Home Office Shallow Reef

[geekreef_05]

I requested it get sent Monday and arrive Tuesday next week. We'll see if that works out! 

[geekreef_05]

Went to the LFS yesterday morning... 

 

 

...picked up 5 small blue-green chromis as well as a blood shrimp and super tiny urchin.

 

 

They are doing well. Fish are eating super good. Urchin is moving well, tentacles spread wide. But the shrimp hasnt moved from his spot :(. I'll tempt him with a direct feeding tonight.

 

Im looking forward to Tuesday when my livestock order arrives. That will round out my bioload.

 

I added 20 nass snails to my order as well. That army should help the sandbed, as its about to get a much higher poop load. 

 

I also ordered another pack of copepods to re-up their load, now that the tank is around 1yr. 

 

I totally recognize its a high fish load. But the tanks been running for over a year now. I'll probably reinstall the skimmer. 

 

Seneye Monitoring is up and running. 

Water parameters looking good. 

Ran all updates for lights, pumps

Equipment kinks worked out. 

 

NEXT STEPS: 

Reset those dosing pumps.  

Do another Mg test and then start dosing Mg. 

Clean and reset skimmer. 

INCREASE PH!!! Woot. I need to review my notes on this thread.

 

Ya. Thats right. I think im gonna get back to the pH battle. There's a growing acceptance that a pH of 7.8 to 8.1 is really the survival zone for coral. Which is where ive been for over 20 years of reefing. 

 

Until i can get over 8.1, I may not introduce anything more than xenia and gsp. 

 

[InAtTheDeepEnd]

oooh I love chromis ...... hope your shrimp picks up too they are super pretty 

[ml86743]

I think it’s a good call getting that skimmer back online.  Love the chromis!

[geekreef_05]

Well.. 

 

In the last 24hrs ive thoroughly cleaned and reinstalled the reef glass skimmer. Its nice and simple. Small sized. I have to admit, i still like it.

 

 

Its working well...pulling out alot of tea coloured nasty. I'll need to continue to dial it in, get that skim a lil darker. 

 

 

The challenge here will be for me to find a solution so the waste collection lasts 21 days to meet my automation goals.

 

The other challenge is the sound.  The airpump is loud. It sucks. I may put more sound proofing around it. 

 

Im gonna do more research on the quietest possible airpump. Let me know if you have a suggestion.

 

Note the skimmer has increased pH in the aquarium by about 0.05. Marginal gain despite the c02 media. Currently sitting at a pH of 8.05 and its 4pm.

 

No difference in 02 levels.

 

Ive mixed up some Mg as well. Im gonna revitalize the dosing lines this evening. 

 

 

And finally the chromis are doing well. They are being fed 3 to 4 times a day and seem very comfortable. My livestock order for the final fish has been delayed by a day. Hopefully tomorrow it arrives. 

 

 

Tonight I'll prep a 10% WC to be done in tandem with the new fish acclimation, tomorrow. 

[InAtTheDeepEnd]

not sure if it would work for a skimmer but I run my fish room filtration with hygger Quietest Aquarium Air Pump, Adjustable Oxygen Pump 2 Air Outlets 5W/10W Ultra Silent Powerful Aerator Pump for Fish tank (10W) : Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

and

Uniclife 16 L/min Aquarium Air Pump Adjustable Quiet Oxygen Aerator Pump with Multi-port Air Flow Control Lever Valve Splitter and Airline Tubing for Fish Tanks Ponds and DWC Systems Up to 1000 L : Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Of the two, the hygger is the quietest.

[stingray72]

nice work im new here and setting up a 13 gallon aquatop bowed setup.

[geekreef_05]

4 hours ago, stingray72 said:

nice work im new here and setting up a 13 gallon aquatop bowed setup.

Cool dude. Feel free to ask any questions.

 

Got a tank thread? Post a link! 

4 hours ago, InAtTheDeepEnd said:

not sure if it would work for a skimmer but I run my fish room filtration with hygger Quietest Aquarium Air Pump, Adjustable Oxygen Pump 2 Air Outlets 5W/10W Ultra Silent Powerful Aerator Pump for Fish tank (10W) : Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

and

Uniclife 16 L/min Aquarium Air Pump Adjustable Quiet Oxygen Aerator Pump with Multi-port Air Flow Control Lever Valve Splitter and Airline Tubing for Fish Tanks Ponds and DWC Systems Up to 1000 L : Amazon.co.uk: Pet Supplies

Of the two, the hygger is the quietest.

I appreciate the info. I was looking at the hyggar as well. Ive like most of their products in the past

[geekreef_05]

UPDATE: 

 

1) Fish order is delayed! Might be shipped tomorrow. Of my livestock order, the GSM clowns had just arrived to the storefront. The LFS will see how their doing tomorrow and make a call to ship or delay again. Its about a 12hr to 18hr journey of express shipping for the fish.

 

2) pH on the reef has increased to 8.1. Thats the best ive achieved without chemical enhancement,) 

 

I need to check notes and see what else worked for me. Soda Ash in particular. 

 

3) PROBLEM:  The Mg i mixed up (powder + RO) is seperating in the lil dosing container. Its got a clear layer on top and white on the bottom. Frustrating. Obviously the concentrate portion is on the bottom. 

 

I might go back to liquid Mg after this despite the cost. 

 

4) I clearned out all my dosing pumps and lines. Reef is ready to add All for Reef and Mg as needed.  

 

5) I added 5ml of the Mg solution and started the reef on 5ml Mg per day. I'll test Mg tomorrow morning and regularly. 

 

PROBLEM: Gotta check my notes again. I mixed up a batch of All-4-Reef in a 6 scoops to 1 litre ratio. 

 

But i also recall i was cutting All-4-Reef in half with RO to prevent dosing lines from clogging. 

 

Cant remember if 6 scoops is 1 to 1 or not. Im not dosing it yet. But, to prep, i want to get my number straight.

 

Otherwise. Things are looking good. 

Im excited for my livestock order. 

 

Frustrating mixing up the powdered solutions. For Mg im using RedSea. Its not working as well as id hoped. Looking at it seperate is brutal. 

[geekreef_05]

Pods have arrived. Just letting them get to room temp. 

 

No fish today though :(. 

hopefully tomorrow! 

 

[geekreef_05]

They arrived. Temp acclimation while im on a virtual meeting lol ....

 

[geekreef_05]

Successful Acclimation! 

 

Everything is in the tank and looking good. Fish acting shy, but periodically exploring. 

 

The orchid dottyback is large for an orchid. Seems to be minding his own business exploring all the rock holes.

 

The other fish are a nice small size. The pygmy flame angel is about equal in size to the clownfish. 

 

 

 

 

The Maroon clowns are alot darker in colour than what i was hoping for. They are relatively similar sizes too. Hm.

 

The two are exhibiting both mating and stand off behavior. We'll see how it goes. 

 

For corals i ordered a xenia and gsp. They threw in a monti cap. The xenia looks terrible, but other two are just starting to settle. 

 

Glad to have the reef stocked again. 

[InAtTheDeepEnd]

lovely clowns. 

 

[geekreef_05]

Just an observation. 

 

The wildcaught fish i got (chromis, flame angel) came super skinny. 

 

The tank bred fish (clowns, orchid d) are super well fed looking. 

 

I'll be feeding frozen and various pellets multiple times a day. Small amounts. 

 

I'll be slowing weining the wildcaught fish onto pellets. 

[geekreef_05]

Hm. This is not working well with the maroon clowns. 

 

One of them if fully bullying the other. 

Throughout the whole tank. Continued chasing. 

 

I might have to seperate them if it continues. 

[geekreef_05]

UPDATE: 

Today has its ups and downs. 

 

All the fish are eating well. Im mixing it up with frozen and pellets and everyone is catching on. 

 

Spurlina soft pellets are a really big hit if say. Seems to be everyones fav.

 

Definately a better day for the clownfish! Chasing behaviour has minimzed, dominance definitely established by the female.

 

 

Both are hanging out together for the most part. 

 

The dottyback is comfortable, swimming out in the open often and keeping the chromis in line. 

 

 

The flame angel comes and goes. Gets comfortable for a bit and then dives back into his hiding spot. 

 

As for the corals, the gsp is making a very slow entry. 

 

 

The monti has some dark colouration, but maybe still adjusting. I dont see its polyps out or anything.

 

 

And the xenia looks demonlished. Like the wicked witch when she got melted. I give it a 10% chance of survival. I think my whole aquarium is too high flow for xenia. 

 

PROBLEMS:

Num one. Temp. I f"*$& with the heater. I shouldn't have. I was just cleaning it and moving it outta the way of the skimmer. I musta pushed the button.

 

There was a fluctuation of a couple degrees yesterday. I caught it. Reset the heater to 80F...but then my temp dropped further than i expected. 

 

Went from 79F to 82F and back down to 77F where it is now. 

 

Ugh. I feel like i just want push it one more time to get the reef to 79-80F...but i also dont want to F&^$ with the heater lol. 

 

Problem 2 is the skimmer stopped working properly. It would build buddles and backfire, ejecting the bubles into the display. I think the drain line is clogged or the skimmer needs a cleaning. 

 

The manufacturer instructions say it could be a clogg in the drain line. I checked it and seems ok. Hm...

 

Ive turned the skimmer off. I'll clean it and put it back this evening. Lets see what happens. 

 

EDIT/UPDATE: 

Cleaned out the reefglass skimmer. Definitely was a clogged drain line causing the backfire of bubbles into the display. Cleared it up and she's running like a champ again. 

 

In my quest for darker skim, i caused this.

 

I'll have to commit to wetter skim from here out. Keep it relable. 

 

For the second problem...

Im definately having a hard time not pushing that heater button for a lil more juice. Lol. I feel like 80F is my zone and id like to be back there. 

 

I have a busy weekend ahead, so i wont tempt fate. I'll make that more a monday thing. 

[geekreef_05]

Parameter Check (Feb 3, 1830):

 

Temp: 78F

pH: 8.2

Amm: 0

Nitrate:

dKH: 

Calc: 475

Mg: 1400 

 

 

Not bad. 

Calc hasnt moved. 

 

Mg has increased as per dosing. I'll just slow that dose by half or maybe 75%. 

[geekreef_05]

Generally tings are looking good on the reef today. Except the cyano. Its spreading. I turkey basted off my gsp frag this am. 

 

Over the weekend i added 6 Trochus snails to help the two small urchins clean up that rockwork. 

 

 

Fish:

All are eating extremely well, except the flame angel. She hasn't notched any of the nori on a clip i offered. She gets a nibble of brine and spurlina pellets each feeding, but its not alot. Im gonna keep at it with her.

 

 

Chromis noticably are getting fatter. 

 

Clownfish have paired up. Aggressive behaviour has stopped  

 

 

FEEDING: 

Ive been feeding like 5 to 7 times a day, in small amounts, so its not wonder. 

 

They devoire a brine cube, flake and two types of soft pellets. The pellets of course fall to the sandbed really quick, if not consumed and im starting to get concerned about the potential accumulation. The nass snails do their thing, but i think i need more hrp in that department. Brine and flake foods though.. very efficiently eaten, with little seen waste. 

 

Note that i dont turn off or goto feeding mode on power heads or skimmer. They gotta keep up! And they do.

 

CORALS:

The tester corals are definitely taking along time to adjust. The GSP frsg still isnt fully open. Its getting there. But the speed its happening is rather disappointing. 

 

 

The xenia has broken into two bits. One closer to the center of the aquarium. Still looks horrible, but better than when it first arrived. Any improvement is positive for sure. 

 

And the monticap is doing about the same as well. 

 

Theme seems to be these tester corals are taking a really long time to adjust...more than ive ever seen before.

 

CHALLENGES:

Im getting worried about left over food. I think one solution is more shrimp to ensure sunken pellets get eaten. Expensive solution though. Hm. 

 

My main challenge now is to ensure i have feeding automated enough to last for one week. That will definitely involve pellet food. And lots of it. 

 

I have a work trip end of the month. So its time to get cracking. 

 

[ml86743]

I like the idea of adding some shrimp.  Look into nassarius snails too.  They crush anything that hits the sandbed.  

 

Even though cyano is annoying - I think it's a good sign that your aquarium is heading in the right direction.  Before you know it it'll be gone!  Shoot my tank is still working through cyano but things are happy.  

[Staticmoves]

my fighting conch destroyed diatoms on the sand bed. not sure about cyano, but it did not seem to be picky.

may be worth a shot.

[geekreef_05]

Afternoon Sunlight on the reef

 

[geekreef_05]

1 hour ago, ml86743 said:

I like the idea of adding some shrimp.  Look into nassarius snails too.  They crush anything that hits the sandbed.  

 

Even though cyano is annoying - I think it's a good sign that your aquarium is heading in the right direction.  Before you know it it'll be gone!  Shoot my tank is still working through cyano but things are happy.  

Thanks for the advice. 

There are 20 nass snail in there and they definitely help. 

44 minutes ago, Staticmoves said:

my fighting conch destroyed diatoms on the sand bed. not sure about cyano, but it did not seem to be picky.

may be worth a shot.

A conch eh? Ive never had one.

 

How big to they get? 

[ml86743]

I think 3+ not too big.  I used to have one.  Very cool critter!

 

Sorry if I missed a bit about the nass snails.  

 

A side note, and strictly anecdotal but as I mentioned I too have been dealing with a bit of cyano and around two weeks ago I began dosing 5-10ml of live phytoplankton in the AM.  To my eyes, this has helped clear up some of the cyano and the sandbed has since looked cleaner than it has in awhile.  For the record, I also threw PNS Probio at it in the past with little noticeable effect.  

[geekreef_05]

Ya. Good call. I would think the phyto is helping to feed and expand your copepod population, which i believe eat cyano.

 

I'll start with dosing this evening! 

[ml86743]

2 minutes ago, geekreef_05 said:

Ya. Good call. I would think the phyto is helping to feed and expand your copepod population, which i believe eat cyano.

 

I'll start with dosing this evening! 

Exactly - It could all be in my head..but at the very least it's good for the inhabitants!  I use "Tommy's Phyto Mix" from BRS.  Seems to be really nice quality and relatively cost effective...for a 14 gallon tank lol.