Falco's Mixed Reef

[falcooo]

UPDATED July 1, 2019

 

EQUIPMENT

Tank: Innovative Marine Nuvo Fusion 10

Lighting: AI Prime HD

Circulation: Hydor Koralia Nano

Filtration: Nuvo Media Basket w/ ChemiPure Blue, Filter Floss & Phosphate Removal Pad

Pump: Sicce Syncra 0.5 w/ Innovative Marine SpinStream Nozzle

Auto-Top Off: Tunze Nano 

Heater: Cobalt Neo 25W

 

MAINTENANCE

Every Other Day: Feeding 

Every 5 Days: 2g Water Change, Replace Filter Media, Fill ATO Reservoir

Monthly: Change ChemiPure Blue

 

LIVESTOCK

Fish: Clown Fish

          Yellow Watchman Goby

Inverts: Cleaner Shrimp

               Pistol Shrimp

               Pom-Pom Crab

               Sexy Shrimp

               Trochus Snails

               Scarlet Hermit Crabs

               Blue Legged Hermit Crabs

               Nassarius Snails

               Astrea Snails

Corals: Ricordea Florida Mushrooms

              Jack-O-Lantern Lepto

              Pink Birdsnest

              Acan Lords

              Zoanthids

              Red Mushrooms

              Rock Flower Anemones

              Hammer Coral

              Orange Montipora Digi

              German Blue Montipora Digi

              Montipora Caps

              Unkown Acro

              Green Birdsnest

              Bizarro Cyphastrea

              WWC Slimeball Anacropora

              Tropic Thunder Montipora

              Walt Disney Acro

              Jedi Mind Trick Montipora

              WWC Miami Hurricane Echinata

 

June 2019

 

January 2019

 

December 2018

 

November 2018

 

October 2018

 

September 2018

 

August 2018

 

June 2018

 

May 2018

 

April 2018

 

March 2018

 

 

 

[dferrari13]

Nice.....slow and steady wins the race in this hobby....lookin good....like the rockscape!

[falcooo]

5 weeks in and essentially fully stocked...for now

 

Current Inhabitants:

- Black Clownfish
- Yellow Watchman Goby

 

- Cleaner Shrimp
- Pistol Shrimp
- 2x Trochus Snails
- 2x Scarlet Hermit Crabs
- 2x Nassarius Snails

 

- Rock Flower Anemone
- Hammer Coral
- Acan Coral
- 2x Ricordea Mushrooms 
- 2x Zoanthids
- Green Toadstool Leather

 

I’ve been testing alkalinity and calcium daily, trying my best to maintain parameters ~8.3 dKH and ~420 Ca. Before adding the corals I started to notice green algae growing rapidly out of nowhere. So I turned my AI Prime down from 35% to 5%, and plan to crank it up gradually over time. Algae growth stopped in its tracks.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Type-H20]

Liking the side by side/top bottom planted & reef tanks.

[falcooo]

Quick 2 Month FTS Update:

 

*Still playing with coral placement, minus the few that have been glued down (Acan, top Zoas, and Hammer).

[falcooo]

Three Months in and I recently had to deal with some hair algae issues from over-feeding. Fixed my feeding schedule and after a few additional cleanings and water changes, problem solved. Everything is glued down, minus the digi and zoa I just recently purchased. Fish/corals/inverts all doing great! The Acan coral is growing so fast that it has quickly become my favorite so far. 

 

Here's a few quick shots...

 

 

 

[Type-H20]

This is coming along nicely.  Nice RFA.

You're very close to the glass with your rockwork and frags, are you having clearance issues with glass cleaning?

[falcooo]

1 minute ago, Type-H20 said:

This is coming along nicely.  Nice RFA.

You're very close to the glass with your rockwork and frags, are you having clearance issues with glass cleaning?

Thanks! Yeah with the magnet I can't get into the bottom back corners of the tank, but if I get in with my hands and a blade I can reach everywhere. 

[Lula_Mae]

Looks like you're off to a great start!

[falcooo]

Just took a few pictures using my amber lens sunglasses as a filter 👍

 

Also, I recently added a little frag shelf from @Oceanbox Designs as a way to get my frags off the substrate and I really like it so far.

 

 

 

 

[Oceanbox Designs]

@falcooo Nice use of our mini frag rack! Your tank is looking awesome! Our magnets are waterproof if you like to mount it on the back wall, it'll be easier to clean the sides and you don't need to move it every time.

[falcooo]

6 hours ago, Oceanbox Designs said:

@falcooo Nice use of our mini frag rack! Your tank is looking awesome! Our magnets are waterproof if you like to mount it on the back wall, it'll be easier to clean the sides and you don't need to move it every time.

Thanks OD! And excellent idea, I didn’t realize the magnets were waterproof.

[CollegereeferB]

Hey, how have you liked the tunze nano ato? Ive been trying to get one but I’m can’t choose between that one or the auto aqua micro.

[falcooo]

19 minutes ago, CollegereeferB said:

Hey, how have you liked the tunze nano ato? Ive been trying to get one but I’m can’t choose between that one or the auto aqua micro.

I can’t really compare it to anything, since this is my first reef tank and first ATO. But it’s worked like a champ for the past 6 months with no issues at al, so I’d recommend it.

[CollegereeferB]

Awesome! Thank you 

[Daniel91]

Falcoo - show us some pics!

[falcooo]

5 Month Update...

 

Everything seems to be going great. All of the corals and fish appear healthy and growing well. And thankfully, no horror algae stories. I've got the AI Prime turned up to 15% intensity on acclimation mode. Note, I'm curious to know how quickly/slowly others ramp up their intensity over time. 

FTS with the blues turned down..

 

FTS with amber lens..

 

Also worth noting, my parameters have been very stable these past few months, hovering right around 420 Ca, 9 dKH, & 1250 Mg. As you can tell, it was a rough start parameter wise in the beginning. This was my first saltwater tank, and first time testing water. I have never really tested any of my freshwater tanks over the years, just LFS testing to confirm completed cycling.

 

Future Plans: There's a lot of empty ledges on the back of the rocks. Thus, a perfect place for SPS to grow and create some cool background height. I've got one small Digi frag on the rack growing out, but want to buy a few more various branching SPS to fill out the rack before eventually glueing down. And I still need to glue the hammer somewhere but not certain where. 

[falcooo]

I just took some pretty cool shots and wanted to share...

 

 The Crew.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

[Daniel91]

Update us! How's everything thriving?

[TatorTaco]

Tank is looking great.  What salt are you using for this tank?  Calcium, Alk, & Magnesium appear to be pretty consistant after May, and the coralline growth is terrific. 

[falcooo]

6 hours ago, TatorTaco said:

Tank is looking great.  What salt are you using for this tank?  Calcium, Alk, & Magnesium appear to be pretty consistant after May, and the coralline growth is terrific. 

Thanks! I'm still buying salt water from the LFS, but it's with Reef Crystals salt. And yeah those first few months I was testing daily and dosing every time my numbers weren't where I wanted them so levels were all of the place. But I eventually figured it all out and all levels are staying pretty stable.

[Daniel91]

Falcoo - How about a series of pictures?

 

Secondly, did you get your toadstool with a stalk?

[falcooo]

14 hours ago, Daniel91 said:

Falcoo - How about a series of pictures?

 

Secondly, did you get your toadstool with a stalk?

I'll post some new pictures after I do a water change this weekend. I've got a few new additions to share! 

 

The toadstool had practically no stalk when I purchased it, maybe a half inch max. This was also one of my first corals so it's been in the tank about 5 months now and has grown a nice size stalk since. I do wish the top part would grow wider though. 

[Mitch's Fishes]

The tank looks great! I too have a Nuvo 10 and I've found it really hard to scape. I really like your scape, as you have managed to create a sense of depth in such a small tank. Great job!

[falcooo]

Here's a few quick shot's to show some of the new additions. I picked up a new Acan frag, along with a few SPS (Monti Cap, Acro & Birdsnest). I've got the purple Acro growing out on the frag rack, and glued down the Acan & Birdsnest. I also moved the Toadstool leather to the back in hopes of it filling in the back corner and not sitting smack in the center of the tank as it's really not my favorite looking coral. ANDDD last but not least, I purchased a magnetic frag rock/rack for the Monti Cap. Eventually I'd like to add a green and purple Monti Caps to the sides of the magnetic rock.