My 'work' 20L

[jharr]

My desktop tank that keeps me sane at my job.

20L - total water vol ~ 15.5 gal
corner overflow with filter pad
no sump
no skimmer
5 gal water change 2x per week - Scripps
Daily topoff with Kalk or DIY 2-part
2x55W pc (10,000K/actinic)
2 powerheads for circulation
crushed coral sand bed ~3"
10 lbs live rock
~15 lbs diy rock (cement/oyster shell method)

various LPS, SPS, zoos
a few zebra hermits
tuxedo urchin (currently on loan to kjsreef)
mated pair of bangaii cardinals, regularly breeding

[jharr]

These babies should be out in a week or so.

[FishRFrndsNtFud]

so do the babies live?

[Chap]

Damn that is nice! Hello TOTM!

What does the corner overflow do if you don't have a sump?

[jharr]

FishRFrndsNtFud,

Well, that's an interesting question/problem. This is definitely NOT a good breeding setup. If they are released into the tank, they don't make it long. After all, dad has been 28 days without food and there are hungry corals in there too! However, last time around, I was able to net dad a day or two before he released them. The netting caused him to spit them out and I got most of them into a holding tank. This time I have a piece of macro algae that they might be able to hide in, so I will see if that works. If they go in there, I can bag the whole piece and transfer them to their own tank. Either way, I give them to DavidM and he raises them since he is all set up with the right tanks and the bbs for feeding.

The short answer to your question is, "It depends on how much effort I am willing to put into saving them."

Chap,

Thanks! The overflow simply provides surface skimming and particulate filtration. Before I had it, there was a constant layer of green film on the surface of the water.

[FishRFrndsNtFud]

FishRFrndsNtFud,

Well, that's an interesting question/problem....
The short answer to your question is, "It depends on how much effort I am willing to put into saving them."


VERY cool....are the babies super super cute? Would love to see a picture if you ever get the chance!! :)

[jharr]

Well... uuummmm... I think they're 'super' cute, but I don't know about 'super super'! :D

I will try to get a pic if I can.

[lucubrator]

Damn that is nice! Hello TOTM!


No kidding, especially for a tank away from home!

[Talkn2themike]

Wow man I love the aquascape! That frogspawn is doing well I picked up from you from the frag swap. Your tank is looking good man!

[WanaLeime]

Thats awesome....I second the TOTM...

[jharr]

Wow man I love the aquascape! That frogspawn is doing well I picked up from you from the frag swap. Your tank is looking good man!

Glad to hear it. I think I actually took the 'bigger' half to the swap since you can see that I am getting a little space-constrained.

Thanks everyone for the nice comments!

J--

[jharr]

Here is a fair pic of my pair. The female is on the right. The male with his mouth full of babies is on the left. i will post some 'baby' pics tomorrow along with the story of how I got 24 of these little squirts out of dad's maw and into a nice safe breeding net.

J--

[swissfish]

Looking forward to an interesting fish story

[XxMutedYouthxX]

me too awesome pair... I love the bangais they are just too rad

[jharr]

I came in to work on 3/8 and noticed that 'boy fish' had a mouth full of eggs. This was a little suprising since I had not been conditioning the pair for breeding. In fact, I was intentionally under-feeding so that they would not breed. They had bred maybe four or five times before, but circumstances made it difficult for me to harvest the babies before they were consumed.

As an aside, this is a bit of a myth-busting phenomenon since everything I had read said that Bangaii cardinals would not breed in a tank smaller than 40 gal. They had to be left in peace and not disturbed. They have to be conditioned on a variety of foods with frequent feeding. I have broken every single one of these 'rules'. The only thing I do is frequent water changes. All of this on top of just randomly throwing two fish in a tank together without even knowing if they were opposite genders.

So, I watched the eggs develop in there and when I saw the little faces poking out of the front of the male's mouth (4/3), I knew the time was near. The next day, he was obviously having trouble keeping them all in and there were little fins hanging out like strands of black spaghetti. I thought for sure that I would come in on Wed and see a bunch of free-swimming bangaii fry. I had placed a piece of codium algae back where the male hangs out in hopes that it would act as a surrogate urchin. In the 'wild' these babies find a long-spined urchin to hide in.

I came in the next day and looked at the male. He still had a full mouth, but it didn't look as full as before, so I started checking the codium and around the tank. Nothing. So I checked the overflow/filter pad. There were three bodies in there. I moved the pad a little and one of the bodies wiggled! So I got a container and transfered the fry into it. These fry suffer from 'sudden fright syndrome' where they go into a little catatonic state if they are startled. They sink to the bottom and look dead, but if you swirl them around gently, they come back to 'life'. So, now I had one captive fry. I looked around some more and spotted two more. I tried to net them, but they are freaky small and fast and there are just too many hiding spots in my tank, so I gave up.

Then I thought that the male might just keep releasing a few at a time each night and the capture rate will be very low. So, I decided to take action! I siphoned out some water into a bucket and took out the big montipora rock which is his favorite hiding spot. The parental investment/sacrifice of these fish is impressive. He held on to those eggs while I chased him around the back of the tank with a net and never lost a single fry. Not until I had him in the net and was lifting him out did he spit those babies out. I guess he figured he was a gonner, so he may as well give them a chance. But it was perfect for me. Every fry he had was now in the net. I brought my breeding net over to the capture net and scooped the whole bunch into it. Not a single fry sank, they were all hovering in the water. I re-netted the male out and back into the main part of the tank and put the codium in with the fry. And there you go. Two dozen little bangaiis. These will go off to DavidM who is set up to feed these guys what they need.

I hope this was interesting to people. I know I have really enjoyed having these fish in my tank, and watching the whole process is a lot of fun for me and some of the people I work with too.

Feel free to PM or respond to this thread with any questions.

J--

[Mieko]

Woo Hoo!!! So glad it worked out for the babies! So he held them for 28 days it sounds like?

Doesn't seem like they were too attracted to the codium, I'm working on new plans for a fake urchin/baby cage.

Hope daddy was rewarded with a nice big meal. :)

[JA Boltz]

great story jharr! i'm glad it all worked out for you and the bangaiis babies.

awesome looking tank too!

[jbvdhp]

holy! nice!!! real real nice!!!

[alex4angela]

That was very interesting to read on your story. Thanks for sharing it. :)

[DaChrisDude]

Sweet! I want to get some now...

Does anybody know how to tell the males from the females?

[jharr]

DaChris,

Hehe, that's the real trick now isn't it? I have read things about jaw lines and dorsal fins, but they don't work. There is no sexual dimorphism that I have been able to discern. I can, of course, differentiate between my two fish, but only because I know them. I cannot look at bangaiis in the LFS and tell what gender they are. I think the going practice is to put a bunch of pre-adults together and watch for the two that start kicking everyone else's butt (like pairing cichlids).

I know that doesn't help, but that's just my $0.02 worth.

J--


Sweet! I want to get some now...

Does anybody know how to tell the males from the females?

[phishphood]

J

I'd be interested in trying to raise a few of them if you're willing to let me have a few babies.

[jharr]

They all went to DavidM, sorry. PM me and I will save a few out of the next batch. They will only eat live food. Ask Dave when/how to weane them to frozen food.


J

I'd be interested in trying to raise a few of them if you're willing to let me have a few babies.

[DaChrisDude]

Thanks J, 'pretiate your $.02 :)

Chris

DaChris,

Hehe, that's the real trick now isn't it? I have read things about jaw lines and dorsal fins, but they don't work. There is no sexual dimorphism that I have been able to discern. I can, of course, differentiate between my two fish, but only because I know them. I cannot look at bangaiis in the LFS and tell what gender they are. I think the going practice is to put a bunch of pre-adults together and watch for the two that start kicking everyone else's butt (like pairing cichlids).

I know that doesn't help, but that's just my $0.02 worth.

J--

[Mieko]

The males are agressive to other males, so what some people do is if they have a male, is introduce another fish, and see if he will attack it or try to breed.

If you don't have a male, get a group, and you should start to see a dominant fish that will scare away any males. I'm not sure if they'll let multiple females in the tank with them or not.

Once you do see one getting attacked, pull the fish out, as they have been known to be killed or kept from eating by an agressive fish. (and you'd probably be able to sell it as you have a pretty good indication that you have a male fish)

[FishBulb]

Hey Jharr,
I'm also playin around with DIY oyster live rock. Did you use aragonite sand or silica sand to make molds for the rocks. I need a lot of sand and aragonite is no expensive to just make molds. Also, how have the rocks held up to this point. Mine feel a bit flaky and fragile. I fear i'll have oystershell all over my tank. Let me know your experience.
FB

[jharr]

I didn't use any sand in the rock, just cement and crushed oyster shell. I also used wet oyster shell only for the mold. I covered the bottom of a container large enough for the rocks I wanted to make and sort of dug out the shape I wanted. The cement/shell mix was on the dry side. I made the shape and covered it with more wet oyster shell. Then I put the whole thing in a kitchen garbage bag and tied it closed to cure for a coupe of days. Then I put the rocks into buckets of water and changed the water daily until the pH came out near normal (8-ish). I did try one batch with red cement colorant, but it fell apart when I tried to take it out of the mold.

The rock has been in the tank pictured above for over 2 yrs and has shown no sign of flaking or breaking. The rock with the monti caps is one of the DIY rocks. It is sort of "S" shaped. I just pulled it out a couple of days ago in order to catch the male bangaii. I lifted it out, put it in a bucket, and put it back with no problem/breakage. The rocks have good coralline algae growth. It took a few months of cycling for them to stabilize. They turned some pretty crazy colors at first (brown diatom bloom, green algae bloom), but now they look very natural and the brittle stars and peanut worms seem to like them.

Hope this helps,
J--


Hey Jharr,
I'm also playin around with DIY oyster live rock. Did you use aragonite sand or silica sand to make molds for the rocks. I need a lot of sand and aragonite is no expensive to just make molds. Also, how have the rocks held up to this point. Mine feel a bit flaky and fragile. I fear i'll have oystershell all over my tank. Let me know your experience.
FB

[SanDiegoReefs]

Nice!

I've been toying with the idea of setting up a nano similar to this: equipment-less. Every time I start to budget out a new setup, I end up throwing it away once I start listing skimmer, MH, sump, plumbing, etc. I've been wondering if it would be possible to do water changes ONLY (a la Nano-Reef.com, some are amazing that way).

Looks like you proved it.

[jharr]

Thanks! There are two things that I am particularly careful about.

1) monitor Ca and alk compulsively. I go back and forth on how I regulate these levels. Sometimes I use DIY B-Ionic and that keeps the levels nice and high, but makes me nervous about over-dosing. Other times I use kalkwasser. Less dangerous, but the levels are harder to keep up. (I don't have much evaporation)

2) keep the bioload low. I had a pair of bangaiis that were breeding in there (they really liked it!) and subsequently sent them to live with DavidM since catching all those babies was a hassle. Now I have an orangeback basslet, a CBS and a tuxedo urchin, along with a few small crabs. I had a bicolor blenny, but he found my montiporas yummy, so he went to live with kjsreef. I probably could have kept him from eating the corals if I could feed more often, but then I run into nutrient-oriented problems. I feed 2x per week frozen brine. I change 5gal of water (Scripps) the next day.

Good luck with the minimalist approach. I am enjoying it a lot.

J--

[whatever]

Awesome thread, I've always enjoyed keeping banjaiis, When I get home I'll talk to David see if any are up for sale.

[jharr]

The fish is an Orange-backed Basslet (related to the Mandarin, with freaky glow-in-the-dark green devil eyes), and everyone recognizes the Coral Banded Shrimp.

[BigAir]

WOW!! That basslet is real nice. I wonder if one would get along with my 12 line.

[SanDiegoIllini]

The fish is an Orange-backed Basslet (related to the Mandarin, with freaky glow-in-the-dark green devil eyes), and everyone recognizes the Coral Banded Shrimp.

Wow, that is a cool looking fish. I tried to Google it and couldn't find anything? Any ideas?

[jharr]

Sorry, I sort of mis-spelled it. I got mine here.

http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/product_info.php?products_id=204&parent_category=4&category_search=61&root_parent_id=4&PHPSESSID=791dce9018521755ea6aac57d850518c

He is very 'friendly'. Spends a lot of time in the open and responds to me when I look in the tank. Good eater too. Not much left for the hermits! :)



Wow, that is a cool looking fish. I tried to Google it and couldn't find anything? Any ideas?

[phishphood]

Nice fish Jharr. I still prefer the chalk basslets myself though. Anywhosit, about half the page up you said you made some DIY rock. I was wondering if you still have any of that cement laying around. I'm interested in making some but only need a few rocks (aka don't see the need to buy a whole bag). But overall still love your tank.

[FishBulb]

Hey Phishphood,
I have about 90% of a bag of cement and plenty of oyster shells to boot. You can come get whatever you need. I'll probably only keep the stuff for a few weeks anyways before I toss it. Just PM me. I live in La jolla.
FB

[jharr]

I think my bag of cement has solidified :mad: . As for your taste in fish, well I don't want to be insulting, but I find the orangeback basslet to be more sophisticated with a certain jean e sequois, if you know what I mean. HA! just kidding. I went back anf forth a few times with the chalk before choosing the orangeback. I am really enjoying this fish. Very personable.

Thanks for the kind words.

James

[jharr]

a little corner of my tank...

[phishphood]

Ok, so what's above the purple/blue(!!??!?) dusters and below the candycanes?

[jharr]

That's clove polyps. I put a colony over there and about 10 days later it was spreading all over that rock. Those little buggers are growing like weeds!

[jharr]

I had to get the monti's lower in the tank. They were about to grow out of the water! :eek:

Let me know what you think.

[MrKrispy]

nice! Do you have 3 montis there or two? I can't tell if you have a green one and yellowish one on each side of the red, or if it is just the angle.

[phishphood]

J
Can't remember...do you dose anything?

[dhuynh]

Is that a yellow monti? If so, how about selling me a frag? :D

[jharr]

Sorry guys. Its just a standard green, purple rim, purple polyps. It started as 2 frags about the size of a quarter. It looks more green from the top down. Also, I had a bicolor blenny in there that terrorized it and munched off most of the green tissue, so it is still recovering.

I just started dosing Kent marine Tech I, Tech M, and Strontium/Molybdenum. A few days later, the orange cap started growing like nuts! It probably grew almost a cm in a week! Up until then it had been a very slow grower. I top off with kalk on weekdays.

Oh, and my basslet disappeared! I looked all over the floor cause he liked jumping into the overflow box, but I couldn't find him. He's just gone.

[Poacher]

I think he evolved into bird and flew away. You can tell because its fins look just like wings underwater :D

[DaChrisDude]

lol Phil...

[MrKrispy]

I think he evolved into bird and flew away. You can tell because its fins look just like wings underwater :D

hahaha

[swissfish]

sorry for your loss and lol to the above.

Let me know if you are going to replace him, i want one too.

[jharr]

Thanks DavidM!

[da6d2003]

Sweet! David's a great guy.

[FishRFrndsNtFud]

Thanks DavidM!

sssoooo cute! great photo.... :) :)

[jharr]

I think this thing is getting out of control! This is all on one rock. There is a purple rim green M. cap, an orange M. cap and a green M. digitata all encrusting. It's pretty cool for a center-piece in my little tank, but the green monti is only about 1cm below the surface. not sure what I will do in a couple of months when it reaches the top... Maybe sell it and start over. Anyway, here it is.

[crstjohn]

I was admiring this when I saw your tank in person, very nice piececes. It would be a shame to frag em but LMK if you do! Can you move it to your new tank?? BTW, what happend to all the hair algae?:)

[jharr]

Look at the polyp extension on these!

[CardiffReef]

nice job bro, that tank is sick!!!!

[FishBulb]

Looks fantastic Jharr.

[PhatBrdr427]

I really like that basslet you threw in there... think i might have to look into gettting one. Let us know when you male is holding again.

With cichlids I know its possible to strip the babies, what about with the bangaii? I saw that when you netted him you said he would spit them then, but you also said that he could barely keep them in and their fins were hanging out like spaghetti. was that the day before he started to spit them or the day when you netted him. Im just thinking maybe you could catch him at the point just before any babies start to come out and strip them so you wouldnt have any losses or have them go into that catatonic state you were talking about.

[phishphood]

I'm pretty sure the banggai's went to David for breeding purposes.

[jharr]

Yeah, I don't have those cardinals anymore. David gave me one of the babies I had given him. I suppose you could strip the eggs and hatch them if you had a brooding setup. I never lost any that I was able to get out of the male's mouth and into a breeding net. They snap out of the catatonia in a few minutes with some gentle swirling of the water. They were really fun to breed, but I just wasn't set up to feed the babies and David was all ready feeding the clowns, so it was an easy transfer.


I really like that basslet you threw in there... think i might have to look into gettting one. Let us know when you male is holding again.

With cichlids I know its possible to strip the babies, what about with the bangaii? I saw that when you netted him you said he would spit them then, but you also said that he could barely keep them in and their fins were hanging out like spaghetti. was that the day before he started to spit them or the day when you netted him. Im just thinking maybe you could catch him at the point just before any babies start to come out and strip them so you wouldnt have any losses or have them go into that catatonic state you were talking about.

[phishphood]

J
slightly off topic, but did your male ever go into hiding when he had the eggs/babies in his mouth? Trying to decide if my missing banggai is hiding or dead.

[duecejt]

I have had pairs of bangai cardinals and fed the fry prawn egg's. If you are looking for a diffrent food to offer that isn't commonly found at most fish stores locally. Vets Pets in El Cajon sells them. They do really well on a varied diet.

[jharr]

My male hid when he was holding, but he would come out when I fed the tank. He would chase the food just like he was going to eat it, but then would turn back at the last second. I didn't really have many good hiding places for him though. Good luck, Mitch. I hope he is hiding and not gone.


J
slightly off topic, but did your male ever go into hiding when he had the eggs/babies in his mouth? Trying to decide if my missing banggai is hiding or dead.

[onad75]

nice set up James, any updates on your DIY project?

[PhatBrdr427]

let me know what you are going to do about the green and orange M. cap... i would love to have a frag or even the whole piece or both pieces.

[jharr]

AAAAAHHHHHH! I knew someone would ask that!! It is currently stalled for the holidays. I have the week between the 25th and the 2nd off, so I might get something done then. That acryllic is REALLY thick!! I am having difficulty cutting it, but I think I have an idea. I have a couple pieces cut and glued for the bottom and back of the sump. That double-sided tape on there will not come off though. Any suggestions on that?

My New Year's resolution is to have the tank up and running by the end of Feb. We'll see what happens, though. :o


nice set up James, any updates on your DIY project?

[jharr]

The caps started bleaching inexplicably. I think the lights were too old. I replaced them on Thursday, so I am hoping they will be better soon. Then I will be glad to frag it for you.


let me know what you are going to do about the green and orange M. cap... i would love to have a frag or even the whole piece or both pieces.

[lucubrator]

To get the tape off, try just soaking the thing in water for a couple of days.

As for cutting it, I have a circular saw with plywood blade you can borrow, or if you're willing to waste 1/2" per cut, just use the router and a guide.

[onad75]

that is really thick :D try to use a blade and peel the corner first.

[jharr]

Yeah, I tried a plywood blade, an acrylic blade and a metal cut-off disk on a table saw and a circular saw, but I had to feed the material so slow that it would melt. Besides being painful (sprayed with bits of liquid acrylic) it made a mess of the cut. I am going to set up the router table and try that. Thanks for the advice and the bit, Nick.


To get the tape off, try just soaking the thing in water for a couple of days.

As for cutting it, I have a circular saw with plywood blade you can borrow, or if you're willing to waste 1/2" per cut, just use the router and a guide.

[jharr]

Orangeback basslet
Nikon D70s
Nikkor 28-105
RAW (NEF) acquisition imported with UFRaw
post processing in GIMP

[DaChrisDude]

pretty....

Any updated tank pics?

[MrKrispy]

those fish ornery in a small tank? What else is in there these days??/

[klevur1]

i am looking for a couple of bangaiis that get along.. help?

p.m. me if you know where i can get them for less than $12 a pop. PLEASE! gracias. =D

-btw- those baby bangaiis are awesome. i didn't know they had those drastic markings from birth. interesting.

[jharr]

Krispy, sorry for the late reply. I was busy getting ready to go to Uganda when you posted this question. The clown and the basslet get along just fine. I suspect if there were mates involved for either of them, it would be a different story. The clown is almost always out front, trying to host the open brain and chasing the CBS around. The basslet hides sometimes, but generally is very active and enjoys (anthropomorphising a bit here) swiming in and out of the rock crevices. I have some blue leg hermits and some scarlet hermits and a tropical sea hare in there as well. I was having a bit of a red hair algae problem, but over the week of the fires, the sea hare totally cleaned the tank. I am bringing rocks from home now to keep him fed. I will post new pics soon. It looks totally different than the pics above.

J--


those fish ornery in a small tank? What else is in there these days??/

[pnguy3n]

any updated pics?

[jharr]

Ugh! I knew someone would ask that. I just blew crap all over the tank from pluggin in a pump that was pointed at the sand, and I don't have my D70s with me, so the pic is not that good.
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2193/2020404100_ff06ce27bb_o.jpg

[kjsreef]

You should post a picture from before the seahare so folks can see how effective those things are. :-)

[Diver Dan]

Do you still have the pink polyp cap? WHEW!!! That has to be worth so much money!!!

[jharr]

kjsreef, I was so disgusted with my tank at that time (as you know) that I did not take any pix. But it looked a little like my tank at home looks now. I am using these rocks to feed the sea hare now that there is no algae left in my 20L.

DDan, I still have the caps, but they are just standard green and orange. Sorry if the pix are misleading. I wish I had something valuable in there!!

Hooray for Sluggy McSlugerton, my voracious sea hare!!
http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2399/2011621176_9f9ac152b7_b.jpghttp://farm3.static.flickr.com/2108/2011637288_4e1998d033_b.jpg

[jharr]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2024/2054325108_a965c6843c_b.jpg

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2143/2053546183_8301f9ceff_b.jpg

[jharr]

http://farm3.static.flickr.com/2242/2122303506_9020cc64bf_o.jpg

[sandiegan]

Now that's an interesting color CC. Where'd you pick those up?

[jharr]

I think I got these at AW a few years ago. They have not grown noticably in that time. They are sssslllllloooooooowwwwww growers, but they are pretty rugged. My tank over-heated and they were totally bleached a couple of months ago. You can see in the pic of the CBS above that they are a lighter color. Now they are back to their nice chocolate brown. The centers are actually a very light blue, but it is hard to expose for both colors.

[PhatBrdr427]

nice to see how ur tank is doin. Havent been on here for awhile. Where did you pick up that basslet?

[jharr]

Phat,

It's been a while now since I bought that one. I think I got that fish at saltwaterfish.com. (http://www.saltwaterfish.com/site_11_03/product_info.php?products_id=204&parent_category=4&category_search=61&root_parent_id=4)
The tank is doing very well these days. I still don't have any equipment on it other than lights and powerheads. I am doing 30% Scripps water changes weekly and topping off with kalk. My main problem now is trying to keep the halimeda from taking over. I'm throwing away handfuls of this stuff so if anyone wants some let me know.

Thanks for looking!
--J

[PhatBrdr427]

hey thanksman for the place you picked it up at. Im definately looking into now expanding on my tank collection since now I actually have cash to spare nowadays.

[jharr]

Do those look like nudi eggs to anyone?

[limestro]

Do those look like nudi eggs to anyone?

Looks like snail eggs to me. BTW, its been a while since we seen updates. Do you have any newly updated FTS?

~Mike

[jharr]

The aspect ratio got messed up. It should be 16:9, but you get the idea.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Rr3LuNnLYkI&fmt=18

[jharr]

This one is a little better.

http://vimeo.com/1513211

[sandiegan]

J-
How's the tank look now? Still up and running? I'm about to xfer my existing tank into a 20g a la no equipment like yours and thought I'd dig up some old threads :) Hope all is well

Mitch
aka phishphood

[jharr]

Yep, she's still up and running strong. I have a little red algae but other than that, I have no complaints. I still have that black hood you sold me. Not using it anymore. Let me know if you want it back! :)

l8r,
J--


J-
How's the tank look now? Still up and running? I'm about to xfer my existing tank into a 20g a la no equipment like yours and thought I'd dig up some old threads :) Hope all is well

Mitch
aka phishphood

[sandiegan]

Pics? :D

[Blaze]

they are on page 1?

[jharr]

Well, sorta. Those are 3 years old. It doesn't really look like that anymore. I will clean the glass and bring a camera tomorrow. Stay posted! :coffee:


they are on page 1?

[sandiegan]

Thanks J. What're you shooting with nowadays anyways? Also, can I request a pic of how you have the filter pad set up in the overflow w/ pump? I'm a little curios how you managed that.

[jharr]

Mitch,
Here is a quick FTS. It looks a little yellow on the left because that is where my flash was (off camera). I am using my trusty old Nikon D70s that's been to Uganda and back and dropped 3 times, etc. That thing takes a lickin' and keeps on clickin'! And the flash commander mode is perfect for shooting reflective surfaces like fish tanks.

I don't have the filter pad in there anymore, nor do I have any pics of it. But essentially what I did was to make an acrylic corner box (2 pieces at a right angle) and silicone it into the back corner. It doesn't matter if it leaks a little. The piece facing the front had a hole drilled big enough to stick a power head output through. I also made a little shelf on the inside near the top to hold a piece of egg crate with the filter pad on top of that. And I cut some notches into the front piece down to where I wanted the water level to be. Put a pump in there and stick the output through the hole into the tank and viola! As long as your pump isn't overpowering the overflow it should work like a charm. A couple of the benefits were that I had some flow behind the rockwork (I put an elbow on the output for a while to direct it toward the center of the tank) and it was a convenient place to add kalk or whatever. I'll bet you could rig a basket or something in the flow path to put in charcoal or phosban. I did have to fish hermits out of there on a regular basis and the basslet was fond of jumping in there and getting trapped. Overall the benefits outweighed the liabilities. So why did I take it out? Well in one of those moments of genius, I forgot about all of the benefits I was getting from it and thought I really needed the space. Now it is just too much of a pain to re-install. Let me know if you want more details or a drawing if my description isn't clear enough.

Good luck with the low-tech 20L. I love mine.

J--


Thanks J. What're you shooting with nowadays anyways? Also, can I request a pic of how you have the filter pad set up in the overflow w/ pump? I'm a little curios how you managed that.

[leorleor]

isn't 20l like 5g, not 15?

[jharr]

The L is for Long not Liters. So it is a 20Long (12x12x30) which actually holds something like 18.5 gal.

[vlad_acosta]

so you think the same kind of set up can be done with just rock and no sand? Barebottom???

[jharr]

First of all... Sweet avatar!

Yes, in fact I think it works better with less sand. I used to have a couple of inches of sand, but I vacuumed most of it out. It was just holding so much detritus and there wasn't room enough to keep it clean. I like the idea of a bare bottom tank, so I might finish the job someday. In case you didn't read the whole thread, about half of the rock is home made. It is really hard to tell now which pieces are natural.

Good luck!

J--


so you think the same kind of set up can be done with just rock and no sand? Barebottom???

[egd101]

very nice thats amazing... congradulations.....

[acbaldwin]

Any updates? I haven't seen it in person but this is one of my favorite tanks.

[jharr]

Well, the update is this... I had to move the tank home since I moved into a smaller office at work. It made the move just fine. I didn't lose a single coral. The basslet didn't make it though and the CBS soon followed. Everything else is doing great. Unfortunately, it is just a different experience having it in my home office. I mostly sit with my back to it and really only get to enjoy it for a minute or two a day. I am much busier at home than at work where it was on my desk right next to me.

So I will probably be selling things off over time. If there is anything in particular you like, let me know and we can negotiate prices.

Thanks to everyone who has helped and contributed to this tank over the years.

James

[firesnake]

"U R THE MAN" thank you sooo much for the beautiful corals,