Waterbox 80.4 frag build thread

[Prince Shah]

yes what he said, don't rush. I've done it myself, I'll do it again, but every time I do I regret it.

5 weeks of vacation though? Yikes. All I can say is don't get too attached to your tank, that is a LONG time to be away from it and not expect some problem unless you have someone who can look after it (and they know what they're doing)

Hahah too late I am already in love with my tank. But my heart is broken many time so I am willing to take a stab at it again. Yes I am going to India after a long time.

 

[rygh]

Oh thats a nice thought. I could had some CUC once I have algae bloom. Alage will act as a food source and in turn I will some ammonia.

I was planning to go barebottom this time. So instead I have 1 gallon Bio Spira balls for bacteria to flourish. I like the idea of getting coraline alage. I might pick snails which have them and they can seed .

I have read that in order for coraline to grow they need calcium and Dkh. I am not planning to dose anything for now. I use Instant Ocean Reef Crystal. (I know I will switch it soon to better brand). I wanted to use that as I had it handy.

Do NOT use plastic bio-balls. You will end up with a Nitrate problem.
You only get Aerobic bacteria with those.

Snails will clean some algae, but if you have high Nitrates, hair algae will win.
Generally you need a Tang or something also.

Time for some test kits. Cheap API are fine for now. Never guess at Alk or CA.
But you probably do not need to dose anything for a while.

Nothing wrong with IO. It is WIDELY used.
There are better salts. There are more expensive salts. Not necessarily the same thing.
I use standard IO, not reef crystals, although I do add Mg.

 

[Prince Shah]

Do NOT use plastic bio-balls. You will end up with a Nitrate problem.
You only get Aerobic bacteria with those.

Snails will clean some algae, but if you have high Nitrates, hair algae will win.
Generally you need a Tang or something also.

Time for some test kits. Cheap API are fine for now. Never guess at Alk or CA.
But you probably do not need to dose anything for a while.

Nothing wrong with IO. It is WIDELY used.
There are better salts. There are more expensive salts. Not necessarily the same thing.
I use standard IO, not reef crystals, although I do add Mg.

I meant I have CerMedia MarinePure 1.5-Inch Sphere Bio-Filter. Are this bad? Yes I was planning to order Red Sea Test kit (please suggest others; Hanna are bit expensive unless you think its worth it).

I want to add Yello Eye Kole tang but she will go last as it is a Tang and she can dominate.

 

[sfsuphysics]

Bristletoothed tangs are usually not very aggressive in tanks except maybe to other tangs (if they're bigger). Way way way back when I had a Kole that tried to bully a newly introduced Naso tang, it was funny too because the Naso easily had 3 inches in her.

 

[Prince Shah]

Haha I love tangs but I don’t have 6 feet tank May be on my mid life crisis I will get 160/210 gallon tank lol.

BTW do u know where to get the substrate that Neptune aquatics has on all of their tanks? Are they better than Fiji sand ? I m so on the fence of bare bottom


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[sfsuphysics]

I think they used calcium reactor media in their tanks, I want to say i looks like Two Little Fishies brand but it could be anything I guess. That said I wouldn't try to emulate what LFS do in their tanks as they, like in the case of Neptune, have a figurative army of people who constantly keep up on maintaining and cleaning the tanks.

I would think the media they use would be like using gravel, just and might collect detritus (poop) like crazy, but again... said army, with siphon hoses, this doesn't become a problem.

 

[Prince Shah]

Ahh make sense. I did ask them once why they use this over sand and owner said ease of maintenance. Now I get it .

So I will stick with barebottom for now. Will add a bowl or basket of sand for wrasses when the time is right.


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[rygh]

I meant I have CerMedia MarinePure 1.5-Inch Sphere Bio-Filter. Are this bad? Yes I was planning to order Red Sea Test kit (please suggest others; Hanna are bit expensive unless you think its worth it).

I want to add Yello Eye Kole tang but she will go last as it is a Tang and she can dominate.

Marine Pure is good. I use a big block.
Tends to disintigrate into sand a bit, but no big deal.

Kole are pretty mellow unless you add another similar looking tang.
So not sure order matters.
I don't really think there is any such thing as a "last" fish anyway.

 

[Prince Shah]

So true "last" on the must have list hahaha there is also a dream list .

So far I have following in my mind :

one spot fox face Rabbit fish
copper band butterfly fish
Yellow eye kole tang
pair of clown fish
Bengii cardinal fish
wrasses (may be)

 

[Prince Shah]

Any suggestion on running Nero 5 pumps on battery. Trying to prepare for power cut.

 

[bluprntguy]

Any suggestion on running Nero 5 pumps on battery. Trying to prepare for power cut.

A battery operated air pump may be a better bet. You don't have anything alive in your tank right now though? Is this just for future?

 

[Prince Shah]

I just got over with my cycling phase so wanted to be prepared.


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[Prince Shah]

I found a better solution usb powered Nano air pump. You can connect this to usb power bank in cases of emergencies

USB Nano Air Pump | Quietest Aquarium Air Pump for Fish Tanks

This small, almost silent pump works with sponge filters, air stones, & bubblers. Use with a USB battery pack to make it a portable, emergency air source.

www.aquariumcoop.com

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[Prince Shah]

Is it a good idea to put frag tank at the bottom of the main tank?

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[RandyC]

Is it a good idea to put frag tank at the bottom of the main tank?

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In that particular location without relocating your outlets, it's a bad idea. Salt spray will very likely corrode your outlets. And most importantly, it's a safety issue.

 

[Flagg37]

It’s not always possible but any time you can, it’s good to have a dry side and a wet side to your cabinet with a divider separating the two.

 

[Prince Shah]

I was looking at different website and images to figure out how they have their wires managed. I got distracted on Neptune Apex controller. Is it need now that each item can directly talk to you ? I am not able to justify ApexEL purchase can some one plz tell me if its worth it?

 

[rygh]

The wet/dry partition can be as simple as a sheet of plastic from a drop cloth.

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An aquarium controller is not a must-have at all, but it is really nice.
It makes life easier in some ways, but they come with their own set of problems.
They also make some other components cheaper, since the controller does the smarts.
So there is a +/- on cost as well.

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Really consider buying good quality used equipment instead of the cheapest new thing you can find.

 

[Prince Shah]

Finally, I have added the following livestock and corals to the tank :
- Baby hippo tang
- Baby Purple tang
- Baby spot face
- Pair of designer (black ice) clownfish
- Torch
- Duncan
- Toadstool leather (green)
- Neon Green Carpet (I guess its not going to survive)

Now I am thinking about the dosing pump to keep up with my calcium and Alk. I was debating between k1 kamore ($60) vs versa ($150). I was thinking of doing 2 part dosing from BRS and following KISS. Please suggest which dosing pump would be best. I already have vectra and planning to upgrade to Ecotech XR a year from now.

 

[Prince Shah]

Quick update on my reef tank