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Coral Vue Hydros

Mitten_reef’s IM30L


mitten_reef

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5 hours ago, MockandRoll said:

Google "Paul B mandarin feeder". I have one in my tank and it works great for my Mandarin. 

Thanks! That Mandarin feeder concept is pretty cool! I'm hoping for a more natural looks though. I have a bunch of broken coral skeletons, and the dead snail shells that I've kept over the years. I'm thinking of making a corner of the tank floor like a pod haven with a 'constructed' pile of rubbles.  I also have some more Aquamaxx rubble rocks ordered from @Marine Depot

2 hours ago, ninjamyst said:

My leopard suddenly passed away.  Eating great and nice and fat.  I am 0 for 2 now with leopards.  Had this one for months too.  Sigh.  Good luck with yours.  The only common thing I can think of is that they both died a day or two after a water change where I am in the tank siphoning the sand bed and rearranging stuff.  So I think I stressed them out too much.  

Sorry to hear about your wrasses. That is an interesting insight and observation. I'll be sure to try not to disturb the scape too much moving forward. I actually have yet to figure out where the leopard wrasse goes to sleep at night - so definitely will be even extra careful with the sandbed.   

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Happy to report that the leopard wrasse had been eating really well after 2 weeks.  I can see her belly filling up after each feeding (mysis). Even on non-feeding days, her belly had stayed nice and plump.  I added a bottle of AlgaGen Tisbe pods to the tank last week just to provide some live food for her to graze.   

 

Installed a Tunze 6040, major flow improvement! Thanks to @tmc1313! The tunze is being run along with Aqamai KPS. (before that it was KPS + Koralia nano)

 

Corals are doing well, even though colors aren't as good as they could be. The Sunset Monti showing signs of tissue loss, not sure if it was alk issue from a couple wks ago, or it simply being overshadowed too much by the tequila sunrise that starting to extend a plate right over top of it.      

 

Need to do some progress pics with November FTS, just haven't had time :mellow:.

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FTS: 11/9/2017

38296807751_c2542a210c_h.jpg

Left side:

38296815011_570ce7c23b_b.jpg

Right Side:

38296817461_5a0c154c8e_b.jpg

Sunny D mound center:

38296814021_fb36af38f8_b.jpg

Far right Red Dragon (can never get a good photo of this guy):

26521516759_884cb2ea96_b.jpg

 

Of course can't miss top-down of this guy:

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Close-up of it

38296805971_a6c95a26f4_b.jpg

Side-view, look how thick the plate is. And my NPS gorg is hanging on still (got tangled up with red dragon and lost that fight a bit):

38296809471_07652f345e_b.jpg 

Rasta:

38296822031_c1fa141492_b.jpg

Top-down on Sunny D, These guys glow even in fairly neutral light!  So what's the different between these guys as @AquaSD's vivid rainbow, anyone knows?

38296805121_af6f689ae0_b.jpg

Leopard wrasse likes hanging out with the clown, really.

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Pardon the dirty glass, but here's an up close look at the yellow highlights on the anal fin

38296812511_db2deba596_b.jpg

 

 

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3 hours ago, DaveFason said:

Insert fire emoji. 

 

AWESOME!

 

-Dave

Thank you for your continued feedback.  Hopefully one of these days my acros' frag-city on the right side will start to get good growth and color worthy of an Instagram spot.  :P  The top blue tort definitely is hitting its stride.  I wonder if the lighting intensity is not enough for the ones lower on the "shelf".    

 

Feedbacks and comments, in general, really help to keep me motivated with posting my monthly update.  After all, I don't have much room nor budget to add anything fancy (corals or equipment) to this set up.  It's all about refining my reefkeeping routine and knowledge, and more importantly my photography, at this point. 

 

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So, 'tis the shopping season, as it had been kicked off by @Marine Depot sales. 

 

I keep coming back to the notion that I'm not happy with the tank that I have (CADlight Mini 34 gallon).  I've always been impressed with Innovative Marine tanks (my first tank was the Nuvo 16). 

 

Is it a stupid idea to downsize to Lagoon 25 or Fusion 30?  I really like all the Lagoon 25 that's been popping up here on NR.  But I'm also partial to the panorama view of the 30L. 

 

On the other hand the tri-color monti had grown into a beast of a plate, so it may make more sense to go bigger?

 

Anyone in the same boat this shopping season?

 

 

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3 minutes ago, xiaoxiy said:

^. Any particular reason you're not happy with your current tank?

poorly-designed back AIO chambers being the chief issue.  There is essential no "down-and-up-and-over" flow patterns in any chambers, just a bunch of randomly-placed glass baffles.   I had to put a small powerhead back there just to make sure the water doesn't get too stagnant and use Tunze 9004 skimmer to remove any surface film that forms back there - that while having nearly 20x turnover with my return pump.   

 

While I initially considered the taller dimension of the tank to be a positive factor over IM30L (yes, I considered 30L once before), I find myself having a hard time filling the vertical space with aquascape/corals.  But that may just be the product of me transitioning toward Acros and their slower growth than other SPS.  It's not like I can't grow SPS.  I just think that the way the AIO sump is, it is not allowing me to optimize my filtration potential to make the acros happy. 

 

BTW, I really like your new STAX rock scape - I really wish I could do that behind-the-bend valley type scape that you got going on. 

 

I know I need to be more patience :mellow: with coral growth. Maybe the tank needs more light ;), right @DaveFason?     

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1 hour ago, micoastreefing said:

poorly-designed back AIO chambers being the chief issue.  There is essential no "down-and-up-and-over" flow patterns in any chambers, just a bunch of randomly-placed glass baffles.   I had to put a small powerhead back there just to make sure the water doesn't get too stagnant and use Tunze 9004 skimmer to remove any surface film that forms back there - that while having nearly 20x turnover with my return pump.   

 

While I initially considered the taller dimension of the tank to be a positive factor over IM30L (yes, I considered 30L once before), I find myself having a hard time filling the vertical space with aquascape/corals.  But that may just be the product of me transitioning toward Acros and their slower growth than other SPS.  It's not like I can't grow SPS.  I just think that the way the AIO sump is, it is not allowing me to optimize my filtration potential to make the acros happy. 

 

BTW, I really like your new STAX rock scape - I really wish I could do that behind-the-bend valley type scape that you got going on. 

 

I know I need to be more patience :mellow: with coral growth. Maybe the tank needs more light ;), right @DaveFason?     

Those back chambers sound frustrating, but clearly you've still been able to keep your corals pretty darned happy!  Thanks btw, I really enjoy the STAX rocks and how easy they were to work with. It was a million times easier to scape with the STAX rock than any dry rock I've worked with in the past. In terms of growth, that Monti and your zoas are wild!

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1 hour ago, micoastreefing said:

poorly-designed back AIO chambers being the chief issue.  There is essential no "down-and-up-and-over" flow patterns in any chambers, just a bunch of randomly-placed glass baffles.   I had to put a small powerhead back there just to make sure the water doesn't get too stagnant and use Tunze 9004 skimmer to remove any surface film that forms back there - that while having nearly 20x turnover with my return pump.   

 

While I initially considered the taller dimension of the tank to be a positive factor over IM30L (yes, I considered 30L once before), I find myself having a hard time filling the vertical space with aquascape/corals.  But that may just be the product of me transitioning toward Acros and their slower growth than other SPS.  It's not like I can't grow SPS.  I just think that the way the AIO sump is, it is not allowing me to optimize my filtration potential to make the acros happy. 

 

BTW, I really like your new STAX rock scape - I really wish I could do that behind-the-bend valley type scape that you got going on. 

 

I know I need to be more patience :mellow: with coral growth. Maybe the tank needs more light ;), right @DaveFason?     

That's a bummer on the chambers. Are they adjustable at all? Do you have a pic of how they are setup? 

 

I personally like the open vertical space. Makes the tank seem bigger than it is

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4 hours ago, Justind823 said:

That's a bummer on the chambers. Are they adjustable at all? Do you have a pic of how they are setup? 

 

I personally like the open vertical space. Makes the tank seem bigger than it is

image.thumb.png.17db70a48a9f041e5ab7268edd59ed82.png

 

The only thing I can think of possibly doing, would be to change the location of the second baffle from the right.  Since it is currently 'floating' in the center, i can cut it out without affecting the integrity of the tank seal.  I can move it how/where I would want it to be. 

 

The question then would be, can the tank go a few day without the rear chamber filtration/life support?  I'm guessing it'd take at least a day for the the baffle to be re-glued and dried?  I can move the heater to the display side, that shouldn't be a big trouble.  I got a couple of decent powerheads up front for water movement.  

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Wtf were they thinking when they made that baffle system.... It may be hard to remove that baffle while the tank is still running; I de-baffled a cadlight 8g back in the day, and that was pretty time intensive. Furthermore, I'm not sure how you would be able to remove the baffle with the acrylic wall still in place.

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What about a sump instead of an AIO? If that's an option, IM has the Nuvo Black tanks in a few sizes including the 30L and 25. Even the 40, if you want to go bigger.

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On 11/16/2017 at 3:46 PM, Justind823 said:

That's a bummer on the chambers. Are they adjustable at all? Do you have a pic of how they are setup? 

 

I personally like the open vertical space. Makes the tank seem bigger than it is

That is an interesting take on the open space that I would agree on. But I think that can also be accomplished via aquascaping to allow open areas. 

14 hours ago, xiaoxiy said:

Wtf were they thinking when they made that baffle system.... It may be hard to remove that baffle while the tank is still running; I de-baffled a cadlight 8g back in the day, and that was pretty time intensive. Furthermore, I'm not sure how you would be able to remove the baffle with the acrylic wall still in place.

So removing a baffle won't be as easy as I'd imagined...:wacko:.  And yeah, that was my reaction when I first got the tank - but I naively thought there may be some magic way of getting it to eventually work out.

14 minutes ago, samnaz said:

What about a sump instead of an AIO? If that's an option, IM has the Nuvo Black tanks in a few sizes including the 30L and 25. Even the 40, if you want to go bigger.

a Nuvo black would make a killer frag tank :rolleyes:.  But if I ever graduated to a sump system, my better half will likely request that it is a complete system - very likely a RS Reefer. But that is not in the card any time in the near future. 

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Hmm as far as the baffles go... 

What if you were to wedge a new baffle in the yellow area. One that is shorter than the water line but also hitting the bottom to direct the flow up and back down again? That would at least help with water movement in the yellow chamber. It might actually help increase the flow in the large green area as well

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On 11/17/2017 at 11:47 PM, Justind823 said:

Hmm as far as the baffles go... 

What if you were to wedge a new baffle in the yellow area. One that is shorter than the water line but also hitting the bottom to direct the flow up and back down again? That would at least help with water movement in the yellow chamber. It might actually help increase the flow in the large green area as well

 

36 minutes ago, DaveFason said:

Add a small Minijet 606 in the bad area. BOOM!

Thanks guys for the suggestions, those are very good ideas. 

The skinny bad area is less than 2" wide - koralia Nano 240 can't fit in it.  sadly, I can't fit my hand in it to add the extra baffle :(.

I can try dropping a smaller, blockier pumps into the area (didn't think of that).  Good idea, I just have to find one that would fit. 

 

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Black Friday came and went, and I couldn't pass up the deal that @BulkReefSupply has on IM Fusion 30L.  I have been throwing so many equipments into the back AIO of this one, this tank was on the verge of having ten power plugs running it. Hopefully, the new tank will run with about 6-7 plugs.  

 

so I accidentally broke a major branch on the red dragon acro, probably about 1/4 to 1/3 of the main colony.  :unsure: 

From

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to

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picture is super blue - was trying to mess around with camera settings today.  posting the broken piece on livestock classified. 

 

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