Jackal's Nuvo EXT 50 Lagoon

[Jackal227]

Completed the first water change today.  I'm going to be doing 5 gallon changes bi-weekly and we'll see how it does.

 

I added two Banggai Cardinals to the Biocube to start their quarantine/observation period.  I also picked up a Skunk Cleaner Shrimp to add some more movement to the tank:

 

The corals all seem to still be happy. 

The Acan garden:

 

Start of the Zoa garden:

 

Leptastrea with Palys and Trumpets:

 

The Euphyllia with Duncan:

[Jackal227]

I added an anemone to the tank.  I've always wanted to have one and hope that one day my clowns may find it.  So far it's stayed in the rock that I designed for it.  Time will tell if it works in the long term 🤞I chose a green one with a nice looking speckled pattern and purple tips:

 

It's only been a couple days but it seems happy so far.  I also picked up a couple frags with it that I'll get some pics up once they get mounted.

[Jackal227]

We're now 1 month in.  The corals have survived so far.  There's been very little algae growth on the rocks but the film on the glass and the macro in the refugium are growing consistently so the clean up crew has been minimal.

 

In a few weeks I plan on adding the rest of the fish from the Biocube and looking for some new additions to start their observation period.

 

1 Month FTS:

[Daan6661]

Love the scape man! Can't wait to get my hands on a deep dimension tank one day.

 

How's the nem doing? still in the same place? I love them but the stress they give me when they start walking around is not worth it for me haha.

[Jackal227]

6 hours ago, Daan6661 said:

Love the scape man! Can't wait to get my hands on a deep dimension tank one day.

 

How's the nem doing? still in the same place? I love them but the stress they give me when they start walking around is not worth it for me haha.

Thank you.

 

So far the anemone hasn't moved since it's been in the tank.  Sometimes it's sticking further out off the rock but it still always has its foot in the same crack. 

 

When I built the aquascape the cave island in the front was designed with an anemone in mind.  It is very porous with many crevices on each side.  From what I've researched the anemones like a deep crevice to stick their foot into.  Hopefully it continues to like this rock.

 

Now, I've got to get my clowns to discover that it's there.  I've been feeding them directly over the nem in hopes that they'll hang out in that corner more.

 

 

[Jackal227]

I moved some more livestock over from the Biocube.  Added the Royal Gramma, Baggai Cardinalfish, Purple Urchin, and the Fighting Conch:

 

I've also noticed that the green hammer coral has gotten significantly lighter in color:

 

After thinking about it, where it was located in the Biocube it was mostly underneath the purple hammer (shaded).  So I'm thinking the lighting difference is causing a bit of bleaching.  It's still got a little color and it took several weeks to lighten up like that so I think I'm going to let it ride for now to see if it adapts on it's own because the other one next to it seems fine.  If it continues to get lighter I may have to move it lower.

 

The rest of the corals seem to doing well though.

[10001110101]

Tank's coming along!!! Looking great man!

[ninjamyst]

Bleaching can also be from lack of nutrients.  What's the nitrate and phosphate level?

[Jackal227]

2 hours ago, 10001110101 said:

Tank's coming along!!! Looking great man!

Thank you!

 

1 hour ago, ninjamyst said:

Bleaching can also be from lack of nutrients.  What's the nitrate and phosphate level?

I agree that it could be due to a lack of nutrients.  They really haven't turned white but are definitely lighter in color.

 

I don't have a phosphate test and I've never gotten a Nitrate reading on either of my tanks.  I've been feeding a little heavier to see if there's any effect.  As long as they continue to hold steady and not get worse then I'm going to give them some time to see if they recover on their own.

[Jackal227]

Well I finally got a little time and got the new frags mounted:

 

I picked up a red Blastomussa to go with my purple one:

 

I got two Montipora Digitatas.

Bubblegum:

Forest Fire:

 

I also have decided to try a new coral for me, an Anacropora:

 

I also received this as a freebie.  I'm not sure what it is but I'm guessing an encrusting Montipora:

 

I've also noticed that in the refugium the sponges have exploded in growth.  They are covering every surface:

 

While the corals continue to settle in I'm going to start planning the next livestock choices to start their observation period.  I've been looking into different wrasse species and a longnose hawkfish possibly.

[ef4life]

Looks like a seasons greetings or chili pepper montipora. I believe one is an encrusting the other is plating. I Can’t remember which is which.

[Jackal227]

On 2/20/2020 at 2:47 PM, ef4life said:

Looks like a seasons greetings or chili pepper montipora. I believe one is an encrusting the other is plating. I Can’t remember which is which.

Chili pepper looks pretty close.  I believe it's entrusting from the looks of it.

 

Also today I found a one of the wavemakers stopped working.  Upon inspection there was a Cerith snail lodged inside of it.  After removing it luckily everything started working again.  These pumps are more open than the ones I've used previously so I suspect this may happen again.

[Jackal227]

All of the LPS corals were looking very happy and puffy today:

 

 

The Favias took the longest but they are starting to settle in and grow again.  I've seen the biggest growth so far out of the Trumpets and the Duncan Corals.  They are both sprouting new heads like crazy.  All of the corals are now starting to regain some color again which I'm happy to see.

 

I picked up two new fish and added them to the Biocube to start their observation period.  I chose a male Flasher Wrasse:

I also got a female Leopard Wrasse:

I really like the colors on these two and I'm already enjoying watching them swim throughout the tank.  I look forward to adding them to the main display.  I think they'll add some good movement to the middle areas of the tank.

 

While getting the fish I also found a large green Goniopora that I couldn't resist.  I had one before that I was unsuccessful with, but this one seems to be happy so far:

 

[505nano]

Yo your tanks have been fire!!! You honestly inspired me with starting my biocube. Thanks for such great content!

[Jackal227]

1 hour ago, 505nano said:

Yo your tanks have been fire!!! You honestly inspired me with starting my biocube. Thanks for such great content!

Thank you!  I hope that you enjoy your Biocube.  Mine has served me very well. 

[505nano]

39 minutes ago, Jackal227 said:

Thank you!  I hope that you enjoy your Biocube.  Mine has served me very well. 

For sure, thank you! I am enrolled in the 365 AIO Challenge. Super excited. Almost done cycling now. 

[Jackal227]

We're now 2 months in.   The tank is starting to settle in but not without hiccups. 

 

We'll start with the bad.   Last week my colony of Montipora Stellata RTN'd ☹️.  It happened very quickly I noticed that about 20% of it was gone on the first day.  Day 2 was around 50% and by day 3 it was completely gone.  I tried to frag off 3 pieces on day 2 in hopes to save it.   I placed 2 on the frag rack and one I moved into the Biocube.  Unfortunately it looks like a total loss:

 

Also I've started to see some Aiptasia pop up.  I'll be continuing my whack-a-mole with Aiptasia-X for the short term.  I'm thinking about adding a Filefish to the stocking list for a long term solution. 

 

Now onto the good.  Even though the Montipora didn't survive, the rest of the corals all seem to be doing well.  The Alkalinity consumption continues to increase and I'm seeing growth out of the new corals.  I've started to see the colors coming back into the corals so I believe that the increased feeding is working.  The fish certainly are loving it.

 

FTS after 2 months: 

 

I'm going to let the tank continue to settle in before filling it with more SPS corals but it seems to be heading in the right direction. 

 

I also received a new phone this week so I've been playing with some new photo settings.  Here's some shots of the livestock: 

 

Bubbletip Anemone (still hasn't moved):

 

Green Slimer:

 

Bonsai Acro:

 

Anacropora:

 

Montipora Digitata (started small but the green tips are new growth):

 

War Coral:

 

Zoas (starting to see a few new polyps):

 

Montipora Cap (might make a nice spot for a maxima clam in the future):

 

Acans (colors are coming back in):

 

Clownfish (prefer their corner over the Anemone):

 

Cardinalfish (always watching me):

 

Urchin (with photo bombing Aiptasia):

 

[Jackal227]

Water change day: 

 

While completing the water change today I zapped a few Aiptasia with Aiptasia-X.  Also took a rare top down shot while the pumps were off: 

I like how the top down shows how much room there is in this deep tank.  Lots of space for corals. 

 

The new wrasses have been fattening up in quarantine so I figured it was time to add them to the lagoon:

Flasher Wrasse:

Leopard Wrasse:

 

This frees up the Biocube for the next round of fish. 

 

The candy cane was looking very puffy today: 

Also I couldn't help but notice that the shrimp is growing: 

 

Overall things are going well. Algae in the tank has been minimal,  but the macro in the sump has grown considerably. I feel like the skimmer is finally consistent.  The microfauna has been expanding. 

 

My only complaint is that the Cerith Snails like to wedge themselves into the powerheads causing them to jam up.  I may have to stick to large snails for this tank.

 

 

[Jackal227]

The tank is still chugging along.  Unfortunately I lost the new Goniopora.  I haven't been successful in keeping this coral for more than a few weeks for some reason.  It's too bad because they are beautiful.

 

In good news the rest of the corals are doing well.  After looking at faded colors for the first couple of months the corals are starting to look vibrant again.

 

The Favias are growing and shining.  I really like the range of colors that they offer:

 

The Zoas are filling in with new polyps.  It should be a nice little garden soon:

 

The Digitata is showing new branches and coloring up nicely:

 

I'm also very happy to see this hammer gaining color again after nearly bleaching out: 

 

New additions were added to the Biocube to start their quarantine period.

Lawnmower Benny:

 

Longnose Hawkfish and Yellow Coris Wrasse:

 

I also ordered a Matted Filefish but it didn't survive shipping unfortunately.  The other three came in pretty thin so I'll have to fatten them up before moving them to the main display.  These new fish have lots of personality and there's great color on the wrasse and hawkish.  They are very entertaining to watch. 

[ef4life]

Looking really good!!

[Jackal227]

9 hours ago, ef4life said:

Looking really good!!

Thank you!

[Jackal227]

The Duncan has so many heads now that you can't even see the stalk:

 

The Cyphastrea is also coloring up nicely.  It's been spreading on the Anemone rock.  Eventually I think it'll look great filling all of the nooks and caves in this rock: 

 

The glass is a little dirty but here's the 3 months in FTS:

[Jackal227]

I noticed that there's some rather large sponges that have made a home living inside the GSP colony.  There are at least 5 or 6 that I can see: 

 

The Bonsai Acro continues to grow well.   Starting to get some nice branches on this guy: 

 

You can see the large Aiptasia growing in the picture as well.  I've picked up a new Filefish that is in quarantine currently.   Hopefully it'll be able to keep them under control. 

 

I also picked up a Flipper Viewer to try to get some better pictures because this tank is so deep.   Just started playing with it today but I'm liking it so far: 

 

FTS:

[Daan6661]

Tank is looking great man! Sponges are a great sign 🙂

 

[Jackal227]

6 hours ago, Daan6661 said:

Tank is looking great man! Sponges are a great sign 🙂

 

Thank you!  The sump and overflows are filled with the white sponges on every surface, but I enjoy seeing the yellow ones in the display.  It's like a free coral.