300 Gallon Reef tank at 2 Weeks

Pump 1 and Chiller (Closed Loop)

40 Gallon Wet / Dry

Skimmer and Pump 2

This is a 300 Gallon Display with a 40 Gallon Wet / Dry Sump, a chiller, 2 mini giant pumps featuring 6 powerheads and a closed loop system to ensure no dead spots.

It was initially picked up from ATM on Sunday, April 5, 2009. Less than a week later it appeared to have run its cycle and was ready for some livestock. A couple days later it appeared to enter another mini cycle. I have used a variety of bacteria products to hasten the nitrification cycle.

The lighting itself deserves some special attention:

• 2 Metal Halide 250′s
• 4 T-5 Actinic
• 9 LED Blue
• 9 LED White

Livestock to date

• 200 lbs of Live Rock
• 150 lbs of Caribsea Live Sand
• Foxface Rabbitfish (lo)
• 2 Cleaner Shrimp
• 1 Yellow Assessor
• 3 Yellow Clown Gobys
• 1 Pearly Jawfish
• 5 Feather Dusters
• Bubble Coral
• Purple flower Polyps
• 50 Blue Leg Hermit Crabs
• 1 Serpent Starfish
• Starter Copepods
• 50 Nassarius Snails
• 30 Nerite Snails
• 1 Scarlet Reef Hermit Crab

A bubble tip anemone has been reserved for the clown fish to host in once water quality has improved. In addition, I plan to add about 150 more lbs of live rock over time. I estimate it will take about a year to complete this tank but I am very much looking forward to the long term project. Many thanks to my good friend David for all his help getting this set up!

Clean tank = Happy fish and inverts

Today, I wiped the tank down with an algae cloth made for acrylic tanks and used a siphon to vacuum about 5 gallons of water from the bottom. This is the first water change from the bottom; so, I was a bit apprehensive to see if my water quality or nitrification would suffer. Needless to say, everything was perfect! We are starting to see more and more of the Pearly Jawfish.  The purple Star Polyps are starting to be seen in other areas of the reef. I have been advised that there must be something other than the fish and hermit crabs in the tank moving them. I suspect a worm or a shrimp from the live rock; however, I have not caught nor seen him yet.

SEE NEW PICTURES

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Reef Tank Overview

The reef tank is continuing to grow. This weekend welcomed the addition of some more crabs and snails for the clean up crew. But, the exciting part is the addition of a very small Rose Goby, a Pearly Jawfish, a Red Mushroom Anemone, Green Brain, Sinularia, and Star Polyps. We have also realized that there is a Basket Star living in the Favia. The marine tank is quickly become the most interesting ecosystem under my care.

Despite perfect test parameters, I also completed a 10% water change. It was not nearly as difficult as I feared saltwater would be. The pictures below showcase the new additions of this weekend.
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Today, we added a sand shifting star, 4 turbo snails, and a feather duster.

Check out these pictures!

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Sometime between day 7 and 9 an algae bloom of brown, hairy algae has overtaken the live rock, live sand, and started attaching itself to the acrylic tank itself. In less than 24 hours, the unsightly stuff has  completely overtaken the gorgeous Coraline Algae and left the uninhabited tank in an ugly mess. As if that isn’t frustrating enough, the water tests are still reading ammonia and no nitrites. Obviously, the nitrates are there or there would be no algae at all. So, it appears that nature has a different idea for this particular ecosystem.

In an effort to eliminate some of this brown, hairy, ugly mess, I have added a thin sheet of filter pad above the filter and rubbed the algae from the sides of the tank, the rock, and the sand. The filter pad has caught a great deal but I have a feeling I will have to do this  a few days in a row. The bright side is that the salinity is finally correct. I will be adding some additional bacteria additive tomorrow in an effort to hasten the cycling of ammonia to nitrite.

Despite the growth of a velvet looking Coraline algae, we were a bit disappointed to learn that the tank was not ready to add additional lifeforms. In addition to being a bit over-salted, there was a substantial reading of ammonia. Therefore, we replaced 4 gallons of the saltwater with RO filtered water and are forced to leave it for a few more days. It is noteworthy to point out; however, that the type of algae in this marine tank is actually attractive and many different colors. This is quite a dramatic change from the plant life we see form in the freshwater tanks.