50 Gallon Uniquarium - Hit the ground running

[SanDiegoIllini]

Background
I am finally plunging into the world of reefkeeping. I've been reading, thinking, posting questions, talking to Ron at OG, etc. for about a month. I have had half a dozen freshwater tanks over the years, done everything from breeding livebearers to raising a school of baby piranhas to nasty adults. However, I haven't had any tanks the past few years, and have never had a saltwater tank. However, I would really like to give it a try, starting with some of the softer/lower light corals and then working my way up (in difficulty as well as expense ;) ) from there if I enjoy it.

First, I had to decide what size. I decided my desk was not sturdy enough to even support a Uni-Aqua-Nano-Cube type setup (and not sure about the extra challenges/health factors of such a small setup) I looked to get a 20 or 29 gallon that would fit the 26" of wall space I had if I removed a chair and a lamp. But I found no cost savings between that kind of a setup and a slightly larger one, so I decided to get a larger setup. I rearranged and disassembled furniture to get 40" of wall space. I can't fit anything larger, no matter how good of a deal I saw I just couldn't get a 48" tank. I'm not willing to plunk down the money required for a brand new setup yet, this is going to be my 'learning' tank in the office, where I will make my mistakes (not too many, hopefully) and work things out, and when I am ready, select a very nice tank for display in the living room.

Purchase
So, I got a pretty good deal from someone moving, who needed to sell. I got:
-50 gallon acrylic 'Uniquarium' w/ skimmer, bio-balls, and Rio 1700 as main return, tank was immaculate no scratches.
-Black wooden stand, black acrylic canopy (vents installed but no fans)
-2x96w PC lighting (1 actinic), external ballast mounted in stand
-Enough live sand
-~25lbs live rock (looks like mostly Fiji to me)
-Misc cleaning supplies, additives, empty water containers, fans to install, etc.
-Some bleached/white coral skeletons, which I will shortly be selling.

Setup
It turns out the tank was still up and running. I would have preferred to start from scratch, so that I could go at my own pace, but the deal was too good. So I also ended up with a pair of Gold-Banded Maroon Clowns and a Royal Gramma. Friday night, I brought some aquatainers and buckets of my own, and siphoned all of the water, since I figured I wouldn't have to cycle if I just took it. I can't belive I fit everything into the wife's Altima. Even though I measured first, it would have been easier if I knew someone with a truck. It all just barely fit.

It took a few hours to set everything back up. The water was very cloudy. The fish were obviously very stressed, and I thought the gramma was lost, but all three made it OK. On saturday, I found a little hermit crab who must have been hiding in the rocks. There were no extra shells for him.

I got a GFCI unit from home depot. Much cheaper than LFS.

Rockwork
Sunday I went out and picked up another 20 lbs of rock that I feel pretty closely matches what I already had. The rock had already been cycled, so I shouldn't have any problems although I'll be watching parameters closely. Sunday night, I pulled out all of the rock and installed some egg crate under the sand. It took about two hours to move the rock & sand, if only I would have throught of it first, while the tank was empty! In any case, the bottom layer of rocks are now stable, part buried in a thick layer of sand. I made sure that the rest of the rocks do not wobble at all, I do not want anything scratching or cracking the acrylic. However, I may glue or fasten them once I get an arrangement I like. One thing I need to check on is whether there are any semi-permanent binding methods to hold rock together. Like some kind of putty, enough to stabilize the formation but not permanent so that if I need to remove a rock for some reason I'd actually be able to get it out through the top of the tank without having to break it.

Chemistry/Filtration
In any case, I think things are going well. Params look OK, all things considered. I set it up as he had, surface skimmer into chamber with sponge and heater. 2nd chamber has the protien skimmer, so far it's pretty watery, I'm learning how to adjust it. Plus, I think it may have to 'break in' again? I've never used a skimmer before. 3rd chamber had just a small sock that he said contained 'phosphorous'. There is no more of whatever he has in there, so I need to buy some stuff. After I stirred everything up I put some extra filter floss type stuff in there just to help remove all of the crap. I've already removed that, so it shouldn't rot & pollute the water too much. Then, it trickles through a drip tray over bio-balls, where it is returned by the Rio 1700. I'm using all-in-one test strips that came with, until I can purchase better stuff. So, pH ~8.0 (hard to read), kH 180, NO2 Zero, NO3 80. So, it's probably time for a water change. Didn't think about it until I saw the test results, but who knows when the last time was that he did one. Maybe this also means I should replace the bio-balls in the back with crushed liverock?

When I bought the rock I also picked up three more hermits, a bunch of empty shells of various sizes, and three nass. snails. Upon observation, I've seen at least 5 snails at the same time, I think I got three more from the rocks somewhere. I think all 3 new ones are nass. also; once I get more familar I'll be able to ID them.

Questions/Comments
I realize the uniquarium limits my options somewhat, but I really, really like not seeing eqiumpent odds and ends when I look into the display. In any case, that's water under the bridge, as I now have what I have. I'll weigh the pros & cons as I go, so that I'll know what I want for next time.

So if anyone has any thoughts or flames, be sure to post them here, I'll be sure to consider anything. Currently, I know I need to figure out:

-What chemical/carbon should I run? From my notes, I have Seachem Seagel as something I should probably get. http://www.marinedepot.com/md_viewItem.asp?idproduct=SC3115
This is in terms of both cost/brand reputation as well as what needs it will meet. Sound good? Or should I get carbon separate, and use 2 different bags?

-If I should replace bio-balls with crushed/liverock. I'm thinking I'll try a water change, and see how nitrates look.

-Water change. When I do a water change, should I 'vaccuum' the sand? Or will that just be removing beneficial organisms?

-Heat issues. I think the heater is broken. The LED indicator never turns on, even when i crank the dial up to 88-90. I think it was a via aqua, it has an external dial and a separate lead with a probe presumably for temperature. When I got home yesterday the tank was at 86 despite the dial being set for 79. But it was a warm day, and the lights were on (timer 8 hrs/day). I opened the canopy and ran a fan, within a couple hours I was down to 84. The fish showed no signs of stress, fortunately. This morning, temp was still 81.5. I unplugged the heater, we'll see what happens when I get home today. Maybe it was stuck on 'on'. Maybe the Rio is making too much heat? I have read that maxi-jets run cooler (they have smaller wattage per size) however I don't think I see a maxi-jet that has the flow that I think I would need.

-Rockwork. How stable does it need to be to avoid tumbling and scratching/cracking of tank or crushing of life? I've tried to wobble pretty firmly with my hand, and it won't budge. I'm sure if I dinked it with a net it would be OK. If I plowed into it while vigorously wiping the tank down, I'm sure it would not be. I have left 1-2" on all sides, so I should be able to access any part of the glass and most parts of the tank. No caves are really closed ended, so I think I am getting pretty good flow.

-Water. I have the water that I have for now, previous owner used mix. I have a few gallons of RO/DI for topoffs and I'm going to use the sea salt mix that came with for this first water change. Need to decide if the scripps is worth it.

-What haven't I thought of?

Thanks!

[SanDiegoIllini]

First post was too long. So here's pictures as of this morning:

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/9745/img53299ba.th.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53299ba.jpg)
Two full tank shots, one with the room lights on to show the nice shiny acrylic canopy and black wooden stand.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/8246/img53301eu.th.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53301eu.jpg)

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/7151/img53312xc.th.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53312xc.jpg)
A picture of the left-hand side of the tank, and the rockwork, and the Royal Gramma that came with the setup. I can also see the reflection of a hermit in the corner.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/3850/img53329vi.th.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53329vi.jpg)
The right-hand side of the tank/rockwork. It's hard to see from this angle, but most of the rocks are sloped front to back and left to right, to provide better surface area for growing corals, without resorting to flat shelves.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/7544/img53333jz.th.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53333jz.jpg)
Through the left end. I was founnd a thick, 'L' shaped piece of rock. It sticks out about 4 inches, making a nice perch for some future corals while keeping some sandbed free for future inhabitants requiring that area.

http://img253.imageshack.us/img253/1092/img53347lm.th.jpg (http://img253.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53347lm.jpg)
Through the right end. Shows the 1-2 inch gap between rockwork and the back, so that the flow will hopefully keep it sanitary back there.

http://img261.imageshack.us/img261/1605/img53088tf.th.jpg (http://img261.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53088tf.jpg)
A (not very good) picture of the pair of the Gold-banded Maroon Clowns. The larger one is a vibrant, solid maroon. The white stripes have just a glossy hint of yellow. The smaller (male?) is much darker, a deep brown or blackish. The previous owner never got them to breed I'm sure, but they at least leave each other alone, and seem to hang out together, so I'm hoping they are a pair.

[aqua addict]

NICE! For the maroons, see if the male(smaller one) approaches the female(larger one) and "shakes" or "dances" next to her. that means they are a pair and might breeed eventually. if you see this behavior and want them to breed, just add an anemone to the tank, and it will most likely happen! Best of luck on your first tank!

[ccnada]

Welcome to reefkeeping! You have a very clean setup. Here is what I would do.

-remove the bioballs. Even crushed live rock may be too much biological which means nitrate. Stick with live rock to maintain your biological. Make it a refugium if you have the room.
-only run carbon to get the yellow out of the water. No yellow, no carbon.
-find a way to keep the temp between 78-80. 86 = stress = death.
-nitrates are pretty high. Definitly fix that with water changes. I have used scripps water with no ill effects. 0-20 is ideal. Don't forget additives if you use scripps.
-I would also invest in a phosban reactor. Unless you were going to do water changes consistently. I've always had an issue with a red coating algae/bacteria that gets all over because of phosphates.
-watch the ph. I would shoot for 8.2.
-salinity 1.024
-the less fish the better.

Good luck and remember this is just my 2 cents. Be a sponge when given advice and understand everything you are doing with your tank.

C

[SanDiegoIllini]

Temp issues: Heat has been 81-82 when I get home, despite room temp of 79. So I think that is pretty good, the heater must be malfunctioning. Pulling it out and seeing if it can heat room water is an idea, should have thought of it first. Basically, set two jugs side by side (in room temp situation) put heater in one, see if it heats, see if it stops at setting. I do not know if I am ready to invest in a chiller. Are they noisy? Do they work if the room temp is also 83-84? We do not have A/C. I never realized the room was this warm.

This morning, stupid hydrometer gave one reading of 1.016 and 3 readings closer to 1.030. I haven't been checking it daily, just the first day it gave a reading 1.025. All the fish looked happy though, so not sure what to believe. Did a water change this morning, 5 gallons worth. Used slightly less than recommended amount of salt, now get a consistant reading of 1.028 I think. Tests show exactly same as yesterday, with 80 nitrates being the most troubling. Will have to see about getting some crushed LR. In the meantime, should I keep running with bio-balls (presumably to keep nitrate, etc at zero) or should I just filter empty? I am also going to do another water change tonight or tomorrow morning. I have looked for dead hermit crabs, but can't find any more (other than one a couple days ago, basically DOA). A couple of rocks have some loose, brownish stuff that comes loose into a powder when I scrub. The others, including the older ones, do not. I assume this is not beneficial live rock growth but rather harmful dieoff, so during the water change I will scrub off these two rocks and see if they are contributing to bad nitrate situation.

Otherwise, fish seem happy, alert, normal colored, active, not gasping, etc. The snails & crabs that I can find are moving about

[ccnada]

I don't think you need to worry about the heater at this point with room temps at 83. I would highly recomend investing in a chiller. Crushed LR, to my understanding will not reduce nitrate. Starting a Refugium will. The more biological filtration you have the more nitrates will be produced. Toss the bioballs, they will keep producing nitrates. I don't think 5 gallon water changes will do much... If you do a 50% change your nitrates should be around 40 ppm. If your goal is 0 nitrates, it will take some time.

C

[swissfish]

The more LR or LR rubble you got the better your nitrogen cycle will work. ( I read about it and the forgot about it, but it really helps when setting up a tank).
Basically: Fish pooh-Ammonia-Nitrite-Nitrate-(don't remember)
Biobals are not recommended for a reef since you need a oxygen poor environment to convert the nitrate into nitrogen (maybe??) and biobals don't have that and the cycle stops at that point.

The brown stuff is normal for a new aquarium. Read about cycling a reef tank.

Looking good so far keep it up

[SanDiegoIllini]

Some pictures I forgot to post earlier:

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4268/img53378pj.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53378pj.jpg)
My royal gramma thinks he is a goby. He frequently perches on and in rock, is that normal for this species?
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5710/img53383hq.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53383hq.jpg)

Before I quite realized the extent of my water issues, I had picked up some beginner corals from Dhuynh. Thanks Danny! Here are some pictures immediately after putting them in the tank:

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/5458/img53407id.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53407id.jpg)
Green Star Polyps

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/520/img53411lb.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53411lb.jpg)
Kenya Tree

http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/9793/img53421va.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53421va.jpg)
Red Mushroom

After a little while, both the GSP and the Kenya tree perked up. Here's the GSP looking better:
http://img178.imageshack.us/img178/4104/img53550ph.th.jpg (http://img178.imageshack.us/my.php?image=img53550ph.jpg)

However, the mushroom got pissed, jumped off the rock overnight the first night, and started releasing strings of mucus. Not sure if it's just the water or maybe the new light/flow situation. This morning, it was looking more shriveled, but not spewing. I'll leave it be until it looks a little better.

[SanDiegoIllini]

NICE! For the maroons, see if the male(smaller one) approaches the female(larger one) and "shakes" or "dances" next to her. that means they are a pair and might breeed eventually. if you see this behavior and want them to breed, just add an anemone to the tank, and it will most likely happen! Best of luck on your first tank!
Thanks! I had been too lazy to actually look this up, given all the rest of the more pressing issues I had dealt with. I had not seen this behavior yet. Then last night, I did see it. The male basically crossed in front of the female, and then vibrated rapidly for a little while. I definitely hadn't seen anything wierd like this before. I'm wondering if my water change (where I gently reduced my salinity a couple notches) sparked some kind of behavior. I remember back in my freshwater days simulating rain, etc, would encourage spawning. Decreased salinity would be like rain, no? A quick google couldn't find anything about this. I wonder if any marine breeders had thought to try this?


I don't think you need to worry about the heater at this point with room temps at 83. I would highly recomend investing in a chiller. Crushed LR, to my understanding will not reduce nitrate. Starting a Refugium will. The more biological filtration you have the more nitrates will be produced. Toss the bioballs, they will keep producing nitrates. I don't think 5 gallon water changes will do much... If you do a 50% change your nitrates should be around 40 ppm. If your goal is 0 nitrates, it will take some time.
That is a good point about the heat. My question about the chillers though were are they noisy, and do they rely on lower ambient room temperature to work? If they're just conducting heat out to the room (like a CPU heat sink) then will it do any good? And as for the bioballs producing nitrates, yes, I know they do, but my understanding is they produce nitrates because they are converting ammonia and nitrites into nitrates, both of which are more directly harmful than nitrates, so it is the lesser of two evils. And I currently have zero nitrites, so that is why I'm hesitant to just rush into removing them.

As for the water changes, 5 gallons won't do much, but I don't want to stress the current system any more than I already have. So I will do another 5 today, 5 more the weekend, etc. I need to gradually get the salinity in check too (if this stupid hydrometer is working). Also I am under the impression that nitrates are both produced in excess (in a bad system) or consumed (in a working system) much faster than a water change can effect. E.g. if a boat I was in was sinking, first I would try to fix the leak, then start bailing out. Otherwise, I'll be bailing for quite awhile. (Plus when I have to bail it's at $.30/gal + salt ;) )


The brown stuff is normal for a new aquarium. Read about cycling a reef tank.
Looking good so far keep it up
Thanks. I did read about cycling rock somewhat, but I had been told this rock had been cycled. Ha! Plus, reading about it is one thing. It's abstract when you have no pictures or experience to compare it to, so I didn't realize what I was seeing at first. This also makes it hard to remember the first time. That's why I'm posting the details, to get double-checked by others who know more than me! Thanks!

[ccnada]

This is just my opinion but I would let go of your balls. Your live rock should be sufficient biological filtration. Do it slow, one ball a day. Or you could keep it.

I do not know much about chillers, only that they lower temps. Loud? I guess it would depend on the brand. I do know that they don't recomend the chiller to be enclosed in a stand.

Nice corals!

[obfishguy]

I run several uni tanks in my service, first add a power head to to opposite side of the return for increased circulation. The bio balls will work against you in almost every way. Super charge your skimmer with an air pump on a timer. Refugium is a good Idea but a bit more difficult to convert than to add. I leave the drip tray and just let it shower it gets loud with low water levels. exhaust fans will help your temp and save you money. Uni tanks work well if modified for reef but their flood liability is their best attribute

[SECTER1]

Man I wanted blue background but with out a sump there is too much black hanging I knew it would look lame with blue......I'm still not far enought to not be able to change my mind:cool:

[SanDiegoIllini]

I run several uni tanks in my service, first add a power head to to opposite side of the return for increased circulation. The bio balls will work against you in almost every way. Super charge your skimmer with an air pump on a timer. Refugium is a good Idea but a bit more difficult to convert than to add. I leave the drip tray and just let it shower it gets loud with low water levels. exhaust fans will help your temp and save you money. Uni tanks work well if modified for reef but their flood liability is their best attribute

Adding air to the skimmer sounds interesting. The powerhead currently driving the skimmer has an air intake, a hose that hangs outside the tank with a porous little block of wood on it. It puts air in with the bubbles of the skimmer. But it sounds like you are talking about something above and beyond this. Do you mean to just get an air pump and put an airstone below the skimmer? Or something else?

[SanDiegoIllini]

Salinity is now pretty normal, after a number of small water changes, gradually stepping it down. Nitrates still not great.

I've seen a couple of really small snail shells, not sure if it was just part of the substrate or if there are animals in there. I think it might be just shells, as there isn't much movement. But I have figured out what they are: Collonista snails.
http://www.reefkeeping.com/issues/2004-05/rs/index.php

I am trying to feed less, to keep nitrates better under control, but the fish are begging for food all of the time. The previous owner exclusively used an automatic feeder that fed twice daily, and fed quite a large amount of food, probably too much. Well, the fish have gotten used to it, I guess. In the meantime, I have noticed the royal gramma attacking hermit crabs. Not so much the crab, but he'll pick up the shell as if it might be a morsel of food, and then spit it out (not smart enough to attack the crab inside). Is this normal behavior, and is it hunger related?

Also, I am thinking about how to cut the nitrates down. If I just remove the bio-balls from the back of this uniquarium, then water from the drip tray makes a lound, trickling/splashing sound. It is VERY loud. Plus, it is wasted space. I can't just fill it with LR, as someone pointed out LR needs to be submerged. There's actually 2 equal sized chambers, water drips in from the drip tray on the top, and is pulled out through the bottom by the return pump in an adjacent chamber. (Presumably through a small slit at the bottom, I haven't reach my hand all the way down to be sure.). Plus, while nitrates are bad, and bio-balls produce a lot of them, it is my understanding that they are doing this while they are super-efficiently processing ammonia, which is worse.

So given the constraints of the uniquarium, I have an idea which will require little to no modification of the tank. My idea is to take out all of the bio balls, and put LR on the bottom of both chambers. One chamber just a thinish layer (1 piece or two) the other chamber all the way up to the water line. The chamber with more LR I will put a piece of egg crate and put some bio-balls on top of the egg crate/LR. This will let them aerobically process ammonia/nitrites, (with full oxygenated trickle water) but there will probably only be about 1 gallon's worth as opposed to the current 5 gallons worth of bio balls, so nitrates should go way down (if bio-balls are the source of my problem, and not rotting or current non-cured LR or something). Also, it shouldn't be any noisier than the current setup. In the other chamber, with less LR, I would put an egg crate and put some macro-algae or something on top. I would then modify the drip tray (or make a new one) that puts all of the drips into one chamber, except for one small tube which will gently drain water into the algae (no noise, hopefully). I'd mount some kind of small grow-lamp or fixture with a 6500 bulb up against the back of the tank. The acrylic divider is blue, but the actual back of the tank is clear and light should be able to get through fine, I would think.

Some things I am wondering (other than will it actually fix nitrates, of course)
-Will this simulate proper flow through algae, leaving it enough time to scrub? I could leave the tube out, and let water just sort of backwash and swirl up and around into the algae. My issue with this is that I would not be guaranteed any water flow.
-Will the egg crate and the clumping nature of the algae be enough to keep it in there? Or is it going to get sucked into the return immediately?
-Does the LR need light to avoid becoming a nitrate factory just like the bio-balls? Haven't yet found any info on this.

I tried creating a sketch, unfortunately on this computer i only have 'Paint'. So I didn't put too much effort. http://img408.imageshack.us/img408/1761/tank2dx.jpg (http://imageshack.us)

[crstjohn]

As a newby, some of the best advice I can give is to invest in a refractometer. Hopefully you got on the recent thread which offered a good purchase price. Do not risk the cost of your investment and the aquatic life on a $10 hydrometer. Salinity is critical. Get an accurate instrument to measure it. Good luck.

[SanDiegoIllini]

As a newby, some of the best advice I can give is to invest in a refractometer. Hopefully you got on the recent thread which offered a good purchase price. Do not risk the cost of your investment and the aquatic life on a $10 hydrometer. Salinity is critical. Get an accurate instrument to measure it. Good luck.

Thanks for the tip, I did get in on that offer; hope I don't really need it before then. Also, it seemed to be more accurate after I let it soak in fresh for a couple hours, then dry out thoroughly. I read that tip in one of these boards somewhere. There must have been a salt deposit or something affecting the weight of the needle, or maybe in the axle.

In any case, any thoughts on the craptastic drawing would be appreciated.

[SanDiegoIllini]

Wow, time flies. I really intended to keep a log of things, so I could figure out what went wrong. Oh well.

Fish update: The original pair of maroon clowns are there, as is the Royal Gramma. I added a lawnmower blenny, who seems to be doing well. It's a hoot watching him eat, when feeding each bite he takes is executed with great gusto. However, he always seems to be rasping at relatively clean areas of the glass or rocks, ignoring the thicker green or brown patches on the glass, or the small tufts of hair algae on the rocks. I have not seen him take any live or dry food at feeding time. Hopefully I can eliminate the algae, at which time this will become relevant, I'll have to look to feed him. I added a firefish, which for about a day was picked on by the smaller clown, but no longer. He is frequently out patrolling, near the higher side of the water column. The royal gramma went from being in charge of the tank to being a victim. He's out a lot, but whenever he gets the attention of the larger maroon (female) she chases him into a cave. He has a little bit of nipped fins, but they appear to be healing.

Inverts: It's pretty tough to tell how they are doing. I started with a few nass. snails, 5 mini-turbos, and some small hermit crabs. I occasionally see hermit crab 'remains', but is it a death or a molt? I don't know how to tell. Also, I provided some extra shells, but there are some larger hermits that have taken up residence in snail shells. Did they kill the snails, or did the snails die, attracting hermits as a food source? Also, I've noticed a couple of tiny, bright white nass snails that I didn't buy. Probably hitchhikers, as I've read that nass snails are tough to breed in home aquaria. I got a pair of cleaner shrimp, one only lasted a few days. That was tough to take. The other has been doing well, and is frequently out. They both had eggs when I got them, and one night I am pretty sure I saw the fish devouring the young. I only had the moonlight on, and a bunch of little slivers were near the light near the surface. The fish were going nuts, eating them all. I really like the idea of a natural food source, so a few days ago, I added another. (From the fish run, thank's Danny!) This one is only about half the size of the first, but hopefully it will be mature soon, and it will be young enough to pair with the first. It was so small I was a little worried about the maroon taking a bite, but so far so good. Hopefully it's cleaner status will grant it immunity. For the first day or so I didn't see it, but eventually it started to join the larger cleaner shrimp. During daytime the shrimp hide between a certain rock and the back of the tank, I can only see long white tips. Sometimes they come out on the side of the rock during the light though. Yesterday the small one joined the larger one in jumping on my hand when I was gluing things down, so that's good.

Corals: So far no deaths. I've gradually added a number of very nice frags, mostly through people's generosity/courteous dealings through this site. I need to get some pictures up. So far, all seem to be doing pretty well. No deaths, everything seems to be growing, this last week I had my first two exports from the tank, a yellow polyps donation to PIF, and a zoo swap.

Briefly, some issues/lessons learned:

-I wish I would have cemented all of the LR together when setting up the tank. I've gone back, a few of the less stable rocks I've cemented with epoxy. I was worried about not ever being able to get the rocks out of the tank, but it's not as permanent as I though or as other people have said. I've tried the aquamend epoxy from Home Depot, with mixed results. If the bond holds overnight, it will hold for quite some time. However, it's hard to get it to hold. Similar, for loctite brand super glue gel. I've tried using a lot, a little etc. Mixed results.

-Nitrates: Hard to tell the problem, the've always been there. I bought a used, complete setup, so at first it was just all the dirt getting stirred up. Then, it might have been excess food from the auto-feeder while on vacation. Removing most of the bio-balls for LR seemed like it would help, and maybe it did a little but not enough. I added some chemicals to help, they didn't seem to do much but I think are a good idea anways. Recently I tore apart the back of the tank and found a sponge that I didn't know about. It was there for months, full of crap and probably producing tons of nitrates. Hopefully this will be the cure.

-Letting replacement saltwater 'cure'. I thought it was just to make sure it was all dissolved. I later read that it is also because the freshly dissolved salt is relatively caustic. I think this may have contributed to the demise of one of my cleaner shrimps.

-Heat: Pretty much a non-issue once I installed fans. I have a closed hood canopy, and a completely covered display. I like the reduced evaporation, reduced dust, and zero chance of leaping fish. (The back/sump of a uniquarium is uncovered, plenty of oxygenation between that and the built in trickle filter.) My house does not have A/C. But I live right near Mission Bay, so generally not an issue. During that one week, it was 86+ during daytime temps. So that prompted me to freeze water inside of some plastic jugs. Floating the jugs in the water would maintain/lower temps as the ice inside froze. It was a small hassle, but not too bad. The tank generally runs about 79-80 overnight, and 82-83 during the day. I may be in the minority, but I don't think the temp swings are an issue. Anecdotally, my inhabitants seem to be fine. Also, most of these things originate from relatively shallow waters, where the temp fluctuates naturally. I think having a rock-stable temp is just to prevent wild, quick temperature swings from our artifically small environments. I wonder if this viewpoint is slightly out of date. For example, it may be the case that certain corals spawn based on having a cycle of lunar lighting. Maybe gradual, cyclical temperature changes similar to the natural environment might actually be good for the animals digestion/disease prevention/breeding who knows until some experimentation is done? Articles such as this: http://www.reefland.com/rho/1105/reefc7.php by people who know more than me help me feel comfortable about this. Plus, it means I don't have to have the expense and headache of a chiller.

That's all I got for now. I need to post some pics.