Snake's 20g Nano Build thread

snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
LOL! I know that it's an eyesore! I have to look at it a lot more than ya'll! lol. I know my wife doesn't care, but It's bothering the heck out of me.
I would at the very least like to get a refractometer and a thermometer so that I can accurately measure salinity and temp. Maybe after that I'll purchase the MP10.
 
jerth6932

jerth6932

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387674/snakes-20g-nano-build-thread/260#post_3446708
LOL! I know that it's an eyesore! I have to look at it a lot more than ya'll! lol. I know my wife doesn't care, but It's bothering the heck out of me.
I would at the very least like to get a refractometer and a thermometer so that I can accurately measure salinity and temp. Maybe after that I'll purchase the MP10
How do you do tank maintenance with out that equiptment? Or is that one of those Snakes Methods (lol sorry)? Seriously though don't ya have others tanks that you can use their thermometer? And I think we all have a hydrometer some where...........
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Yeah. I have a hydrometer. I just want something more accurate for SPS corals. All my maintenance accounts so far are fish only systems and a few freshwater tanks. I got one of those dip thermometers but not a digital one. I would like one to hang on the outside of the stand for a quick check.
Im happy so far. And no, I didn't take offense. One of those cases where you do as I say, not as I do. Lol
 
jerth6932

jerth6932

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387674/snakes-20g-nano-build-thread/260#post_3446728
Yeah. I have a hydrometer. I just want something more accurate for SPS corals. All my maintenance accounts so far are fish only systems and a few freshwater tanks. I got one of those dip thermometers but not a digital one. I would like one to hang on the outside of the stand for a quick check.
Im happy so far. And no, I didn't take offense. One of those cases where you do as I say, not as I do. Lol
With my Hydrometer, I took it to my LFS and tested one of their tanks with it, then had them test it with their refractometer, so I knew what my diffrence was, and did it that way.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Well. I figured that I will get another small fish. I made a thread about it earlier. I'm thinking a small Pygmy wrasse or something else. I don't want standard/ traditional fish. So, I'm going to have to work on researching he purchase.
When I put in an invert/cuc order, I'm going to also order some macro algae for the sump fuge. I'm going to take down the algae scrubber until I can rebuild it inside of the 10g tank. I like macro algae, even though it doesn't do as good of a job as a scrubber. I was able to keep many successful tanks with just macroalgae. So, I'm going to keep doing that. I'm pretty sure that when I move to a new house later this year, I'll have more room for he scrubber o be kept beside the tank. I also plan on using the mag3 that I have as my return pump now to run the scrubber later after I upgrade my system.
My skimmer is supposedly coming by Wednesday. We will have to see. I'm going to do my own review of the skimmer in this thread. The skimmer I bought is a sc65. Said it can pull a full cup of skimmate every three days. So we will just have to see.
I decided to buy the refractometer and digital thermometer first and then save up another $50 or so and get the mp10 in a couple more weeks, depending on the budget.
Also, if you will remember my tote that I have that RO water in. Does anyone object to me sealing it up and stirring in some kalkwasser in it every once in awhile? If there is anything I am missing, let me know.
I am going to wait to get a ca reactor when I upgrade my system to a much larger tank. Right now I think that using two part solutions and topping off with kalkwasser will be plenty for the amount of SPS coral that I can grow in that size tank.
On another side note, the montipora keeps getting darker and looking better. It's not browning out anymore or bleaching. The salinity is up to 1.024 as of this morning. No more of its flesh is melting. I think it just got too cold in shipping and now that it's adjusting again, it will do better.
The float valve is working very well in the tank too! I checked it this morning and made sure it was working well. I am really excited about that ato for some reason. Lol.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Lol. A coral croucher? Naww. I'm looking for a centerpiece fish. Something with a lot of personality.
One of our friends died in her sleep last night. She was 17. They thought it was asthma related but now they suspect an OD. She was like a younger sister to my wife. Please keep her and her family in your prayers.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
Quote:
Originally Posted by SnakeBlitz33 http:///t/387674/snakes-20g-nano-build-thread/260#post_3446852
The float valve is working very well in the tank too! I checked it this morning and made sure it was working well. I am really excited about that ato for some reason. Lol.
Having an ATO on a system like yours, IMO, is a necessity so I share in your enthusiasm about it. I think that your choice of skimmer was a good one, BTW. It would be really difficult to buy things for this tank with the intention on using a lot of the equipment on your upgrade that will be more than 4 X's the volume of your current one. You'll be happy that you chose to go with the refractometer. You already have flow in the tank, unsightly as it may be, it's still flow so the vortech can wait another month. Without knowing for sure what your SG is, no amount of flow will really matter. I do think, though, that a VorTech would be a great investment.
I know you really dig on GSP, but if you're going to put it in a tank that you want to be SPS dominated then I would be very thoughtful in it's placement. I have a 2" X 2" frag of it on my sand bed, with plenty of distance from my rock work. This is the only way I would suggest keeping something like that in an SPS tank. If it is allowed contact with your main rock structure, where your SPS will be, it can spread on those rocks and take over the SPS. Poor placement of GSP and zoa's was one of my amateur mistakes that proved to be a real PITA to fix once I realized how harmful they can be.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
So sorry to hear about your friend. That's tough losing someone so young. A lot of the people I went to HS with got caught up in some bad stuff and I lost a lot of childhood friends to OD's. It's crazy because I grew up in a high income area, blue ribbon school district, etc. I was lucky to have moved before everyone started experimenting with the hard stuff. It just goes to show that addiction doesn't discriminate. Again, my thoughts are with you and your wife.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Thank you all.
Yeah. I didn't realize how much an ato would help on such a small system. Makes it a whole Lot easier.
The gsp will be grown on the barebottom tank and I won't get a frag until I get the mp10. The gsp will be scraped from around the rock work occasionally to prevent it from growing on the rocks. A nice Kalk paste will kill it back if it does grow on the rocks.
Its sad, but I don't think she was an addict. The was taking medications Tom the doc and she was in pain so herboyfriend gave her some oxycodone and it reacted with her medication she was taking. Completely unintentional.
Anyone object to a lemonpeel angel in this tank for a year before I upgrade to a 90 next year?
 
travelerjp98

travelerjp98

Active Member
Seth, sorry about the loss of your friend.
If you don't mind, why was she in pain?
Anyways, no, I don't object to the lemonpeel angel... Lol
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Police found out that she was drinking cough syrup with her friends the night that it happened. The boyfriend didn't give the whole story. When the tox report comes back her friends will be charged with negligent homicide or something like that. I'm still unclear on the details. I thought she knew better than to do drugs. I never knew she did that kind of thing. Still very sad.
Im going to order a refractometer and a digital thermometer this coming weekend. I need it anyways for my other clients tanks. One woman wants to put corals in her tank so I guess it's a good idea to get one. Lol.
I am servicing someone's tank this coming weekend and I am going to use the money from that to get an mp10. I'm just thinking what else can I do to improve the system? I am thinking about getting another heater for more accurate temp control. I know I need to update my bulbs in three more months.
I know that the montipora is darkening up a little more and looking better every day. I am guessing that it's just going to keep getting better after I add a skimmer to my system. At this point, even with a skimmer, I hate to go scrubber less.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
I decided against green star polyps on the barebottom glass! I decided instead that a superman montipora or a rainbow montipora would be absolutely gorgeous! It's also an SPS coral, which will grow fairly slowly. Any kind of encrusting monti would look good. Maybe except orange and brown. Lol.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
I remember telling you about how I always wanted to do a BB tank with GSP growing like grass. Is that what you were planning on doing and did I plant that seed? You might have trouble with an encrusting monti on the bottom, at least in some areas once it spreads, because of detritus settling on it. The MP10 will definitely get things moving in there, and keep poop suspended in the water column long enough to be skimmed out, but I think you will still have some areas around your rock work where things will tend to settle. Maybe not.
How high is your water in the tank already? The flow from an MP10 could blow water right over the opposite side of the tank. In my tank it was a fine balance b/w getting optimal flow from the VorTechs and dialing back my return pump.
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
My overflow box is adjustable up and down. If needed, I can adjust it all the way down and then crank up the MP10. I don't expect the encrusting montipora to cover the entire bottom of the tank - if it wants to, it will. But at least the front of the tank.
I don't know if I got that idea from you about the GSP or not. I saw it being done in another tank and I just really liked the idea. But, since I really want an all SPS tank, I figured an encrusting montipora would be better then worrying about GSP spreading over my other SPS coral.
I don't think it's going to be a big problem with the water flow and keeping detritus suspended.
 
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eric b 125

Guest
That's sweet that your overflow box is adjustable. It's been so long since I've worked on a tank with one, except for my buddy Klaus's tank, but I don't think his is adjustable. You have a nice one that doesn't require an aqualifter and still won't lose the siphon in a power outage, eh?
 
snakeblitz33

snakeblitz33

Well-Known Member
Cheapo Eshopps overflow. I like it more compared to the higher end CPR overflows. Cheap, quiet, adjustable and has never lost siphon ever.
I got an extra $60 today, so I'm going to order that refractometer sooner rather than later.
Any other must haves? I'm good on test kits, salt, water, lights, powerheads. I'm getting a skimmer sometime this week. What else?????? Why do I feel like I am missing something????????
 
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