20xL mixed rimless - SELLING?

[JBM]

why did you switch salts? was your previous brand not cutting it for you?

 

btw that you for the diy, i will be doing this once i get my ato sorted out

[d9hp]

That is weird, are you dosing iodine and did you ever get your calcium levels up?

 

Everything is looking great D, really becoming one of my favorites.

 

I dosed Kent's iodide for a few weeks (just two drops with water changes) but I quit because I have no way of testing and the only LFS I go to now doesn't have the test. Since I have all the fish I want to add now I don't really have any reason to go into the shop. Coral from locals is far more affordable.

 

Thanks man. I really like hearing that because I remember reading through your thread while I was planning this and wanting to set up something similar.

 

My calcium levels are finally at ~400. I had to up my daily calcium dose of ESV from about 5mL up to 10-15mL for four days and that did the trick.

 

I am ready for some coraline one the glass but I think that's at least two or three months off.

 

why did you switch salts? was your previous brand not cutting it for you?

 

btw that you for the diy, i will be doing this once i get my ato sorted out

 

I switched because instant ocean was mixing at --> pH: 8.0 Ca: 320-340 Alk: 8-9 Mg: 1100.

 

Because I have some SPS pieces and the clam I'd like to get those numbers up and I haven't EVER read a SINGLE bad thing about D-D H2Ocean.

 

I don't follow that last bit. What DIY are you referring to?

 

-------------------------------------------------------------

 

I have a huge final tomorrow in DSP. Should be studying. But it's not as fun.

[shiver905]

LOOKING absolutly Great.

 

You filled it faily quick

 

FUTURE TOTM

[Wilioli]

LOOKING absolutly Great.

 

FUTURE TOTM

^ +1 waitin to see this on the front page of nanoreef

[glennr1978]

Sucks about your shrimp. Don't let it discourage you, it happens. My red planet monti (I've been calling it a monti since it's done nothing but encrust lol) browned out over night about a week ago. Now it's slowly STNing. Everything else is doing better than ever, go figure.... All parameters are rock solid and I haven't changed anything, it just happens sometimes.

 

Anway, your tank looks great! Give your acros a little more time before you make any drastic lighting changes. SPS will sometimes tend to stay dormant then just EXPLODE with growth out of nowhere. I'd say that your tank is still far to new to draw any realistic conclusions on the lighting at this point. Are any of your acros encrusting at the base?

[d9hp]

LOOKING absolutly Great.

 

You filled it faily quick

 

FUTURE TOTM

 

I was aggressive in my search for cheap awesome ####! Thanks a lot for the compliment but I think I've got a year of growout before anything crazy like that happens.

 

^ +1 waitin to see this on the front page of nanoreef

 

Thanks Willioli, hopefully one day but I've got a long ways to go compared to most of the other tanks on this site.

 

Sucks about your shrimp. Don't let it discourage you, it happens. My red planet monti (I've been calling it a monti since it's done nothing but encrust lol) browned out over night about a week ago. Now it's slowly STNing. Everything else is doing better than ever, go figure.... All parameters are rock solid and I haven't changed anything, it just happens sometimes.

 

Anway, your tank looks great! Give your acros a little more time before you make any drastic lighting changes. SPS will sometimes tend to stay dormant then just EXPLODE with growth out of nowhere. I'd say that your tank is still far to new to draw any realistic conclusions on the lighting at this point. Are any of your acros encrusting at the base?

 

Man that sucks about your red planet I love that coral. Thanks for the compliments. The SPS actually have responded pretty well to the screen top, so I think I may have just had my LEDs too bright. They're far lower now.

 

All my acros are starting to encrust except one but it's coloring up and sprouting new tips, I'll try and get a picture tomorrow or this weekend.

 

Thanks again.

[JBM]

makes sense with the salt, i know that alot of people use reef crystals & instant ocean because it is so cheap. But they wind up spending more on additives.

 

I wouldnt beat yourself up too much on the shrimp, chances are that it would have happened with all regular salt anyway. I will look for your reports on this salt in the next up comming months (as my bucket of tropic marin is 1/2 way gone) If it works for you; i wouldnt mind spending a $ on a fellow reefer approved item.

 

the diy i was reffering to was how to make the screen top

[d9hp]

makes sense with the salt, i know that alot of people use reef crystals & instant ocean because it is so cheap. But they wind up spending more on additives.

 

I wouldnt beat yourself up too much on the shrimp, chances are that it would have happened with all regular salt anyway. I will look for your reports on this salt in the next up comming months (as my bucket of tropic marin is 1/2 way gone) If it works for you; i wouldnt mind spending a $ on a fellow reefer approved item.

 

the diy i was reffering to was how to make the screen top

 

Yeah well no shrimp until January I guess.

 

LFS had a sale today and I figured I'd go try and take care of my increasing flatworm problem today. Used the credit from the true perc I returned (which is now in someone else's nano) and got a TINY sixline. Amazing little fish and hopefully he will tackle my flatworms. Probably pushing bioload at this point but I'm hoping my water changes will keep the water pristine. As of today my nitrates at <1ppm, so that's a good thing.

 

I called this AM and had him held and he hid in a rock right when I got there for like 30 minutes. Seems to be pretty happy currently, but a little skittish.

 

First time I've been able to definitively say I'm seeing good growth from my acroporas across the board.

 

I had a HUGE final this week so I haven't been able to watch the tank other than feed and do a single change and things look fantastic. The GSP is growing on the back overflow now, which was a goal of mine. The birdsnest (all three) are exploding. Most of the acros are starting to encrust and regain a little color. The montis are reaching up the surface and all my zoas have new heads on the rocks. The mushrooms on the far left have all produced at least one new baby and the frogspawn has three distinct heads. Clam looks incredibly happy. Blastos are beautiful. Xenia isn't growing very fast, most likely due to low nutrients. This is obviously a good thing.

 

All fish are happy. I'm happy. Maybe getting the MP10 after Christmas, maybe not though. The tank is coasting quite well now.

[tundrashaul]

My calcium levels are finally at ~400. I had to up my daily calcium dose of ESV from about 5mL up to 10-15mL for four days and that did the trick.

 

Thats awesome man, you'll find it easier with the different salt. The Tropic Marin I'm currently using tests 400 before I add it. I have been having great success lately keeping calc. at 430-450 with Kents A and B, just 1 tablespoon of each every 2-3 days. keeps my alkalinity in check as well.

 

Go for the MP-10!!!

[the_gats]

This tank looks awesome. The thread could use more pics tho. I had to go way to far back to find some pics on this thing.

[Wilioli]

hey, u mentioned that u did weekly water changes, sometimes more if you have time .. Had to come on ur thread to double check -- but u've installed a skimmer as well? so wouldn't that reduce ur need to do water changes? I was thinking of getting a hob skimmer as well for that reason..

[d9hp]

This tank looks awesome. The thread could use more pics tho. I had to go way to far back to find some pics on this thing.

 

Thanks gats. I should have some pictures up this weekend. The tank has been neglected a bit this week. My last exam is tomorrow though so things should slow down.

 

 

hey, u mentioned that u did weekly water changes, sometimes more if you have time .. Had to come on ur thread to double check -- but u've installed a skimmer as well? so wouldn't that reduce ur need to do water changes? I was thinking of getting a hob skimmer as well for that reason..

 

I don't really do water changes to remove nutrients so much as to replace trace elements. Now regardless of that my skimmer pretty much sucks. I actually forget it about sometimes. I have tried everything to dial this thing in and it really just doesn't skim much. I get about a .25" of water in the cup every 3-4 days and it's brown but it's still transparent. I don't feed much at all, but I would expect it to pull a little more than just this. A skimmer will help you reduce the need for water changes because it basically does remove all the gunk from the water. I just found that it doesn't remove quite enough.

 

That being said, I do have some cyano on the sandbed right now. Been there for about 2 weeks. I dies off overnight (so it seems) and then reappears through the day. It's strange because my nitrates are ~1ppm and this stuff is growing in the area of highest flow in the tank. I am going to keep up with my water changes for the next few weeks before trying anything crazy. I might do a 25% change and leave the lights off for a day since I don't have a shrimp to kill. Also I won't feed for a day before and a day or two after. Maybe do a few 25% changes in there.

 

Changing that much water sure scares me now though.

[Curly Joe Reefer]

The tank looks great. Just had to say. I lived in a NC a couple of years ago and will most likely end up back there. It's good to know that there is such a good reefing community in NC.

[Wilioli]

25% is a lot to change? I ask cause my tank is obviously not yet established.. so for me a 50% water change is whatever... how does that differ when you have livestock or your tank basically?

[d9hp]

The tank looks great. Just had to say. I lived in a NC a couple of years ago and will most likely end up back there. It's good to know that there is such a good reefing community in NC.

 

Thanks Curly Joe.

 

NC is a wonderful place. Come on back. The triangle area has a really great community now. I know numerous people around here that are all willing to hold my livestock if something was to happen, which is really nice to know. Lots of fish stores but they'll all pretty expensive. I prefer to get my coral from locals. Check out carolinafishtalk.com. It's a great local resource for when you come back to the wolfpack state.

 

25% is a lot to change? I ask cause my tank is obviously not yet established.. so for me a 50% water change is whatever... how does that differ when you have livestock or your tank basically?

 

It's not a lot to most people but I had two cleaner shrimp ($50) die after two different water changes, so they scare me. It doesn't really differ much if you can manage to keep temp, pH, and salinity all perfect. I don't think most people have any problems with doing large changes. I know one guy (Brandon I think) does 100% changes but he only has corals and a tiny pico, so it's not really an issue.

[Wilioli]

righ right, thats what i thought -- depends on whats in the tank -- sorry for the basic questions -- im still learning, and thank you for taking your time to answer them.

[JBM]

Used to do 50% weekly changes in my 5g Pico.

 

Ill probably stick to 15-20% weekly in my 20 long. Might have to bump it up to twice a week tho, all depends on how things look

[d9hp]

righ right, thats what i thought -- depends on whats in the tank -- sorry for the basic questions -- im still learning, and thank you for taking your time to answer them.

 

 

Don't aplogize for asking good questions man! That's what this place is for. I'm just a beginner too and I'm always learning. So thanks to you for following along.

 

Used to do 50% weekly changes in my 5g Pico.

 

Ill probably stick to 15-20% weekly in my 20 long. Might have to bump it up to twice a week tho, all depends on how things look

 

Yeah, that's a solid plan of attack.

 

---------------------------------------------------------------------

 

Gats wanted some shots and I finished my final final today: Advanced dynamics with aerospace applications. DONE! So here's a few. Didn't clean the glass, sorry about that.

 

Meet the new sixline wrasse. Most impossible fish to photograph but I caught him trying to scoop up some pods around Winston's sand castle. He was chased away shortly after:

 

Clam and wrasse:



 

Relatively 'explosive' growth from the birdsnest piece and Darth, just a creepin'



 

 

Hopefully doing a few water changes over the next few weeks until I'm confident that the tank is ~100% D-D H2Ocean and them I'm getting another damn cleaner. I won't let this get me down.

 

-D

[Deano]

Just read through this thread and this is one top notch setup. Beautiful.

[Wilioli]

DONE im gettin the yellow watchman... that castle rocks!

[MedRed]

How did I miss this tank! I love it! What camera are you using?

[Trolldoll]

Nice build. Buying from other reefers does save a ton of cash.

 

For the flatworms get a wooden dowl and tape some airline tube and siphon them out during water changes. The smaller hose gives you plenty of time.

[gutterguy]

I am going back and forth about getting a six line and that one looks so good in there. BTW where did you get that clam in that pic. That thing looks great!! Nice Job

[TheNordCelt]

Looks great man, we'll have to swap frags once our stuff grows out.

[d9hp]

Just read through this thread and this is one top notch setup. Beautiful.

 

Thanks Deano. I really had a good time putting it all together.

 

DONE im gettin the yellow watchman... that castle rocks!

 

Haha he is my favorite fish in the tank. SOO much character. I mean he piles up this huge mound of sand and just perches on it looking for pods and action around the sand. He's the coolest. He actually smokes cigars up there too. If you don't believe me then you're just a buzzkill.

 

How did I miss this tank! I love it! What camera are you using?

 

Thanks Med. I'm using a Nikon D60. A number of the earlier shots were taken with the kit lens but I try and use my 35mm f1.8G lens because it's really sharp. I've had the camera for about two years now and I used to really enjoy long exposure photography so this stuff is pretty difficult for me.

 

Nice build. Buying from other reefers does save a ton of cash.

 

For the flatworms get a wooden dowl and tape some airline tube and siphon them out during water changes. The smaller hose gives you plenty of time.

 

That's a genius idea with the dowel rod. Fortunately I haven't seen a single flatworm since I added the sixline. Not a one. If they come back or the sixline leaves I'll remember it.

 

Thanks for the compliment.

 

I am going back and forth about getting a six line and that one looks so good in there. BTW where did you get that clam in that pic. That thing looks great!! Nice Job

 

Get one, super awesome fish.

 

I got the clam at a frag swap called ReefSMART for $35 and it's a monster. I believe it was from Carolina Reef Growers. Thanks!

 

Looks great man, we'll have to swap frags once our stuff grows out.

 

Thanks Patrick. Sounds like a great idea to me man!