Step-by-step account of my first reef (with lots of pics)

[gary faulkner]

thedude15810 and bcoons,

I am glad to here this as I would love to have a Royal Gramma.

I also have a Blue Maxama Clam, is the Gramma ok here also?

Dudester

Great pics and I can't tell you how much I enjoy this thread.

Thanks again

 

[melev]

The frogspawn is not happy. When it is forming a new head, you'll see a full head with a bubble appearing in the center. Either the flow on one side is too strong for some reason, or something is stinging/picking at it.

The favites look perfect. If you want, try feeding it at night. Turn off the pumps, target feed some mysis & cyclop-eeze with a turkey baster, and then restart the pumps 45 minutes later. DON'T FORGET!

Your A. tenuis appears to be very light in color to me, but very pretty just the same.

Nice pictures.

 

[alexk3954]

thanks for the help on the fish list dudester. So you think 4 fish would be good for my setup? Since it looks like a no on the chromis because of their need of a group, do you think I could get a green clown goby? They stay pretty small don't they? Or would you strongly reccomend sticking with 4 fish.

BTW, I really like your corals. The favites is absolutely gorgeous. Is that a lettuce nudi in the second picture of the maroon algae? That thing is very interesting. Do you think I could add one to my setup, or do they only eat bryopsis? I have heard that nudibranchs tend to eat only one specific type of thing and starve to death rather easily.

I was also curious as to why you reccomended adding the open brain last. Is it aggressive, or does it jsut require more stable conditions than the other corals. I was under the impression that it doesn't matter what order you add corals in, but it it very important where you place them.

 

[Dudester]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7405905#post7405905 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by gary faulkner
Great pics and I can't tell you how much I enjoy this thread.

Glad you're enjoying the thread, and it's comments like this that add the fuel - thanks.

melev - Very insightful comments, thanks as always. The frogspawn has looked that way since the beginning of April. It hasn't gotten any better or any worse. There are no corals within 6" of the frogspawn, and those are only small acro frags that can't sting it. I guess that half died. Think I should leave it as is?
My food mixture contains cyclopeeze and mysis already, but I'll go ahead and try to target feed the favites at night like you suggest. Fortunately my ReefKeeper has a feed mode so I won't have to worry about turning the pumps back on. I know how painful it must be for you to have to relive that nightmare, but all's well that ends well.
You're right about the a. tenuis, and quite frankly, the same goes for all of my acro frags. They just don't have the popping colors that I see in other tanks. As you know, I'm struggling to keep my calcium and alkalinity where I want them, and this may be a factor. I recently started adding iodine (Lugol's solution), 1 drop per week, and maybe this will help a bit? I can't blame my light (250W Phoenix 14K) since lots of folks get excellent coloration with this bulb. I'm not quite sure, but I hope the coloration of my acros improves.

Alex - You could do 4 or 5 fish, depending on what else is in the tank. Since you're new, you should stick with a lower number and increase based on your results. Personally, I've had no success keeping more than 2 fish in my 30g tank thus far, and my tank has been running for almost 8 months now. I don't know anything about the green clown goby, but most gobys are good residents of small tanks like ours.
Yes, that's a lettuce nudi in that photo. It is quite interesting, but if I didn't have bryopsis, I'd never get one. They require a tremendous amount of babysitting. I'm constantly rescuing them from my overflow and closed loop drain pipe. Their life span is limited, and I'm going to great pains to keep the remaining 2 that I have alive in order to control my bryopsis.
The recommendation on the open brain is based on the fact that it's a stony coral and it requires some stable tank conditions. You should be comfortable with reef husbandry before assuming care of a coral like this, IMO. Placement is indeed important, but you should also start with easier and hardier corals (like softies) before going to stony corals. Again, just my opinion, but this approach seems to work for many.

 

[melev]

Could you post your current water parameters again, and explain what kind of swing you seem to be contending with? Maybe I can help.

Btw, once you get good at reef husbandry, you can have more fish in your tank. My 29g had 9 fish in it. Here's the last shot of it before it was taken down and transferred into my 280g reef.

 

[Dudester]

melev - Those colors are so bright it burns my eyes . I'd be psyched if my tank colors were even half as vibrant.
I just tested my water parameters before checking this thread. Here they are as of 5 minutes ago:

temp 80.6 (ranges from 79.9-81.0)
s.g. 1.027 (will do a water change and get this down to 1.026)
pH ~8.2 (Salifert), 8.25 (PinPoint monitor)
Ca 415
alk 8.0 dKH
nitrate 0
phosphate 0

All of the parameters have been quite stable except for the calcium, which fluctuates from around 385-415. Now that I'm consistently adding 45ml of B-Ionic daily, the calcium level has been higher. I've never tested magnesium. I am running both Purigen and carbon in my sump 24/7, and I'm familiar with the recent data on using less carbon and only a few days at a time (although I can't cite the article right now); I'm thinking of switching to that method soon. Can I give you any more information?

p.s.

once you get good at reef husbandry, you can have more fish in your tank

What am I doing wrong ?

 

[melev]

You water sounds perfect to me, and the calcium levels may fluctuate based on how much is being taken up by livestock, even based on time of day. I used to test at the same time (1pm every Saturday) and that way the numbers trend toward consistency.

It isn't that you may be doing something wrong, but only a few fish in a tank is never much fun for me. I prefer a lot of fish. To be honest, my 280g looks a tad empty with only 14 fish right now, but I'm not really inclined to add more at this point. I do miss the insane activity I had when there were 29 fish in there a year ago.

 

[alexk3954]

Wow melev, that 29 was amazing! I am a bit worried about mushrooms taking over my tank like that in time. Are they relatively easy to remove?

 

[melev]

No, and they were a major pain. Don't put any in your tank. :lol:

 

[kahurunitahi]

Dudester,

Your step by step account of your first reef has been an eye opener!

For the past 6 months me and my partner have been thinking about setting up a saltwater tank, and it has only been the past week I have started researching it and your thread has been the most useful! I live in Australia and every marine shop keeper has something different to say about the first set up of a marine tank... I think I have a lot more researching to do before we jump in to it because I can see that there is a lot involved.

We currently have a tank that is getting a light holder build on to it, which should be finished by the end of the week. How much research and preperation did you do before getting stuck right into it? We currently have 4 freshwater tanks, which are always running perfectly. But we both know that saltwater is more involved.

Any more information on the initial set up would be great! And also, what you think we should start off with once the tank is ready to have things introduced to it.

 

[Dudester]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7412882#post7412882 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
To be honest, my 280g looks a tad empty with only 14 fish right now, but I'm not really inclined to add more at this point. I do miss the insane activity I had when there were 29 fish in there a year ago.

I've seen videos of your tank, and even with only 14 fish there's still quite a bit of activity.


kahurunitahi
<img src="/images/welcome.gif" width="500" height="62"><br><b><i><big><big>To Reef Central</b></i></big></big>

Nice of you to place your first RC post on this thread, and I'm happy that you find it valuable. You're wise to research the issues before taking the plunge into marine aquaria. I researched the topic for well over a year before spending a dime on anything other than books (and my RC Premium Membership, of course). Read all of threads that you can in the "New To The Hobby" forum, ask tons of questions, and make sure you have a good level of comfort before putting any water in that tank. I can't give you any advice about what to stock the tank with since I don't know what you would like to keep, what size your tank is, etc. You probably don't know yet what types of creatures you will want (reef vs. fish-only, LPS vs. SPS vs. softies vs. mixed reef, etc.) and you won't know until you do a lot more reading. I think I pretty much detailed my setup process in the first few pages of this thread, but if you have specific questions I'd be glad to answer them if I am able. Good luck to you and your partner.

 

[Dudester]

My favites coral is looking noticably worse today. The walls between the mouths are thinning and the green color is 3 shades paler than yesterday. Nothing else within the tank has changed, and all other livestock looks well. There's no tissue loss but I'm worried that this will be next. Should I move it to another location, try to feed it, or just leave it alone? I thought I read that trying to feed stressed corals is a bad idea. I hope this ends well.

 

[melev]

I would drizzle some cyclop-eeze over it late night (about now, actually) with the pumps off, and hope it eats some.

 

[bcoons]

OK, Dudester, I'm going to attempt my first surgery this weekend by fragging my xenia.:mixed: To make the cuts, I have a #3 scalpel handle and a new #11 blade. Do you think these are the right tools? How about an E-xacto knife? Is there any appreciable difference for fragging purposes between an X-acto knife and a real scalpel ( X-actos are cheaper.)

The idea of cutting on a critter scares the heck out of me. I'd rather wait until a ARC fragging class, but I have to do something to prune the xenia before it takes over my tank.

And, I think I will start looking for a six-line wrasse. You got me convinced!

Bruce

 

[Dudester]

melev - Thanks for the suggestion. I didn't have any cyclop-eeze and haven't had time to go to the LFS to get any. In the meantime I looked at the favites coral very carefully that evening and noticed that the small area that was being shaded from above appeared healthy, while the rest of the coral looked quite poor. It was situated on the substrate but nevertheless I moved it beneath a rock ledge where it would be sheltered from the lights. This was 2 nights ago and since that time it's shown minimal improvement but certainly no deterioration. Fingers still crossed :worried: .

bcoons - Any of the tools (let's call them "instruments" instead ) you listed will work just fine. A scalpel blade will make a finer cut than an Exacto knife, but I don't think that sort of precision is necessary. In fact you could probably chew across it and it would do just fine. If you insist on using a scalpel blade, I'd recommend a #15 blade over a #11 blade for ease of use in this application, but again this isn't really necessary. Let us know how the fragging goes and take some pics of your newly mounted xenia. Did you decide on a mounting method?

Get the sixline, you won't regret it!

 

[melev]

Where are you buying disposable scalpels?

 

[bcoons]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7448817#post7448817 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
Where are you buying disposable scalpels?

Being an old Eagle Scout and a Ham Radio operator involved with emergency communications and such, my motto has always been "Be Prepared." I also used to do some remote backpacking and expedition canoeing back when I lived in Calif. I have several emergency medical kits in the house and the vehicles that have scalpels, forceps, hemostats, etc. in them. I figure even if I don't have the skills required to use them at an accident scene or other emergency someone else (like Dudester!) might. Anyway, I just pulled a stainless #3 handle and a sterile, one use, #11 blade out of one of my survival kits.

As far as where to get them now, I haven't bought any since I moved to Texas, so I'm not aware of any local supply places, but I bet Dudester knows of scads of them. I did a quick search on Ebay and found a bazillion places selling them, both for medical use and "hardware" use. I'd have to do some more research to be able to recommend one.

How about it, Mike? You must know of good places to get the "instruments" for us laymen.

Bruce

 

[Dudester]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7449066#post7449066 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by bcoons
How about it, Mike? You must know of good places to get the "instruments" for us laymen.

The stuff that on-line vendors sell (such as fragging shears, hemostats, etc.) are perfectly suitable for the reef hobbiest. You certainly wouldn't want to pay top dollar for medical-grade instruments. There's really no mistique surrounding scalpels, either. An Exacto knife is just as good and, as you mentioned, much cheaper. There are medical lab supply companies that sell single-use scalpels, and like you mentioned, it's probably easy to find them on Ebay.
Author's confession -- I've never browsed Ebay before :strange: .

Speaking of fragging, I was rummaging around my garage today and found a bunch of "instruments" laying around, as well as some plugs, super glue gel, scraps of egg crate, and other necessities for working with coral frags. I thought I'd organize it all into a fragging kit so it would be readily available. This is good timing, since our local reef club is planning a "how to" fragging discussion at our next meeting. Melev, I seem to recall that you keep such a fragging kit yourself. Would you mind sharing the contents of said kit, including what Dremel tool appliances you use?

 

[melev]

Sure, I'll be sure to take a picture and show you the contents of my kit soon. Feel free to remind me in this thread, as I'm about to get some sleep.

 

[Dudester]

quickie update

quickie update

The favites coral is still holding on in it's place in the shade.

Last night I saw one of the lettuce nudis perched upon the last significant patch of bryopsis in the tank. This patch is located on a rock that's adjacent to the drilled CL drain pipe, and I can't get to it for manual pruning. Last night it was about the size of a plum. This morning that same patch was widdled down to about the size of a cherry. In addition to this I still have a small patch of bryopsis located between a monti cap and the rock upon which it's mounted (also unreachable), as well as some scattered thin crops in a few places, but overall I'd say the tank is almost finished with this. I know it's too early to celebrate but I'm extremely happy to be nearly clear of bryopsis. The number of hours maintaining the tank has decreased more than 100%, so now my time is instead taken up by enjoying it.

Melev - you awake yet ?