Jeff's 150 Build - The Salt Box

[CastAway]

ATO. Finally? Check. :whoo:

Used JBJ from dolpator, and a used Aqualifter from Cee, and I'm in business! NO more topping off each morning and each evening! Hopefully, and until I may find a bigger one, just filling my reservoir each Saturday morning when I do the rest of my weekly maintenance.

 

[dolpator]

Everything on this build was awesome. Well planned out and great design. Glad everything ha DC been working out.

 

[CastAway]

Everything on this build was awesome. Well planned out and great design. Glad everything ha DC been working out.

Thanks Jon!

 

[CastAway]

Lost my favorite fish, my Midas blenny. No clue what happened. Yellow tang in QT now. First real let down/something gone wrong moment.

 

[Rob.D]

Oh no, so sorry to see this :-(

 

[CastAway]

Oh no, so sorry to see this :-(

Yeah Rob, strangest thing (at least to me). I was so stoked when Jake sold me that fish, and it was such a deal. For as long as I've wanted a reef tank, the Midas has been my favorite fish, and an end goal so-to-speak. I'm going to wait a while, as I'm just not too sure what happened, and am feeling more than a little gun shy on buying more fish at this point, but, one day, I'll be asking AM for another Midas...

I think I'll focus on corals for a while. :-)

 

[CastAway]

Water change coming tomorrow. Parameters are good and the tank looks great, but I just think I need to after the loss of the Midas. Yellow tang is improving; treating with KanaPlex in QT. Confident it has a bacterial infection of the swim bladder; can see a dark spot. Hope it makes it - it would be quite a relief after loosing the Midas.

The refugium has really gone through quite a transition. It when gang busters while cycling, died back (or really, just lost foliage) and now has leafed out and compacted nicely, finding a stable nutrient equilibrium I think now. Hope to add several reds soon. Here are three progression shots...

 

[cmaxwell39]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your Midas Blenny. It always stinks to lose a fish and it hurts even worse when it is a favorite. Hopefully you will bounce back soon enough.

 

[CastAway]

Sorry to hear about the loss of your Midas Blenny. It always stinks to lose a fish and it hurts even worse when it is a favorite. Hopefully you will bounce back soon enough.

Thanks. I know there are ups and downs in this endeavor. What stinks is not knowing what's up; not having the experience. I hate to think I lost a fish, or that there's looming potential to loose more, for something preventable, or some rookie mistake I've made or am making. None of my fish act like they used to. They'd follow me around the tank to eat; were always out and about. Now, every one is hidden away. They eat, but not like before. Starry blenny is not his normal self now, although I may just be paranoid.

Did my water change today, and normal maintenance. I added a ground probe. I think I might sell the blue tang back to my LFS, just to see if the nature of the tank changes, and to keep from loosing it, in case something is affecting all my fish.

 

[CastAway]

Starry blenny went into QT today at lunch - slow lethargic, easy to net. This is not cool. Geeze, what should I do?

 

[CastAway]

Midas is still dead. Yellow tang and Starry blenny are still alive, but barely. Switched from KanPlex to Para Guard today, just because the KanaPlex did not seem to be resulting in any change. A special thanks to Ole Man and Trimax, from my local reef club for coming over and taking a look. I think the consensus is, that we may never know what happened to the fish. Sure creates a lack of confidence.

In the meanwhile, the tank looks great. Go figure. Fish, snails, crabs, SPS, LPS, all look great - continuing growth. Parameters all in line. I could not resist a deal on some zoas today; two polyps of GOW and four other awesome, but as yet unknown polyps, for a steal. I'm done with adding fish for a while, until some time has gone by and the other fish prove healthy.

That is all......

 

[CastAway]

About a month gone by now since I posted in this build thread.

Starry blenny and Yellow tang are gone now - no idea what happened. Decided to keep stocking

I have been fine tuning my calcium reactor, trying to get my dKH, Ca and Mg where I want them. Ended up dosing a little Mg, and cussing the Korallin reactor. One day, it'll have to go.

My tank got wet before I had bought every component I wanted - when I had enough to support life I pulled the trigger. Today I expect delivery of my second power head, an MP40 to make two total. Several folks have been poo poo'ing MP's of late, but it's what I want, so....

Expect my Flame wrasse pair to ship from HI this week; and will be prepared with a new cover for the display by the time they arrive - quarter inch mesh arriving today with the MP40. I hate covers on rimless tanks, but love Flame wrasse, so...

I apparently have a stand of "cotton candy" algae in my refugium to deal with. Bummed about that, but optimistic.

As always, any advice or feedback is welcome and encouraged.

 

[CastAway]

Love the MP40 pair! Finally have some opposite and opposing flow - makes all the difference in the world, really.

Love this pair as well....

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

I want to see a FTS with those wrasses! Or at least see them swimming around in there!

 

[CastAway]

I want to see a FTS with those wrasses! Or at least see them swimming around in there!

LOL

I stink at pictures, much less video, but here you go.

They're pretty skittish as yet, eating frozen brine mostly at this point, and LRS Reef Frenzy. They won't touch any of my dry foods. No aggression observed. My clowns seem to have bonded with them. As time goes by, I hope and expect to see them in the water column more, and will take a FTS at that point.

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

LOL

I stink at pictures, much less video, but here you go.

They're pretty skittish as yet, eating frozen brine mostly at this point, and LRS Reef Frenzy. They won't touch any of my dry foods. No aggression observed. My clowns seem to have bonded with them. As time goes by, I hope and expect to see them in the water column more, and will take a FTS at that point.

Great-looking fish! Definitely now on my "must have" list. Thanks for sharing the video! :thumb:

 

[c_healy]

Nice flames...I just picked up 2 last week. Theyre beautiful fish.

 

[CastAway]

It's been about a month since I've posted, so here's the latest...

Flame wrasse are doing great; eating well, out and about more and more, really striking colors. I love it when the male flares up. They love to eat and let me know when it's not enough. I held a frozen cube of brine shrimp at the waters surface, and the male would come up and strike the cube in my fingers.

I have three or four aptasia now, which really make me second guess the start with dry rock, but oh well. At this point, I really don't think anyone can really control what ends up in their tank, no matter how diligent one is with their precautions.

I was surprised to see a tiny nudibranch, about 1/4" long, on my glass yesterday. I quickly syphoned it out and put in a small glass vile. No good picture, but it's tan/gray, and I'm not taking any chances with it. I've also been naively picking out small dark asterina stars as I see them.

I've lost the three birds nests I had. It was either an alk swing, or, complete mystery to me what happened. Everything else is going gangbusters, including my green monti cap and a small green acro frag I have.

Going to pick up a couple peppermint shrimp this weekend. I have my first Ca reactor re-fill this weekend as well - the media level has dropped by more then half, and, there seems to be a lot of "mud" developing.

Have quite a bit of cyano taking over my refugium. Installed the new little Ehiem surface skimmer in the fuge, to try an both skim and increase water movement, but it does not really move much water. Going to replace by GFO as well, but am reluctant as when I first installed the GFO it took the color out of my monti.

Lots going on, nothing terrible or overly concerning. Please feel free to offer up advice. :-)

 

[CastAway]

Added two peppermint shrimp, in hopes of getting rid of a handful of aiptasia. I've heard they do a good job, and, I've heard that they do nothing. Time will tell.

Took my calcium reactor offline today, cleaned, refilled and calibrated the pH probe. A little bit more of a chore than I anticipated. It's back inline now and hopefully the effluent will be a little more consistent now, without all the calcium sediment.

My friend Rob D gifted a few pieces to me this weekend. Honored to have them, and very thankful. Thanks Rob! The bubble seems very happy, big eater. Same with the trumpets. Crappy pics, but oh well....

Forgot to add, I think it may have been the addition of GAC that shocked my birds nests. Started too too much, and all at once, and think that may have got them.

 

[Fin]

Pepps are hit and miss. Mostly miss. I have seen them eat aipasia, but not in my tank. Copperband Butterflies are what work for me. I have aiptasia in my overflows and sump, but zero in my display tank, where the CBB is constantly on patrol. This was also the case in my old 75. Never had them, as long as there was a CBB in the tank.