40B build: Gonna try to take my time with this.

muzikalmatt · Feb 10, 2022

Awesome build thread so far, @Doug6952 I love that you're using true live rock for this build, it has so much biodiversity. Also that's freakin' awesome you won that light in a giveaway! Looking forward to watching this tank progress!

Doug6952 · Feb 10, 2022

muzikalmatt said:
Awesome build thread so far, @Doug6952 I love that you're using true live rock for this build, it has so much biodiversity. Also that's freakin' awesome you won that light in a giveaway! Looking forward to watching this tank progress!

Thanks!
It's only a small amount of live rock, but it's better than nothing. Back in the 90"s and early 2000's used fiji rock. It'd be nice to get that again!
Been meaning to update this build thread. Think I'll do that this weekend.

Rhino · Feb 11, 2022

Any tips for installing the overflow? I ordered the exact same one for a 40 breeder I am building, quality on that thing is amazing.

Doug6952 · Feb 11, 2022

Rhino said:
Any tips for installing the overflow? I ordered the exact same one for a 40 breeder I am building, quality on that thing is amazing.

Just measure and follow the directions. When you tighten the bulkheads when installing make sure the inner box is straight and hold it there while tightening.
Mine wasn't quite straight at first and I nearly had a heart attack thinking I screwed up drilling the holes. Lol
It's a great overflow.

Doug6952 · Feb 12, 2022

Time for an update. Might be a bit long

A month goes by fast! A few days after the last update I went to a local shop and picked out a few choice pieces of rock they have soaking in a large tank. While I was there some blue green chromis caught my eye and I picked up 3. Unfortunately the smallest one died later that same day.
I really should have waited to get the fish. They keep eating all the copepods in the DT. At least the copepods have a safe haven in the refugium.
That same weekend I added ARC reefs coralline algae in a bottle. I got both the purple Helix and pink fusion. Since coralline algae needs light, I turned the lights on to about 25%. This gave me about 100 or so par right below the light. Since the lights were on i added a couple of frags to see how they do. A week later algae showed its ugly head.

It started with the rocks turning green, which isn't so bad. Then the rocks turned golden brown and fuzzy with a diatom algae. Off to my local shop to get some more snails to help combat the algae. Picked up a few margarita snails and a turbo snail.
When I placed the snails on the rocks they didn't seem to want to be on the algae. Took a sample from a patch of algae and looked at it with a microscope. Small cell amphidinium Dinos. #@!%!!!!
I had been testing nitrate and phosphate and they had been staying in a good range since setup. Broke out a UV sterilizer and scrubbed the rocks with a toothbrush to try and reduce the number of dinos. Brushed the rocks every day for 3-4 days. Unfortunately they had also moved into the sand. I also started dosing silicate, phytoplankton and a few bacterial supplements (MB7, MB Clean and eco-balance. This got the dinos under control.
On Feb 3rd I received an order from Indo Pacific Sea Farm. Got live sand activator, wonder mud, 2 types of snails,micro hermits, amphipods, reef plankton, mama Mia worms (spaghetti worms) and amphipod mat (ulva algae). This should help add to the bio diversity. I took a sample from the live sand, wonder mud and reef plankton to Check it under the microscope. Didn't really see much of anything from sand and mud. Reef plankton was full of microscopic life. IPSF also sent a bunch of their red ogo algae. I already had some, but now the fuge is full of Ulva, red ogo and cheato.
As of today, Feb 12th, the diatoms on the rocks is 90%+ gone, only saw a few dinos on slide from sand sample. Fish are healthy. Corals are doing well.
Water parameters:
Ph: 7.95 - 8.1
No3: 13.4
Po4: 0.07
Alk: 8
Ca: 450
Mg: 1400

I started dosing 2 part. KH was dropping .1-.2/day. I also dose a little No3 and po4 when needed to help keep the numbers in a good range. I haven't done a water change since before I added the live rock. Tank is running pretty stable.

I found another crab last night in the sump. Might be a gorrila crab. By the time i got something to pull it out, it crawled back in its hiding hole.

I also have some type of bobbit worm in the sump. Doesn't look like the pics of the really bad bobbits. It's not very big in diameter.

Doug6952 · Feb 17, 2022

Newest additions
2 small Percula clowns. I've always wanted perculas, but stores most of the time only had ocellaris when I was there or the perculas were full grown and expensive.
Ordered these from Cultivated reef.

Doug6952 · Feb 17, 2022

Video

Doug6952 · Feb 22, 2022

Starting to see coralline algae spots on the rocks. Looks like some light purple/pink, darker purple and possibly some red.
I had started another thread about a hitchhiker that still isn't positively identified. Someone suggested a spaghetti worm, but I've never seen a spaghetti worm like this.