reefmadness
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Also, it may be a little after the fact, but petco sells manhattan brand steel stands specifically for the 40 breeders. Just a heads up if you ever decided to move the tank or became unhappy with your current selection.
Wesley's 40 Breeder Sumpless
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Wesley42079
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I purchased the light hangers from another reefer. All he did was purchase the metal conduit rods from Home Depot and used a device to bend the rods. The paint used is rust-Oleum black "hammered. "
I sure am glad that you are enjoying it so far.
Thank you. I will keep posting as much as possible. Since the tank is going through the cycle, there won't be much to report on. I didn't use any live rock, so there won't be any hitch hikers to look out for.
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Wesley42079
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Majority of the rocks used to scape is Marco rocks.
I love the look of the rocks, but there aren't too much holes or crevices for me to place my frag plugs on. I may just cut the bottom of the frag plug and putty them onto the rocks.
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Wesley42079
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TANK CYCLE - DAY 6
While the aquarium is still cycling, I figured I would post some pictures of a AquaClear 110 I purchased from a fellow reefer months ago. He had already modded it to a refugium.
The AC110 is terribly dirty, so I'll have to take a hose to it and clean it out.
Here is all the silicon I stripped off of the AC110. I don't know what the previous reefer was thinking, but it looks like he used a whole tube of silicon.
It took me a few mintues to scrape all this crap off.
Here is a picture of the AC110 after I water tested and cleaned it out. She sure looks SEXY again.
While the aquarium is still cycling, I figured I would post some pictures of a AquaClear 110 I purchased from a fellow reefer months ago. He had already modded it to a refugium.
The AC110 is terribly dirty, so I'll have to take a hose to it and clean it out.
Here is all the silicon I stripped off of the AC110. I don't know what the previous reefer was thinking, but it looks like he used a whole tube of silicon.
It took me a few mintues to scrape all this crap off.
Here is a picture of the AC110 after I water tested and cleaned it out. She sure looks SEXY again.
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Wesley42079
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Here is a picture of my son, Jordan. He is the reason why I got into reefing 3 years ago.
Since this tank is still cycling, let me tell you a little story about my first reef aquarium.
The year was 2009 when I took Jordan with me to Neptunes Aquatics (San Jose, CA). I never thought about reefing, all I was into were African Cichlids. Everytime I visited the store, I would walk by all the salt water aquariums and immediately make my way to the back section of the store. I have to tell you, their stock of freshwater fish is amazing. I felt like heaven. Well, on our way out, Jordan told me that he wanted "nemo." I explained to him that "nemo" requires a saltwater aquarium and at the time I only had a 55 gallon Tanganyikan setup.
When I finally got home, I started thinking about setting up a reef tank. I didn't have a clue as to what was needed to setup an aquarium, so I started searching for forums and luckily stumbled into this friendly place. For months I read through hundreds of threads and soaked all the information in. I consulted with Robert, Cerisa, Jimmy and all the friendly employees at Neptune Aquatics. After a few more months, I invested in a BioCube 29. I loved the tank. I sure learned alot more through hands on experience.
I would like to dedicate this new 40 Breeder build to my son. As he gets older, I sure hope he picks up the reefing hobby.
Since this tank is still cycling, let me tell you a little story about my first reef aquarium.
The year was 2009 when I took Jordan with me to Neptunes Aquatics (San Jose, CA). I never thought about reefing, all I was into were African Cichlids. Everytime I visited the store, I would walk by all the salt water aquariums and immediately make my way to the back section of the store. I have to tell you, their stock of freshwater fish is amazing. I felt like heaven. Well, on our way out, Jordan told me that he wanted "nemo." I explained to him that "nemo" requires a saltwater aquarium and at the time I only had a 55 gallon Tanganyikan setup.
When I finally got home, I started thinking about setting up a reef tank. I didn't have a clue as to what was needed to setup an aquarium, so I started searching for forums and luckily stumbled into this friendly place. For months I read through hundreds of threads and soaked all the information in. I consulted with Robert, Cerisa, Jimmy and all the friendly employees at Neptune Aquatics. After a few more months, I invested in a BioCube 29. I loved the tank. I sure learned alot more through hands on experience.
I would like to dedicate this new 40 Breeder build to my son. As he gets older, I sure hope he picks up the reefing hobby.
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Man that is a awesome tank keep up the great work. Cant wait to see livestock in it.
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Wesley42079
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I checked my water perameters today:
Ammonia .25
Nitrites 0
Phosphates .003
Since the aquarium is starting to grow algae on the glass and parts of my rocks, I figured I'd get (3) astrea snails and (5) red foot's. This will assist in cleaning up some algae and assist in cycling the tank.
Ammonia .25
Nitrites 0
Phosphates .003
Since the aquarium is starting to grow algae on the glass and parts of my rocks, I figured I'd get (3) astrea snails and (5) red foot's. This will assist in cleaning up some algae and assist in cycling the tank.
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Wesley42079
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I also decided to drop in 1.5 inch piece of shrimp to kick-start the cycle, so I drove to Safeway and ran to the seafood/meat section. Unfortunately, all the seafood was placed into the freezing locker.
I asked one of the seafood clerks if it would be possible to get (1) piece of shirmp. Luckily, he just barely placed it into the freezer, so it wasn't frozen yet. I asked the seafood clerk what was the total cost so I can pay for it at the front. The seafood clerk told me that since I just needed (1) piece, I can take it free of cost.
The seafood clerk then asked, "what do you need (1) piece of shimp for?" I told him that I was cycling my reef aquarium and needed the shrimp to kickstart the cycle. He was amazed and didn't know that was possible with a single piece of shrimp.
Well, without futher delay, here is Bubba Gump the "shrimp." Sorry, I had to tear you in (2) pieces. I just didn't think the aquarium needed a full 3 inch piece of shimp decaying in the aquarium.
I asked one of the seafood clerks if it would be possible to get (1) piece of shirmp. Luckily, he just barely placed it into the freezer, so it wasn't frozen yet. I asked the seafood clerk what was the total cost so I can pay for it at the front. The seafood clerk told me that since I just needed (1) piece, I can take it free of cost.
The seafood clerk then asked, "what do you need (1) piece of shimp for?" I told him that I was cycling my reef aquarium and needed the shrimp to kickstart the cycle. He was amazed and didn't know that was possible with a single piece of shrimp.
Well, without futher delay, here is Bubba Gump the "shrimp." Sorry, I had to tear you in (2) pieces. I just didn't think the aquarium needed a full 3 inch piece of shimp decaying in the aquarium.
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Wesley42079
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And here are full tank shots after 9 days of cycling.
As soon as I get my surface skimmer from YankeePete, I'll be cutting the Fluval plastic. Right now, it looks ugly just hanging on top of my rocks.
As soon as I get my surface skimmer from YankeePete, I'll be cutting the Fluval plastic. Right now, it looks ugly just hanging on top of my rocks.
Looking good, I also used a piece of shrimp to kick start my cycle also. I ended up going on Easter Sunday and did not think about them having the meat counter closed for the holiday. Luckily one of the guys that was up there got me my shrimp. I did tell him that I was probably going to give him one of the oddest requests for the day. When I told him what I was doing with the shrimp he told me he had a teacher that had come in before doing the same thing.
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Wesley42079
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Nice story. I wonder if many reefers explain exactly what they are using the 1 piece of shrimp for.
Good luck with your tank build. I'll be following along to check on its transformation to a full self sustaining reef.
Good luck with your tank build. I'll be following along to check on its transformation to a full self sustaining reef.
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Wesley42079
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Sorry fellow reefers, I haven't had a chance to update my tank build. Everything is still cycling.
My hermit crabs and snails have been doing a great job in mowing down the algae. I am thinking of getting a sand sifting starfish to help turn my substrate. I hate to see algae growing at the bottom of the aquarium.
My hermit crabs and snails have been doing a great job in mowing down the algae. I am thinking of getting a sand sifting starfish to help turn my substrate. I hate to see algae growing at the bottom of the aquarium.
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Wesley42079
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On another note, my wife and I are at the hospital waiting for the birth of our daughter.
After waiting 16 hours, Kaiser finally had room for us at 9pm on 6/8. By 5:50am, my wife requested for the epidural to help ease the pain.
I predict the baby should be coming in a few hours.
Well, happy reefing everybody.
After waiting 16 hours, Kaiser finally had room for us at 9pm on 6/8. By 5:50am, my wife requested for the epidural to help ease the pain.
I predict the baby should be coming in a few hours.
Well, happy reefing everybody.
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Wesley42079
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I finally have a chance to update my build.
According to the API test kits, here are my water perameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
One thing I am battling right now is the nasty green hair algae. The (5) hermit crabs I have don't stand a chance against the green hair algae. I know I have to purchase more, but I think I'll be manually pulling out as much algae as I can.
According to the API test kits, here are my water perameters:
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
One thing I am battling right now is the nasty green hair algae. The (5) hermit crabs I have don't stand a chance against the green hair algae. I know I have to purchase more, but I think I'll be manually pulling out as much algae as I can.
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Wesley42079
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Ok, so time to combat my gha problem.
On 6/14/12 @ 7:50pm I powered on the Tunze 9002. I wanted to see if I can skim the water and pull any type of waste from the water.
I let the skimmer run overnight since it was getting too late for me to see any major results.
On 6/14/12 @ 7:50pm I powered on the Tunze 9002. I wanted to see if I can skim the water and pull any type of waste from the water.
I let the skimmer run overnight since it was getting too late for me to see any major results.
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