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

[Jackal227]

12 hours ago, khoila said:

i know this is an old post, but can the stock light good for a BTA???

I haven't kept a BTA however I'm sure that the stock light would be sufficient for them.  I've been keeping several different SPS corals under the stock lights for over a year and they've all shown growth. 

 

The bigger issue may be space, as some BTAs can grow large reducing nearby space for corals if you wanted them. 

[Jackal227]

My experience with Fluconazole week 2 and week 3:

 

Day 11:

Still moving in the positive direction.  This is the first time that I've found a sponge in my tank in a year and a half so I was pretty excited to see this yellow one pop up under my Montipora.  Also looking closer I see a couple feather dusters to the left of it.  Another first.

 

Day 16:

Still seeing the algae recede.  A little alarming is that the Cespitularia is growing wild.  It's now climbing up the rocks and growing right ontop of the Sunny D's.  I'll need to frag it back soon. 

 

Day 18:

A new possible concern has popped up as the red skirted Zoas have started turning white.  I'm not sure why especially since all of the rest of the corals are doing well but I'll continue to monitor.  The only thing that I found to be off is after 3 weeks without a water change the salinity in the tank has crept up to 1.028.  I'll add RO water over the next couple of days to bring it back down. 

 

Day 21 (Final Day):

Well we've made it the full 21 days of treatment and I couldn't be happier.  Completed a 5 gallon water change today and added back in carbon and purigen.  The algae has greatly receded and to celebrate, the elusive emerald crab decided to hitch a ride on the unknowing hermit.  I guess he wanted to tour the tank now that he can see all the nooks and crannies. 

 

I think that the progression pictures speak for themselves.  Going into the treatment I didn't know what to fully expect and was worried because all the corals were doing well.  But, I had tried manual removal for a couple months and realized that I was losing the battle.  Bryopsis is evil. 

 

Post treatment I don't see any problem areas of Bryopsis anymore.  The GHA has receded significantly.  I never saw the GHA turn white like the Bryopsis but it didn't spread and receded significantly.  I'm not sure if the treatment directly affected it or just kept it at bay so that the CUC could chew away at it.  The only issues that I currently see post treatment are my GSP is still moody and not opening fully, and one Zoa rock is looking very pale.  I believe these will both bounce back and am not too worried.  All of the other corals look great. 

 

Final FTS 17 Months:

 

 

[Kup612]

So have one bullet & one regular clown and a royal gramma , all doing well . Do you think it would be overload to add a goby to help with the sandbed ? I trust your thoughts Jackel227

[Jackal227]

1 hour ago, Kup612 said:

So have one bullet & one regular clown and a royal gramma , all doing well . Do you think it would be overload to add a goby to help with the sandbed ? I trust your thoughts Jackel227

The tank looks great!  In my current tank I don't think a small Goby that stays on the sand like a Watchman Goby would be an issue.  Over time as the current fish grow that may change though. 

 

I believe some of the ones that clean the sand may be a little larger though and I've read that they will cover your corals in sand. 

 

How old is the tank?  I had issues with my sand up until about 6 months. After that it's been white ever since.  I figured that it was part of the "ugly" stages.

[Krish87]

Sorry to intervene - but I thought I would share my two cents as well.

 

@Jackal227 - I can completely relate to what you mean when you said "issues with the sand for about 6 months" and it was the "ugly" stage. I also had a similar issue. Sand turned brownish yellow, how much ever I tried to clean, no luck. Most of the problem were diatoms. Back then, I also thought to get a sand-stirrer to help make the sand look plush and white, but after a good amount of evaluation, I decided I would wait as adding another livestock is just going to increase the problem (bio-load, nitrate - cascading effects) rather than helping sort one! 

 

I was patient and after the wait, the sand was all good! 

 

@Kup612 - your aquascape looks so similar to mine 🙂 It looks really pretty and neat! Very nicely done...

[Kup612]

@Krish87- Thanks , it’s been fun so far . Funny I picked up a sandsifter starfish tonight . I thought a goby would just be to much on the bio load . It will be corals and CUC going forward. 

[Cpl_Wiggles]

Looking great!

 

When I had GHA I changed around the flow a bit and that really helped. Friends in the hobby and LFS have said multiple times switching up the flow keeps corals happy. 

 

If you have a spot where GHA is popping up, put some flow on it!

[Krish87]

2 hours ago, Cpl_Wiggles said:

Looking great!

 

When I had GHA I changed around the flow a bit and that really helped. Friends in the hobby and LFS have said multiple times switching up the flow keeps corals happy. 

 

If you have a spot where GHA is popping up, put some flow on it!

Absolutely right. I can see the result of corals being happy because I tend to move the pump every month or two when I do full-tank maintenance. It helps indeed! 

[Jackal227]

Due to the Cespitularia trying to take over my rock work I had to frag it back quite a bit: 

 

I pretty much filled a frag rack with clippings from it along with a couple pieces of GSP that were growing across the sand and a couple accidental frags of the Digitata: 

 

All of the corals are growing well. 

The Cyphastrea continues to spread: 

 

The Leptastrea has really taken off and has nearly tripled in size: 

 

The baby Duncan heads are starting to fill in:

 

My favorite Montipora continues to grow: 

It's hard to get a good picture, but there is definitely something living inside of the Montipora.  I'm guessing some kind of worm:

[Jackal227]

It's been a little while since I've updated.  The tank is still chugging along.

 

My conch has been unusually active this week: 

 

I also found this baby Cerith snail on the glass today.  It's tiny probably around a 1/4":

 

One concern is for the royal gramma.  I noticed that it had a frayed tail fin.  I'm not sure if one of the clowns got him or if it's possibly an infection like fin rot.  I ordered some kanoplex in case of an infection but it doesn't appear to be getting worse at this time.  I also have been alternating the Nyos Wild Goji pellets along with the PE Pellets to vary their diet.  I will continue to monitor and treat if necessary. 

 

The Montipora Cap is doing great and has really grown: 

 

The Blastomussa is also starting to puff up again after being glued over: 

Unfortunately next to the Blastomussa you can also see that the Bryopsis has started to come back.  I'll be starting another round of Fluconazole again soon. 

[Krish87]

Awesome progress with the corals. Really looking pretty! And what a great pic of the conch.

[Kup612]

Glad everything is coming around . I’ve had some algae bumps here and there but overall tank has been doing great . 

[Jackal227]

7 hours ago, Kup612 said:

Glad everything is coming around . I’ve had some algae bumps here and there but overall tank has been doing great . 

Looking good.  I really like the torch up top. 

[banasophia]

Tank’s looking really great Jackal! You’re getting amazing growth on all your corals. What salt and water source are you using? Are you dosing anything at this time? You still have stock lights, right?

 

My LFS had some cespitularia in stock on Friday for the first time since I’ve had my tank... I thought of your beauty and almost got one, but I’m not sure where I’ll put it... still trying to decide. 🤔

[Jackal227]

On 4/28/2019 at 2:58 PM, banasophia said:

Tank’s looking really great Jackal! You’re getting amazing growth on all your corals. What salt and water source are you using? Are you dosing anything at this time? You still have stock lights, right?

 

My LFS had some cespitularia in stock on Friday for the first time since I’ve had my tank... I thought of your beauty and almost got one, but I’m not sure where I’ll put it... still trying to decide. 🤔

Thank you.  

 

For water I use a BRS 4 stage 75 gallon per day ro/di it makes water at a good pace and seems to work fine.  I've never tested TDS though. 

 

For salt I've used  instant ocean reef crystals since I've started the tank.  I buy the 200 gallon boxes because they're cheap.  I still have a lot left but after watching the BRS series on investigating salt I'm considering switching to Tropic Marin's salt when I eventually run out.

 

I still run stock lights and use the same lighting schedule that I posted when I started the tank.  

 

For dosing I use a Jaebo DP-3 dosing pump and I am dosing 2 ml per day (1ml in the am and 1ml in the pm) of ESV's Bionic 2 part.  The past few weeks I've been using 3ml of Acropower weekly as well, but I haven't noticed any big differences with it yet. 

 

I also really like the Cespitularia.  It is a beautiful coral with nice movement.  Even after fragging it recently it has grown large already again.  I moved it off the rocks yesterday because I don't want it to start attaching again (it was literally growing ontop of my Sunny D Palys).  Right now I have it in the sandbed while I try to find a good spot for it. 

[Jackal227]

Unfortunately the Royal Gramma's fins didn't heal on their own so I'm currently treating with kanoplex mixed with focus added to the food pellets.  I'm on day 4 of treatment and hopefully on the right track.  The good news is that he is still eating well but has some noticeable trouble swimming.  I will continue the meds for 10 days total. 

 

On the bright side I took some coral growth pictures this morning under the blues: 

 

PPE Cyphastrea, I love this coral.  The bright yellow color really glows under the blue lights and contrasts nicely with the purple mouths.

4 months ago:

Today:

 

Green Duncan, this coral started out with 3 heads.  The Clowns would beat up the middle head for some reason and it ended up dieing off.  The remaining two heads have both grown babies in all directions and now there's 8 heads shooting out.  It adds some nice movement to the tank. 

7 Months ago: 

 

Today: 

 

Hammer Coral, I've always loved Euphyllia corals because of their shape,  movement and color.  This hammer started with 3 heads and now all three heads have split so it has 6 large heads with babies growing underneath. 

6 Months ago: 

Today: 

 

Blue Digitata, this coral has grown very fast and started as two small frags that now have grown together.  It really helps to fill in the top of the tank.

5 Months ago: 

Today: 

 

Green and Red Acans, these two have always been puffy and colorful.  They haven't grown a lot size wise but the babies growing out the sides are starting to get large.  I really like the colors of them next to each other. 

6 Months ago: 

Today:

 

Overall I'm happy with the current status of the tank.  I still want some corals to fill in the sides of the rocks though.  Maybe something colorful like Favia's would do well in the low light areas. 

[colinadam]

Great coral growth! 

 

A favia would be nice, I have one in my BC16 and keep it in the lower third of my tank. I just got it a week ago so I cant say anything for growth but color is nice. 

[Jackal227]

1 hour ago, colinadam said:

Great coral growth! 

 

A favia would be nice, I have one in my BC16 and keep it in the lower third of my tank. I just got it a week ago so I cant say anything for growth but color is nice. 

 Thank you.  I've found loads of different favia corals and it appears that they come in almost any color variation which is what draws me to them. 

[Jackal227]

I'm happy to report that after starting the kanoplex treatment the Royal Gramma has started regrowing it's tail fins.

 

It's been 10 days of treatment and the tail is about 80% now.  It was nearly all gone prior to the meds so I believe that they were effective. 

[Qball77]

Great reading right here! I’ve got almost 4 months under my biocube 16. Been doing so much reading trying to pick up as many tips as I can. I’ve gotta tell ya, this  has been one of the most informative threads that I’ve seen. I’ve been kicking around the idea of using the second chamber in my biocube for a refugium  but for now have just added macroalgae to my main display. Any thoughts on this pros/cons? 

[Jackal227]

2 hours ago, Qball77 said:

Great reading right here! I’ve got almost 4 months under my biocube 16. Been doing so much reading trying to pick up as many tips as I can. I’ve gotta tell ya, this  has been one of the most informative threads that I’ve seen. I’ve been kicking around the idea of using the second chamber in my biocube for a refugium  but for now have just added macroalgae to my main display. Any thoughts on this pros/cons? 

Thank you. 

 

There's a lot of tanks that use macros in their display and they can look really pleasing.  The only downside that I could see is if it was an invasive species. 

 

Here's some good macro algae info:

https://www.marineplantbook.com

 

That red one that you have in the corner looks like the same type that I use in my refugium.  It seems to grow faster than the Chaeto for me. 

[Jackal227]

So while I was feeding the corals today I took a top down shot of the Monti Cap:

The front photos didn't really show how large that it has gotten. 

 

Also here's the new spot for the Cespitularia on the sandbed.  It seems to be settling in fine and growing as always: 

 

In other news my Ricordea's have continued to split.  The blue one is now two separate mushrooms.  The pink split into two but one floated away to who knows where.  The remaining pink one has developed 4 mouths on it now so I'm expecting more splits soon.  The orange one wasn't happy and detached.  I found it on the opposite side of the tank.  Hopefully it'll attach there. 

 

I'm currently in my second  Fluconazole dosing to try and rid the remaining Bryopsis from the tank. 

[colinadam]

Looking great as always! 

 

I got an orange monti cap and digi frag recently, both are doing great. Thanks for blazing the SPS trail with the Biocube 😀

[Jackal227]

1 hour ago, colinadam said:

Looking great as always! 

 

I got an orange monti cap and digi frag recently, both are doing great. Thanks for blazing the SPS trail with the Biocube 😀

Monti's have done well for me of all types even under the stock lights. 

 

I currently have 2 acro's that have started entrusting at the base but have shown very little growth so far. 

[Jackal227]

In an effort to add controllable flow back into the tank I've upgraded my powerhead to the Aquamai KPS.  

 

It was pretty easy to set up and I'm still dialing in the settings but so far I'm happy with it.  It's actually smaller than the Hydor 425 that I was using and can put out more flow.