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A Carib.Castle: Naughty Nibblers... June '15 pics/vid, Razors, 125g, diy LR


eitallent

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Wait, you had kids, until the hurricane?

 

Thank GOD I still have kids. :) Hurricane Andrew huffed and puffed and blew our house down with us in it but everyone was OK. We had homeowners insurance and we were able to rebuild (would not do that again: bloody contractors!). We were lucky.

 

Some folks had sharks and other sea life in their swimming pools and living rooms (pew!) after the hurricane! We were 40 miles inland and did not get a storm surge, just flooding from the downpour.

 

I lived in this neighborhood:

 

fHtYm.St.56.jpeg

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Howdy! I have placed an order for a media basket made by inTank for the AC110 power filter. It has room for the Tunze 9002 skimmer. I order it too and will probably employ it somewhere down the line. Hopefully it will not strip too many nutrients from the water as I think there needs to be some nutrients to feed a balance biological filtration. I am looking forward to my swedish fish from StevieT, but not the gfy stickers. :):lol:

 

1324348339853495242949.jpeg

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Is the AC110 the only filters you have on there?

Hi, Battle Athletics! Thanks for dropping in. :)

 

Yes, for now that is what I have running. I have ordered a canister filter to use in addition to the AC110. I will be relying on lots of great macro algae, a large pod population, a healthy biological filtration and a robust CUC to keep things clean. I will use the canister filter with the weekly 10%+ WC when I will stir up portions (not too much) of the sand bed to lift detritus into the water column and filter it through the canister.

 

I know I am new to the hobby and my opinions do not (should not) hold much weight, but from what I have learned in this forum and hobby literature, building a strong foundation in the biological filter, maintaining balance in the organisms introduced, and gradual changes (in removing nutrients or adding organisms) are important to the long term health of the reef system.

 

See my 12 g thread linked below. I have one sponge for mechanical filtration, one small pack of GAC, and a ton of macro and pods in the 4 g fuge. It has remained clean IMO due to the great bio-filter in the LR and sand (2 inches). A shrimp died in there two weeks ago and I could not find the body. Preemptively, I did lots of water changes (10% every 3 -4 days), added a 4" x 3" poly bio-filter pad, rinsed out the sponge every other day and refreshed the carbon once so far. I got increased nuisance algae growth and a small bloom of diatoms but the CUC is on the job keeping up with the algae. The corals, fish and macros are all doing well. : fingerscrossed:

 

I am not saying that this is the right thing to do, but I am going to give it a try. I may have to load up more equipment if the system cannot be as natural as I want it to be. Reality has a way of slapping the rose tinted glasses right off! :lol:

~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~

 

BTW I will be feeding MyAtlantis 12g nano the PaulB Live from NY! Diet at 10 am EST/ 9 CST and broad casting it on Ustream.tv . :)

 

 

 

Here is the link http://www.ustream.t...no-reef/theater

 

It is broadcasting now but you will want come back to see the fish trying to swim into the turkey baster to get at the clam and oyster mix. :D

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Hi, Battle Athletics! Thanks for dropping in. :)

 

Yes, for now that is what I have running. I have ordered a canister filter to use in addition to the AC110. I will be relying on lots of great macro algae, a large pod population, a healthy biological filtration and a robust CUC to keep things clean. I will use the canister filter with the weekly 10%+ WC when I will stir up portions (not too much) of the sand bed to lift detritus into the water column and filter it through the canister.

 

I know I am new to the hobby and my opinions do not (should not) hold much weight, but from what I have learned in this forum and hobby literature, building a strong foundation in the biological filter, maintaining balance in the organisms introduced, and gradual changes (in removing nutrients or adding organisms) are important to the long term health of the reef system.

 

See my 12 g thread linked below. I have one sponge for mechanical filtration, one small pack of GAC, and a ton of macro and pods in the 4 g fuge. It has remained clean IMO due to the great bio-filter in the LR and sand (2 inches). A shrimp died in there two weeks ago and I could not find the body. Preemptively, I did lots of water changes (10% every 3 -4 days), added a 4" x 3" poly bio-filter pad, rinsed out the sponge every other day and refreshed the carbon once so far. I got increased nuisance algae growth and a small bloom of diatoms but the CUC is on the job keeping up with the algae. The corals, fish and macros are all doing well. : fingerscrossed:

 

I am not saying that this is the right thing to do, but I am going to give it a try. I may have to load up more equipment if the system cannot be as natural as I want it to be. Reality has a way of slapping the rose tinted glasses right off! :lol:

~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~*~~~~~

 

BTW I will be feeding MyAtlantis 12g nano the PaulB Live from NY! Diet at 10 am EST/ 9 CST and broad casting it on Ustream.tv . :)

 

 

 

Here is the link http://www.ustream.tv/channel/myatlantis-nano-reef/theater'>http://www.ustream.t...no-reef/theater

 

It is broadcasting now but you will want come back to see the fish trying to swim into the turkey baster to get at the clam and oyster mix. :D

 

That sounds like a great starting plan, I ran my planted freshwater tank with a canister filter and a 110. It's amazing that the 110s are large enough to hold a skimmer; I'm pretty sure that there are people on this forum with smaller tanks. :)

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I remember Hurricane Andrew and Hugo ,those mugs were devastating, they set the bar until Katrina,Rita and Ike came along.

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Oh wow...how scary (Hurricane Andrew)!!!! What year was that?

 

That was August 24,1992. I never have to look up THAT date. :lol:

 

I remember Hurricane Andrew and Hugo ,those mugs were devastating, they set the bar until Katrina,Rita and Ike came along.

Yes indeed. That was the hurricane that ruined many an insurance company and taught the surviving insurance companies that it just may not be worth insuring homes in south Florida. <_<

 

That sounds like a great starting plan, I ran my planted freshwater tank with a canister filter and a 110. It's amazing that the 110s are large enough to hold a skimmer; I'm pretty sure that there are people on this forum with smaller tanks. :)

 

Yes, I will start out simple and go where the tank takes me.

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I did a few unusual things this weekend for my tanks. I made some homemade fish food by chopping up clams and oysters, freezing them in small size ice cube trays, and then scraping little shavings off the cubes to mix with tank water and feed the fish and corals. Pictures of how I did this are here. A few of the clams (little necks) I dropped in the tank just to see what would happen. They immediately did the clam thing and buried themselves. Now all I see of them is their siphons poking up from the sand. Has anyone else tried this?

 

The clean up crew is doing its job. They have spread out along the sand and disappeared. There is a goodly amount of brown/reddish hair algae growing so they will not starve. :D I have reduced the lights a bit more. I do not want to let that HA get out of hand!!

 

Thanks for your contributions to this tank everyone! :wub:

 

Edit: Sometimes I feel like I need to go back to school for grammar! If my English major daughter would read some of my posts she would want to wear a paper bag over her head. :blush:

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Aren't littlenecks a cold water species?

 

Yes they are. :( I was just going to see if they could make it. If not it is back to the chopping block for them. :eek:

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I'd get them out of there before they die in the sandbed.

 

Yeah, good idea. I was leaning that way already and your comment just tipped me all the way over. :)

 

Chop, Chop...

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SeahawkReefer

Geez I really need to check out this thread more often! Too bad about the padina, but the other macros look great! IME dragons breath is really hearty and it should be fine once it gets used to your placement and light intensity... some say high light and flow some say moderate light and flow... idk... you'll figure it out... more pics of your rocks? FTS?

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Mr. Microscope

Okay, I'm up to date now on this thread. Can't wait to see more of the home made rock in there.

 

For stocking, I say go gorg-city on this thing. Try for the Caribbean reef like you said. Gorgs, maybe some stags (I know you can't get the caribbean ones, but the others are prettier anyway), macros, and a bunch of softies. Top that off with a school of chalk bass!

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Just an AC110 on that large of a tank I think you are going to be very limited on what corals you can keep. A sump should definitely accompany a tank that size IMO. BUT it looks great so far :) and I love those lights they look very sleek

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Just an AC110 on that large of a tank I think you are going to be very limited on what corals you can keep. A sump should definitely accompany a tank that size IMO. BUT it looks great so far :) and I love those lights they look very sleek

 

Thanks for the observations, th64. You are probably right about the sump. But I am nothing if not adventurous and I will try the simple approach at first. I love the lights too. It adds to the overall look of the whole tank and stand.

 

 

Okay, I'm up to date now on this thread. Can't wait to see more of the home made rock in there.

 

For stocking, I say go gorg-city on this thing. Try for the Caribbean reef like you said. Gorgs, maybe some stags (I know you can't get the caribbean ones, but the others are prettier anyway), macros, and a bunch of softies. Top that off with a school of chalk bass!

 

 

 

Thanks for dropping in Mr.Microscope. I definitely will have Gorgs in there. They are doing well in the nano and I will transfer those over when the time comes plus add some more. I like the motion and vertical element of the Gorgs. I am a softie for softies and have already been making a mental list of which ones I want. I will have to look up the chalk bass.

 

 

Geez I really need to check out this thread more often! Too bad about the padina, but the other macros look great! IME dragons breath is really hearty and it should be fine once it gets used to your placement and light intensity... some say high light and flow some say moderate light and flow... idk... you'll figure it out... more pics of your rocks? FTS?

 

 

Welcome back SeahawkReefer. I will have to get some pics this weekend when I get more stuff in there. Nothing has changed except for the extra brown algae growth. :)

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jedimasterben

Chalk bass are amazing fishies! I wish I had more, but I may or may not be setting up a Caribbean biotope... :ninja:

 

And I agree that you will need more in the way of filtration. Aquaclear makes some stellar filters, but they just don't perform the same on large marine tanks like they do on smaller ones. Plus, all your equipment will be required to be in the display, and HOB equipment like skimmers just don't perform as well as standard ones, and are typically more expensive.

 

This tank is off to a wonderful start and I know you'll take it far, but I'd hate to see your creativity be limited by the lack of a sump. :)

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Mr. Microscope

I am a softie for softies and have already been making a mental list of which ones I want. I will have to look up the chalk bass.

How about a physical list!? Would love to see what you're thinking about.

Chalk bass are supposedly quite friendly and very reef safe. They get up to 3 or so inches. Check out Hype's Bommie. He's got a couple in there. Also, I think liveaquaria has some info on them.

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Hi Eric. :)

I want easy to care for (mostly), colorful softies.

 

ORA Neon Green Toadstool

Blue Devils Finger Leather

Neon Green Leather

Cabbage Leather Colorful ones

Red Chili Leather

Orange Tree Leather

 

Would love me some:

 

Red Tip & Rainbow Yuma

Red &Blue St Thomas Mushrooms

Giant Hairy Mushroom

Cheetah mushroom

Superman mushroom

Florida Ricordea -> every color :)

 

Photosynthetic & NPS Gorgs are a must

 

Purple PS Gorg

Orange tree Gorg

Purple Plume Eco-Gorg

Orange Sea Whip

Lavender Ribbon Whip

Blueberry gorg

 

Gots to have Zoas and Palys

 

Giant green Nuclear Paly

Deep Purple PE Paly

Magician Paly

Yellow Face Zoa

Midas Gold Zoa

Rasta Zoa

Bam Bam Zoas

Cherry Bomb Zoas

...

Polyp Corals

 

Clove Polyps -> all colors :wub:

Pulsing Xenia -> " "

Green Star Polyps

Sympodium

Yellow ("Snoopy's Woodstock") Polyps

 

Also I love the soft look and will have:

 

Featherdusters

Coco worm dusters

Cluster dusters

 

:)

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Hi Eric. :)

I want easy to care for (mostly), colorful softies.

 

http://www.fantasticfrags.com/shop/ora-neon-green-toadstool/'>ORA Neon Green Toadstool

http://www.aquacon.com/softcoral.html'>Blue Devils Finger Leather

http://www.saltyunderground.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_12&products_id=1562'>Neon Green Leather

http://www.aquariumdomain.com/viewCoralSpecies.php?coral_id=50#'>Cabbage Leather Colorful ones

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+600+2980&pcatid=2980'>Red Chili Leather

http://www.aquacon.com/softcoral.html'>Orange Tree Leather

 

Would love me some:

 

Red Tip & Rainbow Yuma

Red &Blue St Thomas Mushrooms

Giant Hairy Mushroom

Cheetah mushroom

Superman mushroom

Florida Ricordea -> every color :)

 

Photosynthetic & NPS Gorgs are a must

 

http://www.saltyunderground.com/product_info.php?cPath=2_12&products_id=1372'>Purple PS Gorg

http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/prod_display.cfm?c=597+601+1514&pcatid=1514'>Orange tree Gorg

http://www.aquascapers.com/store/eco-gorgs/262-purple-candelabra-eco-gorg-plexaura-flexuosa.html'>Purple Plume Eco-Gorg

http://www.reefs2go.com/product/C-WHIP-ORANGE-SM/Live-Saltwater-Orange-Sea-Whip-Coral--SM.html'>Orange Sea Whip

http://www.reefs2go.com/product/C-WHIP-RIBBON-LAVEN/Live-Saltwater-Lavender-Ribbon-Whip-Coral--SM.html'>Lavender Ribbon Whip

http://www.reefs2go.com/product/C-GORGO-BLUEBERRY/Blueberry-Gorgonian-Guaiagorgia-sp---Frag.html'>Blueberry gorg

 

Gots to have Zoas and Palys

 

Giant green Nuclear Paly

Deep Purple PE Paly

Magician Paly

Yellow Face Zoa

Midas Gold Zoa

Rasta Zoa

Bam Bam Zoas

Cherry Bomb Zoas

...

Polyp Corals

 

Clove Polyps -> all colors :wub:

Pulsing Xenia -> " "

Green Star Polyps

Sympodium

Yellow ("Snoopy's Woodstock") Polyps

 

Also I love the soft look and will have:

 

Featherdusters

Coco worm dusters

Cluster dusters

:)

 

Don't forget to add a sponge or three. :) since, you're already planning to have nps corals in there; you might as well add the vivid colors and unusual forms of sponges.

 

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I will probably do that and also I will move Cheese Puff, the orange ball sponge, over from the nano too. :) I like your sponge, David Lynch! :lol:

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I will probably do that and also I will move Cheese Puff, the orange ball sponge, over from the nano too. :) I like your sponge, David Lynch! :lol:

 

Yeah, David Lynch is a pretty nice guy for a sponge. :) he keeps trying to put down roots but Sonic keeps trying to add him to her camophlage collection with neither one succeeding so far.

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