HotRodScamp's 12g Aquapod

[HotRodScamp]

Hi Everyone,

 

I've just started an Aquapod 12g and wanted to share it with all of you. I've had numerous fish-only tanks over the years, and I even owned/operated a large marine wholesale outfit south of Tampa, FL for about 8 months from August '05 to March '06. With that background I consider myself just slightly above "newb". I have read many of the threads here and feel privileged to share in this community.

 

I purchased my AP 12 on Feb. 16th from an LFS with the following shopping list:

 

Aquapod 12 2x27

15 gallons pre-mixed saltwater

20# Araga-live Special grade reef sand

Stick-on thermometer

Visi-therm Stealth 50W submersible heater

Instant Ocean "Ocean Master" test kit

Mini Mag-Float

Nutrafin Max Marine flake food

6-outlet power strip

3 Damsels (sorry, I was trying to satisfy a 9-year-old)

 

For a grand total of $286.17. I cleaned everything thoroughly with tap water and set it all up. I placed the sponge, ceramic media, carbon bag and bio-balls according to the manufacturers recommendation (temporarily) added the sand and water and started it up. I tested the pH at 8.2, acclimated the damsels and sat back to admire my new acquisition.

 

Of course that's when troubles began. The damsels looked unhappy immediately. I knew better, and I feel terrible about it. By morning they were all gone. I wasn't sure exactly why, but again, I knew better than to add fish on day one. I snapped a shot of the new tank the following day.

 

 

The next day, I decided I would add live rock to the tank and allow it to fully cycle. Back to the LFS for some more shopping:

 

15# Walt Smith Premium Fiji live rock

Floating glass hydrometer/thermometer

Cleaning sponge

 

I spent $77.77 on that trip. I got home and dropped the hydrometer in the tank and found out why the damsels didn't make it. Specific gravity: 1.005! So much for that LFS and shame on me for not testing the SG before dropping in fish. Before adding my newly acquired live rock, I ran over to a local pet chain for a 10 gallon box of Instant Ocean salt for $8.55. This brought my SG to 1.023. So I added the rock and sat back to enjoy my amateur aqua-scaping.

 

I got about a pound or so of rubble along with the rock, so I removed the two bags of ceramic media from chamber #2 and dropped it in there and put one of the bags back on top of it. I still have yet to decide how I will configure the filtration system, but I figure that would be a good start.

 

Monday, Feb. 20th was a no-school day for the kid, so off we went to scout more LFS's. We visited at least 4 when we came to one that was very nice with a overly friendly staff. Now you can't leave a good LFS with money left in the wallet, so:

 

Aquapod 12 stand

Hydor Flo

Maxi-Jet 900

 

Chalk up another $119.00 to this financially menacing hobby. We came home and assembled the stand and moved the tank over to it. The original location on a table just wasn't sturdy enough for the long-term. I replaced the original pump with the MJ-900 and installed the Flo. With a total of $491.49 spent we've got a pretty nice looking little set-up!

 

The following day, Feb. 21, I tested the pH and it had dropped below 7.8. Off to another LFS! I bought a bottle of Aquarium Systems SeaBuffer and a 1/2 unit jar of Chemi-Pure for another $17.63. I added the recommended amount of SeaBuffer to the tank. I decided to hold off adding the Chemi-Pure until the tank is finished cycling.

 

Which brings me to today. I decided to test for Ammonia to see that the cycle is moving along. After waiting the 20 minutes to read the test, the sample had turned bright blue, well above the test kits ability to read! Another trip to the local pet chain for a 50 gallon bag of Instant Ocean salt and a siphon hose for another $28.12. I mixed the remaining water from the first LFS to an SG of 1.023 and did a 3-gallon water change. I ran the ammonia test again, and still resulted in a bright blue sample. So I plan to do another 3-gallon water change tomorrow, and again each day until I get it within acceptable limits, or at least readably by my test kit!

 

So I snapped a few more shots with my el-cheapo digital camera:

 

 

 

 

 

I welcome your comments, advice and even your bashing me for mistakes I shouldn't have made I plan to share photos and stories of my journey into nano-reefing as it progresses and I look forward to interacting with the members of this community.

 

- Mike

[mediumsprite]

WELCOME.

looks nice:)

my pH is always between 7.6 and 8.0 . all other parameters are perfect and the corals look great.

 

good luck,

 

Miriam

[HotRodScamp]

WELCOME.

looks nice:)

my pH is always between 7.6 and 8.0 . all other parameters are perfect and the corals look great.

 

good luck,

 

Miriam

 

Thanks Miriam!

 

I did another water change today, 5 gallons this time. Did an ammonia test, still bright blue! I'll continue to change 5 gallons a day until I can get the ammonia into a readable range. Then I'll start testing other water parameters again.

 

I attribute this condition to the fact that the rock I bought had a *ton* of life on it, which is now becoming a massive amount of die-off. Hindsight is 20/20, I should have scrubbed the rock before I put it in the tank. I have used Kent's "Rock Prep" in the past with good results.

 

Fortunately, I think the rock is beautiful and I don't mind looking at it alone in the tank. And the water has remained crystal clear since day one so it's not an eye sore. I guess I'm going to have to exercise extreme patience with this one!

 

I'm going to start shopping for an RO/DI system now, since I'll be using a lot of it! My closest LFS is getting an outrageous $3.00/gallon for RO water and a whopping $4.00/gallon for pre-mixed. Another LFS 25 minutes away is getting $1.00 for RO and $1.25 for pre-mixed. That's where I've been getting my water. But since a nice RO/DI system can be had for under $200 these days, it won't take very long to pay for itself.

 

If anyone has any tips for me to keep this going smoothly, I'm all ears!

 

Thanks!

 

- Mike

[MJD]

to NR

 

It looks like you are off to a nice start. For an RO/DI check ebay get the one from Filter Direct, its a 6 stage 100gpd system. I bought one for only 100$ and am very pleased with it.

 

 

MJD

[HotRodScamp]

to NR

 

It looks like you are off to a nice start. For an RO/DI check ebay get the one from Filter Direct, its a 6 stage 100gpd system. I bought one for only 100$ and am very pleased with it.

MJD

 

Thanks MJD!

 

I looked at those RO/DI units, and they look great! That's the system I'm going to go with. Once I get it, I'll post pics of my setup here. In the meantime, I'm still buying water and doing daily water changes. Today I have the first signs of a little algae appearing on the glass of my Aquapod. That's progress in my book

 

I read your 90 gallon setup thread here, what a cool project! Good luck with that, I'll keep following your progress. I can't wait to see it completed!

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

Hi Everyone,

 

I skipped a water change yesterday because I took a trip from Orlando to Tampa to see the saltwater store I used to be involved with. They lost their lease and had to move. They got a place about 8 miles up the road and moved all the systems and equipment. It's a pretty cool setup and they're building up a lot of livestock.

 

This morning the was a little spot of brown-green algae on the glass and a few spots of green on the sand. I did another 3 gallon water change and my ammonia reading is down to near-zero and nitrite is spiked. This is nine days since I set up the tank. The pH is still low, around 7.8 so I added more SeaBuffer. I'll test again tomorrow and see how it's going.

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

Today I ran a set of water tests:

 

Specific Gravity 1.022

added 1/4 cup of instant ocean to bring it up to 1.025

Ammonia 0.0

Nitrite 0.8

Nitrate 0.0

pH 7.8 <

added 2 tsp SeaBuffer to try to bring this up

Alkalinity 5 mEq/l 14 dKh

this seems high, but I'll check again when I get the pH in line.

 

Also added my Chemi-Pure to chamber #3 between bio-balls and carbon bag.

 

There is a bit more brown-green algae today. It's concentrated on the center of the rockwork and on the left side of the sand bed. It's probably due to the Hydor Flo and where the current is better/worse.

 

'Till tomorrow

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

This afternoon I received my refractometer in the mail. I ordered this on eBay Wednesday 2/21. Nice quick shipping from WI to FL. It is a model RHS-10ATC auto-temperature-compensating unit probably made in China. I paid $37.29 with shipping. I picked up a gallon of distilled water to calibrate it for $1.39. So after 11 days I'm into this indoor water sport for a grand total of $575.92 and all I'm growing is a little brown algae

 

So I calibrated the refractometer with the distilled water and then tested the tank water. 1.030 That means the floating hydrometer I bought is off by -.005 I read a thread here about who uses a float, a swing arm or a refractometer. From what I read I thought refrac was definitely the way to go and i think I made the best choice. I'll use the rest of the gallon of distilled water for a water change tomorrow and start getting that SG back to 1.025.

 

- Mike

[SPerry]

I dont understand why you are doing daily water changes? Take out enough water to allow you to add some fresh (no salt) water to get your salt in the 1.023~1.027 range. Turn the lights off and let the tank cycle for a couple of weeks. During this time your water doesnt have to be perfect.

Take out the chemipure for the time being, save it for after your cycle is done.

[HotRodScamp]

I dont understand why you are doing daily water changes? Take out enough water to allow you to add some fresh (no salt) water to get your salt in the 1.023~1.027 range. Turn the lights off and let the tank cycle for a couple of weeks. During this time your water doesnt have to be perfect.

Take out the chemipure for the time being, save it for after your cycle is done.

 

I was doing the water changes to reduce the ammonia reading a little. I have stopped the water changes since the ammonia reading is down and the nitrite reading is up. I am going to swap out a gallon of water with fresh tomorrow to get the SG back in line.

 

I had saved the Chemi-Pure for after the ammonia spike, but I'll go ahead and pull it out until after the cycle completes.

 

I've been running the lights on a normal cycle. 1/2 hour blue, 10 hours white and blue, half hour blue then leds for 13 hours. Shouldn't I? Thanks.

 

- Mike

[SPerry]

I was doing the water changes to reduce the ammonia reading a little. I have stopped the water changes since the ammonia reading is down and the nitrite reading is up. I am going to swap out a gallon of water with fresh tomorrow to get the SG back in line.

 

I had saved the Chemi-Pure for after the ammonia spike, but I'll go ahead and pull it out until after the cycle completes.

 

I've been running the lights on a normal cycle. 1/2 hour blue, 10 hours white and blue, half hour blue then leds for 13 hours. Shouldn't I? Thanks.

 

- Mike

 

Leaving the lights off will slow down the algae bloom during the cycle.

[HotRodScamp]

I thought about why I shouldn't have the lights on after I read your post last night. So I didn't turn the lights on this morning. I think I already see reduced algae. I'll leave them off and let the cycling finish. Today I'll change the gallon of fresh water to get the SG back down. I'll test the pH again and probably add some more buffer and pull out my Chemi-Pure.

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

I did my one-gallon fresh water change today and it put the SG at 1.025.

pH was still at <7.8 so I added two more teaspoons of SeaBuffer, tested an hour later and got pH 8.0. I've failed to mention in my previous posts that my temp has been at 79 since I filled the tank. I have the heater set at 79 so the ambient temp must be enough to keep the tank below that. All's going well!

 

P.S. My girl came home today with an Eclipse 12 from the thrift store. Complete system that appears hardly used with a 25 gallon bag of IO salt, Sea Chem Reef test kit, 2 swing arm hydrometers, siphon, 3 sizes of nets, various foods and more for $50. She said it can be our "quarantine tank". What have I gotten myself into!!!

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

Todays tests:

 

Temp 78

SG 1.026

pH 8.0

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate <10

Alkalinity 5 mEq/l 14 dKh

 

The algae has stopped growing and has stared to recede a bit. Going well!

 

Now I'm thinking about the cassette skimmer mod (I have a few old cassettes). Hoping for a good skimmer solution (from Sapphire). Thinking about a compartment 3 refugium too. Maybe the nanotuners 2.32 light upgrade. This 'pod could do with some additional flow too. I'm looking at adding a small powerhead with the over-the-wall return. Have I missed anything?

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

Update:

 

My parameters have been steady now for the last 5 days.

 

Temp 78

SG 1.026

pH 8.0

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate <10

Alkalinity 5 mEq/l 14 dKh

 

I left the lights off for a few days and the algae/diatom bloom halted. So on Sunday, March 4th I ran the lights again for ~11 hours and saw noticable algae growth. I guess if it gets light and has nutrients, it's gonna grow!

 

On Monday, March 5th, 17 days after I set up, I brought a water sample to my LFS and they confirmed my parameters. I decided to add a cleanup crew to start eating some of that algae.

 

3 Turbo snails

1 Scarlett red leg hermit

6 Blue leg hermits

1 banded brittle star (freebie!)

5 Gallons pre-mixed saltwater

5 Gallons RO/DI (0 TDS)

 

Add another $24.58 to my running total, now at $600.50. Still planning to get an RO/DI system set up so I don't have to keep buying and transporting water. That'll put me up around $800

 

When I added the crew all the blue legs went right to work, two of the turbos started grazing and the third stayed very still, the scarlett red leg appears to be working away, but hasn't moved 1/2 inch from where I put him and of course the brittle went immediately under the rockwork and hasn't been seen again.

 

Overnight they devoured some 20% of the algae in the tank! This morning we can only find two of the turbos. There is no exit big enough for him to get out, so I'm sure he's found a hiding spot. We did just spot a leg of the brittle star coming out from under a rock. And all the blue legs are busy busy busy!

 

I'll watch these guys for a few days or so, and once they've got the algae under control I'll start looking for the next critters! I'm thinking about having a shrimp goby/pistol shrimp combo. This is going to be primarily a coral tank (Zoas, Mushrooms), but I will likely add a fish or two as well.

 

Not much to look at yet:

 

- Mike

[bil2k]

HotRodScamp,

 

Did you pickup those Zoa's in your profile picture here in the Orlando area? If so, what store did you find them in? They are really great looking.

[HotRodScamp]

HotRodScamp,

 

Did you pickup those Zoa's in your profile picture here in the Orlando area? If so, what store did you find them in? They are really great looking.

 

Sadly, they're not mine Happily, they are a goal for my tank

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

Tested the water today after 2 days of having the cleanup crew hard at work.

 

Temp 78

SG 1.026

pH 8.0

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate <10

Alkalinity 3 mEq/l 8.4 dKh

 

I don't know why the alkalinity would drop like that. Here is the tanks history of pH and alkalinity:

 

Day 1, pH 7.8, Alk 2.75 mEq/l 7.7 dKh

Day 5, added SeaBuffer

Day 6, pH 7.8, Alk 2.75 mEq/l 7.7 dKh

Day 9, added SeaBuffer

Day 10, pH 7.8, Alk 2.75 mEq/l 7.7 dKh

Day 10, added SeaBuffer

Day 10, pH 7.8, Alk 5 mEq/l 14 dKh

Day 11 added SeaBuffer

Day 12, pH 8.0, Alk 5 mEq/l 14 dKh

Day 17, pH 8.0, Alk 5 mEq/l 14 dKh

Day 19, pH 8.0, Alk 3 mEq/l 8.4 dKh

 

I will get a calcium test kit and learn a little more about the relationships between pH, alkalinity and calcium before I try any corrective action. It must be related to the cleanup crews' arrival, but I don't know what that relationship is.

 

Ahh, the crew! They have been hard at work since I dropped them in and have devoured probably 50% or more of the algae in the tank. It looks like a snowstorm they're kicking up so much stuff! A lot is landing on the sand, so next time I do a water change, I'll siphon off the gravel and rock as much as I can. I also watched a life or death struggle between a couple of blue legs and my scarlett red leg. It looked like the scarlett was going to lose, but they seem to have worked it out without anyone getting killed or thrown out of their shell.

 

I removed the carbon bag since it had been in there for nearly three weeks now. I replaced it with my bag of Chemi-Pure. I don't think I plan to run carbon full-time, but just occasionally as a supplement. I really haven't decided how to run the 4 filter chambers yet. Right now they are:

 

(from the left, bottom to top)

chamber 1 - Original sponge

chamber 2 - ~1 pound live rock rubble, 1 bag ceramic rings

chamber 3 - bio balls, Chemi-Pure

chamber 4 - MJ900, Heater

 

I am considering turning chamber 2 into a refugium, moving some of the rock rubble to chamber 1, using Chemi-Pure/carbon etc. in chamber 1 and leaving chamber 3 available for the "coming-soon" Sapphire AP12 skimmer.

 

Stay tuned...

 

- Mike

[RBuddha]

Those stands always make me cringe.

[SPerry]

Sounds like it is going well. Keep up with the pictures.

[sdwarrior]

nice tank what kind of livestock are you looking at?

[Oceanic 30g]

It looks like you are off to a good start. The rockwork looks solid and your parameters are good. The only comments I have is in regards to your plug outlet.

 

1. Do you have a gfci outlet there?

2. Try to hide the virdsnest of wires

[HotRodScamp]

RBuddha Posted Today, 12:22 PM

Those stands always make me cringe.

I hate the stand. Poorly manufactured, high-priced. I suppose it'll eventually get replaced, but I'll live with it for a while to let the $65 sting ware off.

 

SPerry Posted Today, 12:24 PM

Sounds like it is going well. Keep up with the pictures.

Thanks! Me and my girl are already talking about what we'll do to get great pictures while we're donig this. I'm not happy with the results from a $250 4 megapixel digital, and I don't want to spend $1000 just to get good pictures! Once the spending levels out on this tank I'll start reading up on photo equipment and techniques in the forums.

 

sdwarrior Posted Today, 12:39 PM

nice tank what kind of livestock are you looking at?

We're planning a mainly zoa, mushroom (rics), maybe a toadstool, some xenia -- a coral-focused tank. I would like a fish or three, so I'm thinking about a goby/pistol pair, maybe a six-line wrasse. I would think about maybe another symbiotic pair, an anemone and a clown, but I know that's pushing it.

 

We've got lots of time to kick that around, and shop. Now that I've added a cleanup crew, I'm going to let the tank mature as long as I can stand it before I make another step. I think the next thing we'll do will be to add a few corals once I'm confident with my alk/calcium levels. I also want to settle on my filter chamber setup and get that done before I start adding. Not to mention that I am planning some tank mods that I want to have done and settled in before any more creatures come along. But then there's always the risk of that one trip to the LFS that results in "I just had to buy it".

 

Oceanic 30g Posted Today, 12:41 PM

It looks like you are off to a good start. The rockwork looks solid and your parameters are good. The only comments I have is in regards to your plug outlet.

 

1. Do you have a gfci outlet there?

2. Try to hide the virdsnest of wires

Thanks! So-far-so-good <knocks on wood> That isn't a gfci for now. And the birds nest is temporary. I am trying to decide between a.) buying the Coralife digital timer/power strip details to control my light cycle etc. or b.) going with a more sophisticated (read expensive) solution to include temp/pH and such. When I bought the Aquapod, I temporarily fooled myself into thinking I wouldn't spend so much on a small tank. I wasn't really fooled Am I going to spend $35 on a timer I'll probably replace later or am I going to spend $500 on something I'm going to keep? I want to get a digital thermometer and at least a digital pH pen, but preferably a pH monitor. So the birds nest will stay until I figure it out. The picture is taken at an angle, but the power strip is mounted 18" to the left of the tank and all 5 wires have a good drip-loop. Not too bad for being just plain wrong

 

Thanks everyone! Updates to follow...

 

- Mike

[HotRodScamp]

Since my cleanup crew has been in the tank, they have stirred up so much stuff I decided to clean it up a little today.

 

I took my original Aquapod pump, attached a 4 ft. hose to the output, wrapped the pump in filter material and dropped it in a bucket with about a gallon or so of clean saltwater. I used a very small gravel vac and siphon hose and started siphoning into the bucket then turned on the pump to return the water to the tank. This worked fantastic! It allowed me to siphon and vacuum for quite a while without draining the tank. I got out so much junk that the bottom of the bucket was mud.

 

Even after cleaning like that, there still seems to be too much junk suspended in the water column. I read some of the surface skimmer mod threads and I think it might help as there is also quite a bit of junk on top of the water. Has anyone done this mod on an Aquapod 12g that could give me some tips? Do any of the manufactured surface skimmers fit the AP12, like the "Select-A-Flow"?

 

To try to help this out, I added a layer of filter material on top of my Chemi-Pure in chamber 3 and I also added a small bag of carbon on top of that. I really don't think it's a lack of mechanical filtration, but more a lack of circulation. Any thoughts on this? I did upgrade the original pump to an MJ900 and installed a Hydor Flo hoping not to have circulation problems.

 

I mentioned in a previous post that I hated the Aquapod stand, well I still do! Spilled some water on it, and the front right of the top swelled. Now the door sticks. I'm over it, I'm going to replace the stand

 

I have a DIY plan Where the tank is, I have a space 48" wide and 18" from the wall. My plan is to buy 2 base cabinets from Home Depot. The first one is 30" wide with 2 doors and the second one is 15" wide with one drawer and a cabinet below with a single door. Both pieces are 15 1/4" deep. I will line these up with the 2 door cabinet on the left and the single on the right. The I'll buy a 48"x18"x3/4" matching laminated board for the top.

 

In the left side of the double-door cabinet I am going to mount my RO/DI and 4 gallon pressure tank, and on the right side I'll mount my electronics inside a waterproof box. Then on the left side of the top, I'm going to install a 15"x15"x6" bar sink with a faucet from the RO tank. The right side of the top will be the Aquapods home. That leaves the drawer and single cabinet for supply storage directly under the tank.

 

I'll start collecting supplies for the project this coming week and I'll take plenty of pictures! The "planned budget" for the project is $150 for the cabinets, top, sink and plumbing. The RO/DI budget is $230 (I'm going with the Water General unit from eBay) and the electronics budget is $350 (I'm getting the ReefKeeper 2).

 

I wonder how much money one can spend on a 12 gallon fish tank? So far I'm into this project for about $50/gallon. After the project I just described, I'll be somewhere around $110/gallon. Should be fun to see where this all ends up

 

- Mike

 

EDIT: When I did this cleaning, I also took out the sponge in chamber 1, rinsed a TON of black out of it and opted not to put it back.

[HotRodScamp]

Everything's looking good in the tank today. Here are my test results:

 

Temp 78

SG 1.026

pH 8.1

Ammonia 0

Nitrite 0

Nitrate <10

Alkalinity 2.75 mEq/l 7.7 dKh

 

pH has increased by .1 that's a good sign, I'll be watching that for a while before I do anything to adjust. And alkalinity has dropped slightly again. I'll be watching that too.

 

There is still a lot of suspended matter in the water, but the water is just crystal clear. It looks like the debris is floating in space. The more I watch the tank the more obvious it becomes that all this debris is constantly being kicked up by the cleanup crew, so I'm not worried about it. The cleaning I did yesterday appears to have worked like a charm.

 

Although there's nothing new to look at, I'm posting a pic from today just to keep up with it:

 

 

I'll be ordering the supplies for my upcoming projects (RO/DI, ReefKeeper2, DIY stand) this coming week, so there will be plenty of updates to come.

 

- Mike