AndrewRyan

I am not really concerned, but a bit confused... I have a 7-day old tank going through fishless cycle (Fritz Turbostart and Fishless Fuel). Ammonia dosed to 2 ppm twice has dropped to zero rapidly both times, Nitrite has been pretty consistent at 1 ppm. Lights have not been turned on and the tank receives no direct sunlight. As I'm inspecting the tank this morning, I notice some very tiny spots (2) of red "dust" collecting on one side of tank. It's the side that receives less flow (I have ordered a 2nd Nero 3 and am waiting for it to come in). Makes me think Cyano, but I wasn't expecting any bacteria/algae issues to develop this early without lights or livestock present. Any thoughts? I can send pictures when I get home, but it's honestly hard to see what with the lights off and all.

While I appreciate and will probably act on your second sentence, the first is the most helpful. Not knowing what happened is driving me a bit nuts. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I am having a hard time trying to decide to put my new protein skimmer (Bubble Magus Curve 5) in my new setup. The reason my setup is new is because the last time I put the protein skimmer in my tank (in the evening), I woke up to two dead fish, a dead crab, a dead shrimp and lost two more fish and some snails later that day. I made many changes that day culminating in the addition of the protein skimmer, which I let run overnight, and I can’t think of a logical reason that the skimmer would have been the cause. However, I am in the middle of a long QT process to add two new clowns to the entirely new setup and it would be heartbreaking if after all that I introduce the skimmer and kill them for some unexplained reason. I guess I’m looking for reassurance that it wasn’t the skimmer since there was never any conclusive reason for the last crash. Thoughts? Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Yep, understood. I was looking at my walls thinking about the most direct route. If I run it up my stairs I’m going to need well over 50 feet of hose. In the short term, I’ll just keep moving water the good old fashioned way. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

That’s a great idea, I’ll have to look into something like that. I will say that a 10% water change is one bucket for me so as long as I’m diligent about doing so weekly it *should* be rare that I’m going back and forth. As far as sloshing water, I know I’m clumsy; I picked up some IBC totes with a very secure cap. Early on, my wife caught me looking at the ceiling from my water mixing area in the basement and shut that down real quick. I would love to run a auto water change otherwise. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Oh, my mistake. Yeah I waved off on the live rock and went with the sponge filter and dosing BB. Research pointed to live rock/sand not being a good idea for the reasons you describe. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

I have two bare tanks (29gal for hospital and 10gal for observation) downstairs. They both use sponge filters, heater, and a PVC hide. This will be my DT, which be going through fishless cycle for the next few weeks.

When you do the fishless QT for inverts what does that system look like? Size, filtration, etc? And I’m guessing you have to feed them during that time. Are you just dropping in some Nori or algae wafers every so often? 76 days is aggressive (though I’m not arguing that it is warranted). I better get on it soon if I go that route or I’m going to be staring at Diatoms w/o a CuC here in the next month or two.

Tank is wet! Tomorrow I’ll start the fishless cycle using Fritz Turbostart and Fishless Fuel. Plenty of time to establish BB while the first two occupants are in QT. I have to say I really like the Ocean Direct sand. First time I’m using it and it’s not nearly as coarse as special grade, but doesn’t blow all over the tank either.

Thanks for the suggestion! I have heard nothing but goods things about Reefescape and will have to check them out. The challenge is I live in Fredericksburg and with 95 the way it is, trips to LFS north can be quite painful. I think I’m pretty clear eyed that I can’t completely eliminate risk, so for me it’s about cost/benefit. I have assumed too much risk in the past and it has always derailed me eventually, so I’m hoping to give myself the best shot at long term success and enjoyment.

Thanks. I actually have initiated Humble Fish’s protocols already. I have picked up another 10 gallon for an observation tank and am slowly raising copper levels in the 29 gallon. Once I have the levels at 2.5 ppm, I’ll add in some Metroplex (from my understanding covers Brook, which I want to be sure of considering these are clowns). I’m thinking I’ll go with the 14 days of therapeutic copper with Metro and then transfer to the observation tank and treat for flukes there with PraziPro. When the clowns are in observation/treatment for flukes, I plan on picking up the next two fish to begin the copper/Metro therapy. The benefit in my mind of having a final fish stocking plan is I can work towards that end state, naturally allowing BB to grow to accommodate the stocking with natural 2-3 weeks increments. What will need up being depressing to me is if I go through this whole process and introduce disease through inverts/corals later down the road, but I figure fish QT greatly reduces the chance of outbreak regardless. Again, really appreciate you taking the time for response!

Just set up a 29 gallon QT tank and picked up two clownfish to begin the process of stocking my DT. I have Copper Power, PraziPro, and General Cure available and a Hanna copper checker to be delivered tomorrow but I’m seeing a lot of different advice re: methodology. I’d like the process to be as simple as is possible while remaining effective and reducing stress on the fish to the greatest extend feasible. Appreciate any tips or tricks offered based on the collective experience here. Does anything change considering these will be the first two fish in the DT?

Yep, same tank as before. My plan (open to suggestion) is to utilize the live rock exclusively in the QT and always keep fish in QT until I’m done with the stocking list I have in mind. For instance clowns stay in until they 1) clear the QT process and 2) there are 1-2 fish ready to replace them. I have meds (Gen. Cure, Prazi Pro and Copper Power) but wasn’t planning on using them unless needed, so observation tank basically. I thought about not using live rock at all but I’m guessing I’ll need to do frequent large water changes throughout the QT process if I go that route. If that works out to several large water changes a week, I’d like to avoid it. This whole process is new to me (though I should have been doing it from the start) so any suggestions, tips, or tricks are gladly welcomed.

Quarantine tank is up and running. I don’t have a lid do it though. Wondering if I keep the waterline about where it is in the picture (~4-5 inches from top of tank) do I need one? Also, if I get a piece of live rock from an established tank do you think it’d be alright to get a couple of clowns to start the 6 week QT process?

Starting a new thread to document my Waterbed Frag 55.2 build. It's been a long, winding road to get here and to be honest I haven't experienced much success in keeping a reef tank. The first time I set this tank up it went well for a few months, with minimal distress other than working through various nuisance algae. Unfortunately my work travel picked up and increased to such an intensity that I had to shut it down. After my work finally settled down to the point that I could consistently be home, I decided to set up this tank again and give it another go. I was making what I felt was good progress until unexpected fish death overnight. I was moving too fast making rapid, successive changes and it made it hard to determine what the cause was. It didn't appear to be fish disease and in fact I lost an emerald crab and cleaner shrimp that same night. Anyway, I decided the best course of action was to break down the tank and begin again with all new rock and sand. While breaking it down I discovered a small divot in the heater I was using (looked almost like someone had taken a screw driver and tried to punch a hole in metal. I'm now thinking that metal was leaching into the tank? In any case, I cleaned out the system and waited for the supplies to come in to begin this, my third, attempt at successful reef keeping. On the last attempt I used MARCOS Rock and dry sand, but on this journey I decided to go with CaribSea Liferock and Ocean Direct sand. I ordered 40lbs of rock and a 40lbs bag of sand. The rock turned out to be way more than I needed with three arches and a base rock not utilized. I imagine it will be the same story with the sand, but I am aiming for an inch and half or so. I have the following equipment for use: Two filter cups (preference over filter socks) AI Hydra 32HD AI Nero 3 Duetto ATO BRS 200 watt titanium heaters w/ Inkbird controller (changed out for last heater which may have been the issue) Sicce Syncra 2.0 pump (568 gph) Bubble Magus Curve 5 protein skimmer (still eyeing this suspiciously since I installed it in the system the evening before the overnight deaths) Skimmer stand Hanna test kits (Alk, Calcium, Magnesium, HR Nitrate, LR Phosphate) Salifert Test Kits (Ammonia, Nitrite) I have a 40 gallon brute in the basement I am using for mixing salt water and several 5 gallon IBC totes for hauling water. The water station is in the basement (unfortunate but necessary bc wife) and the tank is in the living room in a great location to be viewed from living area, dining room and kitchen. Hauling 5 gallon buckets up a flight of stairs isn't the best but definitely doable given that 5 gallons is a 10% water change weekly. I have always used Tropic Marin Pro in the past but I have ordered some Fritz RPM for this build. My thought is that the higher alkalinity might be nice and the lower price certainly doesn't hurt. My plan is to wait until I have a full stock of saltwater mixed, then add the live sand and water. I have Fritz Turbostart 900 and Fritz Fishless Fuel for a fishless cycle. I have been told that to succeed in this hobby you need patience and persistence. I have not been great in the patience department, so my hope is that I have learned to go slower on this, my third attempt, to get this tank up and running (at least that's persistence). I am very grateful for any suggestions or guidance from the experienced reefers who are willing to take the time. Thanks! -Andrew

My first thought was Aiptasia, when i first got the frag, but after some crowd sourcing and heavy googling, I’m pretty confident it’s not. It was a field of polyps at first (like 6 or 7) and from searching around, if I had to guess, they are something like Daisy polyps. They have a white center and some greenish tint on the extensions. Either way, I think I’m gonna dab some glue on them next time I’m in the tank. I always liked the look a lawn of GSP on the back wall, but from what you and Isaac are saying I may go another direction to avert the maintenance. Others had told you can peel it off in strips every so often to keep it from going outside the boundaries. Really appreciate the feedback! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Been a while, since I last updated so thought I’d share the good as well as the things I am currently thinking through… To begin, I am engrossed in my tank and having a heck of a lot of fun. The little bit of diatoms I had previously noticed are minimized now to barely needing to be addressed weekly before water changes. That’s probably a combination of clean up crew, the tank maturing and some Microbacter Clean that I dose weekly after each water change. Wasn’t really much of an issue before, but it is even less of one now (for the time being). I have been fortunate to avoid disease or death (coral or fish) thus far and so I’m thankful for that. Being new to the saltwater side of the hobby, I know that’s probably attributable to luck more so than research. I know for sure I wasn’t patient. Also on the good news side of the house, I’m really happy with my lid. It was delayed for over a month with USPS, but the customer service at Kraken Reef was excellent and I couldn’t be happier with how it turned out. I also think the diffuser I took a chance on from 3DReefing has worked well. It’s a very simple product, but very effective in minimizing the “disco ball.” So… for the things I am currently thinking through. I am starting to realize I am terrible at placing corals in the tank. I am far too anxious about cutting and tampering with them so about 50 percent of what I have in the tank is still on a frag plug. Even using bone cutters and razor blades, I just hesitate to mess with it. This is probably due to splitting the skeleton of a hammer early on when trying to remove it from the plug. The hammer recovered (with a bit of glue to hold things in place), but the anxiety to play doctor with new corals remains. In some ways, I think this is ok for certain corals like the zoas on my intended zoa garden rock. I like the idea that I might be able to twist and remove a chunk if need be. I don’t like the unnatural look of the plug on other corals however, like the torch pictured below. You may notice that I am purposely leaving space on the top of the rock formations for SPS. I was told to wait until the tank is about 6 months old or so, before considering the move and it has been one of the few pieces of advice so far (concerning patience) that I have stuck to. My parameters have been really solid. Surprisingly so… actually. Weekly water changes are holding everything pretty constant across the entire week. I leaned into the idea of dosing, but it doesn’t look like I will need to do that for the foreseeable future on this tank. I’ll continue to be diligent about monitoring and adjust accordingly. I placed a bio ball covered in GSP against the back wall hoping it would eventually cover the wall, but nothing so far. It has covered the ball, but not made the leap to the glass. Perhaps this is because I don’t have anything for it to adhere to yet (like coralline). My clowns aren’t interested in the RBTA I added and I’m ok with that. As long as the anemone doesn’t decide to start walking around on me (a likely possibility at some point, I know) then it’s fine. Currently it’s on a loose rock so I changed my mind (assuming it doesn’t move) I could easily take it out of the tank. With limited space in my setup and a desire to fill it with corals, I may end up having to do that. This picture of a frag rack (that I got from none other than Ms. Lynn, herself) represents corals I am not entirely sure about where to place. To be honest, I know 2 of the 4 corals are favia/favites, but I’m even sure about what the other two are yet. I was lucky enough to win them in a recent raffle. Terrible pictures, I realize, but appreciate if anyone is able to identify and suggest placement ideas. The last picture, I will share represents one of my original issues returned. When I bought the branching hammer (one of my first corals), it came with some polyps attached that I didn’t notice until I got home. I thought I removed them all when I originally found them, not wanting something that might turn out to be pervasive. Alas, I have discovered two of these polyps have returned. Open to thoughts on whether these guys should be removed and how best to do it, if so. Again, realize the pic quality doesn’t help much.

Coming along well! Enjoying following your process. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Just when I think I'm understanding the basics of reef chemistry... I have quite a bit of LPS corals that I have added over the course of the past month or so and all look healthy (open and responsive to food). I have been feeding twice a week with Reef Roids and they seem to love it. I purchased TM's All for Reef for what I thought would be a soon and inevitable required dosing schedule. About a week ago I started to see alkalinity drop about .2 per day, so I started with TM's recommended initial dose and started to see a rise of .2 each day. I would guess that means the initial dose was adding about .4 each day (.2 for the loss and .2 for the gain). I started worrying about my dosing, however, when my alk got up to 7.5. I realize that is not high, but it's .5 above what my TM Pro mixes at so I'm trying to stay at a stable 7 or perhaps a bit higher. The funny thing is I haven't dosed in four days and my alkalinity continues to stay at 7.5. It was dropping before and I have seen subtle decrease in measured calcium, so what gives? I mean, on one hand, I guess I'm saving money not dosing, but on the other I do want my corals to grow. Does my alkalinity staying steady mean my corals aren't growing? Most confusing is that it was dropping prior to dosing and now that I have stopped, it is staying steady. Appreciate any advice. I also did a cursory search of topics prior to posting, but if I missed another post which addresses my issue I would be happy to be directed to it. Andy

I read the same article, I think. Something about the higher PH making it not toxic or something to that effect. Coming from freshwater tanks and some of them at higher PH (African Cichlids) that was news to me. Tank and setup look great! Just curious, why the decision to go with snails first? Also, what snails you think about about going with? Fun watching your progress! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Thanks, Lynn! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

It was indeed. Thanks! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Ha, absolutely! Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

As I mentioned in previous posts, I have been moving faster than is advised. I know it's the case, but I am hoping that through careful and diligent monitoring I can ward off or prevent potential problems. That said, I am likely going to run into some turbulence (and I'm not sure there is any way to completely avoid problems regardless of planning and consideration). I didn't intend to add as much as I did to the tank in such a short time period, but it just sort of naturally evolved. Made several local acquaintances who have all been super helpful and had various items they suggested I could add to the tank if I was consistent in monitoring parameters and getting ahead of potential problems. You will see that I have broken some of the generally accepted heuristics on time needed before adding certain things to the tank. For instance, everything I have encountered says you need an established tank of 6 months (some say over a year) to have success with a BTA. I had a local reefer who had an unexpected split and said I should try one and so... I am. It seems super happy so far (early I know). It stayed relatively in the same place I added it and I have been spot feeding it mysis when I feed the rest of the tank. I was super excited to see the full "bubble" of it's tentacles as I read that some of them have stringier tentacles and there is debate on what cause a BTA to be more... well, bubbly. I also throw myself at the reader's mercy regarding my Tomini Tang. When he gets too big for the tank he will be rehomed (whether to some future upgrade of my own or another reefer's tank), but I hope that is not for some time as I really love to watch him in the tank. A careful eye might also observe that I have a Flame Hawkfish in the tank with two skunk cleaner shrimp. They may become an expensive meal at some point, I realize, but currently the Hawkfish and the skunk will rest together without any sign of predation. If that changes, then it changes and I will have learned an expensive lesson. The Hawkfish is one of the most personable fish I have had the opportunity to own. I also have a six line wrasse which is a very pleasant addition to the tank so far. All in all, I have been very happy with the livestock additions. None hide, all ae eating well and there have been nearly zero signs of aggression. As far as CUC, I have 9 Astrea snails and three Nassarius snails in the tank. They do a good job of cleaning (I think) and move around the tank frequently. Concerning corals, I have added the following: (2) Duncan frags (2) Heads Octospawn (1) Trumpet colony (6) Various zoa frags (3) Heads of Hammer (1) Nepthea (1) Torch (3) Favia/Favites frags I have a dedicated "zoa garden" on an island and I hope to make dedicated euphyllia space on the left side of the tank and dedicate the front left of the tank for torches (which I really dig). I'm leaving the rock towards the back of the tank and the arch open for SPS when the tank is ready (I'll wait I promise...). Thankful that I only have a few minor challenges thus far: -Clowns have not hosted the anemone (only been four days or so and not rushing this either way) -Sump space remains limited and I would like to add a small refugium space (I'm researching some in sump or HOB refugiums as potential options) -I have been manually testing every other day (sometimes two) for nearly all parameters and this is time consuming. I don't mind it, just wonder if it's sustainable. Have ordered Hanna checkers for Alk, Calc, Nitrates, and Phosphates so I hope that helps sustain good testing practices. As mentioned previously, when the elements start to decline I plan on manually dosing All for Reef in the morning and evenings before and after work. There just hasn't been a significant decline to warrant the dosing.... yet. I guess I'll leave the post for now and include some pictures below. Take it easy on the new guy, please. ;-)