Me and My 4g Reef

[ttbuc40]

Love the tank but that will not last thru college. You will want a bigger tank eventually lol

 

[VKP01]

Love the tank but that will not last thru college. You will want a bigger tank eventually lol

Oh absolutely lol. I’m having to downsize from a 36g reef, 32gs of freshwater, and 12gs of brackish. I’m having to move nine hours and stay in a dorm for a few years, so that will probably be all I can manage at first. But I’ll definitely be upsizing as soon as possible XD. In the meantime I’ll have the reef, mangrove forests, and the college’s aquaculture system to play in.

But who’s to stop me from sneaking in a 40b- I mean, a glass table?

 

[toxicshark]

I have the ABI light on my tank and the spectrum has a lot of blue when trying to take pics with a device such as a phone, but it's not as bad in person. My corals have done really well under the light and have shown some growth.

Also, beautiful tank!

 

[VKP01]

I have the ABI light on my tank and the spectrum has a lot of blue when trying to take pics with a device such as a phone, but it's not as bad in person. My corals have done really well under the light and have shown some growth.

Also, beautiful tank!

Thanks!! Good to hear another good word for the light, the corals do seem to like it

 

[VKP01]

I got this brine shrimp hatchery from Jellyfish Art’s website, and hatched some out for my tanks. The blennies enjoyed picking them out of the water, and I caught the acans and plate munching on some. I ordered the egg refill along with the eggs that came with it, and I think I’m set for life...

 

[VKP01]

I got this brine shrimp hatchery from Jellyfish Art’s website, and hatched some out for my tanks. The blennies enjoyed picking them out of the water, and I caught the acans and plate munching on some. I ordered the egg refill along with the eggs that came with it, and I think I’m set for life...

It hatches.... so many.... I have too many....

 

[VKP01]

Getting ready to cut this mat so you can’t see through the back wall. Also, you may notice my lid is just a chunk of glass, any recommendations for that??

 

[VKP01]

Got the mat cut so you can’t see through the back wall! Before and after:

 

[VKP01]

Finding more bryopsis >:I
I’ve pulled three stalks, and spotted a few more I need to get to. I know some of the snails will eat it, but I think the tank has too many tight spots for any to get to it.

 

[VKP01]

Top is one of the patches of bryopsis, and I can’t figure out what the bottom is. I don’t think it’s bryopsis though. Guess I’ll keep going in with my hands to pull it out. I caught the barnacle blenny munching on it several times, not sure if he was actually eating it or just thought it looked cool

 

[VKP01]

Things are still going. Pulled more bryopsis, the cyano is pretty much gone, and still trying to raise nitrates. Had to move the corals around a little bit, the new light was bleaching some of the mushrooms. I’ve also stopped using the JBJ light full time, just using it for when I want to work on the tank.

 

[VKP01]

I’ve continued to up my feeding to try to raise nitrates, but I’m not having much luck. I’m using API tests so it’s not too accurate, but it’s below 5ppm. I had gotten it up to 5ppm, but then had to do a couple small wcs to siphon some cyano and it hasn’t come back up. I’m currently feeding pellet food daily, with live or frozen food weekly. I’m also looking for a more accurate nitrate test.

 

[Katrina71]

Love this little tank!

 

[VKP01]

Had a snail fall on the acans. The snail died, and the acan head is spitting out its guts

 

[VKP01]

Had a snail fall on the acans. The snail died, and the acan head is spitting out its guts

The acan is fine, just dramatic.

 

[VKP01]

Things are still going! Cyano seems to be defeated, still seeing a bit of bryopsis pop up. I cut a clear plastic mat to use as a lid instead of the glass pane, and I’ve got a heater on the way. I’ve been running it without one and the temp stays around 77- 80°f, but I think the heater will help keep it more stable. My ph is also lower than I’d like - 8.0, slowly dropped from 8.3 last week. I don’t get good surface agitation with my filter return, so I may try adding an air stone. I don’t like how loud they are though.

 

[Daniel@R2R]

Things are still going! Cyano seems to be defeated, still seeing a bit of bryopsis pop up. I cut a clear plastic mat to use as a lid instead of the glass pane, and I’ve got a heater on the way. I’ve been running it without one and the temp stays around 77- 80°f, but I think the heater will help keep it more stable. My ph is also lower than I’d like - 8.0, slowly dropped from 8.3 last week. I don’t get good surface agitation with my filter return, so I may try adding an air stone. I don’t like how loud they are though.

Looking great!!

 

[Katrina71]

What about a Random Flow Generator from Vivid? BRS sells them. Take a look before you decide on an airstone.

 

[VKP01]

Looking great!!

Thanks!

 

[VKP01]

What about a Random Flow Generator from Vivid? BRS sells them. Take a look before you decide on an airstone.

I’ve considered those for awhile, I saw them at MACNA last year and really like them! I’m not sure how well they would work for my setup though - the display area is very narrow front to back, and if I add the extra piece it may end up just directing at the glass. I’d have to play around with it a bit, but for now I’ve added the airstone, so I can see how much of the problem is my tank’s aeration. It may just be that I have high CO2 in my room. But I’m definitely considering trying the random flow generator!