fort's 57 gallon Rimless Reef Build

[Ziggy953]

Looking good!

[fort384]

Thanks Allen. It is really coming along and am getting close to stocked. Most of the coral is growing like crazy and looking good.

Anyone have any input on adding an emerald crab to help combat the tiny bit of valonia I am seeing?

[carey]

I love my emerald crabs, even though I dont have bubble algae. lol I think they make a nice addition to a tank. I have some in all my tanks except for the 60g and I will be adding 2 some time soon. Just love their little crab dance they do agaisnt the front glass sometimes.

[fort384]

Now if I could just find some emerald crabs. Haven't seen any at any of the LFSs around here.

[fort384]

Pulled what I am assuming is a zoa eating aeolid nudibranch out of the tank this morning. Maybe that is why my zoas have not been looking so great. hmmm... If there was 1, are there more?

[AquaRick]

Ouch =/

Yes there could be more. Are there any signs of other zoas that are not opening up? Maybe look there to see if there is another nudibranch?

[Nu-Nu the eel]

Hey fort hows the tank coming along?

[fort384]

meh. Some coral is doing well, others, not so much. Fish are healthy, and got some nice coraline growth, but I still can't get it right with a lot of coral. Params are good - I am convinced I just haven't got the lighting and flow dialed in correctly.

[Nu-Nu the eel]

What corals are giving you some problems?
Too bad :/

[fort384]

Some zoas, but not others, acans, fauvia, xenia.

Frogspawn, jasmine polyps, other zoas, and that green kind of but not really birdsnest are doing great. So the heck if I know.

Honestly I haven't been doing much with the tank but letting it mature. It is still so young. I will let the system run awhile longer before I try some new coral. Most of my tinkering and attention has been focused again on my iwagumi tank.

Oh one cool thing, I have 2 starfish in the tank that must have hitchhiked in the rock. They have been on the glass the last few weeks, and are both about 3/4" big... too big to be asterina, but not exactly sure what kind of starfish they are.

[Gboy66]

Sorry about the trouble. I felt the same way with our first reef. We added corals and were dissappointed when they just did ok. But then after letting the tank mature, things started to look better.

I agree. Just hold off on the corals for a bit and let the tank do it's thing. Everything will look great in no time!!

Hey....gotta FTS? Haha

[fort384]

Been a long time since I have updated. The tank is doing much better. I made some tweaks to the lighting and discovered I was having an alk issue. I have since added a 2 part auto dosing system, and even in the first few days, the coral is looking better. I am seeing all of it open more than it has in months, and things are looking up.

Here is the new auto dosing system.


I have it set to dose 6 times a day (3 times for each of the Ca and Alk mixes, staggered so they are never dosed within 2 hours of each other).

I am still working on getting my levels correct, but I imagine in a week or two I will have it dialed in.

Full tank shot. Lots of coralline growth since my last uploads:




The fish all seem to be doing very well, and have grown some in the past months.

[fort384]

Here are some close ups of most of the coral I have left. I have added a couple things here and there over the last month, and all of it seems to be doing well. I have finally managed to keep a hammer alive longer than a week:



Snails were crawling on it, but here is the green birdsnest. It has grown a new sprout of an arm in the last 2 weeks:


And my new pink birdsnest, procured a 2 weeks ago. I am seeing lots of polyp extension on it:


Zoas seem to be doing much better now too with the adjustments. I lost hundreds of them over the course of several months, but I am seeing signs of improvement and some are opening fully that haven't in months.




And last, my frogspawn, which has been extremely well lately:

[scottayy]

Dang I'm loving that coraline growth!

[fort384]

Picked up a couple new frags:

Acan... always looking for food. This guy is a pig:


New torch... has been in for about a week, and doing great.


These zoas have been in the tank for awhile, but were all but dead. They are starting to get healthy again:


My newest birdsnest has a ton of new growth on it already:


And the hammer continues to do well. I liked this shot:


Frogspawn has expanded probably 20% in the last month or so:

[Gboy66]

You are making me jealous man!! Those corals look fantastic!

[Ziggy953]

The tank is looking pretty good indeed! Well done!

[fort384]

Thanks guys, I am definitely encouraged here, and really think the corner has been turned.

[Convict2161]

Awesome tank Justin! And amazing pictures!! I'm jealous!!

[fort384]

Thanks Dino, and thanks for the help. I took your advice on the 2 part, and the difference has been dramatic to say the least.