Chud’s 13g Holistic Reef

[nicholc2]

Photo dump from 4-15-13

 

FTS

 

Tailspot Blenny

 

Clown

 

Hi Fin Zebra Goby being camera shy

 

Acro side shot (polyps starting to come out to play) - The white at the base was there when I bought it, FYI.

 

Acro top shot (more and more color!)

 

My two birdsnests

 

Pocillopora

 

Christmas Favia doing some sweeping

 

Electric Favia and Aussie Acan saying "Feed me Seymour!"

 

Rock Flower Anemones and a little Candy Cane

 

Hope you all like!!

[Hexadron]

I do like I do!

 

Love the TSB. I was looking into Prodibio a while back as well. I'm glad you're having success so far! Everything is looking very nice.

[nicholc2]

I do like I do!

 

Love the TSB. I was looking into Prodibio a while back as well. I'm glad you're having success so far! Everything is looking very nice.

Thanks Jordon! The TSB is great. He harasses the goby some, but not too bad. I couldn't ask for a better nano fish. He munches on the algae and eats anything I feed him.

 

So far I'm liking the Prodibio. I do believe it's working since I've never had 0 nitrates in the past and this is the main difference. As things progress, I'll keep posting new pics. Can't wait to see some critters in yours too!!! Name's Chad, btw.

[Hexadron]

Thanks Jordon! The TSB is great. He harasses the goby some, but not too bad. I couldn't ask for a better nano fish. He munches on the algae and eats anything I feed him.

 

So far I'm liking the Prodibio. I do believe it's working since I've never had 0 nitrates in the past and this is the main difference. As things progress, I'll keep posting new pics. Can't wait to see some critters in yours too!!! Name's Chad, btw.

 

As for fish stocking, The TSB is #1 on my list. There's just no cooler nano fish

 

I'm still debating on a system of Zeo supplements (not full Zeo though..) Fauna Marin (similar to Zeo, but different at the same rate) or Prodibio, or possibly nothing at all! There's quite a following in Canada for users of Prodibio, but i'd love to see your experiences as your tank matures as well. Thanks for posting updates Chad.

[nicholc2]

Took this video last night during a water change. Cool little critters, though I have no idea what they are. I only see them when all pumps are off and the water is completely calm. I put this in the identification forum. Maybe someone will know what they are.

 

http://s1274.photobucket.com/user/nicholc2/media/Plankton_zps4999dbbf.mp4.html

[nicholc2]

Looks like they're hydroid jellies. Cool looking and harmless.

[Cubeman]

Got the MP10 installed last night and removed the Hydors. Cubeman, no noise whatsoever unless you get right up to the tank with no other noise in the room and then you can hear the propeller spinning up and down. Other than that, perfectly quiet even at 100% except for the waves in the tank at that speed. LOL

 

Thanks for the review - I am going to put one on my wish list and replace my two Hydor 750's later this year. Can I wait for Christmas?

Not likely

[nicholc2]

Well I don't really want to, but I'm going to pick up an emerald tonight after work. I'm going to get the smallest one they have so hopefully that will reduce the potential aggression factor. I have some bubble algae that's starting to spread and I think it's a necessary evil at this point. If I get an ornery one, I'll return him/her. I'll also probably return once the algae is all gone.

 

I'm also going to pick up a magnesium test kit and suppliment. My corals are all growing fairly well and kh/calcium are both being used, so I have to imagine that is as well. Everything is doing great otherwise and I can't be happier with the progress of the tank to this point.

[markalot]

Nice little tank, I missed this thread (I really need to cruise the member aquariums forum more often). More pics when you can.

[nicholc2]

Nice little tank, I missed this thread (I really need to cruise the member aquariums forum more often). More pics when you can.

Thanks! As funds come available I'm going to add more coral and eventually a clam. I do need to snap a more recent pic of the acro above. It's turning yellow and green while keeping the reddish polyps and it's starting to encrust at the base. I went low volume on the LR specifically to make this a predominant sps tank with some lps lower down.

[nicholc2]

Emerald crab bought and munching on algae. Magnesium test kit bought. Mag right at 1350. All is well in my little reef universe.

[nicholc2]

Quick update. First, I need to snap some new pics! The acro is turning a nice green/yellow color while keeping the reddish polyps. Once it fully colors, it will be real nice. I grabbed a second emerald as the first one wasn't really doing it for me. I think the second was a good add as they are both munching more (competition maybe?). Once all the bubble algae is gone, I'll probably try and catch them and return them to the LFS, but we'll see. As long as they keep behaving I am ok with them.

 

Also, had to order a new box of Prodibio as my original one is almost gone. I also ordered a jar of Reef Chili and picked up some oyster-feast. I want to get those polyps out during the day more. ;-)

 

The birdsnests are all doing great and look real "meaty" now with great PE. My acan recently did a bit of a color morph and looks even better. Green and blue around the edges with an orange middle.

 

Since I've had the Prodibio going for more than 2 mos, I've started dosing the reef booster as well and so far so good. Once $$ becomes more available I'll start adding some more coral again.

[nidding]

Cool tank. I'll be keeping an eye on this :-)

[nicholc2]

So the friend of mine who I gave my stuff to when I tore this tank down before has given me back a frag if the candy came I gave him. One of my former reef children is back home!

 

He also gave me a red and yellow acan, Meteor shower, Purple digitata, Idaho grape monti, and Red/orange monti. Pretty sweet! Dipped and in the tank.

 

Pics to come once they're not pissed any longer from the dip.

[nicholc2]

Ok, here's tonight's photo dump. Starting with a full tank shot and then some close-ups of the new gifts and returning old friend. FYI, the bluish candy cane is from my original colony I had back in the early 2000's. It's still alive and well after all these years. I'm pretty happy to have some of it back home again!

 

 

Meteor Shower

 

Original candy cane behind the new guy

 

New acan

 

New and old acans with a little sexy photo bomb

 

Red/Orange Monti

 

Hard to believe this is the same acro I bought originally. So much prettier now!

 

My two rock flower friends

 

Rock flowers again

Candy canes from above

 

And my little acro again.

I didn't realize how my birdsnests had grown until I took a look at the older pics compared to now. Love it!

[nicholc2]

I need to borrow Jordan and his photography skills for a bit. Then the pics should be a little less blurry.

[markalot]

Take the pics straight on, otherwise you get distortion from the glass. Thanks for the pics, everything looks really good.

 

The coral you identified as pocillapora in the firs set of pics looks like either green birdsnest or green stylophora.

[nicholc2]

Take the pics straight on, otherwise you get distortion from the glass. Thanks for the pics, everything looks really good.

 

The coral you identified as pocillapora in the firs set of pics looks like either green birdsnest or green stylophora.

Yeah, I think you're right. I think it's a birdsnest. I made the mistake due to the polyps being out so much more than the other two I have so I misidentified. Most of those are straight on. I need to try with a tripod to eliminate some blur.

[markalot]

Any updates?

[nicholc2]

Unfortunately a bad one. The one we decided was a birdsnest got STN and died. The other two are doing fine, though with new growth, so I'm guessing it's just one of those birdsnest things folks complain about. Everything else is great though. I did end up having to trim out some of that brown macro as it was starting to get a little nuts. Beyond that everything seems to be doing well. The red monti is coloring up more every day since my friend gave it to me. I have to do a little glass cleaning and replace my rio 600 rvt that decided to stop working after I cleaned it. After that I'll try and get some new pics up.

 

I still haven't mounted either of the monti's as I'm not sure where to put them. I wasn't really going to do monti's this time as I wanted all vertical growth with sps, but since they were free... Any suggestions are welcome.

[nicholc2]

Had some aptasia start settling in. Most are in places I can't get to for Aptasia-X, so I decided to let them go for a bit and build up a few so I could have a couple new critters. Today I got two berghia nudibranchs and am acclimating them now. They're pretty cute. It'll be fun to have them naturally get rid of the aptasia. Hopefully if they completely wipe them out I'll be able to catch them and pass them on.

[nicholc2]

Very happy to report that even though I haven't seen them since I put them in, today I see at least one less aiptasia in the tank! Awesome!!!

[nicholc2]

First an update and then a photo bomb. Things have been going great! Since my last update the aiptasia was wiped out entirely by the berghia. The only unfortunate thing is I didn't realize it until it was too late, so they starved to death once the aiptasia was all gone.

 

Beyond that, all corals are still alive, kicking, and growing. Fish, crabs, and anemones are also well.

 

I've tried to do as much automation as possible and I'm almost 100% there. The only thing I still need to automate is 2 part.

 

I grabbed a Spectrapure Maxcap 90 which I plumbed into my cold water line under the bathroom sink in the bathroom adjacent to the room the tank is in. That is set up with its float valve to keep a 5 gallon bucket full of pure water which is used for ATO and partials. For ATO I bought the Tunze Nano and couldn't be happier. The corals showed an almost immediate improvement from the stability achieved with the salinity staying stable and not fluctuating like it did when I did manual water addition. It keeps them happy and it's one less thing I have to worry about.

 

The one thing I am still battling is Lobophora. It has pretty much taken over all of my LR, but I keep pulling it out and hoping that with consistent water changes with Spectrapure water I will eventually get rid of it long term.

 

I've recently switched to ESV seawater. I read some great reviews so I decided to give it a shot. I've only used it once so far, so it's too early to tell what the long term benefits will be. I'm hoping that the ultrapure nature of this mix will help with the remaining algae issues I have. Even though the algae doesn't bother the coral, it is ugly and I want it gone. It's also keeping me from mounting some of my frags as I don't want to put them there and have it overgrow and smother them. But it's something I have patience for, so I'll win eventually.

[nicholc2]

FTS 4-24-14

 

Peek-a-Boo

 

Mr. Won't Stand Still!

 

Mr. Won't come out to play EVER. LOL

 

My rock anemones still doing great

 

My little tuxedo buddy

 

My first acro in the tank. Colored up and bulked up beautifully!

 

Tons of new heads on my candy canes

 

My brown w/green tips birdsnest having a sexy party. Lots of branch growth on him.

 

My pink birdsnest. Had to move him to the sand whilst I battle the lobo. He's shorter than before because some lobo overtook the base. However, he's bulking up and sprouting new limbs.

 

My Christmas favia and brown birdsnest to show growth of both

 

My other favia. He hasn't expanded as much, but he's bulked and colored up real nice

 

The two ridge corals my friend gave me are getting bigger too. I'm still not sure where (or if) to mount them.

 

The lord my friend gave me lost its red, which turned to orange. However, still a great piece and growing well.

 

You could barely see this branching hammer in my last FTS. Now he's getting huge and has a ton of new heads!

 

Purple digitata my friend gave me. I wouldn't believe the growth if I hadn't compared the pic of when I got it.

 

Blue setosa? I got this from the cheap frag bin because it was brown. However I saw the blue tips starting to show. You can't really tell from this pic unfortunately, but this guy is going to be awesome when he colors up fully.

 

Saved this guy. He's a slight peach color (for now) with yellow polyps. I'm not sure the type or name as he was in the really cheap bin at the LFS and I wanted to save him from what was looking to be certain death. He's doing well so far.

 

That's it for now. I plan on grabbing dosers for 2 part prior to going on vacation in June. Other than that it's business as usual now until the lobo subsides and I feel comfortable mounting the coral on the rock again.

[nicholc2]

Oh yeah! Since I'm anything but a master plumber, I thought I'd include some photos of my Maxcap 90 installation. The first pic shows where I plumbed it into the line to the sink with adapters. The second shows the reserve bucket which has the float valve connected to it. I hadn't put the Tunze pump in the bucket yet at this point because I hadn't ran the power or tube yet. It works great, though. I have a constant supply of top off water and with the 5 gal bucket, I also have instant water for salt mixing for partials.