180P build

[Lnd]

Hope you don't mind me asking, where did you get your lava rocks from?

[Pugman]

Originally Posted by jcgd

Green Spot algae, but looking again it could just be the picture, or it could be diatoms. The scape is near perfect, not much else to work on. If it is some algae it might be something interesting to try to tackle if you feel like it.

The tank looks much less blue in the newer pics. Which photos are closest to in person? Are you liking the look of the LEDs? Would you buy them again?

The LEDs are awesome. Best lighting system I've ever had. The top picture is the lights turned all the way on. The tank looks like the rest of them.

Originally Posted by Lnd

Hope you don't mind me asking, where did you get your lava rocks from?

Landscaping yard..

[madness]

Wow.

Tank is coming along very well. Gorgeous looking.

[JonWF]

Looking forward to updates. I am considering buying a 180p myself so this thread is great.

[RynoParsons]

Wow one of my new fav scapes

[jnaz]

I am looking forward to see how this tank has matured over the last 5 months.

[Pugman]

Originally Posted by jnaz

I am looking forward to see how this tank has matured over the last 5 months.

Well not much matured but I've learned what fits into my schedule. First of all I ended up replacing the sand with soil. I found two 2" scratches in my tank and it was either sand that was caught in my algae pad or the Kent metal pro scrapper that I was using. I only use acrylic safe pads now.
In mid August the baby tears started to lift up in sheets. The roots were very shallow. I ended up nearly tearing all of it out. What was growing on the lava rock was anchored in pretty well. It had grown so fast for me that I'd thought I'd just start over, some what. It's almost completely grown back in now. I have discovered an absolutely great product that I was using on my pond called Real Clear AK ( algae killer). One half ounce treats my 180. I was a way better alternative to excel and it was a lot safer for the fish. Those times when you just can't do a water change and you end up getting some undesirable algae this stuff knocks it out. It also works great in my ponds.
I haven't fully stocked it with fish as I am still trying to figure out what it takes to keep this thing going. I had killed a bunch of Cardinals doing too large of a water change trying to battle algae. I did end up getting 40 Pygmy Cory's. I think they have breed in there as I have some tiny ones cruising around. I'm getting the hang of it so more fish are in the near future.
From purchasing the one type of moss from Aqua Forrest it has seeded my tank with about seven other species. I will post picture for identifications soon. I am really enjoying the mosses and I have considered ditching the baby tears all together and make this more of a moss tank. They grow at a speed that's easier to maintain with my busy life style.
I'm in the process of setting back up a smaller reef tank. I just couldn't give it up

[Green_Flash]

cool build thread

[infamouz23]

Subscribed to this awesome thread. Hope the shoulder is doing great!

[kwheeler91]

Well thats all fine and dandy, but how about some pics

[Pugman]

Some current shots. After mowing the baby tears last night I think I've decided to ditch it an replace it with some moss. In a 20 gallon it would be manageable but not this much.

[pirayaman]

Man that looks great don't ditch baby tears

[Pugman]

About every two weeks I have to give it a haircut with the curved scissors. This takes around 45 minutes. Then cleaning it up is the hard part. In between that little pieces are always clogging my MP10 and canister intake tubes. It's the root of all of the maintenance to this system. It grows really fast. I had to take out the Dwarf Hair Grass because of how fast it grew. The moss grows at a speed that would be easier for me to keep up with. It also has a great resale value and I thought it would be cool to farm moss for a while.
I had forgot to mention I put in 20 Assassin snails a few months back and now I have hundreds. Good thing my LFS takes them On the plus side I have no more "pest snails"

[shrimpnmoss]

Wow, looks great...and I agree about the HC...looks great but a PITA to maintain...little bits all over the tank....moss FTW!

[MARIMOBALL]

Amazing! where in the heck have ive been in that last year, that I miss this thread. Someday I will own one of these bad boys. You did the wise choice of getting rid of the reef, but if you ever change your mind and need to fund a reef lmk asap. Ill be folowing this thread from now on.