My First Reef @19 weeks... with video...

nutfluff · 12/04/2011, 10:36 AM

Hi everyone. I thought maybe I'd get more thoughts here in the Reef Thread than the New to HObby thread so moderators please let me know where you think this should live best....

As of June this past summer I knew NOTHING about starting and maintaining a reef tank. A friend of mine, who has been in the hobby for a long time, convinced me to try it for myself. He told me some of the basics but lead me to a few forums where I should read, read, read. RC was one of the sites he recommended and it quickly became my favorite.

I am fortunate to live in Southern California so fish stores are almost as prevalent as Subway sandwich shops. After I found a LFS that I felt comfortable with, they asked me what my goals were. After some back and forth I settled on starting a nice basic 75 gallon reef. On July 29th it was all set up and I was excited to go on this adventure. I have learned A LOT over this past 19 weeks and would love to write about my experiences as I get this thread going. I was ready to quit multiple times during that time frame but my friend was able to talk me down and keep me going. I know one of the top 5 things needed in this hobby is patience. It’s certainly been testing mine.

I didn’t have a great startup. The guy who set me up used dry sand, manmade “reef rock” mixed with live rock, and put pellets online from the start. I went through a lot of changes before settling on what I'm using now. Currently I am battling some minor GHA/nuisance algae but feel like it’s all getting under control as my tank is becoming more stable and I understand more about phosphates. I take care of my water with equal care that I mind my fish and coral. As coralline starts to form on the rocks, powerheads and plastic overflow, I feel like I may be over the hump. Pods are also starting to show up on the glass at night. Looks like my eshopps sump that is half refugium is starting to pay off. Along with my refugium I also run a G1X skimmer and a reactor with Dr. Tims Active pearls to control my nitrates/phosphates. I was using Via Aqua Ocean Pure salt and after making the switch to D-D salt, my reef has really started to settle in. As with anything, you buy cheap, you buy twice.

My lighting is 6x54 T5’s using 4 ATI blue plus, 1 ATI purple plus and a GE 6500K. I am only running 4 at the moment (3 blue plus and 1 GE). Thanks to the Grim Reefer in the T5 thread for the help. I was originally using WavePoint bulbs but have since switched.

For flow I use an MP40 wireless along with a Koralia 750. I alternate between Reef Crest Mode and Nutrient Export Mode both at about 70%. My return pump is an Eheim 1262.

My latest water test using Salifert test kits was Calcium 435, ALK 8.9, MAG 1300, PH 8.1, Nitrate >5ppm, Phosphate (Hanna Checker) .09-.11 Salinity (Refractometer) 1.025, I top off with RO/DI water with a 000 TDS. I thank SK8R on this site for giving me great guidelines to follow. I do have some RowaPhos in a bag to help bring down the Phosphates until the Pearls kick in. Dr. Tims “Pearls” (pellets) have been online for about 3 weeks and are tumbling great.

The following video is a glimpse of how things are going. I feel like I’m done adding things for awhile and just want to see how everything grows in. I’d love to know what you see and what you think. On the photography side I’m just an amateur still figuring out the settings. On the tank side, I know the issues I am having and would love to chat about them. I also have pics I can post from the start up if this thread gets going. All “specialists” welcome including tang police, chemistry pros, coral lovers, anemone experts, photographers etc. Thanks for watching and I look forward to your constructive criticism…

Here's the link to my video...

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWXQJIEaUH0

aecasasus · 12/04/2011, 01:33 PM

Very nice!

Curtis72 · 12/04/2011, 02:59 PM

Great tank and great story!

renato120 · 12/04/2011, 05:50 PM

Very nice! I love your Black leopard wrasse. How long you have Him for?

small alien · 12/04/2011, 06:08 PM

Looking good. Very nice rock work. Your RBTA looks a bit bleached. How long have you had it? Does it eat? Good luck!

nutfluff · 12/04/2011, 10:01 PM

@renato The wrasse was one of my first fish that I've had for about two months... Has most definitely gotten larger and floats gracefully around the tank and nips at algae! It also eats everything I put in the tank. Thinking about making the move to Rod's food to satisfy everything in the tank.

@alien I've had the anemone for about a month. I know that many say to not add a anemone until about six months but others thought it would work out. It eats silversides up like they're going out of style. My large female clown is just starting to flirt with it and stick her face in. I wonder how long until it would host full time? It took about three days for it to find it's spot and I got lucky it front and center. It does look bleached but not as much as it does in the video. It definitely growing and eating though. Should I be concerned with the bleaching?

I tested my phosphates today and they went up to .15 I am running the Dr. Tims pellets and some rowaphos passively in a bag. I added a bag of phosguard as well (I do know about the controversial aluminum leaching but have seen no ill effects with the corals) After some further investigating I saw ALOT of detrius build up behind my rocks. I mean ALOT. So I added another Koralia 750 and aimed them both behind the rock work. I couldn't believe the amount of gunk that blew up into the water. It took about 2 hours for it all to clear. I am skimming on the wet side as well. Hopefully this is the main source of the phosphates that were building up and will see them drop soon...

What do you think?

Trimaculatus · 12/05/2011, 12:44 AM

Impressive for a first tank. I have been out of the hobby for about a decade and it is great to see such a solid first effort.

Telaverus · 12/05/2011, 09:34 AM

Nice video! I really enjoyed watching that, well done.

jmadden · 12/05/2011, 11:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by nutfluff

@renato The wrasse was one of my first fish that I've had for about two months... Has most definitely gotten larger and floats gracefully around the tank and nips at algae! It also eats everything I put in the tank. Thinking about making the move to Rod's food to satisfy everything in the tank.

@alien I've had the anemone for about a month. I know that many say to not add a anemone until about six months but others thought it would work out. It eats silversides up like they're going out of style. My large female clown is just starting to flirt with it and stick her face in. I wonder how long until it would host full time? It took about three days for it to find it's spot and I got lucky it front and center. It does look bleached but not as much as it does in the video. It definitely growing and eating though. Should I be concerned with the bleaching?

I tested my phosphates today and they went up to .15 I am running the Dr. Tims pellets and some rowaphos passively in a bag. I added a bag of phosguard as well (I do know about the controversial aluminum leaching but have seen no ill effects with the corals) After some further investigating I saw ALOT of detrius build up behind my rocks. I mean ALOT. So I added another Koralia 750 and aimed them both behind the rock work. I couldn't believe the amount of gunk that blew up into the water. It took about 2 hours for it all to clear. I am skimming on the wet side as well. Hopefully this is the main source of the phosphates that were building up and will see them drop soon...

What do you think?

First off great tank. I'd be interested to see photos of the progression. I've documented the entire last 14 months of my tank. Makes it easier to see changes if problems occur and it's fun to look back

.

As far as your phosphate control goes you've got all you need a refugium (i use just cheato in mine). I see you are also using rowaphose that stuff works great. Instead of putting just a bag of rowa in your sump, I'd recommend getting a phosbane reactor and filling it about a third of the way with rowaphose. Run it with a maxi jet 1200 and adjust the valve so it tumbles enough to keep it from hardening together and have the return from the reactor go up to the DT instead of the sump, so you keep cycling fresh water. I did this and all unwanted algae was gone and stays gone. Just a random glass cleaning every other day now.

nutfluff · 12/05/2011, 11:25 PM

Thanks for checking it out!

It really helpful to have constructive forums for people with like interests. I think it's easier now to find the right info than ever... I'm still waiting for things to settle in. I just lost one of my duncan heads and thinking it was because my phophates were too high. They got up to .14 but have gone down to .09. I'll see if they keep going down and try the GFO if I can't get it down farther. Still waiting for the pearls to grow the bacteria needed to get the phosphate out via the skimmer.

I'm just hoping the frogspawn and chalice thrive. I'm basically this point where I think the tank is settling and now it's fine tuning. That orange skirted polyp rock was one of the first corals that didn't die on me at first. It looked so anemic but has really filled in nicely...

Here's a shot from my phone when it first went into the tank. Was on the sandbed for awhile...

Danzig · 12/06/2011, 12:46 AM

wow very nice tank, love the rockwork!

Po Sei Don · 12/06/2011, 01:19 AM

Looks good! Congrats on the success. Just curious, which LFS do you go to? I live in Agoura so I was just wondering. I frequent Vivid, TAT, Aquarium City and a few others.

nutfluff · 12/06/2011, 11:35 AM

In the video you wil notice that one of my duncan heads was withdrawn. I dipped in iodine but to no avail... It had a white film on its skeleton and soon its head just melted off. This morning the other two were following suit.

LPS has been a struggle for me. I thought these Duncans that I've had for about two weeks was a sign they were going to be okay. The LPS would usually recede and the tissue around it's base would melt away. With these Duncans it just got a white bacterial film. I removed the remaining Duncans (second head withdrawn like the first, other head not far behind) hoping it won't spread to my frogspawn and elegance.

Does anyone have ANY idea why I can't keep LPS? My numbers are listed in the first post... I'm battling high phosphates and wonder if that would be tough on LPS but from my readings it seems that they prefer "dirtier" water.

What I also notice with these LPS deaths is that before they die, their skeletons get thin and anemic. Never as thick as when I first get them. It happens in a matter of 2 weeks...

Any thoughts would be appreciated.

Joshz400_03 · 12/06/2011, 01:43 PM

Looks great!

nutfluff · 12/07/2011, 11:59 PM

Any thoughts as to why I lost my Duncans?

nutfluff · 12/14/2011, 09:47 PM

Update. Things are settling in more as I've gotten my phosphates down to 0 (I know some may be present but it's still a good reading compared to what it was) Nitrates are about 5ppm. This was achieved by using rowaphos in a Phosban reactor. Curious to see how long some sporadic GHA will take to subside... Have very small areas of bubble algae I can manually remove. Kinda want to keep my tank crab free...

Also my anemone is getting HUGE so fast... clown is still flirting and poking at it but not taken a full interest...

It's nice to sit back and watch thing grow now that I'm not just wondering if things will even live...

I owe the big change to using different salt. My LFS was using crappy Ocean Pure from China. Made the switch to DD H2Ocean and now the numbers are so stable I don't even have to dose as long as I keep up with the water changes.

I'll prob put a progress video up after the New Year to track the growth if anyone is interested.

NatureNerd · 12/14/2011, 11:59 PM

Really nice tank. I love your choices in fish and your rock work. That tank will mature and settle in very nicely I believe.

ReefKeeperSR · 12/15/2011, 08:07 PM

Nice looking tank. Looks like you got great flow.

Nicely done.

nutfluff · 12/15/2011, 09:48 PM

Thanks a bunch guys! Things are starting to feel fun now that I feel like things are just starting to get going. Going to use this tread as a journal and whoever tags along is cool with me..

Added three beautiful female lyretail anthias that really add some cool movement and contrast. My wife is getting involved more and our decisions are based on wide range of colors and movement... Gettin artsy with it I guess. Can't wait to shoot another video in a month to see the changes...

nutfluff · 12/16/2011, 08:42 PM

Just thought Id throw up a pic of right now with my phone...

sneaton · 12/16/2011, 08:56 PM

looks great....be careful with overstocking though

nutfluff · 12/16/2011, 09:03 PM

Thanks. Im def done with fish! Gonna let things grow in for awhile and let things settle even more....

Tater11 · 12/17/2011, 01:15 AM

awesome tanks great start.and very good music choice.

Aj Flip · 12/17/2011, 01:48 AM

how much flow u got there? looks like quite a bit

nutfluff · 12/17/2011, 12:11 PM

I use an MP40 for the main flow and alternate between Reef Crest, Lagoon and Nutrient export at about 70%. I have since added 2 Koralia 750's aimed exclusively behind the rocks because I was getting a HUGE amount of build up. When I first put them in the tank was dirty for about 3 hours...

I think my next tank will have side overflows because I feel the center really makes it difficult to get flow behind the rocks...

My return is an Eheim 1262 and thats just aimed to the top to break the surface of the water... I think 2 MP10's would have been better in this size tank so both sides have even flow. One side def has more flow than the other but have placed corals accordingly...

12/04/2011, 10:36 AM	#1
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	My First Reef @19 weeks... with video... Hi everyone. I thought maybe I'd get more thoughts here in the Reef Thread than the New to HObby thread so moderators please let me know where you think this should live best.... As of June this past summer I knew NOTHING about starting and maintaining a reef tank. A friend of mine, who has been in the hobby for a long time, convinced me to try it for myself. He told me some of the basics but lead me to a few forums where I should read, read, read. RC was one of the sites he recommended and it quickly became my favorite. I am fortunate to live in Southern California so fish stores are almost as prevalent as Subway sandwich shops. After I found a LFS that I felt comfortable with, they asked me what my goals were. After some back and forth I settled on starting a nice basic 75 gallon reef. On July 29th it was all set up and I was excited to go on this adventure. I have learned A LOT over this past 19 weeks and would love to write about my experiences as I get this thread going. I was ready to quit multiple times during that time frame but my friend was able to talk me down and keep me going. I know one of the top 5 things needed in this hobby is patience. It’s certainly been testing mine. I didn’t have a great startup. The guy who set me up used dry sand, manmade “reef rock” mixed with live rock, and put pellets online from the start. I went through a lot of changes before settling on what I'm using now. Currently I am battling some minor GHA/nuisance algae but feel like it’s all getting under control as my tank is becoming more stable and I understand more about phosphates. I take care of my water with equal care that I mind my fish and coral. As coralline starts to form on the rocks, powerheads and plastic overflow, I feel like I may be over the hump. Pods are also starting to show up on the glass at night. Looks like my eshopps sump that is half refugium is starting to pay off. Along with my refugium I also run a G1X skimmer and a reactor with Dr. Tims Active pearls to control my nitrates/phosphates. I was using Via Aqua Ocean Pure salt and after making the switch to D-D salt, my reef has really started to settle in. As with anything, you buy cheap, you buy twice. My lighting is 6x54 T5’s using 4 ATI blue plus, 1 ATI purple plus and a GE 6500K. I am only running 4 at the moment (3 blue plus and 1 GE). Thanks to the Grim Reefer in the T5 thread for the help. I was originally using WavePoint bulbs but have since switched. For flow I use an MP40 wireless along with a Koralia 750. I alternate between Reef Crest Mode and Nutrient Export Mode both at about 70%. My return pump is an Eheim 1262. My latest water test using Salifert test kits was Calcium 435, ALK 8.9, MAG 1300, PH 8.1, Nitrate >5ppm, Phosphate (Hanna Checker) .09-.11 Salinity (Refractometer) 1.025, I top off with RO/DI water with a 000 TDS. I thank SK8R on this site for giving me great guidelines to follow. I do have some RowaPhos in a bag to help bring down the Phosphates until the Pearls kick in. Dr. Tims “Pearls” (pellets) have been online for about 3 weeks and are tumbling great. The following video is a glimpse of how things are going. I feel like I’m done adding things for awhile and just want to see how everything grows in. I’d love to know what you see and what you think. On the photography side I’m just an amateur still figuring out the settings. On the tank side, I know the issues I am having and would love to chat about them. I also have pics I can post from the start up if this thread gets going. All “specialists” welcome including tang police, chemistry pros, coral lovers, anemone experts, photographers etc. Thanks for watching and I look forward to your constructive criticism… Here's the link to my video... http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZWXQJIEaUH0

12/04/2011, 01:33 PM	#2
aecasasus Registered Member Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: Texas Posts: 343	Very nice! __________________ Breathe IN...Breathe OUT! http://www.youtube.com/user/aecasasus?feature=results_main Current Tank Info: 150gallon, 40g Innovative Marine

12/04/2011, 05:50 PM	#4
renato120 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Location: Nashua NH Posts: 509	Very nice! I love your Black leopard wrasse. How long you have Him for? __________________ 60g cube in progress..... - Eshopps PSK 150 Skimmer - DIY 15g Sump - Mag 9 return pump - ATI Dimmable 6x24w - Jebao 1 WP25 - 2 RW4 - GFO/Carbon reactors - BRS Doser - JBJ ATO - 20g long refugium Current Tank Info: 60g cube

12/04/2011, 06:08 PM	#5
small alien The fungus is among us. Join Date: Apr 2008 Location: Earth Posts: 3,884	Looking good. Very nice rock work. Your RBTA looks a bit bleached. How long have you had it? Does it eat? Good luck! __________________ This moment is all we have. Current Tank Info: 75 mixed reef. F OSFF, Clingfish, M/F Leopards, M Mandy, Darwin Clown, Bullet Goby, Green Clown Goby, M/F Matted Files, Bluestripe Pipe, Tailspot Blenny, Canary Wrasse, Royal Gramma, Papua Toby Puffer, Snooty Maori Wrasse.

12/05/2011, 12:44 AM	#7
Trimaculatus Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2011 Location: Northern CA Posts: 10	Amazing results Impressive for a first tank. I have been out of the hobby for about a decade and it is great to see such a solid first effort.

12/04/2011, 02:59 PM	#3
Curtis72 Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Posts: 379	Great tank and great story!

12/04/2011, 10:01 PM	#6
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	@renato The wrasse was one of my first fish that I've had for about two months... Has most definitely gotten larger and floats gracefully around the tank and nips at algae! It also eats everything I put in the tank. Thinking about making the move to Rod's food to satisfy everything in the tank. @alien I've had the anemone for about a month. I know that many say to not add a anemone until about six months but others thought it would work out. It eats silversides up like they're going out of style. My large female clown is just starting to flirt with it and stick her face in. I wonder how long until it would host full time? It took about three days for it to find it's spot and I got lucky it front and center. It does look bleached but not as much as it does in the video. It definitely growing and eating though. Should I be concerned with the bleaching? I tested my phosphates today and they went up to .15 I am running the Dr. Tims pellets and some rowaphos passively in a bag. I added a bag of phosguard as well (I do know about the controversial aluminum leaching but have seen no ill effects with the corals) After some further investigating I saw ALOT of detrius build up behind my rocks. I mean ALOT. So I added another Koralia 750 and aimed them both behind the rock work. I couldn't believe the amount of gunk that blew up into the water. It took about 2 hours for it all to clear. I am skimming on the wet side as well. Hopefully this is the main source of the phosphates that were building up and will see them drop soon... What do you think?

12/05/2011, 09:34 AM	#8
Telaverus Registered Member Join Date: Feb 2007 Location: Canada Posts: 212	Nice video! I really enjoyed watching that, well done. __________________ Stu Retired 500g system... Researching and building a nice and relaxing 65g display

12/06/2011, 12:46 AM	#11
Danzig Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Posts: 694	wow very nice tank, love the rockwork! __________________ Keep our planet clean "PH s/b 7.9-8.3, salinity 1.024-6; alkalinity 8.3-9.3; calcium 420; magnesium 1300, temp abt 80. Alk and cal will not rise if mg is low."

12/06/2011, 01:19 AM	#12
Po Sei Don Registered Member Join Date: Aug 2011 Location: Southern California Posts: 239	Looks good! Congrats on the success. Just curious, which LFS do you go to? I live in Agoura so I was just wondering. I frequent Vivid, TAT, Aquarium City and a few others. __________________ Steven SFVR Member 24 JBJ Nano Ocellaris Clowns, McCosker's Wrasse, Yasha Shrimp Goby

12/06/2011, 11:35 AM	#13
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	Lost my Duncans ;( In the video you wil notice that one of my duncan heads was withdrawn. I dipped in iodine but to no avail... It had a white film on its skeleton and soon its head just melted off. This morning the other two were following suit. LPS has been a struggle for me. I thought these Duncans that I've had for about two weeks was a sign they were going to be okay. The LPS would usually recede and the tissue around it's base would melt away. With these Duncans it just got a white bacterial film. I removed the remaining Duncans (second head withdrawn like the first, other head not far behind) hoping it won't spread to my frogspawn and elegance. Does anyone have ANY idea why I can't keep LPS? My numbers are listed in the first post... I'm battling high phosphates and wonder if that would be tough on LPS but from my readings it seems that they prefer "dirtier" water. What I also notice with these LPS deaths is that before they die, their skeletons get thin and anemic. Never as thick as when I first get them. It happens in a matter of 2 weeks... Any thoughts would be appreciated. Last edited by nutfluff; 12/06/2011 at 11:56 AM.

12/06/2011, 01:43 PM	#14
Joshz400_03 Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Green Bay, WI Posts: 87	Looks great!

12/07/2011, 11:59 PM	#15
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	Any thoughts as to why I lost my Duncans?

12/14/2011, 09:47 PM	#16
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	Update. Things are settling in more as I've gotten my phosphates down to 0 (I know some may be present but it's still a good reading compared to what it was) Nitrates are about 5ppm. This was achieved by using rowaphos in a Phosban reactor. Curious to see how long some sporadic GHA will take to subside... Have very small areas of bubble algae I can manually remove. Kinda want to keep my tank crab free... Also my anemone is getting HUGE so fast... clown is still flirting and poking at it but not taken a full interest... It's nice to sit back and watch thing grow now that I'm not just wondering if things will even live... I owe the big change to using different salt. My LFS was using crappy Ocean Pure from China. Made the switch to DD H2Ocean and now the numbers are so stable I don't even have to dose as long as I keep up with the water changes. I'll prob put a progress video up after the New Year to track the growth if anyone is interested.

12/14/2011, 11:59 PM	#17
NatureNerd Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2010 Location: SF Bay Area, CA Posts: 877	Really nice tank. I love your choices in fish and your rock work. That tank will mature and settle in very nicely I believe. __________________ Reef tanks since 1987. Current tank: 75g SPS dominated reef tank set up in 1996

12/15/2011, 08:07 PM	#18
ReefKeeperSR Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2011 Location: Florida Posts: 62	Nice looking tank. Looks like you got great flow. Nicely done. __________________ 75 Gallon RR \| 20 Gallon Sump \| RKL Level 3 \| 2 x MP10 ES W \| Octopus Skimmer \| 2 x 250 Watt Halide \| 18 L.E.D's \| AquaEuro Chiller \| Sicce Pumps

12/15/2011, 09:48 PM	#19
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	Thanks a bunch guys! Things are starting to feel fun now that I feel like things are just starting to get going. Going to use this tread as a journal and whoever tags along is cool with me.. Added three beautiful female lyretail anthias that really add some cool movement and contrast. My wife is getting involved more and our decisions are based on wide range of colors and movement... Gettin artsy with it I guess. Can't wait to shoot another video in a month to see the changes...

12/16/2011, 08:56 PM	#21
sneaton Moved On Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: indianapolis Posts: 742	looks great....be careful with overstocking though

12/16/2011, 09:03 PM	#22
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	Thanks. Im def done with fish! Gonna let things grow in for awhile and let things settle even more....

12/17/2011, 01:15 AM	#23
Tater11 Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2006 Location: centralia,il Posts: 1,111	awesome tanks great start.and very good music choice.

12/17/2011, 01:48 AM	#24
Aj Flip Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2007 Posts: 802	how much flow u got there? looks like quite a bit

12/17/2011, 12:11 PM	#25
nutfluff Registered Member Join Date: Jul 2011 Location: Thousand Oaks, CA Posts: 224	I use an MP40 for the main flow and alternate between Reef Crest, Lagoon and Nutrient export at about 70%. I have since added 2 Koralia 750's aimed exclusively behind the rocks because I was getting a HUGE amount of build up. When I first put them in the tank was dirty for about 3 hours... I think my next tank will have side overflows because I feel the center really makes it difficult to get flow behind the rocks... My return is an Eheim 1262 and thats just aimed to the top to break the surface of the water... I think 2 MP10's would have been better in this size tank so both sides have even flow. One side def has more flow than the other but have placed corals accordingly...