Author Topic: Chromiumlux's 150 Deep Dimension Post Bryopsis Wars (Read 12320 times)

chromiumlux · « **on:** July 26, 2012, 21:24:52 »

Well, I've not been around here much the past few years. Wanted to get back and get involved. I am currently nursing the 150 back to health. The bryopsis war was a tough fight and left the tank pretty well barren. So, I figured I would start with this.
Update for Thursday 7/26/12
Been working on getting the tank back to sea worthiness. Today I performed a water change 30g. Installed one of the new Finnex 300w heaters. Dug out my old shock buster and have the heater, skimmer, carbon and gfo reactors, and fuge pump (for flow) hooked up to it.
Re-worked the lighting. Placed the Orphek Nilus in the rear of the tank. Placed the Orphek 156 in front. Changed up the Orphek PR25s to go along the sides. Looks great! and improved the coverage.
Been blowing off all the rock work during the day. Lot of crap coming off the rocks. Noticed an outbreak of dinoflagellates that seem to have taken the place of the bryopsis...lol. So I changed out gfo and carbon and started running skimmer wet.
The fuge was kinda messy so I addded a low flow pump for better circulation and to help export detritus to the filter socks. Pruned the cheato a bit.
Plan to get another shock buster for the other heater and put on a different circuit.
All in all a good day of maintenance.
A few pics

lazylivin · « **Reply #1 on:** July 26, 2012, 21:35:19 »

Those lights are off the hook Andy. Welcome back to Ohio Reef.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #2 on:** July 26, 2012, 22:03:11 »

Thanks Brian! Glad to be here. Bright aint it?...lol

discus513 · « **Reply #3 on:** July 26, 2012, 22:27:56 »

I love that tank! Glad to see you back at it, let me know if you need any frags of your corals back

NEWMAN · « **Reply #4 on:** July 27, 2012, 01:36:53 »

Nice to see your tank turning around. I have to come see it sometime.

HUNGER · « **Reply #5 on:** July 27, 2012, 08:22:20 »

looks good

Kenn · « **Reply #6 on:** July 27, 2012, 14:29:17 »

One of my favorite tanks. Glad to see you posting again

chromiumlux · « **Reply #7 on:** July 27, 2012, 18:44:41 »

Thanks for the support and the kind comments!!

I was off the hook with trying new things. I am returning to what made this tank gorgeous in the past....namely....old tried and true methods coupled with good old fashioned patience....and a QT tank.....lol.

Sunny · « **Reply #8 on:** July 30, 2012, 05:30:12 »

Fabulous !!

Bluewater · « **Reply #9 on:** July 30, 2012, 09:16:33 »

New lighting set up looks great.

marineman · « **Reply #10 on:** July 30, 2012, 11:44:36 »

Quote from: chromiumlux on July 27, 2012, 18:44:41

Thanks for the support and the kind comments!!

I was off the hook with trying new things. I am returning to what made this tank gorgeous in the past....namely....old tried and true methods coupled with good old fashioned patience....and a QT tank.....lol.

Way to go, Andy. From one believer in the KISS (keep it simple, stupid) methods, I'm sure everything will come together nicely!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #11 on:** August 04, 2012, 11:10:21 »

Ok, This is my final rock work. I decided to go with the old addage..."Less is sometimes more". This will give me plenty of room to grow out some nice sps colonies. I removed most of the Reef Saver rock. What I found with this particular rock is that it is a detritus trap. How I found out? I was playing with my Vortechs yesterday and set them in parallel to run on high reef crest mode. They sucked out a bunch of crud into the water column and this was not a pretty site. So, using all the left over Tonga rock and a few dense peices of the reef saver I came up with a solution. I went through 7 filter socks yesterday.....lol

Anyway, it is more open all around and allows the pumps to keep foods suspended while fish are feeding. I also decided to seperate my black clown from the Duncans. Apparently he has irritated them to the point that several heads have died.
I received the Hydra biopellet reactor yesterday. I am still on the fence as to which pellets to use. I will set that up later after I mod the output to fit the intake on my skimmer. After much research, I am planning to start with a quarter of what is recommended for my system and load. I will add more pellets as needed with additions of corals. I may switch to a Reef Dynamics reactor later as these have a controllable effluent output. I may also invest in a Hanna nitrate and phosphate checker so I can tweek both as the biopellets kick in. The key to this is to know what your numbers are before applying pellets and test daily. Once your desired NoPo level is good you can make adjustments to keep it in that range. I dont want to strip the water completely as acros do need some phos and nitrate. Although I did a partial water change yesterday, I will do a full water change today and service GFO and Carbon today. I beleive I am almost ready for a new coral.

100% Bryopsis free!!! Yeah baby!!!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #12 on:** August 04, 2012, 11:16:56 »

Whoops! forgot to add the pics. Bubblegum survived!!!!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #13 on:** August 04, 2012, 11:17:45 »

Not the best pics....

lazylivin · « **Reply #14 on:** August 04, 2012, 12:24:42 »

It looks good, whenever you frag it again put me down for an eye.

Kenn · « **Reply #15 on:** August 04, 2012, 13:23:17 »

Quote from: Lazylivin on August 04, 2012, 12:24:42

It looks good, whenever you frag it again put me down for an eye.

Same for me Andy. I've coveted that Bubble Gum Monster of yours since I first laid eyes on it

chromiumlux · « **Reply #16 on:** August 04, 2012, 13:48:35 »

I will put you guys down for frags. It is recovering from a fierce battle....lol. Seems to be a pretty tough chalice. Perhaps we can do some traditional trades when the time is right.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #17 on:** September 07, 2012, 21:04:29 »

Here,s what the tank is looking like so far.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #18 on:** September 07, 2012, 21:06:11 »

lol....Frag City again

Kenn · « **Reply #19 on:** September 07, 2012, 21:24:00 »

Looks great Andy !

Whats the fork tailed fish ?

chromiumlux · « **Reply #20 on:** September 07, 2012, 21:38:53 »

Quote from: Kenn on September 07, 2012, 21:24:00

Looks great Andy !

Whats the fork tailed fish ?

Thanks Kenn. That is a Blackspot angel or Japanese swallowtail angel.

NEWMAN · « **Reply #21 on:** September 07, 2012, 21:46:45 »

Look at those streamers....

lazylivin · « **Reply #22 on:** September 07, 2012, 22:11:37 »

Looks like system has made a comeback.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #23 on:** September 07, 2012, 22:37:35 »

Quote from: Lazylivin on September 07, 2012, 22:11:37

Looks like system has made a comeback.

Yes it has Brian! Thanks for all your help and suggestions.

ghurlag · « **Reply #24 on:** September 09, 2012, 20:59:25 »

I have faith you'll be cutting back corals again soon enough. This ain't your first rodeo, and I've never seen anything but success from you

chromiumlux · « **Reply #25 on:** September 10, 2012, 16:06:13 »

Quote from: ghurlag on September 09, 2012, 20:59:25

I have faith you'll be cutting back corals again soon enough. This ain't your first rodeo, and I've never seen anything but success from you

Thanks for the kind words Big G!!

tank121 · « **Reply #26 on:** September 14, 2012, 04:20:25 »

Nice!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #27 on:** September 23, 2012, 22:10:13 »

Spent the day moving my Vortechs from the back wall to the sides of the tank. Cleared the memory and reconfigured the controllers to run on anti-sync mode. Set up the night-time speeds to run at 30% and increased to 12 hours during the dark period. Reset the feed mode for 30 minutes. Cleaned and re-routed the wiring. I also reset all my lighting timers and dimmers as well as cleaned all the fans and wiring. So, today was pretty productive.
I decided to move the pumps because it made more sense to have them opposite each other. When running in anti-sync mode on short wave the water churns and roils all through the tank. You can see in pic 1 the roiling on top of the water. Acros look happier with the higher flow rates. Lots of tiny frags in this tank...lol. They are starting to color up and are looking better every day. Crappy pics...The sun was on...lol

discus513 · « **Reply #28 on:** September 23, 2012, 22:17:15 »

looking good Andy!

discus513 · « **Reply #29 on:** September 23, 2012, 22:18:59 »

I need to get my female swallowtail a male, I love yours and he is huge. If you see a small one around anywhere keep me in mind, I'm on the hunt

chromiumlux · « **Reply #30 on:** September 23, 2012, 22:21:19 »

Quote from: discus513 on September 23, 2012, 22:18:59

I need to get my female swallowtail a male, I love yours and he is huge. If you see a small one around anywhere keep me in mind, I'm on the hunt

I will keep my eyes open.

Quote from: discus513 on September 23, 2012, 22:17:15

looking good Andy!

Thanks Ricky!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #31 on:** October 09, 2012, 00:29:45 »

New peice for the tank. Nice size shelf. Sitting on a 20g long for reference. Getting ready for the cure process.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #32 on:** December 01, 2012, 08:27:09 »

New scape finally.....

Twizted1 · « **Reply #33 on:** December 01, 2012, 08:57:05 »

Everything seem happy.

The WuSue · « **Reply #34 on:** December 02, 2012, 12:02:53 »

Great color!

discus513 · « **Reply #35 on:** December 02, 2012, 13:13:48 »

lookin good chrome man.i'm glad to see things are starting to go your way

chromiumlux · « **Reply #36 on:** December 02, 2012, 22:13:33 »

Thanks everyone. I am taking it slow now. Although I have been slobbering over a few corals I want...lol

ghurlag · « **Reply #37 on:** December 30, 2012, 16:52:07 »

Lookin' good, Andy. This is proof that we are never too far "gone" if the fires of reefkeeping still have glowing embers within us.

itsalifestyle · « **Reply #38 on:** December 30, 2012, 23:45:25 »

Looks great

chromiumlux · « **Reply #39 on:** January 19, 2013, 19:02:05 »

Well....I just could not resist these beauties!

Acropora Copiosa

Acropora Rambleri

Branching Canary porites

Acropora Proximalix

Acropora Blue Samoensis

Amstar · « **Reply #40 on:** January 19, 2013, 23:03:38 »

What kind of substrate do you have?

buckeyereefer · « **Reply #41 on:** January 20, 2013, 07:34:03 »

page 2 pic looks like two mp40's. this page looks like 3 ? i am ordering a 150DD today or a 30"x30"x24" tank.

lazylivin · « **Reply #42 on:** January 20, 2013, 10:41:23 »

Not the typical branching structures. Looks good Andy.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #43 on:** January 20, 2013, 13:31:10 »

Quote from: Amstar on January 19, 2013, 23:03:38

What kind of substrate do you have?

My substrate is a mix of Caribsea fiji pink and Tropic Eden reefflakes.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #44 on:** January 20, 2013, 13:38:13 »

Quote from: buckeyereefer on January 20, 2013, 07:34:03

page 2 pic looks like two mp40's. this page looks like 3 ? i am ordering a 150DD today or a 30"x30"x24" tank.

Yeah, a friend was tearing down and made an offer I could not refuse. So I picked up a third pump. I run the system on nutrient transport mode once a week. Works great! The mp40 in the right rear of tank I have set on reefcrest mode low flow to create flow inside and behind the rock pile....lol. The front two run on short wave pulse.

However, I have since then placed all 3 pumps on the back wall again. I think it works better.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #45 on:** January 20, 2013, 13:45:04 »

Quote from: Lazylivin on January 20, 2013, 10:41:23

Not the typical branching structures. Looks good Andy.

I beleive that 3 of these are on the red list of endangered species. The copiosa, rambleri, and the proximalis. Mainly from threat of crown of thorns. Wish me luck with these as they will no doubt make stunning additions when it comes time to frag. LOL...I was perusing Foster Smith's the other night and while doing so these popped up as new arrivals. I made a mad dash to get them in the cart and research them before purchasing.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #46 on:** January 20, 2013, 14:21:03 »

Everything is looking good today. I will have some light on these later and hopefully some decent pics.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #47 on:** April 02, 2013, 21:41:02 »

Update on my tank's lowly status...lol

Removed all the rock a while ago. I decided to go back to live fiji rock instead of the dry rock. So, I have been curing the new rock for several weeks and finally got a zero ammonia reading last night. I will be transfering the rock to a shallow tub for a final cure with some lighting for a few more weeks before building my new scape. Here is a pic of the tank as it is now as well as a pic of one of the many rocks that still have living corals that survived the first phase of curing. I've counted seven acroporas and and two encrusting corals so far. Not real sure what they are yet. Time will tell....

discus513 · « **Reply #48 on:** April 02, 2013, 22:19:51 »

It makes me sad to see your beautiful tank sit there with No rock in it. I seen this tank when it was flurishing and it was soooooo Nice! Make sure to post up some pics when you get your new scape up. Also just out of curiousity why did you decide to do away with the dry rock? which Dry rock did you go with?

chromiumlux · « **Reply #49 on:** April 02, 2013, 22:49:16 »

Quote from: discus513 on April 02, 2013, 22:19:51

It makes me sad to see your beautiful tank sit there with No rock in it. I seen this tank when it was flurishing and it was soooooo Nice! Make sure to post up some pics when you get your new scape up. Also just out of curiousity why did you decide to do away with the dry rock? which Dry rock did you go with?

After several attempts trying to culture dry rock, I have not had any luck with it. Seemed like it always acted like a sponge for nutrients. The last batch I went with was worse than the first. Did some extensive research on the mined rock from the ancient reefs and it seems that this type of rock has the likelihood of absorbing or accumulating heavy metals from being in the ground. Perhaps others have had better luck with it. I never have. So, going back to what worked for my tank in the past is good old live rock fresh from the reef. Buy dry rock and save a reef they say.....phooey on that! Wish Tonga would lift the ban on the kaelini rock. Was the best I ever put in my tank. This Fiji I scored looks great so far. Lots of corals and life on it.

lazylivin · « **Reply #50 on:** April 03, 2013, 00:24:44 »

Rock looks nice an clean. I am sure you will have a great reef again in time

chromiumlux · « **Reply #51 on:** April 15, 2013, 14:47:40 »

Update on the tank.

The scape is in and looks good so far. Lots of caves this time for the fish. Lot of open area underneath for water flow as well. Lost a lot of the life on this rock while curing it but I am happy with the results. May get a couple of acros and a couple LPS out of it if they bounce back. Here are a few pics. The frags and corals are in temp spots for now.

itsalifestyle · « **Reply #52 on:** April 15, 2013, 22:54:11 »

Looks good

yinyang · « **Reply #53 on:** April 15, 2013, 23:31:11 »

sweet those rocks look very nice!

lazylivin · « **Reply #54 on:** April 16, 2013, 10:41:02 »

I got to see the new rock work yesterday. It looked great!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #55 on:** May 14, 2013, 22:32:32 »

A little update on the tank.
Tank has cycled well. All corals and fish are doing extremely well. Added fresh sand this week to help support my clean up crew. Having a small issue with some cyano and switched from GFO and carbon to Chemi-pure elite and poly filters in the reactors. Dosing KZ coral snow on a daily basis to deal with cyano. Have been watching the cyano fall off everything. Here are a few photos.

bbtm64 · « **Reply #56 on:** May 15, 2013, 07:58:56 »

Very nice.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #57 on:** August 02, 2013, 01:16:47 »

OK! Here we go! Tank has come a long way over the past few months. Got all the corals mounted tonight and took a few pics.

Steve · « **Reply #58 on:** August 02, 2013, 01:59:58 »

Looks Great Andy, I think I see a few spots for some frags though,LOL.

bbtm64 · « **Reply #59 on:** August 02, 2013, 02:24:09 »

Looking great!!

discus513 · « **Reply #60 on:** August 02, 2013, 06:17:05 »

yeah I seen Andy's tank again last weekend and let me tell you guys it is coming along nicely. He has such a nice setup but has had some tough luck over the last couple years, I wish you nothing but the best from here on out Andy, and I cant wait until you get those couple acros I talked to you about grown out so I can get some frags.

lazylivin · « **Reply #61 on:** August 02, 2013, 07:27:51 »

Nice comeback Andy. It looks great!

chromiumlux · « **Reply #62 on:** August 02, 2013, 10:53:53 »

Quote from: Steve on August 02, 2013, 01:59:58

Looks Great Andy, I think I see a few spots for some frags though,LOL.

Yeah, I still have a lot of room...lol

chromiumlux · « **Reply #63 on:** August 02, 2013, 10:57:18 »

Quote from: discus513 on August 02, 2013, 06:17:05

yeah I seen Andy's tank again last weekend and let me tell you guys it is coming along nicely. He has such a nice setup but has had some tough luck over the last couple years, I wish you nothing but the best from here on out Andy, and I cant wait until you get those couple acros I talked to you about grown out so I can get some frags.

Thanks for the kind words Ricky. It has been a struggle but like I said before, I had to retrace my steps and look at what worked for my 30g Finnex when I had that tank.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #64 on:** November 07, 2013, 19:58:06 »

A few pic updates on the 150. Coming down from a hair algae outbreak. Rock is starting to mature and corals have exploded with growth.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #65 on:** November 07, 2013, 20:55:17 »

5th pick down. Can you find the chiton?

discus513 · « **Reply #66 on:** November 07, 2013, 20:59:50 »

Looking good sir! I see it, that is pretty cool above your males dorsal fin

chromiumlux · « **Reply #67 on:** November 07, 2013, 21:07:12 »

Quote from: discus513 on November 07, 2013, 20:59:50

Looking good sir! I see it, that is pretty cool above your males dorsal fin

Thanks Ricky. Yeah, this chiton, if you noticed the rock it's on, keeps the rock super clean. It is growing fast. My hope is it will migrate to the other rocks and clean them up too.

itsalifestyle · « **Reply #68 on:** November 07, 2013, 21:42:42 »

Looks great

Twizted1 · « **Reply #69 on:** November 07, 2013, 21:50:23 »

Wow your tank looks great. So much growth since the last time I seen it.

lazylivin · « **Reply #70 on:** November 08, 2013, 08:12:00 »

WOW it made a dramatic comeback! Nice job Andy.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #71 on:** November 08, 2013, 17:44:20 »

Thanks for the kind words fellas! I think I am ready to add a few new corals to the back pillar. Decisions....Decisions......lol

chromiumlux · « **Reply #72 on:** November 08, 2013, 17:47:54 »

Stopped over to visit Gary (Viggen) today after work to pick up some much appreciated cheato. He was kind enough to invite me in to see his 475. Wow! It's really all I could say. The Queen angel is on of the most beautiful fish I have ever seen in person.

Steve · « **Reply #73 on:** November 08, 2013, 18:13:35 »

Hey Andy, your tank looks great. What is the blue tipped acro in the back next to the pink birdsnest?

chromiumlux · « **Reply #74 on:** November 08, 2013, 18:26:05 »

Quote from: Steve on November 08, 2013, 18:13:35

Hey Andy, your tank looks great. What is the blue tipped acro in the back next to the pink birdsnest?

You should know that acro Steve. I got it from you.

Steve · « **Reply #75 on:** November 08, 2013, 18:36:48 »

If that is the fisheads stag from CORA 2 years ago, when you frag I would love a piece. Had a couple issues with mine and ended up losing it.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #76 on:** November 08, 2013, 18:46:50 »

Quote from: Steve on November 08, 2013, 18:36:48

If that is the fisheads stag from CORA 2 years ago, when you frag I would love a piece. Had a couple issues with mine and ended up losing it.

Yeah, It didnt really take off for a long time. It has the white skin with blue coralites and polyps. I have an oops! frag of it that I put on a disc a few nights ago. This coral is gorgeous and has a light blue cast under 420-460nm.

chromiumlux · « **Reply #77 on:** November 08, 2013, 18:49:49 »

Steve, it is the sixth pic down. far right.

Delerium · « **Reply #78 on:** July 29, 2014, 22:38:29 »

Super excited to see your tank!

2024 Ohio Reef Frag Swap

Author Topic: Chromiumlux's 150 Deep Dimension Post Bryopsis Wars (Read 12320 times)