My High Energy Rainbow Garden - Niji No Niwa

[naterealbig]

Hmm. Can't say I'm surprised haha. The strigosus can be real jerks. Nori availability and ample hiding zones will help. Maybe a bit more time in the acclimation box like you suggest. Make sure the tristis is really well fed and bulked up too. That will help it weather the inevitable greeting when he does come out of the the box again. There's no magic secret to adding tangs to a display piecemeal unfortunately. My secret for clients is I put in all the tangs at once, or in 2 sets depending on the tank. Best case is I can QT them all together, but sometimes that's not feasible and some have already been in a post QT holding tank. Even so the principle remains the same- add the tangs before anyone has set territories and there tends to be minimal targeted aggression before a stable hierarchy is established. I put a unicorn, regal blue, purple, orange shoulder, and hybrid powder into one of my personal tanks all on the same day and there were only a few skirmishes for the next couple days but nothing severe. Some of the size differences were pretty significant too.. Good luck with the compatibility! Every fish has it's quirks for better or worse

Thank you so much for the feedback here. I anticipated some issues - it seems worse when it actually happens. I really need to get a sterile tank setup for transfer and "rehab" - I'm just pretty maxed out on space with a fish QT, coral QT, and display in my apartment. I'll follow your recommendation, and keep the little guy in the box until I can fatten him up a bit.

Thank you!

 

[naterealbig]

As promised - scope update.....

Got the scope a couple days ago, but just had some time tonight to play around a bit. Pulled a dusty monitor out of my closet, found a power supply. Thought I was good until I realized it had an old RS232 connection only. Got an adapter for HDMI cable, and it was delivered today. Got it set up and played around with it a bit. Very nice that it streams directly to the monitor, without having to go through a software UI. 1080P @ 30 fps. The LED could use a little beef, but I can get a stronger one later if I need.

This things is AWESOME - it will be perfect for coral inspection. Incredible detail. And just in case you were wondering what Abe Lincoln's earlobe looks like on a penny.....

 

[naterealbig]

Man, I'm seriously slacking here. Can't believe it's been three months since my last update. A normal person would have made a ton of progress, but I'm not a normal person. Things have been slow... Partly because I'm perpetually broke, and also because I quarantine everything. It is for the best, but it can be super annoying sometimes.

For instance, I paid a pretty penny for some Algae Barn Chaeto... After 76 days in QT, it died under my Kessil H380.... Ugh. I'm now growing some Chaeto that started as a golf ball sized piece I got in a pack of mini brittle stars i got from someone on the boards.... It outgrew the quarantine tank that I am now using for some snails, brittle starfish, and shrimp in about two weeks using a cheap LED spotlight. Go figure. I'll still put the 380 into service, but I will acclimate slowly while using the same cheap LED in my display sump to get it started....

Here is a pic of the magic invertebrate QT.... 10 gallons, sitting on my kitchen counter. You've got to look close, but there are about 5 Astrea snails, 2 Tiger Nassarius, 2 Skunk Cleaner Shrimp, a ton of massive Amphipods, and at least 50 tiny mini Brittle Stars.... Only 39 more days until they are ready for the display.

 

[naterealbig]

Also got my coral quarantine set up finally. Finished about three weeks ago. 150 watt halide + 4 x t5. Corals will be kept here for 76 days before placing into display. This will give time for corals to acclimate to halide lighting, cycle through any Ich, and adjust to the 12dKH that I am running into the display. Still need to get the wires cleaned up....

 

[naterealbig]

These 3 goofballs are on day 7 of a rigorous prophylactic quarantine protocol. Took a few days, but got them all eating. Very excited to get them in the display. 3 more long days to go (assuming nothing pops up).... Fingers crossed....

 

[naterealbig]

Getting ready to perform visual inspection on a large Lobo that I got from my brother....

Note the magnifying goggles - these have a built-in LED and I'm using the 3x lens. My biggest concern is any bubble algae.... I will inspect this and all other softies/LPS several times over the next 76 days while in QT.

 

[naterealbig]

Here's the Lobo in my brothers tank.... A gem for sure.

 

[naterealbig]

My setup for inspecting SPS. Here I am looking for Red Bugs, nudibrachs, flat worms, spiders, and eggs. This would be impossible to do with colonies, so all corals going into QT will be in small fragment form.

Inspection is much easier on the corals than dipping, and I can be absolutely sure no pests enter the QT, or the display.

 

[rushbattle]

I like your style.

 

[naterealbig]

I like your style.

Thank you Rush!. This means a lot, and thank you for stopping by... I'm assuming you got your tank and it has water in it?. Link to build thread?

 

[rushbattle]

Thank you Rush!. This means a lot, and thank you for stopping by... I'm assuming you got your tank and it has water in it?. Link to build thread?

That lobo is super nice. Was it a LFS find?

I love your examination equipment, or whatever it should really be called. I am working on finding a dissecting scope for my son to check things out, but perhaps I will go the digital route. Could you share your setup with us? It looks really nice and high quality.

I would love to say I got some tanks, but that just isn't so. The glass is cut as of June 7th, so I am guessing they will be done in the next month or so. I will let you know if they ever get here and I actually put something inside them at some point. The sumps are almost done though. Here is a sneak peak.

 

[rushbattle]

Also got my coral quarantine set up finally. Finished about three weeks ago. 150 watt halide + 4 x t5. Corals will be kept here for 76 days before placing into display. This will give time for corals to acclimate to halide lighting, cycle through any Ich, and adjust to the 12dKH that I am running into the display. Still need to get the wires cleaned up....

This is also rad! Very well thought out and implemented for maximum efficiency in doing it's job. The aesthetics are really nice, and they are my style!

My fishless-coral-QT/frag-tank/clam-tank/whatever-the-fish-are-munching-on-and-needs-a-home-tank/etc is going to be 72x48x18. I am discovering that maintaining a fishless system is pretty hard, as the fish do such a good job of feeding the coral in a normal display. Let's keep a specific dialog going for the management of those conditions. Pincushion urchins and lots of snails are helping keep N and P in the water without being overrun by algae.

 

[naterealbig]

Hi Rush!

That lobo is super nice. Was it a LFS find?

The Lobo has actually been in "the family" for about 5 years now... My brother actually found it at a wholesaler while he was working for a LFS in Pensacola. It was about half dead when he scooped it. It was originally a maricultured piece.

I love your examination equipment, or whatever it should really be called. I am working on finding a dissecting scope for my son to check things out, but perhaps I will go the digital route. Could you share your setup with us? It looks really nice and high quality.

Thank you!. Examination equipment fits just fine.

Hahaha on purchasing one for your son. Coincidentally, I frequently let my son look at bugs and other various stuff he finds under it. Her absolutely loves it, and it has facilitated many father-son teaching moments...

Below is the exact setup I purchased. When monitor size is taken into account, it will zoom ~ 180x. The camera and stand are very heavy, just feels well built. For context, I can blow up an SPS polyp to about the size of a baseball. The scope has the ability to capture photo and video on a (self supplied) micro SD card. It comes with software, but will connect and can be operated directly to a monitor via (self supplied) HDMI cable. I'm not an expert on these but let me know what questions you have, and I'll answer them the best I can.

There are many variations of this setup, depending on space, goal, and budget. Here's one you don't need any external monitor for...

I would love to say I got some tanks, but that just isn't so. The glass is cut as of June 7th, so I am guessing they will be done in the next month or so. I will let you know if they ever get here and I actually put something inside them at some point. The sumps are almost done though. Here is a sneak peak.

Wow, that sump is serious. I love the cutouts for the probes and wires, and the heater mounts - it will definitely keep things tidy.

Looks like it might be set up for Triton? What are the dimensions? What do you plan on using for return and skimmer. Looks super sharp!. Judging by the tank dimensions I'll bet this is a monster.

 

[naterealbig]

This is also rad! Very well thought out and implemented for maximum efficiency in doing it's job. The aesthetics are really nice, and they are my style!

My fishless-coral-QT/frag-tank/clam-tank/whatever-the-fish-are-munching-on-and-needs-a-home-tank/etc is going to be 72x48x18. I am discovering that maintaining a fishless system is pretty hard, as the fish do such a good job of feeding the coral in a normal display. Let's keep a specific dialog going for the management of those conditions. Pincushion urchins and lots of snails are helping keep N and P in the water without being overrun by algae.

Thank you so much for the kind words and compliments!. I am completely jealous of those dimensions - I am saving those for my dream tank....

Interestingly, I'm experimenting right now with this very thing. My goal is to maintain very high nutrient, with low PO4/NO3. What I am currently using:

1. Barebottom main tank
2. Sump filled with LR and Chaeto, lit by a simple clip on outdoor led spot light bulb.
3. I feed twice per week 10ml from the following recipe:

60ml tank water
3 tsp Brightwell amino acids
1/2 tsp Reef Roids
1/2 tsp Reef Chili

I see an incredible feeding and coloration response from all corals - Sps, softies, and LPS. This food mix had something for everyone, with a perfect blend various particle sizes.

The first obstacle I had to overcome was prolonged food availability without spiking PO/NO (this happened initially), without having to target feed.... So, twice a week I do the following:. Turn off return pumps and skimmer upon lights out. Dose 10 ml of food mixture to water column. Leave overnight. In the morning, I turn on returns and skimmer, and add a 50 micron filter sock. I let this run until I get home from work, at which point I remove the filter sock. The system runs like this until the next feeding. The Chaeto and skimmer can process residual food, and maintain the PO4 < .05 and NO3 < 5.

Couple challenges with this: I need the display to stay at ~ 78F so I have a heater in the sump as well as the main tank. Also, I want to keep water moving over the Chaeto, so I added a small powerhead to the sump.

So far this is working great. I will keep you posted on changes and updates, and I'll snap some pics off after the next time I perform maintenance.

 

[rushbattle]

I love a good lobo story, way to keep it in the family!

Thanks a bunch for the amazon link, it’s getting harder and harder these days to find decent quality vs cheap junk that has fake reviews. The magic revealed by such a setup is priceless. My son is a bit too young right now, but I’m going to go ahead and set up a station to examine all sorts of things. Life (nature) is really literally unbelievable, and seeing it on a different scale helps keep that perspective.

The sumps are 60x22x16 and can run a filter roller and/or socks. Planning to run fine filter paper and mesh socks with filter pad liners on the display. The fishless system will have just mesh socks and the filter roller if it becomes necessary. The refugium isn’t big enough for Triton, and I’m averse to the cost particularly when the alk/Ca demand gets high on a bigger tank.

Varios-8 for the returns. In retrospect I’d do as you did and grab nice AC pumps, but the sump was supposed to be in my office with the tank and I wanted the quietest possible. They are super quiet, and we’re on super sale. RO Elite skimmers, overrated for tank size.

 

[rushbattle]

Thank you so much for the kind words and compliments!. I am completely jealous of those dimensions - I am saving those for my dream tank....

Interestingly, I'm experimenting right now with this very thing. My goal is to maintain very high nutrient, with low PO4/NO3. What I am currently using:

1. Barebottom main tank
2. Sump filled with LR and Chaeto, lit by a simple clip on outdoor led spot light bulb.
3. I feed twice per week 10ml from the following recipe:

60ml tank water
3 tsp Brightwell amino acids
1/2 tsp Reef Roids
1/2 tsp Reef Chili

I see an incredible feeding and coloration response from all corals - Sps, softies, and LPS. This food mix had something for everyone, with a perfect blend various particle sizes.

The first obstacle I had to overcome was prolonged food availability without spiking PO/NO (this happened initially), without having to target feed.... So, twice a week I do the following:. Turn off return pumps and skimmer upon lights out. Dose 10 ml of food mixture to water column. Leave overnight. In the morning, I turn on returns and skimmer, and add a 50 micron filter sock. I let this run until I get home from work, at which point I remove the filter sock. The system runs like this until the next feeding. The Chaeto and skimmer can process residual food, and maintain the PO4 < .05 and NO3 < 5.

Couple challenges with this: I need the display to stay at ~ 78F so I have a heater in the sump as well as the main tank. Also, I want to keep water moving over the Chaeto, so I added a small powerhead to the sump.

So far this is working great. I will keep you posted on changes and updates, and I'll snap some pics off after the next time I perform maintenance.

I like this approach! Thanks for all of the detail, it really helps to compare notes. Definitely need to keep feed in suspension for as long as possible, and this is definitely it! I’m going to try something similar in the big tank. Right now I’m just feeding twice a day high quality pellets, and using mechanical filtration as needed to keep N and P in a reasonable range. Once I get more invert grazers I’ll up the N and P, always see a growth spurt when they go up a bit beyond just detectable.

 

[naterealbig]

Don't even have corals in the display and had a chance to upgrade my 60 gallon coral QT to 110 gallon full grow out tank.... Complete with some incredible corals. Got about 140 frags coloring up now.... Only another 68 days before I added to the display. [emoji1]

 

[naterealbig]

Coral QT is doing well, minus a hair algae outbreak. 20 gallon water changes weekly, Chaeto, and my Reef Dynamics INS180 (props if you know what this is) is slowly starving it off. Every night I go and take a tooth brush to 15 or so frags dusting off the algae, and cleaning the egg crate underneath. PO4 = 0.01 and NO3 = 0.1 currently, but the frags are coloring up.

Still dosing my coral food recipe, 10 mL/once per week. May bump this up to 15 mL between 2 feedings - I may hold off though, until I see the improvement in color start to stall.

T5's are running 10 hrs per day since the corals were added. No halide art all for the first two weeks, and they are up to 2 hr 45 min now. Couple quick shots of the corals.

 

[naterealbig]

First round of Chaeto from Algae Barn died.... Can't remember if I mentioned this earlier or not. Between very low nutrients and a very powerful grow light, it was a bad combination. Determined to succeed, and being impatient like normal, I decided I would truly set up the Chaeto for "success". I acclimated the next batch slowly to the Kessil H380, and allowed phosphate and nitrate rise by turning off the skimmer, removing the filter sock, and discontinuing water changes.

I was getting great growth - the Chaeto was increasing~ 25% a week by weight. After about 6 weeks hair algae began creeping in to the display and fuge. Within 2 or 3 weeks of it starting, it had gotten so bad that the Chaeto had become completely covered in it. I reinstated the water changes, and began a rigorous deep cleaning of the tank and sump every two weeks. After over a month of this, along with daily scrubbing of rocks with a tooth brush, sand stirring, rock blowing, and having to trim almost 70% of the Chaeto to remove all hair algae, I'm throwing in the towel and converting to barebottom.

I contemplated adding GFO to a reactor, but then we just have one more thing to add to the list of maintenance. And I'm spending way too much time not enjoying the tank right now as it is. The tank will run cleaner, I'll use less calcium and alkalinity, and it will be easier to maintain in the long run - no sand to stir, or ever worry about. May even be able to cut out the fuge - we will see. I remember now why my last 5 or so systems were run with this method.

The problem is, I love the look of sand!. I found white PVC sheet at Home Depot that I think will do the trick. Bright white, and hard surface make for the look I want and will be easy to keep white. A 1/2" x 48" x 96" sheet will run me $67, and doubled-up will be perfect.

More to come. For now, here's the tank a few minutes ago. Took me 35 minutes to pull every last grain of sand.

 

[naterealbig]

And a screenshot of the countdown timer for adding my first batch of corals. This should be enough time for things to stabilize after the sand removal, and become completely bacterial driven.