55g Acrylic Peacock Mantis Tank Build

FLMantis · 08/18/2011, 08:40 AM

I have had my Peacock since the beginning of June and I have slowly been collecting Equipments and stuff for my build. Hopefully by this weekend I can add water to tank and let it cycle.

55g acrylic tank

Aqual Clear 110

Tunze 9002 skimmer

CPR HOB Fuge which will house the Skimmer and UV sterilizer

AquaticLife T5 HO and Lunar Light Fixtures 48" Fixture

80 lbs of Cycled Crushed Coral from 6 years established tank

100 lbs of Cure Cycled live rock

Few Tonga Branches

My Zoa Frag/Display Structure

Wating for the water this weekend

StephLionfish · 08/18/2011, 05:18 PM

Did you have any issues with the crushed coral ( nitrates and such..)? I have it in my 210, and I'm not in the mood to replace it with sand...

TundraGuy · 08/18/2011, 07:21 PM

Tonga god I miss tonga rock. Good find. That structur you got there is BA as well. Not a big fan of crushed coral I find it leaches back into the water colum nitrates and phosphates. But Dr. Roy use it in with his mantis gives the mantis something to do. What are you going to use to stir the water around? I don't thing the Ac110 is going to do much for turning that water. That seams like slot of light for a peacock.

FLMantis · 08/18/2011, 10:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by StephLionfish

Did you have any issues with the crushed coral ( nitrates and such..)? I have it in my 210, and I'm not in the mood to replace it with sand...

The crush coral came from my brothers 150 and he didn't have much issues that I can remember...

If it is a issue... I can add phosguard to the AC110 chamber... I will keep track once it is up and running..

Dana42078 · 08/18/2011, 10:44 PM

Nice!

FLMantis · 08/18/2011, 10:51 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by TundraGuy

Tonga god I miss tonga rock. Good find. That structur you got there is BA as well. Not a big fan of crushed coral I find it leaches back into the water colum nitrates and phosphates. But Dr. Roy use it in with his mantis gives the mantis something to do. What are you going to use to stir the water around? I don't thing the Ac110 is going to do much for turning that water. That seams like slot of light for a peacock.

Thanks man... Yeah I like the look of crush coral and I hope i won't have nitrate and phosphate issues... Planning to add a lot macro algae to help out...

I have two koraila 4's that I picked up for flow... If not my brother has 2 koralia 8's I can use.

As for the light I will not be using much daylight at all. Mostly actinics, and directly above the frag fixture I will put a ecoxotic pan led module for 4 hours in the morning before she wakes up.The cave will be on the far left...

FLMantis · 08/22/2011, 07:58 AM

40g of RODI with salt mixed directly in the tank (12 hours of mixing)

Hour after adding crush coral and LR

12 hours later
Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ammonia .25, PH 8.1

24 hours later
Nitrate 0, Nitrate 0, Ammnonia 0, PH 8.0

FLMantis · 08/23/2011, 08:21 AM

I also decided not to add any corals to the tank and only use Atinics and Leds on the light fixture.

I want to make sure my Mantis is happy and not stressed out due to the intesnse light. And not cause any shell rot issues.

Actinics Only

FLMantis · 09/08/2011, 08:17 AM

Was ready to go... Except for my impulse buy last night.

FLMantis · 09/08/2011, 08:18 AM

Damsels are waiting for their new roomate... But they have no clue...

No I am debating on splitting into two sections... Drilling about quarter inch size holes into the plexi glass so the damsels so can swim through...

Tinctorius · 09/08/2011, 08:37 AM

Problem I see with that is do you want a great looking DT or a lab project in the works? Aesthetics is what I'm talking about. A sheet of acrylic with a bunch of holes drilled into it, dividing your tank might not look that good. I'd say, just go with it. Tank looks great and damsels are inexpensive. Your Peacock probably wouldn't touch them anyway since I assume you're feeding him well enough already. I'd still put some rics, zoas, polys or something along that line in there. They'll be glowing with actinics!

FLMantis · 09/08/2011, 09:22 AM

I appreciate the insight. You are correct about the hideousness of the acrylic.

As for coral, I am still on the fence about it. I have purposely left the actinics and led moonlight on for a few extra days. And there is a lot of algae growth, which I do not want to deal with. But it could also be part of the cycle.

Tinctorius · 09/08/2011, 09:32 AM

Might be diatoms? I'm in the same boat. Just starting diatom phase myself. Waiting for a tank to cycle so I can move my Peacock to it's new home. He's fine where he is but will have a whole tank to himself. I can wait it out plus I want to do it right the first time around and not have any mini cycles down the road. Why have you left your lights on for a few days? Moonlights should have no affect. Not powerful enough. At least mine aren't.

FLMantis · 09/08/2011, 09:39 AM

I don't mean a few days as in all day. Just 8hours at a time. Just to see what it would do. Actually did leave the daylight on as well, which could have caused the algae.

Do you think I should run all 4 actinic bulbs? Or is that to much?

I been testing the water every 4-5 days.
Nitrate - 0,
Nitrite - 0,
Amm - 0
Ph -8.1 - 8.3 depending on time of the day

Tinctorius · 09/08/2011, 10:06 AM

O nitrates, really? Just coming out of a cycle. You should have something seeing you have an algae outbreak.

I'm in a perdickiment too about lighting my Peacock tank. I'm leaning toward what I've done recently in another mantis tank I have. Actinic plus a stunner led strip. Its a great combination! No strain/stress on the mantis and corals are still thriving. If you saw my O. Havanensis video posted on here, that's how it's set up. No actinic on in the video, just one stunner strip and you can see everything is doing great! Stunners do more than just "supplement". This whole "shell rot" with Peacock's worries me. We should find out more about "daylighting" for Peacocks. I would like to know for reference and peace of mind.

FLMantis · 09/08/2011, 01:03 PM

The crush coral have been established and cycled for over 6 years. Live rock for over 2 years. All of this came from broken down larger systems.

Algae, maybe from the lights or the damsels and CUC I randomly add every other day.

It might not be exactly 0, but i can't tell from the color chart. lol

FLMantis · 09/08/2011, 01:11 PM

http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...=963909&page=3

I noticed shell rot on the Telson turned off the daylight completely. Got it either from Ritter or Dr. Roy artiles.

The daylight definetly has something to do with shell rot. I read a lot up on it. And main cause are water chemistry, lighting , and UV will help slow down the spread.

Tinctorius · 09/08/2011, 04:48 PM

Forgot you said the live rock and crushed coral were from an established tank. You might be right, the damsels or cuc might be adding to the algae growth. It's too late now to slow down adding things so I'd stop and just wait it out. Lights out for a few days. Fish and cuc will be fine with light from the room. Think of it as payback from when we were noobs. Getting that first cool looking little damsel only to see it grow up and beat up everything in the tank. Then, finally having to take everything out of the tank to get the little bugger out. They can sit in the dark for a few days. lol Then just ease back into your light schedule. A couple hours to start and go up from there. It's tempting to go 8+ hours right from the start but remember what you're going thru right now! Wanna do it again? No. I'm sure your bulbs are good so it's probably just a mini cycle from adding too many creatures too fast. No big deal. We've all done it! Stick it out, you'll be good to go in no time.

I have learned from all my stupid and "in a hurry" mistakes. Ive said it before and always will, Patience is key! Without it, we have a mess. With it, we have success.

The Telson looks a lot better after molt than before. Phewww! Im with Roy. Not completely healed and another thing to worry about. Like we don't have enough. Also, thanks for reminding me about the UV. Wasn't going to go with one but now I think I should. There goes another $100+. Endless money pit!

FLMantis · 09/09/2011, 09:39 AM

Thanks, Algae was not to bad. Just an eye sore, lol.

Well it is a good thing I switched my first Peacock (Posiedon) to this tank. And put the new Peacock (Aphrodite) in the 14 g Biocube.

Was definetly a hassle to get Posiedon out of the 14g (also removed my clowngfish too). And run a double acclimation process.

But something told me that Aphrodite was a hellion. And I was right... She pretty much rearranaged the whole biocube, whatever she could move at least. And I think she destroyed most of the Nassarius snails. Was eating one of my larger Mexica Turbo, that has been in there for over 2 months with Posiedon.

Gonna take better pictures of them today. I wanted to keep the lights off for the acclimation process.

FLMantis · 09/10/2011, 12:16 PM

Semi-decent photo in her new home... She actually hid most of the day... Hopefully she won't hide that much... But she does like the PVC a lot...

StephLionfish · 09/10/2011, 06:58 PM

She's handsome...( or beautiful?). Both. Hopefully that shell rot goes away.. wait, did you say this one or the other peacock has it? Cause it looks like this one has it...

FLMantis · 09/11/2011, 05:58 PM

Thanks ... Both of them are females...

This is my first peacock that has the shell rot... I moved her to this tank... I am not gonna turn on any lights for awhile and feed her like crazy... And hopefully after her next molt it is completely gone...

FLMantis · 09/12/2011, 08:15 AM

Quick video of her looking for a piece of squid... I did turn on the daylights for 10 minutes so I can take a better video of her.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wGgv3mMG_s

Rtuba71 · 09/12/2011, 10:18 AM

Wow..nice set up

FLMantis · 09/13/2011, 08:33 AM

Thanks:

Feeding Last night in the 55g.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwvLqhL1rgc

08/18/2011, 08:40 AM	#1
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	55g Acrylic Peacock Mantis Tank Build I have had my Peacock since the beginning of June and I have slowly been collecting Equipments and stuff for my build. Hopefully by this weekend I can add water to tank and let it cycle. 55g acrylic tank Aqual Clear 110 Tunze 9002 skimmer CPR HOB Fuge which will house the Skimmer and UV sterilizer AquaticLife T5 HO and Lunar Light Fixtures 48" Fixture 80 lbs of Cycled Crushed Coral from 6 years established tank 100 lbs of Cure Cycled live rock Few Tonga Branches My Zoa Frag/Display Structure Wating for the water this weekend

08/18/2011, 05:18 PM	#2
StephLionfish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,836	Did you have any issues with the crushed coral ( nitrates and such..)? I have it in my 210, and I'm not in the mood to replace it with sand... __________________ The most intelligent people ask the most questions.

08/23/2011, 08:21 AM	#8
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Updated Rockwork Photo I also decided not to add any corals to the tank and only use Atinics and Leds on the light fixture. I want to make sure my Mantis is happy and not stressed out due to the intesnse light. And not cause any shell rot issues. Actinics Only

09/08/2011, 08:17 AM	#9
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Updated Photo's Was ready to go... Except for my impulse buy last night.

09/10/2011, 06:58 PM	#21
StephLionfish Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Location: Tennessee Posts: 1,836	She's handsome...( or beautiful?). Both. Hopefully that shell rot goes away.. wait, did you say this one or the other peacock has it? Cause it looks like this one has it... __________________ The most intelligent people ask the most questions.

08/18/2011, 07:21 PM	#3
TundraGuy MantisOholic Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Washington DC Posts: 1,946	Tonga god I miss tonga rock. Good find. That structur you got there is BA as well. Not a big fan of crushed coral I find it leaches back into the water colum nitrates and phosphates. But Dr. Roy use it in with his mantis gives the mantis something to do. What are you going to use to stir the water around? I don't thing the Ac110 is going to do much for turning that water. That seams like slot of light for a peacock.

08/18/2011, 10:44 PM	#5
Dana42078 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: Racine Wisconsin Posts: 607	Nice!

08/22/2011, 07:58 AM	#7
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	40g of RODI with salt mixed directly in the tank (12 hours of mixing) Hour after adding crush coral and LR 12 hours later Nitrite 0, Nitrate 0, Ammonia .25, PH 8.1 24 hours later Nitrate 0, Nitrate 0, Ammnonia 0, PH 8.0

09/08/2011, 08:18 AM	#10
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Damsels are waiting for their new roomate... But they have no clue... No I am debating on splitting into two sections... Drilling about quarter inch size holes into the plexi glass so the damsels so can swim through...

09/08/2011, 08:37 AM	#11
Tinctorius Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 58	Problem I see with that is do you want a great looking DT or a lab project in the works? Aesthetics is what I'm talking about. A sheet of acrylic with a bunch of holes drilled into it, dividing your tank might not look that good. I'd say, just go with it. Tank looks great and damsels are inexpensive. Your Peacock probably wouldn't touch them anyway since I assume you're feeding him well enough already. I'd still put some rics, zoas, polys or something along that line in there. They'll be glowing with actinics!

09/08/2011, 09:22 AM	#12
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	I appreciate the insight. You are correct about the hideousness of the acrylic. As for coral, I am still on the fence about it. I have purposely left the actinics and led moonlight on for a few extra days. And there is a lot of algae growth, which I do not want to deal with. But it could also be part of the cycle.

09/08/2011, 09:32 AM	#13
Tinctorius Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 58	Might be diatoms? I'm in the same boat. Just starting diatom phase myself. Waiting for a tank to cycle so I can move my Peacock to it's new home. He's fine where he is but will have a whole tank to himself. I can wait it out plus I want to do it right the first time around and not have any mini cycles down the road. Why have you left your lights on for a few days? Moonlights should have no affect. Not powerful enough. At least mine aren't.

09/08/2011, 09:39 AM	#14
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	I don't mean a few days as in all day. Just 8hours at a time. Just to see what it would do. Actually did leave the daylight on as well, which could have caused the algae. Do you think I should run all 4 actinic bulbs? Or is that to much? I been testing the water every 4-5 days. Nitrate - 0, Nitrite - 0, Amm - 0 Ph -8.1 - 8.3 depending on time of the day

09/08/2011, 10:06 AM	#15
Tinctorius Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 58	O nitrates, really? Just coming out of a cycle. You should have something seeing you have an algae outbreak. I'm in a perdickiment too about lighting my Peacock tank. I'm leaning toward what I've done recently in another mantis tank I have. Actinic plus a stunner led strip. Its a great combination! No strain/stress on the mantis and corals are still thriving. If you saw my O. Havanensis video posted on here, that's how it's set up. No actinic on in the video, just one stunner strip and you can see everything is doing great! Stunners do more than just "supplement". This whole "shell rot" with Peacock's worries me. We should find out more about "daylighting" for Peacocks. I would like to know for reference and peace of mind.

09/08/2011, 01:03 PM	#16
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	The crush coral have been established and cycled for over 6 years. Live rock for over 2 years. All of this came from broken down larger systems. Algae, maybe from the lights or the damsels and CUC I randomly add every other day. It might not be exactly 0, but i can't tell from the color chart. lol

09/08/2011, 01:11 PM	#17
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	http://reefcentral.com/forums/showth...=963909&page=3 I noticed shell rot on the Telson turned off the daylight completely. Got it either from Ritter or Dr. Roy artiles. The daylight definetly has something to do with shell rot. I read a lot up on it. And main cause are water chemistry, lighting , and UV will help slow down the spread.

09/08/2011, 04:48 PM	#18
Tinctorius Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Glendale, Arizona Posts: 58	Forgot you said the live rock and crushed coral were from an established tank. You might be right, the damsels or cuc might be adding to the algae growth. It's too late now to slow down adding things so I'd stop and just wait it out. Lights out for a few days. Fish and cuc will be fine with light from the room. Think of it as payback from when we were noobs. Getting that first cool looking little damsel only to see it grow up and beat up everything in the tank. Then, finally having to take everything out of the tank to get the little bugger out. They can sit in the dark for a few days. lol Then just ease back into your light schedule. A couple hours to start and go up from there. It's tempting to go 8+ hours right from the start but remember what you're going thru right now! Wanna do it again? No. I'm sure your bulbs are good so it's probably just a mini cycle from adding too many creatures too fast. No big deal. We've all done it! Stick it out, you'll be good to go in no time. I have learned from all my stupid and "in a hurry" mistakes. Ive said it before and always will, Patience is key! Without it, we have a mess. With it, we have success. The Telson looks a lot better after molt than before. Phewww! Im with Roy. Not completely healed and another thing to worry about. Like we don't have enough. Also, thanks for reminding me about the UV. Wasn't going to go with one but now I think I should. There goes another $100+. Endless money pit!

09/09/2011, 09:39 AM	#19
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Thanks, Algae was not to bad. Just an eye sore, lol. Well it is a good thing I switched my first Peacock (Posiedon) to this tank. And put the new Peacock (Aphrodite) in the 14 g Biocube. Was definetly a hassle to get Posiedon out of the 14g (also removed my clowngfish too). And run a double acclimation process. But something told me that Aphrodite was a hellion. And I was right... She pretty much rearranaged the whole biocube, whatever she could move at least. And I think she destroyed most of the Nassarius snails. Was eating one of my larger Mexica Turbo, that has been in there for over 2 months with Posiedon. Gonna take better pictures of them today. I wanted to keep the lights off for the acclimation process.

09/10/2011, 12:16 PM	#20
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Semi-decent photo in her new home... She actually hid most of the day... Hopefully she won't hide that much... But she does like the PVC a lot...

09/11/2011, 05:58 PM	#22
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Thanks ... Both of them are females... This is my first peacock that has the shell rot... I moved her to this tank... I am not gonna turn on any lights for awhile and feed her like crazy... And hopefully after her next molt it is completely gone...

09/12/2011, 08:15 AM	#23
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Video of her swimming around. Quick video of her looking for a piece of squid... I did turn on the daylights for 10 minutes so I can take a better video of her. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7wGgv3mMG_s Last edited by FLMantis; 09/12/2011 at 08:20 AM.

09/12/2011, 10:18 AM	#24
Rtuba71 Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2011 Posts: 17	Wow..nice set up

09/13/2011, 08:33 AM	#25
FLMantis Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2010 Posts: 361	Thanks: Feeding Last night in the 55g. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bwvLqhL1rgc

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