uhuru Posted July 23, 2007 Share Posted July 23, 2007 I said goodbye to my 5g Cadlights this weekend and setup this 16g cube made with 3/4" acrylic. This is sort of a "warm up" to getting my 70g setup, as it is setup according to the proper bare bottom method. But I have good and bad news... First the good part - I was able to do it all in 1 day with the corals in a bucket. Since I was using the same stand I couldn't really work out the plumbing until I moved my 5g out of the way. That was a little stressful but it all worked out. So here are the pics: This dremel rocks. Cut through the stand like butter. The drain on the right is the main drain, and is turned down so that no air gets into it. This is the best way, hands down, to do a drain. 100% silent, and easy to tune. The drain right next to it is the backup drain. The way you set this up is so that just a tiny bit of water trickles down the drain. This maintains an even flow at all times but in case the first one clogs it can take over completely. there is no need to do a durso unless you don't have a choice! Hanging the light proved to me that I suck at DIY. I kept trying to get the toggle bolts into the ceiling until I realized that it's solid wood and several inches thick. And finally, the system is in place. The skimmer is a PM venturi rated for 100g. I bought it off someone on RC and it came in pieces. The guy returned my money but didn't want the skimmer back. So I used weldon and fixed her up, hopefully she holds together but I am keeping my eye out for an ER or DAS EX1 to replace it. I'm using a GenX 2400 needlewheel pump which replaces the PM venturi. I also added a standpipe, originally it had a gate valve on it but I found it unnecessary and it took up too much space. After 12 hours and almost no bioload, it started forming a very nice head. The venturi on the GenX is horrible, and loud. So I plugged an air pump into it: The next day I came home to a skimmer full of milk: The only thing it's skimming right now is carbon particles. Why? Well... The bad news, and the reason you don't see any tank with water pics, is because in my exhausted state I placed a bag of old used carbon in the skimmer output. The carbon released all the dead bacteria and nutrients that were in it. Within maybe 4 hours the whole tank was covered with algae and carbon dust. My brand new white starboard, and white rock racks, were filthy! Then the water became very cloudy to the point where I couldn't see anything. I had no more fresh saltwater! So I made another 30g of RO/DI water and just mixed in the salt a few hours ago. I'm about to do a major water change. I may have to start completely from scratch with all my livestock/rocks. We'll see. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted July 23, 2007 Author Share Posted July 23, 2007 oh and thanks siskiou and twogirls for coming over to pick up the corals. sorry I couldn't let you in, I would've like to show you my tanks. this is one of my dogs, "Uhuru" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
modularduck Posted July 26, 2007 Share Posted July 26, 2007 is it a mastif? really cool looking set up. nice work on the stand and sump looks really cool! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted July 28, 2007 Author Share Posted July 28, 2007 Thanks! That's a very old Brazilian breed, they have both mastiff and bloodhound in their ancestry. They were used to hunt jaguar and drive cattle (Brazilian cattle are very aggressive)! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 5, 2007 Author Share Posted August 5, 2007 some new frags I got from cfm, pics taken under 175w Iwasaki 15K with 2x28w PC Actinics: Cali Tort & OR Tort from Advanced Aquarium ORA GGB & Pink Lemonade Acro from booth from CA Pokerstar Monti & Rainbow Monti from Steve Tyree This is not from CFM, just a pink seriatopora that is starting to recover from the tank transfer: The other corals I transferred are still kinda brown(sad) A bad shot of my hector's goby and orange lined cardinal - they enjoy hanging out together Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
dsoz Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 Very nice pics, and it was nice to meet you in person at the CFM. dsoz Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 6, 2007 Author Share Posted August 6, 2007 thanks! It was nice to meet you too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SugarBear Posted August 6, 2007 Share Posted August 6, 2007 I love Hectors Gobies! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 FTS! FTS! We be skimmin: On a sad note, one of my cardinals seems to be going downhill. I hate to see it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 12, 2007 Author Share Posted August 12, 2007 hermit crab visiting the pink lemonade stand: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 18, 2007 Author Share Posted August 18, 2007 Thanks to this forum I found an excellent true perc breeder (Ilham) who sent me a pair yesterday: And here are just some new pics of the corals. This tabling acro I also got from a member (saltwater143) quite some time ago, but it never had purple tips until now. Now if you compare the following pics to the ones I posted a couple weeks ago you can see the corals are settling in nicely: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted August 18, 2007 Share Posted August 18, 2007 Nice pics Mike!! Tank is looking good. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
reefgeek84 Posted August 20, 2007 Share Posted August 20, 2007 super cool tank!!!! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted August 21, 2007 Author Share Posted August 21, 2007 Thanks guys! The clownfish started eating today! And they are venturing around the tank a bit more too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted September 1, 2007 Author Share Posted September 1, 2007 (clap)(clap) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 [language filter] when did you get that thing!! Nice skimmer. Later Ryan Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted September 1, 2007 Author Share Posted September 1, 2007 Thanks! I got it a few weeks ago but didn't get a chance to set it up until today. The aquabee is dead silent and produces tons of bubbles. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
R-3 Posted September 1, 2007 Share Posted September 1, 2007 DDDDDDDDDDDDDAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAAASSSSSSSSSSSSSSSS Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted September 2, 2007 Author Share Posted September 2, 2007 more pics: and a couple shots of inhabitants you have not seen yet: I'm starting to get some coral encrusting on the starboard... nice! Hope you like them! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo18 Posted September 3, 2007 Share Posted September 3, 2007 My goodness...lol..very very nice coral selections there! I'm glad those clownfishes are doing well. You should see a color change to a brighter, bolder orange shortly. Best, Ilham P.S. Who made your acrylic tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted September 3, 2007 Author Share Posted September 3, 2007 Thanks Ilham, the clowns are like kids out at the park every day. They're just so playful all the time it's great to watch. The tank was built by Aquatic Systems Design. It's pretty outrageous with the thick acrylic, so I think it matches the "madness" of the whole setup pretty well I'm having a lot of fun with this tank.... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo18 Posted September 10, 2007 Share Posted September 10, 2007 How is the agression? Best, Ilham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted September 11, 2007 Author Share Posted September 11, 2007 It's still going on. Yesterday I actually saw the small one try to nip back so I don't think he has submitted to the big one yet. They go around in circles for a while and then go back to normal. It may be happening less frequently but I'm not sure. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Elmo18 Posted September 22, 2007 Share Posted September 22, 2007 Any changes so far? Best, Ilham Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
uhuru Posted September 23, 2007 Author Share Posted September 23, 2007 A little nipping once in a while but they seem much better with each other now. I don't see the all out chases around the tank anymore. Does this mean they have bonded? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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