My Big Beautiful Budget Breeder Build

[najer]

Looking very nice.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Acans look phenomenal man. Well done.

Thanks man! I’m amazed at the growth of some of them, they where all tiny little 1-2 head frags a few months ago.. I feed them at least a couple times a week sometimes every other day.

This one is becoming one of my favorites

When I got it in September

 

[Retro Reefer]

Looking very nice.

Yes.. I’m enjoying one of those little moments we discussed

 

[najer]

I love just chilling on a Sunday afternoon with the tank!

 

[Retro Reefer]

I love just chilling on a Sunday afternoon with the tank!

Be sure to share a nip with your tank Them Monks brew some great beers and ale’s

 

[najer]

Be sure to share a nip with your tank Them Monks brew some great beers and ale’s

Interesting, when I stopped vodka dosing, it got a splash every time I opened a new bottle so twice a week or so, it was because I switched the skimmer off.
My caulerpa growth has taken off which is fine, took two years to balance it last time!

 

[geekengineer]

I just got done reading this thread and wonderful build and reef going there. Really looks like you mostly know what your doing to keep the reef tank fairly healthy.

I wish I could do something like that. I would add one fish to my 29 gal tank 20 gal sump setup and all hell would break loose with a bacteria bloom from hell. It would be so bad it suffocated the fish and it would die I was pretty sure I didn't have any ammonia or nitrites so I don't what was going on exactly to cause such a large bloom. Anyway I quit running the tank after a while because of a frustration and some other distractions. I am sort of contemplating a 40 gal breeder too next go around and hope my luck is better the next time or at least I figure out what I'm doing wrong.

 

[Retro Reefer]

I just got done reading this thread and wonderful build and reef going there. Really looks like you mostly know what your doing to keep the reef tank fairly healthy.

I wish I could do something like that. I would add one fish to my 29 gal tank 20 gal sump setup and all hell would break loose with a bacteria bloom from hell. It would be so bad it suffocated the fish and it would die I was pretty sure I didn't have any ammonia or nitrites so I don't what was going on exactly to cause such a large bloom. Anyway I quit running the tank after a while because of a frustration and some other distractions. I am sort of contemplating a 40 gal breeder too next go around and hope my luck is better the next time or at least I figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Thanks for stopping by and welcome to R2R!!

Bacterial blooms are fairly common in new tanks and will strip your water of oxygen very quickly which is most likely the cause of your fish deaths, it’s best to let your tank completely cycle and stabilize before adding any fish or corals... if you do experience a bloom you need to force oxygen into water by pointing power heads towards surface, running protein skimmers or by adding air stones.. a cheap UV filter will quickly clear up most blooms in a day or two.

 

[geekengineer]

Thanks for the information. I hadn't thought about moving the power heads to stir in oxygen that is a good idea. I did get a UV filter but didn't seem to help enough and I also had a protein skimmer.. I thought I been running it for about 3-4 months before putting a fish in, but maybe it was sooner than I remember. I did have a few hermit crabs and maybe two or three very small corals and that seemed OK until I try to add a fish. I wonder if I didn't have enough water flow. Anyways hope I'm not hijacking your thread too much..

 

[Retro Reefer]

Anyways hope I'm not hijacking your thread too much..

No worries, my thread is always open to hijackings Good luck with your next build and feel free to ask any questions you may have, I’m no expert but happy to point you in the right direction.

 

[Retro Reefer]

My new froggy getting puffy this morning.. love me some squishy corals

 

[RichtheReefer21]

L

My new froggy getting puffy this morning.. love me some squishy corals

Looks very happy. Love torches and octo/frogspawn

 

[Retro Reefer]

Little over 3 weeks growth on the SD Venom..

 

[Retro Reefer]

L

Looks very happy. Love torches and octo/frogspawn

Agree.. years ago one of my first corals was a wall hammer, easy to care for and I love the motion. I do feel the stick bug coming on but I’m trying to keep it at bay..

 

[Crabby48]

What do you feed your acans? They look good

 

[Victoria M]

I love just chilling on a Sunday afternoon with the tank!

Not that I want a beer, but Man I want a martini soooo bad! That looks like a great time!

 

[Victoria M]

My new froggy getting puffy this morning.. love me some squishy corals

Everything is looking bonnie! I love squishy corals too, but I have not met a coral I do not like so...

 

[najer]

No worries, my thread is always open to hijackings

Spam, new yesterday, hopefully polyps out tomorrow, new nutrient export system to try!

 

[Retro Reefer]

What do you feed your acans? They look good

Thanks.. I take about 5 ml of tank water and mix a small amount Marine Cuisine (1/2 cube) with about 1/8 tsp of Reef Roids then and add a pinch of micro omega one pellets and a couple drops of selcon.. I use a 5 ml syringe with a short piece of air line tubing attached to target feed each head a small amount of food, all LPS get a share of that mixture and seem to like it.

 

[Retro Reefer]

Everything is looking bonnie! I love squishy corals too, but I have not met a coral I do not like so...

Thanks Victoria.. guess I’m the same way, I love (and want) them all