Felicia Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 I know in your other build you said that for lighting you were thinking LEDs and probably DIY to fit your budget. Idk what your budget is but the Nano Razor is only $289 and would be sick on this tank. Would be plenty for softies, macros etc. I just got a Razor and love it. Had I been thinking about a pony/softie set-up then I probably would have gotten the 10k instead of 16k...oh well I'd love to have one but that's still pretty expensive. The DIY LED on my main tank only cost about $150. Maybe if I make a lot of money at the upcoming frag sale, I'll think about getting a Razor. The Razors seem like AMAZING lights! Ok, so here are the photos I promised of the new stuff. Two new gorgonians next to the Grube's gorg. http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_3224.jpg.html'> Seagrass! http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_3227.jpg.html'> Teal mushrooms. There are three on this plug. http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_3233.jpg.html'> Superman mushroom. http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/IMG_3231.jpg.html'> Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 I'll of course be following!!! I don't know crap about these guys......can you put them with docile fish??? Link to comment
namxas Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 We don't like to keep SH warmer than 74*F due to their propensity for getting bacterial infections, and at 75*F, the bacterial count in a captive system really starts to bloom. However, if you do keep them a bit warmer, the key is STABILITY. FWIW, Dan at SH Source gets two huge thumbs up from us. He's a great guy, and has really nice stock. He will also tell you if he hasn't bred them if he has anything that isn't "his" (unlike some of the places out there...I know this because some of them have Dan's SH for sale). Kudos for thinking ahead about fry...it's kinda fun to try raising them, but it's very labor intensive to even get a couple out of a brood until you get the hang of it, and SH can be pregnant every 15 days or so. As for corals, get nothing that stings, so softies are your best bet. That Caulerpa prolifera will do a good job of simulating seagrass, and the SH will love it, however, they may stress out your gorg if they decide to hitch to it...we've seen it often. Can't wait to see the bulid. I'll of course be following!!! I don't know crap about these guys......can you put them with docile fish??? They can be kept with slow-moving, docile tankmates, but no browsing fishes, and nothing really territorial, altho species setups are best, IMHO. Link to comment
Ebn Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Oh what the, where did you get the seagrass from? Did that also come from Jess as well? Link to comment
gena Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 OMG...that tank is awesome! I can't wait to see you put this all together!!!!! Nice pickups too!!!! Link to comment
namxas Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 Oh what the, where did you get the seagrass from? Did that also come from Jess as well? C. prolifera is a macro algae, not a true seagrass, which is a vascular plant as opposed to an algae. True seagrasses require a DSB (4" or better) and a LOT of bright lighting, but the Caulerpa does mimic a seagrass bed almost perfectly if "planted", and is a lot easier to grow. Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 15, 2013 Author Share Posted July 15, 2013 I'll of course be following!!! I don't know crap about these guys......can you put them with docile fish??? I'm trying to read up a ton on them right now. Luckily I know quite a bit from when I researched doing the dwarf seahorse tank, so I'm not starting from square one. Yep, they do fine with docile fish. If you check out Zia's thread he has his with a jawfish and a couple different types of gobies. We don't like to keep SH warmer than 74*F due to their propensity for getting bacterial infections, and at 75*F, the bacterial count in a captive system really starts to bloom. However, if you do keep them a bit warmer, the key is STABILITY. FWIW, Dan at SH Source gets two huge thumbs up from us. He's a great guy, and has really nice stock. He will also tell you if he hasn't bred them if he has anything that isn't "his" (unlike some of the places out there...I know this because some of them have Dan's SH for sale). Kudos for thinking ahead about fry...it's kinda fun to try raising them, but it's very labor intensive to even get a couple out of a brood until you get the hang of it, and SH can be pregnant every 15 days or so. As for corals, get nothing that stings, so softies are your best bet. That Caulerpa prolifera will do a good job of simulating seagrass, and the SH will love it, however, they may stress out your gorg if they decide to hitch to it...we've seen it often. Can't wait to see the bulid. Wow, thanks for all the info! I'm going to keep the temperature on this system as low as I can while still making the corals happy. I'm also going to wait a couple months to make sure I've got everything very stable before I add the seahorses. I was considering seahorse source as well, but they don't sell any of the brightly colored H. Erectus. I'd really like some bright yellow ones like Zia has! Hopefully the gorgs won't get too stressed. My neon gobies are putting them to the test in the DT tank right now because they seem to think they are a good place to perch. So far they don't seem to mind much And yep, I'm sticking to softies, zoas, gorgs, and macros for this tank. Oh what the, where did you get the seagrass from? Did that also come from Jess as well? Yep, I got it from Jess yesterday OMG...that tank is awesome! I can't wait to see you put this all together!!!!! Nice pickups too!!!! I really do love this tank! Did you see it has black seams like your tank? I'm also going to be using your tank as inspiration for this one since you have so many softies and gorgs and the dimensions are similar I'm really happy with what I got yesterday for the tank especially at the price. Man, softies are so much cheaper than the SPS and high end zoas I've been hooked on lately. One of my friends in BAR offered me a frag of her finger leather as well. I'm going to have all the stuff to stock this tank before there's even water in it! C. prolifera is a macro algae, not a true seagrass, which is a vascular plant as opposed to an algae. True seagrasses require a DSB (4" or better) and a LOT of bright lighting, but the Caulerpa does mimic a seagrass bed almost perfectly if "planted", and is a lot easier to grow. Oh, is it caulerpa? I figured it wasn't since its illegal in CA. Oh well, oops. I doubt the caulerpa police are going to show up at my door. I didn't ask much about it, just got it as a last minute addition to my purchase since it looked like it would make great hitches for the seahorses. Link to comment
Ebn Posted July 15, 2013 Share Posted July 15, 2013 C. prolifera is a macro algae, not a true seagrass, which is a vascular plant as opposed to an algae. True seagrasses require a DSB (4" or better) and a LOT of bright lighting, but the Caulerpa does mimic a seagrass bed almost perfectly if "planted", and is a lot easier to grow. Thanks for the clarifications. It does indeed look like a Caulerpa the way it's growing. Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Ok guys, I'm trying to do a drawing of the design for the back chambers for this tank and need feedback. I still have to figure out the dimensions on everything, but this is a schematic of how the water will flow and what will be in each chamber. The overflow won't have any teeth so that it does a better job surface skimming, but it will be covered with black plastic gutter guard to keep any fish or inverts from ending up in the back chambers. The circle on the right side is where the return nozzle will go. I'm thinking an Maxi-Jet NJ900 (247 gph) as the return pump. I don't want too much flow for the seahorses. Do you think that will be enough or should I go up to the next size Maxi-Jet? The media basket will hold Chemipure elite, purigen, and some filter floss. The refugium will hold some chaeto and maybe some ochtodes to serve as a protected breeding area for pods. http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/AIODesign-2.png.html'> What do you all think? See any major flaws? Also, what should the spacing be between the close together baffles? The ones that don't form the chamber but just change the direction of the water flow. Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Oh, also, how wide should the overflow be? Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 Ok, so I ended up using the rectangular weir flow formula to figure out how wide to make the overflow. I've decided the Maxi-Jet 1100 (294 gph) is the better choice for the return pump and it will fit nicely in the 3rd chamber. That means I want the overflow rate to be slightly higher than 294 gph, so I used 300 gph in my calculations. q = 2/3 cd b (2 g)1/2 h3/2 where q = flow rate (m3/s) h = head on the weir (m) b = width of the weir (m) g = 9.81 (m/s2) - gravity cd = discharge constant for the weir - I used 0.62 which is an average value Using this formula, I got that the rectangular overflow should be 4.75" wide with 0.5" of head (height of the water above the bottom of the rectangular overflow). Let me know if this seems off. I'm assuming this formula should work well for this application. Based on those decisions about the width of the overflow and which return pump to use, here is my new drawing with all the dimensions included. The depth of the chambers will be 4" between the back wall of the aquarium and the acrylic partition. I plan to use 1/4" black acrylic as the partition and for all the baffles. Please give me some feedback on this! http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/AIODesignwithDimensions-1.png.html'> Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 I ended up having the big discussion about this design over in my other thread, so here's the current design for the chambers. http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/AIODesignforHydor2.png.html'> Refer to Diver's Paradise for the discussion that lead to that design. Still not set it stone yet, so feedback is great! Link to comment
Spirofucci Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I'd also consider dry rock for this tank. It's way cheaper and you can seed your sand and rock from your other tanks. I did this with my display fuge and never reall had a cycle. Link to comment
eitallent Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 Your measurements look right Felicia. I measured the overflow in the JBJ nano and it is close to what you have. I am adding chambers as you know to the nano upgrade tank and I had the same calculation issues. But you figured it out a lot quicker than I did! I was also going to suggest putting the media in the first chamber and I see you have that covered! It looks good so far! Link to comment
eitallent Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I just read your questions on Zia's thread, but I will answer them here. I have a Jawfish and he seems happy with CaribSea Seaflor Reef Sand. It has a 1.0 mm to 2.0 mm grain size and the macros I have (C. prolifera and others) are attaching their holdfasts really well to it. The C. prolifera will even attach to live rock if you let it so it will do fine in any kind of sand really. Link to comment
oldSWseamomma Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I am sooooooooo going to enjoy following this tank thread ! Can't wait to see how it comes to life Link to comment
namxas Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 I was considering seahorse source as well, but they don't sell any of the brightly colored H. Erectus. Don't buy SH based on color...they can, and will, change color to whatever they feel like...some folks say bright-colored decor makes a difference, but in all the years we kept/bred SH, we never found this to be true. These are the same SH at different times: Yellow: Orange: Light pink/white: Oh, is it caulerpa? I figured it wasn't since its illegal in CA. Oh well, oops. I doubt the caulerpa police are going to show up at my door. I didn't ask much about it, just got it as a last minute addition to my purchase since it looked like it would make great hitches for the seahorses. Actually, there are only a few species of Caulerpa that are banned in CA (altho all Caulerpa is banned in San Diego County), namely C. taxifolia (feather Caulerpa), C. racemosa (green grape), and their variants. Prolifera is okie-dokie. We keep live macro in our DTs and it's really great IMHO, but we no longer keep reef tanks. Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 16, 2013 Author Share Posted July 16, 2013 I'd also consider dry rock for this tank. It's way cheaper and you can seed your sand and rock from your other tanks. I did this with my display fuge and never reall had a cycle. Yeah, I'm thinking dry rock is the way to go. The stuff off BRS is great and super cheap. Its easier to scape with also. I'll just do that. I can't pull any rock out of my main tank, so I'll just buy a piece or two of live rock from the LFS to seed with. Your measurements look right Felicia. I measured the overflow in the JBJ nano and it is close to what you have. I am adding chambers as you know to the nano upgrade tank and I had the same calculation issues. But you figured it out a lot quicker than I did! I was also going to suggest putting the media in the first chamber and I see you have that covered! It looks good so far! Good to hear! I had nothing to look at for verification. I just used my knowledge of fluid flow and calculated what it should be in theory. That forumla is super easy if you want to see what it gives you for your new AIO. I spaced and forgot you had that project going. I should have asked you more questions! Oops! I'll post my latest design at the bottom of this post I just read your questions on Zia's thread, but I will answer them here. I have a Jawfish and he seems happy with CaribSea Seaflor Reef Sand. It has a 1.0 mm to 2.0 mm grain size and the macros I have (C. prolifera and others) are attaching their holdfasts really well to it. The C. prolifera will even attach to live rock if you let it so it will do fine in any kind of sand really. That is dry sand correct? There's a great deal on it at Petsmart right now for $27 for 40 lbs. Did you just dump in a bottle of live bacteria to seed it? Or did you seed it with some sand from your other tank? It looks like the perfect grain size and I like the price! I am sooooooooo going to enjoy following this tank thread ! Can't wait to see how it comes to life Thank you! It will take a while to get it going with all these DIY projects, but I'll keep posting about all the DIY projects to keep it interesting. Don't buy SH based on color...they can, and will, change color to whatever they feel like...some folks say bright-colored decor makes a difference, but in all the years we kept/bred SH, we never found this to be true. These are the same SH at different times: Yellow: Orange: Light pink/white: Actually, there are only a few species of Caulerpa that are banned in CA (altho all Caulerpa is banned in San Diego County), namely C. taxifolia (feather Caulerpa), C. racemosa (green grape), and their variants. Prolifera is okie-dokie. We keep live macro in our DTs and it's really great IMHO, but we no longer keep reef tanks. I know seahorses will change color, but see in that example you gave it was always a lightly colored seahorse that just changed shades a bit from yellow to orange to tan. I want a seahorse that will stay in that range of colors. The black seahorses only stay shades of black, brown, or grey and are never going to have the potential to change to bright yellow. Also, Zia ordered bright yellow seahorses and he posts pictures of them with different colored corals or macros in his tank and they're always bright yellow. I could have sworn C. prolifera was the big no-no one in CA. All the online stores say that one is banned in CA. Hmmm... Link to comment
Dark_ice Posted July 16, 2013 Share Posted July 16, 2013 err ima follow this to see how it goes! Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 Here's all the stuff I just bought to get this tank going! http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/Screenshot2013-07-16at85802PM.png.html'> http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/Screenshot2013-07-16at85849PM.png.html'> http://s289.photobucket.com/user/alatarie/media/Screenshot2013-07-16at85653PM.png.html'> Link to comment
gena Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I really do love this tank! Did you see it has black seams like your tank? I'm also going to be using your tank as inspiration for this one since you have so many softies and gorgs and the dimensions are similar I'm really happy with what I got yesterday for the tank especially at the price. Man, softies are so much cheaper than the SPS and high end zoas I've been hooked on lately. One of my friends in BAR offered me a frag of her finger leather as well. I'm going to have all the stuff to stock this tank before there's even water in it! I sure did see those awesome seams!!!! If you like it, put some pink kenya tree in there. It's one of my favorite things in Zia's tank. I miss kenya tree! I may have to get some for my fuge eventually. Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 I sure did see those awesome seams!!!! If you like it, put some pink kenya tree in there. It's one of my favorite things in Zia's tank. I miss kenya tree! I may have to get some for my fuge eventually. I would definitely like some kenya tree. Pink would look really nice! I just have to find some. None of the local stores have any that I've seen. I'll keep my eye out! Link to comment
Zia Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 Woa your wallets gotta be on fire over there Thats my kind of shopping right there. A matter of fact you gave me your contagious shopping bug. I'm gonna placea BRS order now myself. I'm gonna also pick up some Tonga branch, another Hydor 240 for the fuge, a 3pk of the MP10 foam guards and a heater. Dang your build is costing me money, jus by tagging along,lol Link to comment
gena Posted July 17, 2013 Share Posted July 17, 2013 I would definitely like some kenya tree. Pink would look really nice! I just have to find some. None of the local stores have any that I've seen. I'll keep my eye out!My petco has the really pretty pink one in the store right now. That's where I got mine for my NC12 too. Check yours if you have a petco there! I wish I knew you were in the market for a JBJ nanoglo LED fuge light. I have the one I'm not using anymore!!!! Link to comment
Felicia Posted July 17, 2013 Author Share Posted July 17, 2013 My petco has the really pretty pink one in the store right now. That's where I got mine for my NC12 too. Check yours if you have a petco there! I wish I knew you were in the market for a JBJ nanoglo LED fuge light. I have the one I'm not using anymore!!!! Ugh! I didn't realize you had one. I could probably call first thing tomorrow and take it off my BRS order if you'd like to sell me yours. If you're not using it for anything, I'd definitely buy it from you! Oh, and we have Petco, but my local one doesn't do any saltwater fish or corals. Link to comment
Recommended Posts
Archived
This topic is now archived and is closed to further replies.