JBJ 45 AOI First Tank Build Thread

Poseidon03 · Jan 26, 2019

Hey R2R! This is my first tank build thread. I'm really looking forward to logging how my tank evolves over the years. I also hope to inspire others to create their own threads, and more importantly, learn from any mistakes I might make along the way. My current build is:

JBJ 45 AIO

Tunze 9002 Skimmer

Cobalt Neotherm Heater

Origional Media Baskets (filter floss, carbon)

2x Kessil A150 Ocean Blue w/ Goosenecks

Some equipment I recently purchased and should be arriving soon is:

Tunze Osmolator ATO

Purigen

The next upgrade I'm looking forward to is a new skimmer. The tunze 9002 is good, but I do not like how much space it takes up in the back. It has also been a pain to run without a ATO since it can only fit in the return section, and for a skimmer yo work properly, it needs a stable water level. I plan on upgrading to a hob skimmer. I think the aquamaxx 1.5 looks great, but I'd be glad to see some of your recommendations!

I also want to eventually incorporate dosing, GFO, and eventually a controller to monitor stuff and hopefully notify me of anything that is goes wrong.

My current livestock is:

2x Gold stripe maroon clowns

Cleaner shrimp

3x Rainbow BTAs

Long Polyp Toadstool

Various Zoas

Various Palys

2x Acans

Blasto

Rainbow Acan Echinata

4x Yumas

Favia

I'm also trying to nurse back to health a candycane, frogspawn and florida ricordea from my precious tank (I had a heater malfunction, which caused a crash and then a lot of GHA after). Well, here is my tank:

hdsoftail1065 · Jan 26, 2019

Looking good!

Poseidon03 · Jan 27, 2019

Thanks! I'm trying to decide if I want a lower nutrient system and just keep these fish or stock it with a few more.

hdsoftail1065 · Jan 27, 2019

That would be a tough choice. Being a fish guy I know what route I would take.

GMay · Jan 27, 2019

Nice start.

Happy reefing!

Poseidon03 · Jan 29, 2019

hdsoftail1065 said:
That would be a tough choice. Being a fish guy I know what route I would take.

What fish would you recommend? I'm used to a 125, so trying to figure out what can go in this JBJ is a lot different. I've been thinking about a firefish or chromises. Maybe a pair of cardinals... My maroon can be a little aggressive at times, so I'm not sure. I definitely want at least one mandarin eventually (I have my own copepod culture system to supplement my tanks). It would have to be fat and eat mysis in the store though.

hdsoftail1065 · Jan 29, 2019

Goby/pistol shrimp would be nice. I try to stay away from the chromis, my lfs has actually stopped ordering them for awhile because his last few shipments all died from Uronema before they even hit the tank. @Katrina71 has been discussing some captive breed mandarins, you might check out her thread. I personally would get the pod population built up strong before I would attempt it but since your culturing your own pods your a leg up on it. You might look at a couple of the reef friendly wrasses that will fit your tank for movement and color. You could check out liveaquaria and start putting a list together, bring your wish list back and see what folks recommend.

Here is Katrina71thread, she's a super nice lady and will share what she knows about the place that has the mandarins.

https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/brand-new-8-gallon-bio-cube.297335/page-456

Katrina71 · Jan 29, 2019

Hi! Sustainable Aquatics!!! They are a fantastic place. The Mandarins are stunning!!! The healthiest fish I've seen. Amy is the lady that breeds them there. You can get any color.

Lor · Feb 8, 2019

Do you have a picture of the stand, im thinking of going the same route for a frag tank.

thanks

Poseidon03 · Feb 8, 2019

Lor said:
Do you have a picture of the stand, im thinking of going the same route for a frag tank.

thanks

Ya, I'll upload a couple pictures this evening and I'll update the thread. I can even provide par readings for my lights if you want!

Lor · Feb 8, 2019

Thanks is tour stand the glossy one?

Biglex · Feb 8, 2019

Awesome tank!!! I love mine but finally upgraded to Red Sea 450 I’m still building will post built tread soon!

Biglex · Feb 8, 2019

Here’s mine

Poseidon03 · Feb 8, 2019

Lor said:
Do you have a picture of the stand, im thinking of going the same route for a frag tank.

thanks

Here is a picture of the stand. It has a slight glossiness to it, but it is not that noticable.

Poseidon03 · Feb 8, 2019

Well, today's update:

So I have been running into a slight algae issue. I've been trying to handle it by upgrading to a nicer skimmer, getting a couple more snails, and adding purigen and chemipure blue. More importantly, i have been trying to figure out where the issue is coming from. All of the corals are happy as can be (zoas growing new heads, accidental frag of the rainbow acan echinata growing fast, blasto and acan growing new heads), but I'd like to keep a lower nitrate and phosphate tank due to the algae problems it can cause. It seems like my problem is coming from when I feed reef roids. I only spot feed my tank and I only use 1/8th a tsp, but it seems like I will have to cut back on that. I will let you guys know what happens!

Poseidon03 · Feb 8, 2019

(Would not let me edit this photo in)

Poseidon03 · Feb 22, 2022

Been a while, and thought I would give an update. The tank and I have been through a lot, but we are still hanging in there. Had a lot of personal things go on, and I can thank both the tank and this hobby for helping me use it to grow as a person. Life is a lot more stable right now, but the tank recently went through a mini crash and tested my love for this hobby.

Before the crash, the tank was looking great. I attached the images below to show. I wish I knew then what I knew now. I moved and sold most of the anemones. The move and change in bioload caused a lot of instability, and just a streak of bad things happening further hurt the tank... Ato failing, heater exploding, clove polyps dying off and causing nutrient issues, green hair/turf algae (still dealing with some), dosing pump failing... It really tested my patience, love, and wallet, lol. To be honest, it caused a little neglect for a few months in the tank and my aquarium hobby as a whole, but I am now getting motivated to fix it all and try to get it back to where it was. Got the nitrates and phosphates under control after the dieoff: 4 nitrate and .1 phosphates, and hopefully, I can return it to it's former glory. I can post a current picture if wanted, but with the algae and how bare it looks now, it is a little embarrassing.

I really regret selling those anemones. I did it to upgrade for my favorite aquatic animal, a Colorado sunburst anemone, but it has not been doing the best. Hopefully, I can nurse it back to health and make this a CSB tank with multiple phases throughout the tank. It has been my goal for a long time. The CSB is struggling tho, and I hate seeing it like this. I've done a lot of research to figure out why it did this, but nobody knows. I am babying it, feeding it small portions daily, and hopefully it can make a full recovery. Feel free to ask any questions and any feedback or constructive criticism is encouraged.