Riptide_Reef’s JBJ 45g Rimless Flat Panel

Riptide_Reef · Jul 7, 2019

Full tank shot from today.

TheWB · Jul 9, 2019

Your tank looks great. How are you keeping the algae away. My Stax are really brown with diatoms. I’ve got a pretty big clean up crew now keeping it at bay. For being a couple of months in those are definitely clean rocks and sand. I’m jealous. Great job.

Riptide_Reef · Jul 9, 2019

TheWB said:
Your tank looks great. How are you keeping the algae away. My Stax are really brown with diatoms. I’ve got a pretty big clean up crew now keeping it at bay. For being a couple of months in those are definitely clean rocks and sand. I’m jealous. Great job.

Thanks!!

So far I’ve been pretty lucky about not getting much algae... but I’ve been pretty persistent with blowing off my rocks, stirring up the sand, and feeding fairly light. One thing I also learned from my old tank, is keeping the filter socks changed every few days. Every time I go to my LFS or place an online order, I buy a pair of socks to keep my stockpile building.

That’s not to say I haven’t had diatoms yet though... so don’t get me wrong lol! I had a small outbreak about 2-3 weeks ago that lasted a few days, but keeping my feeding in check, as well as routine water changes helped quite a bit and they went away without much fuss.

Speaking of cleanup crews, I have a pretty small cleanup crew as well, so not much bioload coming from that aspect of the tank either, which also helps keep feedings low. I started with 3 hermits, 2 Mexican turbo snails, and 5 astrea snails. I had one turbo die off about a week after adding him, as well as one hermit about a week after that. Then today I found one hermit munching on one of the astrea snails that he caught on the sand bed. I still don’t have any algae issues, so not going to add any new cuc until necessary.

TheWB · Jul 10, 2019

Thanks for explaining your process. I’m kinda the opposite, I’ve been feeding probably more than I should be but in a controlled way. I feed 2-3 times a day but I try to do it in a way that makes sure all of the food I put in gets eaten. I feel like it’s important to keep the fish fed well to stave off aggression and keep their strength up. My clowns were real small when I got them. I’m probably overthinking things but so far the fish seem healthy. The downside of that is the extra nutrients and I’m just letting that run it’s course naturally. I do have a reactor and a uv sterilizer ready to go if I feel like I need them. The one thing I need to improve on is replacing the filter pads more often. I should really be doing it every three days and it ends up being every 5 to 7 days. You’re showing good discipline with those socks. Keep up the good work.