Tuesday's 75Gal reef

[tuesday8877]

Here is a lil history on our saltwater adventures: We purchased a 55 gal SW set up off of Craigslist that was in horrible shape. It came with the tank, a HOB filter, a very old Coralife PC light, rocks, and crushed coral and thats it for equipment. The live stock that was still alive was a clown, a damsel, cardinal, some tiny starfish, hermits, and about a million worms. Everything was covered in algae. Even though we had absolutely no experience with SW tanks, we figured that we couldn't do much more damage to these critters and decided to try and save it. It's been a fun and frustrating learning process with much success and failures. Since then, we added a Remora C HOB protein skimmer, a Odyessea Quad HO T5 light ( I think we have 3 X 10K and one Atinic running during the day), a Fluval canister filter, and various other equip. We also recently upgraded it from the 55 to 75 gallon.

Here is a list of the live stock we currently have (sorry if the names are wrong):

Clarkii Clownfish - he's my least favorite cuz he nips at the corals but has the most personality

Damsel

Pajama Cardinal

Cleaner Shrimp

Coral Banded Shrimp

Sea Cucumber

Sea Star

Conch

Bubble Tip Anemone

A couple of leather coral, i think one is a cabbage and one is toadstool?

Several mushrooms

Green Hammer - he's not doing so great, kinda deflated but looking better today

GSP

and a couple of other kinds of coral that I got at Aquadome but forgot the name

hermits and snails

We are hoping to build a sump/ refuge in the near future and possibly do an LED DIY fixture when time and money permit.

Tuesday Hayden

[tuesday8877]

Some issues I am currently trying to deal with:

Algae! Lots of it! I had it pretty well under control until we moved the tank to our new place...now it's bad again. The blenny, urchin, snail, and other critters are doing what they can.

Higher Nitrate levels. I just did a 1/3 water change middle of last week and they are high again. Ive been getting water from Aquadome and RCA for the water changes. Probably need more live rock and sand because this tank is larger,

Phosphate levels are also higher

The Clarkii is a bully! He will not leave the Zenia alone and now he's picking on the blenny....might need to get rid of him!

Other than that everything seems happy and healthy and growing.

.

[bige]

I think it looks nice. I like the aqua scape you have.

[+KimP]

Thanks for sharing pictures of your tank. It looks very nice!

What are you running in the canister filter? You could try putting some gfo or other phosphate reducing media in there.

[tuesday8877]

Thanks guys! The fluval only has some filter pads and a tray of ceramic pettlet things. I was wondering if I might be able to use another canister filter that I bought but not using (a Marineland Magnum 350) as a phosban reactor. Seems like it would be an easy conversion....have to do some research.

[bige]

I think you could. Many people do this. Just add gfo slowly as it will move very quickly through the filter stripping the water too quickly.

[subsea]

With respect to the filter pads, is activated carbon included? With a mixed garden reef that you have, chemical warfare between competing species will take place. Use carbon to remove. I find large water changes to be a temporary fix and it gets expensive. Either reduce your nutriant input (food), increase nutriant export or include more nutriant recycling. Include decorative macro in your display tank. If the fish eat it then it is nutriant recycling. If you prune and remove, then this is nutriant removal. I compost tomatoes or give it to friends. Just because you moved from a 55 to 75 it does not make the bio load higher. How long has 75G been set up? I suspect new tank is going thru a start up cycle. I will be surprised if your small shrimp survives with a Coral Banded Shrimp.

Your tank looks nice. Very nice pictures. I do like refugiums in my systems. However, they are costly to add. You can increase your biodiversity by including live rock rubble in cannistar trays. This would replace ceramic pellets. IMO, large HOB filters work best. I like Aquaclear 110.

Happy reefing,

Patrick

[tuesday8877]

Hey Patrick, thanks for the reply and advice! I do have a tray of carbon in the fluval...forgot to mention that. I do need to overhaul the media...I will probably take out the filter pads and replace with pellets or rubble if I can find some. I think your right about it cycling...it was a long move and it probably killed a lot of the good bacteria in the sand and rocks. Before that the 75 gal tank was running for about a month with no major algae problems. When it was still in the 55 gal I used a HOB filter and it seemed to work but I didn't like the look and sound of it and it was kinda messy (water spray and salt creep). Plus I think the fluval is keeping the water clearer and less bubbles. The HOB was definately better at agitating the surface scum though.

The cleaner shrimp and the banded have been together for awhile now. They seem to completely ignore each other but I will keep an eye on them.

I think I have a Macro algae called dragons breath growing in the tank. Don't know where it came from but it's growing really well. There is some in the pics above maybe someone can help id it if its not dragons breath.

[jestep]

Love the open swimming space. If you're using a canister or HOB and floss, make sure to change it out all the time. The floss tends to collect a lot of detritus and then releases nitrates back into the tank if it isn't replaced regularly (weekly at the longest). I think you probably have plenty of rock for the current bioload. Most tanks that aren't running a DSB, biopellets, or a lot of macro algae, do not have a good nitrate export. I think this is what you're currently missing. The sump/fuge with a lot of chaeto should really help. You may need to use GFO in a reactor if you can't get the PO4 under control.

[subsea]

Dragons Breath is a gorgeous macro. Good for you. If you wanted other options on macro, I can help you out with sprigs of different things. I live 10 miles SW of MoPac and 290, four miles north of the Saltlick on 1826. Come out and visit. I grind coffee beans to make gourmet coffee and I do enjoy visitors and conversation.

La bonne temps roulee,

Patrick

[tuesday8877]

I added some very nice macroalgae that I got from subsea yesterday. Thanks Patrick! Also had to pretty much tear the rocks apart trying to catch the dreaded Clarkii...he is now in an isolation net hanging in tank until he finds a new home. *I was going to give him away but then I got scared that he won't be taken care of or just be turned into a LFS. The anemone is still recovering and the hammer is looking MUCH better. Everyone is generally happier with the bully out of commission. Thinking of adding some biopellets to my canister filter? Also does carbon go "stale" after while? And is activated carbon the same as the carbon used in HOB filters in the lil pouches?

Need to get the nitrates down without having to do massive water changes all the time. Also I'm leaning toward the "natural" methods instead of or in addition to technology. I will be trying the DSB in my DT. Just wondering if there is a brand out there that is preferred. In going with the larger bits of crushed coral not the fine sand. Oh and I finally got the surface agitation just right do no more surface scum!

[subsea]

If you purchased quality carbon from any aquatic vendor, it will be activated. Activated is a heating process which cures the carbon for reef use. Carbon does not get stale. It is used for its ability to absorb impurities.

Patrick

[subsea]

For my money, CaribSea substrate is my choice. Special Reef Grade is aroggonite and has a grain size between .5 mm and 1.5 mm. To accomplish denitrification chemistry requires 4" of the substrate mentioned. In your tank, it takes 75 gallons of aragonite for each inch of substrate. If you already have 3" of substrate, each week, I would add .5" until desired level is achieved.

Patrick

[victoly]

Lots of content there:

I added some very nice macroalgae that I got from subsea yesterday. Thanks Patrick! Also had to pretty much tear the rocks apart trying to catch the dreaded Clarkii...he is now in an isolation net hanging in tank until he finds a new home. *I was going to give him away but then I got scared that he won't be taken care of or just be turned into a LFS. The anemone is still recovering and the hammer is looking MUCH better. Everyone is generally happier with the bully out of commission. Thinking of adding some biopellets to my canister filter

Biopellets are a reasonable option for a canister filter. However, I tend to think that biopellets and other carbon dosing (except in high end SPS systems) are a treatment of a symptom and not a root cause. High nitrates exist because of high bioload, heavy feedings and/or lack of maintenance/water change. Your bioload is light, and presumably you do water changes with regularity. What does your feeding schedule consist of (type/quantity/frequency?)

Also does carbon go "stale" after while?Yes, jury is out on how exactly long it takes, but I like to switch mine every 2 months or so.

And is activated carbon the same as the carbon used in HOB filters in the lil pouches?

Yes. However, not all carbon is created equally. I tend to use pharmaceutical grade (BRS makes a great carbon branded as ROX that is treated in various ways prior to sale), with the less desirable lignite carbon coming in next, followed by bituminous carbon. These will all accomplish the same thing (namely remove VOCs and other contaminants), but depending on the quality, can actually introduce phosphate and provide a substrate for nitrate producing bacteria if you don't change out regularly.

Need to get the nitrates down without having to do massive water changes all the time. Also I'm leaning toward the "natural" methods instead of or in addition to technology.

Macroalgae is a good way to accomplish this goal. However, to make a dent you will need to have quite a bit. The rule of thumb i hear tossed around is a mass that occupies a volume of 1/3 of the display tank to achieve substantial nutrient removal. However, that number is hotly debated, and your mileage may vary.

I will be trying the DSB in my DT.

Make sure you read up on the Pro's/cons of DSBs. They do a fine job, but have associated risks.

Just wondering if there is a brand out there that is preferred. In going with the larger bits of crushed coral not the fine sand. Oh and I finally got the surface agitation just right do no more surface scum!

[jestep]

Pretty much sums it up.

I use biopellets and I like them, but I had to supplement GFO to take care of the excess PO4 that the biopellets do not get rid of. I also run chaeto and a small mud substrate refugium. I haven't tested NO3 or PO4 in about 4 months, but I know almost instantly when my GFO needs replaced because I start getting cyano on my sandbed.

Always keep in mind that if you start biopellets, macros, DSB or whatever else, it takes weeks to months for the system to stabilize and the nutrient levels to go down substantially and permanently(ish). If you have a lot of algae die-off it can further complicate matters because you end up with multiple factors altering the nutrients in the tank.

[tuesday8877]

Here are some pics of the recent changes...I liked the rocks better the other way but I did add some Texas Holey rock that we had in the sump of our 110 gallon freshwater tank.

Here's the clarkii in jail with a bunch of the dragons breath that got knocked off the rocks while trying to catch him!

Gorgeous macoralgaes and waving hand from Subsea and new rocks.

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[subsea]

I like your rockscape.

[tuesday8877]

So it's been a while and time for an update. The tank is pretty much a mess right now. Still having algae growth problems..mostly green hair. Had a couple of die offs that I can't explain...the konch and the star fish died and the hammer coral is basically done for. We did add some interesting creatures...an oyster and 4 gulf shrimp. We got a bunch of live oysters at Fiesta (to eat) and decided to try a couple out in the tank and one of them has survived a couple months now. And last weekend we went to Port Aransas to "pick up" some sand and brought home some live gulf shrimp and but them in the tank. So far so good...they mostly stay hidden in the sand unless it's eating time. Then today I was adding some more of the gulf sand to the tank and doing general maintance and the Fluval filter started leaking out of the sides (I broke one of the clips a couple months back) so after trying to get the leaking to stop and cleaning up about 3 gallons of water I decided it was too dangerous to keep it running anymore...so now there is no filtration in the tank at all. Not sure how long it can stay like that before bad things start happening. But today the water seemed to be in good condition..nitrates close to 0, phosphate is lower than before but still around .25-.5. calcium is very low even though I started dosing a few weeks ago.

[tuesday8877]

Diaster stuck my tank this week. A series of unfortunate events led to a tank wide apocalypse with few survivors. All that's left are some coral, the sea cucumber, a coral banded shrimp, a conch, and few crabs....even most of the snails are gone. Trying to salvage what is left and get it stabilized. Did a large water change today and added ChemiClean to try and get rid of the cyanobacteria that has be plaguing the tank for a couple months now. Feeling pretty frustrated and discouraged...and guilty for killing off my critters Not planning on getting any livestock until everything is worked out but I guess now I have a pretty clean slate if or when I decided to start over.

[victoly]

What was the series of events?

[tuesday8877]

Well I think it started when we made some major changes a couple months ago...we added a sump, switched to a deep sand, and switch from t5 to led. After that the algae and cyanbacteria just boomed like crazy...I figured it was going through a mini cycle and would pass. But things just went down hill. Was also having trouble keeping the temperature warm enough..so recently I added another heater to the sump (our sump is a large plastic container). Well apparently it became loose and was touching the side of the container and melted a hole through it which caused a huge leak....of course this all happened right as we were about to walk out the door....so we shut it down and thought there would be enough circulation in the tank with the two powerheads until we got back. We were wrong and everything was dead when we came back about 5 hrs later.

[tuesday8877]

Since my last post the tank stabilized nicely and I've been adding livestock. Currently in the tank are:

Fish - 2 clowns, a melanurus wrasse, a coral beauty, and a yellow tang

Inverts - sea hare, a bait crab from Galveston, coral banded shrimp ( I think this guy is the sole remaining member of the original crew)

Anemones - 1 green bubble tip (from dsquare) and 1 long tentacle

SPS - birds nest, and 2 others that I forgot the name of

Soft Coral - Toadstool leather, pulsing xenia, waving hand from subsea that tried to take over my entire tank! and one chunk of GSP that I keep isolated on the sand bed, and an whole lot of what I think is called Texas trash polyps

Zoas? I have to small frags that I got at the last frag swap but I don't know the names...one is pink...its my favorite!

**Livestock I forgot to add: 1 tube anemone, 1 green hammer, 1 lobo, 1 cabbage leather, 1 candy cane, 1 brain coral (maybe)

I got a new tank a couple weeks ago so I am in the process of upgrading. I will start a new thread for that one.

[+Grog]

bait crab from Galveston

I'm assuming you are talking about a blue crab... How aggressive is that one? I'm assuming you are talking about a blue crab... I'm imagining that it could be a little swimming terror.

[tuesday8877]

So the crab was fine...very active and super fun to watch...til it started getting a lil bigger. I'm pretty sure he killed my baby blue tang...I caught him eating it but I'm not positive that the crab actually killed it. But he was snapping at the fish if they got too close and also running all over the coral and anems with his sharp legs. So he got banished to the sump...currently he's happy in the 90 gallon before I move the rest of the animals over.

[Planeden]

How big is he?