BowieReefer84

I wonder if it would be better to scoop male and female and put them in a separate tank if I notice him carrying babies. I’m setting up a 20gal to tie into main system. I will have very low flow and going to set up a divider so if they release they won’t be able to go down the overflow. (They’ll be in first chamber).

I didn’t read this thread (posting from phone). Fritz blue box is trash. I was having tank issues after I spiked my Alk (my fault). As part of the “trying to get back to normal” I did a ICP test on freshly mixed blue box to see where it landed and Alk came back at 6.2 when salinity was 35ppm. I tested Alk myself with a Hanna checker and also got 6.2. I can send you all the test results for parameters. I’m going to reef crystals. Available at Petco locally and cheap to order online in store pickup.

The link comes back with a 404 error.

You still doing this? I have a pair that just had first set of babies. I’m trying to raise a few by hatching baby brine shrimp. I kept three from first clutch and gave about 15 away to others. Getting a setup ready for next time to keep them all. I noticed the male with babies in his mouth near the very end. Been busy with work so not home a lot. I scooped him and placed in a breeder net in tank and he spit out 18 fry.

Link to your books?

Yes, as long as at least half the corals are looking good and growing well I am happy. One day I may end up with 3-5 big colonies of the things that do well in my tank, and I would be fine with that.

PAR readings in 120gal tank: I have 4 blue XHO strips (6 settings, 6 is the brightest) and 2 Radion G5 blues. Preferred setting: Blue XHO strips at setting 5 out of 6 Radions at 48% with the individual colors at the following: UV 100% Violet 100% Royal 5% (I put this really low to offset the XHO strips being on setting 5 for good coverage) Blue 50% Cyan 50% Lime 100% Red 100% Cool white 100% The settings above give PAR of 260 towards the top, 240 in the middle, and 175-200 on sand bed. --------------------------------------------------------------- Now for some other information on the blue strips alone, which put out a surprising amount of PAR. If I were going LPS I would prob only use 4 XHO over a 120gal tank with 2 of the royal blue actinic and one of the 50/50 with dimmers hooked up and NO radions at all. Especially since the radion app is trash and on/off with regular dimmers is so simple with the XHO strips: 2 blue strips at the following settings (PAR readings top/middle/bottom) 1 out of 6 - 0/0/0 2 out of 6 - 5/5/0 3 out of 6 - 20/15/10 4 out of 6 - 40/40/30 5 out of 6 - 70/70/50 6 out of 6 - 95/80/65 4 blue strips at the following settings 1 out of 6 - 5/3/1 2 out of 6 - 15/15/10 3 out of 6 - 40/40/30 4 out of 6 - 90/80/60 5 out of 6 - 160/140/110 6 out of 6 - 200/180/140

in addition to part numbers above here are a few recent pics Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

PAR NUMBER POST: I have 4 blue XHO strips (6 settings, 6 is the brightest) and 2 Radion G5 blues. Preferred setting up front: Blue XHO strips at setting 5 out of 6 Radions at 48% with the individual colors at the following: UV 100% Violet 100% Royal 5% (I put this really low to offset the XHO strips being on setting 5 for good coverage) Blue 50% Cyan 50% Lime 100% Red 100% Cool white 100% The settings above give PAR of 260 at orange acro (top right), 240 at blue slimier and bubblegum mili (middle/top), and 200 at setosa dropping off to 175ish at the edges along the sand bed. If I notice things looking too pale I will dial the radions back to 40-45%, and as things adjust I can go to 49%, 50%, etc slowly over time with the same %'s listed above. --------------------------------------------------------------- Now for some other information on the blue strips alone, which put out a surprising amount of PAR. If I were going LPS I would prob only use 4 XHO over a 120gal tank with 2 of the royal blue actinic and one of the 50/50 with dimmers hooked up and NO radions at all. Especially since the radion app is trash and on/off with regular dimmers is so simple with the XHO strips: 2 blue strips at the following settings (PAR readings top/middle/bottom) 1 out of 6 - 0/0/0 2 out of 6 - 5/5/0 3 out of 6 - 20/15/10 4 out of 6 - 40/40/30 5 out of 6 - 70/70/50 6 out of 6 - 95/80/65 4 blue strips at the following settings 1 out of 6 - 5/3/1 2 out of 6 - 15/15/10 3 out of 6 - 40/40/30 4 out of 6 - 90/80/60 5 out of 6 - 160/140/110 6 out of 6 - 200/180/140

Can you simply keep more water in the tank (which would result in more water in the return chamber), therefore leaving less risk of the ATO kicking on?

I remember that build thread. It was wild. Welcome back.

Can anyone share photos or tips of how they plumbed in a frag tank to current display/sump. I am planning to add a frag tank with a separate pump in the sump and a drain line back to the sump. I am planning to put a very low flow pump then I will add a powerhead in the frag tank itself for water movement. Any issues I should watch out for? Thanks

Eheim 1260/1262s on 90-120s seem perfect to me. Love my Eheims.

I don’t need this code. Expires 10/25. Please post if you use it so others know not to try. “CHYDMNX”

Things are going pretty well for last few months. Nutrient levels and alk are dialed in nicely and some of the frags are starting to take off.

I have millions of cerith snails now. The mini ones. They are reproducing like crazy. Of course I have bubble algae and some aptasia now. I added some emerald crabs and peppermint shrimp today hoping they will take care of that. The one fish that made it through (my tang) is still kicking just fine. I never pulled the fish to QT it, and I am very hesitant to add any new fish at this time. I really should pull the tang into QT for 12 weeks or whatever before adding more fish, but I have very little desire to go through all that effort right now.

For Temp, I use a thermapen one. They include a NIST calibration certificate. https://www.thermoworks.com/thermapen-one/?utm_source=google_shopping&utm_medium=organic&gad_source=1&gclid=CjwKCAjwwr6wBhBcEiwAfMEQs0pgtBK1zltsR21Gaqh_ipOTKAtmC__DZ8s6G0n_BgVw-Qh76BaEcBoCet0QAvD_BwE

I checked stray voltage. It was 19.5 a the max and usually around 6. I read on google 20-30 is ok, and won't hurt anything. With this in mind I am assuming it was something super fast acting like Velvet, and somehow there were no symptoms. Most of the fish died overnight. I did notice one night one fish breathing heavy on the bottom of the tank, but again no spots or anything out of the ordinary to see on the fish even with a flashlight. It acted to fast for me to really do anything at all. I do have a QT tank and meds and a copper checker. My snails are now breeding in the tank. They are dwaf ceriths and there must be millions of them. My plan is to not add anything else other than new fish once this tank goes fishless for at least 6 weeks. Maybe once I do the fishless period and know my tank is clean I can start selling off some of these dwarf ceriths. The start out the size of a pentip and max out around 1/2" In the meantime the corals are looking wonderful, so at least I got that going.

Yea. Not a single dead fish had a single sign of velvet. I just tested for stray voltage and highest rating with everything running was 19.5 which Google tells me is fine.

I didn't QT clean up crew, which was a couple orders. The snails in one order the urchins in another. And corals were just dipped, not QT. Who knows. I am sending water for ICP. I saw zero symptons on fish, so whatever it was acted fast. The tang is still alive and eating fine. Picking glass algae, eating all foods. Swimming fine. I do plan to catch and QT tang and leave tank empty of fish for 6+ weeks. I am NOT adding anymore corals or cleaners. Funny thing is, corals doing well. Urchins are fine. All the "sensitive" things are ok. I even have UV, albeit a 25w. Based on some research it may be slightly undersized, but should be helping.

All fish died except my tang. Zero symptoms. Overnight deaths. 3 one week overnight. Then 4 overnight a couple days ago. Crappy update to make. Assuming velvet that acted so fast there were no outward displays like spots or fuzz or anything. Water parameters are all literally perfect. Sending water for an icp to confirm.

JF superman stylo Reeftech starburst monti Bubblegum digi Oregon tort TSA appleberry monti TSA kaboom monti Sunset monti Mystic sunset monti Jedi mind trick monti you can see I like montipora...

new corals: Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

With my photo being a classic Bill Murray image it sounds fitting. Haha