My 500 + gallon system. Last 13 years to now. Build, Aquascaping & more. Lots of pics

[li_newb]

Scott. so happy to hear that you were so quick to act and didn't have your tank completely crash. hope your son straightened up after his relocation. i know how its like to be an schmuk to ones parents. hell grow up one day.

Two things though.

1. Sickk Car. Hvnt seen one around my parts yet. But Ill be lookin

2. PLeeasee pick up a serious harem (8:1) of Maldives Lyrtail Anthias. They would put your fish hoarding over the top. or even Bartletts.

 

[Electrobes]

Awesome tank! Are you still using the Sea Swirls? If so are you pleased with them still?

 

[slief]

Scott. so happy to hear that you were so quick to act and didn't have your tank completely crash. hope your son straightened up after his relocation. i know how its like to be an schmuk to ones parents. hell grow up one day.

Two things though.

1. Sickk Car. Hvnt seen one around my parts yet. But Ill be lookin

2. PLeeasee pick up a serious harem (8:1) of Maldives Lyrtail Anthias. They would put your fish hoarding over the top. or even Bartletts.

Thank you very much! I've had Anthias before and never had long term luck with them. With them being rather expensive and kind of tough to keep, I've refrained from adding them again. I may down the line as I really like them but I hate adding fish that I don't feel have great chances of long term survival.

Awesome tank! Are you still using the Sea Swirls? If so are you pleased with them still?

Thank you very much. Yes, I am still using the SeaSwirls. I've probably been using them for about 20 years now and absolutely love them. The two I have now have been on the tank for upwards of 17 years with one one issue in that time. I do keep a spare on hand just in case I have an issue but their simplistic design is extremely reliable and damn near bullet proof.

 

[slief]

My Bangai Cardinals have been spawning with regularity. The last couple times, it seems that the male has been biting off more than he could chew so to speak as the last couple times I noticed that he can't fit all the eggs into his mouth. I'm not sure if all the eggs are from one of my females or perhaps two of them. Jim was over yesterday and we were lucky enough to capture it on video. There are some good close up's where you can really see the eggs hanging out of his mouth.
<iframe width="560" height="315" src="//www.youtube.com/embed/yXOELm3AIO8" frameborder="0" allowfullscreen></iframe>

 

[dotcommer]

Great video. Love the analogy "biting off more than he can chew"

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

He was drooling with fish eggs. I think he needs to handle one female at a time instead of trying to keep both of them happy.

 

[ridetheducati]

I think he needs to handle one female at a time instead of trying to keep both of them happy.

That is what she said.

 

[Newbie Aquarist]

That is what she said.

My favorite quote of all time.

 

[slief]

He was drooling with fish eggs. I think he needs to handle one female at a time instead of trying to keep both of them happy.

That is what she said.

:lmao:

 

[slief]

I figured I would do a photo update. The tank is doing great. The display refugium is also doing great. I've transplanted some coral frags from my main display to this refugium and everything that was transplanted has flourished. The xenia has taken off as I would have expected. I was/am tempted to allow the xenia to take over this tank and create a xenia filter. My colony in my main tank is borderline out of control. I keep placing pieces of rock in front and behind it to keep it under control and allow me to export it out of the main tank at the same time.

Anyhow, here are some pictures.
First up is the display refugium. I will post some updated main tank/fish photos shortly.

 

[slief]

Now for a bunch of tank/fish pictures. In no particular order.

 

[slief]

 

[slief]

My giant (12") engineer goby

 

[slief]

 

[slief]

 

[dave.m]

That little cowfish is a real attention grabber. It is so unusual to see anyone successfully keep one in their tank that I just have to stop and stare each time.

Dave.M

 

[slief]

That little cowfish is a real attention grabber. It is so unusual to see anyone successfully keep one in their tank that I just have to stop and stare each time.

Dave.M

He's one of my favorites. We refer to him as the dumb blonde.. They really are pretty dumb. I've had him for months now and he's doing great. I do make a point of hand feeding him to make sure he eats well. I think that is one of the biggest issues in keeping cow fish. They are slow and not very competitive and will easily starve when they have to compete with more aggressive fish for food. When I feed mysis, he will look around and spot a piece of mysis suspended in the water, think about what to do with it and then when he decides it's food and makes his move, one of the other fish will get to the food first. He always manages to get some of it but I always feel he doesn't get enough if left to fend for himself. As such, I always make sure he gets hand fed. He loves seaweed too so I will hand feed him a bunch while hand feeding the other fish seaweed. When it comes time for mysis and other frozen food which is part of the daily diet, I hand feed him some of that too before putting the rest of the cup directly into the tank. He always gets his fill but if it weren't for him, I'd probably feed less which wouldn't be a bad thing. The funny thing is that my tangs have become accustomed to my hand feeding him and Lieutenant tang nips at my fingers and hand when I'm feeding the cow. I literally have to push the Lieutenant tang away time and time again when I am feeding the cowfish or distract him by dropping food in the tank at the same time.

Also keeping him well fed keeps him from picking at any of my soft corals. He's a model citizen and loves attention like the rest of my fish. They follow me around the tank like puppy dogs.

 

[scubadan206]

Hey Scott. Do you still have your original LED setup? Have you thought of upgrading, or are you happy with the current setup? Have you solved the heat problem in the tank, or just managed it differently?
Great pictures! Keep them coming!
BTW. Next time you see your buddy Jim, gently tell him his recent vids are becoming really boring. I'd rather see him scrape the glass, and do water-changes for 20 minutes than the stuff he tapes now.:sad2:
Daniel.:wildone:

 

[slief]

Hey Scott. Do you still have your original LED setup? Have you thought of upgrading, or are you happy with the current setup? Have you solved the heat problem in the tank, or just managed it differently?
Great pictures! Keep them coming!
BTW. Next time you see your buddy Jim, gently tell him his recent vids are becoming really boring. I'd rather see him scrape the glass, and do water-changes for 20 minutes than the stuff he tapes now.:sad2:
Daniel.:wildone:

I'm still running the same Reeftech LED's. They are working well for my soft corals but yes, I've been thinking about switching to Ecotech Radio Pro G3's largely because they can be controlled through my Apex but also because they have some additional color spectrum that my Reeftechs don't provide. Just don't want to spend the money when what I have is working.

No heat issues in my tank anymore. That was solved a few years back with the switch to the Reeflo Gold pumps and the LED's among other things. My chiller hasn't turned on in a couple years now. I do have some 8" fans on my light rack that turn on at 81.5* and blow across the water to cool it a bit. They only come on in the summer when its really hot out. Even in the hottest months, my tank doesn't go past 82 which I'm fine with considering the reefs where many of my tanks inhabitants come from can hit the mid 80's in the summer months.

I hear you on Jim's new video format. Him and I were talking about that the other day. I think he is leaning towards going back to the shorter videos as I think he realizes that people don't have that long of an attention span. Plus, he spends days editing these videos now which I think is burning him out. The shorter format will make it much easier to complete an episode. I've been pushing the shorter video format for a while so I'm hopeful that he will switch back.

 

[scubadan206]

I could see if Jim were getting some income from advertising or something. Myself, I like to see the buildup and birth of new tanks. It's like watching your favorite genre of movie, and never having to experienced a sequel that sucks.
Daniel. :wildone: