D Z's garage frag tank(formerly CAD 34G Mini)

[lilmatty5dimes]

oh man a pearlberry is one of my favorites.

[D Z]

oh man a pearlberry is one of my favorites.

Me too! I can't wait to get this tank nice and stable again so I can get it in here.

[D Z]

Just ordered a couple little odds and ins for the tank to finish up some details I have been meaning to tackle.

 

First, I am just tired of the screen top. I honestly cannot stand the way it looks. I wish I never broke the glass top, but in the end it will be better anyways. I ordered a piece of clear lexan and will be making a custom fit top that will fit better and cover the entire top. It will also be less of a hazard being lexan and not glass, so that's a plus.

 

Second, I ordered a control valve for the return line so I can somewhat throttle back the return and up my RW-4 a little. The return pump is ridiculously overpowered for this tank, which has forced me to keep the RW-4 on about 20% power. Also, I will be able to shut the valve completely whenever I turn off the return pump for maintenance/feedings so that it does not back syphon.

 

And last but not least, I have yet to use the magnets I talked about for holding the filter floss in place. The reason is, they are very thin, but very powerful neodymium magnets and just putting them in the tank against the glass did not seem very safe and a PIA. Therefore, I had been thinking about different ideas on how to make a custom holder for the floss. I ended up with an idea to make 2 strips of black acrylic with the magnets embedded inside. 1 will be on the inside of the drain chamber, 1 on the outside just under the teeth and will sandwich the floss. I will show some pics of how I plan to do this and the finished product in case anyone wants to try to duplicate it. Hopefully it will work the way I envision!

[D Z]

Well, I am still waiting for all of that to come in, but I couldn't help but making some changes over the weekend. I really have been unhappy with my light spectrum and timing lately, so I messed around with things and came up with something I am much happier with for now. I am planning on eventually pulling out 2 bulbs and retro'ing in some blue leds, but for now here is what I will be running:

 

I had been worried that I was blasting the tank with too much light. I was also not too fond of the look of 2x Actinic bulbs in the morning and evening - just way too purple. So I found a way to just run the first channel and then switch to the second channel, and then back to the first channel. No more having all 6 bulbs on at all times, which allowed me to extend my light cycle to 11 hours. I am going to eventually add another hour, but want to wait a couple weeks to see how the coral responds to this change. I am also really enjoying the look of the Actinic/Blue+ for morning/night.

 

12PM - 2PM

Blue+

Geissman Actinic

 

2PM - 8PM

Blue+

Coral+

ATI True Actinic

Blue+

 

8PM - 11PM

Blue+

Geissman Actinic

[D Z]

Well, it has been a couple days since I changed the lighting schedule and so far everything looks great! I am glad I made this change. Everything seems to be more open and happy. I am pretty sure at this point that I was giving too much light with the way it was configured before. This will do for now, until I can retro in some blue leds.

 

I received all of my materials to finish up with the minor tweeks I mentioned before. Now to just find some time to work on it.....

[D Z]

Photo dump! New FTS! Enough said.

 

Dec FTS

IMG_5344 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Full setup shot

IMG_5332 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

WWC Purple Martian Chalice - lost some of the purple on this one, still trying to get it back

IMG_5376 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

The ever growing Ric Garden

IMG_5375 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Rainbow Acan colony has grown very nicely for me, but it is hard to get the color right when shooting this one.

IMG_5372 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

This lovely Acan is starting to color up nicely.

IMG_5368 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

My unknown acro that hasn't had PE in over a month. I think it is starting to come back though, saw a little bit of PE peeking out last night for the first time in a while.

IMG_5327 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Acan Echinata

IMG_5302 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Green Plate - it is splitting, I believe!

IMG_5299 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

 

 

 

[Reefkid88]

Glad to hear you got the lights figured out. The tank looks really good. I like the spectrum. I was thinking of doing a BRS screen top for my tank,but your idea of Lexan is soooo much better and on sure it will look a lot cleaner too. I also broke my top for my 7 gallon.. I sat on it and it didn't feel good lol.

 

I still need to figure out my 4th bulb to get. Right now I have 2 B+ and 1 C+ and a old about burnt out WavePoint Reef Wave which is kinda purple. All 4 on,it's a crisp blue not too heavy at all. So I've been debating on which bulb to go with. Maybe AquaBlue Special ? What do you think ?

 

Lastly,I assume you've pretty much got your nitrates under control or at least getting there ?

[D Z]

Glad to hear you got the lights figured out. The tank looks really good. I like the spectrum. I was thinking of doing a BRS screen top for my tank,but your idea of Lexan is soooo much better and on sure it will look a lot cleaner too. I also broke my top for my 7 gallon.. I sat on it and it didn't feel good lol.

 

I still need to figure out my 4th bulb to get. Right now I have 2 B+ and 1 C+ and a old about burnt out WavePoint Reef Wave which is kinda purple. All 4 on,it's a crisp blue not too heavy at all. So I've been debating on which bulb to go with. Maybe AquaBlue Special ? What do you think ?

 

Lastly,I assume you've pretty much got your nitrates under control or at least getting there ?

Thanks man. I am really diggin' the look of the tank now that I changed around the bulbs.

 

LOL I sat on my top too.....on my bed....with my wife(pregnant at the time) laying in bed ready to go to sleep.....it was not a good night.

If you are going to do a plastic top, make sure it is lexan. I researched it a bit and I guess plexi will eventually warp and turn slightly yellow over time from the heat of the light. Supposedly lexan will not, but I will let you know in a couple months. I am hoping I get some time in the next week to get it cut and on to the tank.

 

I have never tried an aquablue sp so I cannot really comment on that. I do really like the look of 2 Blue+, 1 Coral+, and 1 Actinic for daytime. If I were to do anything different, it would probably be 2 Blue+ and 2 Coral+. The nice thing about 2b+/1c+/1A is you could run 1B+ and the actinic on 1 channel and they look great together as your AM/PM.(I think I remember you having a 4bulb unit)

 

As for the nitrates, yeah they seem to be staying under 5ppm now. The last time I checked was right before a water change and they were about 3-4ppm, so that's not bad. I would like them down around 1-2, but that may just take some more time for the tank to stabilize. I am thinking about trying vodka dosing, but still haven't completely convinced myself that is the best option, esp since my phosphates are still dead 0. I am thinking it may become more necessary after I add another fish or 2.

[Reefkid88]

Ouch,yeah I can imagine lol. You think it'll be taking a beating from the heat ? Especially from about 6-8" away from the light ? When I tested my light with the 3 new bulbs,the temp in my tank bounced from 78.6-78.9 and the light at the time was about 4-5" from the tank. I'd imagine it shouldn't warp,but you never know. It is acrylic we are talking about lol.

 

I was thinking about a Actinic bulb,but I don't make it too too blue. I may grab that and a ABS & Actinic and play with the combo.

 

That's always a good feeling. Things will be more manageable at those levels. How high were they again ? I cannot remember.

[D Z]

It's not a lot of heat, but from what I read it is enough in combination with the moisture to warp the plexi over time.

 

The actinic bulb is more of a purple/uv color, not blue. If anything, it would add a little purple color to the spectrum, but you really won't notice much of a difference as it is not well perceived by the human eye.

 

LOL, my nitrates had gotten up to somewhere around 40ppm I think! Damn blue sponges, I really should have known better.....and that damn seachem test kit...I should have known better there too!

[D Z]

Had a pretty productive weekend. Did some water testing yesterday.

https://flic.kr/p/q3JJ4Z'>https://flic.kr/p/q3JJ4Z'>20141207_141032 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

The tank seems to be stabilizing well now:

Calcium: 440

Alk: 8.5

Mag: 1240(Dosed 5ml of Magnesion to bring this up)

Phosphates: 0.0

Nitrate: 1.0

Temp: 78.2

Salinity: 1.024(I really want this back up at 1.026, so I am topping off with a slightly salty top off water, like 1.010)

 

Then I went and hung out with Alex B and picked up my SPS that he had been holding for me from CoralCon. So now I got the Pearlberry and Pink Lemonade frags mounted. Also, I picked up 4 new rics out of his wife's tank! Thanks again Stephanie! I didn't get done mounting everything until pretty late last night, so no pics yet. I'll hopefully grab some tonight if everything looks good.

[D Z]

Good morning all....so my pink lemonade frag looked awesome last night. The Pearlberry is not having much PE and may have lost a little bit of tissue, but it does not appear to be spreading at all. Just ordered some ReefChili and New Life Spectrum Nutracell as I realized I am not feeding anything on the smaller side that the SPS would actually eat! Especially with my bioload so small, I need to get something going in the tank to feed the new SPS.

 

Also, I think I might be going shopping this weekend if I can find the time. Got a $30 gift card to Top Shelf from my Secret Santa(Fishstiks) and I need more fish! I'm thinking about picking up some phytofeast as well, and maybe a nice mille if I can find one I like.

 

Without further ado, how about some pics:

IMG_5394 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

IMG_5447 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

IMG_5410 by cchsoracle, on Flickr

[kimberbee]

Such pretty rics!

[D Z]

Such pretty rics!

Thanks Kimber. I was lucky that out of the ones that Alex had that split, they were all pretty much colors that I did not already have, so I have a very nice mixture of colors. I still need to get a couple more to fill in the gaps, though, I think.

[Reefkid88]

Awesome looking Rics man. Looking super good. They pop really nice under those T5's.

[D Z]

Awesome looking Rics man. Looking super good. They pop really nice under those T5's.

Thanks dude. I absolutely love the T5s!

[TheKleinReef]

just did a quick catch up on this thread, amazing work!

[D Z]

Thanks Roger!

 

just did a quick catch up on this thread, amazing work!

[Reefkid88]

I'm right theres with you man. All my coral look so much better under t5's. This tank is coming along so nicely I can't wait to see this thing fully stocked and grown out.

[D Z]

I'm right theres with you man. All my coral look so much better under t5's. This tank is coming along so nicely I can't wait to see this thing fully stocked and grown out.

Thanks bro....me too! I am really starting to scrutinize and envision the tank grown out to try to see what I want to add and where to place it. I really need to get some more fish in the tank, it is just too clean with just the 2 clowns. Hopefully I will get a chance to get out this weekend to do a little shopping. If so, here is my list:

 

Yellow coris wrasse(unless I see something else cooler that catches my eye)

Springeri damsel

Phytofeast

Some kind of cool Rainbow or multi-colored mille or stylo(or both if I can get a good deal)

Possibly a gorgonian or sponge(if I can find a decent photosynthetic one. I am also thinking about just ordering this from Sea Life Inc.)

Possibly an urchin or starfish....what does everyone think about this idea?

[HVani]

Thanks bro....me too! I am really starting to scrutinize and envision the tank grown out to try to see what I want to add and where to place it. I really need to get some more fish in the tank, it is just too clean with just the 2 clowns. Hopefully I will get a chance to get out this weekend to do a little shopping. If so, here is my list:

 

Yellow coris wrasse(unless I see something else cooler that catches my eye)

Springeri damsel

Phytofeast

Some kind of cool Rainbow or multi-colored mille or stylo(or both if I can get a good deal)

Possibly a gorgonian or sponge(if I can find a decent photosynthetic one. I am also thinking about just ordering this from Sea Life Inc.)

Possibly an urchin or starfish....what does everyone think about this idea?

Looks like a great list!

[jabeuy]

Awesome looking ricordea garden! I have a similarly shaped rock I'm filling with acans. I think I wanna try a ricordea garden now too lol.

[D Z]

Looks like a great list!

Thanks HV. Hopefully I will get some time this weekend to actually get out and make my wish list come true!

 

Awesome looking ricordea garden! I have a similarly shaped rock I'm filling with acans. I think I wanna try a ricordea garden now too lol.

Thanks! Do it! Nothing beats a nicely grown in ric garden when it comes to color pop!

[DaveFason]

Looking good! Keep up the great work!

-Dave

[D Z]

Looking good! Keep up the great work!

-Dave

Thanks Dave.

 

 

I wish I had some better news, but the tank has just not quite been right lately. I have had an acan that has been somewhat closed up for a week, the pearlberry has burnt tips, my plate coral is not open much, and everything just doesn't quite look as colorful as usual. One of my clowns also decided it wanted to try to start hosting my duncan. Unfortunately, his way of trying to host it is to nip at all the tentacles, which has severely pissed off my duncan. I have moved it a couple times and I believe I have finally found a spot that the clown seems to be leaving it alone.

 

I have tested my parameters and nothing seems off. I talked with friends in the hobby and just cannot quite figure out what is going on here. I must be dealing with some kind of imbalance in trace elements. Alex B suggested I try doing daily 5 gallon water changes, so I am going to give that a shot starting tonight and go for the next week or so and see what happens. Wish me luck.....