# Just ordered my jbj 28g CF-Quad!



## Benm1020

Finally after having freshwater tanks for years, im trying reef so i just bought a jbj 28 , a hydor powerhead, heater, test kit and salt. 
Now i need todecide on substrate and live or dry rock. So what would be better crushed coral or sand? And should i get Cured live rock or just get dry rock and cureit? 
Thanks just starting out and will make this thread picture heavy [/CODE]


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## aussieJJDude

I would go for crushed coral with sand or just sand. I would go for the live rock!
I am not an expert on Salt water (i don't have one ATM) but many people go for these two choices. 
Hope this helped (and i am correct!)


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## Reefing Madness

I'd go with Live Sand, Crushed Coral, which I currently have, tends to trap debre in it and start causing water issues. The choice of Cured Live Rock or just Live Rock is up to you, Using Cured Live Rock will allow you to have fish in around 3 days time.
Then there is Macro Rock:
MarcoRocks Aquarium Products


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## RSully

I went the live rock way. 
Pro's- Your tank cycles very quickly. You can add CUC/Fish within a few days as RM said.
Cons- Your going to get hitch hikers. Good and possible bad. IN my DT, I got lucky. Britle worms, asterina star fish and a brittle starfish of some kind that we've only seen once. But in my QT I've got aptasia (not a good hitch hiker) SO you get what you get.

I've no regrets on going the cured LR route but I'm impatient and didn;t want to wait out the course of waiting for macro rock to cure.


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## Benm1020

Ok so i will go with live sand. With the sand do you still have to wash the sand like you do in freshwater tanks?
I still dont know what to do with the rock. I think i may go 50/50 of each to keep the cost down. 
I know its going to take a month or two to cycle so im not really concerned about fish stock yet


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## Reefing Madness

Live Sand from the bag, no rinsing, just throw it in the tank. As for the Rock, if you thinking about cost, then just get a 5-10lb piece of LR and the rest Macro Rock or something along thos lines, the LR will seed the tank, no worries.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Live Sand from the bag, nope rinsing, just throw it in the tank. As for the Rock, if you thinking about cost, then just get a 5-10lb piece of LR and the rest Macro Rock or something along thos lines, the LR will seed the tank, no worries.


Thank you. Haha im so used to washing new sand i would have probably done it.

As for live rock and macro rock where should i order it online and also anyone know of a good lfs in newjersey (monmouth county)


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## Reefing Madness

Bulk Dry Live Rock & Live Sand - Bulk Reef Supply
MarcoRocks Aquarium Products
http://www.liveaquaria.com/product/aquarium-fish-supplies.cfm?c=393


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## bigehugedome

Reefing Madness said:


> Live Sand from the bag, no rinsing, just throw it in the tank. As for the Rock, if you thinking about cost, then just get a 5-10lb piece of LR and the rest Macro Rock or something along thos lines, the LR will seed the tank, no worries.


I used almost 50 lbs of Marco Rock for my RSM 130 which is kinda like your tank. You may want to keep that in mind while ordering as ordering 50lbs at once is cheaper than 25lbs now, then going back to order another 25lbs. Plus you would get more diversity in the rock and have some left over for future projects :-D. Not trying to sway you in any direction, just sharing my experiance. 

I used another 3lbs of LR to seed the tank which took just over 1 month (your mileage my vary) but I also got a nasty algea hitch hiker so prepare for some bumps in the road, but if you plan ahead and be patient all should work out.




Benm1020 said:


> Thank you. Haha im so used to washing new sand i would have probably done it.
> 
> As for live rock and macro rock where should i order it online and also anyone know of a good lfs in newjersey (monmouth county)


 
I work near trenton and live in Pa but im not exactly sure where you are. There is a Place I like in Deptford called Aquarium Center. They do not have the best SW section ( Very nice in FW) they will have what you need to get started i.e Dry Goods, LR, CUC etc.

In PA there is The Hidden Reef, and Fish Factory and even further in PA is That Fish Place, which will carry just about everything, but alot of planning would be needed to get fish home safely from there judging on distance. Worth a trip either way imho at some point and their dry goods are cheap.

Also what are your plans for source water. RO/DI is highly suggested.

Hope that helps


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## alexandro

*Dry Rock*

I got 170 lbs of dry rock. My water has been up for a week now and I've added a thin layer of sand on bottom.what must i do WITH THE ROCK BEFORE I PUT IN THE TANK??? Have had alot of freshwater tanks but this my first salt tank. And how long before i add coral and more liverock?


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## Reefing Madness

Rinse te Rock off really well befre adding it to the tank. You can add more.Rock anytime you want to, just don't add a huge amount at once or you'll mini cycle the tank. I wouldn't add coral for 3 months. Your tank will take at least 6-8 weeks for a cycle to begin with. I'd only add easy to care for corals to start, SPS I wouldn't add for at least 6 months.


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## Benm1020

bigehugedome said:


> I used almost 50 lbs of Marco Rock for my RSM 130 which is kinda like your tank. You may want to keep that in mind while ordering as ordering 50lbs at once is cheaper than 25lbs now, then going back to order another 25lbs. Plus you would get more diversity in the rock and have some left over for future projects :-D. Not trying to sway you in any direction, just sharing my experiance.
> 
> I used another 3lbs of LR to seed the tank which took just over 1 month (your mileage my vary) but I also got a nasty algea hitch hiker so prepare for some bumps in the road, but if you plan ahead and be patient all should work out.
> 
> I work near trenton and live in Pa but im not exactly sure where you are. There is a Place I like in Deptford called Aquarium Center. They do not have the best SW section ( Very nice in FW) they will have what you need to get started i.e Dry Goods, LR, CUC etc.
> 
> In PA there is The Hidden Reef, and Fish Factory and even further in PA is That Fish Place, which will carry just about everything, but alot of planning would be needed to get fish home safely from there judging on distance. Worth a trip either way imho at some point and their dry goods are cheap.
> 
> Also what are your plans for source water. RO/DI is highly suggested.
> 
> Hope that helps


 Thank you i live right near seaside if you know where that is lol. I really would like to get lr and fish from a local store because i just dont feel comfortable shipping them. I have a nice petco near me i think so i will check it out later this week to see if it is nice or not. 

Now i have to wait until the tank gets to my house. So i cant really start until then 

Also i dont have it in the works about a ro/di system but i will use distilled water and in the summer i could use ocean water( i go offshore fishing a lot to the gulf stream water) but i know i would have to clen that water before it went into my tank


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## Reefing Madness

As long as you don't use the water right near the shore line, your fine using Ocean water. Lots of people use it. Less pollutants the farther out you get it.


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## Benm1020

It came in the mall today!! And goodjob dr foster and smith i ordered it sunday night got here on thursday with the economy shipping. 





































Now is it ok if it hangs over a little like this or should i use the stand but that means i have to take out my bookcase for room


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## Reefing Madness

Try to even it up front to back with the gap. Don't just let it all hang out the back.


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## bigehugedome

Benm1020 said:


> Thank you i live right near seaside if you know where that is lol. I really would like to get lr and fish from a local store because i just dont feel comfortable shipping them. I have a nice petco near me i think so i will check it out later this week to see if it is nice or not.
> 
> Now i have to wait until the tank gets to my house. So i cant really start until then
> 
> Also i dont have it in the works about a ro/di system but i will use distilled water and in the summer i could use ocean water( i go offshore fishing a lot to the gulf stream water) but i know i would have to clen that water before it went into my tank


 
Ahh seaside is further than i thought. How did you fare with the storm?

Oh and it looks good!


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## Benm1020

bigehugedome said:


> Ahh seaside is further than i thought. How did you fare with the storm?
> 
> Oh and it looks good!


I madeout ok i live further inland so i just had to worry about trees  none hit the house but 3 in my yard. It was once in a lifetime(hopefully) experience 

Thanks andso it would be ok if half and half are over it a little bit, i might do a little more in the back since its not completly filled with water. 
Again should i just use the stand before i add water to it?
I got the stand for free So i dont need to purchase it


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## Reefing Madness

Can you get s little piece of plywood to put under it with some styrofoam on top of that piece? That would be best.


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## bigehugedome

I myself would say it would look nicer with the stand. I love the look of the AIO's and their stands. however then you may need to remodel the room it seems so I would go with reefing


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## Benm1020

Yea i might just put the stand in i just have to set it up. That was a little dum moment not measuring it, o well 
I dont want the chance of this cracking bc of this


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## Benm1020

Just got an idea what im doing. Im using the base from the stand and putting it on my wood, this way its cut to the right dimensions and it looksnice since it matches the tank


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## aussieJJDude

Nice tank!


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## bigehugedome

Benm1020 said:


> Just got an idea what im doing. Im using the base from the stand and putting it on my wood, this way its cut to the right dimensions and it looksnice since it matches the tank


 
:welldone:


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## Benm1020

Time to wait for it to cycle! 









I mounted the wavemaker and temperature onto the wall like this


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## RSully

Hopefully the directions say to do it but if not, make sure you have a "loop" on the plug ins.


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## Benm1020

RSully said:


> Hopefully the directions say to do it but if not, make sure you have a "loop" on the plug ins.


Yup they do, its just behind the wood stand so you cant see it. It just comes up and since its new it still has a little coil to it.


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## aussieJJDude

Cool! You are even going to have a wakemaker! Can't wait to see it finished! :-D


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## Benm1020

Ok the aquarium cleared up And i will be adding alot more liverock










But i found a hitch hiker, please help me identify it , he is black and i think its a crab(has claws) but then he quickly ran under a rock so i cant find him 
I know this picture is bad but..


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## Reefing Madness

If he has pointy claws, he needs to go.


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## Benm1020

Ok i just pulled him out thinking he would be bad and i took a better picture. Can someone please id him


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## Reefing Madness

Xanthidae


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Xanthidae


Ok thank you! I rearranged one rock and he fell out.. I looked closer around the rock to find any more hitchhikers and i found some feather duster worms (i think) 









_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

Ok so now its time to talk about livestock. 
I need an idea on CUC 
I would want 2 percula clowns. A fire fish, and posibly a goby if i can 
I would want to do corals like an anemone, Taro tree coral, Hammer, frogspawn 
How would this work out and i need an idea for the CUC


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## RSully

ANy updates? Have you started stocking yet?
Your last pic, it is very hard to tell what that is.


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## Reefing Madness

Those items yiu wish to put in there will work, providing yiur lighting is up to snuff. As far as CUC, that's up to you. I don't much care for hermits, you never know what they are going to munch on. But get a bunch of different snails.


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## Benm1020

Ok so the tank is doing ok with the cycle, but it appears I have diatom growth on the rocks and also algae that I don't know what it is. 
Ok this is on the sand and the glass and rocks 









And then I have this red fuzzies growing on one rock that I don't know what it is 







it almost looks like red yawn
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Yup, diatom bloom, will get all over the place. Other looks like filament algae. Doesn't look like cyano.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Yup, diatom bloom, will get all over the place. Other looks like filament algae. Doesn't look like cyano.


Alright so the stuff on the glass is diatom? And the filament algae how should I get rid of it? Just let it run its course and get a cuc that will munch on it?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Yea, the Diatoms will kinda grow where ever. And your CUC will mow down the Algae. Might be a Macro Algae, and they will really like that stuff.


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## Benm1020

I added my first livestock 2 days ago, a pair of false percula clownfish and 6 blue legged hermits for now. The tank has seen it aglae outbreak and is becoming under control . Hopefully going to get some hard corals soon


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## Reefing Madness




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## RSully

:nicefish:

:redyay:


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## Benm1020

Yea haha I am very happy that it has been a easy setup so far and with only a small hitch hiker crab that I immediately Took him out. Now my water is stable I will be adding a few corals. what's good fish to go with my
Pair of clownfish?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Pistol Shrimp and Goby.


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## Benm1020

Yea i was thinking about doing a goby, 
i dont know if i should now do a protien skimmer or a refugim in the back... Decisions decisions
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Benm1020 said:


> Yea i was thinking about doing a goby,
> i dont know if i should now do a protien skimmer or a refugim in the back... Decisions decisions
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Both. :-D


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## Benm1020

Added coral to he tank!! 
Polyp 









And a colt coral that looks healthy 









Was looking it over once i got home and noticed a branch separted from the main one, but it looks like its all bleached(bottom of the picture) should i cut this piece off so i can get light to it? 








_Posted via Mobile Device_

Edit- oh btw this is right when i turned on the lights so its not fully open


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## Reefing Madness

No reason to cut it out. Probably will grow for you.


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## RSully

:redyay:

Can we get a full tank shot when you get a chance? Corals look great!


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## aussieJJDude

Agreed, we need a full tank shot!
Love the corals!


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## Benm1020

Alright I'll take a tank shot when I get home! And btw my coral had a few hitch hiking crabs yikes! But got all of them off and all is well now. The crabs blended in so well I didn't notice them until I closely examined the coral and saw something moving on the rock it came with
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

Alright heres a tank shot almost 1 month in 









Live stock
2 false clown fish 
1 green polyp 
1 big colt coral ( 3 different stems) 
6 blue legged hermit crabs
6 turbo snails 
1 small featherduster
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness




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## RSully

Nice, look sgreat.


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## Benm1020

RSully said:


> Nice, look sgreat.


Thanks! i have just been dealing with film algae on the glass where i have to scrape almost every couple of hours, ( on the curve glass i see a little green and it drives me crazy!) i guess i have to get more of a clean up crew and run either purigen or chemical elite. 
I also have to get a protein skimmer where im deciding on a hang on the back so i can keep the basket or get the tunze protein skimmer that fits in the middle compartment


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## Reefing Madness

Tunze is a really good skimmer. But yea, if your having to scrape every couple of days, there is something still phosphates in the system. I think I just wipe mine down, once a week or every 10 days or so, and its barely visible, I do it more becuase I get Coralline growing.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Tunze is a really good skimmer. But yea, if your having to scrape every couple of days, there is something still phosphates in the system. I think I just wipe mine down, once a week or every 10 days or so, and its barely visible, I do it more becuase I get Coralline growing.


Yea I need to lower the phosphates by doing wc? I also just got the jbj protein skimmer kit for free from a friend that never used it so I guess it's better than no skimmer 
I'll do a review on it. Once I get it
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Water changes won't reduce Phosphates unless your using Distilled or RO/DI water. Tap water usually contains a ton.


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## Benm1020

yea i use premixed Ro saltwater that i get from my lfs for $1 a gal, is there anything else i can do to lower phosphates in my aquarium


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## Reefing Madness

Chemipure Elite
Purigen
GFO


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## aussieJJDude

Nice tank!
Love how it is going


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## Benm1020

Alright so good and bad things have been hapening, the film algae has stopped growing on the glass but it is now on my rocks and i have tried to scrub off one rock and it is really hard to get off 
Heres a picture, its all over my dry rock That i put in , what is this?









on the plus side i am starting to see coraline algae growth 









I also just ordered a 28g bowfront reef cleaners package of snails for my cuc and i also got chaeto for my refugeim im going to do
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Brown stuff if called a Diatom Bloom. It will go away by itself in time, no need to worry.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Brown stuff if called a Diatom Bloom. It will go away by itself in time, no need to worry.


I meant the green stuff on the rocks, i tried scrubbing itmand its very hard to get off
Im i just going through new tank syndrome with an algae outbreak and im freaking out on how to control it? Haha
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

You don't control it. Let nature take its course, it will take care of itself. I don't get the green algae, specially if you are having a hard time getting it off. To me it looks yellowish, and it will turn brownish, and that is a Diatom Bloom.


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## RSully

Some of the green stuff I think you're referring to looks like coraline. It comes in several colors, not just red.


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## Benm1020

Alright i got the jbj protien skimmer in today and it is a simple airstone driven skimmer









This is what comes in the box, no paperwork at all 









Now i have no idea on what height the skimmer should be at? Help? Lol 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Looks good right there. Maybe lil more bubbles in the neck itself, you should have them in the lower portion of the neck. Other than that, the thing looks petty good.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Looks goos right there. Maybe lil more bubbles in the neck itself, you should have them in the lower portion of the neck. Other than that, the thing looks petty good.


Alright and i guess just look before i go to bed if it is collectung anything? I read another thread and it just said i just have to let it bubble up for a couple hours then look again
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Well, right outta the box, prolly not going to see anything. Its called a break in period, new acrylic has resin on it from factory for storage reasons. If you would have given it a bath in vinegar and water, this would have taken the break in period down considerably.


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## Benm1020

Alright I got a reef cleaners package from reef cleaners and wow I ordered for the 26 gallon and he gave me so so much like 200 of the little snails, yea you heard that right lol. Is it bad to have so many or no, I'm thinking alot will go into the sand. 









I also got chaeto algae in the 1 st section of the filter basket, once it grows maybe put it in both 1st and 2nd chamber
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Right on!!! You in good shape, they'll take care of you. Keep that cheato moving along, that will be your best friend for water parameters.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Right on!!! You in good shape, they'll take care of you. Keep that cheato moving along, that will be your best friend for water parameters.


Is it bad to have too much of a clean up crew bc when the available food is gone they will start to die and ruin my water parameters
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

And sorry but me being overly cautious because I can't find anything about this algae. Can you identify it? It looks like little tiny sticks and it is very hard to pull off the rock, it is also spreading all over 1 rock 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

You are absolutely correct about the CUC dying off when the food gets scarce, but, they will not foul up the water, the remaining CUC will eat them also.

Ooof, macro aglae will have to grow some there for an ID to be made. I don't have the faintest idea what it is right now.
http://live-plants.com/


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## Reefing Madness

Benm1020 said:


> Is it bad to have too much of a clean up crew bc when the available food is gone they will start to die and ruin my water parameters
> _Posted via Mobile Device_


Truth be told, I only have 5 Turbo Snails and a couple of Hermits in my 240g tank. Water parameters are more important. Then again, I have a tank full of Tangs that munch on my LR all day. That helps also.


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## Benm1020

You know i cant thank you enough reefing madness!!! You have helped me so much! And i pulled out the algae on the rocks, i dont want any algae in the display tank so i considered it a nuisance Algae. I think im going to take some of the snails and add them to the back to keep that clean, because i noticed some sand got back there and i now have a light back there. I also noticed some might be dead so im going to see in the morning if they didnt move then take out all the dead ones. Right now i have about 50 on the back black part (not exaggerating) i dont know if i likke or not but it does kinda look cool and natural, i may take some snails out later though
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness




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## Benm1020

Alright for other people to know how i set up my back compartments i have the heater in its designated spot, the jbj skimmer kit in its designated spot, the filter tray in its spot i am running top-chaeto middle - filter sponge bottom- purigen 










Then i put a desk lamp over it like this, not nice looking but it works for now 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## bigehugedome

I like!

I think im going to copy you and order some chaeto and a reef cleaner pack as well!


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## Benm1020

bigehugedome said:


> I like!
> 
> I think im going to copy you and order some chaeto and a reef cleaner pack as well!


Just telling you he gives you so much lol the cleaner pack had about 300 snails when i ordered the 28 bow pack
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

Just got 2 more pieces of coral, a frogspawn with 4 heads, a hairy mushroom, I'll take a tank picture once it fully opens up 

Here's what it looks like just added them and moved the others around 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Got a recent update on those water parameters now that we have a Hard Coral in there?


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## aussieJJDude

I like how this is coming along! Look great!


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## Benm1020

aussieJJDude said:


> I like how this is coming along! Look great!


Thanks! 

And i do not have a current water test done. I need to get a good kit instead of just bringing it in the fish store to check amonia, nitrite and nitrate 
I know its bad but hopefully it will all be in check (knocking on wood)


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## Benm1020

Here is a better picture 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

What I was getting at is, you have an LPS in the tank now, and you will need to test Alk on a regular basis now.


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## aussieJJDude

Wow, the tank looks great!
Love the full tank shot :-D


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## Benm1020

Tank update! Added a yellow goby watchmen









I also added a long tentacle plate coral 









The tank has been doing great! Ill get a full tank shot later tonight
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness




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## aussieJJDude

Looking awesome - as usual... :lol:


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## Benm1020

aussieJJDude said:


> Looking awesome - as usual... :lol:


Thanks! Haha i know this long tentacle plate coral will be very hard to keep but i saw it at the fish store and wanted it badly lol ( i know iknow this is bad)
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

In just 20 days I can already tell coralline algae Is growing 
This is a picture from January 1 









And a picture from today of the same rock 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness




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## Benm1020

Tank shot 









I think I'm going to add one purple fire fish and then fill the tank up with corals
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

Added a toadstool and a brain coral 

















Full tank shot 









Side view 








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Man are you gonna freak when you see those things half grown. =) The Toadstool alone will get bigger than the tank itself.


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## Benm1020

Reefing Madness said:


> Man are you gonna freak when you see those things half grown. =) The Toadstool alone will get bigger than the tank itself.


Haha atleast its a happy freakout  and not a pull out my hair freakout
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

LOL. Stuff looks great when it gets some size to it.


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## Benm1020

yea haha

do you think i can put another fish in there or will that be too much for this tank?

i was thinking 2 more either firefish or cardinal fish


I also made a youtube video


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## Reefing Madness

Yea, you can get a couple of small ones in there.


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## Benm1020

Alright update here, I was away for a week and the tank is still holding up!








_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## RSully

Things look great! Are your clowns hosting anything yet?


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## Benm1020

RSully said:


> Things look great! Are your clowns hosting anything yet?


No the clowns havent but i got them when they were babies so it might take awhile ... Hopefully
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

Another weird thing I noticed is that everything in the tank is thriving (even my long tentacle plate coral!!) except for my colt coral. The colt seems like it is bleaching and turning white, I think it might be getting too much light?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Benm1020

So it looks like my long tentacle plate coral is splitting? 








I tried looking it up but I couldn't find anything, it's amazingly happy somehow?
_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## Reefing Madness

Very cool!! Nice.


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## Benm1020

IM BAckkk!!!

been at my beachhouse for the summer so i kinda just let the tank do whatever
i got rid of most of my livestock before summer started so now i gotta pick new fish!
but first the tank is a disaster with alage!
no hair alage but it is being run over by all this alage
im gonna need some help to get rid of all this algae the first line of attack will be a 10 gallon water change and vacuamming as much of the algae i can
i havent tested the water yet but when i do all report


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## Benm1020

_Posted via Mobile Device_


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## aussieJJDude

Have fun getting all that algae off


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