tehSAC's NUVO 10

[tehSAC]

Picked up a new coral last night. Actually my daughter picked it out and used her own money for it. She loves trumpet corals and a local reefer had a 25 head colony of blue-green trumpets for 25 bucks. Couldn't pass it up even if it wasn't something I was planning on keeping.

Anyway I've placed it in what looks like a good spot and keep an eye on it for the next couple of days.

https://instagram.com/p/BRt-AXnhK5w/

 

[tehSAC]

Woke up this morning to my light resting on the screen top again! This is the third time the IM Skkye Light mount has snapped. I've glued the mount together with acrylic epoxy twice before and I'll be honest its really starting to wear on me. How can this light mount be so sh***y? :mad: If I had the cash today I would be purchasing a new light and mount for sure.

Anyway here is an updated FTS from this evening before lights went out. All of the corals received a few squirts of mysis from the turkey baster tonight. Each one of them accepted and it was awesome to see their feeding responses. I've also been slowly moving the Frogspawn closer to the front of the tank to get it in a position that I can admire it. The frags remain on plugs until this coming weekend after a local frag swap. By then I hope they will be acclimated enough to pop off the plugs and move into a permanent home.

 

[Andrewalex11]

Reef Crystals for sure, they will mix up good saltwater with the proper levels of Ca, Mg, and Alk needed for your corals to thrive. As you add more corals you may need to replenish a bit more water and adjust the percentage of change (Should be around %10 - %50) to cope with higher consumption. On a nano once a week water changes are totally necessary (in my opinion) so why dump a bunch of money and chemicals into dosing when you can just preform a water change like you normally would anyway.

In conclusion: around $25 of IO Crystals will make you a full supplement of SW for water changes, AND dosing for around 4 - 6 months. (50 Gallon bag)

 

[tehSAC]

So I have plenty of updates to share, some bad, some good.

The tank has been pretty much on autopilot except for some feeding of reef roids and weekly water change. Right now my focus has been on other things. My wife had surgery last month to remove her thyroid due to thyroid cancer. Unfortunately she had to spend 2 extra nights in the hospital due to other unforeseen issues, and on top of that with two kids, softball, and work life has been quite busy.

The royal gramma that passed away was replaced by the LFS for no charge. He did great for over a month and a half and then ICH made its way into the tank. I saw signs of ICH about a week after attending a frag swap. A week later he had passed. So since then I have kept the tank fallow to allow the ICH to run its course. Sometime this coming July I hope to add a Tailspot Blenny and eventually a small Clown fish. They will be the only fish I plan to keep here on out.

However to add a Skunk Cleaner this weekend. However no one in the area had any in stock, so I took a trip west to Inland and picked up a new inhabitant. Little bugger keeps hiding behind the rock work.

However he seems to be doing well. I've read forum posts where they don't do so well acclimating and pass away either the day of or a couple days later. I did not acclimate him in the bucket, but fastened the bag to the tank and kept it floating so there were no temperature swings. Every 15 minutes or so I would remove a turkey basters worth of water and discard it, then add in the same amount from the tank to slowly raise the salinity. Seems to have worked out great.

Also last evening was day 65 with my reef. Things have started to grow a bit more since adding the reef roids, but things still seem slow. I'm not sure if its the lighting or something else. However I'm just taking things slow and let things happen when they happen. When it comes to lighting I'm hoping to find a deal this weekend at RAP in Orlando. So hopefully the next update there will be a new light above this tank.

FTS 4-3-17

FTS 4-30-17

https://www.instagram.com/p/BSj_THJh5_a/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFmNJvhAFt/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTFmXvOhVeu/

https://www.instagram.com/p/BTYvmduB_dV/

 

[Daniel@R2R Verified Admin]

Looking good! Sorry about the loss, but it looks like you're doing a great job!

 

[tehSAC]

Looking good! Sorry about the loss, but it looks like you're doing a great job!

Thank you. I'm trying to take my time and do things correctly.

 

[tehSAC]

My phosphates still seem to be high to me. I'm not sure if its something I'm doing wrong or if its a new tank/new rock kind of deal. I've been thinking of placing a pouch of phosban and purigen in my media basket with my chemi-pure to help with this issue. Any thoughts? The corals still seem happy but I think they could be happier to be honest.



I am also still considering a macro algae reactor for this tank, but that might not be until next month.

 

[tehSAC]

So nothing new to add. Tank is still fallow, shrimp is doing great! The nitrates are definitely up but I'm not sure why. I feed reef roids lightly once a week now and change the floss every two days. I haven't done a WC for two weeks so that might be it, but really didn't think I needed to as the bio load is low. Everything looks happy but the film on the glass and dirty sand every day is driving me nuts. As for algae the coralline is starting to encrust and it's a nice purple color.

I'm not sure if I should add a skimmer or add the macro algae reactor I have been thinking about. Or add some matrix and purigen to the media basket and hold off on either of the above.

I'm also looking at adding a powerhead. Any suggestions? I'd love an MP10, but I dont think its in my budget right now. I'd like to add a monti cap and a birdsnest to the top of the rock work by the end of summer as I think that area looks very bare.

 

[tehSAC]

This weekend my wife and girls handed me a couple boxes to open. To my surprise they had gotten me a new light and reactor.

As for the light I set it up yesterday after a waterchange and started the intensity around 30-40%. It's a guess but I know it's not near 50%. I've also kept the color around 40%. More towards the blue but not all the way. Everything opened up nice and fluffy and seemed to be happy. The zoa's and ricordea really loved it as the spread out nice and wide today. Its a bit on the blue side in the photos but the balance looks okay to the naked eye.

I don't plan on keeping any sps other than a couple encrusting monties I have. Ephyullia dominated tank is my goal with a small ricordea garden and zoa garden. I want a few more torch corals, hammers, a frogspawn, and octospawn.

 

[tehSAC]

Update:

I've added two juvenile clowns and a tailspot blenny. They are eating well, and generally seem to be very happy and healthy. My daughters love watching them and the blenny is such a character. You can check out my instagram ( tehSAC_reef ) for pictures of them. I try to update my instagram daily.

However….

The corals I have in the tank have been up and down as of late. The zoa’s, ricordea, and new additions seem to be doing great. Honestly everything seems okay, just not as open as usual. I’m not seeing any tissue loss, or pests on my corals. Things seem to be just kinda blah to be honest, and I’ve also noticed a bit of white film that is on my encrusting monti, but it seems to be doing well other than that. Encrusting a lot on my rocks. My one torch that has always been open and happy before adding the fish last Friday is now opening fully for a couple hours then receding into what you see below. Also the candy cane colony I have hasn't been as full as usual.

The tank filtration is filter floss and two chemi-pure blue nano packs. Friday afternoon when I added the new fish, I also added a small amount of Chateo to the display. Eventually planning on using it in a macroalgae reactor. I’m not sure if I’m having an ALK swing, my tank water is too clean, or it’s something else. I am starting to get small amounts of coraline patches on the rocks, but it doesn’t seem to be spreading around much. I’ve also noticed a few spots of hair algae and bubble algae in the past couple days, something I want to combat quickly.

To save a bit of cash, and an excuse to oogle at a friend system, I usually take some water to him to test for me. Not a practice I am proud of, but hey I did it. However I have kept an eye on nitrates at home since starting to add coral and fish. I have purchased a couple Sailfert kits (Alk, CA, and MG) and they should be arriving any day now. When they arrive, should I do a water change and then test everything daily for a week to possibly see what is up? What numbers should I be aiming for in a strictly LPS and softie tank? I am using distilled water for my salt water and top off. I have been told that simply doing water changes will keep my figures where they need to be for LPS, but I’m beginning to think that might not be the case. I’m doing 2 gallon WC’s weekly and vacuuming half the sand bed each time.

Parameters as of last night:

Instant Ocean Salt

Salinity - 1.026

Temp - 78.2

PH - 7.9

ALK - 7.2

CA - 400

MG - 1275

Phos - 0

Nitrates - 10 ppm

Light cycle is 10 AM to 9 PM. Low intensity on the Kessil A80.

So, should I be dosing, remove the chemi-pure, remove the chateo, or something else? I’m trying to do my best with this tank, and avoid a crash. However I realize I might be over reacting a bit.

Photos of the corals I am concerned about.

 

[tehSAC]

My Euphyllia have been acting funny as of late. Not opening up as much as usual, or opening and then closing in the middle of the day. So I tested everything again last evening before the weekly water change. Did not see a significant decrease in any parameters. Sure there is a drop, but that is a given, but no obvious spikes. So why certain corals are acting or looking the way they are are still a mystery to me.



7-9-17

Temp: 78.2

SG - 1.026

CA - 500

Alk - 8.6

MG - 1470

PH - 7.8

Nitrates - <10 PPM



7-12-17

Temp: 78.1

SG - 1.026

CA - 470

Alk - 8.6

MG - 1460

PH - 7.8

Nitrates - <20 PPM




7-16-17

CA - 460

Alk - 8.4

MG - 1450

PH - 7.6

Nitrates <20 PPM

Temp 78.2

SG - 1.026



Oh and here is a FTS of Day 142.

 

[Reab]

Your ph is a tad on the low side, any idea where the phosphate levels sit? The tank is looking great, I have this one set up as my QT tank and I almost love it more than my 25 lagoon...almost! Curious as to how you will create the macro reactor as I am working on this as well

 

[tehSAC]

Its been a while since the last update. No big changes other than removing one of the hammer corals and placing it into my office nano.

I've added a few pics to this post. I also have an instagram if you want to check out more. Its not much but I love it.

instagram.com/tehSAC_reef

 

[tehSAC]

Your ph is a tad on the low side, any idea where the phosphate levels sit? The tank is looking great, I have this one set up as my QT tank and I almost love it more than my 25 lagoon...almost! Curious as to how you will create the macro reactor as I am working on this as well

Yea I'm slowly working on trying to raise that. Its been the biggest issue i've had, if you call that a big issue.

As for the macro reactor, its just collecting dust. I still haven't decided if I'm going to do it or not.

 

[Tahoe61]

Tanks looks like it's doing very well, great progression. Beautiful Torch.

 

[tehSAC]

Tanks looks like it's doing very well, great progression. Beautiful Torch.

Thanks! Both torches are doing great. They are my favorite pieces in my tank by far.

 

[HeulittSalmi]

Any Updates?

 

[tehSAC]

Nothing new since my last update. Still looking at options for new corals. Just taking it slow and easy. Everything seems happy and healthy.

Take a look at my Instagram for any new photos.

 

[macnets]

Nothing new since my last update. Still looking at options for new corals. Just taking it slow and easy. Everything seems happy and healthy.

Take a look at my Instagram for any new photos.

Get an Elegance Coral !

 

[tehSAC]

Day 250, and things are rolling along. Haven't posted much as I haven't made many changes honestly. My office tank has been shut down and the coral that I had placed in there are back in this tank. The hammer coral (center of pic Center of rocks) are starting to bounce back. Color is coming back and it seems to be quite happy in that spot. I have noticed some vermited Snails but they are not bothering my coral. I'll keep an eye on that and pluck them off when I see the need. Also the palys in the lower right corner are on a shell. They were given to me at a Frag swap and seem to be thriving. However upon returning home from a vacation I noticed some bubble algae on the shell. I removed the shell and palys from the tank and plucked the bubbles off. Rinsed the Frag in some tank water and placed it back in the tank. That's about the extent of things.

The sicce .5 pump and spinstream are working great. Provides a good random flow and my torches seem to love it. I don't believe I'll be placing an extra powerhead in the tank. Still have yet to hook up the macro algae reactor. Just running filter floss and chemi-pure blue. Kessil A80 at 100% intensity and 50% color. Light feedings daily reef roids once a week, and change out the floss daily. 2 gallon waterchange and vacuuming the sand once a week. I clean out the back chamber and scrub the pump once a month.

Okay im rambling.... sorry.

tank by PaulSAC1854, on Flickr