My JBJ 28gal Nano Build Thread

It's been a while since the last post,and not really sure where I left off. The Bartlett's anthias went carpet surfing, and the ORA striped blenny disappeared one night... Otherwise, all the corals are doing well. Red planet is encrusting like crazy so expect some nice tabling soon. Green planet is a little slower but doing well also. The ORA setosa is plating already, which is crazy because I thought they were slow growers. The ORA goni is also getting huge, and I love the color and movement.

This week I just added a midas blenny, ORA black & blue maxima, and an ORA Hawkins echinata. Really loving the way the tank is looking and can't wait to see more growth.

Also hoping that ORA starts sponsor in me since my tank seems to be almost 100% ORA (as have my past ones). :p
 
super nice of the LFS on everything except I hope they told you that lil damsel would claim the tank.... maybe that's just my experience but I used 1 on my 1st cycle and ended up breaking down a tank to get him out a year later :/ It's really according to which other fish if any you wanna add later-- nice looking so far
 
And you need one of these....
goldnugget_lg.jpg
 
moore1811 said:
Just stopping by to check on the build! A thorough update is due, sir!
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Wow, I really am behind on an update!!! LOL!

Ziggy953 said:
That is one heck of a journey you have had! Really cool to see the progress of the first tank and the rebirth with the new!
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Thanks for looking through!!

moore1811 said:
And you need one of these....
goldnugget_lg.jpg
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My LFS has both golden nuggets and the lightning maroons, but I've had ole Bambam for so long I don't think I could part with her to make room for other clowns!

mordibv said:
Just checking on you . U did a reboot ?
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Sure did, in an RL30. It was supposed to be an epic reboot, but hasn't ever come close to reaching the status of my NC28 for various reasons... :(

cherubfish pair said:
Wow ange, I haven't posted in your thread since 10/30/2011, shows how long I've been away from the nano forum. Subscribed again. :)
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Dang, that's a long time, welcome back!! You have missed quite a bit in that time!!! :)



So, the tank is still around. It doesn't get as much attention as it deserves, but overall things are doing pretty well. Tons of stuff has happened, so I will try to recap quickly.

Fish: I feel like I have had terrible luck with fish since my last update. The first midas blenny somehow managed to jump THROUGH my frag rack tank cover, found him crispy on the carpet. I replaced it with a 2nd and "Mantequilla" has been doing well since. Both clowns and angel are also doing well. I did have an awesome female leopard wrasse that was doing well for a few months then disappeared. Had a green mandarin for a few months, was doing well and eating pellets only to find it dead one morning. And I also picked up an insanely awesome wartskin angler, but he didn't make it long. I've kind of given up on fish for now....

Corals: All of the SPS is gone except for the red planet and setosa. The red planet was my nemesis in the NC28, I could grow anything EXCEPT for it. Well, quite the opposite seems to be true in the RL30. It's nearly encrusted the whole top shelf and still looks like a textbook red planet. The setosa has also grown a bunch and looks great. The ORA red goni has gotten huge, and I also added a green / purple tip torch that looks awesome. Rics are still there but I can't get them to grow like they did in the NC28.

Inverts: All the clams except the baby gold ORA are gone. Both the fireshrimp and cleaner shrimp are doing great, and I even noticed that there is still at least one sexy shrimp hiding in the tank (I thought they all died months ago!). I've added a tube anemone and started feeding both it and the two flower nems silversides soaked in Selco; they have been growing like crazy since I started that.

The GHA Debacle: I had a GHA problem that was so bad I nearly gave up and broke down the tank. I could literally pull out a quart every other week, I just couldn't understand it!! I was changing out the GFO regularly and decreased both light intensity and duration, all to no avail. I finally decided to get serious. I started ramping up Mg levels slowly to 1550, and also added a sea hare. Well the combination of the two seemed to work really well, and within a month 99.9% of the GHA was gone. It's definitely helped to renew my interest in the tank.

I'll work on getting some updated pictures this week. For now, I just have a couple to share:

Flower nems looking awesome under blue light:


My bi-weekly GHA harvest, think it's worth anything?!? :)
 
Nice work and build-up. Well done!

Question, have you had any trouble with salt accumulating along the sides of the tank rim? I have a 28G JBJ and it happens to me every few days and I need to clean up the salty drippings down the side. :(
 
drbeeker said:
Nice work and build-up. Well done!

Question, have you had any trouble with salt accumulating along the sides of the tank rim? I have a 28G JBJ and it happens to me every few days and I need to clean up the salty drippings down the side. :(
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Yep, it's a normal problem with any SW tank no matter the size, shape, or build. Good luck! It's also the reason most long term folks run an ATO, I'd look into one. Hit me up if you need advice.
 
Jeez, been so long since an update! Yes, tank is still running, and BamBam is still running the tank (my awesome SA fancy clown that I've had for 5yrs now, for those that don't remember).

Also have an SA Wyoming white, Juan Pablo, documented earlier. Other fish include a full grown flame angel (Archimedes) that been here about two years, a midas blenny (Manitquilla) who has been here nearly as long, and a recent add fireball angelfish that despite an early introduction gang beating pulled through and now loves her spot.

Mostly have switched to an anemone tank at this point. Have a tube nem, RBTA, and two rock flowers. And a random ORA red goni that's been here years.

Will have to post pics soon!
 
Thanks for the update.It has been awhile. Good to here from you again. Good luck.

Marty


ange062 said:
Jeez, been so long since an update! Yes, tank is still running, and BamBam is still running the tank (my awesome SA fancy clown that I've had for 5yrs now, for those that don't remember).

Also have an SA Wyoming white, Juan Pablo, documented earlier. Other fish include a full grown flame angel (Archimedes) that been here about two years, a midas blenny (Manitquilla) who has been here nearly as long, and a recent add fireball angelfish that despite an early introduction gang beating pulled through and now loves her spot.

Mostly have switched to an anemone tank at this point. Have a tube nem, RBTA, and two rock flowers. And a random ORA red goni that's been here years.

Will have to post pics soon!
Click to expand...
 
Been a long time since an update, so thought I'd check in. Tank is still up and running, though was neglected for months on end. Unfortunately, I had a huge GHA bloom which my sea hare cleared up quickly, only to reveal the underlying bubble algae. GHA solved, bubble algae not so much, still working on that.

Decided to finally pursue an anemone tank concept. Have a rainbow BTA, a rose long tip, green haddoni, and my long lived tube anemone in the tank now. The rockflowers that I started with are still in the tank but crawled into dark spots and have dwindled. Can't figure out how to move them because of their secluded location.

All 5 fish are alive and well. Both SA Clowns, fireball angel, flame angel, and Midas blenny. Both shrimp, skunk cleaner and fireshrimp, are also still rocking it.

I added a couple of anemone crabs with the haddoni, they have been a cool addition. Final addition is an ORA green nepthea. And my ORA red goni is still alive.

I added a biopellet reactor, to compliment my GFO and carbon reactors, and made a few changes to plumbing. I also bought the BRS 150GPD conversion for my RODI and added a bosster pump. The results were amazing! Pressure at my place is super low (20-25psi) so my RO was operating sub-par for years. At 90psi and dual membranes I have gone from 3hrs for a 5g bucket at 11tds to less than an hour at 3tds RO output. The second membrane is actually supposed to increase TDS slightly, so it's a win on all accounts.

Finally pics, likely all anyone cares about :)

Tube nem:


BTA and LTA:


Green nepthea:
 
ange062 said:
Been a long time since an update, so thought I'd check in. Tank is still up and running, though was neglected for months on end. Unfortunately, I had a huge GHA bloom which my sea hare cleared up quickly, only to reveal the underlying bubble algae. GHA solved, bubble algae not so much, still working on that.

Decided to finally pursue an anemone tank concept. Have a rainbow BTA, a rose long tip, green haddoni, and my long lived tube anemone in the tank now. The rockflowers that I started with are still in the tank but crawled into dark spots and have dwindled. Can't figure out how to move them because of their secluded location.

All 5 fish are alive and well. Both SA Clowns, fireball angel, flame angel, and Midas blenny. Both shrimp, skunk cleaner and fireshrimp, are also still rocking it.

I added a couple of anemone crabs with the haddoni, they have been a cool addition. Final addition is an ORA green nepthea. And my ORA red goni is still alive.

I added a biopellet reactor, to compliment my GFO and carbon reactors, and made a few changes to plumbing. I also bought the BRS 150GPD conversion for my RODI and added a bosster pump. The results were amazing! Pressure at my place is super low (20-25psi) so my RO was operating sub-par for years. At 90psi and dual membranes I have gone from 3hrs for a 5g bucket at 11tds to less than an hour at 3tds RO output. The second membrane is actually supposed to increase TDS slightly, so it's a win on all accounts.

Finally pics, likely all anyone cares about :)

Is that all Valonia ventricosa??
Barry
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Nice! I stumbled upon tube nems over christmas, ive got one now and I love it. Wish mine had a different colored mouth though. I want to get another

Does that flame angel ever pick at corals?
 
BarryV said:
ange062 said:
Is that all Valonia ventricosa??
Barry
Click to expand...

It is indeed, though it sounds much better when you say it like that... :)

Rotorocious said:
Nice! I stumbled upon tube nems over christmas, ive got one now and I love it. Wish mine had a different colored mouth though. I want to get another

Does that flame angel ever pick at corals?
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Yeah, the tube nem has been awesome to look at and also very easy to care for. I feed it maybe once a week, but it is also very good at snagging fish food not eaten by fish as it drops so it likely eats daily.

I've noticed the flame angel picking on my gorg (which I forgot to mention I had), but otherwise not really. I think all angels nip to some extent, but I've never had one kill a coral or clam in my tank.

SNAKEMANVET said:
Good to see you are still going. Trying to get my 28 to look yours.
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Hopefully like my old 28 in its SPS glory days, and not the new 30! LOL! :)
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