40 Gallons with a few Soft Corals

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
3/15/2024 — Current FTS:

FTS_2024_03_15_2.jpeg




ORIGINAL FIRST POST (11/6/2021) below…


Not really a "build" -- more of a recent "tank transfer" with a couple of minor DIYs


40 gallon breeder:
-- tank transferred from 37 gallon TALL tank (FOWLR + non-coral inverts run for 6 months)
-- in otherwise useless nook in the house so no room for sump/refugium below
-- 2 HOB power filters for mechanical filtration,,, nothing more


Lame DIY stuff:
(1. emergency lighting mount (for tank transfer, old tank had lid with white LED strips):
- TV wall mount ($13 on Amazon)
- aluminum angle from garage (other projects) for arms/brackets
- 2x mismatched reef LEDs (one used, one open-box/missing parts):
-- Kessil A80 Tuna Blue
-- Nicrew HyperReef 50W (will try first soft coral under here)
(2. Lid:
- made acrylic lid out of scrap from local seller (meant to be quick prototype with better version to come later)
- had feeding door + large mesh area for oxygenation (gas exchange)
- 2nd day of use freaked out about possible toxicity of sealant used for bonding
- switched to Lowe's screen frame (for clear mesh)
*still have home-made acrylic plank on back with cut-outs for HOB equipment (to keep potential "jumpers" from going out back behind screen)


Small bio-load:
- Small clownfish
- Bicolor blenny (((almost committed suicide during transfer,,, but all good now)))
- Chocolate chip starfish ***
- Pink urchin (looks like pincushion)
- Tiger sand conch
- 2 nassarius snails
- 3 margarita snails ***
- 2 blue-legged hermit crabs ***
- 6 micro brittle stars
- Other hitchhikers = mostly amphipods and bristle worms (my favorite???)
*** = first inverts, still with us after 7-8 months and 4 (increasing capacity) tank transfers


Next up = Flow:
About to buy AI Nero 5 but am concerned about (old?) posts related to it chopping up fish -- urchin and starfish crawl all over everything ... that would SUCK!!! (if something bad happened)


...most notable events have already been posted in separate threads



3 weeks since tank transfer, lights are still on LOW and "as little BLUE as possible" 'cause, with all the other stress, BLUE was FREAKING OUT my fish -- first pic of new tank:

40g_white1.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Additional details about my journey in case anyone gets really bored...


Recent tank transfer thread:




Current FLOW considerations thread:




Life story, aquarium-wise:
- had jellyfish for 1.5 years (free after in-law never used a gift desktop jellyfish tank for many years)
- added inverts; chocolate chip starfish, 2 hermit crabs, plus snails, amphipods, and bristleworms from some live rock I bought
- moved the established water and substrate to larger 37 gallon tank just for fun (through progression of 3 tanks)
- two fish; one small clownfish and a bicolor blenny
- ran 37 gallon TALL for 6 months then tank transferred to 40 breeder for better dimensions
*will try a couple of soft corals in the near future
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
...and finally (for now), since I guess this is basically my home page, some random pics of some of the stuff in my tank


Urchin and starfish (old tank right before transfer):

urchin_starfish4.jpeg




Target feeding the conch -- scared new tank is too clean right now:

conch1.jpeg




The 2 "fish" (old pic):

clown_blenny1.jpeg



Micro brittle stars doing "alien" stuff -- someone suggested one on right may be spawning:

micro_star1.jpeg



My daughters got a rescue kitten (old tank right before transfer):

yummy_close.jpeg



...probably more babble to come, eventually
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looks awesome! Following.
Thanks,,, yours is way nicer but,,, uhhh,,, I think there's a slight chance you just may be WAY MORE committed/motivated than I am.

Great job on your "journey", by the way...

It's like reading a novel (assuming I ever read):
The ups, the downs, the drama, the perseverance,,, NICE!
 

kittenbritches

The Cat's Pajamas
View Badges
Joined
Aug 18, 2021
Messages
1,547
Reaction score
5,686
Location
Rocky Mountains
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Thanks,,, yours is way nicer but,,, uhhh,,, I think there's a slight chance you just may be WAY MORE committed/motivated than I am.

Great job on your "journey", by the way...

It's like reading a novel (assuming I ever read):
The ups, the downs, the drama, the perseverance,,, NICE!
Thank you kindly! :)

Honestly, it's the only thing I can stay consistently motivated by right now! I feel like I land flat on my face more often than not, but I'm a little proud and a lot stubborn. Haha!
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Nothing new to report except I SUCK at taking pics (under blue light at night) with my old-xxx iPhone 6 !!!

Enough critters were out so thought I'd try -- didn't really work, so here's bad pic with lame captions on some stuff that was out but not very visible in my stupid pic attempt:

tank_dark1_caption.jpg
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
ATO setup installed:
(pics below)
- Tunze Osmolator "Nano" 3152 -- 2021 Christmas Gift
- Delay for install was being too lazy to figure out ATO water container that has to go in limited space behind tank in house "nook". (No room below)
- ATO water container = $13 trash can from Target -- polypropylene (PP, recycle code #5)
*cut about 5 inches off top of trash can (and a few inches off lid) for fit/accessibility behind the tank
*didn't pay enough attention when I filled with RO/DI but guessing it's holding about 8-10 gallons (with water filled to almost DT water level)

...seems to be working but I'm only about 8 hours in -- test was just scooping out water until the ATO started fill then watch it shut off.

My initial complaints with the Tunze "Nano" Osmolator are:
- No sensor (or "dry" detection) in fill water area to shut-off if level too low. *probably not an issue as my guesstimate is that I could ignore it for 10+ days before the water got to low/danger level, which I don't plan to do.
- Clamp for fill hose is not wide enough to mount horizontally on my rimmed tank (Aqueon 40 gallon breeder). *went with clamp mounted vertically on my acrylic slat around my HOBs -- seems fine,,, we shall see.
- Magnet is stated to handle 3/8" glass while my tank is only 1/4" glass, which is great,,, but didn't feel it was strong enough for PAINTED back glass,,, went on un-painted side glass and fine.
- Outer magnet at max height right below "rim" of my tank leads to float being about 1/2" lower than than I'd like -- my water lever is just going to be about 1/2" lower now.

Pics...

Target trash can for ATO RO/DI fill water:

ATO_container1.jpeg




Fill tube clamp:

ATO_fill1.jpeg




Float:

ATO_float1.jpeg
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just testing out hand-me-down iPhone 11 through orange filter at night with blue LEDs running ramping down (since my iPhone 6 night pics really sucked) -- better, I think.

Urchin is back to work again trying to carve all the coralline off my rock structure:

urchin_iphone11.jpeg
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Really need to get an updated full tank shot for 2022 with my two (so far) zoas but, for now...

Here's what I'm dealing with on my lunch break today:
*becoming a far too common occurrence

coral_urchin1_small.jpeg
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Dinkin' around so some pics from today...


FTS_2022_02_19.JPG




2 zoas so far from LFS, $15 and $35, respectively:

corals.JPG




First coral at 1 week, 4 weeks, 5 weeks since purchase:

coral_A_week1_4_5.JPG
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just bought 2x AI Prime 16 HD LED lights -- $220 each, new from Amazon,,, doh!
*coming soon

Finished 30 day QT of chaeto with "pods" purchased from eBay, cultivated in a system with fish.
Found hydrozoa (ID'ed by another R2R user) -- pic and video below.

Bad news is I had already put the chaeto ball into DT as well as a bunch of "scoops" of pods the day before.
*weird that I only noticed these the day after when I was about to dump the QT water and deciding if I wanted to try to save any more pods first.

polyp1.jpeg




 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Shrimp molt in QT 'cause I thought it looked "neat" and 2x AI Prime 16HD LEDs installed on my hack-job TV wall mount with scrap angle aluminum brackets
over the weekend:

shrimp_molt1.jpeg


AI_Primes1.jpeg
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Just picked up these 5 zoas from a local R2R member last night for a pretty good deal -- now thinking I need to break down and flatten the rock pile on the right side of my tank for more mounting space. (I think I'll keep that one rock structure for zoas only):

corals_C_G_rack1.jpeg



My original 2 zoas from January are doing pretty well, although I think I did stress them out a bit with too aggressive lighting so have cut it back.

*2x AI Prime 16 HD LEDs were in acclimation mode but I was gone for 2 weeks when acclimation ended (topped out) and when I got back they didn't look happy,,, but better now:

corals_AB3.jpeg
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My rock pile on the right was bugging me because it was basically stacked straight up without a lot of flat room for the new zoas so, today, I took it apart and flattened it out,,, all in the tank.

Made a mess and nobody's really happy right now...

Not exactly what I was going for but none of the rocks fit together the way I hoped and I ended up with one large rock leftover so broke it in half (hammer and pry bar) in the garage to at least fit it "somewhere" in the tank -- the piece jutting off the back/left of the new assembly is one part of it.
*Main thing I don't like about that piece right now is that it touches the back glass so no room for conch to cruise the whole perimeter, other than climbing it -- leaving it for now but will probably do "something" at some point.


Other than the one piece I just mentioned, there's still room around everything and between the two, separate structures -- this angle just makes it look "cramped":

rescape1.jpeg
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Lame FTS of where I mounted the zoas on the newly scattered rocks (on right side of tank):

FTS_2022_5_1.JPG




Top down shot of a couple of the newer ones:

corals.JPG
 
OP
OP
EricR

EricR

Valuable Member
View Badges
Joined
Jun 9, 2021
Messages
2,263
Reaction score
2,391
Location
California USA
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
My wife/kids bought me a BRS 6-stage RODI (75 GPD "Plus") unit for my birthday in early June.
Up until now, I've just been buying bulk RO/DI water from my LFS at 25 cents / gallon.


rodi1.jpeg



Metrics based on use so far:
— Tap water = 475 ppm TDS
— Waste water = 660 ppm TDS
— After RO membrane = 15 ppm TDS
— Final output = 0 ppm TDS
*using HM Digital TDS-3 handheld meter except for post-RO only used BRS included/mounted HM meter

Water pressure at gauge on unit = 48 psi but falls to 42 psi when other water is being used in the house.
*just living with this for now but may look into booster pump at some point.


Previous thread from when I first installed the unit:
First RODI Install
 
Back
Top