Caliguy
New Member
Hi all, Iv been lurking these forums for awhile and finally decided it’s time I get personalized responses for my situation. I feel it’s pretty unique but can use some experts and experienced help. I wil have to go into the history a bit to help everyone understand how I got here in case it makes a difference.
April 2023 - LFS convinced me to get an Aquatop Recife 40g AIO. They told me they can have it up and running n fish ready in 24 hours. $1500 later I have a 40g with a very large Stars and Stripes puffers and a clown trigger in there. SMH.
Mid-May 2023 - After weeks and weeks of fighting extremely high ammonia levels with water changes, I finally return the puffer to the lfs, get a couple of tangs, and start a second 40g AIO. At this point the first tank starts showing some brown algae everywhere. I also have an Ich outbreak that spread to both tanks which were treated with copper. (Right into the DT). I eventually get another 24g aio sarted and finally set up a hospital tank. I have these three tanks running for awhile, no more ich, ugly brown phase comes and goes, ich gone, 24g get bad case of cyano that I began removing manually with water changes. Tanks begin to stabilize but it was taking water changes about every 2-3 days to get here.
End of July 2023 - I end up having to move rapidly and am sick of caring for 3 tanks and a hospital tank and find a used 130g waterbox tank with a bunch of equipment for sale that I grab. After a few days, if cleaning the tank with default tap water and a clean sponge, I take water, and rock from my other three tanks (new sand) and set up the new to me tank. I install the old equipment (reefmat 500, simplicity protein skimmer, solidity return pump, some old bacteria sponge stuff that came with the tank but has been sitting dry for those few days) but all goes into the sump. I also have two Kessil a360x lights. After a few more days when the water clears up,I buy some more tangs and at the same time grab all the fish from the other three tanks and drop them into the new big tank all at once. I keep one 40g aio running as an emergency tank in case something happened. There’s a lot of fish in the new tank but it begins its journey as a Fowler.
August 2023 - I decide to go back to the lfs and pick up the large Stars and Stripes puffer I previously returned thinking the bigger tank can now support him. I also get another outbreak of ich and treat with copper into the DT (keep in mind there are ice 25 fish in here at this point. Once Ich starts to disappear I start messing with the equipment but still continue to run copper. I add a 25w UV sterilizer, replace the reefmat 500 with a brand new reefmat 1200, replace the skimmer with a brand new Redsea 600 protein skimmer, replace the return pump with a Red Sea pump, add a media reactor with de-nitrate and phosi-x in It, add a doser and start dosing nopox as my nitrates were though the roof at 160ppm. Several water changes later I get the nitrates down to about 40-60ppm kind of regularly. I decide to return the extra large Stars and Stripes puffer again as he also started killing and eating my new blue ribbon eel. This whole time I’m sowing water changes a few times per week and adding more fish as some die off. I also start removing the copper with cuprisorb despite reading that once in the DT, it’s impossible to get out completely. I also tear down the 40g aio and am now down to the one larger tank. Given there are a lot of fish, I fed a lot also and started reducing in hopes of trying to get rid of nitrates. I did notice a clear to milky film on the class that would scrape off with my magnet cleaner. I have no idea what it was. By its gone now by the end of this month. I also notice a small amount of cyano but it could have came from one of the rocks from the 40g as that rock surely had cyano from its previous life in the smaller tanks. Cyano is gone within a few days.
September 2023 - at this point my ammonia and nitrites continue to test zero for a while and my nitrates consistently at about 40-50ppm. Iv also been dosing nopox every day (minus 2 weeks of maybe not dosing due to fully tightening the lids of the bottle causing a vacuum) fish dying off by themselves but lost a few to other reasons such as rockwork collapse and new fish being added not surviving the first few days (no QT) but that could be from introducing them to a high bitrate environment. But the near end of September my copper levels are reading at about .15. I throw in some inverts and a green leather coral to test and the seem to be ok, the green leather browns a bit but still showing green coloration. I also add a media reactor turned into a refugium for some chaeto and a light on in the sumo 24/7. Fish seem to be doing well, inverts and crabs are all alive.
October 2023 - ok so here we are, below is a fish list and equipment list. I’m noticing a bit of brown algae accumulate on the glass more often now but not much. Back glass is still pretty clean with a. Hint of brownish algae on it but not much. I’m doing weekly water changes ranging from 25-50g each time and I switched from instant ocean to Redsea pro salt. I also now have my own 0tds rodi system instead of getting it from the grocery store water fill up stations. After using a Hanna marine maser testing kit here are the readings I’m getting (keep in mind the equipment and fish below). I also removed the bacteria sponge stuff that came with the tank as that’s the only thing left I have no idea what it was exposed to from the previous owner.
Water levels:
Nitrate - 38ppm
Phosphates - >.9 (don’t know exact level)
Magnesium - 1200ppm
Calcium - > 600ppm (don’t know exact level)
All - 11.1
Ammonia - .9
Copper - .12
Nitrite - don’t know exact level but near 0 according to test strip
Ph - 8.0-8.1
Salinity - .025-.026
Temp around 78
Equipment:
-One month old Redsea protein skimmer 600
-One month old Redsea reefmat 1200
-One month old Redsea return pump 500
-Few month old 25w uv sterilizer with Sicce pump at very slow setting for maximum efficiency circulating water in sump return pump area
-Media reactor in sump # 1 with cuprisorb and nitrate pads
-Media reactor #2 with chaeto
- Kessil a80 tuna blue on white light setting in sump for media reactor w/ chaeto
- 2x Kessil a360x tuna blue 5” above water level (dropped from 8” to increase par levels after reading a post on here as my par levels were low all around the tank highest at the top being about 130 an lowest at bottom around 40)
- autofeeder that has a combo of flake, PE mysis pellets, algae pellets.
- I feed 3 blocks of frozen mysis every day that I haven’t been rinsing. I also feed an entire sheet of nori every day, some meat pellets 3 times a week for the large predator fish, frozen krill once a week for the eel, and target feed and broadcast feed twice per week for the coral with AB+ and reefroids and pacpods.
Livestock:
Tangs
Puffers
Wrasse
1. Two large lobos
2. 3 gonnies
3. 3 different GSP’s
4. Several hammer frags
5. 4x Candy cane frags
6. Various small sps frags
7. Various mushrooms
8. Very large toadstool now dead and removed
9. Some acans
10. Elegance coral
11. One frogspawn frag
12. Bubble anemone
I’m sure I’m forgetting some stuff. Everything is not cut open with the exception of one of the gsps, one of the mushroom rocks, and the bubble anemone. Iv lost a few that were showing skeleton
Anyways, I know I did this way too fast, I’m very impatient and thought throwing money at it would help fix but I was totally wrong, just trying to salvage and fix what I have now.
Other than nopox which I’m now dosing at 20ml a day since the previous 14.5ml per day was either doing nothing or keeping the. Nitrates at around 40ppm I have no idea what’s causing he high calcium and alk readings.
Any ideas about what I can do to help my water levels would be greatly appreciated to get my corals and fish thriving. The tiny fish are protected in an acclimation box safe from the predators as well. I will try to upload a video. I really like the busy reef look so even though I’m way overloaded, reducing fish is probably the last thing I’d like to do. I have a plan of getting a 250-350g within the next year or so as my house gets built bu for now I’m stuck with this waterbox reef 130.4
April 2023 - LFS convinced me to get an Aquatop Recife 40g AIO. They told me they can have it up and running n fish ready in 24 hours. $1500 later I have a 40g with a very large Stars and Stripes puffers and a clown trigger in there. SMH.
Mid-May 2023 - After weeks and weeks of fighting extremely high ammonia levels with water changes, I finally return the puffer to the lfs, get a couple of tangs, and start a second 40g AIO. At this point the first tank starts showing some brown algae everywhere. I also have an Ich outbreak that spread to both tanks which were treated with copper. (Right into the DT). I eventually get another 24g aio sarted and finally set up a hospital tank. I have these three tanks running for awhile, no more ich, ugly brown phase comes and goes, ich gone, 24g get bad case of cyano that I began removing manually with water changes. Tanks begin to stabilize but it was taking water changes about every 2-3 days to get here.
End of July 2023 - I end up having to move rapidly and am sick of caring for 3 tanks and a hospital tank and find a used 130g waterbox tank with a bunch of equipment for sale that I grab. After a few days, if cleaning the tank with default tap water and a clean sponge, I take water, and rock from my other three tanks (new sand) and set up the new to me tank. I install the old equipment (reefmat 500, simplicity protein skimmer, solidity return pump, some old bacteria sponge stuff that came with the tank but has been sitting dry for those few days) but all goes into the sump. I also have two Kessil a360x lights. After a few more days when the water clears up,I buy some more tangs and at the same time grab all the fish from the other three tanks and drop them into the new big tank all at once. I keep one 40g aio running as an emergency tank in case something happened. There’s a lot of fish in the new tank but it begins its journey as a Fowler.
August 2023 - I decide to go back to the lfs and pick up the large Stars and Stripes puffer I previously returned thinking the bigger tank can now support him. I also get another outbreak of ich and treat with copper into the DT (keep in mind there are ice 25 fish in here at this point. Once Ich starts to disappear I start messing with the equipment but still continue to run copper. I add a 25w UV sterilizer, replace the reefmat 500 with a brand new reefmat 1200, replace the skimmer with a brand new Redsea 600 protein skimmer, replace the return pump with a Red Sea pump, add a media reactor with de-nitrate and phosi-x in It, add a doser and start dosing nopox as my nitrates were though the roof at 160ppm. Several water changes later I get the nitrates down to about 40-60ppm kind of regularly. I decide to return the extra large Stars and Stripes puffer again as he also started killing and eating my new blue ribbon eel. This whole time I’m sowing water changes a few times per week and adding more fish as some die off. I also start removing the copper with cuprisorb despite reading that once in the DT, it’s impossible to get out completely. I also tear down the 40g aio and am now down to the one larger tank. Given there are a lot of fish, I fed a lot also and started reducing in hopes of trying to get rid of nitrates. I did notice a clear to milky film on the class that would scrape off with my magnet cleaner. I have no idea what it was. By its gone now by the end of this month. I also notice a small amount of cyano but it could have came from one of the rocks from the 40g as that rock surely had cyano from its previous life in the smaller tanks. Cyano is gone within a few days.
September 2023 - at this point my ammonia and nitrites continue to test zero for a while and my nitrates consistently at about 40-50ppm. Iv also been dosing nopox every day (minus 2 weeks of maybe not dosing due to fully tightening the lids of the bottle causing a vacuum) fish dying off by themselves but lost a few to other reasons such as rockwork collapse and new fish being added not surviving the first few days (no QT) but that could be from introducing them to a high bitrate environment. But the near end of September my copper levels are reading at about .15. I throw in some inverts and a green leather coral to test and the seem to be ok, the green leather browns a bit but still showing green coloration. I also add a media reactor turned into a refugium for some chaeto and a light on in the sumo 24/7. Fish seem to be doing well, inverts and crabs are all alive.
October 2023 - ok so here we are, below is a fish list and equipment list. I’m noticing a bit of brown algae accumulate on the glass more often now but not much. Back glass is still pretty clean with a. Hint of brownish algae on it but not much. I’m doing weekly water changes ranging from 25-50g each time and I switched from instant ocean to Redsea pro salt. I also now have my own 0tds rodi system instead of getting it from the grocery store water fill up stations. After using a Hanna marine maser testing kit here are the readings I’m getting (keep in mind the equipment and fish below). I also removed the bacteria sponge stuff that came with the tank as that’s the only thing left I have no idea what it was exposed to from the previous owner.
Water levels:
Nitrate - 38ppm
Phosphates - >.9 (don’t know exact level)
Magnesium - 1200ppm
Calcium - > 600ppm (don’t know exact level)
All - 11.1
Ammonia - .9
Copper - .12
Nitrite - don’t know exact level but near 0 according to test strip
Ph - 8.0-8.1
Salinity - .025-.026
Temp around 78
Equipment:
-One month old Redsea protein skimmer 600
-One month old Redsea reefmat 1200
-One month old Redsea return pump 500
-Few month old 25w uv sterilizer with Sicce pump at very slow setting for maximum efficiency circulating water in sump return pump area
-Media reactor in sump # 1 with cuprisorb and nitrate pads
-Media reactor #2 with chaeto
- Kessil a80 tuna blue on white light setting in sump for media reactor w/ chaeto
- 2x Kessil a360x tuna blue 5” above water level (dropped from 8” to increase par levels after reading a post on here as my par levels were low all around the tank highest at the top being about 130 an lowest at bottom around 40)
- autofeeder that has a combo of flake, PE mysis pellets, algae pellets.
- I feed 3 blocks of frozen mysis every day that I haven’t been rinsing. I also feed an entire sheet of nori every day, some meat pellets 3 times a week for the large predator fish, frozen krill once a week for the eel, and target feed and broadcast feed twice per week for the coral with AB+ and reefroids and pacpods.
Livestock:
Tangs
- Big Gem approx 4.5”
- Small Gem approx 3.5-4”
- Purple approx 4”
- Yellow approx 3-3.5”
- Blue hippo approx 3”
- Abbarant naso approx 5”
- Clown approx 3.5-4”
- Gold rim approx 4”
- Yellow eye kole approx 4.5”
- White tail kole approx 4.5”
- Unicorn approx 4.5”
- Atlantic Blue adult approx 3.5”
- Atlantic blue juv approx 3”
Puffers
- Cowfish approx 2.5”
- Baby blue dot approx 1.5”
- Spineybox approx 5-6”
Wrasse
- Banana wrasse approx 4.5-5”
- Pink face wrasse approx 6”
- Cuban Hog approve 3.5-4”
- Formosa wrasse approx 5”
- Large maroon clown approx 3.5”
- Mocha storm ora approx 1.5”
- Mocha storm ora approx 1.5”
- Bubble tip anemone approx 4.5”
- Coral beauty approx 3.5”
- Morish idol approx 4”
- Queen approx 7”
- Emperor approx 7”
- Lionfish approx 10-12”
- Panther grouper approx 4-5”
- Magnificent FoxFace approx 5-6”
- Hermit crab
- Decorator crab
- Princess Parrot approx 6-7”
- Snowflake Moray eel approx 10”
- Maxima clam approx 2”
1. Two large lobos
2. 3 gonnies
3. 3 different GSP’s
4. Several hammer frags
5. 4x Candy cane frags
6. Various small sps frags
7. Various mushrooms
8. Very large toadstool now dead and removed
9. Some acans
10. Elegance coral
11. One frogspawn frag
12. Bubble anemone
I’m sure I’m forgetting some stuff. Everything is not cut open with the exception of one of the gsps, one of the mushroom rocks, and the bubble anemone. Iv lost a few that were showing skeleton
Anyways, I know I did this way too fast, I’m very impatient and thought throwing money at it would help fix but I was totally wrong, just trying to salvage and fix what I have now.
Other than nopox which I’m now dosing at 20ml a day since the previous 14.5ml per day was either doing nothing or keeping the. Nitrates at around 40ppm I have no idea what’s causing he high calcium and alk readings.
Any ideas about what I can do to help my water levels would be greatly appreciated to get my corals and fish thriving. The tiny fish are protected in an acclimation box safe from the predators as well. I will try to upload a video. I really like the busy reef look so even though I’m way overloaded, reducing fish is probably the last thing I’d like to do. I have a plan of getting a 250-350g within the next year or so as my house gets built bu for now I’m stuck with this waterbox reef 130.4
