My First Reef Tank

[eaa]

For the last week, my alkalinity was down by 0.2 dKH/day, weekly water exchange can not maintain the level I desired. So I started to dose Alk 0.4 ml, dose 50% from red sea suggestion for this tank. I'll continue to monitor Alkh for the next 2 or 3 weeks, is it enough or need to increase the dosage. Nirate and Phospate is rather high 25ppm and 0.25ppm, surely because feeding the fish once a day. To lower these, I'm going to dose nopox 0.1 ml/day and watch closely the effect by testing the water every day.

[eaa]

The tank left for 9 days family vacation. When I got back everything's fine except 2 frags of Millepora and Cyphastrea, they're gone. Alas for the frag rack that fell to Lobo at the back. Lesson learned next time I need to secure the rack or get a better frag rack with magnet. ATO went as it should. Well next thing in order is to make ASW for water exchange tomorrow.

[eaa]

A video of my nano, I can not believe it, I made it this far. Lots of things happened, but everything is relatively stable.

Schedule on feeding the fish everyday with frozen food consist of mixed mysis, shrimp, and  scallop

Amino Red Sea twice a week for coral 2ml. Lighting schedule is the same, 12 hrs, but to suppress algae, white 7%, blue 70%.

 

Corals dominated by softies. Nothing fancy but I like it this way. The tank is more stable, changing water change schedule from once a week to every other week.

Tested No3 : 2ppm (salifert) PO4 : 0.1 ppm (salifert), dKH 7,9.

 

There's still a minor algae but it's not an issue for me.

 

The last 4 weeks I dose AF Life Source when the lights is off, around 9 pm to add biodiversity every week.

 

I made a video for my reefing diary.

 

 

Dosing Alk : 0.1ml 4 times/day during lights on, Iodine 0.1ml 3 times/week, Nopox 1.3ml/day with dosing pump.

 

 

To add contrast to the tank, I'm going to add Pink Goniopora next month.

 

[eaa]

Because of the low flow and medium lighting intensity red sea led blue :70% white 12% for 12 hours, ramp up & down 1 hour, I decided adding hammer corals instead of getting goniopora this week.  Nothing fancy but I think they're the last piece of the puzzle in the middle section of the rockworks.

 

 

[debbeach13]

This tank looks fantastic. I think the hammers are great additions. 

[eaa]

13 minutes ago, debbeach13 said:

This tank looks fantastic. I think the hammers are great additions. 

Thank you

[NanoJakarta]

On 10/21/2022 at 9:07 PM, eaa said:

Because of the low flow and medium lighting intensity red sea led blue :70% white 12% for 12 hours, ramp up & down 1 hour, I decided adding hammer corals instead of getting goniopora this week.  Nothing fancy but I think they're the last piece of the puzzle in the middle section of the rockworks.

 

 

Such a beautiful set! 

[Gsepanik]

Wow! Your tank looks amazing, I would love to have a tank like that eventually!

[eaa]

On 11/9/2022 at 12:01 AM, NanoJakarta said:

Such a beautiful set! 

Thank you, it's been a hell of a ride for the past 13 months

[Nano sapiens]

Aquarium is looking good and congrats on the 1st year!

[eaa]

9 hours ago, Nano sapiens said:

Aquarium is looking good and congrats on the 1st year!

Thank you, it's only the beginning of a wonderful journey

[eaa]

16 months and counting. Finalliy it's rebounding after crashed on December. I mistaken fresh water and dump 12 liter to the tank. Some corals didn't make it. Hair algae is everywhere. Freak out a little bit seeing the tank and the inhabitans. Slowly I diligently doing water change 20% every other week, and gave 5ml of coral snow mixed with 2 ml MB7. Hair algae gradually subdued. Hopefully it will be gone soon. 

[eaa]

Almost a month since my last update. Everything is coming to normal again, the parameter a little bit high but stable around 25ppm NO3 and 0.1 ppm PO4. From the last photo, the red or brown on the sand always disappear every time the lights was off. I didn't know wether it's cyano or dino. I thought I need to give comptetitor to them. So I dosed sodium silicate for the diatoms.

1 gr of sodium solicate mixed with 100 ml RODI and dosed 3 ml every other day for 2 weeks. As expected diatoms are everywhere, especially on the glass. 3 weeks treatment, and now my tank is getting even better, I tried holding the urge to clean glass. I just let the snails to clean it. Hair algae is still there but, I don't mind. I just contained them every wc by manual removal hand plucking.

 

I think it's time to add SPS, so comes frags of acropora carduus, red montipora digitata, and anacropora. Carefully monitoring alkalinity every day for the past 3 weeks and dosing 0.5 ml red sea alkalinity to keep alkalinity stable at 8 dkh.

 

2 weeks ago :

- I upgraded the lamp, Red Sea Led 50 to Radion XR 15 pro G5, The Red Sea is going to my next build for either BTA only tank or LPS only tank.

- Changing my skimmer, because I found out when I'm doing maintenance of the skimmer, it turned the shaft is corroded and now using skimmer with air pump. Gives me a peace of mind, no more corrosion.

 

 

 

[eaa]

Close up Blasto bombed by yellow banded possum wrasse 😁 and Hammer

[eaa]

Just another photo after wc, newest family member.

[eaa]

Update on 18 months this April. Finally the BTA is no more, it gave up on me. I don't know why, maybe it's because tank crashed on December. It's been 14 months journey with the BTA. Lesson learned the hard way.

I turned the tank into a more mixed tank, adding some SPS montipora digitata, stylophora, anacropora, and an unknown acropora.

Changing the routine, weekly water change on Saturday, testing Ca, Alk, Nitrate, and Phospate on Sunday.

The last 4 weeks, all parameter are stable.

Nitrate 25ppm, Phospate 0.1ppm, Ca 450ppm, Alk 8.1 dKh.

I dosed alk using red sea 0.4 ml everyday.

 

 

Discipline, patience, and consistency is helping a lot to this day.

[eaa]

Update on 19 months, slowly turning the tank into sps dominant.

[eaa]

Nothing much on this week beside moving a lobo from my pico tank. Photo taken around noon at 7 pm

[eaa]

Update before scheduled weekly water change

[Woodini]

####ing radical tank

[eaa]

Candy coral up close and personal, one of the longest coral in the tank. It's been moving in from my grow tank.

 

[eaa]

So this sinularia dura, I think it's one of the most underrated coral in here. Never seen one on my LFS tank.

 

[eaa]

I forgot the name of this softies

 

[eaa]

Not much this week, add a new but smaller wave maker.

 

[eaa]

FTS new flows