Whitten's 30 Oceanic...Money Pit.

[RandyO]

yea and I thought he was my buddy, going and screwing up my 2 part system like this

[Whitten]

Hahah, sorry guys, didn't mean to spawn something. If you want to know my method for doseing it is really easy. All I do is mix a tablespoon of Kalk in with about 1/4 cup of white distilled vinegar, and then just pour that slowly into a milk jug of distilled water. I have a small airline with a air valve that I just do a syphon on and then adjust to a slow drip.

[HughJas]

Gotta hand it to you, it's coming together nicely.

 

While I love trolling these sites and checking things out, it always irks me that everybody's tank looks better than mine

 

[Whitten]

Thanks for the kind words Chris, I really appreciate them alot. This tank is proof that with patience, and friends kind enough to share a tank like this is possible.

April 12, 2005

 

 

[Whitten]

[HughJas]

SPS is looking nice. I can wait to get my hands on some.

 

And I see you have the same nifty carpet anemones that I have. We must have the same rock supplier.

 

~CHRIS

[Whitten]

Gee Chris I wonder who that might be : . Yeah Paul came though in a big way for me with taht rock. It is full of life, and really made the tank get the cycle kick started.

 

I am really excited though, I traded Paul a small custom looking glass tank and all of the equipment I had for it, and in return he said he could help me out with more SPS. IF I keep getting SPS I am going to have to build a calcium reactor. I am dosing Kalk right now so hopefully that will be enough to keep my SPS happy for the time being.

[Whitten]

Few More,

[rissaroo]

The tank looks awesome! It is always great to include family in your life!!!! I'm so glad there are others from AL on this site. Keep us updated on the photos.

[trmiv]

Very nice! I like the rockwork! I love your anemone in the middle with the clown in it. The cubes are cool. I have an Oceanic 37 cube that I like, but I'm getting rid of it soon for a bigger tank (the bug always gets you!).

 

The only thing I really don't like about the cubes is the very limited under-tank space. I have a 20g sump under mine, but I had to fit it in there horizontal with most of it hanging out the back. I've got a Phosban reactor coming and I have no clue where to put it.

[Whitten]

That is the problem I am having with my sump trmiv. I just have no clue as to where I am going to fit all of my equipment for the tank. I have seen your tank by the way, and I really liked it. I like to look at all the 30 and 37 gallon cubes and get an idea as to what people are doing with them and use that as inspiration.

 

Rissaroo, thanks for the kind words and I will try to keep you updated as much as possible.

[TheCheat]

great setup and aquascaping whitt. love the deer on the wall too.

can we get a close-up on that bad boy, please?

I wish my fiancee would be cool with hanging animals from the wall. hehe.

later,

~B

[Whitten]

I will have to get a shot of both the deer on the wall for ya'll. That whole side of the room is a shrine to animals with more stuff yet to come for decorations.

[denkigroove]

Nice cube tank. I'm also in the process of setting up-- well upgrading my current 20g setup to a 30g Oceanic cube when I move to my new home. So how do you like your tank so far?

 

It's known that Oceanic tanks are "known" for leaking because of the bad silicon jobs on the older models. I was assured that the newer models are much more improved and reliable (cross my fingers...) I liked the 30g cube look so much I decided to give Oceanic a try. Well I had the tank drilled and I plan on installing an overflow box as well. I'm in the process of building my stand/canopy setup for it as well so I'll post pics when I've completed.

[Whitten]

denkgroove, I love my tank so far. I have had very few problems if any with it. So far no leaks, or any other problems of the sort. I loved the shape as well as the quality of work the tank came with. Over all I was very impressed and if Oceanic makes a tank that can fit my expanding hobby I will continue to buy it.

Let me know when you get some info and pics of your tank up, I am very interested in seeing. It is always fun to see what people do to set these things up differently.

[BRISK495]

Hey Whitten,

 

I'm in the process of setting up a 40 gallon Oceanic Stretch Hex. i really wanted the cube but the hex was on sale so I went with it instead. What have you found different with the Oceanic "craftsmanship" vs other companys? By the way your tank looks great! How do you keep your temp down on your tank with the halides?

[Whitten]

Brisk, One of the features of the tank that I like the best is the overkill thick, quality glass. I was also really impressed with the silicone job they did around the upper sills of the tank. Mine was quality all the way. I was very impressed to say the least of Oceanics customer service as well, and the fact that you car register your tank with them and if anything happens like it develops a crack (holes void warranty) you can send it to them and they will send you a replacement.

 

As for keeping the heat down right now all I am doing is blowing a fan over the sump. So far that is keeping it down in acceptible levels. I was really impressed at how cool running the electronic ballast of the DE bulbs ran as well as the fixture it's self. Pendants really disipate alot of heat as and the DE's don't seem to make near as much heat as the SE do so...I think I told you more than you wanted to know.

[RandyO]

Ok revisit on your kalk.

 

How much makeup water (kalk)are you adding each day (night)?

How much regular makeup water are you adding?

How much kalwasser are you using per gallon

You said 1/4 cup vinagar?

Any other calcium supplement?

Your emerald crab not eating the bubble algae?

 

I did not want a drip setup as my cube is self contained. I got a "toms aqua lifter" and a digital timer. I am dosing 8 times over night *1 minute per hour currently but am going to add 3 more minutes.

 

This is painfully simple, 1Gal jug for kalk, 8' 1/4 OD suction line,(so jug can go in closet out of sight) and a 24" discharge line that goes in back of cube.

[brianemone]

very nice, the corraline makes it look nice.

 

why doesnt mine grow like that

[Whitten]

RandyO, the way I add and the frequency of which I add the Kalk is kinda like this.

 

1 Tablespoon of Kalk per gallon as a rule.

 

What I do is I mix about enough vinegar into my 1 tablespoon of kalk in a separate mixing bowl. The Vinegar lowers the PH of the Kalk and allows more to go into solution when it is added back to the water.

 

Basicly the only reason I add the vinegar is to improve the ammount of Kalk that the water can soak up. The 1/4 cup is kinda a guestimate I would lean more twords the use just enough to dissolve the kalk.

 

I don't add anything else other than kalk and water changes. I have never really been into adding chemicals to a tank. That is another reason why I am using Catalina Bay Water from Petco. I haven't used it yet in this tank, but it was what I started using as my water change regiment in the cube.

 

I don't have an emerald crab in this tank...my other emerald liked to eat things he wasn't supposed to like Green Star Polyps, and Coraline algae.

[denkigroove]

Whitten, here are some pics of Phase 1 of my setup so far. I've posted on Reefcentral so click here to see thread.

 

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...076#post4771076

[Whitten]

Man that is a great looking stand and canopy denkigroove. I really like the wood work you did on it. Hoods look awesome when they match the stand like that.

[RandyO]

Ok thanks, I just built a topoff system that has 2 parts, a timer and a pump. I use my topoff at night with the kalk as the ph tries to drop. So far so good

[Whitten]

Good deal Randy, I hope my explanation helped a little.

[Whitten]

Alright guys I am going to have another wave of pictures here in the next couple of days. I got a bunch of new SPS frags on a trade and I think they are going to make a great addition to my tank especially after they grow in fully.

 

Today I got:

A tricolored Acro. Saramentosa

A Blue Tort

A Pink Millepora

An Orange Monti Cap.

and a

A pink and green birds nest.

 

I am excited beyond words right now. They are all small frags but they still are bringing large amounts of color to my tank even though they are small. After they grow in I am going to have some very impressive colonies to show for.

 

I have taken some pictures of them right now, but I think I am going to wait until tommorow to get some more pics after they have gotten used to their new home.