Mark's Tanks

[Bello]

Good move on the doser :thumbsup:, should make things a lot easier. While I've NEVER done this, it does seem like a good idea..... using fresh water, check what the actual dosage from the doser is, for each head.. i.e. does 10ml on the doser, actually dose 10ml precisely? Just a suggestion, from my gleaning from more knowledgeable aquarists

Think it'd be great if you could run a permanent coral QT though!!...Imagine that, no more pests!...Since you've already started experimenting, wonder how long the qt will remain relatively clean?....I'm considering something like a coral qt for my future purchases...lets see how that goes

 

[markalot]

Long overdue update.

I lost all my acros except the green slimer. Just too many flatworms and after two dosing damage was still showing up. Since I had mostly small frags I decided to end it all. Well, for the acros anyway.

As of right now my 46 gallon tank is the only tank I have that has been acro free for 6 months, so it is currently hosting 3 acro frags; a Rainbow Milli, a Rose Milli, and a ORA Plum Crazy, all purchased from the same shop. If they end up with AEFW then at least I know where they are coming from.

Latest FTS of the 40.

fullsize: http://imageshack.com/a/img191/4285/1iji.jpg

and my 46 gallon.

fullsize: http://imageshack.com/a/img31/97/blbs.jpg

 

[markalot]

It's been a while so time for an update.

I switched to the Maxspect Razor for lighting supplemented by 2 BuildMyLED strip lights on the front and back. I'm using my custom warm white, blue, royal blue, true violet Windex special spectrum on the back and their 20K spectrum on the front.

I've been restarting my acros from tiny frags since getting AEFW last year and getting rid of all acros except my slimer, which keeps growing and growing and growing.

This was a FTS yesterday just before I did a 'scoot in' rescape to try and gain a few inches on either side of the tank for flow.

Post 'scoot' with the slimer fragged up a bit and my Bird of Paradise birdsnest moved to the back right. All slime is courtesy of the big green slimer.

The giant green bird came loose and I was holding the beast in my hand. It's huge! I placed or crammed it back in place so it won't move in the flow.

I've upgraded the pumps in this tank. I now have an MP40 on theleft and MP10 on the right running in sync, Reef Crest, and 80% full power. Lot's of chaos when it ramps up.

I don't have a window box floater thing but I took some top down pics for color (they are blurry). I can't believe how much more colorful the corals are from the top.

The green slimer is GREEN, much greener that when viewed from the front.

The purple fuzzy is sort of purple, and certainly fuzzy.

Now this one, the mystery green and blue. Look at the blue tip and the cool yellowish base.

I was most excited about this one. It still appears mostly brown from the front but I believe I might have a nice milli here.

My purple poci does not look this good from the front.

Thanks for looking.

 

[tallball158]

Looking good, the corals are filing in nicely!

 

[markalot]

Looking good, the corals are filing in nicely!

Thanks tallball.

 

[Bello]

Whoa...an update...I must be dreaming

Glad to see that things are doing well Mark :thumbsup:. The colors on most of the corals look great (I can't see the others). I love the slimer, don't care if its common or whatever, I think every SPS tank should have one . However, I seem to be having a terrible run of luck with them, dunno, just can't get them to grow out.

The birdsnest, and most other corals have shown some impressive growth :thumbsup:. Hope the bloody AEFW's stay forever now, for you and me

When you get the time, can you list your NO3, PO4 and feeding regimen? Thanks :thumbsup:

 

[markalot]

Whoa...an update...I must be dreaming

Glad to see that things are doing well Mark :thumbsup:. The colors on most of the corals look great (I can't see the others). I love the slimer, don't care if its common or whatever, I think every SPS tank should have one . However, I seem to be having a terrible run of luck with them, dunno, just can't get them to grow out.

The birdsnest, and most other corals have shown some impressive growth :thumbsup:. Hope the bloody AEFW's stay forever now, for you and me

When you get the time, can you list your NO3, PO4 and feeding regimen? Thanks :thumbsup:

Howdy Bello, thanks for stopping by.

I don't measure either anymore. I have both Red Sea and Salifert NO3 and PO4 tests and could never get either to show anything. I also have a Hannah PO4 checker and it alternates reading 0 and 1.8 so I stopped using it. If algae appears to be getting worse or colors start to fade for no apparent reason I'll start chucking in some well rinsed Phosguard in small amounts, changing it every other day for a week.

I feed the fish all flake and pellet food and do the Biggles pinch of Reef Roids every night, sometimes every other night. I'm also a big fan of Kent Coral Accel which will speed up coral and algae growth! I've been trying AcroPower but I'm not sure it does anything except make the birdsnest have some extreme polyp extension.

I run dirty tanks. I have a fish in this one that really needs at least a 65 gallon and I like to keep stuff for him to graze on. Between him and my thin striped hermits (2 of them) I never see any significant algae.

Skimmer is a fairly crappy CPR BakPak like skimmer build into a HOB refugium. The refugium stays empty other than collecting detritus that I vac out from time to time. I run media in a HOB Aquaclear 110. Usually just carbon and Phosguard when needed. My next tank, if I get one, will have a sump.

 

[Bello]

That's very impressive, given the minimal amount of equipment run :thumbsup:. I'm trying something similar, but only with monti's in a 20g tank .

Thanks for the info. I stopped testing for NO3 and PO4 for quite a bit, as well. My buddy bought over his Hanna P checker, and we ended up testing, and got about 4 different readings, with various combos, for the same water....not impressed.

I'm getting better results with higher amounts of feedings, that's certain. I'm running a dirty tank as well, plenty of algae, haven't changed Phosguard for a long time as I wanted to see what natural levels would remain in the tank. However, a few corals that are already brown, don't seem to be making a quick trip back to proper colours. May have to go cleaner, while maintaining highish feeding levels.

Using Roids as well, though not everyday. Need to find a better balance. Thanks for the info Mark, looks like I'll have to change out Phosguard soon too .

 

[footballdude2k3]

Sorry to hear about the AEFW, but that slimer looks great!

 

[markalot]

Sorry to hear about the AEFW, but that slimer looks great!

Thanks. Yea, this slimer is a locally grown coral that's been in some guys tank for at least 5 years and supposedly he got it from someone who has grown it for years. He stops in a nearby fish store once a year to drop off frags of it. His pieces are a foot long. :eek2:

During the Bayer dipping the slimer might have dulled a bit, but not much. I never saw any AEFW damage on it, and I've seen it kill an aptasia anemone by slimign the heck out of it. Well, cause it to move anyway, it was gone after a few days of heavy sliming.

 

[markalot]

That's very impressive, given the minimal amount of equipment run :thumbsup:. I'm trying something similar, but only with monti's in a 20g tank .

Good luck with the 20. I'm running a 29, my third tank :hmm5: but trying to stay mostly softies so I can ignore it. AEFW threw all my best laid plans for a loop and now I have a bunch of SPS corals stuck in my 46 gallon for another 2 months since it was recently infected as well. At least I know what store they were coming from now.

My grand plan was to have the 40 be mostly SPS, my 46 be mostly LPS, and the 29 be softies. Unfortunately I come up with all kinds of justifications in my head for not following a plan, then regret it later.

Thanks for the info. I stopped testing for NO3 and PO4 for quite a bit, as well. My buddy bought over his Hanna P checker, and we ended up testing, and got about 4 different readings, with various combos, for the same water....not impressed.

I'm getting better results with higher amounts of feedings, that's certain. I'm running a dirty tank as well, plenty of algae, haven't changed Phosguard for a long time as I wanted to see what natural levels would remain in the tank. However, a few corals that are already brown, don't seem to be making a quick trip back to proper colours. May have to go cleaner, while maintaining highish feeding levels.

Using Roids as well, though not everyday. Need to find a better balance. Thanks for the info Mark, looks like I'll have to change out Phosguard soon too .

The Hannah checker was a huge disappointment, yet another chunk of cash i could have saved.

I'll be replacing my little bag of Phosguard tomorrow, and again Saturday, then the plan is to do a final replacement next week with a slightly larger amount and leave it be for a while.

 

[markalot]

I made an ID thread over in SPS identification for some monti's, but no responses. I'll post the pics here for the heck of it. My 46 gallon tank is the bane of my existence. Curved glass, hard to take pictures, so all the corals have great color and the darn thing just looks fantastic all the time. Heck, even frags on the frag rack look good.

This has whitish skin with red polyps. As it's started to grow I can see some additional colors on the growth edge.

Same thing, but also showing a really nice looking poci I picked up as a random cheap frag at the nearby fish store. I can't wait to either frag this or move the entire thing into the 40, once this tank has been acroless for another 2 months. That pink and green poci was also a random frag.

Another random frag, same place, of a green monti cap (like) with a purple edge.

 

[markalot]

I guess I should provide FTS of my other tanks.

The 46
Lit by 2 on sale AquaticLife 1W LED expandable fixtures (Blue/White/Pink LEDs) plus a 24" BuildMyLED 14K spectrum strip light in front.

The 29
Lit by a BuildMyLED custom spectrum (my Windex Blue Special) and a Current orbit marine LED light with ramp timer

The 29, being my latest tank, has the best fish selection, Including these two.

 

[footballdude2k3]

I think the first monti is a superman that is just in need of some time to color up, I could be wrong, but that would be my guess

 

[Bello]

You're on a roll Mark . Nice updates, good to see that you've gone nuts :lol:. Officially reef obsessed!!

I've got 2 additional separate tanks as well, the 20g as I mentioned before and another. They're pretty much softie/lps tanks, but not as pretty as what you've got :thumbsup:. It's difficult to have dedicated tanks, at least for me. I've kept one of them as high flow, high light, so the demanding zoas, leathers etc. and a low flow low flight for schrooms, rics etc. Will be dumping some monti frags in the high light one, just to see .

Love the fish stocklist in the 29, the tailspot look awesome, been meaning to get one myself :thumbsup:. That's a possum wrasse alonside, isn't it?

My lighting is pretty much a Windex special, like yours, but there's no way I'm doing anything else :lol:

Can't really ID the monti's unfortunately, but the green cap with purple rim is usually the Leng Sy one, I guess

 

[markalot]

I think the first monti is a superman that is just in need of some time to color up, I could be wrong, but that would be my guess

Thanks for the guess. The base is not very purple, but the edges are so I'll keep my hopes up!

You're on a roll Mark . Nice updates, good to see that you've gone nuts :lol:. Officially reef obsessed!!

I've got 2 additional separate tanks as well, the 20g as I mentioned before and another. They're pretty much softie/lps tanks, but not as pretty as what you've got :thumbsup:. It's difficult to have dedicated tanks, at least for me. I've kept one of them as high flow, high light, so the demanding zoas, leathers etc. and a low flow low flight for schrooms, rics etc. Will be dumping some monti frags in the high light one, just to see .

Love the fish stocklist in the 29, the tailspot look awesome, been meaning to get one myself :thumbsup:. That's a possum wrasse alonside, isn't it?

My lighting is pretty much a Windex special, like yours, but there's no way I'm doing anything else :lol:

Can't really ID the monti's unfortunately, but the green cap with purple rim is usually the Leng Sy one, I guess

Yea, I've gone kind of batty with all the tanks. The sad thing is the 29 contains mostly old corals that were hidden in various other tanks for years. My latest find was my very first coral, good ole Kenya Tree, that I've never been able to completely eliminate in the 40 gallon. When moving rocks I found the punk hiding behind one, so I peeled it off and dropped it in the 29. I'm sure it will come back in the 40 again.

I've got the go ahead from the wife for a 120 gallon tank, the biggest I can fit through our basement door (well, i guess I could fit a 210 as well :hmm3, but I keep getting cold feet. I would love to have a 36" cube, but there is no way to get it in the house. I've thought about a 65 gallon, the tall version of the 40, or a 90 gallon, but if I go 90 I might as well go 120 for the extra width and the ability to use the 40 as a sump tank. I need to get down to 2 tanks, a big one plus the 29, and ditch the bowfront.

The tailspot is a great fish. When I first setup the third tank, which started as a 20 long for my freaked out purple firefish, he was the third fish added and would constantly hang out with the clown goby.

Once they learned I was the food supply I swear they would wait in front of the tank for me to come down the stairs to feed them. The fourth fish was a Possum Wrasse which was a lucky find, I never see these guys locally and I only buy fish from my LFS, never through the mail.

I set up the 29 because I thought I had killed my firefish by introducing a bully to the 46 gallon, but when moving rocks around I found him alive and then tore up the tank to rescue him. I've had this guy for 1.5 years now and usually see him once or twice a day for feeding.

Thanks for the Leng Sy guess. That may indeed be what it is. The polyps are a lighter color but not a sharp blue. I have a green cap with bright blue polyps but it lacks the purple edge. I love the variety of all the montis.

I want to see some pics of your other tanks!

 

[footballdude2k3]

DIY an acrylic 36" cube, it's fine

 

[Bello]

Very nice pics, Mark :thumbsup:, love the sharpness of the fish pictures, speaking of which I've never had much luck with firefish either (too many bullies I suspect). The Tailspot is definitely on my "to buy" list :thumbsup:

What's the dimensions of the 120G? I love cubes, and shallow tanks, so will always be a bit biased towards that :lol:

 

[markalot]

double post, how odd.

 

[markalot]

DIY an acrylic 36" cube, it's fine

Ha, no, that's not going to happen. I just noticed you're from San Antonio. We visited there earlier this year for a robotics competition. Beautiful city, but the drive down was painful!

Very nice pics, Mark :thumbsup:, love the sharpness of the fish pictures, speaking of which I've never had much luck with firefish either (too many bullies I suspect). The Tailspot is definitely on my "to buy" list :thumbsup:

What's the dimensions of the 120G? I love cubes, and shallow tanks, so will always be a bit biased towards that :lol:

It's 4 feet by 2 feet by 2 feet. 48x24x24. I will have to remove the handle on a sliding glass door to fit 24" but it will make it in and is the widest tank I can fit.

I have been looking at the longer 125's as well, 72x18x22. I'm not sure if I'd enjoy length more then width and height. The footprint of the 120 allows a 40 breeder to be used as a sump, which is a big plus so I'm told, but I have no idea what I would do with the space. ... and then there is the lighting. I have all 36" lighting solutions at the moment. :hmm2: