JoeSchmo's Reefer 170

[JoeSchmo45]

Hello R2R!

Well, after a 36 day cycle I believe my tank is ready to go. I've done two big water changes to bring down the sky-high nitrates. I'll be doing one more before the first fish arrive. My parameters as of tonight are:

Sal: 1.025
Ammonia: 0
nitrite: 0
nitrate: 20
pH: 8
Alk: 8.4
Cal: 400
Mg: 1420

I have two clownfish arriving on Wednesday and a small CUC on Thursday. Things all seem to be going as hoped. My one concern is my Curve 5 Skimmer. It has been running for about 2 weeks now. When it started, I had to just let it drain because the bubbles were pouring over the top. After about a week they dropped off. Now, the bubbles barely make it halfway up the tube, not even reaching the cup. You can see a small line of crud where the bubbles stop. I don't know if it's just because of the immaturity of the tank and the skimmer, or if there is something I'm doing wrong. The level of the bubbles don't seem to be affected by the setting. Maximum or minimum flow give me the same result. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Joe

 

[fishguy242]

check your intake on air and pump on skimmer ,should be able to rise that level with adjusting,1st how deep is skimmer in water?

 

[FortLivingRoom]

Looks nice, I just picked up a used 170 today. Which Bubble MAgus did you use and how many pounds of rock?

 

[melanotaenia]

For the skimmer, I would remove, give a rinse in R/O water (not scrub), check pump to and all air lines to make sure they are clear, then start it back up. It should be fine after that. New tanks don't produce much skimmate.

 

[JoeSchmo45]

check your intake on air and pump on skimmer ,should be able to rise that level with adjusting,1st how deep is skimmer in water?

For the skimmer, I would remove, give a rinse in R/O water (not scrub), check pump to and all air lines to make sure they are clear, then start it back up. It should be fine after that. New tanks don't produce much skimmate.

Thank you! I took the skimmer out and checked it. I realized that I'm missing a red plug! When I covered the hole with my hand it worked like normal. I'm not sure how to get a replacement for that (I've looked all over). Right now I have a small sponge stuffed in the hole so it's working, but not as well as it could. I'll keep digging for a replacement plug.

Looks nice, I just picked up a used 170 today. Which Bubble MAgus did you use and how many pounds of rock?

Nice! I'm using the Curve 5. It's the one I saw used a lot with the 170. Aside from missing a part, it works well and fits nicely. I used a 20lb bag of sand and 25-30lbs of rock. Good luck!

Thanks,
Joe

 

[FortLivingRoom]

Thank you! I took the skimmer out and checked it. I realized that I'm missing a red plug! When I covered the hole with my hand it worked like normal. I'm not sure how to get a replacement for that (I've looked all over). Right now I have a small sponge stuffed in the hole so it's working, but not as well as it could. I'll keep digging for a replacement plug.



Nice! I'm using the Curve 5. It's the one I saw used a lot with the 170. Aside from missing a part, it works well and fits nicely. I used a 20lb bag of sand and 25-30lbs of rock. Good luck!

Thanks,
Joe

I was wondering how you secured your electronics to the inside of the cabinet? All screws or did you use some 3M products?

 

[JoeSchmo45]

I was wondering how you secured your electronics to the inside of the cabinet? All screws or did you use some 3M products?

I used a tiny screw to hang the Inkbird temperature controller, the rest is secured with very strong velcro. The power strip has velcro along its entire length. I think I could hang from it before it would fall. I know it's not the best to have those things in the cabinet, but I went with it for now. Will probably reorganize if I ever decide to get a dosing pump. We'll see. Do you have the Red Sea LED 90 light? If so, I would recommend putting the power bar for the light on the outside of the tank. Those bars can get pretty hot.

I'm also curious if your setup came with an upgraded ATO? The ATO that comes with it is definitely a pain. It has to be filled every three days, sometimes two. Aside from that, I love the tank.

Diatom algae has started to arrive. Today is the first day I've seen it on the sand. You can't really tell from the picture, but it's there. Let the uglies begin! The clown is doing great. I ordered two but one was DOA. I've got another clown arriving tomorrow. Hopefully they get along.

I'd love to see your tank FortLivingRoom!

 

[FortLivingRoom]

I used a tiny screw to hang the Inkbird temperature controller, the rest is secured with very strong velcro. The power strip has velcro along its entire length. I think I could hang from it before it would fall. I know it's not the best to have those things in the cabinet, but I went with it for now. Will probably reorganize if I ever decide to get a dosing pump. We'll see. Do you have the Red Sea LED 90 light? If so, I would recommend putting the power bar for the light on the outside of the tank. Those bars can get pretty hot.

I'm also curious if your setup came with an upgraded ATO? The ATO that comes with it is definitely a pain. It has to be filled every three days, sometimes two. Aside from that, I love the tank.

Diatom algae has started to arrive. Today is the first day I've seen it on the sand. You can't really tell from the picture, but it's there. Let the uglies begin! The clown is doing great. I ordered two but one was DOA. I've got another clown arriving tomorrow. Hopefully they get along.

I'd love to see your tank FortLivingRoom!

Check out my build thread! Just updated it, I’m a bit behind you. It came with an Ecotech XR15 Pro Gen4. The sump is a 16x16x16 cube, I’m still trying to figure out what all the chambers are for. The sump is too big, no ATO. Fortunately the tank will share a wall with my garage, so my RODI station, mix tank, and RO tank will all be in the garage. Right now I’m planning on using a DOS to do automatic water changes, and get an ATK V2 as well. I’ll use the supply from my fridge which will go out to the garage where the RODI unit is. I’ll have a 32G brute for RO top offs and another 32G for water changes. That way I can do like 1/2G daily water changes and not worry about it. Hopefully the water won’t go stale or anything I’ll have to keep an eye on that.

Your cords look good! I hope I can do something like that, but this sump seems pretty big. I will probablydo the velcro as well, thanks!

 

[JoeSchmo45]

Hello R2R!

Well, the tank has been cycled now for just over 3 months. We've had some ugly stages, but for the most part nothing too bad. I have nervously began my venture into keeping corals and am hoping for better luck this time. With my last tank, it seemed everything just slowly withered. I knew a lot less then and didn't have very good lighting so I'm hoping this time around it goes better. I REALLY hope so because I don't have a LFS and everything has to be mail ordered. This is not a cheap hobby! I'm starting to think I'm the only guy within 500 miles that owns a reef tank.

I'm testing often and just got a Hannah checker for Alkalinity. I've only used it a few times now but love it. I'm planning on getting an automatic doser for two-part dosing in the near future. My alk runs quite low, so I've been hand dosing for a few weeks to keep it steady around 8. I upped my CUC just a little bit and am now trying to figure out what to make my last fish. My clowns and goby are doing great, but the clowns spend all of their time at the back of the tank. They NEVER come to the front unless it's feeding time. They have all this room to swim around and they don't use it. I'd like to get a nice open water swimming fish, just not sure what kind. Any suggestions would be great. Here are a few pics.

Happy reefing!
Joe

 

[fishguy242]

hi,looking good,how about coral beauty?

 

[FortLivingRoom]

Hello R2R!

Well, the tank has been cycled now for just over 3 months. We've had some ugly stages, but for the most part nothing too bad. I have nervously began my venture into keeping corals and am hoping for better luck this time. With my last tank, it seemed everything just slowly withered. I knew a lot less then and didn't have very good lighting so I'm hoping this time around it goes better. I REALLY hope so because I don't have a LFS and everything has to be mail ordered. This is not a cheap hobby! I'm starting to think I'm the only guy within 500 miles that owns a reef tank.

I'm testing often and just got a Hannah checker for Alkalinity. I've only used it a few times now but love it. I'm planning on getting an automatic doser for two-part dosing in the near future. My alk runs quite low, so I've been hand dosing for a few weeks to keep it steady around 8. I upped my CUC just a little bit and am now trying to figure out what to make my last fish. My clowns and goby are doing great, but the clowns spend all of their time at the back of the tank. They NEVER come to the front unless it's feeding time. They have all this room to swim around and they don't use it. I'd like to get a nice open water swimming fish, just not sure what kind. Any suggestions would be great. Here are a few pics.

Happy reefing!
Joe

Looks great! I hear you about having no LFS. Who have you been ordering from? What kind of CUC do you have? I’ll need to order mine soon.

 

[FortLivingRoom]

I'd like to get a nice open water swimming fish, just not sure what kind.

Just get a small tang Joe

 

[JoeSchmo45]

Hello R2R!

I'm slowly approaching 5 months since the aquarium was cycled. I've had no major catastrophes so far (keeping my fingers crossed). Since I've been hand dosing alk and cal (mostly alk) the past month or so, I decided to go ahead and set up an auto doser for the alk. I wanted to make sure I like the pump before I get one for the calcium. It seems to be keeping things stable since it's spread out and I don't have to worry about the pH spike with one bigger dose. I've added some more coral and most seem to be doing fairly well. One of my first frags of Zoas is growing, there have been a few new heads. The other frag of Zoas don't seem to be too terribly happy. They never open all the way. I've tried several different placements. I just put a couple new Zoa frags in, a new ric mushroom, and a duncan. We'll see how they do. My original ric has gone from one mushroom to 3. My discosoma had a baby last week apparently, so that's cool. They are all certainly fun to watch. I received a freebie coral and I don't know what it is. It's got a bright green middle and a reddish color around the outside. Does anyone know what that is? I'm not sure where to place it since I don't know what it is.

Looks great! I hear you about having no LFS. Who have you been ordering from? What kind of CUC do you have? I’ll need to order mine soon.

I've been ordering my corals from Seattle Corals. I also made one order from Vivid Aquariums in California. I've been super impressed with Seattle Corals. They come so neatly packaged and I've always been given a freebie. They'll definitely be my go-to for corals. I've ordered all of my fish from Live Aquaria. I got my clean up crew from reefcleaners.org. They also do a great job. I emailed them the specifics of my tank and they replied with a recommended crew. I'd tell you what all is in there but I don't remember at all. It's an all snail crew though, no crabs.

I decided on a firefish for the last fish, knowing that they can sometimes be reclusive. The guy I got isn't shy at all and is always swimming at the front of the tank, so I guess I got lucky. That's been great since my clowns are ALWAYS in the back behind the rock. That drives me crazy. I haven't regretted getting back in the hobby at all. It's been a lot of fun. If I can just avoid a horrible algae problem now!

Happy reefing!
Joe

 

[JoeSchmo45]

hi,looking good,how about coral beauty?

I love that fish! Most of the sites I saw recommended 70 gallons or more for those, so I decided against it. Luckily I got a really great firefish, so it's been a good fit!

 

[fishguy242]

hi,looking good,blasto is the coral ,looks good there or can place on rock med flow,mod light

 

[JoeSchmo45]

hi,looking good,blasto is the coral ,looks good there or can place on rock med flow,mod light

Awesome, thank you!!

 

[JoeSchmo45]

Hello R2R!

I wanted to see if I could get a video to work on here. This is my tank at the 5-month mark. For the most part, things are going well. I'm trying to get the corals figured out. Some of the zoas are doing well, others are taking their time. I haven't quite figured out what makes them all happy.

I'm currently dosing alk and calcium. My alk is pretty steady at 8.7 and the calcium at 415-420. As you can see, I have some fuzzy, reddish-looking algae (almost looks like red-hair algae). It's on the rocks, sand, and snail shells. As of yesterday, my phos and nitrates are at 0. I know people say they shouldn't be bottomed out and I have bottles for dosing them, but the algae makes me think twice. Any recommendations on that? To dose or not to dose, that is the question.

Thanks!
Joe

P.S. 98% of the noise in the background is my stupid refrigerator, not the tank!

 

[fishguy242]

hi,vid works,sorry mia today,will answer tomorrow
maybe these guys can help with your questions
@Fishy65 @Eagle_Steve

 

[JoeSchmo45]

hi,vid works,sorry mia today,will answer tomorrow
maybe these guys can help with your questions
@Fishy65 @Eagle_Steve

Thank you, I appreciate it! I posted the question in the algae forum as well to see what folks think.

Thanks!
Joe

 

[JoeSchmo45]

Well, the reefer 170 is approaching its 6-month birthday since being cycled. As much as I want to load it up with different corals, I'm trying to be patient and let it be for a while while I get numbers stabilized. Today I put in a second dosing pump for calcium. I'm now dosing alk and cal, something I never thought I'd do! I started small doses of phosphate and nitrate recently since mine were completely bottomed out. It's taken a little figuring out, but I've got the nitrates and 4-5ish and phosphate are at .02 right now. My zoas seem quite happy right now, so that's good.

Since dosing the nitrate and phos, I've had a big increase in algae on the glass and sand. The water also hasn't been as clear. I have to wipe the glass several times a day. It is improving though, slowly getting better. I'm hoping things keep going in that direction. My GSP had completely closed up due to algae for a good week and a half. I took the frag out last night and gave it a good brushing, not knowing if that would help. Today, a few of the polyps starting slowly sticking out, so hopefully it'll come back strong.

Overall, things are going well. Hopefully this algae will work itself out as things stabilize. We shall see!

Cheers!
Joe