AgentSPS' 300 Gallon ***DreamReef***

[AgentSPS]

Incredible pics Erik. It looks to be about 200% fuller than the last time that I saw it in person. I'm starting to pick up on acro colonies again so we might have to trade again soon...

James-

Yeah I lost a good deal of colonies but have always been good about getting a frag or two off the colony to survive. Those frags are finally getting to be small colonies.

You have a great eye for cherry corals so anytime you wanna trade I am down!

 

[AgentSPS]

are you still running the Tunze return pumps?
and how do you like them?
would you use them again, and would you change anything or recommend them?

Ahh you hit on a raw nerve with that one! I guess I forgot to post about my recent nightmare.

I use the Tunze master recirculating pumps for both my return and closed loop. Last month my main pump quit on me. I took it apart to find the ceramic shaft had cracked. Because I didn't have any replacement parts and Roger (Tunze USA) was out of town getting married (just my luck and timing), I decided I would pull the closed loop and swap pumps. Well in the process of doing that I managed to crack the closed loop shaft as well!! Now I had no pumps!!! Fortunately I had a spare Velocity T4 pump that I plumbed in. I also was able to pick up a used Tunze from Hyacinth (thanks again Alen!). When Roger returned from his wedding he sent me a brand new $350+ replacement pump for free. Roger is a great guy!!

So while these pumps have proven to be reliable, they do require maintenance. We think the shaft of the main pump cracked because there was calcium buildup on the shaft which was putting stress on it (especially when turning the pumps back on after water changes and the like).


So overall I am not impressed with the pumps. While they run cool and are power efficient, they are loud!! Part of it is a design flaw with the intake. I managed to reduce some of the noise (probably from cavitation) by using epoxy putty to reshape the intake nozzle. Tunze also seems to have had issues with them. There have been several redesigns of the electronics and motors on this model.

That said Roger tells me Tunze is about to come out with a new design which he thinks will be much better. Not holding my breath. If I did it all over again I would just use Darts.

 

[AgentSPS]

Well guys what can I say...all the praise encouraged me to snap a few more pics tonight. Here are the first few as a teaser:

 

[AgentSPS]

Okay more later.......

 

[isseym328]

In the second picture, and the last picture of your posts tonight...is that an orange xmas worm rock? How is the surface so orange? sponge? Regardless very unique I don't think I've seen anything like it.

I also like the random rbtas just hanging out in your tank.

 

[ianiwane]

Looking really good Erik. Its filling in nicely. My friend Bryan wants to get a piece of that last addition from LA. I told him to PM you.

 

[Oldtimer]

In the second picture, and the last picture of your posts tonight...is that an orange xmas worm rock? How is the surface so orange? sponge? Regardless very unique I don't think I've seen anything like it.

I had the same question. Tough to tell in pic, but looks like some sort of Porites or encrusing monti. Would like to know as well... very unique to me!


Awesome looking reef though. Great selection of Acro's. Can't wait until my frags start filling out like this... my reef is still an infant.

 

[AgentSPS]

In the second picture, and the last picture of your posts tonight...is that an orange xmas worm rock? How is the surface so orange? sponge? Regardless very unique I don't think I've seen anything like it.

I also like the random rbtas just hanging out in your tank.

Its just a super out of control Superman Monti with those worms that let out slime webs/nets all over it. You can see where I killed a bunch of it off around the perimeter. It was completely taking over and choking off the bases of the acros.

 

[AgentSPS]

Looking really good Erik. Its filling in nicely. My friend Bryan wants to get a piece of that last addition from LA. I told him to PM you.

Hi Ian-

Yeah Bryan reached out to me. Going to try and swing by there on Sunday if I can. Looks like he has a really nice tank with some gems.

 

[aakinego]

Very nice tank.

 

[AgentSPS]

Anyone know what kind of wrasse this is?

 

[isseym328]

Erik,

If you get the chance snap a shot of that Spath you picked up once it's in your tank. I want to see how it looks under your lighting. And if there's frag available later might want to trade/buy it. I might be coming up end of Dec.

 

[isseym328]

Lennardi Wrasse from Aussie.

 

[AgentSPS]

Erik,

If you get the chance snap a shot of that Spath you picked up once it's in your tank. I want to see how it looks under your lighting. And if there's frag available later might want to trade/buy it. I might be coming up end of Dec.

Will do. No doubt it will be faded a bit from the stress of shipment but fingers crossed. Stop on by when you are in town...happy to hook you up.

 

[AgentSPS]

Assuming this is the female

 

[isseym328]

Erik,

The flash is on/stronger in the second pic of the Lennardi. I think that's why it looks different.

 

[Dejavu]

I would expext that the Anampses lennardi are going to go for big dollars. Seeing how they are rarer than Anampses femininus.

 

[AgentSPS]

I would expext that the Anampses lennardi are going to go for big dollars. Seeing how they are rarer than Anampses femininus.

Neither fish is rare in Indo/Aust. With a lot more transhipping going on now I would not be surprised if both fish become much more readily available in the next year or two. Then we can get away from the ridiculously inflated LiveAquaria markups. Just to give you some perspective, LA charges $1200+ for Femininus and I have been able to locate them for $600 retail. My first one I paid only $250 for!!

 

[Dejavu]

Neither fish is rare in Indo/Aust. With a lot more transhipping going on now I would not be surprised if both fish become much more readily available in the next year or two. Then we can get away from the ridiculously inflated LiveAquaria markups. Just to give you some perspective, LA charges $1200+ for Femininus and I have been able to locate them for $600 retail. My first one I paid only $250 for!!

I hear you with some of the mark up on thing these days. Oh and i should of worded differently "not available as often" .

 

[maxxII]

Neither fish is rare in Indo/Aust. With a lot more transhipping going on now I would not be surprised if both fish become much more readily available in the next year or two. Then we can get away from the ridiculously inflated LiveAquaria markups. Just to give you some perspective, LA charges $1200+ for Femininus and I have been able to locate them for $600 retail. My first one I paid only $250 for!!

To be fair, you're also paying for the 2 week guarentee, the fact that LiveAquaria/Diver's Den keeps the fish for a minimum of 2 weeks to get the fish acclimated, and the fact that the general overall health of their livestock is pretty good.

Having said all of that, yes they are more expensive than some other places on the net.

But I've always been happy with LA/DD.

Nick