Bumblebee Reef - 75G/30G (36Lx20Wx24H)

[mylertitchell]

The beginning of Year 4

This is my year…

Low Maintenance Community Mixed Reef

Goal for fish and coral is rainbow and living in harmony. Thriving instead of surviving so not heavy stocked.

Goal for tank is to run with simple minimal effort and to be able to handle self running if go on holidays for 1-2weeks, so fish inverts equipment all to take this into consideration. Eg. Fish survive off autofeeder only, glass be dirty, and skimmer lasts 1-2 weeks, so emptied prior and filter roll length checked.

Fish
- Pair Black Ice Clowns
- School Lyretail Anthias
- Marine Betta
- (Dalmatian Molly)
- Future: Dwarf Angel, Hog/Wrasse, Bottom (Goby/Blenny/Mandarin), Damsel?, Classic Nanos or with a twist? Eg. Black cap, helfrichi etc.

Critters
- Various Snails
- Various Crabs
- Shortspine Urchin
- Future: Cleaner/Blood Shrimp

Aquaforest
- SPS Bonsai
- Euphyllia Bonsai
- Anemone Bonsai
- Duncan Dwarf Bonsai
- Softies Waterfalls
- Mixed Sandbed (heavy on rock flowers around a dozen)
- Future: More SPS and Euphyllia, mushrooms and zoas, lobo/acan/fungai, encrusting lps/sps corals, gorgonians, GSP back wall

Equipment
- Hybrid Lighting
- Glass Scraper
- Web camera (full tank inc sump view)
- Autofeeder (Mixed Pellets)
- Pair of Wavemakers
- Filter Roller
- Skimmer (with auto shut off alarm)
- Ozone (15mg per hour 12:30am-5:30am)
- Dual Pumps (each running 1x turnover)
- Pair Titanium Heaters (with separate thermo control)
- ATO (with fully automatic res refill every Sunday)
- 5 channel Dosing Pumps (ATI 1, ATI 2, Kalk, Genesis Carbon, LaCl3), 4l res and kalk 25l res
- Semi Automatic Water Change (Float System, click button to turn equipment off, click to drain dirty water from sump with auto turn off at level, click button to add clean water auto turn off at level, click button to turn equipment on - can drain sump completely if want)
- RODI (Automatic fill ato and salt bin or kalk bin if required every Sunday if turned on (rodi and salt always on))

Routine
- Daily Scrape Glass, sanity check and enjoy
- Feed Frozen (Mysis/Krill) Daily
- Rest of Equipment as/when required (fornight/month/quarter)
- Test Monthly (weekly for particular element if made changes eg. Added fish or big coral etc) Test Alk, Nitrate and Phos with Hanna. Cal and Mag with Salifert (auto mag stirrer), Ph and Salinity and temp with Pens.

 

[mylertitchell]

37 Months

Tank is looking and performing as expected, has not needed anything except feeding, glass cleaning, blowing rocks/sand and emptying the skimmer. Right on Target.

One of the anthias never ate just lived in nooks since owned but is now eating well so that’s great. I believe I can already see who the alpha is going to be. Clowns paired nicely too.

Delighted to be seeing SPS Growth


Candy canes doing well, everything looking like there thriving, so on agenda now is either
- SPS Order
- Invert Order
- Fish Order
Think I should get out of house and go to a fish shop, as it deserves more movement. Considering more and more just load of nano community fish.

Not worried about high cal/mag. I did that and have stopped dosing ati 2, so can come down.

 

[mylertitchell]

38 Months


Fish Added
Sixline Wrasse, Purple Firefish and Royal Gramma. Delighted for a Sixline, definitely on way to a classic community reef. Just need to figure out how to get those red,green and blues in the next fish batch.

The male lyretail Anthias elongated fin is really showing and can see dark patches. Fascinating to see changing.



Made some adjustments to dosing as elements decreasing and spike in phos with fish additions.



Noticed around 4 tiny zoa sized rock flower anemones. Look just like my biggest one and we're around him.



Let tank settle now, did clean wavemakers and quick clean on skimmer, flow is alot more wavy now. Just way like it. Coral or Invert order will be next when settled.

 

[mylertitchell]

39 Months

Didn't add anything this month, everything stable and thriving. At least a dozen rock flowers on sandbed, a few different and 5p/20p size.
Increased kalk and added salt and alk to reef post tests. I think with a WC and current rate of decrease next month, we should be in zone.
Hilariously 2 Molly fry were found in sump and seem to be doing well lol.

Hopefully get the opportunity to buy fish or coral or both this month.

 

[mylertitchell]

40 Months

Another month of stability. Got out too and was able to get to Grosvenor Tropicals. Bought:

• Rusty Dwarf Angel
• Twinspot Hogfish
• Lawnmower Blenny
• Blood Shrimp
• Gold Hammer
• Splatter Hammer

Really happy with splatter hammer, just thought had lovely full green, full purple and splatter heads. Fish all settled and doing nicely. Corals doing great and rock flower nem pups seem nice. Sandbed hopefully filling out nicely.



Finally got anemone guards printed and fitted. Really happy with them and flow and position seems far superior. Really happy with purchase as locks in my angles.





Still need more fish, sps order, zoa order, shrooms order, sandbed pieces and encrusting sps/lps.

 

[mylertitchell]

41 Months

Tank wasn't touched at all this month minus feeding, scraping glass and some blasting. I just can't seem to stop doing the blasting/scraping as part of my daily routine and checking in. Equipment seems to last, wavemakers prob need a blast more often. Rest is looking monthly plus.

Lost Molly this month (100% and then one day on wavemaker), splatter hammer (just never kept fluffy) and noticed one of the anthias with nipped fin. Same for firefish.

Going on holidays now so hopefully all goes swimmingly but has been last while, so another month of no changes and then either more fish or sps order.

 

[mylertitchell]

Month 42

Tank lasted the entire holidays, no real drama at all. Had the mother in law feed the fish just which was generally daily but okay if missed a day.
I noticed one of the anthias was missing (the battered one) so a fish loss this month, but everything else going great in tank. All eating well, corals really nicely coloured. Noticed good growth on most and at alot of nem babies.

I have an issue with dosing pump, it's slipping so need to look into replacing now before it creates issues. Calcium and Magnesium finally back in range so maybe it's best to get dosing pump sorted and get everything dialled in. I would be interested in changing to a 4 channel doser and a single doser for kalk as I'd like kalk to be a constant drip. It's currently 10ml per hour but is decreasing but that cud be accuracy of pump too. But with more sps planned it be good to figure proof this for nice 4 pump to handle trace and nutrients and let kalk grow as love my pH being 8+ which I have now lost with the low all.

Want more fish and coral, but if do pump that will be all she wrote. Tank is clean, plan to increase alk and basically just leave for month but be great to do fish or sps order.

 

[mylertitchell]

Month 43

Dosing pump issues, ordered a new jebao dp5. Always wanted to get real good one but can't justify cost at moment especially when haven't got reef station set up yet. Got new for £65 delivered (UK company) so happy enough. Hopefully now I can position and do a redo of most the reef station and get all rebalanced and should be in real good standings.

Tank has cyano on sand bed but not overly concerned, I'll get dosing stable and deal then with it if still there.

Stumbled into a LFS, and was able to get that big gorg, fairy wrasse, cleaner wrasse and yellowtail damsel all for £175.

Lost my anthias, not sure what happened they just started dropping like flies.

Fairy wrasse lives in the Xenia, keeps in top water.

Really happy with tank at moment, plan now is to get this pump sorted and have balanced, couple other tidy ups reef station related. Don't expect any purchases.

Next fish will be pj and banggaii cardinals, goby/pistol shrimp combo and mandarin.
Next coral will be SPS order, euphyllia and GSP for back wall. But I see that as long term...

Tanks in ULM mode for sure, once month I take about an hour or so to test and clean. I feed daily and scrap glass as and when.