My 24G w/ 150W HQI journal

[nam2212]

I recently started a 24G Aquapod with 250W HQI. I have always wanted to do a tank journal, so here goes:


Hardware:

1. 24G Aquapod w/ 150W HQI
2. Aquapod 24G knock-down stand
3. Tunze 9002 nano skimmer
4. 75W Visi-therm heater
5. AquaClear 20 with clip-on light (refugium)
6. Koralia 1 powerhead
7. American DJ powerstrip


In the tank:

1. 22 lbs Marshall Island base rock
2. 30 lbs Indo-pacific livesand
3. 6 lbs Fiji liverock


I set up the tank and all hardware on Oct. 17th. The sand and base rock were also added that day. I turned on the skimmer, heater, powerhead and return pump and just let everything set for a few days. The water was extremely cloudy for the first 3 days because I forgot to rinse the sand before adding it to the tank; this resulted in a really fine powdery film all over everything. I took a turkey baster and cleaned the film off all the equipment and turned the sand over really well to remove it. I thought the Tunze skimmer would have removed a lot of the "dust" that came from the unwashed sand, but it did not. I guess it needed a few days to break in.

The live rock was added to the tank on Oct. 20th along with the clip-on light for the fuge. I also added a wad of chaetomorpha to the AC refugium. Since the addition of the live rock, the Tunze skimmer has been performing very well. It constantly pulls out some really nasty stuff from the water (I will try to get a pic of it later). It is extremely sensitive and needs to be readjusted daily for maximum efficiency, though. So far, I am very impressed with it.

I will occasionally turn on the HQI light for a few hours a day and the tank heats to about 81 degrees; this is a little high, but I have run nanos at a slightly higher temp and had no problems. On to a few pics:

Back panel with skimmer and small refugium

Shot of the baserock--will soon add pics with the LR added:

So far, not much is happening, so this thread could be boring for a few weeks. I have not really decided on livestock, but I plan on the tank being a mixed reef.

Thanks,

Nick

 

[cateyes]

looks like you've got a good start!

in the last shot, on the left if your looking at the tank, is that a second power head at the top or just the reflection of the return nozzel?

your skimmer looks like it's already pulling out some junk...

 

[nam2212]

The thing in the top left is a double return. The collection cup makes it look like it has pulled out some crap, but at that point it had not. It works really well now, though.

Nick

 

[Rendos]

More pictures, Nick.

 

[nam2212]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11053714#post11053714 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Rendos
More pictures, Nick.

I will try to get a few more in the next few days.

 

[sperry]

Looks good. I am kinda stuck between the Tunze 9002 and Aqua C Remora skimmers. When you say you have to tune it daily, is it that big of a pain to keep working?

 

[nam2212]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11055772#post11055772 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by sperry
Looks good. I am kinda stuck between the Tunze 9002 and Aqua C Remora skimmers. When you say you have to tune it daily, is it that big of a pain to keep working?

So far, yes. It is not broken in completely. Once it has been broken in, I think it will be a really good skimmer.

 

[nam2212]

Allright, it is about time for me to update this thread. The tank is doing well at the moment and I added the first livestock to it yesterday. The Tunze skimmer has worked very well despite my earlier thoughts to the contrary. I ended up pulling out a piece of baserock that I didn't like and replaced it with about 6 more lbs of Fiji LR. The aquascaping changed daily for a week or two, but I think I like the way it looks now. I added 10 small hermits and 5 astrea snails on 11/8/07 and they took care of the first algae bloom. I also added 2 turbo and 2 cerith snails yesterday along with my first 2 fish, but more about the fish later. The small makeshift refugium is doing it's job and growing chaeto like crazy, which I think is combating the typical algae and cyano blooms that occur in many new tanks. On to a few more pics:

A full tank shot to show aquascaping (The water is cloudy because I stirred up the sand a little)

Here is a photo of the small refugium on the back:

Here is a shot of the Tunze skimmer taking care of the waste:

Here are my first fish. A pair of black and white false percs:

It is MUCH harder to take photos of fish than I thought it was. I took a couple of dozen shots just to get this mediocre one. The fish were added yesterday afternoon and were eating 5 minutes after I put them in. I like them a lot; of course, they have the typical personality of a false perc. They are curious about anyone that walks close to the tank and swim straight to the top when the food container comes out.

I added a blood shrimp this afternoon, but they are pretty shy, so I have no pics of it yet.

Thanks.

Nick

 

[glitzyone]

It is looking great. I like the black and white false percs they are so cute.

 

[nam2212]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11211077#post11211077 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by glitzyone
It is looking great. I like the black and white false percs they are so cute.

Thanks. Hopefully they will take to the RBTA when I get it back from you.

 

[willper]

Could you please give some detail about how you set up the refugium? What did you do to modify the AC filter?

 

[nam2212]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=11241952#post11241952 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by willper
Could you please give some detail about how you set up the refugium? What did you do to modify the AC filter?

I really didn't do that much. I have modded them in the past with a baffle, but I did not add one to this one. I just took the bottom piece of the plastic insert and superglued it as a strainer. It keeps pieces of chaeto out of the display. All that is in the fuge is chaeto, no sand or rubble. It seems to be working well.

 

[willper]

Thanks for the information.

 

[nam2212]

I finally added a few corals and another fish to the tank. I will try to post some pics in the next few days.

 

[nam2212]

Here are a few more pics. I added a couple more fish to the tank. I put a tailspot blenny in a few days after adding the clowns. A couple of days after that I added an orchid dottyback. I had planned on having just those 4 fish until I found a yellow clown goby the other day. I observed it eating in the store, so I bought it. He is quickly becoming my favorite fish. It is always out and eats as readily as the clowns do. I had on e couple of years back, but I never saw it eat prepared foods. It eventually disappeared. This one is doing fine and all of the fish seem to get along very well. I also added 2 porcelian crabs, but I never see them. On to the pics.

Oh yeah, I added a bunch of frags to the tank, but I guess you can probably tell from the photos.

 

[sperry]

Seems to be coming along nicely.