Biff's 233g 'automate all the things' & poverty fish room build

[ajjw0828]

Nice build! Looks like you did it up, didn't cut corners. Nice to see another Michigan reefer. I'm in Holt. How's the tank doing? Out of the uglies?

 

[Biff0rz]

Nice build! Looks like you did it up, didn't cut corners. Nice to see another Michigan reefer. I'm in Holt. How's the tank doing? Out of the uglies?

Thanks!! My wife wishes I cut corners, lol. Kidding, she actually supports this a lot which has let me build it how I want

Tank is doing good, I'm definitely still in the uglies. I had some weak lighting on the tank that has dragged it out a bit. I put some higher light on it and now it's exploding in gha and cyano. I have a lot of scrubbing and cleaning to do to keep up with it. Other than that I've got alk stable and the carx/alkatronic dialed in. I'm also planning a larger build haha... Never ends.

 

[desagon]

Cool tank setup! I seen that you mention Great Lakes aquariums and knew you had to be from the Detroit area. How do you like that tank? I had their 100 gallon for nearly 10 years and it was great.

 

[ajjw0828]

Thanks!! My wife wishes I cut corners, lol. Kidding, she actually supports this a lot which has let me build it how I want

Tank is doing good, I'm definitely still in the uglies. I had some weak lighting on the tank that has dragged it out a bit. I put some higher light on it and now it's exploding in gha and cyano. I have a lot of scrubbing and cleaning to do to keep up with it. Other than that I've got alk stable and the carx/alkatronic dialed in. I'm also planning a larger build haha... Never ends.

I hear ya. I just recently added a 210g to my system and it blew up with algae once I threw lights on it. Still have a little algae and cyano like you stated. Tang gang has been helping. Just letting it do it's thing, and hopefully the coraline will take off. What kind of upgrade are planning?

 

[Biff0rz]

Cool tank setup! I seen that you mention Great Lakes aquariums and knew you had to be from the Detroit area. How do you like that tank? I had their 100 gallon for nearly 10 years and it was great.

Love the tank! It's a bit tall for my taste (30") but I knew that when I bought it. And now that I have it, I kind of like it, hah. It's a really solid build.

I hear ya. I just recently added a 210g to my system and it blew up with algae once I threw lights on it. Still have a little algae and cyano like you stated. Tang gang has been helping. Just letting it do it's thing, and hopefully the coraline will take off. What kind of upgrade are planning?

I'm considering a 8' or 10' beast in the 470-500g range I like tangs

 

[ying yang]

Very nice set up biff.see your money problems arent like when you first started as looks like you got everything you could possible need and good equipment. Will be following to see your progress,looks great so far,good luck

 

[User]

Nice build. Good quality stuff.

can you elaborate on how you have the tunze ATO control A pmup via an ioT outlet? I need something like that

thanks

 

[ScottB]

Saw you over on the "Are you tired" thread, and thought I should do a tad of homework before replying again. Just read your build thread. Superb.

Be glad your wife has/had that boyfriend through your build months, allowing you to work/spend as desired, lol.

I am going to speculate a little regarding the early struggle of your biome to settle. Just speculation.
I feel like some of your early travails are just various uglies -- although heavier on the dino exposure than is often the case. Leads me to question the actual state of the rock when you got it. Live rock is a totally different animal versus cured rock. Your rock pictures look more like cured to me. "Live rock" has a more uniform color from the various algae and bacterial films, coralline, turf, a touch of GHA, dead coralline, dead coral, live coral, etc etc. The underlying rock may have been brown, purple, green, beige but the coatings are the life of "live rock" and give it a more homogenized appearance. It should smell like a lagoon at low tide.
<Rant over>

So now the tank is 13-14 months old and you reported that you think it is finally starting to settle down. Given my above speculation, I think you are about right. It is just about on schedule. The microbiome is starting to develop some diversity. Every time you add some fish, some coral, some real seafood you are adding new bacteria. You could accelerate this with some rubble/live rock packs. Tampa Bay Saltwater, KP Aquatics, Aquabiomics, ipsf.com whatever.

 

[Biff0rz]

Saw you over on the "Are you tired" thread, and thought I should do a tad of homework before replying again. Just read your build thread. Superb.

Be glad your wife has/had that boyfriend through your build months, allowing you to work/spend as desired, lol.

I am going to speculate a little regarding the early struggle of your biome to settle. Just speculation.
I feel like some of your early travails are just various uglies -- although heavier on the dino exposure than is often the case. Leads me to question the actual state of the rock when you got it. Live rock is a totally different animal versus cured rock. Your rock pictures look more like cured to me. "Live rock" has a more uniform color from the various algae and bacterial films, coralline, turf, a touch of GHA, dead coralline, dead coral, live coral, etc etc. The underlying rock may have been brown, purple, green, beige but the coatings are the life of "live rock" and give it a more homogenized appearance. It should smell like a lagoon at low tide.
<Rant over>

So now the tank is 13-14 months old and you reported that you think it is finally starting to settle down. Given my above speculation, I think you are about right. It is just about on schedule. The microbiome is starting to develop some diversity. Every time you add some fish, some coral, some real seafood you are adding new bacteria. You could accelerate this with some rubble/live rock packs. Tampa Bay Saltwater, KP Aquatics, Aquabiomics, ipsf.com whatever.

lol, thanks, Scott, I appreciate the special attention here lol. Sounds like I need some LR rubble, easily obtained - tossed in the sump would work, right? I suspect what you're telling me is true about the rock - the more I've gone through this journey the more I do agree it was probably not true LR and just dry cured. When you look at those pictures of the 'dying' gha, what do you think my next step should be? Just let it continue or should I try and do a black out?

 

[ScottB]

lol, thanks, Scott, I appreciate the special attention here lol. Sounds like I need some LR rubble, easily obtained - tossed in the sump would work, right? I suspect what you're telling me is true about the rock - the more I've gone through this journey the more I do agree it was probably not true LR and just dry cured. When you look at those pictures of the 'dying' gha, what do you think my next step should be? Just let it continue or should I try and do a black out?

Yeah, I felt bad that you seemed to follow all the instructions well and couldn't clear the dinos. Some members seeking help on the thread seem to choose to do a few things and expect it all to work out quickly. And then dump in some DINO-X and kill everything (including corals).

I didn't want to drag everyone through my live rock diatribe on the "Are you tired" thread, but I did mention there that if you are really FOWLR right now, you might look into Vibrant for the GHA. In a FOWLR setup, a knock out punch on GHA has very limited negative consequences. Your GHA does look rather weakened; I was actually going to ask if you'd already dosed Vibrant.

Contrary to the labeling, Vibrant DOES contain an algeacide very similar to -- and in similar concentration to -- that found (and labeled) in API AlgeaFix Marine.

Some extraordinary sleuthing on Vibrant contents done by our fellow hobbyist @taricha to be found here:

My speculation: Vibrant has some fluconazole in it...

***** EDIT 5-December-2021***** My original speculation was inaccurate. However, it did prompt another hobbyist to run some tests similar to those published in this paper. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33191523/ "This study investigates the utility of bromophenol blue (BPB) as a safe, rapid...

www.reef2reef.com

And if you are STILL having trouble sleeping or getting rid of dinos, you can find a doc I typed up here:

A Dinoflagellate Treatment Guide

docs.google.com

 

[Biff0rz]

Yeah, I felt bad that you seemed to follow all the instructions well and couldn't clear the dinos. Some members seeking help on the thread seem to choose to do a few things and expect it all to work out quickly. And then dump in some DINO-X and kill everything (including corals).

I didn't want to drag everyone through my live rock diatribe on the "Are you tired" thread, but I did mention there that if you are really FOWLR right now, you might look into Vibrant for the GHA. In a FOWLR setup, a knock out punch on GHA has very limited negative consequences. Your GHA does look rather weakened; I was actually going to ask if you'd already dosed Vibrant.

Contrary to the labeling, Vibrant DOES contain an algeacide very similar to -- and in similar concentration to -- that found (and labeled) in API AlgeaFix Marine.

Some extraordinary sleuthing on Vibrant contents done by our fellow hobbyist @taricha to be found here:

My speculation: Vibrant has some fluconazole in it...

***** EDIT 5-December-2021***** My original speculation was inaccurate. However, it did prompt another hobbyist to run some tests similar to those published in this paper. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33191523/ "This study investigates the utility of bromophenol blue (BPB) as a safe, rapid...

www.reef2reef.com

And if you are STILL having trouble sleeping or getting rid of dinos, you can find a doc I typed up here:

A Dinoflagellate Treatment Guide

docs.google.com

Thanks! Yea, I am FOWLR right now, minus 4 FL ric's which has split from 2. Those things will survive anything so I'm not really worried if I were to lose them anyhow. I did try reintroducing corals a few months ago to see what happens and they nuked. It was a few cheap $10 frags, nothing to stress about. I think I'll give vibrant a try and see what happens. I'll also try and get some real live rock, it appears everything is sold out at those vendors you mentioned.

 

[ScottB]

Thanks! Yea, I am FOWLR right now, minus 4 FL ric's which has split from 2. Those things will survive anything so I'm not really worried if I were to lose them anyhow. I did try reintroducing corals a few months ago to see what happens and they nuked. It was a few cheap $10 frags, nothing to stress about. I think I'll give vibrant a try and see what happens. I'll also try and get some real live rock, it appears everything is sold out at those vendors you mentioned.

They may just be shut for the holidays. Bad time to ship. Or to scuba for that matter. I failed to mention Gulf Live Rock.

Not a bad idea to put the stuff in a bin of NSW for a bit for a modest QT. Mantis shrimp, bad crabs, usual suspects. I generally do.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Following along. Looks like an excellent build. I'm sorry you're having to fight with issues, but I'm confident you'll win based on the excellence I've seen in your build.

 

[Biff0rz]

They may just be shut for the holidays. Bad time to ship. Or to scuba for that matter. I failed to mention Gulf Live Rock.

Not a bad idea to put the stuff in a bin of NSW for a bit for a modest QT. Mantis shrimp, bad crabs, usual suspects. I generally do.

@ScottB I got some Vibrant, dosing it slowly. I haven't noticed any changes from it yet, but, the tank is starting to look good again!! woo! It was looking like this before the vibrant, probably a few days after our messages above. I took a toothbrush to all the rocks/dead gha and got it all cleaned up. I've been noticing a very thin light brown film form on the sandbed and the rocks. It could be diatoms, maybe not. But it fades at night and blooms when the lights pop on. Here are some pics of the tank, it's in way better shape than it was before, and as you can see, the lone ric muchrooms are the only dino survivor.

 

[ScottB]

That is a very significant improvement from some previous pictures for sure. Hopefully some coralline starts back on those rocks. I see some on the back glass so shouldn't be long.

 

[Biff0rz]

That is a very significant improvement from some previous pictures for sure. Hopefully some coralline starts back on those rocks. I see some on the back glass so shouldn't be long.

Yea, there's some on the rocks but a lot of rocks don't have any. My CA is a little low at 375 so I'll be raising that soon once some calcium chloride arrives (don't want to raise alk).

 

[Ashish Patel]

Awesome Tank and build thread!

 

[Labridaedicted]

Wow. The title of your build thread resonates too much with me, haha. Great job and I'll be tagging along to see it all come together!

 

[Biff0rz]

Long time, no update, let's change that! It's been a long, painful journey thanks to the good 'ole dino's and VIBRANT documented above. Never again, lol. The tank is really doing a lot better these days, and I'm super happy. No more dino (yay!), coraline is growing again, all algea is gone, and now I'm keeping lps & sps!

Things that I've done since the last udpate-

• stopped dosing vibrant
• more regular water changes
• added an ATS
• let the tank settle and get healthy since vibrant was destroying all the good bacteria
• added some more live rock from an older tank to add biodiversity
• testing, and more testing
• patience!!
  

So I slowly added corals once I felt like the tank was ready. The first things I added were some easier to care for coral

The first was an octo, gonia, and a space invader in April'22

The only thing to survive is the octo and the gonia is on its last legs - space invaded did NOT make it. The gonia is hanging on now that the tank is fully healthy but it is def not thriving.

I then added a forrest fire digi in May'22

...that didn't last long, 1 week later-

but I also added a torch which still is not thriving but is alive and ok

Once I was able to keep the LPS alive (heads splitting, no issues from what I could tell) I decided to add an easier sps, a monti - added May'22

...it didn't like my tank... by early June'22 it was bleached (no lighting / alk changes)

... rest in peace forrest fire digi...

but by Sept'22, the monti recovered! And it started to encrust

so in Sept'22 I also got some more torches since the first one was still living (lol) and sps was still a long shot. I needed some sort of corals in the tank. I added a nyn and a cotton candy

both are alive and doing well today! In december my alkatronic freaked out and was giving me incorrect readings, and I had ran out of hanna tests AND got laid off (fun fun).

I splurged on some hanna alk tests and realized alk was way off which is why my monti looked like this-

but once I dialied things in, it recovered again-

by march'23 I was employed again, I was able to limp the tank along for those 3 months of hell. Finally, I felt like it was time to try some sps again, so I bought a cheap test frag. It's ugly, but got the job done.

it started to thrive (didn't do the typical flesh peel o death (s/rtn)) so I knew it was go time. I tried the forrest fire digi again at the end of mar'23

Day 1, ticked

a few days later, fat and happy-

I noticed the digi was growing!, so I got a little more bold and picked up tsa the fuzz and an ora blue tort in mid May'23. I also picked up the fuzz to ensure I didn't have any fish nipping at polyps...I do have a pygmy angel in the tank

crappy pic of the fuzz

by late May'23 the digi was taking off-

So in late may of '23 I picked up a slimer too

and Finally, in early July'23, I picked up a large pack of sps!

JF Foxflame
RMF Tigers Blood
BC Hyperberry
BC Bonfire
JF Blowtorch
WWC Electric Melon
ARC Fireworks
BC Aquatic Man
TSA Bill Murray
Vivids Confetti
JF Jolt
CC Pink Highlighter

It's now 3 weeks later and all of the frags are starting to encrust on their plugs nicely, I can't wait to see these take off!!

fts (no filter, sorry)

...slimer doing well...

...and the orginial lps are doing great!! many heads on the nyn, dragon, cotton candy, and octo!

and major shout out to the OG mushrooms which survived it ALL!

Anyways, good update, hoping my next one will be just as awesome!

 

[ScottB]

Long time, no update, let's change that! It's been a long, painful journey thanks to the good 'ole dino's and VIBRANT documented above. Never again, lol. The tank is really doing a lot better these days, and I'm super happy. No more dino (yay!), coraline is growing again, all algea is gone, and now I'm keeping lps & sps!

Things that I've done since the last udpate-

• stopped dosing vibrant
• more regular water changes
• added an ATS
• let the tank settle and get healthy since vibrant was destroying all the good bacteria
• added some more live rock from an older tank to add biodiversity
• testing, and more testing
• patience!!

So I slowly added corals once I felt like the tank was ready. The first things I added were some easier to care for coral

The first was an octo, gonia, and a space invader in April'22

The only thing to survive is the octo and the gonia is on its last legs - space invaded did NOT make it. The gonia is hanging on now that the tank is fully healthy but it is def not thriving.

I then added a forrest fire digi in May'22

...that didn't last long, 1 week later-

but I also added a torch which still is not thriving but is alive and ok

Once I was able to keep the LPS alive (heads splitting, no issues from what I could tell) I decided to add an easier sps, a monti - added May'22

...it didn't like my tank... by early June'22 it was bleached (no lighting / alk changes)

... rest in peace forrest fire digi...

but by Sept'22, the monti recovered! And it started to encrust

so in Sept'22 I also got some more torches since the first one was still living (lol) and sps was still a long shot. I needed some sort of corals in the tank. I added a nyn and a cotton candy

both are alive and doing well today! In december my alkatronic freaked out and was giving me incorrect readings, and I had ran out of hanna tests AND got laid off (fun fun).

I splurged on some hanna alk tests and realized alk was way off which is why my monti looked like this-

but once I dialied things in, it recovered again-

by march'23 I was employed again, I was able to limp the tank along for those 3 months of hell. Finally, I felt like it was time to try some sps again, so I bought a cheap test frag. It's ugly, but got the job done.

it started to thrive (didn't do the typical flesh peel o death (s/rtn)) so I knew it was go time. I tried the forrest fire digi again at the end of mar'23

Day 1, ticked

a few days later, fat and happy-

I noticed the digi was growing!, so I got a little more bold and picked up tsa the fuzz and an ora blue tort in mid May'23. I also picked up the fuzz to ensure I didn't have any fish nipping at polyps...I do have a pygmy angel in the tank

crappy pic of the fuzz

by late May'23 the digi was taking off-

So in late may of '23 I picked up a slimer too

and Finally, in early July'23, I picked up a large pack of sps!

JF Foxflame
RMF Tigers Blood
BC Hyperberry
BC Bonfire
JF Blowtorch
WWC Electric Melon
ARC Fireworks
BC Aquatic Man
TSA Bill Murray
Vivids Confetti
JF Jolt
CC Pink Highlighter

It's now 3 weeks later and all of the frags are starting to encrust on their plugs nicely, I can't wait to see these take off!!

fts (no filter, sorry)

...slimer doing well...

...and the orginial lps are doing great!! many heads on the nyn, dragon, cotton candy, and octo!

and major shout out to the OG mushrooms which survived it ALL!

Anyways, good update, hoping my next one will be just as awesome!

You were certainly due for a good report. Glad to hear it. Quite the acropora haul you took in there!