I hope I remember how to do this

[cmaxwell39]

Yup, bare bottom. Haven’t done it before. Going to give it a go.

Light fixture looks great! Glad you made a new one.

Awesome. I will be curious to hear your thoughts on BB as your build progresses.

Yeah, glad I made the new light fixture bracket. I knew it was the right thing to do, and once I get it back from the powder coater it is going to look awesome.

 

[vetteguy53081]

Wow - this really came together !

 

[cmaxwell39]

Wow - this really came together !

Thanks, it helps that I was ready for the tank in February, so I had plenty of extra time to plan.

The fish that I have went into the tank this week, so I should probably get some pics soon. I did end up losing all the damsels. It was really weird. They all went through two weeks of copper and two rounds of prazi. Then after going into the holding tank, they were fine for about two more weeks, and then they started dropping one at a time and I lost all of them over the next two weeks. Not sure what to think about it, but for now, I am just glad to have water and rock and fish in a tank in the main floor of the house. Will sort the rest out.

I've been traveling this weekend, but I will try to get some pics of the fish swimming around in the tank this week sometime.

 

[cmaxwell39]

Meant to post this earlier in the week, but moved the fish that have survived into the display about a week and a half ago. So far they are doing well, except for the lone green chromis who keeps ending up in the external overflow box. Hasn't taken the ride down the overflow, but I have fished him out multiple times and within 48 hrs he ends up back in there.

Fish currently in the tank:

Pair of clowns (1 black ice, one snowflake)
Trio of zebra barred dart fish
One green chromis.

Here is a picture that captures most of them....

I do have some more progress to share, but I will save that for an update a little later.

 

[Gablami]

Black ice are my favorite designer clown. How is your Chromis getting into the overflow? Between the teeth? That would drive me crazy, having to fish him out. Maybe you could consider putting some netting or something in front of it until it got too big to fit in?

 

[cmaxwell39]

The ems overflow does not have teeth, but rather three elongated slots about a half inch tall. It still is really surprising that he is getting in there. I would have thought the slender dartfish would have been the ones getting through if any, but no it is the stupid chromis.

For whatever reason, I have not had any luck with chromis or damsels at the start of this build. I will probably add more, but will wait a while before doing so.

 

[cmaxwell39]

I got in some new fish this week. They are currently in QT.

Unfortunately one of the fairy wrasses was not as advertised. I paid for a hooded, but it came in as a Cirrhilabrus rubriventralis. Also, it has a spinal injury. Within an hour of being put in QT I noticed it was not able to swim properly. I thought it might be a swim bladder issue, but it is swimming tail down when it swims vertically. Most of the time it was getting blown around by the little bit of flow that I have running (turned off the powerhead, so it is only the flow from the HOB filter. I did a freshwater dip last night, and did not see anything come off of him. After the freshwater dip I placed him in a breeder box that I use as an acclimation box for introducing new wrasses to the tank. His swimming has not gotten any better. He does show interest in food, but has not been able to track any down that I have seen yet. He is still breathing so there is a chance, but I do not hold out much hope for him.

The good news is that the Labouti and the diamond goby seem to be doing well, and the QT tank hit therapeutic level for copper last night, so the 14 day timer on QT has started.

 

[cmaxwell39]

I also got in a light for the fuge section of the sump...

I think it should work to grow some algae. Just couldn't justify spending the money on an a360 fuge light. This one was $80 and should have plenty of power to grow chaeto.

Mounted over the sump:

 

[Gablami]

I agree, just plant growth spectrum and wattage. Nothing special about the h380. Not exactly looking for shimmer in the fuge. That said, I got a good deal on an h380 and I’ve been happy with my h160 for a few years.

 

[cmaxwell39]

How about a full tank shot?? I can officially call it a build thread if I put one of these in here. ;Hilarious

Sorry about the reflections. It was just a quick shot and I didn't close all of the blinds. It was taken yesterday so shows the current tank situation. Hopefully this bare landscape will soon be covered in corals (mostly SPS).

 

[alimac122]

Just got onto following this! sticking around! Can't wait to see corals!!! This is great! Sorry about all of the mishaps, but that allowed you to do extra projects during quarantine!

 

[cmaxwell39]

Thanks for joining in. I hope it is about to get fun.

Thankfully I have been working through all of this, but with everything shut down for quite a while, it did give me more time in the evenings to work on projects.

The downside, trying to stock a new tank with fish prices where they are right now, and fish selection that is just starting to come back up.

 

[alimac122]

Thanks for joining in. I hope it is about to get fun.

Thankfully I have been working through all of this, but with everything shut down for quite a while, it did give me more time in the evenings to work on projects.

The downside, trying to stock a new tank with fish prices where they are right now, and fish selection that is just starting to come back up.

yeah my LFS is selling Bangaii for $30/each when they were $50/each when the travel ban was worldwide.
I started my tank the first week of April and I only have 6 fish because of the prices.

thankfully with Europe/China (and other countries) opening back up I’ve noticed the selection at my LFS has greatly increased!
they tried to sell me starry Blenny for $50 this week, after I special ordered it months ago and I said no thank you.

 

[Gablami]

Thanks for joining in. I hope it is about to get fun.

Thankfully I have been working through all of this, but with everything shut down for quite a while, it did give me more time in the evenings to work on projects.

The downside, trying to stock a new tank with fish prices where they are right now, and fish selection that is just starting to come back up.

Fish selection definitely sucks right now. I’ve been going to local LFS every chance I get just to check things out. Im hoping it picks back up soon.

I cant help but imagine sometimes that this could be the future of our hobby. All coral reefs either dead or protected. LFS having very limited fish selection (maybe only captive bred) and propagated corals...set to the backdrop of blade runner. A dystopian future indeed!

 

[revhtree Verified Admin]

How about a full tank shot?? I can officially call it a build thread if I put one of these in here. ;Hilarious

Sorry about the reflections. It was just a quick shot and I didn't close all of the blinds. It was taken yesterday so shows the current tank situation. Hopefully this bare landscape will soon be covered in corals (mostly SPS).

HA! It's been a build thread for a long time! Nice!

 

[cmaxwell39]

yeah my LFS is selling Bangaii for $30/each when they were $50/each when the travel ban was worldwide.
I started my tank the first week of April and I only have 6 fish because of the prices.

thankfully with Europe/China (and other countries) opening back up I’ve noticed the selection at my LFS has greatly increased!
they tried to sell me starry Blenny for $50 this week, after I special ordered it months ago and I said no thank you.

Definitely noticing that at least some of the online vendors are starting to have more selection, and my LFS seems to be getting more stock in, but is is still very hit or miss what is available and at what price. Hopefully prices continue to trend back towards normal, but I am sure that in the meantime I am going to overpay for a few fish. Can't look at a mostly empty tank forever, and since it is at least six weeks from purchase to display for me, I have to keep buying.

Fish selection definitely sucks right now. I’ve been going to local LFS every chance I get just to check things out. Im hoping it picks back up soon.

I cant help but imagine sometimes that this could be the future of our hobby. All coral reefs either dead or protected. LFS having very limited fish selection (maybe only captive bred) and propagated corals...set to the backdrop of blade runner. A dystopian future indeed!

I hope this is not the future of the hobby, although it is possible. I hope some common sense collection practices and reef replenishment efforts make our hobby sustainable for years to come. I think we are making headway on that front, but I know there are a lot of forces that would like to see the industry shut down.

The good news is that more and more fish are being captive bred, and we have excellent coral vendors that are aquaculturing some very nice pieces. Hopefully they will be around for years to come.

HA! It's been a build thread for a long time! Nice!

Thanks Rev. It has been a fun project so far. Hopefully the tank lives up to the prep work for it over the next few years. Still a long way to go.

 

[cmaxwell39]

Couple of quick updates.

First of all, the longfin fairy wrasse is still hanging on in QT, but is less and less active every day. I don't think he is going to make it.

The other fish in QT (Labouti wrasse and diamond goby) are doing fine. I am just over a week into copper and I am simultaneously doing GC/metro. So Friday or Saturday they will move to a holding/observation tank.

Water tests on the display this weekend resulted in the following results:

trate-- .2 (salifert)
phosphate-- .05 (Hannah)
Alk-- 7.3 (hannah)
calcium-- 460 (salifert)
Mag-- 1410 (salifert)

The nitrates were definitely on the low side, so I dosed some nitrate to get it to ~2.5ppm

I also got the second light hanging bracket back from powder coat and I swapped that out.

Much better. I wanted it slightly back from dead center to allow for easy access for feeding and normal maintenance. It ended up hanging about 1" back from dead center over the tank which is about perfect. The tank looks brighter overall with the 8 bulb fixture hanging where it should and not starting at the back edge of the tank.

View from the front.

I also promised a couple of top down pics of the aquascape that I have never delivered. I shut the flow down and took a couple this weekend.

From the left end:

Center:

Right end view:

Hopefully have a couple more interesting updates later this week.

 

[Gablami]

Are you planning for a magnifica on the left island? Just curious...cause that’s what I would do if I wanted one.

Man, that new light fixture is one point! Sweet!

 

[cmaxwell39]

Not planning any anemones for this tank. It will be SPS dominant, but I think my kids are going to try and talk me into some LPS and such. We shall see.

I am hoping to have a bunch of sticks growing various directions out of that left side.

I am very happy with the light mounting now. Lighting in the tank is much more even.

 

[Miszka]

The light fixture is really elegant and helpful for care.