John's SPS Shallow 90g Peninsula-Lagoon build

Janci

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Gorgeous pieces. Most of the pieces are already encrusted.
Just wondering... what is that black stick on the second picture?
 
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Gorgeous pieces. Most of the pieces are already encrusted.
Just wondering... what is that black stick on the second picture?
That's a battle brush for cleaning frags or whatever. It has bristles on both ends, two different sizes. It's something Adam started a long time ago.
 
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Not reef related, but a little extra birthday bonus tonight. The start of the super blood moon. I'll try to grab some pics during the eclipse.
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Here's my first battlebox. Some pretty cool pieces. I'll probably pass the fox flame to a local reefer, as my colony is really starting to take off. It was an extra piece Adam threw in, so that's pretty cool. I can't wait until these pieces start to grow. Now I really need to get rid of duplicates and pieces I don't want. Problem is, no one has offered anything on the pieces I have for sale. I guess I'll try to post on the market place here on R2R? I mean a 3" + frag of WD for $80 and no offers?
Absolutely crazy how that works right? Honestly, if you join some of the local FB groups your stuff will sell quicker locally. I've had pretty good luck on R2R marketplace as well. Thats crazy for a WD.
 
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Absolutely crazy how that works right? Honestly, if you join some of the local FB groups your stuff will sell quicker locally. I've had pretty good luck on R2R marketplace as well. Thats crazy for a WD.
I sold the bigger WD to a local guy when I picked up my replacement clown from Jamie. I sent him pics of the frag and told him the size, but I think he was a little apprehensive about my description. Then when we met up and I handed him the bag, he was surprised that my description was spot on and he commented about the size. It was well over 3" and at $80, anyone would be happy. I might just stick to trading frags with other people in the future?
Your tank video looks great, especially the PE. That's the benefit of feeding phyto and zoo all day, but the downside is the vermitid snail population loves it too. I think when I redo my canopy, I'm going to pull my rock out and go to town on the vermitids? I'll just do a water change, that way there will be minimal stress when pulling the rocks. I just need to find the right size tub that allows me access for cleaning, while keeping the corals partially submerged.
For my birthday I bought myself a 3D printer, so I'm going to be printing a few things that I need, but I'm also going to experiment with printing custom reflectors for my lights.
 
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Routine maintenance and ICP testing will keep a tank from crashing. This is why Saturday is maintenance day for me. I clean these pumps once a month on average, but skipped last month because of work. It only takes five minutes to check, so take the time and avoid disaster.
Two items on the menu today, pick up new fish and buy new wetsides.
 
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My absolute favorite group of wrasses are Wetmorella's and after losing my Tanaka, I needed another. Fortunately for me, there's a local hobbyist who runs a small business sourcing and QT'ing reef fish. I picked this little guy up today and he's absolutely cool. He's out and about already, blending in with his tankmates. Usually these wrasses are very reclusive at first, but not this little dude.
If you're looking for quality, fully quarantined fish, give Adam a call. His customer service is amazing and his attention to detail is second to none.
Adam's info
 
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So today has been a rollercoaster. First, I discovered a rusty magnet, then I picked up a super cool fish, then I hear a ker-chunk! Yup, a snail found its way into the intake of my COR20. Fortunately I was sitting at the tank watching the new addition when it happened. Can someone explain to me why we purchase gear that doesn't come with the necessary parts to keep them running efficiently and safely? Why does a $350 pump not come with an intake guard? Seriously, what the heck? I guess I know what I'm printing first with my new 3D printer. Fortunately there's Ride On IPA to the rescue. Cheers!
 
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I definitely found the indicator coral in my tank. I've been so swamped with work that I've reduced feedings, but kept dosing nitrates at night. I noticed a little TN on a few colonies and thought it was detritus related, so I continued dosing nitrates while blasting rocks to clear it out, only to discover that I've completely drained my tank of phosphates(more on this in a bit). So instead of testing, I made the mistake of using witch hazel/bacteria while continuing dosing nitrates and drove nutrients further down. Today was the first day that I had time to test and PO4 barely registered at .01 not what I wanted to see, but expected given the situation.
I've been so caught up in my lighting future/dilemma that I neglected the basic biology of the tank. For those following along, learn by my mistake (and others) if you're not testing for it, don't dose it. If you looked at 98% of the coral in my tank you wouldn't see the problem, but there's been this one tenuis that almost seems to change overnight and I should've trusted my eyes on this one. It's amazing what a well lit fuge and a great skimmer can do with stripping out nutrients /organics. And dosing too much nitrate. Hopefully my anthias will be ready soon, I need the extra poo.
Yes, I'm going back to halides and Kessil's.
The plan is to use four Kessil's in the corners with 55 degree lenses and two Reef Brite halide fixtures, just need to figure out wattage? Either 175w or 250w, but 14k bulbs. The Kessil's will be the sunrise and sunset, the halides will only be on 4 to 5 hours max, maybe? It's time to grow some sticks and kick out the pieces I no longer want.
 

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Still looking amazing.
Great choice on lighting. It will be interesting to see how it will work out for the corals.
 
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Still looking amazing.
Great choice on lighting. It will be interesting to see how it will work out for the corals.
Thanks! I'm going to move the blasto rock out along with the hammers in the back corner, so it will be the duncan and goni(s) left in each corner. I'm hoping that I don't have to run the halides that long, but we'll see? It will be a very slow transition regardless. I'll have the main parts of the new canopy next week, then I'll have to order a few more pieces once it's in place. So it'll look funky for a while. I'm finally going to wrap the stand, just waiting to finish my current TV series, then I'll have some time off.
 

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I’m looking at upgrading to a 36x36x20-24”. 16” is a little low for me. Lighting plan would be all Orphek Atlantiks and maybe OR3s angled. Don’t have the space 4’x3’ plus 6” ledge on 2 sides for drinks. I plan on the base being at end table height, sump in basement .

I like the low profile canopy. Any design alterations you would make. Mine will probably be 80/20 and either wood or acrylic surround

with hindsight being 20/20 and I’m at least 6 months away from starting this journey, what would you have done different. Overflow working well? flow is good with 2 MP 40 and 2 gyres controlled by the coral use wave engine if I read this right.

the basement sump will have a deep sand bed, Rock, macro algae and space for frags etc skimmer, returns, power filter etc. I will use 1 or 2 structural foam water troughs. This I will start soon. Lighting will be 24/7 alternate 12 upstairs/12 basement. I’ll cycle this for months. Before running the plumbing upstairs.
 
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I’m looking at upgrading to a 36x36x20-24”. 16” is a little low for me. Lighting plan would be all Orphek Atlantiks and maybe OR3s angled. Don’t have the space 4’x3’ plus 6” ledge on 2 sides for drinks. I plan on the base being at end table height, sump in basement .

I like the low profile canopy. Any design alterations you would make. Mine will probably be 80/20 and either wood or acrylic surround

with hindsight being 20/20 and I’m at least 6 months away from starting this journey, what would you have done different. Overflow working well? flow is good with 2 MP 40 and 2 gyres controlled by the coral use wave engine if I read this right.

the basement sump will have a deep sand bed, Rock, macro algae and space for frags etc skimmer, returns, power filter etc. I will use 1 or 2 structural foam water troughs. This I will start soon. Lighting will be 24/7 alternate 12 upstairs/12 basement. I’ll cycle this for months. Before running the plumbing upstairs.
My advice would be, don't do the Triton method and find some real ocean rock or live rock from an established system. Stay away from 100% dry rock. You don't need a lot of live rock to seed the tank, but try and find as much as you can.
I have more than enough flow and I'm really happy with the Wave Engine. I think I would've changed my sump and designed a custom one.
I love my steel stand, but I know some day I'll have to replace it and I probably should've used 8020 from the start.
Don't add macro algae until you need to and your plan to use a reverse light cycle is perfect. Sounds like it will be an awesome system! If I had the room, I would've gone bigger, but not much taller. Good luck and be sure to start a build thread.
 
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Latest round of ICP tests came back and it's not too bad, but I can't figure out why magnesium is so high without supplementing? I'm just using Reborn in the CaRx and I'm not melting the stuff that fast. I do have a hunch and I'm going to experiment a little to see if I'm correct? I'm back to dosing 1ppm of NO3 each night, which is where I should've kept it. I still have some residual copper left over from the rusted MP40 wetside, but I've replaced both wetsides (one of them was replaced by EcoTech). I do have some TN on the bottom of my pink table, pink caddy and there's one spot in the middle of my Valkyrie's moon colony that has me a little worried.
It's funny, when my PO4 was .15ppm and higher, it took longer for algae to form on the glass and now that it's low (along with NO3) it appears on the glass daily. It's amazing how much sps uptake nutrients (building blocks) or the lack thereof and the affects it has on the ecology of the tank. Also, having silicates in my RO doesn't help much. Which brings me to another observation.
So, I mailed two ICP tests on the same day, to the same Post Office and used RO water from the same source and a few things happened along the way. First, the tests arrived to the Cali facility on two different days (one of Friday, the other on Saturday). Second, it took ATI 9 days for the first test and 11 days for the second test. Third, the first RO test came back showing 21.19 in silicates and the second RO test came back with 14.56
I used RO from the same jug, just minutes apart.
Anyway, back to the fun stuff. I don't have pics to show, been too busy with work trying to wrap up the season of the series I'm working on, but July should be pretty busy for me. I'm going to call Reef Brite next week to discuss my lighting options for my upgrade/change, so stay tuned for the final equipment choices. Also, my 8020 (most of it at least) arrives today, so I'm going to get measurements and order the remaining pieces to assemble the entire canopy. One thing I've been tossing around is resetting my tank, not completely, but removing the rock and cleaning up the vermitids and some hydroids that have taken hold in a few spots. I'm probably going to remove some sand from the back that's been building up, but I'm going to do that in small batches, so I don't disturb the ugly stuff too much.
Also, breaking news!!!!!! BRS is taking over! That's right, they're taking over Marine Depot. Well, at least I don't have to wait a week to carbon blocks and other items, but I like Marine Depot for other things, so we'll see how it turns out?
Alright, back to work!
 

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How is the yellow banded vs Tanaka wrasse?

I want a white band or tanaka but have only seen yellow banded around me. Are they similar enough personality & care wise? Do you still prefer your Tanaka?
 
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How is the yellow banded vs Tanaka wrasse?

I want a white band or tanaka but have only seen yellow banded around me. Are they similar enough personality & care wise? Do you still prefer your Tanaka?
Honestly, you can't go wrong with any of them. They are all amazing fish and pretty much act the same. I didn't think I would like the yellow banded as much as my Tanaka, but they are almost identical in behavior and appearance besides the color. They tend to be seasonal, but sometimes you get lucky and find one at a store. I wouldn't hesitate to pick up a yellow banded, especially if it looks nice and healthy. If you have a bigger tank, then you can mix them without issue.
 
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Okay, I just received my order from Tnutz and I have to say that I'm completely dissatisfied. Holy crap, every bar has scratches, scuffs and some are missing the finish in spots. The ends of the bars are not dressed/sanded and I'm pretty sure some of the cuts aren't square, which will make it hard to put together. The hardware for the corner gussets were the wrong color (ordered black) and the nuts are too small for this series slot. I'm going to give them a chance to rectify this, but for now, I would advise everyone to stay clear of Tnutz, especially if you're looking for quality workmanship. Man, this really sucks! Now I have to wait until this gets cleared up before I can redo my canopy. Does anyone have pride in their work anymore?
 

A worm with high fashion and practical utility: Have you ever kept feather dusters in your reef aquarium?

  • I currently have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 73 37.6%
  • Not currently, but I have had feather dusters in my tank in the past.

    Votes: 66 34.0%
  • I have not had feather dusters, but I hope to in the future.

    Votes: 25 12.9%
  • I have no plans to have feather dusters in my tank.

    Votes: 28 14.4%
  • Other.

    Votes: 2 1.0%
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