icenine's nano

[ezcompany]

New guy I added a few weeks ago... free via a sharky's reef gift certificate I won at the November CMAS meeting.

 

There are actaully three color morphs mixed in here. Yellow, Black and a few tiny heads of orange.

 

 

i see yellow and black pain in the BEHINDS lol

 

i can't even care for my 8 heads of dendro!

[junkitu]

I'm with you EZ. I brought my sun coral back to the LFS after a week and traded it for some softies.

[ssirishpride]

I think sharky's is gonna be my new fav. place locally (kinda locally)

[icenine]

Ya know... it's not such a pain really. It's trained to the point that when the tank is "fed" a little all the polyps come out, then it's easy enough spot feed it once or twice a week.

 

I got an update on the way... I took some things out I was tired of constantly fragging, like the long polyp toadstool... added a couple new things, a it's bout time for some new pictures as the reef is hitting two years old now. Hopefully I'll get to that this weekend.

 

ssirishpride: The next CMAS meeting is at Sharky's this Saturday... you should check it out.

[ssirishpride]

Awesome Ice. Sat didn't work because of my schedule, but I will check it out. I am on day 2 of my freshwater testing for my AP24 because of your thread. The same thing happened to me. First one was cracked, second looks ok but we'll see.

[Gerber77]

FTS?

[icenine]

FTS on the way... I'm off tomorrow so I'll spend some time snaping a new one.

Some things have changed so I'll post up a general update as well.

 

ssirishpride: Leak checks are a good idea... few days should do ya. Make sure the tank is level as well... I really think that had a lot to do with the JBJ "failures" that popped up back in 05.

 

...and we have some nice meetings lined up for CMAS, the club is really doing well right now and has had some great events during the past year.

 

We've got a couple cool meetings for March and April.... a "behind th scenes" Shedd tour in May and a multi day event "fragapalooza" in July (the club has usually not had any summer meetings) ...it's going to be a frag swap and seminar with guests including Ron Shimek and Steven Pro.

 

If anyone wonders, I'm now a CMAS trustee member of the Board of Directors. If you're a Chicago area reef keeper and have questions/sugestions regarding the club feel free to contact me here. ...I've found CMAS to be lotsa fun and a great resource (i.e members get discounts at many local shops... in addition to free stuff/raffle prizes at meetings) for the hobby during the past year... and we're working hard to make it even better.

 

Anyway... a few pics I'd not posted. More shots of things you've seen before an a couple new items soon.

 

 

Not all that recent... lil blurry top down shot... the growing outa control toadstool got given away to another tank a couple weeks ago.

 

 

I've not posted many antinic shots... but here ya go:

 

 

Nothing stands out more than this florida ric under anticis, it's even more than that pink IRL:

 

 

One of two feather dusters in the tank right now:

 

[Gerber77]

Those rics look so good under the actinics. Pictures like these are the reason behind my dream tank in progress.

[nUgZ]

Nice shots icenine...keep em coming.

[icenine]

Tanks!

 

A few changes.... less sofites more sponges.

 

The reef is reaching two years old, and while I've fragged lots of things some of the softies are a challenge to keep up with.

So removed are:

 

Long polyp toad stool. Fragging this coral was not the hardest thing in the world, but it would look like crap for a week give or take some after fragging, not so nice in a nano display. It's growth rate seemed to pick up as well and it was requiring a trim every six weeks or so before it got too big and began to shade too much of the tank out. I was getting about three weeks of nice looking toadstool, two weeks of monster shading things out and a week or more of floppy recovering toadstool after if was fragged.

...plus it had spread from its base being contained on one small rock to a larger harder to remove rock from the display, so I severed the piece entirely and gave it away.

 

Sinulara. Same deal... growth rate really picked up and I found myself trimming it back too often. Leaving it be meant allopathy concerns as it was quick to encroach on other corals.

 

Kenya tree. I fragged this piece several times but the last couple fragging events seemed to take longer recovery periods, so I decided it would be better off else where.

 

Softies like these are nice for beginners in that they are easy to care for... but they can also crowd a nano tank rather quickly. When the day comes to set up the "big" system, I'm sure I'll want to add these corals again, but I'm going to keep them out of the nano plans.

 

Mushrooms.. The reds have managed to out compete green and blue. And in one case even took a chunk out of some favia when I wasn't paying attention. I still have a couple green and blue shroms.. but they have been forced to the back of the display by the dominant reds.

 

GSP kinda got away from me. It's taken over th top rock in the display for the most part.. choking out some palys and zoas. One paly morph seems able to fend it off and do faviates, gorgonian and candy cane.

Hamelia for the record loses out to GSP... interesting combat shot here for ya:

(yes, gsp grows that fast, it did this in about two days)

 

Blastos... I messed these guys up a bit. I stuck them in an area that had a little too much flow and did not notice for several days... since I don't feed every day there are actually days that can go by where I don't really look at the display. They took a beating but are on their way to recovery.

 

The formia star disintegrated after slightly over five months. It was very active... up until the last week. Spent a lot of time in one place then just began to fall apart. In general a little under six months is about par for the course on these guys. Gonna try again though.

This one is a pink tile.

 

 

I added a couple sponges... a red tree sponge and orange frilly job. I feed the reef a wide variety of micro foods and there is a healthy amount of planktonic activity going on.. so I'm confident the system can support them. They will grow slower than the softies they are replacing.

 

 

 

I was looking to punch up the color intensity of the tank with these additions as well. It was looking rather green and purple and in general "blah" (for a reef tank, or at least my vision of it).

That was the main reason I had changed the green brain for the red one, added the bright yellow sun and now these orange and red sponges and kept only a few select zoa colonies. The "zoa garden" looks nice for a few months, but eventually one morph will choke out another.... and it's usually not the one you would rather keep of the two.

I have moved the hammer into the area once occupied by the toadstool. It's sweepers are not terribly long, but I am keeping an eye on it. It's a branching hammer, with about a dozen heads now.

 

Oh... I've had a crocea clam in this system for a few months now as well. Started out babysitting it for someone else and it’s just kinda stayed. It's mounted fairly high in the rock work and has been looking healthy. So, yep conventional wisdom says this is not a good idea under this lighting. ..however I know of several people keeping these animals under PCs of similar intensity, for several years. The reef is stable and established which I think is more a factor than the lighting here. ...so, we'll see how it goes.

 

 

 

With the addition of the clam.. I now test for calcium (salifert kit).

Even with all the calcium demand (clam, tons of lps and hamelia) I have in there levels stay up (400PPM) with weekly (large scale still) water changes. ...oh, and both those sponges get exposed to air during those changes every week too, just fyi.

I'm watching alkalinity and PH more closely as well... but just that, watching them. I've seen no need to use any additives or muck with any chemistry as of yet. ...I bought a new Hana PH meter (really, there is an SPS project in the back of my head I am subconsciously accumulating things for) and the PH runs a steady 8.1 (salifert says its more like 8.3 btw) since I'm able to calibrate the hana meter I'm thinking that is an accurate reading. Low? .. maybe, but it's stable so I'm not gonna mess with it.

 

More pics:

 

Micros I've had for a while. (and a lil Valonia I need to get rid of)

 

 

 

 

 

FTS... lousy one, I took it this afternoon and ther eare a lot of windows in the room where the tank sits, too much glare, I gotta try another one.

 

[nUgZ]

Very nice. Everything about your tank is exquisite. Well done.

[Kombucha]

Awesome tank. Btw- are you a journalist? lol

[Fishfreak218]

I love those sponges and that red brain...

I have a question.. were those sponges from Sealifeflorida ?

[icenine]

I love those sponges and that red brain...

I have a question.. were those sponges from Sealifeflorida ?

 

Yep.

[icenine]

Top down shot of some LPS... the pic STILL does not make that pink chalice look as good as it does in real life.

 

[icenine]

A few more shots:

 

 

[nUgZ]

Looks great as always icenine.

[travisurfer]

very nice. i'm still trying to get my tank up to that standard

[icenine]

So....

I bought a new house.

 

That means I'm gonna have to move the reef again.

Kinda not looking forward to that, in particular since I'm just generally pleased with how the tank is doing.

 

This move is gonna be a bit more tricky than the last a couple years ago which had me transferring things only about a mile a way.

 

Well.... most of our stuff came mail order anyway... hopefully a three or four hours (thats how long I'm thinking it will take start to finish) in rubbermaid, bags and coolers won't have me starting over.

 

I'll post pictures of the preparations though that won't be for a couple weeks yet.

 

Maybe time for an upgrade again? Red Sea 34 gallon?

I've got a custom MH canopy for a 29 gallon I was intending to set up as an SPS reef, but the more I think about it... the more I like the low maintenance all in one mixed reef and the more I don't want to deal with two tanks unless one of them is the re-birth of the 2.5 gallon pico.

[alexmurovec]

awesome looking tank. thats too bad you have to move. whatever you do decide to get, a bigger tank, or keep the old one, i'm sure its going to look amazing.

[icenine]

Maybe time for an upgrade again? Red Sea 34 gallon?

 

Well the answer was yes.

 

While I really flirted with a couple larger systems, a 90 gal corner and 60 gal cube... the all in one just wins out.

I'm addicted to never having to worry top off, leaking plumbing and overflowing sumps or displays.

..or I'm just too settled in the change water/clean glass/don't have to do anything else but admire the tank for the next week or so groove I'm in.

 

I got a fantastic deal on the RSM and stand and unboxed it in the new house tonight.

 

It's bigger. (no kiddin, right?)

I've not filled it yet but it may actually be close to that 34 stated gallons... 29 in the display at least.

THe system dwarfs the pod when on the stand.

 

Lighting:

is nice... T5... but is it T5 HO? ...eh, after talking with lots of people I decided I really don't care that much. It's brighter than the pod and that has gone very well for the past year. The tank is 4" deeper but about 50% brighter at least... bottom dwelling LPS should be just fine, and I"m going to try some SPS up top... Montipora to start with.

 

Two combo bulbs.. I'll miss the antinic only hour I set the pod to, but the moonlights on the RSM are brighter at least.

 

Flow:

I'll probably add an additional powerhead.

 

Hood:

Best all in one hood yet. ..comes off easy yet still comes off feeling sturdy.

 

Stand:

...oh so much better than the AP. Very solid.

If anything it's packed too well.

I spent an hour putting the stand together and fifteen minutes of that was peeling clear plastic off each pannel.

 

Display:

Nice, probably a full 29 gallons. Longer and less deep would have been better, but this stacks up well against an AGA 29 gal.

 

I'll leak test a few days before the transfer... lots of pics to come.

 

 

On to year three!!!!

[junkitu]

Exciting! I love a good sequel.

[travisurfer]

awesome icenine

[icenine]

So, the I'll start off with the not so good about the new Red Sea Max:

 

I hate the power strip they have incorporated into this system.

This may be primarily because the one that came with this tank was faulty. One outlet (the #1 pump) is dead.

It's kinda neat having only one cable come off this tank... but in general its a hassle to open and close (or rather get all the cords stuffed and in the right places) not worth the water volume lost creating a "chamber" in the back for it.

 

Now, comes my first encounter with Red Sea Customer Service:

 

I make the call to Texas and speak with "Pinky" at RS and let them know about the faulty power strip.

I get the expected troubleshooting questions to make sure I'm not just missing out on something. "Did you try plugging a lamp into it?" "...well no, but both pumps wok in slot #2 and neither pump works in slot #1, how's that? " That test passes muster.

"OK.. well first you have to fax over a written request for the replacement part, a copy of the receipt to make sure it's under warranty and also fax over a VISA or MasterCard number and expiration date. We'll send you the part and a shipping label to send the old one back with. It will be several weeks before we have them back in"

 

...umm. OK. But a few things I point out to Pinky:

 

A) Do you really have to be assured that the RSM is not out of warranty? The product hasn't been on the market for a year yet.

I don't see why I should be giving Red Sea a CC number. I just bought your top of the line product, which I'll point out has a faulty part.... I sense an impending headache as you place a charge on the card or it winds up in the wrong hands. You're gonna have to manage to replace this part without a CC number from me. While I'm not saying that I know you'll make a mistake and charge me.. I know if you don't have my credit card number the chances of that happening are significantly reduced.

C) This is in general a bit of hoop jumping to deal with an out of the box failure.

D) How long is a couple weeks? The power center is a fairly vital part of the system to have to wait an indeterminate amount to receive a replacement for.

 

Pinky explained that they want the Credit Card information because they have had people ask for replacement parts and never return the defectives. While I understand this may be a concern for them, It's not my problem.

Several weeks means two to four according to Pinky. ...because the part is manufactured overseas it takes that long to get a new one.

I imparted that I really thought that situation would be unacceptable... in a nice way though.

 

So, at this point I'm sure I'm not one of Pinky's favorite customers.

But so long as I agree to at least send the written request she'll see what she can do for me.

 

We'll see how this goes.

 

The only other thing I don't like about the tank is the smoked glass false wall.

Smoked glass is semi transparent and well.. it is in and of itself pretty glass.... why would you not make a false wall opaque? I mean the reason for the wall is to hide equipment, right?

With water in equipment behind the glass is less visible... and with a casual glance at the tank it would not be noticed. ...but I can still see the heater back there and it kinda bothers me. I'll probably get over it eventually.

 

Other than that.. the tank is leak testing. (valuable lesson learned from the AP). I did risk enough to test with SW.

 

I also dropped 40lbs of new sand into the tank. This gives me about a 1" sand bed. There is a sand bed in the AP and I will transfer that in.. but over time sand beds will diminish due to occasional manual removal (I yank clumps of hameldia root out on a regular basis.. some sand always goes with that) and just breaking down. I bet there is around ten pounds of sand left in the pod.. it was thin to start with.

 

I'm sticking with Carib Sea agra alive... I just like the look and the weight of it.

 

The Good:

 

Water volume: With 40lbs of sand, just pumps and skimmer in the back (I ditched the sponges and media) the tank held just about 32 gallons.

 

Skimmer micro bubbles: Just a lil bit right off the bat, not bad. I'll monkey with the skimmer if they don't manage to just clear themselves out in a few days. I have had to "break in" a skimmer before, so this is expected.

 

Noise: Not much. The fan is quiet and seems to be pushing a fair amount of air. The skimmer is not bad either. Much quieter than the bac pak imitation I had on the first tank.

 

I'll just keep it running lights out till next week. I can string one PH cord through the chiller outlet and keep one pump up.. that's enough for now. I'll pull the transfer after the holiday.

[ezcompany]

written request for replacement parts? what baloney...hope things work out for you.