Another Risk, reefer 350

[Risk1994]

Took 6 months but this is beginning to almost look like a reef tank!

I'll see about switching to my SLR going forward, phone isn't cutting it.



These next 2 were in QT for 76 days +

Goby had to get in on the shot, I LOVE this fish...my whole family loves this fish. All personality and my sand has been totally clean as long as I've had him.


hard to see but xenia and torch. Torch has been with me since 10g nano.

GSP starting to grow on back wall.

mushrooms also been with me since my 10g...I've always done well with mushrooms for some reason. Yet I struggle with xenia/zoa/GSP.

 

[Risk1994]

So cool the way the GSP is starting to grow on the back wall..cant wait to have a lush field of green swaying in the current.

 

[Risk1994]

So nutrient levels are starting to rise. I've always planned to control this with my AWC (1g per day) and probably nopox or something.

Im starting to think I want to add a refugium. I've always hated these as they make such a mess of the sump, growing algae everywhere and collecting tons of junk. However I'm starting to appreciate how nice it would be to have nutrients handled without having to dose anything, and a PH bump to boot.

That area between the rollermat and skimmer is about 10w x 11h x 12d. There is already a dc pump under the rollermat feeding the UV and giving flow in the sump. I can probably drop in a section of black acrylic and redirect the DC pump through it to get me a spinning ball of chaeto, all I would need is a light. Im thinking a submersible one on the bottom pointing up, hopefully minimizing algae growing all over the place.

It seems these spinning balls are usually cleaner looking which is important to me. However If Im going to the trouble of setting up a fuge I'd like pods. Can I have pods in a fuge with spinning chaeto? I cant seem to find an answer. Perhaps I can put a little tub of gravel on the bottom for them?

Avoiding a mess is high on my priority list though so if push comes to shove the pods will have to go.

 

[Risk1994]

 

[torresj36]

Read through the thread. Nice set up. Sorry to read about your setback with the first tank and your flooding issues. Guess it is a live and learn game. I don't remember reading about a clean up crew with snails or hermits. The right ones do a great job with controlling not only algae but diatoms and cyano. Along with your goby they will keep your rock and sand clean. If you don't have any you should consider, if you do then maybe consider a few more. Also, pods are great for your overall tank health as part of a clean up crew and live food for your fish and coral. Dosing phyto keeps them growing and helps with the health of the system. Do your research and think about it. Thanks for sharing your journey. I will keep following along.

 

[Risk1994]

Time for an update....

FTS 4/4/22

 

[Risk1994]

freak hair pavona (tidal gardens)

before:

After:



Burning Banana Stylocoeniella (tidal gardens)

Before:

after:

 

[Risk1994]

Mushrooms always do well in my tanks.


Xenia wouldnt grow until I moved them 2 inches to the left, finally I got some progress.


Frogspawn growing great!


Torch growing great! Woohoo...


First try at a rock flower, got it at the frag farmers market for 25$ Seems really happy.


Gorgonians, my favorite. I love these things. They've done really well in my tank too.

 

[Risk1994]

Now onto the corals I've had issues with. Mostly my SPS. I got these from Tidal Gardens also. I dipped them then added to QT for 76 days fishless. They all did really well there. Its a 20 long with 2 kessil A80's directly over them.

I moved them to my display about a month ago on a frag rack on the back wall. I cemented them to the rocks about a week or two ago. Looks like they're is STN (or RTN, I dont know the difference in actual time between the two) Harder to see on the chilli pepper monti but its there too.

Maybe the lighting is very different from the backwall to where it is now? 2 neptune sky at about 40% for 8hrs shouldnt be too much for these...







favites, cant get to grow but wont die...



parameters have been pretty stable...I dose all for reef and had to also start dosing nitrate/phosphate. Flow is fairly strong, ice cap gyre on one side and MP40 on the other, you can really see their tentacles moving in the breeze. Theyre about 18" from the light (very roughly)

Salinity: 35ppt
alk: 7.9
ph: 8
nitrate: 10
phosphate: .07
temp:78
(dont measure calcium/mag, I dose all for reef so those should be balanced)

 

[Risk1994]

how could I forget this guy, by favorite SPS..Bali green slimer, this one seems to be doing pretty well..

 

[Risk1994]

Got my first anemone, almost impossible to get a pic where it is. Was in QT for 16 days, then went into DT. It split soon after. Seems to be doing well, I hope my clown finds it someday.

 

[Risk1994]

Man I left these out too, these look pretty good...

 

[Risk1994]

I got around to doing the refugium as I discussed above...what a mess it made out of my beautiful clean sump.

You can see the submersible light on the top right and the UV sterilizer pump splits off to an exhaust pipe on the bottom left (shooting across the bottom an up slightly). this was supposed to get me the spinning ball of cheato...but didnt..



Hence the fishing line holding it in place..




Like everything else in my tank the chaeto has been in QT. In fact it had a 2hr bath in fresh water! There is a discussion on humblefish if it would survive that....that was back in January....still alive...its super chaeto!

Clean chaeto

so either that or keep it fallow for 76 days? I defer to @Humblefish but I think no, because you still have to get rid of other pests, I use pests lightly. If you say 100% Clean Chaeto, cant even have pods, so they would defined as pest. Along with bristle worms and everything else. The "other...

humble.fish

 

[Risk1994]

FTS 5/25/22


SPS growth! compare these to above from 2 months ago.

4/4...


5/25...


4/4...

5/25...


4/4...

5/25....

 

[Risk1994]

cant seem to keep anemones...mushrooms no problem.




Does this qualify as 'reaching'? Is my light too low for this spot?

 

[Risk1994]

FTS 8/11/22




More SPS growth...really happy about this guy...

 

[Risk1994]

Had an explosion of aptasia. For a while it was just one here and there I'd get with Faptasia. I let it go for a few weeks and now its a plague. I plan to get about 10 half inch berghia from salty underground.

There are just too many for F-aptasia and I did serious damage to a really nice torch I had when some fell on it.



This thing was softball sized....now its a third of that with a dead head...dang.

 

[Risk1994]

Also have million of these little worm tubes....what are these? Is there some way to get rid of them? They make all my rocks look like porcupines.

 

[Risk1994]

Got this fairly large RBTA many months ago, split right after going into DT and been shrinking ever since, now its at the very top of the tank. Doesn't die and I feed once a week. Too little light? Just never had luck with these things.

 

[Bucs20fan]

Also have million of these little worm tubes....what are these? Is there some way to get rid of them? They make all my rocks look like porcupines.

Read this entire build thread, very good read. And awesome setup. All of those tubes are vermetid snails, Harmless for the most part, but very unsightly and their webs they use to take food from the water column can irritate corals. Bumblebee snails will eat them, but youve got them in plague proportions, so id get some of those asap.