Building my 56 gallon Column reef tank

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/160#post_3314035
You probably only want the bottom of the skimmer cup to touch the very top of the water in the skimmer (man I SUCK at explaining)
otherwise it will skim too wet
Quotes work for me just fine so nya nya!
Right now, because it is soo new, nothing is making it into the cup. Once it gets "broken-in" I am sure I will have to adjust the skimmer cup.

 

[meowzer]

Why won't they work for me

YEAH...just watch it, remember you want foam in the tube...not water
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314045
Quotes work for me just fine so nya nya!
Right now, because it is soo new, nothing is making it into the cup. Once it gets "broken-in" I am sure I will have to adjust the skimmer cup.

 

[2quills]

Nice skimmer, man!
I believe a key thing to remember with those particular skimmers is to clean the cylinder out weekly in order for it to perform effectively. Once they get a little build up going on inside the cylinder is has a tendancy to cause the bubbles to pop prematurely. So the cleaner the better as far as that goes. Just a little FYI.
Congrats btw, the set up is coming together nicely.

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by 2Quills http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314080
Nice skimmer, man!
I believe a key thing to remember with those particular skimmers is to clean the cylinder out weekly in order for it to perform effectively. Once they get a little build up going on inside the cylinder is has a tendancy to cause the bubbles to pop prematurely. So the cleaner the better as far as that goes. Just a little FYI.
Congrats btw, the set up is coming together nicely.
I read that in the instructions and they were nice enough to include a brush to do that with. Cant wait for some purchased inhabitants to get into the tank. I have all the gear, just waiting on the water.

 

[monsinour]

Water test for this evening
80 Degrees F
SG 1.024
pH 8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Going to be spending some time looking at the tank this evening to see if I can catch some more hitchhikers.

 

[monsinour]

Spotted the crab i was looking for last night. couldnt photo him so I also could not catch him.
This mornings water tests
80.1 Degrees F
SG 1.024
pH 7.8
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5
Gotta find a way to get that crab out of there.

 

[meowzer]

Is it a specific rock it hangs out in? Is there anyway to remove that rock??

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by meowzer http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314268
Is it a specific rock it hangs out in? Is there anyway to remove that rock??
It hangs out in the big, beautiful, 15 pound rock. It, of course, is the rock with all the coral + feather dusters + algea + other stuffs all over it. I could make up some water and place the rock in the tote, but I would not have a way to heat the water.

 

[meowzer]

HMMM....I think you may be able to freshwater dip it for a few minutes w/o hurting the other stuff....the crab should climb out

 

[florida joe]

I am going to disagree with the beautiful Meozer on this one, the thickness of the spines and number make me believe it may be a pencil urchin, if so it is NOT reef safe

 

[meowzer]

GRRR...I still can not post under the quote

ANYWAY....Joe is far more older and wise than I am on this stuff.....well OLDER anyways

Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314278
I am going to disagree with the beautiful Meozer on this one, the thickness of the spines and number make me believe it may be a pencil urchin, if so it is NOT reef safe

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by florida joe http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314278
I am going to disagree with the beautiful Meozer on this one, the thickness of the spines and number make me believe it may be a pencil urchin, if so it is NOT reef safe
Pardon me, but does this belong in a different thread? what is a pencil urchin and is this in reference to anything I have? I am lost now.

 

[meowzer]

Your urchin I.D. on page #1.....Joe thinks it's a pencil urchin...not a purple like I originally said
Quote:
Originally Posted by Monsinour http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314281
Pardon me, but does this belong in a different thread? what is a pencil urchin and is this in reference to anything I have? I am lost now.

 

[btldreef]

I can't believe I'm going to say this, but Joe, I actually disagree with you. I actually own one of these urchins. It came as a hitchhiker on my live rock as well and I've had it since it was very tiny. I think Meowzer is correct. I believe it's a purple rock urchin.

 

[monsinour]

Well, there are 4 of them in the tank and they havent harmed a thing in there yet. Not even the algea that is growing on everything. The diatoms have now sprouted green grass on the tank walls and on the sand bed. My daughter and I are going to be cleaning the glass today when she gets home from school. I have noticed that they have grown and the big one cant get into some of the spots it used to go.

 

[btldreef]

How big are they now? Don't let the size of them fool you. Mine is about the size of a baseball and I'm amazed at the places it squeezes itself into.

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314292
How big are they now? Don't let the size of them fool you. Mine is about the size of a baseball and I'm amazed at the places it squeezes itself into.
When I turn off the lights and they come out to the top of the rocks, I will take a pic and post it. I would imagine that in the 2 weeks since they have been here, they have grown about 1/8th to 1/6th" in size. The big one used to squeeze itself into a small hole in the rock but now he just sits ontop of that hole.

 

[btldreef]

I'm still inclined to believe that they are Purple Urchins (Rock Boring Urchins) more so than baby Pencil Urchins. Do you happen to know where you rock is from?

 

[meowzer]

WELL I Have a pencil urchin AND a purple urchin....to me it looked more like my purple one
My pencil urchin is banished to the refugium for eating a kenya tree....and trying to eat a mushroom....I wasn't risking anything else
The purple urchin is quite large, but is also a model citizen....I also am amazed at how it squeezes thru tiny places and never disturbs anything

 

[monsinour]

Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/380344/building-my-56-gallon-column-reef-tank/180#post_3314299
I'm still inclined to believe that they are Purple Urchins (Rock Boring Urchins) more so than baby Pencil Urchins. Do you happen to know where you rock is from?
Florida somewhere. All the research of all the things on it say it is from that area and the LFS said it was florida rock.