3-feet Shallow Reef Tank

[Shyn]

Cycling so fast! I still facing diatom bloom on my tank. 

[slapper]

Four weeks since the creation of the shallow lagoon reef. To date, the reef has corals of about 80% full capacity. A reefer shared that corals have lower bio-load than fishes. It does seem that way as I can see how the corals expand and extend in my reef. Here are some photos taken today.

The Aussie scolymias are all healthy. The two button scolys that I bought over the weekend are doing so well. They have swelled to a size bigger than what I saw in the LFS, almost half the size of the bleeding apple.

The hammers are all well extended. The ones in front are single head frags but they are so swelled up you can hardly tell that they are frags.

The meat coral and plates are placed at a corner as they do not thrive under high spectrum. You can tell that they are happy just being at the corner.

 The goniopora and alveopora are placed on the other end of the tank. With their extended polyps, no wonder they are nicknamed as “flower pot” corals!

Just below the gonioporas are the lobophyllias. Just like the meat coral, they thrive better on subdued lighting.

Next to them are two maxima clams. Be sure to place these clams on the clam holders that you can find easily in LFS. This is to prevent the exposed base from getting infected from the sand.

The SPS colony takes centrestage, fully blasted by the AI Hydra64 spectrum to bring out the best of their colors. I am definitely looking forward to see them grow overtime.

Just beside the SPS are the mid-range torches. If these torches can survive, I may consider getting the holy grail of torches.

Below are more photos of the front, side and top profiles of the shallow lagoon reef. Please enjoy.

Once the reef establishes itself, the fishes will make their debut. Stay tuned.

[slapper]

Another update of my tank. Been stocking up on corals for the pass weeks and the tank is about 90% capacity. Got more premium frags from LFS, hoping they will grow over time. Managed to find some interesting pieces too, such as the bicolor frogspawn and cynarina. Absolutely breathtaking.

[slapper]

Added more Aussie corals from coral fanatics. They have the best selection of great quality corals. The rainbow acan burns under the Hydra64. The strawberry shortcake sps is extraordinary. My tank is officially full.

 

[MarCal]

Time to upgrade!

[slapper]

25 minutes ago, MarCal said:

Time to upgrade!

Haha better not. So I will not overspend on corals  happy how the tank turns out.

[slapper]

Just received the Fritz Aquatic coral viewing glasses. Really makes a difference in coral viewing. See the photos and you will know!

Without coral viewerWith coral viewerWithout coral viewerWith coral viewerWithout coral viewerWith coral viewer 

 

This is MUCH better than the ones provided by local LFS. The intensity of the colors are simply breathtaking! I still have VERY limited pieces for sale. Do check out Marketplace for my listing! FCFS!

[slapper]

Have decided to make a switch from Red Sea products to Fauna Marine, as they have a wider range of food and dosing elements. Hopefully my corals will grow to like it.

Also did a water test recently. Phosphate is still very high despite regular dosing. Need to also pull up the KH. Have ordered the NYOS Torq reactor for the phosphate removal GFO. Hopefully it helps!

[ymglwme]

Hi! May I know where you purchased this water testing machine? Thanks!


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[JiaEn]

3 hours ago, slapper said:

Also did a water test recently. Phosphate is still very high despite regular dosing. Need to also pull up the KH.

Hey!  Great looking tank 

I notice your calcium level is also on the low side. Probably indicating growth from your corals and clams.  Happy problem. 

 

As for phosphate,  you may want to look at why the level is elevared in the first place. Relying on GFO for phosphate control can get expensive if the upstream problem is significant. 

[slapper]

3 hours ago, ymglwme said:

Hi! May I know where you purchased this water testing machine? Thanks!


Sent from Singapore Reef Club mobile app

Hi! I did my test at DE Aquatic for $10!

[slapper]

1 hour ago, JiaEn said:

Hey!  Great looking tank 

I notice your calcium level is also on the low side. Probably indicating growth from your corals and clams.  Happy problem. 

 

As for phosphate,  you may want to look at why the level is elevared in the first place. Relying on GFO for phosphate control can get expensive if the upstream problem is significant. 

I’ve jus dosed some calcium today. As for phosphate, it could be the daily feeding of fishes. Let’s see how far the GFO can help to lower it, then I’ll start regular dosing to maintain the lowered phosphate level.

[Mr. Tay]

Wow, a very clean Reef Tank ! 

This is one of the key areas which I am working very hard to achieve for my small 12G Nano Tank, which is till having some brown hair algae

Can share on some pointers to achieve a clean reef tank like yours

 

[mlyj21]

Great tank!


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[slapper]

On 8/9/2021 at 8:15 PM, Mr. Tay said:

Wow, a very clean Reef Tank ! 

This is one of the key areas which I am working very hard to achieve for my small 12G Nano Tank, which is till having some brown hair algae

Can share on some pointers to achieve a clean reef tank like yours

 

Thank you Mr Tay. Daily maintenance is necessary to keep the tank clean, with the help of cleaning crews. While one can scrub away the algae on the glass, the crews are needed to work on those that are on the rocks. I started dosing Red Sea Algae Management solution during the run-in phase of my tank. I think it helps to reduce the effects of the “ugly phase” that every new tank goes through. Mine was barely noticeable. Only recently when I added more fish, the phosphate level climbed up due to frequent feeding. I am now using phosphate reducer GFO to battle this. It is still ongoing and I will provide more updates again.
 

[Mr. Tay]

44 minutes ago, slapper said:

Thank you Mr Tay. Daily maintenance is necessary to keep the tank clean, with the help of cleaning crews. While one can scrub away the algae on the glass, the crews are needed to work on those that are on the rocks. I started dosing Red Sea Algae Management solution during the run-in phase of my tank. I think it helps to reduce the effects of the “ugly phase” that every new tank goes through. Mine was barely noticeable. Only recently when I added more fish, the phosphate level climbed up due to frequent feeding. I am now using phosphate reducer GFO to battle this. It is still ongoing and I will provide more updates again.
 

Thanks for sharing and hope that you make good progress in managing the phosphate well