capty99

i'll take for the brand new tank if they are still there -- anything to add would be awesome.

I went to hawaii for a wedding a few years back, took a bunch of pics , was really excited about them, and a giant monk seal swam over top of me, scared the living stuffing out of me, i dropped the camera and got a nice coral cut on my leg... so all i have to prove of my trip is a nice scar on my knee.

i think it was one off for a science magazine, i feel like i've seen this before.

though if you could make those on the cheap i bet you could sell a few

Anyone built one of these? I have a soldering iron lying around from past experiments so I can put one of these together pretty easily -- but I'm wondering how much light I should throw into this tank. Its still the 10g, and I'll probably make it expandable, but someone said they only dropped like 8 led's in their similar sized tank. Doesn't seem like much light. Anyone have experience? Should I run all blue , or some blue / white mix?

Thanks

no -- and i have a reason for my indecisiveness.

a) i keep hearing that this size tank can be run with just constant water changes (but then again i've heard they can't) but i might just try it for a while w/o

the real reason is that i'm already considering the upgrade, or at least envisioning it, and if that happens i don't need to double purchase the 10 will get incorporated into a sump or something and not a standalone anymore and i'll obviously need a more powerful skimmer.

we'll see

gracias - both of you

definitely document everything thats cool

OK -

finally got my light set up on. its fugly due to the fact that i messed it up about 15 times but thats what happens when people 'borrow' your power tools and your left using scraps.

I'm gonna make it pretty later but I wanted to get some light on the tank. How much light is too much light? It is pretty intense IMO but that may be normal - I'll try and get a shot but I doubt thats gonna help you guys. I've got it sitting about 3 in off the water I would say, so as to get light to all parts of the tank, but i juts may be throwing too much down on it. My peppermint shrimp I put in there to grab some aptasia come and play in the light for a few minutes but then hide behind rocks -- is that normal or a symptom of too much light?

Next question is -- am I good to start slowly adding to the tank when I hit 0 on all the right tests? I'm 0 on ammonia and coming down on nitrate so it shouldn't be too long. Is there a way to add guys besides slowly? As a freshwater guy I'm thinking I want to do fish first, but maybe I need to start some corals. (bunch of you guys i've been buying parts off have offered small frags for free and its about time I start taking you up on that. )

I am also right on that in between on if my cycle will be done and ready for fish in time for aquatek's sale. tough isn't it?

@zarathustra2 i might jump in on that, though for my 10g I won't need much.

i really want them, my tank just isn't set up yet. great deal though. good luck

i grabbed a few peppermints today -- thx!

if you want a quick primer i found this helpful : http://www.nano-reef.com/forums/index.php?showtopic=115933

Yeah i was afraid any sort of skimmer was going to take up 1/3 of my tank. The position my tank is in doesn't have any space for a sump right now so I was wanting to avoid it if possible. I may see how natural filtration does for a little while with real regular water changes. If I do get a sump I'll probably go for a 20 gallon DIY that could later get used on a bigger tank but I haven't thought that far out just yet.

and thats why i asked - thanks. any recommendations for a nano?

http://anythingsaltwater.com/fission-nano-skimmer-p-1560.html

is this a good buy for me?

dena, i picked up the nano.

was just stopping by to say thanks medi, got it in the tank and running and i'm sure as soon as the cycles over the new inhabitants will love it.

k - thx again.

also, thanks msmmze who came over to grab 10 lbs of sand and gave me a nice one hour crash course in what i can do with my tank - i needed the info.

question about my MH light. Just got everything rigged up as far as wiring goes (though I still have to make the fixture correctly) and plugged the bulb in, after letting it warm up for about 5 minutes I started to smell it a little bit -- normal or is my wiring f'ed up? The ballast has a shut down if wiring is screwed so I think I'm good just making sure a little smell is normal for a first time start up ($50 bulbs make you over cautious)

Also, anyone have experience putting a hole in a metal bowl haha - I thought it would be an easy deal with a hammer + nail or screwdriver to punch one through but I can't get it. Only recourse I have now is a drill I guess. Anyone who could spare a punch or something? thanks

ah, the lovely aptasia, read many a thread about it on RC, thanks for the ID, will do.

k - thx.

Got a few questions.

1) you can look @ these crappy pics and see where I have my tank. It fit sort of perfectly under this shelf that divides my kitchen / living room so would be a nice place to be seen from both sides -- but is that shelf going to cause problems -- aka major heat issue? My plan right now is to have the lamp that I'm building sit on that, and then hang over the open side of the tank. The lamp that is currently there is only for my purposes when I was moving stuff around inside, but it does seem to hit all corners of the tank even under the shelf. It looks pretty bad in the pic but its a cool little spot in the house for a tank if it works.

2) Should I get rid of this little guy that came on the rock -- or is it not a problem?

3) What should I be monitoring right now -- I have the 'master reef test kit' from a LFS that does :

calcium (420)

phosphates .5 ppm

carbonate hardness (alkalinity) which is my problem right now - 4 dKH

and nitrates are at 0.

salinity is a tiny bit low i think, double checking that via a refractometer tomorrow (gonna order one soon)

it seems when you guys report you have a lot more info than me.

much. appreciated.

Picked up some bagged carribean live sand from the LFS, have 10 lbs left over, if anyone wants it they can come grab it in the next few days. Not very much compared to what you big boys use, but it will cover a 10 gallon tank.

I live at 38th and Red River -- if anyone wants it send me a PM.

nice photos - cool clam

question : Since I got the rock from prof, and its all LR, and it was out of the tank for about 15 minutes, I guess I'm not going to get a cycle going right? I read on reef central one guy suggested drop a couple table shrimp in there to kick start a cycle of some sort. Is that the thing to do?

day 1 of waiting : can i add fish yet?

On hydrometers... don't waste money on them. Get a refractometer. They are about 40$ but you'll only ever buy 1. I use the marinedepot brand and am very happy with it.

I have 3 hydrometers across 2 brands. All three give different readings on my bucket of change water I have going right now. My Refractometer is dialed in and says it is 1.26. The hydrometer readings are 1.22, 1.24 and 1.28. The 1.22 and 1.28 are both the exact same brand.

Some research was done at http://www.advancedaquarist.com/2006/9/lines but i disagree with thier conclusion. I think you could be in for some issues if you went with the only hydrometer you had and it was reading .05 off and you dialed into a 1.31 salinity. On a personal note, the reason I switched was that I had a friend of mine use his refractometer on my tank and what I thought was a 1.26 salinity was really 1.21. If you can't get a refractometer then use a buddies so you at least know how "off" your hydrometer is. If your in NW austin I'll be happy to let you use mine if you could bring over a water sample. Only a few CCs are needed.

and you meant 1.022, 1.024 and 1.028 right? or am i 2 tenths of a point off haha

not real worried about the hydrometer since i've worked with them before in the beer making process (kind of funny how my tubes / buckets / tools are just getting turned into this hobby -- but will never be turned back - gross) but I may take you up on that offer to compare my readings against your refracto just to see. if anything goes crazy that will be my first guess then.