My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef

[biggles]

Wow, I've missed sooooo much!!! I'm not even gonna start commenting on every single coral that I like in the tank since that would take forever! But wow!!!

The tank looks absolutely fantastic! I really really love the scape!!! While I do enjoy bonsai scapes, to me, recreating a NATURAL scene is priceless....and that's exactly what you've achieved. To me, the tank looks better than it ever has been....I'm bloody jealous as usual..

I've been in hiding and will now retreat into my quiet corner of the world, popping out occasionally, to jab at unsuspecting victims like a certain crab we know

Hey ho Bello. Thanks so much for the kind words mate and great to see you posting again.

Oh I havent forgotten...bring it on buddy...Reef Wars 2 will be fought with more than just sticks...flubberry stuff too...

Biggles appears to be ahead...

The cliffs are covered in heavy SPS artillery and Potatohead is mining the beaches with flubber........... it's gonna be a slaughter :strooper:

Maybe that is exactly what I ordered...

Imagine that...flubber taken from Biggles' back yard...Take a peek in my tank thread next week...

Oh i'll take a peek Sahin............ then i'll go to the LFS and select a scoly to reply with........

Wow biggles, things are back to a kaleidoscope of colors over there and looking good!

Seems like there is a lot going on over there with the rescaping and setting back up. It looks good, but pretty empty with all that grow-out space right now. I think you need to fill it up a bit more ;-) Or give your chorals some GRT (Gamma Radiation Treatment) so they grow even faster :eek1:

Although if you do use GRT, you may end up with a tank full of green chorals since the hulk turned green after getting dosed. Hahaha. And we all know how much you would love a tank full of all green GIANT irradiated chorals :lolspin:

Keep the posts up as things are looking good right now. Just a reminder, with the re-setting of everything, it might be a good time to pick a few pieces to start taking some comparison growth shots. I know I'd love to see how big/fast a choice frag or two from the new set up changes over the next bit of time and things fill in.

Hey Troub, good to hear from you mate. That's a good idea about the comparison shots, i'll get on it :thumbsup:

Your color and scaping is indeed beautiful!

Thanks very much mate

 

[Fishy 1]

I'll participate if we have a flubber war, it may not be high end flubber but I'll take part

 

[markalot]

I need the definition of flubber. I'm just not into the big sandbed pieces. Gold torches, duncans, blastos (a favorite), but not the big meaty corals ... yet anyway.

Love the gold plate coral.

 

[biggles]

I'll participate if we have a flubber war, it may not be high end flubber but I'll take part

Good man Rory :thumbsup:

I need the definition of flubber. I'm just not into the big sandbed pieces. Gold torches, duncans, blastos (a favorite), but not the big meaty corals ... yet anyway.

Love the gold plate coral.

If it won't take your eye out it's more than likely flubber Mark, wavy goober looking stuff.........


The right side where the raft props up the arch end has been annoying me ever since i scaped that area. The raft is pointing upwards to much and the entire underside of that raft rock is visible - looks ugly compared to all the overhanging acros up the left end of the display. I'm only doing rough color correction because this is gonna get stressful.......

It all looks so calm.....

Used some PVC pipe and frag discs to prop the arch up and made sure the raft was clear of the arch. I'm going to take the whole thing out of the tank and take to it's bum with a 6" diamond wheel spinning very very fast and hopefully i can adjust the angle it rests at when placed back under the right end of the arch rock.

Ok i'm gonna do it now.............. more pics to follow.......... :worried:

 

[biggles]

A few things to point out here. Notice the assortment of stuff all ready in case a glitch or two pops up along the way.
The glass baking tray is filled with tank water to wash the base in after the cutting otherwise the entire tank will be milky white with coral skeleton paste.

Caution - I can use kitchen ware for anything i like because i'm no longer married, do NOT try this if you have a partner because they will refuse to use the tray again and will use it as an excuse to buy a whole new expensive set. :rolleye1:

Notice i already mixed up a blob of putty - just in case...........

Here we are outside and this is the bit where we discuss safety gear. Now i have to tell you that a diamond wheel isn't like a normal cutoff disc or grinding disc. When those touch your hand you feel a burning sting immediately, a diamond wheel goes through you with barely an itch registering and the first thing you know about the damage is when you see the blood droplets on the concrete...........
One of those suits or armor the English knights used to wear in the crusades would be best but failing that, thick leather gloves, eye protection etc is advisable.

Obviously i took off my protective gloves etc right after finishing the cutting. I failed to realise which way the dust was blowing whilst cutting so all the acros were plastered in white goppy dust.:facepalm:

Now i know Sahin thinks he's a whiz with tools after drilling some stupid holes in his rocks and i was worried he'd run out and buy a diamond wheel after seeing this so i PM'd him asking to see the drill his wife bought him for his last birthday. I wanted to be sure he was using real man tools and not some lamo cheap rubbish............ it was much worse........

He wasn't impressed with having to pull the trigger over and over to make the drill bit spin and asked me if my finger got tired too......... :worried:

Caution - Don't use anything but Bob the Builder hand tools if you're anything like my old mate Sahin........

I need a coffee......... :beer:

 

[markalot]

lol

Thanks for the entertainment Biggles, always a fun read. If you ever stop posting at least we'll know you accidentally cut off your hands with that diamond wheel.

 

[biggles]

lol

Thanks for the entertainment Biggles, always a fun read. If you ever stop posting at least we'll know you accidentally cut off your hands with that diamond wheel.

That's what i'm here for Mark, to educate reefers on the safe use of stuff. On the subject of cutting hands off i want you to look closely at the high speed grinder with a thin diamond cutoff wheel fitted. It is an extremely dangerous tool and it won't forgive you if you make a mistake, in the hands of an experienced person it is very useful for quickly shaping hard reef rock like a hot knife through butter.

Sahin, you stay right away from anything remotely like this please mate.

I've taken the liberty of researching a grinder that's more your speed so to speak Sahin...........

We all look forward to seeing what you do with that little baby mate - don't forget to wear gloves and the goggles that came with your drill. :thumbsup:

 

[martinphillip03]

LMAO

Marty

 

[Fishy 1]

Well they say that a laugh a day keeps the doctor away, I certainly got my laugh:lol:.

 

[sahin]

Biggles, please see photo of my tools below. That is the drill I used; to drill holes into rocks you dont even need the drill with the extra handle thingy...the model I use is pretty basic...

If the rock drill doesnt quite manage to make a hole, you take the hammer thing on the left and bash the drill whilst its spinning...kind of like a hammer effect...

And to prove it is my tool, I included the note Kevin wrote to me last week...

Kevin sent me that and a few other letters in the post...I didnt get round to letting you know about it...he is babbling on about some missing gum leaves and not getting a gumtree for his birthday...I think you ought to spend less on the tank and more in poor Kevin...

With regards to your latest construction works in the reef, I am utterly impressed with the colour of your acros out of the water and in the light of the great sun. Thats pretty amazing colouration mate. :beer:

Now...once you have made final changes to the rockwork, I humbly request that you PLEASE leave it alone. Keep things stable, let things mature because I want to see this tank get TOTM. You know how to grow and colour up corals mate, there is no question about it. You are probably one of the current best SPS keepers out there...I would like to see longevity in your tank. Then it is worth of TOTM. :thumbsup: Longevity is something which has always been missing from my tanks too...and that is an area I would like to improve on with my current setup.

Enough ranting by me...lets get with more work and see pics of the final result.

 

[biggles]

Ok i thought Kevin was up to something and this just confirms it. I'm 'rebooting' him as i like to call it which is remarkably simple matter as it turns out. I simply tumble him for an hour in the cement mixer and once he regains consciousness he's like a new koala :thumbsup:

Before anyone screams at me like i just clubbed a baby seal to death i want to say that the procedure results in no physical harm to Kevin whatsoever unlike my one and only attempt at electric shock therapy. Turns out that koala fur has an exceptionally low ignition point......... who knew......:uhoh3:

Knowing that you'd probably ask Sahin, i took a PAR reading on the raft while it sat on the concrete in 32C temp. 17000 .............. i might have to move it into the shade of the shadow cast by the veranda post.

I'm not one of the best anything and you know i'm not a TOTM kinda guy lol. I like to fiddle and mess about with stuff and that's where i get my enjoyment in this hobby. Not touching anything and just watching everything grow is a bit like sitting out back watching the lawn grow for me Sahin. I know it's the right thing to do and i know my stuff grows slowly mainly because i'm constantly moving them but i enjoy tweaking the colors and look of the display way too much to ever create a TOTM display - you're the one who most of the reefers on here myself included want to see in the TOTM list

Now back to serious stuff. As the radium dawned over the reef today i spotted a major problem. Can anyone else see what's going on in this pic.......

Yep you got it - the clown is whispering in the yellow tang's ear ! I think we now know why the yellow tang has been trying to cut me lately. The clowns are spreading lies in the display..........

I'm going to move a few pieces for better color contrast soon........... i'll stop after that and leave things alone Sahin......... maybe

 

[DamonG]

Lol.. Awesomeness! Lol, spreading lies.. This is probably the most entertaining thread I read! Annotations and all (that, was what originally caught my attention)..

 

[h8z2luze]

That looks amazing!

 

[sahin]

Coup d'état

Coup d'état

Biggles I have to warm you...be careful at the next water change. Kevin has double crossed certain tank individuals and obtained some coded messages...he then decoded the secret messages and put into print for you:

I think Kevin is trying to get into your good books...or maybe this is all just a big devious plan...

 

[Fishy 1]

You guys are too funny:lol:. If you guys are running for totm, you've got my vote. I agree with Biggles sahin, you deserve TOTM mate

 

[biggles]

Lol.. Awesomeness! Lol, spreading lies.. This is probably the most entertaining thread I read! Annotations and all (that, was what originally caught my attention)..

Glad you're enjoying the journal my friend

That looks amazing!

Thanks mate

Biggles I have to warm you...be careful at the next water change. Kevin has double crossed certain tank individuals and obtained some coded messages...he then decoded the secret messages and put into print for you:

I think Kevin is trying to get into your good books...or maybe this is all just a big devious plan...

Lol, nice work buddy. As you will see, i finally worked out who the 'mr big' of the fish rebellion is............. think about it, who has regular close contact with ALL the fish.

You guys are too funny:lol:. If you guys are running for totm, you've got my vote. I agree with Biggles sahin, you deserve TOTM mate

All hell is breaking loose in my reef Rory, ain't no bloody laughing matter when the fish go feral.

The following took place this morning right after i returned the Xmas tree to the tank following some more decorating. I know you all think this stuff is just in my head but the pictures don't lie......


Potatohead and the tang deep in conversation.

Next thing i'm getting dirty looks from the tang so i left to get a coffee still pondering what they were discussing.

I returned a few minutes later and caught them red finned - now tell me the banggai isn't trying to push the bloody tree over under the supervision of the yellow tang. They both have an obvious 'busted in the act' expression on their faces and Potatohead looked like he was yelling out directions.........

All in my head, yeah right..........

Oh and i discovered two little acro munching crabs last night whilst doing a lights out check. I snapped the branch end off that this one was munching on - ugly little maggot........ I guessed at an ID - Antarctic ice crab.

In a move not unlike rolling a sperm whale back into the surf i gently placed the crab into a glass of tank water with his acro twig and sat him in the freezer compartment so he doesn't overheat. :beer:

I feel like running out and hugging a tree............. not that i would considering koalas pee all over them.........:reading:

 

[Fishy 1]

Biggles I think you need to invest in one of those cracking wips and start training those fish:uzi:

 

[biggles]

Biggles I think you need to invest in one of those cracking wips and start training those fish:uzi:

I need fish that behave like acros, sitting still and looking pretty.

Cleaned up the display over the weekend, need more sand as i would be lucky to have 3/4" if i evened it out. Once i add that i won't have that little bare patch at the very front. Another one of my SSC frags has just decided to start growing so i need to get some comparison pics for before and after shots.

Phos is still giving me grief so i'm dropping back to 10% weekly water changes and ordering a tub of Rowaphos - i reckon half a cup of that in a bag will get everything tickety boo. Never had this problem when i had a DSB........ :smokin:

 

[Fishy 1]

Have you considered those rubber fish that swim? They would be perfect:lol:

 

[Bello]

So I'm peeking back in for a bit for a show, and what the hell?!! Those out of water acro pics are stunning!!! To see an acro look that awesome, outside water and in natural light is a rare sight indeed!!

I'm amazed biggles, and happy to boot!! I'll tell Kevin to go climb a tree and stay there for a bit

Was wondering about the tall stag placement on the left front, how about a stag only area? (yes I know I've been obsessed with that idea since forever)

Great stuff biggles!!!