tecsavi

Can I send you a CAD file? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Rob, Well I tried making the insert using the pre-cut foam cube insert and it was an epic failure. Well maybe not epic but there were many inserts that just didn't function properly. I would love to take you up on the offer of a CNC cut insert. PM me and we can work out the details. Thanks in advance, Bill Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have a pair of Ocellaris clowns that I have had for a few years now. The long ago paired up and the female dominates the entire tank. The first signs I saw that they might be spawning happen after an accident in my tank. While removing a pump in my tank I accidentally knocked over a acro colony onto my plating montipora. Even though I reacted as quick as I could it caused a quarter sized patch of monti to die. The male started hovering over this spot relentlessly and fanning his tail on it. He was always there taking care of his little patch of dead coral. The female would frequently come by to check out his work. I just moved them to a new tank and now he is using he his tail to make a bowl impression in the sandbed. This bowl is easily 10 times the size of his body and is located in a cave that the now protected by both of my clowns. I am assuming that they are getting ready to spawn with all of this strange behavior. At this point I don't have an extra tank or the time needed to try and raise the fry but still am very excited about the possiblities. I just have a few questions for those in the know. Is this behavior a preclude to spawning? If so, how long after this behavior do they usually spawn. Once they spawn, how frequently will they spawn?

Sorry to hear about your fish.

Mine are the 1520's. Now that I think about it, they are probably considerably smaller than yours. CNC, I was wondering how you had all those nice rounded corners in the foam. Mine are filled with the foam cut in cubes (like in the bottom section of yours) and I was just going to pull them out to match each peice of equipment. Thanks for the offer though. It sure does beat my current testkit box which consistes of a playmate cooler.

Beautiful tank Khanh. You have some very nice SPS colonies in there.

What a great idea! I have two pelican cases that have been sitting in my garage waiting for some kind of use. Mine are alomst the same size but briefcase style and no wheels. I like the idea of having everything right where you need it and protected with foam. You have inspired me to build my own kit, thanks!

I have read that the bacteria growing on the pellets consumes nitrates and phoshates in an uneven ratio. Something like 1 part nitrate to 10 parts phosphate. Thus a reason why a lot of people (including me, .03ppm Hanna) have lingering low phophate levels once their nitrates are 0ppm. Is it possible that your macro are consuming these two in a more equal ratio and are able to consume your phospates down to 0? Did you see an increase in macro growth after the removal of GFO? Do you still see that same amout of growth now that both levels are 0? In any case I wouldn't change a thing you are doing. It sounds like you have achieved that illusive goal of having balance. Good to hear posive results.

I used it only because that was all the LFS had and I had failed to order my regular Reef Crystals online. When I tested the water made with NeoMarine I found it to be low in Mag. Might have just been a bad batch of salt but that is what I found. I would agree with the others and say stick with one brand of salt if you can. I like Reef Crystals as it's levels are very close to my target levels and is very consistant. Each brand has it's slight differences but basically they are the same in my book. That being said there is a difference between IO and Reef Crystals as Reef Crystals is specifically formulated for reefs. IMO NeoMarine didn't show any benefit over Reef Crystals and wasn't worth the extra cost. Stick with one brand and stay consistant, your corals will appreciate the stability.

I would avoid the skimmer in your fuge as you would be sucking up beneficial pods and such. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am wondering if the corals could be consuming the bacteria as well, much like in a Zeo system? Just curious, what are your phosphates looking like? I have read several posts where nitrates are consumed to undetectable levels but there is still that lingering amount of phosphate. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Chad, Thanks for the write up on putting this skimmer together. I have plans to buy the same kit and it's good to hear it's relatively easy to put together. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am assuming you need a hang on the back skimmer with the ones you mentioned. I have a remora right now and it does ok but not what I was use to win in sump skimmers. My bioload is low and I couldn't have a sump with my old system. My friend was using a Tunze which skimmed excellent for a HOB skimmer, I was very impressed. Get ready to reach deep in your pocket, even for a used one. Here is an article from Glassbox that might be of help: Glassbox - 6 High performance skimmers

Thanks everyone for the feedback, much appreciated. Many good points and I especially am not liking the idea of keeping a hard to reach area. I wasn't looking to make up for poor lighting, just a way to improve on a frag tank to mazimize growth. Sounds like it would cause more problems than it's worth.

I could always scrape it just like I do the sides. Then there would the pain of having to move the frag racks to clean the glass.... Good point.

Well my new cube tank hasn 't even been wet yet and I am already thinking about my next project. I want to build a small SPS prop tank and am thinking about ways to maximizing growth and color. I have always heard the benifets of a light colored sand bottom reflecting light back up under a coral. I was thinking about putting some kind of mirror under the prop tank to reflect light back up under the coral. You know how you get those shaded areas under the braches that just don't quite get the coloration of the rest of the coral. I was thinking it would bounce light back up to the reflector as well and maximize as much of the light as possible. Has anyone done this? Does it sound like it would be of any benefit?

+1 On the power heads sucking air from the water surface. Mine do it if I forget to top off my water level. Try putting them lower in the tank and see if it resolves the issue. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Very cool setup. Those Angels are absolutely beautiful. Do you have any issues with them picking at your corals? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That's exactly the lighting article I was thinking about. Thanks Coralhind Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Sweet little fixture. That would be perfect for a nano. I wonder what the spectrum looks like on these. I saw the the blue peaks at 536nm for the 8K and 456nm for the 12k. Isn't the sweet spot for blue around 430nm? I saw a great post about a guy who build a DIY HID light setup for his reef using car bulbs but I can't find it now. The output look very focused, much like an LED setup with narrow angle lenses. Pretty cool.

+1 on the trap. See if you can reduce the population this way before adding something else to the tank. That way you can keep your bioload to a minimum. I had a friend with a problem much like yours with a particular piece of rock being infested. He made a trap by rinsing out a plastic coke bottle and cutting off the top where it starts to narrow. Then you invert the top and put it inside the bottom of the bottle. Place a piece of shrimp inside the bottle and place it somewhere they can crawl into it. It helps if you keep the bottle slightly tilted up against a rock. They can easily climb in but cant climb out. I always liked a bristle worm or two as they are great detritus feeders. Sounds like yours are in plague proportions though.

rioreef, You are right, there were a few vendors but there was nothing near what there is today. People were having some success with softies, LPS and a few SPS corals. For the hobbiest they were mostly wild colonies available. Now you have thousands of captive raised coral stores and hobbists as a whole are having much higher success rates with much more diffcult corals. In my opinion we are still maybe teenagers when it comes to our understanding of coral husbandry and the care for corals. There have been so many advancements in the past 10 years and in another 10 years our knowledge will grow exponentially.

Yeah I was thinking about going LED now but I am already have the halide and I just need to add actintic and reflector. For the price of LED I can get all of the other essential equipement I need to get this tank up and running. Don't get me wrong, I will be going to LED shortly down the road. So is your current tank heavy in SPS? Do you have any pictures of it over your cube? I like the flexability of having 3 seperate switches and dimmable would be sweet!

Coral Hind, I'm not sure exactly when they had their first meeting. If I can remember correctly it was in Vienna about a block off of 123 near Magruders? I think is was a library I think. I always remember the trades though. I traded a hospital IV doser the size of a compact car for a bunch of acro frags..lol I probably have met you ages ago and don't even know it. Hopefully I will see you at the next WAMAS meeting. I always remembered Dr. Mac as having boatloads of clams but not many frags, great to see is business doing so well. He was still a poultry vet on the Maryland shore and was growing clams in vats behind his house. At MACNA in Baltimore he had two huge shallow tanks full of clams that looked so cool. I should have taken a picture of that, there was probably 300 clams in there. Paulb, That picture of your daughter as a camera is classic! I remember the insane prices everone paid for the basic fish of today. Bangai cardinals were through the roof and you could rarely get them. The mortality rate for them shipped over two ours was terrible. The Baltimore aguarium had a pair that were breeding like rabbits. They were giving them away to local hobbiests who then sold the babies to local stores. Then all of a sudden you saw them available everywhere for cheap. Just goes to show how much of an impact local hobbiests have on the industry.

Well I am planning the build of a 36"X36"X18" rimless cube and I came across a deal I couldn't refuse. I picked up a drilled Marineland 24"X24"X19" cube with a stand for $100 bucks! My current hex tank is a pain to get the flow right and it is way too deep so I am going to transfer everything to this cube until I get the big cube up and running. This guy still has one more non-drilled tank and stand of the same size if someone is looking for a great deal on a cube tank. Only $100 bucks too! Here is the sale thread My link