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By the end of the month I'd guess.
Six Months In .... Almost
Six Months In .... Almost
Going away next week, so though I'd post a bunch of pictures of my tank at about 6 months age. Not without challenges, but things have gone pretty well.
Full Tank Shot
Purple Tang and Female Meleagris Leopard Wrasse
Male Bipartitus Wrasse and a large Pocillopora colony that is depositing babies all over the tank.
Things are getting a bit crowded, particularly the tabling acro (not sure of species).
Squamosa Clam #1
Squamosa Clam #2
Newest fish, an Achilles Tang, showing a few spots unfortunately
Two newest coral additions, a green tabling acro and a purple tipped acro - latter is sitting on the sand because I'm out of space.
Green slimmer acro has grown nicely, though the near branch has been snapped off twice by my clumsy Hippo Tang
Six Months In .... Almost
Going away next week, so though I'd post a bunch of pictures of my tank at about 6 months age. Not without challenges, but things have gone pretty well.
Full Tank Shot
Purple Tang and Female Meleagris Leopard Wrasse
Male Bipartitus Wrasse and a large Pocillopora colony that is depositing babies all over the tank.
Things are getting a bit crowded, particularly the tabling acro (not sure of species).
Squamosa Clam #1
Squamosa Clam #2
Newest fish, an Achilles Tang, showing a few spots unfortunately
Two newest coral additions, a green tabling acro and a purple tipped acro - latter is sitting on the sand because I'm out of space.
Green slimmer acro has grown nicely, though the near branch has been snapped off twice by my clumsy Hippo Tang
Hit the six Month Mark!
Hit the six Month Mark!
...... which generally means disaster is just around the corner :lol:
FTS
Left Side
Right Side
Livestock
I'm about stocked out. I may still add a few more small fish, perhaps some chalk basslets or a potters leopard wrasse, but that's about it for fish - particularly since I'm 'managing' ich in the tank. Inverts present somewhat more opportunity still. I'd like to put in a couple more clams - a Crocea and a larger Deresa. I would love a Gigas, but they simply aren't available in a manageable size. I've bought a couple of those aqua-mag rocks that you can attach to the rear of the tank in order to provide a little more real-estate for some final frags that I'd like to add. After that it'll be just letting the colonies grow and fragging as necessary. The large pocillopora colony in the second picture (right side of picture, towards the rear) has been either spawning or spitting polyps because I have a number of small colonies growing on the back wall of the tank. I believe it is actually from spawning, even though folks I've talked to suggest polyp-bail-out is more likely.
Equipment
Frag tank is growing GHA like crazy - which is a little strange because it is part of the same system as the display, which has none. Importance of herbivores I suppose! Tried putting some turbos in, but they just crawled up and over the top rim. so, will have to figure out an invert solution. Probably a CUC supplement in the near future. A bigger skimmer is in the plan. I'm going with a MTC unit, though probably their recirculating mazzei-based unit rather than the one pictured in an earlier post. The stand has held up nicely. Using DiY micro-lams for the horizontal beams has proven to be quite effective and I think that will be my approach on any future large tank stands.
Hit the six Month Mark!
...... which generally means disaster is just around the corner :lol:
FTS
Left Side
Right Side
Livestock
I'm about stocked out. I may still add a few more small fish, perhaps some chalk basslets or a potters leopard wrasse, but that's about it for fish - particularly since I'm 'managing' ich in the tank. Inverts present somewhat more opportunity still. I'd like to put in a couple more clams - a Crocea and a larger Deresa. I would love a Gigas, but they simply aren't available in a manageable size. I've bought a couple of those aqua-mag rocks that you can attach to the rear of the tank in order to provide a little more real-estate for some final frags that I'd like to add. After that it'll be just letting the colonies grow and fragging as necessary. The large pocillopora colony in the second picture (right side of picture, towards the rear) has been either spawning or spitting polyps because I have a number of small colonies growing on the back wall of the tank. I believe it is actually from spawning, even though folks I've talked to suggest polyp-bail-out is more likely.
Equipment
Frag tank is growing GHA like crazy - which is a little strange because it is part of the same system as the display, which has none. Importance of herbivores I suppose! Tried putting some turbos in, but they just crawled up and over the top rim. so, will have to figure out an invert solution. Probably a CUC supplement in the near future. A bigger skimmer is in the plan. I'm going with a MTC unit, though probably their recirculating mazzei-based unit rather than the one pictured in an earlier post. The stand has held up nicely. Using DiY micro-lams for the horizontal beams has proven to be quite effective and I think that will be my approach on any future large tank stands.
Five tangs in total, so yes, you are right, not much opportunity for any algae to grow. My LFS got in a few sea hares, so I got an almost tennis ball sized one that is making short work of the GHA in my frag tank. The thing sure poops a lot though.
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I have decided to go in a slightly different direction on a new skimmer. I'm still going to go with a Marine Technical Concepts unit, but their mazzei recirculator rather than the beckett.
MTC really do make wonderful gear and I've been running their stuff since the early 1990s. My calcium reactor is their Pro-Cal, in use non-continuously since about 2001, my prior skimmer was the HSA-1000 that I ran from about 1997 until selling it with a tank breakdown in 2008, and I still have one of their pro-doser units kicking around somewhere. Never really considered not going with MTC for a bigger skimmer, just couldn't decide which one. Now remedied!
PS - Not my photo, BTW; in case the clarity and focus didn't give it away :lol:
MTC really do make wonderful gear and I've been running their stuff since the early 1990s. My calcium reactor is their Pro-Cal, in use non-continuously since about 2001, my prior skimmer was the HSA-1000 that I ran from about 1997 until selling it with a tank breakdown in 2008, and I still have one of their pro-doser units kicking around somewhere. Never really considered not going with MTC for a bigger skimmer, just couldn't decide which one. Now remedied!
PS - Not my photo, BTW; in case the clarity and focus didn't give it away :lol:
A Couple of Interesting Shots
A Couple of Interesting Shots
Magnifica 'balling' behavior - doesn't do it very often, but I've seen this in the ocean many times so I am going to assume it means its happy
Good shot of a few of my fish. Most of the spots are actually on the glass, though the Achilles has been showing a few of its own for a few weeks
Even though my brain says the cleaner wrasse does nothing for ich, buddy of mine was going to get rid of it, so ...... chasing the Tangs around something fierce ... and it eats frozen!
A Couple of Interesting Shots
Magnifica 'balling' behavior - doesn't do it very often, but I've seen this in the ocean many times so I am going to assume it means its happy
Good shot of a few of my fish. Most of the spots are actually on the glass, though the Achilles has been showing a few of its own for a few weeks
Even though my brain says the cleaner wrasse does nothing for ich, buddy of mine was going to get rid of it, so ...... chasing the Tangs around something fierce ... and it eats frozen!
dave.m
Active member
Make sure it really is a blue-streak cleaner wrasse (Labroides dimidiatus) and not the mimic/false cleaner wrasse (Aspidontus taeniatus).
The cleaner wrasse can get obnoxious if it's not getting enough to eat through cleaning and can harass other fish. I prefer the scarlet-striped cleaner shrimp (Lysmata grabhami) for cleaning. They, too, will eat any fish food that comes their way, but they won't bother the fish too much. You really need a large tank with lots of big fish to keep a cleaner wrasse happy.
Ich is under the skin surface so, no, a cleaner wrasse can't help with ich.
Dave.M
The cleaner wrasse can get obnoxious if it's not getting enough to eat through cleaning and can harass other fish. I prefer the scarlet-striped cleaner shrimp (Lysmata grabhami) for cleaning. They, too, will eat any fish food that comes their way, but they won't bother the fish too much. You really need a large tank with lots of big fish to keep a cleaner wrasse happy.
Ich is under the skin surface so, no, a cleaner wrasse can't help with ich.
Dave.M
It doesn't have the 'under-slung' mouth so I think it is pretty clearly L. Dimidatus.
A Few New Additions
A Few New Additions
Local reefer was selling a nice, big Deresa clam ....
.... couldn't resist this LPS, with rasta zoos peeking around the edges ....
.... and my yellow gorgonian is finally showing some polyps.
In an effort to make a bit more space, I bought a couple of those aqua-mag rocks to attach to the back wall.
I've read them referred to as 'icebergs' and that true, until they color up with corraline, etc. They do as advertised.
A Few New Additions
Local reefer was selling a nice, big Deresa clam ....
.... couldn't resist this LPS, with rasta zoos peeking around the edges ....
.... and my yellow gorgonian is finally showing some polyps.
In an effort to make a bit more space, I bought a couple of those aqua-mag rocks to attach to the back wall.
I've read them referred to as 'icebergs' and that true, until they color up with corraline, etc. They do as advertised.
New Skimmer Installed
New Skimmer Installed
Finally got around to putting in the new skimmer ....
It's the dual mazzei recircualing unit from MTC pictured in an earlier post. I try to use gravity rather than another pump whenever possible, so for now it is gravity fed from my upper sump. I also had the guys at MTC make me a second lid (without the protruding handle) so that I could mount my Avast Marine swabbie. Required a bigger blade because the neck is quite long - though I still had to modify the blade.
Although I don't anticipate any issues, I think I will leave the existing ASM G4+ in-place until the MTS gets dialed in.
New Skimmer Installed
Finally got around to putting in the new skimmer ....
It's the dual mazzei recircualing unit from MTC pictured in an earlier post. I try to use gravity rather than another pump whenever possible, so for now it is gravity fed from my upper sump. I also had the guys at MTC make me a second lid (without the protruding handle) so that I could mount my Avast Marine swabbie. Required a bigger blade because the neck is quite long - though I still had to modify the blade.
Although I don't anticipate any issues, I think I will leave the existing ASM G4+ in-place until the MTS gets dialed in.
Swabbie
Swabbie
Fitting my swabbie to this skimmer was not easy. I had the MTC chaps make me a second lid without the protruding handle with a 5/8" hole in the center. Bought the extra-large blade from Avast Marine, because I needed a long blade, but the MTC skimmer has a narrow neck, so I had to trim the back of the blade to get it to fit.
Blade doesn't reach all the way down the neck, but doesn't look like the lower area of the neck will collect gunk anyhow, so should be good.
One drawback of really big venturi skimmers is that the injectors clog pretty quickly with salt. MTC suggests running the pump through a timer and switching it off for a few minutes every 6 hours or so. I don't particularly like this idea as most skimmers I've used overflow briefly when first turning on the pump. I think I'm going to devise a way of periodically pumping water briefly down the airline to clear the salt buildup instead.
Swabbie
Fitting my swabbie to this skimmer was not easy. I had the MTC chaps make me a second lid without the protruding handle with a 5/8" hole in the center. Bought the extra-large blade from Avast Marine, because I needed a long blade, but the MTC skimmer has a narrow neck, so I had to trim the back of the blade to get it to fit.
Blade doesn't reach all the way down the neck, but doesn't look like the lower area of the neck will collect gunk anyhow, so should be good.
One drawback of really big venturi skimmers is that the injectors clog pretty quickly with salt. MTC suggests running the pump through a timer and switching it off for a few minutes every 6 hours or so. I don't particularly like this idea as most skimmers I've used overflow briefly when first turning on the pump. I think I'm going to devise a way of periodically pumping water briefly down the airline to clear the salt buildup instead.
Seven Months
Seven Months
New skimmer in and running, though perhaps not get perfectly dialed in. Realized I've run out of Apex outlets, so a fourth EB8 looks to be in the cards.
Need to up the 2-part dosing even more as alk has fallen to about 7 dKh; normally I run the tank at about 10. A couple of the larger SPS colonies are looking a bit pale at the bottom, so perhaps low alk, or perhaps some fragging is going to be necessary.
Seven Months
New skimmer in and running, though perhaps not get perfectly dialed in. Realized I've run out of Apex outlets, so a fourth EB8 looks to be in the cards.
Need to up the 2-part dosing even more as alk has fallen to about 7 dKh; normally I run the tank at about 10. A couple of the larger SPS colonies are looking a bit pale at the bottom, so perhaps low alk, or perhaps some fragging is going to be necessary.
Seven Months
Seven Months
New skimmer in and running, though perhaps not get perfectly dialed in. Realized I've run out of Apex outlets, so a fourth EB8 looks to be in the cards.
Need to up the 2-part dosing even more as alk has fallen to about 7 dKh; normally I run the tank at about 10. A couple of the larger SPS colonies are looking a bit pale at the bottom, so perhaps low alk, or perhaps some fragging is going to be necessary. Fortunate, therefore, that the small frag tank I added has rounded into shape thanks to a sea hare.
Pretty sparse so far, but a number of colonies are going to need to be trimmed.
Seven Months
New skimmer in and running, though perhaps not get perfectly dialed in. Realized I've run out of Apex outlets, so a fourth EB8 looks to be in the cards.
Need to up the 2-part dosing even more as alk has fallen to about 7 dKh; normally I run the tank at about 10. A couple of the larger SPS colonies are looking a bit pale at the bottom, so perhaps low alk, or perhaps some fragging is going to be necessary. Fortunate, therefore, that the small frag tank I added has rounded into shape thanks to a sea hare.
Pretty sparse so far, but a number of colonies are going to need to be trimmed.
Two Moths of Growth .... Give or Take!
Two Moths of Growth .... Give or Take!
Top picture is today; bottom early-April. About the only coral which has not been doing all that well is the frogspawn. I'm inclined to think the issue is nipping from my pair of dwarf angels, but every head is showing less extension, so not really sure what to think?
Fish continue to hold their own against the ich. Achilles has been in the tank now for over two months and shows a few spots periodically, but not an infestation as I had feared. I'll continue to mange it until it becomes clear that its not manageable. So far, though, most fish continue to behave normally.
Two Moths of Growth .... Give or Take!
Top picture is today; bottom early-April. About the only coral which has not been doing all that well is the frogspawn. I'm inclined to think the issue is nipping from my pair of dwarf angels, but every head is showing less extension, so not really sure what to think?
Fish continue to hold their own against the ich. Achilles has been in the tank now for over two months and shows a few spots periodically, but not an infestation as I had feared. I'll continue to mange it until it becomes clear that its not manageable. So far, though, most fish continue to behave normally.
dave.m
Active member
Corals don't just use nematocysts. There's all sorts of creatures on the reef that also exude nasty chemicals like turpines into the water to inhibit the growth of competitors around them. That may be what's bothering your frogspawn. LPS seem to be more sensitive to this sort of attack. Try moving it to find a location that it's happier with.
Dave.M
Dave.M
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