Brent's Cube
- Thread starter brentch
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This tank is so stocked that Pic above looks like a 300l cube lol great work
Papitto
PatrickF
Amazing corals
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Thanks buddy, I have tried to go with a bonzai style tank where I've tried to be cognicent of the compatibility of each coral living next to each other. Of course you can't always get it right, and I have had some stinging and die off of corals. I have also noticed the encroachment of the more prolific growers (pulsing xenia, some of the zoas, and the longer tentacled star polyps).This tank is so stocked that Pic above looks like a 300l cube lol great work
Trimming has been important. If I don't trim the coral, I get die off of the more delicate species. I run plenty of carbon and GFO to keep the nutrients and toxins low enough to support this bioload. The only other way to do this would be to plumb a big sump into the system to increase the water volume and biological filtration. This is not an option in my case as I cannot afford the time and money for larger water changes etc.
My one regret that I have is the addition of my anemone. If I had an easy way to remove it, I would have done so a month after getting it. It's just too large and stings my corals. I'd rather have a piece of Acropora up there and maybe a clam, than that thing. It also changed color. I bought him as a peachy-orange color and he turned green after only a few weeks. Oh well, not much I can do now. The foot is so deep into the rock work, I'd have to remove the whole rock to get to the foot to remove it.
I think my next plan will be to try get hold of an AI prime HD for the tank, and another jebao wp4000 to go on the very back bottom left of the tank to increase the flow behind the rock work. One day when I actually get paid for what I'm worth, I'll get one.
Happy Sunday everyone, don't forget to test your parameters.
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Wow, thanks for the kind words Riaan. I really have been happy to get back into the hobby without any of the pressure of a larger tank. I found this build far more enjoyable and less stressfull than the previous.
One day when I'm financially stable I'd like to maybe go bigger, but for now I'm happy.
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I finally cleaned the tank properly. I am battling to get to the bottom of the front pane. But I spent time (careful not to knock off corals) and got it done. I am not sure how you guys feel, but my idea is that the glass panes are effectively algae scrubbers. The more you clean them the higher the nutrient export. What do you think of that theory?
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Papitto
PatrickF
This is a good method with limited space for a scrubber. Mine will be my skinny overflow with a targeted led attached to the clear glass in the back of the tank, covered to ensure no light exits the back. My skinny has black plastic sheet covering it, tank side.
I finally cleaned the tank properly. I am battling to get to the bottom of the front pane. But I spent time (careful not to knock off corals) and got it done. I am not sure how you guys feel, but my idea is that the glass panes are effectively algae scrubbers. The more you clean them the higher the nutrient export. What do you think of that theory?
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I think that is a great idea. If you can get that working it sounds like the best way to go about scrubbing a space-limited tank! Keep me updated on that!
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If I had a rand for every time I was asked that question
Yes, I do! She's a cryptic Ruby Dragonet, who rules her cube with impunity! I actually don't feed her, she gets all her food from the amphipods and other fauna hiding in the rockwork. I have tried a banngai recently, which croaked within two days, and I have had two Ocellaris which jumped through my fish screen. I don't have much luck with fish in this tank. I feel like it may be that the tank is just too small and the flow is too high for most species.
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Huge shake up in the tank on many fronts this week!
Since I've started dosing aquaforest, I can say that with out a doubt, I am getting better colouration. Most noticeable have been the Coraline algae which is beginning to grow at a faster rate than before. I lost a bit of growth when I swapped out my chemicals and plumbed the doser in. It took a while for me to figure out the correct amount needed. I'm nearly there though, and think it'll be dialed in by next week properly. I did notice my first attempt at the dosing pipes was a complete failure. I place the pipes to close together, and I got precipitation along the edge of the area where the chemicals are dosed. I fixed this issue yesterday by spreading the pipes and adding a cut off pipette tip (I'm a molecular ecologist, I have cupboards of these things) to the ends of the pipes.
The tip allows for a smaller more direct spray of the chemicals into the flow of the wavemaker, and stops droplets forming at the end of the pipe which cause the precipitation. It looks neat too.
The above isn't permanent, I'm in the process of making a better bracket from perspex. I've learnt a few tricks to get the stuff looking great. Polishing and gluing actually isn't too difficult if you have access to the right tools...
The next thing...... I did pruning..... A lot of pruning...... My tank has just got too full and because space is such a premium in my tank, I decided to remove any corals that were average looking, causing war, or just taking up space. The end result was the removal of a biggish rock, and the cutting of plenty corals. I hacksawed, cut, and scraped out over 20 corals. Which a buddy of mine gladly took.
The aftermath
The corals are recovering and I will post the nicer pics this weekend after a final clean up and placing of a few newer corals.
I have swapped out my redsea coral pro salt for the aquaforest salt. The aquaforest stuff looks great (better, even) by the element values on the box, and it includes the probiotic bacteria in it too. And it's cheaper than redsea! I'll report back after this week's water change how it compares.
Lighting..... Time to upgrade! I am looking at the options at the moment, but in terms of performance, I think I'll be going for a hydra, two primes or an xr15. I have extensively researched other options, but these echo tech products seem to shine a bit brighter on all fronts, than any of the other options.
Carbon and GFO are a bit of a funny thing.. I dump a lot in each month, and personally I think I am wasting it. Especially since it sits in a chemibag, with no active flow over it. No reactor chamber is small enough for my tank, so I thought... Time to try something new. I played around with some acrylic, and might have a solution...
So this skinny thing will be powered by my return pump. The pump is currently underpowered to thirty percent because it's just too powerful for the flow rate needed. I can now bleed some of that wasted power into the reactor. I just need to get hold of a small gate valve and t piece, plumb it in, and I'm good to go!
I am really excited for the next few weeks, I think things are really going to happen with the extra negative space and hopefully a new light soon (If I can get a good price!)...
More soon.
Since I've started dosing aquaforest, I can say that with out a doubt, I am getting better colouration. Most noticeable have been the Coraline algae which is beginning to grow at a faster rate than before. I lost a bit of growth when I swapped out my chemicals and plumbed the doser in. It took a while for me to figure out the correct amount needed. I'm nearly there though, and think it'll be dialed in by next week properly. I did notice my first attempt at the dosing pipes was a complete failure. I place the pipes to close together, and I got precipitation along the edge of the area where the chemicals are dosed. I fixed this issue yesterday by spreading the pipes and adding a cut off pipette tip (I'm a molecular ecologist, I have cupboards of these things) to the ends of the pipes.
The tip allows for a smaller more direct spray of the chemicals into the flow of the wavemaker, and stops droplets forming at the end of the pipe which cause the precipitation. It looks neat too.
The above isn't permanent, I'm in the process of making a better bracket from perspex. I've learnt a few tricks to get the stuff looking great. Polishing and gluing actually isn't too difficult if you have access to the right tools...
The next thing...... I did pruning..... A lot of pruning...... My tank has just got too full and because space is such a premium in my tank, I decided to remove any corals that were average looking, causing war, or just taking up space. The end result was the removal of a biggish rock, and the cutting of plenty corals. I hacksawed, cut, and scraped out over 20 corals. Which a buddy of mine gladly took.
The aftermath
The corals are recovering and I will post the nicer pics this weekend after a final clean up and placing of a few newer corals.
I have swapped out my redsea coral pro salt for the aquaforest salt. The aquaforest stuff looks great (better, even) by the element values on the box, and it includes the probiotic bacteria in it too. And it's cheaper than redsea! I'll report back after this week's water change how it compares.
Lighting..... Time to upgrade! I am looking at the options at the moment, but in terms of performance, I think I'll be going for a hydra, two primes or an xr15. I have extensively researched other options, but these echo tech products seem to shine a bit brighter on all fronts, than any of the other options.
Carbon and GFO are a bit of a funny thing.. I dump a lot in each month, and personally I think I am wasting it. Especially since it sits in a chemibag, with no active flow over it. No reactor chamber is small enough for my tank, so I thought... Time to try something new. I played around with some acrylic, and might have a solution...
So this skinny thing will be powered by my return pump. The pump is currently underpowered to thirty percent because it's just too powerful for the flow rate needed. I can now bleed some of that wasted power into the reactor. I just need to get hold of a small gate valve and t piece, plumb it in, and I'm good to go!
I am really excited for the next few weeks, I think things are really going to happen with the extra negative space and hopefully a new light soon (If I can get a good price!)...
More soon.
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Hmmm, clown goby, I like that idea!
yeah, get the yellow clown goby. The green one would be nice as alternative. The Citron would be too big. The black one is hard to get.
Yasha goby would be nice as well in such a small tank, but I think they would also jump easily.
Yasha goby would be nice as well in such a small tank, but I think they would also jump easily.
Papitto
PatrickF
I'm tagging here as I am also starting my tank with RS Coral Pro and was looking at AF Probiotic reef salt as well when deciding.
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I just plumbed my DIY mini reactor and it works so well. I am very impressed with how well it works. Easy to access and service too. I'm very happy. It just runs off the return pump, so no need for extra pumps.
I should get fuller use of my carbon and gfo now with the active flow running through it.
I should get fuller use of my carbon and gfo now with the active flow running through it.