My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef

These are incredible, Biggles. I can't wait to get some more time to take some shots that look half as good as these.

The second from the top and the fourth one are on my list of wants.

Wow.
 
These are incredible, Biggles. I can't wait to get some more time to take some shots that look half as good as these.

The second from the top and the fourth one are on my list of wants.

Wow.

Thanks mate, looking at those pics now i can see just how bad my color correction was yesterday lol - all over the place as usual. That second from the top is a low light lover and easy to keep, a very hardy little acro. I think i have 3 bits of that spread around the reef down low. That other one is actually one of my favorites and despite the yellow color caste i put on the pic it's basically what you see. When it recovers fully all the polyps will blue up but only the axial ones show that intense electric blue glow. The branches are very pale cream almost white and it's the dramatic color contrast that catches your eye over anything else. I have 3 bits of it spread around too just because i like it so much. I have the upside down piece as well in the LED sump section, i'll put it next to this bit in the display today and take a pic so you can see the difference.

For Troub - Potatohead yesterday just before he leapt onto the camera box bottom as usual. :rolleyes: I had to lift the box out of the water to get him off and he swum around in circles upside down at the water surface like a dog treading water for a while before finally going down onto the acros again. One of these days i'm going to video that idiot doing his upside down water surface swimming thing so you can see just how big of a dag he really is.
All the fish except the clown allow him to molest them - the clown doesn't roll that way.......

ph_zps0fc5f0b9.png~original


Excuse the colors, did the best until my eyes stopped working lol. I wanted to show you the three level SSC waterfall i made on the back rocks which spills down onto the pinky red table thing below - bloody artistic stuff ! :p
The lower left 2 are the same acro but the high right one is different - it's going to be interesting to see who does what to who.

ssc_zps9d17026e.png~original


Need to take some pics of the poor old fluoro aculeus on the tip of the raft, he's still dying and is a goner. Didn't help that i'm too lazy to frag it lol. I'm actually hating the whole raft rock lately and starting to have thoughts of removing it and starting again with a smaller rock setup on the left...... dunno..... either way the aculeus needs removing but the front left is going to miss that pop of bright glow :(
 
Wow..awesome!

Thanks very much mate :)

Now here is a very good example of what the difference in light spectrum makes when it comes to acros. The two pieces are the same except the lower one is living under blue/white LED's only. Notice the powdery tissue look also which is typical of a stressed acro.

If anyone is up in the air about lighting and halides are still on the table i want you to look hard at this pic before you decide which route you're going to take. I might leave the ugly piece in the display for a month or so to show you what it does under kick *** lighting.

blue_zpsc79c24e8.png~original


Here's another bit of the same acro i shoved on top of a Pav frag ages ago and never see much since it's hidden away at the back. I think another acro under it is mounting a sneaky attack from below. :)

w_zps29e76541.png~original
 
Thanks very much mate :)

Now here is a very good example of what the difference in light spectrum makes when it comes to acros. The two pieces are the same except the lower one is living under blue/white LED's only. Notice the powdery tissue look also which is typical of a stressed acro.

If anyone is up in the air about lighting and halides are still on the table i want you to look hard at this pic before you decide which route you're going to take. I might leave the ugly piece in the display for a month or so to show you what it does under kick *** lighting.

blue_zpsc79c24e8.png~original


Here's another bit of the same acro i shoved on top of a Pav frag ages ago and never see much since it's hidden away at the back. I think another acro under it is mounting a sneaky attack from below. :)

w_zps29e76541.png~original

That's why I am excited to start this frag tank.

I'll be able to test the difference between T5 and LEDs.

This picture says 1,000 words.
 
That's why I am excited to start this frag tank.

I'll be able to test the difference between T5 and LEDs.

This picture says 1,000 words.

Hey Jon, expect to see a big difference between your colors from T5's to LED - BIG ! :spin2:

Righto, whilst doing the top down thing a white spot caught my eye at the base of the blue stag. The green monster has been very good for weeks but he just can't help himself and was caught just at the start of an attack.

b1_zpsb2d12e52.png~original


I whacked him with a screwdriver so he withdrew his polyps and the stark white edge on the blue stag base is clearly visible. Overnight he would have nuked 1/2" of the base so it's lucky Super Biggles, defender of non green acros was on hand to intervene.......

b2_zps6e2deafe.png~original


I gently placed the APAA (acro polyp attitude adjuster) into position and asked the acro branch if it had any last words before sentence was carried out...........

b3_zps200698a0.png~original


An eery hush came over the reef when the blades fell........ all was quiet except for Potatohead who was having fun on my arm holding the cutters. :facepalm:

b4_zpsb860697e.png~original


The term for this procedure which will no doubt be required again at some future date is........ Blue Justice :smokin:
 
Hey biggles what do you think I could stock, to give me a colorful and active tank? Any suggestions are greatly welcomed in this tough time, of chosing fish:)
 
Hey biggles what do you think I could stock, to give me a colorful and active tank? Any suggestions are greatly welcomed in this tough time, of chosing fish:)

Hey mate, i don't know much about fish related stuff lol. Anthias or a showy looking wrasse would look cool i think as long as you go for colorful specimens. Nothing that spits sand all over your acros and no bloody angels or fish that kill snails. I want to buy a fish too so you're not the only one trying to think of a cool fish. :)

When i stuck the pinky/red table down there was a small growth of acro at the back side of the table separated by a white dead calcium line. I assumed it was the same acro but looking today at a top down it looks to be a completely different color to the pinky/red table it was attached to. The large white area isn't my putty or glue but appears to be where the two met and nuked each other prior to collection. Have to keep an eye on that to see if it grows into something nice.

v_zpsc59aa0a5.png~original
 
Any anthias suggestions for my 60 and what do they cost roughly( aren't you in oz, if so the prices should fairly similar) its so hard chosing fish :)
 
Any anthias suggestions for my 60 and what do they cost roughly( aren't you in oz, if so the prices should fairly similar) its so hard chosing fish :)

Lyretail Anthias, i saw some for sale after i'd already put mine in the display. They were $25 each and the five i saw were drop dead gorgeous in bright oranges and reds - awesome and cheap for salt water fish.

I spent ages getting this pic very accurate color wise. The monti lower left used to be purple but it's looked like that for ages lol, i hate monti's :mad2: The disgusting thing above the echi really looks that color and hints of green are appearing - i hate it already so it better have its bags packed and ready the way things are going.......
The echi is what you see, not glowing like in the previous pic lol. It had dark reddy brown branches and dark blue tips when i got it and you can see that color still fading away as the branches slowly turn whiter. Those small areas of damage lower left were tips that suddenly burnt off a week ago for no reason one day. Still has poor PE and only at night so it's not happy yet. I would urge everyone to try one of these blue echi's whatever the sellers call them, the blue white color contrast coupled with the delicate corallite growth structure really is stunning to see in real life. :)

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Hey biggles your thread is nearly 100 pages. Congrats:thumbup: I'm proud I could be part of it:)
 
Biggles, you're ruining my holiday, ya sneaky...... :furious:

Corals look stunning!!

If there ever was the sneakiest sneak...it would be you. Kevin tells me he has spied upon persons matching your description to be making certain new purchases...:headwallblue:
 
That is an impressive APAA! Looks like it's been in your arsenal for quite some time. LOL

On a serious note, this is my favorite thread going on reefcentral. Your tank is beautiful and there is a lot of great information between the fun banter.
 
I want to buy a fish too so you're not the only one trying to think of a cool fish. :)

Biggles, I saw a Feminus Wrasse yesterday during an LFS roadtrip with a couple of buddies. Its a beautiful fish. Take a look into this fish. It is expensive though. :)
 
Ok thanks mate. What do you think of redfin anthias.
They get two 4inchs and are very pretty

Those redfins look very pretty mate, how many are you thinking of adding to your tank.

Hey biggles your thread is nearly 100 pages. Congrats:thumbup: I'm proud I could be part of it:)

I think you mean nearly 1000 posts as my page count says 40. I'm glad you're coming along for the ride mate :beer:

Biggles, you're ruining my holiday, ya sneaky...... :furious:

Corals look stunning!!

Thanks buddy, you weren't supposed to see the pics until you got home from holidays lol - was going to be a color knockout blow in our tank wars.........:smokin:

If there ever was the sneakiest sneak...it would be you. Kevin tells me he has spied upon persons matching your description to be making certain new purchases...:headwallblue:

I'll second that, it won't surprise me if Bello returns from holidays with more surprises...... he seriously can't help himself the sneaky little so and so.....

That is an impressive APAA! Looks like it's been in your arsenal for quite some time. LOL

On a serious note, this is my favorite thread going on reefcentral. Your tank is beautiful and there is a lot of great information between the fun banter.

Thanks mate, those bonsai cutters are seriously rusted up. I dip them in the tank and then spend a minute working them back and forth as they seize up between cutting jobs.
I'm glad you're finding some useful info in the thread, it's hard work sifting through all these guys posts - mine on the other hand are always clear, concise and straight to the point...... :hmm2:

Biggles, I saw a Feminus Wrasse yesterday during an LFS roadtrip with a couple of buddies. Its a beautiful fish. Take a look into this fish. It is expensive though. :)

I had a look at that fish - don't like it personally. Wrasses look like critter killers to me so i'm beginning to wonder if a wrasse is a good idea. The whole fish thing has started after i saw Richard's stunning cube - i need to drop in and tell him how cool his reef looks :)

Gave up trying to correct this pic due to the fluoro acro blowing out the exposure but it shows you how bad the poor little blob of glow is going. Going to cut the whole thing off at the base soon and let the blue thing have the tip i think :(

y_zpsfaca6b42.png~original
 
Wrasses will definitely demolish the critter population. I have no pods in my display at all. :worried:

Here is list of other fishes which I think look good and or have nice personality:

1. Midas Blenny - Lovely personality, look great/kinda "snake" when swimming.

2. Zebra Dartfish - can be kept in groups.

3. Barnacle Blennies - funny little fish with lots of character. :lol: Can be kept in groups.
 
Yeh nearly a thousand post and my page count says 98.
I don't know how may I may get( how many anthias do you have in your tank?)
Going down to the lfs today to hopefully buy a new fish:) will let you know what happens:thumbup: are you planing a big party for when you get to 1000, you might feel very old;)
 
Hey biggles, I decided on a purple firefish for my third addition to the tank. He settled in very quick and is now in the middle of the tank looking beautiful.
There were some peach anthias, but decided id add them last so the more skittish fish can settle in first.
Next fish will be a gobie or blennie of some sort:)
 
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