Alaskan 300 Gal build

[scott11106]

Lost the chocolate tang today. I’m really annoyed. When I picked him up from the LFS he was very active and eating. I’m thinking the blonde Naso I got that died from an infection may have gotten to the Chocolate. I’m totally bummed. I’m dosing kanaplex now in hopes the new blonde Naso doesn’t get infected too. Very frustrated right now.

that sucks ! i hope it is an isolated issue.

 

[jschultzbass]

Any updates?

 

[AKReef]

Summertime here in Alaska, so too busy to do much on tank. Second blonde naso died in QT. I really suspect velvet now. Fortunately everything seems to have been contain in the QT.

I’m going to move a few corals from the old tank over soon, as I’m nearing the 72 day fallow mark. Again, I’m too busy trying to enjoy the summer, so I probably won’t do much else over the next couple of months.

 

[jschultzbass]

It's been a year! Hows the tank doing?

 

[AKReef]

I’ve been meaning to post an update for a while. Thanks for giving me a reason.

The last year has had it’s ups and downs. Downs mostly in the fish area. Been really hard trying to get new fish to survive. It’s been pretty demoralizing.

On the up side, corals seem to be doing quite well. Been working on keeping trace elements stable to encourage color and growth. Having a mixed tank of course has it’s challenges there. Here are some pics I took today.

 

[AKReef]

 

[AKReef]

 

[jschultzbass]

I"m sorry to hear about the fish! I know exactly how that can go. The one thing that really helped me was switching my QT procedure from non-existent to 30 days in same tank to Tank Transfer method. The TTM IMO is by far the best because you run a very small risk of any ammonia buildup and it's guaranteed to have fish ich free in 12 days. Other diseases you can watch for and treat along the way. I still lose some fish in QT for sure but rarely lose them in the tank anymore. Also, since i order almost exclusively from LiveAquaria I get the 14 day guarantee. I don't know if that's an option in AK though.
Otherwise the tank is looking amazing! I've always loved this build and the surround around the aquarium looks awesome.

 

[Craigb350]

Looks awesome that dude, following along!

 

[AKReef]

Thanks for the encouragement and comments. My issues with fish has been mostly bacterial, as far as I can tell. Everything looks good in QT, then they develop signs of infections and it’s downhill from there. I put in 4 chromis last, right into 1PPM of Cooper and slowly ramped up to 1.75PPM. They all made it through very well. Going to try some more expensive fish once summertime passes. Otherwise too busy to deal with a QT tank everyday.

One interesting thing with the corals. I did start using Polyplab’s dosing regime of acids, trace elements, etc and it does look like it’s helped growth and coloration. I was a little wary at first, since the they don’t publish exactly what’s in it, but my LFS gave me a deal on a starter set to give it a whirl. Results have been positive so I’m going to stick with it for a while.

 

[AKReef]

One other interesting thing with the tank to mention...we had a little earthquake here back in November, a 7.2.

I was at work when the earthquake woke up my wife and 18 mos old. Thankfully I was able to reach her right after, as the cell networks were overloaded from everyone calling, to find out they were fine. I had her look downstairs at the tank and after a quick glance it looked intact. She couldn’t get a close look because there was broken glass everywhere.

Thankfully I designed the tank and room with earthquakes in mind. The tank was intact and no leaks in the plumbing, as the hybrid hard/soft plumbing allowed for flexing between the sump and tank. I estimate about 10-15 gals of water sloshed out into the floor. Tank was cloudy from the sand being shook up. Rock-work was mostly still in place, as I pinned all the rocks together with fiberglass rods. They mostly just shifted. The water on the floor was no big deal, as there’s a floor drain in the tank room and the living room floor is luxury vinyl planks, which are waterproof.

The only lose was the controller of my brand new gyre, it got wet and fried. Contacted BRS to order a replacement controller. They were amazing. They steeply discounted it and overnighted it for free. Can’t say enough good thing about BRS.

The craziest thing was the whole tank and stand shifted...in opposite directions! Stand moved about 1/4 inch and the tank shifted on the stand about 1/2 inch. Can you imagine the weight of all that?! Took quite a bit to get it all in place, draining all the water, using a little leverage and lots of muscle lol

All in all, we came out with little more than broken glass from nicknacks. Had I been thinking clearly, I would have pushed more stuff off of shelves onto the floor and told my wife it was the earthquake ;-)

 

[jschultzbass]

Dang! That's crazy! I guess I didn't realize earthquakes in AK were common but it is on the ring of fire. In northern MN the craziest we get is blizzards knocking out power so got a backup generator for that. Those AGE tanks are built like tanks (pun not intended). Mine is just like yours and with all the steel bracing it isn't going anywhere. I'm glad nothing got too bent out of shape. I love BRS as well and order most of my stuff through them.

Cool to hear about the polyp lab regimen. I'll have to give that a try! Tank is looking really good!

 

[AKReef]

I can't believe it's been almost a year since I've posted here. This last year has had it's ups and down with the tank. Some corals have been doing really well, some have been really struggling and died. Let me think about all that I've done this last year.

Picked up a lot of goodies from BRS during black friday. Apex controller and UV filter where the 2 big ones. A few months ago I got a Trident. I was hoping that the additional monitoring and testing would ensure stability in the tank and that may have been my issue. Been struggling with diatoms and a little cyno. Aiptasia popping up here and there. A cowrie ate my 2 acans, fortunately one wasn't completely destroyed.

I may have had a break through recently though. I was able to get my hands on a PAR meter and it looks like my lighting has been way too low, which would explain a lot. I've been so worried about burning corals that I've been starving them of light. I'll be slowly ramping up my lights over the next couple of months to see if that makes a difference. I'm hoping that will solve some issues for me, at least that's one part of the equation solved.

Pics to follow.

 

[AKReef]

New Apex and enclosure

 

[AKReef]

Full pic of tank and my recent PAR measurements on my new light settings.

 

[AKReef]

UV filter required replumbing most of the return line, but it was a fun project. Also had to rearrange the canister filters and finds spots for controllers.

 

[AKReef]

Looking at past pictures in this thread made me realize how much some things have grown. The softies are doing great.

 

[AKReef]

Poor acan in the front had to regrow from being eaten by my cowrie (has since been banished to the sump). The small guy in the back is a replacement for the other one that didn’t make it.

 

[AKReef]

Just a quick update on the tank. Admittedly, the tank is a bit dirty from lack of maintenance. Been busy with summertime. I wanted to share some recent pictures and new additions.

 

[AKReef]

New Sohal Tang. Nice healthy fish at the LFS. All my other tangs gave him a hard time for a few days. I normally have the black backing on the tank off (the pics where you can see the fish room through the tank), but I put it up when I added the Sohal. The black backing causes the fish to see their reflections in the glass. So the old tangs were busy chasing their reflections around to give the Sohal time to acclimate. Been a couple of week and everyone seems to be getting along fine.