All Softies Tanks

[Jack5746]

Nice tank Mock, as well as everyone else great job everyone.

 

[jdantunes]

Thank you Jdantunes MY tank is 390 gallon plywood 8' long 38.5" wide, and 24" deep, my lights are 3 Aqua illumination Sol Blues and 3 175 watt metal halides that run from 12 noon till 4 pm. Tank is bare bottom with 12" ceramic floor tiles. I am also running a algae scrubber and tunze protein skimmer, which I shutdown last week for cleaning and have not put it back in yet, im going to see if not using the skimmer has any effect on the system. I have my ro plumed into my sump with a float to keep my water level up. Just need to figure out an easy way to siphon out all the detritus. The tank has been set up since Sept 2014 and my corals I have had about 2years.

Thanks for your reply, Jack.

390 Gallon!!! That's a massive tank. Looks like you are trying to cover the bottom with a garden of zoos and palys. That will look awesome someday.

This is my 250 rebuild. This tank was an all SPS tank before I was diagnosed with cancer. Chemo and 6 months of neglect was the end of it. I have rebooted it as all softies and loving it.

Very happy for you being a survivor. I just can't imagine being thru all the treatments and being able to keep your interest in the hobby, That's incredible.

Even that you lose your SPS corals, your tank looks really good. I really like the size of your colonies.

Did you keep the same lights and other equipment running from when you were growing SPS?

 

[Mock]

Very happy for you being a survivor. I just can't imagine being thru all the treatments and being able to keep your interest in the hobby, That's incredible.

Even that you lose your SPS corals, your tank looks really good. I really like the size of your colonies.

Did you keep the same lights and other equipment running from when you were growing SPS?

It was brutal, I lost it when I lost my SPS and the tank went downhill, I sold a lot of it when it fell off to members of the local club and gave some stuff away.

I did keep all the stuff from when it was an SPS tank though, same lights, same filtration, same everything, have even added a few new things.

It was a struggle to get back into the swing of it but, when I saw it in the bigger picture, I caught my second wind.

Overall though its the same set up, just with Sofites that I have just let run wild and been picking up here and there.

 

[Mock]

We need more photos here..... Dont be scared to show your tank! Ask questions and learn or just brag and flex your kahunas.

 

[SassyAngel111]

Which I knew why my softies are not growing, I have had them for about 1 1/2 months no spreading or growing, its like they don't like the lighting that I have, which are the aquamars led's 300w. I would post pics but I can get real good pics.

 

[TripleJ21]

Similar to the question above me, what are your guys' secrets to having good growth to your softies? Do you dose?

 

[glyn]

This is my 5' x 2' x 2' softy tank; about 500 litres / 105 [imperial] gallons. It's also a natural seawater tank.

Since I took this pic, I've gone bare bottom - got fed up with the dinos on the sand bed!

 

[Mock]

Similar to the question above me, what are your guys' secrets to having good growth to your softies? Do you dose?

I dose only to keep my Nitrates and Phosphates down using Vinegar.

Other than that I just let things grow, there are no secrets.

I use high light and lots of water movement. My tank responds to this by growing large based colonies and bigger framed corals.

I do feed a lot though and have quite a selection of fish.

 

[Mock]

This is my 5' x 2' x 2' softy tank; about 500 litres / 105 [imperial] gallons. It's also a natural seawater tank.

Since I took this pic, I've gone bare bottom - got fed up with the dinos on the sand bed!

Cool tank! That Toadstool is going to look great in years to come.

 

[SaltyDoug]

So far my 92 corner consists of a single mushroom and an rbta but I'm heading down the path of a softy dominated tank.

Love the thread i'll be using it as a guideline as I slowly add corals.

 

[Devaji108]

This is my 5' x 2' x 2' softy tank; about 500 litres / 105 [imperial] gallons. It's also a natural seawater tank.

Since I took this pic, I've gone bare bottom - got fed up with the dinos on the sand bed!

woooow LOVE the scape! beautiful tank.
post a pic with the BB ...cuz it so fricking amazing!

 

[glyn]

woooow LOVE the scape! beautiful tank.
post a pic with the BB ...cuz it so fricking amazing!

Many thanks for your praise - very kind of you. However, not sure what you mean by "post a pic with the bb"?

Hang on - late edit - you mean "bare bottom"! Will try to persuade my son to take some more pics as soon as the corals have stopped sulking. The tank is cleaner now, with better flow [the powerheads are both pointing down at the bottom] but some of the corals didn't like being moved. My experience of many soft corals is that although they're easier to grow than SPS, some of them can be very aggrieved when they're moved.

 

[lostintheocean2]

nice looking tanks, i have to re upload my pics

 

[Axolotl]

Mock when you say you feed alot what do you use? Thanks

 

[Mock]

Mock when you say you feed a lot what do you use? Thanks

Both Frozen and Pellets.

SF Bay Frozens, Emerald Entre and Mixed Pack
Formula One Dry

And then some pellets that my LFS carries... I cant remember the name

I feed daily more than enough thats for sure.

Ohh and NICE TANK!!

 

[DrewGriffin]

I love soft corals. I don't care for sps. I have them but don't care if they thrive.

 

[yaridong]

Amazing. What kind of toadstool is that on the bottom right hand corner?

 

[taricha]

Here's my old 60 gal tank that's been running about 5 years, largely neglected until a few months ago. It's got mostly new corals/livestock - added within the last 3 months up to a week ago. Only two corals with skeletons - monti cap, and alveopora - to tell me by dying if my tank is out of balance.
Everything is small right now, but there's a few things I like about it.

It's backlit by sunlight for a couple of hours very early in the morning, and benefits from a bright window the rest of the day. I think this allows me to get by on cheaper lighting.
It also allows me to run a fuge with macro/micro algae in it in the windowsill that gets blasted with direct sun most of the day. This is what I attribute my lack of algae issues to. (I use tap water and a skimmer that doesn't work half the time)

On the left I have Disco Cave.

Those green shrooms are freaking immortal, by the way. They are the descendents of a single frag in a Tupperware container that I shattered onto concrete from a 2nd story balcony. Also months of broken lights, and 5 years of general tank neglect. They now have multiplied to a couple of dozen of those guys.

My "weed coral" guilty pleasure: I just love the sun on these yellow polyps.

Runner-up "weed coral" guilty pleasure: my gsp, that I built a tree for. Can't wait for the plugs to take over.

In the middle is Zoa Valley. Had to cure two frags of zoa pox (why can I only spot that after I buy the frags?) LFS equivalent of beer goggles I guess.

And then the right has Ric and Rhod Boulder.

In between, some random palys, a kenya tree, mushroom leather, and pulsing xenia.

Maybe one day it'll grow into a full impressive display like some in here.

 

[saf1]

Here is mine although the LED's or camera blew out the color. Center has 3 rose bubble tips. Started with one of course, about 4 or 5 years old now. Split one day then that one split. The two of them almost didn't make it but came around. Not sure if there was an infection or what but they shriveled up to the size of a $.50 piece. Go figure.

Kenya tree, GSP (doesn't like the move to the new tank), hammer that was a single very large piece but broke during move, and a few mushrooms/polyps. Pair of pajama cardinals, file fish, pair of clowns, tail spot blenny, hermits, peppermint shrimp, snails. I'll be adding some more soft corals or something like a yellow leather maybe on the right.

 

[Slim_okrug]

Here is mine mainly softy 180 G reef.