The Upgrade Build... From 110 to 180

[Dj City]

Everything looks awesome, the tank has come a long way in a year. I have one assignment for you though. That white plumbing for the returns inside the tank has got to go man

I know right?
The plumbing used to be black. It was white pvc painted with krylon fusion black paint but my turbo snails and urchins ate through it.

Thanks for the compliments and thank you for following along with me.
If not for you, this would be a lonely build thread.

 

[TheWB]

I know right?
The plumbing used to be black. It was white pvc painted with krylon fusion black paint but my turbo snails and urchins ate through it.

Thanks for the compliments and thank you for following along with me.
If not for you, this would be a lonely build thread.

Mine is getting that way too. It’s really only supposed to be a way for me to track what I’m doing and I never really expected many people to comment anyway so that’s not a big deal. It is always nice when people choose to interact though. I’m always open to comments or suggestions, it’s more fun that way.

 

[Dj City]

I just ordered BLACK pvc elbows to replace the used to be black but are now white elbows.

 

[Dj City]

I "should" be getting two Acans today along with a small Vivid Red Monti-cap and a Green Monti-cap.
I hope Adam from Battlecorals is able to ship my Battlebox today. It could not be shipped last week due to the extreme winter storm weather we've had across the country.

It's going to be quite the challenge to place all these corals in the reef. I will take pics when the corals arrive.
I'm expecting at least 10 from Battlecorals.
I will be trying to mount the 10 or so corals from Battlecorals along with the 7 I have acclimating in the reef now. I already have a place for the Acans but don't know where i'm going to place the Monti-caps yet.
This will be a challenge!

I had ordered EasyReefs Easysps evo 25 (250ml) and EasyReefs EasyBooster 250ml. I wanted to get the 1500ml but they were out of stock. I expect the 250ml bags to arrive tomorrow.
Well, today Coralvue got the 1500ml bags in stock and I ordered them!
All I have to do now is figure out if I am going to keep both or send the 250ml bags back.
I may just wind up keeping both. They have a shelf life of over 18 months so I should be good (I think).

As usual...
pics to come.

 

[Dj City]

My Battlebox has arrived!

10 corals.

1. Bleeding Tree - Stag
2. Purple Rim Monti Cap
3. BC Bliss - Acro
4. Ultimate Soil - Acro
5. Bonfire Table - Acro?
6. Confetti - Acro
7. GC Acroberry - Acro
8. Rainbow Stylo - Stylo
9. Mariachi Static - Acro
10. Chem Bomb 2.0 - Acro?

I'm drip acclimating right now but will take pics as soon as they are in the reef.

I also received my Easyreefs Easybooster 25 and EasyReefs easySPS Eve 250ml.
I will be hooking them up to my Dos tomorrow.

It will be nice to have a steady food source dosed for both my corals and pods.

I think this reef is about to really take off!

 

[Dj City]

I'm a little late with the pic but that's cause I ran into an issue or two.

1st issue was water clarity. My goby was really going in on the Sandbed and kicked up quite the duststorm.
I added reef snow to help clear it out but is did not clear as expected.

2nd issue was I had 4 of the 10 corals looking rough from transit. One did not make it.
Adam of Battlecorals is taking care of me though.

Well, here are some pics...

The good side of the corals are facing into the tank.
I will take better pics soon but I want everything settled in before I go moving positions around.

 

[Dj City]

Wow.

I'm probably gonna have to build another rock structure somewhere in order to place all these corals.

 

[Dj City]

I just hooked up my EasySPS and EasyBooster to my Neptune Dos.

I have a 200 gallon total water volume (Approximately).
I'm starting with 3ml per day of EasySPS and 1.5ml of EasyBooster per day.

Is 3ml per day EasySPS a good start?
Is 1.5ml per day EasyBooster a good start?

I have my dose set to dose from midnight to 6:59am daily.

If anyone has insight into this I would appreciate some help.

 

[Dj City]

EasyBooster directions...

Dosage:​

Dosage varies slightly depending on the aquarium’s biological load. Generally, it is established between 8 ml/day (basic or maintenance dose) and 16 ml/day (average-high demand) for an aquarium with a gross volume of 260 gallons.

Instructions for use:​

The Easybooster dose should be distributed throughout the day and is not necessary to turn off the skimmer. Easybooster should be used in increasing weekly doses as per the following protocol:

For an aquarium with 260 gallons

• 1st week: 2ml / day
• 2nd week: 4 ml / day
• 3rd week: 6 ml / day
• 4th week: 8 ml / day (basic or maintenance dose).

After the 4th week, you can increase the dose by 2 ml weekly until reaching high levels of zooplankton production to serve as feed for fish, invertebrates and corals. For correct dispersion, Easybooster must be introduced in the aquarium in the area around the pump that produces intense water circulation.

EasySPS Evo directions...

HOW TO USE​

EasySPS EVO Initial dose: 1 ml per day for every 250 L of tank water. Then, increase the dose 25% weekly until you reach the recommended dose.

Daily recommended dose: 4 ml per day for every 250 L of tank water.

 

[Dj City]

I thought my black pvc elbows would have arrived by now but they have not come in yet.
I was planning on having the white elbows replaced this weekend.

Adam of Battlecorals is sending me new corals. They ship out tomorrow so I will have them on Tuesday.

Hopefully the elbows arrive tomorrow so I can get that part knocked out.

I was looking through my box of rocks (rock I have not used yet) trying to decide how to make a new structure I can live with in my tank. The rocks I have are pretty large so I don't know what I'm going to do yet.

I like how I currently have my rockwork. Really did not have plans to change it up but having the amount of coral frags I have to place "somewhere" might force me to make adjustments.
I believe I have 18 frags to find places for and I should be receiving 8 to 10 more on Tuesday.
That's a lot of frags to find room for.

 

[Dj City]

9 of the 10 corals I got from Battlecorals.
The BC Bliss is toast.
Here are the rest with more pics hopefully coming tomorrow off the new corals being sent along with the replacements.

I would do this with all my coral if I knew the names of everything I have.

I might work on that!
It would be nice to have a picture of every coral along with its name.

 

[Dj City]

New and replacement corals arrived.

1. Frost Pop - Acro
2. BC Planet Yellow
3. Fox Flame - Acro
4. Reef Tech Starburst - Monti
5. ROAB Digi

Pics to come...

 

[Dj City]

1. Frost Pop

2. BC Planet Yellow

3. Fox Flame

4. reef Tech Starburst Monti

5. ROAB Digi

Replacement BC Bliss

Replacement (name to come)

Replacement (name to come)

Replacement (name to come)

Replacement (name to come)

 

[TheWB]

1. Frost Pop

2. BC Planet Yellow

3. Fox Flame

4. reef Tech Starburst Monti

5. ROAB Digi

Replacement BC Bliss

Replacement (name to come)

Replacement (name to come)

Replacement (name to come)

Replacement (name to come)

Makes me wish I was keeping sps so I could get a battle box

 

[Dj City]

USPS sucks soooooooo badly!

I ordered black elbows to replace the white ones on the return in the display.
I ordered them on February 20th.

Today is March 4th and they still not here.
They only came from S. Carolina. Tracking shows them in transit but they have been in Washington DC for about 5 days now.

 

[Dj City]

Here is the new rock structure I built.
I put some hookah tips on it to try to see where I can add coral to it.

The pic looks pretty funny to me and I'm not that happy with putting another rock structure in the display but...

Here it is.
I hope it fits in is intended spot.

 

[Dj City]

The reef is going to look kinda weird for a while until the rock gains color.

It's stark white now.

 

[TheWB]

Here is the new rock structure I built.
I put some hookah tips on it to try to see where I can add coral to it.

The pic looks pretty funny to me and I'm not trash happy with putting another rock structure in the display but...

Here it is.
I hope it fits in is intended spot.

I like the new rock. Lots of good coral placement locations.

 

[Dj City]

I like the new rock. Lots of good coral placement locations.

Thank you.

I wound up adding 2 more smaller structures off to the right side of the tank to kind of offset that big one in the middle of the tank.
I might change my mind tomorrow any take at least one of them out.
I never wanted this tank to look crowded with rock.
It's starting to look a little crowded.

My black PVC elbows FINALLY showed up this evening.
They are now in the display and it looks waaaaaay better.

Pics to come...

 

[Dj City]

I'm starting to plan out coral placement!

I removed one of the larger rocks I had placed on the right side of the tank. It was just too big and bulky. I replaced it with a much smaller rock that still adds negative space and does not look "crowded".

I'm also trying to get the names for EVERY coral I have in the display.
I would like a running list of all coral and a pic of all coral after placement with the corals name right next to the coral in the pic.
I'm actively working on that.