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Coral Vue Hydros

Where the Wild Things Are: 100 Days (rezing the thread)


lkoechle

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11 minutes ago, RIP Sebastian said:

I LOVE doing a thing. Looks nice. Do you like the frag rack?

First time using it.  Don't know yet. lol

10 minutes ago, metrokat said:

Love doing a thing too.

Things are the best!

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StinkyBunny
18 hours ago, lkoechle said:

I do need help IDing a couple unfortunately.  karma I guess. lol  Oh well, its goingtl to be a mystery for two weeks! :D

You can PM me if you need an ID on something, I'm not going to be in this contest.

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41 minutes ago, StinkyBunny said:

You can PM me if you need an ID on something, I'm not going to be in this contest.

I dunno, you say neutrality helps the oppressor and you must choose sides... :P   

PS I met Mr. Wiesel many times.  He was a visiting professor at my school.  Genuinely one of the most amazing humans I have ever known.

 

15 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

This looks like it's gonna be an awesome tank!  Following!

Thanks! I am really excited to have all the things I'm not allowed in the "main" tank :P  

 

I NEED YOUR HELP

So, we're possibly not keeping it to the side.  @metrokat asked and that has started a discussion.  Which position do you like best?

 

One: 

 

34052871541_76d103eb1e_c.jpg

 

or 

 

Two:

 

33839529260_5b6a858997_c.jpg

 

34066450082_27fc6f31f0_c.jpg

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42 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said:

Tough one. I think I like the angle better, but from where you usually sit, which one gives you a better view?

The views are pretty good no matter where you sit... :-/

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4 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

Hmmm. I'm wondering if you couldn't switch it with you frog tank-utilize all 3 sides. Oops, helping the competition :wacko:

We thoughtof that but I lose space for hiding equipment and wires and no place for an ato

Besides where all in it for fun and at this point there's enough prizes we'll all win something :P

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I think it looks cool either way but with the angle it might make it a pain to get to the equipment end lol.  That's the kind of stuff I think about. :rolleyes:

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2 hours ago, Lula_Mae said:

I think it looks cool either way but with the angle it might make it a pain to get to the equipment end lol.  That's the kind of stuff I think about. :rolleyes:

It's not too much further of a reach.  And there's not going to be a lot of equipment on this one.  Just life support.  Nothin' fancy.  My goal is to rock those basics. lol

 

Progress (not):

The ATO is still a no-go.  if you remember in my lagoon, I was having issues with TOM aqualifter and I thought maybe it was just too high. 

 

1nrrli.jpg

 

But no.  I did a test and this thing can't pump 12 inches.  So now we're in a tough spot.  Risk it still being too high with another TOM or drop another $140 for the IM Hydrofill Ti  which I  have been LOVING in the Lagoon.  We've tabled talks on that for now.  I'm burning @skoechle out with this tank.  But since we're not using a controller, he's finally going to get his tank to experiment building his own controller for. @skoechle = nerd.

 

Actual Progress:

Um, that thing I did yesterday looks awesome.  So, yeah. omgomgomg I took lots of photos and I want to share but I can't because I'm still holding a grudge about May 10th.  So nyah.  Also, the koralia nano and the IM media basket came in.

 

Good news: @StevieT's baskets are double the cost and still worth it. IM's feels like cheap plastic and I was afraid of breaking it when pulling it out.  It is also significantly narrower (ie fitting the inTank baskets takes a small push while IM's just drops in and then leans sadly to the side). While I'm glad I did not spend $40 for another basket (because I'm starting to run low with these two tanks), I am also glad that IM's is not comparable.  Because I've already dropped $80 on the inTank baskets in the Lagoon.  Its nice to see IM's basket is good for the money and is fair for the price but doesn't hold a candle to Stevie's quality goods.  The downside is this tank will not be quite as wet as the Lagoon.

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Well one of my things has a vermitid snail.  I wouldnt really beaware of these things without @natalia_la_loca's wonderful journal.  I think they were actually the issue in my very very first tank where I lost an entire colony of 100+ polyps but I was too new to well identify the issue.  but thanks to natalia, I looked up vermitid snail.  I noticed the spiral when we got it, but I wasnt sure if it was a feather duster or a snail, but today/yesterday i noticied the tell tale snot net so i pulled it out today and, once again thanks to natalia, glued that opening shut.  So I hope it didnt reproduce in a 4 day window.  

 

And thank you @natalia_la_loca for documenting that.  Thats one of the reasons I love NR so much. :D

 

oh and I found a new LFS (new to me) about 40 minutes that stocks like EVERYTHING. Its a massive facility.  Its called Koi Corner and Garden center if you want to google it. I am super exicted to check it out in a few weeks.  They recently got in some nice RFAs, macros, gorgonians and are practically exploding with softies.  I am excited to check them out not only for the saltwater tabk, but the fresh too and the outdoor pond we have planned in a couple years (I want some nice goldfish).

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On 4/23/2017 at 8:56 PM, lkoechle said:

Good news: @StevieT's baskets are double the cost and still worth it. IM's feels like cheap plastic and I was afraid of breaking it when pulling it out.  It is also significantly narrower (ie fitting the inTank baskets takes a small push while IM's just drops in and then leans sadly to the side). While I'm glad I did not spend $40 for another basket (because I'm starting to run low with these two tanks), I am also glad that IM's is not comparable.  Because I've already dropped $80 on the inTank baskets in the Lagoon.  Its nice to see IM's basket is good for the money and is fair for the price but doesn't hold a candle to Stevie's quality goods.  The downside is this tank will not be quite as wet as the Lagoon.

Good to know! Thinking about getting one of these inTank baskets. 

 

The cost of one goes against the $500 total guideline, right? 

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Research, research, research:

 

Substrate

So, @skoechle doesn't know it yet, but I think we're going to the beach this weekend.  Primary purpose is to collect sand.

 

I've been doing research for the last couple of hours for this portion of our tank and this is some of my thoughts and what I've found.  The sand I'm looking for is coquina sand.  It's made primarily of shells and was used by people for centuries in north east Florida to build forts, roads, houses, you name it.  The sand gets compacted over time forming coquina rocks and those were harvested/quarried/whatever, additionally the sand makes a great cement.  I really like the look of this sand, it's nice and coarse and will contrast well with the sand I have left over from the lagoon and make a really nice natural look IMO.

 

Now, what are the concerns with using beach sand? Primarily pollution, but I think a heavy rinse will fix that.  From googling, the biggest concern is actually phosphates.  This had me mixed on to whether to continue this plan or not. I think I can go ahead and proceed, we'll see what @skoechle thinks when we discuss it later.

 

I want to go ahead and proceed for two reasons:

  • I'm planning on letting this get soaked and rinsed multiple times before putting it in the tank so there will be a lot of time to let phosphates leach out.
  • This is going to be a macroalgae dominated tank including a chaeto refugium.

I also am not above using things like phosban and already planned on running Purigen.  I'm also not sold on how safe bagged live sand is.  I've had flatworms come from CaribSea and a bag of sand sitting for months on a shelf is probably loaded with phosphates from organic material dying anyways.  So I'm not totally sold that bagged sand is a better option as it is. It's an easier option and we don't think about it because it's been "processed". Maybe, we don't really know.  Also, I don't really feel its much different than uncured liverock.  Except I clean it better than uncured LR. And I really want fresh from the ocean, uncured live rock but husband won't let me spend that much on rock.

 

Either way, for this specific tank with what I have planned, I am comfortable taking this kind of gamble.  I really want to experiment alot in this tank with things I wouldn't do in my very controlled/managed SPS lagoon.

 

Aquascape

 I've been re-reading some of my favorite macro algae tanks and while I didn't put this in my original post, Brad's is right up there.  I didn't put it in a initial inspiration because I didn't think I would incorporate a lot of his ideas.  His tank is so well thought out and planned and scaped, I didn't think it would serve me much purpose.  But I re-read his journal last night and TOTM write-up and one thing stood out to me.  He pointed out how this chart:

 

mangrove_ecosystem.gif

 

Helped him plan his layout.  I'm essentially going to the same thing, I think.  lol I need to do more research/draw/mock things up to see if this is the direction I want to go, but all of my initial desires and ideas line up with this. Except where Brad focused on the beginning, mine is going to focus on the end from the sea grasses to the reef.  I think I'm going to try for "u" type shape... Like the previous topic, I have to run it by @skoechle but I think it could make for a really cool tank.

 

8 minutes ago, SeaFurn said:

Good to know! Thinking about getting one of these inTank baskets. 

 

The cost of one goes against the $500 total guideline, right? 

$500 is only for livestock, not equipment :) And I would totally go with inTank.  I plan on buying an inTank one later on.

 

A word to my fellow contestants...

Don't be intimidated by my write-ups.  I'm a stay at home mom with a toddler and one year old and am sorely starved of intelligent conversation.  So to keep myself from going mad and to keep my thoughts organized for when @skoechle finally comes home, I write out most of my thoughts.  And I find it helpful to look back on my evolution of ideas.  And it makes me feel less alone. lol  This is like talking to myself without people thinking/knowing I'm crazy.

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39 minutes ago, SeaFurn said:

Good to know! Thinking about getting one of these inTank baskets. 

 

The cost of one goes against the $500 total guideline, right? 

 

Nope, $500 is just livestock! :) 

 

edit: okay forget I said anything, it's obviously covered :P  

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59 minutes ago, lkoechle said:

Research, research, research:

 

Substrate

So, @skoechle doesn't know it yet, but I think we're going to the beach this weekend.  Primary purpose is to collect sand.

 

I've been doing research for the last couple of hours for this portion of our tank and this is some of my thoughts and what I've found.  The sand I'm looking for is coquina sand.  It's made primarily of shells and was used by people for centuries in north east Florida to build forts, roads, houses, you name it.  The sand gets compacted over time forming coquina rocks and those were harvested/quarried/whatever, additionally the sand makes a great cement.  I really like the look of this sand, it's nice and coarse and will contrast well with the sand I have left over from the lagoon and make a really nice natural look IMO.

 

Now, what are the concerns with using beach sand? Primarily pollution, but I think a heavy rinse will fix that.  From googling, the biggest concern is actually phosphates.  This had me mixed on to whether to continue this plan or not. I think I can go ahead and proceed, we'll see what @skoechle thinks when we discuss it later.

 

I want to go ahead and proceed for two reasons:

  • I'm planning on letting this get soaked and rinsed multiple times before putting it in the tank so there will be a lot of time to let phosphates leach out.
  • This is going to be a macroalgae dominated tank including a chaeto refugium.

I also am not above using things like phosban and already planned on running Purigen.  I'm also not sold on how safe bagged live sand is.  I've had flatworms come from CaribSea and a bag of sand sitting for months on a shelf is probably loaded with phosphates from organic material dying anyways.  So I'm not totally sold that bagged sand is a better option as it is. It's an easier option and we don't think about it because it's been "processed". Maybe, we don't really know.  Also, I don't really feel its much different than uncured liverock.  Except I clean it better than uncured LR. And I really want fresh from the ocean, uncured live rock but husband won't let me spend that much on rock.

 

Either way, for this specific tank with what I have planned, I am comfortable taking this kind of gamble.  I really want to experiment alot in this tank with things I wouldn't do in my very controlled/managed SPS lagoon.

 

Aquascape

 I've been re-reading some of my favorite macro algae tanks and while I didn't put this in my original post, Brad's is right up there.  I didn't put it in a initial inspiration because I didn't think I would incorporate a lot of his ideas.  His tank is so well thought out and planned and scaped, I didn't think it would serve me much purpose.  But I re-read his journal last night and TOTM write-up and one thing stood out to me.  He pointed out how this chart:

 

mangrove_ecosystem.gif

 

Helped him plan his layout.  I'm essentially going to the same thing, I think.  lol I need to do more research/draw/mock things up to see if this is the direction I want to go, but all of my initial desires and ideas line up with this. Except where Brad focused on the beginning, mine is going to focus on the end from the sea grasses to the reef.  I think I'm going to try for "u" type shape... Like the previous topic, I have to run it by @skoechle but I think it could make for a really cool tank.

 

$500 is only for livestock, not equipment :) And I would totally go with inTank.  I plan on buying an inTank one later on.

 

A word to my fellow contestants...

Don't be intimidated by my write-ups.  I'm a stay at home mom with a toddler and one year old and am sorely starved of intelligent conversation.  So to keep myself from going mad and to keep my thoughts organized for when @skoechle finally comes home, I write out most of my thoughts.  And I find it helpful to look back on my evolution of ideas.  And it makes me feel less alone. lol  This is like talking to myself without people thinking/knowing I'm crazy.

 

LOVE this. 

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18 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

Uh Oh! I think our tanks are going to be very similar. I haven't read or even seen Brad's thread, but what you are showing and describing is pretty close to my Florida Biotope. :blink:

Sounds it will make for a more intense competition 

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