Dawn On The Reef

[john.o]

BigC
Looking very good
Lots of useful information here for when I get a bigger tank {shhhhhhh the wife is listening }
Can I just make 1 small suggestion I also have the v2 nano skimmer, and very good it is to IMO but there is 1 small mod you might have to make mine was making a lot of gurgling noise and was very difficult to set up. So I added a 2inch length of air line to the intake {I think the intake is to low down and sucks a mix of water and air into it} it’s now 80% quieter and works perfectly
Best regards john,o

 

[BigC]

Cheers for that john,o... I've sent you a PM.
Well things are ticking along nicely, albeit slowly. I havent managed to fit the top of the Durso because it affects the whole running of the system, Maybe the return pumps too strong or the drainage is too narrow I dont know. Anyway after a gruelling day yesterday I managed to get the thing operational (input and output) I have just fitted a 90 degree bend to the top of the standpipe and inserted a plastic strainer grille butchered and modified from an old syphon tube, to stop any critters wondering in and also to stop larger debris from clogging up the system this will have to be periodically cleaned but its very quiet. (see pic below)

This evening I'm planning to get the liverock back into place and continue on with reacclimatizing the livestock tomorrow.

Below is a small video surrounding the functionality of the sump/refugium (view it full screen to get a better overall picture)




Do you think there's enough water movement in chamber one for the Cheato to grow/survive or should I go out and buy something like a Korallia Nano pump.
Any helpful constructive comments will be greatly accepted.
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

Lookin good BigC. I'm gonna say the chaeto should be fine in there, it really doesn't need much flow at all

 

[BigC]

Ok everything is back in, the liverock was given a light cleaning and placed back in the main aquaria (not replicating the original but somewhere close) I took delivery of some Star Astrea and some Pacific Turbo snails this morning, they too have been acclimatised and placed in the tank. The clownfish seem to love the new setup. I have placed the Nano Skimmer in the first compartment after getting quite a lot of microbubbles. It's all a bit cramped but then it's only a 24ltr sump. Everything is one degree of magnatude smaller than my hands can get at in there. Quite frustrating at times. Its all pretty quiet at the moment although the "Durso" took some working out to aleviate the noise level. I hope the sump and the Cheatomorpha will help with the persistant algal problem I was suffering. It wasn't a big deal but I didn't like it even if it was only a tiny bit. I have more cleanup crew than you could swing a cat at coupled with Rowaphos so if I can keep the phosphates down then I'd expect a reduction in the algae.
I am going to get some cleaner shrimp (x2 Lysmata amboinensis) what are the memberships views on them do they munch algae or are they more of a scavenger.
Do they stay within the confines of the tank or do the go walk about and try to escape.
I will post some pics of the new setup tomorrow evening. I am taking delivery of some coral frags next week all being well and seeing as my birthday is on the horizon I will request some dosh for more tank decoration.
Tune in tomorrow for the pics
Regards
BigC

 

[SkiFletch]

More of a scavenger on the cleaner shrimp... Also if you have LPS corals, sun corals, or others that actively eat when the tank is fed, the cleaner shrimp will learn this and go after the corals to get their food, so beware that.

 

[BigC]

Thanks again Ski.
Well as promised some piccies of the latest setup. The first two are just general overall shots and the last is the (labour intensive brain numbing sump) Thanks go to all the guys I contacted during the time when I was planning the whole thing. I take my hat off to you people.

Struggling a little to keep the water temp down, I think its due to the light over the sump, I have turned down the heater a tad to see if this is working correctly if that dont work I may have to position the light lower down, insert a fan or block the heat from reaching the underside of the cabinet. I have done some basic tests and they are all within the boundaries but will run more specific tests tomorrow. See where I stand.
Going ahead, as said earlier with the coral frags next week, lets get this thing off the floor now... its been almost a year messing about...... time to landscape.
Famous last words
Regards
BigC

 

[littleme1969]

The purple is a nice contrast with the back wall Looks good

 

[timpetty]

As you've heard many times before, great looking tank. Ive been silently stalking your thread since the beginning. One possible suggestion to your overheating problem would be to cut out the back of your cabinet. I cut about halfway from the bottom to the lower rim of the stand and have had no heat problems without the use of a fan. Even on the 90-100 degree heat wave we had here. It may be more difficult for you to get a good sized hole with your very clean looking power strips but Im sure you can work something out. The best part is, it faces the back and has no negative asthetic effects.

 

[BigC]

Cheers guys for the replies.
I tested the tank today and it made for interesting reading, it seems to be much more stable now going by the results. I know its early days but the readings are encouraging.
Temp 82'F (a little on the high side for my likeing)
S.G. 1.026
pH 8.2
Ammonia 0 ppm
Nitrite 0.05 ppm
Nitrate 2.5 ppm
Alk 1.7 meq/ltr (maybe a bit low)
Calcium 410 ppm
Magnesium 1500 ppm
Phosphates 0 ppm (Tested using new Merck High Sensitivity Test Kit)
<a href="http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...te-test-kit.asp" target="_blank">http/www.aquatics-online.co.uk/catalogue...te-test-kit.asp</a>

I am pretty well pleased with the first real round of tests since the changeover. I performed a 12ltr waterchange after testing.
I think I'll treat myself to some corals at the weekend.
First of is my temp too high for Mushrooms and Zoas.
Regards
BigC

 

[BigC]

Yes!
My first coral has been placed in situ, Its taken nearly a year to get to this point and I am exstatic about this initial stocking. It is a Finger Leather. Not a classic example I hear you say but its small enough to fit where I wanted it and hopefully it should grow to fit the space surrounding it. I was temped to buy more and there were larger specimens available but I resisted as this is the first coral and I read that Leather sometimes shed a mucus when stressed etc. So I thought it wise to buy this one and let it do its thing then go out and buy some more corals periodically. Incidentally a small starfish with long arms fell from the leather as I was positioning it. It looked for all the world like a baby Brittle Star. I'm a novice at this so my identification of friends and foes is very limited. Not wishing to take a chance with the critter, it was discarded.
I acclimatised the Coral the same way as I did the fish and the cleanup crew, using the drip method over an hourly period. Hopefully I haven't stressed it too much.

Acclimatising my first Coral

Well she's in and isn't that a sight for sore eyes.

I'll give it time to settle and log how long it took for it to fully expand again after its journey from the LFS and the trauma I caused positioning it.

Regards
BigC

 

[aaronnorth]

wow, 1 year! How do you attach corals?

 

[BigC]

How do you attach corals?
http/www.zoocentras.lt/images/epoxy.jpg
Regards
BigC

 

[kj23502]

Looking good BigC!! I've been lurking here also

 

[BigC]

Just a couple of things to report today.
My new coral (Finger Leather) fully opened out after only 1 hour of placing it in the tank. I moved it around somewhat in a circular fashion, a little different to what its like on the pic but essentially in the same position. I want it to spread filling the space between the two rock piles to the left and right. Its recieving 8 hours of compact lighting per day and its positioned in a good to moderate flow. All its tiny polyps have come out and is looking pretty healthy. The clowns are circumnavagating it but giving it a wide birth, they seem, presently, wanting to bond with it but are taking it pretty slow, being extremly careful not to be blown into it by the sump return outlets. One downside I've noticed (and perhaps more ardent reefers could supply a difinitive answer) I'm sure one of my Pacific Turbos inadvertantly wondered too close to the Coral and has been stung or injestted some turpinoid compound given off by the Coral and is presently laid on the substrate (24 hours now) The snail still moves its hard sealing plate from time to time opening and closing sporidically and quickly (its still alive) but obviously it has been injuried by the coral in some way shape or form. Has anyone experienced this before. Another thing I noticed the sealing plate of the snail looks very black similar to being charred. Any Ideas.
Apart from that everything is fine. The sump is running as it should and I've place another clump of Cheato in there to help things along.
Regards
BigC

 

[BigC]

Well the Coral seems to have settled in nicely, Clowns still giving it a wide berth. Notice a little bit of hair algae rearing its ugly head but only a tiny bit, hopefully when the Cheato gets going it will combat this. Nowhere near a bad as pre sump days.

Finger leather with open polyps

Finger Leather with Clowns in vicinity.

Looking at obtain some more corals this weekend fingers crossed.
Regards
BigC