What would YOU do with my tank?

[pleuralplexus]

I originally posted this thread in the Reef forum, but it really belongs here.

I have a 28g nanocube (see pics and string below) and I thought it would be fun to ask what you would do with this tank if it was yours. And I mean everything you would do or what you would change and why. I seriously wanna know because I thought it would be a great way to plan what I will do with it. It's a blank canvas, so let me know!

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?p=20496965&posted=1#post20496965

 

[TundraGuy]

Throw a brick and run………. Teeheee………….
JK
I would like to see the sand changed to aragonite. I find with a black substrate it shows off every little nasty thing rotting on the sand bed, also it makes the tank vary dark. White substrate will reflect more light from the bottom back up making everything more visible. Also aragonite being what it is helps to maintain certain elements in the water granted that’s minimal but it does help maintain levels. I would also like to see a direction you’re trying to head towards. The tank looks like you kind of had an idea at first but then it changed and now you’re half way between a Hawaiian volcano beach and a Florida estuary. Pick one and see it through.

Now if you’re wanting to keep the black sand then I would go Rics and Zoas all day long but be a puritan about it and only Rics and Zoas. Or go aggressive with a Mantis like a G. Smithii. How about a frogfish or angler tank. a few different Anglers look crazy cool on black sand. Go unusual and blow peoples minds. Just remember have fun with it

 

[Maxi]

If I had a 28G new to start over with I would...

Get T-5's

Aquascape a long arch...
Put a vortech on the back middle top part of the tank
Add a different colored variety of BTA's on that arch all the way across
Add two maroon clowns
Bottom portion on the left all ricordeas.
Bottom portion on the right all zoanthids.
Very middle under the arch a nice clam or two
Interesting Inverts (pom poms, porcelain crabs, sexy shrimps)

Then...
Watch the progress for years.

 

[pleuralplexus]

Thanks for the ideas!

Had a bad turn of events when my chiller suddenly went out several days ago, but it's being replaced under warranty. I've decided to be patient, and get the chemistry, temperature and lighting just right before I invest in more livestock.

So the changes will be:
New JBJ LED pro hood
Aquamaxx HOB-1
Chemipure now running in a small HOT filter
Fan cooling (no prob with decreased heat from LED and good evap compensation from my ATO system)
New chemicals: trace elements, etc

I was really disappointed in the dark black aragonite. Really tempted to switch it to the standard stuff or just mix in some white aragonite just to brighten it up. We'll see after the LED hood gets here...

 

[pleuralplexus]

I installed my new HOB-1 on my NC28 two days ago and that thing is NUTS!!! The instructions recommended running the skimmer on a bucket of warm tap water for 24 hr before installing on a tank, so I set it up on a pitcher of filtered warm water from the kitchen. That thing is such a skimming beast that it had generated a small amount of skimmate from the TAP WATER by the next day. When I put it on the tank, it went to town right away, and has already filled its huge collection cup twice (a cup a day). Amazing! And now there isn't a trace of protein on the surface of the water in the aquarium.

 

[pleuralplexus]

JBJ LED ADVANCED HOOD INSTALLED:

The LED advanced hood has been on for a week and the difference is worth the price. The corals are happier (including the montipora which is now growing) and the tank looks much brighter and cleaner. I have a bag of fiji aragonite which I may still add to offset the dark substrate (black & white effect) but its no longer dark and uninviting like it once was, even without the change in substrate.

 

[pleuralplexus]

PHOSBAN 150 INSTALLATION:

Two Little Fishes Phosban reactor was installed today. Phosban is really messy, with the consistency of just exactly what it is: modified granulated synthetic rust. I tried flushing the phosban with RODI water in a pyrex pan to prevent breaking the friable granules, but it never would rinse clear. So, I simply loaded the phosban reactor with the phosban, put a funnel on top of the inlet valve (to keep the flow slow) and ran a whole 5 gallon container of RODI H2O through it. When the reactor finally cleared up, I installed a fine mesh bag at the top of the reactor to catch any loose microparticles, and then charged the reactor with salt water (so I wouldnt dilute my salinity at installation).

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=72256093-70D5-46AA-810F-F8A5CA21710E-15154-000026E7FF6A7ED1.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/72256093-70D5-46AA-810F-F8A5CA21710E-15154-000026E7FF6A7ED1.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>


Then I hooked it all up. There is still room for the JBJ ATO sensor, but when the chiller gets back from the warranty repair / replacement process (at least I hope I get a functioning chiller back), I'll have to do some VERY creative plumbing to cram in the chiller. Likely, the I/O tubing will have to sit right in front of the HOB-1 skimmer.

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=8E520A36-BA47-462F-B349-E79D1C2C1988-15154-000026E80A62FF09.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/8E520A36-BA47-462F-B349-E79D1C2C1988-15154-000026E80A62FF09.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

By the way, here's the HOB-1 (sorry for the crappy picture quality)

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=2AFFE9BE-1948-467C-8034-0712BA6CFEDC-15154-000026E7F762566E.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/2AFFE9BE-1948-467C-8034-0712BA6CFEDC-15154-000026E7F762566E.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

 

[pleuralplexus]

Since my last post, I've added more livestock and I've changed out about 50% of the substrate to FijiPink Aragonite (white sand). The white with scattered black adds excellent texture in my opinion and I'm quite satisfied with it The chiller is back on and working and everything is rockin! The acro frag is extended and fleshy and the xenias are pulsing. I'm tickled FijiPink!

Recent additions:

Green acropora
Two cat-paw montipora colonies
One Xenia colony
Flower polyps

And one addition that'll make die hard reefers frown, but I just love these (they bring back warm memories of my last reef): a fairly oversized green finger leather. Yes I know it'll be too big soon, but they're so easy to frag and they sell like hot cakes out here in the excrement sphincter of Texas

 

[pleuralplexus]

Pictures

Pictures

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=458B0A9E-55B5-415A-A539-A7926D040A54-16596-00002B68E7AB4123.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/458B0A9E-55B5-415A-A539-A7926D040A54-16596-00002B68E7AB4123.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=8F87FE46-5306-4B6A-B681-A8B77599E901-16596-00002B69228128AA.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/8F87FE46-5306-4B6A-B681-A8B77599E901-16596-00002B69228128AA.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=C5D89AC5-30C8-4CAA-9DF7-7F7C065B9ADE-16596-00002B68F8A29E06.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/C5D89AC5-30C8-4CAA-9DF7-7F7C065B9ADE-16596-00002B68F8A29E06.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=1C3DD405-19CF-4D8E-A9BA-34316CCF249F-16596-00002B6909E46F41.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/1C3DD405-19CF-4D8E-A9BA-34316CCF249F-16596-00002B6909E46F41.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

 

[ange062]

While I can't tell you what you should do with your tank, I can show you what I have done with mine!! Go check out my build thread if you get a chance. In this hobby, it's like being an artist, everybody has a different opinion of what they like and what should be done.

 

[pleuralplexus]

Installed my MP10 yesterday. It's very nice

 

[pleuralplexus]

Added about 10 more pounds of live rock. It's rock I've had for 6 years and so its deeply coraline encrusted. I used epoxy to stick the rock together and fasten the SPS corals.

Caution about epoxy::strange: My skimmer is fantastic under any circumstances, but it went absolutely MAD when I used the epoxy. The package warns this may happen, but the warning was an understatement. The skimmate was just gushing out like a fountain for about four hours with the collection container at the highest possible setting. It was literally foaming up like a shaken soda bottle when I would empty the collection cup, so I attached a drain tube to a 5 gallon bucket. It skimmed out five gallons of water in four hours (which of course I replaced with fresh saltwater). Then suddeny, (I suppose when some magic chemical state was achieved) the madness stopped and all was well. After it was all said and done, I finished the day with a partial water change and a new reef arrangement; and all of the inhabitants (inside and outside of the tank) are happy.:fish2:

 

[pleuralplexus]

Added a second phosban 150 reactor today.

 

[pleuralplexus]

Just got back from MASNA in Dallas. Picked up 8 frags. Here's how it looks today:

<a href="http://s1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/?action=view&current=5EAB5A2E-9F2B-434E-9C6A-0F100AA3E7F8-21749-00003C9AE62C3702.jpg" target="_blank"><img src="http://i1033.photobucket.com/albums/a416/sdwigint/5EAB5A2E-9F2B-434E-9C6A-0F100AA3E7F8-21749-00003C9AE62C3702.jpg" border="0" alt="Photobucket Pictures, Images and Photos" /></a>

It's hard to tell from the picture, but because the tank is often viewed from the front and the left side, I have the rock stacked in an L shape, jutting out toward the front glass on the right. So there are two separate viewpoints now, each with different visible corals.

 

[pleuralplexus]

The acro frag at the top center (the one with the terrible epoxy job) has grown substantially since I put it in 4 weeks ago. The two acros at the top right were added today. The green acro had some tissue loss from the base by the time I got home from Dallas (4 hour drive) so I'm not very hopeful for that one.