Mattdg's 120G SPS / Mixed Reef Build and Progress

[mattdg]

Tank looks great! All the frags I got from you have been doing very well, and Ally said to tell you the avocado plant is as well, it's shot many new sprouts and grown quite a bit.

Thanks! Glad to hear the frags have settled in to your system and that Ally is having success with the Avocado plant. Well done, on both accounts!

 

[mattdg]

Tank tour / video Update. 03/31/2022

 

[Chessmanmark]

That video was great, ... AND for the first time I heard you say ”bigger tank!”

Now how do we submit Matt’s tank for TOTM?

It is worthy.

There was a guy who lives in Ridgefield, off 84 exit one, who had his tank featured as TOTM twice on RC. Your tank is right up there Matt. It’s Amazeballs!

 

[mattdg]

That video was great, ... AND for the first time I heard you say ”bigger tank!”

Now how do we submit Matt’s tank for TOTM?

It is worthy.

There was a guy who lives in Ridgefield, off 84 exit one, who had his tank featured as TOTM twice on RC. Your tank is right up there Matt. It’s Amazeballs!

Thanks again Mark! I had a feeling you'd pick out that "bigger' comment. Lol! Someday, perhaps.

TOTM, would be a pretty cool honor. I have no idea how that process works, but means a lot that you think I'd have a chance.

Send me a link to that RC TOTM in Ridgefield. I loved that feature on RC. After all, they are the OG, for TOTM. I had two different NTOTM up there, at some point, many years back. But, not as prestigious as being RC TOTM, especially given the technical challenges, back in the day. Pretty cool.

Have a great weekend!

 

[Chessmanmark]

Tank of the Month - March 2009 - Reefkeeping.com

 

[Chessmanmark]

Wow, revisiting that article I didn’t realize that it was Keith. Three of us went over to his house and he graciously gave us the grand tour including his basement set up. We bought some frags, which were a little over priced. Watching his videos over the last few years I never made the connection. His maintenance routine was ridiculous and his sump was plumbed on the opposite side of the house. He had the sump up on a work table which made it easy to access. He must have been getting ready to move at the time.

He posted on our club website that he had frags for sale and I was surprised that he lived so close and nobody knew him.

 

[mattdg]

Wow, revisiting that article I didn’t realize that it was Keith. Three of us went over to his house and he graciously gave us the grand tour including his basement set up. We bought some frags, which were a little over priced. Watching his videos over the last few years I never made the connection. His maintenance routine was ridiculous and his sump was plumbed on the opposite side of the house. He had the sump up on a work table which made it easy to access. He must have been getting ready to move at the time.

He posted on our club website that he had frags for sale and I was surprised that he lived so close and nobody knew him.

Oh.. Reefbum. how interesting. Well, he has kept at it, that's for sure. I do remember his TOTM. Very cool that you were able to see it in person and grab a few pricey frags. I really like the one off interviews he's been doing on the channel. Anyway, glad I asked.

 

[mattdg]

Tank update.. everything is doing well. I did notice my skunk cleaner shrimp is nowhere to be found and did lose an urchin recently, that I've had for several years. I will replace both soon, if I can find a big enough shrimp. They are all so tiny and expensive at the local LFS, these days. Too small and my spotted grouper might see it as a snack. I can always grow it out in the frag system in the basement, before moving it to the main display.

Coral, especially SPS are doing well. I recently cleared out the right side, towards the back, removing several pounds of Milka Stylo, Season's Greetings Montipora and Spongodes. I needed to free up the central reef structure, so the tangs are able to fully circle it. They both seem to be much happier now. I removed some large chunks of SPS in other areas of the reef a month back and noticed a significant spike in ALK levels. Have to be careful when carving things out of this reef. Some of the large SPS, especially stylophora and montipora, are nutrient sponges. I've since lowered my dose and am monitoring alk, to bring it back down from 9.3 to the 8.4 range. No rush.

The box fan is back on top, for the season and tank is maintaining just under 80 degrees. The recent hot weather was a bit of a challenge, but once window AC units are back in and installed, things are manageable. I just need to keep an eye on PH levels, with the windows being open some days and closed with the AC on others.

Here is a picture I snapped on my phone, white lights all on. Always looks so much fuller in photos, than it does in person, but I am really happy with how the colonies are spaced at the moment. I've done a bit of gardening and trimming, especially of the bright orange millepora on the top left (fox Solar Flare and RMF Acid Trip) , which were starting to shade the Vivid's Confetti and Bill Murray, directly underneath. Lower down on the same side, had to trim around the Cherry Bomb tenuis poking up just above the WD. Almost lost it due to infringing neighbors, but I think it's good now. SPS will keep you on your toes, at this stage. I'm loving the way the Space Invader Pectinia is growing in, lower right. It's taken 4 years, starting from a 1" frag, to get to the point where I feel it has some presence in this display. Just below, out of view, is a rainbow pectinia, that has mostly receded. I'm hoping the large chunks of coral I have removed, will bring it back with the increased light and flow. Not very hopeful, but will be even more excited if it actually survives.

All I can think of. Hope you all are enjoying your summer.

 

[mattdg]

Sad to say, we lost our Naso tang Sharky today. He was as much a pet, as any dog or cat and will be dearly missed.

Whatever it was, happened very fast. A week ago he was fine, healthy, eating and swimming strong. The next morning I found him on his side, breathing hard. I coaxed him out into the water column, slightly lowered the flow in the system to aid in swimming and immediately set up a quarantine in the basement. I was all ready with the usual treatment, Prazipro, Cupramine and Maracyn Two. Usually also do some fresh water dips. Anyway, the tank was fully cycled and ready this morning, so I went to do one last feeding before getting the glass bowl ready, to gently remove him. Sharky ate a few pellets and suddenly lost full orientation. He dove clumsily to the bottom and wedged himself under a plate of Red Capricornis. I figured he was being dramatic, so readied myself with the glass bowl, thinking I'd get him while he was resting. Unfortunately, that would prove to be his last dive.

I was glad that I was there. These Naso tangs, especially sharky, are so sweet I can't help but anthropomorphise his wish to see me one last time before passing. I know, it's so sappy and sad, but it is really how I felt about this amazing fish. We rescued him as a small sickly tang, from a local shop that had no idea how to care for him. He was quarantined and treated until he was ready for our mixed reef. There he lived, quite happily, for 5 years, until today.

That said, I know he was getting too big for the 120, which is why we have no plans to replace him. Part of the goal was to quarantine and treat him, then find a 300 gallon or larger system for him to live out the rest of his life in. I don't know what took our sweet fish. Very well might have been old age, though small, we assumed he was quite old when we got him. My #1 theory is this could be flukes, or something that effected his breathing, which was heavy. He used to make regular visits down to the the bottom to get groomed by our cleaner shrimp, before it disappeared a few months back. It is possible the cleaner was maintaining. I will do an autopsy, to the best of my ability any report back any findings.

Anyway, sad update, but a build thread turned tank journal, is about reporting the ups and downs of reef keeping. The good news is all of the other fish and coral are doing quite well.

Hope all of you and your fish are staying happy and healthy.

 

[mattdg]

Quick picture update as the lights look around 5:30 pm.

 

[Chessmanmark]

Hey Matt,

I haven’t checked in for a while. I was sad to read about your Naso. I know how much he meant to your whole family.

In May of 2021 I lost my PBT and then one of the first fish I ever bought in 2003, my Cinnamon Clownfish.

I was worried a disease was in the tank, but thankfully all the other fish were ok. Both of those fish were old, and unfortunately weakened. It sucks to lose anything you take care of. I hope all your other fish are ok.

Like you, that Red Dragon colony started to go. Luckily I had an established frag. I chopped the colony up into multiple pieces but they all STN’d. Maybe it was the sponge growing on the rock under it, but that’s just a guess.

Most of the SPS in my tank are pretty filled in. I need a frag system, but don’t think I can put the time in. My biggest issue right now is that our cat likes to pull out my dosing hoses, that’s another prospect for the Red Dragon loss.

Your tank looks great, as always. I hope that you are having a good summer.

 

[mattdg]

Hey Matt,

I haven’t checked in for a while. I was sad to read about your Naso. I know how much he meant to your whole family.

In May of 2021 I lost my PBT and then one of the first fish I ever bought in 2003, my Cinnamon Clownfish.

I was worried a disease was in the tank, but thankfully all the other fish were ok. Both of those fish were old, and unfortunately weakened. It sucks to lose anything you take care of. I hope all your other fish are ok.

Like you, that Red Dragon colony started to go. Luckily I had an established frag. I chopped the colony up into multiple pieces but they all STN’d. Maybe it was the sponge growing on the rock under it, but that’s just a guess.

Most of the SPS in my tank are pretty filled in. I need a frag system, but don’t think I can put the time in. My biggest issue right now is that our cat likes to pull out my dosing hoses, that’s another prospect for the Red Dragon loss.

Your tank looks great, as always. I hope that you are having a good summer.

Thank you Mark. That means a lot. It is hard to lose a "family fish". Really sorry to hear about your fish losses, as well.

My other fish are happy and healthy. Hope yours are too.

What the heck is up with that red dragon? It's like it has a timer set, when it goes off... major STN, until there is a little nub left. Fortunately, mine has fully recovered and I have info on another reef hobbyist who has excess of my RD available. Going to go over and help him out with some tank maintenance soon, so let me know if you'd like me to grab a chunk for ya.

Frag systems are great, but twice the work. Still glad I have mine, but seems there is always something slightly off in one system or the other. It is a lot to manage, with a full life and career. I still think it is worth the effort, if you are maintaining a thriving reef system.

I love cats and often wish we could have one, but I have family with allergies. Thank you for making me feel better, about not having one. LOL!

Appreciate the kind words and hoping to see you IRL soon!

 

[mattdg]

I finally recently got my hands on some new Ecotech Versa dosing pumps. I've had them sitting around waiting, but have not had the opportunity to install them. Up until now, I've been running DREW's, controlled by my vintage RK2. They have been extremely reliable peristaltic dosing pumps. I've used them on 5 different systems, over the past 10 years. They are still going strong, but needed replacement tubing, so that was it for me.

The Versa's went in smooth, aside from a hiccup with the two brand new pumps. I have have 4 Versa's all together, two new and two used. One of the new, gen 2 pumps came with a leaky dosing line, so I decided to go with the Gen 1's for my Alk/Cal dosing needs. I contacted the vendor about the faulty dosing line. Hopefully they will send a replacement out soon. The other two Versas will eventually replace my two BRS high volume AWC dosers. See above posts, for my experience with those.

We shall see how these measure up against the reliability of the Drew's. High bar, for longevity. I could usually get two years out of a $12 set of replacement dosing lines, with the Drew's. Hoping for at least that, at $20 a pop for the Versa's lines. There are always G2 Drews, if the Versa's prove to be all hype.

The WWC OG's were looking happy today, so here's a pic!!

 

[mattdg]

Some pictures of the tank from above today and one of a really nice wild tenuis. I've switched from weekly Red Sea Colors Trace to the Tropic Marin A+, K- and part C Trace. 80ml of A+ and K- added to each gallon of BRS two part and 4 scoops of C added to ATO for every gallon of BRS two part consumed. Started two weeks ago, so no results to report yet. I like how this method allows for consistent trace dose, without the need to add another doser. Speaking of dosers, I am a fan of the Versa's so far. Nice slow dose over hours instead of minutes and I like some of the extra's in the app like low level warnings.

I'll give it a year, while still adding 40ml of Red Sea A/B/C/D at the end of the month. Really trying to dial in colors, especially the higher end coral such as Pinky the Bear, Vivid's Confetti, strawberry shortcake, WD and PC Rainbow. Most others hit peak coloration, post monthly maintenance. If I do a major scrub down, everything dulls down for a week or two.

My feeling is the part C, especially, might be the one missing link for this system, maintaining ion equilibrium in tandem with the daily 1 gallon auto water changes.

 

[mattdg]

Wish I had better news for the holidays, but sadly the tank is not doing great at the moment.

It all started with a slow increase in HA and a couple other shifting parameters. Life and work took over a bit and the reef and video making stood neglected, though I did do a pretty good job keeping up with weekly maintenance and feeding.

I did however miss a few things and likely cinched the fate of a handful of SPS colonies in my tank by using a product that until now had worked fine for me, in the past.

#1 switched AWC dosing pumps, but failed to notice several weeks of mis calibration. The result was a noticeable decrease in SG. At the same time, I had started dosing a product labeled Fish Flux / Fish Fluconazole, by AquaAlgae, purchased on Bonanza.com . I have used this product in the past and have only ever seen positive results, similar to using the ReefHD, Reef Flux capsules, without having to extract the product one pill at a time. Unfortunately this time, upon opening and dosing a new batch of AquaAlgae Fish Flux, I noticed RTN within days and total bleaching of several colonies within a week. I should have taken note, while mixing the product, as it seemed a bit off. If you have ever mixed Reef Flux, you will know what I mean. Generally, ReefFlux does not mix all that well, which is what should happen. This produce mixed and dissolved right away. Probably not a good sign.

I did contact AquaAlgae about their Fish Fluconazole product, requesting they remove it from their store on Bonaza.com so this does not happen to anyone else. I did not hear back from the company and they are still posting sales. Hopefully mentioning it a few times in this thread will lead people here, following a Google search, so no one else mistakes AquaAlgae Fish Flux / Fish Fluconazole for actual Fluconazole.

Anyway, this ONE TWO punch was enough to teeter the biological balance of the system. HA continued to grow and the coral were not happy. By the time I noticed the STN, mainly at the tips, it was too late. I had a feeling ALK had spiked, based on the tip recession. I was right! My normal 8.5 to 13! Not good.

So, I performed several water changes and reduced the daily dose of ALK and Cal. Over the next few weeks I lost the last surviving Red Dragon, a superman Tenuis, Strawberry shortcake, Oregon Tort, Vivid's confetti, Walt Disney and several others. Fortunately, the frag tank in the basement housed a Vivid's frag (not doing great) and Walt Disney, so I am still good there.

Here is a case where having a frag system can save your main system. Worth the effort indeed.

I am still dosing fluconazole, but this time the Reef HD - REEF FLUX capsules and things have started to turn around. Very little HA now, though I really need to remove the sand bed. I contemplated a complete redo of this system, but only if it was a 50% loss or greater. Reef aquariums are incredible, the way they can recover from such a traumatic event. In some ways, this has been a blessing in disguise, as many of the colonies were getting quite large, though I do miss the red dragon / superman tenuis and vivids. I have to say, I don't mind filling the ALK / CAL dosing containers less often, at least for now. The fish seem to be enjoying having more swimming room and it is kind of like having a new tank.

That's it for now. Hope your tanks are doing better than mine!!

 

[mattdg]

Here is the tank a week after things started to go bad.

And the tank today, with bleached colonies removed and several replaced, taken from the second system.

 

[rhdoug]

So sorry Matt. It may be of little condolence, but your tank still looks better than many!

 

[mattdg]

Things seem to be turning around in the main display. The coral that survived are recovering and beginning to show their deeper colors again. The tank is looking nice and a bit more open, since I had to remove some colonies that were struggling. I have had a lot of fun seeing the fish that tend to hide a bit more often. I just noticed one of the mummy eye chalice I thought were completely gone, is recovering towards the back. Must of helped that particular coral, when I removed the Oregon Tort, that was shading it. I just added the red Linckia starfish, picked it up from the brand new Aquarium Solutions 101 store. That place is really starting to look like an LFS destination, something our area has desperately needed.

Having this tank thread, throughout the last 4 years, has really helped me keep track of the evolution of this 120 gallon mixed reef. The youtube channel is fun to look back on too. Reef aquariums are constantly changing, going through ups and downs / cycles / outbreaks, which is part of what makes each system unique. They all have a personality and like kids, they eventually grow up. They continue to evolve, as periods of meticulous attention and passive neglect come and go. In the end, they will do what they want and flourish in one way or another, with a bit of guidance and experience on our part. Anyway, just a thought.

As far as new things going on with the reefs, I am working on building that battery backup system I have been talking about for years. It is a 100Ah 2000 Watt LifePo4 powered unit, with auto transfer switch, that will sit next to the aquarium for now. I am designing this power bank to be expandable so it will eventually be wired into a sub panel in our home, to power critical areas in a power outage such as the kitchen, HVAC and the two reef systems. Solar is in the future, but will not be a main feature of the system. It's #1 purpose is to keep the tanks running when the grid is down and maybe save a bit of cash on power, during off peak.

Here are some pics.

 

[mattdg]

Update. Pulled a bunch of older colonies from the rocks. Really trying to chip the larger coral down to size to match the rate of growth of the smaller frags I am adding or replacing. So far, have mounted a Vivid's confetting a bit higher than the original colony. The Bill Murray, Walt D, CA Multimedia Milli and Vivid's made a miracle recovery in the down stairs frag system, with only one or two polyps of each left. I'm not out of danger yet. We will see how they do, back in the main display.

I also added a couple new frags, Rainbow Loom and what I think is a golden rod. I'll wait to actually ID it, when it gets larger. The big colony of Homewrecker needs to be broken down a bit. Being in a bright, high flow zone, it has grown into quit a chunk of coral. It's just too much of a wall of acropora at this point. Hopefully I can grow the frags on some plugs and raise a bit of cash for some equipment upgrades in 2023.

Hair algae is completely under control. The fish are doing great. The spotted grouper has been trained to take food from a pair of tweezers and does so with great confidence, which is a real personality change for such a shy fish.

I'm still working on putting all of the pieces of the power backup system together, but I have a solid plan. It will be such a good feeling knowing this tank will stay running, while I am away, during our frequent power outages.

That's it for now. I'll post some picture updates next.

 

[mattdg]

Here is that picture update 02/08/2023

Up top you see where some of the solar flare died back. I glued some frags from the R&R into the original colony which is helping to re populate zooxanthellae into the struggling colony. The old school tricolor valida and red robin have really taken off lately. You can see the Vivid's Convetti on a plug, directly between those two colonies. I think it is going to really color up and grow well, given the new placement. Far left is a millepora that I have yet to try out in this system and you'll see the newly placed Randy's green hammer colony far right.

Here a nice shot of the beautiful limelight Hydnophora and a frag of the equally ferocious space invader. It's the first SI colony I have been able to successfully frag and mount. Lower right, a fox flame on a tile. There used to be a giant green / purple rim capricornis in it's spot. I liked having it there, but it was a chore to manage both the red and green cap, so I decided to put the FF in it's place. The hope is that this will grow into a very large colony with bright yellow tips. The FF prefers low light and will not die off when it begins to shade itself, which makes it perfect for this down low placement. It also happens to encrust over everything in it's way, so I am isolating it on the tile.

Lower middle of the 120, a newly placed war coral favites. Middle back, a not so happy pink goniapora. Directly above is a boring looking orange crush acanthastrea. I'll give it time. Of course the WWC OG bounces are doing there thing, as always.

My green with pink tip psammocora is a beast of a coral, dead center. It might be the one I've had the longest in tanks for 20 plus years. To the left of it is the wild pink tenuis that I purchased as a tiny frag. It looks a lot like the cherry bomb, with a metallic sheen. I really like it.