Dawn's seahorse garden!

Acans garden on retaining wall. by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr
I always wanted an acan garden.

Yellow torch, ricordia and BTA by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr
I love any euphillia that has waving tentacles in the flow. Torches have been a challenge to me but this one seems off to a good start.
Long polyp toadstool by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr
I used to see long polyp toadstools a lot but they are not sought after so many lfs don't carry them. I was really happy to get this one at the frag swap.
Xenia by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr
I know some reefers would never ever put xenia in their tank but I love it.
My dartfish are Spirit and Spectre but I can not tell them apart. by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr
I love the color that the dartfish bring to the reef!
Marmalade looking very cute as always! by Dawn Gilson, on Flickr
O my, this face, I just melt whenever I see it!
 
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The photos of my reef look pretty good but I tested this morning and the numbers are ugly! My alk is down to about 2. I did not believe it so I tested a 2nd time but unfortunately with the same results. Needless to say that I am slowly dosing alk. I guess its all the new coral. CA is high at 450 or a little more and mag to at 1450. I did get the NO3 down with xtra water changes and it is 25. Unfortunately PO4 is between 2 and 3 so I guess I need gfo. The good thing is the reef looks good so I will ever so slowly dose alk to get it in line and gfo should control PO4. It means testing and keeping a close eye on things so as to not shock the coral as I make these corrections though.
 
Marmalade is a looker! Great pics as usual!

Good luck getting those numbers right. It sounds like you're pretty close. With high nitrate and phosphate, would adding another macro help?
 
Michael Hoaster said:
Marmalade is a looker! Great pics as usual!

Good luck getting those numbers right. It sounds like you're pretty close. With high nitrate and phosphate, would adding another macro help?
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Thanks! I would love to add blue octode or that other blue macro and I am sure it would help some if i was successful in getting it thrive. Like you said, this is not the best time of year for acquiring or shipping macro algae though. If a small amount of gfo is added to my AC70 and I watch carefully not to strip the water of PO4 I should be ok.
 
Great pics, thanks for sharing. Everything looks great. I love the xenia too, quite beautiful. And the dartfish is very interesting and beautiful as well. You know that I love Marmalade too :)
 
Ooh yeah, blue hypnea or ochtodes would be a nice additions, complimenting your blue gudgeons. Do yours hang out together?
 
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Chasmodes said:
Great pics, thanks for sharing. Everything looks great. I love the xenia too, quite beautiful. And the dartfish is very interesting and beautiful as well. You know that I love Marmalade too :)
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Thanks Kevin. Some reefers hate xenia because they say it's impossible to control. So far I have not found that to be a problem.

Yes, I knew you were part of Marmalade's fan club. 😁
 
Michael Hoaster said:
Ooh yeah, blue hypnea or ochtodes would be a nice additions, complimenting your blue gudgeons. Do yours hang out together?
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I am anxious to order either the blue hypnea or octodes. Right now I am watching my costs after buying so many coral.

The blue gudgeons do hang out together and sleep in the same den under the barnacle. I do not know if there were more of them if they would truly school or just stay in proximity of one another.
 
I here ya on watching costs. I have no idea how I afford this hobby! It goes well with having patience

Good to know on your blue buddies. They are cool fish!
 
Michael Hoaster said:
I here ya on watching costs. I have no idea how I afford this hobby! It goes well with having patience

Good to know on your blue buddies. They are cool fish!
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I don't know how I afford it either, but somehow in spite of the cost it has become a non-negotiable in my life, ha ha! As Dave and I near retirement and a fixed income I have planned for cost reductions. That is one of the reasons I will not replace my seahorses. The cost in salt and RODI water alone is huge with almost 25 gallons a week.

My 56g tank is nicely filled up with fish, coral and inverts so unless I experience a complete or partial crash, I do not need to put a lot more money in livestock. It should just be fun watching the coral and macro algaes that I have grow out and mature. The good thing is that the tank is not so full that there is not anymore room for anything else. I guess I am in a content place with it now but not stagnant. :)
 
It's good to get to that contented place. So often in this hobby, we're in some struggle or another! Enjoy that feeling. You've earned it!
 
I was sort of near my lfs and I had a $10 coupon so I stopped in. I came home with a coral banded shrimp and a tiny yellow watchman goby. I have named the goby Zeke and he makes 13 fish. I am not superstitious so I am not worry about the number of fish. I have been wanting a watchman for a long time and so this finishes my fish wish list.
 
Good news on my parameters...my alk came up to 7 without any damage to coral. My NO3 came down to 25 ppm and my PO4 (with the help of a PO4 sponge) came down to .5 ppm.

That still may seem high to many but for a tank that is specifically designed to be high nutrient it is the numbers I was shooting for.
 
Chasmodes said:
Excellent video...gave me a nice reefing fix this morning :) All of your fish are so photogenic!
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Thanks Kevin! My fish all believe that they are about to perish from hunget so they play up to the camera hoping to invoke compassion from the cinematographer and score a meal! :eek2:
 
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