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lorenz0
05-12-2010, 12:19 AM
Tank has now been upgraded from the biocube



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So after a long mover is approaching being complete I picked up a biocube 14 to keep me occupied till the next time I can start my next custom tank. Lucky for me, my old tank is with my parents which ended up being a gift to them (long stressful story). This is where the swag comes into play. I plan on taking a bunch of zoa's, my acans and transfering them into the bc14. Also anybody who knows me well knows that nothing can stay "stock" and must be modified for optimum performance.

Being a student now its going to be a more budget build. Looking forward to getting water in it next week

Equipment includes:

maxijet 900 pump upgrade
stealth 50 watt heater
hydor FLO
hydor korialia nano power head

future upgrades:

upgraded fans from nano tuners
UVL PC bulbs

Delphinus
05-12-2010, 01:43 AM
Should be a fun little tank. :) Looking forward to seeing it come together!

fishytime
05-12-2010, 02:11 AM
no RP up top????:wink:

Delphinus
05-12-2010, 03:29 AM
Rp?

fishytime
05-12-2010, 03:36 AM
Rp?

Red Planet:wink:

Swags
05-12-2010, 05:15 PM
Can't go wrong with swag style!

lorenz0
05-13-2010, 03:03 AM
Can't go wrong with swag style!

ha ha ha that name is money. and yes swag styles kicks ass. gotta love being able to come and grab stuff from my old tank and load up this new one.

as for the RP, i might try a nub. I was thinking about trying some digitata as well. Picked up some hammer tonight and its being held in silentcivilians tank till mine is complete cycling

really looking forward to this little build

lorenz0
05-13-2010, 04:06 AM
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6610.jpg

silentcivilian
05-13-2010, 05:52 AM
Yaa... im the proud baby sitter. Ill care for it like its my own. :biggrin:

http://pqq88a.blu.livefilestore.com/y1pP3CbikYwh0c-ezJlO0KcEIwq7tEyS3h6PgdFKJ3gLXmRahW9LrCEXClM4vvlRI Sv09AMq9vHgeLL5fejXUfAPMjMbITjo6Pv/Bloy.jpg

See.. its well taken care of.. look at how happy it is!

lorenz0
05-19-2010, 01:42 AM
and so the cycling begins. added rock and set everything up today. so the 15th of june is when the livestock makes its way into the tank. Already have 4 types of acans waiting to be placed in the tank. can't wait to see my little acan paradise form. on another note, the hydor flo is MONEY. best $15 spend on this tank. but i am considering upgrading the ballests and bulbs.

big thanks to red coral, they had almost everything in stock to get this beast going. had to make a J&L order which suprisingly made it here very quickly

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6611.jpg

silentcivilian
05-19-2010, 01:50 AM
I wont spoil the surprise and show off all your livestock. Even though I may have like 70% of it. I want your hitchhiker.. that is if he wouldnt be blown into a corner and stuck there forever in my tank...

It seems so empty.... like its missing I dunno.. like 5 - 8lbs more live rock..

lorenz0
06-07-2010, 06:56 PM
And this is why you have a build thread, keeps your timing in order.

well i jumped the gun by a week and only waited 3 week after start up before i started to add stuff to the tank. Lucky for me everything is doing great. Added my 2 branching hammer frags, rhodactis mushrooms and some other mushrooms. These three i am not overly worried about but i popped over to doug's place and grabbed one of his GBTA's off of him which is why i think i jumpped the gun a tad bit. It was doing great yesturday and i am really interested to see how it is doing today once i get home from the gym after work.

But to make matters worse, the cycling is not what i am worried about. Found a asterina starfish on my glass. So far the mushrooms are looking good but i got rid of this littlew guy and fingers crossed there isn't anymore.

Oh and my sps itch is really starting to hurt with this tank. Lucky for me my 60gal is at my parents house but i still need to go over and take care of it once a week. But next month it offically won't be mine, giving it to my dad for his birthday but that doesn't mean i still can't steal stuff out of it he he he

silentcivilian
06-07-2010, 08:53 PM
We will have pictures soon im sure right??

lorenz0
06-07-2010, 09:35 PM
i'm in my cubical bored as fuc*. lol of course when i get home. thats if i don't take a baseball bat to this copier first

silentcivilian
06-07-2010, 11:58 PM
Dom Portwood: Hi, Peter. What's happening? We need to talk about your TPS reports.
Peter Gibbons: Yeah. The coversheet. I know, I know. Uh, Bill talked to me about it.
Dom Portwood: Yeah. Did you get that memo?
Peter Gibbons: Yeah. I got the memo. And I understand the policy. And the problem is just that I forgot the one time. And I've already taken care of it so it's not even really a problem anymore.
Dom Portwood: Ah! Yeah. It's just we're putting new coversheets on all the TPS reports before they go out now. So if you could go ahead and try to remember to do that from now on, that'd be great. All right!

lorenz0
06-10-2010, 12:42 AM
well here is my first fts with my coral i have been waiting to put in the tank. the acan's are loving it. turned out exactly how i wanted it to. looking to add a few more acans tomorrow and maybe a fish

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6622.jpg

silentcivilian
06-10-2010, 03:57 AM
Looks awesome man, glad the tank sitting helped you track down what you wanted ahead of time. Those hammers are looking better being out of my 46xturnover tank and into somthing a bit less intense

lorenz0
06-11-2010, 03:09 AM
thanks mang. ya i am moving those rhodactis mushrooms over to my parents house. seems like that tank gets what ever i don't want.

i'm going to move some acans around cause the red acans on the left i wand to put something else there and keep that lower "bowl" mainly for acans. also trying to track down a ok sized torch and some neon green candy cane/trumpet coral. trying to keep this 95% lps minus the mushrooms in the front. for some reason i really like them

JDigital
06-11-2010, 02:12 PM
Sweet looking tank larry... Those acans in the middle are MONEY. :mrgreen:

lorenz0
06-11-2010, 10:38 PM
Sweet looking tank larry... Those acans in the middle are MONEY. :mrgreen:

thanks man, ya those are for sure fighting as my favorites and its funny cause they were a killer deal.

but i am starting to plan a sps tank as well. i am going to be moving out of my friends house so i will be able to get a sps tank going without someone bitching about the bill going up $40. the guy smokes in his room and the smell of the house smells like dirty old cigarettes. which in turn is making me quit smoking.

long story short, i miss the old place alot

lorenz0
09-13-2010, 12:17 AM
So I have decided to do a 3 month update. Well the tank has ungone two moves since I last updated this thread. Now i am in a bit of a pickle. Just moved into my new place and money is a bit tight. But I really want to do a new tank since the 60 is no longer mine and the condo manager said that it was to big for the building (but i don't believe her)

So right now its either remap this biocube with a 150watt MH or start spending my money on a new tank and go back to the white rice diet. well while i ponder this, here is what my biocube looked like before the move:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P16-08-10_18-25.jpg

lorenz0
09-20-2010, 02:16 AM
I forgot my camera at home when I went to my parents house sooo I shot some photos of the biocube craptacular

So I did some cleaning up this week, which really helped me enjoy this little tank. I tried to budget in a new tank for the apartment but at this time that idea sunk really fast.... So I am going to upgrade the lighting in the biocube.

So UVL released a PC-R bulb which is internally reflected and produces "50% more par" (i will test it when they come). So while I am doing that I will be replacing the fans with oceanic ones again and down the road plan on doing the 3 bulb nanocustoms upgrade. So here is where I stand:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6914.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6915.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6918.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6916.jpg

lorenz0
10-09-2010, 05:41 AM
K so the monthly update.... I went metal halide. Never thought I would say it but man do I love this fixture.

JBJ Viper 150watt Viper with a phoenix 14,000k also upgraded the koralia nano 240gph to the 425gph model.

Now I tried some digi's and birdsnest under PC and lets just say the success rate was 33%. both digi's had issues while the birdsnest flurished. After adding the MH fixture I added a baby blue milli frag and a stylo frag. both seem to be doing well with PE, guess I will see the outcome when I get home from work tomorrow

oh and I am removing the palys that are in the middle. Seems like they were stinging my others. moved it and noticed a huge difference

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6944.jpg

fishytime
10-09-2010, 02:34 PM
How did I know that you would end up with a bunch of sps in the little tank?....lookin good mang!

lorenz0
10-10-2010, 01:50 AM
he he couldn't resist, I am addicted

but my goal is to get NTOTM on reef central before I upgrade

lorenz0
10-23-2010, 03:20 AM
New reason why t5's are better than MH, the actual fixture casing doesn't burn you.... AHHHHH

fishytime
10-23-2010, 03:39 AM
New reason why t5's are better than MH, the actual fixture casing doesn't burn you.... AHHHHH

blisters on the arms no fun?:razz:

lorenz0
10-28-2010, 11:04 PM
^^
yep they have been on my arm for 6 days now. LOVE IT

On another note, mix your salt before you mix it with water. Was doing my waterchange on my BC and everything was good. changed the water this morning and everything was a bit stressed due to the change, and than left for class and I came home to this:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6975.jpg

my Alkalinity jumped from 8 to 14 FML. Most the sps RTN'd and the hammer is looking rough. Just did another change, hope it helps.

fishytime
10-29-2010, 03:52 AM
dude....that sucks:cry:......always roll your buckets, boys and girls:neutral:

lorenz0
10-29-2010, 05:19 AM
ya, lesson learned. well tonight i removed all the dead sps and it started to clear up a bit more. Im going to do a waterchange again tomorrow and than test everything saturday, I have some voids to fill but the only sps going in this tank now is birdsnest

silentcivilian
10-29-2010, 06:17 AM
That Stylo still looks good.. arnt going to keep that puppy around?

lorenz0
10-29-2010, 06:46 AM
Oh yes. I am actually suprised it survived. The acros and both monti's parished. I'm going to look at some LPS tomorrow (look not buy) and hopefully sunday add something new and maybe a few other types of birdsnests from the 60gal.

Its not the end of this tank yet, but I am still going to start buying all the equipment for an upgrade

silentcivilian
10-29-2010, 07:18 AM
Sick, cant hurt too look :)

lorenz0
11-03-2010, 12:05 AM
well the tank has recovered. Added a few things to fill the gaps

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6987.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN6988.jpg

also here is a video my friend took before the accident. I really need to clean my glass a bit better

http://www.youtube.com/user/nstordy#p/a/u/1/IEaZZdWi3xc

silentcivilian
11-03-2010, 12:57 AM
Ohhh... very nice... I do like.

spawn
11-03-2010, 01:22 AM
What kind of salt were you using?

lorenz0
11-03-2010, 02:28 AM
deltec H2Ocean

lorenz0
11-09-2010, 05:27 AM
So I am in a bit of a pickle. I am just in the process of upgrading and am debating if I should cycle a new tank with new rock or do the whole transfer. I am only going to a 25gal cube So its not to much of an upgrade. Reason; sump, skimmer, proper fuge.

Still keeping it metal halide but the zoa's wont follow into this new set up. Finally sticking to my words and this will strickly be a LPS/SPS cube. Zoa's have now become an issue in the 60gal and I am sick of them.

So time to build a new stand. New tank will be 20x20x14

riceboy
11-10-2010, 04:14 AM
i'll take your zoas if your selling them lol

lorenz0
11-14-2010, 03:41 AM
i'll take your zoas if your selling them lol

sure, I will be putting them for sale in a month so watch out

In other news... came home today to the "return pump" being clogged. I guess it set off my chalice and for the first time it looked like crap

I am so close to being done with this tank, picking up the new one tomorrow. Seriously, the system is great for softies and zoas but has been a huge headack for anything else.

Its beer o'clock. Which is much needed

lorenz0
11-15-2010, 03:02 AM
Picked up the new tank and its awesome!

upgraded to a 25gal starfire tank with a sweet stand. But that sweet stand was a pain in the ass to get into my apartment. Lets just say im not moving it again and if I do its coming apart.

Need to sell the sump cause it takes up to much room and I want to set up a ATO in there as well as a refugium.

I will grab a few pics once my camera charges

lorenz0
11-15-2010, 03:43 AM
http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN7001.jpg

riceboy
11-15-2010, 03:55 AM
Sweet pick up man.

JDigital
11-15-2010, 05:16 AM
Sweet tank... New place looks awesome!

Delphinus
11-15-2010, 05:55 AM
Indeed sweet! Seems to fit the spot and the colour scheme pretty nicely!

lastlight
11-15-2010, 06:46 AM
Very nice. I love what he did with that stand and yeah it seems to be designed for your room lol.

lorenz0
11-15-2010, 03:55 PM
Thanks guys. I have been looking into a new tank for the last couple of weeks but price has been an issue. Saw this come up and it matches my apartment and the price was right. In the ened I also picked up his return pump and all of his live rock. Imo the LR alone would have cost me more than what I paid.

Hopefully will have water in it next weekend. Just need to find a standerd 15gal and baffle it

But I am doing the bonsai look with the LR and back to SPS

Zoaelite
11-17-2010, 07:15 PM
Great snag on that system man! It was wicked looking before, can't wait to see your spin on it.

SPS only this time? Any idea's for fish?

lorenz0
11-17-2010, 08:03 PM
Bought zip ties today and will be playing with the rock. I will post pictures when I have it complete.

Yep mostly SPS. Looking at running 2x tunze 6045's at 90% so hopefully this won't be to bad for the acan candy land floor I have planned. As for fish, will add another clown, my bi-color blenny, 2 chromis, and I am thinking a flameback angel.

lorenz0
11-19-2010, 11:17 PM
Picked up a 15gal for the sump. Looking at ordering the skimmer next week and baffling the sump. Right now I am debating about re-doing most of the plumbing because the previous owner used ball valves, and I hate them and want to switch over to gates. Also the bulkheads have silicon on them and the stand had a nice amount of "encrusted" salt on it so I am also debating about new bulkheads. But today I painted the visible wood on the stand black and it looks 100% better.

A part of me wants to rush and get water in it ASAP and than another part of me says do it right, last thing I need is leaking bulkheads 6 months down the road.

As for the skimmer. Debating between the Bubble Magus-NAC3+ or the SWC Xtreme 120 Cone Skimmer


http://www.bubble-magus.com/en/productShow.asp?id=971

http://www.saltwaterconnection.com/index.php?main_page=product_info&cPath=1&products_id=115&zenid=506be442848dba31bd5d42f6245dec45

Both are built similar and I just picked up a NAC3 for the 60gal and its doing an awesome job. Plus for $190 you can't go wrong.

btw I still can't figure out how to change the title

kien
11-20-2010, 02:37 AM
awesome room divider ! :biggrin:

lorenz0
11-20-2010, 03:28 AM
Hey Mr

don't you have a sunset millie?

kien
11-20-2010, 04:00 AM
Who me? What does a sunset Millie look like??

lorenz0
11-20-2010, 04:43 AM
whoops added an e to milli

thought you had one. orange with green polyps

kien
11-20-2010, 04:47 AM
Nope. No sunset milli or millie here.

BlueTang<3
11-20-2010, 01:51 PM
I have a sunset milli, if u come back to edmonton again i will hook u up.:surprise: Sweet score on the tank i was so tempted to get it.

fishytime
11-20-2010, 02:46 PM
monte Laurier....not millie:razz:

lorenz0
11-21-2010, 07:20 PM
awesome wes, might have to take you up on that. Wouldn't mind seeing your system in person as well

lol thanks doug. Seems like I like to rename everything

lobsterboy
11-24-2010, 05:09 AM
Thats better than the BC eh, haha.

whens it getting filled ? I still have a nubbin stylo frag if your still game .

lorenz0
11-24-2010, 06:21 AM
HA its a wee bit of an upgrade. At least I have a sump now. I think the total volume will be about 37gal of water. so doubling my system... lets see how long this one lasts.

Tomorrow I am getting the glass cut to baffle the sump, changing a bit in the plumbing and getting my rock work secure and sand in the tank. So as it sits, fingers crossed, I will be wet a week sunday as long as no issue arise.

Oh and I will have to come grab that frag next month. I'm due for another session drowling at the PM hating my life for not being able to run one on this system

lorenz0
11-26-2010, 05:51 AM
Had a busy night. Baffled my sump, check my plumbing and everything is perfect. If I get bored enough tomorrow I test it out

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN7020.jpg


Also finished up my rock work. I know it just looks like a pile of rock against the wall but it has a bunch of ledges. Should be cool once everything grows in.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN7013.jpg

Zoaelite
11-26-2010, 06:00 AM
Your silicone jobs look like my silicone jobs, THE STUFF JUST KEPT COMING OUT, THERE'S SO MUCH OF IT I DIDN'T KNOW WHERE TO PUT IT.

I envy people who can get these invisible seams with absolutley no bubbles :neutral:.
Cube looks wicked btw.

lorenz0
11-26-2010, 05:56 PM
I made sure those baffles weren't going to move. The glass was cut 1/4 inche short so i had to make up for 1/4" on each side. At that point plastering it on was the only option. But I totally agree, its hard to do a clean silicone job.

lorenz0
11-29-2010, 12:59 AM
Its offical, water is in the new cube. So as of now, the earliest day coral will enter the tank will be New Years Day.

Also picked up a new chalice off ZoaElite. The thing is amazing. If he hasn't named it yet I have the perfect name

Zoaelite
11-29-2010, 02:30 AM
Strobe :razz:?

Devo named it the Blue Moon but that's when none of the pink had shown up so your welcome to rename it.

lorenz0
11-29-2010, 02:49 AM
Optimus Prime Chalice. Common, now that suits this coral

lorenz0
11-29-2010, 03:49 AM
Got bored tonight and was about to start a WTB thread for a PC light for while I was cycling. Totally forgot the biocube hood. So I put it to use

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN7031.jpg

lobsterboy
11-29-2010, 06:07 AM
Got bored tonight and was about to start a WTB thread for a PC light for while I was cycling. Totally forgot the biocube hood. So I put it to use

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/DSCN7031.jpg


looking good, so where you putting the zeo RX :razz:

riceboy
11-29-2010, 06:43 PM
Optimus Prime Chalice. Common, now that suits this coral

:lol: I guess I also have a Optimus Prime Chalice :lol:

lorenz0
11-29-2010, 10:19 PM
looking good, so where you putting the zeo RX :razz:

Debating between a refugium or a zeo reactor. I am going to wait a few months before I jump on the zeo bandwagon, have to keep up with my normal zeo stuff first (i miss the odd day)

:lol: I guess I also have a Optimus Prime Chalice :lol:

Dude, you have to admit its an epic name.

Well came home to the smell of curing live rock. Yum. My apartment smells like there is a dead body in it

riceboy
11-29-2010, 10:49 PM
Dude, you have to admit its an epic name.


LOL for sure. is that the 14k bulb your running? thats really blue, might have to pick up that bulb to lol

lorenz0
12-07-2010, 06:43 AM
LOL for sure. is that the 14k bulb your running? thats really blue, might have to pick up that bulb to lol

Yep its the pheonix 14k. awesome bulb. You should have bought it when you were in the store.

Well small update. I hate watching cycling tanks. Been playing around with the rock alot lately and finally have it in a position where I am content with it.

Now this is where I am having issues. Coral. I love my LPS, mostly my acans but I have a crack addiction to SPS. I want a 250watt MH but I am unsure if it will just cook the acans. So I cant decide if I want to have a strictly SPS tank or not. As of now, I am probably just going to drop them in and see where it takes me.

Coral that will be venturing into the tank from the 60gal/biocube:

Snappy's Super Grape Mille
Snappy's A.Convexa
Snappy's Neon Green Birdsnest
ORA Red Planet
WickedFrag's Green and Orange Stylo
Red and green Blasto's
Acan Lord's (3 types)
A.Secale

Stuff that I am looking into

LobsterBoy's Pink Stylo
Snappy's Granulosa
Some sort of stag. Probably something Blue...
Ultra clam (of some sort)

The Goal for this tank is not to overcrowd. With my previous tank I placed everything way to close together. I want huge colonies this time. No zoa's, pest softies, or pests at all. Everything is being religously dipped.

zum14
12-07-2010, 04:26 PM
And now I'll be keeping an eye on yours too. Looks great. Sorry maybe I missed it but what lighting fixture/wattage are you using? Like the color.

Zoaelite
12-07-2010, 06:41 PM
Compensation Not Needed Here With Size

:tsk:

lorenz0
12-07-2010, 08:23 PM
And now I'll be keeping an eye on yours too. Looks great. Sorry maybe I missed it but what lighting fixture/wattage are you using? Like the color.

Right now over the cube is just the biocube hood with the actinics on. And over the biocube is the JBJ Viper K2 150watt MH with a 14k pheonix bulb. Love it, and will be buying a pheonix for the 250watt down the road

:tsk:

HA HA. oh common. At one point someone told me I was wasting my time with a 60gal and I should have a 100-200gal system. sick of hearing crap like that. Here is the tank that sold me on a cube and spacing out my frags:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1799627&highlight=cube

Zoaelite
12-07-2010, 08:46 PM
That tank is amazing, almost makes me want more SPS :lol:. Larger tanks are nice for stability and growth but you can't beat the look of a colorful nano/ medium sized tank.

lorenz0
12-08-2010, 02:20 AM
I think you should.

Sooo... i'm a nerd. made a COD video of me playing. Keeps me occupied while the tank cycles

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eKJHbGYrBqE&feature=player_embedded

lorenz0
01-18-2011, 10:04 PM
Transfer was completed 2 weeks ago. I have been having issues dialing in my flow. Also my devils hand hasn't been looking the greatest in the past couple of days ever since I fed the acans "acanplus." I'm having "new tank syndrome" and I am just not sure about my route. Every day I keep thinking about putting SPS in it. Here are a few pic's I look with the new cam:

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1180071.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1180073.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1180074.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1180076.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1180077.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1140053.jpg

silentcivilian
01-18-2011, 10:08 PM
Let it commence... oohhhh... ahhhh... ohhhh....

(when dont you wonder about a sps tank.. really.. what you need is two tanks ;) )

lorenz0
01-21-2011, 04:49 AM
Ummm biopellets. Its looking like I am having a nutrient issue. Might resort to running these. Doing more research to seeing how my system will deal with it. Looking at running 125ml of pellets in the reactor

kien
01-21-2011, 05:04 AM
Ummm biopellets. Its looking like I am having a nutrient issue. Might resort to running these. Doing more research to seeing how my system will deal with it. Looking at running 125ml of pellets in the reactor

come to the dark side, we have cookies and bio pellets! :biggrin:

lorenz0
01-21-2011, 06:40 AM
I like cookies. Well I am going to do a waterchange tomorrow. Pending results I might pick some up.

Just looking into effects on acans and gorgonias

silentcivilian
01-21-2011, 07:03 AM
Triple check the parameters too... thats screwy that the devils hand looked so angry in your tank, and in under 120min in my tank had full extention and the red tissue pigment back in it. Somthing aint so straight there. Even more so that you have the more intense lighting setup

Delphinus
01-21-2011, 03:21 PM
One tank with pellets I had my gorgs in and they were fine. The mulm that the pellets shed might actually be good food for them. However this was a very high bioload tank.

Careful with the Acans though. I tried pellets on another tank which was already low bioload and close to zero nitrate reading on a steady basis (I wanted to see if I could "starve" out the caulerpa in there), and it had some very nasty effects on my LPS. All my LPS bleached out as did my carpets. 8 months later my purple carpet is only now showing signs of improving. My Acans bleached out badly as did my bubble coral and I actually lost a few Acans instead of them recovering. To add insult to injury it didn't do boo to slow down the caulerpa infestation.

My take away lesson is that you definitely want a non-zero nitrate reading before adding the pellets. Adding them to an already low nutrient environment can definitely strip too much out too quick.

riceboy
01-21-2011, 04:09 PM
come to the dark side, we have cookies and bio pellets! :biggrin:

lol there's cookies, i was not informed of this

kien
01-21-2011, 05:31 PM
lol there's cookies, i was not informed of this

What do think all that baking soda was for?!?! :D

I have a healthy collection of LPS (torch, bubble, acans, elegance, frogspawn) that seem to be doing fine living with a years worth of pellets. One thing that I have noticed over the past year is that my zoa garden seems to have slowed down in growth. Still thriving just not spreading as quickly as it once did.

lorenz0
01-21-2011, 07:12 PM
See that is what I am seeing. its a hit or miss with acans. Could always start with a low dosage. Are you still running carbon kien?

btw, you must be cooking alot of cookies to be going through that much baking soda

Zoaelite
01-21-2011, 07:20 PM
What do think all that baking soda was for?!?! :D

I have a healthy collection of LPS (torch, bubble, acans, elegance, frogspawn) that seem to be doing fine living with a years worth of pellets. One thing that I have noticed over the past year is that my zoa garden seems to have slowed down in growth. Still thriving just not spreading as quickly as it once did.

...Kien where are my cookies, I seem to recall being part of this "Baking Soda Plan".

Laurier have you tried the zeovit LPS supplement? My acans exploded when I started dosing that, I would start slow though if you are going to try as it will add extra nutrients.

lorenz0
01-21-2011, 08:56 PM
I thought about it. But I have stopped dosing everything. Funny thing is my acans are doing awesome, its everything else, well the blasto's and mircomussa are doing great as well. I just want to add some purple gorgonia and some stags down the road once I have all my equipment (still need a ATO and a skimmer).

As for the biopellets, I have been considering replacing the carbon and running them instead

Delphinus
01-21-2011, 09:13 PM
Carbon and biopellets are two independent things. Biopellets are a place for bacteria to colonize that feed off nutrients. It's like adding a bunch of live rock in your tank except they fit in a nice small reactor. Carbon on the other hand remove organics (not just nutrients) which can cause things such as yellowing of water (water always looks "polished" and "clear" after changing carbon) as well as impeding the growth of certain corals (some organics may not necessarily break down into ammonia/nitrite/nitrate and thus might not otherwise be skimmed or metabolized out of the system).

Basically I think carbon should still be run regardless whether you add pellets or not - there isn't really any overlap between the two. Biopellets and GFO on the other hand ... there might be an overlap there.

HTH

kien
01-21-2011, 09:33 PM
Yes, I have not stopped running carbon since I fired up this tank over two years ago. As tony said, Carbon and BioPellets serve two completely different purposes. One is not a substitute for the other.

...Kien where are my cookies, I seem to recall being part of this "Baking Soda Plan".

Laurier have you tried the zeovit LPS supplement? My acans exploded when I started dosing that, I would start slow though if you are going to try as it will add extra nutrients.

I've got your "cookies" right here big boy! :wink:

lorenz0
01-21-2011, 10:22 PM
K guys so here is where I am getting confused

Aren't biopellets basically a source of vodka dosing which would mean it is a source of carbon dosing since the only product in vodka that your using is ethanol and ethanol is carbon based. I am just wondering how two sources of carbon can preform two seperate tasks

worse case, couldn't I run both in the same reactor? The amount of media I use on this system is small so it would fit in a TLF 150

Delphinus
01-21-2011, 10:36 PM
Totally different things that just happen to have the word "carbon" in their names.

Carbon aka charcoal is a porous substance and happens to be really good absorbant of other materials. Once it's done absorbing "stuff" though then the pores are clogged and it cannot absorb any more.

Carbon DOSING is a generic term used to reference things like vodka or vinegar or sugar (or combinations thereof) as a source at molecules that involve carbon to be used as a food source or input for metabolic processes that also happen to consume nitrates and/or phosphates as part of the chemical/biological processes.

Biopellets are intended as a convenient method for carbon dosing because whatever polymer they are made of is carbon based and is also porous - but instead of being good for absorbing stuff, the pores are good for creating large surface area for bacteria to colonize. So bacteria feed on the pellets and in process of doing so consumes nitrate and to a smaller degree phosphates out of the water column. The "tumbling" of the pellets ensures that excess bacteria sloughs off, which is thought to be used by filter feeders but in general really requires mostly to be skimmed out (and they do skim out nicely - skimmate production does increase after starting pellets).

You wouldn't want to run them together in the same reactor as they have different lifespans. Pellets could last you months - carbon (depending on the amount you use per system volume) needs to be changed out every 2 to 4 weeks.

lorenz0
01-21-2011, 11:46 PM
I can see what your saying. Sorry chemisty always gets me going.

But on a side note, I did my waterchange and everyone is looking great. I'm adding a skimmer to the mix this weekend. So just one thing at a time. But the acan garden is looking amazing

Delphinus
01-22-2011, 12:05 AM
Yeah I agree with your approach. And the Acans do look awesome.

Sorry if I missed it but what was your reasoning for thinking you had a nutrient issue? Is it a high NO3 reading? If so what was it (and sorry if that was posted already)?

lorenz0
01-22-2011, 12:45 AM
Just judging by the aftermath after dosing acan plus. This is why I am adding a skimmer first, see the effects on the tank with skimming and maybe down the road add the biopellets. My load is a bit heavy

Delphinus
01-22-2011, 02:34 AM
Oh ok - I didn't realize you didn't have a skimmer. Yeah get the skimmer first. That might be good enough. Definitely don't run pellets until after the skimmer though - they shed a mulm which can be taken up by some things but not all of it would get consumed and thus they'd just break down and re-release the NO3/PO4 back into the water ... which can't be good.

lorenz0
02-04-2011, 07:06 AM
Well I can't sleep so I have a few pic's from a week ago, before I added this massive frogspawn

So my LPS craze is coming to a closure... I miss SPS.... ALOT! So this weekend the trial will start. Plan on adding a stag or some acropora of some sort to see how it deals with my system. If all goes will I will be parting with the torch and the hammer as they are taking up perfect SPS territory. but here are some pic's from lately

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1290081.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1290094.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1290097.jpg


And If you noticed in my FTS, an impulse buy exsist's. Last Friday I had this great idea to buy a lionfish. Well without reading up on the species I brought him home only to find out how large he gets. Yep he may be ok in the system now but for sure will need a larger home in the future. Got it eating krill but tonight is the last of him in the tank. Poor guy, I really like him but I just can't give him the proper home.

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P1290087.jpg

MMAX
02-04-2011, 12:48 PM
Nice tank. What size system does the lionfish need?

Ryan
02-04-2011, 01:52 PM
They get 12"+ but arent big swimmers. Bare minimum IMO is a 90g with a 120 being better and a 180 best.

Did you get him from Red Coral?

TheMikey
02-04-2011, 07:32 PM
Lorenzo, I believe you can get dwarf lionfish (some with the similar colour and pattern as the Volitan) that will do nicely in a well skimmed (messy eaters) 25g.

Fu Manchus and Radiata, though you might want to confirm this with another source.

FishyFishy!
02-04-2011, 09:33 PM
Fu Manchu's are the shizzy! They don't get too big at all.

lorenz0
02-05-2011, 12:09 AM
yep picked him up at RC. Love the guy and I have been thinking about a Fu Manchus but I might hold off and stick with the reef safe stuff. I am more into the coral anyways, the fish just entertain me

this is what my clown does

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=83YGoMQY3N0

but got rid of the lion and picked up a benji cardinalfish

silentcivilian
02-05-2011, 05:28 PM
Ohhh Benji's. I love mine, its the most depressed looking fish I have. Reminds me of a sad clown. Loves mysis shrimp, and will just sit there and look at flakes float by.. and be like really.. you want me to eat that, when the shrimp comes out, he is the tank bully pushing everyone out of the way for his fill.

Delphinus
02-05-2011, 05:39 PM
Benji? Or Banggai?

silentcivilian
02-05-2011, 05:54 PM
Shhh... hooked on phonics worked for us!

lastlight
02-05-2011, 06:08 PM
Ohhh Benji's. I love mine, its the most depressed looking fish I have. Reminds me of a sad clown. Loves mysis shrimp, and will just sit there and look at flakes float by.. and be like really.. you want me to eat that, when the shrimp comes out, he is the tank bully pushing everyone out of the way for his fill.

That's exactly how mine is and the reason I feed frozen almost every night. Fussy MOFO! He's quite large and out muscles my Kole tang for the shrimp.

I see a Corky back there...nice! I have some from Greg and it's growing like a weed. I'm looking forward to having enough of it to sway like his.

lorenz0
02-10-2011, 06:14 PM
I love my cardinal, cool little angry guy

So the SPS invasion has started. Added a frag (lol personal size frag) of convexa, baby blue mille, purple rim monti cap and some green birdsnest so far. Now I really need to test my PO4 and NO3 cause something is a bit off in this tank. Polyp extension is horriable and lighting and flow are not the issue. But hanna released a NO2 meter so I may look into buying a bunch of those in the future.

Have been looking at running either zeovit or biopellets again. Right now the biopellets are really looking favored due to price and less maintenance. I am also still waiting on my ATO to get here (It should be here friday) so that will determine if its the salitity fluctuation that is causing the issue.

I'm going to do a picture update once everything is re-organized. Moving some LPS over to the 60 tonight

Delphinus
02-10-2011, 07:34 PM
Ooh nice, where did you score a blue milli? I need me some blue in my tank.

I found it took at least a week for my newly introduced frags to start displaying good PE. In my case as a new tank I knew it wasn't NO3 or PO4 yet, so I was all worried about not having enough flow and so on. Sort of the opposite of what you were worried about. :lol: The PE was there the first day but then not after that. But then it came back with a vengeance after a week. I should show you a picture of the RP you gave me - it's super furry now. :lol: So I dunno, could it just be that they haven't fully adapted yet but still might given a couple more days?

lorenz0
02-10-2011, 10:04 PM
Got the blue milli from the 60gal. Just went snip snip. The frag I cut off the convexa should be considered colony size lol. My super grape milli needs to explode a bit more before I chop away. And I am waiting on my red planet to heal more before I go cut some more frags. Letting everyone get theirs before I get my own for the cube. But let me know about baby blue milli tony, could always cut you a frag

See tony this is where I am a bit worried. When I started up this tank at the end of November the rock I used was was dried. All I did was top up the water and when I got home from mexico after the new year I did a water change and than the transfer with as much rock from my previous system and water as well. So even after the transfer I have considered it to be a new system. I just think I need to find an equalibrium in it right now.

lorenz0
02-10-2011, 10:23 PM
Oh and I keep forgetting to write my T5>MH review in here

Well I am a T5 junkie that was interested in MH in the past. In october I picked up a 150watt de and changed out the stock 10k bulb for a pheonix 14k bulb. Big reason I believe T5's blow MH out of the water:

Color - After moving the same corals from my 60 over to the cube I notice that the light is not creating enough "pop" which means that I would need to look into some supplimentals down the road (looking into retro fitting some UVL 18" actinics)

MH fixtures need supplimental. End of story, without a little help from our good old T5 friends they would just be a "meh" bulb. Now LED's... these are sparking interest in my eye

fishytime
02-12-2011, 04:28 AM
ya LED is interesting.......Im still on the fence about it though...need more proof in the pudding:wink:......cant remember if you have or not...is that fancy coral in the cube yet?

lorenz0
02-18-2011, 06:44 AM
Nope the fancy coral has not made it into the cube yet. A few people who bought frags off of me had some issues and I offered to get them new frags once the colony has healed up. Probably won't be for a while till I get my own into the cube, but I have some new plans.

Well my LPS craze is starting to die off. I plan to sell off some of my ultra acans so I can focus on my true passion, sps. Picked up an ATO off another member and all I need to do now is pick up a pump and tank, this should fix my issue with the salinity change which has effected the sps in the tank now to the point where one is browning out and another has what seems to be burn marks on it (this is the convexa). So back to the diagnostic board.

I also added in a bag of chemi-pure elite to the mix. More issues. After one week of running this stuff I now have brown film algae growing all over my sand and on the glass to the point that its driving me nuts. two thumbs down for you chemi-pure.

But here is the big news. After years of debating I have decided to take the dive. As some of you know I debated about running biopellets for the past few weeks but have now come to a horriable conclusion of what to do in my tank, zeovit. I have always wanted to try it and after seeing lobsterboys results in person and lerking the zeovit forums I think its time. Once the tank is a bit more stable with the addition of the ATO I will be adding a reactor and jumping on the "I have to leave the bar early to shake my zeolite stones" club.

oh and to make this thread interesting, a sweet old pic my dad took in aussie land

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/IMG_1183.jpg

silentcivilian
02-18-2011, 12:46 PM
Loook at that shot.. your dad could have won you photo of the month ;)

lorenz0
02-18-2011, 09:17 PM
Brought the new toy home today, also there is more zeo stuff in my fridge than food HA

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P2180108.jpg

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P2180106.jpg

So here is my plan. This weekend I have to leave town to go to edmonton (wish I could meet up with a couple of people but my time is tight) so getting fully started will have to wait.

So when I come home sunday the skimmer is getting a vinegar bath due to slime build up, I am going to hunt down a timer for the reactor. I also need to find a scale to measure the amount ot stones that will be in the reactor. But here is my schedule:

first month:

0.4L zeolite rocks (run on timer 3 hours on, 3 hours off)
1 drop zeoBac for the first 10 days than 1 drop every 2nd day
1 drop zeoStart3 x2 a day (morning and night)
1 drop zeoFood for the first 10 day than 1 drop every 2nd day, same time as zeoBac
1mL Coral snow per day
1mL Pohl xtra every second day
1 drop ammino acid per day
1 drop coral vitalizer per day

Later on I am going to add in PS and SP. Also debating about B-balance or Zeozym down the road.

andestang
02-19-2011, 04:43 PM
Looking good so far. As for your zeo regiment I would hold off on the zeofood for the first 10 days or so. This will lessen the likely hood of a algae bloom. I rarely use it anymore and mostly just use the xtra. I would even go as far as suggesting just using the the bac, zeostart and spongepower (don't see it on your list) for the first 10 days or so. But that's just from my experience. Good luck !

spawn
02-19-2011, 05:10 PM
Hey Laurier, nice addition. How's that skimmer working out for you now, after a little break-in time? I've run chemi-pure since about the 2nd month on mine without any brown slime issues. I did switch to brightwell carbon once, but notice a change in the water clarity, now I run the chemi pure & occasionally both.Keeps it nice and clear so far. Also I added 1 of those actinic led strips that they have at ocean city, they make it look awesome after the main lighting goes out, it's like a fish rave.

Flash
02-19-2011, 07:36 PM
Sub sauce, parm cheese and Captains.... we could be friends! lmao!!

MMAX
02-20-2011, 11:58 AM
first month:

0.4L zeolite rocks (run on timer 3 hours on, 3 hours off)
1 drop zeoBac for the first 10 days than 1 drop every 2nd day
1 drop zeoStart3 x2 a day (morning and night)
1 drop zeoFood for the first 10 day than 1 drop every 2nd day, same time as zeoBac
1mL Coral snow per day
1mL Pohl xtra every second day
1 drop ammino acid per day
1 drop coral vitalizer per day

Later on I am going to add in PS and SP. Also debating about B-balance or Zeozym down the road.[/QUOTE]

Is this what's recommended to start for additives? I'm already running the rocks and have noticed a difference, looking into a dosing schedule.

lorenz0
02-20-2011, 03:51 PM
Well off today to look like a drug dealer, need to go buy a scale to measure my stones. Since the bag I purchased was in Kg I had to figure out how much to run since all my calculations were in L.

So zeolites have a density of 0.85g/cm3 and the conversion for cm3=mL is 1cm3=1mL

So I am going to run 500g of zeolite in this system

umm school is paying off

Looking good so far. As for your zeo regiment I would hold off on the zeofood for the first 10 days or so. This will lessen the likely hood of a algae bloom. I rarely use it anymore and mostly just use the xtra. I would even go as far as suggesting just using the the bac, zeostart and spongepower (don't see it on your list) for the first 10 days or so. But that's just from my experience. Good luck !

Thats exactly why I haven't picked it up yet. I probably won't add zeoFood for at least 2 weeks and I do want to add spongepower, just need to wait till next paycheck. Went over my bi-monthly budget lol. When I swing by your place with your frag I will have to chat with you about your regiments

Sub sauce, parm cheese and Captains.... we could be friends! lmao!!

HA HA its the three essentials of life



Is this what's recommended to start for additives? I'm already running the rocks and have noticed a difference, looking into a dosing schedule.

If your just running the basics (Zeolites, zeobac and zeostart) your ok. The list I have is the reccomended schedule from zeovit for a nano 40 and under. There are still lots of guys out there who have great success with the system who aren't running zeozym,b-balance... but CV,SP,PS,PX,CS and AA are all ones that are highly reccomended to run. K-balance is another one.

lorenz0
02-20-2011, 04:02 PM
Hey Laurier, nice addition. How's that skimmer working out for you now, after a little break-in time? I've run chemi-pure since about the 2nd month on mine without any brown slime issues. I did switch to brightwell carbon once, but notice a change in the water clarity, now I run the chemi pure & occasionally both.Keeps it nice and clear so far. Also I added 1 of those actinic led strips that they have at ocean city, they make it look awesome after the main lighting goes out, it's like a fish rave.

skimmer was doing great, but somehow it got a slime coat on the inside of the skimmer. So either today or tomorrow I will be doing a vinegar bath to clean it up and getting it running like new. But I still plan on upgrading to the NAC3.5 in the next few months. I still want to try a cone style skimmer

Yep running carbon (KZ) in the phosban reactor. I just think the chemi-pure shocked they system. As of now I have some cleaning up to do since introducing it. For sure was the key factor to the slime algae

freezetyle
02-20-2011, 06:35 PM
skimmer was doing great, but somehow it got a slime coat on the inside of the skimmer. So either today or tomorrow I will be doing a vinegar bath to clean it up and getting it running like new. But I still plan on upgrading to the NAC3.5 in the next few months. I still want to try a cone style skimmer

Yep running carbon (KZ) in the phosban reactor. I just think the chemi-pure shocked they system. As of now I have some cleaning up to do since introducing it. For sure was the key factor to the slime algae

you will love the 3.5. i was a little skeptical on it at first but so far it has blow the tunze 9002 and an eshopps-psk-75 h out of the water

lorenz0
02-20-2011, 09:23 PM
good to hear, I considered the psk-75 for a bit and after reading the eshopps thread on reef central it turned me off from it. my friend is running one and has had great sucess with it but so far bubble magus has been excellent for me so I think I will stick with that company

but I started zeo 1 day early. lol 500g or rocks is not that much compared to what can fit in the reactor. It might be the scale I used so I am going to see where I can actually buy one

andestang
02-20-2011, 10:10 PM
Sure I could give you some suggestions from the different experiences I've had with zeo. This time around though since I redid my rocks I'm running a hybrid regiment using zeo & N/P biopellets. Seems to be working Ok so far. On the subject of skimmers I would probably try a Bubble Magnus though I have a brand new Vertex alpha 200 cone skimmer in the box that I'm going to try. Like you I want to try a cone skimmer and see how it goes.


Thats exactly why I haven't picked it up yet. I probably won't add zeoFood for at least 2 weeks and I do want to add spongepower, just need to wait till next paycheck. Went over my bi-monthly budget lol. When I swing by your place with your frag I will have to chat with you about your regiments

lorenz0
03-08-2011, 09:24 PM
Well giving this tank till july to bounce back. Sell the tank but keep the new skimmer, pump and zeo and start over with a larger system.

Plus I regret going zeo. Might be away for 3 week next christmas so finding someone to crash at my place will be an issue

lorenz0
03-10-2011, 07:05 AM
So it has been a stressful couple of weeks with my tank. Honestly it drove me into depression so the zeo had to go. To be honest I think I overdosing a tad bit to much.

So after shutting down the zeo 2 days ago and doing 2 massive water changes things bounced back. My LPS started to look better, my chromis came out from hiding and polyp extension on my mille (the test subject) increased. So back to the drawing board...

Flow in the tank was increased by 30x which puts the tank around 55x turnover with the nano 240 off and than 64x when the nano is on. I have it on a timer to variable flow.

As for coral, looking into rarer paly's (purple death's, nuclear green's), florida ric's, and down the road I want to add pink birdsnest and some red planet once I know the system has become more stable. Lost most of my SPS during the zeo time frame but it was all frags from my 60gal so they are easily replaceable.

On the note for a low nutrient system. I have been watching fencers thread on the Prodibio line. I am considering starting this in a few weeks and I really wish I looked into this system a bit more before going zeo. It fits my schedule and is alot less demanding.

As for the sump, I now have a huge empty space and am looking for idea's. Might pick up more LR.

lorenz0
04-03-2011, 05:55 PM
blah

lorenz0
04-12-2011, 09:50 PM
After my little idea to upgrade, that didn't last I decided to keep the cube (ha funny)

I am keeping some lower maintenance stuff, sure I miss having my sps around and sadly the 60gal is looking more and more like crap (long story)

well here is a small update. lowered the flow to maybe 15x turnover, raised the 150mh and decreased amount of feeding to the corals

http://i37.photobucket.com/albums/e69/lorenz000/P4120010.jpg

silentcivilian
04-12-2011, 09:58 PM
Yaa.. looking good.

fishytime
04-15-2011, 02:32 AM
is that a favia I see on the right?

lorenz0
04-23-2011, 05:28 PM
Yep picked up an alien eye from the last shipment. Can't wait till that thing starts taking over the rock