Anthrax & Gangs! 50G SCA

[billygoat]

1 hour ago, thecoralbeauty said:

It's going to be a super involved weekend when I decide to make the move. I'm expecting plenty of accidental fragging. I'm nervous and nauseous just thinking about it but at the end of the day- this move needs to happen

Having recently transferred my own tank, I can totally understand the nervousness and restlessness that is involved in the process. It sounds like you've definitely made the right call though. I'm using an IM tank with the APS stand as well and so far it seems very solid.

 

Something we reefers often forget is that change is an important aspect of life on the reef. Corals and such get "accidentally fragged" out in the ocean all the time, and they have developed ways to deal with this and in some cases even bounce back better than before. I'm sure that once the move is completed and all of your livestock have settled in, this system will be looking even better than it does now! 💪 (Which is saying a lot because it honestly looks amazing)

[thecoralbeauty]

1 hour ago, mitten_reef said:

the 50 lagoon has one of the best dimension for nano under 3 ft.  can't wait to see how yours get set up.  new build thread coming?

I agree! I'm not sure whats up with the cube dimension obsession... it just isn't it for me. The flow has been tricky to figure out, and the overflow column in the back has been irritating to scape around, since one side of the tank is really visible as you come up the stairs outside my office door. When I got this tank, I was excited about the variation in light requirements that is possible because of the depth, but  don't find that I really capitalize on this very well as a reefer. In fact, the first few years that I had this up and running, my scape was only about half as tall as the water column. 😅

 

All that being said, I'm super grateful for this tank and really pleased with how it has matured in the last 5 years. Its been through so many seasons: flatworms, dinos, a massive clam spawn/dieout, an asterina starfish infestation, etc etc... I feel like I've gotten to kind of finesse out what kinds of corals and fish/invert stocking I like and am good at keeping and have had so much practice finding and maintaining that good tank "autopilot" we all strive for. Since my corals are mostly LPS (I guess its taken me this long to admit i like squishy/flowy stuff?) I think the shallower tank will really help me fine tune my lighting and flow for what I've got in this tank. 

 

I still haven't replaced my elegance or the clams. a huge bubble coral colony has taken that spot in the tank, and I don't find myself missing my clams *as* much... but only time will tell in the new tank. There will most definitely be a new build thread! 

 

46 minutes ago, billygoat said:

Having recently transferred my own tank, I can totally understand the nervousness and restlessness that is involved in the process. It sounds like you've definitely made the right call though. I'm using an IM tank with the APS stand as well and so far it seems very solid.

 

Something we reefers often forget is that change is an important aspect of life on the reef. Corals and such get "accidentally fragged" out in the ocean all the time, and they have developed ways to deal with this and in some cases even bounce back better than before. I'm sure that once the move is completed and all of your livestock have settled in, this system will be looking even better than it does now! 💪 (Which is saying a lot because it honestly looks amazing)

SO good to hear about the APS stand.  If IM's cube dimension APS stand would have fit this tank, I'd have just switched the stand out and saved myself the headache. 

 

I'm most worried about potentially causing a cycle somehow, even though it isnt likely: I'm planning on transferring all my live rock and using live sand (but new), as well as the filter media (bio block, etc) in my sump. I am also starting to stockpile microbacter just in case haha. If you have any tips let me know! 

[farkwar]

Cube flow?

 

Simple

 

Vertical gyre on back left

 

One Vertical gyre on back right

[thecoralbeauty]

4 minutes ago, farkwar said:

Cube flow?

 

Simple

 

Vertical gyre on back left

 

One Vertical gyre on back right

I ended up doing something similar with a MP40 and an MP10 and working it out. 

[thecoralbeauty]

The tang I have has displayed HLL scarring and is currently sporting a rather rough looking dorsal fin. I'm going to quit running my carbon (chemipure elite) for a week or two and see if theres a noticeable difference in his HLL (and also see how my corals respond). 

 

The new tank is ordered, the new lid is ordered... so I'm kind of enjoying experimenting with a few tweaks with this tank before I make the big move in a few weeks when the tank comes in. Excited!

 

 

 

[Christopher Marks]

Exciting news about the new tank @thecoralbeauty!

[thecoralbeauty]

So, In preparing for the move (the tank will arrive tomorrow, but I won't move anything over until after the 15th when my finals are over...) I've been considering my rock. 

Its covered in aptasia in places despite my frequent murdering sprees with aptasia x. So, I ordered a damaged caribsea reef life rock (the tree kit and extension) on the black friday sales at BRS. it's pretty awesome! And makes it tempting to just go with that and ditch my current rock.

Ultimately, I'll likely end up with a mix of old and new rock, since my rainbow monti has encrusted on some rocks, etc... and it'll also depend on how the scape looks. but, what ratio of new to old rocks do we think will lead to a minimal cycle/shock? I had also considered adding a copperband butterfly to the new tank since ALL of the fish will be new so the YT won't have had a chance to get territorial and attack it yet. But, do copperbands really eat aptasia? I've tried peppermint shrimp, about 10 berghia nudis', and nothing has worked.

 

(I should also note I have two bio bricks in my sump that i've had in there for over two years that are coming with... the sump is getting plugged into the new tank as-is. ) I'm trying to preserve as much bacteria as possible so it'll be easy on all the animals to just move everything over into the new "box of water" lol 

 

Thinking I'll keep some sand under the rock work for my wrasses and tube nems but may also let it be bare-bottom away from the rock work. I have two bags of arag-alive that I'll use, I'm leaving my current sand behind.

 

Getting excited!

 

Also, the new light schedule is producing some great colors, and the Klir roller I purchased from @na.lamar was really easy to install. so far so good!

 

also, anyone besides @sublime1996525 interested in this tank? 😉 

[farkwar]

54 minutes ago, thecoralbeauty said:

anyone besides @sublime1996525 interested in this tank

You mean the 50 SCA in general?

 

I was in 2014

 

But the stand scared the 💩 put of me

[thecoralbeauty]

3 hours ago, farkwar said:

You mean the 50 SCA in general?

 

I was in 2014

 

But the stand scared the 💩 put of me

lol yea, your instinct was right! the tank and the original sump are both fine. but you'd need to figure out a new stand situation. thats the only reason im moving tanks. 

 

[farkwar]

5 minutes ago, thecoralbeauty said:

lol yea, your instinct was right! the tank and the original sump are both fine. but you'd need to figure out a new stand situation. thats the only reason im moving tanks. 

 

Waterbox has a 24x24 stand they sell separately

 

Everyone who has a Waterbox give the stand good reviews

[thecoralbeauty]

54 minutes ago, farkwar said:

Waterbox has a 24x24 stand they sell separately

 

Everyone who has a Waterbox give the stand good reviews

your info wouldve been especially helpful a few weeks ago. 🙃

[pokerdobe]

10 hours ago, thecoralbeauty said:

But, do copperbands really eat aptasia?

It's a hit or miss. I've missed the few times I've tried. Gave up on my last one and he now just kinda chills. 

[thecoralbeauty]

On 12/6/2020 at 6:54 PM, pokerdobe said:

It's a hit or miss. I've missed the few times I've tried. Gave up on my last one and he now just kinda chills. 

Hmm. So, knowing that, I'm hesitant to add another fish. Ive tried file fish in the past but they always nipped my clams. Since I don't have any clams at the moment, that may be an option as well. Though I've heard the same thing- they don't always do what we hire them to do. 

 

Knowing this, I've got the caribsea life rock in a bucket with my old saltwater from the last 5g change i did last week, with a biocube from my sump and a squirt of microbacter7. it's in there with a heater and powerhead, so I'm hoping that doing that for about a week, while it may not really "cycle" the new rock, it won't hurt things either and hopefully help give me some options if I end up pulling out some of my current rock for good- either for aesthetics or aptasia reasons.

 

or..... I could just turn everything into an aptasia farm. My mom, who I have volun-told to help me with the transfer next week, thinks they're beautiful. 🙄

[thecoralbeauty]

New tank thread here: