Tigebell's Build

[TigeBell]

Hang in there. New tanks always have something to deal with. I stopped with the live phyto after the first batch also. Just wanted to feed the pods a bit. I'm getting a lot of algae on the glass also. Maybe from phyto. Shouldn't be from my rocks really. They were live and fully cycled for months. So maybe its from the phyto in your tank also. Going to add a few more snails myself and a gfo reactor eventually. Good luck!

Thanks, it is interesting the you might be thinking that the phyto my be the issue. However, the more I think about it, the more I believe that they phyto isn't being consumed since there isn't enough inhabitants to eat the stuff and the phyto eventually dies. From there, we all know what happens.

 

[Brieninsac]

Sounds like my problem too. After dosing phytoplankton for 3-days I had an algae outbreak I'm still battling. I got a new CUC from Reef Cleaners this week so I'm hoping they'll work on it.

 

[TigeBell]

Here is some current pictures

 

[TigeBell]

Additional pictures

 

[TigeBell]

The tank has been going well and the phosphates are now under control. However, the phosphates are now leaching out of the rock but I do see a decrease in the amount of GFO that is needed to remove the phosphates.

I did go down to Taps Plastic and bought a 3/8 inch black acrylic sheet that I cut to make a better shelf for the reactors and to cover the ATO tank. Definitely better then the eggcrate that I was using and looks much better IMO.

Measurements are:
temp: 78.7
Salinity: 1.025
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: .1 ppm
Calc: 450 ppm
KH: 9.15
PO4: .01 ppm
Mag: 1380

Mag is a little high but not that far out of range. I have adjusted the doser to reduce my daily dosage of mag.

 

[TigeBell]

Current fish:
3 - Springer Damsels
2 - Royal Gramma's
1 - Starry Blenny
? - seems like a ton of snails.

Currently looking for:
1 - White Tail Bristletooth Tang
1 - Pacific RedStrip Hogfish

There is a favia, fungia, Purple Stylo, Green Birdsnest, jack-o-lantern lypto, and 8 other acropora corals around the tank. The corals are still brown but look to be coloring up since my phosphates were too high.

I love the bare bottom tank and it is very easy to clean.

Water changes are ever 2 weeks at 10 gallons each time.

 

[Saltwaternooby]

WOWEE that sump looks awesome, Your rocks still look very clean so you cant have that much phosphate. Awesome attention to detail in this build!!

 

[TigeBell]

thanks Anthony. I guess I learned a ton from my 280 and applied what I learned to this tank. I feel like I jumped up to a big tank way too quick and still needed to learn some basics. But, I have lived and learned.

I don't have that much phosphates any more. I just did another test and came back with the same amount of phosphate as I did two days ago. that is after adding 4 tsp of PO4x4. so I believe I got the phosphates under control and the amount leaching from the rock is minimal now.

The rocks look white because of my snail clean up crew
14 Mexican Turbos,
2 Trochus,
3 Astraea, and
5 bumblebee's.

 

[TigeBell]

A little update on the tank. As you can see, I got my White Tail Bristletooth Tang. He/she is still a little shy but the fish is definitely getting use to the new surroundings. The fish is extremely aware of who is around him/her outside of the tank and does not like being out in the open swimming areas unless I am at the tank and even then, the fish doesn't stay out very long. The tang is eating like a horse but still learning how to eat nori from the Veggie Clip.

so, that puts me at 7 fish:

3 Sapphire Damsels
2 Royal Gramma
1 Starry Blenny
1 White Tail Bristletooth Tang

Debating on adding more fish but kind of waiting to see where things are going.

Readings are:
Temp: 79
Calc: 425
Alk: 8.9
PO4: .01
Mag: 1350
Nitrate: .1
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
pH: 8.2
Salinity: 1.025

 

[bfliflet]

Nice tang! The coralline algae grows much faster on the bottom of your tank than mine. Must be because of my ATS.

 

[TigeBell]

Nice tang! The coralline algae grows much faster on the bottom of your tank than mine. Must be because of my ATS.

I am very happy with the tang. great personality and very, very alert. Funny how alert the fish is. John @ YR got me a extremely healthy one Thanks JOHN!!!!!

There is one funny thing so far with the tang. he doesn't like the Starry Blenny eating his algae and will chase the blenny into the rocks to discourage the eating but the blenny just rolls with it. No tail biting yet.

There is starboard on the bottom so the algae isn't trying to grow on glass. I have noticed that coralline doesn't grow as fast on glass so far. But there is a dime size patch of coralline algae growing on the back wall. Might have to take it off

 

[TigeBell]

Well, it is about time I update this thread. The tank has been running for nearly 7.5 months with growth on the corals along with the growth of inhabitants. There are a few issues that I have still and one I do believe is my lights could be stronger. the coloration of the corals are not great but they are growing.

 

[TigeBell]

Here are a few pictures of the tank

 

[TigeBell]

Second set of pictures

 

[TigeBell]

And the front side picture

 

[TigeBell]

I do like the Red Sea Reefer series so far. the only complaint that I would have is that there isn't enough room under the tank but there are a few things that I could resize to make more room like the reactors for one.

The fish seem to be happy and do get along for the most part. The White Tail doesn't like the starry blenny and will chase him/her at times and the royal gramma's do not like the multicolor fairy wrasse (I am glad that I added the screen top for sure).

 

[Diamond Jack]

Colors look solid to me. I'm no pro at figuring out how to color sps up to give you any input there. I can understand the sump space issue. You just need to get a 525 and then you will have just enough room. . I really like having the seperate part for equipment so I don't have to deal with electronic stuff dangeling over salt water and i'm able to keep it locked up from my kiddos. Keep up the good work.

 

[TigeBell]

thanks Marius. color is my issue because i do have some brown color corals. the browning came when my phosphates where higher(3+ months ago) then I realized and over time, some of the coral are returning to their colors but are taking a much longer time then I would think they would have taken. I guess I will just wait and see how things go. The corals are not dying so that is a good thing and there are some corals growing vary fast.

 

[Saltwaternooby]

Great to see this update, glad stuff is growing well.

 

[TigeBell]

A long overdue update. This is the sump area or under the tank area overview. Will be doing overviews on the DT and eventually my water changing station over time. Enjoy