Office Spec V Journal

[Jimmeh Lee]

Hello Nano-Reef!

I'm getting salty again after a long hiatus with a boss approved desktop reef. I'll be using a Fluval Spec V that's been collecting dust. Thankfully I still have some of my old equipment, including an mp10, ATO, and intank media basket. The plan is to keep zoas, LPS, and probably something small with perching behavior like a tailspot blenny. 

 

Current hardware list:

-Fluval Spec V

-Intank media basket

-Stock return pump w/o spray nozzle

-50w Aqueon heater

-MP10QD

-Current USA Orbit Marine 18-24"

-Tunze 3152 Nano ATO; going to try to make this work, the sensor is too large for the back, even without a heater in there. If I can set it correctly in the display, I'll keep it.

 

I did a little repair work on the filter panel where the silicone detached from the plastic, and plasti-dipped the back panel yesterday. Just about everything that's been ordered should be arriving between this Friday and upcoming Monday. We should be cycling by the middle of next week! Here's how we're sitting for now. 

 

[Jimmeh Lee]

Small update for now. Everything I ordered is here and ready to go in to work tomorrow. Boss seemed interested by the r/o unit I mentioned so I’m going to bring it with me too. It’s kind of crazy how much stuff I’ve got gathered up here for such a little endeavor. And this doesn’t even include what’s already there! 

 

And since there’s nothing too fun to see for this tank, here’s a shot of my little betta’s tenner.

 

[Jimmeh Lee]

Allllright! Everything made it into the office this morning. Got water mixing right off the bat and got my rocks rinsed and into the tank. All the equipment put on, wires pulled together with Velcro strips. I mounted the mp10 controller on the side and the light’s controller onto the front with Velcro as well. 

Before sand

 

Sand in

 

I got water in just before heading out for the morning. It’s currently a cloudy mess  that’s trying to warm up.

 

[ninjamyst]

looking good!

[Jimmeh Lee]

Tank is pretty much cleared up today. Started ghost feeding yesterday and am going to dump in some Dr Tim’s once o have readable ammonia. I don’t think I’m going to be able to get the tunze ato to work reliably. I’m thinking about ordering a Smart ATO micro. The sensor is 15mm thick, which I’m pretty sure I can fit next to the heater and return line. Messing with the heater a bit, I’d like to be between 78-79 and am sitting at 80.4.. i should probably just leave it be. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯ 

[Jimmeh Lee]

My lfs was nice enough to shave some coralline algae from one of their frag racks for me yesterday. Scattered the pieces around some crevices of my rock, and dropped in a ceramic frag slab from their tank, figured it has some bacteria riding it.

I also picked up a media bag, filled it with seachem matrix and placed that in the bottom chamber of the media basket. My plan for me media basket once everything is finished cycling is floss/white-blue pad for the first chamber, chemipure Blue Nano sitting on a polishing pad in the second chamber, with the third chamber filled with matrix.

For now I decided to just manually top off when I get in and before I leave, and use a bottle to fill over the weekend. Evaporation doesn’t seem to be too fast compared to past tanks.

[Jimmeh Lee]

I've got measurable ammonia! So in went the Dr Tim's to see what happens. Half a little bottle yesterday, half a little bottle this morning. I ground up some of the coralline algae and dropped it into the mp10 this morning as well. The office is off next week, but I'll be stopping in a couple times to check on the tank.

[Jimmeh Lee]

Tests today showed ammonia at ~.5ppm, nitrites at .25ppm, and nitrates at ~5-10PPM! We're getting there! Also seeing the first couple spots of diatoms on the rocks. I'll be back in Wednesday to test again. Finger's crossed for 0-0-w/e. 

[Jimmeh Lee]

Yesterday’s testing put the tank at 0-0- 5-10, and the diatoms are growing. I went ahead and picked up one trochus snail, two ceriths and one nassarius. I also noticed an aptaisia anemone poking out of the top of my big rock. I guess it came in on the scrapings of coralline algae. So much for using dry rock and avoiding pests, right? Well, little guy got fed a mouthful of saltwater sludge, we’ll see if it did the trick soon. 

[Jimmeh Lee]

As far as I can tell I’m pest free again. Snails seem to be doing well, the ceriths start getting active about a half hour before I leave/lights out. I think the nassarius has been leaving eggs on the glass, and the trochus spent the better part of this morning releasing gametes into the water. Poor fella must not realize it’s the only one of its species in the tank. They don’t produce both gametes right? 

Anyways, the diatoms don’t seem to be out of control and parameters are remaining pretty stable so I went and picked up the first frag for the tank. 7 polyps of “dreamcatcher” zoas. They’re cute enough to keep around and inexpensive enough to not be devastated if something were to happen. So far so good with them, dipped and opened right up! Nice purple/green. 

 

And here’s a picture of how I set up my media basket. Something went right, the water is crystal clear.

[Jimmeh Lee]

I caved and ordered an ATO during the Black Friday week hoopla, and it arrived last night. Got it set up this morning, sensor juuuust fits in the return pump chamber. I might lower it in a little further, but preliminary testing has me comfortable with it. Getting some pods crawling around on the glass now, and the diatoms seem to be in check already.

 

[mitten_reef]

Looks like you're off to a good start! really dig the iwagumi-style scape, both in the Evo V and the Betta tank. Look up @Mikeymikemike for an awesome iwagumi inspiration.

[Jimmeh Lee]

Thank you! I’m hoping to maintain the style as more coral goes in. I definitely will!

[Jimmeh Lee]

I think I’m looking little spots of that coralline I crushed up start to grow on my rocks already. Correct me if I’m wrong?

 

[teenyreef]

Following! I love the scape, and I'm jealous about having an office tank. There's hardly anyone to tell me "no" at my office, but I'm out of the office so often that it would be way too much trouble to take care of. But it would be so cool...

 

I think you made the right choice with the new ATO. It's the smallest sensor I know of and there's really not much not to like about it. Just make sure you keep the sensor clean of algae build up because that will make it think it's always underwater.

[CrazyEyes]

What a badass little tank! Love the scape alot. Idk how I've never heard of sea chem matrix, what's it used for exactly? 

[Jimmeh Lee]

10 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Following! I love the scape, and I'm jealous about having an office tank. There's hardly anyone to tell me "no" at my office, but I'm out of the office so often that it would be way too much trouble to take care of. But it would be so cool...

 

I think you made the right choice with the new ATO. It's the smallest sensor I know of and there's really not much not to like about it. Just make sure you keep the sensor clean of algae build up because that will make it think it's always underwater.

Thanks Teeny! Do you at least stop in in the mornings? I'd say go for it if so lol. I'm only at my desk a few hours each day but I feel like I've been able to enjoy it thoroughly. The original idea was for me to put together and maintain a 75g mbuna cichlid display for our entrance/lobby on the company's dime, but it wasn't in budget this go around. That got me thinking about a personal tank for myself. After I set it up and was showing my boss some of the coral I plan to keep in here she started asking if we could keep the tank out front... I gently declined 

 

 

10 hours ago, CrazyEyes said:

What a badass little tank! Love the scape alot. Idk how I've never heard of sea chem matrix, what's it used for exactly? 

Thank you! Matrix is a "high capacity" bio-media! I'm using it to supplement my rock's filtration ability since it's such a small tank.r

[Jimmeh Lee]

I picked up a couple more frags over the weekend. Probably won’t get any more until after the holidays, but that’s ok. Waiting for my bonecutters and forceps to get in so I can mess with the plugs and glue them down.

 

 

 

Forgot to rotate this one ?

[teenyreef]

14 hours ago, Jimmeh Lee said:

Thanks Teeny! Do you at least stop in in the mornings? I'd say go for it if so lol. I'm only at my desk a few hours each day but I feel like I've been able to enjoy it thoroughly. The original idea was for me to put together and maintain a 75g mbuna cichlid display for our entrance/lobby on the company's dime, but it wasn't in budget this go around. That got me thinking about a personal tank for myself. After I set it up and was showing my boss some of the coral I plan to keep in here she started asking if we could keep the tank out front... I gently declined 

 

 

Thank you! Matrix is a "high capacity" bio-media! I'm using it to supplement my rock's filtration ability since it's such a small tank.r

Unfortunately I'm just completely out of the office about 25% of the time, either out of town or at local meetings away from the office.

 

Although one of the guys on my team is a reefer...maybe it wouldn't be considered taking advantage of my supervisory position to get him to take care of my office tank while I'm gone. It's not like I'm asking him to wash my car 

[Jimmeh Lee]

9 hours ago, teenyreef said:

Unfortunately I'm just completely out of the office about 25% of the time, either out of town or at local meetings away from the office.

 

Although one of the guys on my team is a reefer...maybe it wouldn't be considered taking advantage of my supervisory position to get him to take care of my office tank while I'm gone. It's not like I'm asking him to wash my car 

I gotcha! Hmmm, I bet he'd either be thrilled to help out with it or jealous haha. But it sounds like the gears are turning! Although with how your home tanks have turned out it might be too much of a distraction for the rest of the workplace 

[Jimmeh Lee]

I was bad... I’d meant to just get another trochus snail yesterday and ended up with two new acan frags... they were too cheap to leave I guess. 

 

[teenyreef]

There's always room for one or two more acans! 

[Jimmeh Lee]

100% Agreed! They are definitely near the top of my list. I'd like to get the far right rock covered with them, and then a couple more around the bottoms of the other two rocks.  

[Jimmeh Lee]

Put in a few more snails and snapped a couple pictures after the water change today. Been playing around with an “aquarium camera” app, I’m not very good at it lol. Glued down two of the acan frags, I just got some bonecutters in the mail so the rest of frags should get permanently placed monday.

 

 

 

[Jimmeh Lee]

Got the last acan glued down! Zoas will be next, just not 100% sure where I want them yet. Tank is also copepod central at the moment, the glass is coooovered with them, especially in the morning.