# ALNs-little reef



## aln

Current FTS(front, back and top!) (2/1/2014)




Full Tank Shot (FTS) (12/25/2013)





(12/06/13)

Back View

Some angel shots



5.5 Gallon Spec V
Equipment:
- Fluval Spec V
- Extra Spec V pump for more flow- *Changed to a Mini jet 606*
- DIY LED 9w cree 3up leds and 3w ultraviolet leds in stock housing
- 50walt heater

Livestock 
- Cleaner shrimp* DEAD*
- Yasha goby (06/04/2013) *DEAD*-(10/17/13)
- 4 Sexy shirmp - down to 3
- 2 Pom Pom carbs - down to 1
- porcelain crab 
- Candy Cane Pistal
- Emerald carb
- 2 blue leg hermit carb

*Corals to date.(12/25/2013)*

Softy
- GSP
- Pulsing xenia
- 3 ric yumas
- 1 Ric florida
- 1 Mushroom coral
- Flower pot coral
- Sympodium

SPS
- Pink Montipora cap
- Green Montipora cap
- Purple montipora cap
- Rainbow encrusting Montipora *(bleached)*
- Green Montipora digitata

Zoa/Polyp
- Neon Pink Zoa *(bleached)*
- Dark Cherry people eaters *(bleached)*
- Magician paly
- Devil's Armpr zoa
- Sunny D zoa
- Red Cherry people eaters
- MJC sriracha
- Utter Chaos Paly
- Oj Skirt Zoa
- Hawaiian Punch zoa

LPS/NPS
- Dendros
- Hammer Coral
- Golden Tip Octospawn
- Rainbow Acan
- Mini Plate Croral

Anemone 
- Rock Flower Anemone

Specs (12/06/13)

SG-1.026sg
Temp 78.5F-80F
Amm- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0-5ppm
Ph-8.1
Cal -420
dKH -8
-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------










Well I finally have the time and the money to start my own little saltwater before i go big.

I brought a Fluval Spec V 5.5g tank and will be doing my first saltwater tank [] its going to be placed on my work table so I'll get to see it daily.

Currently i have;

Equipment:
Fluval Spec V
extra Spec V pump for more flow
ordering DIY leds ( 3 ups - TV - NW? - TV - 3ups) still not sure about this arrangement yet but will be playing around with it (want a light purple blue looks) (made to fit into stock housing)
(lights will be here in April)

Plans:

beginner corals at first ( Xenia, zoas, maybe a sunflower coral, etc)
slowing work into SPS
Cleaning crew, to be stated
crabs and shirmps for sure
Not sure on fish yet

So i want to get the tank cycled asap, will be doing the mod this week and hopefully have the tank with SW and live rocks next week []

lighting layout: 0.25"x1.5" aluminum as heat sink









any kind of input and what should i add would be great! feel free to share any ideas too []


----------



## altcharacter

Congrats on making the dip into saltwater! You're going to get addicted very fast and just remember to take your time with the setup. Nothing is worse than pushing the cycle and having stuff die on you.

The lighting should be fine but you might want to space the lights out a bit more so they can get some cooling going on. 

Also, owning a nano tank is going to be alot of pain and responsibility. I use to think that smaller tanks were meant for beginners but this only applies to freshwater. In a saltwater tank there are alot of things that can go wrong with a 5g tank and when it does happen (and it will) it might set you back time and money. I now think that nano tanks are meant for experienced hobbyists due to the extreme amount of care they need. There is so much I can get away with on my 20g with a 10g sump that others can't, due to having alot of failsafes built in.

Good luck with the tank and keep taking pics!


----------



## aln

Yep i know its gunna have alot of responsibility thats going to come with it. i held out for a few years getting all the information for it and it should be okay if i keep on top of it. Im hoping to finish modding the tank by tonight and see if i can get some live rocks and corals in by the weekend, i probably wont have coral or inverts in until the tank is fully cycled. 

Either way im going to start with the basic corals like mushrooms, zoas, xenia, etc. before really getting into it. 

but any tips you have on your 20g would be great help for me also 

i also hope it turns out well


----------



## smcx

Good luck! 

All I have to say is keep the stocking simple and watch out for chemical warfare.
Water changes are KEY!
Stay away from fragile species like starfish. A dead star will nuke your tank in a couple of hours. In a small tank like that, a dead snail can kill everything in a day. 

I just upgraded from a 14g biocube to a 20L w/ 10G sump in my office


----------



## aln

smcx said:


> Good luck!
> 
> All I have to say is keep the stocking simple and watch out for chemical warfare.
> Water changes are KEY!
> Stay away from fragile species like starfish. A dead star will nuke your tank in a couple of hours. In a small tank like that, a dead snail can kill everything in a day.
> 
> I just upgraded from a 14g biocube to a 20L w/ 10G sump in my office


I will be doing water changes every week or 2 times a week if the levels are high.

Was planning to see if a goby pair would work but thats wayy in the future, really wanted this to be just a coral tank atm so it can keeps the tank a bit more stable until i get the hang of it.

what would you recommand for a 5 g as far as cleaning crew. 
i was thinking a few blue legs hermits and a few snails to start.


----------



## TypeZERO

Good luck with the nano! It is rewarding even with the work involved. One tip i would like to pass on when i use to have a 5g nano. Get yourself the biggest stainless Steele forceps/tweezers you can find. Putting half your hand in the tank will make it overflow  if your asian oriented steel your mothers biggest chopstick available, works wonders.


----------



## TypeZERO

Alsoooooo!!! The two little fishies glass cleaner is a must have for nanos!


----------



## aln

TypeZERO said:


> Good luck with the nano! It is rewarding even with the work involved. One tip i would like to pass on when i use to have a 5g nano. Get yourself the biggest stainless Steele forceps/tweezers you can find. Putting half your hand in the tank will make it overflow  if your asian oriented steel your mothers biggest chopstick available, works wonders.


HAHAHAH i'll keep that in mind and go looking for some chops sticks!


----------



## aln

TypeZERO said:


> Alsoooooo!!! The two little fishies glass cleaner is a must have for nanos!


I have one of that mag cleanings for nanos im going to see how that goes, i also have a tiny scraper i use to use for my freshwater tank.

maybe when i get everything up and balanced i can even buy some corals from you!


----------



## altcharacter

I have some LR and some shrooms for you when you're ready. I'm in scarb so not to far from you.

What Long said about the chopsticks is totally key!!! I totally forgot about having my 8g and doing the same thing. I would have to take out a gallon of water if I wanted to do anything with it.

I might even have some aragonite in the basement if you're looking for some. Although it's used and I can't remember who gave it to me (literally have a few buckets in the basement for this purpose) but you can have some if you want.


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> I have some LR and some shrooms for you when you're ready. I'm in scarb so not to far from you.
> 
> What Long said about the chopsticks is totally key!!! I totally forgot about having my 8g and doing the same thing. I would have to take out a gallon of water if I wanted to do anything with it.
> 
> I might even have some aragonite in the basement if you're looking for some. Although it's used and I can't remember who gave it to me (literally have a few buckets in the basement for this purpose) but you can have some if you want.


thanks for the offer i'll keep you posted


----------



## aln

Here are some pictures of the tank's build in "sump" mod.
I just drilled it so i could add another stock pump and changed the sponge around to accommodate for the new pump.
Added a piece acrylic in the filter to give it a true top skimming overflow to get that lay of protein out, the acrylic is also adjustable so if i need i can flood the tank or have it filter faster.

so having rocks and water in this week looks good. Will have it cycling until my DIY stuff gets in and we'll see from there.










































going to test it later to see if everything runs fine.


----------



## thmh

Wow everything looks so slick! Are you a fresh water guy? 

PEWPEW!


----------



## altcharacter

Of course he's a freshwater guy!! You can tell by how clean his house is 

Tank is looking really nice dude! Where did you get the small nozzles from? I've been looking for some that size for a long time now


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> Of course he's a freshwater guy!! You can tell by how clean his house is
> 
> Tank is looking really nice dude! Where did you get the small nozzles from? I've been looking for some that size for a long time now


haha yah im a freshwater guy  i have a 30g and a 10g with some mollies (parents tank)

I got the nozzle tube and pump from big als. i just called in and asked if they have them and the guy there order in some for me. they are the stock ones for the Fluval spec v, spec and i believe the chi also, i might be wrong on the chi though cant remember


----------



## aln

Going to pick up some saltwater (premixed at bigals) tomorrow and some live rock from seaUmarine or reef aquarium friday (if i get off earlier) or the weekend. 

Just a quick question, should i do a quick fresh dip before i start scalping with it? or just let whatever hitchhikers come out on their own? and pick the bad ones out after (if any)


----------



## MadJellyCorals

Fresh water dip would kill off a lot of the beneficial bacteria, making the live rocks purpose kinda useless. Check out dry macro rock from SUM. Its dry and cheaper and forces you to do proper slow cycle, which is a good thing.


----------



## aln

MadJellyCorals said:


> Fresh water dip would kill off a lot of the beneficial bacteria, making the live rocks purpose kinda useless. Check out dry macro rock from SUM. Its dry and cheaper and forces you to do proper slow cycle, which is a good thing.


Dry rock does seem like a good idea, but wont i need at least 1 piece of live rock in there to seed the dry ones?

I'll be heading over to SUM tonight after work and talk to ken a bit and see what he has


----------



## aln

A little update before i head out.
Things got:
-50W Heater
-16lb of Dry Rock
-10lb of Live sand

a non productive week for the tank, work has been really busy and been getting off late but i still managed to pick up some supplies before shop closed last minute 

Got some live sand that was on sale (2 for 1) and found an awesome heater that fits in the "sump" for pretty cheap. Also got some dry rock form SUM like MadJellyCorals said  a total of 16 lb, a bit much i think but these were the smallest pieces already, so either way i need to break them down and make smaller piece to work with, what ever i have extra i see if i should put it into the "sump" or have them seeded and give them out.

Probably going to get some live rock rubble or a small piece of live rock to seed it when i have the scape done.

Got a few piece of cured rock from Dave (altcharacter) from this forum so that will help start it cycling  thanks Dave.

Will see if i have time to do some scalping tonight with the rocks.


----------



## 50seven

Cute setup! Good luck and welcome to the dark side!


----------



## aln

Just got home not to long ago and after dinner went downstairs to start clipping away at the big piece of dry rock into something more workable. Took me around an hour and this is what i came up with.

Not sure if im going to get some putty and attach some of the piece on so it stays there but im pretty happy with how it looks.

Got it rinsed and soaking in RO water atm after work tomorrow i'll try to add land and water  cant wait!

















*
First Scape*








*2nd Scape*









Still debating on which one to keep, which one do you guys like?

On a side note, i also received one of my led shipments in today 









now waiting for the other to arrive.


----------



## altcharacter

interesting LED's, keep us updated on them


----------



## liz

I like the first scape! Very interesting.


----------



## aln

rocks are drying now and i measured how much it weights, a total of 5 lb..i was hoping for a bit more around 7.5-10lb, so i might have to change the scape a bit and add a few more pounds of rock inside, chiseling more rock as we speak  should have water and rock in the tank by tonight.

going to get some more live rock rubble to start the cycling process, now the waiting game begins


----------



## aln

found out that Salt water is soo salty 

so on sunday night i was able to put my rock into the tank and add sand and water  the pictures of the tank is still cloudy so i hope they settle by the time i get home. Its in the basement atm until i can move it upstairs.


























Stock Lights (Whites)








Night Lights 









To bad you cant turn the blue and whites on together.

All the hardware tucked nicely into the back which i like









The only problem i have is the "surface skimmer" that i did, im currently not getting a really nice surface skimming from the filter 
As you can see the water level is over the teeth and the water doesnt seem to be flowing into the filter all that much, i do see some foam from the sand filter in but after a long time.

Any idea why this is? im still trying to figure that out


----------



## smcx

Maybe try blocking the lower portion of the teeth so it pulls from the surface?


----------



## liz

It is because of the foam that you have in the overflow. Once that absorbs some water your level should go down. You could take it out all together too as it can become a nitrate factory if not maintained regularly.


----------



## aln

smcx said:


> Maybe try blocking the lower portion of the teeth so it pulls from the surface?


I have a piece of clear acrylic in there that goes all the way to the bottom. Not sure y its not surface skimming tho maybe a flow match problem? Not sure


----------



## aln

liz said:


> It is because of the foam that you have in the overflow. Once that absorbs some water your level should go down. You could take it out all together too as it can become a nitrate factory if not maintained regularly.


That's a good alternative? Live rock rubble and cheato? Right now the sponge has carbon pack inside.


----------



## aln

how the tanks looks now that its cleared up  really happy with it, just that the sand bed is a bit deeper then i thought it would be but thats fine i guess.



















let the cycling begin!


----------



## liz

looks good - great job aquascaping! Now the weeks of waiting - just finished doing that myself a month or so ago.


----------



## aln

went to luckys aquarium this morning to pick up a saltwater testing kit and got into talking with the owner, he remembers me from all the trips me and my parent went to their store to by gold fish and slowly me buying tropical fish,

Told him i was starting a new saltwater tank and now got a bonus piece of LR he said that might help me out 


















gave it a bit of a blast of saltwater to get all the loose stuff off and found these 2 little things in the left over water.

not sure if they are good for the tank or not, anyone know what they are, those are the best pictures i could get.

This one kind of looks like a long bug, with zebra patterns









This one looks like a mosquito larva 









With this piece of live rock and live sand that i have, it will be enough to start cycling and seeding right? i dont need additional LR?


----------



## liz

IMO just throw in a heater, a power head and you are good to go!

I have no idea on the ID's maybe someone else can chime in here?


----------



## aln

oo the rock is in the tank so its heated and i have 1 of the pump's nozzle facing it for now


----------



## aln

Went to close the lights on the tank and just take a look at everything and found this little guy

Hopes he survives the cycle and more goodies to come from this rock









Do you think it will survive?


----------



## liz

It should!


----------



## aln

Got some time this morning to do some tests and water top off before heading out.










Temp - 80F
Salinity - 1.026sg - 34ppt i believe that's what i saw if i read it right 
Amm- 0.25ppm
nitrite- 0
nitrate- 0

At least i know something is happening in the tank 

how the tank looks now with the LR ( still need to do something about the background tho )


----------



## TypeZERO

Everything is going nicely! Keep it up and this tank should be a sweet nano. Nice detailed documentation !!


----------



## aln

thanks for the comment  i hope it becomes a good nano too


----------



## aln

did my weekly test 
Temp 74F O_O!
PH-7.8-8.0
1.026 SG
amm - 0.25ppm
nitrite- 0 
nitrate - 0









Was about to do a water change but figured that nothing changed i'll leave it for next monday if i start seeing some nitrite and nitrate.

Also found out that the heater in the back chamber being set at 80F and the temperature in the display side is totally different.

i measured that in the back it is 79-80, but after the pump, pumps out the water the display tank loses like 6 degrees F. so i upped the temperature on the heater and will check how the temperature in the display looks

O yah since i got some time today i went a built a small chamber to change the back into a fuge. its nothing fancy and pretty noob  but it should work for now. Will make a acrylic one in the future though


----------



## Ryan.Wilton

Tanks looking real nice! I'm considering redoing my 10gallon to a reef opposed to my FWLRO set up I have going currently.

I don't think anybody answered about that feather duster. I believe it will survive, but I could be wrong lol.


----------



## aln

i dunno if my feather duster is still around anymore, it moved spots like 2 days ago and is no where to be found anymore LOl.

temps are steady at 78F now


----------



## J_T

aln said:


> i dunno if my feather duster is still around anymore, it moved spots like 2 days ago and is no where to be found anymore LOl.
> 
> temps are steady at 78F now


They come, and they go!


----------



## aln

So there is finally some action in the tank as i believe im getting diatoms bloom in the tank. (my photo is bad with white balance so its whitewashed but there is alot more diatoms in there then it looks)









I believe the GSP is dead that came with the live rock and that the feather duster also received the same faith 

But i found out i have some VERMITID SNAILS and was tripped out at that was happening and found out that they spit out this mucous net thing that looks like a spider web to catch food. very neat indeed!









another thing that i find a bit weird and im not sure what it is, is that when the rubbery stuff of the gsp started falling off, this white branching thing started getting bigger and bigger.

can someone tell me what it is or is it bad?...


----------



## J_T

Some sort of a filter feeder IMO.

They will come and go.


----------



## aln

sent you an email JT  let me know if you need more info


----------



## J_T

aln said:


> sent you an email JT  let me know if you need more info


Replied


----------



## aln

Great news this morning when I went to turn on the lights before I went to work. There was a little thing poking out of the gsp matt which got me really excited, went up to change and gave another look before heading out and saw some colour! I hope I can get off work ealier today and see it all open that would make up for my busy week


----------



## aln

Heres a picture of the gsp, looks kind of weak but im waiting for my rapid led stuff to get in to upgrade the light. I see like 6 small poly.
Picture took from my phone


----------



## altcharacter

In about 3 months you'll be saying "I hate this stuff!!!" 
Good to see the tank is coming out nice


----------



## aln

Haha dave I know right  ill make sure I keep it on a seperate rock 

Hows everything going for u??


----------



## altcharacter

alright man! Just struggling to find a new tank for my living room


----------



## aln

FTS


also did my testing today
temp: 76.7F
PH-8,0
1.026sg
Amm-0
Nitrite -0
nitrate-0??s

this part got me a bit confused...no nitrate? feels a bit weird so im going to retest that again tomorrow.

small update on the gsp-
seeing more poly open now (eight), moved the flow nozzle to not have water flow hitting it directly as it seems to be bending the gsp over. Can see micro greenish tips on them with a magnified glass. Going to do a bit of cleaning in the tank (glass only) and planning a cleaning crew atm

any idea of what snails to get? dont really want a turbo in such a small tank. Set on 2 hermits either 1 scarlet and 1 blue or both blue.

When the cycle is finish first coral im going to be picking up is a pulsing xenia if i can find one 

Monday will be the 4th week this tank has been set up! cant believe its passed so quickly


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> alright man! Just struggling to find a new tank for my living room


i saw your thread on looking for a 50g! good luck!  cant wait to see it work


----------



## altcharacter

having 0 nitrates in a system that size doesn't surprise me at all. It's such a small system that the cycle might be faster and if it's reading right then you need to get some type of snail or something in there to keep it going.

Thanks, I'll start to update my build thread as soon as I lockdown a tank.


----------



## aln

Right now there are double the amount of poly I count 16 and to my surprise my feather duster came out of no where today and seem to have grown  very rewarding after work


----------



## aln

double checked by nitrate today when i got home and its still 0 so maybe the cycle is done...i hope.

either way when i have time im going to head out on the hunt for some Cerith and limpets snails or even some astreas and nassarius. If anyone has some they dont mind selling to me that are in markham let me know! or within downtown since im working DT atm.

going to have snails start cleaning up the tank and then im going to check the nitrate again.

Temps are kind of shifting from 75-77 on and off. this shouldnt be a problem right? i would like it steady at 78 but doesnt seem to be happening.

I also received my LED shipments in. OMGGG things LED are BRIGHT! i tested one of the Neutral white and omg...i see black dots right now as im typing. Im sure im going to run these at 40% for sure LOL.

1 Led lights up my room.



cant wait to get starting on this project!! 

cant stop loving these leds


----------



## altcharacter

I have alot of nassarius snails when you come over dude. And yeah the RapidLED's are insane. I'm running 8 as supplement on my 20g with T5's


----------



## aln

hahaha nice! im going to hit up SUM and see what they have, they are like 5 mins from my place and yah these crees are BRIGHTTT


----------



## aln

wanted to drop by SUM today but when i got there store just closed about 10 mins before. I thought it closed at 9 :|

got home a bit late to just did a small bit of thinking on now im going to do this DIY light.

took apart the stock light and got the stock led board out and got the whites and blue on at the same time so at least when im doing my leds my tank wont be in the dark all the time. its currently on a time from 830am start to 830pm
i know this is a long cycle for lights to be on but since the stock light doesnt do much having it on that long wont do much harm.

light sitting on a piece of clear acrylic 


took a look at the stock housing and filed down the aluminum bar to fit. thought of what need to be redesigned and opened for hot air to expect ect. and then i called it a night. going to start marking down the measurements and drilling the housing and figuring how heavy this light is going to end up. Cause the last thing i want is the light being dipped into the tank.



For the LEDs im thinking of laying them out as 3UP/VU - - NW/RB/NW - - VU/3UP and see how the colours turn out. I also got myself some Cool blues and cool white just incase i want to play around with the colours.


----------



## aln

Got a nice macro shot of my gsp  it doesnt have the long green grass look but I hopw it does


----------



## darthvictor

how much did you spend on the Led? maybe getting one Panorama Pro LED Module and a inline Dimmer then no need to think about the heat sink stuff


----------



## aln

with the driver and all the led its around 70$ with shipping. the aluminum bar (heat sink) i got locally and was like 2$ im budgeting this light at around 100$ or even less. 

i thought about getting stunner strips from ecopico but being wanting to keep sps in the near future i didnt want to keep upgrading as shipping cost will start adding up. 

and a panorama pro led 18" seems to be out of my budget. but i know it also supports sps and all kind of corals.


----------



## darthvictor

Oh i was thinking the one panorama pro strip (Dimensions 12.75”L x 1.5”W x 0.5”H) which is $69 and a inline dimmer $17. I am using one of that right now and all my SPS and LPS are happy. 

Just that I am not much a DIY guy, anyways I am sure the one you got works very well too.

btw, I can give you a piece of Pulsing xenia


----------



## aln

Love your tank btw darthvictor loving the POP your getting, how are you getting that? just royal blues on?


----------



## darthvictor

yup just blue light and some camera setting


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> Oh i was thinking the one panorama pro strip (Dimensions 12.75"L x 1.5"W x 0.5"H) which is $69 and a inline dimmer $17. I am using one of that right now and all my SPS and LPS are happy.
> 
> Just that I am not much a DIY guy, anyways I am sure the one you got works very well too.
> 
> btw, I can give you a piece of Pulsing xenia


if anything happens i might take try the panorama, cause i can reuse the leds for my 37g. but for sure im going to give this DIY a try first 

did you order it online at the ecopico website?

after i get some snails it would be great if i can pick up some xenia from you!


----------



## darthvictor

I ordered it from Modular Led, it is from Alberta.

Sure, I live very near to SUM too.


----------



## aln

picked up some cerith and nassarius snails today got 4 of each. after a drip accum, i saw 2 nassarius go stright into the sand bed and one climbing up a rock LOL


----------



## darthvictor

XD can't wait eh


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> XD can't wait eh


hah since i was there anyways and they had them y not right?  then i can add coralll muhahhaha


----------



## aln

licking the glass


----------



## aln

i know i shouldnt be thinking about this right now but i just want to plan for the future when i do see a good deal. 

This is about stocking the tank with fish.  what can i put in a 5.5g? i know its very very limited and what i have in mind is probably a yasha gobie pair with a banded shrimp and a small clown (that will be moved to the 37g in fall or sold when to big for the tank) 

i was thinking a tank this size should be limited to 1 fish but since the gobie wont be swiming around much and will be burrowing more often i can give him a try. 

what are your thoughts on this? and any other recommandations? maybe a benny or some sort?


----------



## J_T

I would stick with the goby family. 

Maybe a blenny.

Or, get your Yasha's, and a pair of skunk clowns! They are pretty cool.


----------



## aln

J_T said:


> I would stick with the goby family.
> 
> Maybe a blenny.
> 
> Or, get your Yasha's, and a pair of skunk clowns! They are pretty cool.


Yah I really want a yasha pair  I might get a baby clown for my niece then trade it for a yasha in the future


----------



## aln

not much of an update but the snails are doing its job quickly and i can see that my dry macro rock is also getting some colour on it  some green red and purple 

will be on the hunt for coral now! and probably going to get another testing kit for cal since i will love to start growning a monti cap or even a small acro sps  at the end of summer.


----------



## thmh

Omg aln you can join the tripleAC .......awesome asian aquarium club!!! but we get a lot of heat because.
hey see us rollin'
They hatin'
Patrollin'
And tryin. to catch us ridin. dirty.
Tryin' to catch us ridin' dirty.
Our music so loud;
we swangin'.
They hopin'
That they gon' catch us ridin' dirty.
Tryin' to catch us ridin' dirty.


----------



## altcharacter

does vietnam count as asia?


----------



## thmh

altcharacter said:


> does vietnam count as asia?


Oh no you didnt!!!!!!


----------



## aln

LOLLL!! tony and dave  haters be hatingggg 

well i did my testing today and did a bit of maintenance.

Temp 78.2 (ranging from 78-80, 80 around afternoon)
PH- 8.0-8.2
SG of 1.024-5, i dunno y the sudden drop but im trying to get it back up to 1.026 -35ppt by the weekends. gradually topping off with ro water and saltwater
Amm- 0
Nitrite- 0
Nitrate- 0

So i guess my cycle is done! after 5 weeks!  on the safe side, i believe it was done last week already.

Love the Kent marine scraper i got thatd 12"-24" my tank looks very clear now . one bad thing though...i knocked my gsp rock and it totally shifted places. Spent like 30mins getting it back into its spot...still seems off. Thats saltwater for you though. Also thinking about getting it a new spot in the tank when its starts growing so it doesn't invade my other rock.

Here are some picture 


green red and purple  ( photo a bit washed out


----------



## altcharacter

my suggestion for you with the gsp would be put it on the sand or somewhere you won't care about. Once you put it on a rock it will invade all other rocks very fast


----------



## aln

Picked up my solder stuff since i cant find my old set, probably been 2-3 years ago when i was still in school. So i went to Sayal right when they open and picked up what i needed before work.

40W soldering iron, 22AWG black and white (soild wire), 63/37 tin/lead rosin core electrical solder


and im surprise that under the current light my GSP is doing pretty good (white and blue on at the same time) it looks plump so im guessing its healthy. The reason for it now growing faster or having longer polyp extension is probably cause the stock light is a bare minimum requirement.

As you can see there are alot more polyp  and for sure they got bigger


----------



## altcharacter

wait until you blast it with 100w of LED's!!! Nice job so far dude!


----------



## MadJellyCorals

Nice detailed thread! nice sharp photo of the gsp too!!


----------



## darthvictor

Looking great


----------



## aln

seeing alot more green on the rocks, im kind of thinking if it might be green coraline algae or just algae LOL

i might put the tank in a blackout on saturday and then one sunday do a water change  other then that everything looks great and i cant wait until i get some coral


----------



## thmh

Ya aln let me know when your ready.... I'll hook you up with some hardy stuff! 

-Tony


----------



## aln

thmh said:


> Ya aln let me know when your ready.... I'll hook you up with some hardy stuff!
> 
> -Tony


yes please! i might make a trip down there this sunday if im off work  i'll text you for sure!


----------



## aln

found myself some nassarius eggs


----------



## CRJ

Tank looks good! your going to want something much more powerful then 40 watts to do soldiering, i use a 100 watt and even it is a bit cold sometimes. 


tank looks good!


----------



## aln

really? i heard that even 25-30 watts are enough, but just a bit slow.


----------



## altcharacter

A faster solder is better, so you don't fry the circuit in the LED. 
Just an FYI, I found the solderless connectors were a dream from RapidLED. They are a bit more expensive, but if one burns out you can just unplug it and put in another one without having to solder


----------



## aln

i will be testing the soldering tonight or tomorrow on one of the extra neutral whites. If it works out good then i'll be tinning all the 3ups and ultra violets


----------



## aln

acclimating goodies i got from Darthvictor  thanks again!
more pictures after later on when they are in the tank


----------



## altcharacter

In a couple months we will be looking back on this thread and saying "wow I can't believe I had that small of a tank"

I'll give you 3 months before you upgrade to a 30g


----------



## aln

Im already plannibg to fibish setting up my 37 I have just making a cabinet for it


----------



## aln

Finally i have a day off!  woot! went out to darthvictors place to pick up some frag to start the tank off . Very very nice guy and also got to drop by inside to take a look at his tank 

Soo these are the goodies i got to pick up from him!

Pink Monti Cap. 
(first time using epoxy putty, and i dont think i did it right...as of now the monti is on a rubble rock and epoxied to it. i'll check it again tomorrow and see if its harden if not then i'll go get some super glue and rebound it)
-tried to make the epoxy look like rock...failed at that tho LOL


And my Fav Pulsing Xenia 
Front tank view (i wanted to have it kind of "peek out" behind the rock look, but i might just move it into the front still debating.


Back View


Current full tank shot


I couldnt believe how Soft, soft coral really is. I was so afraid or hurting the xenia since i couldnt get it in the right place. Right now i have 2 piece of rubble that made a little hole and i just stuck it into that hole.

do you guys glue the base of soft coral like xenia to rubble to? with super glue? will it damage the coral? let me know what you guys do so i have an idea how its supposed to me done. The right was is always the best way


----------



## aln

thinking i might also pick up another time of xenia too for that corner. Had my eye one a pink/white one from Reef Aquariums.


----------



## J_T

know how fast dandilions will fill in your lawn? That is what xenia will do in an aquarium.

Right now, you own 2 of the 3 most notorious PITA corals for spreading. Toss some blue polyps in there, and you have them all!

Thankfully, the size of your tank makes removing a rock, and replacing it easy. Hell, you might even make a buck doing it!


----------



## altcharacter

gsp vs xenia...who will win


----------



## aln

J_T said:


> know how fast dandilions will fill in your lawn? That is what xenia will do in an aquarium.
> 
> Right now, you own 2 of the 3 most notorious PITA corals for spreading. Toss some blue polyps in there, and you have them all!
> 
> Thankfully, the size of your tank makes removing a rock, and replacing it easy. Hell, you might even make a buck doing it!


I love blue clovess! Let me know if you have any! Seriously... lol I know these are wildfire corals but its great coral for a beginner like me


----------



## J_T

aln said:


> I love blue clovess! Let me know if you have any! Seriously... lol I know these are wildfire corals but its great coral for a beginner like me


I will check if my friend still has some


----------



## aln

J_T said:


> I will check if my friend still has some


thanks 

depending on this week i might get to drop by to madjellycorals place and see thmh and see if i can get some nice zoa from them


----------



## J_T

Let me know when. I might be able to meet up with you too  then we can talk about that insert


----------



## aln

haha nice


----------



## thmh

Woah Woah party at mjc? Aln if you want the cool gsp let me know I can frag a piece from my back wall. 

-Tony


----------



## aln

thmh said:


> Woah Woah party at mjc? Aln if you want the cool gsp let me know I can frag a piece from my back wall.
> 
> -Tony


haha nice! but i'll see how my gsp grows out  i dont have 2 colonies on gsp invading my tank now 

would love some more colour in the tank though so you'll have to show me around!

really digging the Magician Paly and devils armor but those are sold out  my gf likes the neon pinks  its nice when the gf approves


----------



## thmh

Magicians are not sold out and I can always frag you some of devils armor. 

-Tony


----------



## aln

thmh said:


> Magicians are not sold out and I can always frag you some of devils armor.
> 
> -Tony


meant the devils


----------



## darthvictor

aln said:


> thinking i might also pick up another time of xenia too for that corner. Had my eye one a pink/white one from Reef Aquariums.


Did I just show you some pink/white Xenia today?


----------



## aln

Haha yah you showd me that white one  I want a pink or blue I meant and put them side by side


----------



## aln

small update,

havent been getting much done lately as for the tank since work is starting to pick up, but in the few hours i have i try my best  still working on the housing but thats coming along nicely. and i know im slow at this be patient with me 

Here are the 3 ups all tinned and bridged 


Im missing 1 or 2 more led stars to finish tinning but here is what they look like 


Update on the tank

getting a nice colour on my rock all over but i see these darker purple almost black?ish dots..i hope they are normal and not anything bad


Whats this red stuff?its only on my sand ...


still dont know what this is....but i knock the gsp rock by accident when cleaning and during rearrangement it left of.,..and floated away.


monti cap...doesnt look good since i think i got some puddy on it...fully my fault since i was inexperience in mounting frags.. but i got everything i need now for future mounting, putty and super glue gel. 


Xenia looks healthy and also the GSP. everything in the tank is stable. Sunday i'll do a W/C and i'll be getting a a Cal and Alk tester.

and thats all for tonight.


----------



## MadJellyCorals

maybe the monti cap didn;t take fragging well.

~Tony


----------



## aln

maybe, i;'ll see how it goes  hopes it hangs on though


----------



## altcharacter

your tank might not be mature enough for a monti, and yes the fragging might have hurt it as well.

As for the red stuff...congrats on getting cyanobacteria. You'll spend an amazing 2-3 months trying to fight it off and wonder why you started a tank in the first place. Although once you win the battle it will be well worth it.

Get those LED's up already!!


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> your tank might not be mature enough for a monti, and yes the fragging might have hurt it as well.
> 
> As for the red stuff...congrats on getting cyanobacteria. You'll spend an amazing 2-3 months trying to fight it off and wonder why you started a tank in the first place. Although once you win the battle it will be well worth it.
> 
> Get those LED's up already!!


...cyanobacteria...is it bad?...really...y is it there anyways LMAO

i'll be doing research


----------



## TypeZERO

I find that monticaps take a short dive in colour and slowly colour back up to its normal colour. Your tank will determine how long it takes.


----------



## darthvictor

Give some time to the monti cap, at least you see some polyps (tiny circles) showing in your picture, that's always a good sign


----------



## aln

so the tank is currently in black out and tonight will be doing a water change. i tested for nitrate and it read 0 again or really low. 

will let the tank black out for another day get 1 or 2 more nassarius snails to push the sand around more. 

as for flow...i dunno how i can up it anymore without taking out the stock look, will be thinking about that. 

Im currently using RO/Di water from bigals so i dont think it should be a problem. will really think about getting a RO/DI unit though. Any one got a recommendation for brand?

Also looking for some cheato if anyone knows where i can get some  to help with nitrate if thats the problem.


----------



## aln

small update

as for the cyanobacteria, it seems to be almost gone after 3 days of black out, i dont see any hairs or red stuff on the sand. Thats good news. I also changed the timer on my tank for the light to be from 9-4pm, 7 hours of light.

Im not to sure if what im seeing now is a new problem or not but i see "dust" or "deadskin" looking thing over some rocks and sand, i blasted it with the turkey baster and its just floating everywhere lol. I set my pump nozzles to direct flow down to the lower part of the tank so the top overfull will skim it away. It is doing its job slowly but surely.

Pictures of what it looks like, any idea what it is? looks like dust. im sure it not sand debris


----------



## altcharacter

Just my opinion...but doing a blackout for 3 days is a really bad idea.
This doesn't fix the problem of cyano, it might make it worse in my opinion.

Think about all the beneficial bacteria, algae, and organisms you killed with no lights on. Meaning you're going to have another spike...meaning if there's cyano still in the tank it's going to bloom even more than it did before.

Although...it might work. Time will tell.

It took me months to get rid of the cyano when I first started due to me thinking that killing or getting rid of the cyano will take care of the problem. Instead with cyano you need to deal with how it's feeding or eating.


----------



## aln

Thanks for the comment dave!

well i know that its mostly my lighting issue,(had it on for 12hrs..) since nitrate is really low after a few testing , did a big water change like 10% on the first day and a small water change on the last day 5%. roughly speaking. the only other think i can think about is phosphates, but since there is no fish in the tank that requires feeding or dosing. it might be the RO water that im getting from bigals that i use to top off. I am planning to get my own RO/DI unit soon in the week or 2 since i'll need it in the future anyways. 

I'll be keeping a sharp eye on the tank and let it steady out before adding anything else, sorryy madjelly, but i'll visit to look! 

i might drop the force surface skimming acylic down a bit to have more water enter the chamber tho.


----------



## aln

well there is one good thing i found 

copepod  i got podsss lol


----------



## aln

Went to SUM to get a few more snails and a brittle starfish then got some Chaeto from Reef Aquarium  love that place they're sps frags look soo healthy and tempting. The Brittle Starfish i got from SUM is around 4" from tip to tip, would that be to big for my tank?

when i got home i found out that the chaeto came with a little brittle star i believe and 2-3 STOMATELLA VARIA. that i found on the hitch hiker list 
http://www.worldwidereefers.com/forums/showthread.php?4768-Hitchhiker-id-guide

no pictures yet tho.


----------



## altcharacter

And in a month those stoma's will be 400. They are great to have in your tank and I know alot of people when they're starting a new tank look for them to help out with the CUC.

Great info, keep it coming


----------



## aln

So here are finally some pictures  used a guppy breeding box to hold the brittle star and chaeto in atm. Still thinking about added the brittle or not since its kind big. The other starfish that i thought was a brittle starfish might be a serpent star instead, not to sure, need to get a clear look at it.

but heres how the tank looks like atm (cloudy since i just blasted it with the turkey baster )






hmm is this size brittle star okay for my 5g tank?

also got the other testing kit for cal, pho, and dkh


----------



## altcharacter

that size star is huge for your tank!!!


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> that size star is huge for your tank!!!


thats what im thinking to....but its already the smallest one LOL...Anyone wanna trade? LOL

thinking about bringing it back to SUM tomorrow or if anyone wants it pm me.


----------



## aln

Can someone help confirm that this is a brittle star?



This is the half inch starfish that came with the chaeto


----------



## aln

So today after work I went into SUM after work to trade the large brittle star for something a bit better 

A skunk line shrimp  or mr.cleaner shrimp 
A rare top shot of my tank


----------



## dllowe

Nice Cleaner. I am off to SUM today to pick up one as well.


----------



## aln

Just a small update coming back from luckys aquarium

went to get some pellets for the cleaner shrimp and when i dropped a few in the nassarius snails really are like zombies surfacing up from the sand and going crazy  was a great sight to watch.

So i got some nice tweezers and a Yuma i believe for a total of 15$  also got some freebies from the owner like, macro brittle stars x2, alot of asterina stars like 5-6, and a mystery zoa.

FTS first  i bit washed out


Ric Yuma mushroom (green mouth with orange/blue pattern)
-first in tank picture after drip accumulation and temperature accumulation 

30 mins after

This Morning


Mystery Zoa, opened but cant get a picture of it. 


Highly recommend these tweezers for anyone with small aquariums


new picture of my Clearner


----------



## aln

dllowe said:


> Nice Cleaner. I am off to SUM today to pick up one as well.


how was your trip to SUM,  any pictures of new goodies?


----------



## dllowe

aln said:


> how was your trip to SUM,  any pictures of new goodies?


Yep, just updated my thread. Your a lucky guy to get all these freebies, I never get so lucky. The only "freebies" I have gotten so far are some pod hitch hikers on my coral .


----------



## aln

i was a long time customer when i was there for freshwater fish  and turtles haha 

so im glad i can get some little starfish for free


----------



## darthvictor

Looking good


----------



## aln

Thanks victor,

Came home today and did a little swear.. found the tank at 73F... heat was off in the house and thr last 2 days was mad cold. Glad to see everything still hanging in there getting the temperature back up atm


----------



## altcharacter

The one thing I can recommend for any reefer is some type of controller. I have a Reef Keeper Lite that runs my lights, heater, and ATO and I can't tell you how much it has helped. You will never have heat problems again and won't have to worry about timers


----------



## aln

Dave, do you have any good recommandations I can look into? I would love to get a controller after I get a ro/di unit


----------



## altcharacter

For your nano I would go with a controller first since you only change a gallon or two a week of water. Although this is only a suggestion and if you feel you need a R/O unit then by all means go that way.

http://www.digitalaquatics.com/saltwater/RKL


----------



## conix67

RKL is highly recommended! Even at its most basic form (temperature controller), it's a very good addition to a nano tank as a precise heater controller, and cooler (fan, for example) controller as well, and you can drive the lighting system without extra timer.


----------



## conix67

aln said:


> J
> Mystery Zoa, opened but cant get a picture of it.


Cool, but there's something you might want to consider. If you see any hitchhiker you don't like, or known to spread quickly, you may want to consider removing it.

There were times in the beginning of my nano days that anything alive was appreciated. However, some of these hitchhikers or fast spreading corals became nuisance in my tank eventually, with no way to control them. Just my 2 cents.


----------



## aln

conix67 said:


> Cool, but there's something you might want to consider. If you see any hitchhiker you don't like, or known to spread quickly, you may want to consider removing it.
> 
> There were times in the beginning of my nano days that anything alive was appreciated. However, some of these hitchhikers or fast spreading corals became nuisance in my tank eventually, with no way to control them. Just my 2 cents.


Thanks for the info!  I have been told I have the 3 most weed like coral  I have the gsp on a seperate rock and the xenia already attached itself to a rubble rock that I have put near it which im happy about 

Thinking about the blue clove polyp  but will for sure consider the placment for sure. As of now going to pick up 1 or 2 more rics and about 3-4 zoa then see how things goes from there


----------



## conix67

aln said:


> Thanks for the info!  I have been told I have the 3 most weed like coral  I have the gsp on a seperate rock and the xenia already attached itself to a rubble rock that I have put near it which im happy about
> 
> Thinking about the blue clove polyp  but will for sure consider the placment for sure. As of now going to pick up 1 or 2 more rics and about 3-4 zoa then see how things goes from there


GSP spreads quickly but predictably. Xenia not so but they can bloom and disappear one day, and Zoas are usually easy to control and do not spread very quickly.

Those corals that appear to spread through the water column are the worst, and blue clove polyps being one of them. Yes, they are so cute and nice so I bought a small frag a while ago. Now, it's everywhere in my tank.

Also many Paly species and common mushrooms spread quickly, and you cannot confined them using a separate rock. One of the earlier coral purchases I made was the GSP and Ricordea, and the seller was nice enough to include some Yuma mushrooms, and altogether I paid quite a bit for it. It turns out the Ric was just a hairy mushroom (seller was mistaken), and these Yumas were rather common brown mushrooms. I'd pay to get rid of these mushrooms now.

Anyway, you may eventually move up to a larger tank so don't be afraid and learn from the experience!


----------



## aln

Thanks conix ill keep that in mind.  I already have a tank on standby for upgrade from 2-3years ago when I was drawed in by ameekplec's 10g tall and your beautiful large tank which made me get something in the middle, a 37 column. Im pretty sure youll find some of my newb auestion in your thread also from long ago cause I got out of the hobby for a good year or 2 before I started this tank 

Right now I want to try all types of coral and how they react to different surrounf and learn from my mistakes so my upgrade will hopefully go smoother  key word HOPE


----------



## aln

Small picture update

So my yuma decided to move to a better spot by itself. Now I can take better pictures for it.


Mystery zoa frag 


Starfish


----------



## aln

Small update:

did my weekly water change and testing

Sal - 1.026sg
Temperature - 78.2F
Cal- 400-420ppm
DKH-8
Phosphate- 0ppm
Ammonia- 0ppm
Nitrite - 0ppm
Nitrate -5ppm

everything seem to be doing fine the only downfall is that i think i burned out one of my DIY leds...I was soo close to finishing...so im waiting on some backup leds to get in now. 

Nothing much else have changed with the tank as work has been busy but when i get paid  alot of it will be going to coral and the tank


----------



## altcharacter

The Alk and Cal could be a bit higher but everything looks good


----------



## aln

thats good to know thanks dave


----------



## aln

Well some post-good news. I fianlly finish doing the housing on the light and wiring which shouldve been done weeks ago, to maintain that stock look. I have 2 more 3up cree leds coming to replace the 3 leds in thr middle which are natural white-blue-cool white so that there will be less disco happening. I also have a feeling the ultta violet is a bit much but ill see after I get the 3ups in the balance out the light

Have the driver running at 15-20% and its already brighter then the stock light.

Before

After


Hope the coral enjoys it.


----------



## aln

After work took a few photos of the corals on the new light and they seem happy  will wait a weak before increasing the power on the leds.

monti cap, expanding


mystery Zoa


Xenia


Yuma opening up really nicely


----------



## aln

just a small update today.

found out i have flatworms...but good thing they arent they brown/tan ones. These ones are clear and has a forktail and i caught one eatting a copepod! pretty cool. Heard these guys are harmless to coral but will go after my pod population.



Also with the new LEDs, the growth and colour on the monti cap has been visibly better and i can see alot more "mouth" growing. 


All levels are in check and smooth


----------



## aln

Well I got some time so I finally spent some of my money to get some coral  ended up picking this little guy up.

Rainbow encresting montipora 



Going to cut the fragplug off and super glue it back to a piece of rubble. But now im letting it settle first


----------



## Tristan

aln said:


> Well I got some time so I finally spent some of my money to get some coral  ended up picking this little guy up.
> 
> Rainbow encresting montipora
> 
> 
> 
> Going to cut the fragplug off and super glue it back to a piece of rubble. But now im letting it settle first


I would just leave it. In about 3-5 months you won't even see the plug anymore. If you chop it off your likely to damage the part that has encrusted and it will take even longer to grow.

IMO one of the tricks with encrusting corals is to make sure the transition from the frag to the mounting surface is as smooth as possible. It is a lot easier and therefore faster for the frags to encrust, at least in my experience so far.


----------



## aln

Ooo no no no I only meant that shaft part lol  ill leave anything that is encrested alone


----------



## altcharacter

I've found a good way to get rid of that unwanted part is to break it off with a pair of pliars


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> I've found a good way to get rid of that unwanted part is to break it off with a pair of pliars


Great tip! I will try that 
Also for the super gluw gel to work I need the bottom of the frag plug dry, how long can encresting montipora stay out of the water for? Or can I let the glue dry in water? I never attached coral to rubble with super glue before and even with puttg I did a pretty bad job as you can see.

Sorry for the noob questions '


----------



## aln

will be getting a yasha goby from seaumarine on tuesday. They said they are going to be on display this week. Anything i need to prep for, for the incoming yasha? Quarantine? etc?

since i never had fish in the tank yet i wanna make it have the highest success rate of surviving  i already have pellet and frozen mysis shrimp for it and also a lot of caves for it to hide in. Will be getting the pistol shrimp later on since they dont have any. 

what are your thoughts and concerns on this matter, feel free to let me know 

As for coral i ended up getting another yuma to add to the "future garden" pictures on that later on


----------



## TypeZERO

Aln, 
this is the only way I find that works without redoing later on which makes me mad and sad! 
I call it the super glue and putty sandwich technique,
Use the following link 
http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/_/livestock/how-to-glue-coral-frags-r14


----------



## aln

TypeZERO said:


> Aln,
> this is the only way I find that works without redoing later on which makes me mad and sad!
> I call it the super glue and putty sandwich technique,
> Use the following link
> http://www.nano-reef.com/articles/_/livestock/how-to-glue-coral-frags-r14


Oo word! Thanks zero! Ill for sure use this method  less trouble for future


----------



## aln

Pictures of my new neon yelloq ric yuma


Algea eatting buddies


----------



## aln

so as promised....LIVESTOCK! 

picked this guy up at around 7 today from ken at SUM and had him/her? float accumulate for temperature for 45 mins and then dripped accumulated for an hour.

As soon as he got into the tank he found a hole at the top of the rock and turned into it with its head out. Now after an hourish is no where to be seen! hope he found a good place to rest and hope hes not stressed out.

will try to feed it mysis shrimp 2-3 days when it starts to show itself and see if he eats. Now im on the look out for a pistol shrimp


----------



## aln

so stressful having a fish...when it hides in a cave and you cant ever find it again...hope its not dead..


----------



## TypeZERO

Hey aln,
No point worrying about him, gobies take time to get comfy and start exploring your tank. Side note, yasha gobies are awesome good buy!


----------



## aln

TypeZERO said:


> Hey aln,
> No point worrying about him, gobies take time to get comfy and start exploring your tank. Side note, yasha gobies are awesome good buy!


haha thanks  i always wanted a yasha since like forever


----------



## aln

So here comes a Coral update! 

Finally made time to head over to MJC  to visit thmh (tony) and i gotta say, they have such a LEGITTTTTT set up thats very respectable 

Just wanted to say thanks again to thmh for showing me around and the coral dip. Also typezero's tank is a great inspiration makes me wanna upgrade instantly. Wasnt able to meet him in person but maybe next time  Great Coral and im Very happy with all of them. Now i just need to find a place to mount them all.

enough with the talk lets go to the pictures!

Temperature Accumulation 


5 min into the tank and then right after my timer turned off



My personal favs 



This Morning 


Everything looking healthy and nicely open

MJC let me know when you guys have Peacock and candy apple!  Then that will be all for zoas 

Coral list 
-Neon Pink Zoa
-Dark Cherry people eaters
-Magician 
-Devil's Armpr
-Sunny D


----------



## thmh

pleasure meeting you allen!!! glad you enjoy your visit!!


----------



## aln

can someone tell me whats happening here?! LOL



update FTS


----------



## altcharacter

It's the zoo's acclimating to your light. Every tank has different lighting and some zoo's don't like high intensity lighting. Try to move it into an area with a bit of shade and see if that helps.


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> It's the zoo's acclimating to your light. Every tank has different lighting and some zoo's don't like high intensity lighting. Try to move it into an area with a bit of shade and see if that helps.


hmm interesting. i watched it for 5 minutes and it turned back to normal. i'll keep an eye one it  thanks dave


----------



## TypeZERO

Might be all bs, but my theory is they are stretching to spread out more zerg creep to pop up more babies from the mat. Just my theory, ive seen palys do that from time to time.


----------



## J_T

... did you just drop a starcraft reference... LOL


----------



## aln

Well... ill be more happy with some hydras  maybe even a queen of blades look morph!!


----------



## aln

*a full day of blahhh*

small update

came home today to find some bad new, i believe my cleaner shirmp is dead...and the yasha is still mia. I found a molt shell of the cleaner but has not seen it for 3 days. no dead body nothing. same with the yasha. I tested the waters on the weekend and there are no spikes and everything seemed fine...hmmm

another thing is one of my stock fluval spec V pumps just suddenly stopped working...it was fine last night when i watched the tank so thats a bit of a surprise. I have the pump powered by a surge protected power bar and everything else thats plugged into it is fine. So as of now im looking for a replacement pump asap! any idea what i can get that can fit in the back?

2 that i might think that works are

mini jet 404 
Eheim compact 300

anyone know where i can pick either of these up? or has any other recommendations?

ps. there will be a small update on coral since i went to visit march (fragbox) on the weekend. Great guy and has a beautiful set up to bad hes taking it apart!


----------



## aln

well after a while here is a big update.

Did a testing of the tank and everything is normal

1.025 SG
Temp steady at 77.8
Amm- 0
Nirite -0
Nirate-5ppm
Cal-420
Alk-8dkh
Ph-8

Coral update. Last week i went over to March's place and got a few corals and they threw a few in to help a starter like me  much appreciated! Also got come Coral X so now i have something to dip with 

enough with the talk!
Im reallyyyyy bad with names so i'll just post up the pictures 

i liked the yellow skirt one and the pink one was picked by my gf 


Electric blue i think?


GSP


And a Monti digitata gift from march  and what can i say i Love how it looks! 


On to the bad side. Today after work i went to look at my tank and saw my sunny ds closed. which surprised me since they are always the first to open. Using my Samsung G3 on 4.0x Zoom i found this guy


Not sure what it was but i looked like it was eating my zoanthid's skin! O_O! so i quickly mixed a batch of Coral X with my tank water and got the plug out and soaked it for 5 mins. Shaked it around and blasted with the turkey baster. 1 short worm and 1 long worm came out and was wiggling inside the dip. i can see very little tissue loose and hope it gets a full recovery.

Can anyone tell me what that is?


----------



## altcharacter

spionid worm perhaps?


----------



## aln

not sure. it looks like it has lots of legs and a anemone looking thing for the head like a star lol


----------



## aln

did another dip today after looking at the plug. 3-4 more red little worms comes out. Still havnt seen the sunny d open back yet. Also did a full tank clean and water change


----------



## aln

So now the LED are final finished. 3 x 3ups and everything fitted together perfectly []

Here are some picture of how it looks like apart.

The colour of the overall light is purple-ly i was hoping for a more blue tone since it had more royal blues to white ratio but i guess with the royal blues and the natural white the outcome is like a fuji purple without any blue in it.

I will be trying and playing with the colours a bit to get a blue-ish look. Might need some cool whites and blues.




cut out everything within the stock light to make room for the heat sink aluminum bar. everything fits back together perfectly and still has the stock look. But the leds are really bright so there are some light spillage i'll work on that after all colour adjectment are done  But i gotta saw the colour blending is awesome! 

how the tank looks now. I cant seem to get any good pictures of coral anymore since the purple is throwing my camera off.


----------



## Jaysan

Nice nano tank 
Was reading through this and wanted to ask if you found your goby yet?

I also picked up a yasa hashe goby from SUM. Once I put that beaut in my tank, it stayed in the back of my tank for a few minutes. After that, I look back and its gone 

It went missing for approximately a week. I got so impatient that I actually picked up a few rocks to see if it died underneath them as I didnt see a dried fish around my tank. 

After my search came up up empty, I gave up and said, if its still alive, it'll come out one day. 
Low and behold, one day, as I was cleaning the tank (a few days ago), I spotted a strange thing in my overflow! He was in there!! He was probably not in there for long since I check my overflow everyday. it probably went to eat something and fell in haha. 

Now it likes ot stay in the back of my tank and feed on mysis shrimps that i feed in the current 

Hope yours comes out soon!


----------



## aln

congrads on your find!!! i have yet to see my yasha... i went into my main rock. Since i used Marco rock it has alot of holes and tunnels, after it went in i never saw it come out. I wish i can say that its alive but im pretty sure its dead  

Are you going to pair it with a pistol shirmp? Big als and SUM has some in if your planning to get one. Im holding myself back from getting one until i come back from vacation which will be end of July. Will be gone for 3 weeks. So want another dead fish in the tank when im on leave lol. 

But when i do im getting myself a pistol first then a yasha after so at least i know it can find the shirmp and pair up and not disappear into the rocks foreverrrr


----------



## Jaysan

I actually have marco rock aswell. I am going to hopefully pair it up with a candy strip pistol shrimp if I can find one for sale. But im holding off on the purchase until my ammonia levels off.


----------



## aln

Jaysan said:


> I actually have marco rock aswell. I am going to hopefully pair it up with a candy strip pistol shrimp if I can find one for sale. But im holding off on the purchase until my ammonia levels off.


Good stuff ! Post when you do! I also want a candy pistol but after seeing the tiger pistol im leaning towards that abit


----------



## aln

to my surprise my mini jet 606 came in today. Shipping said it was going to be 3 weeks but i guess something sped it up 



cant wait to put this bad boy in and get more flow, 160g/h  double the stock pump.


----------



## aln

*Its aliveee!*

well to start everything off happy canada day everyone! I had a great weekend so far. Went to kingston for the weekend to go fishing and cottage and got back yesterday night. Came back and the tank was doing good so i was happy about that 

But a great reward that brighten up my whole day was this morning. Like everyday i go downstairs to turn off my "fuge" light that i have on for the cheato when the main light is off. So going downstairs (half asleep) i just flicked the light off and suddenly i see a white tube like thing flash by. After getting a good look it was my YASHA GOBY! its not dead!!  so now if i go downstairs slowly and quietly i can see if from a distance floating around and i believe eatting isopods and copepods lol. But whenever he can see me he goes back into hiding  so i'll try and feed the tank with mysis shirmp tomorrow and see if he'll atleast head go to pick up some food. This is the best picture i can get from 2 feet away 

He is now currently living under my Yuma Garden (...only have 2 ric yumas tho )


ps.. really need to learn how to take pictures with the new light now. seems like my camera on my phone wont work with the purple.


----------



## aln

Well this is going to be my last update before heading out to the airport at 10 tonight. HONG KONG baby!! 

Did a bigger water change this time around and cleaned the glass and everything. Parameter are looking great and everything seems to be doing great. My magicians and sunny d zoa has already grew new heads and my monti cap is also expanding. My Xenia crawled up the rock it was on and is also forming a new branch i believe.

also found these little things on the glass. read that they show up in new tanks and disappear along the way so im not to worried about it. 


Also did a little quick fix scared that my snails will knock over the plugs in the sand so i have them on the wall now  


Also got a hammer coral a few weeks back, but didnt get enough time to post. Coral was picked up at Reef Aquarium and looks great under the new led. (first in tank shot) Now it looks like a pillow fully expanded 


FTS


----------



## aln

Well finally an update on the tank! Just got back from Hong Kong for a week and already busy with work. The tank went a bit down hill as i was away but i got someone to help me top of the tank and do simply water changes at least.

Came home and was glad to see the tank in one piece and not overgrown with algea, since thats what happened to my fresh water tank last time i went to HK. Ended up losing some Pink Zoas and my Cherry people eaters  they fell over and where in the sand. Damn you snails! Also put in a now pump for more flow and the new pump is crazy! i believe its 153g/h. WHAT A DIFFERENCE from the stock pump! thinking about getting another one .

Also my Devils armor zoa looked really weird when i came back. not sure if it was the water chem or that the light was to much. but i relocated it and now more flows hits it. It was splitting out this stringy brown stuff and looked ....hmm..weird LOL. did some research and some said its poop.

Picture from when i got back


the stringy stuff

But now it looks fine so im happy about that 

As for everything else i was glad that everything grew! The monti cap looks totally difference and now i have 3 poly on my sunny delights and 5 on my magician paly which i started with 1. My random zoa i got from lucky aquarium also got an extra head and my digitata is starting to form over the plug. My Xenia climbed up to the peak of it's rock and my Yasha goby is now out all the time!! whenever i hears me comes down from the stairs i see it come out of its cave and waits to be fed. i can even hand feed him now! 

Now im thinking about getting some Sexy shirmps and pom pom crabs. They are next on the list! and if i can and not pushing it a yellow clown goby 

now for some pictures 

a rare top down 











FTS soon!


----------



## thmh

The tank still looks pimpin! Lots more space to fill up though so get to it! 

~Tony


----------



## TypeZERO

My experience is when the corals start to barf out the brown stuff, its getting an extended photo period to whats its use too. Too much zooxanthellae is building inside of the coral polyp, so it pukes it out. It should recover and get use to the new changes. IT GOT CHOCOLATE WASTED!


----------



## aln

TypeZERO said:


> My experience is when the corals start to barf out the brown stuff, its getting an extended photo period to whats its use too. Too much zooxanthellae is building inside of the coral polyp, so it pukes it out. It should recover and get use to the new changes. IT GOT CHOCOLATE WASTED!


Chocolate wasted it was! It looks a lot better now so that's a good thing


----------



## aln

So this week i had a bit more free time to myself and what better to do then to go visit MJC! 

got a few piece of coral for a great price and they are looking great now. 
Checked everything in the tank and things seems to be normal. Temperature has be a bit up and down cause the tank is in a cooler area in the house but seems to stable out now at 78-79F

Talked to thmh and TypeZero and got some better understanding of coral and also great tips!  thanks guys.

so what i got was 
2 new zoas/paly
-red people cherry eaters
-Mjc sriracha paly i believe... LOL 
Ric Mushroom 
Sympodium
and of course some Dendros! 




The day they went in (tuesday)



Today just now! 


FTS


----------



## darthvictor

Woo the Dendros look hot!


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> Woo the Dendros look hot!


yah i lovee them!  hows everything in your tank? i might come and take more xenia off your hands if you still have some more (white ones)


----------



## darthvictor

aln said:


> yah i lovee them!  hows everything in your tank? i might come and take more xenia off your hands if you still have some more (white ones)


everything is doing great! My bubble coral is getting much bigger now. I have two white Xenia you can check them out


----------



## thmh

Wow your magicians are huge! 

~Tony


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> everything is doing great! My bubble coral is getting much bigger now. I have two white Xenia you can check them out


I should drop when your free and take a look at your tank again 

@tony - yah! They are beast too, when I feed them! I give them like 1 piece of mysis shrimp each and they instantly take it very cool


----------



## aln

so i found out that the dendro can reach alot farther then it seems so i had to move some of the coral on the glass a bit


Also went to SUM last week and got myself some inverts
-4 sexy shirmps
-2 pompom carbs
-1 candy cane pistal shirmp

good new they all went into the tank after temp and drip accumlated and was doing great. Sexy shirmps were a bit picky with food and tend to bother alot of the zoa but that seems to be better now. Bad new is that i only seem to see 3 sexys about and dancing and guessing the 4th is mia. One of the pom pom last its pom pom after being in the tank for 2 days and died on the 4th  which i found weird since he was the one eatting alot of mysis shrimp and shirmp pellets. found him one morning with only 1/2 its legs left and will holding a pompom  As for the pistal shirmp, it went straight into the goby's cave and they are living happily. now its just digging everywhere but it hasnt bothered the coral so thats good. cant get a good picture of him tho


----------



## darthvictor

Do you have Hermit Crabs in your tank? I would take them all out if you want to keep your new inverts


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> Do you have Hermit Crabs in your tank? I would take them all out if you want to keep your new inverts


o no i have no hermits in the tank i heard that they tend to push over coral so they weren't a part of the cleaning crew.

so today i found something a bit weird with the tank. my xenia looks weak and a few of my zoa are not open and my hammer coral seem half opened. i quickly test everything and as for pho, ph, cal, and dkh seems fine. i think my ph went up a bit from 8.0-8.2. But the thing is, if my testing kits are correct (they are new and expire 2017) i have 0 ammonia and nitrite and nitrate...did my cycle tank just went back to nothing????...

i also found this on my hammer coral and i think i also might know why the hammer is 1/2 open. my pistal shirmp made a new home on the back of the tank and have dug alot of sand up from under the rocks. Sand might have been hitting the hammer coral so it might be irritated. i'll be moving him to a new spot to see if it does better. im still adjusting my light to get the right levels a bit every week slowly to get my zoa to stay matted down more as they seem like they are reaching for light, maybe this is causing an upset for the coral in the tank.

so this is what is on my hammer...can someone tell me what it is and if its bad?


as you can see i think my hammer coral's "flesh" the white membrane that would be on the stalk is retreating upwards..what would be the cause of this?..i believe this happened withing these 2 days as everything seems okay before that and no noticeable change.


----------



## darthvictor

No need to worry about the thing on your hammer coral, it is just a pineapple sponge.


----------



## TypeZERO

Damn nice nano invert collection! I always wonder if I should start a nano to keep sexy shrimps, pompoms, porcelain crabs, glass shrimps and other great nano fish and inverts that you can only enjoy in a small tank! But I have to many tanks to take care of lol.

Dont worry about the thing on your hammer, like victor said just a sponge and great passive filtration for your tank, soon they will spread into the nooks and cranny's of your rock work and overflow area and great things free


----------



## aln

so a quick update on the tank. truth be told i had to neglect the tank for around a month and it has went a bit downhill due to a few reasons. my father had stroke,a bleed in the brain, and i have been staying with him in the hospital night and day and normally just go home for dinner and shower. I still do weekly water changes and i get my girlfriend to top off the tank.

In one of these days i found out that my niece played around with the dimmer on the tank and bleached a few coral that ended up not making it. Also found that my yasha jumped out of the tank and was all dry beside it.

Currently i still have:
Sunny D's zoa
Devils armor zoa
Magicians paly (shrink almost 1/2 the size and hasnt seen them open in 2-3 week)
red people cherry eaters (hasnt seen them open for maybe 2-3weeks)
Mjc sriracha paly (looks like its trying to recover *pinched open)
Ric Mushroom x 2
Sympodium

Dendros
Monti cap

Monti digitata
Gsp
Xenia ( doesnt look like it can recover)
hammer coral

As for Livestock
1 Pom pom carb has been carrying eggs every week
3 sexy shirmps
1 pistal candy cane shrimp
1 porcelain carb

In the times i have back home to rest i have got another driver for the 3ups so that i could split the NW&UV with the RBs.
i have the whites on around 15-20% and the blues around 40%. Also thought about going full spectrum,by switching the middle 3up with a OCW. (can someone fill me in y full spectrum is all the craz right now) As some coral has been dying some seems to be doing okay. All the Rics looks good and are opened up wide. my Sunny D now has 4 heads and the digitata has almost covered the plug. My devils armors are looking a bit better and one head is still bleached. dendros are opened almost every night and gets some mysis shrimp from the girlfriend. The Sympodium also keep to be doing okay after the bleach and its almost open fully now. my hammer coral has got back into its structure and has yet to come back out. i moved it to another spot this week and seems like its giving me hope it might make it. moved the gsp to a more flow area to get longer polyp extension and then there is everything else that seems like its dying......:< . Might be getting the smallest clown fish i can find and a torch coral with it or a tail spot blenny. not sure yet. still thinking about a yasha again. 

i'll try and get a FTS soon and see if i can keep posted in these hard times.

here are some pictuers of the corals atm. Any tips or things i can do to help the coral recover? dips? or doses?

SunnyD's looking pretty healthy. with the devils armor beside it with 1 bleached head. and the red cherry people eaters forever closed.


Monti digitata

GSP and Carb

Xenia after bleach

Hammer after bleached


Growth is Slow and i dunno if its because of the light or not enough nutrient in the water. Also im thinking about getting a Hydor Koralia Nano 240 on the other side of the tank so it has some random slow cause i cant seem to find the right size loc-line that fits the stock loc-line.


----------



## altcharacter

Sorry to hear about your Dad and I hope everything works out for you. It's always sad to see a tank crash and even worse to see loss of coral and livestock but that can all be recovered in time. When my daughter was in the hospital for almost 2 months I was very lucky that the sheer water volume of my tank helped my situation. Although I did lose a few pieces I'm not worried since it gives me an excuse to get more.

Hope it all works out and don't get discouraged.


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> Sorry to hear about your Dad and I hope everything works out for you. It's always sad to see a tank crash and even worse to see loss of coral and livestock but that can all be recovered in time. When my daughter was in the hospital for almost 2 months I was very lucky that the sheer water volume of my tank helped my situation. Although I did lose a few pieces I'm not worried since it gives me an excuse to get more.
> 
> Hope it all works out and don't get discouraged.


thanks dave. my dad is slowly getting better and is now getting rehab at providence healthcare at st.clair and warden. they dont let family members stay overnight so i have a bit more time to recover the tank. just hope everything can come back slowly if not then i'll be buying more coral for sure.

thinking if i should stay dosing trace elements and amiod acids for the zoa and maybe cal. it always seems a bit low in my tank. i have yet to test the saltwater i get from BA and see the cal specs of this batch.


----------



## darthvictor

Sorry to hear about your father  try increase your water volume by hooking it up with a sump or something, that can buy you some time as the water will be more stable that way. Good luck man


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> Sorry to hear about your father  try increase your water volume by hooking it up with a sump or something, that can buy you some time as the water will be more stable that way. Good luck man


thanks victor. the only problem i have is the light. adjusting it so that the coral doesnt bleach from it but still had enough light to grow. Another is i believe is the flow. its very one direction. so i might get a hydor nano 240 pump on the other side to give it some random movements. Im also on the look out for macro algae to put into he tank cause having the breeder box in the tank really takes up alot of space. and the back part cant be a fuge anymore since i put a minijet606 in there lol.

i'll see how everything goes and post some tests on the tank.

also debating if i should rescape the whole tank for better placement and flow now that i have a bit more experience in what coral need. I believe i scaped for cool rock work and didnt plan for the grow out of coral so a full tank rescape might happen around christmas 

PS: how is your tank so far!? is everything doing okay?


----------



## aln

Had a bit more time today so did a full tank clean up. found out that i have like...ALOT of pineapple sponges in the filter chamber lol. Also i found my first gen SLR to use to take some pictures of the tank as my phone is having trouble capturing the colours of the tank cause if the LED's purple hint.

Hope you enjoy these better photos 
FTS 

Never before seen back view! 

Carb and gsp

My Small ric "garden"

love my dendros!


Some angel shots


----------



## thmh

You cleaned up well!!! Nice FTS my reefbro!!


-Tony


----------



## aln

thanks tony!  will be coming to get more zoa soon to restock


----------



## aln

just a small update. pick up this little fellow for a bit more bio-load  also thinking of getting 2 baby cleaner shirmps also but would that be to much inverts? let me know please!

it was labled A.C black ocellaris clowns (i pick this one thats a bit more orange in person)
Had him temp accumulated and Dripped for 1.5hrs cause the water it came in was at 1.018-1.020sg so i slowly brought it up to 1.025sg. after i got him into the tank he was curious and seems like it was picking stuff off the glass so i feed him some pellets and he got right on that! glad he already eatting.


----------



## aln

So tonight i had some time and headed over to dave's place to pick up some monti caps. i gotta say these caps are soooo colourful and the green one is unreal!  Thanks dave for showing me your tank and hooking me up with some awesome pieces!

I had a hard time with gluing them onto rubble and had to play around with it for awhile. this was all i could manage and since i dont want to fuss around with it anymore i'll leave it like this for now.

Purple and Green Monti Cap


Also got a picture of all my sexy lol


----------



## darthvictor

aln said:


> also debating if i should rescape the whole tank for better placement and flow now that i have a bit more experience in what coral need. I believe i scaped for cool rock work and didnt plan for the grow out of coral so a full tank rescape might happen around christmas
> 
> PS: how is your tank so far!? is everything doing okay?


Good to see your tank back 
I just finished moving in, everything doing great right now. but I did almost can not fit all of my stuff back in the 6 gal as the frogspawn, touch and monti caps get so big now  Don't really have time to take a pic of it yet so many things to do when move to a new place 

and I love your Purple Monti Cap!


----------



## aln

Last night I started to see some polyp extensions from the green cap and a little from the purple  hope they keep their colour and my pink one also colours up


----------



## aln

so the green monti cap is doing pretty good but the purple looks a bit roughed up...probably cause i was pretty rough with it in the gluing process..:< i got it off the plug but the glue also came off it, so i had to kind of push down on it a bit...bad idea... i hope it heals up and bounce right back. no polyp extensions on the purple one tho so im waiting for that. 


Also I never use filter floss before but i can see why so many people use it now LOL. i put this floss in around 3-4days ago...Eeekkk. after cleaning it, its back in the tank for more filtering. Im thinking about using purigen too so i'll try and get that set up this weekend


----------



## aln

After heading to the umbra sale today near pearson airport, i went to visit Dan at Canada Reefs. i've got to day that place is awesome! like a lego store for a kid :> i couldnt help it and got 3 pieces from him...shouldve spent less at umbra LOL

-an OJ skirt zoa. (anyone know the name?)
-red Flower pot coral (Goniopora)
-red/dark purple mushroom (??not sure that species)





The flower pot coral has yet to open fully since the sexy shrimp is jumping all over it.

Also found out..well my GF found it to my surprise and i still have no idea how, is that my Sexy shrimp is carrying eggs!


----------



## aln

here is a little surprise! im pretty sure this tank is maxed out for livestock. but this yellow clown goby is the same size as my clown fish lol.

a fish my girlfriend bought and accumulated when i wasnt home. surprised the heck outta me. she does like yellow. 
he/she likes to sit under the monti caps and i see it "peck" the rocks around it, maybe its eatting pods?


----------



## darthvictor

I have one too, it is cute little fish. Mine doesn't eat pellets tho, I have to feed it shrimp.


----------



## aln

So over to weekend i have been running around and getting a few new things for the tank as a gift to myself  I got a gift card from a friend at secret santa for Canada Corals, so i went to visit dan again :O i know bad right? as you know i couldnt hold back and went a bit over budget but i believe it was worth it . If you haven't yet, head over to his place and get on those boxing day specials!!!

Also went to Reef Aquarium, Ken's place, to pick up my Octospawn. Gold tips and Gold shaft with a neon green center. Very very nice. I believe he has 1 or 2 more frags. So you guys better go get them before its all gone!

Also a small update!
Things in the tank seems to be getting alot better and nothing seems to be dying now that everything stable out after the bleach. The monti caps i got from Dave (Altcharacter) has been doing really good. The purple monti cap has healed and i see some polyp extensions and as for the green one, its already forming growth rings  and has even better polyp extension. The devils armor zoa are still doing okay but to my surprise my Sunny Delight zoa are growing 2 heads at the same time! that means i'll have 5 heads on it soon! i brought it as 2 heads. Tested tonight a water is looking great and the temperature is pretty stable.

So here are the pictures!

FTS




*Canada Corals:*
*Hawaiian Punch Zoanthids*

*Blue Pulsing Xenia*

*Red Flower Pot Coral* from last time now fully open

*Utter Chaos Paly and The OJ Skirt zoanthid* (dunno the name of it)

*Australian Rainbow Acan* (4 colours! blue, red, green, yellow )


*Reef Aquarium*
Golden Octospawn w/ neon green center


Lastly a Top down photo


----------



## altcharacter

I still say the green of that Monti Cap I sold you is unreal...
That ORA purple monti is growing nicely as well!

Now the only problem is that you need a much larger tank!


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> I still say the green of that Monti Cap I sold you is unreal...
> That ORA purple monti is growing nicely as well!
> 
> Now the only problem is that you need a much larger tank!


yah...i have a feeling i need a bigger tank soon lol! or i need to take out some rock LOL  we will see which one comes first after the other  Love the caps i got from you. They really add a punch to the tank and i love it!


----------



## aln

*God Dammit!*

So i found a problem! and that problem is my sexy shirmps....i found them munching on my Xenia...and it starting to shrivel up already. I think the last one died like this too and not cause of the light bleaching.

Im going to try and feed to Sexy shirmps daily now instead of every 2 days. they dont like pellets much so ill be feeding them mysis shrimp as often as i could.

ARGGG this is so frustrating. I want my Xenia to spread and take over..(i know i might reget this later) but i still want to experience it! lol. really love the pulsing action. Hope they bounce back.


----------



## aln

so when i woke up today i found that the Xenia is looking even worst then it did before. In a panic i whipped up a little ...thing.. to see if it can help the xenia survive. Hearing this im sure some of you think im crazy, trying to save a demon spawn coral that takes over the tank, but i will still try my best until its melts to nothing! >:0

in the transfer the Xenia is already so weak that the Pom poms are falling off....Anyone with experience know if it can still grow back as it is?

The 'Thingy" Q-tanks

It inside the tank (with LR rubble)


----------



## aln

*Coral Update:* some great news, since my sunny delight zoa are growing 2 heads at the same time, my utter chaos zoa also grew a new head already since i got it! and the Rainbow Acan has 2 visable heads growing that i could see maybe even more!  and i got these corals last monday so not even a week! definitely a good christmas present . *(EDIT) its confirmed that the acan is growing 3 heads 
*
And since i was on a roll with making custom items for my tank i began to make a new "fuge" for the tank. Since i have an extra pump in the back chamber already i cant have a fuge in the back so i have been using a breeder box with some cheato in it. Since that was bulky and in the way i did some redesigning and made this! now its on the back end of the tank and kind of out of the way. it has more volume for the cheato inside so that was also a plus.


----------



## altcharacter

Dude...skyflakes are awesome!!! Although a pack of em are like 44% of your daily fat


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> Dude...skyflakes are awesome!!! Although a pack of em are like 44% of your daily fat


Lololol dave! I love skyflakes! Now I use the box for my diy stuff and spare LEDs


----------



## aln

I think the sexy shrimps are on the hunt again as I find some of the tentacles of my sunny d pitched and shorten. The dont seem to be bother to much about it but ill keep an eye out. Might be trading or selling these sexy first soon.


----------



## aln

*Fml...*

FML...i think i might have monti cap eatting nudis too...the green monti cap i have got a 1/8 x 1/8 patch near the edge of the monti cap that has turn snow white. im pretty sure i cant blame the sexy shrimps this time but i seperated them from the DT already just incase.

I dipped the monti cap in Coral RX for 10-15mins and used a toothbrush to clean that area that seem to be infected. when i took the monti cap out tho i didnt see an nudis in sight or even after the dip...so i really hope i dont have them! i'll keep an eye out for sure!


----------



## altcharacter

Sorry to hear that!! I'm wondering if it's from my tank or did we all get it from another location.

If something happens to hit come back for another piece. I've been scrubbing mine to make sure that it isn't them.

I haven't seen any nudi's either but I'm just playing it safe.


----------



## aln

altcharacter said:


> Sorry to hear that!! I'm wondering if it's from my tank or did we all get it from another location.
> 
> If something happens to hit come back for another piece. I've been scrubbing mine to make sure that it isn't them.
> 
> I haven't seen any nudi's either but I'm just playing it safe.


im not to sure myself. i dip almost everything before putting it into the tank . the only thing i dont dips is LPS or Soft coral like mushrooms and xenia. i havent seen any nudi yet and hope i dont and wish it was just my sexy shirmps being total jerks. i read that nudi are nocturnal so i might go check when i only have my royal blues on and see if i find anything or...i might get a red led flashlight and check at the middle of the night if i see more damage over these few days


----------



## altcharacter

I have seen videos of these nudi's and they come out in the daytime as well. You should atleast be able to see the eggs if you had a problem.

I had a sexy shrimp once and it was eating my zoa's, but that's not saying that yours is


----------



## aln

Tonight there is also some damage to the other side of the monti cap. But still have not noticed any movements or seen any nudi... I have a feeling it might not be nudi..maybe a bacterial infection?? Im going to do some searching and ill get a picture up by tomorrow

edit: might be RTN or STN.... ill check my water tomorrow. I just changed salts so I wonder if that could be a cause for the rtn or stn. if so ill be fraging the areas off and see if i can stop the spread.


----------



## aln

*STN/RTN or Nudi?*

Im guessing that i have STN and not nudi..im not to sure on why or how STN comes into a reef tank, maybe someone here with experience can let me know. i have check the monti all over and under and have not seen 1 nudi or even any eggs. I could see that the tissue is slowly "melting" away. this is y i believe it could be STN or RTN. this is my theory please correct me if im wrong! i will be doing a 20-30% water change, sponge floss and pho sponge change and also cleaning the power heads.

other two monti doing great and growing. Even this green one is growing still with great polyp extension and growth ring. Already has noticeable growth since i put it in the tank.

treatment: Im going to see if it is truly STN/RTN and if it is i will cut the infected part away with cutters and do a dip in coral RX for for 5 mins then return to tank. (this is only my guess so please educate me if im doing something terribly wrong!)

Specs
dKH-8
Cal-380-400
Nitrate- less then 1 ppm
Phosphate-less then 1 ppm
Ph-8.1
Mag-??
Temp 78-80F

currently running Floss->Phosphate Sponge->regular Sponge

my Green Monti Cap (top part and a small patch of the bottom as you can see)


----------



## aln

Plans for the futures!

so i only have a small 1/4" by 1" piece of the green monti cap that i fragged and seems to not have STN anymore. But i am slowly running out of room as the zoanthids are growing like crazy and same with the Acan. I will have grown pictures up when i can. I plan to make a 3 island scape happen somehow....so here is the plan LOL.

The area circled in red is a 1 rock so im thinking about taking it out and work in down into some kind of workable shape. either into a "I" looking shape or a "T/J" looking shape for the Acans (probably get 1 or 2 more types) and im planning to have 2 types of birdnest sps and that will be the end of the SPS i'll fit into this tank.

So left will be a Zoanthid island with dendros at the back. middle would be acans and SPS at top and Ric garden on the right. I will also be shifting stuff here and there to get more areas in the sand for my octo spawn and flowerpot coral.

I have a few buckets and containers to put the rock in with a heater and pump ready so i can get the least amount of die off as possible. everything else will stay inside the tank.

is there anything i would watch out for? or have any tips that would make breaking the macro rock faster or easier? please do share 
(Old Photo)


i'll try and get this done on Sunday!


----------



## darthvictor

Hammer and screw driver is all you need for breaking up the rock  I just did that after the Black Out for re-scaping my tank

put screw driver on where you want the rock to break, hammer its handle. do it several time along the cut line you want it to break.


----------



## altcharacter

I still think that green monti looks sexy 

Give er!! Just go as victor said with a hammer and screwdriver. You'll get a minor spike but keep up on your WC's


----------



## aln

*arg...feeling frustrated*

Aarg....I totally hate what I did to the tank.. advice in the future dont rescape in the middle of your tank... fml.


----------



## aln

so here are some picture of the tank before i mess around with it. was trying to get some "night" shots



Tank Before

Tank After....


some corals are pretty pissed as they are not fully open yet..i'll do a w/c tomorrow to see if that makes them better. Also broke the Monti digtata frag too...

blah...i need to go fishing feeling shitty after this little project


----------



## altcharacter

Sweet!! You just fragged your first coral dude!
In the end, it's all perception really. If you don't like it then keep moving the rocks until you do like them. 

I'm on my third tank and I know better than to glue anything down until I'm happy with it. My tank has been running for 7 months now and I've glued 3 things down and now have like 100 frags in my tank


----------



## aln

yah this new scape really bothers me, prospectively. i just cant put my hand on it..i wanna do a full rescape now LOL. The joy of reef tanks. 

maybe i should take out all the sand and start again...the only thing thats keeping me from that is having to cycle again with all the coral...and i dont want to lose coral in the process. Any ideas?


----------



## Flexin5

you could setup a tempory rubbermaid bin with a filter, light and heater, and use the water from a waterchange in there to house your corals until you get your scape the way you want it. plus if everything is nice and happy in the bin then you can leave them in there for a bit until your tank settles if it goes into a bit of a cycle. if you start from scratch you could also use some of that instant cycle stuff but i have no experience with that. 

i remember re-scaping my 10 gallon. it sucked. lol


----------



## aln

Hahaha yah rescaping is ergg. But its more open now. Like anyone feeling down about their scape would do....im going to buy lots of coral to cover it up!! Lol we will see how this grows out lol


----------



## aln

*Big picture update!*

So happy chinese new years everyone!! Since its chinese new years i had some free time at home to take pictures with my camera and phone.

So after the remodeling the coral was pretty unhappy with all the moving that has been happening. I have also been doing small water changes to keep nitrate down since i had the LR out of the water for quite some time. Did a test today and everything seems to be in check and everything is open and happy. I have some pictures of the tank from yesterday's feeding and some shots to show the growth that have been happening.

Yesterday i also went into Canada Coral to visit Dan and pick up one of those beautiful nems and also another 2littlefish nanomag. *To the people that is currently using the 2 little fish nano mag, DO NOT LEAVE THEM IN THE TANK* after every use you should take it out and rinse it with RO water if possible. The old one i had was Rusted like no tomorrow from the inside magnet. Thats probably y i have been getting some hair algae problem a few weeks back.

Also went over to Reef Boutique to get a mini plate coral after Taipan posted the picture up i got really interested in a plate coral since i only seen single color ones before. (Green or Yellow). First time being at that store and i have to say the layout is really nice. I love how all the coral is displayed in a some what "display" tank with Rocks and sand and fish! I also got to see that jawfish and they are soo cool! in the seahorse tank! i didnt get to meet Colin since he was out but i'm sure i'll meet him one day when i drop by in again.

so enough talk here is some photos!

FTS(front, back and top!)




Zoa/Paly growing out  the pink ones grew off the plug LOL



Flower Pot Coral growing alot more baby heads!


Dendros <3


SPS island


Mushroom garden with Sympodium (new pink and teal yuma)


Green with Red Rock Flower Nem


Rainbow Acan


Gold with purple rim and greenish center (cant get the colour of it tho...)


Phone pictures (macro)





Got this shot when i was feeding, didnt know there were even more babies under O_O


----------



## darthvictor

You should try the Vertex Cleaner-Mag Duplex, I was using the little fish before, but after mine got rusted and break down, I am not using that product anymore. Vertex one looks great and the mag is full covered by the plastic so it won't get in contact with water and air

PS your coal look great!


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> You should try the Vertex Cleaner-Mag Duplex, I don't use the little fish before, but after mine got rusted and break down, I am not using that product anymore. Vertex one looks great and the mag is full covered by the plastic so it won't get in contact with water and air
> 
> PS your coal look great!


how thin is the wet side for the Vertex Cleaner-Mag Duplex? i only use the little fish one cause it can reach places that most cleaning mag cant


----------



## darthvictor

aln said:


> how thin is the wet side for the Vertex Cleaner-Mag Duplex? i only use the little fish one cause it can reach places that most cleaning mag cant


Outside Piece Dimensions: 2.7"L x 0.55"W x 0.86"H
Inside Piece Dimensions: 1.65"L x 0.35"W x 0.86"H

It has a smaller on called Vertex Cleaner-Mag Simplex, which is round and
Inside Piece Dimensions: 1.1" Radius x 0.55"H


----------



## Thoreffex

That's one nice 5 gallon reef. I remember my 5 gallon.... It was way too much work. Try and stay away from large sps unless you drip kalk, I used 2 part by then end of the system adding 6 ml/day it started causing STN probably due to the huge alkalinity swings.


----------



## aln

So some of you might have heard already and im super happy about it. I was lucky enough to win the fragbox event and get some free frags 

The only think that im worried about is the acro. I know my tank is small and I know that I might not have the cleanest water. Will I still be able to take care of this red dragon arco? I would really want to try but I dont want to kill it within a week 

Any tip on the care would bw great. I read that it likes low light and low flow. Any other info would also be greatly appreciated!


----------



## liz

I have a forest fire digi and it likes the middle of the tank with flow - seems to be happiest under these conditions for me?

Congrats by the way!!!!


----------



## dllowe

Great shots! Love the mini plate coral. I was considering running over to Reef Boutique myself after seeing the post (I live close by), but I got the sense that you called "dibs" on it. 

Also congrats on the big win.


----------



## aln

dllowe said:


> Great shots! Love the mini plate coral. I was considering running over to Reef Boutique myself after seeing the post (I live close by), but I got the sense that you called "dibs" on it.
> 
> Also congrats on the big win.


Thanks dllowe!  thanks for letting me bud in line for that plate coral  I really love it and its very responsive when I feed it  if you want one i saw some very nice ones at canada coral too! And reef boutique also has another nice one but was to big for my tank


----------



## aln

liz said:


> I have a forest fire digi and it likes the middle of the tank with flow - seems to be happiest under these conditions for me?
> 
> Congrats by the way!!!!


Thanks liz! Ill give the acro a try and start really slow with it. When i have time i been reading on acro care already so i hope it can grow big and strong


----------



## liz

You are welcome! I think your best bet would be to pm Fragbox and ask him about the conditions?


----------



## aln

liz said:


> You are welcome! I think your best bet would be to pm Fragbox and ask him about the conditions?


Will do that for sure as well as when I pick it up


----------



## Norco

Just read from page 1 and I must say it's a great simple setup you got going on.

My 10G is finishing the cycle and I can't wait....


----------



## aln

Norco said:


> Just read from page 1 and I must say it's a great simple setup you got going on.
> 
> My 10G is finishing the cycle and I can't wait....


Oo that means the fun is just about to start for u!  i see your in richmond hill, if you need anything throw me a msg  im pretty close by!


----------



## Norco

aln said:


> Oo that means the fun is just about to start for u!  i see your in richmond hill, if you need anything throw me a msg  im pretty close by!


What I needed was an inspiration, which I got from your tank, so thanks for that. I'll definitely hit you up when I have some frags for trade.


----------



## aln

Omg... just added the seachem purigen to the tank like 3 hrs ago and omg the water is so clear...it seems like there isnt water in it! Glad it put it in with this weeks water change!  getting time to get ready for more coral. And this week im going to pitch a plan and see if it will work. Let me know if im crazy or if this will be doable! Ill upload my idea tomorrow


----------



## aln

*BTA?? whatt????*

So i have this crazy idea....but im not sure if its going to work..i thinking about added a bubble tip nem to the tank  I know it will sting everything if its on the rocks and will move if it doesnt like its spot.....but....what if i tell you it wont be on the rock!?!?! LOL

I was thinking what if i have it on the glass and it stays there? you think it'll work if its like that? that even if it expands it will be a good 5" away from any rock or coral? let me know what you think and i'll upload my design on it tomorrow if i can


----------



## darthvictor

how do u know it will like the glass location you put it to? 🙋you try to confine it in a glass box?


----------



## aln

darthvictor said:


> how do u know it will like the glass location you put it to? &#128587;you try to confine it in a glass box?


something like that but open LOL


----------



## aln

the idea was to build an acrylic containment at the corner of the tank and on the inside glued with live rock rubble. this would be a "cube" shape containment until the Nem picks a spots and settles down and then 2 out of the 4 walls will be removable. so after its settle down it will be removed.

but apon more research i decided to not go with this idea since there are alot of cases where the nem will move even after being in a spot they like for weeks when the condition they like are not met. since i thought, once setted down the nem will technically stop moving. 

there goes my little idea


----------



## Bayinaung

yeah good idea for not going ahead with it. I am also looking at nems that can mix with all the corals, and the best might be to get a sand dwelling nem. I got a type of long tentacle nem about 3-4" now in diameter that's dug itself into the sand. and I might get a sebae nem and hope that occ clowns will host them.


----------



## aln

Bayinaung said:


> yeah good idea for not going ahead with it. I am also looking at nems that can mix with all the corals, and the best might be to get a sand dwelling nem. I got a type of long tentacle nem about 3-4" now in diameter that's dug itself into the sand. and I might get a sebae nem and hope that occ clowns will host them.


There was this bubble tip nem that looked absolutely beautiful that I really wanted to get  how im kicking myself for missing out on the sale of the nuvo 24g that was up for sale. Would have made a nice dedicated nem tank with a pair of clowns.

But for my nano reef I have a rock flower nem island starting, since I want it.to reproduce ill be getting one or 2 more if the price is right


----------



## Bayinaung

I bought maxi-mini carpets too and they don't seem to move once they attached to the base of the rocks. but they are "carpets" and literally look like them so they don't add 3-dimension quality to a tank. I highly recommend getting a sand nem (take a look at my post on one that was spinning). it hosts clowns, isn't very big and stays at the bottom and doesn't move once it finds a no-flow corner of the tank with enough light. as purty as they are BTAs move about. by the way the small rose BTAs I have didn't bother any coral except this one time one decided to attach to the base of my most expensive coral - the scoly. lol. I got it out eventually by putting both in a tall dark flower pot. He got out by himself looking for light!


----------



## aln

Bayinaung said:


> I bought maxi-mini carpets too and they don't seem to move once they attached to the base of the rocks. but they are "carpets" and literally look like them so they don't add 3-dimension quality to a tank. I highly recommend getting a sand nem (take a look at my post on one that was spinning). it hosts clowns, isn't very big and stays at the bottom and doesn't move once it finds a no-flow corner of the tank with enough light. as purty as they are BTAs move about. by the way the small rose BTAs I have didn't bother any coral except this one time one decided to attach to the base of my most expensive coral - the scoly. lol. I got it out eventually by putting both in a tall dark flower pot. He got out by himself looking for light!


Hahaha nice! Yah I really wanted a bta around toonie size and just fed it once a week so it doesnt grow to fast. As for the tube nem, I dont think I have any placem for them in the sand lol. My tank is pretty packed. I might jusďt let it grown out now. I know I have room for 1 more acan and maybe 1 or 2 bird nest at the top since only monti caps are there.

Also need to think of a better way to keep cheato for this tank... im thinking of building an extension sump beside the tank. Have one pump draw water into it and a pump to push water back into the tank.


----------



## fesso clown

If you like the look of a BTA but don't want to deal with it moving around just get a long nice torch. They stay put and Clowns will host them:


----------



## aln

thats exactly what i thought...so i got a flower pot and octospawn for it, either way i would have got it even if i didnt have the clown. but the clown doesnt seem like it likes to host it as it is currently hosting my overflow LOL


----------



## aln

So as some of you already know i was lucky enough to win the fragbox facebook contest! so yesterday i went down to meet march. Love the new place he has and had my eye on a candy apple orange  but way outta budget for that! LOL.

So here are some of the pictures of the corals i received 
March if you reading this! help me out with the names! LOL

1)?

2)? Candy Apple pink zoa?

3)?

4) Red Dragon Acropora


Monti digitata also from march the first time i was there  accidentally fragged


and something im a bit worrying about. This is my plate coral i did well and i feed it every 2nd day with everything else in the tank last night and today it looks a bit deflated, but when i only have the royal blues on it looks perfectly fine and inflated. does that mean the light is bothering him when my whites/UV are on?


also a new FTS


----------



## darthvictor

looks like it is time for tank upgrade!


----------



## aln

Haha I missed my chance already for that


----------



## aln

update 

so i went to CRS on wednesday to pick up a tank  LOL which was a great deal and the last one they had for 200$ which i couldnt pass by. i'll let you guys know what it is after i get time to unpack it and get a light for it 
Thanks to everyone that was at CRS that gave me a helping hand with the tank! i cant thank you enough 

then i went over to Canada Corals to just "look" as some coral and get some RO water along the way. wasnt able to hold back and picked up another acan. It was exactly what i was looking for and even more perfect in person. I was looking for something green and purple to kind of offset my rainbow acans.

As on growth, everything is doing great. the only think thats been bothering me is the plate coral. at night its Totally inflated but when all my lights are on it deflates...anyone knows y? I have also been really surprise about the grow and colour on my sps after the rescape. can really see the Pink Monti cap grow again and the monti digitata is now a really bright teal.

SPS


Green/purple Acan (almost looks like a Candy Apple Zoa)


----------



## Norco

You picked up a new tank? What is it?


----------



## dllowe

Hey Alan,

What's the news on the new tank? I am going to assume that you picked up a IM Nuvo, but which one, 16, 24, or one of the 30+?

For what it is worth, I have been happy with my Maxspect Razor on my IM 16. It's low profile, easily programable, and completely silent (the fan never turns on), even during the summer time, when my office can become quite warm.


----------



## aln

dllowe said:


> Hey Alan,
> 
> What's the news on the new tank? I am going to assume that you picked up a IM Nuvo, but which one, 16, 24, or one of the 30+?
> 
> For what it is worth, I have been happy with my Maxspect Razor on my IM 16. It's low profile, easily programable, and completely silent (the fan never turns on), even during the summer time, when my office can become quite warm.


The tank has been pretty good atm. only have 1 problem and thats my plate coral. i let my sexy shrimps out of its containments and it been irriating the coral alot. Now it looks like its dying and is currently losing flesh. I raised it from the sand bed and will see how its doing 

i totally pick up a IM Nuvo!  and a 24G one at that!!  when i get a bit more time i'll start a new thread for it. im currently waiting on a light thats in the making after getting a nice bonus from work.

anyways, Updates. I just did a W/C and also took some growth shoots  this tank has came a long way 

FTS


Orange Skirt zoa
Before (with Utter)




Sunny D, Utter Chaos
Before,(i cant seem to get that brightness back)




Acans 


Pineapple express
Before




*I just need to work on getting the coral's colour back. anyone know how or what i can do to achieve that?*

***you can check the thread for the before dates


----------



## darthvictor

I think more blue light, and some UV will bring the color out.

Read:
http://www.liveaquaria.com/general/general.cfm?general_pagesid=274


----------



## aln

Im currently still slowly increasing my blue every week. Does anyone know if the cree leds have uv rays in their royal.blues?


----------



## conix67

aln said:


> Im currently still slowly increasing my blue every week. Does anyone know if the cree leds have uv rays in their royal.blues?


There's a variety of corals with wide range of florescence excitation light spectrum. You just need to know what your coral requires (if it still has the florescence protein that were emitting the color before) and provide the same light spectrum.

However, this is a over simplification of the coral color issue. There's also nutrient levels and light intensity (amount of zooxanthellaes) that plays the role.

In the end, when the environment changes colors can change and it's very difficult to control this IMO...


----------



## aln

conix67 said:


> There's a variety of corals with wide range of florescence excitation light spectrum. You just need to know what your coral requires (if it still has the florescence protein that were emitting the color before) and provide the same light spectrum.
> 
> However, this is a over simplification of the coral color issue. There's also nutrient levels and light intensity (amount of zooxanthellaes) that plays the role.
> 
> In the end, when the environment changes colors can change and it's very difficult to control this IMO...


Thanks conix for the insight! I did a bit more research and ill see if the colour can change to a darker presentation


----------



## aln

*Belated happy 1 year my nano reef!!!*

So this is a long over due update on the tank since it is just in the grow out stag. I have still been doing feeding every second day of the week and w/c and checking the tank chemistry every Sunday. And this didnt even occur to me until my gf asked how old my tank is now...and i said 1 year and a bit....1 YEAR and a bit!!!! sooo happy 1 year tank! 

so lets have the photos do all the talking now! 

FTS


proud of my sps 




Acans 


also very happy my flower pot coral is doing well 


Zoa/Paly (random pics)



Black O. Clown fish (my gf named it noir )


----------



## conix67

Awesome! Just them them grow a bit for next year or so, it will be amazing!


----------



## aln

hmmm im thinking about adding another clown to the spec...good idea or bad?


----------



## Norco

It's doable, but whether it's worth it or not is up to you. 

I guess I missed it, but what happened to the yellow clown?


----------



## aln

Norco said:


> It's doable, but whether it's worth it or not is up to you.
> 
> I guess I missed it, but what happened to the yellow clown?


  it jumped just like my goby did. I even had a lid on but I guess I shift it when I was topping off. There was a 1/2" gap and it managed to jump out.

I was thinking another clown fish would also be doable as long as I keep up with maintenance which I have for a year religiously every sunday


----------



## Norco

Sorry to hear that man! 
My Tailspot Blenny jumped yesterday, such a bummer! It was constantly cracking me up.


You already know two fish is possible, but depending on who you ask it may or may not be recommended for various reasons. Some will say the water quality will go down, some will say clowns shouldn't be kept in a pico, but go a head and do what you think is right. After all you know your tank better than anyone else. I think as long as they don't refuse to pair up you'll be fine. Tank maintenance and having your hands in the tank won't be as much fun though if they become territorial, so you might want to consider that.

How big is Noir?


----------



## aln

Yah I experience first hand how surprisingly hard noir can bite lol. He is around 1 inch now I got him when he was around 3/4"


----------



## aln

its about time for an update!

Everything in the tank is doing well  growing happily and not having much issue which im really happy about.

The current issue im dealing with is having the cheato in the tank which is taking up alot of space. So im on the *Hunt* for some macro aglea that would be good in the display tank, then i can take the cheato out 

I also picked up a new fish  an orange clown fish this time (nemo) and as soon as i introduced him to the tank it pair up with noir and had no problems at all. i believe i have had him for a week now and hes eatting and exploring alot.

Also went to Ken's place (Reef Aquarium) and saw a rock that i just couldnt pass by  so i took it home with me  it will only be in the 5G temperately as it will go into the 24G nuvo when my Light and RO/DI system arrives withing the end of this month. But im glad i pick this rock up as it was packed with goodies and just 1 pest. *An Aspista*. So i took the rock back out from the tank and killed the little guy off with some boiling water with a blaster on only that spot. and the little guy fell off and into a bucket of water.

The Rock has 1 HUGE yuma on it and 4 babies, some SUPER NEON RED zoanthids that are very small but very bright. (the reason i bought it ) hoping it will spread on the rock. i believe there is also some favia coral on it...not sure. and 4-5 feather duster or coco worms or both lol.

now for some pics!!


SPS




nemo 


Acans 


Zoa on the rock/Yuma/Fuvia?





thanks for looking!


----------



## Tristan

Looks like leptastrea to me..


----------



## aln

So I went to big als scarb yesterday to pick up some filtrr floss and of course I had to head downstairs to take at look at all the fishes  and im glad I did. I found these 2 beauties for 1/2 the price of what other peoplemare selling them at and I just couldnt hold back!! So I picked 2 and hurried home. Feeling like a just committed a crime 

Ultra rock flower nems
one is lime green and neon green edges with beige skirt and some stripes.
the other is red and brown with pink and brown skirts



So glad I went to big als!

For those who wants some too I think they have at least 10 more before I left with great colour!


----------



## KJSMSW

1. Nice. I'm digging the green one.

2. Shoulda sent me a message and carpooled!

Make sure you take pictures of them in the tank and settled!

Also.... what did you pay for these?


----------



## aln

The red one is really hot too!
I paid 54$ each if I remember correctly.
Also found out that the green one has a purple mouth so thats really cool.

But these were a really great find for sure! Go and get yourself one asap!


----------



## notclear

When I was at Big Al Mississiuaga on Sunday, they have neon yellow rock flower anemones, yours for under $25 tax included!


----------



## aln

notclear said:


> When I was at Big Al Mississiuaga on Sunday, they have neon yellow rock flower anemones, yours for under $25 tax included!


Omg!! So going to visit!!!!


----------



## aln

Just getting back into the hobby after a hard few years. The spec is still up and running but with alot less coral after 2 nukes. Finally got a job with more time to myself so I'm thinking about restocking


----------



## aln

Seeing my old tank and all its glory is bittersweet.

I thought since I have time I give you guys a little update since the past years.

Long story short this is what happened
-dad had a stroke back in 2014 nov
-crazy icestorm a few month after that (1 week without power)
-watching stuff die in tank
-tanks gets nuked 
-saved it nearly with some corals still hanging in there
-steady off period for about 3months
-trying to get that promotion from work...neglected the tank.
-super hair algea boom (2nd nuke)
-steady battling back uphill.
-June 2015 proposed to my gf 
-got a new job with better hours
-cleaning the tank every weekend!!!
-moving out in April!

I don't have any pictures of the tank during that time as you can probably see why 

But I figure it's time to update it a bit.

I am now running a nanobox tide (thanks dave!)
Still have the minijet606 same heater, running floss and carbon still.

SPS and acan all gone :'( 
Saved the devil's armor and sunn D paly
Dendro slowly dying. Can't seems to save it 
Got some rock flowers nems and that's all for now.

Ordered a ATO and thinking about a doser. Might try SPS again. Maybe some birdnest.

And lastly pics.


----------



## aln

So I dropped by gtareef's place (thang) he's such a great guy and has an awesome setup!! I needed up picking up a BOP birdnest and 2 types of zoa. Feeling really good to seeing a clean tank and getting motivated again.


----------



## aln

*It's alive again!!!*

So after a very busy week of moving and getting settled in i finally have time to snap a few pictures of the new corals i got and how the tank is looking.
*
Here is the current FTS and Top down shots *(sorry for the quality, all cell phone pics)



and your not seeing things!!! thats right! i live on the edge, there are 2 bubble tips in that 5 gal. (do not try this at home )
My left side is going to be a nem island and the right is going to be my zoa garden with 1 more type of SPS at the top of it. (the rock on the left still need to be rearranged) Right now i have a Birds of Paradise birdsnest, one of my favourites. As for zoa i have sunny d's, devils armor, rasta, utter choas and orange mauls. I also have a nice flower pot on the side which i really love.
*
A nice shot of my clown and his beloved bta

*
Utter Choas zoa

*
My Bird Nest Frag


Close up on the flowerpot

*
My Rock Nems (yellow, red, green - the red one is hiding in a hole..lol)

*
Rasta/Orange Mauls - rasta already growing 2 heads and as for the choas, its growing 3 more. 2 you can see and 1 under an open zoa

*
*


----------



## Cichlidrookie

Glad to see your spec v up and running well again. 

Those nems look happy and your zoas are super nice.


----------



## aln

Cichlidrookie said:


> Glad to see your spec v up and running well again.
> 
> Those nems look happy and your zoas are super nice.


Yep I really love my nems. I lose one of the green stripe rock nems a while back, it just got smaller and smaller and it keeps moving all over the place. I dunno where it is anymore. But all the other nems like where they are  so I don't adjust my flow or light. Dont want to set them off and start running all over the place .


----------



## Sunstar

Looks like you had a crazy time. Glad to know someone else in teh GTA also got a tide <3 I wonder how many he has made.


----------



## aln

Sunstar said:


> Looks like you had a crazy time. Glad to know someone else in teh GTA also got a tide <3 I wonder how many he has made.


I also got a duo for a IM 30L


----------



## Sunstar

I would like to get a hybrid, duo... all of the things. I love his stuff.


----------



## aln

Sunstar said:


> I would like to get a hybrid, duo... all of the things. I love his stuff.


Totally worth every penny


----------

