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Been out of the hobby for a couple years and now I'm back and burning money again.  Feels great.  

 

as the title says, got myself a long and shallow.

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Equipment List:

Mr. Aqua 22 Gallon Long

Jebao DCT-8000

VorTech MP10WQD (thanks @crownsbroyal!) with Pico Aquariums Shield (thanks @cdelicath!)

Vivid Aquariums Random Flow Generator

Euro-fil 180 Sump

Smart ATO

Bubble Magus Curve 5

EcoTech Radion XR30W Pro Gen 3

Jebao Auto Dosing Pump DP-4 (dosing with ESV B-ionic 2-part)

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First order of business was the overflow and return.  After much consideration..... I just copied what somebody smarter than me did (@Muraki).

 

1.5" drain and a 3/4" return.  Actually, Muraki did 2 sets.  Me just one. 

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I also followed his lead by putting in a monster of a return pump (flow rate > 2000 gals) and using some sort of random flow generator on the return.

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I opted for 1 drain and 1 return so that I could still have an MP10 in there without looking crowded.  My only worry was...what if the overflow gets blocked?  

My solution was to modify the return chamber of my sump.

 

I sealed the chamber so that in the event that water flow stops, water to the return is also halted.

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Like I said, I've been out of the game for a while.  When it came time to choose a light, I was a bit overwhelmed.  Thanks to the folks on here (and Craigslist!), I settled with an EcoTech Radion XR30w Pro G3.  But now what?!?!  Just too many configuration options.  I ended up importing another reefers schedule and loading it up.  

 

Anybody have suggestions on how high to hang the light?  I have it at 12" now.  From 2pm - 7pm it runs at its max intensity (68%).

 

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Looking good! And I copied off of Scorched. : )

1 set should be enough depending on the flow you put through it. I sometimes amp mine up to 2000gph for a few hours to flush the tank through a filter sock. 1 set barely handles it when I cover the other with my hand. So just makes sure to keep the guard cleaner then I keep mine. :lol: I let Macro grow on mine sometimes, such as blue ochtodes and red grape. 

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flatlandreefer

I'm excited to see this tank progress, I love the long nanos it makes them look so much bigger than they actually are.  The one piece of advice I would have is if you are in doubt at all about the capacity of the single overflow I would put another one in now instead of regretting not doing it later, it seems to me it wouldn't look over crowded if you put another one on the other side of the return...but maybe its not necessary. 

 

The setup looks very clean, can't wait for it to get some livestock!

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  • 2 weeks later...
  • 3 weeks later...

finally finished my cycle 2 weeks ago and started adding some livestock

 

(i'll have to apologize for these pics and any pics moving forward... trying my best with my iphone!)

 

stylo with his nudi buddy

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wasn't planning on getting one but he was the last fish left at a tank breakdown sale... couldn't leave him :wub:

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i love hairy sps 

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picked up a used bubble magus curve 5.  for some reason, i thought if i didn't clean it, it would produce skinmate immediately.  

totally wrong. 

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also added a monti cap and a tiny hammer frag.  along with the other frags, i'm going to see how these guys do before adding anything more expensive.  fingers crossed!

there's also 2 yellowtailed damsels and a high fin goby/pistol pair somewhere in there.

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1 minute ago, Muraki said:

Looking good. Will only get better when the new tank syndrome fazes out. Not nervous with the MP10 and the Nidubranch? 

now i am... didn't really think about it.  that can't be pretty... looks like he's going in the fuge until i find him a new home. 

thanks for the heads up, @Muraki

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They have a sponge cover you can use that would allow for good protection. But he could also accidentally get through the overflow. Nudibranchs are magical to the places they can get too. Suggest a finer screen for the overflow as well. Just ask me how I know :unsure:

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On 1/31/2018 at 12:59 PM, samnaz said:

what are you feeding the nudibranch?

I had diatoms and little patches of green algae which I was hoping it would help control.  Not sure how much of the algae it actually ate though.  Now that all the algae seems to be dying off, I'll have to find him a new home.  Unless you have any feeding suggestions?

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  • 3 weeks later...
On 2/2/2018 at 2:09 AM, reefrook said:

 

I had diatoms and little patches of green algae which I was hoping it would help control.  Not sure how much of the algae it actually ate though.  Now that all the algae seems to be dying off, I'll have to find him a new home.  Unless you have any feeding suggestions?

I don't know what species of nudi is, so I'm not sure what it eats. Do you know? It may not even eat algae. Whatever it eats, each species has a very specific diet. So do you know what species of nudi is it?

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  • 2 weeks later...
On 2/1/2018 at 11:12 PM, Muraki said:

He may eat cucumber and dried seaweed. 

I gave it a try and he didn't take.  I ended up taking him to an LFS that mostly does planted tanks...but has some saltwater which looks just like his planted tanks.  Hopefully GHA, cyano, and other nuisance algae is to the nudi's liking, because there is plenty.

 

On 2/18/2018 at 3:47 PM, samnaz said:

I don't know what species of nudi is, so I'm not sure what it eats. Do you know? It may not even eat algae. Whatever it eats, each species has a very specific diet. So do you know what species of nudi is it?

I believe it's a lettuce nudibranch.

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Stocked the tank a little more this month.

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a torch, a staghorn hermit, and another smaller clown fish, which was almost bullied to death by the bigger one.  after an hour or 2 of getting chased and nipped, i moved the bigger one to the sump for 72 hours.  i reintroduced him to civilization and it seems his time in the pen did the trick.

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here he is hosting the torch...

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and here he is hosting 1 of his 2 rbta's.  While he's no longer physically bullying the little guy, he passive aggressively does so by claiming 

all the money spots.

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My stylo has been showing some good growth.  encrusting the plug, branching out a little further.  

so has the monti and hydnophora.  But my alkalinity swings still worry me about getting any expensive acro's.

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After a water change my alk is aroudn 8.0 dkh.  A week later it can drop to around 6.0 dkh..and sometimes as low as 5.

In efforts to get it steady, I picked up a Jebao DP-4 Dosing Pump and some B-ionic 2 part.  I started off with their recommended 1mL per 4 gallons.

I'll check back in a week.

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There's also a watchman/pistol, some single zoa polyps, and a neon green no name acro.  I'm using that as my guinea pig before investing into more acros.

Also..there was death.... I found one of the yellow tailed damsels weak with fins tattered.  Moved him to the sump but it was too late.  Not sure who did the crime...probably the big clownfish... who knows.

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21 hours ago, Indiana Reefin said:

Really nice start 

I think so! I just don't want to jinx anything.  Besides the diatoms during the cycle, I didn't have much of anything else. Maybe small patches of GHA which quickly dissipated.  

The tank is only 2 months old and I'm sure there's gonna be some battles up ahead... for now fingers crossed while I enjoy the clean view.

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Nice tank!  I love the dimensions.

 

Even though you mentioned taking some time off from the hobby it looks like you've done things right and planned things out well.  

 

The staghorn looks like it's shell is huge lol. 

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11 hours ago, ajmckay said:

Nice tank!  I love the dimensions.

 

Even though you mentioned taking some time off from the hobby it looks like you've done things right and planned things out well.  

 

The staghorn looks like it's shell is huge lol. 

Thanks @ajmckay

 

Yea.. he eats like a pig and is active but he hasn't moved from that area he's in.  Just 2 inches left or right.  I think his shell has grown way too big for him.

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