Ryan's 150g Marineland Deep Dimension!

[Ryan S]

Agree.

 

Ryan, do you plan on having crabs (in the tank)

 

A few emrald crabs would be beneficial.

 

I think my GF gave me crabs.

 

Emeralds? I could grab a couple. What are their downsides again? They eat snails if hungry? Is that it? Would a cleaner shrimp eat anything as well? Or a brittle starfish?

[BowieReefer84]

emerald crabs nip pink pocci... Not just saying this, I have seen it with my eyes.

[SunWyrm]

They nip lots of things... I no like crabs anymore.

[Chad]

The general downside of crabs is they are opportunistic omnivores... so they will really eat anything if they don't have their preferred food around. Some are safer than others. Pluses and minuses, just like anything else... you won't find much that doesn't have a downside to go along with an upside.

 

Hungry hermits without alternative housing options (and sometimes with) will usually go after snails. I have not seen an emerald do so.

 

I personally like emerald crabs, but I haven't had a problem with them... However, it isn't hard to find someone who has had a problem.

[Jan]

In all the tanks i've set up, and I've not set up as many as some claim to have, I've only gotten hair algae because it was introduced and my params (phosphate in particular) were off. Not because my tanks were new or didn't finish cycling. Diatom algae? I get all the time with a new set up. My successes with getting rid of hair algae, the two times I've gotten it have been with 1 out of 6 sea hares (this means I lost 5 before I found one that actually ate the algae), 1 tuxedo urchin that lasted 2 years and ate bryopsis and coraline algae along with elevating my magnesium. I've not had any success with crabs. Have had many in the 4 tanks I've had in the last 3 years and not a one ate hair algae. I think it's ALL hit or miss. for sure get your params stable and do regular water changes.

[Origami]

Harvest the algae when you get tired of it. If this is a fairly new setup, I'd just ride it out as some here have suggested. From the last set of pictures, it looks like you may have a few stonies in your frag collection. They're the only thing that I think may be susceptible to the "low" alk. If you feel you can trust your alk reading, then 7 dkH is probably as low as you want to go. Just keep an eye on it as alk can drop rather quickly.

[Ryan S]

Here are photos of the SPS frags from Mr. Coral. They look good so far. No signs of flatworms either, thank god.

 

All:

 

Left Side:

 

Right Side:

[Jan]

Are those bubbles on the alge from cyano or dino?

[Ryan S]

Are those bubbles on the alge from cyano or dino?

 

cyano i think. there used to be a lot more then that.

 

the tank actually looks a lot better today. the hair algae and cyano have both gone down a lot. I am not sure if it was from the water change I did 2 days ago; from the sea hare; or the natural tank progression. i assume the GFO will consume the access PO4 once the algae dies off, to prevent it from returning right?

[Jan]

Yes, as long as you keep all the other params in check. Nice frags.

 

cyano i think. there used to be a lot more then that.

 

the tank actually looks a lot better today. the hair algae and cyano have both gone down a lot. I am not sure if it was from the water change I did 2 days ago; from the sea hare; or the natural tank progression. i assume the GFO will consume the access PO4 once the algae dies off, to prevent it from returning right?

[Selbo]

For a newbie like myself, I just want to send out a thanks to Ryan and all the posters during his build process. So far, I've only stockpiled some equipment and worked through the plumbing (well, Rob was nice enough to work through the plumbing and explain the setup) but Ryan's experience has taught me more than anything I've found in a book or online. I feel awful for Ryan's learning curve but without this thread, I would easily be in Ryan's shoes. I think I've read "nothing good in reefing happens fast" about 10,000 times but reading through this thread really hammers home the point. Let's face it, anyone new to a reef tank is not going to spend time looking at tanks in the cycling process. We all zero in on the established tanks with grown coral and fat tangs swimming around. Getting to that stage takes time and Ryan has helped me see the light. My wife refers to my tank as "the coffin" and my friends all ask "why don't you have any fish?" but based on Ryan's experiences, I plan to stay the course and continue with my "it takes time" rebuttal. Anyway, I know it doesn't make Ryan feel any better but he's been a tremendous help and all the advice he's received along the way has been great too. Hang in there, Ryan. Obviously the desire is there. You'll be fine. Thanks for all of your help.

[Novi]

Ryan your frags actually look real good. I see no signs of stress or approaching death. Just keep doin what your doing and dont let parameters swing too much.

[Chad]

For a newbie like myself, I just want to send out a thanks to Ryan and all the posters during his build process. So far, I've only stockpiled some equipment and worked through the plumbing (well, Rob was nice enough to work through the plumbing and explain the setup) but Ryan's experience has taught me more than anything I've found in a book or online. I feel awful for Ryan's learning curve but without this thread, I would easily be in Ryan's shoes. I think I've read "nothing good in reefing happens fast" about 10,000 times but reading through this thread really hammers home the point. Let's face it, anyone new to a reef tank is not going to spend time looking at tanks in the cycling process. We all zero in on the established tanks with grown coral and fat tangs swimming around. Getting to that stage takes time and Ryan has helped me see the light. My wife refers to my tank as "the coffin" and my friends all ask "why don't you have any fish?" but based on Ryan's experiences, I plan to stay the course and continue with my "it takes time" rebuttal. Anyway, I know it doesn't make Ryan feel any better but he's been a tremendous help and all the advice he's received along the way has been great too. Hang in there, Ryan. Obviously the desire is there. You'll be fine. Thanks for all of your help.

 

 

Great post!

[Ryan S]

Test Results Today, 4/22/2012:

Salinity = 1.023 (low)

pH = 8.18 (good)

Ammonia = 0.0 ppm (good)

Nitrite = 0.0 ppm (good)

Nitrate = 0.0 ppm (good)

Phosphate = 0.28 ppm (high)

Alk = 7.78 dhK (low)*

Cal = 380 ppm (low)*

Magnesium = 1200 ppm (low)*

 

Last Test Results, 4/14/2012:

Salinity = 1.028 (high)

pH = 8.25 (good)

Ammonia = 0.0 ppm (good)

Nitrite = 0.0 ppm (good)

Nitrate = 5.0 ppm (high)

Phosphate = 0.02 ppm (good)

Alk = 7.06 dhK (good)

Cal = 440 ppm (high)

Magnesium = 1280 ppm (good)

 

*leaving alk dose at 11.0mL/day. it's gone up from 7.06 to 7.78 in 8 days. Target = 9.00 dhK.

*raising cal dose from 2.2mL/day to 4.4mL/day. Target = 415 ppm.

*dosing magnesium to the tank daily to raise this to 1300 ppm.

[BowieReefer84]

Once you get alk/calc in proportionate levels where you want them dose equally.

[Ryan S]

Once you get alk/calc in proportionate levels where you want them dose equally.

 

okay. right now i am still trying to find that equilibrium. and i still haven't got the mag to 1300 yet. but each week is a little closer.

 

i am not dosing magnesium, it's in a jug of mag solution. brs says, once the cal and alk jugs are done, just dump the whole mag jug into the tank. right now i have emptied about 1/3 of it into the tank early, to try and raise the mag to 1300. i wonder if it would be easier to get a 3rd doser and just dose mag on a daily basis as well?

[bcoop78]

<br /><br />

<br />

okay. right now i am still trying to find that equilibrium. and i still haven't got the mag to 1300 yet. but each week is a little closer.<br />

<br />

i am not dosing magnesium, it's in a jug of mag solution. brs says, once the cal and alk jugs are done, just dump the whole mag jug into the tank. right now i have emptied about 1/3 of it into the tank early, to try and raise the mag to 1300. i wonder if it would be easier to get a 3rd doser and just dose mag on a daily basis as well?<br />

<br /><br /><br />

 

I don't believe you should raise your magnesium more than 100ppm per day.

[Jan]

What? Really? BRS said to just dump the whole jug of mag into your tank? How much mag is in one of their jugs? MY advice is to never just dump large amounts of any chemical, except mixed water and maybe when using carbon, in your tank. Do a search for how much mag you should dose daily to bring it up to where you want it. The same thing applies to any other chemicals you dose. Even when using GFO you need to be careful and read how much you should use per gallon, etc.. You can cause devestating effects to livestock and really knock your params out of whack. Try searching your questions on google too. You'll get a broader knowledge base on the why's and how's and sometimes quicker answers to your queries.

 

okay. right now i am still trying to find that equilibrium. and i still haven't got the mag to 1300 yet. but each week is a little closer.

 

i am not dosing magnesium, it's in a jug of mag solution. brs says, once the cal and alk jugs are done, just dump the whole mag jug into the tank. right now i have emptied about 1/3 of it into the tank early, to try and raise the mag to 1300. i wonder if it would be easier to get a 3rd doser and just dose mag on a daily basis as well?

[Jan]

+1

 

don't believe you should raise your magnesium more than 100ppm per day.

[Jan]

BRS dosing calculator

 

http://www.bulkreefsupply.com/store/reef-calculator#MagnesiumCalculator

[Ryan S]

<br /><br /><br />

 

I don't believe you should raise your magnesium more than 100ppm per day.

 

That's correct. That's why I only added some of the mag solution yesterday, will add some more today, etc. Will retest again next weekend. Should get it from 1200 to 1300 over the week period.

 

What? Really? BRS said to just dump the whole jug of mag into your tank?

 

BRS Magnesium Instructions here.

 

"Once the dose is dialed in continue daily dosing until the gallon jugs of Calcium and Alkalinity are finished. At this point it is time to dose 20oz of the Magnesium solution. This can be done entirely in one dose just remember to add slowly to a high flow area of the tank."

 

So I think it's safe, but I would rather add it slowly over time, just like you've suggested.

Edited April 23, 2012 by Ryan S

[surf&turf]

Any updates? How's everything doing?

[Ryan S]

Any updates? How's everything doing?

 

Thanks for asking Frank! I plan on checking the parameters tonight and I will take a FTS. PS: The green leather piece that fell into a rock in the back (after being shredded in the MP40) is alive and well. It attached to the rock and is sticking up about an inch from the rock, I'd say it's about 2" tall by now!

 

The 2 blue eyed cardinals are alive and well even though I haven't fed them in 3 weeks. Can I conclude the tank never had/doesn't have ICH since they are still alive and healthy? Do I still need to wait 12 weeks of fallow or can I toss in a hippo tang or a yellow tang and see what happens? (I really think they'll be fine). (I think the new CBB had velvet which spread and wiped the tank - not an ich outbreak?)

 

The tank is full of frags from my earlier buying spree. I'd say I have about 40 frags that need to be glued around the tank. All are doing well, the SPS are encrusing on the plugs which is nice. I'll probably wait another week or two before I do that, though I have plenty of super glue gel now (thanks to Valeria!). The hair algae is all gone thanks to the sea hare (they really work!). I have cyano around several spots in the tank. May need to go lights out for 3 days to get rid of that. I also wonder if there is a lack of proper flow in the tank, even with 2 MP40ws. I guess we'll see later on that.

 

Another question, can I cut the bottom part off of a frag plug with something, like SPS bone cutters maybe? I'd like to glue the plugs to the rock, but without the bottom plug part (with it they'd stick up all over the tank and look dumb). Any reason why I couldn't/shouldn't just cut the bottom part off? I'd glue the SPS frags directly to the rock, but they are encrusting on the plugs, so I figured I'd mount them like that around the tank.

Edited April 30, 2012 by Ryan S

[surf&turf]

Good to hear everything is coming around. Glad the Nepthea is doing good, I wasn't sure if still wanted another piece since you said you were going all SPS.

 

Hard to say with Ich, the Cardinals could have fought it off. The only way to be be a 100% sure is to remove them and let the tank go fallow.

 

I cut the bottoms off the plugs all the time. Bone cutters should work just fine. Be careful if the frag isn't encrusted as that snap of the cutters can send it flying.

[Ryan S]

Hard to say with Ich, the Cardinals could have fought it off. The only way to be be a 100% sure is to remove them and let the tank go fallow.

 

I can't catch the little buggers anyway! I need to google how to make a trap I guess - as that's the only way I'd stand a chance at catching them.