B1N4RY's 8 Gallon Reef Aquarium.

hey bigger is always better!
scape in the new tank is looking really good. take it slow this time!

 

Reply to Dboshibby.

Thank you and I definitely will do.

 

Why is the skimmer cup full of brown murky water?

 

Reply to Vinnyboombatz.

That is about 1 week of skimmate from the previous tank. I didn't have empty it before removing it.

 

Raised My Kessl a360w Tuna Blue LED Pendant.

I had a full day at work today so I didn't have any time to really slack off. So I just though that I would raise my Kessil a360w Tuna Blue LED Pendant about 1.5 inches higher to spread the light a little bit more. I think my little 2 inch Derasa Clam is loving it.

 

No filter or skimmer now?
Nice clam btw did you just add it?

 

Reply to Dboshibby.

No, I actually have one on order that I am waiting to arrive. The other was just an eyesore. The clam has actually been in the other aquarium and its about 1 month old.

 

Super Reef Octopus LX-1000S Hang On Back Protein Skimmer.

I was looking to replace the Innovative Marine Protein Skimmer because it looked like such an eyesore in the new aquarium. At this point I am not interested in running a sump on the system. So I purchased a Reef Octopus BH-2000 Hang On Back Protein Skimmer from Reef Specialty a few days ago. Unfortunately, I was told it would be shipped the same day or the next day. Well three days later it still wasn't shipped. I called to get an inquiry on shipping and each time I called I was told I had to submit an email to find out about the status of the order and with each call I received an annoyed tone. So I reached out to Russ of Saltwater Critters and he assisted me with no issues. So I purchased a Super Reef Octopus LX-1000S Hang On Back Protein Skimmer and picked it up from him in person. He is definitely an awesome guy and I found where I will be purchasing the rest of my equipment from.




My first thoughts is that this thing is huge and built solid. I actually had to move my aquarium up away from the wall in order to properly accommodate it. And even then I wasn't sure if it was going to fit on the aquarium properly. But thankfully it did. Just to put it in perspective my kitchen table can fit 8 well sized adults with no issues. Also when priming the unit I filled it with over 1.5 gallons of saltwater just to get the priming started properly.
















I am glad that I was able to fit it in without having to reconstruct any of the aquascaping within the aquarium. But I have to say for such a large protein skimmer my first thoughts are this thin is SILENT! And I have not seen a single micro bubble enter the aquarium. Also after minutes of operation I have never seen a such texture coming up the tube into the collection cup. I don't think I have every used the word frothy to describe the bubble production up the tube of a protein Skimmer. I have to say I am quite pleased with this protein skimmer.

 

Full Aquarium Photograph.

 

Bryopsis Algae Control.

It looks like the reef keeping gods have decided to test me with as many of the most common problems in starting a marine reef aquarium as possible. Now although I purchase Nutri-SeaWater as my already mixed saltwater I don't have an RO/DI unit (I just purchased one and I am waiting for it to be delivered) so my top off water for evaporation has been coming from my Poland Spring Water Dispenser. No I know bad me for not using RO/DI water from the start but it is what it is. So, this has contributed to a big Bryopsis Algae bloom in my aquarium. Although as pretty as it looked swaying back and forth in the aquarium I did notice how rapidly it was spreading on the rock. So I looked for the most natural solution possible, while avoiding solutions such as raising magnesium levels to extremely high levels. I think some of the many mistakes we make in this hobby, and I am by no means excluded from this is that we look to quick remedies to get fast results for issues in the aquarium. I am trying desperately to avoid this.










I did some research online and found that other hobbyist have had success in naturally removing the Bryopsis Algae using Mexican Turbo Snails and Lettuce Nudibranch. So I headed to Maximum Reef Aquatics in Yonkers, New York and they just happen to have some of the most beautiful looking Lettuce Nudibranchs and some almost gold ball sized Mexican Turbo Snails. So I purchased them and off I went with my solution in hand. After a drip acclimation period of about 1 hour for each species I placed them in my aquarium and they all went to work. It has been three days since I introduced them into my aquarium and 50% of the Bryopsis is gone. At this rate I will have to start supplementing their diet with Algae sheets by the end of the week.