Austin goes Rimless - Dudester's 203g mixed reef
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Dudester
Premium Member
In addition to the achilles, I got a Hawiian flame wrasse, Cirrhilabrus jordani.
His jumping tendencies necessitated putting a lid on the tank. Instead of egg crate, which is bulky and not too nice to look at, I fashioned a top out of bird netting and a window screen. All materials were purchased cheaply from Lowes, and this is a well-described top. You may have noticed it in the tank photos above, but if you didn't here's a better look.
I also picked up 2 cleaner shrimp and 2 linkia starfish. The orange one isn't looking so hot, whereas the blue one is doing quite well so far.
Here's my red gorgonian with white polyps. It's hard to get this in focus, especially with the pumps on.
I hope you all like the pics, and thanks for following along.
His jumping tendencies necessitated putting a lid on the tank. Instead of egg crate, which is bulky and not too nice to look at, I fashioned a top out of bird netting and a window screen. All materials were purchased cheaply from Lowes, and this is a well-described top. You may have noticed it in the tank photos above, but if you didn't here's a better look.
I also picked up 2 cleaner shrimp and 2 linkia starfish. The orange one isn't looking so hot, whereas the blue one is doing quite well so far.
Here's my red gorgonian with white polyps. It's hard to get this in focus, especially with the pumps on.
I hope you all like the pics, and thanks for following along.
bleedingthought
New member
Beautiful fish! And great job on the netting! What did you make the frame out of? You got pictures of the building of it?
Dudester
Premium Member
jnarowe - Good eye. My cerith snails have an insatiable appetite for whoopie. There are always a few egg clusters on the glass.
GSMguy - Yes, the achilles loves to ride the wave, as well as the intermittent jets from the closed loop. He was pretty well hidden at the LFS when I got him, but after 1 day in the tank he became very active.
makoJ - Thanks a lot, Brian, means a lot coming from this month's TOTM honoree.
DON'T PATRONIZE ME!!
bleedingthought - The cap was quite easy to make, and the frame came in a package in the window screen section at Lowes. I don't have any photos of the build, but it is described well in tbone's thread as well as others. His thread has a lot of other great reasons to follow it besides that, so you should check it out! I can't recall which thread contained the original description, but it's on a very nice tank and is worth linking if anyone can come up with it. That person deserves the credit.
tbone28 - The achilles is eating hardily, thank you. It won't touch green nori but it seems to love the brown, and it eats some red as well. I got it from Kingfish Aquariums, my favorite LFS. John got in 3 and this is the only one to have survived the trip from Hawaii. I'd love to get a Sohal, but John (KingfishJohn, the reefer formerly known as thedude15810) won't let me. He is the fish whisperer and informs me that a Sohal would destroy my tank. Hopefully he'll change his mind when I move into the 450g, since I do heed his advice carefully. Tell him about your positive experiences with Sohals and maybe that will help my cause!
cbui - The wrasse is about 3" long, very plump, and he seems to enjoy eating my food mix very well. You're right about the blue linkia, it's basically in the same spot as it was when introduced into the tank 4 days ago. The orange is still alive but, again, I don't have high hopes for it. The screen top is manually removed; the "strings" are actually the suspension wires holding up the Powermodule.
Bax - Yes, I'm having a blast, and thanks for the nice comments. I still don't have very good coral coloration, but I'm futzing around with the ZEOvit additives and hope to make some improvements.
gkarshens - Thanks, bro! The tank definitely needed some fish, but I had to give it enough time for my former plague to clear out. So far so good.
melev - Sure it's the plan! If I can get this to look like a full-blown reef by the time I move, then that would suit me just fine. And what do you mean expensive, this old setup was put together from scraps I had laying around the garage. :hmm4:
GSMguy - Yes, the achilles loves to ride the wave, as well as the intermittent jets from the closed loop. He was pretty well hidden at the LFS when I got him, but after 1 day in the tank he became very active.
makoJ - Thanks a lot, Brian, means a lot coming from this month's TOTM honoree.
DON'T PATRONIZE ME!!
bleedingthought - The cap was quite easy to make, and the frame came in a package in the window screen section at Lowes. I don't have any photos of the build, but it is described well in tbone's thread as well as others. His thread has a lot of other great reasons to follow it besides that, so you should check it out! I can't recall which thread contained the original description, but it's on a very nice tank and is worth linking if anyone can come up with it. That person deserves the credit.
tbone28 - The achilles is eating hardily, thank you. It won't touch green nori but it seems to love the brown, and it eats some red as well. I got it from Kingfish Aquariums, my favorite LFS. John got in 3 and this is the only one to have survived the trip from Hawaii. I'd love to get a Sohal, but John (KingfishJohn, the reefer formerly known as thedude15810) won't let me. He is the fish whisperer and informs me that a Sohal would destroy my tank. Hopefully he'll change his mind when I move into the 450g, since I do heed his advice carefully. Tell him about your positive experiences with Sohals and maybe that will help my cause!
cbui - The wrasse is about 3" long, very plump, and he seems to enjoy eating my food mix very well. You're right about the blue linkia, it's basically in the same spot as it was when introduced into the tank 4 days ago. The orange is still alive but, again, I don't have high hopes for it. The screen top is manually removed; the "strings" are actually the suspension wires holding up the Powermodule.
Bax - Yes, I'm having a blast, and thanks for the nice comments. I still don't have very good coral coloration, but I'm futzing around with the ZEOvit additives and hope to make some improvements.
gkarshens - Thanks, bro! The tank definitely needed some fish, but I had to give it enough time for my former plague to clear out. So far so good.
melev - Sure it's the plan! If I can get this to look like a full-blown reef by the time I move, then that would suit me just fine. And what do you mean expensive, this old setup was put together from scraps I had laying around the garage. :hmm4:
bleedingthought
New member
Ok, I'll look through it. T-bone, if you have a link to the page, hook me up. 
TriggerHappyDude
New member
Dudester,
I've read most of this thread, and I have some questions for you, I'm going to PM you as they might have been already discussed, or off topic, whatver, I feel a PM is better.
Great tank man!
I've read most of this thread, and I have some questions for you, I'm going to PM you as they might have been already discussed, or off topic, whatver, I feel a PM is better.
Great tank man!
tbone28
Active member
Dudester - I've found a source for Achilles. A reefer in Sacramento said his LFS gets Hawaiian fish once a month, and gets Achilles on a somewhat regular basis. It's about 90 miles from me, but worth the drive. He's got his eyes peeled for me!
You'll love a Sohal if you get one! I've had 3, and so far so good. My newest one showed a little aggression on Day #1 to a Purple Tang I recently introduced. I think the Sohal was testing him. The purple was smart, and didn't return the aggression. Day 2 til now, they're all buddies
bleedingthought - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1160534&perpage=25&pagenumber=9
You'll love a Sohal if you get one! I've had 3, and so far so good. My newest one showed a little aggression on Day #1 to a Purple Tang I recently introduced. I think the Sohal was testing him. The purple was smart, and didn't return the aggression. Day 2 til now, they're all buddies
bleedingthought - http://reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?s=&threadid=1160534&perpage=25&pagenumber=9
Dudester
Premium Member
ChrisMc73 - You've got PM. And don't worry about asking questions on the thread, as others may benefit from the discussion as well.
tbone28 - Way to go on your Hawaiian source, you can probably get some nice wrasses as well. Yeah, I think a sohal will be necessary in the next tank. Our taste in fish is very similar.
tbone28 - Way to go on your Hawaiian source, you can probably get some nice wrasses as well. Yeah, I think a sohal will be necessary in the next tank. Our taste in fish is very similar.
TriggerHappyDude
New member
Dudester,
Do you know what program was used to create your tank design on page 1?
Thanks!
Do you know what program was used to create your tank design on page 1?
Thanks!
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