Diary of a Newbie's 46g Tank. What to do Next?

[robilium]

INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES

INFRASTRUCTURE CHANGES

Ok two major changes to the infrastructure, new refugium, custom hood w/ MH and PC.

First the hood. It is made out of Hardwood plywood and pine boards. It took me awhile to figure out how to cover the bow yet still be able to access the water/tank. I was thinking at first just a square box with the "bow" part exposed. I just felt in the end that i wanted full access to the entire tank so I can aquascape, clean, etc.

Hood Contents:
2 - Mogul base MH sockets placed lengthwise,
2 - 175w 10k bulbs. (Almost a year old, how often should these be replaced?)
1 hijacked JEBO/Oddysea 2x96w fixture.
1 - really big black box Magnetic (sodium something or other) ballast.

I got the MH setup from PHreef - great price even if the ballast is outdated technology?

I have also inserted a PC fan.

 

[robilium]

I have added a refugium. A 20 AGA EXTRA high (24") has been place dnext to my Oceanic Reef Ready sump. Water is diverted from the IWAKI overflow and pushed into the refugium. the refusiom has a basic screened bulkhead overflow that goes back into the sump.

The Refugium has a 6" sandbed made entirely of Southdown. It then has a big bunch of Chaeto from PHreef. The Chaeto is great because it has all kinds of shrimp (mysis?) and pods growing in it. The are starting to migrate towards the DSB.

What other animals do should I put in the fuge for a DSB?

The fuge is lighted 24x7 by either 1 or 2 90w (true wattage is like 19w) Exterior PC flood lights. The Chaeto has grown like crazy and filled the tank twice in 3 weeks! I have trimmed it in half each time.

 

[kau_cinta_ku]

the tank is looking great but i agree TBS needs to hurry up with the rest of your rock it could use it. keep us updated on how the MH's work out. i was thinking about using them on my 75 when i upgraded but then i think i am just gonna go with t5's. if i was you i would take the goralla crab and put him in your fuge though so just in case he does become a trouble maker

 

[robilium]

I have been trying to get the gorillas out, so far i have caught 17!! I think it is a losing battle to be honest.

As for TBS just yesterday I decided to ask for a refund of my second half and critters. It is just too long to wait, and with the hurricane I just dont see the end in sight. I would rather just order a few pounds of marshall and buy the critters eparately at this point. As it is I have already had to buy snails, and hermit crabs since my tank has ben up and running for 4 months now. i just couldnt go that long without a cleanup crew.

Thanks for checking in Kau!

The MH have been great so far, i do think I need new bulbs tho. But heck 350watts of MH over a 46 is a bit overkill so i figure i can push them a bit longer than normal.

I would also like to switch to 14ks prolly XMs. I feel like the colors on the hammer and frogspawn are just a bit overpowered by the 10ks. Also heard coralline grows btter under 14ks

 

[BrianPlankis]

What other animals do should I put in the fuge for a DSB?

The fuge is lighted 24x7 by either 1 or 2 90w (true wattage is like 19w) Exterior PC flood lights. The Chaeto has grown like crazy and filled the tank twice in 3 weeks! I have trimmed it in half each time.

Just found your thread! I love reading progress threads like this one. It looks like you made a lot of good choices early on, you must have done your research. To answer some of your questions from earlier in the thread:

1. The "brain" coral on your TBS rock is most likely a Manicina areolata. You lucked out, that is a pretty rare coral(unlike the wildly overpriced and fairly common acans, your coral is actually a protected species in the wild, TBS is the only place that I'm aware of where you can get them). Here is a link with some pretty hard to understand scientific stuff

http://nmita.geology.uiowa.edu/database/corals/systemat/mareolat.htm

I got 3 of them on my TBS rock, here is a pic of one of them Unfortunately one didn't make it

2. I definitely like your rock structure love the arch. I like the SEIO as well, is that a 820?

3. I think you got ripped off on the 20XH. Maybe not the tank, but $50 to drill? LFS around here do it for $20-25.

4. I like your canopy, nice way to deal with the bow.

5. Feel free to follow my thread, I'm still starting it, but you might find some useful info in it:

http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=659899

Brian

 

[Spuds725]

I'm still subscribed to this thread-- everything looks real good still-- regarding the DSB-- really the only thing it need is sand sifting detrivores-- you should be ok with some pods and other critters-- you might be lacking some worms though (hard for them to get through all your plumbing and into your fuge)-- although I bet you have some in there--

You can get some in there by moving some of your live rock down there for a bit-- but you might not want to move any thats in your display now.. When you your new rock, after its cured-- put some in there for a week or two before moving to your display tank and you should get some off the rock (bigger ones).

Also, after you cure your rock-- there might be some worms in the bottom of your curing container you can move over.

You could also move some of the substrate in your display over or even get one of those little pumping substrate vacuums-- and collect them out of your display tank and move some down.

Here is a good read on DSBs-- http://www.rshimek.com/reef/sediment.htm

 

[BrianPlankis]

Oh yeah, I forgot, don't put any hermits in your fuge, they tend to eat a lot of the good bugs that stir up the sand.

B.

 

[robilium]

Hey Spuds!!!

Good idea! I was kinda wondering what to do about some more critters. Thanks for checking in!

 

[robilium]

Hey brian! I have read a bunch of your previous posts. Alot of them experimenting with various "bugs"

That is soooo cool to hear about the coral! He has grown so well. He can definitely change in size about 4x when he "inflates".

The Seio is a 620 and recent addition. So far so good.... it seems to not have as string a flow...until I put in some Purple up and watch the cloud spread.

Ya i got ripped on the tank - but whats 20-50$ after spending what i have - sigh .....

Ok off to read your thread!

Thanks for the nice comment about the canopy. i am not the worlds best woodsmith.

 

[ianmoede]

Did you scrap the jebo?

 

[robilium]

Actually I parted it out All the parts are in the hood. now I just have the casing left.... I even reused the switches.

 

[Spuds725]

Actually I parted it out All the parts are in the hood. now I just have the casing left.... I even reused the switches.

When you get lemons, make lemonade-- good idea-- that fixture is a piece (I have the 48" one)-- are they still on the same plug or did you seperate them so you can put them on timers--

My lights work fine, but the cooling fans have both quit--

I'm setting up my 135 now-- should have all the livestock moved over in the next week or so-- will be using the 48" light on this tank until I get the canopy lights that came with my tank re-wired (safely).

 

[robilium]

What to stock----- what is the center peice?

What to stock----- what is the center peice?

My Centerpeice/Stocking Thread


Any Ideas, opinions, or flames?

 

[robilium]

Hey guys!

So I just spent 2 hours rescaping my tank Stopped by a fellow reefers house and purchased an awesome 22lb rock that was just full of holes, caves, shelves, etc. And as a bonus it had on the following:

"The way it was sitting in my tank, it had Button Polyps on the far right (brown, with green mouths sometimes), and a green hair mushroom above those. Then moving left, there is a colony of Zoanthids with orange centers and green fringe (people sometimes call these Eagle Eye Zoas). Further left there is the small colony of fluorescent green zoas sitting up on that knobby part. and all the way over on the far left end is a small patch of Green Anacropora (aka Elkhorn), which is a cousin to the Acropora family."

My fish love this thing!

I also have 25lbs of Marshall rock coming from Premium Aquatics. Like everything with this tank there were some misteps with this order and delivery. I think PA made it right tho. Once I receive the rock I will post pictures of it and elaborate on the misteps

 

[robilium]

Oh and of course more pics will be added soon, of all new corals, BTA, etc.

 

[BrianPlankis]

That rock you got sounds good, lets see some pics! Also, if no one answered this, 10K MH bulbs last about 1 year. I once stretched mine to 14 months, but that probably wasn't a good idea as I lost a coral I think to that. Pay very close attention to your corals and if they start stretching a lot or closing up, your light might be going.

Brian

PS BTA? How long has your tank been up? Most anemones need a tank at least 9 months old and stable.

 

[patsan]

You'll be so happy with the MI rock! It's really porous compared to the TBS and Figi. The shapes are probably the best you'll find too! Good choice. The way things look, it's going to be a long time before TBS has any gulf rock again.

 

[robilium]

Hey Pat!

I am honored by your reading my thread! I have followed yours for months, but I most admit it is hard to keep up sometimes

Yes unfortunatley 80% of my TBS rock has been moved to my sump. For two months I had no additional rock and did not feed the tank due to the lack of cleanup crew. Therefore my rock was eaten almost 100% bare by the mantis and gorilla crabs I could not trap .

I am very excited to take pictures of the MI rock and the new pieces I got last night.

Stay tuned for a mini-review of Marshall Rock from PA!

 

[robilium]

Brian,

Hmmmm - I am concerned about the BTA. So far I have been trying to move slow and add things in the correct order etc. I am upset to hear about the 9 months. My tank has only been up for 4 months. And although i got a bit of a head start with the TBS rock and sand I am sure it is not equal to 9 months.

I will pay close attention to it. So far he has been pretty happy, all of his tips have bubbles, he is pretty well extended etc. If he looks to deterioriate I will try to find him a nice home.

As an aside Percula and Ocellaris clowns will tend to NOT host in a BTA right? Only tomato and Clarkii?

 

[patsan]

I think overall a few months from now, you'll be really happy with the MI. Nope, it doesn't come in looking anywhere near as awesome as the TBS does when you first get it. BUT, give it a few months and it will color up really nice, and you'll have room to put corals in the tank.
I always thought the rock I got from TBS was nicely shaped, which it was....I only got 1 boulder looking rock. But once I had the Kaelini & MI, there was no comparison. Without a doubt I like the density and shape of the pacific type rock much better. I can move the rock around with no effort at all. It's very lightweight. I'm also not dealing with crabs of any sort, which is nice.
Can't wait to see your pictures!