Wayne's 90 Gallon Build

[wmcinnes]

A couple things have happened since my last update.

As I stated before, I am now dosing the big three as water changes are kind of a pain out here in the extreme TDS country.
My tank survived the 3.5 gallon calcium overdose which caused my calcium levels to skyrocket to around 800ppm with little problem to be honest. I had no precipitate so it didn't look like Christmas in the reef, thank goodness! I only did one 30% water change which brought the levels down to around 650 ppm and then just let the corals suck up the rest. As of yesterday my parameters were:

Temp: 79-80 F
pH: 7.90
Calcium: 540 ppm
Alkalinity: 8 DkH
Magnesium: 1300 ppm
PO4: 0.02 ppm
Nitrates: ~2ppm

I attribute the fact that the high calcium levels did not precipitate because my Alkalinity was kept in check.

I have added a MaxiJet 1200 to the bottom corner of my tank just to add a little extra boost of flow to the system until I purchase my second MP40es. Seems as if the corals have responded well to this as they polyp extension has increased.

Unfortunately, with good news comes bad. My Copperband Butterfly had gone missing and for a few days it was a complete mystery as to where he went. Until I put in the maxijet powerhead and started adjusting flows when a chunk of what was left of him floated out from the rocks I still have no idea what happened... he ate so much that I couldn't understand what the fuss was about getting these fish to eat! Still a mystery to me..

After some studying and talking to Steve at Red Coral I decided to start dosing Prodibio supplements, BioDigest and BioPtim. My first dose of this was Wednesday so I don't expect to see results until after the 2nd dose.

I will take some pictures and post them asap.

[wmcinnes]

[wmcinnes]

And what my Yellow Milly looks like because of stupid crab

[wmcinnes]

Here are a couple of images of my newly filled frag rack full from Coral Master. Shots don't do them much justice at all.
Within 10 minutes of putting them in my tank most of the frags already had great polyp extension and color!

[Rice Reef]

Originally Posted by wmcinnes

Here are a couple of images of my newly filled frag rack full from Coral Master. Shots don't do them much justice at all.
Within 10 minutes of putting them in my tank most of the frags already had great polyp extension and color!

Seeing your CM frags reminds me of my order from Greg a yr ago. Great selection! They are gonna look great once they grow and fill out.

[wmcinnes]

It has not been an easy past while for me and my reef, as I have hit a few bumps in the road.

Despite quarantining efforts, ich made it into my tank, and I cannot explain my level of embarrassment .
I quarantined every fish I bought with the exception of two. Two which were bought from outside a LFS and I assumed would be safe to but directly into the display tank. Lesson learned.
The outbreak first took over my Whitecheek Tang and spread to the other fish. I lost all of them except for three. That's a whitcheek tang, CBB, tailspot blenny, lyretail anthias, linespot flasher wrasse, clown, and starfish that passed.
The female clown, the scribbled rabbitfish and the blue sided wrasse survived although the rabbitfish and clown showed signs of ich during the outbreak, the wrasse never seemed to be infected. All seem well as of now but I am unsure of how I want to proceed. Catching these fish for treatment and a DT fallow period will be nearly impossible without tearing the rocks apart which to me is not an option. I am unsure of what to do..

[wmcinnes]

My corals are growing quite rapidly, but unfortunately most of the frags that I got from Coral Master have browned out. I think this is a product of lower light levels than were found in Snappys tank as my Sols were only at about 60% mid day when the corals were introduced and, perhaps, elevated nitrates and phos levels around the time the fish died.

The lights have since been raised to closer to 75% intensity during the mid day hours and I am going to be more diligent when it comes to water changes despite the limitations and complete pain in the arse it is to make RO water out here in the country with extreme TDS levels.

Like my yellow milli, my purple digitata started to lose tissue in the center near the base and upon closer investigation I found another little bugger of a crab! I snapped a couple photos this time and from what I have heard, hairy crabs with blue eyes are never to be trusted and I must say, I agree.





Luckily my yellow millepora has nearly made a full recovery so there is no reason my digitata cannot do the same.