Weetabix7 Posted June 28, 2017 Share Posted June 28, 2017 Once upon a time, long ago, in the Dark Ages before internet forums and Google, a girl innocently walked into a Reef Aquarium store and fell head over heels in love with the fascinating ugliness of Stonefish and the exotic beauty of Emperor Angels. But what really hooked her was the otherworldly beauty of Corals & Anemones and she walked out determined to have a reef tank of her very own no matter what. She read every book she could get her hands on & relentlessly stalked and questioned LFS employees til they began to feel a sudden urge for a smoke break when they saw her walk through the door(1). And then she began!! She challenged common wisdom from the start by insisting on doing things like keeping Corals & an Anemone in a 10g tank under power compact lighting with no wet-dry filter. Strangely, she was able to make it work by following scientific principle & the understanding of Reef Biology she had gleaned from her relentless questioning & research. And then, life happened, as it does, and by necessity Reefing had to be left behind. Divorce, cross-country moves, remarriage, and kids. Years passed. Then one day, her family got together & got her all the necessary supplies for 5.5g Reef Tank for her birthday, and she joined Nano-Reef.com the very next day!! Having near instantaneous access to Reefing info as well as a wider pool of experienced people to question led to a much broader range of Reefing Adventures & Mishaps. Corals were attacked with Dremels & lips were super-glued in fragging marathons, Frags were cooked up on antique stoves & sold (2), aceteminophors were discovered (3), Tank Contests were run, and all kinds of experiments were done with shipping corals and weird critters & lighting and pest & disease eradication & SW plants never seen before. Life continued to happen, as it does, sometimes very intensely, but it was enriched with new online friendships & Reefing Experiments and it was good. But then slowly, the things that were going wrong began to overtake the things that were going right in the Reefing Kingdom of the Weetabix. Corals declined & no cause or explanation could be found despite wide-ranging attempts, tanks were overtaken by cotton-candy algae, beautiful shrimp mysteriously died and she tried & tried and tried to fix it but one day the heartbreak of it all got to her and she broke up with Reefing. She sold everything off and tossed her previously live rock into the backyard to become an interesting "accent" to the landscaping. She was DONE. Years passed. And then one day, through an odd series of circumstances, she ended up getting on a Zen Reefing Bus (4). There was a lot of uncertainty, but she tried again and strangely, things just kept falling into place. Doors opened. Things that she had dreamed of but given up as a lost cause years ago suddenly just walked right up to her, crawled up into her lap and said, "Here I am!!". And the MacGyver Slinky Dream Tank was born. Some of the inspiration: The Slinky, simple, flexible, puts a smile on your face https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QUe8CS-Ov7w I have always been drawn to simple, low-tech setups with a focus on biology & a lush "natural" appearance. That is what puts a smile on my face & this tank will reflect that. MagGyver, creative use of simple things can yield exciting results: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qtg0Dif5MNo https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fF6FUVxAVzI My favorite kind of Reef Tank Gadgets are the ones you can create yourself from humble materials. A good example of that is the plastic embroidery mesh that I attached a few Macroalgaes to in order to take advantage of vertical space. This can be seen on the left side of the tank below if you look carefully. I've even experimented a little with letting the mesh float at the water surface with the plants hanging down, partly to create shading and partly just to see what would happen. I'll go into more details on the setup, materials and livestock in the next post. The beginning: 1.) Dear Corey from Denver: I'm sorry and Thank You, hope the Octopus tat is still as bright & beautiful as ever. 2.)Reef Chicks Coral Kitchen, where frags with names like "Bubblegum Taffy" & "French Silk Pie" were propagated in a tank that used an old antique stove as a stand. 3.) https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/135452-aceteminophors-good-guys-or-bad/?page=1 4.) https://www.nano-reef.com/forums/topic/380474-weeties-zen-learning-experiment-yaaaay-microfauna/?page=1 22 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted June 28, 2017 Author Share Posted June 28, 2017 This tank is divided into 2 different sections by an acrylic wall with overflow teeth. An Aquaclear 110 with an InTank media basket is used to pull water from the left side and pour it over into the right side. I have to say, I am really loving how well this functions. Each side is run on a reverse light cycle in order to keep tank oxygenation levels and Ph stable. Left side: This section measures 12 x 18 x 16. The tank is situated in a sunroom right next to east facing windows, and for the left side of the tank I am utilizing natural sunlight plus a 70w Metal Halide fixture with an Ushio 10k bulb. (thx @CollegeNano!!) For flow, this side receives the water flow that comes over the acrylic wall and also has a Koralia 1. There is a Neotherm 150w heater on this side as well that does a great job of keeping tank temp pretty close to 78 deg. I have a large bucket of Fiji Mud that I will be adding to the bottom soon and plan to cover it with a thin layer of fine sand. I have used this mud in the past on a Pico & saw really good results in Macro coloration & health, can't wait to see the results in a larger scale application. Right side: This section measures 24 x 18 x 16. I am using a 4 x 24w T5HO fixture over with 2 Blue+, 1 Coral Plus & 1 Giesemann Midday 6000k bulb. This side gets the flow from the AquaClear 110 and also has 2 Koralia Nanos. Most of the Live Rock is on this side but I don't really know how much it is since it was accumulated over time and pulled from different systems. Mebbe 30 lbs +/- ? I got some Fiji Pink sand to use on this side but I haven't added it in yet & am feeling indecisive about whether I want to. I currently do have my "portable sandbed" containers in here, which consists of 5 shallow 3 x 9 containers containing live sand. Critters 1 Clownfish 1 Money Cowrie Stomatella Snails that have been gettin' busy & makin' babies, to my delight. Cerith Snails have had some babies in here as well. Various other Astrea, Trochus, Nerite, etc snails A variety of Pods, Bristleworms, Mini Brittles and other fun microfauna Corals & Nems Green Sinularia (I think. It's a Leather, anyway) Mint Chocolate Brain Frag 2 Rose Bubbletip Anemones 1 Maxi Mini Anemone Macroalgaes Sargassum Galaxaura Rare Palm Caulerpa Grape Caulerpa Cympolia Barbata Cryptonemia Crenulata Portiera Halymenia Blue Hypnea Graciliara Hayi Botryocladia Dragon's Breath Red Graciliara Cladophora (on the way, thx @Squared!!) Chaetomorpha Siliconing in the False Wall: Flow through the Wall works pretty well Portable sandbed with Brain 17 Quote Link to comment
1891Bro Posted June 29, 2017 Share Posted June 29, 2017 So, not only would Patty and Selma love it but, it's fun for a girl, or a boy! Edit: Last part was in reference to the slinky and not the wet box part. Although... 2 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 1, 2017 Author Share Posted July 1, 2017 So..... I sort of (semi) accidentally just got 2 gorgeous RBTA's and some REALLY nice coralline covered cycled rock for this tank. I actually only have one of the Anemones right now, I need to go back for the second one tomorrow cause the rock it was on is too big too fit in the Styro I took!! Cool thing is, more rock is the last piece of the puzzle I needed for this tank. I have an acrylic divider getting trimmed down, should have that on Wed, and hopefully I can get this tank wet in a week or so!!! Mebbe I can grow RBTA's alongside the Macro in here, cause they've been splitting super well for the guy I got them from. 10 Quote Link to comment
devaji108 Posted July 2, 2017 Share Posted July 2, 2017 I am excited to fallow this one as well. as a fellow macro lover this is good stuff. let the experiment and fun begin... 1 Quote Link to comment
StinkyBunny Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 When we got back into reef tanks I bought M an RSM 130D that had 7 GBTAs in it. We brought it home and did a water change, pulled out 10 lbs of GHA. Fast forward a week, now we have 11 GBTAs. If you want them to split, do a water change. Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 3, 2017 Share Posted July 3, 2017 Yay new thread! Missed it since I was working a lot lol. I am excited to see where this experimental journey goes! Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 This tank is finally up and running and I have lots of pics to share!! Pretty fishy Cympolia Barbata Money Cowrie Portiera & a bit of Blue Hypnea Maxi Mini Anemone & Sargassum 19 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 But wait, there's more!! Dragon's Breath & Botryocladia RBTA Baby Stomatella playing in some Hypnea Black Stomatella & a baby shoot of Rare Palm Caulerpa Baby featherduster in some Chaeto, Portiera on left, Graciliara Hayi & Botryocladia in back 19 Quote Link to comment
seabass Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 The edits were a nice touch. The tank is looking very good. 1 Quote Link to comment
calvin Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 I've seen this tank in person and it looks really good 6 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 Looks awesome! The C. barbata looks great, was it shipped in water? I wondered if that would make a difference. Mine wasn't and well... 1 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 30, 2017 Author Share Posted July 30, 2017 9 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said: Looks awesome! The C. barbata looks great, was it shipped in water? I wondered if that would make a difference. Mine wasn't and well... Yep, it was shipped in water. The first time I got C. Barbata a couple of months back, it was shipped in no water, was in terrible shape when it reached me & died pretty soon after. You can see from the pics how this Barbata is doing. I got it from live-plants.com. 1 hour ago, seabass said: The edits were a nice touch. The tank is looking very good. Thx, I actually spent a ridiculous amount of time on them. @GregEmmitte & @calvin, thx much!! 2 Quote Link to comment
Lula_Mae Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 5 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said: Yep, it was shipped in water. The first time I got C. Barbata a couple of months back, it was shipped in no water, was in terrible shape when it reached me & died pretty soon after. You can see from the pics how this Barbata is doing. I got it from live-plants.com. Thx, I actually spent a ridiculous amount of time on them. @GregEmmitte & @calvin, thx much!! Yeah mine wasn't shipped in water and arrived pretty much solid black-brown with black-brown drops of water... At least I got a refund lol. 1 Quote Link to comment
fishfreak0114 Posted July 30, 2017 Share Posted July 30, 2017 I love it! I've got serious macro envy right now That clown is a cutie. Edit: I just read the first and second post. Very nice. 2 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 25 minutes ago, fishfreak0114 said: I love it! I've got serious macro envy right now That clown is a cutie. Edit: I just read the first and second post. Very nice. Hey, thanks!! I just need to start a business as a Macro importer for Canada. Or I could just visit and bring you some. 2 Quote Link to comment
fishfreak0114 Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 30 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said: Hey, thanks!! I just need to start a business as a Macro importer for Canada. Or I could just visit and bring you some. Well if you ever start importing, you already have a customer! I'm guessing macros can't just cross the border? Otherwise I would need to buy a whole bunch the next time I'm in the states. Although I could always sneak them across in travel coffee mugs j/k 1 Quote Link to comment
TinyOcean Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 Oh my freaking god I am so excited about this! Looks fantastic! 1 Quote Link to comment
Needreefunds Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 What a long strange trip it's been 3 Quote Link to comment
Weetabix7 Posted July 31, 2017 Author Share Posted July 31, 2017 26 minutes ago, TinyOcean said: Oh my freaking god I am so excited about this! Looks fantastic! Thanks so much!! 19 minutes ago, Needreefunds said: What a long strange trip it's been Boy, tell me about it!! And you're allowed to say that cause you had a front-row seat to a lot of it. Quote Link to comment
teenyreef Posted July 31, 2017 Share Posted July 31, 2017 And I love the introduction too. My first reef tank had no wet dry filter either. In 1990! 5 Quote Link to comment
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