Aquatop Recife 40 AIO

[monkeyCmonkeyDo]

^ i agree with this minus the par.meter.
Lol.
Most ppl run "blue" tanks. Turn the white up. 10% something. Lol.
Make it look.somewhat natural.
My.opinion.

Lookin good! Glad ur getting it all.under.control.
D

 

[Georgia00013]

Looks like Limpets too me. Good guys, they do a good job eating pest algae in its early stages.

If I may suggest, if you're having algae issues, a good clean up crew is worth its weight in gold. Another great utilitarian fish for algae is an Algae blenny AKA sailfin blenny. One would be a great addition to your tank and would certainly help with any algae.

Another really important thing to know is your PAR in your tank. Renting a par meter from a LFS or even Bulk Reef Supply is a very good investment. It will allow you to know where certain corals need to be placed for best success in your tank. Ultimately I find that renting a PAR meter often times saves people money as they don't loose nearly as many corals because they think they have enough PAR or don't think they have as much PAR as they actually do.

So there is a BRS video with my specific light and tank size that I based what the par would be in different areas off of. I actually do have it turned down a little bit from what they recommended because it seemed like so much light but maybe I can look into the par meter and test mine myself. I didn't even know that was an option.

Other than fish do you have any cleanup crew recommendations? I haven't had much luck with any crab staying alive except for one hermit that seems to be hanging on. So I mainly just have snails right now. I also know I have bristle worms in the sand itself and some of the rocks. And a chocolate chip starfish. I had an urchin but he was more pain than he was worth so he was rehomed.

 

[Georgia00013]

Looks like Limpets too me. Good guys, they do a good job eating pest algae in its early stages.

If I may suggest, if you're having algae issues, a good clean up crew is worth its weight in gold. Another great utilitarian fish for algae is an Algae blenny AKA sailfin blenny. One would be a great addition to your tank and would certainly help with any algae.

Another really important thing to know is your PAR in your tank. Renting a par meter from a LFS or even Bulk Reef Supply is a very good investment. It will allow you to know where certain corals need to be placed for best success in your tank. Ultimately I find that renting a PAR meter often times saves people money as they don't loose nearly as many corals because they think they have enough PAR or don't think they have as much PAR as they actually do.

Also after googling the limpets I'm almost 100% sure that's what they are. So thank you!

 

[Georgia00013]

^ i agree with this minus the par.meter.
Lol.
Most ppl run "blue" tanks. Turn the white up. 10% something. Lol.
Make it look.somewhat natural.
My.opinion.

Lookin good! Glad ur getting it all.under.control.
D

Thank you for the feedback. I actually did that yesterday because I was tired of looking at just the blue and I figured 10% of the cool white probably wouldn't ruin the whole tank. And it's easier to look at that way. I forgot I had turned it all the way down to be honest. When I was fighting the algae really bad.

 

[Kodski]

So there is a BRS video with my specific light and tank size that I based what the par would be in different areas off of. I actually do have it turned down a little bit from what they recommended because it seemed like so much light but maybe I can look into the par meter and test mine myself. I didn't even know that was an option.

Other than fish do you have any cleanup crew recommendations? I haven't had much luck with any crab staying alive except for one hermit that seems to be hanging on. So I mainly just have snails right now. I also know I have bristle worms in the sand itself and some of the rocks. And a chocolate chip starfish. I had an urchin but he was more pain than he was worth so he was rehomed.

The human eye is a rubbish measuring tool for light intensity, I mean, our eyes automatically adjust themselves to different light intensities which means we have no constant unit of measurement. 100% when I set up my A360X over my tank, I used BRS' video to help me as well. Then one day I decided I'd try a par meter just to make sure. My par was 100 PAR higher than I thought it was based on BRS' testing video. Once I adjusted it with the par meter, my coral growth really took off.


I'd honestly say reach out to reefcleaners.com and he will put together a custom clean up crew for you. Heck even just look at his packages for 40 gal tanks to get a good idea of what you should get. Here is what he recommends for a 40 breeder right off his website. I'd probably recommend starting with 50-75% of what's listed.

42 Dwarf Ceriths - these smaller Cerith snails range in size from a half and inch to almost 1'', but are slender. Their tiny size allows them to reach the nooks and crannies other cleaners can't reach which is necessary for permanent removal of algae sources. These snails will consume diatoms, cyano, film algae, detritus, and hair algae in the substrate as well as on rocks and to some extent the glass in your aquarium. Because of their versatility and hardiness, they are our favorite species of cleaner.

14 Nassarius - scavengers that will come out whenever they smell food, or when you are feeding the fish. They will stir sand, but can also be kept in bare bottom tanks. In a bare bottom tank they tend to hang out at the base of rock work or near the back of the tank where there is less light, and will emerge from there to scavenge when leftover food is available. By reducing the amount of decaying waste in the aquarium you will help maintain your nitrate levels, and reduce the buildup of detritus.

17 Florida Ceriths - these snails will consume diatoms, detritus, cyano, film and hair algae. They reside in the substrate especially, but will also clean the rocks and glass of your aquarium. In bare bottom aquariums they will spend most of their time on the rocks, or on the bottom glass. This species is most active at night.

12 Nerites - We are currently offering the longer lived and quite hardy Antillean Nerite. (Nerita fulgurans). It grows to a nice size,and consumes a good deal of diatoms, cyano, algal detritus, and film algae. It will also consume some fine hair algae. A nocturnal herbivore that will feed more often at night, they tend to need some time to adjust to the limitations of the aquarium during their first week.

10 Assorted Hermits - A mix of smaller to medium hermit crab species, including red legged, left-handed, jade, white claw and blue leg hermit crabs. These hermits are omnivores, that will feed on leftover food, filamentous (hair) algae and some species of cyanobacteria (cyano).

 

[Georgia00013]

The human eye is a rubbish measuring tool for light intensity, I mean, our eyes automatically adjust themselves to different light intensities which means we have no constant unit of measurement. 100% when I set up my A360X over my tank, I used BRS' video to help me as well. Then one day I decided I'd try a par meter just to make sure. My par was 100 PAR higher than I thought it was based on BRS' testing video. Once I adjusted it with the par meter, my coral growth really took off.


I'd honestly say reach out to reefcleaners.com and he will put together a custom clean up crew for you. Heck even just look at his packages for 40 gal tanks to get a good idea of what you should get. Here is what he recommends for a 40 breeder right off his website. I'd probably recommend starting with 50-75% of what's listed.

42 Dwarf Ceriths - these smaller Cerith snails range in size from a half and inch to almost 1'', but are slender. Their tiny size allows them to reach the nooks and crannies other cleaners can't reach which is necessary for permanent removal of algae sources. These snails will consume diatoms, cyano, film algae, detritus, and hair algae in the substrate as well as on rocks and to some extent the glass in your aquarium. Because of their versatility and hardiness, they are our favorite species of cleaner.

14 Nassarius - scavengers that will come out whenever they smell food, or when you are feeding the fish. They will stir sand, but can also be kept in bare bottom tanks. In a bare bottom tank they tend to hang out at the base of rock work or near the back of the tank where there is less light, and will emerge from there to scavenge when leftover food is available. By reducing the amount of decaying waste in the aquarium you will help maintain your nitrate levels, and reduce the buildup of detritus.

17 Florida Ceriths - these snails will consume diatoms, detritus, cyano, film and hair algae. They reside in the substrate especially, but will also clean the rocks and glass of your aquarium. In bare bottom aquariums they will spend most of their time on the rocks, or on the bottom glass. This species is most active at night.

12 Nerites - We are currently offering the longer lived and quite hardy Antillean Nerite. (Nerita fulgurans). It grows to a nice size,and consumes a good deal of diatoms, cyano, algal detritus, and film algae. It will also consume some fine hair algae. A nocturnal herbivore that will feed more often at night, they tend to need some time to adjust to the limitations of the aquarium during their first week.

10 Assorted Hermits - A mix of smaller to medium hermit crab species, including red legged, left-handed, jade, white claw and blue leg hermit crabs. These hermits are omnivores, that will feed on leftover food, filamentous (hair) algae and some species of cyanobacteria (cyano).

I may look into some of the dwarf snails. I know I have some nassarius already for sure. I don't want to go to crazy with it because I already can't get my phosphates to a detectable measure at all or my nitrates above 0 to 1 PPM. I guess with the added two fish though we shall see how that plays out.

 

[Hairyteeth]

I just broke down my aquatop 40 of 1.5 years for an upgrade…for the last six months I’ve used the octo 90 hob classic works like a champ! Would highly recommend it, I’m about to sell mine soon as I don’t need it anymore if interested

 

[Georgia00013]

I just broke down my aquatop 40 of 1.5 years for an upgrade…for the last six months I’ve used the octo 90 hob classic works like a champ! Would highly recommend it, I’m about to sell mine soon as I don’t need it anymore if interested

When you do decide to sell feel free to message me I'm definitely interested depending on price. What are you upgrading to? I would like a bigger tank but with living in an apartment and eventually having to move it it's not feasible right now.

 

[Hairyteeth]

Yeah I hear that, the 40 was my big tank in an apt. As well for a while…. I recently upgraded to a Sca 150, about a month ago, the fish come out of qt this Sunday, stoked!

 

[Nebunu]

They only have shell on one side so I'm not thinking calms for these. But that does sound cool.

Sometimes I wonder were all this creatures come or end up in our tanks and is such a diversity. Usually after lamps go off I take a flash light and just wonder around the tank. So many stuff come out, all different and weird.

 

[Georgia00013]

Ok guys I'm managing to kill my bird nest coral somehow. It's starting to bleach out. Here are some of my testing stats. Let me know what else you might need to know. I'm not sure what's going on. Also I did add soda ash to bring the alk back up to 9, so I'll test that again later but it should be better

 

[Hairyteeth]

Bird nest can actually be quite tricky, they don’t do well with quick parameter changes and can show stress events a week or two after the fact…stability can stop the spread maybe, but again more finicky than many acros

 

[Sean Clark]

True birds nest are expert only corals IMO very delicate and susceptible to changes. Don't beat yourself up over it.

Edit: grow fast die fast.

 

[Hairyteeth]

True birds nest are expert only corals IMO very delicate and susceptible to changes. Don't beat yourself up over it.

Edit: grow fast die fast.

Truth spoken! When will these things finally be classified as expert only instead of starter sps?

 

[Sean Clark]

Truth spoken! When will these things finally be classified as expert only instead of starter sps?

That may have someting to do with the short term of this hobby for most. I did it for a year and had great success vs I did it for ten years and had great success. I have two colonies of birdsnest... and let's just say they don't look great. @Georgia00013 keep it positive, you've got this.

 

[Georgia00013]

Well I'm glad to hear I'm not murdering something that's hard to kill. Gives me some hope. Might not try one of these again until I eventually upgrade to a bigger tank. Thank you everyone!

 

[Georgia00013]

Wanted to share pictures of the new coral I got in. (Ordered before I realized I was killing other coral so watching parameters closely but this should all be a little more hardy anyways)

 

[miltonkl]

How are all the coral looking?