Colleen & Scotts 100g build

Brighteyes_13 · #1 02-06-2017, 12:23 AM

Tank has been up for a few months. still happily stocking away. tank parameters have been consistent.

I have been waffling back and forth on my lights and finally decided (for now lol) what i want to do. im going to do a combo t5/ LED. t5 to supliment for growth, and the kessil led for looks. It will be cheaper to run in the long run than metal halides, and for the lifespan it would be comparable to bulb replacements. I dont require massive growth so im not concerned about LED. And a quote that ive seen over and over again, those that switch to LED from more traditional lighting dont like it as much as those who start out with LED.

Since the tank is still pretty new theres a few things that have been creeping in. I have this strange red macroalgae growing on my rocks. its not cyano, it feels pebbly/ rubbery to the touch (same as caleurpa?) and grows short and close to the rocks. the crabs and snails have no interest in it, nor does the tang. it seems to form short leaf like formations in little plateaus. the picture doesnt do it justice.

i dont know if its invasive, it seems to be light loving, and it doesnt seem to grow on/near any corals.

Also have a bit of spindleweed growing in the tank. it also doesnt seem to be growing out of control but does seem to pop up in the strangest places. I am keeping an eye on it to ensure it doesnt get out of control.

if for a strange reason anyone wants any, they can shoot me a pm and take the above little bit of coral skeleton with a bunch on it.

also noticed hydroids, both singular and colonial. they dont seem to be bothering anything and from past experience im sure its only a matter of time before they disappear.

Brighteyes_13 · #2 02-17-2017, 01:48 AM

Quick update on tank.
Added a green wrasse last friday, he settled in quickly and now the tang seems to follow him around.
Tried adding an Eibli angelfish, and the tang and he had a very unhealthy disagreement. wripped out the rocks to seperate them. Beautiful fish but my tang is a jerk. The angel wasnt tolerating his bullying, but rather than accepting he wasnt the toughest fish in the tank he kept going back for more until the angel started hunting him. He was the definite looser in the situation. Rather than risking either of them i thought it best to seperate them and send the angel to a new home.

so for the third time i had to rework my rock.... LOL, never goes back the same way twice.

maron6977 · #3 02-17-2017, 03:03 AM

Still looks good .
My purple tang & coral beauty hunt down every new comer & show them who's boss . Takes a few days to a week & all good .
Sometimes the trick is , add a couple fish at a time .

Brighteyes_13 · #4 03-05-2017, 03:27 AM

Finally purchased my lights yesterday! After all the humming and hawing, i ended up with the ap700 afterall. have started an aclimation cycle, beginning with peak hours running 50% intensity and running my t5s during peak hours only. I really like the ramp up/ramp down ability. The first thing i did notice is all my pictures are now much bluer.

Over the last 2 weeks I also picked up a one spot foxface, and 2 chromis. Again my tang showed a bit of territorialness but it subsided much quicker this time. I think the suggestion to add a couple at once was the right move. Now that pecking order is established we have no issues. Im thinking we are getting close to our stocking limit for fish. We have 2 clowns, 2 chromis, 1 kole tang, 1 green wrasse, and 1 onespot foxface now. Id still like to try a pigmy angel again, and maybe a firefish or two, but otherwise i think im pretty happy with what we have.
The one addition i regret (sort of) is an urchin. it grabs stuff off my frag rack and drags it all over the tank. So far ive had to rescue a frag of green zoas twice, and have lost another frag altogether. if im lucky i'll find them fluorishing wherever they ended up. If im not, well... i guess i'll have an excuse to buy some more. lol

Ive also started to get the power control center set up. it will be nice to get everything off the power bars and onto proper receptacles. Scott is still working on the programming in his spare time and im impatient to get it all up and running. I wired it to have 8 non controlled spots, and 8 controlled spots.

Each side is supplied by a seperate cord, ensuring if one side trips there will still be flow in the tank. I know its overkill but it will be useable when i eventually upgrade to a larger system.

DKoKoMan · #5 03-05-2017, 10:33 AM

I like your clown veggie clip!

Also the tank is looking really nice and healthy with the corraline growth. Keep up the good work.

iamfrontosa · #6 03-05-2017, 12:57 PM

I am thinking of gettting ap700 too. They get good review.

Myka · #7 03-06-2017, 01:33 PM

I noticed your last posted Ca and alk were 240 and 7 dKH. Have you dosed to adjust these numbers yet?

The red algae looks to be a type of Botryocladia spp. which can be a real nuisance or it may just go away on it's own. I'd keep a close eye on it, and in intervene if needed. The green tuft algae is Neomeris annulata and not usually a problem.

Brighteyes_13 · #8 03-06-2017, 07:53 PM

after a change of salt a few weeks back my ca was at 340, and my alk at 6.5. Ive started dosing RedSea reef foundation A and B. I also picked up a mag test... it was 1350 so not too bad at all. im going to test again tomorrow and see how the dosing affected the overall.