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(07/08 Showpiece Fish) OMW's - 33 LONG - Custom AIO, mixed reef


olemanwinter

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Hello there 'old timers' and young punks!

 

I haven't made a tank thread in a long time. I've got a new nano coming together for my home office that I've decided to share. I've been reef keeping for 15 years or so, but I'm no expert. I've had tanks ranging from 8 gallons to 125 gallons and I've always got a couple running, experimenting with this or that.

 

For this tank I wanted the simplicity and convenience of an AIO, a long footprint for swimming room, reduced gallons to limit weight, and low-iron glass. I almost went with a Mr. Aqua 22 long, but decided I wanted to do something a little different. It involved using a craftsman found on this site, and showcasing his work is the main reason I decided to do a thread for this project.

 

I hope my photography improves along with the tank.

 

Tank was set up 11/2015

 

FTS 01/2016 (2 months)

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LIVESTOCK

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  • Rainsford's Goby
  • Green Chromis
  • Skunk Cleaner Shrimp
  • Scarlet Reef Hermit Crabs
  • Nassarius, Onyx Nassarius, Dwarf Cerith, Nassarius, and Astrea Snails
  • Micro Brittle Starfish
  • Octospawn
  • Branching Hammer
  • Goniastrea Brain
  • Platygyra "Worm" Brain
  • Platygyra
  • Cinnamon Polyps
  • Zoas
  • Ricordia
  • Leather Corals
  • Green Star Polyps
  • Rock Flower Anemones

 

EQUIPMENT

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  • Custom Acrylic AIO chamber (details here) by nano-reef's very own OceanBox Designs
  • 33 long w/Starphire front glass (48x12x13) from Glasscages.com
  • Tunze Comline Doc 9001 Skimmer
  • Jebao RW-4 Wave Maker
  • Odyssea 4x54w T5 (Coral Plus, Purple Plus, Actinic, 10k) - still experimenting
  • Like 14
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Just another lousy photo. This is the view to the right of my desk during what passes for an end-of-day actinic period. 1 purple plus and 1 actinic.

 

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BIG ORDER coming today. My lonely Chromis won't be lonely much longer.

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Not only did FedEx not deliver my package yesterday, but now on the 2nd day...they aren't even here by noon. Should be called Last Priority Overnight.

 

I wonder which I'm going to receive?

 

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That is very sad about your delivery. They would have made beautiful additions to your awesome tank. I love the dimensions!

 

Thanks. First post in my thread huh? Welcome to NR.

 

I had hoped to make the exact same order as soon as my credit comes through, but they are out of stock on at least one of the fish, so looks like I'm in a bit of a jam.

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Bit o' drama in my tank this evening.

 

I got a little Porcelain Anemone crab and deposited him near my RFA garden. As soon as he touched the RFA, the very INSTANT he made contact the Rock Flower Nem grabbed his claw and ripped it off. This happened twice! So much for RFA hosting anemone crabs. Not mine anyway.

 

But it gets worse/weirder.

 

For the next 20 minutes I watched 3 Onyx and 3 regular Nassarius snails fight over the lost claw, while the claw continued to rhythmically open and close over and over. Creeepy. :scarry:

 

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Meanwhile, the crab sat about 4" away watching, sans both claws

 

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That is freaky. I had thought the same thing about Porcelain crab hosting RFA but I found mine dead in pieces a few day after he hosted the RFA, or supposedly standing on it. I wouldn't think my clowns killed and shredded it into pieces, i only have the pair of the clowns at the time so RFA is to blamed.

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I wouldn't think my clowns killed and shredded it into pieces, i only have the pair of the clowns at the time so RFA is to blamed.

 

Indeed. I've seen so many accounts of RFA hosting these crabs and pictures of the same that I was shocked. I thought maybe it was just the huge white nem which is easily 6" across and much larger than the average RFA, but the crab made is way behind the rock to the smaller green nem (maybe 2.5" diameter) and it promptly ripped off two more legs! I could see the legs laying on the sand beside the nem.

 

So, the crab left the area (too little, too late) and made his way to the opposite of the tank to sit on a favia for a few min and wait to die, which he did shortly thereafter.

 

Brutal to watch unfold!

 

Now, the only thing I can figure is that maybe by target feeding meaty food to my RFAs too frequently (or at all) I have somehow conditioned them to think anything that lands on them is food. I've had these guys for almost 2 months and feed them heavily. That's a theory I need to float over in the RFA thread. It would be interesting to order another RFA from KPAquatics and feed it nothing but light and see if it would accept the presence of a crab and host it....but I don't think I will personally try to pair a crab with a RFA again after watching that. *shudders*

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I was too impatient to wait for my credit. Had to get something.

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Rainsford's Goby.

 

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I wouldn't normally post a picture of something as simple as a cleaner shrimp, but when you've had the luck I have, beggars can't be choosers.

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I switched out the placeholder images in the first post with some slightly better photography and I'm depositing a couple of the old ones here.

 

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Rock Flower Anemones from KPAquatics.com, and Green Chromis photo bombingeMEirpa.jpg

Left to Right: Brown Polyps from KPAquatics.com, Purple Branching Hammer (local), Octospawn from Saltcritters.com

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Scarlet Hermit Crab w/ feather duster growing from shell. (KPAquatics.com)

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Nice looking tank! The Rainford's is cool. :)

Thanks. Yeah, the Rainsford's is very neat. Lots of personality. He has different "modes" from time to time. Sometimes he will just be relaxing, barely swimming and resting on the substrate. Sometimes he is in full hunting mode and just constantly sifting sand and eating algae like a machine. And then other times he seems in explore mode and just travels around checking everything out. It's always neat to check out what he's up to.

 

I had a tank-raised one ordered that died in shipping and I impatiently bought a wild caught specimen locally...so I'm crossing my fingers I can keep him alive long-term.

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Having basically the same insert made for my MR Aqua 17.1 (obviously different dimensions).

 

Any tips on installing the AIO insert? Looks like yours blends in seamlessly. Thanks.

 

Mike

  • Like 1
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Having basically the same insert made for my MR Aqua 17.1 (obviously different dimensions).

 

Any tips on installing the AIO insert? Looks like yours blends in seamlessly. Thanks.

 

Mike

My take on this. Put blue painter tape around your seam, drop the silicone in, wipe up with your finger, immediately remove the tape, guaranteed clean silicone line every time. Repeat for the other seams, you don't even need to seal off the inside baffle if the unit is flushed to the glass.

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My take on this. Put blue painter tape around your seam, drop the silicone in, wipe up with your finger, immediately remove the tape, guaranteed clean silicone line every time. Repeat for the other seams, you don't even need to seal off the inside baffle if the unit is flushed to the glass.

 

 

Not to hijack but exactly what i thought I to do. thanks for the reassurance. Will deff be in touch during the process.

 

Can't Wait!!

  • Like 1
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My take on this. Put blue painter tape around your seam, drop the silicone in, wipe up with your finger, immediately remove the tape, guaranteed clean silicone line every time. Repeat for the other seams, you don't even need to seal off the inside baffle if the unit is flushed to the glass.

 

 

 

 

Not to hijack but exactly what i thought I to do. thanks for the reassurance. Will deff be in touch during the process.

 

Can't Wait!!

 

I'm going to make a post in a couple of hours going over my AIO, filtration setup, and how I installed it. There are a few things you might not think about the first time you do it. Stay tuned.

  • Like 2
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My take on this. Put blue painter tape around your seam, drop the silicone in, wipe up with your finger, immediately remove the tape, guaranteed clean silicone line every time. Repeat for the other seams, you don't even need to seal off the inside baffle if the unit is flushed to the glass.

The only other suggestions I would give are to make the cut on the silicone tube so that the hole is pretty small and go easy on how much silicone you put down. The first time I tried resealing a tank I used way too much....what a mess that was.

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