Smaller place, bigger tank...My 200DD build

[eric b 125]

Yay for critters!!

It's nice to see some life in the tank, that's for sure.

let me know how thoes emerald crabs do please. but hope you like your new friends!

Not sure what you mean by 'how they do'. I've always kept a few emerald crabs with no problems. I like having a diverse CUC with lots of different kinds of snails, shrimp and crabs (not hermits).

This hair algae has got me reconsidering getting a tang. I think it would be smart to have an algae grazing fish in there. Of course, I need to spend some time testing to figure out the cause of the H.A.

 

[ClaptonsGhost]

I have a bit of hair algae on my outflow tubes, and the tangs don't touch it unless I pull it off manually and let it float in the tank, just so ya know. Two Yellow Tangs and a Hippo Tang (big).

 

[mauler]

Try a foxface or rabbitfish I've seen them eat every kind of algae there is.

 

[trigger40]

Not sure what you mean by 'how they do'. I've always kept a few emerald crabs with no problems. I like having a diverse CUC with lots of different kinds of snails, shrimp and crabs (not hermits).

i read that they dont do so well

 

[ClaptonsGhost]

I've also read that they do great, although my own emerald crab was the first to go, while the rest of the CUC I bought at the same time are still around and growing (in size, not population).

 

[eric b 125]

I have a bit of hair algae on my outflow tubes, and the tangs don't touch it unless I pull it off manually and let it float in the tank, just so ya know. Two Yellow Tangs and a Hippo Tang (big).

Ah.

Try a foxface or rabbitfish I've seen them eat every kind of algae there is.

I am not a big fan of rabbitfish.

i read that they dont do so well

I've also read that they do great, although my own emerald crab was the first to go, while the rest of the CUC I bought at the same time are still around and growing (in size, not population).

Oh. I'll keep an eye on them. I saw them both yesterday and they were alive. Haven't seen them today, but I haven't really looked for them. The last one's I had lasted quite a while. I gave them away when I sold my tank.

I went out today and got a purple tang. Also picked up a cheap acro and large acan as 'tester' frags.

(The first picture was taken with my iPhone and the second was taken from inside the tank with my GoPro. I'm going to play around with the GoPro with picture taking for a while b/c it seems like it's a truer color...either way, both pics suck and I apologize)

 

[eric b 125]

The tang is eating mysis and picking at the rocks/ sand. It is also swimming throughout the aquarium and not just sticking to one area. Looking good for the first day.

 

[trigger40]

good to hear! how are your frags doing? lol thats really risky to not qt a tang IMO. but looks like a great specimen.

 

[eric b 125]

good to hear! how are your frags doing? lol thats really risky to not qt a tang IMO. but looks like a great specimen.

The frags seem to be fine. I need to work on my light schedule and powerhead placement today. I've never had a tank this tall before, and just with it being a totally new system it's going to take me a little bit to figure out it's sweet spot.

The tang was QT'd, just not by me. I didn't get it from a LFS, but from a hobbyist whom I know QT'd it properly. I know that sounds like more of an excuse than a reason, but it was QT'd.

Either way, since we are on the subject of QT's... to be perfectly honest, I have been considering not using a QT, simply because I know myself well enough to know that I will not QT everything that goes into my tank (corals, inverts, etc). I know we QT for more than just ich: there's HLLE, brook, feeding/behavioral monitoring, etc., however my personal main concern would be ich. I've been kinda wondering to myself if it's realistic to expect an ich-free system without QT'ing everything that is wet. To me, at least when it comes to ich and QTing, it's an all or nothing deal. The other things I think can be largely avoided by litigious selection and patient purchasing.

That being said, I haven't totally ruled-out a QT. This is just something I've been going back and forth about in my head. I have QT'd before and still ended up with ich in the system...something that became a non-issue with good water parameters and a healthy food selection for the fish.

I tossed out the 30B that I was going to use for QT because I was thinking about using two 10 gallon tanks and doing the tank transfer method... but my apt is small, something like 700 sq feet, and I don't have a 'work area' where I can hide a messy set up. If I do decide to QT (which admittedly isn't a BAD idea, per se) I think I'll end up getting a 28 gallon nano cube w/ stand and ATO... that way I can do hypo on fish and QT corals with their LED set up.

On another note, when I woke up this morning, there was no hair algae on the right island of the tank. Don't know if it was the tang, who is picking at the rocks incessantly, or the phosphate removing filter pad I put in the sump yesterday.

 

[trigger40]

i do agree its hard to completely avoid a system with ich. but i do think using a qt will drastically increase your chances of not having ich. and you can use it for lots of other good things.

 

[kopczynski]

Better to have one and not need it rather then needing one and not having it.

 

[eric b 125]

i do agree its hard to completely avoid a system with ich. but i do think using a qt will drastically increase your chances of not having ich. and you can use it for lots of other good things.

Better to have one and not need it rather then needing one and not having it.

Like I said, QT'ing is never a BAD idea and I do agree with both of you. I am well aware of the benefits of having a QT. This is not a decision I would be making out of ignorance, laziness or lack of funds. I do appreciate your input and I certainly didn't expect anyone to be on board with the idea of not QTing. I don't plan on ordering any fish for another month anyways, so I have time to consider this further. Part of me is saying that I haven't half @$$ed any part of this build, so why start now...

Another thing I'm considering is getting the Monterey canopy to match my stand. The light spill is pretty annoying but getting a canopy would make access to the inside of the tank difficult. I'm also not sure that the Monterey canopy is high enough to allow for good light spread with my LED's. I have figured out a mounting solution that would allow me to slide the lights out of the canopy, so if all other things are equal and I'm physically able to safely remove the canopy and lift it into place for coral placement and whatnot, then I might give it a shot. My other option is to have a custom cabinet maker come out and have a canopy made, but I really don't want to spend a ton of money.

The hair algae is continuing to disappear, which is a relief. I will be testing my FW and SW reservoirs for phosphates sooner than later to see if I can identify the source of possible phosphate. If it's not in those buckets, then I have to assume that it leeched from the last MarcoRock order which is by no means a surprise.

 

[eric b 125]

I'm going to test all my water for phosphates today. I've also come up with a plan for the next month. As much as I really don't want to, I am going to get a Biocube for a QT. With all that I have invested in this system, it seems backwards to not invest in a QT...plus it's the least I can do for the livestock. The next fish order will be a powder blue tang, a midas blenny, and three cleaner shrimp. I am going to bite the bullet and get a Monterey canopy. It will eliminate the light spill and also allow for me to get wrasses. Finally, I'm going to order that 20 piece SPS frag pack...

 

[eric b 125]

I was putzing around on the internet this morning and found out that ReefBreeders has a product that makes it possible to program multiple lights from one controller. It's called Photo-link. My lights are out of sync by a few seconds and programming two of them is a PITA. Might as well add one of these to next months shopping list, too, lol.

 

[trigger40]

lol off by a few seconds. so close!

 

[bang guy]

If it were me I would be sure to stagger the lights by at least 30 minutes.

 

[eric b 125]

lol off by a few seconds. so close!

LOL. I tried programming the lights with someone else: "Alright, on the count of three..." We could never get the clocks synchronized.

If it were me I would be sure to stagger the lights by at least 30 minutes.

Why's that? It drives me crazy that they aren't in sync, so I ordered the Photo Link cable on Christmas Eve. I also ordered an LED fixture for the fuge that my good friend has had great results with. I need to get this hair algae taken care of before I start adding more to the tank. I still need to test the kati/ani for phosphates.

 

[bang guy]

It's just me. The Sun doesn't go from 8am to noon all at once.

 

[eric b 125]

It's just me. The Sun doesn't go from 8am to noon all at once.

Oh, I hear what you're sayin. The lights are programmable, so they ramp up and down throughout the light cycle. Right now I have it changing at 1 hour intervals, but once that cord gets delivered I want to do 30 min intervals.

 

[eric b 125]

let me know how thoes emerald crabs do please. but hope you like your new friends!

I see one crab on a regular basis, and it's doing really well. I'm not sure if it's always the same crab or not, but so far so good.

The purple tang is also still very healthy. I was a tad nervous because of its size, but I think I'm out of the "skeptical zone" with this one since it's done so well thus far. I've made a promise to myself to not add anything else until it's been QT'd.

I went to check my phosphates today and couldn't find my test kit. I honestly can't imagine what else could be feeding this hair algae, but obviously I need a test to confirm. I'm going to grab a test kit and the chemicals I need to regenerate the kati/ani before work today. I somehow doubt it's the kati/ani, because I regenerated the resins a few months ago and haven't run that much through it, but it's a bit of a drive to get the chemicals so I might as well do it while I have the willingness.

Other sources of phosphates (still, just assuming that's what it is) could be my reservoir buckets or the new marco rocks. Also, maybe the sand but I'm not seeing any algae on the sandbed. I'm hoping that between testing the various storage containers and getting some macro in the fuge that this stuff goes away in the next few weeks. While I'm working on that I'm going to set up the QT, get the canopy figured out, and hopefully be getting fish and coral orders by the first week of February. When the weather starts to get nice again, I have every intention on sitting back and enjoying the tank, rather than continuing to change things and work out problems.