92 on wheels

[Reeflogic]

Ahhhh the bane of my existence.... wires.... No matter how hard I try, they are still there.... Looking good! I know you said you are having a nutrient issue currently, but do you have a FTS? Really love this tank!

 

[keithp]

I will post one soon. The nutrients got worse when I mixed my own concentrated food and put too much in. My fish still eat it all in less than a minute so I would rather filter better than feed less.

 

[Reeflogic]

Yeah, I've been using LRS food for a while now and feed like a madman, more than I've ever fed. Surprisingly, no real nutrient issues to speak of! Skimmer works a little harder and I did up my GFO dosage a little...just in case... but all is well. I'm with ya though, feeding more is better!

 

[keithp]

I need to lower the skimmer. I only have to empty every 3 weeks. I will eventually drain it directly to the sewer but am keeping an eye on it for now so there are no surprises. This is the stand I built and it works great but is a very tight fit and hard to get out for adjustment.

 

[Reeflogic]

Excellent stand!! Very nice.

 

[keithp]

This is a current picture of the tank. It is a bit of a mess but at least the coraline has been growing. Halimeda periodically looks fantastic before it shades itself and dies back. I have another slower growing macro which seems to grow well and then large pieces break loose.

I intend to move some rock to the sump but the fish enjoy it so I am leaving it for a while.

I made a few mistakes stocking. I purchased those butterflies thinking they were the more reef safe variety. They eat everything including anemones. They are also going to be too big but they are actually my favorite fish right now so I am enjoying them while I can.

 

[keithp]

Due to the limited space, I chose to mount the apex modules on a wire. This may not be as pretty but it definitely saves space. There is enough space that I can move them from side to side to see the lights. My biggest concern was heat but that does not seem to be a serious problem because they are not enclosed. You can also see that I replaced the long apex usb cords with retracting ones from Monoprice.com. They have been working great with much less clutter.

 

[Reeflogic]

Awesome idea on the wire! Back to the tank, though... That's not dinoflagellates is it? Such a cool tank, hopefully, you can get that under control!

 

[keithp]

The UHE spectrapure RODI is mounted behind my refrigerator and plumbed through the wall to a modified washing machine connection box which I installed bulkheads in.

This works great now but took a loooooooong time for the DI cartridge readings to go to 0. My only complaint now is the wall acts like a sounding board and it is noisy while running.

 

[keithp]

Not sure why the picture didn't load right. You also see a $5 garage sale sediment filter I added on.

 

[keithp]

Awesome idea on the wire! Back to the tank, though... That's not dinoflagellates is it? Such a cool tank, hopefully, you can get that under control!

I think it is. It went away when I had grape caulerpa in the display but the purple tang loves eating the stuff and I didn't want it everywhere anyway.

For a while the chaeto was absorbing enough nutrients but then it started floating and has never worked well since then. That is why I am working on setting up a chaeto sandwich rack to hold it under water.

I have an algae scrubber which worked really well for a while on another tank but the lighting was inconsistent when replacing bulbs and it became too much work for the inconsistent results. I may try it again some day if I find the right LED and if chaeto doesn't work.

 

[keithp]

My asterinas finally reached saturation population and have been on the glass every day this week.

 

[keithp]

Made 2 chaeto sandwiches yesterday. They sit on an acrylic cradle with magnets to set depth a baffle forces water through the chaeto.

The sandwiches didn't seem to fit because the zip ties made them wider. They also created lots of bubbles and floated so I need to make a few more modifications. Hopefully they will grow quickly.

 

[keithp]

I find it fascinating watching my neon goby cleaning. The fish being cleaned often float on their sides, vertical and even upside down while being cleaned. My skunk cleaner shrimp never cleaned anything.

 

[Psiber_Syn]

Love this tank where did you get the porthole? Of like to add a jellyfish tank behind one

 

[keithp]

Love this tank where did you get the porthole? Of like to add a jellyfish tank behind one

The porthole is from eBay. It originally had a mirror inserted but still has the original 1" thick glass and is HEAVY. The downside of this porthole is the pins can fall out when open and the copper in the bronze could affect the tank if I am not careful to use a different rag on it.

I thought about jellies but the tanks are new technology, expensive, the premade tanks are the wrong size and it is at child viewing height so seahorses is my ultimate goal for it.

 

[Psiber_Syn]

Oooh seahorses would be good too thanx for the info

 

[keithp]

These gobies are always together and facing the front of the tank. They are often touching like this.

 

[keithp]

I moved zip ties on my chaeto sandwich and it fits now. It seems to be snug enough to not float now too. It has only been running 3 days and I can tell it has grown.