Hello there from Germany

KWT · Sep 7, 2021

Welcome to R2R, come in sit down and relax, enjoy

Kiwi reefer · Sep 7, 2021

Welcome! Looking forward to seeing your reef!

RC51 · Sep 19, 2021

randalli said:
Hi,

I am a reefer for I guess 9 years now? At least I know that I was visiting the Canary Islands for the first time in January 2012 and observed the clumsiness of a couple of hermit crabs for hours over several days (guess my girlfriend has never had so much spare time on her hands ) and decided that it is time for me to switch to salt water. I ordered my first reef tank like one month later for my birthday. Yeah it went something like this.
Before that I had a 100g FW Tanganyika tank for 6-7 years and was pretty sure that I ultimately want to own a reef tank. Even though Tanganyika fish are the most interesting FW fish to observe imho and if reefing will for some reason become impossible for me, I would switch back to Tanganyika in an instant... But back to topic: The hermit crabs have been the push to reefing I needed I guess.
I started out with a 40g Aqua Medic cube and after having it for almost 9 years I switched to a 100g cube March 21.

TBH I do not have a lot a photos of my tanks since I only photograph what I want to sell.
So I only have like these two images below that are worth sharing really.

The first one is a close up look of my old 40g AM tank.
The second one is right after I set up my 100g tank. it looks pretty empty because I heavily fragged up all my corals and sold big parts of it to refinance the upgrade and a Mussa as well as the Turbinaria which took over my small tank. So I wanted to get rid of the Turbinaria from the first shot which (to put things into perspective) had a diameter of almost 15 inches and created just way too many dark spots in the tank. Same for the Mussa (not in the picture here) which outgrew everything. It used up what was left of the tank width on the left next to the green acro and killed basically everything else in its path.

The three oldest corals that I still own to this day are the green Fungia at the back, bottom right. The Axifuga in the front, bottom right. And a Seriatopora Celiendrum which peeks in on the middle right.
The Seria was my first SPS and I got it in June/July of 2012. The Axifuga and the Fungi came I think right before that. I have to frag the Seriatopora every 6 month because it outgrows everything. The Fungia is almost 15 inches by now and for some reason does not want to split itself but is a happy camper pumped up to the max with its tentacles out most of the time. The Axifuga had mixed times in my tank. It mostly is just opened up fully all day and I fragged it once when it was double the size it is now. But when the aforementioned Mussa was still there it suffered a lot and I had to place it to a different spot because it almost died.
All other corals in the new tank have nearly doubled in size since March. But unfortunately I have lost the pinkish Acro in the middle through unstoppable STN. It almost fully encrusted the stone it was on and then it all of a sudden started to STN. I dipped it and fragged it, even put it somewhere else but it just died and I don't know why because I got another one just after taking this picture that is still going strong

I will stop now and just say that replacing the old tank with the new tank was a big success story for me. Especially because the new tank is at the same spot the old tank was and I planned this replacement 2 month ahead and it worked out perfectly. If you want the full story and all the steps just ask me and I will publish a short story on this
Also just ask away on everything you want to know

Welcome to R2R!!!

randalli · Dec 13, 2021

Here is a quick update on a couple of topics. I will post pictures asap. But I wanted to jot this down while I have to sit around and wait for other things anyway. EDIT: ramble ramble ramble

0 Foodstuffs

Because it is an ongoing topic anywhere and people want to know what people feed their fish I will list some of the food I feed daily:

- frozen Mysis & Artemia (preferably with garlic - don't underestimate garlic)
- Aqua Forrest Liquid Mysis & Artemia
- JBL Novo Artemio - This is a German product and basically breeze dried Artemia pressed into cubes. It took a while but now especially my Kauderni love this food
- Dr Bassleer Biofish Food Garlic - also a German product
- Nyos Goji pellets - Bought them because I could not believe any fish would eat that. But some love it so what the heck
- Ocean Nutrition Formula One pellets

Additives:
- Aqua Forrest Fish V
- Lipovit
- Lipogarlic

I use additives from time to time only because the oil that is in them stops the skimmer from working correctly for hours

I got all of my fish to accept dry food, too. This is important for me for when I am on vacation and somebody else has to care for my fish. If somebody is interested in how I usually get my fish to eat dry food, then just leave a comment asking for it.

Also, don't underestimate garlic. I cured some wild fish decease (even fungus) just by adding some more garlic to the food.

1 Bryopsis

I just finished a second Bryopsis treatment with FluxRX and am waiting for the results to kick in. The first treatment was successful for 4 month and now that they are back I have just finished a second treatment. We will see how it goes but the last time was a great success. One coincidence that I have noticed (again) is that I am feeding more frozen food again for like 1-2 month now. And the Bryopsis popped up within 1 month from out of nowhere. I am unsure if this is just a coincidence or a side effect of frozen food. I am pretty sure I got my first Bryopsis plague from frozen food anyway. Even though I rinse it out pretty good some Bryopsis spores might still be in the food anyway.

2 Going the Sangokai route (again)

I have been an avid user of Sangokai for a loooong time but when I started this new tank in March I figured I might try Triton since I hear so many good things about it. In the longer run I have noticed that my coral did not grow as well and I was having problems especially on the N/NH, P/PO side of things which lead to green slime followed by red slime followed by brown slime ... the list is endless. And also Triton is not really open with their information regarding what is inside those bottles and how to really dose stuff. I struggled to get especially those dosages right and was also never really sure if it is ok to dose this with that. So I went back to Sangokai. I have never read anything about it in this forum. But it is pretty popular in Germany. It is a 3 part solution with 2 extra additives you dose depending on your PO4 value. But you dose it constantly every day and you can even mix those 2 additives together. It is basically a mixture of trace elements and organics/aminos.
Dosage is easy, every bottle has clear instructions and lists what is inside. And there is a forum where the inventor gives real answers with real instructions and also explains why this and not that. There are also clear instructions with excel sheets on how to start and get your aquarium used to the new supplements.
I still use monthly Triton ICPs though and their recommendations for single elements. I also don't need any Keto-filtering anymore. The stuff in Sangokai boots aquarium life well enough.
So far I am still way more happy with Sangokai than Triton. Sorry Triton.

3 Switching out the Gyre XF350's for some MP40's ... and why

I noticed that some Acropora especially those right in the top middle of the reef where struggling. Polypes did not extend no matter what I did - not even at night. And I could not crank up the flow any further without blowing my fish out. After trying out a lot I noticed one day while working in the tank with the Gyre switched on that especially in the middle (between the two Cages where the motor sits) there is no flow at all when 5 cm to the left or right of the dead spot there was a literal hurricane going on. And this in a distance of 50cm. So it seems that the Gyre flow is too directed and does not spread out over a long distance. So I ripped out the Gyre and replaced them with 2 x Vortech MP40. And look at that. All Acropora even those that have been struggling have a polyp extension I have not seen in a very long time. The Gyre had some benefits in the outer edges of my tank though. For that I reintroduced some old MP10s I still had sitting around.

4 Fungia's are real animals when it comes to recovery

One of my last posts was about a mass extinction of my corals due to a heat surge coupled with a heavy drop in nutrients due to extreme growth. One coral that was suffering but seemed to keep up was my huge green Fungia that I am having since the beginning of my marine endeavours many years ago. It had two dead spots that where soon covered in algae. Searching the internet on how to proceed did not return great results because people where like "brace yourself because that coral is dying" ... Well, no it isn't. In fact. It is recovering so well that one of the algae ridden dead spots has almost fully grown back already and the second one is recovering well, too. So my 80s marine biology book was not lying when it said that those corals have great self healing caps....and how great they are.

tharbin · Dec 13, 2021

I just joined in October but welcome to R2R. Stunning corals in your first pictures. Sorry for the loses. Sometimes it just happens and nothing we can really do to prevent it. Very interesting about the Sangokai method. I never heard of it before.

randalli · Dec 13, 2021

tharbin said:
Very interesting about the Sangokai method. I never heard of it before.

Unfortunately their page is translated to English in parts only. They also have a long FAQ pamphlet explaining all things from A-Z literally from flow to light, to sump, technology and stuff. Pros and cons about different methods, sand, no sand, etc. Unfortunately it is in German only. In their Forum before you post about a problem they have a loooong so called anamnese sheet to fill out. They then give you hints on what might be wrong and leading to that problem.
Their system features 6 additives basically. He first three is KH, Ca + mass elements and a calcium free solution + other mass elements that you dose like the Ca. Then there is the aforementioned trace + organics that is dosed baes on tank size and PO levels. A normal dose and a double dose if PO4 is above 0.02.
The last one is a mineral compound added twice a week after lights out. It is a mixture of minerals found in ocean substrate. Like “marine calcium” particles and basically marine mud.

The trace + organics is available in 3 varieties: Base: you start with that and dose it for at least 6 month. NRG and then SPS. They both are for tanks with higher nutrient demands like mainly SPS or more stressful lightings like AB+ but you can then mix and match with Base later which focuses a bit more on the biology overall.
Hope that helps a bit to gain an impression?

tharbin · Dec 13, 2021

Randalli,

Thanks I went to their page a little while ago. It looks interesting an yes some sections are available in English and some aren't. That's okay. I'm a little out of practice and don't speak German or read German but I used to be pretty good with a German/English dictionary. I worked for a German firm for 13 years and spent a good deal of time "translating" technical text to figure out how to do my job. I ended up basically rewriting a number of German manuals into English for references when I taught others how to fix the equipment.

Thanks for the quick intro. It makes sense. I'm going to look into it some more.

randalli · Dec 14, 2021

Here are the promised pictures ... ignore the white algae. These are the dying off leftovers from the last FluxRX treatment.

This is how the tank looks right now. Waaaay better than when the "great die-off" happened

The two dead spots on my Fungia. The right spot is almost gone and grown over again. The left spot is halfway closed. I have used a toothbrush from time to time the remove some excess algea (hard bristles and light brushing

). At some point a C. Strigatus hermit sat on top of the Fungia picking the algae. So my whole tank is working on the recovery of this coral it seems.

This Monti was almost dead and I saved a fingernail-sized fragments. Look how the top one has grown back already and the second one I accidentally broke off while cleaning. It is developing fine as well

This Monti was just some small fragments you couldn't distinguish from the algae that covered it. It encrusted very well and is now starting to regrow over the dead spots.
Same for the next Monti. I was about to throw it out because it was almost white and did look like it might survive. In a last attempt I left it in an look at it now....the other side is hard to photograph but it has recovered to bottom and the other side (in the photo) is growing over as well.

The last one is holding on and seems to grow over its dead spots but it will take some while I guess. Not sure if I should put it farther up to the light and give it more flow? I will probably try that

So that's it. Tank is holding up fine. Water parameters are pretty stable. Some new additions have been added.
I am thinking about putting in a Sleeper Banded Goby to keep the sand pristine. What do you people think? Will it fit into a 300L (~80g) tank?

JXNATC · Dec 14, 2021

randalli said:
Hi,

I am a reefer for I guess 9 years now? At least I know that I was visiting the Canary Islands for the first time in January 2012 and observed the clumsiness of a couple of hermit crabs for hours over several days (guess my girlfriend has never had so much spare time on her hands ) and decided that it is time for me to switch to salt water. I ordered my first reef tank like one month later for my birthday. Yeah it went something like this.
Before that I had a 100g FW Tanganyika tank for 6-7 years and was pretty sure that I ultimately want to own a reef tank. Even though Tanganyika fish are the most interesting FW fish to observe imho and if reefing will for some reason become impossible for me, I would switch back to Tanganyika in an instant... But back to topic: The hermit crabs have been the push to reefing I needed I guess.
I started out with a 40g Aqua Medic cube and after having it for almost 9 years I switched to a 100g cube March 21.

TBH I do not have a lot a photos of my tanks since I only photograph what I want to sell.
So I only have like these two images below that are worth sharing really.

The first one is a close up look of my old 40g AM tank.
The second one is right after I set up my 100g tank. it looks pretty empty because I heavily fragged up all my corals and sold big parts of it to refinance the upgrade and a Mussa as well as the Turbinaria which took over my small tank. So I wanted to get rid of the Turbinaria from the first shot which (to put things into perspective) had a diameter of almost 15 inches and created just way too many dark spots in the tank. Same for the Mussa (not in the picture here) which outgrew everything. It used up what was left of the tank width on the left next to the green acro and killed basically everything else in its path.

The three oldest corals that I still own to this day are the green Fungia at the back, bottom right. The Axifuga in the front, bottom right. And a Seriatopora Celiendrum which peeks in on the middle right.
The Seria was my first SPS and I got it in June/July of 2012. The Axifuga and the Fungi came I think right before that. I have to frag the Seriatopora every 6 month because it outgrows everything. The Fungia is almost 15 inches by now and for some reason does not want to split itself but is a happy camper pumped up to the max with its tentacles out most of the time. The Axifuga had mixed times in my tank. It mostly is just opened up fully all day and I fragged it once when it was double the size it is now. But when the aforementioned Mussa was still there it suffered a lot and I had to place it to a different spot because it almost died.
All other corals in the new tank have nearly doubled in size since March. But unfortunately I have lost the pinkish Acro in the middle through unstoppable STN. It almost fully encrusted the stone it was on and then it all of a sudden started to STN. I dipped it and fragged it, even put it somewhere else but it just died and I don't know why because I got another one just after taking this picture that is still going strong

I will stop now and just say that replacing the old tank with the new tank was a big success story for me. Especially because the new tank is at the same spot the old tank was and I planned this replacement 2 month ahead and it worked out perfectly. If you want the full story and all the steps just ask me and I will publish a short story on this
Also just ask away on everything you want to know

attiland · Dec 14, 2021

randalli said:
Hi,

I am a reefer for I guess 9 years now? At least I know that I was visiting the Canary Islands for the first time in January 2012 and observed the clumsiness of a couple of hermit crabs for hours over several days (guess my girlfriend has never had so much spare time on her hands ) and decided that it is time for me to switch to salt water. I ordered my first reef tank like one month later for my birthday. Yeah it went something like this.
Before that I had a 100g FW Tanganyika tank for 6-7 years and was pretty sure that I ultimately want to own a reef tank. Even though Tanganyika fish are the most interesting FW fish to observe imho and if reefing will for some reason become impossible for me, I would switch back to Tanganyika in an instant... But back to topic: The hermit crabs have been the push to reefing I needed I guess.
I started out with a 40g Aqua Medic cube and after having it for almost 9 years I switched to a 100g cube March 21.

TBH I do not have a lot a photos of my tanks since I only photograph what I want to sell.
So I only have like these two images below that are worth sharing really.

The first one is a close up look of my old 40g AM tank.
The second one is right after I set up my 100g tank. it looks pretty empty because I heavily fragged up all my corals and sold big parts of it to refinance the upgrade and a Mussa as well as the Turbinaria which took over my small tank. So I wanted to get rid of the Turbinaria from the first shot which (to put things into perspective) had a diameter of almost 15 inches and created just way too many dark spots in the tank. Same for the Mussa (not in the picture here) which outgrew everything. It used up what was left of the tank width on the left next to the green acro and killed basically everything else in its path.

The three oldest corals that I still own to this day are the green Fungia at the back, bottom right. The Axifuga in the front, bottom right. And a Seriatopora Celiendrum which peeks in on the middle right.
The Seria was my first SPS and I got it in June/July of 2012. The Axifuga and the Fungi came I think right before that. I have to frag the Seriatopora every 6 month because it outgrows everything. The Fungia is almost 15 inches by now and for some reason does not want to split itself but is a happy camper pumped up to the max with its tentacles out most of the time. The Axifuga had mixed times in my tank. It mostly is just opened up fully all day and I fragged it once when it was double the size it is now. But when the aforementioned Mussa was still there it suffered a lot and I had to place it to a different spot because it almost died.
All other corals in the new tank have nearly doubled in size since March. But unfortunately I have lost the pinkish Acro in the middle through unstoppable STN. It almost fully encrusted the stone it was on and then it all of a sudden started to STN. I dipped it and fragged it, even put it somewhere else but it just died and I don't know why because I got another one just after taking this picture that is still going strong

I will stop now and just say that replacing the old tank with the new tank was a big success story for me. Especially because the new tank is at the same spot the old tank was and I planned this replacement 2 month ahead and it worked out perfectly. If you want the full story and all the steps just ask me and I will publish a short story on this
Also just ask away on everything you want to know

Nice tank. Welcome to R2R

Schraufabagel · Dec 15, 2021

randalli · Jun 21, 2022

Here is an update. Everything is growing well and if you compare the following images to the ones before you can see why I am pretty happy at the moment

What's new: Really not that much other than that the system runs pretty stable now with a mixture of Triton and Sangokai with monthly Triton Lab tests.
The MP40 proofed to be the best investment compared to the Gyre. For my tank at least.

I currently run all 4 MPs in random mode. The MP40s at 45% each and the MP10 at 60% each. What I always feared to be too much flow for my tank makes everything strive.

Next Steps:
I am planning to reintroduce my cheato reactor even though I still have to treat Bryopsis from time to time. But I will figure something out regarding "parking" the reactor when I have to put FluxRX in the next time. Maybe I park the reactor in a small quarantine tank for a couple of days?

One thing that was a hefty but luckily short scare have been Monti eating nudibranchs. I discovered some and did the following:

- remove infested parts
- dip all montis
- some montis I rinsed off with tap water while brushing off the eggs with a hard toothbrush (this is a harsh treatment and some parts got grey and died but most of the coral survived and grew stronger than ever)
- other nudi's I saw on the rock I just brushed off in the tank, i.e. brushed them into pieces.

This was like 4 month ago and I have since only seen one Nudi which I brushed to pieces, too. I have read somewhere that Lysmata Ambionensis might eat Nudi's and this is a wild speculation: maybe the brushing them to pieces sparked the hunger for Nudi's in them? I have no other explanation for why I did not see any of the Nudi's again after this because I was preparing for the worst. If anything, then I have learned from this and now I not only dip but brush off all new corals or even change the plug they came on.

The red on the sand is actually coraline algea and I need to refill some sand from time to time because it vanishes in the cave of Mr or Mrs Belulus ... I don't know how this creature does it but the amount of sand I manages to cram in there together with everything else it finds is beyond my imagination.

Also having the Belulus in a more central spot with cave exits to every side and together with some Conomurex luhuanus snails creates the cleanest sand I have ever had in the 10 years I am in this hobby now. No manual cleaning needed ever.