Homers 80G Started on RC

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I've been a member here for quite a while now, and since I no longer visit RC, I figured I would move my build thread over to here..... Or rather restart my build thread.

Since my tank is basically built and has been for several years now, I suppose this is just a place for me to dump my thoughts and get help from the community going forward.

So lets start with the basics....

80G SCA cube
Center tower style overflow running a herbie setup
6 x 36W ATI sunpower
Gyre xf230
2 mp10's
2 jeboa pp8's
Bubble magus curve 5 elite
BRS mini media reactor with carbon only 24/7/365
DIY algae turf scrubber
waveline dc 4000 return

Current inhabitants....
yellow coris wrasse
1 midnight clown(other jumped)
yellow eye kole tang
flame back angel
mandarin goby
starry blenny
skunk cleaner shrimp
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Pics from tapatalk...

e13d37558c9c05b841cbe2ecf66da621.jpg
ecc188a3dcc9fc68d72d80ba8dcbad67.jpg
bb89121e544238aa280ba87c276d9340.jpg
7fff651debd1430a34a1f3189ce2ef29.jpg
2520b349396c95882434197cad6d152e.jpg
441b0c853d78c57c62265d598e9b6630.jpg
d04e9f50970c0ebd17a4f48a166b95ff.jpg
626eea1d76ac233844637b8d2bd2fc13.jpg
 
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looking back these are actually quite old photos. Sorry for that, but my lights are off right now so pictures would be useless.

In those pictures, I no longer have the scoly(thanks to peppermint shrimp), Candy cane died when dosing vibrant, as well as all my acans, and the frags in the sanbed were being held for a friend I'm mentoring.

When my lights come up tomorrow and I get home from work, I'll post a few current pics.
 

Neil S.

Active Member
View Badges
Joined
Aug 14, 2018
Messages
153
Reaction score
143
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Looking back these are actually quite old photos. Sorry for that, but my lights are off right now so pictures would be useless.

In those pictures, I no longer have the scoly(thanks to peppermint shrimp), Candy cane died when dosing vibrant, as well as all my acans, and the frags in the sanbed were being held for a friend I'm mentoring.

When my lights come up tomorrow and I get home from work, I'll post a few current pics.
The large plate corals are gorgeous! How long have they been with you?
 
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I think I might write a few paragraphs and get everyone new here up tp speed on my tank....

I started this 80G SCA cube about 4 years ago now. I had nothing but trouble with GHA even with 0 nutrients, running GFO and carbon dosing. I did of course start with dry pukani from BRS I thought I had cleaned up pretty well with lanthanum chloride. Apparently not!

Fast forward 2 years, and hundreds of coral deaths(man I had some beautiful euphyllia that would be worth thousands now!), an alk accident that turned my sandbed to solid rock, ich outbreak that in the end killed all my fish, and just a general feeling of quitting after so many losses. What I did was found someone selling their LR and system. Bought about 60 pounds of LR and reset the tank with new LR, and new sand.

I think the only 2 corals that I have had since I started back in this hobby some 7 years ago is the pinkish gorgonian, and the red plating monti. The monti started its rebirth as a frag the size of my thumbnail, and the gorgonian never stopped growing even though everything around it was dying! That coral is my "canary in a coal mine" if you will. I can always tell how well my tank is doing by how well its open and growing.

Lets see what else.......

I've only recently started to get into some SPS, and while they are thriving, my LPS seem to suffer a bit. I did recently loose a very nice rainbow torch, and hammer coral that only started to die off when I started to dose vibrant. Not really sure if the vibrant is to blame, but they were growing up until I started to dose it. Yet the rather large frogspawn is unaffected?

For the life of me I cannot keep acans! This coral is the reason I started back up in this hobby! It's what made me restart a tank! Man I really do love this coral! I could keep any, and all acans alive and thriving in my biocube, but since switching to this tank, they just shrivel up and die off. No idea why? I've tried every possible location, every possible flow patter, even changed up my T5's, yet they just wither and die. So I have since given up on my favorite coral. :(

Since I have admitted defeat to myself that I cannot keep my favorite coral, I keep things I know will thrive, and it has made my reefing life much much easier and more enjoyable.

Anything you guys want to know about me or the tank, feel free to ask. I don't keep my build threads on subject(their kind of a place for me to dump my thoughts, and to look back on when I ask myself "what the heck was I thinking doing that?". So please don't feel anything is off topic. Sit back and enjoy the ride, after all a hobby is supposed to be fun, right? lol
 

Joel Duval

New Member
View Badges
Joined
May 22, 2017
Messages
24
Reaction score
26
Location
Phoenix
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So I think I might write a few paragraphs and get everyone new here up tp speed on my tank....

I started this 80G SCA cube about 4 years ago now. I had nothing but trouble with GHA even with 0 nutrients, running GFO and carbon dosing. I did of course start with dry pukani from BRS I thought I had cleaned up pretty well with lanthanum chloride. Apparently not!

Fast forward 2 years, and hundreds of coral deaths(man I had some beautiful euphyllia that would be worth thousands now!), an alk accident that turned my sandbed to solid rock, ich outbreak that in the end killed all my fish, and just a general feeling of quitting after so many losses. What I did was found someone selling their LR and system. Bought about 60 pounds of LR and reset the tank with new LR, and new sand.

I think the only 2 corals that I have had since I started back in this hobby some 7 years ago is the pinkish gorgonian, and the red plating monti. The monti started its rebirth as a frag the size of my thumbnail, and the gorgonian never stopped growing even though everything around it was dying! That coral is my "canary in a coal mine" if you will. I can always tell how well my tank is doing by how well its open and growing.

Lets see what else.......

I've only recently started to get into some SPS, and while they are thriving, my LPS seem to suffer a bit. I did recently loose a very nice rainbow torch, and hammer coral that only started to die off when I started to dose vibrant. Not really sure if the vibrant is to blame, but they were growing up until I started to dose it. Yet the rather large frogspawn is unaffected?

For the life of me I cannot keep acans! This coral is the reason I started back up in this hobby! It's what made me restart a tank! Man I really do love this coral! I could keep any, and all acans alive and thriving in my biocube, but since switching to this tank, they just shrivel up and die off. No idea why? I've tried every possible location, every possible flow patter, even changed up my T5's, yet they just wither and die. So I have since given up on my favorite coral. :(

Since I have admitted defeat to myself that I cannot keep my favorite coral, I keep things I know will thrive, and it has made my reefing life much much easier and more enjoyable.

Anything you guys want to know about me or the tank, feel free to ask. I don't keep my build threads on subject(their kind of a place for me to dump my thoughts, and to look back on when I ask myself "what the heck was I thinking doing that?". So please don't feel anything is off topic. Sit back and enjoy the ride, after all a hobby is supposed to be fun, right? lol
I really like the aquascape you have going here. I think cubes offer some of the best creative options for scapes.
 

Anthony Cusumano

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Mar 9, 2018
Messages
58
Reaction score
40
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Hi homer. Went through your whole build thread on RC. Your dedication is admirable to say the least! Would you say the TTM is a failure? All that loss of life over and over. I’m going from a nano tank to a deep blue 57 and I’m concerned with fish mortality. Only had fish death due to jumping. Never a disease but I was thinking of a qt tank in the future.
 
Last edited:
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
TTM is most certainly not a failure! Think of it this way, if I were to have just dumped those fish in my tank, they would have died anyways, and polluted the entire tank at the same time, and possibly wiping out the remaining fish I do have. So failure, NO way! I will say that I have switched up protocols for QTing though(I follow @HotRocks protocol now with some meds as I think it's more relaxing on the fish then the whole TTM thing. Plus his protocols treat pretty much anything a wild fish might bring into your tank, whereas TTM just treats for ich.
 
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Anywho.....

I came home yesterday from work and decided to test the tank(I typically test on my day off, but have things to do today), ALK @ 5.6DKH!!!!!

what the heck!!!!!

Everything looks fine, no corals seem stressed, but why? I have my ALK and CAL on a DOS in reservoirs that have float switches to alert me when to refill(they are hidden behind the tank in a coat closet). So what the heck happened?

Well it turns out that my ALK reservoir was empty(god knows for how long as were never in that closet this time of year, and who the heck needs a jacket when its 80F out?)! But why didn't I get an apex alert? Seems I have a faulty float switch, or broken wire somewhere, and a normally open switch remains normally open if a wire is broken! New float switch put in container(always have a few spares of everything, you never know when you'll need them, and it's always in the middle of the night when every store is closed), and I will slowly bring my ALK back up to 7.5 - 8DKH.

Speaking of DKH, I'm beginning to see more and more coralline on my rocks/glass/overflow/frag rack/etc since I've been keeping my tank closer to NSW levels as opposed to elevated levels. Not sure if it corresponds, or if it's because I no longer have any asternia stars?

Since I'm enjoyng this site more and more, I decided to go for a partner plus membership! Love the jacket they give you, and besides I'm pretty sure with some of the knowledge gained from being around here for the last few months, I've saved at least $200 in corals. And I so want to win the Apex giveaway, or any of the giveaways for that matter!
 

reefwreak

Community Member
View Badges
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
60
Reaction score
66
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yup yup yup I'm here too. Haven't done any updates, but my tank isn't currently dying anymore, so hopefully I'll have some stuff to add.

Homer, how did the box-o-rocks work out? I've been meaning to text you and @soulpatch to see how your RAP hauls have gone. I had so many regrets afterwards for not picking up more stuff, but it did give me the financial flexibility to get a battlebox from Adam @Battlecorals which has been spectacular.
 
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
Yeah wasn't sure if the @reefwreak here was you or someone else. There's a soulpatch here too, but I do know that one isn't our soulpatch.

Box o' rocks..... haven't done anything with them yet! With the lack of competent help this year, only thing I've been doing is work and sleep. I'm only on here while I'm waiting to go to sleep, or the hour I wake up before work.

As far as the RAP haul, everything is doing swimingly! The few SPS frags I got are healthy and growing, the pavona is the only thing not doing so hot. Just not sure if the bottom is bleaching because it's shaded from the rest of the colony, or if it's dying from the base up? It has stopped bleaching about half way up(right where it starts to branch out), and is actually growing at the top. So I have no idea on that one.
 
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
So a small update....

Been having huge cyano issues since I was using vibrant to rid my tank of some unsightly algae. I stopped vibrant about a month ago now, and am still having cyano issues. While I'm very hesitant to use chemiclean, I do have it in my fish room closet. I have to date lost a very nice maze brain colony(got this for a song from an unknowing LFS employee. Was supposed to be 10$ a head @ about 20 heads, got the entire mini colony for 10$ lol), a very nice rainbow torch frag, and the only hammer I had.

All SPS seem to be doing very well if I could stop from "accidentally" fragging them when cleaning up the tank. The elegance I got at RAP really loves my snails! Need to up them again sometime soon, but as any decent LFS is about a 3 hour drive away, it's probably not going to happen anytime soon.

Replaced all my T5 bulbs a couple weeks ago, and everything seems to be growing a little more now even though my bulbs were just a 53 weeks old( a year and a week for those of you that hate math. :D). Green slimer that was growing, albeit slowly, has really taken off! I have 2 new branches and several polyps that look like their going to branch out soon. June ruby from @Battlecorals has grown at least 3 or 4 inches and its branches have thickened up and got way longer. All of my @Battlecorals corals have grown up in the few short months of having them. Only one that hasn't really done anything is shades of fall. While it's still alive and colored up, it hasn't grown any, if at all. Might just be a slow grower, not really sure on that one?

Box o' rocks I got from @reefwreak I have started putting together to form a structure I plan on adding to the tank at some point. It's just with my current rockwork being so low in the tank, I have no high spots for more SPS. So I plan on adding an archway of some sort to bring the structure up more towards the light.

As a partner member another partner member is kind enough to give/rent their par meter for free(just have to be an adult, and able to not man handle things and send it to the next person in line without mangling it), just have to pay for shipping to the next person in line. I'll be very curious to see what my par levels are in certain areas of the tank.

I've been reading a lot of @Rakie and @bubbaque(couple people in the hobby I have come to realize they know their isht) build threads for some pointers on SPS's and have learned quite a bit. After implementing what I've learned, my corals have never looked better! So I will continue on this path.

When my lights come on in a couple hours I'll certainly post some "when I got them", and "now" pics as well as a current FTS, just because we all love pics!
 
OP
OP
homer1475

homer1475

Figuring out the hobby one coral at a time.
View Badges
Joined
Apr 24, 2018
Messages
11,576
Reaction score
18,476
Location
Way upstate NY
Rating - 0%
0   0   0
I no longer have the PE that show in the first pics, but I chalk this up to my flame back angel. While I have never seen it nip, I'm sure it does. I do have some PE at night, and they continue to grow and color up, so I'm not worried about PE.

EDIT:
Pics look like doo doo! They dont look thar bad from my phone lol. I'll see if I can get siome better pics.
 

Aquatic acrobat in your aquarium: Have you ever kept an eel?

  • I currently keep an eel in my tank.

    Votes: 29 14.9%
  • I have kept an eel in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 32 16.4%
  • I have not kept an eel in my tank, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 35 17.9%
  • I have no plans to keep an eel.

    Votes: 96 49.2%
  • Other.

    Votes: 3 1.5%
Back
Top