Blog Comments

Originally Posted by Alaska_Phil

Very nice blog, and some very nice tanks Jessy. What were the dimentions on your 150? it looks deeper (front to back) than most.

It was 48" x 30" x 24"

Very nice blog, and some very nice tanks Jessy. What were the dimentions on your 150? it looks deeper (front to back) than most.

It's like she knows what she's doing, right? Very nice blog entry, Jessica.

You've had some real beautiful tanks Jessy! I especially loved the 150g. Don't ya wish ya had the corals you use to have, I know I do, my tank would be really reefed out. Can't wait till ya new tank is stocked; going to be nice. ;-)

Nice idea. It made me think of the tanks I have had as I'm sure I could dig up pictures of each of them. My first freshwater tank had blue gravel.... EEK!

It is probably 40 lbs of rock.

Jessy, How much rock are we looking at in the cube tank???
A.

Originally Posted by gerbilbox

Thank you for being conscious of this issue! I used to do research on introduced species in aquatic environments, so it means a lot to to me find someone who cares!

No problem SDMAS had a speaker about the subject at one of our meetings about 3 years ago. I figured if it is still legal why not try it and gain first hand experience with it. If it doesn't work out for me, I'll be able to tell others why not to use it. I sort of did the same thing with a blueberry gorgonia. Those things are impossible to keep long term. 6-9 months and they are dead no matter how much care I took with them.

Originally Posted by 1AaronTravels

How was shipping etc, of the Marco Rock? Did it arrive in a timely manner? Packed nicely??
They have great prices on the web. My LFS in ABQ isnt quite this competitive $$ wise with Marco Rock, the LFS is Good against Fuji Rock and they have several 500 gallon plastic water tanks going with huge PS's going to keep everything alive and smelling good.
A.

MarcoRock shipping is awesome. They come very fast and they are individually wrapped in big bubble wrap so it doesn't break. Two thumbs up for marcorock and anyone that wants to order.

Originally Posted by 1AaronTravels

As I'm new tot his hobby, can you please explaing the differences for the Macro Algae? I'm guessing that these are grown in the fuge.

thanks,
Aaron

Chaeto is by far the easiest macro to work with. I've used it in the past but never really had much growth with it. I am not saying I'm going to stick with prolifera for the lifetime of my tank but I want to try it because I think it looks better and I really like looking at my fuge.

Originally Posted by Jessy

Caluerpa Prolifera is legal in california. And I know how to properly dispose of it if necessary so I'm not going to have any environmental issues.

Thank you for being conscious of this issue! I used to do research on introduced species in aquatic environments, so it means a lot to to me find someone who cares!

Originally Posted by 1AaronTravels

As I'm new tot his hobby, can you please explaing the differences for the Macro Algae? I'm guessing that these are grown in the fuge.

Oh geez, where to start with the macro algaes? There are so many! The two that are usually grown in refugiums and sumps are Caulerpa and Chaetomorpha. Both are excellent in absorbing nutrients from the water as they grow, although Caulerpa is suppose to be better in this regard.

Caulerpa was once really popular, but it runs the risk of flooding the tank with the spores during reproduction, which change water parameters and may crash the tank. People in various forums report that there are ways to prevent the spore release, such as running the refugium lights 24/7.

Chaetomorpha will try to spread itself by occasionally fragmenting, which is far safer and doesn't destabilize the water.

There are other macro algae grown in tanks and refugiums. For example, Ulva (sea lettuce) is grown 'cause tiny invertebrates like amphipods love eating it.

Love the fish selection. I share your love for little gobies. I've currently got a yellow head antenna goby with a randolf's pistol shrimp and a Rainford's goby. But I'd always heard that gobies were agressive toward similar species? Otherwise I'd definitly have more.

I love the aquascape of your tank! I think it complements the clean look of the tank as well as the pendant by adding a modern twist. The fish list looks great as well, the rainford goby (Court Jester Goby) is one of my favorites that I think makes a wonderful small tank fish. Have you considered dosing MB7 to help seed the bacteria as well as the typical cycle and live rock addition?

Tank looks great! Can't wait to see it stocked...I have developed quite a soft spot for cube tanks lately.

Originally Posted by Jessy

you can aquascape any kind of rock this way. This is Marcorock so it is dead like base rock yes. I've got a single piece of LR in the system to help seed while I'm away for the next 10 days in SF. Hopefully when I come back it will have cycled some. Which reminds me, I'm going to toss some PE mysis in there just to get some decomp going .

How was shipping etc, of the Marco Rock? Did it arrive in a timely manner? Packed nicely??
They have great prices on the web. My LFS in ABQ isnt quite this competitive $$ wise with Marco Rock, the LFS is Good against Fuji Rock and they have several 500 gallon plastic water tanks going with huge PS's going to keep everything alive and smelling good.
A.

Originally Posted by evoracer

Looking good, those AquaFuges are real nice. I ran one on my Frag tank. But why not consider an algae with less potential environmental impact then Caluerpa? Like chaeto?

As I'm new tot his hobby, can you please explaing the differences for the Macro Algae? I'm guessing that these are grown in the fuge.

thanks,
Aaron

Caluerpa ive been told is a better exporter of nutrients that cheato however it runs a higher risk of going sexual in your tank, cheato is suppose to be more idiot proof. However i still think caluerpa looks cooler. Its impact on the eco system if it got out of my tank would be the last thing on my list of concerns when picking a macro algae. That being said we should all be good stewards of the eco system and if you do use it dispose of it properly like you said you would.

Originally Posted by Jessy

Caluerpa Prolifera is legal in california. And I know how to properly dispose of it if necessary so I'm not going to have any environmental issues.

I understand it's legal in CA, that wasn't my point. I am glad you will practice safe disposal (freezing it I hope) but I personally wouldn't use it still, especially with chaeto being a perfectly effective alternative, and not nearly as invasive should the worst happen. But to each his own. Good luck on the build it looks like it will be awesome when it's done!

you can aquascape any kind of rock this way. This is Marcorock so it is dead like base rock yes. I've got a single piece of LR in the system to help seed while I'm away for the next 10 days in SF. Hopefully when I come back it will have cycled some. Which reminds me, I'm going to toss some PE mysis in there just to get some decomp going .

can you aquascape Live Rock as well??? That is base rock right???