The Rebirth/Rebuild of my 180g sps thread

**ACRONUTS** · 09-09-2012, 10:46 PM

Originally Posted by philip_r5

Ya, I got to get a ATO myself. Im always adding and readjusting the skimmer because of the water volume fluctuation...

Philip I honestly had to adjust skimmer on the first day after it was off for a month and at that it was because I also had placed a filter sock. I shut her up, ran the sock for about halh hour then turned skimmer back on. No problems!
I have had to do nothing to the skimmer since labor day.
Get one buddy!

**ACRONUTS** · 09-09-2012, 10:52 PM

I thought about going that route as well techbiker, but the thought that the RO would malfunction or the float valve, I was not comfortable as well leaving my RO on all the time. This is a little more controllable and I lol do not need to run tubing across the walls of my living room. I had thought also of getting a gravity feed time system but I did not have enough room under tank for it and did not want to have a storage tank in my living room either.

**ACRONUTS** · 09-20-2012, 01:07 AM

Update 09-19-2012

Well its been roughly three weeks since the install of the piping. VERY happy to say that no leaks and the ease of closing valves to remove filter sock is great.
My fav gadget has to be the ATO. I love the way it keeps the skimmer water level constant. This inturn keeps the addition of fresh water to the display tank without any HUGE fluctuations in salinity, another plus!

So far the acclumilation of phos and nitrates was unavoidable.
Water parameters before the piping install:
Ca 350
Alk 11
Mag 1100
Phos 1.00
Nitates 18.0
Salinity was a wopping 1.029
Within 3 weeks, a 20% water change and the addition of Nopox my parameters are:
Ca 430
Alk 8.6
Mag 1400
Phos 0.12
Nitrates 4.0
Salinity 1.25
20% water change this coming Sunday.
This past weekend it was shopping time!!! Yep I got my fix and the need for sticks has started!

Here are the latest additions to the tank and a couple of FTS's!

WWC efflo blue tips white polyps

Beginnings of a like garf bonsai type of sps

Neon green tip birdsnest

Stylophora sps

**ACRONUTS** · 09-21-2012, 01:07 AM

Here are some of the other additions

Purple milli

LA Lakers Zoa's

Fire and Ice Zoa's

This one is to replace the one I had lost with all the mess from before.
Superman monti (one of my all time favorites)

**like-fish** · 09-23-2012, 10:23 AM

great thread..... fun to see the progress.

**ACRONUTS** · 09-23-2012, 01:28 PM

Originally Posted by like-fish

great thread..... fun to see the progress.

Yes thx! I too like to see how I keep jumping all the hurdles and yet I keep truckin!

**ACRONUTS** · 09-23-2012, 01:29 PM

9-23-2012
Update today I will do a 20% WC.
I added these beauties this past week and just got to upload them for record purposes of the thread but for me also to gauge growth as time goes on.

This is a watermelon chalice that needs no photo shopping whatsoever!!!
Key lime mango sherbet chalice

Here is the entire chalice

Some pretty green/blue zoas for bottom color

**ACRONUTS** · 09-23-2012, 01:37 PM

A few more additions

Nicely colored pink milli

Great florescent green acro, this one looks great under actinic as well as MH radiums

Well here she is guys. Still need to glue the last few pieces but at least you can see the beginning bones.

**ACRONUTS** · 09-26-2012, 12:47 AM

Here is a quick video that I took from my ipad the other night.
Not 100% happy w it. Why? Well video camera does not let me adjust white balance on the ipad. Which causes the pic to show almost w a blue hue to it. If the ipad does have a way to control the white balanace I have not figured out yet how to adjust it.
But it at least shows what is happening today in the tank and also helps me keep a record of what the corals look like and what they will look like 6 months from now.
One thing that you can tell is how the rock work, from being bleached, has started to cover up nicely in purple coraline algae.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=H_ICb...&feature=g-upl

**ACRONUTS** · 10-14-2012, 08:07 PM

Update 10-14-2012
Things are coming along pretty well. I have started to use the Red Sea Reef Care Program.
While it is too soon to tell of its benefits I have implemented the reef foundation ABC and the NoPox part of the system.
I can say that in the last month of using NoPox in testing my nitrates are hovering around 8ppm to 4ppm and phosphates 0.20ppm to 0.16ppm.
My target levels are nitrates around 2ppm and phosphates around 0.02ppm.
One of the main reasons I think that the levels have not been reached is due to the fact that I am afraid of making any fast uncalculated dosing.
With that being said I am making an effort to use the product according to the recommended dosages. Testing is key until I get to where my target levels will be.
I have not seen any evidence of the hair algae that plagued my tank.
Could it be that the tank has finally matured and there is enough bacteria to take care of the hair algae? Not sure but the No and Phos levels have been steady and no increases on either of those paramters.

An explosive growth of purple and pink coralline algae. Most of the star board is competely covered with red/purple coraline algae. At first some brown diatom algae showed up on the front and back glass. The brown diatom algae was telling me that the tank was in one way or another still adjusting. Now I am getting the familiar green algae that you scrap off with the blades or floating type magnets.

I still feed every other day and mh lights are still at 4 hrs per day, on some days its on more like 5 hrs as I tinker around the tank. Actinics are at 6 hrs per day. As for the corals only some of the recently bought sps have seen some color changes. As I continue to increase the light source I will see the colors come back 100%.
Most of the monti's have kept great coloring. A couple chalice's are showing signs of possibly getting to much light but will continue to monitor them.

Last night I was replacing the two wets sides of my ES mp40's and next thing I know my cleaner shrimp is crawling on my hand pecking the hairs on my hand. Lol !!! He seems to now figure he is big enough and he can.

Calcium is being consumed because I have to dose the reef foundation for 3 days in order to keep a level of about 450.

Alk has been VERY steady at 8.0dkh to 8.2dkh.

Mg at a steady 1450

Salinity continues to stay at 1.024. I owe this to the ATO that doses evaporated water as needed.

As for growth.....most of the chalices are showing their typical green rings.
The acro's and monti's are not showing signs yet of growth yet.
The Atlantic blue ridge coral is showing signs of encrusting a neighboring rock. I will have to get a pic to post.

The following are my latest additions. I am trying to acquire some of the old sps pieces I used to have but they are hard to find these days.
I'll keep looking though!

Hollywood Stunner chalice

Red Stylocinella

ORA's Ponape birdsnest

ORA's Purple Nana

**ACRONUTS** · 10-26-2012, 10:47 PM

Update 10/31/2012

Well things in reef - a - palozza are always changing BUT for the better.
My choice to continue the Red Sea's reef care program have allowed me to measure and analyze those results so I can take action.
So far I have gotten the No3 down to 0.0ppm. My Phos are down to 0.08ppm. I am following the manufacture instructions and now adjusting the NoPox additions so that my nitrates are between 1 - 2ppm. Gee never thought I would be wanting nitrates, lol!!

I have started feeding everyday now to make sure my fish stay healthy but foremost to keep my corals fed as well. Once your nitrates drop to 0.0ppm while using the NoPox your corals, at least mine, started to get pale. In other words my corals were being starved!!!

I purchase the Red Sea's Coral Colors additives but have not started to dose yet. Once again need to test to make sure how much to dose. I once read from one reefer, who was a TOTM winner here, who said I will not put anything into my tank that I can not test for. So until I acquire the test kit to test what is in there to begin with I will not dose the product. Fear not I have ordered the Red Sea Colors Pro Test Kit.

I had an opportunity to purchase some corals from a fellow aquarist. For one, I believe that we have so many reef enthuasist out there that have awesome tanks with flipping mouth watering sticks. Two, these corals ultimately need trimming. Then third, here comes the fragging/grow out tanks. These guys need us newbies to acquire/buy these frags to seed our new reefs and make more room in those frag tanks. And finally these corals are now used to growing and thriving in captivity. Don't get me wrong I love those aquacultured and maricultured pieces as well. And lol, fear not LFS's I will continue opening my wallet.

Anyhow here are my latest additions. None are glued anywhere yet as they are aclimating to the new lighting in my tank. I will move them weekly until they reach sweet spot!

I have always wanted a Pink Stylo and finally I got one at WWC!!!

This is another piece that a couple of yrs ago was unattainable to me, Strawberry Shortcake, bad pic but you can still see the colors.

Acropora plana

Acropora Valida

**ACRONUTS** · 10-27-2012, 12:04 AM

Acropora Green Blue tip Tenuis

Purple Acropora Rosaria

Red Planet

Tri color Efflo

**ACRONUTS** · 10-27-2012, 12:12 AM

Yellow Green efflo

Miami Orchid Acropora

Rainbow Pocillopora

Purple Blue Samoensis

**ACRONUTS** · 10-27-2012, 12:17 AM

Purple Green polyp Rosaira Acropora

Blue Thunder Acropora

**Nitr8** · 10-27-2012, 11:28 PM

Originally Posted by ACRONUTS

Ah Oh! It has started guys! This addiction is coming back!!!
Anyway here are the latest additions.

Mummy eye chalice

Two color war coral ( red and purple )

Regal Angel

And of course for the life of me I can't remember what this coral is.....

It's a sun coral. Ironically it is not photosynthetic.

**ACRONUTS** · 10-28-2012, 11:03 AM

Originally Posted by Nitr8

It's a sun coral. Ironically it is not photosynthetic.

Nitr8, I actually found out that it is dendronepthea, and u r rt, it is definitely not photosynthetic!

**ACRONUTS** · 10-29-2012, 11:34 AM

Here is a current video of my 180g tank so far.
My Reef -a - Palozza.
Taken on the ipad 2 so its quality is ok but do not think that I can change the blue hues or the over exposed places.
Nonetheless the vid shows where I am upto in having my own piece of the reef.
Enjoy!

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KgM7ewQK80k&feature=plcp

**ACRONUTS** · 02-03-2013, 10:54 PM

Well update 2013 guys.......
Very busy opening of the year with a brand new promotion within the company I work for. So woohoo there.
Things with tank are going well seeing some growth and GHA is gone. Still have some bubble algae so thats something else to worry about.
All in all I was able to add some new stony babies early in January but was not able to post pics till now.

Here is a scrolling plating type of aquacultured I picked up. When this pic was taken it was showing some blue rim coloring. Now it has an almost electric blue rim. Still not greening up as I thought the body would and its way in the bottom of tank.

Just a blue tip acro not sure what kind

Green acro

Have not had an elegance coral in such long time and this one came from a buddy's tank

This is a cadallac monti and I placed it close to the bluish/purplish Tyree sand dollar monti

**ACRONUTS** · 02-03-2013, 11:13 PM

As I posted that last post I realized WOAH!!! I have not posted since back in 10/2012!!!
But my tank is still here guys!!!!

One of my favs!!! And spreading very, very nicely!! I know the common name is Flamingo monti but for the life of me can not remember the technical name.

Another fav is the ORA Pearlberry. This coral does well in captivity and is already growing since this pic was taken. Thanks to Vic at WWC for a frag!!!

Blue cali tort

Here is another frag from WWC that shows signs of plating. Again since I bought and took these pics I can not remember the name. I do apologize for this.