Reef Casa Studio 12 Rescape!
- Thread starter Reefing_Toronto
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Very nice
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
The Studio 12 is still growing in nicely. It's starting to consume more alkalinity so I may look at getting a dosing pump rather than adding it by hand throughout the week. All of the corals are still looking good and growing well. Although I like the Electric Daisy stylo on the top ledge may be getting too much light. I really want it up there so I am going to leave it and hope it adjusts. I also accidentally broke off a piece of the green goddess birdsnest so I glued it on the top ledge with the other little SPS pieces.
My rockflowers are on the move again and have decided to hang out in the back corner. I've decided not to bother trying to move them, they will go where they are going to go!
The next plan is to add a few mushrooms or something similar to the vertical ledges so they don't look so pronounced. I'm reluctant to do anything encrusting since I don't want them taking over the tank. Suggestions would be welcome!
My rockflowers are on the move again and have decided to hang out in the back corner. I've decided not to bother trying to move them, they will go where they are going to go!
The next plan is to add a few mushrooms or something similar to the vertical ledges so they don't look so pronounced. I'm reluctant to do anything encrusting since I don't want them taking over the tank. Suggestions would be welcome!
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Yes it is. Congratulations.
Looking great! And hmm non encrusting…perhaps a hammer or frogspawn mounted sideways or a red goni?
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
I was thinking maybe a frogspawn. I am putting a Goni in my other tank but I don’t want to feed this tank if I can avoid it… from what I understand Gonis need to be fed but the alveopora I have don’t. I know opinions vary.
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
and.... the RFAs are on the move again! It used to annoy me but now I just find it hilarious when I wake up in the morning to find them somewhere totally unpredictable. I am going to stop trying to move them back and just let them do their thing.
Right now I have 2 main focuses on this tank.. the first is to continue to cover up some of the vertical ledges so that they are less visible. I moved one of my acan frags off of the sandbed and attached it to the rockwork. I will let it grow for a couple of months and see how it does. If that doesn't work I will try the frogspawn that was suggested or maybe another avelopora. I added a zoa rock that wasn't doing great in my other tank to see if it's happier in this one. It still looks like it's "reaching" for more light but I'm hesitant to turn my lights up any higher. I will see how it goes.
My other main goal is to try and get the dosing down to more of a science rather than "I feel like I should add some All For Reef". I know how to calculate consumption rates for alkalinity but for some reason I have been reluctant to bother for this tank but I think it might be time. I may also get a single head dosing pump so automate the process.
In terms of issues I am finding that my sandbed is becoming dirty on an almost daily basis. I have a few nassarius snails but I am considering adding either a starfish or conch. I'm not sure if the tank is big enough for a sand sifting starfish and I'm worried that a conch will be a bulldozer and knock over my smaller frags. The one I have in my other tank doesn't stay on the sandbed and I am constantly re gluing corals that he knocks over.
Still very happy with the tank and no major issues this far... this little Studio 12 continues to impress.
Right now I have 2 main focuses on this tank.. the first is to continue to cover up some of the vertical ledges so that they are less visible. I moved one of my acan frags off of the sandbed and attached it to the rockwork. I will let it grow for a couple of months and see how it does. If that doesn't work I will try the frogspawn that was suggested or maybe another avelopora. I added a zoa rock that wasn't doing great in my other tank to see if it's happier in this one. It still looks like it's "reaching" for more light but I'm hesitant to turn my lights up any higher. I will see how it goes.
My other main goal is to try and get the dosing down to more of a science rather than "I feel like I should add some All For Reef". I know how to calculate consumption rates for alkalinity but for some reason I have been reluctant to bother for this tank but I think it might be time. I may also get a single head dosing pump so automate the process.
In terms of issues I am finding that my sandbed is becoming dirty on an almost daily basis. I have a few nassarius snails but I am considering adding either a starfish or conch. I'm not sure if the tank is big enough for a sand sifting starfish and I'm worried that a conch will be a bulldozer and knock over my smaller frags. The one I have in my other tank doesn't stay on the sandbed and I am constantly re gluing corals that he knocks over.
Still very happy with the tank and no major issues this far... this little Studio 12 continues to impress.
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Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Not much has changed in terms of the corals this week (this is becoming a recurring theme)
So this week I thought I'd share how I am trying to make my Neptune Apex do double duty and control two tanks.
After a scare with a heater in my larger system I decided to add both an inkbird controller to both tanks as well as an Apex. When I first started in the hobby I thought that an Apex was an unnecessary expense but as I've invested more and more time and resources into the tanks I changed my tune. Almost losing my larger system due to user error (yup. my fault) I decided that I had played with fire for long enough.
The system monitors the PH and temperature of my big tank but I have set it up to also control all the key parts of the Reef Casa studio tank as well. My Inkbird controller is Wifi and will send me a message if the temperature in the Studio 12 gets too high and I can turn off the heater remotely using the Apex (I know.. double redundancy) I have also set up a feed mode for the Studio 12 that will turn off the return pump (and have set it up to turn off the skimmer too once I get around to adding it)
I know I am just scratching the surface of what the Apex can do but it was a fun project to try and figure out some workarounds to allow me to make it do double duty on both tanks. I know I say now that I would neve bother to set it up to do an automatic water change.... but that would be very convenient! Who knows... maybe one day!
So this week I thought I'd share how I am trying to make my Neptune Apex do double duty and control two tanks.
After a scare with a heater in my larger system I decided to add both an inkbird controller to both tanks as well as an Apex. When I first started in the hobby I thought that an Apex was an unnecessary expense but as I've invested more and more time and resources into the tanks I changed my tune. Almost losing my larger system due to user error (yup. my fault) I decided that I had played with fire for long enough.
The system monitors the PH and temperature of my big tank but I have set it up to also control all the key parts of the Reef Casa studio tank as well. My Inkbird controller is Wifi and will send me a message if the temperature in the Studio 12 gets too high and I can turn off the heater remotely using the Apex (I know.. double redundancy) I have also set up a feed mode for the Studio 12 that will turn off the return pump (and have set it up to turn off the skimmer too once I get around to adding it)
I know I am just scratching the surface of what the Apex can do but it was a fun project to try and figure out some workarounds to allow me to make it do double duty on both tanks. I know I say now that I would neve bother to set it up to do an automatic water change.... but that would be very convenient! Who knows... maybe one day!
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Reefing_Toronto
Active member
I added a few new corals this week that weren't doing well in my other system. For some reason the Studio 12 seems to be a great hospital tank for corals that are unhappy in my larger system.
I had a large clove polyp and a red gonipora that were not happy so I have moved them over in hopes that they will do better in this tank. I have had success with moving acans into this tank in the past (and torches only seem to grow in this tank) so hopefully they will bounce back. I'm not sure why this is the case... it might be that the light is less intense or the water is a bit dirtier since I don't run a protein skimmer in this tank. In any case, it seems like a solid case for "simple is better" and hopefully they do well.
I lost one of my RFAs.. I'm not sure what happened to it but I came back from a weekend away and it was starting to decompose. The other one is doing fine so it's a bit of a mystery. In hindsight I don't think I would add RFAs in the future.. they move around too much and were far more high needs that I was looking for! I do, however, really like maxi-mini carpet anemones so I may add one of those in the near future.
The tank is still kicking along quite nicely, usually as the weather warms up my tanks go into "maintenance mode" and I add less in the summer when I am busier with other things but I'm sure there will be changes here and there over the summer months.
I had a large clove polyp and a red gonipora that were not happy so I have moved them over in hopes that they will do better in this tank. I have had success with moving acans into this tank in the past (and torches only seem to grow in this tank) so hopefully they will bounce back. I'm not sure why this is the case... it might be that the light is less intense or the water is a bit dirtier since I don't run a protein skimmer in this tank. In any case, it seems like a solid case for "simple is better" and hopefully they do well.
I lost one of my RFAs.. I'm not sure what happened to it but I came back from a weekend away and it was starting to decompose. The other one is doing fine so it's a bit of a mystery. In hindsight I don't think I would add RFAs in the future.. they move around too much and were far more high needs that I was looking for! I do, however, really like maxi-mini carpet anemones so I may add one of those in the near future.
The tank is still kicking along quite nicely, usually as the weather warms up my tanks go into "maintenance mode" and I add less in the summer when I am busier with other things but I'm sure there will be changes here and there over the summer months.
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That would be great. The tank seems to be proving that to be true.
Very nice! Sorry for the lost RFA but glad it didn’t nuke the tank
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
So the godzilla clove polyp that I added from my other tank is recovering well but the gonipora still looks pretty unhappy... I guess this tank isn't completely magic! I've never had any luck keeping gonipora in any of my previous tanks either... I guess they just aren't for me!
The NY Knicks torch hasn't been as extended as much as in the past.. I don't think anything is wrong with it but it doesn't seem as plump as before. I am starting to think that as the tank grows in I may want to consider upgrading the stock pump to a small Sicce pump. I don't want to add a wavemaker if I can avoid it but I think an upgrade to the return pump may help create a bit more water movement.
I am torn on whether or not I should be feeding this tank. Certainly the corals look happier when I feed but it does seem to lead to more algae issues. I think I will reduce feeding to once every week the day before a water change as opposed to twice a week like I do in my larger system.
Other than that all the corals are looking great and growing well. I'm super impressed with how well the SPS corals are doing and I'm considering adding a miyagi tort or similar to see if the Halo light can grow more light demanding SPS corals... I am pretty sure it will be able to.
I seem to be short a few members of my cleanup crew so it may be time for a trip to the LFS to pick up a few more snails to deal with the film alage that is forming on the back wall of the tank where I can't use the magnetic scraper.
All in all things are still going well!
The NY Knicks torch hasn't been as extended as much as in the past.. I don't think anything is wrong with it but it doesn't seem as plump as before. I am starting to think that as the tank grows in I may want to consider upgrading the stock pump to a small Sicce pump. I don't want to add a wavemaker if I can avoid it but I think an upgrade to the return pump may help create a bit more water movement.
I am torn on whether or not I should be feeding this tank. Certainly the corals look happier when I feed but it does seem to lead to more algae issues. I think I will reduce feeding to once every week the day before a water change as opposed to twice a week like I do in my larger system.
Other than that all the corals are looking great and growing well. I'm super impressed with how well the SPS corals are doing and I'm considering adding a miyagi tort or similar to see if the Halo light can grow more light demanding SPS corals... I am pretty sure it will be able to.
I seem to be short a few members of my cleanup crew so it may be time for a trip to the LFS to pick up a few more snails to deal with the film alage that is forming on the back wall of the tank where I can't use the magnetic scraper.
All in all things are still going well!
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Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Well the gonipora didn't make it.. I guess this tank isn't magic after all. I put it back in my big tank but it's not looking good... I have tried it in higher flow, lower flow, higher light, lower light, shadow and nothing seems to work.. I think this is going to go in the "Fail" pile.
I think my Cardinalfish definitely needs some company.. I know I have been thinking about this for a while and always talk myself out of another fish so I don't mess up the balance but I think I need to go for it. The corals look great but the tank needs a bit more life.
I think I've changed my mind about upgrading the pump.. as long as everything is looking good I don't want to make changes if there isn't a problem. If I start to notice that the corals are suffering from lack of flow then I will upgrade.
In terms of what to add I think I am going to snip a piece of either my birds of paradise or goldenrod anacropora to put on the top ledge. After that I am going to wait for the perfect small scoly or plate coral for the front right side and then may be about it. I've never actually "finished" a tank before so I'm not sure what to do when it's full. I know the answer is "just enjoy it" but I'm not sure that fits with my personality!
I think my Cardinalfish definitely needs some company.. I know I have been thinking about this for a while and always talk myself out of another fish so I don't mess up the balance but I think I need to go for it. The corals look great but the tank needs a bit more life.
I think I've changed my mind about upgrading the pump.. as long as everything is looking good I don't want to make changes if there isn't a problem. If I start to notice that the corals are suffering from lack of flow then I will upgrade.
In terms of what to add I think I am going to snip a piece of either my birds of paradise or goldenrod anacropora to put on the top ledge. After that I am going to wait for the perfect small scoly or plate coral for the front right side and then may be about it. I've never actually "finished" a tank before so I'm not sure what to do when it's full. I know the answer is "just enjoy it" but I'm not sure that fits with my personality!
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vlangel
Premium Member
I don't think "just enjoying" our tanks fits with most of our personalitites which is why we as aquarist seem to always be upgrading, downgrading, trying a tall tank, then a lagoon, buying this new pc of equipment or tech. Nope, most of us just are not content with "just enjoying"! LOL
So true! I'm trying to just enjoy
Reefing_Toronto
Active member
I think I've decided what I'm going to do! I am going to run the tank for about another year and enjoy it being "full" and then I'm going to repurpose it as a frag tank for some of the overgrowth in my larger system. The Halo light has been able to grow everything that I've tried so I'm sure it will make a great light for a small frag system.
To that end, I am planning a bit of a redesign over the next few weeks. I added a goldenrod anacropora from my other system this week. But that's not the exciting part. I have been trying to stock this tank with frags from my other thank to try and keep costs down but my local fish store (shout out to Fragbox) just got an amazing shipment in and there was a frogspawn that I couldn't resist... I think we all know that "I have to have that coral" feeling. I'm still arranging pickup but once I do there will be a little bit of re-organization to make room. I think I will move the flowerpot down to the sandbed and the acan over to make room below the two hammers but it's something I will probably have to decide in the moment once I have the coral.
Apart from that everything is looking good. I think I may be overdoing it with the feeding, I have a fair amount of film algae on the glass, rockwork and sandbed. I can blow it off with a turkey baster but I think I will reduce or eliminate feeding for the time being until it's under control.
Looking forward to adding the new coral and hoping to have an update to share next week!
To that end, I am planning a bit of a redesign over the next few weeks. I added a goldenrod anacropora from my other system this week. But that's not the exciting part. I have been trying to stock this tank with frags from my other thank to try and keep costs down but my local fish store (shout out to Fragbox) just got an amazing shipment in and there was a frogspawn that I couldn't resist... I think we all know that "I have to have that coral" feeling. I'm still arranging pickup but once I do there will be a little bit of re-organization to make room. I think I will move the flowerpot down to the sandbed and the acan over to make room below the two hammers but it's something I will probably have to decide in the moment once I have the coral.
Apart from that everything is looking good. I think I may be overdoing it with the feeding, I have a fair amount of film algae on the glass, rockwork and sandbed. I can blow it off with a turkey baster but I think I will reduce or eliminate feeding for the time being until it's under control.
Looking forward to adding the new coral and hoping to have an update to share next week!
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Reefing_Toronto
Active member
Thanks !Continue to love following this
