Greybeard's Wide, Shallow Peninsula

[Grey Guy]

Yup, keeping existing sand... in the holding tank. I'm afraid if I didn't keep the sand, I'd not have the bio filter to keep my critters alive. Not that much rock in there... don't want to kill off the bio filter.

The sand will _not_ be going into my new permanent display. No sand will be... bare bottom, but that tank, I'll be taking through a normal break in process. Likely, with the Red Sea reef mature kit.

Stand is built... I'm picking it up tomorrow to deliver for powder coating.

Going from DSB to BB, Wow! Hope you will like it. BB certainly has its benefits, but I just gotta have some sand.

 

[najer]

Lol "yet", get it done!

 

[Greybeard]

Going from DSB to BB, Wow! Hope you will like it. BB certainly has its benefits, but I just gotta have some sand.

You're obviously reading early posts... I ended up with a shallow, larger grain sand. Just couldn't get past the bare bottom look.

 

[Grey Guy]

You're obviously reading early posts... I ended up with a shallow, larger grain sand. Just couldn't get past the bare bottom look.

O.K. , I was wondering about that.

 

[tj w]

Thanks for the updates Greybeard, I’ve enjoyed watching this tank come alive.

 

[Janci]

Keeping wrasse without top should not be a problem.
They have a tendency to jump, but that is only in case they are chased or scraed by something.
A leopard will take care of the flatworm and will make a great addition.

 

[Greybeard]

Hm. Having picked up several bits of wrasse jerky from around my tanks over the years, I'm not going to chance a wrasse without a top.

A good friend has a Leopard wrasse. Great looking fish.

 

[truepercs]

Looking good!

 

[Greybeard]

Looking good!

Thanks

Been a while since an update... I'll take the opportunity.

Haven't done much with it over the last few months. I'm going to send off another Triton test this week, see what that shows. 1st one was likely too early to give me much insight. I've had some typical light diatom and cyano blooms, pretty normal 'new tank syndrome' stuff, no worries, happened with every tank I've ever set up.

Fish doing great, including the bicolor goatfish I added a month or so back. All are fat, happy, and growing. Pair of ORA caramel clowns are showing some mating behavior... and bugging the hell out of my gonipora ;(

At this point, I'm going to wait until after the 1st of the year before I start pushing things forward. Just always seem to do better when a tank has a little age on it. 1st of the year will be 6 months since it got wet. I'll resume adding corals at that point. May start back up with the Triton Core7 then too... we'll see. Kalkwasser is more than enough to maintain calcium and alkalinity with no more than I have in there so far.

I've been wanting to get started on the under tank cabinetry for a while, just too darned busy, or too darned hot in the shop. Both of those will change shortly.

No hurry... it's a hobby, not a race. I'll get where I'm headed eventually

 

[truepercs]

I have a pair of Mocha clowns, they have shown mating behavior for a while now however I have yet to see eggs. Since April I have added a few live black worms each day to their diet. I read here on the site about them found a place nearby that sold the worms. I bought an initial small batch and have been able to easily raise them. All of the fish in the aquarium love those worms.

I took a slightly different approach and added one coral at a time until I seen that the tank was able to support life then added as I came across a decent price. December my tank will be one year old. It really is amazing to see how some coral actually grow very fast (relative to other coral in the tank). I totally agree with your approach I have read many of postings on this coral died, this fish died, etc... Your approach should keep any loss at a minimum. In terms of fish I have lost a Blue Chromis that was in the tank for a few months, well splash water that my fish seem to be happy and are doing well! At this point the tank is pretty much set, I just have to keep things steady and hopefully all will continue to grow. (Easier said than done)

One thing I noticed it really is nice to have a few fast growing corals in the mix and fish selection needed to be carefully thought out...Guys here made some good recommendations on fish stocking.

When you can see a little growth/progress it really keeps the interest up. Your tank is coming along very nicely! Thanks for the updates...

 

[truepercs]

My brother has a small tank with just a couple corals and a pair of clown fish... The other day he sent me a photo from his phone. The clowns had laid eggs on a rock. He was very excited... I think he will pay closer attention to his tank as he is seeing some success.

 

[dustint21]

Great build thanks for sharing! Love the dimensions. Also love the ledge very nice touch.

 

[Clayton Jessup]

Greybeard it has been awhile sense I have looked at your build! Man does it look good tour coming a long pretty well with this nice build. I love the size of the tank . I have found my self looking at shallow tanks for a upgrade to my 75g and I love the measurements of yours !

 

[minus9]

Looks great! Keep it up!

 

[Janci]

Hi @Greybeard, how is the system going?
Already enjoyed a couple of beers around that tank of yours?

 

[Greybeard]

Tank is going... Had some setbacks. Triton wasn't working for me, ended up going back to what I know... Kalkwasser and macro algae.

Corals are coming back around. Dont have many, but what i have are starting to look good. Fish are growing... Orange spot rabbitfish is going to be a show stopper. Lost a clown yesterday, carpet diving.

RKL went nuts on me. Support from DA just doesn't exist. New Apex classic will be here Tuesday.

Beer? I'm a rum drinker, but yeah, I've enjoyed a beverage or two in front of the tank

 

[minus9]

Tank is going... Had some setbacks. Triton wasn't working for me, ended up going back to what I know... Kalkwasser and macro algae.

Corals are coming back around. Dont have many, but what i have are starting to look good. Fish are growing... Orange spot rabbitfish is going to be a show stopper. Lost a clown yesterday, carpet diving.

RKL went nuts on me. Support from DA just doesn't exist. New Apex classic will be here Tuesday.

Beer? I'm a rum drinker, but yeah, I've enjoyed a beverage or two in front of the tank

What about Triton wasn't working? Just curious.

 

[Greybeard]

What about Triton wasn't working? Just curious.

Good question.

Honestly, I think Triton, full blown triton method, probably needs to be reserved for a more mature tank. Their dosing system, equal parts of the four Core7 components, Didn't work for me. Too much alk, not enough calc, and too much 'algae booster' for my new, immature tank. I was growing algae on the glass, had to scrape it virtually every day, Alk was up over 11dkh, Calcium in the low 300's. What few SPS frags I tried bleached fairly quickly.

I _like_ the idea... a lot. Still do. I'm still using Triton testing once in a while. It's a game changer, really... The widest 'window' we've ever had available into the health of our little boxes of reef.

I think the Triton method tends to lead one down the 'chasing numbers' path, which I've never been fond of, and 'equal parts of Core7' is _not_ going to work for every tank. There's simply too much diversity in the requirements and consumption rates of the critters in each individual tank to believe that such a program is always going to work.

I've gone back to Kalkwasser. Just seems the simplest, least risky, most cost efficient method of maintaining Calcium, Alkalinity, and pH that I've ever used. It just works... until you exceed it's capacity, at which point I will revisit Triton Core7.

So... I'm skimming fairly heavily, that Vertex 180i is a beast. I run a BRS 2 stage reactor system, completely empty most of the time... I'll add a little GFO when Phosphates get above 1, but that's not often. Got a ref full of C. Mexicana under a twin tube T5... Nitrates are unmeasurable. 15% water changes bi-weekly. I've been decreasing light duration in the ref and increasing feeding slowly... and will continue to do so until I find a balance that leaves some measurable nitrate in the system. Once I get to that point, I'll make a run to a nice reef shop... likely TLReefs, and 'stock up' on corals.

One of my prime mantras has always been... Take it slow. No hurry, nothing good happens fast. I'm what, 7 months in? Getting more stable every day, the few corals that survived the Triton experiment are growing and coloring up. On the right path, just moving slow.

 

[najer]

This obviously made me sad due to the triton issues.
Your favourite bit for me was "chasing numbers"!
At 7 months old this is still settling, (in my opinion, I run my tanks a lot more "low maintenance than most people), how is your refugium?

 

[Mark Gray]

Looks Good Greybeard I think you will like your Apex once you get used to it, I run mine hard wired, can't wait to see more