High Tide Aquatics

IM EXT 50 Tank

jstiltne

jstiltne

Supporting Member
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Hey everyone, my name is James and I am a high school teacher in the area, jumping back into the hobby after a 5 year hiatus, so excited to do it with a little more disposable income on hand (teacher salary lol). This tank was set up in late November 2021, so a ways to go obviously but trying to dial in my parameters for optimal growth. The goal is eventually sps dominant, but for now just rocking softies. I just chucked my API phosphate kit in the trash where it belongs and the hanna checker is in the mail, so hopefully I can get parameters solid before my next post.
The base rock is the BRS shapes dry rock kit, which I liked if I had to start off with dry rock. Honestly I don't trust the live rock at the lfs around here, so not starting with any bad guys in the tank. sand is Carib-Sea Special Grade. Currently only dosing Reef Energy AB+, feeding mysis shrimp every other day just enough for the fish to grab.

Equipment:
25 gallon cube with funky stand, 12.5 actual volume sump
reefbreeders photon 16 v2 pro
reefbreeders EXO ato
Icecap k1-50 skimmer
Icecap gyre 2k powerhead

Fish and inverts:
2 clowns, 2 clown gobies, friendly buddies but not necessarily my interest.
2 turbo snails (regret) and 1 conch (wish I had more)

Corals:
white zombies, scrambled eggs, mystics, rastas, pink zippers, and two other unidentified zoas
(quick shoutout to @dochou for the zippers, mystics, and scrambled eggs, he had an amazing tank and was a great DBTC participant!)
1 yuma
1 favia, 1 favites
1 monti

The tank looks really bare for now as I don't want to commit to any placements yet and have yet to get good movement corals - looking forward to that! I will make sure to check in within a few months with a progress update, really enjoying the process of being patient and seeing results. Cheers everyone!
 

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Hi did you brought that from Craigslist? I was eyeing that for a while haha and I really like the unique design of the stand. Looking good!
 
PeetaJai said:
Hi did you brought that from Craigslist? I was eyeing that for a while haha and I really like the unique design of the stand. Looking good!
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I did! I thought it was a funky layout with some character and for really cheap it was a good starter system. I'll probably graduate to a waterbox in 2023, but for now just enjoying this guy :)
 
Update on testing for the noobies out there - if you are interested in keeping phosphates down to control algae, I have learned two valuable lessons in the last week, that I am sure are broadcast everywhere on this forum, but from noobie to noobie:
1) throw the flake in the trash, feed rinsed frozen food. Considering my goofy clowns are all I have, feeding mysis does the trick. I placed a cube in a plastic screwcap tube from my classroom, rinsed/drained thoroughly with DI, then only feed about 1/4 of the tube for my 4 fish, and into the freezer with the rest. I realized that my nutrient import was outta whack vs export, and I have much more control over the nutrients going in now.
2) keeping with the theme, throw any phosphate API test kit in the trash. I was sitting here testing 2.0 PPM (yikes) for weeks thinking what could be going wrong, until I tested my freshly mixed water also at 2.0 PPM. At that moment, the two API bottles went STRAIGHT into the trash, went over to my computer and bought the Hanna checker - now testing at 0.3PPM consistently. Save money by spending money on a better phosphate checker as it is one of the trickiest parts of dialing in a reef system early on. As a disclaimer I actually still trust API well enough on the alk and calcium tests, as they are titration based and the chemistry behind making those kits has less that could go wrong in my opinion, also easier to objectively determine results.
One quick shoutout to @H2OPlayar for the awesome visit and loads of coral I picked up from him! Once everything gets happy in the tank I'll have some update photos.
 
grizfyrfyter said:
I only trust API for ammonia and nitrite while cycling and calcium.
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My grand plan is to go for the Neptune Apex/Trident within the next few months, especially considering the 2 week vacation coming up in July so really I am just trying to make it until I buld up the courage to say goodbye to API altogether
 
I still say you can do everything you want with the open loop dosing pumps (red sea, xyomer, bubble magus, one without auto feedback etc). But if the trident helps you sleep at night, and it is in budget for you, then go for it. I do run one myself now. Also, the amount of po4 coming from your rinsed food is likely negligible, and the majority is coming from dead stuff trapped in the rock. I battled high po4 for 9-12 months before everything settled out. There is a good hour long video from brs that goes deep into po4 that I watched a while ago and they test all the supposed places that po4 comes from (carbon, different foods, etc) and the rock was the biggest one early on, then food. Some phosphate is needed for coral health and growth, so my bet is the "bad" po4 comes from the rock organics decaying, then the good comes from food, and can be overloaded (like my tank), then export is needed.
 
H2OPlayar said:
I still say you can do everything you want with the open loop dosing pumps (red sea, xyomer, bubble magus, one without auto feedback etc). But if the trident helps you sleep at night, and it is in budget for you, then go for it. I do run one myself now. Also, the amount of po4 coming from your rinsed food is likely negligible, and the majority is coming from dead stuff trapped in the rock. I battled high po4 for 9-12 months before everything settled out. There is a good hour long video from brs that goes deep into po4 that I watched a while ago and they test all the supposed places that po4 comes from (carbon, different foods, etc) and the rock was the biggest one early on, then food. Some phosphate is needed for coral health and growth, so my bet is the "bad" po4 comes from the rock organics decaying, then the good comes from food, and can be overloaded (like my tank), then export is needed.
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Ah well the good/bad news is that I started off with new dry rock and added in bacteria, and got one of those bio bricks for bacterial surface area in my sump, so I shouldn't have any really big phosphate issues coming from the rocks. Just tested phosphate on 0.01 on the Hanna. Everything you gave me is doing great with the exception of the chalice, it lost some tissue within the first 24 hours, my guess is perhaps a lower alk than in your tank. Overall, everything else doing well! Thanks again!
 
jstiltne said:
Hey everyone, my name is James and I am a high school teacher in the area, jumping back into the hobby after a 5 year hiatus, so excited to do it with a little more disposable income on hand (teacher salary lol). This tank was set up in late November 2021, so a ways to go obviously but trying to dial in my parameters for optimal growth. The goal is eventually sps dominant, but for now just rocking softies. I just chucked my API phosphate kit in the trash where it belongs and the hanna checker is in the mail, so hopefully I can get parameters solid before my next post.
The base rock is the BRS shapes dry rock kit, which I liked if I had to start off with dry rock. Honestly I don't trust the live rock at the lfs around here, so not starting with any bad guys in the tank. sand is Carib-Sea Special Grade. Currently only dosing Reef Energy AB+, feeding mysis shrimp every other day just enough for the fish to grab.

Equipment:
25 gallon cube with funky stand, 12.5 actual volume sump
reefbreeders photon 16 v2 pro
reefbreeders EXO ato
Icecap k1-50 skimmer
Icecap gyre 2k powerhead

Fish and inverts:
2 clowns, 2 clown gobies, friendly buddies but not necessarily my interest.
2 turbo snails (regret) and 1 conch (wish I had more)

Corals:
white zombies, scrambled eggs, mystics, rastas, pink zippers, and two other unidentified zoas
(quick shoutout to @dochou for the zippers, mystics, and scrambled eggs, he had an amazing tank and was a great DBTC participant!)
1 yuma
1 favia, 1 favites
1 monti

The tank looks really bare for now as I don't want to commit to any placements yet and have yet to get good movement corals - looking forward to that! I will make sure to check in within a few months with a progress update, really enjoying the process of being patient and seeing results. Cheers everyone!
Click to expand...
In the pic with the zoanthids,
What do you call the ones front center green pink goldish
Clean frag plug?
 
Kensington Reefer said:
In the pic with the zoanthids,
What do you call the ones front center green pink goldish
Clean frag plug?
Click to expand...
I wish I knew! I picked them out on a deal at the last coral farmers market in January but didn’t get a name. Need to find someone with a good eye to ID! I’ll perhaps post a better pic tomorrow of those
 
Well, things have changed quite a bit since my first post in Feb. Spring break came, which as a teacher I used to stay indoors the entire time, order a brand new tank and neptune suite of goodies, plumb, transfer, troubleshoot, and overall drive my wife crazy with the hours and hours of garage time getting the tank up to snuff. I also recieved some great high-end corals from an online vendor, which are all doing great thanks to the neptune apex, trident, and DOS combo. A must have, I have been in love with the entire system. The larger water volume than my former tank allows for more stable parameters, and the corals have really responded well. Alk and Ca consumption has greatly increased, and my high end acros as well as all my corals are growing, encrusted, extended, etc life is good. See pics below for progress.
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jstiltne said:
Well, things have changed quite a bit since my first post in Feb. Spring break came, which as a teacher I used to stay indoors the entire time, order a brand new tank and neptune suite of goodies, plumb, transfer, troubleshoot, and overall drive my wife crazy with the hours and hours of garage time getting the tank up to snuff. I also recieved some great high-end corals from an online vendor, which are all doing great thanks to the neptune apex, trident, and DOS combo. A must have, I have been in love with the entire system. The larger water volume than my former tank allows for more stable parameters, and the corals have really responded well. Alk and Ca consumption has greatly increased, and my high end acros as well as all my corals are growing, encrusted, extended, etc life is good. See pics below for progress.
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Nice setup looks nice and clean! I have the 50 lagoon as well but the AIO and wish I had the EXT so my filtration can be better, but I make do. But can’t wait to see the grow out in your tank in the next few months.

PS: try buying from some of the guys in the group for Sps, everyone has great collections and everyone’s nice enough to give you better pricing I’m sure.
 
Rcruz392 said:
Nice setup looks nice and clean! I have the 50 lagoon as well but the AIO and wish I had the EXT so my filtration can be better, but I make do. But can’t wait to see the grow out in your tank in the next few months.

PS: try buying from some of the guys in the group for Sps, everyone has great collections and everyone’s nice enough to give you better pricing I’m sure.
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Funny thing is it was one of those reef2reef live sales, and you can get some screamin deals on there. I am taking a break from stocking corals at this point anyways just to let life settle in more in the tank, but ill definitely keep that in mind!
 
jstiltne said:
Funny thing is it was one of those reef2reef live sales, and you can get some screamin deals on there. I am taking a break from stocking corals at this point anyways just to let life settle in more in the tank, but ill definitely keep that in mind!
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Nice I’ll keep a look out on there once I’m ready to upgrade.
 
Very proud of my tank, and especially my chiller, through this crazy heat wave we are having. My tank is in the garage, and temperatures in there reached 100 degrees both of these last two days. I have also been very lucky to avoid the power outages so far, knock on wood! In my tank parameters below, you can see how many times the chiller has had to knock down the temperature over the last 24 hours, crazy this heat!
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