180 Gallon Reef Tank build!

[fishcatdog66]

From what I have seen,diatoms may get pretty bad and then dissappear as the tank matures.Looks like you are on the right path.I'm not too enthusiastic about coraline on the glass personally.Melev's tank looks way sharper after he cleaned the glass a while back.Makes the tank seem way bigger!

 

[Davidd2324]

tagging along

 

[Itaysworld]

Hey All,

I'm getting closer and closer to adding some life to the aquarium.

I just finished chatting with my LFS and next week I'm going to get the refugium operational with algae and introduce some hermit crabs to the tank.

As far as choices for crab and macro algae I have the following:

Macro Algae: Cheato or Ono
Hermit Crabs: Electric Blue, Blue Leg, Scarlett or Red Reef

I was hoping you all could help me with some pros and cons and recommendations on which is best.


Thanks in advance, Itay.

 

[hulley]

Keep in mind, crabs will eat snails and I think they have been know to munch on some corals too. I would stick with the very small crabs if you gotta have them. I had electric blue and blue leg in my tank and when I added a bunch of turbo snails (to help with keeping glass clean) I started finding empty shells, then I spotted a blue leg pursuing a turbo snail! Which ever snail was on the rocks or on the bottom was LUNCH! I got rid of the crabs after that! I let my skimmer do the job of getting rid of uneatin food! Its too bad, I really like the little buggers

 

[Itaysworld]

Yeah - I'm definitely keeping that in mind. I feel like its part of the natural cycle of life though. I don't think its a big issue to have the snails and hermits fight it out like they do in nature. I value both for their contributions and part of the ecosystem I'm trying to create. If nobody here is going to chime in, I think I'm going to follow my 'eyes' and go for the electric blue. They seem really cool looking


On a separate note, if any one wants to hear a funny story to start the weekend off... read on.


So like the saying says... "**** Happens" and when its related to aquariums, that "****" is usually wet, AND when its a big aquarium, its usually a BIG MESS...

So today I made my first and probably not last totally stupid move (actually is started a few weeks ago but 'exploded' today.

About 3 weeks ago while tightening the hose clamp that sits on the mag drive pump in the sump that feeds the skimmer I overtightened that sucker and it broke (the clamp).

Not having more clamps I put on 2 zip ties on there as tight as I could pull them and they seemed to hold quite well.

Shortly after that (no more than 5 or 6 days) I went to Home Depot and bought 3 hose clamps, which have been sitting in my garage for about 2 weeks.

Today I decided to work from home. Had a nice calm morning, not too busy at work, and when I had some idle time I went and sat in front of the aquarium and sucked in the beauty of the tank under the actinic lighting. So far so good.

SO.... I thought to myself perhaps I could reduce the vibration from the mag drive pumps... and opened the stand and proceeded to lift the pump by the hose and shake it around a little bit (I'm still tying to figure out what the hell I was thinking).

Then all of a sudden... geyser of water coming up from the pump! YIKES - fortunately I was fast to react and flip the switch to the power strip and stop the flow but not before making a nice mess under the stand and some on the floor.

SO.... In the 1/2 panic of the moment I ran to the garage to get the wet vac, and the door slams shut behind me. LOCKED of course. So there I was locked out of the house, but fortunately with my cell phone on me. I dreaded the decision to call my wife and let her know what had happened and tell her why I need her to rush home... but after a painful 15 seconds which seemed like 15 minutes I called her.

SO... I proceed outside the garage and realize that the front door is unlocked, as I went to get the mail earlier. WHYYYYYY I thought to myself! Why did I call her !?!?! I called her back and canceled the rescue call, but got some on the phone for working on the aquarium without towels and stuff, and my explanation of I was just tugging on a hose didn't seem to have any effect - hahah - talk about feeling like and idiot.

Anyway, long story short, I cleaned up everything, replaced the zip ties with the hose clamp, and went out to lunch with my wife and all is good.

The moral:
1. Never trust a zip tie to do what a hose clamp should.
2. Never leave for tomorrow (or 3 weeks) what you can do now.
3. Never lock yourself out of the house
4. Same as #3 but add "when you do something stupid"
5. Love our wives/husbands who love us and support us in our craziness

The good thing is that I found out that in case of a power failure the sump holds the water from the overflows and brief back siphon well.

Have a great weekend! Itay.

 

[hulley]

ROFLMAO! that was funny as crap! Come to think of it, I have zip ties holding the hose for the skimmer feed line of the mag12 ! One time I locked myself out of the house ( but I could get in the garage through the coded opener) and I used a hack saw to cut off the door knob to get back in! I had a terrible migrain I didnt have time to wait for anybody and wasnt married yet!
Dont worry you'll have plenty of time to keep doing dumb things in this hobby, I do all the time!

 

[blange3]

Nice thread Itay!

Sorry I wasn't around when you were feeling lonely.

I'm getting ready to upgrade my 75 to a 180. When I setup the 75 I cycled for 5 months before I added any corals or fish. It's amazing how interesting watching rocks grow can become.

If you haven't picked up you hermits yet, I prefer scarlets. I have only a few and use snails primarily as my janitors. I also have a Caribbean sea cucumber.

I keep mostly LPS and hate it when hermits steal food from my babies!

Good luck with the build, you are doing a great job.

 

[Itaysworld]

Bill - thanks for your message. I'm pretty sure I'm getting Calcinus elegans (electric blues) as my first inhabitants. I will double check tomorrow, but I'm almost positive that's what I'll be going with. Do you have a strong preference for the scarlet or some reason not to go with the electric blue?

I will have a more substantial update tomorrow. Will be setting up the refugium and upgrading my halides from 10k to 14k bulbs.

My tiny blue leg hermit still shows up from time to time, specially late at night, if I surprise him with the flashlight.

I'm running the actinics during the day already and I'm setting up my webcam that will be streaming video of my aquarium.

It's been almost 6 weeks that the aquarium has been cycling and while patience is beginning to wear out, I've been keeping myself busy with the ReefKeeper Elite, Webcam and watching my rock evolve.

I've been dosing PurpleUp and the coralline is beginning to grow nicely. I even have green coralline which I've heard is more rare or harder to keep. Is this true?

More updates shortly.

Best, Itay.

 

[blange3]

Itay,

I've not kept electric blues, but I found the common blue legs much more aggressive to snails than the scarlets. The blue legs seem to hunt constantly. While I know scarlets will attack snails as well, I've never witnessed it.

Also the scarlets are a lot less aggressive when it comes to stealing food from the corals.

I did have the luxury of another established reef to play with while I cycled the 75, so the waiting was easier for me.

Keeping active on RC will help a bit when you need to keep your hands busy, but out of the tank!

I've never had much green coralline so I guess you are pretty lucky. I've had fresh rock come in with it, but after cycling I've always had the purple take over.

Keep us updated on the ReefKeeper. I'm an ACjr user. I'd love to hear about the advantages.

 

[Itaysworld]

Bill --

I'm OK with the natural balance between crabs and snails, makes me feel like I am replicating the true behavior in the ocean, but I don't want a constant "Copulets vs. Montagues" in my tank (wow - can't believe I pulled a Shakespearean reference in regard to an aquarium. GEEK ALERT!).

I will take some pictures of the green coralline and post here so that I can be told whether it is in fact green coralline or if I'm mistaking something else, but I'm pretty sure it is, and that its spreading nicely.

I will definitely tell you more about the ReefKeeper Elite as soon as I have it up and running. As with any new release they have had some kinks in the software and are working diligently with their customers on addressing any software and hardware issues. In my case, for example, there is a hardware problem and they are shipping "2nd Day" a replacement part.

I have nothing but good things to say about my experience with them and with the RKE so far. Digital Aquatics definitely did their homework when putting together the specifications for this controller. A lot of the modules will be released in the coming months and next year, but I firmly believe they have built a great platform and device.

I knew getting on the RKE bandwagon this early, that certain aspects would not yet be ready. Other users who are more frustrated should have probably given the topic more thought and really ask themselves if they are "in for the ride".

New product releases are tough. I know it first hand. If I had a fully mature and stocked tank I would have probably purchased a different system.


Lastly, I really enjoy Reef Central. Its a great community, a place full of knowledge and while I'm a beginner in this hobby I feel like I've learned a lot through osmosis.

I hope to keep this thread alive and get more participation from some of the folks I see so active on other threads and who have great systems and knowledge to share.

Bill-- I'm glad you're back. You and Hulley are my most active RC buds


Hope to have an update with pics after my work tonight.

Itay.

 

[Itaysworld]

Good Updates!

Good Updates!

Hello,

A few updates to share, and I'm really excited.
The only thing planned that didn't happen today was replacing the 10K halides with 14Ks. The bulbs are backordered.

The rest went great - Enough to make me smile from ear to ear!

1. RKE is up and running
2. Specific gravity is good
3. got the refugium set up
4. got my first 2 frags
5. Llast but not least, I got 5 electric blue hermits - let the clean up begin!
   [/list=1]
   
   Here are the detailed updates and photos:
   
   
   1. Digital Aquatics sent me a replacement SID (the programming interface that connects a PC to the modules) and I was able to program and set up my ReefKeeper Elite (so far so good!) As I'm writing this post I watched my tank go from 4 actinics to the moonlight LEDs.
   
   I programmed the actinics to come on at 7am, starting with the back 4, at 8am the other 4 in the front power up, and they stay on until 10:30pm, where the front 4 turn off and the back 4 turn off at 11:30pm.
   
   The halides will be running for 5 hours for now. I've programmed them so that the first is on from 12 - 5 pm, the second from 1 - 6pm and third from 2 - 7pm in an attempt to recreate the movement of the sun over the reef.
   
   The moonlights are going on at 11:30pm and stay on until 6am, and the refugium light goes on at 9pm and runs til 9am. As I write this I'm thinking I may program the moonlights so that they are also on sequentially - since I have 2 sets of 2. Perhaps I will split the night with 2 on for a period, and the other 2 for the rest of the night.
   
   I'm very pleased. I would like to control additional components with the RKE, but will have to wait for a couple more power strips from them and hope to get some of the upcoming modules which aren't ready yet.
   
   
   2. I got my refractometer and TDS meter. My specific gravity (or... that of my tank's) is at 1.024. My RO unit is producing good water, but I'm not happy with the ~9 reading i was getting in my big drum/bucket. I'm going to have to look into that this weekend. (It was coming out at zero out of the RO)
   
   
   3. Got the regurium set up with cheato and snail shells. Here are some pics:
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   
   ... continued in a different post

 

[Itaysworld]

... continued

4. The most exciting addition to date are my first 2 frags! I got an acropora and a montipora frag. I can't remember the exact name. Will need to ID them or have you guys help me out with the exact kind.

Shortly after placing them the monti had already opened its polyps and I spent a long time watching it. The glow under the actinics is great. I have also discovered the challenge of taking good photos of coral. I will try and perfect my technique and try with better lighting. These were taken with just the back actinics on.

I have to get some better pictures of them!


5. Finally, I got the 5 hermits, who after a brief confrontation parted ways and started exploring and cleaning the tank. Here are a few shots:

In they go:

 

[Itaysworld]

...Lastly here is the green coralline algae I have seen growing on some rocks:

Thanks for reading!

Best, Itay.

 

[cybrsufr]

Looking great, Tagging along for the ride

 

[blange3]

Looking great!

You've got lots to watch now.

I'll defer on the SPS id's. I focus on LPS and softies.

Are you using the same TDS meter to check the drum and the output from the RO/DI?

How do you get the water out of the barrel? If you are dipping in with some sort of container, you can get a buildup over time from backwash from the container. I let my barrel run almost empty and give it a flush with the remaining water, empty and dry every so often.

When I find the the TDS creeping up it's usually because I dipped in a container user with saltwater.

I added a bulkhead near the bottom and plumbed in a valve to solve the dipping problem.

Continued good luck with your startup. you thread is keeping me busy until I can start my upgrade!

 

[icy1155]

Hey Itay, sorry it took me so long to find the thread. Ok, first your doing a great job with waiting, dont let anyone discourage you. You'll probably have better luck with your first tank than I did with mine.... my first tank was a 29 gallon that I refer to as "the forest" because of all the algae in it. Ohh well ya have to learn somehow. For those critters that you took pictures of earlier in the thread, #1 is a bryazoan of some sort. They stay farily small and will reproduce slowly as well. Just a nice hitchiker. #2 appears to be an urchin of some sort. Does it move around at all? And for #3, I dont think thats a dead worm, but rather a poo trail of a type of worm that bores into rocks. I have similar worms in my tank, I think they are called peanut worms but im not 100% sure on that one. They bore a hole into the rock and then reach out when I feed and get scraps.

For the cleanup crew, I also kind of follow the nature philosophy, however I do it a little differently.

Instead of simply adding one type of hermit and one type of snail, I have 8 or 9 different types of hermits in my reef and probably 10 or 12 different types of snails, on the basis that they all serve slightly different functions on the reef otherwise there would only be one type of each if they were suited to do all of the jobs. Total there are probably 20 hermits and 25 snails in my 90.

A trick to keep the hermits from preying on the snails is to add shells to the tank. The reason (or rather my hypothesis) why hermits hunt snails is for a new home, and to counter this I went to Joannes Fabrics and bout a 1.50$ bag of seashells and added a bunch to the tank.

Since Ive added them, the only snail deaths Ive had are ones that get stuck in my powerheads. The hermits leave them alone and everyone is happy.

Hope everything is going well still, and most importantly have fun

 

[Itaysworld]

Not enough room in there???

Not enough room in there???

Hey All,

I went for my nightly flashlight tour of the aquarium in the middle of the night (around 1:20am) and couldn't believe the nerve of one of the electric blues! The shameless creature was standing right on my monti frag... go figure... do they eat coral, or was he just being a jerk? LOL

I had to go get the camera and snap a shot...

He eventually walked off it, probably disturbed by the beam of light from the flashlight and flashes from the camera, but I know he came back, because this morning I found my monti and plug on the sand... of course just like buttered toast, monti facing down

I put it back on the rocks and had to leave for work, it looked like all the polyps closed up, but I hope it survived. Not having had any corals before, I don't know how frail they are... We'll see how it looks when I get home...

 

[cybrsufr]

Your Hermit was just perching there or he may have been picking at micro algae growing on the plug as that is what they will do. I also am a big believer of being natural with the clean up crew but as someone else said I usually add a huge mix of critters. For my 180 that finally got water in it two days ago, I will be using something along these lines.

50 Blue Legged Hermits
25 Red Legged Hermits
50 Astrea Snails
30 Mexican Turbo Snails
50 Nassarius
25 Cerith Snails
8-10 Peppermint Shrimp (aptasia control and they work very well)
and probably 4-6 Emerald Crabs
maybe a cucumber or 2 as well

 

[Itaysworld]

WOW cybrsufr - that's a lot more critters than I thought I'd have in the tank. I will definitely be adding snails and Peppermint shrimp, but was advised by my LFS to wait with those 2 as they are a bit more sensitive and the longer we wait the better.

I was also advised against cucumbers because I was told that if they do poorly or die, the toxins they give off could crash the tank. I'm too new in the hobby to take my chances with something like that!

Congrats on filling your tank! I loved your set up, what a transformation from the before to the after!

I'll be following your progress too! Itay.

 

[Itaysworld]

Icy - thanks much for your answers!

Thanks for identifying the hitchhiker - I've seen more bryazoans show up since I posted, but they seem to be small and harmless.

The urchin has since withered away, so it must have been something else. Not sure it was actually an urchin, though it certainly looked like one. That area is being encrusted by coralline, so I'll see if I can still see where it was, but it never moved or did anything and the hairy/spikey texture isn't there anymore.

Ha - I never thought of that as possible poo from worms that are boring in the rocks. That makes sense, though I am yet to see a live worm show up or peek anywhere. I will keep my eyes open for them.

Thanks again for the rest of the info and look forward to keeping in touch on the threads!

Itay.

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012800#post13012800 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by icy1155
Hey Itay, sorry it took me so long to find the thread. Ok, first your doing a great job with waiting, dont let anyone discourage you. You'll probably have better luck with your first tank than I did with mine.... my first tank was a 29 gallon that I refer to as "the forest" because of all the algae in it. Ohh well ya have to learn somehow. For those critters that you took pictures of earlier in the thread, #1 is a bryazoan of some sort. They stay farily small and will reproduce slowly as well. Just a nice hitchiker. #2 appears to be an urchin of some sort. Does it move around at all? And for #3, I dont think thats a dead worm, but rather a poo trail of a type of worm that bores into rocks. I have similar worms in my tank, I think they are called peanut worms but im not 100% sure on that one. They bore a hole into the rock and then reach out when I feed and get scraps.

For the cleanup crew, I also kind of follow the nature philosophy, however I do it a little differently.

Instead of simply adding one type of hermit and one type of snail, I have 8 or 9 different types of hermits in my reef and probably 10 or 12 different types of snails, on the basis that they all serve slightly different functions on the reef otherwise there would only be one type of each if they were suited to do all of the jobs. Total there are probably 20 hermits and 25 snails in my 90.

A trick to keep the hermits from preying on the snails is to add shells to the tank. The reason (or rather my hypothesis) why hermits hunt snails is for a new home, and to counter this I went to Joannes Fabrics and bout a 1.50$ bag of seashells and added a bunch to the tank.

Since Ive added them, the only snail deaths Ive had are ones that get stuck in my powerheads. The hermits leave them alone and everyone is happy.

Hope everything is going well still, and most importantly have fun