Wrangy's Reef Dungeon (Waterbox 170)

[RichtheReefer21]

I BOUGHT SOME GOODIES FOR THE TANK!!!!!!!!! Got some really groovy chonky boi turban snails and another half a dozen small turbos for tank as I really enjoy having a healthy snail population as I don't keep algae eater fish haha

Three nice zoa frags, blue hornets, rasta's and something else I haven't ID'd yet!

One of the nicest elegance's I've seen in ages, yes you read that right.. I've committed a sin and bought an actual LPS for the tank But I simply couldn't resist the pink tips on this guy (pic from when it just arrived at the LFS)

And for the pièce de résistance, a fish off the fish list!!! Dave had the perfect sized, forcipiger flavissimus, the longnose butterflyfish!! Not the fanciest fish on the list but one I've wanted for a very long time

Big tank day today haha I'm so happy finally being able to add things to the tank again!!

That. Is. Gorgeous.

 

[Wrangy]

That. Is. Gorgeous.

That's exsctly why I couldn't pass it up!!

 

[Wrangy]

Crappy pic post water change algae is dying off fairly quickly now all things are almost back to normal!

 

[Wrangy]

Not much to report, tank is still chugging along and things are getting better! Basically just biding my time to new purchases haha

We've done some house works though and things turned out amazingly! Finally got something for the kitchen and it makes a world of difference!

Did some work on the balcony and it's about halfway there now! Finally got the greenhouse up there too so I can start growing more food again!

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Nice work.

I just spent all day shoveling manure for my veggie garden. Time for ibuprofen. Haha.

 

[Wrangy]

Nice work.

I just spent all day shoveling manure for my veggie garden. Time for ibuprofen. Haha.

Thanks man!

I feel you! Back when I was able to have like 30 chilli plants and the rest going, it's quite sore work the next day haha

(please everyone excuse the dead chilli's on the railing haha they weren't keepers and they're still there to stop the cats from getting up there now haha

 

[Wrangy]

It's times like these that make me so happy I don't work in a corporate city office

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Can tell ur down unda! Someday I'll get there.

 

[YHSublime]

Kitchen looks great, plants make all the difference as well.

 

[Maxx]

That is stunning and your rope work is phenomenal!!! All my nice knives are kitchen knives but I've got my eyes out for something really special to fill the gap of utility knife, one person I follow on instagram is in my sights for this blade potentially!

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It's getting clearer by the day I'm going to hopefully get a 100L wc done today to really help it along

Some how I missed like a month of updates...no idea why.

I'm catching back up but it's good to see your influences in knives...you've got good taste.

John (Fimbulvetr knifeworks) is someone I consider a friend. Both of those blades are Damascus and the top one was on the cover of Blade Magazine.

I'm more into folding knives and just picked up an Arcform Slimfoot CF.

I have to find a cheaper hobby. Between knives and the aquarium, I'm running out of money before I run out of things to buy.

 

[Maxx]

Hahaha ain't that the truth! Family picture haha

How is the Earmuff without the sandbed?

I miss my two Earmuff wrasses, but I wont be going with a sandbed this next go around...I wanted another sand bed wrasse, but didnt think I'd be able to with a BB tank?

Really glad to see this picture...

 

[Maxx]

I agree about the bellus males. I like the bellus females and the watanabei males though the watanabei females have a pretty subtle blue to them.

I like the look of the male Bellus, but I agree the Watanabei's are a beautiful Genicanthus angel.

Glad the UV is working out well for you.

 

[Wrangy]

Some how I missed like a month of updates...no idea why.

I'm catching back up but it's good to see your influences in knives...you've got good taste.

John (Fimbulvetr knifeworks) is someone I consider a friend. Both of those blades are Damascus and the top one was on the cover of Blade Magazine.

I'm more into folding knives and just picked up an Arcform Slimfoot CF.

I have to find a cheaper hobby. Between knives and the aquarium, I'm running out of money before I run out of things to buy.

I avoid knife shopping as much as possible as it's an extremely dangerous sport for me I don't have much in the way of folding/pocket knives but a couple simple ones which I love. Australia is pretty funny with knives so can't really carry one around with me otherwise I would have a much larger knife collection haha

How is the Earmuff without the sandbed?

I miss my two Earmuff wrasses, but I wont be going with a sandbed this next go around...I wanted another sand bed wrasse, but didnt think I'd be able to with a BB tank?

Really glad to see this picture...

Well she's actually doing fine, while she was at the LFS in a tank with sand she wasn't sleeping in the sand at all which is why I've yet to add any sand for her. If she starts to get stressed with the addition of more sand, I'll create a little spot for her I adore earmuffs

I like the look of the male Bellus, but I agree the Watanabei's are a beautiful Genicanthus angel.

Glad the UV is working out well for you.

At this stage it'll be a permanent fixture I'd say

 

[Wrangy]

Well after 6 months I finally installed the CO2 scrubber for the skimmer intake hahaha slacker much... It's a dual chamber unit and not set up to be recirculating so I'll see how long the media lasts and decided whether I make that change or not just yet it's working well and the skimmer is still cranking along without adjustments which was good

 

[Maxx]

I avoid knife shopping as much as possible as it's an extremely dangerous sport for me I don't have much in the way of folding/pocket knives but a couple simple ones which I love. Australia is pretty funny with knives so can't really carry one around with me otherwise I would have a much larger knife collection haha


Well she's actually doing fine, while she was at the LFS in a tank with sand she wasn't sleeping in the sand at all which is why I've yet to add any sand for her. If she starts to get stressed with the addition of more sand, I'll create a little spot for her I adore earmuffs


At this stage it'll be a permanent fixture I'd say

I miss my earmuffs. I'll be pretty much a permanent BB tank keeper from here on out, but I do like the wrasses...
Glad to hear your's is doing well.

Interesting to hear you're going with a CO2 scrubber as well. What is your pH without one?
Do you have a controller for your system? I cant recall, I'm following too many threads.
I know several people are using a CO2 scrubber with a solenoid and a controller that allows them to recirculate the skimmer air intake, with the solenoid set up up open at a set high pH point and allow the skimmer to get room air and continue working.

I'll be running a CO2 scubber run by a controller so I can shut the skimmer down when pH gets too high and back on when it drops too low. I dont have a controller yet, but will be buying one in the next 12 months or so.

My system will be smaller and only a 40 breeder to start, so fish list will be selective.

Keep up the good work brother...even if you're adding Flubber and Biggles would berate you mercilessly for it.

 

[RichtheReefer21]

Forgive me for not wanting to sift back through, but do u dose anything? Just curious because I could never get over 8.1 pH threshold for a year until I started kalkwasser. I'm curious to see if u yield a buff in pH. Are you testing it often enough to see the results in the data?

Always wondered if I just ran a tube outside or set up a scrubber if it would be enough of a bump to hit 8.3 or not.

 

[YHSublime]

Cruising through this thread and reminded me to water my indoor plants, thanks!

 

[Wrangy]

I miss my earmuffs. I'll be pretty much a permanent BB tank keeper from here on out, but I do like the wrasses...
Glad to hear your's is doing well.

Interesting to hear you're going with a CO2 scrubber as well. What is your pH without one?
Do you have a controller for your system? I cant recall, I'm following too many threads.
I know several people are using a CO2 scrubber with a solenoid and a controller that allows them to recirculate the skimmer air intake, with the solenoid set up up open at a set high pH point and allow the skimmer to get room air and continue working.

I'll be running a CO2 scubber run by a controller so I can shut the skimmer down when pH gets too high and back on when it drops too low. I dont have a controller yet, but will be buying one in the next 12 months or so.

My system will be smaller and only a 40 breeder to start, so fish list will be selective.

Keep up the good work brother...even if you're adding Flubber and Biggles would berate you mercilessly for it.

I haven't tested or won't be running a controller I think but given it's down in the basement and pretty sealed off, I know the pH won't be great so it does need a boosting. Might stick the pH probe in tonight and see what it's like!

The controller is a great idea but I'm a simple man and that's beyond me haha

Forgive me for not wanting to sift back through, but do u dose anything? Just curious because I could never get over 8.1 pH threshold for a year until I started kalkwasser. I'm curious to see if u yield a buff in pH. Are you testing it often enough to see the results in the data?

Always wondered if I just ran a tube outside or set up a scrubber if it would be enough of a bump to hit 8.3 or not.

Not dosing anything at the moment, not enough coral to warrant it yet When I do it will be via calcium reactor so increasing pH will be more important. I might do some testing to find out but I'd say it will balance out nicely.

Cruising through this thread and reminded me to water my indoor plants, thanks!

Happy to help haha

 

[RichtheReefer21]

I haven't tested or won't be running a controller I think but given it's down in the basement and pretty sealed off, I know the pH won't be great so it does need a boosting. Might stick the pH probe in tonight and see what it's like!

The controller is a great idea but I'm a simple man and that's beyond me haha


Not dosing anything at the moment, not enough coral to warrant it yet When I do it will be via calcium reactor so increasing pH will be more important. I might do some testing to find out but I'd say it will balance out nicely.


Happy to help haha

Ahhh didnt remember u were going carx. Nice.

 

[Maxx]

I haven't tested or won't be running a controller I think but given it's down in the basement and pretty sealed off, I know the pH won't be great so it does need a boosting. Might stick the pH probe in tonight and see what it's like!

The controller is a great idea but I'm a simple man and that's beyond me haha


Not dosing anything at the moment, not enough coral to warrant it yet When I do it will be via calcium reactor so increasing pH will be more important. I might do some testing to find out but I'd say it will balance out nicely.


Happy to help haha

My tank is in the unfinished side of our basement.
What I discovered was that when work got the busiest for me, (inevitably right around the holidays) equipment would fail and it would happen when I wouldnt be able to get to the tank for a few days, and I didnt know it had failed.
Having a controller that would notify me when a piece of equipment failed would have saved me alot of money, and time in the past. Because of that, I will be buying a controller in the next 18 months or so.

It's less about wanting to geek out on the techie side of things for me. There are people who enjoy that side of the hobby, and I dont begrudge them that at all. For me it's more the ability to figure out something's going wrong and shutting it down and replacing it before things get to a catastrophic tipping point for me.

My wife is awesome and is supportive of me being in this hobby, but doesnt know (or want to know if I'm being honest) all the intricate details of what makes things tick. She's happy looking it briefly and knowing that it makes me happy.

If Georgia is more into the hobby than my wife is, and is able to let you know something's wrong and how to intervene, then you're good to go. If not, you might really consider some form of controller, even a rudimentary one.

No, they arent cheap. Like anything else in this hobby, it will take you down yet another rabbit hole of money and hours spent on the internet researching, asking questions and trying to learn more. However, when you look at what you've already got invested in your tank in terms of money and time, it's a drop in the bucket, and it will help you succeed and survive the inevitable equipment failures without missing a beat (or more importantly), losing anything.

Obviously, being in Aus makes it more difficult for you as I'm not aware of any Aus made controllers. Doesnt mean they dont exist, just that I'm not aware of them. As beautiful as your country is, and as much as I've traveled, I havent been as of yet.

I would look at what controllers have the best support in Aus and lean heavily towards them.

Just my thoughts, and worth exactly what you paid for them.

Thanks for the input on the Earmuff...my 40 breeder is too small for one, but there are other I might be able to get away with now that I know the door isnt completely shut on keeping sandbed wrasses.