Duckhams' 75G Reef Build - Eurobraced/BeanAnimal - Page 2

Duckhams · #11 03-04-2015, 02:05 PM

Added a nice big bag of mysis to get the cycle going.

The rocks started to get a nice green colour to them. (watched this carefully increase hair algae was about to take over, thankfully it didnt).

Then gradually, after about 2 months when the nitrates were down (ammonia and nitrite at zero) I started to add a few pieces I saved from the old setup.

Then added 3 Lyretail Anthias and 2 Clownfish. The rockwork got a bit of a readjustment and added another 150w halide for a total of 300w of 14k Phoenix halides.

crimper · #12 03-04-2015, 02:19 PM

Looks very nice and sleek, can't wait until its filled with corals.

What brand/model is that light fixture? I love it!

Duckhams · #13 03-04-2015, 02:21 PM

A few more creatures! These yellow sponges really take over with the right care, they do an amazing job of natural filtration. And the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner shrimp is a must have in every reef tank, they are great 'Parasite Guards' for your fish. This is a great article documenting their effectiveness:
http://www.reef2rainforest.com/2015/...20Videocontent

This Electric Blue Hermit got a little destructive with the snails in my last tank, but he's just so beautiful I couldn't bring myself to give him away. He's quite the character. I really love these little guys! I have found that the Scarlet Hermits are much less destructive on my snails and stay a bit smaller, its always a gamble with these tiny little scavengers though!

Duckhams · #14 03-04-2015, 02:34 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by crimper

Looks very nice and sleek, can't wait until its filled with corals.

What brand/model is that light fixture? I love it!

Thanks! It's a JBJ K2 Viper Halide Lamp. They're not the easiest to find these days, but they're great lights for smaller tanks. I actually swapped them out for 2 x Kessil A360WE LED pendants, and I have to say, while I love the JBJ 150's for a smaller tank, the Kessil A360WE are incredible on this system. I love being able to control the colour intensity and the dusk/dawn effect gives great shimmer, just like a halide but much more blue!

Reef Pilot · #15 03-04-2015, 02:35 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Elliott@BigReefDepot.com

And the Scarlet Skunk Cleaner shrimp is a must have in every reef tank, they are great 'Parasite Guards' for your fish. This is a great article documenting their effectiveness:
http://www.reef2rainforest.com/2015/...20Videocontent

Really!... They use cleaner shrimp in salmon aquaculture? Must go through a lot of cleaner shrimp...

Duckhams · #16 03-04-2015, 05:42 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Reef Pilot

Really!... They use cleaner shrimp in salmon aquaculture? Must go through a lot of cleaner shrimp...

No not shrimp. "cleaner fish species have been used in salmon aquaculture".

I dont think the shrimp would last long in fresh water!

Duckhams · #17 03-11-2015, 02:22 PM

I originally set this tank up with a Reef Octopus NWB-150 skimmer, and it did a great job, beast of a skimmer, but it barely fit the sump and was pretty loud so I swapped it out for a Vertex Omega 130, which I feel fits the bioload a bit better too. I love the Vertex, its incredibly quiet and very efficient! (you do need to adjust the volute to dial it in properly, but once you do its great!).

Duckhams · #18 03-11-2015, 02:36 PM

This little hippo tang (about 2.5") had some nasty parasites buried in him. A fresh water dip brought them out wriggling, like thin little slices of a grain of rice, and it was quite traumatizing for him. But he recovered really well! and got really big! I attribute a lot of his recovery to good nutrition, garlic soaked nori is like penicillin for tangs.

This is probably 5-6 months later. He made a complete recovery! These poor little guys sometimes come in terrible condition from some fish stores, but are well worth the effort of looking after.

One of my favourite Gobies, we call this guy David Bowie because of the pink streaks on his face! He was pretty starved when he came from the LFS, he's a fat little sausage now.

Duckhams · #19 04-03-2015, 06:29 PM

We actually still have most of these guys still in the tank after almost 18 months. We lost a couple of hammers to a prazipro dosing (euphyllia do not like praziquantel), it took the survivors months to bounce back.

Duckhams · #20 04-03-2015, 06:44 PM

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.