metrokat Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Benny you're doing it all wrong. You get a salt proof amphibian food bowl and then you attach things to make it deeper and the sides taller. If that doesn't work you get a porcelain cat food bowl and do the same thing. Link to comment
Spiderguardnano Posted March 5, 2015 Share Posted March 5, 2015 Ben what's your thoughts on kp aquatics cured live rock? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 5, 2015 Author Share Posted March 5, 2015 Benny you're doing it all wrong. You get a salt proof amphibian food bowl and then you attach things to make it deeper and the sides taller. If that doesn't work you get a porcelain cat food bowl and do the same thing. Hindsight is 20/20, I had the same damned thought last night lol Ben what's your thoughts on kp aquatics cured live rock? I wouldn't do cured. Link to comment
SpankythePyro Posted March 6, 2015 Share Posted March 6, 2015 I think I'm going to have to make one of those soon... Looking at getting a melanurus wrasse and coris wrasse for a 20L I'm setting up until my Reefer 350 gets here Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 6, 2015 Author Share Posted March 6, 2015 So tonight I fed a cube of Cyclop-eeze and a cube of PE mysis. I also put in food right where my return is and then let it disperse from there, I usually do not turn off the Gyre. The betta is not that fast when hunting and prefers to watch its 'prey' for a bit before gulping it down and really does not leave its little rock cave. This poses a problem when your other fish are mostly large, very fast, and all recognize me as the food god and know exactly where the food comes in from, so tonight zero mysis made it down to the bottom of the tank. I did see the betta look like it took in some cyclop-eeze, but if it did, it couldn't have taken in much lol. I decided to invest in a new turkey baster since mine leaks. It's red and kat is jealous Going to the Global Pet Expo tomorrow! Link to comment
Acielot Posted March 7, 2015 Share Posted March 7, 2015 All the way in Orlando? How are you sneaking in? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 7, 2015 Author Share Posted March 7, 2015 All the way in Orlando? How are you sneaking in? I had an exhibitor badge Had a good time. Got to meet Chris, Carlos, Jeremy, David, and Brandi from Coralvue, and got to see a lot of stuff that I probably can't talk much about, but I think I can give some general details. Two new LED lights from Giesemann, one pendant style and one very powerful one with two LED clusters. Also got to see a 6' Giesemann Future hybrid in person, it was running on their display tank they had setup. DAYUM. I also came home with a replacement Gyre 150 Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 9, 2015 Author Share Posted March 9, 2015 On saturday I got a Plectranthias inermis (geometric pygmy hawkfish) and a nice Lobophytum leather on Saturday. I know the hawk will not be a bold fish, but it's very pretty and was eating before I picked it up, so should do well. It's hanging out with the watchman goby and blue gudgeon under the leftmost rock structure. New controller for the XF150 Gyre is on the way, so this week or this weekend I should be able to get at least a decent audio comparison of the old Gyre mount versus the new. Best $10 upgrade ever for anyone with the old XF150 mount. I also am considering turning off the UV sterilizer. I have not seen hide nor hair of any dinoflagellates under the microscope for several months now. I will be getting an A-model Oxydator either late this week or early next to attempt to rid the tank water of that yellow twinge that just won't go away. Hopefully that will kick it in the crotch. Link to comment
Spiderguardnano Posted March 9, 2015 Share Posted March 9, 2015 I picked up a geometric also this weekend I love that fish is so cool when it just perches on the rocks Mine hasn't eaten yet thou Link to comment
NirvanaandTool Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 On saturday I got a Plectranthias inermis (geometric pygmy hawkfish) and a nice Lobophytum leather on Saturday. I know the hawk will not be a bold fish, but it's very pretty and was eating before I picked it up, so should do well. It's hanging out with the watchman goby and blue gudgeon under the leftmost rock structure. New controller for the XF150 Gyre is on the way, so this week or this weekend I should be able to get at least a decent audio comparison of the old Gyre mount versus the new. Best $10 upgrade ever for anyone with the old XF150 mount. I also am considering turning off the UV sterilizer. I have not seen hide nor hair of any dinoflagellates under the microscope for several months now. I will be getting an A-model Oxydator either late this week or early next to attempt to rid the tank water of that yellow twinge that just won't go away. Hopefully that will kick it in the crotch. New mount and new controller? Heard about the mount but not the controller. $10 seems pretty reasonable though it would have been nice to get that sent out for free to their original adopters. Any eta on the new controller? Not sure how aggressive those geometrics can get but I had a falco hawk that terrorized my 90. I had to tear the tank apart to get him out. Territorial little SOB. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 New mount and new controller? Heard about the mount but not the controller. $10 seems pretty reasonable though it would have been nice to get that sent out for free to their original adopters. Any eta on the new controller? Not sure how aggressive those geometrics can get but I had a falco hawk that terrorized my 90. I had to tear the tank apart to get him out. Territorial little SOB. A lot of people have said the magnet mount should be free for early adopters, but businesses would go broke if they provided free hardware upgrades for something that still works as intended, albeit a bit noisier than some wanted. $10 is actually below Coralvue's cost on them, but having it that low is a good business decision. With the old style mount, even going back into the beta models, some of them had units that were completely silent, some like me and Jake Adams had ones that were pretty damned loud if turned up beyond 30-40%, it all depends on the resonant frequency of your tank. It'll be nice to have that extra power back. The Xf130 is great, but I miss the oomph. The controller I'm getting is the same as the retail controller now. The controller that came with my beta unit is VERY basic, only speed control and very basic pulsing. They changed the plugs going to the pump from the beta. The beta had the connector being the same size as the XF130 controller, but the retail 150 is much larger, so I couldn't just use the 130 controller for it. After thinking about it for a while, it would also probably have different tolerances for the motors as far as stalling, etc. I actually DID try and shake some info on the 'advanced' controller out of Carlos while at the trade show lol, and he gave me a couple of details (nothing public yet ) but there was a lot of stuff he couldn't tell me. Also no set ETA on it. Maxspect seems to move only at their own pace lol. As for the hawk, these only get like 5cm maximum (and females 4cm) and are very cryptic, so I shouldn't have much to worry about. Though, if he is anything like my little greenbanded goby, I could be in for a surprise. That little fish never ceases to amaze me with the size of his cajones, swimming around and grabbing food from in front of my betta. Link to comment
NanoFever Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 On saturday I got a Plectranthias inermis (geometric pygmy hawkfish) and a nice Lobophytum leather on Saturday. I know the hawk will not be a bold fish, but it's very pretty and was eating before I picked it up, so should do well. It's hanging out with the watchman goby and blue gudgeon under the leftmost rock structure. New controller for the XF150 Gyre is on the way, so this week or this weekend I should be able to get at least a decent audio comparison of the old Gyre mount versus the new. Best $10 upgrade ever for anyone with the old XF150 mount. I also am considering turning off the UV sterilizer. I have not seen hide nor hair of any dinoflagellates under the microscope for several months now. I will be getting an A-model Oxydator either late this week or early next to attempt to rid the tank water of that yellow twinge that just won't go away. Hopefully that will kick it in the crotch. I almost got a pygmy this weekend but I passed. Let me know how he does in your tank. They are really cool looking fish! Link to comment
NirvanaandTool Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 A lot of people have said the magnet mount should be free for early adopters, but businesses would go broke if they provided free hardware upgrades for something that still works as intended, albeit a bit noisier than some wanted. $10 is actually below Coralvue's cost on them, but having it that low is a good business decision. With the old style mount, even going back into the beta models, some of them had units that were completely silent, some like me and Jake Adams had ones that were pretty damned loud if turned up beyond 30-40%, it all depends on the resonant frequency of your tank. It'll be nice to have that extra power back. The Xf130 is great, but I miss the oomph. The controller I'm getting is the same as the retail controller now. The controller that came with my beta unit is VERY basic, only speed control and very basic pulsing. They changed the plugs going to the pump from the beta. The beta had the connector being the same size as the XF130 controller, but the retail 150 is much larger, so I couldn't just use the 130 controller for it. After thinking about it for a while, it would also probably have different tolerances for the motors as far as stalling, etc. I actually DID try and shake some info on the 'advanced' controller out of Carlos while at the trade show lol, and he gave me a couple of details (nothing public yet ) but there was a lot of stuff he couldn't tell me. Also no set ETA on it. Maxspect seems to move only at their own pace lol. As for the hawk, these only get like 5cm maximum (and females 4cm) and are very cryptic, so I shouldn't have much to worry about. Though, if he is anything like my little greenbanded goby, I could be in for a surprise. That little fish never ceases to amaze me with the size of his cajones, swimming around and grabbing food from in front of my betta. Yea that's very true. And the discount for $10 is really customer friendly. I'm not really complaining about it for $10. I would be if it was $40 but $10 is a good deal. Come to think of it, mine isn't that loud at 50% but if there's a quieter mount, I'm all for it for when I eventually crank the thing higher. Ah gotcha. Well then enjoy the standard retail controller. Curious to see what modes you run it on. I'm really liking Alternate Gyre for a mix of high flow and low flow as reverse flow is much less than forward flow. Gives the tank a break from the high flow. Oh fine, don't spill the beans. I will wait impatiently for the advanced controller. 4-5cm? WOW tiny little guys. Even smaller than the falco I had. As long as they don't have the standard hawk mentality, you'll be fine. Your tank is more populated than mine was too so yours would have less of a claim of territory than mine did. Mine was a little 3" fish that was bruising up a 6" wrasse. Your goby has some serious stones to steal from the betta. Sounds like my butterfly stealing food right from the mouth of my big wrasses. No fear Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 10, 2015 Author Share Posted March 10, 2015 Yea that's very true. And the discount for $10 is really customer friendly. I'm not really complaining about it for $10. I would be if it was $40 but $10 is a good deal. Come to think of it, mine isn't that loud at 50% but if there's a quieter mount, I'm all for it for when I eventually crank the thing higher. Ah gotcha. Well then enjoy the standard retail controller. Curious to see what modes you run it on. I'm really liking Alternate Gyre for a mix of high flow and low flow as reverse flow is much less than forward flow. Gives the tank a break from the high flow. Oh fine, don't spill the beans. I will wait impatiently for the advanced controller. 4-5cm? WOW tiny little guys. Even smaller than the falco I had. As long as they don't have the standard hawk mentality, you'll be fine. Your tank is more populated than mine was too so yours would have less of a claim of territory than mine did. Mine was a little 3" fish that was bruising up a 6" wrasse. Your goby has some serious stones to steal from the betta. Sounds like my butterfly stealing food right from the mouth of my big wrasses. No fear Set that thing to pulse mode and you'll be reminded why everyone has a love/hate relationship with the Vortech line With the new mount, though, there is nothing. It's unbelievable how quiet the motor is, there is zero noise so long as it is away from the glass and cannot resonate against it. I was unable to do alternating gyre in my tank since I had the 130 - it just doesn't have the power using only half of pump at a time. I think when I get the 150 back in there I will run it vertical and in alternating gyre mode and see how that goes. The geometric 'hawk' is actually Plectranthias, so not actually a hawkfish, but more like them than anthias Link to comment
teenyreef Posted March 10, 2015 Share Posted March 10, 2015 I almost got a geometric pygmy hawk fish last month, but came home with two clowns instead. He was really cute, though. I thought about getting him for my 4g tank but I just wasn't sure he wouldn't be too big. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 11, 2015 Author Share Posted March 11, 2015 My wife texted me earlier 'Holy shit, what the hell are you building, you just got another three boxes' Got a TLF Veggiemag, a new turkey baster, a 7' long box containing some wiring duct to clean up my electricals, another 100' of wire and a bunch of sleeve and heatshrink for making a light for someone, an old Nanocustoms light, and a bottle of 35% peroxide. I should be getting my new Gyre 150 controller tomorrow and my Oxydator should arrive possibly by the weekend. I, uh, also may have rescaped the tank again last night... I knocked some rocks over cleaning the starboard and, well, got carried away. New leather New palys Some trumpets that don't seem to be recovering but aren't getting worse. One of two 'eternally bleached' maxi minis. Dunno why, they live under their respective rocks, so you'd think they'd be nice and dark like the others, but they always both look like this. Link to comment
Acielot Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Its looking great Ben. Glad to see that the dinos have subsided. Link to comment
teenyreef Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Looks fantastic! I like the new scape and the colors are beautiful. I'm wondering - does the white starboard help with white balance in the FTS shots? It looks really nice Link to comment
gena Posted March 11, 2015 Share Posted March 11, 2015 Everything looks great, Ben!!!!! I really love those new grandis you got. The color is so different from what I'm used to seeing. They look more exotic. Where'd you pick those up from????? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Its looking great Ben. Glad to see that the dinos have subsided. Haven't seen hide nor hair of them in months, and it feels so good. Looks fantastic! I like the new scape and the colors are beautiful. I'm wondering - does the white starboard help with white balance in the FTS shots? It looks really nice I didn't really see much difference coming from the white sand I had before. I also used different settings this time, aperture priority mode and set to F8 instead of F3.5 like normal. The balance is a fuzz off in the photos, but it also could be because only three of the eight Nano Box arrays have any white LEDs lit up. Everything looks great, Ben!!!!! I really love those new grandis you got. The color is so different from what I'm used to seeing. They look more exotic. Where'd you pick those up from????? A store called 'Aquatic and Exotic', no less They're kinda bleached, they'll probably be a combination of brown and green when they fully recover, though there were loads at the store that looked the same, so maybe they'll stay as-is. In the store these were the largest I've ever seen, well over 2" per polyp. I apparently have much more light than they do lol Link to comment
NirvanaandTool Posted March 12, 2015 Share Posted March 12, 2015 Set that thing to pulse mode and you'll be reminded why everyone has a love/hate relationship with the Vortech line With the new mount, though, there is nothing. It's unbelievable how quiet the motor is, there is zero noise so long as it is away from the glass and cannot resonate against it. I was unable to do alternating gyre in my tank since I had the 130 - it just doesn't have the power using only half of pump at a time. I think when I get the 150 back in there I will run it vertical and in alternating gyre mode and see how that goes. The geometric 'hawk' is actually Plectranthias, so not actually a hawkfish, but more like them than anthias Maybe after the new mount. Ah, hearing that I'm glad I went for the 150 and didn't wait for the 130. Plus 150 is a little more upgrade proof for the future Ohh that's right, anthias-hawk lol. Run the 130 and 150 together. Set each one to do 1 way of the alternating gyre. Give the fish the ultimate total body workout What's all this Oxydator stuff? Saw you got one and Tibbsy is getting one. Am I missing a new trend in reefkeeping? Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 12, 2015 Author Share Posted March 12, 2015 Maybe after the new mount. Ah, hearing that I'm glad I went for the 150 and didn't wait for the 130. Plus 150 is a little more upgrade proof for the future Ohh that's right, anthias-hawk lol. Run the 130 and 150 together. Set each one to do 1 way of the alternating gyre. Give the fish the ultimate total body workout What's all this Oxydator stuff? Saw you got one and Tibbsy is getting one. Am I missing a new trend in reefkeeping? I've been considering running both so that I can do a full reverse gyre but not really sure yet. Don't particularly want two pumps in the tank but may do it anyway lol. Especially if running them vertical next to the overflow they'll really blend in. Oxydator is super old tech. A lot of 'fluff' about them being the best fix for water clarity and quality, oxygen saturation, etc, but I've seen no data published on them. I have a lot of gelbstoff in my water which leads to a yellowish tint, so figured I might as well give it a shot. Did some work with Neill from Saltwater Conversion so traded it for one of those. Link to comment
jedimasterben Posted March 13, 2015 Author Share Posted March 13, 2015 Dueling Gyres, yo. For now both are running on individual timers set as close as I possibly could get them, each stays on for ~30 minutes and then cuts off. So. much. detritus. Link to comment
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