Ninjafish's new cube diary.

Ninjafish's new cube diary.

  • Thin layer of aragonite

    Votes: 207 84.8%

  • Bare bottom

    Votes: 37 15.2%
  • Total voters
    244
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6377154#post6377154 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by GregM779
Very cool tank, do you have more info on the light, did you build it yourself?
Click to expand...

Thanks Greg. The light is really a halogen desklamp that I found at Staples. The hood was the right size to accept a metal halide and it was made of metal so I fugured it would handle the heat. I took the guts out of the lamp and bolted a mh reflector to the inside and ran the electrical cord along the neck to the ballast that sits on my desk like a paper weight. Hope this makes sense.

- Chad
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6377225#post6377225 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Imareefer
It's been a while since I saw this thread and man has your tank evolved. Im glad to see it looks good. Why did you choose the mantis over a small pair of clowns or a few small gobies? Im just curious.
Click to expand...

Welcome back! and thank you. The reason that I went with a mantis is because I have always been fasinated with them and saw this as a chance to set up a species tank. They are amazing animals and it has been rewarding. You have a good point though, I am not able to keep as much diversity as I could if there wasn't a mantis in this tank. In my 2gal cube I had a porcelain anemone crab and some sexy shrimp and I really miss them. If I ever got rid of Ike, I would go back to a peaceful tank and have a pair of clowns, an anemone crab, and some sexy shrimp. We'll see...

- Chad
 
thanks for the welcome back. It looks so cool, I am thinking about building one myself out of acrylic for my bathroom (i need to fill the void lol). luckily, i will make a top for it lol. well looks good and keep it up, also what type of light are you using it is very interesting
 
A tank in the bathroom?? That... would be.... awesome! I would probably spend way too much time in there though.
The light is a 70w de halide run on an electric ballast. The bulb is a 20k Reef Grow and gives a really nice blue color. I bought the halide off of ebay as a retrofit and slapped it into a desk lamp housing.
- Chad
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6379992#post6379992 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ninjafish
A tank in the bathroom?? That... would be.... awesome! I would probably spend way too much time in there though.
The light is a 70w de halide run on an electric ballast. The bulb is a 20k Reef Grow and gives a really nice blue color. I bought the halide off of ebay as a retrofit and slapped it into a desk lamp housing.
- Chad
Click to expand...
yes i nthe bathroom, i already spend too much time in there so hy not make it a more pleasurable time???? :):):):):):) I spend alot of time in there because I'm always trying to find quiet areas of the house so I can do my scetches, esspecially when my dad is home from work is when it is the loudest (tv's runnin lol)
 
I think the bathroom is a great place for a tank. Infact, when I end up moving this tank back home I may just consider it...

- Chad
 
I've been silently watchin' from the back of the room on both your threads, and I would just like to say that you have all the bases covered! Just astonishing work...( wish I could say this about your day job as well, but with that henderence... probably not. J/K!) :spin3:
Been a couple of days, hope all is still well.
Really you have outdone yourself with the upgrade.
Congrats! I bet Ike couldnt be happier!
 
Aaron,
It was good to hear from the back of the room finally, I thought all you guys were just sleeping back there :p .
Things are going great and I should have some more photos to show soon. I just added 5 hermit crabs to the tank and Ike will probably be fed and happy all through the weekend (crappy that it cost me $16 though :rolleyes: )
Cheers,

- Chad
 
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6320401#post6320401 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ninjafish

And this is what it looks like when I come it to work:
4613005121530.JPG

Click to expand...

Heh...I remember the pic of your old cube on your desk. Your tank is slowly taking up more and more of your work area. :p
 
lol :D I think you and my boss have both noticed that! Don't worry this 12" cube is all that I will ever need from now on...

... uh, I might have said the same thing about my 8" cube... :p

Welcome back Spiff!

- Chad
 
I shared this story in my old cube thread and I will probably mention it in the mantis forum as well so forgive me if you have come across it already. I find it interesting that after all this time I have been watching Ike, he can still do something that suprises me.

Ike hadn't been fed for a few days and was getting hungry so yesterday I picked up 5 small hermit crabs and dropped them into the tank. Ike grabbed one right away and pulled it into his cave but after only a couple hits, he was already back out grabbing the next one. Before I knew it, all but one (one got away by climbing up the rockwork) were gone. I looked inside his cave and saw that all four hermit crabs were placed side by side upside down so that their openings were facing up instead of down. Ike was hanging motionless from the ceiling and staring right inside the shell openings. It looked like he was just waiting for one of the hermit crabs to come out and try and right itself. I watched this for about a minute and Ike was perfectly still the whole time. I couldn't stick around because I had to get home but I am looking forward to what I find when I get back on Monday. If there are empty intact shells than I'll know that Ike managed to outwait the hermits. If there are empty smashed shells I'll know that he just said -screw it - and broke them open ;)


- Chad
 
Lol. That's pretty cool.

I'm just curious, but do you usually feed Ike live hermits or are they like a once in a while treat? Wouldn't it be cheaper to feed him frozen krill or something? Don't get me wrong, if I had a mantis, I'd probably feed him live stuff all the time. :)
 
Cluck,
I mostly feed him frozen krill but feed live hermits and snails so that he gets excercise smashing shells to keep his dactyls strong. I have found a cheaper solution by buying empty snail shells and stuffing frozen food into them. Live food is now fed a couple times a month as a treat and nutritional variety

- Chad
 
After adding new corals just last night here is an updated list of livestock:

mantis shrimp
zoanthids (six of my best colors)
button polyp
colt
pulsing xenia
toadstool
candycane
frogspawn
green monti digitata
purple monti digitata
orange monti caps
pink bird's nest
riccordia (green and orange)
mushrooms (1 green, 1 blue, 1 red and 1 fuzzy)
green star polyp
purple acropora
green acropora
purple gorgonian
green blastos
 
is this tank big enough to hold Ike for the rest of his life or are you going to have to upgrade again? I know nothing about mantis shrimp. You said InterAmerican made this tank, correct?
 
Haha... you noticed that Spiff?
Actually I don't have any specific projects in mind but I remember saying "this tank is all I need, I'm done" about several of my old tanks.
Speaking realistically, I can see myself eventually going to an 18" cube with a peacock mantis... but... that would be my last :p

- Chad
 
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