Reef Central Online Community

Go Back   Reef Central Online Community > Coral Forums > SPS Keepers
Blogs FAQ Calendar Mark Forums Read

Notices

User Tag List

Reply
Thread Tools
Unread 06/10/2015, 02:03 PM   #1
JB NY
Registered Member
 
JB NY's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 9,207
JBNY's 270 Ver2.0

I am restarting my tank after an abysmal few years of problems. Hopefully this tank will be awesome and I will have lots of SPS pictures when the tank starts growing.

I have a tank thread that goes into excruciating detail about my build, but I will be more than happy to answer any and all questions here.

This tank is a reset. My last system, grown just from frags, burnt out spectacularly from this



to this a year later



Here is the short version of what happened and then continued to happen for some time.

When I was first setting up this tank, it was an upgrade from a previous tank. While I was doing the build, I had all my live rock being held by a friend. While there it got infected by a sponge called Collospongiais sp. This sponge slowly grows and kills everything, nothing eats it, getting it out is very difficult and it easily rips apart. It grows and covers anything, I had found it earlier but thought I had it all removed. After the tank was going for about 2 years, I had a particularly nasty battle with Bryopsis, after I beat that I had lost a big chunk of coral and saw that the sponge was all over the rock work and under the coral. I had not seen it previously because of the amount of coral in the tank. So I spent 6 months trying to get the sponge out, and finally had to replace all the rock and start over. After the tank started to recover, I got hit by hurricane Sandy and lost all the rest of the coral. Three months later some fish disease hit that took out half my fish (3 that I had had for over 10 years). Finally once that was done I started some home renovations that set me back a year.

Unhappy times for me, but eventually it was time to get the tank back in business, so here were are. I started getting the tank ready for coral in December of 2014 and it took me about 5 months to get the system back. I had a tough time getting the tank in balance and stable and then a tough time getting SPS to start doing well. But since May the tank has been doing really fine, so now I am hopeful that the tank is back on track.

Unfortunately for you reading this thread, starting a tank with frags is what I like to do. When the tank fills up with coral, it is my least favorite time of reefkeeping, nothing to do but clip corals. Watching the tank grow from frags to a full reef is my favorite part, I am in no rush to get to the finish line.

Right now I think I have about 22 frags in the main tank. Most are wild corals that I was able to get clippings of. A few of the frags are a little beat up from the last few months but they are now recovering nicely.

Not much now, but hopefully soon.

FTS for now



I like having rock in the tank, I feel the fish enjoy the tank more with places to hide and go in and out of during the day. I think I have it setup for me to be able to position corals well.







Thanks for looking!


__________________
-Joe

TOTM Sept 2002 | Reefland April 2004 | CORAL Magazine Nov 2007
Featured Tank "Coral Reef Aquarium" 2011 | Reef Spotlight 2018

Current Tank Info: 270G SPS Tank, 140G sumps, 35G Frag Tank, Ultra Reef Akula UKS-200 Skimmer, Apex, Giesemann Spectra 3x250W MH 4x80W T5, 2xReefbrite Tech 72" Blue LED, Triton Dosing, ARID C30 Algae Reactor, Maxspect Gyre
JB NY is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 02:37 PM   #2
Wazzel
Registered Member
 
Wazzel's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2002
Location: Houma, LA
Posts: 4,743
Wow, that had to be hard to watch. Best of luck on the restart.


__________________
Mark

Beware the light at the end of the tunnel. Sometimes it's a train.

Current Tank Info: 120, LED, Bare Bottom, SPS/LPS
Wazzel is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 03:00 PM   #3
swk
Registered Member
 
swk's Avatar
 
Join Date: Dec 2013
Location: Wine Country CA
Posts: 2,593
Sub'd

I like watching frags fill out a tank too


__________________
Member of Wine Country Reefers

Current Tank Info: 75 gal SPS dominant reef. Geo calcium reactor with masterflex pump, Deltec 1455 skimmer, 2 mp40QD, mp10wes, lit by a 6x54 dimable ATI sunpower and controlled by Reef Angel
swk is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 04:23 PM   #4
jdraider75
Registered Member
 
Join Date: May 2012
Location: Davenport, Iowa
Posts: 546
Following along. I like your scape. Lots of room for corals. Looks great.


jdraider75 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 04:37 PM   #5
M007
Acro Whore
 
M007's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2008
Location: Toronto, Canada
Posts: 1,631
Nice scape, I'm in!


__________________
Mixed reef emphasis on SPS. Tangs, Triggers, Bartlets, CBB, Goldflake Angel, and a Pigmy or two.

Current Tank Info: 250G SPS Mixed Reef. ATLAS 84x28x24. SuperMarin 250. Cebu Sun 3 x 250WMH Radiums 4 x 80W T5. Profilux 3 w/GHL dosing CA-ALK-MG. Moved by Tunze and Vertex. Reef Octopus 5K return.
M007 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 04:48 PM   #6
biggles
Registered Member
 
biggles's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2012
Location: Australia
Posts: 3,907
In 2002 there were hardly any acros being collected and sold in LFS in Australia. I had been in the hobby about a year from memory and had a tank full of LPS etc like everyone else and i remember showing the owner of my LFS your TOTM article when he told me SPS were almost impossible to keep and were all green or brown anyway. The collectors didn't like them because nearly all of them RTN'd prior to shipping or DOA at the LFS's.
Two weeks later i picked up my first two acros, both green and very boring looking compared to what we see now but to me they were like bloody diamonds and they grew and i never looked back.

Before you get any warm fuzzy feelings be aware that i was ranting in the shop with lines like ' it's a bloody joke that this yank has got a tank full of acros and you can't even get me some when we have the GBR - just get me some bloody acros ! '

It's thirteen years late but i wanted to say thank you Joe goes without saying that i'll be following your journal with great interest mate


__________________
Andrew
biggles is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 07:07 PM   #7
plyle02
Registered Member
 
plyle02's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2006
Location: Lake Helen, FL
Posts: 5,526
Joe,
Congrats on the V2, I am sure you will have tremendous success. Best of luck to you


__________________
Perry

"Anger is like drinking poison and expecting the other person to die" ~Buddha~

Current Tank Info: 50 Gallon AIO Cube, Aquamaxx WS-1 Skimmer, LED/ Hybrid 4x24 watt t5
plyle02 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 07:21 PM   #8
Wiskey
Registered Member
 
Wiskey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2004
Location: Fallbrook, CA
Posts: 3,049
Excellent start to the rebuild!!!!

It's funny, I was subscribed to your original thread and followed along until I had to get out of the hobby some years ago. Now that my life is more stable and back in I'm thrilled to have V2 to follow!

Whiskey


__________________
This video shows 15 months of coral growth in my tank in a 30 second timelapse:
https://youtu.be/bF6C57aTDEo
Wiskey is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/10/2015, 07:29 PM   #9
Mark
Premium Member
 
Mark's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Atlanta, GA, USA
Posts: 4,542
Subscribed!


__________________
-Mark

TOTM March 2001

Current Tank Info: 225g stony reef, 38g softie
Mark is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/11/2015, 08:55 AM   #10
JB NY
Registered Member
 
JB NY's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 9,207
Quote:
Originally Posted by Wazzel View Post
Wow, that had to be hard to watch. Best of luck on the restart.
Thanks Mark, it was not a fun time, losing the fish was the worst. I had not added any fish to the tank for about 3 years and then one day, ick was all over my Coral Beauty (I had had him for 11 years at the time). From there, it just spread and I just kept losing fish over the next 6 weeks. My final thoughts were that something got into the tank (I have an open top) and killed off the fish.

Quote:
Originally Posted by swk View Post
Sub'd

I like watching frags fill out a tank too
Right? You never know what the coral will looks like when it has grown up, more fun for me than popping a full grown colony in.

Like this guy that I got in as a little frag.

12/2008 two months in the tank


2/2009 two months later it is starting to color up and branch out a little


5/2010 15 months later, it grew to this beauty.


Quote:
Originally Posted by M007 View Post
Nice scape, I'm in!
Thanks, I used Marco rock this time, What you can't see it that most of the structure in the middle and back is all open. A few big pieces of shelf rock are in there and I was really able to keep the rock work open despite there being a decent amount of rock.

Quote:
Originally Posted by biggles View Post
In 2002 there were hardly any acros being collected and sold in LFS in Australia. I had been in the hobby about a year from memory and had a tank full of LPS etc like everyone else and i remember showing the owner of my LFS your TOTM article when he told me SPS were almost impossible to keep and were all green or brown anyway. The collectors didn't like them because nearly all of them RTN'd prior to shipping or DOA at the LFS's.
Two weeks later i picked up my first two acros, both green and very boring looking compared to what we see now but to me they were like bloody diamonds and they grew and i never looked back.

Before you get any warm fuzzy feelings be aware that i was ranting in the shop with lines like ' it's a bloody joke that this yank has got a tank full of acros and you can't even get me some when we have the GBR - just get me some bloody acros ! '

It's thirteen years late but i wanted to say thank you Joe goes without saying that i'll be following your journal with great interest mate
Your welcome Andrew! I am glad I was able to be a help in your berating of the LFS guy into getting you acros. The growth and coloration you have in your tank now is really awesome, I am happy to have played any part in getting you started. Cheers mate!

Quote:
Originally Posted by plyle02 View Post
Joe,
Congrats on the V2, I am sure you will have tremendous success. Best of luck to you
Many thanks!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Wiskey View Post
Excellent start to the rebuild!!!!

It's funny, I was subscribed to your original thread and followed along until I had to get out of the hobby some years ago. Now that my life is more stable and back in I'm thrilled to have V2 to follow!

Whiskey
I hope this tank with be longer lived than the last one. I wanted to have a thread here for the tank as well, last time I hardly posted my pictures in this forum because I had them all in the build thread. This time I'll try to post as many cool pics as I can!

Quote:
Originally Posted by Mark View Post
Subscribed!
Thanks Mark!


__________________
-Joe

TOTM Sept 2002 | Reefland April 2004 | CORAL Magazine Nov 2007
Featured Tank "Coral Reef Aquarium" 2011 | Reef Spotlight 2018

Current Tank Info: 270G SPS Tank, 140G sumps, 35G Frag Tank, Ultra Reef Akula UKS-200 Skimmer, Apex, Giesemann Spectra 3x250W MH 4x80W T5, 2xReefbrite Tech 72" Blue LED, Triton Dosing, ARID C30 Algae Reactor, Maxspect Gyre
JB NY is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/11/2015, 09:41 AM   #11
Flatlander
Premium Member
 
Flatlander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 2,886



__________________
Doug
TOTM April 2001

Current Tank Info: 50g sumpless sps tank..Evergrow 2081 led..Apex control..Tunze 9012 skimmer..Tunze calcium reactor..Tunze kalk reactor..2 rw8,s..1 MP40..1 Hydor Korillia 1200gph..Tunze ATO..all propagated sps frags
Flatlander is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/11/2015, 10:15 AM   #12
sahin
Ultimate Reefer
 
sahin's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2002
Location: London, UK
Posts: 8,540
Keenly following your new thread.


sahin is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/11/2015, 10:29 AM   #13
billyzbear
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Jun 2004
Posts: 2,104
Looks like you are off to a good start. I like the rock work, they look healthy. I totally agree, growing coral out is rewarding.


billyzbear is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/11/2015, 10:07 PM   #14
ct_vol
Reefing On My Mind
 
ct_vol's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2006
Location: Kempton, IL
Posts: 8,083
I'm thinking about doing a complete reset when I get my 185 going. Best of luck on the new tank. I'd be surprised if it didn't turn out fantastic.


__________________
Randy

Volunteers, Blackhawks, Titans, Cubs!!!!

Current Tank Info: 185g waiting to be built, 120g SPS/Anemone Reef, 120g SCA in the works, 58g mixed reef w/ 6x39w T5, 125g grow out w/ Reef Breeders
ct_vol is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/12/2015, 11:54 AM   #15
mhucasey
Acros & wieners, oh my!
 
mhucasey's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2001
Location: Oceanside, California
Posts: 3,706
Wow. I didn't realize that your tank had taken a turn for the worse. As much as it pained you, a reset is the best way to move forward. It just sucks that you ended up battling something that most people don't know about: invasive sponges. I know something similar happened to Adee(Amfynn) and sometimes its just time to start from scratch.

Maybe our reef environs are a little too successful in making things comfortable for all the pest algaes, sponges, hydroids, and critters. I don't remember the invasive stuff being such a problem years ago. The Marco rocks will at least prevent you from having to deal with some of that.

I am very very glad that you are sticking with it. You have a real love for the hobby and we need ambassadors like you. Its depressing how many former TOTM are shut down within a year or two of achieving that honor. Best of luck and Ill be rooting for you!


__________________
- Matt
I call the big one "Bitey" - Homer Simpson

See my tank thread here: http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2468548

Current Tank Info: 120 Gallon Rimless Starphire Shallow Reef. Reef Octopus Diablo EXT-200 skimmer, Chaeto Reactor, Lighting: ATI Sunpower 8X39W, 6X39W Sunpower
mhucasey is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/12/2015, 01:26 PM   #16
JB NY
Registered Member
 
JB NY's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 9,207
Quote:
Originally Posted by Flatlander View Post
Quote:
Originally Posted by sahin View Post
Keenly following your new thread.
Thanks guys, I'll try hard to produce a kickin tank!

Quote:
Originally Posted by billyzbear View Post
Looks like you are off to a good start. I like the rock work, they look healthy. I totally agree, growing coral out is rewarding.
I like the rock work, I'm a little worried that I have too much shelf rock and not enough rock to tier the SPS as I get further towards the back, but I think it will be fine.

Quote:
Originally Posted by ct_vol View Post
I'm thinking about doing a complete reset when I get my 185 going. Best of luck on the new tank. I'd be surprised if it didn't turn out fantastic.
Thanks, I am hoping it does. At this point the tank has been in service for about 7 years so any of those bumps that one has in the beginning hopefully have been ironed out years ago.

Quote:
Originally Posted by mhucasey View Post
Wow. I didn't realize that your tank had taken a turn for the worse. As much as it pained you, a reset is the best way to move forward. It just sucks that you ended up battling something that most people don't know about: invasive sponges. I know something similar happened to Adee(Amfynn) and sometimes its just time to start from scratch.

Maybe our reef environs are a little too successful in making things comfortable for all the pest algaes, sponges, hydroids, and critters. I don't remember the invasive stuff being such a problem years ago. The Marco rocks will at least prevent you from having to deal with some of that.

I am very very glad that you are sticking with it. You have a real love for the hobby and we need ambassadors like you. Its depressing how many former TOTM are shut down within a year or two of achieving that honor. Best of luck and Ill be rooting for you!
Thanks Matt, Yeah it did suck pulling all the rock. The day I pulled the rock I was so annoyed about the whole thing I just wanted everything out, even the corals that were encrusted on any rock. If I couldn't cleanly break it off, I tossed it. I remember one of my friends that night at about 10PM looking at a chunk of live rock asking if that was a huge superman monti lying on the driveway. I told him to take it if he wanted, but I make no guarantee there is not a piece of that sponge on the rock. He took it, the rock was fine.

I actually was ready to pull to plug much earlier. About 2 months before the bryopsis set in, the tank basically still looked as it did in the first shot just a little more grown in. I called one of my friends to come over because I was thinking of breaking down the tank. So he, and another friend, come over and look at the tank, and I'm like, yeah I think I am going to pull it down and replace all the rock and start over. They look at me like I am out of my mind. I show them the sponge that is under some of the colonies on the rock. They both agree that with aggressive treatment I can get it out and not break down the tank. So they are show me how with Muratic acid and needles I can inject the acid under the sponge and it will come off in sheets. So I tried that for about a year before I finally gave in and started to replace the rock.


__________________
-Joe

TOTM Sept 2002 | Reefland April 2004 | CORAL Magazine Nov 2007
Featured Tank "Coral Reef Aquarium" 2011 | Reef Spotlight 2018

Current Tank Info: 270G SPS Tank, 140G sumps, 35G Frag Tank, Ultra Reef Akula UKS-200 Skimmer, Apex, Giesemann Spectra 3x250W MH 4x80W T5, 2xReefbrite Tech 72" Blue LED, Triton Dosing, ARID C30 Algae Reactor, Maxspect Gyre
JB NY is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/12/2015, 02:23 PM   #17
maxxII
Super Housemonkey!
 
maxxII's Avatar
 
Join Date: Apr 2003
Location: St Louis Mo
Posts: 4,442
In on page one.

Joe, I've been following your original thread. Your 180 was stunning, and and your 270 newly set up was stunning. I look forward to this iteration of your 270 being better than the two previous set ups.


__________________
A good friend will come and bail you out of jail...but, a true friend
will be sitting next to you saying, "Damn, that was fun!"
maxxII is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/13/2015, 08:01 AM   #18
MIKE NY
Two Decade club
 
MIKE NY's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2002
Location: Franklin Square, N.Y.
Posts: 4,381
Joe any problems with the Dwarfs nipping? And how are the yellow Assessors doing?


__________________
Proud LIRA Member
February 2011 Manhattan Reefs TOTM

Current Tank Info: 170 gal Reef, 20 gal frag/reef,90 gal fuge, 65 gal sump, 2-250 Radiums on Hamilton M80 HQIs, T5 actincs, Vertex in280 skimmer, MRC-2 Cal Reactor, Reeflo return pump
MIKE NY is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/13/2015, 12:50 PM   #19
JB NY
Registered Member
 
JB NY's Avatar
 
Join Date: Mar 2001
Location: Long Island, NY
Posts: 9,207
Quote:
Originally Posted by maxxII View Post
In on page one.

Joe, I've been following your original thread. Your 180 was stunning, and and your 270 newly set up was stunning. I look forward to this iteration of your 270 being better than the two previous set ups.
Many thanks my friend. I am working hard to make this version a great one.

Quote:
Originally Posted by MIKE NY View Post
Joe any problems with the Dwarfs nipping? And how are the yellow Assessors doing?
Hey Mike! Well the dwarfs are definitely nipping at the acros. I prefer to think of it as giving the acros kisses so they will know they are loved. lol

So they do nip, but whether that is a problem remains to be seen, I don't think they really do anything other than inhibit polyp extension, I'm fine with that. As they grow and color up, no worries from me.

The assessors are doing great, they just are not out in the open all the time. They hang out under the ledges and in the back of the tank. But they eat like champs during feeding, so hopefully in time they will actually be in the water column in the daytime.


__________________
-Joe

TOTM Sept 2002 | Reefland April 2004 | CORAL Magazine Nov 2007
Featured Tank "Coral Reef Aquarium" 2011 | Reef Spotlight 2018

Current Tank Info: 270G SPS Tank, 140G sumps, 35G Frag Tank, Ultra Reef Akula UKS-200 Skimmer, Apex, Giesemann Spectra 3x250W MH 4x80W T5, 2xReefbrite Tech 72" Blue LED, Triton Dosing, ARID C30 Algae Reactor, Maxspect Gyre
JB NY is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/14/2015, 01:55 AM   #20
cFloor
Registered Member
 
cFloor's Avatar
 
Join Date: Jan 2011
Location: Bay Area
Posts: 1,552
Your last tank was an absolute inspiration. It must have been tough to finally make that decision to start over. The new setup looks very good, I really like the layout. Lots of space for corals. I'll be following along, best of luck


cFloor is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/14/2015, 08:29 AM   #21
shih87
Registered Member
 
shih87's Avatar
 
Join Date: Aug 2006
Location: Hsinchu, Taiwan
Posts: 1,294
wow!!! That is amazing grow for 15 months...


__________________
Zeovit DTOTQ Q3 2015
RC TOTM April 2016
Reef Hobbyist Magazine Q2 2017
R二R TOTM Oct 2017
Aquaforest ROTM June 2019
shih87 is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/14/2015, 08:58 AM   #22
cincyjim
Registered Member
 
Join Date: Sep 2011
Location: Northern Virginia
Posts: 1,147
Awesome. I'm happy that things are moving right along for you!


__________________
Jim

Current Tank Info: SCA 150G, 5 inch sand bed, 2 Tunze 6095s, ReefBreeders v2+ 50" with 2 all Blue Reefbrites, and Continuous Water Change System
cincyjim is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/14/2015, 11:18 AM   #23
Flatlander
Premium Member
 
Flatlander's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: BC, Canada
Posts: 2,886
Thats a beautiful echinata. Hope mine grows up to look like that...


__________________
Doug
TOTM April 2001

Current Tank Info: 50g sumpless sps tank..Evergrow 2081 led..Apex control..Tunze 9012 skimmer..Tunze calcium reactor..Tunze kalk reactor..2 rw8,s..1 MP40..1 Hydor Korillia 1200gph..Tunze ATO..all propagated sps frags
Flatlander is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/14/2015, 05:31 PM   #24
billsreef
Moderator
10 & Over Club
 
billsreef's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 1999
Location: Long Island, NY/North Miami
Posts: 36,538
Good luck with V2


__________________
Bill

"LOL, well I have no brain apparently. " - dc (Debi)

Current Tank Info: Far too many tanks according to my wife, LOL.
billsreef is offline   Reply With Quote
Unread 06/22/2015, 08:14 AM   #25
tfp
Registered Member
 
tfp's Avatar
 
Join Date: Oct 2002
Location: Folsom, CA
Posts: 3,225
JB...I have no doubts your green thumb has gone away...


__________________
Go with what works for you.

Current Tank Info: Envisions 400g (96x32x30) online January 2012. 4-72" VHOs,7-OceanRevive T247,Aquamaxx Cone 6 Skimmer, Aquamaxx S3 CR,Aquariumplants CO2 regulator, Jebao SOW20's, 80w Emperor UV, tang dominated with anthias and longspine cards
tfp is offline   Reply With Quote
Reply

Thread Tools

Posting Rules
You may not post new threads
You may not post replies
You may not post attachments
You may not edit your posts

BB code is On
Smilies are On
[IMG] code is On
HTML code is On



All times are GMT -6. The time now is 12:04 AM.


Powered by vBulletin® Version 3.8.4
Copyright ©2000 - 2024, Jelsoft Enterprises Ltd.
Powered by Searchlight © 2024 Axivo Inc.
Use of this web site is subject to the terms and conditions described in the user agreement.
Reef CentralTM Reef Central, LLC. Copyright ©1999-2022
User Alert System provided by Advanced User Tagging v3.3.0 (Pro) - vBulletin Mods & Addons Copyright © 2024 DragonByte Technologies Ltd.