ArstenA's 75 Build Thread (1 Viewer)

[ArstenA]

Week 3 ATS Update:
Lights at 16 hours, 50% intensity

Side 1:


Side 1 harvest:


Side 2:


Side 1 & 2 harvest:


I also went to David Grigor's and got some of his amazing macro algae that his ATS grows and I scrubbed it into my screen so hopefully I will start to produce some of that macro algae.

Mine is mostly slimy however this week had some more substance to it and I almost felt like there was a little stringiness to it.

All in all, a very substantial amount harvested compared to week 2.

The container I have been using is 4 oz. to give you a reference.

 

[Bschowa]

What are your levels like? Do you have algae growing in the tank still or were you able to get it to grow only in the scrubber in just 3 weeks time


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[ArstenA]

I have not been testing levels because I think it is misleading if you have algae growing. Or rather if there is algae, it is higher than you will test. At least that is what I have found previously.

To answer the question, yes I still have algae in the display tank, but it is decreasing and getting weakened because I can pull it off quite easily.

I had been running LaCl3 for a long time and with that going I was algae free but as soon as I would back off a little bit it would come back.

I am no longer dosing LaCl3, because I lost all my corals and it sounded like others were seeing receding.

The other thing I am noticing is that once the lights go out I am seeing way more snails. So either they are "feeling" better or there is less food for them therefore forcing them to scavenge.

I seriously thought I didn't have any cleanup crew but I probably have 25 snails.

 

[ArstenA]

Aiptasia update:
So I added the nudibranchs and the aptaisia was decreasing then seemed to stop so I picked up three peppermint shrimp. Literally the moment I put the peppermint shrimp in I saw a tiny nudibranch. Since then I have seen 1 adult nudibranch.

Each day the Aiptasia continues to decrease. I am not seeing nudibranchs though. This morning when I took a peek with a flash light I saw a peppermint shrimp leave an area I had still noticed Aiptasia.

So I am not really sure who is eating it but someone is and obviously it makes me happy.

I still have a couple Aiptasia that are huge and it concerns me that they will not get eaten and I will have to inject them with something to kill them. But before I take those measure I will watch to see what happens.

I have also just recently found an Aiptasia in my sump so I may buy a peppermint shrimp to reside down there.

 

[ArstenA]

Week 4 update:

Side 1:


Side 2:


Harvest (from both sides):


Observations:
Algae seemed to be getting brown/reddish.
At week three I seeded it with Grigor's algae.
Most of the algae had no form (like previous harvests) but if I picked it up there were long strings in it, so I believe Grigor's has seeded.
At week 4 I added a fox face rabbit fish. So bioload has increased slightly.

 

[jlanger]

Harvest (from both sides):
View attachment 21376

At week 4 I added a fox face rabbit fish. So bioload has increased slightly.

Your foxface would love to eat that!
At least I know mine would.

Great job on your algae production. How has your levels tested out since adding the scrubber?

 

[ArstenA]

5 week update
16 hours @ 50%
2 weeks after seeding with Grigors macro algae.

Side 1:


Side 2: (get an idea of how stringy it is)


Harvest:

 

[Nickz]

Interesting,this is the first I have read about seeding helping... Although you are at about the stage in time for that last switch to fluffy algae also. I am a week or so behind but also running sub par lighting in comparison, still a lot of slimy with some stringy algae growth. I am curious if coincidence or actual seeding helped.

 

[ArstenA]

Well my algae in the display is nearly gone! It looks better now than it did when I was running LaCl3!!! Which is completely amazing to me!

I am nearly aiptasia free. I hadn't seen any for a while and then I took a good long look and I found two little ones. Hopefully the peppermint shrimp find them.

I picked up a tiny blue hippo and scopas tang yesterday. I also got a diamond sifter goby because my sand is the worst looking piece of the tank.

Last Wednesday a friend gave me 9 sps frags that were completely brown, every day they are gaining color. I would say they are 60% of their color already!

I also brought my Hoven Wrasse pair up from the QT along with the Flame Hawk.

So I have some pretty high bioload now. I have two workhorse algae eaters (fox face and Scopas). It will be interesting to see how the ATS continues to perform.

 

[deneed4spd]

What are you going to do after your done battling all these things? You are going to get bored. Time for a tank upgrade!

 

[David Grigor]

Time for a bigger cup !

 

[ArstenA]

Week 6 update:

Side 1:

Side 2:

False bottom:

Harvest:


I have been noticing that one side grows less than the other even though the lights are set the same.

I harvested more this time, but also added 6 fish.

 

[gasman]

Looking Good Brian!!

 

[Leicester56]

Thanks for the algae donation!!!!!

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Nice scrubber build! Not sure that the algae transplant had much to do with it, it's likely more of a stage of growth that you had to push through. Who knows though...I've never had much luck transplanting algae, but you might have added a few varieties that were otherwise absent in the tank, hard to say.

 

[ArstenA]

Week 7 Update:
Tank looks awesome. Algae is gone. I got a sifter goby and sand is also looking awesome.

Side 1:


Side 2:


Harvest:

 

[Nickz]

Huge difference in the last few weeks... I gotta get new lights on mine

 

[Turbo's Aquatics]

Fantastic growth! Once you hit that mature stage, it just takes off. Getting to that point seems to be where most people have difficulties, because every tank is different so there's not an easy answer as to how to get there that fits all situations.

 

[ArstenA]

Update:
I have been harvesting around 32oz of algae every week. I do not have a fuge or skimmer running.

I ran into an issue with some parasites and installed a UV starilizer and that has cleared up that issue.

I also had gotten some frags and picked up some red slime. I treated with chemiclean twice and that is all gone.

All in all, my tank is rocking now!!

As for my stand... It is now complete!!

 

[Leicester56]

Looking good!