Mike's 300 Double-D

[kinlayan]

The fish are looking incredible well done!! so beautiful!

the pests on the corals look like a boring barnacle of some kind? or a limpet type snail could you move them?Otherwise if soft bodied probably nudibranch that is eating that type of coral.

were you able to remove it from the coral? could allow better id maybe?

 

[prop-frags]

Try Lugols?

The fish are looking incredible well done!! so beautiful!

the pests on the corals look like a boring barnacle of some kind? or a limpet type snail could you move them?Otherwise if soft bodied probably nudibranch that is eating that type of coral.

were you able to remove it from the coral? could allow better id maybe?

Thank you Kinlayan! We're getting a bit excited and little anxious that our C. earlei will be ready for the DT soon. Hopefully, it will be a peaceful transition.

As for the coral, they are barnacles. We were told they are harmless and don't live very long. One of them must have died on a lower branch and algae had bored into the coral skeleton, so we removed the affected branch and a couple of adjacent ones. We broke open one of the barnacles and it looked like a little red worm. You would think with as long as we've been keeping SPS, that we would have come across these before now, lol.

-Terry

 

[prop-frags]

nice tank !

Thank you!

 

[prop-frags]

A couple of weeks ago, we replaced one of the rock shelves along w/a couple of supporting rocks that sat center-right inside the tank w/a man-made bonsai shaped tree from Aqua-tecture. The new structure gave us some room to move some frags/small colonies into the DT while opening up some space to the right of the structure. It should blend in nicely once the corals grow in. We're pleased with it and the larger fish are really enjoying the little cove it created between the new structure and the rock work on the right side of the tank.

Now we've got to figure out what to do with the gi-normous superman monti colony we removed.

Yesterday, we replaced our Super Actinics with 454's and it was a definite improvement.

Here's an updated FTS taken w/just the actinics on:
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7153600465/" title="nt 2406 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8149/7153600465_28296232bd_b.jpg" width="1024" height="361" alt="nt 2406"></a>

The MH's started coming on when I snapped this pic so the color is a bit off, lol.
<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7007627574/" title="nt 2409 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8009/7007627574_df81df3a4d_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2409"></a>

-Terry

 

[dahenley]

What reflectors are you looking at? Just curious as to why the change.
But I understand on the led's and supplements. I'm looking at adding some of those as well

i like my 454's.
(im running 2 in the front and 2-SuperActinics in the back. i like a mix of both, as they both pull different colors.)

 

[Adamc1303]

That is a very very nice tank! Truly gorgeous!

 

[Clown99]

nice job i really like your build

 

[prop-frags]

What reflectors are you looking at? Just curious as to why the change. But I understand on the led's and supplements. I'm looking at adding some of those as well

The primary change to the rack will eliminate the front-to-back braces in the lower section that lock the reflectors into a precise spot. This change would allow the reflectors to slide left-or-right to tune the light coverage a bit better. The other change we're considering would allow for taller reflectors - nothing particular in mind yet, still playing around with that idea. As far as the LEDs go, we need to pick a couple of specific designs and see what kind of change to the rack would be needed.

That is a very very nice tank! Truly gorgeous!

Thanks Adam - really appreciate you dropping by. Your new build is going to be fun! We're always interested to see new builds, especially of the 300+ variety!

nice job i really like your build

Thanks!

 

[aquaph8]

That new shelf looks perfect, like it was made to go there. Im gonna have to check those out some time. Beautiful pics as always.

 

[prop-frags]

We have a bittersweet update tonight.

On Wednesday, 5/9, our gorgeous big male leopard wrasse died. There were no signs of any disease, illness, or injury. One minute he was swimming actively, and about an hour later he was lying on the bottom taking his dying breath. Having raised him from a juvenile female back about 4 years ago, we're really upset about the loss. We're glad there was no suffering, but saddened that our big green hulk is gone. RIP buddy!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7136962087/" title="nt 2369 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm9.staticflickr.com/8022/7136962087_09ae9cc992_b.jpg" width="1024" height="668" alt="nt 2369"></a>

On a happier note, Terry's birthday present finally got released from his long QT and acclimation period into the display!

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7183028986/" title="nt 2427 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm6.staticflickr.com/5112/7183028986_58859e04f9_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2427"></a>

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7183026800/" title="nt 2419 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7241/7183026800_bbdf806da3_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2419"></a>

We had devised a rather tricky plan to release the fish...We purchased a "decoy" to be QT'd and released along with the Earli in order to reduce the chance of aggression. So along with the new wrasse, we have a new flame angel that went in. During the acclimation box period, the velvet (rubrisquamis) wrasse was acting very aggressive, and after a couple of days, just wasn't showing any signs of letting up. So we decided to release the angel, catch the velvet, and release the Earli. *Whew* a lot of action to keep the newest member of the family safe!

The regal angel is doing quite a bit of chasing and dominating of the new flame angel, but we think that they'll settle down after a few more days. Here's a shot of the new angel:

<a href="http://www.flickr.com/photos/terryl93/7183021186/" title="nt 2425 by terryl93, on Flickr"><img src="http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7221/7183021186_c62063c366_b.jpg" width="1024" height="680" alt="nt 2425"></a>

The velvet will stay in "time out" for a week or so, until he cools his jets...

:beer:

 

[kinlayan]

very good! nice introductions i like your plan of socializing the fish, sorry about the male leopard wrasse but you say it changed from female and you had it four years it may have been at least 6-7 years old so not a bad run! i have feeling he lived a longer life in your tank than it would have on the reef!

 

[ptr13]

very nice tank, love your variety of wrasses, I am a wrasse fan myself. Beautiful aquascape! two thumbs up!! Nice build.

 

[ganjero]

how is the Tomentosus Filefi? do you have shrimps, anemones or clams? does it eat any of your inverts other than the aiptasia?

 

[sdietz2469]

Mike ant Terry,

Sorry to hear about your leopard wrasse. It is always heartbreaking when a long time friend passes. On a better note now one of his girls will get to change and that us always a good site. Hope you enjoy your new addition.

The 454s definately make a few more colors pop.

 

[prop-frags]

That new shelf looks perfect, like it was made to go there. Im gonna have to check those out some time. Beautiful pics as always.

Thanks Brett! Didn't see your post before our last replies. The Aqua-tecture structures are really cool and come in all kinds of shapes and sizes. We're using a few in our frag tank and will probably use 1 or 2 structres in the new rimless nano tank.

very good! nice introductions i like your plan of socializing the fish, sorry about the male leopard wrasse but you say it changed from female and you had it four years it may have been at least 6-7 years old so not a bad run! i have feeling he lived a longer life in your tank than it would have on the reef!

Thank you Kinlayan - you always seem to know what to say to make us feel better! He was a tough loss for me as out of all of our fish, he was my favorite. I don't handle this aspect very well and having been here by myself when it happened made it doubly difficult. He was still alive (barely) when I pulled him out and unlike other fish I've had to handle that close to death, his fins were not clamped down and his body wasn't stiff - he just looked perfect and healthy.

We are very excited about the new additions and hopefully, they will be with us for many years. We are also looking forward to watching our larger female bipartitus morph into another handsome male.

very nice tank, love your variety of wrasses, I am a wrasse fan myself. Beautiful aquascape! two thumbs up!! Nice build.

Thank you for the kind words and for taking the time to post in our thread!

how is the Tomentosus Filefi? do you have shrimps, anemones or clams? does it eat any of your inverts other than the aiptasia?

Our Tomentosus has been a great addition and does an awesome job of keeping our tank Aiptasia free. We move him to our refugium/frag tank on occasion to control outbreaks there as well. He does not bother our shrimp, snails or rbta. We do not have clams, so I cannot answer that portion of your question. He (along with our Regal Angel) will eat zoas and certain fleshy acans. We have learned to keep those in a separate tank. He does not bother our SPS or chalice colonies. Hope that helps.

Mike ant Terry,

Sorry to hear about your leopard wrasse. It is always heartbreaking when a long time friend passes. On a better note now one of his girls will get to change and that us always a good site. Hope you enjoy your new addition.

The 454s definately make a few more colors pop.

Thank you so much for the kind words and yes we are looking forward to watching our larger female morph into a male as it is quite a site to see. The 454's certainly do make a few more colors pop and they are also quite a bit brighter than our Super Actinics were.

-Terry

 

[Adamc1303]

Hey What type of lights are you running? bulbs, ballasts reflectors? I want to know everything because that s by far the best color temperature I have ever seen in my life!

 

[aandfsoccr04]

Sorry to hear about the beautiful leopard wrasse passing away. At least you have a few females in your tank though so it will be neat to watch another transformation. That earlei is jaw dropping.

 

[drummereef]

Sorry for your loss Mike, that's always tough. On a bright note the tank looks amazing. The Aqua-tecture rock blends right in and still looks natural in the pics, I'll have to look into their products. But it wouldn't surprise me if it it's completely covered in coral in 2 weeks with the green thumbs you all have.

 

[prop-frags]

Hey What type of lights are you running? bulbs, ballasts reflectors? I want to know everything because that s by far the best color temperature I have ever seen in my life!

Thank you Adam and to answer your question, here is what we are currently using:
(3) Lumenmax Elite Reflectors
(3) Lumatek 400w dimmable electronic ballasts running 400w 14,000k Ushio bulbs
(2) VHO 454 Actinics
(6) 12.5" Ecoxotic Royal Blue Stunner Strips w/reflectors (for dawn/dusk)

Sorry to hear about the beautiful leopard wrasse passing away. At least you have a few females in your tank though so it will be neat to watch another transformation. That earlei is jaw dropping.

Thanks so much for the kind words and yes, it will be cool to watch our larger female morph into a male. We'll have to document the process better this time around. As nice as the pics are of the earlei, he is absolutely stunning in person and Terry says he's the best birthday present ever, lol!

Sorry for your loss Mike, that's always tough. On a bright note the tank looks amazing. The Aqua-tecture rock blends right in and still looks natural in the pics, I'll have to look into their products. But it wouldn't surprise me if it it's completely covered in coral in 2 weeks with the green thumbs you all have.

Thanks Brett! We appreciate the kind words. The Vida Rock comes in quite a variety of shapes and styles. We really like the bonsai shapes as they are very open, but still have a lot of surface area for corals. I'd say it's gonna take a bit longer for the coral to grow in as some of those frags are really small, lol!

 

[new2sw776784]

Are you going to be adding the nano tank to you existing system or is it going to be a seperate system. By the way amazing pics and setup.