Derek's Custom 180G SPS Reef Tank

[jroovers]

I get cyano and my tank is pretty dang healthy..... dont consider cyano a sure sign of a nutrient problem.

I've got this going on right now.  Low overall nutrient levels and paling corals, and waging a pretty significant cyano battle (which I'm being patient with and think I am slowly winning).  It is annoying stuff anyway you look at it!

 

[spyd]

I spot feed lps with mysis, the problem being the shrimp, crabs and starfish tend to get it out before the corals can close around the chunks.  I don't see them catch the cyclopeeze very well.

Exactly why I don't have any shrimp, crabs or starfish in this setup. Plus, if I ever need to dose Intercepter for Red Bugs, I won't have to worry about taking these critters out of the tank. I also have a Tusk Fish in my system so I doubt they would last longer than a day or 2 before he makes a snack out of them. 

As for the AA dosing, I have not tried it at all yet. I will be picking some up shortly and will only be experimenting a little bit with them. I am going to try adding a tiny bit upstream from my bleached out coral just to see what, if anything, happens.

 

[Salty Cracker]

I'm good with getting rid of the starfish, it's a PITA.  I really like hermits, they're just so...aquatic. The shrimp, well the kinds love the shrimp, and he's sort of got personality.  The starfish is the most persistent.  He will get under glass I put over the corals at feeding and won't ever stop eating, at least the shrimp gets full. 

 

[spyd]

Sounds like it's time to set the bottle trap 

 

[Salty Cracker]

Time for one less starfish that's for sure, and maybe sell off the sun coral.  You should hear me late at night "stupid coral!  Eat the shrimp!  Hurry up!  Don't you see the starfish coming!!! Swallow that shrimp you sonofabitch!!!" 

 

[TORX]

Time for one less starfish that's for sure, and maybe sell off the sun coral.  You should hear me late at night \"stupid coral!  Eat the shrimp!  Hurry up!  Don't you see the starfish coming!!! Swallow that shrimp you sonofabitch!!!\" 

Go ghetto style while target feeding

 

[spyd]

That would definitely work!!

 

[spyd]

Just a quick update:

PO4 has no been completely removed!! WOO HOO!!! 0.00 according to my Hanna Checker. I have noticed corals that were browning out a little have come back full circle. To combat the PO4, I upped my bio-pellets, ran GFO and fed the tank less. I will update some pics tonight as quite a bit has changed since last update. I am running out of room all ready.  :? I have reworked some rock and need to move a couple more so my powerheads are not blasting some of my corals too badly.

Looks like I will be selling off some corals shortly once some of my frags start taking off. Also, I got a couple flame tip BTA's a few weeks ago thanks to mjdf!!! It only took a week and my Clowns are happily living in them!!! First time I have been able to enjoy some clowns actually being hosted in an anemone!

ALK is holding steady at 8. Calcium holding at 420 and Mag is a little low at 1200. I am working on getting that up to the 1300 mark. I have started dosing some Amino Acids as well to see if I can get one of my brains to colour back up. I am not gonna go crazy with the stuff but thought I would give it a try. I will monitor if any noteable changes occur and am paying very close attention to my PO4 levels while I try the AA to ensure it does not increase my levels at all.

Last but not least, my tank skin FINALLY comes this weekend!! Only a couple months late... Now my tank setup will look a lot nicer and provide me with a pile of storage space that I desperately needed. I can't use the space right now as it is open underneath and the kids would be in there in 2 seconds. Now, I can lock them out! They're cute but mischievous!!!  ;D

 

[Darryl_V]

awesome.....cant wait for the pics but looking forward to seeing it again in person some time soon.

 

[spyd]

Time to post some updated photos. I finally got my tank skin this past weekend and have pretty much finished it off. Still lots of work to be done on coral placements but I am getting there. Big thanks to Darryl for providing me with a pile of choice frags for the tank. I will be adding some additional pieces as I go... Of course... But, now it really is just wait on some growth and allow my tank to mature. I am picking up a Sargassum Trigger this weekend to add to my tank. Thanks Dave (Big Show) for holding one for me til this weekend! I am also looking at possibly adding a Fowleri Tang to the mix but not sure... They are truly stunning but they can get quite massive.

Still no phosphates, nitrates and all other parameters are in check. I had a diatom bloom on my sand bed that started about a week ago and is all most gone now. You can still see a little in the sand but it should be gone within a week.

 

[Darryl_V]

I got a chance to see this tank again the other night and the stand looks amazing...well the whole system does.

When those corals take off this tank is going to be a jaw dropper.

 

[rowdy29can]

Looks amazing congrats! Can't wait to see the progress in 6 months! Cheers!

 

[unibob]

Can't wait to see this tank grow in. Get the steroids going

 

[spyd]

Thanks for the compliments guys! I really need to learn how to take some better photos though. I have a decent camera but have no clue how to utilize it properly. Maybe I should read the manual one day.  : The stand has turned out really nice and am definitely happy with it. I will take some day time photos so it can be seen a little clearer as these pics don't do it justice.

As for the roids, they are all connected and have been pumping since day 1. I find I don't need much right now. I actually run about the same amount as I did on my 75G tank. Once my frags start taking off though, I know it is going to change the amounts drastically.

 

[spyd]

It's been a long, long, long time since I have updated this thread. The reason being... My tank is packed full of little sticks and is nothing too impressive yet. Still, why not show case my 180G frag tank!  ;D

Fire & Ice Prostrata - Growing nicely. One of the few colonies I have.

One of my few personal corals. Noname as of yet... I will think up something cool. An ID would be great. I bought it as a frag 2 years ago from Fragalot. Only 1 of a few that actually amounted to something. It is red w/ green base and blue tips. Very cool looking piece.

Here is my Tyree Red Dragon w/ Tyree Undata behind it. BS Stelleta, RR Nauti Spiral & MRT Deswalli. I recently moved the Deswalli onto this rock because it was bleaching out a little where I had it before but still growing and polyps are all ways out.

Chalice Heaven. This is a Kaleidoscope Chalice I got from IA. My personal fav in my tank right now until some of my others grow a little more.

Tyree Red Dragon - Close Up. Growing nicely.

Here are my MRT Limeade, Tyree Stag, RR Avengers and a few nonames with a lot of potential. The green Milli in the back right got stung by my anemone in it's old spot... I think it is done for but hopefully not. It was a beauty from Darryl.

Tyree Pink Lemonade. Slow grower but it's encrusting and starting to take off.

RR Gold Bar Acro. Picture doesn't do it justice. It is a gold colour and it just started taking off now.

Tyree Setosa. Slow grower as well but it's doin its thing. Looking nice and healthy.

ORA Hawkins - Starting to get some nice growth now. One of my favs.

Tubbs Pink Jade. Haven't had it for long but it is encrusting now and looking great. This will have some nice colour for sure!

Some of my actual colonies. Palmers Blue Milli and MRT A. Convexa. Convexa has turned to an awesome red/ orange colour w/ green base. Tyree Lime in the Sky in the background.

MRT Saratosa. This thing is going to be sweet once it grows up!

Bought this from IA as a Turaki. Growth doesn't look like it though. Any thoughts? It's doing great in my tank though. Green w/ blue tips.

RR Peacock, Tyree Rainbow Stylo and RR Nauti Spiral w/ MRT Red Digitata in the background.

ORA Red Planet. Doin it's thing. Starting to encrust nicely now. I love how tight the branches are growing together.

BS Valentines Day Massacre chalice. This thing is a beauty!! Nice bright colours.

Candlelight. Not sure if it is an MRT or a different name... I forget. Help my out Darryl!  It is awesome though!!! The tips just glow under atinics!!!

Last but not least... ORA Pearlberry!!! Waiting for this little baby to grow!!

Thats it for now. Big props to Darryl for providing me with most of these collector pieces!!! Looking forward to picking up that other one soon! 

 

[Duke]

wow, looks great, any newer full tank shots?

 

[spyd]

I will take some tonight and post them. Just have to clean up some of the freakin' red slime breakout before snapping a pic! I'm winning the battle but man is it ever annoying!!!! I am going to try dosing some MB7 to help combat it. It is coming from my bio-pellets. All my perameters are in check. I blow off my rock frequently and stir up my sand bed every week. Soon, I will have this cyano issue taken care of though.

Also, it will be sad showing my once beautiful show piece Hollywood Stunner chalice.... It's a little fugly now. When I went on holidays back in December, my Flame BTA decided to split and one of them thought the under side of my center piece would make a great home. It has not been happy ever since.... I fear the worst. I used to see feeder tentacles everywhere and now I never see them... Not a good sign when it comes to chalices. I try to feed it lots but not sure what else I can do for it. I have dipped it and just hoping it turns around for the better. It has not gotten any worse over the last few weeks but has not got better either....

 

[jroovers]

Terrific pics, things are looking fantastic!

I will take some tonight and post them. Just have to clean up some of the freakin' red slime breakout before snapping a pic! I'm winning the battle but man is it ever annoying!!!! I am going to try dosing some MB7 to help combat it. It is coming from my bio-pellets. All my perameters are in check. I blow off my rock frequently and stir up my sand bed every week. Soon, I will have this cyano issue taken care of though.

You may want to hold off on the MB7, I've read that dosing MB7 with carbon can actually make the cyano worse, and I think one of the recommendations when running this combo is to back off the MB7 if cyano appears.  That is what I've always done.  I've actually given up on the MB7, I don't really think it adds anything in addition to the BPs. 

I'm going through the same thing right now and actually have my cyano close to under control.  It is a long road though as you noted.  I am going to switch my bulbs though as they are close to a year old.  The TDS of my water had crept up to 5 ppm, so I swapped out my DI resin.  I removed some of my Biopellets, and only have about 200 ml running on my 120 now, and turned down the flow a touch.  I've been doing the near daily turkey basting and suctioning, and I think that helps more than anything.  I stopped dosing snow as well as I really am beginning to think that its contribution is also over-rated (although my corals seem to to like it).  Good luck, it is a long road, but hopefully you'll get there with patience and persistence.

 

[spyd]

Hmmm... Interesting. Thanks Jordan. I wonder if I should cut down on the pellets?? I am not using piles though. 500ml for my 180G. Thoughts?? Should I cut it back? I have been running that amount from Day 1 in this tank. 0 NO3 and 0 PO4.

 

[Salty Cracker]

Personally I would look at water quality and lighting before I would mess with the biopellets. 

I'm not a scientist but I did stay at a holiday inn express last night... so if you had a billion bacteria, all feeding off a finite amount of food (bio pellet chamber), and you suddenly remove half the food, it stands to reason that half the bacteria would starve, die, and become food for some new thing that was kept at bay by the lack of dead bacteria...if you see what I mean.

I run 500ml of pellets on a 125, and have not had a lick of cyano in over a year, since I kept on top of my RO/DI output, and got rid of bulbs that yeah, I too would let go for a year (or more!).