Red Sea Reefer 300 Build

[ckyuv]

Back in town. Tank survived me being sparse for a month and a half. Now that it’s been running 3 months, I think I want to try more fish and corals. Everything has been steady, before I left I bought a little bubblegum digi and a red dragon frag. The digi didn’t make it and was up the highest, I think the kessils are bright (should have figured after it burned my desk) I also thought the sand bed was a little thin so I added another bag the other day. 

 

Next up, more livestock at the end of the month. After adding sand, I have no clue if that messes with any bio activity so I’ll give it a couple weeks. I have been stalking the biota site for yellow tangs… but I kinda like idea of a mandarin, a yellow watchman goby and a pistol shrimp. Their fish are super super tiny. Think 3 months is too soon for a mandarin if it’s eating pellet/prepared foods? Was thinking maybe a clam as well.. Also still want to look into sponges for the sump. 

 

Met up with with Tim today as well for a goodie. So far, it’s loving life! Going to find a more permanent spot for it tomorrow once I grab some glue: 

 

Oh… we had a “going back to school” party. An mp40 is apparently something that’s destined to be knocked off a tank multiple times when you have a bunch of knuckleheads over. You can’t really reach anything else I guess. Moved the mp40 to the back where the kids stop knocking it off and ordered a 2nd one for the back to even the flow out. 

[ckyuv]

Had an order come in from Biota today. I guess I didn’t think about the sizes they sold their fish as when they advertise them but holy smokes are they tiny! No complaints, just tiny. 
 

I got a manadarin that is the size of a housefly. Maybe 1/2”? Also got a yellow tang that is about an inch. Both look great, I’m not sure what a healthy fish is supposed to look like when it’s the size of a housefly, but we shall see. Loaded up on some cyclops, reef mastick, b2 pellets, extra small pellets, baby brine frozen cubes, nori and live pods. Hopefully that gets them rocking, I’ve never had fish I thought could be considered fry. Yellow tang is in and doing work on the hair algae I have been getting. As expected the mandarin vanished but probably because it’s too small to see. 

Oh.. and my urchin was laying on the bottom “belly up” today. This thing will normally do 100 laps around the tank in a day. It has not moved. Hopefully it’s ok, I’m a big fan. 

[Timfish]

Be sure to feed the mandarin a lot.  You might try algae wafers with your urchin, your rock looks fairly white in the pics, it might not be getting enough to eat.

 

https://premiumaquatics.com/products/v2o-foods-spirulina-8-oz-wafers.html

[ckyuv]

The mandarin has not come out since going in the tank, I assume I won’t see it for a couple days. I def have a solid pod population and I dumped pods in when I got it. Assuming it will be ok for now. I did just order some more pods and phyto that will come early next week as a just in case. I just don’t want it to move off prepared foods and to live only… this is what I got: https://www.algaebarn.com/shop/live-foods/combo-packs/5280-pods-oceanmagik-phyto/

 

I was able to stick the urchin on a thing of nori as well and it seems to be eating it. When I move it to the glass it hung on and has been there all day. If I am about to be feeding the tank 5x a day for this baby tang and baby mandarin I imagine I’m about to have plenty to feed the urchin in the very near future. I’ve been waiting to add too many corals until I got more fish so I could raise the nutrient levels in the water. Presumably that’s about to happen quickly lol 

 

[Timfish]

    I'd go ahead and start adding more corals.  Corals promote microbbial processes beneficial to them so might as well keep adding them.  I'd even go so far as adding animals that would be removed at a later date as more delecate species are added.  As far as nitrogen goes, adding more fish provides urea and ammonia and nitrification occures in coral microbiomes so it seems unlikely corals might become difficient.   We can't test for particulate or organic phosphorus but as long as inorganic phosphorus, PO4, is above .03 ppm corals shouldn't have issues with phosphorus deficiencies. 

 

Fig 4 from this paper "Phosphorus Cycling in Reef Organisms with Algal Simbionts"

 

Fig 3 from this paper "Cotnext Dependant Effects of Nutrient Loading on Coral-Algal Mutualism."

 

[ckyuv]

5 hours ago, Timfish said:

I'd even go so far as adding animals that would be removed at a later date as more delecate species are added

Not sure I catch your drift here, your thinking just like inverts or whatever that I might not want later on? 
 

Also, you said add more. I said ok. They had a cool acan at RCA so nabbed one while grabbing pods: 

 

 

the mandarin came out last night after lights out which was cool. I turned the lights off to add pods today and it came out right away. Hopefully it just needs a few days, it’s so small I’m concerned my anemone or euphylia or something will eat it 😂

[Timfish]

Corals are manipulating the microbial processes in the water. (1) (2).  To establish the microbiomes corals prefer faster adding easy corals like Sinularia species or Actinodiscus mushrooms or Xenia or Anthellia can be used and as teh system matures they can be removed and more desirable corals added.

[Tjungmann06]

@ckyuv Hey! You have been responding a bit on my new build thread with the same tank. I just found this thread. Would you be open to me texting you about taking a look at your tank? I have mine up and running now, but I have a few questions on the overflow and the MP40 I think you may be able to help me with.

[ckyuv]

Ok this update is overdue. Been pretty busy and have not given the tank a ton of love lately but getting back into it again. 

 

The fish have been doing great. Mandarin was a huge worry but it’s plumped up. It still does not come out all that much, mostly lights out. I’ve been feeding often though and I guess stuff makes it in the rocks. Corals have been struggling a bit. My phosphates have been consistently low(0 on every test kit) so I have dialed back on water changes and fed the fish a little extra. I also bought some phosphate to dose the tank with. I think it’s working as I am starting to get some Dino/cyano/whatever the past week. 
 

those who said live rock and I shrugged it off cause I didn’t want things like bubble algae or ocean germs or whatever… you win. All the frags I have gotten at RCA have had bubble algae on the plugs at this point so it’s a thing. I should have listened. I got an emerald crab, ordered a new cleanup crew as well as a flame hawk and some corals from dr reef quarantine fish or something online. 
 

Anyways, now I am dosing phosphate and got a Hanna checker. Hanna is still showing 0.00 so I upped the dosing. Not sure what number I’m shooting for yet but want to slowly bring it up. Any “final” numbers to try and level it off at are welcome if y’all have numbers you try and keep it at. The internet has a thousand different suggestions here. My anemone has been closed up for the past couple weeks, it must be phosphate hungry but it keeps moving so I put the sponge on the mp40 

 

 

[+Grog]

I've used the emeralds and the pithos crabs for algae control.   IMO they are both good at hitting the bubble algae but the pithos are really good.   They come out at dusk/night, and I even see them scrounging on the sand bed.   My bubble and hair algae are both about gone thanks to those two crabs.

And good pics!   Glad someone else is still here  

BTW I have the same zero phosphates issue and same checker.   Ugh....

You reminded me that I do need to check and dose tonight.

[ckyuv]

I have not heard of the pithos, I’ll have to check them out online. I forgot to mention I got some of the Tampa bay live rubble as well and there was very tiny crabs in the rubble but they were to small to tell what they were. I put them in the sump and will have to keep an eye on them as they get bigger. 
 

I’m hoping once I get my phosphate to where I want it, each water change or in my ATO I just add whatever ml to replenish. I’ll have to keep an eye on levels now a little better but I assume bumping it up in about to get some nasty stuff rockin. 

[Timfish]

To start with I'd be doing weekly water changes (5% - 10%) siphoning off as much algae as I can.  Steel Straws may help maximise reducing the unwantd stuff without going over 20% - 40% monthly total and sand can be rinsed off in fresh nwater or aquarium water and returned. Nuisance algae can dump a lot of DOC into water that promotes microbial issues with corals and you don't have a lot of corals yet to counter by promoting microbial beneficial processes.  As far as "ideal" above .03 mg/l, this was the threshold number identfied by researchers at Southampton University to reduce the risk of phosphorus deficiency.  For refference, upwelling will expose corals to .3 mg/l, one study showed increased growth in Acropora murcata at .5 mg/l, RIchard Ross (Thales on the forums) has sexually reproduced acropora millipora at .9 mg/l. 

[+Grog]

I've gotten a lot of porcelain crabs from TBS rock, but I have got a few bad guys too.   Gorillas and the rock crab.  And pretty much every shipment of bulk rock I get a mantis. If they are little spotted guys and waving their arms in the air, they are the porcelain crabs. They have little mesh arms that grab stuff from the water column.  Very cool and reef save.    

For pithos, look at reefcleaners.com.  They have them at good prices.

I'm down to one rock in my 40 with hair algae and I'm doing what Tim recommended, water changes, steel straws, etc.    I keep moving my urchin over to that rock but he ain't having it....

If you do get a 'bad' crab in the tank, don't worry.  They are pretty easy to get out, same with the mantis shrimp.  Bad shrimp and crabs are way easier to deal with than sargassum or bubble algae issues.

[ckyuv]

Welp I did the thing. I had GSP in one of my old tanks that got on the rocks that always would grow over stuff so told myself I wouldn’t do that or Xenia again. The girls saw the gsp rock with a hermit on it at RCA and the girl working said the hermit looked like a cow grazing in a field. Sooo we got it and the hermit and named the hermit moo moo lol 

 

dr reef sent confirmation order shipped. Got more clean up crew (cause I was gona have lots of phosphates and hair algae) a couple corals, a conch and a flame hawk on the way. After buying I was reading they like to jump. 2nd guessing not getting a top before the fish. I had one before that never had issues and didn’t think about it. 
 

I can’t get phosphates to go above 0.00 though, I’m not convinced this Hannah checker works or the phosphates I got are just water. Still registering 0.00. Following the directions for the phosphate I have put enough in the tank(I have about 80 gallons total volume) for a 100 gallon tank to have 0.09 at this point. I’ll prob take water up to RCA for another test again this weekend and make sure I’m not crazy. Was hoping to have numbers on the Hannah before my order came in but here we are.
 

slimy stuff on the rocks has chilled out, it’s still there but growing much slower and the diatoms/cyano/whatever on the sand is not growing as fast either. Maybe all you need in life is green star polyps and a moo moo hermit to solve your problems. 

Edited December 12, 2023 by ckyuv

[Timfish]

One of the more original names I've heard for a hermit.   ANd keeping the GSP on the sand makes it easy to frag colonies as it grows onto the sand.

 

Keep adding phosphate, probably best to stay with you current dosing levels.  Even if you aren't seeing it on your test kit your corals are enjoying it and that may be why you don't see it on your test kit.  You might try verifying your tester by adding a drop of neophos to the water sample.  It should give you two results.

[ckyuv]

2 hours ago, Timfish said:

You might try verifying your tester by adding a drop of neophos to the water sample.  It should give you two results.

Great idea didn’t even think of that. Def going to give that a shot today! 

[ckyuv]

My dr reefs order came in today. Also my wife went to RCA the other day. This week we added a “pre quarantined”  flame hawk, forest fire digi, whatever $10 acro from RCA, a lot more little snails and hermits, a tiger conch and a new bubble tip anemone. 
 

the small couple bubble algae bubbles, the cyano or dynos or whatever and the slimy stuff all seem to be going away and all the corals are much more open and happy and getting their colors back. I have been just doing water changes, adding phosphate and feeding 2x a day instead of 1x a day. The mandarin is out a little more and eats the frozen mysis/cyclops in slow motion. I have been buying pods monthly but think I will stop and just keep an eye on it. 
 

I got excited cause the Tampa bay live rubble came with a free mangrove. It lost its leaves and looks pretty dead on the top end. Trying to decide if it goes in the composter cause even if it survives roots in my overflow is a bad idea, or gets to stay longer and maybe recover. 

[+Grog]

Is that the flame hawk peeking out in the third picture?   Cool coloration on that fish.

[Timfish]

Looking good!  Glad to hear things are improving!  Just FYI, if you keep the mangrove you'll need a much bigger planter and brighter lights mounted on the ceiling.  😃