RollaJase's 30G Custom Cube - Tank Torn Down

[jack1978]

Your tank looks great, beautiful coral and somehow looks much bigger than it is. Nice job!

[RollaJase]

Your tank looks great, beautiful coral and somehow looks much bigger than it is. Nice job!

Thanks . It has definitley come a long way since the algae infested cube of water I had at the start of the year haha. I think the new scape has really opened everything up and made the tank look larger.

[TristanC]

Tank is really looking nice my friend, nice photos too

[RollaJase]

Tank is really looking nice my friend, nice photos too

Thanks Tristan, I'm glad you like it .

[RollaJase]

I came home from work today, walked into my room and was greeted with this:

It seems my Anemone wants to commit suicide, and take the rest of my tank with it. The water has a slightly cloudy tinge to it and the corals weren't happy at all, the mushies had shriveled and there was no polyp extension from the SPS at all. The only thing happy in my tank were my clowns (because they knew they were gonna get fed) and my sea star who was lounging over my new tri-colour acro.

 

This is my solution:

Pretty ghetto but should do the job. I am literally kicking myself for not doing this after the last occurrence and I am almost 100% sold on the idea of taking my huge ass nem back to the LFS and picking up a BTA (after it has recovered a bit). I have raised the water level in the tank so the skimmer will run a bit wetter and I will run the skimmer through the night as apposed on a timer (on at 8am off at 10pm).

 

This is a real kick in the teeth considering all the nice compliments I received today (thanks BTW). I was also noticing encrusting and growth from a few of my SPS pieces and I would hate to see things go backwards again.

 

I apologies for the average pics, I took them straight off of my phone and was in a rush when I took them.

[RollaJase]

Well just did an ammonia, nitrite and nitrate test. Ammonia is up slightly (between 0 and 0.25ppm) but the nitrite and nitrate are still reading 0 (or close enough to).

 

My skimmer has also taken 3/4 of a cup within the last 45mins-1hr. I love this skimmer haha. I pray I won't have a mini cycle. It's times like these that I miss my sump .

[Veng]

I hope everything recovers.

[eitallent]

Geez! The anemone should be named Kamikaze.

 

What about adding fresh carbon to absorb and remove any toxins?

 

I hope all goes well.

[RollaJase]

I hope everything recovers.

Thanks, so do I. Things are looking better this morning though.

 

Geez! The anemone should be named Kamikaze.

 

What about adding fresh carbon to absorb and remove any toxins?

 

I hope all goes well.

yeah that would be a good name for it haha. I added a fresh bag of carbon Saturday when I did my water change. The water has cleared up somewhat and the skimmer has been doing a great job.

[Felicia]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to see this. That nem is such a centerpiece in your tank! Hopefully it won't happen again and everything will be ok between the skimming and the carbon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

[RollaJase]

Oh no! I'm so sorry to see this. That nem is such a centerpiece in your tank! Hopefully it won't happen again and everything will be ok between the skimming and the carbon. I'll be keeping my fingers crossed for you!

Thanks Felicia. Yeah it does make a nice centerpiece however I am about this close [ ] to getting the LFS to order a bubble tip in for me and taking this guy in for a trade. I don't want to stress the clowns out too much though. I am going to wait and see where the anemone moves after this incident. Currently it has stuck it's foot between 2 rocks and looks content there. This is also stopping it from being so large as a lot of the vertical height is between the two pieces of rock. Previously it has always attached to the top of the rock and kinda flapped around in the flow. I might give the LFS a call over the weekend and see what they have and if they will make a trade, I am making a point to go to the LFS once a fortnight and seeing as I went there last weekend a phone call will have to do haha.

 

The tank looks back to normal today. The water has cleared and everything is looking happy, well, except the anemone.

 

I have noticed some encrusting and growth on my oldest SPS piece (red with green polyp acro). It is encrusting on the rock nicely and is branching out from the main body. The Birdsnest isn't looking any better though .

[RollaJase]

Been while since an update so thought I'd share whats been going on. I went to the LFS yesterday to trade back my anemone for a BTA. Got a nice little guy, green/white body with fluro orange tips.:

While I was there I also picked up a new acro:

This piece looks much better in person. Red/brown body with pale blue tips, the guys at the LFS think the blue will get more intense under my LEDs.

 

This will probably be the last piece of SPS I buy for a while, pretty much filled up all the space I had available. I do have a nice place for a plating monti when I can find a nice small piece (instead of one the size of a side plate). Once the BTA settles in I will reevaluate what I can place on by back rock pile, I am thinking a few leather corals and possibly zoas/palys.

 

In other tank related news my birdsnest took a turn for the worst and I couldn't bring it back. I have no idea what happened and I tried placing it in a few different areas in the tank with no luck. My starfish also dropped a leg on Friday. I'm not entirely sure what happened but I put it down to a salinity swing or the clowns. Throughout the week the anemone had been moving around a lot and the clowns were on edge. The starfish was on a rock right next to the anemone and I think the clowns might have nipped it as it was crawling off the rock. I had a chat with the guys a the LFS and they seem to think the clowns were the most likely cause as they have seen it happen in their own tanks and display tanks.

 

While I was at the LFS I was speaking to the owner about a few things and the topic of ATO's came up. I mentioned how I was going to try making my own but was interested in taking a look at a Tunze Osmolator Nano if he had one. So he shows me the Nano and we start comparing it to the original Osmolator. He mentions that one of his good customers ordered 3 Nano's as an alternative to the Osmolator and ended up returning them and upgrading when they realized it wasn't right for their needs. He offered me an open box Nano with less then 1 week of use on it for $80AUD (they retail for between $150-$160AUD), I said yes on the spot so that was my impulse buy of the week haha . The only thing is the open box Nano didn't come with a power supply and only had half of the stock magnet mount. They were able to find another magnet for me but no power supply so I will be looking on eBay for that part. I also ran into a problem with mounting the sensor, the stock mount it too bulky and with the bracing on my tank I would have to drop the water level in my tank by about 1 inch. This is not an option so I am looking at rigging up something on the return hose mount for the sensor to attach to.

 

My macro filter for my camera also arrived and it is fantastic! Best $5 I have ever spent haha. The only issue is you have to get close to whatever your taking photos of to keep everything in focus so I can't get up close and personal with everything in my tank yet.

I will leave you with my first attempts of using this filter. All these photos are re sized versions of the original images that have been touched up slightly in Photoshop. None of these photos are crops. Enjoy .

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[jack1978]

Nice trade on the nem!!

All those shots look great for $5. Again, beautiful coral you got in there.

 

I like the plate and shroom shots....is that a Garf Bonsai?

[RollaJase]

Nice trade on the nem!!

All those shots look great for $5. Again, beautiful coral you got in there.

 

I like the plate and shroom shots....is that a Garf Bonsai?

Thanks, I am pretty happy with the filter, saves me time in photoshop haha.

 

Yes I do have a Garf Bonsai in there, the 3rd macro shot is of the Bonsai. I also have another very similar Acro which has a darker body and greener polyps, the 4th and 5th marco shots are of that acro.

[RollaJase]

It occurred to me that I hadn't seen my green clown gobie in a few days. Taking a look around the tank I found his dried up body in the waste paper basket next to the tank . I will definitely be ordering another one of these guys, such a cool little fish.

[jack1978]

That sucks.

Silver lining: At least he picked up after himself.

[markalot]

Nice to see a smaller nem in the tank. Hopefully the clowns will approve eventually. Sorry about the little Goby.

[Felicia]

Sorry to see that huge nem go, but I understand that it was just too big for your tank. The new bubble tip is very pretty and a good choice as a replacement

 

What kind of camera do you have that you got the macro filter for? The most recent macro shots you posted are just stunning. I love the detail you can see on all the corals.

 

Sorry to hear about the clown goby Do you have a lid? Finding dried up fish is always the worst.

[RollaJase]

That sucks.

Silver lining: At least he picked up after himself.

Yeah it is a shame but yeah, at least i didn't tread on the poor guy at night haha.

 

Nice to see a smaller nem in the tank. Hopefully the clowns will approve eventually. Sorry about the little Goby.

The BTA is a much better fit I think, unfortunatley right now the clows are taking no interest in it .

 

Sorry to see that huge nem go, but I understand that it was just too big for your tank. The new bubble tip is very pretty and a good choice as a replacement

 

What kind of camera do you have that you got the macro filter for? The most recent macro shots you posted are just stunning. I love the detail you can see on all the corals.

 

Sorry to hear about the clown goby Do you have a lid? Finding dried up fish is always the worst.

Thanks, I think the BTA is a much better fit for a tank this size anyway.

 

I am currently using a Panasonic GF-1 Micro 4/3 camera. The filter size typically for this smaller form factor is 52mm but I believe the Sony varients are 48mm. If you have a full sized SLR I have found that the filter size information is typically printed inside the lens cap and if I'm not mistaken you will be needing a 60/62mm filter but im not entirely sure. I have various filters for different things i.e. UV filtering, general protection, this is a nice one to add to the arsenal.

 

Yeah always a shame to lose a fish. I have a mesh lid but the openings are about 1"x1", I may look at getting some netting to go over the top of the mesh.

[Felicia]

You make me want a nice DSLR so badly. I just use my little point and shoot for now. Its a surprisingly nice camera, but I can't buy nice lenses or filters for it. Oh well! I will just admire your macro shots

 

Yeah, 1" mesh is probably too large for smaller fish like that. I use the 1/4" netting from Bulk Reef Supply and that seems to work well for nano fish.

[RollaJase]

You make me want a nice DSLR so badly. I just use my little point and shoot for now. Its a surprisingly nice camera, but I can't buy nice lenses or filters for it. Oh well! I will just admire your macro shots

 

Yeah, 1" mesh is probably too large for smaller fish like that. I use the 1/4" netting from Bulk Reef Supply and that seems to work well for nano fish.

I originally started using a good point and shoot as I had purchased a fairly good one for my parents. It took great photos and still does but after playing with a friends DSLR I knew I had to have one haha. A DSLR made a huge dirrerence, the biggest advantage I have found is being able to choose your focus point and manually focussing, it makes it that much easier to get a great shot (of stationary objects anyway haha). There is quite a difference between the smaller micro 4/3 form factor that I use and the larger (full size) 4/3 form factor in terms of price and funtionality. Micro 4/3" is typically more expensive as it is more compact and due to this it does lack some features of the full sized 4/3 form factor, keep that in mind when you look to upgrade . I purchased mine used off eBay about 2 years ago as just the body (the camera part itself) and purchased a few lenses as I went (also used), overall I think I got everything for about 50% off RRP. The best thing is when I decide to upgrade, as long as I stay with the Micro 4/3 form factor I can keep all my lenses and just upgrade the body. Then again there are lens adapters so I can use full sized lenses on my camera as well so the options are endless really.

 

I tried to find a smaller mesh locally when I was making my lid and didn't have much luck, I'll have to take another look.

[Zia]

Whats up my Aussie reefing buddy o pal! Haven't been by for a minute, sori mate.

Bummer on the other Nem but nice trade up on the BTA, that will look bootyful once it's settles in. The new acro looks like a nice size mini colony w/ some nice color.

Nice score on that macro for 5, wow! The pics look incredible. Let's see more

[RollaJase]

Whats up my Aussie reefing buddy o pal! Haven't been by for a minute, sori mate.

Bummer on the other Nem but nice trade up on the BTA, that will look bootyful once it's settles in. The new acro looks like a nice size mini colony w/ some nice color.

Nice score on that macro for 5, wow! The pics look incredible. Let's see more

Hey man, how's things? I know the feeling, I haven't had 5 minutes to check how things have been going on your thread lately. I'll make sure I mosey on over tonight .

 

Yeah a shame I know but I really think the BTA will be a better fit in a tank my size and will cause a lot fewer issues with stinging corals. Now I just need to convicne my clowns that it is a friend. The acro looks much better in person, the polyps actually vary in colour dependign where they are on the body, something the camera doesn't pick up well.

 

I am very happy with how the pictures are looking with the Macro filter, now I just need to brush up on my photoshop skills haha. I'm glad you like the photos.

[RollaJase]

A package full of goodies arrived for me today

1 x 500ml Salifert Coral Food

1 x 250ml Salifert Coralline Aminoacids

1 x 118ml Microbe-Lift Phyto-Plus A

1 x CorAffix Reef Glue

1 x Blue Life Aiptasia RX

1 x 600Lp/h SunSun pump

1 x Chem-Marin Stop Aiptasia Applicator

1 x 200micron Filter Sock

1 x Acrylic Frag Rack (8 frags)

1 x Pack of 12 Acrylic Frag Plugs

 

One of the better online stores had 50% off the foods and as I was planning on ordering a few things anyway I decided to buy a few to try.The Phyto-Plus seemed to get the best feeding response when I tried a bit of spot feeding. I am going to alternate between the Salifert Coral Food and the Phyto-Plus each week for a month or so and see how things go. I brought the Aminoacids as there seemed to be a pretty good feedback about the Salifert one online and for $10 if it doesn't work it's no great loss.

 

Now that I have this pump I can attempt to get the media reactor I ordered a while back online. I need to make a custom mounting bracket for it and seeing as I'm not using the magnet mount from my Osmolator Nano I won't need to buy any magnets which is nice .

[RollaJase]

I have been pondering this idea for a while now and I really would like to get myself a small clam for my tank. I am thinking one of the sand dwelling varieties would be best suited for my tank and available space. Also considering my tank has been on the dirtier side of things since I removed the sump I think the nutrient levels should be about right.

 

This isn't something I am going to jump into though. I'm going to do my research and pick the right clam for the job.

 

Any suggestions? Agreements/disagreements? Any input would be great.