Novahobbies' 37g Seahorse Tank Journal

[novahobbies]

Wow, I'm really impressed with the Tunze skimmer. It took a few days to break in, but now it's producing a good dark skim and almost zero bubbles.
Of course I wound up paying too much for it. Seems Marine Depot chose THIS week to put the bloody thing on sale! LOL figures.
The tank has had a funny couple of weeks. I chose to skip WC last weekend, and I've had a lot of glass algae this week. Nutrient problem of some kind, as the macroalgae is also exploding. Does anyone know how many nutrients (if any at all) are released into a tank when a soft coral sloughs its cuticle? The kenya did that this week....

 

[meowzer]

Good to know....I am always looking for better skimmers....LOL...How are the bubbles doing???? Have they gone away?

 

[novahobbies]

Almost zero. Just a few now and then, and I don't expect that to be a problem for long with the rate it's going.

 

[novahobbies]

Wow, it's really raining cats and dogs over here right now.
I just thought you should know.
That is all.

 

[novahobbies]

I'm getting closer and closer to the first half of our moving "fun." We're going to a temp place for 1 to 3 months (depends on how long it takes to close on the townhouse), then we get to do the final move when we close. Yikes. I have to break down and move my seahorse tank in just 6 days!!!
I'm officially starting to freak out about it.
The main rock frame has turned into a little coral garden, and many of the frags have overgrown and fused onto the rock column. Which means I am going to have to find SOME way of transporting the whole thing submerged Any frags that can be popped off the column, will be, and those will be transported in a styrofoam cooler with a few inches of water. The horse and the fish will be transported in bags to reduce their mobility and stress level. That is, I hope. I'll need another bag full of the large sponge to keep it from getting air, too.
Speaking of fish. I broke down the little 12g tank my mum in law was keeping in her bedroom with the ocellaris clown and the female mandarin. The clown got returned to the store, and the female mandarin has at long last been reunited in my horse tank with her mate. They're already back to the follow-the-leader routine....the little girl follows her man around everywhere he goes. Both mandarins eat pellets, and the male eats frozen as well so I don't expect there to be any issues with the extra bioload the female will produce. I just couldn't bear to part with her...she's been with me for a long time! She was the mandarin that lived with my H. reidis in this tank back when I started it, then she moved in to the 110 and bonded with the male in there. I think I've had her about 3 years now, give or take.
Sigh. Now would be the perfect time for someone to say they've invented the transporter. I could just beam it -- coral, fish, water and all -- right into the new living room!

 

[flower]

I don't see any way you can transport your rock work without dismantling it.

Can’t you get an extension on where you are living now? When I sold my house we had to pay rent to the new owners but we could extend the move out date....Just explain you have no place to go yet.

I would not want to move my tanks so many times. Once to the new home would be all I could stand. It would be a bummer for the new buyers and no doubt the rent would be ridicules, but considering the money to rent a truck two times, the hassle to move the tank and your personal stuff, then the security $$$ on a temp place....I would consider it.

 

[teresaq]

What about a lrg cooler- lay it on its side if you can or say a kitchen trash can, I know it would heavy.
Is this the same town house you were trying for before?? I hope it doesnt take them too long to get things settled. I know what its like. when we built this house, we sold our old one, and this one wasnt done. We had to rent a house for 2 months. I had temp tanks, buckets and tubs everywhere.

 

[novahobbies]

Flower, I'm glad to say that part of the moving process has been made easier with the use of a PackRat pod. All my crap is (or will be...) stuffed into a 10x10x16 foot crate that's sitting on my driveway right now. When I'm ready, I'll just have them pick it up and store it....then they deliver it to the new place when I'm ready. Fish, dog, bird, and cat will come with us to the vacation rental that we'll be in for $1500.00 a month. Yikes.
We checked with the new owners, but they're a young couple who are eager to move in...they're unwilling to wait. I could push back and get into a legal hassle with it, but it's just not worth my time or energy. Such is life, ya know? And you're right about the multiple moves....I'm SURE it's not going to be good for the tank. :-(
Teresa, you and I are on the same page. I'm thinking a nice rubbermaid cooler....maybe I only need the two front legs submerged, and I can keep the back leg wet with damp towels while I'm transporting it.

 

[teresaq]

what about one of those round tubs like I used for my babies. The 10 gal one is about 14 inch tall and about 14 inches across the bottom. it was about 6 bucks. They also come in a 20 gal.

 

[meowzer]

uGH....I'm telling you.....the next place I move to I will be in a coffin.....
So much work...I don't think I could do it...

 

[al&burke]

Novahobbies - could you get a large enough trash can to take the whole structure fill it with the tank water, have it strapped to a dolly and you could move the whole thing, the trick would be to seal the trash can and make sure the structure doesn't move in the trash can, put some sponges in key spots where there are no corals or live stuff. Just a thought - I feel for you.

 

[flower]

Corals fused to the rock is not strong enough to hold the rocks and move them. The minute you move rock the corals will break, split or tear. It isn't like the rocks are glued together, they have just been stacked in that position so long that the corals have grown on it like it is one solid piece of rock...but it isn't and you can't move it like it is. The corals will be crushed and damaged if you even try.

 

[shrimpy brains]

Did you just stack these rocks together, Nova? I thought you built that structure with that spray foam. I bet it's pretty heavy.

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by Shrimpy Brains http:///forum/thread/366648/novahobbies-37g-seahorse-tank-journal/220#post_3377474
Did you just stack these rocks together, Nova? I thought you built that structure with that spray foam. I bet it's pretty heavy.

I thought he just stacked the rock...Now that you mention it I do remember a column using foam, that stuff holds like concrete. So Al's idea of a big plastic can may indeed work if it will fit in there.
fill the can with saltwater in the truck carry the column to the truck and submerge it. It won't hurt the corals to be out for a moment while you do that. Have the tank all set with saltwater then move the column the same way into the new digs. You might need someone to stay in the truck and keep the column steady from banging on the sides while the truck moves.

 

[novahobbies]

Yup, this baby is one big chunk. its about 40 lbs, give or take. so no, the rocks will hold together. Gonna be fun! Lol

 

[flower]

Quote:
Originally Posted by novahobbies http:///forum/thread/366648/novahobbies-37g-seahorse-tank-journal/220#post_3377502
Yup, this baby is one big chunk. its about 40 lbs, give or take. so no, the rocks will hold together. Gonna be fun! Lol

Are you going to need/get help? That would mean two step ladders to just get it out of the tank...what a hardship.

 

[novahobbies]

I did my very last water change for the horse tank last night. It's been about 2 weeks, and I want to make sure the water quality is good before the move happens. I was happy to see that most of my HA problems are gone, but I have developed a little cyano on some of the back rocks that was encroaching on my lobophylia.
So, the plan is simple. It's going to happen either Saturday night or Sunday morning:
1) Get spare fish bags from the LFS.
2) Have 20g new saltwater made up and ready at the new place.
3) Drain 20g tank water into 5g containers.
4) All the coral frags I can remove will go in a styrofoam cooler filled with about 5 inches water.
5) Fish and seahorses to be bagged individually, then tucked in a small styro cooler to reduce stress.
6) Rock column will go in a plastic tote laying on its side with a few inches of water in it. Any attached coral should be just barely under water at this point. Exposed rock will be covered with wet toweling. Hopefully this will keep any invertebrate life alive for the trip.
7) Sand is staying damp in the tank. This tank never had anything resembling a DSB, so I don't foresee any chemical problems if it gets stirred a little.
8) Filter will get a quick cleaning while it's disassembled to remove any mulm from the bottom of the canister.
Once I'm there at the new place, it's pretty much a reverse process. Tank up the stairs, then the rock, water, fish, and coral. I expect this is going to be about a 6 hour chore, give or take an hour. The place we're going to is only 20 minutes away. And just think, I get to do it ALL over again in an estimated 6 weeks!!
Yes, I admit I'm nervous about the move. This little girl is my baby! She was really active last night after the WC, too -- nosing around all the cracks in the rock to see if I'd stirred up an amphipod or two. Her coloration was almost red last night, too....very vibrant.

 

[novahobbies]

Ooh! NSS idea for the day!
My spare 5.5g tank will make the move first, with (wait for it...) 5.5g of new water in it. I'll plug my little aquaclear filter on the back..the one holding the iceprobe chiller. I keep a sponge in there, so it'll serve for biological filtration. AS SOON AS I get to the new place with the livestock, I'll drop them in there while I set up the rest of the tank. That should drop their bagged time down to about 1 hour, tops. This way I can also wait for the sandstorm to settle before adding them, also.

 

[shrimpy brains]

Wouldn't it be better to do half tank water and half new water? Just to keep the parameters closer.

 

[novahobbies]

I probably will. It depends on timing, as we have about a million things to do this weekend, and only 48 hours to do them in. Sleep? Who needs any stinkin' sleep??
Bought myself one final present for the tank before the funds get locked for all new fish items. Big Al's is running a HECK of a deal on their Koralia evolution 750's right now....$25.00 each! I bought 2 plus an Ocean Pulse wavemaker. I looked at it this way: Right now I have 2 Koralia-450's in the tank, running 900gph flow total. Horse is fine with it. But I am constantly fighting algae growth on my gorgonia, and it always starts from the sides that are "behind" the direct flow. By running an alternating current, I won't have any areas around the gorgonia that are protected. Also this way I should never have more than 750 gph of flow at any one time.
And besides...if this doesn't work out, I'll have the ocean pulse wavemaker ready for a pair of Koralia 1400's when I set up the big tank. Can't lose....