Back in Town

I got back from my vacation late Sunday night and I haven't been able to get an update out untill now. The reef looked very nice when I got back and I was happy to see that everything was happy. I tested water earlier today and the results were good except kH was a little low. Here they are:

Calcium: 400

kH: 6

Salinity: 1.024

Nitrates: -0-estimate...I didn't test because I have been gone for several days and have added no nutrients.

I also got around to cleaning up my area somewhat here are some shots of what it looks like now.

This week I will try to get everyone filled in on the possible 90 upgrade, I will get some nice tank photos out and also since the end of June is upon us: the June water quality graphs!

Hope you all enjoyed reading the Henryreef blog, check in later for more info.

The Pre-Vacation Week Roundup

I am going out of town for the weekend, so I wanted to leave the tank in the best condition possible. I did a 15g water change and cleaned all the pumps in vinegar. It really made them run better. I try to do this once a month but I have been quite busy. I also tested water here are my results:
Calcium: 365
kH: 10
Salinity: 1.025
Nitrate: 0 (I think it was high before my water change)

I will not be having anyone come to monitor the tank as I will only be gone for one full day. In general tank news the only major item of notice is that the BTAs were looking a little deflated, but that happens sometimes.

I hope you all have a great weekend and check the blog for updates. Hope you enjoyed the henryreef blog, that is all for now.

Major Update

OK first off the weather in Ann Arbor has been super hot! This has raised the temperature in my reef to over 84 (this is my max temp). I know that these days are few and far between, so a chiller is really a waste of money (and alot for that matter). The first way I am attacking this problem is ice. I will freeze 2Ls and put them in a bag and float them in my tank (in most setups the sump is the best place). This works quite well, but is a pain in the rear. I will use this tactic on those few days.

The second thing I am doing to combat the heat is installing a clip on fan to move the hot air between the Metal Halides and the water out. This dramaticaly reduces heat exchange and therefore helps cool tank. This also helps by evaporative cooling. I think I will get another of these soon as one really doesn't cut it.

Secondly a new frag is now for sale. One of those mushrooms that i found in my system when it was first started is now for sale. Here is a picture of the very first one!

Now they are all over my tank and I have to many. They are very hardy and this is going for $20 (quite cheap). The picture is not very good but they are really beautiful.

Click to view all of my frags that I am selling (including this one). This button is always on the sidebar of my site, and you can setup and RSS feed with it to know whenever I add a new frag listing.

Finally in general tank news, the tank is doing very well . Nothing major to report other than this cooling issue. I tried to add the modded maxi-jet (described in earlier post) and it worked very well but fell from its magnetic mount (my fault) and created a sandstorm which was a pain to have to clean up. It took hours to baste the sand off everything.

MJ mod

Modding Maxi-jets have long been a way of increasing flow without paying much. One popular mod is the euro-reef mod which you install a bigger prop for more flow. I have not tried this one yet but I have heard of its amazing results which aparently increase flow up to 3 times! I decided to do a simpler mod that seeks to create a wider flow output and increase flow slightly.

Equipment List:

• Saw
• Dril
• Maxi-Jet (I reccomend 1200)

OK now lets move on to STEP 1 You first want to use the saw to cut off the output nozzel. You want to make the output whole as wide as possible, so the flow will be nice and wide.
Here is what the pump should look like after step 1:
STEP 2 You need to drill more hole to help increase the pumps ability to intake water. Any small drill bit will work. I drilled four holes. See outline
This is what the pump should look like after step 2
You have finaly compeleted this mod! Here is what the final product should look like. (Note my pump was used before the mod).

Final Thoughts: I really like this mod as a it is easy to do and you spend nothing. I am very happy with this mod and suggest you to try it out on one of your old maxi-jets.

I will have the major detailed update out later today or Monday!

Late Night Update

Wow I am very happy to get my third post out this week! I hope you have enjoyed the waterchange and netcam posts, I have gotten alot of positive feedback and emails from these posts. I will try to get another expanded update out Saturday. To say the least my tank is going very well right now but is getting way to hot. I am using ice pacs to cool it down. It is a pain, but I would rather have the extra work on the rare day it gets that hot than having to shell out 400+ for a chiller. I will have more info on this, a new frag to buy and a cool DIY Saturday, so stay posted.

Here are my test results:
Nitrate: 0
Calcium: 355 :( I want it a little higher
kH: 10
Salinity: 1.026

How I do water changes

This post has been long anticipated and I am happy to finally get it out. First off I highly recommend an RODI (reverse osmosis de-ionization) unit to remove the dissolved solids and minerals from your water. These are readily available and are reasonably priced based on output and filter capacity. I use a coral life 24 gallons per day unit.

My Unit (note: yellowing filters are a sign you need to replace them)

I run the RO every week to fill my 30 gallon trash can it takes about a day and a half to fill. I use this water to make kalk and topoff my reef. I then transfer the majority of the water to my saltwater mixing and aging bin. I use a pump to push water to this bin. (Note: this is not all the way full because of a recent water change)I then add the salt (I use Seachem reef or Tropic Marin) which is mixed with an old heater and power head. I test with a refractometer to measure salinity. I aim for between 1.024-1.026. I age the salt in this environment for 3 days and I add an airstone for increased oxygenation about 24 hours before I want to do a waterchange.

I then test the water with my pH meter just be sure I am in the right range and something is not amiss. Then I simply use a pump to push water in to the tank and a siphon to get water out. Just remember to use lots of towels :)

Netcam: A Possible New Tool For Henryreef

If you look at peoples reef websites your are likely to find a live controller feed giving pH, orp, temperature and sometimes even more readings. These are amazingly useful for vacations and times when you want to check on your tank. Sadly these units come at a price and are usually hundreds of dollars. The Aqua Controller 3 which monitors pH, orp and calcium goes for over 300.

Aquacontroller 3 (by Neptune)

A second alternative to things like the Aquacontrollers are live tank Netcams. Well what is the difference between a Netcam and a Webcam, you are probably asking. A webcam plugs directly into the usb outlet of a computer well a netcam send info to the internet and you can post a live feed without a computer close by. I have been discussing them on reef central and a good quality webcam can go for about $100. This is definitely more in my price range. This will be great for looking at my tank when on vacations and I think I will set up a monitor in my room for viewing my reef too. Most quality netcams come with a software or site that you can view your tank on or a way to post your netcam view on to another site (like this one). This is very promising and I am still looking into it. The netcam I am considering currently is the LinkSys WVC54GCA which goes for about 100 and complete with microphone (so you can hear what my reef sounds like ;) ) The only downside is you need to plug it directly into your router to link it to the internet. This means I have to run a Cable :( It is one snazy piece of technology though.

Linksys WVC54GCA

Growth Shots and More

I am very happy with the tank lately and here are the results of my Saturday water test:

Salinity: 1.026

Nitrate: NA (not tested)
Calcium: 390

kH: 7.5

My CPR backpack skimmer is really not keeping up with my needs and I am frustrated that I have not employed the 500g rated turbofolotor skimmer which is currently in dry dock (my basement reef area). The main reason for this is the delay in my sump upgrade. I really haven't had the time to get moving on it lately. The other big reason is I have a chance at a possible 90 gallon tank upgrade in which I could possibly move all my live stock to the 90 and then dry out and clean the 55g. After that I will hopefully move it into the basement to work on it and drill it and then reset it up. This is a major announcement, but I cannot make any promises yet. I will release more details about this will be released later this week.

Aside from this big news there is little general 55g tank news. I zapped my mushroom that was encroaching on my montipora late last night and then hit it again about 5 hours later just make sure it was dead. I also nailed some aptasia (very satisfying :) ) well I was at it. I decided to do a growth shot of my blue tort.

Mid March, 2009 (just after adding it):

Early June 2009:

Blue Torts are a generally considered a slow grower too, but its position in the upper reaches of the tank (about 5-7" from a 150w MH) and my great water parameters have rocketed its growth. The green slimer has grown even faster than this, but I don't have a good picture yet. That is all for today, and you can expect a post about the possible 90 soon.

Here is the latest FTS (full tank shot)

June 2009 FTS

New additions, coral warfare and a general update

Wow I am really late on getting this out, this happened over a week ago! One of my friends set up a SW fish tank for a science project and then, when he was done gave me the contents. It was a very simple setup with little filtration, live rock, a damsel and a few hermits and snails. But none the less I decided to add the contents to my reef. Among the additions was a beautiful green muscel that I really wanted to survive, but within a day my brittle star killed and consumed it :(. Here are the new additions acclimating with an airstone. Zoom out Pic: After an hour of acclimation I addded the contents to my tank and everything went well. The yellow tail damsels (yes I have 2 of possibly the cheapest scrapiest fish on the planet) seem to get along fine. The live rock was also added to help fill out the other side. The new Damsel (which is now named joe six-pack ;) is a little shorter than my first one and I don't know if thy can breed in captivity but it would be nice to have some fry to feed the corals. Here is a picture of him. Next topic: I am having some trouble with coral wars in my tank. The first one is between my M. spongodes and a mushroom. The mushroom has a more powerful sting and is killing the edge of the spongodes (which is turning white). I have several of these mushrooms in my tank (maybe even too many......any one want a frag??) and don't like to see a fifty buck rare coral getting killed so I think I will kill the mushroom with some kalk paste tonight or when I have the chance.

The second battle I am having is between the birdsnest coral and my mongo

orange cap. The cap. is a much faster grower and is overgrowing and stinging my smaller birdsnest. I have seen large nemocysts at night and think they are also starting to engage in chemical warfare. Thankfuly these are not known for being 'tank nukers'. The solution is much harder to decide though as they are both nice, expensive and beautiful corals. I think I will let things play out, but I may frag one of them if it gets worse.

Some close ups from the secene of the crime!!! Note: white stems are bleached from conflict.

The damage is really evident in this picture

I think I will end this post with a picture of my large mother anemone which now has 2 clones in the tank (talked about earlier this year see anemone split). I will update later this week with some growth shots and an fts. It is exam week for me, so I am very,very busy!