my rockscaping / question on cycling

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Duckie

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Mar 14, 2015
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No excuses...just pics.

Sent from my SM-G900V using MonsterAquariaNetwork App
Well, AC was down for a while. Is that a good enough excuse?

Lots has changed since last time. Finished building refugium, filled with water, added salt, added a 40# bag of live sand (some of it into refugium), added cured live rock rubble to refugium, added two pieces of cured live rock to tank, added a bottle of Bio-Spira. After all this was done it was time for the first fish. We picked 4 small ocellaris clownfish. They got drip acclimated for an hour and went in tank. Two days later tested water for first time and all looks good (ph 7.8-8.0, ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate all 0). Day after same result. Next day same result. Time to try out a few frags and a mushroom. Picture of green fuzzy mushroom and a clown shown: 2015-05-23 01.52.26.jpg
 

Duckie

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Mar 14, 2015
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More pictures just taken now with lights turned on. The refugium is always on (13 watt led daylight bulb) and big tank is on from 6am until 6pm for the blues, 6:30am until 5:30pm for whites, 6pm until midnight low intensity blue moonlight, dark until 6am. Even in the dark time there is enough light spilling from the refugium against back painted wall to just barely make out rock silhouettes. The brown on rocks and sand is diatom algae, I think. I take that as a good sign that the tank is progressing nicely as it should. Will probably just wait it out until it disappears on its own.

20150523_100842.jpg 20150523_100742.jpg
 

fsn77

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Feb 22, 2006
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How's the macro algae in your refugium doing?
Getting enough flow in the display? I only ask because when I had my 90g up and running, 2 large Korallia powerheads + the return were not enough flow.
 

Duckie

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Mar 14, 2015
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How's the macro algae in your refugium doing?
Getting enough flow in the display? I only ask because when I had my 90g up and running, 2 large Korallia powerheads + the return were not enough flow.
The algae and pods are doing great in refugium. The chaeto is growing a bit slower than the grape caulerpa. Was going to have the lights on alternate schedule from display, but have them on 24/7 now because of the caulerpa. Just weeded out the algae to about half last week so I had some to start the refugium in my 180 gal. What was leftover is still considerable more than in the beginning.

I did have 2 of them circ fans on left and right side running at first and was a little bit too much flow, I think. I could not find anywhere for pulsing xenia to be happy. Return pump is a rio1400 - that is rated at about 240gph at 4ft head, the circ pump says 920 gph (not a korralia). The skimmer in sump comes with a 520 gph pump - not providing actual movement in DT, but from what I understand it counts towards total water turn around. There is maybe 20 gal in the 30 gal sump, so give or take about 18 times turnover per hour when guesstimating 90 gal total system volume. Have to see if that will work. So far so good and not planning to increase flow to where a mainly sps reef would be happy. Both anemonies have planted their feet and haven't moved from where they are at - I would say they are happy with water, flow, and lighting. Both scooter blennies are gaining weight (one was seriously skinny when we bought her) - I call that a good sign too.

At 2 1/2 months old I think the tank is still in the nasties - already had my diatom bloom, cyano bloom, and hair algae. So I will wait it out and make sure it doesn't get worse. I know hair algae is still growing (I have a chunk in refugium as well that came from a many years old refugium), but it is being kept short in DT by the yellow tang and whoever else likes to graze on it.
 

fsn77

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Feb 22, 2006
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Yeah, chaeto is kind of funny... I've had some from one place that grew so slowly, and from others that grew like a weed (in the same tank). I don't know why that is, but once you get some that grows quickly, you're pretty much golden. I like the leafy caulerpa better myself, but that's just my personal choice. I keep a solid blade variety and a palm frond looking variety.

I figured you weren't using Koralias... They're popularity has peaked and faded. What you have just looks smaller and I wasn't sure if you find yourself getting enough flow. As long as there's no detritus building up, you're good. No need to go crazy if what you're keeping in the tank is happy.

Glad to hear about your scooter blennies! I hope your able to keep up with their food requirements long term. Do they eat frozen / prepared foods at all? If so, that'll be awesome for you long term. If not, plan to restock the pod population regularly, as it's very unlikely that enough will migrate from the refugium.

There's no harm in removing the hair algae if you want. It would be just like pruning back the macro in your refugium -- nutrient removal. As long as the tang is eating it, that's a little less food you have to add to the tank. :)
 

Duckie

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Mar 14, 2015
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The scooter blennies are not only eating pods. I handfed them frozen mysis in the beginning - not any more. They must have figured it out by now, or they wouldn't be gaining weight. I don't believe that enough pods migrate up, and for sure no big ones. There is an alufa sponge in the refugium that I take out every few days and shake out into the DT - there is usually 3 or 4 big pods coming out that are 1/4 inch or bigger that I can see and probably smaller ones that I cannot see.

I don't trim the hair algae. The clump that is in refugium doesn't really get bigger, and in DT I only assume it is still growing because the tang picks at everything. The idea of less food for the tank doesn't really work well - when it is feeding time the tang still eats the shrimp with everybody else. Add nori to the tank, and he will munch on that, and when it is feeding time he will eat with the other fish again.
 
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