My 40 gallon cube reef tank

[rapid]

Im about 4 months into this tank, This is my first saltwater tank ! I am aware that i am a little behind on this post but better late then never !

After visiting my LFS to acquire some sword tails for my 40 gallon freshwater I ended up walking out of there with a 40 gallon cube all in one setup by aqua top (https://www.aquatop.com/products/recife-eco-40g-tank-stand-combo?variant=8723321520227)

The cube is actually pretty nice and for the price i couldn't beat it. (The saltwater hobby is not cheap !!) Any way Im aiming for a heavy reef build I like a lot to be going on in my tanks as for my freshwater they are very heavily planted. I like the look of softy coral gotta love the way they flow in the current. Currently my tank is filled with saltwater made from my RODI system by liquidgen. I use instant ocean reef crystals for my salt.

About 2 months into the tank cycling i decided to add two Ocellaris Clownfish.
About 1 more month later i added 20 hermit crabs and 2 emerald crabs and 1 scarlett cleaner shrimp to help battle the red algae that was growing everywhere! Within weaks of adding the clean up crew to the tank the algae was GONE !! Sand and all even on the rocks the clean up crew worked !


So jumping to today 4 months later after several water changes and sever testing with both the reef kit and saltwater test kit by API i figured i would add in some more life into the Tank ! After a trip to the LFS (obviously i should not go to this place since i always buy way too much) I walked out of there with 4 Corals (sun coral, duncan coral, pulsing xeina, and zoanthad) and one green bubble tip Anemone. The LFS said i should upgrade my light for the Anemone so they sold me a Fluval marine 3.0 24" long led light.

Turns out after a week of the new inheritance inside the tank my tank had a outrageous bacterial bloom!!! I thought the tank was cycled but turns out i was wrong! The anemone found a cave to hid in and will not come out or open up ? Im very concerned at this point!! So now my tank is cloudy and my anemone isn't happy. Turns out the fluval light for marine coral and animals sucks ! so i moved it to my fresh planted tank for more accent lighting. I recently have installed one willis aquarium light and i have ordered a Kessil A360WE Controllable LED Aquarium Light that will arrive Tomorrow so i will have both the willis and the kessil installed on my tank.

After installing the willis aquarium light and removing the fluval i noticed my anemone starting to emerge from the cave and actually open up and extend its tenticals. Turns out there was a crab hiding inside the anemone and looks to be hosted by the darn thing ? DOES THIS MEAN MY CLOWNS WONT HOST IT if the crabs in it ?

Any how it still seems to be stuck in that cave but its starting to come out so we will see. Ill keep this thread updated as the tank progresses. I also purchased a UV light sterilizer to help clear up the water and have remained keeping a eye on the chemical levels of the tank. Water changes every sunday for now ! I added a hang on the side refugium that loaded with pebbles and sea lettuce. Oh yea I also added about 20,000 Copepods to my refugium 4 different types and fed them zoeplankton for a week. They seem to have multiplied and now are all through the tank. Maby one day i can introduce a dragonet ?

 

[rapid]

Im Moving the sun coral to the shaded areas by the way

 

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Move the sun coral to a dark shade location. Let’s see if it’ll open up during the day now ?!!

 

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update :

so guys my tank is defiantly stocked too soon having alot of issues with high levels of alk and ammonia but seem to have a good ph 8.2. Although im using the API test kit to test KH i think thats the same as alk?

my anemone seems to be hiding still the new light will be here tomorrow!!!
UV sterilizer was addded today i placed it in my return section of my filtration system. we shall see if it helps

ive been doing about 20% water changes every two to three days depending on amonia levels ? is this okay ?

DO i need to bring down my Kh its currenlty at 11 drops!! ????

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

You should really slow down. The biggest thing you have to learn in this hobby is patience. Unfortunately, the anemone may have to go back to the LFS. You should really have a pretty well established tank (1 yr) before adding one of those. Make sure you feed that Sun Coral as they don't get any nutrition from the lights (non-photosynthetic). They require regular feedings, you can use small mysis and brine shrimp. Also be careful with that Zenia and they are know for taking over tanks and they grow fast. If you are reading ammonia, you are going to have to get everything (live stock) out of there or its going to die.

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

What is your ammonia level reading at? If you have it available, you could add something like Prime to buy you a little time.

 

[W1ngz]

500 makes no sense as a kh number. How many drops on the API test does it take to change colour?

 

[rapid]

500 makes no sense as a kh number. How many drops on the API test does it take to change colour?

im sorry my kh number was 11 drops which reads 196.9

 

[rapid]

What is your ammonia level reading at? If you have it available, you could add something like Prime to buy you a little time.

.5

 

[W1ngz]

Kind of high but 11 drops is 11dK, which is still in an acceptable range. Not many people are used to ppm when it comes to alkalinity.

Put your efforts into managing the ammonia. Ammonia will be another big reason your anemone is unhappy. The advice above to return it isn’t wrong. Consider at least having someone hold it for you while things stabilize a few more months.

 

[Arcticfirefighter]

.5

I would get a bottle of Prime and add it as quick as possible, you need something to neutralize that ammonia. Do you have a QT tank set up that is cycled? If you do you could move all of your live stock to the QT until you figure out why you still are not cycled at 4 months. If not, you may want to see of the LFS would keep your stuff until you get everything under control. If you leave the ammonia, even at .5, everything is going to die eventually.

I would also get a bottle or two of BioSpira and throw that in there as well. I "should" help you cycle that tank. It is a bunch of different bacteria that is essential to cycling a tank.

 

[W1ngz]

The other possibility is if you are still clinging to the API tests, that the ammonia reading is completely false. API ammonia tests are notorious for giving false positives. A Seachem ammonia badge would be a good idea.

 

[rapid]

The other possibility is if you are still clinging to the API tests, that the ammonia reading is completely false. API ammonia tests are notorious for giving false positives. A Seachem ammonia badge would be a good idea.

dude give me all the **** i need to acuratly test this **** !! i mean ever thing amazon links and all lol

 

[rapid]

funny thing is i been gettin these readings below past three tests

august 25

ammonia= 0
nitrite= 0
nitrate= 5
alk=214 or 11 drops
phosphate= 0
calcium= 520 ppm
salinity= 1.026
ph= 8.2

August 29, 2019

ammonia= 0
nitrite= 0
nitrate= 0
alk=214 or 11 drops
phosphate= 0
calcium= 500 ppm
salinity= 1.026
ph= 8.2

sep. 5th

ammonia= .5
nitrite= 0
nitrate= 5
alk=214 or 11 drops
phosphate= 0
calcium= 500 ppm
salinity= 1.026
ph= 8.2

 

[W1ngz]

You're gonna have to do your own shopping lol
A good starting point would be salifert kits for nitrate, ca, alk and mag. None of those are critical right now.

Let's work on the possible instant death scenario and dig a little deeper in your ammonia problem first.
This is the seachem ammonia badge.

They test ammonia differently than liquid tests, so even if you use prime or another ammonia neutralizer, they still show the toxic ammonia if there is any. Liquid tests show total ammonia, but only about 1/10th of that is the actual toxic part.

See if your LFS has it, then you can also do like @Arcticfirefighter suggested and get some biospera or dr tim's one and only bacteria, which I wouldn't suggest getting from amazon. You may not need the bacteria, but best to be safe if you do. It won't hurt if you add it even if you don't have an ammonia problem.

Continue doing the water changes until you can confirm what's going on with the ammonia readings. Having 0 several days in a row and suddenly having .5 doesn't make sense unless you added a bunch of livestock all in the same day, or a bunch of things died.

 

[rapid]

You're gonna have to do your own shopping lol
A good starting point would be salifert kits for nitrate, ca, alk and mag. None of those are critical right now.

Let's work on the possible instant death scenario and dig a little deeper in your ammonia problem first.
This is the seachem ammonia badge.

They test ammonia differently than liquid tests, so even if you use prime or another ammonia neutralizer, they still show the toxic ammonia if there is any. Liquid tests show total ammonia, but only about 1/10th of that is the actual toxic part.

See if your LFS has it, then you can also do like @Arcticfirefighter suggested and get some biospera or dr tim's one and only bacteria, which I wouldn't suggest getting from amazon. You may not need the bacteria, but best to be safe if you do. It won't hurt if you add it even if you don't have an ammonia problem.

Continue doing the water changes until you can confirm what's going on with the ammonia readings. Having 0 several days in a row and suddenly having .5 doesn't make sense unless you added a bunch of livestock all in the same day, or a bunch of things died.

yes i added the anemone and crab then bam issues with ammonia. I will make a local trip to the LFS to grab some prime and this badge !

i will update tonight thanks !! huge help lol

 

[rapid]

I would get a bottle of Prime and add it as quick as possible, you need something to neutralize that ammonia. Do you have a QT tank set up that is cycled? If you do you could move all of your live stock to the QT until you figure out why you still are not cycled at 4 months. If not, you may want to see of the LFS would keep your stuff until you get everything under control. If you leave the ammonia, even at .5, everything is going to die eventually.

I would also get a bottle or two of BioSpira and throw that in there as well. I "should" help you cycle that tank. It is a bunch of different bacteria that is essential to cycling a tank.

Okay so heres the plan for tonight!

1. go to LFS
2. buy prime and ammonia badge
3. buy biospira
4. do a 30% water change
5. add prime and badge and biospira
6. keep a eye on the tank and fish
7. test water after a day or two !

 

[rapid]

@W1ngz back to the light i just recived the kessil 360 with controller

so there is a color knob and intensity knob do you have any recommendations for what they should be set to ?

 

[W1ngz]

Color according to taste, I wouldn't put the intensity any higher than 30 maybe 40% to start and increase it about 5% every 3 or 4 days. You'll have to judge when to stop if you see bleaching on the corals.

 

[rapid]

UPDATE:

so during lunch today i went to the LFS picked up some API ammo-lock Ammonia detoxifier (they didnt have prime but i order some off the internet and will have it on sunday). I also picked up this ammonia reducing filter media. (figured it couldnt hurt anything) i put the media in with my carbon thats already in the tanks sump.

MARINELAND Diamond Blend Carbon Ammonia Neutralizing Carbon Filter Media, 50-oz jar - Chewy.com

Buy Marineland Diamond Blend Carbon Ammonia Neutralizing Carbon Filter Media, 50-oz jar at Chewy.com. FREE shipping and the BEST customer service!

www.chewy.com

So right now i have the ammonia reducing media and API AMMO-LOCK detoxifier currently in my system. After work ill do another ammonia reading.

I did order the ammonia badge from seachem and will be installing it tommorrow when it arrives.

As for the new kessil light i am still awaiting its arrival today by 8:00pm

the UV Sterilizor has made a huge difference in just one day ! starting to clear up the water. now to get the ammonia undercontrol.

P.S. i hate using API chems never had good luck with using them on my freshwater tanks so i reduced the dose i gave the tank by half to see how the animals react to it ?