ZeeSparrow's 75G LPS tank build

[Swope2bc]

You'll get it down zee, just keep at it! If you figure out what caused it let us know.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Good luck with the tank...was going through the pics then saw the hair pictures. that looks like a lot of work. Tagging along..

Thank you. It's actually bryopsis with just one spot of hair near the candy canes, which means it shall be really a fun job to rid the tank of it.

You'll get it down zee, just keep at it! If you figure out what caused it let us know.

Yeah, I'll get this back under control sooner or later. I've had bryopsis since the beginning, figure it came in on the one "live rock" that I didn't put through the vinegar bath with the rest. In hindsight, I wish I had never bought that rock. I don't even like the heavy brick and have put it in the sump, though will be removing it completely this week. I need to get some more chaeto as I believe that was helping (before it died).

I just need to heal up (I threw out my back a couple weeks ago and am nursing a sprained wrist) ... so I can do more of the back breaking work, and still be able to function normally the next day!

A few members of my local club have provided suggestions - including raising the mg (heh) and alk to about 9. I added more alk yesterday throughout the day and will get it to that point today, though I still plan on lowering mg for now.

The coral and fish are doing great, though, so I'm not totally defeated.

 

[Ucantwin]

Just read through your whole post for the first time. I am just getting back in the hobby after a five year break. How is your tank doing now? Take care of the hair algae?

 

[ZeeSparrow]

Just read through your whole post for the first time. I am just getting back in the hobby after a five year break. How is your tank doing now? Take care of the hair algae?

Not really, no. Regular old hair algae popped up for a bit, but that didn't take long to eradicate. Bryopsis took OVER though. And apparently there's a patch of bubble algae on one of the rocks, too. Where there's six, there's a dozen. lol

I have excuses galore, back issues, sprained wrist, taking care of parents (dad had knee replacement and mom broke her shoulder the next day!!) but bottom line is that tank maintenance took a backseat to everything else. I spent a few hours this weekend scrubbing all the rocks, so of course now my aquascape is trashed. There's still a good amount of algae (mostly bryopsis) throughout but it looks a million times better than it has for the past couple months. I'm not stressing it, though. Some may blame laziness or inattentiveness. I choose to consider it an incredible sign of personal growth. So there's that.

I lost the lawnmower a few weeks ago. I suspect he starved, as the only signs of algae were bryopsis; he preferred pellets but couldn't always get to them before the firefish/clowns/shrimp, and turned his nose up at frozen. Bummed me out when I found him. I haven't decided if I will replace him or not. I suspect not. I'm actually considering a mimic tang, eventually... and not having a lawnmower would be better in that case.

I'm still seriously understocked, if that's possible. Two shrimp, two crab (I think), one urchin, numerous snails. And only three fish. lol I haven't added coral, but I haven't lost any since the outage in November. There's some growth but it's nothing spectacular.

We're just plugging away here. No pictures, as everything is a shambles at the moment. But as I said, I'm not stressing it. It is what it is. Right now, I'm more involved in caring for an ailing old dog than anything else. Hopefully we'll get his issues under control in the next month or so, and I can turn my attention back to the reef. In the meantime, I'm planning to perform more regular water changes and basic maintenance tasks, so things don't get completely out of control again.

 

[jstack]

Hey everyone!

With much thanks to many members of this community, both new and old, I am very close to putting water into my very first saltwater aquarium. I am planning to keep mostly LPS, though will likely also have a few softies, as well as a handful of fish.

My dad and I built and skinned the stand, I brought it home, added doors, stained and poly'd it. Baffles are in the sump and return plumbing dry fit (though I might make a few changes... suggestions welcome!).

Here's the setup
Marineland 75g "reef ready" with corner overflow, sprayed black with plasti-dip
DIY stand
DIY sump using 29g (from Petco dollar per gallon sale), glass baffles
Herbie drain system w/1" drain and return PVC, manifold to "fuge" and 2 (potential) reactors
DCT8000 return pump
Reef Octopus 110INT skimmer
TLF GFO reactor
2xJebao RW8 powerheads (and 2xHydor Koralia 1050 if needed)
2xEheim 150w heaters
Tunze osmolator universal 3155
~55 pounds base rock from Craigslist, vinegar bath, scrubbed, cured in bucket with LC to help speed up leaching of phosphate
~10 pound live rock also from Craigslist (hopefully still has some life on it...been soaking in cure bucket with the rest) Will get more from LFS if needed
Tonga Reef flakes and mini flakes (60/30 pounds) sand

Also have a refractometer (with calibration fluid), API (ammonia, nitrite, phosphate), Salifert (alk, calcium, magnesium, phosphate).

I still need to decide on lights. Leaning toward LED off ebay or Reefbreeders Photon 48.

I love the setup but I'd ditch the fuge as its to small to do anything but create problems fuge has to be 50% or more volume in the dt to make even a dent

 

[mmittlesteadt]

Sometimes when it rains it pours. I love your comment about personal growth. That says more than anything else you wrote. Things happen. Life happens. Everything you went through is just a learning experience. Hang in there and give it attention when you can or want to. This is supposed to be a fun hobby, so find the joy in it when you can.

Best of luck Zee.

 

[ZeeSparrow]

I love the setup but I'd ditch the fuge as its to small to do anything but create problems fuge has to be 50% or more volume in the dt to make even a dent

Thanks for stopping by!

Sometimes when it rains it pours. I love your comment about personal growth. That says more than anything else you wrote. Things happen. Life happens. Everything you went through is just a learning experience. Hang in there and give it attention when you can or want to. This is supposed to be a fun hobby, so find the joy in it when you can.

Best of luck Zee.

Thanks, Mark. My parents have healed (for the most part), dad's back to work until he retires in July and mom is able to take care of herself on a daily basis again. My injuries were minor and it's all good.

As you said, life happens, and I think you either learn from it, or it happens again! And some algae is normal; I would prefer it not be my biggest inhabitant though.

Anyway, I am still enjoying what I have, and I'm grateful for all that is doing well. I know you're getting away with not doing many water changes but that's not the model I have built with my setup. So I need to do perhaps a bit more work. The funny thing is, I actually enjoy having more of a hands-on approach, tinkering keeps me out of trouble.

You know, I think you leap-frogged ahead of me again. Not that it's a race, it's just amusing how our tanks have evolved differently over the past year. Here's to the next year, buddy!! :beer: