BowieReefer84

Growth is starting to come as well: Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

I find nano tanks are a pita. You can’t get fish to help with algae bc the fish that eat algae are too big. Also maintaining parameters is a pain. If I got busy I would simply go fish only in a larger tank, and focus on algae eating fish. I could never keep my hands out of the nanos I’ve had in the past. I find it easier to keep my hands out of larger tanks. Either way, best of luck. It’s just been my experience smaller isn’t always less time consuming.

Right now I have 3 anthias, 2 small clowns, 1 orange back wrasse, and 1 bristletooth tang. I just ordered a royal gramma and foxface lo that I’m going to put through QT. I’ll be at 9 fish after this latest addition. I also have snails and 3 small ORA tuxedo urchins. I want more fish but not sure what will get along. Also, with fish prices right now the cheaper the better. Anyone have thoughts on 1 vs multiple with blue green chromis or bangai cardinals? Other things to consider? I like the sailfin algae blennies. My main goal is not messing up the peaceful tank and keeping everyone healthy. Wondering what I can ultimately end up regarding total number of fish.

It’s ok. We’ll let it slide. Haha

Nice build. An Eheim 600 is really quiet for an AC pump. Sounds like the sicce 6.0 is coming though. I put my sump on some thin foam and put my return pump on a silicone pad and have the first 8” of the return silicone hose before switching to PVC. It helps greatly with stopping vibration/noise. the braided hose you used is much stiffer than silicone. Not sure it gives the same effect. stand is very nice looking. good call redoing the bean animal. that rimless tank looks really nice. Is this a newer tank brand? I don’t remember seeing these before.

The brightwells razor did an amazing job. I finally just got around to plumbing the UV sterilizer. Having the inwall setup makes it nice because I can put things where they are convenient with plenty of space. I am not sure the Eheim 600 will be enough of a return pump now with the added angles and UV. I will see how it goes. Hoping it's enough flow. I picked up a 1.1ml BRS pump and will use that for the all for reef. IMG_6478 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_6479 by mteske1, on Flickr IMG_6477 by mteske1, on Flickr

I’m dosing all for reef in my new tank. Was thinking about kalk but the all for reef seems easier.

Awesome pair of fish. They remind me of Dr. Seuss. Very cool. That hawkfish would be banished to the sump.

Faced a pretty bad turf algae issue. That stuff is impossible to remove by hand. I added a large clean up crew and a few urchins that barely dented it and were making no real progress. Ultimately, I dosed Brightwells Razor (and clean), and it's now all turned white. No real ill effects on corals from what I can tell, and the fish have been doing great this whole time. Nitrates continue to read zero (the algae throwing off my stats), but once the algae decays I am prepared to do some large water changes to prevent a nitrate spike. I will wait a bit longer than stock more fish, and probably let it ride for a while. I did decide to go with all-for-reef for dosing, as it's super simple and I am not stocking much corals. I picked up a 25w UV, but still haven't plumbed it into the system. I need to make time for that, with my main goal water clarity. Lastly, I have a avast marine auto feeder. I was able to leave the tank for over a week this summer while on vacation and it ran like a top. That feeder is really great for freeze dried foods, and running it 1min at a time a few times a day is perfect for me. Keeps me from constantly having to walk to the back side of the tank to feed.

Skimmer is rocking, and corals are doing great at the almost 30 day mark. I am getting some hair algae and planning to add a couple tuxedo urchins in the near future. TSA Bali Blue Slimer Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

I am just going with a UV sterilizer to try to slow some algae and seeing how that goes. I don't want to add inverts without a proper QT, and this summer I don't have the time.

I see some coralline spots growing, so the waiting ended. I have begun adding corals (going for mostly monochromatic corals): - Setosa - PC Rainbow - TSA Blue Slimer - Green Slimer - Red Dragon - Hawkins Echinata - Tyree Toxic Green Cap - TSA Purple Cap - ASD Millipora - Bubblegum Millipora Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr I have a couple more corals I want to add including a couple digitatas, then it's a waiting game.

Yea. That’s my fear. I don’t have any inverts but I’m getting algae now. I may just QT them.

Where is everyone picking up clean up crews these days? debating between reefcleaners or reeftopia. Or others? thanks

Diatoms are 100% gone. I am adding corals soon... I put a couple power strips on wall for some organization, and put a ring camera on the sump... Even added a mini fridge. Avast auto feeder added, and setting up using amazon plug with schedules. Not done that yet. It looks like I should be able to leave the tank for a week with no issues. Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

Dang, that thing is PACKED!

I’m running a Eheim jager set a couple degrees above where I control it with a ranco. The ranco temp probe is wrapped in plastic. It was an option at checkout to have the sensor in shrink wrap.

I've added two baby clowns, and an orange back fairy wrasse. Tank is going smooth. Taking a lot of effort not to add any corals yet. I really want to wait till I see signs of coralline algae spreading, before adding corals. I also picked up an Avast Marine plank feeder. I am going to set it up using schedules with an amazon smart plug to get a lot of small feedings throughout the day.

1262s are amazing pumps imo

If I was getting a return for a 90 I would get an Eheim 1260

Starting a 90 then upgrading to a 180 in a year would render most of your year old equipment useless, and poor resale on this type of equipment. If you want big fish, get a big tank now. I just setup a 120 and only adding one tang, which is a bristletooth/tomini, which stay on the smaller side as far as tangs go. Also, the list of fish you included is not what I would consider a predator tank. In terms of yellow tangs, I am not sure about now but there was a ban in Hawaii on shipping these out. I think they now cost a fortune. Just an FYI You should really plan out exactly what you want, so you don't start buying equipment you won't need.

Skimmer is ripping away. I added some fish from ERC, and levels are perfect. I added some pods, and have been dosing phyto daily. Also, ordered a tunze care long magnet, and it's by far the best glass cleaner I have ever used. Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr Untitled by mteske1, on Flickr

I picked up 3 of these. They look awesome.

Thanks! I’ve had a lot of tanks over the years usually for short periods of time. Looking to take my time with this setup. Hoping I’m 3-4 years I have something really cool. Having the unfinished space behind the tank is really nice. I have two 32gal brute trash cans mixing salt water now to do a 50% water change. The ammonia dosing worked great. It would go from 2ppm to 0ppm in a day. However, I now have 100 nitrates so I need to address that through some big water changes. The cycle is going faster than expected but I’ve been dosing microbactor 7 daily. The Ranco controller is setup and works perfect. I ordered a screen top kit off BRS that should be here soon. The Radions with the mobius app are fun to play around with and set schedules. The tank is almost silent which was a requirement. I may order two more marine pure blocks for the sump, since I have limited rock in display. I also plan to figure out a way to run the skimmer line to the outside to assist with Ph.