"Re-Build" Thread after Procrastinating for Too Long

[ScottB]

I never did a build thread, but darnit! I want another stinkin badge! So here goes:

Sadly, I never really kept photos of this 2014 build of my RSR 525. I was a bit rushed at the time, and was just focussed on getting the move from RSR 250 done safely. My livestock all transitioned well, but thought I would share a condensed, picture rich, timeline of how I got to the point of having to rip my reef apart. Up until now, I must say the ride has been pretty smooth. Sure, I lost a coral or three here/there. A fish or two each year for one reason or another. Had a mild ich outbreak that took a beaten up flame angel. But no nuisance algae, NO DINOS and no major fish loss over those 5+ years.

Here is my earliest surviving picture from 2016. These were mostly no-name carry over corals and 60 pounds of very old live rock from my previous tanks. I added another 50+ lbs of dry rock. All piled up high and tight. This aquascape set the stage for challenges I would come to face a couple years later...

 

[ScottB]

So fast forward a couple years to 2018. Things are still going great. Swapped in/out a few corals that overgrew their spots, but no major revisions. Still some decent flow for everything, but starting to get some shadows.

Also, note how much the orange monti is spreading. And the green Hollywood stunner top right is spreading and stinging. Just how close to the weir overflow teeth is that monti getting now...

 

[ScottB]

Who does not NEED a frag tank?

So lets go downstairs to MY part of the house. Again, I don't have earlier pics but this is some time in 2018. I began with a 30 breeder (Deep Blue), LifeReef HOB overflow, 20C trigger sump. Got sick of the overflow situation so commenced to drill the tank -- but not before confirming on the Deep Blue site the back panel was Non Tempered (NT). Clever right?

Well, at the bottom of the documentation was a "disclaimer" that went unnoticed by me. They reserved the right to use Tempered glass any time they felt like it. There is no other sound like that of a tempered panel going "POOF!".

As luck would have it the PetCo $1 per gallon sale was on so got a 40B. Who does not NEED MORE frag space? So I picked up the last of the Deep Blue 80G frag tanks (already drilled) and tied the two together. That is what is pictured here.

What is not pictured was my first experience with ddddddddinoflagellates that commenced 2 weeks after tying the systems together, diluting my already low nutrients to nada, and providing all the new, sterile, surface area any dino would just love. And love they did. A month of my life -- wasted.

 

[ScottB]

Oh, and I should also point out that my wire management skills have gotten worse since that pic was taken. I said this area was MY part of the house, so I will keep things as tidy as I please.

 

[ScottB]

So, by late 2018 the "challenges" I ominously referred to in the initial post are beginning to spiral a bit. I really need to bite the bullet and get in there to cut back the colonies, rip out the monti, purple/green slimer, the stunner blah blah. All my old no-name stuff is shading out my precious (and microscopic) $X00.00 frags from Jason, WWC, TSA, Chaotic...

So what did I do? I went out and bought a better light of course! The 60 inch, ATI 8 bulb which doubles as a space heater for the family room. Over the ensuing months, my 2-Part consumption kept climbing. I went from 80ml to 120 per day... That is a good thing, right?

Here is a pic with the new light.

 

[ScottB]

Upgrading the light did temporarily "solve" most of my shading problems. And the sticks and montis loved the new light. So like every accomplished procrastinator, I "bought" some more time.

I bought a little more time by taking out the stunner chalice top right. Also broke up some monti in the middle. Dropped in a nice purple stylo stick(middle left), and a nice Raspberry Mili (upper middle).

About then, another challenge became apparent.

 

[motortrendz]

Looks great. And I've made the tempered glass oops once too. Ever since then I dont even bother looking at the manufactures pages bc they all say the same that basically if they have left over they can use it in any panel. So I just check now. So far I'm 10/10. Lol. But the system looks awesome.

 

[ScottB]

So by now, more of my expensive frags are beginning to make their way into the display. I want them to be in prominent locations, right?

Looks great. And I've made the tempered glass oops once too. Ever since then I dont even bother looking at the manufactures pages bc they all say the same that basically if they have left over they can use it in any panel. So I just check now. So far I'm 10/10. Lol. But the system looks awesome.

Yeah, there "should" have been a tempered sticker on the back like there was on the bottom. And I now know there are other ways to determine if it is tempered or not. Live/learn.

 

[ScottB]

Well there really is just not that much real estate left on my rock pile. Further, I am finding that my flow into the middle sections is getting restricted by all the coral growing toward the front of the tank. I have detritus and chunks of food settling into my colonies. That can really set off some STN if left unaddressed.

It is obvious what I have to do. So instead I bought another gyre and another MP40; two of each on a 5 foot tank.

Bought more time!

 

[motortrendz]

So by now, more of my expensive frags are beginning to make their way into the display. I want them to be in prominent locations, right?

Yeah, there "should" have been a tempered sticker on the back like there was on the bottom. And I now know there are other ways to determine if it is tempered or not. Live/learn.

Lol. Should. But hardly ever. Computer screen and polarized glasses are the best way

 

[ScottB]

Now I am reaching the next level of procrastinating: Justifying to myself.

My frag system is too small to handle all the coral I need to remove from the Display. Need more frag volume! So breaking down the rock stack has to wait (again).

I am adamant about limiting my water systems to JUST 2: the Display upstairs and the frag system downstairs. So I added another 80G Seapora and 44G trigger sump.

That brings my frag system up to ~300G broken up like this (and pictured below):
2 X 80G shallow (SPS); four MP40s, two Aquatic Life Hybrids running 3 Hydras each
1 X 40G breeder (LPS); 2 X MP10s, 6 bulb ATI
20G trigger sump
39G trigger sump (w fuge)
44G trigger sump (w lit frag space)
Core 20 return with backup Sicce
APEX everything
DIY ATO.
Undersized Reef Octo skimmer
A ton of fat, severely overfed fish. The Starry Blenny's pectoral fins can't even touch the bottom his belly is so big. The Orange shoulder tank drops turds the size of my 6 lines. The result of all this is 6 overflowing socks every other day.

 

[motortrendz]

Very cool. Are all the frag systems separate? Or are the sumps tied together. They look nice and clean. My frag tank is still trying to beat off the green and brown hair algae.

 

[ScottB]

Very cool. Are all the frag systems separate? Or are the sumps tied together. They look nice and clean. My frag tank is still trying to beat off the green and brown hair algae.

The sumps are all connected. The overflow lines and return lines "criss-cross". I think this is my latest configuration. I had to make some changes in flows to get my ATO section stabilized.

 

[ScottB]

Now we are up to present day pretty much. This past weekend I actually BIT THE BULLET. Before moving on to that though, lets look at what I would do differently to keep my SPS house in order:

a) I will never use 1lb rock per gallon again. While I love the stability it provides, it is just too limiting on FLOW.
b) I will never pile up rock against the back wall for the same reason: FLOW
c) I will never stack rock (much) beyond 1/2 of the water height. Flow is one reason. As important: corals don't do well when growing out of the water.
d) I will no longer affix acros directly to my rockwork. Instead, I will affix them to a rock they can encrust upon, and attach that to my scape so that I can pry it off when necessary for pruning or moving.
e) No more no-name anything that grows so quick I cannot give it away fast enough. You are welcome to come by the house and take away slimer and monti cap and monti digi. $10 a pound, no limit.

I really do appreciate the comments suggesting it looks fine "as is". But up close you can really see that this crowding is unsustainable. There is a lot of warfare going on here at every colony margin. Inside several colonies is slow STN due to no flow and trapped food. Anything deeper than 12" has been shaded out dead or dying. My CUC and urchins cannot reach vast areas of rock, allowing the vermetids to propagate like mad. And who knows what is brewing in the way back hollows...

Here is the last image before the hammer and chisel came out:

 

[ScottB]

And here are a couple pics after clearing ~40lbs of rock & coral. Oh, and forgot to mention that the purple stylo has grown forward so much that I cannot get a Mag Float across the front glass.

Obviously I am working from left to right. The far right side was actually re-scaped a year or so ago, but you can see it is still quite crowded. Hoping to just trim that up a little.

The tank is going to look rough for quite a while. I will post another picture when I start to backfill with the new rock work.

Thanks for reading. Happy reefing!

 

[drawman]

Following Scott!

I read in another thread that you think Dinos dropped your Potassium and Iodine. It seems like low iodine is common as it depletes pretty quickly but you actually had 0 Potassium?? That seems crazy to me.

Post ostreopsis I know something has been weird in my tank where coralline algae won't take off. It would form very weak patches and only very recently have I seen a couple very small solid spots. Makes me want to run an ICP test!

 

[ScottB]

Following Scott!

I read in another thread that you think Dinos dropped your Potassium and Iodine. It seems like low iodine is common as it depletes pretty quickly but you actually had 0 Potassium?? That seems crazy to me.

Post ostreopsis I know something has been weird in my tank where coralline algae won't take off. It would form very weak patches and only very recently have I seen a couple very small solid spots. Makes me want to run an ICP test!

Hey thanks Drawman.

And thanks for checking me on that comment. While my Iodine was zero, my K was testing at 230 and the ICP came back as 340 (versus a 400 reference). I am guessing the ICP is a better number and the salifert is not super accurate.

I can't really prove the theory that dinos deplete I & K actually. While my dino affected frag system was 0/0, my unaffected display system was also low K (358 versus 400) and .01 versus .06 Iodine. So there is a difference, but not sure I could call it conclusive evidence. Much is similar between the two systems (parameters, corals, fish, feeding, WC, etc) there are countless subtle differences.

I am about 1/2 way through my aquascape project now on this display tank. Not pretty at all right now. Going slow to let things settle. 2-part consumption is down about 25% as I disrupted probably 2/5ths or more of the SPS colonies in the first sweep. Will get a pic posted later today.

 

[drawman]

Hey thanks Drawman.

And thanks for checking me on that comment. While my Iodine was zero, my K was testing at 230 and the ICP came back as 340 (versus a 400 reference). I am guessing the ICP is a better number and the salifert is not super accurate.

I can't really prove the theory that dinos deplete I & K actually. While my dino affected frag system was 0/0, my unaffected display system was also low K (358 versus 400) and .01 versus .06 Iodine. So there is a difference, but not sure I could call it conclusive evidence. Much is similar between the two systems (parameters, corals, fish, feeding, WC, etc) there are countless subtle differences.

I am about 1/2 way through my aquascape project now on this display tank. Not pretty at all right now. Going slow to let things settle. 2-part consumption is down about 25% as I disrupted probably 2/5ths or more of the SPS colonies in the first sweep. Will get a pic posted later today.

Yeah I wonder if your salt mix was just a little low on Potassium? Are you dosing Lugols or anything else to help with K and I? I do not doubt that dinos can rapidly reduce some elements and would be a fun experiment to run if money were no object lol.

Will look forward to the pics!

 

[ScottB]

Yeah I wonder if your salt mix was just a little low on Potassium? Are you dosing Lugols or anything else to help with K and I? I do not doubt that dinos can rapidly reduce some elements and would be a fun experiment to run if money were no object lol.

Will look forward to the pics!

I did dose up using Lugol's and potassium chloride. Been going slow with it as I am not sure I trust the salifert K kit. Red Sea Iodine kit works fine. A bit tedious as you have to also mix a "control" sample.

 

[drawman]

I did dose up using Lugol's and potassium chloride. Been going slow with it as I am not sure I trust the salifert K kit. Red Sea Iodine kit works fine. A bit tedious as you have to also mix a "control" sample.

I would probably side with the ICP as well. At the very least that way you won't overdose.