Ratvan's Return to Reefing - TMC Signature 45 Cube (CLOSED)

[Ratvan]

7 hours ago, A.m.P said:

I love basslets, dig the scape.

Thanks, been really thinking about what would look good in a dimly lit tank as most of the "typical" fish I dont think would look all that great in these conditions. Also took what you said on board about the thin spine of rock 👍

 

I like the scape too

[debbeach13]

On 3/9/2021 at 7:35 AM, Ratvan said:

I might have to reach into my pocket and get a 38mm to 25mm step down adapter piece to hook up the return pipe but that shouldnt be too expensive.

Ok do it and get this sucker wet! I say in this case slow is a no go! 

Did you make a decision on which light you are going with? Some pictures look like a kessile A80. 

[Ratvan]

15 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Ok do it and get this sucker wet! I say in this case slow is a no go! 

Did you make a decision on which light you are going with? Some pictures look like a kessile A80. 

cant find any in stock, plus typically i have other expenses that come first now, so very slow go on this. 

Yes going with the Kessil A80 and NPS to keep costs low (electric) also means I can keep the Tunze Wavemaker and Sell the Jebao

[debbeach13]

Just giving you a hard time. I understand the need to stay in budget and going slow. Is that down size adaptor an uncommon size?

[Ratvan]

4 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Just giving you a hard time. I understand the need to stay in budget and going slow. Is that down size adaptor an uncommon size?

yeah it seems to be, i can find plenty of 16mm to 25mm, but I have 40mm plumbing so need 38mm internal diameter. Might have to try garden centres or aquaponic ships

 

[Ratvan]

Firstly the remaining plumbing items should be here this week or early next so i can attempt to fill and test the plumbing of this system soon. 

 

So I have been reading a lot about NPS tanks and feeding, I think that I would like to try at first to not run a Skimmer on this tank, which leads me to thinking about a Refugium Set up.

Picture of Sump

Water enters from drain into the lower right hand section of the tank and flows through the sock Holder into the large chamber at the front. 

Flows over then under the baffles before entering the chamber where I plan to place my heater and return pump. This is also where the ATO (not pictured in this case) will put the top off water to maintain a steady level 

 

So questions, obviously if I add a sandbed and rock to the large section to the left I am reducing the storage capacity of the Sump and run an increased risk of flooding, since the room has piss poor vinyl covering I am not too concerned about this, added to the fact that its over 280 years old the floorboards are more crooked then a politician anyway so no real concerns about that. 

 

My concern comes from lighting mainly, I have a couple of 6500k range freshwater lights that I can use to illuminate this area of the sump and run on a reverse cycle to the display lighting (mostly blue on the Kessil A80 as NPS tank) would these work and what would the impact be on the parameters of the tank? I am planning on adding several different types of Caulerpa to the refugium to tackle the increased amount of nutrients from the heavily fed system.

 

How much if any additional flow will be required in this area? Or are the Caulerpa species hardy enough that they are not overly affected by algae growths?

[seabass]

Caulerpa algae is fast growing and is a decent choice for a refugium.  I don't believe the flow through that area of the sump will pose a problem.  You really wouldn't need live rock in the refugium chamber, just an inch of sand should suffice.  Chaeto might be even easier (doesn't require rock or sand, so it's easier to keep that chamber clean).

[Ratvan]

10 minutes ago, seabass said:

Caulerpa algae is fast growing and is a decent choice for a refugium.  I don't believe the flow through that area of the sump will pose a problem.  You really wouldn't need live rock in the refugium chamber, just an inch of sand should suffice.  Chaeto might be even easier (doesn't require rock or sand, so it's easier to keep that chamber clean).

Thanks, I wanted a more of a display 'fugre look hence the choice of the Caulerpa, plus a good place to put any hitch hikers that I like the look of but dont want in the main display

[Zer0]

Just be careful with the type of caulerpa you use. If you run the fuge light 24/7 you won’t need to worry about the algae going sexual and nuking your tank. 

[Ratvan]

5 hours ago, Zer0 said:

Just be careful with the type of caulerpa you use. If you run the fuge light 24/7 you won’t need to worry about the algae going sexual and nuking your tank. 

It's going to be sawblade (serrulata) caulerpa, going to pick up one of these bundles once live and semi cycled

[Ratvan]

Had another play with the rockwork tonight, happier with this as i now have a number of caves and overhangs and arches now after seeing something in my lfs and chatting to the owner that very much interests me. Still will need a heavy duty fuge if i go this new route oe stick with the nps idea. Might be able to do both? Who knows.

 

 

[debbeach13]

Love the top down

[Ratvan]

 

So close to going live with it. Where the hell is that plumbing part?

[seabass]

Kudos, NPS always seemed like more work to me.  But the potential is probably worth it.  Looking good so far.

[Ratvan]

@William i seem to recall somewhere that you had an Ambon at one point in time? Any pointers that you can give me for them or potential tankmates?

I am thinking both refugium and skimmer in the sump at the moment, can pick up a cheapish HOB style skimmer that will fit in my sump rated for 50 gallons

[William]

1 hour ago, Ratvan said:

@William i seem to recall somewhere that you had an Ambon at one point in time? Any pointers that you can give me for them or potential tankmates?

I am thinking both refugium and skimmer in the sump at the moment, can pick up a cheapish HOB style skimmer that will fit in my sump rated for 50 gallons

I have had two, very interesting fish, would do well in a tank with macroalgae in the display (at least to some degree). I like to think of them as a smaller version of a rhinopias, at least behaviorally. I was never able to convert mine to frozen (thought some have had luck), so having a source of live food is a must. They are pretty hard to come by these days, where did you find one? 

[Ratvan]

2 hours ago, William said:

I have had two, very interesting fish, would do well in a tank with macroalgae in the display (at least to some degree). I like to think of them as a smaller version of a rhinopias, at least behaviorally. I was never able to convert mine to frozen (thought some have had luck), so having a source of live food is a must. They are pretty hard to come by these days, where did you find one? 

One of the shops here in the UK has a range of predators and they seem to be a regular on the stocking list

 

 

[William]

On 3/19/2021 at 4:12 PM, Ratvan said:

One of the shops here in the UK has a range of predators and they seem to be a regular on the stocking list

 

 

Wow, that’s lucky then 

[Ratvan]

Still waiting on a barb connector to get this thing live, getting really impatient now

 

[debbeach13]

Any day now.

[Ratvan]

5 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

Any day now.

Its been sent to my old address twice now. Lets see if third time is the charm 🙄

[Ratvan]

Update, it's the wrong size 

[seabass]

[ａｗａｋｅｄॢ]

4 hours ago, Ratvan said:

Update, it's the wrong size 

LOL 😝 

that’s Y I don’t like internet shopping,,,,😉

[Ratvan]

It really shouldnt be this hard (thats what she said) 😆