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Fluval 13.5 on a Husky Cart


pricewayne

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16 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

Ya too kind!! I've been wanting to reach out and ask about some of those macros you have. Eventually think I want to add something tall... maybe gorgonian (if memory serves me right), or a sea fan (are these even macro algae? Or am I way off the mark?). Annnnd, I'm a bit curious to try my toe in some NPS eventually as well 😬

Gorgonians are actually branching soft corals that are closely related to stony corals. Some are photosynthetic and some are not. Any sort of photosynthetic gorg should be extremely easy to keep in your system as they are generally very hardy. True sea fans are a type of gorgonian that is native to the Caribbean; they are very beautiful but their collection is unfortunately prohibited because of exploitation by the curio industry (their dried skeletons are quite attractive). 

 

As for macroalgae, there are a large variety of different species available to hobbyists and some of them are extremely attractive! The problem is that ornamental algae generally need "dirtier" conditions to thrive and thus tend to do poorly in "ultra-low nutrient" style mixed reefs such as those that have risen in popularity over the past few years. Many reefers therefore feel obliged to choose either an algae-dominated or coral-dominated system when they are planning their tanks, and most people of course choose the latter! 😄

 

If you're interested in including a few algae in your tank, calcifying varieties such as Galaxaura, Amphiroa, or Halimeda could be possible good choices, since they require elevated levels of Ca (which you'll have anyway since you're keeping corals) to really do well.

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pricewayne
3 minutes ago, billygoat said:

Gorgonians are actually branching soft corals that are closely related to stony corals. Some are photosynthetic and some are not. Any sort of photosynthetic gorg should be extremely easy to keep in your system as they are generally very hardy. True sea fans are a type of gorgonian that is native to the Caribbean; they are very beautiful but their collection is unfortunately prohibited because of exploitation by the curio industry (their dried skeletons are quite attractive). 

 

As for macroalgae, there are a large variety of different species available to hobbyists and some of them are extremely attractive! The problem is that ornamental algae generally need "dirtier" conditions to thrive and thus tend to do poorly in "ultra-low nutrient" style mixed reefs such as those that have risen in popularity over the past few years. Many reefers therefore feel obliged to choose either an algae-dominated or coral-dominated system when they are planning their tanks, and most people of course choose the latter! 😄

 

If you're interested in including a few algae in your tank, calcifying varieties such as Galaxaura, Amphiroa, or Halimeda could be possible good choices, since they require elevated levels of Ca (which you'll have anyway since you're keeping corals) to really do well.

Ha! I was wrong on all counts. Thank you for these tips and the info... I don't know what a galaxaura is yet, but I already know I want one just for the satisfaction of saying that word out loud.

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14 hours ago, pricewayne said:

Yyyyyep, want. This would even be sweet in my pico if I can find a teeny tiny little bushy one.

 

 

That one looks gorgeous! Mine looked a lot like that when I first got it, but it has turned into a gangly beast over the course of the past few months:

 

IMG_0081.thumb.JPG.f8931d23c4fc25ae48968aa576a4d27f.JPG

 

I think this weird branching pattern is due to either not enough calcium or not enough light. It still looks pretty good from a distance, at least! 😅

 

Branching coralline algae (Amphiroa sp.) could be another option if you are interested in pink macros! They do very well in reef tanks. There are rigid and soft varieties and both are very lovely.

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pricewayne
27 minutes ago, billygoat said:

That one looks gorgeous! Mine looked a lot like that when I first got it, but it has turned into a gangly beast over the course of the past few months:

 

IMG_0081.thumb.JPG.f8931d23c4fc25ae48968aa576a4d27f.JPG

 

I think this weird branching pattern is due to either not enough calcium or not enough light. It still looks pretty good from a distance, at least! 😅

 

Branching coralline algae (Amphiroa sp.) could be another option if you are interested in pink macros! They do very well in reef tanks. There are rigid and soft varieties and both are very lovely.

Yessssss, so good.

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pricewayne

Hoping to be better at snapping//sharing more pic updates.

 

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Still can’t get over the mystique monti cap

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pricewayne
14 minutes ago, kimdawg said:

Great pictures and corals.

Still feel like a lost puppy when I’m snapping pics lol.

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I think you have mastered taking pics.  We are having a really hard time taking them of my little contest tank, they are either fuzzy, washed out, or too blue to see anything.  We bought the gels and little lens kit for the iphone and my husband bought a used nikon camera this weekend.  Hopefully he will figure it out soon.

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  • 2 weeks later...
pricewayne

Exciting update! I've spent a pretty disgusting amount of time researching tank upgrade options and finally decided on the Innovative Marine 50 gallon Lagoon EXT! Ordered it earlier today as Marine Depot has it on 25% sale for memorial day weekend. It'll prob take some time before I get it setup and wet -- still need to figure out or build a stand for it and get it plumbed etc. Am very excited.

 

As a brand new hobbyist, the Fluval Evo has been worth every penny.

I've loved having the Fluval -- I think lots of hobbyists always say, "get the biggest you can your first go around" -- and I understand now why they say it... it's very likely we'll all want an upgrade or a different setup from the first. BUT, I have to say that the Fluval AIO 13.5g made this hobby accessible for me to wrap my head around -- in a short amount of time, and without needing to invest thousands into it. While I don't think it would be my first choice if I could go back, I don't know that I'd have started in the hobby if I was facing the cost factor alone to get a more "dream" tank setup going. Basically saying... I think the cost of this tank has been well worth the expense, and the knowledge I've gained has played a significant role in planning more of a "dream" setup.

 

Should I keep the Fluval going?

All that said, I'm still considering keeping the Fluval up and running. I'll transfer most of the livestock over to the new tank (again, may be couple months before that happens) -- but I'm curious if anyone has any ideas for a low maintenance setup if I keep it going?

What I mean by "low maintenance" -- I don't think I'll keep any difficult corals or any SPS in the tank. I'd prefer not to have to dose at all. I may move my NanoBox Mini over to my Pico tank for the contest, so lighting may revert back to the stock hood and light. I don't mind needing to feed it and would love to only need to do water changes every two weeks or even only once a month if I can swing it. Couple ideas I'm floating...

- Anemone tank with my two clownfish already in the tank

- Pipefish species tank

- Some other specimen tank? Frogfish are fascinating - what else is that would work?

- If I do shut it down, I'll be keeping the tank to use it as a QT to intro new fish to my upgraded tank

- Any other ideas??

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6 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

- Any other ideas??

I mean, macroalgae is cheap and pretty easy to care for and you could probably grow a wide variety of species under the stock lighting. Not sure if macros are something you're into, but it might be another option worth considering! Or perhaps a biotope of some sort? 😁 Not that I'm biased or anything.

 

At any rate, congratulations on the upgrade! You've been extremely meticulous with setting up and stocking your Fluval, so I am really genuinely excited to see where the Lagoon 50 EXT takes you. Definitely going to be a lot more going on in there, that's for sure. I can't wait!

 

 

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pricewayne
7 minutes ago, billygoat said:

I mean, macroalgae is cheap and pretty easy to care for and you could probably grow a wide variety of species under the stock lighting. Not sure if macros are something you're into, but it might be another option worth considering! Or perhaps a biotope of some sort? 😁 Not that I'm biased or anything.

 

At any rate, congratulations on the upgrade! You've been extremely meticulous with setting up and stocking your Fluval, so I am really genuinely excited to see where the Lagoon 50 EXT takes you. Definitely going to be a lot more going on in there, that's for sure. I can't wait!

 

 

Thanks! Definitely a consideration — especially if I decide to make it a pipefish setup 🤔 I’ll need to look more into macro or biotope setups/care/limitations before I jump on it.

 

I think if I had to guess, I’m mostly leaning toward an anemone specimen tank. I love Gwen, and I’d love more BTA’s and RFA’s.. but boy they make me nervous with other coral stock. Especially after her incident couple months ago lol

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2 minutes ago, pricewayne said:

Thanks! Definitely a consideration — especially if I decide to make it a pipefish setup 🤔 I’ll need to look more into macro or biotope setups/care/limitations before I jump on it.

 

I think if I had to guess, I’m mostly leaning toward an anemone specimen tank. I love Gwen, and I’d love more BTA’s and RFA’s.. but boy they make me nervous with other coral stock. Especially after her incident couple months ago lol

I think the anemone tank is a great idea. Giving the 'nems a space to just go wild and do their own thing will certainly save you some headaches down the line. If you want to really get into it you could also consider looking at maxi-mini carpet anemones. You've probably seen @Lawnman's IM10, but if you haven't I suggest you check it out. Those 'nems can be mind-blowing.

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pricewayne
4 minutes ago, billygoat said:

I think the anemone tank is a great idea. Giving the 'nems a space to just go wild and do their own thing will certainly save you some headaches down the line. If you want to really get into it you could also consider looking at maxi-mini carpet anemones. You've probably seen @Lawnman's IM10, but if you haven't I suggest you check it out. Those 'nems can be mind-blowing.

I hadn't seen it, yet! WOW. Am loving it.

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Congrats on the 50 gallon, Im sure it will look amazing.  As for the fluval,  anemone tank would be cool really cool.  I also think a quarantine tank is a must if you are gonna be getting different types of fish.  You def don't want to introduce marine velvet, ich, flatworms, pest nudis, or any reef bug in a larger system.  My reco is keep it and use it as your qt for fish and corals.  I would qt everything for at least 60 days before you introduce anything to your display.  This way you hands down know that your display is bug and disease free all the time.  This is gonna be an epic build.  

 

for a newbie your reef psr is at a 8.5 ahahahhahahahahaahah

seriously coral placement, reefscape, everything I've enjoyed following along with your builds. 

 

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pricewayne
2 minutes ago, 748S911 said:

Congrats on the 50 gallon, Im sure it will look amazing.  As for the fluval,  anemone tank would be cool really cool.  I also think a quarantine tank is a must if you are gonna be getting different types of fish.  You def don't want to introduce marine velvet, ich, flatworms, pest nudis, or any reef bug in a larger system.  My reco is keep it and use it as your qt for fish and corals.  I would qt everything for at least 60 days before you introduce anything to your display.  This way you hands down know that your display is bug and disease free all the time.  This is gonna be an epic build.  

 

for a newbie your reef psr is at a 8.5 ahahahhahahahahaahah

seriously coral placement, reefscape, everything I've enjoyed following along with your builds. 

 

Oh yeah, am definitely going to want a QT tank regardless of plans for the Fluval. What's nice if I keep the Fluval going, is it's already scaped and cycled so it's pretty much 'ready' for an easy change out to a specimen tank -- if I convert it to a QT, I think I'll have to lose the scape tho (don't think I can have rock in a QT from what I've read).

 

And thank you for the compliments!

 

PS, here's the google search results for "what does PSR stand for?" 🤯

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Ya, reward your clowns with their own playground. Check out BRSTV and their ultra low maintenance build, you could get some good ideas from that. 

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pricewayne

Tank's looking super happy today after yesterday's water change. Gonna grab some full tank pics later once the sun is down.

 

Few pics of my small clown bein' a goof. He cracks me up!

 

 

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  • 2 weeks later...
8 hours ago, Daniel91 said:

More pics!

 

34 minutes ago, billygoat said:

I'm sure @pricewayne is distracted by his new Lagoon 50 EXT project, but yes I would love to see more of this tank too! 😁

I knowww, I know. I’ll try and grab more tonight when I’m back home.

 

Work’s been in takeover last couple weeks. Sadly, I’m behind on updates and my 50g project 😭

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  • 1 month later...

Cool 'scape and awesome colors... You should grab a quick cell phone video of these guys in the water flow. 😉 

 

I also love that you actually write down all your test results by hand. So many people overlook how useful that is and how important testing is in general. Nice work!

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  • 3 months later...
  • 3 weeks later...

Hi all! It's been a crazzzzy few months and I'll actually be moving back to NYC next week. Sadly means I'll be getting rid of my full system 😞Just not worth the risk//effort//cost to try and ship this across the country with me.

 

For any followers//folks in the Los Angeles area -- I just posted an ad for my sell. Would love to find happy homes for my livestock! ❤️

 

 

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