kinetic RSR 170

[choss]

Thanks so much! I ended up installing the RFGs. I used superglue to patch up the leaking pieces, added a bunch of locline and finally got them to stop sucking air and spraying. Overall they work well after the mods.



If you go back a few pages (or towards the beginning) I had about 6 or 7 clowns. They did great until I introduced the magnifica. The mocha davincis were an established pair, and larger than the others by a lot. They kept the others in check and nobody was fussy. But then I added the magnifica. All the clowns went in, but ultimately the pair kicked everyone out. What then happened is the tank became one "territory," and the magnifica another. The pair had control of the magnifica, and the juvies had the rest of the tank to fight over. Since there was no clear dominant clown, they fought badly. The smallest was constantly picked on, luckily I have plenty of friends nearby who wanted him. Then the next smallest, and the next, until I just had one left. A lot of friends have clowns from me now =)

So the pair don't really care about the last guy who's out in the tank. He has the run of the rest. Though since the magnifica moved to where the BTAs are, he no longer is hosted by the BTAs, so he's anemoneless. Poor guy.

If I did it again, I would probably start with a lot more clowns, maybe stick with just all from one clutch. Or I would start with a lot more anemones so it feels like one gigantic territory with a dominate female and male.

Yes I was too lazy to go back but now I recall all your clowns. I have a 30 gallon tank with three clowns from one batch of eggs. I used to have 5, One jumped, then I wanted to pair one with a percula in my main tank so now I'm down to 3. They all seems to get along for now. They have a huge torch coral to host and also a good amount of xenia. for now it works well but soon I need to move them to another tank so hopefully I wont disturb the balance.

 

[kinetic]

Just added my second Neptune DOS. I'm now maxed out on my modules on my Apex Jr.

1. FMM (for ATK)
2. FMM (for topping off my topoff reservoir from RO/DI)
3. VDM (controlling my return pump speed)
4. DOS (for dosing Alk and Ca)
5. DOS (for dosing NoPox and maybe acropower)
6. Auto feeder
7. Extra EB4

Since my tank only has a tiny piece of a montipora, the Alk dosing is really low, I can maintain 8.2 dKH with only 3.5ml of the Aquaforest 2+ a day. Ca is undetectably used, so I'm not even dosing that anymore. Once I get the new SPS pieces in, I anticipate my Alk/Ca to start being consumed again. My Mg is so high because of my Aquaforest salt, so I don't think I'll ever need to dose that.

The Nopox is keeping dinoflagellates at bay, and unfortunately I'll have to do this forever. I stopped dosing for a week and I started seeing dinos come back. I started dosing again and within two days they were all gone again. I've found the sweet spot of 2.5ml a day that keeps the dinos out.

Since things are running low in nutrients, I'm thinking of dosing a bit of acropower once the SPS have established themselves. I may have to increase my NoPox, but at least there will be more food for the corals. I will, however, introduce a bunch of chromis (6) into the tank after I finish their QT. Hopefully the poop will help and acropower not be needed. If I do dose acropower, I'm planning on dosing throughout the lights off period, with the outlet tube going right into my return chamber.

 

[Clayton Jessup]

@kinetic that’s a amazing little video that you put together! The tank looks awesome!

I have a question for you, do you regret not going with a larger tank? Or are you happy with your Reefer 170, and the total water volume that it is? I am only asking cuz I have a tank of similar total water volume and I am having a tough time deciding if I should use that tank as my DT.

 

[grassy_noel]

Just added my second Neptune DOS. I'm now maxed out on my modules on my Apex Jr.

1. FMM (for ATK)
2. FMM (for topping off my topoff reservoir from RO/DI)
3. VDM (controlling my return pump speed)
4. DOS (for dosing Alk and Ca)
5. DOS (for dosing NoPox and maybe acropower)
6. Auto feeder
7. Extra EB4

Since my tank only has a tiny piece of a montipora, the Alk dosing is really low, I can maintain 8.2 dKH with only 3.5ml of the Aquaforest 2+ a day. Ca is undetectably used, so I'm not even dosing that anymore. Once I get the new SPS pieces in, I anticipate my Alk/Ca to start being consumed again. My Mg is so high because of my Aquaforest salt, so I don't think I'll ever need to dose that.

The Nopox is keeping dinoflagellates at bay, and unfortunately I'll have to do this forever. I stopped dosing for a week and I started seeing dinos come back. I started dosing again and within two days they were all gone again. I've found the sweet spot of 2.5ml a day that keeps the dinos out.

Since things are running low in nutrients, I'm thinking of dosing a bit of acropower once the SPS have established themselves. I may have to increase my NoPox, but at least there will be more food for the corals. I will, however, introduce a bunch of chromis (6) into the tank after I finish their QT. Hopefully the poop will help and acropower not be needed. If I do dose acropower, I'm planning on dosing throughout the lights off period, with the outlet tube going right into my return chamber.

Curious how you got 7 modules on your Apex Jr? I thought it could only take 5 total, and I thought the display counted as one. I’ve got:

1. Display
2. EB8
3. PM1 - pH and Breakout Box
4. WXM - for Radion and MP10

And I thought I only had one left (was debating getting a DOS). But do I actually have two or three more available?

 

[kinetic]

@kinetic that’s a amazing little video that you put together! The tank looks awesome!

I have a question for you, do you regret not going with a larger tank? Or are you happy with your Reefer 170, and the total water volume that it is? I am only asking cuz I have a tank of similar total water volume and I am having a tough time deciding if I should use that tank as my DT.

I definitely wish I had gone bigger. I don't mind small tanks, the limitations are fun, but the current location was not actually what I was planning. I had it going into a much smaller corner. Now it sits on a 5.5 foot wall, with plenty of space for something like a 3 or even 4 foot tank. I know that having a tank dominate the entirety of the wall makes the room and tank look small, whereas if the wall is at least 1/3 bigger, then you have a nice balance of space around it (rule of thirds). I wish I had gotten a Reefer 250, not because of the water volume necessarily, but because of the wall size.

In summary, I choose based on the wall and room the tank sits in. Of course I wish I could have a 1000g tank with all the fish I want, but at the end of the day, how the tank looks in my home office is what's most important to me.

Curious how you got 7 modules on your Apex Jr? I thought it could only take 5 total, and I thought the display counted as one. I’ve got:

1. Display
2. EB8
3. PM1 - pH and Breakout Box
4. WXM - for Radion and MP10

And I thought I only had one left (was debating getting a DOS). But do I actually have two or three more available?

Yeah, Apex Jr. does 7 modules (not including display, which is the 8th for me). The apex itself also doesn't count as one.

 

[grassy_noel]

Yeah, Apex Jr. does 7 modules (not including display, which is the 8th for me). The apex itself also doesn't count as one.

Well that's great news. Time to get some more modules! haha...

 

[Clayton Jessup]

I definitely wish I had gone bigger. I don't mind small tanks, the limitations are fun, but the current location was not actually what I was planning. I had it going into a much smaller corner. Now it sits on a 5.5 foot wall, with plenty of space for something like a 3 or even 4 foot tank. I know that having a tank dominate the entirety of the wall makes the room and tank look small, whereas if the wall is at least 1/3 bigger, then you have a nice balance of space around it (rule of thirds). I wish I had gotten a Reefer 250, not because of the water volume necessarily, but because of the wall size.

In summary, I choose based on the wall and room the tank sits in. Of course I wish I could have a 1000g tank with all the fish I want, but at the end of the day, how the tank looks in my home office is what's most important to me.


Thank you @kinetic that a very valid opinion and I never would of thought of the rule of thirds for my home wall/ and tank ratio. I am going to measure out my space that I have and see what would be the best option thank you .

 

[kinetic]

Well that's great news. Time to get some more modules! haha...

Yes! Go nuts =)

Thank you @kinetic that a very valid opinion and I never would of thought of the rule of thirds for my home wall/ and tank ratio. I am going to measure out my space that I have and see what would be the best option thank you .

Yeah, I'm very much about how the tank works with the home. Not everyone is like that. I really care a lot about how it blends in with the environment. A lot of my photos incorporates the room around it, though nothing too special, I do my best to make it look great where it is, and not just the contents inside. That's one big reason I like clear backs on tanks (my next tank will have a very discreet overflow, something like the ELOS line of tanks).

If you can have the tank take up 1/3 or 2/3 of a wall space all around, it will feel really good. If you want, you can go to the 1/6ths, but I still find 1/3rds to work best if you can help it.

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Yeah, I'm very much about how the tank works with the home. Not everyone is like that. I really care a lot about how it blends in with the environment. A lot of my photos incorporates the room around it, though nothing too special, I do my best to make it look great where it is, and not just the contents inside. That's one big reason I like clear backs on tanks (my next tank will have a very discreet overflow, something like the ELOS line of tanks).

If you can have the tank take up 1/3 or 2/3 of a wall space all around, it will feel really good. If you want, you can go to the 1/6ths, but I still find 1/3rds to work best if you can help it.[/QUOTE]

Ok thank you very much @kinetic! Those are some very valid points that you bring up. I have noticed that about the pictures that you take on how it incorporates the room and I always love the pictures that you post. So I am really going to strongly consider everything you have stated . Thank you again for your input .

 

[kinetic]

Updated my DOS:

DOS 1
Pump 1: Aquaforest 1+
Pump 2: Aquaforest 2+ and Reef Minerals diluted

DOS 2
Pump 1: NoPox
Pump 2: AcroPower

My magnesium is off the charts high (multiple test kits) because of the AquaForest Reef Salt. I don't think I will ever need to dose Aquaforest 3+. Since 3+ also comes with other things, I bought just the reef minerals and diluted it into the Ca solution (2+) so it will be dosed with calcium. Currently the load is very minimal, so I barely dose 2ml of Alk/Ca a day.

NoPox is needed in my system to keep dinoflagellates from growing. It also seems to keep my tank fairly void of algae, just enough to feed the cleanup crew. Any algae that does grow is white, not sure why (iron?)

AcroPower is an experiment. Since the tank runs pretty low on nutrients, I want to supplement some stuff in the water for the corals. I only have a few nubs (thanks @Tankguy), but hopefully they'll take hold and start using Alk/Ca and benefit from the AcroPower.

 

[kinetic]

I have 2 Chromis Viridis (just added last week after QT), and had lost 1 in the QT. It seems that it's better to keep an odd number of these, so since they're small, I went ahead and ordered 3 more for a total of 5. Think they will play nice in this small tank? Or will it just shrink down to 2 or 3 again?

 

[kinetic]

Porcelain crabs are so cool. There's tons of poop floating around these days, so for the almost 1 year birthday of the tank, I decided to also add in this guy:

 

[Janci]

Wow. Cool addition. Love it.

 

[kinetic]

Sad to see my mocha gladiators go, but they were moved to a great home! Officially dwindling down to one clown, I picked up a new one from Chad Vossen! A premium davinci ocellaris, just about an inch. Hoping to pair him with my existing davinci from Sustainable Aquatics.

The little one is going crazy trying to push itself out of the box, the larger has been in there for 2 days, so he's kind of over it.


He has a curmudgeonly old face:

But very symmetrical as you can see on his other side:

Both clowns looking at their future together:

My existing clown's look:

It's incredibly difficult to photograph them while they're always facing the other direction, smashing their faces white, into the opposite side of the breeder box lol.

 

[kinetic]

Good news, just let the two clownfish out of the breeder box. I dipped the box low enough for them to find the opening up top. Took a few tries but they finally got out. My original clown went right back to the magnifica, and the new little guy followed him. Jumped right in! Both started doing the shaking dance immediately and have been at it for awhile. It's amazing to see them smash around through the mag.

 

[kinetic]

Tank Updates:

NYOS Skimmer has been working well, almost too well. I've opened up the outlet to keep the water level low and the bubbles are cranked down, yet it's still pulling even wetter than before. I haven't been using a filter in the filtersock/filtercup, so this might be why. Anyone have a suggestion?

I removed the big black sponge that goes in the baffles between the skimmer and return. It just seemed to get clogged too often without the filter sock being used. I would take it out every month and it would just be filthy. I think it's good for removing microbubbles, but my skimmer does a good job not letting them out and/or the baffles are enough, so I'm considering just leaving it out completely.

I added a handful of marinepure biospheres into my filter cup instead of filter floss. The filter floss and any other media constantly got backed up within 5 hours. I think this is because I'm dosing NoPox all day (2.5ml a day) and the bacteria builds up really fast. The spheres will hopefully grow more bacteria on the surfaces and maybe keep bacteria growth off the display's glass. It's helped a bit, but I'm still cleaning the glass every 3 - 4 days.

I'm still using BRX carbon ROX 0.8 in a mini reactor. I just changed it out, and I probably should've changed it out earlier. I'm thinking of just using my Aquamaxx jumbo reactor for carbon, since I don't need to run an algae reactor anymore. It might be overkill?

My calcium intake in the tank has finally started making a dent. I've needed to dose 2ML of Aquaforest 1+ for ALK maintenance for months now, but finally last week my Ca levels started to drop a teeny tiny bit. My tank was at 470ppm Ca, and finally dropped to 450. I started dosing 0.2ml (yup, 0.2) of Aquaforest 2+ to keep it around 450. I hope this increases so I have an even dose of 1+ and 2+.

My goldf sailfin blenny started chomping on some new SPS frags I got. This is bad news. It hasn't touched my older ones. It stripped most of the tissue off within hours. The blenny keeps the tank super clean, even the snail shells clean. But this SPS tissue chomping is bad news. I'm considering getting a fish trap to get him out and finding another blenny. Should I just not have any blennies? The SPS frags still have a bit of tissue left and lots of polyp extension. I'm feeding Reef Chili and Acropower daily to hopefully help these frags recover. I've also placed them right in front of my Orchid Dottyback's cave, which the blenny will NOT venture to ever.

 

[ramona]

Love the video... Please post full tank pictures...

 

[kinetic]

Love the video... Please post full tank pictures...

Thank you.

First page has the latest full tank photos and more =)

 

[Janci]

Tank Updates:

NYOS Skimmer has been working well, almost too well. I've opened up the outlet to keep the water level low and the bubbles are cranked down, yet it's still pulling even wetter than before. I haven't been using a filter in the filtersock/filtercup, so this might be why. Anyone have a suggestion?

I removed the big black sponge that goes in the baffles between the skimmer and return. It just seemed to get clogged too often without the filter sock being used. I would take it out every month and it would just be filthy. I think it's good for removing microbubbles, but my skimmer does a good job not letting them out and/or the baffles are enough, so I'm considering just leaving it out completely.

I added a handful of marinepure biospheres into my filter cup instead of filter floss. The filter floss and any other media constantly got backed up within 5 hours. I think this is because I'm dosing NoPox all day (2.5ml a day) and the bacteria builds up really fast. The spheres will hopefully grow more bacteria on the surfaces and maybe keep bacteria growth off the display's glass. It's helped a bit, but I'm still cleaning the glass every 3 - 4 days.

I'm still using BRX carbon ROX 0.8 in a mini reactor. I just changed it out, and I probably should've changed it out earlier. I'm thinking of just using my Aquamaxx jumbo reactor for carbon, since I don't need to run an algae reactor anymore. It might be overkill?

My calcium intake in the tank has finally started making a dent. I've needed to dose 2ML of Aquaforest 1+ for ALK maintenance for months now, but finally last week my Ca levels started to drop a teeny tiny bit. My tank was at 470ppm Ca, and finally dropped to 450. I started dosing 0.2ml (yup, 0.2) of Aquaforest 2+ to keep it around 450. I hope this increases so I have an even dose of 1+ and 2+.

My goldf sailfin blenny started chomping on some new SPS frags I got. This is bad news. It hasn't touched my older ones. It stripped most of the tissue off within hours. The blenny keeps the tank super clean, even the snail shells clean. But this SPS tissue chomping is bad news. I'm considering getting a fish trap to get him out and finding another blenny. Should I just not have any blennies? The SPS frags still have a bit of tissue left and lots of polyp extension. I'm feeding Reef Chili and Acropower daily to hopefully help these frags recover. I've also placed them right in front of my Orchid Dottyback's cave, which the blenny will NOT venture to ever.

I believe there is a small dial screw on the air inlet that can reduce a little the wet skimming.
Setting this screw is not that easy and you might need some follow up to see if the skimmer remains in the same working condition.

I was not aware the gold sailfin blenny was such a sps eater.
I have a black sailfin for over a year now and it never touched any sps or coral.

 

[kinetic]

I believe there is a small dial screw on the air inlet that can reduce a little the wet skimming.
Setting this screw is not that easy and you might need some follow up to see if the skimmer remains in the same working condition.

I was not aware the gold sailfin blenny was such a sps eater.
I have a black sailfin for over a year now and it never touched any sps or coral.

Yes, the black screw right? I've been slowly tightening that to try to reduce the bubbles, but maybe I don't have it screwed down enough. I'll keep tinkering.

Yeah I don't think it goes for polyps, just chomps on the tissue. It's strange because it hasn't touched my other SPS at all, only the new ones I added in. It could be that the new ones are stressed and giving off some kind of slime? Or the new ones have something else that's attractive?