The Rebirth/Rebuild of my 180g sps thread

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Here is a current video of my 180g tank so far.
My Reef -a - Palozza.
Taken on the ipad 2 so its quality is ok but do not think that I can change the blue hues or the over exposed places.
Nonetheless the vid shows where I am upto in having my own piece of the reef.
Enjoy!
[video=youtube;KgM7ewQK80k]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgM7ewQK80k[/video]
 
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Loved reading this whole thread. Thank you for documenting the adventure so far. Can you please update as to how things are and maybe provide some photos? You've got a beautiful tank. Subscribed to this thread.
 
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Thank you Sahin!!!
Still a work in progress and as all tanks go a never ending story!
But vow to continue working on it!
Loved reading this whole thread. Thank you for documenting the adventure so far. Can you please update as to how things are and maybe provide some photos? You've got a beautiful tank. Subscribed to this thread.
 
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Well update 2013 guys.......
Very busy opening of the year with a brand new promotion within the company I work for. So woohoo there.
Things with tank are going well seeing some growth and GHA is gone. Still have some bubble algae so thats something else to worry about.
All in all I was able to add some new stony babies early in January but was not able to post pics till now.
Here is a scrolling plating type of aquacultured I picked up. When this pic was taken it was showing some blue rim coloring. Now it has an almost electric blue rim. Still not greening up as I thought the body would and its way in the bottom of tank.
DSCN8984.jpg


Just a blue tip acro not sure what kind
DSCN8987.jpg

Green acro
DSCN8988.jpg


Have not had an elegance coral in such long time and this one came from a buddy's tank
DSCN9001.jpg


This is a cadallac monti and I placed it close to the bluish/purplish Tyree sand dollar monti
DSCN9003.jpg
 
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As I posted that last post I realized WOAH!!! I have not posted since back in 10/2012!!!
But my tank is still here guys!!!!
One of my favs!!! And spreading very, very nicely!! I know the common name is Flamingo monti but for the life of me can not remember the technical name.
RSCN9019.jpg

Another fav is the ORA Pearlberry. This coral does well in captivity and is already growing since this pic was taken. Thanks to Vic at WWC for a frag!!!
RSCN9014.jpg

Blue cali tort
RSCN9012.jpg

Here is another frag from WWC that shows signs of plating. Again since I bought and took these pics I can not remember the name. I do apologize for this.
RSCN9011.jpg
 

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Hey dude. I bumped your thread on the other forum. How is your tank? Been nearly a year since the last update. Hope your are well and life is treating you good. Come back and update the thread. :D
 
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Hey all fortunately I received a major promotion in 2013. I HAD to devote all my spare time to this new position which unfortunately made my tank really suffer!!!
At the end of 2013 I decided that I either would take the tank down or I needed to continue it......
Well I happily decided that I could not live without it!! Besides its my addiction!!! The job is doing fine and I am settled in and have been able to really manage my time which in turn now can get to be devoted to my lol addiction.

Needless to say all corals were donated to friends so that I could ask for frags when I wanted to start back up again.

I have been in the process of getting my water quality back up to par and its taking me a bit longer but not rushing it and not getting frustrated because I know it will be back as i continue making water changes and restoring balance to the system.

As of right now I have a plight of flat worms and purchased a few wrasses and dragnets that will start feeding off these critters.
If I see that the flat worms have not decreased significantly I will add some PrecisionSolutions Flatworm solution. But want to give the fish sometime.

My MH's were on a years rest so they should still be good and plan on keeping them for now. Skimmer is still running well. The pump had a vinegar bath for 24 hrs and it stills brings up a lot of gunk! I took down the bio pellets and had been dosing Red Sea No Pox but lately no store around me has any so at a stand with whether to order it via online or starting the bio pellets back.
What are your thoughts guys?

I also added a yellow and convict tang because they are such good workers in a reef setup.

All my other fish are still alive!!

As for corals I could not move were some zoanthids and my atlantic blue ridge coral. Boy the ridge coral can't be killed!!!!
Will post pics soon and will keep the journey going........
 
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It's been an upward war to get my water quality back.
Can't believe how long it takes to get things good after months of neglect on my part.
Back in February I was still dealing with flat worms got rid of those then it was the battle of nitrates that were over 50ppm.
Then the battle of phosphates!
All of March I kept doing massive water changes but was not helping! Nitrates were still up and so were phosphates.
In the past I had some great success with Warner marine pellets. My lfs did not carry the brand but they did have some from two little fishes.
In April I started adding 50ml every week till I added enough to handle my water volume of about 210g. Took several weeks but no red cyno nor algae outbrakes.
In May
Phosphates came down but still were hovering round 0.08ppm.
Of course algae peeked it's ugly head! So I decreased my photo period to just about 2.5 hours per day with my metal halides.
My nitrates after water changes was round 25ppm but would not drop any lower.


In June I asked myself am I gonna give up? Heck no!!!


On one of my water changes I tested the freshly mixed salt water. Low and behold I saw that the newly mixed water had nitrates! 10-15ppm!
So I looked at my TDS meter and the water as measuring outbound was 0.10 to 0.12.
I looked at the DI resigen and noticed it needed changing.
I had at least kept up with the 2 carbon cartridges and 1st stage but on that day it was already too late. I had been adding top off water and making saltwater w nitrates!
I ordered from ebay from a company called Filterdirect and changed every filter in the 6 stage RO/DI system.


In July
I cleaned out the sump on a WC and also cleaned my 10g that holds the fresh top off water and boy was it dirty. Well some dead bugs. Keeping this tank clean is a must! I can't afford not too! I am sure that this was causing additional pollutants to be added to the sump via the ATO!


This month ( Aug) I did a 25% water change with 0.00 metering from my TDS! I also started dosing NoPox as I had very good results with this product before.


It will take sometime to bring my water quality back but IT IS THE NUMBER ONE FACTOR IN KEEPING A REEF AQUARIUM!


Of course, in dealing with my water ailments and in my stupidly I would make purchases. Along the way I thought that with water changes I would be fine and without you guys sending me to “coral jail” lets just say I would have been locked up for awhile.


So here we are after making loads of changes I can say that the tide has turned!


Coraline algae has begun to regrow.
My calcium is at a constant 450
My Alk is at 8-9 dkh
Ph 8.4
Salinity 1.24
Temp is set at 77 degrees and maintained via controller with chiller.


Ok you guys maybe asking what about NO and Phos?
Phos has been kept at 0.02 to 0.04
Nitrates less than 10


No over feeding plus constant maintaining are leading me back to success.


I do have lots of pics to post give me some time and I will get them on here!


It feels great to be back!!!!!!!

 
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While these may not be my best shots they are with my iPhone 5. Old camera unfortunately was left in the truck of a car rental and forgotten! Bummer!!!
These are two pics of the flat worm episode:














I just bought this amazing pump from Jabao- its the WP-40 pushes an amazing amount of water and IMO does what I wanted my MP40's to do!
Here is a short video of this water movement in the tank. I did however turn it down and the light sensor is a great feature to keep things on the calmer side at night.


 
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Well guys here are the additions that I have added throughout the last few months.
The following pics were not take by me. These are WYSIWYG from ebay auctions from WWC.
Love their corals!!!


Cornbred Bling Bling Cyphastrea



Golden Psammacora



Multi-Color Echinata



Purple Hearts





Fire & Ice



WWC Marigolds
 
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Things are coming along really well. For the first time in months I can see water quality progressing in the right direction.
With the addition of adding the No Pox from Red Sea my No is at 4ppm and my Phos is at 0.02.
This makes me really happy to report!
I did a WC last weekend and the water used read 0.00 from the TDS meter so that was awesome to see.
I still have not increased photo period as I want to make sure that all forms of nuisance algae is gone. I really would like to keep my all a little more steady but it seems that its depleting rather quickly now. So I am gonna be in the market for a dower of some kind. Any suggestions?


Here are the latest additions which lol left me in the poor house!!


Once again these are not my photos they are from the guys at WWC in Florida.


WWC Electric Pavona





Reverse Sunset Monti



WWC Bubblegum millie



WWC Ding Dang Millie
 
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Here are a few shots using the iPhone 5 of my 180 tank. I certainly feel like the journey this time was a HUGE learning experience for me.


We are on our way to having what I feel is gonna be a beautiful aquarium I can enjoy.


side shot from the side on the right



side from the left



rt side front of tank





Middle of tank





Left side of tank





FTS
 
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Well just a quick update guys;


Tank is doing really well.
Water parameters are getting better and better. The plus for me is being able t0 maintain these parameters.


Alk has been constantly at 8.4 now for several weeks
Ca has been adjusted so that I keep a range between 400-450
Phos has dropped and hovered around 0.04 to 0.02
Nitrate has been the best drop and staying around 2 to 4ppm. Can remember when the red sea test would immediately change to a dark pink color without waiting the 9 mins. Now it takes a longer for a faint pink color to show.
Salinity is constant at 1.024/ 35ppm


Whether the phis and nitrates are being lowered by NoPox or the bio pellets is yet to be determined. Not in a rush to find out though yet.


I picked up a Mag test kit on ebay and started testing and it shows a Mag level of 1400.
I use the following religiously and test every three days so that I can make the appropriate adjustments:


Red Sea No Pox
Red Sea ABC+
Red Sea Colors
Two little fishes Acropower


I made a little purchase to satisfy my obsession lol


Red dragon acro





Jason Fox blue polyp monti







Millie







Acro





As far as growth?


Well have not seen too much yet. I have noticed a couple of the zoas that have started to spread. I have a blue atlantic ridge coral that has basically spread on the lower rt side of tank rock work and star board. The pink stylo is showing signs of whitish tips then those tips get covered w "skin" and you can see the frag getting a little taller.
The jason fox greeting monti is definitely showing signs of base spreading growth.


Once I see bigger signs of growth I will post pics.


Stay well everyone!
 
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Just did a water change after a delay of 1 week. I am being very picky as to my husbandry on the reef display. On my last water change I had about 15 gallons of salt water left. I stored them in the garage for about 30 days. I thought that perhaps I can just use that water on the next change. Ultimately when I mixed this water in with the new water needless to say it never became clear. That was a sign that perhaps the old salt water and had become possibly unusable with a bacteria bloom.


Well out that water went and new was made but it took a little longer with my schedule but got it done!


I test every three days so that I can make any changes to any additives I might be adding to tank. Typical over kill at the moment but need to stay a little OCD on it, lol!


I noticed that the CA fluctuated around 400 to 420
The Alk was up to 9
The mag was done at 1200 and would not climb even after water change.
The one factor I have yet to add to the equation is the PH. My probes need to be replaced and have not had the time to really cyber shop for one. So that shall be a purchase that I plan on making next week.


Knowing that there is a direct relationship with Mag and PH, I started dosing Mag to keep it around 1400. Once the Mag is set in place and kept at the 1300-1400 mark I should see the Alk and CA and PH be maintained at more acceptable levels for a young healthy growing reef tank.


In the meantime a stop at the LFS's was my fix. My pics are via iPhone 5 so they are what they are till the purchase round the holidays of a Nikon D-something!


A couple of these pieces are small colonies. I don't usually go for colonies because I rather see the growth patterns due to my tank conditions but these were truly priced right!!


Not known at LFS so help if you know what it is!!!!





Acro unknown as well so if you guys know let me know!





Close up of above for id purposes





A tabling acro purple tips with white polyps.
 
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So sorry guys for no updates.
I have lately been running a little behind but will have plently to talk about and show off! LOL!


Things are going really well in my tank. I have started to see some real growth and have been able to slowly continue to make purchases to fill up the real estate in the tank. I had reached water parameters that remained very constant for the last 6 months and have watched my nitrates and phosphates drop to 0.00.
Stripping the water to this point while also having a bare bottom tank I have noticed some corals drop in color. Specifically the sps's.
I implemented additional feedings and started to dose Brightwells Koral color every 3 days.
So far I have noticed less color loss but not a huge increase in color. I need to make these changes slowly so that I can figure out what will work.


Currently I am running my mh's for only a total of 3hrs. Why? Well due to hair algae growth I wanted to limit as much of the source for that pain in the rear!!


In March I plan to increase photoperiod to see if this will also help in increasing the color. Continue to monitor for small increases in nitrates and phosphates.


Here are some of the latest additions to the tank!






















 
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I had a busy schedule with work but was bummed because I would not be able to attend any of the frag swaps and shows that were happening.


However I did decide I had one thing on my side and that was the internet. A couple of LFS's had these massive one day sales and yep I took advantage and sat up late planning my list.


Went from need to have, to gotta have to, ok lets be realistic and get pieces that mean something to me. So I strictly went on color and where ultimately it would be placed in my reef so that I can maximize color and comparability as these guys grow.


Since It was my birthday I went all out!!! Needless to say I think I did really well........20+ pieces plus some freebees!!!


I did patiently acclimated them and then dipped them in Coral RX. Across for 5 mins and zoe's and chalices for 8 mins. Very clean pieces so hopefully they will stay that way!


This will take several post so that I can get the names in for id later on when I can't lol remember what they are!!


Friday the 13th Unpacking day!
http://youtu.be/H0RjVqpSpxM




Acclimation
http://youtu.be/bK_KJEXxY94






Purple pink stylo









Purple Rollovers







Neon Craze Acro - directly behind it??? a freebee looks like a millie and tip is showing a pink/purple hue. too soon to tell







Valentine's Tenuis acro









Top view of the acro's











Top view of the chalices and zoe's
 
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Well with all the new stuff I have realized that I need to add another piece of technology to the tank.
I decided to go with a doser. After plenty of research and going back and forth I decided on a Kamoer unit.
What sold me on this unit is reliability and the auto dose feature plus the fact that if the power goes out its internal battery will save my programs.
It is a 3 head doser. I will dose Ca, Alk, and Mag.






The unit has arrived and have it setup. Not 100% though because the manufacturer recommends installing the unit where no moisture or salt creep can get to its components. Due to this the extra tubing it comes with is not enough. I had just enough o at least get it going for pump #1.Since ALK is the least forgiving I started dosing.


Since my last WC my ALK tested at 7.0. I wanted to get it up to at least 8-9 dkh
Due to tubing MIA lol have not been able to use pump 2 nor 3. The pic shows extra tubing I had but its too large and will cause a huge mess. I know because I tried it already lol!





I have been running the ALK now for about 4 days.
I have it set on AUTO
Dosing 5ml of ALK from 7pm-12 midnight
7 days a week
Thats 30ml a day for the last 3 days
I tested on day 4 and noticed no change in ALK still tested at 7.0


I just upped the dose to 10ml so it will add up to 60ml a day.
Will test and see where it is in 3 days.
I can see and most likely will know that its gonna be more than 60 ml a day. Why? Well the caps seem to inhale it and I can see the growth happening and the coralline algae is starting to form on my front glass.


Some may ask why am I dosing so little. With ALK I am careful not to up it too quickly because some acro's and monti's will let you know asap that the alk swing is annoying them. So we don't want that.


Will update Sunday nite.
 
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Tank up date..........
Things are going somewhat well. On one hand I am getting growth some of the acro's and monti's are a little pale in color.
Testing has shown constantly that my phosphates and nitrates have been at ultimate lows. Mind you that this may not be a problem to some in some tanks but for mine it clearly is.
I decided to stop dosing the NoPox. Within a couple of weeks the phosphates started to rise. I keep a close watch and not let those go up above 0.04. In the nitrates dept I turn the skimmer off for several days and test and see if nitrates come up. They do but not significantly. I feed the tank heavier and keep the fish nice and plump. This option seems to show the best for them and the colors.
The one thing I keep running is the pellets. These guys do an excellent job of lowering nitrates to 0 but phosphates seem to be a direct story.


The additional hardware of the Kamoer has been interesting. While it came w about 6 feet of tubing it was not enough to get all 3 pumps going. After researching, posts and emails I found the rt size tubing; 3mm x 5mm from USA plastics. Now its all finally running! I also took the doser and placed it inside the cabinet on a Kamoer stand I ordered from Satlysupply.


​​​​





Here it is dosing ALK at a designated time:








Some research indicates that dosing into a highly circulated area is best in order to reduce precipitation.








Here are a few pics of some new additions to the tank.


Pink Aussie tabling acro






Purple aussie acro



 

Making aqua concoctions: Have you ever tried the Reef Moonshiner Method?

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