300 g Gorgornian Reef Build

Great build I love gorgonians you could probobly also add some clams to make it look even nicer. I would do concept 1 because you will quickly tire of seeing just big fish every day.
 
Thanks for the inspiration, Albano!

TommyBoy- thank you. We spent a lot of time splitting hairs over the details. Elevation Homes by Streeter and Associates deserves a ton of credit. Dale Burns, the finish carpenter- actually helped us design it. He played a key role- he is a visual genius and really helped us plan for how to rest and layer each component of trim.

We've had water in for about 6 weeks, and Jeff added a school of small damselfish about two weeks ago. The fish are on loan- a temporary working crew to help cycle the new tank.

Patience...

Haven't got the controller going yet, but will soon. For now, the lights are running on a simple timer- just 5 hours per day. Didn't want to spur a bloom while we're in the initial stages of cycling. I'll snap a photo this afternoon- looks like some algae is starting to grow. Mostly brown, but I do see some hints of purple. It's way too soon for coralline to appear in a tank that started from scratch, i.e. dry rock, right?

We do have live sand and we added a small clean up crew. Trocchus snails and a few blue leg hermits. I noticed a couple critters with a nice collection of algae growing on their "home". I suppose it's possible they could seed some coralline.

Jeff is using a French probiotic to seed the bacteria. Not really even tracking tank stats right now. I know, I know. Not too worried since we plan to take it slow anyway. It's a huge system and there's plenty of time to fine tune.

Will post a pic, anxious to see if you all think we could possibly have some coralline growing- that'd be a great sign.

I wish I would have started this way with my last tank. Started with fresh imported live rock and had to watch it decompose for 6 weeks, not to mention all the hitchikers we dealt with. Though that was an interesting adventure.

On a side note. The tv in the bar has been installed and rock band is up and running. The fish are so lucky to witness my sweet serenade- NOT. Don't worry, I keep the volume in check such that it's only mild torture.

:fish2:
 
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Great build I love gorgonians you could probobly also add some clams to make it look even nicer. I would do concept 1 because you will quickly tire of seeing just big fish every day.

Yes, I would definitely like to have some clams!

And, Yes, I have decided to go with Concept 1!

Patience with a reef tank is worse than "watching paint dry" or "watching the grass grow." Good thing its summer! We can instead distract ourselves with a boat cruise!

Speaking of patience. Being in a new home, there are all kinds of gardening possibilities. However, gardening is yet another hobby requiring more patience. We need a variance from the city to install a patio. We're at our hardcover limit. We are working with a civil engineer on an elaborate plan to capture and store 1" of rainwater, such that we can justify more hardcover. No guarantees, but there is a precedent of exceptions if rainwater can be properly dealt with. Looks like it will be Nov. before we can get everything lined up for the city council meeting. Meanwhile, all gardening work in limbo. So, I'm not even getting my gardening fix this season! ARGH!

Patience, patience. Most people would be content with a minimalist yard requiring hardly any work. Not me, I can't wait to dig in.

I hope all you reefers out there thoroughly enjoy your Saturday and all your hobbies, families, and everything that enrichens your life!
 
<iframe src="//player.vimeo.com/video/104262965" width="500" height="281" frameborder="0" webkitallowfullscreen mozallowfullscreen allowfullscreen></iframe> <p><a href="http://vimeo.com/104262965">Hitchhiker crab</a> from <a href="http://vimeo.com/user25294258">Elizabeth Nicol</a> on <a href="https://vimeo.com">Vimeo</a>.</p>

We've added some corals, this hitchhiker came along this weekend. Grrr.
 
Here's a current tank view. We've got some new fairies and flashers introduced. Added a few more LPS. Very scant amounts of coralline present, although the sump has filled up nicely with some sponge growth following the addition of a sand-sifting goby.

We had a bit of a new tank bloom of brownish-red algae, especially in the sand. Added 2 sand sifting starfish and the goby and within one day, it was all better.

 
Have had issues with the lights staying on all night. The lights are able to be manually controlled by the Control 4 AV system??? Apparently my husband has been goofing around not realizing he was overriding the program, setting it to "sunny" at 100%. Has happened at least twice, some of the corals not happy. Working on programming a solution into both the Apex as well as the control 4 to avoid this happening again. grrr.
 
Love the way you combined the tank and bar area, it looks great.

I have a number of grogs in my tank, but my favorite by far is the Purple Candelabra Eco-Gorg.
 
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