The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

[shilala]

That fan is just one single fan. My computer tower had two in the top. I converted it to use dual psu's, so I had to take the back one out.
My RO unit has a single tds meter that shows tds in and out. It's a nice touch. Being that it's mounted in the basement rafters, the hand meters are much more handy.

[shilala]

Lisa and I went to the Frag Swap yesterday, we did real well. We got an 8" two pound Maxima clam for 80 bucks. I couldn't believe it. I picked about eight big hermits last night while I was diving in the tank, that should help keep her alive.
I got a star for my Harlequin Shrimp. The female attacked it before I could even set it on the bottom. They're nuts.
I have to move a lot of rock today and I'd like to buy a little more before I start setting frags. I need to clean out a bunch more xenia and a huge field of polyps. That'll be a pain, but it needs done.
Odd thing happened overnight. My cleaner shrimp and blood shrimp traded homes on opposite ends of the tank. I have no idea why. I moved some stuff, but not enough to disrupt either's home. Apparently I'm wrong about that last part.

[jluck]

Originally Posted by shilala

Lisa and I went to the Frag Swap yesterday, we did real well. We got an 8" two pound Maxima clam for 80 bucks. I couldn't believe it. I picked about eight big hermits last night while I was diving in the tank, that should help keep her alive.
I got a star for my Harlequin Shrimp. The female attacked it before I could even set it on the bottom. They're nuts.
I have to move a lot of rock today and I'd like to buy a little more before I start setting frags. I need to clean out a bunch more xenia and a huge field of polyps. That'll be a pain, but it needs done.
Odd thing happened overnight. My cleaner shrimp and blood shrimp traded homes on opposite ends of the tank. I have no idea why. I moved some stuff, but not enough to disrupt either's home. Apparently I'm wrong about that last part.

Scott...I want to see your clam! Doesen't that sound wrong! I have been slapped for asking people that in the past.
Anyways....let's see some updated pics of these tanks guys.

[shilala]

I'll take some pics when I get things put together.

[Malazan]

I wouldn't mind having a fish tank, but living on a third story apt. might get dicey with the weight

[shilala]

John, they make little biocubes. I know they get down to as low as 12 gallons. There's nothing you can do in a big tank that you can't do in a biocube and they come fully outfitted, ready to go.
They're really very cool and you can find them for a song on Craigslist.

[Chainsaw13]

Damn you Scott, there's a 14gal bio cube in my area for a decent price. Unfortunately I travel too much to get into this hobby. Like you, I'm too anal about this type do thing and could no way trust anyone else to watch it while I'm away.

[Jefft72]

Wow, that is a great price for such a good sized Maxima! Did you feel guilty when you left

Originally Posted by shilala

... 8" two pound Maxima clam for 80 bucks. I couldn't believe it. ....

I consider myself lucky for never buying xenia. I saw what it was capable of in a buddy's tank. I do have Anthellia, but it is isolated on its own rock, however I have found a stalk here and there popping up. It's not nearly as aggressive as xenia though. Good luck on thinning it out.

I made the decision to keep the tank going, but now I need to source T5 parts (endcaps and reflectors) on the secondary market. Those things are just too danged expensive to purchase brand new. Bulbs will be purchased new. I made a new 15g batch of saltwater and will do a water change either today or tomorrow. Next will be cleaning up some of the bubble algae, or I might buy an emerald crab to help out.

[shilala]

Jeff, the guy had a whole bin full. Fortunately we got there early and got the pick of the litter. He sources them all from one place and was going on about getting some black Maxima's. I paid 50-75 for the last two I fed to my hermits.
So far I picked 9 big hermits out and gave them the toilet ride. I'll continue picking them out till they're a distant memory.
I don't have any trouble culling back the xenia, it's easy. I'll be tearing up another giant wad today. I let it grow on top under the splash zone of an over-the-back filter and it scrubs the water. It does a nice job of it.
I picked up another species for the other side so I can fire up that over the back again.

Good luck on sourcing the parts. Before you go crazy, take a look at t5 hoods at Foster and Smith. With all you have to do, you may be able to sell all your parts and come out ahead with a brand new hood and bulbs.

If emerald crabs will clean up that bubble, I'd grab one in a hurry. I'd clean, then do the water change, then get an emerald, in that order.

I'm going to start culling corals right now. I'll get a pic before I start.

[shilala]

Here's a couple pics. I just turned the lights on so stuff is still puckered up. It just had the room light up till a second ago.

[Jefft72]

That is good advice on the cleaning before water change. I will make sure and do that. Need to wash my dirty filter socks also as I have been slacking. I have a fresh one on there now, but it won't take long for it to dirty up.

I have had luck in the past with emerald crabs eradicating bubble algae, but I have also had one that didn't touch it. They are well advertised as eating it, but of course it's not a guarantee. They look cool though and the kids like looking for the crab.

That's a great looking tank! Packed to the gills for sure with coral! Awesome clam too. The wife has been wanting a clam for some time now. Once I get my lighting situation resolved then we will look at picking up a clam or two.

[shilala]

Maybe get a pair of Emeralds, Jeff? They might battle it out. Once they clean house you can always get rid of them, or just keep one. I never see them after they're in the tank.

I try to make my tank look just like a natural coral wall in the ocean so that I can appreciate it. It's like diving every day at my desk.

I just picked up some more rock so I can finish up what I want to do with the tank. I'm going to start culling back xenia and polyps right now. It'll keep me busy for a few hours, at least.

[Blak Smyth]

Looks awesome Scott!!!

[Jefft72]

Yea, I plan to get a pair of emeralds and if they both stick around then that is great. There should be plenty of room for both in there.

We have scaped our rock work to have a more open feel to it with the hopes that one day there will be plenty of SPS filling the space along with swimming space for fish.

I can't dive as much as I would like, so the tank does offer a nice escape. We picked up a 14g biocube over xmas to setup in the kids' room. I found a leak when I set it up initially and still need to correct that. It will be a softy tank with 1 or 2 fish and inverts. As long as they can keep their hands and other objects out of the tank it should all be good.

[shilala]

I'd be more afraid of them leaving it standing upright.
My kids could screw up an anvil with a rubber mallet.

[Malazan]

Originally Posted by shilala

John, they make little biocubes. I know they get down to as low as 12 gallons. There's nothing you can do in a big tank that you can't do in a biocube and they come fully outfitted, ready to go.
They're really very cool and you can find them for a song on Craigslist.

What is a good place to check those out? Other than Craigslist. Are there any good Online dealers?

[Jefft72]

John, Several online dealers that are well established are MarineDepot and drsfostersmith.

You can search online for pricing to compare, but if you can get into a store to check one out that would be even better just so you can get eyes on it if you are new to biocubes or aquariums in general.

Depending on your location finding a local fish store would be beneficial so that you can discuss with them what you are looking to do. They can give you guidance and if they are good they won't try to sell you everything in the store (I know this that 'good' is hard to judge without having some history).

[Wolfgang]

Im finally drawing up my new tank. I just started working for a custom acrylic tank manufacturer so the sky is the limit now. Ill hopefully get something drawn up in the next couple weeks. WOO!

[Jefft72]

Wolfgang,
Good luck with the project! Sounds like a great opportunity to get in on designing and building your own aquarium. Not to mention all the other cool stuff that you can build working in an acrylic shop (frag racks, refugium, sump, etc).

Originally Posted by Wolfgang

Im finally drawing up my new tank. I just started working for a custom acrylic tank manufacturer so the sky is the limit now. Ill hopefully get something drawn up in the next couple weeks. WOO!

[Jefft72]

On a positive note, I have made the commitment to keep our reef tank and have already procured 8 48" T5 reflectors along with a couple more Icecap 660 ballasts to run the whole get up. Maybe this weekend I can build an aluminum frame assembly to mount all the lights. I still need to buy endcaps and bulbs before I get to wire it all up.

Since my last water change my corals definitely seem like they have a bit more life in them with apparent growth around the rims of the hard plating corals and new branch buds on the branching type corals.