Ninjafish's new cube diary.

[tekknoschtev]

deltoid,
Thanks for the vote. Do you think that it would look better if I cultivated a mat of gsp , mushrooms, and zoos on the bottom of a BB tank. To clean it, I could just blast it with a turkey baster every once in a while...

- Chad

I'm trying just that with GSP in my, coincidentally enough, GSP's aquarium. The first GSP is Green Star Polyps, the second is Green Spotted Puffer who I named Penguin.

At any rate, my goal is to get the back of her aquarium full of GSP and at that point, I'll begin siphoning out the 3/4-1" sandbed out and let the GSPs grow out onto the floor. Of course - I've got nothing so far, because I'm battling hair algae at the moment - or rather, my brother is battling hair algae at the moment, I'm at school But I cant wait for it to grow out.

As to the debate between sand, bb, etc. I think aestetically you made a good choice. I am not a fan of a barebottom setup, and while that one picture is stunning, it looks... unfinished. While natural reefs may be all rocks and corals, I'm fairly certain (correct me if I'm wrong) that they dont have a flat bottom either. I'm a sand guy, and I cant wait to see updated pictures! Now all I wish is that I had a steady job through school that I could setup something like that.

Keep up the good work!

 

[Agu]

Chad,

Looking Good :thumbsup:

1) You could build a base for the tank to raise it so the bulkheads clear the hole.


2) I suspect the light will be more than adequate. Have you considered adding side baffles to the fixture so light aims down with less spillover ? Some of the MH pendants I've seen have adjustable side baffles for that purpose.

3) Just siphon out and dirty sand during water changes.

4) You're on your own on that one :lol: .

 

[kaserpick]

Wow, that tank looks amazing! Can't wait to see the pics from the office.

 

[ninjafish]

tekknoschtev,

I think I am sjut going to let my gsp grow over the bottom and see how it goes. If it is too much I might trim it back, and if I like it, I will probably siphon out some sand like you suggested.

- Chad

 

[Hutton]

what happened to ikes old purpulish shell? he looks just like my smithii right now. in the video he was purple! now a green color...

 

[ninjafish]

Agu,
Thanks for the advise and I am really glad to hear that you think my halide is sufficient. I have a controller coming in the mail and when that shows up I will empty the tank and move it over to the original spot (probably next week). I will raise it up a bit with a base like you said.

Cheers,

- Chad

 

[ninjafish]

Wow, that tank looks amazing! Can't wait to see the pics from the office.

Ha thanks kaser. If you liked those, then these ones should be ok...


Cube against a wall:

It should look way better once I move it and it enjoys 360degree visibility



Front view of the aquascaping:

- Chad

 

[ninjafish]

what happened to ikes old purpulish shell? he looks just like my smithii right now. in the video he was purple! now a green color...

Hutton,

Ike has always been this color (a little brighter now that he has molted). I don't know why he would have looked purple in the video - maybe poor resolution... or sweet special effects....


Speak of the devil:

And a yawning damsel:

- Chad

 

[tekknoschtev]

WOW that looks amazing. Due to the glowing edge effect in the glass, it looks like its fake and that you photoshopped it there (or Gimped, as it may be).

 

[kaserpick]

Awesome pics again! Can't wait to see it when it's on its base on the desk! Simply stunning!

 

[Hutton]

i thought he had purple and green camo... nice pic of him playin Bond, James Bond!

 

[ninjafish]

Thanks guys. I'm glad you like it!

Hutton,
The Ike does have other colors on his dactyls and the impact surface is a nice pearl purple (can see a bit of the underside in this photo):

It might have been that that you saw. Or else the white balance on my video camera not coping well with the 20k bulb...


- Chad

 

[Hutton]

nice pic! what type of camera?

 

[CamBarr]

love itttt

 

[ninjafish]

Thanks Cam!

Hutton,
I am just using a 2 year old Fuji Finepix 3800. It is a decent camera but I wish it would break down so I could buy another one


- Chad

 

[ninjafish]

Description of the equipment in my tank from the top down:

70w de halide in reflector
- 20k bulb
- mounted in desk lamp housing to look more natural in the office
- electronic ballast sits on the edge of the desk like a paper weight
- on a 12 hour timer

12" cube tank
- 7.5gal
- starfire glass with polished edges
- two 3/4" bulkheads in the bottom
- pvc strainer on the intake bulkhead and wide plastic mesh on the return bulkhead to prevent Ike from going down
- 3/4" hosebarbs threaded into the bottoms of the bulkheads

Eheim 2128 cannister filter
- Hoses connect filter directly to the bottom of the tank
- Drilled for lights and heater
- 50w Hydor heater in top media compartment
- 5w submersible halogen light growing chaeto 24/7 in the middle compartment
- LR rubble in bottom compartment

Auto Topoff
- Laboratory grade Advantage Controls electronic metering pump
- Set to deliver RO/DI water at the same rate of evaporation (approx. 0.6ml/minute real time)
- Sits on top of a 2 gal resevoir bucket
- Connected via a tee-fitting to inject topoff water directly into the intake hose halfway between the bottom of the tank and the cannister filter

Controller * (pending)
- Ranco digital electronic (single stage)
- Controls the Hydor heater in the cannister filter (shuts the heater off if temp ever goes above 82 degrees)
- Temperature probe connected via tee-fitting into the middle of the cannister filters return hose

The reason for all of the specialized equipment/mods is that I wanted to have a heathy, stable tank that could be viewed from 360degrees without any equipment visible.
The result:

This is the "ugly side" of the tank - the two 3/4" bulkheads you see are the only visible plumbing in the tank. All of the other plumbing and equipment are hidden under the desk.

Cheers,

- Chad

 

[tgcreef]

hey can u get me some close ups of your sps

 

[Ronald]

Have you tried to actually build the rock work around the plumbing?

Ron

 

[ninjafish]

Nanoman,

Here is a closeup of the birdsnest frag:

- Chad

 

[ninjafish]

Ron,
I could have put the bulkheads directly in the middle of the tank and had the rockwork completely conceal it. However, because the hole in the top of the desk is close to the edge, half the tank would be hanging off if the bulkheads were in the middle. I really don't mind it, the term "ugly side" was really just a joke because it is still cleaner than any other set up would be
Cheers,

- Chad