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Anonymous
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I like what you've done with the 'scaping. It's given you plenty of horizontal variation as well as vertical. I see what you mean about the rock though. OK, but nothing special.
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Anonymous
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When you stop to think that this is what I cherry picked out of a total of 52 pounds of rock from two different regions (at $5 and $6.50 a pound, respectively) and bought from two different vendors.... yeah. It's sure not the rock I used to get in Los Angeles in the '90s, that's for sure.
The two rocks on top, in the back, are from the southeast asian rock shipment from Pacific East. The two rocks on the bottom are the premium fiji from liveaquaria. The southeast asian rock has coralline but nothing else that I've been able to find, whereas the fiji has... mud. I haven't seen so much as a copepod from either. It's dry rock for me from now on, and I'll add in the microfauna from other sources. It's looking like I'm going to have to do that for this batch as it is.
The aquascaping isn't quite what I had in mind, but it's reasonable close. I'd intended on using maybe 25% less rock but couldn't due to the sizes of what I received. I'm also not happy with the one small rock island in the right front, but didn't have any better piece of rock to use for it. When I start buying coral if I can find something attached to a decent rock it may end up replacing that rock entirely.
Still, it's given me a scape I can work with.
The two rocks on top, in the back, are from the southeast asian rock shipment from Pacific East. The two rocks on the bottom are the premium fiji from liveaquaria. The southeast asian rock has coralline but nothing else that I've been able to find, whereas the fiji has... mud. I haven't seen so much as a copepod from either. It's dry rock for me from now on, and I'll add in the microfauna from other sources. It's looking like I'm going to have to do that for this batch as it is.
The aquascaping isn't quite what I had in mind, but it's reasonable close. I'd intended on using maybe 25% less rock but couldn't due to the sizes of what I received. I'm also not happy with the one small rock island in the right front, but didn't have any better piece of rock to use for it. When I start buying coral if I can find something attached to a decent rock it may end up replacing that rock entirely.
Still, it's given me a scape I can work with.
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Anonymous
Guest
Two small hardware updates....
The Elos Moonlight I ordered back at the very beginning of June arrived. It's interesting, here's a pic...
It's only about a quarter inch thick, and mounts under the E-Lite via double sided tape. It's adjustable, by using a screwdriver to turn a dial on the power supply you can turn the intensity up or down. Even at it's brightest, the tank is pretty dark... but in a good way. The adjustability was unexpected but welcome. I'd photograph the tank with just the moonlight on, but honestly I'm not sure it'll show up very well in a pic. Will try sometime, though.
Next, I finally got my Elos osmocontroller set up. Just as a point of interest for anyone who buys one in the future, the black plastic tubing and u-tube that comes as part of the $20 Tom's Aquatics Mini Rapids Canister filter fit the osmocontroller pump perfectly. It's an odd european size, so can be a pain to find tubing that fits without ordering it direct from Elos. Anyway, the osmocontroller is equal parts frustrating and neat, and it's both of those things because it has to be programmed by holding/pressing/releasing (in specific ways) the one single button on it, with it providing a series of beeps as feedback. It's only got one sensor. When the float on that sensor is down, the pump turns on for a pre-programmed number of seconds... 20 being the factory default, and it only taking 14 to completely empty the top off reservoir that's built in to the sump. I have it reprogrammed now to only pump for four second when it comes on, which seems plenty for this size tank. Part of what makes it neat and frustrating is how it deals with only having one sensor... it stops and beeps. It stops and beeps if the pump clogs, if the reservoir empties, if one cycle of pumping isn't enough to raise the float to the closed position, and whenever a new Pope is chosen*. It makes it pretty much proof against ever pumping too much water accidentally.
(*possibly not that last, the instructions weren't entirely clear.)
Now it's just waiting-for-the-rock-to-cure time.
The Elos Moonlight I ordered back at the very beginning of June arrived. It's interesting, here's a pic...
It's only about a quarter inch thick, and mounts under the E-Lite via double sided tape. It's adjustable, by using a screwdriver to turn a dial on the power supply you can turn the intensity up or down. Even at it's brightest, the tank is pretty dark... but in a good way. The adjustability was unexpected but welcome. I'd photograph the tank with just the moonlight on, but honestly I'm not sure it'll show up very well in a pic. Will try sometime, though.
Next, I finally got my Elos osmocontroller set up. Just as a point of interest for anyone who buys one in the future, the black plastic tubing and u-tube that comes as part of the $20 Tom's Aquatics Mini Rapids Canister filter fit the osmocontroller pump perfectly. It's an odd european size, so can be a pain to find tubing that fits without ordering it direct from Elos. Anyway, the osmocontroller is equal parts frustrating and neat, and it's both of those things because it has to be programmed by holding/pressing/releasing (in specific ways) the one single button on it, with it providing a series of beeps as feedback. It's only got one sensor. When the float on that sensor is down, the pump turns on for a pre-programmed number of seconds... 20 being the factory default, and it only taking 14 to completely empty the top off reservoir that's built in to the sump. I have it reprogrammed now to only pump for four second when it comes on, which seems plenty for this size tank. Part of what makes it neat and frustrating is how it deals with only having one sensor... it stops and beeps. It stops and beeps if the pump clogs, if the reservoir empties, if one cycle of pumping isn't enough to raise the float to the closed position, and whenever a new Pope is chosen*. It makes it pretty much proof against ever pumping too much water accidentally.
(*possibly not that last, the instructions weren't entirely clear.)
Now it's just waiting-for-the-rock-to-cure time.
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Anonymous
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That moonlight is sharp!
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Anonymous
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So I think I've just about decided the NS100 skimmer is going to have to go. It does skim, but it's so finicky to adjust I'm rapidly getting fed up with it. I can get it to skim incredibly dry - so dry only foam makes it into the collection cup, but not much of it. Or I can get it to skim incredibly wet - lots of water in the collection cup, skimmate that's a very, very light tea color. What I can't seem to do is get it to skim somewhere in the middle of the two extremes. In just the couple weeks it's been running I've also had to clean the air injection tubing twice, because for some reason salt creep accumulates inside the tubing and really negatively impacts skimmer performance.
The problem with replacing it is that hardly any sump skimmers will fit in the elos mini sump, without removing some of the glass partitions in the sump which I don't want to do. The main chamber of the sump is just 10" x 6", and the return pump has to fit in that space as well. To further complicate things, the cabinet won't accomodate a skimmer taller than say 19" or so.
So just kind of talking out loud here about what options I've got...
A tunze 9002 can be made to work in one of the partitioned chambers, but only if: 1)You raise the water level of the sump up past the drain bulkhead of that chamber, and 2)You remove the plastic rim from the top of the sump. Have to remove the rim in order to remove the collection cup of the skimmer. I'm not so thrilled with either of these requirements. Another way to make it work would be to have an acrylic box made - a sump within the sump - that the 9002 could sit in, with the correct water level. Probably would run the overflow from the tank into that box as well and obviate the use of a seperate feed pump.
The tunze 9006 is designed to work in-tank and requires a constant immersion depth of around 10", so that's out. A seperate kit can be bought to convert it to use in-sump, but when you add in the cost of it it's the same price as....
A tunze 9011. Configured to run in the sump, it would fit just fine in the main sump chamber. It's only drawback is it's price, at close to $400. I wouldn't mind that so much, but it's also completely overkill for this tank.
The Deltec MC500 in-sump skimmer is supposed to fit (just barely), but it's $500 and again completely overkill.
The CPR SR-3 would fit, but it's just an in-sump version of the bakpak and not exactly my first choice.
I'm not aware of any other model that would fit in the space I've got.
The problem with replacing it is that hardly any sump skimmers will fit in the elos mini sump, without removing some of the glass partitions in the sump which I don't want to do. The main chamber of the sump is just 10" x 6", and the return pump has to fit in that space as well. To further complicate things, the cabinet won't accomodate a skimmer taller than say 19" or so.
So just kind of talking out loud here about what options I've got...
A tunze 9002 can be made to work in one of the partitioned chambers, but only if: 1)You raise the water level of the sump up past the drain bulkhead of that chamber, and 2)You remove the plastic rim from the top of the sump. Have to remove the rim in order to remove the collection cup of the skimmer. I'm not so thrilled with either of these requirements. Another way to make it work would be to have an acrylic box made - a sump within the sump - that the 9002 could sit in, with the correct water level. Probably would run the overflow from the tank into that box as well and obviate the use of a seperate feed pump.
The tunze 9006 is designed to work in-tank and requires a constant immersion depth of around 10", so that's out. A seperate kit can be bought to convert it to use in-sump, but when you add in the cost of it it's the same price as....
A tunze 9011. Configured to run in the sump, it would fit just fine in the main sump chamber. It's only drawback is it's price, at close to $400. I wouldn't mind that so much, but it's also completely overkill for this tank.
The Deltec MC500 in-sump skimmer is supposed to fit (just barely), but it's $500 and again completely overkill.
The CPR SR-3 would fit, but it's just an in-sump version of the bakpak and not exactly my first choice.
I'm not aware of any other model that would fit in the space I've got.
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Anonymous
Guest
It's a 20 gallon tank.
Can you be satisfied w/ what you have and do a bit more frequent of a water changes?
Also - Can you increase the bore of where the air injection tubing connects? Maybe that would cut down on the salt accumulation.
Can you be satisfied w/ what you have and do a bit more frequent of a water changes?
Also - Can you increase the bore of where the air injection tubing connects? Maybe that would cut down on the salt accumulation.
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Anonymous
Guest
I hate skimmers that won't adjust properly (not that I've really had one, but I hate the idea - what's the point of spending so much money on something you have to spend hours fiddling with to get it to work?). Have you done forum searches for similar problems/possible mods?
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Anonymous
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browncj7":czogise3 said:
Not really, on both questions. On the first part, the skimmer does skim adequetely enough. But having to adjust it's settings daily is not something I want to be doing for the lifetime of the tank, y'know? Especially when 'adequete' is the best description of it's skimming ability. I've definitely owned worse skimmers and I can live with it til I figure out and get around to replacing it, but my patience for it is limited.
On the second part, the problem is acknowledged by Elos to the point that they've introduced a device to hook the air injector up to their auto-topoff device, so that whenever it adds water to the tank some is rerouted through the air injection tubing to wash away the salt creep build up. I hate the idea; it's yet another piece of equipment to buy and have cluttering up the sump.
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The Escaped Ape":2wlzqnpj said:
Yeah, see above for the ATO-rerouting thingy info. Elos is actually in the midst of redesigning the skimmer completely and you'll be able to buy the new version with their tanks within a few months (this was announced at interzoo a few weeks back), but it doesn't help me much
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Anonymous
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I did some more looking around this morning and found a couple of dealers selling two skimmers that look that they'd be good fits. The ASM Mini-G ($120, 7.5" x 5.5" footprint) and the Eshopps PSK75 ($95, 9" x 4" footprint). Both are needle wheel skimmers. I'll do some reading up on'em.
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Anonymous
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I've never even seen one in action, but I'm pretty sure I've seen reviews from some pretty happy customers on the internet with the Eshopps range.
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Anonymous
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If I end up going for a tunze 9002, here's a simple rendering of the box I'd have built to put it in, inside the sump, to provide a constant water level...
I'd run the drain line from the tank into the right hand side, put the skimmer on the left. Only thing I'm not sure of is whether the simple bulkhead-and-elbow drain on the upper left will work okay. I just don't have much experience with plumbing. 1" bulkhead, elbow and vinyl tubing... think that'd work?
I'd run the drain line from the tank into the right hand side, put the skimmer on the left. Only thing I'm not sure of is whether the simple bulkhead-and-elbow drain on the upper left will work okay. I just don't have much experience with plumbing. 1" bulkhead, elbow and vinyl tubing... think that'd work?
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Anonymous
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I think I've solved my skimmer dilemma...
The Bubble-Magus NAC3.5 Cone Skimmer. It's a meshwheel pump, bubble plate & cone with dimensions of just 4.5" x 6.6" x 17.1". I might have to raise the water depth in my sump a bit (supposedly 6" depth is the minimum, but preferred is 7"-10") but other than that I can just drop it in. It's also available at the very reasonable price of $179. Going away on vacation for a week in another couple days, but I think I'll pick me up one of these when I get back.
The Bubble-Magus NAC3.5 Cone Skimmer. It's a meshwheel pump, bubble plate & cone with dimensions of just 4.5" x 6.6" x 17.1". I might have to raise the water depth in my sump a bit (supposedly 6" depth is the minimum, but preferred is 7"-10") but other than that I can just drop it in. It's also available at the very reasonable price of $179. Going away on vacation for a week in another couple days, but I think I'll pick me up one of these when I get back.
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Anonymous
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I like it 8)
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Anonymous
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Me too. I have a friend in Delhi who has a BM and loves it.
Actually he's my one and only non-internet fish friend and about to move back to Japan. 8)
Actually he's my one and only non-internet fish friend and about to move back to Japan. 8)
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Anonymous
Guest
Mini-Update: Got back from vacation and went to order the bubble magus skimmer only to find out the only american vendor of it I could find (Nuocean) has sold out of their stock. Will have to look around for it.
First batch of rock has been in the tank for five weeks, second batch for four. Turned the lights on for the first time during the curing process the other day and now I'm seeing the usual diatom bloom. Will probably add a clean up crew (astrea, nassarius, a hermit or two) later this week.
First batch of rock has been in the tank for five weeks, second batch for four. Turned the lights on for the first time during the curing process the other day and now I'm seeing the usual diatom bloom. Will probably add a clean up crew (astrea, nassarius, a hermit or two) later this week.
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Anonymous
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That's actually one of the major reasons I didn't go for the Bubble Magus in the end - limited number of suppliers. None of the US vendors I was considering ordering from stocked it and I needed to order everything from one vendor to save on delivery costs. Still, my friend was raving about it, so I hope it turns out to work well for you when you get it.
Hows the irritating Elos skimmer? Still giving you enough headaches for you to hold firm to the new skimmer plan?
Hows the irritating Elos skimmer? Still giving you enough headaches for you to hold firm to the new skimmer plan?
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Anonymous
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The Escaped Ape":pnfuhp96 said:
Yeah, coming back from vacation and seeing that it only collected a quarter inch of skimmate while running on a tank full of curing live rock for a week cinched it for me. To be fair there was a lot of gunk on the neck collected during that time, but I kinda expect at least some to actually make it into the cup, y'know?
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Anonymous
Guest
I can see that. Though the Octopus I bought has yet to settle either, though that's said to just be part of the breaking in period. It started by producing seriously too many bubbles, so I had to leave the rubber plug for the drain out, otherwise the cup would have overflowed (nothing seriously funky being pulled out, so it wasn't a big issue), but now it's struggling to reach the top. I think it will take some adjustment, again and again, until it's just right.
Was your rock pretty stinky when you got it? I'd have hoped that rock without life was at least fully cured. Mine smelled fresh when I got it and what the skimmer is pulling out now is so pale it's virtually white. I assume because it had such a short journey to reach me and had probably been pulled straight out of a well-skimmed holding tank just before being packed and sent.
Was your rock pretty stinky when you got it? I'd have hoped that rock without life was at least fully cured. Mine smelled fresh when I got it and what the skimmer is pulling out now is so pale it's virtually white. I assume because it had such a short journey to reach me and had probably been pulled straight out of a well-skimmed holding tank just before being packed and sent.
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Anonymous
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The Escaped Ape":efbdc9iv said:
That's one reason I love the larger tunze skimmers... totally set and forget
Probably so. Mine smelled pretty fresh, all in all, but the second batch (the "ultra premium" fiji from liveaquaria) had a significant amount of mud on it that had to be loaded with organics. I've been siphoning it from my substrate as it sheds, but since I left the lights off for the past month there hasn't been any algae absorbing the nutrients so the skimmer should have been having a field day. Since I turned the lights on a few days ago I've gotten a huge diatom bloom (expected) and a bit of hair algae on the glass (not on the rocks though, which is a blessing). So there's definitely nutrients in the tank. Ammonia and nitrites test at zero, but the nitrate kit I thought I still had I haven't been able to find so I haven't been able to check that yet.
I went ahead and placed an order with Blue Zoo Aquatics yesterday.... 12 astrea snails, 5 tongan nassarius snails and 2 zebra hermits for the clean up crew. With a larger tank I would've used a holothuria edulis cuke for the sandbed, but this tank is too small for one so I went with the nassarius. Also five tiny Sexy Shrimp; I figure with just tiny trimma gobies and redspot cardinals for eventual tank mates they shouldn't have to worry about predation and I've always wanted to keep some. Delivery should be either thursday or friday, depending on how quickly they get it out the door.
I'm starting to think this tank is really going to be a mostly-all xeniid tank; there are species of sympodium, sansibia and (very likely misidentified) efflatounaria showing up in the trade right now that'll definitely make their way into this tank if I can get a hold of them. Everyone forgets xeniids are more than just xenia
See below for some pics...Attachments
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