My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef

[biggles]

I found another arms supplier (LFS) only 15 mins I also purchased a small but highly explosive ric bomb that will be detonated over your drop off thread at a time of my choosing Bello :strooper:
Yes it's the papillare turd mate.

The pink 'thing' is covered in fluoro yellow 'dots', i only took a couple of quick snaps so i'll get better pics of it next time. The other 'thing' is metallic blue/green with orange 'dots'. They're on the display bottom for now, the pink one is def staying lol. Haven't found an id on either yet but i'll keep looking. :reading:

 

[Bello]

I think those LPS are either Acanstrea Echinata or Echinophyllia...but I'm no expert

I can't believe you found another LFS, and that too so close by!!! Lucky bast***! One day, I will tell you my story of woe..... :lol:

How they doing with the crazy flow? In any case, with the feedings you'll be doing, they'll look even better in a bit :thumbsup:. Both are definitely worth keeping, but the pink one seems a little less common.

What ric did you pick up, yuma or florida?

 

[troubadour11]

No ick, but I'll be damned before I put the lens into the display :lol:

Going with dry rock is a good call, IMO, less scope for pests. And after my friend found a bobbit worm in his tank....dry sounds pretty good now!

Well, my camera isn't as buggered as I thought, game on!!!

Bello: I'm glad the camera isn't totally trashed... If it was, I bet it could have gone to the display ich free and made the most expensive Mandarin Diner ever! :fish1: But very glad you dodged the bullet on that one.

And I'll gladly join into the tank battle as some reinforcements down the line. (once I have the reef to back it up!) I can't wait to get my REEF BONSAI on!!!

... and on an exciting note for me... I ordered 75 lbs of dry rock + 20 lbs of "prime cut" dry rock (basically rock that's been cut flat on 1 side with a wet saw for shelves or overflow covers). And the order was part of a package deal that came with 160 lbs of sugar fine bahamas sand! So I'll be starting that build thread up once that gets delivered in 2-5 days :beer:

I think I'll be glad I am starting out with the dry rock in the long run. In the end it will give me the time to try and sculpt a sweet aquascape for my reef. After this order, I'm estimating I can stock my 90 DT, plus my old 75 that will be the refugium, and maybe a small cryptic rock zone in my sump drain section for about 1/2 what live rock would have run me. Then I'll just need to cherry pick some choice LR pieces from the LFS to seed the system with. And I can be patient to let the rock mature and seed while I work on the LED build.

 

[Bello]

Thanks!

Sounds like a pretty good plan :thumbsup: It's always better if you can sculpt the scape before water, so you don't end up changing it. I usually mess with mine constantly. Not good. Have you started a build thread yet? I don't know much about bonsai, so hopefully biggles will guide us along with some pretty cool views on maturing a tank, once he decides to call a ceasefire on the tank battles

Andrew, any more updates?? Any more sneaky stockpiling :lol:?

I was just wondering and seeing some of the fish that you have local to you, there are so many amazing choices! Speaking of which, have you ever kept a Choati Wrassse? Would love to see one in your reef, and with minimal poo too!!

I didn't ask before, but did you build your tank yourself?

 

[biggles]

... and on an exciting note for me... I ordered 75 lbs of dry rock + 20 lbs of "prime cut" dry rock (basically rock that's been cut flat on 1 side with a wet saw for shelves or overflow covers). And the order was part of a package deal that came with 160 lbs of sugar fine bahamas sand! So I'll be starting that build thread up once that gets delivered in 2-5 days :beer:

Ordering rock and or sand is a provocative and hostile act - you're basically arming your tank for battle........ our borders are now closed troubadour11......:strooper:

I think I'll be glad I am starting out with the dry rock in the long run. In the end it will give me the time to try and sculpt a sweet aquascape for my reef. After this order, I'm estimating I can stock my 90 DT, plus my old 75 that will be the refugium, and maybe a small cryptic rock zone in my sump drain section for about 1/2 what live rock would have run me. Then I'll just need to cherry pick some choice LR pieces from the LFS to seed the system with. And I can be patient to let the rock mature and seed while I work on the LED build.

Sounds like a great plan to me mate, obviously if you don't create some stunning rock formations Bello will slag you mercilessly - he's a nasty bit of work at times........ Seeding with cherry picked LR will get you off to a good start, i always hand pick every piece of LR that ends up in my completed scape. I'll be interested in your LED build, i hope you'll include some pics and explanations of what your doing in your build thread mate.:beer:

Hey Bello, are you seriously expecting me to know what kind of ric it is.... it's the first one i've ever bought :hmm2:. Now that i know there are 2 types i'll do some investigating lol.
No more sneaky additions mate, i added sand to the nano section (ain't a frag tank now) and it immediately confirmed to me that it needs to go back in the display so that's happening tomorrow hopefully.
Need to get most of that coral out of the nano including the frag rack so i can start scaping it.

Never had a wrasse in any of my tanks, they don't do much for me lol. I didn't build these tanks but i have helped build quite a few and might build the new rimless depending on glass prices compared to LFS quotes. It would take me an hour to build the size i'm considering and i'll take a lot more care with the edge joins than any tank builder's work i've seen locally :thumbsup:

Edit:

Meant to add a better image of that new coral - this is exactly what you see so it's not pink but more mauve with blue grey growth edges and fluoro yellow polyps

 

[Bello]

Ordering rock and or sand is a provocative and hostile act - you're basically arming your tank for battle........ our borders are now closed troubadour11......:strooper:

obviously if you don't create some stunning rock formations Bello will slag you mercilessly - he's a nasty bit of work at times.......

LMFAO!!!

That chalice is drool worthy!! Oooohhhh the colours!!! Gimme your address, so I can rob it!!! Also kindly tie up your dog, and leave your front door open :lol:

The nano looks great, looks like you've actually scaped your nano too :lol: But, the frag rack looks nasty.....send them to me :lol:.

+1 on building your own tank. Should save some money, and if you'd like you could do it with black silicone too.... it does have a nice polished look. I'd have built mine myself, but you already know that I'm lazy :lol:, AND I don't quite have the DIY skills .

The reason I mentioned the Choati...I know you're not a fish guy already .. is that they can be handy with possible pests. Do you do any pests dips with new pieces? Plus I love the idea of an Aussie Biotope

 

[biggles]

I finally have an ID on that new coral - Oxypora lacera

http://coral.aims.gov.au/speciesPages/species_metadata/0285/view#

I haven't ever had a nano so aquascaping it will be different with only 14" height to play with - i'm looking forward to making some nice formations and keeping things on a smaller scale.
I noticed the rubble the ric is attached to has another baby one on it only about 1/4" across and the Oxy also has a 1/4" coral that looks similar to the baby ric. Hopefully i don't kill them and can show you pics as they grow - whatever they are lol.
Definitely using black silicone, been thinking about going more along the lines of 50x30x14" peninsula rimless so i can whack an ATI dimmable 8x54W unit over it along with some DIY LED light bars either side if i want - decisions, decisions.......... I really want to get more into the T5/LED hybrid lighting and think i could do something similar but much cheaper than the ATI hybrid.
I see what you mean about the wrasse now. I don't dip corals but i do examine every one with a magnifying glass thoroughly prior to adding to the tank, if i see the slightest suspect area i sanitize it regardless of the damage to the coral. I spend a long time handling and inspecting each coral at the shop, once they get to know you and know that you always buy a few corals i find most LFS don't mind you checking things out. I always buy 5 as i get 10% off for 5 or more at my fav LFS
Check out this angel that was available recently - i think it's awesome, very different and has me thinking lol........
Aus caught Centropyge colini - Blueback Angel

 

[troubadour11]

Ordering rock and or sand is a provocative and hostile act - you're basically arming your tank for battle........ our borders are now closed troubadour11......:strooper:

AH HAhahahaha! WHAT!?! Ordering sand and rock in no act of aggression. I'm just building up my defenses in my own tank. All this rock and sand is just weapons testing and research, for peaceful purposes of course :blown:

Bello: I'm really excited about sculpting my rock scape pre-water right now. A lot will depend on what the rocks look like when they get delivered (looks like next Wed or Thurs, they left Florida this morning). But in the end, I am sure I will end up chiseling and reshaping some rocks to make my design. :hammer:

I am also still undecided on one idea. The DT can be minimalistic on rock if I want since there can be ample space for rock elsewhere in the system. So I may not use all 75 lbs in the display and save the rest for the refuge. I'm thinking trying to find some dry Tonga branch rock to order. I thought it might be cool to have a tower/arch of regular rock leaning against the rock overflow cover on one end. An island pile with a cave on the other open end. And then using forearm/wrist size Tonga branches in the middle leaning against the overflow rock cover. That would give me room for corals to grow up top, maybe some types of encrusting kinds on the Tonga. But then lots of swim space and open sand room too. Our reef will be as much about the fish as the corals. And I always seem to enjoy some open sand bed look. But still undecided on all that... :spin3:

Oh, and I'm going to start up my build thread once my rock gets in. I'll be ready to start actually building things, documenting it, and getting help/opinions then.

Biggles: I'll definitely be documenting with pictures and all in my thread soon. Including the LED build which I'll start once I get the rock/plumbing done and I get it cycling. My LFS guy keeps trying to talk me out of LEDs, or at least supplementing them with T-5's. First I'm going to try the DIY LED's and I can add in T-5's later if I feel it's needed. But I'm definitely going to try and hit a full spectrum design on it. I've done lots of reading and have lots of notes documented for reference once I go to order it all. When reading, I was pretty impressed with the spectrum graph and desing of Orphek's newest fixture. A little pricey for me though, hence why I'll be DYI'ing it.

http://orphek.com/led/wp-content/uploads/2012/12/Aquarium-led-lighting-Orphek-Atlantik1.jpg

I'll probably try to mimic something like this and other comparables when figuring out the layout and ratio's for the emitters. I stumbled across someone that did this spectrum comparison of different LED brands here on RC when researching and held onto the link: http://s919.photobucket.com/user/redfishnc/library/LED%20TESTING?sort=3&start=all&page=1

OH, and that Angel is awesome! I would love to have access to some of the Angels available over there. I really want to top off my tank with an Angel as my last fish. In a 48 inch tank, I'm definitely limited to the pygmy angels. Maybe a Coral Beauty. But Angel's reputations for picking at corals has me on the fence. But I've got a long way to go before that decision.

 

[Bello]

Troub: FWIW, I'd always prefer a minimalistic look to the display, and you could load up the extras in the fuge. No sense in piling on extra rock. The plan sounds good so far, but as you said, it all depends on the pieces/shapes you get. Once the rock gets in, then we can figure it put. Oddly enough, 7 months in, and I'm still not happy with one of my scapes :lol:

Useful led links, though I didn't see any Cree XTE's in there. Its best, as you said, to pick a fixture/config you like and mimic it. If not, pick another :lol:, that's the charm of DIY.

Waiting for the build thread


Nemesis Biggles: You really wanna p*** me off, don't you?? Throwing in that C. Colini in there to rub it in? :lol:

Though, I'd still prefer the Multi, these are awesome, never ever seen one personally. Get one already!!!

Pretty cool to already have lil babies on the new corals, hopefully they'll do well. Get a pic of that Ric! My experience with Rics is that once they like a spot, leave 'em there, and they'll keep splitting. One of my ric's went from 1 to 5 in about 6 months

Just wondering about the tank sizes.... Can't make out how much space you've got in there. You know I like cubes , but I see the point about the ATI's. The cube would jut outwards more though, so your decision. Either way, since the tank is relatively shallow, it would be great if you could mount the lights 12 inches over the water level, just to get that awesome top down view of the coral. Or perhaps a lowering/raising mechanism for the lights?

One of the reefers abroad, recommended that I have a 6-line wrasse in every sps tank, just to be sure about pests, so that idea was kinda stuck in my head. Still have a wrasse, in each tank, but the 6-lines are really mean b******, and have begun to get irritating. I check my pieces a lot, no magnifying glass, but get kinda sad/nervy at the thought of "sanitizing".

But.........Tank Battles call for ruthlessness, and I'll be ready :lol:

 

[Afflicted]

Looks great but the return head spout is distracting

 

[biggles]

Looks great but the return head spout is distracting

Thanks for the nudge mate, it's black now and blends in with the black background.


Thanks for those links troubadour11, very handy and informative :thumbsup:
Looking forward to seeing what you come up with when you build your aquascape and remember what i said about Bello (thinks he's the Leonardo da Vinci of aquascaping....) - keep that comment just between you and i btw..........

I have about 5 foot beside the 65gal to play with which is why i thought a few inches over 4 ft would be a nice fit. No way am i ever putting a six-line in my display, i've seen what they can do in friends tanks - little bastards.

But.........Tank Battles call for ruthlessness, and I'll be ready

Sand went back in today Bello so we're back on an even playing field matey. As you can see the blue stag hasn't lost a drop of color and the browned out stylo has reacted to light nuking rather well in 8 days lol. 10 days ago i dropped the alk from 8.0 to 7.5 and the response in regards to colors has been very noticeable - found my tanks parameters sweet spot i think.

Here's some shots i took with my yummy light reflecting sand back in. Ever since i added the sand the clown has stopped hanging at the top and is swimming all over the water column now

Dumped stuff in the nano while i did the sand lol.

 

[Bello]

Beautiful update!! Hallelujah, we have sand!!! Looks great!

I like the combination of colours with the coral placements....and...that blue stag still looks crazy

I've been running my tank with alk between 6.5 - 7.0, but looks like that isn't quite the sweet spot for mine.. Work work work :lol:

I've been busy not reefing... just bought my first DSLR lens, hopefully that should bring some clarity to the FTS. Thinking about some rescaping in the Monti tank, specifically the short pillar - dead centre. Thinking of making it taller, and shifting it to the front left. And, getting rid of the ugh, six line.

 

[sethsolomon]

Beautiful Tank! You should add some anthias for some added color

 

[biggles]

Beautiful update!! Hallelujah, we have sand!!! Looks great!

I like the combination of colours with the coral placements....and...that blue stag still looks crazy

I've been running my tank with alk between 6.5 - 7.0, but looks like that isn't quite the sweet spot for mine.. Work work work :lol:

I've been busy not reefing... just bought my first DSLR lens, hopefully that should bring some clarity to the FTS. Thinking about some rescaping in the Monti tank, specifically the short pillar - dead centre. Thinking of making it taller, and shifting it to the front left. And, getting rid of the ugh, six line.

Thanks mate, i love the sand back in the display.
I've been trying to contrast the colors when i place things as it plays a big part in the overall look. How about upping your alk to 7.5 like mine for a month and see how things react.
If you're thinking about tweaking the scape it's as good as going to happen if you're anything like me lol. I say go for it - i want pics since you have a new camera lens ! Return that nasty little bastard fish asap.

Beautiful Tank! You should add some anthias for some added color

Thanks mate, appreciate the comment. Dunno about the fish idea though......lol. Check out this little Trapezia sp. crab that came in on the pink stylo but was evicted soon after by one of the nearby acro crabs - he's hanging on the Pavona now......

 

[Bello]

Sigh.... Looks like that bloody 6-line is NEVER gonna leave..... UNLESS I throw in a nice chunky grouper in there for a bit :lol:

You're supposed to be telling me "Bello, don't be an a*** and rip out your aquascape. Things are doing well, leave 'em be!!"

So as we speak, there's some massive reconstruction going on!! Should have pics in a couple days. I can't just place the rock....everything must be cemented in place!!! I'm a bit nutty like that. As much as I hate the idea of a big bulky structure, that's exactly what I'll be doing....a Monolith!!!...in a desperate bid to look "Natural"

I test 7.0 dkh, on the ELOS test kit, which typically test 0.5 dkh or 1.0 dkh lower than a Salifert or Hanna. So can't really say what is the exact dkh concentration, but it's been stable so far. Its an interesting thought, and I may give it a go a little later

 

[Bello]

Now who's being a lazy bum??? :lol:

 

[troubadour11]

Thanks mate, i love the sand back in the display.
I've been trying to contrast the colors when i place things as it plays a big part in the overall look. How about upping your alk to 7.5 like mine for a month and see how things react.

Thanks mate, appreciate the comment. Dunno about the fish idea though......lol. Check out this little Trapezia sp. crab that came in on the pink stylo but was evicted soon after by one of the nearby acro crabs - he's hanging on the Pavona now......

FWIW, I think the sand looks killer in the tank. Seems like all that color just pop's that much more with all that reflected light! And the coral placement and contrasting colors just further adds to it. I'm looking forward to playing with the color layout a lot... you know... once I have water and all in my tank. LOL :thumbsup:

I see you have some crabs in your reef. Any advice on crabs/inverts to keep or to avoid with corals. My wife really wants to add some to our mixed reef tank, but I've read tons about people complaining about crabs creating havoc on a reef. So I'm still on the fence about eventually adding them.

So as we speak, there's some massive reconstruction going on!! Should have pics in a couple days. I can't just place the rock....everything must be cemented in place!!! I'm a bit nutty like that. As much as I hate the idea of a big bulky structure, that's exactly what I'll be doing....a Monolith!!!...in a desperate bid to look "Natural"

Bello, how's that reconstruction going? I'd love to see the pics since I'll be tackling building rock structures soon. My rock/sand order is somewhere en-route. It should be here by the weekend... What do you use to join the rocks? Just standard cement or quickcrete? Then sprinkle/rub some sand into the surface of the cement as it dries to cover the seam and blend it in? I'll probably be attempting the same multiple cemented structures, of course, looking as natural as possible.

 

[Bello]

Hey troub (hope you don't mind the shortie version )

Have 2 threads, one is http://www.reefcentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=2274344,
and the other just click on my avatar, and see threads started (too lazy.... as usual ).

Reconstruction is on the first one, and is nowhere near completion. I use KZ Speed Glue, just because I'm paranoid about anything being toxic in the cement (its never happened to me, but don't wanna risk it). Waiting to see the rock and your build thread.... when it does appear :lol:

 

[biggles]

Hey guys, been busy at work but think i'll share my last few days of stuff ups :headwally:
Wake yesterday and look at the tank and immediately think ' hmmm somethings up ' - you know how you can just tell with a quick look at the tank if things are not right after you've been keeping SPS for a while..........
I flipped the radium on to have a good look and what do i see - the larger of my A. caroliniana branches is RTN'ing from the middle out, both clumps of pocil frags i saved from brown out death at the LFS are sloughing flesh - ALARM!
Everything looked poopy and colors were drab overall so i immediately setup an alk drip with 1 days dose, dripping over an hour. Tested cal, Mg & alk even though i knew it was going to be the bloody alk - it always is........

Cal - 440
Mg - 1350
Alk - 6.1

Lifted the alk to 6.5 over the first hour and raised it another 0.6 to 7.1 overnight. I will bring it back to 7.5 over the next 24 hours and then test my daily use again since i haven't tested for over a week - 60ml a day is obviously no longer enough ........ i can't believe i let it happen but at least i dodged the bullet and was only winged this time.
The pocil is toast and the caroliniana got worse during today so i chopped it up and saved a few pieces free of RTN, hopefully they will recover, no PE at all so i might wake to white death tomorrow. A. caroliniana is one of my favorite acros as it's so delicate and brittle and i don't see it often, considering this one has fluoro yellow tips i am seriously ****ed at myself for letting this happen.
Oh i also received my new halide reflector and in the process of setting it up i managed to drop a blue LED light bar into the tank - while on of course........ it no longer works and it also smashed a few tips on my acros during its dive expedition.
Apart from that stuff things are going fine lol. Here's some pics, i added a couple more outcrops to the rockwork and mounted the surviving caroliniana branches to them. Everything is washed out color wise but PE is good overall so i'm sure they'll bounce back over the next week. The purple tipped colony i mounted the blue stag behind has now decided to turn blue thereby ruining my color contrast effort........ grrrrrrrrr
Shrimp had his third molt and is trying to sneak up on the clown...... he's pathetic to watch tbh. :facepalm: I now like my clown and feed him every day - not that i wasn't........... :uhoh2:

 

[Bello]

What a run of crap luck...... and it's always the ALK! The day they make a probe for constant monitoring for alk, I'll be up on it in a flash :lol:

Too bad about the caroliniana . Been looking for a yellow piece of the same for quite a while. Good thing the alk drop didn't affect much else too badly. And it seems that you've got fairly big frags left.... good thing you caught it quick...that's the value of experience for you

Under normal cirsumstances, how do you find the the caro's? Growthwise, lighting?

The additional outcropping looks pretty cool though :thumbsup:. I like the one on the left.

Hopefully, your shrimp fantasy will end soon, and we'll see a colini or a multibar angels soon :lol:, fingers crossed

One more thing, since you've got frags of the same acros under led's in the nano, any differences in color noted so far?