ryansweet

Does anyone here have personal experience with the Vertex Alpha 200 protein skimmer? I’ve been looking at it for an upcoming project and was hoping to get some feedback from someone that’s used one (or any of that line, really). Wondering how touchy they are when adjusting and dialing in, and how difficult disassembly and cleaning is.

Are you in Creekside Crossing? That’s where I live. I can def help unload, and maybe go to Modern with you. Can’t help with a truck or anything like that, but depending on when you go, I might be able to ride along (or meet) and give you a hand with it all.

What condos do you live in?

reefcleaners.org

That zoa pic is killer 👍

I should be there, +1

Also, where did the rock come from? Even if it was dry, it still holds organically that will be released back into the water over time.

I know this is short notice, but are any new members (or old members starting a new tank) that need anything specific to get their tank up and running?

It isn’t super clear on my phone, but that looks more like dinoflagellates than cyano to me. Cyano will usually clear up pretty well with chemi clean or cyano rx. What you have has the bubble strings usually associated with dinos. I’d get a couple second opinions before making a plan to go forward, but if it’s dinos, good luck.

@Gonzo620

Eric, you may look at getting a test kit for iron. I had problem after problem with getting my chaeto to grow (when I had it) and did all kinds of research to find out that my iron was really low. Once I dosed iron a few times my chaeto took off.

@Saveafishreef, I’ve always wondered, how do you go about rock scape planning for a build like this? For my 75 I stacked the rock on a tarp in my living room, but I don’t see that as an option for a build this size. Is there a plan you have, or just going to “wing it” once the tank is placed?

Rustoleum Never Wet is really good if you don't need a certain color. Rainguard tinted waterproofer is good and comes in various colors. Neither one are fun to apply, and should definitely done outdoors or in a ventilated workshop.

I use soda ash for alk, food grade calcium chloride for ca, and store bought mag supplement. I use so little mag that I just buy the gallon bottle and call it a day. I used to use kalk in my ato but found it was more difficult to keep up with adjustments (and still had to use soda ash) so I just went with the home made 2 part. For what it’s worth, if you’re having good success with your parameters now, I wouldn’t change much. It isn’t worth chasing numbers if things are growing and healthy.

Agree with Amanda on this one. Some of the nicest tanks I’ve seen have a combination of either mh/led or t5/led. With yours, I might do the majority mh and then add a few led to get the color “pop” that LEDs bring to the table. You’d have mh for growth and adding heat to the tank, then get a little higher par (and maybe lower electric?) with the led supplementals. Also with this type of setup you could run the leds at a lower power and not have to replace them at all.

Day late...

I’ll get in on it too. Won’t be able to make the meeting but I’ll set up a time to meet.

I would blow any algae off of both of them. Then trim dead tissue from the gorg. The tree coral should be able to recover once the algae dies back a bit. The gorg should as well, just need to get the dead tissue removed to help it.

What type of corals are those?

I had a 36in “Black box” (it is red actually) on my 75 for the 3yrs. Only reason I replaced it was because I got a great deal on a 48in reefbreeders led. Had great colors and growth in the center of the tank, but lacked a little on the outer edges. I’m guessing it was due to the light being too short for coverage of the entire tank.

That one is appx 8-9 inches. And a real 8-9 inches, not a guy saying “it’s 8-9 inches, I swear”

These 2 meats are growing happily together but I may need to upgrade if they get any bigger.

Those are cool little hitchhiker shellfish. Very cool find. I had a few in my tank when I first got the live rock, but all have seemed to die off over the 8yrs my tank has been running.

Agree on the pineapple sponge. They are a great filter feeder and help to clean the water of organics. There are certain fish and sea stars that will eat them, but they are not usually good for our reef tanks as that's all they eat. If the sponges get into your display they will stay in low to no light areas and not harm anything else.