budhaboy's new 65 gallon system

[Anonymous]

the new acro and monti
[rimg]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i310/budhaboy/120719_0005.jpg[/rimg]
[rimg]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i310/budhaboy/120719_0004.jpg[/rimg]
[rimg]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i310/budhaboy/120719_0003.jpg[/rimg]

 

[Anonymous]

the monti and acro seem to be airly fast growers - both have shown noticeable growth... I so need a new camera!

 

[Anonymous]

well, this winter certainly sucked, my Scopas Tang bullied a Maldives Lyretail Antias and a Golden Rabbitfish to death, the Anthias I was unable to retrieve because he hid under the rocks...in turn his carcass fed a cyano bacterial bloom that almost had me tearing down the tank altogether(Wife was annoyed with the buckets constantly sitting in front of the tank and the constant fiddling/cleaning, etc).

Finally, the tank is now cyano free(only took me 5 months of water changes, nutrient sinks and harvesting) and the tank is making a swift comeback. Lost a couple corals, not as bad as it could have been tho, Favites died, as did the lacy birdsnest, and duncan and the zooas frag, whereas the trumpet is still making a slow comeback...others have done well, and are growing and encrusting the rock nicely...finally got the scopas tang out of the tank, took him to the LFS, where he found a home within a week(got an extra ten bucks credit cause he was so fat n healthy)...brought home a Mocha Clown fish(Bernie wanted a clown of some kind and he is cool looking) and a Diadema Basslett(pseudochromis?) and added a zooas frag, and a frogspawn...
Still considering installing a second LED set, mostly for color- red, green, and Violet(UV) leds...
Pics to come later...still need a better camera

 

[Anonymous]

had some hits n misses - the porites and favites slowly passed as did the Monti for some reason frogspawn is gong great, an acro that I thought was all but gone is making a great comeback- polyps on the branch tips and along the base all struggled and have been re-encrusting the existing skeleton, the zoas are encrusting well...the hydrophora is doing fantastic...I need to scrape the glass before I shoot new pics, kinda hesitant as its covered in baby snails(I must have the horniest snails ever - seems like they're spawning daily now)

I also discovered a new hitchhiker - evidently I have a fighting conch in the tank -dunno where he came from, I certainly didnt buy one...

 

[Ben1]

Thanks for continuing to post! Some of us are reading along I am sure. Sounds like things are making a comeback which is always nice. I only have a nano anymore but might have to start a thread on it eventually lol.

 

[Anonymous]

quick pics
I have recently got some new frags, both bought, and a few traded for some ink work... a bunch of zoas(atomic apple, punk rock red, rocket reds, zombie blues...), red goni, purple valley maze brain, and a Jack-oLatern Leptoseris frag amongst others...
full tank shot:
[rimg]http://i75.photobucket.com/albums/i310/budhaboy/130804_0008_zpsa11c877f.jpg[/rimg]

I'll post closeup pics once I can get the camera from my wife...

 

[Anonymous]

of course I get another setback - 4 cool white LEDs burned out oer the past few weeks on one channel- the 4th burned out Monday, and that channel started flashing...oh well, it gives me an excuse to order a supplemental string of LEDs to enhance viewing -I plan on buyng another string of 6 LEDs(in addition to the replacement 4 LEDs) - 2 violet/UV, 2 660nm Red, and 2 Green -the six will be dimmable, and also have a 10ohm Pot added to adjust for color - should make colors on the corals "pop"

 

[Anonymous]

biggest setback of all- woke up one morning to the sounds of a pump sucking air. reef tank sprung a leak in the lower front left corner sometime in the night-ended up with about 45 gallons of water on the floor...good thing I have packrat tendencies as I had a few small tanks in the basement - called out of work and spent the day transfering rock coral and critters to a couple of tanks, getting the broke tank oout, adn drying the carpet...
ordered a replacement 65 gallon tank, and started setting it up- noticed the same corner that sprung a leak in the previous tank had a gap between the tank and stand...original tank had a defect I hadnt noticed...got this tank shimmed and leak tested, everything back into the tank with only a handful of snails as the casulaties - surprisingly, after 6 weeks of my corals in a 20 long with only a single NO flourescent bulb as a light source, they all survived.
traded some tattoo work for some more frags, and things are looking good
[rimg]https://scontent-b-lga.xx.fbcdn.net/hphotos-prn2/1453411_10201788067457729_1424415578_n.jpg[/rimg]

 

[Anonymous]

How's the tank coming along now JP?

 

[Anonymous]

How's the tank coming along now JP?

I have an ongoing battle with some hair algae, but overall its going well. I may have lost the joack o'latern leptoseris, but its made a comeback in the past, so we'll see. My LFS closed down to move to larger digs and they reopen next month, so I'll prolly pick up some hermits n snails to help fight this algae(hermits and snails were the only losses during the tank leak and rebuild saga)

 

[Anonymous]

broke down and gave a bit of moeny to an LFS I dont care for- I desperately needed some snails and hermit crabs to help keep the hair algae under control somewhat...on the bright side, the hair algae is staying short and stubby, not the long stingy type, the not so bright side is its managed to sprout both on the rocks and the crushed coral substrate I have...the Leptoseris looks like a goner, but its got a couple 'eyes' yet, so there is a slight chance of recovery...we shall see. the new inhabitants are feasting well
otherwise I still have fairly good growth from the stonies...of course the one that has been the strongest survivor, is also the slowest grower.

 

[Anonymous]

If you feel compelled to get a laser, it can help with hair algae too. Although I don't recommend lasing a hole tank due to the inherent dangers, it can be helpful in finishing off a stubborn tuft that seems impervious to the tooth brush and all other remedies.

I lased the little bit of HA that I had. It doesn't disappear instantly, like an aiptasia or majano. It does disappear a few days later.

Vitz would lecture you about adding animals for clean up, you know. :wink:

 

[Anonymous]

You probably waited longer than you should have. I am sure you will work through the hair algae, just stay on top of it so it does not overgrow anything.

 

[Anonymous]

You probably waited longer than you should have. I am sure you will work through the hair algae, just stay on top of it so it does not overgrow anything.

really didnt have a choice in the matter - this past Friday was the first time I had money to spend, and of course, the LFS I normally go to, is STILL rebuilding their shop - grand reopening is scheduled for the first week of March now...maybe.

so far little areas are now HA free, so combined with my harvesting, I think I'm gaining the upper hand, and will gain more ground after V-day(Bernie is getting me a Phosphate reactor)

 

[Anonymous]

okay, Bernie gave me a Phosphate Reactor for V-day...question: should I go with PO4x4(gfo resin, not granular dusty stuff) or Biopellets?

 

[Anonymous]

okay, Bernie gave me a Phosphate Reactor for V-day...question: should I go with PO4x4(gfo resin, not granular dusty stuff) or Biopellets?

I have no idea, to be honest. Something to consider is the smaller grain will give you more surface area and more volume of material, if that matters.

 

[Anonymous]

okay, Bernie gave me a Phosphate Reactor for V-day...question: should I go with PO4x4(gfo resin, not granular dusty stuff) or Biopellets?

I have no idea, to be honest. Something to consider is the smaller grain will give you more surface area and more volume of material, if that matters.

thats partly one reason why I picked PO4x$ over GFO as a choice- its tiny uniform beads that dont shed any iron as they tumble against each other...
Problem is, do I go for the PO4x4(micorencapsulated Ferric Oxide resin) or the biopellets?
both have potential for bacteria blooms if I use too much too fast, the resin can pull huge amounts of phosphate out from the reviews I have gone over; and the Biopellets can potentially help with feeding from the excess basteria that will slough off as it tumbles...but I do need something to help out with my nutrient load(btw, I think my Lawn Mower Blenny bought the farm- its been MIA for several weeks now)

 

[Anonymous]

I've never had any luck with Lawnmower Blennies. Shame too, because they are cool as hell.

Had one that never started eating and died within a couple of weeks. Had another that ate like a pig, had a huge belly and still died within a few months.

I think they might be one of those fish that should be left in the ocean.

 

[Anonymous]

okay, I finally went with the PO4x4 and got the reactor set up with about 125mls to start(says to go slow with PO4 removal as it can shock some types of stonies) and in two weeks I'll add the other 125mls.

my LFS still hasnt opened up his new location yet, kinda irksome, but then again its keeping me from spending money I shouldnt be at the moment - the plan is, as I'm fighting off the H.A. problem, I need to get the cash together to buy a 60 gallon long so I can rebuild my FOWLR - already have a Reefoctopus HOB skimmer(BH-100ss) that I got from my LFS - the collection cup was shattered so he sold it to me for $60, iirc, and the replacement cup is $45, so in all I think it comes out to 40% off the retail...damn short pay periods, I need my extra money!

 

[Anonymous]

What kind of water changes are you doing? Have you tried increasing the percent or frequency? Sometimes the solution to pollution is dilution.