Returning to the hobby with new IM 50 EXT build and documenting the process

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

I love my new mixing station. Did a 15% water change in 10 minutes this morning. The longest part was stopping to take a few top down pictures of my zoanthids.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

FTS 10/31/24

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

It’s a big upgrade day

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

My cable management before was decent. After connecting the Hydros it’s a mess

But that’s tomorrow problem lol

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

So up until now I havent been dosing anything, and I havent really been testing regularly. I tested through the inital cycle and checked Nitrate and ph a few random times since. I didn't feel the need since I didn't have much in the tank, and I have been very dedicated to weekly water changes. I also spend a lot of time staring at my tank and never felt there was any issues to warrant alarm.

Since I've got a few corals in the tank now I thought I'd better start with with some kinda dosing and a more regimented testing schedule. Im gonna give all for reef a try. Needed a baseline to start.

Salinity 1.024
Alkalinity 9.3 dkh
Calcum 310 ppm
Magnesium 750 ppm
pH 8.26
Nitrate Undetectable
Phosphate Undetectable

My salinity has been an issue. I have a old swing arm hydromiter and it would consistantly read low. 1.022 and I had a cheap handheld digital salinity probe from amazon that would always read high. 1.027. I figured I was somewhere in the middle, and always measured and mixed to my buckets directions. I added the hydros launch to my tank today with a salinity probe. It gives the 1.024 reading (they are suposed to have a break in period so I didnt calibrate it yet). I also bought a refractometer but I didnt try it out today, cause the 1.024 reading was safe and consistant with IO's recomended SG. Hopefully I have an instrument I can trust and can get constistantly to 1.025

Nitrate and Phospate being undectable isnt ideal but I prefer it to wildly high. I am confident nothing in my tank is starving for nutrients, and it’s simply the tests that are not picking it up. I’m not going dose nutrients. So Im going to continue my normal feeding and turn my skimmer off until I can at least register something. Once I get some kinda detectable reading I'll turn the skimmer back on and increase my fish feeding. I'd actually like to feed more, as I want some big fat fish.

For my calcium and Magnesium I'm hoping that its actual uptake from the corals I've had in the tank. I just did a water change yesterday, but I may do another tommorow, because IO's salt should have higher levels of both. Maybe that could bring them up a bit without moving my Alk. And then have the All for Reef balance out the up take. I don't wanna dose very much initially and get Alk any higher while my nutrients are low. I may have to consider a magnesium supplement in the future as it seems much lower than the calcium. But for now only gonna change one thing at a time.

I got the AquaticLog app to track my manual testing. I'll be keeping that as my record but I may try to post my parameters on here as well with a weekly FTS. No Promises tho lol. Unless I can just get a clean screen shot on the app.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

FTS 1/1/2025

 

[kevgib67]

Wow, it came along great, very nice.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

So Ive been pretty terrible about updating this build thread, ( havent even been on the fourms in a month or more) and keeping up with taking a weekly FTS. Mostly the tank has just been chugging along. I've been loving the water change station its made things very easy. Although the inconsistencey in measuring salinity is frustating and ongoing lol. So far if there have been any wild swings my livestock hasnt seemed very effected by it. All of my fish are growing and eating and getting along. I've been very hesitant to make any fish additions because I dont want to mess anything up, even though there are a few more I would love to add. I got Cheato for my sump and started running a light for it at night, to hopfully help with the green hair algea that been a nagging problem.

My GSP, zoas and Leather have all been growing and all expanded off of thier plugs and have taken hold on the rock. My original hammer is split into two heads, and Ive very recently added a second hammer and another toadstool leather. Both seem happy.

Now not everything is perfect though.

Saddly this coral was never very happy and it has since died. Other losses all come from my clean up crew, as thier number slowly dwindles. Fortunaly my Emerald Crab Sir Edward is doing very well and is active about the tank. The others will need replaced sooner then later tho

Oh and I also upgraded my homemade window screen lid to the DD Jumpguard. Very similar clean look but much sturder with a better fit.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

Wow, it came along great, very nice.

Thank you very much.

 

[kevgib67]

So Ive been pretty terrible about updating this build thread, ( havent even been on the fourms in a month or more) and keeping up with taking a weekly FTS. Mostly the tank has just been chugging along. I've been loving the water change station its made things very easy. Although the inconsistencey in measuring salinity is frustating and ongoing lol. So far if there have been any wild swings my livestock hasnt seemed very effected by it. All of my fish are growing and eating and getting along. I've been very hesitant to make any fish additions because I dont want to mess anything up, even though there are a few more I would love to add. I got Cheato for my sump and started running a light for it at night, to hopfully help with the green hair algea that been a nagging problem.

My GSP, zoas and Leather have all been growing and all expanded off of thier plugs and have taken hold on the rock. My original hammer is split into two heads, and Ive very recently added a second hammer and another toadstool leather. Both seem happy.

Now not everything is perfect though.

Saddly this coral was never very happy and it has since died. Other losses all come from my clean up crew, as thier number slowly dwindles. Fortunaly my Emerald Crab Sir Edward is doing very well and is active about the tank. The others will need replaced sooner then later tho

Oh and I also upgraded my homemade window screen lid to the DD Jumpguard. Very similar clean look but much sturder with a better fit.

I have a smaller tank and had 6 fish established for 2 years and added a tailspot blenny with out any problems. Great little fish with a huge personality.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

I have a smaller tank and had 6 fish established for 2 years and added a tailspot blenny with out any problems. Great little fish with a huge personality.

I've also got tail spot blenny, his name is Craig. But he always hides in the rock work when I get the camera out. He wasnt much longer then my thumb nail when I got him and hes well over 2 inches now probably closing in on 3

 

[kevgib67]

I've also got tail spot blenny, his name is Craig. But he always hides in the rock work when I get the camera out. He wasnt much longer then my thumb nail when I got him and hes well over 2 inches now probably closing in on 3

Great fish, mine acted like that for the first week or two and since is always out and about, picking at the rocks and glass.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

Great fish, mine acted like that for the first week or two and since is always out and about, picking at the rocks and glass.

Mines always out but when I grab the camera he gets shy.

 

[kevgib67]

Mines always out but when I grab the camera he gets shy.

I can’t get a photo without mine in. People are always commenting how he is always photo bombing anything I take a picture of.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

Welp....I made my first big blunder with this tank lol.

I did a water change yesterday, and afterwards I decided to refill my RO/DI storage. Its mounted above my salt mixing bucket, and uses gravity to drain when I want to mix. I didnt realize that the shut off valve was left open. So instead of filling and triggering the float switch, it filled my mixing bin below which doesnt have a float switch and then over flowed and made a right good mess of my basement floor. Luckily the whole setup isnt far from the basement drain and sump. About 24 hours running. Wasting 100 -150 gallons of good RO/DI water, plus whatever waste the RO/DI usually wastes.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

So unfortunatly my wrase died. I didnt see it at feeding for 2 days, and found its corpse under a rock. So I dont know what happened to it. Seemed perfectly fine the last time I saw it alive. RIP Sherman

But today I added 3 Green Chromis and a lyretail Anthias. The Chromis are named Ed, Edd and Eddy. The Anthias is named June.

I also added a yellow birds nest. This is my first sps in this tank. Hoping it goes well cause the next coral swap is coming up in febuary and if its sucessful it would open up my options on my buy list lol.

You can see the new additions in the first two photos. The last is my hawkfish Cynthia because she loves when the camera comes out.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

FTS 1/25/2025

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

Well Edd didn’t make it through the night. Poor little green chromis was stuck against the powerhead impeller when I got up today. Sadly I’m not sure if he died before or after he was pinned there. He looked fine when I went to sleep. And he was still okay when I got up around 1 am and shined a flashlight around.

Ed, Eddy and June are all doing fine. June is gorgeous.

I’m debating making the drive back to the LFS today to grab 3 more chromis for a school of 5.

 

[TheLegendaryBarlowe072]

So I’ve been pretty bad about testing again, and even worse about posting the results. So I’m once again going to try and get better at doing it more regularly. I went a couple days past my normal water change cause my RODI and mix station have been busy with another project. I’ll make a post on that soon. Anyways without my water change the Algae growth is noticeable. Which is why I ran my all my tests tonight. Phosphate and Nitrate both at zero?? Well not in the water, but bound in the Algae. I’m guessing the lights to bright. Then I watch a video from WWC on coral colors. It goes into depth about LED lighting schedules and setups. I have very cheap MaXspect jump lights and assumed cheap = less powerful. (I guess not) So I was previously running them at 100% and because I don’t really like the blue look, I was running full spectrum for the entire lighting period. I have been getting coral growth, my zoas have all grown off the plugs and onto the rocks, my GSP and leathers are notably bigger. But really looking ant my zoas each polyp has been small and tight. Lights to harsh?? They aren’t closed, just small. After these tests and that video I have changed my lighting profile.

So I’m going to try running them at 60% for the next month. With about half that time being just Blue and UV. And a Good 4 hours full spectrum, timed for when I’m most likely to be home and viewing the tank. And one hour just blue again before bed because it is nice to see them really fluorescent sometimes.

I’m hoping this change will cut down on the algae growth and my corals with look fuller.

I should buy a par meter but I would probably use it once and put in the closet after for all of eternity. Seems like a waste of money. I wish there was a larger reefing community in my city so I could just borrow one for the day.