GlennF's 1500 liter mixed reef tank

[Jrhunter0000]

Originally Posted by glennf

it has bean a while since the last postings

I have other priorities now than hanging around my computer screen.

It's summer in here and these things have my interest now.

Jetski trip with my son:

http://youtu.be/IHqz2O2MiM4


Canoing in belgium ardenne.
21 kilometer trip on the "Lesse" river ( time 11:00 - 16:00)

http://youtu.be/829FrXhcGLg


Start of my open water diving license
Together with my son and daughter.

http://youtu.be/cQwDG6AvXrU


Also my construction project, building a weather shelter for my "boy toys".


greetings, GlennF

boy toys? like reefs and reefs and reefs lol

[glennf]

Originally Posted by Newbie Aquarist

Your tank has always been stunning. But since your corals like to reach, can you make them reach way over here to my tank?

Thanks.
Sure... come and get it:

I just beheaded some a few days ago.
They were taking away all the light from the corals beneath.
I my only limitation was the space i have available to place the frags, because the colony is still way to big.......
uploadfromtaptalk1411512185614.jpguploadfromtaptalk1411512200298.jpg

[glennf]

And if i don't frag it myself the fish does it for me.
First Picture day before.
Second picture large piece broken off placed into my frag tank.
Found this piece lying on my favia yesterday evening.


uploadfromtaptalk1411512318934.jpguploadfromtaptalk1411512336572.jpg

[glennf]

Bucket full of frag which really needed removing because they were to dense and overgrowing each other.

[glennf]

2 buckets of frags
uploadfromtaptalk1411512658490.jpguploadfromtaptalk1411512670328.jpg

[glennf]

Originally Posted by tassod

Tried using carbon dosing, combination of sugar and vinegar but it had no effect after 2 weeks of dosing it. Right now i am trying with the use of a sulfur denitrator.

Yeah .... 50ppm won't go away in 2 weeks.
1-You need to find the source and fix it
2- you need to build op dosing that take time , 2-8 weeks.
3- you need measurable phosphate present.
4- you need to make sure you skimmer is functioning wel

I am not familiar with sulfur denitator myself, although i had a quick read about it in the past i never found the reason to apply it.

[glennf]

Originally Posted by Jrhunter0000

Holy army of tangs... LOVE IT

Thanks....

[glennf]

Originally Posted by Jrhunter0000

boy toys? like reefs and reefs and reefs lol

Aren't we all boys ? Only the toys get bigger.....

It seems i have a special bond with water

[2_zoa]

Glenn,

Do you still have sea horses and anemone setups? I'd like to talk with you about anemone but I'm not sure how to contact you? You have no PM ability here. May I contact you on your g-mail?

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

Glenn,

Do you still have sea horses and anemone setups? I'd like to talk with you about anemone but I'm not sure how to contact you? You have no PM ability here. May I contact you on your g-mail?

I stopped with the seahorse tanks a few months ago.
What anemones are you refering to.

Just ask anything you like in here.

[2_zoa]

Originally Posted by glennf

I stopped with the seahorse tanks a few months ago.
What anemones are you refering to.

Just ask anything you like in here.

I've had some success in the past with keeping anemone alive and happy. However lately I can't seem to do anything right. I've lost every one I've purchased. The last one, I placed directly in QT and treated with cipro due to it starting to have an open mouth. Lost that one too.

My tank is a 65 gallon with no sump. HOT skimmer with very few corals. The tank is a year and a half old now. No detectable PO4 and NO3 is between 10 and 25 on Salifert. LED lighting. Alk at 9.

I love anemone and I want to have one for my clowns. At present they're pestering my toadstool keeping it stressed. I guess I could hope the toadstool gets used to them, but it wont be the same to me. I just cant figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Edit:
I'd like a carpet, but I'd settle for most any of them. I haven't had a carpet yet. I enjoy them all.

Is it best to buy from another reefer, or is there a good online vendor?

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

I've had some success in the past with keeping anemone alive and happy. However lately I can't seem to do anything right. I've lost every one I've purchased. The last one, I placed directly in QT and treated with cipro due to it starting to have an open mouth. Lost that one too.

My tank is a 65 gallon with no sump. HOT skimmer with very few corals. The tank is a year and a half old now. No detectable PO4 and NO3 is between 10 and 25 on Salifert. LED lighting. Alk at 9.

I love anemone and I want to have one for my clowns. At present they're pestering my toadstool keeping it stressed. I guess I could hope the toadstool gets used to them, but it wont be the same to me. I just cant figure out what I'm doing wrong.

Edit:
I'd like a carpet, but I'd settle for most any of them. I haven't had a carpet yet. I enjoy them all.

Is it best to buy from another reefer, or is there a good online vendor?

Very strange.... i experience anemone to be one of the hardiest animals... what kind of anemoons do you try to keep.
Do you have pictures of you tank and setup?
The red ones are easy and often clone themselves. Getting it from other reefers sure prove they are acclimatised properly.
I haven't tried the carpets myself.

[2_zoa]

Originally Posted by glennf

Very strange.... i experience anemone to be one of the hardiest animals... what kind of anemoons do you try to keep.
Do you have pictures of you tank and setup?
The red ones are easy and often clone themselves. Getting it from other reefers sure prove they are acclimatised properly.
I haven't tried the carpets myself.

No I don't have pics. I don't exactly have an "awe inspiring" tank. I could take and post a pic if you'd like or think it might help.

It's just a aqueon 65 gallon tank. I don't have any sump, refugium. My skimmer hangs on the back and I run LED lighting. I put a piece of 4" PVC in to "act" as a sump to skim the surface.

I have 6 fish
2 clowns
1 dwarf angle
1 bi color blennie
1 fire fish
1 wrasse

[2_zoa]

How often do you turn your sandbed over? Weekly?
Would you post a pic after you've stirred up the sandbed?

I'm not sure if I want to stir up my sandbed. I know it will completely cloud my tank, probably for days.

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

No I don't have pics. I don't exactly have an "awe inspiring" tank. I could take and post a pic if you'd like or think it might help.

It's just a aqueon 65 gallon tank. I don't have any sump, refugium. My skimmer hangs on the back and I run LED lighting. I put a piece of 4" PVC in to "act" as a sump to skim the surface.

I have 6 fish
2 clowns
1 dwarf angle
1 bi color blennie
1 fire fish
1 wrasse

The picture is to get an impression of you tank setup and the inhabitants . Sometimes seeing pictures can clarify things you can't describe in 1000 words.

Place picture of some key components.

How often do you do WC and what water parameters do you measure?

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

How often do you turn your sandbed over? Weekly?
Would you post a pic after you've stirred up the sandbed?

I'm not sure if I want to stir up my sandbed. I know it will completely cloud my tank, probably for days.

I don't turn my sandbed anymore since i got a valenciennea strigata blenny.
Before i did it once in 3 months.
When i do this i use a pump with an extension pipe to turn over the sand and corners.
Beside filterwool on the mainpump i also apply an extra powerfiler in the tank during that process. This will take out 90% of the dirt within a few hours.
The next day the tank is usually cristal clear.

[2_zoa]

Originally Posted by glennf

The picture is to get an impression of you tank setup and the inhabitants . Sometimes seeing pictures can clarify things you can't describe in 1000 words.

Place picture of some key components.

How often do you do WC and what water parameters do you measure?

I'm not on any water change schedule. I change out a couple gallons (I mix 2 gallons) here and there. I use a racking cane from my old home brewing equipment. I siphon off my rocks or suck up any cyano off the sand bed when I do them. Occasionally I'll vacuum the sand bed, the last time I did the sand bed I let the water decant and then I placed the water back into the tank leaving the sediment behind in the bucket. At that time I place a couple gallons of fresh salt water in to allow me to leave much more water behind in the bucket. I siphoned out about 8 gallons worth and let it stand for about 45 mins before placing it back into the tank.

I measure Nitrates, Phosphates, and I tried to measure Iron.
Nitrates- I always measure between 10 and 25 on Salifert. The color is not quite 10 nor is it quite 25.
Phosphates- Always test zero on my Hanna checker. (713 model)
Iron- Always tests zero on my Hanna checker. I got this test after reading your first thread, only to find out that the level of iron in NSW is way to low for any test kit to detect. I know your run a much higher level in your tank but I've not felt comfortable dosing that much iron into my tank. Especially with no delectable Phosphate in my tank. I know its there, but it's low. I do have some red hair algae on my snails shells.

Here is my tank. It's not really this blue. I have a crappy camera and no photo skills. The MJ1200 in the upper right hand corner is where I run filter floss "when" I run it like in this pic. I only run it 24 hrs and then I either change it or remove it. I only run it when I feel like polishing the water.


This is my false sump. It's 4" PVC. I have a MJ1200 in the bottom for turnover through it. As well as my skimmer intake so my skimmer gets surface water. I extended the skimmer intake to go as close to the bottom as I could with the MJ1200 in there. My ATO is also in the PVC so my salinity doesn't bounce. This pipe acts as the last (return) chamber in a normal sump setup. All evap is seen in this pipe so I loose just a couple ounces to evap before my ATO kicks in. It actually gives me more stability in salinity then standard sumps due to water volume.


My skimmer with 24 hrs of collection. The skimmer is a Reef Octo BH-1000



I also dose a mix of vinegar and vitamin C. I'm dosing about 28ml a day.

I make a concoction of Phyto, R.O.E, Reef Pearls, Mysis, Cyclopeez, and Spirulina Brine. I feed 6ml of this to the tank every day. I'd be happy to feed more once I figure out what's keeping my nitrates up. I could just change tons of water or, I could find a better way to lower them.

The phyto and the R.O.E are by Reef Nutrition
The Reef Pearls is by Brine Shrimp Direct
The Cyclopeeze is by Argent
The frozen Mysis and Spirulina Brine are by Hikari

Edit;
For flow. I have,
2 MJ-1200 295 GPH
2 Aqua top 300 GPH power heads hidden behind the rock work.
1 MP-10 set on reef crest mode at half power

Hope this helps. Super basic setup.

[glennf]

[QUOTE=2_zoa;23142101]I'm not on any water change schedule. I change out a couple gallons (I mix 2 gallons) here and there. I use a racking cane from my old home brewing equipment. I siphon off my rocks or suck up any cyano off the sand bed when I do them. Occasionally I'll vacuum the sand bed, the last time I did the sand bed I let the water decant and then I placed the water back into the tank leaving the sediment behind in the bucket. At that time I place a couple gallons of fresh salt water in to allow me to leave much more water behind in the bucket. I siphoned out about 8 gallons worth and let it stand for about 45 mins before placing it back into the tank.
when dealing with cyano i would not place the siphoned water right back.
it's easier to replace it with newly mixed salt water ( in don't do sheduled WC, but i will always take the easier way)

I measure Nitrates, Phosphates, and I tried to measure Iron.
Nitrates- I always measure between 10 and 25 on Salifert. The color is not quite 10 nor is it quite 25.
Phosphates- Always test zero on my Hanna checker. (713 model)
Iron- Always tests zero on my Hanna checker. I got this test after reading your first thread, only to find out that the level of iron in NSW is way to low for any test kit to detect. I know your run a much higher level in your tank but I've not felt comfortable dosing that much iron into my tank. Especially with no delectable Phosphate in my tank. I know its there, but it's low. I do have some red hair algae on my snails shells.
Before doing anything with trace elements you need to cover the base first
Ph,KH, Ca, Mg, PO4 and No3 should be within certain boundaries

the red outlined parameters are the basic values to control:


the other values will benefit SPS species the most

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

Here is my tank. It's not really this blue. I have a crappy camera and no photo skills. The MJ1200 in the upper right hand corner is where I run filter floss "when" I run it like in this pic. I only run it 24 hrs and then I either change it or remove it. I only run it when I feel like polishing the water.
you get the most out of it when you leaf it runnen 24/7 and replaced the filter flos every 2 -5 day


This is my false sump. It's 4" PVC. I have a MJ1200 in the bottom for turnover through it. As well as my skimmer intake so my skimmer gets surface water. I extended the skimmer intake to go as close to the bottom as I could with the MJ1200 in there. My ATO is also in the PVC so my salinity doesn't bounce. This pipe acts as the last (return) chamber in a normal sump setup. All evap is seen in this pipe so I loose just a couple ounces to evap before my ATO kicks in. It actually gives me more stability in salinity then standard sumps due to water volume.

the construction with the pipe looks OK and it seem to be working just fine.

My skimmer with 24 hrs of collection. The skimmer is a Reef Octo BH-1000

i can't judge the skimmer from a picture, but it's best the skimmer foams gently and the bubbles do not pop all the time splashing water into the cup

I also dose a mix of vinegar and vitamin C. I'm dosing about 28ml a day.
With the coral population you have there is no need to dose vitamine C.
All supplements are for advanced users who got to the level their tank is fully stocked with corals and they get deficiencies, or they want to finetune colors or boast some growth. Vitamin C can benefit some buttons.

vinegar dosing to lower Nitrate requires PO4 to be measurable (0,04-0,08ppm ) and a good working skimmer.
with no PO4 Present the NO3 will rise (even when carbon dosing)
.

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

I make a concoction of Phyto, R.O.E, Reef Pearls, Mysis, Cyclopeez, and Spirulina Brine. I feed 6ml of this to the tank every day. I'd be happy to feed more once I figure out what's keeping my nitrates up. I could just change tons of water or, I could find a better way to lower them.

The phyto and the R.O.E are by Reef Nutrition
The Reef Pearls is by Brine Shrimp Direct
The Cyclopeeze is by Argent
The frozen Mysis and Spirulina Brine are by Hikari

isn't this mix a little to much for 6 fishes? it seems to me more of a cocktail for a NPS tank.

Edit;
For flow. I have,
2 MJ-1200 295 GPH
2 Aqua top 300 GPH power heads hidden behind the rock work.
1 MP-10 set on reef crest mode at half power

you can put the pumps on timers with random intervals. this can prevent dead sport in the tank keeping the detritus suspended to be removed by the filter flos

Hope this helps. Super basic setup.

[2_zoa]

You made it kinda hard to reply directly to your thoughts.

My salinity is spot on. My PH runs low, it always has in any tank I've ever run. It usually runs 7.9ish. For some reason I didn't think calcium and Kh were really parameters you were after. They are, cal 440, and the KH is 9. So, it looks like I'm just off in the NO3 and PO4. Which I've thought all along. Just not sure how to bring it back into balance. I asked you to join in on a thread about PO4 I had started a little while back. Please see post #119 on page 5 in this (your) thread. You never joined in, no worries though. When I dose phosphate, I don't get the results I want. The nitrates never went down and I get more cyano on the sand. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, IDK. I was dosing the seachem flourish phosphate.

If I leave the floss on there for to long, the power head starts blowing small bubbles into my tank. So I remove it, plus after about 24 hrs it's plugged up and slowing down the flow of the power head. It's just a small piece of floss. Only about 4" long wrapped around the strainer that the maxi jet comes with. The diameter is about the size of your finger.

I'll clean the skimmer cup tomorrow and shoot a quick video of how it's set. To much lower and I can fill half the cup in a day. Right now I go about 3 days and it's just over half full. That's when I clean it. Foam is blowing out the top by then to. HaHa.

The Vitamin C is something I just started. I figured it would make the vinegar more potent as vodka gives the tank real bad cyano. The Vit C has given the zoas more vibrant color. My mix is 175ml vinegar to 1/4 Tsp Vit-C powder. I've tried the VSV recipe also, of course the vodka in it gave bad cyano.

The food mix is just something I came up with to feed anything in the tank. Lol. I have a purple gorgonian, a feather duster tube worm, and I thought the green star polyps along with the big leather would maybe grab some of the mix. I mix 1/2 Tbs of phyto along with 1/2 Tbs R.O.E. to 1 cube of mysis, 1 cube spirulina brine, 1 cube size chunk of the cyclop-eeze, and 1 very small scoop of the reef pearls (maybe a 1/4 the size of a pea) about 1 oz total. Then, 6ml of this is fed to the tank. So this mix is fed over a few days. I just upped this to 6ml as I was feeding 4 1/2ml per day. I upped it to maybe get me somewhere with the nitrates. I also had to replace my wrasse as my yellow wrasse went carpet surfing. The new wrasse is a bit larger in size so I'm trying to please him to.

I have a power strip that has rotating on off outlets. It's the Natural Wave power strip. I quit using it after going through two sets of power heads in a year. I went through 3 maxi jets and 3 korallia pumps. I don't think all pumps can be cycled without reduced life span.

I really appreciate all your time and help. Please don't take any of my responses as come backs to your ideas. I'm not questioning you in any way. It's really hard to help someone on the other side of the big pond without all the facts. My last post was large enough.

[2_zoa]

Oh, I also added Xenia to the tank the other day. In hopes of helping with the nitrates.

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

Super nice and that's a crazy list!! Please keep sharing your tank. Would you mind re posting your feeding regimen? I think that was in your other thread.

Also, would you mind giving a little insight on the topic of phosphate in a thread I have going?
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/sh....php?t=2412749

Sorry about that, i must have missed it. it is post #105

[glennf]

.....

[glennf]

Originally Posted by 2_zoa

You made it kinda hard to reply directly to your thoughts.
i don't waste my time beating around the bush (sorry for that)

My salinity is spot on. My PH runs low, it always has in any tank I've ever run. It usually runs 7.9ish. just fine For some reason I didn't think calcium and Kh were really parameters you were after. They are, cal 440, and the KH is 9. So, it looks like I'm just off in the NO3 and PO4. i think so to

Which I've thought all along. Just not sure how to bring it back into balance. I asked you to join in on a thread about PO4 I had started a little while back. Please see post #119 on page 5 in this (your) thread. You never joined in, no worries though. When I dose phosphate, I don't get the results I want. The nitrates never went down and I get more cyano on the sand. Maybe I'm doing something wrong, IDK. I was dosing the seachem flourish phosphate.
i believe cyano flourish due to detritus and strong lighting. Also a high/imbalance in Po4/No3 increase the risc of developing cyano. There are ways to control cyano by stirring the bottom, using a powerfilter and dimming/shutting down the light for a few days

If I leave the floss on there for to long, the power head starts blowing small bubbles into my tank. So I remove it, plus after about 24 hrs it's plugged up and slowing down the flow of the power head. It's just a small piece of floss.
Only about 4" long wrapped around the strainer that the maxi jet comes with. The diameter is about the size of your finger.use a larger perforated pipe (about 10-15cm and wrap 2 layers of filter wool around it , this last longer.

I'll clean the skimmer cup tomorrow and shoot a quick video of how it's set. To much lower and I can fill half the cup in a day. Right now I go about 3 days and it's just over half full. That's when I clean it. Foam is blowing out the top by then to. HaHa.

The Vitamin C is something I just started. I figured it would make the vinegar more potent as vodka gives the tank real bad cyano. The Vit C has given the zoas more vibrant color. My mix is 175ml vinegar to 1/4 Tsp Vit-C powder. I've tried the VSV recipe also, of course the vodka in it gave bad cyano.
ok thanks for the info, it confirms my thoughts about vodka

The food mix is just something I came up with to feed anything in the tank. Lol. I have a purple gorgonian, a feather duster tube worm, and I thought the green star polyps along with the big leather would maybe grab some of the mix. I mix 1/2 Tbs of phyto along with 1/2 Tbs R.O.E. to 1 cube of mysis, 1 cube spirulina brine, 1 cube size chunk of the cyclop-eeze, and 1 very small scoop of the reef pearls (maybe a 1/4 the size of a pea) about 1 oz total. Then, 6ml of this is fed to the tank. So this mix is fed over a few days. I just upped this to 6ml as I was feeding 4 1/2ml per day. I upped it to maybe get me somewhere with the nitrates. I also had to replace my wrasse as my yellow wrasse went carpet surfing. The new wrasse is a bit larger in size so I'm trying to please him to.
NPS corals are a real challenge for any tank by means of controlling nutrients. i stopped with NPS corals for this reason.

I have a power strip that has rotating on off outlets. It's the Natural Wave power strip. I quit using it after going through two sets of power heads in a year. I went through 3 maxi jets and 3 korallia pumps. I don't think all pumps can be cycled without reduced life span.
you're right about that, not all pump can handle the continuous switching.
that why i limit the cycles for those pump to 6-8h on / 1-2h off. so there switch 3-4 times a day.

I really appreciate all your time and help. Please don't take any of my responses as come backs to your ideas. I'm not questioning you in any way. It's really hard to help someone on the other side of the big pond without all the facts. My last post was large enough. none taken, i help out a fellow reefer whenever i can.