Turtle's Deep Blue Sea

SashimiTurtle · Apr 17, 2018

May be acquiring a snowflake eel today or tomorrow. It has to be caught and removed from the reef it is in now. Was in a coke bottle trap last night but the top got caught on a rock and the eel was able to escape when it came apart. The reason for rehoming the eel is wanting conflicting livestock, and impulse buying the eel. Friends mom impulse bought the eel about a month or two ago and it went in her tank. Not she wants a clam and eels will eat the mantle right off a clam... yea, always research before you buy, and don't let your mom go reef shopping without close supervision.

I need some opinions. I do not want to mix the new snowflake and Maui. They are around the same size, snowflake may be a tad longer, but the snowflake will outgrow Maui quickly and that could lead to some issues. As in only one eel left issues.

I've got an empty 40b I can use. This will be plenty of space until I can upgrade tanks, which will probably be this winter.

Questions are...

just run it bare bones as a QT tank until then
Set it up as a FOWLR and move the damsel and shrimp over and shut down the nano
Run a hob or drill and use my DIY 20L as a sump(requires building/buying new stand)

Brew12 · Apr 17, 2018

Robin Haselden said:
May be acquiring a snowflake eel today or tomorrow. It has to be caught and removed from the reef it is in now. Was in a coke bottle trap last night but the top got caught on a rock and the eel was able to escape when it came apart. The reason for rehoming the eel is wanting conflicting livestock, and impulse buying the eel. Friends mom impulse bought the eel about a month or two ago and it went in her tank. Not she wants a clam and eels will eat the mantle right off a clam... yea, always research before you buy, and don't let your mom go reef shopping without close supervision.

I need some opinions. I do not want to mix the new snowflake and Maui. They are around the same size, snowflake may be a tad longer, but the snowflake will outgrow Maui quickly and that could lead to some issues. As in only one eel left issues.

I've got an empty 40b I can use. This will be plenty of space until I can upgrade tanks, which will probably be this winter.

Questions are...

just run it bare bones as a QT tank until then

Set it up as a FOWLR and move the damsel and shrimp over and shut down the nano

Run a hob or drill and use my DIY 20L as a sump(requires building/buying new stand)

I'm thinking I would set it up as a FOWLR. As simple as possible.

Fudsey · Apr 17, 2018

I agree with @Brew12 set it up a a FOWLR

SashimiTurtle · Apr 17, 2018

Brew12 said:
I'm thinking I would set it up as a FOWLR. As simple as possible.

Fudsey said:
I agree with @Brew12 set it up a a FOWLR

I think this is what I'll do... probably bare bottom FOWLR with the HOB filter. I do have almost a 5 gallon bucket of sand, but that stuff needs a good rinse. I can probably have it running with a few pieces of seed rock by tonight. Total money invested will be however much a screen top costs for a 40B.

HairyGary · Apr 17, 2018

Robin Haselden said:
I think this is what I'll do... probably bare bottom FOWLR with the HOB filter. I do have almost a 5 gallon bucket of sand, but that stuff needs a good rinse. I can probably have it running with a few pieces of seed rock by tonight. Total money invested will be however much a screen top costs for a 40B.

Yeah KISS FOWLR.

Brew12 · Apr 17, 2018

You guys are so altruistic.

I recommend a simple FOWLR only because if he makes it nicer he may be less likely to upgrade in the future. I'm selfish, I want to see what he can do with a larger tank that isn't cursed! ;Woot

Scurvy · Apr 17, 2018

If your plan is to really go big over the winter then id agree with FOWLR until then. If your on the fence about the upgrade then id piece it together as a propper reef and as Brew says move away from the curse!!!

One more thought on going big... would you be able to house both eels there or would it still be a last man standing match? Just thinking what happens to Maui at that point if you dont want to maintain multiple tanks.

SashimiTurtle · Apr 17, 2018

Brew12 said:
You guys are so altruistic. I recommend a simple FOWLR only because if he makes it nicer he may be less likely to upgrade in the future. I'm selfish, I want to see what he can do with a larger tank that isn't cursed! ;Woot

I'm saving for a Red Sea 650 Peninsula, don't worry. We'll get rid of this cursed Deep Blue eventually. Probably going to use a different sump than provided(tanks are nice, sumps are junk). Light will be an Aquatic Life 60" T5 hybrid to start with 3 B+ and 1 C+(might experiment some), and probably fill it with 2 A700s down the road. Flow I want two gyres turned vertically on the back beside the overflow blasting the sides of the rock all the way down the tank.

So far for the KISS FOWLR I have a 40b tank, stand, hob, heater, powerhead, ato... need to run to the pet store and get a reptile lid for a 40b and some kind of cheap light that won't grow a ton of algae. I need to get some live ghost shrimp for Maui also, he's back to not wanting to eat anything I offer.

Almost full. Far from pretty but its functional.

sfin52 · Apr 17, 2018

I say fowlr, snowflake will need bigger sooner or later. I recommend set up as simply as possible. Caution should be advised with the shrimp. Those are its natural pray.

sfin52 · Apr 17, 2018

Looking good.

Scurvy · Apr 17, 2018

Woop, woop!!!! Reefer 650!!

You want me to send you back one of the SBReeflights? I'm only using one with no plans to use the other.

SashimiTurtle · Apr 17, 2018

If the coral banded gets eaten... oops. Its an ***** anyway. Pinches me every time I have to go in the tank. I just can't make myself kill a living reef critter, but if it gets eaten, well... that is out of my hands. ;Facepalm

@Scurvy you can keep it. I don't need anything that powerful. Gonna see what the pet store has in the way of cheap non coral growing lights.

Ran out of water, about 1.5" from all the way full. Up to temp(preheated mix in the brute) and salinity is perfect. Damsel, shrimp, astrea and nassarius snails moved over. Only one of each snails... lol. Used dry reef saver with a few pieces of cycled rock from my 10g that has been running for a while with just chaeto and live rock. I'm off to the chain pet stores to see what I can find for cheap.

SashimiTurtle · Apr 17, 2018

Its set up...

Got a metal screen reptile lid for the top. I have one for a 10g that I used for Maui while the Deep Blue was cycling. It should be heavy enough that it can't pick it up.

You can see the light I found. It's for those glow fish that look like they were bred on three mile island... its not very bright, but we don't need bright. We just need to be able to see and it does that. Its waterproof, and clips to the inside of the top rim, so the lid still sits flat on top of the tank.

Total cost for the lid and the light was about $60. Everything else was at the house already.

Here is my view from where I sit on the couch... imagine a 650 peninsula sitting there.

Waiting on the eel to go in the trap... pretty sure it knows its a trap now after going in last night. This was sent to me earlier, and that the eel came out hunting the food, and went back in the rocks when it saw the trap.

Brew12 · Apr 18, 2018

Robin Haselden said:
Its set up...

Got a metal screen reptile lid for the top. I have one for a 10g that I used for Maui while the Deep Blue was cycling. It should be heavy enough that it can't pick it up.

You can see the light I found. It's for those glow fish that look like they were bred on three mile island... its not very bright, but we don't need bright. We just need to be able to see and it does that. Its waterproof, and clips to the inside of the top rim, so the lid still sits flat on top of the tank.

Total cost for the lid and the light was about $60. Everything else was at the house already.

Here is my view from where I sit on the couch... imagine a 650 peninsula sitting there.

Waiting on the eel to go in the trap... pretty sure it knows its a trap now after going in last night. This was sent to me earlier, and that the eel came out hunting the food, and went back in the rocks when it saw the trap.

That spot looks darn near perfect for a peninsula!

najer · Apr 18, 2018

*cough* dwarffuzzylion!

SashimiTurtle · Apr 18, 2018

najer said:
*cough* dwarffuzzylion!

Dont think for one minute I haven't thought of setting up a predator reef. Several times I've thought of it.

Pretty wrasse, tough *** eels... they dont really mix. Unless you like turning your wrasse into very expensive feeder fish.