Perseverance Reef

[Fishy888]

I’ve had my peppermint shrimp about 6 months. I have about 5 or 6 hermits that were with me from the moment my first tank finished cycling. I suppose it’s possible there could be some hyper trace amount of CU but I would think the peppermints would be showing signs of stress. I’ll see about getting a test kit for CU however. I’ll get the Hanna checker for CU once I can afford it but for now I’ll get a normal kit.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I’ve had my peppermint shrimp about 6 months. I have about 5 or 6 hermits that were with me from the moment my first tank finished cycling. I suppose it’s possible there could be some hyper trace amount of CU but I would think the peppermints would be showing signs of stress.

It's not likely. Any metals really are a first though when snails can't live long in a tank.

 

[Fishy888]

It's not likely. Any metals really are a first though when snails can't live long in a tank.

True. That’s why I’m going to check it anyway.

 

[Mschmidt]

My Candy Canes always had a pretty decent feeding response to Amino Acids.

What do aminos do? I was dosing them, but I don't know why.

 

[Mschmidt]

Yes. In fact I'd like 2 mandarins or a mandarin and scooter blenny. That might be pushing it but I have boatloads of chaeto these days. I've intentionally left it to grow since I upgraded to the 75. Loads of pod real estate.

I know I'm way behind in this but did you end up with the mandarin? I have one in my 40 and love it.

 

[tbrown]

What do aminos do? I was dosing them, but I don't know why.

Aminos help them break down something's burning forget what. Science stuff. All I know is dosing Aminos 10-15 minutes prior to feeding made my SPS and LPS have PE and feeding tentacles extended for feeding more than without. May have been the same response just they were ready for feeding when the food hit rather than, "Oh, there goes the food. Maybe I should try to catch it.". Dinner bell?

 

[tbrown]

Looks like multiple people can use this code. Https://saltwater aquarium.com $10

 

[Mschmidt]

Aminos help them break down something's burning forget what. Science stuff. All I know is dosing Aminos 10-15 minutes prior to feeding made my SPS and LPS have PE and feeding tentacles extended for feeding more than without. May have been the same response just they were ready for feeding when the food hit rather than, "Oh, there goes the food. Maybe I should try to catch it.". Dinner bell?

Maybe I'll pick up some more. I think I missed the $3 ones on amazon though.

 

[Mschmidt]

I get home thinking I don't do a lot of reading in the day. then I realize I spend my day on r2r catching up on build threads and get posts like this:

Ok I'm home, the tank is in the house, and a few pictures have been taken.

First impression was (still is...) Wowza! It's bigger than life and I'm loving it! I don't have water in it, not even a stand for it (yet, but by tomorrow night I will have one built for it) but I'm loving it! Especially considering the price ($75.00) I am over the moon.

So this tank came from a LFS about an hour or so north of us. They had more coral and live rock than one could shake a fist at. I will definitely shop there once I'm ready for more LPS and eventually SPS. Anyway as meticulous as their store was (even in back it's as immaculate as can be) I knew that when they said it would hold water it would hold water. Stores like that won't risk their reputation on selling a leaky tank unless they say it leaks upfront. Think of all the lost sales and bad press they'd get. Just to make sure however I made a cursory glance at the seams and when we got it in I looked closely at the seams with a flashlight. The seams are perfect.

The 75 had a piece of super adhesive tape down the leaky seam and we were dealing with the move at the time I got it. As a result when I saw the three visible seams were intact I figured so was the fourth. WRONG!!!! Lesson learned.

Back to the new tank I'm not sure why they have it plumbed the way they do but I may have to redo it to a degree. There are two issues. One is that there are two screws that attach to a piece of PVC that looks to keep the plumbing from vibrating at the top of the overflow. That's easy enough to deal with. The second is a little more complex. The bulkheads are mounted with the threaded end out on one and with the threaded end in on the other. It probably won't be an issue but there's plenty of silicone to scrape off if I ever had to undo them. They look to be in good shape and the silicone job doesn't look bad but I will keep a close eye.

Tomorrow I'll start working on the stand. Even though I could probably get away with 2x3s I'll stick to 2x4s. The new stand is going to be about 6 to maybe 8 inches taller. It's hard at the height of the current stand to do maintenance in the sump. Another 6 to 8 inches and I should be able to touch the bottom rear of the sump. Return pumps need maintenance too lol.

Sadly my last turbo snail is dying. It keeps falling off the rocks and glass. Once the cube is set up and gets green algae on the glass I'll get a couple more but first I need to build a healthy pod population once again. Bristle and spaghetti worms too. I think I've lost all my asterinas sadly but once the cube is up and running things will get better. If all goes well this tank will be the best and most successful setup I've ever had.

What will be truly neat is that fish will have an equal amount of room front to back and side to side. I wonder if they'll display behaviors that they don't don't in a rectangular tank. There will be deeper caves and many more hiding places.

I am adding the pictures of the cube I took earlier. I measured the dimensions of the glass panels excluding the frame. It holds 91 true gallons. Admittedly I didn't take the thickness of the glass into account but I am quite sure the tank holds a good 85 true gallons.

so at over 600 words, I get quite a lot of reading done. Thanks.

 

[Fishy888]

I get home thinking I don't do a lot of reading in the day. then I realize I spend my day on r2r catching up on build threads and get posts like this:

so at over 600 words, I get quite a lot of reading done. Thanks.

Sorry lol I do get wordy. I can’t deny it. I am trying to scale it back some.

 

[Fishy888]

I know I'm way behind in this but did you end up with the mandarin? I have one in my 40 and love it.

Not yet but after I get my new circulation pump and lights it’s on.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

Not yet but after I get my new circulation pump and lights it’s on.

Never too early to start your pod population if a Mandy is in your future.

 

[Mschmidt]

Sorry lol I do get wordy. I can’t deny it. I am trying to scale it back some.

All good. As I said earlier, gotta do something at work.

Not yet but after I get my new circulation pump and lights it’s on.

Highly recommend. one thing I think I will miss when I upgrade is being able to be right at the glass watching my mandarin hop around.

 

[Fishy888]

Never too early to start your pod population if a Mandy is in your future.

I’m already working on it. I have a decent amount of chaeto in the sump and I might add pod motels in there too.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I’m already working on it. I have a decent amount of chaeto in the sump and I might add pod motels in there too.

IMO, Don't bother with the pod hotels. Those are cheap, tiny things meant for in tank breeding. Rock rubble, ceramic media, and sand all will give them plenty of what they need, while still having a benefit to the tank.

 

[fishguy242]

hi, just jumping in, bout an hour or so south of you ,have tons of clean live rubble 3$ lb if needed...

 

[Fishy888]

So I topped off the tank today and about 15 minutes later I tested for phosphorus. I got 35 ppb. That translates to 0.107 ppm phosphates. I knew there were likely some phosphates in the RO water from Kroger but now I’m certain. I fed the fish some frozen food too as well as pellets since the last test.

I’ll likely be testing fairly often for a while so I can get a baseline of how much change in phosphate levels are occurring on average each day. Obviously there’s going to be more change some days/weeks than others.

Once I get that baseline I should be able to tweak my exportation so I don’t get huge swings. Then I’ll start testing weekly.

 

[fishguy242]

never trust a machine for water, if buying go for distilled in sealed bottles

 

[Fishy888]

hi, just jumping in, bout an hour or so south of you ,have tons of clean live rubble 3$ lb if needed...

I might take you up on that once finances permit.

never trust a machine for water, if buying go for distilled in sealed bottles

I won’t make that mistake again. It won’t be too long before I have an RO/DI unit thankfully.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I won’t make that mistake again. It won’t be too long before I have an RO/DI unit thankfully.

Still looking around for a box that isn't way too big or too small.