Fishoholic's 2012 nano contest entry

[fishoholic]

So I was reading about the contest thinking about things and remembering Aysha saying this:

I'm not allowed anymore tanks I finally got this one running ship shape...hunnnyyyyyy we need to enter the nano contest.....

thinking Doug would kill me, cause I need another tank like I need a hole in the head, but then I started seeing how many others were getting involved and decided I wanted to be a part of it too :biggrin:

So after talking with Doug (my boyfriend aka fishytime for those who may not already know) and he mentioned the skimz ibox nano tank that he had, that he never did get around to setting up, and needless to say an :idea: went off in my head and I decided I'm in :cheer2:

So my entry is a Skimz ibox nano tank, it holds about 2.5g. I've heard the light it comes with isn't great so I'm looking into upgrading it with an eco pico LED light. It's going to sit on the edge of Doug's computer desk and I have most of the stuff I need to get it going:
live rock; going to steal some from my 230g
sand; have to rinse the sand I had in my 10g and use it
air pump and longer air hose (used to run the skimmer it came with); found them in Doug's extra tank supply area :mrgreen:
saltwater; taking it from the water I already have mixed for my water change on my big tank.

Now all I need is a small heater which I'll look into getting tomorrow. Already started taking progress pic's (as I'm all about the pic's) and I will post them with explanations later, for now I'm off to rinse some old dirty sand :thumb:

[fishoholic]

In the beginning.....there was a box (under a bar no less)......
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0026.jpg

and in that box.......was an ibox!
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0027.jpg

that came with little pieces that needed putting together.....and NO instructions :eek: (Oh and a few extra pieces, that Doug tossed into said ibox box, just to confuse me.....good times)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0029.jpg

but through perseverance (and admittedly internet help) I figured out how to get the circulation pump working (forgot to take a pic of it put together oops!) and the darn confusing air stone skimmer that it came with. Took forever to figure it out and BTW I hate skimmers!
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0031.jpg

Also discovered the the air hose the skimmer came with was way to short and I needed to find a pump....so I went shopping under my bar again to where Doug's extra tank stuff is hiding and found this :mrgreen:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0032.jpg

[fishoholic]

Decided it would work well sitting on Doug's computer desk so here it sits :biggrin:

It was pretty dusty/dirty so I gave it a good rise before setting it in it's final resting spot, here's some empty tank shots
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0033.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0035.jpg

[nanoreefnewbie]

Never heard of these tanks..googled it and what a sweet tank should be a intreasting build also

[ensquire]

I picked one of these up when in town for Fragfest. I'm going to set mine up for my son. Can't wait to see where you go with this one.

[fishoholic]

Never heard of these tanks..googled it and what a sweet tank should be a intreasting build also

Thanks

I wanted to run carbon on this tank and remembered I had these laying around
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0036.jpg


So I decided to see if it would fit, and thankfully it fits into the camber no problem :biggrin: (it's hard to see in the pic but I circled it)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0043-1.jpg

[fishoholic]

I picked one of these up when in town for Fragfest. I'm going to set mine up for my son. Can't wait to see where you go with this one.

Thanks I have a couple of different ideas:

1) pull all my maxi mini nems from my big tanks and stuff them in there with sexy shrimp, anemone shrimp and anemone crabs. Good plan in theory but it would be a PITA to try to get my maxi mini's out of the other tanks, and I'm not sure about wanting to try anemones in a new set up

or

2) set it up as a mini reef with a cool display fish. I'd love to get a flaming prawn goby but they are very difficult find and not easy to keep
http://www.aquacon.com/images/FlamingPrawnGoby3.jpg
or I might try a yasha goby/pistol shrimp (but I have a pistol in my 34g that's waiting for a yasha and I don't think I could get him out). So I might try to find some other unique type of tiny fish, maybe barnacle blennies (my fave) but they have a short life span so I don't know.

[BlueTang<3]

I have a carpet that would be perfect in there he's about 19 inches across would fold up perfect in there ;). You should go with a rose and green bubble tip anemone in there that would be pretty cool.

[Enigma]

This is going to be really cute. I'm following along. :)

[reefwars]

wow laurie great start indeed, i love the idea of a maxi tank, how about maybe a maxi ricordia tank??


will be following along for sure:)

[ALang]

Way to go!
Wish I have a store right underneath MY bar!
Can't wait to see it done. Wait, maybe not....might just start something that I don't want to get into...

[fishoholic]

I have a carpet that would be perfect in there he's about 19 inches across would fold up perfect in there ;). You should go with a rose and green bubble tip anemone in there that would be pretty cool.

:lol: Maybe with a shoe horn and some glue I could squeeze the carpet in eh? :lol: I have a RBTA in my 230g that's fairly large so I don't want to take up the whole tank with a BTA.

wow laurie great start indeed, i love the idea of a maxi tank, how about maybe a maxi ricordia tank??


will be following along for sure:)

I like the idea of a maxi mini tank to but not the work to get them all off the rocks in my other tanks :lol: Plus I checked with my work and they're going to try to get a flaming prawn goby in for me :mrgreen: So if they can I'll set it up as a reef if not I'll lean towards the maxi mini's.

[fishoholic]

This is going to be really cute. I'm following along. :)

Thanks

Way to go!
Wish I have a store right underneath MY bar!
Can't wait to see it done. Wait, maybe not....might just start something that I don't want to get into...

Yes my bar comes fairly stocked but only with extra reef stuff not booze :lol:

BTW thanks for working out a deal for the Eco pico light, I picked it up along with a heater today.

Eco pico light (going to add 2 more led light strips to it and a dimmer that wonderful Grizz said he'd pick up a deliver to me :cheer2:)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0049.jpg

Heater (very odd really flat heater but it's supposed to work)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0048.jpg

But the above was picked up today and I'm getting ahead of myself....

[Nano]

I bought the same heater for my old planted Betta nano. It blew up :P but worked well before hand ;)

[fishoholic]

.......back to last night......were smells of old stinky sand filled the air.....

the old sand in the 10g
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0038.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0037.jpg

Thankfully it didn't take to too long to rinse out enough for the pico tank

tank shot with the room lights on (old light above tank)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0042.jpg

tank pic with room lights off (old light above tank)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0046-1.jpg

[fishoholic]

I bought the same heater for my old planted Betts nano. It blew up :P but worked well before hand ;)

:eek: I purposely avoided marineland stealth 10W heater for that reason, why/how did the odd flat hydor heater blow? Thinking maybe I should take it back :neutral::question:

[Nano]

Not to sure I only had it for maybe 2 months? The guy at big als told Mr to bury it under the substrate, could've been part of it, I think it couldve over heated there easily. I don't generally listen to those guys anymore :P
It will be perfect for the back chamber though, I bet it fits just perfect

[fishoholic]

Also kinda cool I got the skimmer working :thumb:

skimmer in tank
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0043.jpg

skimate collection bucket
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0044.jpg

observed skimmer actually working this morning!!!:cheer2:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0047.jpg

[JDigital]

I think my tank at the office evaporates more water in a 14 hour period than this tank can hold.. :lol:

Looking good so far, Laurie.

[fishoholic]

Not to sure I only had it for maybe 2 months? The guy at big als told Mr to bury it under the substrate, could've been part of it, I think it couldve over heated there easily. I don't generally listen to those guys anymore :P
It will be perfect for the back chamber though, I bet it fits just perfect

The packaging it came in said you could bury it under "gravel" maybe sand substrate holds the heat in more? Maybe that made it blow? :sad: I do have it in the back chamber of the ibox and it does fit perfectly.....now as long as it doesn't blow it'll be all good :neutral:

[fishoholic]

I think my tank at the office evaporates more water in a 14 hour period than this tank can hold.. :lol:

Looking good so far, Laurie.

:lol: I bet you're right! and thanks :biggrin: On the plus side one red solo cup is the perfect size for weekly water changes :mrgreen:

[Nano]

The packaging it came in said you could bury it under "gravel" maybe sand substrate holds the heat in more? Maybe that made it blow? :sad: I do have it in the back chamber of the ibox and it does fit perfectly.....now as long as it doesn't blow it'll be all good :neutral:

Possibly as my planted tanks always had gravel, the sand then planting substrate, so its probably a good insulation :P I think youll be just fine

[fishoholic]

Possibly as my planted tanks always had gravel, the sand then planting substrate, so its probably a good insulation :P I think youll be just fine

Sadly I just checked the temp on the tank and it went from 76 (before the heater was plugged in) to 84 :eek: within a few hours of it being plugged in. Guess it's to powerful for my little tank, thankfully there's just water, sand and rock in it right now.

Aquascape pic's will come later

[Nano]

Well you might have to bite the bullet and get a small adjustable heater

[Enigma]

I was able to squeeze this one into the return compartment of my 2G Fluval Spec:
http://ca-en.hagen.com/Aquatic/Heating/Heaters/A756

It worked well. I'm not sure if you could squeeze it in beside your skimmer, but it might be worth a shot.

[fishoholic]

Well you might have to bite the bullet and get a small adjustable heater

Yep but unfortunately the smallest adjustable heater is 25w and has the potential to fry my tank if it fails and gets stuck on on.

I was able to squeeze this one into the return compartment of my 2G Fluval Spec:
http://ca-en.hagen.com/Aquatic/Heating/Heaters/A756

It worked well. I'm not sure if you could squeeze it in beside your skimmer, but it might be worth a shot.

That is similar to the heater I was looking to get, here's the one I had in mind http://ca-en.hagen.com/Aquatic/Heating/Heaters/11186 unfortunately the store I went to was sold out which is why I thought I'd try the other one I got. Temp in the tank is going down but not as fast as it went up, it's at 83 now. Back to the store tomorrow *sigh*

[Aysha]

Sure sure blame me...
I feel bad because I'd tell Barry THIS IS NOT AN ARMORY WE DO NOT NEED ANYMORE TANKS! who do you think has all the tanks now?:redface:
Oh and I just told him I'm bringing home another snake ooops! Did I mention we are getting married in like 3 weeks? OH THE CHAOS!!!!!!

as far as the heater goes...Catalina's?

[fishoholic]

Sure sure blame me...
I feel bad because I'd tell Barry THIS IS NOT AN ARMORY WE DO NOT NEED ANYMORE TANKS! who do you think has all the tanks now?:redface:
Oh and I just told him I'm bringing home another snake ooops! Did I mention we are getting married in like 3 weeks? OH THE CHAOS!!!!!!

as far as the heater goes...Catalina's?

:lol: As long as I'm not to blame for setting up another tank it's all good :razz: It's so true though, is not like I need another tank......but since we had one laying around......why not set it up :thumb:

Congrats on the wedding you guys must be crazy busy!!!!

I love catalina's and was thinking maybe a cold water nano but it seems to sit around 76 (right now) with no heater so not quite cold enough for them.

[ALang]

Hmmm...interesting...always wondered how people heat these tiny tanks.
Good thing you tried it without any livestock in first!

[fishoholic]

Hmmm...interesting...always wondered how people heat these tiny tanks.
Good thing you tried it without any livestock in first!

Yes thankfully. Checked the tank just before I left for work and it's at 77 which is good for now but when it gets colder out the temp in that room drops I'm guessing I'll need a heater.

[reefwars]

not sure if its an option or even possible lol but can you put your heater on a timer or something similiar so it only runs for a few minutes at a time??


im going heaterless and chose to put my tank next to the furnace vent, so far so good no temp drops:P

[riceboy]

lol isn't this the same tank doug was going to plumb into his 180 before lol

[nanoreefnewbie]

Nice tank bud should be a great build I'm liking it plans either which one I'll be following this build

[fishoholic]

not sure if its an option or even possible lol but can you put your heater on a timer or something similiar so it only runs for a few minutes at a time??


im going heaterless and chose to put my tank next to the furnace vent, so far so good no temp drops:P

I'd rather find a heater that doesn't over heat the tank instead of messing around with timers. The temp is at 76-77 without a heater right now, but come winter I keep the house cold at night (I turn the furnace down to 15 so I don't hear it running all night) and coolish during the day (18-19) so I'm thinking I'll need a heater once it gets colder.

lol isn't this the same tank doug was going to plumb into his 110 before lol

Yes it is, but he never did plumb it in and now I stole it :twised:

[fishoholic]

Nice tank bud should be a great build I'm liking it plans either which one I'll be following this build

Thanks :biggrin:

I went "shopping" for rock yesterday and found a really cool shaped piece from my 230g reef tank. Unfortunately I discovered that the rock that seemed small (at least it did in my 230g) basically barely fit into the 2.5g :lol: oops! So then I looked for a smaller piece and found a cool flat long piece. Realized I needed a few more small pieces of LR but had a hard time finding anything small enough in my 230g reef. So Doug said I could go "shopping" in his sump (must say he has some really nice rock in there!) and after a few tries this is the end result :mrgreen:

It was a bit cloudy from having just put the rock in but you get the idea, also you can see what the EcoPico led light looks like. I plan on adding two more led light strips to it and a dimmer, which Grizz had graciously offered to pick up and deliver for me :cheer2:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0053.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0051.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0057.jpg

[Boxboy]

Good job on this little tank, its going to be nice!

[nanoreefnewbie]

Yeah I always wounded why they need heaters..urban very lucky lol

[nanoreefnewbie]

Oh and very nice pics

[reefwars]

a post has been made in all the contest forumns regarding contest rules via the timeline, everyone should read this post as there seems to be some confusion.

[fishoholic]

a post has been made in all the contest forumns regarding contest rules via the timeline, everyone should read this post as there seems to be some confusion.

Ya I just saw that and being the non conformist like I am I laid the smackdown on ya! :wink: BTW I love you Denny :hug: Aren't you glad I joined and am making things a nightmare for you :mrgreen: and yes I'm fully aware I'm a brat. Also willing to bribe with pretty zoa frags to be allowed to set my own pace as long as things are done before/by the dates posted

to quote myself:
GRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRRR!!!!!!!!! !!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!:laluot_32:

Too late... I didn't read the rules right or understand things right (as you did say DENNY that we could go at our own pace) and I thought that you had until the dates above at the latest to do things but you could do them as fast as you wanted to but no slower then the dates above. Sorry I didn't read the rules very well before I signed up. I am waaaayyyyyy to impatient of a person to not set up stuff immediately, like as of yesterday, and it kills me to wait a day (never mind a whole month ) not to share progress (when progress was made) so what fun is it if everything is running but you have to hold back pic's until the right dates :evil: Guidelines are good but they should be "have to be done by this date date" not "can't post pic's of what you've already done till this date date" Seems silly to me that if you've already done something not to show what you've done until a certain date :sad:

Personally I say we take a vote with the contestants entered to see how everyone feels about going at their own pace as long as you have posted updates along the way and you have the things added by no later then the dates posted above. That way people who want to go faster can and others who want to take their time can as well. That way everyone is happy especially me :wink:

This is a contest after all and it's not my fault if others can't keep up :razz: Besides isn't it more interesting to see what happens as it's happening then making people wait for updates on things they've already done????? Judges can dock points if they like if they feel like bratty contestants like myself are going to fast but personally it's more fun to see what's happening as it's happening then to have to wait until months after the fact!

[nanoreefnewbie]

I totally agree with you I want too see it happening not after its happened

[fishoholic]

This is what I've decided and the risk I'm ok with taking. Judges please dock points as you deem necessary just please don't completely eliminate me and remove my journal.

Ugh so many dates so confusing....I've decided I'm going to say screw it and go at my own pace, I will do updates and will post appropriate pic's on the dates above but I can't say I won't go faster then the dates above and not post pic's of things before hand. Judges can eliminate me from winning if they choose (as I could care less if I win, just don't eliminate me completely) and I'm going to be a brat and do it my way and have fun with it. I'm in it more for the fun of showing others what I can do with a nano tank and for the joy of reading others feed back in my journal of what's happening as it happens. I could care less about loosing points for not following the rules, so long as my journal stays put (as part of the contest) so others can enjoy and comment on it.

I think as long as I'm willing to take the risk for not following the rules then I should be allowed to keep my journal as part of it.

I will post this in my journal and let the judges know to dock points as they deem necessary for whenever I don't or didn't follow the rules. At the end they can tell me I would of had x number of points if I didn't do such and such early but otherwise I hope I can continue even if I loose points for doing it wrong.

[fishoholic]

Ok just got some clearer clarification

your journal is fine lol


guys the timeline really isnt strict it can also be looked at like this:


from now till november 1rst- be able to provide an empty tank shot ,tank with water shot,equipment,rock/sand

dec 1rst-livestock additions and pics

jan3rd -livestock additions and pics

jan 15th- fts

feb 15th-fts and livestock updates

march 15h-fts and livestock updates


if people start their journals now and post their empty tank shots,tank with water shots,equipment shots and liverock shots they are covered untill december first which is the next update.

Apparently I'm ok and good to go :cheer2: and http://www.elliotcowanchat.org/images/smilies/whew.gif

[fishoholic]

My ATO
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0061_zps464c4a0b.jpg

:lol: it's me using a cup

Clearer pic's
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0062_zps3f8bcc9d.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0063_zps187d55ed.jpg

[fishoholic]

Just read this: (which follows along with the original rules but somewhat contradicts the simplified rules post I posted above)

guys quick note before the contest officially starts.



there should be no pics of rock or of corals before november first, if you are farther then that i your build fine , but as per time line no rocks should be in the pics before that date.


journals have to be created and a first post made by the contestant by october 15th/2012



oct15th /2012- empty tank shots:
by this date some pics of your dry empty tanks and what ever equipment you may have is to be provided. feel free to ask questions and get others opinions on your ideas:)

nov1rst/2012- official fill date:
by this date your tank should be filled with water , all plumbing done and be a running system. no livestock or rock is to be in your tank at this time. a pic of the tank running with water and the plumbing are to be provided. sand may be added before water if that is your desire;P





like i said guys you can each go at your own pace, but the appropriate pictures have to be provided BY certain dates.


pls notice how it says no liverock is to be added.



not that you cant add it but keep the pics for the approprite dates.


remember this is a contest folks where judges are going by the timeline and the rules of the contest, failuer to comply will result in loss of points.



prior to neovember 1rst there shouldnt be more than empty tanks posted,water and your euipment and plumbing.

I'm ok with loosing points as long as I can do it how I want to and share what I want when I want to.

To make it easier for judges I will go back in my journal and post the appropriate pic's when they should of been posted on they day the were supposed to have been posted.

But honestly I want to share my updates as they occur not try to remember weeks later what happened and the order they happened in and fake my updates to make it look like I did them on the dates they were supposed to be done. IMO if you're ahead of the game and holding back pic's to make it seem like you're following the rules when really you aren't it's stupid. If the point of not posting pic's of rock in tanks yet is to make it fair for others who haven't started yet (so ideally we're all on the same playing level) but then you go ahead and add the rock now, cause technically you're allowed to just don't show pic's to let others know how ahead you are, just seems ridiculous to me. People are going to go at their own pace regardless of the rules, most will just hold back pic's and post them when the time comes to post them so they look like they are doing everything by the book. They may be way past that point and their final pic might reflect that, but because they didn't post pic's it's ok and they won't loose points for it????? :rolleyes:

Anyway like I said I'm cool with loosing points but I'm not going to hide my progress or pretend it didn't happen when it did just to lie about things and make it look like I'm following the rules when I'm not. Judges can figure out my points however they wish but know I'm not hiding or holding anything back or pretending things aren't happening if they are happening.

[riceboy]

lol the ato looks to be the same device i'm using except its me with a red cup lol, good thing the office has unlimited amounts of filtered water lol

[fishoholic]

lol the ato looks to be the same device i'm using except its me with a red cup lol, good thing the office has unlimited amounts of filtered water lol

Simplest ATO I've ever used to figure out how to get it working :lol:

[ALang]

ATO with a red solo cup...I feel a country song in the make...might infringe on Toby Keith's copyrights, though!!
Just hoping that no one goes on a few days worth of "vacation", like my hubby likes to do, it can be a nightmare to get house sitters to fill such a tiny tank. Mine just dumped the whole amount that has been evaporating for the past few days all at once, on the day before us getting home, and then wondered why things died...

[reefwars]

hi laurie.......relax lol


the timeline is posted as are the rules, everyone can take it as they see it but its now final and will not be changed for any reasons, and all decisions will now be made up to the judges.


like i said i believe your journal is fine, according to the official timeline and how i read it, for the most part everyones is fine.


the judges are going to look at more than just the timeline guys so relax and just do the best you can on your nanos and let the judges worry about who gets points and who dont:)


ps....tank looks great btw;)

[fishoholic]

ATO with a red solo cup...I feel a country song in the make...might infringe on Toby Keith's copyrights, though!!
Just hoping that no one goes on a few days worth of "vacation", like my hubby likes to do, it can be a nightmare to get house sitters to fill such a tiny tank. Mine just dumped the whole amount that has been evaporating for the past few days all at once, on the day before us getting home, and then wondered why things died...

:lol: everytime I see that cup I think of that song, in fact as I was topping it off I was singing "red solo cup I use you for my top off" :lol:

Thankfully there are no trips planned right now. Other then going to visit Doug's mom for her birthday in Calgary for a weekend in Oct. My mom is going to look after all my animals while I'm gone and I give her very explicit directions on what to do with my tanks so hopefully it'll be ok as she's been good at following the fish tank directions to a T in the past.

[fishoholic]

hi laurie.......relax lol


the timeline is posted as are the rules, everyone can take it as they see it but its now final and will not be changed for any reasons, and all decisions will now be made up to the judges.


like i said i believe your journal is fine, according to the official timeline and how i read it, for the most part everyones is fine.


the judges are going to look at more than just the timeline guys so relax and just do the best you can on your nanos and let the judges worry about who gets points and who dont:)

ps....tank looks great btw;)

Ok ok I'll chill out now. I know I went on a bit of a :rant: (rant) yesterday and :sorry: 'bout that, I just felt the need to state my opinion

[Enigma]

Do you have any plans to try to hide the hose from the skimmer?

[fishoholic]

Do you have any plans to try to hide the hose from the skimmer?

I did notice that it's kinda ugly sitting out in the open, but I'm not sure how I could hide it. I'll have to think about it some more.

[fishoholic]

So I found an evil aiptasia (top circle in pic) on the top of one of my rocks :evil: I've also discovered my tank has balls! Ball anemones (bottom circle) that is :lol:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0064_zps759d1373.jpg

The ball anemones are kind pretty so I'm leaving them alone for now, but I puttied in the evil aiptasia and said "Die aiptasia die!!!!!" as I applied the putty :lol:

Goodbye aiptasia....and no you won't be missed
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0066_zps393e3381.jpg

EDIT: Ok for some odd reason the circles I made on the pic's in photobucket (that show up on the photobucket page) aren't showing up here. Not sure why but hopefully you can tell where the aiptasia and the ball anemone are in the pic.

[FishyFishy!]

I've also discovered my tank has balls! Ball anemones (bottom circle) that is :lol:


hahahahahahahaha....NIIICEEE!

I just found a little aiptasia on a frag I just got, so I stuck it with a needle full of Mag. Worked great!

[fishoholic]

Also noticed this hitchhiker astra starfish. I know some people think of them as pests but I've never had problems with them so I'm leaving him in.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0067_zpsfaec2faf.jpg

Also noticed that my tank seems to go down to 75 at night (and its not that cold yet) so I'm going to have to figure out some sort of heater soon. Unless.....dwarf seahorse maybe???? Not sure if the tank is big enough for one or not.....also not sure if I can keep such a small tank stable enough for one. I'll have to do some reading.

[fishoholic]

hahahahahahahaha....NIIICEEE!

I just found a little aiptasia on a frag I just got, so I stuck it with a needle full of Mag. Worked great!

Thanks, I was hoping people would get a laugh out of that :big grin:

Mag. does work well, but if it spews before you get it all, it has the potential to send out spores that spread like wildfire.

[Enigma]

I did notice that it's kinda ugly sitting out in the open, but I'm not sure how I could hide it. I'll have to think about it some more.

It does detract a bit from the aesthetics of your tank. Could you simply turn it a bit and run the tube behind the tank?

[fishoholic]

It does detract a bit from the aesthetics of your tank. Could you simply turn it a bit and run the tube behind the tank?

The hose is just long enough to reach the bucket on the table right beside the table the tank sits on. If I put a longer hose on the skimmer I could run it behind the tank onto the floor. I have extra hose laying around but I'm not sure if they're the right size or not. The other issue with that is that I have a cat and small dog who go under the table and it would suck if they knocked over a bucket of skimmate. I'll have to look at what I have when I get home and see if I can change it. That or just take closer up pic's of the tank or photoshop the hose out :lol:

[fishoholic]

Decisions decisions *sigh*

[gregzz4]

FYI
The circles around the aiptasia and ball nem are there :smile:

Wouldn't it take you less time to remove the hose for pics, rather than the whole photo edit thingy ? :wink:

Nice lookin' contest build
Can't wait to see the new light strip additions

[Enigma]

Decisions decisions *sigh*

I vote just take closeups of the tank. :)

[fishoholic]

It does detract a bit from the aesthetics of your tank. Could you simply turn it a bit and run the tube behind the tank?

I vote just take closeups of the tank. :)

:doh: Ok sometimes simplest is best. Spent some time thinking about running a longer hose into a bucket under the table to discover the extra hoses I have aren't the right size. So I thought oh well I'll just take close ups. Then this morning Doug says "Just turn the top part of the skimmer a bit and run the hose behind the light and tank, and leave the bucket where it is". :doh: Wasn't 100% sure it would reach or make much of a difference but it does reach and it does look way better. Have to admit I feel pretty stupid for not having done so in the first place :redface:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/EC912824_zpsa6e354f1.jpg

[Enigma]

Yea! That looks better. :) It is still noticeable, but it isn't "front centre" like it was. It is much more discreet now, and doesn't draw my eye.

[fishoholic]

FYI
The circles around the aiptasia and ball nem are there :smile:

Wouldn't it take you less time to remove the hose for pics, rather than the whole photo edit thingy ? :wink:

Nice lookin' contest build
Can't wait to see the new light strip additions

Ya it's strange on my one computer the circles show up but on the other one they don't, no idea why :noidea: You're right it would take less time to remove the hose, thankfully Doug mentioned turning it a bit and it worked out.

The light additions should be cool, I'm just waiting to hear back from Martin at modular led to figure out what all I need to order to add two more strips. Then I'll just have to wait for Grizz to deliver the goods :mrgreen:

[lockrookie]

[QUOTE=fishoholic;747631]My ATO
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0061_zps464c4a0b.jpg

:lol: it's me using a cup

after my vacation in NY this past weekend and the rage of this song this pic reminded me of i had to share.. looking good btw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEtqj2Fa4s

[fishoholic]

Decisions decisions *sigh*

So I was doing some reading about dwarf seahorses and debating if I wanted to try them or not. I read up on them and they are pretty tricky to keep and you need to keep the tank around 68-74. Even without a heater my tank only went down to 75 so I wasn't sure if I could keep the tank cool enough for them. I also talked to Ken at blue world (he knows a breeder) but he said the guy was trying to breed them again right now but so far it hasn't happened yet, so it would be awhile before they would be available. Then he mentions that his darwin clownfish breed and that some of them are dwarf clowns.......so that got me thinking.......now I'm leaning towards doing a maxi mini tank with sexy shrimp, anemone crab, maybe an anemone shrimp and one or two (not sure if the tank is big enough for 2 clowns even if they are very tiny) dwarf clowns. Ken also mentioned he had a tiny rbta that I might take a look at. I also like the idea of a reef tank with a flaming prawn goby, but they are expensive and it was 2 years ago that anyone last had them so I'm not sure if I could get one or not.

[fishoholic]

Yea! That looks better. :) It is still noticeable, but it isn't "front centre" like it was. It is much more discreet now, and doesn't draw my eye.

Agreed, thanks for pointing it out. Now that it's tucked behind it's definitely not as much of an eye sore anymore.

[fishoholic]

after my vacation in NY this past weekend and the rage of this song this pic reminded me of i had to share.. looking good btw


http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZMEtqj2Fa4s

:lol: awesome

[intarsiabox]

Also noticed that my tank seems to go down to 75 at night (and its not that cold yet) so I'm going to have to figure out some sort of heater soon. Unless.....dwarf seahorse maybe???? Not sure if the tank is big enough for one or not.....also not sure if I can keep such a small tank stable enough for one. I'll have to do some reading.

I don't know if they would work on your set up but you can get heating matts that go under the tank used for reptile tanks.

I had 2 dwarf seahorses awhile back that lived for about 1 1/2 years which I guess is about their life span. I didn't have anything special set up for them, a 10g tank with established LR, some kenya tree coral, fed them brine and selcon (mysis is too big for them to eat) and kept my tank at 75.

[fishoholic]

I don't know if they would work on your set up but you can get heating matts that go under the tank used for reptile tanks.

I had 2 dwarf seahorses awhile back that lived for about 1 1/2 years which I guess is about their life span. I didn't have anything special set up for them, a 10g tank with established LR, some kenya tree coral, fed them brine and selcon (mysis is too big for them to eat) and kept my tank at 75.

I had thought about a heating matt but I wasn't sure if it would work or not. I went to PJ pets and looked at the heaters there. I went back and forth between the fluval edge 25w heater and the marina 10w heater. I heard the fulval works well for small tanks but kinda thought 25w would be overkill for my tank since the 15w heater I tried raised the temp to 84. But since I couldn't make up my mind (I've tried the marina 10w on a 3-4g before and it didn't work) I ended up buying both. I figured I'd try the 10w one 1st and if it didn't work then I'd try the 25w one. So far the marina 10w heater is working perfectly. Keeps the tank at 77-78 consistently so far. I've only had it for 2 days but it looks promising so far.

pic's
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0073_zps9a32a561.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0070_zps208532a8.jpg

Sleek design and fits perfectly in the back chamber :thumb:

[Enigma]

Have a read through this thread on Nano-reef if you're interested in some ponies (it is long, but she's had success in a 3 gallon).

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=301292

Your tank might work.

[fishoholic]

Have a read through this thread on Nano-reef if you're interested in some ponies (it is long, but she's had success in a 3 gallon).

http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=301292

Your tank might work.

Thanks for the link, it would be cool to try (maybe one day) but right now I just want to make sure I can keep the tank stable never mind everything else that comes with keeping seahorses. Also I have ball anemones on my rock, which I kinda like and think are pretty, but unfortunately they could kill a seahorse. I was reading about some stuff you can use to treat the rock for hydroids and pest anemones (to make the rock safe for seashores) that is supposed to not effect the beneficial bacteria on the rock, but I don't know where to find it.

I'm also not sure if I could even find any dwarf seahorses to buy so I decided to do a maxi mini/coral tank with anemone crabs, sexy shrimp and Ken's dwarf darwin clownfish.

[fishoholic]

So I thought I'd try to be good and attempt to follow the rules from here on out, but that lasted for a whole 30 sec's, and really who am I kidding, this is me we're talking about :lol:

So I took some advice from old blue eyes himself and I'm going to do it my way :mrgreen:

Frank Sinatra: My Way
http://youtu.be/Aht9hcDFyVw

have to admit that song still can give me chills it's so good :biggrin:

I've been busy the past few day's I have updates to share but have to wait until the lights go on to take pic's.

[fishoholic]

One update I can share now is that my ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate are all at 0. Not surprising though since I stared with cycled rock from an established system. I also bought the prodibio nano kit and dosed bioptim and biodigest.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/E09643DE_zpsae29a1d3.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/7EA8B5E8_zpsefaf5409.jpg

In the start up kit they also use stop ammo but AI and Red coral didn't have any, I'm hoping blue world will. They don't open till noon so I have to wait to call and find out.

[fishoholic]

Yay blue world! I got the stop ammo (already added it) :biggrin: Also got another cool thing, I've seen a few of them before, but none the colour I got :mrgreen:

[Enigma]

What are the benefits of the biokit?

I know I saw it somewhere local rather recently, but I didn't check it out after I looked at the cost.

[fishoholic]

What are the benefits of the biokit?

I know I saw it somewhere local rather recently, but I didn't check it out after I looked at the cost.

Here's a link were it's explained
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=62780

[Enigma]

Here's a link were it's explained
http://www.canreef.com/vbulletin/showthread.php?t=62780

Thanks! It looks like it might be worth investing in. :)

[fishoholic]

Ok so I'm way further ahead then I should be but since there are a couple of others that are as well and they've posted pic's I'm going to finally download all the pic's I've been taking and update this thread already!

I should also add that I checked with my work (AI) and they should have the splitter and dimmer I need for the 2 extra led light strips I want to add and they are ordering the extra lights in for me :mrgreen:

[fishoholic]

While I'm waiting for pic's to upload I'd thought I'd share a pic of my skimmate :mrgreen: Not bad for a few days worth from a dinky airstone skimmer.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0074_zps48399519.jpg

[fishoholic]

So I jumped in full speed ahead (like always :redface:) and throughout the past 2 weeks I've added a few things. First I tired one of my maxi minis in the tank to see how it would do. I knew Steve from RCE was bringing more in and I wanted to make sure one did ok before adding more. Well it took forever to pry the darn thing off the rock (thought for I bit I might of killed it in my efforts to get it off) but finally it came off and I got it into the tank and it settled in just fine :biggrin: I also added a small clean up crew; 2 scarlet crabs and 3 nassarius snails.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0080.jpg

then a few days after that I added a super cool porcelain crab (unfortunately he hides a lot and I rarely see him, I'm hoping he'll eventually host in one of the maxi minis)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0077.jpg

[noirsphynx]

Well it took forever to pry the darn thing off the rock (thought for I bit I might of killed it in my efforts to get it off) but finally it came off and I got it into the tank and it settled in just fine :biggrin:

then a few days after that I added a super cool porcelain crab (unfortunately he hides a lot and I rarely see him, I'm hoping he'll eventually host in one of the maxi minis)

They're tough little buggers. I've done that a couple times and they always fully recover. Love minis :biggrin:

Nope, he'll probably never host Laurie, he's the wrong type of porcelain crab. The only ones that will host are the white porcelain anemone crabs.

[fishoholic]

They're tough little buggers. I've done that a couple times and they always fully recover. Love minis :biggrin:

Nope, he'll probably never host Laurie, he's the wrong type of porcelain crab. The only ones that will host are the white porcelain anemone crabs.

Huh good to know and darn! :sad: Oh well he still looks cool, that is when I can see him and he's not hiding at the very back of the tank :lol:

[noirsphynx]

What about a piece of black acrylic mounted above the overflow to block out the back of your tank and hide things? I just happen to know where you can get some :wink:

[fishoholic]

What about a piece of black acrylic mounted above the overflow to block out the back of your tank and hide things? I just happen to know where you can get some :wink:

Hummmmm that's a good idea. I turned the skimmer around so the hose goes behind the tank now, and it looks way better then it did, but you can still see the skimmer. Not sure how I'd attach it but I could probably think of something....hummmmm........

[fishoholic]

I also added 2 sexy shrimp last Wed. and after months of it being missing I saw one of my maxi minis in my 230g fowlr tank. Basically 4-5 months ago my first and one of my nicer maxi minis split on it's own, and then it literally split! Both halves disappeared in the tank. I saw it once over a month ago and it was really bleached out and then after a few days it disappeared again :evil: So when I saw it this time I pried it off the rock and stuck it in my nano tank.

What it used to look like
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Nikon%203100/DSC_0335.jpg

What it looks like now, the small one bottom right partly under the rock and on the sandbed with the sexy shrimp in front
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0083.jpg

[fishoholic]

Few updates, a little while ago I went to Steve's store Red Coral and 3 new maxi mini's followed me home :mrgreen:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0091.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0097.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0094.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0090.jpg

They have moved around a bit since these pic's were taken so I'll try to get an updated pic later.

[fishoholic]

Last Sat. I finally got around to cleaning the glass for the first time with my acrylic safe small magfloat that I had hiding in a drawer. Ironically that same day Doug came home from work with a Nano mag cleaner for me :lol:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0082.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0102.jpg

[Acipenser]

Can we get a FTS please !

[fishoholic]

I've been sick for the past few days but the plan today is to do a water change and clean my skimmer. I also go the 3 way splitter and dimmer for the extra strip of lights I want to add, now I'm just waiting for the lights to come in. My friend/co-worker (from AI, Sean) has a RBTA that he says he's had for awhile and it stays small and splits often. I'm going to hopefully buy one from him and hopefully it'll stay small in my tank. Was going to meet with him on Sat. but since I've been sick and was going to Cavalia (btw awesome show! didn't care I was sick, definitely wasn't going to miss it!) I didn't have a chance to meet with him. Also have to get the dwarf darwin clowns from Ken, but hoping to get the bta settled into the tank 1st.

[fishoholic]

Can we get a FTS please !

I have my thanksgiving dinner today so I'm not sure I'll be able to post a pic before then. However I will try to get a fts when I lights come on and post it when I have time. I also want to move some of my other maxi mini's (2-3) from my other tank over but I'm not sure if I'll have enough room for them. For now I'm still debating it, I do want to move over my nice red one but unsure of the others. Might wait and see if my work can get any nice new ones in :mrgreen: I'm also running low on cash atm so I might just make do with the ones I've got.

[fishoholic]

FTS

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0153.jpg
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0157-2.jpg

[fishoholic]

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0159-1.jpg

[fishoholic]

Changed out the heater I was using :evil: for awhile it was keeping the tank at 77-78. One morning a few days ago I checked the tank (it was colder outside that night) and the tank was at 74 :surprise: So I grabbed my 25watt marineland stealth heater and now the tank stays between 78-80. I'm hoping to replace with a better quality adjustable 25watt heater but I guess it'll do for now. I've had 2 stealth heaters fail on me, one sent electrical shocks into the water and the other exploded sending black stuff into the water. Needless to say I don't trust them anymore, unfortunately I have to wait until I get paid before I can replace it :sad: Hopefully for a few weeks I won't have any major issues with it :pray:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0135.jpg

[fishoholic]

I added a new bubble tip anemone, hopefully I'll be getting the clowns soon, and if I'm lucky enough they'll host it :mrgreen: This bta was labeled as a rose but it looks more like a morph of some sort to me. It definitely doesn't look like the RBTA that's in my 230g tank. According to google pic's it's similar to a lemon drop or a rainbow. Not as yellow as some lemon drops look but not as pink as some rainbows look, mine is somewhat in the middle. It has a very bright green/white speckled base and a mostly orange with a slight pink hue tip.

This is the best closest to the actual colour pic I got
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0180-2.jpg

[fishoholic]

Saw this guy on the glass the other day
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0175.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0174.jpg

Also noticed that one of the 2 sexy shrimp I had in my 34g cube was missing. Not sure why, I do have a small radiant wrasse and a gumdrop goby in there so one of them might of eaten him but I'm not 100% sure. To be on the safe side I manged to catch the remaining sexy shrimp out of the 34g cube and I added him to this tank, my 2.5g nano. He's twice the size of the other 2 sexy's in there but they seem ok with each other so far.

[Enigma]

Nice! I think they look really cute. I'd like some, but after watching Denny's much on his zoas I'm not so sure about buying any. His stars were kind of brownish, though.

[fishoholic]

Nice! I think they look really cute. I'd like some, but after watching Denny's much on his zoas I'm not so sure about buying any. His stars were kind of brownish, though.

Astrina stars can be hit or miss. Basically 9 times out of 10 they leave things alone and don't do damage, however there are the odd ones that will eat coral. The ones I have are hitchhikers and I've never had any issues (that I'm aware of anyway) with them. I don't think you can buy them, as far as I know they hitchhike in off the rock. Here's a good article about them: http://www.reefkeeping.com/joomla/index.php/current-issue/article/45-reefkeeping-101-

[fishoholic]

So I'm still waiting to add a tiny clownfish, but in the meantime I thought adding a porcelain anemone crab would be a good idea. Thought it would host in one of the maxi minis but NOOOOO it went to the BTA and irritated the crap out of it :sad: So I ended up moving the crab into my 34g, were he oddly seems to enjoy hanging out on my favia coral.

Here's a pic of him when he was still in the 2.5g
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0194.jpg

pic of my scarlet crab
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0198.jpg

and I caught my nassarius snail trying to escape! A few hours after I first got them I found one of them on the computer desk, it had crawled out and was a little ways away from the tank :eek: I put him back right away and haven't had any escapees since but this looked close!
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0187.jpg

I also ended up moving my sexy shrimp from my 34g to this tank. I used to have 2 sexy shrimp in my 34g but one went MIA. I have a gumdrop goby in my 34g which could of eaten it however he's pretty small so I'm not sure if he would, but the 3 of them did hang out in the same coral together. I'm thinking it was more likely the radiant wrasse that's in the 34g, but I don't know for sure. Either way I wasn't going to take any chances with the remaining sexy shrimp so now he's safe in the 2.5g
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0204.jpg

[fishoholic]

New toys!!! Finally!!!!!!!!

So for awhile now I have been wanting to add onto my eco pico led lights. My work (AI) had the 3 way splitter that I needed and the dimmer I wanted but no extra white and blue led strips. I waited awhile for them to order some in but unfortunately they didn't have enough items to place an order with. Thankfully http://i99.photobucket.com/albums/l312/Motownmaniax/Smileys/drumrollsmiley.gif Grizz came to my rescue and worked it out with Martin from Modular LED and brought me the 2 extra light strips I wanted! YAY :cheer2:

New toys :mrgreen:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0207.jpg

3 way splitter
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0213.jpg

dimmer
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0214.jpg

back of extra led strip with 2way sticky tape for easy attachment
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0210.jpg

before
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0211.jpg

after
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0212.jpg

let there be light :biggrin:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0215.jpg

[ensquire]

Laurie , What do you have for lighting in your fixture now. I have the same tank and was thinking of 2 blue and one white ? Did you just go with 3 mixed ??

[fishoholic]

Laurie , What do you have for lighting in your fixture now. I have the same tank and was thinking of 2 blue and one white ? Did you just go with 3 mixed ??

What you see in the above pics is what I have. A total of 3 led mixed strips (white blue white) the original one it came with and the 2 I added. They are EcoPico LED Strip - 12,000K White & 453nm Blue. http://http://www.modularled.ca/ecopico-led-strip-12-000k-white-453nm-blue/ (http://www.modularled.ca/ecopico-led-strip-12-000k-white-453nm-blue/)

[fishoholic]

So after a month of trying to meet up with Ken for some tiny clownfish and the timing never working out I was beginning to think it was going to take forever to get a little clown for my tank. Thankfully while Doug was at work (RC) yesterday he mentioned they got tiny clownfish in :cheer2: so lucky for me he brought one home :mrgreen: thanks hunny :mrgreen: He's about 1/2 to 3/4 of an inch in size, super tiny and super cute! He fits well in the tank for now (may have to re-home him later as he gets bigger) but for now I get to enjoy watching a fish in my tank. Hasn't shown interest in the bta yet but hopefully he will, althought atm the bta isn't happy (stupid crab ****ed it off) and is moving around trying to find a spot he'll be happy in. On the plus side my new clown eats .5mm pellets :biggrin:

Crappy iphone pic for now, will post better pic later after the lights are on and the glass is cleaned.
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/97155FDB.jpg

[fishoholic]

I forgot to mention earlier that when removing a porcelain crab from a tank full of maxi minis be careful your hand doesn't get to close! Needless to say it's been about a week and I still have a rash on my hand! Oddly enough when I put the maxi minis in that I bought from RC and when I removed the maxi minis from my 230g tank to put in this tank I never got stung.

The day after I got stung (iphone pic but you can see how red my knuckles are)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/1B8E3EF2.jpg

Today (not as red but still a bumpy rash that is itchy and irritated)
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/EA351AC4.jpg

[Coralgurl]

Ouch!! Hand looks sore, hope it's better soon! Love your little tank, looking great!

[fishoholic]

Ouch!! Hand looks sore, hope it's better soon! Love your little tank, looking great!

Ya it stung like an SOB for a few days, now it's just itchy and annoying. First time since I've been in this hobby that I got hurt by something in my tank.

I'm glad you like the little tank I have to say its my favourite tank to maintain :biggrin:

On a side note I was just looking at the tank and I noticed that the clownfish is just a tad bigger then my large sexy shrimp :lol:

[fishoholic]

Bit of a sad update, I checked on the tank just now and found my little clown dead :sad: He had some spots on him when I got him, so I'm not sure, but maybe that's what did him in :sad: He was eating well so I had hoped he'd pull through.

I did go into the room the tank is in earlier this morning and turned on the overhead room light. When I did that I thought I saw the clown dart to the back of the tank (thinking he's going to hide behind the rock) so at the time I just thought "oh shoot I spooked him" but now I can't help but wonder if I spooked him into one of the maxi mini's and the maxi mini stung him and killed him. My 2 scarlet crabs were eating him when I found him so it's hard to say what happened for sure.

I also noticed that even though the clownfish was very tiny the tank was a bit small for him. Not sure which direction I want to go with this tank now. Debating on selling all the nems (after a fishless QT period) and turning it into a reef tank. For now it will be fishless for awhile just in case it was a disease that did him in.

On the plus side I got a benadryl anti-itch cream for my hand and within a few days the rash the maxi mini stung gave me was gone.

[kien]

sorry to hear Laurie :cry:

[fishoholic]

sorry to hear Laurie :cry:

Thanks Kien

[fishoholic]

I think heaters hate me, woke up this morning and the tank was sitting at 73.4 :eek: Amazingly everything (maxi minis, sexy shrimp and crabs) seem fine. Turned the P.O.S. (marineland stealth) heater up higher and the temp is slowly going back up. Unfortunately the replacement heater I asked to be ordered in never came in yet so I will be making a trip to big als for a new heater today.

Two days ago I pulled the BTA out and put it in my 80g. It got fairly annoyed by the porcelain crab and wasn't recovering in this tank, with the sexy shrimp constantly irritating it, hence the move to the 80g.

I talked to Ken and he thinks he has some dwarf clowns so I might get one to add to this tank (in a few weeks) and a friend of mine owes me a RBTA so if I ever get it from him I might add those to the tank and hope it works out. I'm thinking a split from an anemone from a friends tank should do better then the other one I had in there, plus there is no longer a porcelain crab in there to anger it. Still leery of how the tiny clownfish will be with the maxi minis (not knowing if the maxi minis killed the last one or not) but since I don't know for sure I kinda want to try again. I'll just be extra careful not to turn on the overhead room light (when it's dark) so I won't have to worry about spooking a new clownfish.

[kien]

Pics? :-). I like your stocking idea. Be careful of the clown/anemone PO-PO tho. They may object. :-) .. Trust me, I know :lol:

[fishoholic]

Pics? :-). I like your stocking idea. Be careful of the clown/anemone PO-PO tho. They may object. :-) .. Trust me, I know :lol:

:lol: I would not keep a full grown normal size clownfish in a 2.5 gallon tank or a large bta. The RBTA my friend has (according to him) grows no larger then 3" and then splits (mostly only gets to 2" before splitting) so if it stays small in my tank it won't be an issue and if/when it splits I can sell/trade the splits. Or if for some odd reason it grows large I'll sell it or move it over to my bigger tank. The clownfish Ken has he breeds, he gets dwarf ones every now and then (kinda like the runt of the litter) which only grow to an inch in size. I figure a single 1" clownfish should be ok. Haven't got either yet though, so no pic's, and it'll probably be awhile before I can set up meeting times as both guys are busy and hard to find a time to meet with.

[kien]

:lol: I would not keep a full grown normal size clownfish in a 2.5 gallon tank or a large bta.

Yup, I agree and I wouldn't do that either! :-). Plus, in my experience I don't think clowns actually need that much swimming room, do they? Any clown that I've owned has always found a spot in the tank that they liked and stayed there, forever! My two clowns now certainly NEVER leave their 'nem. Even during feeding time they wait patiently for food to drift by. Anyway, mine aren't very active swimmers at all. I'm not sure if they would notice a 150g tank or a 10g tank.

[fishoholic]

Yup, I agree and I wouldn't do that either! :-). Plus, in my experience I don't think clowns actually need that much swimming room, do they? Any clown that I've owned has always found a spot in the tank that they liked and stayed there, forever! My two clowns now certainly NEVER leave their 'nem. Even during feeding time they wait patiently for food to drift by. Anyway, mine aren't very active swimmers at all. I'm not sure if they would notice a 150g tank or a 10g tank.

Ya the two clowns in my 230g never leave the RBTA. I figured if I can get a dwarf clown hosting in a small bta it might work out in the small tank. Ken's clowns are hosting a bta in his tank so my odds are good, and if it doesn't work or I feel like the tanks to small I'll rehome them.

[fishoholic]

Found something bizarre in my tank, looked kinda like little white inch worms? :noidea: not sure what they were but I scooped them out just in case.

Tried to take a pic but they were really small so it's hard to see them, I circled them in red

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/D4129249-1.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0253-1.jpg

[fishoholic]

So as I've mentioned I have bad luck with heaters, the POS one I'm using now (marine stealth) has to be turned up to 84 to keep the tank at 76 at night and down to 82 during the day to keep it around 78-79. Unfortunately one morning I forgot to turn it down and the tank was at 82 :surprise: Shortly after that I lost my nassarious snails and one of my scarlet hermit crabs. So I have the 3 sexy shrimp, and one hermit crab and 4 maxi minis. Might have a porcelain crab, but I'm not sure, I haven't seen him since the tank got to 82 but he hides in the very back of the tank were it's hard to see him in the first place. The glass (acrylic) needs a good cleaning as I've been somewhat forgetful in doing so :reface:

Still waiting on getting a new bta and dwarf clown.

Mentioned in a different thread that I tried to get a good ehiem heater for this tank but unfortunately petsmart replaced my order with dog vitamins! :surprise:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/ACC8C47F.jpg

[Myka]

Laurie, 82F shouldn't hurt any of your inverts. My 90-gallon hits 85F everyday for the last almost 4 years. There are many inverts in there.

[fishoholic]

Laurie, 82F shouldn't hurt any of your inverts. My 90-gallon hits 85F everyday for the last almost 4 years. There are many inverts in there.

I was thinking that the swing in temp: 74 at night then 82 in the day, in such a small 2.5g tank, was what did the snails and crab in. However one crab and the sexy shrimp survived so who knows :noidea: I did get a new 25 watt hydro heater that I added earlier today (which so far has kept it at 78) so here's hoping it won't drop too much at night. I turn the furnace down at night, which is why it gets colder at night, but still I thought the heater would keep it between 76-78.

[fishoholic]

The new hydro heater seems better but it's been warmer so hard to say for sure but so far it seems to keep the tank between 75-79 mostly 76 at night and 78 during the day.

Was a bit neglectful over the month of Dec. and I finally got around to scrubbing the acrylic clean (took almost and hour which is ridiculous for such a small tank!) Note to self clean tank with NanoMag scrubber more often!

The tank hasn't changed much other then the maxi's have moved around a bit and unfortunately one of my sexy shrimp jumped overboard and was found dried up on the desk :sad:

New FTS (couldn't get the colour quite right but it's somewhere between these two pic's)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0026-1.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0030.jpg

I also must admit I'm getting bored of the maxi mini's so I am thinking of selling them, and turning the tank into a mini reef instead. There is a super cute tiny tailspot blenny (that Doug mentioned would look cute in there) that has me thinking of going this route. Not 100% sure yet, but being a fishoholic a fishless tank isn't very appealing.
Help me decide by letting me know which way you would go :biggrin:

[fishoholic]

I put the maxi minis up for sale to see what happens, there's some interest but I don't know if they'll sell, might just put the maxi minis in my 80g. I kinda got ideas for turning it into a reef (bought corals during boxing sales and no room to put them) so I'm leaning towards that route. Got talking to Doug and we both agree a tail spot blenny (even a tiny one) is to big for the tank. Thinking a barnacle blenny would work and if I can ever get one of my LFS to order in a Flaming prawn goby, that would be awesome to have one in there.

[The Grizz]

I would go for the mini reef as well girly. :biggrin:

[lastlight]

my tail spot is really quite active so i'd have to agree. i'm not sure he'd be *as* active if there wasn't always a cat batting at the glass which he seems to love lol.

maybe a trio of trimmas?

[noirsphynx]

I really like the mini reef idea.
I agree, a Tailspot is way too active for such a small tank. Mine was constantly going in my 8'. I like lastlights trio of Trimma's idea.

[fishoholic]

my tail spot is really quite active so i'd have to agree. i'm not sure he'd be *as* active if there wasn't always a cat batting at the glass which he seems to love lol.

maybe a trio of trimmas?

I really like the mini reef idea.
I agree, a Tailspot is way too active for such a small tank. Mine was constantly going in my 8'. I like lastlights trio of Trimma's idea.

Ya I think a mini reef would be cooler to look at. I have a bunch of trimmas in my 34g cube so I think a barnacle blenny and a flaming prawn goby would be better.

[fishoholic]

On friday I had to take out all the rock in order to remove the maxi minis, here's a pic of the rock dumped back in

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0033-1-1.jpg

After fiddling with the rock for a bit, I believe I got it back to the way it was. The water is a bit cloudy in this pic due to moving everything around, but it cleared up by the next day.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0036-1-1.jpg

[fishoholic]

On Sat. I went to big als to buy a replacement pump for the tank. Needless to say the hydro pico 200 pumps suck! The 1st one lasted for 2 months before it died, and the last one I bought, lasted 3 months before it started to make funny sounds and started to die, cleaning it did not help, oddly made it worse :noidea:

New and much improved (so far) pump

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/43AD5469.jpg

I also went to Blue world and picked up a nassarius snail, rhodactis mushroom and small zoa frag. Then I went to Neal's (Marine Experience) and picked up 2 good sized zoa frags, a campfire monti frag and a florescent yellow/green monti.

Waiting for everything to settle in and open up, then I'll take and post pic's :biggrin:

[fishoholic]

Ta da mini reef (the start of it anyway :biggrin:)

FTS
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0055.jpg

****ed off rhodactis mushroom, it is attached to a shell and I attached the shell to the rock- Blue world
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0054.jpg

Multi colour zoa frag starting to open up- Marine Experience
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0052.jpg

Zoa frag-Blue world
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0049-1.jpg

Campfire monti frag- Marine Experience
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0046.jpg

Cool florescent yellow/green monti- Marine Experience
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0050.jpg

[reefwars]

looking good girly , love the mini reef idea:)

maybe some rics and feather dusters??


ps...i have a small ultra red rock flower for you this guy is tiny but super cool ill bring it with me the next tme im up to ai for ya:)

[fishoholic]

looking good girly , love the mini reef idea:)

maybe some rics and feather dusters??


ps...i have a small ultra red rock flower for you this guy is tiny but super cool ill bring it with me the next tme im up to ai for ya:)

Ya I was thinking I might add some rics and a feather duster. I ended up scraping the feather duster idea though as 1) there isn't really enough room in there for one and 2) it probably would not get enough filter food in a tiny tank.

Now that I've turned this tank into a reef I don't have room for the rock flower anemone, and after spending they money to turn it into a reef I'm broke :sad:

[CherylMcKay]

Very lovely. Can't wait to see it as it fills in. How fast will those corals grow?

[lastlight]

amazingly you fit a cave and an overhang into your teeny tiny scape lol. looks great! hope you have a low profile scraper lol.

[fishoholic]

Very lovely. Can't wait to see it as it fills in. How fast will those corals grow?

Thank-you, I can't wait for it to fill in either and I still want to add a bit more :mrgreen: not sure how fast they'll grow under the Eco pico led's but I imagine it'll be slowish.

amazingly you fit a cave and an overhang into your teeny tiny scape lol. looks great! hope you have a low profile scraper lol.

Thanks Brett it's because I'm amazing that it worked out so well :lol: Actually it's more so cause I had amazing rock to choose from in Doug's sump :mrgreen: I use a small very low profile nanomag scraper which works very well, at that is when I remember to use it :lol:

[Xadieu]

Where are the fishies? You can't call yourself a fishaholic w/o any fish in your tank!

[lockrookie]

She sends them on return pump quests to the big tank

[Xadieu]

She sends them on return pump quests to the big tank

That must be a fun roller coaster ride for the fish :D

[lockrookie]

My guess is they are hiding or in qt thus far no worries but she has had it happen on another build thread

[The Grizz]

I likey the mini reef!! Corals look happy! :thumb: & grizz approved :biggrin:

[fishoholic]

Where are the fishies? You can't call yourself a fishaholic w/o any fish in your tank!

I know right!?! :lol: I want to add a barnacle blenny (but of course no one has them in stock, they did a month ago but NOOOOOO not now :pout:) and I asked Steve to hunt down a flaming prawn goby (here's hoping as they are hard to find).

She sends them on return pump quests to the big tank

:lol:

That must be a fun roller coaster ride for the fish :D

:lol: I'll have to ask them how it was the next time one tries to take a ride into the sump (thankfully that hasn't happened in awhile) although my starfish went the other way and went upstream from my 80g to my 230g reef.

My guess is they are hiding or in qt thus far no worries but she has had it happen on another build thread

Close, but right now they are waiting to be ordered in for me. So yell at Steve (Red Coral) for me and tell him to get on it :razz:

In case people don't know

Barnacle blenny
https://bluezooaquatics.com/images/products/Collectors%20Choice/large/DSC_9708_F2_ps.jpg

Flaming prawn goby
http://www.aquacon.com/images/FlamingPrawnGoby3.jpg

[fishoholic]

I likey the mini reef!! Corals look happy! :thumb: & grizz approved :biggrin:

Whoohooo :cheer2: Grizz approved, must be doing something right :mrgreen:

[fishoholic]

So I've had a busy week :mrgreen: Over the past 7 days I've bought/moved over some pretty zoas (made room in the tank for them :lol:) added a candy cane coral, added a barnacle blenny and a Pom Pom crab and finally (after buying it 3 months ago) I got brave enough to put my tiny bleeding apple scoly in. I also did a water change, cleaned the glass and the skimmer :biggrin: Going to add the prodi bio later tonight.

Waiting for the zoas to open so I can take/share some pic's :biggrin:

Somehow I don't think this is helping the zoas to open :twised: (on the plus side its a pretty good pic for it being taken with my iPhone)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/3DEF1CA3_zps7f8e1313.jpg

[mrhasan]

Make sure its not feasting on those zoas ;)

Mine used to feast on zoas. Possibly because I didn't keep them well fed.

So I've had a busy week :mrgreen: Over the past 7 days I've bought/moved over some pretty zoas (made room in the tank for them :lol:) added a candy cane coral, added a barnacle blenny and a Pom Pom crab and finally (after buying it 3 months ago) I got brave enough to put my tiny bleeding apple scoly in. I also did a water change, cleaned the glass and the skimmer :biggrin: Going to add the prodi bio later tonight.

Waiting for the zoas to open so I can take/share some pic's :biggrin:

Somehow I don't think this is helping the zoas to open :twised: (on the plus side its a pretty good pic for it being taken with my iPhone)

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/3DEF1CA3_zps7f8e1313.jpg

[fishoholic]

Make sure its not feasting on those zoas ;)

Mine used to feast on zoas. Possibly because I didn't keep them well fed.

:eek: Never thought they would eat zoas! Just thought he was walking on them or maybe cleaning algae or pods off them, I will freak if they eat them :sad: Note to self feed more often and give frozen more often.

Are you sure your sexy shrimp were eating zoas? Kinda freaking out now as I've never heard of such a thing.

[mrhasan]

:eek: Never thought they would eat zoas! Just thought he was walking on them or maybe cleaning algae or pods off them, I will freak if they eat them :sad: Note to self feed more often and give frozen more often.

Are you sure your sexy shrimp were eating zoas? Kinda freaking out now as I've never heard of such a thing.

I can't comment on the ones you have but mine were. Upon searching, I found out that if not fed atleast once each day, they will much on corals, particularly zoas.

Here's a good read on them:
http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/151219-the-unofficial-sexy-shrimp-thread/

Here's a quote:
Are sexies reef safe?
YES! But, if they are not kept well fed, there is a big chance that they will munch on your corals. Some people don't have trouble with this at all, but I personally have to feed mine at least once a day, or else they start binging on zoa skirts.

Maybe its a hit or miss too :)

[mrhasan]

Here's another reading:

http://www.reefcentral.org/forums/showthread.php?p=20530160

Trying to provide with proves since I have a reputation that I rush to "conclusions" based on very limited statistics ;)

[fishoholic]

Thank-you for all the info, it was more of a case of not wanting to believe you then not believing you.

It makes sense it would just really suck after spending hundreds of dollars on zoas just to have them eaten :evil:

I wasn't feeding them regularly, just once in awhile every 2-3 days. Now that I have a barnacle blenny in there and know about the shrimp, the tank will be fed everyday and mostly mysis with once in awhile pellets. Hopefully that will keep my zoas safe! If not, there will be some sexy shrimp available in the buy/sell section :twised:

[fishoholic]

Well I caught the zoa munching buggers aka sexy shrimp and moved them into my 34g. I also bought more zoa frags :eek: Everything is puttied into place and I'm just waiting for things to open/recover so I can take pics :biggrin:

In the meantime here's a pic I took last week (from my cell) of the red hornet zoas, kinda blurry but the barnacle blenny in the background behind them is in focus.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/57A75E83_zps0ef48cc9.jpg

[reefwars]

Well I caught the zoa munching buggers aka sexy shrimp and moved them into my 34g. I also bought more zoa frags :eek: Everything is puttied into place and I'm just waiting for things to open/recover so I can take pics :biggrin:

In the meantime here's a pic I took last week (from my cell) of the red hornet zoas, kinda blurry but the barnacle blenny in the background behind them is in focus.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/Snapbucket/57A75E83_zps0ef48cc9.jpg


haha the look on the blennys face is classic lol someones got the zoa fever bad i see eh;PPPP

[fishoholic]

haha the look on the blennys face is classic lol someones got the zoa fever bad i see eh;PPPP

Yep, evil zoas!

I have 2 different Miami vice zoas, Rastas, frankenberries, sun gods, red hornets, pink zippers, blue ones with greeny/yellow skirt (eye of rah?) dull purple/brown centre with semi bright orange skirt (EZs?), very bright orange skirt with purple yellow centre, and pink/yellow/purple ones.

[fishoholic]

EZs or X-men maybe not sure what the others are and I have some green ones and watermelons I forgot to add.

[Xadieu]

The face on that blenny is classic lol too funny!

[fishoholic]

The face on that blenny is classic lol too funny!

Thanks, here's a few more of him. He likes to hide behind the red hornet zoas frag plug and (oddly enough) will scoop sand in his mouth and spit it out.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/c152b76e-4055-4fb0-9385-0c2f2a955c20_zps7b1b7f01.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/e0023bfa-adb3-42bb-8a78-fafeb0a45dd3_zps06c5cf79.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/0c12981b-70ab-4dd3-9519-8a48e0ed2224_zpsdb65c52e.jpg

Here is pic's of my pom pom crab

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/0d26dd1b-35e5-4e11-bd33-0f901f08f6dc_zps0d9bfc82.jpg

This one was taken just before the sexy shrimp got evicted :lol:

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/6e3fd9ce-a8ae-486a-9a44-6a9903f74826_zpse79928e4.jpg

[kien]

Your blennie looks like he's on crack LOL

[Xadieu]

hahaha he looks too happy!

[Duker]

looks great, i love the tiny things too....they are some of my favorite things.

another fish that would do marvelous in your nano is the mexican red cap goby. Super awesome, small 2-3" max and really active scootin' around the rocks. I have one in my 75 and i love her. Looking for and finding her is very entertaining. And it being a goby, she would stand up for her self against the grumpy barnacle blennies. also have you thought of adding a couple more barnacle blennies to your single guy? they are pretty entertaining in a group, they naturally live in small groups in close proximity to each other.
But then again i also second the trimma suggestion....red spot trimmas or eviotas!

One last thing, IMO and experience at progressive reef (RIP ProReef) maxi mini anenomes are not clown fish friendly, not fish friendly at all. We would wonder why our baby clown fish numbers was going down with no bodies, no evidence of jumpers, no sump surfers and then i saw it with my own eyes...maxi mini's eating baby clowns.

Cheers Ronnie

[fishoholic]

Your blennie looks like he's on crack LOL

His eyes are supposed to be red, I swear the tons of putty used has nothing to do with it :lol:

looks great, i love the tiny things too....they are some of my favorite things.

another fish that would do marvelous in your nano is the mexican red cap goby. Super awesome, small 2-3" max and really active scootin' around the rocks. I have one in my 75 and i love her. Looking for and finding her is very entertaining. And it being a goby, she would stand up for her self against the grumpy barnacle blennies. also have you thought of adding a couple more barnacle blennies to your single guy? they are pretty entertaining in a group, they naturally live in small groups in close proximity to each other.
But then again i also second the trimma suggestion....red spot trimmas or eviotas!

One last thing, IMO and experience at progressive reef (RIP ProReef) maxi mini anenomes are not clown fish friendly, not fish friendly at all. We would wonder why our baby clown fish numbers was going down with no bodies, no evidence of jumpers, no sump surfers and then i saw it with my own eyes...maxi mini's eating baby clowns.

Cheers Ronnie

The red cap gobies are cool but get a bit to big for a 2.5g. I also love trimmas but I have several already (including a red spot) in my 34g cube. Barnacle blennies are cool to watch in groups but they do fight amongst themselves and the tank is on the small side for a group of them. I do plan on adding a flaming prawn goby but I am having trouble tracking one down.

I know clownfish don't host maxi minis but I had figured it would be ok to keep them together. Unfortunately I learned the hard way that they aren't compatible (at all) when one of the maxi minis stung and killed the baby clownfish I had :sad: Which is why I ended up selling the maxi minis and turning the tank into a reef instead. I admit I really like how it looks now, however wallet prefers the way it was :lol:

[fishoholic]

Started taking pics last night but for some odd reason the settings I had on my camera changed and I had a heck of a time trying to figure out how to get it back the way it was so the colour would show properly. I had started to figure it out when the battery started to die! So here's 2 FTS that are sort of close to the right colour, it's kinda in-between to two colours.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/2746f866-9c42-4a1c-b9d8-e0db931e7b0b_zpsf278e606.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/42b31ddc-4259-4dfc-8d5b-44ab46c0c9bc_zps3ef59cf5.jpg

[fishoholic]

I've been busy cleaning this week as my friend is coming from Ontario for a visit but here is a bit of a closer pic of the bottom left side of the tank. Also happy to report that all the zoas are open and doing well since the sexy shrimp removal.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/45d27b60-3655-49c6-8c19-84f9d2168ab1_zpsa5814126.jpg

[denny_CC]

looking great miss laurie loving the zoers;)

[fishoholic]

looking great miss laurie loving the zoers;)

Thanks :biggrin: I have to say I really like the way the tank looks now. I'll try to take and post more close up pic's of all the zoas next week. Also have to say it's amazing how much coral one can stuff into a very tiny tank when they try hard enough! :lol:

[The Grizz]

Thanks :biggrin: I have to say I really like the way the tank looks now. I'll try to take and post more close up pic's of all the zoas next week. Also have to say it's amazing how much coral one can stuff into a very tiny tank when they try hard enough! :lol:

I hear you there Laurie, wait until you see my nano update tonight :surprise:

[fishoholic]

I hear you there Laurie, wait until you see my nano update tonight :surprise:

Wow Grizz and I thought my tank was fairly full! Doesn't hold a candle to yours, there's coral stuffed into every nook and cranny and then some! :lol:

[fishoholic]

So here is my picture dump for my March final contest update. The tank has been doing well the only problem I've had is the colour fading/browning out on the coral. The eco pico led lights (while there are 6 of them) are only 1 watt each so not to light effective for great colour. When/if I ever get enough money I may invest in a aqua mini led light. Also I've finally got a lead on a flaming prawn goby, but it will still be a few weeks before I'll know if I can get one or not. In the meantime I've very much enjoyed watching Mr. barney blenny and the cute pom pom crab in this tank.

FTS
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0143_zps839a32b7.jpg

scarlet hermit crab
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0118_zps16029703.jpg

pom pom crab in his cave and blenny off to the side
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/DSC_0134_zps3a4900e1.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0002_zps611f1d4f.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0003_zps9668a7d6.jpg

Bleeding (mini) apple scolly

when I first moved it over
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/CSC_0085_zpscf5bb04d.jpg

you can see how it's dulled in colour :sad:
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0009_zps86979645.jpg

candy cane coral
http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0008_zpsd7fc6f1f.jpg

I also have two colourful mushrooms in this tank but they are in the back bottom corners and I can't get a decent pic of them.

[fishoholic]

Going to the zoo zoo zoo how about you you you......he he he j/k I mean zoas! Again they are faded out compared to how they should look and the camera dulled them a tiny bit too but you get the idea.

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0004_zpse404a39b.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0005_zps9e15773e.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0007_zps679c1d6b.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0010_zps65d69bee.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0011_zpsa82add45.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0012_zps171e7c74.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0013_zps50854245.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0014_zps7ab4622c.jpg

http://i261.photobucket.com/albums/ii53/Laurie_Morin/ibox%20nano/IMGP0015_zps39a92fef.jpg

[fishoholic]

And there we have it folks I survived till the end :lol: who would of thunk it! I also (for once) made a deadline on time OMG!!!!!!!! :surprise:

[The Grizz]

Good on ya Laurie, love the blenny shot and his bright eyes. Guess I better get mine updated today some time as well.

[lastlight]

Such a cute tank... colours have dulled maybe but things look happy all the same. That blenny is so crazy looking!

Oh and this:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/93/stewie.jpg

[fishoholic]

Good on ya Laurie, love the blenny shot and his bright eyes. Guess I better get mine updated today some time as well.

Thanks I love the blenny too one of my faves for sure! Yes you should update as its judgeing time soon. Sadly I think we may be the only two left, others haven't updated in awhile and while yellowworld's build was amazing I'm not sure he got water in it.

Such a cute tank... colours have dulled maybe but things look happy all the same. That blenny is so crazy looking!

Oh and this:

http://www.fishbrains.net/images/93/stewie.jpg

Thanks Brett. I'm hoping I can eventually upgrade the light so the colours will pop like they're suppose to, but at least the corals are all healthy and doing well. Love the pic of Stewie and the crab I totally see the resemblance :lol: