Lbacha’s 310g GlassCages SPS build

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lbacha

lbacha

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Well I learned a couple things about the build. First off I really glad the intakes for the closed loops are 8” off the bottom of the tank. I was adding sand and didn’t turn the pumps off which unfortunately resulted in a a bunch of sand getting sucked in. Most cleared through the vectras but there were was a noticeable clicking in the pumps afterwards. I now know to be careful when I’m working with the sand but the real surprise was how easy the pumps were to remove and clean. I took me <5 minutes per pump to turn them off drain the loop into a bucket and clean the impellers of some stuck sand. I planned it this way as I know I would never clean them otherwise but this proved how simple it will be. The only think I would do different is to add another ball valve right at the intake of the pump so I don’t have to drain the full 8’ length of the loop. Draining the loop is the slowest part of the process.

Still really glad I went with sand it looks great and I have already added the first inhabitant to the tank a pair of tiger conchs which do a great job with sand maintenance
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Big day tomorrow, the tang gang and the rest of the fish in my 40g holding tank are ready to go into the new tank. Going to be exciting to see them in their new home. They have been model citizens for almost 6 months in a tank that is way to small for them and the tanks have grown a ton (I have fed them a ton to try and eliminate any reason for aggression)
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The fish are in the tank and they love it. The tangs are exploring it as a group and the gobies are finding their spots. I havn't seen the wrasse since I added him so hopefully tomorrow he will be out.

Initial stocking
Redsea sailfin tang
Yellow tang
Purple tang
blue hippo tang
Tomini tang
Mustard tang
Neon goby
Shark nose goby
Yellow clown goby
Tail spot blenny
Yellow Cori’s wrasse

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The day the fish go in is absolutely the best day ever! Finally, after all that work, you have something you can look at and enjoy.

Whiskey
 
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The day the fish go in is absolutely the best day ever! Finally, after all that work, you have something you can look at and enjoy.

Whiskey
Yes it was, lots of effort to QT the tang gang so I could add them all at once but it paid off as they are best friends in the new tank lol. I have a nice bar table so we can sit and enjoy the tank
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Here is a video I posted of the fish hanging out
Tangs hanging out
 
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The fish are all happy and I moved most of the stuff from my nano tank to the new build (I need to tear it down so I. A finish the flooring). I tested phosphates a few days ago and it maxed out my ULR tester so I decided to add a little Phosphate-e to get them down. I have tested the past few days and I’m sitting right around .02 ppm phosphates and 5 ppm nitrates. The tank is binding alk right now to the dry rock (alk went from 9.6 down to 5.8) Once a good biofilm forms on the dry rock this should stop but to help it along I’m slowly dosing kalk to try and keep my alk levels around 7-7.5 (I don’t want to go to much higher and risk precipitating it out).
 
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My Royal Exclusive Bubble King skimmer is already producing some nice dry foam. I had to raise it about an inch so it was only sitting in 8.5” of water vs 9.5”. That 1” has made a huge difference in reduced micro bubbles and foam production. I feed the fish 6 times a day and 2 sheets of nori and my nutrients are in check.
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marcus aurelius

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Very nice. All caught up.
 
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Very nice. All caught up.
Thank you hope you enjoyed the ride so far. I’m excited to start adding acro’s
 
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Some tank updates. I have gotten over the initial brown stage and shifted into the green stage. Phosphates and nitrates have stayed low during this initial cycle even with tons of food being added. The fish love their new home and the tangs stay together grazing on the rock structure which is cool to see. I have also moved my school of Kupang Damsels into my observation tank so I can ensure no issues before they head to the main display
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Added a few more coral, I had a zoa garden growing on a rock from my old display tank that has been sitting in the frag tank for 4 years so I decided to add it to the tank and I grabbed a frag of Montipora spongodes that was starting to throw up pillars. Going to leave it in the sand as I don’t want it taking over the rockwork.
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I also got a couple more fish into QT (a royal gramma, another neon goby and Pintail fairy wrasse)
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lesismore

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Added a few more coral, I had a zoa garden growing on a rock from my old display tank that has been sitting in the frag tank for 4 years so I decided to add it to the tank and I grabbed a frag of Montipora spongodes that was starting to throw up pillars. Going to leave it in the sand as I don’t want it taking over the rockwork.
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I also got a couple more fish into QT (a royal gramma, another neon goby and Pintail fairy wrasse)
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Love the zoa garden addition. Your tank looks gorgeous!
 
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Love the zoa garden addition. Your tank looks gorgeous!
Thanks, I had it in my 25g nuvo when I lived in an apartment. It has been sitting in my frag tank waiting for me to build a new display tank so I'm glad it is finally on display. Lots of fun Zoas on there.
 
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My bubble King is working like a charm. A perfect flow of gunk coming out of the tank. I feed the fish pellets 6 times a day, 2 sheets of nori a day and a couple cubes of frozen music. My nutrients so far have sat at less that .05 phosphates and 5 nitrates. I may have to cut back the filtration a bit once I add a bunch of nutrient hungry corals to the tank lol
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A little over a month and the tank has started to stabilize enough I’m adding the first Acro. I have had monti’s in the tank for a couple weeks and they are growing and coloring up (they were in a neglected nano tank and had faded a bit) I have got Alk to stabilize so I figure let’s add some Acropora. A nice chunky Cali Tort is winner of the first Acro in the tank award.

Cali Tort
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Some monti’s that have been in the tank a few weeks now.
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