So it's finally time to post some updates, sorry for the long silence. It’s been the usual ups and downs with the tank, so things are still in a bit of a state of flux, but that might be interesting to some of you as well.
The challenges I’ve faced over the last 6 months or so.
1) Nudibranches: Lost a lot of Monti / Digitata. Lessons to learn: If you start to see white spots and you can’t explain them, start looking very close. I spotted it way too late.
Ripped out most of what was remaining and moved to quarantine, and added a Tailspot Wrasse there, along with regular dipping and brushing I brought them under control. I kept the display tank Monti-free for 2 months, and have now added some pieces back because they didn’t survive in quarantine anymore (lack of lights, dosing etc). Hopefully the Nudis won’t come back.
2) Nitrate spike: My tank was notoriously low on nutrients, but this has changed a bit quite suddenly to the extent I didn’t notice it, and Nitrates spiked to 15ppm. I think that cause some damage to a 2-3 SPS colonies.
3) Gorilla Crab: I have a big one and have lose two SPS colonies on the same rock that he lives in (the big hole in one of the photos on the middle rock). It may be due to the Nitrate spike as well, but I am definitely keen to get him out of the tank.
4) Had a strange case of losing half my coralline algae in pretty much 24h. Could be related to the Nitrate spike but am not sure. You can still see the white spots on the rocks (all my rock was purple).
5) Chiller issue: The sensor failed and the chiller kept running indefinitely, cooling the tank to 23C in 12h, which I believe caused the loss of 2-3 colonies as well at the time. I am now running the chiller pump on the Apex so in such a case it can shut down the flow to the chiller. In the end you’re moving the points of failure around a bit though, since now a lot depends on the Apex probe working reliably.
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Another lesson I learned is to not buy large non-branching Euphyllia coral. I just find them difficult to keep alive for longer than a few months or a year, lost two recently. The moment one piece gets damaged it seems impossible to save the rest of the colony, no matter how you frag / cut / glue… Going with multi-head branching types now, have some thriving ones in the tank.
I also told myself to not buy large Millipora colonies anymore. One of the corals I lost was a Milli, and even though only a small part was affected at first, it was impossible to save any frags, again no matter the cutting and gluing I tried - the skin is just very fragile it seems. This is the second one that I lost this way.
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In terms of equipment, the tank also looks a bit messier than it used to when it comes to cabling etc right now. Will need to re-do parts of the cabinet soon. It was very clean originally, but after ripping out and changing equipment it needs work.
I added a UV filter, which significantly helped some bubble algae issues in my view, the model is JBL ProCristal Compact UV-C 36 W run with a Jebao DCP-2500.
Also replaced my large 300W Eheim Heater with two JBL 300W for redundancy and because they fit into the sump more easily.
Another piece I added a was Reefbot for automatic water testing, testing Kh, Ca, MG, PO4, although I will switch MG with Nitrates now owing to above issue.
I upgraded the main flow pump to a Gyre 350, and I’m still waiting for the Hydros Wave Engine to connect it to the Apex alongside my 2 Gyre 150s and the MP40. At this point I’ll add the second 150 which is now not used since I switched it for the 350 to the back side of the tank where the MP40 is.
Another change I made is to convert part of the sump to a small frag section to get rid of the frags in the display, which had always annoyed me, but I couldn't be bothered to set up a dedicated tank - although I might consider one that is connected to the sump of the display at some point, but it's another set of piping, pumps etc... I had to replace my skimmer with a smaller one (the old one was oversized in my view anyway), which is the Aquamaxx FC180, to add the new section, and even then had to install the glass separator further to the front than the intended location (not quite happy with how that is done right now). One thing I can recommend - make your sump as big as you can to add “stuff”. I got a used Radion G3 and running it on the SPS AB+ program with low intensity, and I am using the return from the UV pump to create additional flow in the frag section.
Lastly, I added a D&D Jumpguard pro cover since I’m going to add the Wrasse soon. Good product, almost not noticeable either. Just a bit annoying for feeding, so I made a small support stand so I can just angle it upwards instead of having to remove it.
In terms of the tank itself, after more than 12 months the only negative aspect is the glass overflow. It’s a pain to clean and your water level in the display rises slightly when the slits get clogged by algae. Removable plastic like the Red Sea is more practical.
By the way, I am using an Ikea cabinet meant for sewing with a fold out section as my work station, have lined it with plastic insert material for drawers to protect the wood, this is really quite useful.
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Livestock Updates: My focus is still on peaceful fish, that includes no tangs. Aside from the Wrasse in quarantine, the display has 3 Chromis, 2 Clowns and 3 Lyretail Anthias which I all had for a long time. In the last 9 months or so I added 1 large Magnificent Foxface, 1 Copperband, 1 Blue Dot Goby and 1 Marine Betta.
They’re all very interesting fish, but some things to pay attention to: The Goby needs a lot of pods, and my tank doesn’t have enough, despite its size and it being over a year old now. He lost weight but I’ve trained him and target feed frozen and other foods - he is in better shape now, working on his cave and throwing sand over my mushroom colony. The Copperband is still not really eating any food floating in the water column (even though he did at the LFS) but I’m feeding him frozen whole clams now, that works well and he seems healthy, been in the tank for 3 months or so. Took good care of some Aptasia also.
Let me know if any questions.
