my new project-Aquarium keeping part 3

[ocnbrze]

ok here is another update. my client just gave me the tank for free.......well she said that i should try to sell it and we can split the profit or if i can't sell it, then we can keep it..........so i kept it. lol

it is a 20 gal long glass tank (30"x12"x13") with a filter built into the side of the tank. it also comes with a decent led lighting system. i just ordered a stand for the tank. it should be here in a few weeks. i think i am going to make it a zoa frag tank. this means there will not be any sand or rocks in the tank. i will be suing black egg crating as a way to hold the frag plugs.

it will be something similar to these tanks:

 

[ocnbrze]

and another update on the pico zoa tank.......

the diatoms are going away!!!!!! thank god. it is not nearly as bad as it was a few days ago. what changed well i finally was able to get some coral dip. so i dipped and scrubbed my zoa frags and they all of them have finally opened up. also i added some macro algea to the tank. and i think with the zoas, the macroalgae, and the mangrove, they are starting to use up the nutrients before the diatoms have a chance to use it....thus slowing down the growth rate. i also added some more snails and hermit crabs which are now grazing on them as well.

Spoiler: here are my pics of the tank

i'll post some pics of my zoas when they are all open.

 

[ocnbrze]

ok so i'm a tad frustrated at myself. i assumed the fiitings i ordered to plumb my overflow box was the correct size. only to find out saturday that i got the wrong parts.

i also ordered a new bed frame and upon removing my old bed frame i was going to try and get most of the plumbing down while i had the extra room with my bed gone for the moment. alas this did not happen so i had to finish assembling my new bed. it would have been perfect because i could pull the tank and stand out a bit from the wall to make it easier to plumb. but now with the new bed installed it will be much more difficult but still can be done. should get the parts and be able to plumb by next coming Saturday.

on another note i ordered a refugium light as well and ordered some fish for this tank. i have my nano tank that i setup that i can keep them in when they arrive.

i'll post picks when i get them.

 

[olbriar]

I thought you might find this interesting...

 

[ocnbrze]

I thought you might find this interesting...

interesting is one way to describe it....lol

so that tank would be a nightmare to clean.......i aint picking up that account....LOL

 

[olbriar]

The average rise per step is 7.5" X 4 = 30" and perhaps another 24" to the top... That's nearly five feet deep at the extreme. I can understand shying away from that one. I don't see any fish?

 

[ocnbrze]

I thought you might find this interesting...

that's not a tank, this is a tank:

the tank is 24 feet long(yes i said feet) by 10 feet wide and 10 feet high!!!!!!!!!!

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Is this a room? 2.5

 

[ocnbrze]

Is this a room? 2.5

well its indoors so yes it is in a room.....LOL

 

[ocnbrze]

Sounds fishy.

yeah well this project is definitely smelly.....LOL

so nano tanks(basically anything under 20 gallons)are more of a pain to take care of......mainly because of the small volume of water. right now it is still settling in. right now it is going thru it's dinoflagellate stage. these are microorganisms that create these brown dots on the glass, the rocks, and the sand. it is out competing the normal algae for space, nutrients, and light. it is a relatively normal phase of any new tank. it looks terrible and all you can do is clean as much out as you can with water changes and wiping of the glass. at some point the algae will out compete the dino's, and then you now have an algae issue.....lol but then you will have grazers such as hermit crabs and snails along with some fish to keep that in check.

i'll post some gross pics of my nano at some point.....maybe a before and after.....it should be fine in a month or so.....and maybe longer...we shall see.

 

[dontpanicbobby]

Show me the fishies!

 

[olbriar]

I found another you might enjoy viewing.

 

[ocnbrze]

OMG thats funny

i like this one better:

 

[Milo Williamson]

How is your aquariumn since you last update it?

 

[ocnbrze]

How is your aquariumn since you last update it?

sorry been meaning to answer your post and update this thread.

right now, because i have been so busy the tank has been neglected. it has a ton of bubble and hair algae. most likely this week i will be removing my fish and completely draining the tank down and bleach almost everything to kill off the algae. i will then add everything back in along with my fish and hope that kills off the algae. it is sort of like starting over. once the algae is gone. will than start to add some corals and see how they will do.

 

[AugieTN]

I have no idea why you bought an elliptical for exercise. Keeping up with all those tanks is a lot of work which will give you plenty of exercise.

 

[treb1797]

Don't worry, in 3 months that elliptical will be nothing more than a "catch all"

 

[ocnbrze]

I have no idea why you bought an elliptical for exercise. Keeping up with all those tanks is a lot of work which will give you plenty of exercise.

lol THE 180GAL is the easiest to clean. the algae eaters do a good job at keeping the tank free of algae. and water changes are the easiest to do. the saltwater tanks are the hardest to do and thus have been neglected. i have some time after the new year. i will get them all cleaned aand back up to my standards

Don't worry, in 3 months that elliptical will be nothing more than a "catch all"

i will be more than happy to prove you wrong.

 

[treb1797]

I hope you do. Keep grinding amigo

 

[AugieTN]

Back in the 80s I had a 30 gallon saltwater tank. A few shops had saltwater tanks with clown fish and blue damsel fish. If you wanted anything else it was all done through mail order and you would pick up the order at the airport when it arrived. I added a couple of starfish, a couple of horseshoe crabs, a couple of small pipefish, pipe coral and a moon coral which was beautiful when it opened.

It was a chore to maintain a saltwater tank.

 

[ocnbrze]

the hardest part really is getting the saltwater. i have a ro tank and a saltwater mixing tank ao mixing saltwater is not that bad......but it is still takes work getting it mixed. i then hook up a hose to the pump from the mixing tank and i can then pump the water to my various tanks.

my problem right now is motivation. i clean tanks for a living so that last thing i want to do is clean my own tanks.....lol

right now work is a lot at the moment. once i can relax a bit, i can then focus on my tanks. so the goal is after the holidays are over i can then start working on getting everything back up into shape.