ojonas JBJ 28g build thread
- Thread starter ojonas81
- Start date
Went to my trusty LFS today and ended up with three frags with me back home. One small red Monti and and 2 I don't know the name of more than that they are ORA. Can anyone help me with names. I will probably give the 2 new SPS a central location in the tank.
Red Monti
Unknown SPS ORA frags. Does these looks familiar to anyone?
I also have 2 older corals that I still don't know what they are called. One type of stony coral and one softie which I think is a Toadstool but I am not sure.
Stony coral but don't know the name.
Is this a Toadstool?
Red Monti
Unknown SPS ORA frags. Does these looks familiar to anyone?
I also have 2 older corals that I still don't know what they are called. One type of stony coral and one softie which I think is a Toadstool but I am not sure.
Stony coral but don't know the name.
Is this a Toadstool?
Still fighting milky water issue. This is really starting to drive me nuts. The tank looks good but is drawn down because of that the water is not very clear at all. Will do a test to put a frag over one of the holes I have seen sand been blown out from to see if that helps. If not, I am thinking of taking out the rock that contains whatever animal that is blowing the sand around and let him face its destiny; a new tank or ...
Finally pulled the trigger and ordered the AquaMaxx HOB-1 skimmer and a Phosban 150 reactor. Should be here in a week or so. Hope that will do wonders for my growth.
Did leave the tank by itself over the holiday (gone for 5 days) and it seemed to have survived. Nothing dead although I did have some extra algae growth on the glass so I think I have been feeding too much with my automatic feeder. Will do a thorough clean when I get home from work tonight.
Did leave the tank by itself over the holiday (gone for 5 days) and it seemed to have survived. Nothing dead although I did have some extra algae growth on the glass so I think I have been feeding too much with my automatic feeder. Will do a thorough clean when I get home from work tonight.
A small picture update. Have done some minor rearrangements in the tank. Did not like the location of the green coral I had in the front so it had to go to the back of the tank and seem to do very well so far. I also moved my Xenia. Don't think it really liked being in the direct path of the MP10 under full blast. Moved it to a calmer location. That opened up a prime spot for SPS and after a recent LFS visit I added a, what I think, a ORA Hyacinth Birdsnest. It is by far the biggest SPS I have so far. Got it for $30 which I think was a good deal.
Think I lost my Fire Shrimp over the Christmas holiday. Have not been able to find him since i got back so he is probably dead. Don't know what killed him though. He did very fine just before we left. Could Serpent stars potentially kill a big Fire shrimp?
Here are some pictures of the current status of the tank. First some FTS.
FTS under blue LED.
FTS under blue LED, side view.
FTS during daylight.
FTS under daylight, side view.
And now some coral shots.
ORA Hyacinth Birdsnest
Green Stylophora.
Think I lost my Fire Shrimp over the Christmas holiday. Have not been able to find him since i got back so he is probably dead. Don't know what killed him though. He did very fine just before we left. Could Serpent stars potentially kill a big Fire shrimp?
Here are some pictures of the current status of the tank. First some FTS.
FTS under blue LED.
FTS under blue LED, side view.
FTS during daylight.
FTS under daylight, side view.
And now some coral shots.
ORA Hyacinth Birdsnest
Green Stylophora.
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Humilis Acropora.
ORA Hawkins Echinata.
Ponape Birdsnest.
Green Toadstool.
Torch at its new location in the sand.
Unknown polyp. Does anyone know what kind this is?
Green Hammer.
Xenia at its new location back in the tank.
Zoos. This is a growth comparison. Right is from 11/26/2011 and the left image is from 12/30/2011.
Sorry for some of the crappy images. I still have not mastered picture taking under LEDs. Hope to get a macro lens as well sometime early next year.
My Phosban reactor arrived today but won't be able to hook it up until mid January. Waiting for some plumbing parts that I need first.
Finally back from a 10 day business trip. Tank was still looking very good thanks for my awesome wife.
Spent most of the Saturday to hook up the PhosBan reactor and the skimmer. Was a little tight but after some frustration and minor tweaks I got it all in place. The reactor worked right out of the box.
The skimmer was a different ballgame. It was bigger than I expected when hung in place it prohibits the inTank Mediabasket to be removed unless the skimmer it removed. Not a big issue and I don't remove the Mediabasket that often.
Had to fool around with the return from the skimmer some in order to get it somewhat silent. Still makes some sound but not so much that it is bothering me.
I don't know if it is just me having trouble positioning the skimmer cup at the correct height but so far over the weekend I had to empty out the cup 3 times a day. The waste in the cup was liquid and not as solid as I would have expected it to me. The liquid had a nasty yellowish tint to it so I guess it started to pull out some stuff right out of the box. Does anyone know how the waste product should look like, hot solid/liquid it should be? I also need to see if I can modify the return even further because right now it is prohibiting me from opening the lid even to the first notch.
I also added an Emerald crab to take care of a minor outbreak of bubble algae and a ORA Orchid dottyback. He looks awesome and is really active in the tank.
On another note, my clowns still only swim up front against the glass all the way up to the top. Have done this since day one. Have not been able to figure out why. Any ideas?
I will add pictures later today or tomorrow on the skimmer and reactor setup.
Spent most of the Saturday to hook up the PhosBan reactor and the skimmer. Was a little tight but after some frustration and minor tweaks I got it all in place. The reactor worked right out of the box.
The skimmer was a different ballgame. It was bigger than I expected when hung in place it prohibits the inTank Mediabasket to be removed unless the skimmer it removed. Not a big issue and I don't remove the Mediabasket that often.
Had to fool around with the return from the skimmer some in order to get it somewhat silent. Still makes some sound but not so much that it is bothering me.
I don't know if it is just me having trouble positioning the skimmer cup at the correct height but so far over the weekend I had to empty out the cup 3 times a day. The waste in the cup was liquid and not as solid as I would have expected it to me. The liquid had a nasty yellowish tint to it so I guess it started to pull out some stuff right out of the box. Does anyone know how the waste product should look like, hot solid/liquid it should be? I also need to see if I can modify the return even further because right now it is prohibiting me from opening the lid even to the first notch.
I also added an Emerald crab to take care of a minor outbreak of bubble algae and a ORA Orchid dottyback. He looks awesome and is really active in the tank.
On another note, my clowns still only swim up front against the glass all the way up to the top. Have done this since day one. Have not been able to figure out why. Any ideas?
I will add pictures later today or tomorrow on the skimmer and reactor setup.
ange062
New member
I use a rectangle shaped sponge on the pump chamber for the HOB-1 return to spill onto, it's pretty much dead silent. You can get it bulk at just about any LFS for a couple of bucks.
If you are skimming that wet and having to empty that often, raise up the cup! Skimming depends on preference, some people like to skim very dry and others very wet, I personally like it right in the middle so I get a nice dark brown but still liquid skimmate. I'd say I empty the cup every 2-3 days but it's only half full at best. It seems some people with newer tanks have a lip on the back chamber that necessitates either cutting this lip or shortening the pipes on the intake and return to allow the lid to lift properly. Search seems to be down or I would provide a link.
And clowns are funny, just give them time and they will find something else they like. You can always try to entice them with an RBTA or a similar looking coral substitute. My clown ended up falling in love with a zoa patch since I don't want a nem in my tank.
If you are skimming that wet and having to empty that often, raise up the cup! Skimming depends on preference, some people like to skim very dry and others very wet, I personally like it right in the middle so I get a nice dark brown but still liquid skimmate. I'd say I empty the cup every 2-3 days but it's only half full at best. It seems some people with newer tanks have a lip on the back chamber that necessitates either cutting this lip or shortening the pipes on the intake and return to allow the lid to lift properly. Search seems to be down or I would provide a link.
And clowns are funny, just give them time and they will find something else they like. You can always try to entice them with an RBTA or a similar looking coral substitute. My clown ended up falling in love with a zoa patch since I don't want a nem in my tank.
Posted this over at the invert section but thought I would put it here as well. Any input would be helpful.
I used to have very good luck with shrimps. Used to have one skunk cleaner, one fire shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 pistol shrimps. Started just before Christmas with the disappearance of my fire shrimp. First thought he was molting but when he did not come out after a week I started to think he had died. the peppermint shrimps all of a sudden disappeared as well with no explanation. Last week the same happened to my trusty skunk cleaner.
Last weekend I added a new Fire shrimp and he seemed OK after the acclimatizing. The next morning he was gone as well. He could still be molting but I have not seen a trace of him so I fear the worst. What could explain this?
My water parameters as of yesterday is:
Temp: 78.5
S.G 1.026
Alk.: 6.2
Ca: 565
Mg: 1550
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Phos: 0.25
I used to have very good luck with shrimps. Used to have one skunk cleaner, one fire shrimp, 2 peppermint shrimp and 2 pistol shrimps. Started just before Christmas with the disappearance of my fire shrimp. First thought he was molting but when he did not come out after a week I started to think he had died. the peppermint shrimps all of a sudden disappeared as well with no explanation. Last week the same happened to my trusty skunk cleaner.
Last weekend I added a new Fire shrimp and he seemed OK after the acclimatizing. The next morning he was gone as well. He could still be molting but I have not seen a trace of him so I fear the worst. What could explain this?
My water parameters as of yesterday is:
Temp: 78.5
S.G 1.026
Alk.: 6.2
Ca: 565
Mg: 1550
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Phos: 0.25
ange062
New member
Alk is low (should be 8-10), Ca is high (should be 450), Mg is a little high (should be 1350), Phos is high (should be 0), and nitrates are pretty high (should be 0).
I honestly doubt if any of these things would cause invert deaths though, you probably have a crab eating them.
I honestly doubt if any of these things would cause invert deaths though, you probably have a crab eating them.
I raised the alkalinity after the measurements yesterday and is not around 9. I don't really understand how the Ca and Mg can be that high. I don't dose for it and did only a minor water change this weekend. I have had issues with the Red Sea test kits, especially with the Mg test constantly showing up too high.
I hope to get the nitrites and phosphates down to 0 soon. Added the skimmer and my PhosBan reactor during the weekend so hopefully they will take care of it. I also replaced the Purigen in my Mediabasket which I hope will help.
I hope to get the nitrites and phosphates down to 0 soon. Added the skimmer and my PhosBan reactor during the weekend so hopefully they will take care of it. I also replaced the Purigen in my Mediabasket which I hope will help.
Rechecked the Ca and Mg levels last night and this just gets more confusing. The CA is now 650 and Mg almost 1600. I checked the Ca with two different test kits (API and Red Sea) and both showed highwer than the day before. I have not done any dosing for Ca (only dosed a small dose for Alk).
How can the Ca raise by itself? Am I doing something wrong?
How can the Ca raise by itself? Am I doing something wrong?
I might have an answer to why the shrimps are disappearing. Went to my LFS yesterday to have my water tested by someone else then me and it turned out that my refractometer was off by 2 points. I read 1.026 when the water actually was 1.28 which is very high for shrimps. I also had a very high level of Ca and Mg for no apparent reason (I don't dose for those).
So I hope that by fixing the water parameters I might be able to have shrimps again. I also found this guy in my tank and he might be the explanation why even the shrimp bodies are nowhere to be found.
Going to try to get rid of him with a trap. Have just not figured out how since he is so freakin huge.
It could still be the pistol and if it comes down to it I might just have to give him away to make room for my cleaner and fire shrimps.
So I hope that by fixing the water parameters I might be able to have shrimps again. I also found this guy in my tank and he might be the explanation why even the shrimp bodies are nowhere to be found.
Going to try to get rid of him with a trap. Have just not figured out how since he is so freakin huge.
It could still be the pistol and if it comes down to it I might just have to give him away to make room for my cleaner and fire shrimps.
ange062
New member
That's a sweet bristle worm! I've never seen them attack anything though, most likely he will just clean up the already dead bodies. Though now that I think about it, I haven't seen a single bristle worm in my tank since I added a neon dottyback...
It's weird that your levels are increasing. Maybe you should switch to a non-reef salt (like regular old Instant Ocean) until you have more stock that will consume the Ca/Alk/Mg.
It's weird that your levels are increasing. Maybe you should switch to a non-reef salt (like regular old Instant Ocean) until you have more stock that will consume the Ca/Alk/Mg.
The problem is that I, should have know better, actually are using a non-reef salt from the beginning. Read wrong on the bucket so I am using salt for a fish only tank. Makes it even harder to understand why the values are so high.
I do have a "nice" alkalinity drop on a daily basis and I dose for that to compensate.
I do have a "nice" alkalinity drop on a daily basis and I dose for that to compensate.
