RocketEngineer's 75g/125g Setup

[RocketEngineer]

I was in your neck of the woods yesterday, along with others from my local club. We all went to Dr. Mac's, and it was even better than the last time I was there (maybe 4 years ago)!

I though their 6 display tanks were amazing. I now get the impression that only a fraction of their stock is listed on their website at any given time, even though we were told that 90% of their transactions occur online.

Anyhow, I ended up coming home with a good-sized maxima. It's pretty neat. Will you keep one or more of those in your new tank?

I was there yesterday as well. From my understanding, their stock listing is constantly being uploaded. If you look at what is available on any given day, it may not be there the next.

This is what I picked up:
Plating Montipora:

Another Brain Coral:

A fuzzy Acro:

A third acro:

A birds nest:

And a Neon Porites:

I got another coral but the pics didn't come out well. Will post pics of that later. I also picked up 6 small snails and two pounds of LR rubble.

Not bad for less than $90.

RocketEngineer

 

[jcw]

great color in that plating monti and birdsnest.

 

[iwishtofish]

You got some nice stuff, and yes, the price is right. I thought most things there were pretty reasonable, considering the quality. I may have missed something, but out of the thousands (literally) of corals I saw there, I didn't see anything that looked to be in bad shape.

About 2 hrs 15 min for me to drive there, but it was an easy drive. I'll probably show up more often if I see things I really want. Gas prices might change my mind, though!

I really like your plating monti.

 

[RocketEngineer]

great color in that plating monti and birdsnest.

The colors of these really attracted me to them.

You got some nice stuff, and yes, the price is right. I thought most things there were pretty reasonable, considering the quality. I may have missed something, but out of the thousands (literally) of corals I saw there, I didn't see anything that looked to be in bad shape.

About 2 hrs 15 min for me to drive there, but it was an easy drive. I'll probably show up more often if I see things I really want. Gas prices might change my mind, though!

I really like your plating monti.

I have seen a couple corals with damage on them but 99% of those were in the greenhouse after being fragged. He really does make sure what he sells is quality and well acclimated.

I can understand about being a drive. Then again I visit the two local Six Flags parks each summer and those are 3-4 hour drives. If you see something you like, you can always ask them about holding it for a few days. As long as it's not too long, I'm sure they can arrange something.

The neat thing about this round of corals is that they are all fragged from colonies Dr. Mac had in his greenhouse. These are all at least 2nd generation captive corals if not longer. If I can get the parameters back on track, the 125g should have some nice specimens when it gets set up.

RocketEngineer

 

[RocketEngineer]

Good, Bad, and Ugly.

Good, Bad, and Ugly.

Ugly: My Chaeto has totally collapsed. I used to have this big blob that took up most of the top of the refugium. Looking at it last night, there is a section about 3X3X6 sitting along the back wall of the refugium and much of that is a pale tan color. With nothing but the skimmer for nutrient export, I bet the levels in the tank are much higher than they should be.

Bad: The hair algae is still going strong and this weekend I spotted a few sections of cyano on the sand bed. Likely caused by the ugly.....

Good: I got new bulbs for the refugium. 5000K fluorescent spotlight bulbs from the big box store. They are slightly more powerful than the old ones and I hope that will help the chaeto recover. The original ones were two years old so that was probably the cause of the chaeto collapse.

Good: I got my latest order from BRS which includes a batch of magnesium supplement and GFO. Last night I got the phosphate reactor going again which should help take down the nutrient levels and hopefully get the hair algae back under control. Tonight I will see about making up a batch of magnesium and slowly bringing everything back in line with what it should be.

Lesson Learned: You can leave a tank on auto pilot for quite a while but eventually things go sideways and will need some help getting back to what they should be. Preventative maintenance is key to long term success.

RocketEngineer

 

[TheFishMan65]

I think you meant ugly, bad and good

Next time you try a little redder maybe 6500 depending on what else is in there. Redder is supposed to be better for algae growth.

 

[RocketEngineer]

I have a photo I call "Good, Bad and Ugly". Its me with my uncle and cousin. Depending on who you ask, the labels change.

Actually, redder would be 2700k instead. That's pretty yellow compared to a 5000K so I don't know how well that would work. If I could find 6500K, I would definitely prefer those but its hard enough finding something other than the 2700K.

 

[iwishtofish]

Lesson Learned: You can leave a tank on auto pilot for quite a while but eventually things go sideways and will need some help getting back to what they should be. Preventative maintenance is key to long term success.

RocketEngineer

Gospel. I really, really, ought to clean my skimmer pump. It's been running over a year, but, although it appears to be going strong, someday it won't.

I'm just afraid I'll screw it up, and then have NO skimmer.

It must be your lighting with regard to the chaeto demise, especially if your nutrients are high. It will be interesting to see what happens with the replacement light.

 

[TheFishMan65]

oops your right I got my number backwards. Thanks for correcting me.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Gospel. I really, really, ought to clean my skimmer pump. It's been running over a year, but, although it appears to be going strong, someday it won't.

I'm just afraid I'll screw it up, and then have NO skimmer.

It must be your lighting with regard to the chaeto demise, especially if your nutrients are high. It will be interesting to see what happens with the replacement light.

I clean my skimmer pump -every 4-6 months. A couple hour soak in a 5g bucket with vinegar and water works wonders to remove the crud from the outside, then its much easier to pull the face plate to get to the impeller. For my skimmer, the magnet is strong enough to require using a pair of needle nose pliers to get the impeller out but that's mainly because I can't grab the impeller with my fat fingers. Take your time and you should be able to do it without too much problem. If you do it Friday night, you can always get a temporary replacement somewhere on Saturday. Which reminds me, I should probubly do that soon......

The chaeto ball is pushing 4 years so it has to be the light. I will go to Dr. Mac's in the next few weeks and see about getting a fresh piece to reset the critter count. Given the relatively small size of our systems compared to the ocean, a population crash is just as possible as an infestation. Biodiversity is key.

RocketEngineer

 

[RocketEngineer]

Tonight I finally got around to testing my magnesium and got a reading of 1230 ppm. According to the BRS calculator, I need to dose ~500ml to get the tank to the 1300 ppm level. Given the size of the tank, I'm glad I got the magnesium supplement in bulk rather than the small bottles. I dosed 200 ml tonight and will measure tomorrow to see what it did. My goal is 1400 ppm. Hopefully then when I check alk and calcium the levels will be where they should be. Time to get things back to where they need to be.

 

[iwishtofish]

Yes, been there. Makes a difference.

 

[RocketEngineer]

200ml got me to 1260ppm, only one increment on the test kit. SO, another 300ml and we will see what tomorrow brings.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Introducing Cleo

Introducing Cleo

A little over two weeks ago, I adopted a grey tabby. Her name is Cleo and she has been tearing around the house, disturbing the dog and watching the fish since she got home.

She likes the high ground:

That's behind my chair over my head. She hasn't landed on my head yet but I can see it happening eventually.

Curiosity can get you into trouble......

Crap...

Back away sslloowwllyy.

 

[RocketEngineer]

Dog: "What is the cat doing now?"

What are you doing?

Lets Play.

Just hanging around.

 

[iwishtofish]

Beautiful cat!

 

[ebward]

I am new to the hobby and new to the forum. I am having a 180 gal 6' x 2' x 2' saltwater tank installed into a wall by professionals. However the under structure must be built by me as well as the wall itself. I need specs and advice for the stand inside the wall. I thought steel studs would be the best to handle the weight. But after some reading about corrosion from saltwater I am not so sure. Am I asking for too much?? I have never posted on a forum before.....

 

[screamingibis]

I'm no expert, but I would probably double up 2x2's on the corners in L shape for vertical four corners and then support with one 2x2 along the 6' length on both sides. If you go to the DIY section of this forum, there should be plenty of ideas. Also, go to search stands in the search.

 

[screamingibis]

btw, rocket, nice tank. been following your thread for a while now, as I have a 60 cube and similar setup. don't let us down with the hair algae, ha ha

 

[RocketEngineer]

ebward and screamingibis,

THIS IS NOT THE STAND THREAD. Please relegate stand commentary to the thread in the DIY section.

Thanks,
RocketEngineer