46 Gallon Bow Front Reef Tank (Retired)

[FLNanoReefer]

I have always wanted to set up a reef tank. After this tank and equipment was given to me (upgrading) I plunged into the world of reef keeping. In this tank I would like to house a pair of Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish and maybe a Red Mandarinfish once my tank becomes established. The tank was set up on 10/30/10 and the Live Rock/Live Sand was added on 11/04/10. I used Great Value (Walmart Brand) Drinking water to fill the tank and then added Instant Ocean Reef Crystals. I will update this thread as often as possible. Any comments or constructive criticism is greatly appreciated.

 

Tank Specs

Tank: 46 Gallon Bow Front Tank with Black Trim and Black Taped On Background

Stand: Black Stand

 

Filtration: Penn-Plax Cascade Canister Filter

- Chemi-Pure Elite

- Live Rock Rubble

Skimming: Aqua C Remora Pro with Pre-Filter Box

Circulation: 2 Maxi-Jet 900's

Lighting: 36 inch Coralife Aqualight Double Compact Fluorescent Strip Light (2x96 watt) with Adjustable Legs

- Actinic Light: 11:00 A.M. - 9:00 P.M.

- Day Light: 12:00 P.M. - 8:00 P.M.

 

Misc. Equipment:

- Mag Float

- Digital Thermometer

- Floating Glass Hydrometer

- Coralife Deep Six Hydrometer (Purchased 11/13/10)

- Red Sea Marine Lab

- 2 Light Timers (1 Digital and 1 Traditional)

- Jungle Quick Dip Test Strips

- Portable Refractrometer (This is what I currently use)

 

 

Current Livestock

 

45 lbs. of Fiji Standard Live Rock

40 lbs. of Caribsea Arag-Alive Reef Sand

1 Handful of Chaeto (Added 12/27/10)

1 Red Mangove (Added 12/27/10)

 

Fish

1 Azure Damselfish (Added 11/11/10) (Died 11/16/10)

2 Tank Raised Black and White False Percula Clown Fish (Added 11/27/10) ( Died 12/18/ and 12/26/10)

2 Black and White False Percula Clownfish (Added 02/06/11)

1 Midas Blenny (Added 03/12/11)

 

Invertebrates

10 Blue/Red Legged Hermit Crabs (Added 11/11/10)

3 Nassarius Snails (Added 12/11/10)

7 Cerith Snails (Added 12/11/10)

1 Blood Red Fire Shrimp (Added 12/11/10)

1 Tiger Tail Sea Cucumber (Added 01/15/11)

 

Corals

1 Colony of Red Mushrooms (Added 11/27/10)

1 Frag of Green Star Polyps (Added 11/27/10)

1 Frag of 15 Polyps of Gorilla Nipple Zoanthids (Added 12/11/10)

1 Colony of Green Mushrooms (Added 01/02/11)

1 Rock covered in Daisy Polyps (Added 01/15/11)

3 -4 Heads of Torch Coral (Added 01/15/11)

1 2 Head Frag of Candy Cane Coral (01/30/11)

1 Combo Rock of Xenia and Unknown Zoanthids (Added 02/06/11)

1 Colony of Purple/Blue Mushrooms (Added 03/12/11)

1 Orange Plate Coral (Added 04/16/11)

 

11/02/10

 

11/05/10

 

11/14/10

[Markushka]

Are you using the fish to cycle??

 

btw here are the pics, fixed em for you:

 

11/2

 

11/5

 

11/14

-use the 'share' tab and paste the code to here.

 

Looks nice. I just got a 46 bow I'm going to set up too.

[FLNanoReefer]

Are you using the fish to cycle??

 

btw here are the pics, fixed em for you:

 

 

-use the 'share' tab and paste the code to here.

 

Looks nice. I just got a 46 bow I'm going to set up too.

I purchased the fish about a week into my cycle. The reason you see a net in the last picture is because since I have got him he has seem to come down with some type of disease. The store that I purchased him from is a great store. He is having a hard time swimming and has beed exhibiting these behaviors since Friday night. Any help to how to treat this would be great. I think it may be swim bladder disease. By the way, here are my current tank parameters:

 

Specific Gravity: 1.023

Temperature: between 76 and 78 degrees farenheight

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0.25 ppm

Nitrate: 20 ppm

pH: 8.0

Alkalanity: Normal

[Markushka]

I purchased the fish about a week into my cycle. The reason you see a net in the last picture is because since I have got him he has seem to come down with some type of disease. The store that I purchased him from is a great store. He is having a hard time swimming and has beed exhibiting these behaviors since Friday night. Any help to how to treat this would be great. I think it may be swim bladder disease. By the way, here are my current tank parameters:

 

Specific Gravity: 1.023

Temperature: between 76 and 78 degrees farenheight

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0.25 ppm

Nitrate: 20 ppm

pH: 8.0

Alkalanity: Normal

 

the reason why your fish isn't doing well is because you introduced it into a tank that was not cycled. It may very well be suffering from ammonia poisoning. I don't know If you can return him in that condition. your'e parameters are certainly showing the end of a cycle but the tank isn't really ready for fish imo.

[FLNanoReefer]

the reason why your fish isn't doing well is because you introduced it into a tank that was not cycled. It may very well be suffering from ammonia poisoning. I don't know If you can return him in that condition. your'e parameters are certainly showing the end of a cycle but the tank isn't really ready for fish imo.

Thanks for the quick response. It now appears that he has a small skin lesion on his side. Would this also be from the tank cycling. I added him once the cycle had began because it was recommended to me by the previous owner. Is there any way to save him without taking him back to the store or removing him? I was planning on trading him in when I get my first "real" fish in about a week and a half if my parameters allow.

[Markushka]

Thanks for the quick response. It now appears that he has a small skin lesion on his side. Would this also be from the tank cycling. I added him once the cycle had began because it was recommended to me by the previous owner. Is there any way to save him without taking him back to the store or removing him? I was planning on trading him in when I get my first "real" fish in about a week and a half if my parameters allow.

 

 

:/ I dunno. Is he swimming at all?

[FLNanoReefer]

:/ I dunno. Is he swimming at all?

Not really. He flops his tail every once in a while. On a good note, all of my hermit crabs are doing great.

[Markushka]

Not really. He flops his tail every once in a while. On a good note, all of my hermit crabs are doing great.

 

I don't know of anything you can really do for him in your tank. You could try some ammonia neutralizing products such as ammobuster. I don't know how that will affect your aquarium cycling tho.

[FLNanoReefer]

I don't know of anything you can really do for him in your tank. You could try some ammonia neutralizing products such as ammobuster. I don't know how that will affect your aquarium cycling tho.

Thanks. I think that I will just wait it out and see what happens. It is sad looking at him though.

[Markushka]

yeah thats about all you can really do. Or you could have a friend with a more established tank hold him while yours cycles.

[GiantBen]

He's gone. I'd toss him to avoid having him suffer it out. Not to be cruel, but he should not have been introduced so early. Some older-school reefers recommend fish to jump start a cycle, but it can often kill the fish in the process.

 

EDIT: Unless you have someone who can hold him, as stated above. However, it may be too late anyway.

[FLNanoReefer]

yeah thats about all you can really do. Or you could have a friend with a more established tank hold him while yours cycles.

I don't have anyone near me. I wish I did though.

[Markushka]

well, damsels are tough little buggers. however if you feel you need to euthanize him, in a container in the freezer is the most painless i've heard. Flushing later is a PITA tho.

[FLNanoReefer]

well, damsels are tough little buggers. however if you feel you need to euthanize him, in a container in the freezer is the most painless i've heard. Flushing later is a PITA tho.

Thanks. He is still alive. Maybe he will pull through. I guess this is one of my beginner mistakes.

[FLNanoReefer]

So I have a couple of questions for you guys. Do you think that i is a good idea to run a small amount of live rock rubble in the canister filter?

 

I was thinking about adding some chaeto to the tank once the cycle finishes. Is this a good idea?

 

I was also planing on adding some Chemi Pure Elite. Has anyone had great results with this. Do you recommend this Chemi Pure Elite or just normal Chemi Pure?

[Markushka]

So I have a couple of questions for you guys. Do you think that i is a good idea to run a small amount of live rock rubble in the canister filter?

 

I was thinking about adding some chaeto to the tank once the cycle finishes. Is this a good idea?

 

I was also planing on adding some Chemi Pure Elite. Has anyone had great results with this. Do you recommend this Chemi Pure Elite or just normal Chemi Pure?

 

1. It won't hurt

2. yes, good nitrate reduction. best to run a fuge on a reverse light cycle.

3. I hear they are good. I just run carbon.

 

how is the damsel?

[FLNanoReefer]

1. It won't hurt

2. yes, good nitrate reduction. best to run a fuge on a reverse light cycle.

3. I hear they are good. I just run carbon.

 

how is the damsel?

I was thinking about getting the prefilter box for the Aqua C Remora Pro and putting the chaeto in there. Would that work?

 

The damsel is doing okay. He is still hanging in there.

[FLNanoReefer]

At 5:47 P.M. the Azure Damselfish died.

[FLNanoReefer]

So I just tested my water parameters:

 

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitite: 0.5 ppm

Nitrate: 10 ppm

Temperature: 78.4

Specific Gravity: 1.023

 

I think that it looks like my cycle is finishing up. I also collected about 1/4 of the amount of skimmate that I collected last week.

 

All hermit crabs are still alive and the rock is showing some corraline algae growth.

[FLNanoReefer]

I could really use some feedback on this tank. Thanks.

[FLNanoReefer]

I checked the water parameters again today and they are the same as yesterday, excluding the specific Gravity (1.022) and Temperature (76.4.)

 

I have some red algae starting to appear. What is this and is it any good for the tank?

[FLNanoReefer]

So I tested the water parameters again today. They are pretty much the same as yesterday except for specific gravity (1.023) and the temperature (76.2.) My parameters aren't making a lot of sense, so I think I am going to take a sample of water to my LFS and have them test them for me next Wednesday. If the parameters are correct, I will purchase 2 Black and White Ocellaris Clownfish, a few (3) Nassairus Snails, and 1 or 2 easy to care for corals. This will probably be a medium sized colony of Mushrooms or 2 small colonies of Mushrooms. I may also get a medium sized colony of Mushrooms and a small colony of Zoanthids. Do you think this is to much to add at one time?

 

I am also going to purchase some Chemi-Pure Elite. Does anyone recommend anything other than this? If so, why?

 

I have also noticed some brown stuff growing on the glass, rocks, sand, and just about everything else in the tank. What is this? Will it go away when I add the snails and Chemi-Pure Elite?

 

I have also noticed this small coral. It looks like a sponge. Can anyone identify this for me and tell me if it is alive. I just noticed it this week, so I assume it has reappeared since the cycle is finishing.

 

Lastly, here is a cool picture I took of one of my hermit crabs on the sand. I need some advice. So can someone start posting on my thread? Thanks.

[Aquanist]

That brown stuff would be diatoms which will be gone with time as the tank matures. That "coral" bit doesn't look alive to me, nor do I have any ID for it. Sorry.

Your plans for next week don't sound too bad to me.

[FLNanoReefer]

That brown stuff would be diatoms which will be gone with time as the tank matures. That "coral" bit doesn't look alive to me, nor do I have any ID for it. Sorry.

Your plans for next week don't sound too bad to me.

Thanks for responding. I thought they were diatoms but just wanted to check. I can't figure out what the coral thing is but is just appeared this week so I have a feeling it may be alive. Do my water parameters make sense to you?

 

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Nitrite: 0.5 ppm

Nitrate: 20 ppm

Alkalanity: Normal

pH: 8.0

Temperature: between 76 and 80

Specific Gravity: 1.023

 

My nitrite hasn't changed at all yet. It has remained the same. I have a feeling the test kit is bad. I wasn't planning on doing a water change before I add anymore livestock. Is that okay? Thanks for any advice you can give me.

[FLNanoReefer]

I was thinking about getting the Pre-filter box for the Aqua C Remora Pro. The box has a section for you to put chemical and mechanical filtration in. Do you think that it is a good idea to put some chaeto and maybe a mangrove in? They will get light from the PC's I have over the tank, because the box doesn't have a cover. Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

Also, the water parameters are the same as yesterday (excluding the temperature.)