xmen0075 Posted March 7, 2007 Share Posted March 7, 2007 Thanks for the update and pics. Your tank looks awesome--I can't wait to see the new pics of the clam... Link to comment
ToeJam Posted March 7, 2007 Author Share Posted March 7, 2007 Thanks for the update and pics. Your tank looks awesome--I can't wait to see the new pics of the clam... The clam is going to be added to the tank around the end of the month. I am going on vacation for the second half of March, so I am trying not to add much between now and then. I might even take some stuff home and put it in my 75 while I am gone just in case anything goes wrong. I have someone watching the tank while I am gone, but a 3 gallon can go TU alot faster than a 75 can. Link to comment
xmen0075 Posted March 9, 2007 Share Posted March 9, 2007 Good point--enjoy your vacation! Link to comment
ToeJam Posted May 24, 2007 Author Share Posted May 24, 2007 The clam is going to be added to the tank around the end of the month. I am going on vacation for the second half of March, so I am trying not to add much between now and then. I might even take some stuff home and put it in my 75 while I am gone just in case anything goes wrong. I have someone watching the tank while I am gone, but a 3 gallon can go TU alot faster than a 75 can. I have not updated this thread for a while, but let me try to catch up a little. Well, I ended up taking most of the coral out of my tank and put it in my tank at home while I was on vacation. Unfortunately, I had a power outage on my tank at home while I was gone and most everything browned out and I ended up losing a couple corals. My Pokerstars montipora died and my purple tri-color acro and purple montipora browned out. They are finally recovering and starting to show some color after about 2 months. I recently added a crocea clam to the tank that is about 2". It seems to be doing very well. I also added a few more things: Pink with green center zoos Single polyp of a red, green and white Acan Pink birdsnest green with purple center zoos My single polyp of lunar eclipse zoos is now 9 polyps with a few buds underway. I lost one of my sexy shrimp while I was on vacation, so now there are only 2. I am thinking about adding a small goby here in the next couple weeks. I can't decide. I am also fighting flatworms in the tank, but I have been keeping them under control by sucking them up with a turkey baster and putting the water back in the tank through a filter bag to trap the worms. They aren't going away, but the population is not near critical levels either. I have a blue velvet nudi on order that I am going to throw in the tank for a couple weeks and then pass on to another local reefer so it doesn't starve. I think that is about it for now. I will try to get some more pics here soon. I just upgraded my tank at home to a 120, so it has been taking up most of my spare time. Link to comment
ToeJam Posted September 5, 2007 Author Share Posted September 5, 2007 Lots has changed with the pico. It is still up and running. 1 year and 3 months now. I have re-aquascaped several times in the last few months just because I wasn't happy with the look of the rock. The clam is still nice and healthy. I had a birds nest, purple tri-color and a monti digi in the tank for a while, but they started to brown out so I took them home. I am thinking the 20K halide bulb I have does not put out enough par to keep the SPS happy. All other params are fine, the temp only has about a 1.5 degree variance throughout the day (AC in the office 24/7 helps). The only other thing I can think of is the intensity of the lighting. I know the pink birdsnest requires intense lighting, as does the tri-color, but I didn't think I would see browning in the monti digi. I am going to order a 10k & a 14k bulb to see which I like better. I have also added an internal closed loop to aid in water circulation. This was done in the hope of reducing the flatworm population. It has been in for a month now and the flatworms are almost gone. The closed loop keeps crap from settling on the bottom and gets it to the skimmer to export waste. Less for the flatworms to feed on and more flow so they can't hold on. Problem solved? I hope so. I am still thinking about adding a goby, but I also might be upgrading the tank to a 12G here pretty soon. It is still up in the air. Depends on what the boss will let me get away with. I don't think moving my old 75 into the office is up for discussion . Maybe a 12 will be ok. We are moving into new office space around the first of the year and I am going to push for a larger tank then. I will try to get pictures soon. Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 Here are a couple new pics of the tank. Here is the whole setup with the 70W halide running. I am going to change to a 12K or 14K bulb. The 20K is too blue. Full tank shot. You can see the spray bar that I added. It really increased the flow in the tank. Zoos, Acan and Xenia These are my Lunar Eclipse palys. This started with one polyp about a year ago. I now have 12. Here is the skimmate that I get out of the little airstone skimmer. This is about 3 days worth. Link to comment
hyewiz Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 very nice setup specially the skimmer do you know who makes it i am trying to find a small size like hat to fit in my AC300 Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 5, 2007 Author Share Posted October 5, 2007 very nice setup specially the skimmer do you know who makes it i am trying to find a small size like hat to fit in my AC300 It is a Sander airstone skimmer. I bought it at a LFS in Seattle. If you aren't able to find one, you can call them. They might be willing to ship you one. I think it only cost $30 or so. Not too bad. It is a liitle bit of a pain to get dialed in, but once it is in it works great. Here is the place I got it from. They had some in stock last time I was there a couple weeks ago. I would imagine they still do. Blue Sierra Exotics (425) 392-5360 Link to comment
hyewiz Posted October 5, 2007 Share Posted October 5, 2007 Thank you very much. can you explain what is connected to the filters intake tube? like in this picture Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 8, 2007 Author Share Posted October 8, 2007 Thank you very much. can you explain what is connected to the filters intake tube? like in this picture It is just a surface skimmer. It pulls water from the surface as well as lower in the tank. Gets the gunk up to the skimmer. I just used some 1/2" PVC and a dremel to make the slots at the surface. The little pill container hides the float switch for the auto top off. Don't want snails getting on the switch and flooding the tank. Link to comment
avalanche1201 Posted October 8, 2007 Share Posted October 8, 2007 how does it also pull from the bottom of the tank? Ive always wanted a surface skimmer for my picotope, just never figured out how to make one until I saw yours.. did u make it so it just u-tubes from the intake of the AC? Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 9, 2007 Author Share Posted October 9, 2007 how does it also pull from the bottom of the tank? Ive always wanted a surface skimmer for my picotope, just never figured out how to make one until I saw yours.. did u make it so it just u-tubes from the intake of the AC? There are holes at the bottom of the u tube to pull water in from lower in the tank. It doesn't really pull from the bottom, but from the middle of the tank. Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 10, 2007 Author Share Posted October 10, 2007 Looks like this tank is going to be coming down soon. I am picking up a 12g Aquapod tomorrow and everything will be transferred over to the new tank in a few weeks. Link to comment
Metzzen1 Posted October 11, 2007 Share Posted October 11, 2007 want to give me that picotope for free? Link to comment
nynex Posted October 12, 2007 Share Posted October 12, 2007 $30 for an airstone skimmer??? lol You can buy them off ebay for $10 plus shipping.. Link to comment
mooriginal Posted October 19, 2007 Share Posted October 19, 2007 Love the tank ! Excellent aqua scaping ... im getting a few ideas... Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 19, 2007 Author Share Posted October 19, 2007 $30 for an airstone skimmer??? lol You can buy them off ebay for $10 plus shipping.. That is true but if I am going to pay $10 for the skimmer and $10 for shipping, I would rather spend $30 total and support my LFS. They do alot more for me than just sell me dry goods. They are always there for advice, questions and quality livestock. If you don't support them, they might not be there when you need them. Just something to keep in mind before spouting off that things are cheaper on the internet. Link to comment
ToeJam Posted October 24, 2007 Author Share Posted October 24, 2007 Here is a picture of my new AquaPod 12. I just transferred everything over today. Link to comment
nynex Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Support your LFS?....Little do yo realize that the markup on everything in this industry is around 400%. Your LFS probably paid about $5 for that airstone skimmer and they are charging you $30. I know they have to make money and also pay their overhead. But the markup on alot of this stuff is ridiculous.. I got lucky in that I made some friends in the industry and I get most of my stuff at wholesale prices and you would be amazed the difference between wholesale and retail... I think too many of these LFS's are taking advantage of people. Link to comment
Burks Posted November 10, 2007 Share Posted November 10, 2007 Support your LFS?....Little do yo realize that the markup on everything in this industry isaround 400%. Your LFS probably paid about $5 for that airstone skimmer and they are charging you $30. I know they have to make money and also pay their overhead. But the markup on alot of this stuff is ridiculous.. I got lucky in that I made some friends in the industry and I get most of my stuff at wholesale prices and you would be amazed the difference between wholesale and retail... I think too many of these LFS's are taking advantage of people. True to an extent. A LFS around here sells their equipment barely over cost. Their idea is if people pay less for the equipment they'll pay more for livestock, where the real money is made/lost. What cost the owner $250 for a light is sold for maybe $275-$300. But that's just one stores idea and it seems to be working well. He won me over with that idea, it's the only place I shop now (unless I can get it off Drs. F&S cheaper, which he doesn't care about at all). Also kind of depends on the product itself. For DT's Phytoplankton the profit is under $1.....yeah. One store that does sell their stuff at a big markup doesn't move any equipment or livestock, just too high priced. On topic - The new 12g looks wonderful so far. Little sparse on the rock but whatever floats yer boat! We all have different tastes right? Any plans for the new tank? Link to comment
ToeJam Posted November 15, 2007 Author Share Posted November 15, 2007 On topic - The new 12g looks wonderful so far. Little sparse on the rock but whatever floats yer boat! We all have different tastes right? Any plans for the new tank? Here is the thread for the tank. I have added some more rock and put the 70W halide on it. The original pic of the tank just had what was in the pico plus a few more pounds of rock from my tank at home. Link to comment
ToeJam Posted November 15, 2007 Author Share Posted November 15, 2007 Support your LFS?....Little do yo realize that the markup on everything in this industry isaround 400%. Your LFS probably paid about $5 for that airstone skimmer and they are charging you $30. I know they have to make money and also pay their overhead. But the markup on alot of this stuff is ridiculous.. I got lucky in that I made some friends in the industry and I get most of my stuff at wholesale prices and you would be amazed the difference between wholesale and retail... I think too many of these LFS's are taking advantage of people. To each his own. If the cost differential is fairly negligable (in this case about $10), I would rather support a local business. Your comment about the markup on everything being 400% is sooooo not true. It may be the case on some things, but on others the markup may be 5-10%. It all balances out. It is not like most LFS owners are rolling in dough. Between store overhead, salaries, livestock losses, etc most stores make a small but decent profit. There are many other industries where you could make a lot more money. Most of the LFS in my area are in business because they love the hobby and love what they do. BTW, I read your thread about glasscages.com. I was thinking of having a tank built through them last year. I am very glad I didn't. They kind of gave you the shaft. Link to comment
zestay Posted November 16, 2007 Share Posted November 16, 2007 wow. all that work and you give in to an all in one... =( Link to comment
saltman123 Posted November 17, 2007 Share Posted November 17, 2007 I have had a 12 gallon Aquapod for 15+ months and I am considering getting a pico now. Guess we are working backwards :)jk How come you decided to turn down the pico? Too hard to maintain? Or just wanted bigger and only one tank? Link to comment
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