kittenbritches' Reefing Journey

[kittenbritches]

I make my own lattes. My first job was a batista so I've been making my own yummy concoctions since. All my monthly supplies cost about $80, that's only 8 trips to the coffee stand if your spending 10 bucks each time. Plus, is so nice to make a latte at any hour.

And you and me girl, procrastination sisters. I quit making to do lists since it was depressing seeing all the things I didn't get done.

I have a whole coffee situation in my kitchen, but I just haven't felt like drinking coffee lately. Maybe if I had delicious lattes at my fingertips I'd be in the mood to drink them more! I'm going to make my son go to Costco today so I can have a flat of Coke Zeroes at my disposal. ;Facepalm

My depression makes me procrastinate, and my procrastination makes me more depressed. Round and round we go.

 

[jgirardnrg]

I have a whole coffee situation in my kitchen, but I just haven't felt like drinking coffee lately. Maybe if I had delicious lattes at my fingertips I'd be in the mood to drink them more! I'm going to make my son go to Costco today so I can have a flat of Coke Zeroes at my disposal. ;Facepalm

My depression makes me procrastinate, and my procrastination makes me more depressed. Round and round we go.

How are you liking the "new" Coke Zero? I prefer the old ones better (black box).

 

[kittenbritches]

I just picked up my stand and tank this week and put it in my waiting room. I have less room behind the tank than I thought I would have. I think I'm going to have to go with controller board or controller cabinet IF I have the room for cable management.

Also, I have a recipe for bourbon slush to ease you into bourbon. I actually don't like bourbon but this stuff is good but super sweet.

I need a second power strip, but with the flat plug -- ordered one after I got my tank in place, thinking I'd be able to reach it through the cut-out in the back of the cabinet. I was very wrong. Every day I think about piggy-backing off of the one that's plugged in, but I know I can't.

And you should definitely share the recipe! I know it would make my baby brother happy if I appreciated what he loves.

 

[kittenbritches]

How are you liking the "new" Coke Zero? I prefer the old ones better (black box).

Okay, I actually LOVE the new, "now more delicious" Coke Zero.

 

[JXNATC]

I need a second power strip, but with the flat plug -- ordered one after I got my tank in place, thinking I'd be able to reach it through the cut-out in the back of the cabinet. I was very wrong. Every day I think about piggy-backing off of the one that's plugged in, but I know I can't.

And you should definitely share the recipe! I know it would make my baby brother happy if I appreciated what he loves.

Here it is! Get a good freezer container.

3 tea bags
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup bourbon
12oz frozen OJ concentrate
12oz frozen lemonade concentrate
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups water
Steep tea bags add all other ingredients-freeze over night

Steep tea bags in the boiling water...I used 1 cup bourbon and 3 1/2 cups water

 

[BackToTheReef]

Gotta go with Mountain Dew Zero for the win!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Okay, I actually LOVE the new, "now more delicious" Coke Zero.

I find it sweeter than the old one. I still like it and it's always in the fridge... I just hate when they change something you consume daily for who knows what reason.

 

[kittenbritches]

Here it is! Get a good freezer container.

3 tea bags
1 cup boiling water
1/2 cup bourbon
12oz OJ conc
12oz lemonade
1/2 cup sugar
4 cups water
Steep tea bags add all other ingredients-freeze over night

Steep tea bags in the boiling water...I used 1 cup bourbon and 3 1/2 cups water

Okay, that actually sounds delightful!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Okay, that actually sounds delightful!

No one touch mommy's popsicles!

 

[kittenbritches]

I find it sweeter than the old one. I still like it and it's always in the fridge... I just hate when they change something you consume daily for who knows what reason.

It is a little sweeter -- it has that little *something* that full-strength Coke has, and that I love. I was a die-hard Coke Zero fan to begin with, and my tastebuds are happy with the change. If I'm in a restaurant and they don't have Zero, I only begrudgingly accept Diet Coke as a substitution. Never EVER Pepsi. LOL

 

[Lavey29]

Thank you! I drool over my setup too if we're being honest... I'm taking my time and trying to do everything so it's not only good looking but also functional. I'm the guy who has to take care of the thing and it's so much easier when things are laid out nicely and everything is clean. It'll probably be a couple of weeks before I fill up the tank and start moving inhabitants from the frag tank and 60g cube tank into it.

They are easy to cut with scissors and have a peel and stick backing on them. They do make it much prettier under there. These are the ones I used:
Amazon product

There's a ton of different ones on there and wanted low profile. I should have probably gone with the next size up since some of the connectors don't fit in these raceways.

Do you have a build thread so I can check out your cool set up?

 

[kittenbritches]

No one touch mommy's popsicles!

OMG -- this made my whole forking day!

 

[jgirardnrg]

Do you have a build thread so I can check out your cool set up?

Sure do... still a work in progress but it's getting there.

Current build:
Fiji Cube 108 Build

Old build:
60 gallon cube build

 

[kittenbritches]

Gotta go with Mountain Dew Zero for the win!

My kids LOVE Mountain Dew -- I haven't liked the taste since I switched to Coke in high school. I did love some Game Fuel back in my WoW raiding days, though!

 

[kittenbritches]

Okay. Actually going to GSD now. In the meanwhile, if anyone has any hot tips for getting the algae off my pipe organ, I'm all ears. It's being strangled to death.

 

[GrampsReef]

Update: Once I added a HOB refugium to my sumpless 40B, it was game over. The tank started leaking within a week because the extra weight pulled the tank too far out of level.

As such, I upgraded to a Red Sea Reefer 250. If you'd like to start there, click here. If you'd like to read through my learning journey leading up to The Great Leak, carry on.

---

Hi all! I'm new(ish) to the hobby. My ex-husband had a saltwater tank while we were married (we split nine years ago), and I recently decided that I want to do a build of my own.

I'm nearing the end of my fishless cycle (Day 22, ammonia zero, still waiting for nitrite drop off) and trying to moderate my desire to stock like crazy once it's done. Salinity is stable, but a little high with the water I started with (1.027), so I'll adjust with the post-cycle water change. Cycling with lights off at about 78° F.

Started with Imagitarium Pacific Ocean water, and have since purchased an RODI system and will be mixing my own saltwater.

Started with base rock and "life" rock — about 40-50 lbs worth, and 40 lbs live sand. I've got a cheap Amazon light for now. I'll upgrade once I'm ready to add corals. Ignore the Marineland pump — it's too strong as a pump or powerhead, so I'm relegating it to the mixing bin.

I'm a pretty big data nerd, and my nitrogen cycle doesn't look like what I've seen online, but I'm confident it's doing what it is supposed to. I'm testing with the API kit. Some people have told me it's trash — I'd love recommendations for the best kits for testing water parameters.

My game plan is slow and steady. I'll learn and adjust as I go. Always open to encouragement and feedback!

I'll have to keep up with your progress since I'll be putting water in mine today (hopefully).

 

[attiland]

I have not even STARTED to deal with my cord mess on the new setup. It's the most ridiculous tangle right now. I was going to build a little half-cab and controller board, but when the nitrifying bacteria crapped the bed it took the wind out of my sails. I'm trying to decide if I still want to do that, or just clean it up. If I'm being totally honest with myself, I probably won't do either soon, but I've got good intentions!

If your cables looks like this they are safe(ish)

Cords are always a pain in this hobby. They're either way too short or WAY too long. I have managed to organize them on the new tank (so far) but there's still a mess behind the tank I need to velcro wrap or something. You can get those little cable organizer raceways off of Amazon and hide the wires under the stand. These ones stick on:

This is a tank in no operation so the cables are in order. We need real life examples

 

[dvgyfresh]

Okay. Actually going to GSD now. In the meanwhile, if anyone has any hot tips for getting the algae off my pipe organ, I'm all ears. It's being strangled to death.

Tweezers might be the best bet, I had the exact same issue with pipe organ early on , I let the algae get big enough to just take off in one go with tweezers lol hermit crabs would work on it to

 

[attiland]

Okay. Actually going to GSD now. In the meanwhile, if anyone has any hot tips for getting the algae off my pipe organ, I'm all ears. It's being strangled to death.

It is a hand job…
take it out and use a soft brush.

 

[jgirardnrg]

If your cables looks like this they are safe(ish)

This is a tank in no operation so the cables are in order. We need real life examples

I can put water in it and turn the pumps on... that count? The running tank next to it isn't a big mess either. Not as clean as the new tank but it's pretty organized.