My SPS Reef - Take 2
- Thread starter Patrick Cox
- Start date
echopiece
Member
Looks great! Looks just like my tank 
I did the same thing with my TBS rock and made two little islands like that. My TBS rock has been in the tank for a little over 5 weeks now and it continues to look better by the day. I still have a few pistol shrimps clicking away and I know of 2 gorilla crabs hiding out. I'm on the hunt for them and hope to catch them before they get too big. I had one in plain site the other night and I had him with my large tweezers but he slipped away... I'll get em :uzi:
Keep up the good work!
I did the same thing with my TBS rock and made two little islands like that. My TBS rock has been in the tank for a little over 5 weeks now and it continues to look better by the day. I still have a few pistol shrimps clicking away and I know of 2 gorilla crabs hiding out. I'm on the hunt for them and hope to catch them before they get too big. I had one in plain site the other night and I had him with my large tweezers but he slipped away... I'll get em :uzi: Keep up the good work!
Patrick Cox
Active member
Looks great! Looks just like my tank
Keep up the good work!
Thanks! I believe I caught all of the gorilla crabs before adding my sand bed but I definitely have at least two shrimp. Will the shrimp end up being a problem or is it just the clicking sound to get used to?
I also have a small sea urchin that is pretty cool!
I do love this rock and I would not hesitate to use it again. Very happy.
Do you have a build thread? Would love to see your setup.
Thanks again!
echopiece
Member
The pistol shrimp will be fine. Mine click all the time
I too have a small black spined urchin which is cool.Here is a link to my thread. I need to update some photos as its been over a month since the last update.
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2507909&highlight=2014+st+judes
Patrick Cox
Active member
Well, I thought I would give a brief update on the tank. I finally got my old tank moved out of the temporary location in the family room so I was able to move my light over and any fish and corals that I was keeping from the old tank over to the new tank. So it is now full steam ahead. The tank is now on day 38 and the following are measurements from this morning...
Sal - 1.025
Alk - 8.4
Cal - 430
Mag - 1220 (This is a bit lower than I would like so I dosed some ESV Mag Supplement.)
Nitrate - 10
PO4 - 0.10
The Nitrate measurement is the same measurement I got back on March 4th so that is not starting to come down yet from the Zeovit dosing and water changes. The PO4 however was 0.28 on March 4th so I am making some progress there. I have been doing about 6% weekly water changes.
I have been getting some diatom I believe in the sand bed but I believe this is just new tank syndrome and will hopefully just run its course. I am a also noticing a small amount of algae growing on the glass but it is not too bad.
In the past couple of weeks I have added several frags from a LFS as well as the Fox Face. One thing I have noticed about this fish is it is a PIG! That fish would eat all day if I kept adding food! I have also ordered a frag pack from Battle Corals. Can't wait for that to arrive next week. Here are some recent pictures. Once I get all of my frags in place I will take some better close ups. I also ordered a top down photo tube that should arrive soon.
No pictures of sump and electrical yet as I am not quite finished. I have a new ATO and dosing containers ordered and once I have those in place I will take some pictures.
Thanks for following.
FTS (Still working on Coral Placement)
New Acro. Hoping it will color up once I get it moved up higher in the tank.
Stylo and Frog Spawn from my old tank
ORA Red Gonipora from my Old tank
Small Urchin that came with the Live Rock. I actually just saw a 2nd one that is half the size of this one. Not sure if I will keep them once they grow out. We will see.
Sal - 1.025
Alk - 8.4
Cal - 430
Mag - 1220 (This is a bit lower than I would like so I dosed some ESV Mag Supplement.)
Nitrate - 10
PO4 - 0.10
The Nitrate measurement is the same measurement I got back on March 4th so that is not starting to come down yet from the Zeovit dosing and water changes. The PO4 however was 0.28 on March 4th so I am making some progress there. I have been doing about 6% weekly water changes.
I have been getting some diatom I believe in the sand bed but I believe this is just new tank syndrome and will hopefully just run its course. I am a also noticing a small amount of algae growing on the glass but it is not too bad.
In the past couple of weeks I have added several frags from a LFS as well as the Fox Face. One thing I have noticed about this fish is it is a PIG! That fish would eat all day if I kept adding food! I have also ordered a frag pack from Battle Corals. Can't wait for that to arrive next week. Here are some recent pictures. Once I get all of my frags in place I will take some better close ups. I also ordered a top down photo tube that should arrive soon.
No pictures of sump and electrical yet as I am not quite finished. I have a new ATO and dosing containers ordered and once I have those in place I will take some pictures.
Thanks for following.
FTS (Still working on Coral Placement)
New Acro. Hoping it will color up once I get it moved up higher in the tank.
Stylo and Frog Spawn from my old tank
ORA Red Gonipora from my Old tank
Small Urchin that came with the Live Rock. I actually just saw a 2nd one that is half the size of this one. Not sure if I will keep them once they grow out. We will see.
Patrick Cox
Active member
Hi, thanks for posting. Yes, there is a lot of life on this rock and for me this is a good thing. I am sure that I am getting a much better start on this tank than my last tank that was started with Dry Pukani. I have not had near the algae issues at this stage with this tank vs my last one. And I have a much more diverse coralline algae population.
My main suggestion for using this rock if you are worried about critters is to start off with this rock in a bare bottom tank with nothing else in there and then take the time to find the critters and get them out. You can even "rinse" the rock in buckets of saltwater before putting in the tank to see if any critters will fall off. When I first put this rock in my tank I was easily able to find the larger crabs and get them out. And some even never made it out of the bag that the rock was shipped in. But in the end I did end up with at least one shrimp and a crab or two that I know of. In fact just this morning i was looking in the tank and saw a crab that I was able to grab with a pair of forceps. Right or wrong I am not too worried at this point. I am just moving forward with my tank and will address any issues that might pop up.
Good luck with your decision.
joshky
Acros & Wrasses
Beautiful start Patrick! Careful buying acro frags locally, I bought a really nice acro at KY Saltwater Supplies that was absolutely infested with AEFW, and I wasn't in the position to QT at the time so I tossed it. Otherwise it was an amazing specimen and I still regret my decision, but I just didn't want to risk it.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of your pack from Adam, I can't wait to make another order with him in the next couple of months.
Looking forward to seeing pictures of your pack from Adam, I can't wait to make another order with him in the next couple of months.
Patrick Cox
Active member
I sure hope so! That was my reason for using it.
Thanks! Yes, I have high hopes for that piece. And the tunicates are nice but they are slowly dying. I don't think they will last unfortunately.
No I am not. I have thought about that but have not really researched it.
Well, that is scary. That is where I bought several of my corals. I dipped them all in Coral RX and there were a bunch of critters that fell off. Does Coral RX generally take care of AEFW? If I inspect them what do I look for?
I did also just receive four corals from Unique Corals that look very good. I dipped them in Bayer because I bought a couple of smooth skinned corals and I did not really notice anything on those corals so I think their system is much more clean.
I will post pictures soon. i just bought a photo tube from Building an Obsession! :dance:
joshky
Acros & Wrasses
I use a magnifying glass to closely inspect all new frags under my T5s so I can see everything well, the frag that I bought had eggs on it and I actually saw a few adult worms too. I do this as a preliminary precaution, so I know what I'm getting myself into with the piece that I'm about to dip. From what I understand Coral RX is very similar to Bayer, so it should be fine as an alternative to kill already hatched AEFW, but eggs have to be manually removed one way or another. In the future be sure to break the frag plugs off, had I done this I probably could've skipped tossing my acro but after I saw eggs I sort of panic'd and told myself to move on. For now, if you're worried, inspect things while they're mostly frags and make it easy to defeat if need be.
Patrick Cox
Active member
Well, I noticed some what I believe to be diatom showing up in the sandbed about 2 weeks ago and I have performed two 6% water changes since then but it continues to be there. When I change water I also vacuum the sandbed. I guess this is normal but I can't remember how long it should last. Any ideas on that? Thanks.
Sorry for the picture quality. They are just iPhone pictures.
Sorry for the picture quality. They are just iPhone pictures.
Patrick Cox
Active member
Ok, thanks for your reply. My corals seem happy so that is good!
Patrick Cox
Active member
Just a quick update, I am starting to place some corals. Still dealing with diatom but I am trying to stay on top of it by stirring the sand to get it into the water column and into my skimmer. And then I am doing some extra water changes. I hope it runs its course soon!
I am also getting ready to change my light out for a new fixture. I am switching to an 8x54w ATI all T5 fixture. I am going to start out with 2 actinics for dawn/dusk and then I will run the other 6 bulbs during the day. I am hoping the larger fixture will spread light out across the tank a little more completely. I was worried about shadowing from my current fixture. Some of my corals are starting to brown but I am not trying to blast them with light yet. Waiting for the new fixture and also an order from Battle Corals. I hope to have the new fixture and corals installed in a couple of weeks and then I will start increasing light levels.
I am also working on a new salt water mixing station. Still in the planning stages though.
More updates to come...
I am also getting ready to change my light out for a new fixture. I am switching to an 8x54w ATI all T5 fixture. I am going to start out with 2 actinics for dawn/dusk and then I will run the other 6 bulbs during the day. I am hoping the larger fixture will spread light out across the tank a little more completely. I was worried about shadowing from my current fixture. Some of my corals are starting to brown but I am not trying to blast them with light yet. Waiting for the new fixture and also an order from Battle Corals. I hope to have the new fixture and corals installed in a couple of weeks and then I will start increasing light levels.
I am also working on a new salt water mixing station. Still in the planning stages though.
More updates to come...
Kbel1969
New member
Beautiful tank Patrick. I am also going straight t-5, I'm looking at a pacific sun diuna 8 bulb, with 4 channel electronic ballasts, and includes a moonlight led. Only problem is they are hard as heck to find. One question, I was debating whether to go with the 36 or 48 for my 4 foot tank, do you think your 36 created too much darkness on the sides? Also have you had any critters with your live rock that you have noticed? I definitely do not want bristle worms
