# Ward's Island Reef



## fesso clown

I figured I start a new build thread. We just bought a house on Ward's Island. My wife was on the waiting list for 20 years and finally her number came up. 
The house is a 1937 - 800 sqf cottage. How big of a tank can we squeeze in there?










There was one suitable wall for a long tank but it had a built in cabinet, we are doing a reno on the place so the cabinet is coming out anyway.










My buddy Anthony made short work of the Cabinet. 









My friend Ben cheerfully scrapes up 3 generations of flooring to get down to the original Douglas fur subfloor.










And here will be the final resting place of the new tank.

The tank will be made custom by Miracles, 80x20x20 rimless starfire... aprox 135 Gallons.









(We have already removed the light sconces and baseboard heater)


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## fesso clown

Equipement list:

*Tank:**

Miracles 80x20x20 Rimless Starfire. Herbie Drain System.

*Return Pump:* Ehiem 1262 for now, may upgrade to a DC - haven't decided.

*Filtration:*
DIY 40 Breeder Sump with filtersock trey.

May add a separate 20(ish) gallon fuge.

*Skimmer:*
Avast Marine CS1 recirculating skimmer with Swabbie kit

*Media Reactors:* 
GEO's Reef UMC 420 x 2

1 for GFO and I haven't decided weather or not I will run bio-pellets in the other or occasionally just carbon.

*Calcium Reactor:*
GEO's Reef CR 612 with Reef Fanatic regulator

*Controller:*
Reef Keeper Elite, I may switch to Apex but the Reefkeeper has been super solid for what I use it for currently. I was never able to get it online even though I have the Net module. I guess I am a bit stupid and frustrate easy when it comes to unintuitive tech.

*ATO:*
Avast Marine ATO

*Flow in the DT:*
2 x VorTech MP40wes
2 x VorTech MP10wes

*Heaters: *
Blue Line titanium
1x 500 Watt
1x 250 Watt

*Lights:*
3 x Echotech Radion 
I currently own 2 x Gen 1 and I will find a Gen3 pro for the middle.


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## altcharacter

So proud of you guys dude! Many congrats on so many levels, and you have my number if you ever need anything. 

Also, if you need any tile done I'm there for you guys


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## fury165

Congrats Jeff, off to a nice start


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## J_T

Very cool!!!

Should give the address to Miracles, and ask if they deliver... LOL

I can do up that filter sock plate for you if you'd like.


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## explor3r

Congratulations guys that is incredible news you both deserve that and more..
Well thats is going to be a beautiful tank and please let me know if there is anything I can help with.
Make sure you take lots of pictures and load them to entertain us..
I like your hair style you look like a rock start.....(live rock...star fish)


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## dc_addict

WOW very cool, are you planning to live on Ward's island year round or is a second home. None the less great buy, and I look forward to following your build thread.


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## Patwa

awesome...always wondered how one would go about buying a house on the islands!

tagging along


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## Tristan

Patwa said:


> awesome...always wondered how one would go about buying a house on the islands!
> 
> tagging along


From what I understand (not much) its pretty complicated as the houses aren't sold for profit and you get a 99 year lease vs owning the land.

If you want to sell your house, you sell it back to the corporation in charge of the island at what you bought it for and in turn it goes into a lottery. You are not even allowed to rent them to non family members and the houses have to have a permanent occupant all year round (vacations okay, winters in the south no)

Its pretty awesome to be able to live out there! My Aunt lives on the island too, I would have a hard time abiding by the ferry schedule though lol.


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## Tristan

fesso clown said:


> Equipement list:
> 
> *Tank:**
> 
> Miracles 80x20x20 Rimless Starfire. Herbie Drain System.
> 
> *Return Pump:* Ehiem 1262 for now, may upgrade to a DC - haven't decided.
> 
> *Filtration:*
> DIY 40 Breeder Sump with filtersock trey.
> 
> May add a separate 20(ish) gallon fuge.
> 
> *Skimmer:*
> Avast Marine CS1 recirculating skimmer with Swabbie kit
> 
> *Media Reactors:*
> GEO's Reef UMC 420 x 2
> 
> 1 for GFO and I haven't decided weather or not I will run bio-pellets in the other or occasionally just carbon.
> 
> *Calcium Reactor:*
> GEO's Reef CR 612 with Reef Fanatic regulator
> 
> *Controller:*
> Reef Keeper Elite, I may switch to Apex but the Reefkeeper has been super solid for what I use it for currently. I was never able to get it online even though I have the Net module. I guess I am a bit stupid and frustrate easy when it comes to unintuitive tech.
> 
> *ATO:*
> Avast Marine ATO
> 
> *Flow in the DT:*
> 2 x VorTech MP40wes
> 2 x VorTech MP10wes
> 
> *Heaters: *
> Blue Line titanium
> 1x 500 Watt
> 1x 250 Watt
> 
> *Lights:*
> 3 x Echotech Radion
> I currently own 2 x Gen 1 and I will find a Gen3 pro for the middle.


If I were you I would be thinking about getting a natural gas generator installed directly into the wiring of the house. You know just in case...


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## manmadecorals

Very cool! Congrats!! And keep posting picture updates of the reno and tank built!!!


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## Bayinaung

you lucky bastard! it's better than winning the lottery! damn I should put myself on the waiting list there. Congratulations! are you planning on living there whole year or just a weekend thing?


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## fesso clown

Thanks for the kind words everyone!



J_T said:


> Very cool!!!
> 
> Should give the address to Miracles, and ask if they deliver... LOL
> 
> I can do up that filter sock plate for you if you'd like.


Miracles will deliver to the Ferry Dock.... shouldn't be too hard to cart it over.

As for the filtersock trey, I was hopeing you could do that. This is the design I am going for:











dc_addict said:


> WOW very cool, are you planning to live on Ward's island year round or is a second home. None the less great buy, and I look forward to following your build thread.


Yes we will live there year round.



Tristan said:


> From what I understand (not much) its pretty complicated as the houses aren't sold for profit and you get a 99 year lease vs owning the land.
> 
> If you want to sell your house, you sell it back to the corporation (Land Trust ) in charge of the island at what you bought it for ( plus any improvements you have made. The houses are assessed for each sale, if you improve the house you get your money out if you sell ) and in turn it goes into a lottery. ( a ranked list, there is a lottery to get on the list, once you are on the list the houses get sold to the lowest number on the list who wants the house that comes up for sale. The list is 500 people. We bought at number 35 which means 34 people said no to this house) You are not even allowed to rent them to non family members and the houses have to have a permanent occupant all year round (vacations okay, winters in the south no)
> 
> Its pretty awesome to be able to live out there! My Aunt lives on the island too, I would have a hard time abiding by the ferry schedule though lol.


You have it mostly correct, you are allowed to rent out your house though, you have to live in it 3 out of every 5 years minimum.

Natural gas generator is a great idea!


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## fesso clown

Here is the view from our front gate. We are right at Ward's beach, facing South.


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## advanced reef aquatics

Wow, very cool, i always wondered how people lived there, and if they were just seasonal.
Congrats on the build, judging by the success of your smaller tank Fesso, your new one is due to be amazing.


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## fury165

fesso clown said:


> Miracles will deliver to the Ferry Dock.... shouldn't be too hard to cart it over.


Interesting.... How would you guys get it across? Is there a separate ferry for residents? I just imagine you guys trying to get on and off with the crated tank with people running around you.


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## altcharacter

There is a ferry next to the Westin Harbourcastle loading dock that carries over cargo trucks and cars to the island but it is sketchy at best! I remember taking over a fridge truck over to the island and our back wheels were just barely on!


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## Bayinaung

fury165 said:


> Interesting.... How would you guys get it across? Is there a separate ferry for residents? I just imagine you guys trying to get on and off with the crated tank with people running around you.


Not a problem. you can take a car on the ferries to ward.


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## tom g

*ferry*

I had to do a few road calls on the island and bring a bus over to the island on the ferry . I am not sure if the ttc still supplies a bus on the island but we use to have to retrieve a bus from the island every 6 months to do a recert....not sure if the bus was used on the island for just remember pushing bus off the ferry cause it would not start ...
congrats jeff 
sounds like u have and awesome little find there .


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## disman_ca

Wow and exciting opportunity, I'm not sure if would want to live on the island but Ibet the community is nice.


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## fesso clown

Teaser transport shots...

Waiting for the Ferry 









On the Ferry


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## Taipan

That's.....awesome.....


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## Bayinaung

fesso clown said:


> Here is the view from our front gate. We are right at Ward's beach, facing South.


Damn I think I know that gate fesso. gonna have to go down to the island before it gets too cold. I have not gone to the island this year at all due to all the idiotic construction going on at water front. How gnarly is the construction on the roads? I usually bike down there and take the ferries.


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## Bayinaung

gorgeous tank. Fall's a nice time for a build!


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## sig

Congrats!. and good luck

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## explor3r

Sweat Jeff....cant wait to see it coming together..hurry


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## Flexin5

looks great!


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## fesso clown

*small update*

Here's a small update... 
here's some pics of the stand. I nicked DCaddict's one side good plywood finish. I didn't stain mine, just a few coats of polyurethane. Still need to do the doors but that's way low on the priority list...









That is my waterline coming out of the wall. My RODI will be in the stand. It will be a manual operation, I am not plumbing it directly into the sump. I have 2 x16G Tall aquariums, one for mixing saltwater and the other for ATO.


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## fesso clown

*my mess*

Here you can see the tank on the stand in the middle of chaos! 








My ATO tank and my saltwater mixing tank are currently housing the livestock from my last tank... most of it is surviving.... for now...

I got my lights hung last night, I still need to tune up the rig a bit.


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## PaulF757

Looking really good. I found a few extra plumbing pieces if you need let me know.

I have 1 1.5" 90, 2 1" gate valves, a few 1" 45s, 1 1" union. I also have a few 1"to 3/4" reducers.

a few 1" ipex pipes, 12' long.


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## teemee

Congratulations Jeff, both on the house and the other surprise in the pictures!
And of course, the new tank.
Can't wait to see your progress!


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## notclear

So you're back! Welcome back.

Yeah, can't wait to see the finished tank.


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## Flexin5

wow this looks amazing!


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## fury165

teemee said:


> Congratulations Jeff, both on the house and the other surprise in the pictures!
> And of course, the new tank.
> Can't wait to see your progress!


Welcome back Margaret!


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## fesso clown

Customary kid in the tank photo before filling:


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## fury165

Cute baby! are the lights bright enough to grow the lil' un?


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## fesso clown

fury165 said:


> Cute baby! are the lights bright enough to grow the lil' un?


I'll let you know in the morning...

BTW Welcome back Marg!~


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## teemee

love the tank baby, jeff - is that yours already?!
thanks guys - not back yet, but will be momentarily.
slightly terrified at the state my tank will be in, but i'll save that for another thread.


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## explor3r

Jeff it is looking amazing now I have an excuse to come visit
Marg where are youuuuuu


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## fesso clown

*Update*

So after several plumbing setbacks the tank is wet, the sump and skimmer are online and the salinity and temp are stable. I have'nt checked other parameters. 








This is not the final aquascape, the right side is pretty much done though. 

















Still need to add sand and get my corals out of the holding tanks...


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## sig

congratulation. nice place and nice tank. good luck

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## fesso clown

I just pulled the trigger on the new Maxspect Gyre powerhead after seeing this video:




It should arrive at my door in the next few weeks.


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## J_T

Its a neat product. They had one at the July show. And a rep to talk about it.


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## teemee

fesso clown said:


> I just pulled the trigger on the new Maxspect Gyre powerhead after seeing this video:
> 
> 
> 
> 
> It should arrive at my door in the next few weeks.


Hi Jeff,
May I ask where you got it from?
Not easy to find online- maybe it's just too soon?
I was about to push the button on a couple of MP40s but this might work...


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## dc_addict

teemee said:


> Hi Jeff,
> May I ask where you got it from?
> Not easy to find online- maybe it's just too soon?
> I was about to push the button on a couple of MP40s but this might work...


Also interested in this info..


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## notclear

If I remember correctly, you can get it from Bill @ Incredible Aquarium.


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## notclear

Not sure if I can post link here:

http://www.incredibleaquarium.com/i...oduct_info&cPath=201_190_288&products_id=3551


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## fesso clown

I pre-ordered from Bill at IA. I got in on the pre-order on the last day although it may still be possible. I have been waiting for them to actually hit the market before I bought one so I could see it in person but I have been following many threads in various forums and I have a feeling they will be hard to get in the first few months.... That video I posted was the nail in the coffin to a pair of MP40's for thus tank. I still may use 1 on the opposite side for some wave action but we'll see. I may scrap that plan after I get the Gyre and see it in real life.


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## notclear

Adding the Jebao RW series in the equation, it is very hard to justify to buy a MP40 while you can buy 4 of those Jebao pumps.


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## fesso clown

*Small update*

The tank is doing great, I still need to fix up the rockwork on the left side and place corals. Things are slowly finding homes and being glued down.




























I brought the GFO reactor online yesterday. I still need to hook up my calcium reactor.


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## PaulF757

Sweet Tank, can't wait to see the it in a few weeks with all the corals in it.


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## Marz

This looks absolutely incredible. I like the rock shelves in the right side. Very open as well.


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## fesso clown

The tank is doing great! I now have my flow all sorted out. I was leaning heavily on 1 MP40 and several MJ 1200+900s while waiting patiently for the Maxspect Gyre to be released. It caught my eye several months ago in a MACNA video and I knew it would be perfect for my a long peninsula tank. 
I finally got it and installed it a couple of days ago and WOW! 








I mounted it on the far end from the overflow I started at %50 in the default A-B Paddle combination. 
With no other pumps running this thing is easily providing enough flow at %50 for the whole tank. Detritus is being kicked up from all over the place and is being suspended and is moving back towards the Gyre then it is being spit back towards the overflow meaning the flow is ricocheting off the far end (as advertised) and there is defiantly a Gyre effect in the tank.

There are 4 modes to run it in 
1. Constant speed - this provides a sheet of water that creates turbulence across the surface of my whole 80 inches at %50.

2. Pulse. You can set it to pulse at intervals from .4s to 30 seconds. there are 20 pulse time options here.

3. Alternating Gyre mode. - This is where it gets interesting! 
The pump can can switch directions, spinning opposite has less power than forward because of the paddle design but you can set it to compensate for example 50% forward and 100% reverse. You can set it to switch directions from 2 minutes to 12 hours with 10 intervals in between. I have set mine to 50% forward, 100% reverse switching every 15 minutes.

4. 1 button 10 minute feed mode

The controller is very easy to use and looks good. Apparently 3rd party controllability is in the works.

I turned off the MP40 at the opposite end of the tank when I first set up the Gyre. I don't think I'll need to turn it back on... But I will, I am going to keep it and run it on ReefCrest to provide random counter flow... or I may sell the MP40 and get a second Gyre... ya that's probably what I will eventually do but I will wait for the smaller 35 watt version.

The Gyre is very quite. Running at %50 constant the hum is less audible than the hum of a properly seated MP40 on constant (green) at %50. Sitting here typing I can't even hear the Gyre anymore under the hum of my Eheim 1262 return pump. I could hear it at first because I was trying...










Here's some photos:
FTS








New Hippo tang- My wife absolutely loves this fish
















Forest Fire and Bird of Paradise colonies 








New Flame Hawk- i lost my old one in the move- I absolutely love *this* fish 








Clown and Anemone - notice the tentacles of the anemone are pointing away from the overflow. That means that the flow from the Gyre goes all the way across the top, hits the wall with the overflow and come round the bottom with enough strength to push the tentacles of the anemone which is situated in the 3rd quarter of the tank back towards the Gyre. The flow actually comes all the way around the 80 inches. 








Zoa Tree from Fragcave


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## SarahSuth

Beautiful tank. Great set up and very cool you have the gyre!! I want to see a picture of your midas blenny


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## fesso clown

Ya, we picked up a Midas Blenny yesterday, it's very shy right now but has started to come out a bit this morning, it swims out from its hiding spot in some rocks, looks around and jets back to safety. I will try to get a picture sometime today if it will let me. 

My other big task for today is to get my calcium reactor online.


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## deeznutz

Looking good man


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## fesso clown

*Calcium rector is 1/2 online*

I got my Calcium Reactor all hooked up today. I am feeding it off my return manifold, I should have leak tested it before setting it up with media but I didn't and of course there was a leak. It was hard to tell where the leak was coming from it was either the uniseal or where the base meets the stand... I bought the reactor used, I should have known better and leaked tested before hooking it up. ! I unhooked it all, emptied the media dried it off and tracked down the leak... it was the uniseal. I cleaned it up and "borrowed" a uniseal from a brand new GEO UMC 420 that I have. I used some silicone lube and seated the new uniseal tested and I was good to go. So I am running the reactor without CO2 for now as is suggested. There is air trapped in the reactor so every now and then I tip it to let the air escape. Here is a shot of the reactor in place. I still need to spend some time cleaning up the wiring, I just had hip replacement surgery and it's hard for me to spend too much time down low at once... I am pretty knit-picky about cable management and it kinda kills me to share this picture....








Here's the other side of my stand. I have 2 16G tall tanks. I use one to mix saltwater for waterchanges and the other as my ATO reservoir. 









I need to calibrate my PH probe... I only have a pack of 10 point here... I can't really calibrate without both the 10 and the 7 can I? 
So everything else is ready to go in terms of getting the reactor online, the next few steps are the hard ones as I have never done it before. Hopefully I can get somebody local with CR experience to come over and help dial it in...


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## PaulF757

Thanks is looking awesome. I have some ph calibration solution if you want it?


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## fesso clown

*Ecsenius Midas!*

I love Blennies, one of my all time favourite fish. I've always wanted one and In the past I have tried to hold out for a MIdas but have ended up taking other Blennies home only have a MIdas show up in the few months after... this is the first time I have been Blennless when one became available....








It looks pretty pink in these shots but my dusk lighting has a lot of purple, the Blenny is more of a cross between orange and yellow with a wee bit of pink in daylight. Pretty striking and beautiful colouring! 








It's eyes are bright bright blue!


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## jabeuy

Nice! Where'd you get the midas blenny? I never seem to be able to find them either haha.


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## Washout

jabeuy said:


> Nice! Where'd you get the midas blenny? I never seem to be able to find them either haha.


Yeah, I've been wanting one as well. I have never seen them in stock.


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## fesso clown

I got it at Aquatic Kingdom. There might be 1 left. I think I got the second last one, that was Saturday.


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## wchen9

fesso clown said:


> I got it at Aquatic Kingdom. There might be 1 left. I think I got the second last one, that was Saturday.


I saw one there yesterday but I do believe I heard someone inquiring about it so I'm not sure if it is still there.


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## Woodnote

Looks really awesome, can't help but stare wide eyed. Perhaps it's more of a "I have no idea what I'm looking at" face haha.


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## fesso clown

picked up a nice ORA Derasa Clam from Bigshow:








Got a bunch of other nice stuff... Here's a few more pictures:


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## fesso clown

*Blue sponge*

I got a big chalice from a friend but the rock it came on had aiptasia so I chiseled it off. In doing so I discovered this blue sponge inside the rock. I saved the bits because it looked cool. 
Anyone got an ID please? Should i keep it? I'll move the bits into shady places...


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## teemee

it's hard to tell from the photos - kind of looks blue green. Is it irridescent?
If so, I once had it. It came with a pair of the most beautiful little nudibranchs, who slowly consumed it. I suspect it is poisonous, because I as removed the nudis from the very small remaining piece of sponge (to donate to the ROM!), I got a whopper of a sting. So, I hope yours is nudi free. Even if it came with Aiptasia! Just don't eat it 
Either way, you know I'd love a frag for the NPS tank 
BTW - I think I just missed you at our friend's house!
I got some aiptasia, too


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## altcharacter

I would totally take a piece of that sponge! Also your pics don't do that clam justice at all.
If I'm around next week I'll try to come over with a few frags and my camera to take some shots.


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## Patwa

fesso clown said:


> blue sponge inside the rock


did you really mean "inside" the rock? or was it still on the outside of the rock, in contact with water?

I ask coz the pics really look to me like fragments of a coral called heliopora. It's a brown soft coral, but grows a hard skeleton. However, the rock/skeleton on the inside is a bright blue.

if it's not that, then I want a piece lol


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## fesso clown

Patwa said:


> did you really mean "inside" the rock? or was it still on the outside of the rock, in contact with water?
> 
> I ask coz the pics really look to me like fragments of a coral called heliopora. It's a brown soft coral, but grows a hard skeleton. However, the rock/skeleton on the inside is a bright blue.
> 
> if it's not that, then I want a piece lol


There were blue bits were outside of the rock, in contact with the water... I broke it open and found that it want into the rock. Pretty sure it's not Heliopora.


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## sig

Beautiful tank Jeff. and I remember we were talking about 90G  when I went to MIracles

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## fesso clown

sig said:


> Beautiful tank Jeff. and I remember we were talking about 90G  when I went to MIracles


Thanks Greg. I went to Miracles and asked about different options. Derek gave me an absolutely incredible deal. I told him my budget and what I wanted and they really didn't match at all... Derek and I walked around looking at tanks, then we went outside to "the boneyard" where there were a bunch of old tanks and he found some panes of starfire that were perfect for what I wanted. The panes were 96 inches by 20. He then told me a price that floored me (in a good way) and said I could have the tank as long as I wanted up to 96 inches) I went home measured and all I could fit was 80 inches so that's what I got... I am so happy with the tank. I wish I had the space to have it not against a wall because the tank is full starfire... Maybe one day I will knock down the wall...


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## sig

Good. I always said Miracles are the best way to go. I really glad for you that everything is OK

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## dc_addict

I haven't checked on this thread in a while, it looks absolutely amazing! Great work on the setup, love the rock work and your sump setup!


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## fesso clown

*Borbonius Anthias!!!!*

One of the first SW fish that I ever saw after googling around with the idea in my head that maybe I would like to set up a reef tank (I knew absolutely NOTHING about the hobby including FW at the time) was the Borbonius Anthias and I immediately fell in love. I am a circus clown by trade (NOT a birthday party clown, not that there's anything wrong with that....  ) It was pretty obvious what my attraction to this fish was. 
Today I "joined the club" thanks to a buddy and my MUST HAVE fish list is now complete: 
Redfin Waspfish 
Midas Blenny 
Flame Hawk 
and now finally the Borb. 
My only regret is what will I long for now....
I wish I could have a Dogfaced puffer, Longhorned Cowfish and a Clown Trigger... (see the pattern here) 
Anybody got a suggestion for another funny little fish I can pine for?

Pictures of the Borg to follow....


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## altcharacter

congrats dude! I still have to come back and check out the setup


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## fesso clown

Anytime Dave! I am free all week, I have a few things for you and I believe you have a few things for me too...
Here's little Borby McGee:


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## Bayinaung

nice looking fish. did you get it at SUM?


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## Bullet

Congrats on your new addition Fesso !
I am very envious but my luck with anthias has been less than stellar so I wouldn't want to take a chance on an expensive beauty like that 
Get him eating and you should be ok. 
I don't believe that SUM feeds any of his stock so the race is on 
Good luck and keep us posted


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## fesso clown

Nope, by the time I got to SUM on Sunday all but one of the ones they had left were swimming with their heads down which suggests possible swim bladder issues. They are a deep water fish and if they are collected and brought to the surface too quickly that can be the result. The one that seemed to be swimming correct was a little small and weak looking.... A buddy happened to have an "extra" one and offered to sell it to me in the knick of time as I probably would have risked the little one at SUM even though I have a sucky %30 survival rate of SUM fish... That's how bad I have wanted this fish... THis one cost me a little more but it has been QT'd and is eating frozen and pellets. 

It was out and about a little bit this morning, it is very shy but I expect he will be the belle of the ball in not too long. 

I am a little pissed, my Blue hippo tang is showing signs of black ich. I managed to get it out this morning... not sure what I am going to do. I haven't positively identified what's up with it, I will post some pics shortly... I hate to think I just put a very expensive and coveted fish into an infected tank... fcuk!


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## Bullet

Thanks for the update and I commiserate with you about your comments related to your "survival" rate with SUM fish. Not to slam them but I thought that it was just me !! 
Not good to hear about your losses - misery loves company I guess
Sorry to learn about your hippo, but seeing that your tank is healthy, it should pull through Ok
What a challenging pursuit this hobby is
Best of luck


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## fury165

fesso clown said:


> A buddy happened to have an "extra" one and offered to sell it to me


Ah yes, always nice to have a buddy with extra . Friends with "other" benefits.

Sorry to hear about your Tang, what are your Quarrantine plans?


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## fesso clown

I have the Tang in QT now. MY worry is I might have to get all the fish out of the DT for 6 weeks. I haven't 100% identified the problem. Really hoping it's not ich.


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## J_T

fesso clown said:


> I have the Tang in QT now. MY worry is I might have to get all the fish out of the DT for 6 weeks. I haven't 100% identified the problem. Really hoping it's not ich.


Even if it is ich, your other fish can withstand it. Provided they are not stressed out.

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## fury165

fesso clown said:


> I have the Tang in QT now. MY worry is I might have to get all the fish out of the DT for 6 weeks. I haven't 100% identified the problem. Really hoping it's not ich.


Look up "tank transfer method" you can even use 5 gal buckets of the fish aren't too big


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## fesso clown

*Update*

Update time:

I had a plague rip through my tank around xmas time, Brook or velvet is my guess based on how fast everything died (8-10 fish in 5 days) I believe there was Ich in the tank too as a Tang was showing signs. I lost nearly everything except for a Flame Hawk and a Redfin Waspfish. They are still in my DT, I haven't been able to catch the bastards yet (I haven't really tried) I am borrowing a fishtrap so I can get them out and put them in QT so I can go fallow in the DT for 72 days just in case. I am going to implement a severe QT protocol from here on in.

I have a massive GHA problem right now as well which doesn't make any sense to me. I feed the 2 fish very little (about 1/2 a every 2 days and a few pellets) so I don't understand where the nutrients are coming from. I can only assume that my rocks are leaching P04 really bad.

I run 2 cups of GFO in a reactor, I have a great skimmer, I skim wet and keep up with %10 WC every week. I change the filter socks every 3-4 days.

Readings are undetectable:
P04 - 000 Hanna 
No2 - 000 Salifert 
Calcium - 490 (high I know) 
Alk - 7 
Mag - 1450

I manually remove at least a cup of algae a day. Eventually will the P04 deplete from the rocks? RIGHT? I am starting to get really annoyed and confused.

If I didn't absolutely love my rockwork/aquascape I would start over with "cooked" rock. I suposed I could "cook" the rock one piece at a time but that seems like a loooong process....

Here are some shots:


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## notclear

Which Hanna PO4 tester are you using, the ultra low or just low?


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## fesso clown

Just the low, not the ultra low. I ordered the wrong one by mistake. The thing is I know there is P04 I just don;t know where it's coming from and what to do about it, I am already maxed out on GFO.


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## sig

Jeff, I do not remember name of the product, but these pellets were available ~ 1-2 years ago and some people called it "Bomb method".
I am trying to find who used this product

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


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## sig

Nitraguard

http://gtaaquaria.com/forum/showthread.php?t=70873

wishing best for you and the tank

http://reefbuilders.com/2012/09/27/nitraguard-biocubes-orca/

*100% free webcam site! | Awesome chicks and it is absolutely free! | Watch free live sex cam - easy as 1-2-3*


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## notclear

Nitraguard bio cube is good for reducing nitrate thus the name nitra... Although it consumes PO4, but not the best way to combat it.

Most peoples use GFO, including myself. But I see dramatic result by using lanthanum chloride. There is a dilute product called Foz Down that I have been using since around early December. In 3 months my PO4 came down from 0.35 to 0.037.

The down side of using this is precipitation and that is why people use 10 or 5 micron filter sock when using this product.


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## tom g

*hey*

Hey jeff .. just an idea any thought to a few sea urchins .they would keep the hair algae under controm while u battle the cause ....


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## teebone110

I have been following along with your build and am sorry to hear about your recent issues.

Just curious if you had done any prep with your rock before you put it in your tank?

Have you checked your source RODI water, whats the current TDS levels? This sounds basic, but double check your connections and ensure that waste water in in fact going to waste and not into your "good" water.

Maybe you can track down a seahare to help clean things up?

Im sure things will correct itself, once all the leaching is out of your rock, if thats what it is??

Keep up the good work!


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## Curtis22

Hey I agree with the above, and also to check your RODI water for phosphate. If i do a water change i am adding phosphate to my tank, i rely on my gfo to remove it. There is phosphate in my pure 0ppm RODI water. I refuse to do water changes - if your tank is in good shape you get enough from top off water. Watch whats in your tap water, you pay a lot of money to remove things from it and purify it and build proper bacteria in it, why throw it out ever (unless your nitrates are through the roof and you must lol)

Could you explain how you use your GFO ? How often you change (last time changed), how much you put in ? What type of GFO (rowaphos?)? 

You cant possibly have zero phosphates, you should get different readings from your tank and output of reactor and tap water, 3 different readings.

I would think your hanna instrument is broken, or perhaps your phosphates are so low its reading zero on the phosphate meter. Get the Phosphorous meter. If my phosphate reading on the phosphorous meter reads 8 that means my phosphate levels are (8*3.066/1000=0.0245ppm). I begin to panic and change my GFO if my tank ever goes above an 8 reading as thats when any form of hair algea will begin to form on my plastic frag racks anything above 0.025ppm or 0.03-0.04 change gfo. Its very difficult to get a zero reading and your phosphate levels down to zero as it can hide in sand and rocks and somehow suspend and remain undetected in ways.

Anyhow, with hair algea growing like that i assume your phosphate is around 0.06-0.09 or could be much higher but maybe im wrong. Your tank looks amazing and i know your phosphates will go away if you change your gfo more often and turkey baste your rocks in any possible cracks or holes you can find for hours to get the "dust" out. Every time you find a sweet spot in your rock that releases a cloud of dust your phosphates should drop then and there on the spot if your GFO is not saturated and running and your skimming.

I doubt your ich is related to phosphate or algea issues. Fish get used to high phosphate levels or any stable levels, its when you raise them or lower them with too much gfo too quickly can harm your fish or stress them, or moving them even to another tank esp a tang will cause stress. Ich i associate with malnutrition, buying from any pet store you named i wont mention without quarantining or treating for ich bc they all have it in every single tank and there is nothing they or you can do about it but quarantine and provide a stress free transfer and tank or buy from someone who treats for ich before you purchase like Carls Aquarium. Ich is caused from the pet store/shipping - grows and kills by stress from nitrates, not having quality food, space or hides to feel safe and secure - your fish will die and not be able to fight the battle.

To me your tank looks very open for a tang to find a quality hide or shelter, there is nowhere to be completely out of view. Maybe put something in temporary big and hollow (cave-like). Painting your tank black will help too, but im sure you dont want to do that it looks so nice and probably cant be moved.

Anyways its all about GFO, its very easy for your GFO to get saturated and not be doing anything and levels to stay the same or start climbing again on you..... and it can also take days, weeks, or even months to get it down from only 0.09 to 0.02 depending how much phosphate your adding through foods, fish waste, and tap water or water changes ! Minimize those things and your GFO will do its job better on your tank. Up your gfo and testing to watch it fall so you know its working with the best test kit you can buy the ultra low phosphorous checker.


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## fesso clown

Thanks for the replies. I am almost 100% positive the p04 is leaching from the rocks, it has to be. I am not adding any significant nutrients feeding 2 fish in a 150 Gallons.



teebone110 said:


> I have been following along with your build and am sorry to hear about your recent issues.
> 
> Just curious if you had done any prep with your rock before you put it in your tank?
> nope, no prep, bought the rock from a fellow reefer who was shutting down his tank, didn't think about it at the time....
> 
> Have you checked your source RODI water, whats the current TDS levels? This sounds basic, but double check your connections and ensure that waste water in in fact going to waste and not into your "good" water.
> 
> good idea, i double checked, all good there.
> 
> Maybe you can track down a seahare to help clean things up?
> 
> Im sure things will correct itself, once all the leaching is out of your rock, if thats what it is??
> hope so.
> Keep up the good work!





Curtis22 said:


> Hey I agree with the above, and also to check your RODI water for phosphate. If i do a water change i am adding phosphate to my tank, i rely on my gfo to remove it. There is phosphate in my pure 0ppm RODI water. I refuse to do water changes - if your tank is in good shape you get enough from top off water. Watch whats in your tap water, you pay a lot of money to remove things from it and purify it and build proper bacteria in it, why throw it out ever (unless your nitrates are through the roof and you must lol)
> 
> Could you explain how you use your GFO ? How often you change (last time changed), how much you put in ? What type of GFO (rowaphos?)?
> I use 2 cups of BRS GFO in a GEO UMC 420 reactor with appropriate flow and tumble. I change it out every 30 days
> You cant possibly have zero phosphates, you should get different readings from your tank and output of reactor and tap water, 3 different readings.
> 
> I would think your hanna instrument is broken, or perhaps your phosphates are so low its reading zero on the phosphate meter. Get the Phosphorous meter. If my phosphate reading on the phosphorous meter reads 8 that means my phosphate levels are (8*3.066/1000=0.0245ppm). I begin to panic and change my GFO if my tank ever goes above an 8 reading as thats when any form of hair algea will begin to form on my plastic frag racks anything above 0.025ppm or 0.03-0.04 change gfo. Its very difficult to get a zero reading and your phosphate levels down to zero as it can hide in sand and rocks and somehow suspend and remain undetected in ways.
> 
> Hanna is reading 000. It is brand new. I know I should have bought the Phosphorous meter, I thought that's what I did order actually but when it showed up it was the P04 meter. Anyway, at this point it doesn't matter . If the P04 in the water column is undetectable under 001 I don't care what it is, I know it's in there between 0.001-0.9. At this point I just want to know where it is coming from....
> 
> Anyhow, with hair algea growing like that i assume your phosphate is around 0.06-0.09 or could be much higher but maybe im wrong. Your tank looks amazing and i know your phosphates will go away if you change your gfo more often and turkey baste your rocks in any possible cracks or holes you can find for hours to get the "dust" out. Every time you find a sweet spot in your rock that releases a cloud of dust your phosphates should drop then and there on the spot if your GFO is not saturated and running and your skimming.
> 
> I will try changing the GFO every 2 weeks and see what happens. I have also been lax on "dusting" the rocks with a turkey baster, I will try to be more diligent with that.
> 
> I doubt your ich is related to phosphate or algea issues. Fish get used to high phosphate levels or any stable levels, its when you raise them or lower them with too much gfo too quickly can harm your fish or stress them, or moving them even to another tank esp a tang will cause stress. Ich i associate with malnutrition, buying from any pet store you named i wont mention without quarantining or treating for ich bc they all have it in every single tank and there is nothing they or you can do about it but quarantine and provide a stress free transfer and tank or buy from someone who treats for ich before you purchase like Carls Aquarium. Ich is caused from the pet store/shipping - grows and kills by stress from nitrates, not having quality food, space or hides to feel safe and secure - your fish will die and not be able to fight the battle.
> 
> To me your tank looks very open for a tang to find a quality hide or shelter, there is nowhere to be completely out of view. Maybe put something in temporary big and hollow (cave-like). Painting your tank black will help too, but im sure you dont want to do that it looks so nice and probably cant be moved.
> 
> Anyways its all about GFO, its very easy for your GFO to get saturated and not be doing anything and levels to stay the same or start climbing again on you..... and it can also take days, weeks, or even months to get it down from only 0.09 to 0.02 depending how much phosphate your adding through foods, fish waste, and tap water or water changes ! Minimize those things and your GFO will do its job better on your tank. Up your gfo and testing to watch it fall so you know its working with the best test kit you can buy the ultra low phosphorous checker.


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## altcharacter

Jeff if you need a place to stash corals for a few weeks give me a shout. I can tend to pieces. Also, if you want to stash frags at my place just in case you can do that as well.

As it is I have a few pieces for you that were from your tank. Also you know you can pick anything out of my tank anytime


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## fesso clown

Thanks Dave. All my coral are doing great, I am getting nice growth and everything is healthy and stable. Just terrible GHA.


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## altcharacter

I wonder if you can eat GHA? We could make a salad of some sort.
Call it Ward's reef salad


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## Crayon

altcharacter said:


> Jeff if you need a place to stash corals for a few weeks give me a shout. I can tend to pieces. Also, if you want to stash frags at my place just in case you can do that as well.


Just be aware Jeff that Alt has been having a few sales lately and could accidentally sell anything that's in his tank...........


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## altcharacter

It's clutter!!! Amazingly I still have a frag from boxing day that Marg left in my car. Who knows when she'll pick that up.

I also have 3 frags and a kickass Flame BTA that Jeff graciously gave me from his tank! My tank is like a savings account...kinda


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## Crayon

altcharacter said:


> My tank is like a savings account...kinda


Or a bank. Open an Alt account and make deposits and withdrawals anytime you want!

This is why you need a bigger tank.


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## deeznutz

*NTS!* Just reduce your photo period(30%). Thats what I did and I'm almost gha free

-dan


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## fesso clown

*Upgrade sump time!*

So, when I installed my return line I put a manifold off to the left of the for various reactors before the water returns up to the DT. Off to the right of the T I just installed a union valve in case I wanted to expand one day.... that day has come. 
Here is the sump as is, there is no fuge. Just a 40 Breeder with a filter sock trey, a large skimmer section and a return section. 








Here is the T with the union valve for expansion:








I had a 29 Gallon tall tank laying around that I originally bought for a QT. This is my first time drilling a tank and let me say that the worst part about it is the anxiety leading up to the drill... What a piece of piss, it was so easy! 
















I didn't even have 1 mm to spare, in fact I had to raise my ATO reservoir on some plywood so it would clear the plastic trim of the 29G. I can't believe I managed to Tetris my calcium reactor and C02 tank but Bamm!!! I did it!!! 








So you may have noticed that I drilled for the bulkhead pretty low in the tank. I did this so that I would have room to install an Algae Turf Scrubber. Rather than just filling the fuge with cheato I am going to give an ATS a try. From all the reading I have done on ATS I have found that they can be very useful in conjunction with a skimmer and not as a replacement which some proponents claim. I am also very interested in how they work for giving pods a great enviroment to populate. MY goal here is to have a place for HGA to grow outside of my DT. If I don't like it I can always swap it out for a loc-line nozzle as it's on a union.








I think I may have to upgrade my Eheim 1262 as my return pump. I think I will be able to manage with the 1262 and just turn my siphon down but I have a feeling that will bring me down to about 3-4x turnaround which isnt too bad but it's a little slow... That's one of the great things about running a Herbie or BA, you can adjust the siphon rate to match the return volume!
Now I also have to figure out how I am going to light the ATS. I am going to go single sided for now and use what I have laying around which is a couple of Home depot clip on reflector lights (I am sure I have another one up in the attic) with CFL bulbs.


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## fesso clown

*Scorched earth!*

Oh ya I forgot to update on how I dealt with my terrible GHA problem. I do not recommend this path to anyone but it seems to have worked for me! The outbreak I was experiencing was out of control and despite the fact that I was adding no nutrients to the system, using GFO and have a good skimmer I couldn't get rid of it. I was at my wits end. I was ready to ditch all my rock and get new live rock.
What I did instead was use 3% hydrogen peroxide. I took each piece of rock out, dipped a toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide, applied a heavy layer of it to the algae and let it sit for 5 minutes. I then scrub rinsed each rock with a scrub brush in a bucket of waterchange water, swished it around and put back in the tank. 
It worked... totally eradicated the algae. It has been 2 weeks and it has not come back.

I went from this:




























TO THIS. THANKS H2O2!


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## matti2uude

That's great news! Your tank is looking good. I've been experimenting with a similar situation. I drained about 75% of the tank water. I put the 3% peroxide in a spray bottle and used it on the exposed algae. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and refilled the tank. After a couple of days all the algae that I sprayed was gone.


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## Marz

Outstanding! Thanks for the pics of your sump. I have been thinking about doing a dual sump and everything I read about an algae scrubber sounds promising. (I am sure I will pick your brain if allowed )
Tank looks great with algae gone. Huge difference in your pictures...before and after.
Matti2ude: interesting solution.


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## fury165

matti2uude said:


> That's great news! Your tank is looking good. I've been experimenting with a similar situation. I drained about 75% of the tank water. I put the 3% peroxide in a spray bottle and used it on the exposed algae. I let it sit for about 5 minutes and refilled the tank. After a couple of days all the algae that I sprayed was gone.





fesso clown said:


> Oh ya I forgot to update on how I dealt with my terrible GHA problem. I do not recommend this path to anyone but it seems to have worked for me! The outbreak I was experiencing was out of control and despite the fact that I was adding no nutrients to the system, using GFO and have a good skimmer I couldn't get rid of it. I was at my wits end. I was ready to ditch all my rock and get new live rock.
> What I did instead was use 3% hydrogen peroxide. I took each piece of rock out, dipped a toothbrush in hydrogen peroxide, applied a heavy layer of it to the algae and let it sit for 5 minutes. I then scrub rinsed each rock with a scrub brush in a bucket of waterchange water, swished it around and put back in the tank.
> It worked... totally eradicated the algae. It has been 2 weeks and it has not come back.


I've been doing this for some time now, and have mention it many times on here. In my experience you don't have to scrub or rinse the rock in question as the byproduct is oxygen. I even use it to clean my filter socks instead of bleach as it is safer.

Costco has the best deal around on a four pack of 3% but I also buy 4l of 35% food grade peroxide - just have to be very careful when handling.


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## Mikeylikes

IME boosting magnesium (Kent Tech) to 1400+ got rid of my hair algae !


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## PaulF757

I'm glad things are finally turning around for you. It's looking really awesome, and this summer I gotta come check out the tank.


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## fesso clown

*Success!!!*

After months of cat and mouse I walked by the tank last night to see this:








The little Fatherless Hawkfish sitting in the trap. 
I was used to seeing this:








Strawberry conch cleaning out the trap.

So I can now finally begin my 72 days of no fish! Yippe!


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## altcharacter

Congrats dude!!! Try to do a blackout for a few days as well to get rid of any stray gha.
you could also reduce your lighting to 6 hours a day to help out with it...

Just saying


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## fesso clown

*Update*

I picked up a 6x80W ATI Sunpower (big thanks to GTAA member samiam for pointing me to the kijiji ad, funny I have been trolling Kijiji since December almost every day searching for this fixture, I even searched all of Ontario. I never saw the ad he pointed me to, I guess my search term T5HO was too specific for a listing that just said T5...anyway big thanks)

I picked up the fixture and bought the last 4 60" bulbs from NAFB and got some used bulbs from a friend to try out different colours. 
I am currently running

Back 
AquaFlora (a freshwater daylight bulb with a purple undertone... that came new with the fixture, figured I'd use it for now) 
Coral + 
Purple + 
Blue + 
True Actinic (old bulb from a friend to try) 
Blue +
Front

The overall colour is a little purple but I kind of like it

I think will swap out the True Actinic and the Aquaflora for a new TA and another B+ if Uniboob Jerry ever gets back to me. I really should have ordered all new bulbs at once from Reefsupplies as they have free bulb shipping but you need to order 4 or more or something like that... I was in a rush to try it out so I bought what I could from NAFB. Other than SUM who charge an extortion cost of $45 a bulb for 80" there is nowhere in the GTA to get 80W T5HO bulbs... DAMMIT!
Here is the 6 bulb in it's blinding glory (actually not that blinding, my camera sux, it is very bright in the tank) I am only running full blast for 3 hours a day this week, 4 next) 









Here is just the True Actinic and Purple + 
I will be moving the P+ into a 4 bulb slot and replacing it with a B+









I would like to add an Actinic LED strip a la ReefBright for some shimmer and POP. I find them to be a bit spendy, not dimmable and I would like some UV Violet mixed in so I may do a DIY strip. 24x3W ought to do the job very nicely for around $125

Also, 
I also Finally got around to putting doors on my stand. The little one is 8.5 months now and will be able to cross the room any day now... she no longer stays where we leave her...

I can't believe I waited this long to get this done, it looks so much better! I just need to trim the top now... the pink styro is not the look were are looking for...
No too shabby if I do say so me self!


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## Marz

Looks great! I am definitely taking your lead on lights with my new build and going T5 out of the gate. I am sure your growth is going to be excellent.


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## teemee

looks fantastic Jeff! 
The Sum anniversary sale with be in a month or two, Ken usually heavily discounts them for this - if i remember correctly even up to 50% off.


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## fesso clown

The tank is chugging along on autopilot. I have made a few coral additions thanks to Frag Cave and FragBox but I am still fishless. Since JUne I have not been home more than 8-10 days in a row and I plan to tank transfer every new addition for ich then QT for another 30 days for de-worming and observation. 
I will have been 5 months fallow by then.... yikes! My coral are suffering a little in terms of colour because of lack of fish poo. 

My stocking plan is as follows:
1x Yellow Tang 
1x Kole tang 
5 x (4F+1M) Lytail anthais
3x Randell's anthias or Ignitus Anthias or Carberryi Anthias
1x Sunset Anthias (Pseudanthias parvirostris)
1 x Borb Anthias
1 x Bartlett's Anthias
1x Redfin wasp
1 x Flame hawk or Long nosed hawk
2x Clowns 
1 x spotted mandarin
1 x tailspot Blenny 

And then eventually a few Wrasses. 
Perhaps 
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse and a few other flashers...
Golden Rhomboidalis Wrasse 
Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse AND/OR 1X Ruby Head Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus cf cyanopleura) or Lineatus Fairy Wrasse (Cirrhilabrus lineatus) or Ruby Head Fairy Wrasse. 

I posted this list on the check your stocking thread on RC and got the thumbs up! 

I plan to start with 5 female Lytail Anthais hoping that one will turn male. 

Thoughts?


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## notclear

One of the 5 Anthias will definitely turn to male.


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## corpusse

notclear said:


> One of the 5 Anthias will definitely turn to male.
> 
> Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk


I have had 5 for many months. Still waiting for one to turn male.


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## fesso clown

I don't want to risk getting 4 female and 1 male and end up with 2 males is my thinking.... besides I think watching the transformation would be fun. I guess it can take a while....


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## deeznutz

We're going to need an updated full tank shot my friend 
How are you liking to t5 over the leds?


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## Crayon

My 2 cents.
As much as I really like my lyretail anthias, they are getting big. Like size of square spot big. I had 5 females, one turned male, got big. A second turned sub dominant male and got the shit kicked out of him by the male, was not allowed to eat, died. The harem is now reaching 2 years old, and the male is an ass. The girls are cool, I like their colour better, they mostly hang out together, but the male chases them around and can be an ass. He harasses the hutcherii anthias, the square spot female, and likes to play big man in the anthias world.
I lost my one and only Bartlett anthias to him (I think it was a bartletts, I'm going by memory now.....).
Not sure I would do lyretail again.
What about fat heads?
Or pylie's wrasse for the pink colour?
Or sailfin anthias? Loved mine, miss her a lot.
Ruby head wrasse get big, but mine is super laid back (clipping 5" now at 2 years old)
Love the flasher wrasse! Do more...but first get a lid!
Mystery wrasse?
Naoko wrasse?
Midas blenny?


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## notclear

I agree with Crayon with the Lyretail Anthias. I used to have a group of 10 tiny ones, within few weeks only 5 left. Then one turn male and this group last for close to 2 years. The male was not as good looking as the female ones IMO. He was the king as Crayon said he chased everyone including the Green Anthias!

Now I just started another group of 3 females, one is already turning male.


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## fesso clown

Crayon said:


> My 2 cents.
> As much as I really like my lyretail anthias, they are getting big. Like size of square spot big. I had 5 females, one turned male, got big. A second turned sub dominant male and got the shit kicked out of him by the male, was not allowed to eat, died. The harem is now reaching 2 years old, and the male is an ass. The girls are cool, I like their colour better, they mostly hang out together, but the male chases them around and can be an ass. He harasses the hutcherii anthias, the square spot female, and likes to play big man in the anthias world.
> I lost my one and only Bartlett anthias to him (I think it was a bartletts, I'm going by memory now.....).
> Not sure I would do lyretail again.
> 
> Thanks for your insight, I may reconsider the big group and change from Lyretail to squareback or some other smaller less agressive Anthais. Maybe squarebacks....
> 
> What about fat heads?
> I would like at least 1 Borb and they may be a little close in shape from what I have read...there could be possible aggression.I would like this to be a pretty peaceful tank.
> 
> Or pylie's wrasse for the pink colour?
> Or sailfin anthias? Loved mine, miss her a lot.
> Ruby head wrasse get big, but mine is super laid back (clipping 5" now at 2 years old)
> Love the flasher wrasse! Do more...but first get a lid!
> Mystery wrasse?
> I would love one but that knocks out any Fairy Wrasses and the Mandarin
> 
> Naoko wrasse?
> Midas blenny?
> I had one and loved it but I like the Tailspot more I think.... I had one that I adored. I have the yellow/gold covered with the Tang and the Anthais.


Yes I will update with a new FTS soon, growth is pretty slow and kind of stunted because of the lack of fish for so long. I love the T5s much more than the Radions. I do have a supplemental Royal Blue and Actinic LED bar that I built for extra pop and morning/night. Currently I am only running the 6 bulbs for 4 hours a day. 2 bulbs and the LEDs for 10. 
My bulb combo is all ATI and is now: 
Blue + 
Coral+
Bule +
Purple +
Actinic 
Blue +
The colour is fantastic!


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## teemee

The redfin waspfish we both had before were from Japan - and as far as I know, since that shipment, no one has gotten Japanese fish, since - maybe in part because of Fukushima, but just as likely, cost.
I too would love another one of these, or better yet, a pair. I've seen them on night dives in Indo, I won't even hesitate to say, on some sites, by the 100s, each with it's own little hole in the sand, but never have i ever seen these come in with an Indo fish order... If you find them, please let me know.
Just looked them up - what I saw tons of was Richardsonichthys leucogaster, not the same, but very similar in appearance and size.


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## fesso clown

I still have mine from that RR shipment. he survived the plague that ripped through my tank, formulin treatment, prazipro and is in QT. Tough little bugger!!! My other one jumped, I think it was chased out of the tank by it's "mate".


----------



## deeznutz

I have bi colour anthians, I used to love them, but I'm finding the male does chase the females and sometimes nips there fins. I've also found them to be semi aggressive towards smaller fish.

I wouldn't do anthias again.

Just my $0.02


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## fesso clown

Picked up some fish.... finally. I bought 4 Female Lyretail (squamipinnis) Anthias and 3 Sunset (parvirostris) Anthias, 1 male and 2 female. 
They are in QT awaiting the first transfer tomorrow morning. They look great after 2 nights, I can't tell if they are eating much but they are all pretty active. 
They are such beautiful fish, especially the deepwater ones. Ryan at R20 gave me a sweet deal on the 7. 

I will get some pictures later on today, I lost my phone and am off to get a new iphone. I have a Google Phone for the last 3-4 years and I have never been able to get pictures with it worth posting. I see plenty of good iphone shots on the forums so back to iphone it is. I am a Mac guy anyway.... 

Pictures to follow.


----------



## fesso clown

Half hay through the tank transfers, all is going well except:
I bought a brand new Eheim heater set it to 79 and I assumed that it would be calibrated out of the box. it was off by 8-9 degrees...... I noticed by losing one of my Lyretail Anthias.... Totally fucking sucks....I will never make that mistake again.




























Question about feeding in QT. They are starting to eat a little. Do I siphon out the leftover food after a little while? They don't seem to graze the bottom and when I stir it up they get shy and hide basically until the left over food re-settles on the bottom.

The DT patiently waiting for some fish to come poop all over the polyps!


----------



## corpusse

I would suggest you turkey baste them once or twice and see if they eat it otherwise you can net it out. Is there a sponge filter in there? They seem to work fine for fish. I never bother testing nitrates in qt's since fish can tolerate a high amount. I just use the seachem ammonia alerts since it's constantly monitoring the ammonia.

The anthias look great. I wish I could have picked some up from Ryan's. My fish are currently in black swimming pools so I barely see them. Nov 6th they go back in the tank.


----------



## fesso clown

*a few more*

Photo DUMP
I gotta figure out how to get sharper images.... maybe I have the setting on low MP or something.... anyway here's how the DT is looking these days:


----------



## fesso clown

corpusse said:


> I would suggest you turkey baste them once or twice and see if they eat it otherwise you can net it out. Is there a sponge filter in there? They seem to work fine for fish. I never bother testing nitrates in qt's since fish can tolerate a high amount. I just use the seachem ammonia alerts since it's constantly monitoring the ammonia.
> 
> The anthias look great. I wish I could have picked some up from Ryan's. My fish are currently in black swimming pools so I barely see them. Nov 6th they go back in the tank.


Ya that's kind of what I thought. Baste it up now and then and then siphon out after 3-4 hours. I am not using any kind of filter, just an airstone. I do a tank transfer every 60-72 hours and use an ammonia alert badge..... but ya not worried about nitrates.

Ryan had tons of healthy and nice looking anthais, I bought mine 4-5 days after the shipment landed and there were still some beauties.


----------



## duckhams

I can't believe I only just found this build thread, great tank dimensions! Anthias aggression can be controlled to a degree with regular feedings throughout the day, they don't do the greatest with fewer and larger feeding IME. Their pugnacious little monkey's.


----------



## fesso clown

duckhams said:


> I can't believe I only just found this build thread, great tank dimensions! Anthias aggression can be controlled to a degree with regular feedings throughout the day, they don't do the greatest with fewer and larger feeding IME. Their pugnacious little monkey's.


Thanks. 
Either my wife or I am able to feed multiple times a day without fail(most of the time) I am picking up an Apex auto feeder this week as a backup. I have an Apex JR and Neptune just updated the firmware to accept 7 modules instead of 4 so I will splurge on the AFS instead of the Eheim I was planning to buy.


----------



## duckhams

fesso clown said:


> Thanks.
> Either my wife or I am able to feed multiple times a day without fail(most of the time) I am picking up an Apex auto feeder this week as a backup. I have an Apex JR and Neptune just updated the firmware to accept 7 modules instead of 4 so I will splurge on the AFS instead of the Eheim I was planning to buy.


Sounds like a plan!


----------



## fesso clown

I picked up a Fathead (Sunburst) Anthais from Aung last week and from NAFB I bought a nice Benggai Cardinal the cutest little (less than 1 inch) Longnose Hawk. They are in my "new arrival QT" Awaiting TTM and then into the observation QT before the DT. I have severely amped up my QT protocol. I am determined to keep ich out of my DT. 
It's really hard to tell from the picture but the Hawk is tiny. So cute. Eats like a pig too ....already!!









My first round of Anthais are doing well (at least the Lyretails are) in the observation tank and have become very aggressive eaters. 
I originally purchased 3 Sunset (parvirostris) Anthias, 1 male and 2 female. I lost one of the females during TTM and this morning it looks like I am losing one the male. He is in the corner... laying down... ( bottom left corner behind the PVC) 








I moved the PVC and he swam away but not strong enough so he got caught in the current and got pinned to the side of the tank..... now he's being bullied and rammed by one of the Lyretails.... I doubt he makes it through the day.
I was warned by Ryan that these were difficult and delicate fish...I don't think he ever really ate much...

I bought a second Gyre a few weeks ago, it is mounted vertically behind the rock structure at the overflow. 
I got the Gyre just in time because my MP40 stopped working (old driver needs replacement). I have an MP10 that needs a new Wetside so I decided to try to run the MP40 Wetside with the MP10 Driver and dryside and it actually worked!!! HAHAHA!!!










I had a scare last week that I might have AEFWs in the tank. Turns out (I hope that was a false alarm as I haven't seen any more evidence and my acros seem fine, I am keeping a close eye.

Here is a FTS


----------



## fesso clown

*tiny Kole!*

I went to R2O last week to see the Hawaii shipment and check out the Rhomboid Wrasses. The Rhomboids were gone (Ryan said they were gone minutes after arriving). 
I was extremely tempted by the Mystery Wrasses he had, absolutely beautiful specimens, I was so very very very tempted but I don't think I am quite ready for one as it should be one of the last fish to add and I am not %100 on getting a Mystery as it will severely limit my other choices... 
Ryan had a bunch of healthy and beautiful Kole Tangs in the shipment, there was one that had to be only 3-4 weeks old. The size of a loonie. I almost bought it on the spot but decided not to take the risk....
I couldn't get the little guy out of my head all weekend so I went back this morning and was in luck: It was still there.

INTRODUCING:

Tyrion Tang.


----------



## fesso clown

Tyrion Tang is all settled into the QT and is eating already. I put some live rock rubble into the QT so he has something to pick at and he's already at it!


----------



## bc1281

I'm not sure if its just on my end, but I can't see pics.


----------



## fesso clown

bc1281 said:


> I'm not sure if its just on my end, but I can't see pics.


HMMM. Anyone else? I can see them on my laptop, home system and iphone but I am logged into google drive on all those devices...


----------



## tom g

*pics*

no pics here jeff....

sounds like u had some awesome fish hunting damn on the small kole tank . would like to get one in my tank again ....

looking forward to seeing the pics ....


----------



## fesso clown

I went back and I think I fixed it...

How many posts back are/were not showing pics?


----------



## tom g

*pics*

all your pics have boxes with a x thru them .....


----------



## fesso clown

TEST


----------



## tom g

*pics*

bammmmm awesome jeff.....


----------



## fesso clown

*strange, anyone know what the problem might be?*

My wife just got home and all the pictures are showing up on her laptop.

Can someone else chime in and let me know if the pictures are showing.

I wonder what is causing this, some people can see them and others can't.

I am using Google Photos to host the images. I right click on a picture in an album and get a dialogue box that offers up "copy image URL". I select that and then paste into the photo dialogue box here...

TOM, how many posts back are my pictures not showing up for you?


----------



## tom g

*pics*

all pics are showing now jeff i just scrolled back i think 6 , have not had a chance to look at them but from what i saw jeff , damn jeff i wish i had of hooked up with u for a fish hunt .....


----------



## Crayon

Lyretail anthias can be rather aggressive. I'm sorry to hear your diadem anthias aren't doing well. Its too bad. They can be tricky to get established.


----------



## fesso clown

*Linespot Flasher!*

I bought a Linespot Ferry Wrasse yesterday and he went into QT#3. He wouldn't let go of the net so I googled that and won;t be using nets anymore... finally let go 10 minutes later.









He is an absolutely stunning fish! I caught a glimps of him at AK on Saturday and decided to buy without asking the price. Turns out it was a real bargain and they were really nice and let me put it on hold until the next day.

The Linespot freaked me out a bit ... he totally played dead, laying on the bottom of the tank... I have to look really close to see him breath... this is "normal"? I guess

This morning he ate but has a good hiding place in some rock. He's all Eat and Retreat right now.

I am not exactly sure how I am going to go forward with the wrasse. I have read conflicting accounts about wrasses and CP. I figure I have 72 hours to decide... I am short a heater to do TTM but I do have the tanks. My wife won;t be too pleased though... it does take up some space (in our dining room)


----------



## deeznutz

Sorry dude, no pics!


----------



## fesso clown

deeznutz said:


> Sorry dude, no pics!


I just tried to fix that, did it work?


----------



## SarahSuth

Yes I can see the wrasse on the net pic now


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Crayon

What is CP?
Coral Police?
Copper Protocol?
Cuban Party?
Captain Paratrooper?
Crab, Porcelain?


----------



## bigfishy

Crayon said:


> What is CP?
> Coral Police?
> Copper Protocol?
> Cuban Party?
> Captain Paratrooper?
> Crab, Porcelain?


chloroquine phosphate


----------



## fesso clown

bigfishy said:


> chloroquine phosphate


yup
http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2397496
+
http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2136214


----------



## Crayon

Man, that's some serious drugs.......


----------



## goobafish

My dwarf fairies were fine with CP, as is my two-spot Coris. Gorgeous wrasse!


----------



## fesso clown

*update:*

Lot's to update here.

Currently I have 3 QT tanks running.... 
I decided to do TTM for the Linespot Wrasse as I picked up another wrasse:
a Leopard (Macropharyngodon Ornatus) Wrasses are 50/50 for CP treatment so TTM it is. We are 3/4 of the wat through and they will hit the DT on Saturday! 

















IN QT tank # 2 I have a Firefish a Powder Brown Tang and a Fancy Clown, they are not 23 days into a 30 day bit in CP. Eating well and looking great! 
















I love this little grumpy pants!!!

QT#3 has turned into a QT for a ton of Macro Algae that I scored. The LR and macros were totally infested with Red Flat Worms. I have used Flatworm exit and will do another round next week. I will then let this tank go fallow for 72 days before moving the contents into a 30 G tank connected to my sump. It will be a display fuge after all. I built an algae scrubber a while ago for this tank and it works great so I might keep it running... not sure yet.
Here is the macro QT
























A breeding pair of Cardinals came with the macros, unfortunitally I lost one of the Cardinals a couple of days ago... I think it was the Male but it's really hard to tell.... it just would not eat after the move. He was holing eggs during the move... sad...
Here is the tank that the Macros will be moved to to make a display fuge:








Here's a couple of tank shots:

















Japanese Redfin Wasp hanging out on a fragrack


----------



## CanadaCorals.com

FYI: None of the pics load for me.


----------



## fesso clown

CanadaCorals.com said:


> FYI: None of the pics load for me.


Bloody Google changed the settings on me... is it fixed now?


----------



## fesso clown

*New Skimmer*

So I sold my Avast CS1 thinking I had a line on a used Deltec, that deal fell through so I scoured the classifieds here, on AP and Canreef and found an old ad for an H&S. This thing is a beast!!









Here it is after just 1 week, I emptied the cup once already! It's soooo nasty and black! 








I am really happy with it!


----------



## CanadaCorals.com

fesso clown said:


> Bloody Google changed the settings on me... is it fixed now?


It works now. 

Looking good!!!!!!!


----------



## fesso clown

*Photo dump*

I finally figured out how to capture somewhat decent pictures with an Iphone 5. I bought the App CameraPlus and it allows you do manually adjust the exposure and white balance at least...

Here's an updated FTS








I picked up a beautiful piece of red, yellow and orange Leptastrea from Thang. This is my new favourite frag!



















Purple Monti and RR Red Diablo (can't seem to get a good shot of the Diablo) if you look close at that yellow green deepwater acro you will see Henry the Acro crab. 


















The Line Spot Wrasse went into the DT last night after TTM. Can't wait for him to colour up again! 









A nice Tri-colour from Thang!


----------



## fesso clown

*Siporax*

I built an eggcrate box and started to stack them all nice.... I made it to about 3 minutes before I just said fuckit and just dumped the Siporax in. I put a top on the cage so I can just shake and spin to rice. I tore out the filtersock holder from my sump and put the cage in that space. (I hated changing filter socks and the tray sat empty most of the time...lol)


----------



## Dan Cole

Just curious, why are you using Siporax in a reef? Won't it just become a nitrate factory?


----------



## fesso clown

Dan Cole said:


> Just curious, why are you using Siporax in a reef? Won't it just become a nitrate factory?


Quite the opposite actually. I am looking to help reduce nitrites. Siporax is extremely porous and creates a home for denitrifying bacteria to colonize. The danger of a nitrate factory occurs when detritus is allowed to build up and decay. I have the box in a high flow section of my sump and am able to lift it out and shake loose any detritus that may get trapped.

Because I have a minimalistic aquascape in my DT I would like to have more surface area for denitrification to occur. This is way less of a chance of becoming a nitrate factory than loose liverock in my sump. Way easier to clean and vacuum under/around.


----------



## Dan Cole

fesso clown said:


> Quite the opposite actually. I am looking to help reduce nitrites. Siporax is extremely porous and creates a home for denitrifying bacteria to colonize. The danger of a nitrate factory occurs when detritus is allowed to build up and decay. I have the box in a high flow section of my sump and am able to lift it out and shake loose any detritus that may get trapped.


Well you definitely want to get rid of those Nitrites so I guess you need to start there. As I understand the process, the Nitrite will get turned into Nitrate with sufficient biological filtration so you should see that next. How high is your Nitrite?


----------



## Sea MunnKey

Nice Leptastrea ..


----------



## fesso clown

*Phish!*

I moved the Galdiator Clown, Purple Firefish and Powder Brown Tang to the DT today.

Here are some display tank shots:































































Here is the Mandarin photobombing the clown!


----------



## fesso clown

*Not done phishin' yet*

I picked up a Copperband Butterfly a few days ago at Big Al's. I am QTing it in my macro tank to get it eating. It didn't eat for the first day and a half, I was getting nervous so I put it in the my macro tank and it immediately began picking at the rocks. I will observe it for a month or so and only tread it if something shows up. It is looking mighty fine! 



























I also picked up a Midas Blenny and a Kole Tang at R2O today because I couldn't resist the prices and nice fish, not to mention that I had an empty (for all of 4 hours) QT tank to accommodate them...

The Midas Blenny is still super skittish and has changed it's colour to a tiger strip from adrenalin and stress... The Kole looks alright but I think I see evidence of flukes. I will tread with PraziPro in the morning after they eat a bit more. 
I have been prophetically treating all incoming fish with Prazipro, it is pretty easy on them. 


















*In The DT:*
Powder Brown Tang 
Purple Firefish 
Gladiator Clownfish 
Leopard Wrasses(Macropharyngodon Ornatus) 
Line Spot Wrasse 
Bangaii Cardinal 
Lyretail Anthai
Red Fin Japanese Waspfish 
Green Mandarin

*IN QT*
Copperband Butterflyfish
Kole Tang 
Midas Blenny

*Still to Come (wish list) *
2x Borb Anthais 
1x McCosker's Flasher Wrasse 
1x Rhomboidalis Fairy Wrasse 
1x Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
1 xLineatus Fairy Wrasse 
1 x Pink-Streaked Wrasse
3-5 x Randell's anthias or Ignitus or Carberryi


----------



## tom g

*niceeeeee*

awesome update fesso...
jelly about the copperband its on my all time want list but 6/6 im done ...
maybe one day I can get a copperband tank ..
all I can say she looks pretty happy in the fuge ... I wish I had a big enough fuge to house one ...
good job and good luck with the amazing purchases


----------



## fesso clown

tom g said:


> awesome update fesso...
> jelly about the copperband its on my all time want list but 6/6 im done ...
> maybe one day I can get a copperband tank ..
> all I can say she looks pretty happy in the fuge ... I wish I had a big enough fuge to house one ...
> good job and good luck with the amazing purchases


Well Tom, thanks, it's early days yet but the sucker is eating to that's a major hurdle! I am going to let it get nice and fat before it goes into the DT. There is a ton of microfauna to chow on in the macro tank which is not actually not my fuge, but it is a QT tank and it is much too small (16G tall) for the CBB longterm... 
I bought a ton of macros off some dude here about a month ago but they and all the live rock they (the macros) were growing on were infested with Red Flatworms. So I set up the 16G to kill off the flatworms before putting all these macros in my actual fuge which is a 30G tank attached to my sump. I will hold the CBB in the 16G macro tank while I observe it for any problems before adding it to my display. I just wanted to get it eating and it has which is great! 
I will let it get nice and fat! It is a beautiful fish indeed!


----------



## deeznutz

Great update, things are looking awesome. Getting fish back into the tank is fun!

I hope that copper band works out for you. I can't keep one unfortunately.
I've attempted too many times, my last one was in a frag tank for two weeks. Lasted one day in the display. 

I think success with copper bands is eating and the compatibility with fish.


----------



## fesso clown

tom g said:


> awesome update fesso...
> jelly about the copperband its on my all time want list but 6/6 im done ...
> maybe one day I can get a copperband tank ..
> all I can say she looks pretty happy in the fuge ... I wish I had a big enough fuge to house one ...
> good job and good luck with the amazing purchases





deeznutz said:


> Great update, things are looking awesome. Getting fish back into the tank is fun!
> 
> I hope that copper band works out for you. I can't keep one unfortunately.
> I've attempted too many times, my last one was in a frag tank for two weeks. Lasted one day in the display.
> 
> I think success with copper bands is eating and the compatibility with fish.


Santa came early and brought the sweet release of death to the Copperband for Xmas. I am now 1/1. I don;t think I will try again unless someone is selling an established one from their reef.

On a positive note the Kole and Blenny are both eating like pigs in the QT. The Kole was showing signs of some kind of ringworm looking blemish on it's side. I dosed PraziPro 3 days ago and it has cleared up. It is much less shy as well.

The fish in the DT are loving life! The PBT is really enjoying the 6+1/2 foot swimming length and makes good use of it. He has begun routinely getting cleaned by my fireshrimp at the "cleaning station". Really cool to see that.


----------



## notclear

It seems that I have good luck with CBB. The first one I got was from SUM, it was from Australian, 4 to 5 times more expensive than what SUM was selling on regular ones. Ken also fed it to show me it was eating before I bought it. I had it for 7 months until I bought a fish which came down with ich which in turn brought the CBB down as well (along with my Achilles  )

Then I got another one from Reef Boutique, it was a regular one, not from Australian, but you know Colin sold it for probably 3 times more expensive. But it was worth it as it was eating frozen in the store. I have it for 11 months now and it is still healthy and eating, albeit only frozen PE Mysis and LRS Reef Frenzy.

So the key is buy one which is already eating and not to worry about too much the price, then you are on your way to success.


----------



## fesso clown

I bought it from Big Al's. The kid who sold it to me swore it was eating, I believed him... It may have been but it wouldn't accept any frozen food of any kind once I got it home. It was picking at the rocks in my macro tank but I believe it starved itself. I had no time to get live food. Next time (there won't be one) I will ask to see it eat but I figured at Big Al's the kid has no interest in lying to me about having seen it eat. 
Lesson learned. I have been racking up lessons in fish during the last few months....


----------



## teemee

Hey Jeff,
Check with Big Show and Red - I know both of them brought them in with their Aussie shipments. Whether or not they still have them, don't know...
Happy Holidays!


----------



## BIGSHOW

teemee said:


> Hey Jeff,
> Check with Big Show and Red - I know both of them brought them in with their Aussie shipments. Whether or not they still have them, don't know...
> Happy Holidays!


Thanks for the shout out Marg. I just recently sold the last one. Red may still have some?


----------



## fesso clown

*Tunze Care Strong*

I got the Tunze Care Strong magnet cleaner for xmas today and all I can say is "WOW, where have you been my whole reefing life?...... Oh ya, I am too cheap to dish out $112 for a cleaning tool!"

This thing RULZ! Best cleaner EVER! I have 3/4" glass and it works like a charm. No worrying about scratching up my Starphire glass and it chews through coraline algae like butter. Can't recommend it high enough!


----------



## duckhams

Im glad it worked out for you! They are awesome!


----------



## fesso clown

*Cbb#2*

Well, it looks like I am going to try again right away thanks to Red. Wish me luck everybody!


----------



## tom g

*cbb*

hey dude I looked at them all day as well fesso... im hesitant ,I need one aggressive one and I have not seen any aggressive , I decided jeff I need it to be a large one and not sure she will fit into my tank being large ....there are a few feeders u can make to get her to go to the feeder to eat ... msg me if u need any ideas ....
cheers and good luck


----------



## fesso clown

*Cbb 2.0*

Well, I picked up another CBB from Red at CRS. It's an Australian Behemoth. A total showpiece. Totally dwarfs my PBT! Within a few minutes of being added to the DT it was hunting featherdusters and I think I saw it gobble up an aptasia! YAY!


















CHECK OUT THE MOHAWKED WASPFISH SITTING UP ON THE GYRE! 









MOOSE TANG!


----------



## tom g

*cbb*

looking good dude ,,, very sweet addition ...


----------



## teemee

fesso clown said:


> Well, I picked up another CBB from Red at CRS. It's an Australian Behemoth. A total showpiece. Totally dwarfs my PBT! Within a few minutes of being added to the DT it was hunting featherdusters and I think I saw it gobble up an aptasia! YAY!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> CHECK OUT THE MOHAWKED WASPFISH SITTING UP ON THE GYRE!
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> 
> MOOSE TANG!


So glad you got him 
Is there a specific reason why you decided to forego your quarantine protocol with this fish? (U know me- I don't have room to q/t so everything goes straight into the tank, but I thought after your brooknella...)
More fts please  tank is looking great!
Happy new year !!!!!


----------



## fesso clown

Thanks Marg, Happy New Year to you too!
It's been through copper and Metro. I also put it through 2 days of PraziPro, should have been 3 but it was really unhappy in my 10G QT and seemed a little stressed...


----------



## fesso clown

I am going to keep moving my stocking list ahead in the thread... this is for me so I can keep track and updated... not like anyone is really following anyway...lol.

*In The DT:*
1x Powder Brown Tang 
1x Purple Firefish 
1x Leopard Wrasses(Macropharyngodon Ornatus) 
1x Line Spot Wrasse 
1x Bangaii Cardinal 
1x Lyretail Anthai
1x Red Fin Japanese Waspfish 
1x Green Mandarin 
1x Copperband Butterflyfish

*IN QT*
1x Kole Tang 
1x Midas Blenny

*WISHLIST*
Still to Come (wish list) I will not be getting ALL of these fish but I figure I can get close... 
1x Borb Anthais (maybe 2)
3-5 x Randell's anthias or Ignitus or Carberryi (Maybe) 
1x Pygmy (Cherub) Angelfish (Centropyge argi) maybe 2
2x Clownfish 
1x Yellow Watchman Goby 
2x Sleeper Gold Head Goby
1x Yellow or Blue Assessor
1x Flame Hawk 
1x Pink-Streaked Wrasse

SOME OF THESE WRASSES ( 2 more Flashers and maybe 2 Fairy) 
Filamented Flasher Wrasse
McCosker's Flasher Wrasse 
Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse
Rhomboidalis Fairy Wrasse 
Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
Lineatus Fairy Wrasse


----------



## teemee

fesso clown said:


> I am going to keep moving my stocking list ahead in the thread... this is for me so I can keep track and updated... not like anyone is really following anyway...lol.
> 
> *In The DT:*
> 1x Powder Brown Tang
> 1x Purple Firefish
> 1x Leopard Wrasses(Macropharyngodon Ornatus)
> 1x Line Spot Wrasse
> 1x Bangaii Cardinal
> 1x Lyretail Anthai
> 1x Red Fin Japanese Waspfish
> 1x Green Mandarin
> 1x Copperband Butterflyfish
> 
> *IN QT*
> 1x Kole Tang
> 1x Midas Blenny
> 
> *WISHLIST*
> Still to Come (wish list) I will not be getting ALL of these fish but I figure I can get close...
> 1x Borb Anthais (maybe 2)
> 3-5 x Randell's anthias or Ignitus or Carberryi (Maybe)
> 1x Pygmy (Cherub) Angelfish (Centropyge argi) maybe 2
> 2x Clownfish
> 1x Yellow Watchman Goby
> 2x Sleeper Gold Head Goby
> 1x Yellow or Blue Assessor
> 1x Flame Hawk
> 1x Pink-Streaked Wrasse
> 
> SOME OF THESE WRASSES ( 2 more Flashers and maybe 2 Fairy)
> Filamented Flasher Wrasse
> McCosker's Flasher Wrasse
> Carpenter's Flasher Wrasse
> Orange-Back Fairy Wrasse
> Rhomboidalis Fairy Wrasse
> Exquisite Fairy Wrasse
> Lineatus Fairy Wrasse


Nice!
FYI - lots of assessor so floating around at the moment, and bigs how had some tiny borbs a couple of weeks ago.
If you get a line on pink streaked wrasses, please let me know, have been looking for a pair for a while.


----------



## fesso clown

teemee said:


> Nice!
> FYI - lots of assessor so floating around at the moment, and bigs how had some tiny borbs a couple of weeks ago.
> If you get a line on pink streaked wrasses, please let me know, have been looking for a pair for a while.


Hopefully the Assessors are swimming (upsidedown) not floating around...lol.

Did you mean Big Show for the Borbs? I saw some tiny ones at R2O before Xmas but they were too small and not swimming correct. I actually have a standing order from Red for the Borbs but if BigShow has then maybe as I am getting the Assessor and Flame Hawk from him this weekend.

I saw a Pink Streaked Wrasse at Scarb Big Als a while ago and am kincking myself for not getting it instead of the doomed CCB #1.


----------



## goobafish

There's a borb at AK, saw it on Sunday. Looks great.


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## twobytwo

fesso clown said:


> I got the Tunze Care Strong magnet cleaner for xmas today and all I can say is "WOW, where have you been my whole reefing life?...... Oh ya, I am too cheap to dish out $112 for a cleaning tool!"
> 
> This thing RULZ! Best cleaner EVER! I have 3/4" glass and it works like a charm. No worrying about scratching up my Starphire glass and it chews through coraline algae like butter. Can't recommend it high enough!


Hey Jeff - thanks for the recommendation. I picked one up (the standard long) and this thing is indeed super awesome!  I can throw away my mag float and my wife can have my box of melamine sponges! I got it from Elliott/BigReefDepot!


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## Mikeylikes

I thought he was sold out? Was looking to get one myself to see if it lives up to the hype


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## notclear

Well, I have one. On the good side is now I can even clean the glass when the light is out, not fearing the starfire glass being scratched.

However as I also have 3/4" front glass, I find it not strong enough to hold the magnet. It has happened to me that the inside part dropped to the sand bed few times. Also the handle on the dry part is just too small to hold it comfortably.


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## Mikeylikes

Anyone with experience on acrylic?


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## fesso clown

Yes I have 3/4" Starfire and it is a bit weak and falls off quite often and it doesn't float which kinda sucks... all that aside it is still THE best cleaner ever!

So I'll do a quick update. I decided to do this:








I siliconed some ceramic rock walls that Greg (Sig) generously gave to me a few months ago to the back wall. 









A while ago I bought a ton of macros off some dude who was shutting down, I have them in a 16G Tall and decided to pull my fuge tank out of the stand and create a remote fuge. It's a 35G and it's plumbed into my DT. I may try some Seahorses in it. I have it set up with a 5/8" line from my manifold for now, I am thinking that with such a small amount of water circulating that the temp. in the fuge will be a few degrees lower than the display. I have a bit of reading up to do but I think with the captive bred ones available to us here it shouldn't be too much of a challenge. 


























By commandeering the 35 as a remote fuge I had to dismantle my ATS. I will be drilling the 16G Tall tomorrow to replace it. I am finding the ATS is great for keeping algae out of the DT by giving it somewhere ideal to grow. It has been working great for me and I need to replace it ASAP.


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## Jiinx

Colin has a wealth of info on seahorses, Jeff. He's definitely someone to talk to. I bought two seahorses from him last month..they're so lovely. My kids and hubby love them - have to be home to feed them though.

sarah


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## cica

Nice halimeda algae you got there.


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## fesso clown

cica said:


> Nice halimeda algae you got there.


Thanks for the ID. I have quite a bit of it. Would like to trade some for other macros if anyone is interested.


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## cica

fesso clown said:


> Thanks for the ID. I have quite a bit of it. Would like to trade some for other macros if anyone is interested.


I used to have a lot but it liked only one rock in the middle of my DT. Could not get it to grow anywhere else. Then my toadstool grow up, shaded it and it died out. It has calcium based skeleton and sometimes it goes sexual, part of it whitens out for a few days, only to come back bigger and healthier then before. 
Btw, what is ATS?


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## fesso clown

ATS = Algae Turf Scrubber. 
I will document the re-install for everyone.


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## Addicted

Hey Jeff, what lights were using for your ats? I was going with cfls but ended up ordering some led grow lights from aliexpress.


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## cica

fesso clown said:


> ATS = Algae Turf Scrubber.
> I will document the re-install for everyone.


Thanks.



Addicted said:


> Hey Jeff, what lights were using for your ats? I was going with cfls but ended up ordering some led grow lights from aliexpress.


What color are the leds (warm or cool white, red, etc)?


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## Addicted

cica said:


> What color are the leds (warm or cool white, red, etc)?


3x Blue 554nm 
6x Red 660nm


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## fesso clown

Addicted said:


> 3x Blue 554nm
> 6x Red 660nm


Correct. There is a lamp on eBay for about 30/40 bucks that I am going to order but for now I get ok growth with a Home Depot compact fluorescent .... Lol.


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## fesso clown

So I drilled the 16G and felt so proud of how easy it was until I noticed that I F-ing cracked the side. I am going to go ahead and use it anyway as I don't think it will leak. The crack is right beside the bulkhead right at the waterline and there won't be any pressure on it so I'm not too concerned...









I had to change some of the water delivery plumbing to thew screen, noting major. 

















Like I said I am currently just using a home depot clip on light with a compact florescent bulb, works pretty good. I don't grow a ton of algae but I have been pretty nutrient poor for the last several months as my bioload was so low... It does allow me to feed heavy without worrying about GHA in the DT, if it's going to grow it's going to grow on the screen.


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## cica

The 16 g will be out of sight, I would put silicone on the crack, just to be sure. 

I went to March to finally meet you in person, but I missed that you changed the time. O well, some other time.


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## deeznutz

No dice bro. I wouldn't use that tank. Trust me, its going save you a lot of time just to fore go this tank. Not to mention the mess.


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## cica

Any updates how the scrubber working for you? You inspired me to make one too, just put it online today.


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## fesso clown

cica said:


> Any updates how the scrubber working for you? You inspired me to make one too, just put it online today.


I haven't grown a stitch of GHA on the scrubber and it's been running for what a month and a half or something? 
I think that because I left the cheato in there that it is out competing the ATS. I also have a satellite macro tank plumbed in and I am dosing vinegar onto 6 Litres of Siporax. I take the lack of GHA on the scrubber as evidence that I have achieved an ULN system.


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## fesso clown

*Borb!!!*

THANKS RED!


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## Rookie2013

Awesome Jeff


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## Taipan

fesso clown said:


> THANKS RED!


 No probs. Apparently "It's what I do.".  I'm glad I could help.


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## fesso clown

*Update.*

The tank is making a turn around in terms of colour of the corals. I finally have some nutrients in the tank. My fish stocking list is about 3/4 done... it's been a long and frustrating process re-populating the fish... So many fish didn't make it through QT... it can be quite disheartening at times... 
My stock list so far is:
*In The DT:*
1x Leopard Wrasses(Macropharyngodon Ornatus) 
1x Line Spot Wrasse 
1 x Carpenter's Wrasse 
1x Bangaii Cardinal 
5x Lyretail Anthai
1x Red Fin Japanese Waspfish 
1x Green Mandarin 
2x Green Chromis 
1x Midas Blenny 
1x Powder Brown Tang 
1x Purple Firefish

*In The Macro Display Fuge *
1x Eye spot Blenny
1x Dragonfaced Pipefish
1x Scooter Blenny

*In QT*
1x Borb Anthais (Fat Bastid)
1x Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse
1x Social Fairy Wrasse?
3x Carberryi anthias

I started using the Aquaforest system about 5 weeks ago. I use their Pro-biotic Salt and do a weekly 10-20 Gallon waterchange. The salt is awesome! It dissolves crystal clear in a matter on minutes and doesn't leave any residue at all. The price is right too. $99/bucket shipped to my door ( living on Toronto Island this is a big deal!)

My AF dosing scheme is as follows... I dose: 
6 drops of Pro-Bio S - daily
6 drops Coral A - every other day
6 drops Coral B - every Day 
6 Drops Coral E - every day 
6 Drops Coral V - every other day
I also dose 10 ml of vinegar for now as NP-Pro is not available on Amazon.ca and I refuse to pay almost 3 times the price for a bottle from Salty Supply or some other US distributor. NP-Pro is their Carbon source for feeding their bacteria and vinegar seems to be working just fine.

April 2016 FTS









Some other pictures. I can't seem to take any good ones with the iphone... any tips would be nice! 
































]

































There you go, a big photobomb!


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## Marz

Wowzers! Things look amazing. Obviously you have been able to get things to bounce back


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## fesso clown

Fat Bastid chilling in his own QT


















Picked up a few goodies at R2O today:
3x Carberryi Anthias ( I think that's what they are, someone correct me if not)








An absolutely stunning Red Velvet Fairy Wrasse and a Longfin (social fairy wrasse)
















The Social Fairy has his Party antennae scanning for that Harem of Anthais! 








Creep!


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## cablemike

Those anthias are gorgious.


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## lloydj

Looks amazing !! I am also struggling with pale colors on sps due to 0 nitrates. Been cutting back on the vodka to see if I can get numbers up a bit. 

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