CV's 75g noobie tank and now upgrade to 240g

Jen1978

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I actually like it a lot. Is it neccesary? Absolutely not. But I like having the par meter and the ammonia and temp monitor for my QT. One thing to note is it doesn't connect to WiFi out of the box. But I actually had a 2007 old netbook that runs windows 7 and I stashed it on my stand to just read the seneye. Wasn't willing to pay the ridiculous price on the seneye wifi. The other solution I have read on some threads is connecting it to a PC stick.
I was thinking of the PC stick or going to a pawn shop for a cheap laptop. I've been running off chromebooks for my small laptop needs these days and no longer have a windows one. Or my lazy butt can just walk it to the desktop in the next room and get my readings off it every week and just make sure to place it in my aquarium where I can see warning lights. I really want the par meter part more. I have heard they are pretty accurate for the small price.
 
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boacvh

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I was thinking of the PC stick or going to a pawn shop for a cheap laptop. I've been running off chromebooks for my small laptop needs these days and no longer have a windows one. Or my lazy butt can just walk it to the desktop in the next room and get my readings off it every week and just make sure to place it in my aquarium where I can see warning lights. I really want the par meter part more. I have heard they are pretty accurate for the small price.
Yes, I would say I got it really for the par meter, it's good for the price even if you just use it for that in my opinion. The rest are just additional benefits. I got the used netbook on ebay for like $40.
 
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boacvh

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So the latest update is awesome news. I hadn't seen my YWG for 3+ months. Used to see him every day at feeding time, then he just disappeared. Since it was more than 3 months, I assumed he was dead and purchased a High Fin Red Banded goby to replace him. As soon as I put him in the tank, my YWG came out..... :)
 
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Latest update is I decided to pull the trigger on a Trident. Pretty easy to set up and working great so far. I have it controlling my dosing now. I went away for a few days on vacation and it kept my tank pretty stable. After calibrating, the Ca level is materially different than my hanna and also an API test. But I am looking more for stability of the level it shows rather than the level itself so I am ok with that. Frankly I seldom tested tested for Ca. Tested my alk daily and since I am doing 2 part always assumed any imbalances in Ca would be taken care of by that. Nevertheless, the level shown has been pretty stable. Hopefully the next calibration brings the actual level more in line with my other tests. Happy with it so far.
 
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Some new additions and some growth pics. I am loving these RFA in particular. Might get more!

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boacvh

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Since I am reaching my 2 year mark I wanted to leave a summary journal of what's in the tank. What has worked. What hasn’t. with some pictures
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Parameters:
I decided to target ranges instead of levels.
  • ALK: I chose 8.0-9.0 as my target. Maybe wider range than some people recommend but as long as it's in this range I don’t do anything whatsoever to fix it. My alk fluctuates in this range most of the time near 8.5
  • CA: Didn’t even measure it a lot. I always assumed 2 part would take care of any imbalances over time. I recently got the trident so now I know it's around the high 400's usually
  • MG: around 1250-1350 usually.
  • TEMP: Target 78-79. Summer months it fluctuates between 79-80 and my heater rarely comes on
  • PH: 7.7-7.8 in beginning. Now I added a co2 scrubber and a kalk reactor and fluctuates 8-8.2.
  • NO3: Roller coaster. Usually around 10-15. But as high as 50. and as low as 1 at some points. But since the stupid colors on these nitrate tests a 1 is the same as a 10, take your pick.
  • PO4 runs on higher side . Been combating since day one with GFO and my chaeto. But I only change GFO monthly so it reaches higher ranges towards end of the month when exhausted. Usually in the 0.06 to 0.15 range
  • Salt target 1.025-1.026

Equipment:
  • 2 Kessil a360x. Love them. I previously had 2 orbit pro current usa and I absolutely loved those lights too. But I couldn’t grow SPS with them so I upgraded. My softies and LPS did ok with them though.
  • Klir 7. This should have been my first purchase. What a time saver vs the stupid socks. Still have to revisit in a few months to see if it’s a success long term, but short term I just love it.
  • Skimmer = eshopps S-120. Does ok. Could have gotten a better one maybe, but I like it.
  • Avast Kalk reactor. I really like the craftsmanship. And it works perfectly. I decided to get it cause I was tired of mixing kalk in my ato. Evaporation is too uneven.
  • Main pump is an eflux current usa and I have it with 3 of their wave pumps on the Loop system. Love them. Small, silent and I like the controller. Perfect for what I need
  • Gyre. I run a gyre 350 too, laminar on surface. The amount of water this thing moves is unbelievable.
  • Heater. Cobalt 300w. Rarely comes on during the summer months. So far 10/10. Probably over did it on the W. It turns on for just a few mins to get temp to my target
  • Refugium. It has a DSB around a thick marine pure block and chaeto. And a gazillion pods.
  • Sump = R-200 eshopps. Its ok. The return chamber is smaller than I would like now and in the back, so it's not the most accessible design. I installed a clip on mirror so I can easily see the water level. But as a noob I had no clue what to get and it serves its purpose. Very well made IMO
  • I run GAC and GFO 24/7 on 2 TLF reactors.
  • And I have a br-70 biopellet reactor. This one I am not a huge fan off. Or I should say the reactor is great but the pellets clog all the time and I have to clean it more than I would like. But I have gotten into a rhythm so don’t want to start changing things in the tank
  • Apex. Use it mostly for monitoring, very little for control. I didn’t get it since the beginning and would recommends other noobs like me also wait. I think not having one in the beginning allowed me to understand the workings and tweaks to my setup better.
  • Trident. Too soon to review anything. Just started using it a month ago. But so far so good. Alk is in line with my hannah. Ca very different than my hannah. But I really don’t care about the level. As long as it stays stable I don’t pay too much attention to it
  • Dos. I use it to dose 2 part. Started using it when my alk started decreasing with fully saturated kalk. So now I use both. 2 part more for stability than anything else and kalk for some additional ph stability. I don’t aim for higher PH with kalk, just to see a flatter curve
  • Poseidon Systems: LOVE these. I have a Phyto and pod culture running. Harvest once a week. Plug and play, takes me five to 10 minutes.
  • ATO. Tunze Osmolator. No complains. Works perfectly.
  • Eshopps HOB Overflow. I think they have a bad rep perhaps from old days. I never drilled my tank because it had a huge sticker on it saying enclosure was tempered. Reading advice here in R2R, they suggested if unsure not to drill it even though many people advice on my build thread was to drill it. The HOB hasn’t lost syphon, not even once. I've planned contingencies in case it does, so not worried about it. No regrets in not taking the risk drilling the tank.
  • Water changes = 15 gallons weekly. Takes me 10 minutes with a pump and python system. No buckets.
Fish:
Tank probably looks overstocked by # of fish, but most of my fish are pretty small. All in all very few losses for a noob I think. Most of them in QT. Now I don’t medicate them, I just observe them for a few days. No deaths since then. Same LFS always so I trust them. And now, after buying @Paul B book and reading his threads, I am kind of slowly becoming a disciple. White worm culture is next in my plans!
  • Green Chromis. While the kids named him Google, I nicknamed him Duncan Mcleod because "There can only be one". He Killed the other 3 chromis in my tank
  • Fire Fish - beautiful. But Boring. Hides 90% of time
  • Flame Angelfish - all I can say is WOW. The coloration on this guy is amazing. Pictures don’t capture the minute details. Also, can't say he nips, haven't caught him, but maybe that’s why I have struggled with LPS. In any case my fish come before my corals so he isn't going anywhere
  • High Fin Red Banded Goby - funny. Pretty cautious. But always perching on his little cave entrance.
  • 2 Mandarin Fish. Learned to eat bloodworms and they love PaulB's feeder and live BBS. Fat and look healthy.
  • Neon Goby. Too small. Rarely see him
  • One Spot Foxface. King of the tank. I absolutely love the personality on this fish. Checks me out all the time and I am pretty sure he recognizes me. Comes up to say "hi". For everyone else, he turns into a menacing black and brown spot in the rocks haha
  • Banggai Cardinal. 2 died in QT (I should have gotten another one to keep the remaining one company)
  • Blue Chromis (My only regret. Aggressive. Has gotten big and bullies others. I would not buy him again. But I don’t have the heart to get rid of him
  • Hippo Tang (yes….I know….save your comments tang police cause I really don't care :)).
  • Royal Gramma - absolutely nuts. Swims backwards, upside down, weird movements. Love this fish.
  • Possum Wrasse. One of my favorites. Always visible and great personality. Has the craziest swim patterns as well.
  • 2 Percula Clownsfish - boring. They hide behind the overflow box all day long.
  • Two Spot Goby - a cleaning machine. Leaves the sand spotless. Re-arranges my sand and snails constantly
  • Yellow Watchman Goby - hardly see him. always hiding
  • Yellow Clown Goby - another one of my favorites. Always perching. Great personality. I would say he is probably the poodle of the tank. I think he believes he is 20 times the size he really is. Dukes it out with the foxface and the flame angel at feeding time. I have caught him nipping my sps. But like I said, fish come first, so enjoy your snack little guy.
  • Yellow Tang. Lost 1 to what looked like an internal infection. :( He was best buddies with the foxface . When he died I got the tiny hippo instead
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Corals:

Softies
  • Finger leather. Probably the most growth in my tank. This is a monster now. And I already cut it twice
  • Zoas: Super easy. Great growth on all of them. Have fragged them a lot of times.
  • Ricordea = set and forget, low maintenance. No growth whatsoever though.
  • GSP: Most people hate them?. I absolutely love mine. The color and movement is amazing. It's on its own island and I have to trim it constantly since it starts expanding over the sand
  • Xenia. Loved it. Grew a lot. But then a clam gave it a "hug" with its foot and killed it!!. It completely melted away after the incident with the clam
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LPS.
All are fed reefroids direct feeding twice a week.
  • Acans: Definitely my nemesis coral. Can't keep them. They retract as soon as I put them in my tank and then slowly die. High flow, low flow, high light, low light, feed daily, don’t feed. Nothing matters. I have given up on these (Too bad cause they are some of my favorites)
  • Goni: Lots of extension. It has grown to an incredible size. But no growth on the rock.
  • Alveopora: Super easy. Has had some reasonable growth
  • Lobo. Love these corals. Always super inflated. But I have had ZERO growth
  • Chalices - most have died. No growth on any
  • Favia. Most died. Slowly withered away
  • Favites. Most died. Slowly withered away
  • Hammer. First coral in the tank. ZERO growth in 2 years
  • Torch. ZERO growth in 2 years. I have a second torch that developed a second small head but then the small head died
  • Frogspawn. Little growth. a couple new heads
  • Duncans. ZERO growth
  • Candy cane: always open. Pretty. But also ZERO growth.
  • Blastomussa. Love blastos, as you can tell from my avatar. They have grown a few heads in these 2 years, but nothing substantial.
  • Leptastrea. Pretty colors. But It rarely opens
  • Hydnophora. Very pretty. Small growth. REALLY AGGRESSIVE. Keep it away from everything. This killed a couple frags with some surprisingly long "tendrils"
  • Lythophyllon: Impulse buy. Looked pretty. Has been struggling.
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SPS.
I call them the red one, the blue one, the green one. Have no clue what the fancy anime-like names are for any of mine
  • Acro. I know nothing about these, so pretty much anything that looks like a stick, if someone hasn’t pointed their real name to me, I have classified as an acro. Maybe many aren't haha. Most of the ones I have, have been very easy and a few others unforgiving. I had some die with alk swings (vacation and user error). A substantial amount of growth on most of the ones that have survived. I could say you can observe the growth day to day. All in all, contrary to everything I have read here in R2R, my experience has been that SPS are actually much easier than LPS once my tank was stable. Then again, I don’t buy any expensive frags so maybe I just own the easy ones.
  • Montis: I would say this is hands down the easiest coral out there. These things grow like weeds. Survived all my noob mistakes too. Love the coloration. Afraid they will overtake my tank at some point. Right now I am using epoxy to limit their growth but can't tell how I would do that once other corals star blocking my hand/reach.
  • Millepora. Zero growth. But love the way they look.
  • Pocylopora: Super easy. Grows like a weed. Packs a potent sting, has killed any other coral that it came in contact with
  • Birds Nest: Impossible level. Every single one has died in a very short time in my tank
  • Cyphastrea. Love them. wish I had discovered them sooner. Late acquisitions so not a lot of growth yet. Plan on getting more
  • Leptoseris. I loved the coloration on these. Killed mine when I went on vacation and my alk dropped too much. Plan on getting a few again.
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Other stuff:
  • RFAs: love these. got 2 from Aqua SD and they are just spectacular. Now I am considering adding a few more
  • And my maxima. Love it. Thinking of getting some other kinds of clams now
  • Dendro. ZERO growth. only opens at night. I've been a bit lazy with the daily spot feeding so maybe that’s the reason.
  • Snails. Countless.
  • Hermits. Countless. Love their quirks.
  • Shrimps: Cleaner and Fire. Beautiful.
  • Pistol Shrimp. Havent seen it since I introduced him. But he clicks all the time, and I see his mountains and my moved frags in the morning so I know he is there.
  • Pests? Vermetids. They exploded at some point. Diminished to almost nothing now. I added bumblebee snails. Not sure if correlated to the lower population. Also asterinas. I like them actually and for now still welcome in my tank, I like the biodiversity. All they seem to do is eat some coraline. Kids like them too.
Well, long summary. Year 3 here I come. Once again, thanks for following me @NY_Caveman
 
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NY_Caveman

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BTW, I love all the comments for each inhabitant. Makes me want to do the same. If everyone just simply did that in their thread based on real experience there would be a lot less misinformation out there.
 

Raege

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Well.......I started around same time as you and see I followed in beggining and lost you in some kerflufgle along the way. Searching 75 gallons saw hey here’s one started about same tile as me and wow going to have to stop . following again puts me to shame. Beautiful tank you have put together. Nicely done
 
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boacvh

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BTW, I love all the comments for each inhabitant. Makes me want to do the same. If everyone just simply did that in their thread based on real experience there would be a lot less misinformation out there.
Thanks. I have noticed more than color or size what I really like or not about a fish is their personalities. :)
 
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boacvh

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Well.......I started around same time as you and see I followed in beggining and lost you in some kerflufgle along the way. Searching 75 gallons saw hey here’s one started about same tile as me and wow going to have to stop . following again puts me to shame. Beautiful tank you have put together. Nicely done
Thank you. Tank has had it's up and downs. 2 year mark landed on an up. Looking forward to what year 3 brings, so exciting! :)
 

Raege

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Thank you. Tank has had it's up and downs. 2 year mark landed on an up. Looking forward to what year 3 brings, so exciting! :)
One thing reefing has is ups and downs but you have handled them very well. Love your fish choices some I havchad sold I have considered as well as the coral choices. Just getting mind back kinds on the road again yours inspires me to get er done. :) The goniopora is;Drool
 

Crabby48

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Note to self tarting page 7. Need a break and don’t want to loose track.
I forgot so many thing I would like to comment on.when I finish reading all go back and pick a few favorites.
Your documentation is perfect for someone starting out. Well done so far.
 
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boacvh

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New experience for my book. I had a water change planned for today. But the heatwave in socal has other plans. Since my water station sits outside, the water is now 95 degrees.....(or that is 35c for you normal people out there :)). Tried dumping some ice in ziplocks but doesn't bring it down much. Will have to wait on the WC haha.
 
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boacvh

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Well, I found this beautiful anemone yesterday. It was quite large so I don't know how I missed it before (specially with my stung favia next to it). Unfortunately, after a proper ID from members of R2R on the hitchhiker forum as aiptasia, this beautiful anemone decided to choke itself with a concentrated dose of kalkwasser so I won't be able to enjoy it anymore. May you rest in peace. :) (hopefully it didn't leave any siblings!)

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Raege

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The dreaded glass Anemone....like pringles does anyone ever have just one? Best of luck I’m scared to look hard in my tank. Happy they are not where Ininitially saw them after adding pep shrimp going to call it a win too @RichtheReefer21 points another out to me lol
 
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