Here we go < 90g SW build/log/project

[EddieJ]

Hello everyone,

I finally decided to take a plunge into the saltwater world. Hope all the saltwater experts here can help me along my journey.

Day One: Starting the setup
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/frontviewdayone.jpg
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/sumpviewdayone.jpg

90 Gallon tank with pre-drilled overflow
MegaFlow 3 wet/dry/sump
ViaAqua 1800 return pump
Coralife SS125 protein skimmer
Maxijet1200 and Penguin 1140 power heads

Just setting everything up at this time. Still need some tubing to connect the return pump. I am also waiting on my RO unit to come in. After reading over tons and tons of saltwater info I have concluded it is the way to go. I just couldn't do the tap water thing... One quick question on RO, does it reduce/eliminate phosphates? The tap water here has pretty high levels. I will be using sand for the substrate on this setup. Right now this will be a fish only tank to start. I do plan on adding some live rock down the road.

This is our Christmas present this year (OK, it's a little early, but the fish won't hit it till around Christmas I am sure). The wife loves the Clowns so 2 of those will be the first residents.

That's it for now...hopefully the RO unit gets here Friday.

[daayda3]

cool!

[FeatherDuster]

Wow, what a nice setup. Exactly the kind I like. Tall, black stand/hood and solid colored background. Great Christmas Present.

Its a good idea to start now. That way you can add all the live goodies during Christmas. And I actually like the display ornaments you have in there.

[Reefscape]

Hey there Eddie...A warm Welcome to Aquaria Central..Hope you enjoy the site..

A few observations really first..The blue bioballs in the sump, i would replace with live rock rubble for a couple of reasons like the potential for elevated nitrates, far less to do in your maintenance plan...On the bubble trap next to the return pump, is that long blue thing sponge? If it is, i would be tempted to remove it..Again, another area that has great potenital to produce nitrates if left unchecked..Both are arrowed in the attached copy of your image..

I think your off to a great start with your setup and i am sure it will turn into a superb looking system..Ya gotta love em when there all nice, clean and shiney..lol..


One quick question on RO, does it reduce/eliminate phosphates? The tap water here has pretty high levels.

Yes, an RO unit should produce watre that is all zero..When they dont produce clear water like that, it usually a warning that the filters need replacing..

Hope this helps mate. We have loads of experienced reefers here on AC and will help you the best they can..Look forward to seeing more updates from you as it progresses...

Niko

[EddieJ]

Thanks for the info. For the mechanical filter media (which is above the bio balls) any suggestions? It is just some basic mesh/floss/sponge as of now. Should I put another type of media in there for startup?

[Grins]

Is it just me, or does the coral on "stage left" which means to our right...look like an armchair?

[paulc2112]

Is it just me, or does the coral on "stage left" which means to our right...look like an armchair?

You're right. Looks just like an Adirondack chair.

[Almondsaz]

Eddie: Welcome to the forum! Like your set up. Is your tank the Oceanic? Looks like their overflow. The blue sponge on the right is part of the overall bubble trap...you do need to take care to clean it properly every couple of weeks or when it gets dirty. Also, your return pump should have come with a sponge and tube for the water intake...use it to reduce the potential for the motor to get foreign matter (like rock or sand) in it to cause an early failure. I second the no "bio balls". Might want to make the investment in Live Rock for the tank as well as rubble for the sump. Your Coralife Skimmer should have come with a bubble trap that you will want to use or mod.

You will probably need to look into a heater before you start the system.

Looks like you are off to a terrific start with your equipment choices.

[EddieJ]

Is your tank the Oceanic?
It is an All Glass tank

I second the no "bio balls"
So replace the Bio Balls with LRR in that Air chamber? Why would LRR perform better in this enviroment since it is not submerged? I have heard this from a few sources and was wondering how it would lower nitrate production.

Your Coralife Skimmer should have come with a bubble trap that you will want to use or mod.
I plan on making a mod on that with some PVC and sponge. The diffuser box is just too bulky and does not really work well in the sump area.

You will probably need to look into a heater before you start the system.
I have a heater located in the sump, it is hidden from view from the center post on the stand.

Thanks for the input. I do plan on adding some live rock to the dead rock that is in there now. That is on the project plan down the road.

[wantvws]

Welcome....looking forward to your build thread. I did the PVC mod for the return on my CSS and it's great. I also did a mod on my MJ1200's that really increases the flow. I am a little confused too over the LRR in the trickle part of my filter....I have it submerged in the bottom of my wet/dry after my bio-balls which I am planning on chucking at some point, but they haven't given me any trouble yet (still a fairly new tank).
Robbie

[EddieJ]

Update:

Nothing really exciting..... The RO/DI unit is scheduled to get here Thursday, so until then I am in a holding pattern. But still spending money in that holding pattern LOL!! Mag Float scraper, 32 gallon trash cans and buckets, refractometer, and the list goes on.

I am 0 for 3 in locating LRR at LFSs. I have one more place that I am pretty sure will be able to hook me up. I am going to add a few pounds of LR to the tank as well.

Well, time to get the Christmas tree up..

[Reefscape]

Sounds like its all coming along nicely Eddie, great to hear it...Where are you located? maybe people can help you out with LRR or live rock etc etc...

Niko

[EddieJ]

Okay, 2 things to go over.

1) I received my Coralife RO/DI (50gpd) unit this week, and I can not get it to operate correctly. It is producing too much water (blue tube is really pumping out the water while the red tube has very little. The troubleshooting section says that the membrane is not seated properly. I take a look at it and it appears to be seated well. Anyone here have experience with this? If so what should I look for?
2) I bought 100lbs of Marine sand at my LFS with my tank. It is Estes Marine Sand. It says right on the bag Non-Buffering. After some research I find this is a popular sand with the FW crew. I should not use this correct? I found somewhere that this stuff is 98 percent silica with a plastic coating.

[EddieJ]

I fixed the RO unit problem. The membrane needed to be inserted "one more click" to be fully seated. Unit is now making it first "Throw away" 10 gallons

[EddieJ]

Finally some progress!!!

Returned the Estes Marine Sand and replaced it with CaribSea Argonite Figi Pink. Made my first batch of RO/DI water, mixed in Instant Ocean and filled up the first 25 gallons. I use 2 32 gallon Rubbermaid trash cans. One is the storage for the RO water. I transfer that over via pump to the second can and mix in the salt there. After I have the salinity dialed in with my refractometer I transfer via pump to 5 gallon buckets. These are carried upstairs (the labor of love) and transferred to the tank via pump. I place a plastic bowl in the tank to deflect the powerful stream coming out of the pump. This way the bowl fills and overflows. This kept the dust Storm to a minimum. The pic below is about 20 minutes after I filled the first 25 gallons. As you can see it is not too terribly cloudy. That is with no filtration running and it is not full enough to fill the sump.

Second batch of RO is being made overnight. Slow process but good things come to those who wait right? I checked the tank for leaks, turned up dry as a bone. Also checked the tank for level; perfect.

You can see the Chair coral is gone, I just couldn't take Grins making fun of it!!:headshake2:

Nahh, just changed the plan. I am picking up around 50lbs of cured live rock this week after I have the rest of the water ready. It will be placed with the base rock that is in there and to the right. So my tank with be a FOWSLR.

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/dayonefill.jpg

[EddieJ]

Now it's starting to look like a SW tank. Picked up the live rock on the way home from work today. I picked out a mixture of cured Alor, Pohnpei and Fiji Totoka. Hope I did ok for my first shot at live rock. Finished filling the tank. Sump system is up and running as well. Going to start adding some pure ammonia making sure not to spike it too hard. The cured live rock should help the cycle I would assume. The water is still a little cloudy, but tonight is the first time it is hitting some filtration. Water params all look in line as well.

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/dayoneLRfull.jpg
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/LR1.jpg
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/LR2.jpg
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/LR3.jpg

[EddieJ]

The Patience test has been on it's way since the 11th. I have started the cycle using the ammonia method. Slowly ramped the ammonia to 2ppm. I didn't want to shock the Live rock (since it was fully cured at the LFS) with high amounts of ammonia. It's been doing it's job as the nitrites have started to climb and the ammonia drop. I also have the nitrates starting to rise which is a good thing. I am going to start reducing the amount of ammonia I add and let the cycle complete out. Then after my WC, I will test the system with a little bit of ammonia to make sure it is processing. I don't plan on a big bioload off the bat. The first 2 fish will be clowns. I will not add more fish for at least a month or 2. Just want to make sure the system is running stable.

That's all for now

[Reefscape]

All sounding great so far Eddie....Looking good...

Niko

[saltydunc]

coming along nicely there mate :)

[EddieJ]

Tank is coming along nicely. Ammonia is at 0 for the last 4 days, Nitrites at 0.1 and Nitrates at 15ppm. I have been steady feeding the tank ammonia and it has processed it to 0. I even hit it with double to amount of ammonia and it went right back to 0. So I am confident the bacteria colonies are doing well. I upgraded my lighting (man, this hobby can suck you in) to an Outer Orbit by Current USA. 2X150w Metal Halides and 2X130 Dual Actinic 420/460 PC with 6 lunar lights.

Plan is to get 2 Percula Clowns and put them in the QT the day after Christmas. I have had the filter media in my sump of the DT for the QT. So they should be ready to go. I will test it out with some ammonia just to make sure it is ready. I will keep the clowns in QT while I continue to feed the DT with ammonia. Water change on the DT and then introduce the Clowns. Probably looking around 2 weeks or so. I know it is a little shorter then the 4 weeks recommended, but I am not putting a whole tank of goodies at risk. Every new addition will be in the QT for 4 weeks in the future.

Interesting info from a reef expert on reefkeeping.com.

"Nitrite
Aquarists' concerns about nitrite are usually imported from the freshwater hobby. Nitrite is far less toxic in seawater than in freshwater. Fish are typically able to survive in seawater with more than 100 ppm nitrite!17 Until future experiments show substantial nitrite toxicity to reef aquarium inhabitants, nitrite is not an important parameter for reef aquarists to monitor. Tracking nitrite in a new reef aquarium can nevertheless be instructive by showing the biochemical processes that are taking place. In most cases, I do not recommend that aquarists bother to measure nitrite in established aquaria."

17. Seawater strontium and Sr/Ca variability in the Atlantic and Pacific oceans. de Villiers, S. Department of Geological Sciences, University of Washington, Seattle, WA, USA. Earth and Planetary Science Letters (1999), 171(4), 623-634


Tank with the new lighting fixture installed:

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/MHfullfront.jpg

QT waiting for new arrivals
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/qt.jpg

[Grins]

Awww most happy to see your QT tank and plan to use it. Good job!

[EddieJ]

Awww most happy to see your QT tank and plan to use it. Good job!

As much as the wife wants everything yesterday I am proceeding with the moto: The only thing that happens fast is failure.

I think one of the biggest things a QT gives you is a chance to observe the way a particular fish acts without outside influences. In that 4 week time you should really get to know the fish.

[Grins]

Agreed, it isn't just for disease qt, but to observe them, make sure they eat, etc.

[EddieJ]

Glad the holidays are winding down, kept me running here and there and finding places for all of Maddie's (our 1 year old daughter) new toys!!! The tank has completed it's cycle (gotta love fully cured live rock) and has been stable for 9 days (0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, 10 nitrate). On the 29th I added a clean up crew consisting of 10 turbos, 10 blue, and 10 red hermits... So much fun breaking up crab fights and picking up snails who fall off the rock and land on their backs!! LOL!! The inverts settled down after day one. But they are way behind in the algae fight!! The last 3 days I have had an explosion of green algae. I fired up the protein skimmer yesterday but that will take a couple of days to break in. As you can see from the pics it is EVERYWHERE!!

Water Params:
Temp: 79
PH : 8.1
Ammonia 0
Nitrate 10
Nitrite 0
SG 1.024
Phosphate 0
dkh 6.2 <--- Little low?

I have only used RO/Di water from the start. I also double checked my water after mix and it is at 0 trates and 0 phosphate. So the source water is good going in. TDS meter reading 000 on the RO/DI water, it is doing it's job well.

Right now I am running my MH for 8 hours, actinic couple hours before and after looking to get the corraline growth going.

What should be my plan of attack here?? Don't want this to get out of hand right out of the gate.

Since I only have inverts in there, I was thinking about a water change 2morrow and clean out what I can of the algae. Then I was going to keep the lights off for a few days and see if that reduces the outbreak. I was also planning on running some carbon. Sound like a sound plan?? or should I do something else??

Looks like bubble algae to me on the rock to the top right.
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/alg1.jpg

Green Green EVERYWHERE!!!

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/alg2.jpg

Been trying to direct the Hermits to this field of dreams LOL!!
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/alg3.jpg

Is this more bubble algae I see?? looks different from the other one in the first picture.
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/alg4.jpg

And of course, just to make matters worse, our friend Aptasia

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/apt.jpg

It's all not doom and gloom... Introducing Frick and Frack, as they chill out in the QT. They are eating well and are very active. Curious little buggers...
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/frick&frack.jpg

[Almondsaz]

Eddie: great thread and you are making text book progress. All you need now is your diatom bloom and life just can't get better. So now that you have the green algae growing in your sand bed...have you gotten any hermits? I saw one snail in an earlier photo. All looks great. And Frick and Frack will turn to Freeda and Frack once they find something to home (like Xenia, Anem or toadstool). Clowns are funny that way. Mine have to anem's and are hosting a clump of Xenia, but they did fight it out earlier in an anem and after killling it one went male and the other female. Now there is a big size difference. Happy New Year! David

[EddieJ]

Eddie: great thread and you are making text book progress. All you need now is your diatom bloom and life just can't get better. So now that you have the green algae growing in your sand bed...have you gotten any hermits? I saw one snail in an earlier photo. All looks great. And Frick and Frack will turn to Freeda and Frack once they find something to home (like Xenia, Anem or toadstool). Clowns are funny that way. Mine have to anem's and are hosting a clump of Xenia, but they did fight it out earlier in an anem and after killling it one went male and the other female. Now there is a big size difference. Happy New Year! David

Yup, have 10 blue and 10 scarlet red hermits. They were more interested in brawling with each other when I introduced them to the tank. I was like guys, you have tons of room here no need to battle LOL!!

I have just discovered in a little cave in the rocks a red and white crab. Can't get a good pic of him, but he does have some hair on him. Bad thing is I noticed some red hermit crab legs by his area. Hmmm.. Did he take out one of my scarlets? He is not that big.. Been trying to identify him via photos on the web. Still don't have a good match. Not sure if he is going to get his eviction papers!!

[alexuta]

Very nice job eddiej. And also very nice tank.
Hapy new year!

[FeatherDuster]

Great setup so far. I really like how colorful your rocks look :) Especially that blue one. The QT tank also looks nice and clean. My QT tank is pretty beat up and scratched. Thats why I never take pictures of it. You wouldn't be able to see the fish anyways.

I wouldn't be too quick to blame the mysterious crab for the hermits death. It might just have been a molt. Or a casualty from your hermit battle war :D

[EddieJ]

I really like how colorful your rocks look :) Especially that blue one.

You making fun of my blue coral?? LOL!!! That is just a space filler for now. Plan on adding more LR as the budget allows. I would have got it all at once but the holidays were upon us and man the budget took a hit!!!!!

[Almondsaz]

"I have just discovered in a little cave in the rocks a red and white crab. Can't get a good pic of him, but he does have some hair on him. Bad thing is I noticed some red hermit crab legs by his area. Hmmm.. Did he take out one of my scarlets? He is not that big.. Been trying to identify him via photos on the web. Still don't have a good match. Not sure if he is going to get his eviction papers!![/quote]

I wouldn't be too alarmed - yet - the first time I saw the legs or even what I thought was my porcelain crab I thought they had 'been done in'. Turns out they were just molting, but boy did it look like the real thing. Hope that is what you are experiencing.

[chucke]

Yes Very nice start and Tank. I would keep the Blue decor I like it

[bethkira2000]

I love your tank, and all the live rock looks wonderful, i hope my tank goes as smoothly as your did.

[EddieJ]

Things have been going fairly well. The algae fighters are doing their job for the most part. The inverts in the tank at the moment are:

35 Scarlet Hermits
30 Blue Hermits
around 30 Turbo/astrea snails
10 Nass snails
5 emerald crabs
2 lettuce Nudibranch
1 coral branded shrimp
1 cleaner clam

Plenty of algae and goodies for them to munch on. I do drop the shrimp some meaty pellets so he doesn't decide to dine on the smaller hermits.

tank params

Temp 77-79
SG 1.024 <---going to slowly bump that to 1.026
PH 8.0-8.3
Ammonia 0
Nitrates 10
Alk 6.7 dkh <-- been dosing 2 part alk/cal to get that up
Calcium 380 <---- would like to get that over 400

I installed an auto top off system as I am losing around 1/2 gallon a day to evap. I was getting tired of doing it manually each day... I figured that is about right with the Mh lights, open top, and good flow with very good surface agitation. I added a Hydor Koralia #4 to the mix.

The Coralife Super Skimmer has been working nicely as well. Pulling some gunk out that is not the most pleasant stuff :headshake2:

Frick and Frack (the 2 clowns) are doing very well in the QT. The main display tank should be nice and broken in by the time they move in.

Here is the latest full tank shot. As you can see, the snails don't think I do a good enough job cleaning the glass LOL!!

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/jan10full.jpg

Anyone have an idea what this little bush is??? Red hair algae??

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/jan10red.jpg

[EddieJ]

Well Frick and Frack moved into the Display tank yesterday. They got out of QT a few days early due to the fact that one was getting pretty aggressive. Since there were 2 clowns in a 10 gallon they got on each others nerves at the end there. They ate excellent and look to be in excellent shape. So hopefully there wasn't some parasite/disease just about to break out on them. They were in QT for 18 days.

Frick and Frack checking out the new joint:
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/f&fbighouse.jpg

The new arrival in the QT is a baby Blue Hippo Tang. It was on the wifes stockin list and when she saw the babies it was all over!!! Mo is about the size of a quarter. I will get some pics but right now Mo is such a fraidy cat that she hides (lays down flat on her side and plays dead) when ever you come near the tank. She is eating very well, heck anything you throw in front of her. Mysis, cyclops, flake, algae you name it!! She will definitely be in the QT 4+ weeks just to get her a little bigger.

I have 50 lbs of premium figi LR coming here on Saturday. Will start the curing process (in a trash can with heater and powerhead) as soon as that arrives.

guess that all for now... Thanks for everyones comments!

See ya soon

[meow91]

As far as your algea goes light feeds it, less light will help reduce its growth,since you don't have anything needing it (corals, etc...)turn off at least the MH.

[clown-lover]

Your description of Mo is just to funny.. My Goby does something simular whenever I approach the tank. He sees me enter the darn room and goes flying for his bunkers. He comes out again when he finds out my arms aren't in the tank again..

Really liking your tank.. Good luck with Mo.

[EddieJ]

As far as your algae goes light feeds it, less light will help reduce its growth,since you don't have anything needing it (corals, etc...)turn off at least the MH.

I reduced the lighting to 6 hours a day. The hair algae appears to be under control and the CUC is making headway. I think the Hair Algae came in on one of the live rocks. I have used RODI only in this tank and the source water reads 0 on Trates and Phosphates.

[EddieJ]

Your description of Mo is just to funny.. My Goby does something simular whenever I approach the tank. He sees me enter the darn room and goes flying for his bunkers. He comes out again when he finds out my arms aren't in the tank again..

Really liking your tank.. Good luck with Mo.

I found the way to observe Mo. I have to have the QT tank light on, and the rest of the room pitch black. That way she has no Idea that I am watching her. When she notices you, she lays flat on the bottom and wedges herself under the PVC.

[EddieJ]

Snapped a pic of Mo and shot a Video... TINY Blue Hippo Tang, about the size a quarter. Maybe one day I will figure out how to take good pics..

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/Moo.jpg


Click Link below for some video.

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/MoinQT.wmv

[irishspy]

Looks like a good pic to me. I take it he's still in QT?

[EddieJ]

Looks like a good pic to me. I take it he's still in QT?


Yup, been in there a week with 4 weeks to go. Should have some size before she is released into the main tank.

[WoodRight]

Hello Eddie,

Your tank is looking great. It looks alot like mine. The tank it self that is. I was wondering how much you payed for your RO unit. I would love to get one myself but I think it might have to wait.

Oh and I love the movie of your Tang. The music is a good chioce. LOL

[EddieJ]

Hello Eddie,

Your tank is looking great. It looks alot like mine. The tank it self that is. I was wondering how much you payed for your RO unit. I would love to get one myself but I think it might have to wait.

Oh and I love the movie of your Tang. The music is a good choice. LOL

It's a Coralife Pur-Flo. 4 stage unit with DI. I paid $155 or so. It is a 50 Gallon Per Day, in retrospect I should have invested a little more and went with a 100 gallon a day. In the winter here, the incoming water is very cold and that slows down production a bunch. If you don't have real good water pressure, make sure you purchase one with a pump.

[WoodRight]

Cool I'll check it out. I'm not looking foward to filling up my van with 17 or so 5gal buckets of R/O water from the fish store we goto. it's 45 min away from here and 86 cents a gal.

[Mgamer20o0]

good luck. nice start

[EddieJ]

The additional LR has been placed into the tank. It was shipped here overnight fully cured so it took only a week in the curing tank. There was a small ammonia spike in the curing tank as there was no doubt some die off. When the levels dropped to zeros it was ready to go.
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/newlr.jpg

QT News:

Well bad news from this front. Mo ended up with some kind of infection on her one side. I think she picked it up from always laying on the tank bottom. She was scratching a bunch and I noticed the spot on her side. So last Saturday I started the 5 day Lifeguard treatment from Instant Ocean. It is a broad spectrum medication and since I could not identify what was on her, I decided to go this route. The spot is towards the back, she is still very active and still eats real good. So I would say the outlook is good. It appears to be getting better. Good thing I use a QT, as it would have sucked if she brought that from the LFS to my main tank. I could not imagine trying to catch her in the main tank, she would wedge herself in the rocks and never come out LOL!!! If you don't use a QT tank, you are just playing Russian roulette with your tank.

I also have purchased a 30 gallon refugium kit. This will be installed in the basement below the tank. So the overflow from the tank will go into the existing sump where my protein skimmer is located. Then it will pumped thru the floor to the basement. There it will flow thru some more LR then a deep
sand bed refugium with macro algae and critters. From there it will get returned back upstairs to the main tank via a Little Giant pump. I also designed a fail safe float system the will shut down both pumps if one of the pumps fails. Will be nice to do water changes from the basement vs. hauling the buckets of water up to the display tank. I hope to have that project finished this weekend.

Frick and Frack are doing real well. They LOVE eating baby snails!!! They see where the eggs are on the side of the tank and wait for the snacks LOL!!

That's it for now

[EddieJ]

Good news, Mo is looking much better as she continues to grow and get ready for the move into the DT. The Lifeguard treatment from Instant Ocean worked very well.

I have the refugium setup in the basement below the tank and sump. It has a 6 inch DSB, some LR and Cheato along with some nas snails. Below are a couple of pics.

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/refug1.jpg
http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/refug2.jpg

So far things are progressing very well. Tank is beginning to stable out. Frick and Frack are doing very well. My coral branded shrimp come out to eat at dinner time which is very cool, since I almost never see him as he hides in a cave facing the back of the tank.

That's all for now

[Lupin]

Nice!

[EddieJ]

Thought I would post an update as my tank is rolling into the 1 year mark. What started off as a fish only tank has morphed into a mixed reef and a **** expensive addiction!! LOL!!

Tank parameters:

Temp 77-81 F
Salinity 35ppt (SG 1.026)
PH 7.9 - 8.3
ALK 8.3 dkh
CAL 430
MG 1275
NO3 .02 to undetectable
PO4 .003 to undetectable (Measured using Hach Colorimeter II)


I use fully saturated limewater for ATO which replaces evaporation at around a pace of 1.5 gallons a day. 2 part from Bulk Reef Supply is dosed as well at 45ml a day. The ALK gets consumed by the corraline algae at a crazy amount, thus I need the 2 part along with the limewater. I run ROX .8 carbon from Bulk Reef Supply as well as GFO in 2 reactors.

Below are a couple of pics. Excuse the quality as I am just learning the ropes with my new Rebel EOS Xsi. Also ignore the tank that needs some scraping along the edges.

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/FT121508.JPG

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/suncoral.jpg

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/clown.jpg

[EddieJ]

Here are a couple more pics:

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/IMG_0386.JPG

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/IMG_0396.JPG

http://www.eddiespokerroom.com/Fish/IMG_0416.JPG

[Ace25]

Very nice!!! Congrats on making it the first year, it is by far the hardest. It looks like you have a great setup and doing what it takes to keep up on parameters. I am right there myself.. I just installed a dripper for kalk in addition to my ATO, but I can't keep up with calc or alk so I am going to switch over like you did, full kalk top off along with dosing 2 part... time to look for a ca reactor it seems. ;)

[pipebash]

very nice tank eddie. Is that an H. magnifica in that clown shot? And if so how long have you kept it?

[EddieJ]

very nice tank eddie. Is that an H. magnifica in that clown shot? And if so how long have you kept it?

Really not sure what species of anemone it is. When I purchased it it was labeled a Green Bubble tip, but it doesn't look like any BTA I have seen. It's been in since June and has grown a bit in that time. Appears to be really happy and eats well the few times I fed it SilverSide heads. It has positioned itself in a high light area with lots of flow, it really seems to enjoy blowing around in the current. The first shot was with a flash so you can see the green in it with the pink tips. The second was under my 14k halides where the green does not stand out as much.