RollaJase's Trip Off the Deep End - Custom Rimless 55G

[RollaJase]

Very interesting and intentional build. Great posts.

Thanks for stopping by, glad you liked the read .

[gena]

Thanks Gena . I really think the clam will look great among the zoas, a nice blue one will stand out really well as I have no blue zoas. When the tank is more mature I'll definitely look an sourcing one.

I think so too. And it has lots of room to grow and be an off-center showpiece . I can already imagine what this will look like fully grown in and it's epic .

[RollaJase]

I think so too. And it has lots of room to grow and be an off-center showpiece . I can already imagine what this will look like fully grown in and it's epic .

Definitely lots of room to grow, particularly if I remove the zoas that are currently sitting on top of that rock. I want to get more zoas but don't want everything to get cluttered. Might look at getting a slightly larger piece of base rock to go under the current rock which will lift it up slightly and give me two tiers of zoas (sand bed then rock) with the top tier being reserved for the clam and maybe a few small zoa colonies. I can picture it now also, and I'm getting pretty excited lol. Always wanted to get a clam but with the instability issues I had with my old tank I was never game to try.

[ninjamyst]

Thanks ninja, that was pretty much the look I was going for. I still think the right side needs some more rock but I'm not sure how to add it without making it look cluttered. Was thinking a magnetic rock look frag rack would go well on the overflow.

I am thinking the same thing for my right side =)

[RollaJase]

I am thinking the same thing for my right side =)

I don't think I'll ever be 100% satisfied, I'll just tweak things as I go. My last tank experienced 2 re-scapes after the initial setup, 3 if you include me smashing the rock apart at the end to sell off corals.

[Felicia]

Looks great! I'm so thrilled to see it all up and running. Your build quality on everything is so awesome and I love how much planning and thought you put into it all. Seems like such a well designed system! I can't wait to see if progress!

[RollaJase]

Looks great! I'm so thrilled to see it all up and running. Your build quality on everything is so awesome and I love how much planning and thought you put into it all. Seems like such a well designed system! I can't wait to see if progress!

Thanks Felicia . I'm really glad I spent all the extra time planning and designing things the way I wanted also. Maintenance is so much easier over the old cube and I have a ton more room inside the stand to work. Not to mention all the extra real estate for corals . I was going to send Eddie a link on facebook but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

[Felicia]

Thanks Felicia . I'm really glad I spent all the extra time planning and designing things the way I wanted also. Maintenance is so much easier over the old cube and I have a ton more room inside the stand to work. Not to mention all the extra real estate for corals . I was going to send Eddie a link on facebook but just haven't gotten around to it yet.

Planning like that is definitely the way to go. My current system still isn't perfect because I just didn't have the workspace to build the stand myself, but I tried a lot harder to think about space and accessing equipment and such. Makes life sooooo much easier! I'll let Eddie know he needs to come check it out.

[RollaJase]

Planning like that is definitely the way to go. My current system still isn't perfect because I just didn't have the workspace to build the stand myself, but I tried a lot harder to think about space and accessing equipment and such. Makes life sooooo much easier! I'll let Eddie know he needs to come check it out.

When you are short on space you always come up with creative ways to fit stuff in. I mounted a few more things inside my stand over the weekend, I've found some interesting ways to make use of my extra vertical space. And thanks , will be good to see Eddie around here a bit more, can't wait to see what he comes up with when he decides to set up a new tank.

 

 

So I spent the night at my girlfriend's place Friday night. Turns out she moved just around the corner from my favorite LFS, no more than a 5min drive (I can see this being very dangerous to my wallet). On the way home Saturday morning I decided to stop by on the off chance they had gotten in my Leopard Wrasse and hadn't told me yet. I walk in, checked out all their new coral and made my way to their rack of fish tanks. After looking through a few tanks I spotted my little guy (and by little I mean about 3-4" in length) and got it fished out of the holding tank. Apparently it came in with a late night Friday shipment and had been in holding for no more than 12hours when I decided to visit. It was sharing a tank with a beautiful Red Coris Wrasse which I very nearly bought also before a quick look on Live Aquaria and seeing the minimum tank recommendation of 125G as they grow up to 1 foot in length. Bagging up the Leopard was easier said then done, it kept biting holes in the bag so we triple bagged him for the trip home. After a 30-40min acclimation he went straight into the tank and definitely got a bit skittish by the other fish checking it out before it settled down and started cruising around. Saturday was tank maintenance day and after a water change and a glass clean I clipped the front back onto my stand which saw the top part of the cladding hit home quite loudly. This must have scared the crap out of the Leopard as it went to sand and hasn't come out since. This happened at about 3pm Saturday afternoon and there has been no sign of it since, not even emerging during feeding time. I have heard stories of them staying buried for days on end when introduced to a new aquarium so at this stage I'm not too worried. If it doesn't emerge by the time I get home from work tomorrow I might take a prod around in the sand in case it killed itself diving into the sand.

[RollaJase]

Also forgot to mention that I did decided to test my water mix again prior to adding it to the tank. I typically do this at the start of every new bucket of salt so I know how it mixes so I can calculate the additional supplementation required to match new water to my tank water.

 

My current water mix for a water change is as follows;

30L water, 1,100g of Red Sea Blue Bucket, 26c temp.

This should provide me roughly the following levels as quoted by Red Sea.

Alk = 7.5dKH-8dKH

Cal = 390-400ppm

Mag = 1170-1250ppm

 

What I tested on Saturday was as follows:

30L water, 1,100g of Red Sea Blue Bucket, 26c temp.

Alk = 10.0dKH

Cal = 395ppm

Mag = 1200ppm

 

In terms of my salt per liter ratio it is roughly 36.667g per liter which isn't as high a ratio as Red Sea usually recommend. My previous bucket mixed in at a higher salinity so I reduced the ratio slightly to compensate. The ratio on this bucket mixes slightly lower than the other one so I am going to increase the ratio up to 38.2g per liter but I am concerned about the high Alk level. I tested the water 4 times and got a 9.8-10.2dKH rating consistently (variation based on slightly varying initial water measurement in test tube and titrant used). My tank temp fluctuates between 25c and 26c which can play a part also, hmm, I need to look at this a little more but it does explain why my Alk in the tank is higher than the 8-8.5dKH that I want.

[ninjamyst]

hope the leopard comes out soon! that's on my list of fish to get.

 

i can't get my alk higher than 6.5 even though new water mixes at 11 and I am dosing 15ml of Seachem Fusion 2 daily. Weird. I wish I can get mine higher like yours

[RollaJase]

hope the leopard comes out soon! that's on my list of fish to get.

 

i can't get my alk higher than 6.5 even though new water mixes at 11 and I am dosing 15ml of Seachem Fusion 2 daily. Weird. I wish I can get mine higher like yours

Thanks ninja, I hope she comes out also. I have wanted one for ages after seeing one in zia's tanks and then everyone else picking them up. Will be a real shame for it to stay hidden all the time, i find it quite a beautiful fish despite its somewhat dull appearance as a female. My specimen has the distinct yellow and red fringes along the stomach and fins which does not appear on all female Macropharyngodon meleagris. First thing my dad said when he saw it was "That's such an ugly fish.", each to their own lol. I'm sure she will emerge when she is hungry.

 

Sorry to hear about your Alk issues. What salt are you using? Coral Pro? Do you dose lots of Calcium? I found it really hard to maintain higher Alk levels particularly when I was dosing high amounts of Cal, the Alk would precipitate out and it required lots of frequent dosing to maintain. This is why I opted to change from RSCP to Blue Bucket as the Alk levels were closer to NSW which would (in theory) make it easy to maintain stable levels across the big 3. Alas, this has not always been the case but I have seen fairly stable levels (although higher than I would like) since moving to the new tank.

[ninjamyst]

Thanks ninja, I hope it comes out also. I have wanted one for ages after seeing one in zia's tanks and then everyone else picking them up. Will be a real shame for it to stay hidden all the time, i find it quite a beautiful fish despite its somewhat dull appearance as a female. My specimen has the distinct yellow and red fringes along the stomach and fins which does not appear on all female Macropharyngodon meleagris. First thing my dad said when he saw it was "That's such an ugly fish.", each to their own lol. I'm sure she will emerge when she is hungry.

 

Sorry to hear about your Alk issues. What salt are you using? Coral Pro? Do you dose lots of Calcium? I found it really hard to maintain higher Alk levels particularly when I was dosing high amounts of Cal, the Alk would precipitate out and it required lots of frequent dosing to maintain. This is why I opted to change from RSCP to Blue Bucket as the Alk levels were closer to NSW which would (in theory) make it easy to maintain stable levels across the big 3. Alas, this has not always been the case but I have seen fairly stable levels (although higher than I would like) since moving to the new tank.

 

Haha. My wife hates my midas blenny even though it's one of my fav fish in the tank so far.

 

Using Reef Crystal right now. I do not dose Ca but Ca is through the roof, over 500ppm. Not sure what I can do to lower Ca since Ca is just so high with Reef Crystal. I have about 500 gallons of Reef Crystal left before I switch to another brand.

[RollaJase]

 

Haha. My wife hates my midas blenny even though it's one of my fav fish in the tank so far.

 

Using Reef Crystal right now. I do not dose Ca but Ca is through the roof, over 500ppm. Not sure what I can do to lower Ca since Ca is just so high with Reef Crystal. I have about 500 gallons of Reef Crystal left before I switch to another brand.

Everyone has their preferences I guess haha.

 

That may be part of your problem I think. The high Cal is probably causing your Alk to precipitate which is why you are having issues maintaining a higher level. Looks like a higher Cal won't really piss off the corals but sensitive corals like SPS can get annoyed by the lower Alk levels. In terms of how to rectify it, short of dosing a lot of Alk supliment or changing salt mix you could prolong the time between water changes or reduce the volume of your change to give the Cal levels a chance to drop. As it drops over time you should see the Alk start to creep up. Even if the salt has high initial levels, if you use it less frequently you should not see the tank levels rise up to your current levels when you do a water change.

[markalot]

Also forgot to mention that I did decided to test my water mix again prior to adding it to the tank. I typically do this at the start of every new bucket of salt so I know how it mixes so I can calculate the additional supplementation required to match new water to my tank water.

 

My current water mix for a water change is as follows;

30L water, 1,100g of Red Sea Blue Bucket, 26c temp.

This should provide me roughly the following levels as quoted by Red Sea.

Alk = 7.5dKH-8dKH

Cal = 390-400ppm

Mag = 1170-1250ppm

 

What I tested on Saturday was as follows:

30L water, 1,100g of Red Sea Blue Bucket, 26c temp.

Alk = 10.0dKH

Cal = 395ppm

Mag = 1200ppm

 

In terms of my salt per liter ratio it is roughly 36.667g per liter which isn't as high a ratio as Red Sea usually recommend. My previous bucket mixed in at a higher salinity so I reduced the ratio slightly to compensate. The ratio on this bucket mixes slightly lower than the other one so I am going to increase the ratio up to 38.2g per liter but I am concerned about the high Alk level. I tested the water 4 times and got a 9.8-10.2dKH rating consistently (variation based on slightly varying initial water measurement in test tube and titrant used). My tank temp fluctuates between 25c and 26c which can play a part also, hmm, I need to look at this a little more but it does explain why my Alk in the tank is higher than the 8-8.5dKH that I want.

 

Something is not right. Could the bucket need mixing? I use the small buckets, all I can lift, and just did somewhere between a 25 and 30 gallon change. KH mixed exactly where I expected.(right around 8). It takes about half of a small bucket to make water in my 32g Brute, and I make sure to mix the salt up in the bag before adding it.

[RollaJase]

Something is not right. Could the bucket need mixing? I use the small buckets, all I can lift, and just did somewhere between a 25 and 30 gallon change. KH mixed exactly where I expected.(right around 8). It takes about half of a small bucket to make water in my 32g Brute, and I make sure to mix the salt up in the bag before adding it.

 

Every new bucket I get I pull the bagged salt out and dump the salt back into the bucket before rolling it around to mix it up. I may try mixing it again and seeing how we go. It could very well be that the bucket isn't mixed right. Thanks Mark, I overlooked this.

[Felicia]

Have you seen the wrasse? You're definitely right not too worry yet. They really can hide for days on end and then reappear. They're beautiful fish, so I really hope it does well for you!

[RollaJase]

Have you seen the wrasse? You're definitely right not too worry yet. They really can hide for days on end and then reappear. They're beautiful fish, so I really hope it does well for you!

 

Funny you should ask Felicia. Lights out started 2 hours ago and after being quite concerned today (being 3 days of no sightings) I spotted this in the sand.

Sound asleep and didn't stir as I brushed some some sand away so I could see the gill movement. If I look close enough I can actually see the sand slightly rise and fall as she breathes. I really hope that this is a sign that she might be out and about tomorrow. She must be getting hungry after not eating for 3 days so unless she comes out to hunt at night I think she will be very hungry come feeding time tomorrow.

[4x5]

Awesome news that you found her. She might be out while you're not around so I wouldn't stress it too much yet.

[RollaJase]

Awesome news that you found her. She might be out while you're not around so I wouldn't stress it too much yet.

Yeah it is quite a relief, I was getting really worried even though I kept trying to tell myself that this type of behavior is normal. Now that I know where she was tonight I'll keep an eye out to see if she moves around or goes back to the same spot at night. Where she is the sand bed is plenty deep, I was a little concerned that she may have dived too deep and bashed her head against the bottom of the tank and hurt herself. She looked to be in good health though so I'm glad that that was not the case.

[Felicia]

Glad you spotted her and know she's alive and well. I agree that she probably comes out when you're not around and may be grazing for pods and things. Hopefully she'll warm up soon and stop being so shy!

[RollaJase]

Glad you spotted her and know she's alive and well. I agree that she probably comes out when you're not around and may be grazing for pods and things. Hopefully she'll warm up soon and stop being so shy!

My hopes were short lived, found her floating upside down at the bottom of the tank this morning when I woke up for work, stiff as a board. I believe she may have starved but there were no signs of sunken stomach and no signs of external parasites. I would really like to get another one but may wait for the tank to mature more before trying again.

 

 

In other news, after full lights out I spotted one of my hermit crabs spawning! She was releasing all of the larvae into the water column and it was really cool to watch. I doubt that many if any will survive, most would have either gotten filtered out or ended up coral food but if the wrasse doesn't get the remainders I may find 1 or 2 little guys crawling around in a few weeks or so. For those who don't know, the female hermits store the eggs within their shell scrolled into their 'tail' I guess you would call it. Looks basically like this.

http://www.hermitcrabpatch.com/v/vspfiles/assets/images/hermit_crab_femaleweggs1.jpg

I have never experienced this before within the aquarium and I think it was just pure luck that out of the 3 new hermits I purchased, the two remainders were a male and female. Hopefully I see some more of this, if the wrasse doesn't pick these other two hermits off.

 

I did manage to get a few low light shots of the spawning, they looked pretty average on the camera so I'll see if any are worth posting up.

[Felicia]

So sorry to hear about the wrasse! Leopard wrasses are so touchy! It really is hit or miss with them. I'd definitely recommend only taking one home if its been doing well at the store for at least a few days and you get to see it eat. That's when I've had the best luck.

 

That's pretty cool that the hermit crab was spawning though! I've always had hermit crabs and I've never witnessed that. Definitely will be a nice snack for the reef! Very cool! And just to clarify, this is why I liked your post. Not the part about the leopard

[RollaJase]

So sorry to hear about the wrasse! Leopard wrasses are so touchy! It really is hit or miss with them. I'd definitely recommend only taking one home if its been doing well at the store for at least a few days and you get to see it eat. That's when I've had the best luck.

 

That's pretty cool that the hermit crab was spawning though! I've always had hermit crabs and I've never witnessed that. Definitely will be a nice snack for the reef! Very cool! And just to clarify, this is why I liked your post. Not the part about the leopard

Thanks Felicia. I definitely think that next time I'll let the LFS hang onto the leopard for a week or so before I go to collect. I did see this one eat while I was at the LFS so I thought it would be fine but apparently not.

 

Yeah the spawning was really cool, I've never had anything spawn in my reef before besides snails. I hope this becomes a regular occurrence .

[AnthonyiLLMaTiC]

Tank is looking great! I love brains, and the zoa island is looking full! Best of luck!