Lilmatty5dimes
New member
awesome addition. sorry to hear about your lose. i had a hi fin pistol pair and the hi fin went carpet surfing. def an awesome pair.
Jonas 3.13, 150G of Miracles fun
- Thread starter ojonas81
- Start date
Starting to finally get in check with my calcium and alkalinity. CA now at 480ppm and Alk at 8.4 dHk. Target values are 450 and 9.0.
Played around with the camera over the weekend too and this is one of the pictures I ended up with. More to follow during the week.
GSP in detail.
Picture above is a 100% crop of this picture.
Played around with the camera over the weekend too and this is one of the pictures I ended up with. More to follow during the week.
GSP in detail.
Picture above is a 100% crop of this picture.
More eye candy below. Still trying to master the stacking and focus shifting. Makes it hard when things in water does not always stay perfectly still for a long period of time.
The 3 fish in my QT is doing well and are eating like pigs. Looks like the two gobies are friendly towards each other so far as well. Hopefully it stays that way.
The 3 fish in my QT is doing well and are eating like pigs. Looks like the two gobies are friendly towards each other so far as well. Hopefully it stays that way.
Made a little video last night over some of the corals. Best viewed in 1080 HD.
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/faqwSrMnHW0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>)
Link for you Tapatalkers: Corals in Details
<iframe width="1280" height="720" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/faqwSrMnHW0" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>)
Link for you Tapatalkers: Corals in Details
Found out last night that I have a mantis shrimp in my refugium. I have heard some light snapping from it before but thought it was just a pistol shrimp. The shrimp I saw peaking out under one of the rocks last night was definitely not a pistol shrimp. He is in the refugium isolated from anything else, except a few snails, hermits and one peppermint shrimp. I guess it would no hurt anything to leave him in there or could that cause issues down he road?
Arkayology
Active member
I would leave it in there. Unless you plan on putting anything you like in there, the mantis is not doing any harm.
Awesome tank BTW. I really like your attention to detail and forethought.
fed.gallardo
Member
ojanas81 - I have say your build is very nice. It has become my inspiration for my upcoming 75Gallon build. Currently running a 36Gallon. Your attention to detail and your updates are awesome! Thank you for sharing all the work you have put into an awesome reef. Will the mangroves stay where they are? I have always liked the look of mangroves growing out of a tank.
Thanks everyone for the kind words. This forum has been instrumental to me when setting up the tank and I am happy is anyone learn something from my mistakes.
The mangroves will stay where they are for now. Originally they were all meant for the fuge but since it was not up and running when I got the seeds they ended up in the main DT. I like them there although my wife is of a slightly different opinion on this subject.
The mangroves will stay where they are for now. Originally they were all meant for the fuge but since it was not up and running when I got the seeds they ended up in the main DT. I like them there although my wife is of a slightly different opinion on this subject.
fed.gallardo
Member
dang that must be frustrating. are these all shipped? maybe a local LFS has one?
Two of the three have been shipped from Liveaquaria. They have reimbursed me each time so can't complain on them. One of the dead ones was bought at one of my LFS. Have anotherone in QT right now from that same store. So far so good.
Maybe I should just not QT gobies as they are very resistant to diseases as is? Would be a gamble though.
Will be putting both the QT and main system on a unwanted test this week. Both QT and main DT will be left on auto-pilot until Friday lunch due to work related issues. Have everything setup the way I want it and even added a wireless camera in the sump area that I can control from anywhere I am.
Been a while since I updated. Tank is humming along. Lost my hammer. Seems like I cannot get any of the Euphyllia corals alive for a longer period. Don't know why because other LPS are doing very well (war coral, candy cane, duncan and dendro etc.). Picked up a new torch last weekend along with what I believe is ORA Frogskin. If this torch does not survive I will give up on keeping Euphyllia which is a little sad since I love how they look.
Pictures to follow tonight or over the weekend.
The two remaining fish in QT are doing well so far. Week 1 of Prazipro treatment has gone well. Will do a second dose tomorrow.
I have also added two WP-25 power heads to get some more flow in areas where the WP-40 did not cover as well. Still need to adjust how they are angles because getting a small sandstorm from time to time.
Pictures to follow tonight or over the weekend.
The two remaining fish in QT are doing well so far. Week 1 of Prazipro treatment has gone well. Will do a second dose tomorrow.
I have also added two WP-25 power heads to get some more flow in areas where the WP-40 did not cover as well. Still need to adjust how they are angles because getting a small sandstorm from time to time.
fed.gallardo
Member
awesome tank! love the mangrove roots!
Thanks! Like the roots too. Not sure what to do when they get too big/deep down.
The weekend went without any major aquarium work. Moved a few corals around and mounted the two new ones. Did however make a few nice and unexpected observations though.
First is that I tried to change the mode on my WP-40s from Else (reefcrest) to a back and forth wave. I had to dial down the strength a lot or my whole living room would be wet from water going over the rim of the tank. One I got it dialed in it looked pretty neat inside the tank. Got a nice (not perfect yet) back and forth motion on most of the corals. I did notice much better PE om some of the SPS after a couple of hours. Especially on my ORA Shortcake. Will play around with it some more and possible get the twin controller from Jebao to make a true standing wave.
The second interesting thing that I saw over the weekend happened last night. In the dim moonlight around 11.15 pm I saw my two mandarins swim very close together up to the surface and then back down again. They acted like they were fused together. Really cool to see. Think I got lucky and got a male and a female.
Time for a short update again. Been traveling a lot so the tank has been running on auto pilot with great success. Sort of. Everything looks good in the tank but I noticed that my original Strawberry Shortcake looked a little pale. Did some way overdue testing and found out that all of the major three levels (Ca, Alk, Mg) were low. For Alk and Mg they were really low.
Ca: 390 ppm
Alk: 5.5 dHk
Mg: 1050 ppm
I have adjusted the dosing time for Ca and Alk and started to manually add extra each day in order to raise the values back up to where I want them (Alk: 9.0, Ca: 430, Mg: 1300). Will take some time, especially for the Mg to come back up again. If this dosing rate will keep increasing I will need bigger dosing containers than the 1 gallon jugs I have now. Any recommendations?
I also got the twin controller from Jebao and hooked up my two WP-40 to it. Nice to be able to get rid of one power supply and free up one outlet in the EB-8. Played around with the settings and can get a pretty substantial wave going. The downside is that it also made the tank very noise as the wave kept slashing over into the overflow making it louder than desired. Have since dialed it back some and it looks OK. Have some minor sand movement I need to take care of either by adjusting the pumps settings or angle them differently.
Tomorrow is the last day in QT for the flasher wrasse and the high fin goby. Need to figure out which fish to add next to QT. So many choices.
Ca: 390 ppm
Alk: 5.5 dHk
Mg: 1050 ppm
I have adjusted the dosing time for Ca and Alk and started to manually add extra each day in order to raise the values back up to where I want them (Alk: 9.0, Ca: 430, Mg: 1300). Will take some time, especially for the Mg to come back up again. If this dosing rate will keep increasing I will need bigger dosing containers than the 1 gallon jugs I have now. Any recommendations?
I also got the twin controller from Jebao and hooked up my two WP-40 to it. Nice to be able to get rid of one power supply and free up one outlet in the EB-8. Played around with the settings and can get a pretty substantial wave going. The downside is that it also made the tank very noise as the wave kept slashing over into the overflow making it louder than desired. Have since dialed it back some and it looks OK. Have some minor sand movement I need to take care of either by adjusting the pumps settings or angle them differently.
Tomorrow is the last day in QT for the flasher wrasse and the high fin goby. Need to figure out which fish to add next to QT. So many choices.
Fish has been in the tank since Friday evening now and so far so good. They were both very shy in the beginning. The wrasse is now swimming all over the tank showing off. The goby has at least temporarily set up home right in the front middle of the tank under a piece of hardened sand. Hopefully he will pair with one of the pistol shrimp down the road.
Getting closer to where I want with the parameters but still not perfect. As of last night they were:
Alk: 8.5 dHk
Ca: 415 ppm
Mg: 1250 ppm.
Would like to get them to:
Alk: 9.0
Ca: 440 ppm
Mg: ~1400 ppm
Lost my ORA Woolly Green to RTN in the process. Not sure which of the parameters that killed it but nothing else in the tank seems to be affected. Any ideas?
I have also noticed that in some places the sand gets very hard, almost like rock and stick together. What would cause that? Most of it is soft as it should be and it is just in certain spots in the tank (both high flow and low flow areas though).
Getting closer to where I want with the parameters but still not perfect. As of last night they were:
Alk: 8.5 dHk
Ca: 415 ppm
Mg: 1250 ppm.
Would like to get them to:
Alk: 9.0
Ca: 440 ppm
Mg: ~1400 ppm
Lost my ORA Woolly Green to RTN in the process. Not sure which of the parameters that killed it but nothing else in the tank seems to be affected. Any ideas?
I have also noticed that in some places the sand gets very hard, almost like rock and stick together. What would cause that? Most of it is soft as it should be and it is just in certain spots in the tank (both high flow and low flow areas though).
Did a well overdue water change yesterday. Schedule has not permitted a change since mid-February I think. Need to stay more on top of this. Think I will do another one later this week just to get some additional fresh water in there.
Have noticed that the tank is in a slow downward spiral. Most likely because of lack of maintenance as with the water change above. It has been running on auto pilot for a little too long. All the big three (Ca, Alk and Mg) were out of normal range. Got Mg and Alk back but still fighting with Ca. Seems like I can never get it back up to where I want it. Yesterday it was at 360 ppm. I have been trying to get it back by dosing more but since the BRS dosers only add 1.1ml per minute it takes forever to get back. Will change strategy today and do a larger one time dosing manually instead. Mixed up a new Ca batch last night so will start bringing it up tonight. Will not raise Ca levels more than 30-40 ppm per day though. Hopefully by getting these three back to normal ranges some of the colors in my SPS will come back. Now they are starting to look a little dull. I also believe this is why I lost the Woolly Green earlier.
On top of this I found out that my salinity was a little high yesterday. Almost 1.028 and I usually keep it around 35ppm or 1.026 sg. Hope to be able to adjust that with the second water change later this week.
Have noticed that the tank is in a slow downward spiral. Most likely because of lack of maintenance as with the water change above. It has been running on auto pilot for a little too long. All the big three (Ca, Alk and Mg) were out of normal range. Got Mg and Alk back but still fighting with Ca. Seems like I can never get it back up to where I want it. Yesterday it was at 360 ppm. I have been trying to get it back by dosing more but since the BRS dosers only add 1.1ml per minute it takes forever to get back. Will change strategy today and do a larger one time dosing manually instead. Mixed up a new Ca batch last night so will start bringing it up tonight. Will not raise Ca levels more than 30-40 ppm per day though. Hopefully by getting these three back to normal ranges some of the colors in my SPS will come back. Now they are starting to look a little dull. I also believe this is why I lost the Woolly Green earlier.
On top of this I found out that my salinity was a little high yesterday. Almost 1.028 and I usually keep it around 35ppm or 1.026 sg. Hope to be able to adjust that with the second water change later this week.
pleuralplexus
New member
Ever consider adding one of these to your system? http://genesisreefsystems.com/product/renew-pro/
My new build was going to include one, but I ran out of room in the stand.
Another option for an automatic water change system is a dual-head infusion pump or two Litermeter pumps controlled by your apex. This is what I'll probably do with mine.
My new build was going to include one, but I ran out of room in the stand.
Another option for an automatic water change system is a dual-head infusion pump or two Litermeter pumps controlled by your apex. This is what I'll probably do with mine.
