Ccole’s Infinia 230 upgrade

[ccole]

I recently upgraded my very crowded Red Sea 350 and IM 50 lagoon to a waterbox infinia 230! So far I could not be happier with the tank itself and am looking forward to the stability of a larger system.

All corals and fish were moved over last Friday and have been doing well so far. The tangs especially appear to enjoy the extra space.

I ended up drilling the IM lagoon and adding it as an external refugium and clam tank.

Full tank shot!

The refugium! The clams were moved recently so they’re still acclimating to the new tank. I’m planning on adding a bit more live rock.

Both tanks together.

 

[ccole]

So far the tank is doing well! I’m getting some algae on the sand bed, especially in the low flow clam tank. I’m not sure if it’s cyano, dinos, diatoms, or a mix. I’m running UV which will hopefully help things clear up quickly.

I am currently trying to up my nutrients as they are a bit low. My phosphates for example, are currently measuring anywhere for 0.0-.04 using . I like them a bit higher because it seems my LPS prefer them more in the .1 range.

Most all corals are doing well. A few torches are still acclimating to the lower nutrients and changed flow. After traveling a bit, the anemone seems happy in his new spot.

I’m hoping to upgrade my lighting system soon as it doesn’t seem like quite enough for the bigger system.

Full tank shot.

 

[ccole]

The tanks been up for a little over two weeks now! Much of the algae that had started has died back (mostly on the sand bed). The new white base rock seems to be maturing and changing color.

My All for Reef dosing has been steadily increasing. I’m dosing 70 mL per day and will probably need to increase the dose again soon as my alkalinity is dripping a bit. I dosed a combined 80 mL before between my old Red Sea and 50 IM lagoon.

The corals are doing well and are beginning to grow again. Damage the SPS took in the move is growing back over.

Fish are doing well! I’ve been feeding heavily to increase my nutrients and they’ve definitely enjoy the extra food.

Current water parameters as of yesterday are:

Nitrates: 5-10 (I can’t tell the difference between the two on the chart)
Phosphates: .06
Alkalinity: 8.1

I’m due to check calcium and magnesium today.

Pictures of everything:

Full tank shot (can’t get rid of that window reflection)

Some of the fish begging for food

Torch island!

Goni/alvie garden

SPS and anemone. He’s finally comfortable (and stinging his neighbors).

Hammers and frogspawn

Picked up this scoly yesterday.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

Love all of those torches in your tank!

 

[Fishy Guy]

Tank looks incredible! I'm jealous of all your Euphillia.

 

[ccole]

Love all of those torches in your tank!

Thank you!

 

[ccole]

Tank looks incredible! I'm jealous of all your Euphillia.

They are my favorite variety of coral! So much color and movement.

 

[ccole]

Thought I would post some pictures of the clam tank/refugium! I’ve been feeding this tank phytoplankton directly and I think they clams have enjoyed it.

I got a fuzzy dwarf lion for this tank. He’s got a great personality and follows you around the tank while you’re watching. I have him eating frozen and he’s not super picky.

 

[ccole]

I have upgraded a few pieces of equipment on this system.

Though my phosphates have remained low, around .04, my nitrates had been creeping up. They tested around 40 ppm on the 14th and seemed to be rising. I made a few changes, including getting a bigger skimmer, changing the filter socks more often, and dosing phosphates since they continued to test so low. After testing again today, the nitrates have reduced to 21.9! I bought bactobalance and am hoping to get them around 15.

The skimmer I ended up going with is a Aquamaxx ConeS Q-3. I really like it. It seems very effective and was easy to set up.

I also upgraded my lighting system to reefi uno 2.1. I’m hoping to get a par meter to find out the exact par levels soon. I just changed the lighting today so I’m seeing no noticeable difference yet.

Tank is looking good! Having a bit of an algae bloom on the sand bed

 

[ccole]

I thought I’d post an update of my tank! Almost everything is doing well. I did lose most of my red and yellow Goni. I’m hoping what I have left will survive.

I still have to dose phosphates pretty much daily. I’ve gone through 4 bottles of Neophos to keep them around .07-.12.

Full tank shot:

My coral colors have improved with the new light and the heads stay a little smaller now that they get more par and flow. Overall, it seems like things are growing. Most of my euphyllia heads are in the process of splitting and the SPS colonies have definitely grown.

I did notice some white pods on two of my frogspawn. Those frogspawn have remained shriveled up, though they are growing. I am going to try and dip the coral in dipx to see if it helps.

This Acropora has really good polyp extension and color.

Close up of the Ritteri.

The torches have really changed colors and are thriving. I’m finally getting the multi colors with my holy grails.

The Gonis are also doing well. The green one is going to need to be fragged soon.

 

[Scallopking]

Even more awesome with the new lights!

 

[ccole]

The tanks still trucking along, doing pretty good I think!

I’m dosing 110 mL of all-for-reef and anywhere from 50-100 mL Neophos depending on my phosphate reading. I also dose 3mL of bactobalance daily. Phosphate sits around .03-.05 by the end of the day, nitrate around 35, and alkalinity around 8.3.

Things seem to be growing pretty good. I’ve decided to try my luck at some more Acropora. I’ve never had very good luck with them in the past. So far I’ve lost one frag to RTN but the rest seem to be doing alright.

I got a good deal from h a number of frags from a local reefer. I’m waiting for them to heal up, hopefully they’ll do well.

Torches seem to be growing.

The acro colonies are doing fairly well.

The clam tank is doing okay. Nearly everything is growing and healthy, but the tank itself is having a bad algae outbreak. I’ve been manually removing every couple of days for a few weeks and am making slow progress. The tank is very high light.

 

[Gumbies R Us]

The tanks still trucking along, doing pretty good I think!

I’m dosing 110 mL of all-for-reef and anywhere from 50-100 mL Neophos depending on my phosphate reading. I also dose 3mL of bactobalance daily. Phosphate sits around .03-.05 by the end of the day, nitrate around 35, and alkalinity around 8.3.

Things seem to be growing pretty good. I’ve decided to try my luck at some more Acropora. I’ve never had very good luck with them in the past. So far I’ve lost one frag to RTN but the rest seem to be doing alright.

I got a good deal from h a number of frags from a local reefer. I’m waiting for them to heal up, hopefully they’ll do well.

Torches seem to be growing.

The acro colonies are doing fairly well.

The clam tank is doing okay. Nearly everything is growing and healthy, but the tank itself is having a bad algae outbreak. I’ve been manually removing every couple of days for a few weeks and am making slow progress. The tank is very high light.

Your torches are getting massive!

 

[ccole]

Your torches are getting massive!

Yes! I will have to frag soon before they start shading themselves to starvation.

 

[ccole]

Updated pictures from this month! Most corals have continued to grow.

I’ve lowered my nitrates considerably, but my phosphates continue to fluctuate. I usually have to dose once a day.

Re-arranged the hammer garden

Goni Garden

SPS colonies and frags:

Torch colonies:

One of my newest torches bought as a “Grim Reaper”

My other newest torch

 

[Scallopking]

So very nice!!