Fsurocks99's 40 Breeder

[Fsurocks99]

Wow, speechless, still amazing. I need to re-read your thread now to refresh my memory on how this awesomeness came to be! Your SPS grew like crazy, giant anemone on the back right?

Thanks ChouDawg! Yes, that is a giant long tentacle back there. Playing a little Russian Roulette with it, I know, but just couldn't resist. Knock on wood, it hasn't moved since the day I got it ~3 years ago.

Your comment made me look back at past photos and I'm amazed at how the tank has matured. Still not quite happy with it just yet, in particular, the green slimer growing straight up. What's up with that?! Was hoping it would have started branching by now.

The major downside to all the growth, if there really is one, is that the corals are fighting every night. Of course the corals that are losing are my favorites...I'll have to start doing something about that soon, but I just hate the unnatural look of trimmed corals.

 

[ChouDawg]

Those things really do have a mind of their own...I had a big 10" or so RBTA that was constantly on the move. Just when I thought it was settled, it moved again and then one last time into the MP10 never to be seen again :-/ Luckily before it was shredded to a million pieces it left a small clone so I still have one that has not moved since, *knock on wood* as well.

I know you're against trimming corals but "topping" my slimer did a great job at forcing it to branch out. My slimer did a TON of encrusting and then started growing upwards, after I chopped the top 1/2" or so off, it took off and now the top has three branches coming out of it. It's a bit of a pain though because now it's top heavy lol...I think if you're getting coral war and your favorites are losing trimming might be the best option. You can always glue the frags elsewhere to help spread them around or on plugs to sell/trade. It might look "unnatural" at first but they'll fill in and look natural again with your insane growth for sure.

 

[Fsurocks99]

Those things really do have a mind of their own...I had a big 10" or so RBTA that was constantly on the move. Just when I thought it was settled, it moved again and then one last time into the MP10 never to be seen again :-/ Luckily before it was shredded to a million pieces it left a small clone so I still have one that has not moved since, *knock on wood* as well.

I know you're against trimming corals but "topping" my slimer did a great job at forcing it to branch out. My slimer did a TON of encrusting and then started growing upwards, after I chopped the top 1/2" or so off, it took off and now the top has three branches coming out of it. It's a bit of a pain though because now it's top heavy lol...I think if you're getting coral war and your favorites are losing trimming might be the best option. You can always glue the frags elsewhere to help spread them around or on plugs to sell/trade. It might look "unnatural" at first but they'll fill in and look natural again with your insane growth for sure.

Yeah, good thing the clone is staying put! I'll try cutting the top off of the green slimer this week. Hopefully, I can get the same result as you.

The coral warfare has been somewhat of a pain in that it's occurring mainly at the bases. I've been placing tiny pieces of rubble over the war zone, letting the superior coral grow over it, then replacing it with a new piece. Rinse and Repeat...That's helped with most of the fights.

As far as the branches, I started doing exactly what you said, placing the frags in other spots to have numerous mini colonies, not too long ago. Unfortunately, I'm quickly running out of space that way....I'll figure something out. Most in my area have frags from me, so throwing them away is what I normally do, which I HATE to do...

 

[ChouDawg]

Ya I'm really glad the clone isn't as much a trouble child as the parent it came from.

Looking at your slimer as it is now, unless you want it to be that high up, you can probably get away with cutting it a couple inches above the split and then cutting the piece you cut off into two and gluing those two pieces down...they should encrust/grow no problem. Most people I've seen glue their cuts to the base so the whole thing encrust together into a nice colony. In your case maybe try mounting them sideways sticking perpendicular to your peninsula, seems you have some empty space there.

Oh man, having "too much growth" and "not enough room" is a problem I'd love to experience. Trading them into a LFS for credit might be an option too or if you're inclined to, I'd gladly pay shipping to get a few of those that you'd end up tossing out :thumbsup:

Just throwing this out there but maybe it's time for you to go bigger, triple digit peninsula time? :lmao:

 

[Fsurocks99]

Ya I'm really glad the clone isn't as much a trouble child as the parent it came from.

Looking at your slimer as it is now, unless you want it to be that high up, you can probably get away with cutting it a couple inches above the split and then cutting the piece you cut off into two and gluing those two pieces down...they should encrust/grow no problem. Most people I've seen glue their cuts to the base so the whole thing encrust together into a nice colony. In your case maybe try mounting them sideways sticking perpendicular to your peninsula, seems you have some empty space there.

Oh man, having "too much growth" and "not enough room" is a problem I'd love to experience. Trading them into a LFS for credit might be an option too or if you're inclined to, I'd gladly pay shipping to get a few of those that you'd end up tossing out :thumbsup:

Just throwing this out there but maybe it's time for you to go bigger, triple digit peninsula time? :lmao:

Sounds like a good idea with the slimer. Wouldn't mind having more pieces of it elsewhere in the tank!

True, but the "growth/space problem" is a blessing and a curse. It's great to see the growth, but there are so many corals I'd like to add but can't cause of little space.

Never shipped out corals before. If you had caught me during Spring Break last week I may have been able to....Maybe we can work something out at a later date.

I wish I could get a triple digit peninsula, just don't have the budget (Masters student) or the space...Though, if I were to get another tank, I think I'd go with a rimless 24x24x24 cube or maybe 36x24x24.....don't put these thoughts in my head!!:lol:

 

[sahin]

Wow man, your corals are grown lots!

 

[Fsurocks99]

Wow man, your corals are grown lots!

Thanks sahin!

 

[kaserpick]

Looks awesome, Jack!

One day...my tank might start growing...maybe. Haha!

All joking aside, it's really a great job and speaks volumes about you setup/husbandry, especially considering the fact that you're in and out of the country. I'm really impressed; many of us struggle with growth and never leave our reefs for an extended period of time. Seriously, whatever you're doing, keep it up! :thumbsup:

 

[glaukos]

:thumbsup:Welldone jack
That's an amazing growth!
Tank looks beautiful!

 

[Fail_sh3d]

Very excellent tank. Another one that slipped by my reading.

 

[Fsurocks99]

Looks awesome, Jack!

One day...my tank might start growing...maybe. Haha!

All joking aside, it's really a great job and speaks volumes about you setup/husbandry, especially considering the fact that you're in and out of the country. I'm really impressed; many of us struggle with growth and never leave our reefs for an extended period of time. Seriously, whatever you're doing, keep it up! :thumbsup:

Thanks Kasey! I learned from the best! Honestly, I'm going by what you always said, keep it simple (and stable)!

Making the tank completely automated has made the most profound difference. The Apex has stabilized the essential parameters and limited the need for me to put my hands in the tank, which is a difficult thing for me to do! I always want to mess with things :lol:. But, with the Apex, now I'm only putting my hands in the tank for water changes (2x/month), to save a snail or to test the parameters. Other than that, all I have to do are the occasional checks of the ATO level, skimmer cup, adjusting dosers and feeding. The upfront costs and learning curves of the Apex, dosers, ATO, etc. were swift kicks to the pants, but they've paid for themselves already and then some. They've simplified everything and simplicity is a reefer's best friend, especially if you travel a lot!

Hope all is well with you. I'm sure your tank will reach the level of awesomeness that your nano and 65 got to in no time! Can't wait to see it get there!

 

[Fsurocks99]

:thumbsup:Welldone jack
That's an amazing growth!
Tank looks beautiful!

Very excellent tank. Another one that slipped by my reading.

Thanks Mike and Jon! I'm glad you both like it.

In your defense Jon, I had let the thread go, by accident. My masters project is consuming all of my time...Luckily, sahin resurrected the thread :lol:.

 

[gordonheimer]

Wow you got some great growth!!

Nice to see another reefer from our area here!:wave:

 

[Fsurocks99]

Wow you got some great growth!!

Nice to see another reefer from our area here!:wave:

Thanks gordonheimer! Yes, it's always nice to see a fellow Hampton Roads reefer!

 

[Fail_sh3d]

Thanks Mike and Jon! I'm glad you both like it.

In your defense Jon, I had let the thread go, by accident. My masters project is consuming all of my time...Luckily, sahin resurrected the thread :lol:.

Good thing he did. Sahin is the man. And thank you for the kind words on my thread, Jack. Cant wait to get time to scroll through all these pages. I have a 40 sitting in reserve for a bigger house. I love these tanks.

 

[Fsurocks99]

Good thing he did. Sahin is the man. And thank you for the kind words on my thread, Jack. Cant wait to get time to scroll through all these pages. I have a 40 sitting in reserve for a bigger house. I love these tanks.

Yes, he is.

No problem, I meant them. Yeah the 40 breeders are very nice. If you decide to start it up and go with the Peninsula style let me know. There are a few things I wish I had done differently with mine...

 

[ChouDawg]

Yes, he is.

No problem, I meant them. Yeah the 40 breeders are very nice. If you decide to start it up and go with the Peninsula style let me know. There are a few things I wish I had done differently with mine...

Do share, I'm curious what things you'd change?

In my opinion it's never too late to make changes and improvements. I just added a second MP10 to my tank last night. I'm planning to re-do my return to make it 1 pipe up, 2 locline output from my 2 pipe up, 3 locline ouput and possibly move both my MP10 to the "closed" wall like you have your setup.

What modes/percentage do you have your 40/10 at? How do you like the placement, I'm scared of putting all my powerheads/outputs on the overflow end because I feel like everything would settle on the far wall. Right now my MP10 is about 1/3 down on the far end aimed at the overflow and other than blasting my BN with water it seems to help get things into the overflow.

 

[Fsurocks99]

Do share, I'm curious what things you'd change?

In my opinion it's never too late to make changes and improvements. I just added a second MP10 to my tank last night. I'm planning to re-do my return to make it 1 pipe up, 2 locline output from my 2 pipe up, 3 locline ouput and possibly move both my MP10 to the "closed" wall like you have your setup.

What modes/percentage do you have your 40/10 at? How do you like the placement, I'm scared of putting all my powerheads/outputs on the overflow end because I feel like everything would settle on the far wall. Right now my MP10 is about 1/3 down on the far end aimed at the overflow and other than blasting my BN with water it seems to help get things into the overflow.

You hit the nail on the head, ChouDawg!

Flow is the #1 issue I wish I had thought about more. You would think that an mp40 and mp10 plus a Mag 9.5 return would be ample flow, which it is, but it's all coming from one direction.

To address this, I wish I had either:

1) drilled a couple of extra holes on the bottom towards the front for two outputs to add an upwelling effect in the front of the tank. I would have then aquascaped around them.

Or

2) I've seen a couple of people make a pvc frame that fits under the top rim of the tank that has an output flow at the front.

Lights

I wish I could have used MH and T5HOs. I miss the shimmer...but my bedroom is hot enough with the T5HOs, so this wasn't/isn't an option.

Overflow Box

Not sure what I would have done, but I wish I had made it smaller...always nice to have some extra space!

Sump and Stand

I wish I had a larger sump (currently a 20 long, 30+ gal would be nice). But, in order for this to happen, I'd have to change up the design of the stand. I would also add some sort of airflow design to the stand doors (this is definitely doable).

Another thing is detritus in the sump. I have a ton of rubble rock and chaeto in the sump, so I have to clean the detritus out every so often. I'll probably add a powerhead down there to help stir it up after I clean it up next time.

I'll be honest though, I'm being really nitpicky with these changes. I'm quite happy with the results I've achieved thus far. But, with this hobby, you never stop thinking about improvements.

To answer your other question, ChouDawg, both the mp10 and 40 are on reefcrest mode. The mp10 is 80-90% and the mp40 is at 30-40%. I like the placement of the pumps right now. I've thought about having both vortechs on one side, but the flow seems to be moving everything really well right now with the way they are set up. The downside of the way I aquascaped is that everything seems to settle in the middle of the tank, where it can be seen, or under the anemone, which is difficult to get too.

 

[sponger0]

Is this tank still going? Havent seen your posts in awhile Jack. Im just getting back in and hoping to find some local people to get me back up and running. Tank is looking good though

 

[kaserpick]

It may take him a bit to respond; sometimes he's out of the country and busy. His tank's mostly automated, for that reason. That being said, I believe he's still running it. I hope so, anyway! I remember when he first set it up; it's crazy to see how it is now.