SDReef's 330G CDA Acropora Dominant Mixed Reef

[Acropora52]

Looking great, especially for such a young tank. Can't wait to see what 2 years holds since everything will be acclimated and ready to grow!

 

[Operator Wrasse]

How were you able to keep such a clean system while starting with dry rock and sand? The growth and maturity of the system in 12 months is probably the best I've ever seen.

 

[sdreef]

Happy Birthday!

Looking wesome!

Thank you!

Looking great, especially for such a young tank. Can't wait to see what 2 years holds since everything will be acclimated and ready to grow!

Thanks! The LPS has been good for some instant gratification, but I would like to see the acros visually take over the reef. Hopefully, things stay on track. Long term I'm intrigued by the idea of attempting to induce spawning in the system. I've been fascinated by the work that's been done at Horniman and California Academy of Sciences.

 

[ScottB]

Thank you!



Thanks! The LPS has been good for some instant gratification, but I would like to see the acros visually take over the reef. Hopefully, things stay on track. Long term I'm intrigued by the idea of attempting to induce spawning in the system. I've been fascinated by the work that's been done at Horniman and California Academy of Sciences.

Did you see the video of the spawn in @FarmerTy 's tank? Pretty cool.

 

[sdreef]

How were you able to keep such a clean system while starting with dry rock and sand? The growth and maturity of the system in 12 months is probably the best I've ever seen.

Thanks! I've been fortunate to avoid a lot of issues. There are so many variables and I don't think it's any one thing.

Some things that I found helpful:
1. I believe the actual rocks makes a difference. Even though I dried them, using old Tonga and Fiji rocks may have helped.

2. Cycling the rock in advance and allowing the microfauna to become established was helpful.

3. There is good water movement and the open structure of the rocks helps a lot with this. I'm attaching a video that shows the flow in the different zones in the tank. I'm still working on it, and it varies throughout the day.

4. I observed early on that increasing the pH accelerated the growth of coralline. Once I saw coralline I felt comfortable adding acros which was after the tank had been running for a couple months.

5. Stability: I've been a fan of the continuous small water changes. The Trident has been helpful in keeping a close eye on the alkalinity. I underestimated the utility of checking the chemistry multiple times per day.

6. Feeding small amounts several times a day has been essential for the anthias, but I believe it helps the remainder of the system as well. I have several different wrasses and they get along. The frequent feeding has been helpful in maintaining a community feel as the fish are less inclined to get hangry. I would have expected more problems with the heavy feeding and nutrient import. Perhaps the clean up crew, heavy coralline growth, and the microbiome helped avoid

I'm planning on sending another set of cultures to aquabiomics to assess the progression of the microbiome.

Here's the video showing the current water movement in various parts of the system

 

[sdreef]

Did you see the video of the spawn in @FarmerTy 's tank? Pretty cool.

Thanks! I just found it. That's awesome

Build Thread - FarmerTy's 215-gallon SPS Tank

What can I say, I love my children Crazy how a piece I got over 10 years ago has gone around the hobby. How is yours looking now? Looking dead. Haha. I got a new frag of it last month. Looking to restart the magic. Why did you make your baby so sensitive. :p

www.reef2reef.com

 

[sdreef]

@rds85

I added the fuel filter to the dosing line for the coral booster using two 5/16" to 1/4" quick connect fittings I picked up at Home Depot. The silicone dosing line wouldn't hold suction with the quick connect fittings so I switched over to more rigid RO 1/4" RO tubing that seems to be working. I also changed the timing of the stirrer to go on a couple hours prior to the dosing so I don't pick up as much of the precipitate / crystals in the dosing line.

 

[sdreef]

Some recent fish photos. Really difficult to get a sharp photo of the wrasse.

 

[Operator Wrasse]

Are those Tuka anthias? I've heard they're the most difficult people anthias to keep.

 

[sdreef]

Are those Tuka anthias? I've heard they're the most difficult people anthias to keep.

Very similar, Pseudanthias pascalus, also known as purple queens or amethyst anthias. I've been very fortunate to keep them for the past year, but it is a challenge to get them to eat and they need to be fed 5+ times/ day.

Awesome Fish Spotlight: Who took a tuka and made it pascalus? | Reef Builders | The Reef and Saltwater Aquarium Blog

It’s been awhile since I’ve posted, but the hiatus ends today with another Awesome Fish Spotlight. This time we feature not one, but two species as we draw attention to Pseudanthias pascalus and…

reefbuilders.com

 

[rds85]

@rds85

I added the fuel filter to the dosing line for the coral booster using two 5/16" to 1/4" quick connect fittings I picked up at Home Depot. The silicone dosing line wouldn't hold suction with the quick connect fittings so I switched over to more rigid RO 1/4" RO tubing that seems to be working. I also changed the timing of the stirrer to go on a couple hours prior to the dosing so I don't pick up as much of the precipitate / crystals in the dosing line.

Let me know how this goes over the next month or two. If it works I will be copying your set up!

 

[sdreef]

The red tree sponge is the hawkfish's favorite perch. Over the past 9 months I've noted the tissues periodically lose color and then recedes. I haven't observed any toxicity in the system. The sponge adds a really nice contrast and dimension in the tank, but unfortunately its declining and may need to get removed from the system soon.

 

[Acropora52]

The red tree sponge is the hawkfish's favorite perch. Over the past 9 months I've noted the tissues periodically lose color and then recedes. I haven't observed any toxicity in the system. The sponge adds a really nice contrast and dimension in the tank, but unfortunately its declining and may need to get removed from the system soon.

That's a great shot but a bummer about the sponge. How is the gorgonian doing? I wonder what it is about their needs that proves difficult?

I would figure with your Plank dosing particulate matter you'd do well but I wonder if there's something specific that they consume that's lacking. It may also be related to initial injury/specimen.

 

[sdreef]

That's a great shot but a bummer about the sponge. How is the gorgonian doing? I wonder what it is about their needs that proves difficult?

I would figure with your Plank dosing particulate matter you'd do well but I wonder if there's something specific that they consume that's lacking. It may also be related to initial injury/specimen.

I saw @Lost in the Sauce has a red tree sponge that is doing well. His looks a little different with more texture and I suspect it may be a different species.

Regarding the blueberry gorgonian, the cyano in february and march injured it quickly. The portion that survived looks good 10 months later. I need a better camera to do it justice.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I saw @Lost in the Sauce has a red tree sponge that is doing well. His looks a little different with more texture and I suspect it may be a different species.

Regarding the blueberry gorgonian, the cyano in february and march injured it quickly. The portion that survived looks good 10 months later. I need a better camera to do it justice.

My red tree sponge has been in the tank for less than a month but during that time has looked normal and healthy to me.

I've read they are hard to keep. My system is weird and can grow some weird stuff. On the other hand, there are also whole categories of corals that I just can't get to live at all.

 

[sdreef]

My red tree sponge has been in the tank for less than a month but during that time has looked normal and healthy to me.

I've read they are hard to keep. My system is weird and can grow some weird stuff. On the other hand, there are also whole categories of corals that I just can't get to live at all.

I hope it does well for you. Mine looked good for the first 6 months, and gradually has receded. They are beautiful though, and I wish I had a better understanding of how to meet their nutritional needs.

 

[Lost in the Sauce]

I hope it does well for you. Mine looked good for the first 6 months, and gradually has receded. They are beautiful though, and I wish I had a better understanding of how to meet their nutritional needs.

That seems to be the story around the horn. Seems like they do well for a while, then once they start failing, they go quickly.

 

[sdreef]

So I'm considering tapping out on the phosphates and considering using TM Elimi Phos as @ScottB had suggested at one point.

I had one millie frag RTN last month. This particular frag had been puttering along since I dipped all the corals all summer and I didn't make too much of it.

Then this week my acrolandia tenuis which had been growing very well (and my favorite tenuis) RTN'd out of no where . Most of the corals in the system look really good with good growth and polyp extension. In general, the tank looks good, but two months ago everything looked really good. Now, there are some pieces that looks less happy.

I removed the dying sponge to remove that as a variable. The alkalinity has been very stable around 7.8. In the past 3 months it has never been below 7.6 or above 8.2 and I've adjusted the kalk dosing to flatten the alkalinity curve. Temperature has been 76-78 consistently. pH has been stable and currently is 8.1 to 8.4. I calibrated the probe in mid September and then again last night. Calcium is up to 460. Mg is 1340. That's a long way of saying, I think all the other usual parameter have been stable and in a good range.

I sent a new ICP test this morning and await results. I checked phosphates today and measured 0.9 on the Hanna. That is likely elevated above the true level a little because I had already started feeding for the day. I'll recheck in the morning but believe the true value of phosphates are likely around 0.7 to 0.8. So I'd like to bring it down to below 0.5 in the short term and down to 0.1 to 0.2 in the long term. Although, I'm not clear that things are less happy due to the elevated phosphates, I also don't believe those levels are helping anything. Nitrates are 25 to 40 on the Nyos test kit.

Nothing is crashing, There's no emergency. It's possible I'm just upset I lost of one of my favorite acros, but I've decided it would be best to correct course a bit. So where should I start?

Here's what I have to play with:

• 100 gallons of fresh salt water on hand.
• rowa phos on hand, and an available reactor
• I have ordered TM elimiphos, lanthanum chloride
• *The fuge is maxed out in terms of the amount of chaeto and the photoperiod is at 16 hours. When I went up to 18 hours, I thought chaeto growth slowed which was counterproductive

I plan to go slow and lower phosphates by no more than 0.1 in a day or 0.2- 0.3 in a week. I was thinking starting with a couple 10% water changes. Adding a small amount of rowa phos to the reactor since I have it on hand. I will receive the elimiphos in a couple days and will plan to dose it to the overflow. I'll need to calculate the dosage, but the actual volume of water in my system accounting for displacement is about 250 gallons.

I appreciate any input.

 

[ScottB]

So I'm considering tapping out on the phosphates and considering using TM Elimi Phos as @ScottB had suggested at one point.

I had one millie frag RTN last month. This particular frag had been puttering along since I dipped all the corals all summer and I didn't make too much of it.

Then this week my acrolandia tenuis which had been growing very well (and my favorite tenuis) RTN'd out of no where . Most of the corals in the system look really good with good growth and polyp extension. In general, the tank looks good, but two months ago everything looked really good. Now, there are some pieces that looks less happy.

I removed the dying sponge to remove that as a variable. The alkalinity has been very stable around 7.8. In the past 3 months it has never been below 7.6 or above 8.2 and I've adjusted the kalk dosing to flatten the alkalinity curve. Temperature has been 76-78 consistently. pH has been stable and currently is 8.1 to 8.4. I calibrated the probe in mid September and then again last night. Calcium is up to 460. Mg is 1340. That's a long way of saying, I think all the other usual parameter have been stable and in a good range.

I sent a new ICP test this morning and await results. I checked phosphates today and measured 0.9 on the Hanna. That is likely elevated above the true level a little because I had already started feeding for the day. I'll recheck in the morning but believe the true value of phosphates are likely around 0.7 to 0.8. So I'd like to bring it down to below 0.5 in the short term and down to 0.1 to 0.2 in the long term. Although, I'm not clear that things are less happy due to the elevated phosphates, I also don't believe those levels are helping anything.

Nothing is crashing, There's no emergency. It's possible I'm just upset I lost of one of my favorite acros, but I've decided it would be best to correct course a bit. So where should I start?

Here's what I have to play with:

• 100 gallons of fresh salt water on hand.
• rowa phos on hand, and an available reactor
• I have ordered TM elimiphos, lanthanum chloride
• *The fuge is maxed out in terms of the amount of chaeto and the photoperiod is at 16 hours. When I went up to 18 hours, I thought chaeto growth slowed which was counterproductive

I plan to go slow and lower phosphates by no more than 0.1 in a day or 0.2- 0.3 in a week. I was thinking starting with a couple 10% water changes. Adding a small amount of rowa phos to the reactor since I have it on hand. I will receive the elimiphos in a couple days and will plan to dose it to the overflow. I'll need to calculate the dosage, but the actual volume of water in my system accounting for displacement is about 250 gallons.

I appreciate any input.

With otherwise stable numbers, shipping out an ICP is always my first step (if I don't have a recent one).

That level of PO4 is going to bother some SPS. I am generally nagging people to RAISE phosphates due to all the "outdated" info out there pressing for near zero. Your sticks all acclimated to it over time, but at some point a given specie will just tap out. Sorry about the Acrolandia. I don't have it but it remains on my (ever expanding) tenuis list.

Keep repeating the mantra of going slow. Also, did I miss a nitrate number? If you are nitrate limited, simply dosing it back up will lower PO4 pronto.

Elimi Phos will make quick work of the PO4 in the water, but the effects won't last long. The vast majority is bound up in your substrate/rock. 24 hours later it will leach out some more and likely bounce back to where it was. WCs remove nitrate in proportion pretty much, but not so with PO4. Just keep plodding along and BUY MORE PO4 reagent. A good chance that you will need another bottle or two of Elimi.

While I have never had this result, enough people have reported tang distress to the resulting precipitate that it is worth being cautious. Good clean socks or other mechanical. Super slow dose rate into the overflow. Some people go so far as to dilute the Elemi and slow dose it. If you were using the concentrated (swimming pool) versions I would call that mandatory. I was only dosing 9ml and just spread it out over 3-4 doses over an hour without any ill effects.

 

[sdreef]

With otherwise stable numbers, shipping out an ICP is always my first step (if I don't have a recent one).

That level of PO4 is going to bother some SPS. I am generally nagging people to RAISE phosphates due to all the "outdated" info out there pressing for near zero. Your sticks all acclimated to it over time, but at some point a given specie will just tap out. Sorry about the Acrolandia. I don't have it but it remains on my (ever expanding) tenuis list.

Keep repeating the mantra of going slow. Also, did I miss a nitrate number? If you are nitrate limited, simply dosing it back up will lower PO4 pronto.

Elimi Phos will make quick work of the PO4 in the water, but the effects won't last long. The vast majority is bound up in your substrate/rock. 24 hours later it will leach out some more and likely bounce back to where it was. WCs remove nitrate in proportion pretty much, but not so with PO4. Just keep plodding along and BUY MORE PO4 reagent. A good chance that you will need another bottle or two of Elimi.

While I have never had this result, enough people have reported tang distress to the resulting precipitate that it is worth being cautious. Good clean socks or other mechanical. Super slow dose rate into the overflow. Some people go so far as to dilute the Elemi and slow dose it. If you were using the concentrated (swimming pool) versions I would call that mandatory. I was only dosing 9ml and just spread it out over 3-4 doses over an hour without any ill effects.

Thanks for the advice. I'm fortunate I have a friend who has a frag of the acrolandia for me, but I don't want to find frags periodically bailing out on me. I was just partial to how it was coloring up. I'm sure anyone who's kept acros has experienced this at some point. The nitrates measure 25 to 40 on the Nyos test kit. I will order some more phosphate reagent.

I will keep telling myself to go slow. I use mechanical filtration, so I should be good there. I will be very cautious with the lanthanum. So given the nitrates are high as well, maybe I'll start with a water change?