My 65 Gallon Mixed Reef

[biggles]

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

I've decided i want a blenny Rory - can i have a blenny or do they eat something or kill something or just be bad.......... surely i can have a stinkin blenny at least........... ????????? Obviously i should research blennies but it's more likely i won't prior to seeing a blenny for sale.............. just warning everyone - i f i get no advice you guys are to blame for anything bad that i'm forced to do to the BAD blenny i may or may not buy spontaneously in a matter of days..........

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!!!

Hey mate, i moved these two acros the other day and i now give all the acros a quick peek at what happens to them if they don't remain colorful..........

Blue

Red/Pink

I placed that blue stag stick thing where i did to break up the fact that all the acros were oriented towards the left. If anyone should do a stag tank it's you mate, having said that i'm now thinking............... this is why i have no stability - i tried to tell you guys that Bello is to blame for stuff and here's the proof. :reading:

Here's a skimmer pic, you all know how i struggle to grow coralline in the display to cover my white putty. I won't tell you what i think about the fact it grows like mad on the inside of my skimmer due to light bleed........ super impressed - you can add coralline to my hated reef thing list please Bello. :furious:

Remember i mentioned i i found two bad acro crabs, see the new white putty lower left - some crabs are wise and choose cunning hiding spots when busted by torchlight.

He chose............. unwisely.....:fun2:

Kevin has been upset lately due to the sudden loss of his mom, she went peacefully in her sleep after passing out in a rubbish dumpster and being compacted when the truck emptied the dumpster. I told Kevin he could have the sump tank for his own and i arrived home today after work to find my bloody T5's gone and Kevin admiring his handiwork.

And some of you thought Kevin was made up.............. i've already said no to a castle, bubble treasure chest and glow in the dark skeleton. :facepalm:

 

[sahin]

Biggles, I think you should start a thread in the SPS forum...Lets see your SPS corals out in the Sun...

T5's didnt out for you then? Which Halide bulb have you got running in the sump area? Do you reckon you will have the same colours if you used another brand of halide?

Now eveyone will believe when I say Kevin writes letters to me.

Isnt Kevin going to burn his butt fur lying on that shelf with the Halide underneath? :lol:

 

[markalot]

I love the pink skimmer. :bigeyes:

 

[Fishy 1]

I love the pink skimmer. :bigeyes:

My skimmer is a little green from light spill as well:lol:

 

[troubadour11]

I've decided i want a blenny Rory - can i have a blenny or do they eat something or kill something or just be bad.......... surely i can have a stinkin blenny at least........... ????????? Obviously i should research blennies but it's more likely i won't prior to seeing a blenny for sale.............. just warning everyone - i f i get no advice you guys are to blame for anything bad that i'm forced to do to the BAD blenny i may or may not buy spontaneously in a matter of days..........

Hey biggles. I'll go out on a limb and say you should definitely check out a blenny. DisBeReef and I just added a Tailspot Blenny to our display last Saturday! :bounce1: I decided it was time for our system to add some type of maintenance fish to help keep some algae in check until we can add a larger algae muncher towards the end.

We went with the Tailspot after I did a fair amount of :reading:. I considered some of the other rock dwelling algae blennies, but felt the Tailspot was the most docile to go with my peaceful tank mates and I also found no rumors of Tailspots liking the taste of SPS and flubber. Unlike a few rumors I read on the other algae blennies.

And let me tell you, I'm glad I did. I love this little fishy. In fact, right now, it's the only fish in the tank with a name. We've dubbed it "Rampage" because of the comical way it attacks the algae it's eating. It looks like the way the video game characters in Rampage punch the buildings, if you had that game down under. LOL.

And it's doing a great job on algae so far. I got home last night and it was hanging out with the clowns in the middle of the tank grazing on the GHA on the overflow. I'm super excited about the addition and think it will be a great help and addition to our system!

Oh, and I also have a recovering Pink monti-cap, millie, stylo, pocci, and seri in there now... So far the Tailspot has paid zero attention to any of them or any of the flubbery stuff and just hides in a hole for a bit, then comes out to graze, then back to hiding for a minute... repeat that all day long and you get the idea. :bum:

I have my doubts that it will be able to keep up and keep the tank totally clean of algae, but MUCH better then snails only. Rampage's belly was about 3 times the size of it's body last night it's been eating so much GHA! It was hilarious, I'm worried it's going to eat itself to death. lol

So anyway, the Tailspot Blenny gets the Troub :thumbsup: as a good addition.
^^^
For what all that is worth to you anyway. I'd be lucky if it was worth my .02 ;-)

Oh, and everything else is looking pretty sweet on the reef buddy! I'm looking forward to seeing what pieces you decide to leave be and wait to get those comparison shots! :eek1:

 

[biggles]

Hey guys, i won't be updating this journal anymore, after much soul searching i've decided to get rid of the 65 gal and replace it with a 3'x3'x14" look down tank. I want the new tank to go right where the current display is situated so this leaves me with two choices:

* Get rid of all my corals and fish and start again once the new look down tank is running and mature - don't like this idea at all.

or

* Build a small holding setup to house the current livestock in and move the 65 gal and then put everything back in it. I can knock up a small stand to sit beside the 65 gal and chuck everything in a tub or something until i have the new display ready. I don't really want the 65 gal running again so i might just keep everything in the tub until the new display is running rather than moving stuff repeatedly.

I need to work out how big of a tub i can squeeze next to the current display and get to work building something for it to sit on - i want to build the stand this weekend so i need to figure out what size tub to use.

 

[Fishy 1]

I'm sorry to here this buddy but a new setup sounds great. I'll be sure to welcome you to the shallow reef club:beer:. I'd definitely go with option two mate, as I think you'll kick yourself if you sell/giveaway what gems you have already. Good luck with the change over mate

 

[markalot]

Good luck with the switch, but I will miss this tank. Looking for a new thread???

 

[biggles]

Hey guys, i was having real problems with the tub area until a thought struck me - why not drag the second couch out the back door and put it in the back yard ! :idea:
Now i'm thinking that the tub could go anywhere in the area marked by the 66"x32" panel i laid on the floor but since there's no way we are going to work out the best spot before the weekend i think it might be wisest to build a temporary coral holding tub stand that's the same size as the 1.5" thick panel i had handy. I might as well make it a similar height to the 65 gal stand so it's less likely i fall off the blue plastic esky i stand on to do reef work.
I would use the chair to stand on which is obviously a better choice but it was lost to the wiring thing that got away from me a while back, it's like electrical ivy around that chair and i'm pretty sure it's growing because there's no way that chair is coming out without a fight.
Whilst having a rudimentary go at extricating the chair i discovered a 2ft blue LED light bar that i last saw about 14 months back. Perfect i thought for the new sump tank with just the radium atm. After a good ten minutes i remembered why it was there still, it has a 15 ft wire lead and that is interwoven into the electrical ivy, the chair and all of the powerboards on the floor. I became very agitated after getting nowhere with the LED so i made a coffee and walked out the back to get some air, i sat on the yard couch and thought about cutting that LED lead............

 

[sahin]

And there I was talking about longevity a few weeks back...:hmm4:

Look forward to the new build buddy...since you mentioned the new build already, you should expect us ferral reefers to start asking loads of questions...Are you putting up a couple of Radiums over the vastness of the new display or will you switch to the dark side and go T5... or even LED's? :eek2:

You stated 3x3x14 lookdown tank...sounds very nice...but with the flow thats required for SPS and the surface ripples/water movement that will create, you wont see much clearly unless you switch the pumps off...?

Or are you planning a very low/flat scape so tops of corals can the seen through the front anyway?

 

[troubadour11]

Well, I'm going to miss this thread :-( And so much for those comparison shots you were going to set up to get since it's all coming apart.

BUT, I look forward to whatever reefy-ness you're up to next! :thumbsup:

Oh, and what was Kevin's take on the new lawn couch? Angry about the large trash that got dumped out there? Or as happy as can be with a his new cushioned drop-bear practice target!!!

Best be sure not to peeve him off when you're about to have a few make-shift temporary setups and all sorts of power tools laying out and around :smokin: That could make for a dangerous acro playground for an angry koala. lol :bum:

 

[martinphillip03]

I'm confused. I read the first quote. Next day an update. Biggles do you have short term memory loss? Waiting for the new thread, have plenty of questions and ideas. FWIW I was tired of this thread also.You can only hear so much of Boxboy.

Marty


"Hey guys, i won't be updating this journal anymore, after much soul searching i've decided to get rid of the 65 gal and replace it with a 3'x3'x14" look down tank. I want the new tank to go right where the current display is situated so this leaves me with two choices:"

Hey guys, i was having real problems with the tub area until a thought struck me - why not drag the second couch out the back door and put it in the back yard ! :idea:
Now i'm thinking that the tub could go anywhere in the area marked by the 66"x32" panel i laid on the floor but since there's no way we are going to work out the best spot before the weekend i think it might be wisest to build a temporary coral holding tub stand that's the same size as the 1.5" thick panel i had handy. I might as well make it a similar height to the 65 gal stand so it's less likely i fall off the blue plastic esky i stand on to do reef work.
I would use the chair to stand on which is obviously a better choice but it was lost to the wiring thing that got away from me a while back, it's like electrical ivy around that chair and i'm pretty sure it's growing because there's no way that chair is coming out without a fight.
Whilst having a rudimentary go at extricating the chair i discovered a 2ft blue LED light bar that i last saw about 14 months back. Perfect i thought for the new sump tank with just the radium atm. After a good ten minutes i remembered why it was there still, it has a 15 ft wire lead and that is interwoven into the electrical ivy, the chair and all of the powerboards on the floor. I became very agitated after getting nowhere with the LED so i made a coffee and walked out the back to get some air, i sat on the yard couch and thought about cutting that LED lead............

 

[Fishy 1]

Haha lol, Biggles I think Marty needs more boxboy stories to bring him round:lol:

 

[martinphillip03]

Nooooooooooooooooooo!

Haha lol, Biggles I think Marty needs more boxboy stories to bring him round:lol:

 

[Fishy 1]

:lmao::lolspin:

 

[Fishy 1]

Biggles, Marty just suggested that you title your new thread "Fishy 1 style look down reef tank" as it is obvious that you got the idea of a shallow thank from mine:thumbsup:. He then said that in your first post you should graciously thank me for you best idea yet
Just a thought

 

[martinphillip03]

Biggles, your welcome!

Marty

 

[martinphillip03]

Big, Have you decided what you wanted to do? My own two cents, why not leave the 65 gallon running since your corals are so fragile? It may be a bit crowded, Kevin won't like losing his TV area, but it is all about the corals.

Marty

Hey guys, i won't be updating this journal anymore, after much soul searching i've decided to get rid of the 65 gal and replace it with a 3'x3'x14" look down tank. I want the new tank to go right where the current display is situated so this leaves me with two choices:

* Get rid of all my corals and fish and start again once the new look down tank is running and mature - don't like this idea at all.

or

* Build a small holding setup to house the current livestock in and move the 65 gal and then put everything back in it. I can knock up a small stand to sit beside the 65 gal and chuck everything in a tub or something until i have the new display ready. I don't really want the 65 gal running again so i might just keep everything in the tub until the new display is running rather than moving stuff repeatedly.

I need to work out how big of a tub i can squeeze next to the current display and get to work building something for it to sit on - i want to build the stand this weekend so i need to figure out what size tub to use.

 

[biggles]

Hey Marty, since i'm not going to run a journal on the peninsula i'll let you know how it will happen. The 65 will run as is until the new tank is filled with matched salt water. I'll temp plumb the new tank to the 65's sump and then slowly introduce the water over a week or two until i have both tanks with shared identical water going through a shared sump. Then i will simply take the hood off and place the 65 reef into one end of the new tank and sit the current hood and lighting back over the reef.

It will be less disruption to my corals than a low tide and basically, they won't even know it happened. I'll use the acro covered rocks in the construction of the new peninsula scape i have planned.

Before i end i want you to know that nothing has changed........

Barry jumped into the skimmer section and now behaves like a goldfish begging for food - he's waiting there until my next LFS visit.

A mate helped me with the stand........

Even at night i find acros to be things of beauty

I won't be replying here again but i want to thank my small band of fellow SPS crazies for following along and putting up with my silliness - you guys know who you are and rest assured i'll be following your journals and annoying you with questions. :beer:

 

[markalot]

I am filing a protest concerning your decision not to journal the new tank. Why not?