FishWife July 23, 2008 Share July 23, 2008 (edited) As members to date know, we suddenly decided to sell our house and thought that we should just call it quits. I listed all the equipment and animals in our 175 bowfront for sale, and WAMAS members were great about shouting out for stuff. But, I went into withdrawl, and, with the support of wonderful club members, I decided to buy a Red Seas Max 34g tank and save frags of my favorite corals plus my one favorite fish, Honey the Midas Blenny, in an "ark." We have had the Red Sea Max (see specs here) up now for a little over two weeks. Here are stats, in case anyone else wants to repeat our experiences. 1. We took rock and sand and water out of our existing system and cycled for four days. I did an ammonia test every day at the same time and never saw any measurable ammonia from disturbing/repositioning the sand (we put in about 4-5" all told in the bottom of the tank). 2. Honey was in a rock; we picked up the rock and put it into the new tank the night before we broke everything else down, along with some of our favorite unpromised sponge-encrusted rocks, which also had zoos on it that I had failed to list for sale (thankfully). 3. We put as much good LR in as we could comfortably fit: I think there must be about 40 lbs. in there. 4. Next day, we added softies and fragged a few more favorite LPS corals to put into this "ark." Readings: No measurable nitrates or ammonia yet. Our trusty pH monitor has us hovering right around 8. (Scott giggles as he doses by the teaspoon!) Maintenance: 1. We do need to top off frequently (daily). 2. Temperature has been an issue: it ranges two to four degrees each 24 hours. We have finally purchased a mini-chiller that has dual controls for both heater and chilling so that we can have peace of mind. Should come today. Hopefully, Scott's going to plumb it w/our 40w UV sterilizer inline (should be plenty!). I am ich-averse, even in a small system. 3. I am a devotee of copepods, so we're going to breed them and phytoplankton in a 10g inside the stand, and since we can't think of a good way to make it automatic, we'll use the old fashioned "scoop with a net and backwash them into the tank" method. Hopefully, we'll get a good crop going before I find my desired court jester goby. This little tank is so MANAGEABLE after our 175. Do I miss the big tank? Yep. Do I like the nano? YES! It's really got a LOT of bang for the buck. I hope to post pictures soon, but in staging our home for the move, my camera's going missing... Edited July 25, 2008 by FishWife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor July 23, 2008 Share July 23, 2008 sounds like it is going to be a great lilttle tank, Congradulations. -Connor Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Grenier July 23, 2008 Share July 23, 2008 Looking forward to pictures. Remember to tell Honey to smile for the pic Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak July 25, 2008 Share July 25, 2008 (edited) sounds like jou vuys ha e found a winner. cantwait to seepics on anoghernoe tryi vto type on the new lgdarr sucks... a loy "Sounds like you guys have found a winner. Can't wait to see pics. On another note trying to type on the new LG dare sucks... a lot" Thats what that was supposed to say, I had typed it when I first picked up the LG Dare phone. Edited August 18, 2008 by jason the filter freak Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife July 25, 2008 Author Share July 25, 2008 Have been doing a lot of reading about AquaPods and BioCubes because we now need a QT tank. I finally decided after a ton of research to get an AquaPod 12 for my desk at work. It will house zoos and LPS and inverts, and each fish that I bring home for our Max... for four weeks. Then, when the Max is stocked I'll add one or two fishies to the 12 and be done. ( for awhile? maybe?) In reading, I've found some REALLY clever mods: here is an amazing thread for all us nano devotees: Mods on an 8g biocube I am definitely looking into the fuge idea, and the auto water changes intrigue me. Not up for the expense of the pump yet, but it's very clever. Enjoy! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
amay121 July 25, 2008 Share July 25, 2008 Saw his post when I first started and all I have to say is that he's nuts. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bshriver July 25, 2008 Share July 25, 2008 Sounds like fun Marcia! I have always wanted to try the nano at work but never took the leap. For my son's NC12, we did the fuge mod. We cut the black off the back, attached a palm light and added some Chaeto and rubble. It seemed to work well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife July 26, 2008 Author Share July 26, 2008 Looking forward to pictures. Remember to tell Honey to smile for the pic This one's for Larry! Here's a video that shows how much great viewing space these little tanks provide... also with happier corals fully extended. Honey hangs out about halfway down the rock work on the left side. You can see her peeking out when the camera takes in the front of the tank. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Connor July 26, 2008 Share July 26, 2008 I can't wait to get my own Midas Blenny those little fish have so much personality. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife August 17, 2008 Author Share August 17, 2008 (edited) Well, it's been one month, one week, and one day since I started my RSM. I've been aquascaping by stages since we've had virtually no action on our house. Here are the phases. When fist aquascaped, this was the thrown-together look: Then, about two weeks ago, we dropped something deep into the tank and getting it out afforded us the opportunity to rescape. Changed to this: In the last week, I've been to a club member's house and to Marine Scene. After fiddling with new corals, here are some shots I'm enjoying: Full tank views: Close ups: New open brain Beautiful blastomussa Honey in the rock with new zoas nearby Neon green birdsnest Old friend acro doing far better in this tank than under halides (go figure) New acro frag (left of center of pic; blue and green--parent colony is great; from a club member) New ricordias from Marine Scene Enjoy! Edited August 17, 2008 by FishWife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jason the filter freak August 17, 2008 Share August 17, 2008 The Arc is looking sweet, gotta love the rics. Is your blenny ever going to get a room mate? Christina wishes you well as well. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife August 17, 2008 Author Share August 17, 2008 The Arc is looking sweet, gotta love the rics. Is your blenny ever going to get a room mate? Christina wishes you well as well. Thanks, Jason. Right now, I have a McCosker's wrasse in my 12g nano QT. He's been there about two weeks now... and is doin' fine. So, I'm also looking at the Helfrichi firefish being offered by Kengar. I was not going to do many more fish before we moved, but Honey stays in her rock a lot while alone in the tank, so I got Sparky (the wrasse). I guess if I got the Helfrichi they would complete a 30 g... don't want too many fish. We'll see. I may not get them. Hi to Christina!!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stevearlen August 17, 2008 Share August 17, 2008 Very nice Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
FishWife November 27, 2008 Author Share November 27, 2008 (edited) Well, this past weekend we FINALLY closed on our house! We have been WAY busy and WAY tied up in waiting and waiting for closing to happen. Then, finally, the bank said "go" and we went! The move went well for the tank. We didn't lose anything. (Some things were lost earlier. as you'll note when you see the pictures in a few days.) The only mishap we had turned out well. Our little Sparky (McCosker's wrasse) was seriously stressed during the move. When we went to bed, the tank was only half converted because of sediment in the water. We left the corals in a bucket and and the put the fish into the tank. Sparky looked VERY distressed. Next morning, tank was clear but Sparky was not where he had lain. No problem, thought I, and went on with aquascaping. Tip for all movers: I took MANY pictures/videos of the tank before we dismantled it. Even so, it was HARD to get the pieces of rock back where they had been. In the end, I did quite a bit of re-scaping, which turned out well. I hope to post pictures tomorrow. We've had this tank on hold for six months waiting to move... and it's lookin' pretty good and I'm looking forward to being back on the WAMAS site again. Edited November 27, 2008 by FishWife Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jon Lazar November 27, 2008 Share November 27, 2008 Glad your move went well, and we're all anxious to see updated pics of your critters. Jon Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zoozilla November 27, 2008 Share November 27, 2008 Great looking tank. Love the Blastos. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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