Krawl's First Reef Tank Attempt (90g)

[Krawl]

We have always loved fish tanks and animals in general. Any time we go somewhere (travel a lot with business) and there is a aquarium, we go. So last year we picked up a used 75 Gallon with stand and can pay that needed some work. We refinished the stand and canopy and set it up. At that time, we were running fresh water and was going to set it up for matorro rays. Never got around to it and ended up buying a house! So everything was taken apart and moved.

New house ended up needing $30k in repairs that we were unaware of until the day after we bought the house. Nightmare. So the tank sat for a year. Beginning of the year we thought we should put it to use! So we set it up yet again with fresh water.

The tank had some issues with the glass so we decided to order a new one. So we ordered a 90 gallon amd decided to jump into salt water with a reef tank!



Here is the new 90 gallon as we were painting the back glass black.

 

[helen ann]

Nice! Following along!

 

[Krawl]

April 9 2016 (just to give you idea of the time line)...

We finally got the back all painted and the new tank in and the old one out! So, we took some time to add some rock and do some aquascaping.

Here is how it came out with the lights on.

 

[Krawl]

April 10-11 2016

This is where we start having issues! Excited about the new tank and adventure into salt water, we start mixing our first batch. Next day, we wake up to this.

We live less than a mile from the water treatment plant. Figured we had "good" water. The LFS said they have never seen this and we're stumped. So we went through a bunch of test and narrowed it down to the water. So at this point, we knew a RODI system was in out future. BUT with everything we have spent at this point and on the new tank setup, budget was tight. It was going to be a bit. Plus we were a little discouraged at this point.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

This is going to be an awesome build. Did you get the water issue sorted?

 

[ReefQueen]

Welcome and great start, I love the scape! RODI is a must have for a reef. I got mine a while back for $60 on ebay figuring it would last a few months and I would upgrade in the future when I hadn't dropped everything on a new set up. It hasn't given me any issues so I have not had to upgrade yet which salt are you using? I have heard of certain salts becoming discolored if they sit too long, but never as dark as yours!

 

[Krawl]

Yes, finally! Here is the salt we have been using. I hope it is good...

Around August 15th we had a free weekend and we finally had the extra to spring for a RODI. I ordered one of Amazon to have it by the weekend. 150 (or it seemed like it) trips to Lowes and we have this setup:

0ppm on the output into our mixing trash can. Also plumes in a holding tank for RODI water for the house. So we did a test batch of 5 gallons and it was clear!! So time to start making full runs. Work and 30ish gallons a day (at 35psi) takes a few the tank.

October 10 2016

Finally got the tank filled and ready to begin the cycle. Here is a FTS and a picture of the sump setup.

 

[Krawl]

October 18 2016

After letting the tank cycle for a few days the water parameters where getting to where they needed to be. So off to the LFS to see what we can find.

Picked up 3 snails, 3 hermit crabs, and 3 green damsels to start with.

October 19 2016

We became good friends with a local reefer that has been helping guide us in the right direction. The light we had was not going to work with the coral we had planned. He showed us one from a comapy called Dsuny. We ordered it and it came in ASAP!

Fully programmable. He has been running them on his larger tank for a year or so with great success. Figured it was worth a shot and better than what we had!

October 20 2016

This is just to random shots of our new critters in the tank. The damsels like to hide in the rock at this point.

 

[Krawl]

Okay we are going to fast forward a bit because we need help with a few things...

We added and have a total of the following...

2x Green Damsels (3 but lost 1)
1x Coral Beauty
2x Emerald Crabs
13x Snails (thinks we lost 2 so maybe 11)
10x Hermit Crabs

We had 2 Cleaner Shrimp. 1 lasted about 12 hours and the second lasted about 3ish days. Not sure why or what happened.

We also added a Zoa. Not sure on the name but I am sure you all do. Here is how it looked when we brought it home...

Now today... we have had a outbreak of cyanobacteria and green algae.

And now our Zoa looks like this...

So that is where we are at. Frustrated as we are reading so many different things. People telling us to use algae remove and others saying that is the worst thing we can do. Some saying to turn off the lights and some saying it won't help. We have done one 20% water change but our water pressure is so low it takes a few days to make enough through our RODI setup. So, just not sure what to do. We added a few more snails and crabs. We also order a gold face gobi that will be in on Tuesday to help keep the sand turned up.

Any ideas? Good or bad?

 

[Daniel@R2R]

I'd say you're off to a good start.

 

[tj w]

Nice start, seems like your tank may still be cycling. It takes a while for your tank to go through the uglies stage. You should keep checking parameters and go slow with stocking.

 

[revhtree]

Nice job!

 

[Krawl]

Thanks guys. The red slime is killing us. It is getting annoying and ready for it to be gone!

Update... the zoas is looking better in its new home. And or new gobi didn't come in.

 

[Brew12]

Thanks guys. The red slime is killing us. It is getting annoying and ready for it to be gone!

Update... the zoas is looking better in its new home. And or new gobi didn't come in.

I have the red slime myself. You can probably help it with a little phophate remover. This is a very common problem with new aquariums.

The best thing you can do is make sure you aren't over feeding your fish.

 

[Krawl]

I have cut back feeding to every other day. There is just the 3 fish and the CUC in there.

What is the best way to get the red hairs off the zoas?

 

[Krawl]

Wow... was searching for something and my thread came up in the search! So I had to click on it and see i have not updated in 8 months. Man... things have changed!

Tank has gone down hill. It leveled off. We went on vacation and the person feeding the tank just dumped food in... a ton of It! Came back to a thick green slime everywhere. Also had a growth of what looked like ferns. Been fighting that for over a month. Also now have a breakout of red flat worms! Not sure where they came from. Since we have been fighting the tank, we have not added anything in a while. This week we did add a 6 Line Wrasse and a Lawn Mower Blenny. OH! Just thought of this... We did add some more snails and a sea cucumber to the CUC to try and help...

So that is where we are at. I hope one day we can get this tank looking good like the ones we see here on R2R. Almost a year in and quite frustrated...

 

[Krawl]

Full tank setup:

 

[Krawl]

Not much to update. Just wanted to say we spent the last 2 hours trying to get our coral beauty out of the overflow chamber. Fun!

 

[Krawl]

We have not updated much. Didn't know if anyone is interested. We have had the tank up and running for a year. If anyone wants to see what's going on, let us know and we can post some pictures. A lot has changed that is for sure!

 

[chefjpaul]

We have not updated much. Didn't know if anyone is interested. We have had the tank up and running for a year. If anyone wants to see what's going on, let us know and we can post some pictures. A lot has changed that is for sure!

We are all interested in your progression. Please share