TeenyReef's 10g Fusion - ATO Disaster

[teenyreef]

There's a cool little tube worm that's been growing just under the bubblegum montipora for some time now. After lots of trial and error, I finally got a nice picture of it while it was extended.

 

[Justind823]

Wow! How big is that? Nice shot

[teenyreef]

28 minutes ago, Justind823 said:

Wow! How big is that? Nice shot

Lol, it's only about the size of a pea 😄

[gone_PHiSHin]

hey teeny, glad to see things are once again looking fantastic in this tank.  

 

can i ask you again about your lighting?  have you stopped ‘messing with’ your light levels after all this time?  we’ve talked before about possibly seeing dimished returns with this light over this tank (i have the same setup), and know the light is very strong and capable.  i have a few more SPS in my tank than last year and want to hit them with more light but i start to see less color in my acans, for example, if i try to up them.  

 

would you mind posting screenshots of your current morning/midday/evening spectrum levels?  also, anything else you may have learned about messing with this light?...especially in relation to being over this tank, in relation to running a mixed reef, etc.  i know Dave will be in shortly to say use the presets haha, but i seem to get much better results with less whites!  

 

as said many times before, this setup (Tide/IM10) is so perfect together, and i know many have been inspired by your tank to get a Tide and IM10 going for themselves, myself included.  great to see this tank bouncing right back, and congrats once again on this legendary thread.  

[teenyreef]

I'm long overdue for an update, but sometimes life just happens. I've definitely learned how important it is to have tanks set up with as little maintenance needed as possible so down periods like this don't end in disaster. I've mostly just been doing bi-weekly water changes, emptying the skimmer cup, and changing filter floss. The tank seems to enjoy the stability, as everything is growing well and things are pretty much fully recovered from the downturn earlier this year.

 

My FTS turned out blurry, but here's a top down shot for now!

 

2019-06-28 IM10 Top Down:

 

[teenyreef]

On 3/31/2019 at 5:42 PM, gone_PHiSHin said:

hey teeny, glad to see things are once again looking fantastic in this tank.  

 

can i ask you again about your lighting?  have you stopped ‘messing with’ your light levels after all this time?  we’ve talked before about possibly seeing dimished returns with this light over this tank (i have the same setup), and know the light is very strong and capable.  i have a few more SPS in my tank than last year and want to hit them with more light but i start to see less color in my acans, for example, if i try to up them.  

 

would you mind posting screenshots of your current morning/midday/evening spectrum levels?  also, anything else you may have learned about messing with this light?...especially in relation to being over this tank, in relation to running a mixed reef, etc.  i know Dave will be in shortly to say use the presets haha, but i seem to get much better results with less whites!  

 

as said many times before, this setup (Tide/IM10) is so perfect together, and i know many have been inspired by your tank to get a Tide and IM10 going for themselves, myself included.  great to see this tank bouncing right back, and congrats once again on this legendary thread.  

Sorry for such a late response. Basically I run the blue/violet/cyan channels at 100% during peak periods, and the non-blue stuff at about 25%. Even at those settings, I don't get the best color from the acans. They have hints of rainbow but are mostly red. I'm hoping once the corals up above grow out more, they will shade the acans a bit more and help them out.

[Stoops718]

2 hours ago, teenyreef said:

I'm long overdue for an update, but sometimes life just happens. I've definitely learned how important it is to have tanks set up with as little maintenance needed as possible so down periods like this don't end in disaster. I've mostly just been doing bi-weekly water changes, emptying the skimmer cup, and changing filter floss. The tank seems to enjoy the stability, as everything is growing well and things are pretty much fully recovered from the downturn earlier this year.

 

My FTS turned out blurry, but here's a top down shot for now!

 

2019-06-28 IM10 Top Down:

 

How much water are you changing bi-weekly and are you dosing anything?

[teenyreef]

3 hours ago, Stoops718 said:

How much water are you changing bi-weekly and are you dosing anything?

I'm doing 2 gallon water changes. Sometimes weekly but often bi-weekly. I dose ATI Essentials, which includes trace elements. 

[teenyreef]

I'll get some update pictures this weekend! The tank is doing really well. All the corals are growing and looking good. I've kept up on water changes every week or two weeks at most, and haven't bothered with phosphate or nitrate control beyond water changes. Carbon for five days a month, skimming, and filter floss seem to be keeping things in balance. 

 

I checked parameters (other than all) for the first time since July. Nitrates are stable, up to 16 from 12. Phosphates are way up since discontinuing Phosphate Rx, up from .05 to .25. 

[Reefjunkye]

Hi teenyreef, just started a nano 4 days ago, I am debating on if I should go for barebottom or sand. I see you started with sand and youre BB right now, may I know why? I didnt want to read the 167 pages lol.. thanks

[Pjanssen]

3 hours ago, sean86114 said:

Hi teenyreef, just started a nano 4 days ago, I am debating on if I should go for barebottom or sand. I see you started with sand and youre BB right now, may I know why? I didnt want to read the 167 pages lol.. thanks

167 pages is a lot to read, but you could learn so much from this thread, even if you just skim through it

[Nano_Addict]

41 minutes ago, Pjanssen said:

167 pages is a lot to read, but you could learn so much from this thread, even if you just skim through it

Absolutely!  I've skimmed / read through this thread multiple times.  When someone documents their progress as well as @teenyreef, it's an awesome way to figure out which methods work and which don't.  Definitely worth the read!  More too the point, I believe he went bare bottom semi recently, so you might be able to find that in the last couple pages of the thread.

[Reefjunkye]

On 11/3/2018 at 9:55 AM, teenyreef said:

Thanks! I'd really prefer to go without NoPox. I've found the more I use it, the worse the side effects. Encouraging high levels of bacteria growth in your tank is only a good idea to a certain degree. It also seems to rob the corals of nutrients they would rather have, and things just generally seem to get out of balance. I think a little bit is good but the amount I've needed to compensate for my fishy overload is not good.

 

Speaking of which, last night I completed Operation Bare Bottom. I also removed Doug the Puffer while all the rocks were out, and put him in the 30g frag tank where he can eat the vermetid worms that have been proliferating in there. 

 

Eventually I will rehome the green banded gobies from the 30g to this tank. 

 

After removing most of everything (I ended up doing about a 40% water change in removing the rest of the sand):

 

...and now everything back in the tank, with cloudy water and pissed off corals:

 

Found the post. Thanks guys 

[teenyreef]

I'm still running bare bottom and I love it. The corals do so much better and cleaning the tank is way easier now. For me personally, the main reason to have a sand bed is to support livestock that need it. For example, my 40g still has a sand bed because I have a yellow watchman goby / candy can shrimp pair that need the sand to dig their tunnels.

[Reefjunkye]

awesome, your tank has been an inspiration!!! 

[teenyreef]

On 10/17/2019 at 1:48 AM, sean86114 said:

awesome, your tank has been an inspiration!!! 

Thank you!

[Reefkid88]

How are ya bud ? 

[teenyreef]

20 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

How are ya bud ? 

I'm doing well, thanks for asking! Work, then family, then reef tanks...not a lot of reefing time right now. But I'm keeping up on minimum water changes so things are still OK in this tank. In general, things are a little less puffy than in the past, which tells me minimum water changes really aren't enough to keep things as happy as they can be. Time to get back in the swing of things 🙂

 

Hope you are doing well!

[teenyreef]

I did get things cleaned up enough to get some picture updates. 

 

2019-10-19 IM10 FTS:

 

2019-10-19 IM10 Top Down:

 

[teenyreef]

I just realized the reason things aren't as floofy as they were in the last FTS is because I took these pictures right after feeding the tank 

I feel a lot better now 🙂

 

[Reefkid88]

 Good,always glad to hear. I know things are busy for you since you aren't here every night. I know how it goes,my family is growing and work has been tough on me,but I am making it. I have another tank in the works,just getting my light figured out. 

 

 I'm good,I'm alive so I can't complain !!! The tank looks great though !!! 

[William]

1 hour ago, teenyreef said:

I did get things cleaned up enough to get some picture updates. 

 

2019-10-19 IM10 FTS:

 

2019-10-19 IM10 Top Down:

 

I think you are doing just fine... especially if this is what a neglected tank looks like for you ...: 😮

[Thetravelguy]

Jeee wizz what a freaking perfect tank! 

[teenyreef]

51 minutes ago, Thetravelguy said:

Jeee wizz what a freaking perfect tank! 

Thanks!

2 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

 Good,always glad to hear. I know things are busy for you since you aren't here every night. I know how it goes,my family is growing and work has been tough on me,but I am making it. I have another tank in the works,just getting my light figured out. 

 

 I'm good,I'm alive so I can't complain !!! The tank looks great though !!! 

Glad things are going well! Seems like you've been figuring out the light for a while now 

2 hours ago, William said:

I think you are doing just fine... especially if this is what a neglected tank looks like for you ...: 😮

Thank you!

[MrObscura]

Hey, teenyreef, are you running the sps preset on the kps? Also, it's kind of hard to tell from your pics, do you have it blasting right into your sps or does it flow behind them and the rock work?