38G Reef Build

[HumanIMDB]

We're looking at putting the Hydor Rotating Water Deflectors on the three Maxi-jet 1200's. We were going to go with three Koralia 4s but found out that they cannot be used with most wave makers.

We were looking at the AquaSafe system but A.J. (AZDessertRat) advised against that unit for reefs. I'm sure it would be fine, but for a bit more money we're going to go with the SpectraPure MaxCap. We figure it will save us money and hassles in the long run.

We're going to run with one 400w MH, so the Digital Power Centre would probably be fine. Not sure if we're going to use Moon Lights or not, but the night option would be cool for that as well as doing a reverse light cycle on the fuge, though I'm not sure if we are going to do that or run the fuge 24x7.

Keep up the good work!

[nancymccall]

I like how you cut down the returns on the power heads. Does this widen the flow or just reduce their size?

[Xiaan42]

As you can see in this photo I just cut off the nozzle on the MaxiJets. This doesn't create more flow but it dose create a more dispersed flow.

[Xiaan42]

It looks like I have finished the cycle (in 4 days)
NH4 0ppm
NO2 0ppm
NO3 10ppm

I did not see any Ammonia or NO2 at all but NO3 is now showing up. I will probably still wait until next week for a clean up crew as I do not think there is very much to clean up in my tank.

sorry no pics yet tank is cloudy I tryed to do some more aquascaping but just ended up with the same thing again

[Xiaan42]

I tried to sneak up on stuff in my tank last night but still did not find anything interesting

Anyways finished up aquascaping my tank here is a shot of it with the water all nice and clear:


I am still trying to place my pumps correctly as I seem to have a lot of sand movement (lots of pits to the bottom and mounds of sand)

I am also getting some brown bacterial diatoms.

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

I had a similar thing with Walt Smith rock.. I added 140lbs to my tank, the NH3 never got above barely detectable (very mild difference from 0).. It's been in there 3 weeks, water still has 0 NH3, 0 No2 (this never showed up) and ~10-15 No3..

Give it a bit, the mild level of NH3 that showed up in mine took about a week - a week and a half to show up.. but diminished about 3-4 days after that..

That time will also allow the Diatoms to come and go, then you can start with a clean up crew.

[Xiaan42]

I guess that is what you get for getting really good quality live rock

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

If you put a red lense over a flashlight, start looking for worms coming out of the rock.. (at night).. I've found 8-10 of them so far, they appear to be peanut worms. You'll see them slowly moving around. coming out of a perfectly round hole in the rock.

I've already found my first Polyp that started growing on a piece of rubble (3"x2"x2") so I moved it up to the display.. You'll be spending a fair amount of time looking up what things are.. I've also found the carapace of a red crab w/ candy cane legs.. Not sure if it was a molt (hoping) or it died..

I had to order the rock to get it here, didn't know what it would be.. I was more shocked that I asked for uncured, then found out that Walt Smith (which is what it said on the invoice) was pre cured at their facility.. JLAquatics is a good place to deal with if you have the need.

[Xiaan42]

I got some of my equipment from JLAquatics they are great to deal with. The live rock I got locally from Ottawa Inverts it was cured rock. I also got some cured DIY pieces from him to the are the more gray pieces and keep the live rock mostly out of the sand bead.

[Xiaan42]

Did another test of all my parameters .
SG 1.025
NH3 0ppm
NO2 0ppm
NO3 2ppm
KH 8.0dkH
Ca 420ppm
Mg (no test kit yet)
PO4 0ppm
PH 8.0

Everything seems to be stable!

[Xiaan42]

I just got my auto top off system yesterday from autotopoff.com. Nice price and really quick shipping to Canada. I just set it up for the weekend right next to the tank. It seems to work ok and tested out the sensors. I am going to be away for the weekend so I will see how it dose! (my GF will still be at home and will turn it off if something goes wrong )
Next week I will be installing the tubing & wiring so my reservoir will be in the basement instead of my living room floor.

I will post some pics when I get everything set up.

Also my rock is now almost all brown with a datiom! I hope to get the CUC in there next week before it gets out of control!

[Xiaan42]

I installed the top off system on Sunday. The hardest thing about setting up the system was pulling the tube under the basement ceiling (It got a little stuck ) so far it seems to work really well and I am pleased with the system it kept my return from going dry over the weekend. also I have no problems pumping the water up to my main floor from the basement.

Here is what I ordered from autotopoff.com
- Double Switch - Sump Mount
- 20' of 1/2" ID Tubing
- FT-300 Pump

All I needed extra to install it was a 5G bucket and 25' extension cord.

Here are some photos of the setup in the sump


Here is my super complex water storage system (The 5G bucket in the basement!)

[Xiaan42]

Added a clean up crew last night

10 Blue Legged Hermit Crab
5 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab
15 Astrea
15 Cerith

Here are some quick pictures of the guys.

[Xiaan42]

Now that I have my clean up crew in there I guess my next question is what is next? should I get fish or coral in my tank? and how long should I wait? The brown diatom is almost gone and what is left my clean up crew is doing short work of it.

[Xiaan42]

Here is a quick update on my hit list for the tank:

Fish
Royal Gramma Basslet (Gramma loreto)
Pajama Cardinalfish (Sphaeramia nematoptera)
Ocellaris Clownfish (Amphiprion ocellaris)
Sailfin/Algae Blenny (Salarias fasciatus)
Yellow Watchman Goby (Cryptocentrus cinctus)
Six Line Wrasse (Pseudocheilinus hexataenia)
Pearly Jawfish (Opistognathus aurifrons)

Inverts
Emerald Crab (Mithrax sculptus)
Bulb Anemone (Entacmaea quadricolor)
Crocea Clam (Tridacna crocea)
Hawaiian Feather Duster (Sabellastarte sp.)
Abalone (Haliotis sp.)
Scarlet Skunk Cleaner Shrimp (Lysmata amboinensis)
Peppermint Shrimp (Lysmata wurdemanni)
Chiton
Pistol Shrimp (Alpheus sp.)

Coral
Bubble Coral (Plerogyra sp.)
Frogspawn (Euphyllia sp.)
Short Tentacle Plate Coral (Fungia sp.)
Brian Coral (Lobophyllia sp.)
Candy Cane Coral (Caulastrea sp.)
Brain Worm (Platygyra sp.)
Montipora Coral, Encrusting (Montipora sp.)
Birdnest (Seriatopora sp.)
Zoo's (Zoanthus sp.)
Acropora Coral (Acropora sp.)

[Wizzard~Of~Ozz]

Sixlines, they can be aggressive. There are a couple of threads going about how they go after new additions and find sport in knocking snails off the glass. YMMV as usual fish have personalities. I love wrasses, they are great fish.. I found Halichoeres chrysus locally and have 4, definitely worth looking at if you can find them.

[Xiaan42]

I added some more diversity to my tank this weekend. I popped over to LFS on Saturday and picked up 5 Zebra hermits and a couple of different snails. I also walked away with a Fuzzy Chiton (I think they are super cool) and a porcelain crab (impulse buy).

All my water parameters are so far good except for Calcium it is a little low (385ppm) so I started dousing daily until It goes within parameters (440ppm). The auto top off is working great and is currently toping off just below a gallon a day. My skimmer also seems to have kicked in (It said it had a two week brake in period) and has so far collected over 100ml of stuff. I am also seeing a bit more coralline on the rock but that could be due to the fact my snails cleaned up allot of the brown algae.

I think I will add some Clown fish soon to the tank but next week I am planning on going away for 5 days. So I probably will not any any more stuff to the tank until I get back.

I will try and get pictures of the porcelain crab and the Fuzzy Chiton when I get home tonight but they are sometimes hard to find (The Chiton is around 1.5" long but blends in really well)

[Xiaan42]

I tried to get images of the chiton and my porcelain crab but they are hiding out today.





Here are some full tank shots



I had my first death yesterday it seems that one of my astrals fell off and something ate it (most likely the hermits) I figured it was not doing so well anyway if it fell off, also 1 in 34 is snails not so bad.

[Deb91]

You have way to many crabs in a small tank. I would take most if not all back before you loose all your snails.

[Xiaan42]

Originally posted by Deb91
You have way to many crabs in a small tank. I would take most if not all back before you loose all your snails.

I am keeping a close eye on them. For now they are keeping away from the snails and are busy hanging around the rocks. The snail that died was not killed by the crabs he was already dead when they got to him.

[Deb91]

If your tank is to clean then you have to feed them. I would see if you could get a store credit on them.Snails do a much better job at cleaning the alqae and poop,plus you want more later on that are on your stocking list.

[Xiaan42]

Time for an update.
All the water paramaters have been nice and stable the last few days. I performed a 10G water change on Sunday (Wow it has been one month already!) and I have added some more life to the tank. Last night I picked up some coral from a local reefer and I also managed to get a nice Tuxedo Urchin.

I also got a dry goods order from J&L aquatics with a TDS meter and a float valve for my RO/DI system, TLF Phosban Reactor with a MJ400, and some Coralife Aquarium Gloves.
I still need to get a Hydronamic Auto Shutoff Valve to prevent all the waist water when not making RO/DI water.

Here are some photos of my new acquisitions:

I finally got a good photo of my chiton (no photos of my porcelain crab yet he hides when the lights are on)


Here is the Tuxedo Urchin


Some Hammer Coral


Neon Green Birdsnest


Pink Stylophora


Green/Yellow with Pink Center Zoo's


More Zoo's


Here is a current full tank shot:

[nreefer]

Looks great, I like the lighting alot! It was nice to meet you last night.

[BLKTANG]

very nice job.

[Xiaan42]

Time for my weekly update ;D

So far so good...

Well everything is still going well in the tank. water parameters are still nice and stable. I am starting to see spots of coralline on the back wall of the tank.

I have added a couple more corals to my tank. Last Friday I picked 2 nice zoa frags and I was on my way to another place to pick up a Yellow Watchman Goby (YWG) and a pistol shrimp, when my car decided to not work any more so I had to postpone picking up the fish. I had to keep the zoa frags nice and warm while we waited for the tow truck (It was the alternator).
On Saturday I finally made it over to pick up the fish and a candy cane frag but not after stopping over at the LFS and picking up a very nice open brain (This is the coral I wanted before I even had a tank).

I got home acclimatised and placed them into the the tank. My pistol shrimp had then decided to make his new burrow underneath the open brain. this was quite funny as the brain kept continuing to expand and close off the openings of the burrow. I guess he gave up as the next morning It looks like the shrimp found a better place.

Here is the current list of inhabitants in my reef so far:
Yellow Watchman Goby
Pistol Shrimp
Porcelain Crab
Tuxedo Urchin
Chiton
Scarlet Hermits
Blue Legged Hermits
Zebra Hermits
Cerith Snails
Astraea Snails
Trochus Snails
Nassarius Snails
Candy Cane Coral
Open Brain Coral
Hammer Coral
Zoas
Pink Stylophora
Neon Green Birdsnest

Hichhikers:
Small Feather dusters
Worms with very long tentacles (like feather dusters but with one or two tentacles )
Micro Starfish
Small Brittle Star
Flat worms
Aiptasia (Zapped with vinegar)
Orange and White Sponges
Small Nerite snail
Green Sea Slug (Looks like a small sea hare)
Lots of Pods

Here are some new photos:

Orange Zoa


Candy Cane


Green/Red Open Brain


Open Brain ready for feeding


YWG Poking out of the rock work


This weeks full tank shot