IM25 Lagoon Build

JakeLikesReefs · Oct 21, 2017

UPDATE:

Tank looked good today, fish are feeling at home.

Today's parameters after 5 gallon water change:

PH - 8.19
Alk - 9.5
Cal - 435
Mag - did not test, waiting on new kit
No3 - >5ppm
Po4 - 0ppm

I am still dosing seachem stability because I have it and it should help bacteria colony thrive.

Corals look great, added a few more!

ASD Mermaid Souls

CB Rainbow Magic

ORA green birdsnest

CB Bahama Mama

Happy Clowns

Unhappy Clown during water change

Thanks,
Jake

JakeLikesReefs · Oct 22, 2017

FTS from today...i think the rocks are still leaching phosphates because I'm still getting some algae despite excellent parameters. I will continue to closely monitor the tank and do water changes to ensure stability. More corals going in soon as parameters are excellent.

Thanks,
Jake

JakeLikesReefs · Oct 23, 2017

Still have some issues with Diatom algae on rocks due to assumed leaching...Any thoughts on removal or control? Is there a limit to how often or how much water I can change?

Thanks,
Jake

JakeLikesReefs · Oct 24, 2017

Okay, so the pukani is still leaching PO4. My P04 was reading .07 today which is higher than I'd like. I received my new reactor today and followed BRS guidelines for carbon and GFO...i think it was a mistake as for the GFO because my PH proceeded to drop 2 points over about 6 hours. I retested phosphates at 0ppm and my alk went down to 8.3dkh which likely caused downward spike in ph. I have shut off the reactor. Any thoughts on this? Run less media? Only turn reactor on for an hour or 2 per day? Please let me know, need some help on this one.

Thanks,
Jake

JakeLikesReefs · Oct 24, 2017

Update:

Solved the reactor issue.

Tank parameters after dosing today:

Ph - 8.27
Cal - 455
Alk - 8.9
Mag - 1275 (still low, was 1200...yikes)
P04 - 0.00 (don't have ultra low detection)

Reactor is going steady and I can finally get my frickin hands out of the tank and enjoy my slice of the ocean

Thanks,
Jake

Nart · Oct 25, 2017

I had issues with my Mag dipping way low when my tank first started out... I was having to dose Magnesium a 2-4 times a week to keep it at 1300+
Finally once my tank stabilized, my parameters stabilized as well. Now my Mag keeps at around 1300-1350, without dosing. Only thing I do dose is Kalk in my ATO to keep my Alk at 8.5 and Calcium at 420'ish

I can appreciate not having to fiddle with the tank a few times a day and just enjoy looking at it haha.

mclayj · Nov 1, 2017

How do you find the spread on the XR15? I just purchased the same tank and am trying to decide on lighting. Like you, I am planning to stock mostly LPS and zoas. Thanks!

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 2, 2017

mclayj said:
How do you find the spread on the XR15? I just purchased the same tank and am trying to decide on lighting. Like you, I am planning to stock mostly LPS and zoas. Thanks!

Hey There,

I think the XR15 has been great! Quite a powerful light and the new G4 seems to have really great spread over my tank.

Thanks,
Jake

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 2, 2017

UPDATE:

Pukani - The rock is still leaching phosphates into the water column...As a result, there has been some algae growth on the rocks which is driving me nuts. I am using my reactor with some GFO to keep the phosphates near zero and at some point I expect the rocks to be fully cured (hopefully soon).

Parameters and Notes - PH 7.95 Alk 9.0 Cal 435 Mag 1415 P04 0 NO3 <5

The PH has been irritating me quite a bit, I believe it is getting better but was caused by an imbalance with my Mag and Cal. My mag was about 1200 a week ago and has been slowly risen to the appropriate levels. The pH has never been beloew 7.8 even during dips, but I would like to see it begin to peak around 8.2 or higher.

My clown fish are doing AMAZING. They eat like pigs and have definitely grown.

Today I added 2 wheeler shrimp gobies and a banded pistol shrimp (I love goby shrimp combos) along with 3 hermit crabs and 3 conches. I had to order and build a mesh top for the tank to ensure I protected to gobies from carpet surging in the house. I will post pictures when I get home from work.

Thanks to everyone who has been following along!

mclayj · Nov 2, 2017

JakeLikesReefs said:
Hey There,

I think the XR15 has been great! Quite a powerful light and the new G4 seems to have really great spread over my tank.

Thanks,
Jake

Great, thanks. I was unsure whether I would have to go with the XR30, but sounds like I can get away with the XR15 given I am going to focus on LPS & zoas.

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 5, 2017

Update:

I have barely seen my new gobies and shrimp. They seemingly live under a rock right now and hate me. I have only seen them looking out from a hole in the rock a few times. I have not seen the shrimp since day one....

Paramters are pretty good and I've seen some good signs of health throughout the tank. The new inverts have done an incredible job in trimming down this algae...almost entirely gone

Here are some pictures.

Still trying to use a new phone to take pictures under the radions settings...hate the pictures so far lol...anyway!

Thanks,
Jake

Nart · Nov 6, 2017

You kidding me Jake? I think the pictures you take are really nice!
What settings do you have the lights on when you take the pictures and what are you using to take the pics?

Check out my IM25 thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/narts-im25-im10-build-and-re-scape.331201/#post-4118590
I just re-scaped my tank over the weekend with my Pukani rocks that's been curing for about 55 days or so.

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 6, 2017

Nart said:
You kidding me Jake? I think the pictures you take are really nice!
What settings do you have the lights on when you take the pictures and what are you using to take the pics?

Check out my IM25 thread here: https://www.reef2reef.com/threads/narts-im25-im10-build-and-re-scape.331201/#post-4118590
I just re-scaped my tank over the weekend with my Pukani rocks that's been curing for about 55 days or so.

Hey Nart,

Thanks for the kind words. I just went through your build thread...tank looks great! The coral scaping is a struggle for me because I want everything to be easily removable for fragging and I find it hard to combine that with attractive.

As for my pictures im just using my phone (Google pixel 2 or Samsung Galaxy S8 depending on the day). The lights are typically just adjusted in brightness...although sometimes I'll lower the Kelvin. I want to get one of those little clips to help the cameras deal with the blue light better (think they're called aquaraclips).

Thanks,
Jake

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 6, 2017

Almost forgot, @Nart how long did it take your rock to rid itself of algae and phosphates?

Thanks,
Jake

Nart · Nov 6, 2017

Ah - your cellphone takes really good pictures. I have trouble taking pics of my corals with my iPhone 6S, even with gel filters.

Jake - I actually have no idea if I will have algae issues yet. So the pukani rock-work was sitting in the curing tub for about 55 days... When I first tested the PO4 numbers with Red Sea's test kit... I was reading 0.64PPM.
As the weeks went by it slowly dropped. Finally to what I deemed acceptable, around 0.02 PPM. It's hard to tell exactly where the PO4 is with those color charts. So then I finally just set it in the tank over the weekend.
During that time curing I did throw in a handful of chaeto into the tub along with some lights to go over it... I never did see any bloom or algae of any sort during those 55 days, but did see the chaeto grow quite significantly.

I'm just embracing myself at this point for any algae issues. Also, keeping a close eye on phosphates and have a GFO reactor on stand-by.
Oh - I will note. When I first got the pukani rocks and was rock-scaping. I had smashed and chiseled the rocks down, I saw some small dead clams within the rocks and etc... I hand picked the cleanest ones, and did a 12 hour bleach bath, along with a 24 hour vinegar bath before curing the rocks. Not sure if all this helped in getting rid of some phosphate leaching.

I hear ya on the scaping and being able to frag corals. It's nice to have a secondary tank just dedicated to frag grow-outs and fragging.

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 6, 2017

Nart said:
Ah - your cellphone takes really good pictures. I have trouble taking pics of my corals with my iPhone 6S, even with gel filters.

Jake - I actually have no idea if I will have algae issues yet. So the pukani rock-work was sitting in the curing tub for about 55 days... When I first tested the PO4 numbers with Red Sea's test kit... I was reading 0.64PPM.
As the weeks went by it slowly dropped. Finally to what I deemed acceptable, around 0.02 PPM. It's hard to tell exactly where the PO4 is with those color charts. So then I finally just set it in the tank over the weekend.
During that time curing I did throw in a handful of chaeto into the tub along with some lights to go over it... I never did see any bloom or algae of any sort during those 55 days, but did see the chaeto grow quite significantly.

I'm just embracing myself at this point for any algae issues. Also, keeping a close eye on phosphates and have a GFO reactor on stand-by.
Oh - I will note. When I first got the pukani rocks and was rock-scaping. I had smashed and chiseled the rocks down, I saw some small dead clams within the rocks and etc... I hand picked the cleanest ones, and did a 12 hour bleach bath, along with a 24 hour vinegar bath before curing the rocks. Not sure if all this helped in getting rid of some phosphate leaching.

I hear ya on the scaping and being able to frag corals. It's nice to have a secondary tank just dedicated to frag grow-outs and fragging.

I am interested to see what will happen regarding your algae, however, based off the information given you should not have any issues. My rocks are still leaching some phosphates into the water column. I did not treat my rocks like you did and to some extent have suffered the consequences. My phosphates have typically not gone above .04, but this is is after the reactor media runs its' course. I do have algae on my rock structures as a result of this, however I added 3 conches, 3 hermits and 2 snails and my tank was polished within 2 days. I do have another tank, but I am in the process of breaking it down to restart and then I will be utilizing it as a grow out and frag tank. Too bad you're not in LA, would hook you up with some stuff I am parting with through my break down...Wanna see some nice lagoons on this site!

Thanks,
Jake

Nart · Nov 6, 2017

I'll keep my thread updated. So if I run into algae issues... whomp whomp lol.
Keep at it with the phosphates! You'll win eventually.

You know what's sad? Probably in less than a year I'll be breaking down the set-up for the cross-country move back to LA. So much work... but ehh, it's my enjoyment.
But hey - i'll hit you up when I do move back to LA. That's my hometown, born and raised in the South bay.

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 6, 2017

Nart said:
I'll keep my thread updated. So if I run into algae issues... whomp whomp lol.
Keep at it with the phosphates! You'll win eventually.

You know what's sad? Probably in less than a year I'll be breaking down the set-up for the cross-country move back to LA. So much work... but ehh, it's my enjoyment.
But hey - i'll hit you up when I do move back to LA. That's my hometown, born and raised in the South bay.

Im sure I'll have some sweet pieces laying around by then! I'll keep up with your thread as well.

Thanks,
J

JakeLikesReefs · Nov 7, 2017

Great news today, pH is continuing to rise..more importantly though, my gobies and pistol shrimp have made themselves known. I got a crappy picture too!