Kasey's Kube

Well, a little update on the system is due. Tomorrow will mark right at 6 weeks of operation; the tank's looking great! I jumped the gun by a week with the addition of fish into the system...just Blue/Green Chromis. I started the LED cycle at 4.5 hours/day. I'll slowly ramp that over the next month to 7.5-8.5 hours. The weekend of the 27th, in August, I'll be picking up corals from a friend of mine in Va. Beach! I'm very excited to see how things turn out! Also, tomorrow will be the systems first water change. I'm sorry that it's not much of an update, but I'm expecting great things! :)
 
Yes, the skimmer is great! But, I think I'm going to have to cut it a couple of inches (off the height) in order for it to work in my current sump. :p That's one of 2 projects under way before this system is complete. :)
 
Update:

Update:

The tank has algae on the walls! :D

Within a week, I'll be adding some snails to help keep things clean.

The tank is almost 7 weeks old. On the 21st, I'll be leaving Va. Beach with a cooler filled with a few corals. :D I'm very excited!
 
KafudaFish said:
Kool!

So do you have a stocking list or is it going to be once you get there kind of deal?
Click to expand...

Well, originally I was going for specific species of Acropora, but free is free. Here's a tentative stocking list:

SPS:
Red Planet
Hawkin's Blue
Green Birds Nest
Cali Tort
Possible a Pink Mille, Blue Mille...or some sort of Monti. (Digi or Cap)

All my old acans (from my Neo-Nano)

And, some palys (hopefully)

T. Maxima

We'll see what happens. :p

aecasasus said:
Awesome project. Looking good! :thumbsup:
Click to expand...

Thanks! :)
 
Good to hear kasey! I just hit the one year mark on my 40. Was looking at the pics from when I started, can't believe how much has changed! If you have some time while up here, feel free to stop by.
 
The free thing seems to be right in line with everything else.

It may also serve as an anti kid in the kandy store way of reefing.
 
Fsurocks99 said:
Good to hear kasey! I just hit the one year mark on my 40. Was looking at the pics from when I started, can't believe how much has changed! If you have some time while up here, feel free to stop by.
Click to expand...

Thanks, Jack. Yeah, I'm excited. :D I can't believe your tank has already hit the one year mark! I just looked at your thread. It's been over a month since your last pics; it's time to break out the camera. We need to see some of that great growth! :thumbsup:

KafudaFish said:
The free thing seems to be right in line with everything else.

It may also serve as an anti kid in the kandy store way of reefing.
Click to expand...

Yes, free is good to say the least. :p When I moved, I gave most of my corals and clams to Doug in Va. Beach. He always helped me out with moving things and free water, so I figured I'd rather give them to him than sell them. He has a beautiful 210g reef.

Anyway, when I told him my tank was almost ready for corals, he suggested that I make the trek back home and 'raid' his tank, lots of nice acros, montis, clams, and acans. He pretty much told me I could frag anything in the tank and take back anything I gave him. So, the acans, 1 clam, and some palys I'll probably take back (if they're easy to remove...I don't want to harm things). Honestly, I'd prefer to frag them; it doesn't seem fair to take entire colonies. I'm sure they've grown well under his care. As far as the SPS go, it's hard for me to decide on just 4-5. I don't want this tank to be a super frag tank; I've done that before and didn't like the results. I want a natural look with big colonies in the end.
 
I understand and that is great that you were able to do that. It just shows that the hobby is still that and not just a business.

I have wanted to do a tank, even a large one with up to a dozen frags ,and then continue fragging to spread the same species again and again.

Form would be as important as color. Someday I guess.
 
I've got a question about the skimmer. Fantastic by the way. Why did you essentially cut the tube then invert the top and re-glue it back on? Wouldn't it have been easier to just cut the top flange off? I don't understand why you needed to cut the tube flip the top and glue it back together. What am I missing?

Everything looks great!
 
KafudaFish said:
I understand and that is great that you were able to do that. It just shows that the hobby is still that and not just a business.

I have wanted to do a tank, even a large one with up to a dozen frags ,and then continue fragging to spread the same species again and again.

Form would be as important as color. Someday I guess.
Click to expand...

That's kind of the idea with this tank. I don't think I really want to grow this system just so I can upgrade down the road. I'd rather continue to grow the colonies and frag them. In the end, I'd like to sell some locally to help off set salt and RO filter costs, but it would be nice to give them away to help others get started.

dogstar74 said:
I've got a question about the skimmer. Fantastic by the way. Why did you essentially cut the tube then invert the top and re-glue it back on? Wouldn't it have been easier to just cut the top flange off? I don't understand why you needed to cut the tube flip the top and glue it back together. What am I missing?

Everything looks great!
Click to expand...

I'm not sure what cutting the top flange off would do. What I did was cut the tube, cut a hole in the top (same size as the inner diameter of the tube), glue the 'new flange' (cut top) on the tube, and invert the old flange to connect with the new one. This allows me to remove the collection cup. I hope that makes sense. :)

Fsurocks99 said:
haha will do. just finished up my last summer class today and cleaned up the tank, so ill get some picks up tom.
Click to expand...

Looking forward to them! :thumbsup:
 
chickentang said:
love that light
Click to expand...

Thanks, Chickentang! :)

Corals!
Well, yesterday I went to make the trek to Va. Beach to grab some corals from a buddy of mine. (Jack, I wish I could have had the time to call and swing by but I was already running late. Sorry man!) Everything seems to be doing alright. But, the acros are a little stressed from being clipped, in transit for about 4.5 hours, and glued to some epoxy plugs, all in the same day. :p The LPS mini-colonies are doing great!

I let the SPS slime over before placing them in the tank; I really believe this helps them slowly acclimate to water parameters. I've never dripped corals in the past.

Anyway, they still look a little bit stressed; I'm just hoping everything pulls through well. :) Here's the list:

SPS:
ORA Red Planet
ORA Hawkin's Blue
ORA Green Birdsnest
ORA Birds of Paradise
GARF Purple Bonsai
Cali Tort
Green Slimer
Lime in the Sky
Orange Cap
Green Cap w/ Purple Rim (not Leng Sy)

LPS:
Orange Acan Lord mini colony
Red Acan Lord mini colony
Yellow/Green Trumpet mini colony

Inverts:
Indonesian Feather Duster (This is a species he bought about 5 years ago; it actually reproduces in his tank! He started with 1 and has 20-30 in his 210g. I'm hoping I might see a few more in a year or so.)

Thoughts:
I must immediately say that I'm a little disappointed that I brought back 10 SPS frags; this was not my intention. I wanted 4-6 nice pieces, but he kept insisting that I frag things. There's always the possibility that some won't make it, but if they all make it, I'm not sure if I'll keep the Lime in the Sky and Green Slimer stags. They just get so big, and the growth pattern isn't what I'm looking for in this reef tank. We'll see what happens!

Once everything settles, I'll post some pics! :D
 
Teaser Pics!

Teaser Pics!

Here's a couple of pics to show the corals in place (note: the acans and trumpets will eventually be under the 'tree'; I want to make sure the SPS are secure before I move the LPS right under them. Also, the feather duster will be moved onto the 'tree'. :p):

DSC_0228.jpg


DSC_0233.jpg


Everything is looking healthy except for the Hawkin's. It's still pretty stressed. I don't think it was very healthy when I picked it up. My friend has a crab or something breaking pieces off of his colony. Eventually the colony became so stressed that it started to have RTN. This was a piece cut off just in case the colony didn't make it. I think it was already stressed before I moved it, so now it's having a hard time. Otherwise, everything looks great. :D More pictures to come after the weekend!
 
As long as everything settles in well, it should start to fill out a bit by Summer 2012. :p

If I can make it past this hurricane. :rolleyes: I'm heading out of town this weekend, right when it's going to hit. I'm a little worried cause I won't be able to do anything if the power's out. It's funny; I'm going to a wedding and it's suppose to be the day it hits Va. Beach.

Anyway, if they make it, I'll do everything I can to make sure they grow. :D
 
Thanks, Henry! :thumbsup:

The power did go out, but according to my analog timer, it was only out for about 6 hours. Everything seems happy and healthy, except the Hawkin's (still stressed from the move and dip). But, it does seem like it's on the rebound. :) Only time will tell.
 
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