Nothing yet, but I've got Velko looking for a few wish list wrasses for me. 
Reeferhead's 150DD Build
- Thread starter Reeferhead
- Start date
It went to AT for store credit as well.
With the Hawkfish finally out of the tank the Barlett is coming out to eat. Its a good thing I got rid of that bastage, I just now noticed half of the anthias's caudal fin is gone. 
He looks to be a trooper though and should be ok.
He looks to be a trooper though and should be ok.
What Magnum? I'm using a Water blaster 5000 for the return pump if thats what you're referring to.
Oh yeah sorry, works great, in fact thanks for reminding me, I need to vacuum this weekend.
I added a Aiptasia Eating Filefish a little over a week ago. So far, I haven't noticed any change in the amount of aiptasia but all my Acans and gorgonian are closed up.
I await the "I told you so's" :lol:
I await the "I told you so's" :lol:
I think I may pull the acans out and give the filefish a couple more weeks to develop a taste for aiptasia. I'm not hopeful but its worth a shot. I may end up getting a kleins before its all said and done.
Well, the filefish is in an isolation box waiting to go back to AT when they're open tomorrow. its fate was cealed was when it started nipping at my bleeding heart scoly and eating the mouths right out of my chalices. I already have a replacement in QT, a Kleins from my weekend trip to Seascape.
This was the easiest fish I've ever caught. I put the fish trap in the tank last night just so the fish could get used to it. I figured I would try baiting it tonight. No need, the filefish was sleeping in the fish trap this morning. :lol: Perhaps, it doesn't want to be in my tank either.
This was the easiest fish I've ever caught. I put the fish trap in the tank last night just so the fish could get used to it. I figured I would try baiting it tonight. No need, the filefish was sleeping in the fish trap this morning. :lol: Perhaps, it doesn't want to be in my tank either.
Acans are starting to open up again and the gorgonian looks much better. The Kleins seems to be doing quite well in QT with the Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse I got at the last PN. I'll likely add them both to the main tank in 2-3 weeks.
Every 3-4 months I reread this entire thread. I can't express enough how valuable I find documentation to my success in this hobby. It's a huge advantage to be able to go back and see when I changed something and what the possible short and long-term changes were. Also, listing problems I had and the steps I took to fix them. I would highly suggest that even if you don't want to share every single detail of your tank to the world like I have, that you at least maintain a tank journal compete with pictures. I love to going back and examining old coral pictures and cross referencing them with this thread and my water quality logbook. Lots of useful information, well worth the time invested IMO.
That said, there are a few useful notes I'd like to add of changes I've made and/or lessons I've learned that I may or may not have noted in this thread"¦
1.) I believe the reason I had so much difficulty early on with my Ca/ALK, losing SPS, seizing pumps, and clumping GFO was because I didn't have a clear understanding of how to properly balance Ca, Alk, and Mg supplements by dosing and the extreme limitations of our hobbyist test kits. I was chasing numbers, increasing the dose rate of Alk when it was low and when Ca was high, and vise versa. This caused a ratcheting effect on the amount I was dosing without ever achieving proper balance. I wasted a lot of baking soda and driveway heat early on due to precipitation even though I had seemingly normal Alk readings of 9-10. Also, the fact that I didn't understand dosing pumps could drift so much in their flow rate over time exacerbated this issue.
I cut my dosing down to a 3rd of what it is now. I recheck the flow rate on the dosing pumps every three months. I don't let a single test dictate a change in my dosing rate. If something seems a little off, I wait a week, test and again, and adjust the rate if I can determine a real trend. When I make an adjustment now, it's always a small one, and I ensure its chemically balanced. No more chasing numbers!
2.) The older Waterblaster pumps were crap. I had two last less than 5 months a piece. However, Coralvue's customer service is great. They replaced both pumps and the newly designed impellers seem to be vastly improved.
3.) I stated this earlier but unless you're planning a DSB, fine sand has no place in an SPS display. You just can't get enough flow without it moving around and it traps detritus and encourages cyano. In addition, shallow sand beds need to be vacuumed to stay looking their best.
4.) I added a eggcrate box of LR rubble to my coral quarantine tank. Even with the automated daily 25% water changes from my display it just could not maintain stability as a barren glass tank.
5.) I regret using Marco rock. Not because it's dry but because it's too "œchunky" and doesn't have enough large holes for fish to hide out in and feel comfortable. I wish I would have spend more time and found better more uniquely shaped dry rock with bigger holes. I ended up adding a few more pieces of old live rock to provide more hiding spots. However, this added rock needs to sit on the sand which partly defeats my original goal of minimizing sand/rock contact with the peg system. I'm going to get more trapped detritus but it a tradeoff I'm willing to make at this point.
6.) I wish I had a larger GFO reactor. The BRS unit realistically only holds two cups. I wish I had room for at least three. I may end up replacing it at some point.
7.) I want all LEDs now. :lol: If the Ecotech Radions were compatible with my Apex I would order two of them today! Beth and I hate running the AC in the summer. I would really like to be able to maintain an ambient temp of 80 in the summer. This can't be done with the MHs unless I blast the tank with fans.
Well, that was a lot of text without any pictures for a build thread. I don't really expect many to read it all but if you do I hope it helps. If nothing else I'm sure it will help me in the future.
Later
That said, there are a few useful notes I'd like to add of changes I've made and/or lessons I've learned that I may or may not have noted in this thread"¦
1.) I believe the reason I had so much difficulty early on with my Ca/ALK, losing SPS, seizing pumps, and clumping GFO was because I didn't have a clear understanding of how to properly balance Ca, Alk, and Mg supplements by dosing and the extreme limitations of our hobbyist test kits. I was chasing numbers, increasing the dose rate of Alk when it was low and when Ca was high, and vise versa. This caused a ratcheting effect on the amount I was dosing without ever achieving proper balance. I wasted a lot of baking soda and driveway heat early on due to precipitation even though I had seemingly normal Alk readings of 9-10. Also, the fact that I didn't understand dosing pumps could drift so much in their flow rate over time exacerbated this issue.
I cut my dosing down to a 3rd of what it is now. I recheck the flow rate on the dosing pumps every three months. I don't let a single test dictate a change in my dosing rate. If something seems a little off, I wait a week, test and again, and adjust the rate if I can determine a real trend. When I make an adjustment now, it's always a small one, and I ensure its chemically balanced. No more chasing numbers!
2.) The older Waterblaster pumps were crap. I had two last less than 5 months a piece. However, Coralvue's customer service is great. They replaced both pumps and the newly designed impellers seem to be vastly improved.
3.) I stated this earlier but unless you're planning a DSB, fine sand has no place in an SPS display. You just can't get enough flow without it moving around and it traps detritus and encourages cyano. In addition, shallow sand beds need to be vacuumed to stay looking their best.
4.) I added a eggcrate box of LR rubble to my coral quarantine tank. Even with the automated daily 25% water changes from my display it just could not maintain stability as a barren glass tank.
5.) I regret using Marco rock. Not because it's dry but because it's too "œchunky" and doesn't have enough large holes for fish to hide out in and feel comfortable. I wish I would have spend more time and found better more uniquely shaped dry rock with bigger holes. I ended up adding a few more pieces of old live rock to provide more hiding spots. However, this added rock needs to sit on the sand which partly defeats my original goal of minimizing sand/rock contact with the peg system. I'm going to get more trapped detritus but it a tradeoff I'm willing to make at this point.
6.) I wish I had a larger GFO reactor. The BRS unit realistically only holds two cups. I wish I had room for at least three. I may end up replacing it at some point.
7.) I want all LEDs now. :lol: If the Ecotech Radions were compatible with my Apex I would order two of them today! Beth and I hate running the AC in the summer. I would really like to be able to maintain an ambient temp of 80 in the summer. This can't be done with the MHs unless I blast the tank with fans.
Well, that was a lot of text without any pictures for a build thread. I don't really expect many to read it all but if you do I hope it helps. If nothing else I'm sure it will help me in the future.
Later
Schplitter
New member
Check this out: http://www.manhattanreefs.com/lighting
Those lights are not exactly great for your tank. Kick on the AC haha.
Sorry, I'm not sure where exactly on Sanjay's your pointing me. Do you think the Radions don't have enough penetration because of their choice of wide optics? If I ever get them they'll be hung very low = short canopy
Similar threads
