Ento-Reefer's 180g Build Thread

[Ento-Reefer]

I filled up my qt tank today and moved the seeded biofilter into the aqua clear. My first fish will be in the tank tomorrow after work.
I stopped by the LFS that is close to my job on my lunch hour today. I saw a sign out front that said Going Out of Business everything 50% off. I am so sad that this store will no longer be open I had not been in the store for a couple of months and did not realize business was that slow.

Anyway some of the fish on my list were 50% off and that price was just too good to pass up. I put a flame angel and scopas tang on hold. I have my prazi and coppersafe ready to go. This isn’t the order that I wanted to add these fish, but both of them are small so I think this will work out. I also picked up 2 green ricordea for $5 a piece. I put them in my 95 reef for now.

 

[cycled123]

Good buy I think. I can never find certain fish when I want them. Sometimes you just go to do what you got to do, lol!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Yea, sometimes you just have to take advantage of a good deal when it comes along. I got the flame for $30 and the scopas for $15. My biggest worry is getting the angel through the copper treatment. I didn't see any signs of velvet, but I know it is a high possibility right now so I will be ramping up the copper slowly over the next 4-5 days and saying a few prayers along the way.

 

[cycled123]

I'll be praying! and good luck! I don't think we are going to do copper unless we see evidence of velvet. The hydroplex we are using works for most other things. The only thing I'm concerned about is I think after some research that the anthias that passed may have had a bacterial infection and I only have meds for gram +.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I have quite the story about this flame angel. He jumped out of the net while the owner was getting him. He landed behind the tank and we couldn’t find him. There was about a 2 inch gap between the frame wood along the floor and ... yep he ended up in there. He looked rough when he first got back in water. I hung around for 30 minutes to see how he was going to do and he looked much better and was swimming around acting normal. I got another $10 knocked off the price so I only paid $20 for this guy. The owner also gave me 3 fire fish cause he said no one wanted them.

Everyone is settling in my qt. And seem to be doing well. I’ll offer a little snack in a few hours. The flame and the scopas are posturing at each other so I take that as a good sign. I have prazi, copper save, ruby reef rally, general cure, and furan 2 in my fish medicine cabinet. Hopefully I am prepared for anything that might show itself.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I went ahead gave the new fish a little LRS reef frenzy to see who would eat. They all went for it! I put a little too much food in the tank by accident so I guess I will be siphoning it out tomorrow morning. I have been observing them and thus far I am happy with what I am seeing. No scratching or swimming into the flow. The scopas is doing a little twitching which makes me think flukes. If they keep doing well like this over the weekend I think I will do the prazi treatment first. I think they are gorgeous and I got the deal of a lifetime at $35 for both fish.

 

[cycled123]

Lookin' good!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Everyone in the qt tank is doing well so far. My scopas has me a little nervous, but it turns out he is fighting his reflection and not just swimming like a freaked out fish. I have been adding small amounts of coppersafe 2 times a day since yesterday and I should be at 2.0 ppm by the end of the day tomorrow. So far the flame is handeling it fine.
My tank will be here on Tuesday!!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Today was a great day for spraying off my dry rock. It was in the 50’s here and lots of sunshine.
This rock from Reef Cleaners was very clean. I can’t wait to see what I come up with for the aquascape.

 

[cycled123]

My warm and your warm are very different, lol. I was above 30 degrees with sunshine today. I usually don't have to many of those in central
WI in December. I can't wait to see your tank tomorrow!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

My warm and your warm are very different, lol. I was above 30 degrees with sunshine today. I usually don't have to many of those in central
WI in December. I can't wait to see your tank tomorrow!

Yea WI is much colder than DE ever gets lol...

Well my tank is not gonna be here until tomorrow or Thursday :(. I called the freight company and the driver still hasn't made it to their hub yet and it is already almost 6 pm. They are supposed to call me as soon as he gets there to set up a time for delivery.

In other news, my flame angel stopped eating today and I noticed tonight it has a white raw looking area on its side. Probably from its time on the floor when it jumped out of the net at the store. So I have decided to stop the copper treatment and I will add some furan 2 tonight after I change a good 25-30% of the water. I have a poly-filter in there to help pull the copper out. I could run the antibiotics with the copper, but I don't want to do that since the angel isn't eating. I am praying I can get this infection cleared up!! All other fish eating and looking good.

My dh got the electrical work done yesterday so my tank now has 2 dedicated circuits :). I just need a tank...lol...

 

[cycled123]

Yea WI is much colder than DE ever gets lol...

Well my tank is not gonna be here until tomorrow or Thursday :(. I called the freight company and the driver still hasn't made it to their hub yet and it is already almost 6 pm. They are supposed to call me as soon as he gets there to set up a time for delivery.

In other news, my flame angel stopped eating today and I noticed tonight it has a white raw looking area on its side. Probably from its time on the floor when it jumped out of the net at the store. So I have decided to stop the copper treatment and I will add some furan 2 tonight after I change a good 25-30% of the water. I have a poly-filter in there to help pull the copper out. I could run the antibiotics with the copper, but I don't want to do that since the angel isn't eating. I am praying I can get this infection cleared up!! All other fish eating and looking good.

My dh got the electrical work done yesterday so my tank now has 2 dedicated circuits :). I just need a tank...lol...

Sad to hear you have to wait some more for the tank and about the angel :( I hope your angel pull through. Today we hit 43 degrees. Heat wave!!! Thurs into Friday we are supposed to get 6-10in of Snow and then be a high of 4 degrees with -25 wind chill by Christmas, lol

 

[Ento-Reefer]

The flame angel did not make it :( The infection really progressed fast. The tang and the 3 firefish are doing great so I am thinking the angel must have picked up the infection when it jumped out of net at the fish store and fell on the floor behind the tanks. I feel bad that I could not save it.

On a happier note my tank will be here tomorrow!!

I do not know how much time I will have to work on it with the holiday right around the corner. I have a lot going on this weekend with my sons birthday on Saturday, (I can't believe my baby is turning 30), and family gathering at my house on Sunday evening. I will at least try to post a photo tomorrow night :)

 

[Ento-Reefer]

My tank arrived yesterday. We got the stand built and I have been getting some of the equipment organized. The tank is still sitting on a pallet in my garage because we haven’t had enough muscles available to help move it into the house and on the stand. The tank is heavy!! Maybe we will get it moved tomorrow. I am thinking about working with my rock a little while I am waiting.

 

[elisa h]

Sorry to hear about the flame angel. I know they’re sensitive to copper and the fall probably made him weak. Congrats on the tank coming in. I’m jealous of all the space you have in your sump! Already looking great!

 

[cycled123]

Looks Awesome!!! I can't wait to see it wet. I like the organization of your stand and controller cabinet. I'm trying to decide how I am going to manage all my plugs and modules. But that is going to have to wait until after Christmas. Anyway, A Merry Christmas to you and your family!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Anyway, A Merry Christmas to you and your family!

Thank you.
Merry Christmas to you and your family!!!

 

[Ento-Reefer]

Had my kids and grandkids over last night for our Christmas Eve party we do every year, and I was able to take advantage of the extra muscles and we got my tank on the stand. My hubby is off until after the New Years so I gave him a plane ticket to Orlando for Christmas and he flew out early this morning to spend a few days with his 3 brothers and sister. So my house was super quiet today and I took advantage and spent the day working on the tank. I got all of my sand rinsed and my first attempt at an aquascape is in the tank. Let me know what you all think. I am pretty satisfied except for the rock in the middle. I can’t decide on it’s placement. This is about as much as I can do until Friday when my dh gets back and then we will work on getting the tank plumbed and start filling her up.

 

[Ento-Reefer]

I have started hauling buckets of RODI water to begin filling the tank. This is going to be a slow process so I figured I may as well get it going. I can fill it up as high as the holes in the overflow box until my dh gets back from his trip. Plumbing this beast is definitely going to be a two person job. Even though I know the tank is perfectly level and well supported there is something a little nerve wracking about filling a tank this big for the first time :eek:

 

[cycled123]

Nice job leveling! What did you use to shim? I never can decide on rock placement either. And I usually change again once I start adding corrals. My rock is an organic thing, lol.