MRod Nuvo 16

Mrod · Mar 11, 2018

Hello all

I bought a 6 gallon JBJ in 2007 for my son to have a freshwater tank. He had no interest so around 2010/ 2011 I turned it into my own venture into the saltwater hobby hosting mainly softies and some LPS. This went ok but then I kept hearing "Acro, SPS" and decided why not try, sounds like fun? Well i have learned fun can quickly turn to frustration and money down the drain when inexperienced and in a nano. Thus 3/20/12 i made the plunge to a HUGE tank - my current Nuvo 16!

Lights:

20" Maxspect Razor 2015 (new leds with diffuser 1/2018 installed in original fixture)
2 Sunblaster NanoTech T5 Fixtures 2/2018 (LEDS in middle, hung on razor, ATI Actinic bulbs)

Equipment:

2 Hydor Pico pumps in AIO chamber
1 Aqueon pump in middle AIO chamber (for summer use only)
4 Jabeos in tank (2 RW-2 and 2 SW-2)
Tunze Osmalator 1/2018
Jager Heater
Reefkeeper lite (2 pc4 bars & Temp probe) 2013?
Coral vue power strip
Desktop IM Reactor in AIO chamber 12/2017
Thermo Chill Solution Electric chiller 5/2017 (Model # CSXC-1)

Media:
BRS 0.8 Activated Carbon
BRS GFO
Floss
Polybio Marine

Fish & Inverts:
Talbot Damsel 11/22/15
Azure Damsel 11/22/15
Lawnmower Blenny 11/13/17
1-2 Trochus Snails
Sexy shrimp 11-1-17
Mexican turbo 3-30-18
Emerald crab

....................
Yellow pistol shrimp 2014/15?-3/26/18

Coral:
Blue Mushroom 5/20/12
Green Button Palythoa 5/27/12
Green Clove Polyps 10/6/15
Green Digitata 2/23/16
Mini Maxi Carpet Anemone 11/28/11
Orange Branching Montipora 4/8/16
Oregon Tort 1/25/15
Pink Lemonade 3/11/17
Red monti cap 11/13/15
Bird of paradise 6/24/18
Orange acan 6/24/18
Christmas Mirabilis 7/1/18
Lime in the sky 7/1/18
Pink birdsnest 7/15/18
Unknown millipora red- bluish polys 8/2/18
Orange/green/blue acan 8/2/18
Yellow pavona 9-15-18
....................
Ricky’s Poison Ivy 3/17/18-3/25/18
Trachyphylia 1/3/18 - 3/26/18
Chalice 6/10/15 - 3/26-18
Arc fireworks acro 3-11-17 - 3-27-18
Scolyemia 1/3/18- 3/31/18
Pink birdsnest 6/6/18 - 6/25/18

Sometime around Mid 2017 I decided to go bare bottom and gradually removed more and more substrate and it is almost fully bare now.

I have never had a sump. Tried a mame skimmer for a few months around 2016 & again in 2017 but took it down as never seemed to do anything. I try to keep it simple with weekly water changes (25%), light feeding with whatever free samples i have with the exception of Reef roids for spot feeding the Scoly weekly and Hikari Seaweed Extreme Sinking pellets that the blenny LOVES. Once a week I may pour a 1/2 cap of Acropower or some reefbugs but usually not every week as i tend to forget about them both.

While its nothing to showcase compared to all the awesome and magnificent tanks I see on the site, I am proud of 2 accomplishments in particular.

One, the Oregon tort is my first semi success at keeping acropora alive with growth. While the color comes and goes and can be better it has grown from a small frag and now past the 3 year mark. When i first got it I accidentally broke it and ended up with a small frag about 1/2”. At one point it grew some but then showed some loss of flesh and I was worried it was a goner. My investment into more expensive lighting with the Razor paid off as thus far I have had more success along with other learnings and now proud to show before and after pictures below.

Secondly is my mini-maxi carpet anemone. I still remember buying the then green piece at the LFS for around $65 or so and the salesperson saying "you never know, one day it may turn into a beautiful reddish anemone". Not sure how she knew (felicia mccaulley) but over time it has colored up to the nice red it has today. I put it on a rock in my 6 gallon JBJ and after a week it settled on a rock with content. When i moved to my current tank i just picked up that rock and to this day it has still never moved since 2011 from the original rock.

One winter in 2012 I lost all power from a bad storm and had no generator and thought for sure all was lost. I remember my wife and I were able to use our propane stove to fill plastic water bottles with boiling water and stayed up all night over a 4 day stretch repeatedly swapping bottles what seemed like every 20-30 minutes and trying to wrap the tank as best we could. Battery powered airstones also came in handy and somehow the anemone made it and looks great today still on his favorite rock.

Below are a couple of shots (3-11-18)

Thats about all for now

ihavecrabs · Mar 11, 2018

Welcome!

That anemone is gorgeous. I think some of your first pictures added are not showing up. Definitely interested in seeing the progression for the Oregon Tort.

Mrod · Mar 11, 2018

ihavecrabs said:
Welcome!

That anemone is gorgeous. I think some of your first pictures added are not showing up. Definitely interested in seeing the progression for the Oregon Tort.

Thank you. Still learning how to put pictures up and all are there, just believe i accidentally messednup ont he 1st attempts and then accidentally dupped some. It a start and should get easier as i get used ot the site and embedding pics.

Mrod · Mar 21, 2018

So last week (3-17) I started doing vibrant. I’ve had red turf algae For at least 2 years now. Was always on a barnacle rock and stayed put but lately noticing the slow spread I always feared. Dealing with a snow storm but sometime this week will post a close up of barnacles rock where it is the worst so if successful I can have great before and after pictures. Wish me luck.

Mrod · Mar 21, 2018

Was able to get a good pic of some red turf for the before. Don’t mind the aipstasia, that’s a future project.

Mrod · Mar 25, 2018

Unexpected overnight loss with parameters close to normal for my tank except po4 usually 0 or close to 0 (sal 1.026, alk 8.5, ca 400. MG 1350, no3 1-2, po4 0.4) all below must have happened in hours as in morning all looked fine.

Out of the blue my poison ivy acro recently added is completely RTN and chalice and lobo look really bad and lobo might be just about dead.
Everything else seems fine but I’m more worried about cause at this point to try to prevent more death.
Possibly: 1) vibrant routine recently started? 2) Recent use of reef roids? 3) recent increase of magnesium as I have gradually gotten it over 1200 to 1350 over the last few weeks 4) recent increase of acropower usage? 5) razor sent back a few days back and put my backup t5 on a few days ago 6) increase flow a few weeks back 7)something else?

while easy to jump to vibrant conclusion I haven’t heard anyone else having coral damage so thinking it is not the cause. Vibrant will continue for a bit but remaining cautious and not dosing anymore now- so far no noticeable change in turf algae but will give it a little more time before calling it ineffective and stopping completely.
Only thing that may be vibrant related is I haven’t seen my pistol today and he is usually visible. Hopefully vibrant didn’t kill the shrimp as one other potential piece not yet solved. Had him for a few years and hope he is ok.

Looking into it, probably just TOO many changes at once that created this. Frustrating as usually i don’t like to add multiple variables and blaming myself right now. Will cut back on feedings- light I have no choice until razor comes back. Just did my weekly water change and will see how all looks the next few days before seeing if I should do another water change. Believe I disrupted rule #1- stability. in my attempts to do good believe I created more harm.

Mrod · Mar 26, 2018

3-26 water still cloudy some but waiting out like others say to do. The scoly looks a little worse so very nervous now, chalice looks really bad and trachy still just as bad. Trying not to disrupt much right now but think I might do another small water change tomorrow if the water doesn’t look better by then.
Pics I hate posting

Mrod · Mar 26, 2018

3-26 not able to wait out as now montipora peeling completely off and trachy and chalice even worse. Just did another 3 gallon water change and will do one more tomorrow’s night. Now thinking the vibrant had to be the main cause?? I’ve switched the led to t5 and back to led before when repaired with no issues. Also had higher no3 and po4 at times but this is a major crash and with cloudy water I never saw before think something about the vibrant must be the primary factor. Think the pistol shrimp is dead. Even the palythoa are all closed up, makes me wonder if whatever irritated them caused them to release poison in the water?

Mrod · Mar 27, 2018

3-27-18.
Scoly looks worse. Fireworks looks dead as just about completely peeled and bleached now.

Surprisingly the Oregon tort looks better and some polyps are out again as one positive. Another water change being done again tonight

Mrod · Mar 30, 2018

3-30-18
Good buddy of mine with large tanks stopped by today and said leave the scoly in as I think it is dead and was about to remove. He agrees it’s a long shot but said give it one chance since all seems back to normal now since things have settled down. Pic of scoly and I’m afraid it’s probably the last one.

He also tested for chloramine and rodi water, all fine as expected. Tank water fine also now.

Mrod · Sep 21, 2018

9-21-18
6 month update

Tank doing well with a few adds noted and pictured below. This time shot with more blues on.
The new Millepora seems to have lost a lot of its hair. Bird of paradise fell several times and that got glue over it and now in recovery mode, otherwise all is well.