60 gallon (previously 45) cube updated on 8/19/2010

[wisesam]

Thought I'll start a thread for my new 45G cube tank.
I plan to have this tank skimmerless with algae turf scrubber in the sump.
I'm using a Styrofoam back ground as the overflow divider.
Here are a few pics with the background installed.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC02987.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC02990.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC02991.jpg

My progress has been slow. Keep putting it off. But hopefully I can have it filled with water by end of this week. :biggrin:

[JDigital]

Awesome overflow!!!! Stealth mode.. :lol:

[Rbacchiega]

Like the background...where'd you get it at?

[Pazil]

That background is awesome!!:peace:

[wisesam]

I got it from a member on bcaquaria.
I believe the guy brought it back from China.

A couple things that concerns me:
1) Not sure what paint was used on the BG. It doesn't seem to be sealed by anything. But the styrofoam itself is black. I realized it after cutting out the notches. I will let it sit in water for a few days to see if anything leaches out.

2) Not sure if it will withstand the pressure of the water. The styrofoam is about 1.5'' ~ 2'' thick and not that flimsy. But I am still concerned. I plan to have the water in the back relatively high. Maybe that will balance out the pressure?

[Doug]

For sure a great looking overflow but I agree with making sure it does not leach anything into saltwater. May be designed for fresh only?

Perhaps it can be sealed by whatever method others use to make styro backgrounds? I have seen some threads on here with it being used and on RC for sure.

[wisesam]

Hmm, it doesn't say it's specific for fresh or salt water..

I read epoxy or fiberglass resin can seal it. But where do I find those?

[wisesam]

Well.. found that cold cure epoxy resin should do the job. Industrial plastic & paints sells it.
I'll be taking the background down to apply a coat of that, then add a piece of glass in the back to make sure the pressure doesn't break it.

[wisesam]

Again, slow progress, but I've got the background sealed with epoxy resin. Glued a glass behind it for reinforcement and installed the light.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03219.jpg

Next to do is plumbing then I'm ready to add water. :D

[wisesam]

Finally got the pipes plumbed out.
I've added fresh water to test out everything and flush the whole system.
So far, I've noticed that my pump(Mag 9) is pumping the water faster than my drain pipe can handle if open at full. Maybe I should've gone with a weaker pump. So I need to throttle it down.
Also I need to raise the height of the drain pipe in the overflow so the sump doesn't get overflown with water when the pump is out. This will also allow the overflow chamber to hold more water so that the water splash won't be so loud.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03233.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03237.jpg

[banditpowdercoat]

what kind of a light is that?

[wisesam]

what kind of a light is that?

It's the 250W MH fixture from fishneedit.com.
It looks pretty good so far, but I suppose it's too early to tell just yet.

[banditpowdercoat]

It's the 250W MH fixture from fishneedit.com.
It looks pretty good so far, but I suppose it's too early to tell just yet.

I Thought so. I have been seriously considering trying one of their lights. I am
an electrician, and I know the true cost of ballasts and lights. But soon as you label Marine, or aquarium the price jumps sky high. I think alot more people would get into the hobby is stuff wasnt over priced.

I'll be really interested in hearing your thougfhts on the light, fit, finish, etc.

[wisesam]

I think the fixture is pretty good. The case is made of aluminum which is nice a light. Should be good for dissipating heat as well. But there is not cooling fan on the unit.
It comes with a hanging kit, I think it is nice accessory.
The power cord that it uses from the fixture to ballast is a very basic one used by ordinary appliances, not the round one. I don't know if that is good enough for such high output light.
I guess the most important thing in a fixture is the ballast and reflector. I have not comment on those at this moment since I haven't used it long enough.

[wisesam]

An update pic of the tank. Got the live rocks and sand in. Just waiting for it to cycled before moving some of my corals in.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03275.jpg

[JDigital]

Nice scaping job! Looks really good.

[wisesam]

So I got my float switch and built my auto top off system.
For a while I was thinking how I can mount the float switch. I thought about cutting a few pieces of acrylic and mount with some plastic bolt and nuts. But then my boss gave me some simple idea.
So I used a pvc pipe, cut in the middle to clamp it onto the baffle glass.
Mount the float switch onto it and connect it to the aqualifter pump, and done!
I also found a great 6gal container at Can Tire for the topoff water. It fits into a tight space beside my tank very nicely.
So happy I finally got this done :p

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03305.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03307.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03314.jpg

I've only moved 5 corals and some hermits into the tank. Slowly I'll move the SPS from my 75gal into it.
I find the bulb of this light fixture is not too good. I got the 14k bulb, but couple minutes after firing up the unit, it loses the blue tint and become yellowish white.
I will replace it with a phoenix 14K.

My coral are all brownish:sad:. Hopefully they will color up. Can't wait for that day to come.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03311.jpg

[wisesam]

I moved more corals into the tank and added a few fish.
A chrub angel, long fin shrimp goby, a couple firefish and a tiny lawnmower blenny.

I am getting quite a bit of green hair algae. The lawnmower is only 1 inch, tiny little cute fish. He'll have to work double overtime :lol:

Here are more pics.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03326.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03335.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03324.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03323.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03330.jpg

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Looks good Sam!

Just need to change that bulb ;)

Those Firefish are so nice! I want one but I am not sure how they would do in my tank.

[wisesam]

Ya, I'm waiting for the Phoenix 14k bulbs. Hopefully will be here soon.
I actually cheated on the photos a bit by using a different white balance. The actual color is a bit more yellow.
I want a couple of the "purple" firefish as well. They are so cool.

[wisesam]

Got my Phoenix 14k bulb tonight.
Wow, what a difference in the bulb color. This is so blue.
I love it!!!

Here's a couple update pics:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03362.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03364.jpg

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Got my Phoenix 14k bulb tonight.
Wow, what a difference in the bulb color. This is so blue.
I love it!!!

Here's a couple update pics:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03362.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03364.jpg

Looks great Sam!

That angel is soooooo cute! Both those fish are so little :)

[Ryan]

So maybe I missed it an I apologize if I did but what are the dimensions on the tank?

[wisesam]

So maybe I missed it an I apologize if I did but what are the dimensions on the tank?

Dimensions are 24x24x18.
The overflow background is about 5 inches from the back, so the actual display dimensions are 19x24x18.

[wisesam]

Haven't updated this thread for 2 months.
Here is what my tank looks like now.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03559.jpg

Moved many corals from y 75G to it and also bought some new ones.
I've lost the blue tang during the 2 weeks I was away in April.
Last weekend got myself a blue spotted jawfish.
I am loving this little guy. So actively burrowing the sand, stacking rubbles to make his home.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03563.jpg

[noirsphynx]

Looking great!

[Boomboy]

your tank is filled in very nicely. i love that fish too, why does it have to be so darn expensive though. maybe take a few pictures of all your corals for us :biggrin::biggrin:

[wisesam]

Thanks guys.
I crammed as many corals in there as I can. haha
I will post some coral shots later if I can get any good ones.
Ya, the jawfish costs quite a bit, but do many other fish. I think the price has come down a bit.
I am very happy that I got him. He is so fun to watch.

[karazy]

looks nice! that cherub angel must be a little camera shy?

good job on the BSJF too. is he eating well?

[wisesam]

looks nice! that cherub angel must be a little camera shy?

good job on the BSJF too. is he eating well?

Ya, the little guy is eating mysis and brine shrimps. He even took a bite on a little pellet, but not sure he swallowed it. I can't believe how fast he darts out for the food.
So far he has move his home 3 times. He dug 3 holes in the back rock for a few days and now moved to the area at the front island. I guess he wasn't happy about his other holes.

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Seen this tank in person & Sam's done a really good job with it. Love the jawfish & nice collection of corals too.

Anthony

[WDLV]

I signed up for this forum for the sole purpose of commenting on your tank. It's very nice!
I'm looking at installing four tanks the same size as yours in the near future. I like the backing, but would have had reservations about putting it in my system. It seems to be working out for you though. Was that attached to some sort of backer board or did you install just the foam piece? Also, did it come with the strainer cut outs or did you cut them out?

Again, very nice. Thanks for the ideas!

[wisesam]

Thank you for the compliment.
I have a piece of glass behind the foam background. If not, I don't think the foam can sustain the water pressure.
I cut out the strainers myself.
If the styrofoam is not sealed, make sure you apply many coats of epoxy resin.
I only applied a thin layer. I found that something has been scraping of my background. Either the snails, hermits or just the saltwater itself doing the damage.
I recently moved the tank from my bedroom to the living room and added a skimmer. I will update some picctures later one when I have time.

[WDLV]

I'm planning two different possibilities depending on how I position the tanks. If it's a flush mount, I plan to use a piece of 1/2" acrylic and re-surface the show side with rubbel rock and portland cement.
If I decide to position the tanks at 45 degrees from the wall, I will use a half piece of 12" PVC pipe for the overflow/false back and surface that the same way I would have done the acrylic.
The epoxy might work better than the portland cement for my application. I would become encrusted with corraline faster too.

Can't wait to see the new pics!

[wisesam]

A couple of updated FTS after the move.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03573.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03587.jpg

The corals didn't look too good before and during the move. I Lost a SPS due to lack of care during the week that I had the sump out. :(

I am quite excited to get the calcium reactor setup last night.
The tank is almost in auto pilot now. So no more excuse for my laziness, and hopefully my corals will start doing better. :lol:

[fishytime]

They look all right to me:biggrin: Nice stand BTW.

[Skimmerking]

looks great with the blue kelvin bulb man, i like it alot

[wisesam]

Thanks guys. I do like look of the bluer light. But it may not bring out some color spectrum too well.
I like how the stand looks now too. It is actually the same stand as before but I added the panels to enclose the stand. I'll be building a small stand next to it to hide the calcium reactor as well.

[Myka]

Very cool background idea! Too bad something is damaging it though. I was going to make one of those for a cichlid tank I had back in...oh a long time ago anyway! But, I never did get around to it since I was scared about it getting damaged. Oh, and I'm lazy when it comes to DIY.

[freezetyle]

is that a Vortech mp20 or 40? I have a tank with the same dimensions and was wondering which one to go for.

Tank looks awesome!

[wisesam]

Very cool background idea! Too bad something is damaging it though. I was going to make one of those for a cichlid tank I had back in...oh a long time ago anyway! But, I never did get around to it since I was scared about it getting damaged. Oh, and I'm lazy when it comes to DIY.

ya, still don't know what is damaging it. I am a bit worried about something leach out.


is that a Vortech mp20 or 40?
It's a mp20.

[wisesam]

Added 4 blue eye cardinals and a fairy wrasse.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03634.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03647.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03638.jpg

I also added some new corals today.
The tank is officially full, both fish and corals :lol:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03649.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03631.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03624.jpg

[noirsphynx]

Looking really great! I love your fish selection. I had BS Cardinals but they hid behind my rock work all day in my tank until the pump went in to night mode so I guess my flow is too strong for them. How are yours doing.....out and about all the time?

[wisesam]

Mine hides often as well. Unlike the angel and wrasse, the cardinals are not active at all. Almost always hover around the same spot.

[imisky]

aftered i lowered my flow a little mine are always out and about, i see them in the front of the tank a good 5-10x in there shoal of 4 on a daily bases

[wisesam]

Haven't updated this for a few months.
A lot has happened during this time. I lost all my acro to AEFW and red bug.
I also lost my jawfish as it jumped through the egg crate onto the floor.

At the time I didn't know what was causing the my coral death. All the parameters checked out fine. Thought maybe the foam background was leaching some chemicals.
So I decided to change it out and replace it with acrylic.

I also took out the old fine sand and replace with more granule sand.
The rock work got a major renovation as well.

After the change, my tank had a mini cycle and got some algae problem.
Here is the FTS after the change.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03759.jpg
See the severe brown film covering the sand bed which is also crawling on the rocks.

At first I thought it was cyano, but later realized it is dino because the film got stringy. It is even clinging on some of my fish's dorsal fin. I hope it won't kill my fish.
I started to do more water change. Tried to cut the excess nutrient in the tank. Cut down on the light period. Siphon as much as possible. But the dino is just so hard to get rid off. I can swear that minutes after I siphon it out, it comes right back.

With all that effort, I am able to keep a little under control.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC_0012.jpg
But there is still quite a bit of. My purple death is extremely unhappy and is all closed up.
I am waiting until end of November before adding any more acro species because of the AEFW. Hopefully by that time, I can have the dino taken care of.

[wisesam]

I am winning the battle against dino! :biggrin:
The tank is looking better each day. I am so glad.

Here are some pics taken tonight.

FTS
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03806.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03855.jpg

Right side view.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03815.jpg

[Sebae again]

Looks great! You have some sweet corals there.

[wisesam]

Thanks.
Those are what are left after I lost all my acro.
I can't wait to add new acro at the end of November. Got the whole top rocks reserved for them.

[GreenSpottedPuffer]

Looking good sam! Hope you keep winning that battle. I will come by and check it out soon.

[wisesam]

Here is a quick update to the tank:
Added a few SPS back to the tank. Hope they will do good this time.
Also added a couple purple firefish, but they are very shy and still hide when light is on.
FTS:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03967.jpg

Blue Eye Cardinal:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC03994.jpg

Cherub Angel:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04020.jpg

Elegance:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04017.jpg

[wisesam]

Today I added 4 blue moonlight to my fixture.
It was actually pretty simple to do.
Here are what is needed to do the job:
4x 5mm blue LED, These are 3V, 20mA each
4x LED holder
1x 12V DC power adapter.
Soldering gun
some heat shrink.
a power drill to drill the holes in my fixture.

The LED are connected in a series. Since the 4 LED add up to 12V, with the 12V power supply, I didn't use any resistor.

I solder the LEDs in a series with the power adapter.
Used the heat shrink on the joining parts.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04044.jpg

Drill the fixture to mount the LED holder and here is the finished product:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04051.jpg

Here is the moonlight in action:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04053.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04060.jpg
The 2nd picture is very pixelated because it's taken under high ISO.
It is a little dim, but I am quite happy with the result.

[Aquaria]

nice tank man, will look very cool down the road (not that it dont know)so long as you stay problem free :)

[wisesam]

nice tank man, will look very cool down the road (not that it dont know)so long as you stay problem free :)

Thanks.
This time around I am extra careful of where to get the corals from.
All corals are dipped before putting into the tank.
I am trying not to be lazy and keep up with the maintenance. The corals are looking better each day.

[wisesam]

Just a quick updated FTS.
Added and moved a few corals around. The corals are doing better.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04230.jpg

[wisesam]

After boxing day, there is no room left in my tank for any more corals.
Which is good on my wallet. Only thing to do is wait for the corals to grow in now.
Here is the FTS with the last new additions.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04368.jpg

[Skimmerking]

the tank is looking some sweet. How's the angel in the tank is he being good

[wisesam]

the tank is looking some sweet. How's the angel in the tank is he being good

The angel has been a model citizen in my tank. He doesn't nip my corals nor bother other fish. I guess I am lucky coz I've heard many that had problems with cherub angels.

The wrasse, on the other hand, sometimes bully my firefish. The firefish are a little roughed up but seem to be standing up for themselves well enough.

[Triggz]

Awesome job with this tank man! I have been planning a 24"x24"x20" SPS cube for some time now. Your journal is inspiration for me to get my butt in gear!

Cheers!

[wisesam]

Thanks for the good words.
But ya, get up from your butt and setup that cube! :lol:

[wildous]

:lol:
the tank is much nicer when u see it in person. i love it. good job, sam.

[wisesam]

I have changed my light to a Lumenmax Elite + 250W Galaxy ballast.
The light coverage has increased greatly. I am very happy with result.

Here is a FTS taken a week ago.

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04550.jpg

I will take some more close up shots of the corals.

[wisesam]

I'm just going through the photos.
I'm amazed by how fast the birdsnest grows.

Taken 12/2/09
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04136.jpg

Taken 1/17/10
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC04571.jpg

[Chase31]

I have changed my light to a Lumenmax Elite + 250W Galaxy ballast.
The light coverage has increased greatly. I am very happy with result.




does this mean you wernt happy with the fish need it light?

[wisesam]

I find the reflector of fishneedit fixture isn't very good. The coverage area isn't wide enough and a lot of light is spilled. I can immediately tell that sides of the tank is so much brighter with the lumenmax reflector. The ballast of fishneedit is probably not as good as the bulb emits some buzzing sound when it fires up. Galaxy ballast doesn't do that.
I think the fishneedit unit is good for it's price. But I wanted something with better output for my sps.

[fishytime]

well that certainly punched things up a bit....good choice:wink:...are you easing into the MH?

[wisesam]

well that certainly punched things up a bit....good choice:wink:...are you easing into the MH?

I hang it 9 inches above surface. Higher than the old unit. It already looks brighter. Corals look fine so far. I may lower it a bit see how the corals will react.

[wisesam]

A buddy came over last week with his camera and took some pics for me.
His camera and photography skills are both so much more superior than mine.
So here they are. Enjoy:biggrin:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0242.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0177.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0261.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0299.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0306.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0294.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0171.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0139.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0129.jpg

[noirsphynx]

:jaw: AMAZING!!!

[wisesam]

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0150.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0193.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0257.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0147.jpg

And last but not least, my chihuahua:biggrin:
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/Photo%20by%20Eric/DSC_0332.jpg

[noirsphynx]

And last but not least, my chihuahua:biggrin:


Awww, can I have a frag of that, lol.

[wisesam]

Awww, can I have a frag of that, lol.

I can frag you some 'polyps' of hers :lol:

[banditpowdercoat]

Awww, can I have a frag of that, lol.


and that
and that
and that
and......

[wisesam]

:jaw: AMAZING!!!

Thanks.
Haha, I'm just comparing the ones I took with my Sony a350 against his with D80. His pics are so much sharper. I guess I should've gotten a Nikon.

[noirsphynx]

Thanks.
Haha, I'm just comparing the ones I took with my Sony a350 against his with D80. His pics are so much sharper. I guess I should've gotten a Nikon.

I have that exact same camera but have no clue how to properly use it.

[wisesam]

I have that exact same camera but have no clue how to properly use it.

Cool. I owned this camera for over 1.5 years and I'm string trying to figure out. Recently I got a 50mm f/1.8 lens. I can say that lenses do make a big difference. But I cannot see myself spending thousands of dollars on lenses. So I need to be content of the quality I get from my camera. Or I'll just call my buddy over to take pictures for me.

[mseepman]

Your tank is looking amazing! You seemed to have plowed through the hardships you went through with a very positive attitude and it's resulted in an amazingly beautiful tank.
Excellent work!!!

[wisesam]

Your tank is looking amazing! You seemed to have plowed through the hardships you went through with a very positive attitude and it's resulted in an amazingly beautiful tank.
Excellent work!!!

Thank you for the kind words. There are still so many things I have to learn. So many troubles I might run into still. That's what makes a reef tank fun and challenging. I am hoping to keep it up in a long run and have fun along the way. :smile:

[tang daddy]

Wow nice growth!!

looks like the CA reactor is working well for you...

[wisesam]

Wow nice growth!!

looks like the CA reactor is working well for you...

It's working ok. But I have ran into a problems a few times. The pump's ceramic shaft and impeller broke. I had to replace the pump.
The effluent would sometimes stop because of CO2 build up in the reactor. That causes the CO2 to continue be pumped into the reactor as the PH keeps rising in the effluent cup.
I had the media turn into mush many times. I am using the bleed valve for the effluent flow already. Not sure what I am doing wrong.
Is there some way I can dial it to be more worry free?

[imisky]

i think if anyone ever gets any pests in there tank the first person they should talk to is Samson haha hes been through i think almost all the ones there is to get that we've seen so far. Keep up the good work!

[wisesam]

It's not fun dealing with those pests. I am battling pyramid snails now. They are such PITA. Already lost 1 clam to them and they are onto my other 2 now.
Last night I hand picked over 30 tiny little ones from one clam. Who knows how many more are there.
I am afraid I'll lose the other 2 clams. It's very discouraging.

[RuGlu6]

It's not fun dealing with those pests. I am battling pyramid snails now. They are such PITA. Already lost 1 clam to them and they are onto my other 2 now.
Last night I hand picked over 30 tiny little ones from one clam. Who knows how many more are there.
I am afraid I'll lose the other 2 clams. It's very discouraging.

some wrasses are known to eat these snails but i don't remember which ones...
6 line, maybe?

[wisesam]

some wrasses are known to eat these snails but i don't remember which ones...
6 line, maybe?

I've read that 6line does eat those snails. But I am afraid it would cause havoc to my other fish.

[wisesam]

I took a 3 week vacation back in Taiwan.
During the time, I got a friend coming by every couple days to check out the tank and feed the fish.
All went will until the 3 days before I came back. My return pump died. Probably couldn't start after a power outage.
My friend could not get the pump changed. But I figure it should be ok with my MP20 running in the display. I wasn't really worried.
The day I got back, the MP20 was also stopped because the water level of the display dropped causing the motor and powerhead out of alignment.
Not sure how long the tank has been running with any flow, but surprisingly my corals looked fine. I quickly got the MP20 working, but since the return pump is dead, I had to wait til the next day to get a new one.
The corals have grown substantially. I suppose because I didn't see them for 3 weeks, the difference really shows.
The colors of my corals actually got better because there were not vodka dosing during the 3 weeks.
Here are a few pics taken at 4/19
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05184.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05223.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05230.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05210.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05205.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05222.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05197.jpg

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC05201.jpg

[wisesam]

It's been another 2 months.
So here are some updates.

I lost a couple deepwater colonies due to alkalinity problem. Also replaced some colonies with some other new ones.
Added quite a few fish to the tank because I want to improve my coral colors.

I've also started using biopellets. It's working fine, except that I am feeding a lot more as well. The algae is sucking up nutrients faster than the pellets. Got a lot of red turf algae, some hair algae on the back wall with some cyano as well.
Most of the corals are doing pretty well though:smile:. Here are some new pics:

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06031.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06096.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06095.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06083.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06048.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06051.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06028.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06010.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06007.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06004.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/45G%20SPS%20Cube/DSC06022.jpg

[lastlight]

Wow you have great colors! Very busy little tank you have there. Is that thick blue one a. gemmifera?

[wisesam]

Wow you have great colors! Very busy little tank you have there. Is that thick blue one a. gemmifera?

Ya, I believe it is a.gemmifera. Someone identified it for me last time. :smile:

[lorenz0]

wow, the cube is looking amazing.

[Youngster Dan]

Great tank, you have good taste.

[wisesam]

Thanks guys for the compliment.
I still get a lot of things fixed for the tank. Mainly the algae problem. I guess you can't really see them in the pics.
I also want to switch to 2-part dosing instead of Ca reactor. I just got too much trouble with the reactor.

[Greenmaster]

Looks awesome. I'll tag along.

[wisesam]

So last friday, because BC hydro had a scheduled maintenance which cut the power of my building out from 12am to 6am. Prior to that, I wanted to make sure my pumps are on my UPS properly, I double checked under my stand.
To my surprise, I saw some salt creeps on the bottom of my tank. A closer inspection, there is a crack on the bottom glass. The crack ran along the 3 bulkheads for well over 6 inches.
I almost freaked out. Just my luck on friday the 13.
Next morning, I went looking for a new tank. I was fortunate to find a 45 cube and 60 cube in Island pets. I decided to go with the 60. Yay upgrade!
Other than the tank, I still needed glass and acrylic for my overflow. The day somehow went by so quickly and I did not get a chance to get the glass.
I crossed my fingers and hoped the tank will last the weekend.
On Monday, had the glass cut from the glass shop, but when I got home, the glass would not fit because the size is off. Finally I got the glass and installed my overflow on Tuesday night.
Last night I started to transfer my fish and corals.
Here are the corals in the rubbermaind bin.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC06309.jpg
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC06308.jpg
It was difficult to fit the corals back to where they were. I had trouble fitting the big stag in the back and dropped it into pieces. So I decided to trade that in for credit. I did not put the sand back in because it sat in the bucket for too long. So for now, it is bare bottom.

The tank dimension is actually 23 inch on both length and width. So it's 1 inch smaller than my old tank. The corals look crammed in there.
Here is the pic I took after the transfer. Still a bit cloudy.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC06311.jpg

It was a long and tedious process, but I'm glad it went well.
There is so much room on the top. It looks kinda strange.
It's also funny that the fish don't swim up there even though there's so much more room.
I think I might stack a few more rocks and put more corals higher. What do you guys think?

[wisesam]

Here is one from another angle. So much open space on top :P

http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/DSC06315.jpg

[lastlight]

Looks really nice. Only way to grow is UP!

Is that a marineland 60?

[wisesam]

Yah, it is marineland 60

[wisesam]

Lately I noticed that my elegance coral is receding from the middle.
It's split into two now.
Over the weekend, By chance I noticed this little crab creature that came out.
http://i683.photobucket.com/albums/vv198/wisesam69/PA070055.jpg

This little thing has been on the elegance for all this time.
I never realized it was a crab. Because when it retracts, it just looked like a little round disc like thing on the rock.
I think I will cut it out and split the elegance into two as the same time.