Perseverance Reef

[Fishy888]

I got a few new frags yesterday from my friend. I got two more Kenya trees, a toadstool and what I think is sinularia.

It looks like my mushrooms are growing but they remain balled up. It could be too much light in which case I’ll have to try shading that area a bit more. I know, I need to test my parameters already. Hopefully tomorrow.

The clownfish looks good still. If he (maybe she by now) stays healthy I’ll look for a mate for him/her.

Despite having been given the frags I got yesterday I’m not looking to get ahead of myself.

My goal is to get my rodi reservoir set up. I want to use it for an ato as well as to hold rodi for making saltwater as needed. I want to make sure I have any other dry goods I need in place before getting anymore coral.

 

[tbrown]

I got a few new frags yesterday from my friend. I got two more Kenya trees, a toadstool and what I think is sinularia.

It looks like my mushrooms are growing but they remain balled up. It could be too much light in which case I’ll have to try shading that area a bit more. I know, I need to test my parameters already. Hopefully tomorrow.

The clownfish looks good still. If he (maybe she by now) stays healthy I’ll look for a mate for him/her.

Despite having been given the frags I got yesterday I’m not looking to get ahead of myself.

My goal is to get my rodi reservoir set up. I want to use it for an ato as well as to hold rodi for making saltwater as needed. I want to make sure I have any other dry goods I need in place before getting anymore coral.

The mushrooms look happier for sure! Those mouths aren't gaping anymore.

 

[fishguy242]

Happy Thanksgiving...

 

[tbrown]

Happy Thanksgiving!!!

 

[Fishy888]

So I ticked off my toadstool because I took a magic eraser to the glass and a turkey baster to the rocks. I also used some coral putty to anchor the small rubble the base of the sarcophyton was attached to to the bigger rock. So far the putty is holding well. The little frag of what I believe to be green nepthea also got anchored to its own rock tonight. When the lights come on today they should both open up at least a little.

The clownfish is still doing good. I’ve been feeding flake food since I got him (most likely her by now but that’s not a given, especially without competition). Slowly but surely I’ve been amassing the ingredients for my DIY recipe. If all goes well I’ll chop up the ingredients I already have and when I get to Springfield I’ll get the oysters, ocean perch and whatever other ingredients I can’t get in Decatur. I have about half of what I normally throw in the mix. Even so it’ll still be more nutritious for the fish than flake alone.

I got my rodi prefilters from BRS yesterday. I now have another package coming from them. I’m getting the Hanna nitrate HR and calcium checkers. They are my big Christmas gifts this year from my wife. At least the ones I know about. After that I’ll get the ALK, MAG, and pH checkers. That won’t be until after Christmas.

I have my sights set on buying a Neptune Apex system. Hopefully by summer I can begin buying one component each month, starting with the controller. I’m not looking to automate my system out of laziness but to have the peace of mind that I can check in on the system remotely if I have to be gone a while. It’ll also be nice to have various tasks scheduled and automated for when my arthritis or neuropathy are particularly bad of if I’m not feeling well. Otherwise I’ll be checking my reef manually and comparing it to the Apex’s data. It will also be a big help to be able to spot trends and see patterns in the data the Apex collects.

 

[F i s h y]

So I ticked off my toadstool because I took a magic eraser to the glass and a turkey baster to the rocks. I also used some coral putty to anchor the small rubble the base of the sarcophyton was attached to to the bigger rock. So far the putty is holding well. The little frag of what I believe to be green nepthea also got anchored to its own rock tonight. When the lights come on today they should both open up at least a little.

The clownfish is still doing good. I’ve been feeding flake food since I got him (most likely her by now but that’s not a given, especially without competition). Slowly but surely I’ve been amassing the ingredients for my DIY recipe. If all goes well I’ll chop up the ingredients I already have and when I get to Springfield I’ll get the oysters, ocean perch and whatever other ingredients I can’t get in Decatur. I have about half of what I normally throw in the mix. Even so it’ll still be more nutritious for the fish than flake alone.

I got my rodi prefilters from BRS yesterday. I now have another package coming from them. I’m getting the Hanna nitrate HR and calcium checkers. They are my big Christmas gifts this year from my wife. At least the ones I know about. After that I’ll get the ALK, MAG, and pH checkers. That won’t be until after Christmas.

I have my sights set on buying a Neptune Apex system. Hopefully by summer I can begin buying one component each month, starting with the controller. I’m not looking to automate my system out of laziness but to have the peace of mind that I can check in on the system remotely if I have to be gone a while. It’ll also be nice to have various tasks scheduled and automated for when my arthritis or neuropathy are particularly bad of if I’m not feeling well. Otherwise I’ll be checking my reef manually and comparing it to the Apex’s data. It will also be a big help to be able to spot trends and see patterns in the data the Apex collects.

Personal opinion... do some research on that Neptune. There is a reason why you see so many of them for sale and very few Hydros. Many of the Cronies run Hydros. You will pay a lot more for the hype name if you go apex vs Hydros.

 

[Mschmidt]

So I ticked off my toadstool because I took a magic eraser to the glass and a turkey baster to the rocks. I also used some coral putty to anchor the small rubble the base of the sarcophyton was attached to to the bigger rock. So far the putty is holding well. The little frag of what I believe to be green nepthea also got anchored to its own rock tonight. When the lights come on today they should both open up at least a little.

The clownfish is still doing good. I’ve been feeding flake food since I got him (most likely her by now but that’s not a given, especially without competition). Slowly but surely I’ve been amassing the ingredients for my DIY recipe. If all goes well I’ll chop up the ingredients I already have and when I get to Springfield I’ll get the oysters, ocean perch and whatever other ingredients I can’t get in Decatur. I have about half of what I normally throw in the mix. Even so it’ll still be more nutritious for the fish than flake alone.

I got my rodi prefilters from BRS yesterday. I now have another package coming from them. I’m getting the Hanna nitrate HR and calcium checkers. They are my big Christmas gifts this year from my wife. At least the ones I know about. After that I’ll get the ALK, MAG, and pH checkers. That won’t be until after Christmas.

I have my sights set on buying a Neptune Apex system. Hopefully by summer I can begin buying one component each month, starting with the controller. I’m not looking to automate my system out of laziness but to have the peace of mind that I can check in on the system remotely if I have to be gone a while. It’ll also be nice to have various tasks scheduled and automated for when my arthritis or neuropathy are particularly bad of if I’m not feeling well. Otherwise I’ll be checking my reef manually and comparing it to the Apex’s data. It will also be a big help to be able to spot trends and see patterns in the data the Apex collects.

I'm looking heavily at hydros too. They have a lot of options that can get you running faster. I'm between them and ghl, but been leaning hydros lately.

 

[tbrown]

I'm definitely loving mine.

 

[Fishy888]

Personal opinion... do some research on that Neptune. There is a reason why you see so many of them for sale and very few Hydros. Many of the Cronies run Hydros. You will pay a lot more for the hype name if you go apex vs Hydros.

Thank you very much! I just entered a Hydros giveaway on FB this morning too. I’ll check them out.

 

[Mschmidt]

Thank you very much! I just entered a Hydros giveaway on FB this morning too. I’ll check them out.

Giveaway?

 

[tbrown]

Thank you very much! I just entered a Hydros giveaway on FB this morning too. I’ll check them out.

The Liberty Reef or SaltwaterAquarium.com?

 

[Fishy888]

Giveaway?

Yes

 

[Fishy888]

The Liberty Reef or SaltwaterAquarium.com?

SaltwaterAquarium.com.

 

[Mschmidt]

Now I see it.

 

[tbrown]

Liberty Reef has one too but I think you have to purchase to win. Every purchase is an entry for the X3 Starter Kit giveaway.

 

[Fishy888]

I mounted my second power strip on the back wall of my aquarium stand last night as well as the controllers for the wave maker and return pump. I need to mount the Hygger thermostat and the third power strip.

It’s a small power strip that’s on a timer for the halides and the T5s. There will be another power strip added with another timer which will be on an opposing schedule. That’ll be for the fuge light and anything else I might need to run on a night schedule.

My Picasso clownfish is growing. I’m pretty convinced that he is now a she. She has a much bigger appetite now and her fins are pretty much healed. You wouldn’t know her fins had chunks bit out of them.

Although I have a rough idea of direction I’m headed with my reef I’m thinking of having a yellow “Coris” wrasse pair, a yellow tailed blue damsel pair, and some royal grammas. I’d like to do all of the above but since I want to breed my clownfish it may well be a bad idea. I’ll research this some more.

What I do know is that the Ocellaris harem and Ritteri anemone are what I’m designing this system around. They come first. I want to get a couple of Tridacna clams, most likely T. maxima and/or T. crocea once the system is ready for them.

 

[Fishy888]

As quickly as algae is growing on the glass and rocks I thought for sure my PO4 was through the roof. Nope. My PO4 is at 0.089. I don’t have a test kit for nitrates yet but I imagine they’re high. I tested ALK as well and got 10.5 dKh. I’ll test CAL and MAG later on. When I get them done I’ll post the results here.

Test results 12/1/24

ALK 10.5 dKh
P 29 ppb
PO4 0.089 ppm

 

[F i s h y]

As quickly as algae is growing on the glass and rocks I thought for sure my PO4 was through the roof. Nope. My PO4 is at 0.089. I don’t have a test kit for nitrates yet but I imagine they’re high. I tested ALK as well and got 10.5 dKh. I’ll test CAL and MAG later on. When I get them done I’ll post the results here.

Test results 12/1/24

ALK 10.5 dKh
P 29 ppb
PO4 0.089 ppm

Careful with that train of thought. What your test is measuring is free phosphates. Which means your algae is consuming the remainder. As you remove algae your phosphates will continue to climb. It's about what is being consumed. Every test kit measures free elements. Not what is being consumed. That's why when we dose to increase alk Ca or Mg it's to get the free elements to a specific value. As your tank matures that's why we have to increase how much we dose for those.

 

[Fishy888]

Careful with that train of thought. What your test is measuring is free phosphates. Which means your algae is consuming the remainder. As you remove algae your phosphates will continue to climb. It's about what is being consumed. Every test kit measures free elements. Not what is being consumed. That's why when we dose to increase alk Ca or Mg it's to get the free elements to a specific value. As your tank matures that's why we have to increase how much we dose for those.

This is true. I’ll be watching trends closely. I don’t want to dose anything or do anything that would throw the reef off balance anymore than it is, being a new reef and all. Even though the rock was in another system for several years I’m treating my system like it’s a brand new system. I learned that lesson.

I don’t know why I thought Picasso clowns were Ocellaris. I was told they were Ocellaris but I didn’t know they were Picassos. That changes things a bit. Not so much the care of the fish but which host anemone to get. It seems that Sebae anemones (H. crispa) host true percula clownfish in nature. I’m considering going with all Picasso clownfish as beautiful as they are. As I understand it from my research so far they occur in nature this way which I’m all about.

I’ve been enjoying the tank so far and I don’t feel like I have to rush things this time around. I learned from last time. Of course I don’t want to go to the opposite extreme but I do want stability more than anything right now.

 

[fishguy242]

Perc's are much meaner than laid back occy's, get a smaller picasso to pair w yours, 4-5 occy's
tank raised ,cannot follow nem rules in ocean,hit or miss on the nems ,most likely will go in almost any bta,sebae,
should work...