Shooter000
HomeGrownFrags
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
- Location
- Alvinston, Ontario
Sexy..
Quartapound's 45g Cube Reef
- Thread starter Quartapound
- Start date
Kyle1970
Member
- Joined
- Nov 16, 2014
- Location
- Ayr, Ontario
It really is amazing what you've done in a somewhat small tank.
Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
Came home from the cottage to find some Fish Jerky 
Longnose Hawkfish had actually landed inside my lunch pail that was next to the tank.
I know they're jumpers and I don't have a screen top (nor do I want one), so I was taking a risk.
Positive side is there's now room for one more fish lol, not sure what I'll replace him with yet.
Longnose Hawkfish had actually landed inside my lunch pail that was next to the tank.I know they're jumpers and I don't have a screen top (nor do I want one), so I was taking a risk.
Positive side is there's now room for one more fish lol, not sure what I'll replace him with yet.
Shooter000
HomeGrownFrags
- Joined
- Jan 19, 2015
- Location
- Alvinston, Ontario
A falcos hawk fish just short nose this time, a lot less likely to jump than the long nose, but not as flashy with the shorter nose
Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
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Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
Well I finally swapped out the 20G sump I'd been using for the past 6 years to a huge 50G!
I also upgraded to a DC return pump, I chose the DCP 8000 (was a mag 9 before). got it running at 75%, with more flow to my frag tank and display tank, as well as powering my GFO reactor.... and dealing with a few more feet of head pressure (I lowered the sump as well).
Happy with the return so far, time will tell though.
I have a huge area to grow my chaeto ball now. just need to buy some black plastic binders from the dollar store to blackout that section of the tank to limit the algae growth.
I'm also considering an algae turf scrubber built into the "waterfall" section just after the chaeto section.
okay, now here's the stuff you're waiting for (the pics)
I also upgraded to a DC return pump, I chose the DCP 8000 (was a mag 9 before). got it running at 75%, with more flow to my frag tank and display tank, as well as powering my GFO reactor.... and dealing with a few more feet of head pressure (I lowered the sump as well).
Happy with the return so far, time will tell though.
I have a huge area to grow my chaeto ball now. just need to buy some black plastic binders from the dollar store to blackout that section of the tank to limit the algae growth.
I'm also considering an algae turf scrubber built into the "waterfall" section just after the chaeto section.
okay, now here's the stuff you're waiting for (the pics)
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We all know I love these pumps. The only frustrating part is if/when they die unexpected. I would suggest grabbing up a back up when you are able to. Even then, you would have spent less then a 'higher' end pump. My DC12000 lasted about 3 years or more, I did have a back up on hand though; so when it died randomly and unexpectedly, I just dropped the other one in and was rocking with 0 headache. Speaking of that, I need to get a back up again.
Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
Been looking at the impact of the new larger sump and return pump on apex temp and noticed positive improvement.
I have the Apex temp probe in the display tank, there's a remote sump and frag tank in the basement. the heaters are in the sump and controlled by the apex.
I was getting temperature increase during lights on as shown in the first pic.
Old sump
New Sump
as you can see the temperature spike is much better. when I added the larger sump I also added a second 200W heater. I was running the system with a single 200w heater with the smaller sump...
I'm getting a strange temp drop at 9:30pm. I don't know why... lights turn off at 10pm. strange
I have the Apex temp probe in the display tank, there's a remote sump and frag tank in the basement. the heaters are in the sump and controlled by the apex.
I was getting temperature increase during lights on as shown in the first pic.
Old sump
New Sump
as you can see the temperature spike is much better. when I added the larger sump I also added a second 200W heater. I was running the system with a single 200w heater with the smaller sump...
I'm getting a strange temp drop at 9:30pm. I don't know why... lights turn off at 10pm. strange
Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
Well... It's starting to get cold out and that means I'll turn my attention back to the tank again soon. It's been doing very well despite a few months of neglect while my "new" summertime hobby consumed me (salmon fishing). I'll see if I can get a new FTS posted soon. There's been lots of overgrowing/warfare going on in the tank.
In the meantime, enjoy this quick 'snapshot' of what's been keeping me away from my tank all summer!
In the meantime, enjoy this quick 'snapshot' of what's been keeping me away from my tank all summer!
Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
Still no pics yet but they're coming soon. here's another update.
I've been battling cyano for awhile now. it's been a losing battle. reduced feedings, heavy skimming, frequent high volume water changes, lots of manual removal.... nothing.
then... I read about a product called Chemi-Clean
it's very well reviewed, and as long as you follow directions, seems to have no ill effects on any inhabitants of a well established reef tank (other than the cyano).
Sooo... I gave it a shot.
This stuff works incredibly quickly. Within 24 hours ALL of the cyano went from a healthy green to a dark brown, and you could see it starting to break apart.
Your skimmer will go absolutely insane. I lifted mine almost 6 inches above normal height and opened it completely, removed the skimmer cup, and let it overflow, which it did for 48 hours.
They recommend a 20% waterchange after 48 hours, which I did, starting by reattaching the skimmer cup and letting it overflow, removing a lot of "junk" in the process. after the skimmer overflowed a few gallons, it returned to normal operation, and I completed the waterchange, removing as much of the dying cyano as I could.
The tank doesn't have a trace of cyano left in it, after about 60 hours, and one decent waterchange. It's absolutely incredible. No negative effects on any of the corals (SPS and LPS) or tank inhabitants. Before the treatment my chaeto ball would constantly float because of the cyano and methane growing inside it... I'd have to pin it to the bottom of the sump. after treatment, it's on the bottom of the tank, no longer floating.
We'll see if it returns, and if so how long it takes. I'm very impressed with this product though!
I've been battling cyano for awhile now. it's been a losing battle. reduced feedings, heavy skimming, frequent high volume water changes, lots of manual removal.... nothing.
then... I read about a product called Chemi-Clean
it's very well reviewed, and as long as you follow directions, seems to have no ill effects on any inhabitants of a well established reef tank (other than the cyano).
Sooo... I gave it a shot.
This stuff works incredibly quickly. Within 24 hours ALL of the cyano went from a healthy green to a dark brown, and you could see it starting to break apart.
Your skimmer will go absolutely insane. I lifted mine almost 6 inches above normal height and opened it completely, removed the skimmer cup, and let it overflow, which it did for 48 hours.
They recommend a 20% waterchange after 48 hours, which I did, starting by reattaching the skimmer cup and letting it overflow, removing a lot of "junk" in the process. after the skimmer overflowed a few gallons, it returned to normal operation, and I completed the waterchange, removing as much of the dying cyano as I could.
The tank doesn't have a trace of cyano left in it, after about 60 hours, and one decent waterchange. It's absolutely incredible. No negative effects on any of the corals (SPS and LPS) or tank inhabitants. Before the treatment my chaeto ball would constantly float because of the cyano and methane growing inside it... I'd have to pin it to the bottom of the sump. after treatment, it's on the bottom of the tank, no longer floating.
We'll see if it returns, and if so how long it takes. I'm very impressed with this product though!
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I agree. This stuff is great. I would recommend getting a bottle of bacteria though. This kills cyano, which is a bacteria, and it kills some good bacteria as well.
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Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
That's correct. You need to calculate the total system water volume. This means you should also try and estimate how much space your rock takes up and subtract that from your total too.
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shamous113
Active Member
- Joined
- Dec 11, 2015
- Location
- Stratford
Here is a handy calculator to help you it includes rock and sand volume in the calculations http://reef.diesyst.com/volcalc/volcalc.html
Quartapound
Active Member
- Joined
- Oct 16, 2011
- Location
- Kitchener, Ontario
Okay Here's the latest FTS (taken a few minutes ago)... as I said the tank has been somewhat neglected and I've just let things grow/fight/kill throughout the summer. My dosing tanks ran dry sometime around July probably... I'm slowly getting the numbers back to where they should be. test at beginning of the week was 305 CA 5.7 Alk 1120 Mag ... but... no more cyano!!!!! (now to deal with the bubble algae, sigh)
... but... no more cyano!!!!! (now to deal with the bubble algae, sigh)