"The Cavernous Reef" - A 180G Build

I didn't know that about sponges. I have a pink spiny cucumber that's also tagged with a similar "I die and I'll take every one of yous with me!!!" caveat.

I've started vinegar dosing.and it's supposed to be good for sponges and filter feeders where the resulting suspended nutrients become a food source.

Thx for the heads up.
 
Thanks guys, the fish loves all the cool hiding places and it's fun to watch the big play with the small. I've been adding more 'nano' fish than I ever planned in the beginning. I think a small collection of dottybacks, grammas, basslets and yes, damsels, are in the works...love, LOVE their jewel tones.

And as for TOTM, you flatter me, but I'll respectfully dismiss any TOTM talks right now reeftanknewbie. I can only dream!! But you'll get the first glass of beer when that ever (never) happens. :bounce3::bounce3::lol:

Well you have my vote based on this original setup and how you have created it........plus I love beer:lolspin:
 
Hey thanks for the vote of confidence, but now you've filled my head up with pipe dreams...may as well read up on past winners for inspiration. I read a couple and very interesting indeed and the common element I picked up on was how long most have been in the hobby. Persistence paid off.

Speaking of beer, a bar fridge close to the tank is planned to keep a couple of tall boys chilled, oh and of course to keep frozen delights for the inhabitants. I'm getting tired of my nems seafood medley ending up in my wife's spicy stir fry. :angryfire:
 
Hey thanks for the vote of confidence, but now you've filled my head up with pipe dreams...may as well read up on past winners for inspiration. I read a couple and very interesting indeed and the common element I picked up on was how long most have been in the hobby. Persistence paid off.

Speaking of beer, a bar fridge close to the tank is planned to keep a couple of tall boys chilled, oh and of course to keep frozen delights for the inhabitants. I'm getting tired of my nems seafood medley ending up in my wife's spicy stir fry. :angryfire:

I would agree. Time in hobby does seems to be a common factor. However I have seen nothing like yours before so......love the beer/food combo frig idea..keeps everyone happy.
 
BTW, I would stay away from most sponges. I kept a tube sponge and it ended up dying and killing half my fish. Many are toxic and you'll never know until they die.

I will take heed, wii64brawl, and watch this 8" tree sponge closely. Love it's sharp orange colouration, but not digging it's shape at the moment. It looks like it's giving me the finger.

20130810_005523


Now that tube sponge is a looker, esp the yellow sp. I'd ask where you got it, but the border seems to frown on marine livestock crossing over so I'll just wait it out until an LFS brings some in.

Tube-Sponge.jpg
 
Wow what an aquascape very well done! You have some interesting corals I have never seen before to!

Thanks Noamurmac, but the rock work that I toiled forming now seems to be lost with all these dang Corals. :)
Hey I knew it would come to this and remember this concept is about balance and I'm still at the collecting/grow out phase. At some point, while the corals are growing (pleeeease do grow!!) I will gain enough knowledge and have the foresight to 'edit' and who knows, maybe some rockwork will peek through.
 
Hi rickcasa!

His work with carving rocks and forming this cave is simply spectacular. The work was hard, but it's fantastic.
Is the stupendous Reef.
Keep this excellent work, because it really was a watershed in my view its layout.
 
I just read your whole thread and now... oh noes I'm caught up!

Keep up the inspiring reefing. I'll be following along with you on your journey, enjoying it all.

Thanks for sharing!
 
Simply amazing, (WOW) How do you kep the surface from buildup were the canyon wall is at the top of the water column?
 
Hi rickcasa!

His work with carving rocks and forming this cave is simply spectacular. The work was hard, but it's fantastic.
Is the stupendous Reef.
Keep this excellent work, because it really was a watershed in my view its layout.

Thanks agcneves, the formations have coloured up nicely in my opinion. Although not as much coralline growing on it :uhoh3: my new dosing program should accelerate that.

I just read your whole thread and now... oh noes I'm caught up!

Keep up the inspiring reefing. I'll be following along with you on your journey, enjoying it all.

Thanks for sharing!

Got a bit too lazy with the RC updates and tank upkeep for a while there and not surprisingly nutrients built up and browned or lost the 'test' acros. Everything else though...euphyllias, gonioporas, fans & gorgs, sponges, leathers, acans, zoas are doing great!

Bearing down now (putting on my lab coat) and making sure I keep water chemistry near perfect. I picked up a few ideas I'd like to try out, infpalex, so thanks for sticking around!:twitch:

Simply amazing, (WOW) How do you kep the surface from buildup were the canyon wall is at the top of the water column?

Well, rfgonzo, I feel there are many factors contributing to a spic and span, gunk-free, filmless, water line conditions. First, the healthy randomized waves created by the Vortechs gives everything below the eurobrace a good scrubbing and then efficiently rinses them out the overflows. Secondly, the Moceans really do an awesome job agitating the surface and employs the 2400+ gph return to great use. Lastly, I made sure that there are no dead spots in between the overhangs and stalactites. There is no chance water can get stagnant as water rushes past and around every nook and cranny of these obstacles and down the overflows with great ease. Thanks for the great question!
 
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No water change experiment. Results are in!

No water change experiment. Results are in!

It's been a while since I chimed in because for a while there I was just enjoying the reef with really not much action happening. Fed the fish, fed the corals, well maybe too much actually...especially since I decided to become a card-carrying No Water Change club member. Believe it or not, I bought into this 'revolution' as it fits my lifestyle to a tee....Laissez-faire and let nature take its course. I added chaeto to the sump, and it grew like a weed. Started vinegar dosing and the skimmate turned to a dark tea. Added live rock in the sump too... so nutrients were definitely being exported, but not quickly enough for the acros as they would brown out and eventually most RTNed, while some TNed slower. Other corals were thriving though as would be expected with the abundance of energy source. As for the fish, well they weren't complaining with the many feedings. Tank still looked great and amazingly, no algae whatsoever.

Honestly it was the unsightly sump that made me rethink and revamp. Out goes the lr and macros and vacuum the mess it left behind. Time for a 20% wc and another 50% over the next few days.

The sump reno is already underway. I ordered a media reactor for gfo. Balling light is being set up with the 3 pump doser. Vinegar dosing will continue. A remote 50g macro fuge hooked up to a 4ft frag tank is in the works. But what I'm most focused on is the 110 gallon glass tank I'm setting up as a 'dual' salt water reservoir that will play a key role in my wish for an automatic FLOW THROUGH water change system.
 
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Flowthrough Water Change System

Flowthrough Water Change System

Please let me know if this exact system, as I will describe it, is being utilized elsewhere but I think it's quite unique. :spin1:

I want to use a 4x2x2.5 tank as a reservoir. I'm not too keen on the storage barrels and because they take up too much space. This 110 will be divided in the middle with a baffle and both halves will be salty! When one half is inline, the other is busy making rodi and manually mixed with salt when full. This will be ready when the first half is exhausted...and the cycle repeats. With me so far??

Aquatronica (I have faith it will do as good a job as an Apex) will control the pumps in the salt chambers with float valves. The frag tank, hooked up to the 50g fuge below as its sump, will get the influx of new water at a rate to be determined later. This will overflow into the return chamber of the DT sump. Now to get rid of excess old water, I need an overflow which drains out directly to the house plumbing. This I may put in the first chamber.

Any and all thoughts are solicited.:spin3:

I wonder how many gallons per day is practical and effective?
 
If its going to be a daily water change then I would push for 30-40 percent and divide it by 30 days. Using my tank for instance, If I do a daily water change of 7 gallons, thats 210 gallons a month on average which is about 50 percent. Ok that was higher than what I calculated but that is an example.
 
So with my 330g total volume (dt, sump, frag, fuge) using the low end of the suggested monthly flow through rate of 30%, my 110g reservoir seems perfect turning over completely every month using only 4 buckets of salt per year.

Seems too easy!! Is 1% flow through water change per day effective enough for nutrient export? So I don't mean just replenishing trace elements. I'm clear on this. I want near perfect water quality.

Allow me to change up a common analogy for my benefit. Smoking 5 cigarettes a day in a room with 2 opposite windows only slightly cracked open to let some fresh air flow through. Let's also put an air purifier in there too to represent the skimmer, dosing, gfo, etc. Is this better than opening up all the windows and doors for let's say an hour (arbitrary) every week?
 
When you are doing partial water changes you are always taking out less of the original pollution as it gets re-distributed and thinned out with the last water change. Here's an article that helps explain this better.

Dave.M

These changes are slightly less efficient than single batch water changes of the same total volume. A continuous water change of 30% exactly matches one batch 26% water change. As with very small batch water changes, these have the advantage of neither stressing the organisms (assuming the change is done reasonably slowly), nor altering the water level in the aquarium. The ease of doing such changes automatically also makes it far more likely that busy or lazy aquarists will actually do them.

Very good read. This may be the system for me...busy, and sometimes lazy that I am. And to your point, Dave, efficiency is reduced but surprisingly not as much as I thought so 4% difference is not a deal breaker for me.
 
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