Adventures in keeping a sps reef

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Llorgon

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Check on Bubble Magnus to make sure it can handle the water change volume. Not used them myself. For the DOS they usually go for $300. I don't use the DOS container, I use the $3 BRS dosing jugs. Probably have a dozen of them or so and just swap one out for the other when it gets low.

I have been using the Jagers for over 25 years. I have two 300 watt ones one of my tanks which have been controlled by Apex for 10 years.

For the Gyres I don't do the maintenance nearly as often as I should. When I do I take the baskets off and soak in a vinegar solution overnight and then scrub with a brush, rinse and reinstall. Going to try citric acid next time. Read a post last week about damage vinegar can do to certain plastics with magnets in them like for the MP pumps. I have read that some folks will clean the pumps every couple of weeks to keep the flow at max. Since these are not my main flow pumps I maintain every 2-3 months. One other thing to note on these, in one tank I have some really small snails and they get into the pump and they make a horrible racket and I have to pull them apart to get the snails out.


Nice on using the old tools - a lot of times they require a lot more skill than the newer ones:). I have some of my grandfathers tools that are 70+ years old and the quality is terrific.

Good point on the Bubble Magnus. I will have to look into that. The DOS is a bit over $400cdn. Gotta love that exchange rate...

I've used the Jager on smaller tanks. Never had any issues with them. Will probably go with that.

Sounds like the Gyres are a bit of a pain. Also seems like I would have to have some backup pumps for when I have to take them down to clean them. Maybe I can do one Gyre with a couple of those reef octopus pulse 4's.

haha ya those old tools can be interesting to use sometimes. His skillsaw has sparks coming out of it. Apparently it's fine though and has been doing it for years...
 
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Got a few new toys yesterday. Still waiting for the octo pulse 2's to come.

I took a week off around Christmas to get the tank up and running.
 

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Had some time to play around with the tank today. I'll have to do some changes to the plumbing. I had a question about connecting the planing to the sump. The sump came with 2 tube connectors. The pipe from the tank fits snugly into the connector. Do I need to glue them together? The top of the connector does unscrew.

Probably going to have some issues with my equipment cabinet being on one side and cables not reaching far enough. Right now if I have the skimmer in the first compartment of the sump it won't reach to the cabinet. Same issue with the pulse 2 on the far side.
 

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I completely overlooked the fact that I needed the connector cables for the wave engine. I tried to order 3, but they only had 1 in stock and won't be getting more until mid Jan. So I am going to have to look for another place to order them.

I did order some dosing containers to go with the doser. Would it be better to keep the doser and the containers in the stand or have them in the equipment cabinet?

I still need to pickup some heaters, a power bar, refugium light(any recommendations there?) and a ATO container.

I currently have glass lids. Would there be any benefit to switching to the mesh lid?
 
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Been a long time since I updated this. There have been a few setbacks.

Took a long time to finish the stand due to covid and not being able to go to my grandparents place to finish it.

Stand is finally done and had plumbing issues. Had to pretty much redo all the plumbing. Had to order some of the pieces online since there was nothing in town.

Once the stand and plumbing was done I then had issues with the varios 4 pump and the wave engine. The pump would shut off randomly. The issue ended up being I had to create triggers and presets for the pump in order for it to run 24/7.

I'm now at a point where the tank is filled, wave engine is controlling the octo pulse 2's and the varios4 return pump. Apex is up and running. I need to adjust the salinity(added too much salt after filling) then the cycling can begin!

I still need to find a good refugium light. Other than that things are coming along well.
 

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The fun continues. Apex salinity probe after calibration says salinity is at 1.032. my hanna salinity checker and refractometer say 1.025 after calibration. So it seems like apex is way off!

I'm also having issues with the atk again. Pump doesn't seem to be running at all. Light goes green, but no pump. Left it plugged in and it started beeping for the high water alert. Checked and water wasn't even touching the high water sensor.

Anyone else have issues with the atk? I haven't run it since I moved and took the tank down, but compared to the tunze I have on my 25 gallon it's incredibly unreliable. When I first got it, it worked fine for 6 months then wouldn't stop filling. Went through customer support and they had me send it back. Turns out the optical sensors were switched. Since then it's been very temperamental.

On the positive side, the tank is now cycling!
 
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Cycle is coming along nicely. Diatoms have begun in a few places. Haven't tested for ammonia yet, but will probably do that tonight.

Still having issues with the atk. Can't get the pump to run. Debating on trying to get it fixed or just buying a tunze since they just seem to work and I have had so many problems with the atk.

So far, not very impressed with the apex. The salinity probe is crazy off even after calibrating. It's saying 42 and my refractomer and hanna checker both say 35.

I also seem to be having issues keeping tank at temp. I have a 200w and 300w heater. 200w on at 77 off at 78. 300w on at 78.2 and off at 79. They are both always on and fail to keep the tank at 77 if only one is on. Have I messed something up in the settings?

Still need a refugium light. Any suggestions on a good one?
 

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Took my atk pump to the lfs and confirmed the pump is dead :mad:
So now I need to decide if I want to get a new pump or a new ato unit and get away from the atk

Looking at the tank this morning I see diatoms and a few green spots. Which is kind of odd. I haven't seen anything green at the diatom stage before. Something I should be concerned with?
 
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Tank is coming along well so far. Diatoms are starting to fade away. Seeing more and more green on the rocks.

Last Tuesday I added 5 cerith snails. So far all are still alive.

I picked up a Tunze ATO to replace the ATK and got that setup this weekend so no more manual top offs!

I added the yellow tang from the temporary tank on yesterday. So far it seems to be doing fine.

So far not sure on stocking other than the yellow tang and probably a lawn mower blenny since I always seem to end up with lots of gha.

Open to suggestions on stocking!

Thinking of seeding the tank with pods. When is it too early to do that or should I be fine once the tank is cycled?
 
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Tank as it is today.
1 yellow tang
5 ceriths
 

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Cats don't care about the fish tank, but our labradoodle puppy is fascinated by it.
 

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Ok. Been awhile since I updated this thread. Summer has been busy!

Tank is up and running and we'll into the ugly phase. No gha in the main tank, but the refugium is looking pretty gross. Wondering if I should clean that out or not?

Current stock is a yellow Tang and some snails. I tried adding a baby one spot foxface, but it never ate and died shortly after.

The corals I have added are seeing a bit of growth, but mostly are stagnant and losing colour. Pretty much anything green is no longer green. Any ideas on what to do there?
 

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So it seems like my colouration problem might be from waiting too long between water changes. I did a water change a week and a bit ago and my elkhorn has started to turn green again!
 
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Currently working on a fish stocking list for the tank.

Right now there is the yellow tang in there. Hopefully he won't be a pain in the butt for adding other fish.

So far what I am thinking is:
Yellow tang
pair of clowns, wife likes clowns, maybe get some fancy ones
coral beauty
lawnmower blenny


I'd like to add a one spot fox face as well, but that might be pushing it on stocking?
 
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Starting to see some gha in the display tank. Been removing it by hand when I see it.
The cyano in the sand is slowly starting to go away which is nice.

Ordered 20 ceriths and one fighting conch to add to the cleanup crew.

The two green corals which were fading are back to being nice and green after a few water changes. Unfortunately I lost the red plating montipora and a green acropora. Going to try and get the remaining corals happy and growing before adding more.

I have been looking into ordering fish. I setup a qt tank on the weekend and ordered an acclimation chamber just in case the tang ends up being a jerk.
 

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I added 20 cerith snails and a fighting conch to the tank yesterday. Coral colour continues to be improving, much not much growth or polyp extension.

I'm wondering if I need more flow in the tank? It's hard to tell flow when theres no moving corals in the tank. On that note, the wife is saying I need more movement in the tank. So the all SPS tank might be short lived. Might have to add some LPS to get some movement in there.

It looks like I am going to have to order fish online since there isn't much for fish in town. Anyone have tips on ordering fish? Never done it before. I am assuming acclimation is pretty much the same as buying one from the LFS?
 
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Since the tank has been cycled I have been running the tunze refugium light on the sump. Having it turn on from when the main lights go off until the main lights come back on.

Today I finally pulled some of the gha out. Got a good half a cup and could have got more out if the dog wasn't bugging me to play.
 

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Today I finally got around to testing the par on the tank. I'm using the seneye reef for a par meter so these reading are probably not the most accurate.

Overall the readings seemed pretty low. I have 2 sb reef lights set 10" above the water with glass tops. The lights are used and came with the tank. The guy I bought it from had a mixed reef with SPS. He was running them at 60% blue and 20% white. Which is what I have them at.

Judging by the par readings, are these lights starting to go or should I just bump up the intensity?
 

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Bumped my light setting up to 70% blue and 40% white. Getting a little better par readings.
 

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Starting to get some gha in the dt. Tried pulling it off with my fingers, but it's really stuck on the rock. I was able to get most of the sand free of gha at least.

I ordered a couple designer clowns that my wife picked out. Those should hopefully come this week. This is my first time shipping fish. Anything I should be prepared for or is acclimation pretty much the same?

I cleaned out a bunch of gha from the refugium. Got an entire cups worth out!
 

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Mastering the art of locking and unlocking water pathways: What type of valves do you have on your aquarium plumbing?

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