My Reef

[Scottyreefer]

I used to have a 45 gallon display, that lasted a year before life happened and it had to be dismantled.
That being said, I am relatively new to reefing and because of my apartment life, am restricted to size : (
If anywhere through this someone see and obvious noob mistakes, feel free to say something as I dont know everything and always want to learn more.
I have a 33 gallon system with a CPR backpack overflow system.
3/4" pvc to the 20 gallon sump below.
First compartment has my prizm pro skimmer (nightmare but, sweet when it co-operates) 3 baffle bubble trap to second chamber which houses filterbox full of rubble, heater and GFO reactor.
I know I will catch flack for this but, the reactor drains into my overflow backback fuge.
The fuge is just an old HOB filter with chaeto and the bulb is a Phillips daylight 16w=65w 6500k CF floodlamp on reverse photo period.
The final chamer has my return pump (aquaclear 70 350 gph) and full of live rock which, I have been thinking or moving back to the second chamber.
I had it there origionally but, found alot of crud getting stuck under it which, with my overfeeding was not a good thing.
The return is 3/4"pvc with elbows. I drilled a small hole in the line 1/2 below water surface for syphon break in case of power failure.
Im just starting to get my nitrates under control. Overfeeding is too easy, they are so tough to say no to lol, always begging clowns and cleaner shimp.
pH 8.1
Temp 77-79 good old drafty places
Amonia barely detectable
Nitrate 20ppm been doing daily wc since I found all that hidden crap was 40+
Phosphates undetectable which tells me the hair algae is living off my no3
KH 8 (143.2ppm)
Ca2 440ppm
Lighting 4xT5HO 39w (2xblue 2x10,000k) On for 6 hours a day
LED stunner strip moonlights (really nice pop from corals)
Livestock
1 rose bubble tip
2 clowns
2 cleaner shrmip
3 nassarius snails
4 mixed snails
8 mixed hermits
1 Bangaii Cardinal (VERY VERY SOON after i get the nitrates under wraps)
green plate colony and frags
red plate frag
red montipori digita
green montipora digita
3 headed green hammer
varios polyps sprouting up all over
blue cloves
vibrant green stars
blue stylo
red stylo
micro stars galore
Think I remembered everything lol
Are those sirens? The pic police are coming I hear so without further ado....

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/027.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/060.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/048.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/041.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/039.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/037.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/0352.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/032.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/030.jpg
http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/064.jpg

Thanks for looking and any input is apreciated.

[freezetyle]

welcome to the board. There are a bunch of us reefers here in vic.

Love the nem!

[Myka]

Nice RBTA!! Great color. If you tape a picture of clownfish in an anemone to the side of the tank it will usually get the clowns to go in the nem. It sounds silly, but for me it has worked 100%.

If you have hair algae (or any other nuisance algae) growing in the tank and the phosphate and/or nitrate is/are undetectable that is because the algae is sucking the nutrients out of the water making it impossible to detect with your text kits. Also, ammonia should never be detectable after the initial cycle is over. Either you have a faulty test kit, or there is die-off in the tank. For a reef tank you should also be testing and dosing magnesium.

There is nothing wrong with the GFO reactor dumping into the refugium, unless your refugium is actually a macroalgae harvesting factory which would cause it to be inefficient.

[Scottyreefer]

welcome to the board. There are a bunch of us reefers here in vic.

Love the nem!

Great, Island folk : ) good to see


:mrgreen:

Nice RBTA!! Great color. If you tape a picture of clownfish in an anemone to the side of the tank it will usually get the clowns to go in the nem. It sounds silly, but for me it has worked 100%.

Really?? I will try it just for fun but, sounds like a prank on a noob to me : D

If you have hair algae (or any other nuisance algae) growing in the tank and the phosphate and/or nitrate is/are undetectable that is because the algae is sucking the nutrients out of the water making it impossible to detect with your text kits. Also, ammonia should never be detectable after the initial cycle is over. Either you have a faulty test kit, or there is die-off in the tank. For a reef tank you should also be testing and dosing magnesium.

I did just stir the tank up and disturb some rock so, must be in a mini cycle again.
Magnesium, check. Ill go pick up a kit asap
Im dosing 3 things right now, one is alk, one is ca2 and other is iodion.
more detail on this when i get home

There is nothing wrong with the GFO reactor dumping into the refugium, unless your refugium is actually a macroalgae harvesting factory which would cause it to be inefficient.

Not so much a macro harvest but a safe haven for critters and pods to breed, though i still have them going through the return pump.....:question:
And, it catches what phosphates the reactor doesnt doesnt.
Got hermits working on the hair now

[christyf5]

Great looking little tank!! :cool: Good thing you posted pics, saved us from having to harass you repeatedly :wink:

[Scottyreefer]

Hehe yeah figured I best act quickly.
So, I thought my BTA split a baby but, I can't find it.
Me and my buddy swore we saw a little one next to the big but unless it's under his giant foot, I can't proove anything....yet.
Caught a hermit bothering it so he got a first class ticket one way to sumpsville. Lockdown time litte bugger.
The doses I have are all brightwell aquatics.
They are reef code A and B for calcium and alk.
Third is Iodide.

[Rice Reef]

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/0352.jpg


http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/064.jpg

Thanks for looking and any input is apreciated.[/quote]


Hi Scott,

Tank looks great and welcome to Canreef. Boy, that RBTA looks familiar..... Sure looks great in your tank!

[christyf5]

not sure what you're using for a return pump but make sure it has something on it so the hermit doesn't get sucked up into it. They're good at breaking tabs off of the impeller which can be pricey to replace (believe me I know :neutral:)

[Scottyreefer]

Hi Scott,

Tank looks great and welcome to Canreef. Boy, that RBTA looks familiar..... Sure looks great in your tank!

Thanks alot man. Guess I know who you are lol.
Haven't forgotten about you : )

not sure what you're using for a return pump but make sure it has something on it so the hermit doesn't get sucked up into it. They're good at breaking tabs off of the impeller which can be pricey to replace (believe me I know :neutral:)

None in the return section but, thanks for the heads up.

[christyf5]

None in the return section but, thanks for the heads up.

They can climb silicone quite well :biggrin:

[SeaHorse_Fanatic]

Gorgeous RBTA.

[Scottyreefer]

They can climb silicone quite well :biggrin:

Went and checked him out, sitting on top the pump in the other chamber....

Gorgeous RBTA.

Thank you muchly.
Its the highlight of my tank for sure, I love my BT

So, my mangroves showed up today...anyone an expert?
I rinsed them lightly in fresh and sprayed them with salt a few times through the day to clean them up and put them in some styrofoam.
Just put them in the sump now, they will get ambient light for a while from the PC on the backpack then slowly into direct later down the road.
Anyone wants to chime in with input feel free : )

http://i1200.photobucket.com/albums/bb336/scottlongstreth/001.jpg
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[Myka]

The doses I have are all brightwell aquatics.
They are reef code A and B for calcium and alk.
Third is Iodide.

You should probably cut the iodide while you have algae. Most tanks can't handle iodide or iodine dosing without having an algae outbreak.

[Scottyreefer]

Thanks, I'll try it. Looks like some red starting on the sandbed. : (