Todd's Nano Reef Aquarium

Dosing

2006-08-11T07:54:00.000-07:00

Dosing:

1/2 cap each: Kent Tech*CB (A) and Kent Tech*CB (B)
1 drop: Lugol's Solution (Iodine)

Maintenance

2006-08-09T21:27:00.000-07:00

Peformed a ~4 gal water change. Removed about 1 cup of algea.

Applied Epoxy a number of places to hold Live Rock frags in place for the Xenia to attach to - I have way too much as I haven't been harvesting it lately.

Feeding

2006-08-08T19:56:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
NO DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton (because the tank has enough algea in the water
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Updated May 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

2006-08-03T19:51:00.000-07:00

Feeding

2006-07-31T20:43:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
NO DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton (because the tank has enough algea in the water
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Maintenance

2006-07-29T20:23:00.000-07:00

Pulled out the old one and put in the first half of a new 4x8 Poly-Bio-Marine's Poly Filter.

Weekly dosing

2006-07-29T08:20:00.000-07:00

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement - 1/2 capful

Feeding

2006-07-26T20:21:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
NO DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton (because the tank has enough algea in the water)
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Maintenance, Cleaning, and water change

2006-07-25T23:02:00.000-07:00

Cleaned the glass - which needed it bad!

Righted the yellow and orange Sun Corals (Tubastrea sp., or Epitonium sp.) which had fallen over.

Peformed a 4.5gal water change, which was really needed! Removed about 1 cup of algea.

Weekly dosing, and Feeding

2006-07-07T18:42:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement - 1/2 capful

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Weekly dosing

2006-07-03T10:37:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capfulK
ent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement - 1/2 capful

Feeding, water change, observations, maintenance

2006-06-27T22:04:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
1 cube of Mysis shrimp

The yellow and orange Sun Corals (Tubastrea sp., or Epitonium sp.) look very good after the feeding.

Both Peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) showed for food, although not sure if one ate.

Still no sign of the Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica).

Performed 2.5gal water change. Pulled out the old one and put in the first half of a new 4x8 Poly-Bio-Marine's Poly Filter.

Moved the rock with the Orange Ball Corallimorph (Pseudocorynactis Spp., probably P. Carribbaeorum) into the cave under the main rocks, after two tries I couldn't quite get it to stay where I wanted it so I'm not sure where the polyps are; it'll get re-arranged in about a week when I move the tank anyway.

Traded-in remainders, purchased FW tank

2006-06-23T17:09:00.000-07:00

Traded in the remaining liverock, plus my existing credit, for:

Eclipse 3 Gallon Acrylic Aquarium System (for a Freshwater tank)
3 fake plants
"background" paper
"art" rock (sand)
Decrative rock

I'll use this a replacement tank for my son when I move my Nano cube.

Identification of unknown Anemone/Corallimorph

2006-06-23T10:34:00.000-07:00

A couple days ago a White/translucent/clear Polyps/Anemones, notably with "balls" on the end of some of the tentacles was noticed. The helpful people at http://www.nano-reef.com/ have identified it as a:

Orange Ball Corallimorph (Pseudocorynactis Spp., probably P. Carribbaeorum)- sometimes incorrectly credited as an Anemone, should be fed, mostly reef safe, but can get big enough (6") to eat fish or mobile inverts (neither likely in most aquariums) or even attack nearby sessile inverts, may spread rapidy, fluoress under blue light. P. Carribbaeorum opens at night, and the Indo-Pacific species opens anytime. See http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2002/invert.htm

Of note, some have suggested it is a pest anemone (like Aiptasia) called the Majano anemone.

Additional inhabitant found, plus feeding, and turned the midday lights back on

2006-06-21T19:40:00.000-07:00

Found the following in the "travel" tank after work and rescued it:

1/3" Tan Starfish (Class Asteroidea) - this makes 3.

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Lighting: Changed the Actinic "mid-day" lights down to just 3 hrs. New schedule:

0600-2100: "Daytime" 2 x 36w 10K/7.1K Combo PCs (72w total)
1200-1500: "Mid-day" 36w Blue Actinic PC, and T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue (46w total)
100-0600: "Nighttime/Refugium" 9w Blue Actinic PC, and 9w Daylight PC (18w total)

This also has the effect of turning on the the ICA Chiller circuit. I'll increase the midday lights again every week.

Updated April 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

2006-06-21T15:37:00.000-07:00

Updated March 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

2006-06-21T10:48:00.000-07:00

New Inhabitants from a friends tank

2006-06-19T22:14:00.000-07:00

A guy from my job and his new wife are moving across country, and they weren't able to bring the tank contents of her 12gal Nano cube. For a fair price, here's what I acquired:

1x Toadstool leather (Sarcophyton sp.) about 3" tall
1x Yellow Stripe Maroon Clown (Premnas biaculeatus)
2x Peppermint shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni) - will eat Aiptasia spp., but have been known to nip "clams, corals, and other cnidarians", keep well in pairs or groups and will reproduce.
2x Scarlet Hermits (Paguristes cadenati)
He thought there might be some "real" snails, possibly a Bumble Bee Snail, but all I saw were a couple 1/4" mystery snails
4x Yellow and 1x Orange Sun Corals - not looking so good - apparently needs direct feeding (Tubastrea sp., or Epitonium sp.)
3x Smooth red Mushrooms (Zoanthids)
3x Smooth green Mushrooms (Zoanthids)

2x colonies of Brown Button Polyps w/ white centers (Zoanthids), one 3" across, one 1" across
1x Large (10") Green Brittle Star (Class Ophiuroidea) - I suspect when I find this in my tank next I'll snag it and trade it in at the LFS as it may chow on my smaller fish.
Botryocladia spp. red algea - mostly juvenile
1/2" Tan Starfish (Class Asteroidea) - this wasn't mentioned and I only happened on him.

As a bonus I get the powerhead and another 5gal bucket.

The process:

They were removed from the tank and placed into a 5gal "travel" bucket with approximately 3gal of water in San Diego about 11pm Sunday night, and and transfered by car to our job site in El Segundo starting 3:30AM Monday morning. He placed them in my office and setup the powerhead. I took possesion of them around 8am, and placed an arm desk lamp over them - the lights not appropriate really but the Button Polyps seemed to respond.

I left work with them about 2:30am, and once home re-started the powerhead.

I performed a 2.5 gal water change - removed about 1/2 cup of algea (and "saved" 4 tiny stars, but lost at least one). I added 2.5gal of NSW to the water I removed from the tank and then dripped this into the "travel" bucket:

3:40pm - at 5gal mark
4:35pm - at 4gal mark - took 1/2gal out of the "travel" bucket
5:30pm - at 3gal mark - took 3/4gal out
6:30pm - at 2gal mark - took 1gal out
8:00pm - at 1/2gal mark - took 2gal out, added last 1/2gal

At 8:30pm started reviewing, selecting, and placing new inhabitants. Used a rock hammer to bust up a number of rocks to keep the selections small, as I don't need more Live Rock. I pulled out a bunch of the brown Kelp algea (including a 2" Bristle worm) to make room. Used the last half of my Aquarium Systems/Marineland HoldFast for the new inhabitants, plus 3x LR frags for the Xenia.

Finished 10pm. I was delighted to find I had no fatalities. So they were out of a real tank for almost 24 hrs.

Full Tank view with new additions:

Close-up of various new organisms:

The leftovers include:

Quite a bit of Live Rock
A couple small frags of Button and other Polyps
1 1/2cup of brown Kelp algea
2 large rock anemones (Aiptasia)

All this will go back to the LFS and see what credit I can get for it.

I turned off the "mid day" lights and will re-introduce them slowly as the the 12g Nano had only 48W of light (4W/gal, 40W/Sq.Ft.), and mine has 118W (4.9W/gal, 60W/Sq. Ft.).

Hair worm (Spionids Polychaete Worm):

SPS (possibly Porites?) with growing polyp colony (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids):

Feeding, and turned on ICA Chiller

2006-06-17T17:54:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Noticed that the tank had hit 90-91F the last couple days so I connected the ICA Chiller circuit.

Weekly dosing

2006-06-16T06:54:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement - 1/2 capful

Feeding and Water change

2006-06-13T21:34:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

2 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Performed 2.5gal water change.

Increased "mid-day" lighting to final state

2006-06-10T22:22:00.000-07:00

Upped the Actinic "mid-day" lights by 1 hour. New schedule:

0600-2100: "Daytime" 2 x 36w 10K/7.1K Combo PCs (72w total)
1000-1700: "Mid-day" 36w Blue Actinic PC, and T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue (46w total)
100-0600: "Nighttime/Refugium" 9w Blue Actinic PC, and 9w Daylight PC (18w total)

This is the final state.

Dosing

2006-06-09T06:50:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement - 1/2 capful

Feeding

2006-06-08T06:48:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
A pinch of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes

Feeding, and water change

2006-06-04T09:57:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods & 1 cube of Mysis shrimp - they were eating slowly towards the middle of the amount, so I discarded the last 1/4.

Changed 2gal of water.

Modified dosing, replaced Iodine additive

2006-06-02T06:34:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement - 1/2 capful

Traded in more Pulsing Xenia

2006-06-01T11:54:00.000-07:00

Traded in to Jims:

10-12 stalks of Pulsing Xenia on 3 Live Rock frags
1 Green Hairy Mushroom on 1 LR frag

Had to replace ~1/2 gal of Saltwater as tank water was used for the transport bags.

Bought:

Kent Marine Concentrated Iodine Supplement
Poly-Bio-Marine Poly filter

Feeding, and testing

2006-05-29T15:44:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
A pinch of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes

Testing:

Temperature = 78.9F
SG = 1.0255 (unadjusted for temp) (NSW = ~ 1.026, ranging 1.022 -1.035 depending on the "sea") - often aquarists keep it 1.023

Additional dosing

2006-05-28T13:07:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful

New lighting schedule

2006-05-28T08:36:00.000-07:00

Upped the Actinic "mid-day" lights by 1 hour.

New schedule:

0600-2100: "Daytime" 2 x 36w 10K/7.1K Combo PCs (72w total)
1100-1600: "Mid-day" 36w Blue Actinic PC, and T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue (46w total)
2100-0600: "Nighttime/Refugium" 9w Blue Actinic PC, and 9w Daylight PC (18w total

Will increase the "mid-day" lights by 1 hour a week until they are about 6-8 hours.

Replaced Poly Filter

2006-05-27T15:32:00.000-07:00

Pulled out the old one and put the remainder of 4x8 Poly-Bio-Marine's Poly FilterInstallation that was cut to 4x4.

Increased dosing, and mushrooms-a-plenty

2006-05-26T06:52:00.000-07:00

Dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capfulT

There are now 11 green hairy mushrooms (Order Corallimorpharia) and two more just split.

Testing shows low Ca & Alk, and higher pH

2006-05-25T21:25:00.000-07:00

Using Salifert Profi Tests:

Temperature = 78.7F
SG = 1.026 (unadjusted for temp) (NSW = ~ 1.026, ranging 1.022 -1.035 depending on the "sea") - often aquarists keep it 1.023
KH = 6.4, Alk = 2.29 Meq/L (NSW = 8 KH and 2.9 Meq/L)
Iodide = ~0.1 ppm (NSW = 0.02-0.03 ppm)
Iodate & Iodine = ~0.0 (NSW = 0.03-0.04)
Calcium = 355 ppm (NSW = 400-425 ppm)
pH = 8.3 (NSW = 8.1)
Nitrate = 0.0 ppm as Nitrate Ion (NO3 Ion)

The Ca and Alk was too low, possibly contributing to the pH being a bit high.

I performed a 32oz Freshwater change to lower the SG.

I dosed:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful

Tomorrow morning is the normal dosing day and I'll again add 1 capful.

I feed them two pinches of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes.

The Starfish has died!

2006-05-25T18:37:00.000-07:00

I bought the Sand Sifting Star (Astropecten polycanthus) back on 4/16/05 so its been 13 months. I was concerned yesterday when it was lying upside down and didn't seem to make much progress moving all evening.

I netted it out and it was only slightly deteriorated so I expect it didn't have an impact on the tank. Either way, I should check my water quality.

Water change

2006-05-24T20:08:00.000-07:00

Water change:

2.5 Gal
Used the Aqua Medic Reef Tweezers to remove a great deal of various smaller macro algeathat proved difficult to remove otherwise

New lighting schedule, and pictures

2006-05-21T14:26:00.000-07:00

Upped the Actinic "mid-day" lights by 1 hour. New schedule:

0600-2100: "Daytime" 2 x 36w 10K/7.1K Combo PCs (72w total)
1100-1500: "Mid-day" 36w Blue Actinic PC, and T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue (46w total)
2100-0600: "Nighttime/Refugium" 9w Blue Actinic PC, and 9w Daylight PC (18w total)

Will increase the "mid-day" lights by 1 hour a week until they are about 6-8 hours.

Banded Brittle Stars (Asterina spp.?):

Bristle worm:

Updated February 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

2006-05-18T10:55:00.000-07:00

Updated January 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

2006-05-18T02:13:00.000-07:00

Feeding

2006-05-17T19:35:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods & 1 cube of Mysis shrimp - they were eating slowly towards the middle of the amount, so I discarded the last 1/4.

I used the turkey baster to put some of the macro food right into the Blastomussa wellsi colony . Once they "close" around the food, it noticed one of the "babies" is quite large now, almost as large as the smallest of the original polups. Since the "Salvadore Dali" Blasto frag is still wedged by the original colony but I was unable to determine if any of the tissue remains.

Water change, and observations

2006-05-15T21:15:00.000-07:00

Water change:

2Gal
Used the Aqua Medic Reef Tweezers to remove a great deal of various smaller macro algeathat proved difficult to remove otherwise.
Removed about 1/2cup of Brown Kelp.

Observations:

Saw the Stomatella Snail a day ago but the camera battery was dead so I couldn't get a shot.
The temperature inside the hood, inside the splashguard, is measured at 116F. That's with 1 original fan, and the ICA fan both running at 9V. Sample taken 8pm with the 2 "Normal day" lights on.

Return to normal dosing regiment

2006-05-13T09:05:00.000-07:00

Dosing:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1/2 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1/2 capful
Lugol's Solution (Iodine) - 1 drop

Feeding, and lighting schedule changes

2006-05-12T20:29:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
1 drop of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap-fulls of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)

Upped the Actinic "mid-day" lights by 1 hour. New schedule:

0600-2100: "Daytime" 2 x 36w 10K/7.1K Combo PCs (72w total)
1100-1400: "Mid-day" 36w Blue Actinic PC, and T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue (46w total
2100-0600: "Nighttime/Refugium" 9w Blue Actinic PC, and 9w Daylight PC (18w total

Will increase the "mid-day" lights by 1 hour a week until they are about 6-8 hours.

Water change & maintenance, and feedings

2006-05-07T21:57:00.000-07:00

Water change:

3.5Gal
32oz FW replacement (to lower salinity) Post SG = 1.0245 - no more adjustments necessary
Used the Aqua Medic Reef Tweezers to remove a great deal of various smaller macro algea (~1/2 cup) that proved difficult to remove otherwise.

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods & 1 cube of Mysis shrimp - they were eating slowly towards the middle of the amount, so I discarded the last 1/4. The normal bi-weekly feeding will be reduced to just 1 cube/feeder fish.

I used the turkey baster to put some of the macro food right into the Blastomussa wellsi colony . Once they "close" around the food, it was easy to see that there are 7 children around the base. I've noticed some before but now I have a good count.

Since the "Salvadore Dali" Blasto incident had resolved itself, I noticied the other day that the dropped frag still had a live piece of coral on it. I moved it up and wedged it (hopefully) by the original colony.

New lighting schedule

2006-05-06T13:34:00.000-07:00

Upped the Actinic "mid-day" lights by 1 hour. New schedule:

0600-2100: "Daytime" 2 x 36w 10K/7.1K Combo PCs (72w total)
1200-1400: "Mid-day" 36w Blue Actinic PC, and T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue (46w total)
2100-0600: "Nighttime/Refugium" 9w Blue Actinic PC, and 9w Daylight PC (18w total)

Will increase the "mid-day" lights by 1 hour a week until they are about 6-8 hours.

Dosing

2006-05-05T10:01:00.000-07:00

Dosing:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful (more than normal)
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful (more than normal)
Lugol's Solution (Iodine) - none

Feeding, and pictures

2006-05-04T22:04:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

1 1/2 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
1 drop of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap-fulls of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)

Blastomussa wellsi colony with children - collage:

Testing, and Dosing

2006-05-04T00:05:00.000-07:00

Testing using Salifert Profi Tests:

Temperature = 78F
KH = 7.2, Alk = 2.57 Meq/L (NSW = 8 KH and 2.9 Meq/L)
Iodide = ~0.08 ppm (NSW = 0.02-0.03 ppm)
Iodate & Iodine ~0.0 ppm (NSW = 0.03-0.04)
Calcium = 350 ppm (NSW = 400-425 ppm)

Alk and Ca are both low, so I did an extra dosing tonight. Still not sure why Iodide shows high, and Iodate & Iodine show very low.

Dosing:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful (more than normal)
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful (more than normal)
Lugol's Solution (Iodine) - none

Mystery "Nudibranch" is something else..., and further comments on the installation

2006-05-02T21:07:00.000-07:00

The members over at www.nano-reef.com quickly identified that animal as a Stomatella Snail, which apparently is a great addition to my reef tank. What really seemed similar is many of the pictures I Googled show the same light/dark dashed thin rim around the edge of the shell.

Chris from www.nanocustoms.com replied back to me and explained that the 78W TEC included in the ICA could be run at a ful 12V/5A but they recommended 8.4V/2.5A to keep the heatsink below 105F. Unfortunately he didn't know the specs on the original JBJ blue LEDs.

(Nearly) Complete Installation

2006-04-30T21:03:00.000-07:00

Installed:

Nanocustoms ICA Chiller: Silicone Tubing 16", AC Adapter Variable 3-12v/ 1200mA AC Adapter, AC Adapter Variable 3-8.4v/ 2500mA AC Adapter
NVM Moonlight Fix: AC Adapter Variable 3-12v/ 1200mA AC Adapter, Dual Harness, 2 Extra LEDs
3.36 series Nanocustoms Modded Lighting Upgrade DIY (for 2004 Nanocube 24DX) : w/ Bare Ballast, Additional T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue bulb/bracket/ballast, 1x PowerCompact 36w 10K/7.1K Combo
JBJ PL36W Blue Actinic PC bulb, linear pin config

Notable:

See Figures 1- 15 below.
It took 10 hours to complete
Was not obvious how to combine installation instructions for the ICA, NVM Fix/expansion, and 3.36 Lighting kit.
Not sure the original problem (perhaps 1 bad LED) but ending up with two bad. Wired for the two working (1 new, 1 old), and have them operating at 6v.
3.36 Kit instructions written for the 2005 model, had to adjust for the 2004 splash guard (See Figures 6-8)
Insruction Wire colors were different (because its a 2004?):

End Cap RDX Cable Ballast
Black <-> Brown <-> Red
Black <-> Black <-> Red
White <-> Blue <-> Blue
White <-> White <-> Blue

Hood wiring holes/cutouts (left to right from back - see Figures 10, 11, 13):

existing notch used to route pump cord
existing notch with pump gromet used for both ICA and FAN power
1st RDX existing hole w/strain-relief
2nd RDX existing hole w/strain-relief
3rd RDX hole w/strain-relief
7/16 hole for Size N coaxial panel-mount Jack (RadioShack #274-1576) used for Moonlights (thus avoiding cutting the DC power supply plug cord)
3/16" hole was intended for Moonlight leads, but not used
existing notch on far right used for T5 Fixture, Heater, and Powerhead

Splashguard was obscured by mineral build-ups. In sink, covered with two papertowels, soaked with vinegar, let stand for 30 mins, and then rinsed thoroughly (see Figure 2 vs Figure 6).
Chiller and Fans wired to be on with main lights (see Figure 1)
Used RadioShack (#64-3073) Insulated Telephone Butt Connectors (22-26 guage) for the Moonlight and Fan wiring.
When installing ICA, used a single #6 lock washer (med. split, zinc) per screw to avoid sinking them to far into the hood (a method of cutting the screws was mentioned somewhere) (see Figure 8)
Suggest mock-ing up the wiring completely a couple times prior to cutting, etc.
All the PST power adapters use the "large" plug which is a 2.50x5.5mm
Remove the ballast Fuse and used that opening for the power cord - the instructions made no specific mention of where the power cord enters (See Figure 9)
Installed the ICA such that the input came from the Right side connected to the pump via ~6" of tubing into the 3rd chamber (right-most), and the output came from the left via ~10" of tubing wraping around to the tank return nozzel with its "elbow" aimed left. Used wire-ties to clamp down all four ends (See Figure 15).

Questions:

What voltages are the original JBJ and the Nanocustoms replacement blue LED's?
What was the small (not for JBJ Remote Disconnect cable) strain relief for?
Suggestions on sealing between ICA and splash guard. There's an 1/8" gap (See Figure 8).
How to reduce rattle of the new, more powerful, pump?
How was 8.4V 2.5A decided for the Switech TEC 78w device?
Recommendations on phasing in the new extra lighting? And how much total? I was thinking 1 hr of the Actinics the first week, then +1 hour each week until there's 6-8 hours.

Next steps:

Adjust end caps in ~1/8" so they better clear the inset portion of the splash guard (See Figure 6).
Need new large strain relief (sized for JBJ Remote Disconnect cable), and use on ballast for new RDX cable.
Get 2 new Replacement LEDs.
Put silicon inside the closed end crimps.
Re-add the Moonlight switch on the hood, to control (when desired) moonlights (See Figure 4).
Seal 1/8" gap between ICA and splash guard (See Figure 8).

Chiller Observations - ICA 8.4v, Fan 9v (shared with hood fan):

4:35pm - 77.7F
5:35pm - 77.0F
6:35om - 77.4F
7:50pm - 77.7F
Note sure what to make of above - going to leave off as it doesn't need to be on at these temps and it may be fighting the heater.
12:35am - 78.0 (main lights off, fans off, ICA off)

Water change:

2.5Gal
32oz FW replacement (to lower salinity)
Post SG = 1.0255
Used the Aqua Medic Reef Tweezers to remove a great deal of various smaller macro algea (~1 cup) that proved difficult to remove otherwise.

Mounted some LR frags:

1 large pieces on the top rock by about 5 stalks.
1 piece on the original Xenia branching LR as there are 5 stalks there now (again).
Was able to catch a 1" long Bristle worm and remove it.

Feeding:

1 1/2 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
1 drop of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap-fulls of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
One pinches of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes.

Observations:

Noticed a new hitchhiker - it 1/2"-3/4" long, pale green, and I think it might be a Nudibranch, hanging around my Smooth Orange Mushroom Anemones (Corallimorpharia Actinodiscus) - I wonder what its eating?

Have an identification for the red algea on the right side of the tank, Gelidium, a nuisance.
Noticed something bright red, wide, and fuzzy(?) quickly dissapear back into the rocks, amid a cloud of red (that quickly dispersed). A quick search showed that "ink" may sometimes come from Sea Hares (Order Anaspidea, a type of sea slug, ink described as "purple" or sometimes "red"), or Cephalopods (Octopus, Cuttlefish, Squid - but this seems very unlikely). If it is a hitchiker Sea Hare, the good news is they are herbivores, but the bad news is the ink can be hazardous to the rest of the tank! Sea Slug Forum - Order Anaspidea Although I doubt it would be hiding in the rocks.

Figure 1: Modified Nanocube Electical block diagram

Figure 2: Original Nanocube 2004 24DX hood

Figure 3: Original Nanocube 2004 24DX hood heatshield

Figure 4: Original Nanocube 2004 24DX hood wiring

Figure 5: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - stripped down

Figure 6: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - Modifications - splash guard test fit

Figure 7: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - Modifications - splash guard cut around ICA

Figure 8: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - Modifications - splash guard cut around ICA test fit

Figure 9: Nanocube 2004 24DX ballast - modifications

Figure 10: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - complete wiring modifications

Figure 11: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - full modifications electrical and fit test

Figure 12: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - modifications in use on tank

Figure 13: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - wiring modifications from rear

Figure 14: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - modifications wiring "head-end"

Figure 15: Nanocube 2004 24DX hood - modifications ICA Plumbing

Trade-in of livestock, new equipment, and installation

2006-04-27T21:39:00.000-07:00

Harvested and traded-in 8 medium Pulsing Xenia (Xeniid) on 4 LR frags, which paid for half of:

Newtek 8 outlet power strip/7 event 24hr digital timer/alternating day/night outlets, model #SKM703
JBJ PL36W Blue Actinic PC bulb, linear pin config
4x8 Poly-Bio-Marine's Poly Filter

Installation:

Cut in half the Poly Filter and will install tomorrow night when I can monitor its effect.
The bulb will be used during the hood construction this weekend.
Measured opening of the Coralife Mini Aqualight 9" (which has 1 Daylight and 1 Actinic bulb) at 3.25" x 7.75" and cut an outline centered across the back two left sump compartments. A little late I realized the vinyl will peel nicely, so had to use WD40 to remove some remnant adhesive, then Windex to remove the WD40. Used 3M DouLock, "Clear Superlock Fastener" from Radio Shack, to secure the light against this cutout. Will need to apply some foam tape around the perimiter to avoid some light leakage.
Set the NewTek Timer for daytime lights 6-9pm, and plugged both the Sump/Refugium light and main lights into the timer. The old timer will be used for the mid-day actinics.

Noticed tank water level was low in the sump because of the new surface skimmer, mostly because of the water used to harvest the Xenia. I topped off with about 32oz fresh water. I'll have to take notice of the sump level during water changes and daily top-offs.

Full Picture of the tank:

Window cut into Nanocube tank back vinyl:

View into tank sump - feather dusters and adhesive:

Back of Nanocube with sump light attached:

Installation of new main pump, salinity adjustment, and feeding

2006-04-26T20:06:00.000-07:00

In order to replace the pump and run the new power cord and gromet through the hood notch, I had to remove the hood of my 2004 JBJ Nanocube 24DX. While doing this the plastic of the hinges will squeek and make you think it will break, but here's how you do it:

Stand in front of the tank, and ensure hood is lowered
Place hands on both back corners
Pull slowly but firmly forward - the hinges will release

I remove the stock pump, and installed the new Rio Hyperflow 6HF (3.9" X 2" X 2.5", 350 gph @ 1ft) using the existing tube, but with new wire-tie "clamps". There's a much more noticable flow, and I adjusted the output nozzel to aim a bit down and more towards the center of the tank. I had to adjust surface skimmer lower, and the height difference the tank and sump is greater than before, but the surface seemed to clear better than ever before. Light ripples can now be seen, although not as pronounced as under MHs.

I will need to turn off the new pump for feeding and water changes (to avoid spray/splashing with low water line, and to prevent running the sump dry), but there's no switch or any easy way of doing this. Something to look into.

Livestock response:

2-tentacled Hair worm (Spionids Polychaete) - in the bottom middle, tentacles waving randomly
Pulsing Xenia (Xeniid) - front left colony closed
Blastomussa wellsi colony - retracted
1 green hairy mushrooms (Order Corallimorpharia) - closed up by front of tank

Performed 32oz fresh water replacement, to lower salinity: SG changed from 1.0265 to 1.0255.

New twice-weekly feeding schedule:

1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
1 drop of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap-fulls of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
Two pinches of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes.

I didn't turn off the main pump, but feed the coarse food very slowly and it seemed to work out OK.

About 3 hrs later the livestock seems to have adjusted.

Hardware order arrived!

2006-04-25T19:29:00.000-07:00

Parts:

NVM Moonlight Fix: AC Adapter Variable 3-12v/ 1200mA AC Adapter, Dual Harness, Extra LEDs
Aqua Medic Reef Tweezers
Coralife Mini Aqualight 9" (for Sump/Refugium)
SRS Nanoskim Select A Flow 12/24g
Nanocustoms ICA Chiller w/Silicone Tubing 16"
Shockbuster GFCI

Lighting Upgrade (for 2004 Nanocube 24DX)

3.36 series Nanocustoms Modded Lighting Upgrade DIY: w/ Bare Ballast, Additional T-5 (10W) Actinic Blue bulb/bracket/ballast, 1x PowerCompact 36w 10K/7.1K Combo
What this results in 118 watts of lights: 72W on one circuit, 36+10W on another. I plan on using 46 watts of Actinic during 4-6 hrs of the day (which I'll introduce slowly). The Combo PC will be used to replace one of the existing hood "combo" bulbs. I'll need to purchase an additional Actinic 36w PC and another Combo 36w PC, the later of which I'll hold onto for a couple or so months to stagger the new bulb rotation.

Installation:

SRS Nanoskim Select A Flow 12/24g - Took only two adjustments to get the flow correct
Shockbuster GFCI - this was easy and "tested" as advertised

All the hood modifications will have to wait until the weekend as the main lighting, Moon lighting, and chiller instalations will take a lot of work. I might get the Sump/Refugium light installed one of these evenings - the big question is how to mount it.

Original Nanocube return:

Nanocube with SRS Nanoskim Select A Flow 12/24g - front view:

Nanocube with SRS Nanoskim Select A Flow 12/24g - top view:

Feeding, temporary dosing schedule, and water change

2006-04-23T21:02:00.000-07:00

Morning Feeding:

Two pinches of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes.

Dosing:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1/2 capful (back to normal)
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1/2 capful (back to normal)
Lugol's Solution (Iodine) - none - This week I'll have to recheck the Alk, Ca, and Iodine.

Water change:

2.5Gal
32oz FW replacement (to lower salinity)
Post SG = 1.026 (just a bit below) - basically unchanged since last week

Evening feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap-full of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 cube of Mysis shrimp

Purchases:

Ordered a lighting upgrade, a chiller, and related upgrades from Nanotuners / Nanocustoms.

Recommendations from LFS

2006-04-17T18:55:00.000-07:00

After losing the Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) and Indo-Pacific White-Striped Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) within 2 weeks or so, I spoke with a couple guys at the LFS, who have these recommedations:

High-ish (1.027) Salinity isn't really a problem, unless its over 1.035, or it varies quickly
The use activated carbon, or PolyBio Marine Inc.'s Polyfilter, even though my measurements are excellent, as a sink for the biological chemicals the Mushrooms and Corals emit, which could be chemically "burning" some of the other inhabitents.
Warned against back compartments filled with LR w/o light, as a haven for bristleworms, could add light on back, and also need bigger pump as it creates lots of resistance on the flow.

Feeding, and pictures

2006-04-15T15:40:00.000-07:00

Feeding

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
Phytoplankton1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods - they still seemed hungy
1 cube of Mysis shrimp - but they didn't seem that interested in this

Observations:

The Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) ate well.

Whole reef tank, with remaining stump of Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa):

Blastomussa wellsi colony, Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga). Notice the droop on the lower Blasto:

Green Hairy Mushrooms (Order Corallimorpharia) vs Star Polyp colonies (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids), and the 'Shrooms are winning:

Ricordea mushroom with orange ring (Corallimorpharia Ricordea):

Bristle worm:

Bumble-bee Snail (Family: Pusiostoma):

Blastomussa wellsi colony, with two babies (sorry for the bad picture):

Maintenance

2006-04-14T17:40:00.000-07:00

Used the Kent Pro ScraperM (Stainless Steel) to clear the glass front and sides of all the pink coralline algae (that I could reach).

Tried to remove the dead Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) skeleton, but it broke and the bottom half is still stuck in the mount which I also couldn't remove.

Broke up the 2# of small branching Live Rock bought back on 3/23. Found two Aiptasia (Aptaisiidae "Rock", "Glass") Anemones on the frags and scraped away that portion of the LR, then rinsed with SW into the "dirty" water-change bucket.

Mounted some of the LR:

2 pieces on the top rock by about 5 stalks.
1 piece on the original Xenia branching LR as there are 5 stalks there now.
1 piece in front of the Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga) and the Blastomussa wellsi, as there's still two small Xenia stalks there and I don't want them getting too large.
1 piece beside the top rock

Prior to vacation I removed a LR frag with a stalk of Xenia, which had been located to close in front of the Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga) and the Blastomussa wellsi. I placed in on the top rock but over vaca it had been moved and lodge by the "globe"-ish SPS (possibly Porites?) and polyps (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids) rock. By now it had grown onto the rock so I had to scrape it out (and tossed it) as I didn't want Xenia growing there. I moved it back with the other Xenia and wedged it between the two new LR frags.

Performed a 2.5gal water change. Removed about a half a cup of various algeas.

Salinity reduction, and re-tests:

Temp = 78F
Pre results: SG = 1.027
Did a 32oz water change with the RO water
Post results: Temp = 77F, SG = 1.026 (unadjusted for temp) (NSW = ~ 1.026, ranging 1.022 -1.035 depending on the "sea") - often aquarists keep it 1.023
The change brought it down by 0.001. Another change would bring it down approximately to 1.025. I'll wait another week.

Feeding, and temporary dosing schedule continued

2006-04-14T09:02:00.000-07:00

Feeding:

Two pinches of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes - The Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) ate.

Dosing:

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Lugol's Solution (Iodine) - none

This week I'll have to recheck the Alk, Ca, and Iodine.

Post-vacation observations

2006-04-10T18:54:00.000-07:00

The Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) is completely gone. I'll remove the skeleton and mount next water change.
The Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) has been spotted
The Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) is apparently gone also.

Whole reef tank, with skeleton of Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa):

Water change, Feeding, and Observations.

2006-04-02T22:45:00.000-07:00

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1 cube of Mysis shrimp

Observations:

The Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) is doing poorly. 3 of the 4 stalks are gone, and the 4th looks like its on its way out.
The Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) has been spotted on a more than daily basis, but did not come out to eat.
The Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) has found a more observable location by a powerhead. It ate very well.

Temporary dosing schedule

2006-03-31T06:54:00.000-08:00

Kent Tech*CB (A) - 1 capful
Kent Tech*CB (B) - 1 capful
Lugol's Solution (Iodine) - none

Observations

2006-03-30T20:43:00.000-08:00

The Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) is down to just 2 of the 4 stalks.
The Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) molted and seems to be doing fine.

Salinity reduction, and re-tests

2006-03-29T06:56:00.000-08:00

Did a 32oz water change with the RO water, in order to reduce the salinity.

Test results:

Temperature = 77F
SG = 1.0265 (unadjusted for temp) (NSW = ~ 1.026, ranging 1.022 -1.035 depending on the "sea") - often aquarists keep it 1.023

The change brought it down by 0.0015. Another change would bring it down approximately to 1.025. I'll wait a week.

Water testing

2006-03-28T09:33:00.000-08:00

Using Salifert Profi Tests:

Temperature = 78F
SG = 1.028 (unadjusted for temp) (NSW = ~ 1.026, ranging 1.022 -1.035 depending on the "sea") - often aquarists keep it 1.023
KH = 8.0, Alk = 2.86 Meq/L (NSW = 8 KH and 2.9 Meq/L)
Iodide = ~0.08 ppm (NSW = 0.02-0.03 ppm) - I averaged two measurements
Iodate & Iodine < nsw =" 0.03-0.04">
Calcium = 405 ppm (NSW = 400-425 ppm)
pH = 8.0-8.3 (NSW = 8.1)
Nitrate = 0.0 ppm as Nitrate Ion (NO3 Ion)
Ammonia = 0.0 ppm (Aquarium Pharmaceuticals)

Results:

Reduce Salinity
Skip Iodine additives for a week and retest
Add a bit more Calcium additives for a week and retest

Observations, and water change

2006-03-28T07:27:00.000-08:00

Observations on new inhabitants:

The Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa) is not doing so well. 2 of the 4 stalks never really opened once in the tank, and as of last night one stalk was completely gone! Another is 50% gone and I don't have good hopes.
The Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica) is very shy - it was out the first night for an hour and have only seen it a few minutes each morning. It ate the first night, but it ignored some flakes the following night.
The Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis) is somewhat shy - it hasn't left the back of the tank below the rocks
The new branching Live Rock doesn't seem shy - it's right where I left it. Although I haven't seen it eating ;-)

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

Blastomussa wellsi colony, Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga), and the Pulsing Xenia that moved into the neighborhood uninvited. Notice the droop on the lower Blasto:

SPS (possibly Porites?), with Polyps (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids). Compare as it was purchased back on 9/7/05, and back on 1/7/06. The SPS has made some advancements but the polyps have spread considerably:

Feeding

2006-03-24T19:59:00.000-08:00

Feeding:

3 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with Cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)
1/2 cube of Mysis shrimp

I need to start feeding less but more frequently.

New inhabitants!

2006-03-23T20:18:00.000-08:00

Used my trade-in credit (plus I owe one more LR frag with a few stalks of Xenia on it) for:

1x Medium Indo-Pacific White-Striped Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)
1x Firefish (Nemateleotris magnifica, Family Microdesmidae, the Worm- and Dartfishes) AKA Fire Goby*
4x stalks of green Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa)**
2# of small branching Live Rock, to use for fragging.

Fed them a pinch of Aquatrol Spirulina 20 flakes.

* Do not do well with active or aggresive tank-mates, such as tangs, gobies, etc. Eat plankton, copopods.

** Will take med-large chunks of meat. Can be aggresive, keep its distance. "Tubular tentacles with branchings and knob-like ends." Prefer lower lighting and lower water flow.

Full view of tank, now with green Frogspawn Coral (Euphyllia divisa):

Harvesting and Trade-in

2006-03-21T07:03:00.000-08:00

Harvested 2 LR frag with a total of 9 stalks of Xenia, and brought it to Jim's for trade-in.

Starfish pix

2006-03-19T19:29:00.000-08:00

Sand Sifting Star (Astropecten polycanthus):

Tiny hitchiker Brittle Star (possibly Asterina spp):

Bristle worm capture, and maintenance

2006-03-18T16:43:00.000-08:00

Noticed a sizable bristle worm under the front left brown Kelp algea clump, and since it didn't seem to be moving very quickly, I decided to attempt a capture.

With the thick gloves on, I ripped out the algea with one hand and captured the bristle worm with the other.

In all, I exported:

1 large (3") bristle worm
2 small (1") bristle worms
1 quart of brown Kelp algea
1x 3/4" Shiny silver ball algea - pest (Valonia macrophysa)

While inspecting the algea I was removing, I was able to "shake-off" upwards of a dozen small 1-2" starfish.

Bristle worm in situ:

Bristle worm in bucket with US Penny for size conparison:

Current view of the Nano Reef Tank:

Misc pictures

2006-03-16T09:01:00.000-08:00

Blastomussa wellsi colony, Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga), and the Pulsing Xenia that moved into the neighborhood uninvited.

SPS (possibly Porites?), with Polyps (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids):

Maintenance and feeding

2006-03-12T08:51:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

Feeding:

5 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)

Feeding...

2006-03-11T21:53:00.000-08:00

Fed 1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods.

I was going to do a water change but the water from the garage was in the 40's and I didn't have time for it to warm up.

2006-03-07T22:15:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

Feeding

2006-03-03T07:34:00.000-08:00

Feeding:

5 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods
~1/10th tsp DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)

2006-02-26T23:04:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

New food and feeding

2006-02-26T13:33:00.000-08:00

Bought from LFS:

1oz (30ml) DT's Natural Reef Diet (Oyster Eggs)

Feeding is recommended at 1 ml (1/5th tsp) for a 50 gallon or larger aquarium. As my tank is 24gal, I need someway to measure 1/2 ml (1/10th tsp) - I had to guesstimate this time.

harvesting and trade-in

2006-02-24T16:50:00.000-08:00

This morning harvested the LR frag with 3 stalks of Xenia that had fallen back on 2/14, and brought it to Jim's for trade-in.

2006-02-20T23:32:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

Feeding

2006-02-17T19:28:00.000-08:00

Feeding:

5 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

A LR Frag with Xenia was dislodged

2006-02-14T06:31:00.000-08:00

A liverock frag with 3 stalks of Xenia became dislodged and fell off the top rock. It landed fine on the bottom sand, stalks upright.

I'll have to turn it in to Jims sometime this week when I have time.

Maintenance

2006-02-12T22:45:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5g water change.

Used Aquarium Systems/Marineland HoldFast to position 2 LR frags strategically on base rocks. One will be for the Xenia on the top, the other for the small growth of Xenia that will soon become a problem for the frag of Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga), and my Blastomussa wellsi.

The my 1" Ricordea mushroom with orange ring (Corallimorpharia Ricordea) is looking much better now that I've moved (both mushrooms) the rock to a new place:

Live Rock frag in place by Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga), and Blastomussa wellsi:

Live Rock frag in place by pulsing Xenia:

New purchases

2006-02-10T10:45:00.000-08:00

Brought into Jim's the the livestock I harvested, and received (along with some credit left over):

2# of Live Rock frags (2-5") for the back filter section of the tank, and future livestock fragging.
Aquarium Systems/Marineland HoldFast

Harvesting

2006-02-10T08:24:00.000-08:00

Removed the following and turned them in for trade at Jim's Exotic Fish:

5 large stalks pulsing xenia (Xeniid), on one piece of live rock
6x green hairy mushrooms (Order Corallimorpharia) on the original piece of rock I bought 5 of them on. 5 still remain on the nearby rocks

Remaining green hairy mushrooms (Order Corallimorpharia):

Feeding, and rearranging

2006-02-08T17:15:00.000-08:00

Feeding:

4 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Last night I noticed that my 1" Ricordea mushroom with orange ring (Corallimorpharia Ricordea) looked a bit ragged at the edges and perhaps a hermit crab may have been picking at it. Today it didn't look so hot either, and I've noticed for some time that my green hairy mushrooms (Order Corallimorpharia) have grown quite large and may be "stinging" the Ricordea. So, I moved the rock with the two Ricordea to the side of the tank where it will have more room.

Ricordea mushrooms (Corallimorpharia Ricordea) looking shabby in its old location:

Ricordea mushrooms (Corallimorpharia Ricordea) in its new location:

Maintenance

2006-02-04T14:14:00.000-08:00

Performed a 3gal water change.

Removed the lone 1/2" polyp or anemone from the large clump of brown kelp in the front left of tank, since I strongly suspected it was an Aiptasia (Aptaisiidae "Rock", "Glass") Anemone. Luckily, removal was easy as tossing out the part of the kelp it was attached to.

Feeding

2006-02-02T22:45:00.000-08:00

Feeding:

4 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 cube of Mysis shrimp

New "found" creatures

2006-01-31T21:04:00.000-08:00

A lone 1/2" polyp or anemone was spotted in the large clump of brown kelp in the front left of tank. It's different from the lone brown polyp spotted a couple weeks ago. This one has much longer tentacles, which are striped. I suspect its a Aiptasia (Aptaisiidae "Rock", "Glass") Anemone; I'll have to observe it a bit more. Luckily, removal will be as easy as tossing whatever part of the kelp it's attached to.

Two more Peanut Worms (Sipunculid) spotted over the last week or so, which are noticably smaller than the Panut Worm (Sipunculid) thats been observed for some time.

The first is located on the top left-back part of large top rock
The second is located on one of the lower front rocks

Noticed another hair worm (Spionids Polychaete Worm) with only one tentacle observed, much smaller than the large hair worm building a tube on the gravel.

2006-01-31T00:14:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5gal water change.

Trade-ins, and new livestock

2006-01-26T21:17:00.000-08:00

Brought into Jim's the three pieces I harvested last night, and bought:

1x 1.5" frag of Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga)
5x Smooth Orange Mushroom Anemones (Corallimorpharia Actinodiscus) on a 2" piece of Live Rock
1/2# of Live Rock frags (2-5") for the back filter section of the tank, and future livestock fragging.

Used Aquarium Systems/Marineland HoldFast to place them on the base rocks.

Feeding:

4 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze) - reduced from 5 drops
1/2 cap of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton - reduced from 1 tspn
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Nano Reef tank after introduction of Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga) and Smooth Orange Mushroom Anemones (Corallimorpharia Actinodiscus):

Smooth Orange Mushroom Anemones (Corallimorpharia Actinodiscus):

Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga), polyps closed immediately after introduction:

Green SPS (Merulinidae Hydnophora, possibly grandis or ridiga), polyps open 1 day after introduction:

Harvesting

2006-01-25T22:19:00.000-08:00

Harvested the following:

Removed the last 1 of the 3 Live Rock frags that had been positioned abutting stalks of the Xenia. The LV frag had two stalks of Xenia on it.
Cut out both the original pieces of the star polyp colonies (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids) because they had at least doubled in size.

Used the Kent Pro ScraperM (Stainless Steel) to "cut" the star polyps out.

I'll bring to Jim's Exotic Fish for credit tomorrow for credit. I took some pictures I'll post later.

Used Aquarium Systems/Marineland HoldFast to place 2 more LR frags on the top rock abutting various Xenia stalks. I'll have to get more LR frags.

Top-down view of Reef tank with LR frags:

Remaining star polyp colonies (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids):

Maintenance

2006-01-22T22:42:00.000-08:00

Performed a 2.5g water change.

Culled about 1 cup of brown kelp.

Rust/Brown Planarians!

2006-01-20T20:41:00.000-08:00

I saw them the other day but didn't give them any notice. Today they are very noticible, concentrated in the two areas but individuals can be found most places throughout the tank.

Close up of three Rust/Brown Planarians (Order Acoela, Convolutriloba retrogemma):

Infestation of three Rust/Brown Planarians (Order Acoela, Convolutriloba retrogemma):

Wet Web Media has a good question/article on the "Red Flatworms" (80% down the page). The attached article on Rust/Brown Planarians (Order Acoela "acoels", Convolutriloba retrogemma) is from the "Book of Coral Propagation, Volume 1: Reef Gardening for Aquarists" by Anthony Rosario Calfo. These Planarians are pests only insomuch as they can become so numerous as to inhibit the proper environment of corals (light, water flow, etc.) but do not actually feed on the corals. Their populations can vary widely. Their picture of the Planarians is quite good; I'll try to get some myself.

I'm going to cut back somewhat on feeding, and do a couple extra water changes and see how that works.

Feeding, and the Red/orange Fromia sea star is gone

2006-01-19T23:32:00.000-08:00

Feeding:

5 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

The Red/orange Fromia (milleporella?) sea star is gone. It hasn't been seen in a couple weeks and the last time it was captured in a photo was 12/2/05. No remnents and no explanations.

Lone brown polyp spotted

2006-01-19T00:00:00.000-08:00

It's only visible with the top open. It's on some base rock and not any polyp I've purchased. I'll try to get some pictures.

Top-down view of reef tank:

Orangeclaw Hermit Crab (Calcinus tibicen):

Lone brown polyp:

Colony of some globe-ish SPS (possibly Porites?) with green polyps (Order Zoanthidea/Zoanthids):

Compare growth progress of SPS

2006-01-18T21:51:00.000-08:00

The picture on top is as it was purchased back on 9/7/05, and the bottom one is current as of 1/7/06:

You can notice significant growth and change:

The SPS has recovered from those two patches and has covered all previous bare areas.
The green polyps down the middle between the previous two SPS patches have been overrun, and SPS is gaining ground against the green polyps at the middle top.
The green polyps have spread significantly around the back and right side (this isn't obvious in the original picture), and have migrated to the base rock at the back, front middle, and front right sides.
The SPS is touching the base rock and may be spreading onto it at the front left (this isn't obvious in the new picture).
The white sponge on the right side in the original picture is still there somewhat, but overrun by green polyps (this isn't obvious in the new picture).
The sponge obvious in the back middle in the old picture has died out; a new sponge is growing out from the lower middle.
The blue sponge under the front middle in the old picture is no longer evident.

Updated December 05's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments

2006-01-17T07:32:00.000-08:00

Feeding

2006-01-16T15:00:00.000-08:00

5 drops of LiquidLife's MarinePlankton (made with cyclop-eeze)
1 tsp of DT'S LIVE Marine Phytoplankton
1 "feeder fish" by California All Natural Pet Foods

Harvested 4 stalks of Xenia on 2 rocks

2006-01-15T13:49:00.000-08:00

Removed 2 of the 3 Live Rock frags that had been positioned abutting stalks of the Xenia. Each LV frag had two stalks of Xenia on it. They were brought to Jim's Exotic Fish for credit.

See the original post on the placement of the Live Rock frags just 9 days ago.

The dislodged and trapped Xenia appears to be no more

2006-01-13T21:31:00.000-08:00

Back on 11/15/05 during the first Xenia transplant, one stalk was dislodged and trapped in a cave. I haven't seen it for over a week and I suspect it must have disintegrated. Here's how it looked on 11/16/05:

Todd's Nano Reef Aquarium

Dosing

Maintenance

Feeding

Updated May 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

Feeding

Maintenance

Weekly dosing

Feeding

Maintenance, Cleaning, and water change

Weekly dosing, and Feeding

Weekly dosing

Feeding, water change, observations, maintenance

Traded-in remainders, purchased FW tank

Identification of unknown Anemone/Corallimorph

Additional inhabitant found, plus feeding, and turned the midday lights back on

Updated April 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

Updated March 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

More on the new Inhabitants - all acounted for!

New Inhabitants from a friends tank

Feeding, and turned on ICA Chiller

Weekly dosing

Feeding and Water change

Increased "mid-day" lighting to final state

Dosing

Feeding

Feeding, and water change

Modified dosing, replaced Iodine additive

Traded in more Pulsing Xenia

Feeding, and testing

Additional dosing

New lighting schedule

Replaced Poly Filter

Increased dosing, and mushrooms-a-plenty

Testing shows low Ca & Alk, and higher pH

The Starfish has died!

Water change

New lighting schedule, and pictures

Updated February 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

Updated January 06's postings with pictures, and enhanced comments.

Feeding

Water change, and observations

Return to normal dosing regiment

Feeding, and lighting schedule changes

Water change & maintenance, and feedings

New lighting schedule

Dosing

Feeding, and pictures

Testing, and Dosing

Mystery "Nudibranch" is something else..., and further comments on the installation

(Nearly) Complete Installation

Trade-in of livestock, new equipment, and installation

Installation of new main pump, salinity adjustment, and feeding

Hardware order arrived!

Feeding, temporary dosing schedule, and water change

Recommendations from LFS

Feeding, and pictures

Maintenance

Feeding, and temporary dosing schedule continued

Post-vacation observations

Water change, Feeding, and Observations.

Temporary dosing schedule

Observations

Salinity reduction, and re-tests

Water testing

Observations, and water change

Feeding

New inhabitants!

Harvesting and Trade-in

Starfish pix

Bristle worm capture, and maintenance

Misc pictures

Maintenance and feeding

Feeding...

Feeding

New food and feeding

harvesting and trade-in

Feeding

A LR Frag with Xenia was dislodged

Maintenance