d2mini's "Essential Focus" Mixed Reef Build

[d2mini]

If anyone ever needed a reason to go with TBS rock... this is it.
3 days in and no ammonia has showed up so I decided to check Nitrates.

5ppm! :bounce3:
Cycle? What cycle?!

 

[biecacka]

Dennis what test kit is that?

Corey

 

[ClownsRCoo]

Nyos


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[d2mini]

Yes, that's the NYOS kit.

Here's a fun little hitchhiker than came in on the rock.
A Seaweed Blenny!

 

[drummerboyevil]

Yes, that's the NYOS kit.

Here's a fun little hitchhiker than came in on the rock.
A Seaweed Blenny!

Wow that's so cool.

Also you'll love the wyoming whites. I set up a nano cube just for a juvenile pair. They are fiesty little guys, but extremely unique. People are always like, "I thought clownfish were orange :fish1:"

 

[sde1500]

Not sure on fish. But someone is holding a pair of Wyoming Whites for me so they will be first in the tank.

Nice! That was the first fish I added to my tank. Cool little clown, I didn't want a clown, the wife did, and that almost all white one was a good compromise for both of us.

 

[ktownhero]

I love that you went with real live rock for this tank. The common practice of using dry rock these days just feels so sterile... This tank looks great already and, as we all know, will only look better as the rock continues to come to life!

Very cool tank!

 

[shermanator]

Build is looking great.

And... TBS rock is amazing!

If we ever manage to sell our house, my next tank is going to be 100% TBS... no more screwing around with "live" rock from other sources.

 

[d2mini]

Part II in da house!

I'm so overwhelmed. So much stuff!

First, more of the Walt Smith 2.1 rock...

And for those curious about the INSIDE of this rock... I know many people continue to say that the inside is white and not colored through and that the outer coating chips.
Well see for yourself... this is a cross section of a piece I chopped in half.
Do you see any difference between the outside and the inside?

And OMG.... what the heck am I going to do... and this isn't all of it!
One bag is in my sump and a couple more are in the kitchen sink!
Which is kind of ironic because Richard basically sent me everything but the kitchen sink.

 

[d2mini]

Here's a few detail pics...


Peppermint Shrimp...

Serpent Starfish...

Brittle Starfish...

Cucumbers...

Rock Flower Anemones...

Bag of Sponges...

Another Bag of Sponges...

Two more Decorator Crabs...

Royal Gramma!

And there's more... Gorgonians, Sea Fans, snails, hermits, porcelain crabs...
I'll get more pics once I get everything situated!!!

 

[brownmarc]

Wow wow wow! I have delayed my 40 Breeder build just to save for some TBS had never heard of it before your thread. Thank you for sharing your thread loving the progress.

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[dcmartinpc]

Geez I tell ya, this thread is almost enough for me to setup my 150g Rubbermaid with a light and order enough rock to replace everything in my system 400g system!!! And I have some nice mature Marco rock and rock from Fiji when you could get it.

Looking good Dennis. Was all the rock you got from TBS the Walt Smith 2.1?

Don


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[d2mini]

Wow wow wow! I have delayed my 40 Breeder build just to save for some TBS had never heard of it before your thread. Thank you for sharing your thread loving the progress.

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Thank you... and you're welcome!

Geez I tell ya, this thread is almost enough for me to setup my 150g Rubbermaid with a light and order enough rock to replace everything in my system 400g system!!! And I have some nice mature Marco rock and rock from Fiji when you could get it.

Looking good Dennis. Was all the rock you got from TBS the Walt Smith 2.1?

Don


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hahahaha... yes this is mostly the 2.1 rock with a couple pieces of the original TBS stuff.

 

[rs1831]

Wow, amazing stuff!

Do you have a fish list in mind?


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[mpderksen]

Okay, I'm sold!
But I have a question. Sponges and a gorgonian are probably beyond my ability to have long term success. Seems like if I get all that amazing stuff, it'll look great for a while, but I'd suffer die off. Are you expecting everything to survive? Or is it just expected to not have everything live
$2k for the planned 180 is cheap if I don't just kill it all in the first 6 months. Maybe I get a supplemental package for my existing 75 and see how it goes?

 

[Noknock]

Did all the extras come with the standard Package?

 

[d2mini]

Wow, amazing stuff!

Do you have a fish list in mind?

Not really. Someone has been holding a pair of Wyoming White clownfish that I'm hoping to put in this weekend.
I'll probably do a school of chromis again. A couple smaller tangs. Maybe another magnificent or scribbled rabbitfish, maybe a few Anthias... not really sure. I just play it by ear. I don't like making fish lists. Plus, I tend to look right past the fish an focus on my coral. I can go days before I realize somebody is missing and have no idea when I saw them last. lol

Okay, I'm sold!
But I have a question. Sponges and a gorgonian are probably beyond my ability to have long term success. Seems like if I get all that amazing stuff, it'll look great for a while, but I'd suffer die off. Are you expecting everything to survive? Or is it just expected to not have everything live
$2k for the planned 180 is cheap if I don't just kill it all in the first 6 months. Maybe I get a supplemental package for my existing 75 and see how it goes?

They are tough to keep alive. Per some tips from another member I'm going to try being more religious about dosing phyto this time and see how it goes.
From past experience, some stuff lasts longer than others. For me, the red sponges are the first to go. The orange and yellow ones last longer for me. I think they also do better in less light. But they need good flow and lots of food. Hard to do all that in our tanks.
I kind of see it as a way to have an instant reef with a bunch of color from the get-go, and as stuff slowly vanishes over the next year I'm slowly adding coral so it all kind of evens out.
But I'm trying to get better!

Did all the extras come with the standard Package?

Yes.
Just depends what he has at the time but it's always like Christmas morning when you get those boxes home.

 

[Vinny Kreyling]

I can hear the giggles all the way to NY.

 

[SPotter]

dennis, sorry if I missed this in a previous post but what are you using for the AWC's? are you using the ghl dosing pump or something else?

 

[d2mini]

I can hear the giggles all the way to NY.

dennis, sorry if I missed this in a previous post but what are you using for the AWC's? are you using the ghl dosing pump or something else?

I ran the lines just in case, but no plans on using them.
Triton = no water changes.

I may be doing some larger changes in the beginning just to get through the initial "cycle" but once I start dosing that's it.