TOTM quality 6' SPS tank for under $1k? The 5.56 build thread; AKA a really bad idea

[sil40sx]

Nice! I like your rockscape!

 

[five.five-six]

New overage: $349.32

Bought coral snow and a new KH test kit $60.54
Bought a frag of something high end $120
Sold ASM skimmer and neptune temp probe $150

New overage: $379.86

Vlamingi's eye is getting better but I ended up losing my ruby red dragonet in all the commotion and fighting

 

[psidriven]

KZ coral snow? If so, there's a diy recipe for it. Just search diy coral snow.

Great tank and keep up the good work

 

[five.five-six]

KZ coral snow? If so, there's a diy recipe for it. Just search diy coral snow.

Great tank and keep up the good work

I hear it's mostly just chalk.

 

[BeanMachine]

Nice photos. Looks great.

 

[ycnibrc]

Is that a black tang? How did you get a black tang for this project?

 

[dodgerblew]

I think it's a scopas

 

[five.five-six]

Yes, black tang would have blown my entire budget LOL. It’s a Scopas.

 

[five.five-six]

Toxic metal poisoning?

Toxic metal poisoning?

So, I found a small patch of Bryopsis on a frag plug. Under advice, I removed the rock it was mounted to and cut a 1" margin around the infected area with a dremal tool and toss the plug, clip the frag and re mount that.

I had already ordered fluconazole and proceeded to treat the tank as a prophylactic mesure. I saw no signs of any other Bryopsis but really didn't want to take any chances.

A week into the treatment, last friday, I noticed a sunsett monti looking stressed, then a few days later an acro colony mucusing a lot. Last night on my way out to Boy Scouts I see that my setosa starting to bleach.


This morning I got up early to run some water tests and bring carbon back on line and I'll do water change this evening

DKH was 8.5 and No3 was 50ppm, not ideal but not enough out of wack to cause these problems

I go to put carbon back on line and find that the cord plug for the reactor pump had fallen into the water at some point probably last week.

Hopefully I caught it in time to avoid a major crash



fluconazole Was $ 39.00 shipped

New overage:$418.86

 

[marioensf]

Good catch on the plug; some nasty corrosion stuff might have been building on the metal.

 

[Rakie]

Sounds like your corals had a bad reaction to it.. Unfortunate. The good news is the damage is already done to the algae so whatever algae you have should start dying.

 

[five.five-six]

Most all the alage is gone. Ihave about 3 small patches of turf alage left.

My sea hare starved to death and boy did it stink!

PO4 is still at 0 but my NO3 is running at 50PPM which I don’t like much

I don’t really know how to push it down much as I have done 4 X 30 gal water changes in the last 7 days and NO3 is holding fast

I cleaned out the mesh mod on my skimmer which had been clogged up with muck and it’s makeing really nice foam again and i pulled about 2/3 of my chaeto which now has room to grow again but with no alage in the DT, I fear the NO3 thing is going to be an uphill battle.

 

[Rakie]

Some people have dosed po4 to lower no3. When there is a big imbalance you may have some issue. Low phosphate is when the horrible algae and dinos seem to take over for some. For me, 0 phos left me with pale dying corals, and my no3 was above 40 but it didn't help. IMO, testable po4 is a necessity for most tanks. THere are a few outliers though.

You can always throw in some bio media to deal with no3. Most of it works very well for no3, and 'okay' at best for po4.

 

[five.five-six]

I got a battle pack a while back, the frags had been sitting on my frag rack which is low light and low flow for months while I figure out what to do with them. Their colors and growth have suffered as a result.



Well, 2 weeks ago I mounted them and here they are:

Vivid Rainbow delight

Mr. Pacman

Brads Insane Defuego

BC Bubbleberry

BC Lemon Hammer

Acroberry

 

[five.five-six]

While I had the camera out I photoed some other things:


Walt Disney Acropora from Mr V.

UNK from dogerblue

Sold to me from an LFS as SC Orange Passion

Pinky the bear

Pink Cyphastrea

Oregon Tort

Miami Orchid

 

[five.five-six]

Joe the Coral

JF Slwoburnish

IDK Rakie

Bicolor Blenny

ASD Rainbow Milli

 

[five.five-six]

New overage: $379.86

bought some supplies

Pollyfilter and aquastick $35

starry eyed blenny $35


New overage: $449.86


Starry eyed blenny is actually super cool, master at hiding in plane sight.


After I found a plug slowly dissolving in my sump subsequent fluconazole treatment, I did 5 water changes but a few corrals were still not doing well. 1 day with Pollyfilter and they are now looking great again

 

[Rakie]

I'm glad that pinky is securing a good foothold. Things are looking great Mark

 

[five.five-six]

I'm glad that pinky is securing a good foothold. Things are looking great Mark

Pinky is encrusting like a sunset montie LOL

 

[five.five-six]

New overage $459.85

My Po4 was imesurabe and nitrate around 60-70 so I started doseing vingar in my kalkwaser. I was afraid that would bring the Po4 too low so I started dosing Po4 $9.99

The tank is really starting to catch it’s stride.

I added salt Sept 9/17 so I am about at the 10 1/2 month mark.


I may buy a Co2 scrubber for the skimmer to try to raise pH or I still have a giant phosban reactor I could just fill with Co2 absorber