So if you look at some of my previous posts you'll see I had quite the problem with a marine velvet outbreak... I have been revamping my system. The entire system is being plumbed together... It will consist of a 90 gallon (mixed reef), trigger systems sump (I think 30 gallons), 120 gallon (primarily my macro algaes), 40 gallon (its all macros right now, but I think I'm going to make it an anemone tank), a 50 gallon frag tank, and a brute trashcan cryptic refugium (44 gallons I think). I have a 40 gallon brute tank with a float valve that my rodi fills. Then my auto top off does its thing. I switched from using multiple protein skimmers to one small one... I had much better results growing my macro algae doing this. My water is crystal clear and my chemistries are on point... My only qualm is that nitrates are undetectable. I'd like 10ppm, but no matter how much I feed my macros just do their thing. I have almost no micro algae growth. I've never done a water change and I don't plan to. I've lab tested (I have a contact in a clinical lab in a hospital who runs assays for me) for heavy metals and other bad things from feeding, etc. and I haven't had a problem from them. My feeding schedule currently, with the tank being
So currently my 90 gallon has been fallow (from fish) for 60 days. It's current stock is:
1 duncan
2 mushrooms
1 torch
1 hammer coral
1 some sort of polyps that showed up on a empty frag plug I accidently dropped in the tank
1 zoa
1 pencil urchin
1 cleaner shrimp
50000000000 ceriths... they breed like crazy
~ 5 emeralds.. I started with 2, but they seem to have bred
~150lbs of live rock
1 horribly sick looking anemone that has looked like its trying to die for months now that keeps splitting and producing very healthy looking anemones... No idea how or why, but I guess its cool.
A couple montis
1 digitata
An acropora that I have no idea what it's called
My plan is to begin adding fish mid July. I'm planning on adding these fish:
2 clowns
1 purple dottyback
1 engineer goby
1 lawnmower blenny
1 yellow or purple fish (my wife wants a purple and I want a yellow)
Any suggestions for further stocking?
My plan for the 120 gallon is basically to make it into a macroalgae refugium and clownfish harem (30 clowns ideally - I really don't know much about clownfish harems so any advice is appreciated). I may add some anemones that clowns naturally host along with my crazy growing macros. The macro algae that I currently have and will be transplanting to this tank are:
Caulerpa Prolifera
Rhipocephalus phoenix (Christmas Tree)
Codium
Grape Caulerpa
Halimeda (money plant)
Red Gracilaria
Flame Gracilaria
Shaving Bush
Ulva
Blue hyphnea
P.S. if anyone needs macro I can sell some for very low prices... Basically to pay for the food I go through to keep it growing... There is no such thing as over feeding my current system lol.
On a side note... I'm not sure what other macro fanatics experience is, but for me when I added all these macros their growth really took off. They actually out competed my chaeto (I kept chaeto separate in my trigger sump and it eventually just disappeared (and there was no way for it to escape that refugium and get sucked into the tank... I have marine pure blocks blocking it in).
So to finish things up with the 120g, I'd like to add some fish that won't bother my clownfish harem. I don't even know if this is possible. I'd like to add whatever tang I don't add to the 90, but I'm a little worried it will eat my macros :\ I think some chromis might be cool in there too.
The plan for the 40 gallon as of now is to turn it into an anemone tank. I'd like to make this bare bottom and have a couple pieces of live rock and as many anemones as possible along with a pair of clownfish... What other fish should I add?
The 50 gallon frag tank is a flood table I got for like $100 when my low boy cracked... I'll probably replace it with a truvu aquarium later this year, but the flood table works for now. What fishies should I add to the frag tank? Any other livestock ideas would be appreciated as well.
For the cryptic refugium... I'm not really knowledgeable on these. Is filling it halfway with live rock then throwing some sponges in there basically what I do? Should I throw some turbo snails, ceriths, or any other inverts in there too?
I'd appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, stocking tips, etc. If anyone has a sea pen I'll buy it. I'm also thinking about some gorgonians, feather dusters, etc. I'm really clueless on these guys, so any advice on them would be wonderful.
So currently my 90 gallon has been fallow (from fish) for 60 days. It's current stock is:
1 duncan
2 mushrooms
1 torch
1 hammer coral
1 some sort of polyps that showed up on a empty frag plug I accidently dropped in the tank
1 zoa
1 pencil urchin
1 cleaner shrimp
50000000000 ceriths... they breed like crazy
~ 5 emeralds.. I started with 2, but they seem to have bred
~150lbs of live rock
1 horribly sick looking anemone that has looked like its trying to die for months now that keeps splitting and producing very healthy looking anemones... No idea how or why, but I guess its cool.
A couple montis
1 digitata
An acropora that I have no idea what it's called
My plan is to begin adding fish mid July. I'm planning on adding these fish:
2 clowns
1 purple dottyback
1 engineer goby
1 lawnmower blenny
1 yellow or purple fish (my wife wants a purple and I want a yellow)
Any suggestions for further stocking?
My plan for the 120 gallon is basically to make it into a macroalgae refugium and clownfish harem (30 clowns ideally - I really don't know much about clownfish harems so any advice is appreciated). I may add some anemones that clowns naturally host along with my crazy growing macros. The macro algae that I currently have and will be transplanting to this tank are:
Caulerpa Prolifera
Rhipocephalus phoenix (Christmas Tree)
Codium
Grape Caulerpa
Halimeda (money plant)
Red Gracilaria
Flame Gracilaria
Shaving Bush
Ulva
Blue hyphnea
P.S. if anyone needs macro I can sell some for very low prices... Basically to pay for the food I go through to keep it growing... There is no such thing as over feeding my current system lol.
On a side note... I'm not sure what other macro fanatics experience is, but for me when I added all these macros their growth really took off. They actually out competed my chaeto (I kept chaeto separate in my trigger sump and it eventually just disappeared (and there was no way for it to escape that refugium and get sucked into the tank... I have marine pure blocks blocking it in).
So to finish things up with the 120g, I'd like to add some fish that won't bother my clownfish harem. I don't even know if this is possible. I'd like to add whatever tang I don't add to the 90, but I'm a little worried it will eat my macros :\ I think some chromis might be cool in there too.
The plan for the 40 gallon as of now is to turn it into an anemone tank. I'd like to make this bare bottom and have a couple pieces of live rock and as many anemones as possible along with a pair of clownfish... What other fish should I add?
The 50 gallon frag tank is a flood table I got for like $100 when my low boy cracked... I'll probably replace it with a truvu aquarium later this year, but the flood table works for now. What fishies should I add to the frag tank? Any other livestock ideas would be appreciated as well.
For the cryptic refugium... I'm not really knowledgeable on these. Is filling it halfway with live rock then throwing some sponges in there basically what I do? Should I throw some turbo snails, ceriths, or any other inverts in there too?
I'd appreciate any thoughts, suggestions, ideas, stocking tips, etc. If anyone has a sea pen I'll buy it. I'm also thinking about some gorgonians, feather dusters, etc. I'm really clueless on these guys, so any advice on them would be wonderful.
