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

[teenyreef]

13 hours ago, debbeach13 said:

Come on Bartley. We are all cheering for your recovery.

Bartley says thanks! He's still alive and eating as of tonight

14 hours ago, dirtrider225 said:

What is your current equipment list?

 

Would you make any changes if you could?

 

I might be picking up one of these soon, trying to see what everyone else likes/doesnt like about it and the equipment options!

 

Thanks!

Hmm, great question, looks like I need to update the non-existent equipment list on the first post...

[spectra]

I think if the wrasse pulls through teeny you need to get him his own tank  lots of sand and very little flow and also no power heads

[teenyreef]

27 minutes ago, spectra said:

I think if the wrasse pulls through teeny you need to get him his own tank  lots of sand and very little flow and also no power heads

He seems to like his little penthouse apartment on top of the world 

[teenyreef]

31 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Bartley says thanks! He's still alive and eating as of tonight

Hmm, great question, looks like I need to update the non-existent equipment list on the first post...

OK, I've updated the first post on this thread with the equipment and stocking list. As I started to list the corals, I realized there really are an embarrassingly large number of corals in this tank, and I ran out of patience before I could list them all

 

As far as whether I would change anything, the first thing that comes to mind is that while the Tunze 9004 skimmer does a good job, it's less than perfect. It's hard to adjust the height, and it tends to overflow and spray all over everything every couple weeks for no apparent reason. Also, because it has a filter screen on the bottom, it tends to clog up every two or three months, so I have to pull it out and take it all apart for cleaning.

 

I also haven't been thrilled with the Aquamax FR-S reactor. The pump is too strong even on the lowest setting, so it tends to blast the media right out of the reactor chamber past the sponges. I think that's why I ended up with super high iron in the water and keep finding gfo all over the bottom of the chamber. On the other hand, I love the size and the fact that it's all-in-one and fits so well in an AIO chamber. Someday I might try replacing the pump with a Jebao 650, the new teeny tiny DC controllable pump that they started selling recently. That might work a lot better.

 

I replace the stock pump with the Sicce 2.0. The stock pump is powerful enough, and it's not noisy, so there's no need to replace it. But mine started getting very noisy after about six or eight months, so I had to replace it. The Sicce 2.0 is a great pump and works well, but it was difficult to fit into the chamber, and I dread pulling it out for cleaning. I hope that since it's so powerful, it will never clog up and I can avoid that task forever.

 

Finally, the Jebao DP-4 doser didn't work well. The minimum dosing size of 1ml per dose, combined with the inaccuracy of the doser at the dosing size, meant I couldn't keep alk stable from day to day - it was constantly drifting up or down. Switching the to Kamoer doser, which can provide much smaller doses, has made a huge difference and my alk levels are very stable now.

[J-Ranko]

I just got the FR-S reactor and yeah the pump is definitely a little overpowered for certain media (I'm using GFO).  It seems OK though when I elevate it high enough above the chamber's water line.  Too low and it just blows the GFO through the sponge.  I'm hoping it doesn't pulverize my media. It's too soon to tell but the tumbling in the reaction chamber doesn't seem too turbulent.

[davy jones]

Thanks for the update Teeny! Im looking into getting a tank that is about this size or less so it is very helpful to see what others have going. I like the red sea reefer nano and max nano but theyre just so damn spendy..

[kimberbee]

10 hours ago, teenyreef said:

I hope that since it's so powerful, it will never clog up and I can avoid that task forever.

 

[teenyreef]

16 hours ago, J-Ranko said:

I just got the FR-S reactor and yeah the pump is definitely a little overpowered for certain media (I'm using GFO).  It seems OK though when I elevate it high enough above the chamber's water line.  Too low and it just blows the GFO through the sponge.  I'm hoping it doesn't pulverize my media. It's too soon to tell but the tumbling in the reaction chamber doesn't seem too turbulent.

Exactly - I have the same problem with gfo. It works OK in the one I have in the sump for the DB30. But in this tank I didn't want the reactor sticking way up above the tank, since that would defeat the purpose of having a reactor that goes inside the chamber under the water. 

9 hours ago, dirtrider225 said:

Thanks for the update Teeny! Im looking into getting a tank that is about this size or less so it is very helpful to see what others have going. I like the red sea reefer nano and max nano but theyre just so damn spendy..

Yep, those are really nice but I just can't see spending that much money. 

[davy jones]

48 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Exactly - I have the same problem with gfo. It works OK in the one I have in the sump for the DB30. But in this tank I didn't want the reactor sticking way up above the tank, since that would defeat the purpose of having a reactor that goes inside the chamber under the water. 

Yep, those are really nice but I just can't see spending that much money. 

My thoughts exactly. I would pick up the max nano with the prime hd for $600 or so and feel okay about it but 850 is a little too much for a tank with less than a 20 gallon display.

[lkoechle]

You know, I can take some of those coral so you have a less embarrassing number  seriously, I am trying to make a stocked by NR tank.  So PM when you frag and want to sell. just not soon.  i am waiting to hear from Kat if she needs my first born and reef a palooza is next month.  i will need time to recover. lol

[J-Ranko]

2 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Exactly - I have the same problem with gfo. It works OK in the one I have in the sump for the DB30. But in this tank I didn't want the reactor sticking way up above the tank, since that would defeat the purpose of having a reactor that goes inside the chamber under the water. 

 

 

I agree.  My big HOB skimmer, though, sticks out so much that I barely notice the reactor. 

[teenyreef]

2 hours ago, lkoechle said:

You know, I can take some of those coral so you have a less embarrassing number  seriously, I am trying to make a stocked by NR tank.  So PM when you frag and want to sell. just not soon.  i am waiting to hear from Kat if she needs my first born and reef a palooza is next month.  i will need time to recover. lol

I will let you know! I'd like to share some frags, especially some of the zoas and palys, which is why I've been working so hard to make sure my 30g frag tank is algae and pest free. I want to share corals, not pests

3 hours ago, dirtrider225 said:

My thoughts exactly. I would pick up the max nano with the prime hd for $600 or so and feel okay about it but 850 is a little too much for a tank with less than a 20 gallon display.

I agree. They're a great value if you can find them used, though.

[teenyreef]

Sadly, Bartley went to the big toilet bowl in the sky today, and it was pretty much my fault. He ate last night in his little penthouse like usual, but when I went to bed I forgot to put the lid back on. When I looked for him that afternoon, he had jumped out of the breeder box. Good news was he jumped in the tank, bad news is he got plastered against the MP-10 cage again.

 

He was still alive when I found him, but a few hours later he was gone. In some ways it's kind of a relief because he didn't seem to be improving much, just kind of hanging in there in his little box. RIP little Bartley 

[WV Reefer]

9 minutes ago, teenyreef said:

Sadly, Bartley went to the big toilet bowl in the sky today, and it was pretty much my fault. He ate last night in his little penthouse like usual, but when I went to bed I forgot to put the lid back on. When I looked for him that afternoon, he had jumped out of the breeder box. Good news was he jumped in the tank, bad news is he got plastered against the MP-10 cage again.

 

He was still alive when I found him, but a few hours later he was gone. In some ways it's kind of a relief because he didn't seem to be improving much, just kind of hanging in there in his little box. RIP little Bartley 

[gone_PHiSHin]

damn sorry to hear that.  you put in the effort to revive him at least.  

 

cool fish though, i've never seen one before.  

[fishfreak0114]

 poor Bartley, sorry he's gone. At least he is no longer stuck living in a weird curve, that probably wasn't awesome feeling. The important thing is that you tried.  

[spectra]

Sorry to hear Teeny........sounded like that poor fish and MPs didn't get along........

 

I have some chromis for you

[jstuver]

Awe sorry to hear but I'm thinking he probably wouldn't have ever been 100%:(

[J-Ranko]

Sorry about Bartley. 

[vlangel]

O no poor Bartley.  I am sorry teeny, that stinks!

[TJ_Burton]

Tough go, mate

[teenyreef]

Thanks, everyone. I agree that it just seemed like he was never going to fully recover anyway so this is probably for the best.

 

I think I will try another six line instead of a yellow coris wrasse. Although the previous six line I got didn't make it past the first day, I think that was probably just bad luck. And a six line should be able to hold its own with the clowns better than a YCW.

 

The tank is doing pretty well although nitrates have dropped to less than 1, and a few of the sticks are suffering from lack of PE, I suspect as a result. I've halved the daily dose of carbon dosing and upped the amount of coral food to see if that helps.

 

Surprisingly, all the corals I got from @drgibby are still hanging in there! The yellowtips lost all the skin on one side, but not on the other. It still has good PE and color on that side. The Katropora has some bleaching on the base, which I think may be due to an alk change from the original tank and mine, since I keep alk fairly low at 7.5.

[teenyreef]

Just a few random pics I took a few days ago. I really want to get an updated FTS in spite of all the frag racks, but I was just too busy this weekend.

 

Freckles - you can just barely see the pistol shrimp behind him.

 

One of the gigantic bristleworms, on his way from point a to point b. The portion you can see in this picture is about four inches long...

 

A very cool yellow pineapple sponge. There's just one in the tank, at least out where I can see. I have heard that the yellow ones are much more desirable than the white ones because they don't multiply as quickly.

 

 

Artsy fartsy shot of the Aquafresh Vice zoas (I think they're actually palys) 

 

[jstuver]

Love the new pics! Things are looking good.

[WV Reefer]

5 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Just a few random pics I took a few days ago. I really want to get an updated FTS in spite of all the frag racks, but I was just too busy this weekend.

 

Freckles - you can just barely see the pistol shrimp behind him.

 

One of the gigantic bristleworms, on his way from point a to point b. The portion you can see in this picture is about four inches long...

 

A very cool yellow pineapple sponge. There's just one in the tank, at least out where I can see. I have heard that the yellow ones are much more desirable than the white ones because they don't multiply as quickly.

 

 

Artsy fartsy shot of the Aquafresh Vice zoas (I think they're actually palys) 

 

I love that yellow sponge!