Angela's clam tank build thread

I moved my clams over tonight. Here are a few pics of them in their new home!

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I have a 250W Blue Wave 3 HQI ballast, LumenMax 3 DE HQI reflector, and 14K Ushio bulb. The previous pics were actually taken under a cheapo PC fixture though because I moved the clams the night before the "real" lights got here. Here are some updated pics of my reflector..err...I mean clams. I so need a photobox. Also a shot from the front of the tank for comparison. Check out the DFWMAS thread as there are lots more pics there. RC limits the number you can attach.

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Nice idea and very well done.

I would have had to get that pink ora clam though. ; )

Interesting idea on the blk starboard, how are you dealing with coraline algae growth on it. I read somewhere that coraline loves to grow on it. Did you consider black sand? If so why did you steer away from it?
 
Great looking tank. I want to do the same thing next to my 120, there is a perfect spot:D. LOL Maybe I could get 40-50 clams in my systym then??? I would do the black sand though. Why did you choose the starboard?
 
Well my 265 is BB and has white starboard and thats where the clams have always been. They attach to it without a problem, and I wanted them to be happy. Since most of the clams naturally live in rockwork I figured they would be happier there than in the sand.

Another great thing about starboard is zoas, SPS, and other corals grow well on it and I would eventually like the bottom to be covered in zoas :D . My main tank has SPS frags and zoas everywhere. Mainly frags that have fallen over time and rather than die in the sand they grow.

As far as coraline growth, it hasn't been there long enough for that to be an issue yet. My big tank bottom is covered and I like the way it looks. If I dont like it in the clam tank I will scrape it off regularly I suppose. I don't think it will bother me.

Thanks for the replies!

Angela
 
beautiful tank Angela, absolute awesome clam tank. I am thinking about starrting one myself. Thanks for the pics and ideas.
 
I have a feeling I am going to be changing out the starboard for sand soon. I absolutely can not keep it clean! Kind of defeats the purpose of an open top clam tank if you add enough flow to keep the crap stirred up. I have two tunze nanos, but I really dont want to put them in there...

Why did I not forsee this issue?
 
It's a new tank and has only been up a few weeks. It's plumbed into my 265 gallon though which is very stable. I have about given up on the starboard bottom. No detritus settles in the 265 because of the flow so it all ends up here. While it may be an easy place to siphon detritus out of the system, it is doing nothing for my morale. :) Tahitian moon sand is on the way!

On a more positive note, the clams are doing well in the tank!

Apparently I decided to set up a clam tank during monsoon season though, so new additions are proving to be an issue. I am looking for a few really nice croceas, and actually ordered some from fragglereef like a month ago, but they were out and still are and I have been waiting it out rather than getting a refund.
 
Thanks! I really like it, but honestly it kind of gets ignored by visitors d/t the 265 being right there. I have to say "...and see my clam tank..." :) I suppose that's not all bad though. It would be a lot worse if the 30 gallon clam tank took all the attention from the big one I think.

I ordered some "super" croceas from reefermadness. They have some great prices right now BTW. I have had a heck of a time finding a few nice croceas to add to the mix. Hopefully I will not be disappointed. Honestly I don't think I've ever seen a clam I thought was just flat ugly so I'm sure I will be happy with them even if they aren't earth shattering.

Will update with pics of the new arrivals when they get here. If they look anything like the ones on the site I know I will be happy with them.

Thanks
Angela
 
Your clam tank looks great Angela.. where did you get all of your clams from? Online?
Click to expand...
I would like to know where you got all them also.
Click to expand...

Well let's see...all the little maxis are ORA Ultras or ORA First grades. The two gigas are both ORA I think. I know for sure the big one is. I really think the little one is too. I got them from my LFS who ordered them in for me. I really didn't have any competition as far as picking the good ones since they were all ordered and prepaid for by me.

The two derasas came from The Reef Hotspot. I was really impressed with them since the clams were twice as big as what I ordered! One of them does have some bleached looking spots that have been there since I got him that seem to be improving. If anyone has any helpful advise on that I would really appreciate it (right upper corner).

The big blue guy in the right upper corner (maxi? I'm not sure?) and the green crocea came from a fellow reefer from DFWMAS a few years back.

The brown maxi was my first clam and was like 1" when I got him. He came from a LFS in DFW called Dallas North Aquarium. The blue/green smaller crocea also came from there.

As far as new additions, most will be bought online. I am waiting on reefer madness to get in some "super" croceas at the moment. Apparently everybody is having a hard time getting them due to bad weather and difficulty collecting during monsoon season (according to fragglereef and reefermadness). If I get any more maxis they will be black/white and maybe a green.

In other news...starboard is out, sand is in. The clams are getting some nice new colors being directly under the 250W HQI. The little maxis are developing pinks, purples, and greens and everyone has colored up a good bit already.

I could stand staring down into this tank for hrs. It's very relaxing!

New pics...one maxi right in the middle who didn't appreciate the camera flash (an accident before I turned it off) and refused to pose for the rest of the morning.

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And proof that all maxis are not created equal.

Two ultra maxis with a first grade in the middle

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And ultra on the right. First grade on the left.

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If you don't want to add more flow,why can't you add a filter sock or a small refugium between the 2 tanks to keep the debris from getting that far?Nice tank I have always liked the look down reefs,I especially like the zero edge tanks where the water flows over the edge of the tank into a trough below.
 
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