DudeRubble's Test Tube of Rubble, a Creative Container Contest entry

[teenyreef]

29 minutes ago, duderubble said:

I think about 18" above the tank. It's adjustable I might move it up to see what that does. 

It would probably be worth a try. Or just shorten the photoperiod. My PAR-38 sits about 12" above the water because of the way I have it mounted. So I only keep it on for six hours a day.

[Clown79]

On 07/02/2018 at 8:30 PM, duderubble said:

Not looking so great this month. After several weeks of neglect these were taken a half hour after a 100% water change. I'll spend some time on it this week. 

 

I think the light is  a little much. The superman month is faded and a mushroom near the top withered to almost nothing. The birdsnest seems to be growing though and the xenia is going great guns. 

You can put electrical tape over a few diodes on the light which will reduce how much light the corals get.

 

I did it on my 24w and it's worked very well.

[Felicia]

Hi!  Just a reminder to please pm me your February FTS by this Friday 3/2/18.

[duderubble]

The glass needs a cleaning but I wanted to get in by the deadline. I'll try to pretty it up tomorrow. The only things that have truly thrived were the Duncan and the xenia. 

[duderubble]

[Felicia]

The contest is coming to a close!  March 31st will be the official end of the competition and then the voting will begin.  In order to help the community decide what tanks to vote for, each remaining contestant will need to do the following:

1. PM me three (3) final photos that you think summarize your container reef.  The composition for two of these is up to you, but one of them should be a final FTS taken sometime during the month of March.
2. PM me a written summary of your container reef build and experiences throughout the competition.  This should be no more than 250 words.
3. These items must be private messaged to me by midnight (Pacific Standard Time) on March 31st.

[Felicia]

Just a friendly reminder that your write-up and three photos are due to me by private message by midnight (PST) tomorrow night (3/31).

[duderubble]

Ok folks, here's my final contest post (although probably not the last tank update). 

 

I'd say the biggest strength of this tank is the elegance of the build itself. No wires out the top of the tank and the purpose built stand looks really clean. My Mother-in-law even commented how nice it is, that is saying something!

 

Lessons learned. Things happen quick! I had a significant tank crash this week that wiped out all the sps and lps in the tank and led to the first major algae outbreak. Birdsnest, monti and hammer all gone. Best guess is that a snail died and the tank just couldn't neutralize that nitrogen.  Reccomendation: be happy with softies in a tiny tank. I never fed the tank and consequently only had to do a WC once a month or so. But the tank crash happened less than a week from a WC. Snails are going to die in any tank. 

 

Also think clearly about how you are going to clean a tank. Honestly it would work best to have something you can completely empty (rock, coral, everything) to clean with each water change. 

 

This has been a fun experiment and I'll keep it going. 

[duderubble]

 

Unfortunately the zoas aren't cooperating today. 

[teenyreef]

Dang, I'm sorry to hear about the setback! I think this is setup is fantastic, though. It looks so clean and the stand is beautiful.

[vlangel]

The timing of the crash really stinks.  Your set up is beautiful and I love that you don't see wires or tubing.  Excellant craftsmanship!

[duderubble]

10 minutes ago, vlangel said:

The timing of the crash really stinks. 

In a way I couldn't agree more. But one of the stated goals of the contest was to build a wealth of knowledge about Picos. With that in mind the crash is instructive. Snails die. What is their lifespan, a couple years maybe? So if you're going to have a pico you have to consider how that will affect the tank. There's just no way the biofilter (in this case just rock) can handle it. The tank was literally fine one day and a disaster the next. So my takeaway is you're better only keeping livestock that can handle that kind of shock-softies for the most part. Still you'll get a major algae bloom. Something that had been almost completely absent from this tank. I barely had to clean the walls prior to the crash. 

[Christopher Marks]

Great insight @duderubble, dead snails have taken out larger nano reefs even. What a bummer how fast it turned though, damn!

 

I'm glad to hear you're going to keep it going further, it's such a nice system design. Do you have any things in mind for an overhaul? Maybe you could epoxy the aquascape together in some way so it can be lifted out during water changes for easier cleaning.

[debbeach13]

Quote

Sorry about the crash. Still a good looking tank. One of the top contenders for "creativity".

 

[duderubble]

The magnets didn't work long term. The rock around them crumbled. I could try an epoxy thing for the whole scape. I probably could lift it all out for cleaning as is. There are only three rocks but the biggest one is a tight fit this is whate hides the pump and heater. It might be worth it though every other month or so. 

[fishfreak0114]

I love the shape of this tank, I’m glad you’re keeping it going!  Sorry to hear about the crash  

[seabass]

Excellent work on the jar and stand.  It's so clean not having cords coming out of the top.  Nice!

[duderubble]

Just happened to see this in a google search. This whole tank system is in my garage. I can't throw it away. Anyone willing to come to Phillipsburg, MO could have it for free. Send me a PM so I get an email notice as I don't regularly check here.