180 Gallon Reef Tank build!

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13012632#post13012632 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by 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!

Thanks Blange! Definitely a lot to watch. I'm loving it!

I'm using the same brand new TDS meter. I have the 1/4 pipe running along a wall in my garage all the way to the big BRUTE drum. I have a mag drive pump in the drum constantly moving the water around, and its the same pump I use to fill the auto top off bucket under my stand with a 75 foot rubber hose. I may just have to empty the drum and rinse it out. I'm no sure where the 'contamination' may be from...

Thanks for your advice and encouragement and I look forward to your build. Meanwhile I'll keep you busy with mine

 

[vetdog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13014205#post13014205 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cybrsufr
[B

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 [/B]

This is actually a really good clean up crew

 

[waldomas]

30 Mexican Turbos is way too many for a tank with lots of algae!

 

[cybrsufr]

Yeah cucumbers are a little dangerous but I don't know anyone that has actually had it happen, not that it is impossible because they can get harasses then the basically throw up all of there guts and really pollutes the tank, requires a quick water change and carbon. Not so much poisonous just that they pollute the tank real bad when they do that.

30 Mexican Turbos is way too many for a tank with lots of algae!

Shoot I have at least 15-20 in my 90 Gal alone. They are great cleaners, cheap, and they give hermits new homes once the algae runs out for them. Mexican turbos mostly eat diatoms off the glass and short hair algae (very short). The best all around snail are the astreas. The trochus are great too but they are so stupid that they cannot flip themselve back over when they fall upside down and end up being hermit food or just dieing. I generally start with a large cleanup crew then after about a month they weed themselves out and you end up with a stable amount that stick around for a long time.

 

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13017924#post13017924 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by cybrsufr
Yeah cucumbers are a little dangerous but I don't know anyone that has actually had it happen, not that it is impossible because they can get harasses then the basically throw up all of there guts and really pollutes the tank, requires a quick water change and carbon. Not so much poisonous just that they pollute the tank real bad when they do that.



Shoot I have at least 15-20 in my 90 Gal alone. They are great cleaners, cheap, and they give hermits new homes once the algae runs out for them. Mexican turbos mostly eat diatoms off the glass and short hair algae (very short). The best all around snail are the astreas. The trochus are great too but they are so stupid that they cannot flip themselve back over when they fall upside down and end up being hermit food or just dieing. I generally start with a large cleanup crew then after about a month they weed themselves out and you end up with a stable amount that stick around for a long time.

Gotcha - I didn't know the actually puke their insides. YIKES!

I definitely need to boost up my clean up crew. This is just a starting point, and today, after running halides for 5 hours and the actinics for 15 1/2 hours I have a nice bloom of hair algae on the glass (little tiny bunches of hair) and a lot more brownish diatom on the sand.

The good thing is that where the hermits are working on the rock they leave behind a brand spanking new and clean looking rock. They are thorough. But will not be enough!

I will have to go get some snails this weekend.

For some reason the electric blues are all over my 2 frags. I had to reposition them 2 more times today after they knocked them lose again and again. I think I got them in there tight enough this time.


I spent some time looking at my refugium today and saw all sorts of little critters running around. Some bigger, some smaller, even a tiny lentil size starfish. I pulled the cheato closer and it fell to the bottom of the regurium so I couldn't really take a close look but that space it full of life already! I'm guessing what I see are mysid shrimp and copepods, but I can't be certain....

Weekend's almost here!

Best, Itay.

 

[hulley]

Hey Itay, sorry I havent posted in a little while, I been caught up in a few things and havent check in on RC. Your tank is looking great! I love those Electric blues, they have such character! My wife made me get rid of mine after seeing them hunt down the snails though.

Your probably got a ton of ampipods and copods (spelling?) growing in your refugium already! Not sure about mysis shrimp but could be, I dont have a refugium. I on the verge off a complete overhaul of my tank and I may add one. I'm not all too happy with my tank right now and I'm wanting to just tear it down and start over. the problem is I've got fish that I've had for years and I dont have a place to hold them while I do so. I'm very frustrated at the moment......Sorry for rambling.

 

[Itaysworld]

Hey Hulley - I was beginning to wonder where you were -- thanks for the comments!

I hear ya -- perhaps you could do what the gentleman on this thread did http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&postid=13018831#post13018831

He drained his tank almost all the way, repositioned it to make way for his new one, and you can leave your fish where they are until you're ready to move them. Do you have the space to do something like that?

As to my tank, I am having quite the nasty bloom of brownish color algae. Its covering a lot of the sand and some of the liverock, and if not under control soon will be all over the sand.

I got 15 mexican turbo snails and 3 large astreas. They seem to be doing little to nothing. Yesterday I had to flip over some of the turbos 3 or 4 times since they kept showing up shell down on the sand and can't seem to turn themselves over.

I was determined to see if they can do it... and there's on that has been on his back since last night. I'm about to give up and go flip him... it seems to be the same one over and over now. I wonder if he's just "slow", haha.

Any advice as to how to take control of this algae bloom? I have my 2 frags in there, so not running the lights is not a option. Should I shorten the halides period? They're currently on for 5 hours a day.

Thanks, Itay.

 

[hulley]

The brown algae is more than likely diatoms and is just part of the cycle. You could shorten the light period but I would leave it and just let "it" do its thing. The brown algae will go away it just takes a few weeks ..
As far as my tank goes, I'm wanting to drain completely, clean everything, get some new equipment and start OVER!! My fish are doing great, I just cant seem to keep any soft corals to save my life! Any soft coral I buy just slowly melts away, all my parameters are in check, my lights are more than sufficient and I have lots of flow (I know LPS dont like too much flow), I'm tired of having just a FOWLR tank and wasting money on corals. I've been doing this for a long time but I pretty new to keeping corals, so I'm definitely missing something!

 

[blange3]

Hey Itay,

I agree with Hulley that you probably have diatoms. Just stick to routing maintenance and they will come under control. Add some cerith snails to your cleanup crew for good measure.

Hulley, why don't you start a thread about your problems and I'll try to help out. Or you can PM me with details. I have a Softie and a LPS dominated tank. Both are about 3 years old.

 

[Itaysworld]

Frustration with my tank

Frustration with my tank

Hello,

I'm not sure its diatoms alone. Don't get me wrong... as you can see I have a nasty diatom bloom:

But I think there's a bad case of hair algae coming with it too:

As much as I clean, it comes back the next day... and my lousy clean up crew is busy doing acrobatics, instead of cleaning:

They're actually doing better, but I keep finding a few of the snails upside down. I left one on his back for about 20 hours, wanting to see if he can flip himself, but it doesn't look like it... so I keep flipping them here and there. Of course the always fall behind/under rocks where rescuing is a tough challenge.

My hermit crabs are also a bit on the lazy side, though my tank has suffered its first (and not last, for sure) loss. I found the whitish discolored body of one my hermits on a rock... only to be recognized by the colorful legs that were fading as well. I guess he must have lost a fight... 1 down, 4 left.

Hard to see him, in the middle:

I'm a bit frustrated

 

[Itaysworld]

Hello,

My algae continues to grow... I'm not certain of what do to other than let time take its course. The tank used to look so nice and clean. It's so different now...

I've noticed it started forming longer thinner strands... would really appreciate if someone could tell me if its normal and part of the cycle... or if I'm having a worse problem. Is it cyanbacteria?

This is what it looks like. Please help me identify this:

On a more positive note it seems like my first 2 frags are liking their new home. Here are updates pics of the monti and acro. They have begun to show growth.

Thanks, Itay.

 

[Itaysworld]

My aquarium has turned into algae central. I happened to be out of town for the last 5 days and left my tank on autopilot. I came home to quite a nasty sight.

I'm having the worst bloom I've ever seen here on Reef Central. I will take some pictures tomorrow and post them to document this for posterity.

I was able to identify the reddish strand/hair-style algae as dinoflagellates. I hear they are pretty bad for the aquarium... I'm going to be doing a large water change on Wednesday and hopefully siphon the majority of that algae out. Combined with the hair algae and diatoms in my tank it looks very bad.

Water parameters seem to be normal, though my PO4 seems a bit high. I got a reading of 0.2 mg/l - hopefully with the water change things should get better.

I will also be adding some crabs and tangs (YAY my first fish addition!) on Wednesday, so hopefully I'll gain control over the algae.

The rest seems to be going well. The cheato is growing well in the refugium and I seem to be having quite the pod population, both in my refugium and main tank. There are little guys all over the place!

I've lost some of the snails (apparently eating the dinoflagellates can finish them), but the remaining snails and 4 hermits are doing well.

The saddest sight upon my return today was the monti cap frag. I found it face down on the sand, once again. This time is seems like it has been down for a few days, and I can see a large die off and discoloration on it. I don't know if its going to make it. Sad, since it was doing so well.

The acro on the other hand is doing great and showing nice growth.

More to come later this week.

Best, Itay.

 

[blange3]

Hang in there Itay!

You are using Ro/DI water to make your saltwater, correct?

Keep up with the water changes. In a 180 you need a pretty big cleanup crew. How many snails did you add?

Are you running phosban or something similar?

 

[Itaysworld]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=13091899#post13091899 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by blange3
Hang in there Itay!

You are using Ro/DI water to make your saltwater, correct?

Keep up with the water changes. In a 180 you need a pretty big cleanup crew. How many snails did you add?

Are you running phosban or something similar?

Thanks blange3,

I'm trying to keep my chin up...

With a little bit of luck tomorrow's work will make a big difference - I definitely don't have a large enough cleaning crew.

I introduced 18 snails (4 or 5 of which have died - partly because of abuse from the hermits, part I guess because they ate dinoflagellates).

More crabs are going in tomorrow afternoonand with the water change I hope to drastically improve the algae situation.


It turns out that my last water change may have introduced the algae responsible for the bloom. I spoke to my LFS and he has had a similar bloom in his tanks, and my water came from him. It wasn't new water, but water from his system.

I use my RO/DI for the top off unit and will start making my own water for water changes.

I don't run phosban, but I do have a fluidized reactor, that is connected in line with the auto top off. It runs through calcium hydroxide. I will be replenishing the media tomorrow as well.

 

[blange3]

Check your magnesium as well.

There are a lot of threads out there about controlling hair algae by raising MG to somewhere around 1500.

My snail crew for my 75 is at least 50 turbos,24-36 ceriths, and a dozen nassarius.

 

[hulley]

Man Itay I'm not sure what to say, I've been BB for many years now and I haven't had a problem with hair algae or dinos. Dont get me wrong, BB is not without its disadvantages. Once you find balance, everything will work out and be beautiful. I tell people that running a reef tank is like finding a narrow path and staying on it! Once you find it, it'll all work out. It seems to be different for alot of folks for some reason. Thats probably why I'm struggling with corals right now, I cant seem to find that path.
The algae blooms are usually caused from an excess in nutrients, when the nutrients are used up they will eventually go away. Try shortening the lighting period a little bit and if you are feeding the tank, feed less. Do some water changes and stick it out, the blooms dont last but a couple of weeks from my own experiences.

 

[Itaysworld]

OK - here are some pictures from today to document the nasty algae bloom before I get to siphoning and manually removing most of it tomorrow afternoon.

This is what used to be my beautiful crushed coral sand:

The liverock is becoming completely engulfed by the algae:

Here are a few overview shots: (left, center, right)

The walls of the aquarium are also growing a good amount, and also have a bunch of pods (which is a good thing):

One wall is growing algae in a very interesting pattern:

 

[Itaysworld]

Livestock Plan!!!!

Livestock Plan!!!!

Alright - I'm confident that tomorrow's work will take care of this bloom and I'll be ready for bigger and better things.

I'm adding 5 emerald crabs tomorrow, and a tang (can't remember the name - will send pics for ID tomorrow)

I'm just about finished with my initial livestock list for the tank and wanted to share it here for feedback. Here it goes:

- 1 Yellow Tang
- 1 Achilles Tang
- 1 Purple Tang
- 1 Pacific Blue Tang
- 2 True Percula Clown Fish
- 12 Banggai Cardinal
- 2 Blue Spot Jawfish
- 1 Scott's Fairy Wrasse
- 1 Solar Fairy Wrasse
- 2 Whiteray Shrimp Goby
- 1 Lawn Mower Blenny
- 1 Randall's Shrimp Goby
- 6 Fire Goby

This would be an initial list. Further down the line I want to add trigger fish, perhaps a crosshatch couple, an angelfish of some kind, and a copperbanded butterfly fish, but I'm going to wait on those.


Any suggestions / additions / modifications?

Thanks! Itay.

 

[waldomas]

I believe that interesting pattern was made by a grazing snail.

 

[Itaysworld]

Ah! Didn't think about it being a snail, but makes sense thanks for clarifying.



I'm still looking for some feedback on my initial livestock list. Anyone? Thanks! Itay.

I'm just about finished with my initial livestock list for the tank and wanted to share it here for feedback. Here it goes:

- 1 Yellow Tang
- 1 Achilles Tang
- 1 Purple Tang
- 1 Pacific Blue Tang
- 2 True Percula Clown Fish
- 12 Banggai Cardinal
- 2 Blue Spot Jawfish
- 1 Scott's Fairy Wrasse
- 1 Solar Fairy Wrasse
- 2 Whiteray Shrimp Goby
- 1 Lawn Mower Blenny
- 1 Randall's Shrimp Goby
- 6 Fire Goby

This would be an initial list. Further down the line I want to add trigger fish, perhaps a crosshatch couple, an angelfish of some kind, and a copperbanded butterfly fish, but I'm going to wait on those.


Any suggestions / additions / modifications?