Randy's 180G Reef-Photo Journal

[rdmpe]

Thanks Airman! Here's a picture of the little holder I made. After I get a new probe, I'll sit the PH monitor here too I think...

 

[rdmpe]

I finally caught that second camelback shrimp!

So should I expect to get full credit for these when I return them (store credit)? I will probably just exchange them for a couple of peppermint shrimp. I was also thinking about a cleaner shrimp, then I read this posthttp://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=6502329#post6502329 which makes me think I'll go without the cleaner...

 

[Cprowler]

I had a cleaner shrimp for over a year and never say any behavior like that. I guess you never know what youââ"šÂ¬Ã¢"žÂ¢ll get.

 

[rdmpe]

I was thinking the same thing. I'm sure everyone has different experiences with them.

 

[tgunn]

WOW! That's some strange behaviour! I've had a cleaner with no problems so far. I guess any creature can do strange things. Kinda like my hermit that ate zoos. They "normally" don't do that.

 

[gkarshens]

My cleaner shrimp gets along fine with my 2 peppermints and everybody else. I think that was a freak incident for Keith. I love having a cleaner shrimp because the fish actually use him. It is so cool to see them come park next to him and then see him got work on their side.

 

[rock455]

I have 2 cleaners -- and love them -- Like gkarshens said they are very useful as they do clean the fish and I have never had them take anything out of my BTA -- my two Yellow Stripe Maroon clowns make sure that nothing gets near their host.

I have to agree that this was a weird incident for Keith --

However I am wondering why you are wanting peps? Do you have any Aptasia in the tank?

 

[Stile2]

Well, I was looking for these responses on my thread, but here is just as good. I am glad to here that this is freakish behavior. I am going to trade in the cleaner (if the LFS will let me). I love the cleaner, he is very interesting to watch and helps clean everything, it is just that he has gotten so agressive. I plan on getting a cleaner and a pep together, hopefully they will get along better.

Keith

 

[rdmpe]

I just thought the pep was a very safe critter to have and cool to watch, that's all. I don't have any aptasia. See, I'm tired of buying crabs and snails. But I'm afraid to buy any fish until I find some more LR. I'm afraid I'll have a cycle and kill the fish.

Any other suggestions? Would a cleaner shrimp still be a better buy than a peppermint for my tank in your opinions?



Well, I've managed to break a lot of acrylic trying to drill holes in it. I'm not having a problem with it breaking when the hole saw is cutting the big hole. The problem I'm having is when the small pilot bit breaks through the back side. It tends to snag and crack the acrylic. I've tried it at 700 RPM, 1500 RPM and 3000 RPM and pretty much had the same problem all three times (using a small drill press).

It seems like I have to clamp the acrylic under a piece of wood or something so that it can't get snagged and jerked upward. It also seems that thinner acrylic is more difficult and snags easier.

So now I have to wait until I can get across town to get a new piece of acrylic, or figure out another way to hang the fans inside my stand...

I'm going to the LFS to trade the camelback shrimp this afternoon. Any suggestions would be appreciated! Maybe I should try a pep and cleaner at the same time?

 

[Stile2]

The only way I could get the acrylic not to break is to use a Unibit step drill. It cuts material from the side of the hole so it doesn't snag. Here is a link not necessarily recommending the website, just wanted to show a pic. You can probably pick one up at Home Depot.

Keith

 

[rdmpe]

I have one of those from HD. I'll give that a try if I still end up using acrylic. I may have come up with a different method though...

I called the LFS and they are going to allow me to trade in those camelbacks. I just have to decide if I'm going to drag the kids along or wait for the wife to get home

 

[gkarshens]

I would think that if you add new live rock slowly instead of all at once you shouldn't have to worry too much about a cycle. Especially if you have a decent amount in there now.

 

[Fishyfreak031592]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6442342#post6442342 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
ID Request!

Here is another type of Xenia that I have.
This has fairly short fronds and a branching structure.
Anyone know the name of this stuff??

I dont know if someone already answered this, but it is red sea pulsing xenia...dont know scientific name though...i have some of it in my tank...

 

[rdmpe]

That's what I hope - that I will not have much of a cycle when adding rock.

FishyFreak - thanks for help with the ID. You know, the problem is if I do a google search I can find pictures of the same xenia name but the xenia in the pictures looks very different.

So I decided to go with a quick fix rig for my fans since I seem incapable of drilling holes in acrylic

Over the refugium I have two 120 mm fans that are attached to two pieces of paneling cap trim (plastic). The trim is long enough to span the whole fuge. The back trim does just that, resting on the top of the fuge. The front trim is hanging in order to make the fans angled across the fuge water surface. I also like the hanging since it prevents the fans from being able to fall into the water.

Here are some pictures of the fans over the fuge. The text in these pictures didn't come out very well...

Over the sump I have two more 120mm fans. These fans are just hooked to each other with very tight zip ties. Then I hung them. They have to be up pretty high so that they don't conflict with all of the plumbing and stuff.

I got all of the wires run as neatly as possible and everything turned out pretty well. I still have not set up the fans that will vent the air out of the stand. So I still have to leave the stand doors open to let some air through there. Hopefully this week I'll get the fans set up in the stand.

Maybe some day when I set up a nicer sump/fuge system I'll also fix the fan brackets up.

 

[Cprowler]

Are you just running them when you have the MH's on & have you noticed a temp change?

 

[melev]

To drill the acrylic, you need to place it on something solid like a 2x6. Clamp the acrylic to the wood, then drill downward gently and steadily. The pilot bit should keep the holesaw from wandering. Same method for smaller holes.

I like your substitute fan brackets. It really is neat how our minds work and find alternatives.

Please clean your skimmer, including the large riser tube. That's just nasty. (I'm a fanatic about cleaning skimmers)

 

[rdmpe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6509127#post6509127 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Cprowler
Are you just running them when you have the MH's on & have you noticed a temp change?

I was running a desk fan that was sitting on an overturned bucket and blowing into the stand toward the fuge. That made a noticable difference in my temps for sure.

By the time I finished the 12V fans, the tank temps were low enough that the fans didn't need to run. They only come on when the tank hits 80.2. When they are running, I can see the surface of the fuge really getting blown, so I have a feeling that they will be more effective than deskfan setup.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6510513#post6510513 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
To drill the acrylic, you need to place it on something solid like a 2x6. Clamp the acrylic to the wood, then drill downward gently and steadily. The pilot bit should keep the holesaw from wandering. Same method for smaller holes.

I like your substitute fan brackets. It really is neat how our minds work and find alternatives.

Please clean your skimmer, including the large riser tube. That's just nasty. (I'm a fanatic about cleaning skimmers)

Thanks Marc, next time I will definitely clamp it down. Now about my skimmer It seems to skum itself up pretty quickly. I don't know how I could keep it clean unless I clean it every couple of days. Is that typical? I have such a low bioload too, I suppose it will be worse when I have more fish.

 

[rdmpe]

Also - about the molding - I kept thinking of things like corner molding, but it would stick into the fan's opening too far IMO. Then I was messing around in the garage and found an old piece of molding that goes around the edge of beadboard. It has about a 1/4 "lip" on it and was fairly stiff. So that and some zip ties did the trick.

I really wanted to make sure the fans would not likely end up in the water. So having them fully or partially hang from the stand ceiling means that if I'm in there bumping things around, the fans can't fall in the water. My fuge light is similar. I don't really trust that clip enough, so I have the end with the fixture supported from above as well. So the clip keeps it stable but it's weight is also supported from above. If I knock the clip off, the fixture can hang there without falling into the fuge.

I did manage to drop a small flourescent fixture into the fuge once. Interestingly, it didn't really do anything scary. It made some noise while I was scrambling to unplug it. After it dried out, it worked fine again. It's probably corroding though, I'm not using it right now so not sure if it's still functioning or not.

 

[tangreef68]

good uck with the tank . it sounds like a very cool project.

 

[melev]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6510726#post6510726 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by rdmpe
Thanks Marc, next time I will definitely clamp it down. Now about my skimmer It seems to skum itself up pretty quickly. I don't know how I could keep it clean unless I clean it every couple of days. Is that typical? I have such a low bioload too, I suppose it will be worse when I have more fish.

Yep. I cleaned the riser column about every three days. I kept a handy sponge nearby for that job. Cleaning it out that often assured that I didn't have algae issues in my tank. I cleaned the cup and inside tube daily while the fish were eating.