Many ways to skin a reef, this is mine. (54 Litre/14 Gallon)
- Nano Build
- Thread starter hotashes
- Start date
- Tagged users None
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
The wanderer returns.......
Just a quick reference update to note the numbers taken today, I know everyone loves chasing numbers.
Alk - 8.2
Cal - 400
Mg - 1200 (manually dosing back up to 1330)
NitrAte - 0
Phosphate - 0.006 (hanna ulr)
Further news is the Acoel flatworm seems to have diminished somewhat as I cannot find a trace of them. Good old PSW and I also would suggest it’s from removing detritus from the tank when doing the bi weekly water change. Other than than no news is good news.
P.S. the mesh above the tank is a diy cover to prevent possible fish jumping. Doing its job for now.
A.
Just a quick reference update to note the numbers taken today, I know everyone loves chasing numbers.
Alk - 8.2
Cal - 400
Mg - 1200 (manually dosing back up to 1330)
NitrAte - 0
Phosphate - 0.006 (hanna ulr)
Further news is the Acoel flatworm seems to have diminished somewhat as I cannot find a trace of them. Good old PSW and I also would suggest it’s from removing detritus from the tank when doing the bi weekly water change. Other than than no news is good news.
P.S. the mesh above the tank is a diy cover to prevent possible fish jumping. Doing its job for now.
A.
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
First post of 2019 is a progress update.
Firstly, all is well with livestock alive, growing and feeding well. As it stands the nano is in good stead, pipefish, pink-streaked Wrasse and Wyoming clownfish are all living peacefully together. The clownfish patrols the surface of the tank most of the time, especially when I go close as he thinks I’m offering food. The pipefish weaves nicely between branched rock always on the alert for tiny micro fauna to feast on, and only pops his nose up when I feed to grab a bite. The Wrasse is most active throughout picking at rock work and anything that looks edible ha ha. The fire shrimp does its thing, just stays put in its place and ventures once in a while, or when I add food.
Clams are all showing healthy signs, white shell growth is what I look for.
Urchin is one of the recent additions and has done nothing but eat up and unwanted growth, typically spots of algae. Oh he likes to carry camouflage on his back heh
Corals;
Well when I added the acan coral it had 13 heads, now it’s got and additional 10 new heads formed and starting to grow fast, I’d say it’s healthy.
The candy cane is splitting heads and vibrant green,
The Duncan has been astonishing for growth, has doubled in size with one head sprouting around 5 baby heads each. As an estimate I would say there are roughly 75 heads including babies.
The branching torch coral has been in recovery mode for some time, simply as I had never secured it down and kept knocking it over. This resulted in the flesh around the edge of the head becoming retracted and leaving skeleton and just the inner centre with flesh. The coral has had good and bad days of which I thought it may not last, however one of the heads seems to have grown upwards out of skeletal structure and formed a new fleshy head. For as long as it’s expanding I will keep positive.
Another survivor is the birds nest coral, it also took a bashing as I accidentally dropped it before placing and it shattered. I glued all small pieces to a piece of branching rock and it’s has not only recovered but also fused together and grown quite a bit. Look for the extended polyps on show, as always.
The fungia plate coral has been solid, always nice and plump and often shows it’s character when it’s mouth expands
As for the bad.... None really other than the few vermatid snail here and there, when push comes to shove I will manually remove them with my famous steak knife at their base and if they return in same place I will repeat and superglue the remainder. Coralline has appeared in its forms with green colouration and now the deep red form, I will see how this goes on and contain depending on element consumption.
Currently I’m dosing equally Alk & Cal at 10ml/day. Mag I manually dose as and when required which is not often. Water change currently is bi-weekly.
Thanks for reading, here’s to a year ahead of reefing.
Front tank shot
A.
Firstly, all is well with livestock alive, growing and feeding well. As it stands the nano is in good stead, pipefish, pink-streaked Wrasse and Wyoming clownfish are all living peacefully together. The clownfish patrols the surface of the tank most of the time, especially when I go close as he thinks I’m offering food. The pipefish weaves nicely between branched rock always on the alert for tiny micro fauna to feast on, and only pops his nose up when I feed to grab a bite. The Wrasse is most active throughout picking at rock work and anything that looks edible ha ha. The fire shrimp does its thing, just stays put in its place and ventures once in a while, or when I add food.
Clams are all showing healthy signs, white shell growth is what I look for.
Urchin is one of the recent additions and has done nothing but eat up and unwanted growth, typically spots of algae. Oh he likes to carry camouflage on his back heh
Corals;
Well when I added the acan coral it had 13 heads, now it’s got and additional 10 new heads formed and starting to grow fast, I’d say it’s healthy.
The candy cane is splitting heads and vibrant green,
The Duncan has been astonishing for growth, has doubled in size with one head sprouting around 5 baby heads each. As an estimate I would say there are roughly 75 heads including babies.
The branching torch coral has been in recovery mode for some time, simply as I had never secured it down and kept knocking it over. This resulted in the flesh around the edge of the head becoming retracted and leaving skeleton and just the inner centre with flesh. The coral has had good and bad days of which I thought it may not last, however one of the heads seems to have grown upwards out of skeletal structure and formed a new fleshy head. For as long as it’s expanding I will keep positive.
Another survivor is the birds nest coral, it also took a bashing as I accidentally dropped it before placing and it shattered. I glued all small pieces to a piece of branching rock and it’s has not only recovered but also fused together and grown quite a bit. Look for the extended polyps on show, as always.
The fungia plate coral has been solid, always nice and plump and often shows it’s character when it’s mouth expands
As for the bad.... None really other than the few vermatid snail here and there, when push comes to shove I will manually remove them with my famous steak knife at their base and if they return in same place I will repeat and superglue the remainder. Coralline has appeared in its forms with green colouration and now the deep red form, I will see how this goes on and contain depending on element consumption.
Currently I’m dosing equally Alk & Cal at 10ml/day. Mag I manually dose as and when required which is not often. Water change currently is bi-weekly.
Thanks for reading, here’s to a year ahead of reefing.
Front tank shot
A.
Last edited:
eggplantparrot
Valuable Member
Looking good man, couldn’t find your thank thread. Maybe you could begin if you haven’t already
A.
I dont have a tank thread. Yet.
NY_Caveman
likes words, fish and arbitrary statistics
NY_Caveman
likes words, fish and arbitrary statistics
First post of 2019 is a progress update.
Firstly, all is well with livestock alive, growing and feeding well. As it stands the nano is in good stead, pipefish, pink-streaked Wrasse and Wyoming clownfish are all living peacefully together. The clownfish patrols the surface of the tank most of the time, especially when I go close as he thinks I’m offering food. The pipefish weaves nicely between branched rock always on the alert for tiny micro fauna to feast on, and only pops his nose up when I feed to grab a bite. The Wrasse is most active throughout picking at rock work and anything that looks edible ha ha. The fire shrimp does its thing, just stays put in its place and ventures once in a while, or when I add food.
Clams are all showing healthy signs, white shell growth is what I look for.
Urchin is one of the recent additions and has done nothing but eat up and unwanted growth, typically spots of algae. Oh he likes to carry camouflage on his back heh
Corals;
Well when I added the acan coral it had 13 heads, now it’s got and additional 10 new heads formed and starting to grow fast, I’d say it’s healthy.
The candy cane is splitting heads and vibrant green,
The Duncan has been astonishing for growth, has doubled in size with one head sprouting around 5 baby heads each. As an estimate I would say there are roughly 75 heads including babies.
The branching torch coral has been in recovery mode for some time, simply as I had never secured it down and kept knocking it over. This resulted in the flesh around the edge of the head becoming retracted and leaving skeleton and just the inner centre with flesh. The coral has had good and bad days of which I thought it may not last, however one of the heads seems to have grown upwards out of skeletal structure and formed a new fleshy head. For as long as it’s expanding I will keep positive.
Another survivor is the birds nest coral, it also took a bashing as I accidentally dropped it before placing and it shattered. I glued all small pieces to a piece of branching rock and it’s has not only recovered but also fused together and grown quite a bit. Look for the extended polyps on show, as always.
The fungia plate coral has been solid, always nice and plump and often shows it’s character when it’s mouth expands
As for the bad.... None really other than the few vermatid snail here and there, when push comes to shove I will manually remove them with my famous steak knife at their base and if they return in same place I will repeat and superglue the remainder. Coralline has appeared in its forms with green colouration and now the deep red form, I will see how this goes on and contain depending on element consumption.
Currently I’m dosing equally Alk & Cal at 10ml/day. Mag I manually dose as and when required which is not often. Water change currently is bi-weekly.
Thanks for reading, here’s to a year ahead of reefing.
Front tank shot
A.
Great update! How many Candy Cane heads did you start with?
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
Thanks @NY_Caveman iirc it had about 20-21 heads and now about 27-28.
When I first got it I wasn’t excited as it seemed boring, but now I get to see its feeder tentacles more often. Always good to see how a coral transforms
A.
When I first got it I wasn’t excited as it seemed boring, but now I get to see its feeder tentacles more often. Always good to see how a coral transforms
A.
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
Today I got my weekly tests done, luckily I did as Alk had dropped to 5.8. I checked dosing pump which is a Grotech iii NG, which I had left on manual dose setting since I last touched it. From this I can only imagine as I left it on this setting it then doesn’t dose the pre set programme which I had set for my daily automatic dosing. Calcium and Magnesium had dropped slightly too, if which I will manually dose back up to required levels.
All corals and clams are opening as usual and growth is good. I guess although testing is a pain in the backside, it’s worth at least doing it once a week to make sure. Especially when dosing
Maybe somebody reading knows more on the Grotech iii NG doser who can confirm if above sounds like user error!
Although here in the Uk we do not get products readily available to use from the USA I’m please to have picked up a deal on the Santa Monica Surf 4 from a local reefer for £100/$130 which also included 2x Ehiem air pump 400.
Good deal?
All corals and clams are opening as usual and growth is good. I guess although testing is a pain in the backside, it’s worth at least doing it once a week to make sure. Especially when dosing
Maybe somebody reading knows more on the Grotech iii NG doser who can confirm if above sounds like user error!
Although here in the Uk we do not get products readily available to use from the USA I’m please to have picked up a deal on the Santa Monica Surf 4 from a local reefer for £100/$130 which also included 2x Ehiem air pump 400.
Good deal?
revhtree
Owner Administrator
Staff member
Super Moderator
Reef Squad
Partner Member 2024
Excellence Award
RGB
Photo of the Month
Article Contributor
R2R TV Featured
Hospitality Award
Article Administrator
Black Friday Sponsor
Partner Sponsor 2023
Industry Professional
My Aquarium Showcase
- Joined
- May 8, 2006
- Messages
- 47,740
- Reaction score
- 86,912
Looking great!
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
Levels back up,
Alk-8
Cal-390 ( I plan on raising slightly)
Mag-1400 (little higher than planned)
NitrAtes at a constant low, and phosphates merely detectable. I think it’s certainly my skimmer doing a grand job, in fact making life a challenge.....
Rather than dose NitrAte I prefer to opt for adding another fish
Dosing 2 part only at equal measures 10ml/day.
Considering adding trace elements soon come, I’ve been advised just look for darkened corals if trace elements are overdosed.
Think I’ll go slow and steady.
Happy reefing,
A.
Alk-8
Cal-390 ( I plan on raising slightly)
Mag-1400 (little higher than planned)
NitrAtes at a constant low, and phosphates merely detectable. I think it’s certainly my skimmer doing a grand job, in fact making life a challenge.....
Rather than dose NitrAte I prefer to opt for adding another fish
Dosing 2 part only at equal measures 10ml/day.
Considering adding trace elements soon come, I’ve been advised just look for darkened corals if trace elements are overdosed.
Think I’ll go slow and steady.
Happy reefing,
A.
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
Recently broke my tank down to get rid of vermetid snail infestation best i could. Don’t get me wrong there wasn’t an awful amount however it was a job I wasn’t looking forward to. So although some say my tank ‘looks amazing’ (their words) I felt I had let the tank slip due to knowing I needed to get the rock out. Having previously done a rip clean to beat algae back I was fully aware of how much fun I was in for, especially when having 3% h2o2 in hand and a steak knife for rasping. So there I was rock out and the fun began.
Above, the container to the left was literally waste water from the initial scrubbing, imagine how much waste gets stored in our rockwork which become detritus stores. I couldn’t imagine what phosphates reading I would have got back if I had tested the water
Below after it’s been drained down
Amphipods which survived the overhaul and I returned back to the tank.
Finally I got the rock done, 5 mins air exposed & h2o2 applied, then rinsed in old tank water and back into the tank. As you can see below I re scape the tank and was quite happy with the lay out.
A front tank shot late into the evening and lights were winding down so livestock were closing up and getting used to the big overhaul.
I tactically added a secondary frag disc to the acan base as it’s currently got 10 additional heads competing for real estate. I’m sure they’ll appreciate the efforts I’ve made to help encourage them to grow over the new disc.
This morning it was only right I checked for ammonia considering I’ve some sensitive livestock, so I did so using a salifert test kit.. I should have known better, 0.25ppm result, however I’ve always got this reading from this test kit regardless and I’m sure even a tank 5+ years mature would give a cloudy tinge in the sample water. I guess as it’s only hobby grade test kit I cannot expect much more when looking for 0ppm readings. I learnt long ago not to rely on this kit when testing ammonia at low levels, however I cannot fault their alkalinity, magnesium and NitrAte test kit.
So I stuck my Seachem Ammonia badge in and it was already used previously and stored in ro water so in theory should give readings after 15 minutes of being placed into tank water.
TBC...
A.
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
Ta-da, as expected a reading of ‘SAFE’ <0.02ppm from the ammonia alert badge and as they measure both ionised and free ammonia I have faith in these. I also use them in QT tanks for reliability. For the record I also run tests on NitrIte which can back 0ppm using salifert kit, which I’m happy with
Also this morning (9 hours later) I was happy with coral/clam extension and the fish looked happy swimming around in their new environment.
Also spot the fanworm who obviously survived the h2o2 warfare and is out to say hi
Having a nano tank has given me the understanding of being a hands on reefer rather than a sit back and wait reefer. By this I mean I’ve got my tank looking pristine and have wasted no time waiting for any ‘ugly stage’ to get foothold, enabling me to enjoy the hobby and most importantly, my tank. Some prefer to throw in the next best potion/snake oil even though the label may not disclose what ingredients are being added, resulting in blind reefing IMO. Others have the hard task of working out how to control NitrAtes & Phosphates be it using reactors etc. IMO my route is saving my £ by not having to buy the next best gadget or end up having a tank crash from chasing numbers and adding too many variables into their water chemistry in a way of bottled remedies etc. It cost me £5 and a few hours work rather than £££ and days/months.
A.
Also this morning (9 hours later) I was happy with coral/clam extension and the fish looked happy swimming around in their new environment.
Also spot the fanworm who obviously survived the h2o2 warfare and is out to say hi
Having a nano tank has given me the understanding of being a hands on reefer rather than a sit back and wait reefer. By this I mean I’ve got my tank looking pristine and have wasted no time waiting for any ‘ugly stage’ to get foothold, enabling me to enjoy the hobby and most importantly, my tank. Some prefer to throw in the next best potion/snake oil even though the label may not disclose what ingredients are being added, resulting in blind reefing IMO. Others have the hard task of working out how to control NitrAtes & Phosphates be it using reactors etc. IMO my route is saving my £ by not having to buy the next best gadget or end up having a tank crash from chasing numbers and adding too many variables into their water chemistry in a way of bottled remedies etc. It cost me £5 and a few hours work rather than £££ and days/months.
A.
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
Since the reset when I hit my rocks with h2o2 all is well, no casualties what so ever and nobody would know it’s possible unless they try for themselves. Thanks (@brandon429) for keeping it real since day 1.
I’ve got some good growth over the months from my clams and LPS corals, even my green birdsnest sps too. Currently doing bi-weekly 15% water changes and dosing RHF 2 part (improved recipe). Keeping levels stable and consistent for me is important and I’ve charted all test results when done, so I can reflect.
So here we are with a clean looking tank, healthy livestock and ready to push harder with some more sps additions. I’ve had them in my tank for 8 days so far and all looks good,
My favourite of the additions is the Tropic thunder, just look at it close up.. Notice the yellow.
I’ve also got some more sps in qt as they came from a tank with ich so I take caution and will keep in observation for 76 days
FTS
I’ve just purchased these clams which from the help of @DSC reef and @jda I believe it’s possibly a golden Maxima clam & green Maxima.
Peace,
A.
I’ve got some good growth over the months from my clams and LPS corals, even my green birdsnest sps too. Currently doing bi-weekly 15% water changes and dosing RHF 2 part (improved recipe). Keeping levels stable and consistent for me is important and I’ve charted all test results when done, so I can reflect.
So here we are with a clean looking tank, healthy livestock and ready to push harder with some more sps additions. I’ve had them in my tank for 8 days so far and all looks good,
My favourite of the additions is the Tropic thunder, just look at it close up.. Notice the yellow.
I’ve also got some more sps in qt as they came from a tank with ich so I take caution and will keep in observation for 76 days
FTS
I’ve just purchased these clams which from the help of @DSC reef and @jda I believe it’s possibly a golden Maxima clam & green Maxima.
Peace,
A.
Last edited:
OP
OP
hotashes
Well-Known Member
It’s been a while, tank is running on auto pilot. Biweekly water change currently, if not needed then I will just siphon the detritus and baster the rocks and change floss in the hob filter which is only run at night for 12 hours. I currently scrape the tank glass every 3-4 days as film algae just starts to creep in. Added a new frag rack, this will help me as I’ve got quite a few nice one to grow out.
My frag list consists of:
Tropic Thinder
Setosa
Forest fire
Green digi
Green monti
Strawberry shortcake
Stylocoeniella burning banana
All other livestock doing well, Duncan growing fastest. As mentioned above, two new 1” Maxima clams arriving this week Friday yayyyyyy.
My parameters are stable, currently:
Alk - 8dKh (hanna)
Cal -420ppm (salifert)
Mag - 1330mg/l (salifert)
Po4 - 0 (hanna uln)
No3 - 0 (salifert)
I’m currently keeping an eye on my po4 & no3 being 0 as although hobby test kits are at hobby level, it can get inaccurate when looking at ultra low levels. I believe there are some form of nutrients, however as I’ve currently got 3 clams I imagine they’ve been used up immediately. I will certainly be keen to add another fish or two, as and when the ones I’m considering are in stock at the LFS.
A.
My frag list consists of:
Tropic Thinder
Setosa
Forest fire
Green digi
Green monti
Strawberry shortcake
Stylocoeniella burning banana
All other livestock doing well, Duncan growing fastest. As mentioned above, two new 1” Maxima clams arriving this week Friday yayyyyyy.
My parameters are stable, currently:
Alk - 8dKh (hanna)
Cal -420ppm (salifert)
Mag - 1330mg/l (salifert)
Po4 - 0 (hanna uln)
No3 - 0 (salifert)
I’m currently keeping an eye on my po4 & no3 being 0 as although hobby test kits are at hobby level, it can get inaccurate when looking at ultra low levels. I believe there are some form of nutrients, however as I’ve currently got 3 clams I imagine they’ve been used up immediately. I will certainly be keen to add another fish or two, as and when the ones I’m considering are in stock at the LFS.
A.
Similar threads
