Thanks, I've got the Hydros ATO so hoping it'll work well in that area. What are you doing for filtration? Not sure if I'm going to do standard filter socks or try to find an adapter so I can use a cup and filter floss.
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OP
For a long time, I had a stock filter sock in the right return and Kreative Reef media basket with precut floss in the left return (https://kreativereefer.com/products/tideline-aio-47-lagoon-media-basket). Currently I use two media basket because I increased GFO and GAC to reduce phosphates and organic waste.
I bought the Geiserailie 2.4x4” mesh bags from Amazon to hold GFO/GAC.
I replace the floss once a week and the bags about once a month.
Indiana Reefin
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Really nice tank!! I just bought a mandarin and clowns from biota as well! Did you have any issues with getting your mandarins to eat? Did you keep them in an acclimation box for a while or did you release straight into the tank? What are you feeding them?
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Yeah they’re great. Just don’t overfill the trays. I only use one bag per tray. When I overfilled, they would get caught and be extremely hard to pull up. I had to buy dental tools just to get them out.
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Cool, congrats! I love Biota fish!
I did use the acclimation box but eventually it got pretty crusty with detritus and algae, and then I released them into the tank after a week. The flow through it isn’t great. The mandarins didn’t seem to eat at first. I bought the small TDO and PE pellets. I never saw them go after them though. I started culturing a separate pod population using the below linked kit from BRS. I would buy phyto from my LFS and then use both culture reactors for the pods that I dosed to the tank twice per week. After a year, I stopped doing that because it was a lot of work. The mandarins are doing great still, and I do see them eat frozen food on occasion (Rods, brine shrimp, mysis, and LRS reef frenzy) that I feed once a day.
I think you can release the mandarins sooner if you’re not worried about larger fish or other predators in your tank. I did lose two small Biota fish (tessellated Blenny and a baby blue hippo tang) likely to my Biota Marine Betta. I read that mandarins are generally not palatable to other fish, but I did read Randy Holmes Farley lost one baby mandarin when he first released in his tank with a lot of live rock and probably some predatory inverts. Alternatively, you might want to grow out your fish in a separate tank if concerned. I should have done that for the blenny and tang.
As far as the feeding, I might have overdone it with culturing pods, but I was pretty nervous when I didn’t see them eating. At minimum, I would recommend seeding your tank with some pods from algae barn or another seller (unless you have live rocks or sand).
PhytoTank CL System - Copepod and Phytoplankton Culture Reactors
Grow copepods and phytoplankton hassle-free using the PhytoTank CL System! This kit includes everything you need to maintain a self-sustaining copepod colony to feed your reef tank inhabitants. It includes two PhytoTank-L reactors: one for growing copepods and another for growing phytoplankton...
www.bulkreefsupply.com
Indiana Reefin
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Thanks for the thorough reply! I just let mine in my tank because all I had was a royal gramma and a bangai. I figured three fish at once would be better for aggression being spread out. So far no issues from my RG. I have LRS nano, brine shrimp, and PE pellets. I also bought pods from reef to Steele and I think I’m going to add to phyto.Cool, congrats! I love Biota fish!
I did use the acclimation box but eventually it got pretty crusty with detritus and algae, and then I released them into the tank after a week. The flow through it isn’t great. The mandarins didn’t seem to eat at first. I bought the small TDO and PE pellets. I never saw them go after them though. I started culturing a separate pod population using the below linked kit from BRS. I would buy phyto from my LFS and then use both culture reactors for the pods that I dosed to the tank twice per week. After a year, I stopped doing that because it was a lot of work. The mandarins are doing great still, and I do see them eat frozen food on occasion (Rods, brine shrimp, mysis, and LRS reef frenzy) that I feed once a day.
I think you can release the mandarins sooner if you’re not worried about larger fish or other predators in your tank. I did lose two small Biota fish (tessellated Blenny and a baby blue hippo tang) likely to my Biota Marine Betta. I read that mandarins are generally not palatable to other fish, but I did read Randy Holmes Farley lost one baby mandarin when he first released in his tank with a lot of live rock and probably some predatory inverts. Alternatively, you might want to grow out your fish in a separate tank if concerned. I should have done that for the blenny and tang.
As far as the feeding, I might have overdone it with culturing pods, but I was pretty nervous when I didn’t see them eating. At minimum, I would recommend seeding your tank with some pods from algae barn or another seller (unless you have live rocks or sand).
PhytoTank CL System - Copepod and Phytoplankton Culture Reactors
Grow copepods and phytoplankton hassle-free using the PhytoTank CL System! This kit includes everything you need to maintain a self-sustaining copepod colony to feed your reef tank inhabitants. It includes two PhytoTank-L reactors: one for growing copepods and another for growing phytoplankton...
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Cool, sounds like probably will be fine. Out of all the foods, the one that my mandarins seem to like the best is Rods: https://www.bulkreefsupply.com/orig...f3ZqWcz5GzpeUutVxfqjHo3kOSf3SCPRoCYTUQAvD_BwE
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OP
I should also mention that I add phyto everyday to the tank for the pod population. Might not be necessary but just got into the habit of doing it.
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I cleaned up the tank quite a bit over the US holidays and transferred the corals that weren’t doing well to another tank in the basement, hoping that the different conditions will help. This included all the torches, all hammers but one, and most SPS, and a scoly. I also moved a large Biota weeping willow that got too big and was shading out my crocea clam. I had been battling brown jelly disease with the torches that started last Jan and lost 5 out of 7 torches including a holy grail.
Prior to cleanup:
Post cleanup:
Prior to cleanup:
Post cleanup:
Indiana Reefin
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Looking awesome! Love this tank!
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My Pom Pom crab making a rare appearance:
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Microbiome Comparison
I just got an Aquabiomics report back yesterday and can compare against the same test last Feb 2025. My overall diversity score decreased from 182 (17th percentile) to 138 (8th percentile).
The balance score also decreased from 0.19 (26th percentile) to 0.1 (11th percentile). I was trying to improve on these numbers by dosing AF life source weekly and probiotics every few days. I guess it’s had the opposite effect. I’m also running a UV sterilizer for dino issues, which is probably really hurting the biodiversity scores.
Jan 2026 aquabiomics report:
I just got an Aquabiomics report back yesterday and can compare against the same test last Feb 2025. My overall diversity score decreased from 182 (17th percentile) to 138 (8th percentile).
The balance score also decreased from 0.19 (26th percentile) to 0.1 (11th percentile). I was trying to improve on these numbers by dosing AF life source weekly and probiotics every few days. I guess it’s had the opposite effect. I’m also running a UV sterilizer for dino issues, which is probably really hurting the biodiversity scores.
Jan 2026 aquabiomics report:
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Feb 2025 aquabiomics report:
Great build thread. I'm following along. :)
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I am not convinced that the diversity score produced by Aquabiomics matters. Also, tests a year apart cannot reveal how your system’s diversity is actually changing, e,g., diversity trending down or fluctuating up and down. Then there is the test itself. Do we know how consistent these tests are when replicate samples are sent? You will notice that Aquabiomics does not send you the analytical data, only the stacked bar charts. There is no way to tell how well the test was run, e.g., what percent of the DNA was actually identified or how many DNA reads were made (more is better, less can make your system look differently). I would nottry to conclude too much from two tests.
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Yeah, more of a curiosity to run it. I don’t know how or what I would do with the results.
I had previously done the test for fish pathogens. And that fortunately came back negative. I guess if that was bad I might consider pulling the fish and going fallow for a period.
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I have fish pathogens show up in some rests and not others So are there or aren’t there? And does it matter if you have healthy fish? Who knows.
I had one test come back with no fish DNA and it turns out that the detection is dependent on how much DNA is read for the test. Redoing the analysis with a higher number of DNA reads turned up fish DNA. I do not take ID’s based on less than several tenths of a per DNA as trustworthy. I would think twice about responding to a fish pathogen ID.
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Tank has been doing fairly well, but I did have two fish deaths.
The male banggai cardinal passed away one morning in Feb. He never really ate too well and wouldn’t if carrying eggs. Fortunately, the female seems to be doing fine.
The yellowheaded jawfish died in March. My YWG and pistol shrimp was encroaching on the jawfish territory. I woke up one morning to a lot of snapping from the pistol shrimp. I came out and found the jawfish’s fins shredded and breathing very heavily. I tried removing him to a QT tank, but he passed later that day. The YWG now has the entire middle and right side of the tank while the Randall goby has the left rock structure..
The male banggai cardinal passed away one morning in Feb. He never really ate too well and wouldn’t if carrying eggs. Fortunately, the female seems to be doing fine.
The yellowheaded jawfish died in March. My YWG and pistol shrimp was encroaching on the jawfish territory. I woke up one morning to a lot of snapping from the pistol shrimp. I came out and found the jawfish’s fins shredded and breathing very heavily. I tried removing him to a QT tank, but he passed later that day. The YWG now has the entire middle and right side of the tank while the Randall goby has the left rock structure..
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With natural light from the window:
The Alien Hand Sinularia (Biota) in the center gets massive flow directly in front of the return but surprisingly is doing great.
When I first got the coral in June 2025:
The Alien Hand Sinularia (Biota) in the center gets massive flow directly in front of the return but surprisingly is doing great.
When I first got the coral in June 2025:
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