The Nano is dead. Long Live THE 23!!!

Uslanja

Active Member
The Nano is Dead, Long Live the 23!!


It is with regret that we inform you of the loss of the Nano. It was a wonderful little tank that brought so much happiness! But like all things, it’s time had come to pass.


However, it is with great joy that we announce the birth of “THE 23”!!


When we started the Nano it was just a little experiment meant to add some live rock to an extra 10 gallon that we had lying around and see what was in there. The rock was absolutely amazing and overflowing with life. Since the birth of the Nano we have actually become “live rock” addicts! At the LFS most folks are checking out the fish and coral, but not Tracy and I, we’re in the back checking the live rock tanks! Isn’t that some bizarre behaviour?

Anyway, we decided to attempt the same level of enjoyment but in a bit larger tank because we had available desk space for it. One of the criteria that we set for this new tank was that it be of a somewhat standard set of dimensions so that we could purchase things such as lighting without resorting to obscure or homemade fixtures. We also wanted to have everything ready before we installed the water. It was a great deal of fun researching and shopping! Many different size tanks were considered and we finally settled on a 23 gallon tank that is 36” long, 12” wide and 12” tall. We felt that the 36 inch length offered many readily available lighting fixtures with a good selection of bulb configurations. We also felt that T5 HO would be more than adequate for getting lots of light penetration in water only 12 inches deep. An Aquaclear 110 HOB was obtained and modified for use a refugium as well as a Marineland Penguin 200 HOB used for holding the heater and offering additional water circulation capacity along with the ability to run various filtration media.


One concern that we had was in regard to transferring the rock and sand from the nano into THE 23. Water quality would be as closely matched as possible but none the less would still be somewhat of a shock for our guests. At some point we would be moving the rock into buckets and then into THE 23. Handling the rock 2 times would increase the likely hood of injuring or losing some of the life that we have come to enjoy so very much. We were afraid that the longer the rock stayed in buckets the more likely that die off would begin to occur. But placing the rock into THE 23 shortly after the sand was moved in would subject the rock and critters to some serious turbidity. With trepidation we made the transfer and so far everything seems to be doing OK. Some of the life seems to be in an adjustment stage and hopefully will continue to thrive. For example; we had three very nice and healthy ``hidden cup corals`` that have not opened up as large or as often as previous. We`re thinking that the increase in light may be having an effect being as we understand that these corals seem to thrive in shaded areas. Hopefully they will acclimate and we will be able to continue to enjoy them.


After many hours of online shopping and visiting a few brick and mortar stores we finally made the big step and purchased a 23 gallon tank from Big Al`s in Hamilton.

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The logistical challenge of how to move things around and fit THE 23 in to place!

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The rear glass was painted blue and allowed to dry for several days.

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THE 23 is in its final resting place! The nerve racking part, filling the tank with RO water and checking for leaks! (Luck is with us!! No leaks and now we can start adding the salt and getting the salinity up to 35). (Also note the Tim Horton's coffee cup? That proves that we're real Canadians who enjoy our national drink!!)

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Ready to add sand and rock to THE 23.

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And finally; the installation of our latest and most luxurious purchase; a 36” AquaticLife fixture with four bulbs and moonlights! Everything on built in timers and only 1 cord going to the wall!! So nice not dealing with all those bulky timers and cords fighting for space and access to a wall outlet! We are enjoying this light so much!! It was ordered online because there just wasn’t a dealer close by. Being as we live in Canada and most things are only available in the USA, it is difficult sometimes to find a supplier that will deal with us. But after a few telephone calls to “That Fish Place” (their customer service is so nice to deal with!) a shipping arrangement was made and we had the light in record time. Customs did seem to be curious as to why two apparently grown and sound minded people would spend that much money on an aquarium light! We tried to explain things such as reflectors and daylight/actinic/lunar lighting and all, but their eyes just glazed over and they commented that “it’s true, these two are fish geeks”! Oh well, we’ve been called worse!

So here is our baby! Filled with new rock and sand and then our old rock and sand moved over. Turbidity has cleared, lighting working great and a CUC making short order of all the stuff that needs to be cleaned. It’s fun watching “puffs of stuff” come from the new rock and knowing that some new and wonderful surprise awaits us in there!

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Well, that’s enough for this post, don’t want to bore anyone! More photos of the equipment/modifications/hitch hikers and tank to come!
 
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Eric

Google Warrior
PREMIUM
Very nice :)

Nothing wrong with checking out the rock for free goodies :)
 

Uslanja

Active Member
Thanks Eric! Just a tease of things to come; our first discovered hitcher. This little guy is missing a few pieces but we understand that they will grow back? He fell off the new rock when we were giving it a good shaking in the bucket before placing it in our tank. So we grabbed a few photos and sucked him up with a turkey baster then promptly squirted him into THE 23! Haven't seen him since?

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greneis7

Member
Very exciting! I will be following for sure!
Now we have matching arm missing starfish. =) I haven't seen mine since I put her in the tank either. I think they pretty much live in the rocks.
 

goldenmean

Well-Known Member
Congrats on the upgrade!
You have the reefer disease, hee hee
Now the 10g tank can become a sump!
 

Uslanja

Active Member
We are excited about our upgrade and I was surprised that Tracy was already eyeing up the floor under the desk for a sump!

We get our rock from a store called "Salt Water Paradise" in Tonawanda NY. We have become live rock fanatics and they always have the most exciting rocks!!

Welcome to WWW.SALTWATERPARADISE.COM! WNY'S best Salt Water Specialty shop since 1993

We have so many more photos that we want to share, (we've been working on this for a while now) but we are using restraint and not posting them all at once. You'll just have to keep checking back!!

But, just one more....

A ton of hydroids all over the halimeda, so Tracy plucked them out! (My girl is so brave!!)

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Uslanja

Active Member
Well, I have now been relegated to second place! All I ever see of Tracy is the back of her head as she scours THE 23 with her magnifying glass and camera! I even think she wakes in the middle of the night to sneak downstairs and have "another peek"!

Here is a Gorgonian coral (we think) that came in as a hitch hiker. I'm so daft! At first I thought it was a macro algae!
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Well, we stopped off at "A Reef Creation" in Buffalo NY and found exactly what we were looking for. We would like to introduce you all to "Slim Shady"! Not the best photo but Tracy will keep watching and pretty soon she will get the perfect shot of our new tenant!
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We understand that this guy (Doryrhamphus japonicus, A.K.A. Honshu Pipefish) would be a difficult fish to keep because they are wild caught and eat live food. But we have had the greatest of luck. He scours the rock and glass eating tiny little things and has taken to frozen rotifers and other real small food things found in Rod's Food.
 

Uslanja

Active Member
Hi Jen! Thanks for the compliment on "Slim Shady"! We have been taken by the pipe fish and their relatives the seahorse. We wanted to go with one of these Little guys and read that the tailed pipe fish can handle a little bit of current. And Slim hasn't disappointed us. He swims in the currents and checks out the entire tank. So much fun to watch and he isn't shy at all! We sit outside and look in at him while he swims inside and looks out at us. I wonder if he finds us to be entertainment?

Earlier we thought we had found some "mermaids wine glass" on one of the rocks but now that it is growing we think it might be a type of caulerpa. So, it will need to be removed. Too bad! In a while when this tank gets a little bit more established we will get some mermaids wine Glass from "reef Cleaners and give it a try. Anyway, here's a photo (not the best) of what we think is the caulerpa; anyone have any idea if that is what it really is?

Possible caulerpa?
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Uslanja

Active Member
We have had a very busy couple of weeks. RS withdrawal has been a real challenge lately but luckily we're able to take a little time today and get our fix! A couple of shots under the actinics.

Closeup of a Yuma mouth.
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A blue mushroom under actinics.
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Oohhh! That's beginning to feel better! Back to THE 23 for a few more photos!
 

Uslanja

Active Member
One of our three "Hidden Cup Corals". We have noticed that these corals have been closing up real tight under the daylights. However, when the actinics and lunars are on they open up and look as good as ever. Hope they continue to survive the new lighting.

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Uslanja

Active Member
A small rock frag that has a little clump of purple clove polyp on it. Appears to be growing and filling in. Hope they do well. (Side lighted by a tungsten bulb. Adds a nice yellow tone to the photo. If you like a yellow tone!)
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Uslanja

Active Member
Hi tnwillia! Thanks for the link! We have been so taken by the Mermaids Wine Glass. It is one cool looking little macro!
 

Uslanja

Active Member
The Gorgonian hitcher that came in on a piece of live rock seems to be doing well. Here is a closeup of one of the branches with the polyps opened. We understand that this coral is a filter feeder. We have noticed that the polyps appear to be getting larger and the tentacles seem to be getting thicker and longer. Hope that is a good sign.

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Uslanja

Active Member
Another RS Member, ARA, helped us to identify this coral. This is a Siderastraea Radians coral, AKA; Lesser Starlet Coral. It came in as a hitcher on one of our live rocks. It appears to have a little damage but we are hoping that it will heal itself.

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Thanks for the help ARA!
 
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