Dirk’s Waterbox 20G

[DirkCourage]

Can you clear something up for me? I know of water changes and ato. But if I do a weekly water change that is I take say 3 to 4 gals out and then add freshly mixed 3 to 4 gal, that won't mess up my salinity? Salinity was an issue last ime intried this few years back lol

Digitalfirex answered this already, I do the same. When your tank salinity is where you want it, just make sure your water change water is there too. Buy an extra heater you can throw in your mixing bucket, along with a cheap power head (I use the stock pump that came with the tank since I replaced it with the Sicce.) Get the temp up first, because temp can affect how your salinity reads. I make my mix the night before a water change, so it’s a leisurely activity. I use the Hanna salinity tester which is great, but I also found calibration can drift off fast if you’re using it a lot. I recalibrate biweekly.

On the ATO, you mention putting in chamber 1? It should go in chamber 3, with the return. This is the chamber where you water level changes, so you water your sensor and ATO line in thereMake sure you top off with RO water not saltwater

 

[jramy123]

Digitalfirex answered this already, I do the same. When your tank salinity is where you want it, just make sure your water change water is there too. Buy an extra heater you can throw in your mixing bucket, along with a cheap power head (I use the stock pump that came with the tank since I replaced it with the Sicce.) Get the temp up first, because temp can affect how your salinity reads. I make my mix the night before a water change, so it’s a leisurely activity. I use the Hanna salinity tester which is great, but I also found calibration can drift off fast if you’re using it a lot. I recalibrate biweekly.

On the ATO, you mention putting in chamber 1? It should go in chamber 3, with the return. This is the chamber where you water level changes, so you water your sensor and ATO line in thereMake sure you top off with RO water not saltwater

Thanks for the information both of you. Wasnt sure where to really do the ATO so that helps as well whenever it gets here. I am hoping to get everything here this week and maybe get the tank wet this weekend. But sadly the sicce said next day on amazon but for some reason wont be here till 14th supposedly Oh well rather have it all right way first time then fill it and try to remove pump later. Also, last question, for now, either of you do a refuge in chamber 2 or have an opinion on them? I do hope to keep a mandarin eventually once take has been up a while and so i know that means pods.

 

[DirkCourage]

100 DAYS!

I hate to jinx myself, but things have been going pretty well in the reef. If it’s just luck on my side I will take it, but any issues have been minor and the tank has been stable. Of course, I’m now in the stage of fine tuning. I’ve upped my lighting schedule, and have been reducing my flow this week as more corals are added. My new hammer seemed in a particularly bad spot, so I’m trying to dial it back. I think I can afford to. But yeah, 100 days and I’m loving it. Here’s where things stand:

Tech notes: Skimmer is out of the tank and zero regrets. My temp has dropped almost a degree (77.4) and with the skimmer out I figured I’d run two heaters on an Inkbird. Stuff’s here, will install this weekend. I’ve been maintaining a kH at 9.5, with some minor dosing of soda ash/biocarbonate. Params stable.

Residents: My clowns woke up one day and understood the tank was theirs. Overnight they began to swim at all levels, in all areas, in relaxed fashion. Amazing to see. My Wheeler’s comes out for a looksee between 4-5pm. I’ve still only caught glimpses of the pistol shrimp. As he grows I think he’ll show himself more. I also picked up a Halloween Hermit. This guy has turned into a reef all-star, super cool and very active. It definitely eats algae and is working the rock work constantly. I’ll likely wait until spring for another fish and am absolutely split on what. Orchid Dottyback is still a strong contender, but a Purple or Helfrichi Firefish would look amazing. A green clown or yellow clown goby would fit too I think. Lost on this...

Corals: I have been adding 3 frags almost every two weeks. Found a local guy near me with amazing stock, terrific guy with lots of advice and suggestions. I won’t buy anywhere else. I feel bad for folks who have to get corals online. I dip and get them right it, open and healthy immediately. What an absolute luxury. With that, things are filling up fast! I’ve got a 2-head frog spawn and a couple hammers for my garden, a Scrambled Egg zoa, Pocillopora, Fireworks clove, Montipora Setosa, and a big Sinularia colony that I got for a song. It might be a little too big, so it may not stay forever but I’m enjoying it right now. What am I going to do when this tank is full!

 

[jramy123]

Looking good! I'm learning how to test everything with red sea lol. It's way more complicated than api. How long after cycle did u wait till adding some of the corals and clowns? I finished cycle this past weekend and have some surviving hitchhikers and think I see pods too. I have some pods and phyto coming so ill let u know about the fuge idea lol. Keep up great work!

 

[commanderwho]

Any updates? If you have time

 

[DirkCourage]

Oh no, someone is watching this?! Thanks commanderwho for the bump. I know I owe some updates as I’ve just hit 300 days!

A lot has happened, but overall things are going very well and I am pretty proud of how I’ve gotten this far. I’ll try to be brief and stick to the highlights/lowlights: (spoiler alert, its

Livestock
I finally decided to add my last fish in April, an orchid dottyback. Got him from Dr. Reef, highly recommend as the fish was in terrific health, fairly grown and settled in quickly. Otherwise, adding him has to be considered a mistake. The territorial nature and the fact that they’re prodigious diggers was something I was not ready for. My goby is now a refugee with barely a cave to call his own. I never see the pistol shrimp, though I can still hear him so I know he’s alive. I kind of knew there was a risk with this fish, but I truly failed to think through what failure might look like or how I might rectify it. “Oh I’ll just get him out if there’s a problem.” Lol, good luck catching this fish. We’ve all come to an uneasy truce. The dotty is a really a cool fish, but this was a distressing self-inflicted mistake.

Corals
For the most part corals are doing super. I have pretty much maxed out my real estate with 20 different corals! Good news: my frogspawn and neon hammer have puffed up to over twice the size. Acan popping new heads like crazy. I had a tiny hitchhiker discosoma mushroom on a zoa frag that is now the size of a half dollar and split twice. The pocillopora that I must have moved four times and left for dead twice, now THRIVES at the top of my rock work. I’m also 99% certain it has “sprouted” all over the tank. I see similar polyps everywhere, and was told they can propagate in this way!
Bad news: of course chemistry is big element to current success, and I think is responsible for some failures. My sinularia colony (upper left in old photos) withered and died. My pipe organ also took a sudden step back and is looking bad right now. I also got a big sunset monti frag that has never liked my tank, and has basically bleached out. I attribute these issues to nutrient levels (see chemistry.) Also, with my euphyllia suddenly all huge, they now cast a ton of shade on the frags below. They’re also quite crowded. I’ve considered trying to reposition them a bit, but felt the risk was too great and it would be a more complex task than I anticipate.

Chemistry
This has been the battle. I came to discover my phosphates were sky-high (Hanna would max out.) After a great deal of testing and investigating, I found the the “RODI” I was buying from my LFS had over .2 phosphate. I found a place that’s better, though still not 0TDS. Can’t do a RODI in my place so this is what I’m working with. In order to bring that in line, I put the skimmer back in. It seems to be making the difference (though now nitrates are super low.) I think this nutrient drop killed the sinularia. Had a small patch of cyano during all this, but that has gone away. I’m also convinced dosing phyto was the secret ingredient to get through such wild levels without any nuisance outbreaks.

With the nutrient issues, I thought it would be a good idea to get an ICP test. Honestly, I can’t recommend this enough. The information and analysis is comprehensive, but it’s well presented and easy to understand. Well worth the money, just for peace of mind. The test came back largely positive, nothing unexpected but low in a number of trace elements. Based on that I stopped buffing with soda ash to 9+ dkh, and started using liquid AFR. Then went the extra step and got a X1 Pro dosing pump. Been fine tuning the dosing, but very easy to setup and glad I got it. Looking forward to another ICP at the 1year mark to see where things land.

Other
Critters! I have a ton of feather dusters including one big one that just keeps growing at the top of the tank. Suddenly noticed pineapple sponges tucked away everywhere. Coralline growing steady, I absolutely love how it looks. Just spotted some tentacles sweeping out of the rock that I believe is a brittle star! On the downside… too many vermetid snails and still blasting an Aiptasia every few weeks.

Overall, trying to observe and fine tune. Letting the corals grow and maybe hit “cruising speed” with this thing. Going to Aquashella in a couple weeks for the first time. And… thinking about another tank!

 

[Digitalfirex]

Oh no, someone is watching this?! Thanks commanderwho for the bump. I know I owe some updates as I’ve just hit 300 days!

A lot has happened, but overall things are going very well and I am pretty proud of how I’ve gotten this far. I’ll try to be brief and stick to the highlights/lowlights: (spoiler alert, its

Livestock
I finally decided to add my last fish in April, an orchid dottyback. Got him from Dr. Reef, highly recommend as the fish was in terrific health, fairly grown and settled in quickly. Otherwise, adding him has to be considered a mistake. The territorial nature and the fact that they’re prodigious diggers was something I was not ready for. My goby is now a refugee with barely a cave to call his own. I never see the pistol shrimp, though I can still hear him so I know he’s alive. I kind of knew there was a risk with this fish, but I truly failed to think through what failure might look like or how I might rectify it. “Oh I’ll just get him out if there’s a problem.” Lol, good luck catching this fish. We’ve all come to an uneasy truce. The dotty is a really a cool fish, but this was a distressing self-inflicted mistake.

Corals
For the most part corals are doing super. I have pretty much maxed out my real estate with 20 different corals! Good news: my frogspawn and neon hammer have puffed up to over twice the size. Acan popping new heads like crazy. I had a tiny hitchhiker discosoma mushroom on a zoa frag that is now the size of a half dollar and split twice. The pocillopora that I must have moved four times and left for dead twice, now THRIVES at the top of my rock work. I’m also 99% certain it has “sprouted” all over the tank. I see similar polyps everywhere, and was told they can propagate in this way!
Bad news: of course chemistry is big element to current success, and I think is responsible for some failures. My sinularia colony (upper left in old photos) withered and died. My pipe organ also took a sudden step back and is looking bad right now. I also got a big sunset monti frag that has never liked my tank, and has basically bleached out. I attribute these issues to nutrient levels (see chemistry.) Also, with my euphyllia suddenly all huge, they now cast a ton of shade on the frags below. They’re also quite crowded. I’ve considered trying to reposition them a bit, but felt the risk was too great and it would be a more complex task than I anticipate.

Chemistry
This has been the battle. I came to discover my phosphates were sky-high (Hanna would max out.) After a great deal of testing and investigating, I found the the “RODI” I was buying from my LFS had over .2 phosphate. I found a place that’s better, though still not 0TDS. Can’t do a RODI in my place so this is what I’m working with. In order to bring that in line, I put the skimmer back in. It seems to be making the difference (though now nitrates are super low.) I think this nutrient drop killed the sinularia. Had a small patch of cyano during all this, but that has gone away. I’m also convinced dosing phyto was the secret ingredient to get through such wild levels without any nuisance outbreaks.

With the nutrient issues, I thought it would be a good idea to get an ICP test. Honestly, I can’t recommend this enough. The information and analysis is comprehensive, but it’s well presented and easy to understand. Well worth the money, just for peace of mind. The test came back largely positive, nothing unexpected but low in a number of trace elements. Based on that I stopped buffing with soda ash to 9+ dkh, and started using liquid AFR. Then went the extra step and got a X1 Pro dosing pump. Been fine tuning the dosing, but very easy to setup and glad I got it. Looking forward to another ICP at the 1year mark to see where things land.

Other
Critters! I have a ton of feather dusters including one big one that just keeps growing at the top of the tank. Suddenly noticed pineapple sponges tucked away everywhere. Coralline growing steady, I absolutely love how it looks. Just spotted some tentacles sweeping out of the rock that I believe is a brittle star! On the downside… too many vermetid snails and still blasting an Aiptasia every few weeks.

Overall, trying to observe and fine tune. Letting the corals grow and maybe hit “cruising speed” with this thing. Going to Aquashella in a couple weeks for the first time. And… thinking about another tank!

Do yourself a favor and take out the dottyback. My purple dottyback ended up killing both my yellow watchman goby and diamond goby. (I had no evidence with my YWG)... they are small but aggressive. My firefish was always hiding. You wouldn't think I had a firefish in the tank. After I took out the dottyback, the firefish is no longer shy and is always out. I still wanted purple and yellow colors in the tank... so I got a royal gramma. Very peaceful, gets along fine with tankmates.

Soft corals will be ok with any of the acceptable parameters. The montis ect from what I've read... like lower dkh... try 8 - 8.5dhk. According to Tropic Marine this range of dkh helps promote calcification. I'm no expert, but if you feel like your coral aren't responding to anything else that might be worth a shot. Change slowly tho. Also maybe try red sea ab+ for coloration. Think of it like food for the corals.

 

[DirkCourage]

Do yourself a favor and take out the dottyback. My purple dottyback ended up killing both my yellow watchman goby and diamond goby. (I had no evidence with my YWG)... they are small but aggressive. My firefish was always hiding. You wouldn't think I had a firefish in the tank. After I took out the dottyback, the firefish is no longer shy and is always out. I still wanted purple and yellow colors in the tank... so I got a royal gramma. Very peaceful, gets along fine with tankmates.

Soft corals will be ok with any of the acceptable parameters. The montis ect from what I've read... like lower dkh... try 8 - 8.5dhk. According to Tropic Marine this range of dkh helps promote calcification. I'm no expert, but if you feel like your coral aren't responding to anything else that might be worth a shot. Change slowly tho. Also maybe try red sea ab+ for coloration. Think of it like food for the corals.

Thanks. I agree, I’d rather have the dotty out, but trapping it seems incredibly difficult. If nothing else, the “door” style traps are big and would barely fit in here. Your experience and suggestions are welcome though!

I am now running my dKH at 8.2-8.5 (still trying to nail daily consumption.) Tropic Marin mixes to like 8.2 and with the dosing pump this is an easy point to hold. So, I’m hoping the monti bounces back eventually. It’s weird, it has simultaneously bleached and grown out slightly, and the new growth extends polyps. Seems like all is not lost. If I have a chemistry concern now, it’s the low nitrate v phosphate. Switching to 2 week WCs and doing much less. Think I may dose nitrate slightly up to 5. Hate to chase that number, but I think the pipe organ specifically is hurting because of this. Also, I dose Brightwell Coral Amino and some phyto daily, and feed some reef chili weekly. Overall coral health seems good. I’m reluctant to change this up, though AB+ seems to be what everyone uses.

 

[Digitalfirex]

Thanks. I agree, I’d rather have the dotty out, but trapping it seems incredibly difficult. If nothing else, the “door” style traps are big and would barely fit in here. Your experience and suggestions are welcome though!

I am now running my dKH at 8.2-8.5 (still trying to nail daily consumption.) Tropic Marin mixes to like 8.2 and with the dosing pump this is an easy point to hold. So, I’m hoping the monti bounces back eventually. It’s weird, it has simultaneously bleached and grown out slightly, and the new growth extends polyps. Seems like all is not lost. If I have a chemistry concern now, it’s the low nitrate v phosphate. Switching to 2 week WCs and doing much less. Think I may dose nitrate slightly up to 5. Hate to chase that number, but I think the pipe organ specifically is hurting because of this. Also, I dose Brightwell Coral Amino and some phyto daily, and feed some reef chili weekly. Overall coral health seems good. I’m reluctant to change this up, though AB+ seems to be what everyone uses.

I ended up buying a flat Tupperware at Walmart and took out all my rocks scape to capture my dottyback. On a tank below 40g it's probably easier to do... larger tanks I'm sure you have to fish or trap.

I'd probably measure dkh right before lights out and after daily dosing. Do not dose the next day. Measure dkh at around the same time. Should give you an easy math equation of drop in 24 hours. Dose again to keep stability. measure again next day around same time. Should be pretty accurate number. I'm sure someone else might have a better method but this works for me.

If you are having good stability you can increase feedings. Without causing much change. Like feed reef chili twice a week and see if that helps. Just a thought.

 

[DirkCourage]

I ended up buying a flat Tupperware at Walmart and took out all my rocks scape to capture my dottyback. On a tank below 40g it's probably easier to do... larger tanks I'm sure you have to fish or trap.

I'd probably measure dkh right before lights out and after daily dosing. Do not dose the next day. Measure dkh at around the same time. Should give you an easy math equation of drop in 24 hours. Dose again to keep stability. measure again next day around same time. Should be pretty accurate number. I'm sure someone else might have a better method but this works for me.

If you are having good stability you can increase feedings. Without causing much change. Like feed reef chili twice a week and see if that helps. Just a thought.

Yeah, taking my rock out feels apocalyptic. Though if he turns into a killer I suppose everything is on the table.

The dosing pump is pretty killer and makes things pretty simple. It’s set to dose 4x a day totaling 3.1ml per day currently. Think it can technically do it every hour, but this seems fine. You make a good point though, in that I probably have not tested at a consistent time. Still, it’s certainly more stable than what I’d been doing manually.

 

[commanderwho]

Very nice photos! I’m glad most things are going good in your tank!
Hehe, I almost did a orchid dottyback but decided to get a royal gramma as my last and final fish!
Ah, the dreaded vermatid snails lol. I have some too…I kill some with a coral cutter when I do water changes. Also added some bumblee snails (heard they help). I also wouldn’t mind another tank for more corals and fish!
hopefully you can get that orchid dottyback out of your tank or just upgrade and keep!

 

[DirkCourage]

Thought this was a good time for an update. Things are still going quite well. I’m VERY much appreciating the dosing pump. It’s been some weeks now, but I have to believe the increased stability (and trace elements) seem to be a difference maker. That, and I’ve started feeding some AB+ twice a week. Above the overall tank health, my sunset monti that I really had left for dead has been making a huge comeback! I’m excited to see how it fares the coming months. My pocillopora has spawned growths all over the tank, it’s exciting.

In other news, went to Aquashella here in Chicago, my first convention/expo in this hobby. Cool to walk around, and of course had to come back with a couple frags. One of the most impressive booths was “Tank-It-Easy/Insane Coral” a local business. Picked up an awesome acan from them, along with a frag with three different zoa/paly morphs on it from a different vendor. Good prices for both imho.

I visited “Tank-It-Easy” showroom a couple weeks ago and WOW. I don’t know how they flew under my radar around here. Huge place, amazing selection with a massive coral frag tanks in back. Some of their display tanks were beyond belief with mushrooms the size of your fist, big spreads of cyphastrea and favia… like 15 year old growths. If you’re in Chicago check it out. (I picked up a cyphastrea and a bumblebee snail there.)

What next? For this build, I won’t do much it is seriously getting crowded. In fact my frogspawn and green neon hammers split and are really tight. Could be an issue fast.
I may add a button scoly :$

I am planning another build though, and will be moving on that soon. Reefapalooza is coming up and I have… plans.