Zibba's Reefs -- ADA 90P & Envision 100g

[Sahin]

Happy dance is in order! But first let me preface this a little bit -- and I realize that I'm probably sharing too much information with people I've never personally met -- but my reef tank (and hobbies generally) were always a point of contention in my past relationship. It wasn't the reason we broke up, but it certainly didn't help matters. So, with that said, I need to share a little exchange today between my GF (who I've mentioned previously in this thread) and I.

First off, we've been together since the start of this project and she's always been very supportive, although she's stood back and mostly just observed. Recently, she's been coming to the LFSs with me more and more and has willingly helped with water changes, testing and acclimation. She genuinely wants to learn and is fascinated by everything that goes on with the tank. I know, I know -- I'm dragging this out and bragging a little bit -- but hear me out. My GF called this afternoon and said, "there are some more diatoms showing up and I think we need to boost up the clean-up-crew, can I go get some nassarius snails?" My jaw dropped and my smile just got bigger and bigger. It was a pivotal moment -- she's a reefer! I'm sure if we all thought back, we could remember a single moment when we became hooked.

Anyway, she went to the LFS on her own to pick up the snails and was sending me pictures via phone of corals she thought would be cool to add. All said and done, she bought 15 more nassarius sails, drip acclimated them and added 10 to the Envision and 5 to the ADA -- all on her own. We're heading out of town tomorrow for a few days of skiing so hopefully everything will hold up alright while we're gone.

G'night all,
Z

Dude, dont lose her; she is a keeper for sure. That is so cool; to have a reefer GF to call you and tell you that you need to buy some CUC. Way COOL!

Most of us arent so lucky...my wife is very anti Reefkeeping too...meh she would be glad the day I got rid of the tank.

 

[buddythelion]

Ha, no Ritteri and not planning on any anemones in the Envision, but two took a ride down the overflow on the first day. I found one in the sump's 2nd chamber and one inside the stand under the aquarium.

Here are some more pictures of the Bartlett's Anthias:

This one didn't turn out that sharp, but it's too funny not to share. It's a picture of the Royal Gramma (who's still pretty beat up) protecting his little nook from the newly introduced anthias:

Incredible photography! I can never get a clear photo of a fish. I really should look up how to.

 

[zibba]

Your lucky man, my wife is the anti reefer. Have fun skiing, hopefully I can make it up to Sunrise this year sometime. They should be getting some new snow tomorrow.

Dude, dont lose her; she is a keeper for sure. That is so cool; to have a reefer GF to call you and tell you that you need to buy some CUC. Way COOL!

Most of us arent so lucky...my wife is very anti Reefkeeping too...meh she would be glad the day I got rid of the tank.

Ha, I'm lucky for sure! We had a great time out in Mammoth and only a few bumps and bruises -- but that just means we skied/boarded hard!

Incredible photography! I can never get a clear photo of a fish. I really should look up how to.

Thanks buddythelion! The best advice I can give is to take A LOT of pictures. I'm guessing I took over 100 pictures just to get the few above to turn out.


Both tanks were looking pretty good when I came home from the 4-day trip, however, the acrylic/glass was pretty well covered in diatoms and I'm getting some film algae. I wiped/scraped the glass and did a 25-gallon water change. I put the penductors back on to see if the tank will withstand some more flow. I'll see how it holds up over the next few days. This week is crazy with work but the weekend is pretty open so I'm hoping to get the Carbon/GFO reactor online and to finally program the Apex to run the Tunzes properly. Also, the local club is holding an auction and there are more than a few pieces that I'm going to be bidding on.

I almost forgot, I got a blue flasher fairy wrasse from a local reefer that I've in QT for a bit. It was looking really good while we were away, so I added it to the ADA yesterday. Clearly pictures are in order, so stay tuned!

 

[Flipside]

Sounds awesome! Can't wait to see the wrasse! Glad to hear the tanks held up nicely.

 

[zibba]

Definitely a relief to come back home to two tanks still standing and everything looking good. I set the skimmer to skim pretty "dry" and it pulled some ridiculously nasty junk. Smelled up the whole house when I pulled the cup. I have a feeling the skimmer is going to be working overtime after I wiped the glass.

The wrasse isn't much to look at right now since it's a juvi/female, but it's healthy and has a great personality -- it's quickly becoming the lady-friend's favorite fish.

 

[zibba]

Found a few minutes to take some pictures tonight!

Here are a few shots of the Blue Flasher Wrasse that came out of QT a few days ago. He's currently the lone fish in the ADA:

Like I said, it's looking healthy, just not super bight colors...yet. Hoping it decides to turn into a stunner some day. Great personality though!

New tank syndrom isn't any fun, but figured I might as well document some of the algea growth that's going on right now.

I'm actually not sure what kind of algea this is, looks like hair algae, but I've never seen it so brown before. I added several snails and hermits about 2-3 weeks ago and, as I previously mentioned, my GF added about 15 more nassarius snails last week. They don't seem to be making much of a difference. I picked up a lawn mower blenny this evening -- it's in QT -- so hopefully it will do work when it makes it out.

I've now mounted all of the SPS and everything is looking pretty good -- even the ORA Hawkins Echinata that I was unsure about:

Hawkins:

(I'm still stoked about this "get" from the LFS!)

This is some named coral, but I'm not sure which one it is -- can anyone ID it, or is it too early? Regardless, I think it's pretty sick.

Another coral that I picked up about 3-weeks ago. I mentioned it, but finally got a picture now that it's mounted. I think this is a named piece, but not sure what it is:

That's about it for now. I'm excited about the local club meeting coming up and have a lot of little tank projects to work on this weekend. Also, there's an amazing 2" Blue Girdled Angelfish at the LFS, however, I've flexed every bit of self-restraint in hopes of finding a small Regal or Goldflake (if I'm going to go with a "large" angel). I'd like to stick with dwarf angels, but the Blue Girdled is really really tempting me.

 

[LILBUDDHA]

U take some great pic's .
Love the grape juice acro ... I wonder if it is the reef ready ? U'll know if it's start looking like an Upscales Microclados .
So what's your tank on the Razor ? Good for LPS n Softies only ?

 

[MarvinsReef]

Found a few minutes to take some pictures tonight!

Here are a few shots of the Blue Flasher Wrasse that came out of QT a few days ago. He's currently the lone fish in the ADA:

Also, there's an amazing 2" Blue Girdled Angelfish at the LFS, however, I've flexed every bit of self-restraint in hopes of finding a small Regal or Goldflake (if I'm going to go with a "large" angel). I'd like to stick with dwarf angels, but the Blue Girdled is really really tempting me.

hey Z, hope you had a great time on your trip.

do you have a lid on the ADA? flashers are superb jumpers esp when they get freaked out.

Blue Girdled huh? you cannot go wrong with any of the above larger angels. I know one of your favorite is the GoldFlake. I say get one from PIA. I think they currently have some around 3". should be a great highlight for the tank. you already know how I feel about the Majestic.

 

[zibba]

U take some great pic's .
Love the grape juice acro ... I wonder if it is the reef ready ? U'll know if it's start looking like an Upscales Microclados .
So what's your tank on the Razor ? Good for LPS n Softies only ?

Thanks for the compliments Buddha! I'm not sure on the lineage for the grape juice. I moved it to medium light, medium flow so hopefully it will start to show it's potential.

I'd digging the Razor. It's definitely not limited to LPS/softies, that's just all I have under it at this point. I fully intend to try out some SPS. But the envision is taking priority with SPS stocking.

hey Z, hope you had a great time on your trip.

do you have a lid on the ADA? flashers are superb jumpers esp when they get freaked out.

Blue Girdled huh? you cannot go wrong with any of the above larger angels. I know one of your favorite is the GoldFlake. I say get one from PIA. I think they currently have some around 3". should be a great highlight for the tank. you already know how I feel about the Majestic.

Hey Marvin! Thanks, yes we had a blast.

No, I haven't made a screen top for either tank yet ... I know I'm rolling the dice with the wrasse and other fish. I need to make those tops!

Lol, yeah every time I look at your thread and see the majestic, I'm pushed further in that direction. I've seen that smaller goldflake on PIA's website. Soooo tempting. I've even added it to my "shopping cart" a few times.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Hey Marvin! Thanks, yes we had a blast.

No, I haven't made a screen top for either tank yet ... I know I'm rolling the dice with the wrasse and other fish. I need to make those tops!

Lol, yeah every time I look at your thread and see the majestic, I'm pushed further in that direction. I've seen that smaller goldflake on PIA's website. Soooo tempting. I've even added it to my "shopping cart" a few times.

Yikes! Gotta get those tops there. What's stopping yah from pickin' up the GoldFlake? I would like to have one in my tank but both will be too much when they get bigger. I'm leaning towards adding a dwarf angel instead of another large angel if I ever add another angel. Either way, I think any of the 3 large angel you chose will be a great addition.



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zibba]

Yikes! Gotta get those tops there. What's stopping yah from pickin' up the GoldFlake? I would like to have one in my tank but both will be too much when they get bigger. I'm leaning towards adding a dwarf angel instead of another large angel if I ever add another angel. Either way, I think any of the 3 large angel you chose will be a great addition.

Ha, I know, I know! What's stopping me? lol, spending money on ski trips, corals, equipment, etc.!!!

I almost ate my own words yesterday too. The same LFS got in a multicolored dwarf angel on trade and I was very tempted even thought I previously said they weren't my favorite dwarfs. There are just so many cool fish out there and my indecisiveness gets the best of me.

 

[Flipside]

Wow dude! Great additions! Something about Hawkins gets me every time! Live the flasher too!

I've been debating what angel to get too. May just be a standard regal for me. Possibly a porcupine puffer or dogface as well. I love those guys!

 

[MarvinsReef]

Ha, I know, I know! What's stopping me? lol, spending money on ski trips, corals, equipment, etc.!!!

I almost ate my own words yesterday too. The same LFS got in a multicolored dwarf angel on trade and I was very tempted even thought I previously said they weren't my favorite dwarfs. There are just so many cool fish out there and my indecisiveness gets the best of me.

LoL. I hear yah.. For me more than anything is I'm scared to mess up the chemistry on my fishes. Everything seems to be doing well atm. Plus my tank is not built for angels since I don't have a lot of caves for them swim in and out from. But man! There's a Venustus and Multicolor that are eating at my LFS. My plan is to not go to stores for a while. Hahaha.. At least you and Flip are still just on the stocking stage and you have 2 tanks to fill. Lotsa options.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zibba]

Yeah, love the Hawkins! Regals, even "standard regals," are awesome but it can be hard to find one that's eating. I've seen the porcupine and dogface puffers at a few stores before. I didn't think they were reef safe, have you kept them before?

I bought an extra Tunze 6105 from Premium Aquatics and I'm going to return it for credit. I'm sort of at that point where I have most of the major components for my tank but -- as ya'll know -- the tank is ever-evolving and I could use some input on what to get next. I'm thinking about getting dosing pumps for the Ca/Alk/Mg (leaning towards the Bubble Magnus) but not sure if I should go with a Kalk reactor first, continue manually dosing the 2-part, and just wait to get a calcium reactor. If I don't go that route, I'm thinking about adding a breakout box to the Apex to set up some additional float valves and water on the floor sensors for redundancy. Another option would be to add a skimmer neck cleaner (like the new Vertex Vectra) -- I'd need to research this more to see how it fits with the ATB 840. The last idea I'm throwing around is adding a Sea Swirl to the ADA and converting it over to a "Herbie" overflow like my Envision to reduce the noise even more. I'm currently running a "maggie muffler" on it and it's fine but not dead silent, which I'd prefer since it's in the bedroom. Or, if there's something else that I should consider, I'm all ears!

 

[zibba]

The ATB is settling in nicely now. I cleaned the skimmer and the tank on Sunday night, so this is three full days of skimmate:

 

[LILBUDDHA]

The ATB is settling in nicely now. I cleaned the skimmer and the tank on Sunday night, so this is three full days of skimmate:

Now that's what I like to see . How long has it been in use ?
I am still waiting for my CS 180 to bed in .It had a lot of oil residue even after a vinegar bath n vinegar wipe down .
U gotta luv that ATB :thumbup:


Sent from my Moto HD

 

[zibba]

Had to look back through the thread (nice to actually be able to do that -- great documentation tool!). It's been running on the system now for about 30-days. I'd say it's only been pulling nasty stuff like this though for the past 5-7 days. Really happy to have it dialed in. I've said it before, but I've never owned a skimmer that pulled dark skimmate like this -- pretty incredible the difference good equipment makes.

 

[MarvinsReef]

Really good skimmate you're getting.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[zibba]

Yeah, finally! "New tank syndrome" is frustrating me though. I'm still getting diatoms on the sand, some hair algae is starting to show up (as noted above) and I just noticed some some cyano. I've been really good about water changes and just need to keep up with my routine. Things should figure themselves out as the tank matures and now that the skimmer is finally functioning regularly. This is a complete guess since I haven't tested, but I'm thinking that the algae issues are stemming from phosphates leaching from the rocks. I only gave half of the rock a muriatic acid bath -- the other half was from "Reef Rocks," which I read didn't need to be given an acid bath. I should have done it anyway. It was a mistake but I'll deal with it moving forward with water changes and getting GFO online (I want to get a Hanna Phosphate checker first though).

 

[MarvinsReef]

Patience Z. Tank should course correct itself as long as you're keeping up with your maintenance routine. Going through a mini cycle myself. You knew this already but a friendly reminder.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk