fredknack

Thanks TankIt. I sure hope it is not a Nudi. About what size are they compared to the size of a Zoanthid polyp? I am going to dip all new frags. I got some Lugol's Iodine dip for that.

Thanks CA2OR. I know the feather dusters are good because they filter the water. I was just asking because I have not seen any tanks that have so many of them. I just hope it is not to much of a good thing. I like them. Their motion in the current adds a lot to the live rock. If you don't have any I am sure I could get you started.

Trade made Fred

Sorry But Yes. I have a trade setup for early next week.

Thanks. That is funny. I was just looking at my Dr Fosters & Smith catalog this morning and there it was. Maybe we can do a trade down the line.

Welcome MadReefer! I love that xenia that your clown is playing in your POTM submission. If you ever have any frags of that let me know. Fred

Last week my wife talked me into going to GIJoes and buying a 3000 watt generator. I don't think she wanted to watch me freak out in an outage. It only cost me $299 on sale and is pretty small. It is one gadget I hope I never have to use. I also have a couple battery powered air pumps to help the cause.

Thanks Tammy and Michael. I swear that after a year I have never seen either angel even remotely interested in a zoanthid. The Flame angel was in with my zoanthids in the biocube and they grew great in there. I sure hope that is not it. If it is those fish are really sneaky because we spend a lot of time with the tank in the office. I am still so new to this I am far more willing to blame myself than my Blue or Flame Angel.

At long last I posted new pics and started my own member thread. Check it out! http://www.pnwmas.org/forums/showthread.php?t=9649

I thought it was about time I started a thread for my tank. It is a 140 gallon in-wall style build. It is a 72" by 18" by 24" acrylic tank I found on Craigslist for $100. I bought it to replace my 55 gallon fresh water planted aquarium in the living room. Once I got it I was looking at the clothes closet in my home office that happened to be 80" wide and about 28" deep. One thing became another and now I have a new addiction and a reef in my office. Full Tank Shot 12-20-2008 I did as much of the setup as DIY as I could. I drilled all the holes for the closed loop, built the overflow box and converted a 50 gallon acrylic aquarium (also from Craigslist) into a three chamber sump. I have a Dolphin Ampmaster pump and a 4-way Oceans Motion for the closed loop. I use an Octopus recirc skimmer and an external Blueline 40 pump for the return and to supply the skimmer. I started out with duel 150 watt 10000k halides but just converted to duel halide PFO ballast running 400 watt 20000k XM bulbs. I am a 3D modeler, video editor, animator and interactive programmer by trade. I am learning some new 3D software and I decided to use my tank as a practice project. Here is a view of my tank that probably shows to much. It is still really rough but it gets much of the setup across. Yes I know that there are far to many 90 degree angles in the closed loop. I did not know better. Oh well live and learn. I still get a sick reaction every time I see the PVC section at Home Depot. You can see a 3D animation of this tank at http://www.myreefaquarium.com/aquarium/140GallonReef.cfm Overall the tank has been a mixed bag. I am really happy with the fish. The fish have been really healthy with no problems. I Have raised a Blue angel from a juvenile that has grown into a very regal specimen. I have a couple lawnmower blennies, a flame angel, 2 clowns, clown tang and a 6 line wrasse. Other inhabitants include two cleaner shrimp, a banded shrimp, two conch, abalone, brittle star and the other usual suspects for a cleaner crew. Except for the Blue Spotted Jaw Fish I have had all the fish for about a year. I have had less luck with corals. In my 29 Gallon Biocube I had no problem with zoanthids. In the 140 gallon I have a large anemone which seems fine and the pulsing xenias that are fine but my zoanthids are barely hanging on and the star polyps come and go. The coral side of it has been frustrating but I am working on the issues one by one. I just added the 400 watt lights so I know that is no longer my problem. I change 35 gallons of water a month. I have not really lost many specimens but my zoanthids seem to be on the way out. I am waiting until I can get the ones I have to work before I go and add a bunch more. I am going to start using Purigen and I am going to add a 40 gallon dedicated refugium as well as another 40 gallons of water volume. I hope these items will help get my nitrates and phosphates in line. My Red Sea test kit is tricky. I really wish there was a better way then the color bar method. I think my alk is about 9. Phosphates between 0.3 and 0.4. Nitrates between 15 and 20. My temp probably fluctuates to much because I have very flaky heating and cooling in the house. I need to get a controller that will automatically switch between heater and running fans and add a calcium reactor. This build took me a full year to get up and running. It has been running more than a year since the build was completed. As money and knowledge comes I am trying to dial it in so that someday I can get the thriving reef I want. Any advice would be appreciated. 'Agave' the Blue Angel 'Agave' as a juvenile 'Digger' the Blue spotted Jaw Fish 'Beaker' the Clown Tang 'Sparky' the Flame Angel 'Nemo' and 'Sidekick' the Clowns 'Convict' the Lawnmower Blenny with my sick zoanthids. Sand sifting starfish (It did not find any sand climbing the wall but I guess it was worth a shot) These feather dusters are everywhere (Is that good?) Anemone (When I bought it was tiny and bleach white with purple tips. Now it is huge with purple tips but brown. Is that Good?) I got most my fish from Aquaticus Saltwater Aquariums in Beaverton. My Live rock and a couple fish are from Seahorse Aquarium Supply. I am a fan of both these store's. So that is my tank. I am happy with it as a solid start but I have a ways to go. I will post more pictures as soon as I have some good news to report. Fred

Trade Pending

My Blue Spotted Jaw Fish spitting out sand I have had this fish for about 6 weeks and he is amazing. If I was as motivated as this guy I could visit China just by jumping into a hole in my backyard.

Great Ryan. Yes the 'custom venting holes' are perfect for running the cords from your heater, extra pumps, and a temp probe. PM Sent.

Hi The best shot of these 'custom venting holes' is the last photo at the bottom of this page: http://www.myreefaquarium.com/biocube_refugium.cfm If the tank is placed against a wall then these holes won't be seen. Fred

Hi R-3 There are no holes drilled into the actual tank. There is just the one 1.5" hole on the top as in the picture and then the two 1" holes in the back of the hood. I have fairly detailed pictures on www.myreefaquarium.com. The site gets no love but it does have the details you need. I got the tank February 26th 07. The bulbs are near to new. Overall it looks great. I think the top hood looks better than the pictures show. Unfortunately I don't have a stand. I would love to trade for your tank. The smaller tank would fit into my new setup as a small quarantine tank or fuge. Thanks

Will trade the BioCube tank without the fuge for zoanthid, ricordia, or other softie's. To make it work the same frags would have to be worth around $150.00 if I was to buy them at the LFS.

I am so stoked. It first it was pretty harsh. Me and my wife work from home. The 140 gallon tank is in our office where we pretty much live. Loosing the circuit meant that we lost the overhead office lighting. I had just gotten new duel 400 watt 20000k bulbs so the whole office was cast in a deep blue light. I had to run to Target to buy some desk lamps so that we did not have to work under water. Ok on to creating the next disaster...I am turning the hall behind the tank into a fishroom so I can add more water volume and a huge fuge. Thanks again, Fred

Thanks spectra! I forgot to give you props. You gave me the Barelycuda hook up. Dave's tip was critical to my trouble shooting process.

It is fixed!!! It is fixed!!! R-3, dsoz, and barleycuda saved the day! (clap)(clap)(clap) My wife was starting to give me that look but this forum has rescued me from the abyss. Here is how it tricked me. I have an outdoor socket that is a GFI with the test buttons on it. When my office/aquarium circuit went out the outdoor GFI circuit was still working fine. I figured that if it was working why test it? I did not know that that working GFI circuit was somehow connected to the broken indoor circuits. That is so cool. Thanks again guys!

Thanks dsoz and Dave. I will send you a PM Dave.

I would gladly trade the 29 gallon Biocube (without the fuge) for a 14 gallon Biocube. That way it would fit in my new setup as a quarantine tank.

I have a 29 gallon BioCube and 12 gallon refugium for sale. Here is what they look like new: http://www.fishsupply.com/saq-bc82052.html If you search for Oceanic Biocube on Google a link to my YouTube video of this tank and refugium should come up number two. My video has had 33,000 views and it is very popular. It shows what this system can do with stock pumps and lighting. Here is the YouTube video: The tank is $160.00 and the refugium is $80.00. I might trade for a calcium reactor for my 140 gallon tank. The reactor would need to be a something I can research via google because I am a reactor noobie. It is about 16 months old. It has bubs it it that are only 6 weeks old. It has a couple modifications. I added an external 12 gallon refugium to it. Do do this I drilled two 1" holes into the back of the lid. These holes do not effect the appearance in any way because BioCubes are not meant to be viewed from the back. The fuge is set higher than the tank so that water is pumped up into it and it overflows back into the tank. I drilled a 1.5" hole into the back right corner of the lid. This hole is visible but minor. The tank is in great shape. There is some algae on the back black wall but overall very minor. The only flaw I see to this system is that the LED moonlights don't seem very bright. I think they have become more dull over time. If you want the 12 gallon refugium it is an extra $80.00. It seems a little spendy but the tank, compact florescent retro kit, pumps, and bulk heads can all be used in different parts of my 140 gallon system so I would just have to replace them anyway. I hate to sell this stuff but I would love it more if this whole system was to stay together. The refugium is a modified Eclipse tank. I pulled out the light and filter system from the hood and added a Compact Florescent light. The hood and light is not very solid. When I added the light I did a pis poor DIY job jut it works great. The fuge needs to sit 7 inches above the Biocube. The fuge tank is 10" by 20" by 22". You can read more about the refugium build here: http://63.135.96.13/biocube_refugium.cfm Overall the entire package is really cool. With a large refugium on a tank like this it will be really stable and algae free. I would love to see the entire system stay together. Thanks, Fred

Thanks for the input everyone! Spectra I will check out Dave and see if he takes on jobs like this. R-3 and Dsoz: do you guys know what I should be looking for to see if it is GFI? Is it just that the plug will have a tester button it or is their something else I should look for? Andy: I am pretty sure salt water made it into a power strip but I don't think it made it to the wall socket but it is possible. I am assuming that somehow water hitting the power source somewhere along the line killed the circuit. I really wish I knew a bit more about electrical stuff. What it comes down to is that if you want a large reef you should probably be a plumber, electrician, and a banker fishmanmike: This Bluespot is super cool. I really want him to thrive. I am going to put some gutter guard netting over the top of the tank. I just hope the netting does not block to much light. I dream of growing SPS under my new 400 watt lights someday. Thanks again everyone for your input.

Hi Folks Well I went and learned yet another lesson the hard way. My blue spotted jawfish jumped into the overflow of my 29 gallon BioCube quarantine tank. When I was done rescuing him I failed to reconnect the inflow from my external refugium. I turned the pumps back on and low and behold the fuge overflowed and filled my power strip under the desk with water. It tripped the circuit breaker and now the circuit does not work at all. Has anyone ever had something like this happen? I have never had a whole circuit go out and stay out before. The jawfish was quickly relocated to my 140 gallon tank and I was planning on selling the BioCube anyway... I am looking for advice and possibly a referral to a good electrician that is fair and hopefully understanding. Lessons Learned: 1) Always check that all tubes ate going where you think they are before restarting after maintenance. 2) Figure out where the water is going to overflow if something goes wrong and make sure that it won't find its way to electrical sockets. 3) Blue spotted jaw fish are missiles. Thanks, Fred

I would like to buy it. PM Sent.