Current USA Solana 34g

[mtuttle02]

Hello Everyone-

I thought I would start a thread on my Solana. I have been looking at this tank for a while and when I saw dailydriven911's set up I was sold! It is an AIO system but in my opinion it’s the best looking one.

Tank dimensions:

20"X20"X20"- Glass

Tank features:

-I removed the stock intake venturi protein skimmer and put a Remora C with a Maxi-Jet 1200 in its place.
-1 Koralia 2, once I take down my other nano I will have a Koralia 1 to add.
-150 watt Sunpod
-100 watt stealth heater

Live Rock/ Sand:

-I got about 40#'s of Marshal Island rock from a member here on RF. It has tons of life on it but with the good comes the bad; it has a few Aptasia anemones on it.
-30# of Caribsea live sand

Fish:

I have one B&W clown in my 9 gallon- once I transfer him into the Solana I will probably get another one.

Corals Plans:

Mostly soft corals although I would like to have a clam

I am a new reefer so any advice/ comments would be appreciated!

Thanks for looking

 

[dailydriven911]

Yeah! That is one awesome tank! Why did you decide to replace the stock skimmer with the aqua c remora? How long has it been setup for? Can you get a better pic of the aquascape? Looking good so far!

 

[mtuttle02]

Yeah! That is one awesome tank! Why did you decide to replace the stock skimmer with the aqua c remora? How long has it been setup for? Can you get a better pic of the aquascape? Looking good so far!

Hey!

There was really no reason for changing the skimmer- I guess I just didn’t like the way the pump, hose and cord was situated in the back.

The tank has been running since Wednesday 1/23/08 and I just added the rock and sand yesterday 1/25/08.

As far as the scape I slapped it together this am. I’m not a good landscaper and I know the more I mess with it the more I will continue to rearrange it. All and all I’m pretty happy with the way it turned out though.

I hope these pictures are a little better- the water is still cloudy but at least you can see the rocks inside now

Mike

 

[dailydriven911]

I actually like the rockwork and the little pennisula on the left hand side. I know what you mean about the stocker I think they should built in the pump instead. I just cleaned mine because it started to clog or something it's like it was getting enough air. So I may go with another skimmer in the future or somehow mod this one. Keep us updated w/ your progress...

Can you get a pic showing how you hooked up the aqua c. Is it just hanging off the back?

Thanks

 

[mtuttle02]

I actually like the rockwork and the little pennisula on the left hand side. I know what you mean about the stocker I think they should built in the pump instead. I just cleaned mine because it started to clog or something it's like it was getting enough air. So I may go with another skimmer in the future or somehow mod this one. Keep us updated w/ your progress...

Can you get a pic showing how you hooked up the aqua c. Is it just hanging off the back?

Thanks

Yeah the stock one kind of drove me nuts wondering if the air hose was completely on on not.

The MJ 1200 is in the first chamber- I need to get a longer hose because it’s barely under the surface of the water. The outlet of the skimmer just flows over the filter pad- other than the water splashing sound the skimmer fits quite well on the tank.

Thanks
Mike

 

[dailydriven911]

Looks good! Thats how I thought it would work but it's nice to visualize something. Thanks for the pics...

 

[Krish]

The tank looks great! Nice setup you have there

 

[mtuttle02]

The tank looks great! Nice setup you have there

Thank You!

 

[mtuttle02]

Looks good! Thats how I thought it would work but it's nice to visualize something. Thanks for the pics...

No problem!

 

[Krish]

BTW...Just noticed the sponge under the skimmer. Be careful it doesn't work against you in the long run. You'll want to keep that sponge either rinsed or changed every 2-3 days or so because if allowed to sit too long, the waste it catches will begin to rott and degrade water quality which can eventually fuel nuicance algae to grow. Just a thought

 

[mtuttle02]

BTW...Just noticed the sponge under the skimmer. Be careful it doesn't work against you in the long run. You'll want to keep that sponge either rinsed or changed every 2-3 days or so because if allowed to sit too long, the waste it catches will begin to rott and degrade water quality which can eventually fuel nuicance algae to grow. Just a thought

Ok Thanks- I need to make a trip to the local fish shop and pick a bunch of filter pad up. I’ve been rinsing it out every few hours because it has been getting dirty fast!

 

[mtuttle02]

Does anyone have any idea how to get rid of Aptasia? I’ve read that a peppermint shrimp will eat it and also injecting it with lemon juice will work.... The actual lemon juice you buy at the grocery store?
Any suggestions?

 

[robzilla]

i find injecting with vinegar is the best

 

[sm_shim]

peppermint shrimp work good I just take tweezers and pluck them off the rock with the rock out of the tank

nice solana i have one too we solana owners should stick together

 

[theJ]

You can get by with boiling some RO water and injecting them, or mixing up some kalk paste. Kalk paste has always worked best for me, but I can see my alkalinity raise after treating only a few at a time, and I have twice the water volume as your tank, so be careful and only do a few or so if you use kalk.

Very nice tank, I like the peninsula too!

 

[mtuttle02]

I have a syringe without a needle that I feed my fish with. Do I have to get a needle or can I just blast the outside of them? If I do need a needle where do I get one? lol

 

[dailydriven911]

Any updates? New additions?

 

[mtuttle02]

Any updates? New additions?

Hey Jason-

Actually Last night I added a rose millepora frag and a Derasa Clam- I traded a bunch of Xenia and got some credit towards them at BS... I also have some Zoas and a few mushrooms that came on the rock that I bought. I will take some updated photos tonight. Oh and two Peppermint shrimp I got cleared out ALL of my Aiptasia in a week!

 

[dailydriven911]

Hey Jason-

Actually Last night I added a rose millepora frag and a Derasa Clam- I traded a bunch of Xenia and got some credit towards them at BS... I also have some Zoas and a few mushrooms that came on the rock that I bought. I will take some updated photos tonight. Oh and two Peppermint shrimp I got cleared out ALL of my Aiptasia in a week!

Awesome! I'm actually heading up there tonight for a fish and other inverts. Where did you get the peppermint shrimp? I have 5-6 aptasia that I can see and want them gone before they really start to spread. Looking forward to seeing the pics...

 

[mtuttle02]

Awesome! I'm actually heading up there tonight for a fish and other inverts. Where did you get the peppermint shrimp? I have 5-6 aptasia that I can see and want them gone before they really start to spread. Looking forward to seeing the pics...

I got them both at Blue Sierra, they would rather eat food but I found they will last resort the aptasia- they ate the smaller ones first then chopped down the larger ones