Teenyreef's IM40 Not-So-Teeny Tank - August FTS

[Tamberav]

I lost both my sponges in the move, now I know why.

[teenyreef]

My blue sponge did this once in my bare bottom tank. Someone (Ben? Felicia?) told be that it "might" be from a lack of silicates in the water. It did eventually bounce back and is growing like a champ now.

That's interesting - but in my case I'm pretty sure it's not silicates since I'm still cleaning diatoms off the glass every day.

 

Or maybe that is the problem. I guess it's possible the diatom bloom consumes all the available silicates so there's none left for the sponges?

That's what mine did!! They grew well in my biocube but didn't do well at all in my 66 for the first three or four months. I'm having better luck now!

good point! I actually started dosing silicates and that may be why mine is coming back!

I'm glad your sponges are doing better! How do you dose silicates? And how do you know if you're dosing enough?

Hey teeny,

 

I see you are running 2 MP's in there. Wow.. I have a WAV which I cannot run much past 75% without pissing off my hammers. Are you running yours max or do you have 2 because it enhances the wave effect?

The MP-40 is really overkill in this tank, I only run it at about 35 or 40 percent. The MP-10 really helps because having the opposing water flow helps break up the flow and makes it a lot more random. Without it I'd have to turn the MP-40 down even more.

I lost both my sponges in the move, now I know why.

That's a good point. Sponges definitely do better in established, mature tanks.

[ReefWeeds]

That's interesting - but in my case I'm pretty sure it's not silicates since I'm still cleaning diatoms off the glass every day.

 

Or maybe that is the problem. I guess it's possible the diatom bloom consumes all the available silicates so there's none left for the sponges?

I'm glad your sponges are doing better! How do you dose silicates? And how do you know if you're dosing enough?

The MP-40 is really overkill in this tank, I only run it at about 35 or 40 percent. The MP-10 really helps because having the opposing water flow helps break up the flow and makes it a lot more random. Without it I'd have to turn the MP-40 down even more.

That's a good point. Sponges definitely do better in established, mature tanks.

I dose Brightwell spongexcel and bought a silicate test kit. I have a lot of sponges in all my tanks and when I started having trouble in the 66, I figured what the heck. So I dose 6 drops of KZ Sponge power daily and then dose silicates once a week. The sponges have shown growth for sure. I mix the drops of the spongexcel (silicates) in with a cup of RODI then dump it in the return chamber of my sump

[teenyreef]

I dose Brightwell spongexcel and bought a silicate test kit. I have a lot of sponges in all my tanks and when I started having trouble in the 66, I figured what the heck. So I dose 6 drops of KZ Sponge power daily and then dose silicates once a week. The sponges have shown growth for sure. I mix the drops of the spongexcel (silicates) in with a cup of RODI then dump it in the return chamber of my sump

Hmmm, good stuff. I may look into doing something like this. Young tank problems...

[ReefWeeds]

Hmmm, good stuff. I may look into doing something like this. Young tank problems...

You could try KZ sponge power. I don't know what the heck is in it honestly - the spongexcel I know what is in it. But I did notice more mass in my sponges when j started dosing the sponge power. Also the clams seem to like it -I can see them expand more and increase their water intake when I put it in the tank. I thought I was just imagining it at first but they do react for sure.

[teenyreef]

The A/C has gone on the fritz at my house. The temp in this tank has slowly risen up to 80.1. I'm going to have to go out and get a bigger fan to keep things cool.

 

In the meantime, the RBTA went for a swim last night. Pretty much the same schedule as the first one: looked great the first night or two, and then let go the third night. Fortunately, I learned my lesson from the last one and kept the powerheads off. There's no damage, but I'm pretty sure it's new location is not going to last very long

 

20160826_133444.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

[teenyreef]

I moved the RBTA, he was only very lightly attached to the back wall. I put him in a more protected niche in the rocks. There's less light there but also less current. It will be interesting to see what he thinks of the new spot.

 

20160826_141142.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

In other news, Walmart was sold out of fans - they are a seasonal item.

But Amazon Prime Now has them for $12. It will be here within an hour.

[dropped]

if you see its foot swelling up, its on the move... hopefully it doesnt move again.

[jack1978]

The A/C has gone on the fritz at my house. The temp in this tank has slowly risen up to 80.1. I'm going to have to go out and get a bigger fan to keep things cool.

 

In the meantime, the RBTA went for a swim last night. Pretty much the same schedule as the first one: looked great the first night or two, and then let go the third night. Fortunately, I learned my lesson from the last one and kept the powerheads off. There's no damage, but I'm pretty sure it's new location is not going to last very long

 

20160826_133444.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

That's a great pic!

Too bad it wouldn't be permanent.

[teenyreef]

if you see its foot swelling up, its on the move... hopefully it doesnt move again.

That's exactly what it was doing last night when I went to bed.

That's a great pic!

Too bad it wouldn't be permanent.

I know! It would be the perfect location

[teenyreef]

Saturday updates:

The A/C got fixed yesterday at 4:30 PM (I found a guy in the neighborhood who works after hours). Woo hoo!

The clip on fan I ordered from Amazon Prime now arrived at 5:00 PM. Oh well, at least I have it for future emergencies

 

Oh, and the RBTA is on the back wall again this morning. I really wish my foam sleeves would show up so I can turn the power heads back on. Without them, the RBTA is going to end up someplace that he won't like once the power heads go back on.

[teenyreef]

The foam filters for the MP-10 and MP-40 came today. I put them on and restarted the powerheads, but at a little bit lower than normal. So far the RBTA has stayed on the back glass, all the way up at the waterline.

 

20160827-untitled-007-Edit.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Forgive me for doubting that this will be the long-term location. But this guy definitely has a mind of his own

[Kyl]

If those sexy shrimp are dancing around on it, that could contribute to pissing it off and not settling down. I had to get rid of my porcelain crabs for the same reason. The anemone was too small and they wouldn't leave it alone to get happy.

[spectra]

nems have a mind of there own. I hve one in the 30 and well it went under the rocks in the back of the tank.....all I see are a couple of tips sticking out. I figure maybe when it gets hungry it might come out......

[jedimasterben]

Shoulda got a ritteri

[teenyreef]

Shoulda got a ritteri

Ha ha ha, great idea. No.

 

He's still on the back wall today. There's a lot of flow there but not a lot of PAR since the top of the back wall is way off center from the LED's. I don't know what's so great about that spot.

[ninjamyst]

Ha ha ha, great idea. No.

 

He's still on the back wall today. There's a lot of flow there but not a lot of PAR since the top of the back wall is way off center from the LED's. I don't know what's so great about that spot.

where is he now? i took mine off the backwall and dropped him in an area with high flow, high light. will see what happens tomorrow.

[vangvace]

Thanks! I'm actually OK with that - I have a 90g FW tank that's just waiting to be converted to SW. I just need a bullet proof excuse first

 

90? Sounds like you will need an upgrade too

[teenyreef]

where is he now? i took mine off the backwall and dropped him in an area with high flow, high light. will see what happens tomorrow.

I got impatient too. I took him off the back wall and let him float. He ended up behind one of the rocks near the back down at the sand bed. It's low flow and low light, so we'll see if he stays there or not.

 

90? Sounds like you will need an upgrade too

Inorite? Of course, every time I think about spending the money and time for a tank that size, I think I should just go ahead and get an even bigger tank

[spectra]

I got impatient too. I took him off the back wall and let him float. He ended up behind one of the rocks near the back down at the sand bed. It's low flow and low light, so we'll see if he stays there or not.

 

 

Mine has been in a spot like that for a few weeks now. I put it front and center on the rocks and the next day it was gone.....took me a few days to spot it as its kind of hidden. Hopefully comes out its a nice rainbow one.

The clowns are even to stupid to find it to......

[vangvace]

300DD or bust!

[teenyreef]

300DD or bust!

Yeah!

 

Mine has been in a spot like that for a few weeks now. I put it front and center on the rocks and the next day it was gone.....took me a few days to spot it as its kind of hidden. Hopefully comes out its a nice rainbow one.

The clowns are even to stupid to find it to......

I'm afraid to bring the clowns over yet for fear that they will find it and love it to death.

[teenyreef]

If those sexy shrimp are dancing around on it, that could contribute to pissing it off and not settling down. I had to get rid of my porcelain crabs for the same reason. The anemone was too small and they wouldn't leave it alone to get happy.

That's a good point. The sexies seem to find the RBTA really, well...sexy.

 

Here's a kind of wavy top down shot of the RBTA in the new spot in the back, with one of the sexy shrimp loving on it

 

RBTA with Sexy Shrimp by TeenyReef, on Flickr

[teenyreef]

I finally set the camera up for a new FTS. It's been quite a while since I took the last one, but honestly, not a whole lot has changed. I've added a few zoas and the sponges are disintegrating, but that's about it. You can't see the RBTA because it's in the back.

 

I really need to start moving a few more frags over, and start ordering a few new frags so it will look like a frag garage sale tank.

 

2016-08-28 IM40 FTS by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

PS: the fish weren't too cooperative, but all three are in the shot

[teenyreef]

Seems like all I've posted at RBTA statuses and pictures lately. So here are some zoas - I am super happy with how the zoas are doing in this tank. They're really doing better than they have ever done in either of my other tanks.

 

Zoanthids by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Btw, the rock in the middle has a few tiny zoas that I'm trying to bring back from the brink of death. Since all the other zoas are doing so well in this spot, I decided this would be the best spot for them to recover.