kinetic Posted January 3, 2006 Share Posted January 3, 2006 looks awesome!! Keep us updated! also for your PH in the tank problem... try hiding it behind LR! I've done it before, and it works great. You can also drill another two bulkheads to have the pump in the sump area (if you have room)? keep us updated! =) Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 5, 2006 Author Share Posted January 5, 2006 Update! I added 6' of hose to the intake, then added a smaller hose on top of that. Makes the sucking sound very quiet, and still provides the air needed. Second is I cut a ring of cardboard to fit over the holes on the collection cup ring. This quiets down the big-gulp that happens every 5 seconds or so, but yet lets the thing breathe properly. Very cool, and now it runs 24/7. Very quiet. YES! Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 9, 2006 Author Share Posted January 9, 2006 Update. Added two cleaner (skunk) shrimp, and a really cool orange mushroom, as well as a blue with green stripes mushroom. Both shrooms are about the size of a nickel, and one the same piece of rock. I also added some yellow polyps. The zoos are growing nicely and starting to branch over to the neighboring rock. I think I'm gonna tie some up on the Tonga branch. Coraline alge is starting on the back wall and one of the flow nozzles! Yes! I've reached my monthly budget limit, so I'm done for this month... Link to comment
kinetic Posted January 9, 2006 Share Posted January 9, 2006 I'm glad you're actually limited every month to a budget... keeping it slow is the best way to approach stocking your tank! so think of it as a good patience regulator, lol =) Any pix? Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 10, 2006 Author Share Posted January 10, 2006 I'm glad you're actually limited every month to a budget... keeping it slow is the best way to approach stocking your tank! so think of it as a good patience regulator, lol =) Any pix? Patience my A$$ Hahaha! On a serious note, it probably is a good thing, cause I'd be buying all kinds of cool stuff to stock it, and probably end up doing it too fast. No pics as of a week ago. Nothing else to really show, except for the new shroom. I'll take some pics later in the week, after I rework the shroom placement, and move some of the zoos. Link to comment
kinetic Posted January 12, 2006 Share Posted January 12, 2006 I just read up above about your extended airline. you said you added 6 feet to it? WOW. does it affect your venturi anyway, or just the sound? I will be replacing my airline with a much longer one, but it'll be more like a foot longer or something. Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 18, 2006 Author Share Posted January 18, 2006 Update! The tank is doing great! It's now about 6 weeks old and I'm very pleased with it's progress. I've added a Hammer (thanks Brook), Pulsing Xenia (thanks Fodder), Pipe Organ (LFS), and 'moved' some zoas from a rock onto the tonga branch. I also got a turbo snail to help with the green alge, that seems to be gaining speed. I've been feeding the Candy Cane corals, which is really cool to watch, and the cleaner shrimps have gone through a molt. Something has pushed out the two sponges that came with the LR, but have yet to see anything with the flashlight, or during the day. I'd like to mod the lights, but that's going to be a while. The next thing I'll probably do is drill out the SCWD to enable a bit more flow. And it's about time to change the bag of carbon I've got in the first chamber. So what do you all think? Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 OK, the green algae is getting out of control! The LR is getting downright fuzzy. Bummer... I've been reading on WetWebMedia. Seems that Emerald crabs, Cortez crabs, Turbo snails, & Blue Legged Hermits will help, and preventative measures, as in water changes, filter pad, carbon, etc. I've been picking some of it off with a set of hemostats, and got a Turbo and another emerald, who seems to like the stuff. He's only a 1/2 an emerald though, cause he's missing one of his claws. Ha! So what I plan on is: 2 to 3 blue legged hermits 2 to three more turbos maybe a cortez crab (but I need to research them first) maybe step up the 5 gallon water changes to twice a week. What do you all think about this plan? Thanks! Link to comment
shao-lin nano Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 Cool tank! So the LFS Crystal Cove is also carrying this tank now, as well as the Aquapod, Nano, and M-Tank. Cool. The guy over there (Mike) asked me if I got the MH version?!? He told me he could get it for me for $189. Basically a 150 HQI MH with 2x55 PC's. So you just need to pay another $189 and you'll get a new fixture with 2x55W PC and a 150W MH? Sounds like good deal. Is your hood made of metal or is it plastic painted silver? Looks like it has lots of potential for lighting upgrade. Is it too much to ask if you could take a picture of what it looks like underneath the light fixture? Is the ballast inside the light fixture or external? also for your PH in the tank problem... try hiding it behind LR! You could get LR rubble and glue it to your powerhead, that way you can grow frags on it and it'll just blend in with the rest of the rocks. Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 23, 2006 Share Posted January 23, 2006 neato, I like the way you modded the back for a SCWD. Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 23, 2006 Author Share Posted January 23, 2006 neato, I like the way you modded the back for a SCWD. Thanks, the SCWD works awesome, until I went to drill it out last night and busted the door in half! Doohhh! So I cut the bottom & top off, superglued the door back together, threaded it back on the shaft, and glued it in place. I think I'm just goint to ream it out some more, verses swapping out the nozzles. Hey, and thanks for doing the SCWD mod - it made me feel better about hacking mine! Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted January 24, 2006 Share Posted January 24, 2006 Wow, hows that for good timing then...lol. Link to comment
qascooter Posted January 24, 2006 Author Share Posted January 24, 2006 Wow, hows that for good timing then...lol. Timing doesn't get much better! Link to comment
qascooter Posted February 6, 2006 Author Share Posted February 6, 2006 Update! Well, things slowed down a bit on the growing front. I've been using a crappy floating hydrometer, and borrowed my my friends refractometer. Well, I found out that I had the salinity up to 1.031. Needless to say I order a refractometer from www.premiumaquatics.com for $30. :-) Since getting the salinity in check, all is growing again (coraline, candy cane, mushrooms, GSP, etc). I rescued a clown (false perc) from a 20g tank that hadn't been changed in a year. He's getting aclimated to good water, and is doing well. I also added a open brain. Very cool. The hair algae is getting in check, with the twice-weekly 5 gallon water changes. I really cannot wait to get the refractometer. It's crazy using the dang hydrometer. Just a few more days. I'm also going to upgrade my lighting. Currently it is 2x55 PC's. One full sun, one 50/50. I'm looking at putting in a 2 bulb T5 HO retro (1 full, 1actinic), or two strip T5 HO's. I've been having a big debate between a MH or the T5's. With the MH I can get the look to be awesome as well as benefiting the corals. (10K MH & blue for the PC's) I don't know with the T5's. But it is hard to compete with the strip light price. I'll post pics here in a couple of days... Link to comment
Undertheradar Posted February 6, 2006 Share Posted February 6, 2006 T5s are superior to halide for PAR/watt, growth, and penetration deeper into the tank. They give out anywhere from 20-50% more PAR per watt than a halide (hard to give an exact because with halides you have many K ranges and with T5 you have multiple bulbs that make up your spectrum, but I have been finding that more often than not, the T5s get about 40% more output per watt than a halide). The idea that they are not as good for SPS and such is a myth...something that I once believed as well after earlier encounters with inferior T5 bulbs. The only thing to be careful of with T5s is that unless the tank is tall, some lower light LPS and shrooms have been known to melt under their intensity. Otherwise, a 4x24wattT5 fixture adds up to about the same output as a 150wattDE halide, only with less than half the heat output. Many Euro reefs have been converted to T5s and the results have been awesome! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=700454 Link to comment
qascooter Posted February 6, 2006 Author Share Posted February 6, 2006 T5s are superior to halide for PAR/watt, growth, and penetration deeper into the tank. .... Many Euro reefs have been converted to T5s and the results have been awesome! http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthre...threadid=700454 Thanks Undertheradar. I'm really liking the idea of going with T5's, for a variety of reasons, but mainly because they are much cooler than MH's. I live in the SoCal desert (Temecula area) and it gets hot here in the summer... Thanks again for the info... Link to comment
jt48 Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 T5's dont give off any shimmering effects do they? Link to comment
qascooter Posted February 15, 2006 Author Share Posted February 15, 2006 T5's dont give off any shimmering effects do they? That's what I hear, but I don't have the T5's (yet) so I don't know. Custom Aquatics is due to get them in any day now... Link to comment
chieferich Posted February 15, 2006 Share Posted February 15, 2006 could always throw in some leds for that effect. Link to comment
qascooter Posted February 22, 2006 Author Share Posted February 22, 2006 Here are some new pics as of yesterday. I took them in a hurry so they are not the best, and I only got a few decent shots out of the bunch. Everything is growing and multiplying in the tank. I've added a little goby with a cherry head and stripes, and a rescued clown. I also got him a little buddy for company. Emerald crab So what do you all think? I also made a fuge out of a couple of water bottles, and made a shelf out of eggcrate for them to rest on, allowing the pump intake to rest underneath the bottles. I'll take some pics of this soon. Link to comment
Ocean In A Box Posted February 25, 2006 Share Posted February 25, 2006 I am new to this website, this is my first post. I just wanted to tell you your tank looks good ... I just bought something similar a few days back so I appreciate seeing what you've done. Mods to the skimmer for sound, pumps, SCWD's, etc All great ideas I might borrow. Mine though, is a Finnex M-Tank, 20g true cube. Good luck with it all! Link to comment
qascooter Posted February 27, 2006 Author Share Posted February 27, 2006 I am new to this website, this is my first post. I just wanted to tell you your tank looks good ... I just bought something similar a few days back so I appreciate seeing what you've done. Mods to the skimmer for sound, pumps, SCWD's, etcAll great ideas I might borrow. Mine though, is a Finnex M-Tank, 20g true cube. Good luck with it all! Thanks for the compliment. I'm running a RIO 2100, through a SCWD to 1/2" bulkheads, which are tee'd in the tank. I also drilled a hole through the bulkhead in the back and am running the skimmer off of the RIO also. So basically, I have only one pump for the tank and skimmer. I added a longer air hose on the skimmer to quiet the air-sucking noise, as well as try to keep the pump/skimmer isolated from the walls so it doesn't vibrate. The 2100 might be too much for a 20g. You might be better off with something slightly smaller. Although, if I was to do it again, it would be with the Quietone 3000 or a RIO 2500. :-) I'll take some pictures of the refugium I made out of a couple of water bottles here in the next few days and post. Hope this helps... Link to comment
Ocean In A Box Posted February 28, 2006 Share Posted February 28, 2006 Sounds great, will be interesting to see more. I am a little more limited, maybe, as my M-Tank is glass so I'd have to do certain drilling or mods on the back wall only. Hope to see more of your progress too, Link to comment
qascooter Posted February 28, 2006 Author Share Posted February 28, 2006 I am a little more limited, maybe, as my M-Tank is glass so I'd have to do certain drilling or mods on the back wall only. The Jalli is glass also. I didn't drill any glass, it is self contained. The area I drilled is between the two compartments in the back. So it's like this - The outer area of the tank is glass, then they added a false backing (Which is plexiglass). The area in the false backing has two compartments, with a divider between them. This is the divider that I drilled the 1" hole in for the pump feed. There is no original plumbing left in this baby, and all the shelves have been removed. You'll see when I post the pics... Link to comment
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