Synden's build-off competition entry

[SynDen]

Had to move some rocks around. The two rocks that were in the front were causing flow issues, so cyano kept growing between them. Move those to the back and change the flow around a bit. Hopefully that will help.
Some pics of the new corals too View attachment 15971 View attachment 15972 View attachment 15973 View attachment 15974

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[SynDen]

Looks like moving those rocks was the right move, as the cyano is already clearing up View attachment 15975

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[SynDen]

Just got back from a 2 week trip to Japan, and tank is looking kind of dirty. Going to need a major cleaning tomorrow.
Looks like things have been growing a bit, but Cyano has made a come back while I was gone, so going to need to come up with more flow and some maybe some more CUC.
Havent seen any sign of the high fin goby though, need to clean up the tank and see if he shows up.
Will test and clean it all tomorrow, then post up some pics

 

[SynDen]

Sad to report the tank is fishless now
Still havent seen any sign of the goby since I returned from vacation, so assuming he is gone. Pistol shrimp still in there, can hear his snaps occasionally and signs of him still digging, so sure he is still there, but think is all alone now.
Possum wrasse just suddenly died this morning, no idea why. He was swimming around and eating fine yesterday, no signs of illness or anything, but this morning he was dead.

Ill have to test the params again later tonight if I have time, but tested this weekend and only one that was still a bit off was the PH which has been running around 7.6-7.8. Corals and everything looks pretty good, so not sure what is going on.

 

[SynDen]

Quick update. Cyano gone, but turf algae has picked up a bit. Thinking the fish dieing while I was on vacation likely has something to do with it.

Colors looking a bit faded too, so I started dosing a bit of acropower. Also, Did a water change and tested the tank. Overall pH(7.7), mg(1260), and alk(7.1) were all a bit low so may looking into some other dosing solutions in the near future. Will also look at getting fish in it again in a couple more weeks View attachment 16299

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[SynDen]

Did a water change this weekend, and things starting to look better. Still some algae growing and since it pretty tough, so have to wait for it to grow some so I can pull it off easier.
Not much change otherwise though, although about time to think about adding fish again.
Ill try and get some pics up soon

 

[SynDen]

Picked up some nice pieces this weekend at Reefstock. Got a killer blue&purple yuma rock for $30 from Fish Crew, and very fuzzy, and slightly overpriced but had to have it, fuzzy giant rodactis shroom for $75 from Tropical pet oasis.
Ill get some pics up in the next few days

 

[SynDen]

Quick photos of the new corals.
Just did a water change and cleaned up the tank. Still a bit of algae but it's changed from tough turf algae to whispy hair algae, which is a bit easier to remove. Starting to see some color return now too, since I started dosing some animo acids. Still not thriving as well as I would like but does seem on the up swing as the tank continues to mature View attachment 16502 View attachment 16503 View attachment 16504

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[SynDen]

Did a water change yesterday and now everything all pissed off for some reason. Not sure whats up there but might have to test and see if anything is off.
Still a bit of the uglies but have been seeing some new growth lately. I did finally get around to putting some more fish in the tank again. Added another Highfin goby, as well as a Hectors goby and a yellow Clown goby +($35). Took the highfin a while to find the pistol shrimp but they eventually found each other and now all 3 fish and the shrimp all seem to hang out in the back corner under the toadstool rock now. Everybody is eating too and looking healthy there
Will get some new pics up later this week

 

[scmountain]

Did a water change yesterday and now everything all pissed off for some reason. Not sure whats up there but might have to test and see if anything is off...

with the new PH raise in water here, I have seen numbers as high as 9.2 from the tap. Double-check your ph maybe?

 

[SynDen]

with the new PH raise in water here, I have seen numbers as high as 9.2 from the tap. Double-check your ph maybe?

Good point, will do. Thanks

 

[SynDen]

Well think this is the main culprit for annoying the corals. Had been wondering why thing we're looking a bit pissed off lately but then realized all the things that are pissed off is the ones he randomly will perch on. Toadstool slowly starting to get used to it so hopefully soon they'll be back to normal.
He is pretty cute though. Love his personality so far. Always watching me lol View attachment 16593

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[ianryd]

They are funny fish. I have a citron goby who did the same thing and actually caused tissue necrosis on one of my milles he particularly liked. Because of his curious nature he was really easy to catch (I think I caught him with my hand lol), and into the nem tank he went. Its been a few months and my clowns havent killed him- Probably because he's a fellow butthead!

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[SynDen]

Sheesh, once the new goby found the shrimp, Mr. Pistol has been working overtime and has bulldozed most of the tank. Kind of fun to watch but gotta keep on my toes to make sure nothing remains buried under the sand for to long lol

 

[neil82]

I need a pistol shrimp to stir the sand. Goby and shrimp combo are fun to watch.

 

[SynDen]

Meant to get these up last week but had to work all weekend.

Tank been doing pretty good. It's hit the year mark and it's starting to show some better stability and growth as a result.

Overall I would call this tank semi successful as it never quite showed the growth I would have liked. I tried keeping it to minimal on filtration, and I should have added in a dosing element earlier instead of relying on water changes.

Biggest mistake though was letting aptasia into the tank in the first place. Once it was in, there wasn't much I could do. The more I tried to fight it the faster it spread.
That has made me rethink some stuff for the big tank as a result.

I do like to watch the pistol shrimp, and gobies, even though the shrimp has killed a few corals by burying them. Some of the frags just simply vanished as I'm sure he drug them back to his den or something.

Gonna have to figure out what to do with this tank now. I need to set up a frag tank and coral qt, so likely clean it up and get the aptasia out then convert it over

Was a fun contest and I learned a lot. Looking forward to trying again View attachment 16920 View attachment 16921 View attachment 16922 View attachment 16923 View attachment 16924

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