CoralReefer's 680 Reef Savvy Build

CoralReefer2110 · Aug 27, 2019

I'm happy to report - with the known potential it is too good to be true - I have my first readings for CA/MG on the Trident. It has been several weeks now of troubleshooting with the team from APEX.
Side note, customer service there is pretty darn good. I'm not attempting to turn this into a commercial for anyone but suffice to say few of the organizations I deal with in every day life respond to customers the way they do. (That's you airline industry if you're reading....)

Anyway, I've been having a lot of trouble with my colonies dying off after the initial Alk spikes d/t installing the CA reactor so finally having moment to moment testing results hopefully will be another step to stabilizing and recovering the display tank.

This weekend is MACNA so if you see a tall bald guy wandering around with way too many frags in tow, say hello. Odds are its me...... Cheers!

crusso1993 · Dec 16, 2019

It's been quite a while since hearing from you. What's new and different, Andrew?

CoralReefer2110 · Jan 4, 2020

crusso1993 said:
It's been quite a while since hearing from you. What's new and different, Andrew?

Hey Crusso (and others,)
First off thanks to those of you who checked in on me. As my last post indicated I had a pretty nasty run of luck. I ended up losing almost all of my coral to bad alk swings d/t the new CaRx. So I was in a bummed out place most of the summer and decided to just let thing mellow a bit.

I've never been a "that's it, I quit" guy but it did hit pretty hard to lose a decades worth of beauty so rapidly.

I'm happy to report I have had stable parameters now for a while and (knock on wood) appear to have dialed in the reactor.

So it was time to get back on the horse. Here is my initial batch of 'test' frags. Nothing to exotic, just a lot of the basic and beautiful monti's, cyphastreas, an assortment of basic acros and a gorg or two.

On another note, if any of you know who I should contact about getting good size pieces of the basic corals I would absolutely appreciate it. I'm not buying high end or designer stuff. Just want to get back to normal and fill out much of this space before investing in $300 1/2in pieces

Again, many thanks to those of you who kept in touch. Such a cool community to be a part of. Cheers....

crusso1993 · Jan 4, 2020

CoralReefer2110 said:
Hey Crusso (and others,)
First off thanks to those of you who checked in on me. As my last post indicated I had a pretty nasty run of luck. I ended up losing almost all of my coral to bad alk swings d/t the new CaRx. So I was in a bummed out place most of the summer and decided to just let thing mellow a bit.

I've never been a "that's it, I quit" guy but it did hit pretty hard to lose a decades worth of beauty so rapidly.

I'm happy to report I have had stable parameters now for a while and (knock on wood) appear to have dialed in the reactor.

So it was time to get back on the horse. Here is my initial batch of 'test' frags. Nothing to exotic, just a lot of the basic and beautiful monti's, cyphastreas, an assortment of basic acros and a gorg or two.

On another note, if any of you know who I should contact about getting good size pieces of the basic corals I would absolutely appreciate it. I'm not buying high end or designer stuff. Just want to get back to normal and fill out much of this space before investing in $300 1/2in pieces

Again, many thanks to those of you who kept in touch. Such a cool community to be a part of. Cheers....

Andrew... wow! So sorry you went through all of that crap. I'm rarely at a loss for words but all I can muster is a heartfelt sorry.

I am happy you didn't throw in the towel and are in the rebuilding phase now. If nothing else, I would think it would be exciting to be in a position of starting fresh. New beginnings, while sometimes nerve wracking can be so fulfilling!
I'm excited to be following along and watch as you build your masterpiece!

As for picking up colony sized specimens; I do not readilly know anyone selling them. Seems in recent years everything has gone the way of frags and, in my humble opinion, overpriced frags. Nevertheless, I'll keep my eyes and ears open for you and let you know if/when I hear anything.

Have you considered posting a "wanted" ad in the buying/selling forum?

biecacka · Jan 4, 2020

Andrew maybe @aquavista99 could help with some larger pieces of more common coral. ill reach out to him as well
glad to see your back at it.

corey

justingraham · Jan 4, 2020

biecacka said:
Andrew maybe @aquavista99 could help with some larger pieces of more common coral. ill reach out to him as well
glad to see your back at it.

corey

I second this Tims ur guy for the corals u want

CoralReefer2110 · Jan 11, 2020

I had someone tell me that at feeding time it looked like an "Anthias mosh pit"
Made me chuckle. Here's the video that made him say that........

nbd13 · Jan 12, 2020

Very nice setup. How long did it take for the reef savy tank to be built?

Thinking of reef savy for my next tank, hear the lead time is long but the quality is second to none.

Thanks

CoralReefer2110 · Jan 12, 2020

Hey nbd13,
I am working from recollection here but I think it took about 10 months (maybe 11?) from the deposit. It was indeed a long wait but I was moving across country and planning a huge build so I was not probably as impatient as most people would be when waiting on their dream tank.

But your second point is perhaps the better one. It is absolutely and amazing tank. Quality is top notch and worth the investment if you are in a position to make it.

Good luck and if you decide to go for it, keep me posted!

CoralReefer2110 · Apr 25, 2020

It had been a while since I had made any updates. Thought I would add some of the latest moves.
It was time to clean the salt mixing station. Actually ended up being less frustrating than I anticipated. And all worth the effort. When doing 100g H2O changes every week not putting dirty water in seems like a good choice..

CoralReefer2110 · Apr 25, 2020

There was a thread going (I missed it thinking I would come back later - which I never remember to do) showing off euphyllia gardens. I took these pics for that post and then never used them. So here you go.

CoralReefer2110 · Apr 25, 2020

Time for a 'level up' of frag additions. Many thanks to the good people at Aqua SD.
Been a favorite for years and still a wonderful experience.

CoralReefer2110 · Apr 25, 2020

Everyone settling in. Mounting and placing to come soon enough.....

biecacka · Apr 25, 2020

Holy fragman! thats a lot of frags. Can’t wait to see them in their final places.

corey

Barrett · Apr 25, 2020

Everything is looking good

1stNoel · Sep 15, 2020

Bump.

I'm shocked your Sohal and Achilles get along. I tried adding a Sohal to my tank and, within 2 days, it had my Powder Blue on death's door. Luckily, I was able to catch the Sohal and put him in a separate tank; and the Powder Blue recovered.

CoralReefer2110 · Sep 17, 2020

1stNoel,
Thanks for the note. Yeah, timing was a bit on my side and is really the only reason I was able to do it. I was able put the bulk of my tangs in as a group and then was lucky enough to be able to add the Sohal as a very small juvenile so while I knew it would grow up to be the bully it would give the others like the Achilles to exert themselves and be safe. There is no way I could do it now without it being a blood bath...

Familyof3 · Oct 4, 2020

Just finished reading whole thread from page one about an hour well spent. Sorry to hear about the ich and issue with the calcium reactor. Although glad you were able to work it out. Looking forward to more updates in the future. By the way not to far from you.

CoralReefer2110 · Apr 9, 2023

So it's been quite a while since I posted last. Had the interesting challenge of a major crash about two years ago and while I didn't exactly quit, I certainly did lay off the intensity for a while.

Over the last year I've gotten things back to a much better state although there is still work to be done. One of the things I've come to understand about a tank of this size is that it's never a "set it and forget it" situation. When we first built this set up I made the mistake of having a wood stand built not fully knowing about the water that collected in our garage during major storms - it is after all Florida so shame on me.

Whining aside, it had to be dealt with so I enlisted Chris Benner's help in designing a steel stand that would better withstand the elements and also allow me to expand the refugium component of the system.

So let's take a gander at how you go about replacing a stand without shutting off a system shall we?

CoralReefer2110 · Apr 9, 2023

So here's a look at the old setup. (less one water storage tank already out for cleaning). A nice setup but as you can see the wood is certainly suspect for water damage.