Pineo's 30 Gallon Lagoon

[pineo]

For my latest (and hopefully last...at least for a few years) aquarium I've decided to go with a 30 breeder. I've baffled one corner for filtration and to hide the equipment.

The Equipment:
- 30 breeder aquarium (30x18x12)
- Aquatinics' Tx5 24'' T5 fixture
- MP20 for water movement
- Ehiem cycles the system
- 100w Jager TruTemp heater

- Bio filtration: 12 gallon refugium with macro and live rock/sand (lighting: 2x18w @ 10k via T5 Current USA fixture)

- Chemical filtration: Seachem Purigen

The Cause:

My most recent aquarium (23G AIO) was nice, but it was just to small. Between my malu anemone and crocea clams, there was not enough room to achieve the look I wanted. Also, I could not beat the aptasia and oenone worm infestation that plagued the live rock in that aquarium. So I picked up some dry rock, seeded with a few small pieces of quality live rock and let it cure together for about 6 weeks. The aquarium was officially setup last Wednesday.

The Inspiration

I wanted to make the long, wide and squat dimensions of the 30 breeder work for me. So I looked at thousands of pictures of different coral reef structures in an effort to create as realistic looking reef as possible.

The rock is a central island, which works perfectly, because the aquarium needed to be observable from 3 sides. I also added rock outcroppings for clams and colonial corals like zoas and ricordeas.

Aesthetically, I'm very happy with the aquascape, but it is also providing functional benefits. The general openness of the 'scape mitigates dead-spots. As a consequence detritus, food, and metabolic waste are flushed into the filter floss, as opposed to resting behind the rocks.

Here is the first FTS:



I'll try and post more pics tonight. Thanks for looking.

[Mr. Microscope]

Looks like a good start. Good luck!

[Deleted User 4]

Are those two clowns the same ones from last tank?

[pineo]

Are those two clowns the same ones from last tank?

 

Haha yea man. I've had those clowns and the malu anemone for 8 years now. I'll be a reefer as long as they are alive.

[pineo]

Going forward, I'm using ESV's B-ionic salt for water changes. It is a 4-part salt mix, which is a little nerve racking (what if you botch a step?). However, it has occurred to me that IO RC - my previous go-to salt mix has all trace and essential elements mixed together. How can you be certain that one scoop is equal to the next? I suppose if the sample size were larger, say 10 or 20 gallons the odds of having too much of one element, or not enough of another is diminished. I'm only doing only 5 gallon changes, and with ESV I can be sure that all elements are present in their proper quantities, assuming of course, I don't mess it up.

 

I've also heard really good things about the salt mix, and the reviews online have been very positive. Moreover it mixes immediately, and can safely be used in less than an hour. I'll keep you guys posted on my results.

[akarch]

I like the layout. Great work

[Deleted User 4]

Haha yea man. I've had those clowns and the malu anemone for 8 years now. I'll be a reefer as long as they are alive.

 

lolol Now I'm worried.

[pineo]

Hahah yea. Me too.

[pineo]

Okay, I finally have all my livestock transferred over to the new aquarium. SPS frags have browned out a while ago, and may not make it. I am also getting some diatom growth, which I expected. I had a hell of a time getting the maxi anemones off of their rocks, one even ripped in half, but it looks like both halves will live on, so free anemone I guess. I have them on a frag rack while they heal. Here are some pics:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[pineo]

This update is a long time coming. After switching my livestock over to this aquarium, my husbandry got away from me. Nitrates and phosphates accumulated due to lack of water changes, culminating in a red cyanobacteria outbreak.

 

Finally in mid June I got my act together and started executing an aggressive rehab program. For starters, I did 33% water changes twice a week with ESV salt (will never use another brand again). I also started running Seachem Purigen - I believe this has played a big role in turning this aquarium around.

 

Lastly, I added a 12 gallon refugium. It is lit via a Current USA T5 fixture that runs 2x18w 10k bulbs. An Ehiem 600 powerhead (good for 160 gph cycles) cycles the system. The water is pumped up to the refugium and gravity fed back into the display. My amphipod population is absurd.

 

Sometime back in April my neon dottyback went MIA - still have no clue what happened to it. During the rehab I stuck with the damsel and the two clowns. 2 weeks ago I added a fridmani dottyback and a 6-line wrasse.

 

I still have some cyanobacteria, but its 95% gone at this point. My test kits are not reading any nitrates, and though I do not test for phosphates, I believe they are retreating as well. Pictures below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Roshan8768]

Nice tank, tank looks good right now haha... and that clown is huge!!

[pineo]

Nice tank, tank looks good right now haha... and that clown is huge!!

 

Thanks, I'm really happy with the aquarium at this point. The close up shot of the clown is the smaller male. The female is a misbar, and she is a full 3 inches. Ive had her and the malu anemone for almost 9 years at this point.

[tjbell]

Amazing scape I love the bigger rock with overhang and a cave. Very very nice!

[pineo]

Amazing scape I love the bigger rock with overhang and a cave. Very very nice!

Thanks man. Two rocks comprise the main structure, which is supported and surrounded by several smaller rocks.

[Roshan8768]

I just noticed, do you have your tank set up as a peninsula? I seems like you have pics from both long sides of your tank. If so, that is very cool, it also makes your scape that much better.

[mattclark82]

Awe man! I love them peninsula tanks.... I so want to do one, and a breeder tank is a good choice.

 

Nice clam!

 

Now to look around the house to see where to put one!

[1.0reef]

Wow amazing tank, those clowns plus nems are crazy!

[pineo]

I just noticed, do you have your tank set up as a peninsula? I seems like you have pics from both long sides of your tank. If so, that is very cool, it also makes your scape that much better.

 

Yep - this aquarium is a peninsula. The aquascape was not that challenging, but placing the corals in a manner that is aesthetically pleasing from all 3 sides requires some planning and thought. I appreciate your compliments.

 

 

Awe man! I love them peninsula tanks.... I so want to do one, and a breeder tank is a good choice.

 

Nice clam!

 

Now to look around the house to see where to put one!

 

Breeders make great peninsula aquariums because of their width. Those two crocea clams are both about 4'' long. I was having a problem with pyramid snails a few months ago, but as reef aquaria pests go, they are fairly easy to keep under control. I introduced the 6-line for added protection. I love 6-lines; they are always on the hunt for pests. Very helpful.

 

 

Wow amazing tank, those clowns plus nems are crazy!

 

Thanks, I've had 'em for so long now. Sometimes I think I fail to appreciate how cool the whole clown/nem relationship is.

[pineo]

Wow…a year and a half without an update…well here goes:

 

It has been a tough year, no doubt about that. I’ve lost all but two of my fish, including the misbar female clown that I had since 2005. I lost my torch coral and one of my crocea clams. I was not sure what was going wrong, the system never “crashed,” it just did not support thriving life.

 

When I last updated this blog, I added a refugium to help mitigate the GHA outbreak in the display. Well, that worked…for a few months. Eventually the refugium became a place for excessive detritus to build up, and the macro algae would die-off, then growback, then die off again. Cyano bacteria, a nuisance I had already overcome in this system, returned. I think the decaying plant matter made its way into the display as detritus, and eventually breakdown into phosphates and nitrates, fueling the cyano’s growth.

 

It became a vicious cycle, and likely contributed to the loss of life I was experiencing in the aquarium. In October I decided to remove all of the macro algae, sand and rock from the refugium. I added a protein skimmer, and I cooked all the liverock from the refugium for two months. The tank stabilized, and the detritus buildups began to disappear.

 

Last week I removed the fine-grain sand in the display tank and added larger grain sand, allowing me to clean the rocks with a turkey-baster without causing sandstorms. I also returned the cooked liverock to the system to assist with bio-filtration; some pieces went into the sump, some I put into the display.

 

The hobby can be a humbling one, and this aquarium has been especially challenging. I’ve learned a lot over the past year, and I’ll indulge myself for a moment and jot down some of my thoughts – if for no other benefit than I’ll recall them when I read this post in the future:

 

1. Refugiums require almost as much maintenance as a display

2. Take care when using phosphate buffer (AO/GFO) with a refugium – you may kill of the macro algae and release additional phosphates and decaying matter into the water

3. Don’t over rely on phosphate buffer, instead rely on water changes.

4. Stay the!%$# away from fine-grained sand… also, stay away from so-called live sand, it might provide a small, marginal benefit for a new aquarium, but is not worth the cost

5. Dry rock and QT tanks FTW: I’ve dealt with all types of aquarium pests – aptasia, mollusk eating worms (beware!), flatworms and the list goes on…I am happy to say that my aquarium is 100% pest free! Damn it feels good to say that.

 

It has been a long time since I’ve added any life to this aquarium. I believe that hobbyists have an obligation to refrain from adding livestock to aquariums that are…”in a state of flux” Well, I do think this aquarium has finally turned the corner, and I added a new clownfish to replace the female.

 

Pics of the clown and the aquarium below:

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Rehype]

Sorry to hear about the challenges but im glad you hung in there and things looks like they are turning around for the better.

 

Awesome scape BTW