Home Office Shallow Reef

[geekreef_05]

On 5/1/2024 at 9:26 PM, Sprinter70 said:

Until you have your water chemistry dialed in, I feel this can just create more problems for you. The more primitive organisms will benefit from added food in a constantly fluctuating environment (cyano, dinos, algeas) while the more complicated organisms (coral) will have to acclimate before being able to utilize the food sources from these extra additives. A matter of opinion I suppose, but any food not consumed by your corals and fish is a free for all for whatever can use it the quickest and my experience says the pests of the tank get it first!

For note, there isnt really any coral in my reef right now. Im waiting until water chemistry stablizes before adding any. I have one peice of GSP as a test. And its doing well. At this time effects on coral are not a concern. 

 

I dont think corals feed on MB7. I believe its made to feed pod populations. 

[geekreef_05]

Intestinal parasite / worm maybe? 

 

Eeeeewwww....look at that dangling  white strand...

 

None of the other fish seem to have this problem, so hopefully its contained to the flame angel. 

 

The fish is eating well. Constantly grazing rock. Eats flake, pellets and brine shrimp readily.

 

Ive tried to provide more veggies including nori on a clip and veggie rounds but there wasnt much uptake. I may try again. Could be an inbalance in diet. 

 

I ordered some Seachem Focus, to help clear if up, but looks like it'll take a couple weeks to arrive. 

 

Never used the stuff before, but im willing to give it a try. Won't hurt even if its not a parasite.

 

Im overdude for a water test. I'll try to do that tonight.

[Airedale.Reef]

Yikes! Poor Fellow. 

 

Glad to see that the fish is eating though - Good sign! I would guess intestinal parasite as well. Hopefully someone else can chime in with some direction. Good luck!  Beautiful flame angel! 

 

[Kev1n]

How do the auto stirrers work? Do they give a gentle vibration which stirs up the dosing container? Never seen these before.

[geekreef_05]

Dude. The auto-stirrers are amazing. They keep the dosing even. Nothing sinks to bottom. Nothing gets crusty over time. I cant believe I lived without this simple solution for so long. Automates the "shaking of the bottle". 

 

I just place the dosing container on the stirring pad with the magnet, find the right spin speed for the size and done.

 

They are completely silent and vibrationless. 

They are also cost effective at around $35 CDN. They work well on timers if needed. 

 

I have 3 for AFR, Mg and MB7 and another 1 for automated brine shrimp feeding. This one is on a timer and runs only during the day, for feeding hours. 

 

 

 

And for auto-phyto dosing Im using an air bubbler to mix it up. Just runs for 1 min before dosing, on a timer. Id get another auto-stirrer for this if I could, but wont fit in my little reef feeding fridge. 

 

EDIT: I should state another reason its important to me, is that im cutting ARF (2:1) and Mg at times with RO water. This keep everything mixed up evenly. And allows for more precision dosing while preventing dosing lines from clogging up in the long term, when you arent dosing alot each day. In my Waterbox 20, which i should start a TJ for soon, Ive cut ARF 4:1. Given the smaller volume, this also provides better dosing precision and it also sits on auto-stirrer. 

 

hope that helps! 

[Kev1n]

Thanks for this detail. Appreciated.  

[Sprinter70]

My largest tank is about 4 gallons, diluting AFR is definitely an essential tool!

[Kev1n]

I read something a few weeks ago saying that All For Reef should not be diluted. This was by all account a comment from a member of the TropicMarin team. I am not saying don’t, just merely letting you know as a friendly caution. 🙂

[geekreef_05]

I appreciate that heads up!

 

I am aware of the official direction. I looked into it a few years ago, before i started regular dilution. I believe i emailed the company. Need to check the notes from the Desktop Reef TJ....  AFR was fairly new at the time. Company told me offically dont do it, but also that the risk of doing so is low. i dont think its actually a problem cause Ive been using AFR this way for a few years now.  I think the auto-stirrers help with this as well.

 

Not sure if anyone else does this... but wow it makes auto dosing way easier on a nano.

[geekreef_05]

Parameter check:

Ca: 480

Alk: 12.6

Mg: 1450

 

I like it.. I dialed back the AFR from 25ml/day to 20ml/day to lower the Alk. But really the fine tuning will be post coral stocking. The SPS and torches will soak up the elements.

 

Ive wiped tiny corraline flakes off the glass the last two weeks. Good sign. GSP test coral is looking 100%. Reef has been solid for a while now. Ready for full coral stocking in my books.

 

Once i stock the reef it'll be a couple months of fine tuning and lots of testing. I wish i had an auto tester!. Maybe when my tax return arrives.

 

Well..Time for some online coral shopping. woot!

[Kev1n]

Nice one.

 

 

[Airedale.Reef]

11 hours ago, geekreef_05 said:

Ive wiped tiny corraline flakes off the glass the last two weeks. Good sign

Glad to read that you are finally seeing corralline algae! Good sign indeed!

[geekreef_05]

Booyah! I placed a coral order last night!

 

A couple torches, couple gonis and a handful of simple sps. 

 

Also ordered a replacement orchid dottyback. Its too bad the last one didnt make it through the white bacterial water bloom. Glad those days are behind me.  

 

Everything should be in next week!

 

[geekreef_05]

Im in a state of massive indecision. Maybe i ruined it! I may have made a terrible mistake.

 

For months ive been thinking about how to solve the light spill and reflection in the room. 

 

Dark curtains on the back wall, light hood, canopy, do nothing and live with it.. 

 

I ruled out canopy. I just like topless too much. For looks and functionality.

 

I searched and there arent any light hoods on the market that would provide the coverage i need. 

 

Before..

 

Sound panels are stacked beside the tank in the above shot.

 

So i actually went with black acoustic sound panels. Ive used them in other rooms of my house with good results. Im not done. I had intended to do the whole wall. But i stopped here yesterday to think... 

 

After...

 

Now functionally it works. It cuts that beam of blue light out. Its a contrast to see the light spill onto the white wall.

 

It also makes the room a notch quieter which is nice.

 

But i... im not sure i like the way it looks and i dont think i like way it makes the reef look. I think the white walls gave everything a crisper look. Cleaner look.

 

Black panels, I think it make the animals pop less. Harder to see the details of the animals.

 

What do you think? 

Keep it as is? 

Finish the whole wall in black panels?  

Redo this in white panels? 

 

This morning i ordered the panels in white. I may replace these black ones with white... 

 

...but im not sure. ..indecision! 

[Kev1n]

The black certainly seems effective with the light spill. White would keep the room looking brighter.

 

I guess it comes down to what you personally like. If it was me, I would go white for the whole wall.

[Airedale.Reef]

Would white panels defeat the purpose in general? I would assume apart from sound reduction, the light would reflect off of the white panels as they do the white wall, leaving you with the same result. 

I do think the black panels detract from crisp

look of the tank…my eyes were immediately drawn to them instead of the tank.
 

 

 

[geekreef_05]

1 minute ago, Airedale.Reef said:

Would white panels defeat the purpose in general? I would assume apart from sound reduction, the light would reflect off of the white panels as they do the white wall, leaving you with the same result. 

I do think the black panels detract from crisp

look of the tank…my eyes were immediately drawn to them instead of the tank.
 

 

 

 

I appreciate the feedback. Glad to know it's not just me.

 

The panels are made of a fabric...kinda felt type material. So despite the white colour, they would still work to cut the light spill. Maybe not as effective as the black, but still something.

 

I agree with you both. White panels are the way to go. I'll install them when they arrive next week. 

[Airedale.Reef]

Ah, got it! Glad they offer some light reduction, and hopefully it is enough for your preference. 
Looking forward to seeing how it turns out! 

[geekreef_05]

Corals are in! 

 

Not the best photos but here's the reef about 20mins post stocking. They had a quick temp float then pest dip and boom onto the reef. Corals are definitely still adjusting. 

 

 

 

Torches and Gonis are looking better every few minutes. 

 

 

 

Sps shelf:

 

i need to clean the glass off, but i'll wait until tomorrow to limit stress on the fish. I'll take better photos after then too.

 

The new orchid dottyback also was acclimated and introduced. And i found a nice surpirse serpent sea star whos now in the reef. 

 

Ive got quams about the placement of 2 corals... but if they grow akwardly i'll just deal with it at the time. I tried to leave alot of space for the torches and gonis to stretch out.

 

You may also notice the black sound panels have been removed from the back wall. White one's are on order and will be up next week. 

 

I'll be gearing up for lots of water testing! 

 

[Kev1n]

Love them red Goni’s. Gorgeous colour on the Dottyback.

[Crawford_T]

Nice! Tank is looking good.

[geekreef_05]

3 hours ago, KevMax said:

Love them red Goni’s. Gorgeous colour on the Dottyback.

Gonis are starting to open nicely...

[Airedale.Reef]

Always a good day when you get to add coral and livestock! Looks like they are settling in nicely, and I am looking forward to seeing the new paneling! Hopefully it will be successful in capturing the light for you as well add a cool appeal! 

[geekreef_05]

Lunch break photos...

 

Generally things are looking good. Everyone is looking way more settled this morning. Note it hasn't quite been 24hrs since introduction.

 

Torches looking more comfortable. 

 

The bright pink goni is not liking the high flow so much. But i'll give him time to adjust. I think he can do it. Lol. 

 

Multi colour goni. Looking ok

 

pink goni. Still shy.

 

sps look fine so far.. 

 

/photos

 

[geekreef_05]

Coralline, hm... 

 

I wanted to make a note about coralline. Over the last 2-3 weeks Ive noted a strong uptake of coralline on the glass. Although Ive been in hobby for 20+ years, the coralline Im seeing is different than any species Ive seen in the past. 

 

Below I posted a picture of my magnet (yup, its in there 24/7) and a close-up of a rock. 

 

This stuff is way way darker than the pink and purple varieties ive seen in the past. And seems to start with a relatively even coverage, rather than the bright pink stuff that forms a few big circle areas. 

 

Ive noticed its not as chalky to the touch either and slightly harder to remove from the glass. Its not nearly as receptive to growth on glass and the magnets. I realized recently that my rocks are actually covered in it. There are 3 types of rock in my reef, but the coverage is so even that they are now all equally speckled in colouration. 

 

Just observations. Im interested to see what my magnet will look like in a couple months.