40 Gallon Breeder reef tank build...

[mmittlesteadt]

Careful you don't feed that tank so much that your nitrates rise while you're waiting. DAMHIK. lol

Yes, I will monitor the nitrates...gotta keep the little bacteria fed while I wait this out. I might just ghost feed a tiny amount instead of direct ammonia dosing. I'll have time to drop a pellet in, but that's about it.

Plus I do have my ball of chaeto going.

No, I won't ask how you know.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Learning from others' mistakes. Man, you are wise.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Learning from others' mistakes. Man, you are wise.

Like I always told my kids...

Intelligence is having knowledge. Wisdom is applying it.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Well, in addition to picking up some seaweed sheets from work before I left so I could ghost feed, I picked up two tiny red legged and two tiny blue legged hermits, along with four snails. Guess I'll be feeding more than ghosts.

Just could not wait any longer. My ammonia and nitrite are both at 0 and my nitrates are still at 10. I have the chaeto tumbling around my fuge doing it's job. I haven't seen any growth from it, but my nitrates went down from 20 to 10 and are holding at that. My fuge light is on a timer to run opposite my lights. I'll do a water change on Saturday when I have some time.

I didn't order a whole package of CUC from reefcleaners yet and in a way, I'm glad I didn't. I don't have algae or diatoms yet, so really I only have 7 tiny little guys to feed. Ill order a CUC once my tank begins it's algae bloom. At least if I do get algae going I'll already have something in there already.

I took one seaweed sheet and tore off pieces and jammed them into little holes of my rock and pushed some into my sand. Amazing how fast both the hermits and snails are. They've been motoring around my tank all night. One of them I think has made his way all around the entire tank at least once since I put him in.

Now I can wait. I at least have something to enjoy in my tank. It's like a big sigh of relief (in my best Dr. Frankenstein voice...) "Life! I have life!"

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Woo hoo!

Once you start getting diatoms, those snails will really have their work cut out for them. I waited to place my order until the diatoms started and by the time they arrived (2 days later), the diatoms were in full bloom and hair algae was starting as well. It was amazing just how fast those diatoms really took off. Of course, my nitrates were around 20, though I've had GFO the whole time so no measurable phosphate.

Enjoy the activity!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Woo hoo!

Once you start getting diatoms, those snails will really have their work cut out for them. I waited to place my order until the diatoms started and by the time they arrived (2 days later), the diatoms were in full bloom and hair algae was starting as well. It was amazing just how fast those diatoms really took off. Of course, my nitrates were around 20, though I've had GFO the whole time so no measurable phosphate.

Enjoy the activity!

I am enjoying the crabs mostly, as are my wife and daughter. First time throughout this entire process my wife actually paid attention to the reef tank (which she mockingly calls my "fish" tank). I set it up for all of us so we'd spend less time watching TV and more time watching a real life "Discovery Channel" right in our living room.

I still have seaweed floating round and round in my tank. The flow is excellent as it makes complete circles around my rockwork without settling. It stays suspended in my water column. With my return outlets and two circulation pumps I have a perfect gyre going on.

Crabs and snails are all doing well today. Having something, anything alive in there sure helps with the patience.

 

[nusalt_hobbist]

awesome tank. great job

 

[mmittlesteadt]

awesome tank. great job

Thanks! Hope it still is 6 months from now, or a year and more! I want it filled with corals and fish and inverts as badly as anyone would, but I'm finding patience is not only a virtue, but in this hobby it is a necessity!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Well, I decided to get things going. Time will tell if I regret the decision, but thus far things are going well.

I purchased a wide variety of things for my tank over the weekend. This was what I got (the whole story to follow pics)...

Green Star Polyps (they do fully extend...they're just being camera shy at the moment I took this pic)...

Kenya Tree (two of them, only pic of one)...

Gonipora (Yeah, I should have known better)...

2 Ocellaris Clownfish (pic of one...both are tank raised and about 1" long)...

Now despite my patience being tested to the nth degree, I've been pretty good about taking my time up to this point so many months later. But I decided that after I added my 4 hermit crabs and 3 snails (which were doing great...active, eating well, etc.) I wanted to add some fish.

Now while I do have a QT set up, I do not have any other fish in the display tank and have no plans to add any for a very long time. I didn't see the point of QT the clowns, when they were the only ones going in my dispay tank. Furthermore, everything I put in my tank was living together in the same tank at my LFS for a while now and I've been keeping an eye on it and how the tank was doing there.

My tests show no ammonia (any ammonia I added to test was removed easily within 12 hours), my nitrite is at 0 and my nitrate is down to 5ppm with the chaeto going and a water change.

I added the clowns and they were doing great (although I had initial concerns about the water flow being too much at first). They settled in. I decided to get some corals at my LFS from the same tank the clowns were in. About the only thing I'm concerned about is the gonipora, which I did not know was so difficult to keep. But, it's been doing great in the tank at the LFS for quite a while and is fully extended and flowing in the current and quite beautiful in my tank. I guess I will see how it fares. I'll do my best for it. It's not going to do any better in my LFS's tank regardless, so perhaps it may do as well as one can do in captivity.

I got the two clowns, the GSP, kenya trees and gonipora for $35. All are doing well in the tank. The corals respond to the light quite well, (although the GSP seems a bit finicky yet, sometimes all the way out, sometimes only part of it...). The clowns have been playing in the current and the moment food hits the water the clowns are on it and the hermits come running out of the rockwork. I have Spectrum pellets, dried seaweed and frozen mysis. Doesn't seem to matter what I put in...everything is very active going for it.

Now I think I'll just sit back and enjoy my tank and not add anything at all for quite some time. Any new fish I add in the future will go straight into the QT tank first, but so far so good with the new additions.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Wow I think I'm going to have to add goniopora to my list! Looks like there are a few color options, and it might work near the top of my tank. I'll keep an eye out for a purple or red one.

Sure hope those clowns do well for you. I likely could have put mine straight into the DT as well, but I did not want to risk introducing any diseases. After this qt it may be a while before I add any more fish, just to give me a break from all the water changes etc... As my qt is not cycled it's been a lot of work. I am sticking to my plan though.

 

[Grizz717]

Mark,
Both you and Zee's tanks look great! Keep up the good work. I'll look up the gonipora also, though I probably won't add anything else at least until the weekend.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Wow I think I'm going to have to add goniopora to my list! Looks like there are a few color options, and it might work near the top of my tank. I'll keep an eye out for a purple or red one.

Sure hope those clowns do well for you. I likely could have put mine straight into the DT as well, but I did not want to risk introducing any diseases. After this qt it may be a while before I add any more fish, just to give me a break from all the water changes etc... As my qt is not cycled it's been a lot of work. I am sticking to my plan though.

Everything I've read on goniopora makes them seem to be very difficult to care for and not very long lived.

Now maybe they were older threads or articles and perhaps things have changed a bit over time. Maybe there is more success with them now. The one I got was a frag off another one, so whomever had it must have been successful enough to be selling frags.

Everything that is in my tank was together in my LFS's tank. In a way anything I'm introducing to my tank was already introduced in the tank they came from. Shouldn't be too difficult for them and cause any issues.

Now I just have to STOP for a while.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

My GSP certainly doesn't seem real thrilled with where he is at. Just doesn't want to come out and play much. They are supposed to be pretty much the easiest thing to keep and it doesn't want to extend much. But then the goniopora is supposed to be the hardest and it is fully extended, colorful and seems to be loving my tank. Go figure.

 

[Amoo]

You posted about the fish and corals yesterday, which means they're probably all in your display tank by now. So here is the flaw in your planning.

If your fish were to show signs of ich you can always take them out and treat them, no problems right? Maybe your fish do have ich but it stays dormant and doesn't unleash it's fury for a while.

The problem is you have now introduced ich into your display tank and sump with a living host. At any point between now and possibly never the ich can show up. This means 12 weeks of everything out of your tank, with your tank fallow.

It's a dice roll, and totally your call, it's really easy to see your excitement. The problem now though is even if you decided to pull your fish and treat them just in case, it's too late. The ich now exists in your DT. Hopefully this works out for you, but since this is the new guy forum I figured it worth pointing out so others understand the full risks before deciding to skip QT on their first fish addition because of excitement.

Also worth noting, many, many people dip/qt their frags before placing them into their DT for many of the same reasons you qt for ich/other badness.

So just something to keep in mind. You put a ton of planning into all of this, I would hate to see you pop up a thread in one of the disease sections in a few weeks because you took some seemingly innocent shortcuts at the end.

TL;DR Version for folks skimming: Do not skip QT, even for your first fish/frags without fully understanding the consequences.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

You posted about the fish and corals yesterday, which means they're probably all in your display tank by now. So here is the flaw in your planning.

If your fish were to show signs of ich you can always take them out and treat them, no problems right? Maybe your fish do have ich but it stays dormant and doesn't unleash it's fury for a while.

The problem is you have now introduced ich into your display tank and sump with a living host. At any point between now and possibly never the ich can show up. This means 12 weeks of everything out of your tank, with your tank fallow.

It's a dice roll, and totally your call, it's really easy to see your excitement. The problem now though is even if you decided to pull your fish and treat them just in case, it's too late. The ich now exists in your DT. Hopefully this works out for you, but since this is the new guy forum I figured it worth pointing out so others understand the full risks before deciding to skip QT on their first fish addition because of excitement.

Also worth noting, many, many people dip/qt their frags before placing them into their DT for many of the same reasons you qt for ich/other badness.

So just something to keep in mind. You put a ton of planning into all of this, I would hate to see you pop up a thread in one of the disease sections in a few weeks because you took some seemingly innocent shortcuts at the end.

TL;DR Version for folks skimming: Do not skip QT, even for your first fish/frags without fully understanding the consequences.

I appreciate the comments and they certainly are understandable.

The ONLY reason I did it this way is because ALL of the inhabitants in my tank were together in the same tank at my LFS. After my purchases the only thing left in the LFS's tank were two more same sized clownfish. I've been keeping an eye on them for the past 4 weeks, even feeding them myself. Nothing else has been in that tank all that time.

The LFS is in the pet department where I work, and I've known the manager for over 30 years. When I started here, I worked in the pet department but now run the frame shop, but still help out in the pet department occasionally. There are only two people who have even touched that tank here at work...me and one other guy who runs the saltwater part. It really was almost my personal quarantine tank at work...LOL.

I would have done things differently if all of the inhabitants of my tank came from various tanks in the pet department, sharing all kinds of things (both good and bad). But really, I feel very confident in what I did (aside from getting the goniopora, which may or may not turn out alright given their history in aquariums).

 

[mmittlesteadt]

I think I know why my GSP isn't extending its polyps much. Its spreading its purple base over the edges of the plug its on. You can see a bit of it going on in the pic I posted of it earlier but it now covers most of the plug and going over the edges on all four sides to boot.

Perhaps its just saving its energy for that. I expect it to come back better than it ever was.

I was talking with the resident salt guru at my LFS tonight. I am definitely a weed lover. I am wanting GSP, Xenia, Kenya Tree...all kinds of soft corals nobody else likes. But it suits me. I'm that way with my yard as well.

The neighbors use all kinds of chemicals to enhance their grass lawns and planted flowers. But the beauty nature gives them so freely? KILL IT! Me? I love all the plants nature gives me. So much so, that I purposely mow around patches in my lawn where I see new plants growing. After a while, these plants that just grow naturally in my yard becomes absolutely gorgeous (to me). Dandelions, Indian Paintbrush, Violets, clover, and my favorite is some kind of plant that grows about 3 feet high and blooms with the most beautiful purple bell shaped flowers that are taking over the southwest side of my yard.

I don't have to feed them, water them or buy and use any kind of insecticide, fertilizer, weed killer, etc. and I am blessed with natural plants just by letting nature do its thing.

So with my reef tank? Go ahead and dose your tanks with every kind of solution known to man. Me? I'm just going to let nature do its thing. I'll seed it with GSP, Xenia, Kenya Tree, Mushrooms and just let them totally take over my tank. Why? Because I really dig nature and that's why I wanted a reef tank. I'm not out to prove I can grow the worlds most difficult coral and to be some kind of reef demigod (apologies to reef experts...kudos to you for the knowledge you've attained to keep such difficult creatures. I can appreciate that aspect of the hobby).

A weed is just something that grows that the majority of the public has disdain for. Read my signature. That pretty much says it all.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Ugh. Looks like my little clownfish likes to pull a Nemo as he apparently likes to sleep in my overflow.

I do have eggcrate diffuser blocking my weir, but he's still small enough to get through it. He is always out playing with the other clownfish all day long and into the night, but the past two mornings I've found him in my overflow. He's easily netted from there and placed back into the tank, but damn...now I have to figure out some kind of way to block him, but not the water going over my toothless weir.

I see the advantage of having teeth along the weir, but I also know the benefits of a smooth weir too. Maybe he'll grow tired of having to be caught every morning. I've had freshwater fish where I've been able to alter their behavior (cichlids mainly), but I don't know that he'll catch on that he's not supposed to be in there. And maybe he really is Nemo and he's trying to escape via my filtration system.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

I've seen Sk8r recommend plastic needlepoint canvas, stitched with fishing line.

 

[mmittlesteadt]

I've seen Sk8r recommend plastic needlepoint canvas, stitched with fishing line.

Excellent! We have that in the craft section at Ace where I work. I've been racking my brain trying to figure out what to use. I can't block the flow obviously, and he can't jump over the eggcrate (as it goes up to the cover). He's getting through the openings in the eggcrate.

When I designed it, I thought it through knowing the kinds of fish I would have. Didn't think at the time I'd be buying two tiny clownfish. They are both pretty little. Never was worried about snails getting through. They won't clog up my system the way it's designed. I'm more worried about my little guy.

Thanks for the tip!

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Well, couldn't find any needlepoint canvas at work, but we had some very open cell foam that I put in behind my weir. It's not a permanent thing...just until the clownfish grow a little larger (OK...a lot) to where they can't fit through the openings in the eggcrate. Just need to rinse out the foam occasionally.

My GSP has spread and is coming back stronger than it's ever been in my tank. Very full and colorful. Can't seem to find the smaller Kenya Tree (wife said she saw one of the hermit crabs on it). Weird. The larger one is doing great.

My LFS is going to order me some different colored Xenia from ORA. Huge frags for only $12 my cost. They are also getting a new 500 gallon saltwater display tank. The pet department is really growing. The saltwater section has tripled in size in only a few months. It's great that I can get things a little over cost.