water volume minus the displacement caused by rocks, etc.

 

GL!

Yeah, it's tough, but I think important (probably more important) to post the failures as well as the victories.

Also, thanks for your input about the Chemiclean. I've read it works well. The amount of cyano I have is really quite minimal and has gone down with my recent tenacity for maintenance. Hopefully, it will cease on it's own, but I'll be prepared if it doesn't.

[ward827]

Dosed one time with chemi clean early on in my tanks life and worked like a charm.

Cyano never came back. Good luck man. W-

[jedimasterben]

Thanks for the advice Ben! I got some Chemi Clean, but only plan to use it as a last resort.

I was actually thinking about replacing carbon use with the purigen as I've read it works better, but you say it covers a different spectrum than carbon? Please elaborate.

It's not publicly known what exactly Purigen is, but it complements carbon in that it removes some of the same but also different subsets of organics (per Randy Holmes-Farley).

 

I just set up a reactor with both, about 600mL of Purigen and 1.5 cups of ROX 0.8 carbon in the other, and man is my water sparkly.

[Mr. Microscope]

Hermit Crab Exposé!

Hey Everyone!

 

I got a new camera for X-Mas. It doesn't have as amny features as my older camera, but does extreme closeup macro quite well. Check out the my Blue Leg Hermit mugging for me against the glass:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Check out the pokadot eyes!

 

..and, a Left-Handed Hermit

[markalot]

Wow, great closeups. Did you notice the little face rock in the second shot?

[Mr. Microscope]

Wow, great closeups. Did you notice the little face rock in the second shot?

Thanks Mark! Did you mean the upside-down ghosty looking one on his shell?

[jball1125]

Great pics man.

[Deleted User 3]

 

Those photos... I could marry those photos.. TERIFFIC. Best i have seen ever... EVER. You wowed me, and I don't wow easily I wish i could give you a prize!

What camera do you have!? I need your lighting ! lol!

 

Update 2012.12.18

Against the better advice of some members here, I decided to try a three day black out to help combat my GHA and a small breakout of cyano. I thought I had the cyano licked, but it showed its dirty face again after a day or so. So, I'll be treating that with some Chemi Clean as soon as I can get my hands on it.

A couple notes about the black out:
I wrapped the tank with aluminum foil. Being completely covered resulted in very little evaporation, but it also made the tank heat up. It went from it's normal 73 to 80 over the course of a day and a half. I unplugged the heaters and it went down to 79, and returned to normal after I removed the foil. I think the heat change caused a tiny bit of bleaching in my SPS because they turned just a little whiter than they were before the blackout. I don't think this was a result of lack of light. The colors, however are almost back to normal already. All other corals seemed unaffected.

On the good side though, I actually did make a considerable dent in the GHA and have the least amount of I've seen in a long time. So, I'll continue to do the following:
WAY lighter feedings; pellets first to the clowns and tailspot, and then a limited amount of frozen for the spoiled bangaii cardinal who won't take anything but.
Target-feed LPS only once/week
Change out filter floss every two or three days
Frequent small water changes
Treatment with H2O2 with the rocks that aren't attached to the main pillar
Manual removal of patches with tweezers and toothbrush

The snooty, only-frozen-food-fish:


I'm also planning to stop using Chemi-Pure Elite, switch to Purigen, and maybe DIY a little reactor to use Phosban.

The black out wasn't without it's hijinks however. My tailspot blenny somehow managed to jump into my overflow within the centimeter of space between the mesh cover and the overflow teeth. After unwrapping the foil from around the tank for the mid black out feeding, I didn't see him anywhere. Finally, I thought to check in the overflow and sure enough. He was in there picking at the sides of the glass. I tried to get him out, but unfortunately it's too tight to reach my hand all the way in and there's no way I was going to net him in there. After the black out was over I didn't see him in there anymore and assumed the worst. He was no where to be found in the overflow or in the display. I checked the sump wondering if he somehow made it down there, but no luck. On the plus side, I didn't smell anything dead and I figured not finding him at all is better than finding him dead.

A week later, I was doing some maintenance in the sump and saw something moving in the reflection of the glass. To my amazement, my tailspot was swimming around in one of the baffles of my sump! He somehow made it though the overflow pipe, past the gate valve, around the filterfloss that was completely covering the output of the overflow pipe, and into the sump. I was so excited! I took some pictures and told him that I was going to share them with the community as punishment for being such a trouble maker. Here he is looking a bit sheepish and embarrassed next to the skimmer:

I cleared everything out of sump and carefully captured him in a cup before putting him back into the display.

I'd heard tailspots have a lot of character, but I had no idea what I was in for with this curious little guy. I love this fish. I think his colors are awesome too.

In other news, I took got an even better pic of my cryptic sea urchin. He was hanging out one morning under my monti cap that is very close to the glass. I was able to get very close with the camera. Here you can even see the podia (tube feet) quite well.

As a part of combating GHA, I placed an order with reefcleaners for some hermit crabs.

I got a variety and they seem to be helping. I also got a few chitons, but after a few days they all died. Not sure why, but oh well.

I've also discovered a new hitchhiker in my tank which is odd since I haven't added any coral. It's a ball anemone and I've since discovered one more on the opposite side of the tank.

After doing some research I believe it is a Caribbean variety (open at night, closed during the day). I think my hermits probably came from the Caribbean as well. So, they must have come in on one of them. LOL! They are very tiny right now. Some people say they are good citizens, others say that they are a threat to fish and inverts when they get larger. Also, they supposedly split quite fast. I don't care either way. I actually fed this guy a pellet the other day. I think they're really cool. If they get out of hand I can always wipe them out. Though, I'd love to set up a pest-nem biotope pico for in the future.

Okay, enough text. Here's some more fun pics I took of my acans yesterday. They're popping out babies like crazy. So, I thought I'd focus in on them (taken with blue LED's):






I recently got some BBEB's. These guys really need lower light. So, they're not doing very well yet, but are showing signs of improvement:


Finally, here's a Satosa pic for ####s&giggles:


That's it for now. New FTS later.
Mr. M out!

[jball1125]

Tulipgirl the craziest part is I'm pretty sure he takes these amazing photos with a p&s, pure skill!

[Jessy-Ray]

With a P&S!!!!!!?

[Mr. Microscope]

Great pics man.

Thanks jball!

 

Those photos... I could marry those photos.. TERIFFIC. Best i have seen ever... EVER. You wowed me, and I don't wow easily I wish i could give you a prize!

What camera do you have!? I need your lighting ! lol!

Thanks Tulipgirl! The pictures you quoted me on were taken with a Canon PowerShot A540 P&S. I got it about seven years ago. It has a very nice macro feature that allows you to choose the plane of focus. You can also select for aperture size and exposure time as well as ISO. I've been fiddling with it for a while a reading some articles about photographing reef stuff.

I've said it before and I'll say it again; this is the ultimate hobby! I've ventured down so many avenues of it, from drilling glass and water chemistry, to building LED's and marine biology. Now, I'm into photography.

Tulipgirl the craziest part is I'm pretty sure he takes these amazing photos with a p&s, pure skill!

The pics of the hermits were taken with a new Canon Powershot A4000 IS P& S. This camera is not as versatile as my older one, but certianly has better resolution. It does not have the option to select for focal plane, f-stop, or exposure, but can autofocus very well at times. I found it works best with stuff literally a few millimeters away from the lens. I think it will work well for FTS's too since it has an 8x optical zoom. I'm pretty sure I'll still be utilizing both cameras.

With a P&S!!!!!!?

I also use Photoshop to crop and adjust RGB levels to make the images look as true to life as possible. With LED's it can be hard as the blues can really overload the detector.

[Deleted User 3]

I have a Sony Cybershot (the 2012 version) p&s and it does not do as well as yours does, but I also barely know how to use it ha ha. It's complicated. I want a Canon t# rebel, those are amazing.

[Mr. Microscope]

Yeah, I've heard good things about the Rebel. Back when I got the A540, it was rated very high in Consumer Reports. I think Canon makes a pretty user friendly line.

 

I just took a gander at your tank thread. I love that last shot you took of the hermmit crab. Nicely done!

[albertthiel]

 

Update 2012.12.18

 

Against the better advice of some members here, I decided to try a three day black out to help combat my GHA and a small breakout of cyano. I thought I had the cyano licked, but it showed its dirty face again after a day or so. So, I'll be treating that with some Chemi Clean as soon as I can get my hands on it.

Mr. M out!

 

Super update Mr. M and great looking .... and very nice shots you took too.

 

Love them all but that Setosa looks really super.

 

I have a Sony Cybershot (the 2012 version) p&s and it does not do as well as yours does, but I also barely know how to use it ha ha. It's complicated. I want a Canon t# rebel, those are amazing.

 

You have a Panda Banggai ?

[Mr. Microscope]

 

Super update Mr. M and great looking .... and very nice shots you took too.

 

Love them all but that Setosa looks really super.

 

You have a Panda Banggai ?

Thanks Albert!

N'ah. Not a Panda.