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SquishyFishy's BioCube Planet


SquishyFishy

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SquishyFishy

Sorry guys, haven't read the thread recently...getting ready for the big cruise. Just a couple 3 weeks away.

 

As a matter of fact the Zoas ARE looking much better and spreading! The stylophora is getting huge! And have fragged 2 pieces that are thriving. The nems were expanding so large they were stinging the branches that were growing longer, so I broke them off and started 2 more. Blue mushroom adult decided to detach and do a walkabout. Have cornered her and now reattached. One thing I have noted is the Cyano has definitely been quite tamed by the dosing. Pleasantly so!

 

I'll have Todd take a new FTS tomorrow with his Nikon. I am getting the tank ready for our 2 week vacation and that has been so stressful. I have a neighbor who is going to come over every couple days, auto feeder ready, but the dosing will have to stop, don't have any pumps. And Todd has installed a webcam so we can watch the tank while we are gone and phone her to come if an emergency arises. One problem I am having is the ATO. I am not currently using it because I just can't find where to put it in my BioCube. Since the rear chamber has 3 different levels each one different than the main tank. If you put the sensor in the display, the rear could get quite low....so where do you put it??? The pump chamber is much lower than the middle chamber in which I have the skimmer and INTANK media shelf....is a quandary. Also this tank gets quite hot even with the LEDs. I have tweeked the fans and have an external fan I am using and now have that under control but it has played havoc with the evaporation and adding top off. Until I get this ATO thing under control, I will be worried about that while I am gone and we are 23 days out now.

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Well, I'd say try it in the tank, see what it does for a day then try it elsewhere, only way to find out probably. Can you prop open the lid 1/4" or anything? Use a lid or cap from something in the kitchen?

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SquishyFishy

I have taken off the little door in the front and put netting over it and I keep the rear chamber cover open so the air can circulate better and with the exhaust fans on and the lights set to about 5 hours that keeps the temp in check. But still a lot of evap. Last night we came home to some sucky noises and the rear middle chamber was very low and the skimmer was making the sounds. With water it fixed that so now I come to think I'll put the ATO in that chamber.

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Everything looks so happy, your bta especially and torch. This is the best I've every seen it. You got this down!!!!!

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SquishyFishy

Well its always something :angry: Something small must've died cuz I've now got a little bit of algae problem, my rubble sand base is developing GHA...some individual rocks are covered in it. I picked them out. I have purposely been cutting down on food to prepare for our 2 week vacation which has me nervous and now I've cut back on lighting because of the heat problem. 5 to 6 hrs a day and then yesterday, Dave's Nano Duo stopped working and we dismantled the entire hood to check that out. A wire had come unsoldered! So I put the hallide tubes back in(more heat!) All in all, I've had to use an external fan to keep the heat in check and now I have an evap problem...water salinity bouncing around!!!! As I mentioned the BioCube has these 3 chambers and none of them are at the same level. So as a result I do not know where to put my ATO sensor. Going to the thread to ask questions now.

 

Thx for the compliments. I've actually got the coralline going now!! :P

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Happy about your coralline but I know how frustrating it is to have something happen before you're out of town. Never is a good time but good lord, now is certainly not the time. Do you have another light you can use in the meantime?

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SquishyFishy

Good news, Dave is sending me the new Blue Fish controller(shipped it today)...made me a special price, he's so thoughtful! So now Todd will be able to control everything from his iPhone! We will be able to view the tank from the ship! So excited. Now if I could just figure out the ATO or get someone from the BioCube thread to answer me we will be ready to leave.

 

Tank looks better as far as algae...guess the Roaphos I'm running is helping with that.

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SquishyFishy

The blue fish is fantastic!!!!!!!!!! Now we do everything on my tablet or Todd's iPhone! Love it, but very complicated. Fortunately, Todd is a tech so he's basically the programmer :P

 

We are almost all set for vacation, everything is automated. We even have a webcam on the tank so we'll be able to see it from any WiFi anywhere! Then if an emergency arises, we call our neighbor and she freaks! No, but she'll be able to follow instructions.

 

We'll be gone for 14 days! pretty scary, trying not to worry. I've set the feeder to every other day for granular food and the neighbor is coming over every 3 days to feed frozen/plankton. I'm making little pill cups with frozen phyto feast and mysis/krill so all she has to do is take one from the freezer, mix in a little water and pour it in.

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SquishyFishy

Thank you Gena. I want some red blasto now, but will wait till after we return from Hawaii. And my absolute wish list fave is to find a corkscrew coral. or purple fan to put in the left rear corner.

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  • 1 month later...
SquishyFishy

Back from beautiful Hawaii! Love love loved it! Can't wait to go back. Unfortunately, I was unable to connect with Tiki John...so sorry John. No fault of mine though. We didn't arrive back at Kona until almost 4:00 and had to be back aboard ship by 5:00 the lastest...so could not meet you for drinks :( But.../

 

the snorkeling at Cpt. Cooks...phenomenal! Reef there is so healthy and pristine it is amazing compared to the Caribbean.

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Glad to hear you had an awesome time. I also had an awesome time in Miami and Key Largo and snorkeling the Pennekamp reef was amazing. Next time I'm doing my first snuba though. Can't wait to hear more about your trip. How is your tank?

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SquishyFishy

Sorry got busy again......tank fared O.K. considering we had a skimmer crisis right in the middle of the trip. Fortunately, my neighbors follow instructions well. And we averted danger! We had somehow, gone off with the ATO unplugged!!!!! I think we were distracted. But anyway, the water in the back chamber got verrrrry low. They took care of it though, even learned how to test for salt over the phone! The salt was still a little high 1.027 when we returned but everything made it through probably at least a 24 hr period of 1.030 salt! Cyano must like it though, I have a pretty bad outbreak of that. I've scrubbed the rock well even some of the Paly stalks got a soft scrub. And I had to deep 6 my knobby star. Poor thing was starving. I haven't seen him for at least 2 months and he was out when I got home and thin so I "put him down". Didn't want him crawling back in a hole and rotting. Boohoo :o

 

How are all your squishy babies?

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Oh wow. I also had a problem when I went away on my 1 week. My ATO tube fell out so water fell behind the tank instead of in. Only thing I can think of is if a snail knocked it or something. I made the return pipe long so it wouldn't fall out as I lost the clip and had extra tubing. Glad I had a towel in the bathroom. Otherwise the towels are in closet downstairs across from the laundry. I too was thankful for my friend watching my tank. Sorry to hear about your star though. Check KPAquatics, they may have something you like.

 

http://www.kpaquatics.com/product-category/starfish/.

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SquishyFishy

Another problem today with my temp probe. Not functioning well, caused a huge temp swing. What is it with Thermometers? None of them ever agree. Compared it with every thermometer we own, AC thermostat and all Todd's grilling probes, none of them are all the exact same read out! Going to go get a bobber with mercury today and a new battery for the probe in case that's the problem.

 

It's always something. That's the only constant in this hobby!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

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HarryPotter

Another problem today with my temp probe. Not functioning well, caused a huge temp swing. What is it with Thermometers? None of them ever agree. Compared it with every thermometer we own, AC thermostat and all Todd's grilling probes, none of them are all the exact same read out! Going to go get a bobber with mercury today and a new battery for the probe in case that's the problem.

 

It's always something. That's the only constant in this hobby!!!!!!!!! Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!

 

What I do is have two thermometers (Mercury, suction cup mounts) next to each other in the display. They always read within 1*

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SquishyFishy

That's a good idea. Bought a mercury therm. with a magnet...it fits right in the back and you can see it through the little slit window for the pump in my BioCube. The battery seems to have been the problem....it's agreeing with the mercury now.

 

Todd went with me to my lfs and I've been looking at a Red Sea Max C250 in there so he got to see it. He was surprisingly interested in it too. He says, we'll have to wait a while but he'd like me to have it!! :wub: Such a sweet tank, but I'd have to do without Dave's Nano lights :o unless I could figure out a DIY retro fit. That's 65 gallons so I could finally have a tang or something.

 

Geez Annette, I could make a flower garden out of my BioCube!!!

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