Homer's New Tank Diary

clsimons29

Member
Originally Posted by NateP206
:notsure: oh jeez man im sorry.....
p.s. if it still ends up u dont want me to post in here i wont but ill still be following this thread cause youre tank looks like its gunna be pretty amamzing.

Apology accepted. I do not mind if you follow my thread or even if you post, that is why I have created this post is so others can share in my excitement and progress in putting my tank together. That being said I am new to salt but I have been a fish keeper (fresh) for a long time. My wife is a veterinarian and when I set this tank up I attended that AVMA convention in Hawaii and took all the aquatic CE courses they offered and talked with several marine biologist and Vet fish specialist on setting up this tank, I also have an experienced salt water aquarist that helps me with my tank. If I do not know something I will find an answer through these sources or by posting on these boards as I have done many times.
I do like people to give me ideas and what they do but that is not the primary purpose of this posting as I generally create a separate posting when I have an issue.
The tone of your writing is often taken in how you phrase something such as quote "..in the most recent picture of the hippo its obviouse you’ve done some major photoshoping" Yes this sentence made me mad and set the tone for the rest of your post which otherwise could be fairly informative.
Lastly, I have seen many post by the Tang police and people who want there post #s high and I do not care for these people to post and preach at how much they know and spew out huge post to me on what I should do. If you think you have some information that might help me ask a few short questions to me to make sure we understand, I have answered everyone so far, and then if you need to elaborate feel free to share. Anyways I understand now that your intentions where genuine in trying to help and I do appreciate that and we will leave this conversation at that.
 

clsimons29

Member
Originally Posted by theappe
Tank is looking nice! Thats the coolest looking fake coral ive seen!
Thanks, my hippo has fallen in love with the orange coral mid way up and loves to hang out in it. He has also managed to eat all the hair algea growing up by the powerhead! Hasen't touched the algea sheets I put in but at least I know he is eating, He also is a lot less shy and doesn't always head for the rocks on the slightest movement.
 

clsimons29

Member
Originally Posted by NateP206
have youtryed using garlic yet?
I have not tried supplementing anything with garlic yet, though I have read on post that it is good at warding off ick and other bad things. What kind/brand of garlic would you recommend and where to buy?(online)
Also do you know of a good source to order frozen/dehydrated food from?
 

fishieness

Active Member
Originally Posted by clsimons29
Thanks for all the compliments! In answer to Fishieness question, I purchased this tank used and it came with the tank for one and secondly I like how it has turned out my fish love it! I also plan on attaching some live corals to it and the coraline algea is spreading nicely accross it so it won't be "fake" for long. Thanks
ohhh. i see. although it wouldnt personaly be my choice of something to buy, i must admit that that is the best fake-coral overflow ive ever seen. i hate all the super super fake ones that like up and crap. lol
cant wait to see it in a few months :joy:
 

clsimons29

Member
Originally Posted by fishieness
ohhh. i see. ....:joy:
Thank You, the comments about it have defenitly made me feel better about having it. If I had gotten a new tank I prob would not have gotten one either but it does grow on you and saves $$ on LR. I've thought about chopping a few of the fake corals off and attaching LR to it but my fish have grown very fond of them and the coraline algea is growing like crazy on the stuff.
 

fishieness

Active Member
Originally Posted by clsimons29
I have not tried supplementing anything with garlic yet, though I have read on post that it is good at warding off ick and other bad things. What kind/brand of garlic would you recommend and where to buy?(online)
Also do you know of a good source to order frozen/dehydrated food from?
as far as garlic, i use garlic extreme. the stuff is POTENT though. i have it inside the screw-on vile, inside the container it comes in, then in a ziplock back, then in a tupperware continer. ive never had a problem getting my fish to eat however so ive never used it too much. i believe this sight sells it.
 

natep206

Member
i go to a suppliment store and i get about 4 times as much for about 2bucks more and its not as smelly to me it works just as good with the fish. here is the garlic extreme idt this site sells frozen food. but almost every fish store will have it.
nate
 

clsimons29

Member
took about 60 different shots and these were the clearest shots, still have to figure out the camera modes & such, These are under my 2 anctic blue lights only and yes the tank sides are dirty right now have a order coming in to help me with that, got tired of going "diving" everytime I need to clean




 

natep206

Member
wow. the first one looks really natural like you could see exactly that diving somewhere tropical. the rest are great shots of the hippo is that the chromis natrual color or is it the picture ive never seen a yellow one before
nate
 

clsimons29

Member
Originally Posted by NateP206
wow. the first one looks really natural like you could see exactly that diving somewhere tropical. the rest are great shots of the hippo is that the chromis natrual color or is it the picture ive never seen a yellow one before
nate

Thanks for the compliment, The damsel is a blue/Green Chromis the flash made him yellow, though you can kinda see his true color better in the 1st pic.
 

saltn00b

Active Member
for garlic, you could kill a few birds with one stone by making your own food. i just did that for the first time and for 15 bucks i was able to make super fresh seafood salad with all of the goodies for everything in my tank and months and months of stock, too!
you could easily buy 1 fresh garlic and mash up a clove or two into the mix, its your best bet !
 

clsimons29

Member
Well I am at the point that I am going to have to upgrade some of my equipment. I am having a tough time keeping my temp from running up on me from 78 to 82 degrees. I think I am getting it from a combination of my pump motors & my MH lights. Here is what I am running:
1 - 3MDQX Little giant pump for canister filter
1 - 4MDQX little giant pump for sump
2 400W MH lights
2 96W antic blues
2 dual moonlights - will be put in later this week.
I have purchased the coralife dual timer strip and a temp probe & monitor that will come in this week also.
I am going to buy a chiller for the tank looking at between 1/4 -1/3 HP but not really sure which brand is the best value to buy. As you know this tank is in my office so one of my big concerns is that it operates quietly. I like the Current USA prime 1/3 HP inline with the dual controller, heater, and 15W UV sterlizer add ons. I have a price for this unit at $751.50 shipped & new.
Any Comments?
 

saltn00b

Active Member
before spending big money on chiller, see if you can correct it first. try making sure you have a good amount of surface agitation, a good air current running across the top of your tank as well as your sump if you need more. you would be surprised what a fan can do for your temp. also look at your ac ducts for another cool air source.
 

clsimons29

Member
saltn00b said:
before spending big money on chiller....
Well the top of my tank is enclosed, acrylic, it has two openings that have covers over them but I do have a built in fan in my light hood. My sump is under the tank in my stand, might try to put a small fan blowing on it and see what happens. My surface agitation I think is decent see the flow below.
just added a fan blowing on the sump...we will see how it works. I also took one of the top covers off. updated diagram
 

fedukeford

Active Member
if you take the acrylic tops off it would help a TON, and save you lots of $$. It will lower the temp. a few degrees
 

clsimons29

Member
I put the fan on my sump yesterday and opened up the top of my tank and when I got back to my office this afternoon my temp is running at about 75 Degrees with both motors running may have to get heater running now!. I also got my new stuff in today so this temp reading is from my new temp monitor I just put in. Here is all I got in today:
Life guard Big Digital Temp Alert probe
Kent proscraper and mop
2 -XM 10k MH bulbs - 1 came in broke but they are sending a new one
2 - Luner link LED moonlights blue
Double ended Aqualight power center w/timers.
 

clsimons29

Member
Well I used my kent proscraper to clean the tank and man that was worth every penny I paid for it! It got everything cleaned off easily and it was real dirty also did not have to go diving to get the bottom clean :jumping:
I got my new MH bulb in the non-broken one and shows a big difference between the new bulb and the old one still on. I also got the moonlights up and it looks great lite like that but I think I may need to add one more. I also got my timer set up and I'll be running on the following schedule.
7:30am - 8:30 am actic blue PC On 196 watts
8:30am - 3:30 pm MH lights kick on + blues 996 watts
3:30pm - 7:30 pm MH off actic blues only 196 watts
7:30 pm - 7:30 am Moon lights +-6 watts
Gonna be great not having to worry about my light schedule on weekends anymore! I may play with schedule a bit may kick blues off from 11:00am to 1:00pm or better blues off when MH kicks on and turn blues back midday? I also don't have a way of having my actic blues and moonlights off at the same time, will having moonlights on all the time all night create any problems?
 

clsimons29

Member
Couple of Pics with my new bulb in, deff a difference. Also noticed the arrow crab eating one of my blue leg hermits today....I don't know if it was already dead and he was cleaning up or if he killed it and ate it. I have never read of Arrow crabs killing other crabs for food????? :scared:



 
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