Jesse's WB Infinia 150.4 Build

[Gumbies R Us]

Here’s a whole tank shot and some halfs. Need a polarizing filter for the camera and again the sunlight is washing out the blue/UV of the tank light so no pop for now!

The anthias are great dither fish. The wrasse hangs with them and the midas blenny for once is out and about.

Love the frag rack!

 

[JHSteepat]

I was rightly concerned about anthias aggression hoping that for some reason the two would get along. One was chasing the other a bit but it was getting progressively worse. Two days ago I found the one being chased on top of my screen all dried out. Squeezed out of a 1/4” hole. So even though I am sad for the loss, I am happy still with the one McCosker’s wrasse and Lyretail anthias I originally ordered (Dr. Reef shipped two of each because they ship poorly). Both fish are beyond beautiful and have been great, active additions.

 

[JHSteepat]

Heres a video of the work in progress. I love the anthias and the wrasse.

 

[JHSteepat]

It's been a while since I posted.

I continue to fight GHA. Rain2 ATS does minimal work as far as I can tell and never seems to produce any significant amount of algae. In face the screen broke and now I'm trying a home-made screen (scratched-up knitting screen with Marco adhesive coating, and hanging in place with small zip-ties). I'll post if anything changes with that. Three tuxedo urchins are helping to some extend, but don't keep up. I am not sure I need more.

I started dosing home-made NoPOx (12.5% RODI water, 37.5% Russian Standard, and 50% white vinegar) when my nutrients started to rise. They are now at or close to a good range with 10-15mL per day. GHA growth is slowing, but still there.

A couple of weeks ago, I also added some Arag alive Pink Fiji gravel because my substrate was almost non-existent. The tank looks better, if anything.

Current fish stock: Tomini Tang, McCosker's Wrasse, Lyretail anthias, 2 chalk bass, Midas blenny, 2 ocellaris clowns, springerii damsel, cleaner shrimp. All seem happy and getting along except for occasional minor spats when the anthias hangs too close to the blenny's hiding hole (near the feeder, of course).

Some corals look good, torch is open and looks healthy, trumpets are surviving though they have a hair algae problem. Best growers are chalice (fast growers!!), Styloconiella, Stylophora, 3 Favias, pocillopora, meteor cyphastrea, and leptoseris. I have a couple of zoas, an acan, and a Pavona that are newer and seem to be holding on, but growing slowly.

Acropora frags are not doing well. I cannot keep Montipora. It lightens and dies quickly for some reason (par in 135-275 range, and they seem OK on the bottom of the tank).

When I started this, I didn't want to stress over corals, and it seems as if certain corals are fine and others not so much. I am at about a year and a half, and am thinking that I just need to grow corals I can, and not worry about those that are difficult to grow. Nothing seems to want to grow in the higher light/flow areas of the tank probably due to algae interference, which seems to be the case with certain acros, birds nest, and Anacropora varieties, which grew well until the algae came.

Future growth. I want to try a nepthea and photosynthetic gorgoinians. Also maybe go for green star polyps on one of my taller islands, so as to take up real estate from the algae.

 

[JHSteepat]

The crew!

 

[JHSteepat]

Update: most corals are growing that didn’t succumb to gha. Still fighting, hopefully there’s and end to it soon. Happy fish, shrimp, urchins, and corals are growing.

 

[JHSteepat]

Ordered corals from west coast source. Fedex delayed and it took four days. Lost three acros, an acan, monti cap, and a chalice. Duncan, monti setosa, acan and a freebie frag (green leptosiris?) survived. I set up a small tank using a filter sponge (Sicce Shark filter) I kept in my sump. Let the corals sit for a week in qt, dipped in Corak Rx, and they are in the tank now, looking fine. Acan browned, but that is not uncommon.

Re-ordered a few pieces, to arrive in a couple of days. Hopefully Fedex will not delay again.

I have a new rule. When ordering Fedex overnight, don’t have it delivered on a Friday, because if it is delayed, they don’t deliver on Saturday but wait until Monday!!! Can’t say there would have been a difference between a two- and four- day delay, but maybe I would have had less, or no loss.

 

[JHSteepat]

Some random pics: GHA is much less than before. Raja chalice is huge. The acan top right one week after sitting four days in a box with Fedex.

New corals and older favia in back, now about a three inch ball.

Meteor cyphastrea is almost covering an entire rock after a year or so. I am happy I put it on a separate rock as it is so invasive. Styloconiella is spreading and leptastrea is holding on after a setback of unknow origin.

Jack-o-lantern leptoseris is spreading and stylophora is starting to base out finally.

 

[JHSteepat]

Some fish:

 

[JHSteepat]

GHA managed, now I have to decide what to feed the remaining cleanup crew!!

Four changes were made: I added 6 Mexican Turbos, 5 trochus, a bunch of astrea, nassarius, and cerith snails, and a couple conchs; I don’t think it mattered, but I ran a little gfo + rox 0.8 carbon for a week, and continue running rox 0.8 carbon since, around 1/3 of a BRS regular reactor; I am growing tigger pods and am dosing them once a week; and I am dumping on alternating days 5-10 ml live nanno and tetra phytoplankton (Florida Reef Labs).

I can’t say all algae has gone, but the rocks are 99% cleaner and the corals look happier.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

GHA managed, now I have to decide what to feed the remaining cleanup crew!!

Four changes were made: I added 6 Mexican Turbos, 5 trochus, a bunch of astrea, nassarius, and cerith snails, and a couple conchs; I don’t think it mattered, but I ran a little gfo + rox 0.8 carbon for a week, and continue running rox 0.8 carbon since, around 1/3 of a BRS regular reactor; I am growing tigger pods and am dosing them once a week; and I am dumping on alternating days 5-10 ml live nanno and tetra phytoplankton (Florida Reef Labs).

I can’t say all algae has gone, but the rocks are 99% cleaner and the corals look happier.

Glad you got rid of the gha! You can always feed nori sheets or use something like Ron’s seafood sheets. Just make sure if you get nori it is unflavored PLAIN nori.

 

[JHSteepat]

As an update, GHA is now replaced by cyano. Nitrates are around 10, phosphate is less than 0.1.

The turf scrubber is now growing 3-4 of the spongey macroalgae it is supposed to grow. Probably taking down nutrients below what will grow green hair algae, but now growing cyano in its place. I read up on AF Life Source and will be giving it a try.

I have knee and back issues and carrying a 5g container of kalk up the stairs from the basement every 10 days is getting old. Also my alk seems to fluctuate probably depending on how I mix up the kalk. I am in the process of switching to all for reef after reading up on it. It’ll cost a bit more than pickling lime but I think it is a more complete supplement.

Sadly lost the lyretail anthias. Had some sort of eye injury and was wedged deep in rockwork for months, and I couldn’t get to it.. The midas blenny hared it for some reason, and probably had something to do with th injury or eventual downfall. It seemed to be eating and improving, and then not. ..RIP little guy. The blenny doesn’t seem to care about any other fish.

 

[JHSteepat]

Update: got gha under control, then had minor cyano outbreak, now I am just blowing off rocks and agitating sand bed with baster, and now sweating a little algae and cyano here or there.

I switched from kalk to all-for-reef, and cannot say enough. i am currently at about 45 ml per day and steady at ~Kh 9.0. Corals are growing like weeds (except monti and pavona). I need to figure out how to manage the chalices. Here are a few images. I put the acans on tiles.

 

[JHSteepat]

Its been a while but I figured I’d provide an update.

I started using all for reef a couple of months ago and my tank is doing great. Parameters are withing tolerances.

Corals look healthier compared to kalk and its easier. Acro frags are basing out nicely for the first time. LPS look happy and for the most part are growing. Chalices are hrowing like weeds. Leptoseris, styloconiella, cyphastrea, and leptastrea are encrusting nicely.

My torch and new hammer seem healthy, but the torch doesn’t seem to be growing. Acans seem healthy but aren’t really growing. I am wondering if target feedings would help. I am not currently feeding them.

Fish are awesome since the anthias passed.

Anyone want to buy a SantaMonica Rain2 cheap(ish)? It did well when I had a bunch of snails, but I gradually lost many of
the snails and the scrubber stopped making an impact. Like a refugium, the algae growth in the scrubber is too fiddly in my hands. I am now relying on the skimmer and rotating out a filter pad every week (I try every 4 days but time gets away from me). The pads are laid in the top of the filter sock hole drip playes. I rinse the pads, then bleach and dry. Much easier than socks. I think I might save up for an automated fleece roller as opposed to this cheapo version, though it seems to do the same thing.