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

[pegasus]

I watched a video awhile back of Ryan at BRS watching a demo of the gyre at the Maxspect booth at MACNA. It looks intriguing. The only thing that concerns me is that it appears to form a lateral flow. I personally like a turbid flow, as it tends to keep dead spots from forming in the rocks, and corals seem to respond better. I hate to see soft corals bent in the same direction all the time. They look best when they're flowing side to side with a wave action. I only saw the demo in a long tank with balls rotating in a circular motion, so I can't be sure what type of action there will be in a stocked tank. I hope you'll update us with it's performance in a "real-world" application.

 

[eric b 125]

I am getting good flow throughout the entire aquarium...obviously a little less on the sides than in the center. Since there is more flow in the center of the tank, it doesn't just create a gyre around the horizontal axis...the water bounces downward and outward from the front pane of the tank. It's also has a reverse mode that I haven't bothered to play with yet...maybe tomorrow before work.

 

[eric b 125]

Algae update: I've been running the lights on a short schedule. I turn them on when I wake up and off when I head out to work, so they're on for 4-5 hours a day. The dino's are almost all gone, but I'm going to continue H2O2 for a while with the shortened light schedule to make sure I don't get okie-doked by them. The hair algae is still there, but isn't getting worse. I can't really manually remove it right now because I've been working on full-length sleeve tattoos and get a new piece every other week. I got one yesterday and you're not supposed to soak them in water, let alone saltwater. Maybe next weekend I'll be able to go at it again.

 

[eric b 125]

I got the QT set up and wet. Just need to throw a heater in it and check the salinity. Tried to upload a pic to Photobucket but it's not working. It's an empty Biocube 29....it looks like an empty Biocube 29. Going to make a fish order as soon as it gets up to temp.

 

[eric b 125]

The algae and dino's are slowly dying off. I still have some work to do but I'm comfortable with placing a fish order later this week. That'll give me 6 more weeks of QT to get it taken care of. I've been doing some research and think I'm going to give Algae Fix a shot. I'm going back to the tattoo shop on Tuesday to continue work on my sleeves so I can't keep my arms submerged, pulling algae.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Post a pic of your sleeves dude!

 

[eric b 125]

Post a pic of your sleeves dude!

I have a ways to go, man. I'm getting my right upper bicep/shoulder done on Tuesday. It's a picture from the children's book 'Coraline'. I think out of all my tattoos this one will mean the most to me. A reminder to cherish every day...something I've only recently stopped practicing.

On another note, since my ex-girlfriend took our dog when she left I decided to put a deposit down on a puppy. It's an AKC all white male bull terrier. Poetically, it will be ready for pick up on Valentines day. I have to drive to KY to pick it up.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Kentucky??? Wow. That's a neat looking dog. I've always liked English sheppards, Rottweilers, and chihuahuas myself. Lol.

Coraline huh? That was a neat movie.

Glad to see some progress.

 

[eric b 125]

Yeah, I'm going to make a weekend trip out of it. It's only a 5 hour drive each way. I got my last dog when I was going through a break up and it was a great way to connect with the dog on another level. I think this will be very healthy for me.

I've never seen the movie. It was my best friends favorite book as a kid.

 

[eric b 125]

I picked up AlgaeFix Marine today. The algae is much better throughout the tank, but there's one rock that still has it pretty good. Between the reduced lighting schedule and H2O2, the dino's are pretty much gone. I'm going to dose the AlgaeFix every three days (per the directions) when I turn the lights off for the day (around 1:30p) and H2O2 when I get home from work. Once everything is gone from the rocks I'm going to place a frag order and run GFO to deal with any phosphates. I still have the Phosphate RX if something comes up. Fish order, or purchase from LFS will be next Saturday.

 

[snakeblitz33]

Nice. Getting it taken care of!

I had a long haired chihuahua for a couple of years. I loved that little dog but I had to give it away because we moved into a location that didn't allow pets.

I'm ready for you to start QTin some fish man! Whats on your fish list?

 

[eric b 125]

Well, I don't want a ton of fish. I was thinking

First order will be:
5-7 Carberryi Anthias
5-7 Disbar Anthias

Second order will be:
1 Midas blenny
1 Mandarin
1 Flame angel
1 powder blue tang (still iffy on that one)

Other fish I sorta kinda want are: purple or helfrichi firefish, green clown goby, and wrasses. I haven't convinced myself to get a canopy yet and the wrasses depend on that.

 

[aduvall]

Love this list!

 

[pegasus]

Nice list, eric. I hope you'll wait at least 6 months before getting a mandarin. If it gets "seeded", and everything goes smoothly, you tank should have a steady and stable population of pods that mandarins crave. On the other hand, if you can find one that's trained (or you train) to eat frozen food, you can manually feed it. It's not as easy as it sounds, as they are really slow eaters. The other fish would probably steal it's meal before it has a chance to eat. My green grazes all day, and he's very lucky if a piece of food lands near him at feeding time. Then he cocks his head and looks at it, thinks about it for a second, and then takes a bite... if it's still there. Just thought you should know, just in case. Flame angels will also do better in a mature tank, as they graze on the rocks to get importantly nutritious algae.

PS: If you don't want to ruin your ink, try a pair of reef gloves.

 

[eric b 125]

Love this list!

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think about the Powder Blue Tang? Yes or no? I'm thinkin yes.

Nice list, eric. I hope you'll wait at least 6 months before getting a mandarin. If it gets "seeded", and everything goes smoothly, you tank should have a steady and stable population of pods that mandarins crave. On the other hand, if you can find one that's trained (or you train) to eat frozen food, you can manually feed it. It's not as easy as it sounds, as they are really slow eaters. The other fish would probably steal it's meal before it has a chance to eat. My green grazes all day, and he's very lucky if a piece of food lands near him at feeding time. Then he cocks his head and looks at it, thinks about it for a second, and then takes a bite... if it's still there. Just thought you should know, just in case. Flame angels will also do better in a mature tank, as they graze on the rocks to get importantly nutritious algae.

PS: If you don't want to ruin your ink, try a pair of reef gloves.

I love mandarins. They are one of my favorite fish. I've already seeded the tank with pods and plan to add another bottle once I get my fuge online. None of my LFS's have any chaeto right now but a buddy of mine is going to bring me some this weekend. His tank is ich-free so I won't have to QT it, which is a relief. The fish on the second order won't see the DT for another 3 months.

 

[pegasus]

Thanks! I'm pretty happy with it. What do you think about the Powder Blue Tang? Yes or no? I'm thinkin yes.



I love mandarins. They are one of my favorite fish. I've already seeded the tank with pods and plan to add another bottle once I get my fuge online. None of my LFS's have any chaeto right now but a buddy of mine is going to bring me some this weekend. His tank is ich-free so I won't have to QT it, which is a relief. The fish on the second order won't see the DT for another 3 months.

You're off to a good start, eric. Honestly, I don't think you even need macro for the type of copepod that mandarins eat. Most copepods live and feed in the water column, which is of little or no benefit to dragonets. Tisbe copepods live and feed on substrate (rocks and sand), the places where dragonets search for food. These are what I use, and as far as I know, AlgaGen ReefPods are the only commercially available Tisbe . I also buy copepod/amphipod mixes, but these are for the other fish, corals, and filter feeders. Just thought I'd through that in there in case you were seeding with a different type of copepod...

 

[snakeblitz33]

Will you be adding phyto to this tank?

 

[eric b 125]

Will you be adding phyto to this tank?

I don't know. I've never added phyto to my tank in the past. Something to consider, for sure.

 

[aduvall]

What's the story on powder blues? When I get a bigger tank my wife really wants one.

 

[eric b 125]

What's the story on powder blues? When I get a bigger tank my wife really wants one.

They're pretty touchy fish. They are very sensitive to ich and from what I understand need a very delicate QT.