First Reef Tank - 150g

[Brisk]

Following! Very interesting! Your tank looks great on those pics from may 4. Hope that probe is an easy fix.

Thank you! I'm also hoping it is just a probe replacement fix.

 

[Brisk]

Update for this week. I'm starting to notice more and more bubble algae. I'm planning to get more emeralds and pitho crabs, but for now I am trying to siphon out as much as I can during water changes.

I let the Biota mandarin pair out of the acclimation box after 3 weeks in it. I'm starting to wonder if they really are a pair because today I noticed they were fighting and one of them latched on to the other. I'm not sure how you can tell which is a male because they are still very small.

And finally, I got my PH probe replaced. After calibrating it, the PH reading was back to 8.29.

 

[Brisk]

Some photos I took today.

 

[Brisk]

Lately the bubble algae has been growing. I spent today scraping and siphoning some of it during a water change. My phosphates are also reading above .20 for the past 2 weeks. The Hanna checker I have only goes up to .20, so I'm not sure how high it is. Nitrate is at 34. The water changes hasn't been helping much, so I started to dose Elim-NP. Oh, I also got some new corals this week.

 

[GuillTorr25]

Loving your torch corner!

 

[Brisk]

Loving your torch corner!

Thank you!

 

[Brisk]

Since dosing Elimi-NP at .6ml everyday, my nitrates dropped to 24 but my phosphates is still above .2. I'm going to raise the dosage to .7ml. I'm not sure what is causing my phosphates to be so high. Other news, my Stratosphere zoa finally melted to nothing . I also started to work on the 8g nano tank a bit with putting in the rock and sand. IOAOI also sent me their lighting system to try out. I should be receiving that tomorrow.

 

[Brisk]

My phosphates is still above .20. I think this is now the 4th week. I'll add another .1 ml to the Elimi-NP making it .8 ml starting tomorrow. Corals all seems fine except I started to notice the Bubblegum Digi's polyps all retracted.

Now for the most exciting thing to happen this week with the reef...... After 8 months....

 

[Brisk]

Stopped by RAP today and picked up some Gargonians, Stratosphere, Hydros Smart Plug, and a couple of 3D printed toys for my niece and nephew. I'll get some pictures tomorrow.

 

[Brisk]

I used the Hydros Smart Plug I picked up to install as an alarm in the bed room because the alarm from the Hydros units are not loud enough to be heard at night. I ordered this siren alarm from Amazon. It works very well. At the highest volume, the siren can be heard down the hall.

 

[tbrown]

Is it connected to the leak rope or something else? Or all alarms run through it? I have all audible alarms shut off and only push notifications on but the audible would definitely be good for leaks and over filling.

 

[Brisk]

Is it connected to the leak rope or something else? Or all alarms run through it? I have all audible alarms shut off and only push notifications on but the audible would definitely be good for leaks and over filling.

It will go off when a Red alert triggers. I think all I have set to Red alerts are the leak rope and the low power when power is cut off.

I was thinking about what else should I put to Red alert. Maybe the temperature sensor if it reaches 83F.

 

[Freenow54]

Hello everyone,

So a little brief introduction. I've only had freshwater aquariums on and off since I was a child with the last tank about 35 years ago. About 3 months ago, I got inspired again to start an aquarium from watching a YouTube video on cichlids. I started to research into it and was set on doing a planted cichlids but while doing my researching on what I'll need, I started looking into saltwater and got even more inspired watching other reefer's YouTube. After comparing the two, I've decided to start a reef tank and then we'll see what it'll evolve into. I'm very new to the reefing hobby, so please excuse me if something doesn't sound right. Since I'm still learning, please offer any advices, suggestions, opinions, and comments also.

Originally I was set on a 36" length tank due to the limited space I have. One thing led to another and before I knew it, I ended up going bigger and spending more than I wanted to :beaming-face-with-smiling-eyes:.

Here's my aquarium system so far:

• Display Tank: 155g tank - 60" length x 24" width x 25" height (with 30" Modular Marine Overflow) built by @CDA Fish Tanks
• Stand: Laguna style stand constructed out of steel and gloss white laminate panels
• Canopy: Motorized floating canopy
• Lighting: 2 x Orphek Atlantik iCon, 2x Orphek OR4
• Rock: 50 lbs. of KP Aquatics' live rocks + 60 lbs. of Marco Dry Rocks
• Sand: 70 lbs. of Tampa Bay Salt Water's sand + 40 lbs. of CaribSea Special Grade
• Sump: 48 x 18 x 16 designed by Yury over at Poseidon's Creations
• ATO: 10 x 12 x 30 - 15 gallons designed by Yury over at Poseidon's Creations
• Mechanical Filtration: Red Sea ReefMat 1200
• Skimmer: Reef Octopus Elite 200-INT
• Refugium: Clear Water CW-100 Algae Scrubber V2
• Pumps: 2x Reef Octopus Varios-8 each to its own return line.
• Heaters: 2x 350 Watt Helio PTC Smart Heater
• Wavemakers: 4x Vortech MP40
• UV: Lifegard 3" Pro-Max 55 Watts
• System Control: Hydros X4, 2x XP8, XS

Fishes:

• 10/18/24 - 2x Picasso Clownfish
• 11/02/24 - Yasha Goby - MIA
• 12/08/24 - Pintail Fairy Wrasse
• 12/08/24 - 2x Helfrechi
• 12/08/24 - Whitetail Bristletooth Tang
• 12/12/24 - McCosker Flasher Wrasse
• 12/12/24 - 3x Lyretail Anthias - down to 2 (1 MIA)
• 12/24/24 - Blue Star Leopard Wrasse
• 12/24/24 - Gem Tang
• 12/24/24 - Yellow Coris Wrasse
• 1/28/25 - Copperband Butterfly - KIA
• 1/28/25 - Choati Wrasse
• 2/13/25 - Midas Blenny
• 2/13/25 - Multicolor Lubbock's Fairy Wrasse
• 2/13/25 - Yellow Watchman Goby (Captive Bred)
• 2/13/25 - 2x Springeri Damsel - 1 KIA
• 2/13/25 - Exquisite Wrasse (Vanuatu)
• 4/9/25 - Powder Blue Tang
• 4/9/25 - 2x Court Jester Goby (Captive Bred)
• 4/9/25 - 3x Royal Gramma

I loved my Cichlids. They bred in the tank in the end they were all tank bred. They got Malawi bloat ( they were yellow because an LFS guy recommended a certain food to me , and I had no idea they cant digest meat. I also found that I could not buy the required meds and they all died. So I did what you did. I have the same background as you. I was pushed into it by my Son, and could not be happier now so much to learn. So many tangents you can follow. Have fun, make mistakes learn. Ask questions some very knowledgeable people here. Two ways to get fast answers # reef squad is one don't know the other. Be prepared you need to have your ducks in a row if you use it. Parameters is the first question. Do not bother asking about fish deaths . There are electricians plumbers chemists mad scientists

 

[Brisk]

I loved my Cichlids. They bred in the tank in the end they were all tank bred. They got Malawi bloat ( they were yellow because an LFS guy recommended a certain food to me , and I had no idea they cant digest meat. I also found that I could not buy the required meds and they all died. So I did what you did. I have the same background as you. I was pushed into it by my Son, and could not be happier now so much to learn. So many tangents you can follow. Have fun, make mistakes learn. Ask questions some very knowledgeable people here. Two ways to get fast answers # reef squad is one don't know the other. Be prepared you need to have your ducks in a row if you use it. Parameters is the first question. Do not bother asking about fish deaths . There are electricians plumbers chemists mad scientists

Well said!

 

[Brisk]

To remedy my high phosphate, which I could only tell it was above .20, I started using PhosGuard. After 6 days, phosphate finally went below .20 to .18. I'll give PhosGuard another week and see where that will put my phosphate at. I also ordered a couple of Evansi Anthias and a couple of Royal Grammas again hoping I can get a trio in the tank. I almost placed an order for the Blue Pencil Wrasse, but in the end decided I'll wait.

 

[tbrown]

A school of anthias is such a cool feature for a tank!

 

[Brisk]

A school of anthias is such a cool feature for a tank!

I agree. Currently I have a male/female Lyretail pair. I'm hoping they can get along with the Evansi pair and if one of them can also turn male.

 

[Brisk]

The pair of Evansi Anthias both developed Uronema and passed away yesterday. Out of the 2 Royal Grammas, one of them is getting along with current one in the tank but the other one is getting harassed by other Royal Grammas. I took him out and put it in a 10g for now. I'm not sure what to do with it, either try my luck again and put it in the main tank or see if he can survive in the 20g.

Today I was going to do a water change and clean out half of my pumps. I got one of the return pumps and 2 MP40s cleaned. Cleaning that one return pump increased flow and overflowed the emergency pipe. I had to adjust the valve. The other half I'll clean later. I didn't have the time to do the water change, so will finish that tomorrow.

As for my phosphate and nitrates, I tested again today and phosphate is now at .13 and nitrate at 17.1.

 

[Brisk]

Oupes is having a giveaway for the Power Stations

https://wn.nr/LqZ2Sym

 

[tbrown]

Oupes is having a giveaway for the Power Stations

https://wn.nr/LqZ2Sym

Entered! Hopefully you win!