The Official Asylum Reef Tank Thread

We haven't had a hot spell in two and a half years. Tomatoes don't like that very much. Plus, I have a chiller. The salt level was down between changes. Maybe they got damaged unrecoverably.

[Jefft72]

Bummer to hear about the colonies Axeman. You mentioned that the water tests fine, but did you check ph?

You mentioned that the salt level was down between changes. Do you mean that your salinity was low prior to the water change? How low is low and how much water did you change?

Ya know, come to think of it, I didn't check ph. The salinity was low because of my protein skimmer works so well and me adding RO/DI water. I change 20 gals every 4 or 5 mos.

[shilala]

My tank is a 90 gallon and I change 20-30 gallons about every 6 weeks. I can draw that much since I added the 25 gallon receiver tank to my RODI. I need to take the sink spout off my RODI and change filters before my next water change, but I just did one after reigning death on my tank. I'll let my new critters settle in before I do another change, it'll be at least a couple weeks.
I don't have a refugium, so I really rely on good water and good salt to keep my nerves from fraying.

[Blak Smyth]

thought you guys might appreciate this:

^^^I don't have any hunters or I would try this.

Well, after using a whole chemistry set on my tank I still could find nothing wrong with the water. The salt level dropped because I never checked it in the tank, only the water I used for changes. The salinity must have been slowly dropping for a long time. It seems fine now.

[shilala]

I just fixed my rodi unit. Took the load off of it by splitting the system and taking the sink faucet off the unit, filtering it separately.
With new filters it's banging out 0ppm water at a phenomenal rate. I didn't even have to change out the RO membrane and I have an extra in the fridge.
It's not a minute too soon. After that big die-off and new fish that died and I couldn't find, my tank is a giant snotfest. It's never been this disgusting, ever. I'll start changing 25-30 gallons every couple days for the next couple weeks until I've turned over at least 200 gallons of water in the tank. It'll be a pain in the ass, but I want it crystal clear and algae-free again.
I should be able to start filling buckets tonight.

[Steve]

OK, I have a question for all of you Reef Tank gurus

Have any of you had any experience with Oceanic tanks? I have had tanks in the past (up to 55 gallon), but lately I have been thinking about doing a small (30 gallon) reef tank. I made the mistake of stopping by a local shop and saw an Oceanic BioCube tank that looked interesting. It has an integral hood with 2 sets of compact fluorescents and space for I think 5 LED strips plus a fan to cool the lights, and the filter system is also integral in the back of the tank. I had a wet/dry filter, etc. back in the day, but would really like to try to keep things simple this time around. The guy at the shop talked like the tank would work, but I read some reviews online that weren't real positive. These days I don't really give a lot of credence to online reviews, so I figure red I'd test the waters (so to speak) here.

This is the tank I was looking at.

TIA!

Steve

I had a similar system set up as a nano reef and it did fine. Took a year to stabilize and was always touchy but never totally crashed. I have a different setup with a skimmer now.
PS. Those pics on the link are total BS. Only if you just put all that in there and took a picture after it settled.

[Jefft72]

I think the biocubes are nice for what they are. It gives you an all in one solution, but I think generally when you try to make something convenient and all in one you typically compromise in one or more aspects.

A reef tank typically has a sump system that adds volume to the system and hides equipment (skimmer, heater, return pump, etc) under the stand.

The lighting provided by the biocube could be sufficient depending on what you expect to keep (with respect to corals). The CF lighting will support most soft corals and perhaps some LPS, but your colors might suffer.

Like I said, if you want to keep a softy tank with a few fish and inverts then the 30 biocube should keep you happy. Be careful not to scratch the acrylic and you can have a great looking system.

Yesterday morning I got jabbed by my sailfin tang. I feed her dried seaweed by hand twice a day. I was watching the other fish eating and suddenly she snapped her tail at me. Caught the side of my index finger right down to the bone. This morning she still seemed agitated about something. I've had this fish since it was a baby, 6 or 7 years now. I've only been tanged once before. Maybe it's time to redecorate in there.

[shilala]

My reef looks like a skimmer bowl. Or maybe like Brad's tank.

Wow now thats good stuff right there

[OLS]

WOW, long time no active. Steve, I guess you already bought or didn't buy your cube tank, but I could
never have put it more aptly than JeffT72 anyway...those tanks try to accomplish on a small scale
what most successful people find new and different ways to make HUGE. its been said a thousand times,
you need to find ways to get more water into your system so that little things don't cause big shocks.
I always had a big tank and thought maybe I should go down to a 40. So I had a 29 gallon sump and
thought I was good. But then I thought I would go down even smaller and had a 30 with the 29 sump and
it was a DISASTER. Granted it was brought on by two things, neglect and poor rock purchases. I had
all the kits to test things, but thought I was a good enough aquarist to use dead reckoning. If I ever
do it again, and I hope to god I don't, but it's back to 50+ at a minimum with a 40 gallon sump at a minimum.
Things MIGHT have worked out better, but I got some rock from a company and everyone who had bought it
before me was complaining about Aiptasia anemones. I thought I could "out-keep" those people and use
clean water and good husbandry to combat the anemones. But they took over, I got angry, and I got out
of the game.

You MIGHT be able to do a fish only tank or a coral only tank, but outside of that, cubes are a no-no IMO.
Fish are bad for coral tanks in small formats.

[Blueface]

Amazing, nearly a year now that I sold my tank.
Kind of miss it but after so many years, the break of the noise from chiller, lights, maintenance has been nice.
Turns out I am saving about $120 on my a/c bill.
I do miss my Conspic Angel but he is in good hands with my son.
Hope all of you guys are enjoying the hobby as well as I did.

[Steve]

Unfortunately, no reef tank yet for me. It looks like I will have to get a few other projects cleared out before taking on that one. Maybe later this year...

Originally Posted by OLS

WOW, long time no active. Steve, I guess you already bought or didn't buy your cube tank, but I could
never have put it more aptly than JeffT72 anyway...those tanks try to accomplish on a small scale
what most successful people find new and different ways to make HUGE. its been said a thousand times,
you need to find ways to get more water into your system so that little things don't cause big shocks.
I always had a big tank and thought maybe I should go down to a 40. So I had a 29 gallon sump and
thought I was good. But then I thought I would go down even smaller and had a 30 with the 29 sump and
it was a DISASTER. Granted it was brought on by two things, neglect and poor rock purchases. I had
all the kits to test things, but thought I was a good enough aquarist to use dead reckoning. If I ever
do it again, and I hope to god I don't, but it's back to 50+ at a minimum with a 40 gallon sump at a minimum.
Things MIGHT have worked out better, but I got some rock from a company and everyone who had bought it
before me was complaining about Aiptasia anemones. I thought I could "out-keep" those people and use
clean water and good husbandry to combat the anemones. But they took over, I got angry, and I got out
of the game.

You MIGHT be able to do a fish only tank or a coral only tank, but outside of that, cubes are a no-no IMO.
Fish are bad for coral tanks in small formats.

[shilala]

My reef is still a ghetto. I'm still fighting with it, but I'm afraid it's broken my spirit after 15 years. I'd like to have a big silent spot just like Carlos. Maybe a nice terrarium.

[MurphysLaw]

I haven't had a tank set up for a couple years, just left my modified nanocube 24 out by the dumpster last month, it was snatched up in a couple hours. One day I'll have another reef tank setup, probably when I move out of the condo into a real house.

[4WheelVFR]

Anyone here see the Narcosis Angelfish that Divers Den got in a while back? If only I would've had 5k to spend on a fish....

[Blueface]

Originally Posted by 4WheelVFR

Anyone here see the Narcosis Angelfish that Divers Den got in a while back? If only I would've had 5k to spend on a fish....

I actually owned a $5,000 fish at one time.
Cost me $1,000 wholesale due to my connections and enjoyed for many years.
Business write off.
It was a Clarion Angel.

This guy.