Dr. Felicia's Back to Basics IM14 - Retired 2/25/2020

[gena]

Looks good with water in it

[Weetabix7]

1 minute ago, Pjanssen said:

Welcome back! I was wondering what happened to you. I did the IM14 contest tank and stocked it as a Florida Biotope. Lots of Gorgs and Macros. I love it, easy to maintain. Like @Weetabix7 says, the macros really help to keep the nutrients down. KP was awesome for almost all of my livestock. Looking forward to seeing what you do here.

I think some of us may be glad that she's late to the party

 

Something I do that helps me keep Macros organized and in their place as opposed to drifting off, is to use fishing line to tie them to LR rubble, and then use that rubble as a "base" to plant them in certain areas. It holds and weights them down and prevents drift. 

I have a few pics of how I do that in Macgyver Slinky tank thread linked in my thread, I think it may be on pg. 3 of the thread. 

36 minutes ago, Felicia said:

Ok, one last tank photo for the weekend.  Filled it with some RODI water for a leak and pump test.  This water will get drained back out when I'm ready to add sand, but wanted to make sure everything was working correctly and there were no leaks.  So far so good.  The stock pump and my MP10 quiet drive both seem to be working well.  I've also been leak testing the ATO reservoir since last night and it seems to be good to go!

 

Also, Lily says hi!

 

Goodness, Lily is beautiful!!

[Felicia]

1 minute ago, Pjanssen said:

Welcome back! I was wondering what happened to you. I did the IM14 contest tank and stocked it as a Florida Biotope. Lots of Gorgs and Macros. I love it, easy to maintain. Like @Weetabix7 says, the macros really help to keep the nutrients down. KP was awesome for almost all of my livestock. Looking forward to seeing what you do here.

I think some of us may be glad that she's late to the party

I've been admiring your contest tank!  Yours and Ikoechle's are very similar to what I'd like to do with the tank.  I'll probably avoid macros for the most part since I just can never make them look nice.  Plants and I don't get along   However, mine will otherwise be very similar and I will definitely be placing some KPA orders.  They're my favorite online coral retailer.  I've been ordering for them for years now and have never had a complaint.

 

You're too nice!  There is so steep competition in that contest.  I'm anxious to see who wins!  This way I can just use all of your tanks as inspiration   Speaking of, it seems like a lot of people had issues with the stock pump?  I just fired mine up a couple hours ago and its dead silent.  Did it get louder over time or something?

3 minutes ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Something I do that helps me keep Macros organized and in their place as opposed to drifting off, is to use fishing line to tie them to LR rubble, and then use that rubble as a "base" to plant them in certain areas. It holds and weights them down and prevents drift. 

I have a few pics of how I do that in Macgyver Slinky tank thread linked in my thread, I think it may be on pg. 3 of the thread. 

 

Goodness, Lily is beautiful!!

What an awesome idea for the macros!  When they begin to grow from the original tied piece, do they root in place?  I've never had luck with getting them to really root or attach anywhere and they just kind of end up floating about every where.  I really like your idea and am curious if it works on the growth shoots over time.

 

Yeah, I never can get over how beautiful Lily is.  I call her a supermodel cat 

[Felicia]

7 minutes ago, gena said:

Looks good with water in it

It does!  I'm liking how sleek it looks   It was really easy to get it all fired up and its very quiet so far, which is wonderful.  The overflow on the predator tank tended to be really loud and gurgly, no matter what I did.  Plus then you had all the skimmer noise, etc.  A quiet tank is glorious!

[Weetabix7]

3 minutes ago, Felicia said:

I've been admiring your contest tank!  Yours and Ikoechle's are very similar to what I'd like to do with the tank.  I'll probably avoid macros for the most part since I just can never make them look nice.  Plants and I don't get along   However, mine will otherwise be very similar and I will definitely be placing some KPA orders.  They're my favorite online coral retailer.  I've been ordering for them for years now and have never had a complaint.

 

You're too nice!  There is so steep competition in that contest.  I'm anxious to see who wins!  This way I can just use all of your tanks as inspiration   Speaking of, it seems like a lot of people had issues with the stock pump?  I just fired mine up a couple hours ago and its dead silent.  Did it get louder over time or something?

What an awesome idea for the macros!  When they begin to grow from the original tied piece, do they root in place?  I've never had luck with getting them to really root or attach anywhere and they just kind of end up floating about every where.  I really like your idea and am curious if it works on the growth shoots over time.

 

Yeah, I never can get over how beautiful Lily is.  I call her a supermodel cat 

 

Some do and some don't, it varies. 

For practical purposes, it doesn't matter for me since I'm using clear fishing line that you can't see and either way  it functions just as well and allows me to control them. 

Also, you mentioned being terrible at plants. 

Wanna hear something funny?

I'm terrible at terrestrial plants, can never keep them long-term. 

It's only SW plants that I am able to do well with. 

[gena]

3 minutes ago, Felicia said:

It does!  I'm liking how sleek it looks   It was really easy to get it all fired up and its very quiet so far, which is wonderful.  The overflow on the predator tank tended to be really loud and gurgly, no matter what I did.  Plus then you had all the skimmer noise, etc.  A quiet tank is glorious!

That's great that it's quiet!  Sounds like either they fixed their pump problem or you got lucky.  I'm using the stock pump and it's quiet for me too.  Maybe I just got lucky too .

 

Pjanssen's contest tank is my favorite.  She's got my vote.  She has a great collection of gorgonians.  It all came together perfectly.  I'm a sucker for her color scheme too LOL.

[Pjanssen]

6 minutes ago, Felicia said:

I've been admiring your contest tank!  Yours and Ikoechle's are very similar to what I'd like to do with the tank.  I'll probably avoid macros for the most part since I just can never make them look nice.  Plants and I don't get along   However, mine will otherwise be very similar and I will definitely be placing some KPA orders.  They're my favorite online coral retailer.  I've been ordering for them for years now and have never had a complaint.

 

You're too nice!  There is so steep competition in that contest.  I'm anxious to see who wins!  This way I can just use all of your tanks as inspiration   Speaking of, it seems like a lot of people had issues with the stock pump?  I just fired mine up a couple hours ago and its dead silent.  Did it get louder over time or something?

 

You Can Vote!

I am one of the lucky ones that hasn't had any trouble with the stock pump. Some were bad right from the start. Some say they got louder over time. Some say they got quieter over time. I guess you just never know. I found the flow to be perfect for what I have in there and never added a second power head.

2 minutes ago, gena said:

That's great that it's quiet!  Sounds like either they fixed their pump problem or you got lucky.  I'm using the stock pump and it's quiet for me too.  Maybe I just got lucky too .

 

Pjanssen's contest tank is my favorite.  She's got my vote.  She has a great collection of gorgonians.  It all came together perfectly.  I'm a sucker for her color scheme too LOL.

Awe! Thanks Gena.

[Pjanssen]

(GASP!) You didn't filet your lion fish did you? JK. I know you didn't, I just remembered that you tried it when you were in Florida last year.

[metrokat]

Lion Fish tacos. It's a thing.  

Lily.

 

The voting will open today and will be open for a week so plenty of time for people to read journals and make a choice. 

 

Are you going to MACNA?

38 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

 

I think some of us may be glad that she's late to the party

ha. You might be right but everyone did really well. Stiff competition yo.

[Felicia]

1 hour ago, Weetabix7 said:

 

Some do and some don't, it varies. 

For practical purposes, it doesn't matter for me since I'm using clear fishing line that you can't see and either way  it functions just as well and allows me to control them. 

Also, you mentioned being terrible at plants. 

Wanna hear something funny?

I'm terrible at terrestrial plants, can never keep them long-term. 

It's only SW plants that I am able to do well with. 

The clear fishing line really is a wonderful idea.  Maybe I'll give it a try with a macro and see how it goes this time around.  I have a few species of easy plants that I do ok with, such as succulents, Christmas cacti, and calathea/marantaceae species, but I kill most terrestrial plants too.  Its weird that I can keep coral, but not relatively easy plants .  I've never even been able to keep chaeto alive for very long. 

1 hour ago, gena said:

That's great that it's quiet!  Sounds like either they fixed their pump problem or you got lucky.  I'm using the stock pump and it's quiet for me too.  Maybe I just got lucky too .

 

Pjanssen's contest tank is my favorite.  She's got my vote.  She has a great collection of gorgonians.  It all came together perfectly.  I'm a sucker for her color scheme too LOL.

I mean its not dead silent, if you're right up by the tank you can hear a low buzzing sound.  However, considering what most aquarium equipment sounds like, I'm going to put this in the relatively quiet category.  Once you're back just a little ways from the tank you can't hear it at all.  Sounds like it must be hit or miss with these pumps.  Hopefully mine continues to work and stays quiet because I'd prefer not to have to upgrade it.

 

Penny's tank is lovely!  I'm a sucker for tanks stocked with KPA goodies!  Also, the custom wood canopy and framing is awesome!  And yep, she definitely pulled off your favorite pastels and shades of pink color theme.

1 hour ago, Pjanssen said:

You Can Vote!

I am one of the lucky ones that hasn't had any trouble with the stock pump. Some were bad right from the start. Some say they got louder over time. Some say they got quieter over time. I guess you just never know. I found the flow to be perfect for what I have in there and never added a second power head.

Awe! Thanks Gena.

I will definitely vote!  How fun!

 

Good to know about the pump.  I'll be crossing my fingers that the pump stays quiet for me.  It seems to be plenty of flow considering I'll also be using my MP10.  You don't have a powerhead in your tank at all?  Just the return?  Have any of your gorgonians shed yet?  That says a lot for the flow from the return pump that the gorgonians are doing so well without an additional powerhead.  From my experience, gorgonians need at at least moderate flow to help them shed and to prevent algae growth on their tissue.  Sounds like the stock pump works well for you!

1 hour ago, Pjanssen said:

(GASP!) You didn't filet your lion fish did you? JK. I know you didn't, I just remembered that you tried it when you were in Florida last year.

  I did eat lionfish while I was in Florida, but I didn't eat my lionfish.  I was way too attached to them.  They had just sooo much personality.  Granted, lionfish is pretty yummy if you get a chance to try it.

1 hour ago, metrokat said:

Lion Fish tacos. It's a thing.  

Lily.

 

The voting will open today and will be open for a week so plenty of time for people to read journals and make a choice. 

 

Are you going to MACNA?

ha. You might be right but everyone did really well. Stiff competition yo.

The lionfish tacos were delicious!  I'd definitely make those again!  Too bad we don't have lionfish fillets in the store here in California.

 

Ok, I will definitely have to vote in the contest.  Looks like there are some awesome prizes up for grabs!

 

I'm not going to MACNA this year.  Not having a tank and it being quite a long ways away made me not too interested in going.  Plus I've had to travel for work recently and then am going to visit my family in a couple weeks, so I'd have been really cramming in the travel if I'd gone to MACNA too.  I am however going to RAP in Anaheim, CA at the beginning of October.  That's much easier to get to for a quick weekend trip.  Considering MACNA next year is in Vegas, which is a short flight from me, I'll probably go next year.

[Pjanssen]

10 minutes ago, Felicia said:

 You don't have a powerhead in your tank at all?  Just the return?  Have any of your gorgonians shed yet?  That says a lot for the flow from the return pump that the gorgonians are doing so well without an additional powerhead.  From my experience, gorgonians need at at least moderate flow to help them shed and to prevent algae growth on their tissue.  Sounds like the stock pump works well for you!

  I did eat lionfish while I was in Florida, but I didn't eat my lionfish.  I was way too attached to them.  They had just sooo much personality.  Granted, lionfish is pretty yummy if you get a chance to try it.

My yellow whip shed when I first put it in the tank, and the purple angular partially shed. Occasionally The purple angular will get a little algae on the tips. It is on the opposite side of the return. I plan to add more Gorgs fairly soon, so I'll probably add a small Koralia Hydro at that point if necessary.

We have local Lion Fish hunts and parties. I've never tried to catch them, they are scary (and beautiful but detrimental), but they sure are delicious.

[Felicia]

26 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

My yellow whip shed when I first put it in the tank, and the purple angular partially shed. Occasionally The purple angular will get a little algae on the tips. It is on the opposite side of the return. I plan to add more Gorgs fairly soon, so I'll probably add a small Koralia Hydro at that point if necessary.

We have local Lion Fish hunts and parties. I've never tried to catch them, they are scary (and beautiful but detrimental), but they sure are delicious.

Yeah, once you get more gorgonians, they'll block the flow more and you may have to add more.  Sounds like the stock pump is plenty for what you have now though.  Even with flow, I'd get algae on the tips of mine on occasion.  Luckily its easy to rub off.

 

I'm not sure I'd want to hunt them since I'd have a hard time killing such gorgeous fish.  However, since they're such an issue in Florida, I think its great that they're encouraging hunting and eating them to help reduce the population.  I definitely have no problem eating them once someone else hunted and killed them 

[Nano sapiens]

6 hours ago, Felicia said:

I definitely have been keeping your tank in mind as I've been considering setting up a new tank and planning this one.  Your small tank that is over 7 years old and seems very low maintenance is definitely an inspiration!  I'm hoping I can set up something I love and then just let it mature, while I enjoy it without a ton of fiddling and upgrading and such.

9+ years...not that anyone is counting, mind you  

 

If you want really simple (as I do), then why not consider just going filterless.  If you do a water change of 10% every two weeks and vacuum out your detritus each time (assuming your bioload is moderate), you should be good to go.  You can try monthly, just up it to 20% or so.

 

Once the system stabilizes, you could be on 'Easy Street'  

 

 

 

 

[Lawnman]

1 minute ago, Nano sapiens said:

9+ years...not that anyone is counting, mind you  

 

If you want really simple (as I do), then why not consider just going filterless.  If you do a water change of 10% every two weeks and vacuum out your detritus each time (assuming your bioload is moderate), you should be good to go.  You can try monthly, just up it to 20% or so.

 

Once the system stabilizes, you could be on 'Easy Street'  

 

 

 

 

My soft reef is on easy street now that it's almost 2 years old.  I change 4 gallons every month or when I get a chance sometimes 6-8 weeks. 

[gena]

3 hours ago, Felicia said:

 

I'm not going to MACNA this year.  Not having a tank and it being quite a long ways away made me not too interested in going.  Plus I've had to travel for work recently and then am going to visit my family in a couple weeks, so I'd have been really cramming in the travel if I'd gone to MACNA too.  I am however going to RAP in Anaheim, CA at the beginning of October.  That's much easier to get to for a quick weekend trip.  Considering MACNA next year is in Vegas, which is a short flight from me, I'll probably go next year.

Can't wait!!!!  For both LOL. 

[Felicia]

29 minutes ago, Nano sapiens said:

9+ years...not that anyone is counting, mind you  

 

If you want really simple (as I do), then why not consider just going filterless.  If you do a water change of 10% every two weeks and vacuum out your detritus each time (assuming your bioload is moderate), you should be good to go.  You can try monthly, just up it to 20% or so.

 

Once the system stabilizes, you could be on 'Easy Street'  

 

 

 

 

Oh wow! Even more impressive! I felt like I didn't have quite enough years. Yeah I want an easy peasy autopilot tank. Filterless is a good thought! I'm really going to do practically that. No skimmer and no media reactor. I just wanted to throw some filter pad and Chemi-Pure for the carbon in the media rack to just help with water clarity. I'm not really planning to rely on that as much for nutrient export. If I feel like I don't need even that much, then maybe I'll take it out. I'm hoping to be able to do like a monthly 3-gallon water change. Hopefully that will work!

29 minutes ago, Lawnman said:

My soft reef is on easy street now that it's almost 2 years old.  I change 4 gallons every month or when I get a chance sometimes 6-8 weeks. 

Good to hear! This is the type of thing I'm hoping for!

20 minutes ago, gena said:

Can't wait!!!!  For both LOL. 

Same here! This new tank will be cycled by RAP so I'm hoping to buy some nice zoanthid frags for the tank while we're there.

[Felicia]

Ok, so first tank problem. I jinxed myself by saying the IM pump was ok so far. It just randomly started spitting a ton of bubbles. The water level is plent high, so it's not sucking air. Hopefully it just had some air stuck down in the pump that is working it's way out.

[gena]

4 minutes ago, Felicia said:

Same here! This new tank will be cycled by RAP so I'm hoping to buy some nice zoanthid frags for the tank while we're there.

That's what I'll be looking for too.  Cuz that's pretty much all that I can squeeze in my tank!  We'll have fun searching out the perfect Zs and Ps .

1 minute ago, Felicia said:

Ok, so first tank problem. I jinxed myself by saying the IM pump was ok so far. It just randomly started spitting a ton of bubbles. The water level is plent high, so it's not sucking air. Hopefully it just had some air stuck down in the pump that is working it's way out.

Huh, that's weird.  I wonder what would cause that?

[Felicia]

3 minutes ago, gena said:

That's what I'll be looking for too.  Cuz that's pretty much all that I can squeeze in my tank!  We'll have fun searching out the perfect Zs and Ps .

Huh, that's weird.  I wonder what would cause that?

Yep, I'll have to be much more picky about corals for this tank because there's so much less room. I'm hoping to make a zoanthid/paly cluster area with some really nice colorful ones. We'll have to hunt for good frags.

 

Yeah I'm confused because I've only ever seen a pump do that when the water level is low and it's sucking air. No idea what's going on but the tank is full of micro bubbles right now.

[lkoechle]

Yay! You came back!

[Sharbuckle]

Happy to see you back. Your 40b was a huge inspiration for me to get back at it. 

 

Following along  

[gena]

47 minutes ago, Felicia said:

Yep, I'll have to be much more picky about corals for this tank because there's so much less room. I'm hoping to make a zoanthid/paly cluster area with some really nice colorful ones. We'll have to hunt for good frags.

 

Yeah I'm confused because I've only ever seen a pump do that when the water level is low and it's sucking air. No idea what's going on but the tank is full of micro bubbles right now.

maybe there's a small piece of plastic or something that got stuck in it somehow?  I saw a few little fragments of plastic or whatever in my tank when I got it. 

[Lula_Mae]

4 hours ago, Felicia said:

The clear fishing line really is a wonderful idea.  Maybe I'll give it a try with a macro and see how it goes this time around.  I have a few species of easy plants that I do ok with, such as succulents, Christmas cacti, and calathea/marantaceae species, but I kill most terrestrial plants too.  Its weird that I can keep coral, but not relatively easy plants .  I've never even been able to keep chaeto alive for very long. 

I mean its not dead silent, if you're right up by the tank you can hear a low buzzing sound.  However, considering what most aquarium equipment sounds like, I'm going to put this in the relatively quiet category.  Once you're back just a little ways from the tank you can't hear it at all.  Sounds like it must be hit or miss with these pumps.  Hopefully mine continues to work and stays quiet because I'd prefer not to have to upgrade it.

 

Penny's tank is lovely!  I'm a sucker for tanks stocked with KPA goodies!  Also, the custom wood canopy and framing is awesome!  And yep, she definitely pulled off your favorite pastels and shades of pink color theme.

I will definitely vote!  How fun!

 

Good to know about the pump.  I'll be crossing my fingers that the pump stays quiet for me.  It seems to be plenty of flow considering I'll also be using my MP10.  You don't have a powerhead in your tank at all?  Just the return?  Have any of your gorgonians shed yet?  That says a lot for the flow from the return pump that the gorgonians are doing so well without an additional powerhead.  From my experience, gorgonians need at at least moderate flow to help them shed and to prevent algae growth on their tissue.  Sounds like the stock pump works well for you!

  I did eat lionfish while I was in Florida, but I didn't eat my lionfish.  I was way too attached to them.  They had just sooo much personality.  Granted, lionfish is pretty yummy if you get a chance to try it.

The lionfish tacos were delicious!  I'd definitely make those again!  Too bad we don't have lionfish fillets in the store here in California.

 

Ok, I will definitely have to vote in the contest.  Looks like there are some awesome prizes up for grabs!

 

I'm not going to MACNA this year.  Not having a tank and it being quite a long ways away made me not too interested in going.  Plus I've had to travel for work recently and then am going to visit my family in a couple weeks, so I'd have been really cramming in the travel if I'd gone to MACNA too.  I am however going to RAP in Anaheim, CA at the beginning of October.  That's much easier to get to for a quick weekend trip.  Considering MACNA next year is in Vegas, which is a short flight from me, I'll probably go next year.

I've had a hard time getting chaeto to do well too lol. I'm doing ok with some other macros though.

[Felicia]

51 minutes ago, lkoechle said:

Yay! You came back!

I figured I could only stay away for so long. I just needed to recharge. 

22 minutes ago, Sharbuckle said:

Happy to see you back. Your 40b was a huge inspiration for me to get back at it. 

 

Following along  

It's good to be back! Thanks for following! Hopefully this one will be even half of what the 40b was. I'm thrilled to hear that tank was an inspiration for you!

18 minutes ago, gena said:

maybe there's a small piece of plastic or something that got stuck in it somehow?  I saw a few little fragments of plastic or whatever in my tank when I got it. 

I think it may have been something like that. There were some little bits of styrofoam in the tank from the packing. I thought I got them all out, but maybe I missed one. I shook the pump around a bit and now it's not making bubbles. Hopefully it doesn't do that again.

10 minutes ago, Lula_Mae said:

I've had a hard time getting chaeto to do well too lol. I'm doing ok with some other macros though.

Yeah chaeto just wastes away on me even when I have a good light and tons of nutrients. I had macros in my old 30 gallon tank that did well and helped with the nutrients. I had blue ochtodes and red grape in that tank.

[Felicia]

Once I get going on a project, I have a hard time waiting.  I just want to see how its going to come together.  This is happening...

 

 

That's somewhere between 10 and 15 lbs of Fiji pink sand and 9.7 lbs of Real Reef rock.  I'm debating whether I put in too much sand, but I want enough sandbed for a pistol shrimp and goby pair.  I'll see how it looks once it clears up and then decide if I need to remove some.  So anyways, let the cycle begin!

 

In other news, my inTank media basket and Inkbird heater controller both arrived today.  Now I'm just waiting on my ATO system and some epoxy and superglue I ordered from BRS.