An Alaskan Reef (38G)

[koffee]

No water test... this is not the "good" LFS. While I was looking at the rock, I heard one of the staff telling a customer that Oscars are related to Piranha.

The good LFS is about an hour's drive. Besides me, they are the only place I would trust to test my water.

The only things I fixed today were the things that were broke: getting the top off the fuge, and hooking up a dedicated switch for the skimmer to simplify emptying the cup, plus giving that hitch hiker the boot.

I wonder if I should leave the hh in the tupperware container I used to photograph it. I'll have a new 1 quart Pico tank!

[koffee]

Well, I got the LR today. It was sight unseen, so for all I knew, it could have been a bunch of tuffa and lava. It looks pretty good, though. I got a total of 33.5 pounds, which works out to $0.00 per pound!

It is still damp, and encrusted with salt, although it was removed from their tank 4 days ago. Here's the rock, in two batches:





And two pics from yesterday, just because:

[tbittner]

Great looking rock! It's also good to hear that you didn't get affected by the huge avalanches up in Juneau.

I really like the price for the rock too.

[koffee]

If I take out a bit of my old rock and add all of this in the tank and fuge (a little at a time after it cures/cooks), I'll be well over 1 pound per gallon. I might even have that much if I took out all the tuffa. I'm not sure if I want to remove the tuffa base, though. That might be too much of a disturbance to the system.

Now I have to decide if I want to take all/most of the 6-7" of sand out of my fuge. I think in the long run the rock will be better. And I can always wash the sand and save it in case I try a RDSB later.

Juneau is very far away. Can't even drive there... that's right, can't drive a car to the state capitol. Alaska's a funny place.

[PEMfish]

Alright!

[koffee]

Wow, that's the first time I've seen blue on the ammonia test. I forgot to mix up more SW last night... DOH! Well, the rock will be fine for today. I'll buy that rubbermaid and work on it some tonight after work. I'm going to get budget salt for the curing too. I'll save the Oceanic for my tank.

I mixed up more Oceanic, though. I figured that I'll do a minor WC: siphon and vac the sump. I'll use the old tank water to rinse off the rock before moving it into the bigger curing bin.

I should be happier about getting this new rock. However, I am stressing over what I'll have to do eventually: a partial or major tear down of a tank that seems to be doing fine. On the other hand, I think there are various issues with my tank and this would be a good time to fix it. I have too much sand in the DT, and though the aquascaping looks nice, I don't have enough ledges and flat spots to support future corals.

The irony is that we will probably be moving this year, and I could do all of this then. But it is not 100%, and there is no better estimate of when other than "this year".

[koffee]

A setback yesterday. I decided to mount my non-retro-kit lights in the canopy to help with the heat some. I also added an egg-crate top. Somehow I destroyed the NO fixture. It is a crappy light, but it is better than no light.

Luckily, I was able to get it functional again today with a Lowes ballast. I can't afford new lights yet, but an $18 ballast was within my budget.

This got me thinking, though. I want to upgrade to T5HO when I can, and was thinking of a retro for the canopy. The fixtures, however, come with a lens to protect against splash and condensation. How do I do that with a retro if I have an egg crate top? Do I need to somehow install glass in the canopy, just closer to the light and off the tank? I'll have to do some research and maybe ask this question in the DIY forum when I get closer to affording the light upgrade.

And my rock is still curing. No more blue ammonia test results, though.

[tbittner]

If it's T5's, a really clear piece of plastic would work. MH's would melt it though. And I'm thinking of expense here. A piece of acrylic, 1/8" would be thick enough, would work best. But you can get a piece of clear, thicker plastic anywhere and it's inexpensive too.

[koffee]

I had to top off a lot more yesterday and this morning, so I'm getting more evaporation with the egg crate top. My temps weren't always high - 85 was rare, but 81-82 was fairly common. It is too early to tell how much of an impact this will have, but in the two days I've had egg crate, the temp ranged from 78.8 to 80.6. Of course, my tank has only been running in fall and winter, so I have no idea what spring and summer will be like.

I think it is spring now, even though it is snowing today.

Yesterday, my GSP looked more extended than ever, and the larger clown was hanging out near it. It is hard to get a good picture when she is wiggling around doing the clown thing.

[Craig Manoukian]

Nice pic koffee!

[koffee]

Just some pics from tonight:

Sea Hare Food




FTS

[tbittner]

I really like your tank. The red algae adds nice color.

[PEMfish]

Nice. Not usual to see such a noob tank look so nice. Unique too.

[koffee]

Thanks, all. The red will go away soon enough. I always added the algae in smaller batches, but this time I put in a lot. I would like to see the sea hare actually eating some. He loves the stuff, but I never seem to catch him eating it.

[Craig Manoukian]

Nice FTS koffee. Add it to the FTS thread, eh?