Zibba's Reefs -- ADA 90P & Envision 100g
- Build Thread
- Thread starter zibba
- Start date
- Tagged users None
Going to "hit-and-run" here, but I'll provide more details tomorrow. I picked up a TON of new additions for the tank tonight
Here's a view that any reefer can appreciate ("Zibba's Glow"):
Good night!
Awesome! I also enjoyed the backyard shot.
Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
Lilmatty5dimes
2500 Club Member
- Joined
- Mar 16, 2011
- Messages
- 2,972
- Reaction score
- 787
- Location
- Port St. John, FL
- What state or country do you live in
- Florida
That's awesome. Looks like a ton of nice stuff in container waiting for there freedom. Lol love the night **** as well.
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
Love that back yard shot! LOL!
Looking forward to this batch!
Awesome! I also enjoyed the backyard shot.
Thanks guys!
So here's the story. A local group of coral farmers here in AZ, the Propagators Reef Organization Project (PROP), asked if I'd be interested in joining their group to help farming corals for our local community. I was, of course, honored! PROP has been in AZ since 2004 and is currently made up of four other hobbyists -- so it's a small group -- but it has a huge impact on coral conservation and supplying our local community with beautiful (and, very expensive) corals at a significantly reduced price. Basically it works like this, PROP seeks out and purchases captive grown corals and other rare corals, grows them out, and then auctions them off every other month to our local reefing community. The auction prices are typically a fraction of what you'd pay online or through a LFS and 100% of the proceeds from the auction go back to purchasing more corals to be grown out and auctioned. It's worth mentioning so that everyone here understands that I'm not profiting at all: all PROP farmers bear their own cost of farming the corals (i.e., salt, electricity, etc.). Obviously, this cost is trivial compared to the enjoyment I get in watching the corals grow out and being able to contribute to our local reefing community.
So with all of that said, several of the corals I received yesterday are "PROP" corals that will be grown out and fragged when they've grown to the appropriate size. Here are the new corals:
PROP Corals:
Tyree Setosa
Tyree Undata
30K Leagues Lokani
Tyree Purple Unknown
Meteor Shower Cyphastrea
DFS Green/Pink Eye Favia
Blane Prerun's Kryptonite Candy Canes
Fruit Loop Chalice
Captian America Palys
Vivid's Raindow Palys
Green Hornet Zoas
Goldschlagger Zoas
Cool Zoas
Few Other New Additions:
Miyagi Tort
Ponape Birdsnest
By the time I got home, dipped and acclimated everything, the lights were shutting down in the tank so I didn't get to take any pictures. I'm hoping that I'll have time in the next few days to post pictures. All along, I've tried to take pictures of corals when they're first introduced and then around the 1st of the month to document growth. With a new month approaching, expect a lot of new pictures to follow.
Finally, by way of a mini-update on how the tank is doing, I'm still battling new-tank algae. I've been running the carbon/gfo for a week now and, while I've noticed improved clarity in the water, I haven't seen any negative affects on algae growth. I'd like to give it some more time before I take any drastic measures, but I think it's time to add to the CUC and I'll likely get into the rockwork with a toothbrush during my next water change to see how that works. Overall, water parameters are staying pretty good. Calcium levels were a little elevated on Sunday night (~500) so I've only dosed Alk the last few days. I'll retest tonight and several more times over the next few weeks to make sure I'm meeting the dosing requirements for all of the new corals.
gael85
Community Member
I had previously mentioned that I purchased the Envision used from a local reefer. It had a few light scratches in it and, to be honest, they were really difficult to see after it was filled up with water. But, like most of us, it doesn't matter if no one else can see the scratches because I'll always know it's there. So after just a little bit of googling and youtubing, I realized it's not such a daunting task. There are literally hundreds of youtube videos out there on acrylic scratch removal so I didn't go into a ton of detail photographing the progress. I picked up the Novus 1-2-3 system and some of the "polish mate" pads from Amazon (total was <$20):
I actually started with #1 just so see how it would look and I was impressed. Just using the #1 really cleaned up the acrylic and even removed some of the really light scratches. There were just a few deeper scratches that needed to be fixed. These aren't the best pictures because you really have to look at an angle to gsee the scratch, but here's an example:
After #3:
After #2 & #1:
I will probably go back over this starting with #3 again, but I'm happy with how it looks now. It's not 100%, but I have a difficult time seeing it and, really, that's all that matters, right?
very nice setup
what do you thinks of this product for cleaning the acrylic glass ?
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
Thanks guys.
Yes, it should be a fun road ahead! Thank you very much gael85! I use Novus 1 and the cleaning pads to clean the acrylic one a week after doing a water change and it makes the acrylic sparkle. Mid-week, I use a terry cloth to wipe off any water that has spilled or dust (usually very little dust after using Novus 1).
gael85
Community Member
ok thanks for you opinion about this product because i juste have a magic sponge to clean the acrylic tank
is that safe for fish and corals ? no risk for using this product on external glasses ?
is that safe for fish and corals ? no risk for using this product on external glasses ?
Last edited:
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
I would not use the magic eraser on the external acrylic. I've used the magic eraser sponge on the inside of the tank without any negative impact on the fish or corals.
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
I've mentioned this a few times now throughout the thread that I'm battling "new-tank" algae. I sort of had an epiphany the other day though and wanted to get everyone's thoughts on how to proceed. For those who haven't been following along or can't remember, I picked up some rock from an established aquarium when I was first getting this project started. I gave that rock an acid bath using muratic acid, let it soak in ro/di for a day and then dried it out under the sun. That rock was ultimately placed in the ADA. I was trying to use that rock in the Envision, but couldn't create the rockscape that I wanted with it so I ended up ordering more rock from Reefrocks.com. I really liked the shape of the rock, it was priced competitively and the owner was very personable. I read, either on their website or in other threads (I can't recall right now), that this rock didn't need to be acid washed and that it was good to go -- place it right in the tank and let 'er buck! Well, that's exactly what I did.
So, here we are 3.5-months later and I'm getting significantly more algae growth off the Reefrocks in the Envision compared to the old rock in the ADA. I'm thinking that the reefrocks are leaching phosphates since all other parameters are the same and the lighting schedules are pretty close (although the tanks are lit from different sources, halides/vhos vs. leds). I anticipated algae growth of some sort (more in line with what I'm seeing in the ADA) but not like what I'm seeing in the Envision. If I'm right and the Reefrocks are leaching phosphates, does it make sense that there would be more algae growth on those rocks compared to the rocks in the ADA since they're tied together in the same system. And, if they are leaching phosphates, is it something that I should be concerned with right now and how long should I expect that rock to leach phosphates? If it's just a matter of waiting out the leaching and scrubbing the algae off the rocks and maintaining my regular maintenance and water changes, then that would be great. I'll be patient and put in the work. The most drastic option I'm considering is moving all of the corals from the Envision over to the ADA, and temporarily removing the rock to give it the same treatment I gave the rock in the ADA. Is this too aggressive at this time?
Any opinions/advice/condolences would be appreciated!
hey man. I think it's just new tank syndrome. just keep at it for the next few weeks. if it doesn't get better, then maybe you can go the other route.
LILBUDDHA
Valuable Member
I agree . It's just NTS . All tanks have an algae cycle . U just have to be patient . GFO helps but ya just can't get too happy with the stuff. Love the new additions . Pearl Berry is one of my favorites . It took me 5+ years to get a hold of one . LOL . Mine looks nothing like yours but we'll see. Saw a goldflake angel the other day and it made me think of your build . The multi-color angel is a great addition and the one I had was not a nipper but I kept it fed well. I am still holding out for a venustus ?, more blue eyed cardinals. I plan to remove my giant anthia (i call her goldfish ), who appears to be a bully .
Flipside
Well-Known Member
Zibba, where'd you go? It's been almost a week since we've heard from ya'. You alright?
Don't sweat the NTS. Feed less and shorten your photo-period for now. I was getting greenery all over my tank there for awhile, too. I added a sock (hated doing that, but it had to be done), started running BRS Lignite (after a 10 minute rinsing in the sink with a MJ1200 on there), got rid of the T5 supplements (too much par), and shortened my Radium's cycle from 10 hours/day to 8 hours/day. It's helped me tremendously.
Don't sweat the NTS. Feed less and shorten your photo-period for now. I was getting greenery all over my tank there for awhile, too. I added a sock (hated doing that, but it had to be done), started running BRS Lignite (after a 10 minute rinsing in the sink with a MJ1200 on there), got rid of the T5 supplements (too much par), and shortened my Radium's cycle from 10 hours/day to 8 hours/day. It's helped me tremendously.
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
Ha, thanks guys! Yes, I'm here!! Just finished editing some pictures last night to update the thread.
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
February update!
There have been a lot of new additions over the last month and things are going in the right direction. NTS is obviously frustrating me, but I'm following the sage advice given by many that I should just ride out the storm. Just today I got in a clean up crew (lots-o-crabs, lots-o-snails, few peppermint shrimp, and two lettuce nudibranchs), a few new fish (McCosker's wrasse, cleaner wrasse, and a lawnmower blennie) and two more corals for the ADA (a red gorgonian and a purple sea fan) from reefs2go.
Even thought I'm not proud of the FTS, I do want to accurately document everything. There are some single coral shots that turned out pretty good, but I'm mostly going to do comparison shots to show the growth and color changes and to show how everything has been generally progressing:
Envision
11/28/12:
2/4/13:
ADA
11/28/12:
2/4/13:
Oregon Blue Tort
12/29/12 (Actinic)
2/4/12 (full spectrum)
Hawkins
12/29/12 (actinics/unmounted)
1/15/13
2/4/13
Joe the Coral
1/1/13
2/4/13
There have been a lot of new additions over the last month and things are going in the right direction. NTS is obviously frustrating me, but I'm following the sage advice given by many that I should just ride out the storm. Just today I got in a clean up crew (lots-o-crabs, lots-o-snails, few peppermint shrimp, and two lettuce nudibranchs), a few new fish (McCosker's wrasse, cleaner wrasse, and a lawnmower blennie) and two more corals for the ADA (a red gorgonian and a purple sea fan) from reefs2go.
Even thought I'm not proud of the FTS, I do want to accurately document everything. There are some single coral shots that turned out pretty good, but I'm mostly going to do comparison shots to show the growth and color changes and to show how everything has been generally progressing:
Envision
11/28/12:
2/4/13:
ADA
11/28/12:
2/4/13:
Oregon Blue Tort
12/29/12 (Actinic)
2/4/12 (full spectrum)
Hawkins
12/29/12 (actinics/unmounted)
1/15/13
2/4/13
Joe the Coral
1/1/13
2/4/13
Last edited:
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
Red Planet
1/1/13
2/4/13:
(losing the green base but growing pretty well!)
Green Birdsnest
1/1/13 (actinics):
2/4/13 (full spectrum):
(it’s just not the same under full spectrum! Great growth though)
Blue/Green Tenuis
1/1/13:
2/4/13:
Pink Lemonade (I think?)
1/15/13
2/4/13
Zibba's Saguaro Acro (i.e., unknown)
1/15/13:
2/4/13:
1/1/13
2/4/13:
(losing the green base but growing pretty well!)
Green Birdsnest
1/1/13 (actinics):
2/4/13 (full spectrum):
(it’s just not the same under full spectrum! Great growth though)
Blue/Green Tenuis
1/1/13:
2/4/13:
Pink Lemonade (I think?)
1/15/13
2/4/13
Zibba's Saguaro Acro (i.e., unknown)
1/15/13:
2/4/13:
Last edited:
OP
OP
zibba
Valuable Member
Tubb’s Blue Zoas
Vivid Rainbow Zoas
(These are the real deal. The other zoas that I posted were sold to me as vivid rainbows, but those look more like AOGs now that I’ve seen the real vivid rainbows.)
Miagi Tort
(Tiny but that green base still pops like nobody’s business)
Blane Prerun’s Kryptonite Candy Canes
Ponape Birdsnest
Vivid Rainbow Zoas
(These are the real deal. The other zoas that I posted were sold to me as vivid rainbows, but those look more like AOGs now that I’ve seen the real vivid rainbows.)
Miagi Tort
(Tiny but that green base still pops like nobody’s business)
Blane Prerun’s Kryptonite Candy Canes
Ponape Birdsnest
