Just Another Softie Tank in Norway

daggerana · 04/13/2020, 08:02 AM

This is primarily just a place for me to write down thoughts and experiences so far and as I'm having them, as I am now seeing a need to do it. Wall of texts will be plenty and I'll try to be a good boi and remember pictures.

So I'm on my second reef tank, first one was abandoned as it was overwhelmed with algae. Bryopsis? Something at least, as it was possible to get it off the glass, but it grew so into the rocks that I would lift the rocks out of the aquarium before it let go by itself.

So trying to make a long story short, my first 540 liter aquarium was a Juwel aquarium, no sump or skimmer or any nutrient export, although I added a hang on glass algae scrubber in the last weeks/months to no avail. The lights on the algae scrubber were superb (rapidled), buuut the rest of the construction was underwhelming to say the least.

Also trying to get a system going where maintenance is as little as possible, trying die-hard to never have to change water as it is a ****ing chore and water changes on any aquarium larger then 100 liters is a lot of work and a big nope in my book.

Had a bunch of corals in my last tank of all sorts, but every single one was covered in algae, so when I moved out of my previous apartment, I just took the fish (one) with me, and left everything else to die, because paranoia of getting the same algae back. Did not dip the fish though. The only surviving fish was a decent size Purple Tang that I got from a friend living not too far away. Also got 4 softies from her, a toadstool leather (I think..), a finger leather, gorgonia and a cute little kenya tree. All of these are slowly growing atm.

So last tank I got dead live rock, which was not "treated" long enough and still leached so much nitrate and phosphate, I suspect, since algae grew so good. Also had wonderful parameters at the end of the last tank though, because the algae ate all the nutrients.

This time, got fake rocks, and wanted to go without sand but ended up buying sand later because I bought the wrong kind of snails and ended up with 10 sand-sifting snails and yeah. So I got sand anyway.

Nitrates are 5 ppm and have been for a while.

___

SO, what did I learn from the previous run and what will I do now?

I learned that having no sump really frigging sucks and don't know what the hell I was thinking, how would I ever get nutrients out of the tank if I didn't have a refugium or skimmer or anything. God I am such a idiot for believing it would be fine.

So this time, still no skimmer because I don't like them and think they are a rip-off, also I am STRICTLY going for a softie tank and not a single LPS or SPS will be in my tank for the time being, even though Euphyllia corals are my all time favorite coral... Sadface.

This time, have a 460 liter tank, WITH overflow down into a sump underneath. 3 chambers, first just is a filter sock atm, just to get the major pieces out, second chamber is lit by 100 watts of LED grow lights (yes.).

"https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TWPQ53H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" are the specific lights. Both of them hanging over my sump.

Maxspect 420R over display tank.

I'm thinking what do grow in the refugium part, should I try to grow chaeto or some macro algae, or should I just let whatever grows in the grow? I am unsure... I still bought some chaeto from a retailer but since mail is really unpredictable per the times, virus going about and whatnot, I am still waiting for the chaeto.

Lots of brown stuff growing until now in the refugium, and some light green hair algae has started growing, and the only algae growing in display part is tiny amounts of film algae on the glass, and a tiny bit on the rocks. I now have 1 hermit crab and 5 spikey algae eating snails (can't remember their names per now), trying to get some turban snails of some sort but adding stuff slowly so I'll take my time and see the needs long term.

Stock is currently 1x Purple Tang, 2x Clownfish, 1x Hermit Crab, 5x Spikey Algae Eating Snail, 9x Sand-Sifting Snail.

I'm dosing "Red Sea Reef Foundation (Skeletal Elements) ABC+", and trying to go for high-quality food for the fish.

I think that's all I had on my mind right now so here comes some pictures!

Old tank right before I abandoned it:
https://ibb.co/DWG6Jcp
https://ibb.co/419nTSs

God so much algae I want to kms.

New tank getting set up
https://ibb.co/3CXDZRG
https://ibb.co/1R2fsDS
https://ibb.co/261Z4jX
https://ibb.co/2ZrkQN7

Algae growing in refugium atm, quite some of this stuff but horrible lightning because floodlights
https://ibb.co/VHdbfpj

Tank as per today
https://ibb.co/Yf6xXkT
https://ibb.co/6H3pVLh
https://ibb.co/RjRqrZM

Ain't got much to show atm since I'm still sort of getting started, and NOT HAPPY WITH ROCKS but it was better then just laying down so whatever. Will move them when I get more rocks/if I get more rocks. Expensive, those!

11/10/2019 is the startup date when I finished bringing water from the ocean nearby and got it all in the tank. Man that was a LOT of trips...

Which means the tank is currently 6 months old, and I only got the algae eating snails recently, so all the growth you see in display tank has come in the last 6 months. So far so good!

Also the refugium has not been properly lighted for longer then a week, attempted several times with DIY stuff but after some accidents where the light fell into the water (yes... really.), I just decided enough was enough and bought proper growing lights. I literally cannot do any DIY stuff, as I am not handy in the least. I want to be, but I am not.

Also the snails that came had calcium algae growing on em (I can't remember what it's called atm, not native english speaker so pardon me), I scraped their shells with a knife good before I let them into the tank, hoping it will spread!

So, nutrients and algae growth are under control per now, strongly considering more algae eating snails but I want to add things SLOWLY, compared to the last tank.

Oh, also worth mentioning, I added fish like 2 months after the water was added, and the snails I did not add before 5 months in, and the algae eating snails I got last week also. Needed to mention that.

Hoping this reef tank will turn out better then the last, armed with new knowledge!

daggerana · 04/25/2020, 08:05 AM

25.04.2020

Some happy news amidst the plague going about is my tank now has 0 measured nitrates RedSea test kit!

Picture of test below:
https://ibb.co/h8V9jB9
https://ibb.co/HKXw5Rq

Which means my refugium is doing its job just fine, which also has been growing lots of light green hair algae! Also added some new corals, some Birdsnest, Hammerhead, Discosoma and some Zoa's, even though I said I was not gonna add any LPS or SPS I just couldn't resist... Oh well

Here's a picture of the refugium with pink and white light:
https://ibb.co/Kmf3ygJ
https://ibb.co/s9gwt2z

Other values are fine, although a lil' high.

Just found out hermit crabs molt, I though mine was dead as I saw a couple of legs floating around but he was still in his shell with all legs! Cool!

Not much else to update about, only a few of the Zoa's have opened up, so I'll take pictures of them later!

daggerana · 04/27/2020, 01:27 PM

27.04.20

Yeah, came home from work to a dead clown and some snails... 2 out of 3 of the Birds Nest corals are looking sad, however the last 1 is looking great, so yeah. I blame my sudden dosing of Zooplankton and Amino Acids and stuff for killing my clown, however unlikely that seems... Been fed tons so it's not that. Maybe the bigger clown bullied it to death? Unsure... Also the tang has been acting weird today, only staying in a corner and not interested in food...

Also more rock is coming in a few days, just 2 kg but it's live live rock, and not man-made like the stuff I have! Was thinking maybe the SPS does not like my ultra sterile tank, since I read that they only do well in mature tanks, which mine is... sort of? 6 months old but no live rock, so I don't know what to call it...

Algae under the sump is getting white spots, probably die off because no nutrients, that's what I suspect anyway. Random spots in random areas, so I guess it's not because of the lights? The algae is growing mad fast, I see growth per day, unlike my other corals. Oh, also my finger leather and leather toadstool somthing coral has both decided to shed another layer and are closed up currently... I again blame my sudden dosing... Kenya Tree doesn't give a **** and just blooms all the time so I guess that's ok. Zoa's are still closed up except for 2 and a half polyps. Looks like they are slowly opening? Too lazy for pictures today, maybe I will add later. That's it for this time I guess.

aquaventions · 09/20/2020, 09:59 AM

How are things with the new tank?

04/13/2020, 08:02 AM	#1
daggerana Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 7	Just Another Softie Tank in Norway This is primarily just a place for me to write down thoughts and experiences so far and as I'm having them, as I am now seeing a need to do it. Wall of texts will be plenty and I'll try to be a good boi and remember pictures. So I'm on my second reef tank, first one was abandoned as it was overwhelmed with algae. Bryopsis? Something at least, as it was possible to get it off the glass, but it grew so into the rocks that I would lift the rocks out of the aquarium before it let go by itself. So trying to make a long story short, my first 540 liter aquarium was a Juwel aquarium, no sump or skimmer or any nutrient export, although I added a hang on glass algae scrubber in the last weeks/months to no avail. The lights on the algae scrubber were superb (rapidled), buuut the rest of the construction was underwhelming to say the least. Also trying to get a system going where maintenance is as little as possible, trying die-hard to never have to change water as it is a ****ing chore and water changes on any aquarium larger then 100 liters is a lot of work and a big nope in my book. Had a bunch of corals in my last tank of all sorts, but every single one was covered in algae, so when I moved out of my previous apartment, I just took the fish (one) with me, and left everything else to die, because paranoia of getting the same algae back. Did not dip the fish though. The only surviving fish was a decent size Purple Tang that I got from a friend living not too far away. Also got 4 softies from her, a toadstool leather (I think..), a finger leather, gorgonia and a cute little kenya tree. All of these are slowly growing atm. So last tank I got dead live rock, which was not "treated" long enough and still leached so much nitrate and phosphate, I suspect, since algae grew so good. Also had wonderful parameters at the end of the last tank though, because the algae ate all the nutrients. This time, got fake rocks, and wanted to go without sand but ended up buying sand later because I bought the wrong kind of snails and ended up with 10 sand-sifting snails and yeah. So I got sand anyway. Nitrates are 5 ppm and have been for a while. ___ SO, what did I learn from the previous run and what will I do now? I learned that having no sump really frigging sucks and don't know what the hell I was thinking, how would I ever get nutrients out of the tank if I didn't have a refugium or skimmer or anything. God I am such a idiot for believing it would be fine. So this time, still no skimmer because I don't like them and think they are a rip-off, also I am STRICTLY going for a softie tank and not a single LPS or SPS will be in my tank for the time being, even though Euphyllia corals are my all time favorite coral... Sadface. This time, have a 460 liter tank, WITH overflow down into a sump underneath. 3 chambers, first just is a filter sock atm, just to get the major pieces out, second chamber is lit by 100 watts of LED grow lights (yes.). "https://www.amazon.co.uk/gp/product/B07TWPQ53H/ref=ppx_yo_dt_b_asin_title_o00_s00?ie=UTF8&psc=1" are the specific lights. Both of them hanging over my sump. Maxspect 420R over display tank. I'm thinking what do grow in the refugium part, should I try to grow chaeto or some macro algae, or should I just let whatever grows in the grow? I am unsure... I still bought some chaeto from a retailer but since mail is really unpredictable per the times, virus going about and whatnot, I am still waiting for the chaeto. Lots of brown stuff growing until now in the refugium, and some light green hair algae has started growing, and the only algae growing in display part is tiny amounts of film algae on the glass, and a tiny bit on the rocks. I now have 1 hermit crab and 5 spikey algae eating snails (can't remember their names per now), trying to get some turban snails of some sort but adding stuff slowly so I'll take my time and see the needs long term. Stock is currently 1x Purple Tang, 2x Clownfish, 1x Hermit Crab, 5x Spikey Algae Eating Snail, 9x Sand-Sifting Snail. I'm dosing "Red Sea Reef Foundation (Skeletal Elements) ABC+", and trying to go for high-quality food for the fish. I think that's all I had on my mind right now so here comes some pictures! Old tank right before I abandoned it: https://ibb.co/DWG6Jcp https://ibb.co/419nTSs God so much algae I want to kms. New tank getting set up https://ibb.co/3CXDZRG https://ibb.co/1R2fsDS https://ibb.co/261Z4jX https://ibb.co/2ZrkQN7 Algae growing in refugium atm, quite some of this stuff but horrible lightning because floodlights https://ibb.co/VHdbfpj Tank as per today https://ibb.co/Yf6xXkT https://ibb.co/6H3pVLh https://ibb.co/RjRqrZM Ain't got much to show atm since I'm still sort of getting started, and NOT HAPPY WITH ROCKS but it was better then just laying down so whatever. Will move them when I get more rocks/if I get more rocks. Expensive, those! 11/10/2019 is the startup date when I finished bringing water from the ocean nearby and got it all in the tank. Man that was a LOT of trips... Which means the tank is currently 6 months old, and I only got the algae eating snails recently, so all the growth you see in display tank has come in the last 6 months. So far so good! Also the refugium has not been properly lighted for longer then a week, attempted several times with DIY stuff but after some accidents where the light fell into the water (yes... really.), I just decided enough was enough and bought proper growing lights. I literally cannot do any DIY stuff, as I am not handy in the least. I want to be, but I am not. Also the snails that came had calcium algae growing on em (I can't remember what it's called atm, not native english speaker so pardon me), I scraped their shells with a knife good before I let them into the tank, hoping it will spread! So, nutrients and algae growth are under control per now, strongly considering more algae eating snails but I want to add things SLOWLY, compared to the last tank. Oh, also worth mentioning, I added fish like 2 months after the water was added, and the snails I did not add before 5 months in, and the algae eating snails I got last week also. Needed to mention that. Hoping this reef tank will turn out better then the last, armed with new knowledge!

04/25/2020, 08:05 AM	#2
daggerana Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 7	Yay 0 nitrates! 25.04.2020 Some happy news amidst the plague going about is my tank now has 0 measured nitrates RedSea test kit! Picture of test below: https://ibb.co/h8V9jB9 https://ibb.co/HKXw5Rq Which means my refugium is doing its job just fine, which also has been growing lots of light green hair algae! Also added some new corals, some Birdsnest, Hammerhead, Discosoma and some Zoa's, even though I said I was not gonna add any LPS or SPS I just couldn't resist... Oh well Here's a picture of the refugium with pink and white light: https://ibb.co/Kmf3ygJ https://ibb.co/s9gwt2z Other values are fine, although a lil' high. Just found out hermit crabs molt, I though mine was dead as I saw a couple of legs floating around but he was still in his shell with all legs! Cool! Not much else to update about, only a few of the Zoa's have opened up, so I'll take pictures of them later!

04/27/2020, 01:27 PM	#3
daggerana Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2019 Posts: 7	27.04.20 Yeah, came home from work to a dead clown and some snails... 2 out of 3 of the Birds Nest corals are looking sad, however the last 1 is looking great, so yeah. I blame my sudden dosing of Zooplankton and Amino Acids and stuff for killing my clown, however unlikely that seems... Been fed tons so it's not that. Maybe the bigger clown bullied it to death? Unsure... Also the tang has been acting weird today, only staying in a corner and not interested in food... Also more rock is coming in a few days, just 2 kg but it's live live rock, and not man-made like the stuff I have! Was thinking maybe the SPS does not like my ultra sterile tank, since I read that they only do well in mature tanks, which mine is... sort of? 6 months old but no live rock, so I don't know what to call it... Algae under the sump is getting white spots, probably die off because no nutrients, that's what I suspect anyway. Random spots in random areas, so I guess it's not because of the lights? The algae is growing mad fast, I see growth per day, unlike my other corals. Oh, also my finger leather and leather toadstool somthing coral has both decided to shed another layer and are closed up currently... I again blame my sudden dosing... Kenya Tree doesn't give a **** and just blooms all the time so I guess that's ok. Zoa's are still closed up except for 2 and a half polyps. Looks like they are slowly opening? Too lazy for pictures today, maybe I will add later. That's it for this time I guess.

09/20/2020, 09:59 AM	#4
aquaventions Registered Member Join Date: Dec 2009 Location: Oconomowoc WI Posts: 17	How are things with the new tank?