shapedworld Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Hello everyone, Its been three month since I start my aquarium and it finished the cycle within two months. Ammonia, Nitrate, and Nitrite are undetectable. I'm ready to add some corals now. Aquarium parameters Ammonia/Nitrate/Nitrite Untraceble to the test kit Temperature - 77 F (+/- 0.3 F) Specific gravity 1.026 What is in my system now Bought BRS Water saver plus RO/DI unit with the RO reserver tank/faucet (I could justify this to my wife DI unit is seperate- Who can resist clean water ) I have 40 lbs of CaribSea Speacial grade live sand ( it created 1" sandbed) and Dry rock from BRS. 50g Cube 8g sump 20g refugium with 20 lb of live sand (Looking for Macro Algae that won't go sexual) 10g RO/DI reservoir gravity fed with a fixed float valve Oceanreview T247 LED 10" above water surface running blue at 100% (0700 - 2200) and daylight at 50% (1200 - 1900) Skimz mini 143 skimmer Eheim heater I do 20% water changes every week BRS media rector (two chambers) Have two happy fat clowns that I bought in 2013 and the aquarium that hosted them have thousands of Ampe/cope pods which I will carefully transfer to the new sump Plannig to add the followings soon 2 MP10's (will this be over kill? and does any one have MP10 that need to get rid of so I can get them cheap) Calcium reactor: Planning to buy AquaMaxx S-NANO Calcium Reactor ( any other suggestions are welcome) Aquarium monitor and control system (Reefkeeper or APEX? How about Seneye?) Since this is a small tank I'm planning only to keep SPS, LPS (may be 2-3) and few Zoas. Following are what in my mind. They are pictures I got from internet and do not know the names of most of them (Can someone tell me the name of these corals). Obviously I won't be able to host all the SPS in my tank. Following are the cleanup crew I'm planning to order. Nassarius snails - 2 Blackfoot Trochus snail - 1 (After 6 months or if I have algae) Blueleg Hermit - 1 Regleg hermit - 1 Cerith snails - 4 Emerald crab - 1 (Tiny one after 1 year or if I have hair algae) Sand shifting goby - 1 (After 1 year. Can I add this guy since my sand grain size is large. Will the sand hurt it?) Papermint shrimp - 1 (After 6 months) I would prefer to buy the coral from fellow reefers. Please let me know if you would like to sell some frags to me. These are the questions I have now Do I need to run Carbon and/or GFO now? Is it ok to add all corals over a short period of time (one month)? Do I need to increase the intensity of my LED for SPS? Am I giving them enough light without causing an algae issue? Do I need to get an algae scrubber although I have a refugium? I really love green manderin gobies.I had one male manderin a few years back that I trained to eat pallets. One day he decided to end his life, after staying 1.5 years with us, by jumping out (I forgot to add the screen) So I want to give another try with one of these guys may be after a year. Anyone knows a place that sells pallet trained healthy green manderins? Your comments and feedbacks are much appreciated. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paratore Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Very cool setup, I can't wait to see it get filled up! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoolander Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 I've got some birdsnest frags you can have. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted December 5, 2016 Share Posted December 5, 2016 Welcome to the forum! Very nice write up ! One of the sps you listed is forest fire digi and lexinverts is selling that right now for 10 dollars. One of the Zoas is joker palys and I can bring you a frag for free if you're going to the meeting g this Saturday in Salem. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboys Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 I can give you a stick of a coral I like that also seems to be bullet proof unless it falls into battle with a higher power coral. like acans. anyway its not the normal green with blue tips. its a darker green and the blue starts farther down than just the tip. Anywhoo I broke a small piece off and I glued it down. let me know if you want it. http://i187.photobucket.com/albums/x165/t-a-herman/IMG_0957.jpg its like this. This is not my photo. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
TheClark Posted December 6, 2016 Share Posted December 6, 2016 Excellent equipment list, you did your homework! The Small GEO reactors are also a good and very popular option. A little spendier but they hold their value. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
danlu_gt Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Nice setup and clean sump! Sent from my SAMSUNG-SM-G935A using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 Thank you for all the comments and feedbacks. I ordered the wave makers and the DA ReefKeeper. Still researching on the calcium reactors. My first choice as per now is "AquaMaxx cTech T-NANO Hang-On Calcium Reactor"its rated for 75G. Can someone give me any feedback on the AquaMaxx calcium reactors if you guys have use them. Especially the one I have listed above. I'm planning to be very picky with what I'm going to include in the tank due to space limitations. @ Zoolander: Thank you for offering the birdnest frag but I have to kindly say No since I'm not planning to keep it. @Emerald525: I'm working on Satudays so unfortunately I won't be able to come to the meeting. But if you would like I can meet you in some other place or your place at your convience to pick up the frag. If you have coral frags that from the collection I have listed, please let me know if you would like to sell them to me. I live in Hillsboro and can travel for corals . @Fishboy: Is that a Staghorn? Color looks nice. Is it growing large like a tree, tabling or clump up like a ball? Again, thank you for the comments and feedbacks. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 The only thing I have on your list is the joker palys. I don't have a lot of sps because I don't want to have to mess with dosing or using a calcium reactor. There are a lot of sps people around here though. Mrbret is your zoa guy and lives in Hillsboro.i live in SE Portland so if you are ever around the area let me know. Some of the other Zoas you listed were fruit loops ,Miami vice Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 Thanks. I'll contact MrBret to see whether he has some Zola frags that he would like to sell. I will let you know if I comes to SE Portland. May be I can have your tank toured. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Thanks. I'll contact MrBret to see whether he has some Zola frags that he would like to sell. I will let you know if I comes to SE Portland. May be I can have your tank toured. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Of course ! You're more than welcome to visit! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
milesmiles902 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Do I need to run Carbon and/or GFO now? Honestly, I don't think you will need to for a while. I think that if you use Carbon or GFO too early, you might starve the system of nutrients. Give it a couple months. Is it ok to add all corals over a short period of time (one month)? Sure. Although, you run a higher risk of something happening. Things in this hobby happen slowly. I did put corals in my tank within the first month, but added them very slowly. I noticed in my 5 gallon on campus, that whenever I reboot the tank if I add too many at once it tends to cause problems. Do I need to increase the intensity of my LED for SPS? Am I giving them enough light without causing an algae issue? I bet one Ocean Revive will be enough for your tank, since it is a cube and it will happily cover everything. Maybe get the PAR meter on the forum and see if it is adequate. Here is the PAR meter link: http://www.pnwmas.org/topic/36667-quantum-par-meter-muli-test-meter-booking-thread/ Do I need to get an algae scrubber although I have a refugium? Algae scrubbers are never a bad idea. I think floating some macro in the refugium will work just fine, but an algae scrubber will work more efficiently. I really love green manderin gobies.I had one male manderin a few years back that I trained to eat pallets. One day he decided to end his life, after staying 1.5 years with us, by jumping out (I forgot to add the screen) So I want to give another try with one of these guys may be after a year. Anyone knows a place that sells pallet trained healthy green manderins? \ I don't have any experience with Mandarins, but I know there are a lot of great fish stores all across Oregon. Portland has Cuddlefish, Golden Basket, Upscales and many, many more. Salem and Wilsonville have TPA. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 7, 2016 Author Share Posted December 7, 2016 Thank you for answering the questions. I'll add an algae scrubber when tank start to get more live stock. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted December 7, 2016 Share Posted December 7, 2016 Oh Cuttlefish and Corals has mandarins that are pellet trained. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
fishboys Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 (edited) Make sure and dip your corals. Don't care who gives them to you. DIP. I learned two lessons about dipping. First was monti eating nudies and then there was the acro eating flat worms that Holly had the unfortunate responsibility to make me aware of. A quarantine tank is a great idea also. If you get an acro that has eggs on it and you only dip when you recieve it then you could get flatties in 5-6 weeks. What ever the egg cycle is. Point being get a magnifing glass and look for bite marks and eggs. Plus trust no one except me. Ah ha that was a test don't even trust me. Edited December 8, 2016 by fishboys 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paratore Posted December 8, 2016 Share Posted December 8, 2016 I agree with fishboys! I also learned the hard way! Heck now I even dip when going from display to frag tank lol. No risks being taken here, not worth the had ache! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 (edited) Thank you for pointing out the importance of dipping the corals. Emerald525 thank you for recommending MrBret to me. I met MrBret, made some changes to my Zoa list after seeing his Zoa forest and bought following from him. Utter Chaos* Salted Agave Sakura Purple Peaople Eater Space Monster* Twizzlers* Candy Apple Red* Ding Dang ( * - getting them tomorrow) I'm looking for last 4 candidates for my Zoa rock. At the moment I have the following in my mind. Please let me know your favorite Zoas so I can consider them in my list. Fruity Loops Red Hornets Miami Vice LA Lakers I'm planning to let these guys grow atleast two months before I start adding any SPS. So I can setup my Calcium reactor and play with it. Like always, your comments and feedbacks are much appriciated. Edited December 9, 2016 by shapedworld Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Emerald525 Posted December 9, 2016 Share Posted December 9, 2016 Nice !!! Hands down Bret has the best zoa selection. You got some of my favorites on there! Utter chaos, candy apple reds and space monster are in my top 10. I also like rastas. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 9, 2016 Author Share Posted December 9, 2016 Nice !!! Hands down Bret has the best zoa selection. You got some of my favorites on there! Utter chaos, candy apple reds and space monster are in my top 10. I also like rastas. Thanks Kim. What are the other Zoas in your top 10 list ? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 19, 2016 Author Share Posted December 19, 2016 Christmas came early with a surprise gift from wify. Complete set of a calcium reactor. Exciting to set this bad boy up. Tank is doing well with the following parameters. OR t247 raised up (now at 17" above water surface) and whites were dialed down to 25% I bought 2 Jebao pp-4 instead of MP10s. Way cheaper and get the job done. Ca 435 Mg 1250 kH 10 Temperature 79F Ammonia, nitrate, nitrite, and phosphates cannot detect Got almost all the SPS on my list except Red dragon and ice fire. Want the tank to mature before I put them in. Thank you MattV for the excellent SPS frags. All the Zoas are in thanks to MrBrett Time to keep the parameters stable and watch those corals grow. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paratore Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 Nice list of zoas! Zoas are my favorite coral some of my favorites that I've got right now are the LC Petroglyphs, OG Vampires, Butt Munchers, and JKR Crab Nebulas! Utter chaos is also a favorite, you can't beat that bright orange! Oh and BBEBs, those are a classic Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 21, 2016 Author Share Posted December 21, 2016 Nice list of zoas! Zoas are my favorite coral some of my favorites that I've got right now are the LC Petroglyphs, OG Vampires, Butt Munchers, and JKR Crab Nebulas! Utter chaos is also a favorite, you can't beat that bright orange! Oh and BBEBs, those are a classic Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Wow... Buttmunchers look so sick. I wonder who came up with the name. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paratore Posted December 21, 2016 Share Posted December 21, 2016 They are crazy cool! Such a bright yellow, with black lines. I may have a frag available, I'll check when I get home tomorrow night and let you know I made a bunch of frags two weeks ago but I've been traveling a lot so I haven't been able to see how they are doing haha. When you gonna post a tank shot? Would love to see how it's coming along Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
shapedworld Posted December 22, 2016 Author Share Posted December 22, 2016 This Blue hue is killing me when try to get a FTS. I'll try to dial my DSLR to capture the tank. Looks like its another skill that I must have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paratore Posted December 22, 2016 Share Posted December 22, 2016 So hard to learn all the camera stuff for me! But I guess that's part of the fun Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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