Ian's Dual-12" Cube Reef/Fuge w/Sump

[Looselyhuman]

My favorite inhabitants - FTS below these.

 

Mating pair of GBGs:

 

Sexy on blue maxi:

 

11/27/2012:

 

11/11/2012

 

11/4/2012 - First Cube Squared FTS:

 

Planning for the actual cubes begins here.

 

Temporary tank progression:

9/19/12 FTS:

 

8/31/2012 - new FTS after Aquascapers Order:

 

8/27/12

 

8/18/12

 

8/4/12

 

The new plan is two 12" rimless Mr. Aqua cubes plumbed to a 10g sump. Should be coming together in the next couple of weeks.

 

Current inhabitants:

5x Sexy Shrimp (2 banished to fuge for Zoa abuse)

2x (pair-ish) Greenbanded Gobies

Blue Maxi-Mini

8 SPS (mostly Acro) frags

Sympodium

Blue Snowflake polyps

Some Floridae and Yuma Ricordea

Some Zoas

2x PS Gorgonians

Lots of Macro

[Looselyhuman]

tl;dr?

 

Any thoughts on the light or potential stand? Thinking about ordering...

 

Thanks!

[MeepNand]

Lighting looks fine. Kessils are pretty good.

[tinctorus]

How did you like that yellow/gold assesor?

Ive though about getting 1 but never pulled the trigger, Theyre such a cool little fish though

[Looselyhuman]

Lighting looks fine. Kessils are pretty good.

 

Thanks, but any thoughts on color and normal vs. wide lens? I'm actually less sure about Kessil than I was when I first posted. I like the spot effect and shimmer, but am also considering an Apex Lite and it would be cool to have the controllability of an AI Nano. Decisions!!

 

How did you like that yellow/gold assesor?

Ive though about getting 1 but never pulled the trigger, Theyre such a cool little fish though

 

Perfect nano fish, very hardy, hungry, peaceful and pretty interesting. Really liked how he swam in relation to the rock.

 

On a more general note, Chris @ PicO is saying not until October. So it will be even longer than I thought.

 

Unless anyone knows of a DB18 for sale in SoCal?

[Looselyhuman]

So Chris @ PicO is off until OCTOBER. Decided to get started with a standard 10g. Have an AC110 coming next week and will get some equip out of the tank then.

 

Speaking of:

 

BoostLED 3CW/2RB PAR30 - for now, still haven't made up my mind on Kessil or AI Nano (or..?) longer-term

AquaticLife 115 skimmer

Koralia Nano (MP10 later)

JBJ ATO w/Kalk

Reef Crystals to cycle then H2Ocean

 

It's about a week into soft-cycling some uncured Manado live rock. Wish I hadn't stolen 10lbs of Indonesian reef, especially based on what I got. It seems pretty cured to me and there's very little visible life - almost no macro (yet), a few feather dusters, 1-2 surviving sponges, and some other little sessile filter feeders. I did find a spider (pycnogonid), but it didn't look like the zoa-eating variety. Hoping it's a sponge eater vs a coral eater. Jason at PA mentioned he though this rock was coming from pretty deep which matches what I'm seeing life-wise.

 

Cycling has been a non-event. Stood by with lots of water, skimmer blasting, and... nothing. Undetectable ammonia and nitrites. I've done a couple of water changes anyway and have been feeding a little cyclop-eeze. Seeing some diatoms and/or dino in the last 48 hours or so (see pics).

 

Have some hopefully nice macro on the way from Inland Aquatics and won a #####in Maxi-Mini on eBay from LAReefs. I figure I will start Macro and miscelleanous stuff and as it matures (and after I transfer to the DB18, settle on lighting) I will start heading in the SPS dominated direction.

 

Pics - excuse my craptastic P&S:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Siesure later.

[Looselyhuman]

Quick update.

 

Lots of life but a dirty GHA-filled tank. Not loving the bimini pink sand. Seems prone to compacting and generally looking dirty. Also Nassarius snails only have a few spots where they like to burrow into it, because of all the larger bits n pieces - so they probably aren't providing much stirring help.

 

In other news: Got a shipment of macro (and CUC) from Inland Aquatics, but it's not looking great at this stage. Hoping to see some signs of growth before I post any pics. My blue/green maxi-mini is big and healthy. I also got four sexies. They're currently hosting Halymenia but hoping they will shift to the nem. One of them arrived without legs and is hiding under a rock. I had to collect all my nassarius because they were chasing it around like the little blodhounds they are, so they are all living in a net until it either molts or dies. I would not be a good documentary filmmaker, passively filming buffalo killing a lion cub, etc...

 

Also, my hitchhiker Halimeda (20+ sprouts) grows like nuts but after about 3 disks it starts bleaching and/or turning yellow. I think it's just not loving the instability.

 

Here are my current params:

 

Ca 480-500

Alk 8.6-8.9

Nitrate: 0.3 -0.5

Mag: 1440

Phos: Undetectable

 

Doing kalk ATO and 2-part daily - tiny amounts, slightly more Alk than Ca. Was dosing Mag too but am holding off on that until I see it dip. Reef Crystals seems to have really high mag out of the gate. I'm just waiting to finish this bucket before I slowly switch to H2Ocean and I'll re-evaluate then.

 

Doing weekly 10% WCs - give or take. Skimmer is producing decent skimmate but it's inconsistent. Once my load is a little greater it will probably be pretty effective, if I keep it running.

 

Also got my AC110 but need to paint the outside black to reduce light poluution on the reverse cycle. Going to try the skimmer, heater, some LR rubble and a clump of Agardiella in there. Will be nice to get some equip out of the tank. Planning to trim the impeller equally on all 5 blades, to see how that does. In the past have just removed two blades but I always wonder if that reduces the shaft lifetime...

 

Oh, last thing: The BoostLED PAR30 is great, but I'd like to see more evidence of macro growth. Ordered a LEDTRiC full spectrum w/90 degree optics last night. Don't want two fixtures above this tank right now. Once I move to the DB18 I'm hoping to have settled on something better. But I am really second-guessing the AI Nano AND Kessil ideas at this point, only because I want more than blue and white. The LED haters over at RC have really convinced me that something is missing from most commercial LED solutions (and I'm not feeling the DIY thing). If it wasn't insane over a tiny tank I might try a Radion, or even one of those Chinese 120w with reds, greens, and violets. Lighting is a PITA.

 

No pics - too gross ATM.

 

Peasout.

[mpsti05]

What kind of power strip is that?

[owenj]

Will be tagging along, as I too want a DB18 this fall. October is so far away though

 

Can't be much help on the lights, as I had two Boost PAR30s & am now using an AI Nano. Hoping it's enough to give some halymenia & gracilaria a chance,

[Looselyhuman]

What kind of power strip is that?

 

It's an American DJ thinggie, like this one.

 

Will be tagging along, as I too want a DB18 this fall. October is so far away though

 

Cool, welcome. I know, right?!? And of course Chris is going to be backed up on orders so none of us will see our tanks until 2013 I'm sure. I'm also a klutz when it comes to scaping, mounting frags, etc. Hate the idea of doing it once then moving it. Oh well.

 

Can't be much help on the lights, as I had two Boost PAR30s & am now using an AI Nano. Hoping it's enough to give some halymenia & gracilaria a chance,

 

It's enough to keep them alive right now. Hoping that Par38 kicks it up a notch and provides a little more coverage too. If I had all the money in the world I would just buy a Radion and be done with it.

 

Some good news. the (nearly) legless shrimp somehow crawled out from under the big rock pile and is hanging on the ground under the three others, propping itself up between pebbles. No luck feeding him/her yet but hoping it's strong enough to survive until it molts. Going to have to get a real breeder net for the nassarii because 5 of them in my little black net is just a sad sight.

[mpsti05]

It's an American DJ thinggie, like this one.

 

Sweet, Thanks just ordered one!

[Looselyhuman]

Sweet, Thanks just ordered one!

 

Cool, enjoy. Love your build btw.

 

DOH!! Scarlet Hermits eat Halymenia. How did I not know this? Guess I was over crabs by the time I got Haly last time around.

 

 

If you're in SD and want three hermits and six tonga nassarius, they're yours.

[Looselyhuman]

Hermits and Nassarii were gone within an hour of posting. Sweet. Ok, so now what's going to eat the rest of my GHA?

 

Happy dirty valley:

 

New FTS. Dirty glass, POS P&S.

[Looselyhuman]

Couple updates.

 

Got my AC110 setup:

 

 

(Need to find a better heater solution)

 

Gratuitous closeup of sex(y shrimp).

 

Another sexy eating a mysis that's almost as big as he/she is:

 

Happy valley under PAR30 and MoonPop:

 

Nem and two sexies:

 

Algae is improving, will probably post another update in a week or two.

 

Ciao!

[owenj]

Looks great! I hear you on needing a better heater solution...but that'll probably just come in the form of the DB18

[Mitch619]

Hey man I have that same skimmer. Have you been able to stop the micro bubbles? Mine keep flooding the display tank.

[Looselyhuman]

Looks great! I hear you on needing a better heater solution...but that'll probably just come in the form of the DB18

 

Haha yep that's true! Thanks.

 

 

Hey man I have that same skimmer. Have you been able to stop the micro bubbles? Mine keep flooding the display tank.

 

Hey. I've had some minor success. I built a partial box arround it that forces the effluent to (I think) go down through the exposed area of the intake stem (I have the AC flow restricted). The skimmer is oriented so that the flow comes out towards that area (facing left) and it's also at a hieght where the top outflow slit is above the water line and I have it flowing out onto the top of a sliver of poly-filter. With all that, and when it's running normally (not freaking out like they sometimes do), the DT micro-bubbles are _almost_ non-existent.

 

Edit: I'll try to remember to take a pic of the box thing when I next clean it.

[Mitch619]

Cool thanks man.

 

I cant wait to see your DB18, I have a MR18.

 

I'm trying to figure out where I can place mine. I wanted to have a custom stand built, but I realized it would look kinda dumb since this is such a shallow tank. And its hard to find anything with 18x18 dimensions!

 

I might just have this on my kitchen counter lol

 

Where are you thinking of putting yours when it comes in?

[Looselyhuman]

Cool thanks man.

 

I cant wait to see your DB18, I have a MR18.

 

I'm trying to figure out where I can place mine. I wanted to have a custom stand built, but I realized it would look kinda dumb since this is such a shallow tank. And its hard to find anything with 18x18 dimensions!

 

I might just have this on my kitchen counter lol

 

Where are you thinking of putting yours when it comes in?

 

No problem!

 

Yeah, I can't wait either, but it could be awhile. The stand thing is a sore point.

 

I got one of these. but it's NOT 19.2" deep as advertised. It's almost exactly 18" and with beveled edges, so the tank would be hanging off. Otherwise, it's a solid. sturdy piece of furniture and I think I even trust the wheels with a tank twice as big. So, I got a 1"x19"x27" solid pine board and some polyurethane. If I stick with this thing I will either just replace the top with that, or put it on top with some little rubber nubs under it. I should have just sent it back to Amazon but wanted to get my temp tank started. Impatience sucks.

 

I would build a stand but I really don't have much of a work area.

 

Kitchen counter = solid backup solution.

[gena]

Looks Great!!!!!! Following

 

Maybe I missed it, but did your sexy with no legs end up dying?

[Looselyhuman]

Looks Great!!!!!! Following

 

Maybe I missed it, but did your sexy with no legs end up dying?

 

Cool, thanks Yeah he/she died on Sunday morning. It was kind of a relief.

 

Of course, i was stuck with a dead shrimp directly under my left hand rock structure, and no combination of finger, forceps or turkey basters was budging it. I found myself thinking "if only I had a few nassarius snails or hermit crabs." Lol. So I ended up tearing the tank apart and traumatizing the remaining shrimp.

 

Two are good and hosting the nem, one is hanging out in the right front corner and dancing with its reflection. I don't think it can find the others but it refuses to be budged. It's amazing how large a 10 gallon tank is for these guys.

 

Oh the crustacity.

[gena]

Oh the crustacity.

 

I have 8!!! 2 males and 6 females. And a couple of the females are carrying eggs!!!!! They are very enjoyable critters to have in the tank

[Looselyhuman]

 

I have 8!!! 2 males and 6 females. And a couple of the females are carrying eggs!!!!! They are very enjoyable critters to have in the tank

 

Very cool I haven't figured out how to sex mine yet - the whole broken stripe thing isn't making sense to me. The two I would have thought were females (larger, fuller-bodied) are testy towards eachother and one is defensive of the third smaller one, so maybe I have it reversed. Idk.

 

Once I get some more hostable things (another maxi-mini maybe) I will probably get more. It's funny, sexies were barely getting popular when I left the hobby 3 years ago, and I'd never heard of a mini carpet. Change is good.

 

Edit: Forgot to mention that I chased the loner around with a net last night until he/she caught a glimpse of the others on the nem, at which point he/she bolted over there so fast it was a blur. 3 happy shrimp and an only slightly annoyed anemone.

[Looselyhuman]

My LEDTRiC full spectrum PAR38 arrived. I don't like it. I was surprised at how blue it is, and also the 90-degree optics somehow seemed like even less coverage than the 60-degree BoostLED PAR30 I have now. I know that doesn't seem possible but that's how it looked to me.

 

So, I guess I will probably re-sell it. I really don't like blue but if you're a blue person this is a nice bulb. Probably will be in the hardware classifieds forum in a couple of days for a good price ($90 shipped?). I also have an extra unopened JBJ ATO that I could maybe throw in for a total of $150 shipped. PM me if interested (but I'm not 100% sure yet) or else just watch for the other post.

[Looselyhuman]

Quick update: Mike at LEDTRiC is pretty awesome. He's going to send me some 120 degree optics. Now if I can just get him to swap out two of my RBs for NWs.