JBJ 6 Gallon AIO

[Corey Shelk]

Finally time to start my build thread.
It has been a long time in planning and even longer in the back of my mind. After finding a great deal on the JBJ AIO 6gallon Deluxe 18W LED here it comes.


The main theme of this tank will be ease of care and adaptability. So most coral frags will not be glued down till I find out where they do best and what looks best. Also I’m moving in about a month and a half so that will make it easier for me (maybe should’ve waited but I wanted to at least start the cycling now...and then I got a little carried away oops)

Filtration and lighting: stock. I also have a nano power head but it might be too big for my scape and I’m considering upgrading the stock pump but we’ll see how this one does first.

Rock: caribsea life rock and small portions that have already been wet and fully cycled are those three pieces of front and more rubble in the back. Probably 10 pounds of rock, maybe a little less
Bacteria: added fritz zyme 9 dose for a 20 gallon tank and I will continue adding some over the next few weeks.

Scaping: I decided bare bottom so it is easier to clean and also for more water volume/swimming space. Then I wanted to add an arch to form a cave for the future residents and also have room all around for access to glass panels and room for corals to grow. I wanted the slides to slope as well to give me options for different elevations for the corals.

Stocking: mostly softies and maybe a few LPS. A fire shrimp (that’s why I want the arch for the cave) and possibly a yellow clown goby or a pair of them.

Testing kit: none. I’ll be using algae and coral growth as a main indicator, considering the Hanna High Range Nitrate checker but as of right now my testing will be minimal.

Water Change Schedule: Depends on what I stock it with. Again I will be using algae and corals as an indicator, plus common sense. Once the tank is fully stocked and actually has a fish this is subject to change because feeding will be more and so will waste. As of right now I did a 100% water change the first week. Then my memory is a little hazy but I did another 100% at some point a week after that and then about an 80% water change before adding the fire shrimp. Then a 50% a couple of days after the Duncan closed up. In the future I’ll be more diligent about documenting when I do them haha.

 

[Corey Shelk]

July 8th, 2021
Here is the first picture (excuse the heavy purple, it was taken on my iPhone)

July 9, 2021
Played around with using reef putty to attach a small piece of rubble to the back wall. The white spot is where I had it originally but wanted to move it lower. Also added some test corals I got from a friends tank. The neon green finger leather you can kind of see and it was mostly buried in the sand in her tank so I cut off the part that was buried in the sand and placed it in here to see how it would do. And I added some pulsing xenia as well.

Full FTS

Right Side. You can sort of see the shriveled leather and the xenia on the mounted rock on the back wall

Left Side

 

[Corey Shelk]

July 16, 2021

Tank is essentially fully cycled. I have continued adding Zyme 9 along with an ammonia source. Diatoms are finally growing and added some more corals I found for a good price from a local hobbyist

At least this picture isn’t as purple. I just added the Kenya tree which is on the left side and just barely poking out from behind the rocks. I wanted each side view to offer a different look so not everything will be seen from the front perfectly which is planned. The finger leather is still doing meh and the xenia are opening up. I also added the fuzzy mushroom which looks great and there is another tiny one that was slightly attached to the bottom that I took off and let float around the tank to end up wherever the current blows (if it survives.) Two dwarf blue legged hermits also hitch hiked in with the corals and I never planned on having them but it was a nice surprise.

Right view. You can see the finger leather and the xenia better from this angle.

Left View. You can see the newly added Kenya tree better from this angle and the diatoms that have started growing.

 

[Corey Shelk]

July 18, 2021

I’ve stopped adding Zyme 9. Tank have been running for a little less than 2 weeks now and I’m in no rush to fully stock so I’ll just be going with the flow from here on out and letting the tank adapt to its current stocking levels.

I finally found a fire shrimp for a price I couldn’t pass on and well... welcome home buddy.

Just added a duncan today as well. As you can see he is not happy but was just placed in the tank so he should perk right up.

July 19th, 2021

Kenya tree is almost fully out and about (can’t be seen in this picture.) The finger leather is still doing terrible but was buried for almost a full week in its previous tank so not surprised but I’m hoping it’ll recover eventually and start growing fast so I can frag it off and give some back to my friend. The Duncan is pretty much fully out. I would love if this was its permanent home but we’ll see how it likes the lighting and flow here before glueing it down. The fire shrimp is also always out, I think the lower lighting helps it remain outside of the cave.

I’m considering adding astrea snails to help combat the growing diatoms (although I don’t mind them, way better than hair algae.) So I’m hoping the hermits will pick at the rock and snails clean the glass. I also added some empty shells for the hermits when they decide it’s time to swap. Here’s an FTS

Here’s the left side view. The Kenya tree is almost fully extended already. I chose the Kenya because it has a branching look while also providing movement unlike SPS and because it loves “dirty” water which will be the theme of this tank.

 

[Corey Shelk]

July 20, 2021

Another close up of the Duncans, so far so good with this spot

FTS. I am considering moving the Kenya tree slightly more to the left because the flow pushes its polyps behind the rock, but also I want this tank to be as hands off as possible since it’s such a small volume of water. You can also see the diatoms that are started to creep up on the lower glass. I only feed about 1-3 crustacean pellets a day for the fire shrimp and hermits but maybe I should feed a little less and lower the photoperiod for now. The mushroom is looking great.

Later in the day July 20, 2021

Adding 4 astrea snails. The Duncan is starting to remain withdrawn while the Kenya tree and xenia are doing great. The mushroom also appears to be in the process of splitting.

 

[Corey Shelk]

July 24th, 2021

The duncans have basically been closed up the past few days so it’s time to move them. I don’t know if it is insufficient light or maybe the water is too “dirty” for them but I also will not be testing this tank unless absolutely necessary so we’ll see if a placement adjustment will fix it. And that’s exactly what I did, it could have been the water change or the new placement but the Duncan is now almost fully out.

It’s been moved up to on top of the arch so it gets more light. I also added a small gorgonian that I got for an absolute steal that I want to test out. I believe it’s the photosynthetic kind but not too sure, if it starts to deteriorate I’ll try feeding it. The mushroom hasn’t fully split yet. Everything else is doing great and even the finger leather is starting to perk up. I accidentally moved the bottom rock when I was doing a water change yesterday and I think that allowed the snails to be able to get to that part of the glass because you can see they’ve taken chunks out of the diatom population already.



Here’s a closer up picture of the xenia, finger leather, and gorgonian

Left side mainly featuring the Kenya tree and the ugly plug of the duncan (eventually I’ll cover it with some more rock or put coral there to block it from view while it gets covered in algae to blend in)

 

[Corey Shelk]

July 25, 2021 (today)

Woke up to this in the morning without my glasses and started freaking out because I thought my beloved shrimp died... I looked closer and realized it was just a molt

The mushroom has fully split so I have to decide where I want to put the new one, and now you can even see the finger leather fully perking up so that is great news. The duncan, xenia, and gorgonian are all fully extended as well (so is the Kenya which can’t be seen just this angle and also just woke up) and as you can see the snails has almost completely eradicated the diatoms and now it looks like some of the tougher green algae is starting to grow on the glass. Might have to add a different species if they don’t eat this kind but we’ll see how they do. I could always just get a toothbrush and scrub it while I do my water change but atm I’m just going to leave it. I’m still trying to keep my hands out of the tank as much as possible and have even started using my planting tongs from my old freshwater planted tank (cleaned of course) to move things around if I need to and it’s worked great. I also left the molt in so that the hermits and shrimp can snack on it.



Here is a close up of my newly split green fuzzy shroom.

Also somehow ended up with 3 new frags All 3 are acans and it was buy 2 get 1 free so I decided to try my hand at them. I’ve been looking for dendros because I want to feed some coral a few times a week but they’ve been hard to find so I’ll try acans instead (who are also photosynthetic so should be easier for me) for that feeding experience and if they don’t work out in my tank then looks like my friend will have 3 new frags haha.

Here they are temp acclimating. I have no idea which ones they are but I’ll get pictures once they are fully opened.

Here are the acans in their current placement after acclimation. I’m hoping they’ll do well there and then I can remove them from their plugs are attach them to the rock that used to be there and that way they’re easy to target, front and center, and also their feeding tentacles won’t be stinging anyway. But if not they I’m thinking on the left rock front side or if that doesn’t even work then moving them onto the top of the arch and moving the Duncan slightly lower. Or even moving the xenia and placing them on that rock and making another one like it. There are a bunch of other options for their placement which is also another reason I haven’t really glued anything down just yet.

 

[Corey Shelk]

I did an 80% water change today because the corals weren’t looking their best. The finger leather got blasted with all of the water so it’ll probably take a little bit to perk back up.
Here is an FTS and the acans are looking super puffy! I think I’m going to place them on a rock angled so I can fully see their colors.

I also received two new corals from a local hobbyist giving them away for free. I got the mushrooms and he also gave me these zoas, so we’ll see how they do. I wasn’t really planning on zoas but if these look great I’ll keep them and if not I’ll pass them along

 

[Corey Shelk]

Something about not seeing your tank for two days makes everything really pop! The acans are all super puffed out and looking great (so good that I don’t even know if I want to move them and maybe I just make an acan garden down there.) The Duncan looks amazing in its spot on top and the Kenya tree has grown as least an inch I swear. The gorgonian is still doing well but keeps getting knocked over by the snails and craps so I think I might need to permanently attach it. The finger leather looks better than right after the water change but it isn’t as big as a couple of days before the water change. However, it’s finally turning green again so that is really good in my book. The two fuzzy mushrooms are so big and look great and the purple ones are slowly opening up. The small group of zoas still aren’t all open and I think I might just pass those on to someone who really wants zoas. The snails and hermits are doing a fantastic job and keep the algae in check. The fire shrimp is doing well as well and gets fed one or two crustacean sinking pellets every morning. The pulsing xenia are doing great and I see new polyps sprouting.

Future plans:
Add an umbrella leather, and keep an eye out for any good deals on other soft corals for the right side. I’m also looking for corals for the top of the arch. I want euphyllia but don’t want them stinging my Duncan or finger leather and also don’t want too many LPS in the tank. Also considering adding GSP but don’t know where just yet. I’m tossing out the idea of dendros and candy cane corals though. Also debating with myself whether I even want to add a fish or not as this tank so far has been extremely balanced and adding more nutrients to the tank might through it off. Fingers crossed it’s still this smooth of sailing though
Now here come the pics!

 

[Corey Shelk]

8/5/21

I got a snowball leather, another acan, and a nice red mushroom. Here are some pics of them in the tank. The new acan in the light purple and orange one in the middle and the new shroom is on the right, it’s kind of small still

8/6/21
Here is a closeup of the new leather fully open. I like this spot and I hope it spreads out rather than growing upwards

8/7/21
I had to pack up the tank and move it so everything is closed and out of place, I didn’t take any pictures.

8/8/21
I woke up in the morning and the arch had somehow fallen down so a lot of the corals either fell or closed up.

8/14/21
Everything is mostly happy now and have been moved around. The Kenya isn’t happy at the moment, but was earlier today. The Duncan and umbrella leathers have finally stopped falling down and they’re peeking back up. The red mushroom I got it huge, you can see the little mushroom corner I’m growing in the front right. I also moved my second fuzzy green mushroom (split from the first a week or so ago) and so it’s kind of shaded and not happy at the moment. I also just added a forest fire mushroom just now so it is still closed but I’m looking forward to it growing. The green finger leather is kind of shrunken as well. I’m moving again in a week to start my semester and then I’ll finally place everything down, but for right now nothing is super permanent so I can move easier. You can also see the zoas aren’t happy, that’s because they’ve been mostly face down in the tank after I dropped them in. The fire shrimp molted again (its growing fast) and just fed some reef roofs by broadcast feeding and turning off the pump

Future plans: possibly going to give away some acans but I haven’t fully decided yet. Still waiting on someone to come pick up the zoas and after moving I’ll finally epoxy in the rocks and start taking the corals off their plugs and attach them to the rockwork. I’m still debating on if I want to add a yellow clown goby or not. I’m also debating on finding a way to DIY the lights to be slightly stronger because I really want a nice little hammer or frogspawn colony but we’ll see