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MadReefer 
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 Topic: 29g LTA home
Posted: December 05 2010 at 1:05pm |
First of all, I want to know if you think I'm trying to rush this too fast. I have options if I need to keep it in a different tank while this one matures some.
The reason I'm trying to setup so fast is because I won an eBay auction. I really didn't think that I would win this eBay auction and I shouldn't have bid on it in the first place. But I won, and my LTA arrives on Wednesday.
I think the tank is looking pretty positive even though I just set it up.
I used all live rock, sand, and macro from another well-established tank. I also have my mangrove bucket connected to the system. I'm using a 55 gallon tote as the sump with a float valve for top off hooked straight to my RO/DI. It has about 30 gallons of water in the sump, probably about 62 gallons total volume. I plan on lighting the LTA with a 250W 20,000K MH. I think it would have been better with a lower K bulb, but it's all I can afford as it comes with the MH setup.
Overflow for 29 gallon tank that I drilled.
The live rock, sand, and macro in the 29 while I setup the sump.
The tank after I moved rock and macro to the sump.
Edited by MadReefer - December 05 2010 at 5:15pm
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Reefboy4life
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Posted: December 05 2010 at 2:38pm |
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Were did you get that overflow box?
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90 gallon mixed reef
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 05 2010 at 2:43pm |
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I made it. Not pictured, I add a street elbow facing down so that it doesn't gurgle and a durso style pipe behind the tank. It's someone else's design that I've always had good luck with.
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 05 2010 at 5:13pm |
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Another question. Should I remove kenya tree from this tank before I add the LTA? I'm just not sure if it will kill and pollute the tank if the LTA wanders and touches it.
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Luckedout
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Posted: December 05 2010 at 7:21pm |
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You'd be surprised how tough those Kenya trees can be.
Could you show how you did the overflow piping and the durso on the back side? I'm setting up a 29 gal soon as well.
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-Ben
90g Mixed reef
www.body-balancechiropractic.com
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 12:17am |
I did some tests.
pH 8.2-8.3
alk 9-10 dKH
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
ammonia 0
S.G. 1.0245, working on making this 1.026.
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 11:46am |
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I guess not many people have had experience with LTAs? Or at least not like my situation. I've read that it takes 12 months to prep a tank for an LTA, but people move tanks all the time without loss, I have myself about 1000 miles. So I'm guessing I'll be good to go. I really don't want to kill this, so wish me luck.
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Luckedout
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 12:06pm |
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do you just drill a hole in the cap? How big of a hole do you recommend?
I have no experience with an LTA so i don't know what to tell you other than good luck!
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-Ben
90g Mixed reef
www.body-balancechiropractic.com
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 1:08pm |
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I would guess the hole in the cap is 3/16th of an inch. It will suck in a lot of air if you have high flow through the system, and it can make too much noise. I think there are better ways to quiet it down if you have high flow, but this has always worked for me on small tanks like this.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 2:22pm |
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I'm going to say that if the LTA is healthy when it arrives it should be just fine in that tank. You have plenty of light with a 250 Watt MH and since everything you used to set up this tank came from a mature tank you should have very little if any cycle. I personally would not hesitate to put the anemone in your new tank.
As for the Kenya tree, I would leave it. It should not cause any problem.
If the LTA is not healthy when it arrives it probably doesn't matter what tank you put it in, your likely to have problems with it in any tank.
Edited by Will Spencer - December 06 2010 at 2:24pm
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 3:11pm |
Thanks.
It was WYSIWYG and looked very good to me. Hopefully it ships well.
This is the picture from the seller. I'll post a pic when I get it too.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 3:33pm |
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Wow! That is gorgeous.
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Chris Scott
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Posted: December 06 2010 at 3:57pm |
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yea just make sure to feed him a couple times per week and give him plenty of light. Your water parameters look good, I would think he would be happy.
I had one for about 6 months, but then I made a mistake by reducing the photo-period for about a week to reduce algae. He became unhealthy from the lack of light and wandered into my powerhead. When you get him, keep the lights on and maybe no powerheads and let him dig his foot into the sand.
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55g Bowfront Corner Reef
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 08 2010 at 8:52pm |
I have to wait until Friday for this anemone. The wait gives me a bit more time to get everything ready. I think it's only good but I might have to call in late to work just to acclimate it. I'll post pictures then.
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 09 2010 at 6:34pm |
Well, the home is ready and the anemone is in the air. I get it tomorrow. Here is a pic with the light.
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 10 2010 at 2:51pm |
Maybe this thing didn't ship well. Or maybe I'm doing something wrong. It doesn't look very good to me, even though I acclimated it slowly over 2 hours. And now I put it in a dip in the sand, hoping it will reach through and grab hold. But it looks pale and bleached. Is this typical for shipping these? am I doing something wrong? Please help quickly if I'm doing something wrong here.
Thanks
This is in acclimation.
This is after I put it in sand and turned on light.
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Fish Mama
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Posted: December 10 2010 at 7:20pm |
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The anenome looks good to me. I had one in a 55 gallon under low PC lamps. It ended up eating a yellow tang and a diamond goby for snacks. It grew to be about a third of the size of the tank. So, I suggest that you be careful with any fish other than a clown.
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jwoo
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Posted: December 10 2010 at 8:19pm |
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It actually doesn't look to bad to me. A little stressed from the shipping probably, I'd wait till tomorrow morning to see if it looks better by then. I believe it should.
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None at the moment
Soon: 72 Gallon Bowfront
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MadReefer
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Posted: December 10 2010 at 9:05pm |
Thanks for your opinion and experience.
It's lost all of its color, and that is what has me worried. But it looks like it is open and not getting worse, at the moment. I don't know if these ever ship well, but this thing looks like it suffered in shipping. It was packed in a tiny bit of water for its size and it was a small box. This was not packed close to as well as when I've bought stuff from Liveaquaria.com, the only other place I've bought online from.
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Will Spencer
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Posted: December 10 2010 at 10:54pm |
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Give it good lighting, Feed it once a week or so and give it time. Anemone's have a habit of looking fantastic one day and nearly dead the next, followed by looking fantastic again. Of course shipping day is a bad day for any fish or coral and it sounds like maybe it wasn't shipped with as much care as you would hope, but I'll bet it does fine.
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