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Jackal's Biocube 16 LED - 3 Years In and Counting!


Jackal227

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On 1/20/2018 at 1:19 AM, rO.oster said:

sorry about your royal gramma, he was really nice!  i like the progress your making!!

 

On 1/20/2018 at 8:06 AM, Ejslane14 said:

Love the rock work. Great thread

Thank you both. 

 

1 hour ago, Cpl_Wiggles said:

Feeding regimen?

I feed PE Pellets (1 mm size) once a day for the fish.  The pellets are pretty small and each clown usually gets around 5 or 6 pellets. 

 

I also spot feed reef roids to all of the corals with both pumps off, 15 minutes before my weekly water change.

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I noticed some new growths on the side of my Acans today.  It looks like I've either got 3 little baby heads sprouting or some kind of hitchhiker.   

 

They definitely have mouths which makes me think they are baby heads.   The odd part is they are bright green when the rest of the Acans are as orangish-red.  I've read that it isn't uncommon for new Acan heads to be a different color at first.  We'll see what happens. 

 

Here are some pics: 

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y4mzgJJ7iVIkqK2BUKOUIqElN70xRUpJTnpWPmxU

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Just a quick update and a shout-out to Coralife's customer service.   

 

I noticed that whenever my biocube would lose power that the light timer settings would reset to 0:00.  This has happened ever since it was new in the box, but I thought that I was doing something wrong. 

 

So this week I emailed Coralife asking if there was a battery that could be replaced to fix the issue.  They responded within 1 business day and promptly offered to ship me a brand new hood that arrived 3 days later.  The new hood is functioning properly, and I now have a spare hood at no cost :D.  I'm impressed with how quick and easy it was to solve the issue. 

 

Also today my new red sea test kits for calc, alk, and mag should arrive.  I figure it's time to start testing these as I get more corals and the coraline starts to entrust my rocks.  Purple dots are starting to pop up everywhere. 

y4mT-LZRwt3aqAcQl-qrx2q3R8C-kbprk_5_fxUL

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19 minutes ago, Jackal227 said:

Just a quick update and a shout-out to Coralife's customer service.   

 

I noticed that whenever my biocube would lose power that the light timer settings would reset to 0:00.  This has happened ever since it was new in the box, but I thought that I was doing something wrong. 

 

So this week I emailed Coralife asking if there was a battery that could be replaced to fix the issue.  They responded within 1 business day and promptly offered to ship me a brand new hood that arrived 3 days later.  The new hood is functioning properly, and I now have a spare hood at no cost :D.  I'm impressed with how quick and easy it was to solve the issue. 

 

Also today my new red sea test kits for calc, alk, and mag should arrive.  I figure it's time to start testing these as I get more corals and the coraline starts to entrust my rocks.  Purple dots are starting to pop up everywhere. 

y4mT-LZRwt3aqAcQl-qrx2q3R8C-kbprk_5_fxUL

Before I put in my Steve's LED, if I closed my hood with any sort of "drop" the timer would reset to zeros. 

 

I want to send my LED in for an upgrade to the lights, but need something on the tank in the meantime...hmm...interesting...

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  • 2 weeks later...

Maintenance Day Update:

I've continued to tweak my filtration setup.  Even though the last mod increased the flow and eliminated the waterfall effect in chamber 2, I noticed that the floss still only continued to get dirty on the edges that the water flows in from.  I also feel that a lot of the water would bypass my Chemipure nano bags instead of flowing through them (due to the path of least resistance).

 

So, to alleviate these problems I have removed the tray that sits on top of chamber 2.  I found the original media rack that came with the biocube and removed all shelves except the top one.   What I like about the media rack is it sits about an inch lower than the top tray did.   I still have my Chemipure blue and filter floss sitting on the top shelf of the media rack.   

 

This leaves lots of room below for the Chaeto to continue growing.  Since the rack sits a little lower it allows the media bags and the filter floss to remain submerged in water which I believe will maximize the effectiveness of them both. 

 

I also harvested another baseball size clump of Chaeto today.   Keeping the glass clean has accelerated the growth again.  I also have relocated one of the Trochus Snails inside the refugium to assist. 

 

The corals continue to grow out.  As I'm now checking my alk and calc levels, I believe that dosing will be required soon.  Here's a picture of the birdsnest frags showing their growth in just 6 weeks time:

December 20th:

y4mS58YHbpRRbCAxayX5uq9yykuz3A7Q73rqZEvY

February 4th:

y4mS3U4iMIzpeLhbYWDUiNleq-W-hhe3uEywTXlY

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  • 3 weeks later...

Maintenance Day Update:

 

It's been a few weeks without a lot of big changes.  Here are some livestock updates and observations. 

 

The Clowns are still doing well and growing.  I've recently started to notice a small difference in size between the two of them.  They are starting to exhibit the typical female/male behaviors. 

y4mXsaRJ9F9AL-ILAD1f422Ju0CxGl7_DcRGN_dH

 

The trumpet corals are still growing and have finally started growing a second mouth on one head so I expect it to start splitting soon. 

y4mtLMH0uCE2xpT4m3HdP1-2cZkV1g9RgIttvBNo

 

The Frogspawn heads have completed splitting and I now have 3 distinct heads.

y4m3DH3fc411U7Uxs5f6mw8gsE8j1LCsseNUpbQL

 

One of my most impressive coral growths has to be my Acans.  It started out with 3 heads.   Currently there are new heads popping out of all four sides.   I count at least 9 heads now (some are on the back side)  and they are getting bigger every day. 

y4mzqU021g_Em8IVtlNdhyENB3PL2c8DIRcdPn5t

 

Based on my testing, I've decided to start dosing 2 part to replenish calcium and alkalinity.   I'm using ESV Bionic and starting with 2.5 ml once per week.  This is the smallest measurement on the measuring cup, and according to the online calculator this should be close to my consumption.   I'll monitor the levels and adjust as needed. 

 

Overall with the tank I feel like it's been mostly a successful experience.  The one component that has been a struggle is keeping the sandbed clean.  Every week I vacuum it and it looks great afterwards.   But by the end of the week it starts looking like this: 

y4mUSQIO9Woh2HoB_7GLJWtYqQG4eOQXCXw60RCd

I believe it is a form of Diatoms or possibly a type of cyanobacteria but my Trochus snails don't touch the sandbed.   I'm thinking that I need something that grazes the sandbed so that it'll stay looking good all week instead of just after water changes.   I believe that I may add either some cerith snails or possibly 1 fighting conch to see if it fixes the issue. 

 

While I'm looking at adding to my CUC, I feel that it's time to look for a 3rd fish as well.  Of course there's plenty of room for more corals too :D.

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1 hour ago, Braun036 said:

I can not wait to see what this tank looks like in a year or two 

I look forward to it as well.   It'll be interesting to see how things change over time.  I've always enjoyed looking at how other's tanks progress and watching the corals grow in. 

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Livestock Update (Gramma 2.0):

 

So, it's been 6 weeks and I haven't noticed any issues with the clowns.  I decided to try another Royal Gramma.  After having the first one I really enjoyed watching the added color swimming through the tank.  The purple and yellow markings are very bright and really stand out. 

 

The new Gramma that I picked up is larger than the last one and seems more active so far.  It started eating right away and will go after pellets right along side my clowns.  I feel this is a good sign.   It's still a little shy when I'm near the tank, but hopefully I'll get some pictures up soon. 

 

I was hoping to pick up a Conch with the Gramma, but I couldn't find one locally.  I did find one online and placed an order to ship one in.  I wasn't willing to pay overnight shipping for an $8 conch so I had no choice but to add a few other items to get free shipping :D.  Everything just arrived today and is now acclimating.  I'll post some updates (with pictures) on them soon. 

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Livestock Update:

 

All of the new additions have acclimated to the tank.   So I've added a Fighting Conch and 2 dwarf Cerith Snails to assist with the sandbed.  The Conch stayed buried for the first few days but today he's out cruising the sandbed.

y4mXo_bsKX4RfFadpasWezs0qVwaPimvsNqAabqP

 

I also added 4 corals along with the Conch order so that I wouldn't have to pay for shipping.  I tried to find some that would add some nice color like a Bright Orange Leptoseris, Reverse Superman Montipora, and a Purple Blastomussa.  I added a Green Duncan to get some more movement into the tank.   The corals are doing well. 

 

The only issue I had was with the Montipora.   It showed up very pale looking.   The color has now started to return to it, and I can now start to see a tiny bit of the polyps.   I can't wait for it to open up those blue polyps all the way. 

 

Purple Blastomussa (2 heads):

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Bright Orange Leptoseris:

y4mcsZJZgO-S6jfTbu7e9FrSJFcL61VyoK4ceDLs

 

Reverse Superman Montipora:

y4m2zUxnFAvQupr411D1dtQ-ZZGlQ1QYAyjD_ndP

 

Green Duncan (2 heads):

y4mvKISf6u6QulTh3_ucLF8v2rqMCV7q_-fLxdMh

 

The new Gramma is still doing well.   It's a little shy so I haven't gotten any photos of just him, but I did catch him briefly in the FTS.

 

In other news on the tank.  I'm going to increase my dosing to 2 days a week instead of 1 (still 2.5 ml each).  My Chaeto continues to grow consistently and I'm harvesting every other week now.  The purple coraline algae continues to spread throughout the tank. 

 

6 Months FTS:

y4m9YywwuhoWIY3IUHGsLN3WACbdD5yDTxk0wpQd

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Just a quick update on the new additions. 

 

The new snails and conch appear to be keeping the sandbed in check.  The cyano has almost completely disappeared and the Diatoms are slowly getting lighter in color.  I expect that over time they will continue to improve.  The conch stays buried under the sand.  I've only seen it out once, but I occasionally see his eyes sticking out of the sand so I know it's alive. 

 

The Reverse Superman Montipora looked like it started to bleach at the top of the tank so I relocated it to a lower spot near the birdsnests.  The color looks to be improving in the new spot.  The polyps are still peaking out, but I haven't seen full extension on it yet.  You can also see how full the birdsnests are getting in the picture (compared to the 3rd month FTS in my first post).

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It also appears that the trumpet coral is going through a double split.  Both heads now have 2 mouths. 

 

The Blastomussa has a baby head growing on the side of it. 

 

My Frogspawn is splitting on the back head and apparently has a baby head growing off the side as well.  It's really starting to fill in the middle of the tank. 

y4mo6t4KlcH1qHiDIk9u4pP_7ejk7z2CQ2uFvU5t

 

The fish are still all doing well and getting along so far. 

 

Updated FTS with new Monti placement:

y4m50julYGju6pO6McNY7o7yxDwWpTuzuzbz4DPd

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  • 3 weeks later...

Maintenance Day Update:

 

The good:

I'm seeing some good growth out of the Blastomussa.  It now has two baby heads growing on it.  The leptoseris also  appears to have started encrusting as well.  I finally got a pic of the elusive gramma: 

y4m0UaVoAIfFhtazR_5W9jlHAo_Qg-SNhDi6BVyP

 

I also fragged three small pieces of the birdsnest to test them out on the island and see if they grow in the highest spots in my tank. 

y4mOeVqQMqAHB9KzLisXwLDIeRksttSmyyMNReTI

 

The Bad:

The entrusting Montipora is still a struggle.  It started growing some algae on it, so I scraped the algae off causing it to fade in color and show no polyp extension.  We'll see if it bounces back.  Also I'm still battling the Diatoms on the sandbed even after the cyano disappeared. 

 

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Well, UPS dropped off another box of life this morning.  It's far too easy to spend money on corals online...

 

I'll add some pictures of the corals once they fully open up.  For now this little guy is exploring his new home:

 

y4mLZ9c3mHwEH_XjV4mWpomBb-NWCcaSeSXQNObi

 

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Awesome Jackal,

 

Where are you buying corals from online? The good LFS by me are about an hour away, so considering getting some LPS/Ric's going in my tank.

 

Looking awesome!

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On 4/13/2018 at 1:17 PM, MSunkin23 said:

Awesome Jackal,

 

Where are you buying corals from online? The good LFS by me are about an hour away, so considering getting some LPS/Ric's going in my tank.

 

Looking awesome!

My first order I picked up from liveaquaria.  Their coral prices seemed a little high for certain pieces but can be good if found on sale.  I chose them mainly because they had the Conch that I was looking for.  A couple of the corals that I received had some algae on them that I had to remove.   Their 30 day guarantee is very nice though (a little peace of mind for a 1st time online order). 

 

The order that I got today came from uniquecorals.  There was no excess algae that I had to remove on these.  I feel that their frag prices are very competitive.  Their wide selection of bright colors is why I went with them.   They had the majority of the pieces that I was looking for all in one place. 

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So the new corals are starting to acclimate and open up.   Some of these colors really stand out so I took a few pictures under the blues. 

 

I really liked the color on the Blastomussa that I already added, So I picked up two more in different colors to fill in the low light areas below the overhang. 

 

Red Mint Blastomussa:

y4mE4x9rWk2S2YB7hxA6KmF3rcWGRhblI5WtpqAN

 

Aussie Green Blastomussa:

y4mqOx7Leig4kpwZce3PDeIkr4lKXWc_wMRLBE8A

 

Blue Sympodium (I split into 2 small frags for separate areas):

y4mDeCk36KAYX6_ByI9wd3QRYVxOZF6A5uyT_JnI

 

Sunny D Palys (adds some very vibrant colors) :

y4mtyrvhhgL0xobYvXTMGFEvpjKMwl1LIgdw_-pJ

 

Orange Leptastrea:

y4mjZdp5v7vvejI7TVyOGS6Uci_PZxwKzM6xf4oC

 

Red Goniopora with Yellow Mouths (just starting to extend) :

y4mOHh5sFw6KiXOecGLidKrvssOqZkKBOWttO7lF

 

Everything is still acclimating but so far they look great.  The tank is starting to fill in nicely. 

 

As I was cleaning out the refugium I found what appears to be a baby bristle worm.  It was small maybe a quarter of an inch.   I added it to the sandbed.  It's exciting to see new life pop up out of nowhere. 

 

I also found some life in an aiptasia growing on the rocks.  It looked hungry, so I  promptly fed it some aiptasia-x.  We'll see if more show up. 

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  • 2 weeks later...

I wanted to show some of the new coral updates and how they were placed in the tank. 

 

Here is what I did with the overhang.  I've been debating what to put on it.  I decided to frag up one of the Birdsnest corals and spread them out around the perimeter.  I then placed the Blue Sympodium in the foreground.  Hopefully it'll look interesting when it grows together.  And with the birdsnest right under the water's surface it may help control the growth. 

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 This is the right leg of the rock work.  With the new Blastomussa Corals added, I believe that this leg is complete.  I think that it'll look great once it all grows in and will be full of color.  This also seems to be where all the fish have chosen to hang out.  The Clowns stay in the open area, the shrimp hangs out behind the rock, and the Gramma likes to pop in and out of the cave between the Trumpets and the Leptoseris.

y4m5Csx03mVLOOy1_KioZNggJKytNSMOqZUdDVX_

 

Now I just need to decide how to finish up the left side.  

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Jackal, is all the birdsnest from your original frag? - If so, damn, nice growth!

 

I really like your idea for the overhang. I plan to actually do something similar but a non-branching LPS like hydnophora to encrust the top rock. Really healthy tank you got there!

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13 hours ago, kismetsh said:

I really like your scape!

Thank you.  I'm starting to really enjoy it now that it's filling up with corals. 

 

11 hours ago, MSunkin23 said:

Jackal, is all the birdsnest from your original frag? - If so, damn, nice growth!

Yes it is.  This stuff grows like crazy.  This what they started as 4 months ago:

y4mS58YHbpRRbCAxayX5uq9yykuz3A7Q73rqZEvY

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SingingSiren

I really enjoy watching your progress on your tank! 😊 I have a Biocube 16 LED that's a few months old. It's nice to see the same tank style and how it grows.

Very cool 😎, like yours a lot!

 

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