DevilDuck Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Display: Waterbox Peninsula 3620 ~60 gal 40 lbs of CarribSea Fuji Pink "Live Sand" 20 lbs of live rock DD JumpGuard netting Octo Aquatics Feeding port and tube 3D ReefGear.com square feeding port Avast Plank Automatic FeederLighting: 2x Ecotech XR15 Pro Gen 5 on RMS railPowerheads: 2x Ecotech MP40wqd w/ Nemguard Ecotech battery backupFiltration: Stock Waterbox Sump ~ 30 gal Ecotech Vectra S2 pump MarineDepot 4in filter cups with LR and floss Simplicity 120DC Skimmer Refugium with grape caulerpa and ulva Chihiros RGB Planted Tank LightController: Hydros Control X4 pH & temp probe Heating: BRS 300w Titanium Heater Inkbird ITC-308 Controller Dosing: Red Sea ReefDose 4 DIY Tropic Marin All-For-Reef Vodka dosing Reef Moonshiners Method for trace elements Aiming for no water changes Water Parameters: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1iN3Rf4lT3LPh5AbnffVxuFtZTiW67okqIgRISsXmkKk/edit?usp=sharing Livestock Fish: 2 - Juvenile Percula Clownfish ("Barcello" & "Atami") 2 - Pajama Cardinal ("Pants") 1 - Yellow Banded Possum Wrasse, Wetmorella nigropinnata 1 - Springer's Damsel, Chrysiptera cf. springeri 1 - Midas Blenny 1 - Diamond Watchman Goby 1 - Wheeler's Shrimp Goby 1 - War Paint Green Clown Goby 1 - Orange fin Tomini Tang 1 - Small Yellow Watchman Goby Invertebrates: CUC: Astrea Snails, Red Banded Trochus Snail ("Turbo"), Marginella snails, Red and Blue Leg Hermit crabs, ipsf Littorinid snails, ipsf microhermits, ipsf nerite snails, mexican turbo, ninja star 1 - Ultra Rainbow Bubble Tip Anemone 1 - Rainbow Bubble Tip Anemone 7 - Rock Flower Anemones 1- Large Mini Maxi Carpet Anemone 1 - Tiger Sand conch ("Larry") 1 - Randall's pistol shrimp 1 - Tiger pistol shrimp 1 - Porcelain Anemone Crab 1 - Pencil urchin (in sump) 1 - Tropical Abalone 1 - Squamosa Clam 1 - Blue Tuxedo urchin 1 - Peppermint Shrimp Corals: GSP Pulsing Xenia Bam Bam, King Midas, Lazer Lemon, Blue Alien Orgasm Zoas, Super Saiyan, Greenbay Packers, Red and Green End Game, Rainbow Sakura, Rainbow Troll Superman mushrooms Green Favia Coral Galaxea coral Green long polyp purple toadstool Blue Ricordea mushroom Rainbow Lobophyllia Tan Candelabra gorgonian (Eunicea sp.) ACC Neon Icon Micromussa Lordhowensis (Acan Lord) ACC Green & Gold Goniopora Pink Flamingo Micromussa Lordhowensis (Acan Lord) Valentine Micromussa Lordhowensis (Acan Lord) Red Blasto TCN Weeping Willow Toadstool Leather Chili Pepper Plating Montipora CCGC Aquacultured Red & Green War Coral Mardi Gras Rhodactis Blue Eye Neon Green Goniopora Purple Tip Torch Peach Hammer Meteor Shower Cyphastrea Jade Green Torch Branching Bright GSP Green and Purple Bi-color Hammer Blue Duncan Blue Alveopora Purple Sprite Blasto Prairie Winkle Goniopora unknown green Goniopora Jack O Lantern Leptoseris ACC Glitter Goni Spongebob Cyphastria Orange Ricordea mushroom Red/white cynarina Diamond Tip Staghorn Acropora ACC Mellow Yellow Acropora BioReef Green Goblin Anacropora Bonsai Acropora Golden Plume, Spiny, Corky Finger, Purple Plume, Purple Brush Gorgonians Pagoda Cup Red Goniopora Inferno Bullseye Rhodactis John Deere Leptastrea Red & green plating Montipora Capricornus Alakazam Goniopora El Toro Acropora Millepora Blue Tenuis Acropora PC Rainbow Acropora Pikachu Acropora Button Scoly Christmas Favia Yellow Goni Green Hairy Mushroom Crimsom Tide Acropora Skittles Mummy Eye Chalice Introducing my follow up the the Fluval Evo 13.5 Somewhat Budget Tank is the new budget destroying tank, The Great Wave. The inspiration for the name came for the name while shopping at my LFS and came upon the "wave" shaped rock on the right. Tank is a Waterbox Peninsula 3620 59 gallon display (36in x 20in x 20in) with a 29 gallon sump setup as a room divider between my kitchen and living room. My plans are mostly move coral from my existing tank with additional colorful fish that will hopefully utilize the open area at the upper portion of the tank. I'm going to attempt a no water change or very infrequent water changes, monthly water testing and supplementation per Reef Moonshiners Method. Currently, the tank is still cycling, still detecting some ammonia. I dosed a 4 oz bottle of Fritz TurboStart 900 and daily dosing MB7. Aquascape is purposefully sparse as I will be moving some live rocks from my existing tank. Took my best shot at cord management. The sump is huge and takes up most of the cabinet space! Still waiting on some additional equipment for the sump, wifi power strip and skimmer. Forgive my messy living room. I moved my old tank to the living room also so make the transfer easier. Looking from the living room side DD JumpGuard netting. It was fun putting it together with the fiance. Tight fit with the Ecotech RMS light rail. Took nearly 2 and a half days to fill using my RO Buddie 50 gpd RODI unit. 7 Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Nice looking tank, i love that wave rock too 1 Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 49 minutes ago, DevilDuck said: Display: Waterbox Peninsula 3620 60 lbs of CarribSea Fuji Pink "Live Sand" 20 lbs of live rock DD JumpGuard nettingLighting: 2x Ecotech XR15 Pro Gen 5 on RMS railPowerheads: Ecotech MP40wqdFiltration: Stock Waterbox Sump Ecotech Vectra S2 pump 100 micro filter socks Bubble Magnus Curve 5 Elite Skimmer (not yet arrived) Chaeto Refugium (not yet setup)Heating: BRS 300w Titanium Heater Inkbird ITC-308 Controller Dosing: Tropic Marin CarboCalcium for macro-elements via Kamoer X1 dosing pump Reef Moonshiners Method for trace elements Aiming for no water changes Introducing my follow up the the Fluval Evo 13.5 Somewhat Budget Tank is the new budget destroying tank, The Great Wave. The inspiration for the name came for the name while shopping at my LFS and came upon the "wave" shaped rock on the right. Tank is a Waterbox Peninsula 3620 59 gallon display (36in x 20in x 20in) with a 29 gallon sump setup as a room divider between my kitchen and living room. My plans are mostly move coral from my existing tank with additional colorful fish that will hopefully utilize the open area at the upper portion of the tank. I'm going to attempt a no water change or very infrequent water changes, monthly water testing and supplementation per Reef Moonshiners Method. Currently, the tank is still cycling, still detecting some ammonia. I dosed a 4 oz bottle of Fritz TurboStart 900 and daily dosing MB7. Aquascape is purposefully sparse as I will be moving some live rocks from my existing tank. Took my best shot at cord management. The sump is huge and takes up most of the cabinet space! Still waiting on some additional equipment for the sump, wifi power strip and skimmer. Forgive my messy living room. I moved my old tank to the living room also so make the transfer easier. Looking from the living room side DD JumpGuard netting. It was fun putting it together with the fiance. Tight fit with the Ecotech RMS light rail. Took nearly 2 and a half days to fill using my RO Buddie 50 gpd RODI unit. Planned Fish Stocking List: In addition to the 2 existing Clownfish I am also looking into: Pajama Cardinals Yasha Goby / Tiger Pistol Shrimp pair Suggestions on wrasses Suggestions on a basselet Suggestions on a dwarf angelfish Looking good! I personally prefer benggai Cardinals over pajamas thats me. I have a flame angel and melanrus wrasse. Definitely very pretty and active fish. Caution on any angel though. I'm just lucky. 3 Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted June 28, 2021 Author Share Posted June 28, 2021 42 minutes ago, Matteo said: Looking good! I personally prefer benggai Cardinals over pajamas thats me. I have a flame angel and melanrus wrasse. Definitely very pretty and active fish. Caution on any angel though. I'm just lucky. Thanks for the suggestions! I'll look into the flame angel and melanrus wrasse! 1 Quote Link to comment
jservedio Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Looking good! That's a great start. I second the melanurus wrasse - they are my favorite wrasse, incredibly colorful, out all the time, and will devour any pests that aren't armored. Just be careful when choosing your CUC with them (or really any wrasse) because they will eat anything that is small enough to flip or can't fight back. That means everything that isn't a huge turbo snail or doesn't have claws will probably get eaten. 1 1 Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 49 minutes ago, jservedio said: Looking good! That's a great start. I second the melanurus wrasse - they are my favorite wrasse, incredibly colorful, out all the time, and will devour any pests that aren't armored. Just be careful when choosing your CUC with them (or really any wrasse) because they will eat anything that is small enough to flip or can't fight back. That means everything that isn't a huge turbo snail or doesn't have claws will probably get eaten. I keep my melanrus fat and happy. So far all inverts safe but yes with caution 1 Quote Link to comment
jservedio Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 49 minutes ago, Matteo said: I keep my melanrus fat and happy. So far all inverts safe but yes with caution Mine was fat enough where it couldn't eat the snails it killed, but killed them just because. He wouldn't even nibble them - just flip them, shred them, and go about it's fishy life. He went through phases. My CUC was safe for the first 3 years (right after a move) before he killed the first snail and then just went on a rampage. Every couple years he would go on a murder spree. Even at 8 years old and fading he went on one last binge for old times sake. Never even ate a single one - the hermits and nassarius cleaned up after him. Strange fish. Mine was a midget and was smaller than my clowns (which is the only reason I kept him), but my LFS has a monster of a melanurus that's gotta be 7" long and obese, but that thing tears through snails like nobody's business and eats them. Biggest and fattest melanurus I've ever seen. Lots of local reefers have no issues or only occasional and others do. Luck of the draw with their personality. They are very smart for a fish too. Mine would suck up sand and spit it into my MP10 and then catch any worms or pods that got scattered before they hit the bottom. 1 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted June 28, 2021 Share Posted June 28, 2021 Love the melanurus, though I went for a dusky. They are lovely looking fish and very active. You just need to sink cash into cuc every week... But it's worth it all the way.. wrasse are simply amazing fish. Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 9 hours ago, Matteo said: I keep my melanrus fat and happy. So far all inverts safe but yes with caution Melanrus Wrasse seems to be beautiful but high maintance! 1 Quote Link to comment
Matteo Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 10 hours ago, DevilDuck said: Melanrus Wrasse seems to be beautiful but high maintance! I guess it depends on the personality of the fish 😜 1 Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 enough about fish, let's talk corals.....those are some lighting power over that tank....btw, love the dimension and the peninsula layout of this system. 1 2 Quote Link to comment
jservedio Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 16 hours ago, Murphych said: Love the melanurus, though I went for a dusky. They are lovely looking fish and very active. You just need to sink cash into cuc every week... But it's worth it all the way.. wrasse are simply amazing fish. I've never seen one close to that bad and I've only ever seen a handful that were big enough to flip over fully grown and healthy turbos and that was after 5-6 years of growth, which is about the average lifespan anyway - and that was in a huge LFS system with a whole load of other wrasses. Even after 8 years, mine wasn't even big enough to touch astreas. Plus, the stuff they can't kill are by far the most productive members of the CUC, so who cares about ceriths and those tiny margarita snails anyway! It's been more than a year without a wrasse and I still don't bother with any of those little snails that do a half-assed job. I 100% agree with the second half though - totally worth it and wrasse are incredible fish! 29 minutes ago, Matteo said: I guess it depends on the personality of the fish 😜 Definitely, but they are never that bad and the little CUC members are overrated anyway. 10 hours ago, DevilDuck said: Melanrus Wrasse seems to be beautiful but high maintance! They are super low maintenance. Just choose a larger sized CUC and you are good to go. It'll take 3-4 years to get big enough for them to threaten even medium sized snails. They are incredibly easy to keep, absolutely beautiful, and inexpensive. Definitely go for it! 3 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Yeah I like a stocked cuc so do replace them Ina one in one out fashion. mine is most definitely a flipper but I don't mind at all. My sandbed is littered with most types of snail shells but it's fine and all part of it... It especially loves Nass as he can pull on their trunks... Very aggressive little beast, mine.. You where lucky maybe .. or unlucky? 2 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Oh @DevilDuck I forgot to say.... Whoop! Lovely tank.. that will be about the same size as mine just shy of 95gallon?. People say it's still a small tank.. if that's the case I don't want bigger after a 10% water change.. back breaker !!! 🤣 Congrats... And can't wait to see where the journey takes us...... Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 6 minutes ago, Murphych said: Oh @DevilDuck I forgot to say.... Whoop! Lovely tank.. that will be about the same size as mine just shy of 95gallon?. People say it's still a small tank.. if that's the case I don't want bigger after a 10% water change.. back breaker !!! 🤣 Congrats... And can't wait to see where the journey takes us...... @Murphych Thank you so much! The tank is around 88 gallons total water volume. I am not looking forward to water changes, hence I'm going to try a water change free method similar to the Triton method called Reef MoonShiners Method. Except for the post cycle nitrate removal water change and emergencies, I will only be topping off this tank with RODI going forward. - Alk, Cal, and Mg will be tested and dosed as usual (I use Tropic Marin CarboCalcium for now) - ICP water testing will be done monthly for trace elements levels. Each element will be supplemented individually as needed - Nitrates/Phosphates will be exported via protein skimmer and Chaeto refugium - I also have Seachem Phosguard if the phosphate get too high from feeding I've been curious about Red Sea NoPox dosing too, if necessary. Anyone have experience with it? 1 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 To be fair.. mine has been running for 5 months and its only had 4 x 10% water changes. The rest is ato which is to be honest is 2 litres a day in the summer. So I have a perspex lid I put over the top when I'm out of the house (as the windows are locked shut so no ventilation) and most of the sump is covered as well. Mate.. you'll live it though.. it becomes so much more than looking after the animals. There is a big hardware / software element to tinker with now as well 👍🏼👍🏼👍🏼 1 Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted June 29, 2021 Author Share Posted June 29, 2021 I just tested the water (API test kit) and it looks like the ammonia has dropped 0 ppm. Nitrites are around 1ppm for now, I'm expecting it to rise a bit more in the next couple of weeks. For years now, the toxicity of nitrites in saltwater has been debated. Several vocal members of R2R have theorized that nitrites are not toxic except at very high levels (> 100 ppm) in a marine environment. Some of argued that marine tank cycling practices should be changed so that nitrites no longer need to be tested, only ammonia should be tracked. Sources: (4) The official nitrite conference 2021 | REEF2REEF Saltwater and Reef Aquarium Forum Nitrite and the Reef Aquarium by Randy Holmes-Farley - Reefkeeping.com (4) The importance of nitrite measurements in a reef aquarium | REEF2REEF Saltwater and Reef Aquarium Forum This is a good opportunity to run an impromptu experiment. Most of the articles and posts I've been reading have to do with nitrite toxicity with fish and inverts but no mention of coral. This may be due to lack of formal experimentation and the fact that there are too many varieties of coral to make a blanket statement. I have a bunch of very fast growing pom pom xenia in my tank. Normally, when it grows too large or starts to migrate off its island onto the sand, I remove and dispose of the excess. This time I'm going to plop some of it into the new tank with nitrites reading > 1 ppm just to see if it survives. If it does, it will mean that nitrites may not be as toxic to xenia. If it dies, I was going to dispose of it anyway, no big loss. Big clump of xenia in the Fluval evo Oyster shell with some xenia moved to the right. Tossed in the new sump. Anyone want to take some bets? 1. Xenia is indestructible, it will survive and come for you. 2. Xenia will die, the universe is safe...for now. 3. I don't know, but The Truth is Out there! 5 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted June 29, 2021 Share Posted June 29, 2021 Yeah man I love experiments like this.. 2 Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted June 30, 2021 Author Share Posted June 30, 2021 I just re-tested ammonia and nitrite today and now the test is showing 1 ppm ammonia! wtf API! Salinity is on the high side around 1.028 sg. I'm going to lower it by replacing some salt water with RODI. Xenia isn't showing any distress right now. Quote Link to comment
Ratvan Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 6:30 PM, DevilDuck said: Anyone want to take some bets? 1. Xenia is indestructible, it will survive and come for you. 2. Xenia will die, the universe is safe...for now. 3. I don't know, but The Truth is Out there! I'm hoping option 1 myself 2 Quote Link to comment
billygoat Posted June 30, 2021 Share Posted June 30, 2021 On 6/29/2021 at 10:30 AM, DevilDuck said: Anyone want to take some bets? 1. Xenia is indestructible, it will survive and come for you. 2. Xenia will die, the universe is safe...for now. 3. I don't know, but The Truth is Out there! #1 for sure; you will wake up and it will be growing in your coffee cup, on your bathroom mirror, on the pillow you sleep on... it will be after you and there will be nothing you can do. Sweet tank by the way! I like the setup a lot, and I can't wait to see how it comes together. 😁 1 3 Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted July 1, 2021 Author Share Posted July 1, 2021 Simplicity 120DC skimmer arrived, and it's currently breaking in. This is my first skimmer, hopefully i'm doing this right. I'm just running it for a week or two without the lid on, not sure if it will skim anything since there is nothing creating significant waste in the tank. I'm pretty impressed by Simplicity's customer service. I actually had some trouble putting the skimmer together and called the customer support phone number. To my surprise, a real live person answered the phone and helped me out. They also answer emails within a few hours. 3 Quote Link to comment
Murphs_Reef Posted July 1, 2021 Share Posted July 1, 2021 Looks good to me mate 1 1 Quote Link to comment
DevilDuck Posted July 6, 2021 Author Share Posted July 6, 2021 Finally, the day has come! Over the weekend, I tossed in 2.5 more lbs of live rock into the sump and move over a big wad of chaeto. Ammonia is now reading close enough to 0 ppm, we can now start transferring the livestock over into the tank. Forgive the horrible quality of the photos. I couldn't get my phone adjusted to the mix of the new Ecotech Radion spectrum mixed with some natural sunlight coming in through the apartment windows. First thing was to move the xenia onto it's own island. In case your wondering, xenia didn't care about detectable ammonia. It survived the shorten cycle without a scratch. Next up were the zoas, frogspawn, hammer, favias and gorgonians. The zoas and the gorgonian immediately opened up as did the frogspawn. FTS for now: Also moved about half the rock flower anemones. There are only two large pieces of live rock left in the old tank. Both will be moved tomorrow since I will be treating some hair algae on them with a toothbrush and hydrogen peroxide. I accidentally tore a piece my the superman mushroom trying to move the rock it was attached to. I guess I now have 2 Superman mushrooms... The main arch rock is home to several anemones and the blood red cleaner shrimp, so i'll have to be extra careful with that piece. Fluval now looking a little empty... 1 Quote Link to comment
mitten_reef Posted July 6, 2021 Share Posted July 6, 2021 6 minutes ago, DevilDuck said: looks like there's a baby branch budding off the side there... 2 1 Quote Link to comment
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