Naivete 180 gal Reef Tank

[naivete]

HI there! I am from the Philippines and have been reefing for about 2 years. I have been a member of sgreefclub online since last year and have enjoyed reading and browsing. I am mesmerized by the beauty of the tanks here like that of Lemons.

I would like to share with you my current tank and some plans. I hope my post is ok here even if i dont live in Singapore.

Tank System Specs:

Display Tank: 180gals EURO brancing 1/2inch glass

Sump: 80 gals

Total Water volume with displacement: 220 gallons

Equipment:

RIO HF32 (1920gph)

MP40w 2 sets

twin Barrel Sunsun 1 set (will be buying one more for the right side)

Super Reef Octo 5000 internal skimmer

Chiller 1HP Hailea

BP biopellet reactor

Bubble Magus Dosing Pump (have yet to install)

Lighting:

DIY 3w LEDs with optics 60degree - 144pcs

Blue (450nm) LEDS on from 12pm to 10pm

White (14K) LEDS on from 1pm to 900pm

Current Water Parameter

Ammonia - 0 (API)

Nitrite - 0 (API)

Nitrate - 0 (API)

Salinity - 1.026

Temperature - 26 degree C

Alkalinity - 6.5-7.5 dkh (API)

Phosphate - 0 (API) 0 (ELOS); Hanna Spectrometer ULR - 3 ppb phosphorus = .009ppm phosphate (actually quite confused with this reading as when i tested it first time last friday the result was 15ppb=.046ppm and when tested early this Saturday it was 9ppb = .0276 ppm and now i tested in the evening it was 3ppb); DO you think the quick drop of phosphate is possible to happen? I am think if the kit is defective. I followed the steps strictly.

Fishes: (I actually cannot add another fish as they quickly get infected and die in a weeks time)

Hawaiian Yellow Tang

Blue Tang

Bicolor Angel

Melagris Leopard Wrasse

Copper Line Cardinal 3 pcs

You can view my tank below which have been running since January 2011.

I plan to have an SPS dominated mixed reef with softies and LPS which are safe for angels and butterflies. I am really inspired by the selection of fishes LEMON has in this tank.

I would love to hear your suggestion and comments on how i could better improve my system.

Also, i would like some help in dosing amount of supplements ALk, Cal, and Mag. I strictly followed the instructions of Randy's 2 part solution and dosing calculator. However, the dosing amount per supplement suggested in the calculator is actually way too high. I now having trouble determining really the amount of dosage i should put in my tank so that i can also install my dosing pump.

Another concern which i would like your guidance and help is with the slime diatom algae which is making my tank dirty and nuisance to my coralline and some of my ACROs. I would believe that this algae should not be present in the tank as the Phosphate is already low as per titration test and spectro test. I don't know if i should add Rowaphos or just do nothing and wait it out.

[peacemaker]

Nice scape! That should be a good foundation for an SPS dominated reef.

[yikai]

scaping is amazing

[allantang]

nice..

[wilsontantw]

Wow. Impressive scape. Care to share on how you achieved the scaping?

Dosing is slowly gaining popularity here due to it's ease of control and adjustments.

In the first week of dosing, take a measurement everyday at the same time of the day.

Assume you start from 420,8.2,1200 (ca,kh,Mg) your daily measurement should not deviate if your dosing volume is correct.

So based on your tank's consumption adjust upwards/downwards accordingly. Always start on the lower end, I started with 120ml per day and it's now averaging 220ml/day. (partly becos I added another tank).

Concentration of the solution plays a big part so try to ensure you use the same ratio of powder/water each time you top up the containers.

I use 25litres containers and refill about 5-6months. This will vary depending on the concentration of the solution and intake (# of corals and clams)..

Only stabilized, do weekly measurement for the first 3 months. Subsequently you can do monthly checks if you didn't add any new corals. If you do, weekly checks (kh and ca) is strongly recommended.

I've been using dosing for over 1 year, results are quite good. Hope this helps and keep the video/photos coming!

[naivete]

Wow. Impressive scape. Care to share on how you achieved the scaping?

Dosing is slowly gaining popularity here due to it's ease of control and adjustments.

In the first week of dosing, take a measurement everyday at the same time of the day.

Assume you start from 420,8.2,1200 (ca,kh,Mg) your daily measurement should not deviate if your dosing volume is correct.

So based on your tank's consumption adjust upwards/downwards accordingly. Always start on the lower end, I started with 120ml per day and it's now averaging 220ml/day. (partly becos I added another tank).

Concentration of the solution plays a big part so try to ensure you use the same ratio of powder/water each time you top up the containers.

I use 25litres containers and refill about 5-6months. This will vary depending on the concentration of the solution and intake (# of corals and clams)..

Only stabilized, do weekly measurement for the first 3 months. Subsequently you can do monthly checks if you didn't add any new corals. If you do, weekly checks (kh and ca) is strongly recommended.

I've been using dosing for over 1 year, results are quite good. Hope this helps and keep the video/photos coming!

Thank you for your appreciation! It really took a long time for me to finish this aquascape. This was totally different approach from my old tank where I just piled up the Live Rocks. I used epoxy to attached the LRs together outside the tank. I wanted to have a aquascape with three island and two of which is connected with a bridge. I wanted the structure to be the right size so as to still have the minimalist and open look. I remember drawing the actual design before implementing. The actual building is very tedious as not all of my LR fits my design and we need to cut/break the LR into pieces. We waited piece by piece while we wait for the epoxy to dry and connect another LR until we achieve the desired design. It took us almost two months and fortunately i have a helper to do it for me while i was working.

thank you for the tips on dosing supplements. I hope i would be able to setup and install my dosing pump for automation.

BTw, I have some problem which i dont know what and i want to get rid of this. Its some sort of slim which i have been having for the past two weeks. Would appreciate if you can give me information on what this is. I have attached a picture of one of my acro (would like to know what is this acro) with the slim that i am talking about.

[cedricang]

Nice scape bro

This SPS looks like acropora gomezi or its family. Anyway, that slimmy thingy could be a result of a tube worm that is now hosting on your acro. The slim is harmless to SPS but i must agree that it is quite unsightly and an eye sore. Try follow the path of the slime and trace to the source of the slime if possible, you might find an alient tube-like structure that has been partially embedded onto certain part of that sps.

One sure way to remove it is through physical amputation of the tube worm by cutting away the sps branch which it is hosting. If this is not possible, then you may have to use someting that is able to scrape off the tube worm, but make sure you scrape it off completely or it might find its way back again.

Hope above helps and all the best to your SPS journey !

[naivete]

thanks cedric!

I don't think the slim is from the worms you mentioned. It's actually attaching to some part of acros and causes stress thus bleaching the part where the slim is over a day or two. Its spread by the day.

Removed for my vortech when i cleaned it today. It looks like a red brown film.

[naivete]

I would like to share with you my new SPS purchase.

Looks like a christmas tree and its 4 inches tall. Whats acro is this?

[cedricang]

Dont mention bro. Just in case it's cause by the tube worm, you will know how to handle it.

The acro structure looks like a samentosa, however the wild colony usually comes in a bowl shape, in your case it's growth form is straight up which is kind of unusual. You can try google for some sps id site and try to learn their names by matching or another way is to go ask your lfs supplier, they should have a stock list with the names (hopefully correctly id ).

[naivete]

Happy New YEar! Just wanted to update my tank thread.

There has been alot going with the tank these days and cant get a right fix particularly algae.

Well let me share with you guys some pics before i got the problem.

During the past few months when i last posted, i added quite a number of fishes to the tank.

Current Fishes:

2 x Ventralis Anthias

2 x Sunburst Anthias

1 x tuka anthias

1 x Flame Angel (Male)

1 x Rusty Flame hybrid Angel (Female)

2 x Black Percula

1 x Banggai

1 x Wetmorella Tanakai (Possum Wrasse)

8 x Vanderbuilt Chromis

1 x Hawaiian Yellow Tang

1 x Blue Tang

1 x Bicolor Angel

1 x Melagris Leopard Wrasse

3 x Copper Line Cardinal

I also got several coral SPS and LPS

Tenuis Acropora

Acorpora Nobilis?

Orange Hammer

Half Tank SHot

I also want to share a plain video of my tank currently. The tank ins't looking too great because of some problem with my NSW. Please do enjoy the fishes.

would like your suggestion and comments. ty