Brian's First Time Reef Build RSR 250 - (Pic Heavy / Detailed Walk Through)

[BPC10001]

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Figured it was time for a quick update.

Quarantine Tank

After losing one of the spoticinctus clowns on Monday, I decided it was time to start the copper treatment and head off any additional problems. I did stop by the LFS and they replaced the clown. I added 3 other azure damsels as I love the way those guys look under the light.

I've been raising the copper levels in the tank SLOWLY as to not stress anyone. Tank dosing schedule for the copper as follows:

• 1 teaspoon 2x a day until copper hit 1.0PPM (took 2 days)
• 1 teaspoon a day until copper gets to theraputic levels. This will be ~2.2ppm for me

I also do a 10% water change 1x a week just to get the detritus off the bottom. There is still some build up which i'll get during my next water change. I make sure to match the copper level in my water change bucket before doing the change. I've gone a bit overboard with the filtration in the tank and i'm running an Aquaclear 70, a sponge filter rated for up to 30 gallons, and an extra airstone.

Happy to report everyone is healthy and happy and eating like absolute pigs. After 30 days in the copper at theraputic levels, I'll be moving on to the prazipro and then into the DT.

Frag Tank

Got the frag tank up and running earlier in the week. For a frag tank, i'm running an Innovative Marine 30L AIO. To help with cycling, I moved a sponge & bio block from my DT sump that has been seeding since I started the tank and I added some Dr. Tims.

For lights, i'm running to EcoTech XR15 blues and using a regular Eheim Jager heater. I've got a small Koralife powerhead in the tank and will add additional flow as I start ramping up the corals.

I made a couple of frag tank racks out of regular egg crate. I read people were having problems with algae growth on the white egg crate. I soaked the stuff for 48 hours in a 50/50 vinegar & water mix to hopefully remove any manufactuing chemicals. I suppose if I start having issues I can just switch over to the black BRS egg crate.

I was super anxious to get the tank going so I added a few fish + corals yesterday afternoon. All seem to be doing well. Livestock includes:

• Fish
  • 1x Tomini Tang
  • 1x Melanurus Wrasse
  • 1x Sapphire Damsel
• Coral
  • 2x zoas (mixed colors)
  • 1x Euphyllia (Green Hammer)
  • 1x red mushroom

I tried to pick the fish somewhat strategically as everyone in here will be "living" in the frag tank and hopefully helping to cut down on pests / algae / issues as they pop up. I originally wanted to run a fishless frag but abandoned that idea after reading about some of the negatives associated with doing so.


Starter Frags

Melanurus

Frag Tank Corals & Fish

 

[powers2001]

Hope everyone is having a good weekend. Figured it was time for a quick update.

Quarantine Tank

After losing one of the spoticinctus clowns on Monday, I decided it was time to start the copper treatment and head off any additional problems. I did stop by the LFS and they replaced the clown. I added 3 other azure damsels as I love the way those guys look under the light.

I've been raising the copper levels in the tank SLOWLY as to not stress anyone. Tank dosing schedule for the copper as follows:

• 1 teaspoon 2x a day until copper hit 1.0PPM (took 2 days)
• 1 teaspoon a day until copper gets to theraputic levels. This will be ~2.2ppm for me

I also do a 10% water change 1x a week just to get the detritus off the bottom. There is still some build up which i'll get during my next water change. I make sure to match the copper level in my water change bucket before doing the change. I've gone a bit overboard with the filtration in the tank and i'm running an Aquaclear 70, a sponge filter rated for up to 30 gallons, and an extra airstone.

Happy to report everyone is healthy and happy and eating like absolute pigs. After 30 days in the copper at theraputic levels, I'll be moving on to the prazipro and then into the DT.

Frag Tank

Got the frag tank up and running earlier in the week. For a frag tank, i'm running an Innovative Marine 30L AIO. To help with cycling, I moved a sponge & bio block from my DT sump that has been seeding since I started the tank and I added some Dr. Tims.

For lights, i'm running to EcoTech XR15 blues and using a regular Eheim Jager heater. I've got a small Koralife powerhead in the tank and will add additional flow as I start ramping up the corals.

I made a couple of frag tank racks out of regular egg crate. I read people were having problems with algae growth on the white egg crate. I soaked the stuff for 48 hours in a 50/50 vinegar & water mix to hopefully remove any manufactuing chemicals. I suppose if I start having issues I can just switch over to the black BRS egg crate.

I was super anxious to get the tank going so I added a few fish + corals yesterday afternoon. All seem to be doing well. Livestock includes:

• Fish
  • 1x Tomini Tang
  • 1x Melanurus Wrasse
  • 1x Sapphire Damsel
• Coral
  • 2x zoas (mixed colors)
  • 1x Euphyllia (Green Hammer)
  • 1x red mushroom

I tried to pick the fish somewhat strategically as everyone in here will be "living" in the frag tank and hopefully helping to cut down on pests / algae / issues as they pop up. I originally wanted to run a fishless frag but abandoned that idea after reading about some of the negatives associated with doing so.


Starter Frags

Melanurus

Frag Tank Corals & Fish

@BPC10001 I’m no expert with wrasses but don’t Melanurus need to burrow in sand? The reason I ask is I want one for my new build but I’ll run barebottom to begin with so they’re out of the question.

 

[BPC10001]

It's a good question. My LFS keeps them in their frag tanks (bare bottom) and holding tanks (bare bottom). I can tell you this guy has been pretty anxious the first 48 hours and has been lying up against the PVC legs of the frag racks when he gets scared. I've read they are not as bad as the leopards and some of the other wrasses which definitely need sand.

I'm going to keep a close eye on him and will move him if he seems to be overly stressed. I added sand in a pyrex dish to the QT tank for the sixline and he couldn't care less about it. I see the tang digging and going into the sand more than the wrasse so who knows...

If anyone here is an expert and tells me he definitely needs sand, please let me know so I can rehome him

 

[BPC10001]

@powers2001 - I think you are right here. Doing more reading and while some people do keep melanurus in their frag tanks, the general consensus is they need sand.

I'm going to put him in the DT (I have plenty of sand for him there) and i'll put the sixline (when done with QT) into the frag tank. I think that will make more sense and be better for all parties involved

 

[powers2001]

@BPC10001 the Sixline doesn’t need sand but they usually find a crevice in the rock or elsewhere and produce a mucous cocoon from their skin at night.

 

[BPC10001]

@BPC10001 the Sixline doesn’t need sand but they usually find a crevice in the rock or elsewhere and produce a mucous cocoon from their skin at night.

Yup! This is the case with my guy in QT. Every morning there is a little slimeball in the corner where he sleeps next to a piece of PVC pipe.

I moved the Melanurus into the DT last night...he immediately buried himself. Haven't seen him since

 

[powers2001]

@BPC10001 it would be interesting to find out why the mucous cocoon. Possibly to hide the sight or smell of the fish to protect from predators?

 

[BPC10001]

@BPC10001 it would be interesting to find out why the mucous cocoon. Possibly to hide the sight or smell of the fish to protect from predators?

Yes - I've read its to mask the smell and help them hide. Either way, it's quite interesting.

I just hit theraputic levels of copper in the QT (>2.0PPM). I really wish you didn't need to go the full 30 days of treatment to eradicate ich. Would love to get these fish into DT ASAP. They all look great and I can't wait to see them. Oh well - Patience is everything in this hobby.

Alternatively, I guess I could just move out of the city into a house where I can add another 5+ tanks

 

[BPC10001]

Just turned around and the wrasse is out. No idea where he came from, but the pile of sand where I thought he was buried is undisturbed so he must have been somewhere else.

 

[BPC10001]

Having a bit of bad luck with the QT process. Just lost 3 damsels in the span of ~12-18 hours. No idea whats going on. All parameters stable. Fingers crossed it was some mystery disease only afflicting those guys and the rest of the crew will pull through....

More info on the situation here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/fish-dying-in-qt.853493/

 

[powers2001]

Always had that luck with blue green damsels. First time 5 died within 24 hours. Second time 5 died over a 3 day period. Dirt cheap but definitely not hardy.

 

[BPC10001]

Always had that luck with blue green damsels. First time 5 died within 24 hours. Second time 5 died over a 3 day period. Dirt cheap but definitely not hardy.

I have no idea what their deal is. These were Azures. But I also lost a Sapphire Blue from the frag tank. Was eating fine and then the next morning started spinning in circles and died within an hour....

 

[BPC10001]

Time for a quick sunday picture dump. Been pretty focused on my frag tank and trying to build that out. My LFS was supposed to get some new corals in on Thursday but everything has been messed up in the NYC area due to this "hurricane" aka rainstorm :mad:. So far I've got the following in the frag tank:

Fish

• 1x Tomini Tang

Coral

• 3x Zoas / Palys
• 1x Orange Ricordea Mushroom
• 1x Green Wall Hammer
• 1x Blue Tip Branching Hammer
• 1x Cotton Candy Torch
• 1x Goniopora
  • This was a piece that had splintered off & been damaged at the LFS. They were throwing it out so I took it
• 1x Duncan Chalice
  • Same as the Goniopora; was broken and being thrown out, so I took it

I've got to get a par meter and check out my settings in the tank. I'm running two XR15 Blues on the 30L Nuvo (13" high, lights mounted on RMS rail 8" above that). I've noticed a lot of coral sensitivity with the light. I'm currently running the lights in acclimation mode at 20%. I've got the AB+ schedule on @ 50% strength. Probably putting too much light into the tank...these things are REALLY powerful.

Candy Apple Palys

Orange Ricordea

Zoa

Green Wall Hammer

Tomini Tang

I'm on the hunt now for some more exotic frags so if anyone has anything they are looking to part out, let me know

 

[BPC10001]

Got an actual camera now (no more iphone shots) so throwing up some pics. Need to figure out how to use the darn thing, but hoping to have some amazing shots for you all soon

Candy Apple Paly

Cotton Candy Torch Frag

Hippo

Spotcinctus Clowns

 

[BPC10001]

Never a dull moment! If you look at the hippo picture above, you can see a couple of black "smudges" on his cheek + some black dots under his lateral line. Turned out to be a hellacious case of flukes. Put him in a freshwater bath and could not believe the number of flukes that came off....Needless to say, he's back in QT with a healthy dose of Prazipro going through treatment again. I guess the copper treatment ended up supressing those flukes and within 48 hours of taking him out, he presented symptoms. Should have dosed the prazi before that. Oh well....

Some other "better" pictures for you all in the mean time...


Duncan Chalice finally decided to open...

Some better shots of the Tomini enjoy a nori snack...Love this guy