Scuttborns 28g nanocube

[Scutterborn]

Hello all!!

I thought I would introduce myself. I new to saltwater and I'm currently 7 days into cycling my new LED 28g Nanocube. I've had a few =years experience with freshwater tanks and still maintain a 125g, 110g tall, 55g and another 28g Nanocube (fresh). I would like to start off by apologizing for any stupid questions I may ask as i am still doing my research and planning for this nano reef setup. I feel as though you can never have enough good info and a local support system.I will be lurking around the forums reading threads and, now that I've registered, post comments or questions.:ph34r: I'm very exited to finally get into saltwater tanks. My main problem is I need to learn to be more patient. I've read too many horror stories of folks that weren't and i don't want to be them. I'm sure I'll have setbacks along the way but i really hope to mitigate them by use of this forum.

Thanks!!:wink_smile:

[hobogato]

welcome to maast! ask away, there are no stupid questions.

[LuckySingh]

Welcome to Maast ... Dnt hesitate about asking any questions as all were newbie at some time ....
patience always works the best in this hobby while u starting a tank and u won't be disappointed if u
do things slowly than mess it up in excitement .....as far as salt it's really personal preference .....I am sure a lot of members will chime in and suggest their brand... Reef crystal is pretty gud thou

[Scutterborn]

1355213553Is this algae bloom acceptable? Or is it a diatom bloom? It's all over everything. Ive cut back the lights in the tank to about 6 hrs from 10-12 hrs away. Just a confirmation on the second pic being aiptasia, right?

[Mr Cob]

yes, yes and yes. I like a 5-6 hour light cycle during the diatom bloom and then as it takes it's course I start increasing about half an hour every week until I reach the desired day light time frame that I want to keep based on temp balance.

Good for you for taking your time and posting questions.

Welcome to MAAST.

[betiuminside]

Welcome to maast!
I also see that you have an aptasia anemone. I would remove it ASAP! They are a pest and they will create problems down the road.
There's several ways to remove them. IMO I Would inject them with lime juice. Or take the rock out and brush it out! Wipe that part totally clean!
Perfecting timing to remove all the pest on your aquarium before placing corals or fish in it!
Good luck!

[rrasco]

Welcome.

What do you keep in your FW tanks?

[Scutterborn]

Thanks for the confirmation. I will be ordering base rock from BRS soon. I picked up this live rock at my LFS to start the tank. I'll pick up a peppermint to keep the aiptasia in check in another 2-3 weeks i guess. I'm looking forward to a coral dominated tank. As soon as feel comfortable enough with saltwater I will have the " I'm switching the 125g to salt, Dear…" conversation. That still looks a year away though!

[Gseclipse02]

about time u signed up !!!

[Scutterborn]

I've got a community tank (110) with a bunch of fancy guppies, black ghost knife, bristle nose plecos, ghost shrimp, siamese algae eaters, powder blue dwarf gouramis and the most docile 8" jack dempsey i've ever seen. Sounds like a recipe for disaster but the Jack doesn't bother anyone! The 125g has a tiger oscar with 5 silver dollars, a tire track eel, brislenose plecos (I have a mated pair), 1 common pleco and a chinese algae eater. The other 28 and 55 are breeder tanks for ghost shrimp and guppies.

[Scutterborn]

about time u signed up !!!
True! I signed up last night but haven't posted until today.

[rrasco]

Crazy. Sounds like the JD would destroy everything else in there. That fish isn't named after a boxer by accident. Are your guppy breeders for the oscar? Do you sell any? I need a clean source of live food for my Mobas.

[Scutterborn]

I'm hoping to have extras in about two months. Ive only been breeding them for a month and I've gone from 10 guppies to around 40. hopefully by march i will have a sustainable population to include pulling for feeding. I'll let you know when I get to that point for sure so you can pick some up!

[Mike]

Welcome to MAAST. Good group of people on here with a lot of experience and knowledge. If you can, come check out a meeting and meet everyone.

[Scutterborn]

I'll do my best to be there!

[Scutterborn]

Well, it's looks like all my levels are in check. 0 across the board and sg at 1.026. Ph at 8.2. I'm ready to add my first zoas!! I'm excited

[Ty1981]

Welcome to Maast.

[FSU]

Hello all!!

I thought I would introduce myself. I new to saltwater and I'm currently 7 days into cycling my new LED 28g Nanocube. I've had a few =years experience with freshwater tanks and still maintain a 125g, 110g tall, 55g and another 28g Nanocube (fresh). I would like to start off by apologizing for any stupid questions I may ask as i am still doing my research and planning for this nano reef setup. I feel as though you can never have enough good info and a local support system.I will be lurking around the forums reading threads and, now that I've registered, post comments or questions.:ph34r: I'm very exited to finally get into saltwater tanks. My main problem is I need to learn to be more patient. I've read too many horror stories of folks that weren't and i don't want to be them. I'm sure I'll have setbacks along the way but i really hope to mitigate them by use of this forum.

Thanks!!:wink_smile:

Welcome to MAAST, welcome to THE addiction, and your questions won't be as stupid as a lot of mine are lol!

[Scutterborn]

13590her are the purple deaths i added yesterday.

[Europhyllia]

Those will be nice. Be careful with the peppermints. They may eat or bother other stuff too. At this point it might be easier to just eliminated the aiptasia yourself.

[Scutterborn]

I've counted somewhere around 8-9 heads of it. The rock is so holey I'm not sure if if there isn't an entire colony throughout it! Do the purple deaths look ok? I'm not sure if I'm just being paranoid but, they look like they are shriveling. I moved them lower in the tank today? My LED hood went up in smoke today and I had to put my 150w hqi viper light on as a back up. 10 days at an average of 8hrs a day and the JBJ ballast died... Nice way to start my first saltwater adventure! Aiptasia and poor equipment.

[Europhyllia]

Ah rats. That stinks. Should be under warranty though. Hopefully the next one will be better.

[Scutterborn]

New hood should be here by Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.

[CoryDude]

Those will be nice. Be careful with the peppermints. They may eat or bother other stuff too. At this point it might be easier to just eliminated the aiptasia yourself.

I wouldn't feel too ba about the aiptasia, you were going to get it at some time or another. Personally, I'd yank the rock while the tank is still empty and inject some kalkwasser paste, or any of of the other tried and true methods. Much easier to fight the battle now than when the tank is fully stocked.

[Gseclipse02]

New hood should be here by Friday. I'm keeping my fingers crossed.



sorry about that .... jbj had a bad batch with the hoods and had issues i hope u got one of the old batches and the new one is all fixed up so this issue doesnt happen again

[Scutterborn]

JT, you and Jason were really great help. I know it's a JBJ thing. No worries. It does make me think of upgrading to the professional hood though. My girlfriend still doesn't like the look of the viper k2 hqi setup. Oh well.

[Scutterborn]

My torch looks like its crashing! Any ideas? its only been in the tank two days. tentacles have never extended more than a half inch.

My ammonia spiked to 0.2.
PH at 8.2
0 Nitrates
0 Nitrites

I did a water change yesterday and i'm getting the ammonia back down with tlc bacteria supplement and zeolite in a mesh bag in the media tray.

Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated. I've gotten so many mixed reviews from researching others post across the web. looking for some laical advice.

13632

[Teeb]

If you're seeing ammonia, you're still cycling. Give it a little more time before adding anything else.

[alton]

If you're seeing ammonia, you're still cycling. Give it a little more time before adding anything else.

Yep what he said, you really need to wait a couple months before adding LPS plus you do not have any nitrates so you have not finished your cycling your tank. The hardest thing is to wait and look at a tank with nothing but brown algae for a couple of months. There are additives you can use to move the cycle along but they are expensive.

[Squiers007]

I would trey and get the torch out if possible and into someone elses system so that it has a chance to recover. With ammonia present in your tank it doesn't really stand a chance. Hopefully someone can help you out and rehab it.

Sent using Tapatalk

[Scutterborn]

I had a feeling that my lack of patience was gonna kick me. I thought i had finished the cycle after the last tests. I screwed up when i pulled the live rock to scrub the aiptasia off then gave it a 10 minute freshwater dip. I had read about this online and guess it was a crappy idea. I bet that helped the ammonia as well.

[Scutterborn]

Also, I read that the frogspawn has the same general water params as the torch and the frogspawn is doing great. They were added the same day. Zoas and Xenia are also doing well.

[Squiers007]

They do have the same general parameters, but as with any living thing there can be a lot of variation even within species. Plus, the torch may have been previously stressed, or had something else going on that contributed to its decline.

Sent using Tapatalk

[hobogato]

even tho they have the same general requirements, i have found torches and hammers to be a little more sensitive than frogspawns IME.

[alton]

I had a feeling that my lack of patience was gonna kick me. I thought i had finished the cycle after the last tests. I screwed up when i pulled the live rock to scrub the aiptasia off then gave it a 10 minute freshwater dip. I had read about this online and guess it was a crappy idea. I bet that helped the ammonia as well.

You are not the first person in this hobby to get in a hurry and I doubt if you will be the last, we have all got in a hurry now and then.

[Scutterborn]

The torch went necrotic overnight. RIP Aussie torch. Tough lesson, but a well learned lesson...

[FireWater]

Everyone I have talked to including myself has jumped into something similar. The key is learning from it so you don't do it again.

[Scutterborn]

What is the process of RTN? I know it can spread but the candy cane looks like it may have the same tissue damage. I just pulled it to make sure I don't spread it throughout the tank. I'm totally bummed now... :(

[Scutterborn]

Here is a pic of the candy cane. It has the same fleshy look that the torch had. any ideas?

13652
this second pic kinda shows the flesh of the the candy coming off.

13653

[Scutterborn]

Pick up the new hood today also. I upgraded to the 87w LED professional hood from the 29w LED. Big thanks to Jason at Aquarium designs for all his help!

[hobogato]

looks like brown jelly disease. some people have luck getting rid of it by dipping in lugol's

[Scutterborn]

Ace, you are right on! That's what my LFS said too. Thanks. I've lost the candy cane to it as well. I pulled it yesterday and it seems to have not spread. I'm keeping a very close eye on everything.

[FireWater]

Good luck. Time and water changes will help. Give it a while before you add any other LPS to make sure you won't have any spread. Once you get the jelly it takes stuff out in a hurry.

[Scutterborn]

As soon as I get home last night, I run to the tank to see how everyone is doing. Still no apparent signs of any jelly anywhere. Nice!! Then I notice my wife, who I bypassed to get to the tank, giggling in the background. She doesn't normally giggle. I turn around and ask her what she did... I now have a tiger tail sea cucumber it he tank chewing through the diatoms left on the sand from the second, very recent bloom. I'm not sure how I feel about this. They can get rather large and can be toxic when under heavy duress. Maybe I can use this as leverage to convert my 125 in another year or so. What's your opinions?

[FireWater]

I would worry about it running out of food before your year is up. Then you have a whole new set of problems. Talk her into converting one of the other soon. lol

[Scutterborn]

I agree. The sooner the better. He is still a little guy, maybe 6", at the longest I've seen him stretch. But, I agree nonetheless.

[Scutterborn]

Overrun with pods!!

13889

I have a question. What are the chances a red mandarin could live well (fat and happy) in a 28g nano cube? I've got a 1-1/2" - 2" sand bed. Not exactly a DSB but its producing anaerobic nitrogen bubbles. I've read that they could bring bring my 'pod population down to the point that they cannot reproduce fast enough to feed him. I've also heard he would be fine. I'm not running a refugium under the tank, just the standard section in the back. Within the next few weeks I am going to add macro to the media basket with a small led light ( Caulerpa or Chaeto). That should help the pods. I have also read up in studies stating a snarled mess ball of monofilament fishing line is a great place for pod reproduction. I really like these guys and I'm willing to wait until I feel comfortable enough to set up the 125g for a reef. Thats another year or so away. I just don't want to make the mandarin unhappy or starve him. The only other livestock I will have in the tank with him is a pair or three of perculas. Only softies, lps and very few sps other than that. Welcome to any and all ideas and name calling if its appropriate!! I'm still new to SW and I'd like some comments as opposed to researching for days on end. Done that already.

[Squiers007]

If you havnt seen it yet, check out Coral magazines article on Mandarins abd dragonnets. It is a really great article and will give you all the info you need to decide if they are thhe fish for you. What most people fail to realize with mandarins and the like is that just because they graze on your pod populations does not mean that you don't need to feed them. They still need to be treated like any other fish and be fed everday, ideally a specific diet. A lot of people even "train" there's to go to a feeding dish like a seahorse will do so that they can get the required nutrition.

Sent using Tapatalk

[TXSea]

If you havnt seen it yet, check out Coral magazines article on Mandarins abd dragonnets. It is a really great article and will give you all the info you need to decide if they are thhe fish for you. What most people fail to realize with mandarins and the like is that just because they graze on your pod populations does not mean that you don't need to feed them. They still need to be treated like any other fish and be fed everday, ideally a specific diet. A lot of people even "train" there's to go to a feeding dish like a seahorse will do so that they can get the required nutrition.

Sent using Tapatalk
From my experience with mandarin dragonettes, they are very hard to care for and usually do better in large tanks with high pod populations. They usually don't take to brine shrimp or other frozen foods. You CAN train them to eat frozen but it takes a lot of time and effort. I used to have one and needless to say it wouldn't eat anything other than pods and it ended up starving to death :( Hope this helps!

[jonelletx]

I have a 125 gallon with Discus! They are breeding, but have not yet raised past 4 days. i love my New tanks of saltwater fish,corals and a great way to spend money. I now prefer saltwater !

[Scutterborn]

Funny enough, I was more leary about raising discus than saltwater species!! I think I would have had more setbacks with this whole tank if it wasn't for this forum and the guys at Aquarium Designs. I do think discus are awesome looking though.

[Scutterborn]

I thought I would start posting here again for fear of hijacking Monica's thread. I've been working stupid hours and haven't seen my tank nearly as much as I would like. I've confirmed that I've got cyano everywhere. I'm pretty sure my RO water is junk. I'm gonna TDS it today and will post result later. Here's my question. I've been using the turkey baster to remove the cyano from the rock but, should I just pull the top layer of sand and replace it with new? My sand bed is only 1-2" but it's producing nitrogen bubbles as would a DSB. I'd really like to go 2-3". But I've got livestock and don't wanna crash the tank. Help?

[Scutterborn]

I'm actually embarrassed to post these picks but, I need help.

The rock...
14141

The sand...
14142

[hobogato]

in my opinion, this is part of new tank syndrome. just keep syphoning it out with regular water changes and it will go away eventually. in my experience, a new tank will go through various algae (cyano, diatoms, hair, etc. ) outbreaks for up to 6 months

[rrasco]

I think so too. Just keep up with good husbandry and you will be fine. What kind of rock did you start with, dry or live? And also, I <3 duncans.

[Scutterborn]

So I shouldn't run out and stock up on chemi-pure, phosban and panic!! I started running cheato in the fuge with a reverse light cycle. I had the cyano growing over a small frag of zoas. I pulled them, cleaned them very delicately with a soft toothbrush and set them in the QT. Oh, Ace, the frogspawn frag is splitting! I guess its pretty happy!

[Scutterborn]

Water params as of 11FEB12:

PH-8.2
TRATES->5
TRITES-0
AMM-.2
ALK-1.5

Still a bit high on ammonia, dunno why. I added zeolite granules and have changed them weekly to absorb excess ammonia.
Alk is a touch low. I've started using Seachem PH buffer because of my big PH swings 7.7 at night to 8.2 during late day. I don't see any noticeable difference yet. its only been a few days though.

[Scutterborn]

I love the duncans too! I picked up the three heads at AD for $35 and realized its got another head forming also!! Sweeet!

[hobogato]

are you sure your ammonia test kit is accurate? that reading for very long would mean death to corals and some fish. if it is accurate, you will need to figure out where it is coming from (your tank should be well past that point in its cycle) and start doing some water changes to get that to 0 asap. it also doesnt make sense that you have ammonia with no nitrite at this point.

[Scutterborn]

My thought as well. I was testing at AD until I got my own test kit. I'm colorblind and usually have my wife read me the results. I'm fixing to head back to AD and I'll take a sample to back up my test kit. I found out my new coralife fuge light doesn't wanna work... Should I pick up something for any phosphates?

[Scutterborn]

Any ideas? Also what about replacing sand? I got it used.

[TXSea]

I don't think you will need to replace the sand. This is normal and will pass. I do recommend siphoning off the top layer with a hose and scrubbing any water movers you have in your display tank. I had a turbo snail that would actually eat the stuff so you could try that as well. Do at least a 25% water change if you haven't already. That will help with the ammonia levels as well. They usually say to not put any live creatures in the tank until your ammonia levels are at 0. If the live rock wasn't cycled long enough, you might be having ammonia spikes from the decay of dead stuff on the rock. Worst case scenario is that you lose some of your livestock and if that happens, I wouldn't restock until the tank levels level out. The pics look to me like diatoms or cyanobacteria. I used a product called chemiclean in my tank and it cleared it up fast. If you use that product, make sure you add airstones to your tank to help with oxygen levels as it will lower them greatly. Good luck to you and you aren't experiencing anything out of the ordinary in my opinion. We all go through this whenever we start a new tank. Reducing the photo period also will help with this (for short period of time).

[TXSea]

Was this sand dry or was it still in tank water? If it was live sand that was left out to dry, you could be getting ammonia from the bacteria that died as well.

[Scutterborn]

Just had my tests done.

Phos-0.04
TDS-118
My tap water tests TDS-298

Was gonna run gfo but my phos isn't very high. I did pick up chemiclean. Not sure about introducing chemicals like that tho. Ace's suggestion was to let it roll. It hard to do tho. The sand was "dryish" in a bucket from another tank that was taken down. It sat in a sealed bucket in my garage for 2 months before I cleaned it for the tank setup. Now I'm noticing GHA in my QT. It's not bothering me as much as the cyano.

[Scutterborn]

I should add that my ammonia was at 0 until I added the long tentacle plate and red mandarin. They have been living with me for 8-9 days? I also did a 20% water change yesterday.

[Scutterborn]

Just did a manual removal of the top layer of sand. Will post when it clears up.

[Monica25]

Scutter don't worry about my thread. I don't mind I learn from your questions and u learn from mine. We're in the same dirty boat!

[Scutterborn]

Yeah we are. I'm glad yours is starting to look better. I didn't see an end in sight with the sand the way it was. That's why I cleared it off. I also managed to **** off just about everybody in my tank while cleaning it. I hope they forgive me soon!

[FireWater]

It is fairly normal for everything to seem ticked off after a water change. It should bounce back quickly.

[Scutterborn]

Actually the Duncan's, frogspawn and LTP were really filled out after the WC. They looked better than they had in days. It was me moving them all around the tank while runnin my super sweet $2 turkey baster all along the sand! Lol! Sorry bout me not editing that last post...

[Scutterborn]

I cleaned the sand and the diatoms are already returning... Today I cleaned the cyano off the rock. I'll wait and see.

[Scutterborn]

I also added a coralife 3x 9w UV sterilizer. Hope this helps to clear up the algae.

[Scutterborn]

I think its safe to say the cyano is receding and has given way to small tufts of hair algae. Also I would like to add that the Red Mandarin i picked up is 3 for 3 on prepared foods. He's eaten each of the latest 3 times I've fed. Woohoo!!!

[hobogato]

great, now be prepared for the hair algae to plague you for a while...

[FireWater]

great, now be prepared for the hair algae to plague you for a while...

Oh Ya, fun times are a head for you.
Ace, we need to design and build an underwater reef mower. We could make $$$

[Scutterborn]

I'd certainly buy one!!

[hobogato]

nature beat us to it - sea hare :)

[Scutterborn]

Indeed...

[Monica25]

Glad to see your tank is clearing up scutter! And congratulations on your eating Manderin as well! What are u feeding him?

[Scutterborn]

Right now he is eating spirilla enhanced brine shrimp. He still hunts pods too of course

[Scutterborn]

I thought I would post an update. Lots of additions to the tank. I've gone coral crazy as my better half would say. Here's a list off the top of my head:

Zoas: nuclear greens, deep water japs ( thanks a billion Allan), spiffy orange ones ( thanks to Ace), more radioactive greens and kryptonites.

Palys: purple deaths

2 rics: orange and green

Softies: Aussie duncans, green frogspawn, pink frogspawn, Pom Pom Xenia, reg Xenia, green toadstool, tons of gsp.

Sps: orange monti, superman monti, purple validia, purple digitata, tyrees birdsnest, Ora stuber, org/purlply brown script coral

Livestock: mandarin dragonet ( fat lil sausage! ) and a juvenile yellow tang. 2" apiece. Tiger tail cucumber.

CUC: 5 Astraea and 5 nassarius snails, unknown number of stomatella snails.
1" sandbed and about 14 lbs LR.

Tank is a stock 28g jbj nano with the "professional" led lighting. 25@3w 14k 4@3w 460 nm dawn dusk lights and 4@.5w lunars. Stock basket with carbon and ceramic bio rings. Jbj skimmer. 2 accela 290gph return pumps on a wave timer.

Ill post pics tonight when I get home.

[Zack]

Post pics :)

[Scutterborn]

1483714838148391484014841

[Scutterborn]

14842148431484414845

[Zack]

Fantastic pics. What camera are you using?

[Scutterborn]

I'm still tryin to figure out this Nikon d5100. I'm feelin a bit better now that you say that though!

[Scutterborn]

1485214853148541485514856

I think the pics may be coming out a bit better. What do you think? And, yes, I love taking pics of the Duncans...

[Zack]

I'm in love with that GSP wall. Did you just glue it to the back and let it grow or was it already that big?

[Scutterborn]

I bought a 8"X10" or so piece from a guy on ARC and glued it on. It's really taken off. My intent is to cover the whole back with it and frag off as it grows onto the side glass. Store credit, no matter how small, will help to fund my addiction!

[Scutterborn]

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-3bba-eae3.jpg

Not too shabby for an iPhone. I love this little guy as much as he love this scubastevo! I'll try to get some more updates going shortly. Thanks again Tuan for the scubastevo frag!!

[Mr Cob]

nice, the GSP makes a nice backdrop

[Scutterborn]

Thanks, Rob. I actually just cut back a third of the GSP for some fellow members. That seems to be one thing I have zero problems growing! Lol!

[ErikH]

very nice tank man, store credit for sure. :)

[Mr Cob]

haha, no joke, in fact GSP sells like hotcakes at some of the LFS.

[Scutterborn]

Here's an FTS.

http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4d99b-69df-7b04.jpg

[Scutterborn]

I did say i would wait. I did to an extent...

15443

[Scutterborn]

New pic of the not so lil 'Nem.

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-8c20-d716.jpg

Fully open, it's about 5" or so. I think he's a groovy size for the nano.
-Ben-

[reefreak]

how are those blue xenia doing?

[Scutterborn]

They're still kickin bro. They look great. Thanks again. They are in the other nanocube. I'll post a pic of them
In a bit.


- Ben -

[reefreak]

cool

[Scutterborn]

Hey Jeremy, how big has that nem you got from Chris gotten?


- Ben -

[reefreak]

The size of a quarter

[Scutterborn]

The size of a quarter

Do what?!?! It shrunk?


- Ben -

[rrasco]

That GSP wall is sick. I planned to do something similar to the overflow on my 105.

What kind of nem is that, condy? I really liked mine, until he started moving around and messing with all the other corals. I bagged and tagged that mofo after that.

[reefreak]

No thats the size he has been

[Scutterborn]

It's supposedly a mini gbta. Only it's not quite so mini nor bubble tipped. I got it from Chris and love it!

Jeremy, is yours out and about or still hiding? Mine spent 3-4 days hiding in a hole where I initially placed him, then he came out and moved about 3" over and has been extending as much as he can! He must be happy where he's at...



-Ben-

[Scutterborn]

I do have defective eyes by the way. It may be a rbta... Lol!

( I'm red/green color blind )
-Ben-

[Big_Pun]

the mother nem I have bubble tips, and then extends like that from time to time. that's prob as big as its going to get, and may split. they are under MH from my tank, but the one in Emily's 20g is under t5 and the tips are always bubbled. who know nems are weird!!

[Scutterborn]

It's awesome. Thanks again chris


-Ben-

[reefreak]

Hes out but isnt as big

[rrasco]

JT had a HUGE bubble tip. Thing was like a foot or more across. Of course, if that's a mini that's a different story...

[Scutterborn]

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-b510-a804.jpg

Nature is awesome!

-Ben-

[hobogato]

man, feed that coral, it'S hungry!

great pic btw

[Zack]

Here's an FTS.

http://img.tapatalk.com/c6e4d99b-69df-7b04.jpg

I'm insanely jealous of your awesome GSP back wall!

[Scutterborn]

Dude, I can't ever seem to get the candy canes to NOT have feeder tentacles out! They get food everyday! Lol. When I got this frag from Allan it had 4-5 heads.

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-be53-ab89.jpg

Now it's 9 heads. It's been about a month and a half or so.
-Ben-

[Mr Cob]

lol, angry mouths! Your tank looks so cool.

[Scutterborn]

Thanks, Rob. That means a lot coming from you!!


- Ben -

[Scutterborn]

As I look at that last pic, I realize how cruddy it is. I should take some more pics....


-Ben-

[Scutterborn]

Updated shots!

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-03ba-23e9.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-03ca-d789.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-03db-cf56.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-03fe-18ec.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-040d-ec59.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0420-0bb9.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0447-7a1c.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0489-7920.jpg

Hoped you enjoy!


- Ben -

[Zack]

Those blue zoas are awesome. Keep up the good work man!

[reefreak]

as zach said those are nice!!! what are those?

[Scutterborn]

I was told they were Tubbs blues. They seem to have a bit more blue to them in the pics. I dunno. Could be my defective eyes. All these pics were taken with my iPhone and not touched up in any way.


-Ben-

[reefreak]

nice i love blue tubbs wish i didn't trade mine.

[Scutterborn]

A frag is yours when it ready. These seem to grow really slowly though. ;)


- Ben -

[reefreak]

cool dude i still need to get that one form zach you have.

[Scutterborn]

I thought I would post a pic of my other 28g nano. The wife says this is my wild south Austin style tank as opposed to my tidier north Austin style tank! Lol!

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0a00-e765.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0a0e-ed04.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0a22-fe24.jpg
That last pic was horrible but, I tried.
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0a75-3b17.jpg
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-0a91-4375.jpg


- Ben -

[Scutterborn]

cool dude i still need to get that one form zach you have.

No worries, bro. It's in good hands until we can hook up. ( knock on wood!)


- Ben -

[reefreak]

those blue xenia are really taking off in your tank!

[Zack]

I was told they were Tubbs blues. They seem to have a bit more blue to them in the pics. I dunno. Could be my defective eyes. All these pics were taken with my iPhone and not touched up in any way.


-Ben-

If you ever get to fragging those let me know haha!

[Scutterborn]

If you ever get to fragging those let me know haha!

Fo sho!


-Ben-

[Scutterborn]

I couldn't help myself from taking a few more.,.

http://img.tapatalk.com/a6934898-32d1-ae41.jpg
Here's Harriet snuggling up with some scuba stevo. Ozzie was a bit camera shy! ;)

http://img.tapatalk.com/a6934898-32ef-fe57.jpg


- Ben -

[txcachem]

welcome
We just downsized from a 90 gallon to a 24 jbj nano. I already am much happier.

[txcachem]

very pretty pictures!!

[Scutterborn]

welcome
We just downsized from a 90 gallon to a 24 jbj nano. I already am much happier.

I see we are headed in different directions. Lol. I'm "working" on getting my 185 out of the garage and into the house!

Thanks for the kind words regarding my photos. My iPhone constantly has me wondering why I dropped a grand on a DSLR!


- Ben -

[Scutterborn]

The new guy!
Picked it up today from an ARC member. It's just beginning to color up a bit.
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-7752-c9aa.jpg
Lava Chalice I'm told.


- Ben -

[hobogato]

nice score ben, look forward to seeing it color up

[Scutterborn]

Thanks, Ace! It's really looking good under the actinic dusk lights. Unfortunately I cannot get a pic without it being all washed out from the blues.


-Ben-

[reefreak]

Better get fragging lol! Looks awesome ben .

[Scutterborn]

Better get fragging lol! Looks awesome ben .

Fraggin? Shoot, that's the beauty of trick photography! It's only 2"x2". Also, as usual, I was lazy and just used the iPhone for the pic. I'll see if I can bust out that fancy pants camera tomorrow.


- Ben -

[reefreak]

lol

[Scutterborn]

Thought I'd post an updated FTS.
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-c52e-aab0.jpg
And left side
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-c547-fd3a.jpg
And right side
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-c567-e40e.jpg

This tank is 7 months and 24 days old today.

-Ben-

[lakers10]

Nice tank love that wall : )

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Scutterborn]

I just read back and looked at the progression this tank has made in its short life so far.

My first fts
http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-d811-637d.jpg

Lol!


-Ben-

[reefreak]

What happend to the damsel.

[Zack]

Holy crap! Bad *** man!

[Scutterborn]

Thanks Zack!

The damsel went back to the LFS after it started getting rowdy with the clowns.


- Ben -

[hobogato]

looks like that krypto is recovering nicely - it was pretty rough when you got it

looking forward to you working this type of magic on that big tand :)

[Scutterborn]

looks like that krypto is recovering nicely - it was pretty rough when you got it

looking forward to you working this type of magic on that big tand :)

The Krypto has come a long way and still improving. I've got two heads splitting. That tells me it's happy. :)

The 185 will be something that I'm really gonna have to some artistic layout on. I expect to spend a bunch of time on getting the rock work correct right off the bat. (wishful thinking, I know!). I'm surprised how good the growth has been in this tank considering how much my hands are in it. Likely half the livestock from this tank will get transferred over to the big tank. All the live stock from the other 28g nanocube will get transferred and that tank will be sold off.


- Ben -

[Fishstix@JewelsOfTheSea]

Heya Scutterborn, good to see that you posted some questions. Don't ever feel that you have a bad question or stupid question, we have all made bad choices and experimented with our SW tanks to know what we wished we could have done differently. This will save you lots of time and money. Just as mentioned in the previous posts, make sure you get rid of those aptasia as soon as possible. They are a pest and can reproduce quickly in the tank, not to mention that they love to hide and stay dormant until they are all over the place. Going with couple peppermint shrimp should do the job. LMK when you are ready to pick up some rock to assist with aquascaping your tank:bigsmile:

[Mr Cob]

love it Ben, tank has come a long way in a rather short period of time.

[abbymedina]

Wow! That's an awesome tank! Is that gsp on the back wall?

- Abby :)

[Zack]

Man, that GSP took off! What's your dosing like? if any?

[Scutterborn]

Thanks for the kind words, everyone! It's been a labour of love for sure.

Yes the GSP is encrusted on the back wall. It's grown from a much smaller piece that I glued on.

As far as dosing... I don't. Every so often I feed chromaplex and coral-vite. I do half the recommended weekly dose every few weeks. I think my growth is due to consistent water changes. 2.5 gallons a week.

I got this as a 1.5" frag a few months ago and this is a current pic.
http://img.tapatalk.com/a6934890-9a6f-6976.jpg


- Ben -

[abbymedina]

well it looks great, and sooo pretty!

-Abby :)

[350gt]

Nice....

Which LEDs are you running?

[Scutterborn]

It's the stock jbj led professional hood. Basically 25 3w 14k for daylight, 4 3w 460's for dawn/dusk and 4 .5w for moonlights.


- Ben -

[ErikH]

Man that GSP wall is outta control! :) Looks awesome man. Get you some more sticks, sounds like you have a good routine going and you shouldn't have any problems.

[Scutterborn]

Man that GSP wall is outta control! :) Looks awesome man. Get you some more sticks, sounds like you have a good routine going and you shouldn't have any problems.

Lol! I'm working on the "sticks"! I've got a ORA Red Planet and tri-color valida in the works. They'll likely end up in the 185 though...


- Ben -

[rrasco]

That is redonkilous....c'mon ben, tell us the secret...

[350gt]

That is redonkilous....c'mon ben, tell us the secret...



+2

[Scutterborn]

That is redonkilous....c'mon ben, tell us the secret...

Ok,ok.... Here's the secret.

Consistent, proper husbandry. I think that's really it. Lol.

Here's a breakdown of everything on this tank.

Stock media basket with foam pad, carbon, bio rings. Under that, chemi pure elite. Chaeto wild roaming in the rest. Prizm skimmer, coralife 9w UV and a wave point 16w 10k fuge light. That's it.

I'm not even following the "pound per gallon" philosophy on rock. The island rock is about 12lbs and the other two little one I just recently added are maybe a pound apiece. We'll call it 15 lbs to be safe.

My other tank has, what I believe to be, live mysis self propagating in it. it's so full of pods, it's like a macro lagoon. No natural predation. I will be using this to seed the 185 DT and sump.

-Ben-

[reefreak]

True that on the pods in your other one.

[lakers10]

Where is the uv placed?

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Scutterborn]

Where is the uv placed?

I have the feed pump dow on top of the stock return pump running 3/4" tubing up and over the edge to the UV the output dumps back in through a 3/4" hose running back in the opposite side chamber


- Ben -

[lakers10]

Cool does it make a difference? I might get one for mine

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Scutterborn]

I dunno for sure. I'd hate to pull it off to find out! Lol. I got a coralife 36w for the 185 just in case. I've been happy with it. Had gotten a fish with ICH and added the UV. No signs since.


- Ben -

[lakers10]

Couldn't hurt to have one..thanx

Sent from my SPH-D710 using Tapatalk 2

[Scutterborn]

Couldn't hurt to have one..thanx

I'm still trying to find the very fine line between biology an technology. I think I'll start a general discussion on this subject.


-Ben-

[Scutterborn]

Look who's coming out to play finally!!
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/02/usy2e7ut.jpg

I figured I'd add it to this thread since its in this tank. I've also got the neon green acro in this tank and I'm a little worried about it. It does have an acro crab that I can't seem to get a pic of.
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/02/e2esa7yv.jpghttp://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/02/e2upuvad.jpg
What's with all the filamentous strings? Is this it's type of polyp extension!?! I don't think so. I can't suck it off with a baster though. The first pic has that bad spot on it that I'm watching. Hasn't spread.


- Ben -

[Mr Cob]

nice looking corals man, I see the crab. I wonder if the crab is causing it problems...I know it's an acro crab but just a thought. Also, that's not the polyp extension acros do that when they are ticked or perhaps just moved lol.

[Mr Cob]

though.. after looking at the pic more closely those really do look like sweeper tentacles. crazy.. where da sps pros at?

[Mr Cob]

yup, check it out: Acontia Filaments
http://reefbuilders.com/2011/09/26/oregon-blue-tort-acontia-filaments/

pretty awesome

[Scutterborn]

Good article, Rob. Definitely polyp extension. I promise I'll stop trying to suck off the polyps! :)

This ones for you, Rob
http://img.tapatalk.com/d/12/10/02/6e5yrury.jpg
How big did yours get? It's apparently a hard to find lithophyllon. I only found a few online vendors selling it when I ran across an old thread of yours for MCC.

-Ben-

[Mr Cob]

AHHHHHHHHH man! We scored a nice one through MCC awhile back and I think louie bought it.. I was searching for almost a year for another. Definitely hard to find. Let me know if you ever frag it :) One of my favorite corals. It was a couple inches.

[Big_Pun]

your acro is ****ed and sliming usually get that way from being touched or moved around or just added. also the crab will not annoy it.the spot your worried looks like an old dead spot that is being grown over now. good luck

[clownfishgems]

http://img.tapatalk.com/4245386e-3bba-eae3.jpg

Not too shabby for an iPhone. I love this little guy as much as he love this scubastevo! I'll try to get some more updates going shortly. Thanks again Tuan for the scubastevo frag!!that baby looks fimiliar where'd you get it??

[350gt]

Show off....... Lol

[Scutterborn]

that baby looks fimiliar where'd you get it??

Aquarium designs. Got him about 5-6 months ago.

Rob, this guy is still about 1"x1". I'll keep you in mind when I frag. I'm sure it'll be awhile!

Tony, I had to do it bro!


- Ben -

[Scutterborn]

I really like this guy.

http://img.tapatalk.com/d/13/01/27/besejaga.jpg


-Ben-