Reefnjunkies 400 gallon inwall

[MatteZ]

I love your Marine Betta! It is one of my favorite fish. Mine is just spoiled and i have to feed it with tongs

 

[CCauthers]

Any updates?

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Any updates?

I'm sure I've said this more than once but I'll need to break out the camera.

I'm a couple weeks from what I think will be 1 year into the reboot and things are doing well, getter better each week/month.

I stopped doing the reefers moonshine method and I believe my acros are thanking me. I say that only due to the results I'm seeing after going back old school of weekly 60 gallon water changes and I've switched fr Red Sea blue to Tropic Marin

I will for sure bust out the camera for the 1 year anniversary, last count I'm at 65 different acros in the tank, they range from 1" frags to the largest maybe being 6"

I have one island I may make an acro island since sadly I feel I've no more room on the main rockwork. I'm presently "upgrading" pieces. If it has no lineage and I'm not a fan it gets replaced with a new lineaged piece I required from the old list I had built

Thank you asking and looking!!

 

[JCOLE]

Any updates? Tank looks great!!

 

[Reefnjunkie]

How did I have time in the past to stay current on this thread LOL

For theost part all is well in my system after a year plus since the reboot. I have acros that I had from prior to the disaster that still haven't turned the corner- knock on wood they aren't dying but they also aren't thriving. Some of those pieces are growing/encrusting but still haven't gotten beautiful again.

Perfect example is my Lady in Pink, I've had it probably 16 months and zero growth, still the same 3 branches.

On the other hand my Del Fuego started as a plum size and is close to 8" diameter (before I fragged half of it)

Most pieces are doing well and it's handful of pieces that just haven't rounded the corner.
Anything new I add does great so I've a lot of "frags" in my tank, it looks a little barren.

On another note my designer clown female has been laying eggs about every 10-14 and my over flow box which is 48x6x6 has a few hundred baby clowns that I feed TDO food to. Largest is maybe 1/4" of an inch (still looks like larvae to me).
I hadn't initially intended on "raising" clowns since I never thought they'd survive but after about a month seeing her to continue to lay eggs, hatch and replenish what ever may have died from prior hatches I figured I had to attempt to (being she's not stopping LOL.
I've been feeding algae paste for the newly hatched and then the TDO A and B1 for the other stages. At some point I would transfer them to an attached frag tank that's empty so they can have the whole thing.

If some fish come out of this that would be cool but I'm fine too if she'd (please) stop laying eggs LOL.

Here's a few cell pics from when I had the pumps off to feed the babies (I do that 2x a day, which is all the time I can toss at them unfortunately)

 

[Reefnjunkie]

This shows how much time Ive had to stay up to speed on things

Coraline runs strong in this one it does LOL

Thanks for all the positive support that kept me going, the time will come again tonliar nice colony shots

 

[CoralWealth]

Hey man! How is everything going now?

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Hey man! How is everything going now?

I shouldn't complain- but I am...........

Things are growing but I'm no where near were I used to be. It has me second guessing not replacing all the PVC plumbing when I rebooted only for the fact that things aren't growing crazy like they used too, I have pieces that Ive had for probably a few years and show minimal growth. I still get a frag here or there that will RTN or have pieces show STN- crazy as it is, prior to disaster tissue necrosis was something that was nearly unheard of for many years-

Ive gotten a recent water sample test back from ATI and am hoping a lot of whats happening is my depletion of Iodine

I say I shouldn't complain because I know others have had similar or worse experiences but....( again with that but word) looking at my past experiences over the years Im not happy with what is happening, I keep hoping things will turn the corner-;Yawn How I feel the tank is doing is refelcted in my lack of posting and no pictures- Boo hoo, poor me right

Humbling hobby this is, I'll never give up tho LOL

 

[bubbaque]

I shouldn't complain- but I am...........

Things are growing but I'm no where near were I used to be. It has me second guessing not replacing all the PVC plumbing when I rebooted only for the fact that things aren't growing crazy like they used too, I have pieces that Ive had for probably a few years and show minimal growth. I still get a frag here or there that will RTN or have pieces show STN- crazy as it is, prior to disaster tissue necrosis was something that was nearly unheard of for many years-

Ive gotten a recent water sample test back from ATI and am hoping a lot of whats happening is my depletion of Iodine

I say I shouldn't complain because I know others have had similar or worse experiences but....( again with that but word) looking at my past experiences over the years Im not happy with what is happening, I keep hoping things will turn the corner-;Yawn How I feel the tank is doing is refelcted in my lack of posting and no pictures- Boo hoo, poor me right

Humbling hobby this is, I'll never give up tho LOL

Are you doing water changes?

 

[Gabaghoul]

I know the feeling. Its part of the hobby. Last year I had a a number of pieces RTN/STN on me over a period of 2 weeks. 30-40% of of my corals. Have no idea why, I suspected some pollutant got into the tank like detergent from laundry or something like that but really all speculation, but I kept at it and now everything is cooking. Right after that period, which I was wavering on even continuing, I added some carbon, did some water changes, kept my numbers as stable as possible and sure enough all my pieces, even some that looked completely dead came right back. Patience is key. It took like 3 or 4 months before I saw any new growth. You gotta shake that distraught, that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach, that comes from those episodes because it is inevitable that they will occur to the best of us. Push thru and you'll be happy.

BTW, I havent done a water change in about 7 months. I have a GeoReef calcium reactor. I use KH aragonite and magnesium in there. I add Red Sea Trace Elements a couple of times a week. I add RedSea Coral Nutrition once a week. Feed the fish. Sometimes I add some coral food. And it seems to be doing well.

One thing I do every week, and I would recommend to anyone, is I blow off all my corals with a MaxiJet 1200 every week on Saturday. I do this to remove any types of pests or debris that may settle on my corals. I especially blow around the bases. Keeps them clean and helps them a little more then relying solely on my 4 MP60's. I also try to remove any nuisance algae that may start to grow, ie. bubble algae. Again, this just helps the corals maintain the upper hand.

After after, its just like gardening, just under water.

Glad to see you're still in it. I still have a bunch of your pieces in my tank. ;-)

John

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Are you doing water changes?

I am, but I haven't in two weeks, prior to that was weekly 65 gallons. A few months back I switched back to Kent from Red Sea blue only because back in the glory days I used Kent and had for years. I honestly was goin got give Andreas moonshine method a try once again, its partly the reason for the most recent ATI water analysis-That concept just makes sense and I was barley doing water changes (maybe 10 percent every 4 months, to mainly vacuum the sand) at all for the years things were at the best.

I know the feeling. Its part of the hobby. Last year I had a a number of pieces RTN/STN on me over a period of 2 weeks. 30-40% of of my corals. Have no idea why, I suspected some pollutant got into the tank like detergent from laundry or something like that but really all speculation, but I kept at it and now everything is cooking. Right after that period, which I was wavering on even continuing, I added some carbon, did some water changes, kept my numbers as stable as possible and sure enough all my pieces, even some that looked completely dead came right back. Patience is key. It took like 3 or 4 months before I saw any new growth. You gotta shake that distraught, that empty feeling in the pit of your stomach, that comes from those episodes because it is inevitable that they will occur to the best of us. Push thru and you'll be happy.

BTW, I havent done a water change in about 7 months. I have a GeoReef calcium reactor. I use KH aragonite and magnesium in there. I add Red Sea Trace Elements a couple of times a week. I add RedSea Coral Nutrition once a week. Feed the fish. Sometimes I add some coral food. And it seems to be doing well.

One thing I do every week, and I would recommend to anyone, is I blow off all my corals with a MaxiJet 1200 every week on Saturday. I do this to remove any types of pests or debris that may settle on my corals. I especially blow around the bases. Keeps them clean and helps them a little more then relying solely on my 4 MP60's. I also try to remove any nuisance algae that may start to grow, ie. bubble algae. Again, this just helps the corals maintain the upper hand.

After after, its just like gardening, just under water.

Glad to see you're still in it. I still have a bunch of your pieces in my tank. ;-)

John

Good to hear about still having some of my pieces John, Ive acquired quite a few back but maybe you have something I cant live without, if you ship that is
Glad to hear things are well!

I too blow off all the sticks, mainly because food particles may get stuck in the branches and once it decomposes it usually causes necrosis, its always something Ive recommended especially when you have massive colonies ( ahhh the glory days LOL)

A little necrosis wont deter me after what I experienced- I'm honestly contemplating replumbing my entire system which is no small feet, given all the equipment thats fed off my sump and where its all mounted/located. Im sure its about 80 linear feet of PVC and 40 elbows/tees and then there are all the tru-unions

OMG Im in deep HAHA

 

[Gabaghoul]

I am, but I haven't in two weeks, prior to that was weekly 65 gallons. A few months back I switched back to Kent from Red Sea blue only because back in the glory days I used Kent and had for years. I honestly was goin got give Andreas moonshine method a try once again, its partly the reason for the most recent ATI water analysis-That concept just makes sense and I was barley doing water changes (maybe 10 percent every 4 months, to mainly vacuum the sand) at all for the years things were at the best.



Good to hear about still having some of my pieces John, Ive acquired quite a few back but maybe you have something I cant live without, if you ship that is
Glad to hear things are well!

I too blow off all the sticks, mainly because food particles may get stuck in the branches and once it decomposes it usually causes necrosis, its always something Ive recommended especially when you have massive colonies ( ahhh the glory days LOL)

A little necrosis wont deter me after what I experienced- I'm honestly contemplating replumbing my entire system which is no small feet, given all the equipment thats fed off my sump and where its all mounted/located. Im sure its about 80 linear feet of PVC and 40 elbows/tees and then there are all the tru-unions

OMG Im in deep HAHA

This is what you sent me 4 years ago....

Tyree Blue Matrix-1
BC Soda Popinski-2
Tyree Ice Fire-3 (Never made the trip across country. You were going to replace it for me one day. )
BC Schizopolis-4
Ulitimate Frags Ultimate Tri Color-5
Aqua SD Rainbow-6
Daniks Smurf Goblin-7
RMF last Dragon-8
SC Tierra Del Fuego-9
Ruby Red Granulosa-10
Pinky the Bear-11 (Lost during the episode I described in my earlier post. Very sad. Love that coral. )
Pro Corals Rainbow-12

All the others continue to grow.

 

[Reefnjunkie]

After continued slow to no growth (and still occasionally seeing frags just do nothing but slowly recede back to where nothing is left to salvage) I decided to do the only thing I didn't do when I did the big reset.

I replaced all my rigid PVC plumbing. That was no small task I'll add LOL.

Basically 3 full days. One day was just the display, the other 2 we're the frag tanks and plumbing that feed the UV and chiller. Close to 70 linear feet with plenty of elbows.

This was just done last weekend and the weekend prior. I didn't see much if any difference in acros after the tank plumbing was replaced BUT once all the other PVC was replaced, that was a different story.

2 specific acros I hadn't see polyp extend in maybe 16 months or longer looked almost like milliporas.

Coincidence, perhaps, do I think so...NO

I'm so gun shy I'm honestly holding back from posting more at this time. I'm crossing my fingers and will report back

FWIW-I did stop doing water changes and went back to the reefers moonshine method about 4-5 months ago

Hopefully I'll be posting more because that means.........

 

[coralbeauties]

wow who would ever figure. I hope the improvements continue!!
Jeff

 

[Reefnjunkie]

This is what you sent me 4 years ago....

Tyree Blue Matrix-1
BC Soda Popinski-2
Tyree Ice Fire-3 (Never made the trip across country. You were going to replace it for me one day. )
BC Schizopolis-4
Ulitimate Frags Ultimate Tri Color-5
Aqua SD Rainbow-6
Daniks Smurf Goblin-7
RMF last Dragon-8
SC Tierra Del Fuego-9
Ruby Red Granulosa-10
Pinky the Bear-11 (Lost during the episode I described in my earlier post. Very sad. Love that coral. )
Pro Corals Rainbow-12

All the others continue to grow.

I totally overlooked your note about the ice fire. It is one of the pieces that I repurchased and is presently growing out and doing well. I know it's been a long time but would absolutely follow through with what I said I would do if you're interested when it's time.

So it's been a couple weeks since I replaced all the remaining plumbing and I sit here shaking my head and what I believe the problem I ran into years ago that wiped everything out acro related.

Although I cannot be certain and comes down to one of two things in my opinion either something living in the pipes themselves which seems extremely unlikely or the darn check valves that I added before things went downhill.

I'm leaning towards the check valves, but it's time to move on... thinking about it still makes me sick

I added these 2 weeks ago and am already seeing signs of them encrusting the epoxy

Master Yoda
JF solar flare
RMF acid trip
CC Bahama Mama
JF homewrecker
RMF psycho circus
JF unknown
MattV tri color
No name wild tenius
ASD Rainbow

 

[Reefnjunkie]

2.5 years later and as much as I'm leery to post it- well actually I'm not even going to type it, lets just imply I found some magical elixir that turned things around 180 degrees and Im presently reliving the glory days. The biggest difference being Ill never find most of the acros I once had, but Im always looking

As much as the past post/reboot was going ok things still stalled out. I have frags that I had reacquired that literally did not grow at all for over a year and a half- very very few deaths a couple here and there but zero growth. Then comes the magical koolaid and BAAAAM -whooda thunk it - maybe a coincidence

This hobby is something that's for sure.

More to follow thanks for looking!

 

[Troylee]

Omg-

Well its been FOREVER and I have slacked on updates-Man life threw a crazy month at me in 3 weeks it was;

an attempted homicide to my wife that turned into a suicide in my garage (sis in laws unstable, now dead, boyfirend) :squigglemouth:

Thats a long story but I got my family out of the house while "crazy train" offed himself in my garage-it was a 6 hour stand off with the swat team etc and I kept saying if you are goint to shoot tear gas into thge garage PLEASE dont shoot my tank I have been working on for months-I reminded them of that at least 5x when drawing out diagrams of my garage- "this area here "X" has a 400 gallon tank-shoot the canisters in this direction"

Father in law has massive stroke-doing better now

Wife has triple disc fushion in her lower back-doing GREAT mpw

Brother in law passes-very sad but it was something that was not unexpected-still terrible tho

I'm looking forward to the "new year", I just hope the Myan;s are wrong so I can enjoy my tank

blah blah blah

Well while I stayed home with the wife while she recovered from surgery it gave me 2 1/2 solid weeks to work on the tank.

I'll skip all the little updates and try to jump close to where I am now-the tank is "done" but there is a mountain of "fine tuning" that needs to be done.

Here a few pics;

I will try and post more later, I am working on getting the frag tank up and going as well as organizing "the mess"

Oh the memories of that light! Haha! Man this was a long time ago!

 

[danreef55]

Oh the memories of that light! Haha! Man this was a long time ago!

And I thought I was having a bad year!

 

[djf91]

Oh the memories of that light! Haha! Man this was a long time ago!

I don’t mean to be a jerk but I really liked the look of this tank before the radions. Back at the beginning of this thread.

 

[Reefnjunkie]

Oh the memories of that light! Haha! Man this was a long time ago!

That was a monster of alight you built- It grew corals well and the color was sweet!!

And I thought I was having a bad year!

Thanks, hopefully the worst is a thing of the past, I feel it is

I don’t mean to be a jerk but I really liked the look of this tank before the radions. Back at the beginning of this thread.

Not a jerk at all, I honestly wish I never swapped the AI for the G4s. I have Red Sea LED, AI, G4s and T5s, the AI in my experience are better than all of them.
I did add a 4 bulb 60" hybrid fixture that 4 of the G4s sit in and then I have 2 (soon to be a 3rd) G4 for the front part of the tank.

The T5 was a good add I feel.

This weekend I cleaned the tank (SMH) so I can take pictures again, keeping up the tank as far as keeping it viewable Ive slacked on, my hope is reviving the thread will keep me motivated