56 gallon column build (last chance) - Page 4

reeftanknewbie · 07/04/2010, 10:24 PM

Ok so today I added my first corals....a nice colony of watermelon zoas....will try to take some pics soon... Started to get a hair algae bloom so tomorrow I am going to do a water change, remove as much as possible and get my canister filter going to run my chemipure plus with GFO...Happy and safe 4th everyone.

Greenmaster · 07/04/2010, 11:19 PM

I'll hang around and watch... I'll chip in if I know anything... your a good 2 months ahead of my build and it's nice to be able to tag along and get all the info people are giving to you (saves me having to ask it) Best of luck. I hope that your wife doesn't take your tank away... I had a tank 7 years ago and it broke in a move... took an accident before my wife let me get a new one (she said I couldn't have a new motorcycle but I could buy what I wanted with the money) by the way I also have kids one is 2 and the other is 5... so I'm ahead of you there

reeftanknewbie · 07/05/2010, 04:26 AM

Greenmaster,

Glad to have you aboard. Feel free to post any comments, ask questions, post pics, etc...on here. I am sure I will have several questions for you when the baby is born...lol.

Greenmaster · 07/05/2010, 03:18 PM

first off kids are a lot more work then a fish tank... but at like 2-5 years old when you come home from work and your child runs up to you and says "I love you, I'm so glad your home" it makes you all warm and mushy inside

Nebthet · 07/05/2010, 03:36 PM

Can't wait to see some pics of your first corals. They should do nicely in there.. and will look all wierd and lonely at first. LOL.

One good tip to do is to buy from fellow hobbiests when they are selling some of their stock. It is usually a bit hardier than the LFS purchased stock and cheaper to.

Ah.. the good ol' hair algae stage. Once this one goes away, you should have another cycle of the stuff about six months down the road.

reeftanknewbie · 07/07/2010, 04:19 AM

Quote:

first off kids are a lot more work then a fish tank... but at like 2-5 years old when you come home from work and your child runs up to you and says "I love you, I'm so glad your home" it makes you all warm and mushy inside

Greenmaster,
agreed, and looking forward to the learning experience.

Nebthet,
I will try to get some pics maybe by the weekend...very busy this week with starting a new job and several parties to go to....colony is doing well. Have to spend some time working on the hair algae issue..water changes are in order.

Nebthet · 07/07/2010, 08:09 PM

Congrats on the new job. I hope you like it.

reeftanknewbie · 07/07/2010, 08:16 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebthet

Congrats on the new job. I hope you like it.

thanks...so far it is going very well

reeftanknewbie · 07/09/2010, 04:35 AM

ok last night I did my first water change and cleaned as much of the hair algae off of the rocks as possible. Added some purple up as well. today I will check my parameters and finally take some pics for you all...

Greenmaster · 07/09/2010, 09:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by reeftanknewbie

ok last night I did my first water change and cleaned as much of the hair algae off of the rocks as possible. Added some purple up as well. today I will check my parameters and finally take some pics for you all...

YAY! we love pics

reeftanknewbie · 07/11/2010, 06:26 AM

Ok went to my lfs yesterday and picked up 3 turbos and a lawnmower blenny to help fight off my hair algae along with my test kits. they are great and gave me a free zoa frag....was too afraid of maxing out my mag for a week since I am new to the hobby...noticed some mild cyno i think starting on my sand. Also thought I would mess around this morning and try a mess mod on my HOB red sea skimmer until I get a pump for the other. today I might have a local reefer stop by to help with drilling the tank and putting in a coast to coast overflow.

here are some pics as promised...

Greenmaster · 07/11/2010, 10:08 AM

Algae is a normal part of the new tank cycle.

reeftanknewbie · 07/11/2010, 10:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Greenmaster

Algae is a normal part of the new tank cycle.

yeah I know just PITA to deal with and makes things look bad for awhile...

Nebthet · 07/11/2010, 03:03 PM

I hear you on the algae, but some of them look nice.
You will probably have another cycle of GHA in six months or so after this one clears up.
and don't forget to also feed your blenny at least once a week in addition to him eating the algae. Mine loves flake food.

Your tank is coming along nicely. I like the aquascape. those eagle eye zoas look really nice. what other type did you get?

reeftanknewbie · 07/12/2010, 05:26 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebthet

I hear you on the algae, but some of them look nice.
You will probably have another cycle of GHA in six months or so after this one clears up.
and don't forget to also feed your blenny at least once a week in addition to him eating the algae. Mine loves flake food.

Your tank is coming along nicely. I like the aquascape. those eagle eye zoas look really nice. what other type did you get?

Nebnet,
good to know, wasn't sure what the benny would need when he ran out of algae to eat. Believe I saw a few very small copapods yesterday on the glass which is a good sign. Was told the colony was watermelon zoas and the other zoa frag I got I am not sure about...they are a nice shade of pink. I also got a purple monti cap and candy cane frag yesterday from a local reefer for some of my chaeto.

Nebthet · 07/12/2010, 07:50 PM

It is a possibility they could morph into the watermelons. They are a little close.

Your second frag of zoas look like purple fissions.
Also love your monticap. I am tryig to find a purple one here myself. I want a blue one also.

Your neon canndy canes are nice. They will take mysis shrimp or pellets when you get fish in your tank. Just wait until their feeder tentacles are out before ou feed them. It will make them grow faster.

reeftanknewbie · 07/13/2010, 01:17 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebthet

It is a possibility they could morph into the watermelons. They are a little close.

Your second frag of zoas look like purple fissions.
Also love your monticap. I am tryig to find a purple one here myself. I want a blue one also.

Your neon canndy canes are nice. They will take mysis shrimp or pellets when you get fish in your tank. Just wait until their feeder tentacles are out before ou feed them. It will make them grow faster.

Nebthet,
thanks for the identification on my corals.....never had much experience with corals before, do I need to feed my zoas as well? if so how often do I feed my corals? I heard I can use a turkey baster to direct the food to them......

tested my alk and cal....DKH is at 10 and cal is at 450...ph at 8.0

reeftanknewbie · 07/13/2010, 03:28 AM

So until I find some time to set up my in sump skimmer, I decided to use my Red Sea Prizm skimmer. Works fairly well but decided to complete the mesh mod using some mesh material from Joann's fabrics needle point section (cost me .48/sheet). Then I just traced the impeller of the Red Sea pump onto the mesh plastic sheet, cut it out and attached with two zip ties. Works very well...noticed a drastic improvement in microbubbles inside of the skimmer chamber.

,

Nebthet · 07/13/2010, 10:04 AM

You don't need to feed your zoas. They will feed directly from the water column the small stuff floating in your tank.

reeftanknewbie · 07/13/2010, 05:53 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebthet

You don't need to feed your zoas. They will feed directly from the water column the small stuff floating in your tank.

good to know that thanks......

reeftanknewbie · 07/18/2010, 05:33 AM

Today I did another 5 gallon water change and cleaned the sand and rocks to remove more of the hair and red slime algae. I also began setting up my protein skimmer I plan to use on this tank (aqualine in sump). My prizm HOB skimmer is working ok I think based on my current bioload which is low. I removed the zip ties from my mesh mod in the prizm skimmer and replaced it with fishing line per another reefers suggestion (sorry forgot who recommended it).

,

reeftanknewbie · 07/18/2010, 08:48 AM

Water parameters today are as following:
Ammonia 0
nitrate 0
nitrite 0
phosphate 0
ph 7.9 at 10am
temp 79
DKH 9
cal 400

Nebthet · 07/30/2010, 08:11 PM

Updates??

reeftanknewbie · 07/30/2010, 11:52 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nebthet

Updates??

Sorry been busy with the new job and preparing for the baby's arrival in the next 2 weeks. So with weekly water changes and some dedication to tank maintenance I think I am starting to see the light at the end of the tunnel on my algae bloom. The GHA is starting to disappear and does not seem to be growing. The cynobacteria remains contained to my sand and I am hoping it goes away soon. I have been removing the sand with cyno on it weekly during my water changes but it seems to just grow back in the same spots. I am running chemipure elite along with a small left over bag of GFO and purigen in my canister filter. Working on finding a used hanna meter for phosphates. RO/DI water remains 0 TDS.

reeftanknewbie · 08/03/2010, 05:23 AM

so nothing new to report this week as far as the tank goes. I continue to fight the cyno battle. I have been keeping up on water changes, vacuuming as much of the stuff off of my sand as possible and running chemipure elite in my canister filter. tonight I am going to clean out the canister prefilter and vacuum some more...man this stuff grows fast...

On a personal level, I am trying to stay close to home as my wife is due to have our son any day now. On top off that I was just offered an incredible job working with combat veterans providing counseling so I am really excited about that.

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07/04/2010, 10:24 PM	#76
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	Ok so today I added my first corals....a nice colony of watermelon zoas....will try to take some pics soon... Started to get a hair algae bloom so tomorrow I am going to do a water change, remove as much as possible and get my canister filter going to run my chemipure plus with GFO...Happy and safe 4th everyone. __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

07/04/2010, 11:19 PM	#77
Greenmaster Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 700	I'll hang around and watch... I'll chip in if I know anything... your a good 2 months ahead of my build and it's nice to be able to tag along and get all the info people are giving to you (saves me having to ask it) Best of luck. I hope that your wife doesn't take your tank away... I had a tank 7 years ago and it broke in a move... took an accident before my wife let me get a new one (she said I couldn't have a new motorcycle but I could buy what I wanted with the money) by the way I also have kids one is 2 and the other is 5... so I'm ahead of you there __________________ If you want to follow my 320g tall tank build/experiment click the search at the top of the page type in "320g" select "Search Titles Only" then click search. The "320g build/journey/experiment :-)" with more then one page is the one you want. Current Tank Info: 320g Build in progress

07/05/2010, 04:26 AM	#78
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	Greenmaster, Glad to have you aboard. Feel free to post any comments, ask questions, post pics, etc...on here. I am sure I will have several questions for you when the baby is born...lol. __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

07/05/2010, 03:18 PM	#79
Greenmaster Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 700	first off kids are a lot more work then a fish tank... but at like 2-5 years old when you come home from work and your child runs up to you and says "I love you, I'm so glad your home" it makes you all warm and mushy inside __________________ If you want to follow my 320g tall tank build/experiment click the search at the top of the page type in "320g" select "Search Titles Only" then click search. The "320g build/journey/experiment :-)" with more then one page is the one you want. Current Tank Info: 320g Build in progress

07/05/2010, 03:36 PM	#80
Nebthet Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Belleville, Ontario, CAN. Posts: 438	Can't wait to see some pics of your first corals. They should do nicely in there.. and will look all wierd and lonely at first. LOL. One good tip to do is to buy from fellow hobbiests when they are selling some of their stock. It is usually a bit hardier than the LFS purchased stock and cheaper to. Ah.. the good ol' hair algae stage. Once this one goes away, you should have another cycle of the stuff about six months down the road.

07/07/2010, 08:09 PM	#82
Nebthet Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Belleville, Ontario, CAN. Posts: 438	Congrats on the new job. I hope you like it.

07/09/2010, 04:35 AM	#84
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	ok last night I did my first water change and cleaned as much of the hair algae off of the rocks as possible. Added some purple up as well. today I will check my parameters and finally take some pics for you all... __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank Last edited by reeftanknewbie; 07/09/2010 at 04:41 AM.

07/11/2010, 06:26 AM	#86
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	Ok went to my lfs yesterday and picked up 3 turbos and a lawnmower blenny to help fight off my hair algae along with my test kits. they are great and gave me a free zoa frag....was too afraid of maxing out my mag for a week since I am new to the hobby...noticed some mild cyno i think starting on my sand. Also thought I would mess around this morning and try a mess mod on my HOB red sea skimmer until I get a pump for the other. today I might have a local reefer stop by to help with drilling the tank and putting in a coast to coast overflow. here are some pics as promised... __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank Last edited by reeftanknewbie; 07/11/2010 at 06:29 AM. Reason: stupid me on posting pics

07/11/2010, 10:08 AM	#87
Greenmaster Registered Member Join Date: Apr 2010 Location: BC, Canada Posts: 700	Algae is a normal part of the new tank cycle. __________________ If you want to follow my 320g tall tank build/experiment click the search at the top of the page type in "320g" select "Search Titles Only" then click search. The "320g build/journey/experiment :-)" with more then one page is the one you want. Current Tank Info: 320g Build in progress

07/11/2010, 03:03 PM	#89
Nebthet Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Belleville, Ontario, CAN. Posts: 438	I hear you on the algae, but some of them look nice. You will probably have another cycle of GHA in six months or so after this one clears up. and don't forget to also feed your blenny at least once a week in addition to him eating the algae. Mine loves flake food. Your tank is coming along nicely. I like the aquascape. those eagle eye zoas look really nice. what other type did you get?

07/12/2010, 07:50 PM	#91
Nebthet Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Belleville, Ontario, CAN. Posts: 438	It is a possibility they could morph into the watermelons. They are a little close. Your second frag of zoas look like purple fissions. Also love your monticap. I am tryig to find a purple one here myself. I want a blue one also. Your neon canndy canes are nice. They will take mysis shrimp or pellets when you get fish in your tank. Just wait until their feeder tentacles are out before ou feed them. It will make them grow faster.

07/13/2010, 03:28 AM	#93
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	So until I find some time to set up my in sump skimmer, I decided to use my Red Sea Prizm skimmer. Works fairly well but decided to complete the mesh mod using some mesh material from Joann's fabrics needle point section (cost me .48/sheet). Then I just traced the impeller of the Red Sea pump onto the mesh plastic sheet, cut it out and attached with two zip ties. Works very well...noticed a drastic improvement in microbubbles inside of the skimmer chamber. ,, __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

07/13/2010, 10:04 AM	#94
Nebthet Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Belleville, Ontario, CAN. Posts: 438	You don't need to feed your zoas. They will feed directly from the water column the small stuff floating in your tank.

07/18/2010, 05:33 AM	#96
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	Today I did another 5 gallon water change and cleaned the sand and rocks to remove more of the hair and red slime algae. I also began setting up my protein skimmer I plan to use on this tank (aqualine in sump). My prizm HOB skimmer is working ok I think based on my current bioload which is low. I removed the zip ties from my mesh mod in the prizm skimmer and replaced it with fishing line per another reefers suggestion (sorry forgot who recommended it). ,, , , , , , __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

07/18/2010, 08:48 AM	#97
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	Water parameters today are as following: Ammonia 0 nitrate 0 nitrite 0 phosphate 0 ph 7.9 at 10am temp 79 DKH 9 cal 400 __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

07/30/2010, 08:11 PM	#98
Nebthet Registered Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Belleville, Ontario, CAN. Posts: 438	Updates??

08/03/2010, 05:23 AM	#100
reeftanknewbie Registered Member Join Date: Mar 2008 Location: Effort PA Posts: 1,067	so nothing new to report this week as far as the tank goes. I continue to fight the cyno battle. I have been keeping up on water changes, vacuuming as much of the stuff off of my sand as possible and running chemipure elite in my canister filter. tonight I am going to clean out the canister prefilter and vacuum some more...man this stuff grows fast... On a personal level, I am trying to stay close to home as my wife is due to have our son any day now. On top off that I was just offered an incredible job working with combat veterans providing counseling so I am really excited about that. __________________ 80 gallon Blue Line rimless tank, 40 gallon breeder sump, DIY ATS, SWC 160 cone skimmer, ocean revive LED. Current Tank Info: 80 gallon blue line rimless tank

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