Ninjafish's new cube diary.
- Thread starter ninjafish
- Start date
Beautiful tank! And Ike is adorable (for a Mantis
). My husband just came in and watched over my shoulder as I was viewing your video. He was really impressed and started saying things like, "we could do something like that on our kitchen island." Whoa, Nelly! We haven't even received our NanoCube yet much less start thinking about ANOTHER tank. Ahhhh, the obsession.
BTW, how do you get any work done? I would be watching Ike's antics all day long. Work, what work?
Congratulations on another stunning tank.
Laurie
). My husband just came in and watched over my shoulder as I was viewing your video. He was really impressed and started saying things like, "we could do something like that on our kitchen island." Whoa, Nelly! We haven't even received our NanoCube yet much less start thinking about ANOTHER tank. Ahhhh, the obsession.BTW, how do you get any work done? I would be watching Ike's antics all day long. Work, what work?
Congratulations on another stunning tank.
Laurie
inter american does have a website - make sure your popup blocker is loaded... http://go.to/interamerican
They did some great work on Fish's tank, but one may choose to check with the BBB before ordering. They've been having some issues of late.
They did some great work on Fish's tank, but one may choose to check with the BBB before ordering. They've been having some issues of late.
ninjafish
New member
Andy's got a good point,
The staff builds great tanks and have treated me well lately but the owner is not very honest about when the work will be completed - he once stalled me for a whole month telling me that my tank was done but they needed to put the overflow on - when I went in, I found out that my tank hadn't even been started. I live in the same city as them so it is easy to go in and bug them, you can't really do that if you are ordering online...
Good luck Laurie and thanks for the compliment
The staff builds great tanks and have treated me well lately but the owner is not very honest about when the work will be completed - he once stalled me for a whole month telling me that my tank was done but they needed to put the overflow on - when I went in, I found out that my tank hadn't even been started. I live in the same city as them so it is easy to go in and bug them, you can't really do that if you are ordering online...
Good luck Laurie and thanks for the compliment
ninjafish
New member
Here is a list of my videos incase someone hasn't seen one before:
2gal:http://www.truenorthreef.com/PicoMovie.wmv
Mantis feeding:http://www.truenorthreef.com/mantis.wmv
7.5gal:http://www.truenorthreef.com/newcube.wmv
- Chad
2gal:http://www.truenorthreef.com/PicoMovie.wmv
Mantis feeding:http://www.truenorthreef.com/mantis.wmv
7.5gal:http://www.truenorthreef.com/newcube.wmv
- Chad
rbrice020378
New member
Alright Chad I have to ask. What info can you provide on the music that you use in the current video. That's a great song. Just curious.
The video work you do is awesome, you should consider doing it professionally. You've got some mad talent.
The video work you do is awesome, you should consider doing it professionally. You've got some mad talent.
ninjafish
New member
The song on the current video is called "monsters in the closet" by Swollen Members. I used it because it had 'monster' in the title and 'praying mantis' in the lyrics.
Thanks for the compliment! I have thrown together a few wedding videos before but I would seriously need to upgrade my camera if I was to do it professionally. Also, audio is a real week point - I would probably need a decent microphone and a better library of sound effects. .. for now it is just a lot of fun doing fish videos
The only problem is, I'm running out of things to film in this tank
- Chad
Thanks for the compliment! I have thrown together a few wedding videos before but I would seriously need to upgrade my camera if I was to do it professionally. Also, audio is a real week point - I would probably need a decent microphone and a better library of sound effects. .. for now it is just a lot of fun doing fish videos
The only problem is, I'm running out of things to film in this tank
- Chad
Chris Noto
New member
Great tank, great videos. All I could ask for now is a high-res shot of the whole tank, "suitable for wallpaper".
Well, I could ask you to come install one like it on my desk, but that might be a bit much.
Thanks for a great thread!
Well, I could ask you to come install one like it on my desk, but that might be a bit much.
Thanks for a great thread!
rsteagall
New member
THis whole project as well as your other one is totally amazing. Alot of information to read too. With that said, hopefully I haven't missed answers to my questions.
-How did you come up with the science of the proper amount of water to meter back into the tank? Trial and error?
-How often do you do water changes and at what %?
-What maintenance, if any, do you do to your canister?
-Concerning the return, is it just a stright shot to the surface or did you place rocks to diffuse the flow? I'm not able to tell with the pictures or video I've seen.
-Can you please give more pictures of your lighting system and a parts list of the components (including bulb)?
Obviously I love everything abou this project... who wouldn't! Seeing the activity and personality of the mantis, I'll have to turn my nano if and when I ever get one into a Mantis tank. I would also think a mantis tank with no fish would have quite a small bio-load and possibly require little to no water changes.
Thanks for you hard work and sharing it with the community.
-Ryan
-How did you come up with the science of the proper amount of water to meter back into the tank? Trial and error?
-How often do you do water changes and at what %?
-What maintenance, if any, do you do to your canister?
-Concerning the return, is it just a stright shot to the surface or did you place rocks to diffuse the flow? I'm not able to tell with the pictures or video I've seen.
-Can you please give more pictures of your lighting system and a parts list of the components (including bulb)?
Obviously I love everything abou this project... who wouldn't! Seeing the activity and personality of the mantis, I'll have to turn my nano if and when I ever get one into a Mantis tank. I would also think a mantis tank with no fish would have quite a small bio-load and possibly require little to no water changes.
Thanks for you hard work and sharing it with the community.
-Ryan
ninjafish
New member
Ryan,
Thanks for your comments about my tanks, I'm glad that you stopped by.
To answer your question about the auto topoff amount, when I first set up the ato on my 2gal cube I paid attention to how much water I was adding to the tank by hand (about 350ml). I set the pump output to match this and then watched it for a week or so and slowed it down if the water level rose over a few days and sped it up if it looked like the level was rising.
When I went to the 7.5 gal cube, I just multiplied my dosing rate by 3.5 and then watched it again to fine tune it. I have now found the magic evaporation rate of the tank and the water level only varies by a quarter of an inch up or down if I leave it for as long as two weeks.
Usually though I do a water change when I come in to work at the start of each week. I change 3gals of water at a time which is about 30%. This is more water and more frequent than I really need, but I do not dose any other suppliments and want to ensure that my stoney corals are getting enough calcium from frequent/large water changes. Also, the mantis puts a surprising amount of load on the system and I notice that if I go too long between water changes, the diatom algae builds up on the glass a lot faster.
As for my return flow, the water shoots directly up to the surface; in fact, I have carefully positioned my rockwork so that it doesn't get in the way. I have found that not only does it give me healthy surface agitation, but the current hitting the surface of the water causes it to umbrella down on every side and provides the most even circulation without dead spots.
I hope this helps. More pictures are on the way I promise.
Cheers,
Chad
Thanks for your comments about my tanks, I'm glad that you stopped by.
To answer your question about the auto topoff amount, when I first set up the ato on my 2gal cube I paid attention to how much water I was adding to the tank by hand (about 350ml). I set the pump output to match this and then watched it for a week or so and slowed it down if the water level rose over a few days and sped it up if it looked like the level was rising.
When I went to the 7.5 gal cube, I just multiplied my dosing rate by 3.5 and then watched it again to fine tune it. I have now found the magic evaporation rate of the tank and the water level only varies by a quarter of an inch up or down if I leave it for as long as two weeks.
Usually though I do a water change when I come in to work at the start of each week. I change 3gals of water at a time which is about 30%. This is more water and more frequent than I really need, but I do not dose any other suppliments and want to ensure that my stoney corals are getting enough calcium from frequent/large water changes. Also, the mantis puts a surprising amount of load on the system and I notice that if I go too long between water changes, the diatom algae builds up on the glass a lot faster.
As for my return flow, the water shoots directly up to the surface; in fact, I have carefully positioned my rockwork so that it doesn't get in the way. I have found that not only does it give me healthy surface agitation, but the current hitting the surface of the water causes it to umbrella down on every side and provides the most even circulation without dead spots.
I hope this helps. More pictures are on the way I promise.
Cheers,
Chad
rsteagall
New member
The thing that kills my spirit about getting a nano is the amount/frequency of waterchanges that must be done. I would have thought this mantis would create a low bio-load environment that wouldn't require many water changes. =\ Plus you have such a powerful refugium. Total water volume is probably close to 10 gallons. What is the longest you've ever went without a water change?
ninjafish
New member
rsteagall,
Yup you're right, 9.5gals total water volue. I've probably only gone 2 weeks without a water change. As I said, I do it in order to keep the diatom algae from growing on the glass too quickly but it doesn't 'need' it. I am sure that I could go a month between WCs without it having too much of a negative affect on the corals (except for lack of calcium maybe) - and I'm sure that even a year without a WC would not kill the mantis shrimp. Really though, when it comes to a tank this small, the amount of time and effort it takes to do a WC is almost negligable. I just fill a pail with ro water,add my salt, and toss a powerhead in it. The next day I syphon out some old and pour in the new. It probably takes only 5mins... which isn't an unreasonable amount of time to spend on tank maitenance each day, let alone once a week. Baisically I haven't identified the point when I 'have to' do a water change... because I always end up doing it when I 'want to' first. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
- Chad
Yup you're right, 9.5gals total water volue. I've probably only gone 2 weeks without a water change. As I said, I do it in order to keep the diatom algae from growing on the glass too quickly but it doesn't 'need' it. I am sure that I could go a month between WCs without it having too much of a negative affect on the corals (except for lack of calcium maybe) - and I'm sure that even a year without a WC would not kill the mantis shrimp. Really though, when it comes to a tank this small, the amount of time and effort it takes to do a WC is almost negligable. I just fill a pail with ro water,add my salt, and toss a powerhead in it. The next day I syphon out some old and pour in the new. It probably takes only 5mins... which isn't an unreasonable amount of time to spend on tank maitenance each day, let alone once a week. Baisically I haven't identified the point when I 'have to' do a water change... because I always end up doing it when I 'want to' first. Hope this helps.
Cheers,
- Chad
