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


teenyreef

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Wow just saw this..........where the #### did you find girl scout cookies :lol: they stopped selling crack a few months ago around here.........

 

Doesn't take much :P

 

Buzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

 

Now were talkin :lol: I even brought RTF a box when he brought me a fish.......

 

Oh those cookies.........I need a case.......

 

That thing looks sweet! But I do agree a little bit of T5s are needed........

 

Those acans will appreciate it ;)

I'll put you down for a case next year when my daughter's selling :D

 

T5's are just going to have to wait for the next tank.

 

Or maybe I'll rig up some half-a$$ed thing with single bulbs mounted up higher, just below the shelf, where they won't get in the way. One in front and one behind the Nanobox. Meh.

 

Seriously, though, one reason I wanted an overpowered LED light was so that I can crank up the blues without running out of power. Besides, I always thought those big coral vendors that sell those sweet acans don't use T5's either, they mostly use halides or big homebrew LEDs to avoid the cost of replacing T5 bulbs.

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will the shelf above the tank make it hard to get to the back chambers?

Yep, but it's an adjustable shelf so I'll just make it as high as it needs to be.
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I'll put you down for a case next year when my daughter's selling :D

 

I am down with that....................but shipping is on you :P

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Good to see new thread, looking forward to the tank arrival date. :)

Thanks, Mark! UPS says Wednesday, June 1st!

 

I am down with that....................but shipping is on you :P

Those boxes of cookies are very light. Especially after I finish packing them :lol:

teenyreef is alll grown up <3

I'm getting a big boy tank :happydance:

But still no sump. Or T5's. ;)

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I ordered rocks this morning! 30 lbs of dry rock from Reefcleaners, and 10 lbs of uncured live rock from KPA. It should all get here by mid-week, along with the tank. I'll set up a rubbermaid tub in the garage with a powerhead this weekend to hold it all so it can start to cycle while I get the tank set up.

 

With my first tank (the 4g) I used cured live rock from the LFS. It didn't work out well in the long run - I ended up with an uncontrollable population of vermetid worms that live on now in the 10g tank after they hitchhiked over with frag transfers from the 4g.

 

In the second tank (the 10g), I used all uncured live rock from KPA. The rock was fantastic, but expensive due to overnight shipping. And I left it out in the cold dry air in the garage too long while I played with different scape ideas, so some of the more delicate critters died.

 

This go round, I'm using dry rock as a base with the uncured live rock to seed the rest. By using the tub I can get the rocks into the water right away without worrying about how they need to be arranged. Plus I can check for obvious pests and avoid putting some of the detritus and died off stuff into the tank when I transfer the rocks.

 

I haven't decided yet what to do with the dry rock. There's no reason it can't go straight into the tank after a rinse. The Reefcleaners rock has a great reputation for being well conditioned and not leaching, so I'm not worried about conditioning it. I thought about putting in the same tub with the uncured rock, but then I'll miss the change to get rid of the more obvious pests since adding the dry rock to the tub will give them a lot more places to hide.

 

I also don't know how much of the rock I'll use because I don't know how the scape will turn out. Of course I'll use all the uncured rocks, but I suspect I'll only use ten or twenty pounds of the base rock before I end filling up too much of the tank with rocks, because in my head I'm picturing a tank with lots of empty space above the rocks for acros and gorgs to grow up, and some empty space on the sand for little rock islands covered with acans or zoas or rics. Or maybe even corals I've never had room to grow, like plates or scolies.

 

Having said all that, I'm pretty sure it's going to go just like the first two tanks did. I'll put some rocks in the tank, see how I like it, and then change it seventeen times as I get new corals or decide I don't like it. :rolleyes:

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So many options and so many decisions and best of all so many dreams!

I agree! I really admire the reefers who work out major rock scapes outside the tank, with drawings, and dry mockups, and then glue it all together with mortar so that it's all set and ready to go - just add water.

 

But I've learned that while that appeals to me, it just doesn't work. I have to actually see the rocks, in the tank and in the water, before I can decide what I like. And even then it changes when the corals start to grow in. I've learned to accept that I just need to be flexible and embrace change :lol:

 

Speaking of which, as I was typing my previous post, about wanting lots of empty space in my tank with little islands, I remembered that I wanted to do the exact same thing when I first started my 10g tank. I was picturing something like 4x5's TOTM:

 

27218958171_8e0bdf2935_b.jpgfts_july_27_2014_1024 by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

So after planning for a tank that would look like that, I ended up with something that was actually a bit different :P

 

26890637286_2886c13263_b.jpg20160509_202424.jpg by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

But hey, you can still see a little sand bed in there! Although it will probably be all covered up in another six months or so.

 

By the way, just for those that haven't seen 4x5's current build, here's what it looks like now: :bowdown:

 

27255547066_3e43c4f90e_b.jpglts_february_11_2016_1280 by TeenyReef, on Flickr

 

Pictures shamelessly stolen from his thread here: Made in Africa - A Shallow Reef. Go check it out! But be prepared to lose about four hours of your life as you are helplessly compelled to read his entire thread so you can see...just...one more...beautiful...picture.

 

Of course, his tank is a shallow tank, and mine is a cube. So I need to remember that while the way he scaped his tank is beautiful, the shape of my tank doesn't really work as well for that style of a scape.

 

Plus I don't have a sump, T5's, and especially his amazing reef keeping and photography skills. But it's good to have dreams. :)

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I like all your plans!! Any thoughts to fish yet?!?

Oh yes, lots of thoughts. Mostly revolving around:

1. Not something I have kept already.

2. Something that will fit in a 40g tank.

3. See #1.

 

Other than the clown fish, all the fish I've kept so far are very small and somewhat shy. You have to get right up to the glass to see them clearly. I'd love to have a few fish that catch the eye, something colorful or schooling.

 

I'd love a dwarf angle fish like a coral beauty, but I think a 40g might be borderline small, at least in the long run. It would probably be too aggressive towards other fish and pick too much at the corals without more room.

 

So while I do have a few ideas, I'm keeping an open mind. I figure fish research will give me something to do while I'm waiting for the tank to cycle.

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Slowtwitch

Nooo ! Don't buy Dori!! Lol

I've wanted a blue hippo tang since my dad had one when I was a little kid. Well I finally snagged one that I have in qt for my big tank. I'm so tired of hearing "You found Dori!" And saying "it's NOT Dori"

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