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Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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Hello everyone, it has been quite some time since I have had the chance to sit down and share the joys of recreating a beautiful piece of the reef right within my own home. I have focused on the preservation of a Nano Reef Aquarium within my home so that I can share the experience with my now 1 month 6 day old son Jayson Michael Natal.
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack??? 
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Group: Forum Members
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| It looks like you have a nice set up/tank build ahead of you. I feel your pain on the stand. I had to build one at the MACNA show in Pittsburgh and the instructions stink. I finally got it put together after having to take it apart a few times. Looking forward to more pictures
________________________________________________ Keith "Simply put, you believe that things or people make you unhappy, but this is not accurate. You make yourself unhappy." Wayne Dyer
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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argi (12/4/2007)
It looks like you have a nice set up/tank build ahead of you. I feel your pain on the stand. I had to build one at the MACNA show in Pittsburgh and the instructions stink. I finally got it put together after having to take it apart a few times. Looking forward to more pictures Argi, well all that matters in the end was that we both were able to get this think put together. 
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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Harnessing the Power of the Sun In Order to Create Life!
Lighting was an important factor in the consideration of selecting a Nano Aquarium that was suitable for creating a full blown SPS Dominated Nano Reef Aquarium. Many of the Nano Aquariums available on the market currently availble with only Power Compact Lighting Systems which can sustain Soft Coral such a Mushrooms and Leathers at best. Some customizing option are availble to upgrade to Metal Halide Lighting Systems but come at a cost of drilling or removing stock Aquarium parts in order to achieve this goal. The JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube HQI that I selected is a new product that comes stock with a 150 watt Metal Halide HQI Lighting System with four 1 watt LED Moonlights already intregrated into the hood for a 24 hour lighting solution. The electronic Ballast is a bit huge for my taste but it has integrated sealed ball bearing fans that run silent within it and 4 sealed ball bearing fans that are also integrated into the hood.  Photograph Friday October 26, 2007 - Integrated 150 watt Metal Halide Lighting System with 14,000K Bulb and four 1 watt LED Moonlights. The glass is tempered to keep it from shattering from water condesation or splashing. Photograph Friday October 26, 2007 - The Electornic HQI Ballast is a bit large for my taste but it has integrate seal ball bearing fans which run silent. Don't ever touch it though, its hot!
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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Temperature Swings: Managing Heat & Keeping It Cool.
Maintaining an environment while minimizing the fluctuations within temperature whether it be too hot or too cold is a common concern with Nano Aquariums. Since my Nano Aquarium has a Metal Halide Lighting System integrated into the hood it was time to put a chiller into play. I have integrated a JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller into the aquarium setup in order to cool things down a bit. But when the chiller does its job alittle too efficiently or the night time air cools the entire room I have installed a Marineland Visi-therm 100 watt Heater. The two pieces of equipment working in conjunction with each other manage to keep the Aquarium temperature within a range of 78.0 degrees Fahrenheit to 78.6 degrees Fahrenheit. The swing is minial at best but I'm thinking that sometime in the near future that I can install a Digital Aquarium Controller such as the Digital Reefkeeper 2 so that is can independantly controll both pieces of equipment to reduce the range even further.
Photograph Friday, October 26, 2007 - My JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller fed water by a Maxi-Jet 1200 powerhead.
Photograph Friday, october 26, 2007 - Water Flow diagram for JBJ Artica 1/15 hp Titanium Chiller and Phosphate/Carbon Reactor.
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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The Family: My Little Piece of the Reef.
Just thought I would stray off topic a bit and show some photographs of my family and myself. Smile!
Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - Me and my little frag... I mean son Jayson Michael Natal taking a nap while mommy cooks.
Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - My little man in his camo Go Navy! (Yes the Navy actually wears camo.)
Photograph Thursday, October 25, 2007 - The little man and me at Beital's Aquarium. Already starting early or using him as an excuse to buy something for me... not entirely sure.
Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - The love of my life, my best friend and mother to my child Diana Rose Natal. She is the most beautiful mermaid I ever laid eyes on!
Photograph Saturday, October 27, 2007 - The there just plain old me in need a shave desperately.
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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Aquascaping the Reef: The Journey for the Perfect Live Rock Structures.
With a limited amount of space I found that I had to be pretty precise in what pieces of rock I would purchase to recreate what I believe in my opinion would be the perfect structures for my NanoAquarium. The difficult part would be locating such pieces that would allow for not only a natural look but allowing for the most real estate to place my SPS Coral, Clams, Polyps, etc. As many of us now purchasing Live Rock from a store comes with its pros and cons just like many other things. Your definitely going to pay a large amount and quite naturally walk out with very little rock since your rock is weighed wet and you may get some cool hitch hikers that you love or get some nasty terrors that you just can't seem to get rid of.
Well I decided to turn to a local member and sponsor of the Talking Reef website since I have heard such great feedback about the quality of his goods and services. I gave Marc from Marco Rocks "The Finest Aquarium Rock Available" a call... and another call... and yet another call... and an E-mail... and eventually after finding out about the Hurricane in his area I finally got in contact with him after much stalking!  I spoke with him about finding some of his signature pieces and placed my order. Now normally my patience is well... lets just say I have no patience. But I waited and wow is all I could say. My order of Marco Rocks was delivered in record time and the quality was amazing! I will never ever get my rock from anywere else. Thanks once again Marc for the assistance! So with Marc's cherry picked rocks and two sticks of Marineland Molding Putty I went to work (my wife thinks I should put up caution signs when I do this).
Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - My shipment of 27 lbs or Marco Rocks delivered via UPS. I'm glad the UPS driver thought this was too heavy to toss around (you should see some of my other deliveries).
Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - My Marco Rocks unpacked and quite frankly they are the most beautiful pieces of rock I have ever seen.
Photograph Thursday, November 08, 2007 - After some trial and error and creative thinking my Captive Reef has been created... Gensis 2:2 And God had finished on the seventh day his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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Group: Forum Members
Last Login: 6/25/2009 9:59:02 AM
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Compensating for Evaporation While Minimizing Swings In Salinity.
Due to having a limited volume of available water evaporation is one aspect that must be checked in order to minimize the swing in salinity. I have installed a Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater Top Off System to effectively reduce the effect of Salinity reduction due to evaperation. The Float Switch is installed in the rear chamber of the JBJ 28 gallon Nano Cube Reef Aquarium which is activated when the water level falls below a particular level. Fresh RO/DI Water is then pulled from a 2.5 gallon All Glass Aquarium Resevior by use of a Tom's Aqualifter Pneumatic Pump rated at 3 gph. Once the water level has returned to normal the pump is deactivated and water flow stops. Their is a secondary safety float that will deactivate the unit should the primary float switch become stuck and continue to pull water from the Freshwater RO/DI Resevior to prevent an overflow of water into the aquarium which would result in a sever drop in salinity and a flood.
Personal Observation: I am definitely pleased with the results of the Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater Automatic Top Off System. However, their are some shortcoming to this system. Evaporation is currently occuring at a rate of about 0.75 gallon per week which represents about 50% of the Freshwater RO/DI Resevior capacity. I anticipate that once I incorporate Kalkwasser or another type of Calcium Additive that evaporation will increase requiring a need to upgrade the resevior capacity. Also the JBJ Wavemaker which is currently set to alternate pumps every 2 minutes causes chamber where the float switch is installed to have a slight reduction in water level with causes premature dosing of Freshwater into the Aquarium. I'm considering upgrading the the Tunze Osmolator Universal 3155 "Water Level Regulation System with Static Sensor".
Photograph, Thursday, October 26, 2007 - Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater RO/DI Top Off Float Switch with Secondary Overflow Sensor.
Photograph, Thursday, October 26, 2007 - Freshwater RO/DI Resevior with Tom's Aqualifter Pneumatic Pump.
Photograph Saturday, November 10, 2007 - Water Flow Diagram of the Do-it-yourself Automatic Freshwater RO/DI Top Off System and Toms Aqualifter Pneumatic Pump.
My marriage is perfect! My job is great! But why are my tank parameters all out of whack???
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