Initial planning stages for tank and fish room

[Bilk]

I found emerald crabs to be the most effective, but you have to give them time. They are slow but they are thorough.

Dave.M

Hey Dave. I have three in the tank. I guess I need a whole crew of them I'll add more, but I've heard anecdotal reports about Foxface doing a number on Byropsis as well as Valonia. Was hoping someone could confirm this.

 

[dave.m]

That is not my experience, but perhaps foxfaces, like many other fish, vary in personality and performance per individual.

Nice photos BTW.

Dave.M

 

[Bpb]

Your sps success makes me hesitant to give advice as I have struggled lately, but being well versed and experienced in pest algae...I can say this. I no longer panic, as they've all come and gone with time and a little husbandry.

My battle with valonia is over and I have won. Is it gone entirely? No. Bit I can handle 10-20 total random bubbles through a 90 gallon tank, considering how at one point I had about a 1" thick layer of valonia covering every surface in the tank, including patches forming inside of sps colonies.

Frequently manual removal helps a lot. I FIRMLY believe in popping them. Removing whole bubbles without popping them is impossible once you have an infestation. Won't happen. If you leave them...they'll mature and get larger. Popping them during manual removal results in releasing spores prematurely. Some may be viable, but you're releasing far fewer than they would on their own when they reach maturity. I try to siphon them out by just mashing the vinyl tubing down on patches. A lot pop. Most just go into a bucket.

I was running biopellets when I defeated valonia, so I had undetectable phosphate and nitrate which helped in them not coming back. Controlling nutrients obviously is better than NOT...but valonia can grow in damn near sterile water I'm convinced.

Manual removal with extremely low nutrients got the ball rolling, but 3 emerald crabs have reduced it to barely even noticeable. They manage to keep it under control. They're constantly browsing at night popping and consuming them. Nothing will remove it entirely, but they keep it far below pest level to the point to where it's simply sustaining them and not hurting anything.

Make sure you get females only if you try emerald crabs. They stay smaller and are less likely to eat coral. But being that they're crabs...if they're starving, they'll eat anythin to survive. Never had one catch a fish. Only one crab has caused sps trouble when she decided to make a birdsnest colony her home so the center of the colony died from her living in it. Never had any actively single out corals to eat them. There was some inspecting of Lps, zoas, and acros when I introduced them for about a week, but once they discovered the bubble algae, they strongly prefer it to corals.

Can't comment on foxfaces yet. I just got one today, partially because I've always wanted one, and partially to help with red and green turf algae. They are also known to eat corals, but being herbivores, I believe they strongly prefer algae to coral tissue, and will usually not resort to consuming large amounts of coral unless they're starving.

 

[Bilk]

Your sps success makes me hesitant to give advice as I have struggled lately, but being well versed and experienced in pest algae...I can say this. I no longer panic, as they've all come and gone with time and a little husbandry.

My battle with valonia is over and I have won. Is it gone entirely? No. Bit I can handle 10-20 total random bubbles through a 90 gallon tank, considering how at one point I had about a 1" thick layer of valonia covering every surface in the tank, including patches forming inside of sps colonies.

Frequently manual removal helps a lot. I FIRMLY believe in popping them. Removing whole bubbles without popping them is impossible once you have an infestation. Won't happen. If you leave them...they'll mature and get larger. Popping them during manual removal results in releasing spores prematurely. Some may be viable, but you're releasing far fewer than they would on their own when they reach maturity. I try to siphon them out by just mashing the vinyl tubing down on patches. A lot pop. Most just go into a bucket.

I was running biopellets when I defeated valonia, so I had undetectable phosphate and nitrate which helped in them not coming back. Controlling nutrients obviously is better than NOT...but valonia can grow in damn near sterile water I'm convinced.

Manual removal with extremely low nutrients got the ball rolling, but 3 emerald crabs have reduced it to barely even noticeable. They manage to keep it under control. They're constantly browsing at night popping and consuming them. Nothing will remove it entirely, but they keep it far below pest level to the point to where it's simply sustaining them and not hurting anything.

Make sure you get females only if you try emerald crabs. They stay smaller and are less likely to eat coral. But being that they're crabs...if they're starving, they'll eat anythin to survive. Never had one catch a fish. Only one crab has caused sps trouble when she decided to make a birdsnest colony her home so the center of the colony died from her living in it. Never had any actively single out corals to eat them. There was some inspecting of Lps, zoas, and acros when I introduced them for about a week, but once they discovered the bubble algae, they strongly prefer it to corals.

Can't comment on foxfaces yet. I just got one today, partially because I've always wanted one, and partially to help with red and green turf algae. They are also known to eat corals, but being herbivores, I believe they strongly prefer algae to coral tissue, and will usually not resort to consuming large amounts of coral unless they're starving.

Hey thanks for the response. I haven't taken a knee-jerk reaction to their presence. I understand things can get out of whack much faster than they can recover.

I have three emerald crabs in there too - it's a 200g so maybe a few more will help. And yes, today I get my siphon hose out and hit them hard. :uzi:

It's been an ebb and flow battle with them - they dissipated and returned a few times. Nutrients are at the extreme low end of the spectrum, yet I find when I feed more, they begin to disappear as if the bacterial population start to outcompete for what ever N & P are available. The last few summer months I've spent less time with the tank and I guess it shows a bit. I continue daily incremental water changes, but was feeding less and I think that has something to do with it.

I've been slowly raising the carbon dosing a bit as well as feeding more and I am also giving Tech M a shot - raising the Mg from 1380 to 1600 over the course of a week. I've already started to see some improvement, but I thought I'd ask about a natural consumer of these little beasts

I'll post some results - hopefully successful results

 

[rmgaspar]

Hello,

Great setup and a lot of ideas that I am copying ... :lolspin:

Can I please ask you the name of the pieces you use to lift the doors?

I need something like that with having to drill a hole for a standard hinge.

All the best,
Rui

 

[Bilk]

Hello,



Great setup and a lot of ideas that I am copying ... :lolspin:

Can I please ask you the name of the pieces you use to lift the doors?

I need something like that with having to drill a hole for a standard hinge.

All the best,
Rui

Hey Rui. Not sure where I ordered them from. I think Amazon. They're not ideal and I'm looking for something better - something that will allow the door to swing out and up to a fully horizontal position. They may work for your needs though. That door over my tank has a large overlay to accommodate the reveal for the LEDs. So it only lifts out a bit more than 45 degrees. It's enough to give me access to place the magent in to clean the glass and do some minor things, but if I need full access I have to take the door off. Not what I prefer

Lift Hinges

 

[rmgaspar]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply.

I don't know if you have IKEA where you live but I found these that I think might solve your problem (and mine also)

All the best,
Rui

 

[Bilk]

Hello,

Thanks for your reply.

I don't know if you have IKEA where you live but I found these that I think might solve your problem (and mine also)

All the best,
Rui

Yes Ikea is nearby. Do you have a direct link for those? Can't seem to find them on the Ikea site.

 

[rmgaspar]

Hello Bilk,

Here you have it: IKEA UTRUSTA Kitchen Cabinet Interior Fittings Hinges

It's the PT link for IKEA but I am sure you can find it.

Also two of these for a 80cm door. If the door is larger than 80cm you will need additional hinges.

http://www.ikea.com/pt/pt/catalog/p...y=UTRUSTA+Dobradiça+grande+p/porta+horizontal

Here you have also a nice video to help understand if these will fit you.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5v2qeN3ouZc

All the best,
Rui

 

[Bilk]

Photo Bomb!

Photo Bomb!

Thanks for the link on the hinges rmgaspar. I don't believe they'll work with the overlay issue either. I may have to fabricate something myself down the road to get full access from the front.

So I had a large dry rock from another system sitting around for expansion purposes. Cooked it and then placed it in RO water with GAC and a powerhead for a few weeks, changing the water each day. Hopefully it's good to go.

Here's how things stand today. There's really no singular structure. Each large rock is an island that sits on acrylic pegs that reach the tank bottom. Well most do - just the larger rocks. Between provides swimming/circulation space which seems to be working well, keeping detritus from accumulating an any place other than the two front corners, which allows me to either siphon or stir the top layer to suspend it for removal.

I have some work ahead. Eliminating the remaining valonia - some is being manually removed and some has died back on it's own since elevating Mg with Tech M. It's odd that the sandbed stays as clean as you see it, yet the rock harbors these vile little green balls. No GHA and even the bryopsis has pretty much vanished.

Well here goes with the photo bomb

I don't know if anyone else feels the same, but I really hate mounting corals LOL I have a lot of work ahead. Heck how do some of you do it in deeper tanks and wider tanks? I have trouble reaching around in this 200.

PS If anyone wants to come help mount corals, I'll get dinner and brews.

 

[rmgaspar]

Hello,

Well ... I can think in one quick solution for the hinge problem.
just cut 5/10cm of the top door and use it as a upper frame.

You just have to glue and repaint that section.

As for the coral I am hearing wonderful things about the Ecotech glue.

As a question? do you respect the colors when doing coral placement? Also what are you doing in acclimating corals to the Kessils?

I have a friend with kessils that burns corals if he pushes to 100% in both channels. I think he as configures whites at 30% and blues at 75% to be able to maintain corals.

All the best,
Rui

 

[Bilk]

Hello,

Well ... I can think in one quick solution for the hinge problem.
just cut 5/10cm of the top door and use it as a upper frame.

You just have to glue and repaint that section.

As for the coral I am hearing wonderful things about the Ecotech glue.

As a question? do you respect the colors when doing coral placement? Also what are you doing in acclimating corals to the Kessils?

I have a friend with kessils that burns corals if he pushes to 100% in both channels. I think he as configures whites at 30% and blues at 75% to be able to maintain corals.

All the best,
Rui

Your suggestion was considered when I was making the front panels, but I didn't want another seam there. It may not have been a bad choice though.

I didn't do anything different with the corals regarding the lights. I just placed them on the bottom and that's pretty much it. This is the end of the second week in the system and they're doing fine so far. Some even have new growth.

I'll have to post the lighting schedule with the ramp program, but nothing is running more than 65%. Kessil blue channel peaks at 65% and the white at 40%. The Ecoxotic cannons only reach 35% at peak. The two BMLED strips peak at 60%. Par mid level in the tank is in the range of 220 - 260. At the sand it ranges from 120 - 185. All ballpark numbers depending upon where the measurement is taken.

I think the problems people experience with LED is they fry their corals thinking they need huge par numbers. Another poster to the RC boards here really help me understand that. 240 - 260 peak is fine. The corals will grow toward the light and as they do, they'll get more intensity

 

[Bilk]

OK, anyone want to help me pick a new skimmer?

I really like downdraft skimmers. Used them back in the day and they were the best and I think still are. My ETSS does a great job. It's pretty easy to clean, but I hate the noise of the Iwaki. I also experienced some heat buildup that necessitated running a fan which I didn't appreciate for the noise either. The Iwaki does get warm and this skimmer needs a pressure rated pump. Tried a Jebao 12000 and it was a joke. No where near the pressure required.

So now I'm considering a new skimmer - possibly internal, but generally always used external and may stay that way. I've been researching the new RLSS Waveline skimmers, basically as a result of searching for a DC pump to replace the Iwaki. The new Waveline pumps allegedly have a pressure rated impeller, but I don't think it can do what the Iwaki MD 70 can do.

So any input on these RLSS skimmers? Any other suggestions? Also looked at Vertex/RE. Or are all these plastic tubes pretty much the same? :spin3:

 

[Bilk]

Guess I should post this to my thread for posterity

Video of sump.

<iframe width="853" height="480" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/BcyU-yh2rgw" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[markalot]

Hi Bilk,

Love your tank, subscribed and hoping you'll continue to post the inspiring pics.

I have a ton of bubble algae in my tank and I recently added a one spot Foxface who eat it and everything else bad, really an incredible fish. I've seen him eat bubble, caulerpa, bryopsis, cyano, and the brownish snot like growth that sometimes shows up if dosing too much amino acids.

Maybe I got lucky, or maybe I won't be able to keep him fed and he'll start munching on other things I don't want him munching on, I just don't know at this point.

So I love the lighting over your tank. I'm using Maxspect Razors and BML fixtures over my 150 and I think I had too much light. I was measuring 400+ PAR over some of my SPS and I've since dropped that to 300 to see how things fair.

Have you done any PAR measurements on this tank (I haven't read the entire thread yet)?

A few posts above. Sorry about that, thanks. obviously I was skimming pictures first time around.

 

[markalot]

I'll have to post the lighting schedule with the ramp program, but nothing is running more than 65%. Kessil blue channel peaks at 65% and the white at 40%. The Ecoxotic cannons only reach 35% at peak. The two BMLED strips peak at 60%. Par mid level in the tank is in the range of 220 - 260. At the sand it ranges from 120 - 185. All ballpark numbers depending upon where the measurement is taken.

I think the problems people experience with LED is they fry their corals thinking they need huge par numbers. Another poster to the RC boards here really help me understand that. 240 - 260 peak is fine. The corals will grow toward the light and as they do, they'll get more intensity

Thanks for posting this. For those of us new to LED and bigger tanks this kind of confirmation really helps get things setup properly. I am lucky I didn't bleach all of my corals beyond repair.

 

[Bilk]

Thanks for posting this. For those of us new to LED and bigger tanks this kind of confirmation really helps get things setup properly. I am lucky I didn't bleach all of my corals beyond repair.

Thanks markalot. I was in the same position, not understanding how to dial in my fixtures. Aqualund, another RC poster really helped me with that. The best I can tell you is start low and work up from there. I purchased an Apogee par meter and it really helped me understand what was happening in the tank. Visually there was no way of knowing.

Edit: I'll just add - reading the various debates on the subject, especially surrounding growth and coloration, I think it's fair to guess that people who are having issues, have them because they're running their lights at a very intense level, pushing the corals into photoinhabition. If they'd just take the time to start low and move up, I think they'd see what they desire - good growth and color.

 

[rmgaspar]

Hello,

Yes, you are right ... but there are some contradictions.

I for instance ran my tank before the crash (3 day power outage) on 300-400 PAR range in the top half with very good growth and colors.

The question is that I see threads here in the RC where people have 7x kessil at 100% and they do an one week acclimation to corals.

Other like (a reef in the sky for instance) have 1200PAR in the tank and everything is fine without burning corals.

That is what I don't understand although for my personal use I have found the best light intensity/PAR/Color.

But you are absolutely right. A PAR meter is fundamental!

All the best,
Rui

 

[Bilk]

Hello,

Yes, you are right ... but there are some contradictions.

I for instance ran my tank before the crash (3 day power outage) on 300-400 PAR range in the top half with very good growth and colors.

The question is that I see threads here in the RC where people have 7x kessil at 100% and they do an one week acclimation to corals.

Other like (a reef in the sky for instance) have 1200PAR in the tank and everything is fine without burning corals.

That is what I don't understand although for my personal use I have found the best light intensity/PAR/Color.

But you are absolutely right. A PAR meter is fundamental!

All the best,
Rui

LOL there are a lot of contradictions in this hobby. It's what makes it interesting at times and frustrating at others.

 

[markalot]

Thanks markalot. I was in the same position, not understanding how to dial in my fixtures. Aqualund, another RC poster really helped me with that. The best I can tell you is start low and work up from there. I purchased an Apogee par meter and it really helped me understand what was happening in the tank. Visually there was no way of knowing.

Edit: I'll just add - reading the various debates on the subject, especially surrounding growth and coloration, I think it's fair to guess that people who are having issues, have them because they're running their lights at a very intense level, pushing the corals into photoinhabition. If they'd just take the time to start low and move up, I think they'd see what they desire - good growth and color.

Yep, I own a PAR meter as well. Did you correct those PAR values with the 20% Apogee now recommends when using LED's that are heavy in the blue spectrum? I'm really not sure how accurate that adjustment is, just wondering.

I start with just 1% blues at 6AM, ramping up 50% blue at 11AM, then peaking at 65% white and blue channels at 2PM which very slowly drops about 10% until 8PM at which time it ramps down to off over 2 hours. Photo period seems to be about right so hopefully raising the lights up higher and then adjusting so peak PAR at my SPS level is around 280 - 300 will work wonders.