Amp's 25g Cube Seagrass build REDUX

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Amphiprion

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Feb 14, 2007
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Andrew



[video=youtube_share;c51dNDItdZM]http://youtu.be/c51dNDItdZM[/video]

A few pics and a little video for those interested. It's been a while since I've updated, mostly because there is little to report on. The cyano had flared up pretty badly after disturbing the substrate to remove some rhizomes. What you see now is a significant improvement and it keeps thinning as time passes. It should be mostly, if not completely gone within a couple of weeks. The little Monti frag on the background is bleached, despite my efforts to prevent it--I guess the lighting it was in previously was just much, much lower by comparison. Hopefully it will do well, but I'll only know with time.
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Graham
Good to see the tank is doing well. The clowns sure look happy in the flow :)! Have you considered adding a small rock or two and maybe a nem in there? Tank may be a little small for a carpet but man that would fit in well with the grass.
 

Amphiprion

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Feb 14, 2007
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Andrew
Good to see the tank is doing well. The clowns sure look happy in the flow :)! Have you considered adding a small rock or two and maybe a nem in there? Tank may be a little small for a carpet but man that would fit in well with the grass.
Thanks!

I have considered it, but there are several reasons why I haven't thus far. One is Aiptasia. It is much easier to eliminate them in the current circumstances. There aren't many, but they are defnitely there--maybe half a dozen at any given time that I can't necessarily see. A rock structure will be a magnet for them and it will make it very difficult to get rid of them. I was hoping that bleached little Montipora frag would eventually cover that PVC piece...

I had also considered an anemone, but none of the sand dwelling species do well because the seagrass rhizomes compact the sand, making it impossible for them to settle down or stay settled for terribly long. This was the original plan with a small Heteractis crispa, but I had to return it because of compaction. As for something like a BTA, I'm not sure how much it would appreciate the flow, as anything higher than grass-level will be subjected to intense water motion.
 

greech

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May 13, 2009
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Ya, probably too much flow for a BTA. Good to know on the compaction with grasses. Either way I really like the grass with the clowns.

Understood on the rock and the aptasia. Lord knows I do battle with them every weekend. If I didn't think I would blind myself, I would so get one of those lasers and go hunting :)!
 

Amphiprion

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Feb 14, 2007
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Andrew
Ya, probably too much flow for a BTA. Good to know on the compaction with grasses. Either way I really like the grass with the clowns.

Understood on the rock and the aptasia. Lord knows I do battle with them every weekend. If I didn't think I would blind myself, I would so get one of those lasers and go hunting :)!
Lol, those lasers kinda freak me out. I could see my retina shriveling like that Aiptasia. I'd be too scared of messing up and hitting something in the tank that I like--being a clumsy fool doesn't help in my case. It's hard for me to do delicate work :)
 

Amphiprion

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Feb 14, 2007
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Andrew
That's a great looking tank! Suck a natural look, and something we don't see every day..

Is that an MP10 you have in there?
Thanks--the natural look is really what I've been shooting for. Kinda part of my way of departing the ideal that TOTMs have set in relatively recent years. Nothing wrong with TOTM style systems, but they are more like collections rather than displays reflecting nature. To each his/her own, though.

That's actually an MP40 :D. Never been one to skimp on water motion, even on small systems. I've noticed that water flow is just as important on these types of systems--possibly more so, since the grasses dramatically reduce flow. It has been harder to provide adequate water motion on this tank than my reef-style systems as a result.
 

Cheech

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Jan 13, 2000
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Thanks--the natural look is really what I've been shooting for. Kinda part of my way of departing the ideal that TOTMs have set in relatively recent years. Nothing wrong with TOTM style systems, but they are more like collections rather than displays reflecting nature. To each his/her own, though.

That's actually an MP40 :D. Never been one to skimp on water motion, even on small systems. I've noticed that water flow is just as important on these types of systems--possibly more so, since the grasses dramatically reduce flow. It has been harder to provide adequate water motion on this tank than my reef-style systems as a result.
lol Wow! an MP40 and an additional powerhead in a 25g? I have 1 MP40 in my 90 and it seems sufficient.

hey, completely unrelated question: how often do you maintain your MP-40? I got mine in January and it already busted. Nothing major, but the screw holding the magnet to the propeller snapper. I ordered a maintenance kit which should be coming in in about a week. Needless to say, after spending over 500$ for a pump you'd think it wouldn't need any replacement pieces after a few months.
 

Amphiprion

Contain the Excitement...
Feb 14, 2007
5,776
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Mobile, Alabama
Real Name
Andrew
lol Wow! an MP40 and an additional powerhead in a 25g? I have 1 MP40 in my 90 and it seems sufficient.

hey, completely unrelated question: how often do you maintain your MP-40? I got mine in January and it already busted. Nothing major, but the screw holding the magnet to the propeller snapper. I ordered a maintenance kit which should be coming in in about a week. Needless to say, after spending over 500$ for a pump you'd think it wouldn't need any replacement pieces after a few months.
It's a lot of flow for certain.

Though I'm afraid I may jinx myself, not often. I'd say every 3-4 months or less often. I do routinely clean the intake of debris, however. I also run mine near 100% speed, though not constantly and it's going close to two years. The only thing I've had to replace is the power cable, which is a cheap, easy fix (or completely free if you have spare PC power cables). So far so good. It may be worth noting that mine is an upgraded MP20, though.
 
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