Reef Casa Studio 12 Dream Build

[416Reefer]

Well it looks like the coral warfare has begun.  When I started this tank I distinctively remember saying to myself "I am not going to put too many euphyllia i this tank because I don't want to them sting my other corals."  And, of course, I prompt forgot that I put in 3 hammers, 2 torches and a frogspawn.  Which of course I love, but as they get bigger it may start to become a problem.

 

One of my hammer corals is stinging my blue monitpora and killing it.  I've caught it with its sweeper tentacles out and there is no doubt about it.  Luckily it is not a coral I am overly attached to so when I do my next water change I will just take it out.  I'll put it in my other tank to see if it can recover but I think it might be too far gone.

 

I have a new orange setosa frag that something broke off my colony in my other tank.  I think 75% of the smaller frags in this tank are the result of something breaking in my large tank... at least it helps to keep costs down!

 

I am still looking for something to replace those sad looking zoas at the bottom of the tank.  I will probably get either a small plate coral or maybe another favia or an acan... It's just a matter of waiting for the right frag to come along!

 

I'm still struggling with some film alage on the rocks and the sandbed.  My parameters are in check and I'm not over feeding so I'm not sure what is causing it.  My other tank isn't having this problem so I have ruled out problems with the source water.  Maybe it's round 2 of the uglies.  Blasting it with a pipette a few times a week seems to help but I would rather it wasn't happening!  Doesn't seem to be impacting the corals but it's visually a bit ugly.  I guess things can't always work the way we want them to!

[banasophia]

Oh I’m so jealous… I totally love orange setosa… always wanted one but apparently haven’t been at the right place at the right time yet. I think a small orange plate would look really nice in your tank to make your oranges really pop if you can get one. 

[416Reefer]

Funny you should mention that.. I actually have a small orange plate in my other tank that I was considering moving over.  When I was at fragbox this weekend there was a gorgeous plate that I talked myself out of but maybe if it’s still there next time I go I’ll pick it up and move the small orange one this tank.  

my orange setosa is the one holdover from very first tank.  It’s pretty indestructible.. although it breaks easily 

 

[banasophia]

3 hours ago, 416Reefer said:

my orange setosa is the one holdover from very first tank.  It’s pretty indestructible.. although it breaks easily

Oh man, I would probably destroy it immediately then myself… I am not good with SPS corals cuz I am pretty clumsy and accidentally frag them all the time. 😩😩😩 

[416Reefer]

For the most part the corals are doing great but I have run into a couple of small issues lately.  First my sandbed is now filthy pretty much every day.  I used to have to stir it a few times a week but now it seems like every evening it needs cleaned.. I am not sure if I have uglies round 2 or if there are too many nutrients in the tank.  I am considering either setting up a small refugium in the rear chamber or finally hooking up the protein skimmer that I got for Christmas that is still sitting in a box!

 

One of my mushrooms is definitely bleaching, which is odd because it is in a very low light area.  I keep meaning to take it out but the plug is glued down very firmly and I'm worried that if I try to force it off I will end up dislodging another coral and a small job will become a big job very quickly!

 

On a more positive note the clove polyps are winding their way throughout the rockwork.. I am interested to see how they interact with the hammer corals.  The encrusting corals on the top shelf are doing great and I can't wait to see how it all looks when they grow in fully.

[banasophia]

That anacropora is my new favorite in your tank! Can’t wait to move mine from my Biocube 32 to my Studio 12 to see how it does. 

[416Reefer]

11 hours ago, banasophia said:

That anacropora is my new favorite in your tank! Can’t wait to move mine from my Biocube 32 to my Studio 12 to see how it does. 

I really like anacropora.. im surprised they don’t get more love. 

[416Reefer]

Got a "new" coral this week to add to the Studio 12.  I had this small orange plate coral in my big system for the past year or so and while it was really pretty it was very, very slow growing and looked a little bit silly on the sandbed in a big tank.  Luckily, Fragbox had a sale this weekend and I was able to pick up a larger plate for my other tank and transfer the small one over to the studio 12 and the orange really pops under the halo light.  It is getting a bit less flow in this tank and it's looking actually quite a bit happier.

 

The clove polyps are continuing to wind themselves into the rockwork which is kinda cool.. I've never seen that happen before.  The originally plug can now be removed too, once I get around to it, so that will make things look nicer too.

 

I'm still struggling with this green film algae on the glass and rockwork... the snails don't really seem to like eating it and about all I can do it blow it off with a turkey baster every couple of days but it's driving me a little bit up the wall.  I don't feed heavily and have stopped broadcast feeding the corals so I'm not sure why I'm getting algae issues.  (please no one ask if I have tested nitrates or phosphates... I don't think I ever have in any tank and I don't think I even have a test kit for them!)

 

The good is still definitely outweighing the bad by a large margin but I could do with the film algae clearing up soon!  It's not in my other tank so it's not source water.  Sigh.. there is always something in this hobby!

[banasophia]

That plate looks perfect in the tank!! And your euphilia all look so happy. 

[JamesQ]

Loving the torches

[416Reefer]

14 hours ago, JamesQ said:

Loving the torches

Thanks ! This is the first tank I’ve ever been able to keep torches alive in ! 

[416Reefer]

Well I've been thinking about what to do about the film algae... I'm going to set up a small refugium in the skimmer chamber.  I've never tried to run a refugium in any of my tanks so I am intrigued to see how it will go.  I picked up the Reef Casa Nova light and it will be pretty easy to mount to the back of the tank.  I'll have to get some chaetomorpha macro algae at some point so it will probably not get set up until the summer but I'm looking forward to trying something new.

 

I did also add a few more snails this week but they don't seem too interested in cleaning the algae off the rocks but they are doing a great job with the glass.  I also threw a couple more nassarius snails in to help keep the sandbed clean.  I think a small wavemaker would help with the issue but I think that would create too much flow and damage my hammer and torch corals.  Oh the delicate balance of a mixed reef tank!

 

Corals are all still looking great... I think I am going to have to trim the Green Goddess Birdsnest at some point.  I'll see if any of the fish stores in the area want the frags but I doubt it... it's not exactly a high end coral.  I'm also enjoying watching the clove polyps grow in and out of the rockwork. It's not what I had planned on them doing and it's kinda cool to just watch nature take its course.

[banasophia]

Looks amazing!!

I always get film algae on my glass in all my tanks and I just clean it every couple days with a scraper… I always thought that was pretty normal… is that what you’re seeing, or something else?

 

Either way, a refugium could be interesting to try… I’m planning on setting one up in my tank too. 

[Woodini]

Such a beautiful chunk of custom reef! Well done 👏 

[416Reefer]

3 minutes ago, Woodini said:

Such a beautiful chunk of custom reef! Well done 👏 

Thanks !  This one seems to be working out well so far.  

1 hour ago, banasophia said:

Looks amazing!!

I always get film algae on my glass in all my tanks and I just clean it every couple days with a scraper… I always thought that was pretty normal… is that what you’re seeing, or something else?

 

Either way, a refugium could be interesting to try… I’m planning on setting one up in my tank too. 

It doesn’t bother me on the glass but I’m getting it on the rockwork. It blows off in sheets with I use a pipette. Definitely green though. 

[debbeach13]

Filling in nicely. 

[416Reefer]

Since not much is changing on a week to week basis I thought it might be interesting to do a little bit of a reflection on some of the corals in the tank and how they have fared over the last year or so.  Since they are my favourite corals in the tank I will start with the two torch corals, the NY Knicks and Hellfire torches.

 

This is the first tank that I have ever been able to keep torch corals in and I have been beyond happy with how these two have done.  I think one of the keys to success is that I have messed less with flow and lighting in this tank than in any other previous tanks and the corals have appreciated that.  I keep the flow lower than I think most people do for torch corals and they have seemed quite happy.  The main reason that I am not upgrading the pump to a Sicce is that I don't want to upset the flow in the tank and provide them with too much current.  

 

In terms of lighting they seem to be quite happy with the Halo light running at roughly 50% for about 10 hours a day with a short ramp up and ramp down.  I run the whites higher in the afternoon and early evening, with a heavier blue spectrum in the late evening and that seems to work well.  I think the key is just not messing with the lighting schedule trying to find "perfect".  Since the hellfire torch is smaller I feed it once a week with a few LPS pellets but I dont feed te NY Knicks because I don't really want to increase its growth speed.

 

These two torches are very much the corals that I work everything else around and so far they are not disappointing!

[banasophia]

56 minutes ago, 416Reefer said:

Since not much is changing on a week to week basis I thought it might be interesting to do a little bit of a reflection on some of the corals in the tank and how they have fared over the last year or so.  Since they are my favourite corals in the tank I will start with the two torch corals, the NY Knicks and Hellfire torches.

 

This is the first tank that I have ever been able to keep torch corals in and I have been beyond happy with how these two have done.  I think one of the keys to success is that I have messed less with flow and lighting in this tank than in any other previous tanks and the corals have appreciated that.  I keep the flow lower than I think most people do for torch corals and they have seemed quite happy.  The main reason that I am not upgrading the pump to a Sicce is that I don't want to upset the flow in the tank and provide them with too much current.  

 

In terms of lighting they seem to be quite happy with the Halo light running at roughly 50% for about 10 hours a day with a short ramp up and ramp down.  I run the whites higher in the afternoon and early evening, with a heavier blue spectrum in the late evening and that seems to work well.  I think the key is just not messing with the lighting schedule trying to find "perfect".  Since the hellfire torch is smaller I feed it once a week with a few LPS pellets but I dont feed te NY Knicks because I don't really want to increase its growth speed.

 

These two torches are very much the corals that I work everything else around and so far they are not disappointing!

They look really great! Are you dosing anything at this time? 

[416Reefer]

36 minutes ago, banasophia said:

They look really great! Are you dosing anything at this time? 

I dose enough All for Reef by hand to keep my alkalinity around 9.  I figure the  calcium and magnesium will stay in range.  I do a 20% water change weekly though. 

[JamesQ]

Love those torches

[416Reefer]

14 hours ago, JamesQ said:

Love those torches

Thanks ! I’ve taken the plunge and added one to my big tank as well. They are so beautiful but so temperamental !

[416Reefer]

One of the things that I was the most impressed with was the ability of the Halo light to grow SPS corals.   While I admittedly have not tried to grow light intensive Acropora I think the light would be able to handle it since I am currently only running it at 50%. 

I have had great success with my forest fire montipora, green goddess birdsnest and a green goblin anacropora.   The one that has grown the best is hands down the green goddess and I actually had to frag it the other day because the branches were getting too close to the side of the tank.  The polyps are always out and because it is in such a high flow area they look great.   

The forest fire montiporas are growing as well, although not quite as quickly.  They have great polyp extension and are also encrusting on the rockwork.  They were a transplant from my other tank so are well conditioned to reef tank parameters.  

My green goblin anacropora is also doing well, although I had to frag off a small piece that was in direct flow and had died.  I also have a small piece of goldenrod anacropora but it’s a bit faded and hasn’t really taken off yet.  Hopefully it will soon.  

The setosa is a relatively new addition and seems to be doing well, although one edge is being stung by one of my torches.  

All in all I’ve been really impressed with the ability of this little light to grow SPS corals.  I’m not going to try anything more difficult, not because I don’t think the light can handle it but because I’ve never been able to grow acros in any of my tanks!  The limiting factor though is me, not the light.  

[banasophia]

Yes, your SPS have been doing so well… part of the reason I had the confidence to move my anacropora from my Biocube 32 to my Studio 12 last night… I’m hoping the Halo light will help it recover since it hasn’t been doing great in my other tank. 🤞🤞🤞

[ml86743]

SPS rock looks freaking awesome!!

[banasophia]

Looks like a little googlie-eyed creature is living in a hole in your forest-fire?

 

And then funnily enough, right after I noticed that I went and looked at my tank up close to see how it’s doing after my changes I made last night and saw a little googlie-eyed creature in my tank too… mine is my possum wrasse… lights are still out in the tank… never knew he slept in there!