Abby's 260 Mixed Reef
- Thread starter Timfish
- Start date
very cool scaping! the corner pieces gave me ptsd after 3 years with a 40g that was essentially only viewable from one side because I stacked the rocks so thick I couldn't clean the other sides, lol. when we setup the 120g system I was pretty OCD about having a full fists worth of space on the sides for cleaning 
Here's pics and a video from day 14.
Abby's 260 gallon on day 14. The "uglies"* have started. Besides the role live rock has in reducing the severity and duration of the growth of nuisance algae, water changes have been started using steel straws to assist the urchins added in the first week (there's links at the bottom with more info on this).
*Healthy Biomes and remediating algae issues
Aquabiomics article on Live rock to establish healthy microbiomes:
Steel Straws
Restoring coral reefs using manual removal of algae and urchins:
To Save Corals in an Oahu Bay, First Vacuum up Invasive Algae, Then Apply Sea Urchins | response.restoration.noaa.gov
Abby's 260 gallon on day 14. The "uglies"* have started. Besides the role live rock has in reducing the severity and duration of the growth of nuisance algae, water changes have been started using steel straws to assist the urchins added in the first week (there's links at the bottom with more info on this).
*Healthy Biomes and remediating algae issues
Aquabiomics article on Live rock to establish healthy microbiomes:
Steel Straws
Restoring coral reefs using manual removal of algae and urchins:
To Save Corals in an Oahu Bay, First Vacuum up Invasive Algae, Then Apply Sea Urchins | response.restoration.noaa.gov
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Love your hippo tang. what are you feeding her?
I have tried a few different types of algae sheets and they are largely ignored. Last night I did give some new nori sheets a try. all the fish looked at it, but only my dottyback was seen nibbling. by this mornig, the sheets are gone so I don't know if its the fish eating them, or just disolving....
I've been feeding frozen spirulina and some herbivore pellets. when I provide the right food my hippo is a little piggy!
I have tried a few different types of algae sheets and they are largely ignored. Last night I did give some new nori sheets a try. all the fish looked at it, but only my dottyback was seen nibbling. by this mornig, the sheets are gone so I don't know if its the fish eating them, or just disolving....
I've been feeding frozen spirulina and some herbivore pellets. when I provide the right food my hippo is a little piggy!
I feed almost exclusively 1mm Spectrum pellets in autofeeders. To help socialize fish so they're not skittish when people walk up to the tank I'll hand feed frozen cubes as a treat. If nori isn't being eaten right away I'd think it's just dissolving away also.
One thing I've learned is not to feed large fish large pellets if there's small fish in the system with them. A large established tang(s) {like this one} isn't at all shy about throwing it's weight around when there's food and smaller fish may not get enough to eat trying to stay out of it's way. Using smaller pellets, and maybe 2 autofeeders, gives smaller fish a better chance of getting enough to eat.
One thing I've learned is not to feed large fish large pellets if there's small fish in the system with them. A large established tang(s) {like this one} isn't at all shy about throwing it's weight around when there's food and smaller fish may not get enough to eat trying to stay out of it's way. Using smaller pellets, and maybe 2 autofeeders, gives smaller fish a better chance of getting enough to eat.
That's great advice, I hadn't thought of that. My hippo was the size of my fully grown chromis when I got her, but in only a couple weeks I think she's already outgrown them. When I provide food she likes, she eats like an absolute pig which makes me feel good because I assume she needs the most food as the largest fish in the tank. I haven't seen aggression from the hippo yet, just more of a "carry a big stick" type personality. The other fish seem to be put at ease and follow her around like a mob boss.
I have my auto feeder set up for small doses in the morning about an hour after the lights come on (when I'm at work), then I typically feed frozen at night so I can attempt to get some higher nutrients to both the fish and corals. Last night I had basically the whole tank suckeling from the end of my turkey baster as I very slowly let out a concoction of fresh ROE, spirulina, mysis, etc. I did that until I saw my key fish take big bites so I knew they were for sure eating, then broadcast the rest a bit so they could all find their dinners.
I have my auto feeder set up for small doses in the morning about an hour after the lights come on (when I'm at work), then I typically feed frozen at night so I can attempt to get some higher nutrients to both the fish and corals. Last night I had basically the whole tank suckeling from the end of my turkey baster as I very slowly let out a concoction of fresh ROE, spirulina, mysis, etc. I did that until I saw my key fish take big bites so I knew they were for sure eating, then broadcast the rest a bit so they could all find their dinners.
BlennyfromtheBronx
Member
Definitely interested to watch this one develop... very cool. I like all the white against the wall etc... What is the whitest fish out there? You should get a few of those for good measure.
@BlennyfromtheBronx Yeah, white stand and canopy against the white wall certainly accentuates the aquarium. I have white clowns in there and the xenia will be a light cream. The rock definitely isn't staying white as the limestone base rock used had algae on it with in a week. As endoliths burrow into it and urchins scrap it it will get mottled grey with hints of color but pretty subdued.
@Dustin07 "Elvis" wasn't what I would call a real aggressive tang towards the other fish, but with his size when he went after food all the other fish would scatter. We went from feeding once or twice a day to an autofeeder feeding twice at four times a day to two autofeeders at opposite ends of the tank as well as occasional hand feeding. What you saw in the video is Elvis trying to get someone to go to the end of the tank where he was hand fed and feed him.
@Dustin07 "Elvis" wasn't what I would call a real aggressive tang towards the other fish, but with his size when he went after food all the other fish would scatter. We went from feeding once or twice a day to an autofeeder feeding twice at four times a day to two autofeeders at opposite ends of the tank as well as occasional hand feeding. What you saw in the video is Elvis trying to get someone to go to the end of the tank where he was hand fed and feed him.
Here's Week 5's update. Continuing small weekly water changes of 3 buckets. Here's some pics:
Pulsing Xenia, added with the aquascaping and initial NaCl H2O fill up.
Some GSP. It was super glued to base rock being seasoned in a frag tank prior to setup and went in the first day (~hour 20)
BTA colony added third week.
Purple Stylo, Frogspawn, red Mushrooms, Duncan, Mint Chocolate Zoas and green Toadstool, all were added day one.
Some of the nuisance algae typical of the initial "uglies".
Using a steel straw to siphon off nuisance algae. This is a technique along with adding urchins or other herbivores, I started using a several decades ago. I'd like to take all the credit for it but a long time ago I was BSing with frienpetitor of mine (John Yull of Fish Works) and he started using rigid tubing for the same purpose about the same time I did. I imagine over the years other aquarists have also. It was gratifying to see NOAA publish a paper using this same technique, just on a much larger scale, for remediating compromised reefs.
Pulsing Xenia, added with the aquascaping and initial NaCl H2O fill up.
Some GSP. It was super glued to base rock being seasoned in a frag tank prior to setup and went in the first day (~hour 20)
BTA colony added third week.
Purple Stylo, Frogspawn, red Mushrooms, Duncan, Mint Chocolate Zoas and green Toadstool, all were added day one.
Some of the nuisance algae typical of the initial "uglies".
Using a steel straw to siphon off nuisance algae. This is a technique along with adding urchins or other herbivores, I started using a several decades ago. I'd like to take all the credit for it but a long time ago I was BSing with frienpetitor of mine (John Yull of Fish Works) and he started using rigid tubing for the same purpose about the same time I did. I imagine over the years other aquarists have also. It was gratifying to see NOAA publish a paper using this same technique, just on a much larger scale, for remediating compromised reefs.
No, thank you. I love following builds and seeing how tanks mature.
One thing I keep forgetting to ask you about your cryptic fuges. Do you ever "vacuum" them? If I ever get the basement finished (so I can upgrade my tank), I plan on using a cryptic fuge.
No, or rather, very rarely, as in years to decades. I used to siphon them out more frequently then I came across this research. It struck me as another of the contradictions of this hobby - try to get out as much of the fish poop as possible with gravel siphons and filter socks, etc, then add "essential elements" and/or "mud" which is essentially composted fish poop.
Diverse Nutrients
Carbonate Mud
Diverse Nutrients
Carbonate Mud
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