Growing Pains from a First Reef Build - 55g

[RichtheReefer21]

Do you mean 4:1 or 1:4 (4:1 would be 4 parts vinegar to 1 part water)?

Ive done 4 gal hot tap(44 tds out of the tap) to 1 gal white distilled vinegar. But heed the warning, some pumps are vulnerable to vinegar. Some bleach, some go citric acid.

 

[MnFish1]

Ive done 4 gal hot tap(44 tds out of the tap) to 1 gal white distilled vinegar. But heed the warning, some pumps are vulnerable to vinegar. Some bleach, some go citric acid.

Great thanks - so thats a 1:5 dilution just FYI... I use the same recipe

 

[Blutspitze]

Cruelty of Physics, Holiday Hardware, Outside Setup, and Coming Stock, Oh My!

Hi everyone! it's been a long time (again) since sending over some updates, but I'm excited to say that there's a LOT going on lately. Having been months since the last update, I've, for better and worse, been ridiculously busy, up and down a bit in mood, and just generally having very little time for anything other than what's needed IRL (in regard to posting here on the forum, I should say). That said, I'm excited to give an awesome update of all sorts of stuffs!

I'm proud to say that I've done a LOT of cleaning in the tank, as algae has been creeping up and around lately, but getting tougher to control (see livestock info below), and everyone's happy and healthy. Let's start with a new FTS (from today, 01/29)! After that we'll head in calendar order.

Like I said, algae is coming around. Compared to what it was, especially on the back, it's not nearly as bad, though.

The cruelty of physics

You may remember my excitement of getting a new ATO container that actually fits in my little cabinet. I was so excited to use it, but it ended up overflowing the sump twice and reducing the ORP substantially, including at 4 in the morning. The problem? Something I've told others about - siphoning. The level of water in the container being higher than the sump made the water continue to flow out into said sump. Because science is cruel and evil.

Equal levels of water = bad.

The solution? A hole in the line, just above the water line but still inside the container. This breaks the siphon, though it does mean the ATO itself needs to work a bit more due to some of the water leaking out and back into the reservoir. Better than overfill by a long shot.

Take THAT, science!

MASSIVE CLEANING!

While my current (above) image isn't quite so nice, I spent a long time scraping and scrubbing algae from the back and overflow to clear things out. My nitrates have essentially been zeroed out for awhile because of it, but that's not so bad. And it looked a lot better after the cleaning.

Back looked a lot better. Had to rid the coraline, but still.

Always good to see Leonard.

Love the hammer in full glory

Holiday Upgrade Time!

The holidays were very busy, with a lot of great upgrades both in and out of the tank. It had been a long time since I changed out my RO system things, including the membranes. Awhile ago I'd upgraded my 75 g/day to 150 g/day, but my pressure was always pretty low, so one of the things I finally got my hands on was a booster - hit that solid 65 PSI easy and make water like a boss.

Middle of changing out stuff.

I also decided to label the membrane holders so I don't have to think as much. Always a plus

LIGHTS!!!

Really big news on the hardware front - LIGHTS. I went big. Well, big for like 6 ish years ago. I got 2 3rd gen Radions and a used WXM to control them, as well as a lunar sim module with a 4 light string. The difference is amazing. Problem came with how to hang them inside my canopy. I ended up going with eye hooks allowing centering over the two tank halves, with the lights themselves suspended with picture holders and wire.

Eye hooks are closed tightly enough that the wire can't get in and out easily.....

So stretch a bit with some pliers!

Eyehooks installed in the canopy.

With the bend in the hooks, I can take the lights off easily, plus the glass covers act a bit like diffusers to avoid spotlighting. So that's nice.

The extension on the leathers especially is SO incredible under the new lights.

All the lighting cycles are based on this coral spawning paper, which used the same materials by and large. The radions are set to come on with sunrise and off with set, and the lunars with the moonrise and set, including adjustments for the cool stuff like amount of moonlight, new/full, etc. Very cool.

I'm still waiting to get a macro lens for my Canon for better pics, but my utter chaos has gone from 2 heads to 6 since I got it, and look good under the LSM lights.

Eagle eyes looking good under the lunars, as well.

Good ol hammertime.

For you electronics nerds, here's the cabinet upgrades, as well.

Pre lighting upgrades

Post upgrades. I was glad that I could fit the Radion power supplies inside so they're much easier to access, if needed. The other two new "box" modules are the WXM (top) and LSM (far left).

I also got a spare set of Neptune WAVs from @Bulk Reef Supply along with some cleaning supplies; citric acid, some different sized scrapers, etc.

Outside stuff

I know what you're thinking. Outside? What, frag tank? New plumbing? So confuse. But no, it's more about recycling. Astute viewers may have noted the garbage can in the bathroom with the RO Setup. That collects the waste water. I'm collecting it, then add a touch of skimmate (~2 TBSP/5 gallons) to use as fertilizer for a garden I'm building up. The backyard had a large deck that was a) rotting, b) ant infested, c) not properly anchored, d) was all up in the way of the sun, and e) gave me an excuse to buy power tools. As such, I went about breaking it down to make room for my planters. I worked pretty much every chance I got over the MLK and following weekend, but had other random stuff to do as well. Overall not too bad as far as efficiency.

Before doing anything, note heavy rote on the top and the base literally supported by free-standing concrete blocks (for you construction nerds to cringe at). ONE of the joists below was "anchored" with a steel strip screwed to the block, but that's it.

RIP, building codes.

First day's work (Cut the upper boards with a circular saw to make them easier to move)

Second day's work (reciprocating saw for the 2x4's)

Third day's work

Final day's work - power washing the concrete and pavers, chopping out a lot of the roots to start up compost, and pretty much ready to go.

Other side, including washed pavers (some are upside-down because a few of the roots were literally ~30 feet long)

Incidentally, favorite tool of the job was the wrecker bar. highly recommend. So much fun.

So, with the yard ready, it's time for soil and plants! I'm waiting now to get a quote from a guy who runs a nursery and makes a great soil mix and fertilizer to come by with ~2.5 cubic feet of soil (that's about 500 gallons) and some nice veggie, fruit, herb, and flower starters to plant in the three raised beds. Very excited about the whole thing.

NEW STOCK!

It's finally time! for the holidays, I got a @LiveAquaria gift card and I finally feel ready for more fish. Here's what I have on the list:

Sailfin or similar Blenny - algae eater. I scrubbed a LOT of rocks recently, not to mention the back, and I want to make sure that I have a real cleaner to get rid of what's there. I also already got some herbivore frozen food for it, as well.

Dwarf Angel - likely a beauty. They're just so gorgeous and my last one did very well for a long time. Love that dark blue it offers.

Mandarin- Time for the big plunge. I want to go captive-bred so a) better environmentally for the world and b) hopefully better survivability, alongside likely an @AlgaeBarn feeder subscription, though a bit aggravating as my LiveAq gift card obviously won't work, so the price is... well.... the price lol.

Something smaller, maybe dottyback or the like - just to get another little pop of color, but nothing so big as to overwhelm the biofilter.

Corals - This one's tough. between potentially some great random eBay deals, there's not many I really want, the Xenia only really coming to mind. I want to get more color pop and the like, but obviously that means paying through the nose, potentially in the hundreds EASILY. That said, with the new lights, I'm not worried about anything not getting what they need

I think those will max out my little 55, assuming they all are ok. I'm setting up the QT tank this weekend (cleaning tonight with light citric acid and heavy rinse, then adding the 5 gallons from my change tomorrow, and topping with another 5g freshmade). Mostly I'm waiting for the stock to come in for that sweet sweet free shipping, then will do the whole copper thing for a couple weeks and rock from there. Hopefully. I do worry a bit about space, as well, but I hope that having only two "big" fish (the wrasse and angel) will allow everyone to live without too much effort, not to mention I've got ammonia reducing pads, carbon, and can up changes if needed for additional NH4.

I'd say that's it, but it was a lot! Hope you all enjoy, and I'll try to keep you all posted with the new stuff .

 

[MnFish1]

Nice job - The concrete blocks look like they have footings - so they weren't a problem (at least I hope not - since we have an entire 4 season porch sitting on those types of blocks - for the last 20 years)

 

[New&no clue]

I was just thinking about this build the other day, glad to see the update. Tank is looking great!

 

[Blutspitze]

Nice job - The concrete blocks look like they have footings - so they weren't a problem (at least I hope not - since we have an entire 4 season porch sitting on those types of blocks - for the last 20 years)

I will say it depends where you are - they're standard unbanded deck blocks that barely have the density to conform to ASTM C90 for building purposes, not to mention they're generally designed to be buried like any post, but just avoids having to do a concrete pour. Here in FL with the hurricanes and the like, something like this isn't up to code standard, especially aboveground, since the soil could slip away from underneath. In general, they're totally fine when used correctly.

I was just thinking about this build the other day, glad to see the update. Tank is looking great!

Thanks so much! I've gone a bit overboard with the current @AquaSD Live Sale.... soo.....I guess corals aren't a questions anymore

 

[Raege]

Nice moving and grooving. Nice work on all looking sweet

 

[Blutspitze]

Nice moving and grooving. Nice work on all looking sweet

Thanks very much! I'm excited - did a bunch (probably too much) from the AquaSD Live Sale . Yay for corals!

 

[New&no clue]

Checking in on your build any new updates?

 

[Blutspitze]

Hey @New&no clue ; thanks for checking in . I've not posted for so long for a couple reasons. The biggest one being that I massively, enormously screwed up. I did the live sale thing (spending WAY too much), plus got some great new fish including my dream of a (captive bred) Mandarin.

I left the GHA around knowing that I was going to get a lawnmower blenny. After about a month, I'd lost 2 coral beauties and 3 blennies, but the corals were still looking great and livened up the whole thing nicely.

Soon enough, (around May) I did something incredibly stupid and crashed the whole thing. I dug deep into the sand for shells and rocks, as well as brushed every coral to remove lingering GHA at the time in a bucket with about 10 cm of water. Digging into the sand caused a massive release of ammonia into the water, and even the short time in a heavily concentrated bad nutrient bucket was too much for the corals.

Essentially every single one died, including the Mandarin. I've been devastated and simply maintaining ever since. No new anything, only weekly water changes and brushing of GHA, adding anti-algae stuff, etc. I've felt utterly defeated. So much life, not to mention money, lost. All the frag racks also broke off (the epoxy didn't hold the magnets).

Recently things have picked up a bit, though. The few corals which survived have been doing well.... ish, including my original GSP exploding along with all my Kenyas. You can see on the busted racks what remains of the above. Essentially skeletons. The elegance is still around, but that's the only big one, and it's nowhere near as healthy. I even lost the hammer that I'd had since starting the tank.

With so much bad going on, I just hadn't been able to bring myself to do anything else. I want to have the gorgeous tanks that we can see all over the site and elsewhere online, but I can't afford such amazing frags and I'm scared that I'll just end up killing them all anyway.

That said, I did decide that I want to try again. With @TopShelfAquatics ' sale going on now, I'm trying to pick myself up and rebuild. My parameters are back to solid. The fish I've had for years are still healthy, and my long-term corals are growing. I picked up some real racks from @Bulk Reef Supply and am trying to get some of the more reasonably priced corals from the TSA live sale. Not going great so far, I'll probably have to ask about cancelling some of them.

So... yea.... been in a bad place for a lot of reasons, the tank being a big one as I simply feel like a horrible owner and caretaker.

 

[New&no clue]

Oh no, that is the worst. I'm sorry for all your troubles. I have been guilty of that too, getting too much too fast and losing things. I hope this is your turnaround point.

 

[Blutspitze]

Oh no, that is the worst. I'm sorry for all your troubles. I have been guilty of that too, getting too much too fast and losing things. I hope this is your turnaround point.

Thanks; unfortunately it wasn't even going too fast in this case, just me not playing smart. I knew I shouldn't have done the cleaning the way I did, and everything just went away. I'm very glad to have my "core fish" and big corals, plus I wrapped up all my @TSA Corals purchases from their sale now, so I'll be able to go again and be much better about it. I think my current biggest thing is that I won't try for new fish again... maybe ever. Unless I get an entirely new system. Or I do a 3-4 day blackout for acclimation.

 

[Blutspitze]

Building up just to soon break down

So it's been quite the whirlwind of interesting, crazy, exciting, and sorrow these past weeks. After getting 4 racks (3 magnet and 1 sand) plus a LOT of corals (oh that @TopShelfAquatics live sale kills me), the tank is looking pretty awesome. I'm very excited to have a new torch, duncan, good sized pulsing xenia, various monti and ricordia, plus took some GSP frags and attached them onto the overflow wall to start growth from there. Algae is still an issue, and I'm waiting until after the new year to pick up a cleaner pack so shipping isn't so bad. I even got to use my Apex code as a "personal project" while applying for jobs

Current wide look; as I said, not great with the algae present, but the GSP, chaos and eagle eye zoas, and both trees have come along great. All the fish are still doing well, too.

Obviously tough to tell in a still, but the xenia really looks great.

Some of the new members; duncan is still a bit shy.

I do really enjoy the "real rock" look of the rack.

Great looking rainbow riccordia and new hammer looking awesome. Alongside two of the only others who survived from the first live sale.

Still waiting to get a macro lens for proper editing and/or phone filter, but the blue moonlights still really set off the colors.

It's been about 3 weeks now and I'm still in maintenence mode with weekly changes, trying to get the new corals placed happily, and scrubbing rocks with a brush while waiting to get a cleaner pack, but that leads us to:

The need to break down

I have had this tank for right about 4 years now. It's had some great ups and massive downs, to be sure, but all in all it's been a wonderful experience and I love my fish and corals as much as one would a family dog or cat. That said, my wife and I have made the decision that it's time for us to move. We're tired of city life and, more importantly, constantly being under rental agreements in a space that's too small for a family we want to grow. We're going to be working on purchasing and moving into a new home early-mid 2022. We're very excited at the prospect of being owners, having REAL space, and being in an area we both genuinely enjoy.

The problem is.... this means that the tank can't come with. The best case scenario is a literal full day worth of driving (possibly two hotel stops) and immediately unpacking and resetting everything up. There's a threefold issue, though - no light, low temperatures, and sand that's already killed everything once. Even with battery bubblers, it simply cannot happen. I'm honestly devastated that I have to make this decision and try to find someone(s) to take my babes to the right care they all deserve. I'll be starting to see who may be able to take things as soon as possible - as anyone who's moved a tank (selling and/or literally physically moving it) knows, it can take awhile to find the right person. I hate having the feeling of excitement for a new chapter in life alongside the pain of having to take away something I've held dear for years now.

That said, all is not lost! While I cannot risk the livestock dying on the trip, I don't intend to remove myself from the hobby entirely. I do plan to eventually start a new tank in the new house (where there'll be more space, so obviously bigger), but I have no idea what kind of timeline I'd be looking at. I'm planning to keep my Apex system and Radions while selling my still new orbit marine lights and a NIB return pump to have the whole thing go as a kit, only missing wavemakers of some sort. I'm really hoping that 1) I can get it sold off relatively quickly, and 2) get a decent price for it all to help offset the moving expenses, if even a little.

I'm so sad especially to see the fish go, as I've truly grown to love their individual personalities and just to sit and watch them do their thing as much as I can. I'm trying to feel positive though, in thinking that I'll be back again with something new, bigger, and better. With everything between moving and needing to get new things for the house, though, a new tank ranks quite low on the priority list, unfortunately.

Either way, more importantly, I do want to know that my livestock are all well taken care of.