My 75 gallon reef

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Fishy888

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Yesterday I got two clownfish that someone gave me for free because they were leaving the hobby. My tank completed the cycle and my hermits are doing well so I decided to take the clownfish. By the time I acclimated them it was around 9 PM so they have been in the aquarium for a little over 24 hours. They are active and seem content. They are eating well also. Tomorrow I will be getting another blue legged hermit or two. The diatoms are dieing off and the cyano has been reduced quite a bit. Tonight I noticed the beginning of dark green algae in the sand and on some rock. It will be interesting to see what algae it is since I only have a t8no lamp at the moment. That is about to change. I just ordered a MH ballast since I got it for a song. I may have to pay full price for the second but I will buy it tomorrow whether it is the full price (which is already cheap) or the 15 bucks I paid for ballast number 1. I like certain things about LED technology but I have looked at many LED lights and I just cannot get that excited. I mean since the t5 hybrids are the only way to go considering the current state of the art of LED technology. MH lamps still are king as far as aesthetics go. They get light everywhere in the tank, and you don't have to use a PAR meter to set things up although it would be nice to have. People claim that LEDs pay for themselves but the price ends up being about the same as metal halide in the long run with no steep prices up front. I know the lamps are hard to find but I have found a few sources for them. The lamps are a bit expensive but not too bad considering that the lamps in question are between 6500k and 14000k and are Ushio for the higher Kelvin lamps and Iwasaki for the 6500k lamps. I intend to buy enough lamps to keep me going for 5 to 10 years. Maybe LED technology will improve enough for me to like it more. The biggest problem with halides is the heat they can produce but that heat means no heater necessary. That also drives down the price to run the tank so the excess heat can be a good thing if managed properly. The good thing is that we keep the temperature no higher than the upper 60s year round. In fact during the summer months we often keep temperatures around 64. That helps offset some of the heating from the halides. The sump will help cool things down also to a degree. In January I will start procuring the lamps as well as the reflectors and sockets. Once I get the lighting done I will get a circulation pump in there. I am thinking about 3200 gph. Once the tank is ready for SPS then I'll get another one. I am attaching a picture of my new (to me) clownfish. They are about 10 years old. They should live another 10 years if I take proper care of them. All I know is that these two are some of the most beautiful clownfish I've ever seen in person.
 

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This morning I came down to find the water temperature dropped to 73. Thankfully I had a spare heater. The temp has gone back up but the spare has no suction cups so it is loose. It is submerged however. I got my first frags of pulsing xenia, cabbage leather, and green star polyps today from a friend of mine. I attached them to some rock and they are in the tank. They are all opening up to a point but I don't expect full polyp extension for the cabbage leather or the GSP for a few days. My ballasts have been sitting for almost a week with UPS so I hope they are not ruined. In the meantime I am using the led light from my old planted tank that I have broken down. That tank is going to be the sump for this system. Admittedly this tank has a ways to go but things are starting to come together.
 

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This morning I came down to find the water temperature dropped to 73. Thankfully I had a spare heater. The temp has gone back up but the spare has no suction cups so it is loose. It is submerged however. I got my first frags of pulsing xenia, cabbage leather, and green star polyps today from a friend of mine. I attached them to some rock and they are in the tank. They are all opening up to a point but I don't expect full polyp extension for the cabbage leather or the GSP for a few days. My ballasts have been sitting for almost a week with UPS so I hope they are not ruined. In the meantime I am using the led light from my old planted tank that I have broken down. That tank is going to be the sump for this system. Admittedly this tank has a ways to go but things are starting to come together.
Just a warning, the gsp and xenia can take over a tank so you might consider making them each their own little"island".
 
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Yeah they are on separate "islands " for that very reason. Especially the GSP.
 
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These guys are all opening more though the xenia is a bit limp. They should perk up a bit within a day or two though. Usually I find GSP to be fussy and pouty for several days or longer but they seem happy, even with the hermits walking all over them. It helps that they were in the same tank together with the leather and the xenia.
 

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Today my corals were opened up almost all the way. The GSP were almost entirely open and the xenia was pulsing more. The cabbage leather was open as open can be. The GSP and leather were showing much better fluorescence tonight. I would have taken a picture of them but my phone was dead. Tomorrow is another day. As far as the xenia is concerned I think I made the rubber bands too tight because pieces of xenia were floating around. I reattached them to other pieces of rubble. It looks as though the pieces that stayed attached aren't going to detach fortunately. The pieces I attached elsewhere I didn't bind so tightly with the rubber bands and they are still bound so I think it will work out.
 
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The new frags are doing well. The cabbage corals are doing so well that they were rubbing against each other when fully opened. Today I gave them a bigger rock. They were partly attached but were easy to remove. They are on a much bigger rock. It appears at least one hermit switched shells at long last. I was starting to worry because they hadn't up until now. I forgot to mention in the last post that our apartment complex is being refurbished and they are talking about moving all the residents out incrementally as they go. Although I doubt it they stated that if we have to move it could last as long as a year. Needless to say this would be a horrible thing potentially for a SPS tank but for a tank with a couple of soft corals it shouldgo well. In a way if all goes according to plan, this tank will be in the last stages of the uglies by then. In the meantime I will probably stick to softies and LPS for now and work to increase diversity of flora and fauna. I still plan on adding GARF grunge to this tank and getting more rock. I am also wanting to create some awesome structure with dry rock and old but real rock from the reef, most of which is dry rock these days. Attached is a pic of the cabbage leathers on their new rock. There is also a pic of the GSP which are doing awesome. There are a few polyps that aren't open yet but I am pretty happy with how they are doing.

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The last several days I have been systematically cleaning my sand bed and I have added extra sand in a few spots. I am doing it in increments to avoid total shock to the system.

I also got a couple of turbo snails and two more hermits today. The turbos are the only snails I can source locally but I plan to get cerith and trochus snails from ebay eventually.

Regarding the cabbage leather corals, it is clear that rubber banding them is a no go. I have them in holes in the hopes of them attaching. Two of the three frags are now in holes larger than their stalks. The third is more snug in its hole so all should be well unless a snail, hermit, or clown messes with it.

Speaking of clowns, the two clownfish are doing quite well. I had always read stories on the forums about clownfish attacking people's hands when they were working on the tank but never experienced it untie now. These two are something else. They don't break the skin but they are strong for being 10. I am glad they have that kind of vigor though. I hope to still have these fish for at least 10 more years. I have read stories of these guys living 30 years but that hasn't been verified that I know of.

Here are a few pictures for tonight. They show the progress made on the cleanup of the sandbed and the new arrivals. The second picture also shows the cabbage leathers and where they are now mounted.

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Things are going pretty well. I see more polyp extension with all 3 coral types in this tank. The xenia are doing so well in fact that they are on 4 different rocks already. I am going to let the extras be a nutrient sink for a while. When the xenia gets out of hand I'll frag it and give it to others.

There is one frag of cabbage leather coral that keeps trying to move. I will try to move it yet again tomorrow. It will probably be to another rock. I wanted them all on the same rock but sometimes things go that way.

The snails and hermits seem content. They are eating the green micro algae growing on one side panel and on the back panel. The clown fish are doing well also and are as feisty as they have always been.

I love damselfish. I once had an all damsel tank and a brown scopas tang. I am thinking of getting some yellow tailed damsels soon. I want some 3 striped damsels also. I know I want some chromis and dottybacks but that will be down the road.

Right now I want to get more rock in there and more soft corals. I must admit I forgot how cool the softies are. I must also admit that this may end up being a softie and LPS tank for a few years at least. I still want SPS but between knowing we will have to move to a hotel or something and then back here again I don't want to sink a bunch of money into SPS just to have it all die on me. I am also a sucker for the movement they create. I am thinking about getting some mushrooms and zoas soon. Right now though I am focused on getting more balance in this tank.

My corals are starting to show signs of growth which is awesome but they can only utilize but so much in the nutrient department.

Speaking of nutrients I found a bristle worm in my sand bed when I was cleaning the sand. It was the only one in my sand bed. I have a friend who is going to try to catch some bristle worms for me. That would help a lot. The crazy thing is that I found a bristle worm that came in on a piece of live rock but no signs of pods. I know my clowns would be pecking at the glass and the rocks if there were any. I may have to wait until I get the live sand from GARF or buy them on Ebay. I am happy though with how well this tank and it's animals are progressing.
 
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Tuesday night I got 8 baby bristle worms and a decent amount of amphipods from a new reefing friend (and no doubt copepods). I gave him a small frag of xenia and the cabbage leather frag that refused to attach in my system. It looks happy in my friend's system though so I am glad for that.

The bristle worms he gave me are the good kind. I made sure of that. I released them over the rock right after feeding the fish so they wouldn't go after the worms or pods. The worms disappeared quickly into the substrate and rock. The pods speedily dispersed as well. There was one worm that stopped to nibble at some algae on the rock it landed on. It dropped down and crawled under the rock in short order however. As of yesterday morning I saw an amphipod scurry under a rock when the lights came on and another on the glass a few hours ago so hopefully they'll reproduce faster than the clownfish will eat them.

In with the worms and pods was a piece of lava rock the size of a frag plug without the stem. The rock is full of spirorbid worm shells. Many appear broken but several are very much intact. I can't tell if there are any worms still in there but I hope there are. Even though I know they can reach plague like proportions I intend to keep them in check. They will have plenty of competition for nutrients.

I made some fish food last night using squid, flounder, shrimp, broccoli florets, and some Ocean Nutrition Formula Two flake food. I used as little water as I could so that the mixture would stay frozen while allowing everything to be thoroughly chopped up. Keeping the mix frozen gave me time to bag everything and flatten the mix in each bag. It also kept the contents from sloshing around in each bag as they were transferred to the freezer. This way I can break off small pieces when I go to feed the tank. In all it made about 10 bags of food. The consistency is fine for the most part but there are some larger chunks mixed in as well.

I fed the tank inhabitants some of the new food and the clownfish went bananas for it. The hermits went crazy for it also. They can boogie when they want something! I imagine the pods, bristle worms, hermits, and even the snails will be on it since the lights are out now. The spirorbid worms (if they are any still in the shells) and corals probably love it too. Of course overfeeding the tank, especially with such a young system, is not a good idea so I will monitor things but at least I know this basic recipe was a hit.

I have a few pictures to share this morning. The first is of the rock with the potential spirorbid worms. The second is the same rock under 4x magnification, and the third is of my GSP.

The GSP has added a half inch or so to its mat. It has added 20 polyps if not more within the last couple of weeks. They are budding not just on the edges but all over the mat. It is hard to tell from the picture but the newest polyps don't fluoresce as much the older ones. They will though once they mature. The coral as a whole fluoresces much more vibrantly than it has since I got it. My xenia and cabbage leather corals are also doing well and are growing though not as fast as the GSP. In fact it seems that both of my cabbage leather frags are attached at long last.

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Tuesday night I got 8 baby bristle worms and a decent amount of amphipods from a new reefing friend (and no doubt copepods). I gave him a small frag of xenia and the cabbage leather frag that refused to attach in my system. It looks happy in my friend's system though so I am glad for that. The bristle worms he gave me are the good kind. I made sure of that. I released them over the rock right after feeding the fish so they wouldn't go after the worms or pods. The worms disappeared quickly into the substrate and rock. The pods speedily dispersed as well. There was one worm that stopped to nibble at some algae on the rock it landed on. It dropped down and crawled under the rock in short order however. As of yesterday morning I saw an amphipod scurry under a rock when the lights came on and another on the glass a few hours ago so hopefully they'll reproduce faster than the clownfish will eat them. In with the worms and pods was a piece of lava rock the size of a frag plug without the stem. The rock is full of spirorbid worm shells. Many appear broken but several are very much intact. I can't tell if there are any worms still in there but I hope there are. Even though I know they can reach plague like proportions I intend to keep them in check. They will have plenty of competition for nutrients. I made some fish food last night using squid, flounder, shrimp, broccoli florets, and some Ocean Nutrition Formula Two flake food. I used as little water as I could so that the mixture would stay frozen while allowing everything to be thoroughly chopped up. Keeping the mix frozen gave me time to bag everything and flatten the mix in each bag. It also kept the contents from sloshing around in each bag as they were transferred to the freezer. This way I can break off small pieces when I go to feed the tank. In all it made about 10 bags of food. The consistency is fine for the most part but there are some larger chunks mixed in as well. I fed the tank inhabitants some of the new food and the clownfish went bananas for it. The hermits went crazy for it also. They can boogie when they want something! I imagine the pods, bristle worms, hermits, and even the snails will be on it since the lights are out now. The spirorbid worms (if they are any still in the shells) and corals probably love it too. Of course overfeeding the tank, especially with such a young system, is not a good idea so I will monitor things but at least I know this basic recipe was a hit. I have a few pictures to share this morning. The first is of the rock with the potential spirorbid worms. The second is the same rock under 4x magnification, and the third is of my GSP. That coral has added a half inch or so to its mat but it has added 20 polyps if not more within the last couple of weeks. They are budding not just on the edges but all over the mat. It is hard to tell from the picture but the newest polyps don't fluoresce as much the older ones. They will though once they mature. The coral as a whole fluoresces much more vibrantly than it has since I got it. My xenia and cabbage leather corals are also doing well and are growing though not as fast as the GSP. In fact it seems that both of my cabbage leather frags are attached at long last.

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When your blue lights are on, try switching the camera into Manual and setting the K rating as close to 10k as you can.
 
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It appears the hermits had a swapfest yesterday morning. It cost one hermit its life since it was evicted from its shell, presumably by force. The other six are OK. I bought a couple more yesterday. One is an orange claw hermit crab and I am not 100% sure about the other. Both are as big as my largest blue legged hermit, perhaps a tad larger. I couldn't get good shots of them but I will try again today. I got to watch two hermits at the tail end of the communal shell swap. They were both flipping over shells at the same time, and one almost moved into the shell it was eyeing.

This system is about to get its first 50% water change. If I have time today I will do it but that might have to wait a day or two. I blew the cyano off the rocks last night though. I will be taking a toothbrush to them as well during the water change, especially the rocks with the xenia and GSP. The cyano was growing onto the mat and onto one of the new polyps. I will also get the gravel vac out and clean the sand while I am at it. That will get things where they need to be. The corals might pout for a bit and shed but they will come back like gangbusters. I have little doubt all the denizens of the deep will be happier too.
 
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I ended up performing the water change on Christmas Day. The next day my cabbage leather corals began to shed, the xenia wasn't open all the way, and the GSP seemed to have some closed polyps. The polyps that were open were not as extended as they usually are. Yesterday however all my coral seemed to be their normal selves. I figured the shedding was likely to happen since changes, even small ones, can get leathers to shed. I also vaccumed the sand. No doubt that kicked up detritus that landed on the cabbage leathers as well as the other corals.

I caught a glimpse of a baby bristle worm cruising over some algae on the GSP rock. It doesn't seem to have grown much but I have only had it for about a week now. The new hermits are doing well and though there was another shell swap at some point there were no fatalities. The snails are doing well. I have two Mexican turbo snails. I hope to end up with trochus and cerith snails but only 5 or so of each. I also want an urchin but that is a long way away. As for my two clownfish they are doing awesome. You'd never know they were 10 years old. They eat well and have no problem defending their territory (which just happens to be the whole tank).

Currently I only have l10X flow in the tank. The good news is that I will be adding a circulation pump to the system. That will add 40x turnover so between the 2 emperor 400s and the new pump I will have 50x flow. Any cyano left in the system by then will cease to exist in short order.
 
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Here are some pics I took just before the lights went off for the night. The first is of the whole tank. The cyano is almost completely gone. The second picture is of the xenia which looks great. The third is of the cabbage leather frags. The last is of my two finned photo bombers. Sometimes they really do act like clowns. Guess they like living up to their name.
 

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Well I just messed up I think. When I did the water change last week I was going to clean the gsp because there was algae on it that wouldn't come off with a turkey baster. I didn't get to do it then so today I finally did the job. I used a soft bristle toothbrush to clean it. It was the beginning of hair algae. In the process I tore up a few polyp tubes, probably 5 or so. I am attaching pictures of the damage. Hopefully they will grow new tubes and new polyps for that matter. I also brushed some cyano off a xenia polyp and the rock it was on. The xenia is open like it was earlier. The cabbage leather frags are doing real well though. One is around 3 inches in diameter if not a bit more. I hope the GSP does better soon. I expect it to struggle for a bit but hopefully it'll take off again soon.
 

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As of today the GSP stayed closed. The mat is still purple though there are gray areas around the fringe where the worst of the algae was. There are additional stolons damaged but still partly attached. Thankfully there are also enough non-damaged stolons that this frag should survive this even if I lose part of it. I saw one polyp partially open briefly. It seemed to have only 4 tentacles out instead of 8. Hopefully within a few days it will reopen.

The xenia and cabbage leather frags are doing OK but I think they are a little stressed too. I only turned the blues on today (I am currently using a Beamworks 54 watt light that is 3 feet long. All my coral is well lit by it but I am going to get better lighting soon). I will try using the whites also tomorrow again for the sake of the xenia and cabbage leather corals.

The rest of the tank is doing great. I got to watch an amphipod scurry to and fro when I turned on the lights early this morning so I think there is still a small population of them.
 
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There are 15+ polyps open now on my GSP. Even though I always knew GSP were one of the most bulletproof corals out there I still worry about things like this.

My circulation pumps arrived today. I was only going to use one of them but I decided to use both to allow for more turbulent flow as someone suggested in another post.

I have a feeling the new pumps have encouraged the GSP to open more. Only 3 polyps were open before I started the pumps at 12:00 and as of 2:00 15+ polyps are open. The xenia seem happy and are adjusting to the new flow pattern well so far. The cabbage leather corals are doing OK but the larger one is getting ready to shed again. The smaller one is open and appears to like the higher flow. My clownfish are doing well in the new flow regime as well.

There is a decent amount of algae on the front glass. I am going to scrape it but I want it to grow just a bit more as it makes good coral food so the more the merrier when I go to scrape it. Attached are some pictures I took of the GSP and the rest of the corals as well as a full tank shot. It looks like the water is green but I promise the water is not green. There is also a picture of my clowns who I think like the higher flow.
 

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Things are progressing well. The GSP opened up even more today. There are about 40 polyps open now. The other corals look great as well.

I just have to do something to keep the sand from blowing all over the tank. The flow from both pumps has scoured out the sand up front. I may mess with the flow depending on how things settle out. I just don't want to keep messing with things and stress the coral more.

I've attached pictures of the corals. I am looking to add some new ones around the first of the month if things continue to progress well. I want to go with zoanthids or even mushrooms. This tank needs all the color it can get.

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