Blue Z Reef

Where is it? I don’t see any in your pic. Must not be that much. Mine is going crazy lol

For sure, if you have prime in the water a “wet skim water change” is the best way to get it out. That’s the main reason I bring that up, if you just let it overflow it will keep going and going and going lol

2 things: - is the skimmer brand new? Did you do anything to clean it first? Like a vinegar bath? - is the tank new also? Have you dosed anything recently? Such as Prime? If the skimmer is new it can take a week Or more to stop the micro bubbles. If you are within the suggested depth range it is just breaking in and should stop.

Nice you have a generator backup, I need to pick one up one of these days... This is a super simple way to keep oxygen up and auto switches on with power out. Hard to beat for $13. Penn Plax Silent Air B11 Battery Operated Aquarium Air Pump For Power Outage Automatic Turn On Keeps Fish Safe https://www.amazon.com/dp/B004PBIKHU/ref=cm_sw_r_cp_api_glc_fabc_XtI7FbHANHXPG Edit: just realized you didn’t have a power out...but still good to have haha

Those are looking awesome! Happy to get you setup with those corals. If you think of something else you’d like from my tank let me know 👍

Dang that’s a steal!

Yes, they have gone crazy. And along the way I sold off several so I’m not 100% hoarding 🤣

Saw in my phone it’s been a year since this day: So here’s the tank today! nems have been doing well in this tank. Lots of splits as well as some massive ones. nems are like kids...always getting into everywhere they aren’t supposed to be. my SPS zone. Getting crowded with zoas. Been struggling a bit with colors but growth is good overall. This tank has been cruising thanks to Apex/Trident/DOS AWC. It’s been super easy to maintain. I do need to do an ATI ICP test sometime soon and see how everything else is, but overall things are pretty stable (especially Alk!). Its been a weird year with Covid but has allowed me more time around my tank (working from home) as well as a few Opportunities to share some coral with others. I always enjoy helping out new hobbyists with some first corals, always reach out to me and let’s enjoy reefing!

ATI blue plus is pretty much the standard. Actinic brings out some nice color too. Coral plus is going to be a whiter bulb so it’s not gonna be for color pop, mostly just daytime growth.

Yes, this is one hesitation I’ve had as well. One idea I had was to make the equivalent of an oil catch can in between the recirc and the media. That could be used to house a fail safe switch of some sort. I suppose as long as you aren’t seeing any significant benefit from the higher vs lower pH probably not worth chasing.

Tank looks amazing! Surprised the AE guy is such a pain, it’s definitely a premium price for his stuff, you’d think customer service would be a higher priority. You tried a CO2 scrubber for your pH yet? Heard mixed things but mostly good about them, debating adding one myself.

Cool upgrade, sounds like it came with a ton of nice stuff so you will be well on your way from the get go. For you questions: 1. No water changes during the cycle, that will only prolong it. 2. The cycle time is unique to every tank but since you are using bacteria to jump start it, you can expect it to be on the faster side. The key isn’t so much Nitrates initially, it’s that your ammonia and nitrite are initially elevated then tracking down to 0. Once that had happened you are cycled. 3. Clowns are pretty hardy fish but make sure the ammonia and nitrite are 0, then you are good to add fish. waiting for cycling sucks when you just want a reef right away. Patience is key! There are a lot of online resources if you just search “reef tank cycling” that will give you all the target parameters (I can never remember them off the top of my head...) Also, as I said before, when you want a sacrificial coral to toss in, hit me up and I can get you a zoa frag or something to test the waters.

If it’s for fresh water you might check “The Wet Spot” in Portland, they are the largest fresh water store I know of.

Cool thing these days is there is so many options that can be added too. Start with 2 prime16, then maybe add the aquatic life T5 hybrid fixture or an LED bar (orphek OR3 or similar). Just add as you fill in the tank. Corals can be placed accordingly as the tank grows out.

Do you supplement the frozen food with garlic? Sometimes helps. In the past mine always ate anything I put it, but definitely slower eater than some of the more aggressive eating fish like tangs and damsels.

Still have them but not really wanting to ship, especially not to CA. I think the shipping cost/hassle wouldn’t be worth it.

I love big toadstools. People in this hobby never let stuff get huge like that much anymore! It all depends on what you want for your tank. I used to have a massive one in my last big tank, really miss having one that big, but I have 2 growing now that are only about 6” across. Here’s a pic of my old beast that peaked at about 18”-20” across or so. Weighed a ton when I lifted it out!

When in doubt, a brace is pretty low cost and easy. I think I used 2x 4x4x8 (or 10...forgetting), 2 pier blocks, a bracket or two just to help things stay put while I placed everything, and some wood shims to snug it up. Definitely a sub $50 venture for piece of mind.

Not sure how much it helps but since mine is in my garage I run a heater (freeze prevention) and my main mixing pump runs 1x per day for 15 minutes. Never setup anything for a filter. Currently using BW NeoMarine and I find it doesn’t leave much residue.

$500 just to come look...I should pick up that side hustle LOL So, let’s look at this simply, with help from Mechanical Engineer BlueZ 😂(take that for what it’s worth!): 100 gal tank weighs: ~800lbs in water ~300lbs in tank/stand dry weight ~200 lbs of gear/rocks So we are at approx 1300lbs not sure on your tanks exact dimensions so I’ll use a 90 Gal size for ref of 4’ x 18” footprint 1300lbs / (4’x1.5’) = 217 lbs/ft^2 The structure of your house can handle this assuming you are spanning more then one joist. If you have an idea of how your house is built (maybe check your crawl space joists), that would help. not sure how accurate the old rule of thumb is, but I recall everyone saying at 180gals and up, you should brace, otherwise you are fine. Overall I wouldn’t worry about it, especially if that house is less than a few decades old.

From my experience with frogspawn, the farther into the white you go, the easier they tend to crush if you aren’t careful. Depending on your fragging tools, it tends to be safer to do it at the yellow line. Side note, what are all those orange spots that show up in your shots? Some kind of snail egg or something in the background?

Yes.... 🤣

Yeah it’s pretty hard to say, people are limited by a lot of things like space, money, ongoing cost/maintenance, etc. My advice would be find a good sized used setup for reasonable. That way you don’t have a ton of money invested if you find out after 6 months it’s not the hobby for you. some would argue on tank size but I always favored a 90 gal tank. Has a great mix of space for fish and corals, larger water volume for more stability and margin for error, and generally they sell for pretty reasonable. Similarly sized would be a 75 gal, pretty close overall. I think the number one thing to expect is you have to be PATIENT! People want to setup a tank one weekend and have a full reef the next. If you rush, your gonna have a bad time. I’ve seen it a million times. Also initially you will need to test a lot to track things so prepare to be invested in the primary test kits and ready to use them often.

That sucks! What tank is this for?

Having trouble telling where things are going, but you can put it just after the last pre filter and that will give you what you need to know.