DrHarryLopez
One Happy Reefer
whats new with the tank? 
400g system from scratch pictorial
- Thread starter pclausen
- Start date
pclausen
New member
Sorry guys. Mold and toe issues have been taken care off, so let's move on.
Tank is humming along nicely. Yellow Tang is doing great and I plan to re-introduce my 2 o. clowns back into the tank tonight. Hopefully the YT won't give them too much grief.
I tested alkalinity and calcium Sunday and ca is still a little low, so I increased the effluent volume as I didn't want to increase the bubble count as I'm already down to 6.5 pH out the first chamber.
With the clowns about to vacate the QT, I plan to stick a Mandarin in there. Will he be fine with just a couple of PVC fittings?
Since my Chaeto ball is teaming with pods, I was wondering if I can just rotate a couple of pieces between the fuge and QT to satisfy his needs until he gets moved into the display?
Also, I'm curious if pods generally survive the trip through the return pump back up to the display? I do have pods in the display, but I think they are the ones that came with my sand activator kit and not the chaeto from Bax.
Tank is humming along nicely. Yellow Tang is doing great and I plan to re-introduce my 2 o. clowns back into the tank tonight. Hopefully the YT won't give them too much grief.
I tested alkalinity and calcium Sunday and ca is still a little low, so I increased the effluent volume as I didn't want to increase the bubble count as I'm already down to 6.5 pH out the first chamber.
With the clowns about to vacate the QT, I plan to stick a Mandarin in there. Will he be fine with just a couple of PVC fittings?
Since my Chaeto ball is teaming with pods, I was wondering if I can just rotate a couple of pieces between the fuge and QT to satisfy his needs until he gets moved into the display?
Also, I'm curious if pods generally survive the trip through the return pump back up to the display? I do have pods in the display, but I think they are the ones that came with my sand activator kit and not the chaeto from Bax.
DrHarryLopez
One Happy Reefer
Don't know how but the pods do survive the trip through the return pumps.
WILDTHING
New member
Peter it would be better to put the mandarin directly in the tank as long as you give him a good look over and he seems fine. They can but very rarely get ick. They have a mucus coating that protects them from most things but if they get skinny then they become susceptible to disease. They spend ALL day popping pods on the rock, I don't think you will be able to rotate enough rocks etc in and out of the tank to keep him fed.
colleen
BTW you have PM
colleen
BTW you have PM
pclausen
New member
I was curious about that Colleen. I'll look at adding him directly to the main tank from the get go.
Interesting. I would have thought that even if they don't get mushed by the impellers, that the pressure changes that must be taken place during the ride would finish them off. I guess that's good news as it sounds like a mandarin will then have plenty to eat.
I think my banded coral shrimp eats them at night. After lights out, he cruises to a particular spot in the tank, and every 30 seconds or so, he "licks" one of his tentacles clean and then re-deploy it. Fascinating to watch.
Interesting. I would have thought that even if they don't get mushed by the impellers, that the pressure changes that must be taken place during the ride would finish them off. I guess that's good news as it sounds like a mandarin will then have plenty to eat.
I think my banded coral shrimp eats them at night. After lights out, he cruises to a particular spot in the tank, and every 30 seconds or so, he "licks" one of his tentacles clean and then re-deploy it. Fascinating to watch.
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pclausen
New member
Hehe, I bet you're right James! Every time I clean the glass with my magnet, a bunch of them scatters about. I guess they like to hide between the magnet and the glass during the day. If I carefully lift the outside magnet away from the glass an inch or so, you can see them all hiding in the rows of the Velcro. Anyone else have this "problem"?
LoneStarSA
New member
bump!!
lol just looking for any cool updates
lol just looking for any cool updates
pclausen
New member
I don't know about cool updates, but I do have a few issues/concerns that I'd like float by you guys.
First, here's an update on my water parameters:
I increased the effluent on my calc reactor once again as my calcium still hasn't reached 400 ppm and I hardly have any corals yet. Not sure what's sucking up all my calcium? Effluent from chamber 1 has been as low as pH 6.4, so I think I'm pumping in plenty of CO2.
I'm also going through a lot of Mrs. Wages pickling lime. I find that I have to add 3 cups about every 2 weeks or so. Evap is about 4g a day, and the mix pump runs for 7 minutes 9 times a day. I know that's a lot, but that is what it takes to keep my alkalinity and pH at their desired levels.
I don't really mind these consumables, but my concern is that my corals aren't really growing (except for the yellow zoo polyps and green star polyps). Even the easy stuff like my pulsing xenia hasn't shown much growth and doesn't seem to be extending. Also, my anthelia, while grown, has bleached considerably.
Here is what it looked like when I put it in on 7/17:
And here is what it looks like now:
Lastly, below is a log of everything that has been added to the tank since filling it with RO/DO water on 5/30. All the fish are doing great, as are the polyps, but the rest of my corals just don't seem to be taken off. Any thoughts?
And finally a full tank shot from a few days ago (just before adding the clam):
First, here's an update on my water parameters:
I increased the effluent on my calc reactor once again as my calcium still hasn't reached 400 ppm and I hardly have any corals yet. Not sure what's sucking up all my calcium? Effluent from chamber 1 has been as low as pH 6.4, so I think I'm pumping in plenty of CO2.
I'm also going through a lot of Mrs. Wages pickling lime. I find that I have to add 3 cups about every 2 weeks or so. Evap is about 4g a day, and the mix pump runs for 7 minutes 9 times a day. I know that's a lot, but that is what it takes to keep my alkalinity and pH at their desired levels.
I don't really mind these consumables, but my concern is that my corals aren't really growing (except for the yellow zoo polyps and green star polyps). Even the easy stuff like my pulsing xenia hasn't shown much growth and doesn't seem to be extending. Also, my anthelia, while grown, has bleached considerably.
Here is what it looked like when I put it in on 7/17:
And here is what it looks like now:
Lastly, below is a log of everything that has been added to the tank since filling it with RO/DO water on 5/30. All the fish are doing great, as are the polyps, but the rest of my corals just don't seem to be taken off. Any thoughts?
And finally a full tank shot from a few days ago (just before adding the clam):
scotty1234
New member
Your MG is on the low side and could explain why your system is not buffering CA and ALK the way it should be. Search for epsom salt and see what you can find out about it to raise your MG to higher levels.
Also, what type of media are you using in your reactor?
Ditto on your rocks soaking up your alk and ca. You may not be seeing much coral growth but what about coraline? Just something to chew on.
Also, what type of media are you using in your reactor?
Ditto on your rocks soaking up your alk and ca. You may not be seeing much coral growth but what about coraline? Just something to chew on.
pclausen
New member
James, I use a Salifert calcium test kit and the color change is very rapid, so I don't think I'm off more than 10-20 mg/L with my results. I will try testing my effluent directly as I assume that should peg the test kit, just to make sure.
I use IO salt. I'll see about picking up a bucket of Oceanic next time. I'm not worried about algae is it is practically non-existent in my system now. I would actually welcome some more for my tangs, lawnmover blenny, sea hare and snails.
I use CaribSea A.R.M., but since I picked up the reactor used, I'm still using the media that was in it. Does it go bad over time? Perhaps I should replace it with fresh stuff? I kinda throught that it just dissolves over time.
I do have a lot of coraline algae growing not only on the rock and back wall of the tank, but all over the plumbing and sides in my 100g fuge as well, so that is probably where a lot of the calcium is going.
Beverly, I agree that magnesium is a bit on the low side although still within the 1250-1350 range suggested by Randy Holmes-Farley. Having said that, I'll look for a magnesium supplement (and/or do some research on Epson salt) to see if I can bring it up a bit, especially since I do see some evidence of abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate on my heaters and pumps in the sump and I understand this can be caused by low magnesium levels.
Not to change the subject, but I throught I'd add some pics of recent inhabitants. Inverts and fish are all doing great, btw, just some of the corals are looking bleached and not growing that much.
Gorgonian
Candy Cane
Brown w/ pink center Zoanthids
Yellow Eyed Kole Tang
Firefish Goby
Lawnmover Blenny
Anemone Crab
I use IO salt. I'll see about picking up a bucket of Oceanic next time. I'm not worried about algae is it is practically non-existent in my system now. I would actually welcome some more for my tangs, lawnmover blenny, sea hare and snails.
I use CaribSea A.R.M., but since I picked up the reactor used, I'm still using the media that was in it. Does it go bad over time? Perhaps I should replace it with fresh stuff? I kinda throught that it just dissolves over time.
I do have a lot of coraline algae growing not only on the rock and back wall of the tank, but all over the plumbing and sides in my 100g fuge as well, so that is probably where a lot of the calcium is going.
Beverly, I agree that magnesium is a bit on the low side although still within the 1250-1350 range suggested by Randy Holmes-Farley. Having said that, I'll look for a magnesium supplement (and/or do some research on Epson salt) to see if I can bring it up a bit, especially since I do see some evidence of abiotic precipitation of calcium carbonate on my heaters and pumps in the sump and I understand this can be caused by low magnesium levels.
Not to change the subject, but I throught I'd add some pics of recent inhabitants. Inverts and fish are all doing great, btw, just some of the corals are looking bleached and not growing that much.
Gorgonian
Candy Cane
Brown w/ pink center Zoanthids
Yellow Eyed Kole Tang
Firefish Goby
Lawnmover Blenny
Anemone Crab
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Beverly
New member
Don't use epsom salts alone to increase Mg. Article on Mg:
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm
http://www.advancedaquarist.com/issues/oct2003/chem.htm
DrHarryLopez
One Happy Reefer
How is your Anemone taking to the Tank?
