1000L mangrove + macroalgae islands

[Nstocks]

 

More to follow

 

Equipment

• Aquarium: 2000mm x 770mm x 450mmh (78" x 30" x 18"h) low iron with CNC brace aquarium
• Sump: 1500mm x 660mm x 500mm (60" x 26" x 20")
• Aluminium profile stand with acrylic cladding
• Giesemann Matrixx II
• Maxspect Gyre 150
• EcoTech L1
• Deltec SC1456
• Theiling Rollermat
• 40KG real reef rock
• 40KG Caribsea special grade reef sand

 

Fish/Inverts

• Chromis Viridis x9 
• Sailfin Tang (Zebrasoma Desjardini)
• Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata Amboinensis) x4
• Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata Wurdemanni) x2
• Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion Ocellaris) x2
• Green Mandarin (Synchiropus Splendidus)
• Diamond Watchman Goby(Valenciennea Puellaris)

Plants/Macroalgae

 

• 15 Mangroves (planted in 300mm sand)
• Caulerpa Taxifolia

 

 

Corals

• Zoa
• Purple tipped torch coral
• Red/Purple Acan

[Matteo]

I came here for a haunted setup. I leave disappointed..

 

However this looks like its going to be sexyelicious!

[Nstocks]

I came here for a haunted setup. I leave disappointed..

 

However this looks like its going to be sexyelicious!

 

 

cursed

ˈkəːsɪd,kəːst/

adjective

informaldated

1. used to express annoyance or irritation.

[Matteo]

Still applies

[disaster999]

so whats annoying or irritating about this tank????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

[Nstocks]

so whats annoying or irritating about this tank????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

 

It's a very, very long list but here are the highlights:

 

Aquarium was built to the wrong dimensions so had to be built again

Aquarium bracing accidentally smashed in transit so was replaced

Aquarium brace replacement was ordered in the wrong size

Tank is 13 weeks late due to a lazy aquarium builder despite 4 promises of delivery dates (so it took almost 20 weeks, not 6 as quoted at the time of placing my order)

Lost all corals and most fish for various reasons, but coral losses were due keeping them in less than ideal holding tanks for so long that I never planned for (livestock from my previous aquarium)

Aluminium frame that was designed by an engineer bows significantly so I had to drain tank and add more supports, the engineer fails to acknowledge the mistakes

One T5 fixture was faulty (Pacific Sun)

One T5 fixture was sent but the wrong model (ATI)

EcoTech Marine plumbing specification is wrong for those outside of USA plumbing standards, so my return line is very small which means more pressure on the pump (plus noise) and the drains need to be re-plumbed so they are not loud as the return line cannot fill the drains quick enough without noise (vortex)

L1 pump is faulty so is replaced

Replacement L1 pump didn't arrive because they sent the M1 instead

MP40QD is super loud so is replaced

Replacement MP40QD does not work at all

Panta Rhei pump won't mount to 12mm thick glass (manufacturer claims it will work on 15mm glass) so is returned to Germany but sent back by German customs for no reason

 

I now have an enormous amount of debt and two tiny fish to show for it all.

 

Happy Reefing

[tetraodon]

following, i had a semi-cursed upgrade, but partly my own fault, this should be awesome when it gets straightened out

[disaster999]

 

It's a very, very long list but here are the highlights:

 

Aquarium was built to the wrong dimensions so had to be built again

Aquarium bracing accidentally smashed in transit so was replaced

Aquarium brace replacement was ordered in the wrong size

Tank is 13 weeks late due to a lazy aquarium builder despite 4 promises of delivery dates (so it took almost 20 weeks, not 6 as quoted at the time of placing my order)

Lost all corals and most fish for various reasons, but coral losses were due keeping them in less than ideal holding tanks for so long that I never planned for (livestock from my previous aquarium)

Aluminium frame that was designed by an engineer bows significantly so I had to drain tank and add more supports, the engineer fails to acknowledge the mistakes

One T5 fixture was faulty (Pacific Sun)

One T5 fixture was sent but the wrong model (ATI)

EcoTech Marine plumbing specification is wrong for those outside of USA plumbing standards, so my return line is very small which means more pressure on the pump (plus noise) and the drains need to be re-plumbed so they are not loud as the return line cannot fill the drains quick enough without noise (vortex)

L1 pump is faulty so is replaced

Replacement L1 pump didn't arrive because they sent the M1 instead

MP40QD is super loud so is replaced

Replacement MP40QD does not work at all

Panta Rhei pump won't mount to 12mm thick glass (manufacturer claims it will work on 15mm glass) so is returned to Germany but sent back by German customs for no reason

 

I now have an enormous amount of debt and two tiny fish to show for it all.

 

Happy Reefing

oh wow thats quite the list, sorry to hear. Im shocked that the engineer failed to calculate actual loads and denies it when confronted.

[Nstocks]

following, i had a semi-cursed upgrade, but partly my own fault, this should be awesome when it gets straightened out

 

For the plumbing I designed that based on what ETM were specifying with their pumps. I was told to take on these issues to "build character and let them become a part of you". WTF.

 

It's mostly straightened out now; I just haven't had the energy to start a thread about it but I need to more forward with it. It is what I consider my "dream tank"... It's just taking a lot of unnecessary time and money to get over the problems.

 

Hopefully good news will come today when my Gyre 150 arrives. As long as it's quiet (not silent as it simply does not exist) it should work better for my tank and aquascape than the traditional powerhead.

 

oh wow thats quite the list, sorry to hear. Im shocked that the engineer failed to calculate actual loads and denies it when confronted.

 

The company that sell Aluminium profiles also sell pre-configured aquarium stands on their website. I spoke to the engineers about a custom sized stand and they gave it the ok. Then I said it needs to hold more weight (1300KG) and again it was fine.

 

Within 24 hours of filling the tank and sump, the aluminium spanning the length of the frame had bower by 12mm. This was because the engineers (yes two from the same company) told me I do not need to add feet in the middle of the stand. They were wrong. So £600 on a aluminium frame was doomed because they didn't advise me correctly.

 

Through my own perseverance I've fixed a lot of issues that came from "professionals", builders, engineers, manufacturers and even hobbyists.

 

There IS light at the end of the tunnel I should be getting some fish this month; starting with 10 Chromis, which research suggests is a good number as long as the fish stores sell my the correct species!

[tetraodon]

 

For the plumbing I designed that based on what ETM were specifying with their pumps. I was told to take on these issues to "build character and let them become a part of you". WTF.

 

It's mostly straightened out now; I just haven't had the energy to start a thread about it but I need to more forward with it. It is what I consider my "dream tank"... It's just taking a lot of unnecessary time and money to get over the problems.

 

Hopefully good news will come today when my Gyre 150 arrives. As long as it's quiet (not silent as it simply does not exist) it should work better for my tank and aquascape than the traditional powerhead.

 

 

The company that sell Aluminium profiles also sell pre-configured aquarium stands on their website. I spoke to the engineers about a custom sized stand and they gave it the ok. Then I said it needs to hold more weight (1300KG) and again it was fine.

 

Within 24 hours of filling the tank and sump, the aluminium spanning the length of the frame had bower by 12mm. This was because the engineers (yes two from the same company) told me I do not need to add feet in the middle of the stand. They were wrong. So £600 on a aluminium frame was doomed because they didn't advise me correctly.

 

Through my own perseverance I've fixed a lot of issues that came from "professionals", builders, engineers, manufacturers and even hobbyists.

 

There IS light at the end of the tunnel I should be getting some fish this month; starting with 10 Chromis, which research suggests is a good number as long as the fish stores sell my the correct species!

well good luck, whats the length of the stand? i would say honestly anything more than 30-50cm would require additional bracing. but also depends on the aluminum being used, but better safe than sorry.

[Nstocks]

It's 1900mm long. It has bracing, but only 4 feet in total which is how the engineers set up their 7ft! tanks and sell them pre-configured.

 

It's 45x45 aluminium profile.

[Nstocks]

The Gyre is here!

 

Naturally it flashed red when I first turned it on, so it was all taken apart and re-assembled and now it works

 

On the maximum setting it is comparable to the MP40QD straight out of the box, so super loud by any standard. (as loud as a desktop fan for instance)

 

But, on setting 4 it's fairly quiet and by specification pushes as much as the Panta Rhei Hydro Wizard 42, but in reality it pushes at least 30% more 'stuff' around the tank.

 

If there was some way to suspend the pump 6" away from the glass it would be dead silent on full power. I think that being close to a hard object bounces the sound waves and makes it so loud on full power... It's kinda bulky but I'm planning on putting in 20-30 mangroves where the pump is placed. That's another story - I can't get good mangroves over here in the UK and eBay stores from Hawaii and USA haven't replied for international shipping

 

That said, I think this wins over the other I've owned and I only ever use constant speed anyway, with the Panta can do without the £200 control unit.

 

Does anyone know if the Maxspect magnet can be submersed?

[petolo]

This looks like it will be awesome once you get everything done. I just bought some mangroves off of Amazon (I'm in the US) but I'm a big fan of them and if you'd like you can PM me and we can see if I can ship you some? Would love to see more mangrove tanks popping up...

 

Will be following along regardless, good luck!

[Nstocks]

The Gyre is by far the best 'powerhead' I've owned and I've owned pretty much all of them at this point, especially the high end ones. It actually moves water, not just push out of the way. It's so cool to watch

 

I also asked Maxspect a few questions about the pump and they responded within minutes, so customer service far exceeds EcoTech in my 4 months vs 4 hour ownership/experience. The dry side magnets is suitable for use inside the aquarium too.

 

It's noisy on full power (5300GPH) but I'm told after 3-4 weeks the noise is reduced. Very easy to set up too compared to anything from ETM and very well priced for what it does.

 

Below are the few items I would personally recommend through this build, for anyone interested:

 

Maxspect Gyre 150

Giesemann Matrixx II

KZ T5 tubes

Deltec SC1456

Vertex ROX 0.8 carbon

Aqua Medic Scraper

Tune Care long magnetic scraper

[disaster999]

The Gyre is by far the best 'powerhead' I've owned and I've owned pretty much all of them at this point, especially the high end ones. It actually moves water, not just push out of the way. It's so cool to watch

 

I also asked Maxspect a few questions about the pump and they responded within minutes, so customer service far exceeds EcoTech in my 4 months vs 4 hour ownership/experience. The dry side magnets is suitable for use inside the aquarium too.

 

It's noisy on full power (5300GPH) but I'm told after 3-4 weeks the noise is reduced. Very easy to set up too compared to anything from ETM and very well priced for what it does.

 

Below are the few items I would personally recommend through this build, for anyone interested:

 

Maxspect Gyre 150

Giesemann Matrixx II

KZ T5 tubes

Deltec SC1456

Vertex ROX 0.8 carbon

Aqua Medic Scraper

Tune Care long magnetic scraper

With your strain of luck, I guess Im not surprised there were some problem with your pump.

 

Ive ran my Gyre at 100% since day one and they arent any louder than a regular pump. It has a slight hum when you walk close to it but its pretty much silent after a few feet.

 

I pretty much have the same feeling as you when I first used the pump. Other traditional propeller pumps does not compare to the performance of the Gyre. The Gyre actually MOVES the water where as other pumps just blows water around locally. One pump easily out perform 4 pumps I had in the tank.

[Nstocks]

With your strain of luck, I guess Im not surprised there were some problem with your pump.

 

Ive ran my Gyre at 100% since day one and they arent any louder than a regular pump. It has a slight hum when you walk close to it but its pretty much silent after a few feet.

 

I pretty much have the same feeling as you when I first used the pump. Other traditional propeller pumps does not compare to the performance of the Gyre. The Gyre actually MOVES the water where as other pumps just blows water around locally. One pump easily out perform 4 pumps I had in the tank.

 

I think in a few weeks I will turn the pump up, but honestly on setting 5 constant, forward mode, it's plenty for my 6ft tank! When I get some corals in there I'll have abetter idea of what the flow is like but it's really impressive and it's got one hell of a magnet mount!

[Nstocks]

Just had an amazing fish shop!

 

I came how with 10 chromis some CUC and a cute sailfin tang

 

One of the stores has gorgonians that I absolutely want to keep but I've read they can be very difficult and don't live very long?

 

With the Sailfin and wanting to keep various macro algae in the display tank, is there a high chance the tang will shred every algae or just pick at certain ones?

[Halo_003]

Just had an amazing fish shop!

 

I came how with 10 chromis some CUC and a cute sailfin tang

 

One of the stores has gorgonians that I absolutely want to keep but I've read they can be very difficult and don't live very long?

 

With the Sailfin and wanting to keep various macro algae in the display tank, is there a high chance the tang will shred every algae or just pick at certain ones?

I hate to say it but I think luck with the tang really depends. On the gorgs if they are photosynthetic I've found them to be pretty easy, NPS gorgs I haven't tried but have read they are quite challenging.

[Nstocks]

I hate to say it but I think luck with the tang really depends. On the gorgs if they are photosynthetic I've found them to be pretty easy, NPS gorgs I haven't tried but have read they are quite challenging.

 

 

First line of research bring up that tangs eat filamentous algae, so there's a starting point!

 

I'm all for torches,hammer and frogspawn but I need some height and finding good mangroves is proving a challenge in the UK.

 

Any experience with yellow finger gorgs? i saw a 6" piece today with 5-8 fingers for £20 which seems a good deal?

[Slowtwitch]

Your tang is very likely to eat all types of macro algae. Especially if he gets hungry. Your best bet, if you want both, is to have so much algae in there he can pick at all of it and it will out grow what he can eat. That may not be easy to do. The more calciferous the algae, the less likely it will be eaten. Good luck!

[Nstocks]

Your tang is very likely to eat all types of macro algae. Especially if he gets hungry. Your best bet, if you want both, is to have so much algae in there he can pick at all of it and it will out grow what he can eat. That may not be easy to do. The more calciferous the algae, the less likely it will be eaten. Good luck!

 

 

Yeah, I think seeing algae as display is out! The vast majority of what I like are all tang food, from what I've read.

 

Still, might be worth a shot, it's still food and I'm very happy with the Sailfin.

[Slowtwitch]

 

 

Yeah, I think seeing algae as display is out! The vast majority of what I like are all tang food, from what I've read.

 

Still, might be worth a shot, it's still food and I'm very happy with the Sailfin.

I love my sailfin. Has a great personality. He doesn't take any guff from the triggers either.

[Nstocks]

I love my sailfin. Has a great personality. He doesn't take any guff from the triggers either.

 

 

That surprises me - I saw a lot of huge triggers with noticeably large teeth and the Sailfin seems quite sedated in comparison - my yellow clown goby is currently chasing the Sailfin's yellow fin

 

The Sailfin (Zebrasoma desjardini) is only a 2" though, hopefully it'll remain just as cute. Eating all frozen food within a day of adding it to the tank. I need to find a nice nori holder for when he pecks my rock work clean!

 

I have my eye on a Kole tang too, but didn't see any in the 3 shops I visited this weekend. I believe it's in the same family as the Sailfin, but is smaller at adult size? When people say "add tangs at the same time" is it literally the same day, or could a month apart be ok?

[Slowtwitch]

Your Kole and Sailfin should be fine together. They are very different species. I have a Blue-eyed Kole with my sailfin and a one-spot foxface. They were all added at different times and all hang out together all the time. The kole is a bristletooth type and is very good at scraping micro algae off rocks and the back wall. The fox and sailfin prefer the macros.

 

 

That surprises me - I saw a lot of huge triggers with noticeably large teeth and the Sailfin seems quite sedated in comparison - my yellow clown goby is currently chasing the Sailfin's yellow fin

 

The Sailfin (Zebrasoma desjardini) is only a 2" though, hopefully it'll remain just as cute. Eating all frozen food within a day of adding it to the tank. I need to find a nice nori holder for when he pecks my rock work clean!

 

I have my eye on a Kole tang too, but didn't see any in the 3 shops I visited this weekend. I believe it's in the same family as the Sailfin, but is smaller at adult size? When people say "add tangs at the same time" is it literally the same day, or could a month apart be ok?

[Nstocks]

From the outset my Alk has been on the low side of around 6.1 (Salifert) and after measuring it again today it's around 5.3!

 

I was using Kent marine salt (1.026) and have just switched to KZ reefers best salt.

 

My calcium and magnesium are off the charts with Salifert, so around 550 calcium and 1600 magnesium. At this point should I perform another water change with the higher Alkalinity salt or start buffering it with limewater (kalkwasser) in my RO top off water? Nitrate is less than 5, phosphate is around 0.03 and I've just added GFO in a reactor. Diatoms on the sand bed...

 

I have one Zoa and one Acan coral so it's not like there's a bunch of Acans in there throwing the calcium balance off.