180 gallon upgrade (skimmerless)

[sltloser]

not too much to update, i got two pink skunk clownfish in the QT tank and have a bunch of hair algae in the main tank. I have 15 cerith snails in the tank right now, and 20 trochus snails on the way for tomorrow...they should help cut down the algae

 

[j-dizzle]

looking good excited to see the how this goes. question about the mesh in your sump, do you think over time this could pose a problem with algae on flow or turn over?

 

[sltloser]

j-dizzle- Thank you, are you talking about the mesh i used for the ATS? if so, no i'm not really worried about it hindering the turnover rate of the tank. If you're talking about the cheto algae that's in the center of the sump right now, that will be coming out soon and it will be a seagrass bed. I hope that answered your question.

I'll be posting some pics tomorrow, i have a lot of hair algae but the snails are doing their job so once that is gone i'll add the fish i have in QT which are 2x pink skunk clowns, and 2x citron gobies

 

[jenjen]

Can't wait to see some pics! I love pink skunk clowns... if my husband didn't dislike them that's what I would have gone with in my 55g, though he doesn't seem to like the Carkii's either so maybe I shoulda!

 

[sltloser]

jenjen- I really like them to jen, you don't see them very often in tanks and i think they look stunning once they get larger and the pink really sets in.

Here are some pictures of the tank, a few new things have happened since i last updated. First i have a bunch of hair algae, second i have about 35 snails so far to help take care of that (15 ceriths, and 20 trochus). Third my middle ballast went out so no center light right now, waiting on them to send a new ballast back to me. Without further ado here are some pictures.

FTS as of today

Left side

Middle

Right side

Citron goby 1

and goby 2

Finally the skunk clowns, they look orange but they're a light pink (hard little buggers to get a picture of)

 

[jenjen]

How long do you expect the hair algae to last? And you're not adding anything but snails until it's gone, is that right?

LOVE the fish!!! With the citron gobies, do you have a male/female? Is it possible to tell? Or do they cohabitate ok regardless?

 

[sltloser]

jenjen- not really sure how much longer the hair algae will last, i would guess a few weeks. The adition of 20 trochus seems to have helped a lot already, and i'll be adding more snails soon. You're right, no fish will go in untill the hair algae is gone unless......I decide to get the blue eye cole tang, in which case he will help me with my hair algae control .
As far as the citron gobies go i belive they are bi-directional protogynous hermaphrodites. They produce their female sex organs first, and when paired the most dominant will become the male.

 

[sltloser]

i know it's been a while since i've updated, the HA has died down after a little manual removal, and snail grazing. 3 days ago i put all the fish that were in QT into the DT this included 2x pink skunk clownfish and 2x citron gobies. I ordered in a blue eye kole tang, and got that into the tank today. I'll try and have some pictures posted by tomorrow.

 

[sltloser]

Well i finally got some pictures! the tank is doing great, after a little bit of manual removal and the addition of the kole tang (and snails) the algae has really subsided.

Left side

Middle

Right side

FTS

Blue eye and clowns

 

[dainiusiva]

it is nice to see that you are doing great.what do you plan to do next?

 

[jenjen]

The tank is looking great! What's next to go in?

 

[sltloser]

Thanks guys, next is going to be coral...I wanted to add that first but ended up putting fish in because my parents were too impatient. I'm having problems getting my ph up to 8.3 I'm using buffer by seachem right now its at 7.9. The first thing I'm going to put in will be a toadstool that I've had since it was just a tiny little coral

 

[jenjen]

Hey sltloser... have you added any coral to the tank yet? And how are the fish settling in? Anyone new in QT yet?

Do you have an updated shot of the ATS? I'm moving my tanks soon, and am considering adding one into the mix.

 

[sltloser]

Jen- no corals yet, i need to get over to my friends house to pick it up....just been too lazy haha. I guess i'm taking this build pretty slowly, i want to make sure i do everything right this time (crossing my fingers). As far as the fish, everyone is doing great, one of the citron gobies is a little small for my liking but is eating so that's satisfying. The pH is still a little low but i've stabalized it to 8.0 right now, and adding buffer to my freshwater top of to keep bringing it up. All other levels are perfect NO3- 0 Alk-8 Ca-450 S.G.-1.025 I'll update pictures once i pick up my first coral (i'll make sure it's this week )

 

[sltloser]

sps aquaria- thanks, and i do!

It's been very long overdue, but the summers are a very busy time for me so i've been letting the tank do it's thing for quite a while. Since the last time i updated i've added a few things to the tank, which are a black cucumber, brittle starfish, toadstool leather, and right now i'm acclimating a purple gorgonian (photosynthetic). The levels have all been pretty good, NO3-0 PO4-0 Ca-400 pH-8 (a little low but i'm having a hard time bringing it up, may be due to lack of airflow in the canopy) Alk-alk-3 meq (milli equivalents/L, a little high) As always feel free to ask questions or comment!

Here are some pictures from Aug 10 2010

Left side

Middle

Right side

Fuge- I left some cheto in there so that i'm able to make a smooth transition to the ATS without a large nutrient spike

ATS

 

[T-Boner]

More on the ats where did u find the plans how does it work?

 

[sltloser]

T-Bone- I'm actually not sure if anyone else has made this design before before, i came up with it myself. As for how it works, there is a slanted piece of acrylic attached to the last baffle in the sump. Attached to that (via silicone) is a piece of plastic mesh. This helps the turf algae have a place to anchor while it grows. The lighting in the refugium is on a reverse cycle which lets the algae grow at night, absorbing the nutrients and out compete nuisance algae in the display tank. This turf algae is also a great habitat for tons of microscopic creatures to live and breed in your aquarium. I hope this answers your questions, feel free to keep asking if you have more.

Today i got some pictures of the Purple gorgonian (pseudopterogorgia elisabethae) i got yesterday. I also got a good pictures of my toadstool leather with polyps extended and happy.

Gorgonian

Toadstool

This pictures is after i first got it, about 3 years ago (in my 75 gallon). It started out the size of a quarter and is now about 4x that size.

Here's what it looks like now

 

[lars on live]

I was inspired to build a turf scrubber for my 120 mixed reef (mainly softies)about a month ago from this thread. I already have a fuge, but wanted to get away from using my HOB skimmer and thought a ATS would be the best way to replace it. I'm going to check my levels tonight after running my skimmer dry for a week. If I'm still in good shape I might turn it off for a week to see how things go.

 

[Tyrenlds]

Those Citrons are cool looking but if you EVER plan on keeping SPS you need to get them out of there! I stupidly introduced two into my tank and they wreaked havoc. Perched in one coral and slowly ate the rest. Damn hard to get them out too. Get um out while you can!

rant over.

 

[sltloser]

lars on live- I'm glad to hear you tried an ATS, have you gotten any algae growth on the screening?

Tyrenolds- thanks for the heads up, i haven't heard many bad things from people around here who have them but i'll watch them when i get hard corals