StellaBlue's da Vinci Cube - RETIRED

[LylaPico]

Oh I will be!!! I'm already planning a 50 gallon I want in the kitchen with a display fuge and cabinetry built around it lol

Do you have a fuge set up for this tank? In one of the back compartments? I was thinking about doing one but not sure.

[ReefWeeds]

Weird worm! Did you pull him out of a hole? Or was it just crawling around?

I saw it crawling on a rock so I plucked him off - with some tongs! Still makes me shiver.

 

 

they even stick to fingers, only they feel like what you think Velcro would feel like if you were a wool sweater.

 

Oy. The way it stuck to the bowl I had it in, I can see what you mean. But I sure am not going to let him stick to my fingers! That's all you.

[ReefWeeds]

Do you have a fuge set up for this tank? In one of the back compartments? I was thinking about doing one but not sure.

I do! Compartment 1 houses a 100w heater, compartment 2 is an InTank media basket with floss, purigen, chemipure followed by the InTank fuge basket. I've got a submersible LED light in there that I have turning on an hour before daylights go off and turning off an hour after. I have a ball of chaeto in there as well that I trim probably 1x a month. Given the small size of the fuge basket, I'm not sure how much good it does for pod populations and nitrate export. There are some white sponges in there, so I figure that's good for the tank in terms of nutrient export. Who knows! Eventually I may put the Tunze skimmer in there, but not yet. I'd like to NOT have a skimmer if I don't have to. I also am thinking of putting a 2nd heater in as a backup in the event the first one has problems, but I'm not sure if putting two in chamber one would be good or bad. The only thing I have in chamber 3 is the return pump but the water level, while much higher than the "max" line on the BC, still isn't high enough for a heater.

Questions of the day: Should the next livestock addition(s) be coral or green banded gobies?!?!?! Second question: which LED upgrade?? Looking at NanoBox and RapidLED. RapidLED seems way more complicated to retrofit.

I can't seem to get Ph higher than 8.0. It is stable at 8.0, but won't rise. Seems like this is low. Alk is stable at around 9 and calcium right now sits between 400-420. Need to do some more research on this!

[LylaPico]

I do! Compartment 1 houses a 100w heater, compartment 2 is an InTank media basket with floss, purigen, chemipure followed by the InTank fuge basket. I've got a submersible LED light in there that I have turning on an hour before daylights go off and turning off an hour after. I have a ball of chaeto in there as well that I trim probably 1x a month. Given the small size of the fuge basket, I'm not sure how much good it does for pod populations and nitrate export. There are some white sponges in there, so I figure that's good for the tank in terms of nutrient export. Who knows! Eventually I may put the Tunze skimmer in there, but not yet. I'd like to NOT have a skimmer if I don't have to. I also am thinking of putting a 2nd heater in as a backup in the event the first one has problems, but I'm not sure if putting two in chamber one would be good or bad. The only thing I have in chamber 3 is the return pump but the water level, while much higher than the "max" line on the BC, still isn't high enough for a heater.

Questions of the day: Should the next livestock addition(s) be coral or green banded gobies?!?!?! Second question: which LED upgrade?? Looking at NanoBox and RapidLED. RapidLED seems way more complicated to retrofit.

 

Thanks! When I start putting mine together I might have some questions for you. I'm not sure if putting two heaters in the same chamber is such a good idea either. I mean, if they're both auto shut off, it couldn't be too bad but??? I'd ask around. As far as the lights go, I've only heard good things about Rapid LED, although it does require some assembly that I might hire an engineer to do. Thank God some of my friends are engineer students. lol

[ReefWeeds]

 

Thanks! When I start putting mine together I might have some questions for you. I'm not sure if putting two heaters in the same chamber is such a good idea either. I mean, if they're both auto shut off, it couldn't be too bad but??? I'd ask around. As far as the lights go, I've only heard good things about Rapid LED, although it does require some assembly that I might hire an engineer to do. Thank God some of my friends are engineer students. lol

Yeah, not sure about the heaters either. I think I'll just get a spare and leave it out. And ask away whenever! Of course, I'm new at this, so hopefully I can help

[ReefWeeds]

I just placed an order with Cultivated Reef. Woo hoo! Some acans and palys on their way.

 

Here's a shot of Mona near her favorite thing - the thermometer. On a side note, I don't like the look of coralline on the back wall, so I'm going to attach some GSP and Xenia on there with the hopes it will spread. I tried scraping the coralline off the wall, but it is NOT worth the effort. It is hard to get off of plastic. And I can't really figure out how to get it off the thermometer given the roundness of the glass. I don't want to scrape too hard and crack it. Oh well. Worse problems to have that is for sure.

 

Oh and a photo of the sea cuc in his new home. He quickly crawled into the rock work and disappeared.

 

 

 

[ReefWeeds]

Looking into an RO/DI filter. I'd love suggestions from you guys as to which ones you use, which ones you like/don't like/what I should stay away from. I'm looking at Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I like the fact that Red Sea is evaporated natural sea salt. Right now I'm using Catalina purified sea water and I'm already sick of buying water.

[Idaho ken]

Great thread! I like the idea of not running a skimmer if you don't need it, but I have the small Coralife skimmer and it's always pulling out junk.....I think I may over-feed my tank to make sure all my cuc critters get enuf food, probably a bad habbit. I'm also thinking of trying out the fug, but then I have to get a light for it lol!

[ReefWeeds]

Great thread! I like the idea of not running a skimmer if you don't need it, but I have the small Coralife skimmer and it's always pulling out junk.....I think I may over-feed my tank to make sure all my cuc critters get enuf food, probably a bad habbit. I'm also thinking of trying out the fug, but then I have to get a light for it lol!

 

Thank you! Good point about the skimmer!! I probably overfeed as well, so I change out the floss about every other day. I got a cheap 6 LED submersible strip on Amazon for about $7 - seems to work well!

[gena]

I just placed an order with Cultivated Reef. Woo hoo! Some acans and palys on their way.

 

Here's a shot of Mona near her favorite thing - the thermometer. On a side note, I don't like the look of coralline on the back wall, so I'm going to attach some GSP and Xenia on there with the hopes it will spread. I tried scraping the coralline off the wall, but it is NOT worth the effort. It is hard to get off of plastic. And I can't really figure out how to get it off the thermometer given the roundness of the glass. I don't want to scrape too hard and crack it. Oh well. Worse problems to have that is for sure.

 

Oh and a photo of the sea cuc in his new home. He quickly crawled into the rock work and disappeared.

 

mona and thermometer.jpg sea cuc in new home.jpg

 

 

Nice! I love cultivated reef . Did you order the Grandis?

 

Looking into an RO/DI filter. I'd love suggestions from you guys as to which ones you use, which ones you like/don't like/what I should stay away from. I'm looking at Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I like the fact that Red Sea is evaporated natural sea salt. Right now I'm using Catalina purified sea water and I'm already sick of buying water.

I have only used the BRS Economy RODI system and I love it. But again, nothing to compare it to. I consistently get 0 TDS. I share it with my husband so we go through filters faster but not that fast. He uses it for his beer brewing.

 

It's super easy to change out the filters too.

 

This is the one: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-75gpd-2.html

 

Looks like it's out of stock right now. But it probably won't be long before they have more.

[ReefWeeds]

Nice! I love cultivated reef . Did you order the Grandis?

 

I have only used the BRS Economy RODI system and I love it. But again, nothing to compare it to. I consistently get 0 TDS. I share it with my husband so we go through filters faster but not that fast. He uses it for his beer brewing.

 

It's super easy to change out the filters too.

 

This is the one: http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/brs-4-stage-value-ro-di-system-75gpd-2.html

 

Looks like it's out of stock right now. But it probably won't be long before they have more.

I wimped out on the Grandis! Actually, I want to do a bit of rescaping once I catch the ^&( crab (who has molted again as of yesterday and I'm sure is hiding somewhere growing huge) so I can make a space for the Grandis and not have to worry about fragging them.

 

And GREAT info on the RODI!!! thank you, Gena.

[teenyreef]

Good luck with catching your emerald crab! I found a picture of my home made bottle crab trap. It was hard to photograph because it's so clear underwater, but you can see how the reversed opening keeps the crab from getting back out In this picture the bottom of the bottle is pointing towards the front of the tank.

 

I used a piece of an algae wafer as bait. Crabs love them but most of critters don't since there's no meat in them.

Crab Trap by TeenyReef, on Flickr

[cmccorkle2005]

Yeah - I just put an emerald in the tank I am setting up now and it took the guy from the LFS 15 minutes to get him out of the rock at the pet store. I like him but man is it gonna be pain if I have to ever get him out of my tank...

[amphipod]

I don't trust crabs too much, they can rescape the tank the way they want it in just a few hours, they can destroy so many things I only ever keep them in separate crab only tanks.

[ReefWeeds]

I don't trust crabs too much, they can rescape the tank the way they want it in just a few hours, they can destroy so many things I only ever keep them in separate crab only tanks.

 

Well, the hitchhiker I've been trying to catch is some form of gorilla crab. He goes after everything and anything in the tank - his favorite being my nassarius snails. I have been trying EVERYTHING. I am definitely worried I'm going to wake up to a dead or missing fish or shrimp. It took me a while to ID, but I finally found a photo online of exactly what he looks like. Although mine has bright red eyes.

 

http://www.aquacorals.com/Pics/HELP/General/Pests/Crab-Gorilla.jpg

[teenyreef]

Yeah, the algae wafer bait might not be as good for your gorilla crab Maybe a piece of shrimp?

[ReefWeeds]

Yeah, I'm using nice raw jumbo shrimp I just put together the soda bottle method - but used a water bottle which is thinner plastic - hopefully he can't poke his way through! The fish and shrimp are going nuts.

[teenyreef]

Mine was a cheap water bottle too and it worked fine. Hopefully you don't end up with every living thing in your tank inside the water bottle Good luck!

[ml86743]

Looking into an RO/DI filter. I'd love suggestions from you guys as to which ones you use, which ones you like/don't like/what I should stay away from. I'm looking at Red Sea Coral Pro salt. I like the fact that Red Sea is evaporated natural sea salt. Right now I'm using Catalina purified sea water and I'm already sick of buying water.

BRS makes awesome RO units. Decent prices on them too!

 

Good luck catching the demon crab...I have an Emerald in my 40 that's getting HUGE and it scares me..His disposition is quite the opposite of a normal emerald and is very gentle... usually...But after his last molt he literally doubled in size. He actually tears away at the small patches of cyano in my tank..which is awesome! Crabs are so hit or miss its ridiculous...

[amphipod]

Well, the hitchhiker I've been trying to catch is some form of gorilla crab. He goes after everything and anything in the tank - his favorite being my nassarius snails. I have been trying EVERYTHING. I am definitely worried I'm going to wake up to a dead or missing fish or shrimp. It took me a while to ID, but I finally found a photo online of exactly what he looks like. Although mine has bright red eyes.

 

http://www.aquacorals.com/Pics/HELP/General/Pests/Crab-Gorilla.jpg

crabs are sneaky and smart, but you can catch them using the bottle method, one hint to remember make sure the path in the ramp has enough texture for the crab to climb in with, after all if he can't enter the trap he can't be caught. Once he's caught he's good to keep in a tank all to himself, and maybe a few fish, those kind of crabs arent too good at catching a healthy fast moving fish and they make fun pets on their own. I have several crabs who's favorite food is fresh pond snails from my freshwater aquariums lol.

[kimberbee]

Eek! Hope you catch your devil crab!

[cmccorkle2005]

I had major bad luck with blue legs in my last tank - they would pick each other off for shells and kill my snails too. I have sworn off on them for the new one I'm starting up now and just going to try doing scarlets and an emerald.

[LylaPico]

 

Thank you! Good point about the skimmer!! I probably overfeed as well, so I change out the floss about every other day. I got a cheap 6 LED submersible strip on Amazon for about $7 - seems to work well!

Post a link or send me a pm of the link please? I scoured and only found expensive options.

[ReefWeeds]

BRS makes awesome RO units. Decent prices on them too!

 

Good luck catching the demon crab...I have an Emerald in my 40 that's getting HUGE and it scares me..His disposition is quite the opposite of a normal emerald and is very gentle... usually...But after his last molt he literally doubled in size. He actually tears away at the small patches of cyano in my tank..which is awesome! Crabs are so hit or miss its ridiculous...

Yikes! A Big emerald would scare me too!!!!

 

My demon crab molted yesterday and stayed hidden. I spied him today and I SWEAR he is twice the size. After this, I think I'm going to be scared to add ANY crabs. I do like my two scarlet hermits though

Post a link or send me a pm of the link please? I scoured and only found expensive options.

Here ya go! Click here. It's actually an 18 LED strip, I thought it was six. Fits well in the fuge basket. It is still under $10, but went up a couple bucks since I bought it.

I had major bad luck with blue legs in my last tank - they would pick each other off for shells and kill my snails too. I have sworn off on them for the new one I'm starting up now and just going to try doing scarlets and an emerald.

I love my two scarlet hermits - they haven't bothered anything - including snails. They both have molted a few times and switched shells a few times. I have a scattering of different shell types in there for them. I hope they stay peaceful

Mine was a cheap water bottle too and it worked fine. Hopefully you don't end up with every living thing in your tank inside the water bottle Good luck!

I did catch a few snails, but no crab!! Although I do see him today. He's very active when I only have the actnic lights on so I'm keeping it that way today with hopes that I'll finally get the ^*#*(#*(. On a happy note, I saw a small white brittle star (I think - definitely a starfish) crawling on the crab trap.

crabs are sneaky and smart, but you can catch them using the bottle method, one hint to remember make sure the path in the ramp has enough texture for the crab to climb in with, after all if he can't enter the trap he can't be caught. Once he's caught he's good to keep in a tank all to himself, and maybe a few fish, those kind of crabs arent too good at catching a healthy fast moving fish and they make fun pets on their own. I have several crabs who's favorite food is fresh pond snails from my freshwater aquariums lol.

this guy is definitely smart and sneaky. When I was using the mantis trap, he would check it out, but not go in. He learned that the snails would go in, so he'd wait by the opening and grab and kill the snails as they entered the trap. He may be toast after this. I normally try to keep everything alive, but this guy is EVIL.

[gena]

I wimped out on the Grandis! Actually, I want to do a bit of rescaping once I catch the ^&( crab (who has molted again as of yesterday and I'm sure is hiding somewhere growing huge) so I can make a space for the Grandis and not have to worry about fragging them.

 

And GREAT info on the RODI!!! thank you, Gena.

No problem . Having an RODI in the house is so nice. One of the best purchases for a reef tank. Easier on your back too .

 

Well, the hitchhiker I've been trying to catch is some form of gorilla crab. He goes after everything and anything in the tank - his favorite being my nassarius snails. I have been trying EVERYTHING. I am definitely worried I'm going to wake up to a dead or missing fish or shrimp. It took me a while to ID, but I finally found a photo online of exactly what he looks like. Although mine has bright red eyes.

 

http://www.aquacorals.com/Pics/HELP/General/Pests/Crab-Gorilla.jpg

Ok...that's just scary. Red eyes? Eeks .

 

 

He sounds very evil LOL.