Hemmdog’s 90gal Seaciety and 40gal Vale of Shadows

[Hemmdog]

Proceeded to transfer my hermit crabs once a little gha came up, nassarius snails once some diatoms appeared on the sand, and trochus once I got some diatoms on the rocks. Sure is convienient having a mature reef down the hall .

After a month of the tank running with just my clean up crew and Marlin I brought some more fish over.
-Firefish ~Delores
-Yellow Watchman Goby ~ Goby
-Azure Damsel ~Spike
(Juvenile) Yellow Tang ~Sunshine

 

[Hemmdog]

2 months after water in I transferred my coral. Just one fell swoop of all the nicer/higher end coral and stuff I just really like into the 90. I had tons of different rainbow acans I’ve been growing out from single heads.

You get the point, lots of lps I’d grown fond of. I may edit this post in the future and upload a bunch more pics from my 32 before I transferred everything over.
The flame angel, black leopard wrasse, and my euphilla/random zoas are all I left in the biocube.

But yea; just basically put on my full arm reefin’ gloves and gently shook each lps by its base and they detached remarkably easily. I then placed them in my go2 saltwater bucket and walked a few of them over at a time and placed them all on the sandbed in the 90. I was just trying to do it as fast as possible I was freaking out during this part. I use my reef to calm my anxiety not cause it lol. It was pretty wild, I didn’t realize how many frags I had acquired. It was at least 30 frags . I did transfer one of my bigger liverocks I had in the biocube, a very mature rock that I see pods on and my black leopard wrasse would be picking at all the time.

I didn’t really plan it out to much, sps on top, monti-land on the left, acan-land on the right, zoa garden in the middle, chalices low and in interesting spots on the Tonga branches. A lot has encrusted completely now, but there’s still a few frags I’m considering moving/doing a total rescape. I just don’t know how I would even go about that in a big tank like this. I would need help for sure.
Here’s some pics from right after I transferred the coral.

After I moved the coral I brought the other 360we over. It looks clean!

 

[Hemmdog]

Everything was stable for 2 months no fish loss or coral loss. This brings us now to November 2018

During this time I “rescued” two juvenile tangs that were in a way over crowed holding tank and deceased fish at the bottom at a LFS I was checking out. They were both 1 inch, and they remain unnamed because I will be rehousing them in a 300 gallon display at a local reefers house in a couple months.
-blue hippo
-Atlantic blue

Both are amazing fish, a real pleasure to have in my tank, they eat great and don’t display any real “aggressive” behavior or anything, I definitely like them but I promise this won’t be a Hotel California senairo.

 

[Hemmdog]

Atlantic blue checking out the new ORA aquacultured blue maxima I got, he’s still doing great, he moved himself to the other side of the tank now. His name is ~Clammy

Blue hippo and ~Marlin

This pic was a little more recent, the raspberry robokaki and space invader grow so fast it’s insane!

 

[Hemmdog]

At this time my nutrient levels are still near zero on salifert kits. 10.5 alk, 440 cal, 1440 mag.

I just(November 2018) turned on the BM-T11 and hooked it up with b-ionic 2 part. Mag I still dose manually twice a week depending on testing. For the doser I started the dose off at 13ml 12x daily alk 10ml 12x cal. I must have got it right because it didn’t fluctuate for another month and a half. I also began manual dosing Acropower 20ml everyother day and am still doing that.

The sps I transitioned from the biocube began looking unhealthy. That’s why I started the Acropower. It didn’t seem to really do anything so I added more light, got the aquatic life hybrid once I realized they finally released the tank mounts for it.

 

[Hemmdog]

The colors of the coral are looking amazing since the hybrid supplement, the first week was insane but that must have been stress fluoresceing.

First wave of rtn/stns

-ORA Red Planet
-Pink Mille
-borealis
-PC Rainbow(held in there for awhile)
-Red Dragon(obviously)
-Mystic
-Purple Rim monti
-Miyagi tori
-Cali Tort
-rainbow pocilopora
-purple pocilopora

I really think it must have been some kind of bacterial thing, and I didn’t have as big of a pod population as I do now. I learned a good lesson about being patient, I still haven’t bought more acros since that wave of over night losses.

Sps Survivors
-Green Slimer
-Blue Stag
-Mint Birdsnest
-Ultimate efflo
-sour apple monti
-another piece of the purple rim monti
-nauti spiral (randomly died last week in real time(January 19))
-Austera

All lps and fish and everything are super happy at this time, and still are. Sps still doesn’t look fantastic.

Added an additional gyre 230xf to the opposite side of the tank.

I also decided it’s about time to start my fuge (4 months in) got a ball of chaeto and a Kessil h80. It works amazing, grows so so so much chaeto.

I started with 24/7 fuge light on but it was bleaching the top of the chaeto, to prevent melting I now run an inverse cycle of my display lights and to help have a stable pH.

 

[NY_Caveman]

Tank is looking great! Love all the details.

 

[Hemmdog]

Tank is looking great! Love all the details.

Thanks dude! I kept pretty good notes along the way knowing I’d do a build thread one day lol.

 

[RamsReef]

A novel

 

[mch1984]

I love a good 90 lol, tank is looking good. Amazing how two of the same size tanks can look so different . Sorry for the coral loss but don't let it get you down. I'm struggling with SPS as well, minus my monties they love life at the moment.

 

[mch1984]

Running any kind of controller?

 

[Hemmdog]

Running any kind of controller?

Not yet, I will most likely get an Apex in a few months once trident is fully out and people say it works lol.

 

[mch1984]

Not yet, I will most likely get an Apex in a few months once trident is fully out and people say it works lol.

I had to be talked into one, so I bought a used classic. Best choice I ever made, and it's already saved my tank once. I'll have to upgrade once the trident comes out.

 

[Hemmdog]

I love a good 90 lol, tank is looking good. Amazing how two of the same size tanks can look so different . Sorry for the coral loss but don't let it get you down. I'm struggling with SPS as well, minus my monties they love life at the moment.

Thank you! Acros are hard man! I really don’t understand them lol, so many people just drop them in their tank, don’t feed them, don’t do anything, and they encrust and grow like crazy. I want the secrets ! Lol

 

[mch1984]

I used to think the same but I know a very experienced reefer who as struggled with his SPS. This hobby is all about learning on a continues basis.

 

[Hemmdog]

I used to think the same but I know a very experienced reefer who as struggled with his SPS. This hobby is all about learning on a continues basis.

Very true!

 

[Hemmdog]

I had to be talked into one, so I bought a used classic. Best choice I ever made, and it's already saved my tank once. I'll have to upgrade once the trident comes out.

Yea I’ve been wanting one pretty bad, mainly just for monitoring features. The price point is just so high, Ive spent to much on reefing stuff in the past few months...lol.

 

[mch1984]

I understand that completely, this hobby will nickle and dime you death much less the expensive stuff.

 

[Hemmdog]

December was the month of the jumpers
-Pintail Fairy wrasse male, jumped the first night
R.i.p.
-chalk basslet ~Chalky, had him for a week then found him in a fern 6ft from the tank
R.i.p.
-Solorensis wrasse, had him a month he was awesome, jumped one night.. your my boy blue!
R.i.p.

I really didn’t want a screen over the tank but it’s looking like I most definitely need one.

Fish I got in nov/dec that are still doing great
-Hawaiian Potters Wrasse male

-Geometric Pygmy Hawkfish
-Green Chromis
-Yellow Stripped Cardinal

 

[mch1984]

The screens really don’t look as bad as you think, they are worth it. The DIY are cost effective and easy.