90g Sw Build...eek!

Ca dropped to 390 before water change so that wasn’t too bad. It’s been a long weekend here and have got a lot of corals lol, mostly promoted by my 30th birthday and permission to buy coral on the company credit card haul for the weekend has included 2 toadstools, fungia plate coral, another goniopora, clove polyp colony, frogspawn, cats eye zoas, trumpet and a gorgeous acan. Some pics below

 

Heck yeah!! This is the best post I've seen in days! That is a really, really nice haul you got there. I'm so glad you're able to put some nice sized colonies in that big tank of yours. Happy birthday to you!

Wait....

permission to buy coral on the company credit card

BEST THING EVER! Bahahaha How'd you pull that one off? I'd be in trouble for sure, hehe.

Totally unrelated to your haul, but speaking of dosing. I'm pretty surprised that I'm not seeing calc drop. If anything, my alk is a little low before a wc. Thing is... I've been dealing with aiptasia. Got it long ago from not qt'ing some chaeto from the LFS. I'm using AiptasiaX, (for now, will probably switch to berghia nudis soon), which is pretty much calcium in a bottle. I use very little of the stuff, but since alk has been a tiny bit low, I'm now wondering if I may have seen calc drop if I hadn't used it for so long.

Anyway, just wanted share that I still haven't dosed a thing and the tank is doing great. I plan to start a pretty hardcore testing method soon, where I will test multiple times a week on a rigid schedule to really see if things are dropping enough to consider dosing between wc's. With only 20g's, I hope I can just stick to my wc schedule.

With the 90g, I'd imagine you're attempting to limit wc's as much as possible. How's your nutrient reduction method working out? The tank sure looks nice and clean.

Can't help but notice the wicked platy in the clove polyp pic. Love that coral! Totally peanut butter and jelly on the fungia plate, lol. Those and meat corals are the only things that make me consider undertaking the huge task of changing my scape... so I can have more room in the sand. Don't take me too seriously on that though, as it's not happening any time soon. The thought of chiseling rocks while preserving the coral that's already encrusted on them...

 

BEST THING EVER! Bahahaha How'd you pull that one off? I'd be in trouble for sure, hehe.

I think I talk about my tank at work too much lol! ops: it was totally unexpected but very cool, contributed to half my acan LOL. I will try to get more pics tonight, the new gonI has settled in like a champ, the acan is gorgeous and the zoas are doing great too. Only thing is that lights are back on acclimate mode so might be too dark/blue to get decent pics. We shall see

Totally unrelated to your haul, but speaking of dosing. I'm pretty surprised that I'm not seeing calc drop. If anything, my alk is a little low before a wc. Thing is... I've been dealing with aiptasia. Got it long ago from not qt'ing some chaeto from the LFS. I'm using AiptasiaX, (for now, will probably switch to berghia nudis soon), which is pretty much calcium in a bottle. I use very little of the stuff, but since alk has been a tiny bit low, I'm now wondering if I may have seen calc drop if I hadn't used it for so long.

Interesting, I've never used Aip X but sounds like a decent theory to me. I guess you won't know until you start your hardcore testing! I would have thought with 20 gallon tanks you'd be able to get away with just WCs, I never dosed on my nano and kept softies, LPS and SPS together without issues have you considered peppermint shrimp for the aiptasia? I only saw one in this tank and the peppermints gobbled it right up. I was very relieved!

With the 90g, I'd imagine you're attempting to limit wc's as much as possible. How's your nutrient reduction method working out? The tank sure looks nice and clean.

That was the original plan but we've been doing 25 - 30 litre water changes every week/two weeks if busy and the corals, especially the bubble, just seem to looooove the fresh water. The bubble is triple the size it was in the store when it puffs up and it gets super puffy after WCs so I think I'm gonna keep doing them weekly just to see that, it's pretty cool! Equally though I won't kill myself if I can't manage a change one week for whatever reason as I know they're fine. The nutrient removal is working great, nitrates are barely detectable and algae has died right down but the chaeto is still growing like a beast (have to chop it by 50% twice a week atm!!) so guessing that's hiding things rather than "fixing" them. Either way it's working a treat

Haha yes the platy is one of my faves! I moved it when we got the new coral in so hoping it settles in the new spot ok, it's a little further back. I will take a pic of it just for you on my next photo shoot lol

The only coral being a bit grumpy is the pink goniopora I got originally. It hasn't come out in a couple of weeks properly and not sure why, starting to get a little worried. I'm wondering if it was coz the lights were too much for it coz it's been out more since we started acclimatising mode on the radions. I guess time will tell! we are now starting to think about which fish we will get when we start restocking after the ich fiasco. Any suggestions? I keep seeing all these gorgeous wrasse and it hurts my soul coz my wrasse is such a grumpy bully...I really don't think he'd take well to other wrasse almost to the point where I sorta-kinda thought about taking him back to LFS but I do like the big dummy (we call him Dum-Dum coz he attacks his own reflection lol). Deciding these things is hard!!

 

Hmmm, fish suggestions for a big tank? Can you remind me what you still have?

I can only tell you what I like the look of for the most part since I haven't really spent much time learning about fish that can't go in the 20g. So, with that in mind, I have a few I like, but as always, do your research. Have you looked into Anthias, Dwarf Angels, Jawfish, Filefish, Marine Bettas, Kole Tangs, Foxface, Butterflies, or larger Blennys and Gobies? Hahaha. Yeah, the bigger fish are just a dream for me right now, so I have lots of ideas but I'm not sure if any of them are good ones. Some of these guys are pest eaters though. For example, a certain Filefish will eat aiptasia, but it has also been known to nip at corals, and that's a huge no-no in my tank, (I don't even house hermits for fear of this.)

Do you have a QT? I wonder if Dum-Dum might get along with another wrasse if they were introduced to each other in a different environment. I feel your pain... there are so many beauties!

 

Hmmm, fish suggestions for a big tank? Can you remind me what you still have?

I can only tell you what I like the look of for the most part since I haven't really spent much time learning about fish that can't go in the 20g. So, with that in mind, I have a few I like, but as always, do your research. Have you looked into Anthias, Dwarf Angels, Jawfish, Filefish, Marine Bettas, Kole Tangs, Foxface, Butterflies, or larger Blennys and Gobies? Hahaha. Yeah, the bigger fish are just a dream for me right now, so I have lots of ideas but I'm not sure if any of them are good ones. Some of these guys are pest eaters though. For example, a certain Filefish will eat aiptasia, but it has also been known to nip at corals, and that's a huge no-no in my tank, (I don't even house hermits for fear of this.)

Do you have a QT? I wonder if Dum-Dum might get along with another wrasse if they were introduced to each other in a different environment. I feel your pain... there are so many beauties!

It's 90G but it's 3ft x 2ft x 2ft so tangs and likely rabbitfish are out. We have at the moment Toby the (watchman) goby, Dum Dum the adorned wrasse, Sparky the Talbots damsel, female clownfish and an orange firefish. Love anthias but they need so much feeding!! Dwarf angels thinking either a coral beauty to replace the one that died, or a flame. More likely to go with CB as more evidence of them being reef safe lol. Most of those listed are too big for my tank I think. Love marine bettas but think they aren't too shrimp friendly I do have a QT now that I've converted my tropical. I am toying with the idea of completely redoing my scape coz the rocks aren't fixed in any way and I don't want to glue coral to rock that isn't fixed, which we really do need to do now. I don't know whether to pull all the rock out to glue or just attempt it in tank...in tank seems very fiddly/dangerous compared to just hauling rock out. Possibly thinking I'll take sections out and glue in sections then put them all back in tank and glue final bits together underwater to try and minimise the carnage lolead: have been putting it off coz the thought of doing it fills me with dread but we are definitely at the stage where we need to now

EDIT: went off on a tangent there, my point about the rescape was that maybe I could use that as an opportunity to add some wrasse! Lol

 

Definitely, do the rock in sections. This will not only make it easier for you but will also minimize the die-off that will occur from pulling live rock. Die-off will produce ammonia, which you want your cycle to be able to handle easily so as not to stress your beautiful stock. Keeping the rock wet will help to minimize die-off, and doing only a little at a time shouldn't cause too much of a spike in params.

Scaping is indeed a pita, particularly after the tank is already running and stocked. I'd highly suggest that you take your time, making sure you'll like it in the long run. I'm in the position where I'd kind of like a rescape, but don't want to unmount or chisel growing corals from my current scape. I'm finally to the point where I have a few SPS corals growing like mad and dread doing anything to put a dent in that.

All this said, I've seen plenty of tanks where the rocks are safely stacked and arranged, but not glued at all. I get jealous of these setups because when they are ready to frag a coral, they simply pull it's rock out of the tank and go to work on it. That is not an option at all for me since my scape is glued... two very large rocks and several small ones, all attached to form one large section. It wasn't easy to get the rock in the tank without busting our design apart, and we were so proud at first. I still like my rocks, but wish I had left more room in the sand for plates, lobos and meat corals. I also wish I had some mid-sized unglued upward facing rocks that I could put shroom/zoa/acan gardens on.

So... just be super careful and study how others do their scapes. I don't feel that you need to be in a big hurry, and you want to make sure you're happy in the long run. Some people want to do tear downs/re-scapes every so often, and I don't blame them for wanting to change things up. I'm not that way though, as I just want to continue adding fish and corals and patiently watch my little project turn into a magnificent reef.

 

Yes, unfortunately because I used a lot of prime Marco rock as well as LR they aren’t terribly stable which is why I want to fix before I glue coral. I think I will do it in lots of small batches and will gradually work on it until it’s all done. The marco rock has some lovely flat planes (paid extra for that lol) which are wonderful for placing corals on but need to figure out how to make the most of them. I’m thinking I will place all the coral in the QT temporarily while I do this so I don’t knock it all around; short term it shouldn’t upset them too much (no more than falling off the rock does anyway! Lol). Thinking of using nyos reef cement for the rock and then some sort of actual glue for fixing corals. Decisions decisions!!

 

Might I suggest a Tahitian butterfly?

 

One of these would look great.

 

One of these would look great.

Ooo that's lovely, definitely going on the list!! Thank you!

 

Ones going in mine too

 

Ones going in mine too

How is yours coming along? Have you started it all yet?

 

My tank? Yup, it’s going. Got my first corals about 2 weeks ago.

 

Took a few more snaps, pink goniopora and plate are sulking (I moved them) and one of the toadstools is shedding but it’s not looking too shabby! Just hope I don’t ruin it when I do the rocks tomorrow - eeek!









(this one is for you Stella! Lol!)



Mushrooms have grown at least 2 more heads since I got them which is weirdly satisfying. I couldn’t keep them alive in my last tank so pretty pleased about this!

 

Yay! Thanks for the platy shots!!

Might I suggest the AquaStik by Two Little Fishies... It's an epoxy that's great for attaching rock to rock, and is also great for mounting corals using a method we call the glue/putty sandwich. More on that later if you want. Just wanted to mention the AquaStik because I've been told that all reef epoxies are not equal, lol. I haven't heard anything about the nyos option, but the Instant Ocean epoxy is apparently pretty horrible to work with. Myself and several others here have been happy with the Aquastik. You might like to look at Nart 's IM25 thread. I forget the actual thread title, but he did a really, really nice, almost gravity-defying rockscape a few months ago.

Thank you, thank you, thank you for the FTS! I was thinking about bugging you for one the other day.

 

Never ended up glueing anything as my dad bought a new coral beauty and stuck him in the tank while I was at the stables (despite having a QT upstairs...argh!!). So now on hold for a while so I can watch for outbreak v 2.0. Sigh.

In other news, the plate coral randomly bleached out super quickly. It took about 2 days before it was completely dead. I think it was thanks to the talbots damsel digging and constantly covering the poor thing with sand. I ended up moving it to get it out the line of fire but it never came back will leave the skeleton in there in the hope it grows babies

Rest of the corals are doing ok, only the pink GonI is still sulking.

 

Ugh... hrmmm, what to do about Dad? He loves the hobby but can't hold his horses. He's definitely not the only one, but I'm on your side.

Nice pics! I think this is the first time I'm seeing the lovely acan you have in the sand. Sorry about the plate, and I'll keep my fingers crossed for babies too.

 

think you need to figure out how to put a lock on the tank

 

think you need to figure out how to put a lock on the tank

Ha, think you might be right...any ideas?! Lol.

In his defence he did say he had read that they need bigger tanks than the QT so he didn’t want to stress the CB out by putting it in a small tank. His heart is in the right place. Keep reminding myself LOL! The fact he’s researching now is progress at least

 

In the wrong run yes a larger tank is necessary, in the short term a small QT tank is fine. Just not worth the risk of an outbreak. You’ve learned that once already.

 

Bahahaha... I have child locks on my reef tank, but idk if they would deter Dad. Even with the locks, my 3-year-old managed to drop her chewable vitamin C in the reef on one particularly crazy day.

 

Bahahaha... I have child locks on my reef tank, but idk if they would deter Dad. Even with the locks, my 3-year-old managed to drop her chewable vitamin C in the reef on one particularly crazy day.

Better than a PBJ sandwich.

 

Nothing overly exciting to report but I’ve stuck a UV on the tank. No signs of illness after the coral beauty yet and he’s settled in beautifully. The talbot and wrasse have calmed down since he went in too which is a bonus!

Took a few more shots. I know they’re all of the same coral but...they’re pretty haha!

 

The corals are so pretty

 

I love seeing new pics of the same corals. Oh my... that platy though. Need my shades, lol. You'd think I didn't have two platy's of my own that I love, but they don't contrast like yours.

This is one of mine... I'm trying to encourage it to grow into a ball to give it the look of some brains I've seen in the wild.

 

Ohhh I love that Stella!! I have the next three days off work and I’ve just been paid so I suspect there may be new corals imminently LOL #lostcause

 

Picked up a few frags today - some purple and orange zoas, a leather that looks like a Christmas tree (lol, had to have it, it’s adorable!!), some pulsing xenia (dad buy...I warned him it spreads ) and a dark green Montipora with neon green speckles. And a fan worm! Will post pics when they’re all settled in

 

Awesome! Awww, I love the sound of the leather. Can't wait to see.

 

Sweet.

 

If you’ve got any room, maybe relocate the Xenia to a sand bit on a small piece of live rubble? I’ve heard this prevents it from spreading all over the tank.

 

Not the best pics but to give you an idea here they are

 

Looks great.

 

Happy corals!!

Ehhh, plus one on a xenia island. That stuff tried pretty hard to spread all over my scape and it wasn't a lot of fun tearing it off of places it should not have been. A sad and slimy mess that was.

 

Happy corals!!

Ehhh, plus one on a xenia island. That stuff tried pretty hard to spread all over my scape and it wasn't a lot of fun tearing it off of places it should not have been. A sad and slimy mess that was.

Lol it's ok....I've allowed the xenia, I've allowed him to place it...the condition is that he's on xenia removal duty when it all hits the fan he doesn't know what he's agreed to lol

 

I’ve got a little frag of this arriving on Friday, not sure what it is but was too pretty to pass up! (Anyone wanna ID for me? Lol)

 

Favite?

 

Definitely a favite and I love it! Beautiful!!!

 

Yes it is.

 

Just hope it looks like that when it arrives! Lol. The person I got it from has a store and lots of good reviews so fingers are crossed!

 

I have no worries there. All of my favias/favites have survived shipping very well and were some of the first frags to start growing when my tank was young. They are hardy and beautiful imo. So glad you're getting one, and a real beaut too!