New 20 Gallon Tenecor

[Mushroom Boy]

Well, after about a year away from having a reef (or saltwater for that matter) tank, a friend of mine made me an offer I couldn't refuse. Back in 93, I bought a Tenecor Simplicity Plus 20 gallon (with the built in sump/wet dry filter on the back). After about a year of it being setup, I gave it to him and he's had it ever since. Well, I saw him a few weeks ago and he wanted to know if I wanted it back. Who was I to say no?

He made some upgrades to it since I gave it to him (including VHO lighting), so it's not quite the same system that I gave him, but it was nice to get it back. Anyway, it had a pretty nasty case of hair algae that I'm now battling, but I'm hopeful that it will go away before too long. Yes, that's a new 3" DSB and no I'm not getting rid of it . I added a CPR BakPak to the tank as well and I plan on using the wet/dry chamber as a refugium of sorts to grow chaeto and whatnot. Here's a pic as it looks tonight. Any input is appreciated. I'll update the thread as the tank progresses. Thanks for looking - it's nice to be back

 

[tmantaylor18]

looks like you have enough flow. Nice by the way.

 

[leaffish75]

be careful of the sea apple. it can nuke the tank within a few minutes since its so small

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Hey, thanks for the input thus far. I'm looking forward to watching this tank develop. I'm going to focus primarily on soft corals, with a few LPS thrown into the mix. As for the sea apple, that really is a wild creature. I've been adding DT's phytoplankton on a regular basis to keep it healthy. Here's a picture of it feeding...

 

[whatnot45]

wow I want one of those, but I no ill kill it and it'll ruin everything so im too afraid

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Here's a quick update of the tank. It's chugging along at this point and is virtually algae free. The bulbs that were in the system when I got it were VERY old. I swapped them out last night and man oh man, what a difference! The lighting consists of four 24" VHO URI tubes (2 actinic and 2 50/50).

Before the lighting change...

After the bulb change...

 

[XxMutedYouthxX]

I dig that sea apple.... after seeing that pic im thinking I might get one for my 10gal shroom and zoo nano

 

[reefin300]

wow first time seeing one of those sea apples. pretty cool. what are their requirements?

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Here's some info regarding the sea apple. http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/mar2003/invert.htm I probably wouldn't have bought it because of their very specific requirements - I inherited it with the tank.

 

[vanmo92]

it looks nice

 

[blindskater02]

Nice set up! Love the aquascaping on the rocks =)

 

[kaserpick]

Nice tank! What kinda filtering and skimming are you doing?

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Hey thanks for the nice words

As far as the filtration goes, it's got a DSB, the live rock and the CPR BakPak skimmer. I'm also going to be using the wet/dry chamber as a refugium...

 

[FragLife]

Great Photo's ----- Welcome back to the hobby, OH I mean addiction !

 

[K9]

Very nice setup you've got there! :thumbsup:

Just as a warning to any newbies who may be thinking about buying a sea apple for your own tank, be aware that these are not very good creatures for a home saltwater aquarium due to the fact that they can be incredibly toxic when they die and can kill an entire nano reef. I would personally leave them in the ocean. If you see one at your LFS, look at it, admire the colors, then walk away. There are far better choices for a reef tank that offer the same beautiful colors and are much safer to own.

This isn't a flame to you Mushroom Boy, as I know that you inherited the Sea Apple when you got the tank back. Best of luck to you!

 

[skippysmind]

nice setup, but to much blue lighting. go with four 50/50 or 2 actinic and 2 daylight.

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Thanks for clarifying the point Ted. Indeed, sea apples should not be attempted by beginning aquarists and should in all likelihood be left in the oceans. Their phytoplankton needs alone are a daunting enough DAILY task, not to mention other issues associated with them.

Thanks again for all of the comments thus far. Jeff, I agree, that pic does make it look a little too blue. In real life, though, it's just right IMO . The corals were not fluorescing under the old bulbs at all and it's nice to see the greens pop out of the tank now.

 

[briane2]

Nice aquascaping~

 

[proboscis]

your tanks looks good it has alot of potential, do you dose calc/alk ? if not i would seriously start, i like the lighting change more actintic look.

 

[Mushroom Boy]

Here's a quick update of the tank. About 3 weeks ago, my heater probe came out of the tank. The tank got up to 95 degrees before I caught it. I lost all of my xenia, the sea apple and a couple of snails. The inhabitants now include a cherub angel, lawnmower blenny, frogspawn, candy cane coral, favia, variety of mushrooms and zoanthids.

As for dosing, I'm using Sea Chem Reef Calcium, Complete and Plus. I also just started dripping kalkwasser. I'm hoping the coraline will fill in now that I'm doing that.

Here's a shot taken a couple of days ago. Not much to see, but I wanted to post an updated picture with the new hood showing the whole layout of the tank.