Susan's RS Reefer 3xl 900 Fantasy-Dream Build

[Susan Edwards]

Tested tank.
Alk 8.2
CA 450 salifert/549 hanna ugh!
Mg 1410 hanna/over 1500 Salifert
No3 .3
PO4 0 dosed. But there is tons of algae again so I know there are nutrients in there.

Have Reef Flux. Maybe Wed. Need to take skimmer out to clean and the reactor.

Cleaned glass. I went way too long! Had to wait for replacement blade for my flipper. Having to use the flipper and my razor blade. The sides need more work.

RBT in acclimation (shu) box. Seems okay so far. I try to squirt some food thru top. Adding vitamins, phyto to the food. Also I add phyto and ab+ to that side of the tank. Hoping some of the extra stuff will help it recover.

I am amazed at my coral growth. Sometimes, my tank just makes me cry--good tears as it is everything I wanted. Yes, there are issues--will always be the ups and downs, but after the last one, to see and know that I can do this makes me happy. The 3 new torches are beautiful, the duncans long and wavy and the new one, from 5 heads to more than I could count! Candy cane from 4 to 12 heads, montiporas spreading, other encrusting and spreading. The new acros, while still not full color or obvious growth have new growth and pe on bases--green. The Teddy bear has some of its pink back. The panera rose is deeper in color and the pale side is now colored. Zoas going to town big time. Oompa loompa from 2 heads to many. Even a micro goni seems to be coming back. It's on the zoa garden rock. May have to move it eventually if it continues to recover.

Here are some pics. My 2 new dragonets have grown a lot, the blue-dot goby out all the time and all over the tank. I think my sand bed already looks whiter! He has a burrow beneath the plate coral who isn't doing so well. Having to blow it clean a bit.

Yellow tort April 2022 and today. Huge growth

Monti Capricornus? Nov 2021 and today. The favia ? below had 2 heads and not good ones.

Pectinia April 2022 and today

New torches

Was a small stick

This one embeded onto rock. 2nd pic back side. All monti digitatas are not fingering out.

cyphastra-branching now embeding on rock

Panera Rose

And some of the new fishes or those posing....

 

[blaxsun]

Your corals are looking really great Susan! I love our flame hawkfish as well - such personality!

 

[Susan Edwards]

Your corals are looking really great Susan! I love our flame hawkfish as well - such personality!

yeah. Nosy is what I call mine lol's. So what corals do you have that have amazed you with growth.

 

[blaxsun]

yeah. Nosy is what I call mine lol's. So what corals do you have that have amazed you with growth.

Other than pulsing xenias (which I removed, salted the earth and then burned with fire), all my flowerpots seem to be doing really well (mainly gonioporas) - including a rare red bernardpora which is just the coolest coral. Torches seem to be doing great (never had an issue) and my SPS are really taking off (the plate corals and acropora, with the acros probably quadrupling in size over 6 months!)

 

[Susan Edwards]

Other than pulsing xenias (which I removed, salted the earth and then burned with fire), all my flowerpots seem to be doing really well (mainly gonioporas) - including a rare red bernardpora which is just the coolest coral. Torches seem to be doing great (never had an issue) and my SPS are really taking off (the plate corals and acropora, with the acros probably quadrupling in size over 6 months!)

cool. Post some pics on your build! In case you don't have recent lol's

 

[blaxsun]

cool. Post some pics on your build! In case you don't have recent lol's

I will take some new shots shortly. I have some GSP just piled in a few corners and a barnacle I need to rearrange first!

 

[Susan Edwards]

This is the week for tank lighting issues. No whites on ai prime 26's (I think that's what they are) on the 45g. If those are out, maybe others as well. . No wonder the tank was so dark and too blue for me! And maybe caused the issues with the nem. So I Ordered Nicrew lights on amazon and will send the bad light in to see if it can be repaired. If not t hey'll offer me 40% off a new one. Which I'd prob. do and then either use both lights or have a spare.

Bulb went out in the freshwater tank. Got one in. It was in a zillion bits. They stuck it in a plastic mailer! No padding... They sent a replacement but I also ordered another. A set of 2. Put 1 in. Dead after a day. Looks like an old bulb which prob. means my hood is no good....Got the replacement from petco. Box has a big hole in it. Going to just send it back. At least it was packed better but I no longer need as I just bought an led light for the tank. Stuck with 1 bulb. This was cheaper than another light hood.

What a pain and at xmas yet!

This tank seems to be running smoothly. No changes. Need to test tomorrow to see if I have po4 and no3. Feeding heavy and using neo phos.

edit: the cyphastrea is pale. Not liking it too clean I think.

 

[blaxsun]

You'll have to post a year end FTS!

 

[Susan Edwards]

You'll have to post a year end FTS!

good idea. And a video. Both will have that nem in the acclimation box though...

 

[Susan Edwards]

Almost blew it big time!!! Turned on 1 heater last night as tank was a bit cooler than I wanted right before bedtime. I adjusted the apex programming. Totally forgot to turn heater back to auto!! Tank 83 this morning! Yikes. Opened window and turned on overhead ceiling fan. No harm but geeze, that could have been a disaster.

Need to remove all my carbon and purigen and dose. I'm fighting to keep po4 and no3. Had po4 yesterday from heavy dosing and feeding. Can't wait on this algae.

 

[blaxsun]

Almost blew it big time!!! Turned on 1 heater last night as tank was a bit cooler than I wanted right before bedtime. I adjusted the apex programming. Totally forgot to turn heater back to auto!! Tank 83 this morning! Yikes. Opened window and turned on overhead ceiling fan. No harm but geeze, that could have been a disaster.

Need to remove all my carbon and purigen and dose. I'm fighting to keep po4 and no3. Had po4 yesterday from heavy dosing and feeding. Can't wait on this algae.

I did the reverse a few months back; turned the heaters off during maintenance and forgot to turn them back on. Temperature dropped down to 75°F (ish) but everything seemed fine. One of the advantages of having the tank in a wide open room in the basement (ambient heating/cooling never really lets it get too hot or too cold).

 

[Susan Edwards]

reef flux in. 3rd time in this year!!!! Added enough for total tank volume. I think I was doing water volume before. Now I have to watch no3 and po4! I will leave it in for at least 4 weeks. And like last time, use carbon to filter it out and some small awc's over a week.

 

[Susan Edwards]

I did the reverse a few months back; turned the heaters off during maintenance and forgot to turn them back on. Temperature dropped down to 75°F (ish) but everything seemed fine. One of the advantages of having the tank in a wide open room in the basement (ambient heating/cooling never really lets it get too hot or too cold)

I need to hook up those new helios heaters. After the holidays. Taking a full week off 2nd week in Jan. 3 days or so for me and 3 or 4 to go see dau and grandsons (only 1.5 hrs away). I'll spend 3 days or so with them.

I wish there was someone down here I could pay to help me with all the yearly maintenance lol's. Need to rope hubby into it....

 

[Susan Edwards]

Silly Dave!

 

[blaxsun]

Dave always cracks me up. Sea cucumbers are a never-ending source of entertainment...

 

[Susan Edwards]

Dave always cracks me up. Sea cucumbers are a never-ending source of entertainment...

that they are!! Still looking for a black one!

 

[Susan Edwards]

Need to test today. Things look good at least. Power out for about 5 hrs yesterday. Glad I have backups for the mp40's. Keeps some flow. But not surface agitation. I'm guessing in a long power outage I should move them closer to the surface? One drawback to these is you can't point them toward the surface. I put in some airstones to help. Need to order more batteries....

still need to do yearly maintenance. Yeah, procrastinating. dislike disconnecting things that are working in case they don't start up again lol's. I'll have to get 2-3 days off in a row in January. I am taking the 8-15th off but leaving either 10 or 11th for my dau 's to spend a few days with grandsons. Don't want to do anything before that might affect stability of tank though as hubby will be in charge and he is not a reefer--just likes the corals lol's

Will get a year end /year beginning video and pics.

Thinking of making some fish food.

My red hawk fish is spying on me as I type lol's . One of my fav. fish.

 

[blaxsun]

What's with all the rolling blackouts in CA? Yes, in a prolonged power outage I'd probably move them closer up towards the surface a bit more.

 

[Susan Edwards]

What's with all the rolling blackouts in CA? Yes, in a prolonged power outage I'd probably move them closer up towards the surface a bit more.

Not rolling. Caused by the weather. Just out neighborhood this last time. Saw the crew at a house on the street behind us. They were digging in a yard so must have been something there. Luckily we don't have power issues often. Thou last year, we had 3 days in a row of outages--again, localized.

 

[Susan Edwards]

Made it the rest of the week with the storms with no more power outs! Got generator fixed (hubby) as it hadn't worked when he got it out.

Got my end year/begin year video. It's long but I was trying to capture all the coral growth and fishes as well.

Most of my algae is now gone. So briopsis is what I had. Again. 2 weeks. I'm leaving the stuff in for another 2 weeks before I add carbon and do some smaller water changes. No one in there seems unhappy so carbon can take care of it along with some small awc's.

I think that poor nem in the acclimation box is toast. I'm about ready to call it. Now that my lights are right in the other tank, or at least I have working lights, I'll have to try again.

Setting up a schedule and goals. Still need to do yearly stuff. Ah, work in progress, right?

Tank is now almost 15 mo old and I'm super pleased. Lots of corals spreading/embedding/plating and lots of acros also doing same. Torch garden is awesome. Need a couple more, plus 1-2 frogspawns or hammers to complete that rock. Couple more goni for other side of tank. Galaxea sure is putting out long stingers. You can see them toward end of the video. Time to move it to the back. Will be shifting the rhodactis rock to the left and maybe mount the galexea rock onto a larger rock and put it back there. I do want to see it! But not have it go after my torches or frogspawn . Yep. Lots to do

Happy New year and Happy reefing 2023