General input on reef tank

E

EricE

I have had a reef tank for 5 years, and just now have found this local group of people that shares this hobby. I feel like a newbie after reading everyone's ideas, which is why I am posting under "new to hobby." I would love some feedback on my setup. My only feed back through the years has only been from LFS staff, which I do appreciate, but would like other advise as well.

My tank is smaller than most, it’s only 50g. I run 2 icecap 660’s with a total of 605 watts VHO fluorescent lamps (I don’t run 605 watts all day though). 29g converted aquarium to refugium/sump with p.c. light on 24/7 and Mag 7 for return. One SEIO M820 P.H. for current. I do not run any skimmers. Korallin calcium reactor (new addition only for a week now). Float system for auto RO water replacement.

Water Parameters: Specific Gravity 1.023-1.024, Temperature 78night/80max day, pH 8.1 night/8.2day, Alkalinity 9dKH (was 13 before the Ca reactor but is improving), Ammonia 0, Nitrite 0, Nitrate low range 0, Calcium 460ppm, Iodine not tested (plans to start testing), Strontium not tested, Phosphate 0.

Feeding: daily: Sally’s San Francisco Frozen Multi Pack, Phytoplankton alt with Live and dried. 3Xweek: Dried Algae (sometimes soaked in Kent’s Zoe Vitamins), Kent Marine Coral Accell.

Additives: Weekly I add Iodine and Kent’s Essential Eements. Every couple of months I do 15g water change (I realize this should be more often).

I just want some input on things that I’m doing because I never got a chance to get ideas from other’s that are in the hobby. I am also trying to post a front and back view the tank, but not sure how this all works yet.

I do want to let everyone know how much I have enjoyed reading the information in this Forum.
 
Looks like a very clean system! Tell us a little about your livestock! And welcome aboard! Your going to gain a wealth of information here!
 
Inmates: Coral Beauty Angel, several Disbar Anthias, White Stripe Maroon Clown w/ Green Bubble Tip Anemone, Green Mandarin Goby, Blood Red Hawkfish, Brown Scopas Tang, Sailfin Tang (which is to big for my tank I know, and will going to a new home soon), Coralbanded and Cleaner Shrimp, and Various Inverts.

Corals: Metallic and Open Brain, Frogspawn died after falling into buttons, Toadstool Leather, Assortment of Mushrooms, Green Button Polyp, Green Star Polyp, Pulsating Xenia, Colt, Glove Anthellia Polyp covering parts of glass, overflow box, and several rocks.
 
Sounds good and welcome!

I would definitely look into getting a skimmer. I recommend ASM, Euro Reef, AquaC, and Triggersys to name a few. ASM and Euroreef skimmers are needle wheel while the Triggersys is a beckett type.

I myself have the ASM, which is liek a cheaper version of teh Euro Reef and it has worked well for me and is a good price.

Please don't waste your money on alot of the cheaper skimmers LFS's sell such as the Seaclone. They work well for awhile but later it's harder to get adjusted properly.
 
Only a couple of things come to mind. I would wonder what your magnesium level is if your calcium is at 460? I would also run the lights in the refugium only when the tanks lights are off. The refugium does not need light 24/7. When the tank lights turn off it is natural for the pH to drop because of the lack of photosynthesis. By only lighting the refugium when their off, they make up for some of the photsynthsis that is going on in the main tank by now it happening in the refugium. You might get a little less swing in the pH, any stability is better, though I am not saying yours is drastic.
What schedule do you light the tank, you said you had the 605 watts but you do not run them all day?
Weekly addition of iodine sounds like a lot, without knowing the levels? I add iodine to my 215 maybe 3-4 tmes a year. A good salt mix, changing water evey couple of weeks or once a month depending on the amount would give you all the essentials "Weekly I add Iodine and Kent’s Essential Eements" you would need.
 
@Rick wrote:
The refugium does not need light 24/7. said:
Unless you're keeping a form of Caluepera that's suspectible to going sexual... Running the refuguim lights 24/7 can decrease the odds of the algae going sexual...

I also agree, I too highly recommend you get a quality skimmer... I can't think of any good reason not to run a skimmer other than the cost of a quality one...
Click to expand...
 
@Serk wrote:
[I]@Rick wrote:[/I][quote="The refugium does not need light 24/7. said:
Unless you're keeping a form of Caluepera that's suspectible to going sexual... Running the refuguim lights 24/7 can decrease the odds of the algae going sexual."]

Just ONE of several reasons I would never use a caulerpa as a macro algae in a refugium. Especially when there is so much better and safer ones to use. Such as chaetomorpha which you can find free from a lot of our members.
Click to expand...
 
This is great to hear all this input. I just wish I had found yawl sooner!

I have a Magnesium kit and iodine ordered as well as Magnesium additive, should arrive tomorrow. I’ll let you know soon!

I am kind of afraid what is going to happen with the tank after the addition of the Ca reactor. So, all of those values are libel to get mess up even more.

My lights are kind of dumb set up I know. One Ballast powers Four 3’ tubes (two Super Actinic/two Actinic White) and the other ballast powers Three 2’ tubes (two Super Actinic/one AquaSun). 11 hours total of “sun”/day. The corals seam to close up if exposed to both ballast all day, so I start the day off with the smaller bulbs, then both ballast run together for 4 hours, then just the larger bulbs only. I’m sure there is a better way on this, but remember, I’ve kind of been doing this solo up until now.

Originally I had a skimmer with my w/d filter, and yes that was on a tank full of LR, I didn’t know better at the time, just doing what I was told to do to setup the tank. The LFS didn’t recommend any skimmer when I changed over to the refugium. The skimmer will be my next addition I guess. I just won’t to keep everything “neat” I guess, and don’t think it will fit in my sump/refugium and don’t like the idea of something being "outside the box". I’ll look into it though. Thanks.

It’s funny you brought up the refugium. About 6 months ago I think it did go asexual. The plant went from something that would not fit into a 5g bucket to an amount that would fit into a sandwich bag! Only the past 8 weeks or so has it started to make a come back. Not sure what it is though. Here is a pic of it. The LFS told me to run the light for 24/7 on the refugium, but I think I should reevaluate that one two. The tank’s pH usually doesn’t have much of a swing until lately…. After the Ca reactor. In time I hope that resolves, but I do understand how that can help with the pH swings.

Again, I can’t tell you how much I enjoy hearing your opinions! Thanks.
 
Yes, that is called Razor Caulerpa and portions of it can die-off switftly. That is why I keep the lights on 24/7 over it. You might add some cheatomorpha to your fuge, perhaps.

There really isn't anything wrong with your lighting system; it's unique. :)

That tank looks really nice, a pretty corner tank.
 
Thank you Marc. Never knew the name of it. Now if you could just help me to remember names I would be doing better!

Actually my LFS gave me some of their fuge plants, but they don’t grow very much, as compared to the Razor Caulerpa. But I like the idea of having more variety in there.

I like your description of the Light set-up. “UNIQUE” Doesn’t that mean: like no other? I’ll start using that word instead!

It’s actually not a corner tank, just a standard rectangle tank. The only thing different is that it’s drilled with 3rd hole for dry electrical so nothing hangs out any side of the tank. I wanted more viewing surface areas because of its small size. None the less, thank you for your information and compliments.
:D
 
Oh, it sure is. When I saw that one shot from the side with the sofas, I thought the tank stopped at that overflow.

I was a little surprised to see you had two IC 660s on one tank. Heck, I only have one IC 430 on my 280g reef. :lol: So unique does fit. :;):

To learn names of stuff, you might try referring to my ID page:
http://www.melevsreef.com/id/
 
Marc,

Here is a pic of the lights, kind of hard to believe that they even fit in such a small space! I know that I could have gone with the 430’s but just liked the idea of having the 660’s because at the time the price difference was minimal. I see that you are also running MH in addition, which I have not had the chance to start that yet!

I loved your ID pages. It was very helpful for me. Now I know the name for the hundreds of worms in the tank…. “Chaetopterids.” The Sacoglossa pic also looked liked what was living on the Razor Caulerpa just before it took a decline in health!

I am very impressed with everyone’s knowledge, but very mad at the same time. Why couldn’t I have found yaw sooner? This information would have saved me so much trouble, time, and $$$.
 
I should have put a disclaimer on the lighting picture. PLEASE don’t send me any bills for eye damage! I did see the forum on picture taking, but as you can tell, I have read much on that yet!
 
And in case I've not mentioned this before, you should attend Next Wave with us as well on January 28th. The banner at the upper right of the screen is there so you can sign up online.
 
I wish I could change my plans and attend the tank tour this Saturday. Unfortunately, I will have to miss this one. I am very excited about seeing other hobbyist’s tanks, and hope I get the chance to join in a different time.

I should be able to attend the next wave on January 28th. I’m hoping to put a face with all the great ideas everyone has.

Again, thanks for everyone’s great advise. I also have some reassurances that, as a whole, most of what I’m doing is ok. I don’t want to be an irresponsible pet owner.
 
I can only agree with others and say if your happy with it it looks fine to me. A skimmer will help as a safety net for sure. You'll love the calcium reactor once you get it setup! That is an indispensible tool for me! Step up the water changes again as more of a safety net and to keep all the chemicals we don't test for at natural levels. Other then that all sounds well.
 
After reading some of my post I have realized that I was putting my LFS’s in a negative light. This was never my intention. Looking back I realize that their information was based on their set up and not mine. I know I wouldn’t have made it in this hobby if it wasn’t for their information and help. My bad choices along the way were based on my lack of understanding and research and not their advice. At the start of my hobby I thought I could get all the info I need from the different LFS, and of course from my books (you know… the ones written in the late 80’s) After realizing the complexity and the number of options, this wasn’t fair for me to expect someone else to figure out what I wanted. I know better now, and didn’t mean to place any blame for my wrong decisions on others.

I am learning to do my own research more. I have discovered Google and you shall receive, sometimes more than you want. Talk about working in mysterious ways. After all, this is how I found out about DFW Marine Aquarium Society!

I thank everyone who has responded and I will continue to follow different topics held here. I have gained so many ideas from everyone. Now I just need to get busy putting some of those ideas to work.

Regards,
E
 
Hey Eric, it's all good. We get help from the LFS, from other hobbyists, from online sources and from books. The trick is to sift it down to a level where you can find the best solutions for your particular set up. There are many ways to keep a tank, and many ways to mess one up.

For the most part, we aim for the successful ways. :wink:

Btw, I'm just south of Hulen Mall if you want to visit some time.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Top