PrisonCityReef Gets a Nanocube

[PrisonCityReef]

Moving this over from Nano-reef to my new home!

May 25 2009, 02:18 PM

My Marine friend had a couple nice saltwater tanks before he enlisted and shipped out. I really enjoyed watching them and learning about them from him. I was bitten by the bug.. Hard...

Since then I've been biding my time, researching, planning, and picking up random bits of equipment that I would need along the way.

So I've been working on starting a tank for about 2 years now. I picked up a 14g Biocube from a knowledgeable local N-R member. Got a good price on a nice tank that included some live rock & sand and a few misc goodies that will help quite a bit.

I added a big piece of LR and I plan to use as a replacement for one that is currently in the tank, so it is curing at the moment. It will be a bit before I add any livestock beyond the basic CUC. The tank came with a couple snails, all sorts of baby starfish, and a hermit crab. (Pics coming soon!)

So here begins my build thread.

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May 27 2009, 03:21 PM

Ok, so I'm really not happy with my rock-work. Really crowded. Like I said, I'm going to be trading a new rock in for one of the rocks that it came with. I may get creative with the other pieces I have too and try making something different.

Lots of work to done, but for now I'm just letting everything settle out and I'll take everything out and re-arrange it all and polish things up once the parameters are closer to where I want them. Also I'm evaluating the skimmer to see if I want to use it or not, so the heater will be finding a more permanent place in the back compartments once I have decided on that.

As promised:
Pictures!!

FTS:

Anyone know what these little white slug looking things are?

This post has been edited by PrisonCityReef: May 27 2009, 03:32 PM

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May 29 2009, 08:47 AM

After playing with the skimmer for a few days, I've decided that it just isn't doing as much as I wanted it to. I may upgrade to a better model at some point, but I'm getting a cup full of water instead a cup full of skimmate. I've played with the valve until my eyes went crosseyed, but with the amount of good it is doing, I don't see it as being worthwhile to keep it in the back chamber at this time.

I ordered some new sand to replace the substrate with. I'll re-do the rock work and get that in there when it arrives (probably next week sometime.)

I'm evaluating my CuC options as well. I won't add anything until the rockwork is all re-done and I'm starting to see some more algae popping up.

Right now I'm planning on 3 hermits (probably 2 blue and 1 red.) Then 8-12 snails depending on their size. I'm not sure on what variety of snail to get yet. I'll probably get a mix of 2-3 each, with a few more of the sand-cleaning type.

-PCR

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Jun 26 2009, 09:01 AM

Ok, finally an update to make today. I've done some major changes to the tank since my last post, but I've been pretty busy @ work. Busy season for an insurance agent.

I wasn't happy with the rock pieces that were in there and I had the urge to try a different substrate. (No offense Matt!) so I used some base rock I picked up elsewhere and also got some pretty white sand. Go to Ebay and look for 30lbs Aragonite white sand for details.

So I re-did the rock work, threw some random pieces I had in there to get it seeding and it's going from there. I lost the hermit crab. Not 100% sure what killed him off. I have a hunch he may have starved, so I'm not putting any livestock in this 'new' iteration of the tank for a bit. I have a couple snails that made the journey, and a bunch of little starfish.

Here is a question - Should I be feeding anything in the tank? The rock is Marco base rock that I picked up from a Madison (MARS) member. It was given a quick scrub and rinsed and that is it. I know some people swear by the brine shrimp, some people toss in a Damsel and feed them. Those of you who just let the bacteria run their course, is there enough 'gunk' on the rocks and stuff to feed the bacteria and 2 small snails + some baby stars?

I have some pictures at home on my camera. Had a brain fade this AM and forgot to upload them. Pictures of it just after set-up, and pictures after a water change last night. My camera tripod is apparently a point of sale and I need to modify it a bit. I got the tripod from goodwill for $3 and modified it to handle a digital camera. Still a work in progress since it doesn't really thread properly onto the camera.

So I did the major re-vamp about 3 weeks ago. Then last night I did about a 3.5g water change. From now on I plan on doing a 2g change every week - week and a half.

I just started toying with the lights, timers, etc a bit more. I'm not running them much right now. I have a window near the tank so I've been leaving the curtain open a bit and using some natural light to give the algae a bit of a boost. I know algae is BAD, HORRIBLE, etc, but I want to get it at least started in order to give the snails and future hermits a bit to snack on. My wife is not the most patient woman and she wants some critters in there! I told her she has to wait until there is algae, then we can get a pair of mini hermits. She just really really wants something to watch in there.

Pictures to come, I promise!

This post has been edited by PrisonCityReef: Jun 26 2009, 09:09 AM


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Pictures from 06/26/2009.

Sand close-up:

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End of copy / paste from my old build thread.

 

[PrisonCityReef]

Of course it is probably update time.

Over the last month the tank has been maturing nicely. I've only been doing water changes and letting the cycle do its thing.

Played with the lights and my third row is not firing. I have 2 new lights in atm. I ran out of time to troubleshoot the faulty light. A 10K and a 50/50. Really looking nice though. Starting to get a bit of brown on the sand and rocks, so it is just about time for a CuC.

I also ripped out the old moonlights and modified the reflector to house some new ones. I think I went a bit overboard though so I'll probably but those back a bit this weekend sometime.

Question:

What can I keep under these PCs that will host a clownfish? I was thinking a frogspawn, but are there any other options? I really don't think an anemone will survive with 2x24W PCs.

-PCR

 

[Fishcrazy06]

You can keep an infamous RBTA from the fox valley strain under the PC's without a problem at all! Trust me on this one!

Eric

 

[ficklefins]

My clowns have no interest in my frogspawn or hammer coral. I had a pair in the past that would host the frogspawn, but these two have showed no interest. It sucks

 

[PrisonCityReef]

Oooh, didn't consider one of those since they were anemones. Those things are a pretty addition. Even if they do get a bit out of control with the splitting...

How hardy are they? Should I let things stabilize a bit more?

 

[PrisonCityReef]

Here are some updated pics of my little reef.
I didn't shut the pumps off before I took the pics, so there is a bit of stuff blowing around blur going on in these. Still learning as I go a bit...

Raffle prizes from the September FVRC meet!
Orange/red Mushroom (can see the edge of the other one on the top right section of this pic)

Zoas (Watermelons or Eagle Eyes depending who you ask)

Another Blue-ish shroom that I didn't get a decent picture of last night. Will try tonight.


John tossed it in my bag since there were a few pieces left over. After 2 hours at Chuck E Cheese, my mind was a bit shot... Someone has told me it is a blue ridged coral (Heliopora.) Not sure how it will do. Need to get it mounted

I headed down to Reef's and bought a tiny clownfish and a frogspawn. So yes. I officially have a tank, and life in the tank!!!
Bear the clownfish:

Bear's Frogspawn(hopefully?)

Full tank shot:

Zoas opened up pretty well last night once they were situated. I don't like where they are atm. The plug they are on is great for a frag rack, but it isn't sitting in the tank all that well so I need to know a good way to get them off the plug and onto a rock or something?