JapanReef - 450 gallon In-Wall system

[asnatlas]

Aussiestar
http://reefcentral.com/images/welcome.gif
To Reef Central

[NexDog]

Aussiestar - Missed your post but I'm honoured that your first post on RC is in my thread. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, you're welcome to stop in. :)

[enamdjd]

Excellent development. As for certain anenomes (presently I forget which species), I have been told that if you place them on a rock substrate, which is completely surrounded by sand, they tend not to migrate to avoid contact with the sand; hence, improving your chances of minimizing migration and subsequent harm to other corals. Other members please feel free to chime in and enlighten.

Dr. A

[NexDog]

I'm a little bit worried that I'm going to wake up to white skeletons. Due to my inexperience I didn't acclimatise teh corals at all. I dipped them in Reef Dip for 10 minutes and then put them in the tank. Am I doomed?

[alien9168]

:eek2: :eek2: :eek2: :eek2:
WOW!!!


Thats awsome! I am so happy this tank is turning out so well. Its really looking great!.


Sorry I cant give you advece on the corals, i have never played around with sps before- just read about it. Good luck.

But really -------WOW... I am speachless :D ;)

-alien

[NexDog]

Thanks alien. I just posted in the SPS forum about acclimatising SPS so I guess I'll find out what the general consensus is.

[Konadog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6989705#post6989705 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
I'm a little bit worried that I'm going to wake up to white skeletons. Due to my inexperience I didn't acclimatise teh corals at all. I dipped them in Reef Dip for 10 minutes and then put them in the tank. Am I doomed? You'll be fine. All I ever did was float the bag to equalize temp, then poped them in the tank.

Your tank is comming along nicely!

[NexDog]

Thanks Ken. :)

Well they've been the tank about 10 hours and they look okay. I just checked them out and a few were even showing some polyp extension so hopefully will be okay.

[NexDog]

Just realised I missed one pic of a coral out the bag:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps1.jpg

And if anyone wants to try and ID anything, I'm all ears. :)

[melev]

I can't ID them at this point, although Mystery Acro #5 on Page 30 looks like a A. humilis to me. I get them wrong often enough though, so don't take my word for it. Mystery Acro #1 might be a A. yongei (Green Slimer).

The one you forgot to post looks pretty killer to me. Talk about saving the best for last.

It's official - you've got yourself a reef tank finally. :thumbsup:

[kwl1763]

Really nice man, coming along great!

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6990521#post6990521 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
I can't ID them at this point, although Mystery Acro #5 on Page 30 looks like a A. humilis to me. I get them wrong often enough though, so don't take my word for it. Mystery Acro #1 might be a A. yongei (Green Slimer).

The one you forgot to post looks pretty killer to me. Talk about saving the best for last.

It's official - you've got yourself a reef tank finally. :thumbsup:
Thanks Melev, and it feels goooood. All corals look great today so out of the woods on the acclimatising I hope. I posted in the SPS forum and I think I got some positive IDs......

(1) A. vermiculata

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps1.jpg

(2) A. nobilis or yongei

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps2.jpg

(3) A. tumida

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps3.jpg

(4) A. horrida

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps4.jpg

(5) A. valida

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps5.jpg

(6) A. nana

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps6.jpg

(7) A. humilis or monticulosa

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps7.jpg

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6993820#post6993820 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by kwl1763
Really nice man, coming along great!
Thanks Keith! :)

[SERVO]

WOW! Those are some nice corals! With the prices that you've quoted and the plans that you have to fill the thing up, your going to be spending alot of Yen!

Things are looking great and you've got some really nice pieces!

[NexDog]

A quick note on the Anthias in QT. The water in the bags was 1.020 so I acclimatised them at 1.0175. I feed a mixture of frozen brine, baby brine and mysid soaked for 15 minutes in Selcon and they went crazy for it. I then fed my usual mixture of flake, Formula 1/2 pellet, Omega One spirulina flake and some over fine and not so fine flaky stuff all soaked in Selcon as usual and they all went for it too. Some of it was spat out but they seem keen to try anything. The PBT also ate well. I was worried abhout teh Anthias as I hear they can be tough to get eating but looks like these guys will be fine.

When they were first released into the quarantine tank the Powder Blue was being a bully. Not too agressive but really showing his sides and fins. The Anthias really school together when this happen and was quite funny seeing them grouped together like that. Hence this pictue I posted yesterday:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/QT_lyretails_PBT.jpg

But the PBT just had to establish that he was the boss and today they are all swimming around fine. It's going to be quite interesting to see how the other fish react when I introduce them after the hypo is finished. My Yellow Tang is very peaceful but I think that's because he knows he's the current boss.

Anyhow, Will drop to 1.013 today and then down to 1.009 tomorrow. I'm going to be keeping a real close eye on this QT cycle. Last one was such a disaster and these fish I just refuse to lose.

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6994232#post6994232 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by SERVO
WOW! Those are some nice corals! With the prices that you've quoted and the plans that you have to fill the thing up, your going to be spending alot of Yen!

Things are looking great and you've got some really nice pieces!
Yea, you're not wrong. :(

Hmm, $75 a pop, 5 per month - scary......

[LeftCoast]

Almost enough to make your wallet run for cover. :lol:

[enamdjd]

Hey, you only live once. Enjoy yourself.

[melev]

Why are you switching the quarantine tank to hypo already? Are the fish sick?

[NexDog]

Spiffman - yea, and when I catch it, it burns my fingers. :p

enamdjd - yep, as long business continues to go well, what the heck. I'd hate to have to run this tank on a budget!

Marc, I'm slowly starting to hate hypo, especially after my last disaster. The fish look great but all fish I get look great and many develop Ich in QT. So I'd rather not take the risk and if possible, keep the display free of Ich. But like I said, last cycle with 6 fish was a disaster. Lost the CBB right away, the 6-line jumped and the PBT and Longnose Hawk just died. But I believe that is because I let water quality go down the toilet and I didn't look after PH levels. At the end the flame angel had a white face which I believe was due to a prolonged exposure to low PH levels.

This time I'm going to be looking after it better. I'll be siphoning out uneaten food every night, doing water changes every week like clockwork, making sure the Remora is skimming well, running carbon and I've just ordered a UV steriliser too.

BUT! This shop has the most excellent livestock. Corals are stunning and fish look so healthy but I just don't want to risk it. But (again) if this hypo cycle turns out to be a disaster I won't be doing it again.

[melev]

Here's the deal: Just run the tank without going to hypo, to see if they even have a disease. If they do break out, then you start hypo.

Since you typically don't have a good bacterial colony growing in a q-tank and especially a hospital tank, water changes have to be done more than weekly. Maintaining good water quality is key. As you probably know, I've been treating a couple of seahorses for the past 5 weeks, and it is a lot of work. Feeding, siphoning out waste, verifying water quality, boosting pH as necessary - definitely daily tasks.

I do hope your livestock will do well. Anthias need to be fed 3x a day, so be careful not to pollute the q-tank too badly.

[NexDog]

As I'm almost at hypo now I think I'll just continue. On my last (disaster) batch I waited 2 weeks before dropping to hypo and it took that long for the Ich to show on the Flame Angel. In the end they were only at hypo for 4-5 weeks but I think 4 weeks might actually be enough.

I have two sponges in there that have been soaking in my sump for a month or more. I'm hoping this will be enough bacteria to keep the denitrification under control. I might even throw a couple of chunks of LR in there. I've put LR through hypo before and you just need to catch it after two weeks when the stuff dies off, scrub it off and put it back - stinks but works.

Didn't realize they had to be fed that often. Better go feed them now!

[melev]

Don't hypo live rock. Just do more water changes, it is your safest and cheapest solution to maintaining good water quality. If your q-tank is 10 or 20g, just have 50g of saltwater mixed up to make those water changes a breeze. I've been keeping a barrel of saltwater ready every week to deal with all the 5g water changes (50% at a time).

[NexDog]

The tank is my old 50g. I have a 50g holding tank that is always full of RODI so making up saltwater is fast. Wish I had enough space for another 50g holding tank solely for SW though.

[NexDog]

zemuron114, if you're reading this I tried to respond to your PM but it says your inbox is full.

[OldmillXxX]

Marc, what do you do to raise the PH in a QT? Without the need for high calcium and such, I'm sure you're not dripping kalk.

[melev]

All I add is a small amount of baked baking soda premixed in a cup of RO/DI water. It is easy to overdose, so a pH meter would be really important when doing this. For the 10g hospital tank, I'm using maybe 1/8 tsp or less.

For the display tank, it can be 3 to 6 tsp to raise 280g worth of pH up.

Btw Nexdog, I don't see the value in hypo for 5 weeks as you seemed to indicate you performed. I'm not a fish expert, so I'll defer to those who are, but from what I've read, quarantine should last 3 weeks minimum. If the fish looks healthy at that point, active and eating, it should be safe to add to the tank. If it breaks out in disease, you can work with it in quarantine or move it to a hospital tank to deal with hypo. In that situation, it would be a glass box, water, PVC pipe, airstone and perhaps a HOB filter. Then as soon as it is healthy, levels should be raised back up to normal to avoid causing internal damage to their organs. As far as I know, hypo only needs to be performed for 21 days.

[OldmillXxX]

Thanks Marc. I thought of baking soda and was aware that it can raise PH very quickly. I am in the market for a PH monitor and hope to purchase by the weekend.

Thanks for the help.

[jeffbrig]

Tim, keep in mind there's a difference between baking soda and [i]baked[/b]baking soda (aka washing soda) as Marc mentioned. Baking soda lowers pH in the short term, which can be problematic in a tank where the pH is low to begin with. It will promote a long term rise in pH due to increased alkalinity. Washing soda, on the other hand, creates a short term rise, as well as a long term increase in pH.

Marc, to defeat ich, you need 28+ days in hyposalinity after the last visible trophant drops off the fish. This guarantees that the parasite completes its reproductive cycle and dies in the free swimming theront stage.

I strongly advocate performing this treatment with all new fish purchases, to avoid introduction of the parasite into the display. Once an outbreak hits the main tank, you need to remove ALL of the fish for treatment and keep the tank fallow for 4-6 weeks to ensure die-off of the parasite.

Also, it takes a lot longer than 4 weeks to cause damage to a fish's internal organs (it's the kidneys you worry about). My achilles tang spent over 6 weeks in hypo and is no worse for wear.

This is a great ich reference page:
http://www.petsforum.com/personal/trevor-jones/marineich.html

[OldmillXxX]

Thanks Jeff, I missed that initially.

Chemistry, the one class I wish I would have paid more attention to. See, you really do use this stuff later in life!

I'll be telling that to my kids in a couple years.

[jeffbrig]

NexDog,

Great corals you're finding! And good luck with the PBT this time around.

[melev]

Jeff, thanks for the correction. As I said, I'm not an expert on that subject, and haven't had to battle ich ever.

[alien9168]

NICE PBT :)

-alien

[NexDog]

The PBT is one of my favourite fish so I really want to succeed this time around. I'm at hypo level now and will continue for a month just to be sure. Going to be a tense month!

[agarza]

Best of luck with the PBT, if you can please post some pics of the QT. Thanks

[Aussiestar]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=6989665#post6989665 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Aussiestar - Missed your post but I'm honoured that your first post on RC is in my thread. If you're ever in the neighbourhood, you're welcome to stop in. :)

Thanks you i maybe in japan later in the year for the forumla ones, and doing a bit of sightseeing. YOur tank is truely amazing, just wish that i could have something quite as good as it is.:)

[kwl1763]

I have to totally disagree with Marc on this one. Hypo as a prevention is a great idea and a way to get an Ich free display. Hypo does not stress the fish in any way in fact quite the opposite if done properly as it ease the osmoregulation the fish has to perform.

I do it to all my introduction period! Put them in QT bring down to 1.009 in 3 days. 4 weeks in 1.009 then 5 days back up to 1.025. Works really well!

[melev]

Keith, disagree away. If I'm wrong, I want to be told so.

[NexDog]

Yah, I think prevention is the best bet here. I might change my mind as I get more experienced but in my mind it's one thing less to worry about once the fish go in. :)

[grallster]

I think an ich free tank is impossible unless you quarantine EVERYTHING you put in your tank.

[NexDog]

Yes, it's certainly tough. For instance I got a hundred snails the other days and just stuck 'em straight in the tank. It's possible Ich can hitch-hike on stuff like this. Also the coral tanks at Natural in Tokyo do have fish in them so there's teh possibility of a hitch-hike there too. But until I see Ich in the main tank I will continue to QT all fish with hypo.

[alien9168]

Prevention is the be medicine. :)

-alien

[TJcop]

NexDog:
Great thread! I'm be stealing a number of your ideas for my tank, which happens to be the same size!

Photo Tip: If you reset your "white balance" on your camera under your tank lights, the pictures will turn out alot better. Just aim the camera at something white (a piece of paper in front of the tank lights) and press the white balance. Things will look more natural.

Best of luck, and keep the updates coming!

[NexDog]

I know there has to be a white balance somewhere - I just can't find it. :(

If you have any questions, please let me know. You'll love your tank from James. :)

[NexDog]

On my last disastrous QT cycle a bi-product of the deteriorating water quality was some kind of bacterial bloom that turned the water green. While this in itself is not harmful to the fish it does kind of suck when trying to check all the fish are alive and siphoning detritus etc.....

I should have started from scratch but I was a little concerned about the denitrying bacteria not being able to handle the sudden load from 7 fish so I actually only emptied about two thirds of the tank and replaced with new water. The water was pretty clear after that but not 100% but I thought I was in the clear.......

WRONG!

http://japanreef.com/images/qt/qt_green.jpg

It's pretty dense now. Water changes don't touch it really. I have heard that a UV Steriliser is the only cure so I ordered a unit from MD last week and I'm experiencing the longest shipping route ever. In 3 days from leaving MarineDepot it's only made it as far as Tennesse. :(

Managed to take a few close-ups of the new corals. The tips are white on some of them and I was a little worried but after doing some research here at RC I have discovered that white tips on SPS indicates growth so looks like everything will be fine.

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/polyp_example1.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/polyp_example2.jpg

[Bax]

Yuk!

UV and water changes ought to help maybe carbon too?

Corals look great!

[NexDog]

Carbon does nothing. I've been running carbon ever since teh tank went green. Water changes do nothing too. Because the bacteria just recolonises fast. The bacteria needs to be eliminated so I guess the UV is the only solution. (If it ever gets here)

[ddrueckh]

Great Project!

[agarza]

Good luck with the green water, I hope this new QT round goes well on you and your fish.

[TJcop]

Any chance a diatom filter would help clear it up?

[NexDog]

Nopes, this kind of bacterial bloom can't be filtered by any media. I also tried Purigen but no go. It's at such a molecular level that only UV can kill it.

Good news. Shipment made it to Alaska. :p

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7051282#post7051282 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by TJcop
Any chance a diatom filter would help clear it up?

Yes it would... I have used a diatom filter for years on my FW tanks... You don't run them 24/7 only every so often to "polish" the water... In this case to filter out the algae along with doing a water change…

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7051309#post7051309 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Nopes, this kind of bacterial bloom can't be filtered by any media. I also tried Purigen but no go. It's at such a molecular level that only UV can kill it.

Good news. Shipment made it to Alaska. :p

NexDog, Here is an example, this is not my tank...

You can go from this...
http://www.aquatic-store.com/images/greenwater/green%201.jpg

To this in 1 hour...
http://www.aquatic-store.com/images/greenwater/green3.jpg

[jeffbrig]

NexDog, a little bit of OxyClean, and that'll clear right up. I saw it on the infomercial. :D

[Bebo77]

lol i thought i had an algea problem..

i put filer socks on my drains .. scrapped it off and later replaced the filter socks with clean ones.. worked great algea is almost gone..

try this.... scrap it off early in the morning and leave the lights of for the day.. that should help alot...

[asnatlas]

Bebo77, the algea is not on the glass, it’s in the water column...

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7052242#post7052242 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asnatlas
NexDog, Here is an example, this is not my tank...

You can go from this...
http://www.aquatic-store.com/images/greenwater/green%201.jpg

To this in 1 hour...
http://www.aquatic-store.com/images/greenwater/green3.jpg

WOW!

Thats amazing! :D

-alien

[NexDog]

Where can I get a diatom filter online? I can't argue with those results. :)

[asnatlas]

It is only used to help you with your problem, still need to find the source...

I would also say that those pics are a little "extreme" and I would not expect that in an hr, but with a WC and running that for a few hrs every day, it will help alot...

VORTEX Diatom Filter (http://www.diatomfilter.com)

[alien9168]

They are a tad pricy. But it looks like it works like a chrarm.

:)

-alien

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7055157#post7055157 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alien9168
They are a tad pricy. But it looks like it works like a chrarm.

:)

-alien

Vortex Diatom Filter- XL $100.00 ??

[TJcop]

You can get a Magnum H.O.T. for about $30-40

[alien9168]

Maybe they arnt that pricey...
I clicked on the link. Are you sure it said 100 for the xl?

-alien

[aquajohn]

166.48 :)

[NexDog]

Thanks for the link. If my UV doesn't work out I'll prolly grab one. :)

[enamdjd]

I have to agree with asnatlas. I have used the Vortex Diatom filter on my fresh water tanks since I was a kid and that was about thirty years ago. They have always done an excellent job in polishing the water to crystal clarity. I started using a Vortex XL filter when I got into reef tanks and it will certainly take care of the suspended particles and the free floating stage of ich in the quarantine tank.

Check out Reef Exotics at http://www.reefexotics.com/. Tony the owner is a true gentleman and stands by his products. The current price on the Diatom XL is $98.99.

Dr. A

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7056543#post7056543 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alien9168
Maybe they arnt that pricey...
I clicked on the link. Are you sure it said 100 for the xl?

-alien

That link is just to the manf of the filter...

Vortex Diatom Filter- XL (http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22063;category_id=2995)

[NexDog]

I emailed ReefExotics about shipping to Japan but looks like Big Al only ships to continental US as they don't even do Alaska and Hawaii.

[Bebo77]

i can ship it to you.. i know people that work for Fedex.. PM me if you want me to hook you up....

[NexDog]

Thanks Gabriel. I might just do that. :)

[NexDog]

Very vexing problem with my lights. I have a PFO hood with 3x400w 14k bulbs on a dual and single pulse start ballast. Lately two of the bulbs (on the dual ballast) periodically go out, then come back on again 10 minutes later then off then on then off....you get the idea.

The middle bulb is now dead which I attribute to the constant firing of the bulb and now I'm left with a temperamental bulb.

When I first powered everything up 3 months ago I had a similar problem due to the lack of electricity (Japan runs on 100v) so I had transformers made that convert the electricity to 120v. I tested the output with a voltmeter and I get 120v.

So what are my options here? Could be the electricity, could be the ballast, could be teh hood itself. I have no idea how to troubleshoot this issue. It was always an issue but not so chronic. Before the two bulbs on the dual ballast might go out 1-3 times a day and relight 10-15 minutes later but now it's every 10-15 minutes. :(

Posted in the equipment forum too but maybe someone following this thread has some ideas...

[NexDog]

By the way, my UV Sterilser has landed in Japan. I'll be getting a telephone tomorrow and then they'll be sending me the manifest on which I have to write a description of each item. So bloody strict these days. Hopefully I'll have by the weekend. Will be great to be able to count the lyretails to make sure all 6 are there. :p

[jeffbrig]

Do you know if your power is 50 or 60Hz? US products should be on 60Hz, but I don't know if that's what Japan uses. Unfortunately, that's not something you can measure with the average multimeter.

[NexDog]

This half of Japan is 60Hz luckily......

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7057163#post7057163 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by asnatlas
That link is just to the manf of the filter...

Vortex Diatom Filter- XL (http://bigalsonline.com/catalog/product.xml?product_id=22063;category_id=2995)

Wow... Thats way cheaper than I thought. :)

Sorry for doubting you. I should have researched more before making a false statement. Sorry man. :(

-alien

[asnatlas]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7062074#post7062074 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by alien9168
Wow... Thats way cheaper than I thought. :)

Sorry for doubting you. I should have researched more before making a false statement. Sorry man. :(

-alien

It's OK, I should have posted multi links in my first reply on the filter... I was just trying to get the main site out for anyone who had questions...

[melev]

The fact that the lights are turning on and off indicates that the power is surging rather than coming in steadily. That would be my guess. If you had a Kill-O-watt, you could look at the incoming power digitally any time.

[NexDog]

Marc, so thge surge is killing the bulb or the dip after the surge? I'm going to call an electrician in but it's going to be hard to explain the problem.

[melev]

I would think you are getting less power than is needed to keep the bulb lit. It then ramps back up and to you it seems like there is enough power.

You have PFO lights, right? You might contact them and ask them how they trouble shoot your lighting experience typically.

I'm thinking you might try running them on your generator for a day, and see if they work with that clean constant power.

[NexDog]

Okay, many thanks. I'm going to phone the electrician now and get him round.

[Zephrant]

I agree with Mark- Just tell the electrician you are trying to run Metal Halide lights on a ballast designed for 120/60hz. A good one will know what to look for.

Zeph

[NexDog]

Still waiting on the electrician but I'm starting to think the ballast itself is dodgy. I swapped everything about and no matter what transformer I put it on or what bulb, the bulb on dual ballast is on and off every 15 minutes. The single ballast bulb is fine and it's rated at 3.8 amps. On the dual ballast I have the dead bulb's side switched off and disconnected so it's only pulling 3.8 amps too. Also if that lamp is burning and I switch on the other part of the dual ballast, it normally dies. I think I'll take it apart tonight to see if there's anything shorting in there but I have no skills in that department so....

So just received a shipment from MarineDepot including an 8watt CurrentUSA UV Sterilizer rated for 50g (for my quarantine tank). This is the model:

http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewI...Product=CU01400

The bloody thing refuses to light. Tried it in the sleeve and out - nothing, nada, darkness.

Was counting on this to fix my green water issue. Now I guess I'm destined for a 100% water change.

Anyhow, any ideas? Any magic that I can do to make it light?

Sucks when equipment doesn't run like it's supposed to. Not a happy chappy at the mo.

[agarza]

The bloody thing refuses to light. Tried it in the sleeve and out - nothing, nada, darkness.


That's really bad luck, specially when you waited for it after a half around the world flight. Hope you get it to work soon.

Good luck man.

[NexDog]

Thanks Alfonso. :)

So with the UV out the picture I set about the 100% water change on the quarantine tank. Remeber I started off with this:

http://japanreef.com/images/qt/qt_green.jpg

Actually by today it was even darker than that. So I emptied 90% of it first as I didn't want to bother with moving the fish:

http://japanreef.com/images/qt/qt_wc.jpg

From that stage I would add 5 gallons of new water, let it mix for a while and then siphon it out. I did this a total of 3 times at which time the water only had a tint of green. Then I filled it up and hey presto:

http://japanreef.com/images/qt/qt_wc_done.jpg

I did a headcount and all 6 Lyretails are alive and fine. Yay!

http://japanreef.com/images/qt/PBT_Anthias.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/qt/PBT_qt.jpg

And finally, the icing on the proverbial cake. I fiddled around with the UV unit.......and it works fine. :D

[agarza]

Definitely looks much better, hope that with all that husbandry and the UV it clears out quickly, if not, I guess you'll be shopping for a diatom filter ;)

[NexDog]

I just hope the drastic water change doesn't kill the fish. :(

[agarza]

It shouldn't't as long as all the parameters were the same: temp, sal, PH

[melev]

It shouldn't as long as pH, temp and salinity match.

I hope you get the MH situation figured out. Do you have any back up ballasts you can test with?

[NexDog]

The clear water makes such a difference. This morning the anthias are so active compared to hiding at the back. So I think these Lyretails are pretty tough.

I'm convinced the ballast is bad because it's been steadily getting worse and now it won't even light the one lamp. So I think I'm just going to have to buy a new one and if I get it and it works, I'll demand some recompense for the damaged one.

I received a package today. My daughter has been on at me to get some starfish and teh place in Okinawa only had two so I got those. I also got those snails I posted about a few snails back and they are tiny. Also got a few softies and zoos. Pics to follow.... :)

[NexDog]

The package contained 2 starfish, some snails and some softies. Nothing too exciting but add colour to the tank.

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/ppm_bucket.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/ppm_bucket2.jpg

(is this one below a mushroom or a leather - bad pic)
http://japanreef.com/images/stock/softy.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/red_softy.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/zoo.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/starfish.jpg

[melev]

Nice stuff. That's an interesting looking starfish. And you seem to have a ricordia too.

[NexDog]

That ric is a closed up zoo. It's starting to open up now....

[grallster]

That softy looks like it could be a Dendronephtya--if so it's a gonner.
Are you sure those starfish are reef safe?

[NexDog]

What's a Dendronephtya and why would it be a goner? The shop that sells the starfish is a coral farm. I can't imnagine them selling non-reef safe starfish....

[hawaiianwargod]

NexDog,

Awesome set up you got there. How far are you from Okinawa?
I have family that resides there and thinking of visiting there.

[grallster]

Dendronephtya is a non-photosynthetic coral that has an almost zero survival rate in captivity.
Hard to tell from the pick if that's what it is or not though.

[NexDog]

grallster - I guess we'll have to see how it goes....

hawaiianwargod, thanks for dropping in. I live at the bottom of Kyushu which is about as far south as you can go in mainland Japan. Okinawa is about another 800 miles south of here. Went there once - it's beautiful. :)

[NexDog]

By the way, this UV thing is fantastic. Even though I did a 100% water change teh water still had a haze. I hooked up the UV to an MJ 900 last night and this morning the water is crystal clear. It says to run 700gph through it but I onlly have powerheads or bigger pumps and I think that less flow through the steriliser will clear things up quicker.

[melev]

This is what I thought might be a ricordia:
http://japanreef.com/images/stock/softy.jpg

Fish stores will sell almost anything - even stuff that is not reef safe. Better to check with someone on that one.

[NexDog]

Errrr, where would I check? :)

[grallster]

Looks like the star that has red on it might be a fromia--which from what I hear IS reef safe.

[NexDog]

Thanks grallster. :)

Well, it's Good News Bad News time....

The Good News is that I went away for 3 days leaving the tanks in the care of my father-in-law and there were no major disasters. :)

The Bad News is that upon my return one of my 6 Lyretails anthias in QT died. :) Its stomach has some red blotches so I'm guessing some kind of internal parasite there. I wish I could get a definitive answer on where to get some medication for that online........ :(

The Good News is that my new Halides and dual ballast arrived. The halides arrived before I went away and teh ballast was waiting for me when I got back today. When I got back the dodgy side of teh dual ballast had totally burned out (or whatever) and wouldn't light the lamp at all. Anyhow, I hooked it up and hey presto, let there be light. :D

The Bad News is that my digital video camera took a tumble off a roller-coaster and was smashed to pieces. :(:(:(

So I prolly won't update this thread so much until I get a new camera which might not be for quite some time as pictures tell most of the story.

[NexDog]

Can I get a positive ID on this:

http://www.ppmokinawa.com/rist-img/isogin/409-b.jpg

Is it just a mushroom? That image is from the shop's site but I got one with my order of softies the other week and couldn't get a good pic of it.

Tomorrow I'll be receiving a small shipment. Three LPS (frogspawn, anchor and something else), one SPS and also some cyclop-eeze that I have yet to use so looking forward to that. Also some phytoplankton. Here are some pics off the site:

Frogspawn:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/05-040401.jpg

Anchor:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/05-0404nagareburanti.jpg

What is this? Some kind of bubble?

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/04-0214gurin.jpg

And one SPS which I hope will pink up:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0310-37.jpg

[melev]

I think that one you asked about is called Pectina.

[LeftCoast]

I believe it is Cynaria lacrimalis (http://whelk.aims.gov.au/coralsearch/html/101-200/Species%20pages/127.htm). Nice anchor by the way. Did I suggest that SPS? ;) It should turn out to be really nice (it is Acropora millepora if you were wondering).

[melev]

Spiffman, I think you are right. I worked from memory and didn't even google the name I typed. My mistake.

[NexDog]

Thanks guys. They should be here any minute. :D

Spiffman, yep, one of your choices. - millepora, cool. Actually from that list you made a few weeks back there was only a few left - corals there go fast. Thanks for the ID on the mystery LPS. Is that top one a standard shroom?

[LeftCoast]

Looks like a standard Discosoma sp. to me

[NexDog]

Where can I read more about it?

[melev]

They are mushrooms. Google the latin or the layman's term for details. WetWebMedia has tons of articles. I keep it pretty brief on my ID page.

[NexDog]

Okay, found some resources - standard stuff really.

Unfortunately my stuff won't be arriving today as they were waiting to here back from me to confirm the shipment. It's coming tomorrow instead. :)

[alien9168]

Wow laurence! That ancor coral looks amazing!

[NexDog]

Corals arrived in good conditions. I'm really gutted that my camera is broken because you just gotta see that frogspawn and anchor. These things are like green neon lights in the tanks - seriously. Looks like they are plugged into the mains. I did pay the equivalent of $220 for frogspawn which is twice the normal price here and now I know why. :D

The anchor is not as big as the one in that pic. That pic must have shown a few together...Mine has six heads but wow, they are amazing.

The millepora is also outstanding. It's pink with green polyps - my favourite SPS so far. I'll see if I can borrow a digital camera tomorrow. :)

[LeftCoast]

This puts you in a quandry. More corals or a new camera. Hmmmmmmm.........difficult. :D

[NexDog]

I need to have my cake and eat it. ;)

[grallster]

That is one pricey frogspawn!

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7142560#post7142560 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
I need to have my cake and eat it. ;)

Dont worry...you do :thumbsup:

[NexDog]

I managed to get some photos out of my camera but they really do suck big time. The shutter speed is seriously slow so it's hard to get a clear shot. Anyhow, might give you some idea....

Anchor:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/anchor_phone.jpg

Frogspawn:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/frogspawn_phone.jpg

Both:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/anchor_frogspawn_phone.jpg

[alien9168]

I like there placement in the tank. :)

[NexDog]

Hmmm, I have a dilema. My shop of choice just got some new livestock. I've been waiting for them to get some nice monti caps and I don't think I can pass this one up:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/13-041101.jpg

What say you?

[NexDog]

Outstanding collection of mostly Millepora (I think) on this page:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/listin2.html

My wife is going to kill me.

[jeffbrig]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7156029#post7156029 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
What say you?
AYE!!




<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7156029#post7156029 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
My wife is going to kill me.
Aye!!

[Bax]

Go for the purple monti... and yup, you're a dead man walking.

Regardless of gender, it's hard not to financially pi**s off your significant other with this hobby ... wait till she sees an electric bill, yikes!

[LeftCoast]

Personally, I say "hot damn!" and recommend getting the monti. As for A. milleporas, go for "0411-10? 9800 yen"http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-10.jpg

[LeftCoast]

I think that one could keep the yellow/blue coloration or possibly develop pink.

[NexDog]

Bax, she's pretty good with it as long as everything is paid for. I bought her a 10 grand Lassen seriagraph when we built this house. That was her indulgence and mine is the tank. :D

Spiffman, there are a few pink Millipora's and some look pinker than that. Is there any reason you singled out that one? Here's a few:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-11.jpg

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-09.jpg

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-05.jpg

This one looks like it could develop a stag type shape?

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-04.jpg

And this might be a nice yellow:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-01.jpg

And what a lovely green Milli:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-07.jpg

My wallet is in flames just thinking about it. :D

[gkarshens]

I vote for the second one above.

[LeftCoast]

I just really liked the color combo. I'm not singling it out because it could develop pink...that was just a thought. I really like the looks of it right now.

[NexDog]

Okay, screw it, Millipora tanks it is. :D

I'm getting the purple monti, the one you pointed out, Gabriel's choice and that last green one. I'd like to grab 5 of the Millipora's but I just can't afford to blow a grand on corals in a month. :(

[NexDog]

Just received an email saying the purple monti has gone already. The pitfalls of online shopping. :(

[alien9168]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7161477#post7161477 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Just received an email saying the purple monti has gone already. The pitfalls of online shopping. :(

:(

That stinks man....i guess your right, its one of the downsides of shopping online, but then again, there are lots of upsides, like the other corals youve purchased ;) :smokin:

[NexDog]

Well, not a total loss. I know exactly when they get their new livestock now I have monti caps on pre-order. I'll get a call if something nice comes in. :)

So as a consolation I got these:

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-10.jpg

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-09.jpg

http://natyu.ne.jp/seitai/0411-07.jpg

They'll be here tomorrow afternoon. :smokin:

On another note, one of the Lyretails is sick. For 36 hours she has been lying at the bottom of the tank or behind a powerhead. Colour is very mottled - almost looks like a wheelers goby with red and white bands. I'm thinking maybe brook but I'm not really up on what diseases Anthia are prone to. I gave her a 45 minute Formalin bath and also treated the whole QT. No immediate change but fingers crossed for tomorrow morning.

[revclyburn]

Hey nextdog,

have to prices on angels come down, you know the ones I asked you about, the Peppermint Angels?

Rev

[NexDog]

I haven't seen any available and I don't think I will. It's such a sought after fish that you'd have to put in a special request. I'll make some calls tomorrow and see what I can come up with.

[NexDog]

And on yet another note, I think I'm going to jump on the Prodibio bandwagon as I will now have 10 acro colonies. Of the 7 I got originally 3 are showing no growth and next to no polyp extension. They are:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps3.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps5.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/newsps6.jpg

The other corals are doing great and the A. nobilis or yongei (didn't get a definite ID) has about 1cm growth on some of its tips already. Calcium levels are fine, magnesium is fine, no shortage of light but some just aren't growing. Maybe due to my lack of flow in the tank as I didn't bother hooking up the closed loops. Waiting on those Vortechs.

[alien9168]

Nice corals... some consolation ;)

[alien9168]

oh...almost forgot that you were getting vortechs, post pics when you get them...they look awsome from the video i saw on the web, and the reviews ive read! :)

TUNZE vs. VORTECH

dududud dum.... :smokin:

[melev]

Laurence, your tank is young, and acropora are very demanding. They like very stable water, and young tanks tend to swing quite a bit.

[jeffbrig]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7162663#post7162663 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
And on yet another note, I think I'm going to jump on the Prodibio bandwagon as I will now have 10 acro colonies. Of the 7 I got originally 3 are showing no growth and next to no polyp extension.

You and I are on the same learning curve, Laurence. I have 7 acro frags in my tank right now. One bleached the first day and still hasn't recovered, I think it's a goner. Of the remaining ones, some showed good polyp extension, others still haven't put out any polyps. Most of them do appear to have grown a little bit, though. After a week on the bottom, I moved them to various locations in the tank, and one of the highest ones bleached after a few days (so I moved it back down). Two others have since been bulldozed by snails, and broke off their mounts. Maybe one day I'll figure out how to do this right... :D

Oh, and right now none of them look anywhere near as good as the pictures where I ordered them. :(

[scarletknight06]

wow, what are you doing stocking sps if you have no significant flow in a young tank?! of course they're going to not do well. you've got some reading to do.

[NexDog]

Jeff, nothing has bleached - just a few acros aren't showing good PE.

Marc, young tanks can still handle SPS and you see plenty of them on RC. Take Energy's tank for example. The pics that Spazz first posted were only 3-4 months after the tank went up. Remember I didn't just throw in 100 kilos of LR, let it cycle and then add corals (I've read those articles too). I transferred everything from my 50g and added a few pieces of LR every frew days that I cured first. You won't see me making any newbie mistakes and my progress shows that. ;)

Alien - will definitely post pics. EM says they are sending out end of April so might even be a matter of weeks but probably won't be until mid-May I'm sure.

[NexDog]

Just received an email from Reef Nutrition concerning my order of pods and it's good news. They had to check that they would travel well and apparently it looks like if they send on a certain day they will get here okay. So they are sending them on Friday. I'm going to check out some mandarins later today. :)

[GreshamH]

Your copepods will be in a breathable bag, not the retail poly containers most people see. I'll make sure to over count for you, well, more (over counting) then usual :D

Gresham
Reef Nutrition

[NexDog]

Thanks Gresham, feel free to overcount as much as physically possible. :D

So the corals arrived - wow, what colours. Really wishing my camera (as crap as it was) was working. I think I need to rethink my rockwork because these colonies are just too damn big to fit in between rocks. Also need more epoxy so will order in tonight. That will be it for coral until mid-may though although I think I've done well in a short space of time.

The sick Lyretail is still hanging in there (unbelievably). Going to do a WC there tonight and dose Formalin again. I'm one week away from the 4 week mark and I hope I'll end up with 5 Lyretails. One has grown alot and I suspect will change to male soon. A few others have really "oranged" up and another two haven't grown much and look the same as when I got them a month ago.

I'm getting the mandarins tomorrow and will QT them for a while in a spare 20 gallon tank. I'm not going to hypo these fish as the general consensus is that these fish aren't very susceptible to Ich. I'll run my 8w UV Steriliser on the tank though in the hope that it will kill any hitchhiking parasites.

There are two striped mandarins there. One is slightly bigger than the other. I read that the male has a longer dorsal fin than the female and the bigger mandarin's dorsal does look a bit bigger. Does anyone know where to find good pictures of the male and female striped mandarins? And if I was to end up with 2 males or 2 females would they fight?

[jnarowe]

Wow Dog, Acros and mandarins? That's moving fast...I know you transferred in your old tank but those are very sensitive creatures. I hope they do OK. Of course I got a ration of crap for dropping in a BTA and mated maroons so soon after the cycle. But that was a SPECIAL situation!:p

[NexDog]

I'm pushing the boat out, breaking down the barriers of pre-conceived notions. I'm a wayshower, what can I say. :D

I think my water is pretty stable. Tank is young but I didn't shock the water. All params are super stable and at perfect levels (Ca: 420, Mag: 1300, PO3: 0.001, Nitrate: 1). Nothing died off in my tank like it prolly did in yours. ;) I've researched high and low and I believe my current methodology is fine. I haven't lost any corals - no RTN, no STN, no bleaching. I lost some fish on the last QT cycle but QT is a process that needs to be streamlined and I got it down now. Only thing I'm lacking is serious flow but from what I've read SPS don't die because of that - they just don't thrive.

I have billions of amphipods and some mandarin owners here on RC say their mandarins eat amphipods. If they don't, I have the copepods coming on Monday but I must have some copepods in my tanks. The mandarins will go in QT with some LR that I'll pull out the main tank and some pod infested caulerpa and I'll try and train them to eat prepared foods. I have angles covered but I'm still reading, still learning, still absorbing. I'm very happy with how everything is going so far. :)

[scarletknight06]

just to clarify. you will see some STN on sps from lack of flow. especially around the base of acros

[NexDog]

In that case I'll hook up one of my closed loops as a temporary measure. Thanks for the clarification. Will do tomorrow. :)

[grallster]

Scarletknight took the words right out of my mouth.

[NexDog]

You should see a doctor - might be nasty. :D

I'm seriously battered today after an intense 2 hour training session at the dojo last night. Back is sore, ripped the skin off my toes on my right foot, wrenched my already weak shoulder (which has never been the same since wrecking it when I was a snowboarding bum) plus I caught a nice hook right on the chops splitting my bottom lip. Second dan training sessions are tough. :D

My sick Lyretail looks alot better today. She had a Formalin bath the other day and I did a 30% water change three days ago and another one yesterday and have dosed Formalin in the tank the last 3 days too. She's not out of the woods as she still isn't active (at all) but she is now a nice orange and mottled look has gone. It's always a feeling of achievement when you cure a fish so I really hope she pulls through. :)

[jnarowe]

Yeah that Dojo action can get rough! I haven't gotten back on the mat since my stroke...but I know what you mean about a weak shoulder. I broke my AC joint mountain biking and that made training much more difficult. My son will test for red here in a month or two.

[NexDog]

Snowboarding does to shoulders what American football does to knees. I dislocated my shoulders so many times I lost count. I pounded my left shoulder once - completely snapped all the ligaments, broke collar bone, and did serious damage to the ball joint. I still have what the doctors like to call "free bodies" in my shoulder which are little shards of bone. Sometimes one will work itself into the joint and when that happens I'm out of action completely. They suggested another operation to "look for" and and remove these shards but the first operation was a complete failure so I don't have much faith. They failed to find the ligaments, I had pins in my shoulder for 6 months and the outcome was the same if I'd never even had an operation. Grrrrr. Oh, and that's my good shoulder. :D

[LeftCoast]

:eek: Painful, much?

[NexDog]

Don't get me wrong, it hurt like hell. I came down hard, completely inverted, on the lip of a half-pipe after getting lots of speed and lot of air. But I still picked myself up and rode down to the bottom of the mountain. When I woke up after the operation I was on zero painkillers - now that was the pure definition of pain.

Hey Spiffman, do you agree on the lack of flow causing STN on SPS?

So I got the mandarins. They are happy in QT and picking at the rocks. Hope to have them on normal foods with a week. :)

[jnarowe]

My surgeon told me that there are a variety of "fixes" for the AC joint, and the reason is that none of them work. He suggested I not have surgery and just build up the shoulder muscles to compensate for the broken joint. Couldn't sleep on that side for years.

[NexDog]

So got a few new shipments coming. The pods have been shipped and I ordered 10 sticks of epoxy from MarineDepot. Five of the aquastick and 5 of the Tunze type. All my acros are too loose and in places where they fit instead of places where I want them. So I'm going to crazy with the epoxy and do some acroscaping. :D

Also getting some types of pellet food that was recommended by Steven Pro and a few other people. New Spectrum pellets and some spirulina based flake.

[Bebo77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7180714#post7180714 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
So got a few new shipments coming. The pods have been shipped and I ordered 10 sticks of epoxy from MarineDepot. Five of the aquastick and 5 of the Tunze type. All my acros are too loose and in places where they fit instead of places where I want them. So I'm going to crazy with the epoxy and do some acroscaping. :D

Also getting some types of pellet food that was recommended by Steven Pro and a few other people. New Spectrum pellets and some spirulina based flake.


nextdog do not use 2 part epoxy on SPS frags it may damage and or destroy the frag use super glue gel.

[NexDog]

Super-glue gel is not enough to hold down a largish SPS colony. A long as the epoxy doesn't actually touch the coral I don't see a problem. All my acros come attached to a large piece of rock or other material.....

[Bebo77]

i thought you were getting frags..

in that case it should not be a problem.. Deltec sells some epoxy that is better than the aquastik(dont like those at all)

its not cheap but it bonds alot better than anything else that i have seen... http://www.deltecusa.us/aquariummedia/aquascape.php

[NexDog]

Thanks for the tip. I'll email Doug and get a few boxes. :)

[NexDog]

More lame shots from my phone - of the new milliporas this time:

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/new_milli.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/milli_pink.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/milli_purple.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/milli_green.jpg

In the tank waiting for expoxy. :)

http://japanreef.com/images/stock/new_milli2.jpg

[jnarowe]

Do you really need the epoxy with pieces that large?

[grallster]

You can just use regular epoxy putty from the hardware store if you don't want to wait.

[NexDog]

Jonathan - yea, if I put them where I want to put them. All 10 acros are about that size or bigger. Some are alot bigger actually and only a few are wedged in tight.

grallster - I'd rather use something that I know is safe. Plus it's on its way now. The MD order and Reef Nutrition shipments were sent 30 minutes apart and both being in California they should travel up to Alaska together and then into Osaka.

[dgasmd]

I would get rid of those plugs before putting the corals in the tank. Just re-glue the corals to rocks. Those freaking plugs are responsible for more algae problems in tanks than anything else in the last 10 years in the hobby.

[jnarowe]

dgasmd, Why is that?

Also, I finally went to your web site and checked out your system. Have you already installed the powerheads? I am curious if you have numbers for electrical savings yet. I couldn't believe your bill got up that high. Maybe a neighbor has tapped your line??:D

I am planning on using Vortechs but the wait is killing me...I figure maybe $200-$300/month for my tank, but I have designed it initially to be fairly cost effective.

[dgasmd]

Those plugs come infested with algae. Nothing to do with the make up of the plug itself. Even when they look clean and all, they will give you all kinds of nasty algae to grow.I'll PM you to keep this thread on track.

[NexDog]

Feeel free to post any info like that in this thread. I'd be VERY wary of breaking off a coral and reattaching it (scare me _____). I've had zero problems with algae so far and my RODI is now oushing out water at 0.28 TDS. I simply refuse to spend $$$$$ in membranes every 3 months. I actually only get 0 readings for about 3 weeks anyway. Even when I used tap water when I started with a 20g I didn't have algae problems so maybe our water doesn't have the impurities that cause algae issues....

[Purple Haze]

Dgas is correct. Ditch the plugs. I can see some some growth on one of the plugs. You don't want any of that reattaching somewhere else in that tank.

I'd put them in, let them acclimate a week or two, then break out the dremel.

[NexDog]

They look clean. That stuff you can see is some kind of taping that was used to connect everything. It doesn't cut easily and is very frayed looking like nasty algae.

[LeftCoast]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7175621#post7175621 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Hey Spiffman, do you agree on the lack of flow causing STN on SPS?

Yes. But the milleporas are looking nice.

[NexDog]

Okay, definitely hooking up a CL today or tomorrow. Prolly will be a microbubble nightmare but is only for a month.

[Bebo77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7184936#post7184936 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Feeel free to post any info like that in this thread. I'd be VERY wary of breaking off a coral and reattaching it (scare me ______). I've had zero problems with algae so far and my RODI is now oushing out water at 0.28 TDS. I simply refuse to spend $$$$$ in membranes every 3 months. I actually only get 0 readings for about 3 weeks anyway. Even when I used tap water when I started with a 20g I didn't have algae problems so maybe our water doesn't have the impurities that cause algae issues....

Amen Amen Amen Amen

thank you finally someone else who can openly admit that they can live with a number above 3 :D :D :D

I think the same way as you... my fish are not going to poop in water that is cleaner than the water that i drink!

[jnarowe]

It's interesting that his water comes out at over zero in such a short time. I filled my tank over 28 days with 1000g of water and only changed the DI resin on one of the canisters once. I typically get about 1000g before I get any reading above zero. But that may be due to the very low incoming TDS of our well water. It comes in at about 60 - 70 ppm.

[Bebo77]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7185265#post7185265 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
It's interesting that his water comes out at over zero in such a short time. I filled my tank over 28 days with 1000g of water and only changed the DI resin on one of the canisters once. I typically get about 1000g before I get any reading above zero. But that may be due to the very low incoming TDS of our well water. It comes in at about 60 - 70 ppm.

my water here in LA come in around 250 so that is VERY LOW

you are a lucky man

[NexDog]

Okay guys, smething weird going on here. I decided to check everything and the results are strange. Our water is pretty good as its mountain spring water (we live in between active volcanoes) and I get 68ppm from the tap. I just tested teh output from my RODI unit and it is actually 0.02. Hmmm, so I then did what I did the other day which was test the water in the RODI reservoir and it was 0.28.

So my 50g reservoir is contaminated somehow. Must be some kind of sediment buildup at the bottom because it drained the other day (by accident) down to a few inches from the bottom and I filled it up in one go (so no TDS creep). I use a 50g reservoir and a separate 10g auto topoff container and just pmp from one to the other every few days. Anyhow, looks like I need to drain and scrub out that 50g container which I'll do when it empties.

[Bebo77]

you guys and you well and mountain spring water pshhh

[NexDog]

Yep, pretty lucky in that regard. :)

Even though the two shipments were FedEx'd at the same time and both from California they aren't coming together. The shipment of pods already got to Alaska and has left there on its way to Japan. The order from MarineDepot is still in California and just left Oakland which is their last port of call in teh US.

Difference is the type of FedEx service. ReefNutrition sent by "International Priority Service" due to the live nature of the shipment and MD sent by the standard "International Economy".

MarineDepot's shipping is very cheap though so no complaints here. :)

[NexDog]

Thought I'd post my Stock List. Fish left to acquire in Red.

Tangs:
Yellow Tang
Powder Blue Tang
Ctenochaetus Tang (Kole or Chevron)
Clown Tang

Angels:
Imperator Angel
Flame Angel
Coral Beauty
Regal Angel

Anthias:
10 Lyretail Anthias

Clowns:
Clarkii Clown Pair

Gobies:
Six-Spot Diamond Goby (3)
Yellow Watchman Goby

Wrasses:
Golden Coris
6-Line
McCosker's Fairy
Few others

Misc:
Blue/Green Chromis
Mandarins (2)

Left to acquire:
Regal Angel
Clown Tang
Longnose Hawks (2)
Banggai Cardinals (2)
5 Lyretail Anthias
2 Six-Spot Diamond Gobies

At the moment I have 9 fish in the display and the Powder Blue and 5 Anthias in QT will be going in at the end of the week. Plus the two Mandarins so 16 fish at the moment. My next batch of fish will probably be more Lyretails, the Kole or Chevron Tang and the Longnose Hawks. The Six-Spot Diamond or Sleeper Goby is not very interesting being white but my current one does such a great job of turning the sand over that I want to get 2 more. The Coris and 6-Line is mainly for FW duty.

Any thoughts, comments, recommendations welcome. :)

[rulesmith]

I may have made a big mistake today. I picked up a african yellowtail coris wrasse. Hope I do not come to rue this day. What is FW duty?

[melev]

Laurence, I must be missing something here, or time passes faster in your area than in mine. I know you have a lot of water to work with, so issues are quite diluted, but I'm worried you are stocking too quickly. I mentioned as much when the mandarins went in, but now that I've seen the fish list, I feel it so much more.

When I set up my 280g, I transferred livestock from two tanks into it as well as the livestock that came with the tank in the first place. It looked great, and did well for a while. However, after 6 months, things started imploding. I had as many as 29 fish at one point, and nitrate and PO4 were uncontrollable. Of course, I didn't have the proper sump, skimmer & refugium at that point, but the fish load was heavy. I fed much more back then, and dosed a lot of phyto. Basically, it was a compilation of issues - not just one thing. This isn't a race, so I'm recommending a good dose of patience as you add livestock. At this point, you have 9 coral frags, right? Why not observe their growth for the next 90 days before getting more? If something goes wrong, you won't lose a vast amount of corals.

Back to the mandarins. I know you've had the tank up for a few months (three?), but mandarins rely on live food for long term success. Anthony Calfo recommends 200lbs of LR per mandarin. You do have bottles of pods coming in the mail, which is good. However, any idea how many of those could be eaten by the mandarin in one session? I have a feeling if you poured them out into a bowl and put the mandarin in there, you'd have zero in short time. Most people that buy pods use these to seed a refugium and their rockwork, to build up the pod polulation in preperation for this fish. The Six-Line Wrasse, like most wrasses, eats copepods as well. So you've got three fish that will make quick work of the pods. And you've got plans to get more wrasses.

Switching gears - water. Your TDS reading confuses me just a bit. You said the tap water is 68, but the RO water is .02 and the water in the resevoir is .28 What device provides decimal point readings? If it really is .28, that is great as that is still less than 1. Whenever you test water, it should be a clean cup, independant of the system. Turn on the RO unit and let it run 1 minute, then collect a sample for testing. RO/DI water is very pure, and really is like a magnet toward impurities. So as it sits there quietly in a container, it gets dirtier over time, unless the container is sealed tightly. Anything in the air lands in that water and raises the reading. You don't really have to lose sleep over this.

You mentioned replacing membranes. Hopefully you mean cartridges. The membrane in your unit should be good for 3 to 5 years, while the prefilter cartridges are good for 6 months. The DI is good for 12 months - normally. You have a larger system and will use quite as bit of water, so you may need to change them more frequently.

I like the frags on the plugs. It keeps them in place, and the tissue will encrust over them if you do everything right. I've not had the same experience the others were describing with nuisance algae. Since the corals just went through the stress of shipping and acclimation, plus now they are in an entirely different home (different water, different flow, different lighting, different photoperiod, different food....), I would personally not stress them further.

I love a variety of fish too. The Regal Angel strikes me as a no-no in a reef tank. Have you heard or seen differently? It truly is gorgeous, but along with the tangs will add significantly to your bioload and pollute the water around the clock. Even with the few large fish I have now, I think I'd prefer a bunch of tiny fish instead. And how come you don't have a Blue Damsel on the list? :lol:

[Purple Haze]

"FW duty"= flatworm duty i'd guess.

Coris Wrassies=not reef safe, from the ones i've seen.

[melev]

Yellow Coris Wrasses and the Lemon Meringue Wrasse (it has a white belly) are both fine in a reef tank.

[rulesmith]

Just looked at salwaterfish, and looked at the pictures there. it looks to me to be a red coris wrasse adult. It says monitor for how reef safe it is. So far he has left my little hermits and snails alone. I did see him go after a bristle worm. I guess all I can do now is monitor, and hope I do not have to remove 500 lbs. of live rock out. ahh well.

[melev]

A Red Coris wrasse is not reef-safe. You might be able to see where it goes into the sand for the night, and then scoop it up in one deft motion with a sturdy net before it can awaken and blast away.

[NexDog]

FW - Flat Worms, yep. :)

Marc, thanks so much for your post and you are so right. I have 10 acros now - all of a good size (i.e. not one branch frags). I won't be adding any more SPS for 2 months at least as I want to get the Vortechs in and get the flow going first. One exception is the Monti caps I have put on order. If I get a call on those I will put them in but only those. I know I've been moving fast but like I said before, it's not like I just dumped in 200lbs of uncured rock. I cured it and introduced it slowly. I've always treated my biological filter with care and attention. The rock went in 3 months ago, yes....

As for the fish, I had 7 in there to start. Six weeks ago I introduced two more (flame angel and juvie emperor). End of this week I'm introducing 6 more. Then the biological filter has 2 months to adjust and I'll be adding 5-6 more. So will have 20 fish at the 5-6 month mark in a 450g system where everything is introduced over time.

With the mandarins I'm trying to get them to eat baby brine at the moment. The pods have a fuge to breed and multiply in. If this shipment comes in okay I'll order another 4 bottles in 2 weeks too putting half in the fuge and half in the display.

I know it's not a race but I'm keen to get it to a point where I'm happy with it quickly and then let it develop and mature. I don't think I'm being over-zelous. I spend alot of time on RC and online researching everything. I guess time will tell if I've been foolhardy but right now it seems I'm doing okay. What I'm saying is that systems can be built quickly if it's done right and we this often on RC. I'm no pro but I've learned alot and continue to learn everyday.

Finally, on the biological front, Iwan's tank has 42 fish and his system is smaller than mine. I think I'll be going the Prodibio route as he says using those products is what enables him to have a high bioload. Fish-wise my bioload is tiny and at the end of this week I'll have 15 fish in there introduced over a four month period. A biolfilter is something that can develop very quickly so my fish stocking and stock list doesn't concern me in the least. Introducing 35-45 fish over the course of a year or more bears no risk to the biolfilter (IMO) and with products like Bioptim and Biodigest to help, I'm very positive that I can accomplish this.

So in summary, no more SPS for at least 2 months while I concentrate on the tank itself (flow and hooking up chiller). On the fish front, I'm kind of decided but open to arguments against my plan. I'm just sure the biolfilter ca keep up. I might not do the whole 45 fish on that list though because as the tank gets stock, I'll be continually re-evaluating the situation.

On to the Regal Angel. From what I've read in the Reef Fishes forum (where I spend alot of time), the general consensus that out of all the larger angels the Emperor and the Regal come with the least risks. But like with all fish, it depends on the fish. I really do love this fish. That and the Clown Tang are my favourites and I simply have to throw caution to the wind and try.

Lastly the water issue. Tap water is 0.68, the RODI comes out at 0.02 which is great. The reservoir where the RODI outputs to is 0.28. I do keep it covered as much as possible but I guess stuff has gradually built up. I'll scrub it down when that 50g is empty. :)

[melev]

While live brine (nauptilii) will definitely help, mandarins need a steady supply of copepods in their diet. Hopefully you'll have enough of both.

Let me be sure to commend you on your research. Reading all you can will usually end in success more often than failure. However, our hearts, our eyes and those darn vendors are good at getting us worked up over some stunning fish or coral and we decide we must have it. So try to be strong, stick to your plan and resist.

So far, the Prodibio route hasn't really given me any reason to think it can reduce PO4 or nitrates, but I've only dosed twice. My Calcium Reactor is a problem at the moment, as the effluent is 1.0 in PO4, so I'll have to get that handled. The tank is .25 to .5, but the output of the Phosban Reactor is .03

You'll get that stunning display, and you'll have every reason to be proud of it. I'm just going to try to put a few ankle weights on you for a bit, to slow you down if possible. :)

[dgasmd]

On the coral plugs. I've had a few and so have pretty much everyone I know. They come seeded with nuissance algae even though they look pretty clean. They scrub them before shipping out to the US and other parts. I am surprised to see melev have not had the same issues, but they are extremely common. It is up to you, but I still think that getting rid of the plug and re-gluing is far easier than trying to get rid of the algae later on. And it will not happen next week, but rather in 2-4 months down the road.

As far as the water, I leave alone the way it i. You are doing too much for too little in terms of scrubbing containers and such for such a tiny amount of nothing. There is always a point of diminishing returns for everything and this is it buddy.

The fish. I would certainly get rid of a few fish in your list. One is the clown tang. Along with the achiles and the sohal, they are the nastiest fish ever. In time, you will regreat it. Again, that time may be a year down the road when your reef is settle and growing well and you now have to tear it up to get it out. Along the same lines goes for Imperator Angel, Flame Angel, and Coral Beauty. They will in time start picking at things. I've had the same experience with the flame as have 3 other people local to me and 4 people I can think of where I lived previously. They may be fine now, but regardless of feeding and such they will develop to pick at things over time. The regal angel is a toss up. If you have no fleshy LPS like bubble corals, open brains, acanthastreas, etc then I would say OK. I only keep acros and montis and mine has not touched any. Greg Schiemer has one for 7 years and has had the same experience. My buddy in MD got one and it decimated about $10,000 worth of acanthastreas and other corals over night. Your choice though. I would also get rid of the 6-line wrasse. Extremely nasty fish as little as they are!!!

The mandarin. This fish is certainly doomed for demise over the next few weeks. Hardly any ever get to eat anything else other than copepods. Even when they do, they still need a healthy supply of copepods for their primary dietary needs. A single fish can easily consume over 2000 pods in one day. Copepods ahve a 30 day life cycle before they are of reproductive age, so if you are adding 10 bottles of the stuff you order, which I have used in the past and can tell you hardly contains many of them, you are still not doing much for them. Brine shrimp has very poor nutrional value unless ou are hatching them, gut loading them with phyto, and then feeding it to a fish within the first 2 days so the hatch still has the yolk sac attached to it (nutrional). The other alternative to make them nutritious is wait until the brine is larger and gut load them with cyclopeeze befor feeding to the fish. The real question after all this is: are you willing to do all this work daily with cultures and such for a single tiny fish and still an extremely poor chance of survival when you could just wait a good 9 months and then just simply add the fish??? The answer is yours........

Just some suggestions, so take them for what they are worth to you................:)

[jnarowe]

Gabriel The main problem with my water is not TDS but varying levels of pH, nitrate and phosphate. I pulled my hair out for months over phosphate problems in my FW planted tank until I went to RO/DI.

QUick note about RO/DI...having a higher level of TDS in your holding container means that somehow it is becoming contaminated. I would suggest installing a new 1/4" line to it, as well as draining and wiping it down with an alcohol soaked rag.

You could also very easily put a DI canister after your holding tank and before your top-off. That would scrub the rest of the TDS off and would take a very long time to be exhausted.

On the coral plugs...I have not had enough experience to comment on the plugs but I will say that even when I glue a frag onto a rock, algae is still a problem to contend with. I believe that is because my system is still young and I don't have the algae under control. I am reducing lighting time but I see a general dying off anyway. At some point it will equalize and not to hammer those of you who are more experience reefers, but algae is very easy to control by removing nutrients that it uses and having a light nap in the middle of the day. Just turning off the lamps for one hour in the middle of the day will greatly reduce nuisance algae and in the case of my lengthy experimentation, completey eliminate it.

[TJcop]

I (unfortunately) must agree that the plugs do bring in unwanted items. Not just algae, but Aiptasia, bugs, etc. I've fallen victim to Aiptasia and algae. I now cut off as much of the plug without cutting into the coral. I also dip my corals.

As I set up my new system, I'm not taking a chance with anything! Quarantine, dip, seperate grow out...yeah, alot of work, but I think it's worth it.

[jnarowe]

what are you dipping them in?

[TJcop]

I dip them into Iodine and/or FW exit to prevent bugs.

[ricordiaking]

You should get a pair of Wide Band Clownfish (Amphiprion Latezonatus), you would really love em.

[dgasmd]

Shouldn't be too hard for him to get them there. Here, that is another story altogether. I have had my eye out for a couple of years now trying to land a pair. If you know a source, by all means take me out of my misery!!!!!!!!!

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7185845#post7185845 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by melev
While live brine (nauptilii) will definitely help, mandarins need a steady supply of copepods in their diet. Hopefully you'll have enough of both.

Let me be sure to commend you on your research. Reading all you can will usually end in success more often than failure. However, our hearts, our eyes and those darn vendors are good at getting us worked up over some stunning fish or coral and we decide we must have it. So try to be strong, stick to your plan and resist.

So far, the Prodibio route hasn't really given me any reason to think it can reduce PO4 or nitrates, but I've only dosed twice. My Calcium Reactor is a problem at the moment, as the effluent is 1.0 in PO4, so I'll have to get that handled. The tank is .25 to .5, but the output of the Phosban Reactor is .03

You'll get that stunning display, and you'll have every reason to be proud of it. I'm just going to try to put a few ankle weights on you for a bit, to slow you down if possible. :)
I think I will hold out for a month or two and wait and see what the consensus is because alot of people have started using using due to Iwan's tank. He also states that his DSB is largely responsible for his denitrification. I'm thinking of doing a remote DSB in a similar plastic tank as to what I'm using for the RODI reservoir but as sand costs me $10 per pound (2kg) I will be getting the sand from a beach. The RDSB would have to be outside which makes me nervous. Some ill-minded individual could pour bleach in it etc. I'll probably make some neat box out of wood and house the DSB container in there along with the chiller. But this is down the road if I can't control nitrates. But with my mainly BB system and regular sand siphoning I hope I won't have a problem.

[jnarowe]

Keep in mind that the "sand" that is used in most captive reefs is crushed coral. I don't know what you have in Japan, but you need to collect from an area that has coral sand.

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7186185#post7186185 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by dgasmd
The fish. I would certainly get rid of a few fish in your list. One is the clown tang. Along with the achiles and the sohal, they are the nastiest fish ever. In time, you will regreat it. Again, that time may be a year down the road when your reef is settle and growing well and you now have to tear it up to get it out. Along the same lines goes for Imperator Angel, Flame Angel, and Coral Beauty. They will in time start picking at things. I've had the same experience with the flame as have 3 other people local to me and 4 people I can think of where I lived previously. They may be fine now, but regardless of feeding and such they will develop to pick at things over time. The regal angel is a toss up. If you have no fleshy LPS like bubble corals, open brains, acanthastreas, etc then I would say OK. I only keep acros and montis and mine has not touched any. Greg Schiemer has one for 7 years and has had the same experience. My buddy in MD got one and it decimated about $10,000 worth of acanthastreas and other corals over night. Your choice though. I would also get rid of the 6-line wrasse. Extremely nasty fish as little as they are!!!
The coral beauty does seem to nip a bit. Nothing serious though and I can live with it for now. The juvie emperor is also nipping at the brain a little. The flame angel isn't nipping at all. I know what you're saying about the clown tang but I really want one. I've wanted one since before I knew what it was....

The 6-Line is one fish on the list that I'm not so keen on. I hear they like to eat flatworms so was thinking about one for preventative measures.
The mandarin. This fish is certainly doomed for demise over the next few weeks. Hardly any ever get to eat anything else other than copepods. Even when they do, they still need a healthy supply of copepods for their primary dietary needs. A single fish can easily consume over 2000 pods in one day. Copepods ahve a 30 day life cycle before they are of reproductive age, so if you are adding 10 bottles of the stuff you order, which I have used in the past and can tell you hardly contains many of them, you are still not doing much for them. Brine shrimp has very poor nutrional value unless ou are hatching them, gut loading them with phyto, and then feeding it to a fish within the first 2 days so the hatch still has the yolk sac attached to it (nutrional). The other alternative to make them nutritious is wait until the brine is larger and gut load them with cyclopeeze befor feeding to the fish. The real question after all this is: are you willing to do all this work daily with cultures and such for a single tiny fish and still an extremely poor chance of survival when you could just wait a good 9 months and then just simply add the fish??? The answer is yours........

I'm hearing you loud and clear and I'm already regretting it. The male mandarin is dead. :( Not sure what happened but it didn't look good from the day I brought it home. It was always gasping for breath and I'm not sure why. I have a powerhead and an airstone in that QT tank. I will do my best with the female and if I fail I will wait until the end of the year for sure. I think I might just put her straight in the display - I think her chances are better there.

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190259#post7190259 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
Keep in mind that the "sand" that is used in most captive reefs is crushed coral. I don't know what you have in Japan, but you need to collect from an area that has coral sand.
I'm pretty sure any type of sand would be okay whether its argonite or silica based?

[Hop]

Nice to see that this thing is up and running. When I left town for training, I think you were just getting rock in the thing:)

I'm trying to play catch up on all my subscribed threads! Between you, jnarowe and melev, I'm going to be reading for months:)

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7188621#post7188621 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by ricordiaking
You should get a pair of Wide Band Clownfish (Amphiprion Latezonatus), you would really love em.
Not sure my resident Clarkii duo would be happy with that. :)

[NexDog]

Hey Hop, good to see you back! Did you ever decide what to do with your system? I seem to remember you were thinking about selling everything due to electricity bills and other things?

[jnarowe]

I don't think silica based sand has any buffering quality to it but I could be wrong. There must be some coral based beaches in Japan with all the islands around there. At least I would think so. here in the USA the left coast has silica based and the East coast, at least down South has coral based sand. I would put in a good effort to rty and get crushed coral. I can't imagine there is not market for it there but maybe that is what you were referring to that costs $10?

[Hop]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190350#post7190350 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by NexDog
Hey Hop, good to see you back! Did you ever decide what to do with your system? I seem to remember you were thinking about selling everything due to electricity bills and other things?
Thanks, it good to back home and here on RC. For now I'm certainly keeping the tank. I have some issues to solve and now after returning from training and a new job description, I have some major time issues. So I'm going to try to keep things simple and manageable:) More of a FOWLR and some low maintenance corals for now.

As far as the cost of the tank goes, I pulled a few switcheroos and lowered the monthly operating cost down about $100 a month:) So that helps things out a bunch.

Keep up the good work, I'll be watching closely!

[NexDog]

I'm pretty sure it's all crushed coral around here but I can't be sure. The sand I use in my main tank costs $10 for 2kg which is about 4.4lbs (typed incorrectly last time) and I remember Anthony Calfo saying that an RDSB would need to be 50g for a system of my size. No idea how much sand that would be but upwards of 100kg I'm sure and I don't feel like spending $500 on sand. :p

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190409#post7190409 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
Thanks, it good to back home and here on RC. For now I'm certainly keeping the tank. I have some issues to solve and now after returning from training and a new job description, I have some major time issues. So I'm going to try to keep things simple and manageable:) More of a FOWLR and some low maintenance corals for now.

As far as the cost of the tank goes, I pulled a few switcheroos and lowered the monthly operating cost down about $100 a month:) So that helps things out a bunch.

Keep up the good work, I'll be watching closely!
Pray tell, what did you do? :)

[Hop]

Well for now I'm only running two MH and I shortened the lighting period across the board. Then I got rid of the Sequence Barracuda and replaced it with a blueline. Finally I just started tweaking the AC Jr and playing with various timing of key components and stuff and found a lower end of the "sweet spot" of the tank. It shaved a nice chunk off my electric bill:) I'm not certain that the tank is running perfect, but it's running and everything seems healthy. I just have a bit of an algae issue on the rear pane...

[jnarowe]

I put about 300 lbs. in my 50g RDSB and it's plenty deep. But I understand about the money believe me. If I could collect it locally I would have. See what you can do and just remember to sift it. If you rinse it too much you will lose the benefits of live sand...maybe going out on a boat and getting it away from shore would be the best idea. It would be a pain but then you would get true live sand and hopefully much less or zero pollutants.

Dreamy! Free live sand! DROOOOL...

[NexDog]

Hop, I got rid of one pump when I switched to gravity feeding my skimmer but it was only an Iwaki. I still have my big Sequence 1000 running 24/7 but the area under my rock islands is stunningly clean. I left an opening in each so I can just make out a small area and I can see the reflections of the loc-lines so it's doing its job. I just can't see a way to streamline down my bill at all....

Jonathan, I was just going to go down the beach and scoop up the dry sand in buckets. Then I can sieve any crap out of it. Sand doesn't need to be live as it's just there for denitrifying bacteria and those bacteria will soon colonise the sand (within a few months?).

[Hop]

Hmmm... Somehow I really messed up the headloss calc when I was planning mine. I expected the sequence to be the right pump, but found out that I was way over powered. I bet I was pumping 1000gph through a T, right back into the sump as it was too much for the drains in the overflow to handle. Now with running the blueline, I don't have a T going back to the sump at all... and it fixed my micro bubble issue to boot:) No more filter socks!

[jnarowe]

true, but you could get some good stuff in live sand. (as well as some bad stuff) But sand off the beach is bound to have a variety of pollutants I would think. Maybe you should, if you haven't already, do some research into that.

I know with my planted tank I did several "no-nos" like I used sand and rocks from the stream on our property, and I also used worm castings in a lower layer of the substrate. Most "pros" would tell you not to even think about that but I have one of the nicest natural FW Planted tanks around.

[NexDog]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190586#post7190586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
Hmmm... Somehow I really messed up the headloss calc when I was planning mine. I expected the sequence to be the right pump, but found out that I was way over powered. I bet I was pumping 1000gph through a T, right back into the sump as it was too much for the drains in the overflow to handle. Now with running the blueline, I don't have a T going back to the sump at all... and it fixed my micro bubble issue to boot:) No more filter socks!
One thing about gravity feeding the skimmer is that I had to choke off my return pump to match the skimmer's capacity. I thought that would cure my microbubbles aswell but it didn't. Redoing the return pump's connections has been on my list for months. :p
<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190588#post7190588 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by jnarowe
true, but you could get some good stuff in live sand. (as well as some bad stuff) But sand off the beach is bound to have a variety of pollutants I would think. Maybe you should, if you haven't already, do some research into that.

I know with my planted tank I did several "no-nos" like I used sand and rocks from the stream on our property, and I also used worm castings in a lower layer of the substrate. Most "pros" would tell you not to even think about that but I have one of the nicest natural FW Planted tanks around.
My problem is lack of choice. It's either that or shelling out $500 on sand. In fact I don't even want to pay $50 for sand. If I sieve the dry sand and then rinse it really well I'm hoping it would be okay. But I'm widely open to advice on this subject. :)

[jnarowe]

<a href=showthread.php?s=&postid=7190586#post7190586 target=_blank>Originally posted</a> by Hop
Hmmm... Somehow I really messed up the headloss calc when I was planning mine. I expected the sequence to be the right pump, but found out that I was way over powered. I bet I was pumping 1000gph through a T, right back into the sump as it was too much for the drains in the overflow to handle. Now with running the blueline, I don't have a T going back to the sump at all... and it fixed my micro bubble issue to boot:) No more filter socks!

Damn I could have traded you for the 4200 I have. I just bought a new Hammerhead so I could get a little more flow. The 4200 was OK but not quite enough to keep up with all the auxilary equipment.

Do you still have the Barracuda? The algae issue should lessen with less light unless you have too much Nitrate or Phosphate in the tank. If you want to speed up the demise of the algae, just put a 1 hour nap in the middle of the light cycle. HA cannot ramp up photosysnthesis like plants and animals and nap will really screw up the HA. I have that programmed in on my FW Planted tank and it works great. Good water in, proper water changes, and a mid-day nap. That is the cure for HA.

[jnarowe]

Dog,

PM me about your set up...I have a gravity fed skimmer and I am running about 4200g/hr through my overflow with ZERO micro bubbles. maybe we can troubleshoot it so you don't have to redo anything?

Well I wonder if there aren't other options for the sand. Can't get out on a boat? What about shariing with an Aquarium getting a load in? What kind of sand is used there in construction? Swipe some sand bags off a military base?:D

Alright guys, I just took a sedative and I have to go to BED!! :sleep:

[NexDog]

That's some massive flow you have there. I'm down to about 800GPH now as that's what the Deltec 902 needs to perform at its optimum. I'm pretty sure I need to retape the nipples on the return pump. I resealed all the other joint and that's the only thing left.

[Kent E]

I'm pretty sure I need to retape the nipples




As far as enegy consumption. I have a 450 tank and I run 2- 250 xm 10k on a light mover and the sps couldn't be happier or more colorful. its an 11 hour burn time. I feed a very heavy varied food.

flow is another story, four darts 24/7. I think I'm going to use cycle-timers to cut down on energy consumption.

[jnarowe]

Pasties anyone?:D

[NexDog]

Well, that was a short-lived failure. Woke up this morning to find the second mandarin dead. I had put it in the main tank hoping to improve its chances of survival. This is the last time I get fish from that particular place as the survival rate of those fish is like 10% (seriously). When I try again in 6 months or so I'll order from favourite shop in Tokyo where the PBT and Lyretails came from.

Today is teh last day of hypo (4 weeks) and lost only one of the initial 6 Lyretails and the PBT is also doing great. I reckon I could have saved that other Lyretail too if I'd had the sense to dip and dose Formalin earlier. It has some kind of intestinal parasite I think judging by the red blotching I saw on its stomach when it died. About 10 days ago it looked like one of the Lyretails was going to die as it looked really bad. It's colour became very mottled, almost white and the only thing I could thing of was Brooklynella. A Formalin dip and subsequent dosing in the QT cured it. It's still not as active as the other 4 but its colour has fully returned. I'm going to start to raise the salinity there tonight.

[NexDog]

So the pods arrived safe and sound yesterday. I'm going to try my hand at culturing them too. I put half in the main tank, quarter in the fuge and quarter in a 5 gallon tank. I also got some Phyto-Feeat and dosed the fuge and culture tank. Feels great to find another source for stuff that I'll need. If my Clarkii pair ever spawn I might try my hand at rearing them and get live Rotifers from ReefNutrition too. If I had more space I'd start now - live Mysid too....

http://japanreef.com/images/culture/pods1.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/culture/pods2.jpg

http://japanreef.com/images/culture/phyto.jpg

Now to study up on culturing Phyto over at MelevsReef. :)

[jnarowe]

yeah Marc has some really good culturing pages. Easy to understand and execute.

[Danables]

Nexdog your tank is looking great nice job! i was woundering if you can post some more pics of your fish room and sump set up thanks

[NexDog]

I would but the only camera I have is the one on my phone and it suuuuuuccccckkkkkks. :D

[Hop]

ROFL! I'm right there with you... Dumped so much into the tank and still have a POS camera. Every time I go and look at new cameras, I think... That's $800-1200 I could spend on the tank:rolleyes:

[jnarowe]

I have apretty good digital camera but they just don't do macro very well until you get into the upper price ranges. I am bummed but I will either have to use my 35mm or buy another digital! My wife freaked when I told her how much the clowns and anemone cost. :lol:

[NexDog]

The camera I've been using for the past 5 months or so is a digital video camera that also takes stills. It did the job but nothing spectacular and it couldn't do close-ups at all. Two weeks ago we went to an amusement park and I was on a kiddies roller-coaster and it flew off my lap onto the concrete below. The video part of it still works funnily enough but it no longer recognises any memory cards. :(

[jnarowe]

That's what we call TOAST !! I had that happen and the repair place had it for 3 months and then told me it would cost as much as a new one to fix it.

[melev]

FYI, a lot of people ask about my camera. When I bought it, it cost me $550 + tax. Now you can find them on Ebay for around $200 or so. I've comtemplated buying one off Ebay just because the price is right and I like the idea of a back up for when this one fails. I know there is newer technology, but I really like mine and am used to it.

It is a Fuji Finepix S602z (zoom) - in case you want to see what kind of deal you can find. I bought a 512meg CF II memory card separately.

[jnarowe]

You are taking those photos with a 3.1 mpx camera? Are you using a macro lense?

[melev]

Just the one that is built in.

http://www.dpreview.com/reviews/fujis602z/

[jnarowe]

Wow. I am really impressed that you get such fine pics with that camera. That really says something for your photographic skills.

[melev]

I did pay a local photographer for a couple of lessons, and it was worth every dime. My site has a couple of articles about how to take pictures and how to clean them up in photoshop. Both are on the Hidden Treasure page.

[NexDog]

Damn, wish I could find someone to teach me photography.

So I got all the epoxy and other stuff from MD earlier on in the week. I was going to do a big epoxy session yesterday but when I started moving the corals around I didn't like what I saw. Some of the corals are browning at an alarming rate. I didn't notice it because it's right inside them. Strangely it's in places where the branches would shade themselves. Anyhow, because I have no direct flow on them I'm suspecting that might be the cause as suggested by other members a few pages back. So I have placed 8 out 11 acros on the right side island and yesterday I spent 6 hours plumbing......

I decided to ditch the 4-Way. I have two outlets on the right side so I hooked up a Dart to a 2" drain on the back and put a Tee coming out of it. So now I have 3000gph pushing directly over that island. But this is prolly just temporary while I wait for the Vortechs.

I hate plumbing. Typing with plastered up thumbs and fingers is my testament to that fact. :D

Crappy photos to follow. :p

[NexDog]

Okay, so the pics suck so bad I won't even bother. Each of those bulkheads is pushing out less than half that of a Vortech and the flow is already enough to blast the LTA 6 feet away. Is it okay to have flow direct like this and not pulsing like a Tunze or 4-Way etc?

[melev]

It depends upon how the corals respond to the flow. If they stay closed up, you may need to move them or redirect the flow.

[NexDog]

After my last post I found teh Dart powering the loop leaking. I tightened the nuts as much as possible but it was still dripping. I have another Dart so going to swap it out today if I can get motivated. :p

[jnarowe]

how old is the Dart that leaks? They have a break-in period and sometimes if you over-tighten that will cause it to leak too.

[NexDog]

The Dart was bought last year around October and was unused until now. It leaked and I tightened it and it was fine then I had to retape nipples etc so disconnected for that. When I reconnected it - leaked again! :(

So I just swapped it out for the other Dart. Man, what a difference. :( The leaky Dart was super silent. Seriously, couldn't hear it at all. This other (unused) Dart is noisy. More than the big Sequence 1000 and PanWorld put together. :(

[NexDog]

I've had to turn it off now. It starting 'whirring' and is periodically 'screeching'. I guess some bearing problem which I'd have no idea how to fix. So I have two usuable pumps. Thanks Sequence.

[jnarowe]

yeah the seals dried out sitting for that long. I had the same expereince with my new Hammerhead. brand new out of the box and it weeped from the seal.

Since you tightened it down I think you should open it and coat the seal with some 100% silicone grease and put it back together but not too tight. After running for a while the seal will swell up and stop leaking. PITA but that's how it works. Also make sure that the little thumb screw plug is tight. Those get knocked easily and will leak quite a bit even if only slightly loosened.

I can barely hear my hammerhead. The ballasts are significantly louder than the pump.

[NexDog]

I have a HammerHead too - just sitting around waiting to be used. :p

Wish I'd check for replies as it might have saved me some grief. I ended up pulling both pumps apart and first I swapped out the O-rings from the noisy one to the leaky one. No joy there. So then I swapped the heads around completely (the bit holding the input). Luckily this has seemed to work. I reconnected it and I have a quiet leak-less pump pushing about 3200gph over my acropora colonies. I can now watch TV with a feeling of satisfaction that I achieved something. :D

Tomorrow is epoxy day!

[jnarowe]

Well that should work fine and now you will better handle the other pumps. It's just a bit of a learning curve. :)

[NexDog]

I put the 5 Lyretails and the Powder Blue in the main tank tonight after lights off. The Anthias promptly disappeared but the PBT is pacing the tank. He isn't swimming really fast which would indicate stress but is pacing a bit. Guess he's just a bit disorientated...but I'm not worried.

[jnarowe]

PICS dude!:D

[NexDog]

No pics - sorry. :D

All the fish are doing great in their new home. The Yellow Tang is not too impressed with his cousin moving in but they'll work it out soon enough.

So I'm getting ready for this thread to split (8 posts away I think). I've stolen Marc's idea for an appendix and also Iwan's idea for summing up the tank in his first post on the new thread. So when this thread splits - I should be ready. :)

[jnarowe]

good idea!

[LoneStarSA]

Better have that first new posted written up!!

BUMP :)

[NexDog]

Hehe, yea, spent a few hours last night writing it up. :D

Aww, if I had a decent camera this thread would be more interesting at this point. Really gutted about that.

[agarza]

Only five more to go.

Get ready.....

[jnarowe]

You mean there's no cameras around there you can use??:lol:

[Habib]

test

[JohnL]

This thread was automatically split due to performance issues. You can find the rest of the thread here: http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?threadid=831638