My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef

[troubadour11]

Oh man... I've been busy lately. I haven't been chiming in much, but I've been stalking in and out through here watching the ride you've been on lately.

:beer: for taking it in stride and giving us all some of your tips on how to handle it! It was interesting how you mentioned stripping the water to quickly. I'm wondering if that's what I'm seeing lately with my Zoas. They've been sitting just closed up for awhile now. The Mrs. is quite concerned I'm slowly killing her precious Zoas. I wonder if the carbon and GFO I added in to combat the cyano is doing exactly what you described. Either that, or something else is off on my end. The healthy Rics and Trumpet seem to unfazed though.

I'm also pretty sure the cyano combined with the carbon/gfo finally strangled my Cheato out. It's been slowly disintegrating over the last few weeks. I'll have to wait until I get a few more DLP's in there and then I'll buy some new Cheato to re-seed the pods in the fuge again a little later.

That new pink/white piece looks pretty choice. Although anything in your tank looks choice when compared to my basically bare rocks right now! :headwally:

And it's interesting to hear the trials and tribulations of your Anthia kick lately. I've gone back and forth on them... We are tirelessly searching for something that we could keep multiple of. So far, we haven't found something we are really excited for yet. Something that might show some shoaling behavior. But I was concerned that multiple Anthia in my 90 gallon DT wouldn't have enough space after everything else goes in.

 

[martinphillip03]

Big, Are you and Sahin in cahoots, seeing who can go the longest without a FTS?

Marty

 

[Bello]

Lol, think Sahin's got him beat, hands down

Quit teasing us

 

[sahin]

Big, Are you and Sahin in cahoots, seeing who can go the longest without a FTS?

Marty

Lol, think Sahin's got him beat, hands down

Quit teasing us

Biggles is definitely looking to take the title from me...so you guys should really hammer him about an FTS...and forget me for the time being.

 

[sahin]

Hey Biggles, hope all is well with you. You've been away from the forums before and came back with bad news about family etc, so I really hope all is well mate.

 

[biggles]

Wrong!! Nobody expects better from me ...:bounce2:

Lol, how about some pics of the anthias? That half headed teaser pic is getting me quite curious!

Hi mate, i'll try to snap them tomorrow but they're fast little buggers, always darting about amongst the stags. They sleep on the raft with the yellow tang in the acros.

Oh man... I've been busy lately. I haven't been chiming in much, but I've been stalking in and out through here watching the ride you've been on lately.

:beer: for taking it in stride and giving us all some of your tips on how to handle it! It was interesting how you mentioned stripping the water to quickly. I'm wondering if that's what I'm seeing lately with my Zoas. They've been sitting just closed up for awhile now. The Mrs. is quite concerned I'm slowly killing her precious Zoas. I wonder if the carbon and GFO I added in to combat the cyano is doing exactly what you described. Either that, or something else is off on my end. The healthy Rics and Trumpet seem to unfazed though.

I'm also pretty sure the cyano combined with the carbon/gfo finally strangled my Cheato out. It's been slowly disintegrating over the last few weeks. I'll have to wait until I get a few more DLP's in there and then I'll buy some new Cheato to re-seed the pods in the fuge again a little later.

That new pink/white piece looks pretty choice. Although anything in your tank looks choice when compared to my basically bare rocks right now!

And it's interesting to hear the trials and tribulations of your Anthia kick lately. I've gone back and forth on them... We are tirelessly searching for something that we could keep multiple of. So far, we haven't found something we are really excited for yet. Something that might show some shoaling behavior. But I was concerned that multiple Anthia in my 90 gallon DT wouldn't have enough space after everything else goes in.

Hey Troub, how much carbon and gfo are you running and in what manner mate. gfo is a very efficient phos stripping media so a little goes a long way. I was running just 4 tablespoons of rowaphos in a total volume of about 85-90 gallons and the red macro grew well in the sump at the same time.
Anthias are great fish and always active and catching your eye in the water column, mine are boring colored little guys compared to all the fancy colored ones but their behavior is cool. Definitely consider 3 or 5 rather than dud fish like those ugly little stinker chromis........ i don't like chromis.

Big, Are you and Sahin in cahoots, seeing who can go the longest without a FTS?

Marty

There's no FTS from bloody Bello or Sahin so how come i have to be the one to post one ! A photo tutorial on how to display a flubbercan in an SPS tank for maximum impact will however be happening tomorrow on my day off. If you want to follow along you'll need the following:

1 x colorful flubbercan
1 x magnetic mount
1 x 1 1/4" frag disc
1 x Dremel
Epoxy and superglue gel
Somewhere in the tank you don't want to put a real coral.........

Lol, think Sahin's got him beat, hands down

Quit teasing us

The Sahingate FTS scandal has been quite entertaining i must say - thanks Sahin :thumbsup: Are you like me Bello - glad you're not in Sahin's shoes considering the buildup and anticipation now surrounding his first FTS

Biggles is definitely looking to take the title from me...so you guys should really hammer him about an FTS...and forget me for the time being.

Nice try mate.......... seems to me it's time i dropped in on all my mates journal's..........

Hey Biggles, hope all is well with you. You've been away from the forums before and came back with bad news about family etc, so I really hope all is well mate.

Thanks for the concern mate, i did have to duck away for a couple of days but all is well The tank is still going badly despite a water change but i'll do another 15% tomorrow. I've been using a basic cheapo 3 stage RO unit so i'm crossing that off and ordered a real marine RO unit. The new acros i added are looking better than all the ones in the tank long term so i'm starting to think perhaps the RO unit was spent weeks ago and i've been adding tap water for 6-8 weeks which has slowly poisoned the corals. No idea really but i'm trying to check off all the variables. I tested the tank for current leakage ( cut my finger and stuck it in the water ) - salt water stings for 5-10 seconds but electricity on raw exposed nerve endings stings and or tingles forever. That's how i discovered a faulty heater years ago lol. I found nothing but replaced the $30 heater with a 300W Eheim just in case. Alk draw is still a third of what it was 4 weeks ago and tips are randomly burning off acros at random. Zero visible growth and poor PE tank wide.
I have good night PE on the new blue echi so i'm happy about that, just have to work out what i did to poison the water. Nothing running except the skimmer and water changes plus the soon to be trust worthy RO supply. Things are happening so slowly i'm not freaking out but i don't like the situation of not knowing what to correct. I haven't seen something like this before, even the orange pav has die off on the top. Really appears to be aggravated by high light considering tips up high are suffering the worst.

Anyway i'm fine and i'll sort the problem out sooner or later. In the mean time i've been swapping acros around to different spots and sticking bits of new stuff here and there so the tank actually looks pretty cool from a distance - up close it's poop lol.

 

[Bello]

FWIW biggles, I'm betting my left nut, that the problem is with the source water, more so if your existing RO system has a DI cartridge and you haven't changed it since the world began .

I say this, because I had the same problem. All params perfect, acros = miserable. It was the source water. Are you ordering one with DI? I hope you pick up one of those inline TDS meters. Handheld meters work fine, but since you're as lazy as me, you won't be bothered to test regularly. Either way, a TDS reading right after RO, goes a long way IMO.

Is it the tips on the acros that are suffering the most? If that's the case, all the more reason to blame the source water. I went through this crap, and nothing else short of massive water changes with good source water, helped. Look through my past posts, and you'll see a thread 3 years ago, having the same problem...and yippee, no one had a clue , no help

 

[biggles]

Thanks for sharing that info Bello The unit i have been using is just an RO, sediment and coconut filter lol - it's bloody high tech...........

This is the one i ordered RO unit

Note that it's a Tasmanian company, despite the rest of the world thinking Tasmania is part of Aus it's not. All my friends that have visited come back saying ' they're strange ' or ' it's a weird place ' . It's common knowledge on the mainland (Aus) that Tassie has a chip on it's shoulder because it's a forgotten rock that no one really cares about.
Basically they don't like us and we don't like them. The best thing for all concerned would be to tow Tassie another 1000 miles south so it's not so easy to sneak onto the mainland - that's all i have to say about Tassie.

I think your left nut is safe Bello The very slow necrotic die off and loss of color on everything has me thinking i've poisoned the water over time with who knows what. Lots of water changes coming up as soon as i get the new RO unit running. :thumbsup: It is the tips being affected except for the blue stag pieces which have die off on half the corallites. I removed the one on the raft and the other bit at the front will be chopped out today i think.

Here's the flubbercan which is going to be suspended off the glass where the fish is hanging out. Atm it's orangey red with white stripes and yellow centers. I'll probably either kill it or turn it a gross color.......

 

[DiscusHeckel]

Basically they don't like us and we don't like them.

Biggles mate,

I have learned something new today. What don't you like each other?

 

[biggles]

Biggles mate,

I have learned something new today. What don't you like each other?

I think it's just a case of a bunch of rock dwelling hangers on trying to mooch off Australia, we have to give them money from the Federal budget and they give back spuds and cheese - can't think of anything else useful that comes out of Tassie.
There has been some scientific evidence produced recently which indicates that Tasmanians are actually a race of Yowies (Bigfoots) that lost the thick gorilla hair and managed to pick up some basic English.

Imagine Hawaii without all the cool Hawaiian stuff............ that's Tasmania. I should point out that i've never been there so i'm presenting a very fair and balanced view of Tassie and the creatures that inhabit the place since my opinion has not been influenced by their rude behaviour towards Aussies.

 

[FastUno]

Biggles, man you are so right. My tank finally hit 6+ month and it is finally mature. I reached into the overflow to clean it first time in 6 months & I grabbed onto rugged pipes and so much growth back there. The barnacles, hard shell critters & sponges are plentiful back there. No wonder my skimmer appears like it is not working anymore, even after a vinegar bath.

Now I see what you mean by the growth in your sump exactly. I don't have that growth in my sump because I tear it apart & clean it out every month...too much detritus build up there.

My new Chinese LED's have been on for 14 days so far & so things not dying...fingers crossed.


FLUBBER CITY:

 

[Fishy 1]

Very nice tank you have there. amazing how much cleaner the water is with the skimmer, I don't think I could live without mine ;-). I have a 60gl I'm setting up at the present and I will be going for the nice open layout you have too. Keep up the great work Biggles ''

 

[biggles]

Biggles, man you are so right. My tank finally hit 6+ month and it is finally mature. I reached into the overflow to clean it first time in 6 months & I grabbed onto rugged pipes and so much growth back there. The barnacles, hard shell critters & sponges are plentiful back there. No wonder my skimmer appears like it is not working anymore, even after a vinegar bath.

Now I see what you mean by the growth in your sump exactly. I don't have that growth in my sump because I tear it apart & clean it out every month...too much detritus build up there.

My new Chinese LED's have been on for 14 days so far & so things not dying...fingers crossed.


FLUBBER CITY:

Your tank is looking great mate, i'm just talking rubbish as usual when i slag flubber lol. Everything looks very healthy and vibrant so you're ticking all the right boxes buddy :thumbsup:
As far as maturing goes every system will be different depending on what you start with really. The more critter life you see the better and your filter feeders will steal food from the skimmer once you have a good population throughout your system.
Are those LED units the full spectrum type, did you get UV type bulbs as well mate ? I think UV plays a very big part in colorful pigmentation production but that's just my opinion. Less zoa and more pigments = happy reef keepers

Very nice tank you have there. amazing how much cleaner the water is with the skimmer, I don't think I could live without mine ;-). I have a 60gl I'm setting up at the present and I will be going for the nice open layout you have too. Keep up the great work Biggles ''

Thanks very much mate. Skimmers are the greatest invention since sliced bread imo lol. They tick along day in and out removing crap you don't really want in the water and even if something craps itself in the middle of the night while you're sleeping the trusty skimmer will pull the crud out for you.

Make sure you post a link to your journal here so i can follow along, the other guys like Bello and Sahin will likely slag your set up but they're nasty 'B's so just ignore them.........:reading:

Flubber time.........

I dremeled a frag disc on an angle and super glued it to a magnet. $9- a set for replacement sunsun pump mounts and you just screw the pump mount thing off one magnet to be left with a slimline magnetic mounting set easily strong enough to support whatever you want to mount on the glass. I get them from the same mob who sell the WP series pumps.

I selected this flubbercan for the very flat profile as i bought it with the magnetic mount in mind. You can sort of see the yellow centers in this pic.

Ready to rock and roll. Just put super glue on the disc, the blob of mixed epoxy, more super glue gel on the putty and then i stuck the magnet on the side of the microwave so i could just worry about pushing the acan down onto the glue blob. I left it on the microwave for a few minutes for the glue to grab hard and then placed it roughly how i wanted it in the display. Got the glue from the LFS as i'm sick of opening the little tubes from the hardware store lol.

Here it is in the display, needs a slight flatter angle adjustment so it looks better from where i sit on the couch....... if i plonked it on the bottom i'd only see it when i was standing in front of the display so that's really why i did this in case anyone is wondering. A Dremel is worth its weight in gold if you want to get creative with your SPS displays. The precision it allows in cutting acros and rock etc can't be matched - everyone go and get one so i'm not the only one doing weird stuff with my corals :beer:

 

[sahin]

There's no FTS from bloody Bello or Sahin so how come i have to be the one to post one !

Because you just have to mate. We demand it (Dont we Bello and others? Back me up here guys).

A photo tutorial on how to display a flubbercan in an SPS tank for maximum impact will however be happening tomorrow on my day off. If you want to follow along you'll need the following:

1 x colorful flubbercan
1 x magnetic mount
1 x 1 1/4" frag disc
1 x Dremel
Epoxy and superglue gel
Somewhere in the tank you don't want to put a real coral.........

Well, I am very late in replying...I started typing the reply about 4 hours ago...but had to let the kids have the laptop so they could watch some cartoons...

But wow Biggles, you are quite ingenious...my tank is bare bottom and I could do the same thing and stick some of that flubbery things angled towards the front of the tank to make for a nice view of those flubber things.

The Sahingate FTS scandal has been quite entertaining i must say - thanks Sahin :thumbsup: Are you like me Bello - glad you're not in Sahin's shoes considering the buildup and anticipation now surrounding his first FTS

Nice try mate.......... seems to me it's time i dropped in on all my mates journal's..........

Hahaha that made me laugh!

Anyway i'm fine and i'll sort the problem out sooner or later. In the mean time i've been swapping acros around to different spots and sticking bits of new stuff here and there so the tank actually looks pretty cool from a distance - up close it's poop lol.

Mate if the RO unit is expired/busted, who knows whats been going into the tank.

FWIW biggles, I'm betting my left nut, that the problem is with the source water, more so if your existing RO system has a DI cartridge and you haven't changed it since the world began .

I say this, because I had the same problem. All params perfect, acros = miserable. It was the source water. Are you ordering one with DI? I hope you pick up one of those inline TDS meters. Handheld meters work fine, but since you're as lazy as me, you won't be bothered to test regularly. Either way, a TDS reading right after RO, goes a long way IMO.

Is it the tips on the acros that are suffering the most? If that's the case, all the more reason to blame the source water. I went through this crap, and nothing else short of massive water changes with good source water, helped. Look through my past posts, and you'll see a thread 3 years ago, having the same problem...and yippee, no one had a clue , no help

I agree with Bello there, something bad must be getting through the membrane.

I have TWO TDS meters...and I run an RODI unit...as soon as my TDS meters give a reading of anything other than ZERO, I replace the DI resin. Every 6 months or so, I replace the presediment and carbon filters. Every two years I replace the main membrane...even if its not need. And I take care of my RODI unit very well...eg I have it on a booster pump so it runs at 90PSI, to get maximum rejection. I also have a flush kit on the membrane and run this weekly. I also have valves on on the pipes, so that these are closed when the unit is not in use and some pressure is maintained to keep it all in good condition.


Well, hope all turns around for you mate after you get the new RODI unit.

Have you actually lost a complete colony or is it just bits of RTN/STN on random areas of colonies?

 

[sahin]

WOW! No, not the silly red flubber thing...the Aussie Echinata! Looks BEAUTIFUL!!! Most of these that come into our LFS's in the UK are quite browned out...that looks awesome! Well done on that purchase!

 

[martinphillip03]

I really hate single edge razor blades. Do I really have to slice my finger to test for stay voltage? I really would like to hear how you discovered that. Was Kevin involved?

Marty


. I tested the tank for current leakage ( cut my finger and stuck it in the water ) - salt water stings for 5-10 seconds but electricity on raw exposed nerve endings stings and or tingles forever. That's how i discovered a faulty heater years ago lol.

 

[biggles]

Hi sahin No i haven't lost anything completely but some acros are taking it harder than others. I moved some acros around but i removed the blue stag from the raft rock and the piece at the front is looking terrible so i might as well throw it in the sump too. The fluoro aculeus pieces are taking it badly too with about 20-30% tissue loss and slowly continuing daily.
The RO is the only thing i can't test so i'll be happy once i sort out that potential issue out. Over the next month i hope to see everything turn around with good RO and water changes.

That echi was a lot browner on the branches with just blue tips visible but over the week it's been in the tank it has lightened nicely as the zoa are expelled. It's the first one i've ever actually seen in person so i'll be very bummed if i kill it with the current water situation. The thing above it was bleached but i bought it anyway for a lucky dip, might turn out to be a cool color.

Acan angle adjustment tool........ coat hanger wire is great stuff for getting at stuff such as dropped frags in the rocks etc.

This is what i replaced the blue stag on the raft with. It's very pale and washed out lime green atm but i bought it for the just visible blue polyps so it could turn out to be a stunner. It hasn't had polyps out day or night yet so it's not very happy so far. I caught one of the anthias in this pic for you Bello, the red tail tips look cool i think.

I really hate single edge razor blades. Do I really have to slice my finger to test for stay voltage? I really would like to hear how you discovered that. Was Kevin involved?

Marty

I had electric blue maxima clams in the last tank and one day i sliced my finger on the shell of one while moving it. Stung straight away so i removed my hand and checked the cut wasn't too bad. Put it back in to continue and it stung from the water but instead of stopping it changed to a weird tingling sensation in the cut. Having electrocuted myself to varying degrees at least 5-6 times over the years i'm familiar with the sensations associated with current going through my limbs.

Quick electricity ramble..........

I discovered the nasty side of electricity thanks to my father when i was 9 years old. We were on my uncles farm and standing by a wire fence. I saw the electric fence sign and asked dad if it was really on. He reached over and touched the wire for a split second and then did it a few more times - the last time he pulled his hand back very fast but me being 9 and stupid i didn't realise he copped a hit but was hiding it. He calmly tells me that it's OFF and 'go on you can touch it, i did'.
I reached out and GRABBED it and nothing happened for a second and then WHAM ! I'm lying on the paddock with a sore arm and dad and my uncle are laughing their arses off. I never quite believed a thing my father said from that day onwards..............
I discovered 240V by literally poking a knife into a socket at age 11 - don't ask me why i did that because to this day i have no idea. Luckily for me i discovered the mesmerising joys of fire soon after so that probably saved my life as i didn't electrocute myself again until i was an adult. :thumbsup:

biggles words of wisdom:

Think once, think twice, think - don't poke metal things into power sockets !

 

[FastUno]

Master biggles, do you think you can do the same thing as you have done with your tank, but with a much smaller one. Lets say a 20 or 30g.

I would really like to try some of the heavier hitting corals in a smaller tank, away from my flubber tank. Do you think it is not worth to do it & that it is much harder or easier in 20-30g. I think that I would do water changes of 5g/week or 10g/two weeks.

I would only keep SPS's & no flubber with this tank. What do you think?

 

[biggles]

Master biggles, do you think you can do the same thing as you have done with your tank, but with a much smaller one. Lets say a 20 or 30g.

I would really like to try some of the heavier hitting corals in a smaller tank, away from my flubber tank. Do you think it is not worth to do it & that it is much harder or easier in 20-30g. I think that I would do water changes of 5g/week or 10g/two weeks.

I would only keep SPS's & no flubber with this tank. What do you think?

I think you could easily do the same thing with a little tank and i'd be inclined to forget the sump and skimmer and just use good LR to establish the bio filtration. A shrimp and one or two small fish and water changes will handle things fine i think. If you use a sump with a skimmer then it will be very easy to do. Proven LED lights make nano reefs a lot easier to manage i think.
What dimensions are you thinking mate.

 

[FastUno]

I am thinking of a 20g long to make it simpler. On one hand I want to just do water changes only, on the other hand I am sure it will be easier with a sump & skimmer on the system.

I will only be dosing 2 part & water changes. What would you do 5g/week or 10g every w weeks, or something different?

BTW, my Chinese light has these LED's.
6pcs Warm White(3500-4500K),
6pcs Neutral White(6500-7500K),
8pcs Cool White(10000-14000K),
2pcs Green 520nm,
2pcs Deep Red 660nm,
4pcs UV (400-420nm):
20pcs Blue 460nm,
7pcsRoyal Blue 450nm.


On the subject of coral placement on glass, I was always thinking one day I would do a black plexiglass back pane or cutting board black 1/4". I can use it to place many corals on the back panel & take it apart easily when tank needs to be sold.


2 percs, 1 angel, & coral banded shrimp is what I have on my other 29g tank now & I was thinking 2 maroon clowns, anthias, six line & another coral banded on this new one.