Mark's 40 Breeder build

[Aframomum]

Today was sock washing day, oh yay!

I've got 4 - 200 micron socks that I rotate - the first few days after putting in the rock I was doing 1 each day since they were overflowing that quickly. But now that I have the skimmer running and the rock seems to be settling in I am able to go 2 or 3 days between changes.

Speaking of rock, I found out I have 2 large gorilla or rock crabs. One actually decided to make a burrow underneath the rock he was in while the other was seen in the crevices one evening. I still have all my rock separated so it won't be too hard to get them out and into the fuge when the time comes.

I'm not planning any fish for some time. Want to start out with a snail only CUC with a sea cucumber and then start on some basic soft coral frags. Want to make sure I get back into the swing of things with tank maintenance and such before I take on a fish load.

 

[Swope2bc]

Be prepared to find TONS of crabs!! Hopefully not many gorillas though. I have more crabs than I can count! They are constantly picking at the rocks eating algae, well except for the porcelains who are fanning the water endlessly!

In the evening, when the whites shut off before the blues the red crabs nearly glow under the lights. It's pretty cool!!

 

[Aframomum]

Crabs, yep lots of them too! Mostly the fanning ones you mentioned and some really tiny ones. Also find worms of all different sizes in the sand and sometimes in the socks - who knows how they wind up in the overflow? :hmm4:

Did I mention I'm still very happy with my TBS order?!

 

[Swope2bc]

Crabs, yep lots of them too! Mostly the fanning ones you mentioned and some really tiny ones. Also find worms of all different sizes in the sand and sometimes in the socks - who knows how they wind up in the overflow? :hmm4:



Did I mention I'm still very happy with my TBS order?!

Lol, me too! I don't run filter socks though. Only during a cleaning.

 

[sporazoa]

Funny, I asked the guy at Petco too & he said...no that it cannot be drilled. I guess I have to go back & school him on my new discovery.

Are there any good videos on drilling tanks? I see so many tanks with chipped glass & scraping because they cannot get the drilling started smoothly.

A $40 tank may just cost me $120 or more after a few attempts.

 

[Aframomum]

Brett,

I may stop using the sock at a later time but I really do like a clean sump so its still up in the air. Depends on how frustrating the sock swapping becomes...

Sporazoa,

Here's a youtube link for drilling tanks that may help you:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GSYqSeW1mQg

Its not really too hard you just have to be patient and let the drill do the work. And go slow.

If you do accidently crack your first tank then just use it as a practice platform to drill more holes until your confident you can do a new tank.

Good luck and I'm sure the Petco guy was just being carefully uninformed. :lolspin:

 

[Aframomum]

I have been spending the past week doing some crabbing in the tank. Was able to get a gorilla and rock crab out and into the fuge. I have 1 more gorilla crab to get then I'm done. I also had the chance to see one of the pistol shrimp that hitchhiked on the rock, cool little guy!

I started with the shrimp baited cup method for crab removal but after a few nights of only tiny crab captures I decided to get a little more aggressive. During my first waterchange I decided to pull one of the rocks I saw a crab in and used my mixing powerhead to flush the crab out in the leftover change water tub. Worked like a charm! Crab came scurrying out of its hole and dropped right into the tub.

This method works great if you don't already have your rock all scaped up and be forewarned - don't drop the rock as the crab scurrys right over your hand as its trying to get away from the jet of water.

 

[Swope2bc]

Great grabs!! I wish I had spent a bit more time removing hitchhikers in the beginning. Nobody is causing trouble yet, but I do have that mantis that's still hiding out in there...

 

[Aframomum]

Figured they have been enjoying the 'good life' long enough in the main tank, plus been wanting to get a snail order in and maybe stop by the LFS...just to 'look' to see what they have.

So yes, it was time for them to exit.

I see your Blenny is getting fresh with you! :love1:

 

[Aframomum]

Made a trip to the LFS and came home with my first coral additions - all frags. A Galaxy, frogspawn, and a green napthea. I also finally did something with my rockwork now that I got the big crabs out.

 

[Swope2bc]

Looking good!

 

[Swope2bc]

Hate those bots!

 

[Aframomum]

Lol, missed the bot (nice catch Brett). Better luck next time aye? :wavehand:

The new additions are doing great and its nice to have some new life in the tank - other than crabs! I fed the tank this morning and it seemed everyone was eating happily. I'm really happy with the rock work - lots of open spaces although it appeared at first I had too much rock to work with. But in the end I was able to fit everything in.

I did do a whelk hunt before doing the rock and verified I had 4 of them. Took them out and put them in the fuge but discovered they had all crawled up the glass and into the return section the next morning. I can imagine the disaster one of their shells getting sucked into the return pump would cause. So I had to improvise and get myself one of those freshwater fish breeders to house and contain them in the fuge so they won't go trekking into the return section again.

 

[geekengineer]

cool stuff..

 

[Aframomum]

Thanks geekengineer,

Its fun to see new stuff 'appear' on the rock and in the sand each day. The amount of mini feather duster worms both on the rock and in the sand that seem to pop up overnight is astounding.

 

[geekengineer]

yeah I don't know if I ever get to end game on my new tank. I sure your excited about your tank coming along.

 

[Aframomum]

Don't give up hope!

I got my tank on June 28 - the first day of the summer Petco $1 a gallon sale and it got water on October 14, so a whopping 108 days. And I'm still not completely done as I still have to finish the doors and do the electrical distribution panel for it. So just keep moving forward and don't lose steam.

 

[geekengineer]

Yeah I picked mine up at Petco too. I been going slow and its hard not to lose interest after a while. I trying to do all these little side projects as well. I do have a small 10 gallon tank I just not sure how I going to move stuff to the bigger one lol. I also really like to figure out better way to do water changes cause that going to be a killer for me even if I only changing about 5-10 gallons a week.

 

[Aframomum]

I hear you on the water changes. Still trying to figure mine out as I'm looking to try out smaller ones per week rather than a large one every 2 or 3 weeks. Not having a demanding tank like a SPS dominated one helps with the relaxed WC schedule too. And yes, side projects can really take up precious time. So you have a 10 gallon setup and going? At least you have some motivation to look at! :lol:

 

[eb2292]

Build looks great! I love the tall refugium in the sump. Mine is really shallow in the middle of my sump and I can't fit much in there. You can fit a mean ball of chaeto!