Ryshark’s 120-Gallon Acropora Tank

[biecacka]

I like the scape…if I was doing it again, I would cut some of my rocks flat for more shelves like you did.

corey

 

[ryshark]

What's your plans for stocking?

On the way home from work yesterday I stopped into a LFS and bought my first fish. I’ll post a pic.

Here is my stocking plan:

Round 1:
-One Spot Foxface. I want a serious algae eater this time around.
-Clownfish pair. I’ve only had good luck with clowns over the years. Never seen aggression and never been bitten! Hopefully these two follow suit.

Round 2:
-Royal Gramma
-Copperband. If I can find one that eats dry food, so probably unlikely.
-Instead, I’ll probably pick up a few Anthias.

Round 3:
-Whitetail Bristletooth Tang. Another proven algae eater.
-Blue Hippo Tang. I know my tank is a bit short for this one. I’ll get a small one and re-home it later if I need to. I really liked having a blue tang in my 180-gallon.

Round 4:
-Springer damsels x 3-5. I don’t think I’ve ever had damsels, but supposedly these are peaceful and good utilitarian fish for pests.

Honorable mention:
-I usually get wrasses instead of damsels, like yellow coris wrasse, melanarus wrasse, etc. However, this is my first bare bottom and I don’t think they would appreciate no sand.
-I’d like to get a purple firefish or another cool looking firefish, however, I’m going to try and have no screen on this tank so no firefish as they also tend to be jumpers.
- Mystery wrasse. Never had one but heard they can get mean and also the whole no screen issue.

I should have my lights on by tomorrow, so I’m going to place a CUC order, probably next week. I’m still deciding if I should go 100% snails or add in some hermits too.

I don’t plan to wait too long to get my first corals. I may start with a nice torch first to play it a little safe, or maybe jump straight to acros.

 

[ryshark]

I like the scape…if I was doing it again, I would cut some of my rocks flat for more shelves like you did.

corey

Thanks. That’s one of the few benefits of a re-boot. I’ve liked this flat rock look for awhile and now I was able to do it.
Lots of shelves and kind of like stadium seating, workings it’s way up.

 

[ryshark]

My replacement bulb came in so here we go with lights on the rocks day-1. I ordered a cleanup crew which should be here in the middle/end of next week.

Now that my lights are on I cleaned the glass. I don’t know why but there seems to be a haze on the inside of the glass now. It was not there before and it is super annoying. I tried to get it off with the Mighty Magnets pad and also the blade on the AlgaeFree glass cleaner. It’s not coming off. I’m assuming it came from mixing the salt in the tank…. all of the powerheads, etc have a white dusting on them. Now I wish I would have used my go-to saltmix for the initial fill, ESV, which is always crystal clear.

 

[Perry]

Just read through, it's going to be a challenge for sure, but you seem up to the task, looking forward to seeing you progress!
Cheers

 

[Perry]

.

 

[ryshark]

I picked up a couple more fish today. A small Blue Tang and Royal Gramma. This weekend I’ll probably be tempted to buy a coral from TSA’s sale.

 

[ryshark]

First Coral
Although this tank will be 90% acropora, I figured I would start with a LPS so I bought a
TSA Hologram hammer. It came in today from TSA and FedEx was on time. It’s just starting to open up a bit. I’ll get another pic when it is fully extended.

Frag Plug Idea
Check out these new Marco Nano Shelf rocks. Although it says nothing about using them for frags, I think it’s perfect for them. They match identically to my aquascape, they prevent snails from bulldozing frags yet I can still move them around the tank. Also a lot better looking than a tile. Should offer plenty of room for my acros to lay down a foundation.

Coralline
I wanted to seed my 100% dry Marco rocks so I found that @TopShelfAquatics sells coralline. The amount they gave me was way more and better than what I expected to get based off the picture on their website. When I took the lid off this stuff stunk bad, really bad! Maybe a little die off, I don’t know, but I still put it in my tank

Tomorrow I’m picking up what will be my “show” fish.

Next week may be time to put in a few acros.

 

[Perry]

Very cool!
I just got done treating a bag of that nano marco as well. 48 hours in bleach water. Then sprayed off with hose, then air dry, then 48 hour soak in rodi. Mine have been ready for a week, but haven't placed in sump yet. I too am very impressed with shapes. I use this method for half if my coeals, this way as they become colonies and get large, they can be moved about the tank.
Hope your hammer does well, I bet your chomping at the bit to get acros in there, lol

 

[ScottB]

First Coral
Although this tank will be 90% acropora, I figured I would start with a LPS so I bought a
TSA Hologram hammer. It came in today from TSA and FedEx was on time. It’s just starting to open up a bit. I’ll get another pic when it is fully extended.

Frag Plug Idea
Check out these new Marco Nano Shelf rocks. Although it says nothing about using them for frags, I think it’s perfect for them. They match identically to my aquascape, they prevent snails from bulldozing frags yet I can still move them around the tank. Also a lot better looking than a tile. Should offer plenty of room for my acros to lay down a foundation.

Coralline
I wanted to seed my 100% dry Marco rocks so I found that @TopShelfAquatics sells coralline. The amount they gave me was way more and better than what I expected to get based off the picture on their website. When I took the lid off this stuff stunk bad, really bad! Maybe a little die off, I don’t know, but I still put it in my tank

Tomorrow I’m picking up what will be my “show” fish.

Next week may be time to put in a few acros.

I took a hammer & chisel to some Marco shelf to do just that.

 

[ryshark]

Very cool!
I just got done treating a bag of that nano marco as well. 48 hours in bleach water. Then sprayed off with hose, then air dry, then 48 hour soak in rodi. Mine have been ready for a week, but haven't placed in sump yet. I too am very impressed with shapes. I use this method for half if my coeals, this way as they become colonies and get large, they can be moved about the tank.
Hope your hammer does well, I bet your chomping at the bit to get acros in there, lol

Exactly, the shapes and sizes variations are nice. Yet all flat.
I didn’t think about treating them, supposedly they are safe to put in as-is. However, so far I only put in the 1-piece the hammer is epoxied to. For that piece I did a very quick RODI rinse.

I am chomping at the bit for acros. I want to get a few and then force myself to wait and see how they do for at least 1-month.

 

[ryshark]

I took a hammer & chisel to some Marco shelf to do just that.

Nice, I guess a lot of us had the idea. I was buying the Two little fishies version of this called, little feet, but they were super thick.
I like the Marco shelf a lot better.
No more hammers and chisels needed now that they have this nano version.

 

[ryshark]

Cleanup Crew
My order shipped out about a week later than expected, from a misunderstanding. In that time a little bit of hair algae started to take hold, but nothing crazy, yet. I attached a screen shot of what I ordered. I wish I would have gotten a couple more of the Mexican Turbo snails, as they seem to make the biggest dent in the GHA, by far. I think all of the snails survived the trip.

Quarantine Tank
I can’t believe I’m setting up a QT.
I’ve never really had a QT before and I’ve always been a big proponent of putting fish directly into the display and keeping them healthy to fight off disease. This method has worked for me for about 15-years. However, it finally caught up to me.

All my fish died, with the exception of the Foxface which is in pretty bad shape. I think it was a combination of parasites, plus a bacterial bloom which probably consumed a bunch of oxygen. The stinky water from the coralline I used to seed my tank, probably didn’t help the cloudy water bacterial bloom situation. The day after that is when things really went downhill.

Yesterday, my LFS offered to put my foxface in his QT with copper for me while I setup my QT. This is a different LFS which the parasite came from. The LFS with the sick fish, supposedly QT and treat all their fish before going on the sales floor….

I miss the old days of LiveAquaria and their 14-day guarantee, which I rarely needed.

RIP
-Whitetail Bristletooth: this hurts the most
-Blue Tang
-Clownfish x2
-Royal Gramma

Moving Forward
My 76-day display tank fallow period started today. Whatever parasite in there will be dead by then. Then I plan to treat all new fish in Coppersafe before adding them to the display tank.

The good news is that my tank is looking very clear and the TSA Hologram Hammer is doing well. I plan to feed the tank still: Phyto, OysterFeast and Benepets and monitor everything, especially Alkalinity, PO4 and Nitrate. I’m also shutting down my skimmer until I get fish back in the tank.

I’ve got a nice acro pack waiting to be sent, but I’m going to be away for a little bit, so I’m going to wait until I get back before it ships.

 

[ryshark]

Although I’m still dosing MB CLEAN weekly, it seems I am unable to avoid the ugly stage as I had hoped. I added another 6-Mexican Turbos snails last week and 10-Trochus snails today.

Majority of the astrea and trochus I got from ReefCleaners died soon after. It was a 3-day shipping trip for them. But the Turbo and Nerites from ReefCleaners, seem to be doing well and eating the GHA. Unfortunately, the Nerites pretty much just keep the back wall clean and not the rocks.

Once this GHA goes away, I plan to add acros. The TSA Hologram hammer is doing well.

 

[2_much_junk_in_the_sump]

Although I’m still dosing MB CLEAN weekly, it seems I am unable to avoid the ugly stage as I had hoped. I added another 6-Mexican Turbos snails last week and 10-Trochus snails today.

Majority of the astrea and trochus I got from ReefCleaners died soon after. It was a 3-day shipping trip for them. But the Turbo and Nerites from ReefCleaners, seem to be doing well and eating the GHA. Unfortunately, the Nerites pretty much just keep the back wall clean and not the rocks.

Once this GHA goes away, I plan to add acros. The TSA Hologram hammer is doing well.

I started with dead rock too and it took me at least 8 months before I could keep acros in my tank. You are almost definitely going to kill any acro you put in there. I didn't listen either and I wasted hundreds of dollars, maybe even thousands. I haven't had the courage to do the math.

There is a company called aquabiomics that sells live reef rubble and sand loaded with good bacteria. It is a great way to jumpstart a tank, but it's never in stock so you have to get on the notify list. It's also tested to be sure there is nothing bad in there. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

 

[ryshark]

I started with dead rock too and it took me at least 8 months before I could keep acros in my tank. You are almost definitely going to kill any acro you put in there. I didn't listen either and I wasted hundreds of dollars, maybe even thousands. I haven't had the courage to do the math.

There is a company called aquabiomics that sells live reef rubble and sand loaded with good bacteria. It is a great way to jumpstart a tank, but it's never in stock so you have to get on the notify list. It's also tested to be sure there is nothing bad in there. Just a suggestion. Good luck.

Thanks, I’ll look into the rubble and sand. I’ve done that before with products from IPSF.

Things have been going slowly for me with other issues that by the time I finally put acros in this tank, I’ll probably be 4-5 months out from my dry rocks initially getting wet to start cycling. Right now I’m still battling the new tank with dry rock, ugly stage which I thought I would be able to avoid by using MB Clean. I feel if I had some tangs in there or even my foxface (which is in my QT) then I may be past this stage. I’m getting there slowly from low nutrients and lots of snails. I keep adding more snails and I put some hermit crabs in this week too. I’m also dosing MB Clean daily now at 5ml per 25-gallons. I am forcing myself to wait until the Green Hair Algae is gone before I add acros. However, as soon as it’s gone, I’m going to get them. My biggest concern at that point is that my tank will still be fallow until May 20th. I know it’s possible that I’ve re-introduced ich or some other parasite from snails and hermits, but it’s a risk I’m willing to take to get the GHA under control.
My TSA Hologram hammer is doing well still.

 

[ryshark]

The Green Hair Algae is finally gone. I have pink and purple specs of coraline everywhere.

I’m itching to have acros shipped in, however, I still have 17-days left of the display tank being fallow. My nutrients are super low from daily dosing of bacteria and feeding the tank nothing but live phytoplankton. I’m talking like .01 - .02 PO4 and although my nitrate is detectable, it is less than 1.

I think the smart thing will be to wait until I can add fish back in my tank before getting the acros, right?

Part of me wants to get the acros now and then start daily feedings of Oyster Feast, Roti Feast and Benereef on alternating days. But, I think the safe bet may be to wait another 17-days for the fish to go back in.

 

[Ugin]

The Green Hair Algae is finally gone. I have pink and purple specs of coraline everywhere.

I’m itching to have acros shipped in, however, I still have 17-days left of the display tank being fallow. My nutrients are super low from daily dosing of bacteria and feeding the tank nothing but live phytoplankton. I’m talking like .01 - .02 PO4 and although my nitrate is detectable, it is less than 1.

I think the smart thing will be to wait until I can add fish back in my tank before getting the acros, right?

Part of me wants to get the acros now and then start daily feedings of Oyster Feast, Roti Feast and Benereef on alternating days. But, I think the safe bet may be to wait another 17-days for the fish to go back in.

Hell yeah man! Grats on winning the GHA battle and your coraline growth.

I think you have the right attitude, hold off on the acros for just a bit to dial in your nutrients. No need to take the plunge just to brown out your shiny sticks.

Question. I finished a 2 week round of daily Clean then did a nice water change. Would you suggest continuing to do daily dosing in my position till the gha is gone?

 

[ryshark]

Hell yeah man! Grats on winning the GHA battle and your coraline growth.

I think you have the right attitude, hold off on the acros for just a bit to dial in your nutrients. No need to take the plunge just to brown out your shiny sticks.

Question. I finished a 2 week round of daily Clean then did a nice water change. Would you suggest continuing to do daily dosing in my position till the gha is gone?

Thanks!

Yes, I definitely think you should keep daily dosing CLEAN at the full recommended daily dose. I just looked at my notes and I have been daily dosing CLEAN for 30-days straight. Right before I dose I turn my skimmer off for 4-hours and then turn it back on. I also kept up on my mechanical filtration the entire time to help filter out any detritus or dead algae.

I actually did lights out on days 1-3 of the daily dosing of CLEAN, to give it a jump start (in my own mind) I'm not sure if that helped or not. But I think it did.

30-days later of daily dosing and the last bit of GHA was gone this morning. I'm also up to about 12-tubo snails which make more progress as the GHA dies back.

 

[ryshark]

My “tester acros” arrived today!!! This is a 4-piece, what I call quality over quantity, battlebox. The first two are rainbow Tenuis.
I’ll try to get some pics later when the lights come on.