Duckhams' 75G Reef Build - Eurobraced/BeanAnimal

[Duckhams]

As the tank has developed things most of the corals have done really well. Even with a change from 150w metal halides to Kessil A360WE LED's. There was an adjustment period where colours changed and growth slowed in most cases, but overall things acclimatized very well and got back to normal, if not better growth rates and colouration! I love halides, but im very impressed with the Kessil LED's.

[Duckhams]

A few 'back to the future' shots of the new rockscape after a big 'rock scrub' last week. The red/pink monti in the middle is starting to colour back up after an alk swing that left it almost completely white. The fluorescent pink is really coming back quickly now that things are back in check. Love those monti's!

[Wretch]

Very nice. Has a very clean look that I like.

[Duckhams]

Originally Posted by Wretch

Very nice. Has a very clean look that I like.

Thanks!

[Duckhams]

TROUBLE IN PARADISE:
It's been a few months since my last update. The tank has gone through a few 'events', a big alk swing caused by a dosing tube that popped off, which created a nice slick pool inside the tank stand, a bubble algae outbreak and a small aiptasia infestation. Due to the alk swing I lost most of my SPS and chalices (enter tears here), it's taken the tank a few months to recover but things are finally getting back to normal.
WORKING ON A SOLUTION:
After manually removing as much as I could with a sharpened screwdriver, I added 6 emerald crabs to tank and they've taken care of the bubble algae since. Small bubbles pop up from time to time but they soon disappear.
Unfortunately, one or more of the emerald crabs took a munching to my german blue digitata and made short work of it over a couple weeks, a trade off I guess. And im still battling the aiptasia, they're not a major problem, but long term they could be an issue.

TO RESCAPE, OR NOT TO RESCAPE? THAT IS THE QUESTION:
SO, im toying with the idea of rescaping the tank. The BIG REEF was setup before I setup Big Reef Depot, so im thinking it could be time for a reboot. A Big Reef needs some big rocks, so im cleaning up some Pukani to see how it would look. Still not sure if i'll do it, im going to get it curing in a rubbermaid first, so I have a month or two to decide.
THE NEW BEGINNING:
I gave the Pukani a 30 minute, 15:1 ratio muriatic acid bath to 'etch' off the top layer of calcium carbonate which should limit P04 leaching as it cures and remove a ton of organic material. Right now its in a 10:1 ratio chlorine bath until tomorrow to remove any other organic 'mulch' that might be left over. The acid bath produced a nice layer of floating sponges, other critter bits and scum, which should also shorten the cycle/cure time in the rubbermaid too.
The pics below are BEFORE the acid/chlorine bath. I'll post more pics tomorrow of the cleaned rock.

[Duckhams]

The rock came out of the acid bath and bleach soak REALLY clean, loads of sponges and other organic material came off, it was definitely worth it and will shorten the cycle considerably. I let it sit dry for 2 days to allow any remaining bleach to evaporate. Now its sitting in fresh saltwater with a powerhead and heater, ready to start curing.

You can really see the difference the acid bath / bleach soak made in the pictures below. As a quick reference as a few have asked why I did this:

Muriatic Acid Bath - Dissolves top layer of calcium carbonate off the rock, removing a lot of the 'locked up' P04 that would otherwise leach back in to the water column while curing.
It does a good job of dissolving organic material too, but this isn't the primary reason for doing it.

Bleach Soak - Loosens/dissolves/cleans the rock of dead organic material. A powerhead is required during this stage for it to be really effective.

The results are pretty clear.

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[Duckhams]

Breaking the down this week and selling all the corals and live rock. Lots of frags for sale, rhodactis and some other rare mushrooms. Lots has been sold already so things are starting to clear out. I'll put the remaining livestock in the holding/frag tank while I redo the system with new rock and equipment. I hate this part, I try to get through it slowly and carefully so as not to lose anything but I just want to throw it all in the frag tank and setup the new system up asap.

Im hoping to get a deal on a Canon 100mm f/2.8 Macro USM on black friday for future pics. The standard kit lens just isn't cutting it.