Peace River's Found Parts Build

[Peace River]

Following. New to the reef hobby, am planning a standard 55 gallon build (scared to drill) with 29g diy sump. I'm in Sarasota and would love to go collecting when I get my tank ready for life!

I understand being scared to drill. I started on 10g tanks which have thinner glass and are actually harder to drill. One thing to remember is that you are grinding the glass away rather than "drilling" a tank - it is a different mindset than drilling into wood. Whether or not you bring home the livestock that you collect, it is fascinating to get a net in the water and work to identify what you see!

 

[Peace River]

I am getting twitchy to get back to the coast and start collecting, but it appears that my collecting spots are currently off limits because of the obvious so any changes to the 55g found parts build are on hold until the beaches in Florida open up.

My life hasn't slowed down with all of the travel limitations so at the moments I am trying to keep up with water changes, regular maintenance, and move these projects forward a little at a time.

The cinnamon clown that I added to the 75g last week is now out and about and eating readily. The clean up crew of snails from Reef Cleaners arrived, were acclimated in line with the suggested guidelines, and are currently doing their thing. The 5-tank system is now fully cycled and ready for fish. I will probably move some existing fish into that system this week and I hope to add some zoas and RFAs soon. No plan is ever in a straight line, but the adventure continues (from mostly indoors).

 

[Peace River]

This past week I moved a pair of A. ocellaris clowns to one of the 10g tanks on the top of the 5-tank rack system and temporarily moved a large pair of killifish to the middle tank on on the same system (they have since been moved back). The middle tank (30g) will be the new RFA tank and I am please to say that I have added the first four RFAs to that tank and plan to order more soon!

 

[Mastiffsrule]

This past week I moved a pair of A. ocellaris clowns to one of the 10g tanks on the top of the 5-tank rack system and temporarily moved a large pair of killifish to the middle tank on on the same system (they have since been moved back). The middle tank (30g) will be the new RFA tank and I am please to say that I have added the first four RFAs to that tank and plan to order more soon!

Sounds like thinks are really blossoming. With all these tanks in FL I never asked if you run a dehumidifier if there?

 

[Peace River]

Sounds like thinks are really blossoming. With all these tanks in FL I never asked if you run a dehumidifier if there?

Thank you for the kind words. It is moving forward, but I was hoping to have more pairs of clowns by now, more corals in the 75g, and more native fishes in the 55g found parts build tank. That said, I feel very fortunate to be in a place that I can working and doing for others. My fish room is temperature controlled and has an exhaust fan for times of especially high humidity. I have had that space filled with fish tanks for about 20 years and have never had an issue with mold or humidity damage.

 

[Peace River]

Along with water changes and plenty of tank maintenance, this week I added 5 more RFAs to the RFA tank - these came from @The Aquatic Arsenal. Additionally I added a few Bangaii Cardinalfish to the 75g tank.

 

[dbowman5]

Hi, Thanks for the commentary, I just binged through this thread because of your latest post bringing it to the home page. You would have saved me some grief had I been aware of build threads before I started SW building.
I shall continue to watch.

 

[crusso1993]

Along with water changes and plenty of tank maintenance, this week I added 5 more RFAs to the RFA tank - these came from @The Aquatic Arsenal. Additionally I added a few Bangaii Cardinalfish to the 75g tank.

You know we're going to need to see some pics, right?

 

[Peace River]

Hi, Thanks for the commentary, I just binged through this thread because of your latest post bringing it to the home page. You would have saved me some grief had I been aware of build threads before I started SW building.
I shall continue to watch.

You are sooo right about the value of build threads - I have also been known to get lost in reading them! Even if it is just a nugget that you pick up, there is alway something to learn!

 

[Peace River]

You know we're going to need to see some pics, right?

As long as I have been keeping fish, taking pictures of them has never really been a thing I've done much of (especially the ones that won't be still). Figuring out blue lights and moving fish is a bit of a challenge, but I'll get there. Albeit unsuccessfully, I did make an attempt this past week and I'll keep at it.

 

[WVNed]

Just post the blurry pics. That's what I do.

 

[nickkohrn]

I admire the skills of those that can capture beautiful photographs of aquarium inhabitants. I don't know the first thing about photography, so I appreciate the auto-enhance features of my phone's camera application.

 

[WVNed]

92% of getting a good picture is cleaning the glass and having clean enough water for it to come out.
The new phone cameras don't require much user skill.
Jeanna's boyfriend Kadin came over and I was asking him about imaging the tank. He does media production.
He snapped a photo with his phone that was better than anything I have been able to get with tripods, DSLR, remote release etc., etc.,

So I went and got a phone like his.

 

[Peace River]

Quick update: This weekend I got a bunch of tisbe pods to add to the cheato in my Reef Octopus light reactor, although I'm' not sure how they will do in the high light. Secondly, I ordered a pair of Percula clownfish and a pair of orange skunk clownfish that should arrive tomorrow. Thirdly, I just received the new rotifer system from Reef Nutrition and hope to be able to share more information about that in the next few weeks. The adventure continues!

 

[Murica]

Yes, this is my first algae reactor and, even though I have been using it for a short time, I can tell that the growth in the reactor is overpower any growth in the tank. And yes, the weather here is better than virtually anywhere else in the country but still not warm enough for me to venture out in to it. The 55g Found Parts Build hasn't visually changed from the last pictures. I probably do need to start a separate build thread for the 75 so we'll see - still cycling for now.

Love algae reactors they’re super effective! I personally only use GHA. Interesting build, now following, would be neat to see the progress with pics!

 

[Peace River]

Love algae reactors they’re super effective! I personally only use GHA. Interesting build, now following, would be neat to see the progress with pics!

Thank you for the kind words! I will try to do better on adding photos.

 

[Peace River]

I now have 7 different species of clownfish in my care! This week I added two pair of clownfish - a pair of orange skunks (Amphiprion sandaracinos) and a pair of Perculas (Amphiprion percula). The top row 10g tanks that are part of the 5-tank system now each have a pair of clown.

 

[Peace River]

It has been a while since I posted an update about my systems and during that time I have had a few challenges that I have worked through including a diatom outbreak in my fairly new 75g reef, a fish that disappeared and then reappeared a week later, working through two clownfish pairs that weren't sure if they really wanted to pair, and a fish that would eat wood. On that last item, as you may remember the "found parts build" is a 55g tank with a good size piece of drift wood. Apparently a small piece (about a 1/2" squarish chunk) broke off and one of the Gulf Killifish tried to eat it whole and the piece got stuck. These 6-7" long fish are cigar shaped and their mouth opens as wide as their body. I'm not sure exactly how long the piece of wood was in the fish, but I noticed that the fish was swimming around with its mouth open and after a little while of observation and with the use of a flashlight, when the fish turned at the right angle I noticed something in the back of its mouth. I caught the fish with a net and using some tweezer, a small pair of cutting pliers, and some patience I was able to extract the piece of wood that was lodged at the back of the mouth. I fed a soft diet for a few days and the fish seems to have made a full recovery. On a positive note, I have started keeping rotifers again and have added a basic microscope to my arsenal which, among other things, will let me keep an eye on the rotifers to make sure that the culture stays healthy.

 

[Ruben's Reef]

It has been a while since I posted an update about my systems and during that time I have had a few challenges that I have worked through including a diatom outbreak in my fairly new 75g reef, a fish that disappeared and then reappeared a week later, working through two clownfish pairs that weren't sure if they really wanted to pair, and a fish that would eat wood. On that last item, as you may remember the "found parts build" is a 55g tank with a good size piece of drift wood. Apparently a small piece (about a 1/2" squarish chunk) broke off and one of the Gulf Killifish tried to eat it whole and the piece got stuck. These 6-7" long fish are cigar shaped and their mouth opens as wide as their body. I'm not sure exactly how long the piece of wood was in the fish, but I noticed that the fish was swimming around with its mouth open and after a little while of observation and with the use of a flashlight, when the fish turned at the right angle I noticed something in the back of its mouth. I caught the fish with a net and using some tweezer, a small pair of cutting pliers, and some patience I was able to extract the piece of wood that was lodged at the back of the mouth. I fed a soft diet for a few days and the fish seems to have made a full recovery. On a positive note, I have started keeping rotifers again and have added a basic microscope to my arsenal which, among other things, will let me keep an eye on the rotifers to make sure that the culture stays healthy.

Great. You should be proud to save that fish

 

[Smarkow]

It has been a while since I posted an update about my systems and during that time I have had a few challenges that I have worked through including a diatom outbreak in my fairly new 75g reef, a fish that disappeared and then reappeared a week later, working through two clownfish pairs that weren't sure if they really wanted to pair, and a fish that would eat wood. On that last item, as you may remember the "found parts build" is a 55g tank with a good size piece of drift wood. Apparently a small piece (about a 1/2" squarish chunk) broke off and one of the Gulf Killifish tried to eat it whole and the piece got stuck. These 6-7" long fish are cigar shaped and their mouth opens as wide as their body. I'm not sure exactly how long the piece of wood was in the fish, but I noticed that the fish was swimming around with its mouth open and after a little while of observation and with the use of a flashlight, when the fish turned at the right angle I noticed something in the back of its mouth. I caught the fish with a net and using some tweezer, a small pair of cutting pliers, and some patience I was able to extract the piece of wood that was lodged at the back of the mouth. I fed a soft diet for a few days and the fish seems to have made a full recovery. On a positive note, I have started keeping rotifers again and have added a basic microscope to my arsenal which, among other things, will let me keep an eye on the rotifers to make sure that the culture stays healthy.