-
My New 60g Cade Reef Tank
Another tank! My previous article, “The Tampa Bay Saltwater Experience” showcased my experience with ordering and picking up “The Package” from TBS. I’ve used them to start all of my previous saltwater reef aquariums and this one was going to be no different. Welcome to my newest build… the “Mixed Reefalicious Cade 600“, a Cade 600 S2 Reef Tank. It’s been a while since my previous tank. And even longer since my previous saltwater reef tank. We sold our house and moved into a rental property for a little over a year while we built a new house. Then moved into the new house and got settled before I finally…
-
The Tampa Bay Saltwater Experience
I’ve been a Tampa Bay Saltwater customer for more than a decade now and have started at least half a dozen saltwater reef aquariums using their rock, sand, and clean-up crew. TBS is an amazing asset and resource for hobbyists in the USA. In this article, I hope to offer some insight into their product/service, take you on a little journey, and show you what it’s like to purchase “The Package”. Who is Tampa Bay Saltwater? Tampa Bay Saltwater (TBS) is a small family-run outfit based in Tampa, Florida that was started nearly 40 years ago by Richard Londeree, who recently handed the reigns over to two young Florida-native siblings,…
-
DIY Dosing Vessels – The GHL Edition
These are an inexpensive way to create some functional and stylish dosing containers and you’ll be recycling/repurposing, too! The “GHL Edition” in the title is just a little humor because these happen to match my GHL Doser perfectly! A little added bonus for any other GHL owners out there. But if the transparent blue is not your thing, feel free to grab a can of Krylon plastic paint and spray the caps the color of your choice. This is almost identical to creating dosing containers using the glass Voss water bottles. I was one of the first to do this several years ago and it has become very popular. They…
-
Best Value Mirrorless Cameras I love in 2022
It’s been a while since I’ve talked about camera equipment. Although the basics may stay the same, technology keeps moving at a rapid pace. Below I will offer some suggestions on what I feel are the best VALUES in mirrorless cameras today. Not the least expensive, but the ones I feel offer great performance at a fair price. If you feel that you are (or will be) at all serious about your photography, get something that will work for you long term, but without buying into features you won’t really need. So let’s take a look at what is out there today and what I feel are the best value…
-
Planted Tank Automatic Water Change Overview
Time for a long overdue overview of how I set up my Auto Water Change (AWC) and Auto Top-Off (ATO) systems! First, let’s start off with the major components. The most important component of my Auto Water Change system is the GHL Profilux Controller, seen here. In the case of the AWC (Auto Water Change), I created a Timer. 8x per day, the Profilux turns on the AWC pump for a specified amount of time.The Profilux also controls the ATO (Auto Top-Off). The water level in the tank needs to be monitored, so I installed an optical level sensor.The level sensor is seen here on the right. It’s held in…
-
Hardscape… not too hard to scape!
This is my first real planted aquarium hardscape, but I’ve had plenty of experience creating aquascapes for my saltwater reef tanks. The basic principles are the same, just different materials. The number one factor when it comes to creating a stunning aquascape is composition. There are “rules” you can follow if you are new to the concept of composition. Mainly, the “rule of thirds”. As seen in the diagram above, the rule of thirds says that the most pleasing composition occurs when the main subject of the image lands where the lines intersect. In this case, the apple. And even further, the stem and leaf, which are the more interesting…
-
Tank, Lights, Action!
Well, not much action yet, but at least we have a tank and lights! GHL Mitras LX7 The lights went up first. I needed access to the back of the stand and it is a whole lot easier to move the stand WITHOUT a large glass aquarium sitting on top. I went with the GHL Mitras LX7. These are the new 4-cluster units and the leds are selected specifically for freshwater planted. The model is 7004. I’ve used the saltwater version over my reef tanks in the past and have always been very pleased. Here is an unboxing video that shows the light and what comes with it, as well…
-
Oase Biomaster 600 Thermo
Now that the stand is complete, it’s time to start adding equipment. The first and most important thing I needed to decide on was the filtration. I went back and forth between a few different canister filters but finally decided on the Oase Biomaster 600 Thermo. Two of them. The Oase Biomaster 600 is the largest canister filter that Oase offers. They advertise a max flow rate of around 1250 l/ph or 330 gph. Since my tank is 5′ long (143g) I decided it would be best to have two for proper flow throughout the aquarium. This will also allow me to clean on an alternating schedule. One canister will…
-
Building the Waterbox Clear Pro Stand
We found the perfect spot for the new Waterbox Clear Pro aquarium, so now it’s time to build the stand! The stand is from Waterbox and it’s designed to fit the new Waterbox Clear Pro 6025 tank perfectly. Gathering the pieces: Here is the hardware as supplied from Waterbox Aquariums. Next we had to bring all the pieces in from the garage. And there was a lot! Let’s build! You start with the base. There are A LOT of leveling feet.The instructions are bit lacking. They are illustrated steps, nice and clear but almost zero mention of any of the hardware.If you’ve put IKEA together before, it shouldn’t be a…
-
NEW TANK BUILD!
After more than a decade and several successful builds in the Saltwater Reef hobby, I’ve decided to jump ship (for a little bit) and try my hand at this planted tank thang. For real. Not the little low tech 7g cube I’ve posted about here, but a proper, large aquarium. So time for a new planted tank build! I set up the little 7g cube that I’ve been fooling around with to kind of dip my toe in and start familiarizing myself with freshwater planted practices. But it’s really just scratching the surface. For the big tank, I’m going all in! So, let’s get on with the show, shall we? Here’s…
