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Bobcat's 75gal First Reef Build


BobcatReefer

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Thanks jolt! I'm hoping it's doing what it's supposed to, but I don't really know if it is. Hopefully there are a bunch of horny pods making baby pods in there.

Meanwhile, back in the display tank, I'm hoping I don't have a Nassarius hunting Fighting Conch on the loose! Last night after I went to bed, I started to hear some loud clicking(?) noises and I was hoping it was the Pistol Shrimp I haven't seen since he went in a week ago, so I hopped out of bed to check... Nope, it was the Fighting Conch I had thought might be dying earlier in the day (he hadn't moved in a day and a half or so), acting like a total spaz. Extending his foot down into the sand and picking his shell up off the sand, launching himself 4" across the sand, just doing things I'd never seen before. As I video this, I'm confused as I'm trying to figure out body parts and then figure out he's digging up one of the Nassarius! Be warned for a moment of NSFW language toward the end of pt1.

Hoping it's just the conch being a weirdo and he doesn't have a taste for the flesh of my favorite tanksters!

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I don't think it's going after your nassarius... Looks like pretty normal conch behavior to me. Ours will jump when they need to, nothing unusual there. I will say that is a pretty big one though. Depending on what other snails you have, it could starve.

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Friends, let me tell you the tale of Wally the Wandering Watchman...

You see, I really wanted a Yellow Watchman Goby, so when the Bermuda Triangle Tank vanished my 1st YWG into thin air (thin water?), I mourned... When we mourn, we don't always make great decisions, and at the RCA 1st Friday Sale the very next day, I grabbed the very next YWG I saw. This was a poor decision on several fronts: 1st, I should really have figured out wtf was going on w/ my Bermuda Triangle Tank before getting any new fish and 2nd, this guy was tiny - just a wee little thing! We all know that the success rate drops when you're getting such small specimens, and I've been in the hobby long enough to have been burned by it several times, so shame on me.

Anywho...back at the casa, I decided this guy wasn't going anywhere near the BTT, but acclimate and into the display right away. As soon as I released him, I realized how dumb that was - he just wasn't big enough (or smart enough) to handle the tank. Instead of heading to the rock and seeking shelter like most smaller fish do, he was up at the waterline and out in the open, just begging to get picked on - thankfully we're a happy tank and there's no meanies to harass him.

After about 30 min or so, I came back to the tank to tidy up all the bags and buckets and nets, and as I'm bent over picking stuff up off the floor, I see Wally swimming around next to the protein skimmer. Little sucker had wandered over to the overflow and gone for a ride! Luckily for me, he was easy enough to catch, so I put him back into the display. Damned if he didn't swim directly across the tank, back to the same overflow and right back down into the sump - he was in the display less than 2min. Scoop him out again, cover up [most of] the overflow w/ my net and kept an eye on him the rest of the night. Still there in the morning, so I'm hopeful he's learned his lesson. Ha! Joke's on me! Was gone all morning on a training ride and when I get back, not only is Wally in the sump, but he's defeated the baffles and is in the return chamber. doh.gif

That was Saturday, Mar 2, and since returning him to the display tank 11 days ago, I haven't seen hide nor hair (scale nor fin?) of Wally since. I figured he wandered his happy arse on to fishy heaven and hadn't thought much about him until last night when I pulled my skimmer out to give it the once over and see if I could get it working correctly. About 10pm I'm making one last adjustment before hitting the rack and see a little yellow flash peek out from under the return pump. That little sucker has been living in the sump the whole time! And I've been all over the sump working on the GFO/Carbon reactor, trying to get the skimmer right, dialing in the overflows to get noise down - it's not like there haven't been 100 opportunities for me to see him.

I tried to give him some food last night and even set up a little feeding station w/ 1/2 a triangle of Cyclopeeze, thinking the poor guy must be starving! Not sure if he took the opportunity to munch at all, but this morning he was back on the other side of the baffles and hiding under the skimmer.

28jslv.png

Not really sure what to do w/ him now, especially since I've added multiple larger fish to the display. Overflow antics aside, it's no longer a good option in terms of tank mates. Never mind that there's another YWG in there now! (note: this one is 2.5" and doing fine so far) I'm thinking of letting him stay in the sump for now and hoping he can get a little bigger. If anyone has a nano and looking for a 1" YWG, Wally would probably appreciate a nicer forever tank.

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Friends, let me tell you the tale of Wally the Wandering Watchman...

You see, I really wanted a Yellow Watchman Goby, so when the Bermuda Triangle Tank vanished my 1st YWG into thin air (thin water?), I mourned... When we mourn, we don't always make great decisions, and at the RCA 1st Friday Sale the very next day, I grabbed the very next YWG I saw. This was a poor decision on several fronts: 1st, I should really have figured out wtf was going on w/ my Bermuda Triangle Tank before getting any new fish and 2nd, this guy was tiny - just a wee little thing! We all know that the success rate drops when you're getting such small specimens, and I've been in the hobby long enough to have been burned by it several times, so shame on me.

Anywho...back at the casa, I decided this guy wasn't going anywhere near the BTT, but acclimate and into the display right away. As soon as I released him, I realized how dumb that was - he just wasn't big enough (or smart enough) to handle the tank. Instead of heading to the rock and seeking shelter like most smaller fish do, he was up at the waterline and out in the open, just begging to get picked on - thankfully we're a happy tank and there's no meanies to harass him.

After about 30 min or so, I came back to the tank to tidy up all the bags and buckets and nets, and as I'm bent over picking stuff up off the floor, I see Wally swimming around next to the protein skimmer. Little sucker had wandered over to the overflow and gone for a ride! Luckily for me, he was easy enough to catch, so I put him back into the display. Damned if he didn't swim directly across the tank, back to the same overflow and right back down into the sump - he was in the display less than 2min. Scoop him out again, cover up [most of] the overflow w/ my net and kept an eye on him the rest of the night. Still there in the morning, so I'm hopeful he's learned his lesson. Ha! Joke's on me! Was gone all morning on a training ride and when I get back, not only is Wally in the sump, but he's defeated the baffles and is in the return chamber. doh.gif

That was Saturday, Mar 2, and since returning him to the display tank 11 days ago, I haven't seen hide nor hair (scale nor fin?) of Wally since. I figured he wandered his happy arse on to fishy heaven and hadn't thought much about him until last night when I pulled my skimmer out to give it the once over and see if I could get it working correctly. About 10pm I'm making one last adjustment before hitting the rack and see a little yellow flash peek out from under the return pump. That little sucker has been living in the sump the whole time! And I've been all over the sump working on the GFO/Carbon reactor, trying to get the skimmer right, dialing in the overflows to get noise down - it's not like there haven't been 100 opportunities for me to see him.

I tried to give him some food last night and even set up a little feeding station w/ 1/2 a triangle of Cyclopeeze, thinking the poor guy must be starving! Not sure if he took the opportunity to munch at all, but this morning he was back on the other side of the baffles and hiding under the skimmer.

28jslv.png

Not really sure what to do w/ him now, especially since I've added multiple larger fish to the display. Overflow antics aside, it's no longer a good option in terms of tank mates. Never mind that there's another YWG in there now! (note: this one is 2.5" and doing fine so far) I'm thinking of letting him stay in the sump for now and hoping he can get a little bigger. If anyone has a nano and looking for a 1" YWG, Wally would probably appreciate a nicer forever tank.

Wow, what an adventure! I'm surprised he survived all that and didn't get sucked into the return. Can you put him in your refugium? I guess maybe he'd just travel back into the sump, lol!
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I thought about putting him in the refugium where at least he'd be able to poke around in the chaeto and nibble live pods, but there's just no way to get him out of there once i put him in. There is only a couple of inches between the top of the fuge and the top of the stand. I can barely get my arm in there to move rocks around. No way I'd be able to chase a fish w/ a net, or get a trap in there.

cdd59f6c08303f0d7a11578ca314a30b.jpg

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Alright, time for a little tank update....

The skimmer still isn't producing skimmate like it should. At this point, I'd like to say that my guess is that the water level isn't optimal, but I'm not sure on that. Bubble Mag 5 manual says 25-27cm, which is 9.8-10.6" and 8.5-9" is the best I can do in this sump. However, I don't see marked (or even nominal, really) improvement even when i flood the sump to 9.5" and pull the rubber footies off the bottom of the skimmer (to give me another 1/4"). Debating on continuing to try and make this work vs buying a skimmer that works in 8-9". Very frustrating.

I've finally got the overflows tuned to quiet, but there's a very slim margin for error. Whenever I have to adjust (water changes, cleaning), I have to be very careful and precise when tuning back to quiet, as it's pretty easy to hit a negative flow ratio.

Little bummed at how quickly the GFO clumped in my reactor the 1st go-around (maybe 2 weeks?). Hoping that was a 1st time usage deal because that will get expensive quickly! Been turning off the flow switch for 10 seconds or so every couple of days which seems to turn it over a little more in hopes of keeping it going longer.

Haven't been able to get Nitrates under 10ish, which doesn't surprise me given the skimmer issues. Nitrite, Ammonia and Phosphate are all 0.

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Fish update...

Current livestock:

Potter's Wrasse - purchased from Woods 10 days ago and he's been going like a champ from Day 1. Eating most every frozen food I put in there. Generally just being really pretty and awesome - always out in the open and certainly excited when it's feeding time.

Kole Tang - purchased from Just Reef 10 days ago and is also going strong. Kinda keeping an eye on him as he seems to be bullying the Orange Diamond Goby lately, which keeps the ODG from turning over the sand like I need him to. Not real sure how to discourage that...suggestions?

Starry Blenny - purchased from Just Reef 10 days ago and doing great. When I got him, you could barely see his white "starry" markings, and now they're brilliant.

Ocellaris Clown - had for several years - 5+ maybe?

Orange Diamond Goby - had for almost 2yrs

Questionably alive:

Rainford's Goby - haven't seen him today, so not sure if he's alive, but he does hide for 2 or 3 days at a time, then looks great whenever he comes out.

Wally the Watchman - still hiding under the pump in the sump. Can't get a good enough visual on him to see if he looks like he's healthy and eating.

RIP:

Yellow Watchman Goby - purchased last week. Lasted 1 night, no one harassing him, eating well, then gone the next morning w/ no sign of the body.

Purple Firefish - purchased last week. Looked like he was doing great up until seeing what looked like 2 open sores/holes in him on Friday. Was out of town the last 2 nights, and no sign of him today.

Yellow Watchman Goby and Tailspot Blenny - purchased 3 weeks ago, disappeared from the Bermuda Triangle QT.

Pistol Shrimp - haven't seen it since it went into the tank 3 weeks ago.

Going forward...

I would still like to add a couple of fish, and maybe swap out some current ones, but I'm a little worried about overall capacity.

Want: Haprtail Blenny and Electric Indigo Dottyback

Potential swaps:

Single Ocellaris Clown (medium size) for two small Ocellaris Clowns, because 2 clowns are more fun than 1.

Thought about swapping the ODG for a smaller ODG because initially he seemed to be puffing up and chafing at the idea of losing alpha status, but now that the Kole has started flexing, not sure that's a great idea. Maybe a Sleeper Gold Head Goby would hold up a little better vs the Kole due to the brighter coloration?

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On to coral...

I purchased a bunch of coral from Wes and he's holding it for me for another week or so while I hope to make sure my tank is ready for corals. Biggest issue was the algae, but I think I'm on top of that now. Gave the rocks a good scrubbing about 10 days ago and it's just now starting to try to make a comeback. Hoping the 2 urchins, Kole Tang and Starry Blenny can do work and keep it under control. I'd love to solve the skimmer riddle before I pick them up next week, but I think that's the only outstanding issue today.

What's coming:

Frogspawn (softball)

Torch - 3 headed (racquetball)

6 Metallic Blue Mushrooms

Superman Rhodactis Mushroom

Candy Cane colony - maybe 7-9 heads?

Pink Bubble Tip Anemone (2")

Hammer Coral (racquetball)

GSP rock (4" diameter)

Wanted to get relatively easy to care for and hardy corals, and and wanted to get some that had 1) been around for a while and 2) weren't tiny frags, so I think I'm in good shape overall.

What do I need to do to make sure the tank is ready? Anything specific I should be testing for? Time to start dosing something (all I have now is Kalkwasser)?

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Wally is so stinkin cute lol is he still there? That's a real bummer about your skimmer, like I said I have two and never had that much issue with them.

Wally is a little cutie! He's still around, I just can't tell if he's eating or not.

Do you recall how deep the water level was on those Bubble Mags? Were they BM5 models?

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Wally is so stinkin cute lol is he still there? That's a real bummer about your skimmer, like I said I have two and never had that much issue with them.

Wally is a little cutie! He's still around, I just can't tell if he's eating or not.

Do you recall how deep the water level was on those Bubble Mags? Were they BM5 models?

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On to coral...

I purchased a bunch of coral from Wes and he's holding it for me for another week or so while I hope to make sure my tank is ready for corals. Biggest issue was the algae, but I think I'm on top of that now. Gave the rocks a good scrubbing about 10 days ago and it's just now starting to try to make a comeback. Hoping the 2 urchins, Kole Tang and Starry Blenny can do work and keep it under control. I'd love to solve the skimmer riddle before I pick them up next week, but I think that's the only outstanding issue today.

What's coming:

Frogspawn (softball)

Torch - 3 headed (racquetball)

6 Metallic Blue Mushrooms

Superman Rhodactis Mushroom

Candy Cane colony - maybe 7-9 heads?

Pink Bubble Tip Anemone (2")

Hammer Coral (racquetball)

GSP rock (4" diameter)

Wanted to get relatively easy to care for and hardy corals, and and wanted to get some that had 1) been around for a while and 2) weren't tiny frags, so I think I'm in good shape overall.

What do I need to do to make sure the tank is ready? Anything specific I should be testing for? Time to start dosing something (all I have now is Kalkwasser)?

I don't think you'll need to really worry about dosing or anything with those corals, assuming you're keeping up with routine water changes. Watch your alkalinity, if you want, along with phosphate and nitrate once in a while, and if you see something get out of line, then think about kalk or whatever.
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I don't think you'll need to really worry about dosing or anything with those corals, assuming you're keeping up with routine water changes. Watch your alkalinity, if you want, along with phosphate and nitrate once in a while, and if you see something get out of line, then think about kalk or whatever.

OK...note to self: Buy Alk test kit biggrin.png

Bought 2 30gal barrels last week just to make it water changes easier, so no problem there.

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