Goats Nuvo 10 Aquarium Journal

[jdmcbuilt]

32 minutes ago, ReefGoat said:

DO IT JDM! lol what ya got to lose especially with the 25 percent off! 

Lol my manhood if they don't survive this 110 degree weather. I have to spend money with a end purpose. Other wise the boss will decline. 

[ReefGoat]

Understood

[ReefGoat]

So, I got the controller back in today and it was a headache getting it back setup. Had some network problems I'm assuming because they had it hooked up to their router and what not to test it and the settings (IP, Gateway, blah blah blah) got all twisted up. But it's all fixed after about 5 hours, many curse words LOL and scouring the Neptune forums. So everything is chugging right along. I was having some trouble with the temperature after the controller went out. It was wanting to hang around 80-81F. I like to run it at 78-79 then it usually dips to around 77 maybe 76 at the lowest at night if I am having too many beverages and crank the AC up before I go to bed.  However that all seems to be fixed now. Because it's running right at 78.5 and I didn't have a dip in temperature last night. One thing I did notice is that last night the snails went WILD. The ones that are usually bunched up in a group. Just spread out all over tank. I'm wondering if the lower temps didn't spark some life into them. Now I feel bad LOL. The new Acans will be here Wednesday (I requested delivery on this day, I could have had them on Tuesday) and I have the spot picked out for them already. So the next update will be a new FTS and some pictures of the Acans. 

[ReefGoat]

Ok gang....... Aqua SD is freakin legit. The corals were shipped yesterday from California and arrived here in Louisiana at my doorstep at 10am. The packaging was solid. Had temperature packet to keep cool in the summer weather and they even sent a freebie!! So I got 5 Acans. Not only do they appear to be healthy. They are 100 percent the exact ones pictured. I'm heading back to work and will use Julias Iphone to get a good picture when I get home from work. 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

6 minutes ago, ReefGoat said:

Ok gang....... Aqua SD is freakin legit. The corals were shipped yesterday from California and arrived here in Louisiana at my doorstep at 10am. The packaging was solid. Had temperature packet to keep cool in the summer weather and they even sent a freebie!! So I got 5 Acans. Not only do they appear to be healthy. They are 100 percent the exact ones pictured. I'm heading back to work and will use Julias Iphone to get a good picture when I get home from work. 

Thanks for the update on them. I was actually looking to get something from them. I was hesitant because i have never bought anything online.

[ReefGoat]

6 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Thanks for the update on them. I was actually looking to get something from them. I was hesitant because i have never bought anything online.

I know anything could potentially go wrong at anytime with ordering online and shipping and what not. But I'm going to trust them now unless they make me feel different during another ordering process. I really want to like and order from WWC. But geeeeeeze their prices are insanely high. I plan on starting on my zoa garden next i'll likely use Aqua SD for that as well. I'm thinking a nice chunk of Rastas

[Cannedfish]

5 minutes ago, DSFIRSTSLTWATER said:

Thanks for the update on them. I was actually looking to get something from them. I was hesitant because i have never bought anything online.

Everything I have ordered from AquaSD has arrived super healthy. In fact, many times the acros had polyp extension inside the shipping bags. I can concur with @ReefGoat that they are a great place (& dangerously cheap) to order from. 

[DSFIRSTSLTWATER]

5 minutes ago, Cannedfish said:

Everything I have ordered from AquaSD has arrived super healthy. In fact, many times the acros had polyp extension inside the shipping bags. I can concur with @ReefGoat that they are a great place (& dangerously cheap) to order from. 

Oh that's awesome thanks  I was looking at the large selection of RFA they have.... I have a problem 

[ReefGoat]

So I left work a little early today and was able to get some tank time in. After much, much debate I decided to pop the Acans off the frag plugs and it was worth it. I used a razor blade and they popped right off. I then picked out each ones spot and glued them down. I'm pretty happy with their placement and how things are going. The only real hiccup I'm having right now is that my Birdsnest is not having good P.E right now. The color looks good on it. Not too sure what's up with it. The only thing I can think of is that I did increase the ramp intensity from 35 percent to 45 percent and I started feeding reef chili this week as well...... I raised the Kessil from 6'' above the water to 12'' above the water and we'll see how it does. BTW the Acans are a little pissed from the plug removal and gluing so they're a little retracted right now.

[ReefGoat]

Sooner or later I'll get a damn better camera situation and get some sweet close ups. 

[ReefGoat]

Didn't I promise a couple up close shots? 

[sadie]

Nice!  What is on the very top of your rock work?  Is it a birds nest?

 

[ReefGoat]

Yes that what's up there. It's a little ticked off for the past couple days lol......I was attempting to get up to a 50-60 percent intensity at full ramp. Well the birdsnest starting responding by no polyp extension once I hit 45 percent and 6in above water. I moved the kessil to about 12-14in above water and it responded well. I think I'm going to relocate it to lower spot in the tank. 

[ReefGoat]

The colors haven't changed a bit on it. Just the polyp extension. 

[sadie]

you should get a close up of that one

[ReefGoat]

I think there's one on like page 4. But when then lights come on tomorrow I'll get one. 

[sadie]

don't know how I skipped page 4, looks awesome.  All of them do.  nice pictures

 

[ReefGoat]

@sadie closeup of the birdsnest as promised. This one's a side view taken today. 

[sadie]

nice!!

[TotesMaGoat]

Nice looking tank, I have a birds nest similar to that one in my 10 but kind of browned out and is pale looking. Not sure if it is bleached or not enough light under my lesson 160

[ReefGoat]

1 hour ago, TotesMaGoat said:

Nice looking tank, I have a birds nest similar to that one in my 10 but kind of browned out and is pale looking. Not sure if it is bleached or not enough light under my lesson 160

Are the polyps brown or the skeleton? My polyps are brownish but most of the skeleton is a green color. I think with the birdsnest it may be too much light instead of not enough. Mine responded negatively to an increase in light and I'm trying to find what it wants. I think I'm going to end up relocating it lower in the tank.

[ReefGoat]

I don't see where I have my current husbandry listed so here it is. I had stated early in the journal what I planned on doing as far as husbandry but once I got into the thick of it and read some more. This is where I've landed for now. 

 

Tank Maintenance routine: as of 6/25/18

 

Daily- Check on all equipment, wipe glass with wet paper towel and clean inside glass with magnet float. ( Check Alk every other day at 5:30 pm ).

Weekly- 2.5 gallon water change, add one dose of Microbacter7, change filter floss, wipe lighting lens, Spot feed Acans with my feed mixture of Reef chili and Amino (Acropower), after lights go out smaller broadcast feeding of Reef Chili and lastly top off my ATO container. Along with full test of every parameter that I test for. Alk, Calc, Phos, Ammonia, Mag, Nitrates, Salinity. 

Monthly- Once a month I take out my skimmer and power head and give them a good cleaning. I also siphon out the back chambers and vacuum the sand along with blowing off the rocks. Some choose to do this weekly but since this is a coral only tank and I feed only once a week. I don't really have as much waste as most. 

 

Kessil lighting schedule:

 

It's a 10 hour cycle with a slow and steady ramp to 45% intensity. Hold 45% for 3 hours and then the same slow steady ramp back down. Light is 12" above water line. Color stays at 0% the entire time. Because.................eh Blue. 

 

As far as target parameters go I'm striving to hold 1380 mag, 460 Calc and 9 Alk. Along with Nitrates at around 5-10 (preferably 5 but no sweat if it goes to 10). Of course the nastier ones stay at 0. So far I have been able to do this. I have yet to see any detectable ammonia so I'm guessing I did a pretty good job cycling the tank and letting it establish. I really need to invest in a ULR phosphate testing kit. Probably Hanna.......Because i'm rocking the API right now lol. It's showing that I have no detectable Phosphates but i'd like to know exactly what they are. As far as dosing goes I have no reason to dose as of right now because I'm not seeing enough consumption as of right now to even worry about it. I am seeing a drop in Alk by the time its time for a water change. The drop I am currently seeing is from 9dkh to 8dkh. For me that's not even enough to worry about over a weeks time. Way I see it, my consumption is almost non existent as of right now. 

[ReefGoat]

The only problem with the parameters I'm having right now and I'm not even really sweating it because in my research I have found not to sweat or chase PH. But my PH stays around 7.8-7.95. All my parameters are what I stated above, so I'm just keeping those in check and letting the PH fall where it may. This first piece of the puzzle i'm going to check is the calibration of my probe. I'm going to reorder some fluid and redo the calibration. If that doesn't fix it, i'm going to wait at least 4 more months and see as the tank ages if the PH doesn't level out to a 8.1-8.3 day night cycle. The only thing I'll have left in my arsenal after the calibration and the waiting period is a CO2 scrubber. Which could get quite pricey because i'll have to go with an external pump because i'm out of room. What I DON'T plan on doing is using voodoo juices and buffers to chase the PH. Time will tell. 

[A Little Blue]

I haven’t check my PH, phosphates or Nitrate in at least a year. Ca once a week, Mg every 2-3 weeks, KH daily 1-3 times. 

 

[ReefGoat]

20 minutes ago, A Little Blue said:

I haven’t check my PH, phosphates or Nitrate in at least a year. Ca once a week, Mg every 2-3 weeks, KH daily 1-3 times. 

 

I'll likely get to that point one day, I hope LOL. Right now I'm just really trying to get good at keeping steady parameters and just general good husbandry. That's why I test it so much. I'll likely not have to test as much by this time next year. This tank is like 5 days away from two months old so it's still a fledgling system.