Upgraded cube

[1fishkeeper]

Well I have upgraded my tank. Right now I have a 30 gallon cube. But I was able to pick up a 93 gallon at a great price. So here I go trying to get this thing built so I can move everything over from the 30 to this one with little to no problems. I am kind of broke and this hobby is not for a broke person but I’m doing my best. I made the stand for it. I could park a car on it and not worry.
For the last few days I have been running the new setup and checking for leaks. Just one little one and that was fixed by just tightening the hose clamp. While the tank was doing a freshwater leak test I have been building the aquascape that will be going in it. Now mostly all that is left that needs to be done is lighting for it tomorrow I might build the fixture that I plan on hanging the lights from . But I guess I will have to be better and posting pictures and updates as I go along getting this thing ready to go.

 

[19Mateo83]

Looking good! Love the size of that 90.

 

[1fishkeeper]

I was thinking when I go to move everything over I plan on dumping a bottle of Dr. Tim’s in it and putting the rock from the 30 in the skimmer section of the sump for a few months. I also ha a couple of marine pure bricks that have been going for a year in my old sump. I’m thinking between the Dr Tim’s and rock and bricks from the 5 year old tank things should be ok for a little while. But I was also thinking about ordering up the 8 pounds of rock and 8 pounds of sand from Tampa bay just to get some diversity going.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Figured I might as well post a picture of the 30 cube that’s getting replaced. Sorry it’s an old picture with dirty glass. Currently I have more corals in it but I don’t have a picture that’s new. Maybe I will snap one tomorrow.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Just picked up a couple of used MP40”s for the build. Now all I need for the most part is lights.

 

[kevgib67]

Exciting! I’m following along, I hope to upgrade next year.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well I am just sitting here not wanting to work so I decided to snap a few pictures of my 30 gallon cube that will be going into 93 once it’s up and running. I also got a filter for my phone and I wanted to see how those pictures turn out to. So update time waiting on the lights still. I was cleaning up some of my old equipment like the skimmer so I thought I would make sure it worked. Well to my surprise the pump no longer works so I guess I need a new pump or skimmer. Time to go looking to see what I can find. But now to some pictures of fish and corals that will get moved over once it’s up and running.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Well I am just sitting here not wanting to work so I decided to snap a few pictures of my 30 gallon cube that will be going into 93 once it’s up and running. I also got a filter for my phone and I wanted to see how those pictures turn out to. So update time waiting on the lights still. I was cleaning up some of my old equipment like the skimmer so I thought I would make sure it worked. Well to my surprise the pump no longer works so I guess I need a new pump or skimmer. Time to go looking to see what I can find. But now to some pictures of fish and corals that will get moved over once it’s up and running.

Love the coral in your tank!

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well things are starting to move along. I finally moved my tank from the middle of the living room to where it’s calling home. I had to drain my 30 cube and move it over so I could put the 93 in its place. My goal for today is get it level and then start putting RO water in it.

 

[1fishkeeper]

And it’s filling and filling and filling. Going to be a couple of days to get it filled. But I was sitting here and I kind of liked the view so I snapped another picture.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well the tank is filled and the salt added. I also added a bottle of Dr Tim's to kick off the cycle along with a couple of bio bricks that I had in my sump for the last 6-9 months. I also gave it a large dose of Aquaforest Life Source. I am a believer in this stuff, I started to add it to my 30 cube and it made a total turn around from it looking like I needed to tear the tank down to looking great. Who knew adding mud to your tank is good for it.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well I was so hoping for a fast cycle but that doesn't look like its going to happen. I have been testing daily so I can track it progress. Well my Nitrites are off the scale at 200ppm but I am now starting to get some Nitrates starting to show up. So I know there is progress but just way slow. I read and seen everyone talking about how great and how fast Dr. Tim's one and only completed cycles in a week but maybe I got a bad bottle so it is going off the bio-bricks I added to the sump. On a side note I am starting to get patches of Diatoms showing up on the sand and a few places on the rocks. So I guess its time to get the tank seeded with some pods to try and keep things from getting out of hand.

 

[1fishkeeper]

The ugly has kicked it almost over night.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well I placed an order for some pods for my new tans that I just got up and running. So looking around on the internet I happen to run across Aquarium Depot. Well the have a 2000+ pods and bottle of phyto. So I figured I would give them a try. Well I just got my Oder to delivered by UPS. When I picked up the box a rotten smell was coming from it. I brought it inside and opened it up. All I can say is the smell coming from it would make anyone gag. I looked at the bags the pods were shipped in and I had a yellow brown muck at the bottom of both of the bags. I opened them up (mistake number one) and the smell was one of the worst things ever. I dumped everything from the bags to a bowl and I would have to say 95% of the pods were dead and rotten. Even the dog smelled it and went outside and is still outside. I got all of my window and doors open for the last couple of hours and it still smells in here. I fished through the bowl of rotten dead pods and pulled out about a half dozen that were alive and placed them in the tank. Next I went to check out the phyto I got. They used a old water bottle. Well this is the lightest phyto I have ever seen. I gave it a little shake and chunks were floating around in it with one pod went swimming by. To me it looks like nasty pod water. Well I can say for sure I will never use them again and here are some pictures for your enjoyment.

 

[1fishkeeper]

The phyto I got

 

[1fishkeeper]

Ok here is the quick rundown on what’s going on. I have a 28 gallon cube currently up and running for 6 years now. I ended up picking up a 93 gallon cube a few months ago. I got it up and running and the cycle is complete on it. I planed on just letting it run with pods and a few snails and hermits in it for a few months then move everything over from the 28. Well I just noticed I must have a small leak in the 28 because I got salt all over along the bottom seam and running down the stand. Do you think I will loose most of my SPS frags moving them over to the new tank? I can move a few of the rocks over to help it out. Sorry for the bad pictures and the mess as I’m trying to clean things up I started moving things over with out stopping to think I stepped back to collect my thoughts and thought I would ask on here

 

[1fishkeeper]

Well due to my other tank leaking everything has been successfully moved. I do have a few rocks from the old tank in my display but after some time I will remove them or rearrange them to better fit the scape I got going now. But I thought I would post a few update pictures.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Ok I don’t want to be one of those guys but this one here has me stumped. This is on rock that have been in my tank for almost 5 years now. I have never noticed or seen this before until I upgraded my tank and moved the rock over. It almost looks like an encrusting sps but it is in a very little light area. When I first moved the rock over it was just a small little patch growing between the sponges. It is now growing over the sponges growing on the rock. It looks like it has brown polyps with a green base. At first I thought it might be some of the ORA Spongodes growing above it but it is not the same. So what is it?

 

[tbrown]

Leptastrea is likely. Maybe a John Deere or just a Green Leptastrea. Most of them tend to be more orangish but with low light/no light they'll definitely brown out. How big are the polyps compared to the Spongodes.

 

[1fishkeeper]

Leptastrea is likely. Maybe a John Deere or just a Green Leptastrea. Most of them tend to be more orangish but with low light/no light they'll definitely brown out. How big are the polyps compared to the Spongodes.

I would almost say double but not quite double. Now that I have moved it they are starting to get more of a green center and a brown outside edge.