Diary of my LiL 40 Gallon Breeder(Intense)

A couple of quick notes...

Thanks again to masterswimmer for his tips on acclimating snails-very helpful!

Also, I should have listened to his advice on Caulerpa Racemosa- while it did not go asexual in my tank, it has quickly become a nuissance. There's no doubt it sucks up nitrates, but it can grow quickly, and the new growth is unpredictable and unsightly. Also, it fused to my rock, so I had to carefully pull it off in strips....definately best left for a refugium..:)

I'll be giving it away to some local reefers.

The tank was looking so well, and I had become so busy, that I became lax with the water change. I went off my schedule by almost 2 weeks. So I did a 12 gallon water change instead of my usual 8, and this weekend I'll be performing another 8 gallon water change- right back on schedule.

However, this bit of laziness did come at a bit of a price. I now have brown wafer algae taking a foothold on my live rock. It's not too bad right now, and as long as it doesn't spread too much I don't mind it. It actually looks like little fuzzy brown milli caps....

I'm sure the small amount actually provides good cover for micro-infauna.
 
Finally, the diatoms are starting to calm down. I no longer have to run a magnet over the glass religiously. My mother and aunt both saw the tank for the first time today and commented how gorgeous and pristine it looked. :D

I think my aunt was a bit startled by there not being any "filter" on the tank...;)

My clam is doing wonderfully! It's stayed attached and appears to love its new spot(It was good to wait the extra few weeks to add the clam). My lil Maxima extends its mantle fully all the time, and it even looks like there is new growth along the shell. It's neat to see pods run through the scales.

Luckily, I only caught my angel nipping at the mantle one time, but I think she was just attracted by a contraction and ended up hitting the shell...kinda like when she nips at my snails for a piece of algae..or..umm...just cause they're there...she's completely ignored the clam since.

My lil angel is spectacular and bold- still the only fish and queen of the tank. She'll now come out and take interest in my waving finger, and she goes nuts when I feed the tank-bangin her head on the top...:p She now eats Nori and Frozen Angel Formula greedily...:D

I did have a little scare when I discovered two sizeable gouges along her side- they looked like a raptor scratched her. Since there are no dinosaurs in my tank..:p I concluded she probably scraped up against a rock...trying to fit through caves she really doesn't fit into..;) These marks have since healed fully and are indistinguishable.

I've added a few more snails along the way, including a really cute Cortez Cerith.

The only coral I added was that Pink/Orange Ricordia.

The original purple mushroom has spawned at least two new polyps.

Everything is well and I'm very pleased with my progress. I haven't lost one specimen to date as the tank approaches 4 months.:

Fish:
Brazilian Flameback Angel

Snails:
2 Astrea
3 Trochus
5 Tiger Trochus
5 Carribean Ceriths
1 Cortez Cerith
7 Nassarius Vibex

One Hawaiian Feather Duster

Corals:
2 Purple Spotted Actinodiscus
4 Purple Actinodiscus
4 Rhodactis Inchoata/Tealish from Tonga
1 Rhodactis sp green/pink
1 Red Spotted Actinodiscus
2 Pink/Orange Green Mouth Ricordia
Purple Tip Montipora Digitada

Ridiculous pods- :D

Happy Reefing!
 
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Insaneclown,
Love your tank. I started a 40 SPS tank about 6 weeks ago, using a lot of stuff from a 10g nano I had. Here a link . Like you, I set it up in the dining room, but unlike you, my paint is mauve. :D
I also have a flameback angel waiting at the LFS. He's been there 3 or 4 weeks, and I think I'll probably pick him up this weekend. I'm very interested to see how your flameback does with the clam in the long run. Keep us posted. I'd like a clam in my tank too, but I'm afraid the angel might wind up eating it.
Mariner
 
Mariner, thanks for the kind words. I checked out your setup-very sweet.

I dig the mauve too. Brazilian or African Flameback? I've heard that dwarf angels are far worse with LPS and things like Hammers...but time will tell...I'll keep everyone posted...:)
 
Fiasco!

I took me almost an hour to remove all the Caulerpa Racemosa from the tank tonight. I had pruned it back from the rocks and tried burying it partially under the sand- forget it. It would root through the sand, and because I have very porous LR it would root into very tiny cracks.

It was on the powerheads, the rocks, the sand...behind rock structures...and a few pieces had floated off and started to reroot elsewhere...awful...:(

Fortunately, I was able to use chop sticks to dig some of it from rocks- and to reach some pieces that had settled behind rocks. All in all I got 95% of it. It's those few pieces I couldn't reach that I'm worried about.

Luckily too, the small piece that settled UNDERNEATH the rock my clam attached to...and between the base rocks...was not attached...so I just eased it out with a chopstick.

Chopsticks...THE REEF TOOL OF THE FUTURE...:D

I was aggravated because I nudged the top rock that wedges the LR rubble my clam is on to some other LR. I readjusted it, but it didn't seem as settled as it was originally...I better not wake up to a big piece of rock sitting on my clam! :mad2:

From now on I'll stick to Macros that grow naturally as LR hitchhikers in the display. I even removed the brillo pad cheato. It had gotten bits of Caulerpa mixed in it, and while it stayed very nice at first, it became unsightly and would slowly unravel with the high flow.
Like a ball of yarn this stuff would trail towards the powerheads...yuck. It became very unsightly to have a long thin thread flowing across the tank from an outlet.

I inadvertantly broke a few of the Macro "bubbles"- hopefully it's not going asexual in my tank.

The cheato is ashame because at night I always witnessed various pods using it as cover, and there were snail eggs on it this morning.

I had promised some people in my club free cuttings of the Racemosa, but because I've missed the last couple meetings, and it has hence gotten out of control, I had no choice but to discard it.

Ahh no holding tank- or room for one either. I was going to put a hole in the ziplock bag(I was placing the macros into as I worked) and throw it back in the tank...but I was too worried some would "float" out.

I was also really POd I probably dripped out 2 gallons of salt water all over my dining room's hard wood floors. *sigh*

Live and Learn...:)

PS- On the upside, the tank really does look 110% better, and I was able to move my ricordia to a much nicer spot.
 
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needpics.gif
 
Well I did it. I went a bit crazy..:) I just placed an order with PhishyBusiness....

I'll be receiving tomorrow morning-
Golden Pygmy Angel- One of the most gorgeous specimens I've ever seen a picture of. Serdar has also had her for 3 months, she's active for a Golden, and actually picking at frozen mysis and brine...:eek2:

The Golden is one of my all time favorite reef fishes, and yes, I'm very prepared to set her up her own tank if there are issues with the flameback.

4 Inch Aquacultured Bright Purple Encrusting Montipora Mollis.
8-10 Polyp Rock of Green Ricordia.

I also snagged a 7 pack of Captive Bred SPS including:
Ultra Blue Milli
Pink Milli
Pink with Purple Tip Milli
Neon Green Pocillopora from ORA
and 3 surprises...:D

SO EXCITED! :dance:
 
Sweet! Finally some pictures. Currently I'm in the last stages of my cycle I think...weird stuff on the sandbed came and just went, so hopefully I can start adding stuff. I do need to get more macro and do more water changes, to kill off the remaining Valonia. I should update my thread, huh...:D
 
www.phishybusiness.com

$130. for 7 Captive Bred SPS frags from 1-1.5 inches.

There are "cheaper" deals out there, but they're for wild break offs usually. Serdars are mainly captive grown and aquacultured.

The 7 deal is for "his choice," but if you call and talk with him, and make a logical request for a grouping of frags, he'll probably honor it.

I'll get some pics up my weeks end......:)
 
I updated my thread with some bad pictures. Also you might like to see my post in the CTARS forum, and post what you think.
 
The other things I forgot to mention about PhishyBusiness, and why I decided to order from Serdar:

1. Impeccable reputation
2. Only priority overnight and unparalleled packaging(he packs everything himself)
3. I think he has one of the lowest loss rate for any online vendor
4. Amazingly colorful, and mainly captive/aquacultured sps
5. Personable on the phone

This is my first online order...so we will see...:)

{I've also ordered online with JP of www.justphish.com who is also fantastic, and a true hobbyist, but I picked up locally}
 
You actually beat me to it...I was just about to post...:p

No pics yet, but I WILL have them up tomorrow night.

Let me just say, it took me all of four hours to acclimate everything I received, but oh man...time well spent.

Everything from Phishy Business was absolutely fantastic and super healthy.

First off the box was packed like Fort Nox. The thing was packed and on a plane by 10pm last night and at my doorstep at 9:15 am this morning.

There was a thick foam, covered cooler that fit perfectly inside the cardboard box. The cardboard box was sealed with Phishy Business 'brand' tape and then stapled shut- Fort Nox. Even the signed, "Packaged by Serdar," the live fish, and the this way up signs were nice touches.
I've read before that Serdar packs everything meticulously, but this was really and truly packed perfectly. It's nice to deal with someone who takes such care in packing, and even the bag and coral placement was well thought out.

Each bag was a double thick insulated and vaccumn sealed bag, and he uses all LARGE bags so the specimens have both a ton of water and air...man this box was heavy....:smokin: There were also nice sleeves in with some of the larger pieces.

All of the bags were then taped together in a way the virtually negated movement, and THEN there was a nice coverlet taped on top of that.

Now for the fun stuff...
 
The Golden Pygmy Angel is gorgeous, healthy, huge, and FAT. He's at least a full inch bigger than advertised. I was shocked to see how much bigger he was than my lil Brazilian Flameback.

I was also shocked to see uncharacteristically untimid behavior from a Golden. While he did hide after acclimation, his hiding was not cryptic, and initially, he actually swam around freely. In fact he hung out towards the back of the tank in plain view practically right next to the Brazilian.

I was a tad worried the Brazilian might be overly dominant, but man does size matter. The two fish did a couple of casual meet and greets where they actually checked each other out. The Brazilian eventually scurried away, and she's acted wholely more weirded out than the Golden... :lol:

The Green Ricordia Rock is a minty- foresty green polyp with no lights on, but with the Blue+ bulbs shows a very unique babyish lime green. My girlfriend loved the new Rics. Even the rock they were on is just smothered in stunning red and purple coralline. I counted 7 polyps on the rock, and the center one is a huge 2.5 inches.

The Aquacultured Encrusting Montipora Mollis is about the size of a baseball- as advertised! The color is an amazing lavendary purple.
SWEET! :D Can you tell I'm happy so far?

Now onto the Frags....
 
So I order this 7 Pack of Captive Bred SPS Frags for $130. and this is what I get:

Ultra Blue Millipora Captive Bred from Bali- 1.75+ and very thick with a second stalk forming. Royal Blue.

Pink Millipora Captive Bred from Bali- 1.75+ very thick and at least a second stalk forming. PINK

Bi-Color Peachy Pink with lavendar polyped Millipora Captive Bred from Bali- 1+ Inch but very think with two distinct stalks.

A. Tenuis, Blue Green, Captive Bred from Bali- 1.5 inch + with MULTIPLE stalks and very thick Dusky Blue-slatish..nice

Neon Green Pocillopora from ORA- 1.5 inches with MULTIPLE stalks and SUPER thick

A. yongei(Green Slimer) 2 inch + with multiple stalks forming and far nicer than the pic LIME green...err...REALLY Green

Really Flourescing Baby Lime Green Birds nest- ummm not really a frag but a 3 x 1.5 inch colony!

Ridiculously vibrant colors and super healthy...
All I have to say is....
:eek2:
 
Alright, I'm in a bit of mourning right now. I just lost my prized Brazilian Flame Angel to cyanoacrylate last night...:(

My little angel ingested a small portion of the glue which led to trouble breathing. It eventually calcified and killed her.

I had read the story of the Tang that had glue it's lips together by picking at a piece of cyanoacrylate in the water column, and at the time, it seemed like a cute and comical story.

It's ashame, I never thought I would lose my pet to a "super glue" mishap.:sad1:
 
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