Reefer 170 SPS Bonsai (Est. August, 2020)

[Spencer7]

Acro looks happy. Tank is clear. Seems like week 3 was the week.

[Spencer7]

[SaltyTanks]

Love this centered branch scape look so much. Great choices on the pieces and composing them. Set yourself up nice with this one! Very curious to see what you start placing in there, especially how high you plan to go up top. 

[Spencer7]

5 minutes ago, SaltyTanks said:

Love this centered branch scape look so much. Great choices on the pieces and composing them. Set yourself up nice with this one! Very curious to see what you start placing in there, especially how high you plan to go up top. 

Thank you!! ❤️ Yes, the way the rock is oriented I can plant coral virtually anywhere!

 

If I'm sucessful, I think the tank will look most similar to that top right inspiration pic. I like tables so I'm especially excited to grow some in. Also, I'm going to do my best to keep the sand/negative space open. No plans to junk it up. 

 

Maybe next week I'll order supplements and a frag pack from BattleCorals

[afcajax73]

this looks awesome 🙂 good work! It's nice to see some good (and different) scape ideas

[Manfred]

I think this will be a project with a fabulous result ... I am gonna follow to see it.... Succes.... !!!!

[Spencer7]

10 hours ago, afcajax73 said:

this looks awesome 🙂 good work! It's nice to see some good (and different) scape ideas

7 hours ago, Manfred said:

I think this will be a project with a fabulous result ... I am gonna follow to see it.... Succes.... !!!!

Hey thanks guys! Feel free to ask questions or just follow along 🙂 

 

I ordered a frag pack from Battlecorals AND ordered dosing and RO/DI supplies from BRS. Lot of goodies coming at the end of the week.

 

Going to start with dosing BRS two part + KZ trace elements (and Red Sea salt). 

 

[Manfred]

5 hours ago, Spencer7 said:

Hey thanks guys! Feel free to ask questions or just follow along 🙂 

 

I ordered a frag pack from Battlecorals AND ordered dosing and RO/DI supplies from BRS. Lot of goodies coming at the end of the week.

 

Going to start with dosing BRS two part + KZ trace elements (and Red Sea salt). 

 

Hehe  always nice those goodies... not so nice for your wallet 😁 I am starting to dose reef elixer soon... its all you need to dose in one bottle and the amount you have to dose is based on your alkalinity its recently developed here in the Netherlands and I here good result from other reefers.

 

 

[afcajax73]

1 minute ago, Manfred said:

Hehe  always nice those goodies... not so nice for your wallet 😁 I am starting to dose reef elixer soon... its all you need to dose in one bottle and the amount you have to dose is based on your alkalinity its recently developed here in the Netherlands and I here good result from other reefers.

 

 

sounds good! keep us posted

[Spencer7]

11 hours ago, Manfred said:

Hehe  always nice those goodies... not so nice for your wallet 😁 I am starting to dose reef elixer soon... its all you need to dose in one bottle and the amount you have to dose is based on your alkalinity its recently developed here in the Netherlands and I here good result from other reefers.

Ehhh, not that expensive. I got the starter pack which represents...

$40 for one gallon of Ca and KH and 1/2gal Mg 

One gallon = 3785mL  ~> Dosing 20mL /day ~> 190 days 

 

(certainly won't be 20mL /day for at least another 4-8 weeks)

 

I was intrigued by the Fauna Marin "All-for-Reef" solution after seeing it in videos  and on BRS' cost breakdown of dosing options. Pic below (BRS is far right). I think these solutions are great for beginners or nano tanks (e.g. non-SPS dominant <35g) but maybe not as practical or effective* for full-acro tanks 35g + 

 

I look forward to being able to have a calcium reactor with a large tank one day!

*effective = I haven't seen crazy TOTM 100g+ tanks built from these all-in-one additives 

 

 

[A.m.P]

DIY All-For-Reef cuts the cost-per-month by about 33% or so if you don't add their trace elements.

[Spencer7]

1 hour ago, Amphrites said:

DIY All-For-Reef cuts the cost-per-month by about 33% or so if you don't add their trace elements.

I would like to dose trace elements and cutting by a 1/3rd (unless I'm misinterpreting something) would still not get the cost below BRS two-part, no? 

[A.m.P]

22 minutes ago, Spencer7 said:

I would like to dose trace elements and cutting by a 1/3rd (unless I'm misinterpreting something) would still not get the cost below BRS two-part, no? 

No, it comes close, but it's still more expensive long-term. It has the benefits of acting as a bit of carbon dosing and of convenience (single dose, no precipitation or tube-cleaning/irrigating), but it also has a pitfall in that it cannot raise alkalinity quickly if you need it to (because it's bacteria breaking things down to provide alkalinity indirectly it kind of provides a gradual increase of ALK rather than a straight-dose).

[Spencer7]

2 hours ago, Amphrites said:

No, it comes close, but it's still more expensive long-term. It has the benefits of acting as a bit of carbon dosing and of convenience (single dose, no precipitation or tube-cleaning/irrigating), but it also has a pitfall in that it cannot raise alkalinity quickly if you need it to (because it's bacteria breaking things down to provide alkalinity indirectly it kind of provides a gradual increase of ALK rather than a straight-dose).

The single dose part doesn't mean too much if you're already set with a four channel doser. And you're accepting some extra risk/inconvenience with mixing it yourself imo.

 

The bacteria involvement was interesting and something I learned recently. 

 

If you grow a budget acro tank with a mix of your own that rivals some Zeovit systems, let me know! Haha 

 

[Reefkid88]

You know,this is going to be nothing short of amazing but man..

 

 As much as I love sps. They just complicate things for me lol. Hence why I got so many Z/P's over the past 2 weeks lol. Doesn't help I will be out of town for work until at least Feb of 2021if not longer and can only come home once every 3 weeks. 

[Manfred]

On 9/21/2020 at 10:16 PM, Spencer7 said:

Ehhh, not that expensive. I got the starter pack which represents...

$40 for one gallon of Ca and KH and 1/2gal Mg 

One gallon = 3785mL  ~> Dosing 20mL /day ~> 190 days 

 

(certainly won't be 20mL /day for at least another 4-8 weeks)

 

I was intrigued by the Fauna Marin "All-for-Reef" solution after seeing it in videos  and on BRS' cost breakdown of dosing options. Pic below (BRS is far right). I think these solutions are great for beginners or nano tanks (e.g. non-SPS dominant <35g) but maybe not as practical or effective* for full-acro tanks 35g + 

 

I look forward to being able to have a calcium reactor with a large tank one day!

*effective = I haven't seen crazy TOTM 100g+ tanks built from these all-in-one additives 

 

 

 

On 9/21/2020 at 10:16 PM, Spencer7 said:

Ehhh, not that expensive. I got the starter pack which represents...

$40 for one gallon of Ca and KH and 1/2gal Mg 

One gallon = 3785mL  ~> Dosing 20mL /day ~> 190 days 

 

(certainly won't be 20mL /day for at least another 4-8 weeks)

 

I was intrigued by the Fauna Marin "All-for-Reef" solution after seeing it in videos  and on BRS' cost breakdown of dosing options. Pic below (BRS is far right). I think these solutions are great for beginners or nano tanks (e.g. non-SPS dominant <35g) but maybe not as practical or effective* for full-acro tanks 35g + 

 

I look forward to being able to have a calcium reactor with a large tank one day!

*effective = I haven't seen crazy TOTM 100g+ tanks built from these all-in-one additives 

 

 

Thats not expensive ... but what if you have to submit other than these three? 

[Spencer7]

2 hours ago, Manfred said:

Thats not expensive ... but what if you have to submit other than these three? 

I got KZ's Trace Elements solution, which should last about 7-8 months as well.  ($30 for 500mL) 

 

I have Acropower if I want to dose amino's. Probably will dose some iodine (Lugol's) later. I don't think your elixir covers those anyway. 

 

In general, I'm not trying to dose the cheapest possible supplements haha. This is *not* an attempt at a budget tank (although, I've been able to afford everything as an engineer now in grad school). In fact, I've kept track of every cent spent on the tank and will send the file to those interested in the future. 

 

At around the 3 month mark, I'll try my first ICP test. Main thing I'll be curious about is lead from Pittsburgh tap water (didn't use RODI to fill tank). 

 

6 hours ago, Reefkid88 said:

You know,this is going to be nothing short of amazing but man..

 

 As much as I love sps. They just complicate things for me lol. Hence why I got so many Z/P's over the past 2 weeks lol. Doesn't help I will be out of town for work until at least Feb of 2021if not longer and can only come home once every 3 weeks. 

Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

 

Meanwhile, of my two cheap frags, it was the LPS one that withered away haha. Acro is happy!  

 

I'll be home for winter break (~month)...will have to come up with a plan. Probably have a 15gal reservoir. The cardinals aren't eating dry food soooo 😅 they might go bye-bye...

Next summer I may be gone for 2+ months! Roommates will have to do some maintenance. 

[Manfred]

7 minutes ago, Spencer7 said:

I got KZ's Trace Elements solution, which should last about 7-8 months as well.  ($30 for 500mL) 

 

I have Acropower if I want to dose amino's. Probably will dose some iodine (Lugol's) later. I don't think your elixir covers those anyway. 

 

Actually  it does and many more. 😀
 

In general, I'm not trying to dose the cheapest possible supplements haha. This is *not* an attempt at a budget tank (although, I've been able to afford everything as an engineer now in grad school). In fact, I've kept track of every cent spent on the tank and will send the file to those interested in the future.  
 

Me neither but sometimes I am amazed what things can cost in this hobby ..🙃

 

At around the 3 month mark, I'll try my first ICP test. Main thing I'll be curious about is lead from Pittsburgh tap water (didn't use RODI to fill tank). 
 
I topped my tank of for a while whit Bar le Duc 😊 

 

Thank you! ❤️❤️❤️

 

Meanwhile, of my two cheap frags, it was the LPS one that withered away haha. Acro is happy!  🤨

 

I'll be home for winter break (~month)...will have to come up with a plan. Probably have a 15gal reservoir. The cardinals aren't eating dry food soooo 😅 they might go by-by...

Next summer I may be gone for 2+ months! Roommates will have to do some maintenance. 
 

I hope they are interested in doing such otherwise it will be a  .... task for them 😂

 

[Spencer7]

Battlepack has arrived! Happy one month anniversary! 

 

 

Left to right: Miss Scarlet, Frankenberry, Glo Stick, BC Peril Betty, Ultimate Table, Hyperberry, North Star Clathrata, Heroberry

Colors in pic are accurate. Hyperberry and Glo Stick are the brightest, Peril Berry has a nice Pearlberry-esque texture. NSC almost looks like a red planet. 

 

Look forward to planting these pieces this weekend! Really hope everything acclimates well and starts growing in a few weeks!

 

[Reefkid88]

Yassss !!! Don't kill them please 🤭

[Spencer7]

29 minutes ago, Reefkid88 said:

Yassss !!! Don't kill them please 🤭

I'll try  - they've been in the trade for a while so should be reasonably hardy. 

[debbeach13]

Nice additions!

[Manfred]

Could one  say corals are cute?

[Spencer7]

23 hours ago, Manfred said:

Could one  say corals are cute?

Of course, very cute! 😍

 

Can you guys help me find a shelf/cabinet solution for the space next to the tank??

Dimensions (LxWxH):  18-24" x 12-18" x 36-48"

3-4 shelves, able to support a 15g ATO reservoir on the 2nd shelf (to gravity feed sump)

 

1. Half of one of these would be great.

 

2. Dimension-wise, this in black would work well. BUT I would need to remove the third shelf and it can't hold the weight. Almost need this but anodized aluminum or stainless steel. 

 

3. ...Sort of like this. Weighted to 100lbs per shelf. Idk if I'm just grabbing bricks to add support...18x18" footprint is nice. 

 

4. Probably best option...(link)

 

Space I'm filling...

 

Recent BRS order...

 

 

[Manfred]

I think Ikea will have someting suitable! ....which test sets do you use ... I have a Hanna tester for Po4 ... I will get for the other test also HaHanna testers...