|
New aquascape    
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2011 21:01
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 21:53 |
|
|
Impressive! What type of fish is that in the pic with the clown? And what variety of goby is that?
|
|
#
?
Feb 26, 2011 23:10
|
|
|
Those are amazing pictures. What kind of camera do you have? What kind of coral is that in the last picture? A frogspawn? It is beautiful and cannot wait to have something like that in my tank.
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2011 03:04
|
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:Those are amazing pictures. What kind of camera do you have? Thanks. I use a canon rebel XTi with a tamron 180mm lens for those pictures. You are correct that is frogspawn. Anony Mouse posted:Impressive! What type of fish is that in the pic with the clown? And what variety of goby is that? Thank you. The fish with the clown is a spot gill cardinal fish, and the goby is an Orange spotted goby. Hypnotized fucked around with this message at 04:49 on Feb 27, 2011 |
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2011 03:58
|
|
|
Do you have a higher res of the first shot? That's absolutely amazing. Really wanting to get into salt water. I have plenty of wood for a stand and a 20 Gal. long for a sump...just maybe should sell a car or motorcycle before beginning yet another friggin hobby...
|
|
#
?
Feb 27, 2011 21:23
|
|
|
 Click here for the full 800x533 image.
|
|
#
?
Feb 28, 2011 19:37
|
|
|
arioch posted:
How big is that tank? It looks really neat.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 08:14
|
|
|
It's the Dymax IQ3 (sold by Big Al's Online, I can't find any other distributors in the states, offhand, doesn't mean there aren't any). I have a Par38 LED bulb over it, 3 royal blues and 2 cool whites. Eventual stocking list for the tank: 1) GSP 2) Clove polyps, the green center purple "leaf" ones 3) eagle eye zoos 4) fire and ice zoos 5) superman actinodiscus 6) sunburst actinodiscus 7) blue/green Florida ricordea 8) Palau nepthea 9) candy cane 10) mantis shrimp
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 10:43
|
|
|
how old is the tank?
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 16:48
|
|
|
Dono posted:how old is the tank? Brand new. I'm using cooked rock and established rubble/substrate though. And I'm not worried about softies and zoos.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 16:56
|
|
|
Can anyone recommend a good lighting solution for a 5 gallon tank? Right now I'm using a Coralife light (Coralife T5) but I'm not getting the kind of output I'd like, my zoas are very..faded. Any alternatives?
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 17:23
|
|
|
Vitae posted:Can anyone recommend a good lighting solution for a 5 gallon tank? Right now I'm using a Coralife light (Coralife T5) but I'm not getting the kind of output I'd like, my zoas are very..faded. what bulbs are you using? and how many watts are they? 2x T5 bulbs right? IMO, T5 is great for that size. Unless you went with LEDs I feel like you'd fry the corals with a MH in a 5gal.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 17:32
|
|
|
Dono posted:what bulbs are you using? and how many watts are they? 2x T5 bulbs right? Yeah 2 T5 9 watt bulbs, 1 10k and 1 actinic. Maybe I just need to replace the bulbs? but everything seems dull. I also wish I could turn just the actinic on.. but its either just on or off for both bulbs at the same time. MH would be a little too much.. maybe on a 10 gallon tank it would be fine if it was adjusted right... Here is an OLD picture of the tank (I'll update tonight with some new pictures) 
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 17:47
|
|
|
Vitae posted:Yeah 2 T5 9 watt bulbs, 1 10k and 1 actinic. Maybe I just need to replace the bulbs? but everything seems dull. How old are your bulbs? I wouldn't keep a T5 bulb more than 5-6 months from what I've ready and I know my purple+ ATI bulb Ill be replacing at 4 months.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 17:54
|
|
|
Dono posted:How old are your bulbs? I wouldn't keep a T5 bulb more than 5-6 months from what I've ready and I know my purple+ ATI bulb Ill be replacing at 4 months. Oh god they're probably about 2 years old, no wonder. I'll first replace the bulbs and see how that goes.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 17:56
|
|
|
Oh yea wow, and if you have algae problems I'm sure those old bulbs are the cause.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 18:01
|
|
|
I need a fixture like that that'll go over a 5.5gal standard size. Can anyone recommend w/ links? Preferably T5.
|
|
#
?
Mar 1, 2011 18:39
|
|
|
Dono posted:Oh yea wow, and if you have algae problems I'm sure those old bulbs are the cause. Oddly enough I've got a huge breakout of coraline algea...but I'm pretty sure thats a good thing  Ok got some updated pictures. This was my only zoa colony as of December:  This is it today:  Full tank shot as of today  Edit: I just did a water topoff since I noticed how low the tank was, after the photo Vitae fucked around with this message at 05:15 on Mar 2, 2011 |
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 05:02
|
|
|
Get an ATO. Letting your water level fluctuate like that is really bad for your water chemistry. Also, get a mag cleaner and start scraping!
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 13:39
|
|
|
Yeah, nothing really likes fluctuating salinities, I don't have an ATO yet because of my irrational fear of them but I top off twice a day to make up for it.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 13:58
|
|
|
The only things that don't generally care are intertidal. Definitely a minority portion of the livestock in the trade.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 16:06
|
|
|
Anyone here use the Macro Rocks Argonite? Need to pick up sand for my 90g and it's almost decision making time.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 16:11
|
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:Anyone here use the Macro Rocks Argonite? Need to pick up sand for my 90g and it's almost decision making time. I made the mistake of using Silica sand in my tanks, but I know Mark and have run my hands through enough of that sand to know that it's pretty much the best available especially for the price.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 16:29
|
|
|
So, I'll be doing a dwarf seahorse tank! I had one a few years ago but ended up giving it away because I didn't have enough time to care for it. Now I have the time and want to try again. Dwarf Seahorses are about 1 inch long including the tail, are fairly easy to keep and breed like guppies. The only issue is that they will not eat frozen foods and need live baby brine shrimp twice a day. I've ordered this tank http://www.fluvalblog.com/fluval-ebi-up-close/ which looks awesome and I can use all the shrimp stuff it comes with because I already have a 5 gallon red cherry shrimp tank. It will take some minor mods to be what I want. For one I'll probably be tearing off that foam background and modifying the filter or getting a new one. Dwarfs can easily have their tails sucked into filters or the babies can be sucked entirely into the filter. I also want to make either an in-tank fuge or mod a small HOB filter into a fuge. The occasional pod will help keep their diet varied, although it's not needed. I also want to get some opae ula aka Hawaiian lava shrimp. They are cute little buggers that won't bother the horses and when they reproduce the larval shrimp are a perfect snack for the dwarfs.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 17:25
|
|
|
Internet Explorer posted:Anyone here use the Macro Rocks Argonite? Need to pick up sand for my 90g and it's almost decision making time. I am using his sand and it's pretty amazing quality. I would recommend mixing it would a little coarser sand (like a 25%/75% mix) because if not you'll have a hell of a time setting up your powerheads to not cloud your tank.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 17:27
|
|
|
Update time! This pic was taken one month ago:  This pic was taken today:  Pretty good growth for a month if you ask me. I stopped doing WC's trying to get nitrates down and somehow that seems to have actually helped.
|
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 22:24
|
|
|
Your softies are probably sucking it up to fuel their growth. Edit: The downside is that the encrusting ones will absolutely take over your tank. So I'd still keep on top of the WCs and stuff to lower nitrates. VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 23:23 on Mar 2, 2011 |
|
#
?
Mar 2, 2011 22:58
|
|
|
Hey, SW dudes. It looks like I'm gonna be joining the ranks pretty soon. My 90g freshwater tank's homemade stand has a pretty severely splitting leg, and since I've got to break the tank down to build a new stand (and actually do it *right* this time) it seems as good a time as any to make the switch. I've wanted to have a reef for years, and now seems like as good a time as any to finally *do* it, instead of just reading about it. First, though, I've got a couple questions: 1. Is there any way to eliminate any potential copper contamination that a tank might have? I've never used any sort of copper meds or, for that matter, anything remotely copper-related, but I feel like it's a better safe than sorry situation. 2. Lighting. I've currently got a 4x65w PC fixture. Could this handle lighting duties for some zoas, ricordea, and maybe a hammer or something until I can actually afford a new $500 T5 ligthing setup? Mind you, livestock's a long ways off yet, but I kinda want to get a budget planned out so spending doesn't get out of control :x 3. Should I have the tank drilled, or just go with a HOB overflow? I'm seriously leaning towards having it drilled, as that seems to be the better of the two options overall, but you never know. 4. Christ, why is reef central so goddamned slow? 
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 04:56
|
|
|
1. If you're pretty sure you never used any copper meds you're likely good to go. You're going to replace all the contents of the tank anyway. 2. 4x65w is good enough for softies in that tank. 3. Drilled. 4. They haven't gone to the kind of lengths SA has had to go to with VB and servers and handle about the same kind of load.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 05:36
|
|
|
arioch posted:1. If you're pretty sure you never used any copper meds you're likely good to go. You're going to replace all the contents of the tank anyway. Sweet, thanks for the quick reply  I am absolutely sure I've never used any copper meds, I don't think I've even bought any sort of fish medication since the 90s. Now to find someone to punch a few holes in the tank. I really wish we had more fish people around here, SA has spoiled me. It's hard to read other forums anymore :\
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 07:37
|
|
|
kaosAG posted:1. Is there any way to eliminate any potential copper contamination that a tank might have? I've never used any sort of copper meds or, for that matter, anything remotely copper-related, but I feel like it's a better safe than sorry situation. 1.) Rise the tank with fresh water, RO water if you have a filter or the funds to do so, not that it would really matter though. Just make sure it's really clean. 2.) You can buy a phenominal 6 bulb T5 setup for like 350$. 4x bulb will be pretty weak imo. Although you can grow softies under it, I dont think you will get the colors and potential out of them that you could with a 6x or 8x bulb setup. Check out: aquacave.com (I bought their 6x Ice cap T5 setup for like 375$ a few months back and it's loving awesome) 3.) Drilled mmhm, make sure your tank is glass and not acrylic. Only way to go though if it is glass. So easy to setup and eliminates a lot of problem you WILL experience with a HOB. 4.) :facepalm: edit: glad you found reefcentral, now read the newbie tank guide sticky in the New to the Hobby forum. Also, start asking more questions, you will have them.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 08:39
|
|
|
I drilled my half-inch acrylic tank, wasn't terribly hard, you just have to get the acrylic out of the hole saw after, before the melted part hardens into the hole saw.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 09:01
|
|
|
arioch posted:I drilled my half-inch acrylic tank, wasn't terribly hard, you just have to get the acrylic out of the hole saw after, before the melted part hardens into the hole saw. Even besides the drilling aspect, if you want a SW tank, coralline algae will plague you with problems instead of look nice in an acrylic tank
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 16:59
|
|
|
Dono posted:Even besides the drilling aspect, if you want a SW tank, coralline algae will plague you with problems instead of look nice in an acrylic tank Comes off real easy with a plastic bladed scraper. Edit: I should say, my sump is literally all covered in coralline. Not so much my display. (Both are acrylic) VAGENDA OF MANOCIDE fucked around with this message at 17:59 on Mar 3, 2011 |
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 17:39
|
|
|
Here is a pic of my 17 gallon rimless ADA tank. Filter is a deltec 600 HOB skimmer. Got a 1/10hp chiller and a 250w DE ushiro 20k luminarc mini light. Dose zeostart 2x daily .4ml total. Tank has been up almost a year. Proud to say that I haven't lost one piece of coral. Lots of SPS a few softies, one maxima clam, 2 darwin clowns from ORA, sixline wrasse, black cap basslet, talbot damsel.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 21:52
|
|
|
r0ck0 posted:Here is a pic of my 17 gallon rimless ADA tank. Filter is a deltec 600 HOB skimmer. Got a 1/10hp chiller and a 250w DE ushiro 20k luminarc mini light. Dose zeostart 2x daily .4ml total. Tank has been up almost a year. Proud to say that I haven't lost one piece of coral. Lots of SPS a few softies, one maxima clam, 2 darwin clowns from ORA, sixline wrasse, black cap basslet, talbot damsel. Just out of curiosity, but what are your other parameters? You've obviously made it work but sounds like a big bio load for a 17gal.
|
|
#
?
Mar 3, 2011 23:57
|
|
|
Yeah, I've actually been saving towards a 120, so I've read through pretty much all of the newbie stuff on RC half a dozen times, and I'll be building the new stand off plans from the DIY forum there. Probably my favorite pastime of late has been going through build threads, both to see what to expect and to see mistakes to avoid. Found a local store that'll drill the tank for $20/hole with bulkheads, it is a glass tank (were it acrylic I'd do it myself). What do you guys think about skimmers, brandwise? I'm hoping for some bang for the buck, but perfectly willing to spend the $$ if necessary. I'd tenatively settled on a super reef octopus xp2000, as the brand seems to be pretty popular, and it's about half the price of the high-end stuff. The fellow at my LFS has been trying to talk me into Eshopps instead, though...I trust him to give me good advice, though I can't help but notice he stocks Eshopps skimmers and not the SRO :p Funny you mention lights, because that was a question I'd had in mind, though I never even considered a 4-bulb setup. Should I go with 6 or 8 if I basically want to stick with the aforementioned zoas, rics, LPS, and maybe eventually some SPS at the higher points of the rockwork? Then again, if the 4xPCs will work for a while, I may just hold off and do a LED setup in the fall instead...get the look of halides without the shoot-yourself-in-the-face electric bill.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2011 00:54
|
|
|
kaosAG posted:What do you guys think about skimmers, brandwise? I'm hoping for some bang for the buck, but perfectly willing to spend the $$ if necessary. I'd tenatively settled on a super reef octopus xp2000, as the brand seems to be pretty popular, and it's about half the price of the high-end stuff. The fellow at my LFS has been trying to talk me into Eshopps instead, though...I trust him to give me good advice, though I can't help but notice he stocks Eshopps skimmers and not the SRO :p Skimmers: I LOVE my Reef Octopus. It was cost effective, built tremendously well, and produces some super killer skimmate. I give that seal of approval if it means anything. Lighting: Please dont go cheap (I mean cheap quality) on lighting. This is the most important piece of equipment you will have for your tank and maintaining a balanced system. You will eventually want to keep a larger variety of corals and a larger setup leaves room for more to do. If you go with T5 I would recommend nothing less than 6 bulb, and 8 bulb just gives you that much more versatility, but an 8 bulb may be overkill unless you have a tall tank. MH + T5 complement is also pretty nice and gives you a very nice shimmer effect (I use some LED's to create my shimmer with T5s) Just don't go weak on lighting and regret not spending an extra 50-75$ for a better setup.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2011 01:03
|
|
|
Dono posted:Just out of curiosity, but what are your other parameters? You've obviously made it work but sounds like a big bio load for a 17gal. Its a bit high on the fish side but everything else doesn't count towards bio load. The only filter I have besides the skimmer is a bag of carbon and zeolites sitting in the skimmer outflow section. I do dose zeostart daily and other zeo stuff occasionally. The zeostart really helps to keep the nitrate and phosphate down. I use the hanna colormeter to test for ULR phosphate and its usually around .04-.03 I have a bubble-magnus dosing pump and put in 10ml of alk and 6ml CA a day with 5ml of Mg. That holds the system at 9alk, 440ca and 1400mg. An Neptune apex controller doing my ATO, alerts and controlling lights, heater and chiller and vortech mp10. Once a week water changes of 2 gallons with seachem reef salt and water from my spectrapure maxcap 5 stage RO/DI. Since its such a small volume of water I have to test the new saltwater to make sure it matches the tanks parameters for CA,ALk,Mg. r0ck0 fucked around with this message at 18:03 on May 1, 2018 |
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2011 04:43
|
|
|
|
| # ? May 9, 2024 21:53 |
|
|
I'm just finishing breaking in my new Reef Octopus and I love it. A buddy has an Eshopps 110 and there's no comparison in the build quality between the two of them.
|
|
#
?
Mar 4, 2011 13:02
|
|