IM 25g AIO build

[Llorgon]

Starting a build thread for my new(to me) IM 25g lagoon AIO tank. I'm going to use this tank as a temp home for my inhabitants of my 75 gallon during my move in October. Unless this tank goes well then I might keep it running. So this will be a 2 for 1. Build thread and moving thread.

The plan is to setup the 25g at the new place in kelowna then move fish and corals separately so I have a tank setup and ready to go when I get there.

Since my 75 gallon hasn't been a big success I won't have too much to move over. Hopefully reef tank number 2 will be a better outcome.

What's going in the 25g
About 10 frags and a frogspawn colony
2 clowns
1 royal Gramma
1 yellow tang. Honestly concerned how the tang will do. Hoping it's ok in the small tank for awhile, but I might have to re-home it. :(

Here's what came with the tank:
https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/6eba717149b7cb70122f2f658c09f154.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/3be2c112f98a87777acda835fa761ac1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/75a2017e52ae53c1791fe16c1400c5f3.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/6dfdad5612111241897e80e23580d427.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/0e40cebd21135c1c2b8fc36eff629ebb.jpg

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[Llorgon]

I still need to get a power head, ato and a top of some sort to keep fish in and cats out. Anyone have some good recommendations for nano ato and power head?

Tonight I glued together my aquascape using milliput I got from j&l. Works really well and much better than the last epoxy I tried. Once they are done drying I'm going to put the rocks in a Rubbermaid and start building up some bacteria on them so they are ready for the move.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/816354ef895c6a25392fd9dca9f50c79.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/27512c2c01e8ec653548739d78372a5d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/4ca1a472e51042d21f089108002df23c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190830/b199846041df9b5ed2d7791fa217b56d.jpg

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[Dash]

Hope things go well for you! Good luck :biggrin:

[Synthesis]

Tagging along as I also have the same tank! I love it.

Careful with the light you have. You will easily provide to much with the corals being that high so you should make sure you keep the intensity down with the frogspawns. I have the AI 26HD over mine and its running at 30% and still seems to be almost too much for my hammer and torch. Just play around with it and see how things work for you.

I would personally advise against a tang in the tank you have. I would love a tang, just not enough swimming room for them. Perhaps if you went with a baby tang (really small) that might work for a while until it outgrew the tank?

[Llorgon]

Tagging along as I also have the same tank! I love it.

Careful with the light you have. You will easily provide to much with the corals being that high so you should make sure you keep the intensity down with the frogspawns. I have the AI 26HD over mine and its running at 30% and still seems to be almost too much for my hammer and torch. Just play around with it and see how things work for you.

I would personally advise against a tang in the tank you have. I would love a tang, just not enough swimming room for them. Perhaps if you went with a baby tang (really small) that might work for a while until it outgrew the tank?


Good to know about the lights. As I was doing the rock scape I was thinking I really hope this isn't too tall... I guess we will find out.


Ya I'm on the fence about the tang. It's not near full grown so I am hoping it will be fine in there until I get the 75 gallon moved and setup again. If it's stressed then I will have to rehome it.


What do you use for ATO and powerhead in your tank. There really isn't much room in the back of the tank. My ATK, which I use on the 75 gallon wouldn't fit in there.

[Thanhk87]

I got a IM 25 lagoon top that i no longer need.
Let me know if you want it. Not the greatest shape but will do the trick. Also have the clip for that too.

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[Llorgon]

I got a IM 25 lagoon top that i no longer need.
Let me know if you want it. Not the greatest shape but will do the trick. Also have the clip for that too.

Sent from my SM-G960W using TapatalkI would be interested. How much are you asking, have any pics of it?

Got the rocks into a container today. Added some salt and a cube of mysis to start the cycle.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190831/c435bde48bba73fb15ce1c2c29a99474.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Not too much to update on with the build. Picked up some new toys for the tank though. 

And the rocks have ammonia!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/8146dc6afdcda92e0bf5dd4221925796.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190907/c1a0b1f28f080dc62c0c6d8ae4d322fe.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Cycle is coming along. Ammonia and nitrites now. The plan is to keep feeding the rocks until the move.

We now know where we will be moving to so I can finally start to plan the logistics of getting everything there alive.

I am thinking corals in one bucket and fish, snails and urchin in another. Would it be a good idea to bag the corals separately instead of having them all in one bucket moving around?

Would the coral bucket need an airstone or just a heater?

As for things that I need for the tank, I still need a good ato reservoir and a new ro/di unit. Anyone have any recommendations for a good ro/di unit that would be good with the harder water in kelowna? The current unit I have I got for free and the cartridges are $250 each to replace.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190911/54f989a90e1eb8ce6aca8879aca7b242.jpg

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[DKoKoMan]

Corals will be stressed no matter the move. The biggest thing is your corals will be slamming around in to one another. When I did my move I utilized a variety of buckets (5g pails and placed corals in a bunch of them. Once at my new house I transferred everything in to a Rubbermaid / stock tank. Spread everything out with a heater and power head. Didn’t lose a fish or coral, so I considered that a successful move. Your bound to break a few branches on the sps... frags :smile:

[Llorgon]

Corals will be stressed no matter the move. The biggest thing is your corals will be slamming around in to one another. When I did my move I utilized a variety of buckets (5g pails and placed corals in a bunch of them. Once at my new house I transferred everything in to a Rubbermaid / stock tank. Spread everything out with a heater and power head. Didn’t lose a fish or coral, so I considered that a successful move. Your bound to break a few branches on the sps... frags :smile:


Ya I am a little worried about corals hitting each other. My thinking was fill a bucket with some tank water, put a battery powered heater in there and add some water to some ziplock bags and each coral gets their own ziplock bag and then they float in the heated bucket.


I should have this tank setup at the new place all ready to go so all fish and corals will go directly to this tank when they get there.

[Llorgon]

So I've started playing around with my radio xr30pro. Man that is a learning curve on how to program that thing. I am thinking of using one of the coral lab presets and adding a blue light period in the morning and at night. Anyone know the difference between brightness and intensity?

Finally figuring out my plan for moving everything. I think I will setup this tank at my grandparents house next weekend. Then the weekend after bring the coral and the fish. Then we move to our new place on the 5th. And finally go pickup the tank and move everything to the new place. Hopefully everything makes it alive through a few moves. My grandparents place is only 30 ish mins away from our new place. So the second move shouldn't be too bad... I hope.

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[Llorgon]

So, changed my moving plans once again. Getting my dad to help out. So far he's excited about it so that's a good thing.

Sept 28th I will take the tank, water and rocks to my grandparents house
Oct 1st my dad will pick up the tank and set it up at the new place.
Oct 3rd or 4th Dad will take the fish and coral from our place to our new place. 4-5 hour trip.

The good part about this plan is I don't have to move things twice. The bad part is I won't be around until later on the 5th if something goes wrong.

My questions are what's the best way of transporting and keeping the cycled rock until the new tank is setup? Just keep it damp while transporting and then setup a rubbermaid again until the tank is setup?

On the weekend I picked up a batter powered air pump and some heating pads the LFS had. They are called uni heat. Anyone used anything like that before? I'm hoping I can tape one to the side of each 5 gallon bucket and it will keep the water warm enough for the fish and coral.

The cycle of the rocks is coming along. Have nitrites and nitrates now!

[gregzz4]

Pick up a Seachem Ammo Alert from J&L (currently out of stock) and a bottle of Seachem Stability or a similar bacterial starter. Plus a bottle of ammonia locker such as Seachem AmGuard.
You are going to have a cycle, and just getting the new tank up and running won't be able to deal with supporting your fish.
Get the Stability happening right away when you place the first tank move and use a pump, heater, some kind of filter and preferrably disturb the surface for oxygenation.
This will help deal with the bacterial loss during the first move. The bacterial starter will start to process the ammonia needed to kick-start the cycle.
If you prefer, you can add liquid ammonia, but this can take WEEKS.

Dad makes the 2nd tank move keep up the Stability dosing and pump(s) heater(s) for bacterial generation.

After the final transfer, test daily(or multiple times/day) for ammonia.
If NH3 is present in too high of a concentration(keep below 0.02PPM), perform large(dependant on reading) water changes, or use a binder such as recommended above(AmGuard) and test NO2 and NO3.
If either rises above acceptable limits(trace NO2 and over 10 NO3) perform water changes accordingly. 20-50 or even 100%
Keep dosing bacterial supplement for at least 1 week and watch NH3, NO2 and NO3. If any rises above acceptable limits perform large water changes as required.

Ideally, you want NH3 to be near undetectable, NO2 very low/not detectable, and NO3 below 10. If NO3 rises above 50PPM, perform a HUGH/75-100% waterchange as this can become toxic to fish.
Keep up water changes/low feedings until NH3 stops showing on tests, NO2 stops showing on tests, and NH3 is below 2-5ppm.

This will take upwards of 2 months, but will show you have finished your new cycle.

[Llorgon]

Pick up a Seachem Ammo Alert from J&L (currently out of stock) and a bottle of Seachem Stability or a similar bacterial starter. Plus a bottle of ammonia locker such as Seachem AmGuard.
You are going to have a cycle, and just getting the new tank up and running won't be able to deal with supporting your fish.
Get the Stability happening right away when you place the first tank move and use a pump, heater, some kind of filter and preferrably disturb the surface for oxygenation.
This will help deal with the bacterial loss during the first move. The bacterial starter will start to process the ammonia needed to kick-start the cycle.
If you prefer, you can add liquid ammonia, but this can take WEEKS.

Dad makes the 2nd tank move keep up the Stability dosing and pump(s) heater(s) for bacterial generation.

After the final transfer, test daily(or multiple times/day) for ammonia.
If NH3 is present in too high of a concentration(keep below 0.02PPM), perform large(dependant on reading) water changes, or use a binder such as recommended above(AmGuard) and test NO2 and NO3.
If either rises above acceptable limits(trace NO2 and over 10 NO3) perform water changes accordingly. 20-50 or even 100%
Keep dosing bacterial supplement for at least 1 week and watch NH3, NO2 and NO3. If any rises above acceptable limits perform large water changes as required.

Ideally, you want NH3 to be near undetectable, NO2 very low/not detectable, and NO3 below 10. If NO3 rises above 50PPM, perform a HUGH/75-100% waterchange as this can become toxic to fish.
Keep up water changes/low feedings until NH3 stops showing on tests, NO2 stops showing on tests, and NH3 is below 2-5ppm.

This will take upwards of 2 months, but will show you have finished your new cycle.


That's a good idea. I have one of those ammonia badges that I use for my QT tank. Good call on setting that up on the new tank!

I have the new rocks cycling in an attempt to minimize the cycle with the new tank. I also have a sponge from a HOB filter that has been sitting in the sump for a few months. I was going to put that in the bucket with the fish and then add it to the new tank as well.

I will be sure to buy some stability and AMGuard.

One of my concerns is making new water. I have a new RO/di Unit on order, but it might not be setup until after we move all our stuff there.

[Llorgon]

Picked up some more supplies for the move the other day. Got the stability and amguard. I also have some aquaforest life bio fill that came with the tank. Anyone used that? Does it actually help with the cycle?

Also picked up two bags of sand. I'm trying two different types of sand as something new!

What I do need to figure out is a game plan for my dad when he is taking the fish and coral to Kelowna for me. So far the plan is that the tank will be setup at the new place on the 1st and my dad will take fish and coral up on the 4th.

What's the best process acclimation wise? Test the tank water to make sure there is no ammonia, nitrites, too high nitrates, do water change if nessasary then start acclimating the fish and coral? Or since they will already be in a bucket for 4 hours is it better to just get them into the tank?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190927/f2455d003d98a26aedc44d4f5b3228be.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190927/33975ffe96ce2b9a0a5c1aa406ab3f89.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20190927/cb6a6bd89dc06d7cbb4cd72e724cf710.jpg

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[gregzz4]

I'd still acclimate to match temp and salinity.
Even though you don't have your RO unit yet, I'd still have some emergency water made up even if it has to be with tapwater.

Also, maybe pick up some Seachem Prime. Not only is it good for removing chlorine from tapwater, it also binds NH3.
Once at the new place, introducing air to the bucket can cause any NH3 to become more toxic. So, before starting the acclimation it'd be a good idea to put some prime in the bucket.

[Llorgon]

I'd still acclimate to match temp and salinity.
Even though you don't have your RO unit yet, I'd still have some emergency water made up even if it has to be with tapwater.

Also, maybe pick up some Seachem Prime. Not only is it good for removing chlorine from tapwater, it also binds NH3.
Once at the new place, introducing air to the bucket can cause any NH3 to become more toxic. So, before starting the acclimation it'd be a good idea to put some prime in the bucket.


My dad has a RO/DI unit so I can get him to make up some water.


I am hoping that putting the little sponge that has been in my sump for months into the bucket with the fish will help keep things to acceptable levels at least for awhile. But good call on the prime. I usually just use cheap generic dechlorinator.

[gregzz4]

I'm not advocating using Prime during shipping. Just to use it when the buckets arrive, and before/during adding aeration when you start the acclimation process.
Ammonia levels in fish shipment bags build up and my limited memory tells me I heard/read something once that reminds me about this;
Upon exposing the fish shipment to open air/added air can increase the level of ammonia to near/beyond toxic levels very quickly, and is why many fish shipments suffer losses immediately after arrival.

Don't remember fully what I read, but reminds me about adding Prime or AmGuard to an open bag immediately upon opening/during acclimation.

[Llorgon]

I'm not advocating using Prime during shipping. Just to use it when the buckets arrive, and before/during adding aeration when you start the acclimation process.
Ammonia levels in fish shipment bags build up and my limited memory tells me I heard/read something once that reminds me about this;
Upon exposing the fish shipment to open air/added air can increase the level of ammonia to near/beyond toxic levels very quickly, and is why many fish shipments suffer losses immediately after arrival.

Don't remember fully what I read, but reminds me about adding Prime or AmGuard to an open bag immediately upon opening/during acclimation.


Interesting. I hadn't heard that before, but makes sense. So when I am travelling I was going to have a air stone running in the bucket to keep everything oxygenated. Will that cause issues or is it just when I open the bucket when I get there that it could cause problems?

[gregzz4]

Run the airstone during the trip

[Llorgon]

So moving day was Friday all fish and snails survived! Corals on the other hand are still really unhappy. I think I am going to have some losses there.

The weekend and today have been unpacking so I haven't done much with the tank. I gave the fish some food yesterday and have been adding stability and amguard.

Going to test the water tonight.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/b88f0b63d39acbc76c4845dd2d588b04.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/e14e781ca257a5d7badcb3384b83f6f9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/99b3498eb6bc8ce660e422a185cca7ee.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/7e1cbd003a211cadeb92115955df7443.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/5f43203452814295ce0a6d05c047cf07.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/75c025a477ffc1174b5485f9af5e6309.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/149e7d5b94bb9922bff303b342f9bf10.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191007/da1e5cb91a9e30a93f499361da4c815c.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Water testing done! Forgot to calibrate my refractometer before making water for the new tank before the move. As a result salinity is low!

Temp: 79
Salinity: 1.023
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0
Phosphate: 0.074
Alkalinity: 8.4
Calcium: 410
Magnesium: 1350

Currently working on slowly raising salinity over the next few days. What's the best way to raise pH?

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[gregzz4]

What's the best way to raise pH?

Surface agitation and open a window for the afternoon; feed fresh but filtered outside air directly to your skimmer intake works best.

Are you using an Ammo Alert? It would be best if you did and only use the AmGuard IF required. Let the cycle happen and perform WCs if needed to control NO2. Keep up with the Stability for a week min. Once NH3 is under control you can stop dosing it.
If you keep binding up NH3 with the AG your cycle will be retarded.

[Dash]

Glad to hear moving day was not too stressful. Good luck moving forward!

[Llorgon]

Surface agitation and open a window for the afternoon; feed fresh but filtered outside air directly to your skimmer intake works best.

Are you using an Ammo Alert? It would be best if you did and only use the AmGuard IF required. Let the cycle happen and perform WCs if needed to control NO2. Keep up with the Stability for a week min. Once NH3 is under control you can stop dosing it.
If you keep binding up NH3 with the AG your cycle will be retarded.


If only it wasn't so cold here having a window open would be easier! I can increase the surface agitation though.



I haven't been using a ammo alert. I actually have temporarily misplaced it during the move. :( But I haven't added any amguard today.



I have a AQ50 sponge and 2 medium pieces of live rock from the 75 gallon tank in there so I haven't seen any ammonia. I have been testing daily. Still adding stability though.


Glad to hear moving day was not too stressful. Good luck moving forward!


Thanks. I'm hoping the corals bounce back. I think I have definitely lost the brain coral. The others could still turn around.

[gregzz4]

If only it wasn't so cold here having a window open would be easier! I can increase the surface agitation though.
Running increased surface agitiation alone will only help if the CO2 level in the room is low enough to help. Getting outside air in is a bigger help.
Try to figure out some way to get outside air to your skimmer intake.
I run a hose from the intake to an outside filter.
And maybe during your cycle you should get that air pump running on the system. Increased agitation will help while NO2 is present, even if the room air isn't as high in O2 as you'd like.



I haven't been using a ammo alert. I actually have temporarily misplaced it during the move. :( But I haven't added any amguard today.
I have a AQ50 sponge and 2 medium pieces of live rock from the 75 gallon tank in there so I haven't seen any ammonia. I have been testing daily. Still adding stability though.
Test every day or every other day for NO2 and keep a record of your tests. NO2 will be there even if your NH3 is low because you are cycling with Stability and used rock.
NO2 of even just 0.25 can starve your fish of oxygen. Adding airstones may help, but better to keep NO2 below 0.1 while you are cycling.

Test for NO3 as well to get a feel where your cycle is, and whether or not you need to WC to bring it down.

The main thing is to keep your NH3 below 0.05 (0.02 is better for health) and NO2 below 0.1 while maintaining NO3 below an algae fuel level (near zero is best for now).
Water changes of between 25% and 75% daily may be needed until you get past the NO2 portion of your cycle.
Keep the filter sponge and LR free of debris that will rot and contribute to the cycle. Baste the rock, remove the detritis and rinse the sponge in old tank water during your WCs.
Feed the fish lightly and only enough that they will eat. Once a day is enough over the next week or 2. Don't let anything lay around rotting.
Once you are past the cycle you can increase feedings until you no longer test any NO2.

Watch your fish for elevated levels of breathing and gills which are not red.
Best to not see this and keep testing NO2 levels regularly.

"Nitrites are actively transported across the gills and readily oxidize hemoglobin to form methemoglobin. Methemoglobinemia results in hypoxia severe enough to cause sudden death"

No point in me addressing your corals as they will be affected by the cycle as much as your fish.

[Llorgon]

Over the last few days I have been bringing my salinity up from 1.023 to 1.026. I also found my ammonia badge and a few other miscellaneous tank things I was having trouble finding!

I added the ammonia badge and it's been saying no ammonia. I tested the water Wednesday and ammonia and nitrites were 0. Yesterday ammonia and nitrites were both at 0.25. weird that it wasn't being picked up by the ammonia badge. I have cleaned out the cover over the mp10 and switched out the filter socks. I went to go do a water change with the 5 gallons of water I had left over from the move and unfortunately my dad had combined water from the bucket with the rocks with the leftover fresh saltwater... So water change had to be pushed back to today while I made new water. That was my fault I should have checked before hand! I did add some amguard and hooked up the airstone and have kept that running. Also had some windows open yesterday to try and add at least a bit of fresh air to the house.

Params yesterday were
Salinity: 1.026
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0.25
Nitrite: 0.25
Nitrate: 5

Fish are looking good. I didn't feed them yesterday and will do a light feeding tonight.

Some corals are looking better, some worse and a few haven't changed.

I have been having some issues with my tunze ato. I have to unplug it for feeding(I take some tank water to thaw mysis shrimp in) and then plug it back in when I have fed the fish. It seems like Everytime I unplug and plug the ato back in it fills. And does this if it needs to or not. Is this normal? It has over filled a couple times now doing this.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191011/29bc1cbd9c5e74ded6877bec0f73127c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191011/03a4c2d7eef34689391add5bcc0a5978.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191011/ebd01afd7aaa2ea8e8d3bae413aba7df.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191011/6503f5aba869e76ceffdd8c949536acb.jpg

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[Llorgon]

A quick water test at lunch today reveals ammonia and nitrite both at 0.

Will still do a water change tonight.

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[gregzz4]

Yes it's normal for the 3155 to pump water upon power-up.
You can adjust the voltage output to the pump. While unplugged, remove the 4 phillips screws on the back. Inside there is a micro pot. Twist the knob all the way counter-clockwise to drop the output to it's lowest setting. This will reduce the water output per cycle to 'around' a cup give or take.
You'll find it will also reduce pump noise.

[Llorgon]

Yes it's normal for the 3155 to pump water upon power-up.

You can adjust the voltage output to the pump. While unplugged, remove the 4 phillips screws on the back. Inside there is a micro pot. Twist the knob all the way counter-clockwise to drop the output to it's lowest setting. This will reduce the water output per cycle to 'around' a cup give or take.

You'll find it will also reduce pump noise.Thats kind of annoying it works that way. Good to know I can adjust the voltage.

Starting to see diatoms on the rocks now. My one sps frag has gone totally white. I don't think there will be any saving it :( but my toadstool had polyps out for the first time since the move so that's positive.

Did another big round of water tests

Temp: 78
Salinity: 1.026
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.113
Alkalinity: 9.2
Calcium: Hanna checker 405, salifert 450
Magnesium: 1380


All fish are eating and doing well. Lost a hermit crab though. Once the cycle is fully complete I am going to have to restock my cuc.

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[spacespace]

Congrats. I just finished cycling my first reef tank which is a IM lagoon 25 as well.

[Llorgon]

Congrats. I just finished cycling my first reef tank which is a IM lagoon 25 as well.That's awesome. I hope it goes well. Will have to post some pictures of it.

Ammonia and nitrite are still holding at 0

Unfortunately I lost another hermit crab I think.

Fish are doing well, eating and swimming around.

Corals are still struggling. My largest acan is still not opening and I think I am slowly losing it. The other 2 acans are looking better. My frogspawn is opening up a bit, but nothing like it was in the 75 gallon. The toadstool was open for a few hours on Saturday, but hasn't opened up since and is getting very droopy. All 3 sps frags have diatoms on them so I think they are gone...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/679b6f84dabf7abeb8d2f0c1e4852a39.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/fedae720f09e29dd4631e8bc163c71e6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/cee41ffbe1e568fa6802aec7b681635c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/d2ce62e60b81c1a128fa58f2601708bb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/88de7b920d69c353a87117511dc8e9f5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/421b4a66a5a0a4d482f1963b9778f165.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/ccd186dea2d0bd2ec791317853491d7d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191016/91a8ccae90af62023aeb7cbea43f6329.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Haven't seen any ammonia or nitrite since last Friday and I haven't added any stability the last couple of days. Looks like the mini cycle is over!

Now I can start trying to get my coral health back up.

My params seem to be fine, but most corals don't seem happy. Do they just take more time to adjust to new lights/flow?

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[spacespace]

hey. I have a pair water level adjuster for lagoon 25. If you want I can give to you. I bought it here.https://ez-dose.com/product/ez-water-level-adjuster-full-set/

[Llorgon]

hey. I have a pair water level adjuster for lagoon 25. If you want I can give to you. I bought it here.https://ez-dose.com/product/ez-water-level-adjuster-full-set/


I will take you up on that next time I am in town.


Have you used them, do they work well?

[gregzz4]

Haven't seen any ammonia or nitrite since last Friday and I haven't added any stability the last couple of days. Looks like the mini cycle is over! Now I can start trying to get my coral health back up.
Keep an eye on your NO2 for the next month just 'cause. Testing every couple days doesn't take much time. Remember, higher levels can starve your inhabitants of O2.


My params seem to be fine, but most corals don't seem happy. Do they just take more time to adjust to new lights/flow?
Many corals don't ship well, and being in a bucket together is not the best environment. They will 'fight' with each other, and the resulting coral warfare results in many deaths.
Corals are best shipped in separate bags. Losses can be minimized by dipping after shipping and follow the same rules as if you were to receive them new; acclimate over a couple/few hours.

If you have any left that look like they are worth saving, try dipping them in some TLF Coral ReVive.

The ones that are just growing algae should be tossed now.

My tank leak back in 2016 caused me to place 4 years of 75g growth into 2 x 26L tubs. The upset corals proceeded to kill each other overnight with excretions. I lost almost everything that night.
I was devistated to see the loss, and the smell was overwhelming :twised:

You'll recover.
Let the tank stabilize for a couple months, then slowly start adding stuff again.

Don't rush it. You've just moved in and I'm sure you can entertain yourself with other stuff :mrgreen:

Keep the tank clean of algae, clean the sand/siphon with WCs, clean the glass, turkey baste the rocks weekly to help with the cycle/regular maintenance. If you use socks, change them weekly after blowing off your rock.
Couple/3 months and you'll be ready to start over.

[Llorgon]

Keep an eye on your NO2 for the next month just 'cause. Testing every couple days doesn't take much time. Remember, higher levels can starve your inhabitants of O2.



Many corals don't ship well, and being in a bucket together is not the best environment. They will 'fight' with each other, and the resulting coral warfare results in many deaths.
Corals are best shipped in separate bags. Losses can be minimized by dipping after shipping and follow the same rules as if you were to receive them new; acclimate over a couple/few hours.

If you have any left that look like they are worth saving, try dipping them in some TLF Coral ReVive.

The ones that are just growing algae should be tossed now.

My tank leak back in 2016 caused me to place 4 years of 75g growth into 2 x 26L tubs. The upset corals proceeded to kill each other overnight with excretions. I lost almost everything that night.
I was devistated to see the loss, and the smell was overwhelming :twised:

You'll recover.
Let the tank stabilize for a couple months, then slowly start adding stuff again.

Don't rush it. You've just moved in and I'm sure you can entertain yourself with other stuff :mrgreen:

Keep the tank clean of algae, clean the sand/siphon with WCs, clean the glass, turkey baste the rocks weekly to help with the cycle/regular maintenance. If you use socks, change them weekly after blowing off your rock.
Couple/3 months and you'll be ready to start over.


Still testing water every couple of days. So far things are holding at 0. I will wait another week and a bit and then slowly do a small feeding in the morning and one at night.


I actually put all the corals in ziplock bags with some water and then floated them in the bucket with some water to avoid all the "fighting" The water in the bucket was heated by a heat pack taped to the side of the bucket. Not sure how well that worked though.


I do still have a few corals. I have my frogspawn, 2 mushrooms and 2 acans. The toadstool might still pull through. The largest acan I think isn't going to make it. I can see more skeleton every day. Not sure why it was hit so much harder than the smaller ones. The frogspawn I am just having a hard time getting it to open up like it was in the 75 gallon. I tried moving it to a lower flow area last night. Will see how it does the next few days.


I do have some revive so I will give that a try.



Been cleaning filter socks twice a week while in that mini cycle and I do a 5 gallon water change once a week.



The worst part is in 6 months I have to do this all over again. But at least it's only a 25 min move and not a 5 hour move!

[spacespace]

It's just a 3d printed guard for your outflow and it dose it job to rase the display tank water level.

[Llorgon]

Yesterday was water testing and water change day. Did another 5 gallon water change and changed filter socks.

Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 8.0
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: 0.120
Alkalinity: 9.7
Calcium: 405 or 450 depending on test kit
Magnesium: 1380

Does anyone have a good recommendation for calcium and nitrate test kits? I have Hanna and salifert for calcium and they have a huge diffet in test results. And my nitrate API reagent is low so I will need a new test kit for that.

I also did a dip in coral revive for a few of the struggling corals. Hopefully that will help them a bit.

My large frogspawn is looking worse today. All closed up. With water parameters seemingly ok, could it be the lights or too much/too little flow?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191020/460e83f7f95c32f041fe198c0f6947ad.jpg

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[Thanhk87]

I only use salifert. If its that big of a difference i think its just human error and not the test itself.
Personally with my 10 month old 25 lagoon things are just starting to survive. With a smaller tank its best to wait it out before adding anything. I found that the only thing that really do well is softies and anemone, the rest just slowly die out. But then again i never have any luck with LPS.



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[Llorgon]

I only use salifert. If its that big of a difference i think its just human error and not the test itself.
Personally with my 10 month old 25 lagoon things are just starting to survive. With a smaller tank its best to wait it out before adding anything. I found that the only thing that really do well is softies and anemone, the rest just slowly die out. But then again i never have any luck with LPS.



Sent from my SM-G960W using TapatalkI was thinking user error as well, but I did each test twice on the weekend and twice the weekend before. Got the same results. All I can think of is needing fresh reagent for the Hanna checker.

I won't be adding things very soon. Need to get what I have healthy first. It's nice to know I'm not the only one having troubles with a smaller tank.

Have pictures of your tank?

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[Llorgon]

Today was water change and testing day. Tank is looking pretty ugly. Lots of cyano on the sand and rocks.

I picked up a mini gravel vac, worked great to clean up the sand a bit.

Don't have much of a positive update on the corals, unfortunately. So far I have lost my 3 sps corals, my largest acan and a green toadstool.

My remaining 2 acans are doing alright. One likes to be all closed up one day and happy the next. The other always seems fine. Still struggling with my frogspawn and the Kenya tree seems to be loving things... At least something grows for me.

Fish are happy and doing well.

Since I lost all my sps I have decided to make this tank a LPS focused tank. I figured they are a little easier and I could use some coral wins to build off of for when I can set my 75 gallon up again.

I changed the light settings on the radion to the coral labs LPS/soft setting at 30% brightness.

If anyone has any advice on a successful LPS tank I am open to hearing it!

Tank Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.021
Alkalinity: 9.6
Calcium: 435
Magnesium: 1380https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191027/352b0e22cb3f56a6955b3955da2fd4cb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191027/92d57a91945afd25e2eb02bbbf140492.jpg

Sent from my Nexus 6 using Tapatalk

[Llorgon]

I dropped the brightness on the radion down to 20% this morning. Starting to see the frogspawn open up a bit more. Hopefully it continues!

[Thanhk87]

That some nice looking scape

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[Llorgon]

That some nice looking scape

Sent from my SM-G960W using TapatalkThanks. Didn't quite turn out how I originally envisioned, but I like it so far.

With the recent cyano covering the sand I have moved my photo period from 12 hours to 10.

Two heads of the frogspawn we're opening up a little bit today. Hopefully the rest will follow. Looks like lowering the brightness might help after all.

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[Thanhk87]

If there is an Acclimation option in your light setting turn it on. It usually last for 30days. And it start at 50% on your original setting.

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[Llorgon]

If there is an Acclimation option in your light setting turn it on. It usually last for 30days. And it start at 50% on your original setting.

Sent from my SM-G960W using TapatalkI used that when I first put the corals in. Since moving it down to 20% brightness I figured I wouldn't need to use it.

My original acclimation was set to 4 weeks.

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[Llorgon]

Happy Halloween everyone!

Spent last night carving pumpkins. It's been awhile since I had done that. Forgot how long it takes to scoop all the guys out of a decent sized pumpkin!

Yesterday while searching for my algae scraper I found a bottle of vibrant. Decided to dose a bit of it. Unfortunately this was during lunch and I immediately got distracted by work and left the open bottle by the tank. And guess what one of the cats does? He stretches up to see what is going on and it's enough to knock the bottle over. So overdosed vibrant a bit yesterday...

The tank was cloudy, but no harm done. I did do a 5 gal water change.

Below are the pumpkins, overdosed vibrant tank and the offending cat.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191031/ee276e64368234c062f797e157d4aaf7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191031/ede86b6400009aeb966efb7f49f1be4b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191031/069a4d01171bf72a9f27ee2d9349cf63.jpg

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[Dash]

I thought my cat would at least show some interest in my tank, unlike the husband & kid, but no. He has completely ignored it. Sigh...
Sometimes I hold the dog up to the glass but his eyesight is almost completely gone now.

[Llorgon]

I thought my cat would at least show some interest in my tank, unlike the husband & kid, but no. He has completely ignored it. Sigh...
Sometimes I hold the dog up to the glass but his eyesight is almost completely gone now.




Both our cats find interest in the tanks. It would make it much easier if they just ignored it.

[Llorgon]

Took a few more pictures of the tank. The lps setting on the radios seems very blue to me. Maybe it's just me though.

Acans are doing well as is the Kenya tree. At least something likes my tank!

The frogspawn has a few heads that are doing a little better. Hoping it continues.

The mushrooms I have are very small. About half the size they were in the 75 gallon. Again doesn't seem to matter where I move them. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191101/1c4f9fe9b2b3f20fc482a4edfa5b9d44.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191101/d568275a46d1ea8e2e76148431ee5ab2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191101/0627192b439f19b73c71445cfb32d949.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191101/3ad89d0779d663c4e8fe813b4202c4dd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191101/189a1f25562bc77f2a5bee37d1b99218.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191101/f4811c81eec38d391c49f416914acef2.jpg

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[Llorgon]

I have upped the flow of the mp10 to about 70% on reef crest seems to have taken care of the cyano I had on the sand. Still some left here and there on the rocks though.


I also removed all the dead coral while doing my weekly water change. On the plus side while removing the dead coral I found that there was a tiny piece of the bird'snest still alive! It's a very tiny piece, but it's something. So I broke off the live piece and kept that.


My water does seem slightly cloudy lately. I am wondering if it's because of the accidental vibrant overdose earlier in the week.

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[Llorgon]

Tested tank params today

Tank Params are

Salinity: 1.026

Temp: 78

pH: 7.8

Ammonia: 0

Nitrite: 0

Nitrate: 5

Phosphate: 0.031

Alkalinity: 9.6

Calcium: 450

Magnesium: 1340

Mag and Cal have gone in opposite directions this week. Might be my testing error. Sometimes it's hard to tell when those salifert tests have started to change.

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[Llorgon]

Tank has been looking better today. Water is less cloudy and the frogspawn is looking a little bit better.



On some less good news, looks like I will be moving again in December... So that means taking the tank and moving everything again. At least it's only 25 minutes away this time.

[bauder1986]

Tank has been looking better today. Water is less cloudy and the frogspawn is looking a little bit better.



On some less good news, looks like I will be moving again in December... So that means taking the tank and moving everything again. At least it's only 25 minutes away this time.


Maybe on this move you should plan to move the tank from the old place to the new place in the fastest way possible. Basically Rubbermaid containers to house all your livestock Rock and water. And some extra hands to help you carry it all really quick into the vehicle that should be heated. Get it out of the house quick and into the new one and set up just as quick.

[Llorgon]

Maybe on this move you should plan to move the tank from the old place to the new place in the fastest way possible. Basically Rubbermaid containers to house all your livestock Rock and water. And some extra hands to help you carry it all really quick into the vehicle that should be heated. Get it out of the house quick and into the new one and set up just as quick.




That's the plan. Door to door it's about 25 minutes highway. Less if I drive fast and it hasn't snowed yet.



Fish in one bucket, coral in a few containers and rocks in another bucket. Bring some fresh saltwater and take everything over in one shot.


I may have to move the tank on moving day, but I think it will only take an hour at most to tear down and probably less to setup. I think everything should be ok.


At least I can setup my 75 gallon sooner now.

[Llorgon]

Not much to update on with the tank. It's basically on holding to keep everything steady until we move again. Mostly been dealing with our problem tenant and hoping she moves when she said she was going to.

Frogspawn is doing better, but still have 2 heads not opening. Others are opening, but not to the same extent that they were in the 75 gal.

Kenya tree is loving life and the 2 mushrooms are still half the size of what they were in the 75 gallon. Acans seem to be happy as well.

I finally managed to get a picture of the teeny tiny piece of forest fire digi that survived.

Fish are all happy and eating!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191109/8690383457c32151b2189ee8852e7f41.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Did my weekly water change and water testing. I got a big increase in phosphates this week. I'm not entirely sure why. Everything else is pretty stable.

Tank Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.092 up from 0.031 last week.
Alkalinity: 9.6
Calcium: 450
Magnesium: 1350

Tried to take more pictures. They always come out so blue! Anyone have tips on taking decent pics of the tank with a Nexus 6?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191112/107b142bc08d96648e9765df1201a3e8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191112/314472c75065ff574a6a8b51fbe61726.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191112/0e2dda99d3080269f4fde507e9140b42.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191112/a21307cf510ce2e438d3803816d2da16.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191112/9a0e614008a1b76367a406f025c8461a.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Anyways, not a whole lot to update on the tank. Things have been pretty steady. Most of the frogspawn is opening daily. The Kenya tree is growing and has dropped some branches that have found a home of their own in the tank. The acans look to be doing well. The little finger nail sized piece of forest fire digi that survived the move is showing some growth!


I am having trouble with my 2 mushrooms. They are tiny and looking worse every day. I'm not sure what the issue is. I have them at the bottom of the tank in a lower flow area. Maybe still too much flow?


Fish are all doing well and eating. I'm seeing some pods on the glass and the algae in the tank is going from brown to green so I think that's good?

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[Llorgon]

Today is water testing and water change day!

Overall the tank is looking pretty good. Although a little empty of coral. Acans and Kenya tree are doing well. Most of the frogspawn heads are always open. I have lost on head though :( the mushrooms seem to be melting and I'm not entirely sure why.

The most exciting thing is the forest fire is growing and I can see green at the tip! In the 75 gallon the green would always fade away.

Tank Params are

Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 7.8
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 10
Phosphate: 0.276
Alkalinity: 9.4
Calcium: 440
Magnesium: 1260

Some concerning things are the spike in phosphate and the drop in magnesium. Since next Saturday the tank is being moved and will probably be filled with fresh saltwater, should I correct those numbers or leave them ?

In preparation for the move I picked up a garbage can to mix water in. Should be easier than a bunch of 5 gallon buckets!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191124/7b30ed266bdc185fde224d93c363ad78.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Alright, moving day has come and gone and the tank and inhabitants all seem to be doing fine. Much better result for the coral on this move than the last.


I filled the tank with all new saltwater so hopefully that will help in lowering the rising phosphates I was having before the move. I'm excited to actually be able to start buying some corals and replenishing my cuc!



One thing I have to figure out is how to make water. The only tap I have that will fit the tap connector for the ro/di unit is in the garage, which is a pretty cold place right now. Anyone have experience with making or keeping saltwater in a cold garage?



And now for the important stuff, what should my first new coral purchase be?!?

[Dash]

Glad to hear things went smoother this time.
Is that my Forest Fire digi that is coming around?:razz: Maybe you’ll pick up something nice with the Christmas sales. You need to come back to Vancouver for a coral run!

[Llorgon]

I'm happy it went smooth too.


Yes the forest fire is the one I got from you. The surviving part was less than the length of my pinky nail. But it has encrusted on the rock so that's a good sign. It's actually the only thing I got from you that survived the move.


I probably won't be back to vancouver until the spring. I did see your frags post and wondered if you shipped. :)

[Dash]

Sorry, shipping is beyond my current skill set:lol: If you’re ever in town, you’re welcome to drop by.

[Llorgon]

No worries. I will take you up on your offer when I come to town next.

[Llorgon]

Been pretty busy unpacking and setting various furniture up. Wife went on a furniture buying spree... So I haven't had much time for the tank.

The tank has been doing well. At least it looks to be. Fish are eating, hermits are roaming around my snail is moving around. Corals for the most part are opening up.

I had one issue with my heater where it stopped working. I haven't had the chance to remove it yet so I just added another heater in there for the time being.

Finally got the time to make some ro/di water. Went to set it up in the garage and realized I had nowhere to put the waste water! So I've rigged it up under the sink in the bathroom. https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191205/055ae297cd711db5cf845c37c3642d0c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191205/47487cc91ee8d5e85786835f3b7179b4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191205/8b4c6a4e023ee5fc1db23c42aec02213.jpg

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[Llorgon]

So was able to get an ok photo of my growing forest fire and what could be new growth on what once was a nice green Jedi mind trick?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191205/4f44c79d72a22d223fa5daca8914fba1.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191205/1cdc232587619055814f76a33cbf9cb1.jpg

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[Llorgon]

wow pictures uploaded by tappa talk show up huge!

[Llorgon]

Found the secret to taking better pics of the tank. Do it when the sun is in the room!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/6605909e8cd7c4150c1b5c579e1b39b7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/58c2001ce4fdc52a0c50508cd5f954c9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/b8ff4b8269fa5897b274a133e6aad432.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/410af842278034711f164d227d2e43f5.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/2dd83b751c731fa6239ec76803995c25.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/e40fac9d01cf088cf3ce155ee545634e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/003c0d10c8fdcf75f734185280510640.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/9a631738a6608f574ef73e6a46e9dfeb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/9134058306ef5ff20e5d909a22941134.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191208/9fab55765da79a5e38319996a12ac31f.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Tested my water last night


Tank Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 5
Phosphate: 0.402
Alkalinity: 9.9
Calcium: 480
Magnesium: 1280



Phosphates are really high so I added some rowaphos. Haven't had any big algae outbreaks yet...

[bauder1986]

I can't remember. Are you running a refugium? Or a GFO reactor? Those help out big time with phosphates. Especially the GFO Reactor.

another fun thing you could do is turn a reactor into a refugium. It's a very cheap way to get a refugium onto your system and honestly it would be the perfect size refugium reactor for your tank.

Here's a quick youtube video (https://youtu.be/HHB1xbOqCRo) showing an example of one

[Llorgon]

I can't remember. Are you running a refugium? Or a GFO reactor? Those help out big time with phosphates. Especially the GFO Reactor.

another fun thing you could do is turn a reactor into a refugium. It's a very cheap way to get a refugium onto your system and honestly it would be the perfect size refugium reactor for your tank.

Here's a quick youtube video (https://youtu.be/HHB1xbOqCRo) showing an example of one


No refugium or GFO. I added some rowaphos to take out some of the phosphates.


The reactor turned refugium is a good idea. Just have to make some space for it in the back compartment.

[bauder1986]

No refugium or GFO. I added some rowaphos to take out some of the phosphates.


The reactor turned refugium is a good idea. Just have to make some space for it in the back compartment.

Why not just design the refugium reactor to hang on the back of the tank. And just have a submersible pump in the back section of the tank feeding the water via tube in through the reactor then flow back into tank towards the skimmer. There are reactors that are designed to hang off of the edge of the glass to save space

[Llorgon]

That's what I was thinking of doing, but I currently have all compartments in the back in use. So I would have to reorganize a bit in order to fit the pump back there. But that's a good idea. Probably what I will do. I will just have to wait until after christmas. Christmas and the move really eat up my reefing money :cry:

[Llorgon]

Here is a long overdue update. Been busy lately and haven't been doing much with the tank until tonight. 

I've been sick, we've been unpacking and my wife got hit in her car so that's a write off so dealing with that as well. She's fine, just was a bit shaken up.

Anyways, the tank has been going pretty well except for my phosphates which have been steadily climbing. 

Fish are doing well and eating. Corals for the most part are doing well. My forest fire digi is slowly growing and I can see a bunch of new heads starting on the frogspawn. My one acan is doing great, but the red one could be doing better. It always seems to never be fully inflated. I've tried feeding reef roids, but they sit on top of it. The other acan eats it perfectly fine. Any ideas on how I can get it to perk up?

I tested water and did a water change tonight. 

Tank Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Phosphate: 0.463
Alkalinity: 9.8
Calcium: 480
Magnesium: 1350

[Llorgon]

More shots of the tankhttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/8242080f61644ca75af8272ec10da28b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/3fbc9959af9d0886da561f610ddd7dce.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/9fdd26e71c1958bf37e8ed3fbc15fb31.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/0e043040f592717af63f3494607ae006.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/f050364914dff85c8704143a28c66f32.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/b721aca5cd6d073370f47b5e06452583.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Looks like my first set of pics didn't go through. Trying again...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/e8fa7b039fb7ce83a58502ad7246402a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/dd82bdc83cf4162e7adadefe731c62d0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/71de2c2a6a044d184fc91b85c71b1c16.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/36f2bc26f0e69dbbbb18d3b023692f24.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/ba61d726c55dc8305d14f8388fd9e09a.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191221/d4a3095e3e90be2e0049f3499d0839a0.jpg

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[Llorgon]

??????I added my last bit of rowaphos to the tank and after lots of tweaking I have finally got that ghost skimmer dialed in. Hopefully that will help get the phosphates under control.



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[Llorgon]

Picked up a hammer and Duncan frag.

Hopefully I have better luck with this hammer than the others I have tried. The last few I had in my 75 gallon would be ok for a few months then slowly melt away.

Also picked up some chemi pure to help bring down my phosphates.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191223/5727594e9f4bdf21b0986b15073962cd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191223/9d7db09435f772f517695307a561c9cb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20191223/30afcbda765677b3356cb1478a9343f2.jpg

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[DKoKoMan]

Dude your photos are huge!

[Llorgon]

Dude your photos are huge!


I know. How do I stop them from doing that? I use tapatalk to upload them. Never gives me a choice on size...

[Thanhk87]

Dont listen to them. I like that size.
But if you want to know its the setting in the camera setting that let you change the size.


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[Llorgon]

Dont listen to them. I like that size.
But if you want to know its the setting in the camera setting that let you change the size.


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At least someone likes the giant pictures!
Ah! camera setting makes sense. Actually now that I inspect the images they have a resolutions of 2048 x 1536 and if I check my phone settings that's the same resolution the camera is set to.



I guess I have something to play around with.


I also picked up a TDS meter yesterday. So I went around testing water sources. My tap water is 146 TDS and the water in my ato reservoir was 62ppm. I tested some ro/di water in my water storage container and it came out at 17ppm. I'm going to make some more water today and test it as it's coming out the ro/di unit and see what that reads.



I hope I don't have to change my filters already!

[Frogger]

Ideally your water coming out of your RO DI system should be 0. I change my filters when I start to get a reading. One of the things you can do is run 2 DI filters. When you start to get a reading you remove the first DI and you move the second DI to the first and put now resin in the second Di filter. This way you are getting full usage out of each cartridge of DI resin and you have more purified water. There is a lot of good info on this system on the web.

Also Okanagan water is pretty hard and really puts a drain on your filter cartridges. At least it was when I lived there 30 years ago.

[Llorgon]

Ideally your water coming out of your RO DI system should be 0. I change my filters when I start to get a reading. One of the things you can do is run 2 DI filters. When you start to get a reading you remove the first DI and you move the second DI to the first and put now resin in the second Di filter. This way you are getting full usage out of each cartridge of DI resin and you have more purified water. There is a lot of good info on this system on the web.

Also Okanagan water is pretty hard and really puts a drain on your filter cartridges. At least it was when I lived there 30 years ago.


I think I need to change the DI resin. It has almost no black left in it. Probably left it a little too long. Good idea on the dual di filters. I will have to look into that. One thing it seems I need is a pressure booster pump. The psi out of the cold water line is 40psi. I am told I want at least 50psi.


Yes Okanagan water is really hard. I was hoping to get more than 3 months use out of the DI filter. Especially with only making about 10 gal a week.

[Llorgon]

Obnoxiously large picture time!

Tank seems to be doing well even with some holiday neglect. I got a new di resin cartridge so I can replace the old one and get my TDS back to 0. I still need to pick up a booster pump since I think my psi is low.

It looks like I have a bit of turf algae on one of my rocks. I will have to hit that with some boiling water to kill it off. I had a couple patches of it on the same rock a couple weeks ago, but I must have missed this section.

Fish are doing well. All happy and eating.

Still low on cuc, lost 2 hermits in the last few weeks, but I have 2 ceriths that have laid eggs on the glass twice now.

Corals for the most part are doing well. The Duncan has a new head starting! My red scan always seems deflated though and never has feeder tentacles out. The blue one beside it is big and puffy and always has its feeders out. Anything I can try to get it looking happier?https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/fe219d359d7a9fcecbf373c547cda08e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/af46fa987e983be118a73056d8b1b893.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/d7c43ea1d656b3acdc463c2b85948b70.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/83df29652f00801be9c06227066d562e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/bf0a1456c918163a3c5ccf854460964c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/9ff0f09b21a7185ffb362425a373b42c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/a09636a33cbc8819293fec6f838214fd.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/ba515e8a0acfa7b0a2ef2ca1a8a8b3d9.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200103/5a12965282a15fbb187a9666cf8d2b7f.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Water change and water testing day yesterday.



Tank and inhabitants are doing well. The kenya tree has been dropping a few branches so now I have 3 of them...


Getting patches of turf algae in the cracks of the rocks. I have been trying to kill the patches with boiling water. Seems to have mixed results. is there any CUC I can add that would eat it?


I have been struggling to keep nitrates and phosphates under control. That is probably the first thing I should tackle.


Tank Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 20
Phosphate: 0.086
Alkalinity: 9.8
Calcium: 475
Magnesium: 1350

[Thanhk87]

I have around 3 emerald crab, few snail, and a handful of mexican crab or whatever u call em. Seem to work but in the summer time there is still going to be a bloom.

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[Llorgon]

I have around 3 emerald crab, few snail, and a handful of mexican crab or whatever u call em. Seem to work but in the summer time there is still going to be a bloom.

Sent from my SM-G960W using TapatalkI have 2 ceriths and 3 or 4 hermits and I have 4 trochus on order. Hopefully the trochus can help out a bit.

Ya I'm a bit worried about the summer when it gets really hot out.

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[Llorgon]

Water change day again.

Still struggling with high nitrates and phosphates. Although the phosphates have come down some.

Algae isn't much worse, but it isn't getting better either.

Tank Params are

Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 25
Phosphate: 0.074
Alkalinity: 9.8
Calcium: 475
Magnesium: 1350https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200120/85b5840c7b9b13025bd85ab5bf6cdd46.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200120/de738145bd450b1f4dc5e6adb0a5424c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200120/2f693859d85150ff7f9d67bcdb1d9536.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200120/2f724a00b223b6b392e0ccfaaa94ed61.jpg

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[bauder1986]

Im worried about your tank being so close to the window. One of the biggest rules in tank keeping is keep the tank away from outside sunlight. We dont get the best light spectrum for Saltwater tanks up here in the northern reaches.(Insert big paragraphs about light spectrum being refracted off of the atmosphere due to the relative angle of the sun to our continent)

That sunlight from the window could be one of your biggest sources for the algae growth.

[Llorgon]

Im worried about your tank being so close to the window. One of the biggest rules in tank keeping is keep the tank away from outside sunlight. We dont get the best light spectrum for Saltwater tanks up here in the northern reaches.(Insert big paragraphs about light spectrum being refracted off of the atmosphere due to the relative angle of the sun to our continent)

That sunlight from the window could be one of your biggest sources for the algae growth.


Ya I had that thought too when setting the tank up. Unfortunately no matter where I set it up after all the furniture is in it will be near a window. I try not to have the blinds open for long periods of time. Mostly for taking pictures since then they don't turn out so blue.


In the summer I will probably have to put some cardboard in the window to keep light off it.

[bauder1986]

Ya I had that thought too when setting the tank up. Unfortunately no matter where I set it up after all the furniture is in it will be near a window. I try not to have the blinds open for long periods of time. Mostly for taking pictures since then they don't turn out so blue.


In the summer I will probably have to put some cardboard in the window to keep light off it.

Pick up a roll of window tint. Either Tint the window the tank is near by or tint the glass on the tank thats directly facing the window.

[Llorgon]

Hey, that's a good idea! I will look for that for the summer!


Can you get it at home depot?

[bauder1986]

Hey, that's a good idea! I will look for that for the summer!


Can you get it at home depot?

Any automotive tint will work. Canadian Tire will have it. Home Depot might have a tint big enough for any home window. Just have to get a size big enough for what ever glass you're working on. Plus you can get different tint levels. I recommend at least 50% light transmission. But you can go as low as 5% light transmission (limo tint)

Plus there will be less heat from the sunlight blasted directly onto your tank as well. More stable.

And when you're done with the tint grab a good hair dryer and heat the tint up and peel off

[Llorgon]

Been awhile since I did a update. Still have high nutrients, but I have been slowly lowering them.

I did my first online coral order from fragbox. I ordered a trumpet coral, pink acan, favia and cyphastrea. All arrived in good condition except the trumpet. I think they will be sending a replacement.

For the most part corals have been doing well. The Kenya tree is dropping branches like crazy. Been selling them as I can. My Duncan is showing some new heads starting. Unfortunately I lost the small surviving piece of forest fire digi.

Fish are all doing well. I've started working on my 75g so I can get the yellow Tang out of the small tank. Ran into a issue though when I noticed the 75g stand was compromised. So yay building a new stand...https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/9aea7a827af719ab8619888a4e04823b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/27cb1072dc4479bb99234aaecadd674c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/4ecf85622beafa228307e271a69a02d2.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/929064bf2846b207c25aca1b15c887fb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/6b8dd774575cee05474d83e43a38f1f6.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/6924deb29787d947633d8e4322a1449e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200206/ed4c4da2aec97f6e381017f95c70d841.jpg

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[gregzz4]

Great pics Llorin but they are MASSIVE and go off the page, even on my desktop PC :lol:

Post before and after shots of your stand !!

[Llorgon]

It's been a busy few weeks, but I finally have time to update on the tank.


Fish are doing well. All eating like pigs!


Corals doing well as well. Duncan has new heads, frogspawn is getting bigger, the new acan I bought a few weeks ago has a new head. A cyphastrea I had in my 75 gallon which I thought died in the original move has come back. I see green and 3 red spots!


On the bad side. The algae has been getting worse. Due to high nutrients and a bit of neglect the last few weeks. This weekend I was able to do a bigger clean. I did a 10 gal water change, cleaned the sand, scrubbed rocks in the tank as best I could, removed rocks/old snail shells that were covered in algae and scrubbed them with peroxide to really kill the algae.


Over the last week I have been experimenting with vodka dosing in an attempt to lower nitrates and phosphates. I have yet to see a decrease, but I am hoping it comes soon!

[Llorgon]

I think I cut my dosage to the "maintenance level" for vodka dosing a bit to soon. When testing with salifert phosphate test kit since I ran out of reagent for my hanna it was reading 0 and my nitrate test read 0.


Testing last night after getting more reagent my phosphate is still at 0.046ppm and nitrate using the red sea test kit is at around 1.5ppm


Going to up my vodka dosing from 0.6ml/day to 0.7ml/day and see if phosphate starts to come down a bit more.

[Llorgon]

Alright. More giant picture time!

Tank is doing well minus hair algae. It's always hair algae! Someone help me get rid of the hair algae.

All the fish are doing well and always hungry.

Corals seem to be doing well. I had one coral that I thought was dead make a comeback which I am happy about. Seeing some new growth on my acans, Duncan, hammer and frogspawn. I sold my Kenya tree as it was dropping branches everywhere and taking over the tank. Now I have room for more corals!

I have got my nitrate and phosphate under control. They both read 0 on my last test. I don't think it's true 0 as algae is still growing. I would like to have a bit of nitrate and phosphate so I guess the vodka dosing is still a bit of a balancing act to find what's right for the tank.

https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/d1464ce5ebb15411bc6996329ade9882.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/219cb61fec29c36e1728d68ff887669f.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/bb4aa8bc666704117f2a3413ee1316ed.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/303433388a9514b146ff78994469a966.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/f62575800668269b5d439e7dfff4c193.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/4494acb9b53d5e228e305d5ace32d6e0.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/042fda57892c6a3730bdc0a02e79d3eb.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/7d802a5c010075117fdfff6afdfe6f3f.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Anyone have any tips on getting these corals going?

The first two I got in early Feb and I haven't been seeing any growth.

The acan I have had for a year now and it just won't grow. The other 2 acans I have are growing perfectly fine. But this guy always looks unhappy.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/1bddc56fe2a8db422b8792da95ffc29c.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/aa4c86593f6695412d4e2b1abfddb4dc.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200325/66e466d11f2089a51246741e79f5e035.jpg

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[Llorgon]

How's everyone enjoying their quarantine? Not a whole lot is different for me. I already worked from home. Except now I don't go to the gym after work. Or able to do anything on the weekends.... My wife wasn't taking the whole no gym thing well so she bought a Bowflex for the garage. I must say it's very different from dumbbells.

Anyways back to the tank. Things are pretty stable right now. I seem to have my nutrients under control. With dosing 0.55ml vodka a day nitrate is at 1.5ppm and phosphate at 0.009ppm. I wouldn't mind getting nitrates to be 5 ppm, but I will leave it as is for now since everything looks happy.

Unfortunately I'm still getting gha on the rocks. Winning in some spots and losing in others. I have been picking it out by hand and using a stiff brush on the rocks as well. But it's hard to get into all those little crevices.

Still trying to find some more cuc, but it's been difficult due to things shutting down. I can order from Ontario, but they are getting hit hard with the virus so I would rather not have things shipped across country.

Fish are all doing well. Never much to report with them.

Corals doing well. I moved my cyphastrea do a higher light and flow part of the tank, but it got knocked down by a snail and burned the favia a bit. Moved it back to a safer spot after that and the favia has recovered surprisingly quickly. I've also started feeding the corals with lps pellets every Friday.

I've moved my water changes to once ever other week. Doing weekly was raising my alk and Cal a bunch. All was at 10.2 and Cal at 500. After 2 weeks they are down to 9.6 and 480. So at least thing are growing!

What does everyone use for calcium testing? I have salifert test kit which I find to be kind of annoying. I also have Hanna calcium test kit which I can never get consistent results.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/ed08753f29e687d9f08eae7ba0f09b12.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/3dbe72f756b0492c9572240edd5d0369.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/6c50609fc943fafae238eb2a4ef07f87.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/7f8dc89ceb5f7125c9e79a4cb6baec72.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/4118ad1226dde7fc87bcd0f81bf8f59e.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200404/3fc040d26008e87aa5d581728490be18.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Been awhile since I updated on the tank. Tank is doing ok, going through a bit of a rough patch I think.



Fish are doing well and eating as always. The larger clown has started to host in the frogspawn which is cool to watch.


Corals are ok. My frogspawn has 2 heads that aren't looking great, but the rest of it is big and seems fine. My duncan coral has been closed up since Sunday afternoon about an hour after I did a 10 gal water change on the tank.

Acans are doing well including the one that was always a little deflated. It is now big and has feeding tentacles out!

The cyphastrea isn't doing great, but the one near it seems to be growing fine.


Still battling gha. I think I have got my nutrients under control using vodka dosing.


I tested my water last night, 2 days after my last water change.

Tank Params are
Salinity: 1.026
Temp: 78
pH: 8.2
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0.5
Phosphate: 0.018
Alkalinity: 9.5
Calcium: 435
Magnesium: 1470

I added some calcium last night and will test again today to see where calcium is at.

[Llorgon]

And some giant pictures!

Anyone have any idea what is in picture 4? It's the underside of the frogspawn. It has a bunch of white almost stringy stuff on it.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200429/ea43c0ceefecaa164bc800b033f47cf8.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200429/d31d92657d0fe7db49f194fdfba1daef.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200429/6ce64ad7f73217f69afdf4670fdc8970.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200429/2ed9d4497142afe5fd463605ed7a550d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200429/d59de9eef8010f6176cac46c14fd7750.jpg

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[Dash]

Hi Llorgon, hard to see from the pictures but some kind of sponge?

[Llorgon]

Probably some sort of filter feeder I would guess. It doesn't seem to be bothering anything at the moment.


I will see if I can get a better picture of it.

[WarDog]

Have you tried a Mexican Turbo for the GHA? I'm not sure if J&L has any at the moment, give them a call.

[Llorgon]

Have you tried a Mexican Turbo for the GHA? I'm not sure if J&L has any at the moment, give them a call.I haven't been able to get more clean up crew since the pandemic started. I'm in Kelowna, so need to ship since not much available locally. And most places aren't shipping livestock right now. :(

And a better shot of the weird white stuff on the bottom of my frogspawn.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200501/4db2acee9d7f6d07c574874139e174a3.jpg

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[Dash]

I would say it's a sponge. The tube with opening is called an operculum. Some of the sponges in my tank are really growing. If they get in the way, I just pull them off. But I find they are no match for any corals - they just stay in the shady spots or under the coral.

[Llorgon]

The tank has seen better days. Since my large water change 2 weeks ago my duncan coral has been closed up. I tried feeding it and I got one head to take a LPS pellet, but didn't get it to open up. I have tried moving it and still no luck.


Also noticed that my two kenya trees have been really closed up the last few days so something is going on. The acans, favia, hammer and frogspawn are all doing well though.


I did my regular 5 gal water change yesterday and I'm hoping that will help the tank.


I tested the water and nothing out of the ordinary. Calibrated and rechecked salinity and it was still at 1.026. I've put in fresh carbon which hasn't helped either.



Any ideas on what could be going on?

[Llorgon]

Alright, been awhile since I posted an update. Work has kept me crazy busy!


Tank is doing alright? Not great, but not terrible.


For the most part the corals are doing well. I have 2 heads of my frogspawn that are looking very pale and not really opening up. The rest of them are big and happy though.


My one cyphastrea is dying. I'm not sure why. The other one in the same area as it has been growing. I have tried moving it around, but no luck with it so far.


Also been having troubles with my duncan. For the last month or so it hasn't been opening up. Just closed up one day and hasn't really been open since. I have tried to up my feeding of the corals more, but so far that hasn't helped.


Still fighting gha. If I keep up with my daily brushing of the rocks it seems to say in check somewhat, but I was away for the long weekend and I am still trying to catch up from that.


Still dosing vodka. Dosing 0.7ml/day. It's been working well to keep nutrients low although I think it needs to be lower since I still have lots of gha growing. I did pick up a bottle of waste away and did my test half dose last night. Hoping that can help things out.



I am low on CUC, which is probably at least part of the problem. Unfortunately there isn't anything available locally and nothing is shipping.


How does everyone manage nutrients? I feel I am really doing a poor job of it. I have filter socks that I change out weekly and do a 5 gallon water change every weekly and 10 gallon water change and sand vacuum every 2-3 weeks.

[Llorgon]

Been pretty busy lately and had a couple week long camping trips. Tank husbandry has suffered a bit.

Honestly the tank is pretty stagnant progress wise right now. Haven't found a good lfs around Kelowna that has a good supply of fish, corals, cuc. And with covid not many places are shipping. So no new corals and still in desperate need of more cuc.

Anyone have insight into Okanagan reef stores? I have also noticed a lot of frags from local reefers are much more expensive than on the coast.

Fish are all doing well, corals are not dying, but also not seeing much growth though. My Duncan has been closed up for months now. It's not dying and eats when I feed it, but little to no polyp extension.

Trying to fight back this gha. Seems to be a losing battle though. Been dosing vodka and waste away while doing weekly water changes.

Nutrients are low. nitrates 1.5ppm and phosphates 0.015.

I seem to always have this problem with gha. All 3 tanks I have had all ended up with huge gha problems. And nothing seems to ever eat it. Managed to get a couple turbo snails and they have no interest in it.

How can I beat this?!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200725/2436be8aab713bfc52bb03a71cd4dd14.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200725/7b7bd2135362ecf729e535059ecc67e4.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200725/29b6888e82fc0e8eba12e02d64daf66d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200725/ba197234581bd111c856bbeac47d3465.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20200725/0a58926d4fa51e6d1ba748c6cee38c07.jpg

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[hillegom]

Yes, its hard these days with covid to get a decent cuc.
A lawnmower blenny sure would eat it.
Try decreasing the light by an hr a day. What lights do you run?
Manual removal every day until you make a dent. Hard when you are working.
Google hydrogen peroxide as a cure. You have to use a syringe to spot the gha
But there was a limit. Check,but I think 10ml per gallon a daY?
Its a battle.
good luck

[Llorgon]

Yes, its hard these days with covid to get a decent cuc.
A lawnmower blenny sure would eat it.
Try decreasing the light by an hr a day. What lights do you run?
Manual removal every day until you make a dent. Hard when you are working.
Google hydrogen peroxide as a cure. You have to use a syringe to spot the gha
But there was a limit. Check,but I think 10ml per gallon a daY?
Its a battle.
good luck


I am fully stocked on this tank fish wise. So until I get my 75 gallon setup again(hopefully I can finish the stand soon) no new fish, but I will keep that in mind. Great suggestion.

I have radion xr30 LPS setting, 25%. Light comes on at 10am and off at 9pm.

I have been scrubbing the rocks every night. Seems to be helping the rocks. Today I took my scrapper and siphon to the back wall. Worked great.

I have tried the hydrogen peroxide. Spot treating it works great, but no luck on more than spot treating. Boiling ro/di water also works great for spot treating.

[LifeIsGreat]

How often do you vacuum the sand bed right to the bottom? If it isn't being done regularly and if the sand is less than 4 inches deep, the sand could be trapping a lot of detritus which is leaching nitrates and phosphates into the system and fueling the algae. Reading back in the tank's history the nitrates and phosphate were slowly climbing, then there was the algae outbreak, and now there is enough algae to bring the water-borne nitrate and phosphate to low levels, but they are still being added to the system and growing more algae.

If the sand hasn't been cleaned to the bottom in a while I would start with just a small section at a time per week, say 10% or less, so that the system isn't destabilized too much. Then after a couple months once the whole bed has been initially cleaned, start cleaning the whole thing every two weeks or so.

I don't know your tank or your methods; this is just a guess on my part so take it with a grain of salt. Anyone else want to chime in on this?

[Llorgon]

Right now I vacuum the sand bed once a week when I do my water change. At first I wasn't really doing it, then I started to do it every other week. Now for the past few months I do it weekly. And yes I do go down all the way to the bottom of the sand bed.

[Dash]

Hi Llorgon
I’ve been having a bit of a battle myself with green cyano that came in after my Vibrant treatment for bryopsis. I feel like I’m gaining some ground and it’s after I finally stopped the Vibrant (they claim it takes care of cyano but um, NO). It’s been several weeks of manual removal (blowing off the sheets and netting it out). I think you have to export it however you can out of the tank rather than have it recycled by CUC, chemicals etc. I even took some rocks out of the tank to brush off in a bucket. There were a couple of tuffs of some kind of turf alga that I couldn’t pull off so I scraped it off with an exacto knife. So yeah, a lot of elbow grease. I just spent an hour blowing the rocks with the turkey baster and now my thumb hurts haha. But the tank looks much better.
Anyway, good luck and stay with it. I really believe in vacuuming the sand too

[Llorgon]

Thought I should revive this thread since the tank is still going. This tank is my longest running tank, no other tanks made it past 7 ish months. I have definitely noticed that as time goes on the tank gets more stable.


I still have a bit of an algae issue, but nothing like before. I was able to get some snails and did a dose of fluxRx and it worked wonders. I also removed the rock on the left and replaced it with some live rock from an established system.



The original large frogspawn I had in the tank on the left slowly died for unknown reasons. I added a new one and it has been doing well. I moved the skeleton to the back of the tank and I can see some new small heads on it so it must not be completely dead!


The piece of liverock I got from the established tank had a rock flower anemone and some zoa's on it. Both have been doing well. I have added a couple hammers and frogspawns that are growing nicely and I am hoping to start a small euphyllia garden in the top left. Hoping to find some nicer ones since I seem to now be able to keep them alive!


On the right side of the tank, I have those staxx rocks that I made a bit too high. I have an unknown red sps that is doing really well near the top of the tank. I am thinking of adding some more encrusting corals to the structure, but I'm not sure what kind. I've tried a few cyphastrea that never take. So any suggestions on what would work are welcome!


The favia that literally did nothing for almost a year has finally started growing and spreading which is nice to see. The jedi mind trick I have in the back corner has also exploded in growth. I keep hoping that it is going to spread up the back wall, but so far it's going on the sand instead. :cry:

In the front I have started a little acan garden. Really like these corals. They grow decently well and I seem to be able to keep them alive. Although one of them hasn't been doing well and is down to one head. Maybe one day I can get most of the bottom covered in acans then I don't have to vacuum the sand!


The one part of the tank that still struggles with algae is the back wall. I've wanted to get a coral that will cover it, but all my attempts have failed so far. I tried some montipora and none of them took. Maybe I just need some gsp and trim it to stay on the back wall...


Stocking is still the 2 clowns and the royal gramma. They are all doing well and eating like pigs.


Right now, my main issue is aiptasia. I have been injecting them with lemon juice, but more keep coming up.

[Llorgon]

Here's a few shots of the tank today.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/d0ca5145be64272cf1b11571af3cc757.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/df73c97d6afa703117565ab7c19c3f2b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/1567a7c0c12ec11582f5b54102725825.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/c3588c2ab02cbbe541cebf79c72974fc.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Unfortunately there aren't many options to get reef supplies here in Kelowna. And not a huge selection of cheap coral from other hobbiests. Everyone here seems to want a lot more for frags than on the coast. At least so I have found so far.

As a result pretty much everything has to be shipped. I recently picked up 3 acan frags from fragbox. Unfortunately two of the three came with skeleton exposed. Hoping they make a quick recovery.

Does anyone know if you can order frags from j&l. They always had their frag tanks with some cheaper options, bit you don't really see that on their site.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/7a8374257e6e91234fda1fb6d4eb4e8b.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/c7287d6236a6f14239ace8b686ec3659.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210922/84ef04469c355bdd4588323318feb377.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Picked up a couple more acans, a toadstool and a jack o lantern lepto that I am hoping to grow out over the back wall. I've tried a few encrusting corals on the back wall without success. Hoping third time's the charm!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210926/e5f547cc60aaf5dc9bcd0f8d8ecd92e7.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210926/24d1f36db0067100b1246b9d266ae837.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20210926/12e91fb9d34c685d02061f2d0f1386ea.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Tank is doing well. Still fighting aiptasia. I kill a few and more pop up. It's never ending...

I added a toadstool which is settling in nicely as well.

Also noticed the hitch hiker pocillopora seems to be colouring up and growing too!https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211005/b4248cdd716776c0268d9d0ab90a251d.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211005/4a9048dc925241749e9b162cb544a049.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Anyone have any idea on what this is? Almost looks like a little anemone of some sort.

Best pic I could get with my phone.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211005/b025dd79f0e13dac37896c7459a034eb.jpg

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[Llorgon]

Got a new screen lid for the tank since my old one was starting to fall apart.

Been having some issues with one of my frogspawns. It's looking quite unhappy and I'm not sure why. The frogspawn and hammer near it are doing well. I can't see any pests on it that might be bothering it.

I seem to have this problem with euphyllia. The hammer I have was growing well then was unhappy and 2 of 3 heads died. Now it's back to 3 heads. Same with another frogspawn I had. Was doing great then all of a sudden started dying off.

Since I haven't changed anything with the tank I sent away an ICP test to see if it could tell me anything.

All other fish and corals are doing well. The jack o lantern I glued to the back wall is growing which is great. I hope one day it covers the back wall.https://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211024/a2c3c0154f77e15d4ad69afe9f977892.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211024/28c23b8bc367c4043e7fac3368cf5965.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211024/a487d39b3ae2c65f56146e2b861c4786.jpghttps://uploads.tapatalk-cdn.com/20211024/fe10e910287f7a9767d23201ee048691.jpg

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[mohammadali]

It might be ball anemone or hydroid