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Unread 05/19/2017, 09:14 AM   #26
TexChuck
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Wild Percula's found their new home. This is my newbie, non tank killing BTA. (Aka hammer)


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Unread 05/19/2017, 09:24 AM   #27
TOOMANYFISH
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Nice additions


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Unread 05/20/2017, 04:11 AM   #28
Jenyphur
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Loveeeeeeee the yasha and pistol !!!! Thanks for the update...looks great.

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Unread 05/20/2017, 10:03 AM   #29
TexChuck
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Thank you !!!! I love the yasha as well. One has been coming out and hanging out between the sand and glass, but the other is hanging out under the rockwork.

I've read you should feed twice a day, so I've been target feeding with frozen mysis and a turkey baster. The clowns don't let anything get low enough in the tank.


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Unread 08/19/2017, 10:28 AM   #30
TexChuck
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Hi All!

Haven't updated in a long time. I went to a local frag meet, met some local reefers, and went 'off grid' a bit with the hobby. An update is long past due. Also, thanks to everyone who provided me assistance and encouragement along the way! Here's my current stocking, with pics below.

Fish:
Bonded pair wild caught true percula, -- they've gender identified now and the female is growing
Bonded pair yasha goby

Inverts:
Cleaner shrimp (first inhabitant!)
Peppermint shrimp
Red banded snapping shrimp (alpheus randalli, bonded with yasha)
Fighting conch
Royal urchin
Trochus snails
???? Snails (breeding like crazy)
TONS of brittle stars
Huge bristleworms
No crabs

Corals:

Soft:
Brown mushroom
Florida Ricordia
Green Star Polyp (back wall)

Zoa's
Orange (unspecified)
Electric oompa loompah
Scrambled eggs
Blue hornet
Laser lemon
Utter chaos
Tiger eye
Pinwheel

LPS:
Hammer Coral
Frogspwn

SPS
Wildfire digitata
Green digitata
Ora German blue digitata
Ora purple plasma acropora
Ora tricolor velera
Montipora setosa (orange/pink)
Red Montipora cap
Mystic montipora
Birdsnest - Ora green ponape

I think that's it.

I dosed with azythromyacin once because of an insane cyano breakout. Took my skimmer offline for a month or two, but I got it dialed back in.

Only dosing is kalkwasser in my ato resovoir.

Current readings:

1.026 salinity
7 kh (monitoring - had carbonate precipitate out in a jug of lfs bought water)
400 ca
1400 mg



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Unread 08/19/2017, 11:14 AM   #31
TexChuck
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I'm considering the next fish or two. Right now my lists includes these fish ... anything else you guys think I should look at? I would only add 1-3 more.

Tailspot Blenny
Helfrichi Firefish
Yellowhead Jawfish
Banggai Cardinal
Royal Gramma
Other small gobies? Keep the rock/passive fish theme.

Any other fun symbiotic relationships I can highlight like the goby+shrimp group? I don't want the headache of a nem...


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Unread 08/19/2017, 10:46 PM   #32
TexChuck
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New addition! Twin Spot Goby.

Upon much deeper research, I recognize this is a very difficult fish and not the simple sand sifting goby I thought I was getting. I seem to have made a mistake, and now must make the best of it. I think I'm up to the challenge. If not I have an exit plan.

So here's the plan: tonight when I fed, I dusted the sand bed with a mix of reef roids and coral delite; sharing much of the natural plankton food of the goby. I also fed a mix of frozen pe mysis, omega brine and cyclops. The goby took some brine and has been sifting the sand.

I'm going to feed twice a day, and make sure the sandbed is full of goodies, a regular mix of the above. I'll spot feed the two spot brine - I do this already with my yasha.

I took a lot of pictures, and if he starts to shrink/starve or doesn't get fat soon, he's moving to my friend's 600 with 28 square feet of sandbed.

Best pic I have - sorry for the dirty glass.




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Unread 08/20/2017, 05:28 AM   #33
TOOMANYFISH
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Grama is very territorial for a small fish lol and the jaw fish will need a lot of sand to sift. He'll also cover everything in your tank with the sand


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Unread 08/20/2017, 05:29 AM   #34
TOOMANYFISH
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Your tank is looking awesome


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Unread 08/20/2017, 09:19 AM   #35
TexChuck
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Thank you!! Gramma and thank you toomanyfish!!!

jawfish and gramma are off the list then. Twinspot is the only sifter going in here.

Firefish and tailspot blenny ar the top of the list.

Haven't seen the Yasha's since the twinspot went in.


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Unread 08/20/2017, 10:11 AM   #36
sh4rkbyt3
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Very nice job on the aquascaping TC! Looks really good.


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Unread 08/20/2017, 06:05 PM   #37
JVan82
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TexChuck View Post
Thank you!! Gramma and thank you toomanyfish!!!

jawfish and gramma are off the list then. Twinspot is the only sifter going in here.

Firefish and tailspot blenny ar the top of the list.

Haven't seen the Yasha's since the twinspot went in.


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I have a royal gramma, had 0 territorial issues from him. I have 1 clown and the Mandarin, his and the gramma, usually hangout under the same rock at night. Only behavior I was surprised by was his excavation. He moved a lot of sand under my rock to make himself a lil home.

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Unread 08/20/2017, 09:31 PM   #38
MK3_LUV
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The tank looks good!

Where in DFW are you? Saw the DNA containter & just wondered haha. Are they the lfs you go to most?


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Unread 08/20/2017, 10:02 PM   #39
TexChuck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by JVan82 View Post
I have a royal gramma, had 0 territorial issues from him. I have 1 clown and the Mandarin, his and the gramma, usually hangout under the same rock at night. Only behavior I was surprised by was his excavation. He moved a lot of sand under my rock to make himself a lil home.

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Thanks for that - I didn't now the Gramma were diggers.


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Unread 08/20/2017, 10:03 PM   #40
TexChuck
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Quote:
Originally Posted by MK3_LUV View Post
The tank looks good!

Where in DFW are you? Saw the DNA containter & just wondered haha. Are they the lfs you go to most?
I'm in north Dallas Closest LFS is Apex, and I go to Fish Gallery too... I'd say I've spent the most time at DNA. You?


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Unread 08/20/2017, 10:59 PM   #41
MK3_LUV
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Quote:
Originally Posted by TexChuck View Post
I'm in north Dallas Closest LFS is Apex, and I go to Fish Gallery too... I'd say I've spent the most time at DNA. You?


Thats awesome! I just moved from far north dallas over to lewisville. I shop/work at Odyssey Pets, you should come check us out sometime! Apex is a really good store too, i'd highly recommend them as well


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Unread 08/21/2017, 02:08 PM   #42
TexChuck
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Originally Posted by MK3_LUV View Post
Thats awesome! I just moved from far north dallas over to lewisville. I shop/work at Odyssey Pets, you should come check us out sometime! Apex is a really good store too, i'd highly recommend them as well
Congrats on the move! I'll come visit sometime. Small world!


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Unread 11/04/2017, 09:59 PM   #43
TexChuck
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TexChuck's 32g BC

Hi all !

I've made some mistakes and am now dealing with a nuisance algae outbreak. This was a month ago after pulling my purigen for a few days:



I got lazy with my export. My skimmer was performing poorly for ~6 weeks (it's good now), and I decided to run some purigen to compensate. I also slowed WC's to 5g every 2-3 weeks. Purigen kept no3 at 0, but killed my macro in the fuge box. After 3 failed attempts at macro and some thickheadedness on my side, I gave up and have run the purigen since, thinking nutrients were controlled. I pulled the purigen a week and a half ago, and the first 2 pictures are what happened after a

I now have bubble and gha at a minimum. I'm removing what I can manually, and I've stepped up WC's to every few days.

My plan: keep with the aggressive WC schedule, remove the purigen once the algae regrowth slows, and add chaeto back to the fuge in back. Manually remove as much gha and bubble algae as possible.

I'm looking at turf scrubber diy plans too, as an upgrade to the macro (and skimmer?) in section 2.

I considered running gfo in addition to the purigen - surely the algae was eating the po4, and the system wasn't keeping up with the purigen? I also was convinced for 24 hours I had Dino, and looked at h2o2 dosing.

I'll share pics again once I eliminate the algae ! (And the purigen) Here are some pics from today -- I did a 10g WC 24h ago:





--

I'm still contemplating next fish. Tailspot Blenny and Possum Wrasse are at the top of the list. I also like the Pink-Streaked Wrasse. I'm not adding anything until my chemistry is stable and the algae is diminished.

My Jaebo powerhead died after 8 months. I have replaced with a MP-10. I'm very happy with this pump, and also understand why people like running two.

I'm running saturated limewater in my ato pump. KH 7, Ca 400, Mg 1320, pH 8.2, NO3 0, PO4 .08 (Redsea). I had been reading low KH of 5 for a bit, but brought this up with more WC's.

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Last edited by TexChuck; 11/04/2017 at 11:37 PM.
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Unread 11/13/2017, 05:05 PM   #44
TexChuck
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I've replaced the purigen with chaeto, and am now back to the filtration setup I started with. Intank media basket with floss, then chaeto, then Tunze 9001.

Coral growth has taken off since I stepped up the WC schedule, and nuisance algae seems to be much improved. Conditions are much improved.

I did add a single small turbo snail at a reefer's rec and can tell a difference.

Here are some pics of new frags I added Friday .



Also impressed by new growth on this birdsnest frag - thought it was dead after an extended ride on the urchin's back and a stint upside down in the stand. Still pale but recovery is promising.


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Unread 02/25/2018, 03:16 PM   #45
TexChuck
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Hi everyone - been away a bit. Thought I’d post a 1 year update. Things are going great ! Some nuisance algae outbreaks, but nothing huge. I have some aiptasia to take care of. I lost my twinspot goby and my shrimp (cleaner, Randall, peppermint), but some could be attributed to old age.

Fish: 2x Yasha goby (they don’t dig without a shrimp! A replacement will be my next add)
2x true perc pair
Pink streaked wrasse
Possum wrasse

Inverts: Royal urchin, INSANE bristle worm population, tons of brittle stars, cerith and 1 turbo snail, and lots of other critters I haven’t quite ID’d.

All coral was grown from locally obtained frags from other hobbyists

Filtration: tunze nano skimmer that I just added the cup back after 4 months aeration only, chaeto in the intank media basket, filter floss. No chemical.

Flow: upgraded return pump (350 gph - original died a couple of months back), 1x mp10. Overkill but nice.

Feeding: 2 cubes/day. Overkill but I like nutrients. Usually 1 PE mysis, and 1 either brine or cyclops.

Tunze ato running Kalk, 5g WC / week is my goal. Don’t always make that, sometimes 10g every 2-3 weeks.

Lighting: Steve’s LED retrofit which I love; old model with only blue and white. Grows everything. My SPS are all thriving. (Except my birdsnest, but I scorched it and then left it where the urchin could wreak havoc. Still have hope it’ll come back)

Coral: too many to name right now but I’ll put a list together if anyone’s curious.

If I had it to do again, I’d do the roxkwork differently - no big cave in the middle, and much further away from the glass. Cleaning the glass can be a nightmare.

Best lessons I’ve learned : patience, patience, and more patience. Nothing good comes quickly in this hobby.

And, when in doubt, trust nature — chemical quick fixes can throw stuff out of whack in ways you can never understand. Good water, good lighting, good flow, and macro for nutrient export if possible.

Don’t freak out and make drastic changes if you can avoid it.

Thanks to all for your help over the year !!! (And locally, jccaclimber!)





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Unread 03/13/2018, 07:49 AM   #46
Jenyphur
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Great update! Your corals are looking great.....love them.


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Unread 03/26/2018, 10:48 PM   #47
PacoPetty
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Great looking tank Chuck!


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Unread 06/12/2018, 08:02 PM   #48
TexChuck
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Hi all - quick update. Tank survived a move across town and up a flight of stairs with no losses! Going on a month. Fingers crossed. Everyone seems to be adjusting nicely.

I need to learn how to frag!!

Last pic I find funny — my urchin has moved on to zoa’s for decoration. My theory is the zoas were loose/weak after the move and a change in flow patterns, and he found some that match. I have a dozen varieties in this tank, but he only grabs the ones that match his coloration. A year ago I’d be freaking out; now I find it amusing







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Unread 06/13/2018, 09:57 AM   #49
Donkin
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Very nice! Have been eyeing one of the 32 BCs...those LEDs look like the work well. How were the ones that came with the system working?


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Unread 06/13/2018, 07:05 PM   #50
TexChuck
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I liked the stock ones, but after reading so many reports I decided to upgrade about 2 months in to the Steve’s LED kit. This is the older version with only whites and blues, and it’s been great. Quick install. Couldn’t recommend it more.


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