Trixter's "The Wrassening" SCA150

[Trixter227]

The Wrasse-ocalypse happened, there was some loss. Some confusion. Some happiness. So much so i waited to post the update.
The current wrasse list is!

H. cosmetus "Adorned Wrasse"
C. exquisitus “Exquisite Fairy”
C. isosceles “Pintail Fairy”
C. lubbocki “Lubbock’s Fairy” (Boss wrasse)
C. Brunneus "dusky wrasse"
P. flavianalis “Yellow-Fin Flasher”
P. lineopunctatus “Line-Spot Flasher”
P. mccoskeri “McCosker’s Flasher” (actually might be a yellowfin)

This is not the planned list as i received some surprise wrasse lol. I will attach more pictures as i can get them.
Slick little torpedos.

Linespot.

Pintail, the biggest baby yet.

Adorned, pictures hog.

How many wrasse? 7, 7 wrasse. Number 8 Pintail is hiding from getting bullied by the Lubbocks

 

[JoJosReef]

Awesome build thread! Can't wait to see your wrasstropolis!

 

[Trixter227]

Awesome build thread! Can't wait to see your wrasstropolis!

Oh yea, i have few more on the list to round out the bunch. I wanted to see how much room the fish had before getting more. This is by far the biggest tank ive had, so stocking is a bit daunting. I thought for sure these 8 would be maxxing out swim room.....
7 out if 8 wrasse swim in a pod together next to the clown pair on one side of the tank... they bicker over 1 cave. I caught 4 wrasse in the same sleepy hole lastnight. I will try to get a picture tonight.

 

[Trixter227]

Just a little update! Fish pictures and liverock growth.

Hard to get pictures of the slippery wrasse.

TBS rock growth update, some new macros popin up. Red bubbleshaped macro, browngreen flat cover shaped(like a like seaweed texture) and a pretty red leafy looking macro. Sorry for the blurr, i need to get a acrylic safe cleaner.

 

[Trixter227]

Oh! And a big "milestone" for my dry rock start. Coraline algea!
Time to start stockin this puppy!

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Oh! And a big "milestone" for my dry rock start. Coraline algea!
Time to start stockin this puppy!

Best luck to the stocking!

 

[JoJosReef]

Nice ball sponges too! Get some AFR or other supplements going and those rock'll be purple in no time!

 

[Jim Gomoll]

Small update! Night before the big wrasse wrangle. Tomorrow 6 wrasse will be hitting the tank! Also a few more coral. Be sure to check in for the cool stuff tomorrow!

But for today!

Got this cute little guy from @DIYreefer along with some jawbreakers! First time with leather/toadstool. Just never got one before lol!

Also got the VCA nozzle connected. Alot more of a pain than it should've been. The tank came with some metric brand that dident fit. No biggie VCA make a adapter! Well the one i need is soldout/backorder whatever on every place i looked lol! So i just pickup some "name brand" loc-line.
Yay.....

Was the bulkhead metric causing the issue?
Building a SCA 120 and seen a few post that the supplied SCA 3/4" bulkheads leak. Bought a set from BRS to not have to worry about leaks but the threads dont fit through the drilled holes. Did you use the bulkheads that came with the tank? How do you like the VCA nozzle?

 

[Trixter227]

Nice ball sponges too! Get some AFR or other supplements going and those rock'll be purple in no time!

Afr? Not all for reef right? I use a little acropower and reefroids to keep a little organic matter in the water.

 

[Trixter227]

Was the bulkhead metric causing the issue?
Building a SCA 120 and seen a few post that the supplied SCA 3/4" bulkheads leak. Bought a set from BRS to not have to worry about leaks but the threads dont fit through the drilled holes. Did you use the bulkheads that came with the tank? How do you like the VCA nozzle?

Yes i used the bulkheads from Sca. The pvc pipe sliped in and out of the bulkhead very easy. Worried me a little because all the other sch80 pvc fittings were ROCK hard to dry fit.
I have basic plumbing knowledge and have made alot worse work for years. Pvc glue/solvent is a crazy thing. It welds the plastic. So theoretically if you prep the pipe, and use the "proper" amount of glue/primer it should fill any and all gaps. Let it sit for 24hours before getting wet if you are worried. Only leak has been from a union. Just a simple reseat of the threads/oring fixed it.

Oh and yes i like the VCA nozzles. Pretty neat, just makesure if you get them you have to replace the locline that comes with the tank as its some weird metric size.

 

[JoJosReef]

Afr? Not all for reef right? I use a little acropower and reefroids to keep a little organic matter in the water.

Yup, All For Reef. I put that on a doser and all my dry rocks went purple super fast (given, they were previously real reef rocks from Fiji/Marshall islands). Had 1/3rd rocks from TBS, rest were the dried up old reef rocks.

 

[Trixter227]

Yup, All For Reef. I put that on a doser and all my dry rocks went purple super fast (given, they were previously real reef rocks from Fiji/Marshall islands). Had 1/3rd rocks from TBS, rest were the dried up old reef rocks.

I have a less than positive experience with afr sadly lol. I have plans to add in a kalk stirrer to stabilize ph and alk. I have never properly dosed anything for alk/cal/mag and it has always been my downfall. So simple simple simple. Kalk lol.

 

[DIYreefer]

I have a less than positive experience with afr sadly lol. I have plans to add in a kalk stirrer to stabilize ph and alk. I have never properly dosed anything for alk/cal/mag and it has always been my downfall. So simple simple simple. Kalk lol.

Kalk is great, but it at some point it will no longer be enough to keep up with alk and ca demand. Fortunately, you have plenty of time before it's really an issue.

Fwiw, I use a combination of AFR and kalk. Out of curiosity, what sort of problems have you experienced with AFR?

 

[Trixter227]

Kalk is great, but it at some point it will no longer be enough to keep up with alk and ca demand. Fortunately, you have plenty of time before it's really an issue.

Fwiw, I use a combination of AFR and kalk. Out of curiosity, what sort of problems have you experienced with AFR?

User error i assume, in my 50g i used it shortly. I dosed it manually, but i wasnt consistent/regular so i caused spikes. Stn/rtn wiped all sps in a few days time after small growth before useing.
I really like the idea of the product, and think it probably works just fine. I however dident use it correctly, and got some negative effects (or so i think) caused by it.
Kalk i hear is very forgiving so thats why i am leaning into it.

 

[DIYreefer]

User error i assume, in my 50g i used it shortly. I dosed it manually, but i wasnt consistent/regular so i caused spikes. Stn/rtn wiped all sps in a few days time after small growth before useing.
I really like the idea of the product, and think it probably works just fine. I however dident use it correctly, and got some negative effects (or so i think) caused by it.
Kalk i hear is very forgiving so thats why i am leaning into it.

Makes sense. I use it via dosing pump on my display tank but still manually dose my frag tank. It has been pretty user friendly, but I'm over all pretty good about remembering to dose the tank every day. However, it's definitely not ever st any specific time. I bought a cheap glass beaker (100ml) from Amazon and use that. Super simple and works well for me.

How are you going to dose kalk? I have mine set up to dose kalk via dosing pump (on both systems). I measured the volume of water my tanks evaporate in a day and set the dosing pumps to dose slightly less than that because evaporation will vary slightly dependent on the humidity level in the house/room. I manually dose about 1/2 gallon per week of fresh ro water in each system (both are over 100g each, for reference). Eventually consumption will outweigh evaporation so you will inevitably need to figure out an additional solution. But yeah, kalk us a great plan until the tank demands more.

 

[JoJosReef]

User error i assume, in my 50g i used it shortly. I dosed it manually, but i wasnt consistent/regular so i caused spikes. Stn/rtn wiped all sps in a few days time after small growth before useing.
I really like the idea of the product, and think it probably works just fine. I however dident use it correctly, and got some negative effects (or so i think) caused by it.
Kalk i hear is very forgiving so thats why i am leaning into it.

Mine is also on a doser. I found if you don't dose AFR consistently, ALK drops too fast. Probably too much for SPS.

 

[scottbapilot]

Small update! Night before the big wrasse wrangle. Tomorrow 6 wrasse will be hitting the tank! Also a few more coral. Be sure to check in for the cool stuff tomorrow!

But for today!

Got this cute little guy from @DIYreefer along with some jawbreakers! First time with leather/toadstool. Just never got one before lol!

Also got the VCA nozzle connected. Alot more of a pain than it should've been. The tank came with some metric brand that dident fit. No biggie VCA make a adapter! Well the one i need is soldout/backorder whatever on every place i looked lol! So i just pickup some "name brand" loc-line.
Yay.....

I will never buy another tank with metric plumbing, Total pain living in the States.

 

[Trixter227]

Makes sense. I use it via dosing pump on my display tank but still manually dose my frag tank. It has been pretty user friendly, but I'm over all pretty good about remembering to dose the tank every day. However, it's definitely not ever st any specific time. I bought a cheap glass beaker (100ml) from Amazon and use that. Super simple and works well for me.

How are you going to dose kalk? I have mine set up to dose kalk via dosing pump (on both systems). I measured the volume of water my tanks evaporate in a day and set the dosing pumps to dose slightly less than that because evaporation will vary slightly dependent on the humidity level in the house/room. I manually dose about 1/2 gallon per week of fresh ro water in each system (both are over 100g each, for reference). Eventually consumption will outweigh evaporation so you will inevitably need to figure out an additional solution. But yeah, kalk us a great plan until the tank demands more.

It may seem like ill end up in a similar setup. Avast kalk stirrer with a doseing pump. Increasing the evap replacement % as i need the extra kalk. Is the current idea.
Its hard to say because i have never had much "successful" lps/sps growth. About 6-8 mo growth untill evrything decided to bail/die. Mainly my error i believe.
My excuse for this tank is that i have no excuses. Its new, pretty, and a sump to house equipment. If i cant do it is my fault lol!

 

[Trixter227]

I will never buy another tank with metric plumbing, Total pain living in the States.

Yea, i think for what i paid+stand its worth the little headaches. It arrived about half price from the competitors.
Super well packed, thick smooth silicone, even glass edges. Stand is very nice solid maple ply. I shouldve sealed the inside first, but dident think about itI. I only found 1 flaw. On the front panel it is the tiniest bubble in the glass. Nobody else has noticed it, but i do.

 

[Jim Gomoll]

Yes i used the bulkheads from Sca. The pvc pipe sliped in and out of the bulkhead very easy. Worried me a little because all the other sch80 pvc fittings were ROCK hard to dry fit.
I have basic plumbing knowledge and have made alot worse work for years. Pvc glue/solvent is a crazy thing. It welds the plastic. So theoretically if you prep the pipe, and use the "proper" amount of glue/primer it should fill any and all gaps. Let it sit for 24hours before getting wet if you are worried. Only leak has been from a union. Just a simple reseat of the threads/oring fixed it.

Oh and yes i like the VCA nozzles. Pretty neat, just makesure if you get them you have to replace the locline that comes with the tank as its some weird metric size.

The leaking issues I heard of came from the seal of bulkhead with tank not the PVC plumbing. Guess they didn't put the seal on right or just didn't tighten it enough. Good to hear you didn't have issues with the bulkhead so I'm not going to look for another alternative vs the BRS that didn't fit. Thanks for the follow up and best of luck with your 150.