Kickyfeet's build-off competition entry

[kickyfeet]

Finally got some livestock over the weekend. Tests came back Ammonia=0 and Nitrates=5 so I decided to pick up a fish and a few frags. I'll snag a picture of the tailspot blenny when it's in a good position but it's been pretty active nomming on algae.
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I also ordered a Coralife protein skimmer and was a little nervous about it reading reviews but honestly have been really happy with the skimmate production once I got it started.
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[kickyfeet]

Tank is still doing pretty well. Skimmer is still pulling stuff out and I'm working on getting a thicker skimmate. The zoas are all open but my mushrooms look a little closed up. Still dealing with algae but my tailspot blenny is pretty active munching on algae. Planning on performing a 5 gallon water change tonight and siphoning out some of this algae. I haven't seen the tailspot eat any of the frozen food I put in the tank but I've been really conservative with how much I feed so I don't compound the algae issue.

 

[kickyfeet]

I ended up doing a 4 day blackout on the tank. The cyano was slowly covering the sand but not getting thick enough to siphon out without taking up too much sand. I took a construction trash bag, cut it, and covered the entire tank. I took the bag off today and it really made a difference but I can still see some remaining. I'm leaving on vacation today so I'll be curious what it looks like when I get back in a week.

 

[kickyfeet]

Well I came back from vacation and the slime is everywhere again. Bought some Organic FX and prepping some water for a water change.

What does everyone think this is, dinos? I've never had to deal with them and it looked like cyano at first under the lights but after shining a flash light it looks like dinos
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[SynDen]

looks like diatoms to me. Pretty normal. They will go away on their own eventually. I'd just leave it and let it do its thing

 

[kickyfeet]

looks like diatoms to me. Pretty normal. They will go away on their own eventually. I'd just leave it and let it do its thing

Ok! My experience with diatoms in the past has always been a light coating on the sand and in the rocks but never this thick. It's definitely disappearing since adding the Organic FX. I stopped by Mr Aqua to grab some discounted frags. Top left is Galaxea I think, and top right is another green mushroom.
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Pic of my tailspot blenny. Wish the white channel still worked on the lights.
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[kickyfeet]

Performed a 5 gallon water change last night and siphoned a lot of the gunk off the rocks and sand.

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I had a question for the judges. I originally purchased a used Gyre 1k from myself that I had in storage. When I first setup the tank I found the Gyre didn't work and was never able to use it. Will this still count towards my $1000 limit or can I scrap it from the list? I can understand either way but just wanted to get some clarification on it.

 

[MuralReef]

I would say no that you don’t need to count that against your total cost.

 

[SkyShark]

I would say no that you don’t need to count that against your total cost.

I agree.

 

[kickyfeet]

I am having some great results with the combination OrganixFX and protein skimmer. I purchased a cheap turkey baster and have been blasting the rocks every day to get all the gunk up in the water column. My sand is clearing up and the algae on the rocks has died back significantly. Tomorrow I am going to glue all my frags down now that the algae issue is under control.
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[kickyfeet]

Well 2 weeks later I finally got the plugs glued down. Life hits hard sometimes! I used Gorilla Glue gel and my super glue skills are really hit or miss. Sometimes I get the perfect amount on the plug, a little twist onto the rock and I'm done. This time I got glue all over my fingers and had to do some cleanup around the plugs. I may get some epoxy putty and redo the frags if they fall. I broke off as much of the plug as possible by slowly squeezing the plug in pliers.

Algae is also still in check and I am super happy. I was afraid I would have a long battle but the extra flow from a used powerhead I found at the SCMAS garage sale and the OrganicFX have really helped.
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[kickyfeet]

Got a couple frags, green leather and a white kenya tree $20 each! Also I turned on my lights to take these pictures and I see fat pods all over the sand.

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Pod in between two snails.
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[kickyfeet]

View attachment 15498 Well I have good news and I have bad news. All of my coral are doing great. The leather I picked up last week finally opened up. I was a little worried about it but the polyps are gaining some extension.

My tailspot blenny jumped out of the tank. I had a feeling this would happen and will be getting some egg crate next week. I noticed when the house lost power he would freak out and become very active. I recently tripped the breaker and when I went to feed I found him in the trash can next to the tank.

 

[scmountain]

looking good! I am definitely in the "glue all over my fingers" category, how do you like the gorilla glue super glue combo?

 

[kickyfeet]

looking good! I am definitely in the "glue all over my fingers" category, how do you like the gorilla glue super glue combo?

Thank you! It's been a great exercise starting a tank from scratch. Just to clarify the glue, I use Gorilla Glue Gel Super Glue. The regular gorilla glue is not reef safe and does not bond nearly as quickly. It's pretty thick which is nice but not as thick as CoralAffix gel which is my personal favorite.

 

[kickyfeet]

Performed a water change tonight and cleaned off the glass. For water changes I use a couple buckets I had laying around the house but had never been used for anything "chemically", and a piece of tubing to siphon the water out.

I also picked up what looks like is basically a magic eraser from a LFS in Parker. So far has been great at removing the algae that is in all the scratches. I'll post some pics after I'm done. It does take a bit of elbow grease.

Ignore the extension cable, it's not plugged in and I haven't put it away yet. Safety first!
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[kickyfeet]

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[kickyfeet]

Man this budget is killing me! But I'm also really happy with how all the corals are doing. One of my ricordeas has fully split and another ricordea looks as though it's in progress. Tomorrow is a deep clean day and I'm curious how dirty the protein skimmer has gotten.

 

[kickyfeet]

Some pics of the protein skimmer cleaning. Definitely a huge difference in skimmate production. I used an old tooth brush to scub the wood block. The rest of the skimmer wasn't that dirty and had some sponges that I didn't want to kill so I only cleaned the wood block.

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[kickyfeet]

Man what a crazy month. We had a death in the family the day before Thanksgiving and had to scramble to leave for Ohio which got me thinking about what we do to prepare for vacations/leaving town. How easy is our tank to really take care of. If I leave town will my tank sitter have to figure out a puzzle or will the tank basically take care of itself.

Before I left I made sure there was plenty of water available and I set 15 gallons of water in 5 gallons buckets next to the tank. I go through about 5 gallons every 2-3 weeks so while this is overkill, I had the peace of mind knowing that I wouldn't run out of water. I also left a very high level explanation of the mechanics of the tank, how to know if something is wrong, and how to fix it if I'm not available. Things like protein skimmer cup, automatic top off etc. It doesn't have to be super detailed but just letting the person know that it's there and the concept can go a long way. I also break up the fish food into the size chunks I want the tank sitter to feed. No guesswork and it makes it easier for the sitter.

So now I'm leaving for 2 weeks for St Maarten for some scuba diving, snorkeling, and fishing. I'm super nervous every time I leave. This time I performed a water change a couple days ago and made sure all equipment is functioning as expected.