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Back in the game: 125 Reef (re)build!


albertareef

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Thought I might throw in an updated stocking list since it's been a while...

Marine beta (Alphie)

Desjardins tang (Saily)

Magnificent/metallic fox face (new addition)

Pink margin fairy wrasse (Mr. Pink)

Ruby-headed fairy wrasse (rescued from overflow twice now)

Blue star leopard (Larry)

Green Coris wrasse

Melanarus wrasse

"Peacock" flasher wrasse (undetermined species, another newbie)

Red possum wrasse ("little swimmer")

Fang blennie (thanks Cherany!)

Pearlescent jawfish

Diamond Goby  (Neil)

Starry blend (Stella)

Assorted inverts including cleaner and peppermint shrimp, emerald and hermit crabs, conchs, sand-sifting star, sea cucumbers and snails.

and yes... I like my wrasses!

 

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1 hour ago, xmas_one said:

 Very nice, one of my favorite tanks in the club!

Thanks xmas!  That is high praise.  Now that things are maturing, I think I need to rebalance some colors/shapes on the coral but overall have been pretty happy with the design of the tank/sump/stand/rockwork etc. from the start.  I am trying to figure out a good light hanging strategy with some tank/stand mounted brackets to clean that up but haven't gotten that together yet.  Can't hang from the ceiling or wall so needs to come off the back of the stand and I don't have much clearance.  Guess if that is my only major sore point then I shouldn't complain :D

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  • 1 year later...

Well...

Long time since I updated this thread as life (and reef keeping) have been kind of getting the better of me over the last year.  Had a massive crash which I wasn't able to sort out until I lost pretty much every coral in my tank with the exception of a psammacora, a couple of small lobos, a mushroom and my zoanthids.  What were my acro, stylo, pocillopora, seriatapora montipora, acan, etc. colonies all ended up in the rubermaid bin on my porch so I could morn them whenever I went past...

 Ultimately appears to have been a chunk of mineral in my CA reactor dissolving metals into the tank but by the time I figured that out it was over 😂  After some Triton detox treatments and lots of water changes I have been slowly trying to restock.  Also made a couple of tweaks to the system by adding a Titanium heater with integrated temp probe-style controller (also run through the system controller as backup), a "new" skimmer and a Avast skimmate locker. Picked up a used Aquamaxx ConeS Q3 on a great deal from CnC (thanks Jeff! @CuttleFishandCoral) which allows me to make better use of my limited skimmer compartment in my sump.  Had been using a older Aquamaxx CO-2 which worked well but could never get completely buzz-free.  My wife had to clean up a skimmer overflow the other week that overwhelmed my less than high-tech milk jug receptacle so I also snagged a Avast "Davey Jones" skimmate locker on an awesome deal from Terry at Seahorse @Seahorse Aquarium (thanks Terry and Tewsley!).  I got those up and running yesterday and looking forward to no more messy overflows.  The Avast unit has a really interesting level detector (pressure switch) which I really like the design of in case you have never seen one of these.  There is no mechanical or optical switch on the unit itself but it uses air pressure in a "detector" tube connected to the control box/outlet switch by a section of airline.  Seems to work great and reduce the chance of damaging a sensor.  They also have versions that directly connect to controllers if you want to go that route.  I am using the sensor controlled outlet as a primary shutoff but still running the whole circuit through my system controller so I can also shut off by the sump high level detector.  Feeling much more secure now.

No pics of coral yet as my recently added pieces (thanks Bert, Holly, Jeremy and Brian!  @badxgillen @Gil&Fin @Jeremevans @pdxmonkeyboy) are still acclimating and recovering from some unexplained alk swings.  May set up that spare Koralin CA reactor sooner rather than later...

 

IMG_0775.JPG

IMG_0774.JPG

IMG_0773.JPG

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Congrats on your new gear and corals!  

FYI, you might want to adjust the placement of your Avast skimmate locker pressure tube.  With it that low in the locker, it's going to turn off the skimmer prematurely before the locker is very full, meaning you'll need to empty it more frequently than necessary.  I have mine set so the switch is triggered when the liquid is about 1" from the top of the locker:

IMG_5794.jpg

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33 minutes ago, SuncrestReef said:

Congrats on your new gear and corals!  

FYI, you might want to adjust the placement of your Avast skimmate locker pressure tube.  With it that low in the locker, it's going to turn off the skimmer prematurely before the locker is very full, meaning you'll need to empty it more frequently than necessary.  I have mine set so the switch is triggered when the liquid is about 1" from the top of the locker:

IMG_5794.jpg

Thanks!  I'm not too worried as I tend to skim fairly dry anyway.  The only time it's likely to come into play is if something goes wrong.  In my testing, it looks like it would shut off about 2 inches from the top in it's current position - which is plenty for my usual output.  Looks like your "probe" might be a slightly different design.

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Updated fish stocking list (just because)...

Purple tang (thanks Kim!)

Blue Jaw trigger

Eibills Angel

Coral Beauty Angel

Starry Blenny

Male & Female Lyretail Anthias

Marine Betta

Green Coris Wrasse

Melanarus Wrasse

Possum Wrasse

Blue Star Leopard Wrasse

Orange Back Fairy Wrasse

Yeah... I'm a little short on wrasses right now. 

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7 hours ago, albertareef said:

Well...

Long time since I updated this thread as life (and reef keeping) have been kind of getting the better of me over the last year.  Had a massive crash which I wasn't able to sort out until I lost pretty much every coral in my tank with the exception of a psammacora, a couple of small lobos, a mushroom and my zoanthids.  What were my acro, stylo, pocillopora, seriatapora montipora, acan, etc. colonies all ended up in the rubermaid bin on my porch so I could morn them whenever I went past...

 Ultimately appears to have been a chunk of mineral in my CA reactor dissolving metals into the tank but by the time I figured that out it was over 😂  After some Triton detox treatments and lots of water changes I have been slowly trying to restock.  Also made a couple of tweaks to the system by adding a Titanium heater with integrated temp probe-style controller (also run through the system controller as backup), a "new" skimmer and a Avast skimmate locker. Picked up a used Aquamaxx ConeS Q3 on a great deal from CnC (thanks Jeff! @CuttleFishandCoral) which allows me to make better use of my limited skimmer compartment in my sump.  Had been using a older Aquamaxx CO-2 which worked well but could never get completely buzz-free.  My wife had to clean up a skimmer overflow the other week that overwhelmed my less than high-tech milk jug receptacle so I also snagged a Avast "Davey Jones" skimmate locker on an awesome deal from Terry at Seahorse @Seahorse Aquarium (thanks Terry and Tewsley!).  I got those up and running yesterday and looking forward to no more messy overflows.  The Avast unit has a really interesting level detector (pressure switch) which I really like the design of in case you have never seen one of these.  There is no mechanical or optical switch on the unit itself but it uses air pressure in a "detector" tube connected to the control box/outlet switch by a section of airline.  Seems to work great and reduce the chance of damaging a sensor.  They also have versions that directly connect to controllers if you want to go that route.  I am using the sensor controlled outlet as a primary shutoff but still running the whole circuit through my system controller so I can also shut off by the sump high level detector.  Feeling much more secure now.

No pics of coral yet as my recently added pieces (thanks Bert, Holly, Jeremy and Brian!  @badxgillen @Gil&Fin @Jeremevans @pdxmonkeyboy) are still acclimating and recovering from some unexplained alk swings.  May set up that spare Koralin CA reactor sooner rather than later...

 

IMG_0775.JPG

IMG_0774.JPG

IMG_0773.JPG

Oh that first picture makes me want to cry! Glad you have friends to help get back in the game! ♡

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16 hours ago, MrsBret said:

Oh that first picture makes me want to cry! Glad you have friends to help get back in the game! ♡

Yeah - it was pretty painful and frustrating. We were trying to take care of a sick cat at the same time that was going on (we lost him). Definitely a bummer year. Fortunately the peeps here are always super helpful and generous so there is a silver lining of sorts.  

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17 hours ago, albertareef said:

Updated fish stocking list (just because)...

Purple tang (thanks Kim!)

Blue Jaw trigger

Eibills Angel

Coral Beauty Angel

Starry Blenny

Male & Female Lyretail Anthias

Marine Betta

Green Coris Wrasse

Melanarus Wrasse

Possum Wrasse

Blue Star Leopard Wrasse

Orange Back Fairy Wrasse

Yeah... I'm a little short on wrasses right now. 

i like the fish list.  i had an Eibli Angel once but it was good for a little while and then it started nipping LPS corals.  it had to be removed but it was easy to catch by putting a acan in the fish trap.  what is your experience with the fish so far?  if you are having good luck with one i might have to try another one.  I had a Coral Beauty for years and I never saw it nip a coral.  

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12 hours ago, albertareef said:

Yeah - it was pretty painful and frustrating. We were trying to take care of a sick cat at the same time that was going on (we lost him). Definitely a bummer year. Fortunately the peeps here ate always super helpful and generous so there is a silver lining of sorts.  

I'm so sorry you lost your kitty. 

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3 hours ago, kilmca said:

i like the fish list.  i had an Eibli Angel once but it was good for a little while and then it started nipping LPS corals.  it had to be removed but it was easy to catch by putting a acan in the fish trap.  what is your experience with the fish so far?  if you are having good luck with one i might have to try another one.  I had a Coral Beauty for years and I never saw it nip a coral.  

Thanks Calvin.  I haven't really had any noticeable issues so far.  I lost my acans in the "great crash of 2018" so hard to say for sure but it hasn't really bothered the other LPS in the tank - granted there aren't a lot.  So far a model citizen (crosses fingers).  I do really like the look of them so I figured it was worth a shot. I just added a tester acan frag last week so will keep a close eye on it 😃

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That sure is heartbreaking Sean. But glad to see you pulled yourself up and carried on. I wish I could give you back some of the frags you gave me a while back but lost most of them during the tank transfer except for that Idaho grape monti which you said you still had! Your fish list is pretty amazing. I bought a small purple tang a while back for CNC and really like it. They are beautiful and have great personalities.


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Thanks Greg!  Those are actually SB reeflights 32 pros with timers. There channel manually dimable but no ramping. I couldn’t find info on the ORs at the time - he was in hiatus or something. 

I know some of the large pieces in there are from your frags (orange cap?) so thanks again for getting me started!  

Yeah - the one fish Darcy really wanted was the Desjardin - well, that and the marine betta and the green coris and the jawfish [emoji1]

What do you think of the SB reef lights? I'm buying the 32" with timer Friday. How are they doing for you after this long? I know they come with the 2 year warranty which is nice.

 

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3 hours ago, TaylorW said:

What do you think of the SB reef lights? I'm buying the 32" with timer Friday. How are they doing for you after this long? I know they come with the 2 year warranty which is nice.

 

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Hey Taylor,

i have been quite happy with them still. Had good growth and color and have been working non-stop since I put the tank up. Picked them largely due to the form factor and led density. There weren’t a lot of good options to get coverage on a long narrow tank but these worked great. Had one bad display out of the box (didn’t show the correct on/off status for one channel) but got a replacement fairly quickly. Chose to install myself to save time and their support was very responsive and helpful. No problems since. 

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Hey Taylor,

i have been quite happy with them still. Had good growth and color and have been working non-stop since I put the tank up. Picked them largely due to the form factor and led density. There weren’t a lot of good options to get coverage on a long narrow tank but these worked great. Had one bad display out of the box (didn’t show the correct on/off status for one channel) but got a replacement fairly quickly. Chose to install myself to save time and their support was very responsive and helpful. No problems since. 

Great [emoji4] thanks for the reply, they were exactly what I was looking for as far as price as well. I wanted to stay in the ~$400 range and still be able to use them in an upgrade down the road if I wanted so the 32" size is great for that. I hope everything goes well for your tank in the future, I feel your pain believe me [emoji31] I had a heater malfunction about a year ago on one of my tanks while we were out of town for the weekend... Came back to a horrid smell and I knew immediately it was one of my tanks. I pretty much just collapsed in front of the tank not knowing where to start. Lost a lot that day but my Clownfish bothered me most, had those guys for several years. I've taken some precautions since that hard lesson though. Good luck moving forward!!

 

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Way to get back on the horse again, sounds like it is all coming together for you this time around. And if you ever want another frag or two just let me know and I will snap something off for you my friend. Always something that needs trimming. At some point I would love to come by and check the system out when I make a Portland excursion.

And as far as the TDF, I sure hope it isn't a type of "Planet Acro". I got that Fuego from Jeff several years ago in his old shop during one of the deals he ran out of his SPS tank in the back right hand side of the store. My red planet always has a green skin and redish polyps to it but I have noticed under low light the TDF can get a green hue at the base too. Maybe I will frag a piece of each and throw them in the same system just for observation. I believe Cornbred has another variant he calls the Tormenta Del Fuego that I would love to see in person, without spending the massive cost of course.

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4 hours ago, pdxmonkeyboy said:

glad to hear it is on the uptick.

I do have a chunk of TDF for you that bert gave me.. but I have the sinking suspicion that it is red planet. My purple dragon or whatever it is called is also growing like a weed.


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I have some of that from Bert too. It is not the same as my red planet. They are similar but there is less green in the TDF.

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