Hello

[terry4505]

Been meaning to do this for a while. I converted my FOWLR to a reef this past summer. So far everything has gone fairly well. I started by doing more reading than I want to admit, which helped a lot.

Tank is a 75 gallon (not drilled) with a converted AGA Megaflow 3 wet/dry sump (did away with the balls). I have an ASM G1 skimmer with a mesh mod, fuge, Mag 9.5 return, 2 Koralia 2s and 1 K3 for movement (proably a bit too much for the soft corals in my tank. A Corallife 4 bulb PC fixture (which I know will need to be upgraded at some point) and somewhere around 50#s of LR.

Fish:

Hippo Tang (has room to grow, but I know it will outgrow the 75)
Yellow Tang (same as the Hippo)
1 false clown (his partner did a belly flop on my dinning room floor over the summer)
3 Pajama Cardinals (I am very ambilalent towards these fish)
1 Mandarin Goby
Flame Angel

Inverts:

Camel (or dancing) shrimp
blood red shrimp
emerald crab
orange star
assorted small hermits and snails and benign hitch hikers

Corals:

green candy cane-10-ish heads
orange, green, red zoas
Anthiella
Xenia
GSP
Red Montipora
2 large Yumas
small Acro frag
green hammer
frogspawn
Nepthia
purple leather
red shrooms
Sun Coral

10 gal WC weekly using RO/DI (and 1 gal topoff daily-need an easier way to make this happen)

tests out normal

PH-8.0-8.2
Amm 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate >10
Phosphate hard to tell on API test kit
Cal 480
Alk 8.0-10
Mag 1380
temp 79
Sp. Grav 1.025

All the fish (including the Mandarin) eat frozen, pellet and anything else I put in the tank

Corals all seem healthly, if growing slowly (I blame this on the light fixture, two bulbs are Actinic, two are 50/50 10,000K/Actinic which gives a nicer color than the straight 10,000K bulbs)

I am going to try posting pics, but I have never done this, so...

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Rkeoazhli6AEGUm17bH8gl4IRx5itD2xDWuqdVIrRYw?feat=directlink

Left side

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PdGoCUH7J3G3zm1NBuxkvF4IRx5itD2xDWuqdVIrRYw?feat=directlink

middle

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5hGrY14Q818t_00f_ltk114IRx5itD2xDWuqdVIrRYw?feat=directlink

sun coral

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jruhooU62aF7--J09M5GcGtDXB4kOsLSss5H6VeE480?feat=directlink

Mandarin

http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lYddT2SR-UyoZdZxS36Q4WtDXB4kOsLSss5H6VeE480?feat=directlink

FTS- looks crystal clear in person- my phone is my camera

The people that I have met on here (both in person and online) have been awesome and made this a lot easier. Showing off my tank at the Christmas and New Years parties was the highlight of the holiday season.


Edit:

dont know if the links will work... let me try this again

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/Rkeoazhli6AEGUm17bH8gl4IRx5itD2xDWuqdVIrRYw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wOjOxfkQ_qs/TRotd5xrbPI/AAAAAAAAAsw/2j1iB5kUGPY/s640/IMAG0384.jpg" height="383" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/104229235899643931430/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLz9htve_bOD4wE&feat=embedwebsite">Drop Box</a></td></tr></table>
left side

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/PdGoCUH7J3G3zm1NBuxkvF4IRx5itD2xDWuqdVIrRYw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wOjOxfkQ_qs/TRouBf2XxrI/AAAAAAAAAtA/yVi3M3KePnM/s640/IMAG0380.jpg" height="383" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/104229235899643931430/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLz9htve_bOD4wE&feat=embedwebsite">Drop Box</a></td></tr></table>
middle

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/5hGrY14Q818t_00f_ltk114IRx5itD2xDWuqdVIrRYw?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh4.ggpht.com/_wOjOxfkQ_qs/TSXmZze7bNI/AAAAAAAAAt4/jtnvkgXULPE/s640/IMAG0381.jpg" height="383" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/104229235899643931430/DropBox?authkey=Gv1sRgCLz9htve_bOD4wE&feat=embedwebsite">Drop Box</a></td></tr></table>
sun coral

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/jruhooU62aF7--J09M5GcGtDXB4kOsLSss5H6VeE480?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh3.ggpht.com/_wOjOxfkQ_qs/TSX6Tlv36mI/AAAAAAAAAvU/uTdKSORZGGY/s640/IMAG0408.jpg" height="383" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/104229235899643931430/FishTank?authkey=Gv1sRgCKfGvvjPl5eIEA&feat=embedwebsite">Fish Tank</a></td></tr></table>
Mandy

<table style="width:auto;"><tr><td><a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/lh/photo/lYddT2SR-UyoZdZxS36Q4WtDXB4kOsLSss5H6VeE480?feat=embedwebsite"><img src="http://lh5.ggpht.com/_wOjOxfkQ_qs/TSX6SI7z1BI/AAAAAAAAAvI/eum5mE28OD4/s640/IMAG0405.jpg" height="383" width="640" /></a></td></tr><tr><td style="font-family:arial,sans-serif; font-size:11px; text-align:right">From <a href="http://picasaweb.google.com/104229235899643931430/FishTank?authkey=Gv1sRgCKfGvvjPl5eIEA&feat=embedwebsite">Fish Tank</a></td></tr></table>
fairly recent FTS

 

[terry4505]

not sure why the pics are not working

 

[SkiFletch]

Links work, pics, not so much . Off to a good start though Terry

 

[terry4505]

Got it to work, but not sure I did so the right way, clicking on the "insert image" icon and entering the link from Picasa did not seem to work...? I had to embed the code

 

[Dave VG]

Welcome nice tank!! Good to see all the new blood getting into the salt addiction

 

[zooman72]

Nice "rockscape"...keep an eye on the candy/ dancing shrimp (Rhynchocinetes sp. ?) however - they tend to prey on various coral polyps, including zooanthids, anthelia, xenia, and GSP's....although if you have only one the damage might not be too noticeable. I wish I could have had my mandarin eat frozen and pellets...that must be nice!

 

[Gary Majchrzak]

nice aquarium

nice aquarium

welcome to the group!

x2 on the camel shrimp advice

 

[aquadonkey]

Nice! I love the arch and the rock on the right!
Welcome to the group

 

[terry4505]

I have kept a pretty close eye on the dancing shrimp and haven't seen him do any damage yet. I can't believe how far my tank has come from coral skeletons and tap water.

Next projects are an upgraded sump and t5 lights

 

[tent boy]

Very cool rock arch. Rockwork design is A+. Welcome.

 

[terry4505]

Thanks for all the compliments... The rock work continues to be a work in progress. And I know how lucky I am that the Mandarin eats so well.

 

[Capt_Cully]

Great tank! Love the aquascape. That pic of the mandy is awesome. Never managed to get one to flare it's fins for a pic.

Welcome!

 

[terry4505]

When I come to the glass, she is the first fish to come over and see what is up. Absolutely my favorite fish in the tank. I am in a sort of wait and let stuff grow out phase, which is nowhere near as exciting as the building the tank up phase.

I have been having an increased growth of red slime in the sump, what causes this and what can be done about it. I have used red slime remover effectively in the past, but if it is something about my husbandry that causes it, I would much rather treat that.