IM 50 Lagoon - Dwarf Lionfish species tank!

[Meldrath]

Things I didn't get done today:

• Find rocks in the garage for my scape.
• Install ATO system.

Things that got added to my todo because of today:

• Fix salinity of the water. It's 1.031 currently (made the batch too strong as I was guestimating the actual gallonage of the Brute.
• Fix the Kessil or find another long term lighting solution

 

[JumboShrimp]

Tip: As per your ‘guesstimating’ with the Brute, do yourself a favor and (1) fill your tank with a gallon jug or something measured, (2) WRITE DOWN how many gallons, and (3) keep the piece of paper! (Do the same with the amount of water going into any sump(s).) You don’t want to have to ‘guesstimate’ with medication or other dosages in the future— and chances are you will need to dose something eventually. Best wishes!

 

[SMSREEF]

Loving your build thread! I’m following along and wishing you good luck with everything

 

[Meldrath]

This morning after getting the water and sand in last night. Still pretty cloudy.

Any suggestions on getting the dust particulates to settle or removed faster?

 

[najer]

Floss by the inlet / weir?

 

[Meldrath]

Got the last of the major components setup!

AQUASCAPE

 

[Meldrath]

Finished up the ATO and tied it to my main reef 10 gallon ATO container. Currently the ATK is in a standalone mode and I've tested it under some basic circumstances. We'll see how this plays out.

 

[Meldrath]

Next things on the todo list are:

Cleaning up my mess. The cords are everywhere, it looks like someone had a new years party with cords... speaking of which; HAPPY NEW YEARS EVERYONE! Hope everyone has an even better year than the last!

Going to get some nylon cord to bundle everything safely and then run a duct under the bar ledge. Thinking about grabbing a spare eb832 and dumping everything into that and having the eb832 hit the outlet, the usb cord to the head unit and the fmm cords (need to get extensions for the sensors) and ato line will be the only things reaching out to the main control board/main tank.

I'm currently on the hunt through the forums for a light replacement for my Kessil. Even if I do manage to repair this thing, with a new fan and get a new housing, I can always use it for supplement lighting or a frag/quarentine tank.

 

[Meldrath]

Better pictures of the aquascape today now that the silt/dust is gone. Hopefully everyone approves I thought it was pretty good.

 

[TheWB]

Better pictures of the aquascape today now that the silt/dust is gone. Hopefully everyone approves I thought it was pretty good.

Scape looks good. Any plans for coral or is this just going to house the Lionfish?

 

[Meldrath]

Scape looks good. Any plans for coral or is this just going to house the Lionfish?

Definitely going to do coral, I'm thinking SPS specifically tabling acros, some specific monti's, and chalices.

I have a trident for the other tank that I was thinking of swinging some sort of manual test to this reef every week with it.

What has me torn at the moment is how to support the SPS through lighting given my mounting constraints. Something I'm considering (came to me in a dream last night) is doing a brace pull out mounting like a drawer but instead with a light or I could just do a fixed mounting into the cabinet.

Lighting options on the table are:

Aquatic Life hyrid fixture with 1 or 2 Kessil 360's
ATI Sunpower 6 or 8 bulb with Reefbrites (Had this same setup for my Elos 120xl and it was really nice)
ATI Sunpower 6 or 8 bulb with 4x Nanoboxreef leds
Kessil 700 AP
2 Kessil 360's

I really don't think I want a pure led solution, I am really a fan of hybrid t5/led lighting. If I could fit a MH/T5/LED hybrid fixture I'd definitely want a MH, I just don't think I have the room for a reflector.

 

[TheWB]

Definitely going to do coral, I'm thinking SPS specifically tabling acros, some specific monti's, and chalices.

I have a trident for the other tank that I was thinking of swinging some sort of manual test to this reef every week with it.

What has me torn at the moment is how to support the SPS through lighting given my mounting constraints. Something I'm considering (came to me in a dream last night) is doing a brace pull out mounting like a drawer but instead with a light or I could just do a fixed mounting into the cabinet.

Lighting options on the table are:

Aquatic Life hyrid fixture with 1 or 2 Kessil 360's
ATI Sunpower 6 or 8 bulb with Reefbrites (Had this same setup for my Elos 120xl and it was really nice)
ATI Sunpower 6 or 8 bulb with 4x Nanoboxreef leds
Kessil 700 AP
2 Kessil 360's

I really don't think I want a pure led solution, I am really a fan of hybrid t5/led lighting. If I could fit a MH/T5/LED hybrid fixture I'd definitely want a MH, I just don't think I have the room for a reflector.

For the lighting I guess it just depends on how much you care about what it looks like. There’s ways to get just about anything you want mounted under that cabinet if looks don’t matter. If they do then you’ve got a problem to solve. Also, In addition to the lighting are you going to be able to manage the water chemistry required for SPS considering the eating habits of lion fish? And flow too, with all that sand? Sorry, I’m really not trying to be a buzzkill, this is just stuff that popped into my head and I thought I’d throw it out there. Hope this is somewhat helpful

 

[Meldrath]

For the lighting I guess it just depends on how much you care about what it looks like. There’s ways to get just about anything you want mounted under that cabinet if looks don’t matter. If they do then you’ve got a problem to solve. Also, In addition to the lighting are you going to be able to manage the water chemistry required for SPS considering the eating habits of lion fish? And flow too, with all that sand? Sorry, I’m really not trying to be a buzzkill, this is just stuff that popped into my head and I thought I’d throw it out there. Hope this is somewhat helpful

Very good points regarding SPS and lionfish and flow and sand lol. I'll break them down one by one and why I think it can be done successfully.

Edit: Does anyone know how to remove some of the blue that I'm picking up on my phone besides a mechanical filter?

First regarding SPS, there are multiple methodologies regarding care and growth. I have seen highly successful examples of ULNS and nutrient based systems. Having nitrates (which will be the end result of a messy eater) isn't necessarily bad, it's the combination of nitrates and phosphates that cause things to go downhill fast (algae outbreaks etc). So as long as I can control nitrates and more importantly phosphates I'm not worried about algae/water quality issues.

The ways I'll mitigate this is 2 fold, natural and mechanical. The mechanical is easy, a good skimmer goes a long way combined with water changes. The natural is part of why I have so much sand. Deep sand beds are good nutrient sinks and help build healthy bacteria colonies. The other part of the natural is an excellent clean up crew which is why I'll be grabbing tons of nassarius snails (until they start breeding), a few emerald crabs, a brittle sea star, a cucumber or two, and some misc algae eating snails. They all are excellent long term clean up crew that help turn over the sand to keep it from building up sulfur etc and are voracious detritivors and herbivors. They are all also not going to be preyed upon by the lionfish. I can't keep shrimp so I'll need to be extra vigilant regarding aptasia (though I can always gets bergia nudibranchs).

As far as flow goes, I have updated my aquascape with this very fact in mind (thank you!). I initially had tried to design it to give enough overhangs, but I think the updated one is better. I have even noticed a huge dead spot on the underside of the overhangs which is perfect for perching and such.

Lastly about sand. Sand is a non issue as long as I keep the flow from powerheads directed away from the sand. This means I need to use a vortex type flow pattern in the water column. If/when I get a second MP10 I will have them pulse alternatively from opposite sides and opposite heights to further exaggerate the effect. Currently with the MP10 on full blast on a wave setting and the Varios 2 maxed out, the I barely see any sand movement and most of that is coming from the direct flow contact from the return outlets. See the diagram below and enjoy my paint skills

 

[Meldrath]

Today on trying to rush a reef aquarium but knowing you shouldn't. I went and had the folks at my LFS test my cycling parameters - ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, plus an additional phosphate test.

Results were 1-2 PPM of ammonia, no nitrite, 10-25 PPM nitrate and no phosphate.

The ammonia result is obvious, it's a new tank and I'm ghost feeding. The nitrate gives me hope the Dr Tim's one and only is working however I suspect its also my old tank rocks leeching nitrates. The zero phosphate though makes me wonder/doubt the rock leeching... so I'm a little confused.

Current action plan is to make a 20 gallon full water change tomorrow and get down my nitrates. I'm debating if starting a carbon dosing regime this early is a good idea as I don't want a bacterial bloom.

Still on my todo list is:

• cord management
• finding an eb832 to better route cords for the fmm module (and future modules) and control
• pm1 module for temperature and ph/salinity (currently using a titanium heater with it's own inline temperature monitoring)
• longer term lighting solution for coral
• trident (have to figure out a way to have two water sources for the trident and have it be accurate- some sort of flushing mechanism on the line?)
  • I'm color blind so I REALLY hate colorimetric tests
• mixing station (but this is part of my larger reef project)

 

[TheWB]

Very good points regarding SPS and lionfish and flow and sand lol. I'll break them down one by one and why I think it can be done successfully.

Edit: Does anyone know how to remove some of the blue that I'm picking up on my phone besides a mechanical filter?

First regarding SPS, there are multiple methodologies regarding care and growth. I have seen highly successful examples of ULNS and nutrient based systems. Having nitrates (which will be the end result of a messy eater) isn't necessarily bad, it's the combination of nitrates and phosphates that cause things to go downhill fast (algae outbreaks etc). So as long as I can control nitrates and more importantly phosphates I'm not worried about algae/water quality issues.

The ways I'll mitigate this is 2 fold, natural and mechanical. The mechanical is easy, a good skimmer goes a long way combined with water changes. The natural is part of why I have so much sand. Deep sand beds are good nutrient sinks and help build healthy bacteria colonies. The other part of the natural is an excellent clean up crew which is why I'll be grabbing tons of nassarius snails (until they start breeding), a few emerald crabs, a brittle sea star, a cucumber or two, and some misc algae eating snails. They all are excellent long term clean up crew that help turn over the sand to keep it from building up sulfur etc and are voracious detritivors and herbivors. They are all also not going to be preyed upon by the lionfish. I can't keep shrimp so I'll need to be extra vigilant regarding aptasia (though I can always gets bergia nudibranchs).

As far as flow goes, I have updated my aquascape with this very fact in mind (thank you!). I initially had tried to design it to give enough overhangs, but I think the updated one is better. I have even noticed a huge dead spot on the underside of the overhangs which is perfect for perching and such.

Lastly about sand. Sand is a non issue as long as I keep the flow from powerheads directed away from the sand. This means I need to use a vortex type flow pattern in the water column. If/when I get a second MP10 I will have them pulse alternatively from opposite sides and opposite heights to further exaggerate the effect. Currently with the MP10 on full blast on a wave setting and the Varios 2 maxed out, the I barely see any sand movement and most of that is coming from the direct flow contact from the return outlets. See the diagram below and enjoy my paint skills

Seems like you might have spent a minute or two developing a plan

 

[Meldrath]

Seems like you might have spent a minute or two developing a plan

Thanks. Most of the time, I don't but in this case, this isn't necessarily my first rodeo so experiencing is guiding me.

 

[Meldrath]

Today's update:

Tank is in prime cycling.

Went to the LFS to test water and see what I could do about the Lionfish if it wasn't cycled. First the parameters:

Ammonia: still a solid ~2 ppm
Nitrite: ~1 ppm
Nitrate: ~40 ppm

I wasn't able to do the water change I wanted previously (made the RODI water but didn't get to the salt mixing). So this shows a couple of things. First, is the tank is entering the middle of the cycle. We have nitrite which is good. We still have ammonia which is bad. We have increased nitrate which shows there is some conversion happening from nitrite to nitrate or we still have more leeching from the rocks. The biggest thing here though is the nitrite.

After we did the test the LFS was generous enough to continue holding the lionfish. This was very helpful as I didn't want to have to setup a psuedo emergency qt on the fly and do massive water changing daily. So right now the current status is still cycling and the lionfish is on hold until next Thursday when I do another battery of tests at the LFS.

Oh and I sold my old Elos tank today and got it all moved out. So now I can fund some goodies that I had on my todo list

Action items are:

15-20 gallon water change tomorrow and another one next Tuesday or Wednesday. Goal is to remove some of those nitrates.

 

[TheWB]

Today's update:

Tank is in prime cycling.

Went to the LFS to test water and see what I could do about the Lionfish if it wasn't cycled. First the parameters:

Ammonia: still a solid ~2 ppm
Nitrite: ~1 ppm
Nitrate: ~40 ppm

I wasn't able to do the water change I wanted previously (made the RODI water but didn't get to the salt mixing). So this shows a couple of things. First, is the tank is entering the middle of the cycle. We have nitrite which is good. We still have ammonia which is bad. We have increased nitrate which shows there is some conversion happening from nitrite to nitrate or we still have more leeching from the rocks. The biggest thing here though is the nitrite.

After we did the test the LFS was generous enough to continue holding the lionfish. This was very helpful as I didn't want to have to setup a psuedo emergency qt on the fly and do massive water changing daily. So right now the current status is still cycling and the lionfish is on hold until next Thursday when I do another battery of tests at the LFS.

Oh and I sold my old Elos tank today and got it all moved out. So now I can fund some goodies that I had on my todo list

Action items are:

15-20 gallon water change tomorrow and another one next Tuesday or Wednesday. Goal is to remove some of those nitrates.

Glad to see the LFS coming through on holding the Lionfish longer. The less you have to worry about that right now, the better. Looks like things are moving along.

 

[Meldrath]

So... almost had a new light but the seller had an issue with the driver and a burning smell so they kindly refunded me. Hopefully they can get it fixed and I can still purchase it from them.

So I'm still on the hunt for a new light. :/

Did tests yesterday with a seachem kit, came back with near 0 free ammonia, ~.5 ppm of total ammonia and a buttload of nitrites. Seems we are progressing! However my lazy butt still hasn't done the water change I wanted to and now we're coming up on Tuesday. Need to get a DOS setup for AWC.

Saw my baby nassarius and the two big ones today, haven't seen the emerald since yesterday though. Hopefully he's just hiding out somewhere.

 

[Meldrath]

So lots of big news since Monday!

Water fully cycled, ammonia at or near 0, nitrite .25, and nitrates are through the roof. Did 2 30-50% water changes and brought home our Pterois sphex (Hawaiin Lionfish)!

In addition to our 3 nassarius snails and now missing emerald crab, I picked up 4 large Trochus snails and a blue Linckia starfish. We also had 2 of the large nassarius snails lay eggs on the back wall and last night on the silicone seams. Diversity and a large and diverse clean up crew is going to be VERY important in maintaining this reef. I asked our LFS to order 2 fighting conches, 1 sea cucumber and a few more nassarius snails. I'm a huge believer in creating diverse and rich ecosystems even in something like a species tank.

Now for pics!

However, even with all this good news I am having an issue currently getting the lionfish to eat. I have offered him pellet, freeze dried krill, LRS predator blend, and even a silverside and he's turned it all down. He's EXTREMELY shy, and moves away from me when I go to offer him food directly which is very unusual. However, the LFS has had him a few months and said they had the same issue for a few days and ate like a pig afterward. Hopefully this is the same thing and is just a phase. Overall demeanor is extremely calm and passive, if not shy. Beautiful markings and a very healthy appearance.