Geezer's (Mostly) SPS Reef

[ReefGeezer]

Dropped in for an update. The tank is still doing well for the most part. There is always something. I struggled with Aiptasia for a minute but have conquered the little buggers. A combination of a Copperband Butterfly to eat the little ones and AiptasiaX to kill off the bigger ones seems to have been the killer combination. And now, I have one of my favorite fish in the tank. He's now eating most everything I put in the tank and getting fat & happy. He was my third attempt at a Copperband.

With the addition of the Copperband, I have quite a heavy fish load in the tank. Nitrates and phosphates are creeping up a little, but still ok. The Zoanthids are loving it, but while the SPS corals are doing great, their growth has slowed a little. Red turf algae is still more prevalent than I would want and there are a couple spots of Cyano here and there.

Here's a picture not too long after the lights started to ramp up. My apologies for the poor photo quality.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Took a few crappy pictures...

 

[ReefGeezer]

Oh... and I got a piece of my old Red Monti back. It started a a quarter sized frag. Growing like a weed, like its mother.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I had to frag some Zaos. They were taking over. Now I have a frag rack full of Sunny D's, Armor of God, Blood Suckers, and Eagle Eyes. I still have a couple out of control colonies though.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

I had to frag some Zaos. They were taking over. Now I have a frag rack full of Sunny D's, Armor of God, Blood Suckers, and Eagle Eyes. I still have a couple out of control colonies though.

Nice looking Coral!!!

 

[ReefGeezer]

Snapped another crappy picture. I got to get a better phone.

 

[ReefGeezer]

I got a new phone so I had to take a picture. Better than the old one by a mile, but still no filter to make the colors pop. One day I'll detail the tank and get a filtered picture.

Everybody is happy, but phosphates have risen to about .25 ppm. I turned the skimmer off to see what would happen. Question answered... phosphates rise!+ Seems like the only things the elevated phosphate bothers are the Rainbow Milli and the Walt Disney Acro. Their growth has slowed some. The other SPS, LPS, and Softies don't seem to mind. I'm also getting some Cyano here & there.

 

[Chemjab]

Merry Christmas all. Long overdue update: The 90 has moved to the basement where it will be a part of the Man Cave. And yes... the fish and corals are still living in the Brute.

With the upstairs remodel nearing its conclusion and Christmas nearly over, I finished up phase one... build an avalanche proof aquascape. I also wanted to leave a lot of swimming room in and around the rock. Here a pic of the progress.

I like this newer rock work much more than the first set. It's nice being able to look back and read about your journey. Good stuff.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Well, another Christmas is approaching and I need to update the old build thread. The tank has changed some since the last update, but not too much. Mostly just a lot of coral growth and moving things around when that growth causes issues.

I have taken a new job since the last update also. The new job keeps me away for a week or two at a time. Fortunately the tank runs on its own for the most part. As a matter of fact, the corals frow faster when I'm gone! And yes, I still don't have filters for my phone camera. Here's a blue heavy picture.

 

[Chemjab]

Well, another Christmas is approaching and I need to update the old build thread. The tank has changed some since the last update, but not too much. Mostly just a lot of coral growth and moving things around when that growth causes issues.

I have taken a new job since the last update also. The new job keeps me away for a week or two at a time. Fortunately the tank runs on its own for the most part. As a matter of fact, the corals frow faster when I'm gone! And yes, I still don't have filters for my phone camera. Here's a blue heavy picture.

You have some great coral growth in there!

 

[ReefGeezer]

Testing out my new phone camera filter.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Tank is older than I thought...

Dec 2020 to Dec 2024

 

[Thalasstronaut]

Just dropping in to ask about your blue tang. Does he still seem happy in your tank? Do you foresee having to move him out at some point? How has his growth been for you over time?

Love the layered look to the rockscape. It’s more common in freshwater setups, especially with plants, a lot of the reef tanks I see have a relatively “flat” background, without the staggered tiers.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Just dropping in to ask about your blue tang. Does he still seem happy in your tank? Do you foresee having to move him out at some point? How has his growth been for you over time?

Love the layered look to the rockscape. It’s more common in freshwater setups, especially with plants, a lot of the reef tanks I see have a relatively “flat” background, without the staggered tiers.

The Blue Tang is the boss of the tank and so far, seems fat and happy. He got a little stressed when I added the Foxface, but recovered quickly. There is actually a lot of swimming room. The aquascape under the corals is pretty open. I have a 6' tank planned in the future. He'll eventually go into it.

 

[Thalasstronaut]

The Blue Tang is the boss of the tank and so far, seems fat and happy. He got a little stressed when I added the Foxface, but recovered quickly. There is actually a lot of swimming room. The aquascape under the corals is pretty open. I have a 6' tank planned in the future. He'll eventually go into it.

That’s awesome. I have a 90 as well and never even considered a blue tang just because of the size issue. How long total do you think he’ll be comfortable in your tank? I didn’t want to get one if I was going to be locked into an upgrade within two or three years.

The space I have can accommodate up to a 180 no issue, and I have always wanted a 6 ft tank, but I’m only a year into this tank right now and I want to enjoy it for a minute before having to upgrade,

 

[ReefGeezer]

That’s awesome. I have a 90 as well and never even considered a blue tang just because of the size issue. How long total do you think he’ll be comfortable in your tank? I didn’t want to get one if I was going to be locked into an upgrade within two or three years.

The space I have can accommodate up to a 180 no issue, and I have always wanted a 6 ft tank, but I’m only a year into this tank right now and I want to enjoy it for a minute before having to upgrade,

I got the Tang at a little less than 4" maybe two years ago. He is about 5" now. I think I could get at least one more year if needed. I think it is more about tank mates. One larger Tang in a slightly too small tank might work. Two or more could easily cause unhealthy stress.

 

[ReefGeezer]

Christmas 2025.

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

Christmas 2025.

Wow beautiful!!!

 

[ReefGeezer]

Wow. My tank is five years old. It has been through a lot. I thought I should describe how it operates now. I travel for work, so everything has to run on its own for a week or two at a time.

The tank has lots of corals in it. As a matter of fact, there is little room for anything else because I just let stuff grow. I tried to shy away from super sensitive corals. I have Zoanthids, Torches, Hammers, an Aussie Duncan, and a couple other LPS corals, plating and scrolling SPS, and a bunch of easy branching SPS corals. It's truly a mixed reef.

The tank has quite a few fish in it, but there is room for a few more. Two Tangs, a Blue and a Bristle Tooth, a One-Spot Foxface, a Copperband Butterfly, two Lyretail Anthias, two Sunburst Anthias, three Pajama Cardinals, a Percula Clown, a Springeri Damsel, and a Yellow Tail Blue Damsel call the tank home.

A rock solid ATO, calcium reactor, and dosing pumps take care of the tank while I'm gone. A sump full of live rock and live sand, a small GAC reactor, and a good skimmer fill up the sump and maintain nutrient levels. I dose Tropic Marin A & K Elements and Magnesium.

Light is provided by an 8X 54 watt T5 fixture with ATI Blue Plus bulbs.

The tank nutrient levels stay low... Maybe 2 ppm of nitrate and .07 ppm of phosphate maximum. I feed a lot, run the skimmer dry, and dose ammonia and Reef Roids occasionally to keep N & P above 0.

All is not perfect though. I had an Aiptasia outbreak... again... that I conquered with Aiptasia X and the Copperband. I think I caused an STN event that cost me several SPS frags and started a Cyano outbreak by overusing the Aiptasia X. All is now under control now, but I'm sure something will pop up.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Christmas 2025.

Wow!! Stunning!!