My First build WATERBOX 70.2 mixed reef

[ReefRusty]

I dont blame her. They are ugly as sin but super cool! I saw a big leather at the fish store this week but it was just too darn big for the tank. I think if I have one I need to grow it myself to that big. So it will grow into the tank. It was easily the size of my hand. Also for the money it would cost I could buy a couple of cool small things. But tell your wife I agree but I still think its cool!

It was actually very cheap considering how big it is, could frag it and return the have back to the LFS. But agree is UGLY AF lol

 

[ReefRusty]

So tank update, no new hardware how ever now considering a automatic doser for all , calc and mag as I am away every couple weeks for 3 or 4 days.

NEW TO TANK is a new reverse branching hammer and a orange LOBO.

Tank is starting to look more of a marine tank and loving every minute of it.. days spent watching.

Reverse branching hammer

 

[DarkReefer]

Will have to get some more pics of the reverse, interested to see what it looks like in tank

 

[ReefRusty]

Will have to get some more pics of the reverse, interested to see what it looks like in tank

Hard to get a photo of it from my phone. Will try tomorrow afternoon. See if I can get a top shot. Or get the trusty Gopro out into the tank.

 

[ReefRusty]

So have started a Zoa colony on its own little island.

got scrambled eggs, sakura sunrise, pink mohawks, darth mauls & blue ice. And some nice Nivarna

 

[shew]

So tank update, no new hardware how ever now considering a automatic doser for all , calc and mag as I am away every couple weeks for 3 or 4 days.

NEW TO TANK is a new reverse branching hammer and a orange LOBO.

Tank is starting to look more of a marine tank and loving every minute of it.. days spent watching.

Reverse branching hammer

 

[ReefRusty]

Lol whhhat??

 

[ReefRusty]

Tank has been up and running for almost 3 months now. Everything going great tank corals and fish doing well. Have only lost 1 trochus snail as it was wedge between 2 rocks and couldnt flip over.

Over the weekend I may have cracked the code for the wife to have some interest in the tank now as she told me there is a Acan ready for me to pick up... WOW!

Furthermore While I picked this up I saw a nice Queensland Goniopora which has been thriving all weekend.

Sorry I can't get a better photo. Unfortunately my $2000 samsung S21 can't take great tank/coral photos.

 

[DarkReefer]

Nice! Glad to hear the mrs sounds like she's getting more onboard!
I think I bought the same goni when I had to go back in yesterday. They look great, mine hasn't come out that much yet though. I NEARLY bought some acans as well lol

 

[ReefRusty]

Bit of an update on the tank progress.

Couple new corals and moved some around. Ultra goni has been struggling lately so moved it up higher and appears to come out a little more.

Acan garden has started and zoa garden is growing with some new heads.

 

[JoshB94]

Sorry I can't get a better photo. Unfortunately my $2000 samsung S21 can't take great tank/coral photos.

So I just unboxed my S21 ultra tonight and of course first priority is coral pics. Gotta say I'm not impressed with the non-pro mode. My note 8 I think looks better. Losing SD card, headphone jack and a pen slot without case is making me second guess already. Did you find better settings for good pics?

 

[ReefRusty]

Hey mate yes I found using the standard camera on pro mode you can change the iso and frame rate which has a huge inpact on the picture. Chexk this out.. note my lights are on a ramp up at the moment.
And yes the no jack for head phones is annoying had to go buy a bluetooth pair. Does the s21 have the SD slot where the sim card goes?

So I just unboxed my S21 ultra tonight and of course first priority is coral pics. Gotta say I'm not impressed with the non-pro mode. My note 8 I think looks better. Losing SD card, headphone jack and a pen slot without case is making me second guess already. Did you find better settings for good pics?

 

[JoshB94]

Hey mate yes I found using the standard camera on pro mode you can change the iso and frame rate which has a huge inpact on the picture. Chexk this out.. note my lights are on a ramp up at the moment.
And yes the no jack for head phones is annoying had to go buy a bluetooth pair. Does the s21 have the SD slot where the

Yeah I use pro mode often but my note 8 looks decent on normal camera without pro mode. I'll get used to it I'm sure. No SD card slot... very frustrating.

 

[ReefRusty]

Been a while since a last update.

Have recently purchased my first green stem yellow tip torch coral.

While at the LFS qnd talking with the owner he let me borrow a PAR metre to test. I have always been wondering why my corals at the bottom have been struggling a lil bit specifically my gonis.. all parameters are in check and have been stable but there was 1 extra thing missing. PAR.

first registered 40 on the bottom of the tank and where my gonis were sitting the PAR reading was 60-80 head to the top of the tank 1" below surface it read 150par.

After playing around with some settings I have raised my intensity from 55% to 90% giving me a PAR reading of 290 at the surface 160 middle and 80-120 along the bottom. Have done this so it will acclimatise over a 3 week period and wont shock the corals in one hit.

Have amped the whites up from 5% to 24 as per the AB + setting on the Radion xr15 g5 pro lights. See some cool pics.

Have also increased my flow on the octo varios pump to hopefully cycle water better. Any advice or tips regarding this would be handy.

 

[ShepherdReefer]

Looking great.

 

[DarkReefer]

Looks good mate!
Interesting about the PAR. Wonder how much mine is at the bottom of the tank. Sometimes I worry it's too high, but it's on 60% acclimation mode and been on that almost since the start so maybe it's not that bad.

You've probably already seen it but this might be useful Introduction to Flow

On my set up, I have the Octo set on 2 which is around 8x sump turn over for memory (based on just a rounded figure I use of approx 250L total tank, think the actual is 262L, but unsure if that also include ATO reservoir so I've always just rounded down just in case), but flow inside the DP using the nero 3 is around x26 (so around 4,628LPH on a variable setting so it ebs and flows a little bit).

From the quick research I've done it seems people want to have their water in the sump for longer (heating/skimming & so on). Supposedly back in the day it was something more like 10-20x turn over and that in recent years it seems preference is to have reduced, but I've seen people mentioning even as low as 4x now days.

It's probably a bit of a mixed bag but I guess it's whatever works for the individual and their tank. Any particular reason you've changed yours or just trying something out?

 

[ReefRusty]

Looks good mate!
Interesting about the PAR. Wonder how much mine is at the bottom of the tank. Sometimes I worry it's too high, but it's on 60% acclimation mode and been on that almost since the start so maybe it's not that bad.

You've probably already seen it but this might be useful Introduction to Flow

On my set up, I have the Octo set on 2 which is around 8x sump turn over for memory (based on just a rounded figure I use of approx 250L total tank, think the actual is 262L, but unsure if that also include ATO reservoir so I've always just rounded down just in case), but flow inside the DP using the nero 3 is around x26 (so around 4,628LPH on a variable setting so it ebs and flows a little bit).

From the quick research I've done it seems people want to have their water in the sump for longer (heating/skimming & so on). Supposedly back in the day it was something more like 10-20x turn over and that in recent years it seems preference is to have reduced, but I've seen people mentioning even as low as 4x now days.

It's probably a bit of a mixed bag but I guess it's whatever works for the individual and their tank. Any particular reason you've changed yours or just trying something out?

Thanks for the information, there isnt really any reason and or chasing numbers, just wanted to see if it makes any difference thought a higher turnover of water from sump to tank would help, but doing this has made my second filter sock chamber sound like Niagara falls even with a silencer. think by the end of the weekend I may change this back to its normal setting that it was on, which was setting 2 on the same octo pump.

Do you have to turn everything off pump, skimmer, Nero to feed corals? I find even at 1% it creates to much flow and food is flushed away from the corals.

 

[DarkReefer]

Thanks for the information, there isnt really any reason and or chasing numbers, just wanted to see if it makes any difference thought a higher turnover of water from sump to tank would help, but doing this has made my second filter sock chamber sound like Niagara falls even with a silencer. think by the end of the weekend I may change this back to its normal setting that it was on, which was setting 2 on the same octo pump.

Do you have to turn everything off pump, skimmer, Nero to feed corals? I find even at 1% it creates to much flow and food is flushed away from the corals.

I've near on given up feeding corals efficiently lol.
The pellets just go everywhere and the fish even eat them! I haven't tried turning off everything though. Seems like a pain in the butt thing to have to do every time.
Mysis I don't enjoy putting in as much these days after being told all the liquid the mysis is frozen in raises pH and to filter/sift it before putting it in the tank... again, another pain in the butt.

 

[ReefRusty]

I've near on given up feeding corals efficiently lol.
The pellets just go everywhere and the fish even eat them! I haven't tried turning off everything though. Seems like a pain in the butt thing to have to do every time.
Mysis I don't enjoy putting in as much these days after being told all the liquid the mysis is frozen in raises pH and to filter/sift it before putting it in the tank... again, another pain in the butt.

Also heard it's full of phosphates to so need to rinse it a couple times.. stupid I say.

Yeah can be a pain direct feeding corals. See all the new corals ocean marine got?

 

[CrimsonTide]

I turn off my pumps and wavemakers to feed corals and my fish. Fish mainly bc my clowns host a filter overflow so its hard to feed them without the food getting sucked up. But I too find I have to turn off my flow to feed my corals. It definitely takes a little more time.