100 Gallon Lagoon-style acrylic AIO

[tharbin]

Last week I pulled the UV to clean it off. The biggest downside I have found with the Green Killing Machine is that the housing is a algae super magnet. Add to that the fact that the Hector's Goby never ventures above mid-tank and the Foxface never goes near the back of the tank coupled with the placement of the UV means that the only maintenance it gets, other than the occasional Trochus, is from me.

I have been having a minor outbreak of a red hair algae and a green hair algae. Neither are especially bad but the red hair algae is difficult to remove, so out came the UV; but I decided to wait and clean it when I was more in the mood for it.

I noticed a few bubble algae on the base of the Green Hammer and hair algae on the stems of the Peach Hammer and the Kryptonite Trumpet. There was also some small clumps of hair algae here and there around the tank.

I also have had a few Aiptasia. The first one was on the stalk of the Purple-Rim Trumpet about three months ago. I pulled the plug and cleaned its stalk. It grew back in about a week so I pulled it again and scrapped the stalk. Since then I have been watching closely for its siblings that I just knew had to be in the tank somewhere. Sibling One was found on the plug of the Peach Hammer a few weeks ago. I popped the hammer off of its plug and glued it to a Little Rox and replanted it. Thursday night I found Sibling Two on the back side of a rock near the Pink Fiji.

So the upshot is that yesterday became a fix-some-tank-issues day. I cleaned and reinstalled the UV. I tweezed out a bunch of algae clumps. I mixed up some AquaStick and plugged the Aiptasia hole. I pulled the Kryptonite Trumpet and cleaned the stalk of algae. I was a little concerned about the Kryptonite as it has a very short stalk and the way it was growing I felt I had to get it off the plug soon. Since I already had AquaStick mixed up, the time was now. I couldn't really hold the stalk to get it into the epoxy so I put more than a normal amount of CA on it. Hopefully it will hold.

The Kryptonite is currently splitting again so it looks kind of weird. The Purple-Rim is also splitting and since it has started splitting it has lost most of its purple coloration. I hope it returns but it may also be getting too much light.

I have two more corals I need to mount pretty soon as they have overgrown their plugs.

The Purple Stylo

And the Tubbs Stellata

Since they have been in the lagoon the WWC Grafted Monti and its offspring Pinhead have changed color. First they both went from green to yellow-orange. Now they are more yellowish-pink with a green and yellow rim starting to form.

The only thing in the tank that is not actively growing is the Pink Bird Nest. I think it may be a plastic replica because it looks exactly like the day I put it in the tank.

So here is the tank as of this morning.

Have a good day.

 

[tharbin]

I'm getting ready to add a refugium, more to help with pH stability than nutrient export as I actually don't have enough Nitrates as it is.

At least for now, I'm going to use chamber 2 for the fuge. The tank's sump isn't really ideal for a fuge as the chamber baffles are clear acrylic. If it proves to be a problem, I will 3d-print some black PETG baffle 'shields'. I may do it anyway as part of another idea that is kicking around in my head.

The first step was to add a Tunze eco chic Refugium Light. It fits the chamber like it was designed for it. I originally mounted it to the back wall but the magnet was sitting almost on the light bar upright. I figured by mounting it the 2/3 baffle I could center it over the chamber better.

I have some Pom Pom Gracilaria coming on Tuesday from TSA that I will be adding to the chamber. Then I'll see if I need additional flow in the chamber or not. I still need to figure out where I'm going to plug in the old digital timer I'm going to use to run it on a reverse cycle from the main lights.

 

[lubeck]

Great looking tank.

 

[tharbin]

Great looking tank.

Thanks, I'm pretty happy with it.

I'm reading your thread now. Wonderful tank. I've always liked Biocubes. Like many of us I got out of the hobby multiple times from moves. This last time I almost bought a Biocube but decided to just get a 15-gallon Waterbox to put on one of our living-room tables and make sure I really wanted to get back in. Guess you can tell how that went...

 

[tharbin]

So, I'm having a weird-tank day. It started last night. While I was making a post on R2R I heard a noise by the tank. It sounded a little like something fell. I shrugged it off. A few seconds, later I heard another noise by the tank. I looked over and didn't see anything out of place so I asked my wife if she was doing anything by the tank or maybe in the closet of the second bedroom which is directly behind the wall the tank is on. She said no but the clothes drier was running. I shrugged it off again and finished my post. I thought about it. It didn't sound like the drier so I got up and looked around the foyer to see what was out of place. Nothing. I looked in the tank and everything looked fine for that time of night except I didn't see the Firefish which is normally out and active while the lights are on. In fact, the only fish I saw was the Hector's Goby merely going about his business. It was late enough that the Black Ray Goby and Coris Wrasse would be in bed, but the Foxface should have still been around, begging in the corner below the feed cup. Anyway I finally noticed the Firefish lying on the top plate of the tank. I tossed him back in and after a few seconds gathering his thoughts and catching his breath, he looked pretty good. Then he darted for the nearest rock. All was fine.

This morning I didn't see the Firefish. I don't really expect to see him for a couple of days if past behavior is any indication. I fed the corals and waited for the tank to wake up. The only fish out was the Hector's Goby. Kind of weird. Finally the Coris woke up but he started darting around the tank like he was being chased. The Black Ray finally came out, looked around, and went back under his rock. Usually by now the Foxface is either sitting in the corner under the feed cup or going up and down begging. He was hiding behind a rock doing his 'playing dead' routine. He's moved around a few times but he is still playing dead and the Coris still looks like he's being chased. I guess it's better I don't know what went on the tank last night but I suspect the Firefish and the Foxface got into a little bit. Hope they patch things up.

 

[TheWB]

So, I'm having a weird-tank day. It started last night. While I was making a post on R2R I heard a noise by the tank. It sounded a little like something fell. I shrugged it off. A few seconds, later I heard another noise by the tank. I looked over and didn't see anything out of place so I asked my wife if she was doing anything by the tank or maybe in the closet of the second bedroom which is directly behind the wall the tank is on. She said no but the clothes drier was running. I shrugged it off again and finished my post. I thought about it. It didn't sound like the drier so I got up and looked around the foyer to see what was out of place. Nothing. I looked in the tank and everything looked fine for that time of night except I didn't see the Firefish which is normally out and active while the lights are on. In fact, the only fish I saw was the Hector's Goby merely going about his business. It was late enough that the Black Ray Goby and Coris Wrasse would be in bed, but the Foxface should have still been around, begging in the corner below the feed cup. Anyway I finally noticed the Firefish lying on the top plate of the tank. I tossed him back in and after a few seconds gathering his thoughts and catching his breath, he looked pretty good. Then he darted for the nearest rock. All was fine.

This morning I didn't see the Firefish. I don't really expect to see him for a couple of days if past behavior is any indication. I fed the corals and waited for the tank to wake up. The only fish out was the Hector's Goby. Kind of weird. Finally the Coris woke up but he started darting around the tank like he was being chased. The Black Ray finally came out, looked around, and went back under his rock. Usually by now the Foxface is either sitting in the corner under the feed cup or going up and down begging. He was hiding behind a rock doing his 'playing dead' routine. He's moved around a few times but he is still playing dead and the Coris still looks like he's being chased. I guess it's better I don't know what went on the tank last night but I suspect the Firefish and the Foxface got into a little bit. Hope they patch things up.

That’s pretty crazy. You wouldn’t think a firefish and a foxface would beef just based on the size difference. I did have a problem with my Tomini Tang and a Female Clownfish fighting, which was all the clownfishes fault because of aggression, that ended with the clown getting scalpeled by the Tang and dying. But clowns are pretty ornery and firefish are usually pretty chill when they aren’t freaking out and jumping out of the tank. Weird.

 

[tharbin]

That’s pretty crazy. You wouldn’t think a firefish and a foxface would beef just based on the size difference. I did have a problem with my Tomini Tang and a Female Clownfish fighting, which was all the clownfishes fault because of aggression, that ended with the clown getting scalpeled by the Tang and dying. But clowns are pretty ornery and firefish are usually pretty chill when they aren’t freaking out and jumping out of the tank. Weird.

The Firefish is the 'old-man' of the tank and while he backs done a little, he doesn't back done very far. The Foxface is just plain obnoxious. When you put food in the tank he tries to grab all of it, no matter what it is. He'd go after old whitewall tires if I threw them in there. He also follows the other fish around when they are foraging to see what they have found and then tries to push them out of the way. He's so bad even the Hector's Goby and Black Ray have gotten in his face in disputes. The Black Ray finally moved to where he looks out toward the back of the tank where the Foxface never ventures. The Hector's Goby just looks at him like he's an idiot, says 'whatever dude' and goes about his business. The Hector is pretty cool he doesn't interact with the other fish at all but doesn't back down if confronted.

The Foxface is such a pig that I set up an experiment a week or so ago. After the fish had all retired for the evening, I dropped a couple of Fauna Marin Soft Spirulina pellets from the feeder to see how long it took them to hit the sand. It averaged about 3 seconds. The next day, after I had already feed them Mysis and TDO pellets, and put in a fresh Nori sheet, I took twenty-four Spirulina pellets and dropped them all in the feed cup at once. The Foxface is the only fish that eats them. Not one pellet made it to the sand.

 

[BubblesandSqueak]

I guess it's better I don't know what went on the tank last night but I suspect the Firefish and the Foxface got into a little bit. Hope they patch things up.

I bet the Fox threw the Fire Ball out of the tank.

 

[tharbin]

I just have to say, no matter what people may think of them, at least some, Firefish are just plain plucky.

I went out earlier today and when I came back the Firefish was out but the Foxface was still hiding. We fed the tank some Mysis and the Foxface came out. He was at one end of the tank and the Firefish was at the other. All was fine; until they both went for the same hunk of Mysis. They butted heads, the Foxface went flying through the rocks and the Firefish went straight up. They both went back into hiding. I started this post because a minute or two ago the Firefish came back out and is hanging around in the middle of the tank just like normal. Then the Foxface came out. The Firefish never flinched and they all seem to be getting along fine for now. I threw some netting over the top of the tank for now though.

The Foxface has to out-weigh him by at least 5 to 1, and he has venomous spines. Gutsy little Firefish...

 

[TheWB]

I just have to say, no matter what people may think of them, at least some, Firefish are just plain plucky.

I went out earlier today and when I came back the Firefish was out but the Foxface was still hiding. We fed the tank some Mysis and the Foxface came out. He was at one end of the tank and the Firefish was at the other. All was fine; until they both went for the same hunk of Mysis. They butted heads, the Foxface went flying through the rocks and the Firefish went straight up. They both went back into hiding. I started this post because a minute or two ago the Firefish came back out and is hanging around in the middle of the tank just like normal. Then the Foxface came out. The Firefish never flinched and they all seem to be getting along fine for now. I threw some netting over the top of the tank for now though.

The Foxface has to out-weigh him by at least 5 to 1, and he has venomous spines. Gutsy little Firefish...

I could be wrong but that Foxface might need another larger fish or two to swim with. You’ve got the room and adding a Tomini or Kole Tang might encourage it to swim with the others instead of bossing the smaller fish who don’t seem to want to put up with it. Also, how’s your cave situation? Does the Foxface have enough room to hide? Maybe it’s got some anxiety? My Tomini is pretty chill even though it’s in a tank that’s not big enough anymore. It’s never been aggressive to the other fish, except the clown and that was self defense, and I think part of the reason why is that it has lots of places to hide, it can actually swim under almost my whole scape. It hides from me all the time. Your rockwork is fairly low so I thought it might be worth asking about.

 

[tharbin]

I could be wrong but that Foxface might need another larger fish or two to swim with. You’ve got the room and adding a Tomini or Kole Tang might encourage it to swim with the others instead of bossing the smaller fish who don’t seem to want to put up with it. Also, how’s your cave situation? Does the Foxface have enough room to hide? Maybe it’s got some anxiety? My Tomini is pretty chill even though it’s in a tank that’s not big enough anymore. It’s never been aggressive to the other fish, except the clown and that was self defense, and I think part of the reason why is that it has lots of places to hide, it can actually swim under almost my whole scape. It hides from me all the time. Your rockwork is fairly low so I thought it might be worth asking about.

I thought about that. In fact a Tomini Tang is the top of the 'possibles' list. The Foxface doesn't really boss the other fish he just goes nuts when he sees food, or thinks someone else has found some, and doesn't weigh the consequences. In general he is a big chicken. He does have a cave that he still has plenty of room in although once he's full grown...

He is skittish, has been from day one, except when there is food in the tank.

I almost picked up a Melanurus Wrasse a couple of weeks ago.

I don't think I have a cave or other suitable cover though for another big fish. There are a couple of other caves and crevices that might do but I might end up needing to re-scape.

 

[TheWB]

I thought about that. In fact a Tomini Tang is the top of the 'possibles' list. The Foxface doesn't really boss the other fish he just goes nuts when he sees food, or thinks someone else has found some, and doesn't weigh the consequences. In general he is a big chicken. He does have a cave that he still has plenty of room in although once he's full grown...

He is skittish, has been from day one, except when there is food in the tank.

I almost picked up a Melanurus Wrasse a couple of weeks ago.

I don't think I have a cave or other suitable cover though for another big fish. There are a couple of other caves and crevices that might do but I might end up needing to re-scape.

A little scape adjustment might be in order. You're already using Stax in the little center island. You could use some more of it, or the smaller Little Feet, to make "legs" for that island on the left. Make enough height for fish to swim under it. You could do the same thing with smaller baseball sized Marco Rocks or similar as well. That would give you some difference in height and create more cover for fish and more flow under the scape. You've seen my new scape and you know how much I like it being raised up so I may just be projecting my preferences though. Take that for what it's worth. The Tomini might also get the Foxface to start following it around as it picks at the rocks which would keep it busy instead of lurking to see if the other smaller fish have found something to eat.

 

[tharbin]

A little scape adjustment might be in order. You're already using Stax in the little center island. You could use some more of it, or the smaller Little Feet, to make "legs" for that island on the left. Make enough height for fish to swim under it. You could do the same thing with smaller baseball sized Marco Rocks or similar as well. That would give you some difference in height and create more cover for fish and more flow under the scape. You've seen my new scape and you know how much I like it being raised up so I may just be projecting my preferences though. Take that for what it's worth. The Tomini might also get the Foxface to start following it around as it picks at the rocks which would keep it busy instead of lurking to see if the other smaller fish have found something to eat.

We do think alike. I was thinking that a Tomini or other bristletooth tang would serve two purposes. First he has a different grazing style from the Foxface who grazes more like a Zebrasoma tang and would therefore help with the areas the Foxface and Hector don't clean. Second, when he isn't begging under the feed cup, the Foxface grazes until he thinks he sees one of the other fish eating something. He then jams his face into whatever the other fish is doing to 'get some'. I'd rather he was doing that with another algae eater and, even better, someone that can push back when he gets overly zealous.

I took a good look at the tank last evening and have identified three areas that need some work very soon. Once those are fixed we'll see what else is still causing issues.

1. The left hand island is just what I, and apparently the fish, wanted. They all sleep/live there except the Hector which doesn't seem to sleep at all. The cave is a good size and there are a lot of small holes and crevices. On the other hand the right hand island is a total failure. It has a cave and some crevices but it just doesn't work. I think I need to raise the cave a little and redo some of the rock alignments to make it more appealing. My Little Rox may help with that or I may buy another box of Stax. I also have a few more pieces of base rock in storage.

2. The center island that I added is working well but adding the third Nero 3 has disrupted my plan for the coral-scape as it is directly behind the top of the island. I need to move the Neros around to keep a similar flow pattern but not one that blows directly on the top of the center island. I really dislike pumps on the side walls of a tank but I may have no choice. That or change to a pump style more like the Tunze Nanostreams that I can more easily affix off-axis. The other choice of course is a Gyre-style pump. I wasn't convinced that the Nero 3s were the way to go on this tank; I'm still not.

3. Beyond that I need to get the other corals mounted and a few more in the tank. I do have three corals coming next week that I bought during the TSA sale. They are the first corals I have ever bought that weren't locally-sourced so we'll see. The plan from the beginning was to grow coral colonies that would provide the aquascape. I've been very slow at getting those corals in place so that they can start to provide the habitat the fish need. A few of the corals from the old tank have also taken longer than I expected to bounce back once established in this tank. In particular I was expecting the orange and the so-called-WWC plating montis to have taken off much sooner than they have. The orange is meant to provide an overhang in the right front corner under the feed cup area and the WWC-ish is supposed to provide an overhang between the center and right hand islands. They are both finally starting to plate out but it will be several months before they start to really fill their roles. There is also supposed to be some branching coral on the top of the center island and on the low section of the left hand island to make the passage ways more covered. Acans, Gonis, Trumpets and Hammers are supposed to provide some cover in front of and around the various cave/crevice entrances and branching what-evers between and above the islands. Then the encrusters are supposed to fuse it all together.

 

[TheWB]

We do think alike. I was thinking that a Tomini or other bristletooth tang would serve two purposes. First he has a different grazing style from the Foxface who grazes more like a Zebrasoma tang and would therefore help with the areas the Foxface and Hector don't clean. Second, when he isn't begging under the feed cup, the Foxface grazes until he thinks he sees one of the other fish eating something. He then jams his face into whatever the other fish is doing to 'get some'. I'd rather he was doing that with another algae eater and, even better, someone that can push back when he gets overly zealous.

I took a good look at the tank last evening and have identified three areas that need some work very soon. Once those are fixed we'll see what else is still causing issues.

1. The left hand island is just what I, and apparently the fish, wanted. They all sleep/live there except the Hector which doesn't seem to sleep at all. The cave is a good size and there are a lot of small holes and crevices. On the other hand the right hand island is a total failure. It has a cave and some crevices but it just doesn't work. I think I need to raise the cave a little and redo some of the rock alignments to make it more appealing. My Little Rox may help with that or I may buy another box of Stax. I also have a few more pieces of base rock in storage.

2. The center island that I added is working well but adding the third Nero 3 has disrupted my plan for the coral-scape as it is directly behind the top of the island. I need to move the Neros around to keep a similar flow pattern but not one that blows directly on the top of the center island. I really dislike pumps on the side walls of a tank but I may have no choice. That or change to a pump style more like the Tunze Nanostreams that I can more easily affix off-axis. The other choice of course is a Gyre-style pump. I wasn't convinced that the Nero 3s were the way to go on this tank; I'm still not.

3. Beyond that I need to get the other corals mounted and a few more in the tank. I do have three corals coming next week that I bought during the TSA sale. They are the first corals I have ever bought that weren't locally-sourced so we'll see. The plan from the beginning was to grow coral colonies that would provide the aquascape. I've been very slow at getting those corals in place so that they can start to provide the habitat the fish need. A few of the corals from the old tank have also taken longer than I expected to bounce back once established in this tank. In particular I was expecting the orange and the so-called-WWC plating montis to have taken off much sooner than they have. The orange is meant to provide an overhang in the right front corner under the feed cup area and the WWC-ish is supposed to provide an overhang between the center and right hand islands. They are both finally starting to plate out but it will be several months before they start to really fill their roles. There is also supposed to be some branching coral on the top of the center island and on the low section of the left hand island to make the passage ways more covered. Acans, Gonis, Trumpets and Hammers are supposed to provide some cover in front of and around the various cave/crevice entrances and branching what-evers between and above the islands. Then the encrusters are supposed to fuse it all together.

I’m going to have a Maxspect Jump 4K gyre on one end along with at least two Nero 3’s on the back wall on mine which has the same basic dims that your tank has. It will be informative to see how that turns out with flow.

 

[tharbin]

I’m going to have a Maxspect Jump 4K gyre on one end along with at least two Nero 3’s on the back wall on mine which has the same basic dims that your tank has. It will be informative to see how that turns out with flow.

I'm looking forward to seeing how the Maxspect works out, and where you mount it.

 

[tharbin]

Things have settled down in the tank for now. I'm trying a different feeding regimen to see how it goes. I also did a few adds to the tank today from the TSA sale.

A Tiger Sand Conch;

a RRC Tropicana Anacropora;

a Rainbow Acan;

and a TSA Sweet Cakes Goni.

I also added some Pom Pom Gracilaria to the second chamber of the AIO sump and set a timer on the Tunze Eco chic Refugium light so that it is on from 10:00pm until 10:00am. The main lights turn on at 9:30am, mainly blue and ramp up and add more white until 2:00pm and then ramp back down to mainly blue and shut off at 10::30pm. This way the refugium turns on just as the tank is going into darkness and turns off just as the tank starts to come into daytime. I'll see how it works out and whether or not I need supplemental flow in chamber 2 after a few days.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Things have settled down in the tank for now. I'm trying a different feeding regimen to see how it goes. I also did a few adds to the tank today from the TSA sale.

A Tiger Sand Conch;

a RRC Tropicana Anacropora;

a Rainbow Acan;

and a TSA Sweet Cakes Goni.

I also added some Pom Pom Gracilaria to the second chamber of the AIO sump and set a timer on the Tunze Eco chic Refugium light so that it is on from 10:00pm until 10:00am. The main lights turn on at 9:30am, mainly blue and ramp up and add more white until 2:00pm and then ramp back down to mainly blue and shut off at 10::30pm. This way the refugium turns on just as the tank is going into darkness and turns off just as the tank starts to come into daytime. I'll see how it works out and whether or not I need supplemental flow in chamber 2 after a few days.

Nice looking frags!

 

[tharbin]

Nice looking frags!

Thanks. That was the first time I have ever bought corals online and I am impressed with the quality, shipping, packaging and health of everything. I bought WYSIWYG corals during TSA's last sale and the corals look exactly like what I expected. There was also more Pom Pom Gracilaria than I thought there would be. The only thing I'm not too sure of is the Tiger Conch, it's still acting kinda wonky but fingers crossed.

 

[tharbin]

A small update, some bad news and some good news.

The bad, one of my Nero 3 pumps died last night. I'll try a to clean it again today. If it is gone I got about 2.5 years out of it. Not great. Also, the Green Killing Machine suction cups have started coming loose and then the UV floats around in the tank. Third time in two weeks. I hate suction cups...

The good. As I mentioned, my tank was a pre-production/proof of concept tank that Tenecor built, in other words, a prototype used for testing and refining a design. When my tank was built the AIO covers were made from black acrylic and looked really nice. As part of their testing they determined that both ABS and acrylic would warp too much so they switched to black polycarbonate for the covers. Tenecor has cut me a set of their polycarbonate covers for the AIO and they look great.

 

[tharbin]

I haven't pulled the pump yet to clean it but I am revisiting the original plans for the tank.

In looking at the Purple Stylo in particular I'm going back to looking at the basic premise for the coral eco-system. I had planned on using a few fast-growing 'sticks' to fill the upper reaches of the tank and to provide some additional aquascape for tunnels and overhangs.

The stylo is growing very quickly and the green birds nest not far behind. In the old days we didn't have, or least readily use, a lot of the supplements we have today and the ones we did have were maybe less complete. Anyway my stylo is growing fast, maybe too fast, for a small 100 gallon lagoon.

Here was the stylo the day after I bought it, October 29th 2023:

Here it is today, February 23, 2024 so roughly 4 months later:

The growth rate is increasing as well. If I had a 1000 gallon tank, great but I've got a 100 gallon and a lagoon at that. The stylo, and the birds nest, will end up being pruning nightmares down the road.

I'm beginning to think that with a shallow tank like a lagoon I need to focus more on slow growing sticks, LPS, and plating or encrusting species. The instant gratification of fast growing sticks will just not be worth it long term.

The reason this comes up now is because I have a failed flow pump. A Nero 3 would not be my first choice for an LPS-dominate tank. Still thinking about it but I may end up changing my flow setup.