monkiboy's tank thread

[monkiboy]

coral banded attacks! on Vimeo

 

[monkiboy]

gonna photo blast my thread here because so much has been happening in the last few weeks and i could begin to post up the whole story so you'll see new corals, corals after a week, new goodies, etc.

at the LFS:

 

[NanoReefer]

wow, everything looks great! thats a awesome looking fuge!

 

[beeguiles]

Looookin good!

 

[monkiboy]

wow, everything looks great! thats a awesome looking fuge!

really? wow, thanks. just some live-rock and chaeto. found both on craigslist for five bucks total! the space is so small but i built tall to take advantage as most i could of the space.

Looookin good!

thanks! guess what i did today?! i got a coco worm! not as cool as your red/white but a light brown/black/white one. pics soon!

 

[monkiboy]

the duncans are crazy open and extended today, they must be happy! and i already got two or three new heads coming out, this is crazy!

what's even better is that my new LFS that i found with all this great stuff is really affordable and kind. i got these five heads (the big ones) as a single "branch" for 20 bucks.

 

[monkiboy]

here's a rough vid of the tank as it is now with the blues on before bed time and turning them off...

tank almost bedtime on Vimeo

 

[beeguiles]

Booo! viemo doesn't work on my phone lol. Those duncans look great. I wonder what's wrong with mine. They are fully expanded but not quite as puffy as they should be. Hmm.... Congrats on the coco worm! Deff need to see pics.

 

[monkiboy]

Booo! viemo doesn't work on my phone lol. Those duncans look great. I wonder what's wrong with mine. They are fully expanded but not quite as puffy as they should be. Hmm.... Congrats on the coco worm! Deff need to see pics.

check it out when you get home!

i'm sure your duncans will be fine, feed them! my guys love to eat, haha.

right after a meal:

here's the coco warm. really brings truth to coco:

how often does yours retract slowly and stay inside vs being out?

here's a video of her emerging from your tube. kinda creepy but very neat, haha.

coco emerging on Vimeo

here's a vid of the xenia with the mp10 and return off. kinda eerie how it just opens and closes on it's own like that non stop.

gulping xenia on Vimeo

 

[beeguiles]

I think you got a feather duster not a coco worm. Not too sure what the difference between the two are except my coco worm has two feathery crowns sticking it of the tube. Mine sometimes stays out for days and goes in for a few hrs. Mine pretty such stays out all the time tho. I'd say 85-90% of the time. If something bumps it or touches it crown it will suck into his tube. Sometimes he just goes it and out just bc he feels like it. Yours is prlly getting used to your tank. Very pretty by the way. And my duncans are little pigs too Hahaha

 

[monkiboy]

i think you're right. on liveaquaria they only show pink/red as options for the coco worm. looks like their regular feather duster. oh well, still neat and a sweet addition. thanks for pointing it out, though!

 

[beeguiles]

Deff still a cool guy and no problem. You can still get a coco worm in the future. :)

 

[little_fish]

Feather duster have a much better record of surviving long term in out tanks, IMO its the much better purchase. If you do decide to get the coco worm make sure you do a little research on feeding them, because they are filter feeders.

 

[monkiboy]

thanks girls. yeah i did a fair bit on the coco worm and feeding and have things lined up. the feather duster is quite a bit easier to keep, you're right. nonetheless, probably for the best, and it's name will stay coco, haha.

 

[beeguiles]

My coco has been very easy. I started feeding those rotifers and it seems to really like them.

 

[monkiboy]

ok, the little sump just was not cutting it. there's no room and i want to add equipment and better fuge lighting and a better sump in general. so how to make this work...

i decided i am going to use a 30g tank i had (36x12x16) and mount it on the wall in the basement heating room where my brute cans of saltwater and top-off RO/DI water are.

drew up the new design and i'm getting really excited. each square is one square inch.

so now i gotta break my walls and ceilings in one hopefully no more than two spots and route some braided nylon through the basement i-beam and then up to the tank for the return and overflow to the tank and sump. then i'll have a really swell 30g sump with tons of room for a chiller, reactors, plumbing, and just to see how things are going and basic maintenance.

this is the heating room where the tank will mount on the wall. the RO/DI unit will be raised about 12" to eye level and the tank will go underneath it.

luckily, my sump will only be 15 feet horizontally away from being directly under my DT and it's only 15 feet or so of head for the pump to endure. will be picking up a blueline 55hd external to tackle the job with ease and provide sufficient turn over flow for my overflow.

tomorrow i open the holes and will likely get one of the lines done from sump to DT. working on getting the glass cut for the baffles and miracle mud ready, as well.

in the meantime, here is a shot of emerson the crab...

while i'm doing all this work, i'm contemplating breaking the tank down, catching cassandra the tang, redoing my live rock for more open spaces and flow, and starting fresh.

i got a bad cyano problem right now and i think it is because of lack of water changes and doing water changes will be so much easier with the sump in the basement with the reservoirs.

additionally, i plan on picking up the genesis reef systems automatic water change unit, ATO, and ROCv unit for seemless operation through the month that only requires that i mix the salt water.

i'll have more updates and photos as things progress...

 

[beeguiles]

Sounds like you got quite the project going on! Looks great though, good job!

 

[little_fish]

I think you will be really happy with the sump down there, I know I wish I could do that with my tank.

 

[monkiboy]

Sounds like you got quite the project going on! Looks great though, good job!

I think you will be really happy with the sump down there, I know I wish I could do that with my tank.

thanks guys. it's gonna be awesome when i'm done!

so today was get that dang 1" braided hose in the walls and from my basement heating room (where all the reservoirs and sump will be) to the upstairs tank) project day!

i will figure out a way to get hoses from here...down...meddling with my fishing rod to see if my helpers could hear down below...

and it's easier to come in from the side...

now to find how to get it through...open up some space to navigate it through the basement i-beam as a channel conduit guide of sorts, to the heating room...

and we are through!

tomorrow from the upstairs just a quick throw to the tank and connections made to the overflow and some clamps and done. then the finishing/patching/skimming/blocking/sanding and painting, and then building wall stand to hold the 250-300lb sump/tank above the reservoirs.

project should be done by tomorrow afternoon!

i gotta find a more affordable place to get my glass baffles for my tank. i'm not using acrylic or lexan with glass and silicone for a not so appropriate job. i want this very clean and incredibly reliable.

can you guys think of ANYTHING else i should put in the walls now that it's open between the sump and tank aside from my two hoses (overflow drain and return)?

thanks for reading!

 

[beeguiles]

All this is wayy too complicated for me! Lol so hi I cant think of anything else you need. Not that that's a help for you. Lol oh well at least I can say GOOD JOB BUDDY! Haha sure looks like a lot of work!