Not-so Symbiotic Nuvo 8 Build - New FTS

[D Z]

Oh yeah, I was so excited to post up pics of the new equipment that I forgot to mention I got a new Rhodactus frag as well as a new small colony of zoas which I believe are Kryptonite. I will try to take some nicer photos of everything tonight and get them up!

[antsypants]

Thanks! I started out wanting to incorporate as much symbiosis into the tank as possible. I came to realize really fast that it cannot be forced, though. A lot of the symbiotic relationships I was hoping for just have not naturally happened, i.e. clown hosting... Also, some of my original plans have changed, i.e. I will not be adding an anemone. I have thought about adding a pom pom. I am not really sure if I want any more crabs, though. I have 1 big hermit that is probably a bit too big for this tank as it is; he was inherited from a friend. And I just recently had a bad experience with an emerald crab. I'll think about it, though.

 

Thanks again for the kind words.

Aw oh well. I've got one in my 3gal and was the first thing I thought of when I heard symbiotic...after clowns of course Good luck with your tank, I'll be following along!

[D Z]

So I have been noticing that some of my coral is just not looking 100% happy. For weeks now, my red death zoas have been either closed or just barely open and my blasto is still looking pretty bleak. The rest of my zoas are all mostly open, but still look like the could have better polyp extension. My tank has gone through a number of changes/mishaps throughout the past month or so, so I am attributing it to that. I am having an overwhelming urge to just "figure out what I wrong and fix it immediately", but I realize that it could have everything to do with constant change/instability. Don't get me wrong, other than the emerald crab incident, all the changes I have made should be good ones, it has still been a lot of changes. Therefore, before I rush to make any more changes, I feel that I need to slow down and just strive for stability.

 

I also got a pretty high phosphate reading the other day, to the point where my Hanna meter was topped out at 2.5ppm. I believe this is because I got lazy with changing out my filter floss(it was pretty nasty). I had also started using Oyster Delight 1 - 2 times per week and I believe I was feeding too much of it. Most of the uneaten food was being caught by the floss and then I was lazy and didn't change it....you get the picture. I have done 2 water changes and am now on top of changing the floss every 3 days or so. I will test the phosphates tomorrow to see where they are at once I get my shipment of PO3 reagent. Hopefully, I am back down at 0.

 

The last change I am planning on making is a new thermometer. I should have it tomorrow. The thermometer I am using is a very old one, from years ago when I used to have freshwater tanks. I put in a new heater as I was skeptical whether the old one was working or not, and my thermometer is stuck at around 76 degrees. That is with a Cobalt Neotherm set to 78 so I am wondering if my thermometer is malfunctioning. Anyways, I should have the new thermometer tomorrow to double check my temp, and then I will start my mission for stability.

 

Here are the parameters that I am going to strive to keep stable:

 

Temp: 78 degrees

Salinity: 1.025

Nitrite: 0 ppm

Nitrate: <1ppm

Ammonia: 0 ppm

Phosphate: 0 ppm

Calcium: 430 ppm

Alk: 9.8 dKh

Magnesium: 1280 ppm

 

Along with keeping those parameters stable, I am also going to strive to do the following:

1) No more livestock until everything I already own is 100% thriving

2) Keep hands out of tank as much as possible

3) No more changes to hardware

4) No changes to coral placement

[shaverto]

just read through this whole thread. Your last post summed up some of my thoughts, so much was happening all the time, could just be to much change for the livestock.

 

The tanks looks great, glad to read about someone with a smaller tank like myself (i have an aqueon 8) who went with the MP-10 and switched it out, I've been looking to potentially add a powerhead and haven't found one that i think will work for the tank.

 

Can i ask what made you change your mind from the watchman/shrimp combo. Originally thats what i was aiming for (clown, watchman/pistol) but I have some concerns about their digging habits and how that could effect my tank.

 

Great, thread. I'm following

[D Z]

just read through this whole thread. Your last post summed up some of my thoughts, so much was happening all the time, could just be to much change for the livestock.

 

The tanks looks great, glad to read about someone with a smaller tank like myself (i have an aqueon 8) who went with the MP-10 and switched it out, I've been looking to potentially add a powerhead and haven't found one that i think will work for the tank.

 

Can i ask what made you change your mind from the watchman/shrimp combo. Originally thats what i was aiming for (clown, watchman/pistol) but I have some concerns about their digging habits and how that could effect my tank.

 

Great, thread. I'm following

Thanks for the comments! Do you have a build thread for the Aqueon?

 

I decided not to go with the watchman/pistol mostly because I did not want sand constantly being moved around and suspended in the water column. Also, my wife really liked the yellow clown goby, so that kind of sealed the deal. I am really glad, too, because I absolutely love the YCG. He has a really cool personality and gets along great with my oscellaris.

 

Oh and while I am in here......as an update:

 

I got my new thermometer and sure enough the old one was way off. It was reading about 2.5 degrees under where it should. So all along I have been in the 78 - 79 degree range. I figured this was the case, so no changes need to be made there.

 

Also, I got my new reagents for the Hanna Phosphate checker and my phosphates are back down to 0.00, which is great news. So I am back on track with a ULNS, running only activated carbon, and that is after using the Zeovit additives for a week. Let's see how the next couple of weeks go!

[shaverto]

http://www.nano-reef.com/topic/344974-shavertos-aqueon-8-first-sw-tank/

 

Theres my build thread. Not much to show so far, and not a ton of feedback unfortunately

[D Z]

Well.....I found some bubble algae in my tank. Not too happy. It looks like my plan to keep my hands out and let the tank balance out is not going to happen quite yet. Unfortunately, it is in 2 places, and neither are a good spot for me to try to get a hold of it with the baster so I am going to have to pull the rocks out to get to it. On a good note, I have been kinda thinking about re-scaping anyways. I had originally dismissed that idea as I wanted to just let the tank be for a while, but now I guess I have no choice.

 

I am definitely not going to go the route of adding a emerald crab....lol.....been there, done that.

 

Unless anyone has a better idea.....?

[D Z]

Monday AM Update:

 

Well it turned out the bubble algae was in 3 places. The good news is, I think I got it all out. The best news is, I re-scaped in the process and I am much happier with the look of the new layout. All the coral in the tank seems to be pretty happy with the new layout as well. I get a better overall flow in the tank so I do not notice dead spots on the sand where detritus was building up. I have wanted to do the 2 island re-scape for a little while now, I just didn't want to mess with it out of being scared to kick up a mini-cycle. I can safely say that I am glad I went through with this change.

 

 

My plan moving forward is to leave it be for a couple weeks to see how everything goes with the new scape. After a couple weeks or so I am going to start adding some new coral. The plan is to add some Acans. I dedicated the small rock in the center for an Acan garden. I plan on adding 2 - 3 different Acans and letting them grow all over that rock.

 

I plan to get some more Ricordea, Yumas, and probably some more zoas for the left structure.

 

For the right structure, I am still a little undecided. I can go 2 different routes with this. There is a really nice crevice coming down the front of the structure that I could see a rock anomone being happy sticking its foot into, but I am not sure if it would stay put. That makes me nervous. The other route I could go would be to make that rock dedicated to SPS. It is right under the return and does get pretty good flow so this would probably work out nicely. What do you all think?

 

Now I just need to keep my hands out and leave everything alone for a while. Here are some pics:

 

New FTS

 

Close up rastas and kryptonite mini colony

 

Close up of zoas

 

Close up shot of the new orange fringed rhodactus

 

Close up of the new island that will be for Acans

 

The right hand structure.

 

Room Angled FTS

 

Room FTS

[D Z]

Just got done uploading a bunch of good pics. Everything is doing really well. I'm going to sort through them all tomorrow and post up a nice photo dump, but here is one I liked for now:

 

DSCN3661 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

[Illuiix]

Tank looks good man.

[D Z]

 

Tank looks good man.

Thanks Illuiix. So when are you gonna get another tank going???

 

 

Here is the photo dump I promised. All the coral in the tank is doing well after the move/re-scape. All parameters check out great, so no mini-cycle from moving everything around. I wasn't really liking the degredation I was getting in photo quality from using photobucket so I decided to give Flickr a try. I also feel like I just didn't get very good photo quality out of that last set of pics. Not really sure why, but these seem to have come out better. Enough with the talk.....here are the goods.

 

I noticed I have been doing a lot of night time shots and not very many day time. Here are a couple shot of how things look throughout the day.

DSCN3646 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3648 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3704 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3706 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3711 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3713 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

 

I didn't have much time to catch daytime shots as the tank started into the sunset.

 

DSCN3650 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3660 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3667 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3677 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3669 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3670 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3673 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3674 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

My son loves to help me with the tank! He loves to watch the fish swim and is starting to be very interested in the coral now, as well!

DSCN3684 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3657 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

And a couple more night time shots

 

DSCN3716 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3718 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3720 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3721 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3722 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3723 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3727 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3729 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

DSCN3730 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

 

And just for fun....here is a shot of my dogs!

DSCN3731 by 99e1468d1588d62ab22bacc7b17698d9, on Flickr

[Illuiix]

Awesome! Haha, your son is going to a coral collector some day.

 

Umm, I'm going to start saving funds for a kessil light after I buy my macbook air. I almost have enough for the upgrade on a new laptop so I would say, in a month or so for the lights, etc, to set everything up. Because I also need a new computer desk. I've had these outdated stuff for too long...lol.

[D Z]

Awesome! Haha, your son is going to a coral collector some day.

 

Umm, I'm going to start saving funds for a kessil light after I buy my macbook air. I almost have enough for the upgrade on a new laptop so I would say, in a month or so for the lights, etc, to set everything up. Because I also need a new computer desk. I've had these outdated stuff for too long...lol.

It is so cool seeing my son so interested in the aquarium stuff. I have a couple friends that are reefers as well and he just soaks up the information. One of my friends has a 300 gallon with a ton of different kinds of fish so he learns a lot about different fish because of that. Almost every time I go the the LFS, I bring my son with me. He impresses everyone in the store cause he knows names of fish and starting to know some coral too! I actually told him that this tank will be his someday, whenever Daddy has the space to upgrade!

 

Cool! Can't wait to see what you do next. I love the look of tanks under a kessil. I thought about using a 150 on mine, but I really wanted to control-ability. The 360 would have been way too much for this tank just to get the control-ability. I think I am much happier with the NanoBox. What size tank are you going to put the kessil over?

[Illuiix]

Mmmm 16g IM nuvo. It's the tank that I received but didn't actually order. I ordered a nuvo 8g black and they shipped me a bigger tank but white...lol. Yeah the kessil is really simple and I'm going with it because it's the only deep blue light that can actually sustain coral colors, growth, etc. I can't think of any other lights that is as blue 24/7, and the same time, be able to grow stuff.

[D Z]

Mmmm 16g IM nuvo. It's the tank that I received but didn't actually order. I ordered a nuvo 8g black and they shipped me a bigger tank but white...lol. Yeah the kessil is really simple and I'm going with it because it's the only deep blue light that can actually sustain coral colors, growth, etc. I can't think of any other lights that is as blue 24/7, and the same time, be able to grow stuff.

I get that, but as much as I love the blue look, I just don't think I could run a light that only give me blue 24/7. Can't wait to see it though!

[Legendary Corals]

Well, I haven't had a chance to do all of my upgrades yet, but I have yet another one in route!!!!

 

Dave posted the 2 leftover Tide's from RAP for sale and I just could not resist. This beauty is soon to be mine!!

 

Oh hubba bubba

[D Z]

Oh hubba bubba

LOL....why thank you! But seriously, you're right! This light is SICK!

[Illuiix]

I get that, but as much as I love the blue look, I just don't think I could run a light that only give me blue 24/7. Can't wait to see it though!

 

Thanks man. I know, I used to run whites with blues all the time, just going to try things differently this time ahha.

[D Z]

So I have been out of town the past couple days...so anxious to get home and see my tank. Is that bad?

[Illuiix]

No lol.

[D Z]

No lol.

LOL....my wife probably wouldn't agree!

 

I love coming home after a weekend away and having the tank look great! Now I am stuck at work on a Monday morning wishing I could be home to watch the "sun rise"....I only get to see it on the weekends. Oh well, there's always next weekend.

[D Z]

Well, no new pictures to add, but everything seems to be doing great! Even the red death's are showing signs of improvement. They have been opening up more and more. I have noticed they are extremely sensitive. Even the slightest bump to the stand causes them to close up, but they are looking better. The only thing still struggling is the blasto, but that will take a long time to recover.

 

I have noticed one really cool thing. I am not sure whether to attribute this to the tank maturing or the addition of the Zeovit addatives, but I have not seen any flatworms at all in a couple of weeks. Not that they were causing any trouble before as their numbers were staying in check, but I have not seen a single one. Also, ever since the re-scape, my glass has been staying VERY clean. I think I have only had to clean it once this week, and that probably wasn't even really necessary. I used to have to clean it about every other day.

 

I may hit up an LFS this week, so maybe some new pics some time early next week. Also, I am keeping an eye on SaltCritters. I will definitely be checking out the Live Sale on Monday, might pull the trigger on some new stuff. I am thinking it is time for some Acans, couple more mini zoa colonies, and a couple more rics or yumas. I'm also starting to really itch to try a piece of SPS! Tanks been running about 4 months now and is pretty much ULNS so I'm thinking a handful of acros would probably do well.......

[evanski]

Looking good. My 2G Fluval is doing well, and I am setting up my IM16 as soon as the cabinetry is taken care of.

[D Z]

Did some coral shopping yesterday. Got a bunch of cool things. Memorial Day sale at top shelf aquatics and I found some nice additions. Everything is settling in good for now. Here's some teaser pics for now. Better pics in another day or two.

 

Who says a Saturday night in can't be fun!!!

https://flic.kr/p/nrUjAT'>https://flic.kr/p/nrUjAT'>DSCN3736 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Some new Rics. The one on the right is really cool. Never seen one quite like this. Very dark purple/red background with bright green bumps.

https://flic.kr/p/nJosSt'>https://flic.kr/p/nJosSt'>DSCN3760 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

New Acan....Acan Island has begun

https://flic.kr/p/nrTQRB'>https://flic.kr/p/nrTQRB'>DSCN3750 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Toxic Green Hammer

https://flic.kr/p/nrTSWP'>https://flic.kr/p/nrTSWP'>DSCN3775 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

Awesome green little plate coral. Never seen them small enough for my tank!

https://flic.kr/p/nrUkvZ'>https://flic.kr/p/nrUkvZ'>DSCN3773 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

 

And last but not least....first piece of SPS. Testing the waters with a Joe the Coral. Had some PE last night a couple hours after going in. So far so good.

https://flic.kr/p/nrUijz'>https://flic.kr/p/nrUijz'>DSCN3749 by https://www.flickr.com/people/89326890@N03/'>cchsoracle, on Flickr

[D Z]

So I have not seen much PE from the Joe the Coral acro the past couple of days. Honestly, I think it is because of my damn yellow clown goby. I have seen him hanging out near the acro and take a couple nips at it. Now I really have a decision on my hands. I really want to add to my acro collection, but I'm pretty sure at this point that I would have to remove the YCG to do so. Decisions....decisions....

 

If I do end up taking the YCG out, any suggestions on a fish I could replace him with?