Gregs 22g Long Saga

GatorGreg · Feb 16, 2023

I don’t think I’ve mentioned which light setting I’m using in my journal yet. I’m currently using the WWC pico preset for the AI Prime.

Gumbies R Us · Feb 17, 2023

GatorGreg said:
The last picture shows a little bit of growth on the war coral. I’m pretty proud of that. You used to be able to see the super glue glob on the back side but it’s grown almost onto the rock and is kinda starting the plate out a little bit. It really is a beautiful coral.

next weekend I’m back in New Orleans area for gymnastics and will be about 30 mins from the coral plug. So I’ll be stopping in and hopefully picking up about 5 new pieces. My goal is to finish out the acan garden which means 3 more. Then I really want a regular green montipora and a regular orange or red montipora. To go with the Idaho grape.
If they have a Duncan I’ll pick it up. If not I’ll probably just pass on anything else. I also purchase an orange VCA random flow nozzle to squeeze a little more flow out of this pump. I am also considering purchasing a spare pump incase this one goes **** up

Best of luck with getting the new coral!!

GatorGreg · Feb 17, 2023

Thank you! It’s been pretty easy the past few times. I bring the styrofoam shipping box that WWC used when they sent my shipment lol. On the way back after we do what we need I hit all the LFS on the way back home lol.

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

Tank is doing fine. But, probably not unlike others I’ve outgrown it VERY quickly. I can’t seem to get the flow right and bought the Weakest power head I could find and it was way too much. Smallest sicce pump and remove power head. Still not enough……RFG nozzle still not happy. It’s just too small and I should’ve thought longer about the decision. I’m not in any particular rush. But I’m currently building out my 22g long that I’ve had laying around for 3 years and never built. I’ll use this journal for my transition and journey into the bigger tank.

I’ve got too many expensive aquarium goodies laying around to be messing with a 3 gallon tank. I shouldn’t have let my fear of Dino’s dictate the size of the tank I was building.

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

Some new corals

jman4x · Mar 14, 2023

Excellent choices I’ll be following along as well! I can’t wait to see some growth shots of them!

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

Just finished the construction on the stand. Not too bad and very sturdy.

the only thing I had to buy was a second AI Prime, ATO, DIY sump kit and an ink bird for control of the heater.

everything else I had already for the build including the wood.

Tank: Mr Aqua 22g long (non upgraded glass)
Lighting : (2) AI Prime 16HD
Flow: Sicce WI-FI return pump and MP10QD
Sump: Aqueon 10g with custom DIY baffle kit
Plumbing: Custom designed by me
Overflow: Eshoppes Eclipse S
ATO: Reef Breeders Prism
Dosing: Jaebo DP-4
Heater: Ehiem Jager controlled by inkbird
ATO container: 2.5 gallon Aqueon
Skimmer: TBD

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

Once I finish up the finishing touches and coating of the stand I’ll move onto drilling the hole for the return, putting together the sump and routing the plumbing. Then I’ll do a leak test and finally move it into place. Its final resting place will be here.

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

jman4x said:
Excellent choices I’ll be following along as well! I can’t wait to see some growth shots of them!

Yeah I’m not great at reefing and could probably be sentenced to reef prison for being a serial coral murderer. I have the basics down like water changes, general husbandry, feedings, water testing, matching parameters for water changes and what not. Temperature and salinity stay rock solid and I’m able to keep my nutrients around 10 nitrate and .12 phosphate sort of consistent. But my corals seem to fade color wise slowly after a couple weeks and just look blah. I attribute it to my overall young tank and very likely unstable calc, alk and trace nutrients.

my goals for the 22g are going to be STABILITY on all fronts and bumping those nutrients down just slight by adding some better export.

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

Gang Gang

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

Notice in the one picture what I’ve done to that poor bubble gum chalice. If you can even see it with how dull I’ve done him in. Right before I got these new corals I got some brown on the sand bed and was terrified that it was Dino’s and rushed to a 5 day blackout and it’s never been the same. Must’ve been just random algae or diatoms because they went away. It’ll now probably take weeks or months to recover from 5 days of stupidity

jman4x · Mar 14, 2023

I’m sure you mentioned it before but what light are you using and what’s your schedule?

GatorGreg · Mar 14, 2023

jman4x said:
I’m sure you mentioned it before but what light are you using and what’s your schedule?

AI Prime. WWC 2 gallon pico schedule. You can download it from their website. I did change that version up to take pictures though. I turned everything to 0 besides Royal and left it at 35%. Bumped white to 5% and then use the orange filter from orphek.

GatorGreg · Mar 16, 2023

She’s a beaut

GatorGreg · Mar 16, 2023

Seem happy

GatorGreg · Mar 16, 2023

All done besides gluing a leveling mat down to the top and drilling holes in the back for the plumbing and wiring. Also going to add some nice RGB strip lighting on the inside just because lol.

next up is putting together the sump baffles, drilling the return hole in the tank and plumbing her up.

GatorGreg · Mar 17, 2023

My life right now. Plumbing………I didn’t do that great of a job siliconing the baffles in the diy sump. So I hid the bloodbath by painting the front of the sump with black chalk paint. The idea here is I will be able to put reminders and what not of upcoming maintenance or parameters I’m tracking with chalk and erase it as I go. Just something a little different.