Shadow's Stingy Setup - Tank Shutdown.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I would try diy hob fuge solution out of acrylic. Well, there are few ways to go about it if integry of the glass concerns you.

1. Make hob box shallow and as wide as you want it. That will minimize pressure on the back glass. Oc you must keep it perfectly level as well so the weight is equally distributed.

2. Build the fudge as high as the tank so it sits right behind it without any need to hang it of the back. This will give you depth and you could make it more narrow.

Cost should not exceed $50 including return pump, acrylic, liquid weld and plumbing

 

 

Example

 

 

Thanks for that Maniu. I'll try to see if I can sump the tank first, if not, I'll definitely use this design. I might temporarily get a HOB breeder box as a temporary fuge in the meantime. I have a small media basket in the tank full of Chaeto seeded with pods, and am in the process of ordering more copepods through a biotech firm out of state to seed the tank further.

[Maniu]

I

Thanks for that Maniu. I'll try to see if I can sump the tank first, if not, I'll definitely use this design. I might temporarily get a HOB breeder box as a temporary fuge in the meantime. I have a small media basket in the tank full of Chaeto seeded with pods, and am in the process of ordering more copepods through a biotech firm out of state to seed the tank further.

I have used breeder boxes for fuge before. I think the biggest one I found was 1g which isn't that bad of a size.But if you decide to DIY fuge and need some help, just pm me and I will try my best to assist with your build.Home Depot and Lowes cut acrylic to size so do many eBay resellers. In case you don't have the means to get those cuts. Also, it is a whole lot more then just a fuge if you want to use one of the compartments for media basket, reactor or small skimmer. But trying breeder first won't hurt. It costs between $10-$25 depending where you get it from and what extras it comes with. Chaeto, miracle mud and some rubble or LR makes perfect choice for fuge of this size. DSB or LS is not efficient enough in such a small fuge. But MM just might. I switched from DSB in all my fuges to MM and love it so far. Hope it helps a bit or at least adds another idea to the mix.

 

Btw if you need and want to try that 1g breeder let me know. I got one collecting dust. I have no use for it

[Snow_Phoenix]

I I have used breeder boxes for fuge before. I think the biggest one I found was 1g which isn't that bad of a size. But if you decide to DIY fuge and need some help, just pm me and I will try my best to assist with your build. Home Depot and Lowes cut acrylic to size so do many eBay resellers. In case you don't have the means to get those cuts. Also, it is a whole lot more then just a fuge if you want to use one of the compartments for media basket, reactor or small skimmer. But trying breeder first won't hurt. It costs between $10-$25 depending where you get it from and what extras it comes with. Chaeto, miracle mud and some rubble or LR makes perfect choice for fuge of this size. DSB or LS is not efficient enough in such a small fuge. But MM just might. I switched from DSB in all my fuges to MM and love it so far. Hope it helps a bit or at least adds another idea to the mix.

 

Btw if you need and want to try that 1g breeder let me know. I got one collecting dust. I have no use for it

 

Thanks for the offer Maniu, but I live in the southern part of South East Asia lol. Going to be a little hard to get that breeder box off you.

 

And thanks for all the tips. I've personally never used MM before, but I'll give it a try.

[Tamberav]

I am confused, why is a fuge costly? You don't have to drill to connect a tank to a fuge. There are a lot of DIY overflows using PVC which is cheap.

 

d'Espresso's PVC overflow looks very nice. It's small, it's called a Japanese Style Mame (out of PVC)

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/312125-despresso-versions-20/

 

How to make one:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/254404-diy-mame-style-pvc-overflow/

[Snow_Phoenix]

I am confused, why is a fuge costly? You don't have to drill to connect a tank to a fuge. There are a lot of DIY overflows using PVC which is cheap.

 

d'Espresso's PVC overflow looks very nice. It's small, it's called a Japanese Style Mame (out of PVC)

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/312125-despresso-versions-20/

 

How to make one:

 

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/254404-diy-mame-style-pvc-overflow/

 

The fuge itself is cheap - I meant the sump + piping is costly. Sorry for the confusion, Tam!

 

But I think I'll sump the tank eventually, or get do a DIY fuge and hide it in the back.

[Tamberav]

The fuge itself is cheap - I meant the sump + piping is costly. Sorry for the confusion, Tam!

 

But I think I'll sump the tank eventually, or get do a DIY fuge and hide it in the back.

 

Can't you just buy a small standard 10g? You don't have to have baffles if all you want is a fuge. Piping is expensive there? what? PVC piping should be like $10-$15 bucks or less.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Can't you just buy a small standard 10g? You don't have to have baffles if all you want is a fuge. Piping is expensive there? what? PVC piping should be like $10-$15 bucks or less.

 

I could, but the space is restricted. It's a bit difficult to explain - most of my cupboard top is occupied by switches and a mini stand fan, besides the nano aquarium. The only way to go about it is to hide a slim tank (can't exceed 4 inches in width) behind the nano. And the pipes is cheap but it's the cost of setting them up that's a bit high (basically I suck balls at trying to set up the plumbing and need someone without two left hands to help me do it).

 

But no worries, I have some great news!!!

 

I swung by my LFS to pick up an Elegance coral as a prebirthday present, and my LFS manager offered me a 2nd hand HOB refugium, complete with a built-in skimmer and sump partition + piping for only RM 100!!! (Original value is RM 250 but I got the better end of the deal since I'm a regular customer). So if all goes well, I should have a 6.5G fuge for Michael the Mandy up and running soon.

[Tamberav]

Thats great! I hope the skimmer works okay. Post a pic of it!

[Snow_Phoenix]

I will as soon as i get it. Gah, I hope the skimmer works well as well!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Has anyone tried Repashy food brand for Mandarins? I purchased a small 4 oz. packet last night from a Pet Expo to try it out. Granted, it solidifies in a gel form once 'cooked', but the food composition is quite high in protein and other nutrients. I bought the 'Spawn & Grow' one since the Mandy is less than an inch long.

[Snow_Phoenix]

ZOMGWTF my Mandy, Michael, finally has acquired the taste for Repashy's Spawn and Grow. The food sent all my fish and inverts in the 30G into a feeding frenzy as well - so thumbs up for Repashy. I've never seen such a strong feeding response in all my years of fishkeeping.

 

However, I noticed that if I keep throwing in mini blocks of food in the tank, the hermits tend to get at it first. So I'm thinking of smearing some Repashy on one of my LR pieces the next time so the Mandy can peck at it at his own leisure.

[Tamberav]

Yah inverts are annoying. I got rid of a bunch of my nass snails (I didn't have many hermits) because inverts/fish will learn to steal the crap out of food. lol

 

I will have to check into that food. I like having variety.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Yah inverts are annoying. I got rid of a bunch of my nass snails (I didn't have many hermits) because inverts/fish will learn to steal the crap out of food. lol

 

I will have to check into that food. I like having variety.

 

 

If you do manage to get a hold of it, try to remove a small LR piece from your display and let the food solidify into paste form on the surface of the LR. This will give the dragonets a more natural feeding response than just cutting up a small cube of paste/gel and dumping it in the tank. There are several types though - but the Spawn and Grow one is high in fat content. The Meat Pie version seems more suitable since it's higher in protein, but composition-wise, I think the Spawn and Grow one is more suitable for marine fish.

[Snow_Phoenix]

I have some great, great news! My Spotted Mandarin finally got himself to eat some frozen treats today. His favorite is currently frozen bloodworms and Repashy's Spawn and Grow.

 

Basically I was trying out a new food mix - a small sprinkle of phyto + Hikari Marine S pellets + Nutrafin Max pellets + frozen vitamin enriched BBS + freeze dried Tubifex worms + frozen bloodworms. I cooked the mixture thoroughly in the microwave for 1 minute before putting it in the freezer. I then heat it up for 30s under high power before testing the coolness and temp. of the food. Once the food has cooled down, I suck it up with a baster and just squirt out a very small amount at the favorite hanging spots of my Mandarin. I do NOT turn off the pumps. I notice that the worms 'sway' in the flow, and give the illusion they're alive. The Mandarin immediately took to the bloodworms. He then took a few pecks of Repashy before trying out some frozen BBS, spitting it out and swallowing it whole again.

 

So now Michael's belly is bulging, I'm due to get a fuge up and running as a backup food source and everything seems okay for now. Phew.

[Sunar357]

Awesome that he's eating! I've never heard of microwaving food before. Pics!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Awesome that he's eating! I've never heard of microwaving food before. Pics!

 

Lol, well, I was experimenting and basically 'cooking' using the microwave for my puppy dog, so I thought, 'Hey, why not cook up some treats for the fish as well?' and here we are.

 

I'll snap some pics tomorrow morning - am dreadfully tired after my finals. My brain feels like it's splitting lol.

[Tamberav]

Woo! Glad he is eating. I knew he would at some point because you're always determined and creative

[Snow_Phoenix]

Woo! Glad he is eating. I knew he would at some point because you're always determined and creative

 

Honestly, I was at the point of giving up. I didn't know what to do, and when I contacted the guy who gave him to me, he said he didn't want him back! D: I was quite peeved and frustrated at that point, so I decided to mix up the food and see what the Mandy liked. I was surprised when he started slurping down the bloodworms. My only concern is that it's not nutritious enough, so I'm thinking of getting some Selcon as a vitamin booster.

[Tamberav]

A nice mandarin cocktail to see what they will eat is a good way to go.

 

I wouldn't keep him on bloodworms even with selcon but it should be fine while you're training him. You got him eating something so the idea if to trick him into eating other things too. My mandy's wont eat anything with selcon unfortunately but if you can get him to eat it then you can dip a new food in selcon and the new food will have a familiar taste.

[Snow_Phoenix]

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Some random Mandy shots before feeding time.

 

 

 

 

And now it's feeding time! Check out all that floating Brine Shrimp.

 

 

 

Mandy secretly pigging out on some frozen brine in the back.

 

 

 

FTS on 18/12/2013.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Well, here's my recipe for a Mandy food cocktail (training mode):

 

1. I placed 3 cubes of frozen brine, 1 cube of frozen bloodworms and 1 cube of frozen mysis in a container full of saltwater from my 30G. The idea is to get the Mandy to slowly switch from eating frozen brine and bloodworms to frozen mysis completely. This is considered Day 2# of the Mandy Cocktail Diet Plan.

 

 

 

2. I then thawed out all the gunk using a strainer and refilled the container with more saltwater. Afterwards, I decided to add a bit of phytoplankton, Hikari S pellets and 1/3 cube of freeze dried Tubifex worms to the mix.

 

 

 

3. Once the mixture has been thawed, I mixed it thoroughly using the tip of my baster and allowed it to settle for several seconds. I then cooked it in the microwave (on high) for 30 seconds. (Be warned that this might stink up your kitchen a little).

 

 

 

4. Once the mixture has been 'cooked', it's time to let it cool down a little before placing it in the freezer for 6 to 8 hours.

 

 

 

 

 

 

5. Once the food mix is frozen and you wish to feed your fish, simply thaw it out in the microwave for 15 to 30 seconds. Dip your pinky in the liquid to make sure it's cool and not warm/hot. Then use your baster or pipette and place on squirt of the food cocktail at the favorite hanging spots of your Mandy. Turn off your powerhead if you wish (but I usually don't).

 

 

 

Ta-da! You've now made your first frozen Mandarin cocktail!

[Snow_Phoenix]

 

Michael the Mandarin is doing exceptionally well. I am quite happy that he's making progress during his training period. However, I'm leaving my tanks alone for the next five days since I'm travelling up north to celebrate Christmas. I am very worried even though I have an Auto Feeder and a digital timer for the fan and lights as a backup. One thunderstorm can incite a massive powerfailure which can kill the pumps and decimate my livestock.

 

I'm hoping it'll never come to that though. I've grown attached to my present critters.

[Sunar357]

Interesting stuff but why the microwaving part?

 

Good luck with the vacation and feesh!

[Snow_Phoenix]

Interesting stuff but why the microwaving part?

 

Good luck with the vacation and feesh!

 

Cooking kills any bad bacteria that might have survived the freezing process. It doesn't kill bacterial spores though, unless the temp is very high.

 

I noticed that cooking also makes the mixture more slushier, and I'm -assuming- more palatable for the fish. It's just a theory though, so don't quote me on it.

[Snow_Phoenix]

Quick question - will this tank be able to handle one or two NPS corals such as sun corals? Current residents of the tank include one Spotted Mandarin, 22 Dwarf White Hermits and 1 Lettuce Nudibranch. Tank is also full of macroalgae and fed heavily with a cocktail of frozen brine, frozen bloodworms, frozen mysis, phytoplankton, freeze dried tubifex and Hikari Marine S pellets.

 

I'm doing as much reading as I can on NPS corals atm. I know they have to be target fed, which generally makes them a PITA. But a friend is offering me a black and gold sun coral(s) for U$D50 only, which is fairly cheap here.

 

Thoughts anyone?