Finally! Natalie's 180 Gallon Shallow Reef

JMM744 · Apr 13, 2020

Finally getting caught up with your progress. You’ve come a long way and your patience and attention to detail have given you quite the display! I remember my first reef wayback , maybe 30 yrs. ago and the live rock it had. Amazing the critters and growth on it. Used to stay up late just to flashlight the rock to see new stuff as it appeared.
Keep up the fine work !
Jim

NatD · Apr 21, 2020

Squeeeeeeee!!!!!

NatD · Apr 25, 2020

I found another isopod! It was in my filter sock shortly after I added the MP40s. I’ve still not seen any on fish since that one long night.

In other news, the uglies came for me. It was inevitable of course. Started about two weeks ago. That was when I ordered the Vortechs, I knew I needed more flow but had been struggling to decide what to buy, and algae popping up all over did the trick to motivate me. I also ordered two kinds of ogo from AlgaeBarn to get the refugium going since I intend to do Triton.

On the 15th my nitrate was 2 ppm (Salifert) and my phosphate was 0.21ppm (Hanna). Today they are both undetectable and the algae is really dying back. I may need to start feeding more soon. I do feed pretty well, and even feed all the little crabs (not hermits), shrimp, serpent star with tongs a couple times a week. I hope that will help them behave as long as possible. If not, it’ll at least make them easy to catch — they come right out to get their piece of shrimp.

NatD · Apr 25, 2020

I decided I do actually want to document the uglies a bit. Here are some photos. Check out the last one — a neat little sea cucumber. It has white feathery tentacles that come out of one end, they’re just not out right now because I was poking at it trying to get it off this rock before I realized what it is. Also: adding the Vortechs kicked up sooooo much junk. This mess is the best it’s looked in days! I ordered more filter socks so I can keep changing them out more easily.

mattgsa · Apr 25, 2020

I really love your thread, especially all the pictures. Thank you for sharing.

NatD · Apr 25, 2020

mattgsa said:
I really love your thread, especially all the pictures. Thank you for sharing.

Hey thanks so much! It's nice to have you come take a look.

cmaxwell39 · Apr 26, 2020

Great job on this build. Hopefully you are past the parasitic isopods and the uglies go away quickly. You have done an amazing job so far and I can't wait to see this one take shape.

NatD · Apr 30, 2020

Good grief! Check out this giant I just found in the fuge!!

AbdominalSnowman · May 20, 2020

Any update on the isopods or the uglies? I'm contemplating ordering from one of the aquaculture live rock companies, and wanted to know if these issues have persisted in your tank. My other option is dry rock that a local LFS has acid washed and rinsed. I'm leaning towards aquaculture rock from a biodiversity perspective.

NatD · May 23, 2020

AbdominalSnowman said:
Any update on the isopods or the uglies? I'm contemplating ordering from one of the aquaculture live rock companies, and wanted to know if these issues have persisted in your tank. My other option is dry rock that a local LFS has acid washed and rinsed. I'm leaning towards aquaculture rock from a biodiversity perspective.

Hi there! I believe both are gone. Well, I’m certain the uglies are gone, but I haven’t seen an isopod in some time.

If I had it all to do over, I would absolutely still get the gulf rock. The isopods were creepy as heck but fairly easy to deal with at the end of the day.

I’ll grab some more photos when lights come on.

NatD · Jul 25, 2020

Well, I did a thing. A big oops.

I bumped into this drain pipe and cracked my refugium. Luckily we got it drained before it burst. So glad to have plumbed this for flexibility.

The only way to fix an oops like this?

upgrade!

No better time to plumb in the fuge I always wanted anyway.
Now to find 250# of substrate....

cmaxwell39 · Jul 25, 2020

Way to make lemonade when handed lemons. That will make one heck of a fuge. How will that be plumbed into the system??

JMM744 · Jul 25, 2020

That will get your heart racing. Nice save. Too bad your not around me, I have buckets of sand/ ground coral just sitting in my basement.

NatD · Jul 25, 2020

My husband just ran to Depot to get the parts for me to finish plumbing it, but basically like this:

The manifold will feed it, just like the prior one. We drilled a hole in one of the back panels almost at the top and it will gravity feed directly into the passive-flow refugium section of the sump.
Since the water level will stay 2” lower than the original overflow weir, there shouldn’t be any water back there ever. But even if some did splash back there, I have standpipes in place so no leakage.

NatD · Jul 25, 2020

JMM744 said:
That will get your heart racing. Nice save. Too bad your not around me, I have buckets of sand/ ground coral just sitting in my basement.

Thanks! I just cleaned out both PetSmart stores in town of aragonite. Ha.

I got 250# of aragonite and will bury 12# of Floramax under the (if my calculations are right) 8” DSB. I plan to grow seagrasses so once their roots are deep enough the Floramax will feed them.

I also ordered a nice LED grow lamp that has heavy blue and red spectrum and is adjustable (intensity and spectrum) in case I’m lucky enough to get my seagrasses wanting to flower :)