Mr. Microscope Posted June 19, 2012 Author Share Posted June 19, 2012 nice scores! I have always loved the orange funia plates and you have a orange aussie torch...I have one, they are very hardy! Thanks got2envy! Yeah, I just fed the plate this morning. Nom nom nom! The torch is really fat now. I think it's loving the spot I put it in. I also just moved the green torch right behind the yellow one. It was all opened up this morning and much happier than I've seen it in a long time. They seem to be stretching out to touch each other. I think it's love! LOL! Quote Link to comment
poidog Posted June 22, 2012 Share Posted June 22, 2012 Thanks poidog for helping me build it..er building it for me! No problem! Sorry for nicking the finish in a few places... stupid hacksaw! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted June 27, 2012 Author Share Posted June 27, 2012 pfft! I think I nicked it more that you did. LOL! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted June 28, 2012 Author Share Posted June 28, 2012 I took a few shots with the blue LEDs on tonight. Recently, I mounted all those pink zoas. Most of them are on the pillar now, but I decided to expand to the overflow. I'll be putting SPS on the back wall as well as zoas. It's going to be a fun new rock scaping project. Some more zoas up close (Pinks, Zombie Eyes, Organisms) Just for fun..Yumas! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 5, 2012 Author Share Posted July 5, 2012 Water Change! Quote Link to comment
drnadz Posted July 5, 2012 Share Posted July 5, 2012 I just spent the last hour catching up on this thread and reading up on your tank because I am really taking my time planning out my next tank, particularly the aquascaping. One thing I noticed is that you don't have any algae (coralline or other) on your back glass and with most of my previous tanks this was always an issue for me. Like most people, I previously aquascaped by leaning and stacking the live rock instead of drilling and gluing, so I always tended to lean stuff against the back wall and that made it impossible to get a scraper back there... I can't tell from the pictures, but is there room behind your pilar for a scraper? In most tanks I would have trouble leaving enough room behind the rock but I guess that's an advantage to the cube. Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 I just spent the last hour catching up on this thread and reading up on your tank because I am really taking my time planning out my next tank, particularly the aquascaping. One thing I noticed is that you don't have any algae (coralline or other) on your back glass and with most of my previous tanks this was always an issue for me. Like most people, I previously aquascaped by leaning and stacking the live rock instead of drilling and gluing, so I always tended to lean stuff against the back wall and that made it impossible to get a scraper back there... I can't tell from the pictures, but is there room behind your pilar for a scraper? In most tanks I would have trouble leaving enough room behind the rock but I guess that's an advantage to the cube. Hello drnadz! Thank you for taking the time to read through my thread. I'm glad to hear you're taking your time. To answer your question, yes I do have enough space between my rock pillar and the back wall to slip a hand back there. There's ample space on all sides to be able to easily clean all the glass (with the exception of where my SPS has grown too close LOL). I do have some live rock in there, but the pillar was made of dry rock. It is now starting to develop a nice color (I'm about four months in). I strongly suggest a mindful planning of your rock-scaping done with dry rock. Then, seed it with live rock when you start your tank. The advantage being that you can take your time and really secure every aspect. I even did a fair amount of measurement to make sure it would fit properly and have ample space for corals to grow upwards. On a further note, I'll soon have one solid structure instead of a solid structure with a bunch of loose rocks laying around it. The live rock that I originally put in to seed the dry stuff was kinda just sitting around in the back and bottom. The original plan was to remove it after the pillar colored up, but I need extra room for corals. I purchased two turbo snails to combat my hair algae and they are very good at knocking down corals, even ones on huge rocks (blasto falls on favia = blasto). So, I've decided it all needs to get cemented down. That's my next project. Quote Link to comment
metrokat Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Those Yumas are gorgeous! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 Those Yumas are gorgeous! Thanks MK! I'm hoping they'll continue to spread around. I'm about to cement them in place as well. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 Those Yumas everythings are gorgeous! fixed that for you. Señor Microscope, are you still interested in any dead corals to put under the microscope? I still have a bunch of them I can send, if not I'll toss 'em (the missus may or may not have stepped on one and yelled a lot lol). Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 6, 2012 Author Share Posted July 6, 2012 fixed that for you. Señor Microscope, are you still interested in any dead corals to put under the microscope? I still have a bunch of them I can send, if not I'll toss 'em (the missus may or may not have stepped on one and yelled a lot lol). LOL! Thanks Kenobi! I've been so busy at work that I haven't had time to look at reef stuff lately. Thanks for offering though. Sorry to hear about your wife's feet. I feel your pain. My wife about had a fit tonight when she wanted to take a bath and I had my RODI going in the tub. Haha! 'The life of reef nerds. Quote Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted July 6, 2012 Share Posted July 6, 2012 LOL! Thanks Kenobi! I've been so busy at work that I haven't had time to look at reef stuff lately. Thanks for offering though. Sorry to hear about your wife's feet. I feel your pain. My wife about had a fit tonight when she wanted to take a bath and I had my RODI going in the tub. Haha! 'The life of reef nerds. They'll never understand us! If you get to a point where you would like to look at any, just let me know, I've got several pieces here that I'd be more than happy to send your way! I LOVE looking at the pictures the microscopes put out! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Update 2012.07.09 Out with the Wrasse-hole! So, here's the story. I added a four-line wrasse about two months ago. At first he seemed like a pleasant addition, but he soon became extremely territorial and aggressive. He chased my clown pair away from their happy area and within the last few weeks has been harassing them nonstop! One of my clowns is in pretty bad shape and has many tears and chunks missing of several of its fins. The clowns resorted to jumping out of the water whenever the wrasse came near. Luckily, I have a mesh cover. They were doing it so often, that this is how the tank would look after a few hours: Notice all salt water droplets dried on the sides of the tank. I decided enough is enough and I had to get him out of there. I tried for couple days using a net (leaving the net in all day, baiting it, etc.), but the wrasse was too smart and too quick. A friend suggested I use his fish trap. It's this one: It took all day and I put enough food in my tank that I probably don't have to feed anyone for like three days, but eventually I had myself a trapped wrasse! The funny thing about the trap was that my bangaii cardinal seemed to love it! He hung out in there all day while I was waiting for the wrasse to go in. At the end of the day, when I shut the trap door, I had captured myself a four-line wrasse, one of my clowns, the bangaii cardinal, and two hermit crabs! LOL! The wrasse is now in holding and awaiting his new home. Fortunately for him, he's going to have a great one! The same friend with the fish trap is starting a 125 gallon frag tank. So, he's going to go in there and keep things in order. I'm very happy for him as he'll now have an appropriate amount of territory and no one else in his way. Here's the final shot of him. I think he's flipping me off here. After putting him in the holding pen he was kinda freaked out. The clowns came up to check on him. At first I thought they were like gloating, like "nanner-nanner-nanner..ppppppttttt!!!" but I think they're genuinely concerned for the meany. They did the same thing when the bangaii got stuck in the trap. Gosh, I love those clowns. They're even forgiving of the fish that bullied them. On to a new chapter in the tank! Peace has been restored. I think I'll cool it on adding any fish for a little while unless I can find a baby tailspot blenny. I've heard tailspots can be mean too, but I figure if it's smaller than the clowns it might behave itself. The wrasse was much bigger than the clowns by far. I think that might have had something to do with his behavior issues. I'm open to suggestions for other fish as well. Feel free to chime in! That's it for now, Mr. M out! Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted July 9, 2012 Share Posted July 9, 2012 Update 2012.07.09 Out with the Wrasse-hole! So, here's the story. I added a four-line wrasse about two months ago. At first he seemed like a pleasant addition, but he soon became extremely territorial and aggressive. He chased my clown pair away from their happy area and within the last few weeks has been harassing them nonstop! One of my clowns is in pretty bad shape and has many tears and chunks missing of several of its fins. The clowns resorted to jumping out of the water whenever the wrasse came near. Luckily, I have a mesh cover. They were doing it so often, that this is how the tank would look after a few hours: Notice all salt water droplets dried on the sides of the tank. I decided enough is enough and I had to get him out of there. I tried for couple days using a net (leaving the net in all day, baiting it, etc.), but the wrasse was too smart and too quick. A friend suggested I use his fish trap. It took all day and I put enough food in my tank that I probably don't have to feed anyone for like three days, but eventually I had myself a trapped wrasse! The funny thing about the trap was that my bangaii cardinal seemed to love it! He hung out in there all day while I was waiting for the wrasse to go in. At the end of the day, when I shut the trap door, I had captured myself a four-line wrasse, one of my clowns, the bangaii cardinal, and two hermit crabs! LOL! The wrasse is now in holding and awaiting his new home. Fortunately for him, he's going to have a great one! The same friend with the fish trap is starting a 125 gallon frag tank. So, he's going to go in there and keep things in order. I'm very happy for him as he'll now have an appropriate amount of territory and no one else in his way. Here's the final shot of him. I think he's flipping me off here. After putting him in the holding pen he was kinda freaked out. The clowns came up to check on him. At first I thought they were like gloating, like "nanner-nanner-nanner..ppppppttttt!!!" but I think they're genuinely concerned for the meany. They did the same thing when the bangaii got stuck in the trap. Gosh, I love those clowns. They're even forgiving of the fish that bullied them. On to a new chapter in the tank! Peace has been restored. I think I'll cool it on adding any fish for a little while unless I can find a baby tailspot blenny. I've heard tailspots can be mean too, but I figure if it's smaller than the clowns it might behave itself. The wrasse was much bigger than the clowns by far. I think that might have had something to do with his behavior issues. I'm open to suggestions for other fish as well. Feel free to chime in! That's it for now, Mr. M out! Great story and congrats on having found a way to catch the nasty wrasse ... Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 9, 2012 Author Share Posted July 9, 2012 Great story and congrats on having found a way to catch the nasty wrasse ... Thanks albert! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 10, 2012 Author Share Posted July 10, 2012 I can't tell from the pictures, but is there room behind your pilar for a scraper? In most tanks I would have trouble leaving enough room behind the rock but I guess that's an advantage to the cube. Hey Dr. Nadz! I took a couple images for you. Sorry, they're cell phone pics, but it kinda give you the idea of spacing: Quote Link to comment
drnadz Posted July 10, 2012 Share Posted July 10, 2012 Thanks... I think I just need to make sure I build a structure that can hold itself up and not rely on any of the walls to hold it up. Quote Link to comment
rO.oster Posted July 18, 2012 Share Posted July 18, 2012 everything is looking awesome!!!!!! are the clowns still hosting the torches? i love the gold torch! Quote Link to comment
Ecospire Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 Fantastic build thread! I'm currently drawing up my plans for a 25g Mr. Aqua cube! Question, what made you want to put the overflow in the back left corner? Trying to decide if I want to center it up or not. Also, where'd you get your overflow? Thanks in advance! Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) Thanks... I think I just need to make sure I build a structure that can hold itself up and not rely on any of the walls to hold it up. Fiberglass rods and rock putty! everything is looking awesome!!!!!! are the clowns still hosting the torches? i love the gold torch! Thanks reeferRudy! One of my clowns was hosting the green one for a while, but the wrasse chased them away from that area. Now that the wrasse is gone, I'm hoping they'll return. I'm loving the gold torch more and more everyday. It looks pink during the day and yellow with the blues on. Fantastic build thread! I'm currently drawing up my plans for a 25g Mr. Aqua cube! Question, what made you want to put the overflow in the back left corner? Trying to decide if I want to center it up or not. Also, where'd you get your overflow? Thanks in advance! Thanks Ecospire! Since I decided to do a herbie style, I needed to drill three holes (an additional one for the return. If I had put it in the center, I wouldn't really have had enough space on both sides to scape with corals etc. So, I at least have one side on the right. Also, with it to the left, I can see into it from the side of the tank. Otherwise I have the back painted black. So, I wouldn't have been able to see in there except from the top if it was in the center. This really helped when I realized one of my favorite hermit made it back there somehow. I had to make the overflow unfortunately. I looked everywhere for an alternative, but in the end I built it out of acrylic and glass. The glass is siliconed to the tank and the acrylic with the overflow teeth is siliconed to the glass. Silicone doesn't stick to glass well. So, you need to do this method to really prevent leaks between the DT and overflow area. Here's a fun video of my favorite hermit (complete with nassarius photo-bomb LOL!). I think it's funny that my, "Zebra Hermit" chose such an appropriate shell. Edited July 20, 2012 by Mr. Microscope Quote Link to comment
Ecospire Posted July 20, 2012 Share Posted July 20, 2012 (edited) Thanks Ecospire! Since I decided to do a herbie style, I needed to drill three holes (an additional one for the return. If I had put it in the center, I wouldn't really have had enough space on both sides to scape with corals etc. So, I at least have one side on the right. Also, with it to the left, I can see into it from the side of the tank. Otherwise I have the back painted black. So, I wouldn't have been able to see in there except from the top if it was in the center. This really helped when I realized one of my favorite hermit made it back there somehow. I had to make the overflow unfortunately. I looked everywhere for an alternative, but in the end I built it out of acrylic and glass. The glass is siliconed to the tank and the acrylic with the overflow teeth is siliconed to the glass. Silicone doesn't stick to glass well. So, you need to do this method to really prevent leaks between the DT and overflow area. It looks great! How difficult was it and how much did it cost you to make? Better question would be would you make another for money . Edited July 20, 2012 by Ecospire Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 20, 2012 Author Share Posted July 20, 2012 It looks great! How difficult was it and how much did it cost you to make? Better question would be would you make another for money . Too busy these days, but I just got glass and acrylic cut at a local hardware store. I used a power drill and a dremmel to make the overflow teeth. Add a little spray paint and silicone, and there you go. I probably spent less than $30 to make it not counting the cost of the drill and dremmel. Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 21, 2012 Author Share Posted July 21, 2012 The LED's aren't on yet, but I couldn't help but notice how pretty the blue SPS look with the morning sunshine pouring in. Cali-tort: Palmer's Blue at dawn: Quote Link to comment
albertthiel Posted July 21, 2012 Share Posted July 21, 2012 The LED's aren't on yet, but I couldn't help but notice how pretty the blue SPS look with the morning sunshine pouring in. I agree they sure do indeed ! Albert Quote Link to comment
Mr. Microscope Posted July 25, 2012 Author Share Posted July 25, 2012 (edited) Crab! I love these left-handed guys I picked up. They kinda look like scarlets, but have purple claws, and orange eyes and antennas. Edited July 25, 2012 by Mr. Microscope Quote Link to comment
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