NeonTrees Posted July 29, 2012 Share Posted July 29, 2012 Great looking aquascape. Looking forward to seeing the progress. Link to comment
divecj5 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Things got a little busy over the weekend (they always do) so I didn't have a chance to take quite as many pictures as I wanted to. Just a couple of quick updates - I figured out how to get rid of the toilet drain sound that I was hearing coming out of the overflow. It was literally as simple as flipping the plastic grate that covers the overflow by 180 degrees. Once I did this, it's been dead silent since. Since there aren't instructions with the tank, I had no idea if the two drains should be at the top or the bottom. I guess I chose wrong the first time The S-120 seems to be settling in and already producing a decent tea colored skimmate. Nothing crazy but again, there's not a ton of stock to pull from. LED fixture was hung on Saturday so there's finally some light on the Chucktown reef 8) In other news, we're finally completely moved out of our rental so that meant breaking down the 17g rimless. The pictures below only show a couple of the frags that migrated over so I'll be taking some more hopefully this evening now that things have had a chance to settle in for a few days. Colors are still pretty dull given the crappy conditions these frags are coming from and these were all taken about 15 minutes after adding them to the new tank. I'm absolutely in love with how this tank looks fully lit. I can't wait to get some new coral and fish in there to freshen it up even more. More details about stocking plans coming later.... Note - I've tried my best to capture the true to life color in these but LEDs continue to be a thorn in my side as photography is concerned. T5s and MH are a breeze compared to the spectrum that LEDs emit. Oh well, hopefully they only get better. Blue Cloves/Mushie Rock (barely opened but you can see how vibrant they are) A little Duncan action never hurt anyone Will likely move this guy as they can grow FAST One of the three Acans that I have Very dull compared to in person. -Adam Link to comment
got2envy Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Looks fantastic Adam! I blue cloves edit- I am digging the spot you picked for the tank too...noice! Link to comment
divecj5 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Looks fantastic Adam! I blue cloves edit- I am digging the spot you picked for the tank too...noice! Thanks. The blue cloves are some of my favorites as well. Reminds me of the Anthelia and Xenia that I used to have in my first tank. As much as I'm tempted to place them on the structure and let it go crazy, I'm going to keep it segregated/away from the main structure so it has it's own nice little island t call home. Thanks for the compliment on the location as well. There are two chairs right to the left of the tank that make the perfect viewing spot. I ate my lunch there today and just stared into the tank like a dork Link to comment
aaron1987 Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Gorgeous and clean. I love it. This is going to be quite the setup. I'm assuming the sump is an Elos? I'm trying to figure out a sump for my 17x15" in-stand footprint. Link to comment
divecj5 Posted July 30, 2012 Author Share Posted July 30, 2012 Gorgeous and clean. I love it. This is going to be quite the setup. I'm assuming the sump is an Elos? I'm trying to figure out a sump for my 17x15" in-stand footprint. Thanks for the comments Aaron. Definitely plan on trying my best to keep this as clean as possible by keeping the sand bed tidy and clear of frags and not going overboard on what I add. The sump is indeed an ELOS, just rotated 180 and with one of the baffles removed. Looks great!! Thanks man. Should hopefully have some more candy to share tomorrow. Link to comment
d'Espresso Posted July 30, 2012 Share Posted July 30, 2012 Love the cloves island! I wish I know how to keep them. All the Cloves I ever get, seem to disappear! I want to try again, can you show how to keep them? The area where you have your tank is incredible clean Link to comment
divecj5 Posted July 31, 2012 Author Share Posted July 31, 2012 Love the cloves island! I wish I know how to keep them. All the Cloves I ever get, seem to disappear! I want to try again, can you show how to keep them? I got these cloves from VicSkmmr back when he shut his tank down and I've been lucky and never had any issues with them at all. They were doing so well in the 17g that they started to creep their way across the sand bed. If you want, I'm happy to send you a small frag once it gets to a point where I can cut a section and let it settle on some rock. ------------------------------------------------ Had a chance to capture a few more of the coral that made their way over from the 17g. All of these are a little on the dull side since Dave and I are currently troubleshooting a finicky buck puck that doesn't seem to want to fire up the Natural Blues. Either way, I'm really happy with the way all of these coral (and fish) have quickly settled into their new "home." Can't wait for this FnF Sunrise Acan to color back up. Time to break out the Mysis and help it out. RedBug Montipora More Acan Love These are a tad blurry but here's my Black Ice Ocellaris -Adam Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted July 31, 2012 Share Posted July 31, 2012 Love the black ice clown and the fnf sunrise acan! Very sweet looking. Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 1, 2012 Author Share Posted August 1, 2012 Love the black ice clown and the fnf sunrise acan! Very sweet looking. Thanks man. The coloration on the Black Ice has come a long way from when I first got it. Hopefully it continues to develop more of the black/dark coloration as it further matures. The Sunrise Acan is definitely one of my favorites...although there are so many out there that make it look dull in comparison. Just curious, I've been stuck on feeding the same mix of Spirulina flakes, Reef Prime flakes, and occasionally some PE Mysis for a LONG time now. I tried Roggers' frozen foods last year and they were great and I've always wanted to try some of Rods food but the shipping is a bit too much for food. Just wondering what others are feeding to bring out coloration in their fish. Thanks for any suggestions.... -Adam Link to comment
Needreefunds Posted August 1, 2012 Share Posted August 1, 2012 Adams' back! .. and with all this sexy stuffs! Looks great my man. What a sweet spot in the new house too. Congrats on everything! Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Adams' back! Looks great my man. What a sweet spot in the new house too. Congrats on everything! Thanks for the welcome back and compliments, Richie!!! Really ecstatic to be back and diving back in both hands and feet. I've been nothing but happy with the way this build has gone so far. Just can't wait to get some more eye candy in there -------------------------------------- Speaking of adding new coral, here's my current wish list for the tank. I obviously wouldn't add each one of these but a collection of some of these would make for a great tank in my opinion. Stonies Pink Lemonade (had this one in the past and loved the coloration) ORA Red Planet (always has been one of my favs) ORA Hawkins (been wanting this for YEARS) Tri-Color Nana / GARF Bonsai Icefire Echinata (really want a frag of this again) ORA Pearlberry Softies / LPS Dendro (really want to give one of these a try) Cephastrea (like encrusting montis with more movement) Ricordea / Yumas Plate Sun Coral (might lean more towards the Dendro but this is an option) Zoas / Palys I don't really have a wish list for these as there are so many new varieties that have cropped up over the last few years. Would like to get a mix of a few more to place together with the Armor of Gods (AOG) and Nightmare Palys that I have already. Time to start hunting these down..... Link to comment
pyronus Posted August 2, 2012 Share Posted August 2, 2012 Your wishlist sounds just like mine, minus the NPS. I just restarted my 20H a few weeks ago. I keep looking at your old 20H thread, that is still one of my favorite tanks on these boards. Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 2, 2012 Author Share Posted August 2, 2012 Your wishlist sounds just like mine, minus the NPS. I just restarted my 20H a few weeks ago. I keep looking at your old 20H thread, that is still one of my favorite tanks on these boards. Sounds like we have similar interest/taste in coral The dendro will be my first foray into trying NPS...figured it was worth a shot. Glad to hear that you fired back up your 20H a few weeks ago and that my old thread can serve as some inspiration. Do you have a thread going? Like I said earlier in this thread, sometimes I really miss that tank and wish I would have never taken it down. Just means that I need to try and recreate some of its goodness in this one -Adam Link to comment
Deleted User 4 Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Thanks man. The coloration on the Black Ice has come a long way from when I first got it. Hopefully it continues to develop more of the black/dark coloration as it further matures. The Sunrise Acan is definitely one of my favorites...although there are so many out there that make it look dull in comparison. Just curious, I've been stuck on feeding the same mix of Spirulina flakes, Reef Prime flakes, and occasionally some PE Mysis for a LONG time now. I tried Roggers' frozen foods last year and they were great and I've always wanted to try some of Rods food but the shipping is a bit too much for food. Just wondering what others are feeding to bring out coloration in their fish. Thanks for any suggestions.... -Adam Yes, I agree. The body conformation and patterns are very distributed on that black ice. The sunrise fnf is just remarkable to begin with. Probably will be your masterpiece of the tank as of now. Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 That is one nice and clean looking tank! Love the scape!!!! Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 3, 2012 Author Share Posted August 3, 2012 The sunrise fnf is just remarkable to begin with. Probably will be your masterpiece of the tank as of now. Completely agree. Will hopefully be adding some new coral over the next week or two. That is one nice and clean looking tank! Love the scape!!!! Thanks for the compliment on the tank and the scape. I've enjoyed my past tanks but I literally can't stop looking at this one and it hardly has anything in it. I can see it from our kitchen so whenever I head to the fridge or get even close to where I can see it, I always take a quick peek Our 14-month old son has really taken a liking to it as well...loves staring at the fish and of course doing his best to smudge up the glass. Glad to have you following along. -Adam Link to comment
flampton Posted August 3, 2012 Share Posted August 3, 2012 Hey Adam, Been following for awhile (beautiful tank btw!!) and had few questions about your Elos mini. First off I do have a very different mind set (see my azoox sig) in mind for the mini. However filtration is filtration so I was wondering if you bought the 2012 model? and if so why did you not want to try the new skimmer out? It was suppose to be brand new for this year and pull much better than the previous one. Also did you sell the Elos skimmer and if so how much did you get for it(if I can be so bold)? Finally I've noticed that the Elos community does not paint the back of their tanks. Is this because of the high quality glass, resale value, or some other reason? Thanks- Eric Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 5, 2012 Author Share Posted August 5, 2012 However filtration is filtration so I was wondering if you bought the 2012 model? and if so why did you not want to try the new skimmer out? It was suppose to be brand new for this year and pull much better than the previous one. Also did you sell the Elos skimmer and if so how much did you get for it(if I can be so bold)? Finally I've noticed that the Elos community does not paint the back of their tanks. Is this because of the high quality glass, resale value, or some other reason? Hey Eric. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. First off, congrats on your MINI. To answer your questions, this is indeed the 2012 model and it came with the PS200, which you're correct that is supposed to have been a major upgrade over the NS100 that used to come with these tanks. Larger Sicce pump, less finicky with adjustments...or at least that's what ELOS says I have always wanted to give a cone skimmer a try and I knew that I wanted to open the sump up a bit so I never did try the ELOS skimmer. It was probably worth a shot but I ended up getting such a great deal on the EShopps that I never really looked back. The skimmer is still for sale now ($135+shipping). My wife actually asked the same question about painting the back of the tank. I'm not really sure why folks don't paint the back although like you said, I'm not sure you'd want to paint the back and then try and resell it. On my 17g, rather than paint the back I used a dark tint window film that you can buy at Lowes/Home Depot and it worked perfectly. I actually cut and installed it while the tank was running You just need a soap/water solution to put it on and it peeled right off when I just took it down last week. It's a great option over painting it since it's not permanent. I'll have to check out your thread/tank soon since I've always loved NPS/Azoox tanks.... Link to comment
flampton Posted August 6, 2012 Share Posted August 6, 2012 Hey Eric. Sorry for not getting back to you sooner. First off, congrats on your MINI. To answer your questions, this is indeed the 2012 model and it came with the PS200, which you're correct that is supposed to have been a major upgrade over the NS100 that used to come with these tanks. Larger Sicce pump, less finicky with adjustments...or at least that's what ELOS says I have always wanted to give a cone skimmer a try and I knew that I wanted to open the sump up a bit so I never did try the ELOS skimmer. It was probably worth a shot but I ended up getting such a great deal on the EShopps that I never really looked back. The skimmer is still for sale now ($135+shipping). My wife actually asked the same question about painting the back of the tank. I'm not really sure why folks don't paint the back although like you said, I'm not sure you'd want to paint the back and then try and resell it. On my 17g, rather than paint the back I used a dark tint window film that you can buy at Lowes/Home Depot and it worked perfectly. I actually cut and installed it while the tank was running You just need a soap/water solution to put it on and it peeled right off when I just took it down last week. It's a great option over painting it since it's not permanent. I'll have to check out your thread/tank soon since I've always loved NPS/Azoox tanks.... Thanks for the info, I have not taken the dive into the Elos pool yet, pun intended. I had another tank fall into my lap, then because of the vagaries of ebay it looks like the seller didn't realize how much tanks are to ship and is trying to renege. Whatever. So I may jump into the pool afterall. I will probably stick with the stock skimmer, but possibly add a biopellet reactor. Just some idle thoughts. Good idea on the tint, I will definitely keep that in mind. Thanks and I'll be following along Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 Nothing of major significance to report. Just letting the tank mature a bit now that there's actually a bioload in there. Coral have all settled in nicely and everything is chugging along. I might be on the lookout for another fish here shortly On a coral note, I've been talking back and forth with a guy up in Sumter, SC (couple hour drive) who has some amazing stuff. Sounds like he might be able to work out a great deal for the following in the next week or so. To say I'm excited would be quite the understatement ORA Hawkins (2-3" mini colony) ORA Red Planet (2-3" multibranch) Pink Lemonade Meteor Shower Cyphastrea Valentine's Day Massacre Cyphastrea (purple base w/yellow polpys) It looks like I should be able sell both skimmers to fund these and maybe a few others in the near-future. I'm super excited to add more life to this tank. I may add one more select SPS frag in the future but the ones above are going to be the showcase. -Adam Link to comment
pyronus Posted August 7, 2012 Share Posted August 7, 2012 Awesome to hear man! Can't wait to see the eye candy. I picked up my first 2 SPS frags over the weekend, they seem to be doing okay. I'm pretty excited, but I'm more nervous than anything. Link to comment
divecj5 Posted August 7, 2012 Author Share Posted August 7, 2012 I picked up my first 2 SPS frags over the weekend, they seem to be doing okay. I'm pretty excited, but I'm more nervous than anything. What did you end up getting? Honestly, I wouldn't be overly nervous about care. My main advice would be to just take it slow...don't move the frags all over the place too frequently, put them in a spot and see how they respond over a few days (unless there's noticeable decline), etc. Although polyp extension is a fair indicator of overall happiness/health, it's not the only thing so just keep an eye on them. I would base where you place them more on the system they came from then general care/advice that you may find online, although that information is good for generalities. One of my favorite quotes is - "only bad things happen fast in this hobby" so just take your time. I'm sure you're going to do great keeping them. -Adam Link to comment
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