Tank Journal Archive

[Dlealrious]

So i decided to start up another tank after shutting down my FOWRL due to possibly moving house. My first tank was given to me by a friend which was 1200x600x450 which i had looking really nice until it crashed(Skimmer overflowed to waste and ATO kept filling fresh water) Then i upsized that to a cheap 5x2x2 which ended up being FOWRL as friend was luckily able to save my fish from the crash on the first tank.

I love the 900 width and never really seen many tanks this size around. Also likes the 450 height, just makes it a little easier to reach things when the stand is 1m tall.

Looking at keeping a mixed reef of Zoas, Acros, Monti's, Acans, Torch's, Hammers.
Not really interested in having alot of fish, i really want a Leopard Wrasse or Choti Wrasse but need to design a way to keep sand in one side of the tank for this.

Currently have a holding tank while I wait for the tank to get built.

 

[Dlealrious]

We have water, finally settled on using sand so i can keep a leopard wrasse easier down the track. Now just waiting for the cycle to occur.

 

[Dlealrious]

So the tanks been up and running for 2 weeks now. I haven't had any ammonia spike i think due to the fact the rock was cycling for nearly 4 months. Nitrates and Phosphates are practically 0, but im sure the algae is just consuming this. I'm running ROWPHOS to keep it low as i'm sure the rocks are probably going to leach some phosphates into the water. Been adding some pellets to tank also to see if it will raise levels but they are still pretty stable at just above 0. There is some colour on Nitrate test and a smige of blue on Phosphate when you do double the ammount to test.
Clean up crew is currently 5 Trouchus Snails and 1 Strombus Snail. They have done a awesome job in 4 days to eat most of the diatoms growing on the rocks. Strombus seems to be on the rocks more than the sand though!!
Skimmer is still overflowing which is starting to annoy me, its only just dripping into cup constantly so i still have it running back into the tank. Hope it will break in soon!!
Still waiting on plumbing from supplier so i can build the manifold, just have return pump im middle section for the time being.
Wiring is all cleared up now in the control box and dosing pump set up.
I am going to build a small fuge for sake of Pod cultivation on the right of the sump. It will be 250mm long x 500mm long x 600mm high. Has to be narrow due to space constrictions.

 

[Wrangy]

Very setup mate! and welcome to the reefuge :) Looking forward to seeing what you do with the tank :)

 

[somethingfishy76]

Keep up the good work mate... Looks great.

 

[Dlealrious]

Very setup mate! and welcome to the reefuge :) Looking forward to seeing what you do with the tank :)

Thanks, will update with some photos soon.

 

[Sam Parker]

Wicked setup! Certainly different from the masses which I like!

 

[Dlealrious]

Wicked setup! Certainly different from the masses which I like!

Thanks, i really wanted a wider tank as not many people do this and it looks awesome. So many options for corals placement but im struggling to get the flow right!!

 

[Dlealrious]

Added the coral from the holding tank into the Display, I decided my sitting room side will be Zoa Rock, Study side will have acan's and Entry side well i dont know yet. Would love to get some crazy colour fatvia but dont really see them come up much. Just put the couple of Chalice's i had there for now. Top will be SPS, had a couple frags which i threw in for now. Due to space i only want to really add nicer corals so will wait a while before stocking up on SPS. Really want a Red/Green/Purple plating Monti on the Entry side glued to the rock!!
I am waiting for some diamond drill bits now so i can plump the holding tank to the main tank and then probaly move some of the zoas back in there and give fragging ago. Have a friend starting in the hobby so will make him up some frags.
Tank is now 3 weeks old and everything is pretty stable. Cal 430 KH 7.7 MG 1320 . Hopefully the snails have enough food as there is no nutrients for the algae to grow. Stopped running ROWAPHOS to see if i can detect any Phosphates and see if i can get some algae to grow for them haha.

 

[Dlealrious]

Not alot has changed since my last update. I couldnt help myself getting some frags from some local hobbyist. He had some really nice SPS frags for cheap so "had" to grab them why not. Surprisingly they have coloured up a bit which i didn't think would happen yet. Nitrates still 0 and Phos .025 on Salifet. Im in 2 minds weather to start nitrate dosing as i dont plan on getting fish until the ones i want comes up(white tail bristletooth tang)
Currently 9 weeks in, getting a bit of algae growing on the rocks now, white fur almost would be the best description, its funny seeing the snails with fur coming off their shell. Im still running ROWAPHOS and dosing Aqua Vitro Fuel and Reef Roids. Im guessing this is helping keep the algae alive? Im going to wait another 4 weeks.... before i add anything else(keep telling yourself that)
Zoas seem to be the only things not too happy, i think the Amphipods could be annoying them also. I have tonnes in the tank and they are always in the zoas.
Still trying to work out how to take a decent photo though. Might need to wait until work gives me a new phone haha

 

[Dlealrious]

One thing i cant get my head around is flow, still keep playing with this. I cant have it set to "Else" or its just too much flow for the Zoas and Hammers/Torch/Acans. If i have set to wave i dont know if its enough flow to circulate the water though. Any advice would be appreciated.

 

[slin1977]

One thing i cant get my head around is flow, still keep playing with this. I cant have it set to "Else" or its just too much flow for the Zoas and Hammers/Torch/Acans. If i have set to wave i dont know if its enough flow to circulate the water though. Any advice would be appreciated.

As long as there is some movement all is ok. Indirect flow is the best way to do it.

BTW - in the first photos looks like your skimmer cup has a hose attached to it and emptys in the sump?

 

[Dlealrious]

As long as there is some movement all is ok. Indirect flow is the best way to do it.

BTW - in the first photos looks like your skimmer cup has a hose attached to it and emptys in the sump?

Cheers. Dont really use the skimmer atm. It has a plug in the end of it