Tank has recently been cleaned, has stock pumps. $200 firm, not in a huge rush to sell. Available weekends only in Santa Monica. PM if interested

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In other news, our we been posting pictures several times a week at our facebook page and the following is growing (find us at facebook.com/coraltopia/).  You can also continue to get daily updates and shared industry knowledge by following us over at Twitter (@coraltopia)

Growth Shots – September 26, 2011

View at Picasa Lunar Eclipse Paly, Orange Crush Acan

View at Picasa Meteor Shower Cyphaestra

View at Picasa Green Sparkle Paly

Growth Shots – September 11, 2011

View at Picasa Cali Tort

View at Picasa Meteor Shower Cyphaestra

View at Picasa Misc Zoas/Palys

Growth Shots – August 14, 2011

View at Picasa TRPE, Green Sparkle Paly, Lunar Eclips Paly, misc. zoas

View at Picasa Lunar Eclipse Paly

View at Picasa Misc. Zoa

I noticed during this debacle that my diamond goby is nowhere to be found …. coincidence? I think not.  I’m guessing the death caused the spike and the cyano went on a rampage.  At any rate, things are back in check now and I’m in the process of finding another goby.  I’ve burned through 2 or 3 of the diamond backs.  They last a year and change and then die off.  Guess they just can’t handle the small tank sans refugium (which I’m planning to add as time and $$ allow in the near future).  For the next sand sifter goby, I’m thinking about going with a 2 spot – thrive in smaller tanks and still churn up the sand pretty good.  Check out the Two Spot Goby when you get a chance and let me know what you think, as I’ll most likely have to have on shipped.

I’m also upgrading to a dual DJ4 power center that I’m setting up inside my stand.  The current DJ8 has been great, but it’s just laying behind my stand kicking off ambient light to the room.  Time to upgrade and get things in house.  If you or someone  you know has a need for a used DJ8, I’m willing to trade for colorful frags in the West Los Angeles area.

I’ve tried pointing my Koralia pumps at it, turning it over regularly with a turkey baster, even dosing some Boyd Chemiclean … no luck.  My diamond goby used to turn the sand over BIG time in the area, no he won’t go anywhere near it.  Any ideas what might be going on here – I’m at my wits end!

I’ve been running on a 14k bulb for quite some time now, but opted to upgrade to a new 20k Ushio bulb about a week ago.  I “burned in” the bulb over a couple of days by adjusting my aqua program to periodically turn the bulb off for a bit (theoretically allowing all those critters in your tank to recover from the new blast of light).  After a couple weeks of this, I’m now noticing that coral colors have definitely faded, some have even bleached a bit, due to the new light.  Of course, the chances are good that the color will return within a few weeks/months but it left me wondering … should you upgrade your lighting spectrum when you replace your bulbs?

I’d love to hear your thoughts/experiences and share any links you might have to offer.  Feel free to comment below!

1. Tunze 9002 ($145) – It’s Tunze, which pretty much speaks for it’s self.  If you do any google searches you’ll quickly find that this a favorite amongst the AIO purists (and other hobbyists that want a quality skimmer at a pretty good price).  The major beef seems to be that the collection cup is a weird size, and thus needs to be changed out or modified in order to work with my specific tank (JBJ 28g HQI).  You can certainly do your own Do It Yourself (DYI) project – or just bounce over to InTank Designs and pick one up a custom made Skinny Tunze Cup
   
2. Sapphire Aquatics NC24/28 (n/a) -There are several above average elements of this skimmer, and there are also some areas it leaves lacking.  Construction is awesome, pump is SUPER quiet, The collection cup fits without any modification to the hood (and is VERY easily removable), price is good for what you get, customer service WAS great (company went out of business).  For those of you that missed out, I wrote a more extensive review of this skimmer last week.  Just follow the link above and you’ll get the full 411

Next week we’ll be looking at a few more protein skimmer options, this time Hang Off the Back (HOB) which opens nano tanks up to a lot more options and power when it comes to picking a scum kickin skimmer.

The wife is out of the house on Monday nights, so I get some bonus fish tank time.  I usually do a thorough glass cleaning, check my levels, do the dosing, take care of any other maintenance issues that need addressed.  However, now that I have this fancy new iPhone it’s easier than ever to take weekly growth shots!  You’ll see the link to the page up there in the navigation – other than that, not much to report for this week.  Added some extra rubble to the tank to try and close up some of the dead space under the over hang.  Still pondering tearing that all out and do a complete rebuild (always the case right?!) but for now I am going to let it sit and grow.  I’ll be sure to post another update next, till then – happy reefing!

Sapphire Aquatics NC28 Skimmer

I’m turning over a new leaf this week and starting into a series of reviews on my current equipment. I’ve been toying around with the idea of adding several pieces of gadgetry lately, and the first one is a new skimmer.

I upgraded to Sapphire Aquatics NC28 from the stock skimmer on my JBJ 28g HQI shortly after I bought it. The Sapphire skimmer is a pretty solid skimmer, primarily because of the high end laser cut construction. It is specifically engineered to fit into the center rear chamber of the JBJ 28g HQI tank, keeping the aquarium true to its AIO (All In One) roots. The provided pump is a small sicce pump with a custom mesh modified impeller wheel.

There are several above average elements of this skimmer, and there are also some areas it leaves lacking. First off, let’s start with the good stuff (that’s why you’re reading this right?).

1. Construction is awesome
2. Pump is SUPER quiet
3. The collection cup fits without any modification to the hood (and is VERY easily removable)
4. Price is good for what you get
5. Customer service WAS great (company went out of business)

The cons are a short list, but significant none the less.

1. The unit tends to not pull as much quality skimmate as I would like to see (either that or my cube just doesn’t have any protein buildup [not-likely]). I typically empty a quarter inch or so of light brown/yellow skimmate once a week max.
2. The control is fine tuned by a thumb screw on the side that slides a small gate up and down the side of the skimmer to adjust the flow. The problem with the thumb screw is that you can only open it up so much before the screw hits the collection cup. This leads to a very wet skimmate, and more of it than you would like.
3. Company went out of business, so no more support or easy to get parts

Overall, I’m giving this skimmer a 7/10 rating.  For the price, it’s pretty good.  No modifications, easy to install, and quiet.  But, if you’re in the market for a higher quality skim – you should look to a higher end device.

Next episode I’ll be looking at some possible replacement units, including my personal vote – the Deltec MCE300 HOB (Hang On Back). Until then, here is decent video of how the NC28 fits and works in the back of your nano – enjoy!