BVF 75 Gallon Conversion

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Week 11, the fallow is over.
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And, that Jason Fox guy struck again. Whoever keeps sending these to me needs to slow down just a little.
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Now we are current through 10/7/21. I have realized the only things I haven’t replaced in this conversion are the glass, stand, and heater. I see where this is headed.

In a couple weeks, I’ll be adding a few fish to the QT to finish off the fish portion of the project. One day, maybe some SPS.
 
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On 10/19, I added this 2-spot bristletooth tang and an Anthias to the QT. they'll be ready for the big show around Thanksgiving.
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And today, a pre-quarantined foxface rabbit fish arrived from Dr. Reef. He was pretty pale coming out of the box, but colored up well through the acclimation and addition. It wasn’t long before it was picking at the rocks.
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wow, you move fast. Did you use any bottled bacteria to cycle the tank or are you keeping up with ammonia by doing lots of water changes?

I would suggest to slow down a bit and let the tank settle out. I came from freshwater as well and moved pretty quick with my first tank and it ended up costing me more money in dead fish and coral than if I had taken my time.

But the tank looks good! What corals and fish do you currently have in the tank?
 
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wow, you move fast. Did you use any bottled bacteria to cycle the tank or are you keeping up with ammonia by doing lots of water changes?

I would suggest to slow down a bit and let the tank settle out. I came from freshwater as well and moved pretty quick with my first tank and it ended up costing me more money in dead fish and coral than if I had taken my time.

But the tank looks good! What corals and fish do you currently have in the tank?
5 months is fast? It’s all good.

I did lose my first 3 fish to Ich, before I knew the importance of QT, and now I keep a 20-gal long QT running in a different room for fish to start in/move to.

Current fish are 2 clowns, 1 diamond watchman goby, and a pre-quarantined foxface. An Anthias and a 2-spot bristletooth tang are currently in the 20-gal QT and will be transferred around Thanksgiving. Don’t plan to add much more…maybe something small, friendly, and blue for color.

Current corals are zoas/palys, candy cane, bubblegum monster chalice, frilly mushroom, JF Dayglo favia, Duncan, and just added a cheap ugly test acro last week. I have no expectations for it, so it will probably thrive, LOL.
 
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A few update photos…
Confused clowns hosted by Daisy Duke Paly:
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JF Nuclear Death Paly:
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Battlecorals, from left: A Fire Engine, Acroberry, Blue Ghost, Rainbow’s Army, Skyparade, Forest Fire Digi:
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2-spot bristletooth:
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closeup of Rainbow’s Army…looking forward to growing this one out:
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Myiagi Tort:
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Update. Lots of sponges growing, and an aiptasia pops up every week or so.

Been fighting PO4. It climbed to .63, added a reactor with GFO and managed it down to .12 over a few weeks. None of the corals seemed to suffer noticeably, other than a couple SPS were not showing their original colors.

Understanding a little more about water chemistry, and checking Ca, Alk, and PO4 every day or two to see how things change through small water changes and manual dosing of AFR. Trying to keep the Alk around 8, Ca stays in the 450-470 range.

I can see how an ATO would be useful automation, and I can also see a replacement tank at some point because this one is really showing some scratches on the front.
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Chaeto is not growing, but it is not dying either. I don’t think the Refugium section gets much water movement.

A few photos showing some growth in the corals. The candy cane was my first coral, and it had 3 heads in June. Now it has around 12.
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This is the Day-Glo Favia showed a couple posts back. It has decided to behave and start growing. I’m feeding it mysis shrimp every couple days. I am looking forward to the day when the grate it was draped over isn’t the defining shape.
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Daisy Dukes have more than doubled in count in the last 6 months. The clowns were burrowing in them, but have also tried living in the candy canes. I think they want a nem, but I really don’t.
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Somehow, I snapped this forest fire digi, and so I glued it down next to the base, and it didn’t miss a beat. Branching hammer in the background.
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A few more shots of recent additions. They are starting to show signs of encrusting the plugs, which is exciting.

Rainbow’s Army:
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second try at Leng Sy, and already seeing growth in a month’s time:
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Grim Reaper Favia, not quite as blue as the website showed, but still cool:
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Duncan has added 3 heads since September:
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BC Miyagi tort:
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BC Acroberry:
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And this Daffodil Hill Acro, my first attempt at an Acro. It’s ugly but furry.
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That Tyree Bubble Gum Monster in the foreground is finally growing…but toward the rock in the back. It will be interesting to see this in another 6 months.
 

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Wow looks great! Scary about the ich. I’m currently working on convincing my woman of an AIO tank for our kids that I secretly intend on using as a QT tank or only purchasing pre quarantined fish
 
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Wow looks great! Scary about the ich. I’m currently working on convincing my woman of an AIO tank for our kids that I secretly intend on using as a QT tank or only purchasing pre quarantined fish
Best of luck. One of the harsh realities I learned moving from FW to SW is the need for a second tank as almost as important as lights are for corals.
 

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wow that is awesome & awesome growth! I have a Duncan coming in Wednesday but your build thread is making me want to try mayybeee one more to keep things moving hahaha what would you recommend? Actually - fourth pic from the bottom. That encrusting coral? What is that? I really like the way it looks. I think if I WERE to try another right now it would be a torch or whatever that is
 
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wow that is awesome & awesome growth! I have a Duncan coming in Wednesday but your build thread is making me want to try mayybeee one more to keep things moving hahaha what would you recommend? Actually - fourth pic from the bottom. That encrusting coral? What is that? I really like the way it looks. I think if I WERE to try another right now it would be a torch or whatever that is
Thanks, mostly by trial and error. I added the sump after a couple months and moved the canister filter over to a 20-g long QT. Things started to take off at around 6 months. To do it again, I would be more careful to keep coralline algae off the side walls, and careful to not scratch the glass when cleaning. Mr. Clean magic erasers are your friend.

My second coral was a candy cane. They are forgiving and fun to feed and watch. That encrusting coral, pink with green/yellow eyes is from Jason Fox, called Day-glo favites. It struggled for a while but finally settled in well.

Torches need very stable water conditions and my tank was more than a year old before I added one.
 
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A few new shots from yesterday.

Rainbow’s Army and original Leng Sy cap:
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New addition Trachy:
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24k gold torch and some nuclear death palys, grim reaper favia:
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Bubblegum monster:
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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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