My minimalistic 180g SPS tank

[Pife]

Looks like a great start. I also like the scape

[deeznutz1]

Very nice! how do you plan on cleaning the sand bed when things start to grow in?

-deez

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by Pife

Looks like a great start. I also like the scape

Thank you!!

Originally Posted by deeznutz1

Very nice! how do you plan on cleaning the sand bed when things start to grow in?

-deez

I dont plan to clean the sand bed, never did on my other tanks. once I have the new tank algae out of the way the goby should be able to take good care of the sand with the amount of flow in my tank

[Rakie]

Originally Posted by codydemmel4

I dont plan to clean the sand bed, never did on my other tanks. once I have the new tank algae out of the way the goby should be able to take good care of the sand with the amount of flow in my tank

Gobies really do churn up a lot of sand. You *might* also have enough room for a sand star, but the goby should be plenty. Not to mention, if you have any wrasse that are like my melanurus, he LOVES digging in the sand looking for worms (and ruining pictures).. I'm surprised how well churned he keeps the sand.

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by Rakie

Gobies really do churn up a lot of sand. You *might* also have enough room for a sand star, but the goby should be plenty. Not to mention, if you have any wrasse that are like my melanurus, he LOVES digging in the sand looking for worms (and ruining pictures).. I'm surprised how well churned he keeps the sand.

I was thinking about getting a starfish for the sand but I read they dont do well in tanks and usually only last a couple months.

Is that not correct?

[Rakie]

Originally Posted by codydemmel4

I was thinking about getting a starfish for the sand but I read they dont do well in tanks and usually only last a couple months.

Is that not correct?

Definitely not in newer tanks. They need a pretty large tank and typically do better with a deeper sand bed. I was kind of just thinking out loud, since you have very few things obstructing the sand you *might* have room for one. I would not suggest one though. I worded that poorly now that I look at it -_-

[Pife]

Page 2 and there isn't any pictures...

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by Pife

Page 2 and there isn't any pictures...

I will have to take some pictures tonight, even though it was a long weekend it was quite busy for me.

I am starting to get the uglies of a new tank (especially on the sand bed) since i used brand new live rock, obviously had to with the custom rockwork that took me a couple days and patience to put together but thats expected and as long as I can keep my levels stable the SPS should be fine

Phosphates are always reading between 0.00-0.05 which is good with me. I would like for it to be constant around 0.02 but thats hard to accomplish for me at least. It only has tested 0.05 once and that was right after I fed a decent amount to the tank.

[codydemmel4]

[codydemmel4]

Starting to get the ugly algae on the sand bed but eventually that will go away with the good filtration!

[Pife]

There they are! The frags are looking better than a week ago.

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by Pife

There they are! The frags are looking better than a week ago.

Thanks, I can definitely tell a difference in color and PE in almost all the frags. Especially the milles and the ones that browned out from the move. The PE this morning when the lights off was insane (which is what it was on my last tank) which is great to see as that is mostly how I tell how healthy and happy my frags are.

What do you guys usually go off of? I will have to try to take a picture tomorrow morning to show the PE

[codydemmel4]

So this is what has been taking up a lot of my time lately too We got a puppy a little over a week ago, which has been a great experience but is a lot of work. Wouldn't trade him for anything though.

[reefmutt]

Tank is coming along and the frags look great but that puppy!
So cute!!

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by reefmutt

Tank is coming along and the frags look great but that puppy!
So cute!!

Thank you!!

Yes he can be so cute at times and then of course a pain in the *** at others haha

[jaxspsreef]

Aquascape looks amazing!! I think corals are pretty close, might have space issues with growth. Once established they they grow quickly!

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by jaxspsreef

Aquascape looks amazing!! I think corals are pretty close, might have space issues with growth. Once established they they grow quickly!

Thank you!!

I am hoping I have that problem, it would be a good problem to have

In the case of that, I would sell my least favorite ones but I do have most on 1-2 inch frag plugs so I can move them and still have a large portion of their base.

[childress5tyler]

Awesome start! I'm starting up a smaller SPS tank and really would like to simulate this aquascape; any advice for somebody trying to copy this??

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by childress5tyler

Awesome start! I'm starting up a smaller SPS tank and really would like to simulate this aquascape; any advice for somebody trying to copy this??

What size tank?

Depending on how small you are going to go, I would try to have the rock height in the middle of the tank so if you can get a big base rock (if you can somehow make it smooth on the bottom that would be great to be more stable) that is like 3 inches below that, so if your tank is 20 inches tall get a base rock that is around 6-7 inches. Then you want to get smaller branch tonga from BRS or a LFS. Then really all you do is use zipties, silicone (not that much) but I used a lot of the marco rock cement which worked very good. Make sure you have patience when doing it.

One thing I had to do since my tank is large. I actually have a large piece of PVC on the left side that I covered with cement and then rubbed agronite sand all over it to make it look exactly like live rock.

It definitely was frustrating at some points but overall I couldnt be more happy with how it turned out. Just be patient and everything will work out. I did it over a week, with a small amount at a time and let it dry out.

[childress5tyler]

Originally Posted by codydemmel4

What size tank?

Depending on how small you are going to go, I would try to have the rock height in the middle of the tank so if you can get a big base rock (if you can somehow make it smooth on the bottom that would be great to be more stable) that is like 3 inches below that, so if your tank is 20 inches tall get a base rock that is around 6-7 inches. Then you want to get smaller branch tonga from BRS or a LFS. Then really all you do is use zipties, silicone (not that much) but I used a lot of the marco rock cement which worked very good. Make sure you have patience when doing it.

One thing I had to do since my tank is large. I actually have a large piece of PVC on the left side that I covered with cement and then rubbed agronite sand all over it to make it look exactly like live rock.

It definitely was frustrating at some points but overall I couldnt be more happy with how it turned out. Just be patient and everything will work out. I did it over a week, with a small amount at a time and let it dry out.

I'm going to be running a 28 gallon Deep Blue rimless SPS reef. I've been out of the hobby for 3 years or so and this is my "getting back into the hobby after college" tank. It needs to be small enough for an apartment but still have a little bit of space to grow.

I appreciate your advice, I've seen several time before where the aquascape depended on zip ties, etc. Regarding the marco rock cement, where would you recommend getting this from? Also, did you have any issue cycling your tank with dry rock?

Tyler

[codydemmel4]

Originally Posted by childress5tyler

I'm going to be running a 28 gallon Deep Blue rimless SPS reef. I've been out of the hobby for 3 years or so and this is my "getting back into the hobby after college" tank. It needs to be small enough for an apartment but still have a little bit of space to grow.

I appreciate your advice, I've seen several time before where the aquascape depended on zip ties, etc. Regarding the marco rock cement, where would you recommend getting this from? Also, did you have any issue cycling your tank with dry rock?

Tyler

That's a nice tank. Definitely use zip ties and if I were to do it over, I would use them first then the cement to hide the zip ties even though eventually I am sure mine will be covered with coralline algae but oh well.

Regarding the marco rock cement, just search it on google and youll see it.

I used a product called startsmart complete, which helped with the cycle but of course using dry rock you will have the uglies and other signs of the cycle, just have to go a little slower and I wouldnt add any expensive SPS or fish till you are 100% positive your tank is cycled.

[childress5tyler]

Originally Posted by codydemmel4

That's a nice tank. Definitely use zip ties and if I were to do it over, I would use them first then the cement to hide the zip ties even though eventually I am sure mine will be covered with coralline algae but oh well.

Regarding the marco rock cement, just search it on google and youll see it.

I used a product called startsmart complete, which helped with the cycle but of course using dry rock you will have the uglies and other signs of the cycle, just have to go a little slower and I wouldnt add any expensive SPS or fish till you are 100% positive your tank is cycled.

Thanks for the input. I'm planning to thoroughly let my tank cycle before I throw anything in, like ~3 months.

[codydemmel4]

took some night shots to show how good the PE is but its hard to see.

[codydemmel4]

just bought some new milles im excited to get








On this one, these are obviously two different corals. Should I frag them so they dont touch or wont they kill eachother?

[reefmutt]

Nice! They both look like millies. They shouldn't be too agressive to each other.. you might get away with leaving them close together.