This is Getting Out of Sand . . My First Saltwater Tank Build

[ScubaFish802]

I was going to build one of these. Not many people have online it seems. Looks great! I’m in Canada so things are pricey. I looked at the tank. Plus the extra light. The skinner the stand etc. Got a price and was like wow I can build an Red Sea max e 170 for just a bit more so I think I’m going in that direction. Both are all in ones which I think are great and can’t wait to see your progress

We haven’t bought a home yet so a tank that size was worrisome to possibly have to transfer (but obviously way more awesome! Haha).
Would love one of the 170s in the future. Beautiful tanks

 

[ScubaFish802]

Also added a Brittle Star the other day hoping it would help turn the sand.. so far it stays inside this rock most of the time. Comes out to be spot fed mysis with a turkey baster and wraps the ends of his legs around the tip. Occasionally see him out at night but never on the sand lol

Patiently waiting for Fedex to arrive this morning with my first ever online shipment of corals from the TSA sale

 

[wonroc]

Im watching

 

[marcwjj]

Glad to find a fellow reefer with the same tank! Your aquascaping looks great!

i just bought my first corals from LFS today, a frogspawn and a Duncan polyp, they look great so far after the dip, I will post some pics on my build thread.

re. Lighting , I’ve found some recommendations from the Facebook group for fluval flex 123l, you can take a look, good discussions and suggestions for fluval flex 32 reef tanks.

I will follow along your progress!

 

[marcwjj]

For example, this guy had a lot of success with corals even some SPS in fluval 32, and this is his lighting settings:

https://m.facebook.com/groups/477750452828952/?ref=share#!/comment/replies/?ctoken=680571912546804_680586285878700&count=2&curr&pc=1&ft_ent_identifier=680571912546804&eav=AfaRhNyzYDZQdb00G9Onwibn7su-bIjTczDV8Apu7t8zrK0u6eI_7OReLPcMHHm0-cQ&av=603998993&gfid=AQB9vZ21I6EtsGt5

 

[ScubaFish802]

For example, this guy had a lot of success with corals even some SPS in fluval 32, and this is his lighting settings:

https://m.facebook.com/groups/477750452828952/?ref=share#!/comment/replies/?ctoken=680571912546804_680586285878700&count=2&curr&pc=1&ft_ent_identifier=680571912546804&eav=AfaRhNyzYDZQdb00G9Onwibn7su-bIjTczDV8Apu7t8zrK0u6eI_7OReLPcMHHm0-cQ&av=603998993&gfid=AQB9vZ21I6EtsGt5

I’m actually the post right below the one you linked haha
I was mentioning there that if I ever get more into SPS I would need that second light for sure. But for softies and LPS etc.. the one should be more than enough for now.
Looking forward to seeing your build I’m going to try to update my thread today as well.

I also recently upped my lights a bit to match the blue spectrum that’s best for photosynthesis based off fluvals feedback. I swapped out the photos in my previous comments above incase anyone is interested.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Update: Things are going well still (knock on wood). As things have been appearing stable the last couple of weeks I’ve added to my tank a small “Lawnmower” Blenny. I’ve also added a few softer corals as well as a Green BTA from the TSA sale a couple weeks back. So current livestock list is:
- 2 Oc. Clownfish
- 1 Purple Firefish
- 1 LM Blenny
- 10 various snails (trochus, turbo, margarita, and nassarius)
1 - Brittle starfish
1 - Green BTA

Thinking of getting 2 smaller heaters instead of one large one and placing one in each of the outer sump intake channels instead of the larger central return area. As the weather gets colder here I’ve noticed my tank drop ~.5F cooler than usual at night. I don’t want to turn the heat on in September lol - first frost was the other night

I’ve picked up feeding a little to try and raise nutrients a tiny bit higher. Other than that I’ve also added ‘New Life Spectrum’ Pellets to the mix. The BTA gets a tiny piece of raw shrimp cut off each day. The starfish also gets an even smaller piece every couple days or so. Both will grab from turkey baster gently.

Finally grabbed a couple nicer photos of the inhabitants - except the Blenny, per his name he blends so well my camera has a really hard time capturing anything but a blown out photo. - So photography advice for blue lights in general?

Thanks in Advance! Happy Reefing

(All Photos taken today 9/23/20 - Nikon D3300)

 

[marcwjj]

Very nice close up photos on the (snowflake?) clown and congratulations on the first anemone!

Questions:
- How old is the tank before you introduce the first nem?
- I saw you have a cover stand that's holding the cover open at an angle, where did you get that stand?

 

[ScubaFish802]

Very nice close up photos on the (snowflake?) clown and congratulations on the first anemone!

Questions:
- How old is the tank before you introduce the first nem?
- I saw you have a cover stand that's holding the cover open at an angle, where did you get that stand?

The tank is still in the first year. Nems needs stability and light to thrive so keeping things balanced is the goal.
As for the ‘stand’ that began as a mistake on my part . . When I ordered the inTank media baskets I didn’t realize that they came with the flow directors as well. So I now have 2 sets of them. The second set fits in the edge of the hood to prop the tank up now. They fit pretty good so I nver returned them. It think they were only $5 anyway.

 

[marcwjj]

The tank is still in the first year. Nems needs stability and light to thrive so keeping things balanced is the goal.
As for the ‘stand’ that began as a mistake on my part . . When I ordered the inTank media baskets I didn’t realize that they came with the flow directors as well. So I now have 2 sets of them. The second set fits in the edge of the hood to prop the tank up now. They fit pretty good so I nver returned them. It think they were only $5 anyway.

Haha, that's a very creative use of them! my intank basket are arriving today so I'm going to take a look how these flow directors look like

 

[ScubaFish802]

Haha, that's a very creative use of them! my intank basket are arriving today so I'm going to take a look how these flow directors look like

They seem to make quite an impact in forcing almost 100% of the flow all the way up and then down through all levels of the media baskets. Before adding them a significant amount would push its way around the front side and under. I'm sure you'll notice quite a difference! The baskets themselves are great as well, way better than the big sponges. I sent inTank a message about making some struts/props for these tanks officially

 

[marcwjj]

They seem to make quite an impact in forcing almost 100% of the flow all the way up and then down through all levels of the media baskets. Before adding them a significant amount would push its way around the front side and under. I'm sure you'll notice quite a difference! The baskets themselves are great as well, way better than the big sponges. I sent inTank a message about making some struts/props for these tanks officially

I only order one intank basket, it fits very nicely. I think I will order one more to balance the flow, indeed - the flow is not that great and I see things flying around all the time and does not get sucked into the filter area. Having a second media box will allow me to start put some chaeto inside too.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Trying to do this more, so here’s a weekly look inside the tank -

TSA - Candy Corn Cloves already showing a lot of new movement from the original 4 I started with.
Purple Firefish has abandoned its cave and spends almost all of its time front and center in the display. It has also filled out quite a bit the last few weeks.

Grabbed this sweet torch from a member here on R2R recently. My phone photos don’t do it justice at all.

Last photo is a slightly negative update.. noticed one of my clowns had white stringy waste. Started doing food with API General Cure + Focus which I had on hand in an emergency box recommended by this forum. Both clowns have put on noticeable weight the last month or so, so hopefully not a big issue!

As always I welcome any feedback/advice/CC

Happy Reefing!

 

[Nemo1]

I was on this thread looking for lighting schedules for this tank, I’ve bought the same tank but the lights have different settings? My colours only show up as red,green,blue and white

 

[ScubaFish802]

I was on this thread looking for lighting schedules for this tank, I’ve bought the same tank but the lights have different settings? My colours only show up as red,green,blue and white

Do you have the “Marine 3.0”? There is also a freshwater line of their leds. Only other thing I could think of would be to check and see if the app has an update available

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Looking good! Hope the clown is better.

 

[ScubaFish802]

Update: I ran the full 10 day medicated food and have not witnessed and stringy waste since doing so. (although after more research here I am unsure of the actual effectiveness of orally medicating fish. I did try to follow the threads on R2R as close as possible though.) After day 10, I returned to normal food and feeding.

Otherwise things are going well, my nuisance algae has dropped considerably since maintaining higher nutrient levels consistently. All fish are showing additional fat which I take as a good sign of overall health since adding to my tank. I did add an additional snail to replace one that closed up for a few weeks and then finally was found empty one morning.

Continuing <10% weekly water changes as always.

BTA has been wandering recently so I put the ceramic pot back in for the clowns so they don’t have to sleep at the surface at night.

Otherwise all is quiet!

 

[ScubaFish802]

Oh also, finally made the jump to my own RODI. Went with a BRS 100GPD 5-Stage system per some awesome recommendations from members here. My back already feels better! lol

 

[wonroc]

No algae outbreak yet?
-As for the skimmer-I know you dont think you need it...but if you saw the cups of urine which come out of mine you might change your mind.
-Did you get all those tiny hammer frags at LFS? or where?
-try some pc usb fans in the hood to auto cool the tank with a rainbird temp control. I will never go back.
We have a very comparable setup, sorry for all the questions. I think it will make both us better in long run though to converse. This crud is expensive.

 

[ScubaFish802]

No algae outbreak yet?
-As for the skimmer-I know you dont think you need it...but if you saw the cups of urine which come out of mine you might change your mind.
-Did you get all those tiny hammer frags at LFS? or where?
-try some pc usb fans in the hood to auto cool the tank with a rainbird temp control. I will never go back.
We have a very comparable setup, sorry for all the questions. I think it will make both us better in long run though to converse. This crud is expensive.

I definitely have a lot of ugly algae and have been trying to stay on top of keeping it down. I’m glad it looks like it doesn’t though! Haha
I try to use a turkey baster on the sand and a toothbrush everywhere else.

the hammers are mixed from Top Shelf Aquatics and WWC, one is from a LFS near me.

Leaving the rear section of the hood off seems to keep my temp pretty consistent, but I do like the sleek look of the fans installed on yours!