Thanks mate! First rimless tank I've ever had, regardless of size. Now I just need to work up the courage to frag a few of my larger colonies.
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- Thread starter ca1ore
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Thanks mate! First rimless tank I've ever had, regardless of size. Now I just need to work up the courage to frag a few of my larger colonies.
Five Months In!
Five Months In!
Hard to believe, but tank is now five months old .....
Everything is growing pretty well. I'm particularly pleased with how well the green bali slimmer has been growing as I really want some growth up and out into the water column for aesthetic reasons. Already a couple of former frags have had to be relocated within the tank to allow for more space. Most of the frags I buy go straight into the display - the frag tank will be for bits that I snip off my main colonies for eventual trading. In the right end shot, anemone was getting blown around quite a bit and looks like a bad haircut on top of the rock pedestal. GSP is getting too big in front, so plan is to cut off a chunk and transplant it onto the rocks covering the right end overflow.
About the only thing that is not doing well is an open brain coral on the sand that is receding. Not sure if it is getting nipped, irritated with sand, or just generally unhappy. A plate next to it is fine, so go figure.
Five Months In!
Hard to believe, but tank is now five months old .....
Everything is growing pretty well. I'm particularly pleased with how well the green bali slimmer has been growing as I really want some growth up and out into the water column for aesthetic reasons. Already a couple of former frags have had to be relocated within the tank to allow for more space. Most of the frags I buy go straight into the display - the frag tank will be for bits that I snip off my main colonies for eventual trading. In the right end shot, anemone was getting blown around quite a bit and looks like a bad haircut on top of the rock pedestal. GSP is getting too big in front, so plan is to cut off a chunk and transplant it onto the rocks covering the right end overflow.
About the only thing that is not doing well is an open brain coral on the sand that is receding. Not sure if it is getting nipped, irritated with sand, or just generally unhappy. A plate next to it is fine, so go figure.
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Frag tank has been installed and plumbed - though not filled. I generally wait about a week just to make sure none of my PVC fittings are going to crack before putting in water.
Here it is for chuckles .....
Tank will have approx. 15 gallons of water, so total weight of 140 pounds or so, thus the 'hangers' should be more than sufficient. Light is another story though. I thought a Par38 build I had sitting around would suffice, but now I see it over the tank, I do not believe that it will.
Here it is for chuckles .....
Tank will have approx. 15 gallons of water, so total weight of 140 pounds or so, thus the 'hangers' should be more than sufficient. Light is another story though. I thought a Par38 build I had sitting around would suffice, but now I see it over the tank, I do not believe that it will.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
What are the dimensions again incase I missed them. A hanging frag tank is pretty slick dude.
It's pretty small - 20x20 square at 12 inches tall (21 gallons). I just don't have a better place to put it - though will be decidedly un-slick if it falls :lol:
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Indeed, and it's been filled for a few days and hasn't fallen down yet :lol:
I have encountered a problem though. Went to my LFS today a bought a cool SPS frag and realized I don't have any more places in my 265 to put one. How can that be? Knew I should have gone with an 8 ft tank. Bah humbug!
Also going to have to start fragging some of my larger colonies as I'm seeing some stinging damage in a few cases. And the GSP is getting out of control.
Let's see, anything else to complain about ....... nope, I guess that's it!
dave.m
Active member
It's just my personal opinion, of course, but I really don't see getting a bigger or longer tank as the solution. Larger tanks are more difficult to maintain. I offer instead the suggestion that you just add another tank. Surely there is somewhere in your house that you don't really need for its current purpose anywhere near as much as you need a new tank. 
Dave.M
Dave.M
Yeah, that's a 'not happening'!
Surely there is somewhere in your house that you don't really need for its current purpose anywhere near as much as you need a new tank.
Sure, all the places my wife keeps her stuff after she moves out :lol:
New Additions
New Additions
Added a couple of nice Maxima clams, a red sea wild clam and a macro cultured first-grade ultra mega super blue (apparently the more hyperbole, the higher the price) .......
.... diamond goby is earning some pocket money by keeping en eye on them for me! Top clam is much more turquoise than it looks in the picture; bottom clam is more gold and purple. Still cannot seem to get the color balance right in my shots.
Also finally moved a quartet of Bimaculatus Anthias out of an almost four month QT sentence. Difficult to get a good picture because they are always zipping around, but an absolutely stunning fish. You can also see the very rare phantom Canon fish hovering in the background .....
For the first time with this tank, I am getting some trace nitrate levels appearing, so will have to think about what to do. I am harvesting a lot of algae off the ATS every 14 days, so perhaps weekly is necessary.
Bali green slimer is growing really well (bottom right corner in second photo), with almost 20 new arms. I think I'm going to have frags for my frag tank soon enough.
New Additions
Added a couple of nice Maxima clams, a red sea wild clam and a macro cultured first-grade ultra mega super blue (apparently the more hyperbole, the higher the price) .......
.... diamond goby is earning some pocket money by keeping en eye on them for me! Top clam is much more turquoise than it looks in the picture; bottom clam is more gold and purple. Still cannot seem to get the color balance right in my shots.
Also finally moved a quartet of Bimaculatus Anthias out of an almost four month QT sentence. Difficult to get a good picture because they are always zipping around, but an absolutely stunning fish. You can also see the very rare phantom Canon fish hovering in the background .....
For the first time with this tank, I am getting some trace nitrate levels appearing, so will have to think about what to do. I am harvesting a lot of algae off the ATS every 14 days, so perhaps weekly is necessary.
Bali green slimer is growing really well (bottom right corner in second photo), with almost 20 new arms. I think I'm going to have frags for my frag tank soon enough.
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Added a Canary!
Added a Canary!
Some might not agree with this, but .....
I've waffled over what to do with an Achilles Tang that I have had in QT since Thanksgiving, based on suspicions that I may have ich In my tank. But, I had to do something, poor fish just couldn't stay in a 30L for much longer. So, it's my 'canary'. I figure if ich really is in my tank, it'll show on the AT. Then I'll have to bite the bullet and remove all the fish. Kept the AT in an acclimation box for 3 days, no spots so far.
Handsome fish, no question! Getting a bit of trouble from my YT; hopefully that'll die down in a day or so (using the mirror trick to keep the established Tangs busy). Feeding heavily for a bit to ease food competition.
Added a Canary!
Some might not agree with this, but .....
I've waffled over what to do with an Achilles Tang that I have had in QT since Thanksgiving, based on suspicions that I may have ich In my tank. But, I had to do something, poor fish just couldn't stay in a 30L for much longer. So, it's my 'canary'. I figure if ich really is in my tank, it'll show on the AT. Then I'll have to bite the bullet and remove all the fish. Kept the AT in an acclimation box for 3 days, no spots so far.
Handsome fish, no question! Getting a bit of trouble from my YT; hopefully that'll die down in a day or so (using the mirror trick to keep the established Tangs busy). Feeding heavily for a bit to ease food competition.
A Year of Growth
A Year of Growth
Interesting to see how my mag has grown in the year I have had it.
April 2013
April 2014
For comparative purposes, the pajama cardinals are about the same size in both photos. If the mag grows as much again over the next year, without splitting, I'm going to have a problem.
A Year of Growth
Interesting to see how my mag has grown in the year I have had it.
April 2013
April 2014
For comparative purposes, the pajama cardinals are about the same size in both photos. If the mag grows as much again over the next year, without splitting, I'm going to have a problem.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
Man that is some growth on that ritteri is sweet. During that time what have you fed the anemone?
Isn't it though! Initially I would give it a chunk of clam or a few of those large bits of ocean plankton, but it was growing at a scary rate so I stopped.
Newbie Aquarist
Reefing is my middle name
How often was you feeding it? I usually feed my anemones every two weeks. Plus the clowns also feed it also.
Good point, though I don't feed it, the clowns do. When I was target feeding, it was a few times a week. Clearly unnecessary given the growth rate.
So far so good. Has diversified its diet to now include nori .... along with the spirulina brine. Showing a few spots, so pretty clearly tank contains ich. Whether it continues to be manageable or not, time will tell.
New Skimmer
New Skimmer
I have become less than completely happy with the ASM G4 that I am currently running on this tank. I think it is undersized. Looking around at the available choices, I have decided to go back to using a MTC HSA-1000 unit.
I used one of these beckett units on my prior 180 gallon reef from 2000 until 2008 and was very happy with it. The current units have been redesigned slightly, but I never used a better skimmer. OK, they require a good sized pressure pump, so are a bit heavier on energy than a needle wheel, but I would expect better performance.
Edit - the photo above is actually the HSA-3000, which has dual (rather than a single) beckett injectors.
New Skimmer
I have become less than completely happy with the ASM G4 that I am currently running on this tank. I think it is undersized. Looking around at the available choices, I have decided to go back to using a MTC HSA-1000 unit.
I used one of these beckett units on my prior 180 gallon reef from 2000 until 2008 and was very happy with it. The current units have been redesigned slightly, but I never used a better skimmer. OK, they require a good sized pressure pump, so are a bit heavier on energy than a needle wheel, but I would expect better performance.
Edit - the photo above is actually the HSA-3000, which has dual (rather than a single) beckett injectors.
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