Thanks for all the comments on the meet thread. I thought I would show the 1 year (well 18 months) progression.
Over four years ago I was lucky enough to visit a friend in Cairns in Queensland and snorkel in the great barrier reef. I decided after many years of keeping freshwater I needed a piece of this in my livingroom and to learn about them.
Two years ago it came to redecorating the livingroom. To go with the new oak fireplace, I selected a solid oak aquarium. Although they did a systemized version with a sump I researched and specced my own tank and sump to go with the oak stand and hood.
March 2018 the stand and tank arrived. Which meant drilling a nice solid oak unit for the pipework
May 2018 First fishs purchased and into QT tank
Also tank cycling started.
Then the pause with the arrival of these two.
A number of additional fish were added, PJ cardinals, chromis,bicoloured angel, shrimp and cuc but the tank remained coral free.
At the start I knew I would like coral, but didn't know a Soft from SPS. More research with very tired eyes the appeal of LPS was the path I opted to go down.
November 2018
Few LPS additions.
This is about the time the battle started with my first GHA outbreak, after a number of weeks I decided a makeshift frag tank in the garage and remove the rocks and scrub the algae. I did conduct water testing but always measured low phosphates and was dosing NOPOX with nitrate at 25. Increasing the NOPOX just lead to white slime. Little did I know the GHA was soaking up the phosphates. Rockwork rearranged a little and some sand removed under advice from a reef friend.
Over the course of time I replaced illuminar v2 light which I bought 2nd hand. Reason was the main white led matrixs were starting to fail. I decided on AI primes and x2 t5 bulbs in a home made frame made. Two reasons for this was I am very restricted in height with the oak hood this option would give me the flexibility to add a few AI primes and since they were also purchased 2nd hand I could replace a failing unit easier than a whole light unit.
I also replaced the Bubble Mag Skimmer with a Quantum. I just got sick of it overflowing and couldn't seem to get a setting that worked. I also added a MP10 to the back of the tank, although not sure if this was required with the gyre. However the gyre is pointing to the surface to help gas exchange as I have cover glass to stop evaporation onto the lights.
1 year in and the second GHA outbreak, which got very bad.
This time I was determined to find the source and remove it and allow the tank to clear without removing the rocks.
I believe the main culprit was throwing in mysis frozen cubes. My LFS informed me that they are very high in phosphates. Not something I had ever researched or thought about. It's only a small cube of water afterall.
Approach was to remove the GHA daily by putting a net into the sump and pulling it off the rock in the display. Also added Rhospos to a mini reactor and started dosing vibrant. I can say it's almost gone, but I have had a few coral losses and I'm putting that down to the low phosphates and also that I was dosing kalk but through the doser and did let it go dry a few times so I think I had Alk swings. With the uptake of 0.15dkh a day I didn't think this would be an issue. Some of the corals however are still doing very well.
Snapshot is of today.
I will leave it there for now, but I will add equipment list and current husbandry. I also have a few questions I will raise other topics for.
Open to any comments good or bad. I hope in the future it will be a impressive LPS tank with a few SPS corals.
Over four years ago I was lucky enough to visit a friend in Cairns in Queensland and snorkel in the great barrier reef. I decided after many years of keeping freshwater I needed a piece of this in my livingroom and to learn about them.
Two years ago it came to redecorating the livingroom. To go with the new oak fireplace, I selected a solid oak aquarium. Although they did a systemized version with a sump I researched and specced my own tank and sump to go with the oak stand and hood.
March 2018 the stand and tank arrived. Which meant drilling a nice solid oak unit for the pipework
May 2018 First fishs purchased and into QT tank
Also tank cycling started.
Then the pause with the arrival of these two.
A number of additional fish were added, PJ cardinals, chromis,bicoloured angel, shrimp and cuc but the tank remained coral free.
At the start I knew I would like coral, but didn't know a Soft from SPS. More research with very tired eyes the appeal of LPS was the path I opted to go down.
November 2018
Few LPS additions.
This is about the time the battle started with my first GHA outbreak, after a number of weeks I decided a makeshift frag tank in the garage and remove the rocks and scrub the algae. I did conduct water testing but always measured low phosphates and was dosing NOPOX with nitrate at 25. Increasing the NOPOX just lead to white slime. Little did I know the GHA was soaking up the phosphates. Rockwork rearranged a little and some sand removed under advice from a reef friend.
Over the course of time I replaced illuminar v2 light which I bought 2nd hand. Reason was the main white led matrixs were starting to fail. I decided on AI primes and x2 t5 bulbs in a home made frame made. Two reasons for this was I am very restricted in height with the oak hood this option would give me the flexibility to add a few AI primes and since they were also purchased 2nd hand I could replace a failing unit easier than a whole light unit.
I also replaced the Bubble Mag Skimmer with a Quantum. I just got sick of it overflowing and couldn't seem to get a setting that worked. I also added a MP10 to the back of the tank, although not sure if this was required with the gyre. However the gyre is pointing to the surface to help gas exchange as I have cover glass to stop evaporation onto the lights.
1 year in and the second GHA outbreak, which got very bad.
This time I was determined to find the source and remove it and allow the tank to clear without removing the rocks.
I believe the main culprit was throwing in mysis frozen cubes. My LFS informed me that they are very high in phosphates. Not something I had ever researched or thought about. It's only a small cube of water afterall.
Approach was to remove the GHA daily by putting a net into the sump and pulling it off the rock in the display. Also added Rhospos to a mini reactor and started dosing vibrant. I can say it's almost gone, but I have had a few coral losses and I'm putting that down to the low phosphates and also that I was dosing kalk but through the doser and did let it go dry a few times so I think I had Alk swings. With the uptake of 0.15dkh a day I didn't think this would be an issue. Some of the corals however are still doing very well.
Snapshot is of today.
I will leave it there for now, but I will add equipment list and current husbandry. I also have a few questions I will raise other topics for.
Open to any comments good or bad. I hope in the future it will be a impressive LPS tank with a few SPS corals.
