What Lurks In The Dark Places.

[sorgan]

righty so i think its time to start this up as i should be picking the tank up tomorrow, ive opted to get a hexagonal tank with the dimensions
H 40.6 x W 30.5 x D 17.8 cm. this holds 6g or 27l. not sure how it will be lit yet but its going to be very low level lighting.

after talking to a D&D rep today ive decided to use NP bio pellets in a fluidising reactor and skim the tank to deal with OTT nitrate and phosphate levels, how i am going to plumb this is open to debate but its either going to be done using a hang on skimmer, some acrylic, some silicon and a bit of imagination or by pumping water through media into a 'sump' (large platic container) that will contain the skimmer and a return pump, this may be done using varible pumps so i can get the flow rates calibrated.

other filteration will OFC be live rock. powerhead wise i have spotted a sicce voyager 1 powerhead, it is adjustable and apparantly creates random surges, one doesnt know till one tries these things

stocking wise will be any NPS corals i can get my mucky mitts on and a couple of pajama cardinals, random inverts etc.
will post pics of equipment as i get it but the tank will not be wet for a month or so.

 

[seffieuk]

Woo hoo, game on, i'm really looking forward to this

I'm surprised to see that you are going to skim though?

Seffie x

 

[sorgan]

Having a chat with a man who is in the know changed my mind.
Only 30% of dissolved organics are removed by skimming add this to the nutrient munching powers of bio pellets it seems the obvious route. Also any bacteria that doesn't get skimmed out will be eaten by the corals so it seems a win win

Anyone use a durso? As I think this might be my answer

 

[sorgan]

ok tank is got and durso is built, well sort of i just need to add a one way valve at the top and it will be done. used compression fittings, i really hope they work or i will be up the creek so to speak.

the durso folded out

attached

from the end pipe i will attack some flexi hose like the stuff used in canister filters.
i will also be adding either a tube or a panel in front of the durso intake so it becomes a compartment.

 

[rdp50734]

Its looking good! Also the jaffa cakes look tasty too!

 

[sorgan]

Just installed the powerhead, used the sicce voyager 1, what a brilliant powerhead!

It's a little bulky but the cradle is attached with 4 suckers and 3 magnets on the inside and 3 magnets and a sucker on the outside.
The stream out has a very wierd attachment that rotates and opens and closes randomly and lots of other jazz so the flow in the tank is completely random at all times, it just kind of aimlessly rotates when it feels like it.

On the list still is -
Heater
Deltec thermo controller
Some kind of blue LED
Fluidising reactor
Reactor pump
Return pump.

 

[sorgan]

so return pump is sorted, found a skimmer i used on a nano a while back (sadly it wont cope with the stuff that will be in this tank) that had a pump attached to it that just so happened to be about right for what i want
a bucket, length of pipe and a sink later the durso is tested with the pump, works fine but i intend to use a tap on each pipe (out and in) to really calibrate the flows.
also 'found' a stand for the tank (an old bedside table) so things are moving along briskly, just need to find a sump (decent size bucket(i think i have one but ive misplaced it)) and i need to dig out and test my hydor skimmer which is one of these the tank is 6 gallons so i think that it should be just powerful enough

 

[sorgan]

cleaning my skimmer i relised it is taller then the bucket i intend to use as my sump, i swore somewhat, im not proud of the moment of weakness.

now the plan is to use a 5 gallon bucket that will stand next to the tank (easy access i suppose) that way the skimmer will still be able to be used, and i will have alot more water volume. the bonus is i will have more room for my other pumps, heaters etc

oh the joys of a new tank

 

[sorgan]

so today it got salty and i bought some equipment, made some aswell.

i got a set of submersable blue LED lights (3 sets of 5 LEDs) that are usb driven, that means they use a whole 6 volts of juice, also means they will produce next to no usable light. plenty enough to see by though

please excuse the picture quality but i turned the room lights off to show what the lighting will look like.

so 25l of salty is in and a heater has been banged in, tommorow i will add some LR and sand, more water will go in and i will hopefully fire up the sump (bucket)ive not done that now as ive siliconed some things and want to leave it to cure.

PS the powerhead is rotating around like a gem

 

[sorgan]

so i have added LR and sand today and the tank looks like

BUT as this is a nocturnal tank i decided to add another light, something different.

whether or not the thought that fish/inverts dont see red is true it does make the tank look a bit creepy doesnt it lol.

this is both lights. i am trying to figure out a way to diffuse the red a bit

sadly after some more swearing i found my durso isnt fast enough for the return pump so it means a trip back to B&Q for some bigger pipe but this can wait as the skimmer really wont me needed until i start stocking my NPS corals in a few weeks.

 

[sorgan]

so far i have 1 (a whole 1!!!) feather duster, 2 stromy's and a small crab
i forgot just how exiting rock watching is.

 

[Donya]

2 stromy's

...a what now?

Anyway, wow! That's some red you got there. Also curious how you mounted the LEDs in the hood? Or are they actually submerged?

 

[sorgan]

stomatella snails sorry, was being lazy
the LEDs are actually submerged, well the blues are the red one is stuck to the hood via a suction cup but its also sumbersible.
TBH the red isnt as bright as it looks in the pictures heres some better ones

now the dust has settled it has less of a laser show thing going on.
just blues

just red

 

[sorgan]

banged a the chilli from my display tank in this today, its a bit soon but the chilli was beinh harassed by a torch so it needed rescuing
didnt see te green bristleworm until after i picked the coral up, b@$t@rd tagged me on the thumb, oh well its good CuC.
chilli is looking happier already AND the red light makes it look awsome, will get a pick when its fully extended.
my Dendronephthya in the main tank is actually (very very slowly) growing! so i must be feeding it the right stuff. hopefully when i get the skimmer running on the pico and get it feeding constantly it will put some decent growth on

 

[rdp50734]

Looking great!