Ian Atkins Posted June 13, 2023 Share Posted June 13, 2023 This is the late start to my main display tank thread. I'll be posting pics of when I set this up back in October 2022, and some of the challenges I had. Ive been researching saltwater aquariums since 2019 when I started freshwater keeping, I always knew I wanted saltwater as well but took my time to figure out what I wanted. October 15th, water is in and leak testing for a week with tap water. The tank is a Waterbox marine 45.2 the display is about 30 gallons with a 15 is gallon sump. This system is discontinued and I picked up the whole system used. Came with the AI prime, Tunez nano ATO, hydor 700 return pump, mp10qd, Nero 5, new sand still sealed in the bag, and all the livestock from a different smaller system the old owner had. And a bunch of Hanna checkers. They were getting out of the hobby and they graciously donated all their stuff to help me get my start in this hobby. I will post more soon, the tank has changed alot through trial and error. I hope to learn not just myself but input from others is greatly appreciated and welcome. I hope to pass on the love as I grow in the hobby with extras that we all accumulate over time. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 After leak testing for a week, getting salinity to 35ppt, letting that run at temperature for another 2 weeks, I did 2 tank transfers into one, the rock is 2 years old running from the old owner, it came with all sorts of algaes, pods, bristle worms, aiptasia, sponges. They gave me pretty much everything, snails hermits, corals, a long spine urchin, 2 clownfish and an anemone that split pretty quick after introducing it. These are clownfish I adopted from the old owner, they are at least 3 year old pair. I let the tank run like this for about a month with no water change. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 December 2022updste I added a fire fish after getting a red sea screen top from BRS. Sadly the fire fish died after a few weeks. It was a Petco fish and no QT so maybe it just wasn't a healthy fish from the start The screen wasn't to difficult, for my first time I say it fits well, no gaps but the mesh is wavy, I want to change it to a black mesh tool material. I also forgot to mention this crazy pistol shrimp, he came from the old setup. he's cool but I ended up rehoming him to the fish store, he liked to snap at my fish I started to add some corals and rock from my 10 gallon tank, it seemed at that time I also had a diatom bloom before the fire fish died I thought all was good so I also added one my established fish from the 10 gallon, a tail spot Blenny which is also a Petco fish After the fire fish died, i thought all my would be at risk, but no they are all still here and getting fat. 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted June 13, 2023 Author Share Posted June 13, 2023 (edited) January 2023 update The anemone split and I was able to get one half out when it moved to the glass(why I don't want big nems) The main nem stayed in place for a long time but I also eventually rehomed it Around the end of the month, a new reef buddy gave me a simplicity 120dc skimmer, I was shocked by the amount of love people have in this hobby. I don't make alot so any savings I can find, and deals, freebies. I'm on that, a little citric acid and toothbrush goes along with good used equipment. Edited June 13, 2023 by Ian Atkins I'm bad at typing hahaha 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 (edited) February 2023 Testing and doing 5 gallon water changes every week. Wire management really getting out of control but I have a plan you'll see soon. Just letting the tank find it's numbers, not really chasing a set number. It's was around the end of February I got my tax return and I ordered some fish from biota. Small Royal Gramma Small male Mandarin Dragonet I knew I wanted to keep a mandarin fish at some point again, but this time I wanted success, so I thought buying a captive bred option was a good choice. He eats very well, even at pellets and flake which I still find crazy. Royal Gramma are just so pretty, I just had to add one too.I don't like big fish in small tanks, so trying to find cool smaller fish, that don't beat everyone up is challenging. Does anyone else have success with biota captive bred mandarins? Or other fish too, would love to hear it! Edited June 14, 2023 by Ian Atkins Grammer fix 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted June 14, 2023 Author Share Posted June 14, 2023 I eventually got all the nems out, they are cool, but probably best in a nem only tank, but I want to grow coral so it's not gonna work out I also built a control board for my tank and got wires in order It's not perfect, but it's a hell of a lot better, and easy to flip switch's instead of pulling plugs when I do maintenance/waterchanges. I didn't want controllers mounted inside the stand because of clutter, I think it keeps the sump area looking cleaner. I also added a RODI filter finally, this whole time 2+ years I've been using my tap water and prime. . . Not recommending this, it's just what I did and it worked This was the tank after the May frag swap, the sandbed is cluttered with frags, the rock is bulky and touching the back glass which is giving me dead spots and my pistol shrimp this whole time has been snapping at fish, flipping frags, so I decided to just reset the scape, like a freshwater tank I just ripped everything out, caught the shrimp put him in jail, (THE SUMP) I broke some rocks and made a complete new layout, something I thought looked more natural and also provides flow around the whole structure I broke parts of the big arches and made lots little holes, swim throughs, and territories around the tank. Taking inspiration from my cichlid tanks, I think it fits in very well After adding coral, and letting it clear up, I still had some coral on the sand, some didn't make it. Then cyano came in, and currently treating that now. Some things to change still, the big toadstool is going into my 10 gallon softies only tank, and I also want to move my clowns into their own tank so they can hopefully breed, if they want too. I'm noticing aggressive behavior from them towards tank mates, so I'm not sure what I should do in that regard. I still have so much to figure out, and gain inspiration from you all in the hobby. I'm a 20 something dude with some fish tanks and a camera trying to keep it simple. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mrscuito9833 Posted June 14, 2023 Share Posted June 14, 2023 Nice, maybe you wanna fix my rats nest? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted June 15, 2023 Author Share Posted June 15, 2023 On 6/13/2023 at 10:44 PM, mrscuito9833 said: Nice, maybe you wanna fix my rats nest? Hahaha, I would love to see it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted July 9, 2023 Author Share Posted July 9, 2023 Update for June/July, I moved out the leather to my other tank, and added some SPS, a small bubble coral. I also got a frag of blushing coral from cuttlefish, a lot of my corals caem from them. Love the staff!! I also added a Hydros control X3 to start my first room control, but right now it's only my reef, but I plan to add more wifi strips and some XS brains for the freshwater tanks and make a collective for my whole fish room, which I think is totally not needed but I did want redundancy for all the tanks not just the reef, and I went with hydros because it's not as expensive as the apex, and no codeine required like an apex, so it's easy control And the last bit of tech I added was an AI blade grow 21 inch, got it on that BRS appreciation day thing, and no I didn't win my points back lol 😆 did anyone else try? And did anyone win? I'll still have the prime 16 HD running only UV and violet channels, thinking I'll add one blade glow and I can remove the prime. I would like to check the par numbers but so far no bad affect from adding it. Figured I would throw in an update on my first reef, over 2 years old, and going strong. All easy softies, and super stable. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted July 9, 2023 Share Posted July 9, 2023 10 hours ago, Ian Atkins said: Update for June/July, I moved out the leather to my other tank, and added some SPS, a small bubble coral. And the last bit of tech I added was an AI blade grow 21 inch, got it on that BRS appreciation day thing, and no I didn't win my points back lol 😆 did anyone else try? And did anyone win? I'll still have the prime 16 HD running only UV and violet channels, thinking I'll add one blade glow and I can remove the prime. I would like to check the par numbers but so far no bad affect from adding it. Nice update. I've enjoyed your whole build thread and process. It's looking good. I placed a BRS order during the most recent give away day. Like 1 in 10 orders were supposed to be free. I didn't win either. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted July 10, 2023 Author Share Posted July 10, 2023 8 hours ago, obrien.david.j said: Nice update. I've enjoyed your whole build thread and process. It's looking good. I placed a BRS order during the most recent give away day. Like 1 in 10 orders were supposed to be free. I didn't win either. Thanks! At least we got a free carbon block right! 🤣🤣 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted December 13, 2023 Author Share Posted December 13, 2023 It's been a little over a year since I started my new reef tank, I guess I shouldn't call it new anymore, the corals have been growing in steady. Please forgive my android phone photos lol I've added a lot of more sticks on the top, coming with its challenges as I test out Acropora for the first time. Green slimer from Cuttlefish growing good and holding color. Mystery acropora Cuttlefish, was brown and still kinda brown but now has purple tips and orange polyps, camera doesn't do it good. Also bad timing on my end, in the daytime it looks amazing blue acropora from Cuttlefish, the newest piece both the green and pink acropora are from Aqua SD got them back a couple months ago, but now it seems I got acropora red bugs on them, not just these one but all I can see, that's detoured me from getting any more acropora till I figure a way to rid these things without nuking my tank. Kinda hard to see on the pics but I can seem them clearly with a magnifying lens. This is a lime light hydrophora I got from my first meeting with PNWMAS at Woody's, had great time meeting a bunch of reefers and I have this piece to remember that, it's also the home to my tailspot Blenny, he sleeps in the corner and has a runner under it hahaha. ORA red Goniopora, recent pickup from Cuttlefish I'm pretty sure this a Diaseris plate coral, also a recent pickup from Cuttlefish 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Krux Posted December 13, 2023 Share Posted December 13, 2023 Do some searches for Interceptor as an in-tank treatment for red bugs. There are some drawbacks but there aren't a lot of other options. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ian Atkins Posted December 21, 2023 Author Share Posted December 21, 2023 On 12/13/2023 at 3:41 PM, Krux said: Do some searches for Interceptor as an in-tank treatment for red bugs. There are some drawbacks but there aren't a lot of other options. That's what I've been seeing, the interceptor in tank treatment, only problem I'm finding is acquiring the medication, which I could be mistaken. But I believe I need to make an appointment with a vet and I don't even have a dog so I'm not sure how I'm supposed to do that. Will they prescribe the medicine for a fish? I am still reading up on this, so I might find solution down the road. But I definitely want it figured out sooner then later. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 I had red bugs in 2019, interceptor handled them fine. BTW, since then I've dipped Every Single Coral put in my tanks. It takes an hour+, which isn't fun after being out all day and then having an at home time commit before calling it quits. But I do it. Attached are my notes, and three links. Yes, I had to visit a vet to get a prescription. I took a picture of full tank photo, and then a close up of one of my corals with Red bugs. I also printed these articles and brought them with as evidence of what I was asking for. One vet wouldn't help, another would. You could even try a walk in to a vet, (with this supporting evidence), and see if they'd just help you on the spot. http://www.melevsreef.com/articles/red-bugs-no-more https://reefs.com/acropora-red-bug-milbemycin-treatment-calculator/ https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/i-have-bugs-will-this-work.352129/ RED BUGS Treatment #1 2/18/2019 Removed Carbon and Poly Pellets. Removed hermits. Turned off Skimmer 5:15pm 1 Interceptor-Plus pill, medium size dog, 6pm Shrimp have not slowed down at all (2 cleaner skunk shrimp, 2 blood shrimp) 6:30pm Shrimp have not slowed down. 7:pm caught one of the shrimp slow. Other three slowing, but not much 2/19/2019 5am Turned Skimmer back on, dialed back due to overproduction 10pm Started 6 dixie cups of carbon in reactor Treatment #2 3/8/2019 5pm 1 Interceptor-Plus pill, medium size dog, 3/9/2019 6am Turned Skimmer back on, but not as much over production as 1st dose 10am Started 6 dixie cups of carbon in reactor 3/10/2019 11am Changed 25-30 gallons of water Treatment #3 3/13/2019 7pm 1 Interceptor-Plus pill, medium size dog, 3/14/2019 7am Turned Skimmer back on, but not as much over production as 1st dose Started 6 dixie cups of carbon in reactor 3/22/2019 Changed 40 gallons, post Red bug treatment #3. Changed Carbon to 7 cups of two little fishes. 1 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
obrien.david.j Posted December 22, 2023 Share Posted December 22, 2023 FYI, I've ordered from two online sites in the past. Prices seem to vary. https://entirelypetspharmacy.com/ https://www.chewy.com/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Join the conversation
You can post now and register later. If you have an account, sign in now to post with your account.
Note: Your post will require moderator approval before it will be visible.