My 20g Journal "Pic Warning" (now a 29g!)

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
Actually the red legged hermit is not a scarlet which are the reef safe ones. That one is one of the more aggressive ones of which I have a few that I recently relegated to the dungeon for shelljacking.
I believe the one I have pictured is a standard "Blue Legged" variety, I know that "spllouder" has recently purchased one of the red legged variety, perhaps you got the two threads mixed up?
 

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
BTW, did you end up with the Aqua Remora Nano? How do you like it? I was thinking of getting one myself...
I went with the regular AquaC Remora, which I'm glad I did, because I think the nano would have been inadequate for this new 29g.

As far as function goes, it has been excellent, however I know nothing of other skimmers to compare it to, but it was recommended by several people on this forum, and I am thus far very pleased with it's operation.
 

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
10/10/07 Update....Aptasia Dead

OK, so after TRe confirmed I did indeed have a little aptasia, I immediately went on the offensive, first I headed down to the LFS to purchase a peppermint shrimp (thought I'd try a natural solution) well, they didn't have any at the moment, so I purchased a bottle of "Joe's Juice".....

I get home and open the Joe's Juice, I set down in front of the tank to prepare for battle....

I load the syringe with an adequate amount of the stuff, and get to work. Per the package instructions I attempted to inject the stuff directly into the center of the aptasia (presumably it's mouth?).

Well, much to my surprise the lil thing almost immediately wilted, and within 5 minutes, it had turned into a gelatinous blob, and ultimately dissolved altogether. (total time span, approx. 10 minutes)

So needless to say, my first experience with Joe's Juice appears to have been successful. I have since scoured the tank looking for additional infestations, and as of yet haven't found any, but if one should pop up, I'm ready for it :D
 

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
10/11/07 Yet another update

OK, so below you'll find a current FTS, not much has changed.



Here is a shot of my Kenya, I swear this thing has had a growth spurt over the last week or two.



Here are some pics of my most recent addition (got it today) It's a Ricordia (I think) I'm not exactly sure what type of Ricordia though.

I got it for free from a friend, who had just got back from a frag swap in Milwaukee, this was one that no one seemed interested in buying, so he just gave it to me.

I'm not sure if my lighting will be adequate, so I placed it fairly high up on the rocks. If it starts to look "light starved" or generally unhappy I'll have to give it to one of the local LFS or offer it up on my local reef clubs web page. (Hopefully I'll be able to buy myself a nice new light setup for Christmas...we'll see *thumbsups) .

OK, enough typing here are the pics :D



 

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
IMO your fine with that light problly till your ready for a new tank.. or until your ready to get into sps
Thanks TRe, I've been looking at this light (link below) but it's the same wattage as what I have now, 65Watts, it's just 30" instead of 24".

So is it safe to assume that the intensity wouldn't be any brighter, just spread out full tank width?

Here's the link Current USA Orbit 30

Or would it be better to just save up some $ and get a 175 MH and do a DIY canopy to mount it in?
 

IDunnoWhy

Superstar Fish
Nov 16, 2006
1,058
2
38
52
Deerfield, WI
for the money that light costs you could get a retrofit here and then you just have to make a DIY canopy and buy a bulb and your set
Hey TRe thanks for that link, that fixture looks perfect for my purposes, but I do have a few questions....

1. The socket in that fixture appears to accept a "screw in" style bulb, is that correct (I always pictured MH lamps having pins on the ends)

2. There were quite a few choices as to what bulb you could purchase with it, some were 10,000K some were 20,000K and there were several manufactures to choose from, do you have a suggestion in that respect?

3. How often do you replace MH bulbs? Semi-Annually? Annually?

4. Is an actinic fixture something that I should install into the canopy as well (maybe I could salvage the actinic fixture out of my current lamp and transfer it over)

5. In the FAQ section it states that you should have glass between the tank and the fixture, yet I've seen people run MH on "open top" tanks before, what do you suggest?

6. What is the average life span of a MH ballast?

Now with all that being said, I'm probably looking at mid/late December before I'll even attempt this project, but I'd like to at least start putting together a game plan :D

I'm definitely going to do it, in fact I'm going to start drawing up some DIY canopy plans this weekend. I have wood working skills so I can at least get that portion of this project out of the way, now the electrical portion I may have to ask you guys some questions later :p