120 Gallon Setup

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I've listed a few items in the livegoods forum, so I've decided to create a tank thread for reference if people have questions about parameters.

Equipment:
- 120 gallons (40 breeder, 50g Rubbermaid frag tank, 50g Rubbermaid sump)
- SCA-301 skimmer
- Viparspectra LEDs
- Jebao pumps
- Instant Ocean

Dosing:
- 17ml limewater per hour
- NaNO3 and Na3PO4 daily to maintain levels

Maintenance:
- about 5 gallons siphoned every day, refilled automatically with a high flow Kamoer peristaltic pump
- clean the glass whenever I feel like it

Parameters:
- Salinity: about 53mS/cm (~35ppt)
- Alkalinity: 6.5 - 7.0 dKh
- Nitrates - ~5 ppm
- Phosphorus - 50 - 70 ppb (0.15 - 0.2 ppm phosphate)
- Calcium - no idea
- Magnesium - no idea

Livestock:
- 2x ORA true percula clownfish
- 1x Biota coral beauty angelfish
- 1x cleaner shrimp
- 2x pencil urchin
- 2x pin cushion urchin
- ? bumblebee snails

Corals:

Too many to count. Not sure of the names anymore. Mostly acros. Some montis. A few ricordea.


Pictures:

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Looks like you got a good set up going with a good variety of coral, can't wait to see what else you add!!

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Looks like you got a good set up going with a good variety of coral, can't wait to see what else you add!!

Thanks! I've been wanting another Battlebox, but some of the more prolific corals have grown out of control due to a period of neglect. Once I break up and get rid of the basketball sized spongodes and Sunset monti, I'll have some more room.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Thanks! I've been wanting another Battlebox, but some of the more prolific corals have grown out of control due to a period of neglect. Once I break up and get rid of the basketball sized spongodes and Sunset monti, I'll have some more room.

More room for more coral is what I always say

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

Tested alkalinity and nutrients today. NA3 and PO4 are fine (2.5 ppm and 0.15 ppm respectively), but alkalinity is a little low at 6.5 dKh.

Alkalinity has been hovering between 6.5 and 7 dKh for quite some time. I expect alkalinity is limiting coral growth. I've increased my limewater dosing by about 15% to 120ml per hour. We'll see how everything looks over the next few days.

 

[chipmunkofdoom2]

I've been slowly bumping up the limewater dose. I started at 100ml/hour, went to 120ml/hour, then finally to 140ml/hour. My alkalinity has slowly increased from around 6.5 to 7.1 dKh over the last week. I've had to increase my nitrate and phosphate dose by approximately 20% as well. My theory is my tank was alkalinity limited and that things will start growing now that the corals have more alkalinity available. It might just be my imagination, but I think I'm seeing some signs of growth.

I'm terrible at photos, but I wanted to share some pictures of one of my favorite acros. I believe it's called Calacali Tort, or Copp's Calacali. It was a pale, bland 1.5" frag when I got it. Now it's a beautiful mini-colony. It's got a green base, purple tips, and yellow polyps at the tips. Adam at Battlecorals has it for $80/frag and it's worth every penny.

The day I received it (4/23/2022):

Today:

I actually had a bit of a scare with this one a few days ago, it's very top-heavy and it broke off right above the base when I was fragging another coral. I was able to glue it to a new tile. Everything should be okay, but I always worry when breaking the skin of a favorite coral.