Coralife BioCube 29g Build
- Thread starter timfederwitz
- Start date
I love the colors, and that was really nice that he included all of that stuff. Too bad it would fit better in soulpatch's 93 cube or 120g whichever he ends up with, since they are so big for a nano 
Also great that the whole family is participating. That's when the hobby gets really fun. I think you're right about the Tunze topoff, I always liked the double backup, I probably should have spent the extra $100 and bought the one that will work for this tank and the next. Buuuut I didn't. That's okay, any Tunze topoff is a good choice.
And lastly, I don't trust or like any crabs. I see some valonia on a frag from Reefapalooza that is just starting to grow out, and I don't want to have to get a mythax crab to eat it, so i buried it under the sand, hopefully that kills it without it spreading.
To catch them you could try the double-sized shotglass trick (or a glass cup of any size). Slant it towards your rocks, put a piece of meaty food in the bottom, and it'll fall in and not be able to climb the glass out again.
Also great that the whole family is participating. That's when the hobby gets really fun. I think you're right about the Tunze topoff, I always liked the double backup, I probably should have spent the extra $100 and bought the one that will work for this tank and the next. Buuuut I didn't. That's okay, any Tunze topoff is a good choice.
And lastly, I don't trust or like any crabs. I see some valonia on a frag from Reefapalooza that is just starting to grow out, and I don't want to have to get a mythax crab to eat it, so i buried it under the sand, hopefully that kills it without it spreading.
To catch them you could try the double-sized shotglass trick (or a glass cup of any size). Slant it towards your rocks, put a piece of meaty food in the bottom, and it'll fall in and not be able to climb the glass out again.
soulpatch
New member
I like my larger emerald. He is entertaining to watch and with Tim's kids being so intrigued by it I would leave it in there. He doesnt have any corals yet for it to bother and his initial corals shouldnt be an issue regardless.
Now I know with mine that should my emerald attack any of my acans I will pierce him without hesitation. Nonetheless I no longer have any bubble algae, my bryopsis and culpera is all gone and has not returned. So whatever they are doing is working out great as I havent changed anything else in my tank. I will be taking my GFO offline this week and only running carbon for a while as a result.
Back to Tim's tank. The amount of rock TBS sends is both amazing and sad. You get so much life out of the rock but at the same time we needed to remove some cool pieces as it would not all fit in the tank. Tim will use some for his QT which is a good idea as it will be cycled and I dont think he plans to treat unless needed (I dont either as it adds stress though I do watch and will do so if needed). The sponges and such were cool and his kids were enamored by them. And as a parent even though this might be our hobby seeing a kid get excited is about as awesome as it gets. I had fun showing his youngest daughter some of the items in the tank and I suspect that when I get my larger tank up and bring home the TBS package that his little one will have to come over and "help" if for nothing else to see all the stuff I get for my 120... (Yes reef it has been decided that I will go away from cube and get a 120...LOL)
Now I know with mine that should my emerald attack any of my acans I will pierce him without hesitation. Nonetheless I no longer have any bubble algae, my bryopsis and culpera is all gone and has not returned. So whatever they are doing is working out great as I havent changed anything else in my tank. I will be taking my GFO offline this week and only running carbon for a while as a result.
Back to Tim's tank. The amount of rock TBS sends is both amazing and sad. You get so much life out of the rock but at the same time we needed to remove some cool pieces as it would not all fit in the tank. Tim will use some for his QT which is a good idea as it will be cycled and I dont think he plans to treat unless needed (I dont either as it adds stress though I do watch and will do so if needed). The sponges and such were cool and his kids were enamored by them. And as a parent even though this might be our hobby seeing a kid get excited is about as awesome as it gets. I had fun showing his youngest daughter some of the items in the tank and I suspect that when I get my larger tank up and bring home the TBS package that his little one will have to come over and "help" if for nothing else to see all the stuff I get for my 120... (Yes reef it has been decided that I will go away from cube and get a 120...LOL)
timfederwitz
New member
Coralife BioCube 29g Build
It really is cool that the whole family is getting into it. My wife said she isn't grossed out to put her hands in the reef tank like the freshwater tank because "it seems like a little ocean", and she loves the ocean.
The fact that she is starting to call things "hers" is a great sign for me. LOL
It really is crazy just how different the reef tank is compared to the freshwater tank. SO much life all around the reef tank, as opposed to a few fish and some plants.
It really is cool that the whole family is getting into it. My wife said she isn't grossed out to put her hands in the reef tank like the freshwater tank because "it seems like a little ocean", and she loves the ocean.
The fact that she is starting to call things "hers" is a great sign for me. LOL
It really is crazy just how different the reef tank is compared to the freshwater tank. SO much life all around the reef tank, as opposed to a few fish and some plants.
timfederwitz
New member
That rock flower will get huge man. Mine has quadrupled in size and is now a brown/white. I love it. It's about the size of a teacup saucer.
Is a "rock flower" a type of anemone? I am trying to read up on care and feeding of everything I got. BTW, your pic is awesome!
timfederwitz
New member
Coralife BioCube 29g Build
Well, today was kind of crazy, but I was able to get the Tunze ATO hooked up and mounted, and made sure I had my salinity dialed in (that actually took the most time because I had to adjust"¦ wait"¦ test"¦ adjust, etc) and the water at the level I wanted before setting the ATO level.
I also got most of the Apex Gold installed and setup, replacing the Apex Jr stuff. I installed and configured the Salinity probe, but I still have to configure the pH and ORP probes, and then I am done.
Of course, I had to rework my wiring again since many things moved, and I added the ATO with its controller.
Will post a couple pics in a minute. I used an empty (and rinsed) Nutri Seawater container with lid as my ATO reservoir. I cut a notch out of the screw on lid to allow the power cord and tubing to come through with the lid on to reduce evap of the reservoir. Just used a carpet knife on the plastic lid to create a notch. Nothing fancy. I'll probably revisit this at some point, but I have more of these containers empty , so I can fill one with RODI and have it waiting in the wings to switch out as the active one gets too low. Should be an easy'ish setup (I hope).
Well, today was kind of crazy, but I was able to get the Tunze ATO hooked up and mounted, and made sure I had my salinity dialed in (that actually took the most time because I had to adjust"¦ wait"¦ test"¦ adjust, etc) and the water at the level I wanted before setting the ATO level.
I also got most of the Apex Gold installed and setup, replacing the Apex Jr stuff. I installed and configured the Salinity probe, but I still have to configure the pH and ORP probes, and then I am done.
Of course, I had to rework my wiring again since many things moved, and I added the ATO with its controller.
Will post a couple pics in a minute. I used an empty (and rinsed) Nutri Seawater container with lid as my ATO reservoir. I cut a notch out of the screw on lid to allow the power cord and tubing to come through with the lid on to reduce evap of the reservoir. Just used a carpet knife on the plastic lid to create a notch. Nothing fancy. I'll probably revisit this at some point, but I have more of these containers empty , so I can fill one with RODI and have it waiting in the wings to switch out as the active one gets too low. Should be an easy'ish setup (I hope).
timfederwitz
New member
The cabinet now
The ATO reservoir
Lid
Door. Keep in mind the pH probe is not hooked up yet, so you don't need to warn me about low pH!
The ATO reservoir
Lid
Door. Keep in mind the pH probe is not hooked up yet, so you don't need to warn me about low pH!
homer1475
New member
I did the same thing with a 5 gallon water jug. I used silicone around the lines and cap to lessen evap and calcium precip now that I'm adding that to my topoff. Only problem is I have to spin the container and not the cap when replacing the container, not a big deal with the empty, but a little PITA on the full one. I have 4 of these containers and I just need to swap them out instead of waiting to make fresh water which is convenient. This also means I can clean out my containers after every use and dump out the old kalkwasser.
timfederwitz
New member
Yeah, that's the idea I was going with. However, I figured you don't want to seal the lid too much or you could create a vacuum. I would think it best to have a way for the container to breath some.
I was thinking there should be a way to create a one way valve to allow air in but not out. This should stop a vacuum effect, but still combat evap.
Jesfromdax
New member
Wow everything looks great!!! I'm glad to see your build coming along so well.
timfederwitz
New member
homer1475
New member
Yeah my silicone job was to good and it started to suck in my container. So all I do now is when I check it every day or two, I just turn the breather screw slightly and let some air back in.
These are the water jugs/topoff containers I use:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...m_medium=cpc&gclid=CLzgj4Tuh8gCFYgUHwodq7QF1A
Very sturdy, watertight, they don't collapse like some of the cheaper ones, and even if I drop them from chest height, they wont split(I've done it a couple times).
These are the water jugs/topoff containers I use:
http://www.petmountain.com/product/...m_medium=cpc&gclid=CLzgj4Tuh8gCFYgUHwodq7QF1A
Very sturdy, watertight, they don't collapse like some of the cheaper ones, and even if I drop them from chest height, they wont split(I've done it a couple times).
Bent
I got nothin'
Yes it is. Usually they are very colorful. The ones from the gulf are not though, usually brown and white. Mine looked exactly like yours in the last pic when k first got him.
They typically like places in the sand, but they don't mice too much either. I feed mine small chunks of raw shrimp about the size of his mouth.
timfederwitz
New member
timfederwitz
New member
Also, does it move around your tank much, or fairly stationary? Just wondering if I have to worry about other corals I get in the future.
timfederwitz
New member
My smaller nem already moved, and looks like it is continuing to move. The larger one seems like it might be moving slightly too. Will have to pay closer attention to the larger one.
timfederwitz
New member
Coralife BioCube 29g Build
Well, that big 'ole crab is decimating my barnacle population during the night. Two days in a row I wake up to dramatically less barnacles (my wife's favorites so far). He was sitting in plain view, though fairly well camouflaged, this morning and we tried to use tweezers to grab him. He slipped out and climbed under a rock. So I pulled that rock and he jumped off and disappeared. I pulled a few more rocks but couldn't find him. Aside from pulling damn near everything out of the tank, I'm at a loss.
I might try the food in a glass trick, but he is BIG and I don't have much room in my tank for a largish glass. He's much too large for a shot glass.
Edit: Next time I will just use gloves or even hands. My gloves weren't close by and I guess I wasn't thinking clearly yet"¦ didn't have enough coffee yet.
Well, that big 'ole crab is decimating my barnacle population during the night. Two days in a row I wake up to dramatically less barnacles (my wife's favorites so far). He was sitting in plain view, though fairly well camouflaged, this morning and we tried to use tweezers to grab him. He slipped out and climbed under a rock. So I pulled that rock and he jumped off and disappeared. I pulled a few more rocks but couldn't find him. Aside from pulling damn near everything out of the tank, I'm at a loss.
I might try the food in a glass trick, but he is BIG and I don't have much room in my tank for a largish glass. He's much too large for a shot glass.
Edit: Next time I will just use gloves or even hands. My gloves weren't close by and I guess I wasn't thinking clearly yet"¦ didn't have enough coffee yet.
