mfield16 Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 In 2013 I had just put my current house under contract, and knew I had no logical space for a 50g reef tank. I broke it all down, and only brought with me a 20g long low-tech planted tank. For 7 years I kept telling myself there was no space. Then, just browsing LetGo, I saw this dirty, ugly, hair algae overgrown Fluval Evo 13.5. This was Jan 9th 2020. On Jan 11th, the tank was in my living room. With 12lbs new Caribsea Real Life Rock, new live sand, and a very good cleaning, it looked brand new. I'll try to get a pic of it before purchasing. I re-homed the chocolate chip starfish and two firefish as well. I was left with two Wyoming Snowflake Clowns and Royal Gramma. Using the advice here, I kept the inherited HOB and rear chamber sponge filters going for a few weeks to reduce the chance of a new cycle, considering all new rock and sand were added. Pardon the pics, I am still trying to figure out the "Pro" mode on my Galaxy Note 10+ 2020.01.10 FTS: 20200112_094159 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Display: 13.5g Fluval EvoLighting: Nano Box Reef Mini Tide PlusFiltration: Poly, ChemiPure Elite, Purigen. InTank Chamber 1 basket.Heater: 50W FluvalCirculation: Tunze 1073.008, Aqamai KPSATO: AutoAqua Smart ATO Micro on the way!Controller: Not yet!Skimmer: Considering IceCap K1? Dosing: Vibrant 1x/wk, MicroBacter7 1x/2wks 1 Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 The first additions to the tank, after a few days of testing to confirm there was no mini-cycle: Trade-In reward for the chocolate chip star 😎: Scarlet Hermit: Jan 18th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Zoas: Orange Zoas: Jan 18th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Green Zoas: Jan 18th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Hammer: Hammer: Jan 18th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 Sounds like that little reef is in good hands now. How are all the fish doing now that the 'dust' has settled? Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 34 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said: Sounds like that little reef is in good hands now. How are all the fish doing now that the 'dust' has settled? 🤞 We've got Brienne and Tormund (Clowns), and "Granny" the Royal Gramma. The clowns generally exist in the bottom back corner, but will occasionally come out front. Too big to really hide, which is nice. It's always better with some kind of fish action. Tormund and Brienne: Feb 11th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Granny likes to stay hidden unless there is nobody within sight of the tank. Still will come out to eat if I drop pellets or mysis and leave the room. 😋 1 Quote Link to comment
Christopher Marks Posted February 12, 2020 Share Posted February 12, 2020 With a little luck, maybe the clownfish will come to host the new torch coral in time. They're really a beautiful pair. My royal gramma was always super shy too, back when I kept one ages ago. I had to sneak in my room to ever catch a glimpse of it! Now that you've transitioned the tank over to new live rock and sand, are you planning to eventually phase out the HOB filter? Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 12, 2020 Author Share Posted February 12, 2020 13 minutes ago, Christopher Marks said: With a little luck, maybe the clownfish will come to host the new torch coral in time. They're really a beautiful pair. My royal gramma was always super shy too, back when I kept one ages ago. I had to sneak in my room to ever catch a glimpse of it! Now that you've transitioned the tank over to new live rock and sand, are you planning to eventually phase out the HOB filter? I really hope so. I know I won't be adding any Nems, so it's either the torch or they'll keep hosting the back glass. 🙄 The HOB stuck around for about 3.5 weeks until I knew I didn't get any mini cycles. It's gone now, thank god. What an eyesore. I will get some more pics up today. Everything so far is with a MicMol LED which was decent, but not very good. Here's a FTS 12 days in. Diatoms galore!😝 FTS: Jan 23rd 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 13, 2020 Author Share Posted February 13, 2020 The elusive Royal Gramma: Royal Gramma: Jan 24th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 11 days after adding the hammer, looks like it's doubled in size! Hammer: Jan 29th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr The CUC has been hard at work getting the algae under control. I don't think I cleaned the tank as well as I thought. The AIO divider is covered in HA. Not too bad. So I added a turbo since all I have are nerites, ceriths, and nassarius snails. I did keep a giant snail from the previous owner, but that thing doesn't leave the sand. I always see his little snorkel popping up, and once in a blue moon he erupts from the sand bed after a feeding. It's like a submarine exploding from the surface of the ocean. I'll try and snap a pic for ID next time. It's gotta be 2" long. 1 Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 Order from SaltCritters came in. Rock Flower Nem. I think I am jumping the gun on this one as the tank is pretty young. Wish me luck. Saltcritters.com RFA: Jan 30th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Palys: Jan 30th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Rainbow Acan Zoom: Feb 11th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr GSP: : Feb 11th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Ric: Feb 11th 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 I had a little scare last night. I have plans to build my own stand so I have more space in the cabinet for an eventual ATO bucket, controller, etc. For now, I have a powerstrip sitting on the floor 2ft from the tank. Either one of my cats, or my girlfriend, ripped the plug from the wall late last night! 😫 I woke up to the tank at 70.1 deg, no lights, no flow. Thankfully, everything seems to be fine a day later. Phew. Damn cats. Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 17, 2020 Author Share Posted February 17, 2020 How long do people generally wait acclimate coral before glueing them down? Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 Scored this 7.5" Hollywood Stunner for $40! 😎 Hollywood Stunner Chalice 02.17.2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 18, 2020 Author Share Posted February 18, 2020 Can I just break the Chalice like a potato chip if I want to frag it? Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 19, 2020 Author Share Posted February 19, 2020 FYI. You can indeed break a hollywood stunner like a potato chip. Quote Link to comment
gotfrogs Posted February 20, 2020 Share Posted February 20, 2020 On 2/12/2020 at 3:00 PM, mfield16 said: I really hope so. I know I won't be adding any Nems, so it's either the torch or they'll keep hosting the back glass. 🙄 The HOB stuck around for about 3.5 weeks until I knew I didn't get any mini cycles. It's gone now, thank god. What an eyesore. I will get some more pics up today. Everything so far is with a MicMol LED which was decent, but not very good. Here's a FTS 12 days in. Diatoms galore!😝 FTS: Jan 23rd 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr What did you not like about the MicMol Aqua CC LED? I am considering getting one. Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted February 20, 2020 Author Share Posted February 20, 2020 2 hours ago, gotfrogs said: What did you not like about the MicMol Aqua CC LED? I am considering getting one. A few reasons. The mount forced me to use it on the long side of the tank. Aesthetically I wasn't a fan. Adjusting the intensity was a little annoying. The built in controller was easy enough, but app control is so much easier. Based on their website, the PAR is good for LPS, and I'll eventually have a mixed LPS/SPS tank. My MicMol may go on a future frag tank. Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted March 4, 2020 Author Share Posted March 4, 2020 Quite a few additions since the last update. Weekly water changes are maintaining parameters quite well. Absolutely no sign of algae in the tank anymore. New additions: Torch Feb 12 2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 20200221_175417 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 20200221_180139 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 20200301_203124 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 20200301_203117 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 20200301_203109 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 20200227_220539 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr 1 Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted March 12, 2020 Author Share Posted March 12, 2020 New additions: Forest Fire Shroom - 3.12.2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Deadpool Shroom - 03.12.2020 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted April 9, 2020 Author Share Posted April 9, 2020 Barely three months in, and I have already sourced a larger tank. This one may be turning into a IM Fusion 20 pretty soon. Just need to build a stand. Deciding whether to build it deep enough to hold an Fusion 40 for the inevitable future upgrade. Anyway, a few more additions. Not really seeing much coral growth, but everything is extended and looking good. I may start feeding corals more often. All my parameters are fine without dosing anything, even testing right before I do a water change. FTS (disregard the crappy DIY frag rack, but please enjoy the MIA honeycomb rim!) FTS 2020.04.09 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Free Purple Torch. I received a Hanna PO4 checker in a package deal, traded for this. Nothing Fancy, but free is free. Purple Torch 2020.04.09 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Rasta Zoas: Rasta Zoas 2020.04.09 by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Quote Link to comment
mfield16 Posted April 16, 2020 Author Share Posted April 16, 2020 My torch is not extending as much, and one head barely comes out on the back portion. Haven't moved it, haven't changed the light. Gets indirect flow, no changes recently to flow. About a month ago I installed two random flow nozzles on the output and it seemed to love it. I snapped the frag off the rock, dipped it, and put it on the sand bed so I can see the one head that's not looking great. Very thin polyps, some are white. No idea what to do except monitor it and hope it's just the one damaged head. Dying Torch by Mike Fielder, on Flickr Quote Link to comment
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