tibbsy07 IM10

[tibbsy07]

Here is my current plan:

 

Set up the 3g at work with my old equipment

Transfer all to the new tank, except Hermie and a chunk of my current LR

Add new rock scape to the IM10 and give it a couple of days to ensure no major cycle

Once both are set to go - transfer most of my coral back from the pico to the IM10

Get new coral for the pico at work.

Have 2 tanks

Profit.

 

 

My alternative plan:

 

Set up 3g pico at work

Transfer all to pico except Hermie

Sell Hermie and IM10

Only keep the pico until my home and work life allow me to enjoy a tank at home.

[teenyreef]

I like that plan

[tibbsy07]

I like that plan

Hahaha - I hit the wrong thing and posted before I was finished

 

I'll probably do the first and spend the time and money to rescape the IM10 using the work pico for a hold tank. Then once the IM10 is actually a nice tank, I will set the pico up with a better scape and get new coral for it.

[tibbsy07]

Did a 2g and some change water change last night. It was a bit rough, lol. Been too long since I did one and I've lost my finesse it seems. Tank will likely be pissy today when I get home. Oh well.

[tibbsy07]

Corals doing ok. Still very little time to look at the tank.

 

Mentioned this before, but it's becoming a more viable option. I may end up moving the tank to work. Our AC has been running way higher and more than normal - last month our power bill was double. The place we rent is really old and inefficient.

 

Not sure what the plan is. It's a balancing act - I don't have time at home to enjoy it, and I don't really have time at work. At work it will be in a place that I can at least see it, though, but that could end up being a distraction. At home, it's in a room I rarely use and the room is like 80 degrees because of our crappy place. Discussed downgrading last night with my wife - moving back to the pico with an HOB and having it at work, having it be coral only. Blergh.

[tibbsy07]

Ok - I've got a bit of down time at work so I'm trying to weigh my options. Let's pretend the 10g doesn't exist right now. I am likely going to be getting a 4g CADlight Zen - a 14"x8"x8" rimless tank. I will be placing this at work.

 

Here is what I have:

 

AC70 with inTank basket and the AC30 impeller (could switch to AC70 but in a <4g tank probably not needed)

Light

Tank

heater

ATO

 

Here is the dilemma. I want a mixed reef, like my IM10. I am concerned about flow...The tank isn't big, obviously. Here are my two options for the AC70 placement. The images were made to scale. 14x8x8 tank, the AC70 is ~9.5" long and the part that's IN the tank is 3" tall with the bottom 1" actually being in the water. The intake tube is ~8" tall when it's all said and done - it will be too long and can't be cut any shorter, but I can modify with some PVC and basically make a small intake tube/surface skimmer combo for cheap. Buying a new HOB of any kind is off the table.

 

Option 1: AC70 all the way to the right

 

Option 2: AC70 in the middle

 

Thoughts? I'm also trying to figure out an aquascape for this - whether it be 1 big rock wall or two islands. That will also influence the decision on where to put the AC70.

[tibbsy07]

Ok screw the last question. I will revisit when I know exactly what my plan is.

 

My wife is out of town this weekend so I have the car to do as I want. I am going to head to the LFS that's about an hour away and see if they have anything awesome. They always have SOMETHING. I'll pick up some coral food, maybe a frag or two, and maybe - just maybe - a pom pom crab or a goby

 

Other plans for the weekend are to seed some dry rock to make my new scape so I don't freak the tank out and crash it when I redo the scape.

[tibbsy07]

Would swapping out the return pump for a better pump be better than having that giant rio 50+ in the display? I wonder if an MJ900 would be a better fit for the rear area?

[tibbsy07]

Went to that store ~ an hour away and got some goodies. I got some Reef Chili (more on that in a second) and some BRS roxx carbon.

 

Also got a firefish Very skittish - I know. Will barely come out of the rock. Feeding training should help. No pictures yet, but I call him Reginald J. Pyrebottom

[metrokat]

[tibbsy07]

Ok for the reef chili - it says for 20gallons, use 1 scoop to 1/2 cup of tank water. Is that to feed the ENTIRE tank at once?

[HarryPotter]

Ok for the reef chili - it says for 20gallons, use 1 scoop to 1/2 cup of tank water. Is that to feed the ENTIRE tank at once?

Well yeah... So you would use 1/2 scoop in 1/4 cup water to feed your 10g.

[tibbsy07]

Well yeah... So you would use 1/2 scoop in 1/4 cup water to feed your 10g.

All at once though right? Not like save the bottle and feed over time?

[HarryPotter]

All at once though right? Not like save the bottle and feed over time?

 

I thought all at once when I did it. It gives you an amount according to the volume of your tank, so id imagine so. Same thing with Reef Roids and Chemi-Clean

[tibbsy07]

 

I thought all at once when I did it. It gives you an amount according to the volume of your tank, so id imagine so. Same thing with Reef Roids and Chemi-Clean

Just making sure i was not missing something. Thanks!

 

Reginald J. Pyrebottom

[kimberbee]

Nice to meet you, Reginald!!

[tibbsy07]

New FTS today. Glass is dirty, but I've held off on cleaning to let Reginald adjust. He's pretty skittish but getting better. Just finished feeding the fish a few minutes prior so there are some chunks floating around that Hermie and Reginald are both after.

 

[tibbsy07]

I started listening to the Reef Threads podcast the other day, and so far it's pretty good. They have episodes 41-240 online and itunes, but iTunes only allows downloading from episode 87 and on. Ah well.

 

I listened to an interesting point though from episode 93 - the first episode in which they began the "Beginner's corner" part. The first beginner's discussion was the best tank size for a new reef keeper, but they also discussed shape. They agreed that a 40B is a perfect beginner tank size, and I have to agree. I love <20g because of space and time and money that I lack, but the 40B is probably the best tank, imo, for new keepers. But the point I thought was really interesting was their discussion of shape - rectangle, cube, etc.

 

Their thoughts were that rectangle tanks are best for a couple of reasons, the major one being that most equipment is designed to work in rectangular tanks. The other that actually makes sense, and while it's an opinion I think there is probably some merit there, is that rectangular tanks actually allows for more swimming space for fish compared to their cube counterparts. The same volume of water exists in both, but the rectangle allows for a longer distance for the fish to swim. I don't think cubes are detrimental, neither did they, but it was an interesting view point nonetheless.

[metrokat]

Been listening also.

[tibbsy07]

It's pretty good so far from what I've listened to. I've skipped over a bunch of stuff that I'm not interested in listening to in some of the episodes, but overall good.

[tibbsy07]

Finally got a chance to see the coral lab for our department. It's pretty cool. They have coral samples from Belize and Panama right now. They just started acclimating them in hospital tanks for recovery after their removal.

 

They have brain corals, elkhorn, montiporas, etc. No softies.

 

Here is their set up: t5 bulbs in current USA fixtures, Jager heaters at 81 degrees, AquaEuro chillers set to 81 degrees. They use IO and our building DI water (great because that means I can use it too without fear). EShopps overflow boxes to sumps (some nice, some just big buckets converted), EShopps skimmers. Crazy crazy flow - All Hydor Koralias. I think their recovery tanks are 55g? They have 4-8 koralias per - between 425s and Evo 1500s (depended on the tank).

 

I'm going to ask more about their set up - photoperiod, salinity, etc. next time I get a chance. Pretty cool to see it. I know they do 75% water changes on a pretty regular basis.

 

Edit: Christ, I misspelled "their" as "there." What have I become?

[tibbsy07]

Here is the next bit of info from the coral labs

-Salinity: between 32 and 35, depending on the experiment. The corals from Belize are usually at 35 (ppt)
-Water changes once a week, we change 50% of the water.
-We mix the saltwater overnight, at least 12 hours, before adding to tanks
-We feed the corals Monday, Wednesday and Friday.
-The lights are currently on a 12 hour light/dark cycle, however the first and last hours of the day are only blue light to simulate dawn and dusk. Our light fixtures have 4 bulbs (2 white and 2 actinic). We get about 300 umol photons/m2/sec at the bottom of the tank when all four bulbs are on.
-The Artemia hatcheries are super easy and usually not too difficult to get high yields of hatched dudes.

 

Edit: I checked out their brine shrimp hatchery. They feed an entire batch when they feed - that's 2 hatching systems going side by side. It's pretty crazy.

 

They also keep their water at 28°C (81°F) because their corals come from warm water areas. The corals they grow are Siderastrea, Oculina, and Pseudodiploria amongst others.

[metrokat]

nice

[tibbsy07]

I need to begin preparations to bring the tank to work.

 

I'm a bit torn - it might not even be worth it. There are some ripples (good ones) that suggest some big changes coming soon and the tank will likely come down in that event. I'll sell everything off but my light and set up another small tank in the future. I'm still good for now, but I don't expect this tank to be up for any longer than 6 months from now at most.

[tibbsy07]

Finding a job is effing brutal. So disheartening. Blech. Taking lots of time to apply and create custom resumes/cover letters, without even emails to say "sorry no thanks" or anything. It's tough. Yes, I have a current job and that technically will last for up to 2 years, but the money isn't great. I'm 30, working on starting a family, I've been slugging it out for no money for long enough. It's taking 12-18 months for people in my field to find a job, apparently, and big time moves cross country are often required.

 

That being said, I've been doing a lot of thinking and I think it's time to slowly take the tank down. I'm not enjoying it right now - between the lack of time I have for basic maintenance, even less time to sit and enjoy the tank, working at this new job and trying to work on getting another job lined up - it's not worth it. I really REALLY dislike the tank itself and looking at the scape irritates me. I have no time, patience or money to make this work right now.

 

I'm going to start locally and try to sell off my stuff, as it'll be easier in terms of time management for me, as people can come pick up stuff rather than me having to drive somewhere to ship it. Anything that doesn't sell locally I'll put up here when the time comes.